eg.nr
• «-
.V %
^ 1
\
*
•V
■
t
■f
4
%
/
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
SEVENTH EDITION.
THE
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, SCIENCES, AND GENERAL LITERATURE.
SEVENTH EDITION,
i
WITH PRELIMINARY DISSERTATIONS ON THE HISTORY OF THE SCIENCES,
AND
OTHER EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS;
INCLUDING THE LATE SUPPLEMENT.
A GENERAL INDEX,
AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.
VOLUME XIII.
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH;
M.DCCC.XLII.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
L.
LAB
A SEMI-YO^VEL, or liquid, forming the eleventh
9 letter of the alphabet. It is derived from the old
,abadie. Hebrew lamed, or Greek lambda X. It is sounded by inter-
—v-—''cepting the breath between the tip of the tongue and the
fore part of the palate, with the mouth open, and makes
a sweet sound, with something of an aspiration ; hence the
Britons and Spaniards usually doubled it, or added an h to
it, in the beginning of words, as in Man, or lhan, a temple,
sounding nearly like Jl. In English words of one syllable
it is doubled at the end, as tell, bell, knell; but in words of
more syllables than one it is single at the end, as evil, ge¬
neral, constitutional. It is placed after most of the con¬
sonants in the beginning of words and syllables, as black,
glare, adle, eagle, but before none. Its sound is clear in
Abel, but obscure in able, and the like.
As a numeral letter, L denotes 50; and with a dash
over it, thus, L, 5000. Used as an abbreviation, this let¬
ter stands for Lucius ; whilst L. L. S. represents a ses¬
terce. (See Sesterce.) LA is the syllable by which
Guido denotes the last sound of each hexachord. If it
begins in C, it answers to our A ; if in G, to E ; and if in
F, to D.
LAALAND, an island in the Baltic Sea, being one of
the portions of the kingdom of Denmark. It extends in
north latitude from 54. 38. 30. to 54. 57. 30., and in east
longitude from 10. 53. 1. to II. 46. 2. and contains 470
square miles. It comprehends five cities or towns, and
sixty-nine parishes, with 42,700 inhabitants. The soil is
of moderate fertility, but tbe whole industry being applied
to agriculture, it yields a surplus of corn, butter, meal,
flax, honey, and wax. The land communication with the
capital is over the island of Falster. The roads are in a
most miserable condition.
LAARAT Isle is situated off the north-eastern extre¬
mity of Timorlaut, in the Eastern Seas. It is about twenty-
five miles in length by twelve in average breadth. Little
is known, however, respecting its inhabitants or its pro¬
ductions.
LABADIE, John, a French enthusiast, son of John
Charles Labadie, governor of Bourges and gentleman in
ordinary of the bed-chamber to the French king, was born
VOL. xm.
LAB
in 1610. He entered young into the Jesuits’ College atLabadists.
Bordeaux, which, by his own account, he afterwards quitted; y-—'
but, according to others, he was expelled from it for his
peculiar notions, and particularly for hypocrisy. He be¬
came a popular preacher; but being repeatedly detected in
working upon female devotees with spiritual instructions
for improper purposes, his loss of character with the
Catholics forced him to seek for refuge amongst the Pro¬
testants. A reformed Jesuit being thought a great acqui¬
sition, he was precipitately accepted as pastor of Mont-
auban, where he officiated for eight years; but having
attempted the chastity of a young lady whom he could
not convert to his purpose, and quarrelled with the Catho¬
lic priest about the right of interring a dead body, he was
at length banished from that place. Driven out of Mont-
auban, Labadie went to seek “an asylum at Orange ; but
not finding himself so safe there as he imagined, he with¬
drew privately to Geneva, where he imposed on the peo¬
ple by his zealous preaching and devout carriage. From
Geneva he proceeded to Middleburg, where his spiritua¬
lity made him and his followers be considered as so many
saints, and distinguished by the name of Labadists. They
increased so much, that he excited the attention of the
other churches, whose authority he disputed, till he was
formally deposed by the synod of Dordrecht. But instead
of obeying, he procured a tumultuous support from a crowd
of his devotees; and at length formed a little settlement
between Utrecht and Amsterdam, where he erected a
printing press, which sent forth many of his works. He
was, however, betrayed by some deserters, who exposed
his private life, informing the public of his familiarities
with his female disciples, under pretence of uniting them
more particularly to God ; and he was finally obliged to
retire to Altona, where he died in 1674.
LABADISTS, a sect of religionists in the seventeenth
century, followers of the opinions of John Labadie. Some
of their opinions were, that.God could, and did, deceive
men ; that, in reading the Scriptures, greater attention
should be paid to the internal inspiration of the Holy Spi¬
rit than to the words of the text; that baptism ought to
be deferred until mature age ; that the good and the wick-
2 LAB
I>abarum ed entered equally into the old alliance, provided they de-
jl scended from Abraham, but that the new admitted only
x 'a )en~ ^ spiritual men ; that the observation of Sunday was a mat¬
ter of indifference ; that Christ would come and reign a
thousand years upon earth ; that the eucharistwas only a
commemoration of the death of Christ, and that, though
the symbols were nothing in themselves, yet that Christ
was spiritually received by those who partook of them in
a due manner ; that a contemplative life was a state of
grace and of divine union during this life ; that the man
whose heart is perfectly content and calm, half enjoys
God, has familiar entertainments with him, and sees all
things in him; and that this state was to be come at by
an entire self-abnegation, by the mortification of the senses
and their objects, and by the exercise of mental prayer.
LABARUM, the banner or standard borne before the
Roman emperors in the wars. The labarum consisted of
a long lance, with a staff on the top, crossing it at right
angles, from which hung a rich streamer, of a purple co¬
lour, adorned with precious stones. Till the time of Con¬
stantine it had an eagle painted on it; but, instead of this,
that emperor added a cross, with a cipher expressing the
name of Jesus. This standard the Romans took from the
Germans, Dacae, Sarmatse, Pannonians, and other Teuto¬
nic tribes, whom they had overcome. The name of laba¬
rum. was not known before the time of Constantine; but
the standard itself, in the form we have described it, ex¬
cept the symbols of Christianity, was used by all the pre¬
ceding emperors. Some derive the word from labor, as if
this finished their labours; some from stAaSs/a, reverence,
'piety; others from ’KayZa-vav, to take; and others from
Xapuga, spoils.
LABAT, John Baptist, a celebrated traveller, of the
order of St Dominic, was born at Paris in 1663, taught
philosophy at Nancy, and, in 1693, went to America in the
quality of missionary. On his return to France in 1705,
he was sent to the chapter of his order at Bologna to give
an account of his mission, and resided several years in
Italy. He died at Paris in 1738. His principal works are,
1. Nouveaux Voyages aux lies de I’Amerique, in six vols.
8vo; 2. Voyages en Espagne et en Italic, in eight vols.
I2mo; 3. Nouvelle Relation de 1’Afrique Occidentale, in
five vols. 12mo ; 4. Voyage du Chevalier des Merchais en
Guinee, in four vols. 12mo ; 5. La Relation Historique de
1’Ethiopie Occidentale, translated from the Latin of Fa¬
ther Cavazzi, in four vols. 12mo ; 6. Les Memoires du
Chevalier d’Arvieux, containing his Travels to Constanti¬
nople and Asia Minor, in six vols. 12mo.
LABEL, a long, thin, brass rule, with a small sight at
one end, and a hole at the other, commonly used with a
tangent line on the edge of a circumferentor.
Label, in Law, is a narrow slip of paper, or parchment,
affixed to a deed or writing, to hold the appending seal.
Any paper annexed by way of addition or explication, to
any will or testament, is also called a label or codicil.
Label, in Heraldry, a fillet usually placed in the middle
along the chief of the coat, without touching its extremi¬
ties. Its breadth ought to be a ninth part of the chief.
It is adorned with pendants, and when there are above
three of these, the number should be specified in blazon¬
ing. It is used on the arms of eldest sons whilst the fa¬
ther is alive, to distinguish them from the younger; and
is esteemed the most honourable of all differences.
LABEO, C. Antistius, a celebrated lawyer of the age
of Augustus and Tiberius, was son of Antistius Labeo,
who formed one of the conspiracy against Caesar, and,
after the unsuccessful battle of Philippi, caused himself
to be put to death by one of his own slaves. His son
seems to have inherited all the independent principles of
the father, and to have expressed at times his opinions re¬
specting the measures of Augustus with such freedom,
LAB
that it was thought by his friends that he was subject to Laberius
fits of insanity. (Hor. Sal. i. 3, 82; Suet. Aug. 54.) I
Some say that he was offered the consulship by Augustus, Labora-
but that he refused the honour, lest he should be suspect- v tory«
ed of having sold his independence to the emperor. Others
say that he was a candidate for the consulship, and that
Augustus caused M. Ateius Capito to be elected in pre¬
ference to him. (Tacit. Ann. iii. 75.) He had applied
himself more particularly to the study of law, and left
many works, of which scarcely any thing remains except
the title ; eight books on Probabilities, of which Julius Pau-
lus made an abridgment; a work in forty-two books, en¬
titled Posteriores, because it appeared after his death. Of
these two works fragments are to be found in the pandects
of Justinian. The latter is abridged by Jabolenus, who
flourished under Trajan. (Gell. xiii. 10.) His other works
are, Commentaries on the Twelve Tables, and on the Edicts
of the Praetor and Curile iEdiles ; a Treatise on the Praetor
Urbanus and Peregrinus ; a Treatise on Pontifical Law, in
fifteen books. It is disputed whether some other works
mentioned by St Augustin belong to this Labeo, or to an¬
other of the same name. (See Opuscida varia of Byn-
kershock, Leyd. 1719; De Vita, Moribus, et Studiis La-
beonis et Capitonia, Utrecht, 1692.)
LABERIUS, Decimus, a Roman knight, who was par¬
ticularly distinguished as a writer of mimi, that is, farces in
the language of the common people, and for their amuse¬
ment. The exact period of his birth is unknown, but he
died b. c. 43, a few months after the murder of Caesar.
Having caused some annoyance to the dictator by the
freedom of his language, he was ordered by him to appear
on the stage as an actor in one of his own plays, when he
had reached the age of sixty. The prologue which he
pronounced on this occasion is preserved by Macrobius
{Sat. ii. 7), and is so beautiful that it makes us regret
that more of his writings have not come down to us.
When he had finished, he proceeded towards the places
assigned to the knights ; but his appearance on the stage
had deprived him of all the privileges enjoyed by that
order, and no one was willing to make way for him.
Cicero, observing his embarrassment, said, in allusion to
the number of new senators admitted by Caesar, “ Rece-
pissem te nisi anguste sederem upon which Laberius
sarcastically replied, “ Mirum si anguste sedes qui soles
duabus sellis sedere,” thereby reproaching Cicero with his
versatility of conduct. We have the titles of forty of his
pieces (see Fabricius, Biblioth. Lat. i. p. 477), but only a
few fragments of them have been preserved. They have
been published by Stephanus, Paris, 1564; and are also
found in the Catalecta veterum Poetarum by Scaliger, and
in the Epigrammata vetera, Lyons, 1596.
LABIAL Letters, those pronounced chiefly by means
of the lips.
LABIAU, a city of East Prussia, in the government of
Konigsberg, the capital of a circle of the same name. It
stands on the river Deine, and is connected by a canal
with the Pregel. It is fortified, and contains 290 houses,
with 2630 inhabitants, who export considerable quantities
of tallow and oflinseed. Long. 21. 1. 25. E. Lat. 54. 51.
20. N.
LABOOAN, an island off the north-west coast of Bor¬
neo, to which the English retired in 1775, when they
were expelled by the Sooloos from Balambangan. Long.
115. E. Lat. 5. 20. N.
LABORATORY, the chemist’s workhouse, or the place
where furnaces are built, vessels kept, and operations per¬
formed. In general the term laboratory is applied to any
place where physical experiments in pharmacy, chemis-
try, pyrotechny, and the like, are performed. See Che¬
mistry.
Laboratory, in military affairs, signifies that place
LAB
Laboureur where all sorts of fire-works are prepared, both for actual
II service and for experiments, viz. quick matches, fuzes,
Labrador. p0rt-fires, grape-shot, case-shot, carcasses, hand-grenades,
cartridges, shells filled, and fuzes fixed, wads, &c.
LABOUREUR., John le, almoner to the king of
France, and prior of Juvigne, was born at Montmorency,
near Paris, in 1623. At the age of eighteen he distinguish¬
ed himself by publishing a Collection of the Monuments
of Illustrious Persons buried in the church of the Celes-
tines at Paris, with their elegies, genealogies, arms, and
mottos, in 4to. He afterwards published an edition of
the Memoirs of Michel de Castelneau, with several other
I genealogical histories. He had a brother, Louis le La¬
boureur, bailiff of Montmorency, author of several pieces
of poetry; and an uncle, Dome Claude le Laboureur, pro¬
vost of the abbey of L’Isle Barbe, of which he wrote a his¬
tory, and published notes and corrections on the breviary
of Lyons. Laboureur died in 1675.
LABRADOR, a vast region of North America, nearly of
a triangular shape, extending from the fiftieth to the sixty-
first degree of north latitude, and from fifty-six to seventy-
eight of west longitude. It is bounded 6n the south by
Canada and the Gulf of St Lawrence, on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the north by Hudson’s Straits, and on
the west by Hudson’s Bay. Being thus detached from
the arctic lands, Labrador ought to partake in some de¬
gree of the nature of the temperate cold regions ; but, from
causes which do not appear to be very obvious, it is a coun¬
try as frozen, desolate, and barren, as those to the west of
Hudson’s Bay. The coast along that spacious inland sea
is called East Main, and the climate there is peculiarly ri¬
gorous. The whole surface of Labrador, indeed, is as ste¬
rile and naked as any part of the globe. The prevailing
features are rocks, swamps, and water ; and vegetation ap¬
pears as the last effort of expiring nature. Small scrag-
gy poplars, stunted firs, creeping birch, and dwarf willows,
thinly scattered in the southern parts, constitute the whole
of the trees; herbs and grass are also in sheltered places
to be met with ; but in the most northerly parts only va¬
rieties of moss and lichens are to be found. The whole
of the interior, from the aspect of what has been explor¬
ed, and from the reports of the Esquimaux and other In¬
dians, seems to be broken up with rivers, lakes, and rocks.
The neoloffical features of the Labrador coast are as fol-
O O # - ,
low:1—The prevailing rock contiguous to the sea shore is
gneiss. On this, at L’Anse a Loup, the most fertile part
of the country, a bed of old red sandstone, about two hun¬
dred feet thick, is superimposed, and extends about half
a mile inland. Here also, as on every other part of the
coast visited by the individual from whom our information
is derived, the appearances of the cliffs and of the land near
them, and the rolled masses inland, which have evident¬
ly been exposed to the action of the sea, seem to prove
that the latter has considerably receded. The sandstone
is generally red and white in alternate strips, and pre¬
sents a remarkable mural front to the sea. Near the sur¬
face it was strongly marked with iron. The whole of the
rock was composed of white quartz and yellow felspar ;
and the grains were generally as fine as oatmeal, though
occasionally coarser, even to the extent of half an inch in
diameter. Over the red sandstone was a thin stratum of
red compact felspar, containing vegetable impressions, and
also horizontal. Above this were varieties of secondary
limestone arranged in parallel strata several feet thick and
full of shells. Detached masses of primitive limestone
were also found ; and, a few miles from the shore, the se¬
condary formations generally disappeared, leaving gneiss
LAB s
and mica slate on the surface. North of Cape Charles, on Labrador,
the Labrador coast, the land falls back to the westward, v'—
and the shore changes its character, becoming shoal, and
running off in flats ; whereas to the southward it is bold
and abrupt. The prevailing rock, however, is still gneiss,
containing numerous veins of granite, from a few inches
to many feet in thickness, the constituent parts being mi¬
ca, quartz, and felspar. The diameter and dip of the
gneiss rock is here, as elsewhere on the coast, to the north¬
west, and at an angle of nearly 65°. It is coarse and dark,
hornblende taking the place of mica, and frequently very
light-grayish felspar forming the chief constituent. Where
this occurs, the face of the hill has a remarkably spotted
appearance. On one of the islands which here skirt the
coast, a large bed of primitive greenstone was found,
forming a range of hills resting on the gneiss, and appear¬
ing to have the same direction. On the western part of
these islands also the gneiss gives place to mica slate, this
commencing beyond the above-mentioned range of green¬
stone, which appears to mark the line of demarcation be¬
tween them. The mica slate then predominates through
all the islands and shores examined to the westward of
this point, viz. to the Mealy Mountains, in Sandwich Bay,
a distance of about thirty-five miles. In some places crys¬
tals of garnet are very abundant in it, and in others consi¬
derable beds of granite wrere found, of a confused appear¬
ance, and in which quartz and felspar predominated. The
Mealy Mountains are the highest land on this coast, and
were computed to be about 1484 feet in height, covered
nearly to the top with wood, notwithstanding the severity
of the climate. They are of mica slate, with a dark, fine¬
grained formation of the same, resembling basalt, at their
base. The general rock is coarse-grained. At the foot of
these mountains were also found beds eight and ten feet
thick, and large rolled masses of a remarkable conglome¬
rate rock, of which the basis was composed of grains of
mica, quartz, and felspar; and the imbedded masses were
large rounded pebbles of quartz, mica slate, felspar, horn¬
blende, granite, and gneiss. The whole was very hard,
and elicited sparks of fire under the stroke of the hammer.
The imbedded fragments were all water-worn.
The general aspect of different parts of the Labrador
coast has been described by the Moravian missionaries,
from whom we learn that Nullatarlok Bay, in 59° north
latitude, is surrounded by high mountains, which are co¬
vered with moss, alder, birch, and various shrubs and
plants, the valleys in July being grassy and enamelled
with a great variety of flowers. The rocks are slaty,
easily splitting into plates of from four to eight feet
square. At Nachvak Bay the sea was clear of ice in the
middle of July, and the magnificent mountains around
afforded to the missionaries a most enchanting prospect.
Oppernavik, lying between the sixtieth and sixty-first de¬
grees of north latitude, is not far distant from Cape Chud-
leigh, where the coast, which was hitherto north, now
trends to the south-south-west, embosoming a spacious
expanse of wafer called Ungava Bay. The river Kan-
gertluksoak, in latitude 58. 57. north, is about 140 miles
south-south-west of Cape Chudleigh. The estuary of
the Koksoak lies in 58. 36. north latitude, at the distance
of about 650 miles from the Moravian station Okkak, and
is as broad as the Thames at Gravesend. Up the river
there is a bay surrounded on all sides by gently rising
ground, well wooded with trees of moderate size. For
about half a mile a fine slope extends, bounded on each
extremity by a hill. The Moravians describe the land
as level and dry, watered by rivulets issuing from the
1 For this account of the geology of Labrador, we are indebted to a paper by Captain H. Robinson, R. N. published in the
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 1834.
4
LAB
L A B
Labrador, woods, in which were found various European plants and
s-—■v—^ flowers, different kinds of shrubs, such as junipers, cur¬
rants, and the like, and grass and trees in abundance.
The missionaries were informed that, further west, no
wood grows along the coast. The soil at L’Anse a Loup
is rich, and it is much the most eligible part of Labrador
for settlers. Corn will not ripen, but serves for green
food; and potatoes, cabbages, lettuce, spinach, and early
Dutch turnips, do well. There is generally much rain
on the whole coast, but now the temperature would ap¬
pear to be more equable than it was some fifty years ago,
if we may trust to the correctness of the reports of navi¬
gators. The current always sets to the southward along
the coast. The tides rise six feet to the northward, and
about four to the southward. The prevailing winds are
from west-south-west to north-west. There is less fog
than farther south; and the Straits of Belleisle, which se¬
parate Newfoundland from Labrador and thfe continent of
America, are never frozen over.
On the coast of Labrador the winter is extremely se¬
vere, the thermometer often falling thirty degrees below
the freezing point; and although the houses of the Mo¬
ravian missionaries are heated by large cast-iron stoves,
the windows and walls are all the winter covered with
ice, and the bed-clothes freeze to the walls. Rum is
frozen in the air as rapidly as water, and rectified spirits
soon become thick like oil. From December to June
the sea is completely frozen over; and so intense is the
cold during the winter months, that travelling is some¬
times attended with the most painful consequences. The
summer months, again, are extremelyhot along the coast,
the thermometer rising to eighty-six degrees of Fahren¬
heit, when swarms of musquitoes infest the air. The cli¬
mate, however, is not insalubrious; and, notwithstanding
all its disadvantages, Labrador is of considerable import¬
ance to Great Britain. No country is better provided
with large, convenient, and safe harbours, or supplied
with better water; and vast multitudes of all those kinds
of fish common to the arctic seas abound on the coast.
Herrings are very fine and plentiful in August, but there
is no weather to cure any kind of fish after the 10th of
September. The rivers are frequented by salmon and
sea trout; and pike, barbel, eels, river trout, and the like,
are likewise found in them. On the numerous islands
which are scattered along the east coast, multitudes of
eider-ducks and other water-fowl breed. Those of large
size have deer, foxes, and hares, upon them. On the
continent the wild animals are principally bears, wolves,
foxes, and otters; beavers and deer are not numerous,
but their furs are remarkably close and beautiful. The
birds of the country are the white-tailed eagle, falcons,
hawks, and owls of various kinds; raven, white grouse,
ptarmigan, spruce-game, whistling curlew, gray plover,
various kinds of sand-pipers and other waders; geese,
ducks of various sorts, shags, gulls, divers, and some few
species of small birds. During the short summer, insects
are very numerous, especially in swampy places. In win¬
ter they exist in a state of torpidity, from which they are
aroused by the solar heat or artificial warmth. The
phenomenon of the aurora borealis is uncommonly bril¬
liant in this region, and exercises a very marked influence
over the compass.
Ihe exports of Labrador consist of the products of
the country, fish, oil, and fur. During the fishing sea¬
son, from 280 to 300 schooners proceed from Newfound¬
land to the different fishing stations on the coast, where
about 20,000 British subjects are employed for the sea- Labrador,
son. About one third of these vessels make two voyages,
loaded with dry fish, back to Newfoundland, during the
summer; and several merchant vessels proceed frorn La¬
brador with their cargoes direct to Europe, leaving gene¬
rally full cargoes for the fishing vessels to carry to New¬
foundland. A considerable part of the fish of the second
voyage is in a green or pickled state, and dried afterwards
at Newfoundland. Quebec sends eight or nine vessels to
the coast, manned with eighty or one hundred fishermen.
Part of the fish caught by them is sent to Europe, and
the remainder is carried to Quebec ; besides which, they
carry annually about L.6000 worth of furs, oil, and sal¬
mon to Canada. From one hundred to one hundred and
twenty vessels come from Nova Scotia and New Bruns¬
wick. The principal part of their cargoes goes home in
a green state. From 16,000 to 18,000 seals are taken at
Labrador in the beginning of winter and spring. They
are of a very large size, and the winter residents on the
coast are said to feast and fatten on their flesh, which,
when young, they account excellent eating. About 4000
of these seals are killed by the Esquimaux. The whole
number caught produce about 350 tons of oil, the value
of which may be about L.8000. One third of the resi¬
dent inhabitants are British servants, who take charge of
the property left, and likewise employ themselves, in the
spring and fall, catching seals. The other two thirds live
constantly at Labrador, and act in the capacity of furriers
and seal catchers on their own account, but chiefly as the
former during the winter; in summer all are engaged in
the fisheries. Half of these individuals are Jerseymen
and Canadians, most of whom have families. There are
six or seven English houses, and four or five Jersey
houses, established at Labrador, unconnected with New¬
foundland, who export their oil and fish directly to Eu¬
rope. The quantity exported to the Mediterranean in
1830 was about
50,000 quintals cod fish, at 10s L.25,000
900 tierces salmon, at 60s 2,700
To England, about 200 tons cod oil 4,000
200 do. seal do 4,500
Furs 3,000
L.39,200
By Newfoundland houses, 20,000 quintals cod
fish, at 10s 10,000
300 tierces salmon, at 60s 900
Total direct export from Labrador L.50,100
Produce sent direct to Newfoundland from Labra¬
dor :
24,000 quintals cod fish, 9s. best quality 10,800
300,000 quintals cod fish  127,500
1500 tuns cod oil, at L.18 27,000
Salmon, &c 3,000
Fish, &c. sent to Canada, about 10,000
Ditto carried to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,
should be in value at least  50,000
Estimated value of the produce of Labrador, ex¬
clusive of what the Moravians send to Lon¬
don1 L.278,400
The Labrador fishery has, since 1814, increased more
than sixfold, principally in consequence of our fisher-
L.S^AOO.^^hTAmerka^s ol^the Uifited st-tes ha/^iR^Q11 K0t at the averaSe Pnces> which would increase the gross value to
“ catch” amounted to 1,100,000 quintals offish and ab^Sn tb°Ut °00 vesst;ls and I5J,0° men employed on the coast, and their
, , u quintals Otnsn, and about 3000 tuns of oil; value altogether, about L.610,000.
5
LAB
Labrum men being driven from the grounds now occupied by the
I French.1
Labyrinth, vast country, equal in square miles to France,
Spain, and Germany, has not a resident population ex¬
ceeding 4000 inhabitants, including the natives and Mo¬
ravians. The latter, an excellent and truly Christian
people, have several settlements on this stern, inhospi¬
table shore ; and nothing but the purest spirit of religion
and philanthropy could induce them to remain, and zeal¬
ously labour to enlighten the miserable and disgusting
native population. The principal station is at Nain, on
the north shore, where a ship annually arrives from Lon¬
don in July, laden with provisions and other necessaries.
At Nain there are four missionaries, at Okkak three mis¬
sionaries, at Hebron five missionaries, and at Hopedale
four missionaries. The total number of brethren is twen¬
ty-nine ; and there are 895 Esquimaux converts to Chris¬
tianity, of whom about 320 are communicants. These
Moravians appear to have come from Greenland about
the middle of the last century, in the prosecution of their
pious undertaking to enlighten the heathen. Their habits
and mode of life are simple and quiet, corresponding to
their isolated condition. Their trade is wholly with the
Esquimaux, with whom they barter coarse cloths, powder,
shot, guns, and edge-tools, for furs, oils, and other articles,
the produce of the country. The Esquimaux, the most
filthy and disgusting tribe yet discovered on the shores
of America, are thinly scattered along the coast of La¬
brador. The greatest number of them in any one place
appears to be at Invutoke Inlet, or Esquimaux Bay, on
the Atlantic coast of Labrador, where there are about
two hundred and fifty. (For a description of the Esqui¬
maux, see the article Greenland). The Canadians and
others residing at Labrador employ these people in catch¬
ing fish, and the like. Labrador belongs to the govern¬
ment of Newfoundland. During summer there is a court
held, from which appeals are made to the supreme court
of St John’s. An armed vessel visits, and continues ge¬
nerally along the coast, during the greater part of the fish¬
ing season. (r. R. R.)
LABRUM, in Antiquity, a great tub which stood at the
entrance of the temples, containing water for the priests
to wash in previously to their offering sacrifices. It was
also the name of a tub used in the baths of the ancients.
LABY, or Labbe', one of the principal cities of the
Foolah kingdom of Foota Jallou, in Western Africa. It
is distant about seventy-two miles from Teembo, the ca¬
pital, and contains about 5000 inhabitants, who carry on a
considerable traffic with various towns on the river Nunez.
LABYRINTH, amongst the ancients, was a large, intri¬
cate edifice, cut out into various aisles and meanders run¬
ning into one another, so as to render it difficult to find a
passage through them. Mention is made of several of
those edifices amongst the ancients; but the most cele¬
brated were the Egyptian and Cretan labyrinths. That of
Egypt, according to Pliny, was the oldest of all the known
labyrinths, and subsisted in his time, after having stood
three thousand six hundred years. According to him, it
was built by King Petesucus, or Tithoes; but Herodotus
makes it the work of several kings. It consisted of twelve
large contiguous palaces, containing three thousand cham¬
bers, fifteen hundred of which were under ground. Strabo,
Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, and Mela, speak of this monument
with the same admiration as Herodotus; but not one of them
tells us that itwas so constructed as to bewilder those who at¬
tempted to explore it; although it is manifest that, without a
guide, they who entered it would be in danger of losing their
LAC
way. It was this danger, no doubt, which introduced a new Lac
term into the Greek language. The word labyrinth, taken ||
in the literal sense, signifies a circumscribed space, intersect-
ed by a number of passages, some of which cross each v
other in every direction like those in quarries and mines,
whilst others make larger or smaller circuits round the
place from which they depart, like the spiral lines we see
on certain shells. In the figurative sense, it was applied
to obscure and captious questions, to indirect and ambigu¬
ous answers, and to those discussions which, after long di¬
gressions, bring us back to the point from which we had
set out. The Cretan labyrinth is the most famous in his¬
tory or fable, having been rendered particularly remark¬
able by the story of the Minotaur, and of Theseus, who
found his way through all its windings by means of
Ariadne’s clue. Diodorus Siculus relates as a conjecture,
and Pliny as a certain fact, that Daedalus constructed this
labyrinth on the model of that of Egypt, though on a small¬
er scale. It was formed by the command of Minos, who
kept the Minotaur shut up in it; but in their time it no
longer existed, having been either destroyed by time, or
purposely demolished. Diodorus Siculus and Pliny, there¬
fore, considered this labyrinth as a large edifice ? whilst
other writers represent it simply as a cavern hollowed in
the rock, and full of winding passages. The opinion of
Diodorus and Pliny supposes that in their time no traces
of the labyrinth existed in Crete, and that even the date
of its destruction had been forgotten. Yet it is said to
have been visited by the disciples of Apollonius of Tyana,
who was contemporary with these authors. At that time,
therefore, the Cretans believed that they possessed the la¬
byrinth,
LAC of Rupees, is a hundred thousand rupees, which,
supposing them standard, or siccas, at 2s. 6d., amounts to
L.12,500 sterling.
LACCA, Lac, or Gum-Lac, is a substance out of which
a species of insects form cells upon trees, like honeycombs.
In these cells remain some of the dead insects, which give
a red colour to the whole substance of the lac. That called
stick-lac is the wax which adheres to some of the small
branches of the tree, and is unprepared. This lac, when
separated from the adhering sticks, and grossly powdered,
and deprived of its colour by digestion with menstruums
for the sake of the dyes and other purposes, is called
seed-lac, which, when freed from impurities by melting
it over a gentle fire, and formed into cakes, is called
lump-lack ; and, lastly, that called shell-lac consists of the
cells liquefied, strained, and formed into thin transparent
laminae.
Artificial Lacca, or Lacque, is also a name given to a
coloured substance obtained from several flowers, as the
yellow from the flower of the juniper, the red from the pop¬
py, and the blue from the iris or violet. The tinctures of
these flowers are extracted by digesting them several times
in aqua vitae, or by boiling them over a stove fire in a lixi¬
vium of potashes and alum.
LACCADIVES, an archipelago of low islands lying off
the Malabar or western coast of India, between the 8th
and 13th degrees of north latitude. There are nineteen
considerable ones; but as most of them are surrounded
with reefs and steep rocks, with a great depth of water
close to them, the approach to them is very dangerous.
Between these islands there are many channels, through
which ships from India, bound to Persia or Arabia, fre¬
quently sail. The safest of these is called Mamale, or the
Nine-degree Channel, which runs between the islands of
Seuhilipar and Kalpenny. The largest of these islands is
1 M‘Gregor’s British America, vol. i. p. 209 ; to which work we are indebted for the above facts relative to the trade of La?
brador.
6 LAC
Lace, about seven miles in length and two and a half in breadth.
Most of them are inhabited by a race of Mahommedans
called Moplays. They do not yield grain, but produce
an infinite quantity of cocoa nuts, from the husks of which
they form the coir cables, which are more elastic and
durable than hemp, as the sea-water, instead of rotting,
preserves them. These islands are well supplied with
fish, and carry on a trade with the small shells called cow¬
ries, which pass as coin all over India. They are nomi¬
nally dependent on Cannanore, but their poverty has
been always their chief security. They were discovered
by Yasco de Gama in 1499, but have since been little fre¬
quented by Europeans.
LACE, from lacinia, the guard hem or fringe of a
garment, is a plain or ornamented netwmrk, consisting of
threads of gold, silver, silk, flax, or cotton, tastefully in¬
terwoven so as to form a beautiful texture. This deli¬
cate fabric has no doubt claims to high antiquity, but its
origin is involved in considerable obscurity. That it was
worn by Grecian females is certain, and the derivation of
the word lace affords presumptive evidence that it was
also in use amongst the Romans. In Venice, and the
neighbouring states of Italy, it was very early worn; and
Mary of Medicis is supposed to have been the first who
introduced its use into France; but as early as 1483 we
find it included in a list of articles prohibited to be im¬
ported into England. rlhe inference which maybe drawn
from this circumstance is, that it had begun to be made
in this country prior to the period above mentioned, and
that this prohibition, like many other subsequent acts, was
for the protection and encouragement of home manufac¬
tures. But pins, which are indispensable in the process of
lace-making, were not known till long afterwards; so that
it is probable the fabric made was neither very fine in tex¬
ture, nor produced to any great extent. It is uncertain
by whom the manufacture of lace w^as originally introduced
into this country, nor is it of great importance to know.
About the middle of the seventeenth century, the lace trade
was a flourishing concern in Buckinghamshire; and so
greatly had it advanced in England, that, by a royal ordon-
nance in France, passed in 1660, a mark was established
upon the thread lace imported from this country and from
Handers, and upon point-lace from Genoa, Venice, and
other countries.
I illow-lace, the original manufacture, is worked upon a
hard-stuffed pillow, with silk, flax, or cotton threads, ac¬
cording to a parchment pattern placed upon it, by means
of pins, bobbins, and spindles, which are placed and dis¬
placed, twisting and interweaving the threads, so as to
imitate the pattern designed. I his manufacture has been
long pursued in many counties in England, and at various
places on the Continent. Of the number of persons em¬
ployed on the Continent no estimate can be formed; but
at Brussels alone no less than 10,000 individuals are’ said
to be engaged in the manufacture. It is supposed that
the first lace ever made in this country was that called
Brussels point, in which the network is Wde by bone
bobbins on the pillow, and the pattern and sprio-s are
worked with the needle. This, from different portraits
now in existence, appears to have been the kind worn in
the time of Charles I. and during the reigns of several
subsequent sovereigns. Various improvements have from
time to time taken place in the manufacture of this arti¬
cle ; but, about the year 1778, the point-ground was intro¬
duced by the inhabitants of Buckingham and its neigh¬
bourhood, which quickly superseded all the others. The
origin of the modern pillow-lace may be dated from this
period; but the most striking improvements did not take
place till the commencement of the present century, and
since then, for several years, they were astonishing and
unprecedented. During the war, veils of this lace sold
LAC
at a very high rate ; but their value has been greatly de- Laee.
preciated by the introduction of the new manufacture,
which is the product of machinery. Since 1815, the com¬
petition in this article has been very great, and the manu¬
facture of pillow-lace has consequently declined so much
as to be now in a very languishing condition.
The first who made lace by machinery was a frame¬
work knitter of Nottingham, about the year 1768. This
individual employed his common stocking-frame in the
manufacture; but, about the same time, another person
in the same place introduced a machine ostensibly for
lace, called a pin-machine. Single-pressin imi¬
tation of the Brussels ground, was the article produced.
In 1782 the warp-frame was introduced, and is still in
use for making warp-lace. In 1809, Mr Heathcoat of
Tiverton succeeded in discovering the correct principle
of the bobbin-net frame, and obtained a patent for four¬
teen years for his invention. The expiration of this pa¬
tent, combined with the application of steam-power, which
had now become general, gave a great stimulus to the trade.
The demand became immense, arid prices fell in propor¬
tion as production increased. The Nottingham lace-frame
became the organ of general supply, rivalling and sup¬
planting in plain nets the most finished productions of
France and the Netherlands. In a work relative to this
manufacture, published in 1833, the state of the trade
is given as follows :
Total capital employed in the trade L.1,932,000
Total number of hands employed  159,300
The annual produce in 1831 was estimated at 23,400,000
square yards, worth L.1,891,875. In 1834, above 7,000,000
square yards more were annually produced, an increase
which is understood to have arisen from the new and im¬
proved machinery introduced into the manufacture. A
considerable increase has also taken place in bobbin-
net machinery on the Continent, particularly at Calais,
where, in 1823, there were not thirty-five machines, and
probably not one hundred on the Continent altogether.
According to the authority above mentioned, there are
now above 700 machines at Calais alone; and the total
number on the Continent has been estimated at 1850.
The produce of these machines has been calculated at
9,824,000 square yards of net, of the value of L.570,250.
The manufacture is now beginning to be established in
different parts of Europe, where it has hitherto been un¬
known ; and even from some places in Persia orders have
been received in this country for bobbin-net frames; but
government has restricted the exportation of machinery.
Ihe English manufacture from machinery is now con¬
fined to point-net, warp-net, and bobbin-net, so called from
the peculiar construction of the machines by which they
are produced. There were various other descriptions
made, but they are now discontinued. Nottingham is the
depot of the lace trade; and the supplies collected from
all the surrounding villages, and even from the more dis¬
tant counties where it is manufactured, are thence dis¬
tributed to various quarters of the world. The Notting¬
ham trade is by no means in so prosperous a condition as it
once was; a result which may probably be attributed to
t ie great influx of capital and hands into the trade, which
a successful novelty is at all times calculated to attract.
An extraordinary increase in the powers of production
o lowed ; and as the demand for some time kept pace
with the supply, the latter became a question oi' quantity
rather than of quality, and a great depression of price was
ie consequence. From becoming cheap and common,
ace lost its attractions in the fashionable circles, and has
to a considerable extent been superseded by other kinds
of manufacture. The natural result of the increase in
G0rne6I?aChlnfiry’andithe aPPlication of speedier machines,
is to depress the condition of the workmen, and for some
7
LAC
Lace, time they have suffered much ; nor is any immediate ame-
““'/'“•“■''lioration likely to take place. The following observations
on the importance of the trade to Britain are extracted
from M‘Culloch’s Dictionary of Commerce: “By com¬
paring the value of 1,270,000 lbs. of Sea Island cotton,
worth L.148,000, and about L.l0,000 worth of thrown
silk, which appears to be annually used in this manufac¬
ture, with the manufactured value of the same, worked
into 30,771,000 square yards of bobbin-net, the estimated
value of which is L.l,850,050, the great national utility of
this trade becomes at once evident. A clear surplus of
more than a pound sterling is realized upon every pound
avoirdupois of the raw material, which is distributed over
the trade in rent, profit, andwage^; and this is altogether
independent of the profits arising from embroidering, in
itself a most extensive and important branch. About
half, or perhaps three fourths, of this production is sup¬
posed to be exported in a plain state, chiefly to Ham¬
burg, tbe Leipsic and Frankfort fairs, Antwerp and the
rest of Belgium, to France (contraband), Italy, Sicily,
and North and South America. Of the remainder, three
fourths are sold unembroidered, and the remaining fourth
embroidered, in this country.”
“ The most celebrated laces are,—1. Brussels, the most
valuable. There are two kinds: Brussels ground, having
a hexagon mesh, formed by platting and twisting four
threads of flax to a perpendicular line of mesh : Brussels
wire ground, made of silk; meshes partly straight and
partly arched. The pattern is worked separately, and set
on by the needle. 2. Mechlin ; a hexagon mesh, formed
of three flax threads twisted and platted to a perpendicular
line or pillar. The pattern is worked in the net. 3. Va¬
lenciennes : an irregular hexagonal, formed of two threads,
partly twisted and platted at the top of the mesh. The
pattern is worked in the net similar to Mechlin lace. 4.
Lisle : a diamond mesh, formed of two threads platted to
a pillar. 5. Alencon, called blond: hexagon, of two
threads, twisted similar to Buckingham lace ; considered
the most inferior of any made on the cushion. 6. Alen-
^on point: formed of two threads to a pillar, with octa¬
gon and square meshes alternately.
“ The French nets made by machinery are,—1. Single¬
press point, called, when not ornamented, tulle, and when
ornamented, dentelle, made of silk ; is an inferior net, but
is attractive, from the beautiful manner in which it is stif¬
fened : 2. Trico Berlin ; so called from being invented at
Berlin, and the stitch being removed three needles from
its place of looping; is fanciful and ornamented in ap¬
pearance, but not in demand in England: 3. Fleur de
Tulle, made from the warp-lace machine; mesh of two
descriptions, which gives a shaded appearance to the net:
4. Tulle Anglois is double-pressed point-lace: 5, and 6.
Bobbin-net and warp-net, principally made by English
emigrants, who have settled in France.”
Mr Babbage gives the following account of lace made
by thephcclenapandilld or caterpillar. The invention is
by a gentleman of Munich. He makes a paste of the leaves
of the plant which is the usual food of the species of ca¬
terpillar he employs, and spreads it thinly over a stone
or other flat substance; then, with a camel-hair pencil
dipped in olive oil, he draws upon the coating of paste
the pattern he wishes the insects to leave open. The
stone being placed in an inclined position, a species of
caterpillar which spins a strong web is laid at the bot¬
tom, and,the animals, commencing from that point, eat and
spin their way up to the top, carefully avoiding every
part touched by the oil, but devouring all the rest of the
paste. These veils have not a great deal of strength, but
they are surprisingly light. One of them, measuring
twenty-six inches and a half by seventeen inches, weighed
only 1’51 grain; a degree of lightness which will appear
LAC
more strongly by contrast with other fabrics. One square Lace
yard of the substance of which these veils are made weighs !l
four grains and three fourths, whilst one square yard of silk Lacedie-
gauze weighs 137 grains, and one square yard of the fin- ^ m°n'
est patent net weighs 262^ grains.
Method of Cleaning Gold Lace and Embroidery when
tarnished.—For this purpose alkaline liquors are by no
means to be used; because, whilst they clean the gold,
they corrode the silk, and change or discharge its colour.
Soap also alters the shade, and even the species of certain
colours. But spirit of wine may be employed without any
danger of its injuring either the colour or quality of the
subject; and in many cases it proves as effectual, for re¬
storing the lustre of the gold, as the corrosive detergents.
A rich brocade, flowered with a variety of colours, after
being disagreeably tarnished, had the lustre of the gold
perfectly restored by washing it with a soft brush dipped
in warm spirit of wine ; and some of the colours of the
silk, which were likewise soiled, became at the same time
remarkably bright and lively. Spirit of wine seems to be
the only material adapted to this purpose, and probably
the boasted secret of certain artists is no other than this
spirit disguised. Amongst liquids. Dr Lewis says, he
doesnot knowof any other thatisof sufficient activity in dis¬
charging the foul matter, without being hurtful to the silk.
As to powders, however fine, and however cautiously used,
they scratch and wear the gold, which here is only super¬
ficial, and of extreme tenuity. But though spirit of wine
is the most innocent material that can be employed for
this purpose, it is not in all cases proper. The golden co¬
vering may be in some parts worn off, or the base metal
with which it had been iniquitously alloyed may be cor¬
roded by the air, so as to leave the particles of the gold
disunited, whilst the silver underneath, tarnished to a
yellow hue, may continue of a tolerable colour; in which
cases it is apparent that the removal of the tarnish would
be prejudicial to the colour, and make the lace or em¬
broidery less like gold than it was before. A piece of old
tarnished gold lace, cleaned by spirit of wine, was deprived,
with its tarnish, of the greater part of its golden hue, and
looked almost like silver lace.
Method of separating the Gold and Silver from Lace
xvithout burning *7.—Cut the lace in pieces, and, having-
separated the thread from it by which it was sewed to the
garment, tie it up in a linen cloth, and boil it in soap ley
diluted with water, till it becomes diminished in bulk,
which will require but little time, unless the quantity of
lace be very considerable. Next take out the cloth, and
wash it several times in cold water, squeezing it pretty
hard with your foot, or beating it with a mallet, to clear
it of the soap ley; then untie the cloth, and you will
have the metallic part of the lace pure, and nowhere alter¬
ed in colour or diminished in weight. This method is
much more convenient and less troublesome than the
common way of burning ; and as a small quantity of the
ley will be sufficient, the expense will be trifling, especi¬
ally as the same ley may be used several times, if cleared
of the silky calcination. The ley may be had at the soap¬
boilers, or it may be made of pearl ash and quicklime
boiled together in a sufficient quantity of water. The
reason of this sudden change in the lace will be evident
to those who are acquainted with chemistry. For silk, on
which all our laces are woven, is an animal substance, and
all animal substances are soluble in alkalies, especially
when rendered more caustic by the addition of quicklime ;
but the linen in which it is tied, being a vegetable, will re¬
main unaltered.
Blond Lace> a lace made of fine linen thread or silk,
much in the same manner as that of gold and silver.
LACEDiEMON, in fabulous history, a son of Jupiter,
and Taygeta the daughter of Atlas, who married Sparta
8 LAC
Laced;*;- the daughter of Europa, by whom he had Amyclas, and
rmm Eurydice the wife of Acrisius. He was the first who in¬
i' troduced the worship of the Graces into Laconia, and who
i.ac cs. |)Uiit them a temple. From Laceda;mon and his wife, the
capital of Laconia was called Lacedcemon and Sparta.
Laced^mon, a noble city of Peloponnesus, called also
Sparta, names which differed in this, that the latter was
the proper and ancient name of the city, whereas the for¬
mer was that of the country, though it afterwards came
to be applied to the city. Homer also makes this dis¬
tinction, when he calls the country because encom¬
passed with mountains. It has likewise been known by
the name of Lelegia, from the Leleges, the first inhabi¬
tants of the country, or from Lelex, one of their kings ;
and CEbalia, from CEbalas, the sixth king after Eurotas.
It was called Hecatompolis, from the hundred cities which
the whole province once contained. This city was the
capital of Laconia, situated on the right or western side of
the Eurotas; and it was less in compass than Athens.
Polybius makes it forty-eight stadia, a circuit much infe¬
rior to that of Athens. Lelex is supposed to have been
the first king of Lacedaemon. His descendants, thirteen
in number, reigned successively after him, till the reign
of the sons of Orestes, when the Heraclidae recovered the
Peloponnesus, about eighty years after the Trojan war.
Procles and Eurysthenes, the descendants of the Hera-
clida?, usurped the crown ; and after them it was decreed
that the two families should always sit on the throne to¬
gether. The monarchical power was abolished, and the
race of the Heraclidae extinguished, at Sparta, about 219
years before Christ. Lacedaemon in its flourishing state
remained without walls, the bravery of its citizens forming
its only defence. At length, in Cassander’s time, and
afterwards, when the city was in the hands of tyrants,
the latter, distrusting the defence by arms and bravery,
built a wall around it, which the tyrant Nabis made very
strong. Pausanias ascribes the first walls to the times of
Denletrius and Pyrrhus, under Nabis. More than a cen¬
tury and a half before Christ, the walls of the city were
pulled down by Philopcemen, who was then at the head
of the Achaean League; and Laconia some time afterwards
became a Roman province, when reduced by Mummius.
(See Sparta.) The present city is called Misitra.
LACEDONIA, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in the
province of Principato-Ulteriore. It stands on a hill, is
the seat of a bishop, and contains 4550 inhabitants.
LACE PEDES, a group of small islands on the north¬
western coast of New Holland, extending about thirty-six
miles from north to south, near the shore, and the largest
being about nine miles long. The sui’rounding seas abound
in whales, and fishes of different kinds. Lons'. 117. 8. E
Lat. 16. 43. N.
LACERNA, a coarse, thick garment worn by the Ro¬
mans over their gowns, like a cloak, to keep out the rain
and the cold. It was first used in the camp, but afterwards
admitted into the city. The emperors wore the lacerna of
a purple die. The lacerna, at first very short, was length¬
ened after it became fashionable, which was not till the
civil yy ars and the triumvirate ; before this time it was con¬
fined to the soldiers. Senators were forbidden to wear it
in the city by Valentinian and Theodosius. Martial makes
mention of lacernae worth ten thousand sesterces. Some
confound this garment with the penula ; but it seems ra¬
ther to have resembled the chlamys and birrus.
LACHARIFE-, a city of France, in the department of
the Nievre, and arrondissement of Cosne. It is finely si¬
tuated on the side of a hill, looking down on the Loire.
It contains 590 houses, and 5300 inhabitants, who carry
on the trades of tanners, hatters, serge and button makers.
Long. 2. 56. E. Lat. 47. 10. N.
LACHES (from the French lascher, that is, laxare, or
LAC
lasche ignavus), in the English law, signifies slackness or Laches1
negligence, as appears from Littleton, where laches of en- II
try is a neglect of the heir to enter. Lacquei
LACHESIS, in Mythology, one of the Parcae or Fates.
Her name is derived from ’hayiiv, to measure out by lot.
She presided over futurity, and was represented as spin¬
ning the thread of life, or, according to others, holding the
spindle. She generally appeared covered with a garment
variegated with stars, and holding spindles in her hand.
LACHISH,in Ancient Geography, a city to the southward
of the tribe of Judah. Eusebius and St Jerome inform us,
that in their time there was a village called Lachish, seven
miles southward from Eleutheropolis. Sennacherib be¬
sieged Lachish, but did not take it; after which he sent
Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. It was at Lachish that
King Amaziah was slain by his rebel subjects.
LACHRYMATORY, in Antiquity, a vessel in which
were collected the tears of a deceased person’s friends,
and preserved along with the ashes and the urn. La¬
chrymatories were small glass or earthen bottles, chiefly
in the form of phials. At the Roman funerals, the friends
of the deceased, or the praficce, women hired for that pur¬
pose, used to fill them with their tears, and deposit them
carefully with the ashes, in testimony of their sorrow,
imagining that the manes of the deceased were thereby
comforted and consoled.
LACHSA, Lahsa, or Hajar, a division of Arabia, ex¬
tending along nearly the whole of the south-western coast
of the Persian Gulf, from its entrance at Cape Mussen-
doom, and to a considerable distance inland. Like most
other parts of Arabia, the coast is fertile and well peopled ;
but the interior consists of sandy plains. This country is
famed for a breed of asses and camels, and some thousands
of the latter are annually exported to Syria. It produces
dates, rice, and cotton. The coast from Mussendoom to
Bahrein had become such a refuge for pirates, who inter¬
rupted by their depredations the trade of the Red Sea, that
in 1809 the British government fitted out an expedition at
Bombay for the purpose of chastising them. They suc¬
ceeded in taking by assault Ras-el-Khima, the principal
port on this coast, in November 1809, and, burning seventy
vessels, carried off considerable plunder. The principal
tOYvn is Lachsa, situated a few miles up the river Astan,
which forms at the mouth a species of bay, opposite to
which are the islands of Bahrein, famous for pearls. Long.
48. 34. E. Lat. 26. 56. N.
LACINILJM, in Ancient Geography, a noble promon¬
tory of the Bruttii, in Italy, the southern boundary of the
Sinus Tarentinus and the Adriatic, all to the south of it
being deemed the Ionian Sea. It was famous for a rich
temple of Juno, surnamed Lacinia, with a pillar of solid
gold, which Hannibal intended to carry off; but, accord¬
ing to Cicero, Yvas dissuaded by a dream.
LACONIA, or Laconica, a country in the southern
part of the Peloponnesus, having Argos and Arcadia on
the north, Messenia on the west, the Mediterranean on the
south, and the bay of Argos on the east. Its extent from
north to south was about fifty miles. It was watered by
the river Eurotas. The capital was called Sparta, or La¬
cedaemon.
LACONIUM, whence our term laconic, a short, pithy,
sententious speech, such as the Lacedaemonians were re¬
markable for.
LACQUERS, are varnishes applied upon tin, brass,
and other metals, to preserve them from tarnishing, and
to improve their colour. The basis of lacquers is a solu¬
tion ot the resinous substance called seed-lac, in spirit of
wine. The spirit ought to be very strong, in order to dis¬
solve as much as possible of the lac. For this purpose,
some authors direct dry potash to be thrown into the spi¬
rit. i his alkali attracts the water, with which it forms a
LAC
Lactantius. liquid that subsides distinctly from the spirit at the bottom
^ of the vessel. From this liquid the spirit may be separated
by decantation ; but by such a process the spirit is impreg¬
nated with part of the alkali, which depraves its colour, and
communicates a property to the lacquer of imbibing mois¬
ture from the air. These inconveniences may, however,
be prevented by distilling the spirit; or, if the artist has
not an opportunity of performing that process, he may
cleanse the spirit in a great measure from the alkali, by
adding to it some calcined alum, the acid of which unit¬
ing with the alkali remaining in the spirit, forms therewith
a vitriolated tartar, which, not being soluble in spirit of
wine, falls to the bottom, together with the earth of the de¬
composed alum. To a pint of the purified spirit, about
three ounces of powdered shell-lac are to be added, and
the mixture digested during the same day with a moderate
heat. The liquor ought then to be poured off, strained,
and cleared by settling. This clear liquor is now fit to re¬
ceive the required colour from certain resinous colouring
substances, the principal of which are gamboge and arnot-
to ; the former giving a yellow, and the latter an orange
colour. To give a golden colour, two parts of gamboge
are added to one of arnotto; but these colouring sub¬
stances may be separately dissolved in the tincture of lac,
and the colour required may be adjusted by mixing the
two solutions in different proportions. When silver leaf
or tin is to be lacquered, a larger quantity of the colouring
materials is requisite than when the lacquer is intended to
be laid on brass.
LACTANTIUS, Lucius Coelius Firmianus, an emi¬
nent father of the church, at the beginning of the fourth
century, was, according to Baronins, an African ; but,
according to others, was born at Fermo, in the March of
Ancona, whence it is imagined he was called Firmianus.
He studied rhetoric under Arnobius, and was afterwards
professor thereof in Africa and Nicomedia, where he was
so much admired that the Emperor Constantine chose him
as preceptor to his son Crispus Caesar. Lactantius was so
far from seeking the pleasures and riches of a court, that
he lived there in poverty, and, according to Eusebius,
frequently wanted the necessaries of life. He is justly
accounted the most eloquent of all the ecclesiastical au¬
thors who have written in the Latin language. He form¬
ed himself upon Cicero as a model, and wrote in a style
so remarkable for its purity, natural grace, and smooth¬
ness, that he is generally distinguished by the denomi¬
nation of the Christian Cicero. Several works of his are
still extant, the principal of which are, 1. his Institu-
tiones Divince, a treatise in seven books, of which he made
an abridgment, adding thereto another tract, De Ira Di-
vina ; 2. De Asseribus Dei, in which he treats of the cre¬
ation of man, and of divine providence; 3. Two books to
iEscepiades, eight books of letters, a poem in hexameter
verse, a treatise entitled The Grammarian, and another
Persecutione. It is also believed that the treatise De Mor-
tibusPersecutorum was written by Lactantius. Some works,
however, have been erroneously attributed to this father
of the church. Amongst these may be mentioned the
Phoenix, which is the production of a Pagan, not of a
Christian; the poem upon Easter ; that on the Passion of
Christ; the Arguments upon the Metamorphoses of Ovid ;
and the Notes upon the Thebaid of Statius. Of the two
last productions, the real author was Lactantius Placidius
the grammarian. The prominent characteristic of Lac¬
tantius as a Christian writer is, that he exposes the illu¬
sions of Paganism with great force of reasoning. But he
treats theology more like a philosopher than a divine. He
did not thoroughly understand the nature of the Chris¬
tian mysteries, nor distinguish between the respective
provinces of faith and of reason ; and hence he was betray¬
ed into some errors, of which advantage has been taken by
VOL. XIII.
LAC 9
persons who either knew not, or chose to make no allow- Lactho
ance for, the circumstances in which they originated. The II
best edition of his works is that published at Paris in 1748, Lacydes.
in two vols. 4to. '
LACTHO, a province of India beyond the Ganges,
tributary to the sovereign of Cochin-China. It is bound¬
ed on the south by Lars, on the north and east by Tung-
quin, and on the west by China. This territory has been
but imperfectly explored by Europeans ; but it is de¬
scribed by the Tungquinese as mountainous, rocky, cov¬
ered with jungle, and destitute of navigable rivers, with a
singularly pestilential air, and water very unwholsome,
though the climate is cooler than that of Tungquin. The
interior is inhabited by numerous tribes, little better than
savage, governed by hereditary chiefs, and perpetually at
war with each other. Salt is imported into this country
from Tungquin; also salt-fish, oil, and some silk stuffs
for the chiefs. The exports to Tungquin are chiefly buf¬
faloes and cotton. Shells and cowries form the medium
of exchange. According to information derived from the
Tungquinese, this province contains many extraordinary
natural caverns, which appear to have served the natives
as temples. One cavern is described as a mile across,
perforating a mountain, and another as being entered un¬
der ground in a boat.
LACTIFEROUS,an appellation given to plantsabound-
ingwith a milky juice, as the sow-thistle and various others.
The name of lactiferous, or lactescent, is given to all those
plants which abound with a thick, coloured juice, whatever
may be its colour. Most lactiferous plants are poisonous,
except those with compound flowers, which are generally
of an innocent quality. Of the poisonous lactescent plants,
the most remarkable are sumach, agaric, maple, burning
thorny plant, cassada, celandine, puccoon, prickly poppy,
and the plants of the natural order contortee, as swallow-
wort,apocynum,cynanchum,and cerbera. The bell-shaped
flowers are partly noxious, as cardinal flower; partly in¬
nocent, as campanula. Amongst the lactescent plan*s with
compound flowers that are innocent in their quality, may
be mentioned dandelion, picris, hyoseris, wild lettuce, gum
succory, hawkweed, bastard hawkweed, hypochoeris, goat’s
beard, and most species of lettuce.
LACUNAR, in Architecture, an arched roof or ceiling,
more especially the planking or flooring above porticos or
piazzas.
LACYDES was born at Cyrene, a city on the northern
coast of Africa. Of his personal history we are able to
collect a few facts from Suidas and Diogenes Laertius.
He was the son of a certain Alexander, of whom we know
nothing except the name, and that his poverty exposed
his son to many hardships. The love of learning drew
Lacydes to Athens at the time when Arcesilaus had become
the founder of what has been called the Middle Academy.
He became the pupil of Arcesilaus, and by his acuteness
and varied acquirements soon procured for himself the
friendship of his instructor. On the death of Arcesilaus
he succeeded to the vacant chair, b. c. 241, and presided
in the academy for twenty-six years; at the end of which he
abdicated, b. c. 215, in favour of two of his disciples, Evan-
der and Telechus. Laertius asserts that he deserted the
tenets of Arcesilaus; but Cicero {Acad. iv. 6) states that he
continued to teach the same doctrines as his predecessor.
He taught that there was no certainty in philosophical
knowledge ; and that in all purely speculative subjects we
must refrain from coming to a decision, because the mind of
man cannot sufficiently distinguish truth from falsehood.
He does not, however, appear to have carried these scepti¬
cal opinions into the every-day affairs of life, but to have
restricted them to philosophy and science ; though his op¬
ponents asserted, and with much reason, that such doc¬
trines as he advocated tended to undermine all virtue
B
10 LAD
Ladder and morality. Lacydes was the friend of Attains king of
Pergamus, and was invited by him to take up his residence
Ladrones. ^jg court. Jjg answered, that philosophers admired
V Y^*_ the portraits of kings most at a distance. The latter part
of his life was spent, if we can credit the statements
handed down to us, very differently from his early years.
He gave himself up to every kind of debauchery, and his
passion for wine replaced the taste for study. Athenaeus
(x. 10) states that he was the greatest wine-bibber of his
age, and often came off victorious in contests of that kind.
He at last died in consequence of one of his excesses.
LADDER, a frame made with a number of steps, by
means of which people ascend, as by a stair, to places
otherwise inaccessible.
Scaling Ladders, in the military art, are used in scaling
when a place is to be taken by surprise or escalade.
LADEN, in nautical language, the state of a ship
when she is charged with a weight or quantity of any sort
of merchandise, or other materials, equal to her tonnage
or burden. If the cargo with which she is laden be ex¬
tremely heavy, her burden is determined by the weight
of the goods ; if it be light, she carries as much as she can
stow, that she may be fit for the purposes of navigation.
As a ton in measure is generally estimated at 2000 lbs. in
weight, a vessel of two hundred tons ought accordingly
to carry a weight equal to 400,000 lbs. when the matter of
which the cargo is composed is specifically heavier than
the vrater in which she floats; or, in other words, when
the cargo is so heavy that she cannot float high enough
with so great a quantity of it as her hold will contain.
Laden in Bulk, the state of being freighted with a
cargo which is neither in casks, boxes, bales, nor cases,
but lies loose in the hold, being defended from the mois¬
ture or wet of the hold by a number of mats and a quan¬
tity of dunage. Such are usually the cargoes of corn, salt,
or such materials.
LADERNOJE-POLE, a circle in the Russian province
of Olonez, extending over 660 square miles. It is so
woody, marshy, and cold, that a small part only of it is ca¬
pable of cultivation, and it contains not more than 23,500
inhabitants. The capital is the town of the same name
situated on the river Swir. Near to it, Peter the Great
formed his establishment for building his fleets. It is now
a small place, with few and poor inhabitants. Long. 34.
23. E. Lat. 60. 45. N. It is about 170 miles from St Pe¬
tersburg.
LADIK, or Ladikieh, a town of Asia Minor, which
occupies the site of the ancient Laodicea. The only ves¬
tiges that remain of this ancient place are fragments of
marble columns, and a few capitals and pedestals of pillars,
which the Turks have converted into tomb-stones. The
modern town is built of mud, and contains 400 or 500 in¬
habitants. It is thirty miles west of Konieh.
LADISLAUS, the names of several kings of Poland.
See Poland.
LADOGA, a lake in Russia, situated between the gulfs
of Onega and Finland, measuring 150 miles by ninety, and
considered as the largest in Europe. Peter the Great cut
a canal sixty-seven miles in length from the south-west¬
ern extremity of the lake, thus opening a communication
between it and the Gulf of Finland.
LADOS Isles, a group of high, rugged, small islands,
running in ridges from the mountains to the sea, with
beautiful intervening valleys. They are situated off the
north-west coast of the Malay peninsula. Long. 99. 40.
E. Lat. 6. 5. N.
LADRONES, or Mariana Islands, a cluster of small
islands in the North Pacific Ocean, off the southern extre¬
mity of China, and stretching 450 miles from north to
south. Ihese islands are fourteen, or, according to others,
sixteen in number; namely, Guam or St John, the largest,
L jE L
Zarpane or Rota, Aguignan or St Ann, Tinian, Saypan or Lady
St Joseph, Anatachan or St Joachim, Sarigan or St Charles, I!
Guguam or St Philip, Amalagan or Conception Isle, Pagon Lsehus
or St Ignatius, Agrigan or St Xavier, Assonsong or As- , al)iens-
sumption Island, and Urac, a desert isle. With the adja¬
cent islands, the Ladrones are so near to the continent
that they appear like disjointed fragments from the main¬
land. The islands to the eastward of the great Ladrone
are high and uneven, and the depth of water amongst them
is about twenty fathoms. Those to the westward are of a
more even surface, and appear like a continued land, and
the water amongst them is shoaler. These islands have
a very barren and unpromising aspect, having scattered
patches of verdure in particular spots, but their general
appearance being little better than naked rocks, with
scarcely a tree or shrub visible. These islands have been
celebrated by the author of Anson’s Voyage, as little short
of a terrestrial paradise. It was in 1742 that Anson’s
wearied crew landed on them, wasted with sickness and a
long sea-voyage, and naturally delighted with the appear¬
ance of land in any form; and these islands were, besides,
at that time in a state of cultivation. Having since been
neglected, they are now overrun with the rank vegeta¬
tions of a tropical climate; and when the island was visited
by subsequent navigators, amongst others by Byron, it was
found to be an uninhabitable wilderness, overgrown with
impenetrable thickets. The reason of this change was,
that, owing to the oppressive policy of the Spaniards, by
whom these islands had been conquered, the inhabitants,
some time previous to Anson’s visit, had been removed to
another island, and had left behind them, in the improved
state of the country, proofs of their industry and civiliza¬
tion. Cotton and indigo trees abound, and generally all
the productions of the tropical climates. Wild hogs are
abundant, and of a very large size. The inhabitants are
tall in their persons, and very active and robust; they are
rude in their habits, and follow blindly the ignorant super¬
stition of their priests, who instruct them in the belief of
a malignant spirit, whom they appease by certain cere¬
monies. Long, of the Great Ladrone, 113. 44. E. Lat. 21.
52. N.
LADY, a title derived from two Saxon words, signify¬
ing loaf-day, words which have in time been contracted
into the present appellation. It properly belongs only to
the daughters of earls, and all of higher rank ; but custom
has made it a word of complaisance for the wives of all
gentlemen. As to the original application of this expres¬
sion, it may be observed, that in former times it was the
fashion for opulent families to live constantly at their
mansion-houses in the country, where once a week, or
ottener, the lady of the manor distributed to her poor
neighbours, with her owm hands, a certain quantity of
bread.
LADY-Day, in L^aw, the 25th of March, being the an¬
nunciation of the Holy Virgin.
LAERNE, a town of the Netherlands, in the province
of East Handers, and arrondissement of Oudenarde, con¬
taining 530 houses, and 3300 inhabitants.
LTELIUS Sapiens, C., w'as the son of C. Lmlius Ne-
pos, and distinguished by his love of philosophy in an age
when war still continued to be regarded as the only em¬
ployment worthy of a Roman. He was the pupil of Dio¬
genes the stoic, and afterwards of Eanaetius. (Cic. Fin.
ii. 8.) He was the intimate friend and companion of
Scipio Africanus the younger, and attended him in his
expedition into Africa wdien he took Carthage, u. c. 146.
(Appian. Pun. 126.) He wras then employed as praetor
in Lusitania, where he obtained considerable advantages
over Viriathus. (Cic. Off. ii. 11.) He was elected con¬
sul along with Servilius Caepio (b. c. 140); but notwith¬
standing the able manner in which he discharged the du-
LAG
Lsena ties of the office, he did not succeed in being re-elected,
II a circumstance which Cicero laments in most feeling lan-
Lagrange. gUage. (Tusc.x.lS.) Laelius spent much of his time in
’ Y^m~ the country, devoting himself parti}' to rural occupations,
and partly to study. The mildness of his disposition, and
the equanimity of his temper, are noticed by Horace,
when he speaks of mitis sapientia, Lcelii. (Sat. ii. 1.)
He was the intimate friend of Pacuvius and Terence ;
and it is said that he and Scipio assisted the latter in the
composition of some of his plays. It was no doubt his
friendship with Scipio that induced Cicero to place the
name of Laelius at the head of his beautiful essay on
Friendship. The interlocutors are Laelius himself* and his
two sons-in law, C. Fannius and Q.. Mucius Scaevola.
LiENA, in Antiquity, was a gown worn by the Roman
augurs, and peculiar to their office. In this gown they
covered their heads when they made their observation on
the flight of birds, and other omens.
LflSSTRYGONES, the most ancient inhabitants of Si¬
cily. Some suppose them to be the same as the people
of Leontium, and to have been neighbours to the Cyclops.
They fed on human flesh ; and when Ulysses landed on
their coasts, they sunk his ships and devoured his com¬
panions. According to Homer’s description, they were of
a gigantic stature. A colony of them is supposed to have
passed over into Italy with Lamus at their head, where
they built the town of Formiae; and hence the epithet of
Lastryyonia, is often used for that of Formiana.
LyEVIUS, a Latin poet, whose age is unknown, but
who probably lived before the age of Cicero. A poem of
his, entitled Erotopagnia, or Love-Games, is quoted by
Aulus Gellius. Apuleius also quotes six lines from the
same poet, but he does not state from what work he bor¬
rowed them. Lsevius had also composed a poem entitled
the Centaurs, which Festus quotes under the title of Pe-
trarum.
LAGEMAN (Lagammannus) homo habens legem, or
homo legalis seu legitimus, or, as we now say, “ good men
of the jury.” The word is frequently used in Domesday,
and the laws of Edward the Confessor.
LAGEN (Lagena), in ancient time, was a measure of
wine, containing six sextarii, and from which is probably
derived owe flagon. Sir Peter Leicester, in his Antiqui¬
ties of Cheshire, interprets lagena vini to mean a bottle
of wine.
LAGONEGRO, a city, the capital of a district of the
same name, in the province of Basilicata, of the kingdom
of Naples. It is situated in the valley of Sorgipiano, on
the banks of the river of that name, in a fertile and beau¬
tiful spot, filled with villas. The population is 5150.
LAGOS, a city of Portugal, the capital of the province
of Algarve. It is a seaport, in a bay of the same name,
celebrated for the naval victory obtained in it by Admiral
Rodney over the Spanish fleet commanded by Don Juan
de Langara, in the American war. The vicinity of Lagos
is very mountainous, and abounds with woods, which are
converted into charcoal, with which fuel it supplies a
great portion of the south of Spain and Portugal. It is
fortified and well built, has two parish churches, three
monasteries, two hospitals, one alms-house, 801 houses,
and 4050 inhabitants. A small harbour, guarded by two
forts, is good, and can contain a whole fleet. It trades in
wine, oil, figs, and corn, and has sumptuous aqueducts.
LAGRANGE, Joseph Louis, a mathematician and as¬
tronomer of the first rank, born at Turin on the 25th of
January 1736, was the son of Joseph Louis Lagrange,
treasurer at war, and Maria Theresa Gros, only daughter
of a rich physician at Cambiano.
He was the eldest of eleven children, but nine of them
died young. His family was of French extraction on both
sides ; and his French biographers have dwelt with plea-
L A G 11
sure on the minute particulars of their emigration, in orderLagrange.
the more fully to authenticate their own claim to the ho-
nour of calling him their natural as well as adopted country¬
man. It was his great grandfather that first settled at
Turin, in the service of Emmanuel II., who married him
to a Roman lady of the family of Conti. They had at
one time acquired considerable affluence, but his father
had ruined himself by his expenses and speculations ; and
Lagrange used frequently to observe, that he owed his
own success in life to his father’s misfortunes, since, if he
had been rich, he should never have applied to the mathe¬
matics as a profession. The classics were at first his fa¬
vourite study at the college of Turin ; he began his scien¬
tific education with reading the works of the ancient geo¬
metricians, and at first preferred their methods of investi¬
gation to the more modern analysis ; but being convinced,
as it is said, by a paper of Halley in the Philosophical
Transactions, of the superiority of the algebraical mode of
representation, he applied with redoubled ardour, at the
age of seventeen, to the study of the later improvements
in the methods of investigation; and in his subsequent
works he abandoned, wherever it was practicable, all geo¬
metrical considerations, and seems to have valued himself
on having produced a complete system of mechanics, free
from the incumbrance of any diagram whatever. When
he was only nineteen, he was made professor of geometry
in the Royal School of Artillery, but not before he had
exhibited, in his first publication, a specimen of the im¬
provements which he was throughout his life to contribute
to the mathematical sciences.
The friendships which he formed wdth his pupils, most
of whom were his seniors, led to the establishment of a
society which afterwards received the sanction of the royal
authority, and to the publication of their memoirs, in which
Lagrange not only took the most active part as a contri¬
butor of original papers, but also by materially assisting in
the demonstrations of Foncenex, and promoting the re¬
searches of Cigna and Saluces. Foncenex was soon re¬
warded by being placed at the head of the maritime estab¬
lishment which the king was then forming ; and Lagrange
received in a short time a still more flattering remunera¬
tion, in the panegyrics which were liberally bestowed on
him by his great rivals Euler and D’Alembert; the former
procured him, in 1759, the compliment of being made a
foreign member of the Academy of Berlin, having become
well acquainted with his merits by an epistolary intercourse,
which began as early as the year 1754, when Lagrange
communicated to him his first ideas of the solution of iso-
perimetrical problems, which Euler had the delicacy to
allow him time to complete, before the publication of his
own further researches on the subject.
In 1764 he obtained a prize from the Academy of Sci¬
ences at Paris, for a memoir on the difficult subject of the
libration of the moon, having treated it by an original me¬
thod, derived from the principle of virtual velocities, which
he afterwards applied so successfully to other branches of
mechanics. Soon after this time he found an agreeable re¬
lief from the monotony and retirement of his life at Turin,
in accompanying his friend the Marquis Caraccioli, who
was appointed ambassador at the court of London, as far
as Paris, where he had the delight of becoming personally
acquainted with a number of the most distinguished ma¬
thematicians of the age, who were capable of appreciating
his merits, especially with Clairaut, D’Alembert, Condor-
cet, Fontaine, Nollet, and the Abbe Marie ; but indisposi¬
tion prevented his going on to England, as he had intend¬
ed, and he returned to Turin after a short stay in France.
A second prize, on the subject of the satellites of Jupiter,
was awarded him in 1766 ; and the same tribute was again
paid to his merit on three subsequent occasions. It was
in this year that he was invited to BeVlin, as a successor to
12 LAGR
Lagrange. Euler in the place of mathematical director of the aca-
demy, Euler having been induced to remove to Peters¬
burg, by a better prospect of providing for his numerous
family. The appointment of president of the academy,
held by Maupertuis, had been given but in part to Euler;
the whole was offered to D’Alembert, who declined it;
but both he and Euler united in recommending Lagrange
as the fittest person for the situation. It was, however,
with some difficulty that he obtained his sovereign’s leave
to quit Turin ; and the favour was at last granted to
him partly in pique, on account of the terms of the invi¬
tation, which expressed the desire of the “ greatest king
in Europe” to have the greatest mathematician at his
court.
At Berlin he pursued his career of study in tranquillity
and without interruption, upon a competent income of
about L.300 a year, with the advantage of such demon¬
strations of the royal protection as were still more import¬
ant than income to his rank in society. The king seems
to have preferred him to Euler, as more tolerant in his
opinions, though by no means joining in all the innova¬
tions of the day, and rather avoiding every discussion re¬
lating to them, as well as any great familiarity with his
patron. He was made, in 1772, one of the eight foreign
associates of the Parisian Academy. He is said to have
married more for the sake of complying with the universal
custom of his friends and colleagues at Berlin, than for
any desire of female society ; and he invited a relation of
his own from Turin, who became his first wife ; but she
was soon after carried off by a lingering disease. He was
about this time very closely employed on his greatest and
best work, the Mecanique Analytique; but it w as with
some difficulty that the Abbe Marie found a bookseller at
Paris, who agreed to undertake its publication, and only
upon condition of engaging himself to divide the loss, in
case of failure in the sale. He also procured the valuable
assistance of Mr Legendre as a corrector of the press.
Upon the death of Frederic in 1786, Lagrange no long¬
er felt the same interest in remaining at Berlin, though
he was not treated by the new court w ith any thing like
disrespect. While the ministers of Naples, Sardinia, and
Tuscany, were making him offers on behalf of their respec¬
tive sovereigns, Mirabeau persuaded the French ambassa¬
dor at Berlin to recommend Mr de Vergennes to invite
him to Paris; but it wras in reality through Mr de Bre-
teuil’s interest, and at the suggestion of the Abbe Marie,
that he was ultimately induced to settle there in 1787,
having received a grant of an income equal to that wdiich
he had enjoyed at Berlin, under the name of a veteran
pensioner of the academy, with a vote in its deliberations.
He was kindly received by Marie Antoinette, on account
of his connection with Germany ; and, until the Revolu¬
tion, he had the use of apartments in the Louvre.
It w7as at this period of his life, when his success had
been die most gratifying, and his fame had become per¬
fectly established, that he appeared to suffer under a de-
giee of melancholy or apathy, which was absolutely mor¬
bid. He confessed that all his enthusiasm was extinguish¬
ed, and that he no longer felt the least relish for mathe¬
matical researches. He had not even the curiosity for
two years to open the printed volume of his Mechanics,
which he had never seen except in manuscript. It is a
consolation to think, that this annihilation of his energies
was only partial and temporary. He amused himself irnfie
mean time with metaphysics, “ wdth the history of reli¬
gions” and of languages, and with medical and botanical,
and especially chemical studies; and the alarms and a^i-
tations of the Revolution, which soon followed, instead of
overwhelming his broken spirit, seem to have roused his
dormant powers, and to have revived his satisfied ambition,
exciting him to new labours and new triumphs.
A N GE.
In 1791 his name appeared on the list of the foreign Lagrange,
members of the Royal Society of London. Mr Maurice v—-~v~—
has asserted, that all the scientific bodies of Europe, except
the Royal Society, received him with open arms; if the
remark was intended as a censure of that society, it is right
that its injustice should not pass unnoticed.
Notwithstanding the public embarrassments which at¬
tended the Revolution, Lagrange’s pension was confirmed
by the National Assembly, upon the proposition of Mr
Dusejour, in the most flattering manner ; and when the
depreciation of the currency materially reduced its amount,
he received a partial indemnification, by being appointed
a member of a committee for examining useful inventions,
and afterwards a director of the mint, in conjunction with
Berthollet and Mongez ; but this employment he found too
laborious, and resigned it six months afterwards. He was
greatly interested at this period in the establishment of
the new system of weights and measures ; he was so vio¬
lently bent on decimation, that he scarcely forgave Borda
for having made a measure of a quarter of a metre ; and he
thought so little of the advantage of integral subdivisions,
that he sometimes declared he should have preferred the
number eleven to twelve, for the very reason that it ad¬
mitted no subdivision at all, and caused all lesser quanti¬
ties to be expressed in units comparable to each other only.
This opinion seems, however, to have been advanced ra¬
ther as an exaggerated objection to the introduction of
twelve, which was suggested by some more ardent innova¬
tors, than as seriously attributing a real advantage to the
employment of a prime number.
When the academies were suppressed, the Jacobins pu¬
rified the commission of weights and measures by striking
out the names of many of its most distinguished members,
while they retained that of Lagrange, probably because he
was of no political party whatever, and had always been
particularly cautious in expressing his sentiments of the
events of the day. In October 1793, however, a decree
was passed, which ordered all persons not born in France
to leave the country. Guyton, who was a member of the
committee of public safety, advised him to claim an exemp¬
tion from its operation, by a requisition of that committee,
on the pretext of his being employed in preparing a report
on Dr Hutton’s Ireatise on Gunnery ; and he actually re¬
ceived an injunction from the committee, requiring his
stay, “ in order to complete the calculations which he had
undertaken respecting the theory of projectiles.” He was
attempting to reunite the experiments of Dr Hutton with
a more correct theory than had before been applied to
them; but he published nothing of importance on the
subject. After the murder of Badly and Lavoisier, he had
agreed to return to Berlin, and to resume his former situ¬
ation there; and he was on the point of obtaining a pass¬
port, and even a public mission from Herault de Sechelles.
But the establishment, first of the Normal School, in which
he was a professor, and then of the Ecole Polytechnique,
induced him to remain at Paris, and again directed his ac¬
tivity into its ancient channels. In the Normal Schools
the masters were mixed with their pupils, in order that
the facilities of conversation might produce a develop¬
ment of the subjects discussed in the most elementary
manner that was possible ; but the conversation was by no
means supported in the form of incessant questions and
answers; Lagrange’s explanations were often interrupted
by moments of silence, in which his inventive faculties
were deeply engaged in reflection, and the whole of his
powers were concentrated on a new train of ideas. It was
amidst these discussions that the Theory of Analytical
Functions originated, a work certainly not destitute of the
marks of great mathematical talent, but which, when con¬
sidered as a substitute for the method of fluxions and its
kindred doctrines, resembles very much the suggested in-
LAGRANGE. 13
Lagrange, troduction of an undecimal in preference to a duodecimal
N——scale of notation, with which the author had before amused
himself.
Upon the re-establishment of the Institute, Lagrange
was made one of the original members; and he was the
first on the list of the Board of Longitude, which was then
first instituted at Paris. He received about this time a
compliment highly grateful both to his love of fame and
to his filial affection, in the person of his father, then past
ninety, and continuing to reside at Turin. By the direc¬
tion of Talleyrand, who was minister for foreign affairs,
the commissary of the directory of Piedmont, attended by
the generals of the French army, and several other per¬
sons of distinction, went in procession to congratulate this
venerable person on the merits of his son, whom he had
not seen for more than thirty years, whom they declared
“ to have done honour to mankind by the brilliancy of his
genius, and whom Piedmont was proud to have produced,
and France to possess as a citizen.” I he old man lived
to the age of ninety-five, and was sincerely regretted by
his son.
Under the consular and imperial government, Lagrange
was made a senator, a grand officer of the legion of ho¬
nour, a count of the empire, and a knight grand cross of
the order of reunion, in addition to the personal marks of
friendship and intimacy which Bonaparte habitually con¬
ferred upon him at the meetings of the Institute, and on
other occasions.
He applied with so much zeal to the republication of
the first part of his Mechanics in 1811, and of his Analy¬
tical Functions'm 1813, that his health is supposed to have
suffered from the fatigue ; which, in conjunction with a pre¬
disposition, not uncommon in advanced life, may very pos¬
sibly have been the immediate cause of a fit that attacked
him in the beginning of the latter year. In the month of
March he was subject to frequent returns of fainting, ac¬
companied by some fever. On the 8th of April he had a
last conversation with Lacepede, Monge, and Chaptal, all
the parties being aware that it was to be the last. He
felt the approach of death, but he declared that it was in
that form neither painful nor even disagreeable. He spoke
with proper gratitude of the favours he had received from
Bonaparte, who afterwards provided very liberally for his
widow and his brother. The interview lasted more than
two hours ; and though his memory often failed him with
respect to names and dates, yet his language was correct
and energetic. He survived this effort only two days,
and died on the morning of the 10th April 1813. He
was buried at the Pantheon, or the church of St Gene¬
vieve, and his friends Lacepede and Laplace paid the last
honours to his memory in a funeral oration.
Lagrange was habitually of delicate health, and ex¬
tremely temperate in his diet and mode of life, limiting
his food almost entirely to vegetables, and taking his ex¬
ercise very punctually in the open air. At the age of
fifty-six he married the young and handsome Miss Le-
monnier, who appears to have felt the splendour of his
celebrity and the goodness of his heart, as affording much
more than a compensation for the great inequality of their
ages. Fie was deeply sensible of her affectionate attach¬
ment, which he considered as the greatest happiness of his
life, and on account of which alone be regretted its ter¬
mination. He had no children, and he was perfectly con¬
tented to be without them. In the midst of the most
brilliant societies he was generally absorbed in his own
reflections ; and especially when there was music, in which
he delighted, not so much for any exquisite pleasure that he
received from it, as because, after the first three or four
bars, it regularly lulled him into a train of abstract thought,
and he heard no more of the performance, except as a sort
of accompaniment assisting the march of his most difficult
investigations, which he thus pursued with comfort and Lagrange,
convenience. He was less fond of the theatre, from which —v—
he often returned without knowing what piece had been
represented. His manner in conversation was gentle and
timid; he was more in the habit of interrogating than of
giving his opinion, and his favourite expression was, “ I
don’t know” .... He was not, however, easily induced
to change his sentiments when they were once fixed, hav¬
ing generally adopted them upon mature consideration.
As a writer, whenever any controversy occurred, he was
always calm in defending himself, and respectful in speak¬
ing of his antagonists. Notwithstanding that his person
was striking and characteristic as well as pleasing, he
would never consent to have his portrait painted, think¬
ing it unworthy of a man of intellectual excellence to
wish to be remembered for the external form of his fea¬
tures. But a sketch of him was once obtained by stealth
at a sitting of the Institute, and a mask of his face was
taken after his death. His works bear witness, that for
fifty-four years he occupied either the first or very nearly
the first place among all the mathematicians of his age,
and of all ages. “ Of all the inventors,” says Laplace,
“ who have the most contributed to the advancement of
human knowledge, Newton and Lagrange appear to me
to have possessed in the highest degree that happy tact,
which enabled them to distinguish general principles
among a multitude of objects enveloping them, and which
is the true characteristic of scientific genius. This tact,
in Lagrange, was united with a singular elegance in the
method of explaining the foundations of the most abstract
truths of analysis.” Lagrange was a great admirer of
Euler, who perhaps excelled him in the adroitness with
which he employed the most refined artifices of calcula¬
tion, though his views and methods were less original and
less powerful. D’Alembert was highly esteemed by La¬
grange, as a man of abundant ingenuity and talent, though
less accurate in his conclusions, and in his modes of rea¬
soning, than either Euler or Newton. Newton he en¬
vied almost as much as he admired, for having found a
system of the world in existence, and the principles of its
modification not yet understood; but when it is remem¬
bered that the places of the heavenly bodies are now as¬
certained to seconds more nearly than they were to mi¬
nutes during the life of Newton, it cannot be thought that
Newton left too little for his successors to accomplish.
1. His first publication, at the age of eighteen, was a
Letter to C. J. Fagnano, 23d June 175F. It contains se¬
ries for fluxions and fluents of different orders, somewhat
resembling the binomial theorem of Newton.
2. The series of his papers in the Miscellanies of Turin
is continued from 1759 to 1785. The first is on Maxima
and Minima, Misc. Taur. i. 1759, p. 18. It is founded
on the principles laid down by Maclaurin, and is illustrat¬
ed by the case of the successive transmission of an im¬
pulse through a series of elastic bodies, comprehending
the combination of a number of variable quantities. 3.
On an Equation of Finite Differences, and on the Theory
of recurring Series, p. 33. The equation is resolved by
an exponential integral, and the sum of the series is ob¬
tained by the principles of fluxions; the same mode of
calculation is also applied to the laws of chance. 4. Re¬
searches on the Nature and Propagation of Sound: end
of the volume. The investigations of Taylor and of New¬
ton were true and correct as particular solutions only of
the problems of chords and of undulations, though mis¬
taken for general solutions, and as such successfully com¬
bated by Cramer, whose reasoning, though certainly too
far extended, is here approved by Lagrange. Daniel
Bernoulli very successfully defended them both, not only
as particular solutions, but as capable of being rendered
universal by proper modifications and combinations. Eu-
14
LAGRANGE.
Lagrange, ler had proposed a more general construction for the case
of chords ; D’Alembert insisted that this method required
a limitation to figures exempt from angles and from abrupt
changes of curvature, and Lagrange is inclined to admit
his exceptions. But, after all, the question is merely a
metaphysical refinement, since no abrupt changes can ever
occur in the actual form of a chord; and a chord afford¬
ing a harmonic of unlimited acuteness will approach with¬
out limit to a mathematical angle. The author begins, in
this essay, with considering the motions of a finite num¬
ber of bodies, and then proceeds to the affections of a
fluid, which he reduces to the same equations as are ap¬
plicable to the motions of chords, and these he integrates
in D’Alembert’s manner. He lastly examines the pheno¬
mena of the grave harmonics observed by Tartini, and
explains them very satisfactorily from the analogy of the
beats of discordant sounds. 5. New Researches on Sound,
Misc. Taur. ii. 1760-1, p. 11. The same subject is here
continued, and extended to the divergence of sound, which
had before been examined by Euler. The author now ad¬
mits that there is no inconsistency in the demonstration
of Newton and Cramer, which deduce the same velocity
from different laws of the supposed motion, since the velo¬
city is really uniform in all cases. The oscillations of a
heavy chain are computed, and some remarks are made in
conclusion respecting the sounds of flutes. 6. On the Maxi¬
ma and Minima of Indefinite Integrals, p. 173. This essay
contains the foundation ofthemethod of independent varia¬
tions, which has excited so much attention, for the univer¬
sality of its application and the utility of its results. It was
received with distinguished applause by Euler, as fulfilling
his own wishes for the extension of a similar method ; and
it was Euler who more fully explained its principles, and
gave it the name of the method of variations, which has
since been generally applied to it. In fact, however, the
foundation of the method had long before been laid by
Leibnitz, under the name of differentiation from curve to
curve; and he had proved that the process of integration,
with respect to one kind of variation, might be applied to
the differentials or fluxions taken in another manner, with¬
out the necessity of first obtaining the fluent; and Euler
had employed this consideration in treating of the geome¬
trical properties of curves affording maxima or minima; but
his method is less simple and less general than that of
Lagrange, who first pointed out the universality of the
principle, that the variation of the fluxion is equal to the
fluxion of the variation, and showed its utility in many
cases of such integrations, as leave the expression con¬
cerned still a fluxion of another kind; and in the me¬
chanical application of the method, he made the fluxion
of the ordinate of a vibrating chord represent its inclina¬
tion to the axis at any given time, whilst its variation in¬
dicated its velocity or its change of place in successive in¬
tervals of time, and the fluxion of a revolving solid to re¬
late to the magnitude of its different parts, whilst its vari¬
ation depended on its rotatory velocity. The steps of the
method are generally simple and easily understood, at
least they may and ought to be rendered so; but the
merit of the invention is not the less because it admits
of a very ready application, and because it might have oc¬
curred to a less distinguished mathematician; as indeed
something nearly resembling it seems to have been em-
ployed by Fontaine in 1734<, under the name of thefluxio-
difterential calculus, in the investigation of a tautochro-
nous curve. 7. It was particularly in demonstrating the
law which is called the law of the least action, that La¬
grange completed the theory of variations, where Euler
had felt its deficiency; and the Application of the Method
to several Mechanical Problems constitutes the second
part of the Memoir, p. 106. The author takes occasion
also to correct an error of D’Alembert, who had imagined
that there was no necessity that the different strata of a Lagrange,
given density, in a body like the earth, supposed to be in a
state of fluidity, should all be level, which, however, is here
shown to be a necessary consequence of D’Alembert’s own-
equations. 8. Addition to the Memoir on Sound, p. 323 ;
admitting the difficulty raised by D’Alembert respecting the
continuity of the figure of a chord, and acknowledging
that the initial figure must not be supposed angular;
while, in fact, as Mr Fourier has lately demonstrated, and
as had been remarked many years ago in this country, an
infinite series of harmonic curves may approach infinitely
near to two right lines meeting in an angle. 9. Problems
relating to the Integral Calculus, Misc. Taur. iii. 1762-5,
p. 179 : a miscellaneous paper, containing remarks on
the resolution of equations, containing fluxions of differ¬
ent orders; on some cases of the motions of fluids; on
the vibrations of chords ; on the properties of small oscil¬
lations in general; on loaded threads ; on central forces ;
and on the theory of Jupiter and Saturn. 10. An Arith¬
metical Problem, Misc. Taur. iv. 1766-9, p. 44. This
paper, dated at Berlin, contains a complete resolution of
all equations of the second degree, having whole num¬
bers for their roots ; a problem, like most of those of Fer¬
mat, of more curiosity than utility, but well calculated
to exercise the powers of minds like those of Euler,
Lagrange, Legendre, and Gauss. The question which
is the particular subject of this paper was proposed as
a challenge by Fermat to his contemporaries in Eng¬
land, and correctly answered by Wallis, though without
a very satisfactory demonstration. 11. Integration of an
Equation, p. 98: a case in which the whole equation is
integrable, though its parts, even when properly separat¬
ed, are incapable of perfect integration. 12. On the me¬
thod of variations, p. 163 : in answer to Fontaine, and to
Le Seur and Jacquier, who had attacked him in their in¬
tegral Calculus. 13. On the Motion of a Body attracted
by two fixed Centres, p. 188-216, including the effects of
different supposed laws of attraction. 14. On the Figure
of Columns, p. 123. This memoir contains an attempt to
demonstrate that the cone is a more advantageous figure
for the strength of a column than any conoid, and the
cylinder than any cone. But the calculations are found¬
ed on the erroneous supposition that the column must
bend before it breaks; and, even upon this hypothesis, it
appears possible to assign a stronger form than a cylin¬
der, since the summit and the base of the cylinder must
certainly contain some useless matter. 15. On the Mean
of a number of Observations, p. 167 ; showing the advan¬
tage of taking the mean from the theory of probabilities.
16. On the Impulse of Fluids, Mem. Taur. 1784-5, i. p.
75. Ihe author observes, that this impulse will be mea¬
sured by a column of twice the height due to the velocity
when the whole impulse of the jet is received by an ob¬
stacle, but of the simple height when a limited surface is
exposed to the force of a larger stream. 17. On the In¬
tegration of some irrational Fluxions, ii. p. 218; involving
the square root of an expression ascending to the fourth
power of the variable quantity.
18. Some of the later of these papers are subsequent in
date to those which are found in the Memoirs of ihe Aca¬
demy of Berlin ; but the order of enumeration is of little
consequence. The first communication of Lagrange to
the academy, of which he was made director, is on Tau-
tochronous Curves, Mem. Berl. 1765, p. 364. The paper
is dated 1/67 ; and it contains a completion of Fontaine’s
investigation of the subject. 19. On the expected Tran-
sit of Venus, 1766, p. 265. The author has here analyti¬
cally investigated the curves of immersion and emersion
for the different parts of the earth. But, as Mr Delambre
observes, in order to arrive at the very easy and tolerably
accurate solution previously given by Delille and Lalande,
LAGRANGE.
Lagrange, he is obliged to employ in succession several elaborate ex-
''—~v—»-'/pedients, founded on some very subtile principles, accom¬
panied by various transformations of his ordinates, while,
by a trigonometrical calculation of a few lines, we may
obtain a more complete formula, comprehending even the
terms which he has neglected, and which, although very
small, are not absolutely insensible. At the same time,
he has certainly applied his formula to the calculation of
the parallax of the sun in a very convenient manner, which
had accidentally escaped both Delille and Lalande, though
it follows readily from the trigonometrical calculation.
20. On Indeterminate Problems of the Second Degree,
1767, p. 165. This is the first of a numerous series of
papers relating to this difficult branch of analysis, which,
notwithstanding its perfect inutility, has afforded sufficient
scope for the exertion of talent, to give celebrity to the
names of Diophantus and Fermat among the most ingeni¬
ous of mathematicians. 21. On Numerical Equations,
p. 311. This subject was also much cultivated by the
author at a subsequent period: he here finds an equation
for the differences of the roots, and exhibits the result in
the form of a continued fraction. 22. Continuation of the
Memoir on Numerical Equations, 1768, p. 111. The me¬
thod of continued fractions is still further improved. 23.
On the Resolution of Indeterminate Problems in whole
Numbers, p. 181. 24. On the Resolution of Literal Equa¬
tions by Series, p. 251. The contents of these memoirs
have been principally merged in the author’s later pro¬
ductions. 25. On the Force of Springs, 1769, p. 167.
It is demonstrated in this interesting paper, that the force
of a hair-spring approaches to the law of a circular pendu¬
lum, the pnore nearly as its length is greater. 26. On Kep¬
ler’s Problem, p. 204 : an application of the methods ex¬
plained in the last volume, especially of a very elegant
formula for the reversion of series. 27. On Elimination,
p. 303 : a refined and general method of exterminating
a quantity from an equation, which, however, is somewhat
intricate, even in the simplest cases. 28. Remarks on
Isochronous Curves, 1770, p. 97 : chiefly in answer to
Fontaine, who had attacked him, and who had claimed the
invention of the test of integrability of an expression con¬
taining several variable quantities. Lagrange observes,
that he might very possibly have rediscovered it, but that
it was published by Nicolas Bernoulli in 1720; by Fon¬
taine not till 1738. 29. On Arithmetical Theorems, p.
123; relating to the decomposition of a number into
squares. 30. On the Resolution of Equations, p. 134.
31. On a Theorem respecting Prime Numbers, 1771, p.
125. A demonstration of the property of prime numbers
discovered by Mr Wilson, and published by Waring; and
of some other theorems of Waring. 32. On Equations,
p. 138 : in continuation. 33. On a New Mode of Differ¬
entiation and Integration, 1772, p. 185. The novelty con¬
sists in considering the characteristic of a fluxion as a
quantity multiplying the letter to which it is prefixed, and
inferring by induction that the result of the combinations
obtained will in general remain unaltered by the supposi¬
tion. The grounds of this method have been of late more
fully explained by Arbogast and others. The results are
here applied to interpolations, and to differences of various
orders. 34. On the Form of Imaginary Roots, p. 222:
in general reducible to A + V — IB. 35. On Astrono¬
mical Refractions, p. 259 : without any practical appli¬
cations. 36. On Equations of Partial Differences, p. -353 ;
especially on finding multipliers to make them integrable.
37. On undisturbed Rotation, 1773, p. 85 : a more direct
method of investigation than that of Euler or D’Alembert,
but without any new results. 38. On the Attraction of
Elliptic Spheroids, p. 121. The author observes, that
Maclaurin’s prize essay is a masterpiece of geometry, com¬
parable to the best works of Archimedes, though D’Alem-
15
bert had once doubted of the accuracy of some of his pro- Lagrange,
positions. Thomas Simpson’s was the first analytical po-
lution of the problem, but it was indirect, and depending
on series only. In this paper the method of demonstra¬
tion only is varied. Legendre and Laplace subsequently
continued the inquiry. But Mr Ivory,” says Delambre,
“ has lately shown us that a very simple consideration
may in some cases supersede a multitude of calculations,
and even afford us theorems to which the most prolix
computations could scarcely have conducted us.” 39. On
Triangular Pyramids, p. 149 : an analytical determina¬
tion of the content, and of the figures that maybe inscrib¬
ed in the pyramids, when their six sides are given. 40.
Arithmetical Researches, p. 265 : on the integral roots of
equations of the second degree. 41. On Particular Inte¬
grals, 1774, p. 197. Laplace had already pointed out the
occasional occurrence of integrals not included in the ge¬
neral and direct expression obtained by the usual modes
of integration. Such values are here deduced from the
variation of the quantities originally considered as con¬
stant, which often affords us an equation of a different
form, and leads to values not comprehended in the regu¬
lar expression of the integral. 42. On the Motions of the
Nodes of the Planetary Orbits, p. 276. Euler, Lalande,
and Bailly had found some expressions for the temporary
change of position of the nodes: the equations are here
integrated, and the total changes determined. 43. On
Recurring Series varying in two ways, or on Partial Finite
Differences, 1775, p. 183: with an application to the
theory of chances, upon Laplace’s principles. 44. On
Spheroids, p. 273: a demonstration of Maclaurin’s theo¬
rem (Fluxions, art. 653) concerning the attraction of a
compressed spheroid or an amygdaloid ; derived from the
formulae contained in the former papers. 45. Arithmeti¬
cal Researches continued, p. 323: demonstrating some
theorems of Fermat with which Euler had not succeeded;
yet leaving others still unattempted. 46. On the Mean
Motions of the Planets, 1776, p. 199 : showing that all
their changes are periodical. Laplace had detected an
error in the author’s reasoning when he attributed secu¬
lar equations to the motions of Jupiter and Saturn, the
expressions containing the terms in question being com¬
pensated by others which he had neglected. 47. Cases of
Spherical Trigonometry solved by Series, p, 214 ; with¬
out any apparent advantage. 48. On Integration by con¬
tinued Fractions, p. 236 : gives an example of the bino¬
mial theorem converted into a continued fraction, which,
however, exhibits no particular elegance nor simplicity.
49. On the Number of Imaginary Roots of Equations,
1777, p. 111. Harriot was the father of the doctrine of
equations. Newton made great improvements in it, but
his rule remains imperfect with regard to the higher equa¬
tions, even with the additions of Maclaurin and Campbell.
In the present paper the theorem of Waring is demonstrat¬
ed, without any maternal attempt to extend it. 50. On
the Diophantine Analysis, p. 140. It is remarked that
Fermat left all his propositions undemonstrated, except
this theorem, that the sum of two biquadrate numbers
can never be a square. 51. On Escapements, p. 173:
an investigation of the best forms of pallets for the dead
beat and the recoiling scapements. 52. On determining
the Orbits of Comets by three observations, 1778, p. 111-
124. The first part of this memoir is historical and criti¬
cal, and the author allows due credit to the ingenuity of
Newton’s method : his own does not appear to have been
of any practical utility. 53. On the Theory of Telescopes,
p. 163 : comparing the general theorems of Cotes and
Euler, and applying the method of recurring series to their
demonstration ; with a rule for determining the magnitude
of the field. 54. On the Expression of the Time in a
Conic Section, p. 181 : after Lambert, who determines
16 LAGRANGE.
Lagrange, it from the chord of the arc described, the sum of the revolv-
ing radii, and the great axis : the theorem is here analy¬
tically demonstrated. 55. On Particular Integrals, 1 /79,
p. 121: examples from some mechanical curves. 56.
On Geographical Projections for Maps, p. 161-186. The
methods here proposed for the construction of maps have
been found too intricate for adoption. 57. On the Iheory
of the Libration of the Moon, 1780, p. 203. In the prize
essay on the moon’s libration, the author had made the
first application of the method of variations : the investi¬
gation is here continued, and it is observed that the moon
cannot be of homogeneous matter, nor its form such as
would afford equilibrium to a fluid covering it, since the
effects of the ellipticity, so determined, would be much
less perceptible than they are. 58. lleport on a Quadia-
ture of the Circle, Hist. Ac. Berl. 1781, p. 17. This paper
only requires to be noticed as a specimen of the author s
condescension. 59. Theory of the Motion of Fluids, Mem.
p. 151: an application of D’Alembert's principles to the
phenomena of running fluids, and to the motion of waves ;
but founded on an arbitrary assumption with respect to
the depth affected by the waves. 60. On the Secular Va¬
riations of the Elements of the Planets, p. 199. Hie
theory of perturbations is here examined by two methods,
either comprehending the general form of the orbit, or
regarding the local effects only. 61. Report on a Mode
of finding the Form of the Earth, Hist. 1732, p. 35 : a
proposal of no value whatever. 62. On the Secular Vari¬
ations of the Planets, Mem. p. 169 : a continuation of
the former memoir, with all the details of the application,
and a determination of the change of the place of the ec¬
liptic, together with a demonstration of the permanency
of the general arrangement of the system, depending on
the exemption of the mean distances from all variations
not periodical, while the other elements are liable to
greater alterations. 63. On the Periodical Variations of
the Planetary Motions, 1783, p. 161: a sequel to the
memoirs on the secular variations. 64. Additions respect¬
ing the Secular Variations, p. 191 : completing the exa¬
mination, and extending it to the case of Jupiter and Sa¬
turn, which had before been investigated by Laplace.
65. On the Correction of the Errors of Astronomical Ap¬
proximations, p. 224. The errors here considered arise
from the employment of the powers of the arcs described
in the equations concerned, these arcs increasing without
limit: they may be avoided by means of approximations
founded on the supposition of the variation of the elements.
Laplace had before employed a method still more refined.
66. On a particular mode of Approximation, p. 279:
resembling that which Briggs employed for making loga¬
rithms. 67. On a new property of the Centre of Gravity,
p. 290: relating to the mutual distances of the bodies.
68. A direct and general determination of the Motion of
a Comet, p. 296. In this third memoir the problem is
reduced to equations of the eighth or seventh degree.
69. Theory of the Periodical Variations of the Planetary
Motions, 1784, p. 187 : continuation of the memoir
of the preceding year, containing the independent va¬
riations of the eccentricities and inclinations for the
six principal planets; with a numerical application of
the formulae demonstrated In the first part. 70. On
the Integration of Equations of Linear Partial Differ¬
ences, 1785, p. 174: entering into further details of the
method laid down in a former paper, which is here applied
to the problem of trajectories, a problem once proposed by
Leibnitz as a trial of strength to Newton, who was not fully
aware of the nature of the difficulty intended to be com¬
bated : it was, however, solved in England by Taylor,
though indirectly. Nicolas Bernoulli and Hermann gave
a more complete solution, and Euler added still more to
the generality of the investigation. The author observes
that the problem is a mere curiosity; there is, howeven ^agrange.
one case in which a trajectory of the kind here considered s v 
is actually applicable to a natural phenomenon of common
occurrence, which is that of a wave diverging from a point
in a gradually shelving shore ; for the figure or direction
of the collateral parts of such a wave may be shown to be
the orthogonal trajectory cutting an infinite number of
cycloids beginning at the given point. 71. On the Motion
of the Aphelia of the Planets, 1786, i.; a geometrical in¬
vestigation, in the manner of Newton, intended as an ap¬
pendix to the Principia. 72. On the Theory of Sound and
Waves. This paper is also intended to complete the de¬
monstrations contained in the same work. The volume,
in which both these interesting memoirs appear, seems to
have been published out of the regular order, from some
circumstances connected with the death of Frederick ; and
it is wanting in many of the British libraries. 73. Note
accompanying a Memoir of Duval le Roi, 1786-7, p. 253.
On the Secular Equations of the Georgian Planet. 74. On
a Question relating to Annuities, 1792-3, p. 235: the
case of an annuity supposed to commence after a death,
and to cease at a given age. 75. Additions to former
Memoirs, p. 247 : on recurring series (n. 43) ; on ellip¬
tic spheroids (n. 38) ; on interpolations, in Mouton’s man¬
ner, comprehending the inequality of the distances of the
observations ; on the secular equation of the moon (n.
64.) After Laplace’s great discovery of the cause of the
secular acceleration, Lagrange found that it might have
been easily deduced from his own calculations, almost in
the same form, if he had not accidentally neglected the
application, from having assured himself, in 1783, that
the results of a similar computation w ere nearly insensible
in the case of Jupiter and Saturn. It was in 1787 that
the discovery of Laplace was announced. The accelera¬
tion here computed is 10"*5 for the first century after
1800. Mayer found it 9", from a comparison of observa¬
tions. 76. On a general Law of Optics, 1803, Math. p. 3 :
a demonstration of the foundation of the method long
used by English opticians for determining the magnifying
powers of telescopes of all kinds, which form an image of
the object-glass beyond the eye-glass, by measuring the
diameter of that image. The author hazards, in this
paper, the very singular assertion, that the illumination ot
the object must be the same in all telescopes whatever,
notwithstanding the common opinion, that it depends on
the magnitude of the object-glass; and his reasoning
would be correct if the pupil of the eye were always less
than the image of the object-glass in question ; since, as
he observes, the density of the light in this image is al¬
ways inversely as the magnifying power ; but he forgets
to consider that the illumination on the retina, when the
whole pencil is taken in, is in the joint ratio of the den¬
sity and the extent; a consideration which justifies the
common opinion on this subject, and shows that a most
profound mathematician may be grievously mistaken in his
conclusions, if he proceeds to calculate upon erroneous
grounds. It deserves, however, to be remembered, that
the brightness of any given angular portion of a magnified
image must always be somewhat less than that of an equal
portion of the object seen by the naked eye ; because it
can be no greater if the pencil fills the pupil, and will be
less in proportion as the pencil is smaller than the pupil,
besides the unavoidable loss of light at the refracting sur¬
faces.
77. The later works of Lagrange have principally been
published at Paris, and most of them in the various col¬
lections of the academy. The earliest of these are the
prize memoirs ; and, first, the essay on the Libration of the
Moon, which obtained the prize in 1764, Ac. Par. Prix.
ix. 1772. It is in this memoir that the method of varia¬
tions was first practically applied to a mechanical problem.
L A G R
Lagrange. 78. On the Inequalities of the Satellites of Jupiter, in 1776;
including the consideration of their mutual perturbations,
and consequently a case of the problem of six bodies. The
author never resumed the subject, but its investigation
was completed by Laplace. 79. A New Method of solving
the Problem of Three Bodies, in 1772. 80. On the Secu¬
lar Equation of the Moon, in 1774, M. Sav. Etr. vii. for
1773 : an unsuccessful attempt, with conjectures respect¬
ing the existence of a resisting medium, and even doubts
of the accuracy of the foundation of Halley’s-discovery.
81. A prize memoir, On the Perturbation of Comets pass¬
ing near Planets, M. Sav. Etr. x. Par. 1785, p. 65 : find¬
ing the path directly, without regard to the conic sec¬
tions, and employing three different modes of computa¬
tion for the different parts of the orbit. 82. On forming
Tables by observations only, Mem. Ac. Par. 1772, i. p.
513. The method of recurring series is principally em¬
ployed, and the author observes, that the problem is more
useful than difficult, giving an experimental example in
the equation of time, for which he obtains, from the re¬
sults of the tables, an expression very near the truth. De-
lambre remarks that this is only a continuance of the sys¬
tem adopted by Ptolemy and the other ancient astrono¬
mers, showing what we might have done in a circuitous
manner by pure mathematics, if Newton and the laws of
gravity had not existed; and he thinks the paper only
valuable as a specimen of Lagrange’s talent for overcom¬
ing difficulties which he might more easily have avoided.
83. On the Nodes and Inclinations of the Planetary Or¬
bits, 1774, p. 97 : with details of the calculations for all the
planets. 84. On the Variation of the Elements of the
Planets, Mem. Math. Inst. 1808, p. 1. The object of
this paper is to show, as Poisson had done before, that all
the changes of the system are periodical. The method
is more general, but less simple, than that of Laplace, who
first discovered the principle by induction. The lunar
acceleration is given as an example. Mr Poisson has ex¬
tended his calculations to quantities of the second order,
which do not enter into Lagrange’s investigations. 85.
On the Variation of Independent Quantities in general in
Mechanical Problems, p. 257. The author observes, that
many of the modern improvements of mathematics de¬
pend on the doing away the distinction between constant
and variable quantities, which was so valuable when it
was first enforced by Descartes. 86. A second Memoir
on the Variation of Independent Quantities, 1809, p. 343 :
simplifying the general application of the doctrine.
87. Lectures on Arithmetic and Algebra, Seances des
Ecoles Nor males, year III. 1794—95. The first lecture re¬
lates to the elements of arithmetic, the second to the
lower orders of equations, and the third to the higher.
All these lectures, under the name of conversations, were
taken down in short-hand by some of the students, and
afterwards corrected by the professors.
88. An Essay on Political Arithmetic, Roederer, Col¬
lection de divers Ouvrages, Paris, an. IV. 1795-96.
89. In the Journal de VEcole Poly technique, we find
an Essay on Numerical Analysis, and on the Transforma¬
tion of Fractions, vol. ii. 1798, p. 95. It contains the ele¬
mentary theory of continued fractions, and the mode of
reducing them. 90. On the Principle of Virtual Velocities,
p. 115: chiefly relating to pulleys. 91. On the Object of
the Theory of Analytical Functions, vi. 1800, p. 232 : a de¬
tailed explanation of the grounds of the theory laid down
in the separate publication on this subject. 92. Analysis
of Spherical Triangles, p. 270: giving all their essential
properties in a concise form. 93. Lectures on the Calcu¬
lus of Functions, xii. 1804: published also separately in
8vo: a commentary on the theory of functions, and a
supplement to it, contained in twenty lectures. 94. Two
more Lectures, xiv. 1808: at the end, chiefly relating to
VOL. XIII.
ANGE. 17
the method of variations. 95. On a Difficulty respecting Lagrange,
the Attraction of Spheroids, viii. xv.: remarks which may —y-—/
serve as a commentary on a passage of the Mecanique
Celeste.
96. On the Origin of Comets, Connoissance des Terns,
1814. 97. On the Calculation of Eclipses, as affected by
Parallax, 1817 : from the Berlin Almanac for 1782. This
memoir, as Delambre observes, is singularly attractive
to a person previously unacquainted with the methods
which are employed ; but though the formulae first in¬
troduced are direct and rigorously accurate, the whole
investigation ends in an approximation which wants both
these properties.
98. The most important of all the wrorks of Lagrange
are those which have appeared in separate volumes; and
among these we may reckon his Additions a 1’Algebre
d’Euler, 8vo, Lyons, 1774, vol. ii.; German, 1796 ; English,
1797. They relate chiefly to continued fractions and to
indeterminate problems, and constitute the most valuable
part of the whole work, which, in its abridged form at
least, is far inferior to Maclaurin’s Algebra. 99. Meca¬
nique Analytique, 4to, Par. 1788,2d edit. vol. i. 1811; vol. ii.
by Prony, Lacroix, and Binet, 1815. This work exhibits
a uniform and elegant system of mechanical problems,
deduced from the simple principle of virtual velocities,
which was well known to former authors, but never so ex¬
tensively applied. It has been remarked, that many parts
of it may be read with advantage, even by those who are
not competent to enter into any of the computations, ex¬
hibiting such a history of the progress of the science, as
could only have been sketched by a master. The new
edition, begun at the age of seventy-five, comprehends all
the improvements contained in the author’s later memoirs
on various subjects. 100. Theorie des Fonctions Analy-
tiques, 4to, Par. 1797, 1813. The abstract theory of analy¬
tical functions has been very fashionable among modern
mathematicians ; but the improvements which it contains
are chiefly of a metaphysical nature, if they can with pro¬
priety be called improvements. The notation is less sim¬
ple than that which is in common use, and has been
abandoned by the author in some republications of the
works in which he had at first employed it. The calcu¬
lations, too, are often more intricate than others which
afford the same conclusions. 101. Resolution des Equa¬
tions Numeriques, 4to, Par. 1798, 1808. The refined and
abstruse speculations contained in this volume are more
calculated to promote the advancement of the abstract
science of quantity, than to be applied, as the title would
seem to denote, to the purposes of numerical computa¬
tion. The methods investigated are in general laborious
and complicated, though instructive, and capable of ex¬
tensive application; and for equations of which all the
roots are real, the author himself recommends Mr Bu-
dan’s method, as preferable to his own. The second edi¬
tion contains a number of very interesting notes, which
are full of ingenuity and novelty.
The author of so immense a series of laborious investi¬
gations must certainly have been a most extraordinary
man. He had acquired the character of an illustrious
mathematician almost in his boyish years; and he conti¬
nued to apply the force of his powerful mind, for more
than half a century, to the almost uninterrupted pursuit
of his favourite sciences. It seems, however, that his ear¬
liest were also his greatest successes ; and all that follow¬
ed was as little as could well be expected from a con¬
tinued employment of the means which he possessed at
the beginning ; for, in fact, the whole taken together ap¬
pears to bear a stronger character of great industry, than
of great sagacity or talent.
“ It was formerly usual,” says Delambre, “ for mathe¬
maticians to inquire, in every investigation, for some ge-
c
18 LAG
Lagrange, neral considerations, which might be capable of simplify-
-v,—^ ing it, or of reducing it to a problem already resolved, and
to endeavour by these means either to abridge the calcu¬
lation, or sometimes to supersede it altogether. But since
the discovery of the infinitesimal calculus, the facility and
universality of this method, which often renders the posses¬
sion of any talent in the calculator wholly unnecessary,
has made it more usual for mathematicians to direct their
chief attention to the perfection of this all-powerful in¬
strument. But, at the present day, when researches of
this kind appear to be completely exhausted by the la¬
bours of Euler, Lagrange, and their industrious contem¬
poraries, it might perhaps be more advisable to return to
the ancient method, and to follow the example ot” New¬
ton, surely, and of “ Daniel Bernoulli, who, as Condorcet
observes, was entitled to the praise of moderation in the
introduction of his calculations. Lagrange was in the habit
of employing his sublime talents in a different manner.
He liked to make every thing dependent on his analysis,
though, in some instances, he united both methods in the
highest degree, as his invention of the calculus of varia¬
tions bears witness. His reducing the theory of sound to
that of the vibration of chords, is a specimen of a very in¬
genious simplification; as well as his mode of computing
the planetary motions by the variation of the elements of
their orbits, which is also applicable to all other cases of
the operation of small disturbing forces. But it must be
confessed, on the other hand, that he has sometimes created
difficulties where none existed, by applying his profound
and ingenious methods to the solution of elementary prob¬
lems, which may be obtained from a construction of the
simplest kind; and the powerful agents which he employs,
on many trifling occasions, remind us only of the man in
the fable, who came to borrow the club of Hercules, and
the thunder of Jupiter, for the purpose of destroying a
fleaor of the modern mathematician, who, without any
fable, or any figure of rhetoric, proposed to adjust a stan¬
dard measure by placing it at a distance and viewing it
with a good telescope. The habit of relying too confident¬
ly on calculation, and too little on common sense, will per¬
haps account for the mistakes of Lagrange which have
been already noticed, respecting the forms of columns, and
the illumination of optical instruments; nor are they the
only instances of the kind which may be produced from the
modern history of the sciences. It seems, indeed, as if
mathematical learning were the euthanasia of physical ta¬
lent ; and, unless Great Britain can succeed in stemming
the torrent, and in checking the useless accumulation of
weighty materials, the fabric of science will sink in a few
ages under its own insupportable bulk. A splendid exam¬
ple has already been displayed by the author of the article
Attraction; and, to do justice to our neighbours, it
must be allowed that they have received the boon with
due gratitude, and acknowledged it by merited applause:
“ All the analytical difficulties of the problem,” says Le¬
gendre and Delambre {Mem. Inst. 1812) “ vanish at once
before this method; and a theory, which before required
the most abstruse analysis, may now be explained, in its
whole extent, by considerations perfectly elementary.” It
is indeed only when a subject is so simplified that the in¬
vestigation can be considered as complete, since we are
never so sure that we understand the process of nature as
when we can trace at once in our minds all the steps by
which that process is conducted. It is not without some
reason that a similar disposition to revel in the luxury of
mathematical sports has been sometimes objected to La¬
place, a man of equal analytical acquirements with Lagrange,
but possessed apparently of greater sagacity, and certainly
more successful in his application of mathematics to phy¬
sical researches, although he also seems, on some occa-
fetons, to have suffered his habits of abstract reasoning to
L A H
lead away his attention from the true conditions of the Lalulack'
problem, particularly in his first supplement respecting ca- I
pillary attraction, which concludes with an equation so er- ^hijan.
roneous, that he has been obliged to abandon it in silence. y^*—'
(See the article Cohesion.) Another instance of ill-ap¬
plied computation has been noticed in the article Chro¬
matics ; when Laplace attempted to deduce the laws of
extraordinary refraction from the principle of the minimum
of action, he seems to have forgotten that the demonstra¬
tion of that principle, in his own great work, rests express¬
ly on a condition which is here wanting, that “ the forces
concerned must be functions of the distances,” and of
course independent of the directions. These imperfections,
however, do not deserve to be noticed as materially af¬
fecting the general merits either of Lagrange or of La¬
place, but they may be considered as accidents which ought
to warn us against relying too implicitly on authority, how¬
ever high, when it appears to militate against clear, simple
reasoning, and sound common sense.
(Delambre, Mem. Inst. 1812, ii.; Journal de VEmpire,
28th April 1813 ; Virez et Potel, Precis Historique, Paris,
1813, in 4to; Cossali Elogio, Padua, in 8vo, 1813; Mau¬
rice in Biographic Universelle, xxiii. Paris, in 8vo, 1819.)
LAHDACK, a mountainous district and independent
Tartar kingdom in Northern Hindustan, situated to the
north of the great Himalaya ridge of mountains, principal¬
ly between the thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh degrees of
north latitude. It is bounded on the north and east by
Thibet, on the west by Cashmere, and on the south by
the Nahry Sangkar province. These limits are not, how¬
ever, precisely defined. This country imports from Thi¬
bet fine goats’ hair or shawl wool, which is re-exported to
Cashmere, and there manufactured into shawls; and its
exports consist chiefly of fruit. The inhabitants are sup¬
posed to be worshippers of the Delai Lama. This coun¬
try, since the British conquests, has been extended to the
Himalaya Mountains, and has been penetrated by British
functionaries, amongst others by Mr Williams; and from his
information, and the drawings which he exhibited, the in¬
habitants seemed to Bishop Heber to resemble the Kal¬
mucks in dress, countenance, and religion. Their written
character is, however, different from the Mongolian. They
carry on a pretty regular intercourse with Russia; and it
is singular that sheets of gilt leather, stamped with the im¬
perial eagle, were amongst the presents which the king of
Lahdack sent when he offered his allegiance to the British
government. The capital is of the same name ; it is the
mart of all the trade that is carried on in the country, and
is the rendezvous of the merchants who travel from Hin¬
dustan to Yarkand in Chinese Tartary, whence they pro¬
ceed in a body the greater part of the way along the banks
of the Indus. The position of this place is extremely un¬
certain. According to the best maps, it is placed in long.
78. 3. east, latitude 35. 35. north, two hundred miles north¬
east from the city of Cashmere. These Tartars have
showed themselves very friendly to the British ; and their
Khan, as is stated by Bishop Heber, sent a formal offer of
his allegiance to the British government, which was de¬
clined. At a point above the town of Drans, in Little
Thibet, the main stream of the Indus is met by a smaller
river, which has been traced from Rodauk in Thibet, and
flowing past Lahdack, the capital of Little Thibet, is then
named the Lahdack River. Near to Lahdack it is joined
by another stream from the north-west, which Lieutenant
Macartney conjectures to issue from the Lake of Surikol.
It was formerly thought that this river was one of the prin¬
cipal branches of the Ganges, but it is now ascertained to
be a tributary of the Indus.
LAHIJAN, a town of Persia, in the province of Ghi-
lan, once the metropolis of the province; but having re¬
volted against Shah Abbas, it was taken and demolished.
LAE
Lahore, and has ceased to be of any importance. It is eight miles
—-y'-—^ east of Reshd.
LAHORE, an extensive province of Hindustan, situat¬
ed between the thirtieth and thirty-fourth degrees of
north latitude. It has been estimated at 340 miles in
length by 200 in average breadth. It is bounded on the
north by Cashmere and the course of the Indus; on the
south by Delhi, Ajmeer, and Moultan ; on the east by the
mountains of Northern Hindustan ; and on the west it is
separated from Afghanistan by the Indus. The principal
geographical and territorial subdivisions are the Punjab,
comprehending other minor subdivisions, and the Kohis-
tan of Lahore. Into these two districts the country is
nearly equally divided. The Kohistan is the mountainous
tract which occupies the whole north-eastern division, and
the Punjab is the flat country to the south-west, so called
from the five celebrated rivers by which it is intersected.
The mountainous district is not so fertile as the plains.
On the sides, however, of those mountains, which are in¬
habited, wheat, barley, and various other small grains, are
produced. There are spaces which project from the body
of the hills, in separate flats, in the form of semicircular
stairs. Into those projections the soil is propelled by the
rains which fall in this quarter from June to October, and
the earth washed down is preserved in that state by but¬
tresses of stones. Rice is cultivated in the narrow val¬
leys, but the inhabitants subsist chiefly on wheat-bread
and peas made into a thick soup. Pines and willow trees
grow on the face of the mountains. The resinous part of
the fir is cut into slips, and supplies the place of a lamp.
The climate is not favourable to fruits and vegetables.
Fossil salt is found in many parts, and the mountainous
tracts are supposed to be rich in minerals.
The flat country called the Punjab, or the country of
the five rivers, is by far the most productive, though its
fertility has been too much extolled, having been repre¬
sented as the garden of India, which, under a good govern¬
ment, it might have been, from its advantageous situation
and its numerous rivers. But it has been exposed to such
various revolutions, and has been so much harassed by the
contests of the petty Sikh chiefs by whom it is possessed,
that it has not profited so much as might have been ex¬
pected of its natural advantages ; and accordingly, except
in the immediate vicinity of the rivers, no portion of it is
to be compared with the British provinces in Upper Hin¬
dustan, and still less with Bengal. The agricultural pro¬
ductions of the Punjab are, in general, wheat, barley, rice,
pulse of all sorts, sugar-cane, tobacco, and various fruits.
The province of Lahore is watered by the Indus, the Sut-
lege or Hysudrus, the Beyah or Hyphasis, the Ravey or
Hydraotes, the Chinaub or Acesines, and the Jhylum or
Hydaspes. That part of the Punjab east of the Jhylum, and
the nearest to that river, which is flat, is chiefly pastured
by herds of oxen and buffaloes; and that most to the east
towards the Sutlege, which is wavy, though the most ste¬
rile in quality, is the best cultivated. East of the Jhy¬
lum there is not a hill; the trees are few, and cultivation
is extremely scanty. It contains, however, many fine villa¬
ges, and some large towns. But the latter, with the excep¬
tion of Amritsir, the holy city of the Sikhs, are mostly tend¬
ing to decay.
The commerce of this country was formerly much ob¬
structed by the heavy duties levied on all the goods as
they passed through the different territories of the petty
Sikhs. It was in consequence carried to Hindustan Pro¬
per by the difficult and mountainous route of Jamboe, Na-
done, and Serinagur. The Sikh chiefs, however, discover¬
ed their error, and many of these heavy and vexatious du¬
ties have been reduced ; and, by a more strict administra¬
tion of justice, confidence has been restored to the mer¬
chants, The exports from Lahore to the countries west
L A H 19
of the Indus are, sugar, rice, indigo, wheat, and white cot- Lahore,
ton cloths. The imports from these countries are, swords, ^
horses, fruit, lead, and spices. The exports to Cashmere
are nearly the same as to Persia; the imports being shawls,
a variety of cloths, saffron, and fruits. With Kohistan, the
mountainous division of Lahore, the inhabitants of the
Punjab exchange cloth, matchlocks, and horses, for iron
and other smaller commodities. From the south are im¬
ported sulphur, indigo, salt, lead, iron, European coarse
broad cloth, and spices. The exports to the south are,
horses, camels, sugar, rice, white cloth, matchlocks, swords,
bows and arrows.
Lahore contains a mixed population of Sikhs, Singhs,
Jauts, Rajpoots, Hindus of lower castes, and Mahomme-
dans; the latter a poor, persecuted, despised race, and
not numerous. Few of their mosques have escaped de¬
struction. The lower orders of the Sikhs are protected
from the tyranny and violence of their chiefs by the pre¬
cepts of their common religion, and by the privilege which
they possess of abandoning a leader whom they dislike,
the distance of a lew miles placing them under the pro¬
tection of his rival. In the Punjab it is reckoned that one
third of the inhabitants are Singhs or Sikhs. A consider¬
able number of cultivators are Jauts. The natives are
composed of different classes of Hindus. Amongst the
mountaineers the goitre or swelled throat is common. On
the north-western borders of Lahore the inhabitants are
chiefly Afghans, who live in small forts or walled villages,
in mutual dread of each other. This quarter is exposed
to the depredations of the Sikhs on the Attock and on the
adjacent districts. In the Punjab, fakeers or religious de¬
votees and mendicants are common, and are frequently
seen travelling about in a palanquin clad in silk, with
a great retinue of attendants on horse and foot. These
are extremely proud, and in general insolent and abusive
to Europeans. The Singhs are active and robust, and have
in general the Hindu cast of countenance, somewhat alter¬
ed by their long beards. They are very courageous, and,
under the influence of prejudice or religion, are brave even
to desperation. They are all horsemen, though they serve
as infantry in foreign armies ; of a bold and rough address,
speaking invariably in a loud, bawling tone of voice.
Sikh, or Siksha, is a Sanscrit word signifying disciple
or devoted follower. The founder of the sect was called
Nanak, who was born at the village of Tulwundy, in the
district of Bhatti and province of Lahore, a. d. 1419, and
died at Kirthipoor Dehra, on the banks of the Ravey.
He left two sons, from whom are descended 1400 fami¬
lies, called Shahzadehs, who are greatly respected, and
live at Dera, in the Punjab. The descendants of this
person ruled amongst the Sikhs, who, during the succeed¬
ing centuries, gradually increased in strength. Gooro
Govind, who was expelled from Lahore during the reign
of Aurungzebe, and is supposed to have died in 1708,
new-modelled the government of the Sikhs, and convert¬
ed them into a band of ferocious soldiers, changing their
name from Sikh to Singh, signifying a lion. This person
is revered by the Sikhs as the founder of their worldly
greatness and political independence, as Gooroo Nanak is
of their religion. After the death of Aurungzebe, the
Sikhs grew in strength, and wasted the country. On the
dissolution of the government which took place at Lahore
subsequent to Nadir Shah’s invasion of India, the power of
the Sikhs increased; and, during the first invasion of the
Afghans in 1746, they possessed themselves of a consider¬
able portion of the country between the Ravey and Jal-
linder. In 1762 and 1763 they were almost exterminat¬
ed by Ahmed Shah Abdalli and the Afghans; but by
their undaunted resolution they still rose superior to their
misfortunes, and at last succeeded in acquiring and conso¬
lidating their present territories. For many years prior
20 L A H
J>ahore. to the appearance of Runjeet Singh, this whole country
^ V-—was distracted by the internal feuds that took place be¬
tween the different chiefs, every village being an object
of dispute between brothers and near relations. This
powerful chieftain rose into political power from small be¬
ginnings. So recently as the year 1805, when Lord Lake
advanced into the Punjab, he was contending for ascen¬
dency amongst merely rival chiefs. But between this and
the year 1812, he had brought almost the whole of the
petty princes in the Punjab under his authority, and was
even encroaching to the south-east, beyond the boundary
of the Sutlege, when he was opposed by the British, with
whom, however, he showed not the least desire to contend.
Being sensible of his own inability to oppose the British
power, he willingly agreed to a treaty of alliance and
friendship, by which the latter agreed to relinquish all con¬
cern with the territories of the rajah to the north of the
Sutlege; and the rajah on his part agreed never to main¬
tain, in the territories occupied by him or his dependents
to the south of that river, more troops than were necessary
to carry on the internal police of the country, and also to
abstain from encroaching on the chiefs to the south of that
boundary. Runjeet Singh is an ambitious chief, and he is
extremely anxious to improve and increase the warlike re¬
sources of his kingdom. His troops are manceuvred ac¬
cording to the European fashion ; they are drilled by Eu¬
ropean officers, and make a formidable appearance in the
field. But they are still very far inferior to the British
troops in India in all military qualities ; and the Sikh mo¬
narch is too wary to risk his recently acquired power in
such an unequal contest. He is perpetually endeavouring
to extend his territories towards the south and east. He
has made several attempts on the hilly country of Cash-
mere, which have all been unsuccessful. We have no
accurate estimate of the population of the Sikh territories.
It was the boast of these warlike tribes at one time that
they could bring 100,000 horsemen into the field ; but at
present so large a force could not possibly be mustered
among them.
Lahore, the capital of the above province, is situated
on the south side of the Ravey River, which is here about
three hundred yards wide. It is surrounded with lofty
walls, decorated on the outside, but hastening to ruin, as
are most of the private buildings. It is still a place of
considerable size, with a good bazar ; but it is not inhabited
by wealthy people. On account of the frequent sackings
it has sustained, they have migrated for safety to Amrit-
sir. The palace was originally founded by Acbar, and
enlarged by his successors. Across the Ravey, at Shah
Durra, about two miles north of Lahore, stands the cele¬
brated mausoleum of Jehangeer, within a wall of nearly
600 yards square. It is a magnificent building, sixty-six
paces on each side, and still in very good condition. To
the southward of this, in the open plain, is to be seen the
tomb of Noor Jehan Begum, a building thirty-six paces
square. In 1812 Runjeet Singh was building a very thick
wall and rampart round the city, with a deep, broad ditch.
The palace has also been surrounded by a deep and broad
ditch, the whole faced with brick, and the earth thrown
inwards, so as to form a broad rampart, with bastions at
intervals. The city is verging to decay; yet the domes
and minarets of the mosques, the lofty walls of the fort,
the splendid mausoleum of Jehangeer, and the number¬
less inferior tombs and temples that surround the town,
still render it an object of curiosity and admiration. La¬
hore was taken by Sultan Baber, a. d. 1520, and was for
some time the seat of the Mogul government. Since that
period it has undergone many revolutions, and was for a
L A I
considerable time possessed by the Abdalli Afghans of Lahr
Cabul, by whom it is named Sikrei. For the last thirty II
years it has been under the domination of the Sikhs, and v Eamg.
has latterly been the headquarters of Rajah Runjeet Y^“
Singh, the powerful chieftain of that predatory people.
The travelling distance from Delhi is 380 miles, from
Lucknow 639, from Bombay 1070, and from Calcutta 1356
miles. Long. 74. 3. E. Lat. 31. 36. N.
LAHR, a city of the duchy of Baden, in Germany, in
the circle of Kinzig. It stands on the “river Schutter,
which runs to the Rhine, is surrounded with walls, and
contains 600 houses, with 4660 inhabitants. It is a place
of manufacturing industry, producing cotton and woollen
goods, and various other commodities.
LAIBACH, or Laybach, one of the governments into
which the Illyrian province of Austria is divided. It ex¬
tends over 8394 square miles, and contains twenty-five
cities, forty-two market-towns, and 5947 villages and ham¬
lets, with 611,730 inhabitants. It is for the most part
mountainous, except in the centre, where it is level and
fertile. Its chief products are corn, fruit, wine, wood, iron,
copper, and marble. The capital is a city of the same
name, situated on the river from which that name is deriv¬
ed. It is well built, but antique, and contains a cathedral,
with ten other catholic churches, two hospitals, 980houses,
and about 10,000 inhabitants. Above the town, on a hill
on which it is built, is a strong fortress, at present appro¬
priated to the confinement of criminals. There is a col¬
legiate establishment, with a rector and twenty-one profes¬
sors, who superintend the instruction of students in theolo¬
gy, philosophy, law, and medicine, and confer degrees in
each of these faculties. There are manufactures of silk,
of ribbons, of china-ware, of leather, and of various che¬
mical productions; and an extensive trade is carried on
with Italy, with Bavaria, and with Croatia. Long. 14. 41.
10. E. Lat. 46. 1. 48. N.
L’AIGLE, a city of France, in the arrondissement of
Mortagne, and department of the Orne, situated on the
river Rille. It contains 844 houses, and 5850 inhabitants.
There are several manufacturers of linen and cotton
goods ; but it is especially celebrated for its needles, pins,
and other small articles of iron and steel.
LAING, Malcolm, a distinguished constitutional law¬
yer and historian, was born on the 13th of January 1763, at
Strynzia, his paternal estate, situated on the mainland of
Orkney. He received the rudiments of his education at
the grammar-school of Kirkwall; and, when he had attain¬
ed the proper age, he was sent to the University of Edin¬
burgh, where he completed his elementary studies. Flere
he not only made the acquaintance, but gained the friend¬
ship, of many young men of great promise, who afterwards
rose to eminence in different walks of life. He was ad¬
mitted a member of the Speculative Society, which had
for its object general literature and science. It had been
founded about twenty years before, and, during that pe¬
riod, numbered amongst its members all the distinguished
youth of Scotland, as well as many foreigners of distinc¬
tion. “ Laing,” says Sir James Mackintosh, “ was most
acute and ingenious, but his meaning was obscured by the
brevity which he too much pursued in his writings, and by
an inconceivable rapidity of utterance.1
Mr Laing passed as advocate in the year 1784. Whether
he had any predilection for the profession of the law, or made
choice of it merely for the respectability it confers, and the
opportunity it sometimes affords of attracting notice as a
politician, we have had no means of ascertaining. It seems
certain, however, that notwithstanding his general talents,
and his great powers as a close and vigorous reasoner, he
1 Memoirs, &c. vol. i. p. 2"J.
L A I
Laing. was never much employed professionally, nor known as a
■"■'v-—'' successful practising barrister. It will not altogether ac¬
count for this failure to attract business, that the man¬
ner in which he delivered his arguments was neither dig¬
nified nor pleasing; that, in fact, his speeches were ut¬
tered with an almost preternatural rapidity, in harsh and
disagreeable tones. Such reasoning as he was accus¬
tomed to employ scarcely required the extraneous assis¬
tance of manner to recommend it, even to a jury ; whilst,
at the period in question, nearly all the pleading in Scot¬
land was addressed solely to the judges, whose well-dis¬
ciplined intellects might have been supposed more like¬
ly to acknowledge the force of reason and of argument,
even when divested of all extrinsic attractions, than to be
moved by rhetorical elegance or by holiday declamation.
Laing has evinced, in his writings, an intimate acquain¬
tance with almost all the departments of Scotch law; in
treating historical subjects, he skilfully availed himselt of
this knowledge, as well as of the experience which he had
acquired in his profession; and hence, taking all the cir¬
cumstances into view, it may safely be concluded that the
limited extent of his practice is to be attributed rather to
his own choice than to any deficiency of talent or want of
aptitude for conducting forensic business. Nor will this
conclusion be weakened by the perusal of the admirable
address which he delivered in defence of Gerfald, one of
the foredoomed victims of the persecution that then raged
against the advocates of a reform in the representation of
the people; an address so clear and cogent in its reason¬
ing, so irresistible in its deductions, that it must have car¬
ried conviction to all minds except those of a time-serving
jury and of political judges.
In 1790 or 1791, Mr Laing, and his friend Mr Adam
Gillies, now Lord Gillies, took a house, which they fur¬
nished, and in which they continued to live together un¬
til the year 1801, when Mr Gillies married. During the
whole of this period, Mr Laing was much engaged in re¬
searches relative to the history of Scotland; and in the
course of it also, he formed an acquaintance and commenced
a correspondence with Mr Fox, which appears to have con¬
tinued with but little interruption until the death of that
illustrious statesman.
The first fruits of his laborious investigations were em¬
ployed in preparing for the press the last volume of Henry’s
History of Great Britain, which the author, at the time of
his death, had left incomplete. The matter collected by
Henry did not extend to a period at which the work could
with propriety be terminated ; and Mr Laing was request¬
ed by the author’s executors to write two additional chapters,
to which, when completed, he annexed a dissertation on
the crimes attributed to Richard III. The labours of two
such authors, so very different in their views, character,
and style, could not be very aptly united in the same
volume, much less amalgamate or coalesce into a whole;
besides, many persons considered Mr Laing as an uncom¬
promising liberal, whose historical deductions seemed harsh
and prejudiced, when compared with the calm and sub¬
dued narrative of Henry. But, however dissimilar these
writers may have been in their style and manner, as well
as in their respective modes of treating historical subjects,
there are few persons, at least in the present day, who will
be disposed to give the preference to the latter. Henry
was a man of good sense and considerable industry, but, of
all our historians, perhaps he is the least philosophical; and
if he appears calm and moderate, he does so because he
is an entire stranger to strong opinions and strong sym¬
pathies. Laing, on the other hand, was a man of vigor¬
ous judgment and profound speculation ; he had no taste
whatever for the romance of history; and if he argu,ed
keenly in support of the opinions which he had adopted,
he did so, not like a man who is determined to maintain
N G. 21
a point merely because he had asserted it,.and felt per- Laing.
sonally interested in showing it to be true, but as one -
who, having considered the matter maturely, had submit¬
ted it to the arbitration of his own judgment, and was re¬
solved to annihilate all those prejudices which prevented
others from seeing it in the same light in which it appeared
to himself. It is absurd to blame an historian for his opi¬
nions, because that is equivalent to censuring him for his
honesty ; it is only when, as has sometimes happened, he
distorts facts in order to support preconceived opinions,
instead of regulating his opinions according to the ascer¬
tained facts, and taking care that the one shall be a le¬
gitimate deduction from the other, that he merits reproach
and condemnation. The sole object of Mr Laing was
to discover truth; and there can be no doubt what¬
ever that he sought the truth in the love of it. It is not
impossible that his prepossession in favour of the class of
principles which he had adopted may, in some instances,
have led him to deduce hasty or improper conclusions from
the facts he had ascertained ; but although the stern seve¬
rity of his character was calculated to provoke opposition,
and even to envenom criticism, no political adversary has
ever accused him of perverting facts. His historical pro¬
bity, indeed, has been tacitly recognised even by those
who were most bitterly opposed to the opinions and doc¬
trines which he laboured so strenuously to inculcate. To
Mr Laing has sometimes been ascribed the Memoir of Hen¬
ry, which accompanied the last volume of his History ; but,
if we are not greatly misinformed, it was drawn up by
Sir Henry Moncrieff, the leading executor, by whom Mr
Laing had been induced to write the continuation.
The publication of this work was partly the occasion of
procuring Mr Laing the notice and acquaintance of Dr
Parr. In an original letter, dated Hatton, near Warwick,
22d of March 1794, and addressed to Malcolm Laing,
Esq. the latter says: “ Often have I told our illustrious
friend, Mr (afterwards Sir James) Mackintosh, of the plea¬
sure and the instruction which I have received from your
continuation of Dr Henry’s History. I saw with delight
the comprehensive and elevated views which your mind
takes of general politics. I thought your statement of the
controversy about Warbeck so correct, your proofs so ap¬
posite, and your reasoning upon them so acute and impar¬
tial, that not one lurking weed of a doubt will ever shoot
up again in my own mind.” And, in another part of the
same letter, the writer adds, “ The energy of your style, the
extent of your inquiries, and the solidity of your observa¬
tions, have increased the interest which I had long ago
taken in the reputation of this history; and I am speaking
from motives, selfish if you please, but such as no man of
letters would deign to dissemble, when I express my ear¬
nest wishes that your professional engagements would per¬
mit you to finish a performance, in which you have already
engaged so far as to impress every intelligent reader with
the most favourable opinions of your taste, judgment, and
comprehensive researches.”
But the more immediate occasion of this letter was one
which does infinite credit to the heart and the feelings of the
distinguished writer, whilst it forms a sort of epoch in the
career of Mr Laing. On the 3d of March 1794, Joseph
Gerrald had, after a mock trial, been convicted of a crime
which had no existence before, on a law created for the
occasion, by a verdict pronounced without legal evidence.
Mr Laing had been counsel for Gerrald, in behalf of whom
he delivered one of the most able and convincing addresses
that ever proceeded from the bar; and Gerrald, again, had
been a favourite pupil of Parr, who, notwithstanding all
his errors and follies, still retained for him the affection of
a parent. “ Gerrald,” says he, in the letter already quoted,
“ Gerrald, whom you have protected as a client, I taught
as a boy. Dissipated as he has been by the pleasures.
22 LAI
I-aing. and worn out by the cares, of a most unhappy life, he pre-
v sents, and can only present, to your view the broken and
deformed ruins of a mind originally great. But my re¬
collection is often carried back to his better days ; to the
powers of his genius, when they were unfolding themselves
in a genial and fruitful spring; to the beneficial and rapid
effects of the culture I bestowed on them during their evo-
lution ; and to the rich harvest of knowledge which I once
had in prospect for him, when time should have matured
those talents which nature had conferred, and education
cherished. In this season of sorrow, or, I should rather
say, this crisis of danger, his follies and irregularities make
me cling, with more eager efforts of remembrance, to the
contemplation of endowments so blasted, and of virtues
doomed so soon to decay. But forgive me, if, by associa¬
tions so natural to a lettered mind, I find relief in turning
aside from the horrors of his situation, to express my
gratitude for the benevolence, and my veneration for the
abilities, of that man, who has endeavoured to shield him
from the merciless arm of oppression. You, sir, sympa¬
thise, as I do, with his sufferings. You are struck, like
myself, with admiration, even at the diminished glories of
his genius. You have defended him as I could not do, in
the course of his trial. You visit him, as I wish to do, and
you console him, amidst the gloom of his confinement.
For all these masterly exertions, and all these humane of¬
fices, in favour of poor Joseph, I entreat you to accept the
tribute of my praise and my thanks.” This truly eloquent
letter concludes with a most affecting prayer, that “ when
he (Gerrald) is removed to that dreary shore, from which
he never will return, his spirit may not be broken down
by the severities of banishment; that his misfortunes may
lead him into a train of wise and virtuous reflection ; that
his old age may be calm ; and that his death may be an hour
of serenity and resignation.” Mr Laing, in replying to
this “ inestimable letter,” which has hitherto remained un¬
published, observes, in reference to his ill-fated client:—
“ 1° the cause of liberty others may have experienced a
punishment, severer if possible, not more iniquitous. Vo¬
luntarily to await a sentence which he foresaw was inevi¬
table, and knew to be illegal, exalts him to the rank of the
most illustrious martyrs of freedom, and will render his
trial memorable, whether the constitution which he sought
to regenerate shall perish or survive. In a remote exile,
inaccessible unless to the prayers of his friends, he will
enjoy the dignified consolation of having discharged his
duty to society, and the conscious possession of a mind
superior to vicissitudes, not to be broken bv misfortune
or woe.”
But, to return from this digression, wdiatever defects some
may have discerned in the continuation of Henry’s His¬
tory, the public generally appreciated the merit of the work,
and honoured the author with its approbation. Thus en¬
couraged, Mr Laing continued his historical labours, and,
having directed his attention to his native country, pub¬
lished, in the year 1800, his History of Scotland, from the
union of the crowns, on the accession of James VI. to
the thione of England, to the union of the kingdoms, in
the reign of Queen Anne : And this was accompanied with
two dissertations, historical and critical; one on the Gowry
conspiracy, and the other on the supposed authenticity of
Ossian s 1 oems. As in the previous case of Dr Henry’s
History, this work proved very dissimilar in its character
to that of which it was in fact intended as a continuation;
w'e mean, the History of Dr Robertson. Of the elaborate
elegance, the studied rhythm, the balanced cadences, and
the academical polish, which distinguish the style of the
latter, it is almost entirely destitute. It cannot be pro¬
nounced either harsh or inelegant, but it is certainly com¬
plicated ; and, from the constant effort made to compress
a gi eat deal of meaning into few words, it becomes occa-
N G.
sionally obscure. It is terse and vigorous, but hard and Laing.
abrupt; without volume, fluency, or elasticity. The con-
tinuity is in the thoughts rather than in the expressions;
the sequence of the ideas is complete, but their full deve¬
lopment is often left to be supplied by the mind of the
reader. In the art of narration, he is as much inferior to
Robertson, as he surpasses him in all the higher attributes of
a philosophical historian ; in tracing events and actions to
their true causes and motives, disentangling intricate and
perplexed questions, sifting evidence, and steadily exploring
his way through the mazes of contradictory testimony. In his
remarks and reflections, he also displays a depth and origi¬
nality of thought which Robertson could never have reach¬
ed, as well as an adventurous boldness of speculation from
which the latter would have shrunk with dismay. But his
chief merits consist in the great critical power he displays
in discussing complicated questions of evidence ; in seizing
and steadily keeping in view the strong points of each case,
as it comes before him ; in the mastery which he exercises
over all the resources of analysis ; in the inflexible perseve¬
rance with which he pursues his investigations ; and in com¬
bining the acuteness of the practised lawyer with the discri¬
mination of the close observer of human nature. Hence,
the separate dissertations, though to some they may appear
to contain nothing but special pleadings, are perhaps the
most instructive as well as admirable portions of the work.
Upon all subjects, indeed, the ruling spirit of the author
prompted him to search for debated questions, few of which
he has left without some sort of settlement of the point in dis¬
pute. In this manner he has treated many points in Eng¬
lish history, and amongst these the celebrated question as
to the authorship of Eikon Basilike ; a subject afterwards
treated with consummate ability by his illustrious friend
and countryman Sir James Mackintosh, and concerning
which he proved that, whatever share Charles may have had
in the original suggestion or even partial composition of the
work, Gauden was the person who had prepared it for the
press, and whose claims on this account were afterwards ful¬
ly and liberally acknowledged.
Mr Laing appears also to have taken a peculiar pleasure
in setting at nought local and national prejudices. Exult¬
ing in the free exercise of his strong reasoning powers, he
scrupled not to attack prevailing opinions, however deeply
rooted in the minds and affections of his countrymen, when
he conceived that they were founded in error. This cha¬
racteristic peculiarity is strikingly exemplified in his Disser¬
tation on the authenticity of the Poems ascribed to Ossian.
These productions required no depth of argument, no minute
investigation of facts, to support their credit amongst an en¬
thusiastic people, much more accessible to the impulses of
feeling than the deductions of reason ; whilst, on the other
hand, those who questioned their genuineness shrunk from
directly encountering what they naturally considered as un¬
conquerable prejudices. But Mr Laing was not a man who
would either acquiesce in a received opinion as such, or
hesitate for an instant to bring it before the tribunal of
reason ; and, accordingly, he proceeded, without scruple or
remorse, to examine the pretensions of Macpherson, on the
broad and intelligible principle of an investigation into the
facts upon which they were professedly grounded.
Ihe arguments in this Dissertation may be resolved
into three great classes or divisions. The first class consists
of a logical examination of the arguments and proofs pro¬
duced, or supposed to have been produced, in favour of
the authenticity of the poems ascribed to Ossian, with a
vigorous exposition of their errors and fallacies; but, as
t le author is necessarily obliged to confine himself to
mere sceptical arguments, this is perhaps the least interest¬
ing and satisfactory part of the investigation. The second
class of arguments, embracing those derived from contem¬
porary documents and chronological facts, not only forms
L A I N G.
Laing. that portion of the subject in the treatment of which the
extensive reading and discriminating sagacity of the au¬
thor were most conspicuously displayed, but constitutes a
body of evidence which finally demolished every pretence
for considering the poems of Ossian as authentic transla¬
tions of the productions of a Highland bard of the fourth
century. The third division of the subject, containing an
examination of the internal evidence furnished by the poems
themselves, if not the most conclusive part of the inquiry,
is certainly that which gives us the highest conception of
the author’s critical ingenuity, indefatigable industry, and
searching spirit of investigation. He produces terms ex¬
pressive of ideas which could scarcely be supposed or even
imagined to have entered into the minds of the early and
rude population of the Highlands ; he points out similes,
and trains of thought, derived or plagiarised from the writ¬
ings of other authors, particularly from Virgil, Milton,
Thomson, and the Book of Psalms ; and, finally, he insti¬
tutes a curious comparison between the method of arrang¬
ing terms and expressing ideas in the poems of Ossian, and
that which is exhibited in a forgotten poem, called The
Highlander, published in early life by Macpherson,—point¬
ing out many striking coincidences, and clearly establish¬
ing, to a certain extent, a complete identity of authorship.
In short, the Dissertation, taken as a whole, though strain¬
ed in some points, and overlaboured in others, presents a
body of evidence and argument, which has completely sa¬
tisfied all impartial persons as to the spuriousness of the
pretended translations of Macpherson, and almost reduced
the defenders of their authenticity to despair. The onset
made by Johnson had proved entirely abortive, because it
was a mere sudden ebullition, the offspring of passion and
prejudice, rather than of inquiry or examination; but the
attack of Laing was of a very different character; and
being conducted in a scientific manner, by regular ap¬
proaches from various points, it ultimately succeeded in de¬
molishing every defence, and in forcing the defenders of
Ossian to capitulate at discretion. “ I was delighted and
instructed by your History,” says Dr Parr, in an original
letter now before us, “ and I sincerely think your remarks
on Ossian one of the most able and satisfactory pieces of
criticism I ever read ; it amounts to demonstration, and
does the highest credit to your sagacity and your know¬
ledge.”
But the author of this fierce attack upon one of the strong¬
holds of Scottish national pride did not achieve his vic¬
tory without suitable reprobation. The Highlanders were
loud in their wailings, and the public prints teemed with
ebullitions of their wrath. All their national feelings
were excited into furious activity against the man who
had dared to dispute the authenticity of Macpherson’s pre¬
tended translations, which every Highlander was prepared
to receive, with undoubting faith, as the genuine inspira¬
tions of Ossian. Mr Laing was regarded as a sort of mon¬
ster, who, having no bowels of compassion, had set all feel¬
ings of patriotism at defiance. To many it seemed an
anomaly in human nature, that a Scotchman should thus
voluntarily undermine a fabric of national glory ; and, un¬
able otherwise to account for such sacrilege, they sought
to discover in the author motives of petty rancour, local
prejudice, and inconceivable animosity. Mr Laing’s Dis¬
sertation, however, had the merit of eliciting a report by
a committee of the Highland Society of Scotland, “ ap¬
pointed to inquire into the nature and authenticity of the
poems of Ossian but although the inquiry was conduct¬
ed under the superintendence of Mr Henry Mackenzie,
and brought to light some curious facts previously un¬
known, it left the question as to the authenticity of Mac¬
pherson’s pretended translations very much in the same
situation in which it originally stood. Meanwhile, Mr
Laing brought the controversy to a final issue by publish-
23
ing a work, entitled the Poems of Ossian, containing the Laing.
Poetical Works of James Macpherson, in prose and rhyme,—v——'
with Notes and Illustrations, the nature of which may easily
be conceived. This work is in fact a great literary curio¬
sity. Like a victim decked out for immolation, it is conspi¬
cuously introduced to the world only to render its destruc¬
tion the more signal and notorious. About the same time,
an attempt was made to answer Mr Laing’s argument, by
a gentleman of the name of Macdonald ; and, two years
afterwards, an elaborate work, complacently termed a Con¬
futation, was published by Dr Graham of Aberfoyle, who,
however, gave a somewhat unlucky specimen of his quali¬
fications for the task, by quoting, as authority concerning
the Celts, the treatise of Tacitus De Moribus Germanorum,
which refers entirely to the nations of Teutonic origin.
Mr Laing did not feel himself called upon to answer an
argument based upon such infelicitous and inapplicable au¬
thority.
His next work was one which, if possible, occasioned a
still greater outpouring of wrath than his Dissertation on
the Poems of Ossian. In 1804) he published a new edition
of his History, to which he prefixed, in two volumes, a Pre¬
liminary Dissertation on the participation of Mary Queen of
Scots in the Murder of Darnley. The object of this dis¬
quisition is declared in the title ; and, throughout the whole
detail, the author never for an instant deviates from the
conclusion of guilt, which it is the professed purpose of his
elaborate induction to establish. This, in fact, is the pecu¬
liar manner in which he has almost invariably treated con¬
troverted questions. Having first formed his own opinion
from analytical investigation, he proceeds at once to esta¬
blish it by synthetical probation ; he arranges his documents
and produces his arguments with the precision and concise¬
ness of a practised logician ; and, in the treatise in ques¬
tion, he no more hints at the possibility of the queen’s inno¬
cence, than the crown-lawyer at that of the prisoner against
whom he seeks for a verdict of guilty. He goes directly
forward to his object, accumulating proofs or presumptions
of criminality as he advances, till at length he carries our
reason as it were by storm, and compels us, whether we will
or not, to acquiesce in the judgment which from the first
we had been prepared to hear pronounced. Few who have
read this extraordinary production can ever forget the start¬
ling exactness with which the arguments are suited to the
facts, or the strict accordance of the reasoning with all the
details of the murder as given in the narrative of that
event submitted to the reader. The reciprocal adaptation
is in every respect complete ; and hence the whole fabric
must be overthrown together, or the joint force and full
result of all must be unconditionally admitted. There is
no other alternative, no intermediate term; Mr Laing
grapples with his subject in such a manner as to render it
impossible to withstand the force of his attack except by
utterly destroying the assailant.
Hence it has been generally acknowledged that the effect
of his reasoning is irresistible. “ His inquiry into the con¬
troverted question of Mary’s participation in the death of
Darnley,” says Dr Parr, “ is minute without tediousness, and
acute without sophistry. Whether I consider,” adds he,
“ his sagacity in explaining causes, his clearness in relating
facts, his vigour in pourtraying characters, or his ingenuity
in unfolding and enforcing principles, I shall ever find reason
to lament that the continuation of Hume’s History was not
undertaken by a writer so eminently qualified as Mr Laing
for a work so arduous and important.” In referring to the
production in question, as one peculiarly characteristic of
his genius, a very able writer in the Edinburgh Review em¬
ploys still stronger language. “ Mr Laing’s merit as a criti¬
cal inquirer into history, an enlightened collector of mate¬
rials, and a sagacious judge of evidence,” says he, “ has never
been surpassed. If any man,” adds he, “ believes the inr-
L A I N G.
24
Laing. nocence of Queen Mary, after an impartial and dispassion-
' ate perusal of Mr Laing’s examination of her case, the state
of such a man’s mind would be a subject worthy of much
consideration by a philosophical observer of human nature.”
Sir James Mackintosh expresses an opinion equally de¬
cided, but much more specific and detailed, “ I have just fi¬
nished a careful perusal of your Dissertation on Mary,” says
he, in a letter to Mr Laing, dated Bombay, 28th of July
1807 ; “ and I think myself bound to profess my shame for
having ever doubted the atrocious guilt of that princess.
Hume and Robertson are undoubtedly too mild. The ori¬
ginal documents themselves cannot be read without con¬
viction. Whoever doubts the genuineness of the long let¬
ter from Glasgow, or of Haubert’s confession, must either
be incorrigibly prejudiced, or altogether unaccustomed to
the examination of evidence. If she were tried before
me, I should certainly direct a jury to find her guilty.
Her adversaries (with the exception of Murray) seem a
detestable gang. Only think of the conferences at York
and Westminster, in which there were at least two ac¬
cusers, Lethington and Morton, who were more or less
concerned in the murder ; for, after all Morton’s dying
piety, by his own account, while his hands were reeking
with Rizzio’s blood, he haggles for a written warrant from
Mary; he suffers at least the murderous plot to proceed
for months, undisturbed by him, to its completion, and he
at last acts a principal part in the collusive acquittal of
the man whom he knew to be the murderer. Indeed the
Scottish court and nation were then little less barbarous,
bloody, and perfidious, than Abyssinia in the time of Bruce,
though the literature of Buchanan, and the beauty of the
unfortunate Mary, throw a little fallacious brilliancy around
them.”1
Besides the works already enumerated, Mr Laing edit¬
ed The Historie and Life of King James the Sext, which
was published at Edinburgh in the year 1804, from a copy
of the original manuscript which David Crawfurd of Drum-
soy, historiographer to Queen Anne, had employed in com¬
piling his Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland. The occa¬
sion of this publication arose out of the exposure made by
Mr Laing, in his Historical Dissertation on the Murder of
Darnley, of the real character of Crawfurd’s work, and
his “ complete detection of the first of those literary for¬
geries for which the Scots are still so peculiarly distin¬
guished.” This he had announced without reserve in the
Dissertation. “ It is necessary to observe,” says he, “ that
Crawfurd’s Memoirs are a downright forgery, which has
introduced much error into the present controversy. Hav¬
ing found a manuscript history of the times, he expunged
every passage unfavourable to Mary, inserted every fact
or assertion which he found in Camden, Spottiswood, or
Melvil, whom he quotes on the margin as collateral au¬
thorities ; and, after compiling Memoirs of his own, pro¬
tests, that without wresting the words, he has adhered to
the sense and meaning of the original. From Goodall’s
advertisement to the second edition, it appears that the Laing.
manuscript was transferred to Mr Hamilton of Wishaw.
On making proper inquiry, I had the good fortune to find
it among the papers of his descendant, the present Lord
Belhaven. From the same advertisement it appears,
that Goodall collated Crawfurd’s Memoirs, not only with
Keith’s copy, but with another of the same manuscript
in the Advocates’ Library;—nor had Goodall the honesty
to explain the forgery which he must have perceived, or
to state, in a single instance, the discrepancy between
the manuscript and the printed Memoirs.”2 These se¬
vere strictures naturally provoked criticism, and Mr Laing
was soon afterwards induced to publish The Historie of
the Life of King James the Sext, as contained in the Bel¬
haven manuscript, the avowed prototype of Crawfurd’s
Memoirs ; a publication which he justly regarded not
merely as a vindication of himself, but also as an instruc¬
tive exposure of one of the grossest literary forgeries that
have ever been employed to pervert the genuine history
of Scotland.3
In the year 1805 Mr Laing married Miss Margaret Car¬
negie, daughter of Mr Thomas Carnegie of Craigo, a most
respectable gentleman in Forfarshire, and sister-in-law to
his friend Lord Gillies. He continued to reside chiefly
in Edinburgh, until 1807, in which year he was chosen
member of parliament for Orkney. He was then in a
very indifferent state of health ; but, during that one ses¬
sion, he occasionally attended his duty in parliament,
where, notwithstanding the disadvantages of his manner,
he was listened to with much attention and respect. These
brief and irregular appearances may be said to comprise
his whole career as a legislator ; for, although he still con¬
tinued a member, a serious illness, with which he was now
seized, prevented his further attendance in parliament,
and thus deprived the country of the services of one who
thoroughly understood, and was eminently qualified to ad¬
vance, its true interests. Whether from excessive study
and exertion, or from original debility of constitution, he
suffered severely from a nervous disorder, which committed
frightful inroads on his already enfeebled frame, and ulti¬
mately reduced him to such a state of weakness, that he
required to be supported by artificial means to prevent him
from fainting. In 1810, his illness still continuing, he
went to reside in Orkney, hoping no doubt to derive bene¬
fit from breathing his native air. Nor were these hopes
altogether disappointed. By the cessation of laborious and
exhausting intellectual exertion, and still more perhaps by
the absence of excitement, his health was to a certain ex¬
tent re-established; and as his ever active mind required,
as a condition of health, employment of some description,
he sought and found it in attention to the primitive occupa¬
tion of mankind. From this period he devoted himself
entirely to agricultural pursuits, in which he displayed his
usual zeal, and in which, also, his labours were crowned
with success. Fie farmed with advantage to himself, but
1 Memoirs, &c. vol. ii. p. 346, 347. “ One reflection struck me,” adds Sir James, in continuation. “ In so small a town as Edin¬
burgh then was, and at so little a court as that of Mary, I think it impossible that all the circumstances of a murder so long con¬
spired, communicated to so many noblemen, and executed by so many of Bothwell’s dependents, should not have very soon transpired,
and been really known in the whole society, before any formal evidence of them was in existence. The contrivance of a false tale, the
forgery of the letters, &c. were, in such circumstances, impossible. Haubert, the queen’s valet, was a person of some consequence.
The gentlemen who were Bothwell’s retainers were still more so. Their confession, if forged, would have been contradicted by wit¬
nesses enough. I speak now with some little experience in such matters. I have been three years a criminal judge, and I know what
becomes of secrets in small societies.”
a Laing’s History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 15, note.
3 Preface to the edition of The Histone printed for the Bannatyne Club, pp. xvi. and xvii. “ One of the immediate results of this
publication (by Mr Laing),” says the learned and ingenious editor, “ was the discovery of the Newhattle manuscript, by the late
noble Marquess ol Lothian, who, with that liberality of spirit which in him was native and indelible, did not lose a moipent in
communicating his discovery to Mr Laing; and, in 1806, Mr Laing, with his characteristic promptitude and zeal, had made prepa¬
rations for printing the continuation ol the work which this manuscript put into his possession, together with the corrections on his
previous publication which it had enabled him to make. From this object, however, he was afterwards diverted by other more im¬
portant pursuits ; and it is now (1825) only, for the first time, that the entire History and Life of King James the Sixth has been
given to the public.” (Preface, uU supra.)
L A I
L A K
25
certainly with far greater advantage to Orkney, into which
he introduced many beneficial improvements, the general
adoption of which is chiefly ascribable to his example.
But his health, which had so long been infirm, continued
to decline till November 1818, when he expired suddenly,
without any suspicion having been entertained of the im¬
mediate approach of death.
Mr Laing was personally much esteemed, and, as an his¬
torian, greatly admired by Mr Fox, whose acquaintance he
appears to have made some time in the year 1804. In a
note prefixed to an interleaved copy of the first edition of
the History of Scotland, containing Dr Parr’s corrections,
and dated on Good Friday 1803, the doctor says, “ Mr Fox
is a great admirer of your work, and he is also puri sermo-
nis amator. I wish you were acquainted. As a critic, he
is quite as captious and fastidious in protecting English
idiom from Scottish invasion as I am.” It would appear
that not long afterwards the wish here expressed was rea¬
lized. Mr Fox not only admired Mr Laing’s work, but em¬
phatically pronounced it a “ treasure opening, as he said,
new sources of interesting information ; presenting new
views of important transactions; and constituting a valu¬
able acquisition to all who desire to obtain a true know¬
ledge of the history of the nation of which it treats. The
correspondence which passed between these distinguished
individuals still remains unpublished, though it would no
doubt form a very interesting addition to our stock of epis¬
tolary information respecting the history of the period to
which it relates. During the time that Mr Laing repre¬
sented his native county in parliament, and was permit¬
ted by the state of his health to attend to his parliamen¬
tary duties, he gave an active and zealous support to the
short administration of his illustrious friend, of whose cha¬
racter and principles he was an ardent and devoted ad¬
mirer.
The severity of Mr Laing’s manner, the uncompromising
nature of his opinions, the inflexible sternness of his prin¬
ciples, and the keen controversial character of his writings,
all united to raise up against him a numerous host of ad¬
versaries, who but too often endeavoured to conceal their
deficiency in knowledge and in argument by the bitterness
of their scurrility, or the virulence of their abuse; but, in his
private capacity, he appears to have had no enemies. On
the contrary, he was much esteemed and beloved by his per¬
sonal friends, all of whom that still survive agree in describ¬
ing him as a single-hearted, upright, and truly honest man,
who, to the courage necessary for asserting any truth how¬
ever dangerous, or combating any prejudice however in¬
veterate, added a higher and rarer endowment, namely,
the magnanimity of acknowledging and correcting an error
when it was distinctly shown to be such. He loved truth
for its own sake; and though he delighted to discuss con¬
troverted questions both in history and in letters, he never
contended for victory like a vulgar disputant, but only
sought, by the honest means of research and reasoning, to
disencumber such questions of the errors and fallacies with
which he conceived them to have been overgrown, and to set
before the world the uncorrupted truth in its native simpli¬
city and purity. That his judgments were sometimes harsh,
and his censure often unsparing, when the occasion seem¬
ed scarcely to require any great display of severity, is what
his admirers have never denied nor attempted to conceal;
but, on the other hand, it is proper to keep in view, that
strong convictions naturally give birth to strong expres¬
sions, and that a mind at once actuated by the love of
truth, rectitude, and liberty, and by an innate abhorrence
of falsehood, iniquity, and oppression, could scarcely be ex¬
pected, in surveying some of the darkest and blackest por¬
tions of our annals, to refrain from giving utterance to that
moral indignation which every lover of freedom and of
virtue must feel in contemplating the abuse of law, justice,
von. xm.
religion, humanity, and government, for the purpose of en- Lairesse
slaving and oppressing a whole people. Finally, to Mr II
Laing, more perhaps than to any other historian or critic of Lake,
his country, belongs the undoubted merit of having clear- y-1*-'
ed away much rubbish, removed much prejudice, refuted
numerous and grave errors, detected not a fewr impostures,
and, generally, placed both the characters and events of
that portion of our national history of which he treats, in
a clearer and more satisfactory light than he found them.
(See Parr’s Works, edited by Dr Johnstone, vol. viii.;
Field’s Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Opinions of Dr
Parr, in two vols.; Pinkerton’s Literary Correspondence,
in two vols.; Original Letters of Dr Parr Jo Mr Laing;
Edinburgh Review, vol. xliv. p. 37 ; The Historic and Life
of King James the Sext, edited by Mr Laing, Edinburgh,
1804, in 8vo ; The Historic and Life of James the Sext,
with a short continuation to the year 1617, from the New-
battle Manuscript, printed for the Bannatyne Club, with a
preface by the Vice-President, Mr Thomas Thomson, Edin¬
burgh, 1825, in 4to; Laing’s History and other Works,
passim.) > (a.)
LAIftESSE, Gerard, an eminent Flemish painter,
born at Liege in 1640. He wrote an excellent book on
the art, which was translated into English, and printed at
London, both in 4to and 8vo.
LAIS, a celebrated courtezan, daughter of Timandra,
born at Hycara in Sicily. It is said that she first began
to sell her favours at Corinth for ten thousand drachmas.
This gave rise to the proverb, Non cuivis homini contigit
adire Corinthum. The success which her gallantries met
with at Corinth encouraged her to pass into Thessaly, and
more particularly to enjoy the company of a favourite
youth called Hippostratus. She was, however, disap¬
pointed. The women of the place, jealous of her charms,
and apprehensive of her corrupting the fidelity of their
husbands, assassinated her in the temple of Venus, about
340 years before the Christian era. Some suppose that
there were two persons of this name, a mother and her
daughter.
LAITY, the people as distinguished from the clergy.
The lay part of his majesty’s subjects is divided into three
distinct states; the civil, the military, and the naval.
LAKE, an extensive accumulation of water, wholly
surrounded by land, and having no direct nor immediate
communication with the ocean or with any seas, or hav¬
ing so only by means of rivers. Lakes are of various
kinds, and have been divided into two classes, according
to their situation and causes of production. Those which
are formed in deep hollows between the ridges or at the
bases of mountains, and which are supplied with water by
springs or torrents, are classed together; and those which
are formed in low and level countries by the surplus wa¬
ter of rivers, or from a want of sufficient declivity in the
ground to allow the waters to continue their course, con¬
stitute a second class. But there are several other cha¬
racteristics belonging to lakes, which justify a more mi¬
nute division; and four distinct kinds have been recog¬
nised. The first class comprehends those which have no
issue, and into which no running water flows. These,
being generally diminutive in size, do not merit much at¬
tention. . Some of them, as the Arendt, in Vieille Marche,
are formed by the sinking down of the circumjacent lands ;
others, like the Lake Albano, near Rome, appear to be
old volcanic craters filled with water. The second class
consists of those lakes which discharge, but receive no
running water. These are formed by springs, which, ris¬
ing in a hollow place or reservoir, fill it before they find an
outlet for their own waters. These lakes, however, are
fed by small, almost invisible, streams, which descend
from contiguous heights, or from subterraneous canals.
Lakes of this description are often the source of large
D
26
L A K
L A K
Lake, rivers, and they are naturally situated on great elevations,
'v'"-"' There is one of this kind on Mount Rotando, in Corsica,
which is 9294 feet above the level of the sea. The third
class, consisting of lakes which receive and discharge
streams of water, is very numerous. Each of these lakes
may be considered as a large basin or reservoir for re¬
ceiving tbe accumulated waters of the neighbouring coun¬
tries. They have in general only one opening, which al¬
most always takes its name from the principal river which
flows into it. These rivers are sometimes said to traverse
the lakes ; but this is scarcely correct, as their waters
mingle with those of the basin over wdiich they are diffus¬
ed. These lakes have often sources of their own, either
near the borders, or in their bottom. There are four or
five lakes of this class in North America, which in mag¬
nitude resemble seas, but which preserve their clearness
and sweetness notwithstanding, by the flow of a continual
stream of fresh water. Sometimes a chain of lakes are
connected with one another and with the ocean, by a series
of rivers. This is the case with the great lakes on the
northern frontier of North America,, where basin suc¬
ceeds basin on a lower level, like so many locks of a canal.
A fourth class of lakes are those which receive streams of
water, and often great rivers, without having apparently
any outlet. These lakes are in general confined to warm
climates; but the Caspian Sea, the largest of all lakes,
belongs to this class. (See the article on the Caspian
Sea.) There are a great many others besides in Asia ; and
South America contains the Lake Titicaca, which has no
efflux, although it receives very considerable rivers into it.
Such lakes appear to belong to the interior of great con¬
tinents ; they are placed on elevated plains, which have
no sensible declivity towards the sea, and which do not
allow of the water opening for itself a passage through
which to flow out. It was long conjectured, that, by some
subterraneous channel, lakes of this description communi¬
cated with the sea ; but the fact that the surfaces of some
of the most remarkable of them, such as the Caspian and
the Dead Sea, are depressed below the level of tbe ocean,
is quite sufficient to explode this hypothesis. For were
there any communication, however small, the ocean would
flow into the lake till it brought it to a level with itself.
The true explanation seems to be, that a quantity of wa¬
ter equal to that which runs in is carried off by evapora¬
tion. The absorption of liquid by the contiguous land
may also materially assist in carrying off the surplus fluid.
There is another class of lakes, which differ materially
from any of the preceding, namely, those which are con¬
tained in cavities quite covered over by earthy strata.
These are probably very numerous, for it frequently hap¬
pens, that after any violent convulsion of the globe, such
as an earthquake, they become exposed to view ; and, by
the operations of mining, digging of wells, and the like,
they have often been met with. Some of them appear
to be the source of rivers, whilst others are known to re¬
ceive very considerable streams, which lose themselves in
the interior. Such are the numerous cavities of the Ju¬
lian Alps. Certain lakes situated above ground periodi¬
cally disappear ; and their waters, it is most probable,
flow into similar reservoirs. That very extensive subter¬
ranean cavities exist, is sufficiently attested by numerous
phenomena. The disappearance of rivers, the waters
thrown up by volcanoes, the sudden and terrible inunda¬
tion of mines, the mountains which are suddenly en-
gulphed in the bosom of lakes, and the springs of fresh
water which spout up in the midst of the ocean, are all
so many evidences of the fact. There is a district in the
interior of Algiers, where the inhabitants, after digging
to a depth of about two hundred fathoms, invariably come
to water, which flows up in such abundance that they
call it the subterranean sea.
The physical phenomena which certain lakes present
are very remarkable, and were calculated to excite asto¬
nishment in an age when the operation of natural causes
was not sufficiently attended to. Periodical lakes are the
most common. Those which are formed by excessive
rains, and which are evaporated by solar influence, are
sometimes of great magnitude, as in tropical climates,
where they cover spaces of several hundred leagues in
length and breadth. Towards the poles they shrink into
mere pools, scarcely worthy of notice. But there are
lakes entirely independent of the rainy season, which ap¬
pear and disappear at certain intervals, although these
changes do not seem to take place at regular intervals.
With regard to such sheets of water, Malte-Brun ob¬
serves : “ If there exist now in the numerous cavities
of the earth subterraneous lakes of this kind, and if these
communicate with other lakes which are visible, it is easy
to imagine that the waters of these last may sometimes
entirely disappear, by sinking down into the basin of the
subterraneous lakes in proportion as they dry up. This
lower basin again filling itself anew, the waters issue from
it to fill the superior basin. If, in a supposable series of
subterraneous cavities, the last link of the chain happen
to be a mass of subterraneous water, situated at an ele¬
vated level in the bosom of a mountain, the periodical
return of the waters in the visible basin may be accom¬
panied by a motion similar to that of the spouting foun¬
tains. It is by means of such hydraulic machinery that
nature keeps up the wonders of the lake of Cirknitz in
Illyria, and in many others of the same description.”
There are some lakes which present very remarkable
phenomena, such as rising and falling like a tide, and
boiling, and becoming agitated even during serene wea¬
ther. Some of the Scottish lakes, and the Welter in
Sweden, often experience violent commotion when the
atmosphere is perfectly still. It seems highly probable
that these agitations are connected with earthquakes in
distant countries; and a coincidence in dates on certain
occasions has given countenance to this belief. In Por¬
tugal there is a small lake or pool near Beja in Alemtejo,
which emits a loud noise on the approach of a storm.
Other lakes appear agitated by the disengagement of sub¬
terranean gases, or by winds which blow in some cavern
with which the lake communicates. Near Boleslaw, in
Bohemia, there is a lake of unfathomable depth, which
sometimes in winter emits blasts of wind so strong as to
elevate to some height ponderous pieces of ice. in the
Marche of Brandeburg, the pool of Krestin often com¬
mences in fine weather to boil up in whirlpools, so as to
engulph small fishing boats.
With regard to depth, lakes vary infinitely. In those si¬
tuated in mountainous districts, it is remarkably great;
that of Lochness, in Scotland, is one hundred and thirty
fathoms in some parts. The general depth of the Caspian
Sea is from sixty to seventy fathoms ^ but this increases
towards the southern end to such a degree that no bottom
can be found with a line of three hundred and eighty fa¬
thoms. The lake of Geneva attains the great depth of one
hundred and sixty-one fathoms, and there are many others
known to be exceedingly deep, without the amount being
exactly ascertained. Several have passed for ages amongst
the vulgar as bottomless; but this opinion, it is scarcely
necessary to say, is unworthy of credit. Yet we are not
to reckon as fabulous the accounts of lakes with double
bottoms, which are said to be found in Sweden and else¬
where. This phenomenon is supposed to arise from inter¬
woven roots becoming incrusted, and, being suspended
near the bottom of a lake, rise and fall according to cir¬
cumstances, thus causing the depth to vary in appearance
In regard to the temperature of lakes, see the article Cli¬
mate.
L A L
Lake Distinct from any of the characteristics of lakes yet al¬
ii luded to, is the chemical nature of their waters. Lakes, in
Lalande. reSpect to the quality of the waters, are distinguished into
fresh, saline, and alkaline. Those which receive and dis¬
charge considerable quantities of fresh water are almost al¬
ways kept themselves in a state of perfect freshness; but
those which have no outlet are invariably saline. Thus
the Dead Sea, whose waters have no efflux, and into which
the river Jordan continually flows, contains about eight
times as much salt as common sea-water. The waters of
the Jordan are brackish, and the neighbouring soil is much
impregnated with salt, so that the accumulation of such a
quantity of saline matter in the lake, during a series of
ages, is by no means surprising, for none of it ever passes
off by evaporation. Salt must likewise be accumulating
in beds at its bottom ; for as soon as water is perfectly sa-
tm-ated, and can hold no more salt in solution, the latter
must fall to the bottom. Some of the large Asiatic lakes
are dried up during summer, and their beds appear lined
with an incrustation of salt. All the great American lakes
consist of fresh water ; those of Europe are either fresh or
slightly saline ; but the Caspian Sea, and various others
which are situated in plains full of salt, or in tracts of
country where salt springs abound, are almost invariably im¬
pregnated with that substance. Some lakes are both saline
and alkaline, as is the case with the Natron Lakes in Low¬
er Egypt. They derive their appellation from their abound¬
ing in soda, which is there called trona and natron, the nitre
of the Scriptures. Some lakes produce a pitchy substance.
In the island of Trinidad there is one, on the surface of
which an enormous quantity of bitumen, fit for naval pur¬
poses, is collected. Deposits of various kinds, besides those
enumerated, seem to owe their origin to lakes. Bog iron-
ore, or hydro-phosphate of iron, is often found in such situ¬
ations as to show that it has been deposited from the
waters of lakes; and in some countries it is collected from
the sides and bottoms of lakes once in a certain number of
years. Calcareous springs are numerous, and when the
waters of these collect in a hollow place, so as to form a
lake, quantities of calcareous sinters and tuffas are depo¬
sited, so that the lakes when emptied present extensive
deposits of that mineral. The travertine employed at
Rome for building is a lake or spring calcareous deposit of
sinter and tuffa.
From the great changes which have been taking place
for a series of ages, the number, the extent, and the situ¬
ation of lakes must have from time to time been materially
altered. That they occupied a greater extent of the earth’s
surface formerly than they do now, is quite consistent with
geological phenomena. But the investigation of the sub¬
ject belongs more properly to Geology, which see under the
head of Mineralogy. (r. R. R.)
Lake, or Lacque, a preparation of different substances,
which are formed into a kind of magistery for the use of
painters. One of the finest and first invented of these
was that of gum lacca or lacque, from which all the rest, as
made by the same process, are called by the common name
lacques. See Lacca.
LALANDE, Joseph Jerome Lefran^ais de, a most
zealous and accomplished astronomer, born at Bourg en
Bresse, on the 11th of July 1732, was the son of Peter Le-
franqais, and Marianne Mouchinet, his wife.
His parents were in easy circumstances, and his edu¬
cation being somewhat too indulgent, the natural quick¬
ness and impetuosity of his temper was too little restrain¬
ed. His earliest taste, like that of most other children,
seems to have been for romantic tales; and he was fond
of making little stories with such materials as he pos¬
sessed, but their subject was chiefly religious. He was in
the habit of living much with the Jesuits, and he imbibed
from them a predilection for the pulpit. At the age of
L A L 27
ten he used to amuse himself with making sermons, and Lalande.
preaching them to a select congregation. The comet of-'r—
1744, however, with its long tail, took more forcible pos¬
session of his imagination, and he watched it with the
most unremitting attention. Having been sent to Lyons
to continue his studies under the Jesuits there, he acquired
a taste for poetry and eloquence, and was then inclined to
devote himself to literature and to the bar ; but an eclipse
of the sun recalled his attention to astronomy. His pa¬
rents wished him to follow the profession of magistrate,
and with that view sent him to Paris ; but he accidentally
lodged in a hotel where Delisle had established an obser¬
vatory, and this circumstance led him to become acquaint¬
ed with that professor, and to attend his lectures. These
lectures were by no means popular; and the want of a
more numerous audience made it easy for the professor to
accommodate his instructions to the fixed attention and
rapid progress of his new pupil, who became singularly at¬
tached to his master, and to all the methods which he em¬
ployed. Lalande attended, however, at the same time,
the physico-mathematical lectures of Lemonnier, who was
more in credit as a teacher, and who also took great pains
for his improvement.
In the mean time he had completed his legal studies, and
at the age of eighteen he was called to the bar as an advo¬
cate. His family was anxious for his return to Bourg; but
just at that time Lemonnier obtained leave to nominate
him as a substitute for himself on an astronomical mission
to Berlin, where he was to make observations on the lunar
parallax, corresponding with those which Lacaille was sent
to the Cape to obtain. He was favourably received by
Maupertuis, who introduced him to Frederic and his court;
and was made a member of the Academy of Sciences at
Berlin, when he was about nineteen.
He remained a year in that city, observing at night, and
passing his mornings in the study of the integral calculus,
under Euler’s directions ; and his evenings in the society
of Voltaire, Maupertuis, D’Argens, and other men of ta¬
lents. It was not likely that his intercourse with such
persons would confirm the principles which he had im¬
bibed from the Jesuits; his moral conduct, however, does
not appear to have been influenced by his change of sen¬
timents. After his return to Bourg, he pleaded a few
causes to oblige his friends; but the success of his operations
at Berlin obtained him speedily a place in the Academy
of Sciences at Paris; for, in 1753, before he was twenty-
one, he was chosen to fill up a vacancy in the department of
astronomy, which had been open for some years. He soon
afterwards offended his friend Lemonnier, by rejecting too
harshly an unfounded objection of that astronomer to his
method of computing the effect of the earth’s ellipticity on
the lunar parallax, which differed from Euler’s formula.
Lacaille, who drew up the report of a committee appoint¬
ed on the occasion, decided in Lalande’s favour; but Le-
monjiier remained dissatisfied, and would not see him for
twenty years. He had some similar discussions, at a later
period, with Dusejour, who was a little too severe in criti¬
cizing some of his approximations, as if they had been in¬
tended to be rigidly accurate ; but their personal friend¬
ship remained unaltered.
For more than fifty years he continued to be a constant
and voluminous contributor to the Memoirs of the Parisian
Academy, as well as to other scientific collections. His
investigations were always judiciously directed to the ad¬
vancement of astronomy ; but they can scarcely ever be
said to have exhibited any marked features of talent, or
of address, beyond what might be expected from the in¬
dustry of a man of good ordinary abilities, confining him¬
self almost entirely to one subject. He was always anxi¬
ous to call the public attention to astronomy as a science,
and to himself as an individual. Thus, on occasion of the
28 L A L A N D E.
Lalande. transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769, he addressed a circular
letter to most of the governments of Europe, on the import¬
ance of obtaining a multiplicity of collateral observations ;
and he received in reply several invitations from sovereigns
whose countries were more favourably situated for the
purpose than France, to come and make the observations
in person. He thought it unnecessary, however, to leave
Paris on the occasion. He contented himself with being
the first to announce to the public the result of the most
satisfactory comparisons ; and his countrymen seemed to
give him almost the whole credit of every thing that had
been done by others in conformity with his suggestions.
He was much mortified, however, in not receiving from
Father Hell an account of the observations made at Ward-
bus ; and he was afterwards greatly inclined to dispute
their accuracy, because Hell made the parallax smaller
than he did by £th of a second; whilst the mean of both re¬
sults, which is 8, 6", agrees extremely well with the most
modern computations ; but, in the end, he did justice to
the importance of Hell’s observations.
He was constantly in the habit of passing a few months
every year with his family in the country, and he occa¬
sionally amused himself, in the course of these visits, with
mineralogical excursions, and with chemical studies. He
delivered, about the year 1758, an oration before a public
assembly at Lyons, on the advantage of monarchy above
every other form of government; he even adhered to a
similar opinion, and expressed it openly, in times when
nothing but his celebrity, as a man devoted exclusively to
science, could have made it safe for him to declare it.
After having published the astronomical tables of Hal¬
ley, he felt the necessity of a new collection, and deter¬
mined to begin with those of Mercury, which he found the
most imperfect. He pursued, for this purpose, a regular
course of observations at the Palais Royal, where he used
to go before sunrise, in the winter mornings, to see the
planet in the twilight. Having occasion to refer to the
observations recorded by Ptolemy, he found it ‘necessary
to refresh his acquaintance with the Greek language, which
he had in some measure neglected. But, with all his la¬
bour and diligence, his tables of Mercury exhibited, in
1786, an error of forty minutes in the time of a transit.
The circumstance mortified him extremely; but it led to a
revision of the tables, and he afterwards succeeded in mak¬
ing them much more perfect. It must be recollected, that,
in the time of Hevelius, a transit was anxiously expected
for four whole days before it occurred.
He next undertook to improve the tables of Mars and
Venus. His tables of these planets were, on the whole, less
accurate than those of Mercury, though more exempt from
great occasional errors. He had computed their perturba¬
tions in the Memoirs of the Academy, but he never thought
it worth while to compare his formulas with observation.
The irregularities of Jupiter and Saturn were much more
discouraging; he was obliged to confine himself, in dis¬
cussing them, to the most modern observations; and he
did not appear sufficiently to appreciate the empirical equa¬
tions of Lambert, though they greatly diminished the errors
of Halley’s tables.
When Maraldi had given up the management of the
Connaissance des Terns, Lalande and Pingre were candi¬
dates for the appointment. Lalande succeeded in obtain¬
ing it; but he had the modesty to confess that the work
would have been more accurately performed by Pingre, if
his connection with the church had not, according to the
rules of the academy, incapacitated him for the situation.
He made the work, however, much more popular, as a mis¬
cellaneous publication, than Pingre was likely to have done;
and he was less prejudiced than Pingre in the choice of his
tables. He remained editor of the work from 1760 to
1775; it was conducted by Jeaurat from 1776 to 1787,
and from 1788 to 1793 by Mechain. Lalande then under- Lalande.
took it once more, Mechain being engaged in some mea- v'—-
surements with Delambre, and the academy having been
abolished, and its members dispersed.
Lalande had been disposed to call in question the asser¬
tion of Newton and of Voltaire, that no comet could possibly
come into contact with the earth; and he had proved that
the effect of perturbations at least rendered their reason¬
ings somewhat inconclusive. A short memoir on the sub¬
ject, which was to have been read at a public sitting of
the academy, was accidentally omitted, as not very impor¬
tant, from the pressure of other business. This circum¬
stance alarmed the sensibility of the public of Paris, who
fancied that Lalande had foretold some dreadful catastrophe,
which the government was afraid to announce ; and when
the memoir was published, they insisted that its contents
had been modified, to lessen the alarm. Dusejour made
some objections to the author’s reasoning; but the whole
affair was soon forgotten.
A memoir on the length of the year was honoured with
a prize by the academy at Copenhagen. Delambre, how¬
ever, thinks the determination not so good as the earlier
one of Lacaille, though much better than Mayer’s, which
was more commonly adopted. Lalande took great pains
also with the subject of the sun’s rotation, employing in
his computations of the places of the spots an easy ap¬
proximation, instead of Dusejour’s more laborious me¬
thods ; but being careful to compare with each other the
most distant observations of the same spot. From the
existence of this rotation he thought it reasonable to in¬
fer that the sun had also most probably a progressive mo¬
tion, which would naturally be produced by any single
impulse capable of occasioning a rotation. He had some
discussions with Dr Maskelyne respecting the mode of
computing the equation of time, in which Maskelyne ap¬
pears to have had the advantage.
In the year 1762, Delisle resigned in his favour the pro¬
fessorship of astronomy in the College de France, which
he kept for nearly forty-six years. He allowed the most
attentive of his pupils to board with him at a cheap rate,
doing his utmost on all occasions to promote their success
in their studies and in life. Thus he brought forward
Mechain and Dagelet, and afterwards his own nephew,
who completed, with so much diligence and accuracy, the
Description of the Heavens, which he had himself project¬
ed, and which had been begun by Dagelet befox*e his un¬
fortunate expedition. He was made a fellow of the Royal
Society of London in 1763.
His health was generally good, though his constitution
was delicate. He had an attack of jaundice in 1767, which
was attributed to intense application; but he completely
recovered from its effects by an attention to diet, and by
the use of horse exercise. He then intended to leave all
his property to the academy; but he afterwards gave up
his family estates to his relations, and lived on his ap¬
pointments only, refraining from all kinds of luxuries, in
order to be the more able to do acts of liberality to his
friends, whom he always sought to oblige in the most de¬
licate manner, and often without making his services
known. He had a pension from Russia in the time of the
Empress Catherine; it was suspended by Paul, but re¬
stored in 1805 by Alexander.
He was not particularly successful as an observer, but
used to refer to the works of his contemporaries, Bradley
and Lacaille, though not exactly, according to the expres¬
sion of one of his biographers, “ as Ptolemy had done to
those of Hipparchus ;” for Hipparchus must have been
dead two centuries before Ptolemy was born. On the
occasion of the disappearance of the ring of Saturn in
1774, he went to Beziers, in order to profit by the supe¬
rior serenity of the air there, the climate of that country
L A L A N D E. 29
Lalande. being supposed to be the best in France ; but his observa-
tions were less valuable than others made at Paris and in
London.
In the year 1798, he undertook an astronomical expe¬
dition to Gotha. He had once meditated an aerostatical
voyage there ; but his companion took care that their dan¬
gers should terminate in the Bois de Boulogne. He was
received with much interest at Gotha by an assembly of
astronomers that was collected from different parts of Ger¬
many. The object of the congress was perhaps not un¬
mixed with personal vanity ; but it had no political design
to promote, unless the general adoption of the new French
measures could be considered as a political object. La¬
lande was by no means a revolutionist; he was sufficiently
free from any prejudices of education ; but he openly con¬
demned the political opinions of the day; and, in 1792,
he even exposed himself to great personal danger in order
to save the life of Dupont de Nemours, after the 10th of
August: and he was equally useful to some of the clergy,
whom he concealed in the buildings of the Observatory
at Mazarin College, making them pass for astronomers.
He had also the courage to publish accounts of Lavoisier
and Bailly, a short time after their deaths.
The attentions of the German astronomers gave him
sincere pleasure. He was at all times extremely sensible
to compliments, and even to flattery, though very regard¬
less of satire. He used to call himself a sponge for praise,
and an oil-cloth for censure. He professedly believed
himself endowed with all the virtues, modesty not except¬
ed. He was so fond of notoriety that he once undertook
to exhibit the variations of the light of Algol to the pub¬
lic of Paris on the Pont Neuf; but the police interfered,
thinking it right to prevent a disorderly assemblage.
Though Lalande can only be classed in the second rank
as an inventive astronomer, or a mathematician, he cer¬
tainly stands in the first as a professor and a popular writer.
His methods of calculation have in most instances been
already superseded by others more convenient or more
exact; those which related to particular phenomena for
want of sufficient precision, and those which were more
general for want of being readily applicable, without con¬
tinual repetition, to a sufficient number of concux*ring ob¬
servations. It has been observed, that he may perhaps
have been often too zealous in the pursuit of his favourite
objects; but that, if he had possessed more circumspec¬
tion, and less vivacity of character, he would have been
more exempt from criticism, yet would have rendered less
important services to science and to mankind.
His last illness was of a consumptive nature, and he
seems to have accelerated its termination by attempting
too much to harden himself. He died on the 4th of April
1807, nearly seventy-five years old, and in the perfect pos¬
session of his faculties. His last words, when he dismissed
his attendants to rest, were, “ I have need of nothing more,”
and in a few minutes he was dead. Had he survived a
few hours, he would have received a letter from Dr Gi¬
bers, announcing the discovery of a new planet, for which
that distinguished astronomer afterwards received the
fourth prize medal upon the institution founded by La¬
lande in 1802, for the most important astronomical disco¬
very made in the course of the year.
Of his voluminous and diversified publications a simple
enumeration of the subjects will perhaps be thought too
long for perusal, though not improper for insertion in a
work which ought to comprehend a complete literary his¬
tory or bibliography of the sciences.
1. We find, in the Memoirs of the Parisian Academy
of Sciences for 1751, an account of his Observations at
Berlin, which also appears in the Memoirs of Berlin for
1749, and a Latin translation in the Acta Eruditorum for
August 1752. 2, 3. 1752-53, An Essay on the Lunar
Parallax. 4. 1754, A Transit of Mercury. 5. Elements Lalande.
of Mars. 6. 1755, Longitude of Berlin. 7. Lunar Eclipse.
8. 1756, Transit of Mercury. 9. Lunar Parallax conti¬
nued. 10. 1757, Observations at the Luxembourg. 11.
Transit of Venus. 12. Secular Equations and Mean Mo¬
tions. 13. A Gnomonical Problem. 14. Meridian Alti¬
tudes. 15. 1758, Perturbations of Mars by Jupiter. 16.
Motions of the Planetary Nodes. 17. Change of Lati¬
tudes of the Stars. 18. 1759, Comet of 1682 and 1759.
19. 1760, Sun’s Diameter. 20. Perturbation of Venus by
the Earth. 21. Eclipse of 1760. 22. 1761, Solar Paral¬
lax. 23. Interpolation. 24. Transit of Venus Observed.
25. Solar Parallax. 26. Transit Computed. 27. Ob¬
served at Tobolsk. 28. In Denmark. 29. Compasses,
and the Variation. 30. Perturbation of Mars by the
Earth. 31. Planetary Nodes. 32. 1762, Equation of
Time. 33. Obliquity of the Ecliptic. 34. Horary Mo¬
tion in Transits. 35. Nodes of Jupiter’s Satellites. 36.
Diameter of Venus. 37. Comet of 1762. 38. 1763,
Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites. 39. Solar Eclipses for a
Spheroid. 40. Triangles, Rectilinear and Spherical. 41.
1764, Transit of 1769. 42. Lunar Libration. 43. 1765,
Motion of Saturn. 44. Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites.
45. The Third Satellite. 46, 47. 1766, Theory of Mer¬
cury. 50. 1768, Opposition of Jupiter. 51. Transit of
1769. 52. Orbit of Saturn. 53. 1769, Lunar Observa¬
tions. 54. Comet of 1769. 55. Transit of Venus. 56.
A Solar Eclipse. 57. Transit of Venus. 58, 59, 60.
Comparisons of Observations. 61. 1770, Solar Parallax.
62. Sun’s Diameter. 63. Appearances in the Transit.
64. Chappe’s Observation. 65. 1771, Theory of Mercury.
66. Astronomical Observations. 67. Solar Parallax. 68.
1772, Transit of Venus. 69. Tides. 70. 1773, Comets.
71. Saturn’s Ring. 72. 1774, An Opposition of Saturn.
73. Saturn’s Ring. 74. Disappearance of the Ring, at
Beziers. 75. 1775, Opposition of Mars. 76. Elements
of Mars. 77. Same Latitudes and Longitudes. 78. Op¬
position of Jupiter and Saturn. 79. An Eclipse of Sa¬
turn. 80. 1776, Spots and Rotation of the Sun. 81.
1777, Observations at Paris and Madrid. 82. An Obser¬
vation of Mercury. 83. Longitude of Padua. 84. The
Solar Spots, continued. 85. 1779, Third Satellite of Ju¬
piter. 86. Theory of Venus. 87. Herschel. 88. 1780,
Obliquity of the Ecliptic. 89. Precession of the Equi¬
noxes. 90. Fourth Satellite of Jupiter. 91. 1782, Du¬
ration of the Year. 92. A Transit of Mercury. 93.
1783, An Eclipse of the Sun. 94. Inclination of the Or¬
bits. 95. 1784, Elements of Jupiter. 96. Ellipticity of
the Earth. 97. 1785, Motion of Venus. 98. 1786, Se¬
cular Equations of the Sun and Moon. 99. Mass of Ve¬
nus. 100. Equation of Mars. 101. Mars in Quadrature.
102. Orbit of Saturn. 103. Theory of Mercury, fifth
Memoir. 104. Satellites of Jupiter. 105. Fifth of Sa¬
turn. 106. 1787, Fernel’s Measurement. 107. Her-
schel’s. 108. Jupiter’s Third Satellite. 109. Conjunc¬
tion of Venus. 110. Motion of Saturn. 111. Inclination
of Saturn. 112. Answer to Lemonnier, on Lunar Obser¬
vations. 113. Solar Eclipses of 1787. 114. Eclipse of
1666. 115. Caspian Sea. 116. 1787, Eclipse of 1765.
117. 1788, Eclipses applied to Longitudes. 118. Con¬
junction of Venus. 119. Lunar Parallax, fourth Memoir.
120. Moon’s Diameter. 121. Jupiter’s Fourth Satellite.
122. Satellites of Saturn. 123. Light of Algol. 124.
Height of the Seine. 125. 1789, Epacts. 126. Obser¬
vations of 8000 Stars, first Part. 127. Motion of Venus.
128. Astronomical Observations. 129. Observation of
Mercury. 130. Tides. 131. Catalogue of Stars, second
Part. 132. 1790, Disappearance of Saturn’s Ring. 133.
Interior of Africa. 134. Mem. Inst. i. 1798, Orbit of
Mercury. 135. ii. 1797, Occultations of Aldebaran. 136.
Solar Eclipse of 1706. 137. Solar Eclipse of 1748. 138.
L A L A N D E.
Lalande. y. 1803, Zodiac at Strasburg. 139. Eclipses calculated.
140. Opposition of Mars. 141, 142. Motion of Venus.
143. Motion of Mercury. 144. vi. 1806, A Transit of
Mercury.
145. The earliest of his separate publications appear to
have been two little volumes, intended for provincial cir¬
culation only, entitled Etrennes Historiques, 24. • Par.
1755-56. 146. Another little article of his miscellaneous
works was a Discours qui a remporte le Prix de 1’Acade-
mie de Marseille en 1757, Mars. 1757. The subject was
the spirit of justice, as tending to the glory and the sta¬
bility of a government. 147. We have then Three Letters
on Platina, Jour, des Sav. 1758, Jan. Jun. 1760, Feb.
148. Letter on a new Sun Dial, Jour. So,v. Jun. 1758, ii.
439; the lines being invisible when the sun does not
shine.
149. Tables Astronomiques de Halley, 2 vols. 8. Paris,
1759. Containing several new tables, and an elaborate
history of the comet of 1759, of which the author had
computed the perturbations, according to the theory of
Clairaut. 150. Connaissance des Terns, 16 vols. 8vo, Par.
1760-1775; 14 vols. 1794-1807. This work contains, be¬
sides, the Ephemeris, an important selection of the most
useful astronomical papers. On one occasion, for tempo¬
rary reasons, these papers were published in a separate
volume. 151. Exposition du Calcul Astronomique, 8. Pa¬
ris, 1762; a companion to the almanac.
152. Oraison funebre de Maurice Comte de Saxe, 8.
Par. 1760. 153. Art du Papetier, f. Par. 1761. 154.
Parcheminier, 1762. 155. Cartonnier, 1764. 156. Cha-
moiseur, 1764. 157. Tanneur, 1764. 158. Megissier,
1765. 159. Maroquinier, 1766. 160. Hengroyeur, 1766.
161. Corroyeur, 1767.
163. Letter on Delisle’s Calculations, Journ. Sav. Apr.
1761. 164-5. In the 52d volume of the Philosophical
Transactions for 1761 and 1762, we find several papers
of Lalande; two on the transit of Venus; 166. one on
Norwood’s Measurement of the Earth ; 167. An Account
of a Comet; and, 168. An Account of Occultations of the
Fixed Stars by the Moon. 169. In the Transactions for
1769, another paper on the Transit of Venus.
170. Discours sur la Douceur, 1763. This essay was in¬
tended as a sort of exercise for the author’s own moral
improvement; and he made it a rule to read it over
every year, in order to assist him in commanding his tem¬
per. He may possibly have derived some little advan¬
tage from the practice, but he never acquired enough of
self-command to refrain from wounding the feelings of
another, by any pointed remark that might suddenly oc¬
cur to him.
171. Astronomic, 2 v. 4. Paris, 1764; 3 v. 1771, 1792;
vol. iv. 1780, not reprinted. This compilation far excel¬
led in utility all former works of the kind, and will always
be considered as exhibiting the most perfect picture of
the science, such as it existed from 1760 to 1790, with
all the details of practice and computation. Lemonnier
called it, with some truth, the great newspaper of astro¬
nomy. The Treatise on the Tides, which constitutes the
fourth volume; is chiefly a collection of observations, not
sufficient even for the basis of a complete theory : an ab¬
stract of it may be found in the Mem. Acad. Dijon, ii.
1774. 172. Figure du Passage de Venus de 1769, Paris,
1764; together with an explanatory memoir. 173. On
the Equation of Time, Recueilpour les Astronomes, 1765.
174. He undertook the mathematical department of
the Journal des Savans, from 1766. 175. On the Coins
of xfiedmont, Journ. Sav. Dec. 1767. 176. Voyage d’un
Francois en Italic, 8 vols. 12mo : a correct guide and faith¬
ful repertory for travellers, containing some scientific in¬
formation, besides maps of the principal cities. 177. Dis¬
sertation sur la Cause de 1’Elevation des Liqueurs dans les
Tubes capillaires, 8. Par. 1770. 178. A Dictionary cf As- Lalande.
tronomy, in the Encyclopedic d' Yverdun, 56 v. 4. 1770-6. ' 
179. Abrege d’Astronomie, 8. Par. 1773, 1795; translated
into various languages. 180. Notes on the Mondes Primi-
tifs of Fontenelle, 24. Paris ; often reprinted. 181. Notes
on Bouguer’s Traite de Navigation. 182. Memoire sur le
Passage de Venus, 4. Par. 1773; with a life of Dr Bevis.
183. Reflexions sur les Cometes qui peuvent approcher
de la terre, 8. Par. 1773. 184. Lettre a Cassini sur
1’Anneau de Saturne, 8. Toulouse, 1773 ; a violent attack,
which was speedily suppressed by the author. 185. Ephe-
merides, 3 vols. vii. viii. ix. Paris, 1774, 1792. This was
a continuation of Lacaille’s computations, containing also
some detached articles of importance; for instance,
Hampstead’s Catalogue, in the eighth volume. 186. A
Celestial twelve-inch Globe, Paris, 1775.
187. The astronomical articles in the Supplement of
the Old Encyclopedic, about 1776 ; those of D’Alembert,
in the body of the work, having been little more than ex¬
tracts from Lemonnier. 188. To the Encyclopedic Me-
thodique Lalande contributed a Dictionary of Astronomy,
making about one third of the Mathematiques, 3 vols. 4to.
They were principally extracted from his own astronomy ;
and the article Cadran, which is very elaborate, was ori¬
ginally intended for a fifth volume of that work.
189. Traite des Cannaux de Navigation, f. Paris, 1778.
This volume is principally descriptive, especially of the
Canal of Languedoc. 190. Letter on the Variation of
the Compass, as connected with the Temperature of the
Earth, Joxirn. Sav. 1780. Sept. 191. Le9ons d’Astronomie
de Lacaille, 8. Par. 1780; with some Notes. 192. Astro¬
nomic, in Eibliotheque des Dames, 12. Par. 1786, 1795.
193. Letter on the name of the planet Herschel, Journ.
Sav. 1789; objecting to “ Uranus.” 194. Description
d’une Machine de M. Bamsden, 4. Paris, 1790; the di¬
viding engine, translated. 195. Account of nine Lalandes,
Journ. Sav. Nov. 1791. 196. Journey to Manheim in
1791, Journ. Sav. 1791. 197. On the Zodiac at Stras¬
burg, Journ. Sav. 1791.
198. Abrege de Navigation, 4. Paris, 1793 ; with a full
catalogue of works relating to the subject, and many
useful tables. 199. A Journey to Mont Blanc, performed
in 1796, Mag. Encycl. ii. iv. 433. 200. Histoire Celeste
Fran^aise, i. 4. Par. 1801 ; containing the catalogue of
stars begun by Dagelet, and continued by Michel Lefran-
9ais Lalande, the nephew of the editor. 201. Continuation
of Montucla’s Histoire des Mathematiques, 2. v. 4. Par. 1802;
making the third and fourth of that elaborate work, but
not equally well digested and discussed with the original
part. 202. Tables de Logarithmes, 18. Par. 1802. 203.
Four Memoirs on Ceres, Journ. Phys. 1802. 204. Some
articles in the Necrologie des Hommes Celebres. He wrote,
at difterent times, Accounts of the Lives of Vicq d’Azyr,
Delisle, Commerson,Verron, Me. Lepaute, and Dubocage;
and he had undertaken a life of Bucholz, a short time be¬
fore he died. Commerson had complimented him by
making a genus Lalandia, transgressing in his favour the
classical canon of the botanists, to reserve such honours
for the reward of merit in their own department.
205. Bibliographie Astronomique, 4. Paris, 1803 ; with
a history of the Progress of Astronomy from 1781 to
1802. This useful volume was printed at the public ex¬
pense, under the auspices of Fran9ois de Neufchateau.
The author possessed a very extensive collection of as¬
tronomical books, and it has been regretted that he did
not insert a more complete account of some of the most
rare; but the work is already sufficiently voluminous.
Some other productions are attributed to him in the Dic-
tionnaire des Anonymes; but they would probably have
added little to his fame had they been acknowledged.
(Delambre, Mem. Inst. viii. 1807. H. P. 30; and Biogra-
ama
II
anon.
L A M
phie Universelle, xxiii. 8vo, Paris, 1819. Ma. C. de Salm,
Magas. Encycl. 1810, ii. p. 288 ; including a sketch by
himself, written in 1804.) (l. l.)
LAMA is the name of the sovereign pontiff, or rather
god, of the Asiatic Tartars. He is never to be seen but
in a secret place of his palace, amidst a great number of
lamps, sitting cross-legged upon a cushion, and adorned
all over with gold and precious stones ; and at a distance
his worshippers prostrate themselves before him, it being
unlawful for any to kiss even his feet. He is called the great
lama, or lama of lamas, that is, priest of priests. The or¬
thodox opinion is, that when the grand lama dies, either
of old age or infirmity, his soul in fact only quits a crazy
habitation to look for another younger or better ; and it is
discovered again in the body of some child, by certain to¬
kens known only to the lamas or priests, in which order
he always appears.
LAM ANON, Robert Paul, a celebrated naturalist,
was born at Salon, in Provence, in the year 1752, being
descended of a respectable family. He was destined for
the church, and sent to Paris to study divinity ; but the
acquaintance of philosophers having induced him to relin¬
quish theological pursuits, he turned his attention to che¬
mistry and mineralogy. Yet he afterwards became a canon
in the church ; but the death of his father and elder bro¬
ther caused him to resign an office to which he was never
attached, and he now possessed the power of directing his
own future exertions. One amiable trait in the character
of Lamanon is worthy of notice, and that is, that he refused
to accept of his paternal inheritance except as an equal
sharer with his brothers and sisters. When offered a con¬
siderable sum to resign his office of canon in favour of a cer¬
tain individual, he replied, “ The chapter of Arles did not
sell me my benefice; I shall therefore restore it in the same
manner that I received it.” Anxious to remove the veil
which conceals the secrets of nature from mortal eyes, he
travelled through Provence and Dauphine, and scaled the
Alps and Pyrenees. He reached the summit of rocks,
and explored the abysses of caverns, weighed the air, ana¬
lysed specimens, in short considered himself as qualified
to form a new system of this world. After a time he re¬
turned to Paris, and thence proceeded to England; and
although he was in imminent danger of being overwhelm¬
ed by the ungovernable fury of the waves, he ordered
himself to be tied to the mainmast, that he might be en¬
abled to contemplate more at leisure this grand and ter¬
rific spectacle. Instead of being dismayed, he was tran¬
sported with the tremendous roar of thunder, the vivid
flashes of lightning, and the glancing spray with which he
was almost incessantly covered ; and, in his own estimation,
this was the most exquisite day which he had ever enjoyed.
During the time which Lamanon afterwards spent at Pa¬
ris, he became one of the founders of the Museum. Hav¬
ing resolved to revisit Switzerland and Italy, he went first
to Turin, where he joined himself to the learned of that
country. From Piedmont he proceeded to Italy, return¬
ing by the way of Switzerland, where he explored the
Alps, and ascended to the top of Mont Blanc; and on his
return to Provence with the spoils of the countries which
he had visited, he arranged the interesting fruits of his
journey. Whilst Lamanon was preparing for the press
his work on the Theory of the Earth, the French govern¬
ment conceived the design of completing the discoveries of
Captain Cook, and the Academy of Sciences was charged
with the selection of men qualified to rectify our notions
of the southern hemisphere. Condorcet therefore made
choice of Lamanon for advancing the progress of natural
history connected with this great enterprise, and he re¬
ceived the invitation of that philosopher with the most
eager transport. He set out for Paris, refused the salary
offered him, took leave of his friends, and went directly
L A M 31
for Brest. The armament, under the command of the Lamay
justly celebrated but unfortunate La Perouse, set sail on II
the 1st of August 1785 ; and having reached the island of ^ Lamb.
Maouna, Lamanon went ashore with the crew of two boats, ^
where he fel^ a sacrifice to the fury of the savages, brave¬
ly fighting in his own defence to the last.
LAMAY, an island in the Eastern Seas, five or six
miles in circuit. It is four leagues distant from Formosa,
and is inhabited and cultivated. Lat. 22. 22. N.
LAMB, in Zoology, the young of the sheep kind. See
Mammalia.
Scythian Lamb, a kind of moss, which grows about the
roots of fern in some of the northern parts of Europe and
Asia, and sometimes assumes the form of a quadruped,
so called from a supposed resemblance in shape to that
animal. It has something like four feet, and its body is
covered with a kind of down. Sir Hans Sloane read a
memoir upon this plant before the Royal Society, for
which those who think it worth while may consult the
Transactions (No. 245, p. 461.) Mr Bell of Antermony,
in his very instructive “ Account of a Journey from St Pe¬
tersburg to Ispahan,” informs us that he searched in vain
for this plant in the neighbourhood of Astrakan, and that
the more sensible and experienced amongst the Tartars
treated the whole history as fabulous.
Lamb, Charles, a distinguished essayist and critic, was
born in the Temple, London, on the 11th of February
1775. He was presented to the school of Christ Hospital
in 1782, some recollections of which place he afterwards
embodied in one of his most delightful essays. In No¬
vember 1789, having completed the usual period allotted
for education at that seminary, he returned to the home
of his mother, who still resided in the Temple, although
his father was now no more. At first he was employed
for a short time in the South Sea House with his brother;
a graphic and admirable account of which establishment
he afterwards gave, in an essay of the same name. On the
5th'of April 1793, he obtained an appointment in the ac¬
countant’s department of the India House, where he re¬
mained till 1825, when he was allowed to retire on a
handsome pension. The events of his life of a domestic
nature are of little moment, and need not detain us in
sketching his literary career. His first appearance as
an author was in a small volume of poetry, published
by his friend Coleridge in 1797, to which he contributed
various pieces. A few years afterwards appeared “ Old
Blind Margaret, and Rosamund Gray,” a tale of great
simplicity, sweetness, and pathos. In 1802 he published
“ John Woodvil, a tragedy,” alongst with “ Fragments of
Burton,” one of his favourite authors. “ Mr H ,” a
farce, was acted at Drury Lane in 1806, without suc¬
cess. It is, however, probably the best dramatic jeu d’es-
prit in the language; but it wants plot and incident for
the stage, and its jokes are too intellectual to be appre¬
ciated by a mixed audience. In 1808 appeared his “ Spe¬
cimens of English Dramatic Poets who lived about the
time of Shakspeare, with Notes,” chiefly critical. In the
year 1811 he contributed to the “ Reflector” a series of ad¬
mirable prose papers, including those on Hogarth’s pic¬
tures and the tragedies of Shakspeare. The most cele¬
brated of all Mr Lamb’s works, the “ Essays of Elia,” were
published in various periodicals between the years 1820
and 1833; and were subsequently collected and given to
the public in two octavo volumes. In 1830 appeared his
small volume of poems called “ Album Verses,” which
also contained “ The Wife’s Trial,” a dramatic poem, found¬
ed on Crabbe’s “ Tale of the Confidante.” In conjunction
with his sister, he also compiled three very popular books
for children, namely, “ Mrs Leicester’s School, or the His¬
tory of several young Ladies, related by themselves;” Tales
from Shakspeareand “ The Adventures of Ulysses.” He
32 LAM
Lamballe. likewise wrote another farce called “ The Pawnbroker’s
Daughter, or the Reprieved Man," founded on his amus¬
ing paper, “ On the Inconveniences of being hangedand
to several periodical works he contributed various criti¬
cisms on the drama and the fine arts. His volume bear¬
ing the title of “ The last Essays of Elia’’ appeared in
1833 ; and its publication he did not long survive, having
died on the 27th of December 1834.
In depth of thought and splendour of genius, Charles
Lamb was surpassed by several of his contemporaries ; but
as an essayist, he is entitled to a place beside Rabelais,
Montaigne, Sir Thomas Browne, Steele, and Addison.
He unites many of the characteristics of these several
writers. He has refined wit, exquisite humour, a genuine
and cordial vein of pleasantry, and heart-touching pathos.
In the latter quality his Rosamund Gray will stand a com¬
parison with any piece of the kind that ever was written.
His fancy as an essayist is distinguished by great delicacy
and tenderness; and even his conceits are embued with
human feeling and passion. He had an extreme partiality
for our earlier prose writers, particularly for Fuller, Sir
Thomas Browne, and Burton, as well as for the dramatists
of Shakspeare’s time ; and the care with which he studied
them is apparent in all he ever wrote. It shines out con¬
spicuously in his style, which has an antique air, and is re¬
dolent of the peculiarities of the seventeenth century. Its
quaintness has subjected the author to the charge of affec¬
tation, but there is nothing really affected in his writings.
His style is not so much an imitation, as a reflection, of the
older writers ; for in spirit he made himself their contem¬
porary. A confirmed habit of studying them in preference
to modern literature, had made their style natural to him;
and long experience had rendered it not only easy and fa¬
miliar, but habitual. It wras not a masquerade dress he
wore, but the costume which showed the man to most ad¬
vantage. With thought and meaning, often profound,
though clothed in simple language, every sentence of his
essays is pregnant; and in this respect he bears a strong
resemblance to the writers alluded to. If he had their
manner, he possessed their spirit likewise. To some of his
essays and specimens we are considerably indebted for the
revival of the dramatic writers of the Shakspearian age;
for he preceded Gifford and others in wiping the dust of
ages from these admirable writers. In his brief comments
on each specimen, he displays exquisite powers of discri¬
mination. His discernment of the true meaning of the
writer is almost infallible. He seizes with unerring preci¬
sion the proper point of view from which the piece ought
to be seen ; and this led him with equal success to detail the
real centre, whether a character or an event, round which
the orb of the drama revolved. His penetrating intellect
enabled him to throw more and newer light on the true
meaning of some of the great masterpieces of the theatre
than any other man. The perfect unison of the style of his
annotations with the text which they illustrate, also consti¬
tutes a great charm, if not a leading merit. As a poet, Mr
Lamb is not entitled to a very high place. Like his prose
works, his poetical pieces are written in an antique style, so
completely identical with that of Beaumont and Fletcher,
Johnson, and others of that era, that they might pass cur¬
rent for genuine specimens of these great winters. In pri¬
vate life Mr Lamb was extremely amiable, and his house
was a great resort for wits and men of letters; for, in wit
and shrewdness of observation, his conversation was con¬
sidered as equal to his writings.
LAMBALLE, a city of France, ih the department of the
Northern Coast, and arrondissement of St Brieux. It stands
on the river Gnoseion, on one of the most fertile spots of the
district, and contains 3900 inhabitants, who make linen
goods, leather, but especially the best parchment. Long.
2. 41. W. Lat. 48. 28. N.
LAM
LAMBECIUS, or Lambeck, Peter, one of the first Lambecius
bibliographers of Germany, was born at Hamburg, on the
13th of April 1628. He was the son of Heino Lambeck,
a good arithmetician, who published several works, and of a
sister of Lucas Holstein, called in Latin Holstenius. After
he had completed his early studies, his uncle counselled
him to visit the most celebrated schools, and generously un¬
dertook to bear the expense of his travels. He set out from
Hamburg at the close of the year 1645, and stopped some
time at Amsterdam, where he attended the prelections of
Vossius and of Baerle, to whom his uncle had recommended
him. He then visited Leyden, and other principal cities in
the Low Countries; after which he proceeded to Paris,
where he resided a year with Cardinal Barberini, who, out
of consideration for Holstenius, showed him every attention,
and introduced him to many of the most learned men of the
time. At length, in 1647, he rejoined his uncle at Rome.
Holstenius received him in the kindest manner; but he
soon had occasion to appreciate the character of his nephew,
which exhibited a singular mixture of pride and baseness,
and, at the end of two years, they separated in mutual
dislike. Lambecius quitted Rome in 1649, studied law for
a short period at Toulouse, and then revisited Paris, where
he occupied himself in collecting materials for his history of
Hamburg, to which place he returned in 1651. Some time
after his return to his own country, he was appointed pro¬
fessor of history in the college of Hamburg, and commen¬
ced his prelections by a discourse De Historiarum cum cce¬
teris Studiis conjunctione, which confirmed the favourable
opinion that had been formed of his talents. In 1659, he
succeeded Joachim Jungius in the rectorship, and, by his
zeal for the prosperity of the school, proved himself worthy
of this promotion. But his religious principles began to
be suspected; and as it seems certain that, during his tra¬
vels, he had secretly abjured Lutheranism, he became ex¬
posed to every species of annoyance in consequence. Sen¬
sible that he could not preserve his situation, and desirous
to make some provision for the future, he married an old
maid whom he believed to be wealthy; but finding him¬
self deceived, he fled from Hamburg, fifteen days after this
ridiculous marriage, with the resolution never again to re¬
turn thither. He took his departure upon the 14th of April
1662, and proceeded to Vienna, where he met with a
flattering reception from the Emperor Leopold, to whom
he had the honour of presenting his first work, being the
Prodromus Historice Literarice. In May he left Vienna
for Italy, and, on reaching Venice, sent to the senate of
Hamburg a formal resignation of his appointments as rector
and professor. On his arrival at Rome, he introduced
himself to Christina, queen of Sweden, who kindly endea¬
voured to console him for the persecutions he had experi¬
enced at the hands of the Protestant theologians. He there
also solemnly abjured the errors in which he had been
educated, and returned to Vienna, which he reached in the
month of September. The emperor immediately conferred
on him the title of historiographer, with the situation of
sub-librarian ; and some months afterwards, on the demise
of Mathias Manchter, he became principal keeper of the
imperial library. He immediately set about arranging in
the best order the vast collection confided to his care;
he removed the manuscripts from an obscure corner, where
they had been abandoned to neglect and decay, classed
them, and commenced a catalogue of this part of the col¬
lection. He made two journeys, one to Innspruck, and an¬
other to Baden, whence he brought back a large quantity
of rare books and manuscripts, with which he enriched the
imperial library, to which his own was afterwards added.
Lambecius, being naturally frugal, lodged with an advo¬
cate named Strellmayer, who managed all his affairs, and
whom, in return, he made his heir. He died at Vienna in
the month of April 1680, at the very time when he was pre-
LAM
bert. paring to prosecute his labours with the greatest vigour.
His works are, 1. Prodromus Lucubrationum criticarum in
A. Gelid Noctes Atticas, Paris, 1647, in 8vo; 2. Animad-
versiones ad Codini Origines Constantinopolitanas, Paris,
1655, in folio; 3. Origines Hamburgenses, sive rerum Ham-
burgensium libri duo, Hamburg, 1652-1661, in two vols.
4to; 4. Prodromus Historiae Literariae, ibid. 1659, in folio;
5.a Collection of Discourses pronounced in the Gymnasium
of Hamburg ; 6. Commentarii de Augustissima Bibliotheca
Caesarea Vindobonensi, Vienna, 1665-1679, in eight vols.
folio. Bayle has devoted to Lambecius an article in his
Dictionary, and Niceron has inserted the life of this bib¬
liographer in his Memoires. (a.)
LAMBERT of Aschaffenburg, a Benedictine monk, of
the eleventh century, who wrote several works, amongst
which is a History of Germany from the year 1050 to 1077.
LAMBERT, John, was born on the 7th September 1619,
in the parish of Kirkby-Malhamdale, in the west riding of
Yorkshire, at Calton Hall, the seat of a family of which he
was the representative, and which traced its descent from
a daughter of the Conqueror. That his father died when
he was thirteen years of age, that he married, when in his
twenty-first year, a daughter of Sir William Lister, his
neighbour, and that he studied the law in an inn of court,
but never pursued it as a profession, is all that wre find re¬
corded of his early years. He first participated in politi¬
cal measures, as one of those who signed the address to
the king, of the 13th of May 1642, in answer to his demand
of a guard of horse from the county of York. He also
signed a declaration and protest against raising troops and
money, in preparation for the ominous struggle which was
then commencing. He also attended the great meeting
on Heworth Moor, on the 3d of June, when a petition was
presented by Sir Thomas Fairfax, which Charles refused
to accept. In August the royal standard was raised, and
the civil war was begun ; and, in September, Lambert
commenced his military career as captain in the parlia¬
mentary forces, under Lord Fairfax, who commanded them
in the north. In the following year we find him bearing
the rank of colonel: and the earliest exploits in which he
is known to have distinguished himself, were a sally from
Hull on the 11th of October 1642, by which he ob¬
liged Lord Newcastle to raise the siege ; an engagement
at Bradford on the 5th of March 1644, wherein he de¬
feated Colonel Bellasis; and the pursuit of this officer and
his troops to Selby, which, being joined by Lord Fairfax, he
stormed and took on the 11th of April. The siege of York
by the combined forces of Lords Fairfax, Manchester, and
Leven ensued; and, on the 2d of July, the eventful fight
of Marston Moor. Here Lambert and Sir Thomas Fairfax
were the two officers by whom the right wing of the par¬
liamentary forces, consisting of cavalry, was commanded.
Opposed to it was the cavalry commanded by Prince Rupert,
which Lambert and Fairfax charged and broke ; but were
carried too far by the ardour of pursuit. Lambert appears
to have shown much bravery in this action, but others
were more instrumental in its important issue. The siege
of York was recommenced by the victorious army, and
Lambert was sent in to a parley with the governor, which
ended in the surrender of that city. Upon the resignation
of Lord Essex in January 1645, and the appointment of
Fairfax to succeed him as commander-in-chief of the par¬
liamentary forces, Lambert was appointed commissary-
general of the northern army, and ordered to take charge
of the forces in Yorkshire in the absence of Fairfax. Un¬
der Lambert’s command, during 1645, the royalists were
beaten in two skirmishes, at Keighley and Ferrybridge ; and
the garrisons of Scarborough, Pomfret, Sandall, Sherborne,
Bolton, and Skipton, surrendered to the parliament. In
the commencement of 1646 we find Lambert engaged
under Fairfax in the wrest, in subduing the last remnants
VOL. XIII.
LAM 33
of the royalist forces in that quarter: we find him at the Lambert,
sieges of Dartmouth, of Truro, and of Exeter, which sur- John,
rendered, the first on the 20th of January, the second on
the 14th of March, and the last on the 9th of April;
after which he marched with the army to the siege of Ox¬
ford, and was one of the commissioners who conducted
the negotiation which ended in the surrender of that im¬
portant city, of which, by the parliament, he was appoint¬
ed governor. He was afterwards made one of a select
council of five (his colleagues being Cromwell, Ireton,
Fleetwood, and Whitelocke), to consult on the disposal of
the parliamentary forces for the reduction of the few gar¬
risons which still maintained the authority of the king.
These were the principal military services which Lambert
is recorded to have rendered to his party during the first
civil war. In the struggles for ascendancy between the
parliament and the army in 1647, Lambert took a promi¬
nent part, and was an able advocate of the cause of the
latter. In the declarations published on the part of the
army, “ Colonel Ireton,” says Whitelocke, “ was chiefly
employed, or took upon him the business of the pen ; and
having been bred in the Middle Temple, and learned some
grounds of the law of England, and being of a wmrking and
laborious brain and fancy, he set himself much upon these
businesses, and was therein encouraged and assisted by
Lieutenant-General Cromwell, his father-in-law, and by
Colonel Lambert, who had likewise studied in the Inns of
Court, and was of a subtle and working brain.” He was
one of the commissioners who, on the 2d of July, attended
at High Wycombe, to treat with commissioners from the
parliament, and prepared the proposals for the settlement
of the kingdom, which they submitted to the parliamentary
commissioners at Colnbrooke, on the 3d bf August; pro¬
posals which insisted neither on the abolition of episcopacy
nor the punishment of the royalists, and which contained
terms more favourable to regal power than those to which
Charles afterwards acceded in the Isle of Wight.
After delivery of these proposals, Lambert was sent into
Yorkshire as major-general of the four northern counties. In
1648 the civil war again broke out, and his military talents
were again exerted. He defeated Langdale and Musgrave
near Carlisle, whilst awaiting a junction with the Scotch
army under the Duke of Hamilton, which was about to in¬
vade England. The junction, howmver, could not be pre¬
vented ; and Lambert, much inferior in strength to the
combined armies, was obliged to await the arrival of Crom¬
well before he hazarded an action. When reinforced by
Cromwell in August, the parliamentary forces were scarce¬
ly more than 8000 men, whilst those of Hamilton and Lang¬
dale were 20,000. But availing themselves of the detach¬
ed position of the allied forces, the parliamentary generals
attacked them successively, and put each army utterly to
rout; and Hamilton, who with the remnant of his forces
fled towards the south, was pursued by Lambert and his
cavalry to Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, where, having in his
progress dispersed and beaten the scattered portion of
the Scotch army, Lambert forced its commander to sur¬
render. He then followed Cromwell into Scotland, where
they were received cordially by Argyll’s party ; and Lam¬
bert, after remaining awhile at Edinburgh at Argyll’s re¬
quest wdien Cromwell had returned, and having received
thanks for his good services from the committee of estates,
marched back into England to reduce Pomfret, a strong
fortress which the royalists had seized anew. Before this
place he arrived in December 1648, and here he remained
till after the trial and execution of Charles ; events in which
he bore no part, and of which we have no evidence of his
having approved. Pomfret surrendered soon afterwards ;
and the parliament, on receiving this intelligence in March
1649, voted thanks to him, and a grant of lands out of the
demesnes of Pomfret, of the value of L.300 a year, “ in
£
34 L A M B E R, T.
Lambert, respect of his many great and eminent services, perform-
John. ed with much care, courage, and fidelity, as well against
-'y'"""' the Scots army as against the forces of Sir Marmaduke
Langdale, and in reducing the castle of Pomfret, being
the last garrison in England held out against the parlia¬
ment, and in respect of his extraordinary charges therein,
he having not been allowed any pay as a major-general.”
When the parliament found it expedient to appoint some
person to command in Ireland, Sir William Waller was
supported by the Presbyterian party, and Lambert, whom
Clarendon calls “ the second man in the army’’ (Cromwell
being the first) was preferred by the Independents. Both,
however, waived their pretensions in favour of Cromwell,
who was consequently appointed to the government of Ire¬
land, and soon afterwards, upon the resignation of Fairfax,
to the post of commander-in-chief of all the parliamen¬
tary forces. Lambert was at the same time made second
in command ; and the two generals, in June 1650, marched
towards Scotland, where Charles II., who had been acknow¬
ledged in that portion of his dominions, was at the head of
a numerous force, hoping by its aid to subdue the remain¬
der. Lambert, in a gallant but indecisive action near
Musselburgh, was wounded, his horse killed, and himself
for a while in the hands of the enemy, but was rescued by
his troops. Nothing decisive occurred till the memorable
battle of Dunbar, in which Lambert led the van, and emi¬
nently contributed to the successful issue of that import¬
ant action; which was followed by the occupation of Edin¬
burgh and Leith, and the surrender of the castle of Edin¬
burgh in the course of the winter. No further advantage was
obtained till the summer of 1651, when, in the month of July,
Lambert defeated above 4000 of the kkig’s troops at North
Ferry, and obtained minor successes in the course of the same
month at Inchgarvey and Burntisland. The parliamentary
generals had not been careful to keep between the king
and the English frontier ; and, profiting by their oversight,
Charles, immediately after these actions, embraced the
bold resolution of marching into England, and passed
through Carlisle on the 5th of August, at the head of 16,000
men. Leaving Monk before Stirling with 7000 men to
reduce that fortress, Cromwell and Lambert hastened in
pursuit of Charles ; and it was the duty peculiarly assign¬
ed to Lambert to hover with his cavalry round the royalist
army, and harass and divert its progress, whilst Cromwell
pursued a more direct route southward, in order to inter¬
pose between the king’s army and the capital. Lambert,
though with a far inferior force, engaged the royal array
at Warrington ; but the country, being much enclosed, was
unfavourable for his cavalry, and he retired to Knutsford
Heath, where he could act with more effect. The king,
however, rightly judging that it was Lambert’s policy to
disturb the march of the royalist forces, was unwilling to
attack him, and passed on towards Worcester. Lambert,
instead of pursuing him further, attended Cromwell’s sum¬
mons for a general rendezvous of the parliamentary forces at
Warwick. From thence the combined forces, amounting
to about 30,000 men, marched to Worcester, where, on the
3d of September, the anniversary of the battle of Dunbar,
occurred that important conflict which reduced Charles
from the leader of a mighty host to the condition of a
proscribed, disguised, and solitary fugitive. Lambert be¬
haved with skill and gallantry in this battle, in which he
was much exposed, and had his horse shot under him. He
bore as large a share of the honours of success as could
fairly be ascribed to a second in command, where Cromwell
was thechief; and the gratitudeof the parliamentwas prompt¬
ly shown, on the sixth day after the battle, by a resolution
“ that lands of inheritance in Scotland, to the yearly value of
L.1000 sterling, be settled upon Major-general Lambert and
his heirs, for his great and eminent services for this common¬
wealth and it was ordered that both of his regiments should
continue on the English establishment. In the winter of Lambert,
this year, Lambert was made a commissioner, together with John.
Monk, Vane, St John, and four others, for the settlement
of affairs in Scotland, where he remained a very short time,
being, on the death of Ireton, appointed by the parliament,
in January 1652, to succeed him as lord-deputy of Ireland.
But the term of this office was limited to six months, and
Lambert, filled with displeasure against the parliament
(a displeasure which Cromwell artfully fomented), resigned
the proffered post; upon which Fleetwood, who had married
Ireton’s widow, the daughter of Cromwell, was appointed in
his stead. Lambert appears to have been amongst those who
were most favourable to the assumption of supreme power
by Cromwell, and whose influence chiefly contributed to
elevate him to the situation of protector. He was the lead¬
ing person in a general council of officers convened to de¬
liberate on the settlement of the kingdom ; he was one of
a select committee deputed by that council to prepare the
ground and conditions of a plan ; he participated in framing
the instrument of government, presented it to the coun¬
cil, and urged its acceptance; and he bore a prominent
part in the installation of Cromwell as lord-protector. As
president of the council, he came forward to declare the
dissolution of the parliament (called Barebone’s), and the
adoption of the plan of government prepared by the coun¬
cil ; and invited Cromwell to undertake the office of chief
magistrate under this constitution ; upon which Cromwell,
“ having heard the instrument of government read, and
taken the oath as directed in the close of the said instru¬
ment, Major-general Lambert, kneeling, presented him with
a sword in the scabbard, representing the civil sword, which
Cromwell accepting, put off his own, intimating thereby that
he would no longer rule by the military sword.”
Lambert sat as member for the west-riding of Yorkshire
in the new parliament, which met on the 3d of September
1654. He appears to have been an active member of the
legislature, being named on almost all committees, and fre¬
quently a teller in divisions ; but his share in debate is not
recorded, except on one important occasion, where he act¬
ed in a manner which appears unquestionably disinterested.
It was debated in a committee of the whole house, on the
act of settlement, whether the office of protector should be
hereditary or elective ; and Lambert, on whom, after Crom¬
well’s death, the office would be most likely to fall, spoke
strongly in favour of its being made hereditary.
In the parliament which was convened in 1656, Lambert
was again member for the west-riding of Yorkshire, and
exerted himself to maintain that form of government, in
the constitution of which he had been principally concern¬
ed. He vehemently opposed the proposal of investing
Cromwell with the title of king; and though the offer of
that title was carried in the obsequious parliament, the oppo¬
sition of Lambert, and the murmurs of the army, with which
he had much influence, made Cromwell feel that it was pru¬
dent to decline it. He had at one time resolved to accept the
title ; upon learning which, Lambert, Fleetwood, and Des-
borough, declared to him, in their own names and those
of others, that in that event they must resign their commis¬
sions, and sever themselves from his councils and service
for ever. Cromwell consequently refused the title, but ac¬
cepted all those other attributes of royalty with which he
was invested, on his second inauguration, of the 12th of May
1657. Lambert, disgusted with these inordinate assump¬
tions of power, refused to take the oath of fidelity to the
protector ; gave up his commissions, which brought him an
income of six thousand pounds per annum ; and retired
on a pension of L.2000. Lambert took no prominent part
in political events until after the death of Cromwell, the
succession of Richard, and the meeting of a new parlia¬
ment in January 1659, in which Lambert was elected for
Aldborough and Pomfret, and took his seat for the latter.
LAMBERT.
Lambert, He was one of an opposition characterized as “ republicans,”
John, amongst whom Were Vane, Hazlerig, Ludlow, and Fair-
  fax; a body small in number, but formidable from their
ability, activity, and union. The first important measure
debated was the bill of recognition for establishing Richard
in his office, in which, though the protectorists succeeded,
Lambert’s party obtained a resolution, that, previous to its
commitment, “ the house should declare such additional
clauses to be part of it, as should bind the power of the
chief magistrate, and fully secure the rights and privi¬
leges of parliament, and the liberties and rights of the
people.” The acknowledgment of the House of Lords as
constituted by Oliver was next debated, and warmly op¬
posed by Lambert and his party, who, though unable to
succeed, in consequence of the union in this instance of
the protector’s friends with the concealed royalists, render¬
ed the recognition much less full than had been contended
for by the court party. Meanwhile, Lambert, with Fleet-
wood and other leaders of the army, had begun to meet
at Fleetwood’s residence, Wallingford House, where they
held council how to subvert Richard, and to uphold what
they called “ the good old cause.” A struggle ensued
between the army and the parliament now become Rich¬
ard’s sole support. The Commons, on the 18th of April,
carried a resolution that there shall be no council of offi¬
cers during the sitting of parliament, without permission
of the protector and of the houses ; and, on the 21st of
that month, the command of the army was vested in
the three estates, to be exercised by the protector. This
brought the struggle to a crisis. Richard was peremp¬
torily told by Desborough that the parliament must be
dissolved ; and he accordingly dissolved it on the follow¬
ing day. From this time Richard’s power had depart¬
ed, and the country for a while was without a govern¬
ment. The army was the predominant power, and Lam¬
bert was its real leader; for Fleetwood, the nominal com-
mander-in-chief, was too vacillating for such emergencies.
But the army leaders felt that it was dangerous to attempt
to govern without some semblance of civil administra¬
tion ; so the members of the long parliament, excluded by
Cromwell in 1653, were invited to assemble; and this
remnant, ridiculed under the name of “ the Rump,” met
as a parliament on the 7th of May. Order was for a while
restored ; but the royalists were encouraged, by the state
of the country, to make a bold effort for the restoration
of Charles ; and Lambert’s military prowess was again re¬
quired in August for the suppression of a rising in Che¬
shire under the command of Sir George Booth. Lam¬
bert obtained a complete and easy victory^ at Nantwich,
in reward for which service the parliament voted him
L.1000. But the parliament feared Lambert’s power and
probable ambition, his influence in the army, and the con¬
trol of his more powerful mind over the wavering Fleet-
wood ; and, on a petition having been presented from
the army in his favour, the effect of which would have been
to give to Fleetwood the nominal command, and to Lam¬
bert the real power (as was formerly the case under Fairfax
and Cromwell), Hazlerig, suspecting Lambert to be the
instigator, rashly moved that he should be sent to the
Tower. This motion, and the votes hostile to the power of
the army, produced a breach, which Hazlerig rashly made
irreparable, by attempting to deprive Fleetwood, Lam¬
bert, and other leaders of the army, of their commissions.
Upon this, Lambert, with Cromwell’s example before his
eyes, dissolved the parliament by military force; and the
supreme authority again devolved on the military council
at Wallingford House. The people murmured at their
sway; and Monk commenced his celebrated march from
Scotland, with the professed intention of restoring the power
of the parliament. Lambert, with a view to subdue or win
this formidable opponent, proceeded northward, at the
35
head of 7000 men, having previously exacted a promise Lambert,
from Fleetwood that he would not, without his concur- John,
rence, make any terms with Charles II. or with Hazlerig.v——v-—'
But when arrived at Newcastle, Lambert allowed himself
to be overreached by the subtlety of Monk, who amused
him with negotiations, of which the real object was delay,
whilst Monk was strengthening his force by recruiting in
the north, and events were favouring his views in the
south. There the power of the military council was crum¬
bling away in the absence of Lambert, and under the fee¬
ble administration of Fleetwood, who resigned his com¬
mission on the 26th of December. The ejected members
resumed their authority ; and one of their first acts was
to disband Lambert’s forces, and order him to return to his
own house. Desertion had thinned his ranks; to resist
was useless; he obeyed, and being thought too dangerous
and powerful to remain at liberty, was soon afterwards
committed to the Tower. In April, when Monk had al¬
most withdrawn the mask, and appeared the restorer ra¬
ther of monarchy than of that “ good old cause,” as it was
termed, to which many had believed him friendly, the re¬
publicans again turned their eyes towards Lambert. Ap¬
prized of their wishes, he escaped from the Tower, and
after lying hid a short time in the city, he hastened into
Warwickshire, where, on the 13th of April, he placed
himself at the head of six troops of horse and several com¬
panies of foot. He was opposed near Daventry, on the
21st, by an equal force, under the command of Ingoldsby.
His soldiers refused to fight; and, without a blow being
struck, Lambert, the idol of the army, was compelled to
surrender, and was again committed to prison.
After the restoration of Charles II. Lambert, though not
a regicide, was excepted out of the bill of indemnity. But
the Lords and Commons of the convention parliament con¬
curred in a petition, that if he shall be attainted, execution
as to his life might be remitted ; to which petition the king
assented. The succeeding parliament, less mercifully dis¬
posed, pressed urgently that he and Vane should be brought
to trial, which was accordingly done on the 4th of June
1662, when Lambert was arraigned in the Court of King’s
Bench, for levying war against the king. His demeanour
was meek, and is represented by some as having been defi¬
cient in manliness. But an absence of useless bravado is
surely an insufficient ground for attributing cowardice to
one whose whole previous career had incontestably proved
his courage. Lambert was found guilty, and received
judgment of death; but his punishment was commuted to
imprisonment for life in the island of Guernsey. There he
seems to have been mildly treated. It appears, from the
warrant-book in the State-paper office, that in November
1662 a warrant was issued to the governor of Guernsey for
permitting Lambert to have the liberty of the whole island.
That this was afterwards withdrawn (though at what time
and for what reason is not know n), may be inferred from
another warrant of March 12, 1664, directing that Lam¬
bert should have his former liberty. A letter, hitherto un¬
published, is extant in the Bodleian Library; it is from
Lambert to the Chancellor Clarendon, dated 27th April, and
probably in the year 1664, from which it appears that he
owed this favourable treatment to the good offices of that
minister. The following extracts, whilst they declare this
fact, also display the grateful and contented spirit of the wri¬
ter “ Here, my Lorde, give me leave (seeing I believe it
cannot be unwelcome to you to know the happie effects of
what yor Lopp has beene so industrious to procure) to ac¬
quaint yor Lopp that my Ld Hatton (since his arrival here)
has beene pleased to give a great alaye to my affections, by
assuring mee that I still live under those gratious reflections
his Matie w7as once pleased to cast upon mee.” “ And here,
my Lord, againe I beg yr patience while I acquaint you that
my Lord has not only poured this oyle into my bones, but
36
LAMBERT.
Lambert, has confirmed and improved it by a most frendly and can-
John Hen-did deportment towards mee, so as his Maty s late orders of
ry~ grace were dispensed to mee wth as liberal a hand as I can
' ~"r~ Y expect, so as in truth I find it rather difficult to finde what
is fit to aske then to obtaine.” Lambert remained in Guern¬
sey till his death, which occurred about thirty years after¬
wards. The favourite pursuits of this tranquil remainder of
his active life were botany and painting. It does not appear
that he devoted any part of it to literature, or left any re¬
cord of the great events in which he had been engaged.
Lambert’s abilities as a military man were great. In
this capacity he was second only to Cromwell, and was,
next to him, the idol of the army. As a politician he was
less eminent; and though greatly superior to the vacil¬
lating Fleetwood, he wanted that union of caution and
boldness which enabled Cromwell to surmount all difficul¬
ties. That he failed to stem the tide of returning attach¬
ment to monarchy is not imputable as a proof of deficien¬
cy in political skill, since it may be questioned whether
even Cromwell, had he lived, would have been able ulti¬
mately to counteract it. A want of caution was the fault
which made him at length a victim to the subtlety of
Monk. He appears to have been of a mild and amiable
disposition, and to have exhibited more of refinement and
a courteous bearing than was common amongst bis associ¬
ates. His ambition appears to have been not of an inor¬
dinate and reckless kind, but mingled with traits of ge¬
nerosity and disinterestedness. His career was unsullied
with crimes against humanity. In troubled times he long
held the second place of power, and for a short period the
supreme authority, without being chargeable with any act
which reflects discredit on his moral character. Though
the last and most formidable opponent of the restoration,
he seems to have been regarded by the royalists with a de¬
gree of good will which was not extended to his inferior
associates. He was not one of those master-minds which
seem to direct the course of events. He belongs to that
secondary class, who display ability in execution rather
than in direction. Amongst such, Lambert is entitled to a
high place ; and he may ever be considered as a very able,
and in some respects an estimable man.
(See Whittaker’s History of Craven ; May’s History of
the Parliament; Whitelock’s Memorials; Ludlow’s Me¬
moirs ; Clarendon’s History of the Rebellion, and Life of
himself; Rushworth’s Collections; State Trials.) (y. Y.)
Lambert, John Henry, a natural and moral philoso¬
pher of great talent and originality, born on the 29th of
August 1728, at Miilhausen, in Upper Alsace, was the son
of a French refugee in a very humble station, and one of
a numerous family.
His early studies were only assisted by the instruction
he obtained at a small free school in his native town. His
father, who was a tailor, could scarcely even afford him
leisure from mechanical labour. He was obliged to read
and write in the night; and, in order to procure candles,
he made little drawings for sale, while he was watching
the cradle of his infant sisters. Having learned to write
a good hand, he obtained some employment as a copying
clerk in the chancery of the town, which he gave up when
he was only fifteen, upon being appointed book-keeper at
some iron-works in the neighbourhood. At seventeen he
became secretary to a Doctor Iselin, who was the editor
of a newspaper at Bale, and who became his firm friend
through life. He had now time to render himself fami¬
liar w ith the works of Wolf, Locke, and Malebranche, to
which he was in a great measure indebted for the correct
logical method that he ever afterwards followed in his re¬
searches ; having, however, confirmed and improved it by
the study of the mathematics, to which he devoted him¬
self with great zeal, and which, after all, constitutes the
best practical school of genuine logic.
In 1748, he removed to Coire, having been recommend- Lambert,
ed by Iselin, as private tutor to the family of the presi- ^olin Hen.
dent, Count Peter de Salis, whom he undertook to in-v
struct in history and religion, as well as in languages and
science. The library of his patron was extensive; he
profited by it in all its departments; and his residence at
the house of an accomplished statesman, frequented as it
was by the best-informed persons of different countries,
and with different pursuits, could not but greatly contri¬
bute to the extension of his knowledge, and the improve¬
ment of his taste. He even amused himself with some
poetical exercises in various languages, which must, at
least, have been of advantage to his style in prose. He
felt the importance of his literary and scientific pursuits
to himself and to the world; and in 1752 he determined
to keep a journal of all his studies, wdiich he continued
throughout his life. He began to publish a variety of fu¬
gitive pieces, on different subjects, in the newspapers and
in other periodical works of the day, some of which at¬
tracted the notice of his learned countrymen; and, in
1754, he was made a member of the Physico-medical So¬
ciety, then lately established at Bale, to the Transactions
of which he contributed many interesting papers. In 1756
he went to Gottingen with two of his pupils, and in 1757
to Utrecht. The next year the party returned to Coire,
by way of Paris, Marseilles, and Turin. At Paris he paid
a visit to D’Alembert, who does not appear at that time to
have appreciated his merit very highly, though he after¬
wards rendered him some services with the king of Prus¬
sia ; but he became more intimately acquainted with Mes¬
sier the astronomer.
In 1759 he quitted the family of the Count de Salis,
and went to settle at Augsburg, having a small salary as
a member of the Electoral Academy of Bavaria. From
1761 to 1763 he was again at Coire and in its neighbour¬
hood, being employed in fixing the boundaries between
the country of the Grisons and the Milanese territory.
Towards the end of 1763, having had some disputes with
the Bavarian academicians, he went to Leipzig, and the
next year to Berlin, where he was made a member of the
Royal Academy of Sciences, and where he continued to
reside during the remainder of his life, receiving many
marks of favour from the discriminating liberality of Fre¬
deric : thus, in the year 1770, he was made superior coun¬
sellor of the board of works, with an additional salary.
He contributed a number of valuable memoirs to the col¬
lection of the academy; and in 1774 he undertook the di¬
rection of the Astronomical Almanac, for which he was
admirably qualified. He was also a constant writer in the
journal published by Nicolai, under the title of the Univer¬
sal German Library ; and he kept up a very extensive cor¬
respondence on various subjects of literature and science.
He was regularly in the habit of writing or reading from
five in the morning till twelve, and again from two till mid¬
night ; a degree of application unquestionably far beyond
that which would have been best calculated for producing
the maximum of valuable effect. Perhaps, if he was paid
for writing by the ream, he may have earned as much
from the booksellers as he would have done by a more
judicious economy of his powers; but a nervous system,
attenuated by the daily study of seventeen hours, could
never have been capable of being employed in any very
elevated flights of genius, or in the invention of any su¬
blime or exquisite novelties either in science or in litera¬
ture ; and it is only wonderful that he did any thing so
well, as almost to form an exception to this general re¬
mark. He was indeed supposed to have injured his health
by continued application, and he died consumptive, on the
25th September 1777, at the age of forty-nine. He had
never been married. His person was of the middle size,
with an interesting and expressive countenance; he was
*
LAMBERT.
37
animated and lively in conversation, and liked discussion,
but not disputation. He had no literary quarrels; and his
criticisms were not offensive, even when they ceased to
be flattering. His morals were strictly correct, but his
manners were not altogether in unison with those of the
society to which his talents had elevated him. He is said
to have been timid, awkward, slovenly, and fond of low
company ; but upright, patient, unostentatious, and com¬
passionate ; essentially modest, but as ready to assert his
own merits as to admit his defects. He had a happy fa¬
cility in managing the instruments of computation, espe¬
cially in the arrangement of converging series; and he
had a peculiar talent for expressing the results of obser¬
vation by an analytical formula, having first thrown them
into the form of a geometrical diagram to assist his inven¬
tion ; a process which he employed with x*egard to the pro¬
babilities of life in London, and to the inequalities of Ju¬
piter and Saturn. In short, after Euler, Lagrange, D A-
lembert, and Daniel Bernoulli, there are few mathemati¬
cians and natural philosophers of any age who can be put
in competition with him, and still fewer who benefited the
public by so many diversified labours.
It would be hopeless to attempt to pursue his indefati¬
gable pen through all its wanderings ; and a complete cata¬
logue of his works would be as useless as it is unat¬
tainable. A man who wrote so incessantly must have
written many things which were destined to oblivion from
their first production. It will be sufficient to mention the
most remarkable of his works, without any very strict re¬
gard to the priority of their publication.
1. In the Acta Helvetica of the Society of Bale, ii. 1752,
we find an Essay on the Force and Measurement of Heat,
a subject which the author resumed in the latter part of his
life. 2. A General Series, somewhat resembling Taylor’s,
Act. Hel. iii. 1758. 3. Meteorological Observations, ibid.
4. He also published a paper on the Vibration of Chords,
in the same collection.
5. Les Proprietes les plus Remarquables de la Route de
la Lumiere par les Airs, et en general par plusieurs milieux
Refringents, Hague, 1759, in 8vo ; German by Templehof,
Berl. 1773. This work does credit to the ingenuity and
mathematical abilities of the author, though its results may
be obtained in a simpler manner by some methods more
recently invented.
6. La Perspective Libre, Zurich, 1759, 8vo ; another edi¬
tion in German. The second German edition, 2 vols. 8vo,
Zurich, 1773, contains some additional matter, especially a
system of geometry, depending, as it is said, upon the ruler
alone, without any other instrument. Such a system must,
however, have been extremely limited in its application,
much more so than Mascheroni’s Geometria del Compasso.
7. Photometria, sive de Mensura et Gradibus Luminis
Colorum et Umbrm, Augsb. 1760, 8vo. This original and
interesting volume includes and supersedes the greater
part of Bouguer’s experimental determinations. It con¬
tains the important discovery, that a luminous surface emits
its light with equal intensity in all directions; together
with some improvements in the theory of twilight, and an
investigation of the comparative light of the sun and moon,
and stars and planets.
. 8. Insigniores Orbitae Cometarum Proprietates, Augsb.
1761,8vo. We here find the elegant theorem for expressing
the relation of the area of a sector to the sides of the tri¬
angle inscribed in it. This theorem had been demonstrat¬
ed with respect to the parabola by Euler in 1740; but
Lambert first extended it to the other conic sections, and
he certainly re-invented the whole, without being aware of
what Euler had done. It may be found, together with a
concise demonstration, and a further account of this work,
in the translation of Giber’s Essay on Comets, published
in the Journal of the Royal Institution.
9. Cosmologische Briefe, Augsb. 1761, 8vo. A French Lambert,
translation of these Letters on the Universe appeared in John Hen-
- -- ■ - • - 1 *  ry.
the Journal Helvetiyue of Neuchatel, 1763—4 ; an extract
was published by Merian, with the title of Systhne du
Monde, Bouillon, 1770, Berlin, 1784, in 8vo; and a trans¬
lation by Darquier appeared at Amsterdam, 1801, in 8vo.
The whole work is written in a popular style, and adapted
to the taste of general readers. The author’s favourite idea
was to make the sun a sort of planet, revolving round some
other great body ; and he supports the opinion by an ar¬
gument derived from the supposed insufficiency of the laws
of gravity, as relating to the solar system, for explaining
some of the inequalities of the motions of Jupitei and Sa¬
turn, which have, however, since been reduced to the ge¬
neral analogy by Lagrange and Laplace.
10. Zuslitze zum Traite de Nivellement Von Picard,
12th August 1761, explaining some improvements on Pi¬
card’s level, executed by Brander, an ingenious artist, whom
Lambert also assisted in the improvement of Gunter’s slid¬
ing rule. 11. He published an explanation of this scale,
entitled Logarithmische Rechenstabe, 12th August 1761.
12. Remarks on Incommensurable Quantities, Mem. Ac.
Berl. 1761. A demonstration of the incommensurability
of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which has
been adopted by Legendre in his Geometry. It depends on
the method of reducing a fraction to its lowest terms, as
laid down by Euclid, and on the properties of continual
fractions ; an expression is obtained for a tangent in terms
of the arc from the quotient of the series for the sine and
cosine, and the continual fraction thus obtained is proved
to be infinite. It is also shown that the ratio of the arc to
its tangent can never be expressed by any finite quadratic
surds. 13. On the Specific Gravity of Salt, and of its So¬
lutions, M. Berl. 1762.
14. Novum Organum, Leipzig, 1763, in German, two
vols. 8vo. An attempt to restore and improve the Aris¬
totelian method of syllogism, in which the author is allow¬
ed to have displayed much ingenuity, though its success
was greatly limited, on the one hand, by the sober good
sense of the empirical reasoners of the school of Bacon and
Locke, and, on the other, by the wild enthusiasm of the
German innovators, who were beginning to be intoxicated
with the high-sounding phrases and exaggerated preten¬
sions of the disciples of Kant. A manuscript Latin trans¬
lation of the work, by Pfleiderer, was once in the posses¬
sion of the late Lord Stanhope.
15. A paper on Trigonometry appears in the Nova Acta
Eruditorum for 1763. 16. In the Berlin Memoirs for the
same year, we find an Essay on Acoustic Instruments, in¬
vestigating the best forms for hearing trumpets. 17. Re¬
marks on the Properties of Equations of all Degrees. 18.
On Divisors of Equations, which may be found without
solving them. 19. On some Measurements relating to the
Intellectual World; that is, on probabilities and expecta¬
tions.
20. Beytriige zur Mathematik, Berlin, 1765, 1770, 1772,
in four vols. 8vo: a collection of essays on every depart¬
ment of mathematical science. The first volume contains
Remarks on Trigonometry, and on the Certainty of Obser¬
vations ; on the Divisors of Numbers, and on Annuities :
the second, Tables of the Moon ; an Essay on Dialling,
and on Geographical Projections, with the Elements of Te-
tragonometry, a subject which w>as afterwards resumed by
the younger Mayer : in the third volume there is an Essay
on Interpolation, Remarks on Celestial Maps, with other
articles.
21. Description of a Table of Eclipses, Berl. 1765, with
the easiest mode of computing them. 22. In the Memoirs
of the Academy of Berlin for 1765, we have a paper on
Projectiles, including the effect of resistance. 23. In those
of the Bavarian Academy hr the same year, some remarks
38 LAM
Lambert, on the Improvement of Terrestrial Measurements; and,
John Hen- 24. Meteorological Observations. 25. In the Nov. Acta
Jiry'^_, Erud. for 1765, An Attempt to employ Calculation in the
Moral Sciences. 26. On the Magnet, Ac. Berl. 1766. 27.
Another paper on Magnetic Currents. 28. A Magnetic
Chart was published separately the same year. 29. Re¬
marks on the General Outline of the Ocean, Ac. Berl.
1767. 30. A General Solution of the Problem of Three
Bodies by means of Series, ibid. 31. Notes on Richer’s
Philosophical Algebra, 1767.
32. Remarks on the Velocity of Sound, M. Ac. Berl.
1768 ; an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the theory with
observation. It was reserved for Laplace, by a single happy
suggestion, to remove the whole difficulty. 33. On Pho¬
tometry, as applied to Painting, ibid. 34. Trigonometri¬
cal Observations, ibid.
35. De Topicis Schediasma, 1768. 36. Remarks on the
Divisors of Numbers, Nov. Act. Erud. 1769. 37. Anmer-
kungen iiber die Branderschen Micrometern, Augsb. 1769.
Brander’s micrometers were of glass.
38. Experiments on Hygrometry, M. Acad. Berl. 1769;
relating to evaporation, and to the indications of hygrome¬
ters, especially those of catgut.
39. Supplementa Tabularum Logarithmicarum, 8vo, BerL
1770; with a valuable introduction in German, on the
abridgment of computations.
40. Anmerkungen uber die kraft des Schiesspulvers, 8vo,
Berl. 1770. In this investigation of the force of fired gun¬
powder, the author attacks several points in the theory of
Robins, published a few years before.
41. Hygrometrie, 4to, Augsb. 1770.
42. On Directors for the Light of Lamps, M. Acad. Berl.
1770. 43. On Ink and Paper, ibid. 44. Analytical Ob¬
servations, ibid.; relating to the general theorem resembling
Taylor’s, which was further discussed by Euler, and modi¬
fied by Lagrange. 45. On Taxeometry, or the Measure¬
ment of Order, ibid.; considered as comparable in degree,
and expressible by numbers.
46. Architectonik, 2 vols. 8vo, Riga, 1771; a logical and
metaphysical treatise on the most simple bases of philoso¬
phical and mathematical knowledge, written in 1763. The
last part, which relates to magnitude, is the most approved;
but the whole work was never much read, being partly
superseded by the more ostentatious novelties of the day.
4/. In the Berlin Memoirs for 1771, we find papers on
Meteorology. 48. On the Atmospheric Influence of the
Moon. 49. On Achromatic Telescopes of one kind of
Glass only. 50. On the Apparent Paths of Comets. 51.
On the Grounds of buperstitious Belief, as compared with
Probability.
52. Ueber das Farbenpyramide, 8vo, Berl. 1772 ; a de-
scription of a pyramid of wax, intended for the illustration
of all the possible varieties of combination of the primitive
colours.
53. Astronomisches Jahrbuch, Berl. 1774-9, in 8vo ; an
accuiate and extensive ephemeris, with many original com¬
munications annexed to it.
54. In the M. A. Berl. 1772, a paper on Friction; sup¬
posed to follow the law of the resistance of fluids, with
some remarks on that resistance. The opinion of the uni¬
formity of the force of friction, which was even at that
time general, was somewhat too hastily rejected by the au¬
thor ; but his computations may still be of use in some
cases. 55. On the Fluidity of Sand; as resisting motion.
56. On Hygrometry; continued. 57. On the Density of
the Air, with respect to sound and to refraction.
58. M. A. Berl. 1773 : A Balistic Scale ; for determin¬
ing the paths of projectiles in the atmosphere. 59. Physi¬
cal Observations, relating to Meteorology and to Optics.
60. On the Satellite of Venus ; affording a remarkable in¬
stance of misapplied labour and ingenuity. 61. A Second
LAM
Essay on Taxeometry. 62. A Note on the Inequalities of Lambeth.
Jupiter and Saturn ; intended to confirm the principles ad- y—*—^
vanced in the Cosmological Letters. The detail was re¬
served for a subsequent volume.
<o?>. M. A. Berl.Yll^-. On the Temperament of Musical
Instruments. 64. On Aerial Perspective. 65. Report on
a Bedstead for Sick Persons.
^ ^er^' 1^75: On the Elasticity of the Air.
67. On V\ indmills, and on the Force of the Wind. 68.
On the Sounds of Flutes; an elaborate comparison of the
various tones of a flute, with the theory of Daniel Ber¬
noulli for determining the sounds of compound organ-pipes.
69. M. A. Berl 1776: On the Strength of Men em¬
ployed in Labour. 70. On Imperfect Fluids.
71. M. A. Berl. 1777: On the Elasticity of the Air.
72. M. A. Berl. 1779 : Two Memoirs on the Inequalities
of Jupiter and Saturn.
73. Pyrometrie, 4to, Berl. 1779; a posthumous work,
upon a subject which had long occupied the author’s at¬
tention ; with a Preface by Karsten, and a Biographical
Memoir by Eberhard.
74. A Paper on Annuities, Leipz. Magaz. 1780.
75. Deutscher Gelehrter Briefwechsel, Berl. 1781-7, in
five vols. 8vo; published by John Bernoulli, and consisting
principally of the author’s correspondence with Holland,
Kant, Karsten, Segner, Basedow, Scheibel, and Brander.
The contents are more fully described by Lalande. Bibl.
Astr. p. 584.
76. M. A. Berl. 1783 : On Friction.
77. Logische und Philosophische Abhandlungen, Berl.
1787, in two vols. 8vo. Edited by J. Bernoulli.
78. On the Theory of Parallel Lines, Hinderb. Arch,
der Math. i.
(Bernoulli mNouvelles Litter aires, 8vo, Berl. 1777: Eber¬
hard in Pyrometrie Briefwechsel, iii. Phil. Mag. May 1804 ;
Aikin s (general Biography, vi. 4to, Lond. 1807 ; Servois in
Biographic Universelle, xxiii. 8vo, Par. 1819.) (l. l.)
LAMBETH, a very large parish in the hundred of
Brixton, in the county of Surrey. It may be considered
as one of the suburbs of London, on the south side of the
Thames, and only separated from it by that river. Its
boundaries are very wide, extending on the east from
Southwark, to Wandsworth on the west, and till it comes,
at Norwood, in contact with Croyden to the south. It is
remarkable for the palace of the Archbishop of Canter¬
bury, an ancient and magnificent pile of building, of the
architecture of various ages, from the year 1197 down to
the present time, when it has been recently repaired and
beautified by the taste and the munificence of the present
occupier of that high ecclesiastical dignity. The library
contains a most curious and valuable collection of books
and manuscripts, calculated to throw much light on the
ecclesiastical and civil history of the kingdom, as well as
on the pedigrees of many illustrious families. The build¬
ings, park, and gardens, are said to contain thirteen acres.
Theparish church is near the palace, and is a small old build¬
ing ; but new churches of appropriate size have been built
under the recent act for building churches in different parts
of the parish, which, though not quite adequate to the po¬
pulation, afford tolerable accommodation to the worship¬
pers. The parish contains several large establishments of
a benevolent kind, especially the new bedlam for insane
persons, the philanthropic institution, and the asylum for
female orphans, and the Westminster lying-in hospital.
From its easy access to London, which three of the bridges
over the Thames afford, many valuable manufacturing and
commercial establishments are within the parish. Boat¬
building is one that gives employment to numerous per¬
sons. Iron-founderies, and especially shops for making
steam-engines of all powers, are extensive branches of
trade. Breweries and distilleries are among the list of its
LAM
Lambin. means of industry, and especially establishments for mak-
vinegar and British wines. The celebrated gardens of
Vauxhall are within this parish, and have been of late
much improved in magnificence, as well as in the moral
decorum, which was formerly a subject of regret and com¬
plaint. The parish is now divided into five districts, viz.
St John’s Waterloo, Kennington, Brixton, Norwood, and
that which remains to the parish church. The annual
value of the real property, according to the assessment of
1815, was L.220,618. Few parishes show a more rapid
increase of population than this. The inhabitants amount¬
ed in 1801 to 27,939, in 1811 to 41,644, in 1821 to 57,638,
and in 1831 to 87,856. Under the reform bill, Lambeth
returns two members to the House of Commons.
LAMBIN, Denis, one of the most learned Frenchmen
of the sixteenth century, was born at Montreuil-sur-Mer,
in Picardy, about the year 1516. He studied at the Col¬
lege of Amiens, where he afterwards officiated for some
years as professor of belles-lettres. He then accompanied
Cardinal de Tournon to Rome, and profited by his stay in
Italy to visit the principal cities, and to form friendly con¬
nections with the learned men of that country. On his
return to Paris, he was appointed professor of eloquence
in the Royal College, through the influence of Amyot and
the Cardinals of Lorraine and of Tournon ; and the follow¬
ing year he was promoted to the chair of Greek. He com¬
menced his prelections by an excellent discourse, in which
he traced out the course which he proposed to follow, and
announced that he would explain alternately the Iliad and
the Philippics, the two works best calculated to form poets
and orators. The number of his auditors was considerable ;
but the contagious malady which then devastated Paris
soon thinned his class, and also carried off a nephew to
whom he was much attached, an event which drove him
to seek, in a distant retreat, some alleviation of the grief
which overwhelmed him. But his prelections were not
long interrupted ; and although already overburthened with
labour, he consented, in the year 1570, to explain Cicero to
some select pupils in the College of Lemoine. A witness
of the civil troubles which then distracted France, Lambin
bewailed them in secret; the massacre of the Protestants
made a terrible impression on his mild and gentle spirit;
and whilst the sorrow thus occasioned was recent and fresh,
the news of the death of his friend Ramus arrived to com¬
plete his affliction. Unable to bear up under such an accu¬
mulation of calamities, he sunk the victim of grief, and died
towards the end of September 1572, about a month after
the tragedy of St Bartholomew. By his marriage with a
lady of the house of the Ursins he left a son, who became
preceptor to Arnauld and Andilly, and who also possessed
much erudition. Lambin, though of a mild and modest
character, had nevertheless his enemies. He was accused
of appropriating the researches of his contemporaries with¬
out due acknowledgment; but there appears to be no
foundation whatever for the charge. On the contrary, it
was Lambin himself who had reason to complain of the
plagiarisms of Muretus and his disciple Giphanius. He
had also a warm dispute with Paulus Manutius on the or¬
thography of the word consumptus, from which Lambin
maintained that the letter p ought to be expunged ; and it
is even said that the disputants became so warm, that, in
the course of this absurd controversy, they proceeded from
mutual reproaches to blows. The style of Lambin is easy
and pure, but diffuse and somewhat heavy; and his ene¬
mies characterised it by the word Lambmer, which has re¬
mained in the language. The works of this laborious scho¬
lar are, 1. Latin Translations of the Select Speeches of
TEschines and Demosthenes, Paris, 1565, in 4to ; of the
Speeches of Demosthenes on the Crown, ibid. 1587, in
4to ; and of the Morals and Politics of Aristotle, reprinted
in the editions of that philosopher’s works by Isaac Ca-
LAM 39
saubon and Duval. 2. Editions of Lucretius De Rerum Lamech
Natura, Paris, 1563, in 4to ; of the Works of Cicero, Paris, ||
1566, in four vols. folio ; of the Works of Demosthenes in Lamenta-
Greek, Paris, 1570, in folio ; of the Comedies of Plautus, , Jxans-
Paris, 1576, in folio ; and of Cornelius Nepos, ibid. 1569, ^v
in 4to. 3. Ciceronis Vita ex ejus Operibus collecta, Co¬
logne, 1578, in 8vo. 4. Several very interesting Dis¬
courses, of which the reader will find some account in the
Supplement to the Dictionary of Moreri, edition of 1749.
5. Prefaces and Epistles Dedicatory, collected, along with
those of Muretus (Muret) and Regius (Leroi) in the Trium
Illustrium Virorum Prcefationes, Paris, 1679. 6. Letters
in the different collections of the Epistolce Clarorum Vi¬
rorum. (See Tessier, Eloges des Hommes Savants; and
Goujet, Histoire du College Royal.) (a.)
LAMECH, of the race of Cain, was the son of Methu-
sael, and father of Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-Cain', and Naamah,
Lamech is celebrated in Scripture for his polygamy. One
day he said to his wives, “ Hear me, ye wives of Lamech ;
I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to
my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly La¬
mech seventy and seven fold.” These words contain an un¬
intelligible riddle. The reader may consult the commen¬
tators. There is a tradition amongst the Hebrews, that
Lamech, growing blind, ignorantly killed Cain, believing
him to be some wild beast; and that afterwards he slew his
own son Tubal-Cain, who had been the cause of this mur¬
der, because he had directed him to shoot at a certain place
in the thickets where he had seen something stir. Several
other suppositions are produced to explain this passage
concerning Lamech, but all seem equally uncertain and
absurd.
Lamech, the father of Noah. He lived an hundred four¬
score and two years before the birth of Noah (Gen. v. 25,
31) ; and after that he lived five hundred and ninety-five
years longer.
LAMEGO, a city of Portugal, in the province of Bey-
ra. It is situated on the south side of the river Douro.
The country which surrounds it yields the best port wine,
and in large quantities. As the roads in Portugal are
generally bad, the mercantile company of the higher
Douro have in some measure obviated the evil by con¬
structing a good road from Lamego to Oporto. The
wines are now brought with less inconvenience than for¬
merly, and are less subject to impure mixture than when
they were transmitted by the internal voyage on the river.
Lamego is a bishop’s see, and has a splendid cathedral,
library, vineyards, and a fair. It has one ruined castle,
one parish church, four monasteries, one hospital, one
alms-house, 1648 houses, and 6592 inhabitants.
LAMENTATIONS, a canonical book of the Old Tes¬
tament, written by the prophet Jeremiah (according to
Archbishop Usher and some other learned men, who fol¬
low the opinion of Josephus and St Jerome) upon occasion
of Josiah’s death. But this opinion does not seem to
agree with the subject of the book, the lamentation com¬
posed by Jeremiah on that occasion being probably lost.
The fifty-second chapter of the book of Jeremiah was pro¬
bably added by Ezra as^a preface or introduction to the
Lamentations. The first two chapters are employed in
describing the calamities of the siege of Jerusalem ; in the
third the author deplores the persecutions which he him¬
self had suffered ; the fourth treats of the desolation of the
city and temple, and the misfortunes of Zedekiah; the
fifth chapter is a prayer for the Jews in their dispersion
and captivity ; and at the close of all, the author speaks of
the cruelty of the Edomites, who had insulted Jerusalem
in her misery. All the chapters of this book, except the
last, are in metre, and digested in the order of the alpha¬
bet, with this difference, that in the first, second, and
fourth chapters, the first letter of every verse follows the
40 LA M
Lamiae order of the alphabet, but in the third the same initial
lj letter is continued for three verses together. This order
^amoignon. wag pro})ab]y adopted that the book might be more easily
learned and retained. The subject of this book is of the
most moving kind; and the style throughout is lively, pa¬
thetic, and affecting. In this kind of writing the prophet
Jeremiah was a great master, according to the character
which Grotius gives of him, Mirus in affectibus conci-
tandis.
LAMLE, a sort of demons who had their existence in
the imaginations of the heathens, and were supposed to de¬
vour children. Their form was human, resembling beau¬
tiful women. Horace makes mention of them in his Art
of Poetry. The name, according to some, is derived from
lanio, to tear; according to others, it is a corruption of a
Hebrew word signifying to devour. They are also called
larva or lemures.
LAMINGTON Priors, a town of the hundred of
Knightlow, in the county of Warwick, in a pleasant situa¬
tion on the banks of the river Learn, ninety miles from
London, and two from Warwick. Owing to the discovery
of some mineral springs of several kinds, it has grown in
a few years from a village to a handsome and considerable
town, frequented by numerous visitors both for health and
amusement. An hotel, a church, and a market, have been
erected, with conveniences for bathing and drinking the
waters. The population amounted in 1801 to 315, in 1811
to 543, in 1821 to 2183, and in 1831 to 6209.
LAMJUNGH, an extensive district in Northern Hin¬
dustan, tributary to the Ghoorkhali rajah of Nepaul. It
has the great Himalaya ridge for its northern boundary;
and, like the rest of Northern Hindustan, it has an ele¬
vated and rugged surface, with intervening fertile valleys,
watered by streams from the northern mountains. The
district has been imperfectly explored. The principal
towns are Mucundnath and Lantargur.
LAMMAS-Day, the first of August, so called, as some
will have it, because lambs then grow out of season by be¬
coming too large. Others derive it from a Saxon word,
signifying loaf-mass, because on that day our forefathers
made an offering of bread prepared from new wheat.
LAMOIGNON, Chretien-Fran^ois de, eldest son
of M. Lamoignon, first president of the parliament of Pa¬
ris, was born in that city on the 26th of June 1644. Not
choosing to intrust his education to any one, his father be¬
came his first instructor, and taught him the elementary
parts of learning. After having attended a course of rhe¬
toric under Rapin, young Lamoignon applied himself to
the study of law, and in this pursuit found great assist¬
ance in the conferences of the advocates whom the presi¬
dent assembled at his residence. It was the wish of the
president that his son should first appear at the bar as a
simple advocate; and, accordingly, the latter continued
for about two years in the ordinary practice of the pro¬
fession. Possessing a refined taste, and full of the good
principles which he had derived from the study of the an¬
cients, the young lawyer brought to the courts of law that
judicial eloquence which the mania for citation and false
display had exiled from their precincts. In 1666, he was
appointed counsellor to the parliament. Two years after¬
wards, when the plague had appeared at Soissons, and ap-
L A
A contrivance for giving light. Lamps were in general
use amongst the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. The can¬
dlestick with seven branches, placed in the sanctuary by
Moses, and those which Solomon afterwards prepared for
the temple, were crystal lamps filled with oil, and fixed
LAM
prehensions were entertained that the contagion might La xVLotta
reach Paris, M. de Lamoignon was employed to take the ne- II
cessary measures for arresting its progress. In the discharge Lamp,
of this duty he displayed equal energy and intelligence.' ^v
Whilst abundant resources of medicine were accumulated
at Soissons to combat the evil at its source, he established
a sanitary line or cordon, which completely intercepted all
communication with the centre of infection. He had him¬
self written out the detailsof this operation, so foreign to the
nature of his ordinary pursuits, but which was nevertheless
crowned with complete success. Being appointed master
of requests some time afterwards, he was one of the com¬
missioners whom Louis XIV. formed into a particular coun¬
cil, when he himself held the seals after the death of the
chancellor Seguier. In 1674, he was appointed advocate-
general to the parliament, an office which had become va¬
cant by the death of a son of the celebrated Bignon. During
the twenty-five years that he held this office, he rendered
the most important services to jurisprudence; and if the
eloquent pleadings hepronounced have notbeen preserved,
history has at least transmitted to us the sentiments of ad¬
miration which they excited. It is to a discourse pronoun¬
ced in the cause of the Marquis of Langey by this cele¬
brated magistrate, who knew so well how to reconcile the in¬
terests of morality and society with the respect due to laws
consecrated by long usage, that France owes the abolition
of the cotigress (a court for proving virility or impotence),
an institution worthy of the rude age that gave it birth,
but which had hitherto been preserved. It was in con¬
formity with his conclusions that the decree of abolition
was pronounced by the first president, his father. Louis
XIV. had thought of Lamoignon for the situation of first
president of the parliament; a mistake, perhaps even an
intrigue, had deprived him of that of attorney-general,
which was given to Labriffe; but the distinction with
which he exercised the functions of advocate-general, his
zeal, and his marked predilection for that office, induced
him to retain it eight years after he had been made pre¬
sident a mortier, that is, in 1690. In 1707, when enfee¬
bled by the excessive labour he had undergone, he resign¬
ed in favour of his eldest son, and died on the 7th of Au¬
gust 1709. M. de Lamoignon loved and cultivated letters ;
and his intimate connections with some of the greatest
geniuses of his age, particularly with Bourdaloue, Boileau,
Racine, and Regnard, have also added to his celebrity.
It is to him that the sixth epistle of Boileau is addressed.
But notwithstanding his friendship for men of letters, he
refused to become a member of the French Academy,
when that society called upon him to join it; though he af¬
terwards accepted a place in the Academy of Inscriptions,
of which he became president. The only production of
M. de Lamoignon that has been printed is his letter on
the death of Bourdaloue, which is appended to the third
volume of the Caremeoi that celebrated preacher; but he
also wrote a life of his father, Guillaume de Lamoignon,
which is said to breathe the most ardent filial piety and
affection. (a.)
LA MOTTA, a town of Italy, in the Austrian delega¬
tion of Treviso. It stands at the junction of the rivers
Montegano and Livenza, is defended by a castle, and con¬
tains 3276 inhabitants.
M P,
upon the branches. The lamps or candlesticks made
use of by the Jews in their own houses were generally
put into a very high stand on the ground. The lamps
supposed to be used by the foolish virgins, in the gos¬
pel, were of a different kind. According to critics and
LAMP.
41
Lamp, antiquaries, they were a sort of torches, made of iron or
potters’ earth, wrapped about with old linen, and moist¬
ened from time to time with oil. (Matth. xxv. 1, 2.) The
lamps of Gideon’s soldiers were of the same kind. The
use of wax was not unknown to the Romans, but they
generally burned lamps ; and hence the proverb Tempus et
oleum perdidi, I have lost my labour. Lamps were some¬
times burned in honour of the dead, both by Greeks and
Romans. The testimony of Pliny, St Austin, and others,
have led many to believe that the ancients had the inven¬
tion of perpetual lamps ; and some moderns have absurdly
attempted to find out the secret. The curious may read
Dr Blot’s conjectures on the subject in the Philosophical
Transactions, No. 166.
lubslances Lamps are usually fed by expressed oils from vegeta-
ised for jj]e or anima] substances. In Britain, whale-oil, boiled
urning. prom tjie subcuticular fat of the whale, is used for com¬
mon lamps.
Tallow is one of the most common substances employ¬
ed for giving light. The spermaceti, which is found with¬
in the cavity of the cranium of the spermaceti whale, is
also used. There is a substance resembling spermaceti,
formed by the decomposition of the muscular flesh of ani¬
mals in moist places, which has been employed. Bees’
wax, a vegetable substance collected by the bee, and
which, in some of its qualities, resembles the essential
oils, is one of the best materials for giving light.
In no region of the globe are human beings found to
exist without a supply of oil derived from animals or from
vegetables ; and in the more fertile regions several differ-
ient plants, peculiar to each region, are cultivated on ac¬
count of the fixed oil which is extracted from their seeds
by pressure. These oils vary in quality. The oils fit to be
employed in food are the most valued. Of the rest, many
have the qualities which fit them for burning in lamps.
At Paris, oil of rape-seed and oil of poppy-seed are
clarified for the lamp by filtering through cotton wool,
and other processes. In the south of France and Italy
the inferior kind of olive oil is used in lamps, and some¬
times the oil of the plant called Arachis hypogcea, or earth-
nut. In Italy, lamp oil has been expressed from the stones
of the grape. In Piedmont, walnut-oil is used for lamps.
On the eastern and southern coasts of the Mediterranean,
and in China, they use oil of sesamum seed, called in
Arabic semsom. In tropical countries, cocoa-nut oil,
which, in the temperature of Britain, is solid and white
like tallow, is burned in lamps made of the shell of the
cocoa-nut and of bamboo. Much of the oil used in China
is obtained by expression from the seeds of the tree call¬
ed by botanists Camellia oleifera, which is extensively cul¬
tivated for that purpose, as is the shrub called Croton sebi-
ferum, on account of the solid oil or tallow which the Chi¬
nese express from its fruit. Essential oils, extracted from
plants by distillation, are too volatile, and, in consequence
of their volatility, are too easily inflamed, to be used in
lamps.
Petroleum and naphtha issue from the earth in several
places, and these sources are generally in secondary strata,
and originate from fossil vegetable matter, in a state ap¬
proaching to that of pit-coal. A source of petroleum ex¬
isted some years ago near Colbrook Dale, and there is one
at St Catherine’s near Edinburgh. The greatest natural
deposits of petroleum and bitumen are in the island of
Trinidad, and in the Dead Sea in Judaea. Naphtha is the
most liquid of the oils proceeding from fossil vegetable
matter, and possesses qualities very fit for burning in lamps.
It is employed for this purpose at Genoa, where the streets
are lighted with naphtha from Amiano in the adjacent ter¬
ritory. Naphtha, obtained in the state of a clear, colourless
liquid, by distillation from pit-coal, has of late been em¬
ployed for burning, in street lamps, in London.
VOL. XIII.
Alcohol or spirit of wine, being cleaner than oil, is con- I.amp.
venient for feeding a lamp that serves to heat a liquid in a 'Y'——
small vessel; but the flame is blue, and therefore it is not
suitable for giving light. In a spirit lamp, the surface of
the spirit must be covered to exclude the air, for the spirit
would catch fire if its surface were exposed.
Sulphuric ether is too easily inflamed, and too costly to be
used for feeding lamps.
In a lamp for the purpose of giving light without a con- The wick,
siderable quantity of heat, it is required that only a small
portion of the oil shall be inflamed at once; therefore, by
means of the wick, a small portion of oil, minutely divided
so as to expose a large surface, is subjected to the action of
the heat; the heat decomposes the oil, and the gas result¬
ing from the decomposition is burned by the atmospheric
air which surrounds the wick. In the gas lights, which
have come into general use in manufactories and cities in
Britain, the operations of producing the gas and inflaming
it, which take place at one time in the wick of a lamp,
are performed separately. The gas is obtained from pit-
coal, oil, or wood, but best from pit-coal or from oil, by
heating these substances strongly in a retort; and, when
extricated, is conveyed away in pipes to the place where
it is to be inflamed. The capillary attraction of the fila¬
ments of the cotton which compose the wick of a lamp,
raises up a small portion of oil into a situation where it
may be exposed to the degree of heat necessary for pro¬
ducing flame.
In lamps of the most common structure, the wiek should
not be elevated too high above the surface of the oil; for,
in that case, the capillary action by which the oil rises be¬
tween the filaments of the cotton will not be able to raise
it to so great a height. If the wick is too little elevated
above the surface of the oil, there will not be a sufficient
quantity of the oil converted into the gas, whose combus¬
tion constitutes the flame, and the flame will be too small.
Many lamps used by the Greeks and Romans have been
found in the ruins of ancient towns. These ancient lamps
are of pottery, painted and sculptured with various orna¬
ments, and of bronze. The surface of the oil in the reser¬
voir is nearly on a level with the lighted part of the wick,
which emerges from a projecting beak at the side of the
reservoir.
The lamp commonly used in rooms at Florence consists varieties
of a round reservoir, with four beaks projecting from four in the
opposite points of its circumference; through the middle structure
of the reservoir a vertical stalk passes ; and on this stalk °i lamps,
the lamp may be raised or slid down. The stalk is fixed
in a foot that rests on the table, and the whole is made of
brass.
A lamp, which affords a faint light, is made of a waxed
wick, an inch long, passed through the centre of a thin
round piece of cork, and of a piece of card placed above
the cork. Some oil is placed on the surface of water in a
glass tumbler, and the cork, with its wick, is laid upon the
surface of the oil. This lamp, called a veilleuse, is com¬
monly used in Paris for burning in bed-rooms during the
night, as rush-lights are in London.
The lamp with a hollow cylindrical wick, which receives
a current of air, both on the outside and the inside of the
cylinder, is called in England an Argand lamp, from the
name of one of the first makers. The wick in Argand’s
lamp, as first constructed, was raised by a rack and pinion;
but the method now employed to raise the wick consists
in a spiral notch, which goes round outside of the interior
tube. The inside of the ring to which the wick is attach¬
ed has a tooth which fits into this notch.
At fig. 2, Plate CCCXXL, is a representation of the most
usual form of the Argand lamp. A is a reservoir, which
is air-tight at top, and has the neck immersed in oil, so that
oil flows out of it only when the external air is admitted to
F
42 LA
Lamp, ascend through the neck: it contains a short column of
liquid, from the top of which the. pressure of the atmo¬
sphere is excluded, and therefore the column is sustained
by the weight of the atmosphere pressing on its base, on
the same principle as a bird-cage fountain.
Oil is introduced into the reservoir A, by taking it off,
and holding it with the neck uppermost. The sliding tube
Q, is pushed so as to uncover the hole t, and the oil is
poured in by the hole£; when this is done, the hole is
again covered by the sliding tube, and the reservoir A is
replaced in F. When the lamp is to be lighted, the hole
t is opened by depressing the sliding tube by its handle z,
and the oil will flow out of A till it rise in F, and in the
annular cavity that dontains the wick, to the level of the
top of the hole t. When the oil in F is lowered by the
burning of the lamp, so that the surface of the oil in F is
below the upper part of the hole ; then a bubble of air
ascends into A, and a quantity of oil descends into F, till
the surface of the oil rises again to cover the upper part of.
the hole. It sometimes happens that the air in A is heat¬
ed by the warmth of the room, and then too great a quan¬
tity of oil descends into F, in consequence of the expan¬
sion of the hot air in the upper part of A, so that the oil
not being all consumed in the wick, falls down through the
tube g, and may even run over from the cup P. This is a
considerable inconvenience attending oil reservoirs of the
construction here mentioned. The hole t is closed by
drawing up the sliding tube Q, when the lamp is not burn¬
ing, in order that the lamp may be inclined, without mak¬
ing the oil descend from the reservoir.
The cylindrical part, where the flame is produced, is
composed of three tubes d, f g. ' The tube g is soldered
to the bottom of the tube d, just above o, and the interval
between the outer surface of the tube g and the inner sur¬
face of the tube d, is an annular cylindrical cavity closed
at bottom, containing the cylindrical cotton wick immersed
in oil. The wick is fixed to the wick tube, which is ca¬
pable of being moved spirally; within the annular cavity
is also the tube/, which is capable of being moved round,
and serves to elevate aud depress the wick. P is a cup
that screws on the bottom of the tube d, and serves to re¬
ceive the superfluous oil that drops down from the wick
along the inner surface of the tube g. The air enters
through the holes o o, and passes up through the tube g
to maintain the combustion in the interior of the circular
flame. The air which goes to perform the combustion on
the exterior part of the wick enters through the holes m,
with which r n is perforated. When the air in the chim¬
ney is rarefied by the heat of the flame, the column of the
atmosphere, of which the chimney is the base, becomes
lighter than the surrounding columns; and the surround¬
ing columns, pressing with their excess of weight, enter
the lower part of the chimney, and pass upward, with a
rapid current, to restore the equilibrium between the ad¬
jacent columns of the atmosphere.
In some lamps, above the orifice of the tube g, and near¬
ly at the height of the top of the flame, there is placed a
circular plate of metal, of the same diameter as the tube:
this has the effect of turning the current of air into that
part of the flame where smoke would otherwise be pro¬
duced. The same effect is obtained by the contraction of
the cylindrical glass chimney at It G: the contraction of
the chimney was commonly employed in Paris before it
was used in England.
The oil flows from the reservoir A and F through N,
and occupies the cavity between the exterior surface of
the tube g, and the inner surface of the tube d. The oil
rises in the annular cylindrical cavity between these two
tubes to the level of the opening t. The part w «’ is a
short tube, which receives the circular wick, and slides
freely on the tube g. The tube g has a hollow spiral
M P.
groove on its exterior surface, into which enters a pin h, Lamp,
connected with the wick-tubes w i. The wick-tube has a
catch, which works in a perpendicular slit in the tube f;
and, by turning the tube/, the wick-tube will be raised or
lowered ; r n fits on the tube d; r n is fitted to receive
the glass chimney R G; a wire s is attached to the tube f
and is bent over the edge of the tube d, and descends along
the outside of the tube d. The part n r, that supports the
glass chimney, is connected, by four other wires, with the
ring g, which surrounds the tube d, and is capable of
being moved round. When n r is turned round, it carries
round along with it the ring g, the wire s, and the tube /
and thereby operates the elevation and depression of the wick.
The glass chimney which rests on II N is wider at bot¬
tom, and then is contracted at R G, for the purpose of
making the air rush upon the external part of the circular
flame in a denser current.
In the most simple construction of lamps, the surface of
oil in the oil-reservoir is nearly on a level with the flame,
because the capillary attraction of the wick can only raise
the oil a little above the surface of the reservoir. The sur¬
face of the reservoir also is considerable, that the lamp may
burn for a sufficient length of time, before it has consumed
so much oil as to reduce the level of the oil below the reach
. of the action of the capillary atti-action of the wick. Me¬
chanists have contrived and ^executed lamps of various
forms, with the view of removing the inconvenience of the
shadow of the reservoir, which is inherent in the common
lamp with one lateral beak.
One of the contrivances for diminishing the bulk of the
part in which the wick is immersed, and for obtaining a
supply of oil, is the bird-cage fountain reservoir described
above as being usually applied to Argand lamps. This
kind of reservoir is described by Cardan, and a lamp fed
by it is mentioned by several writers under the name of
Cardan’s lamp.
Baptista Porta, in treating of oil reservoirs of the kind
just now mentioned, proposes that, for large lamps with
many wicks, the reservoir should be placed above and with¬
out the room, and should communicate with the lamp with¬
in by a pipe. In this way, the oil would not be liable to be
pressed out too rapidly by the expansion of the air in the
reservoir, occasioned by the heat of the room ; and several
methods have been contrived for the purpose of placing the
luminous part of the wick on the upper end of a stalk, so
that very little of the sphere of rays proceeding from the
lighted wick may be intercepted by the opaque part of the
lamp. The following are some of these methods :
A. lamp called the Amiens lamp, commonly used in
Paris by the poorer classes, is in the form of a candle.
The lighted part of the wrck is at top. The lower part of
this cylinder, which is of tin, has a valve opening up¬
wards, and is moveable up and down in another cylinder,
which has a valve opening upwards. This valve is plunged
in the reservoir of oil; when the wick is in want of oil,
the oil is pumped up by moving vertically the tin cylinder
which contains the wick. Lamps of this kind are de¬
scribed in the Transactions of the Academg of Sciences for
1755, p. 139 ; and for 1760, p. 158.
A lamp for reading is made by Carcel of Paris, in which
the oil is raised to the wick by means of a pump. The
pump is moved by watch-work, composed of wheel and
pinion, and a spring, which is wound up when the lamp
is to be lighted.
In the twentieth volume of the Philosophical Transac¬
tions, St Clair, in a letter to Hooke, describes a lamp, in
which the oil floats on water. A tube passes from the upper
part of the vessel down to the water ; and through this tube
water is dropped, by means of which the surface of the oil
is always maintained at the same level, whilst it is con¬
sumed by the flame in the wick.
L A
Lamp. In the lamp constructed by Mr Keir of Kentish Town,
—v'~—^the oil is raised to the wick, and sustained by a column of
a solution of salt in water. This liquid being of a great¬
er specific gravity, a column of it counterbalances a long¬
er column of oil. The solution of salt is made of such a
specific gravity that it will support a column of oil four
thirds of its own height. This is nearly the specific gra¬
vity of the heaviest saline solution that is known to exist
in any great body of natural water, namely, in the Dead
Sea; the weight of the waters of this sea, of distilled
water, and of oil, being in the relative proportions of 120,
*. 100, 92. To have an idea of this lamp, imagine a syphon
with two upright branches, and the junction of the branches
at the bottom. The shortest branch has a bulb at top.
The longest branch has a bulb near its lower extremity.
The shortest branch is filled with a solution of salt, whose
upper surface is in the superior bulb. The longer branch
contains the oil, and in its upper extremity the wick is
placed. In the lower bulb the surface of the oil rests upon
the surface of the solution of salt.
The bulbs serve as reservoirs, prolonging the action of
the machine ; by means of the bulbs and the greater spe¬
cific gravity of the solution, it is effected, that the abstrac¬
tion of a considerable quantity of oil by the combustion in
the wick occasions but a small depression in the upper
surface of the solution; the height of the sustaining co¬
lumn of solution will become shorter in proportion as the
column of oil which it counterbalances is consumed ; but
this diminution of the height of the column of oil will be
slow, and therefore the column of oil will for a consider¬
able time be of sufficient length to reach the wick. Sup¬
pose an inverted syphon, of equal diameter throughout,
the shorter leg of which contains a column of solution of
salt, whose height is 75, and this counterbalances a co¬
lumn of oil, whose height is 100, in the longer leg; if
now the column of oil in the longer leg be diminished in
height by 10, the counterbalancing column of solution
will diminish to 67-5, being 7’5 shorter than at first. But
if the syphon, instead of being of equal diameter, has
two dilatations or reservoirs, whose horizontal section is
ten times the area of the tube of the syphon, one of the
reservoirs being placed at the top of the short branch, so
as to contain the upper surface of the solution of salt, and
the other at the bottom of the long branch, so as to con¬
tain the surface where the oil rests upon the solution ;
then, if the same quantity of oil, as in the former example,
is taken from the top of the longer leg of the syphon, the
column of oil will only fall one tenth of what it did in the
undilated syphon of equal diameter, and the solution of
salt will diminish one tenth of what it did in the syphon
of equal diameter.
The oil-reservoir and the wfick remain stationary, and
do not descend as the oil is consumed. This descent
takes place in two lamps now to be mentioned, because
in these two lamps the oil-reservoir swdms in a liquid that
acts as a counterpoise.
In the lamp contrived by the Chevalier Edelkrantz of
Stockholm, the oil-reservoir floats in mercury, and the
column of oil is maintained at the requisite height by the
counterpoise of a column of mercury ; in proportion as
the oil is consumed, the oil-reservoir, and the wick which
is connected with it, sink.
The general structure of this lamp may be understood
by conceiving a flask, with a long narrow neck, and en¬
larged at the under part. The flask is heavy enough
to swim, when it is placed in mercury, with its under
. part immersed. The bottom of the flask is open. The
flask being placed in mercury, is made to float with its
neck perpendicular. Oil is poured in at the neck till the
flask is full. Then the surface of the mercury at the
bottom of the flask and within the flask will be depress-
M P, 43
ed by the weight of the column of oil that rests upon it; Lamp,
and the surface of the mercury on the outside of the bulb
or lower part of the flask will stand higher than the sur¬
face of the mercury within the flask. The height which
measures the difference of level of the two surfaces of
mercury will be the height of a column of mercury of
equal weight with the column of oil that is in the flask;
and as mercury is about times the weight of oil, the
difference of level of the two surfaces of mercury will be
of the height of the oil in the flask. In proportion as
oil is abstracted from the upper end of the tube by the
combustion in the wick, the height of the column of oil
is thereby diminished, and the two surfaces of mercury
will come nearer to each other, the flask sinking a little
in the mercury. As the area of the horizontal section of
the lower part of the flask is much greater than the area
of the section of the neck, and as the specific gravities of
mercury and oil are very different, it follows, that, to re¬
store the equilibrium after the abstraction of a column of
oil from the neck, the surface of the mercury within
the lower part of the flask will rise by a much shorter co¬
lumn.
In the lamp invented by Mr Barton, comptroller of his
majesty’s mint, a solution of salt and water is used as a
counterpoise to the oil. The combination consists of a
light flask, open at the bottom, floating in a solution of
salt, so that when oil is poured into the flask, the surface
of the oil in the neck of the flask stands at a higher level
than the surface of the saline solution in which the flask
swims. The wick is at the upper end of the neck of the
flask ; and as the area of the horizontal section of the bulb
or lower part of the flask is much greater, suppose twen¬
ty times greater, than the area of the section of the neck
of the flask, it will happen, that when a column of oil an
inch high is abstracted from the neck of the flask, the
height of the rise of the surface of the solution in the
bulb or lower part of the flask will be only one twentieth
of an inch. This lamp is represented at fig. 3, Plate
CCCXXI.
T is the oil-reservoir, from which the oil passes up¬
wards to the wicks w, w, w. The oil-reservoir is open at
bottom, at h This is preferable to the mode of making
the reservoir with a perforated bottom that screws off for
the purpose of cleaning the reservoir. The fluid B, in
which the oil-reservoir is immersed, is a solution of salt
in water. This liquid is contained in a vessel RMO,
which can be unscrewed at O, for the purpose of taking
out the oil-vessel. N and Y are two floats fixed to the
oil-reservoir and its tube. The column of the solution of
salt c, h, presses against the oil at the open bottom of the
reservoir, and maintains a column of oil in the tube to the
height e; to this point e the wick descends, and raises
the oil to the flame by the capillary attraction of its
fibres. The specific gravities of the oil and the solution
of salt must be inversely as the heights c, h and h,e;
that is, the specific gravity of the solution of salt must
be made to bear to the specific gravity of the oil the
same proportion that the perpendicular height e, h bears
to the perpendicular height c, h. As the oil is consumed,
the water enteps the hole at the bottom of the oil-vessel;
the surface of the water at c sinks, and the oil-reservoir,
with the tube and wicks attached to it, sink also. The
upper part of the vessel R should be of a capacity a little
less than the capacity of the oil-reservoir, so that, when
the water has displaced the oil, and filled the oil-reser¬
voir, the float Y may be at the bottom of the enlarged
part of the water-vessel R. To prepare the lamp,
the exterior vessel is filled with solution of salt by the
opening at l; the solution passes into the oil-vessel by
the open bottom h, and the oil-vessel rests on the bottom
of the exterior vessel. The oil is then poured in through
44 LA
Lamp, the tube e. The oil passes into the oil-reservoir, expels
the water, and floats the oil-reservoir, raising the surface
of the water in R.
An inconvenience affecting Barton’s lamp is, that the
solution of salt, by the gradual evaporation of the watery
part, becomes more dense, and capable of supporting a
higher column of oil than it did at first. The lamp of
Edelkrantz, which floats on mercury, is not liable to this
inconvenience, because the mercury does not alter in den¬
sity by evaporation. Both these floating lamps have the
inconvenience, that the oil is made to run over at the
wick by any accidental shock which depresses the float¬
ing part of the lamp.
Several lamps have been constructed, in which the oil
is raised by the principle of the fountain of Hero of Alex¬
andria, which is known as being employed to raise water
in the mines of Chemnitz, in Hungary. In Hero’s writ¬
ings, the application of this machine to raise oil to a lamp
is described. Lamps of this construction were made some
years ago in Paris by Girard de Marseille. Of this kind
is the hydropneumatic lamp made by King, tin and japan
manufacturer, of Snowhill, London. This lamp is form¬
ed externally like a column eighteen inches high and
four inches in diameter; it is made to contain oil enough
to last for five or six hours. An idea of its general prin¬
ciple may be formed by means of the diagram at fig. 5,
Plate CCCXXL in which there is a descending tube, with
a bulb A at top. The upper part of this bulb is open.
The tube, at its lower part, is curved upwards, and dilated
into a second bulb B. The tube contains oil, the upper
surface of which is in the upper bulb A, and its other
surface is in the lower bulb B~ From the top of the low¬
er bulb B a tube proceeds to the top of another bulb C,
placed higher than the upper bulb A of the first tube.
This third bulb C contains- oil, and from the bottom of
this third bulb the oil rises in a tube. At the upper end
W of this tube the wick is placed. The whole machine
is closed and air-tight, except at the openings of A and
W; and at these openings the pressure of the atmosphere
acts. Thus the column of oil contained in the first tube
and bulbs A, B, presses, with its own weight and the
weight of the atmosphere, on the confined air contained
between the second bulb B and the third bulb C, and
raises up a column of oil from that third bulb. The top
of this column, so raised, is at a higher level than the top
of the oil in the first tube, because the bottom of the co¬
lumn, which is raised, is at a higher level than the bot¬
tom of the column in the first tube. The whole machine
is a syphon, in which a first column of oil of the perpen¬
dicular height AB supports a second column of oil CW, not
of a greater height than the first column, but, by means
of the column of air BC interposed between the two
columns of oil, it is effected that the extremity W of the
second column of oil is much higher than the upper sur¬
face A of the first column of oil. In the lamp con¬
structed on this principle by King, there is a plug and
valve which serve for introducing the oil, and other parti¬
cular contrivances. When the oil is to be poured in, the
lamp is inverted.
A lamp, of which the reservoir for the oil is in the form
of a hollow ring, was contrived by Count Rumford, and
is described by him in Nicholson’s Journal, vol. xiv. 1806,
p. 23. I he lamp is in the centre of the ring, with which
it communicates by three straight tubes, in the direction
of radii of the ring. I he stoppers, which close the aper¬
tures by which the oil is poured into the ring, have a
small hole, which allows the atmosphere to press on the
surface of the oil in the ring, and thereby permits it to
flow freely to the wick. This small hole may also be
placed in some other part of the ring, and not in the stop¬
per. The ring supports an hemispherical shade of rough-
M R
ened glass or of gauze. These glass shades are made Lamp,
rough, not by grinding, but by laying a coat of powdered v--
glass on the smooth surface of the shade, and then expos¬
ing it to the heat of a furnace, so that the powdered glass
becomes adherent, and produces a rough or frosted sur¬
face. This method of frosting glass is practised in
some glass-houses situated in that district of Stafford¬
shire called the Potteries. Lamps of this construction
may be suspended from the ceiling, or placed on a
stand, and are now frequently used in rooms and shops
in London and Paris. They are called in London French
lamps.
Plooke, in his treatise entitled Lampas, published in
1677, describes eight contrivances for supplying oil to a
lamp equably, and as long as there remains any oil in the
reservoir. This he effects by different methods of coun¬
terbalancing the oil. These inventions display Hooke’s
ingenuity and great knowledge of mechanics, but require
nice workmanship, and are not applicable to practical
purposes. These counterpoises of Hooke also serve to
form a vessel so that the whole liquid may be drawn from
it in an equable stream, by tapping the vessel at the top,
and to make the descent of the surface of a liquid and its
discharge constant and equable in a clepsydra for show¬
ing the hour.
Porter’s automaton lamp, constructed in London in
1784, is something similar to some of Hooke’s contrivan¬
ces for producing an equable supply of oil to the wick as
long as there remains any oil in the reservoir. It does
not require such delicacy of execution as Hooke’s coun¬
terpoised lamps. Porter’s lamp is a tin box, the vertical
and longitudinal section of which is a rectangular parallel¬
ogram, elongated horizontally, of which call A, B the two
upper angles, C, D the two lower. This parailelopipedal
box is suspended on an axis near the upper surface of the
box, at a place which may be denoted by X. The axis
is nearer A than B; at A is the wick, and a tube going
down to the bottom of the box, along the side of the
box AC. When the box is full of oil, then the space
XB, behind the axis, being full of oil, counterpoises the
shorter space XA. AB, the long side of the box, is hori¬
zontal ; and the line drawn from the axis of suspension
down to the centre of gravity is perpendicular to AB.
But when the surface of the oil falls below the axis, then
the box turns on its axis, the side A falls, and B is elevat¬
ed ; A being heavier, by reason of the wick and wick-
tube, and the side AC assumes a lower position, in pro¬
portion as the oil is consumed; the line drawn from the
axis down to the centre of gravity becoming more and
more oblique to AB. The operation of this lamp depends
upon the position of the axis X, and the weight of the
wick-tube, which must be accurately proportioned, the
one to the other, by trial.
LAMPS FOR LIGHT-HOUSES.
Light-houses are now generally lighted with Argand
lamps, which have hollow cylindrical wicks placed before
reflecting mirrors. Several of these lamps are fixed on a
frame, and protected from the weather by glass win¬
dows. The lamps of light-houses are fed with oil, and
in some places with pit-coal gas, as in a light-house near
Trieste.
In many of the light-houses on the British coast, the
frame on which the lamps are fixed is made to revolve
by means of clock-work, so that to a spectator situated in
the circle of which the light-house is the centre, the
light appears at its brightest at the end of a stated pe¬
riod of time, which is generally one or two minutes. The
revolving of the light enables seamen to distinguish the
LAMP.
45
Lamp: light-house from the light of lime-kilns or other fires
upon the coast. This distinction is of great importance ;
for shipwrecks have happened in consequence of mistak¬
ing the light of lime-kilns for the light of a light-house.
The light is in some light-houses made of a red tinge, to
distinguish it from some other light-house not far distant.
The red colour of the light is produced by placing win¬
dows of red glass before the lamps. Red is the only
colour that can be given to the light in this way. When
stained glass of other colours is placed before the lamp,
it is not found to produce a change in the colour of light
seen at a distance; the blue or green colour of the glass
becomes insensible when seen through a great body of
air, which has itself a blue colour.
LAMPS FOR LIGHTING STREETS.
Till within the last six years, the street-lamps used in
London and in other parts of Britain consisted almost
uniformly of a deep inverted bell-shaped glass lantern,
blown of one piece, and suspended by the edge in an iron
ring, with a tin conical cover perforated to give issue to
the smoke, and within the lantern a flat oil-vessel, with
two or more wick-holders or beaks projecting from its cir¬
cumference. Many districts of London are lighted with
lamps of this form ; other districts employ several kinds
of street-lamps of a different form. The first of these
new kinds was made under the direction of Lord Coch¬
rane, and employed to light the streets in the parish of
Saint Anne, Soho, London.
The lanterns which serve to protect the light from
wind and weather in the new lamps in one district of Lon¬
don, are composed of four lateral panes and a bottom of
glass, joined together by sheet iron, so that the lantern
is in form of a truncated pyramid, inverted like the lan¬
terns of the street-lamps in Paris. In lanterns of this
form some light is intercepted, and a shadow is thrown
on the street by the metal that unites the panes. This
defect does not occur in the lanterns of street-lamps
most commonly used in England, and made of one piece
of glass blown into the form of a spheroid. The sphe¬
roidal lanterns deflect the light more, because they are
more unequal in thickness, but this is a smaller inconve¬
nience ; the lanterns blowm of one piece of glass are more
easily cleaned. Many of the lanterns for gas-lights are
also made of panes in the above-mentioned form ; some
are cylindroids blown of one piece, with a hole in the bot¬
tom to admit air. In some of the new lamps in London
which have lanterns of one piece of glass, the form of
the lantern is nearly cylindrical; in others the lantern is
not so deep as the lanterns of the old form. The new
lamps have reflectors placed above the light, for the pur¬
pose of reflecting the light downwards on the foot pave¬
ment. These reflectors are of various forms in some of
the lamps, the four plane surfaces of the inside of the
pyramidal cover of the lantern are made bright, and
serve to reflect the light downwards. In other lamps the
ceiling of the lantern is a reflector in form, having a small
portion of a large curved surface, with a chimney in the
middle to give issue to the smoke. Others have two, and
sometimes three, concave conoidal reflectors, whose ver¬
tices meet over the light, the axes of two of the reflect¬
ors being parallel to the direction of the street; at the
point where the reflectors meet there is a chimney, through
which the smoke ascends. The reflectors require to be
frequently wiped in order to keep them bright.
The oil-vessels of the new lamps in London are of va¬
rious forms ; the beak or part of the oil-vessel under the
wick is made as narrow as possible ; for as it is very near
the flame, its shadow thrown on the street by the rays
diverging from the flame is several feet in breadth. If
the beak be an inch broad, and situate an inch under the
flame, the shadow of the beak on the pavement under
the lamp will be ten feet broad if the flame is situate ten
feet above the pavement. In some of the new lamps the
reflector placed above the light is made with its conca¬
vity so disposed at the edges that the reflected light is
thrown upon that part of the pavement which is under
the oil-holder. In Major Cochrane’s lamps the oil-vessel
consists of a bird-cage fountain reservoir, which allows a
supply of oil to come down to the wick when the surface
of the oil in which the wick is placed has sunk to a cer¬
tain point. The wick is double, consisting of two pieces
of flat cotton web ; between the wicks is a slit, through
which a current of air ascends to the flame; on the out¬
side of each wick is another slit; and these slits admit
currents to the exterior surface of the wicks. Each time
that the lamp is trimmed two pieces of wick are inserted,
just sufficiently long to last the time that the lamp is re¬
quired to burn. Naphtha distilled from pit-coal is burned
in these lamps, and the light is brilliant like the light
of coal-gas. But the gas-lights have the advantage of
being unencumbered by the opaque substance of the oil-
vessel, which intercepts light, and casts a shadow on the
street.
The street-lamps in London are fixed at the end of iron
rods which project from the walls of the houses. The
lamp is, over the middle of the foot pavement, ten feet
from the ground. There is a row of lamps on each side
of the street, the principal streets being fifty feet in width.
In Paris, where many of the principal thoroughfare streets
are not above twenty-five feet in breadth, the lamps are
suspended over the middle of the street. A strong rope
is made fast to the walls on each side of the street, and
to this rope a smaller rope with the lamp is attached.
The smaller rope passes over, pullies, and its end comes
down into an iron box, whereat is fixed on a hook. The
iron box is unlocked, and the'lamp is let down and light¬
ed with a candle. The light is placed before a silver-
plated reflector. In Vienna, the street-lamps are fixed on
the upper end of a post. The lamp is taken out of the
lantern by means of a pole, and lighted at the foot of the
post. This saves the inconvenience which results to pas¬
sengers from the mode of lighting lamps by a man with
a ladder and torch, as practised in Britain. In most of
the towns of Italy the streets are but sparingly lighted.
The lamps are fixed at the end of iron rods which pro
ject from the walls of the houses. In some of them the
light is placed in the focus of a parabolic reflector, or at
the meeting of the vertices of two concave conoidal diver¬
gent reflectors situated above the light. The French,
when masters of Italy, made regulations to improve the
lighting of the streets.
In England, whale-oil is used as the combustible mate¬
rial in the street-lamps ; of late naphtha, obtained from the
distillation of pit-coal, has been used in a district of Lon¬
don which is lighted with Major Cochrane’s lamps. This
naphtha is a clear and colourless liquid, and is found to
give a good light; it requires to be prepared with parti¬
cular attention ; that made at the gas-light work is said
to be too easily inflammable. In Paris, rape-seed oil and
poppy-seed oil are used ; these expressed oils are made in
the north-eastern part of France, and in Flanders. In the
south of Europe, olive-oil of inferior quality, and walnut-
oil, are used. Street-lamps lighted with the gas distilled
from pit-coal were in 1821 employed in the principal
streets of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Man¬
chester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and other cities in Bri¬
tain. The use of coal-gas for giving light had made very
little progress in France in 1818, being scarcely employ¬
ed even in Paris, and we believe not at all at Lyons, al¬
though pit-coal is abundant, and commonly used as fuel
Lamp.
46
L A
I-amp. there. In 1818, pit-coal gas was used for lighting a
light-house on the Adriatic, in the dominions of the house
of Austria near Trieste, the gas being obtained from the
coal wrought in the adjacent country.
SAFETY LAMP.
This lamp was constructed for the purpose of giving
light in mines where fire-damp prevails. In many of the
collieries of Britain, Flanders, and other countries, fire¬
damp, consisting of carburetted hydrogen, issues from
different parts of the strata of coal when the coal is work¬
ed ; and when the fire-damp is mixed with a certain pro¬
portion of atmospheric air, it explodes by the flame of the
miner’s candle, burning the workmen severely, and often
depriving them of life. Vegetable substances, in the slow
decomposition which takes place in them, in the process
of putrefaction, give out inflammable gas. This is seen
when the leaves of plants fall into water and become put¬
rid ; inflammable gas then rises to the surface in bubbles,
and is inflamed if a light be applied to the surface of the
water. Vegetable matter gives out inflammable gas also
in the rapid decomposition occasioned by fire. The flame
of vegetable substances consists of the inflammable air re¬
sulting from their decomposition, and burning with the
addition of the air of the atmosphere. Pit-coal consists
of the remains of large quantities of vegetable substances ;
and the fire'damp of coal-mines may be considered as the
produce of the putrefaction which the vegetable- matter
has undergone, or of some decomposition that the coal is
still undergoing. Sir Humphry Davy found that, on
breaking some masses of coal under water, inflammable gas
was given out. In some places blowers of fire-damp is¬
sue out at the surface of the earth. A quarter of a mile
from Pietra Mala in the Apennines, on the road from Bo¬
logna to Florence, there is a blower of inflammable gas
issuing from the ground, and proceeding from strata of
schistus, and perhaps of coal. Sir Humphry Davy analysed
this gas, and found it to be carburetted hydrogen, like the
fire-damp of the coal mines. Another blower of the same
kind exists on the side of a mountain near the shore of
the Gulf of Adalia, in Lycia, on the south coast of Asia
Minor. In mines wrought to obtain metals and salt, where
there are no strata of vegetable matter like coal, it does
not appear that the fire-damp occurs.
The merit of that very ingenious and most useful con¬
trivance, the Safety Lamp, is wholly due to Sir Humphry
Davy. After having made many experiments for the
purpose of forming a lamp to give light in coal mines
affected with fire-damp, without occasioning explosions,
which frequently proved fatal to the miners, he found that
wire-gauze, of which the apertures occupy more space
than the cooling or radiating surface of the wire, so as to
be permeable to air and light, offered a perfect barrier
against explosion ; because, although the gas was inflamed
within the enclosures formed by the wire-gauze, yet the
heat being communicated to the numerous surfaces of the
wire, the gas on the outside of the wire enclosure was not
inflamed. Wire-gauze is the best material for safety lamps,
as it affords the greatest extent of radiating surface, and,
by cooling, prevents all explosions that require a tempe¬
rature higher than the temperature of the atmosphere.
An example of the radiating and cooling action of wire is
seen in the fire-guards of wire, which are hung upon the
ribs of fire-places in rooms to prevent sparks from being
thrown into the room. These fire-guards, although they
are very near the fire, do not become hot. I he apertures
of the wire-gauze must be smaller, and the ware, which is
the radiating and cooling surface, must be in greater
quantity, in proportion as the gas in which the lamp is to
be used is more inflammable. The fire-damp in coal-mines
M P.
is in almost all cases carburetted hydrogen; and for ex- Lamp,
eluding explosion from a lamp in that gas, it is found that S-—VX
the wire-gauze should contain 784 apertures in a square
inch.
The wire-gauze should be of iron or copper. Fine brass
wire is improper, because it is too easily combustible by
reason of the zinc it contains. The iron wire should not
be tinned, tin being too easily combustible. The body of
the lamp should be of copper riveted together, or of massy
cast brass or cast iron. The screws should fit tight; no
aperture, however small, should be suffered to exist in the
body of the lamp; and the trimming wire should move
through a long tight tube.
The safety lamp is represented in Plate CCCXXI. fig. 4.
A is the cistern containing the oil ; B the brass rim to
which the bottom of the wire-gauze cylinder is fastened
by a screw, to prevent it from being separated from the
lamp; C is the safe feeder through which oil is poured
into the lamp; E the safe trimmer, a wire which passes
through a safe tube, for the purpose of raising and trim¬
ming the wdek; F the wire-gauze cylinder. The longitu¬
dinal suture where the two edges of the piece of wire-
gauze that forms the cylinder meet, must be well doubled
and fastened with wire. If the cylinder is of twilled wire-
gauze, the wire should be of iron or copper, at least of the
thickness of ^th of an inch; if of plain wire-gauze, the dia¬
meter should not be less than J^th of an inch. The num¬
ber of apertures in a square inch should not be less than
786. The wire-gauze cylinder F is closed at top by a
circular piece of wire-gauze, and above this is placed a
second top, G, which fits on the cylinder like a cap. In
the figure the circular wire-gauze top of the wire-gauze
cylinder is seen at G through the wire-gauze of the cap.
The circular top of this wire-gauze cap is |ths of an inch
above the top of the wire-gauze cylinder F. II are thick
wires surrounding the wire-gauze cylinder, to prevent it
from being bent by external force. K is a ring to hang
up the lamp, or to hold it by. The most convenient size
for the safety lamp is a span, that is, from 8 to 10 inches
high, the wire-gauze cylinder being 2 to 2| inches in
diameter.
The wire.gauze, when choked with coal-dust, requires
to be cleaned by means of a brush, in order to transmit
the light.
In figure 4, a lens of glass, L, is placed before the light;
sometimes a piece of tin is placed within the cylinder to
act as a reflector.
The light of the safety lamp, without a reflector, was
found to be nearly equal to the light of a common miner’s
candle.
Flame produced by the combustion of explosive gases
may be extinguished by colder metal. The temperature
of metal, even when heated to a white heat, is less than
the temperature of flame, and therefore red-hot wire-gauze
in sufficient quantity, and of the proper degree of fine¬
ness, will abstract sufficient heat from the flame of carbu¬
retted hydrogen or fire-damp to extinguish that flame.
Flame, in all cases, is considered to be the combustion
of an explosive mixture of inflammable gas and air. If a
piece of wire-gauze is held over the flame of a lamp, it
prevents the flame from passing. The air that passes
through is very hot, and is in the state of an explosive
mixture, for it will be inflamed if a lighted taper be pre¬
sented to it. But it is cooled below the exploding point,
by passing through the wires, even if the wires are red
hot; it is also cooled by being mixed with a considerable
quantity of air comparatively cold. The temperature of
visible flame is very high, as is seen by the fusion of a
small filament of that difficultly fusible metal platinum,
which happens when the filament is held in the flame
of a candle. A considerable mass of heated metal is re-
LAMP.
47
Lamp, quired to inflame fire-damp. An iron wire of ^th of an
—■'v-'—^ inch in diameter, and 8 inches long, red hot, when held
perpendicularly in a stream of fire-damp, did not inflame
it. But wire of the same size, when six inches of it were
red hot, and when it was held perpendicularly in a bottle
containing an explosive mixture, so that successive por¬
tions of the gas were heated by the wire, produced an ex¬
plosion.
The action of the safety lamp may be exhibited in the
chemist’s laboratory, by pouring some ether into the bot¬
tom of a large jar ; the vapour of the ether mixing with
the air, produces an explosive atmosphere. When the
safety lamp is lighted and placed in the jar, the explosive
mixture from the ether will burn within the wire-gauze
lamp, without inflaming the gas that is without it.
The workman who has only a single gauze lamp, and
finds the temperature of the wire increasing rapidly by
the fire-damp from a blower, can easily diminish the heat
by standing between the current and the lamp, that is to
say, to the windward of the lamp, or by sheltering the
lamp from the current by interposing his clothes ; or, by
bringing the lamp nearer the orifice from which the fire¬
damp issues, he may extinguish it. There never can be
any occasion for the workmen to place the lamp in the
exact place, when two currents, one of common atmo¬
spheric air, and the other of fire-damp, meet each other.
When the fire-damp is inflamed in the wire-gauze lamp,
coal-dust thrown into the gauze cylinder burns with strong
flashes; but the explosion is not communicated to the ex¬
ternal fire-damp by this means.
Phosphorus, sulphur, pyrites, or gunpowder, would pro¬
duce explosion by being applied to the outside of the
wire-gauze cylinder; and sulphur, to produce this effect,
must be applied in large quantities, and blowm upon by a
current of atmospheric air. But there is little danger of
these substances being accidentally applied to the safety
lamp in mines.
When a wire-gauze lamp is made to burn in a very ex¬
plosive atmosphere at rest, the heat of the wire-gauze,
when the fire-damp is burning within the lamp, soon ar¬
rives at its maximum, and then diminishes. The coally
matter also, from the decomposition of the oil, chokes the
upper apertures of the wire-gauze, and thus gradually
diminishes the heat, by diminishing the quantity of gas
consumed. Wire-gauze lamps which had been used by
workmen for several months, and which had been often
red hot in explosive atmospheres, were nevertheless still
unimpaired and perfect.
Where the lamp is placed in a current of explosive gas,
a greater heat is produced ; and in this case the radiating
or cooling surfaces should be increased. Twilled gauze
or a double or triple fold of wire-gauze on one side of the
lamp, or a skreen of metal between the lamp and the cur¬
rent, or a semi-cylinder of glass or mica within, answers
the object of preventing the heat from rising to redness.
If the heat of the iron wire-gauze rose to that of a strong
welding heat, a circumstance which never could happen
in a colliery, then the iron wire would burn, and the lamp
would be no longer safe.
From a mine of Lord Durham’s there is a violent blower
of fire-damp conveyed to the surface, upon which the fol¬
lowing experiment was made: A brass pipe was fixed
upon the blower-tube, so as to make the whole stream of
fire-damp pass through an aperture of less than half an
inch in diameter. The fire-damp, when inflamed, issued
from this with great violence and noise, forming a flame
of five feet long. This blow-pipe was exposed at right
angles to a strong wind. The double gauze lamps soon
became red hot at the point of action of the two currents ;
but the wire did not burn, nor did it communicate explo¬
sion. The single gauze lamp did not communicate ex¬
plosion as long as it was red hot, and slowly moved Lamp,
through the currents ; but when it was fixed at the point
of the most intense combustion, it reached a welding
heat; the iron wire began to burn with sparks, and the
explosion then passed.
In other experiments on this blower of fire-damp, single
wire-gauze lamps, with slips of tin-plate on the outside or
in the inside, to prevent the free passage of the current,
and double lamps, were exposed to all the circumstances
of the blast; but the heat of the wire never approached
near the point at which iron wire burns, and the explo¬
sion was not communicated. The flame of the fire-damp
flickered and roared in the lamps, but did not escape
without the limits of the wire-gauze.
The sparks from a flint and steel mill, a machine which
sometimes has been used to give light in mines affected
with fire-damp, would most probably inflame such a cur¬
rent as the blower above mentioned; because the sparks
elicited from steel by the collision of flint, are small por¬
tions of the steel in a burning state, as may be seen by
collecting these sparks on a sheet of paper, and viewing
them with a microscope.
The lamp without flame, which is sold as an object of
amusement and curiosity, consists of a fine wire of platinum
of the an inch in diameter, coiled into a spiral,
and placed round the wick of a lamp fed with the spirit of
wine, and a little above the wick; when the flame of the
lamp is blown out, the heat which the wire has acquired
is sufficient to keep up the slow combustion of the vapour
of the spirit of wine, and this combustion continues to
keep the platinum in an ignited state. The principle of
this lamp without flame may be usefully applied to the
safety lamp. By hanging some coils of fine wire of pla¬
tinum above the wick of the lamp, it is believed that
the coal-miner will be supplied with light in mixtures of
fire-damp, which, from the small proportion of atmosphe¬
ric air, are no longer explosive; and should the flame of
the lamp be extinguished by the quantity of fire-damp,
the glow of the incandescent platinum will continue to
give light, and the incandescence will cease when the air
becomes unrespirable. Sir Humphry Davy found, that a
spiral wire of platinum of the yjjth or yyth of an inch in
diameter, suspended within the safety lamp, yields light in
a mixture of fire-damp with atmospheric air, in which the
atmospheric air is in so small a proportion that the mix¬
ture is not explosive. In this situation, the heat is not suf¬
ficiently great to produce combustion with flame, and com¬
bustion without flame takes place. The platinum wire,
heated by the flame of the lamp, retains its heat after the
flame is extinguished, and this heat is sufficient to occa¬
sion a slow combustion or combination of the elements of
the fire-damp with the oxygen of the atmospheric air :
this slow combustion produces sufficient heat to keep the
platinum in a state of ignition. Platinum and palladium
are the only metals found to produce this effect, because
these two metals are of a slow conducting power and ca¬
pacity for heat. This phenomenon takes place in mix¬
tures of gas where there is common air enough to support
the respiration of human beings.
At Wallsend, and other extensive collieries near New¬
castle, in Northumberland, the following regulations re¬
specting the safety lamps are observed : A steady man is
employed to take charge of the lamps, and he is respon¬
sible for keeping them in good order. A chamber is al¬
lotted him, in which he keeps oils, cotton, and spare
lamps; the chamber is in a secure part of the mine, as
near the workings as possible. The brass collar of the
wire-gauze cylinder is secured to the bottom of the lamp
by a lock, which can be opened only by the lamp-keeper ;
so that the workmen cannot separate the wire-gauze cy¬
linder from the bottom of the lamp. After finishing their
48
L A M
liampadary day’s work, the colliers bring the safety lamps to the lamp-
11 keeper’s cabin. The lamp-keeper unlocks the lamps, keeps
Lampong.^ tjie k0tt;0mj ancj aii0Ws the colliers to take the wire-gauze
cylinders home for the purpose of cleaning them. When
the colliers return to their work next day, the lamp-keep¬
er, having replenished the lamps with oil and cotton,
LAN
lights the wicks, screws on the gauze cylinders, and ex- Lanark,
amines them carefully ; if any defect appears in the gauze,
the lamp is set aside to be repaired. The lamp-keeper’s
business, during the day, is to walk leisurely through
amongst the workmen, carrying some spare lamps with him
to replace those which happen to be extinguished.
LAMPADARY, an officer in the ancient churcn ot
Constantinople, so called from his employment, which
was to take care of the lamps, and to carry a taper before
the emperor or patriarch when they went to church or in
procession.
LAMPEDUSA, an island of the Mediterranean Sea,
belonging to the kingdom of Naples. It stretches from
cast to west, and is thirteen miles and a half in circumfer¬
ence, with a level surface, except to the south-east, where
it shelves from a height of 400 feet to a low shore, in¬
dented, or rather serrated, with many caves, of which the
largest is called the harbour; and the island is entitled
to notice, because it was proposed to retain this port at
the time Bonaparte disputed our demand to retain posses¬
sion of Malta after the peace of Amiens. It has few
inhabitants, though an attempt was made to establish a
colony during the late war, which has since been abandon¬
ed. The chief products are fire-wood and fish. It is ten
miles from Tripoli, and seventy-five from Malta. The
castle at the harbour is in longitude 12. 35. 10. east, and
in latitude 35. 29. 19. north.
LAMPRIDIUS, iEmus, one of the writers of the Au¬
gustan History, who lived at the beginning of the fourth
century, during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantius,
to whom he dedicates his work. The Augustan History
is composed by six different authors, and contains a series
of biographical sketches of the Roman emperors, from
Hadrian to Carus and his sons (117-285, a. d.). These
authors were, iElius Spartianus, Vulcatius Gallicanus, Tre-
bellius Pollio, Flavius Vopiscus, JSlius Lampridius, and
Julius Capitolinus. Lampridius wrote the four lives of
Commodus, Diadumenus, Heliogabalus, and Alexander
Severus. He seems to have been more attentive to the
accuracy of his facts than to the beauty of his style. It
is supposed by Yossius (Z>e Hist. Lat. ii. 7), and by Fa-
bricius {Hiblioth. Lat. iii. 6), that Lampridius and Spar¬
tianus are the same writer; but this opinion has been ably
refuted by Demoulines. (See Moller, Hiss, de /HI. Lam-
pridio, Altorf, 1688 ; Casaubon, ad. Spart. Adrian.)
Lampridius, Benedict, of Cremona, a Latin poet of the
sixteenth century. He taught Greek and Latin at Rome
and at Padua, until he was invited to Mantua by Frede¬
rick Gonzaga to undertake the tuition of his son. He
wrote epigrams and lyric verses, both in Greek and Latin,
which were printed separately, as well as amongst the De-
licice of' the Italian poets.
LAMPSACUS, or Lampsacum, in Ancient Geography,
a considerable city of Mysia, more anciently called Pi-
tyea, because abounding in pine trees. It is situated at the
north extremity or entrance of the Hellespont into the
Propontis, with a commodious harbour opposite to Calli-
polis, in the Thracian Chersonesus. It is still called
Lampsacus. Long. 28. E. Lat. 40.12. N.
LAMPONG, a district of country in the southern ex¬
tremity of the island of Sumatra, which begins on the west
coast at the river Padanggoochie, and extends across
the island as far as Palembang on the north-east side,
at which place the settlers are mostly Javans. On the
south and east sides it is washed by the sea, having seve¬
ral ports in the straits of Sunda, particularly Keyser’s and
Lampong Bays. It is intersected by the great river
Sulangbawang, which rises from a considerable lake be¬
tween the ranges of the mountains. The rivers overflow
their banks in the rainy season ; and the villages situated on
the higher grounds appear like islands. The western parts
are mountainous, and some of the peaks are visible at a con¬
siderable distance from the sea. The central and moun¬
tainous parts of the country are best inhabited, the peo¬
ple being secured from the inroads of their eastern neigh-
bdurs the Javans. Of all the Sumatrans, the inhabitants
of this district bear the strongest resemblance to the
Chinese, particularly in their round faces, and the oblique
direction of their eyes. Their women are esteemed fair
and handsome, and an extraordinary degree of freedom
is allowed between the sexes. They have been mostly
converted from the Mahommedan religion, and there are
mosques in almost all their villages; but their attach¬
ment to their old superstitions still leads them to regard
with a peculiar veneration the burying-places of their fa¬
thers, which they piously adorn. Some of these inland
people pay a kind of adoration to the sea, whose irresis¬
tible power is often felt on the coasts of India, and in the
islands in the midst of these seas, on whose shores tre¬
mendous surfs, from the wide expanse of the Pacific
Ocean, are constantly breaking, and rise frequently to the
greatest height, without any apparent cause. The Dutch
claim the dominion of the country ; and towards the end
of the eighteenth century an officer was sent to the bay
of Lampong, from Batavia, to fix on a favourable situation
for a fort, barracks, and storehouses. The bay of Lam¬
pong affords good anchorage, being wide and deep.
LANARK, the head burgh of the county of that name,
is situated on an eminence half a mile from the Clyde, on
its northern bank, at the distance of thirty-two miles
west from Edinburgh, and twenty-five miles south-east
from Glasgow. The derivation of the name has been the
subject of much dispute, and is still involved in doubt.
Lanark is one of the most ancient towns in Scotland. It
appears to have been of considerable importance as early
as the tenth century ; for the first parliament ever held in
Scotland was assembled here by Kenneth II. in 978 ; and
at the royal castle of Lanark, the charter of William the
Lion in favour of the town of Ayr was dated, in 1197.
It was also the scene of the first military exploit of Sir
William Wallace, who there slew the English governor
for his cruelty and oppression, and in the neighbouring
rocky fastnesses raised the standard of deliverance.
Lanark was originally erected into a royal burgh by
Alexander I. There were several subsequent charters
granted by other kings; but the last one, confirmatory of
all the rest, was given by Charles I. in 1632.
Till the beginning of the present century, Lanark pre¬
sented a mean and deserted appearance, and was said to *
be a “ finished town but the rapid increase of the cot¬
ton manufacture at Glasgow, of the benefit of which La¬
nark reflectively enjoys a portion, has done much in re¬
viving a spirit of improvement. The old houses are be¬
ing rapidly modernised, and many new houses have been
added. A branch of the Commercial Bank has been es¬
tablished, and a handsome house erected for the accom¬
modation of their agent. A new jail and splendid county
buildings have been erected, reading-rooms instituted,
and many other indications of growing prosperity and
wealth are manifested in a marked manner.
LAN
.anark, The staple occupation, previously to the introduction of
^ew the cotton manufacture, was the making of shoes and
H stockings; but latterly these manufactures have been
shire mos^y limited to the consumption of the district. About
700 persons are engaged in weaving, and about 100 in
shoemaking.
Lanark, along with Hamilton, Airdrie, and Falkirk,
sends one representative to parliament. The municipal
government is vested in a provost, two bailies, and four¬
teen councillors.
The population of the burgh in 1794 was 2000, in 1831
it was 4266, and it must have increased considerably
since that period. The population of the parish in 1831
was 7672.
Lanark, Neiv, a manufacturing village, the most ex¬
tensive for spinning cotton in Scotland. It is situated on
the northern bank of the Clyde, a little below the cele¬
brated falls, and about a mile distant from the town of
Lanark. It was erected about the year 1785, by Mr
David Dale, an enterprising and benevolent individual.
New Lanark afterwards came into the possession of
Mr Robert Owen, son-in-law of its founder, who, by his
exertions in the cause of education, brought the estab¬
lishment into great notoriety. Mr Owen, in the prose¬
cution of the grand object of his life, was, fortunately for
his reputation as a philanthropist, early led to perceive
the benefits to be derived from receiving infants into his
educational institution ; and thus originated that system
which subsequently attracted so much attention. Messrs
Walker and Company, the present proprietors, continue
the infant school, and give gratis instruction to the more
advanced children belonging to the village, in all the more
useful branches of education ; and the regulation adopted
by Mr Owen, that no child under ten years of age, and
who cannot read and write, and understand accounts,
shall be received into the work, continues to be strictly
enforced.
About fifteen years ago one of the mills was burned
down ; but in 1835 the proprietors rebuilt it on a greatly
enlarged scale, and, it is said, are about to fit it up as a
power-loom weaving factory. A gas-work has also been
completed, on a scale sufficiently adequate to light up
both the works and the village.
The population of New Lanark, about ten years ago,
was 2260; but, according to the returns of 1831, the num¬
ber was then reduced to 1901. It is now (1836) farther
reduced to 1850 souls, of whom about 1100 are employed
in the works. Owing to the improvements in machinery,
more work is now performed by these than was done by
1500 or 1600, the number employed at the period of its
greatest population. Besides, it is worthy of remark,
as a greater triumph of machinery, that in the change
thus effected, the number of men required has been
greatly reduced, and their places occupied by women and
boys.
The people of New Lanark are better informed, and
their moral character and general deportment rank high¬
er, than usually obtains amongst those of their class.
The situation of the village is low, but the cleanliness
of its spacious and well-ventilated streets gives an idea of
comfort exceedingly gratifying to the stranger, and must
be highly conducive to health.
LANARKSHIRE, or Clydesdale, a county in Scot¬
land, situated between 55. 20. and 55. 56. north latitude,
and 3. 25. and 4. 22. west longitude. It is bounded on the
north by the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling, on the
east by those of Edinburgh, Linlithgow, and Peebles, by
Dumfriesshire on the south, and by the counties of Ayr
and Renfrew on the west. In length, from north to south,
it is about forty-seven miles; its greatest breadth, from
east to west, is thirty-two, and it extends over 942 square
VOL. xm.
LAN 49
miles, or 602,880 English acres, of which about 271,000 Lanark-
acres are under cultivation. It is divided into three wards ; shire,
the Upper, of which Lanark is the chief town, containing
about two thirds of its area, on the east, south, and south¬
west, the greater part mountainous; the Middle, wffiich
has the town of Hamilton in its centre, stretching along
the west and north ; and the Lower, containing the city
of Glasgow, and a small tract around it.
This extensive district presents great variety of sur¬
face. Some of the mountains in the Upper Ward, w here
it is bounded by Dumfriesshire, are about 3000 feet
high ; and Tintock, on the northern boundary of the hilly
district, is nearly 2300. Leadhills, a village on its south¬
ern extremity, is 1564 feet above the level of the sea, be¬
ing the highest inhabited ground in Scotland. But in
proceeding along the banks of the Clyde north from
Tintock, the face of the country softens down to gentle
elevations and depressions, and for twelve miles the river
winds slowly through fertile haughs. The Middle Ward
is much less elevated, few of the heights being little
more than 700 feet above sea level; the town of Hamil¬
ton is only about eighty ; yet there are no plains of any
extent except along the banks of the Clyde, and a con¬
siderable part of the surface is covered with moss, in
many places to a great depth. Of the Lower, the greater
part is a highly ornamented district, particularly the
banks of the Clyde, which are thickly planted with vil¬
las, the summer residence of the wealthy inhabitants of
the city of Glasgow.
The principal river, and, in a commercial point of view,
the greatest in Scotland, is the Clyde, from which the
county is frequently called Clydesdale. It has its rise in
the ridge of mountains which separate Lanarkshire from
Dumfriesshire, and, flowing first north and then north¬
west, through the middle of the county, falls into the frith
of the same name above Greenock, carrying with it the
waters collected from 1200 square miles. The principal
streams which join it on the south are Duneaton, Douglas,
Nethan, Avon, and West Calder; and on the north the
Medwin, Mouse, South and North Calders, and Kelvin,
which separates Lanarkshire from Dumbartonshire. The
Clyde is navigable to Glasgow for vessels of more than
300 tons burden, and drawing thirteen feet water; and
two miles higher up for smaller vessels. Most kinds of the
fish found in the other rivers of Scotland are also found
in the Clyde ; but it is supposed that the great increase
of trade on the river, and the use of the water for the
various purposes of manufacture, have been injurious to
the fisheries.
Sandstone and limestone are the prevailing rocks in the
lower parts of Lanarkshire, and argillaceous schistus in
the high grounds. In the Cathkin Hills, near Glasgow,
there is a number of basaltic columns, more than forty
feet high, inclined at an angle of about seventy degrees.
Ironstone abounds in many parts of the county, and is
wrought to a great extent, there having been nineteen fur¬
naces in operation in 1835, producing 56,000 tons of iron
annually, exclusive of six furnaces in preparation, calculat¬
ed to make 13,000 tons additional, being more than three
fourths of the whole quantity made in Scotland. The
great increase in this manufacture has been partly attri¬
buted to the hot-blast invented by Mr Neilson of Glas¬
gow, first tried on a large scale in the Clyde iron-works,
and immediately thereafter adopted at the Calder works.
The use of this improvement is rapidly extending, and
is likely to effect a most beneficial change on the produc¬
tion of this valuable metal. On the southern extremity
are the well-known lead-mines belonging to the Earl of
Hopetoun, from which the village of Leadhills takes its
name. These mines now yield annually only 700 tons of
lead, being less than the half of the quantity produced
G
50 L A N
Lanark- during the war. This deficiency is attributed solely to the
shire, want of demand, the ore being still found in abundance.
A manufactory of small shot was established about two
years ago. In the same quarter gold was discovered in
the time of James III., and afterwards collected in con¬
siderable quantities, from which the celebrated “ bonnet
pieces"’of James V. were coined. But coal is by far the most
important of its mineral treasures. It is supposed to stretch
throughout an area of about 70,000 acres, and, including
the different seams, to be about ten feet thick. The field
near Glasgow contains eight seams, one of them seven
feet thick, the whole amounting to upwards of thirty feet.
There are several good seams of cannel or candle coal in
different parts of the county. This kind has been long
used by the country people for lighting their houses, and
is now carried in great quantities to Glasgow and other
towns, for the manufacture of gas.
The valued rent of Lanarkshire is L.162,118. 16s. lOd.
Scots, and the real rent of lands, houses, mines, and quar¬
ries, is L.751,364. Is. 2d. About two thirds of the coun¬
ty is the property of great landholders, but small pro¬
perties are very numerous. The number of landholders
above L.400 of valued rent is about seventy ; and below
that sum and above L.10, upwards of 750. These small
estates, with those of many of the class immediately above
them, are cultivated b}' their owners; the large ones are
let out to tenants on leases, except the enclosed grass lands,
a great part of which is let out from year to year for
grazing only.
The arable land is for the most part divided into farms
of a moderate extent, held on leases for nineteen years;
but it is not an uncommon practice to let the grazing lands
for two or three crops only, for which a high rent is often
obtained. The sheep pastures in the mountain districts
yield a rent averaging about two shillings and ninepence
per acre, and the arable land about twenty shillings, the
best in general being only cultivated. In the lower por¬
tion of the Upper Ward, where cultivation is more indis¬
criminate, the average is not much higher; but in the
Middle and Lower Wards the average of arable land may
be computed at thirty shillings. Much of the arable land
in the first division is dry and fertile; clay prevails in the
second and third ; and along the banks of the Clyde there
are considerable tracts of an alluvial description. Of late
years much land has been reclaimed and improved by
draining; and incalculable benefit has been derived from
the planting of clumps and strips of trees in exposed situa¬
tions, although this practice has not yet become so gene¬
ral as its importance obviously demands. The present sys¬
tem of entails, under which a great proportion of the land
in this county is held, has been much blamed for retard¬
ing such improvements.
As this county slopes to the west almost throughout
its whole extent, the Atlantic exerts a powerful influence
on its climate. For about two thirds of the year the wind
blows from the south-west and west. Intense frosts are
of short duration, and snow seldom lies long in the lower
districts ; but, from the general humidity of the atmo¬
sphere, and also of the soil, seed-time and harvest are
often late. In regard to heat, there is a considerable
difference between the Upper and Middle Wards, the
thermometer on the same day commonly standing several
degrees higher in the latter than in the former. Its range
is from eleven to eighty-five degrees. The quantity of
rain that falls at Glasgow varies from fourteen and a half
to twenty-eight and a half inches, the average for thirty
years being twenty-two and a third ; but at Lanark the
influence of the Atlantic is less sensibly felt, owing pro¬
bably to its open and elevated situation. This however
may, equally with the great humidity of the other wards,
account for the lateness of the harvest. Lanarkshire is
LAN
therefore, upon the whole, less favourable to the culture Lanark-
of corn than the eastern counties of Scotland. shire.
The dairy is accordingly an object of considerable im-
portance here, and is carried on in all its branches. Be¬
sides the dairies kept in and near the city of Glasgow,
for supplying the inhabitants with milk, cream, and fresh
butter, a great number of cows are kept in the landward
districts, the produce of which is applied to making but¬
ter and cheese, and the fattening of calves. The cheese
is in general equal in quality to the best Dunlop, and brings
the highest prices in the Edinburgh and Glasgow mar¬
kets. Lesmahagow and Carnwath parishes are said to
produce the best. Within the last few years several of
the Highland Society’s prizes for the best imitation of
Stilton and double Gloucester cheeses have been obtained
by the dairy farmers of the latter parish. The Ayrshire
breed of cattle has hitherto been most prized ; but a new
species has recently been introduced, and found to be
of superior quality7, viz. the Lanarkshire newly-improved
breed, crossed by the Ayrshire cow and short-horned bull,
or vice versa. The draught-horses of Clydesdale have
long been famous. They are supposed to have originated
from some Flanders or Holstein horses brought over in the
seventeenth century by one of the Dukes of Hamilton.
From the earliest period, Clydesdale has been celebrat¬
ed for its fruit. The Venerable Bede, who flourished in
the eighth century, speaks of the “ apple-yards of La¬
nark"’ as being then famous. Till the beginning of the
present century, however, the orchards seem to have been
principally confined to sloping banks, and acclivities inac¬
cessible to the plough. But the growing prosperity and
wealth of Glasgow, and the obstructions to continental
intercourse about the period above alluded to, operated a
change so favourable, that some of the richest holm lands
were speedily devoted to this species of cultivation. It is es¬
timated that there are at least 600 acres in orchards, which
are gradually extending, although the reduced value and
the precariousness of the crop seem to hold out little in¬
ducement. The average value of the fruit at the orch¬
ards during the war was about L.8000 per annum, but of
late years it has not exceeded L.5000. The average
price of apples at the orchards in 1835 was under two
shillings per sack of about forty pounds. Gooseberries
and currants are likewise largely cultivated. In some of
the more extensive orchards, they yield L.50 or L.60 an¬
nually.
The internal communication by means of roads is in a
high state of improvement. The great line of road from
Glasgow to Carlisle and London intersects the whole
county from east to west; and in every direction it is
traversed by roads in the best state of repair. But other
modes of communication have been found requisite for
the immense trade carried on in Glasgow and the neigh¬
bourhood. The navigation of the Clyde has been much
improved by deepening and confining the bed of the river,
and by canals formed in several directions. These are,
the Forth and Clyde Canal, connecting the friths of these
two rivers, thirty-five miles distant from each other ; this
was the first considerable work of the kind undertaken in
Scotland, and has been a very useful and successful one;
the shares of L.100 were lately selling at L.540 : at
Stockingfield, a collateral branch proceeds to Port Dun-
das, at Glasgow : the Monkland Canal, from the coal-
works in the parishes of Monkland, to the Forth and
Clyde at Port Dundas : and the Ardrossan Canal, which
is completed from Port Eglinton, near Glasgow, to the
village of Johnston, a distance of eleven miles, and is in¬
tended to be continued to Ardrossan, on the coast of
Ayrshire, twenty-two miles farther. Railways, too, which
promise to fulfil the wonders of the nursery tale of the
seven-league boots, have been projected, and some of
LAN
LAN
51
:,aubryn- them executed. The Kirkintilloch Railway stretches
mair. from the canal into the coalfields of Monkland. The
Garnkirk Railway is the only one on which locomotive
engines are employed. It extends from Glasgow to
near Airdrie, where it is joined by the Ballochney Rail¬
way. The Wishaw and Coltness Railway, partly exe¬
cuted, is intended to open this mode of communication
to near the centre of the county; whilst one on a more
extensive scale is in contemplation for connecting the
cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In short, railways,
which seem as yet in their infancy, are now being pushed
out in all directions from the great emporium of the west,
and will no doubt thrive under the fostering enterprise
and industry of that great city.
The city of Glasgow, with its manufactures and com¬
merce, has been described in the article Glasgow. I he
other towns are Lanark (see the article Lanark), Ru-
therglen, Hamilton, and Airdrie, with which may be
classed the populous villages of Strathaven and Biggar,
polling stations for the elections of members of parlia¬
ment. Hamilton is situated on the Clyde, thirty-eight
miles west of Edinburgh, and eleven south-east of Glas¬
gow, with a population of 9513. In the neighbourhood is
the seat of the Duke of Hamilton ; and three miles below
is Bothwell Bridge, noted for the defeat of the Cove¬
nanters, on the 22d of June 1679. Rutherglen is a royal
burgh, on the Clyde, two and a half miles above Glasgow.
Airdrie, situated in the parish of New Monkland, on the
great road between Edinburgh and Glasgow, about ten miles
from the latter, is rapidly rising into importance. It has
been recognised as a burgh under the parliamentary and
burgh reform acts. The population of the town in 1831
was 6594, of the parish 9867. There are a number of vil¬
lages in the vicinity of Glasgow, which, by their situation,
belong to that city ; and several of considerable extent in Lanca-
different parts of the county. Amongst the latter may s^ire-
be mentioned Carnwath, Carluke, Douglas, Lesmahagow, ^ Y^"
Stonehouse, Leadhills, and New Lanark. The cotton
manufacture, the iron-works, and the collieries, give em¬
ployment to the greater part of the inhabitants of Lanark¬
shire. Every great establishment has a considerable vil¬
lage in the neighbourhood, where the workmen reside.
The county of Lanark sends one member to parliament,
who is chosen by a Constituency of 3634, of whom above
200 consist of the old freeholders. The city of Glasgow
sends two members, chosen by a constituency of 8883 ;
and the royal burghs of Lanark and Rutherglen, and the
towns of Hamilton and Airdrie, have a share in the elec¬
tion of other two members ; Lanark, Hamilton, and Air¬
drie, being joined with Falkirk, and Linlithgow and Ru¬
therglen with Kilmarnock, Port Glasgow, Dumbarton, and
Renfrew. It has one sheriff, whose jurisdiction extends
over all the county, and three substitutes, at Lanark, Glas¬
gow, and Hamilton. Lanarkshire contains forty-seven
parishes, of which eleven belong to the Presbytery of
Lanark, fourteen to that of Hamilton, and thirteen to that
of Glasgow, all in the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr; and
nine to the Presbytery of Biggar, in the Synod of Lothian
and Tweeddale. The ecclesiastical revenue, exclusive of
that of the churches within the city of Glasgow, includ¬
ing the estimated value of the glebes, may be stated, on
an average of the last seven years, at about L.l 1,550.
The increase of the population has been uncommonly ra¬
pid ; but it may be attributed chiefly to the city of Glas¬
gow, and the spread of its manufactures.
The following table exhibits an abstract of the popula¬
tion returns of 1831, and a comparative view of the enu¬
merations made in 1801, 1811, 1821, and that year.
OCCUPATIONS.
Upper ward..
Middle ward
Under ward.,
City of Glas
gow and sub
urbs...
Total.
|l^ Bps
1
1622
2084
409
299
4504
2,975
8,248
1,883
26,586
39,692
2,557
2,510
533
15,080
20,680
17,071
32,268
7,166
93,724
150,229
18,167
32,477
7,244
108,702
35,238
64,745
14,410
202,426
166,590 1316,819
Lx o3
L, to
8,588
15,364
3,523
46,195
73,670
- J j;
3 toS
if
659
654
157
23
1493
o
o §
424
799
63
63
1349
"2.
1688
1505
529
101
3803
T 3 >>
- y tu
"g otS.S
|-h||
“1.S
2,134
4,104
1,126
19,913
26,677
•S .s^jj
S o
o 3 £ ^
11 2 c
1,717
2,950
547
18,832
24.046
w-2 S
l.a-g
244
469
133
2723
3569
5<q
tgi
^ L 3
” 3"
=1 3
1277
3586
766
574
6303
O
o
319
853
129
4012
5318
554
1112
124
319
37
392
872
2,151
2,185
551
8,006
12,893
The population amounted in 1801 to 146,699, in 1811 to 191,752, in 1821 to 244,387, and in 1831 to 316,8i9.
(See Naismytil’s General View of the Agriculture of Clydesdale; Beaidies of Scotland, vol. iii.; Ihe General Repoit
of Scotland; and Playfair’s Account of Scotland, vol. i.)
LANBRYNMAIR, a town in the hundred of Machyn-
leth, in Montgomeryshire, in Wales, 193 miles from Lon¬
don. It is a sinecure rectory, in the patronage of the
Bishop of St Asaph. The annual value of the real pro¬
perty was assessed in 1815 at L.5649. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1743, in 1811 to 1657, and 1821 to
1893, and in 1831 to 2040.
LANCASHIRE, a great commercial and manfacturing
county in the north-west of England. This district,
which is situated between long. 2. 18. and 3. 7. W., and
lat. 53. 23. and 54. 24. N., has Cumberland and West¬
moreland on the north-east and north, Yorkshire on the
east, Cheshire on the south, and the Irish Sea on the west.
Its extreme length is about seventy-four miles, and its
greatest breadth forty-four and a half; but the boundaries
being very irregular, its outline is about 342 miles, which
comprehends an area of 1765 square miles, or 1,129,600
acres. Lancashire forms part of the northern circuit, is
situated within the province of York and diocese of
Chester, and is divided into sixty-one parishes. The other
divisions are hundreds, of which there are six, namely,
Lonsdale on the north ; Amcunderness, Blackburn, and
Leyland, in the middle; and Salford and West Derby on
the south. Most of these are again popularly subdivided,
according to their relative situation, or the names of their
towns.
The greater part of this county, from Rossall Point
on the north, to the Mersey on the south, except where
it is indented by the estuary of the Ribble on the west,
lies tolerably compact, in the form of an irregular square.^
To the north of Rossall Point, till it meets the county of
Westmoreland, it is very narrow, with a sinuous boundary
LANCASHIRE.
52
Lanca- on all sides ; and to the north-east there is a considerable
shire. ^ tract called Furness, separated from the rest by extensive
sands, where the river Ken, from Westmoreland, dis¬
charges itself into the Bay of Morecombe. Opposite the
s<3uth point of Furness is the island of Walney, and other
seven, of which the largest is Old Barrow. On the north¬
east and north much of the surface is occupied with hills and
moors, particularly in Furness, where the highest grounds
have the name of Fells; and also on the east, where it
is bounded by Yorkshire; but the south and west quar¬
ters spread out for the most part into low and fertile
tracts, though not without being interrupted by pretty
large fields of moss. Chat Moss, near Worsley, and Pil¬
ling Moss, farther to the north, are the most extensive ;
but many other, though smaller, tracts occur in various
parts. Along the coast there is also a considerable ex¬
tent of sandy marsh land, particularly towards the north,
near Lancaster and Warton, at the estuaries of the Leven
and Duddon, in the north-east or Furness district, and
about the banks of the island of Walney.
The climate of Lancashire is chiefly distinguished for
* its humidity. According to a register kept at Liverpool
from 1784 to 1792, the least quantity of rain yearly was
twenty-four and an eighth inches in 1788, and the great¬
est fifty-four and a fourth in 1792. At Lancaster, in the
latter year, the quantity of rain was nearly sixty-six
inches. Four inches have been known to fall in the
course of a night. The mean heat at Lancaster, from
1784 to 1790, was 51° 8'. The prevailing winds are from
the south, south-west, and north-east. As fogs are not
frequent, nor the stagnant waters of any considerable ex¬
tent, the climate is not insalubrious.
The soils of this extensive district are necessarily va¬
rious. The higher grounds, covered with heath and bro¬
ken with rocks, have a sterile moorish soil; but towards
their base, and in the valleys which they form, it is for
the most part of the nature of holme. Loam and clay of
various degrees of consistence prevail on the flat grounds,
with portions of sand, gravel, and moss ; and on the banks
of the rivers, and at their estuaries, there are large tracts
of an alluvial description. The under stratum of the
heathy grounds is sandstone or freestone of different co¬
lours ; a blue rock, popularly called whinstone, is more
common in the fell tracts of Furness. Limestone pre¬
vails on the north-west, and towards the eastern boun¬
daries. This and the freestone rock occasionally come
in contact with one another in a very remarkable manner,
a striking instance of which occurs near the town of
Chipping, at the termination of the high ridge of Long-
ridge Fell. In some places towards the eastern border,
coal approaches so near the surface, as to constitute the
substratum of the soil, and may be seen cropping out at
Townley Park, and on the rising grounds on both sides.
Marl is frequently found below the soil in the low grounds,
and also under the mosses. Much of the vale land con¬
sists of rich pastures and meadows; what part of it is
under tillage is very productive, and in many instances
of a quality to yield turnips and other green crops, as well
as grain. A strong clayey loam, however, appears to be
the predominant soil throughout the low grounds on the
south and west, which, with the wetness of the climate,
renders cultivation more difficult and hazardous than in
many other districts.
ihe principal mineral substances are coal, copper, lead,
and iron. I he first, and in a manufacturing district by far
the most important, of these, is in great abundance in se¬
veral parts of the county. The great coal tract com¬
mences below Prescot on the south, and, crossing the
county in a north-east direction, passes into Yorkshire ;
but coal abounds farther to the south-east, near Manches¬
ter, and also to the north above Lancaster. Its quality,
as well as the thickness of the beds, and the depth at Lanca-
which it is wrought, has considerable diversity ; but it is
chiefly of a bituminous description. Cannel coal is found
near Wigan, and at other places, and sometimes in con¬
tact with the black coal, or a little mixed with it, as at
the pits near Layton Hall. Copper is met with in the
rough barren mountains, towards the northern extremity
of the high Furness or Fell district, particularly at Conis-
ton, Muckle Gill, and Hartriggs; but has not been found
to the south of Lancaster Sands in such quantities as to
be wrought with advantage. Lead occurs towards the
north and north-east parts of the county, but in no great
quantity. Iron is wrought to the north of Lancaster
Sands, in the liberty of Furness. Though found in other
quarters, it is not in such abundance, so as to make the
working of it profitable. In the northern part of the high
Furness tract, quarries of blue slate have been opened.
Sandstone is wrought in most parts of the county south
of the Sands, and limestone, though it is found also in the
Furness district, is most abundant on the Lancaster side.
The main tracts of this rock are in the northern divisions
above Lancaster, and near Chipping and Clitheroe, to¬
wards the borders of Yorkshire. More to the south, that
is, throughout the larger and more valuable portion of the
county, it occurs but seldom, and not to a great extent.
Lancashire is natui’ally well supplied with waters, of
which its inhabitants have industriously availed themselves
in their manufacturing establishments, and in facilitating
the transport of their products of all kinds. The princi¬
pal rivers are the Mersey, the Irwell, the Kibble, and the
Loyne or Lune. The Mersey, after receiving the Etherow
and the Goyt from Cheshire, and the Tame from York¬
shire, becomes a large river at the town of Stockport, and,
after a winding course between this county and Cheshire,
enters the Irish Sea a little below the town of Liverpool.
By means of an artificial cut, it has been made navigable
for vessels of sixty or seventy tons from Liverpool to the
mouth of the Irwell, up which river the navigation is con¬
tinued to Manchester.
The Irwell, which has its source amongst the hilly ranges
to the south of Haslingden, also receives several streams, and
flowing through a part of Manchester, where it is advantage¬
ously employed by the different manufactories, especially
those of spinning, dyeing, and calico printing, falls into the
Mersey a little below Flixton. The Kibble is a large river,
which intersects the county from east to west. It enters
Lancashire from Yorkshire, above the town of Clitheroe,
and, flowing through the beautiful vale of Kibblesdale, joins
the Irish Sea a little below the town of Preston, to which
it is navigable for small vessels. The Loyne or Lune, also
a large river, has its source in the fells of Westmoreland,
and comes into Lancashire a little below Kirkby-Lonsdale,
and, passing by the town of Lancaster, afterwards ex¬
pands into a broad estuary, and empties itself into the Irish
Sea, The Alt, the Douglas, the Wyer, the Winster, the
Leven, the Crake, and the Dudden, are also considerable
streams ; and many others, though in a general description
not worthy of notice for their size, afford the most import¬
ant facilities to the manufactories established on their
courses. There are several pieces of water in the county,
known by the names of lakes, waters, meres, and tarns. Of
these the most considerable is Coniston Lake or Thurston
Water, and Esthwaite Water, both in Furness. With these
may be mentioned the Lake of Windermere, which, though
not properly belonging to Lancashire, enters it by its
southern point, and forms its boundary for eight or ten
miles. Mineral springs have been found at Cartmel, Fluke-
borough, Wigan, Latham House, near Ormskirk, and other
places.
Of the canals by which a great part of this county is
traversed in almost every direction, it would be difficult to
L ANCA
L anca- give an intelligible description without references to a map,
shire, and the limits of this article admit only of noticing them
very generally. The great importance of an interior com¬
munication by water had been recognised in this quarter
a considerable time before any attempt was made to form
one entirely artificial. The first object was to render some
of the rivers navigable, as in the instance of the Mersey
and Irwell, already mentioned, to effect which, acts of par¬
liament were obtained in 1719 and 1720. But the droughts
and tides which affect the navigation of these and other
rivers have been found to occasion so much inconvenience,
that more recently a preference has been given to chan¬
nels of communication formed wholly by human labour.
The first work of this description in Lancashire, and pro¬
bably in England, was the Sankey Canal, from the Mersey
to near St Helen’s, which, including its branches, extends
nearly twelve miles. It was finished about sixty years ago.
Besides this canal, the county is intersected by nine others,
four of which communicate with the populous town of Man¬
chester. Of these we can only notice the more consider¬
able. The Duke of Bridgewater’s Canal, in as far as it be¬
longs to Lancashire, commences in the suburbs of Man-
' Chester, and terminates at Pennington, near the town of
Leigh. Under the town of Manchester a portion of it
passes into arched tunnels, from one of which coals are
hoisted up out of the barges below, through a shaft, and
delivered into a large coal-yard in the main street. Be¬
fore it reaches the coal-works at Worsley, it is carried
under ground for three quarters of a mile. The Lancas¬
ter Canal commences at Kirkby-Kendal in Westmoreland,
and terminates at West Houghton, to the eastward of
Wigan, after a course of 75| miles. The principal object
in executing this great work was to open a ready commu¬
nication between the coal and limestone districts, and be¬
tween the port of Lancaster and the populous towns on
the north and south. It is on an average seven feet deep,
and is navigable by boats of sixty tons burden. The Leeds
and Liverpool Canal is of still greater length. It extends
between the towns of Liverpool and Leeds, along a line of
107| miles, and communicating at the latter place with
the Aire, which is navigable to the German Ocean, and at
the former with the Mersey, which falls into the Irish Sea;
the navigation is thus completed between the eastern and
western seas. On this canal flats of forty-two tons are em¬
ployed in the coal trade between Leeds and Wigan, and
passage-boats are in constant use between these towns.
The other canals, though works of great importance when
each is considered by itself, are much inferior to those we
have mentioned.
A considerable portion of the territory of this county
belongs in property to his majesty, as Duke of Lancaster.
The greater part of this consists of what is called forest
lands, all of which are situated in the most northern parts.
It is held in general on leases for thirty years, and yields
but an inconsiderable revenue. A few other estates are
also of considerable extent; but, generally speaking, land¬
ed property is much subdivided, and hence Lancashire has
a greater number of land-owners than any other county in
England, Middlesex excepted ; many of the estates not af¬
fording a rental of L.200 a year, and not a few being be¬
low L.50.
Lancashire does not excel in its agriculture. Only
about a fourth of its surface is computed to be under corn
and other tillage crops, the other three fourths, subject to
a deduction for wastes, roads, &c. being chiefly occupied
in grazing and for the purposes of the dairy; and it has
been estimated that it does not raise corn sufficient for the
support of its population for more than three months in the
year. All the different sorts of corn, however, are culti¬
vated, and, where the soil is naturally fertile, the crops are
often abundant; but turnips and other ameliorating crops
SHIRE. 53
are not in general use, nor always, where grown to some Lanca-
extent, properly attended to. Potatoes, however, are cul- alure-
tivated not only upon a large scale, but with great care "
and success ; this root, with oatmeal, forming the princi¬
pal food of the working classes. They were introduced
into this county from Ireland, and are said to have been
cultivated here long before they had found their way into
most other parts of England. Lancashire was long noted
for its breed of horned cattle, but a variety of other breeds
have been introduced, particularly the Holderness, or
short-horned, which are preferred tp the Lancashire in the
milk dairies near the town, and sometimes also in those at
some distance, where the principal object is butter. The
native breed is the kind more commonly kept for the cheese
dairies, farther into the interior. A cow yields, upon an
average throughout the year, from eight to twelve quarts
of milk daily, or from four to six pounds of butter in the
week, or from three to four hundredweight of cheese in
the year. A considerable number of good horses are bred
and reared, but its sheep stocks are inconsiderable, and sel¬
dom of a valuable description. Farms are in general small,
and held either on short leases or without any lease at all,
so that a tenant has no encouragement to invest capital in
the improvement of the soil.
This district, however, is greatly distinguished by its
manufactures and commerce, which afford employment to
three fourths of its crowded population. Of the former,
that of cotton, which is here conducted in all its branches
on the most extensive scale, has long been the most con¬
siderable. The town of Manchester, where it seems to
have had its origin in England, is still its principal seat,
though several of the other towns, such as Preston, Gar-
stang, Blackburn, Clitheroe, Middleton, Burnley, Wigan,
Bury, Bolton, and Ashton, have a considerable share of it;
and, indeed, it is more or less spread over the greater part
of the county. At Ilavenhead, near Prescot, plate-glass
and mirrors are made to a considerable extent; brass, pew¬
ter, and copper works are carried on at Wigan and at St
Helen’s ; Warrington has manufactures of sail-cloth, linens,
and checks, with the making of pins and glass, and iron-
founderies ; and Rochdale and Ashton furnish a variety of
the coarser articles of woollen.
From the great extent and variety of its manufactures,
it is natural to infer that its commerce must be upon a
scale proportionally extensive, and it is so. Liverpool, as
a commercial town, is now perhaps second only to London ;
and to this rank it has attained from a very low beginning
little more than a century ago. In prosperous times, the
enterprise of its merchants exchanges the products of Bri¬
tish capital and industry with those of almost every cli¬
mate ; and, at all times, it carries on an extensive com¬
merce with America and the West Indies, and with Ire¬
land ; to which has been recently added a large share of
the East India trade. The ports of Preston, Poulton, War¬
rington, Ulverston, and Lancaster, the county town, are
chiefly employed in the coasting trade.
As a considerable portion of the people of Lancashire
are employed in working up goods for a foreign market,
the condition of the labouring classes, in particular, is much
affected by the changes which occur from time to time in
that market, and which it is not always possible to antici¬
pate. They are sometimes in the receipt of wages more
than sufficient for their comfortable subsistence, and at
other times many are thrown out of employment altogether,
and the rest retained at wages confessedly inadequate to
their support. This is true in an especial manner of its
great staple, the cotton manufacture. From this cause,
and perhaps also owing to the inconsiderate habits and
want of foresight which such fluctuations are apt to engen¬
der, the poor-rates of this county amounted, in 1815, to
about L.400,000, whereas, forty years before, they were
54
LAN
Lancaster, little more than L.50,000. Since that period up to the
'present time (1836), though the whole number of the in¬
habitants has increased nearly half a million, there has not
been a corresponding increase on the assessments for the
poor, but, on the contrary, a diminution, nor, except in the
year 1832, has the amount quite reached that of 1815 and
1816.
The whole population of the county, at the three decen¬
nial enumerations, has been as follows :—In 1801, 672,731;
in 1811, 828,309; in 1821, 1,052,859; and in 1831,
1,335,800; thus showing a doubling of the inhabitants in
thirty years. The burials, including both the registered
and unregistered, appear, between the years 1821 and 1833,
to have been one in forty-five of the whole of the number
then living. The illegitimate births bear a higher pro¬
portion to the whole births than in any other county of
England, except Hereford and Shropshire, where, as in
this county, they are one in thirteen, whereas in the whole
of England they are only one in twenty.
According to the laborious production of Mr Rickman,
the occupation of the people is thus described.
Occupiers of land employing labourers 6,658
Occupiers of land not employing labourers 9,714
Labourers employed in agriculture 20,949
Labourers employed in manufactures 97,517
Persons employed in retail trade or handicraft 86,076
Capitalists, bankers, &c 17,614
Labourers not agricultural 60,546
Other males twenty years of age 11.229
Male servants 3,825
Female servants 33,509
The largest towns in the county, and their population in
1831, w ere the following :
Town. Whole Parish.
Ashton-under-Lyne 9,222 33,597
Blackburn 27,091 59,791
Bolton 28,299 63,034
Bury 15,086 47,829
Lancaster 12,613 22,294
Liverpool 165,175   
Manchester 142,026 270,961
Oldham 32,381 67,579
Preston 33,112 36,336
Rochdale, the town of that name, and a part of the
parish, is in Yorkshire... —  58,441
Toxteth Park, a suburb of
Liverpool 24,067   
Warrington 16,018 19,155
Wigan 20,774 44,486
By the law of 1832, called the reform bill, the borough
of Newton, in this county, was disfranchised, and Clitheroe,
which had two members, was reduced to one. By the
same bill, the towns of Ashton, Bury, Rochdale, Salford,
and Warrington, have been created boroughs, with the
right of choosing one member each ; and Manchester, Bol¬
ton, Blackburn, and Oldham, with the right of electing two
each. °
I he county is formed into two divisions, for the purpose
of elections. These are denominated the North, whose
pollingplaces are Lancaster, Hawkeshead, Ulverston, Poul-
ton, I reston, and Burnley; and the South, whose pollino-
places aie, Newton, Wigan, Manchester, Liverpool, Orms-
kirk, and Rochdale.
LANCASTER, a town, the capital of the county of the
same name, in the north of England, 239 miles from Lon¬
don. It is a sea-port, situated on the river Lune, along
whose banks are some fine quays, on which are the ware¬
houses of the several merchants and traders. The Lune
is connected, by navigable canals, with the several rivers
which run through England, by which great facilities are
communicated for internal intercourse, and for dispersing
LAN
the commodities which the trade of the town draws to it
from America, the West Indies, and the Baltic. Lancaster
is well built, and the streets properly paved. The church
is a fine Gothic structure; and near to it is the castle, in'
which are the county jail, and the courts where the as¬
sizes are held. It is an ancient structure of the reign of
Edward III.; on the top of it is a large square tower called
John of Gaunt’s chair, from wdiich is a fine prospect over
the surrounding country. The markets are held on Wed¬
nesday and Saturday, and are well supplied. This town is
governed by a mayor, recorder, alderman, and bailiffs ; and
elects, as it did before the alteration, two members to the
House of Commons. It formerly conferred the title of duke
upon several members of the reigning family. The annual
value of the real property, as assessed under the property-
taxin 1815, amounted to L.34,117. The inhabitants amount¬
ed in 1801 to 9030, in 1811 to 9247, in 1821 to 10,144,
and in 1831 to 12,613.
LANCAVY, or Pulo Lada, an island in the Eastern
Seas, near the coast of Queda, about sixteen miles long,
and from three to eight broad. Long. 96. 40. E. Lat.
6. 19. N.
LANCE, L ancea, a spear; an offensive weapon used
by the ancient cavaliers, in form of a half pike. The lance
consisted of three parts, the shaft or handle, the wings, and
the dart. Pliny attributes the invention of lances to the
iEtolians. But Varro and Aulus Gellius say the word
lance is Spanish; and hence others conclude that the use
of this weapon was borrowed by the people of Italy from
the Spaniards. Diodorus Siculus derives it from the Gaul¬
ish, and Festus from the Greek /.&/%?;, which signifies the
same thing.
LANCET, a chirurgical instrument, sharp-pointed, two-
edged, and chiefly used for .opening veins in the operation
of phlebotomy or bleeding ; also for laying open abscesses,
tumours, and the like.
LANCH, a peculiar sort of long boat, employed by the
French, Spanish, and Italian shipping, and in general by
those of other European nations, when voyaging in the
Mediterranean Sea. A lanch is proportionally longer,
lower, and more flat bottomed, than the long boat; it is
consequently less fit for sailing, but better calculated for
rowing, and approaching a flat shore. But its principal
superiority over the long boat consists in being by its con¬
struction much fitter to under-run the cable; which is a
very necessary employment in the harbours of the Levant,
where the cables of different ships are fastened across each
other, and frequently render this exercise extremely ne¬
cessary.
Lanch, or Launch, is also the movement by which a
ship or boat descends from the shore, either when she is at
first built, or at any time afterwards. To facilitate the ope¬
ration of launching, and prevent any interruption, the ship
is supported by two strong platforms, laid with a gradual
inclination to the water, on the opposite side of her keel,
to which they are parallel. Upon the surface of this de¬
clivity are placed two corresponding ranks of planks, which
compose the base of a frame called the cradle, the upper
part of which envelopes the ship’s bottom, to which it is
securely attached. Thus the lower surface of the cradle,
conforming exactly to that of the frame below, lies flat
upon it lengthwise, under the opposite sides of the ship’s
bottom ; and as the former is intended to slide downwards
upon the latter, carrying the ship along with it, the planes
or faces of both are well daubed over with soap and tallow.
The necessary preparations for the launch being made, all
the blocks and wedges by which the ship was formerly
supported are driven out from under her keel, till her whole
weight gradually subsides upon the platforms above de¬
scribed, which are accordingly called the ways. The shores
and stanchions, by which she is retained upon the stocks
I .a ncavy
II
Lanch.
LAN
LAN
oo
ancerota till the period approaches for launching, are at length cut
ll away, and the screws applied to move her if necessary.
Land. >pjie motion usually begins on the instant when the shores
' are cut, and the ship slides downward along the ways, which
are generally prolonged under the surface of the water, to
a sufficient depth to float her as soon as she arrives at the
farther extremity. When a ship is to be launched, the
ensign, jack, and pendant are always hoisted, the last
being displayed from a staff erected in the middle of the
ship. Ships of the first rate are commonly constructed in
dry docks, and afterwards floated out, by throwing open
the flood-gates, and suffering the tide to enter as soon as
they are finished.
LANCEROTA, one of the Cajiary Islands, situated at
some distance from the western shore of Africa. It is
subject to volcanoes; and one which occurred in 1730,
spread desolation over a highly-cultivated region, entire¬
ly changing the face of the island. The eastern part is
fertile, though sandy; and, stripped of its forests, Lance-
rota experiences, like the neighbouring continent, most ex¬
cessive droughts. Camels are nevertheless maintained in
great numbers; and corn, barley, and vegetables are ex¬
ported. The vine grows with strength amongst the volcanic
ashes. Teguisa is the name of the capital. This island
possesses the two best ports of the archipelago; and it is
much more advanced in civilization than those situated
farther to the westward. The inhabitants lived in houses
built of freestone, at a time when the Guanches of Tene-
riffe were lodged in caverns. Here is practised the singu¬
lar custom likewise found in Thibet, of one woman being
' allowed to possess several husbands. The inhabitants of
Lancerota may amount to about 10,000 in number, who
export some corn, and a large quantity of dried goats’ flesh;
but they do not exhibit the commercial activity of those of
Teneriffe. The island is about thirty miles in length by
eighty in breadth.
LANCISI, John Marca, an eminent Italian physician,
was born at Rome in 1654). From his earlier years he
had a predilection for natural history, and studied botany,
chemistry, anatomy, and medicine, with great assiduity.
In 1688 Innocent XI. appointed him his physician and
private chamberlain, notwithstanding his youth ; and Car¬
dinal Altieri Camerlinga made him vicar for the installa¬
tion of doctors in physic, which Clement XI. gave him as
long as he lived, at the same time continuing to him the
appointments conferred on him by his predecessor. He
died in 1710, after giving his fine library of more than
twenty thousand volumes to the Hospital of the Holy
Ghost for the use of the public. This noble benefaction
was opened in 1716, in the presence of the pope and most
of the cardinals. He wrote many works, which are esteem¬
ed, the principal of which were collected and printed at
Geneva in 1718, in two vols. 4to.
LAND, in a general sense, denotes terrafirma, as dis¬
tinguished from sea.
Land, in a limited, sense, denotes arable ground.
Land, in nautical language, forms part of several com¬
pound terms. Thus, land-laid, or to lay the land, is just to
lose sight of it. Land-locked, is when land lies all round
the ship, so that no point of the compass is open to the
sea. If the vessel is at anchor in such a place, she is said
to ride land-locked, awl is therefore concluded to ride safe
from the violence of the winds and tides. Land-mark, is
any mountain, rock, steeple, tree, or other object which
may serve to make the land known at sea. The land is
shut in, is a term used to signify that another point of land
hinders the sight of that from which the ship came.
Land-to, or the ship lies land-to, means she is so far
from shore that it can only just be discerned. Land turn,
is a wind that in almost all hot countries blows at certain
times from the shore in the night. To set the land, is to
see by the compass how it bears.
Land-Tax, one of the annual taxes raised upon the Land-
subject. See Taxation. Waiter
Land- Waiter, an officer of the custom-house, whose !!
duty it is, upon the landing of any merchandise, to exa-
mine, taste, weigh, and measure them, and to take an ac- "
count thereof. In some ports they also execute the office
of a coast-waiter. They are likewise occasionally styled
searchers, and are required to attend and join with the
patent searcher in the execution of all cockets for the
shipping of goods to be exported to foreign parts ; and
in cases where drawbacks on bounties are to be paid to
the merchant on the exportation of any goods, they, as
well as the patent searchers, are to certify the shipping
thereof on the debentures.
LANDA, a town and territory of the island of Borneo,
on the river Pontiana. It is the residence of the rajah,
and is a strong place, well provided with artillery, and
contains within its territory mines of considerable impor¬
tance.
LANDAU, a canton of the province of the Rhine, in
the kingdom of Bavaria. It is formed out of a portion of
the former principality of Zwegbrucken, or Deux-Ponts,
and is situated on the frontier of France, from which it
is divided by the river Lauter. It is 558 square miles
in extent, and contains eleven cities and market-towns,
126 villages, and 101,600 inhabitants. It is a mountain¬
ous and woody district, but with some rich and fertile val¬
leys, yielding corn and cattle ; but the chief produce is
wood, which is floated down the Rhine, to the cities in
Llolland, in large rafts. The capital is the city of the same
name, situated on the river Queich, one of the fortresses
garrisoned by the German confederation. It is a regular
and strong place, of four fronts, with eight curtains, de¬
fended by seven bastions, three redoubts, and seven lu¬
nettes, and surrounded with broad ditches. It has a cita¬
del furnished with bomb-proof casernes and magazines,
and celebrated for the sieges of 1702, 1704), 1713, and
1793. It contains 550 houses, and 4240 civil inhabitants.
It has some manufactories of hemp, flax, and wool, and
makers of twine, paper, hats, and hosiery. Lonsr. 25. 47.
E. Lat. 49. 11. N.
LANDEN, a town of the Netherlands, in the province
of Liege and arrondissement of Huy, on the river Beake.
It is remarkable for the battle fought near it, usually call¬
ed the battle of Neerwinden, in 1693, in which the allies
were defeated by Marshal Luxembourg. Long. 4. 55. E.
Lat. 50. 45. N.
Landen, John, an eminent mathematician, was born at
Peakirk, near Peterborough, in Northamptonshire, in Ja¬
nuary 1719. He early became a proficient in the mathema¬
tics, for we find him a respectable contributor to the Ladies
Dairy in 1744; and he was soon amongst the foremost of
those who then contributed to the support of that small
but valuable publication, in which a number of English
mathematicians at one period or other contended for lame.
Mr Landen continued his contributions to it under various
signatures till within a few years of his death.
In the forty-eighth volume of the Philosophical Trans¬
actions for the year 1754, Mr Landen published an In¬
vestigation of some theorems which suggest several very
remarkable properties of the circle, and are at the same
time of considerable use in resolving fractions, the deno¬
minators of which are certain multinomials, into more
simple ones, and by that means facilitate the computation
of fluents. This paper was handed to the Society by Mr
Thomas Simpson of Woolwich ; a circumstance which
will convey to those who are not themselves judges some
idea of its merits. In the year 1755 he published a volume
entitled Mathematical Lucubrations, It contains a va¬
riety of tracts relative to the rectification of curve lines,
the summation of series, the finding of fluents, and many
other points in the higher parts of the mathematics.
56 LAN
Landen. About the latter end of 1757, or the beginning of 1758,
he published proposals for printing by subscription The
Residual Analysis, a new branch of the algebraic art;
and in 1758 he published a small tract in quarto, entitled
A Discourse on the Residual Analysis, in which he re¬
solved a variety of problems, to which the method of flux¬
ions had been usually applied, by a mode of reasoning
entirely new; compared these solutions with solutions of
the same problems investigated by the fluxionary method ;
and showed that the solutions by his new method were,
in general, more natural and elegant than the fluxionary
ones. In the fifty-first volume of the Philosophical Trans¬
actions for the year 1760, he published a New Method
of computing the sums of a great number of Infinite Series.
This paper was also presented to the society by his inge¬
nious friend Mr Thomas Simpson. In 1774 he published
the first book of The Residual Analysis, in4to, with seve¬
ral copperplates. In this treatise, besides explaining the
principles on which his new analysis was founded, he ap¬
plied it to drawing tangents and finding the properties of
curve lines ; to describing their involutes and evolutes,
finding the radius of curvature, their greatest and least
ordinates, and points of contrary fluxure ; to the determi¬
nation of their cusps, and the drawing of asymptotes and
he proposed in a second book to extend the application of
this new analysis to a great variety of mechanical and
physical subjects. The papers which were to have formed
this book lay long by him ; but he never found leisure to put
them in order for the press. In January 1766 Mr Landen
was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and admitted
in the April following. In the fifty-eighth volume of the
Philosophical Transactions for the year 1768, he pub¬
lished a specimen of a new method of comparing curvili-
neal areas, by means of which many areas are compared,
that did not appear to be comparable by any other me¬
thod ; a circumstance of no small importance in that part
of natural philosophy which relates to the doctrine of
motion. In the sixtieth volume of the same work, for the
year 1770, he gave some new theorems for computing
the whole areas of curve lines, where the ordinates are
expressed by fractions of a certain form, in a more con¬
cise and elegant manner than had been done by Cotes,
Demoivre, and others, who had considered the subject
before him. In the sixty-first volume, for 1771, he inves¬
tigated several new and useful theorems for computing
certain fluents, which are assignable by arcs of the conic
sections. This subject had been considered before, both
by Mr Maclaurin and M. d’Alembert; but some of the
theorms which were given by these celebrated mathema¬
ticians, being in part expressed by the difference between
an arc of a hyperbola and its tangent, and that difference
being not directly attainable when the arc and its tangent
both become infinite, as they will do when the whole flu¬
ent is wanted, although such fluent be finite ; the theo¬
rems therefore fail in those cases, and the computation
becomes impracticable without further help. This defect
Mr Landen has removed by assigning the limit of the dif¬
ference between the hyperbolic arc and its tangent, whilst
the point of contact is supposed to be removed to an in¬
finite distance from the vertex of the curve. And he con¬
cludes the paper with a curious and remarkable property
relating to pendulous bodies, which is deducible from these
theorems. In the same year he published an animad¬
version on Dr Stewart’s computation of the Sun's distance
from the Earth. In the sixty-fifth volume of the Philoso¬
phical Transactions for 1775, appeared the investigation
of a general theorem, which he had promised in 1771, for
finding the length of any arc of a conic hyperbola by means
of two elliptic arcs ; and by the theorems there investigat¬
ed, both the elastic curve and the curve of equable reces¬
sion from a given point may be constructed in those cases
LAN
where Mr Maclaurin’s elegant method fails. In the sixty- Landen.
seventh volume, for 1777, he gave a new theory of the v',——y'"—-
motion of bodies revolving about an axis in free space,
when that motion is disturbed by some extraneous force,
either percussive or accelerative. At this time he did
not know that the subject had been handled by any other
person ; and he considered only the motion of a sphere’s
spheroid and cylinder. The publication of this paper,
however, was the cause of his being told that the doctrine
of rotatory motion had been considered by M. d’Alembert;
and having purchased that author’s Opuscules Mathema-
tiques, he there learned that M. d’Alembert was not the
only one who had considered the matter before him ; for
M. d’Alembert speaks of some mathematician, though he
does not mention his name, who, after reading what had
been written on the subject, doubted whether there exist¬
ed any solid whatever, besides the sphere, in which a line,
passing through its centre of gravity, would be a perma¬
nent axis of rotation. In consequence of this, Mr Landen
took up the subject again ; and though he did not then
give a solution of the general problem, namely, to deter¬
mine the motions of a body of any form whatever revolv¬
ing without restraint about any axis passing through its
centre of gravity, he fully removed every doubt of the
kind which had been started by the person alluded to by
M. d’Alembert, and pointed out several bodies, which,
under certain dimensions, possess that remarkable pro¬
perty. This paper is published, amongst many others
equally curious, in a volume of Memoirs which he gave to
the world in 1780. But what renders that volume yet
more valuable, is a very extensive Appendix, containing
theorems for the calculation of fluents. The tables
which contain these theorems are more complete and ex¬
tensive than any which are to be found in other authors,
and are chiefly of his own investigating; being such as
had occurred to him in the course of a long and curious
application to almost every branch of the mathematical
sciences. In the years 1781, 1782, and 1783, he pub¬
lished three little tracts on the summation of converging
series, in which he explained the extent of some theorems
which had been given for that purpose by Demoivre, Mr
Sterling, and Thomas Simpson, in answer to some things
which he thought had been written to the disparagement
of these mathematicians.
About the beginning of the year 1782 Mr Landen had
made such improvements in his theory of rotatory motion,
as he thought would enable him to give a solution ot the
general problem specified above; but finding the result
to differ very materially from that of the solution which
had been given by M. d’Alembert, and not being able to
see clearly where that gentleman had erred, he did not
venture to make his own public. In the course of that
year having procured the Memoirs of the Berlin Academy
for 1757, containing M. Euler’s solution of the problem,
he found that it gave the same result as had been deduced
by M. d’Alembert; but the perspicuity of M. Euler’s
manner of writing enabled him to discover where he had
erred, which the obscurity of the other did not do. The
agreement, however, of two writers of such established
reputation as M. Euler and M. d’Alembert made him long
dubious of the truth of his own solution, and induced him
to revise the process again and again with the utmost cir¬
cumspection ; but being every time more convinced that
his own solution was right and theirs wrong, he at length
gave it to the public in the seventy-fifth volume of the
Philosophical Transactions for 1785.
The extreme difficulty of the subject, joined to the con¬
cise manner in which Mr Landen had been obliged to
give his solution in order to confine it within proper limits
for the Transactions, rendered it too difficult, or at least
too laborious a piece of business, for most mathematicians
57
LAN
dernau to read it; and this circumstance, joined to the established
II reputation of Euler, induced many to think that his solu-
des- tion was right and Mr Landen’s wrong, an opinion which
^ attempts were made to establish by proof. But although
these attempts were manifestly abortive, as every one who
perused them saw, yet they convinced Mr Landen that
there was a necessity for giving his solution at greater
length, in order to render it more generally understood.
About this time also he met by chance with Frisi’s work
on cosmography, physics, and mathematics, in the second
part of which there is a solution of this problem, agreeing
in the result with those of Euler and D’Alembert; which
is not surprising, as Frisi employed the same principle
that they did. Here Mr Landen learned that Euler had
revised the solution which he had formerly inserted in the
Berlin Memoirs, and given it in another form and at great¬
er length in a volume published at Gryphiswald in 1765,
entitled Theoria Motus Corporum solidorum seu rigidorum.
Having procured this book, Mr Landen found the same
principles employed in it, and of course the same conclu¬
sion resulting from them, which he had observed in Euler’s
former solution of the problems ; but as the reasoning was
given at greater length, he was enabled to see more dis¬
tinctly how Euler had been led into the mistake, and to
set that mistake in a stronger point of view. As he had
been convinced of the necessity of explaining his idea on
the subject more fully, he found it necessary to lose no
time in setting about it. He had for several years been
severely afflicted with calculus in the bladder, and towards
the latter part of his life to such a degree as to be confin¬
ed to his bed for more than a month at a time,; yet even
this dreadful disorder did not abate his ardour for mathe¬
matical studies, the second volume of his Memoirs having
been written and revised during the intervals of his dis¬
order. This volume, besides a solution of the general
problem concerning rotatory motion, contains the resolu¬
tion of the problem concerning the motion of a top; an
investigation of the motion of the equinoxes, in which Mr
Landen first pointed out the cause of Sir Isaac Newton’s
mistake in his solution of this celebrated problem ; and
some other papers of considerable importance. He lived
to see this work finished, and received a copy of it the
day before his death, which happened on the 15th of Janu¬
ary 1790, at Milton, near Peterborough, in the seventy-
first year of his age.
LANDERNAU, a city of France, in the department
of Finisterre, and arrondissement of Brest. It stands on
the river Ellhorn, and empties itself into a bay of the road
of Brest. The harbour is good. The naval hospital, and
various magazines for the equipment of the marine, are
built here, and fill many large storehouses. It contains
3500 inhabitants, mostly depending on the navy. Long.
4. 23. W. Lat. 48. 25. N.
LANDES, Les, or the Heaths, a department of France,
formed out of the district of Chalosse, a part of the ancient
province of Gascony. It extends over 3810 square miles, or
900,534 hectares, of which more than two thirds are bar¬
ren sandy heaths. It is situated between longitude 0. 3.
and 1. 39. west, and between latitude 43. 29. and 44. 39.
north. It is divided into three arrondissements, twenty-
eight cantons, and 368 communes, and contains 260,000
inhabitants. It is by far the most miserable part of the
kingdom. It is generally a level district, covered with
heath, intermixed with swamps, in which, like the oases
of Africa, a few spots are to be found with inhabitants,
and only near to them can a little rye be grown. The rest
exhibits only heaths, or firs, or cork trees. One district
in the south-east, that of Chalosse, is an exception, being
moderately fertile; but it is small as compared with the
whole. The chief river is the Adour, which is navigable,
and receives the waters of several smaller streams. On the
VOL. xm.
LAN
sea shore are several lakes. Agriculture is in a backward Landgrave
state; and though rye is the chief corn, yet enough is I!
not grown for the scanty population. The climate is not Landshut.
healthy, the heat in summer is scorching, and in winter it ^ v ^
is mostly cold ; but snow rarely falls, and never continues
throughout the whole day. The chief products are wild fowl,
river and sea fish, honey, wax, timber, cork, pitch, tar, and
turpentine. The wine is only good in a small part, and in
others the grapes are converted into brandy. Some mines
of iron are worked, but not sufficient for the demand
of the department. Two deputies are elected for the
house of representatives. The capital is the city of Mont
de Marsan.
LANDGRAVE (formed from the German land, earth,
and graff, or grave, judge or count), a name formerly
given to those who executed justice in behalf of the em¬
perors, with regard to the internal policy of the country.
The title does not seem to have been used before the
eleventh century. These judges were first appointed with¬
in a certain district of Germany ; but in process of time
the title became hereditary, and they assumed the sove¬
reignty of the several districts or counties over which they
presided. Landgrave is now applied by way of eminence
to those sovereign princes of the empire who possess by
inheritance certain estates called landgraviates, and of
which they receive the investiture from the emperor. There
are four princes who have this title, viz. those of Thurin¬
gia, Hesse, Alsace, and Leuchtenberg. There are also
other landgraves, who are not princes, but counts of the
empire.
LANDGRAVIATE, or Landgravate, the office, au¬
thority, jurisdiction, or territory of a landgrave.
LANDGUARD, a fort in the county of Suffolk, on the
north side of the rivers Orwell and Stour, which, with
other forts at Harwich, on the opposite shore, defends the
entrance of those rivers.
LANDRECY, a strongly-fortified city in the depart¬
ment of the North, and in the arrondissement of Avesnes,
in France. It is situated on a level plain on the banks of
the river Sambre, which is navigable thus far. It con¬
tains 462 houses, and 3500 inhabitants, some of whom are
distillers of corn spirits, and some nailsmiths. Long. 3. 33.
E. Lat. 50. 4. N.
LANDSBERG, a city of Prussia, the capital of the
circle of the same name, in the province of Frankfort-on-
the-Oder. It is situated on the river Wartha, is well built,
and surrounded with walls. It contains 836 houses, with
9200 inhabitants, amongst whom are many Jews. There
are many manufacturers of woollens, stockings, and hats,
some paper-mills, and several breweries and distilleries.
Long. 10. 32. E. Lat. 54. 15. N.
Landseerg, a town of East Prussia, in the government
of Kbnigsberg and circle of Xinten, on the river Stein.
It contains a Catholic and a Lutheran church, 210 houses,
and 1493 inhabitants, with some makers of cloths and ho¬
siery. Long. 20. 32. E. Lat. 54. 13. N.
Landsberg. a city of Bavaria, in the province of the
Isar, the capital of a bailiwick of the same name. It stands
on the river Lech, is surrounded with walls, and contains
502 houses, with 3350 inhabitants. Its chief employment
is in working saw-mills and oil-mills, and in making tur¬
nery ware. Long. 11. 8. 11. E. Lat. 48. 2. 50. N.
LANDSCAPE, in painting, the view or prospect of a
country, extended as far as the eye will reach. See Paint¬
ing.
Landscape Gardening. See Gardening.
LANDSHUT, a town of the circle of Brun, in the Aus¬
trian province of Moravia. It stands at the junction of
the river Taya with the March, and contains 257 houses,
with 1473 inhabitants.
Landshut, a city, the capital of the circle of the same
H
58 LAN LAN
Landshut name, in the government of Reichenbach, in Prussian Si¬
ll . lesia. It stands on the river Bober, at its junction with
Langbaine. ^ Zieder. It is fortified, contains two Catholic and one
^ Lutheran church, 496 houses, and 3658 inhabitants. It
is one of the great manufacturing places for Silesia linens.
Landshut, a city of the province of the Isar, situated
on that river, in the kingdom of Bavaria. It is in a pic¬
turesque situation, overlooked by an ancient castle on an
eminence. It contains about 600 houses, and 8200 inha¬
bitants. It is the seat of a university, in which are from
600 to 700 pupils, and which possesses a library of 100,000
volumes, and several appropriate institutions for instruc¬
tion in law, medicine, surgery, midwifery, and the sciences.
The trade is inconsiderable. Near it some wine is pro¬
duced. Long. 12. 4. 26. E. Lat. 48. 5. 55. N.
LANDSKRON, a town of the circle of Chrudim, in the
Austrian kingdom of Bohemia. It is the seat of Prince
Lichtenstein, who has a magnificent palace. It contains
671 houses, and 2671 inhabitants, who are busily em¬
ployed in manufactures, and produce cotton and linen
goods; of the last, especially, some of the best damask
table linen. It is celebrated for the bleaching of linen
goods of all kinds.
LANDSKRONA, a city of Sweden, in the province of
Malmoe. It is built on the Sound, on a tongue of land,
which is protected by the Graen reef of rocks. It is
strongly fortified, and protected by a citadel, and contains
400 houses, with 3776 inhabitants, who carry on a brisk
trade in native and foreign commodities, and are owners
of some large ships. Long. 12. 45. 41. E. Lat. 55. 52.
23. N.
LANESBOROUGH, a town of Ireland, in the county
of Longford, pleasantly situated on the river Shannon,
over which there is here a fine bridge. It has a handsome
church, and a barrack for a troop of horse. It is situated
sixty-two miles north-north-west from Dublin. Long. 8.
5. W. Lat. 52. 36. N.
LANFRANCO, Giovanni, an eminent Italian historical
painter, born at Parma in 1581. He was first the disciple
of Augustin, and, after his death, of Annibal Caracci,
whose taste in design and colouring he so happily attain¬
ed, that he was intrusted to execute some of his designs
in the Farnese Palace at Rome. By order of Pope Ur¬
ban VIII. he painted in St Peter’s Church at Rome the
representation of that saint walking on the water, which
afforded the pope so much satisfaction that he knighted
him. He died in 1647.
LANFRANCO, an Italian, born at Pavia, becamearch-
bishop of Canterbury in 1070. He disputed against Be-
rengarius in the council held at Rome in 1059, and wrote
against him concerning the real presence in the eucharist.
He died in 1089.
LANGBAINE, Dr Gerard, a learned English writer,
was born in 1608. He was educated at Queen’s College,
Oxford, and became keeper of the archives of that uni¬
versity, and provost of his college. He was highly esteem¬
ed by Usher, Selden, and other learned men ; and he died
in 1657. He published an edition of Longinus, in Greek
and Latin, with notes; and other works.
Langbaine, Gerard, the son of the former, was born
in 1656. He was put as apprentice to Mr Symonds, book¬
seller in St Paul’s Churchyard ; but was soon afterwards
called thence by his mother, upon the death of his eldest
brother, and by her entered as a gentleman commoner of
University College, Oxford, in 1672. Here he squander¬
ed a good part of his estate; but afterwards corrected his
manner of living, and for some years lived in retirement
near Oxford. During this time he improved his taste for
dramatic poetry; and at first wrote some small pieces
without his name, but afterwards published several works
which he publicly owned. In 1690 he was elected infe¬
rior beadle of arts in the university of Oxford; and, in Langeland
January following, was chosen superior beadle of law ; but ||
he died in 1692. He wrote, 1. The Hunter, a Discourse Langhorne
on Horsemanship; 2. A new Catalogue of English Plays, ''-'"'v-''*'
with their best editions, and divers remarks on the origi¬
nals of most plays, and on the plagiarisms of several au¬
thors ; 3. An Account of the English Dramatic Poets.
LANGELAND, an island in the Baltic Sea, a portion
of the division of Funen, separated from it by a narrow
strait, over which there is a ferry. It is about thirty
miles in length and four miles and three fourths in me¬
dium breadth, and extends over 106 square miles, com¬
prising one city or town, and fourteen parishes, with
12,300 inhabitants. It is merely an agricultural spot, of
moderate fertility, yielding a surplus of about 14,000
quarters of corn beyond the consumption of the popula¬
tion. The capital is Rudkiobing, a place of 1200 inha¬
bitants, situated in longitude 10. 42. E. and latitude 54.
55. N.
LANGENBERG, a town of Prussian Westphalia, in
the government of Minden and circle of Reckenberg,
containing 321 houses, and 1956 inhabitants.
LANGENBRUCKEN, a market-town of the duchy of
Baden, in Germany, in-the bailiwick of Brucksal, contain¬
ing 190 houses, and 1275 inhabitants.
LANGENDIELAN, a very large straggling town in
the government of Reichenbach, in Prussian Silesia, which
extends to the frontier of Glatz. It contains 575 houses,
with 6780 inhabitants. There are nearly 1000 looms at
work on cloth and plushes.
LANGENSCHWALBACH, a city of the duchy of
Nassau, in Germany, the capital of the bailiwick of that
name. It is celebrated for its various medicinal springs,
which are much resorted to in the summer, both for
health and pleasure. The vicinity presents some most
picturesque scenery and beautiful promenades, and every
accommodation for visitors. It contains a Lutheran, Cal¬
vinist, and Catholic church, 260 houses, and 1640 resi¬
dent inhabitants.
LANGENTHAL, a large market-town of the canton
of Berne, in Switzerland. It is a manufacturing place for
linen and cotton, and for silk and mixed silk goods, with
considerable bleaching grounds and dye-houses. It stands
on the river Langentann, whose waters move machinery.
LANGESALZA, a city, the capital of a circle of the
same name, in the Prussian government of Erfurt. It
stands on a gentle elevation above the river Salza, is forti¬
fied, and defended by a castle, and contains lour churches,
four hospitals, with 94U dwelling-houses, and 6840 inha¬
bitants. It is the most considerable manufacturing city
in the Prussian part of Thuringia, making goods of silk
and linen, both cloth and hosiery, and having powerful
mills for spinning cotton twist. It is also a place of great
commerce in corn, and the other products of the fertile
soil around it. Long. 10. 33. 25. E. Lat. 51. 6. 59. N.
LANGHEMARK, a market-town of the Netherlands,
in the province of West Flanders, and arrondissement of
Ypres, containing 540 houses, and 4600 inhabitants.
LANGHORNE, John, an English poet and miscella¬
neous writer, was born at Kirkby-Steven, Westmoreland,
in March 1735. He received the rudiments of his edu¬
cation, first at Winton, and afterwards at Appleby, where
he early distinguished himself by his assiduity and pro¬
ficiency. He left school in his eighteenth year, and,
having no means of defraying the expense of an univer¬
sity education, engaged himself as private tutor to a fa¬
mily near Ripon. His next occupation was that of assis¬
tant in the free school of Wakefield, then superintended
by Mr Clarke. Whilst in this situation he took deacon’s
orders, and, it is said, became a popular preacher. In the
year 1759, Mr Clarke recommended him as preceptor to
LAN
Lnghorne. the sons of Mr Robert Cracroft of Hackthorn, near Lin-
coin, who were no fewer than nine in number. During his
residence at Hackthorn, he published a volume of poems,
which attracted but little notice; and he also wrote some
critical pieces, which were rather more fortunate. In
1 1760, he entered his name at Clare-Hall, Cambridge, in
order to take the degree of bachelor of divinity : but as
his name does not appear in the list of the Cambridge
graduates, it is more than probable that he did not suc¬
ceed in his object. About this time he became enamour¬
ed of one of Mr Cracroft’s daughters, and having met
with a refusal from the young lady, immediately left his
situation. In 1761, he officiated as curate at Dagenham,
I where he produced a great variety of pieces, some of
which he published. His Letters on Religious Retirement
were dedicated to Warburton, who returned him a com¬
plimentary acknowledgment, in which he advised Lang-
horne to make some attempt in the cause of religion. In
1764, having obtained the curacy and lectureship of St
John’s, Clerkenwell, he was enabled to reside in London,
the great and ready mart for literary talents. About this
time he engaged with Mr Griffiths as a writer in the Month¬
ly Review, in which situation he continued until about the
year 1769, when his connection with the Review is sup¬
posed to have ceased, in consequence of some dispute with
the editor. His employment as a critic procured him the
acquaintance of many literary men, whilst the vein of ridi¬
cule, which he occasionally indulged with more freedom
than discretion, made him many enemies, amongst whom
were Churchill, Kelly, and Kenrick, libellers by profes¬
sion. In 1765, he produced a number of pieces, besides
publishing an edition of the poems of Collins, with a me¬
moir and critical notes. He replied to Churchill’s Pro¬
phecy of Famine, a libel against the Scottish nation, in a
poem entitled Genius and Valour, which obtained the ap¬
probation of Dr Robertson the historian, and procured
for him the degree of doctor in divinity, which was con¬
ferred on him by the university of Edinburgh. In 1767,
Dr Langhorne married Miss Cracroft, the lady to whom he
Iliad so long been attached, and with whom he had never
ceased to correspond. But his happiness was of short du¬
ration, as Mrs Langhorne died in childbirth, on the 4th of
March 1768. Not long after his wife’s death, he went to
reside at Folkestone, in Kent, where his brother officiated
as perpetual curate. During his residence at this place, the
brothers occupied themselves in preparing a new transla-
| tion of Plutarch’s Lives, which appeared in 1770, and soon
became a very popular book. In the year 1772, Dr Lang¬
horne paid a visit to his native country, where he married
a second wife, the daughter of a magistrate near Brough,
and then set out on a tour through part of France and
the Netherlands, the scenery of which afforded new
themes for his industrious muse. In 1776 he lost his
second wife, who, like the former, died in childbed, leav¬
ing him a daughter. In 1777, at the request of the Bou-
verie family, by whom he was much respected, he was
presented by the bishop, Dr Moss, with a prebend in the
cathedral of Wells. But his career was now approaching
its close. He died on the 1st of April 1779, in the forty-
fifth year of his age. In 1804, his son published an edi¬
tion of his poems in two vols. 12mo, with a memoir of the
author, to which we beg to refer our readers for more
ample details. Dr Langhorne was a man of an amiable
disposition and inoffensive manners, social in his habits,
LAN 59
and possessed of a considerable fund of wit, which he Langland
never abused or misapplied. The leading characteristics il
of his poetry are ease, fluency, and a considerable share Langton.^
of tenderness, without much invention or originality. His ^
prose writings are sufficiently varied to satisfy us that he
was a laborious and indefatigable writer. (a.)
LANGLAND, or Longlande, Robert, an old Eng¬
lish poet, who flourished about 1350, He was a secular
priest, and a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He is said
to have been born in Shropshire. He wrote the Visions
of Pierce Plowman, a piece which abounds with imagina¬
tion and humour, though dressed to great disadvantage
in very uncouth versification and obsolete language. It
is written without rhyme, an ornament which the poet has
endeavoured to supply by making every verse begin with
the same letter. Dr Hickes observes, that this kind of
alliterative versification was adopted by Langland from
the practice of the Saxon poets, and that these Visions
abound with Saxonisms; he styles him celeberrimus Me
satirographus, morum vindex acerrimus. Several poets at¬
tempted imitations of his visions, and the learned Selden
mentions him with honour.
LANGLEY, a town and parish in the hundred of Stoke,
in the county of Buckingham, eighteen miles from Lon¬
don. The Grand Junction Canal passes by it, and, besides
the trade from that circumstance, it has some in making
lace and straw-hats. Near to it are several fine seats of
noblemen and gentlemen. The population amounted in
1801 to 1215, in 1811 to 1571, in 1821 to 1616, and in
1831 to 1797.
LANGPORT, a market-town of the hundred of Pit¬
ney, in the county of Somerset, 131 miles from London.
It stands at the junction of the river Ivell with the Paret,
which latter is navigable to the port of Bridgewater, and
by which coals, iron, and other heavy goods are dispersed
over a great tract of country. The market is held on
Saturday. It is an ancient borough, governed by a port¬
reeve and bailiffs; but has not returned members to par¬
liament, as it did in ancient times. It is situated in a fer¬
tile division of the county. The population amounted in
1801 to 754, in 1811 to 861, in 1821 to 1004, and in 1831
to 1245.
LANGREL Shot, at sea, that which consists of two
bars of iron joined by a chain or shackel, with half a ball
of iron fixed on each end; by means of which apparatus
it does great execution amongst the enemy’s rigging.
LANGRES, an arrondissement of the department of
the Upper Marne, in France. It extends over 926 square
miles, is divided into ten cantons, and these into 209 com¬
munes, containing 92,500 inhabitants. The capital is
the city of the same name near the Marne, and 1370 feet
above the level of the sea. It contains 1800 houses, and
6500 inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in making
cutlery and other hardwares. Long. 5. 14. 45. E. Lat.
47. 51. 59. N.
LANGTON, Stephen, was born in England, but edu¬
cated at Paris, and was greatly esteemed for his learning,
both by the king and the nobility of France. He was
chancellor of Paris, a cardinal of Rome, and in the reign
of King John was made archbishop of Canterbury by In¬
nocent III. in opposition both to the monks of Canterbury
and to the king. Langton was one of the most illustrious
men of his age for learning, and continued as archbishoo
for twenty-two years. He died in 1228.
60
LANGUAGE.
language.
I.—ORIGIN OF language: remarks on the idiom and
GENIUS OF LANGUAGE.
Origin of
Language.
Language, in the proper sense of the term, signifies the
expression of our ideas and their various relations by cer¬
tain articulate sounds, which are used as the signs of those
ideas and relations. By articulate sounds are meant those
modulations of the voice, or of sound emitted from the tho¬
rax, which are formed by means of the mouth and its several
organs, the teeth, the tongue, the lips, and the palate. In
a more general sense, language is sometimes used to de¬
note all sounds by which animals of any kind express their
particular feelings and impulses in a manner that is intel¬
ligible to their own species.
Nature has endowed every animal with powers sufficient
to make known those sensations and desires with which it
is necessary, for the preservation of the individual or the
continuance of the kind, that others of the same species
should be acquainted. For this purpose, the organs of all
vocal animals are so formed as, upon any particular im¬
pulse, to utter sounds, of which those of the same species
instinctively know the meaning. The summons of the hen
is instantly obeyed by the whole brood of chickens ; and in
many others of the irrational tribes a similar mode of com¬
munication may be observed between the parents and the
offspring, and also between one animal and another. But
it is not amongst animals of the same species only that these
instinctive sounds are mutually understood. It is as ne¬
cessary for animals to know the voices of their enemies as
those of their friends; and the roaring of the lion is a
sound of which, previously to all experience, every beast of
the forest is naturally afraid. Between these animal
voices and the language of men, however, there is very
little analogy. Human language is capable of expressing
ideas and notions, which there is every reason to believe
that the mind of the brutes cannot conceive. “ Speech,”
says Aristotle, “ is made to indicate what is expedient and
what inexpedient, and, in consequence of this, what is just
and unjust. It is therefore given to men, because it is
peculiar to them, that of good and evil, just and unjust,
they only, with respect to other animals, possess a sense or
feeling.” The voices of brutes seem intended by nature
to express, not distinct ideas or moral modes, but only such
feelings as it is for the good of the species that they should
have the power of making known; and in this, as in al!
other respects, these voices are analogous, not to speak¬
ing, but to weeping, laughing, singing, groaning, scream¬
ing, and other natural and audible expressions of passion
or appetite. Another difference between the language of
men and the voices of brute animals consists in articula¬
tion, by which the former may be resolved into distinct
elementary sounds or syllables ; whereas the latter, being
for the most^ part inarticulate, are not capable of such a
resolution. Hence Homer and Hesiod characterize man
by the epithet ^o-y, or voice-dividing, as denoting a power
peculiar to the human species; for though there are a few
birds which utter sounds that may be divided into syl¬
lables, yet each ol these birds utters but one such sound,
which seems to be employed rather as a note of natural
music than for the purpose of giving information to others ;
and her ce, when the bird is agitated, it utters cries which
are very different, and have no articulation.
A third difference between the language of men and the
significant cries of brute animals, is, that the former is the
product ol ait, the latter derived from nature. Every hu¬
man language is learned by imitation, and is intelligible
only to those who either inhabit the country where it is Language,
vernacular, or have been taught it by a master or by books.''——-y'”"—'
But the voices in question are not learned by imitation ;
and being wholly instinctive, they are intelligible to all the
animals of that species by which they are uttered, though
brought together from the most distant countries on earth.
That a dog which had never heard another bark, would
notwithstanding bark himself, and that the barkings or
yelps of a Lapland dog would be instinctively understood
by the dogs of Spain, Calabria, or any other country, are
facts which do not admit of doubt. But there is no rea¬
son to imagine that a man who had never heard any lan¬
guage spoken would himself speak ; and it is wHl known
that the language spoken in one country is unintelligible
to the natives of another country where a different lan¬
guage is spoken. Indeed it seems obvious, that were there
any instinctive language, the first words uttered by all
children would be the same; and that every child, whe¬
ther born in the desert or in society, would understand the
language of every other child, however educated or how-
' ever neglected. Nay, more, we may venture to affirm that
such a language, though its general use might, in society,
be superseded by the prevailing dialect of art, could never be
wholly lost; and that no man of one country would find it
difficult, far less impossible, to communicate the knowdedge
of his natural and most pressing w'ants to the men of any
other country, whether barbarous or civilized. The exer¬
cise of cultivated reason, and the arts of civil life, have in¬
deed eradicated many of our original instincts, but they
have not eradicated all.
There are external indications of the internal feelings
and desires, which appear in the most polished society, and
which are confessedly instinctive. The passions, emotions,
sensations, and appetites, are naturally expressed in the
countenance by characters which the savage and the cour¬
tier can read with equal readiness. The serene look, the
smoothed brow, the dimpled smile, and the glistening eye,
denote equanimity and good will, in terms which no man
can mistake. 1 he contracted brow, the glaring eye, the
sullen gloom, and the threatening air, denote rage, indig¬
nation, and defiance, as plainly and forcibly as revilings or
imprecations. To teach men to disguise these instinctive
indications of their temper, and
To carry smiles and sunshine in their face,
When discontent sits heavy at their heart,
constitutes a great part of modern manners. Yet in spite
of every effort of the utmost skill, and of every motive re¬
sulting from interest, the most consummate hypocrite, or
the most hackneyed politician, is not always able to pre¬
vent his real disposition from becoming apparent in his
countenance. He may indeed, by long practice, acquire a
great command over his temper, and the instinctive signs '
of it; but at times nature will predominate over art, and a
sudden and violent passion will flash in his face, so as to
be visible to the eye of every beholder. If these observa¬
tions be just, and we flatter ourselves that no man will call
them in question, it seems to follow, that, if mankind were
prompted by instinct to use articulate sounds as indications
of their passions, affections, sensations, and ideas, the lan¬
guage of nature could never be wholly forgotten, and that
it would sometimes predominate over the language of art.
Groans, sighs, and some inarticulate lively sounds, are na¬
turally expressive of pain and pleasure, and equally intelli¬
gible to all mankind. The occasional use of these no art
can wholly banish; and if there were articulate sounds.
!
LANG
language, naturally expressive of the same feelings, it is notconceiv-
able that art or education could banish the use of them,
merely because by the organs of the mouth they are broken
into parts and resolvable into syllables.
It being thus evident that there is no instinctive articu¬
lated language, it has become an inquiry of some import-
ance, how mankind were first induced to fabricate articu¬
late sounds, and to employ them for the purpose of com¬
municating their thoughts. Children learn to speak by in¬
sensible imitation ; and when advanced some years in life,
they study foreign languages under proper instructors. But
the first men had no speakers to imitate, and no formed lan¬
guage to study. By what means, then, did they learn to speak?
On this question only two opinions can possibly be formed.
Either language must have been originally revealed from
heaven, or it must be the fruit of human invention.
The latter opinion is strongly supported by Lord Mon-
boddo, in his very learned and able work on the Origin
and Progress of Language. But he candidly acknowledges,
that if language was invented, it was of very difficult in¬
vention, and far beyond the reach of the grossest savages.
Accordingly he holds, that though men were originally
solitary animals, and had no natural propensity to the so¬
cial life; yet, before language could be invented, they must
have been associated forages, and have carried on in con¬
cert some common work. Nay, he is decidedly of opinion,
that before the invention of an art so difficult as language,
men must not only have herded together, but also formed
some kind of civil polity, existed in that political state a
very long time, and acquired such powers of abstraction
as to be able to form general ideas. But it is obvious,
that men could not have instituted civil polity, or carried
on in concert any common work, without communicating
their designs to each other; and there are four ways by
which the author thinks that ttiis might have been done
before the invention of speech, viz. 1st, Inarticulate cries,
expressive of sentiments and passions ; 2d, Gestures, and
the expression of countenance; 3d, Imitative sounds, expres¬
sive of audible things ; and, 4th, Painting, by which visible
objects may be represented.
Of these four ways of communication, it is plain that
only two have any connection with language, inarticu¬
late cries and imitative sounds ; and of these the au¬
thor abandons the latter as having contributed nothing
to the invention of articulation, though he thinks it may
have helped to advance its progress. “ I am disposed,”
says he, “ to believe, that the framing of words with
an analogy to the sound of the things expressed by
them belongs rather to languages of art than to the first
languages spoken by rude and barbarous nations.” It
is therefore inarticulate cries only that must have given
rise to the formation of language. Such cries are used
by all ar.imals who have any use of voice, to express
their wants; and the fact is, that all barbarous nations
have cries expressing different things, such as joy, grief,
terror, surprise, and the like. These, together with
gestures and expressions of the countenance, were un¬
doubtedly the methods of communication first used by
men. We have but to suppose, says our author, a great
number of our species carrying on some common business,
and conversing together by signs and cries; and we have
men just in a state proper for the invention of language.
For if we suppose their numbers to have increased, their
wants would also increase; and then these two methods
of communication would become too confined for that
larger sphere of life which their wants would make neces¬
sary. The only thing, then, that remained to be done, was
to give a greater variety to the instinctive cries; and as
the natural progress is from what is easy to what is more
difficult, the first variation would be merely by tones from
low to high, and from grave to acute. But this variety
CAGE. 61
could not answer all the purposes of speech in society; Language,
and being advanced so far, it was natural that an animal
so sagacious as man would go on farther, and come at last
to the only other variation remaining, namely, articula¬
tion. The first articulation would be very simple, the
voice being broken and distinguished only by a few vowels
and consonants. And as all natural cries are from the
throat and larynx, with little or no operation of the organs
of the mouth, it is natural to suppose, that the first lan¬
guages were for the greater part spoken from the throat;
that what consonants were used to vary the cries, were
mostly guttural; and that the organs of the mouth would
at first be very little employed. From this account of the
origin of language, it appears that the first sounds articu¬
lated were the natural cries by which men signified their
wants and desires to one another, such as calling one
another for certain purposes, and other such things as
were most necessary for carrying on any joint work; then
in process of time other cries would be articulated, to sig¬
nify that such and such actions had been performed or
were performing, or that such and such events had hap¬
pened relative to the common business. The names of
such objects as they were conversant with would be in¬
vented ; but as we cannot suppose savages to be deep in
abstraction or skilful in the art of arranging things accord¬
ing to their genera and species, all things, however similar,
except perhaps the individuals of the lowest species, would
be expressed by different words not related to each other
either by derivation or composition. Thus would language
grow by degrees; and as it grew, it would be more and
more broken and articulated by consonants; but still the
words would retain a great deal of their original nature of
animal cries. Add thus things would go on, words unre¬
lated still multiplying, till at last the language would be¬
come too cumbersome for use, and then art would be ob¬
liged to interpose, and form a language upon a few radical
words, according to the rules and method of etymology.
Those who think that language was originally revealed
from heaven, consider this account of its human invention
as a series of mere suppositions hanging loosely together,
and the whole suspended from no fixed principle. The
opinions of Diodorus, Vitruvius, Horace, Lucretius, and
Cicero, which are frequently quoted in its support, are in
their estimation of no greater authority than the opinions
of other men ; for as language was formed and brought to
a great degree of perfection long before the era of any
historian with whom we are acquainted, the antiquity of
the Greek and Roman writers, who are comparatively of
yesterday, gives them no advantage in this inquiry over
the philosophers of France and England. Aristotle has
defined man to be a /Mgriraov, or imitative animal; and
the definition is certainly so far just, that man is much
more remarkable for imitation than invention ; therefore,
say the n asoners on this side of the question, had the
human race been originally mutum et turpe pecus, they
would have continued so to the end of time, unless they
had been taught to speak by some superior intelligence-
That the first men sprung from the earth like vegetables,
no modern philosopher has ventured to assert; nor does
there anywhere appear sufficient evidence that men were
originally in the state of savages. The oldest book ex¬
tant contains the only rational cosmogony known to the
ancient nations; and that book represents the first human
inhabitants of this earth, not only as reasoning and speak¬
ing animals, but also as in a state of high perfection and
happiness, of which they were deprived for disobedience
to their Creator. Moses, setting aside his claim to inspi¬
ration, deserves, from the consistency of his narrative, at
least as much credit as Moschus, or Democritus, or Epi¬
curus ; and from his prior antiquity, if antiquity could on
this subject have any weight, he would deserve more, as
62 LANG
Language, having lived nearer to the period of which they all write.
But the question respecting the origin of language may
be decided without resting on authority of any kind,
merely by considering the nature of speech, and the men¬
tal and corporeal powers of man. Those who maintain it
to be of human invention, suppose men at first to have
been solitary animals, afterwards to have herded together
without government or subordination, then to have formed
political societies, and by their own exertions to have ad¬
vanced from the grossest ignorance to the refinements of
science. But, say the reasoners whose cause we are now
pleading, this is a supposition contrary to all history and
all experience. There is not upon record a single instance
well authenticated of a people emerging by their own ef¬
forts from barbarism to civilization. There have indeed
been many nations raised from the state of savages; but
it is known that they were polished, not by their own re¬
peated exertions, but by the influence of individuals or
colonies from nations more enlightened than themselves.
The original savages of Greece were tamed by the Pelas-
gi, a foreign tribe; and were afterwards further polished
by Orpheus, Cecrops, Cadmus, and others, who derived
their knowledge from Egypt and the East. The ancient
Romans, a ferocious and motley crew, received the bles¬
sings of law and religion from a succession of foreign kings;
and the conquests of Rome at a later period contributed
to civilize the rest of Europe. In America, the only two
nations which at the invasion of the Spaniards could be
said to have advanced a single step from barbarism, were
indebted for their superiority over the other tribes, not to
the gradual and unassisted progress of the human mind,
but to the wise institutions of foreign legislators.
This is not the proper place for tracing the progress of
man from the savage state to that of political society ; but
experience teaches us, that in every art it is much easier
to improve than to invent? The human mind, when put
into the proper track, is indeed capable of making great
advances in arts and sciences; but if any credit be due to
the records of history, it has not, in a people sunk in igno¬
rance and barbarity, sufficient vigour to discover that
track, or to conceive a state different from the present.
If the rudest inhabitants of America and other countries
have continued, as there is every reason to believe they
have continued, for ages in the same unvaried state of
barbarism ; how is it imaginable that people so much ruder
than they, as to be ignorant of all language, should think
of inventing an art so difficult as that of speech, or even
to frame a conception of the thing. In building, fishing,
hunting, navigating, and the like, they might imitate the
instinctive arts of other animals, but there is no other
animal that expresses its sensations and affections by ar¬
bitrary articulate sounds. It is said, that before language
could be invented, mankind must have existed for ages in
large political societies, and have carried on in concert
some common work ; but if inarticulate cries, and the na¬
tural visible signs of the passions and affections, were
modes of communication sufficiently accurate to keep a
large society together for ages, and to direct its members
in the execution of some common work, what could be
their inducement to the invention of an art so useful and
difficult as that of language ?
Let us however suppose, say the advocates for the cause
which we are now supporting, that different nations of sa¬
vages set about inventing an art of communicating their
thoughts, which experience had taught them was not abso¬
lutely necessary; how came they all, without exception, to
think of the one art of articulating the voice for this purpose ?
Inarticulate cries, out of which language is fabricated, have
indeed an instinctive connection with our passions and affec¬
tions; but there are gestures and expressions ofcountenance
with which our passions and affections are in the same
U AGE.
manner connected. If the natural cries of passion could Language
be so modified and enlarged as to be capable of communi- s—
eating to the hearer every idea in the mind of the speaker,
it is certain that the natural gestures could be so modified
as to answer the very same purpose (see Pantomime) ;
and it is strange that, among the several nations who in¬
vented languages, not one should have stumbled upon
fabricating visible signs of their ideas, but that all should
have agreed to denote them by articulated sounds. Every
nation whose language is narrow and rude supplies its de¬
fects by a violent gesticulation; and therefore, as much
less genius is exerted in the improvement of any art than
was requisite for its first invention, it is natural to sup¬
pose that, had men been left to devise for themselves a
method of communicating their thoughts, they would not
have attempted any other than that by which they now
improve the language transmitted by their fathers. It is
vain to urge that articulate sounds are fitter for the pur¬
pose of communicating thought than visible gesticulation ;
for though this may be true, it is a truth which could
hardly occur to savages, who had never experienced the
fitness of either ; and if, to counterbalance the superior
fitness of articulation, its extreme difficulty be taken into
view, it must appear little less than miraculous that every
savage tribe should think of it rather than the easier me¬
thod of artificial gesticulation. Savages, it is well known,
are remarkable for their indolence, and for always prefer¬
ring ease to utility; but their modes of life give such
pliancy to their bodies, that they could with very little
trouble bend their limbs and members into any positions
agreed upon as the signs of ideas. This is so far from
being the case with respect to the organs of articulation,
that it is with extreme difficulty, if at all, that a man ad¬
vanced in life can be taught to articulate any sound which
he has not been accustomed to hear. No foreigner who
comes to England after the age of thirty ever pronounces
the language tolerably well; an Englishman of that age
can hardly be taught to utter the guttural sound which
a Scotchman gives to the Greek or even the French
sound of the vowel u ; and of the solitary savages who
have been caught in different forests, we know not that
there has been one who, after the age of manhood, learned
to articulate any language so as to make himself readily
understood. The present age has indeed furnished many
instances of deaf persons being taught to speak intelligi¬
bly by skilful masters moulding the organs of the mouth
into the positions proper for articulating the voice; but
who was to perform this task amongst the inventors of
language, when all mankind were equally ignorant of the
means by which articulation is effected ? In a word, daily
experience informs us, that men who have not learned to
articulate in their childhood, never afterwards acquire the
faculty of speech but by such helps as savages cannot ob¬
tain ; and therefore, if speech was invented at all, it must
have been either by children who were incapable of in¬
vention, or by men who were incapable of speech. A
thousand, nay, a million, of children could not think of
inventing a language. While the organs are pliable, there
is not understanding enough to frame the conception of a
language ; and by the time that there is understanding,
the organs are become too stiff for the task, and therefore,
say the advocates for the divine origin of language, reason
as well as history intimates, that mankind in all ages must
have been speaking animals ; the young having constantly
acquired this art by imitating those who were older ; and
we may warrantably conclude, that our first parents re¬
ceived it by immediate inspiration.
To this account of the origin of language an objection
readily offers itself. If the first language was communi¬
cated by inspiration, it must have been perfect, and held
in reverence by those who spake it, in other words, by all
LANGUAGE.
63
mankind. But a vast variety of languages have prevailed
in the world; and some of these which remain are known
to be very imperfect, whilst there is reason to believe that
many others are lost. If different languages were originally
invented by different nations, all this would naturally follow
from the mixture of these nations ; but what could induce
men possessed of one perfect language of divine original,
to forsake it for barbarous jargons of their own invention,
and in every respect inferior to that with which their
forefathers or themselves had been inspired?
In answer to this objection, it is said, that nothing was
given by inspiration but the faculty of speech and the ele¬
ments of language ; for when once men had language, it is
easy to conceive how they might have modified it by their
natural powers, as thousands can improve what they could
not invent. The first language, if given by inspiration,
must in its principles have had all the perfection of which
language is susceptible; but from the nature of things it
could not possibly be very copious. The words of lan¬
guage are either proper names or the signs of ideas and i e-
lations ; but it cannot be supposed that the All-wise In¬
structor would load the memories of men with words to de¬
note things then unknown, or with the signs of ideas which
they had not then acquired. It was sufficient that a foun¬
dation was laid of such a nature as would support the largest
superstructure which they might ever after have occa¬
sion to raise upon it, and that they were taught the method
of building by composition and derivation. This would
long preserve the language radically the same, though it
could not prevent the introduction of different dialects in
the different countries over which men spread themselves.
In whatever region we suppose the human race to have
been originally placed, the increase of their numbers would
in process of time either disperse them into different na¬
tions, or extend the one nation to a vast distance on all
sides from what we may call the seat of government. In
either case they would everywhere meet with new ob¬
jects, which would occasion the invention of new names;
and as the difference of climate and other natural causes
would compel those who removed eastward or northward
to adopt modes of life in many respects different from the
modes of those who travelled towards the west or the
south, a vast number of words would in one country be
fabricated to denote complex conceptions, which must ne¬
cessarily be unintelligible to the body of the people inha¬
biting countries where those conceptions had never been
formed. Thus would various dialects be unavoidably in¬
troduced into the original language, even whilst all man¬
kind remained in one society and under one government.
But after separate and independent societies were formed,
these variations would become more numerous, and the
several dialects would deviate farther and farther from
each other, as well as from the idiom and genius of the
parent tongue, in proportion to the distance of the tribes
by whom they were spoken.
If we suppose a few people either to have been banished
together from the society of their brethren, or to have wan¬
dered of their own accord to a distance, from which through
trackless forests they could not return (and such emigra¬
tions have often taken place), it is easy to see how the most
copious language must in their mouths have soon become
narrow, and how the offspring of inspiration must have in
time become so deformed as hardly to retain a feature of
the ancestor whence it originally sprung. Men do not long
retain a practical skill in those arts which they never exer¬
cise; and there are abundance of facts to prove, that a single
man cast upon a desert island, and having to provide the
necessaries of life by his own ingenuity, would soon lose
the art of speaking with fluency his mother tongue. A Language,
small number of men cast away together, would indeed '
retain that art somewhat longer; but in a space of time
not very long, it would in a great measure be lost by them
or their posterity. In this state of banishment, as their
time would be almost wholly occupied in hunting, fishing,
and other means within their reach to support a wretched
existence, they would have very little leisure, and perhaps
less desire, to preserve by conversation the remembrance
of that ease and those comforts of which they now found
themselves for ever deprived: and they would of course
soon forget all the words which in their native language
had been used to denote the accommodations and elegancies
of polished life. This at least seems to be certain, that
they would not attempt to teach their children a part of
language which in their circumstances could be of no use
to them, and of which it would be impossible to make them
comprehend the meaning; for where there are no ideas,
the signs of ideas cannot be made intelligible. From such
colonies as this, dispersed over the earth, it is probable
that all those nations of savages have arisen, which have
induced so many philosophers to imagine that the state of
the savage was the original state of man ; and if so, we
see that from the language of inspiration must have un¬
avoidably sprung a number of different dialects all ex¬
tremely rude and narrow, and retaining nothing of the
parent tongue, except perhaps the names of the most con¬
spicuous objects of nature, and of those wants and enjoy¬
ments which are inseparable from humanity. The savage
state has no artificial wants, and furnishes few ideas that
require terms to express them, dhe habits of solitude and
silence incline a savage rarely to speak; and when he
speaks, he uses the same terms to denote different ideas.
Speech therefore, in this rude condition of men, must be
extremely narrow and extremely various. Every new
region, and every new climate, suggests different ideas
and creates different wants, which must be expressed
either by terms entirely new, or by old terms used with a
new signification. Hence must originate great diversity,
even in the first elements of speech, among all savage na¬
tions, the words retained of the original language being
used in various senses, and pronounced, as we may believe,
with various accents.
When any of those savage tribes emerged from their
barbarism, whether by their own efforts or by the aid
of people more enlightened than themselves, it is ob¬
vious that the improvement and copiousness of their
language would keep pace with their own progress in
knowledge and in the arts of civil life; but in the in¬
finite multitude of words which civilization and refine¬
ment add to language, it would be little less than mi¬
raculous were any two nations to agree upon the same
sounds to represent the same ideas. Superior refinement,
indeed, may induce imitation, conquests may impose a
language, and extension of empires may melt down dif¬
ferent nations and different dialects into one mass ; but
independent tribes naturally give rise to diversity of
tongues, nor does it seem possible that they should re¬
tain more of the original language than the words expres¬
sive of those objects with which all men are at all times
equally concerned. The variety of tongues, therefore,
the copiousness of some, and the narrowness of others,
furnish no good objection to the divine origin of language
in general; for, whether language was at first revealed
from heaven, or in a course of ages invented by men, a
multitude of dialects would inevitably arise as soon as the
human race had separated into a number of distinct and
independent nations.1
1 In the foregoing view of this subject, the argument for the supernatural origin of language is evidently that which the author
wishes to favour. But though we have, with some slight alterations, reprinted this part ot the article, which was written -or
LANGUAGE.
64
Language. As the knowledge of languages constitutes a great part
v^ / °f erudition, as their beauties and deformities furnish em-
geliius of P'pyment t0 taste, and as these depend much upon the
language. ^Pms the different tongues, we shall proceed to make
a few remarks upon the advantages and defects of some
of those idioms of language with which wre are best ac¬
quainted. As the words idiom and genius of a language
are often confounded, it will be necessary to inform the
reader, that by idiom we would here be understood to
mean that general mode of arranging words into sentences
which prevails in any particular language ; and by the
genius of a language, we mean to express the particular
set of ideas which the words of any language, either from
their formation or multiplicity, are most naturally apt to
excite in the mind of any one who hears it properly ut¬
tered. Thus, although the English, French, Italian, and
Spanish languages nearly agree in the same general idiom,
yet the particular genius of each is remarkably different.
The English is naturally bold, nervous, and strongly arti¬
culated ; the French is weaker, and more flowing; the
Italian more soothing and harmonious; and the Spanish
more grave, sonorous, and stately. Now, when we exa¬
mine the several languages which have been most esteem¬
ed in Europe, we find that there are only two idioms
among them which are essentially distinguished from one
another; and all those languages are divided between
these two idioms, following sometimes the one and some¬
times the other, either wholly or in part. The languages
which may be said to adhere to the first idiom, are those
which in their construction follow the order of nature ;
that is, express their ideas in the natural order in which
they occur to the mind; the subject which occasions the
action appearing first; then the action accompanied with
its several modifications; and, last of all, the object to
which it has reference. These may properly be called
analogous languages; and of this kind are the English,
French, and most of the modern languages in Europe.
The languages which may be referred to the other idiom,
are those which follow no other order in their construc¬
tion tnan what the taste or fancy of the composer may
suggest; sometimes making the object, sometimes the ac¬
tion, and sometimes the modification of the action, to pre¬
cede or follow the other parts. The confusion which this
might occasion is avoided by the particular manner of
inflecting their words, by which they are made to refer to
the others with which they ought to be connected, in
whatever part of the sentence they occur, the mind being
left at liberty to connect the several parts with one an¬
other after the whole sentence is concluded ; and as the
words may be here transposed at pleasure, those lan¬
guages may be called transpositive languages. To this
class we must, in an especial manner, refer the Latin and
Greek languages. As each of these idioms has several ad¬
vantages and defects peculiar to itself, we shall endeavour Language,
to point out the most considerable of them, in order to
ascertain with greater precision the particular character
and excellence of some of those languages now principally
spoken or studied in Europe.
The partiality which our forefathers, at the revival of
letters in Europe, naturally entertained for the Greek
and Roman languages, made them look upon every dis¬
tinguishing peculiarity belonging to them as one of the
many causes of the amazing superiority which those lan¬
guages evidently enjoyed above every other at that time
spoken in Europe. This blind deference still continues
to be paid to them, as our minds are early prepossessed
with these ideas, and as we are taught in our earliest in¬
fancy to believe, that to entertain the least idea of our
own language being equal to the Greek or Latin in any
particular whatever, would be a certain mark of ignorance
or want of taste. Their rights, therefore, like those of
the church in former ages, remain still to be examined;
and we, without exerting our reason to discover truth
from falsehood, tamely sit down satisfied with the idea of
their undoubted pre-eminence in every respect. But if
we look around us for a moment, and observe the many
excellent productions which are to be met with in almost
every language of Europe, we must be satisfied that even
these are now possessed of some powers which might afford
at least a presumption, that if they were cultivated with
a proper degree of attention, they might, in some respects,
be made to rival, if not to excel, those beautiful and justly
admired remains of antiquity. Without endeavouring to
derogate from their merit, let us, with the cool eye of
philosophic reasoning, endeavour to bring before the sa¬
cred tribunal of truth some of those opinions which have
been most generally received upon this subject, and rest
the determination of the cause on her impartial decision.
The learned reader well knows, that the several changes
which take place in the arrangement of the words in every
transpositive language, could not be admitted without oc¬
casioning great confusion, unless certain classes of words
were endowed with particular variations, by means of
which they might be made to refer to the other words >
with which they ought naturally to be connected. From
this cause proceeds the necessity of several variations of
verbs, nouns, and adjectives ; which are not in the least es¬
sential or necessary in the analogous languages, as we have
pretty fully explained under the article Grammar, to
which we refer for satisfaction on this head. We shall in
this place consider, whether these variations are an advan¬
tage or a disadvantage to language.
As it is generally supposed that every language the verbs
of which admit of inflection, is on that account much more
perfect than one where they are varied by auxiliaries, we
shall, in the first place, examine this with some degree of
the e, lei editions of this work, we are far from adopting the very unphilosophical opinion which it supports. We do not
asseit, because we could have nothing like evidence for such an assertion, that the Deity did not originallvPbestow on man the
gift of speech ; but we think, with Lord Monboddo, and many others, that if such a boon ever was conferred, it must, in the revolutions
anH iT68 ^ ri beftlle,n the lu.man race? inevitably have been lost; and therefore, that as multitudes of languages exist
and have evei existed, the art of speech is one which man is capable of attaining to, independently of any supernatural aid ^ This is
the view taken by our best philosophers. Thus, Mr Stewart, notwithstanding hi All-known caudon "forming condusit on m"
^n riSUb^t&’AiheSltiat?n-giaVOrA1iS coimctlon’ that “ the human faculties are competent to the formation of language.”
(Philosophy of the Mind, vol. m. chap. 1.) In another place, the same admirable writer makes the following philosophical observations
on this subjectThe steps in the formation oflanguage cannot probably be determined with certainty ; yet if we can show from
the known principles of human nature, how the various parts may naturally have arisen, the mind is not only to a certain decree
satisfied, but a check is given to that indolent philosophy which refers to a miracle whatever appearances, either in the natural or
moral world, it is unable to explain.” One of the most ingenious attempts that ever has been made to show by what steps the hu¬
man mind would naturally proceed in the acquisition of speech, is that contained in Dr Adam Smith’s “ Considerations on the For¬
mation of Languages. His theory may perhaps be liable to objection in some of its details; but it is developed with singular clear-
ness and simplicity; and it must, in its general scope and design, be allowed by all candid and competent judges to beAminently
philosophical. This essay was annexed by its author to the first edition of his Theory of Moral Sentiments ; and we are told by Mr
Stewart, that he always regarded it with great partiality, and that he reprinted it, without a single alteration, in the last edition of
alongst°witIfot^ ^ himself revisecL Mr Stewart’s commentary upon it {Philosophy of the Mind, ubi supra) ought to be perused
LANG
attention ; and, that what is said on this head may be the
more intelligible, we shall give examples from the Latin
and English languages. We make choice of these lan¬
guages, because the Latin is more purely transpositive
than the Greek, and the English admits of less inflection
than any other language that we are acquainted with.
If any preference be due to a language from the one or
the other method of conjugating verbs, it must in a great
measure be owing to one or more of these three causes:
Either it must admit of a greater variety of sounds, and
consequently afford more scope for harmonious diversity
of tones in the language ; or a greater freedom of expres¬
sion is allowed in uttering any simple idea, by the one ad¬
mitting of a greater variety in the arrangement of the words
which are necessary to express that idea than the other
does ; or, lastly, a greater precision and accuracy in fixing
the meaning of the person who uses the language, arise
from the use of one of these forms rather than from the
use of the other. For, as every other circumstance which
may serve to give a diversity to language, such as the ge¬
neral and most prevalent sounds, the frequent repetition
of any one particular letter, and a variety of other cir¬
cumstances of that nature, which may serve to debase a
particular language, are not influenced in the least by the
different methods of varying the verbs, they cannot be here
considered. We shall therefore proceed to make a com¬
parison of the advantages or disadvantages which may ac¬
crue to a language by inflecting its verbs, with regard to
variety of sound, variety of arrangement, and accuracy of
meaning.
The first particular that we have to examine is, whe¬
ther the one method of expressing the variations of a verb
admits of a greater variety of sounds. In this respect the
Latin seems, at first view, to have a great advantage over
the English; since the words amo, amabam, amaveram,
amavero, a,mem, See. seem to be more different from one
another than the English translations of these, I love, I
was loving, I had loved, I shall have loved, I may love, & c.:
for although the syllable am is repeated in every one t.f
the first, yet, as the last syllable usually strikes the ear
with greater force, and leaves a greater impression, than
the first, it is very probable that many will think the fre¬
quent repetition of the word love, in the last instance,
more striking to the ear than the repetition of am in the
former. We will therefore allow this its full weight, and
grant that there is as great, or even a greater, difference
between the sounds of the different tenses of a Latin verb,
than there is between the words that are equivalent to
them in English. But as we here consider the variety of
sounds of the language in general, before any just conclu¬
sion can be drawn, we must not only compare the different
parts of the same verb, but also compare the different verbs
with one another in each of these languages. And here,
at first view, we perceive a most striking distinction in
favour of the analogous language over the inflected; for,
as it would be impossible to form a particular set of inflec¬
tions, different from one another, for each particular verb,
all those languages which have adopted this method have
been obliged to reduce their verbs into a small number of
classes, all the words of each of which classes, commonly
called conjugations, have the several variations of the
modes, tenses, and persons, expressed exactly in the same
manner, which must of necessity introduce a similarity of
sounds into the language in general, much greater than
where every particular verb always retains its own dis¬
tinguishing sound. To be convinced of this, we need only
repeat any number of verbs in Latin and English, and ob¬
serve on which side the preference with respect to variety
of sounds must fall.
Pono, Iput. Moveo, 1 move.
Dono, 1 give. Doleo, * I ail.
VOL. xm.
U AGE.
Cano,
Sono,
Orno,
Pugno,
Lego,
Scribo,
Puto,
Vivo,
Ambulo,
I sing.
I sound.
1 adorn.
I fight.
I read.
I write.
I think.
I live.
I walk.
Lugeo,
Obeo,
Gaudeo,
Incipio,
Facio,
Fodio,
Rideo,
Impleo,
Abstineo,
I mourn.
I die.
1 rejoice.
I begins
I make.
1 dig.
I laugh.
Ifill.
Iforbear.
65
Language.
The similarity of sounds is here so obvious in the La¬
tin, as to be perceived at the first glance; nor can we be
surprised to find it so, when we consider that all their re- •
gular verbs, amounting to four thousand or upwards, must
be reduced to four conjugations, and even these differing
but little from one another, which must of necessity pro¬
duce the sameness of sounds which we here perceive;
whereas, every language that follows the natural order,
like the English, instead of this small number of uniform
terminations, has almost as many distinct sounds as ori¬
ginal verbs.
But if, instead of the present of the indicative mood,
we should take almost any other tense of the Latin verb,
the similarity of sounds would be still more perceptible,
as many of these tenses have the same termination in all
the four conjugations, particularly in the imperfect of the
indicative, as below.
Pone-ham,
Dona-ham,
Cane-ham,
Sona-bam,
Orna-bam,
Pugna-bam,
Lege-bam,
Scribe-ham,
Puta-bam,
Vive-bam,
Ambula-bam,
Move-ham,
Dole-ham,
Luge-ham,
Obi-ham,
Gaude-bam,
Incipie-bam,
Facie-bam,
Fodie-bam,
Ride-ham,
Imple-bam,
Abstine-bam,
I did put,
I did give,
I did sing,
I did sound,
1 did adorn,
I did fight,
I did read,
I did write,
I did think,
I did live,
I did walk,
I did move,
I did ail,
I did mourn,
I did die,
I did rejoice,
1 did begin,
1 did make,
I did dig,
I did laugh,
I did fill,
I did forbear,
or was putting.
or was giving.
or was singing.
or was sounding.
or ivas adorning.
or was fighting.
or was reading.
or was writing.
or was thinking.
or was living.
or was walking.
or was moving.
or was ailing.
or was mourning.
or was dying.
or was rejoicing.
or was beginning.
or teas making.
or was digging.
or was laughing.
or was filling.
or teas forbearing.
It is unnecessary to make any remarks on the Latin
words in this example. But in the English translation
we have carefully marked in the first column the words
without any inflection ; and in the second, have put down
the same meaning by an inflection of our verb ; wdiich we
have been enabled to do, from a peculiar excellency in
our own language unknown to any other, either ancient
or modern. Were it necessary to pursue this subject
farther, we might observe, that the perfect tense in all the
conjugations ends universally in i, XhQ pluperfect inERAM,
and the future in am or bo ; in the subjunctive mood the
imperfect universally in rem, the perfect in erim, the plu¬
perfect in issem, and the future in ero ; and as a still
greater sameness is observable in the different variations
for the persons in these tenses, seeing the first person
plural in all tenses ends in mus, and the second person in
tis, with little variation in the other persons, it is evi¬
dent that, in respect to diversity of sounds, this method
of conjugating verbs by inflexion is greatly inferior to the
more natural method of expressing the various connec¬
tions and relations of the verbal attributive by different
words, usually called auxiliaries.
i
66
LANGUAGE.
Language. The second particular by which the different methods
marking the relation of the verbal attributive can af¬
fect language, arises from the variety of expressions
which either of these may admit of in uttering the same
sentiment. In this respect, likewise, the method of con¬
jugation by inflection seems to be deficient. Thus the
present of the indicative mood in Latin can at most be
expressed only in two ways, viz. scribo and ego scribo,
which ought, perhaps, in strictness to be admitted only
as one ; whereas, in English, we can vary it in four differ¬
ent ways, viz. ls£, I write; 2dly, I do write; Qdly,
write I do ; Mhly, write do I.1 And if we consider
the further variation which these receive in power as well
as in sound, by having the emphasis placed on the differ¬
ent words, instead of four we will find eleven different
variations. Thus, I write, with the emphasis upon the I;
I write, with the emphasis upon the word write. Let
any one pronounce these with the different emphases ne¬
cessary, and he will be immediately satisfied that they are
not only distinct from each other with respect to mean¬
ing, but also with regard to sound. The same must be
understood of all the other parts of this example.
I do write.
I do write.
/ do WRITE.
Write I do.
Write I do.
Write I do.
Write do I.
Write do I.
Write do I.
None of the Latin tenses admit of more variations than
the two above mentioned ; nor do almost any of the Eng¬
lish admit of fewer than in the above example ; and seve¬
ral of these phrases, which must be considered as exact
translations of some of the tenses of the Latin verb, admit
of many more. Thus the imperfect of the subjunctive
mood, which in Latin admits of the above two variations,
admits in English of the following :
I might have written. Written might have I.
Written I might have. I written might have.
Have written I might. Have written might I.
And if we likewise consider the variations which may
be produced by a variation of the emphasis, they will be
as under:
I might have written.
I might have written.
I might have written.
I might have written.
Written I might have.
Written I might have.
Written I might have.
Written I might have.
Have written I might.
Have written I might.
Have written I might.
Have written I might.
Written might have I.
W ritten might have I.
Written might have I.
Written might have I.
I written might have.
1 written might have.
I written might have.
I written might have.
Have written might 1.
Have written might I
Have written might I.
Have written might I.
In all twenty-four variations, instead of two. If we like¬
wise consider that the Latins were obliged to employ the
same word, not only to express “ I might have written,”
but also, “ I could, I would, or I should have written,”
each of which would admit of the same variations as the
word might, we have in all ninety-six different expressions Language
in English for the same phrase, which in Latin admits v***
only of two, unless they have recourse to other forced
turns of expression, which the defects of their verbs in
this particular has compelled them to invent. ,
But if it should be objected that the last circumstance
we have taken notice of as a defect can only be consider¬
ed as a defect of the Latin language, and is not to be at¬
tributed to the inflection of their verbs, seeing they might
have had a particular tense for each of these different
words might, could, would, and shoidd; we answer, that
even admitting this excuse to be valid, the superiority
of the analogous language as such still remains in this
respect as twelve to one. Yet even this concession is
greater than ought to have been made. For as the
difficulty of forming a sufficient variety of words for all
the different modifications which a verb may be made to
undergo is too great for any rude people to overcome, we
find, that every nation which has adopted this mode of
inflection, not excepting the Greeks themselves, has been
obliged to remain satisfied with fewer words than would
have been necessary even to effect this purpose, and make
the same word serve a double, treble, or even quadruple
office, as in the Latin tense which gave rise to these ob¬
servations. So that, however in physical necessity this
may not be chargeable upon the particular mode of
construction, yet in moral certainty it must always be
the case; and therefore we may safely conclude, that
the mode of varying verbs by inflection affords less varie¬
ty in the arrangement of the words of the particular
phrases, than the method of varying them by the help of
auxiliaries.
But if there should still remain any shadow of doubt in
the mind of the reader, whether the method of varying the
verbs by inflection is inferior to that by auxiliaries, with
regard to diversity of sounds or variety of expression,
there cannot be the least doubt that, with respect to pre¬
cision, distinctness, and accuracy in expressing any idea,
the latter enjoys a superiority beyond all comparison. Thus
the Latin verb amo may be Englished either by the words I
love or I do love, and the emphasis placed upon any of the
words that the circumstances may require ; by means of
which the meaning is pointed out with a force and energy
which it is altogether impossible to produce by the tise
of any single word. The following line from Shakspeare’s
Othello may serve as an example:
Excellent wretch !
Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee.
Here the strong emphasis on the word do gives it a
force and energy which conveys, in an irresistible man¬
ner, a most perfect knowledge of the situation of the mind
of the speaker at the time. That the whole energy of
the expression depends upon this seemingly insignificant
word, we may be at once satisfied of by keeping it away,
in this manner:
Excellent wretch !
Perdition catch my soul, but 1 love thee.
How poor, how tame, how insignificant is this, when
compared with the other. Here nothing remains but a
\\ e are sufficiently aware that the last variation cannot in strictness be considered as good language, although many examples
of this manner oi using it in serious composition, both in poetry and prose, might easily be produced from the best authors in the
English language. But, however unjustifiable it may be to use it in serious composition, yet, when judiciously employed in works
of humour, this and other forced expressions of the like nature produce a fine effect, by giving a burlesque air to the language
and beautifully contrasting it with the purer diction of solid reasoning. Shakspeare has on many occasions showed how successfully
these may be employed in composition, particularly in drawing the character of Ancient Pistol in Henry V. Without this
liberty, Butler would have found greater difficulty in drawing the inimitable character of Hudibras. Let this apology suf-
nee lor having inserted this and other variations of the same kind, which, although they may be often improper for serious compo-
sition, have still their use in language. * r
LANGUAGE.
^ nguage. tame assertion, ushered in with a pompous exclamation,
^ which could not here be introduced with any degree of
propriety. Whereas, in the way that Shakspeare has
left it to us, it has an energy which nothing can surpass ;
for, overpowered with the irresistible force of Desdemo-
na’s charms, this strong exclamation is extorted from the
soul of Othello in spite of himself. Surprised at this ten¬
der emotion, which brings to his mind all those amiable
qualities for which he had so much esteemed her, and at
the same time fully impressed with the firm persuasion of
her guilt, he bursts out into that seemingly inconsistent
exclamation, Excellent wretch ! and then he adds in the
warmth of his surprise, thinking it a thing most astonish¬
ing that any warmth of affection should still remain in his
breast, he even confirms it with an oath, Perdition catch
my soul, hut /do love thee. “ In spite of all the falsehoods
with which I know thou hast deceived me, in spite of all
the crimes of which I know thee guilty, in spite of all
those reasons for which I ought to hate thee, in spite of
myself, still I find that I love; yes, I do love thee.”
We look upon it as a thing altogether impossible to trans¬
fuse the energy of this expression into any language whose
verbs are regularly inflected.
In the same manner we might go through all the other
tenses, and show that the same superiority is to be found
in each. Thus, in the perfect tense of the Latins, instead
of the simple amavi, we say I have loved ; and by the
liberty we have of putting the emphasis upon any of the
words which compose this phrase, we can in the most ac¬
curate manner fix the precise idea which we mean to ex¬
cite ; for if we say, I have loved, with the emphasis upon
the word I, it at once points out the person as the princi¬
pal object in that phrase, and makes us naturally look for
a contrast in some other person, and the other parts of
the phrase become subordinate to it: “ he has loved thee
much, but I have loved thee infinitely more.” The Latins,
too, as they were not prohibited from joining the pronoun
with their verb, were also acquainted with this excellence,
which Virgil has beautifully used in this verse:
Nos patriam fugimus:
Tu, Tityre, lentus in umbra, &c.
We are not only enabled thus to distinguish the person
in as powerful a manner as the Latins, but can also with
the same facility point out any of the other circumstances
as principals; for if we say, with the emphasis upon the
word have, “ I have loved," it as naturally points out the
time as the principal object, and makes us to look for a
contrast in that peculiarity, I have : “ I have loved in¬
deed ; my imagination has been led astray, my reason has
been perverted ; but, now that time has opened my eyes,
I can smile at those imaginary distresses which once per¬
plexed me.” In the same manner we can put the empha¬
sis upon the other word of the phrase, loved; “ I ha.ve
loved.” Here the passion is exhibited as the principal
circumstance ; and as this can never be excited without
some object, we naturally wish to know the object of that
passion, “Who! what have you loved?" axe the natural
questions we would put in this case. “ I have loved
Eliza.” In this manner we are, on all occasions, enabled
to express, with the utmost precision, that particular idea
which we would wish to excite, so as to give an energy
and perspicuity to the language, which can never be at¬
tained by those languages whose verbs are conjugated by
inflection ; and if to this we add the inconvenience which
all inflected languages are subject to, by having too small
a number of tenses, so as to be compelled to make one
word on many occasions supply the place of two, three,
or even four, the balance is turned still more in our fa¬
vour. Thus, in Latin, the same word, amabo, stands for
shall or will love, so that the reader is left to guess from
67
the context which of the two meanings it was most likely Language,
the writer had in view. In the same manner may or can s'—v——
love are expressed by the same word, amem ; as are also
might, could, would, or should love, by the single word
amarem, as we have already observed, so that the reader
is left to guess which of these four meanings the writer
intended to express ; an ambiguity which occasions a per¬
plexity very different from that clear precision which our
language allows of, by not only pointing out the different
words, but also by allowing us to put the emphasis upon
any of them we please, which superadds energy and
force to the precision it would have had without that as¬
sistance.
Upon the whole, therefore, after the most candid exa¬
mination, we must conclude that the method of conjugat¬
ing verbs by inflection is inferior to that which is perform¬
ed by the help of auxiliaries; because it does not afford
such a diversity of sounds, nor allow such variety in the
arrangement of expression for the same thought, nor give
so great distinction and precision in the meaning. It is,
however, attended with one considerable advantage above
the other method ; for as the words of which it is formed
are necessarily of great length, and more sonorous than
in the analogous languages, it admits of a more flowing
harmony of expression ; for the number of monosyllables
in this last greatly checks that pompous dignity which
naturally results from longer words. Whether this single
advantage is sufficient to counterbalance all the other de¬
fects with which it is attended, is left to the judgment of
the reader to determine. But we may remark before we
quit the subject, that even this excellence is attended with
some peculiar inconveniences, which shall be more parti¬
cularly pointed out in the sequel.
But perhaps it might still be objected, that although
the comparisons we have made above may be fair, and
the conclusion just, with regard to the Latin and English
languages, yet it does not appear clear, that on that ac¬
count the method of conjugating verbs by inflection is in¬
ferior to that by auxiliaries ; for although it be allowed
that the Latin language is defective in point of tenses;
yet if a language were formed which had a sufficient num¬
ber of inflected tenses to answer every purpose ; if it had,
for instance, a word properly formed for every variation
of each tense ; one for I love, another for I do love ; one
for I shall, another for I will love ; one for I might, ano¬
ther for /could, and woidd, and should love; and so on
through all the other tenses; that this language would
not be liable to the objections we have brought against
the inflection of verbs; and that of course the objections
we have brought are only valid against those languages
which have followed that mode and executed it imper¬
fectly. We answer, that although this would in some
measure remedy the evil, yet it would not remove it en¬
tirely. For, in the first place, unless every verb, or every
small number of verbs, were conjugated in one way, hav¬
ing the sound of the words in each tense, and division of
tenses, as we may say, different from all the other conju¬
gations, it would always occasion a sameness of sound,
which would in some measure prevent that variety of
sounds so proper for a language. And even if this could
be effected, it would not give such a latitude to the ex¬
pression as auxiliaries allow; for although there should
be two words, one for I might, and another for I could
love, yet as these are single words, they cannot be va¬
ried; whereas, by auxiliaries, either of these can be va¬
ried twenty-four different ways, as has been shown above.
In the last place, no single word can ever express all that
variety of meaning which we can do by the help of our
auxiliaries and the emphasis. / have loved, if expressed
by any one word, could only denote at all times one dis¬
tinct meaning, so that to give it the power of ours, three
LANGUAGE.
68
Language, distinct words at least would be necessary. However, if
' all this were done ; that is, if there were a distinct conju¬
gation formed for every forty or fifty verbs; if each of
the tenses were properly formed, and all of them differ¬
ent from every other tense as well as every other verb ;
and these all carried through each of the different per¬
sons, so as to be all different from one another; and if
likewise there were a distinct word to mark each of the
separate meanings which the same tense could be made
to assume by means of the emphasis ; and if all this in¬
finite variety of words could be formed in a distinct man¬
ner, different from each other, and harmonious ; this lan¬
guage would have powers greater than any that could be
formed by auxiliaries, if it were possible for the human
powers to acquire such a degree of knowledge as to be
able to employ it with facility. But how could this be
attained, since upwards of ten thousand words wmuld be
necessary to form the variations of any one verb, and a
hundred times that number would not include the know¬
ledge of the verbs alone of such a language ?1 How much,
therefore, ought we to admire the simple perspicuity of
our language, which enables us, by the proper application
of ten or twelve seemingly trifling words, the meaning and
use of which can be attained with the utmost ease, to ex¬
press all that could be expressed by this unwieldy appa¬
ratus? What can equal the simplicity or the power of
the one method, but the well-known powers of the twenty-
four letters, the knowledge of which can be obtained with
so much ease, whilst their powers know no limits ? or,
what can be compared to the fancied perfection of the
other, but the transcript of it which the Chinese seem to
have formed in their unintelligible language?
Having thus considered pretty fully the advantages and
defects of each of these two methods of varying verbs, we
cannot help feeling a secret wish arise in our mind, that
there had been a people sagacious enough to have united
the powers of the one method with those of the other;
nor can we help being surprised, that among the changes
which took place in the several languages of Europe after
the downfall of the Roman monarchy, some of them did
not accidentally stumble on the method of doing it. From
many concurring circumstances, it seems probable that
the greater part, if not all, of the Gothic nations that over¬
ran Italy at that time, had their verbs varied by the help
of auxiliaries; and many of the modern European lan¬
guages which have sprung from them, have so far bor¬
rowed from the Latin, as to have some of the tenses of
their verbs inflected. Yet the English alone have in any
instance combined the joint powers of the two, which
could only be done by forming inflections for the different
tenses in the same manner as the Latins, and at the same
time retaining the original method of varying them by
auxiliaries; by which means either the one or the other
method could have been employed as occasion required.
We have luckily two tenses formed in that way, the pre¬
sent of the indicative, and the aorist of the past. In al¬
most all our verbs these can be declined either with or
without auxiliaries. Thus the present, without an auxi¬
liary, is, I love, I ivrite, I speak ; with an auxiliary, I do
write, I do love, I do speak- In the same manner, the
past tense, by inflection, is, I loved, I wrote, I spoke; by
auxiliaries, 1 did love, I did speak, I did write. Every
author who knows any thing of the power of the English
language, knows the use which may be made of this dis¬
tinction. What a pity is it that we should have stopt
short so soon. How blind was it in many other nations Language,
to imitate the defects without making a proper use of
that beautiful language which is now numbered among
the dead.
After the verbs, the next most considerable variation
we find between the analogous and transpositive languages
is in the nouns; the latter varying the different cases
of these by inflection ; whereas the former express all the
different variations of them by the help of other words pre¬
fixed, called prepositions. Now, if we consider the ad¬
vantages or disadvantages of either of these methods un¬
der the same heads as we have done the verbs, we shall
find, that with regard to the first particular, viz. variety
of sounds, almost the same remarks may be made as upon
the verbs; for if we compare any particular noun by it¬
self, the variety of sound appears much greater between
the different cases in the transpositive, than between the
translation of these in the analogous language. Thus
rex, regis, regi, regem, &c. are more distinct from one
another in point of sound, than the translation of these,
a king, of a king, to a king, a king, &c. But if we pro¬
ceed one step further, and consider the variety which is
produced in the language in general by the one or the
other of these methods, the case is entirely reversed.
For as it would have been impossible to form distinct va¬
riations, different from one another, for each case of every
noun, they have been obliged to reduce all their nouns
into a few general classes, called declensions, and to give
to all those included under each class the same termina¬
tion in every case, which produces a like similarity of
sound with what we already observed was occasioned to
the verbs from the same cause; whereas, in the analo¬
gous languages, as there is no necessity for any constraint,
there is almost as great a variety of sounds as there are
of nouns. The Latins have only five different declen¬
sions ; so that all the great number of words of this gene¬
ral order must be reduced to the very small diversity of
sounds which these few classes admit of; and even the
sounds of these few classes are not so much diversified as
they might have been, as many of the different cases in
the different declensions have exactly the same sounds,
as we shall have occasion to remark more fully hereafter.
We might here produce examples to show the great simi¬
larity of sounds between different nouns in the Latin lan¬
guage, and variety in the English, in the same way as we
did of the verbs; but as every reader in the least ac¬
quainted with these two languages can satisfy himself in
this particular, w'ithout any further trouble than by mark¬
ing down any number of Latin nouns, with their transla¬
tions into English, we think it unnecessary to dwell longer
on this particular.
But if the inflection of nouns is a disadvantage to a lan¬
guage in point of diversity of sounds, it is very much the
reverse with regard to the variety it allows in the arrang¬
ing the words of the phrase. Here, indeed, the transpo¬
sitive language shines forth in all its glory, and the ana¬
logous must yield the palm without the smallest dispute.
For as the nominative case, or that noun which is the cause
of the energy expressed by the verb, is different from the
accusative, or that noun upon which the energy expressed
by the verb is exerted, these may be placed in any situa¬
tion that the writer shall think proper, without occasion¬
ing the smallest confusion ; whereas in the analogous lan¬
guages, as these two different states of the noun are ex¬
pressed by the same word, they cannot be distinguished
1 This assertion may perhaps appear to many very much exaggerated ; but if any one should think so, we only beg the favour that
he will set himself to mark all the variations of tenses, mode, parson, and number, which an English verb can be made to assume, vary¬
ing each of these in every way that it will admit, both as to the diversity of expression and the emphasis, and he will soon be con¬
vinced that we have here said nothing more than enough.
1
LANGUAGE.
69
Luguage.but by their position alone; so that the noun which is
'■•-v'—the efficient cause must always precede the verb, and
that which is the passive subject must follow, which great¬
ly cramps the harmonious flow of composition. Thus the
Latins, without the smallest perplexity in the meaning,
could say either Brutum amavit Cassius, or Cassius ama-
vit Brutum, or Brutum Cassius amavit, or Cassius Bru¬
tum amavit. As the termination of the word Cassius al¬
ways points out that it is in the nominative case, and
therefore that he is the person from whom the energy pro¬
ceeds ; and in the same manner, as the termination of the
word Brutum points out that it is in the accusative case,
and consequently that he is the object upon whom the
energy is exerted ; the meaning continues still distinct
and clear, notwithstanding of all these several variations;
whereas, in the English language, we could only say,
Cassius loved Brutus, or, by a more forced phraseology,
Cassius Brutus loved. Were we to reverse the case, as
in the Latin, the meaning also would be reversed ; for if
we say Brutus loved Cassius, it is evident, that instead of
being the person beloved, as before, Brutus now becomes
the person from whom the energy proceeds, and Cassius
becomes the object beloved. In this respect, therefore,
the analogous languages are greatly inferior to the trans¬
positive ; and, indeed, it is from this single circumstance
alone that they derive their chief excellence.
But although it thus appears evident that any language
which has a particular variation of its nouns to distinguish
the accusative from the nominative case, has an advantage
over those languages which have none; yet it does not
appear that any other of their cases adds to the variety,
but rather the reverse ; for in Latin we can only say Amor
Dei; in English the same phrase may be rendered either
the love of God, of God the love, or, by a more forced ar¬
rangement, God the love of. And as these oblique cases,
as the Latins called them, except the accusative, are
clearly distinguished from one another and from the no¬
minative by the preposition which accompanies them, we
are not confined to any particular arrangement with re¬
gard to these, as with the accusative, but may place them
in what order we please, as in Milton’s elegant invocation
at the beginning of Paradise Lost.
Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our wo,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing, heavenly muse.
In this sentence the transposition is almost as great as
the Latin language would admit of, and the meaning as
distinct as if Milton had begun with the plain language of
prose.
Before we leave this head, we may remark, that the
little attention which seems to have been paid to this pe¬
culiar advantage derived from the use of an accusative
case different from the nominative, is somewhat surpris¬
ing. The Latins, who had more occasion to attend to
this with care than any other nation, and even the Greeks
themselves, have in many cases overlooked it, as is evi¬
dent from the various instances we meet with in their lan¬
guages where this is not distinguished. For all nouns of
the neuter gender, both in Greek and Latin, have in every
declension their nominative and accusative singular alike.
Nor in the plural of such nouns is there any distinction
between these two cases ; and in Latin all nouns whatever
of the third, fourth, and fifth declensions, of which the
number is very considerable, have their nominative and
accusative plural alike. So that their language reaps no
advantage in this respect from almost one half of their
nouns. Nor have any of the modern languages in Europe,
however much they may have borrowed from the ancient
languages in other respects, attempted to copy from them Language.
in this particular; from which perhaps more advantage y—^
would have been gained than from copying all the other
supposed excellencies of their language. But to return
to our object.
It remains that we consider whether the inflection of
nouns gives any advantage over the method of defining
them by prepositions, in point of distinctness and preci¬
sion of meaning? But in this respect, too, the analogous
languages must come off victorious. Indeed, this is the
particular in which their greatest excellence consists; nor
was it, we believe, ever disputed but that, in point of ac¬
curacy and precision, this method must excel all others,
however it may be defective in other respects. We ob¬
served under this head, when speaking of verbs, that it
might perhaps be possible to form a language by inflec¬
tion which should be capable of as great accuracy as in
the more simple order of auxiliaries ; but this would have
been such an infinite labour that it was not to be expect¬
ed that ever human powers would have been able to ac¬
complish it. More easy would it have been to have
formed the several inflections of the nouns so different
from one another as to have rendered it impossible ever
to mistake the meaning. Yet even this has not been
attempted. And as we find that those languages which
have adopted the method of inflecting their verbs are
more imperfect in point of precision than the other, so the
same may be said of inflecting the nouns ; for, not to men¬
tion the energy which the analogous languages acquire by
putting the accent upon the noun, or its preposition, when
in an oblique case, according as the subject may require,
to express which variation of meaning no particular varie¬
ty of words have been invented in any inflected language,
they are not even complete in other respects. The La¬
tin, in particular, is in many cases defective, the same ter¬
mination being employed in many instances for different
cases of the same noun. Thus the genitive and dative
singular, and nominative and vocative plural, of the first
declension, are all exactly alike, and can only be distin¬
guished from one another by the formation of the sen¬
tence ; as are also the nominative, vocative, and ablative
singular, and the dative and ablative plural. In the se¬
cond, the genitive singular and nominative and vocative
plural are the same, as are also the dative and ablative sin¬
gular, and dative and ablative plural, except those in um,
whose nominative, accusative, and vocative singular, and
nominative, accusative, and vocative plural, are alike.
The other three declensions agree in as many of their
cases as these do, which evidently tends to perplex the
meaning, unless the hearer is particularly attentive to and
well acquainted with the particular construction of the
other parts of the sentence ; all of which is totally remov¬
ed, and the clearest certainty exhibited at once, by the
help of prepositions in the analogous languages.
It will hardly be necessary to enter into such a minute
examination of the advantages or disadvantages attending
the variation of adjectives ; as it will appear evident, from
what has been already said, that the endowing them with
terminations similar to, and corresponding with, substan¬
tives, must tend still more to increase the similarity of sounds
in any language, than any of those particulars we have
already taken notice of; and were it not for the liberty
which they have, in transpositive languages, of separating
the adjective from the substantive, this must have occa¬
sioned such a jingle of similar sounds as could not fail to
have been most disgusting to the ear: but as it would have
been impossible in many cases, in those languages where
the vei’bs and nouns are inflected, to have pronounced the
words which ought to have followed each other, unless
their adjectives could have been separated from the sub¬
stantives; therefore, to remedy this inconvenience, they
70 LANGUAGE.
Language, were forced to devise this unnatural method of inflecting
v""-"' them also ; by which means it is easy to recognise to what
substantive any adjective has a reference, in whatever part
of the sentence it may be placed. In these languages,
therefore, this inflection, both as to gender, number, and
case, becomes absolutely necessary; and, by the diversity
which it admitted in the arranging the words of the seve-
ral phrases, might counterbalance the jingle of similar
sounds which it introduced into the language.
Having thus examined the most striking particulars in
which the transpositive and analogous languages differ, and
endeavoured to show the general tendency of every one
of the particulars separately, it would not be fair to dismiss
the subject without considering each of these as a whole,
and pointing out their general tendency in that light: for
we all know, that it often happens in human inventions,
that every part which composes a whole, taken separately,
may appear extremely fine; and yet, when all these parts
are put together, they may not agree, but produce a jarr¬
ing and confusion very different from what we might have
expected. We therefore imagine a few remarks upon the
genius of each of these two distinct idioms of language,
considered as a whole, will not be deemed useless.
Although all languages agree in this respect, that they
are the means of conveying the ideas of one man to another ;
yet as there is an infinite variety of ways in which we might
wash to convey these ideas, sometimes by the easy and fa¬
miliar mode of conversation, and at other times by more
solemn addresses to the understanding, by pompous decla¬
mation, &c. it may so happen, that the genius of one lan¬
guage may be more properly adapted to the one of these
than the other, while another language may excel in the
opposite particular. This is exactly the case in the two
general idioms of-which we now treat. Every particular
in a transpositive language is peculiarly calculated for
that solemn dignity which is necessary for pompous ora¬
tions. Long-sounding words, formed by the inflection
of the different parts of speech ; flowung periods, in which
the attention is kept awake by the harmony of the sounds,
and in expectation of that word which is to unravel the
whole; if composed by a skilful artist, are admirably
suited to that solemn dignity and awful grace which con¬
stitute the essence of a public harangue. On the contrary,
in private conversation, where the mind wishes to unbend
itself with ease, these become so many clogs which encum¬
ber and perplex. At these moments we wish to transfuse
our thoughts with ease and facility, we are tired with every
unnecessary syllable, and w ish to be freed from the trouble
of attention as much as may be. Like our state robes, we
would wish to lay aside our pompous language, and enjoy
ourselves at home with freedom and ease. Here the so¬
lemnity and windings of the trampositive language are bur¬
densome ; while the facility with which a sentiment can be
expressed in the analogous language is the thing that we
wish to acquire. Accordingly, in Terence and Plautus,
where the beauties of dialogue are most charmingly dis¬
played, transposition is sparingly used. In this humble,
though most engaging sphere, the analogous language
moves unrivalled; in this it wishes to indulge, and never
tires. But it in vain attempts to rival the transpositive in
dignity and pomp: the number of monosyllables interrupts
the flow of harmony ; and although they may give a greater
variety of sounds, yet they do not naturally possess that
dignified gravity which suits the other language. This,
then, must be considered as the striking particular in the
genius of these two different idioms, which marks their
characters.
If we consider the effects which these two different cha¬
racters of language must naturally produce upon the people Language,
who employ them, we will soon perceive, that the genius
of the analogous language is much more favourable for the
most engaging purposes of life, the civilizing the human
mind by mutual intercourse of thought, than the transposi¬
tive. For as it is chiefly by the use of speech that man is
raised above the brute creation; as it is by this means he
improves every faculty of his mind, and, to the observations
which he may himself have made, has the additional advan¬
tage of the experience of those with whom he may con¬
verse, as well as the knowledge which the human race have
acquired by the accumulated experience of all preceding
ages ; as it is by the enlivening glow of conversation
that kindred souls catch fire from one another, that thought
produces thought, and each improves upon the other, till
they soar beyond the bounds which human reason, if left
alone, could ever have aspired to ; we must surely consider
that language as the most beneficial to society which most
effectually removes those bars that obstruct its progress.
Now, the genius of the analogous languages is so easj', so
simple and plain, as to be within the reach of every one
who is born in the kingdom where it is used to speak it
with facility; even the rudest among the vulgar can hardly
fall into any considerable grammatical errors: whereas, in
the transpositive languages, so many rules are necessary
to be attended to, and so much variation is produced in
the meaning, by the ^lightest variations in the sound, that
it requires a study far above the reach of the illiterate me¬
chanic ever to attain. So that, how perfect soever the
language may be when spoken with purity, the bulk of the
nation must ever labour under the inconvenience of rude¬
ness and inaccuracy of speech, and all the evils which this
naturally produces. Accordingly, we find, that in Rome,
a man, even in the highest rank, received as much honour,
and w^as as much distinguished among his equals, for being
able to converse with ease, as a modern author would be
for writing in an easy and elegant style ; and Caesar among
his contemporaries was as much esteemed for his superio¬
rity in speaking the language in ordinary conversation
with ease and elegance, as for his powers of oratory, his
skill in arms, or his excellence in literary composition. It
is needless to point out the many inconveniences w hich
this must unavoidably produce in a state. It is sufficient
to observe, that it naturally tends to introduce a vast dis¬
tinction between the orders of men ; to set an impenetrable >•
barrier between those born in a high and those born in a
low station ; to keep the latter in ignorance and barbarity,
while it elevates the former to such a height as must sub¬
ject the other to be easily led by ©very popular demagogue.
How far the history of the nations who have follow ed this
idiom of language confirms this observation, every one is
left to judge for himself.
II. AFFINITIES OF LANGUAGES.1
The study of the affinities of various languages is so far
one of the most important of all branches of human know¬
ledge, as it affords, when properly applied, an unerring
test of the truth or falsehood of historical evidence, with¬
out which it would sometimes be impossible to unravel
the mysteries of contradictory testimonies, respecting the
relations of the different races of mankind. We have, for
example, no traditional evidence in support of any con¬
nection between the ancient Egyptians and the Indians;
whilst, on the other hand, a number of persons, who came
with the English army from the East Indies into Egypt,
were so strongly impressed with the resemblance of the
1 This part of the article was written by the late Dr Thomas Young, for the Supplement to the former editions of this work.
LANGUAGE.
71
Egyptian and Indian temples, which appeared even to ex¬
cite the religious feelings of many of the natives who were
amongst the troops employed, that a very general inclina¬
tion has arisen from these circumstances, to consider the
Egyptian mythology as merely a branch of the Indian.
But if the Egyptian people had really been of Indian ori¬
gin ; that is, if the Egyptians and Indians had really been
one people, at any later period than that at which the
whole of the Indian and European races were separated
from their common stock; the languages of India and of
Egypt could not but have exhibited some features of re¬
semblance, which would have preserved the traces of the
connection ; whilst, in fact, there is much less similarity
between the Egyptian and the Indian, than between the
Indian and the Greek, or the English and the Persian ;
so that etymology may here be adduced as confirming the
evidence, or as justifying the silence, of history ; and the
resemblance of the mythological representations must be
considered as in great measure accidental.
It is, however, only with regard to the languages of the
ancient world that we can feel much interest in such an
investigation. The American dialects might afford equal¬
ly extensive subjects of speculation in a metaphysical and
critical point of view ; but the concerns of barbarians, un¬
connected and remote from all contact with literature or
civilization, and destitute of all historical records, will
scarcely be thought to require any great portion of atten¬
tion from a philosophical inquirer; and there is ample
scope for the employment of all our faculties in the ana¬
lysis and.comparison of the various languages of Europe,
Asia, and Africa. If, indeed, an extraordinary exertion
of enterprise and industry, which can be expected from a
few distinguished individuals only in the course of as
many centuries, should make known relations, such as
Alexander von Humboldt has appeared to discover, be¬
tween the American and Asiatic nations, a new field would
be opened for the gratification of our curiosity; but it can
scarcely be expected that these points of resemblance can
be sufficiently numerous to afford any thing like demon¬
strative evidence, until the whole subject has been much
more deeply and repeatedly discussed. In the mean time,
a very brief enumeration of the names of the American
languages is all that can be required, on an occasion like
the present; except the insulated though interesting re¬
mark, that the countries separated by Behring’s Straits
exhibit, as might indeed be expected, strong resemblances
in some of their languages.
Of language in general we do not here intend to
treat, but merely of languages as they are distinct from
each other. It is not, however, very easy to say what
the definition ought to be that should constitute a sepa¬
rate language ; but it seems most natural to call those
languages distinct, of which the one cannot be understood
by common persons in the habit of speaking the other, so
that an interpreter would be required for communication
between persons of the respective nations. Still, how¬
ever, it may remain doubtful whether the Danes and the
Swedes could not, in general, undei'stand each other to¬
lerably well, and whether the Scottish Highlanders and
the Irish would be able to drink their whisky together
without an interpreter; nor is it possible to say, if the
twenty ways of pronouncing the sounds belonging to the
Chinese characters, ought or ought not to be considered
as so many languages or dialects, though they would ren¬
der all oral intercourse between the persons so speaking
the language actually impracticable. But, whether we
call such variations different languages, or different dia¬
lects, or merely different pronunciations of the same dia¬
lect, it is obvious that they ought all to be noticed in a
complete history of languages; and, at the same time,
that the languages so nearly allied must stand next to
each other in a symmetrical order; the perfection of Language,
which would be, to place the nearest together those lan- —y—^
guages in which the number of coincidences in the signi¬
fication of words throughout the language are the most
numerous.
It has sometimes been imagined, that all languages in
existence present something like a trace of having been
deduced from a common origin; and it would be difficult
to confute this opinion by very positive evidence, unless
every separate language had been very completely analys¬
ed and examined by a person well acquainted with a va¬
riety of other languages, with which it might be compar¬
ed. But, without such an examination, the opinion must
remain conjectural only, and no more admissible as demon¬
strated, than the opinions of some empirics, that there is
only one disease, and that the only remedy for it is
brandy. In an essay on probabilities, lately published in
the Philosophical Transactions, Dr Young has remarked,
that “ nothing whatever could be inferred, with respect
to the relation of two languages, from the coincidence of
the sense of any single word in both of them,” that is,
supposing the same simple and limited combinations of
sounds to occur in both, but to be applied accidentally to
the same number of objects, without any common links of
connection ; “and that the odds would only be three to
one against the agreement of two words, but if three
words appeared to be identical, it would be more than ten
to one that they must be derived, in both cases, from some
parent language, or introduced in some other manner,”
from a common source ; whilst “ six words would give near
1700 chances to one, and eight near 100,000; so that, in
these last cases, the evidence would be little short of ab¬
solute certainty.”
The author of the article in the Quarterly Review, on
Adelung’s Mithridates observes, that, setting out from the
establishment of a certain number of separate languages
as species, “ we may proceed to comprehend, in the de¬
scription of one family, such as have more coincidences
with each other than diversities, and to refer to the same
class such families as exhibit any coincidences at all that
are not fortuitous, imitative,” that is, from onomatopoeia,
“ or adoptive. In order, however, to avoid too great a
number of classes, which would arise from an inadequate
comparison of languages imperfectly known, it may be
proper, in some cases, to adopt a geographical distinction,
as sufficient to define the limits of a class, or to assist in
its subdivision into orders. We are thus obliged to em¬
ploy an arrangement of a mixed natureand, in fact, the
tests of affinity here proposed depend so much on the pro¬
gress of our knowledge in the study of each language,
that the results must unavoidably be liable to great un¬
certainty and fluctuation, so that we can reasonably ex¬
pect nothing more than an approximation to an arrange¬
ment completely methodical.
“ If,” continues the reviewer, “ the resemblance or
identity of a single word, in two languages, supposed to
be exempt from the effects of all later intercourse, were
to be esteemed a sufficient proof of their having been de¬
rived from a common stock, it would follow, that more
than half the languages of the universe would exhibit
traces of such connection, in whatever order we might
pursue the comparison. Thus we find in a very great
number, and perhaps in a majority of known languages,
that the sound of the vowel a, with a labial consonant, is
employed for the name of Father; and if this be suppos¬
ed to be something like an onomatopoeia, or an applica¬
tion of the first sounds which an infant naturally utters,
the same reason cannot possibly be assigned for the still
more general occurrence of the combination nm in the
term name, which is by no means likely to have originat¬
ed from any natural association of this kind. But neither
72
LANGUAGE.
Language, these points of resemblance, nor any other that can be as-
'""■"'r'"—'' signed, are absolutely universal ; for, besides the number¬
less varieties referrible more or less immediately to Abba,
Father, we have at least twenty different and independent
terms for the same relation in the old world Tia, Issa,
Plar, Hair, Rama, Diam, Hina, Kettem, Assainalagi,
Medua, Thewes, Sunk, lot, Anathien, Messee, Indaa, JSu,
Nam, Monung, Dengabey, Ray, Tikkob, and Oa; and about
as many for Name, besides those languages in which the
version of an abstract term of this kind is less likely to
have been ascertained ; Ming, Tren, Diant, Shell, Iles-
sara, Shem, Tsar ship, Ad, Nipta, Liim, Sacheli, Assia,
Wasta, Ngala, Taira, Sunna, Ran, Hhili, Ding, Dbai,
and Anghara. “ At the same time, therefore, that we ve¬
nerate the traces of our common descent from a single
pair, wherever they are still perceptible, we must not ex¬
pect to find them in all existing languages without excep¬
tion ; and an Etymologicon Universale, considered as in¬
tended to establish such a perfect community of deriva¬
tion, can only be regarded as a visionary undertaking.
Nor must we neglect to unite, in some common arrange¬
ment of classification, those languages which have the
words here specified, or any other radical words, in com¬
mon, as incomparably more related to each other than
the Chinese to the Cantabrian, or the Irish to the Hot¬
tentot.
“ The gradations, by which a language is likely to vary
in a given time, seem to be in some measure dependent
on the degree of cultivation of the language, and of the
civilization of the people employing it. From Homer to
the Byzantine historians, the Greek language remained
essentially the same for 2000 years ; the German has va¬
ried but little in 1500 ; and even the English, notwith¬
standing its mixture with French and Latin, has altered
but three radical words out of the fifty-four which con¬
stitute the Lord’s Prayer, in the same period. On the
other hand, a few barbarians in the neighbourhood of
Mount Caucasus and of the Caspian Sea, of modern ori¬
gin, and ignorant of the art of writing, are divided into
more nations speaking peculiar languages, radically differ¬
ent from each other, than the whole of civilized Europe.
In such cases, little light can be thrown upon history by
etymological researches, while, with regard to more cul¬
tivated nations, we obtain, from the examination of their
languages, historical evidence of such a nature, as it is
scarcely possible for either accident or design to have
falsified.”
According to the supposition of Professor Adelung, it
seems not improbable that Thibet, on the east of Cash-
mere, may “ have been the habitation of Adam immediate¬
ly after his fall, and the country occupied by the descen¬
dants of Cain. In Thibet, and in the countries immediate¬
ly beyond it, the languages of at least a hundred and fifty
millions of people are still principally monosyllabic; and
from this peculiarity, as well as from the singular simpli¬
city of their structure, they are supposed to constitute the
most ancient class of existing languages, though it must
be confessed that much of Adelung’s reasoning on this
subject is extremely inconclusive.” Mr Townsend re¬
marks very judiciously, that one of the canons of Rudbeck
is by no means admissible. “ He states, that a language,
which has numerous monosyllabic expressions, is a parent
language. The English has more than 3700 monosyllabic
expressions, and the Chinese has none but such ; yet nei¬
ther of them is, for that reason, to be considered as a pa¬
rent language. Certain it is, that all languages, by abbre¬
viations, have a tendency to become monosyllabic, and
therefore a language which abounds in monosyllables is
ancient, and these commonly are the most antiquated parts
of every language. New compounds are incessantly cre¬
ated. These are abbreviated, and in process of time be¬
come monosyllabic. In deriving, therefore, a word in one Language,
language, from its correspondent expression in some other
language, we must ever bear in mind, that, unless in the
formation of new compounds, the least abbreviated is com¬
monly the parent, and the most abbreviated its offspring.
Would it be possible for any one to persuade us that Cola-
phus was derived from Cuff, or Blaspheme from Blame?
“ A similar instance,” says the reviewer, “ might be found
in Trachelos and Hals of the Greeks and Germans ; for
certainly Hals is more like Trachelos than like Collum.
The Chinese, however, which is the principal, and pro¬
bably the most ancient, of the monosyllabic languages, is
distinguished from almost all others by a more marked
peculiarity, which is, that its written characters, instead
of depicting sounds, are the immediate symbols of the
objects or ideas, and are even imperfectly represented by
the sounds, whatever difference of accent or tone may be
exhibited by the most refined speaker; as indeed it may
happen accidentally in our own language, that we maybe
at a loss to explain, without circumlocution, whether we
mean to say Son or Sun ; Beer or Bier ; Bear or Bare;
You, Ewe, Yew, or U; but in the Chinese the real cause
of this essential characteristic appears to be, that the sym¬
bol was in fact originally intended as a hieroglyphic or
picture of the object, though the resemblance, coarse as
it probably was at first, has been generally altogether lost
by the modifications which the character has conventual-
ly undergone. And in this point of view the Chinese
would require to be classed with the old Egyptian only,
since we know of no other language which was habitual¬
ly expressed in hieroglyphics and their immediate deriva¬
tives. It is not at all uncommon for the same sound in
Coptic, as in Chinese, to have four or five senses all essen¬
tially different, as may easily be observed in turning over
a dictionary; hoou, for instance, means Bad, and Them,
and a Shower, in two verses of St Matthew (v. 45, 46), and
perhaps several other things.
Another ancient and extensive class of languages, unit¬
ed by a greater number of resemblances than can well be
altogether accidental, may be denominated the Indo-Eu¬
ropean, comprehending the Indian, the West Asiatic, and
almost all the European languages. If we chose to as¬
sign a geographical situation to the common parent of
this class, we should place it to the south and west of the
supposed origin of the human race; leaving the north for
our third class, which we can only define as including all
the Asiatic and European languages not belonging to the
two former ; which may be called Atactic, or, perhaps,
w-ithout much impropriety, Tataric ; and which may be
subdivided into five orders, Sporadic, Caucasian, Tarta¬
rian, Siberian, and Insular. The African and Ameri¬
can languages will constitute a fourth and fifth class, suf¬
ficiently distinct from all the rest^but not intended to be
considered as any otherwise united among themselves,
than by their geographical situation. There is indeed
little doubt, that some of the languages here called Ta¬
taric are essentially allied to others, which are referred
to the Indo-European class; but they have been too little
investigated to allow us to make the selection that would
be required for completing the classification.
The following tables are copied, with considerable ad¬
ditions, from Adelung’s Mithridates. The words Heaven
and Earth are chosen as specimens, because they seem to
be known in a greater number of languages than any
others, except the name of Father, which is supposed to
exhibit, in some cases, a fallacious similarity. The Ger¬
man orthography has been principally employed, except
in such languages as are usually written in the Roman
characters, the pronunciation of the consonants being more
uniform than in English, and that of the vowels differing •
little from the Italian.
::
LANGUAGE.
Classes, Orders, and Families of Languages.
I. Monosyllabic.
1. Chinese
2. Siamese
3. Avanese
4. Tibetan.
II. Indo-European.
5. Sanscrit
6. Median
7. Arabian
8. Lycian
9. Phrygian
10. Greek
11. German
12. Celtic
13. Etruscan
14. Latin
15. Cantabrian
16. Sclavic
HI. Tataric.
i Sporadic
17. Tshudish
18. Hungarian
19. Albanian
ii. Caucasian
20. Armenian
21. Georgian
22. Abassan
23. Circassian
24. Ossetish
25. Kistic
26. Lesgian
iii. Tartarian
27. Turco-Tartarian
28. Mantshuric
29. Tungusic
iv Siberian
30. Permian
31. Wogulic
32. Ostiak
33. Tsheremissic
34. Morduin
35. Teptjerai
36. Samoiedic
37. Camashic
38. Jeniseiostiak
39. Jukadshiric
40. Koriak
41. Kamtshatkan
v. Insular
42. Kurilee
43. Eastern Islands
44. Japanese
45. Leu Cheu
46. Formosan
47. Philippine
48. New Holland, E.
49. Van Diemen’s
50. New Caledonian
51. New Zealand
52. Easter Island
IV. African.
V. American.
Families, Species, or Distinct Languages, and Varieties
or Dialects, with Specimens.
1. MONOSYLLABIC CLASS.
1. Chinese
Fo Kie n
Tonquinese
Laos
2. Siamese
3. Avanese
Peguan
Rukheng
4. Tibetan
Heaven, Sky. Earth.
Tien, Li Ti, To
Tshio Tshio
Thien, Bloi Dat, Dia
(Man, Phu chai)
Sa wang Din
(Man, Pho chai,
Hand, Mu)
Mo kaun, Nip ban Lu pu, Mie
Mo kaun La pri ? Tre
(Man, Lu; Hand,
Nam khei [Lak) Dshik ten, Sa
II. INDO-EUROPEAN- CLASS.
5. Sanskrit
Prakrit
Bali
Devanagri
Nepal
Assam
Tiperah
Kassai
Paramandale,Vana, Bumi, Stira
Aagaska, Svarga,
Veigunda, Ar-
tbaloga, Nibu
(Man, Purusha)
Sagg6(dfarc,Pariso)
Saggo (Man, Burut-
sa)
Ardwa, Arthaloga Buma
Bengalee
Hindee
Urdu
Brijbassa
Jypura
Hindustanee
Moors
Udiapura
Benares
Munipura
Goandee
Orissa
Telug
Telinga
Carnatic
Manva
Tamul
Maleiam
Malabar
Kanara
Decan
Kunkuna
Mahratta
Guzurat
Beloshee
(Afghan)
Bikanira
Sindh
Multan
Gipsey
Wuch
Sikh
Cashmir
Kuch
Maldivian
Cingalese
Malayan
Sumatran
Batta
Rejang
Lampuhn
Achim
Neas
Poggy
Javanese
Borneo)
Andaman
6. Median
Zendish
Pehlvish
Persian
(Bucharian)
Kurdish
Afghan
Heaven, Sky. Earth.
Shorgue, Behesht Porthibit Morto
73
Language.
Asmaan, Mukuti Sjimien, Dshiamin,
Dunia
Ashaman
Terti
Paramandal Bumi, Bumilo
(King, Raja) Naela
Wana, Mana, Para- Pumii, Nawarg
mandal [pam)
Wana (Bread, Ap-
Asmanu, Agasha Bhumi, Samina
Weikuntha, Agasha Pumandala, Puma
Sorgi Pirtumir,
Soumssar,
Zimmin
Weikuntham,Suar- Pumandi, Saumsar,
gi, Agasha Puma
Paramanda Bumi
Oshman Dzhemi
Amengi, Tsheros Pu, Phu, Pube
(l.Katka;3.Tuhm -
ka ; Man, Mi pa ;
Father, P’ha)
Ouddou, Uda Bin
Swarga, Ahaza Bumidshe, Bumi
Surga Bumi, Dunga,
Tana
[rik)
(Day, Torangha- Tana
(Z)ay,Bileytueng) Pihta
(Day, Rannih) Tanno
(Day, Urai) Tano
Surga, Dilangin Lemma, Darat
(Night, Malang)
Madamo(/7eac7,Ta- Totongnandshi
bai)
Tshekhre, Sakhter, Za, Zao, Zemo,
Esmene, Spereze Zemeno
Tsherk, Shmeha, Zivanand, Arta,
Seper Damik, Leka,
Bamih
Asmon Semin, Zemin,
Chaki, Chark,
Bum
Asman, Bauta Ard, Sigit, Chaak,
Choli
Asmo, Asman Smak, Sm’ige,
Zmuku
VOL. XIII.
74
Language.
LANGUAGE.
Arabian
Syriac
Assyrian
Phenician
Punic
Hebrew
C bald fee
Samaritan
Arabic
Heaven, Sky.
Shemaio
Simmi
Shamaiim
Shfemaia
Sumia
Semavati'
Modern Arabic Ssamvat, Shema,
Telek
Smavat
Maroccan
Ethiopic
Gfeez
Tigri
Amharic
Hauasa
Maltese
8. Lycian
9. Phrygian
10. Greek
Romaic
Samaiat
Samai, Samaie
Szemmey
Sema, Smeviet,
Smezijet
{Son, Tidaimi ;
And, Atbi)
{Bread, Bek ;
Water, Bedii)
Ouranos
Ouranos
11. Germanic,360 Himina, Himins
Alemannish, 720 Himil
Classical Ger- Himmel
man
Transylvanian Hemmel
German
Jewish Germ.
Low Saxon
Frieslandish
North Friesl.
Dutch
Himal
Himmel, Hemel
Hiemmel
Hemmel
Hemel
Danish
Norwegian
Orkney
Icelandic
Swedish
Dalecarlian
Gothlandish
Danish Saxon,
880
English, 1160
12. Celtic
Irish
Gaelic
Manks
Walden
Cimhric
Welsh
Cornish
Brittanish
13. Etruscan
14. Latin
Italian
Piedmontese
Waldensic P.
Genoese
Onsernone
Venetian
Friulian
Valais
Bolognese
Himmel
Himmel
Chimrie
Himne
Hindi, Himirik
Himblum
Hymblum
Heofena
Heaven
Neamh, Nau
Neamh
Niau
Neambh
Nefoedd, Nef
Neau, Nev
Eon, Euff
{Bread, Puni,
Coelum
Cielo
Siel
Cel
Ze
Ciel
Zielo
Cil, Ciil
Cel
Cil
Earth.
Aro, Are to
Dinii
Arez
Ara, Arga
Aroa
Ardi
Arz, Ardh, Auf,
Turap, Aalem
Ord
Mydrni
Midre
Mydrm, Medre,
Medere
Middrih
Art
Ge
Ge
Airtha
Erdu
Erde
Jerde
Hardi
Eere, Erde
Jerde, Yrtrik
Eerde, Wroll
Aerde, Eertryke,
1270
Jord
Jord, Jera
Yurn
Jord
Jord, Jordriki
Jord
Tord
Eortha
Eorth, Yearth
Italamh, Thallamh,
Talu
Talamh, Dtalm-
huin
Tallu
Talmhin
Ddaear
Nore
Duar, Dovar
Urtu)
Terra, Tellus
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Tiarra
Terraz
Terra
Sicilian
Sardinian
Spanish
Castilian
Catalonian
Galician
Portuguese
Romanish
Provencal
French
Beamish
Rovergne
Flanders
Walloon
Wallachian
Dacian
Cutzo- Walla¬
chian
15. Cantabrian
16. Sclavic
Sclavonian
Russian Church
Common Rus¬
sian
Malo-Russian
Susdalian
Servian
Ushok
Ragusan
Transylvanian
Scl.
Croatian
South Wendish
Hungaro- Wen-
dish
Polish
Kashuhish
Bohemian
Serbian, Upper
Lusatia
Serbian, Lower
Lusatia
Polabish, 1691
Lithuanian
Old Prussian
Prusso-Lithua-
Heaven, Sky.
Celu [Quelu
Cel, Chelo,
Cielo
Cel
Ceo
Ceo
Ciel, Tshiel
Cel
Ciel
Ceou
Cel
Ciel
Cir
Tsheri, Czelurg
Cerio
Sseru
Nebesi
Nebd
Nebo
Nebo
Nebesse
Nebbu
Earth.
Terra
Terra
Tierra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terra
Terre
Terro
Terro
Terre
Ter
Pamentiv
Pimchita
Lurre
Semli
Semlfi
Zemla
Zemla
Semli
Semgli
Language.
Nibe {Bread,Vvdb)
Nebi, Nebiesi Semlji
Nebi
Nebi
Niebie
Nebo
Nebi, Wnebi
Niebiu
Nebu
Nibis, Nebui
Semli, Krai
Semi
Siemie
Ziemie
Semi
Semi
Semi
Ssime
Delbes, Dangon Semie, Worsinny
Debsissa, Danguje Zemes, Sjemes
man
Polono-Lithua- Danguose
nian
Crivingian Dangus
Lettish Proper Debbes
Ziame, Ziames
Zemme
Semmes, Zemmo
III. TATARIC CLASS,
i. Sporadic Order.
17. Tshudish
Finnish
Olonetzish
Carelish
Esthonian
Livonian
Laplandish
18. Hungarian
19. Albanian
Calabro-Alban.VXnAwz
Siculo-Alban. Chiex
Taiwas
Taiwag
Taiwag, Taivazh
Taewas
Tauwis
Almen, Almism,
Tsiatse
Menny, Meneg
Kiel, Kielt
Maa
Ma
Mua, Miia
Ma
Maal
Aednemen
Fold, Fjeld, Mezon
Zee, Sje, Be
De
Dee
LANGUAGE,
75
ja#e.
ii. Caucasian Order*
20. Armenian
21. Georgian
Imirettish
Mingrelish
Suanetish
Tushetic
Abassan
Kush Hasib
22
Alti Kesek
23. Circassian
Cabardinish
24. Ossetish
Dugorish
25. Kistic
26. Lesgian
Ch unsag
Avaric
Dido
Kasi Kumiik
Andi
Akushan
Kubeshan
Kalalatish
Heaven, Sky.
Hierkins, Girkin,
Ergink
Tza, Zata
Tshash
{Bread, Tshkomi)
Tsah
{Bread, Mak)
Agughan, Ashnan
{Bread, Tshakua
Makua)
{Bread, Mikel)
Wuafa
Phemeh {Bread,
Arv, Arwi
Arf
Sigelich, Stuigley
Zo, Zob
Zuv
Zub, Zuv
Sur
Teshin
{Bread, Katz,
Zub [Zulhe)
Reshin
Earth.
Hierkri, Gerkrii,
Erkir, Tap, Hu~
och
Sze, Miza, Kwe-
Dikha [kara
Dicha
Gim
Jobste
Astula, Tshiiliah
Tula
Tzula
Tshi, Jaethae
Tshach)
Tshigit, Segh, Stil
Gukh
Late, Mezha,
Ghumm
Rati
Bak
Tshedo
Kerki
Misa, Bisa, Tshur
Mussa, Musseka
Muza
Unshi
iii. Tartarian Order.
27. Turco-Tar-
T A RIAN
Caspian
Turkish
Bucharian
Crimean
Nogaic
Cumanish
Kasanish
Mestsheretskic
Bashkiric
Tobolskic
Kirgishic
Tarary
Tomskic
Turetish
Tshulimic
Jeniseic
Kuznetic
Barabish
Usbek, Chivinic
Teleutic
Jakutic
Tshuwashic
Mongol
Burattish
Calmuck
Tagurian
28. Mantshuric
Sagalien
Corean
29. Tungusic
Gug, Kiokler, Chi-
ojler
Telek, Asman,
Kukliar
Gug, G h iogh, C h ok,
Kok
Kuk, Heda
Kuk, Kek, Kik
Kuk, Tengeri, Sa-
Kuk [mob
Kuk, Ava
Auva, Asman
Kiuk, Asman
Auva, Asman
Kok, Asman
Gkiok, Gioch
Tengri
Tengeri-
Tengeri
Asman, Hava
Asman
Tegir, Tengeri
Tagara, Chaltan
Piillu, Pilt, Sunda-
Tingri [liik
Tingeri
Octorgoi
Tengri
Abka, Appia
Hurara (/Jay, Jang-
sey)
Hanel, Tshen
Negdau, Nian,
Dshiulbka
Nertshinic
Jeniseic T.
Mangazeic T.
Barguzinskic
Angarian
Jakutic T.
Ochotskic
Lamutic
Tshapogiric
Heaven, Sky.
Tingeri, Nengne,
Nengne [Nai
Nangna
Nengna
Nengne
Nengne, Nenone
Nan
Nana
Negie
Earth.
Turu
Dunda
Tukala
Dunne
Tukalagda
Dundra
Tor
Tuor
Dunda
Language.
iv. Siberian Order.
30. Permian Olaniin, Kumar Ma, Mu
Sirjanish Jen esh, Nebus Mu
Wotiak Wiilvin, Kiildenju- Muslim, Sioi
mar, In, Immun,
Tslim kiid
Jer, Gyr, Kher,
Ber
Zamin, Chak, Jus-
jurd
Gier
Er, Toprak
Jer
Ger, Ars
Jer
Jer, Dzhir
Irjo, Gir, Jir
Dzher
Jir
Jer
Toprak
Jer
Tobrak, Dzhir
Jer, Tsher, Toprak
Der
Jer, Toprak
Cir, Jer, Toprak
Sirr, Jeme, Bor
Sir, Ser
Dere,Gadzar, Shiroi
Gazar
Gasar, Ertjajaze
Kaaziar
Na
Ki?
Endra, Dunda, Tor
31. Wogulic Eterdarum
Tshussovic Tarom, Nair
Verchoturic Numma
Tsherdymic Tul
Berezovan W. Soum
32. Ostiak Nopkon
Berezovan O. Nomen, Numto-
rem, Saika
Nusunde
Ninniik
Num torom
Torom, Jom
Lom
33. Tsheremissic Kiusiuluste, Kush-Ijulmin, Melentes-
na juma, Pil, Pil ta, Rok, Mlande,
pundash, Joma, Mulens, Ziintiu-
Tiinja lek
Manel, Werepass, Master, Moda
Manen
Shkai
Narymic
Joganic
Lumpokolic O.
Vashuganskan
Tazian
34. Morduin
Maanku
Ma
Ma
Ma
Mag
Jogodt
Mug, Mil
Mug
Milch
Much
Tagai
Tshvotsh
Moktanic
35. Teptjerai
36. Samojedic
Archangel
Pustozerskan
Oby
Juratshic
Mangazeic S.
Tawgish
Master, Moda
Numilembarti Jae
Nunara Ja
Num, Nomiin Joii, Ma, Mogh
Nub Ja
Podassie Da
Nuonto, Nuon, Mamoru
Ngoa, Noa
Turucanish Na, Teiga Ja, Baddu
Tomskic S. Nom fiinde, Lom Tuetsh
Narymic S. Tit Tuetsh
Ketish Tita Tuetsh
Timskic Tit Tiitsh
Caragassic Tit, Tere Tiitsh, Dsha
37. Camashic Num, Ti urach Dsha, Dzhu
Taigish Numuidi Dzha
Koibalic Num Dshu, Dzhu
Motoric Orgochairachan, Dsha, Dzha
Num
38. Jeniseiostiak
Arinic Oes Peng
Kotovic Eish, Eish pa rang Pang
Assanic Oesh Pang
Inbatshic Es Bang, Bach
Lumpokolic J. Etsh B*ng
39. Jukadshiric Dsjunga, Zjugo, Leviangh, Lewjie
Kundshu
40. Koriac Kh’igan, Cherwol, Nutolut, Nutelchan
Chaan,Eiaan, Jan
Kolymic Chain
Tigilic K. Kiisha Nutelchan
76
LANGUAGE.
Language.
Heaven, Sky. Earth.
Karaginic Shilchen Niutiniut
Tshutshic Keh’quin, Chervol, Nultenut, Nuna
Chiternik, Killak,
Ging, Keilak
(Greenland
and Eski-
maux)
41. Kamtshatkan Kochan, Hai
Tigilic K. Keis
Srednish Kochal, Kollaa
Jozhnyshic Kogal
Nuna
Simmt, Nuta
Semtiishimta
Summit
4)2. CuRILEE
43. Eastern
Islands
44. Japanese
45. Leu Cheu
46. Formosan
47. Philippine
Moluccan
Magindanao
Tagalish
Bissayish
Sulu
Bugis
Mungharar
Pelew
Mariana
Friendly Isl.
Coco Islands
Savu
Pampang
New Guinea
New Britain
Bima
Sumbawa
48. New Hol¬
land, E.
49. Van Die¬
men’s Land
50. New Cale¬
donian
51. New Zea¬
land
Otaheite
Marquesas
Sandwich Isl.
52. Easter Isl.
v. Insular Order.
Niss Kotan
Inkak Tshekak
Ten Tsatsmo, Cino, Ci,
Tji, Dsi
Dianni Zudshi
Vullum, Tounnoun Nay, Nai
Languin, Surga Buchit, Dunga
Langit Lopa
Langit Lupa, Tana
Langit Yuta
{Day, Aso; Sun, Tana
Mataso)
{Day, Alo; Sun, Butta
Matalo)
Yangley {Day, Kokuhk ; Bad, Mogull)
Languit Tano
Elandshi {Food, Tuguta
Maa)
{Food, Maa) Kille
Liruh Vorai. Rai
Labuad
Bar Taar. Behoul
Nabagr ?
{Sun, Mataliro) Dana
{Sun, Matahari) Bumi
Kere Poapoa, Popo
{Father, Bina)
Ndaoe
Guiahse. Do
{Bread^ex-, Bad, Uenua
Kino)
Erai {Food, Maa ; Hwennua
Bad, I no)
Tahua, Hani Hwenua
Harani {Bad, Ino) Motu
{Father, Mama) Soupe, Henua
IV. AFRICAN CLASS.
Nouba, B.
Bishareen, B.
Adareb, Salt
Argubba
Massowah
Arkeeko, Salt
SuAKIN
Shiho, Salt
Takue, Salt
Barea, Salt
Mutshuana,
Salt
Brioua, Salt
Shangalla, Salt
Darmitchequa
Tacazze
Makooa, Salt
Monjou, Salt
Sowauli, Salt
Somauli, Salt
Hurrur, Salt
Galla
Adaiel, Salt
Danakil, Salt
Dungolish
Bornou, Burck-
hardt
Borgo, Burck-
hardt
Darfur
(Amharic) Salt
(Tigre) Salt
Agow, Salt
Tsheraz A.
Damot A.
Gafat
Falasha
Soudan
Begirma
Fulah
Phellata
Yalofs
Berber
Egyptian
Coptic, Mem-
phitic
Sahidic, The¬
baic
Bashmuric
Oasitic
Barabrish
Kensy, Burck-
hardt
Phe
Pe
Pe
Szemma
Semeyg {Day,
Ougresk)
Kahi
Kahe, Kah
Kehi
Iskitta
Aryd
Canary
Tibbo
Shilluh
Sivah
Sereres
Serrawallis
Mandingo
Yallonka
SOKKO
Felups
Heaven, Sky.
Sema {Day, Aly)
Otryk {Day, Toy)
{Day, Ombe)
{Father, Anathien; Head, Dimmaha)
(2, Killot; 3, Szalis)
kswxx {Shy} {Day, Midur
Ummet)
(2, Kille; 3, Selass)
Tebre Wuhash
Aroan Baru
{Man, Grua; Water, Ane)
{Man, Ookooi; Water, Umba)
(0, Let chachi; Lehachi
5 , Wirri) See Beetjuana
(1, Oonchela, 3, Taroo, Miraroo)
Earth.
Gourka
Tobut
Language.
Goza, Shy (©, Enniah
Woka; ]), Beja
Quegah, *$% (©, Hitgga
Wah ; d , Terah)
(©, E-zoo-ah; E-la-poo
j), Mare)
( ©, D”yoova; j , Mooze
Mooeize)
[” a catch or click]
(1, Chemo-je; 3, Ma-da-too)
(©, Ghur-rah; D , Tai-ya; 1, K’ow;
3, Sud-de)
Semme (©, Eer; ]),
Werke; 1, Ahad)
Ivaq(©, Adda;]) ,
Dje-a, Ba-te, S.)
(©, Airo ; ]) ,
Al-sa)
Am-boo re, Shy,
Szemma ( ©, Ayero ;
]), Al-sa, Berra)
Perg
Di-che
Laf-fa, S.
Ba-ro
Arde, Barroo
Arikha
Tsedy
Sema {Day, Deal- Berr
ka)
Szemma(©,Dule; Suru, Szura
]), Doal, SaU)
(©, Tsai; ]), Mider
Tckerka)
(©, Tsai; ]), Midre
Werke)
(©, Quo-rah ; ]), Er-wah) Ziv-va
{King, Negumani; Song, Mossagan)
{King, Negus; Song, Mazena)
{King, Negus ; Song, Aedje)
(©, Kuara; Song, Baze)
(1, Deja ; 3, Oku)
(1, Kidde; 3, Metta)
Hyalla Lehidy
Szemma Lissedi
Assaman SoufFe
Ginna, Tigot, Igna Doonit, Akal
(©, Tafogt)
Titogan, Ataman {King, Monsey)
(1, Trono ; 3, Aguesso)
Berr
(©, Atfuet)
(©, Itfuet)
Rogue Lanceh
(1, Bani; 3, Sicco)
Santo Banko, Binku
Margetangala (1, Kidding)
Bandee (1, Kiille)
(1, Enory ; 3, Sisajee)
lliguage.
LANGUAGE.
77
' Timmaney,
Winterb.
Bullam
Susu
Fetu
Kanga
Mangkee
Gien
Quoja
Fante
Akripon
Amina
Akkim
Akra
Tambi
Whydah
Papua
Watje
Calbra
Camacons
C. Lobo Gonsal
vas
Loango
Congo
Angola
Mandongo
Camba
Angola,
Hervas
Karabari
Ibo
Mokko
Wawu
Tembu
Krepeer
Assianthes
Kassenti
(Bornu)?
Affadeh
Mobba
Shilluh
(Darfur)
Darrunga
(Gallas)
Shaggai
Madagascar
Lagoa Bay
Koossa
Beetjuanas
Mutshuana
South
Caffres
Hottentots
Coranas
Saldanha Bay
Bosjemans
Heaven, Sky.
(1, Pin ; 3, Pisaas)
Earth.
Foy (1, Bui, Nimbul; 3,
Rah, Ninraa, Wint.) Upock Leh
Araiani Bohhe
Araiani Aradde
Nesua (1, Aniandu)
Tata {Head, Tri)
Lam (1, Do)
(King, Dondag; Head,
Hunde)
Niame Assasse
Aduankam (1, Ehoo)
Jankombum (1, Akkun)
Jahinne (Head, Metih)
Ngoi, Jankombum ? Sipong
Giom (Father, Tshiah;
Head, li)
(1, De; 3, Otton)
Jiwel (1, Depoo)
(1, De ; 3, Etong)
(1, Barre; 3, Terre)
(1, Mo ; 3, Melella)
(King, Sauepongo ;
Bad, Mondello)
Iru(l,Boosse ; 3, Tattu)
Sullo Toto
Maulu, Beulu Boxi, Toto ?
Sambiampungo (1, Om-
ma; 3, Metatu)
Julo (1, Moski)
Monte Aamano
Elukwee (1, Otuh)
Tshukko, Ellu (1, Otuh)
Ibanju (1, Kia)
Barriadad (1, Baba)
So (1, Kuddum)
(Bread, Apohae ;
Head, Ota)
(Bread, Abodo; Head,
Otri)
Ktak (I, Obaa)
Dilko Ftiing
Szemma Barr
(1, Warre; 3, Koddus)
(1, Kadenda; 3, Attih)
(Soldier, Gonso)
Danghitsi, Langhitsi, Tane, Tanne,
Lainch, Atemco Zanne
(1, Chingea; 3, Trira-
rou)
Isuhlu Umtsllaha
Maaro Lehaatsi
(1, Oonchela; 3, Ta- Lebochi
roo, Miraroo)
(1, Enje ; 3, Atatu,
Zintate)
Inga ?
(1, T”’kbey)
Homma
T”gachuch
Ki, Koo, Qu’au
Gamkamma
T”kehaub
Hu
T”kanguh
part and the back part of the palate : they are respectively Language.
denoted by T, T” and T”’. The first two appear to re-" 
semble the sounds sometimes used to express a trifling
vexation, and to make a horse go on, or to call to poultry.
V. AMERICAN CLASS,
i. South American.
A. Southern Extremity
1. Terra del Fuego
2. Patagonia, Chili
Moluchan. Araukan
Heaven, Sky.
(A. Penguin, Com-
poggre)
Tehuelhet
Puelche
B. E. from R. Plata to
Maranon
3. Charrua
4. Yaro
5. Bohane
6. Ghana
7. Minuane
8. Guenoa
9. Karigua
10. Guarany
South
West
North. Tupi, Brazil Ibaca
C. E. of Paraguay
11. Brazilian dialects
Common
Huenu(©, Antu ;
Hill, Calul)
(Hill, Calille)
(Hill, Casu)
Earth.
Tue mapu
Ibag, (0, Cuarazi) Ibi
Ibi
Kiriri
Curumare
Forty-nine others
unknown.
D. W. of Paraguay
12. Aquiteguedichaga
13. Guato
14. Ninaquiguila
15. Guana
16. Mbaya, Guaikur Titipi guime
17. Payagua
18. Lenguas
19. Enimaga
20. Gulentuse
21. Yacurure
22. Machikuy
23. Mataguaya
24. Malhalae
25. Pitilaga
26. Toba
27. Abipon
28. Mocoby
29. Aguilot
30. Chumipy
31. Yilela
32. Lule
E. Coast of Peru
33. Quichua
(O, Arassu ; 1, Gipi; 3, Bu-
sapu ; 4, Busapu munan gipi;
6, Busapu sapu Arndt)
Arakie Bu
(God, Aunim) Rada
Jego
Piguem
Ipigem
I piguem
Laue
Zo (God, Ano)
Alua
Aaloa,Aaloba
Aloba
Basle
Ama, A.
The Hottentots have three particular clicking sounds,
made by withdrawing the tongue from the teeth, the fore
34. Aymara
35. Puquina
Hanacpacha; Ha- Caypacha,
nac? (G, Inti) Cay? Allpa
Alapacha, Alai Acaphan,Aca?
Urakke
Hanigo Cohua
78
LANGUAGE.
Language.
Heaven, Sky.
Anguic
Guiate
Ape
Anamocu
Benrra
Idah
Numane ?
Euocuepana
36. Yunka Mo
chika
F. East of Peru
37. Samuca
38. Chiquitos
39. Moxos
40. Mobirai
41. Cayubabi
42. Itonami
43. Sapiboconi
44. Heresibocana
45. Canesiana
46. Pana
47. Rema
48. Pira
G. East of Quito, on
the Maranon
49. Aquanos, Xe-
beros
50. Mainas Inapa
51. Yameos Arresiuma
52. Omagua, Yu- Ehuatemai
rumagua
53. Yahua; 100
Earth.
Capuc
Numitie, Nup
Aaqui, Quiis
Kiere, Motehi
Yanlo, Llacamba
Idatu
Nicosnone ?
Mechi
Isse
Popo
Tuvuca
more
H. From R. Negro
to Oronoco
54. Maipuri Eno
55. Salivi Mume
56. Guaivi, Ciricoa
57. Achagua
I. About Casanare
58. Yarura Ande
59. Betoi Ubu, Tentucu
60. Situfa, Girari
61. Ottomak Caga
62. Guama, Gua-
Peni
Ada ? Seke ?
Dabu
Umena ? Ajao ?
DafTbu
Poga
nen
K. North Coast
63. Tamanac
64. Arawac
Cap
Aijumun, Kas-
sakku
Nono
Wunabu
Oubecou
Capou
65. Carib
Yaoi
Islands
L. Mountains in f Men
the N. W. ^ Women
66. Muysca
67. Kiminzac
68. Popaya
69. Darien
Monha
Soye
Nonum
Monha
(O Sua; Man, Muysca)
(O Nie; Cupego: 3, Pauquah)
ii. Middle American.
A. Islands
1. St Domingo (Field, Conuco; Meadow, Savana:
House, Boa; Bread, Casabi)
B. Darien to Gua-
timala
2. Kiche, Utlate-
ca
3. Poconchic Taxah (©, Quih ; Acal, VIeu
Head, Na;
Hand, Cam ;
Bad, Tseri)
4. Yucatan,Ma- (©, Kin; Hand, Luam
ya, Caanne Cab)
C. Table-Land of
Mexico
5. Mixtecan
6. Totonacan
Heaven, Sky.
Andihui, Andi
Tiayan, Acapon,
Acapaian (I,
Tom; 3, Toto)
7. Mexican, Az- Ilhuicatl (©, To-
tekan natiuh ; 1, Ce ;
3, Yei)
8. Huastecan Tiaeb (q, Aqui-
cha; Head, Na)
9. Othomi Mahetzi
10. Mechoacan
11. Pirindan Pininte
12. Tarascan Avandaro (1, Ma ;
D. California to Ri
del Norte
13. Coran Tahapoa
14. Tepehuana,
Topia
15. Tubar Tegmecarichui
16. Tarahumaran Guami? Bad,
Tseti; Dog, Co-
cotshi)
17. Zuaquan, Ya- Tevecapo
qui
Titauacatum ? (I,
Ani; 1, Mato ;
3, Walk)
Tevictze ?
Tequiaca ?
Earth.
Nuunaihui,
Nunai
Nitiet ?
Lan<nia
Tlalli
Tzabal
Chimohoi, Hoy
3, Tanimo)
Chuehti
Nuniguatae
Gue
18. Pima
Buyapo
Inatuburch ?
19. Eudeve
20. Opata
Yuhtepatz ;
Terepa ?
hi. North American.
A. N. W. of New
Mexico
1. Jetan, Apache
2. Keres, Moqui
B. About California
3. Pericu
4. Waicuric Tekericadatemba Datemba
(©,Ibo, Ibunga;
}), Gomma,
Ganehma)
5. Cochimi, Lay- Ambayujui, Am- Keammete,
•Tion being Amet, Amete-
tenang
C. N. of California
6. St Barbara (Head, Necchu ; 1, Paca; 3, Mapja)
7. Eslene Imita (©, Toraanis ashi; 1, Pek ; 3,
- Julep)
8. Runsien Terray (©, Orpetuei istmen ; 1, En-
jala; 3, Kappes)
9. Achastlien (1, Moukola ; 3, Capes)
10. Ecclemach (1, Pak; 3, Ullef)
D. About Nootka
11. Nootka Sound Nas, Inaihl nas (©, Opulsthl; 1, Tsa-
wak; 3, Catsa)
12. Atnah ( fFbfer, Shaweliquoih ; Head, Scapa-
cay)
13. friendly Vil- (Water, Ulkan; Fire, Neach)
lage
14. Queen Char- (Fire, Tesh ; 1, Sounchou; 3, Sl5o-
lotte’s Island nis)
15. Colushan Ki, Keu, Kiiwa, Tljaknak, Tlatka,
Kitani, Kugon, Tlekw, Tka,
Chaaz Shu, Tlinki-
taannii
(Stone, Te ; Mex. Tetl)
LANGUAGE.
age. Heaven, Sky. Earth.
16. Ugaljachmuzi Koas (7%roa£, Katkatl; Mex. Cocotl.
“ BoU, Coatk ; Mex. Coxitia”)
17. Tshinkitany (0, Krane ; 1, Clerg, Kaike ; 3, Notshk,
Netx)
18. Kinaizi Jujan, Juon, Jugan An, Altnen,
AJslen
E. W. of Missis¬
sippi
>9. Blaekfooted (1, Tokes-cum; 3, Nohokescum)
Indian
Blood Indian, Began
20. Tall Indian (1, Karci; 3, Narce ; 4, Nean)
21. Sussee (1, Ut-te-gar; 3, Taukey ; 4, Tobo)
22. Snake Indian
23. Nadowessian Uohta tibi (0, Paeta; ]) , Oweeh)
Assinopoetuc (Dog, Shong ; 4, Tope)
Sioux
24. Saki, Ottoga-
rni Menomene
25. Osage ( Wind, Tattasuggy ; '(Brothers, Tinai-
tauna ?])
Winnibeg, Maha
Missouri, Oto
Arkansa, Kanze
26. Pani
27. Caddo, Nat-
shitotshe
28. Adaize, Atta-
hapa
F. W. of Mississip¬
pi, to Ohio
29. Floridan, A- (Agreeable, Hitanachi; Priests, Jaoiia)
pal ache
(My, Na ; Elder Brother, Niha ; 1, Mi-
necotamano; 3, Nahapumirna)
(O, Oua, chill)
(©, Hashseh, Hu- Ecaunnauh
sa; 1, Hommai, 3,
Tootshena)
(O, Hashe, Hasce ; Yahkane
1, Chephpha; 3,
Tootshena)
(0, Eusse, Anantoge calesta; Fire,
Cheela; 1, Soquo)
(©> D, Witapare; Water, Eau; 1,
Tonne; 3, Nammee)
(©> D> Nooteeh; Water, Ejau)
37. Six Nations Karongiage, Cauroun- Oo-hon-cha,
kyawga, Kaaron- Owhoncheat,
hiate, Toendi Ahunga,
Ohunjea,
Uchwuntskia,
Ondeehra
30. Timuacan
31. Natshes
32. Muskohge,
Creek
33. Chikkasaw
Choktaw
34. Cherokee
35. Woccon
36. Katahba
Mohawk
Seneka
Onondago
Oneida
Cayuga
Tuscarora
(Fire, Ocheeleh)
(Dog, Chierha)
42. Miami, Illi¬
nois
43. Kikkapoo
44. Piankashaw
45. Pottawata-
meh
46. Delaware
47. Minsi
48. Sankikani
49. New Sweden
50. Narraganset
Natik
51. New England
52. Abenagui
53. Mohegan
Heaven, Sky. Earth.
Kechekoue (©,]), Kil- Akihkeoue
swoa; Tooth, Neepeetah)
(O? D > Kishessu)
79
Language.
(Tooth, Webit)
Acoossagame Tooth,
Weepeet)
Achquidhack-
amicke, Agi,
Hogkey
(Tooth, Wichpit)
( Tooth, Wypyt)
“ Hocque’' (Flesh, Jos)
[Hocque
Keesuck (3, Nish) Aucke
Kesuk (3, Nishnoh) Ohke
( Tooth, Mepeteis ; 3, Nis)
Spummuck (Tooth,
Weepeetan)
Hacki, Nohn-
key
Megamingo
Aukuin
Nindohockee
Ackouin, Acke
Messe asky
( D » Hatshe-nyahah ; Water, Auweau ;
Dog, Cheeth)
G. W. of Hudson’s
Bay, and S.
W.
38. Chippeway of (Tooth, Tibbit, Wibit; 3, Taghee ;
Del. 4, Neon, Nea)
39. Delaware ( Tooth, Weepeet)
40. Algonkin Mo- (Tooth, Tibit; 4, Neou)
began
41. Shawanno Spimiki (Tooth, Ne- Assiskie
Pampticough pittalleh)
54. Penobscot ( Tooth, Weebeetah)
55. Souriquois Ouajek (©, Kissis ;
Tooth, Nebidie)
56. Micmic Oaiok
57. E. Chippeway Speminkakuin
58. Messisauger (O, Keeshoo)
59. N. Algonkin Spiminkakuin
60. Knistenaux (O, Pisim ;
Head, Us-ti-quoin; 4, Neway)
61. Nehetawa (4, Naou)
62. Skoffie (Head, Mestichee)
63. Mountanee (Head, Teekechee)
64. W. Chepewy- (0, D , Sah ; Head, Ed-thie)
an Mack.
65. Nagail (Head, Thie)
66. Hudson’s Bay (Head, Tenet thie)
Islands
H. North Coasts
67. Greenland Killang, Killak Nona
(©, Ajut, Seckanach ; j , Annin-
gat; 1, Attausek; 3, Pingasut)
68. Eskimaux Taktuck, Nabugakshe (©, Sukkinuch ;
j), Tatcock)
69. Tshugassic Kodak Nuna
70. Norton Sound (Hand, Aishet; 1, Adowjack; 3, Pin-
gashook)
(71.) Tshuktshe Keilak Nuna
71. Jakutat Kilag Nuna
72. Konage, Kad- Killach (Hand, Aiget; Nuna
jak, I. or Kikhtak 1, Alchallack ; 3, Pingaic)
The tables will at least serve, notwithstanding some im¬
perfections and uncertainties, as a convenient synopsis for
facilitating the reference to a brief sketch of the history of
the different families of languages.
1. The strongest proof of the great antiquity of the Chi¬
nese language appears to be the extreme simplicity of its
structure, and the want of those abbreviations and conven¬
tional implications which have been sometimes called the
wings of languages. It is natural that, in attempting to
express ideas at once by characters, the rude pictures of
material objects should first have been principally, if not
exclusively traced; thus the Egyptians had ©, j) for the
sun and moon, and 0 for a country or field, and the Chi¬
nese have still Q # ^ ©for these objects respective¬
ly, the characters having been made square instead of
LANGUAGE.
80
Language, round, which some of them were in their more ancient
''“"■'v'-’—' forms. The Egyptians represented a man by a figure
kneeling, and stretching out his hand, or, in the enchorial
character, thus p. The Chinese figure may originally
have been of the same form ; but at present is more like a
pair of legs only, , whilst a dog seems to have three or
four legs; or ^. A thousand, according to Mr
Jomard’s ingenious conjecture, was copied from the lotus,
with its seed vessel, having a great multitude of seeds, and
the Chinese ^ is certainly not altogether unlike the
Egyptian JT,, nor is the character for light , which
seems intended to represent a radiant body, altogether dif¬
ferent from the or so often found among the
hieroglyphics of Egypt, although it is not easy to believe,
with Mr Palin, that the manuscripts found with the mum¬
mies agree precisely with a Chinese version of the Psalms
of David, character for character. The successive intro¬
duction of figurative expressions and characters may easily
be imagined ; but it would be useless to enter at present
into further details of this kind, on grounds almost entirely
speculative. The Chinese are said to have been, in the
ninth century, a race of people resembling the Arabs;
their physiognomy was contaminated in the thirteenth and
fourteenth by a mixture with their conquerors, the Mon¬
gols ; but their language remained unaltered. The dia¬
lect of Tonkin is sometimes called the language of Anam,
and the Guan ; on occasions of state they use the Chi¬
nese character, but more commonly a character of their
own, probably resembling that of the Siamese. Dr Ley¬
den observes, that at least twenty different nations employ
the Chinese characters, though they read them quite dif¬
ferently ; and he considers the Cochin-Chinese, the Can¬
tonese, and the Japanese, as all essentially different from
the Mandarin Chinese, though they have all some words
in common. He gives us as the names of the dialects of
Chinese, constituting almost as many separate languages,
1, Kong, spoken at Canton ; 2, Way; 3, Nam ; 4, Chew;
5, Sew; 6, Lui; 7, Limm; 8, Khum, or Mandarin ;
9, Siu ; 10, Kunng ; 11, Hyong san, spoken at Macao;
12, San tahk ; 13, Nam kei ; 14, Pun ngi; 15, Tong khun ;
16, Fo khun, or Chinchow. There is also a language
spoken by the Quan to, between Tonkin and China, a
people who consider themselves as more ancient than their
neighbours. Notwithstanding, however, all this supposed
diversity, we may trace a considerable resemblance in the
spoken language, even as far as Corea. In all these dia¬
lects, the conversation is a sort of recitative, and the differ¬
ent notes give distinct meanings to the words ; as in fact we
distinguish in English the sense of M ? from M ! or sim¬
ply M.; tones perfectly understood, though never written.
The Chinese are without the sound of the letter r, and se¬
veral other sounds common in Europe ; the only way in
which they express foreign words is by putting together
the characters of the nearest import, with a symbol of pro¬
nunciation annexed to them ; thus, for Christus and Car-
dinalis, they are obliged to write Ki lu su tu su and Kia
ulfi na li su, with a mouth annexed to them. The names
of places are generally distinguished by a square enclosing
the characters which express them, and the names of men,
in some books, by a line drawn on one side of the charac¬
ters only. .In this there seems to be a distant analogy to
the ring which encloses proper names in the Egyptian in- Language,
scriptions, but the names of places were not distinguished .
in this manner by the Egyptians. The dialects of Cam¬
bodia and Laos have received some mixture of Malayan
from their neighbours; in writing the former of these,
sometimes called K'hohmen, according to Dr Leyden,
the Bali, or old Sanscrit character, is employed; and the
latter has some analogy with the Siamese; indeed, both ,
the Siamese and the Avanese are disposed to derive them¬
selves from Laos. It may be seen, from the specimens
exhibited in the article Philology, that at least some
of the Chinese dialects have sounds agreeing in several
instances with European words of the same import; but
the agreement is scarcely precise enough to justify our
inferring from it an original connection between the lan¬
guages.
2. The language of Siam resembles the Chinese in its
simplicity and metaphorical structure, though not so de¬
cidedly monosyllabic. It is obvious, however, that the
distinction of monosyllabic and polysyllabic could not, in
very ancient times, have been so positively laid down as
at present, since it was usual, in almost all countries, to
write the words contiguous to each other in a continued
series, without any divisions between them ; and, even
in modern printing, there is a happy invention, which of¬
ten restores this agreeable obscurity, under the name of
a hyphen, by the use of which we avoid the difficulty of
determining whether we wish to employ one word or se¬
veral. The Siamese call themselves T'hay ; and a part
of their country is distinguished by the appellation Tai
hai, or Great T’hay. The numerals resemble the Man¬
darin Chinese ; several words of the language are borrow¬
ed from the Bali; it is written in an alphabetical charac¬
ter, which is said to be complicated and refined.
3. The Avanese or Burmanish, has also borrowed some
polysyllabic words from the Bali, and is written in a pecu¬
liar alphabetical character. It must be considered as an
era in the history of this country, that its emperor has
employed Mr Felix Carey, at his own expense, to esta¬
blish a printing press at Ava, his metropolis, for printing
a translation of the Scriptures in Burmanish. A dialect,
spoken in the district called Tanengrari, is said to be of
greater antiquity. The Mon or Peguan is called by Dr
Leyden a distinct original language ; but it is written in
the Avanese character, and Adelung’s specimen scarcely
differs at all from the Burmanish. The language of Ara-
kan and Rashaan is called Rukheng ; it contains a number
of words from the Bali, many of them converted into mo¬
nosyllables by an imperfect pronunciation. Dr Leyden
considers it as the connecting link between the monosyl¬
labic and the polysyllabic languages ; and he calls it an
original language, notwithstanding its acknowledged de¬
rivation from its neighbours. It employs the Devanagri
alphabet, including the letter r. Out of fifty words of
Rukheng, quoted by Buchanan, the seven which are not
Burman are only varieties of pronunciation. The Kiayn
or Kolun, and the Kukis, north-east of Chatigong, are
mentioned as neighbouring tribes, speaking languages al¬
most entirely different from the Rukheng. We find, in
Mr Buchanan’s paper, some specimens of the languages
of the Burma empire, which it is difficult to distribute
methodically without a further knowledge of their pecu¬
liar characters, but some of which may, without impro¬
priety, be introduced here.
Earth.
Myammaw, in {Head, Kaung; Wind, Myacgee
Burma Lae)
Yakain, in Ara- ( Wind, Lee)
kan
Tanaynthoree
Yo
{Stone, Kionkag)
LANGUAGE.
81
Tuage.
-Y' '
Moitag, near
Assam
Roloun, or
Kiayn
Kurayn or Kaloon
Passooko
Maploo
Play
Earth.
(ZTeac?, Kop, Kok ; ©, Leipauk
Noomeet)
{Head, Multoo ; ©, Ko- Dag
nee)
{Head, Kozohui; ©, Katchaykoo
Moomag)
{Head, Kohuin ; ©, Moo) Kolanghoo
{Head, Kohui, Pokochui; Kako, Lau-
©, Mooi, Moomag) koo
Hindu of Burma
Rooinga {Head, Mata; ©, Bel) Kool
Rossawn, Ara- {Head, Mustek ; ©, Soo- Murtiha
kan ja)
Banga, or Ay- {Head, Teekgo ; ©, Bayl- Matee
hoba lee)
4. The language of Thibet, or the Tangutish, has
some words in common with the Chinese, but is less sim¬
ple in its structure. It is at least as ancient as the reli¬
gion of the country, which is nearly coeval with Christi¬
anity. Its character is well known to be alphabetical,
from the title of the learned work of Father Georgi on
the subject.
5. The Indo-European languages have been referred to
a single class, because every one of them has too great-a
number of coincidences with some of the others to be
considered as merely accidental, and many of them in
terms relating to objects of such a nature that they must
necessarily have been, in both of the languages compared,
rather original than adoptive. The Sanscrit, which is
confessedly the parent language of India, may easily be
shown to be intimately connected with the Greek, the
Latin, and the German, although it is a great exaggera¬
tion to assert any thing like its complete identity with
either of these languages. Thus, we find, within the
compass of the Lord’s Prayer only, Pida, Pitir, among
the Sanscrit terms for Father, Gr. Pater ; Nama, or Na-
madheya, for Name, Gr. Onoma, Onomati; Radshiam,
Kingdom, Lat. Regnum from Rego ; Munasam, Will, like
the Greek Meniio, and the Latin Mens ; Stira, Earth, Gr.
Era, whence perhaps the Latin Terra; and Danim, or
Devanagri Dia, Day, Lat. Dies. There are also some
singular resemblances of declension and conjugation be¬
tween the Sanscrit and the Greek, Dodami, Dodasti, Do-
dati; in old Greek, Didomi, Didosi, Didoti. In a tablet
of the date 23 b. c. we find Kritico for a Judge, Gr. Cri-
tes, Criticos. In Mr Townsend’s work we also find some
well-selected instances of resemblance between the Sans¬
crit and other languages : thus, Bhru, is Brow ; Pota, a
Boat; Bad, a Bath, Germ. Bad; Dhara, Terra ; Nava,
Novus ; Nakta, Node, Night; Pad, Foot, Patte ; Pratha-
ma or Protoma, first, whence we deduce both the Greek
protos and the Latin primus; and Upadesaca, Didasco,
Doceo, and Disco. We have also Vayajan, wind, in Rus¬
sian, Vieyanie; and Vidhava, widow, Latin, Vidua, Ger¬
man, Russian, Vdova. The NT of the'plural verb
is found in the Sanscrit Bhavanti, they are, Dadanti, they
give. Sir William Jones and many others have attribut¬
ed to some of the works which are still extant in San¬
scrit an antiquity of four or five thousand years ; but
Professor Adelung denies the validity of any of the argu¬
ments which have been adduced in favour of a date at all
approaching to this.
The Sanscrit, even in its earliest state, can scarcely have
been altogether uniform throughout all the countries in
which it was spoken, and it has degenerated by degrees
into a great diversity of modern dialects : the term signi¬
fies learned or polished. Beyond the Ganges, it is called
Bali or Magudha, which, the missionaries say, “ scarcely”
differs from Sanscrit; the term Magudha is said to mean
VOL. XIII.
mixed or irregular. In Siam the Sanscrit is still the lan- Language,
guage of elegant literature; and it is often employed
throughout India, with some little difference of construc¬
tion, under the name of Devanagari, the divine language.
The Prakrit is rather a vague term, meaning, according
to Mr Colebrooke, common or vulgar; but it is also applied
to the language of the sacred books of the “ Jainas.” We
find in a little publication, entitled a Brief View of the
Baptist Missions and Translations, some useful informa¬
tion respecting the Indian languages and dialects, into a -
great number of which these laborious and disinterested
persons have made or procured translations of the whole of
the Scriptures, which they have printed at Serampore, near
Calcutta. The dialects, which they enumerate, are prin¬
cipally arranged in a geographical order ; and, beginning
with those which are spoken towards the middle of India,
as the pure Sanscrit and its least modified dialects, we may
place next to them the languages of the countries border¬
ing on the monosyllabic nations, towards the north and
east : we have here the dialects of Nepal, Assam or
Uhumiya, Tiperah, and Kassai, of which little more is
known than that translations into the first two have been
already executed : the Bengalee is spoken in and about
Calcutta: the Hindee or Hinduvee is spoken about Agra ;
it is printed in the Devanagri character, the font of which
contains more than 800 varieties of letters and their com¬
binations ; the Urdu or Oordoo is a subdialect of the Hin¬
dee, as well as the Brijbassa, which is nearer to the San¬
scrit than some other dialects : the Jypura is mentioned
as another language belonging to the same neighbour¬
hood : the Hindustanee is spoken in Hindustan Proper, or
Lower Hindustan ; the missionaries say it is “ diametri¬
cally different” from the Hindee: the Moors or “ Mongol
Indostanish” seems to belong to this country, being mixed
with a good deal of Persian and Arabic, unless it be rather
referrible to the Hindee: the dialects of Udaipura, Be¬
nares, and Munipura, are also called separate languages :
the Goandee is spoken at Nagpore, in the Mahratta coun¬
try : further east is Orissa or Uriya, the language of which
is printed in a character requiring 300 different types : the
Telug or Warug is spoken about Cuddalore and Madras:
the Telinga further west: the Carnatic has a peculiar
language, besides the Tamul, which is spoken from Palea-
cate, near Madras, to Cape Comorin, and the Manva,
which appears to belong to a part of this country. About
Cochin in Travancore we have the Maleiam: further north,
the languages of Malabar, Kanara, and of the Decan;
the dialect of Malabar is of considerable antiquity, being
found in two copper tablets as old as the eighth or ninth
century: then comes the Kunkuna, about Bombay : the
Mahratta is further inland: the Guzurat on the coast:
and, beyond the Indus, the Beloshee in Belochistan : north
of this we find the Afghan or Pushtu language, which con¬
tains more Hebrew words than any of its neighbours ; the
people are said to have come from the north about 2000
years ago, and, according to a Persian tradition, to be de¬
scended from King Saul; indeed the language stands
somewhat more correctly under the Median family in the
Mithridates, but since it forms the connecting link between
the two families, it might perhaps be as conveniently ar¬
ranged among the more numerous species of the Sanscrit;
it is written in the Arabic character, with some addition¬
al letters for expressing the Sanscrit sounds. The lan¬
guage of Multan, north of Sindh, has about one tenth of
Persian mixed with it. The Gipsies were certainly ex¬
pelled from some part of India by the cruelties of Timur
Leng, about the year 1400 ; and they were probably some
of the Zingans, in the neighbourhood of Multan, their
language having a great number of coincidences with that
of Multan, and being still more manifestly a dialect of the
Sanscrit, although they have adopted many European, and
L
82 LANG
Language, especially Sclavonian words. When they first appeared in
^ Europe, they were supposed to amount to about half a
million ; at present they are less numerous.
The Maldivian is peculiar to the group of small islands
from which it is named ; the Baptists have already printed
some books in it. The people are said greatly to resemble
those of Ceylon. The Cingalese, which is spoken in great
part of Ceylon, is a mixture of several of the continental
dialects ; and it has been observed, that the proper names
in Ceylon mentioned by Ptolemy are of Sanscrit origin.
Dr Leyden gives, as a proof of the antiquity of the Ma¬
layan, that the Teniala of Ptolemy is derived from Tema,
tin. The connection of this language with the Sanscrit has
not been very universally admitted; and some of those
who have studied it most are disposed to consider it as
wholly original ; but, in the purest part of the language,
Dr Leyden confesses that there is a considerable resem¬
blance to the Avanese and the Siamese ; the words deriv¬
ed from the Sanscrit he considers as somewhat less nume¬
rous, amounting, however, to about 5000 ; they are gene¬
rally less like the Bali than the Sanscrit; and a still smaller
number are borrowed from the Arabic. The character of
the monosyllabic languages is in some measure retained.
Sir William Jones considered the Malayan as a derivative
of the Sanscrit: Mr Marsden supposes it to have received
its Sanscrit words through Gujerat; Dr Leyden rather
from Kalinga or Telinga; and it exhibits some traces of
the dialects of Tamul and Maleialam. Besides these va¬
rious sources, it is said to have borrowed some of its sim¬
plest words from the Javanese and the Bugis; and it has
become more nearly monosyllabic by dropping the first
syllables of some of the words which it has adopted. The
Javanese is said to be more ancient than the Malayan:
the empire of Java was formerly powerful and flourishing :
the ancient language was much like the Sanscrit, more so
than the Malayan, but was written in a peculiar character.
Dialects of this language are still spoken in Bali and in
Madura. Leyden thinks the Malays were derived from
Java; Marsden rather from Sumatra, though he allows
that there are some reasons for conjecturing that an old
Sanscrit colony may have settled many hundred years ago
in Java, and mixed its language with a supposed mother
tongue of that Asiatic race.
Of the Sumatran dialects, the principal, according to
Dr Leyden, is the Batta, spoken by a people who occupy
the centre of the island, and who still, like some other In¬
dian nations, retain the custom of eating their old relations.
The language seems to be partly original, and partly con¬
nected with the Malayan, and other dialects of the neigh¬
bouring islands. The Rejang is chiefly a mixture of Batta
and Malayan; in the Lampuhn or Lampung there is also
some Javanese. The Achi has admitted a still further in¬
flux of words belonging to all the Mussulman jargons of
the neighbourhood, especially to that of the Mapulas of
Malabar. There are other dialects of less note in Neas
and the Poggy Islands, most resembling the Batta. This
language is provided with a peculiar alphabet, which is re¬
markable for being written from the bottom of the paper
upwards, like the Mexican hieroglyphics; though the Bat-
tas, as well as the Chinese, sometimes hold their books
so as to read horizontally. In Borneo there appear to
be several dialects, or rather separate languages; two of
them, according to Dr Leyden, are the Biaju and the Ti-
sun. Ihe Andaman language is inserted here for want of
a better place only; it does not appear to have any con¬
nection with the Sanscrit, and may possibly be found to
be more like that of Madagascar : the people seem to be¬
long to the Papuas, a distinct original race, according to
Dr Leyden, black, and with woolly hair.
Besides the numerous translations into languages of the
Indo-European, (class, the Baptist missionaries have also
U A G E.
printed some Armenian and Persian works at the indefati- Language,
gable press of Serampore, which is supplied by a letter- -y>j
foundery and a paper-mill, belonging to the same establish¬
ment, enabling them to execute the whole business at less
than half the expense of European books of the same mag¬
nitude. The little pamphlet already quoted contains also
specimens of the characters of the Sanscrit, Assam, Ben¬
galee, Mahratta, Sikh, and Cashmirian, which somewhat
resemble each other in the square form of their characters;
as well as of the Burman, Orissa, Telinga, and Cingalese,
which have a more rounded and flourished appearance;
of the Tamul, .which looks a little like Armenian ; of the
Afghan and the Persian used in India; and of the Chi¬
nese, both as printed from blocks, and from the moveable
metal types which have been cast at Serampore.
6. The connection of the Median family with the San¬
scrit on one side, and with the Greek and German on the
other, is sufficiently proved by the words Abitap, Zend.
Sun, Sanscr. Abitaba; Bar, Ter, Pers. Door, Sanscr. Dura,
Tuwara, Javanese, Turi, Gr. Thura, Germ. Thur, Thor;
Dip, Pers. Land or Island, Sanscr. Dilip ; Dochtar, Pers.
Pothre, Zend. Daughter, .Gr. Thugater, Germ. Tochter,
Sanscr. Putri; Jare, Zend. Year, Sanscr. Jahran, Germ.
Jahr ; and Ishk, Zend. Love, Sanscr. Itsha. To this list
we may add, from Dr Leyden, Stree, Zend. Woman, Sanscr.
Stri; Aste, Zend. He is, Sanscr. Asti, Gr. Esti; Hapte,
Zend. Seven, Sanscr. Saptah, Gr. Hepta. There are
also some coincidences with the Chaldee, but the Me¬
dian is certainly not a dialect of the Chaldee. Sir W.
Jones and others have said that the Zendish was nearest
to the Sanscrit, and the Pehlvi to the Chaldee or Arabic.
In ancient Media, the Zendishwas the language of the north¬
ern, and the Pehlvi, or Parthian, of the southern parts ;
the word Pehlvi or Pahalevi is supposed by Leyden to have
been nearly synonymous with Pali or Bali, though this is
said to be derived from Bahlika, an Indo-European country.
The Zendish was more particularly appropriated to reli¬
gious purposes, and the Pehlvi had in a great measure su¬
perseded it for common use at a very early period ; under
the Sassanides, again, from the third to the seventh cen¬
tury, the use of the Pehlvi was discouraged, and the old
Persian substituted for it. It is said, however, that in the
remote parts of the country, about Shirwan, some traces of
the Pehlvi may still be found in existence. The Zenda-
vesta of Zoroaster, which is still extant in Zendish, is said
to have been written 520 years b. c.; and Adelung follows
Anquetil in asserting its authenticity, even in opposition v
to the opinion of Jones and Richardson. These languages
have little or no connection with the Georgian and Arme¬
nian, which have succeeded them in some of the -same • |
countries. The old Persian, which seems to be much con¬
nected with the Pehlvi, has remained in use, either as a
living or as a learned language, ever since the time of the
Sassanides; it was current among the Persians when they
were conquered by the Arabs in the seventh century; and
it is the language of the Shah Nameh of Firdusi, written
in the tenth century, as well as of the Ayeen Akbery, of
w hich the date is about 1600. The modern Persian be¬
came a cultivated language about the year 1000, having
received a considerable mixture of Arabic and Turkish
words. The term Parsee is commonly applied to a corrupt
Pehlvi, spoken by the refugee fire-worshippers in Bombay.
The Goths are said to have inhabited, for some centu¬
ries, the countries about the Black Sea, and may originally
have bordered on Persia. From this circumstance, and
probably also from the effects of a later irruption of the
Goths into Persia, which is recorded in history, we may
easily explain the occurrence of many Persian words in
German, and in the other languages of Northern Europe.
Professor Adelung has examined more than two hundred
cases of such resemblances, and has found only one sixth
LANG
i*»guage. part of them in Anquetil’s vocabularies of the more ancient
dialects. He has, however, omitted to state what propor¬
tion the whole magnitude of these vocabularies bears to
that of a complete dictionary of the language. It is well
known that an essay was published a few years since in
London, On the Similarity of the Persian and English
Languages ; and a more elaborate work on the relations of
the Persian languages, by Mr le Pileur, has since appear¬
ed in Holland. Mr le Pileur attempts to explain the is
or s of the genitive of the northern languages, by the Per¬
sian preposition ez, which seems to be sy nonymous with the
Greek and Latin ex ; but he has not shown that this ez
ever follows the noun to which it relates.
The Kurds speak a corrupt dialect of the Persian; they
are probably derived from the Carduchi of the Greeks, who
inhabited the Gordisean Hills. They spread into Persia
about the year 1000, and are now situated on the borders
of the Persian and Turkish dominions. The language of
the Afghans, about Candahar, is said to contain about one
fourth of Persian, and some Tartarian, besides the San¬
scrit which abounds in it.
7. The Arabian family is called by the German critics
Semitic, from Shem the son of Noah, as having been prin¬
cipally spoken by his descendants. Though not intimately
connected with the European languages, it is well known
to have afforded some words to the Greek and Latin ; it
has also some in common with the Sanscrit, though appa¬
rently fewer than either the Greek or the German. Thus
we have Acer, Hebr. a Husbandman, Ager, Lat. a Field ;
Asther, a Star, Gr. Aster, Bara, Bari, Germ. Burg ; Ben,
Hebr. Son, Sanscr. Bun, Child ; Esh, Hebr. Eshta, Chald.
Fire, Sanscr. Aster; and Ish, Hebr. Man, Sanscr. Is ha,
Man or Lord. The Hebrew Ani, Anoki, /, has been no¬
ticed by Townsend and others as affording an etymology
for Ego as well as for Ni or Mi of verbs, for the Anok of
the Egyptians, and even for the Ngo of the Chinese.
The northern nations of this family have sometimes been
comprehended under the name Aramaic, in contradistinc¬
tion to the middle or Canaanitish, and the southern or
Arabian. The Eastern Aramaic, or old Chaldee, is very
little known ; it was the language of a people situated in
the north of Mesopotamia, which is now the south of Ar¬
menia ; a part of them extended themselves further south,
and became Babylonians, of whose dialect some traces are
said still to exist about Mosul and Diarbeker. The old
Assyrians, between the Tigris and Media, were a colony of
the Babylonians, and spoke a language unintelligible to the
Jews (2 Kings, xviii). The Western Aramaic has become
known, since the Christian era, as the Syriac, in which
there is an ancient and valuable translation of the New
Testament. It is still spoken about Edessa and Harran.
The Palmyrene was one of its dialects; the modern As¬
syrian of the Russian vocabularies appears to be another.
The language of the Canaanites is said by St Jerome to
have been intermediate between the Hebrew and the Egyp¬
tian. The people are supposed to have come originally from
the Persian Gulf; the Philistines, who were found among
them, to have emigrated from the Delta to Cyprus, to have
been thence expelled by the Phoenicians, and to have
adopted the language of the Canaanites when they settled
among them. The book of Job is considered as affording
some idea of the dialect of Edom ; it is well known to con¬
tain many Arabisms, besides some other peculiarities. The
Phamician'is only known from a few coins and inscriptions
found chiefly in Cyprus and in Malta, and not yet very sa¬
tisfactorily deciphered, though Akerblad is convinced, by
some of them, that it varied but very little from the He¬
brew ; of its descendant, the Punic, or Carthaginian, a spe¬
cimen is preserved in the speech of Hanno in Plautus, as
happily arranged by Bochart; the objection of Adelung,
respecting the want of a proper name, appearing to have
U A G E. 83
arisen from a mistake. The last six lines of the text are Language,
probably either a repetition of the same speech in the old
Libyan of the neighbourhood, or a jargon intended to imi¬
tate it.
The Hebrews originated among the Chaldeans, Terah,
the father of Abraham, having been a native of Ur, or
Edessa, beyond the Euphrates. They adopted the language
of the Canaanites, among whom they led a nomadic life,
till their residence in Egypt, which must probably have
had some effect in modifying their language. After that
time, however, it appears to have varied but little, in a pe¬
riod of 1000 years, from Moses to Malachi; and this cir¬
cumstance Adelung considers as so uncommon and impro¬
bable, that he is disposed to believe that the writings or
Moses must have been modernized at least as late as the
time of Samuel. The old Hebrew became extinct, as a
living language, about 500 b. c. ; 1000 years afterwards,
the Masoretic points were added, to assist in its pronunci¬
ation ; and this was done in some measure upon the mo¬
del of the Syro-Chaldaic, which at that time was still spoken.
The Septuagint version, which is much older, supports, in
the instances of many of the proper names, the reading in¬
dicated by the points; but in about as many others it ap¬
pears to deviate from that system, and to agree with a
mode of pronunciation founded upon the text or principal
characters alone. The reading in Greek letters of Origen,
in his Hexapla, tends, on the whole, very strongly to sup¬
port the points. The Chaldee had superseded the He¬
brew at the time of the captivity, and was gradually con¬
verted into the Syro-Chaldaic, which is called Hebrew in
the New Testament. The Targums, and the Talmud of
Babylon, are in the older Chaldee ; and a Syro-Chaldaic
translation of the New Testament has been discovered to
be still in existence.
The Samaritan somewhat resembles the Chaldee. It was
formed among the Phoenicians and others, who occupied
the habitations of the ten tribes when they were carried
into captivity by Salmanassar and Esarhaddon. Its peculiar
alphabet is well known as a mere variation of the Hebrew.
The Rabbinical dialect was principally formed in the
middle ages, among the Spanish Jews, who were chiefly
descended from the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; while those
of Germany and Poland were generally Galileans, and spoke
a ruder dialect of the Hebrew than the fugitives from the
metropolis.
The Arabs have been a distinct, and in a great measure
an independent nation, for more than 3000 years. Some
of them were descended from Shem; others, as the
Cushites, Canaanites, and Amalekites, from his brother
Ham. Their language, as it is found in the Koran, contains
some mixture of Indian, Persian, and Abyssinian words.
Its grammar was little cultivated until a century or two
after the time of Mahommed. It is certainly copious, but
its copiousness has been ridiculously exaggerated and ab¬
surdly admired. The best Arabic is spoken by the up¬
per classes in Yemen ; in Mecca it is more mixed ; in Sy¬
ria corrupt, and still more so in some parts of Africa.
There are dialects which require the assistance of an in¬
terpreter to make them intelligible; at the same time, it
has been maintained by Aryda, a learned Arab of Syria,
in contradiction to Niebuhr, that the Arabic of the Ko¬
ran is still employed in conversation among the best edu¬
cated of the people, as well as in correct writing. The
Arabs living in houses are called Moors, and those of
Africa are the best known under this name. The Ma-
puls or Mapulets of Malabar and Coromandel are a nu¬
merous colony of Arabs, who have been settled there
above a thousand years.
The Ethiopians are descended from the Cushite Arabs.
In the time of Nimrod they conquered Babylon ; before
that of Moses they emigrated into Africa, and settled in
84
LANGUAGE.
Language, and about Tigri; in Isaiah’s time they seem to have ex-
tended to Fez; and at present they occupy Tigri, Am-
hara, and some neighbouring countries. They became
Christians in 325, but retained the initiatory ceremony
of the Jews and Mussulmen. The pure or literary Ethio-
pic is called Geez, or Axumitic, in contradistinction to the
Amharic, by which it was superseded as the language of
common life in Amhara about the fourteenth century, al¬
though it is still spoken, without much alteration, in some
parts of Tigri, while in others, as in Hauasa, a different
dialect is spoken. The Ethiopic was first particularly
made known in Europe by the elaborate publications of
Ludolf. Mr Asselin has lately procured a translation of
the whole of the Bible into the Amharic, as it is now spo¬
ken at Gondar; it was executed by the old Abyssinian
traveller who was known to Bruce and to Sir William
Jones, and it is said to be now printing at the expense of
some of the British societies.
The Maltese is immediately derived from the modern
Arabic, without any intervention of the Punic. The
island, having been successively subject to the Phaea-
cians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, and
Goths, was subdued by the Arabians in the ninth cen¬
tury ; in the eleventh the Normans conquered it; and it
remained united with Sicily until it became in some mea¬
sure independent, under the knights of St John.
8. The Lycian is only known from a few short inscrip¬
tions copied by Mr R. Cockerell, and published in Mr
Walpole’s collection, together with two or three longer
ones, which have been lately brought from Antiphellos
by the enterprising and indefatigable Mr W. J. Bankes.
By means of a proper name in one of Mr Cockerell’s in¬
scriptions, we obtain a part of the alphabet; thus i is a ;
A, d ; e, i; p, n ; ^ j s ; and probably A, h ; and I, l.
A further comparison of the different parts of the other
inscriptions with the Greek phrases that almost uniform¬
ly accompany them, implying “ for himself and his
wife and his children,” gives us the words a, or at’-
hi, himself; sa, his, or for his, hrdi, or perhaps hroi,
wife ; tidaimi, son ; tidaima, children ; and atbi, and.
It does not appear that any of these words would autho¬
rize us to place the Lycian language as a member of the
great Indo-European class ; but it is reported to have been
much mixed with Greek, and, on account of its geogra¬
phical situation, it may be allowed to occupy a temporary
rank between the principal oriental and European langua¬
ges. If it has a shadow of likeness to any other language,
it is perhaps to the Cimbric ; and Tidaimi may also pos¬
sibly be allied to the Greek Titheno, to nurse.
9. Respecting the ancient Phrygian, we have a few
traditions only, which at least agree in giving it a high
antiquity, as the source of several Greek words. Thus,
Plato observes, in his Cratylus, that the terms denoting
fire and water are not derived from any other Greek
words, but are Phrygian primitives. It seems, however,
that water was called liedu by the Phrygians, and the word
resembles the Bada, Bath, of the northern nations, as well
as the Vate, water, of the Swedes ; Moirai, the fates, de¬
rived from the Phrygian, is compared to Meyar, virgins,
of the Gothic ; and Bek, bread, is as much like our Bake,
as like the Albanian Buk, bread.
The Greek has no very intimate or general connection
with any of the older languages which have been pre¬
served entire, although there are a number of particular
instances of its resemblance to the Sanscrit, some of which
have been already mentioned ; it has also many German
and Celtic words, some Sclavonian, and, as it is said, a
few Finnish. It can only have been immediately derived
from the language of the neighbouring Thracians and Pe-
lasgians, who seem to have come originally from the mid¬
dle of Asia, through the countries north of the Black Sea, Language
and to have occupied not only Greece and Thrace, but
also the neighbouring parts of Asia Minor, where they
probably retained their ancient dialect to a later period
than elsewhere. The whole of the Thracian states were
greatly deranged by the expedition of the Celts in 278
b. c. which terminated in their settling the colony of Ga¬
latia. The Dacians, or Getae, who principally occupied
Bulgaria, extended themselves further northwards, and
afterwards constituted the Roman provinces of Mcesia
and Dacia, which were conquered by the Goths in the
third century. The Macedonians, in the time of Alexan¬
der, spoke a language which was nearly unintelligible to the
Greeks in general ; even the Pelasgi in Epirus and Thes¬
saly long retained a dialect materially different from their
neighbours, and in Arcadia still longer. The Hellenes,
who emigrated from Asia Minor into Greece, were not
sufficiently numerous to carry their own dialect with them,
although the language assumed their name. The Graeci
in Italy were Pelasgians, although Dionysius of Halicar¬
nassus includes them in the denomination Hellenic; their
language must have been iEolo-Doric, and it was in this
form that the Latin received its mixture of Greek; the
Lacedemonian also retained it till a late period, writing,
for instance, instead of Pais, Pair, as in Latin Puer. The
JEolic appears once to have extended over Attica, and to
have left some iEolisms in the old Attic dialect. This
dialect was the principal basis of the common language
of Greece at a later period, which must have been the
most cultivated under the protection of the court of Alex¬
andria, and which continued to be spoken and written in
the highest circles of Constantinople throughout the mid¬
dle ages. By degrees it degenerated into the modern
Romaic, having received a mixture of Turkish and Italian,
and perhaps of some other neighbouring languages.
11. The German family is sufficiently connected with
a variety of others belonging to the Indo-European class, to
be admitted into it upon a very short investigation. Its
resemblances to the Greek, within the compass of the Lord’s
Prayer, besides Father and Name, are Wdle, Wallen, Gr.
Boule, perhaps Brot or Proat, bread, like Artos, and
Freyen or Ldsen, like Rhiiein and Liisein. Dr Jamieson
has shown very clearly, in his Hermes Scythicus, how im¬
mediately the structure of the Gothic languages is derived
from that of the Greeks. Thus the ein of the Greek infi¬
nitive became in the Moeso-Gothic an or ian, in German
en : the icos of the adjectives, Moeso-Gothic, ags, igs, or
eigs, as mahteigs, mighty, Germ, machtig ; the Sclavonians
have ski, the Swedes ska: the inos, Lat. enus, Anglo-
Saxon en : the licos, Latin us, German lich, English
like ; thus pelicos is what like, at least in Scotland; the
Mceso-Gothic swaleiks is our such; sameleiks is similis.
Los, lis, lion, of diminutives, in Latin lus, becomes in
Mceso-Gothic ilo, as bo.rnilo, a little child; in German
mannl is a little man. Among the pronouns we have Ego
in Greek and Latin, Moeso-Gothic ik, Icelandic eg, Swedish
jag; emou, mou, Gr., Latin mei, Moeso-Gothic meina,
German meiner; emoi, moi, Latin mihi, Moeso-Gothic
mis, Swedish mig, Dutch my; eme, me, Latin me, Moeso-
Gothic mik, Anglo-Saxon me, Dutch my. Sii, Doric tu,
Latin tu, Mceso-Gothic thu. Is in Latin, Moeso-Gothic
is; ejus, Moeso-Gothic is, izos; id, Mceso-Gothic ita,
English it ; quis, cujus, cui, quem, Moeso-Gothic
quhas, quhis, quhe, quhana, the last having the n, as
the Greek hon ; uter, whether ; alter, other, seems
to be derived from anther, enthera, meaning otie of them,
so that in this instance the Gothic has the appearance of
the greater antiquity, while the Greek affords, on the other
hand, an etymology for ekeinos, from ekei, there, which
is wanting to the Moeso-Gothic gains or jains, the Ale-
mannic gener, the German jener, and the English yon-
LANG
iage. der or yon. Again, among the numerals, deka has been
derived from deo, as if both hands were tied together ; and
pente has a strong resemblance to panta, as if all the five
fingers were reckoned : and, on the other hand, da cuig in
Gaelic, meaning twice five, has been considered as the ori¬
ginal of deca. But none of these etymologies seems to be
so decisive of originality as that of caterva, which is evi¬
dently related to turba or turma, while the first syllable
remains unexplained in Latin; but in the Celtic we have
cad tarf or caih tarf a war troop, agreeing undeniably with
the sense. For another example, we may take ventus and
ivind, for which we find no Latin etymology, while the
German furnishes us with wehen, to blow, and thence we-
hend and wind ; the words nodus and knot afford also a si¬
milar instance, nodus having nothing nearer to it in Latin
than neo, to spin, necto, to unite ; but in German we have
kniitten, to join, and in English knit and knead from the
same root. The degrees of comparison are expressed in
Greek by eros and istos ; in Anglo-Saxon by er or era,
and ist or ast. Er seems to mean before, as well as the
Latin or. The Coptic has no comparative, but for better
than I, the Egyptians said very good before me. It would
seem at first sight natural to make than a preposition, as
well as before, and to say better than me ; but the fact is,
that in English, as well as in German, it was usual of old
to say then or denn in this sense ; and he is wiser than I
meant only, he is wise before, then I follow. The idea
of time or place is now dropped as unessential to the kind
of priority in question, but the ground of the gramma¬
tical construction remains xinaltered. In Moeso-Gothic
the comparative termination is izo or ozo, the superlative
ists or ista; thus the Greek meizon becomes meizo,
and maists is obviously megistos. The old megalos
is mikils, mickle or muckle; and minor, minimus, be¬
came minnizo, minnists; in Persian, mih is great, milder,
greater, mihtras, greatest; better seems to be from the old
German bied or bieder, upright, honest, and resembles the
Persian bihter, better. The Mceso-Gothic verbs have
also some striking resemblances in their form to the Latin ;
thus the present tense of to have is haba, habais, ha-
baith; habam, habaith, haband; habuit is habaida;
HABENS, HABANDS ; HABENTIS, HABANDIS ; HABENTEM,
HABANDAM ; IIABENTES, HABANDANS. The Substantive
verb singular in Greek is eimi, eis, esti ; the plural in
Latin sumus, estis, sunt; the Moeso-Gothic has im, is,
ist, sijum, sijuth, sind; and sis is sijais ; esse, wisan.
The Moeso-Gothic nouns frequently retain the resemblance
of the Greek more strongly than their more modern deriva¬
tives : thus a tooth does not seem to point very immediately
to dentem or odonta as its source; but the older form
tunthu is clearly the intermediate stage of this modifica¬
tion ; and numberless other instances of the same kind
might easily be found.
The Germans were known, as early as the time of Py-
theas, that is, 320 b. c. as consisting of the Jutes in Den¬
mark, the Teutones on the coast to the east of them, the
Ostiaeans next, and lastly the Cossini, Cotini, 'or Goths.
Professor Adelung imagines that the eastern nations, or
Suevi, employed almost from the earliest times a high Ger¬
man dialect, and the western, or Cimbri, a low German;
the Suevi he supposes to have been driven, at a remote
period, into the south of Germany by the Sclavonians ; and
some of the Goths appear to have extended as far as the
Crimea. The Bible of Ulphila, in the Gothic or Mceso-
Gothic of 360, is the oldest specimen in existence of the
German language. Besides the Greek and Latin, which
appear to prevail so much in the language, it exhibits a
considerable mixture of Sclavonian and Finnish ; the trans¬
lation is far more literal than it could be made in any of
the more modern dialects of the German, and sometimes
appears to follow the text with somewhat too much servility.
U A G E. 85
The modern German, founded on the higher dialects of Language.
Saxony, was fixed and made general by Martin Luther. --v——
There are many shades of dialect and pronunciation in
the different parts of this diversified country, but none of
them of any particular interest, or established by any lite¬
rary authority. There are still some German colonies in
the territories of Vicenza and Verona, called the Sette Co¬
muni, which retain their language. The German Jews
have a peculiar jargon, borrowed in some measure from
their brethren in Poland, which they write in Hebrew
characters; and another similar mixture of discordant dia¬
lects is spoken by the Rothwelsh, a vagabond people in
the south of Germany, who have sometimes been confound¬
ed with the Gipsies.
The Low Saxon, or Platt Deutsch, is spoken about
Halberstadt, and farther north, in the countries between
the Elbe and the Weser; it seems to be intimately con¬
nected with the Frieslandish and Danish, as well as with
the English. The Frieslanders originally extended from
the Rhine to the Ems, and the Cauchi, thence to the Elbe ;
these countries still retain a dialect materially varying
from those of their neighbours. The Brokmic laws of the
thirteenth century exhibit some remarkable differences
from the German of the same date: thus we find in them
Redieva, a judge, or Reeve, instead of Richter ; Kenne, kin ; /
and sida, side, as in Swedish, instead of seite. The Bata¬
vian Frieslandish approaches very much to the English;
it has several subdialects, as those of Molkwer and Hinde-
lop. Some of the Cauchish Frieslanders remain in the ter¬
ritory of Bremen ; the North Frieslanders occupy Heligo¬
land, Husum, and Amrom.
The Dutch language is a mixture of Frieslandish, Low
Saxon, and German, with a little French. It appears, from
Kolyn’s Chronicle, to have been distinctly formed as early
as 1156.
The Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family is
characterized by the want both of gutturals and of aspi¬
rates, which renders its pronunciation softer and less
harsh ; and by some peculiarities of construction, for in¬
stance, by the place of the article, which follows its noun,
both in Danish and Swedish, instead of preceding it, as in
most other languages. The name of Denmark is first
found in the ninth century ; until the sixth the people
were called Jutes. Norway, in the ninth century, was
termed Nordmanland. A corrupt Norwegian is still, or
was lately, spoken in some of the Orkneys, which were
long subject to Norway and Denmark. In the eastern
parts of Iceland, the language is much like the Norwegi¬
an ; but, on the coast, it is mixed with Danish. The
oldest specimen of Icelandic is the Jus Ecclesiasticum of
1123. The term Runic relates to the rectilinear charac¬
ters cut in wood, which were sometimes used by the Scan¬
dinavian nations. The are derived from a mixture
of Scandinavians with Goths from Upper Germany, but
their language does not exhibit any dialectic differences
corresponding to this difference of extraction. Mr Town¬
send has given us a list, from Peringskiold, of 670 Swe¬
dish words resembling the Greek; but it must be con¬
fessed that the resemblance is in many cases extremely
slight.
The Saxons are mentioned by Ptolemy as a small na¬
tion in Holstein, whence, in conjunction with the Fries¬
landers, and the Angles of south Jutland, they came over
to England, about the year 450. The Saxons settled
principally south of the Thames, the Angles north. At
the union of the Heptarchy, the Saxon dialect prevailed,
and the Anglish, which nearly resembled the Danish of
that time, was less in use; but new swarms of Danes hav¬
ing inundated the north of England in 787, the Danish
dialect was introduced by Canute and his followers ; and
it is about this period that our earliest specimens of the
86 LANG
Language. Anglo-Saxon are dated. The Saxon dialect again obtain-
ed the ascendancy under Edward the Confessor; and al¬
though some French was introduced by this prince, and
still more by William the Conqueror, into the higher
circles of society, the courts of law, and the schools, yet
the use of the French language never became general
among the lower classes, and the Saxon recovered much
of its currency in the thirteenth century, when the cities
and corporate towns rose into importance, under Edward
the First. In the fourteenth century it was permanently
established, with the modifications which it had received
from the French ; and it may be considered as truly Eng¬
lish from this period, or even somewhat earlier, at least if
Pope Adrian’s rhymes are the genuine production of 1156.
It is still much more German than French ; in the Lord’s
Prayer, the only words of Latin origin are Trespass, Temp¬
tation, and Deliver. Professor Adelung’s remarks on the
simplicity of the English language appear to be so judi¬
cious as to deserve transcribing. “ The language,” he
observes, “ only received its final cultivation at the time
of the Reformation, and of the civil disturbances which
followed that event; nor did it acquire its last polish till
after the Revolution, when the authors who employed it
elevated it to that high degree of excellence, of which,
from its great copiousness, and the remarkable simplicity
of its construction, it was peculiarly capable. It is the
most simple of all the European languages; the termina¬
tions of its substantives being only changed in the geni¬
tive and in the plural, and the alterations of the roots of
the verbs not exceeding six or seven. This simplicity de¬
pends in some measure on a philosophical accuracy, which
is carried systematically through the whole language, so
that the adjectives, participles, and article, are indeclin¬
able, being in their nature destitute of any idea of gen¬
der, case, or number ; and the form of generic distinction
is [almost entirely] confined to objects which are natu¬
rally entitled to it. The pronunciation, on the other hand,
is extremely intricate; and foreign proper names, in par¬
ticular, are much mutilated whenever they are adopted
by the English.”
12. The Celtic family forms a very extensive and very
interesting subdivision of the Indo-European class. It
has been asserted by some writers, “ that the six original
European languages, the Iberian, Celtic, Germanic, Thra¬
cian, Sclavonian, and Finnish, were just as distinct at the
beginning of their history as they now arebut this as¬
sertion must be subjected to considerable modification.
The thing is in itself so improbable, as to require far more
evidence than we possess to establish it, even if that evi¬
dence were of a more decisive nature ; and, in fact, it will
actually be found, upon a comparison of the Gothic of
Ulphila with the more modern dialects, that the Germa¬
nic of that day did approach more nearly, both to the
Celtic and to the Thracian or Greek, than any of its more
modern descendants do. The change of tunthu into
tooth, for which the Germans have zahn, has already
been noticed ; the atta and himina of Ulphila seem to
be more like the Irish At’air and Neamh, than the modern
Vater and Himmel are; and the Moeso-Gothic vair,
which answers to the Cimbric eear, a man, is not at pre¬
sent found in German, though its traces may still be ob¬
served in the Firiobarno of the Franks in 1020; the anti¬
quity of the root is shown by the Celtic names in Caesar
beginning so often with ver, and still more strongly by
the testimony of Herodotus, that the Scythian called a
man aior. At the same time, therefore, that we admit
the propriety of considering the Celtic and Germanic as
families clearly distinct, with respect to any period with
which we are historically acquainted, we must not forget
that they exhibit undeniable traces of having been more
intimately connected with each other, and with their
U A G E.
neighbours, in the earlier stages of their existence. The Language
resemblances of the Celtic to the Latin are too numerous !
to require particular notice, the immediate and extensive
connection between these languages being universally ad¬
mitted ; but if any evidence were desired on this subject,
it might be obtained in abundance, by a reference to
Court de Gebelin’s Monde Primitif. With respect to the
Greek, the terms Hael, sun ; Dur, water ; Deru, oak;
Garan, crane; Crunn, ice, are among the Celtic words of
the most indisputable originality; and their resemblance
to Helios, Iliidor, Driis, Geranos, and Cr'uoen, is equally
undeniable. We find, also, in the Cimbric, Bas, low, con¬
nected with Bathus, Bara, bread, perhaps with Bora,
food; Deyrnas, kingdom, with Turannis; Dyro, give,
with Doreue; and Gogoi'iant, glory, perhaps with Gau- nj
riaon, exulting. With the German it is easy to find a
number of very near approaches to identity, even in that
Celtic which can be proved, principally from the etymo¬
logies of proper names, to be prior to the date of any
known or supposed secondary intercourse or mixture of
the natives concerned. Thus we have, either accurately
or very nearly in the same signification, Ap, Affe, or Ape ;
Barra, Barre; Bleun, Blume; Bolgan, Bulge; Brig,
Berg; Brogil, Bruhl; Carr a, Karre; Doga, Teich;
Galb, Klab ; Garan, Kranich ; Gnabat, Knabe ; Lancea,
Lanze ; Marc, Mdhre ; Marga, Mdrgel; Redya, Reiten ;
Rit or Rat, Rad; and Ur, Auer ; and it is impossible to
suppose that so numerous a series of coincidences can
have been derived from accidental causes only.
The Celts may be imagined to have emigrated from Asia
after the Iberians or Cantabrians, and before the Thracians
or Pelasgians, settling principally in Gaul, and spreading
partly into Italy, under the name of Ausonians and Um¬
brians. In 570 b. c. they undertook expeditions for the
purposes of conquest, but they were subdued by the Ro¬
mans. Their language was current in Gaul till the sixth
or seventh century, when it was superseded by the rustic
Roman, which by degrees became French ; in Ireland and
Scotland it has remained with few alterations ; in Wales
and Brittany it has been more mixed. The Gauls must
have peopled Britain at least as early as 500 b. c. The
true ancient Britons are the Highlanders of Scotland only,
having been driven northwards by the Cimbri: they still
call their language Gaelic. The Irish are probably de¬
rived from these Higidanders ; they were originally term¬
ed Scots or Scuits, that is, fugitives, from the circumstance
of their expulsion from Britain ; so that, where the Scots
are mentioned before the tenth century, as by Porphyry
in the third, we are to understand the Irish. Gildas, in
564i, sometimes calls them Scotch and sometimes Irish.
After the retreat of the Romans from Britain, a part of
them re-entered Scotland about the year 503, and chang¬
ed its name from Caledonia to Scotia Minor. In 432 St
Patrick laid the foundation of the civilization of Ireland ;
and, in the seventh century, several Irish priests undertook
missions to the continent. At the beginning of this cen¬
tury, some Scandinavian freebooters had begun to visit Ire¬
land ; and, in the year 835, they formed large colonies of
emigrants, who established themselves firmly in that coun¬
try, and in the Scottish islands, bringing with them many
Gothic words, which became afterwards mixed with the
Celtic, and which seem to constitute about one fifth part
of the modern Irish and Gaelic, 140 Gothic words being
found under the first six letters of the alphabet only. Some
of these Normen remained distinct from the Irish till the
year 1102. The oldest specimens of the Irish language,
admitted by the continental critics to be authentic, are of
the ninth century; though some of our antiquaries have
imagined they have discovered records of a much earlier
date. The Gaelic of the Isle of Man, is mixed with Nor¬
wegian, English, and Welsh. A Gaelic colony formerly
1
LANG
^an^iage. established at Walden, in Essex, has been placed by Cham-
berlayne in Italy, as a nation of Waldenses.
The Cimbric or Celto-Gerraanic language was remarked
by Caesar as differing from the Gallic, although the distinc¬
tion has not always been sufficiently observed. The Cim-
brians seem to have existed as a nation 500 or 600 years
b. c.; the Gauls called them Belgae ; the invaded Britain
a little before Caesar’s time, and drove the ancient inhabi¬
tants into the Highlands and into Ireland. Having called
the Saxons to their assistance against the Scots and Piets
in the fifth century, they were driven by their new allies
into Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. Their language is re¬
markable for the frequent changes of the initial letters of
its radical words in the formation of cases and numbers ;
thus, from Den, a man, in Britannish, is derived the plural
Tud; from Vreg, a woman, Groages. Almost half of the
Welsh language seems to be German, and half of the re¬
mainder is perhaps Latin or Celtic ; of the Britannic, about
I half resembles the Latin or French. Brittany was origi¬
nally inhabited by the Armoricans ; whether they were
properly Belgse or Gauls is uncertain. The country was
named Britannia Minor, from the emigration of the British
in 449; these new comers mixed with the original inha¬
bitants, all speaking the same language, and in a few years
became so numerous, as to be able to send an army of
12,000 men to the assistance of the Emperor Anthemius.
Professor Adelung is disposed to consider the German
portion of the different branches of the Celtic, which va¬
ries from one fifth to one half of the whole language, as an
accidental mixture, and derived through different channels.
But we cannot in all cases find any historical evidence
of the existence of these channels; it is difficult, for exam¬
ple, to suppose that the Scandinavian incursions were able
at any early period to influence the language of the High¬
lands of Scotland ; and wherever it happens, as it frequent¬
ly does, that no term is to be found, in die Irish, the Gae¬
lic, or the Welsh, for expressing the same idea, besides the
word that they all have in common with the German, it is
scarcely possible to believe that there ever was any other
Celtic word, which has been so uniformly superseded by
independent causes. We find, for instance, under the two
first letters of the alphabet only, the words Ap or Apa in
Irish, Ap in Welsh, Affe or Ape in Gothic; again, Abal,
Afal, Apftl; Angar, Aneang, Enge; Bacail, Bach, Bac-
ken; Barr ad, Barr, Bare; Beoir, Bir, Bier; Biail,
Bwiall, Beil; Bocan, Bwch, Bock ; Brathair, Brawd, Bru-
der ; Bid, Bwla, Bulle ; and the same agreement is found
in almost all other instances of German words that are de¬
tected in the Irish language.
The much-disputed question respecting the antiquity
of the poems attributed to Ossian has an immediate refe¬
rence to the history of the Celtic languages. It has been
observed, with apparent justice, by Professor Adelung,
who is not in general sceptical on such occasions, that if
these poems were really very ancient, their language
could not but exhibit marks of antiquity. There is an Irish
Leavre Lecan at Paris, written in the thirteenth century,
and scarcely intelligible to the best Irish scholars of the
present day ; the oldest Gaelic manuscripts have also pecu¬
liar expressions no longer in use ; while the works supposed
to be the productions of a period so much more remote are
j| - found to be in “ excellent modern Gaelic, impressed with
all the marks of the language of Christianity, and of that
of the Norwegian invaders, whether these conquerors may
be supposed to have influenced the Gaelic language im¬
mediately in Scotland, or by the intervention of Ireland.”
It must not, however, be forgotten, that these marks of
Scandinavian intercourse are somewhat more ambiguous
than Professor Adelung is disposed to admit; and that a
book written in the thirteenth century is more likely to
have preserved the language in an antiquated form than
U A G E. 87
poems so marvellously committed to memory from conti- Language,
nual recitation only, by people supposed to understand
them, and of course imperceptibly modifying the expres¬
sions without intending to alter them. But since an in¬
vasion from Lochlin, that is, Denmark or Norway, is ac¬
tually mentioned in iC Fingal,” the author of the poem
could certainly not have been older than the seventh or
eighth century, if we are to credit the historical accounts
of these invasions ; and since, in the poems discovered by
Dr Matthew Young, St Patrick is introduced discoursing
with Ossian respecting the Christian religion, we have an
additional argument for denying that he was contempo¬
rary with Caracalla or Carausius, these emperors having
both lived in the third century, and St Patrick in the
fifth.
14. The Etruscan is only known as the immediate
parent of the Latin; but it was written in a character to¬
tally different, and was read from right to left. Notwith¬
standing the industry and ingenuity of Lanzi, the evi¬
dence of the accuracy of his interpretations is somewhat
imperfect. We should naturally have expected to find
more words of a Celtic or Gothic origin, and not merely
Greek or Latin words with the terminations a little va¬
ried, as Ustite for Ustura, Tribo for Tribus, and Urte or
Urta for Heorte ; still less should we have expected that
the same sense should be expressed sometimes by a Greek
and sometimes by a Latin word, as Vrtu and Puni for
Bread, Capros and Feres for a Boar. The Etrurians and
Umbrians were originally a branch of the Celts from Rhae-
tia, as is shown by the similarity of the names of places
in those countries, as well as by the remains of Etruscan
art found in that part of the Tyrol; they are supposed to
have entered Italy through Trent, about the year 1000
b. c., and to have afterwards improved their taste and
workmanship under the auspices of Demaratus of Corinth,
who settled in Etruria about 660 b. c. (See Etruria
and Etruscans.)
15. The Latin language is placed at the head of a fa¬
mily, rather with regard to the number of its descendants
than to the independence of its origin, being too evident¬
ly derived from the Celtic, mixed with Greek, to require
particular comparison. The first inhabitants of Italy ap¬
pear to have been Illyrians or Thracians, Cantabrians,
Celts, Pelasgians, and Etrurians. Rome, from its situa¬
tion, would naturally acquire much of the languages of
these various nations, and at the same time much of the
Greek from the colonies in the south of Italy. In the
time of Cicero, the Italian songs, supposed to be about
500 years old, were no longer intelligible, even to those
who sang them. We find, in an inscription still more an¬
cient, and approaching to the time of Romulus, Eases for
Lares; and for Flores, Pleores, which is somewhat nearer
to the Celtic Bleun. In the time of Numa, for Hominem
liberum, we have Hemonem Icebesom; we find, also, a d
added to the oblique cases, as Capited for Capite, which,
as well as the termination ai, in the genitive aidai, pen-
nai, is taken immediately from the Celtic, and is even
found in modern Gaelic.
The Latin remained in perfection but a few centuries.
In the middle ages, a number of barbarous words were
added to it, principally of Celtic origin, which are found
in the glossaries of Dufresne and Charpentier. At the
end of the seventh century it began to acquire the cha¬
racter of Italian, as Campo divisum est; and, in the eighth
century, in Spain, we find, as an example of its incipient
conversion into Spanish, Vendant sine pecho, de nostras
terras. The formation of the Italian language may be
said to have been completed by Dante, in the beginning
of the fourteenth century ; and it was still further polish¬
ed by the classical authors who immediately succeeded
him. It contains many German words, derived from the
88
LANGUAGE.
Language, different nations who occupied in succession the northern
parts of Italy, and some Arabic, Norman, and Spanish,
left by occasional visitors in the south. It is spoken by
the common people in very different degrees of purity.
Among the northern dialects, that of Friuli is mixed with
French, and with some Sclavonian. The Sicilians, hav¬
ing been conquered in succession by the Greeks, Cartha¬
ginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans,
French, and Spaniards, have retained something of the
language of each, Sardinia has given shelter to Iberians,
Libyans, Tyrrhenes, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Van¬
dals, Byzantines, Goths, Lombards, Franks, Arabs, Pisans,
and Aragonians ; and the proper Sardinian language is a
mixture of Latin with Greek, French, German, and Cas¬
tilian. Corsica has also been occupied by a similar diver¬
sity of nations ; its peculiar idiom is little known, but the
dialect of the upper classes is said to approach nearly to
the Tuscan.
Spain, after its complete subjugation by the Romans,
enjoyed some centuries of tranquillity. The Vandals and
Alans retained their power in Spain but for a short time ;
the Suevi, on the north coast, somewhat longer ; and from
these nations the rustic Roman, which had become ge¬
neral in Spain, received some words of German origin. It
derived, however, much more from the Arabic during
the domination of the Moors, which lasted from the be¬
ginning of the eighth century to the end of the fifteenth ;
and, at one time, the Arabic was almost universally em¬
ployed throughout the country, except in the churches.
The Spanish language advanced the most rapidly toward
perfection during the height of the national prosperity,
which immediately followed the conquest of America. It
was afterwards neglected, and again more particularly
cultivated by the Academy of Madrid, in the eighteenth
century ; as far at least as an academy can be supposed
to have any influence in the modifications of a language.
The Portuguese is supposed to have received a mixture
of French from the followers of Count Henry of Burgun¬
dy, under whom Portugal first formed a separate state in
1109 ; but the language is very different from that of the
confines of France and Spain; and the nasal vowels,
which are remarkable in the Portuguese, differ materially
from those of the French, or of any other nation. Many
Latin words are retained in the Portuguese which are not
found in any other modern language ; and it is remarka¬
ble that almost all the words of the language are con¬
tracted, by the omission of some of the radical letters of
the originals.
The Rhsetians, in the country of the Grisons, were sub¬
dued by the Romans in the time of Augustus. They be¬
came part of the Alemannish kingdom, under Theodobert,
in 539 ; their union with Switzerland took place in the be¬
ginning of the fourteenth century. Half of the Grisons
speak the Romanish language, immediately derived from
the Latin, though mixed with some German, which has
been particularly made known by Mr Planta’s account of it
in the Philosophical Transactions. One third speak Ger¬
man, with some mixture of Romanish words, and the rest
a bad Italian.
France, in the time of the Romans, was occupied by
the Gauls, together with the Aquitanians, who were pro¬
bably Cantabrians, and the Cimbrians or Belgians. From
the rustic Roman, mixed with the languages of these na¬
tions, the Romance was gradually formed. In the fifth
century, the Franks took possession of the north-eastern
part of the country. I hey retained their language for some
centuries, but by degrees it became mixed with the Ro¬
mance, and formed French, of which at least one fifth is
supposed to be of German origin, though many of the
German words seem to have been admitted through the
medium of the Italian. In the south of France, the lan¬
guage remained more exempt from the influence of the Language
German, under the name of the Provencal; and the trou- '-'-v's.
badours contributed, especially from the eleventh to the
thirteenth century, to give it refinement and currency ;
but, in later times, the Langue d'oui has prevailed over
the Langue d!oc, which is now spoken by a few of the
lovvest class only.
The last and least genuine of the descendants of the
Latin is the Wallachian, about one half of which is bor¬
rowed from the German, Sclavonian, and Turkish. The
original Thracians of the country must have been in a great
measure superseded by the successive settlements of va¬
rious nations ; in the third century, some of the Goths and
Vandals; in the fourth, the Jazyges, after Attila’s death ;
in the fifth, some Huns and Alans; about the end of the
seventh, the Bulgarians, and afterwards the Petschenegers
and Hungarians, established themselves in it; and, in the
thirteenth century, Wallachia became an independent
state. The Latin part of this language has much of the
Italian form, and had even assumed it as early as the fifth
century. It must have been derived from Roman colonies,
and more lately, perhaps, from the missionaries sent into
the country by Pope Gregory XI. The Dacian or Hun¬
garian dialect prevails on the north of the Danube ; the
Thracian, or Cutzo-Wallachian, on the south ; the latter
is more mixed with Greek and Albanian. There is also a
small Wallachian colony in Transylvania.
The Cantabrian or Biscayan has many words in com¬
mon with the Latin, whether originally or by adoption,
and was probably in some measure connected with the Cel¬
tic dialects, which w’ere the immediate predecessors of the
Latin, though still sufficiently distinct from them. The
Cantabrian Aita, Father, has some resemblance to the
Irish At’air, and the Mceso Gothic Atta ; Geru is not w holly
unlike Ccelum ; Ereenjaa, Regnum ; and Borondatia, Vo¬
luntas ; the coincidence of Gu?i, Day, with the Tartarian,
is perhaps more accidental. But the word Lurre, Earth,
which seems at first sight so unlike any other language,
is in all probability the derivative of Tellure; and this
form of the word affords also a connecting link with the
Irish Talu, and may have been contracted into the more
common Latin wmrd Terra ; a supposition which seems to
lessen the probability of the original connection of this
form of the w ord w ith the Greek Era, and the Sanscrit Stira.
The Biscayan is still spoken in the angles of France and
Spain adjoining to the northern extremity of the Pyre¬
nees. The same people were called Cantabrians in the
north, and Iberians in the south, and extended between
the Pyrenees and the Rhine, as Ligurians, or inhabitants
of the coast. They have adopted a few German words,
perhaps from the empire of the w est Goths; and they have
furnished the modern Spanish with more than a hundred ori¬
ginal words of their own. The construction of the language
is extremely intricate ; its verbs have eleven moods, among
which are a consuetudinary, a voluntary, a compulsory, and
a penitudinary. Larramendi’s Grammar, published at Sa¬
lamanca in 1729, is called El Impossible Vencido. A val¬
uable abstract of the most interesting particulars relating
to the language is found in the Additions to the Mithridates,
by the Baron William von Humboldt, late Prussian am¬
bassador to the court of Great Britain, printed at Berlin
1816. Dr Young has lately remarked, in the Philosophi¬
cal Transactions for 1819, that at least six of the w ords
contained in Humboldt’s vocabulary coincide very accu¬
rately with the Coptic, or ancient Egyptian, though they
are not found in any of the languages of the neighbouring
countries ; and he infers that the chances are “ more than
a thousand to one, that, at some very remote period, an
Egyptian colony established itself in Spain.” It may be
observed, that one of these words, guchi, little, appears to
be also Turkish or Tartarian ; so that it becomes a se-
89
LANG
age. cond instance of a coincidence between this language and
the Cantabrian.
16. The connection of the Sclavonian and Lithuanian,
and of the other branches constituting the Slavic family,
with the languages of the Indo-European class in gene¬
ral, is sufficiently established, without exceeding the li¬
mits of the Lord’s Prayer, by the resemblance of Nebi or
Nebesi to the Cimbric Nefoedd, and the Greek Nephos, and
of Wolja and Chljeb to the Gothic Wilja and Hlaif. The
Sclavonians are the descendants of the ancient Sarmatians,
who were situated north of the Black Sea and of the Da¬
nube. They were conquered by the Goths, and then
driven by the Tartars and Huns into the north-east of
Germany, and the neighbouring countries. Procopius
calls them Spori, and divides them into the Sclavi and
Antes, the latter, perhaps, the same as the Wends. They
formed, at an early period, two principal states, Great
Russia, about Novogorod, and Little Russia, on the Dnie¬
per, its capital being Kiew. The Russi were a Scandi¬
navian branch, under Rurik, to whom the Sclavonians of
the former state submitted in 862, whence they were call¬
ed Russians; and Rurik’s successor, Oleg, conquered
Kiew. After several vicissitudes, the Russians were li¬
berated by Iwan Wasiliewitch, at the end of the fifteenth
century ; and this period was the beginning of their great¬
ness. Their language has some mixture of Greek, Fin¬
nish, Swedish, Tartarian, and Mongol. The ecclesiasti¬
cal dialect was uniformly retained in all literary works in
the former part of the last century, but now the language
of conversation is generally adopted in writing. This lan¬
guage is more immediately derived from that of Gi-eat
Russia; that of the church, which is called the Slawen-
ish, rather from Little Russia, and especially from the dia¬
lect of Servia. The Malo-Russian dialect is somewhat
mixed with the Polish, and is spoken in Ukraine and Little
Russia; the Susdalian is mixed with Greek and other
languages, and is spoken in Thrace.
In 640, the Sclavonians took possession of Illyria, which
before that time had been overrun by a variety of other
nations ; and they still retain it, under the names of Ser¬
vians, Croatians, and Southern Wends. The Servians are
supposed to have come from Great Servia, now East Galli-
cia, on the Upper Vistula; the Croatians from Great Chro-
batia, probably situated on the Carpathian Mountains.
Cyril first adapted the Greek alphabet to the Sclavonian
language in Pannonia; his letters were afterwards a little
altered, and attributed to St Jerome, in order to reconcile
the people to their use ; and in this form they are termed
Glagolitic characters. The Servian dialect is intermedi¬
ate between the Russian and the Croatian. The Bulga¬
rians speak a corrupt Sclavonian, which Boscovich, from
Ragusa, could scarcely understand. The Uskoks are a
wild race of the Bulgarians, extending into Carniola, and
speaking a mixed language. The dialect of Sclavonia and
Dalmatia is nearly the same as that of Servia and Bosnia ;
the churches use the ecclesiastical language of Russia.
In Ragusa, the orthography approaches, in some measure,
to the Italian. The Servian is also imperfectly spoken by a
small colony in Transylvania. The Southern Wends were
first distinguished in 630, and were probably so named, like
the Veneti, from being settled on the shores of the Adri¬
atic, the word Wend or Wand meaning Sea. They are
now mixed with Germans in Carniola, Carinthia, and
Lower Stiria. In Hungary there is a small colony, who
call themselves Slowens, and speak /the Wendish dialect
of the Sclavonian. The western Sclavonians, or the pro¬
per Sclavi, write their language in the Roman characters;
but the specimens copied from Adelung are accommodated
in their orthography to the German mode of pronunci¬
ation.
The Poles probably came with the Russians from the
VOL. XIII.
U A G E.
Danube into the countries abandoned by the Goths ; the Language,
name Pole implies an inhabitant of plains. Their Ian-'—
guage was partly superseded by the Latin in the tenth
century, when they received the rites of the Latin church ;
but it has in later times been more cultivated. The Cas-
subians, or Kashubians, in Pomerania, speak a Polish mix¬
ed with a little German. In Silesia, the names of places
in the plains are Sclavonian ; in the hills, more lately oc¬
cupied, German ; but German has been the language of
Breslau ever since the year 1300.
The Bohemians emigrated with the Moravians and Slo-
waks into their present habitations about the middle of
the sixth century, after the destruction of the kingdom of
Thuringia by the Franks and Saxons. There is a Bohe¬
mian hymn of the date 990, and a chronicle in rhyme of
1310. One third of the Bohemians are of German origin,
and speak a corrupt German.
The Serbs or Wends came about the same time into
the countries between the Saal and the Oder, from the
neighbourhood of the Volga or the Crimea; a few of them
are still left in Lusatia, under the name of Wends or
Sclavonians, and some in Misnia. In Pomerania the Wend¬
ish became extinct about 1400 : but the Polabes in Liine-
burg, on the Leyne, kept up till lately a language con¬
sisting of a mixture of Wendish and German. The Sora-
bic of the Russian vocabulary seems to be the same with
this Serbian.
Of the Lithuanian or Lettish language, two thirds are
Sclavonian, the rest is principally German. When the
Goths had removed from the Baltic towards the Black
Sea, their neighbours the iEstii remained for some hun¬
dred years independent, till, in the sixth century, the
Sclavonians incorporated themselves with them, and form¬
ed the Lettish people and language. The Old Prussian
was spoken, at the time of the Reformation, in Samland
and its neighbourhood, but it is now lost; it contained
more German than the other Lithuanian dialects. The
Prussian Lithuanian is spoken from the Inster to Memel,
especially in Insterburg. The Polish Lithuanian, in Sa-
mogitia, has a little mixture of Polish. The proper Let¬
tish is current in Lettland and Courland; it is purest
about Mittau and Riga; the old Courlanders having been
Fins, this dialect has received a little Finnish from them.
The Crivingian is another dialect, spoken by the Krewins
in Courland.
17. The Tshudish or Finnish, the Hungarian, and the
Albanian languages, have some traits of resemblance to
each other; they are placed as forming the sporadic or
scattered order of the great Talaric or Asiatic class, being
in some measure geographically detached from the rest,
and scattered through different parts of Europe; they
immediately follow the Indo-European class, as exhibiting
an occasional resemblance to some of the languages con¬
tained in it, though not enough to make it certain that
the connection is essential or original. Thus the Finnish
is said to have some coincidences with the Greek, the Lap-
landish with the Hebrew, the Hungarian with the Fin¬
nish, and the Albanian with all its neighbours.
The term Tshudish is employed as comprehending the
Fins, Laplanders, Esthonians, and Livonians; a race of
people of unknown origin, but in all probability uncon¬
nected with the Huns or Mongols. Their languages are
remarkable for the great complexity of their structure;
their nouns, for example, having from ten to fifteen cases,
among which are reckoned, in the Finnish, a nuncupative,
a conditional accusative, a factitive, a mediative. a descrip¬
tive, a penetrative, a locative, a privative, and a negative.
The Esthonian has less direct variety of termination, but
several intricate combinations. There is also a great
multiplicity of dialects, partly from a mixture of Scan¬
dinavian, and partly from other causes; in Lapland, al-
M
90 LANG
Language, most every church has a peculiar version of the service
kept for its use. The Finnish is intermediate between
the Laplandish and the Esthonian. The Esthonians are
the iEstii of the Romans, the name implying Easterly,
and being appropriate to the country, and not to the peo¬
ple. The principal dialects of their language are those of
Reval and of Dorpat; some authors also consider the
dialect of the Krewins in Courland as belonging to it.
The Livonian is much mixed with other languages, and
has been almost superseded by the Lettish. Amongst the
Laplandish words which Rudbeck has derived from the
Hebrew, we find Aedhame, Earth, like the Hebrew Ada-
meh; Hadas, New, H. Khadesh; Hadshe, the Moon, H.
Hhadesh ; Jed, the Hand, H. Id; Ise, Man, H. Ish ; Pothi,
persuaded, H. Pathehh; Saedke, Law, H. Tzedek ; and
Safothi, Rested, H. Sabbath. In the Finnish, Kana is
something like the English and German Hen.
18. The Hungarians inhabited, in the fourth century,
the country of the Bashkirs, between'the Tobol, the Vol¬
ga, and the Jaik, perhaps as colonists, since their name
signifies strangers. Their language was spoken in this
neighbourhood as late as the thirteenth century; in the
sixth they were conquered by some of their Turkish
neighbours ; in the end of the ninth they were forced by
the Petschenegers, a Tartarian nation, to remove nearer
to the Carpathian Mountains. They were then engaged
in the German wars, and their country having been occu¬
pied during their absence by the Bulgarians, they took
possession of the Bulgarian kingdom on the Theiss, as
well as of Pannonia. Their language is somewhat like the
Finnish, but the people are very different from the Fins in
appearance; which might indeed be the effect of a dif¬
ference of climate ; but, in fact, the language appears to
be still more like the Sclavonian, with a mixture of a
multitude of others ; it has some words from various Tar¬
tarian dialects, German, French, Latin, Armenian, He¬
brew, Persian, and Arabic; but it has no traces of the Mon¬
gol, nor is it possible that the people can be descendants
of the Huns, whose character and cast of features can
never be eradicated. The word Coach, so general in
Europe, is originally Hungarian, having been derived from
the town of Kots, where coaches are said to have been in¬
vented. The Szecklers, in Transylvania, speak a lan¬
guage like the Hungarian ; it is uncertain whether they
are a Hungarian colony, or remains of the Petschenegers ;
but, however this may be, there is little doubt that the
Hungarians are principally of Tartarian extraction, though
much mixed with other nations.
19. The Albanians speak a language, of which a con¬
siderable portion is Greek, Latin, German, Sclavonian, or
Turkish; but the rest seems to be perfectly distinct from
any other language with which we are acquainted. They
are probably connected with the Albanians between Mount
Caucasus and the river Cyrus, who are supposed to be
derived from the Alani; some of them seem to have en¬
tered Bulgaria as late as 1308. In 1461, many of them
fled from the Turks to Italy and Sicily, where they still
exist near Reggio and Messina. The Clementines are an
Albanian colony, who followed the Austrian army in 1737 ;
such of them as escaped from the pursuit of the Turks
established themselves in Syrmia.
20. The languages referred to the Caucasian order have
little to distinguish them from the resLof the class, except
their geographical situation, in the immediate neighbour¬
hood of the Caucasian Mountains. They have a general
resemblance to some others of the languages of Northern
Asia, and particularly to the Samojedic dialects, spoken on
the mountains between Siberia and the Mongols. Except
the Armenian and Georgian, they are scarcely ever em¬
ployed in writing; and principally, perhaps, from this
U A G E.
cause, they exhibit as great a diversity, in the space of Langu:
a few square miles, as those of many other nations do in V
as many thousands. It is only conjectured that most of
the inhabitants of these countries are derived from the
miscellaneous fragments of expeditions of various nations,
left behind in their passage through them at different
periods.
The connection of the Armenian with the Sanscrit and
the Persian, is just enough to make it equally possible that
the coincidences may have been derived from a common
parent, or that one language may have simply borrowed
detached words from the other. We find, in different parts
of Mr Townsend’s work, about ten Armenian words resem¬
bling some other language; these are, Air, a man, Air,
Irish ; Atamn, a tooth, Odonta, Greek ; Chuerk, four, Cha-
tur, Sanscrit; Dor, a door ; E, is, Est, Latin; Es, I, laze,
Russian ; Gas, a goose, Gans, German ; Houze, a house ;
Lakeil, to lick, Leichein, Greek; and Sirt, the heart. No¬
thing is known of the history of the Armenian before the
time of Miesrob, who translated the Bible into it, in 405 ;
the historian Moses, of Chorene, was his pupil. The lan¬
guage flourished till the year 800, and is still preserved in
tolerable purity in the cloisters. The common people
speak a dialect more corrupt and mixed. The fathers of
the Armenian convent at Venice have been very laudably
employed in the improvement of the literature of their na¬
tion, by the publication of several very elegant editions of
Armenian books, which have been executed at their press;
in particular, of an Armenian translation of Eusebius, con¬
taining some passages which are not extant in Greek, and
said to have been copied from a manuscript of great anti¬
quity at Constantinople. It is, however, very remarkable,
that, as they candidly confess, the copy, when first received
by them, contained the corrections and additions of Scali-
ger, in conformity with the text of the printed Greek edi¬
tion ; and the copyist, when questioned, asserted that he
had merely translated and inserted passages of his own ac¬
cord, and in silence, in order to make the work more per¬
fect. Still the Armenian Eusebius is a very handsome
book, and every way calculated to do credit to the Vene¬
tian editors and their patrons ; a Latin translation of it only
has been published by Angelo Mai at Milan.
21. The Georgians are supposed to have derived their
name from the river Cyrus or Gur, and to have extended
formerly to Colchis, under the denomination of Iberians.
Moses of Chorene, in the fifth century, mentions the Geor¬
gian translation of the Bible. The old language is still
preserved in the churches, and the common dialect of the
country is derived from it, together with the Kartuelish,
Imirettish, Mingrelish, and Suanetish, which are varieties
of that dialect; the Tushetish is mixed with some Kistic.
The Georgians have no fewer than thirty-seven letters,
and among them a variety of aspirates and sibilants, of no
very agreeable sounds.
22. The Abassic nations seem to be the oldest inhabi¬
tants of the Caucasian country. 23. The Circassians are
situated to the east of them, on the promontory of North
Caucasus. 24. The Ossetes, on the left of the Terek, north
of the mountain ; the dialect of the Dugors is scarcely dis¬
tinguishable from this. 25. The Kistic, spoken by the In-
gushans, and their neighbours at the head of the Terek, is
connected with the Tushetic Georgian. 26. The Lesgi ans,
east of Caucasus, on the Caspian Sea, have a number of
distinct dialects, or rather languages. Thus, the Chunsag
and Avaric, the Dido, the Kasi Kumuk, the Andi, and the
Akushan, have little connection with each other, except
that the Dido somewhat resembles the Chunsag, of which
the Avaric, the Antsug, and the Dzhar, seem to be subor¬
dinate dialects. The Kasi Kumiik appears to have adopt¬
ed some words of the Armenian, and the Andi and Aku-
age.
LANGUAGE.
91
shan of the Georgian. The dialect of Kubesha resembles
that of Akusha, and retains no traces of a supposed Euro¬
pean origin.
27. The languages of the central and elevated parts of
Asia are comprehended in the order Tartarian ; they ex¬
tend from the Caspian Sea to the mouth of the Amur,
through countries which have been, in former ages, the
constant scenes of emigration and barbarism. The Turco-
Tartarians are supposed to correspond to the descendants
of the Magog of the Scriptures, and to some of the Scy¬
thians of the Greeks. The Turks of Turkestan seem to
have been the Massagetse and Chorasmii of the ancients;
their country extended north of Persia and Thibet, from
the Caspian to the Altaic Mountains. In the twelfth cen¬
tury they wrae brilliant and victorious ; at present, a few
of their descendants only are left in the neighbourhood of
the Mongols, and their language is no longer spoken ; the
Turcomans scattered in Persia and Arabia are derived
from the same race. The Osmans, now commonly called
Turks, left Turkestan in 545, and succeeded in the con¬
quest of Persia. They were denominated Osmans, from
one of their leaders, in the fourteenth century. Their lan¬
guage has been much mixed with Arabic and Persian.
This language, with the neighbouring dialects, has been
considered in the table as belonging to a family called
Caspian, the word Tartarian having been previously ap¬
plied to the whole order. Several of these dialects exhibit
a mixture of words from the language of the Mongols,
which, as well as the Calmuck, has a sufficient connection
with them to be arranged as belonging to the same Turco-
Tartarian family. It would, perhaps, be equally correct to
consider some of them rather as distinct languages than as
dialects of a single one ; but it is not easy to discriminate
those which are entitled to this rank; and, on the other
hand, some specimens have been admitted, from the Com¬
parative Vocabularies, which scarcely deserved to be no¬
ticed as separate dialects. The Bucharians are situated
between the Oxus and Jaxartes, on the river Koly. They
still retain some traces of a superior degree of civilization,
by which they were once distinguished. Their language is
little known, but it seems to be at least as much connected
with the Median and Arabian families as with the Caspian.
The Tartars were described by the terms Scythians, Bul¬
garians, Avari, and other appellations, before they were
conquered and united by Genghiz Khan the Mongol. In
the year J552 they became subject to the Russians. The
most westerly are the Nogaic or Nagaic and Crimean Tar¬
tars ; their language is much like the Turkish, but mixed
with some Mongol. Those of Cumania in Hungary have
now forgotten their original language, and speak the Hun¬
garian, the last person who understood the Cumanian havr
ing died in 1770. They entered Hungary in 1086, and be¬
came Christians in 1410. The Tartarian, or rather Cas¬
pian, is spoken in great purity about Kasan; a dialect some¬
what different in Orenburg ; and another by the Kirgishes,
who occupy part of the ancient Turkestan. “ Among the
Siberian Tartars, the remains of the kingdom of Turan,
some are Mahometans; others, as the Turalinzic villagers,
have been made Christians; at least the Archbishop Phi-
lophei performed the ceremony of baptizing them, by or¬
dering his dragoons to drive them in a body into the river.”
The inhabitants of the banks of the Tara, a branch of the
Irtish, are said to be derived from the Bucharians. The
Tshulimic Tartars enjoy the same advantage as the Tura¬
linzic, and are considered as Christians by the Russians.
The Teleutes, in Sonjor, are heathens, nearly like the Sha-
manites of India. The Jakuts extend along the Lena to
the sea; their language contains some Mantshuric and
some Tungusic. That of the Tshuwashes, on the Volga, is
said to have been once completely distinct from the Tar¬
tarian or Caspian ; and even at present, though more mixed
with it, may require to be classed as forming a separate Language,
species.
The Mongols are marked by their features as a race very
different from the other Tartars; the character of their
countenance seems to be easily propagated from father to
son, and never to be completely effaced; their original ha¬
bitation appears to have been in the neighbourhood of the
Altaic Mountains. The description of the Huns, found in
Ammianus, Procopius, and others, agrees exactly with the
present Mongols, whom the Chinese still call Kiong nu;
and more particularly with the Calmucks. The proper names
of the Huns are also found to be explicable from the Mon¬
gol language. In the first century they were driven west¬
wards by the Chinese: under Attila they penetrated into
the middle of Europe; and they were little less successful
at subsequent periods, under Genghiz Khan and Timur
Leng. When they were expelled from China, after having
held it in subjection for more than a century, they carried
back no civilization with them; nor was either of the lan¬
guages permanently affected by this temporary mixture of
the nations, although the physiognomy of the Chinese bears
ample testimony of its having once existed. The con¬
struction of their language seems to be very indirect and
figurative. Mr Townsend has copied from General Val¬
iancy a long list of words, in Strahlenberg’s Mongol Voca¬
bulary, which agree very remarkably with the Irish ; among
these we find Are and Ere, man, Irish Ar, Air, Fear;
Arul, a spindle, Irish Oirle; Alemamodo, an apple-tree,
Irish Amhalmhaide; Asoc, to ask, Irish Ascadh; Baiehu,
I live long, Irish Booth, long life ; Bugu, a buck, Irish Boc,
a he goat; Choy, a ewe, Irish Choi ; and Choraga, a lamb,
Irish Caorog ; without going any further in the alphabet.
The last two instances are very striking, and seem to point
very strongly at that part of the east from which the Celts
may be supposed to have originally emigrated. The Cai-
muck dialect is somewhat mixed with the neighbouring
Tartarian. The Tagurians, or Daurians, between the lake
Baikal and the Mongol Hills, are said to be of Mantshuric
origin: but their language evidently resembles the Cal¬
muck. The Burattish is from the Russian Vocabularies.
28. The Mantshurians are sometimes improperly called
Eastern Mongols ; they are subjects of the empire of China.
Their language is rude, and not much like the Chinese,
though evidently derived from the monosyllabic class. It
has some few words in common with the European lan¬
guages, as Kiri, patient, Kirre, German, Cicur, Latin, tame;
Furu, Furor; Lapta, rags, Lappen, German; Sengui,
blood, Sanguis; Ania, a year, Annus-, but, considering
the remoteness of their situation, we can scarcely form any
conclusion from the occurrence of these resemblances. M.
Abel Remusat held the appointment of professor of this
language at Paris; but it was found difficult for him to
render its study very popular in the midst of so busy a
metropolis. Whether the language of the island of Saga-
lien, opposite to the mouth of the Amur, is a dialect of the
Mantshuric, or totally distinct, and requiring to be classed
with the insular languages, appears to be not yet sufficiently
ascertained. The Corean has been supposed to be a mix¬
ture of Mantshuric and Chinese: the Coreans do not un¬
derstand either of those languages when they are spoken,
but this fact is perfectly compatible with the supposition.
29. The Tungusians, in the east of Siberia, subject to
the Chinese, speak a peculiar language, mixed with some
Mongol. The Russian vocabularies contain specimens of a
variety of their dialects, besides those of the Tshapogirs on
the Jenisei, and the Lamuti on the Sea of Ochotsk, none
of them particularly interesting or remarkable.
30. The languages belonging to the Siberian order oc¬
cupy the principal part of the north of Asia, between the
mountainous Tartarian territory and the Frozen Sea. At
the commencement of this order, we find a variety of in-
92 LANG
Language, considerable nations in the neighbourhood of the confines
 ' of Europe and Asia, which have their distinct languages,
probably formed, in times comparatively modern, out of the
fragments of others. They have almost all of them some
Finnish words, but none a sufficient number to justify us
in considering them as dialects of the Finnish language,
although the people were very probably connected with
the Fins as neighbours, in the middle ages, on the banks
of the Dwina and elsewhere. The Sirjanes, in the govern¬
ment of Archangel, speak nearly the same language with
the Permians, who are partly in the same government, and
partly in that of Kasan. The Wotiaks, on the Wiatka,
also in Kasan, have a dialect which seems to be interme¬
diate between the Permian and the Tsheremissic. 31. The
Woguls, situated on the Kama and the Irtish, afford speci¬
mens of several dialects in the Russian collection; they
seem to have borrowed a few words from the Hungarian,
and much more from the language of the Ostiaks (32),
who are also divided into several races. 33. The Tshere-
misses, situated on the Volga, in Kasan, have a little mix¬
ture of Turco-Tartarian. 34. The Morduins, on the Oka
and Volga, have about one eighth of their language Fin¬
nish, and also some Turco-Tartarian words. The Moktanic
is a dialect differing but slightly from the Morduin. 35.
The Teptjerai are people paying no taxes, who originated
from the relics of the Tartaro-Kasanic kingdom in the six¬
teenth century, and who are said to speak a language pe¬
culiar to themselves. The arrangement of all these dialects
must remain very imperfect, for want of a greater number
of specimens of their peculiarities.
36. The Samojedic nations are situated north of the
Tartars, by whom they may possibly have been driven into
their present habitations. Their languages seem to have
some affinity with the Caucasian and Lesgian dialects,
and some of them with the Wogulic and Ostiak families;
the specimens in the Comparative Vocabularies seem to
have been multiplied somewhat too liberally. 37. The Ca-
mashes are situated on the right of the Jenisei; they are
Shamanites or Buddists ; their language seems to be a mix¬
ture of several others, and is divided into several very dis¬
tinct dialects. The Koibals have been baptized ; they have
borrowed some words from the Turco-Tartarian family.
The Motors are situated on the Tuba. 38. The Ostiaks on
the river Jenisei afford us five specimens of languages totally
different from those of the Ostiaks already mentioned, but
nearly connected with each other, so that they may pro¬
perly be called Jenisei- Ostiaks. 39. The Jukagirs, or Ju-
kadshirs, are few in number ; they are situated between the
Jakuti and the Tshutshi; they have some Jakutish words
mixed with their language, and some Tsheremissic. 40.
The Koriaks and the Tshutshi occupy the north-eastern¬
most point of Siberia ; the proper Koriak is spoken on the
bay of Penshin ; the Kolymic on the river Kolyma, the
Tigilic on the Tigil in Kamtschatka, and the Karaginic on
the island Karaga ; the Tshutshic has been considered as a
dialect of the Koriak. 41. The Kamtschatkans are a little
further south ; the Tigilic Kamtschatkan is found, howevex-,
on the north of the Tigil; the Srednish to the west, on the
Bolshaia, and the Jozhnyshic on the river Kamtschatka, and
towards the South Cape. The languages of the neighbour¬
ing parts of America, according to Professor Vater, greatly
resemble the Tshutshic.
The Insular order of the Tataric or Atactic class of lan¬
guages must be understood as comprehending all the Asi¬
atic islands east of Borneo. 42. The language of the Curi-
lees is spoken not only in the principal of these islands, but
also in Kamtschatka, about Cape Lopatka ; but in some of
the islands the Japanese is spoken. The Japanese derive
themselves from the Chinese, but their language contra¬
dicts this opinion ; they have evident traces of Mongol ex¬
traction or relationship. The amiable islanders of Loochoo
U AGE.
will long be remembered by the British public, for the hos- Language
pitality they showed to the Alceste and the Lyra; their
language appears to be related to the Japanese, as might
be expected from their situation. Fonnosa was conquered
by the Dutch in 1620, but in 1661 it was taken from them
by a Chinese pirate: the next year some books were printed
in the Formosan language in Holland, the recapture of the
island not being yet known there; in 1682, it was finally
given up to the Chinese government. 47. The Moluccan
is considered by Dr Leyden as an original language ; that
of Magindanao contains some Malayan, Moluccan, Taga-
lish, and Bugis. The Tagalish, or Gala, is the principal
language of the Philippines, and almost as generally un¬
derstood in that neighbourhood as the Malay and Hindus-
tanee in other parts; it is allied to the Malayan and to the
Javanese, and was probably derived in great measure from
these languages; it also resembles in some measure the
Bugis. The Bissayish is a ruder dialect of the Tagalish.
The Sulu differs but little from these dialects, being de¬
rived from the same sources. The Bugis is the language
of Celebes; it is supposed to be more ancient than the Ja¬
vanese ; it seems to contain no Sanscrit, but much Malay,
Tagalish, and Javanese, and some of the old Ternate, or
Moluccan; it is written in a peculiar character, and some
good poetry is found in it. There is a dialect called the
Mungharar. The Bima somewhat resembles this dialect;
it is spoken in the eastern parts of Sumbawa, and the west¬
ern of Ende or Flores; it is written either in the Bugis or
the Malay character; it seems to have a distant resemblance
to the language of Orissa. The dialect of Sumbawa exhibits
some slight variations. A few single wmrds, as Matta, the
eye, and Matte, death, are found to coincide in almost all
the islands of the Pacific Ocean ; the languages of which,
notwithstanding their immense distances, seem to differ
less than those of the inhabitants of some very small
continental tracts; and they might probably be divided
into a few well-defined families, if our knowledge of
them were more complete. The resemblance of Matte to
the Arabian Mot, and the Latin Mactare, is probably ac¬
cidental.
The number of the African languages is supposed to
amount to one hundred or one hundred and fifty, and as
many as seventy or eighty of them have been distinguished
with tolerable accuracy. The population of Africa seems
to have been derived from Arabia, and, as some critics
think, rather from the southern than from the northern
parts ; a great number of its present inhabitants are negroes,
but these cannot be distinguished from the rest by any in¬
fallible criterion. The account given by Ptolemy of the
interior part of the country appears to be wonderfully ac¬
curate and extensive ; although some of his measures seem
to be erroneous, and not sufficiently reconcileable with the
truth, even by adopting Major Rennell’s hypothesis re¬
specting them. It is however remarkable that Ptolemy
followed Hipparchus in extending the eastern coast of Af¬
rica to the Ganges, although more correct ideas of its form
had been entertained at Alexandria before his time.
The Egyptians demand the priority in treating of the
inhabitants of Africa, from their early connection with an¬
cient history, both sacred and profane. It is observable
that the representations of the old Egyptians have counte¬
nances more or less approaching to the negro physiognomy,
though the dry bones of the skeleton have that character
somewhat less decidedly than they must have had when
clothed with the thick lips and flattish noses of the gene¬
rality of the representations; at the same time there are
sculptures of great antiquity, which exhibit features not
unlike those of correct Grecian or Roman beauty; and
others have a considerable resemblance to the Arabian
nation. At present the people of middle Africa in general
are more or less like negroes, but they are somewhat less
LANG
age. dark, and their noses and lips are less peculiar; the women
-^sometimes screamed if Burckhardt made his appearance on
a sudden, and called him the Devil, because he was white.
The Egyptians are supposed by some writers to have re¬
ceived their civilization from Ethiopia; but there are at
present no traces of the remains of high civilization farther
south than Nubia, except a few scattered monuments about
Axum, of no great antiquity. The Egyptians were at first
called Copts by the Saracens, and their language has been
commonly distinguished by the appellation Coptic, that is,
as written in characters which are principally Greek, and
frequently intermixed with a number of pure Greek words;
but not a single fragment of Coptic has yet been discovered
in this form that is earlier than the establishment of Chris¬
tianity in Egypt; and it seems probable that the character
was introduced by the early Christians at the time of the
translation of the Scriptures into Coptic, which is certainly
of very high antiquity. The Greek authors frequently
mention an Egyptian alphabet of twenty-five letters; but
no traces of any such alphabet are found in the multitudi¬
nous inscriptions or manuscripts that have been preserved
by the exertions of the numerous and adventurous travel¬
lers who have lately visited the country. The Greek words
mixed with the Coptic are not considered by the gramma¬
rians as incorporated with the language, nor are they ad¬
mitted into the dictionaries The genuine language bears
very evident marks of great antiquity ; its construction is
simple and often awkward; and a great number of its words
are monosyllables. We have positive evidence of its having
remained unaltered from the time of Herodotus, Plutarch,
and other Greek authors ; and it affords us the etymology
of the name of Moses, and of some other words mentioned
in the Scriptures. It exhibits a few coincidences with
other ancient languages, but not enough to enable us to
consider it either as the offspring or the parent of any of
them, except that it gives us something like an explanation
of the meaning of some of the Greek particles. Out of
one hundred and fourteen original Egyptian words, there are
fifty-two that resemble the Greek, twenty-seven the Ger¬
man and English, eighteen the Hebrew, three the Syriac,
two the Arabic, two the Sanscrit, one the Sclavonian, and
one the Cantabrian. It is, however, probable, that a per¬
son more intimately acquainted with the languages of the
Arabian family would have been able to find a much great¬
er number of coincidences, since nations which had so
much intercourse as the Jews and the Egyptians could
scarcely fail to have many words in common, even if their
languages had been at first completely different; and pro¬
bably many of the Arabic roots, which are not Hebrew,
may be found in the Egyptian. To the Cantabrian word
inserted in this enumeration, Dr Young added five others,
the whole six being Berria, new; Ora, a dog; Guchi, little ;
Oguia, bread: “ Gtsoa,” a wolf, whence the Spanish Onza ;
and Shashpi, seven : in Coptic, Beri, new ; Uhor, a dog ;
Kudshi, little; Oik, bread; Uonsh, a wolf; and Shashf,
seven. Hence he infers, that “ if we consider these words
as sufficiently identical to admit of our calculating upon
them, the chances will be more than a thousand to one
that, at some very remote period, an Egyptian colony es¬
tablished itself in Spain; for none of the languages of the
neighbouring nations retain any traces of having been the
medium through which these words have been conveyed.
On the other hand,” he continues, “ if we adopted the
opinions of a late learned antiquary,” General’Vallancey,
“ the probability would be still incomparably greater that
Ireland was originally peopled from the same mother coun¬
try ; since he has collected more than one hundred words
which are certainly Egyptian, and which he considers as
bearing the same sense in Irish; but the relation, which
he has magnified into identity, appears in general to be
that of a very faint resemblance; and this is precisely an
U A G E. 93
instance of a case in which it would be deceiving ourselves Language,
to attempt to reduce the matter to a calculation.” It may,
indeed, be imagined that the Egyptian dominions may for¬
merly have extended to the Straits of Gibraltar, and that
Spain may have derived a part of its population from this
part of Africa, which approaches so near to it; but it
could scarcely have happened that no traces of Egyptian
monuments should ever have been found at any distance
from the Nile, if that active people had really occupied any
considerable portion of the neighbouring continent. The
word Chemistry, in Greek Chemia, is well known to be de¬
rived from the Egyptian ; it has successively been compared,
by the Quarterly Reviewer, to Chim or Chem, heat, and
to Chem, secret, the latter being the more probable origin
of the two ; and a third etymon might be found, if it were
required, in the Dshem, or Ghem, to find, or Invention.
The Coptic language has been nearly extinct for about
two centuries; but the service has been read in Coptic
much more lately in some of the churches, though it has
now been almost entirely superseded by the Arabic. The
proper Coptic, or Memphitic, which was the dialect of Low¬
er Egypt, is supposed, from a word quoted by Herodo¬
tus, to be the most ancient; the Sahidic or Thebaic of
Upper Egypt was probably preserved for a longer time,
especially in some of the monasteries ; there is a separate
version of the principal part of the Bible in this dialect,
fragments of which have been published by Mingarelli
and Woide; a third dialect, much resembling the Thebaic,
is commonly called the Bashmuric; and a fourth, the Oasi-
tic, has been partially made known by Mr Quatremere de
Quincy. The Egyptians have left no traces of their lan¬
guage among the people who at present occupy the coun¬
tries that they inhabited ; the Nubian vocabularies collect¬
ed by Burckhardt contain no Coptic words; the people
are of different Arab races, but have acquired peculiar
dialects, probably mixed with those of the neighbouring
negro nations, of several of which we find specimens in Mr
Salt’s Voyage to Abyssinia. But one of the most learned,
as well as the most adventurous and industrious, of modern
travellers, has remarked some coincidences between the
old Egyptian language and that of the Barabras, who are
neighbours of the Nubians, and extend to the confluence
of the Tacazze and the Nile. The Geez and Amharic
have already been mentioned as descendants of the Arabian
family ; they seem to have introduced some traces of this
extraction into several of the neighbouring dialects, pro¬
bably by the translations of the Scriptures, or by the use
of the Koran. Professor Yater has taken some pains to
prove that the language of Amhara, the Camara of Aga-
tharchides, is wholly independent of the Ethiopic and Ara¬
bian ; but in this he appears to be mistaken. It exhibits
some slight resemblance to the Sanscrit, in a few instances ;
thus, Tshegure is hair, in Sanscrit, Tshicura. Macrizi tells
us, that there are, in the whole, fifty Abyssinian dialects ;
but he has probably exaggerated their number. We have
obtained more authentic information respecting them from
the collections of Bruce, and of his editor, Murray, and
still more lately from Dr Seetzen and Mr Salt. Of the
Mek of Dongola, the representative of a long race of the
Christian kings of Nubia, little is now known, except that
he is in a great measure dependent on the king of Sennaar
on the one hand, and has been expelled from a part of his
territories by the Mamelukes on the other. Of the Agows
and the Gafats, neighbours of the Abyssinians, and situated
on the Bahr el Azrek, as well as the Jewish Falashas, who
are scattered over the country, especially in Dembea, we
have read much in the historical romances of Mr Bruce,
which certainly give a faithful picture of the countries to
which they relate, notwithstanding some unaccountable in¬
accuracies with respect to the personal adventures of the
author.
94 LAN
Landed The north of Africa is occupied by inhabitants not much
I ni t differinS aPPearance from the Arabs. Its three principal
" 'a ,<?ue_‘J divisions are the coast, the country of wild beasts, and the
desert. The later Arabs have expelled the earlier Africans
from the first division, and partly from the second; the
Berbers occupy the third, inhabiting principally the Oases,
or cultivable islands, scattered through the desert from
Mount Atlas to Egypt, and speaking, as Horneman first
ascertained, the same language throughout this vast ex¬
tent. They were first well described by Leo Africanus:
they are probably the remains of the Mauritanians, Numi-
dians, Gaetulians, and Garamatians. There is no founda¬
tion whatever for the opinion of some modern authors of
celebrity, that their language is derived from the Punic.
We even find, from Sallust, that the Numidian language
differed from the Carthaginian, and from Valerius Maxi¬
mus ; that it was written in a peculiar character, perhaps
the same with that which is found in the inscriptions from
Lebeda, now in the court of the British Museum. The
language of the Canaries considerably resembles the Ber¬
ber ; thus, milk is Acho in Berber, and Aho in the Cana¬
ries. These islands were discovered in 1330, and after¬
wards conquered, with some difficulty, by the Spaniards.
The inhabitants were a fine race of men, and lived in com-
fort and tranquillity; and they still present some traces of
their original character and condition.
The country between the desert Zahara and the Niger
is inhabited by a race of people who have a great resem¬
blance to negroes, but are somewhat different from them.
In the east are those of Soudan or Afnu, and Begermah ;
in the west the Foulahs; the Fellatas are a branch of
these, extending considerably to the north-east, with a
mixture of negroes.
Of the languages of the negroes, strictly so called, many
interesting specimens have been collected by the zeal of
the evangelical missionaries in the Caribbee Islands, and
published by Oldendorp, in his Account of the Mission ;
but they do not afford us sufficient materials to enable us
to trace any extensive connections or dependencies among
their multifarious dialects.
There are some points of coincidence between the lan¬
guage of Madagascar and those of the Malays, the Philip-
LAN
pine islanders, the Beetjuana Caffres, and the Corana Hot¬
tentots : there are also a few words, in many of the African
dialects, borrowed from the modern Arabic, not, as Court
de Gebelin would persuade us, fx-om the Phoenician. Nor
can any other of the affinities be very distinctly established.
The Caffres have little of the negro character except
the black colour, and less of this as they become more re¬
mote from the equator. They are supposed to extend across
the whole of Africa, immediately north of the Hottentots,
as far as Benguela and Quiloa. The Hottentots, with their
neighbours the Bosjemen, speak different dialects of the
same singular language, in different parts of their country.
Of that of the JDammaras, little or nothing is known.
Lichtenstein has classed them as Hottentots ; bxit Barrow,
who was better acquainted with them, considers them as
Caffres.
(Gesner, Mithridates de Differentiis Linguarum, Zurich,
15o5, 8vo ; Megiser, Specimen XL. Linguarum, 1592;
Duret, Thresor de l'Histoire des Langues, 4to ; Liideken
(Miiller), Specimina lAnguarum, Berk 1680; Chamber-
layne, Oratio Dominica, Amst. 1715; Schultz, Orienta-
lischer und Occidentalischer Sprachmeister, Leipz. 1748;
Hervas, Saggio, Hervas, Idea deli’ Universo, Cesenn.
1778-87, vol. xvii.-xxi. 4to; Vocabularia Comparativa,
2 vols. 4to, Petersburg, 1787, 4 vols. 1790; Berg mann,
Specimina, Ruien, 1789; Marsden’s Catalogue of Dictio¬
naries and Grammars, 1796 ; Marcel, Oratio Dominica,
Paris, 1805; Adelung und Vater, Mithridates, oder allge-
meine Sprachkunde, 4 vols. 8vo, Berlin, 1806-17; Le
Pileur, Tableaux Synoptiques de Mots similaires, 8vo, Paris
and Amst. 1812 ; Jamieson’s Hermes Scythicus, 8vo, Edin.
1814; Townsend’s Character of Moses, vol. ii. 4to, Bath,
1815; Leyden, Asiatic Researches, x.; Brief View of the
Baptist Missionsand Transactions, 8vo, Lond. 1815 ; Vater,
Index Linguarum totius Orbis, 8vo, Berk 1815; Vater,
Proben Deutscher Mundarten; Seetzens JVachlass, 8vo,
Leipz. 1816 ; Arndt, Ursprung und verwandlschaft der Eu-
ropdischen, Sprachen, 8vo, Frankfort, 1818, compared with
the Russian ; Volney sur VEtude Philosophique des
Langues, 2d edit. 8vo, Paris, 1820; laments that he has
not the happiness to understand German; Quarterly Re¬
view, No. xix. 8vo, Lond. 1813, xxvii. 1816.)
LANGUED, in Heraldry, expresses such animals
whose tongue, appearing out of the mouth, is borne of a
different colour from the rest of the body.
LANGUEDOC w^as, previously to the revolution, the
name of a large province of France, two hundred and twenty
miles in length, by one hundred and twenty in breadth.
It was divided into Upper and Lower Languedoc, Tou¬
louse being the capital of the former, and Montpellier, so
celebrated for the salubrity of its climate, the capital of
the latter. Languedoc is now divided into the depart¬
ments of Gard, Herault, Ardeche, Lozere, Tarn, Upper
Garonne, Aude, and Upper Laine. These will be found
described in their regular alphabetical order,
LANGE El, Hubert, one of the boldest political wri¬
ters of the sixteenth century, was born in 1518, at Viteaux,
a town in Burgundy, of which his father was governor.
He early evinced an inclination for study, and at the age
of nine not only understood, but spoke, Latin. Having
completed his studies, he resolved to travel. He set out
for Germany, where the learned Joachim Camerarius had
little difficulty in embuing him with the principles of the
reformers ; but the tumultuous scenes of which he was a
daily witness determined him to pass into Italy, there to
await the return of tranquillity. He remained some time
at Padua, where he studied civil law, and took his degree
of doctor in 1548. He then rapidly visited the principal
cities of Italy, and hastened his return to Germany, being
urged by a desire to make the acquaintance of Melanc-
thon, whose works had afforded him very great pleasure.
He arrived at Wittemberg in the course of the year 1549 ;
and, as long as Melancthon lived, he returned annually to
pass the winter at Wittemberg. From 1551 to 1560 he
visited Sweden, Denmark, Lapland, and made two journeys
into Italy; the first to satisfy his curiosity on different points,
and the second in the suite of Adolphus Count of Nassau,
who had desired to have the pleasure of his society. In 1565
he entered the service of Augustus, elector of Saxony, who
afterwards sent him to France to congratulate Charles IX.
on the re-estabiishment of peace in his dominions. Lan-
guet then accompanied the elector to the siege of Gotha,
of which he has left a good account; and was deputed, in
1568, to attend the diet of Spires. In 1570 he assisted
at the conferences of Stettin, and was sent into France
the same year to compliment Charles IX. on his marriage,
and at the Same time to engage him to cause the treaties
which guaranteed to the Protestants the free exercise of
their religion, to be observed. He was at Paris on the
day of the massacre of St Bartholomew, and made so
many efforts to save the printer Wechel, and Duplessis-
Mornay, both his intimate friends, that he drew on him¬
self the attention of the assassins, and would have fallen
a victim to his humane exertions, had it not been for the
LAN
LAN
95
affection of Morvilliers, bishop of Orleans, who kept him
concealed. Being soon afterwards recalled to Saxony,
he was sent to Vienna in 1574. In 1577 he passed into
the service of the count palatine John Cassimir, and then
attached himself to the Prince of Orange, who employed
him usefully in different negotiations. Languet died at
Antwerp on the 30th of September 1581. His works are,
1. Historica Descriptio susceptae a Caesarea majestate
executionis Augusto Saxoniae septem viro duce contra S.
Romani imperii rebelles, eorumque receptatorem etcaptae
urbis Gothae, 1568, in 4to ; 2. Harangue fait au Roi Charles
IX. de la part des Princes Protestants d’Allemagne, in¬
serted in the Memoires dn Regnede Charles IX. (vol. i.) ;
3. Epistolae Politicae et Historicae ad Philipp. Sydnaeum,
Francfort, 1630, in 12mo;4. Epistolae ad Joachimum Came-
rarium, et filium, Groningen, 1646, in 12mo; 5. Arcana
saeculi decimi-sexti, seu Epistolas secretae ad Principem
suum Augustum SaxOniae Ducem, Halle, 1699, in4to; 6.
Apologie ou Defence de Guillaume, prince d’Orange,
centre le ban et 1’edit du roi d’Espagne, Antwerp or Delft,
1581, in 4to ; 7. Vindicia; contra Tyrannos, sive de Princi-
pis in Populum, Populique in Principem legitima potes-
tate, Basil, 1579, in 8vo. This last work, which went
through a great number of editions in Germany and Hol¬
land, was published by the author under the name of Ju¬
nius Brutus; and was afterwards translated into French
by Francis Estienne, under the title, De la Puissance
legitime du Prince sur le Peuple. By a singular ano¬
maly, the translation is now much more rare than the ori¬
ginal. (a.)
Languet, John-Baptist-Joseph, a doctor of the Sor-
bonne, was born at Dijon in 1675. He was received into
the Sorbonne in 1698, and attached himself to the com¬
munity of St Sulpice, to which parish he rendered impor¬
tant service. M. tie la Chetardie, the vicar, conscious of his
talents, chose him as his curate, in wdiich capacity he offi¬
ciated for nearly ten years, and in 1714 succeeded to
the vicarage. His parish church being small and*out
of repair, he conceived the design of building a church
suitable to the size of the parish, which he began with the
sum of a hundred crowns, but soon obtained considerable
donations ; and the Duke of Orleans, regent of the king¬
dom., granted him a lottery, and laid the first stone of the
porch in 1718. It was consecrated in 1745, M. Languet
having spared neither labour nor expense to render it one
of the finest churches in the world, both for architecture
and ornament. Another work which did him no less ho¬
nour was the Maison de Venfant Jesus. This establishment
consisted of two parts ; the first composed of about thirty-
five poor ladies of good families, and the second of more
than 400 poor women and children of town and country.
The order and economy in this house, for the education
and employment of so many persons, gave Cardinal Fleury
so high an idea of the vicar of St Sulpice, that he pro¬
posed to make him superintendent-general of all the hos¬
pitals in the kingdom ; an appointment, however, which
he declined. M. Languet was not only singular in this
warm, disinterested, and benevolent conduct, but also in
other circumstances equally rare, namely, the refusal
of several bishoprics which were offered him. He even
resigned his vicarage in 1748, but continued to preach
every Sunday at his own parish church, and to support
the Maison de Venfant Jesus, to his death, which happen¬
ed in 1750.
LANGUOR, amongst physicians, signifies great weak¬
ness and loss of strength, attended with a dejection of
mind, so that the patients can scarcely walk or even stand
upright, but are apt to faint away.
LANHAM. See Lavenham.
LANIARD, or Lanyard (from Lanier, Fr.), a short
piece of cord or line fastened to several machines in a
ship, and serving to secure them in a particular place, or Lanige-
to manage them more conveniently. Such are the lan- rous
yards of the gun-port, the lanyard of the buoy, the lan- !!
yard of the cat-hook, and others. The principal lanyards ^T11'
used in a ship, however, are those employed to extend the .
shrouds and stays of the masts by their communication
with the dead eyes, so as to form a sort of mechanical
power resembling that of a tackle. These lanyards are
fixed in the dead eyes as follows : One end of the lanyards
is thrust through one of the holes of the upper dead eye,
and then knotted to prevent it from drawing out; the other
is then passed through one of the holes in the lower dead
eye, whence, returning upwards, it is inserted through the
second hole in the upper dead eye, and next through the
second in the lower dead eye, and finally through the
third holes in both dead eyes. The end of the lanyard
being then directed upwards from the lowest dead eye,
is stretched as stiff as possible by the application of
tackles; and, that the several parts of it may slide w ith
more facility through the holes of the dead eyes, it is well
smeared with hog’s lard or tallowq so that the strain is
immediately communicated to all the turns at once.
LANIGEROUS, an appellation given to whatever bears
wool.
LANISTA, in Antiquity, is sometimes used to signify
an executioner, but more frequently a master gladiator,
who taught the use of arms, and had always people under
him ready to exhibit shows of that kind. For this purpose
they either purchased gladiators, or educated in that art
children who had been exposed.
LANJANG, or Lan^chang, a city of Laos, situated
on the river Mecon, of which we have no very exact ac¬
counts. It is said to be extensive and splendid. The
palace of the sovereign is equal in extent to a city, while
those of the grandees are large and elegant. The dwell¬
ings of the lower orders are, as usual in the East, mere
huts. Long. 104. 38. E. Lat. 18. 30. N.
LANNION, an arrondissement of France, in the de¬
partment of the Northern Coasts, extending over 403
square miles, and containing a population of 90,500 persons.
It is divided into seven cantons and fifty-nine communes.
The capital is a city of the same name, situated on the
river Guer, about two miles from the sea, and contains
3200 inhabitants. In the neighbourhood are some mines,
which yield some iron and a little silver.
LANSQUINET, the name of a game at cards, which is
of French origin. It may be played at by any number of
people, though a single pack of cards is used during the
deal. The dealer, who possesses an advantage, shuffles the
cards, and, after they have been ’ cut by another of the
party, deals out two cards on his left hand, turning them
up, then one for himself, and a fourth which he places on
the table for the company, and which is called the re-
jouissance. On this card any or all of the company, the
dealer excepted, may put their money, which the dealer
is compelled to answer. The dealer continues turning
the cards upwards, one by one, till two of a sort come up,
that is to say, two aces, two deuces, or the like, which,
to prevent mistakes, or their being considered as single
cards, he places on each side of his own card ; and as
often as two, three, or the fourth sort of a card comes up,
he invariably places, as before mentioned, on each side
of his own card. The company has a right to take and
put money upon any single card, unless the dealer’s card
should happen to be double, which is often the case, by
his card being the same as one of the two hand-cards
which he first dealt out on his left hand. Thus he con¬
tinues dealing till he brings either their cards or his own.
Whilst the dealer’s own card remains undrawn, he wins;
and whichever card is turned up first, loses. If he deals
out the two cards on his left hand, which are styled the
96 LAO
Lantern hand-cards, before bis own, he is entitled to deal again,
j !l This advantage amounts to no more than his being ex-
.aoeoon. ernp|,et| from ]osing? when he turns up a similar card to
his own, immediately after he has turned up one for him¬
self. Lansquinet is often played without the rejouis-
sance, the dealer giving every one of the party a card to
put his money upon. It is often played also by dealing
only two cards, one for the company and the other for the
dealer. It should be observed, that a limitation is gene¬
rally fixed for the sum to be placed upon any card or num¬
ber of cards, either in gold or silver, beyond which the
dealer is not obliged to answer.
LANTERN, or Lanthorn, a device to carry a candle
in, being a kind of cover usually made of tinned iron, with
sashes of some transparent matter, as glass, horn, or the
like, to transmit the light.
Dark Lantern, one with only one opening, which may
also be closed up when the light is to be entirely hid, or
opened when there is occasion for the assistance of the
light to discover some object.
Magic Lantern, an optical machine, by which little
painted images are represented so much magnified, as to
be accounted the effect of magic by the ignorant.
Lantern, in Architecture, a little dome raised over the
roof of a building, to give light, and serve as a crowning to
the fabric. v
The term lantern is also used to signify a square cage
of carpentry placed over the ridge of a corridor or gal¬
lery, between two rows of shops, to illuminate them.
Lantern, on board of ship, a well-known machine, of
which there are many in a ship, particularly for the pur¬
pose of directing the course of other ships in a fleet or
convoy ; as the poop and top lanterns, &c.
Feast of Lanterns, in China, is a celebrated feast held
on the fifteenth day of the first month, and so called from
the infinite number of lanterns which are hung out of the
houses and streets. On this day are exposed lanterns of
all prices, some of them very costly.
LAOCOON, in fabulous history, a son of Priam and
Hecuba, or, according to others, of An tenor or of Capys.
Being priest of Apollo, he was commissioned by the Tro¬
jans to offer a bullock to Neptune, in order to render him
propitious. During the sacrifice two enormous serpents
issued from the sea, and attacked Laocoon’s two sons
who stood next to the altar. The father immediately at¬
tempted to defend his sons ; but the serpents falling up¬
on him, squeezed him in their complicated coils, and
he died in the greatest agony. This punishment was
said to have been inflicted upon him for dissuading the
Trojans from bringing into the city the fatal wooden horse
which the Greeks had consecrated to Minerva, as also for
his impiety in hurling a javelin against the sides of the
horse as it entered within the walls. According to Hy-
ginus, he suffered this punishment for his marriage against
the consent of Apollo, or, according to others, for his pol¬
luting the temple, by his commerce with his wife Antiope
before the statue of the god.
Laocoon, in the history of the arts, is a celebrated mo¬
nument of Greek sculpture, executed in marble by Age-
sander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, the three famous art¬
ists of Rhodes. Agesander is supposed to have been the
father of the two latter. This remain of antiquity was
found at Rome in the ruins of the palace of Titus, in the
beginning of the sixteenth century, under the pontificate
of Julius II. and afterwards deposited in the Farnese Palace.
Laocoon, the priest of Apollo and Neptune, is here repre¬
sented, along with his two sons, with two hideous serpents
clinging round his body, gnawing it, and injecting their
LAO
poison. This statue exhibits the most astonishing dignity Laodici
and tranquillity of mind in the midst of the most excru- ||
ciating torments. Pliny1 says of it, that it is Opus omni- baos
bus pictorecc ex statuarice artis, praferendum.
LAODICJEA on the Lycus, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Phrygia, at first called Diospolis, then Rhoas. It
was built by Antiochus, son of Stratonice, and called after
his consort Laodice.
Laodic^a on the Sea, in Ancient Geography, accord¬
ing to Strabo, was a towm of Seleucis in Syria, extreme¬
ly well built, with a commodious harbour. The country
about it yielded great quantities of wine. The city took
its name from Laodice, mother of Seleucus, the founder
of it.
LAOMEDON, a king of Troy, whose history is in¬
volved in fables. He was son of Ilus king of Troy, and
married Strymo, called by some Placia, or Leucippe, by
whom he had Podarces, afterwards known by the name of
Priam, and Hesione. He built the walls of Troy, and was
assisted by Apollo and Neptune, whom Jupiter had ba¬
nished from heaven, and condemned to be subservient to
the will of Laomedon for one year. When the walls were
finished, Laomedon refused to reward the labours of the
gods, and soon afterwards his territories were laid waste by
the sea or Neptune, whilst his subjects were visited by a
pestilence sent by Apollo. Sacrifices were offered to the
offended divinities ; but the calamities of the Trojans in¬
creased, and nothing could appease the gods, according
to the words of the oracle, but annually to expose to a
sea monster a Trojan virgin. Whenever the monster ap¬
peared, the marriageable maidens were assembled, and
the lot decided which of them was doomed to death for
the good of her country. When this calamity had con¬
tinued for five or six years, the lot fell upon Hesione, La-
omedon’s daughter. The king was unwilling to part with
his daughter, whom he loved with uncommon tenderness,
yet conscious that his refusal would greatly irritate the
wrath of the gods. In the midst of his fear and hesita¬
tion, Hercules came and offered to deliver the Trojans
from this public calamity, if Laomedon would promise to
reward him with a number of fine horses. The king con¬
sented ; but when the monster was destroyed, he refused
to fulfil his engagements, and Hercules was obliged to
besiege Troy and take it by force of arms. Laomedon
was put to death, after a reign of twenty-nine years; his
daughter Hesione was given in marriage to Telamon, one
of the conqueror’s attendants ; and Podarces was ransom¬
ed to the Trojans, and placed upon his father’s throne.
According to Hyginus, the wrath of Neptune and Apollo
was kindled against Laomedon because he had refused
to offer as a sacrifice on their altars all the first-born of
his cattle, according to a vow which he had made.
LAON, an arrondissement in the department of the
Aisne, in France. It is 960 square miles in extent, is di¬
vided into eleven cantons, and these into 291 communes;
and contains 14)1,650 inhabitants. The capital is the city of
the same name, situated on a hill in an extensive plain.
The ancient cathedral is the only remarkable edifice. It con¬
tains 1600 houses, and 7000 inhabitants, who are employed
in preparing hosiery and leather, and in trading in corn and
wine. In this plain the army of Marmont was defeated by
Blucher on the 9th of March 1814, and that commanded
by Bonaparte on the two following days, which led to the
capture of Paris. Long. 3. 32. 7. E, Lat. 49. 33. 54. N.
LAOS, a kingdom of India beyond the Ganges, extend¬
ing from the twelfth to the eighteenth degrees of north
latitude, and having Tonquin and Cochin-China on the
east, Cambodia on the south, Siam on the west, and an
LAP
sle unexplored region on the north. Of this extensive coun¬
try all the knowledge which we possess is derived chiefly
’from Portuguese writers, and from the report of traders; and
the accounts are frequently contradictory. All accounts
agree, however, that the country is in general poorly cul¬
tivated, and thinly inhabited; the smaller villages consist¬
ing of collections of huts, and a great part of the popula¬
tion being merely erratic hordes, who live in a migratory
state. These tribes are of very warlike habits, and wage
almost constant war with each other. They are accus¬
tomed to the use of fire-arms. In their persons they re¬
semble the southern Chinese, being of an olive complexion,
and in their dispositions are frank and honest. This country
carries on commerce with Tonquin and Cochin-China, to
which it sends elephants, precious stones, gold, musk, ivory,
wax, bamboos, and cotton ; and in exchange receives salt,
salt-fish, oil, silken stuffs, fire-arms, and gunpowder. This
trade is'chiefly carried on by the Chinese and Tonquinese
merchants, and a caravan occasionally comes from Siam.
The people of this country are only nominally subject to
the Cochin-Chinese, their independence being secured
partly by the insalubrity, and partly by the inaccessible
nature, of their country. There is a tradition of a higher
state of knowledge among the people in former times ; and
a considerable number of books is said to have been writ¬
ten in the Bali language. But there are no longer any
traces of this high civilization. The people are ignorant
and superstitious. The belief in magic is general; and
the physician exercises the double profession of doctor
and conjuror, and by the latter trade makes considerable
gains.
LAP A Isle, one of the Sooloo Isles, situated due south
from the island of Sooloo. The land is high and woody,
and forms good shelter from the south-west and north-west
winds.
LAPATHUS, Lapethus, or Lepithus, in Ancient
Geography, a town of Cyprus, with a port or station for
ships, and a cognominal river. It was built by a colony of
Phoenicians, according to Scylax ; by Belus king of Tyre,
according to Alexander Ephesus. According to Strabo, it
was built by a colony of Spartans; and one of the nine
kings resided here, the last of whom was Pisistratus, who
commanded the naval force of Alexander the Great. There
was a temple here dedicated to Venus.
LAPEROUSE, John Francis Galupe de, a French
navigator, distinguished for talent, enterprise, and philan¬
thropy, and memorable on account of his mysterious fate,
was born at Albi, in Languedoc, in the year 1741. He re¬
ceived his education at the Marine School, and at an early
age entered the naval service of his country. He rapidly
rose to distinction, and, in 1782, when France and England
were at war, he was intrusted with the command of an ex¬
pedition destined for the destruction of the English settle¬
ment at Hudson’s Bay. He was completely successful in
his enterprise, having destroyed Fort York, and taken the
English commander prisoner. Some acts of humanity
which he performed on this occasion cannot be overlooked,
especially in the life of an individual whose own unhappy
fate must always excite our pity and regret. When on the
eve of his return home, he was informed that a number of
the English, to escape falling into his hands, had abandon¬
ed their habitations, and sought an asylum in the woods,
where, without food or shelter, they must inevitably fall
victims to the rigours of the climate. His orders were ut¬
terly to destroy the settlement; but the man prevailed
over the commander, and the fugitives were abundantly
supplied with provisions, arms, and ammunition. The papers
of the governor of Fort York, which had fallen into his
hands, were also generously returned to their owner. After
the restoration ot peace, France resolved on prosecuting
maritime discovery ; and having fitted out two vessels, the
VOL. xm.
LAP 97
Boussole and the Astrolabe, appointed Laperouse to the Lapidary,
command of the expedition. It set sail from Brest on the
1st of August 1785, and after touching at the coast of
Brazil, proceeded to Conception Bay in Chili, where the
ships were refitted, and provisions taken on board. La¬
perouse next visited Owhyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands,
and then set sail for the north-west coast of America,
which he reached towards the end of June 1786, and spent
some time in exploring. A port was discovered, which
was named Port des Fran^aises, and here the vessels cast
anchor, after narrowly escaping shipwreck. Nothing of
moment occurred during their stay at this place, except
the loss of tw'o boats, and twenty-two men, to whose me¬
mory Laperouse, with his characteristic humanity, erected a
monument, bearing an appropriate inscription. Having re¬
fitted his ships at a settlement in California, our navigator
steered for China; and, in crossing the North Pacific
Ocean, discovered Necker Island. Various parts of Asia
were successively visited, and the straits which bear the
name of Laperouse were discovered. Towards the end of
1787, Laperouse landed on Maouna, one of the Navigator
Islands, where the commander of one of the vessels, and
twelve other individuals, were massacred by the natives.
The long boats were likewise destroyed by the savages, so
that it w^as found necessary to go to Botany Bay, where
the expedition arrived on the 26th of January 1788. After
building new boats, and taking in supplies, Laperouse set
sail from this place in March, having previously written a
letter to France, stating his intention to continue his re¬
searches till December, when, after visiting the Friendly
Islands, he expected to arrive at the Isle of France. This
was the last intelligence received of the fate of the expedi¬
tion, and for a period of nearly forty years not the slight¬
est trace of the course which it had taken could be found,
although, in 1791, two frigates were despatched from Brest
in search of it. Some years ago, however, public attention
was attracted to this mysterious affair, by the publication
of a work by Captain Dillon, an English commander, in
which a detailed account was given of there having been
found on an island of the Pacific Ocean, one of those be¬
longing to the group called the New Flebrides, various ar¬
ticles which had belonged to the two vessels ot Laperouse.
The facts discovered by Captain Dillon were, that the two
ships struck on a reef at Maunicolo, in lat. 11. 4. S. long.
169. 20. E.; that one of them immediately w ent down, and
most on board perished, but that the greater part of the
crew of the other escaped. With the remnants of the ves¬
sels the survivors constructed a craft, in which all but two
individuals put to sea; but the ill-fated bark was never
more heard of. The articles brought home were various
parts of a ship, as well as a few domestic utensils, on some
of which were stamped the national arms of France, and
on others those of private families. Viscount Lesseps, a
nobleman who had left the expedition at an early period,
carefully examined these relicts, and gave it as his opi¬
nion, that in all probability they belonged to the Astrolabe
and Boussole. Still, however, a veil hangs over the fate of
Laperouse; and that the vessels wrecked on the island of
Maunicolo wrere really those under his command, wants
further confirmation. By the nobleman above named, La¬
perouse sent home journals and papers relating to the ex¬
pedition, which were published at Paris in 1797, in four
vols. 4to ; and they have been translated into English, and
frequently printed, principally in an abridged form.
LAPIDARY, an artificer wdio cuts precious stones. The
art of cutting precious stones is of great antiquity. The
French have carried it to high perfection, but they are not
in any degree superior to the British. There are various
machines employed in the cutting of precious stones, ac¬
cording to their quality. The diamond, which is extreme¬
ly hard, is cut on a wheel of soft steel, turned by a mill,
N
98
LAP
LAP
Laplace.
Lapidary with diamond dust tempered with olive oil, which also
serves to polish it. The oriental ruby, sapphire, and to-
,paz, are cut on a copper wheel, with diamond dust tem¬
pered with olive oil, and are polished on another copper
wheel with tripoli and water. The hyacinth, emerald,
amethyst, garnets, agates, and other stones not of an equal
degree of hardness with the other, are cut on a leaden
wheel with smalt and water, and polished on a tin wheel
with tripoli. The turquoise of the old and new rock, gira-
sol, and opal, are cut and polished on a wooden wheel with
tripoli also.
Lapidary is also used for a virtuoso skilled in the na¬
ture, kinds, and values of precious stones; or a merchant
who deals in them.
Lapidary Style denotes the style proper for monumen¬
tal or other inscriptions. This is a kind of medium be¬
tween prose and verse ; the jejune and the brilliant are here
equally to be avoided. Cicero has prescribed the rules of
it: Accedat oportet oratio varia, vehemens, plena spiritus.
Omnium sententiarum gravitate, omnium verborum ponde-
ribus, est utendum.
LAPIDESCENT, any thing which has the faculty of
petrifying, or turning bodies to a stony nature. The older na¬
turalists speak of a lapidescent principle, a lapidescent spi¬
rit, a lapidescent juice, and so on.
LAPIS, in general, is used to denote a stone of any
kind or description.
Lapis, in Roman antiquity, a geographical measure de¬
noting a mile, because miles were distinguished by erect¬
ing a stone at the end of each ; from the number marked on
which, the length of way to or from Rome might be known.
This device is ascribed by Plutarch to Caius Gracchus;
but it was more accurately executed by Augustus, who
erected a gilt pillar in the forum, at which all the public
ways of Italy, distinguished by stones, were terminated.
The same thing was done in the Roman provinces. Hence
the phrases tertius lapis, centesimus lapis, for three or a
hundred miles ; and sometimes the ordinal number, without
lapis, as ad duodecimum, at twelve miles distance.
LA PITH/E, in Ancient Geography, a people of Thessa¬
ly. See the next article.
LAPITHUS, in fabulous history, a son of Apollo by
Stilbe. He was brother to Centaurus, and married Orsi-
nome, daughter of Euronymus, by whom he had Phorbas
and Periphas. The name of Lapithae was given to the nu¬
merous children of Phorbas and Periphas, or rather to the
inhabitants of the country of which they had obtained the
sovereignty. The chief of the Lapithae assembled to cele¬
brate the nuptials of Perithous, one of their number.
Amongst them were Theseus, Dryas, Hopleus, Mopsus,
Phalerus, Exadius, Prolochus, Titaresius, and others. The
Centaurs were also invited to partake of the common fes¬
tivity ; and the amusements would have been harmless and
innocent, had not one of the intoxicated Centaurs offered
violence to Hippodamia, the wife of Perithous. The La¬
pithae resented the injury, and the Centaurs supported their
companions; upon which the quarrel became universal,
and ended in blows and slaughter. Many of the Centaurs
were slain, and they were at last obliged to retire. The¬
seus amongst the Lapithae showed himself brave and in¬
trepid in supporting the cause of his friends ; and Nestor
also was not less active in the protection of chastity and
innocence. Hesiod has described the battle of the Cen¬
taurs and Lapithae; as has also Ovid, in a more copious
manner. The invention of bits and bridles for horses is
attributed to the Lapithae.
LAPLACE, Pierre Simon, Marquis de, one of the
greatest geometricians and physical astronomers that any
age or country has produced, and scarcely less distinguish¬
ed in the other natural sciences, was a native of Nor¬
mandy, in which province he first saw the light on the 23d
of March 1749. It was observed, even at the commence- Laplace
ment of his studies, that he was endowed with a prodi-
gious memory; and that all the ordinary occupations of
the mind were to him easy. He rapidly acquired an ex¬
tensive knowledge of the ancient languages, and cultivated
different branches of literature. Every thing interested his
rising genius, and every thing served to unfold it. His first
successes were achieved in theological studies; the most
difficult points of controversy he treated with extraordinary
talent and sagacity.
It is not known by what fortunate accident M. de La¬
place passed from the study of scholastic learning to that
of the higher geometry. This last science, which scarcely
admits of a divided affection, now attracted and fixed his
attention. From that time, he abandoned himself without
reserve to the impulse of his genius, and became sensible
that a residence in the capital had become necessary to
him. D’Alembert then enjoyed all the splendour of his
European reputation. It was he who had just informed the
court of Turin, that its academy possessed a geometrician
of the first order, Lagrange, who, but for this noble testi¬
mony to his merits, would have remained long unknown.
D’Alembert had announced to the king of Prussia, that
there was only one man in Europe fitted to replace at Ber¬
lin the illustrious Euler, who, having been recalled by the
government of Russia, had consented to return to St Pe¬
tersburg. Amongst his inedited letters, Baron Fourier dis¬
covered the details of the negociation which fixed Lagrange
as a resident at Berlin.
About the same time, M. de Laplace commenced that
long career which was destined soon to become so illustri¬
ous. He presented himself at the house of D’Alembert, pre¬
ceded by numerous recommendations, which might have
been supposed to be all-powerful. But his attempts were
vain; he was not even introduced. He then addressed to the
man whose suffrage he had in vain solicited, a very remark¬
able letter on the general principles of mechanics, of which,
at an after period of his life, he several times cited various
fragments to his friend Baron Fourier. It was impossible
that so great a geometrician as D’Alembert should not be
struck with the singular profundity of this composition.
The same day, he waited upon the author of the letter, and
said to him, “ Sir, you see that I pay little attention to re¬
commendations ; you have no need of them. You have
made yourself better known ; that is sufficient for me; you
may command my support.” A few days afterwards, he got
M. de Laplace appointed professor of mathematics to the
Military School of Paris. From this moment, having de¬
voted himself exclusively to the science which he had se¬
lected, the latter gave to all his labours a fixed direction,
from which he never afterwards deviated ; for the imper¬
turbable constancy of his views and steadiness of his ap¬
plication formed the principal characteristics of his genius.
Already he had reached the known limits of the mathe¬
matical analysis ; he was then master of all that was most
ingenious or most powerful in that science ; and no one
seemed more capable than he of enlarging its domain. Hav¬
ing resolved a capital question of theoretical astronomy, he
formed the design of consecrating his efforts to that su¬
blime science, which he was destined to perfect, and which
he alone could embrace in its full extent. He meditated
deeply his glorious design; and he passed his whole life in
accomplishing it, with a perseverance of which the history
of the sciences scarcely presents any similar example.
The immensity of the subject flattered the just pride of his
genius. He undertook to compose the Almagest of his age,
we mean the work which he has left us under the title of
Traite de Mecanique Celeste ; a work which is as superior to
that of Ptolemy, as the analytical science of the moderns sur¬
passes the elements of Euclid. Time, which alone dispenses
literary glory with justice, and which consigns to oblivion
LAPLACE.
99
contemporary mediocrity, perpetuates the remembrance of
great works. It is they only which carry to posterity the
character of each age. Thus the name of M. de Laplace
will live throughout all ages. But enlightened and faithful
history will not separate his renown from that of the other
successors of Newton. It will unite in one and the same
series the illustrious names of D’Alembert, Clairaut, Euler,
Lagrange, and Laplace. After Euler, Lagrange contribut¬
ed most largely to found the mathematical analysis, which,
in the writings of these two great geometricians, became a
distinct science, the only one of the mathematical theories
of which it could be said that it had been completely and
rigorously demonstrated. Lagrange was born to invent
and to enlarge all the sciences of calculation. If he had
been the contemporary of Archimedes and of Conon, he
would have shared the glory of the most memorable disco¬
veries ; and at Alexandria he would have been the rival of
Diophantes.
M. de Laplace had received from nature all that force of
genius which was required for an immense enterprise ; and
in his Almagest of the nineteenth century, he has not only
comprised all that had previously been discovered in the
mathematical and physical sciences, and which serves as
tiie foundation of astronomy ; but he added to this science
capital discoveries peculiar to himself, and which had es¬
caped all his predecessors. Either by his own methods, or
by those of which Euler and Lagrange had previously indi¬
cated the principles, he resolved questions the most import¬
ant, and certainly the most difficult of all those which had
been considered before his time. Thus, in the motions of
the moon he discovered an acceleration of which no one had
previously been able to explain the cause. It had been
supposed that this effect might proceed from the resistance
of the ethereal medium in which the heavenly bodies re¬
volved. But if this were so, the same cause, affecting the
courses of the planets, would tend more and more to change
the primitive order. These stars would be incessantly dis¬
turbed in or deflected from their orbits, and would end by
precipitating themselves upon the mass of the sun; and it
would be necessary for the creative power to interpose
anew in order to prevent or to repair the immense confu¬
sion which the lapse of time had produced. This cosmo¬
logical question was assuredly one of the greatest which the
human mind could propose to itself; and it is now com¬
pletely resolved. The early researches of M. de Laplace
respecting the invariability of the dimensions of the solar
system, and his explanation of the secular equation of the
moon, conducted him to this solution.
He had at first inquired if the acceleration of the lunar
movement could be explained by supposing that the ac¬
tion of gravity was not instantaneous, but subjected to a
successive transmission, like that of light. In this way,
however, he could not discover the true cause. But a
new investigation, based upon a sounder principle, led him
to the desired object; and, on the 19th of March 1787,
he gave to the Academy of Sciences a clear and unex¬
pected solution of this capital difficulty, proving distinctly
that the acceleration observed is a necessary effect of uni¬
versal gravitation. This great discovery threw new light
upon.the most important points in the system of the world.
From it he deduced, that if the action of gravitation on
the stars was not instantaneous, this principle must be
propagated at least fifty million times moi'e rapidly than
light, the velocity of which is seventy thousand leagues a
second. He also concluded that the medium in which
the heavenly bodies revolve opposes no sensible resistance
to the courses of the planets ; since this cause would espe¬
cially affect the motion of the moon ; in which, however,
it produces no observable effect. The same principle is
also fertile in remarkable consequences. It follows from it,
that the motion of rotation of the earth on its own axis is
invariable. The duration of the day has not changed the
hundredth part of a second during two thousand years.
The distance of the sun from the earth may also be dedu¬
ced with certainty from the assiduous observation of the
lunar motions. But the most striking consequence, per¬
haps, is that which relates to the figure of the earth, the
form of which is imprinted in certain inequalities in the
course of the moon, which could not have taken place if the
earth had been perfectly spherical. The quantity of the
terrestrial oblateness may be determined from the lunar
movements alone; and the results which have been de¬
duced from these agree with the actual measures which
have been obtained from geodesical operations at the equa-
tor, in the northern regions of Europe, in India, [and in
various other countries, j
“ The explanation of the moon’s acceleration,” says
Professor Playfair, in his masterly and eloquent review of
the Systeme du Monde, “ and the proof that it is not con¬
stantly increasing, but merely a periodical inequality, is a
great step in the philosophy of the heavens. The continual
increase of the moon’s angular velocity, which this pheno¬
menon seemed to indicate, argued a constant diminution of
her distance from the earth, and gave some countenance to
the notion that the planetary orbits were continually di¬
minishing, and that there was, amongst the bodies of our
system, a tendency to descend to the centre of gravity of
the whole, where their union must finally terminate the
present order of nature. To this catastrophe an elegant
and philosophic poet has beautifully alluded.
Itoll on, ye stars, exult in youthful prime,
Mark with bright curves the printless steps of time ;
Near and more near your beamy cars approach,
And lessening orbs on lessening orbs encroach.
Flowers of the sky ! ye too to age must yield,
Frail as your silken sisters of the field !
Star after star from heaven’s high arch shall rush,
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush ;
Headlong, extinct, to one dark centre fall,
And death, and night, and chaos mingle all:
Till o’er the wreck, emerging from the storm,
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form ;
Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame,
And soars and shines another and the same.1
Laplace.
The destiny of nature is, however, more noble than that
which this magnificent description holds up to the fancy ;
and the algebraist has extracted from his calculus a more
sublime conclusion than the invention of a poet has been
able to attain. The constancy of nature, amidst all the
changes she undergoes, is upheld by the constitution of
those changes, which prescribes to each its limits, and
forces it to recur in a series, which in time reduces to no¬
thing the sum of all the deviations from the mean. Thus,
the amount of the whole is permanent, though the terms
themselves are perpetually changing ; and hence nature is
rendered immortal, not by emerging from the storm, but
by being ever superior to its power ; its order is not reno¬
vated, but preserved; and the wisdom of its Author has pro¬
vided an antidote to evil, that renders all remedies unne¬
cessary.”2
We cannot undertake to indicate here the continuation of
his labours, and the discoveries which resulted from them.
The bare enumeration, however rapid, would exceed the
limits prescribed to us. Besides his researches on the
secular equation of the moon, and the discovery, not less
important and difficult, of the cause of the great inequali¬
ties of Jupiter and of Saturn, we would require to cite his
admirable theorems on the libration of the satellites of
1 Darwin’s Botanic Garden, cant. iv. p. 1.
Edinburgh Review, vol. xv. pp. 411, 412.
100 LAPLACE.
Laplace. Jupiter, to recall his analytical labours on the flux and re-
-Y ' flux of the sea, and to show the immense extent which he
has given to that question. In fact, there was no point of
importance in physical astronomy which he did not make
the object of profound study and discussion; and he sub¬
jected to calculation the greater part of the physical con¬
ditions which his predecessors had omitted. In the ques¬
tion, already so complex, of the form and the motion of
rotation of the earth, he considered the effect of the pre¬
sence of the waters distributed between the continents of
land, the compression of the interior strata, and the secu¬
lar diminution of the dimensions of the globe. Amongst
these researches may also be remarked those which relate
to the stability of the grand phenomena of nature. No
subject can possibly be more worthy the attention of phi¬
losophers. Thus, it has been ascertained that the causes,
whether fortuitous or constant, which disturb the equili¬
brium of the seas, are subjected to limits which cannot be
passed. The specific gravity of the waters being much less
than that of the solid earth, it follows that the oscillations
of the ocean are always included within very narrow limits,
which would not happen if the liquid diffused over the
globe was much more heavy. In general, nature keeps in
reserve conservative forces, which, being always present,
act as soon as the disturbance commences, and with a vi¬
gour proportioned to the alteration, until the accustomed
order has been re-established. In the primitive and liquid
state of the terrestrial globe, the heaviest substances must,
by their own weight, have approached nearest the centre ;
and this condition has determined the stability of the seas.
Whatever may be the physical cause of the formation
of the planets, it has impressed upon all these bodies a
motion of projection in the same direction around an im¬
mense globe ; and by this motion the solar system has be¬
come stable. The same effect is produced in the system
of the satellites and the rings. In these, order is also main¬
tained by the power of the central mass. It is not, then,
as Newton and Euler had both suspected, an adventitious
force, which might one day repair or prevent the disturb¬
ance caused by time. It is the law of gravitation itself;
a law which regulates all, is sufficient for all, and main¬
tains variety and order amongst all. Having once emanated
from the supreme wisdom, it has presided since the origin
of time, and rendered all disorder impossible. Newton
and Euler did not know all the perfections of the universe.
In general, as often as any doubt has arisen in regard to
the universality of the Newtonian law, and the accession
of some new cause has been proposed to explain apparent
irregularities, it has always happened that, after a profound
investigation, the primordial law has been verified. It now
explains all the known phenomena. The more precise
observations have become, the more conformable they are
found to be to the theory of gravitation. Of all geome¬
tricians, M. de Laplace is the one who has most profound¬
ly investigated these great questions, which, if we may
so express it, he has also terminated. It cannot indeed
be affirmed that it was given to him to create an entire¬
ly new science, like Archimedes and Galileo ; or to give
to mathematical doctrines original principles and an im¬
mense extent, like Descartes, Newton, and Leibnitz; or,
like Newton, to be the first to transport to the heavens,
and extend throughout the whole universe, the terrestrial
dynamics of Galileo. But, to use the words of Baron Fou¬
rier, M. de Laplace vvas born “ pour tout perfectionner,
pour tout approfondir, pour reculer toutes les limites, pour
resoudre ce que 1’on aurait pu croire insoluble.” Fie would
have completed the science of the heavens, if that science
could have been completed.
Professor Playfair thus sums up his analysis of the great Laplace
work of Laplace, the Traite de Mecanique Celeste, where-
in the discoveries which had first been communicated by
the author, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences,
are brought together into one view, and the general re¬
sults deduced from them by one uniform method of inves¬
tigation.
“ Such is the work of Laplace,” says he, “ affording an ex¬
ample, which is yet solitary in the history of human know¬
ledge, of a theory entirely complete ; one that has not only
accounted for all the phenomena that were known, but that
has discovered many before unknown, which observation
has since recognised. In this theory, not only the elliptic
motion of the planets, relatively to the sun, but the irre¬
gularities produced by their mutual action, whether of the
primary on the primary, of the primary on the secondary,
or of the secondary on one another, are all deduced from
the principle of gravitation, that mysterious power, which
unites the most distant regions of space, and the most re¬
mote periods of duration. To this we must add the great
truths brought into view and fully demonstrated, by tracing
the action of the same power through all its mazes: 
That all the inequalities in our system are periodical; that,
by a fixed appointment in nature, they are each destined to
revolve in the same order, and between the same limits;
that the mean distances of the planets from the sun, and
the time of their revolutions round that body, are suscep¬
tible of no change whatsoever; that our system is thus se¬
cured against natural decay,—order and regularity preserv¬
ed in the midst of so many disturbing causes,—and anarchy
and misrule eternally proscribed.
“ The work where this sublime picture is delineated, does
honour, not to the author only, but to the human race;
and marks, undoubtedly, the highest point to which man
has yet ascended in the scale of intellectual attainment.
The glory, therefore, of having produced this work, be¬
longs, not to the author alone, but must be shared, in va¬
rious proportions, among the philosophers and mathemati¬
cians of all ages. Their efforts, from the age of Euclid
and Archimedes, to the time of Newton and Laplace, have
all been required to the accomplishment of this great ob¬
ject ; they have been all necessary to form one man for
the author, and a few for the readers, of the work before
us. Every mathematician who has extended the bounds
of his science; every astronomer who has added to the
number of facts, and the accuracy of observation ; every
artist who has improved the construction of the instru¬
ments of astronomy,—all have co-operated in preparing a
state of knowledge in which such a book could exist, and
in which its merit could be appreciated. They have col¬
lected the materials, sharpened the/ tools, or constructed
the engines employed in the great edifice, founded by
Newton, and completed by Laplace.
“ In this estimate we detract nothing from the merit of
the author himself; his originality, his invention, and com¬
prehensive views, are above all praise; nor can any man
boast of a higher honour, than that the Genius of the hu¬
man race is the only rival of his fame.”1
The same general character is exemplified in his re¬
searches on the analysis of probabilities ; a science altoge¬
ther modern, but of immense extent, and one the applica¬
tions of which will one day embrace the whole range of
human knowledge, forming a happy supplement to the im¬
perfection of our nature. The doctrine of probabilities
ow es its origin to a single glance of the intuitive and fer¬
tile genius of Pascal; and it was from the first cultivated
by Fermat and Huygens. A geometrician and philoso¬
pher, James Bernoulli, w?as its principal founder. A sin-
Edinburgh Review, vol. xi. pp. 277, 278.
LAPLACE.
101
liplace. gularly happy discovery of Stirling, the researches of Eu-
-''ler, and, above all, an ingenious and important application
made by Lagrange, improved this doctrine; whilst new
light was shed upon it by the objections of D’Alembert, and
by the philosophical views of Condorcet. But it was re¬
served for M. de Laplace to collect and to fix its prin¬
ciples. In his hands it became a new science, subjected
to a single analytical method, and of prodigious extent.
Fertile in useful applications, this science will one day
serve to illustrate all the branches of natural philosophy.1
After what has been said of these brilliant discoveries, it
is scarcely necessary to add, that M. de Laplace was a mem¬
ber of all the learned academies of Europe. He was also
invested with high political dignities. After the 18th Bru-
maire, the First Consul appointed him minister of the in¬
terior ; but in this office, it appears, he gave little satis¬
faction. “ A geometrician of the first class,” says Napo¬
leon, “ he did not reach mediocrity as a statesman. From
the first, the consuls became sensible they had made a
mistake in the appointment. He never viewed any sub¬
ject in a true light; he was always occupied with subtle¬
ties ; his notions were all problematic ; and he carried the
spirit of the infinimentpetit into the administration.” Ac¬
cordingly, at the end of six weeks, he surrendered toLucien
Bonaparte the portefeuille of his office. But he was created
a senator, then made vice-chancellor, and at length chan¬
cellor of the conservative senate, and at the same time a
member of the legion of honour. In 1805, he presented a
report to the senate, in which he proved the necessity of re¬
storing the Gregorian calendar, and abolishing that of the
republic. In 1814, he voted for the abdication of Napo¬
leon, an act which reflects no great honour on his memory.
During the Hundred Days he did not make his appearance
at the Tuilleries, apprehensive, no doubt, of being re¬
proached with tergiversation and ingratitude. Soon after
the restoration, he was created a peer of France with the
title of Marquis ; an honour for which he was more indebt¬
ed, perhaps, to the vote he had given in 1814, than to all
his eminence in science. But the immortal author of the
Mecanique Celeste required none of those arbitrary and
adventitious distinctions, which are so often the reward
of political subserviency. His genius and his fame were
incapable of receiving any secondary or reflected illustra¬
tion. The only points of real importance in his life are
the eternal truths which he discovered, not the dignities
with which he was invested ; the immutable laws of the
stability of the world which he unfolded, not the rank
which he for several years held in the senate called con¬
servative , and the example which he has left to all those
who cultivate the sciences of patient thinking and incom¬
parable perseverance.
M. de Laplace enjoyed an advantage which fortune does
not always afford to great men. From his early youth, his
merits were fully appreciated by his illustrious friends.
D’Alembert, as we have seen, lost no time in introducing
him to the Military School of France, and in providing for
him, had it been necessary, a better establishment at Ber¬
lin. The President Bochard de Saron caused to be print¬
ed, at his own expense, the early works of Laplace. All
the testimonies of friendship which were given him recall
great labours and great discoveries ; but nothing could
contribute more to the progress of physical knowledge
than his relations with the illustrious Lavoisier, whose
name, hallowed in the history of the sciences, has become
an object of eternal respect and sorrow. These two cele¬
brated men combined their efforts for the advancement of
science. They undertook and completed extensive re- Laplace,
searches, in order to measure one of the most important
elements of the physical theory of heat. They made also,
about the same time, a long series of experiments on the
dilatations of solid substances. The works of Newton show
the importance which that great geometrician attached to
the special study of the physical sciences. Of all his suc¬
cessors, M. de Laplace is the one who has made most of
his experimental method ; he was almost as great a natural
philosopher as a geometrician. His researches on refrac¬
tion, capillary attraction, barometrical measurements, the
statical properties of electricity, the propagation of sound,
molecular action, and the properties of gas, prove that every
thing connected with the investigation of nature was fami¬
liar to him. He desired above all things the perfection of
instruments, and caused to be constructed, at his own ex¬
pense, by a celebrated artist, a valuable astronomical instru¬
ment, which he presented to the Observatory of France.
All sorts of phenomena were perfectly known to him.
He was connected by ancient friendship with two natural
philosophers, whose discoveries have thrown light upon all
the arts and all the chemical theories. History will asso¬
ciate the names of Berthollet and of Chaptal with that of
M. de Laplace. He took pleasure in meeting them toge¬
ther, and the conversations which then ensued had all for
their object the advancement of science. The gardens of
Berthollet at his house at Arcueil were contiguous to those
of M. de Laplace. Interesting recollections and great re¬
grets have illustrated this locality. It was there that La¬
place received celebrated foreigners, and men in power,
from whom science had received, or hoped to receive,
benefits, but, above all, those whom a sincere zeal had
attached to the sanctuary of the sciences. He receiv¬
ed all with extreme politeness—those who were just com¬
mencing their career, as well as the veterans who were
soon to finish it; and he carried this so far, that persons
who did not know the full extent of his genius would per¬
haps have supposed that he derived some advantage from
their conversation.
In referring to the mathematical works of M. de Laplace,
we have particularly noticed the depth of his researches
and the importance of his discoveries. But these works are
distinguished by another quality, which all readers have
appreciated, we mean the literary merit of the composi¬
tion. The Systeme du Monde, in particular, is remarkable
for the elegant simplicity of the style and the purity of
the language. There had hitherto been no example of a
work of this kind ; but it would be a mistake to suppose
that a real knowledge of the phenomena of the heavens
can be acquired from such writings. The suppression of
the signs peculiar to the language of the calculus cannot
conduce to clearness, or render the perusal more easy.
The work is a perfectly regular exposition of the results
of profound study; it is an ingenious and admirable sum¬
mary of the principal discoveries. The precision of the
style, the choice of the methods, the grandeur of the sub¬
ject, give a singular interest to this vast picture ; but its
real utility consists in recalling to geometricians the theo¬
rems, the demonstrations of which were previously known
to them. “ C’est, a proprement parler,” says M. Fourier,
“ une table de matieres d’un traite mathematique.” The
purely historical works of Laplace, have another object.
He therein presents to geometers, with admirable talent,
the progress of the human mind in the invention of the
sciences. The most abstract theories have, in fact, a beauty
of expression which is peculiar to them. This is what may
1 See an admirable account of the Essai Philosophique sur les Probabilitfs (which is only an abstract of the large work by the same
author, entitled Thtoric Analytique des Prdbabilites, Paris, 1812), in the Edinburgh Review, vol. xxiii. p. 320, et seqq. and which is
known to have proceeded from the pen of Professor Playfair.
'.uM
-Jh.
‘^00
102 LAPLACE.
Laplace, be observed in several treatises of Descartes, and in some
pages of Galileo, of Newton, and of Lagrange. The no¬
velty of the views, the elevation of the thoughts, and their
relation to the great objects of nature, attach and occupy
the mind. It is sufficient that the style be pure, and of a
noble simplicity. It is this species of literature which M.
de Laplace selected ; and it is certain that he placed him¬
self in its first rank. If he writes the history of great as¬
tronomical discoveries, he becomes a model of elegance
and precision. No leading feature of the subject ever
escapes him, and the expression is never either ambitious
or obscure. Every thing that he calls great is in fact
great; whatever he omits does not deserve to be mentioned.
M. de Laplace retained at a very advanced age that ex¬
traordinary memory for which he had been so remarkable
from his earliest years; a precious endowment, which,
though not genius itself, enables genius to acquire and to
preserve. He had not cultivated the fine arts, but he ap¬
preciated them. He loved the music of Italy and the verses
of Racine; and he often amused himself in reciting from
memory various passages of that great poet. The compo¬
sitions of Raffaelle adorned his apartments. Beside them
were the portraits of Descartes, Vieta, Newton, Galileo,
and Euler. M. de Laplace had always accustomed him¬
self to a light diet, which he diminished more and more
even to excess. His very delicate sight required conti¬
nual precautions, and he succeeded in preserving it with¬
out any alteration. His care of himself had never any other
object than that of reserving all his time and all hisHpowers
for the labours of the mind. He lived for the sciences, and
the sciences in return have rendered his memory immortal.
At the commencement of the malady which ultimately
carried him off, his friends observed with dismay an in¬
stant of delirium. But even in that state the sciences
still occupied him. He spoke with unusual ardour of the
motion of the stars, and then of an experiment in physics,
which he declared to be a capital one ; announcing to the
persons he believed to be present, that he would soon
communicate these questions to the Academy. Meanwhile
his strength rapidly declined. His physician, Majendie,
who merited all his confidence by superior talents, and by
those attentions which friendship alone could inspire, watch¬
ed beside his bed. M. Bouvard, his fellow-labourer and
friend, never quitted him for an instant. The persons who
attended him at his last moments recalled the titles of his
glory, and spoke of his most splendid discoveries. £< What
we do know,” replied the dying man, “ is a small matter ;
what we do not know is immense.” This is all that could
be collected; these were the last articulate expressions
that dropped from his lips. He soon afterwards expired
without pain ; the powerful genius which had so long ani¬
mated him separated itself from its mortal habitation, and
returned to the God who gave it. He died on the 5th of
Maich 182/, in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
1 he successors of this great man will see accomplished
the phenomena, the laws of which he discovered. They
will observe in the lunar motions the changes which he
has predicted, and of which he alone could assign the
cause. The continual observation of the satellites of Ju¬
piter will perpetuate the memory of the inventor of the
theorems which express the laws according to which their
courses are regulated. The great inequalities of Jupiter
and of Saturn, pursuing their long periods, and giving to
these planetary stars new situations, will incessantly recall
one of his most astonishing discoveries. These are the
titles of a true glory, which nothing can ever destroy. The
spectacle of the heavens will be changed; but, at the re¬
mote epoch when this shall occur, the glory of the dis¬
coverer will remain unchanged. The traces of his genius
bear the stamp of immortality.
The following list of the works of M. de Laplace, for
which we are chiefly indebted to La FranceLitteraire by M. Laplace,
Querard, includes not only the titles of his different pub-
lications which appeared in a separate form, but also those
of the numerous memoirs with which, during a period ex¬
tending to rather more than half a century, he enriched
the collections of the Academy and the Institute, and the
Journal of the Polytechnic School:—
1. Essai Phildsophique sur les Probabilites, Paris, 1814,
in 4to. Another edition of this work was published the
same year in 8vo, and the work was reprinted in 1816,
1819, and 1825. The Essai Philosophique is merely an
abstract of the large work on the same subject.
2. Exposition du Systeme du Monde, in five books, the
fifth edition, revised and augmented by the author, Paris,
1824, in 4to, and in two vols. 8vo. The first edition of
this work appeared in 1796, in two vols. 8vo. In five books
the author treats, 1st, of the apparent motions of the
heavenly bodies ; 2d, of the real motions of those bodies ;
3d, of the laws of their motions ; and, 4th, of the theory
of universal gravitation. The fifth book contains an abridg¬
ment of the history of astronomy.
3. Precis de /’ Histoire de VAstronomic, Paris, 1821, in
8vo. This is merely the fifth book of the fifth edition of
the Exposition du Systeme du Monde, published separately.
4. Tkeorie Analytique des Probabilites, third edition,
revised and augmented by the author. The first edition
of this work appeared in 1812, in4to. From 1816 to 1825
M. de Laplace published four supplements, which the pub¬
lisher, after having sold them for some years separately, add¬
ed to the volume to which they now serve as a complement.
These supplements treat, 1st, of the application of the cal¬
culus of probabilities to natural philosophy ; 2d, of the
application of the calculus of probabilities to geodesical ope¬
rations ; and, 3d, of the application of geodesical formulae of
probability to the meridian of France. The fourth con¬
tains an abridgment of the theory of probabilities.
5. Theorie des Attractions Spheroides, et de la Figure
des Planetes, Paris, 1785, in 4to. This is a memoir ex¬
tracted from the collection of the Academy of Sciences.
6. Theorie du Mouvement et de la Figure elliptique des
Planetes, Paris, 1784, in 4to. This work was printed at
the expense of President Bochard de Saron, who only caused
two hundred copies to be struck off, for the purpose of being
distributed gratuitously.
7. Trade de Mecanique Celeste, in sixteen books, Paris,
1799—1825, in five vols. 4to, with four supplements pub¬
lished at different times. The first book treats of the gene¬
ral laws of the equilibrium of motion; the second, of the law
of universal gravitation, and the motion of the centres of gra¬
vity of the heavenly bodies ; the third, of the figure of the
heavenly bodies; the fourth, of the oscillations of the sea and
the atmosphere; the fifth, of the motions of the heavenly bo¬
dies around their proper centres of gravity ; the sixth, of the
theory of the planetary motions ; the seventh, of the theory
of the moon ; the eighth, of the theory of the satellites of
Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus ; the ninth, of the theory of co¬
mets ; the tenth, on different points relative to the system of
the world; the eleventh, on the figure and rotation of the
earth; the twelfth, on the attraction and repulsion of spheres,
and the laws of the equilibrium and motion of elastic fluids ;
the thirteenth, on the oscillation of the fluids which cover
the planets; the fourteenth, on the motions of the heavenly
bodies around their centres of gravity ; the fifteenth, on the
motions of the planets and the comets; and the sixteenth, on
the motions of the satellites. A second edition of the first
two volumes of this work was published at Paris in 1829,
1830. In this country no attempt has yet been made, so far
as we know7, to translate the Trade de Mecanique Celeste
into English ; but, in 1830, an English translation of the
rst volume, with a commentary, was published at Boston
in the United States of America. Both the translation and
ace.
LAP
LAP
103
the commentary are by Dr Bowditch of Boston; but the
'amount of the,latter is out of all proportion to the text,
being intended to enable persons but moderately skilled in
the mathematics to comprehend the profound analytical
investigations of the great astronomer, and to follow him
to his beautiful and striking results.
8. Besides the works which we have just enumerated,
M. de Laplace is also the author of a series of very impor¬
tant Memoirs, in which, from 1772 to 1823, he published
the collections of the old and the new Academy of Sciences,
that of the Institute, and the Journal of the Polytechnic
School. The subjects of these Memoirs are exceedingly va¬
rious. We give the following list in the chronological order
of their impression, viz. 1. On the Particular Solutions of
Differential Equations, and on the Secular Inequalities of
the Planets, 1772 ; 2. On the Integral Calculus, and on
the System of the World, 1772; 3. On the Integral Cal¬
culus of Partial Differences, 1773; 4. On recurring Se¬
ries, and their Uses in the Theory of Chances, 1774;
5. On the Probability of Causes afforded by Events, 1774 ;
6. On some Points in the System of the World, 1775 and
1776 ; 7. On the Integration of Differential Equations with
Finite Differences, 1776; 8. On the mean Inclination of
the Orbits of Comets, id.; 9. On the Use of the Calculus of
Partial Differences in the Theory of recurring Series, 1777;
10. On the Precession of the Equinoxes, id.; 11. On the
Integration of Differential Equations by Approximation,
id.; 12. On Probabilities, 1778; 13. On Series, 1779 ;
14. On the Determination of the Orbits of Comets, id.;
15. On Heat, id.; 16. On the Electricity which Bodies
absorb when reduced to Vapour, 1781; 17. On the Ap¬
proximations of Formulae which are functions of very
great numbers, 1782, 1783 ; 18. On the Figure of the
Earth, 1783 ; 19. On the Births, Marriages, and Deaths
at Paris from 1772 to 1784; 20. On the Population of
France, and the Number of Inhabitants in. the Country,
1783-1788; 21. On the Secular Inequalities of the Pla¬
nets and of the Satellites, 1784; 22. Theory of Jupiter
and of Saturn, 1787; 23. On the Secular Equation of
the Moon, 1786; 24. On the Theory of Saturn’s Ring,
1787 ; 25. On the Secular Variations in the Orbits of
the Planets, id.; 26. Theory of the Satellites of Jupiter,
1788, 1789; 27. On the Theory of the Satellites of Ju¬
piter, 1789; 28. On the Flux and Reflux of the Sea,
1790; 29. On the Determination of a Plane which re¬
mains always parallel to itself, in the movement of a sys¬
tem of bodies acting upon each other in any manner
whatsoever, and free from all foreign action, 1798 ; 30.
On Mechanics, id.; 31. On the Motions of the Heavenly
Bodies round their Centres of Gravity, id.; 32. On the
Secular Equations of the Motions of the Moon, of her
Apogee, and of her Nodes, 1799 ; 33. On the Motion
of the orbits of the Satellites of Saturn and Uranus, 1801;
34. On the Theory of the Moon, id.; 35. On Different
Points of Analysis, 1809; 36. On the Motion of Light
in Diaphanous Media, id.; 37. On the Approximations
of the Formulae which are functions of very great num¬
bers, and on their application to Probabilities, id.; 38. On
the Figure of the Earth, 1817; 39. On the Flux and Re¬
flux of the Sea, 1818 ; 40. Addition to the Memoir on the
Figure of the Earth, id.; 41. On the Developments of the
true Anomaly, and of the Elliptical Radius Vector, in se¬
ries arranged according to the powers of the eccentricity,
1823. Lastly, the Marquis de Laplace contributed, in
the mathematical department, to the Lemons de VEcole
Normale.
(See Eloge Historique de M. le Marquis de Laplace, by
Baron Fourier, in the Memoires de l’Academic Royal des
Sciences de VInstitut de la France, tom. x. p. Ixxxi.; Q,ue-
rard, La France Litteraire, art. Laplace; Revue Encyclo-
pedique, tom. xxxiii. p. 880; Edinburgh Review, vol. xi.
p. 249, et seqq. vol. xv. p. 396, et seqq. and vol. xxiii. p. Lapland.
320, containing masterly criticisms on the Mecanique Ce¬
leste, the Exposition du Systeme du Monde, and the Essai
Philosophique sur les Probabilites ; and Dissertations Third
and Fourth, prefixed to the present work.) (a.)
LAPLAND, the most northerly country of Europe, is
bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the south
by Sweden, on the east by the White Sea, and on the west
by Norway and the Atlantic Ocean. Its limits are not
very accurately laid down by travellers or geographers ; but
it seems to be divided from the rest of Scandinavia by a
line nearly corresponding with the polar circle, in latitude
66. 32. and is consequently almost entirely an arctic region.
North Cape, its most northerly point, is situated in latitude
71. 10. 15. consequently its length from north to south is
about 330 miles, and not 500, as is usually stated. From
Cape Orlov, on the White Sea, to the Atlantic on the west,
it extends about 700 miles ; but, besides this continental
territory, there are a vast number of islands which are in¬
cluded in the general name of Lapland. The whole coun¬
try is divided into three parts, called Russian, Swedish,
and Norwegian Lapland or Finmark, and is recognised by
the Swedes and Norwegians by the name of Lgpmark,
mark signifying, both in Swedish and Norse, land or tract
of country. The very early writers, however, do not no¬
tice any country under the name of Lapmark, whilst Fin-
mark is alluded to, though not with such clearness as would
admit of our defining the exact extent of country which
went by that appellation. It has been conjectured that, in
former ages, the parts of the north now known by the names
of Swedish and Russian Lapland, were distinguished as
Russian and Swedish Finmark, previously to the period
when the Finns obtained the name of Lapper or Laplanders.
Throughout Norway and Finmark they are uniformly term¬
ed Finns, which was their ancient and most proper desig¬
nation ; it is only in Sweden, and Swedish and Russian Lap-
land, that the name of Lap is given to the inhabitants, of
the country. They were called Lappes by Laxo in the
twelfth century ; but still the etymology of the, word is thus
very obscure, though circumstances seem to favour the
supposition that the term Lap was applied to this race of
people by their neighbours the Swedes, and hence was
transferred to the country which they inhabited. In the
old Russian annals they are always styled Lepori, a word
most probably of Finnic origin. Finmark, which forms the
most northern part of this wild and extensive territory, con¬
stitutes one extremity of the kingdom of Norway, to which
it now belongs ; though doubtless in ancient times it was
a separate kingdom, governed by its own sovereigns. Its
present boundary on the west is Loppen, the first island in
Finmark, and which forms a line between it and the Nord-
lands, a part of Norway sometimes erroneously confound¬
ed with Lapland. On the north-west and north-east it is
washed by the Polar Ocean, whilst to the east it is border¬
ed by Russian Lapland, which also, with Nordland, bounds
it to the south ; the boundary line between the two coun¬
tries being the river Tana. Its extent from north to south,
that is, from the borders of Russian Lapland to the North
Cape, is nearly three degrees of latitude ; its greatest
breadth being from west to east, namely, from the western
side of Faroe to the coast above Waranger, near the bor¬
ders of Russian Lapland. At the eastern extremity of
Finmark there is a considerable tract, to which both Norway
and Russia lay claim. It lies between the acknowledged
boundaries of each of these powers, and being now consi¬
dered as neutral ground, is free to the Laplander of both
countries to hunt and fish in. This district extends a little
to the westward of Bugefiord, stretching nearly south to
the Enara Lake, where it bends to the east, and afterwards
to the north-east, where it joins the coast. Russian Lapland
lies to the south and east of the debateable ground above
104 L A P L
Lapland, mentioned. The river Mnonio, which for a considerable por-
''“—'v'-*-'' tion of its early course receives the name of the Kbngarnaelf,
constitutes the boundary between Sweden and Russia. The
circle of Kola, and the northern part of Eastern Kemi, con¬
stituted at one time Russian Lapland; but, by subsequent
treaties, two extensive districts, all the Lapmark of West¬
ern Kemi, and the greater part of the Lapmark of Torneo,
have been ceded to Russia. Thus nearly two thirds of the
regions inhabited by the Laplanders are included in the do¬
minions of the emperor of Russia. Swedish Lapland, the
most southerly division, occupies the interior part of the
country to the west of the river Torneo ; the maritime dis¬
trict of Nordland, a portion of Norway, being situated be¬
tween it and the North Sea. How much of the northern
part of Sweden is entitled to be called Swedish Lapland,
it is impossible to say. If the arctic circle be taken as the
boundary line, only that portion of Sweden called North
Bothnia can be considered as belonging to Lapland; but
Pitea Lapmark and Umea Lapmark are sometimes men¬
tioned as forming part of the latter country, and these are
situated in West Bothnia. The cause of error may be
traced to the circumstance of these nomadic tribes frequent¬
ly inhabiting, at least for a portion of the year, districts of
country far down in the interior of Sweden and Norway.
Thus, in the latter country, the Roraas Mountains, situated
between Christiania and Drontheim, are inhabited, during
summer at least, by a family of Laplanders, wuth the never-
failing herd of rein-deer. But the exact boundary line is
not very material, as it has reference only to different por¬
tions of a tract of country which is under one government.
Moun- Lapland is not intersected by alps or very high moun¬
tains. tains, as is sometimes asserted; but, from Nordland onwards,
the whole region is a table-land, crowned only on its west¬
ern frontier with a mountainous chain, which forms the ex¬
tremity of the Scandinavian Alps, and descends from Su-
litelma, of which the elevation is 6760 feet, to the height
of Norwegian Finmark. These are about 3600 feet high
on the continental coast, and nearly 4000 on some islands.
The sea-coast presents a remarkably bold and rugged, if not
magnificent appearance. Mountain is seen piled on mountain
in stern grandeur, and white with the snows of ages; and
the sublimity of the scene is enhanced by the myriads of
islands which are scattered in an extraordinary manner along
the Norwegian and Lapland coast, as far as North Cape.
Ravines and valleys intersect the interior; the elevation
of the highest plains has been estimated at about sixteen
hundred feet, but towards the east and the south they de¬
scend. Rocks and hills rise from the table-land, vary¬
ing, to the east of 18° west longitude, from 2000 to 2400
feet above the level of the sea, but only from 500 to 600
feet above their base. These hills are rather isolated
groups than a continuous chain; and at twenty leagues to
the south of them the streams and rivers separate in differ¬
ent directions between the North Sea and the Bothnian
Gulf, and between the Gulfs of Alten and Torneo. The
central ridge is supposed to descend without interruption
to the entrance of the White Sea, and that part of Lap-
land consists of extensive marshes, studded with rocks.
These have been called the Koelin Mountains, and, strictly
speaking, may be said to form one great chain; but the
branches which it casts off to the right and to the left, the
mountainous isles of Lofoden, which are merely the sum¬
mits of some of its branches, and the mountains which ter¬
minate near Lake Enara in Russian Lapland, entitle it to the
name of a group. Other ranges of hills, which traverse Lap-
land, and are connected with Finland, are lost round the
numerous lakes in that country. Sulitelma, already men¬
tioned, is the highest mountain in Lapland. The islands of
Waag and Hurd have each heights rising 4264 feet above
the level of the sea ; and a glacier on the island of Seyland
is 4155 feet high. The mineralogical structure of the
AND.
Lapland Mountains has not been thoroughly ascertained. Lapland.
M. de Buch informs us that the hills which he examined
on the higher part of the table-land are composed of granite
and gneiss. The latter rock is said to be by far the most
abundant in Scandinavia, all the other primitive rocks ap¬
pearing in some degree subordinate to it. Quartz is very
abundant on the island of Magerbe. On the Dovrefield,
and other mountains, it is met with in scattered blocks;
but at the North Cape the surface of the ground is wholly
covered with it. M. de Buch also observed, in an excursion
which he made towards the Gulf of Bothnia, a succession
of calcareous and schistose rocks. These substances like¬
wise abound in the country between the last-named gulf
and that of Kandala. The land is intersected with ra¬
vines, but its elevation is inconsiderable. The whole re¬
gion is supposed to rest on a base of red decomposable gv&-
nite, or, as it is generally called by the natives, rapakivi.
There is abundance of metal found in Lapland, particularly
iron, of which whole mountains exist in that part of the
country belonging to Sweden. Copper, lead, zinc, silver,
and even traces of gold, have been found; but iron ore is
the chief mineral treasure of the country, and might assist
in introducing cultivation and an extensive trade into this
desert portion of Europe, did not the scarcity of timber,
and the great difficulty of conveying goods, constitute in¬
superable obstacles to the working of the mines in the in¬
land and eastern parts of the country, where it would ap¬
pear to be most abundant. The marshy lands are impreg¬
nated with this valuable metal, and in gneiss it occurs in
beds which are sometimes nearly forty feet in thickness.
Numerous minerals are found in Lapland ; rock crystal in
particular is very common, and the inhabitants occasion¬
ally dispose of it for amethysts and topazes.
There are numerous lakes and rivers in Lapland. Of Lakes ami
the latter, several take their rise in the Koelin Mountains, rivers,
and flow in various directions into the Atlantic Ocean or
the Gulf of Bothnia. The principal rivers of the country
are the Tana or Tarna, which takes a north-eastern course
through Finmark, and empties itself into a bay or sound of
the same name; the Alten or Alata, which is very rapid,
forcing its way through the mountains of Finmark in a
north-westerly direction, empties itself into a bay of the
same name; the Torneo, which issues from a lake so
named, and, after being enlarged by a number of streams
uniting in one channel and running nearly due south through
a long course, falls into the northern extremity of the Both¬
nian Gulf at Torneo ; and the Muonio, which rises from the
Killpis Jaure, at the foot of the alpine chain of Norway,
is a considerable stream, and constitutes the boundary line
between Sweden and Russia, till it unites with the river
Torneo, when the latter marks the limits of either coun¬
try in this quarter. There are also other rivers which take
their rise in Lapland, and fall into the Gulf of Bothnia,
such as the Lulea, Pitea, Kalix, and others. In Rus¬
sian Lapland there are several considerable streams, but
these have not been so well defined, nor has this part of
Lapland been so fully described, as the others. The Kemi
takes its rise amongst the Kemi Mountains, situated near
the centre of the country, and flows into the Gulf of
Bothnia. It has many imposing cataracts, of which the
Taival Koshi, or the fall of the heavens, is the only one
which the adventurous boatmen never attempt to cross.
The Passe, or holy stream, is the outlet of the great lake
Enara, flowing thence to the Arctic Ocean. The eastern
declivities of Russian Lapland are watered by the Panoi,
which discharges itself into the White Sea. The Tuloma
falls from a great height, enters the lake Kola, which name
it afterwards takes, and falls into Kola Bay, on the Arctic
Ocean. Besides these, there are numerous other rivers
which traverse the country in various directions, and either
give rise to lakes, or issue from them. The abundance of
hd. lakes is the most prominent feature of Lapland, as it gene-
—' "ally is of all countries situated in such latitudes. Some-
LAPLAND.
105
times these sheets of water occur singly, sometimes in
chains, and many of them are of considerable size; but
there exists such a confusion of nomenclature, that it is
difficult to distinguish one from another, and apply to each
its proper designation.1 Very often the rivers, such as the
Muonio, become so broad in some parts, as often to assume
the appearance of lakes, and there is little doubt they have
occasionally been so termed. The most considerable lakes
are, the Enara, in Russian Lapland, which is about forty
miles in length by sixteen in breadth ; the Imandra, which
has an elevation of four hundred feet above the level of the
sea, and is discharged into the Gulf of Kandala; the Biggi
Lobee, and Biggi Jaure, one or other of which, Sir Capel
Brooke supposes, is that designated by Von Buch the Jess
Jaure; and many others which do not require to be enu¬
merated. Besides these inland bodies of water, the shores
are indented by extensive fiords or arms of the sea, which
frequently run thirty, or even forty miles into the heart of
the country.
Finmark and Swedish Lapland, including all the mo¬
dern provinces belonging to Russia, have been carefully
examined by Wahlenberg and De Buch, and the vegeta¬
ble kingdom distinguished into six zones, concentric with
the Gulf of Bothnia, each differing from the others in cli¬
mate and productions. The first or lower region of the
forests rises from the level of the sea to the height of five
hundred feet, forming a zone generally eighty miles in
breadth ; and here the spruce and Scotch fir abound. The
second is higher and colder than the first, rising from five
hundred to eight hundred feet, and being generally only
from six to eight miles in breadth. This portion has been
denominated the upper region of the forests, and here the
Scotch fir is still found, but the other plants disappear. The
third is higher than any of the preceding, rising from 800
to 1200 feet, and for the most part about twelve miles in
breadth, excepting at one place, where this becomes very
great. The fir here is rarely seen, but pines are abun¬
dant. The fourth or subalpine region, rising from 1200
to 1800 feet, is a zone of about the same dimensions as
the preceding, and contains birch, but coniferous trees do
not grow there. The fifth is called the alpine region, or
the country of the dwarf birch ; and the sixth, which is
the highest and most northern of all, varies in breadth
according as it is indented by the sea. It is the region
of perpetual congelation and eternal snow, producing no
trees, and scarcely any vegetation whatever. The vege¬
table scale in Norwegian Lapland has been marked by
Von Buch. The following table is intended for seventy
degrees of north latitude:—Limit of the red pines, 730
feet; of the birch, 1483; of the vaccinium myrtillus,
1908; of the dwarf birch, 2576; of the salix myrsinites,
2908; of the salix lanata, 3100; and of perpetual snow,
3300. The species of plants which constitute the Flora
Laponica are not numerous, but they abound in indivi¬
duals, and the vegetation here is decidedly superior to
that of the other countries round the Frozen Ocean. Moss¬
es and lichens cover the plains and rocks which are ele¬
vated more than a thousand feet; and were the inhabi¬
tants more industrious, these might be rendered useful as
dye-stuffs. The rein-deer’s lichen is of a bright yellow
colour, which, however, is fugitive, the yellow giving
place to white as the plant dries or withers. The mosses
and lichens constitute the food of the cattle, and from a Lapland,
species of the latter a wholesome and nutritious flour is
extracted. The rocky country is the region of these crypto-
gamia. The rubus chamcemorus, and the vaccinium myrtil-
lus, occur in the neighbourhood of the extensive marshes ;
but reeds or aquatic plants are found on the banks of
lakes or rivers. A plain surrounded by rocks, and cover¬
ed with moss and other alpine herbage, forms a Lapland
meadow. Rein-deer moss is quite indispensable to the
Laplander’s herd. It is hardly to be met with on the
Finmark coast, but on the continent it is found in abun¬
dance, though not so plentifully as in the interior parts.
It thrives best in a flat extent of low ground, consisting of
morass or forest well saturated with moisture. On this
account Finmark, which is rocky and mountainous, does
not abound so greatly in this moss as the level plains and
morasses of Russian Lapland, where it grows in the great¬
est profusion, immense tracts of country being wholly
covered with it. Of trees, twenty-six kinds have been
enumerated, including the salices. There are no less
than nineteen species of willows; the others consist of
Scotch and spruce fir, birch, alder, poplar, mountain ash,
and bird cherry. Apples, pears, plums, and cherries,
scarcely grow at all, although carefully cultivated; but
considerable varieties of berries are spontaneously pro¬
duced, amongst which are black currants, and raspber¬
ries of an exquisite fragrance. It may be stated, that in
Swedish Lapland the vegetable productions bear a nearer
resemblance to those of Siberia than the plants of the
western part of Lapland, which, towards the sea, are ana¬
logous to those of Scotland and Iceland. The most abun¬
dant indigenous vegetables are the sorrel, which is prized
on account of its antiscorbutic properties; the angelica, a
highly-relished article of food; and the lichen rangiferi-
nus, the staple of the rein-deer during winter. Towards
the south are gardens in which the vegetables of the tem¬
perate zone are cultivated ; and various flowers, including
roses, carnations, and the like, also adorn these enclo-
Potatoes reach the size of poppy-heads (those of
Finmark are very sweet, and of a waxy consistency) ;
French beans, broad beans, and tobacco, where care is
taken with it, are raised, but neither peas nor white cab¬
bage come to perfection.
With respect to the climate and vegetable productions
of Alten, Sir Arthurde Capel Brooke observes, “in speak¬
ing of its horticulture, it might be supposed that the pro¬
duce of a country under the latitude of 70° would be ex¬
tremely scanty. This, however, is not the case. Most
kinds of vegetables succeed perfectly well, and are culti¬
vated in sufficient abundance for the wants of the inhabit¬
ants.” This traveller then proceeds to mention the cul¬
tivation of the potato, which is raised to some extent in
Finmark.
Most of the wild animals common to Nonway and Swe-Animal*,
den are found in Lapland. Bears are numerous; and
though the rein-deer evades destruction by the rapidity
of its flight, yet cows, goats, and sheep frequently fall
victims to their x-apacity. These animals are extremely
partial to a certain kind of berry which is abundant in the
country; but they likewise feed on grass. Wolves and
foxes are plentiful, and the former are likewise very de¬
structive to the tame animals; the skins of the latter are
much prized in the north of Europe. The glutton, which
is strongly furnished with teeth, as well as very sharp
1 Much confusion exists regarding the names of places and things in Lapland, and every writer must experience difficulty and be
exposed to error in describing any portion or feature of that country or its inhabitants. Mountains, lakes, and rivers have fre¬
quently, indeed in almost every instance, more than a single appellation assigned to them ; so that what is called by one name in
any given work, will be found described under another designation in every other. This is particularly the case with regard to
rivers, which, from their source to the sea, sometimes change their names two or three times.
VOL. XIII.
O
LAPLAND.
pland. nails, is common; and its skin, on account of a white shin-
■'v'—^ ing streak with which the neck is marked, is held in great
estimation. In the woods the glutton frequently sur¬
prises the rein-deer, by suddenly descending upon it from
the branch of a tree, and killing it by mangling the neck
with its teeth. Otters of different kinds, ermines, a spe¬
cies of white weasel, squirrels whose skins are beautiful
and much valued, the mus lemmis, a species of marmot pe¬
culiar to the country, and field-mice in vast numbers, are
all natives of these high latitudes. The beaver is found
in some parts, but seldom on the rivers. The wool and
the skin of this animal are marketable commodities.
Hares are bred in great numbers ; and they are distin¬
guished by the striking peculiarity of changing their co¬
lour from gray to white during winter. Coverlets are
made from their skins. There are three species of mar¬
tens found; the steen-maar, which inhabits the rocks; the
birfe-maar, which makes the birch-tree thicket its home ;
and the furr-maar, which haunts the fir-trees. There
are said to be a few elks, but of wild rein-deer the number
is very great. From these to the individuals of the race
which have been domesticated, the transition is natural.
The most valuable part of a Laplander’s possessions, and
the chief object of his care, is the rein-deer. It unites
in itself the best qualities of almost every other animal
which has been found essential to the comfort of man
in other countries to which it is a stranger, being at once
the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the stag of Lapland.
Its milk is so rich as to require being diluted before it is
used. Its flesh is superior to that of the sheep; and, from its
tractability and natural power of endurance, it drags the
sledge of the Laplander with extraordinary speed and per¬
fect safety over the desolate and chilling regions of snow
which he inhabits. It is, moreover, easily maintained, find¬
ing its food, the favourite moss which goes by its name,
amongst the frozen wastes during winter with perfect ease.
These animals are also said to feed on frogs, snakes, and
mountain-rats, and to be very partial to human urine, which
they lick up with avidity whenever it comes within their
reach. But the possession of this invaluable quadruped
is very uncertain, for the wandering herds sometimes dis¬
perse themselves in the woods, from which it is difficult
for the shepherd to dislodge them. They are, besides, not
easily milked, and yield but a small quantity at a time,
so that a large flock is necessary before the head of a fa¬
mily can be supplied with a sufficiency of food and milk.
In shape they resemble stags; and their hair, at first gray,
becomes blanched before it falls oft*. They cast their
horns annually ; those of the male are often two feet and
a half in length, and their points are frequently as far
asunder. They are generally four feet in height from
the foot to the top of the back; and the length from the
shoulder to the tail is two feet. A crackling noise is
heard when they walk, which is asserted by some writers
to result from the hoofs striking together when the foot
is raised, but there are other opinions upon this subject.
The rein-deer is subject to various diseases from which
other animals appear to be exempt, and during summer
they are attacked by the oestrus tarandi, a large kind of
bee, whose eggs, deposited in the skin, produce ulcera¬
tions not unfrequently destructive to the fawns. This
great enemy of the rein-deer will pursue it for many
miles; and in hot weather the Laplander takes a jour¬
ney of some hundred miles to the sea-coast, principally for
the purpose of avoiding its attacks. The oestrus nasalis,
another tormentor of the rein-deer, makes small punctures
within the nostrils, and there deposits its eggs. It is a
singular fact, observed by Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke,
that the rein-deer increases in size the farther north it is
found. Cows, sheep, goats, and horses, have been natu¬
ralized in Lapland; but the management of these animals,
together with other particulars regarding the rein-deer, ^ -
we will afterwards have occasion to recur to.
Of birds there are many found in Lapland which areBir(js
unknown in other countries, such as the Lapland wood¬
cock, the Swedish mock-bird or nightingale, called, from
its melodious notes, “ the bird of an hundred tunes,” to¬
gether with a peculiar species of the owl, magpie, wood¬
pecker, woodcock, and others of the feathered races.
Flocks of birds of passage resort to Lapland during sum¬
mer for the purpose of breeding, amongst which may be
enumerated the eagle and falcon tribe, owls larger than
common, and occasionally white, crows or rooks in great
numbers, ravens, partridges, large bustards, magpies, pi¬
geons, plovers, ptarmigans, swans, wild geese, eider ducks,
cocks of the wood, varieties of grouse, curlews, and vari¬
ous other feathered frequenters of the field or lake. Only
a very few species of birds remain during winter, there
being little subsistence for them in such chilly wastes
of snow and ice. Common frogs and lizards are the only
amphibious animals found. No venomous animal is to be
met with in Lapland, but insects are in hot weather as
numerous and annoying as in tropical climes. Besides
the two already mentioned, the interior forests of Lapland
swarm with gnats, which attack both man and beast with
the greatest fury. The rivers abound in excellent sal¬
mon, and the lakes in perch, pike, trout, char, and other
fish. The seas are also well replenished with the finny
tribes, such as cod, tusk, and ling; and whales, particu¬
larly that species called the fin whale, so difficult to be
captured, abound upon the Lapland coast. These enor¬
mous animals are very plentiful about Cape North; and
Sir Arthur Capel Brooke was informed by the Laplanders
that they are extremely partial to cows and horses, and
will pursue a boat in which these are until they are
landed.
The climate of Lapland is of course very cold, but itQimalei
is milder than that of any other region on the same pa¬
rallel, the coasts of Siberia, for instance. The tempera¬
ture of the air is regulated by the height above the le¬
vel of the sea, and the distance from the Gulf of Bothnia,
and may be divided into two regions, the inland and the
maritime. It may be laid down as a principle which gene¬
rally holds true, that in the former the winter is severe and
the summerahot, whilst in the latter the winter is compa¬
ratively mild and the summer cold. An open and ever
agitated sea is one great cause of the mildness of tempe¬
rature which is experienced on the northern coasts of
Finmark ; but the maritime climate is much colder on the
other side of Cape North, and the harbours on the coast
of Eastern Lapland are sometimes blocked up in the mid¬
dle of June. In the inland parts the summer is short;
but in the sixty-six days during which there is no night,
the crops are sown, ripened, and reaped. At this time the
enlivening songs of birds are heard, and the earth is in
some places covered with flowers. There is no darkness,
and the coolness of evening is never felt. The heat is
thus very oppressive, particularly in confined places, such
as valleys. At this time insects are exceedingly trouble¬
some. Acerbi, a traveller in Sweden and Lapland, found
the degree of heat fifty-two of Fahrenheit in the shade,
and eighty-one in the sun. The ground was so hot as to
give uneasiness to the feet, whilst it oppressed the lungs;
and the shrubs which were met with at distant intervals
afforded little or no shelter to the traveller. In various
parts of Lapland the days during summer are in bright¬
ness, geniality, and sereneness, equal to those of more
propitious latitudes, and both delightful and healthy.
Yon Buch found the mean temperature of the month of
July nearly sixty-three degrees at Altengaard, in north
latitude sixty-nine degrees. In winter the cold is so ex¬
cessive, that mercury, and even brandy, frequently freeze
LAPLAND.
107
La&ind.
^.griol-
ure..
Mgi of
aces;
in the open air. All the lakes] and rivers are covered
' with ice of great thickness, and the whole face of nature
is buried beneath a sheet of snow several feet in depth.
During the winter solstice the sun continues seven con¬
secutive weeks below the horizon, when only a partial
twilight prevails ; but this “ darkness visible” is to a con¬
siderable extent compensated by the superior brightness
of the moon and stars, and the vivid beams of the aurora
borealis, the light of all these luminaries being augment¬
ed by the whiteness of the snow, which keeps up a per¬
petual reflection from the earth’s surface. Thunder storms
sometimes occur during the depth of winter. When a
thaw comes on, the atmosphere is filled with vapours ; but
during the prevalence of the north wind the air is clear
and the sky is serene.
Vegetation depending more upon the heat of summer
than the cold of winter, Enontekis is superior to the North
Cape in bringing the productions of the ground to matu¬
rity, notwithstanding that the mean temperature is lower,
because the heat during the summer is higher at the
former than at the latter place. The covering of snow
here also, as elsewhere, serves to retain the heat which
the earth has imbibed during the warmer months, and pre¬
serves it in a better state for vegetation. At Enontekis
the snow continues on the ground from October till May,
whilst at the North Cape, being open to the sea-breezes,
it is exposed to frequent thaws ; nor is it likely, under
such circumstances, it can ever lie so deep. On some of
the inland elevations, particularly in Finmark, if the sum¬
mer be very cold, it lies during the whole year, and en¬
tirely prevents vegetation from making its appearance,
with the exception of some of the cryptogamia.
The soil of Lapland is generally sterile. The greater
part of the country is covered with rocks or moss, or
gravelly plains, or a kind of turf composed of mosses de¬
cayed by the frost, and impregnated with standing water.
There are a few tracts of tolerable soil, especially in the
more southern districts. The agriculture of Lapland is
hence very trifling, for the soil yields but a very inade¬
quate return for the labour which the hardy native be¬
stows upon it; and in general he finds a more ready means
of supplying himself with what he requires, by barter with
the Russians. The following quotation, however, from Sir
Arthur de Capel Brooke, presents a more favourable view
of the climate and its productions than might have been
anticipated. After mentioning the culture of the potato,
already alluded to, and which is likely to be very benefi¬
cial to the country, as rendering it less dependent upon
Russia for a supply of bread corn, he proceeds: “ To this
it may be added, that barley and rye are cultivated to
some extent in parts of Finmark, particularly at Alten,
although no agriculture is carried farther north ; and this
circumstance alone would induce us to form no unfavour¬
able opinion of the climate of a place situated near four
degrees beyond the polar circle. The Scotch fir, too,
reaches Talvig in seventy degrees ; and the moltebcer (ru¬
ins chamcemorus) flourishes to the very verge of the North
Cape, in 71.10.15. where the winter night is ten weeks in
length.”
Much obscurity veils the origin and early history of the
inhabitants of Lapland. The Samoyedes, Esquimaux,
Greenlanders, and Laplanders, appear to have been origi¬
nally the same people. The more immediate ancestors
of the latter were probably the ancient Finns, for the de¬
scription which Ptolemy and Tacitus give of the Finni
exactly corresponds to that of the highland Laplanders of
the present day. We have already stated that the term
Lap is only applied to them by Swedes and strangers. In
their own language, the country, and Finmark itself, is
called Same Edmun, whilst the people are designated by
the word Samlash. Thus a Norwegian Laplander, who is
called by the Swredes and Norwegians Norsh Lap, would Lapland,
be in their tongue Dadz Samlash; a Swedish Laplander'
(Swensk Lap), Lade Samlash; and a Russian Laplander
(RussiskLap), Ruosh Samlash. Much confusion takes place
regarding this nomadic race, for one day they may receive
the name of Laplanders, and the next that of Finns, as they
chance to wander either into the territories of Norway,
or into those of Sweden. And there is another cause
of error, arising from there being a race of people inha¬
biting Finmark, quite distinct from the Laplanders. These
people are called Quans; they are Finlanders who have
naturalized themselves in some parts of Lapland, but at
what time they settled in the country has by no means
been well ascertained. It is, however, perfectly certain
that all over Finland, Nordland, and parts of Swedish and
Russian Lapland, they are and have ever been distinguish¬
ed by the name of Q,uans. The native of Finmark is
considered as the most genuine specimen of the singular
race which is generally designated by the term Lapland¬
ers. The circumstances in which he is placed have se¬
cured to him for centuries past, and will for centuries to
come, a sort of rude independence. Born amongst bar¬
ren mountains, to which agriculture can never be extend¬
ed, there is nothing to tempt power to usurp his dominions,
or circumscribe his liberty, with the feeling of which he is
strongly impressed, as well as with a distaste for the re¬
straints of civilized life. The Finmark Laps have been
divided into two classes, the fishing or shore Laplanders,
and the rein-deer or highland Laplanders. From their
diflerent habits of life, there is a marked distinction be¬
tween the two; and there is yet another class of poorer
Laplanders, who are numerous in all parts of Swedish and
Russian Lapland. These are called Skogslapper, or wood
Laps, dwelling almost entirely in the wooded parts of the
country, their herds of deer being too small to enable them
to live in the mountains, and trust to them alone for sub¬
sistence. They live in tents during summer; but when
winter sets in they construct a more durable habitation,
composed of sods, somewhat resembling the gammies or
huts of the coast Laps. In the latter season they are sta¬
tionary, and subsist partly on their rein-deer, but more on
game and wild animals, which are abundant, and the con¬
stant pursuit of which renders them very expert at the
rifle.
This kind of Laplander is unknown in Finmark, the
country being mountainous, and nearly destitute of forests.
The mountain Laps of the latter country are for the most
part wild and savage, both in appearance and habits.
They exhibit a degree of haughtiness and proud inde¬
pendence of spirit, which is wanting in individuals of the
race who inhabit the plains of Russian Lapland or the
shores of the northern coast. Until softened by a pre¬
sent, they are surly and morose in disposition ; and their
suspiciousness of temper detracts much from any hospi¬
tality which is apparent in them. The stranger must
therefore remove this natural mistrust of the Lap before
he can expect to receive from him any attention ; and
brandy, above all things, is the most potent softener of
his feelings. This, or a present of tobacco, is so efficacious
as to render him quite a different person, and willing to
perform any service to the donor.
The dress of the mountain Laplander of Finmark does Dress,
not materially differ from that of the inhabitants of other manners,
parts of Lapland. In winter they are entirely clothed in c^ara^ttc^
rein-deer skins, consisting of a. pcesk, or frock of rein-deer&c‘ ^ 1 lC
fur, or, what is more common, a ?nuadda or sheep-skin gar-1 1
ment. This is belted up by the leathern girdle (buagan), to
which is suspended the knife, the tobacco pouch, and
shooting apparatus when they follow the chase. The first
is a long knife, not unlike that of a butcher, the handle of
birch root, and the blade of great substance and strength.
108 LAPLAND.
Lapland. The driving paesk is composed of the thickest and best
skins his deer afford; and, as a further protection whilst
travelling, a broad bear-skin tippet covers the shoulders,
and reaches nearly as low as the elbows. The lower part
of the dress consists of the bcellinger, a sort of loose spat¬
terdashes or leggins, which, being drawn over a pair of
long, loose deer-skin pantaloons, reach from the ancles
high up the thigh. These are whole, and fastened or
tightened at the top by a running string, and covered
over at the bottom by the skallkomoger, or high rein-deer
shoes, and the homager baand, which is a long, narrow
band, going several times round the ancle, keeping the
whole tight together, and preventing the possibility of
any snow from getting in ; for the upper parts of the
bcdlinger are of course covered by the paesk, which, when
girded up, .reaches just below the knees, but, when loose,
falls down nearly to the ground. In summer, the heat of
the weather compels them to make an alteration in their
dress, and the rein-deer paesk is exchanged for a round frock
of wadmal cloth. 'Y\\\s, gappe or summer frock, which is ge¬
nerally made of the skins of young deer, extends below the
knees. On the head is worn a small low cloth cap (gappir'),
turned up all round, with a facing of fine rein-deer fur.
No shirt is worn next the skin, linen being a luxury with
which the Laplanders are entirely unacquainted. The
use of stockings is likewise unknown, but a substitute is
found in the soft dried grass called sena, with which the
shoes are well stuffed. The hands are protected by rein¬
deer gloves, or rather mittens, being without fingers, but
stuffed with the same kind of grass as the shoes. Al¬
most every part of the winter dress of the Laplander is
• thus furnished by the useful animal which is the compa¬
nion of his wanderings. The paesk is made from the
whole hide of the deer killed during winter ; the baellinger
and gloves, of the skin covering the legs and thighs of the
animal ; and the shoes are taken from the skin between
the horns, and covering the crown of the head. The fur
is worn on the outside, and, from the peculiar closeness
and thickness of its texture, it is impossible for the cold
to penetrate it. Every part of a Laplander’s dress is worn
loose, and thus the blood is allowed to circulate freely,
an advantage which could not be enjayed were the clothes
tight on the skin. The dress of the coast Laplander is
entirely similar to that of the mountaineer, except that
when the weather is not warm, he usually wears a sheep¬
skin garment called muadda ; and the wool being next
the skin, it is rendered nearly as warm as the rein-paesk,
though this also he commonly w'ears in winter. The for¬
mer, however, being the produce of his own flock, and
made up by himself, is naturally in more general use.
The rein-deer skins are obtained by barter from the
highland Laplanders, and being made into garments by
the inhabitants of the coast, who are expert at this kind
of work, are again sold or exchanged for silver money, or
the necessaries they may require. The women have some
skill in embroidery, and collars and cuff's of the wadmal
dresses, both male and female, exhibit their taste in the
art of adorning. The dress of the females very much re¬
sembles that of the men. In winter a frock or psesk of
sheep-skin, worn vvith the woolly part inside, is bound to
the waist by a belt, to which a small knife is suspended.
In summer the sheep-skin frock is exchanged for one of
wadmal cloth. The cap is sometimes made of various
kinds of cloth, and it is usually encircled by a ribbon.
The fondness of these people for anything gaudy is very
conspicuous in their summer dress, for the necessities of
winter compel them to keep it more unvaried. During
the hot months the Lapland costume is very picturesque,
from the variety of colours combined in it. It is then,
particularly on the sabbath-day and on holidays, that he
shows his pride, by making his appearance in all the
finery that his means will afford. The usual colour of Lapland
his koften or daily frock is white, with several edgings of^—y-*.
blue and red cloth round the bottom and cuffs, but his
Sunday garment is of a more ornamental nature, and fre¬
quently of thin cloth, richly embroidered in party colours
round the cuffs and collars. In some parts of Lapland
koftens of black cloth are met with, and those that are
wealthy sometimes array themselves in scarlet ones. On
extraordinary occasions, other parts of their dress are also
of a finer nature than what is commonly worn. As may
be supposed, even the best species of cloth which finds
its way to these regions, is of a very inferior quality ; it
is chiefly of German manufacture, although cotton from
England is also found here. Those of the women who
can afford it, adorn their persons with rings, and ribbons
of the gayest colours flutter around their bonnets. Like
the Greenlanders, and other inhabitants of high latitudes,
females wear pantaloons like the men, a practice which
was in all probability had recourse to for personal com¬
fort, in regions where open garments would have unne¬
cessarily exposed the body to the cold. It may be men¬
tioned, that the dresses of the families of the merchants
who live on the coast are very superior, in point of ele¬
gance, to the garments of the native Laplanders.
The difference of character between the highland and
coast Laplander has already been adverted to. The for¬
mer is known by his haughty expression of countenance,
and proud independence of demeanour. The more do¬
mestic habits of li/e of the coast Laplander, render him
a more quiet and inoffensive being, and give to his fea¬
tures a milder and a somewhat vacant expression. Speak¬
ing of the Laplanders in general, they must be considered
as a diminutive race, though not such pigmies as is com¬
monly supposed. The Norwegian Laplander is superior
in stature to the rest of the race, and this difference is
probably to be attributed to the freer and purer air of his
mountains rendering him more hardy and robust. The
average height of the highland Laplander may be con¬
sidered as varying from five feet to five feet two inches.
They sometimes, but very rarely, exceed this stature.
The characteristic features of the race are small elon¬
gated eyes, high cheek-bones, wide mouth, and a point¬
ed chin, with little or no beard. Their hair is generally
brown, or dark coloured. Their bodies, from their habits,
are naturally spare, and devoid of corpulence, though in
general they are ill made. They are bony and muscular,
possessing greater strength than their stature would seem
to indicate, active, and capable of enduring almost any
fatigue. Their hands and feet are remarkably small;
their voice is weak, and its tones have a squeaking effect
upon the ear of a foreigner, in their moral character the
Laplanders exhibit some marked peculiarities. Tlieir pas¬
sions partake of the torpor of the climate, and flow in a
slow, cool, and regular course, unbroken by those sudden
ebullitions and transports which characterize the men of
warmer latitudes. Love, or the amatory feeling, is but a
lingering spark, only sufficient to answer the purposes of
nature. They possess in a remarkable degree the virtue
of continency, and the conjugal relation is rarely or never
violated, although both their parental and filial affections
are weak. Anger and bloodthirstiness are unknown to
them; and Sir A. Capel Brooke found, in 1823, that, du¬
ring the space of twenty years, only one murder had been
committed in Einmark. Although they are generally cau¬
tious, mistrustful, and suspicious, especially of strangers,
as well as cunning in their commercial dealings, yet theft
is almost unknown amongst them. The absence of' this
vice is proved by the fact, that locks, bolts, and other
safe-guards, are considered as unnecessary appendages to
a door. They have been accused of avarice, but with¬
out any just reason ; for whatever strictness they may
LAPLAND.
Lajjind. observe in bargain-making does not arise from a wish
—*'~»-'Jto hoard up money, but that they may be more boun¬
tifully supplied with their favourite beverage, brandy, of
which they are excessively fond. Drunkenness is not
only common, but may be said to constitute a feature of
their character. In temper the coast Laplander is of a
kinder nature than the mountaineer, and he is more in¬
clined to hospitality, although this virtue is by no means
very conspicuous in either. They are generally passive,
without much courage, and altogether of a very peaceable
and inoffensive disposition. They now exhibit little of
a warlike spirit, although in former ages they were fre¬
quently the cause of terror to the Norwegians. Notwith¬
standing their ebriety, health is a blessing which the inha¬
bitant of Lapland enjoys in a high degree. They were for¬
merly addicted to degrading superstitions; and the witch¬
craft in particular which was exercised amongst them has
passed into a proverb. Milton alludes to this circum¬
stance when he speaks of dancing “ with Lapland witches.”
They were famous for their empire over the winds, which
they disposed of in bags to the credulous mariners. In
performing their infernal rites, the instrument used was
the magical drum, by beating which as an accompaniment
to other ceremonies, they fancied they had the power of
foretelling future events, curing diseases, and exorcising
evil spirits. Their mythology was distinguished by an
universal idolatry, in which the elements were typified,
and a polytheism, by which every object in nature was
changed into a god. But on these wild creations of the
human mind in a state of ignorance and barbarism it is
unnecessary to dwell. The rites by which the worship of
their deities and idols were celebrated are now unknown,
being supplanted by those which have their origin in the
milder and purer genius of Christianity.
‘a 'ia- The habitations of the Laplanders now demand descrip¬
tion. The mountaineers live in tents, which differ in no
respect in summer and winter, and are of very simple con¬
struction. They are formed by six beams of wood rising
in a pyramidal form, and meeting nearly at the top, cover¬
ed with thick and coarse cloth, a flap of which, left loose
between two of the beams, constitutes the door. The
height of the tent is generally about six feet, and the whole
cireumfereneo of the inside seldom exceeds fifteen or eigh¬
teen feet. The floor is strewed with rein-deer skins, hav¬
ing the hair upwards, and which thus serve for either lying
or sitting on, the tent being too low to permit of the oc¬
cupants assuming the erect posture, except in one place.
A stone frame is made in the middle for ,the fire, and
there is a hole at the top to which the smoke must find
its way; but its speedy egress is by no means consider¬
ed as necessary to comfort. The fumes thickly impregnate
the whole tent, as well as “ all which it inhabita species
of japanning highly valued, as affording a protection in win¬
ter against the cold, and in summer against the swarms of
musquitoes. Cabined and confined in this limited do¬
micil, it is here that the Laplanders, seated on their heels
in the manner of the eastern nations, or squat like toads,
spend in all the beatitude of idleness the moments which
they can spare from their pastoral avocations. The differ¬
ent provisions are kept in boxes attached to the stakes;
and boxes are ranged on the inside round the cloth or co-
1 ' vering ; but these precautions are often unavailing against
the impetuosity of the blast, whilst the thinness of the tent
naturally exposes the inmates to the severity of the wea¬
ther. In regard to habitation, the shore Laplanders have
a decided superiority over those of the mountains. The
gammie or hut of the former is usually about five feet in
height. It is generally of a circular or oblong form, hav¬
ing the appearance of a large rounded hillock, which name
it may be said to deserve, being composed of turf laid on
branches of the birch, and supported underneath by a
109
wooden frame-work of stronger materials, to bear the Lapland,
weight of the whole. The entrance is by a low, narrow^
passage, at the extremity of which is the door communi¬
cating with the part inhabited. Around them are general¬
ly enclosures for the cattle, and several racks of coarse
fodder for their winter food. The farming stock of the
coast Laplander consists of a few sheep, and sometimes a
cow or two, which are kept in the enclosure during the
summer^season, and in winter occupy the same buildings
with their owner, being supported during the latter partly
by the coarse fodder w hich he has been able to collect, but
chiefly by the remnant of his fishing produce.
Necessity has rendered the highland Laplander a wan-Habits and
derer, and habit has made that mode of life a second nature “°des of
to him. It is upon the rein-deer that he almost entirely, lte*
if not altogether, depends for subsistence; and hence their
welfare is the chief object of his care, in promoting which
he is compelled annually to take long journeys to the sea¬
shore for the purpose of avoiding the attacks of insects.
His habits of life are thus in a great measure formed ; and
the year is divided between his abode on the mountains
and his migrations to the coast, whilst his life as a whole
consists of the extremes of bodily fatigue and total inac¬
tion, plenty and want. When he is hungry, and has the
power of gratifying his appetite without restraint, he is per¬
fectly ravenous, and devours a quantity sufficient to sup¬
port him for several days. Those who inhabit high lati¬
tudes, where subsistence is precarious at certain season^,
seem all to have a remarkable capacity of stomach, and to
be capable of eating an enormous quantity at a meal, so as
to serve them for five or six days, without being annoyed
by the load. The necessities of their situation have com-
pelled them to practise this frequently, and custom has
rendered it easy. The Laplander’s household economy, it
may readily be imagined, is simple in the extreme. His
food during the period of his summer rambles is spare and
frugal, and without any indulgence in rein-deer venison, his
favourite food and the luxury of the winter season. In sum •
mer he is intent only on increasing the number of his flock,
and on providing against his future wants. He contents
himself then generally with milk, and the remains of the
curd and whey after making his cheese. The first is taken
sparingly, on account of the small quantity which a single
deer yields, as well as of the great importance it is to him
to secure a good quantity of cheese for his winter stock,
and to guard against any disaster that might befal his herd
and reduce him to want. As he milks his herd during the
summer season only, when this approaches a close, some
milk is generally preserved for the purpose of being frozen.
This serves not only for his own individual use during the
winter, but, being highly prized for its exquisite delicacy in
this state, it constitutes an article of trade; and the mer¬
chants with whom the Laplander deals, and who then re¬
pair to the interior, gladly purchase it at any price. Though
the rein-deer milk is thus of a very rich quality, yet the
cheese made from it is extremely bad, and unpalateable to
any one but a native. It is made by simply placing the
milk in a large iron pot over the fire, which, with the addi¬
tion of rennet made from the stomach of the deer, quickly
coagulates. The curd is then pressed, and the whey, being
separated from it, is put into shallow moulds of about the
size of a small plate. Bad as it is, the hardy Laplander is
very partial to it both raw and roasted; in the latter state
it appears at the tables of the merchants, and is rather more
eatable than when unprepared. When heated, an oily
juice exudes from it, which is found of great use in remov¬
ing the effects arising from being frost-bitten. Butter is
seldom if ever made of rein-deer milk by the Laplanders,
but it is so by the Finland settlers, who in many parts of
Lapland keep herds of rein-deer, the colour of which, it is
said, is peculiarly white. The Laplanders sometimes vary
' ..*u
110
LAPLAND.
Lapland, their dishes by mixing different kinds of wild berries with
s—the whey, the latter being previously boiled till it acquires
some degree of consistency. They are no less fond of the
roots of the angelica, which has an agreeable taste, and like¬
wise possesses antiscorbutic properties. Much value is set
upon the blood of the rein-deer, from which a variety of
dishes is prepared, care being always taken to preserve it
when the animal is killed. It is also supposed to possess
antiscorbutic properties. Those who reside upon the coast
subsist chiefly on fish, with a little beef and mutton oc¬
casionally. The furniture consists of horn spoons, pots
and kettles made of brass or copper, and sometimes of
stone, wooden bowls capable of holding about twelve
quarts, a basket for holding cheese, and a barrel for oil
and other liquids. Some of the richer natives possess the
more showy utensils, such as pewter plates, and spoons of
silver. The highland Laplanders obtain all the artificial
light which they require from the fire alone, but those on
the coast use a rude sort of lamp. One or two shelves for
cheese run along the upper part of the house ; and a few
rennet bags, containing the milk for winter use, are sus¬
pended from the roof. Oval fir boxes, answering for pan¬
niers, are employed in transporting their goods; two of
them, weighing about twro pounds each, are carried by one
rein-deer. The most ornamental article of furniture is the
cradle, which is a piece of wood hollowed out, and having
a recess for receiving the head of the child, and being pro¬
vided with cords, by which it is fastened to the mother’s
back when she travels. In shape it somewhat resembles
the sledge, with the lower part open, and the upper pro¬
tected by an arched covering made of leather, which shel¬
ters the head of the infant. It is stuffed with soft moss, is
portable and safe, and, when slung on the back, the head of
the child appears above the shoulders of the mother, whose
hands are left at liberty, and who is otherwise little incom¬
moded by her burden in travelling.
Herds. The herds of the Laplanders vary much in size, and this
circumstance constitutes their riches or poverty. He who
has 1000 rein-deer is accounted rich, though instances are
by no means rare of one individual possessing 1500 or 2000
animals of this description. With three hundred a family
may live in tolerable comfort, but with one hundred sub¬
sistence is precarious, and fifty reduces a Laplander to the
state of a menial. He is no longer independent and able
to keep a separate establishment, but generally joins his
herd to that of a richer proprietor, whom he serves in the
capacity of a servant, milking and tending the herd. Some¬
times when thus reduced he migrates to the sea-coast, where
lie supports himself by fishing or otherwise. If successful
in his efforts, he returns, purchases a herd, and resumes
his pastoral habits. It more generally happens, however,
that having once become a coast Laplander, he remains so
to the last, ..being naturally too thoughtless and improvi¬
dent to carry his views beyond the exigencies of the mo¬
ment. Should the herd of the mountain Laplander be at
all numerous, it rarely happens that the possessor is aware
of the exact number," there being a superstition prevalent
amongst them, that counting the flock, like numbering the
heads of the Israelites, will be attended with evil. During
the day they are allowed to wander over the hills where
they please, but watched by a shepherd, who observes their
motions, and is assisted in his duties by several dogs. These
are in readiness not only to guard against any attack of
wolves, but also to prevent the herd from being too widely
dispersed, and to assist in bringing them to the fold in the
evening to be milked. After they are brought into this
enclosure, and secured by a cord attached to the horns,
and held either in the hands, or fastened to some shrub,
the women bring their bowls from the tent, and proceed
in the operation in the usual way. Many of the deer are
very refractory whilst this is going on, and, butting with
their horns, not unfrequently overthrow the female in at- Lapland
tendance. The Laplander justly sets a very high value
upon his dogs, the services of which are invaluable. The
breed is remarkable for the smallness of its size, resembling
the arctic fox in every thing but colour.
The employment of the highland Laplander may be said Employ,
to be entirely confined to the care of his deer ; and when ments.
not actively engaged in tending them, he most frequently
stretches himself in his tent in a state of listless ease, or
amuses himself by fashioning a rein-deer’s horn into a spoon.
But this monotony is occasionally broken by a hunting ex¬
cursion, in which he pursues the bear and other animals.
Ptarmigans, foxes, gluttons, martens, and other animals, he
either shoots, or catches by means of traps and snares.
He has several kinds of sledges, both for the conveyance of
himself and of his effects. The pulk, which is intended for
the use of merchants and other travellers, in form resembles
a boat, and is about seven feet in length by sixteen inches in
breadth, and generally about eight inches in depth, the back
board or stern part being about sixteen. The head of the
pulk comes to a point like a canoe ; the stern is flat, and
the bottom or keel convex. Above it has an oval half deck
in front, covered with seal-skins. This is the close pulk ;
the open sledge wants the deck, but its general dimensions
are similar to the other, and it is made, like it, of birch wood,
although of ruder construction, and finished with less care.
For the conveyance of goods, there is another open sledge
of much larger dimensions, being about eight or nine feet in
length, and of proportionate breadth. One deer is sufficient
for a sledge, to which it is attached by a very simple harness,
consisting of a collar of rein-deer fur for the neck, a trace
which passes between the legs of the deer, and through a
broad belly-band of cloth fastened round the body of the ‘
deer. There is of course a bridle and rein, and round the
neck is a loose band of cloth, to which a bell is suspend¬
ed, the sound serving to keep the party together. Al¬
though the difficulty of preserving the equilibrium of the
pulk is at first very great, yet, so expert is the Laplander
in guiding it, that the chief accidents that happen to him
in his winter expeditions arise either from losing his
way, or being caught by snow-storms or snow-drifts.
Without these convenient vehicles it would be impossible
to traverse a country so rugged and broken as Lapland,
and even with this advantage as to locomotion, the difficulty
is very great. The speed with which the animal travels
is remarkable, ten miles an hour being easily accomplished
at a trot, and probably double that space at a gallop.
In the interior parts of Lapland travelling is suspended
during summer, roads being unknown here ; and it is
only in winter that, by the aid of this invaluable animal,
the country can be traversed. In some parts of Lap-
land, rein-deer have been made available for agricultural
purposes, such as ploughing and harrowing; but this only
happens when the proprietor is very poor. They are
likewise employed during the winter season in drawing
hay and fodder loaded upon trays. The Laplanders, espe¬
cially those of Finmark, have a mode of travelling by means
of the skie or snow-skait. It is made of wood, is very nar¬
row', but frequently more than seven feet in length. In
many parts of Lapland the greatest use made of them is
in pursuit of wild rein-deer, and the other animals with
which the country abounds. With these he makes rapid
progress, and undertakes very long journeys without any
other means of locomotion.
Various reasons induce the mountaineer to repair to theMigra-
coast during the summer season. First, that his herd oftlons’
deer may escape the gad-fly, with which, in June, July, and
August, the rein-deer are much tormented; and secondly,
to sell or barter the disposable commodities which he has
collected during winter. These consist of the skins and
horns of the deer which he has killed for the support of
L**nd. his family during winter ; and the skins of other animals
^ which he has succeeded in capturing, such as the bear,
fox, glutton, and marten, and the feathers of the ptarmi¬
gans which he has shot or ensnared. All these are valu¬
able articles of commerce to him ; and, by bartering them
with the merchants of the coast, he is enabled to procure
others that are necessary to his comfort in winter, such as
coarse cloth, meal, gunpowder, and tobacco. It is also a
matter of belief with the Laplander that it is absolutely
necessary to the existence of his rein-deer, that they should
once during the summer drink salt water; and this forms
another and a very strong inducement for him to visit the
coast. The deer eagerly drink salt water, and the draught
is said to be efficacious in destroying the larvae of the gad¬
fly, which lays its eggs in the hide of the animal previous¬
ly to quitting the forest. The annual migration of the
Laplander commences in June, by which time the snow
is generally off the ground, and consequently his mode of
travelling is no longer in sledges. These, with all his win¬
ter necessaries, are left behind him in his summer expedi¬
tion, and he commonly deposits them in the storehouse
which almost every highland Laplander possesses, near
his church, in the neighbourhood of which he generally
remains during the winter. The distance which he has
to travel varies according to the situation of the coast to
which he is bound, but sometimes exceeds three hundred
miles. Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, speaking of migra¬
tions, observes, “ the Swedish Laplanders that repair to
the coasts of Tromsoe and Senjen belong chiefly to Tor-
nea Lapmark, inhabiting the shores of the Tornea Trask.
These parts are also the resort of those from Enontekis,
in Russian Lapland. The Laplanders from the other
Lapmarks make for other parts of the Norwegian coasts
which are nearest to them ; and, though the distance may
be less, they do not, I believe, ever bend their steps to¬
ward the Gulf of Bothnia, preferring the coasts of Nor¬
way, from the absence of wood, the freshness of the
breezes, and the freedom from the insects which swarm
in the forests that skirt the shores of the gulf, as well as
in their own.”
In studying the health and safety of their herd, they ge¬
nerally make choice of the numerous islands on the western
coasts of Norway and Lapland, from their superior coolness,
as well as from the absence of bears and wolves. These
also present a great advantage in being very convenient sta¬
tions for fishing, and possessing good harbours ; whilst fish
likewise resort in great numbers to the numerous fiords or
bays, and narrow channels between them. This is the
reason why on the whole of the northern line of coast the
mainland is nearly uninhabited, with the exception of the
borders of the fiords, though the only supply of wood is to
be found there; whilst almost all the i‘ocky isles so pro¬
fusely scattered along the coast possess inhabitants, al¬
though generally barren in the extreme. After the moun¬
tain Laplander has reached his fishing station, he erects his
tent of coarse wadmal cloth, and proceeds to barter his
skins, furs, and other articles of commerce, for necessaries
which he requires, but principally for brandy, which he
drinks to excess. Indeed it sometimes happens, that when
he is about to return to his winter quarters, he is occasion-
|| ally obliged, though reluctantly, to part with his deer, in
order to supply himself with what is absolutely necessary
to his existence. sThe mountain Laplander makes it a
point to be paid in silver in all his dealings with the mer¬
chants ; and he frequently amasses a considerable quantity
of dollars, which he usually buries in the ground in some
spot near his tent. In September, he breaks up his sum¬
mer quarters, and gradually retires into the interior parts
of the country. The circumstances which oblige him to
return is the want of rein-deer moss on the islands, and
also of fuel, both of which are readily procured in the in-
111
terior parts of the country. The want of the latter is said Lapland,
to have led to the gradual and almost entire depopulation
of the Finmark coasts. His stock of necessaries and house¬
hold utensils are packed in a kind of wicker pannier, one of
which hangs on each side of the deer, and, by slow and easy
stages of six or seven miles a day, he reaches that part of
the continent where he intends to fix his winter abode.
Venison constitutes the principal article of food of the
highland Laplander in winter, the only season when he
kills his deer for supporting himself and his family.
The coast Laplanders support themselves entirely by the Fishery,
fishery, which is astonishingly productive, 2000 lbs. weight &c.
of cod-fish being caught in a day by means of lines alone.
From the great number of small Russian vessels which
frequent the coast at certain seasons, they find a ready sale
for the fruits of their industry, receiving in exchange chiefly
meal, brandy, tobacco, and the like. Whales are abundant,
particularly what is called the fin whale, which is long, ac¬
tive, swimming with great strength and speed, and conse¬
quently difficult to capture. It is usually killed by darting
the harpoon into the body, and then breaking it close off.
No more notice is taken of it at the time, but the wound
generally proves mortal, and in a few days the animal is
found cast upon some part of the neighbouring shore. The
value of a good whale of this kind is about L.150, or 1000
specie dollars. The owner is known by a mark on the
barb of his harpoon, by which he identifies his property;
but law entitles the finder to one third of the booty. Great
quantities of other kinds of fish, particularly the sey or
coal-fish, are likewise caught. The latter are taken by
means of nets, and this fishery constitutes one of the
most lucrative branches of the Finmark trade, as does the
down of the eider-duck. Plaice of a huge size, halibut,
and echini of all hues and sizes, are likewise amongst the
fish taken ; but of shell-fish there are few or none, the
northern shores, from their nature, being particularly barren
of testacea. Halibut of 500 lbs. weight is frequently taken,
and it is esteemed a great delicacy. The farming stock of
the coast Laplander consists of a few sheep and goats, and
sometimes a cow or two; but pigs are little known in Fin¬
mark, and do not constitute part of his property, sheep being
of superior utility in furnishing him both with food and rai¬
ment ; and his wants are, besides, very limited. On the ap¬
proach of winter the whole of the cattle are brought from the
mountains, where they are sent to graze during summer, and
are shut up in stables. The weight of the cattle is not
considerable. During winter, as a substitute for fodder, they
are almost entirely fed upon fish, to which they are very
partial. Some of the shore Laplanders keep rein-deer, but
these animals very rarely constitute part of their property.
In their manual arts and manufactures, that is, making Arts, ma-
the various utensils which their mode of life requires, the nufactures,
Laps display some ingenuity. Their sledges and canoesamuse-
are very strongly and closely put together, so as to be en-ments’ &c-
tirely impervious to water. They tan hides with the first
inner bark of the birch, make strong cordage and thread
of the sinews of the rein-deer, weave coverings for their
tents, knit gloves, fashion wooden utensils for domestic
pux-poses; and the women prepare the skins of foxes, fawns,
otters, and other animals for sale, by stripping off the mem¬
braneous parts, and curing them with fish-oil. The Lap¬
landers have a few amusements, but the chief is hunting,
which, however, rather constitutes a pai’t of their professional
avocations, than of their choice pastimes. The bow and
arrow, which formerly constituted their offensive weapons,
are now supplanted by fire-arms, particularly rifles, in the
use of which they are very expert. A taste for music and
poetry have been attributed to the Laplanders ; but this,
Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke observes, is a mistake, arising
from travellers mistaking Finns for Laplanders, a circum¬
stance which very frequently takes place. Amongst the
LAPLAND.
112
LAPLAND.
Lapland, amusements of the Laplanders may be mentioned their
occasionally assembling at feasts, where the favourite be¬
verage, brandy, freely circulates, and mirth and noisy lo¬
quacity prevail. At marriage-feasts hundreds meet, and
the ceremony is conducted with great formality and deco¬
rum ; but the more solemn ritual of a funeral is characte¬
rized by an appropriate want of any thing like parade or
show.
General In order to present a view of those parts of the Lapland
description. continent, as well as of the numerous islands with which the
shores are crowded, we shall follow the route of a recent
traveller.1 Loppen, the first island in Finland, coming
from the south, is about ten miles in circumference, but
very narrow. It contains five or six families, and has a
church and a resident clergyman. Scattered patches of
the soil are good, and might produce corn if cultivated ; but
this is no motive for doing so, as it is more cheaply and
easily obtained from the Russians in exchange for fish.
At a few miles’ distance from Loppen is Soroe, the largest
island in Finmark, and inferior in size to few in Norway.
Its dimensions have not been definitely stated, but it is
supposed considerably to exceed one hundred miles in cir¬
cumference. It is thinly peopled by a few Norwegians and
shore Laplanders; and the whole of the western coast is
uninhabited, on account of its great exposure to the fury
of the northern storms. It merely consists, like the rest of
the island, of high precipitous rocks and mountains, en¬
closing deep valleys, which in summer are not without
considerable luxuriance of vegetation, being penetrated by
numerous fiords or arms of the sea, which run a consider¬
able way inland. The principal place here is called Havsig;
and it has a church, where the clergyman of Loppen mi¬
nisters, the two parishes being under his care. They con¬
tain between them only about two hundred inhabitants.
Seyland is a pretty large island, but very mountainous.
Qualoen, or Whale Island, where Hammerfest, a town
founded by government, is situated, presents a miserably
naked and barren appearance, hardly a shrub being seen,
and only rocks piled upon each other in wild magnificence.
The town consists of a few scattered houses belonging to
the merchants, which are built of wood, and painted all
over with a kind of red ochre. Behind them is a church,
and near it the residence of the clergyman. Close to
these, and overlooking the sea, there is a small battery.
The Hammerfesters are extremely lively, and fond of
dancing, singing, and merriment. Balls are very fre¬
quent, at which the ladies appear in very gay, even ele¬
gant dresses, of English manufacture. Since 1808, when
this place was visited by Von Buch, its trade and popula¬
tion has improved so considerably as to afford sanguine
hopes of the future. In the year 1810, the population was
only seventy-five, and in twelve years it had increased to
considerably more than two hundred. Their commerce
consists, first, with the foreigners, who supply the mer¬
chants with their own manufactures, and different kinds of
colonial produce, and receive payment in the native staples,
fish and oil; and, secondly, in the local or home trade be¬
tween the dealer and the natives, who barter the fruits of
their industry for meal, cloth, brandy, and other articles.
The whole of the commerce of Hammerfest, however, is
inconsiderable, compared with that carried on by the Rus¬
sians, which constitutes the most important feature of the
trade of Finmark ; and, though still in its infancy, is of such
importance as to deserve being mentioned. The Russians
who visit Finmark come chiefly from Kola, the Gulf of
Kandalax, and the borders of the White Sea. They belong
to the poorest class, and conduct their trade solely in small
three-masted vessels of from thirty to one hundred tons Lapland
burden. Several hundreds of these make their appearance''•—-v-w
about July, and anchor in the vicinity of the fishing banks,
to be in the way of the mountain Laplanders when they
return to the coast, with whom a traffic is carried on chiefly
on the principle of barter. The Russian delivers his cargo
of meal, hemp, flax, copper, tar, sailcloth, lines, and other
articles, and receives in exchange any foreign produce he
may require, but, generally, the various kinds of fish which
are bought by the vog, which is about forty pounds Eng¬
lish. The importance of this trade, both to Russia and
Finmark, may be estimated from a statement made re¬
garding this particular branch of commerce, that no less
than 100,000 vogs of fish were annually taken from Fin¬
mark by the Russians. A considerable trade is also carried
on in fox-skins, which fetch from two to four specie dol¬
lars. The bay of Hammerfest is well sheltered, and the
harbour, though small, is very secure, and frequently con¬
tains a number of vessels from different countries, England
included.
Passing over a few desolate and unimportant islands, such
as the Stappen Isles, well known to English mariners under
the name of Mother and Daughters, we come to that of
Mageroe or Lean Island, where North Cape is situated.
This name is sometimes applied to the whole island, but
properly only belongs to its northern extremity. This
island is about seventy miles in circumference, and is very
narrow, being intersected by long and extensive fiords,
which cut deep into the land on both sides, and nearly
meet. On the mountains about two hundred deer may
exist, the property of Laplanders, whom the breadth and
turbulent nature of Mageroe Sound confine permanently
to the island. On some parts of it there is brushwood, but
its chai'acteristics are sterility and desolation. The North
Cape is a long extended headland or tongue of rock, nar¬
rowest near its root, and enlarging itself towards its other
extremity, where it takes a circular form, and is indented
by several chasms that form small creeks. Its surface is
flat, and destitute of vegetation, but thickly strewed with
fragments of rock, particularly quartz. Foxes are here
abundant, and at certain seasons of the year sea-fowl fre¬
quent the island in vast numbers.
On the continent, the place which first demands atten¬
tion is Alten, or Altengaard, a name applied also to a dis¬
trict the most populous and fertile in Finmark. The fo¬
rests are the most extensive in the country, though now
considerably diminished. The principal inhabitants are the
Quans, who occupy an entire village in the immediate
neighbourhood of Alten. The situation of the latter is very
advantageous in respect to the interior trade of Finmark,
as it forms the principal means of communication, not only
with the inland parts, but also with Sweden; and all kinds
of merchandise being brought by sea to Alten, are for¬
warded to the various other parts of Lapland by rein-deer.
During winter it is the scene of considerable life and bustle,
from the continual arrival of strangers; and in February a
fair is held, attended both by the merchants and by the
coast and mountain Laplanders. It is situated in north
latitude 70°, and is considered the coldest place in Pfin-
mark, yet here vegetation is by no means so contemp¬
tible, as we have already shown. The salmon fishery was
once very considerable, and constituted one of the chief
articles of export, but it has now much declined. About
one hundred and fifty miles south from Alten is Koutokeino,
which is also the name of a district of considerable size, but
mountainous and barren. At this place there is a resident
clergyman, who has a parsonage-house, which, like the
“ A Winter in Lapland and Sweden, with various Observations relating to Finmark and its Inhabitants, made during a Residence
at Hammerfest, near the North Cape, by Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, Bart.”
LAP
LAE
113
Popw-
<tion..
3
(
t
r
a
t
t
a
b
b
o
n
li
n
D
ii
t
i
iv
b
1
i
3 '
n
[,anga<Tc.
«
b
tl
ri
a
ii
ii
I
b
r
\
\
a
abodes of other Lapland ministers, is a mere log-hut, con-
■'sisting of one story, and comprising a small room and a
back kitchen. The whole place, indeed, consists merely
of a few log-huts, situated on the banks of the" river Alten.
Kangis, in Swedish Lapland, is celebrated for its fair,
which is the great point of union for the whole of the North¬
ern Laps. It lasts five days, but its importance has greatly
diminished, on account of the reduced value of the mines.
On the Muonio or Muonioniska River, is a town of the
same name, the houses of which are much superior to those
farther north. Here the population consists principally of
Finns, the number of which tribe increases as the traveller
proceeds towards the Gulf of Bothnia.
The whole population of Finland is supposed not to ex¬
ceed 60,000. The degrading superstition in which they
were formerly sunk has now in a great measure disappear¬
ed, along with those numerous deities which they worship¬
ped : the wild creations of unenlightened nature have been
superseded by Christianity, and a knowledge of the true
God. Regular clergymen are established in the country
by the different governments, and the Laps exhibit much
reverence and devotional feeling during divine service,
although its purport is only known to them through an in¬
terpreter. Finmark, in regard to ecclesiastical regula¬
tions, is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Nordland
and Finmark, both of which form one diocese. As may
be supposed, the revenues of the crown are not materially
benefited by the contributions of the poor Laplander. Every
one, however, whether his abode be on the shore or on the
mountains, pays a yearly tribute of four-and-twenty shil¬
lings, which may be considered merely as an acknowledg¬
ment of their being subjects of the power by which it is
collected. A Laplander that is taxable has likewise to
make an annual offering of a rein-deer ham and tongue to
the sorenskiver or judge; and to the priest half a rein¬
deer with the exception of the breast part, a pair of rein¬
deer gloves, nine pounds of tallow, and a rein-deer cheese,
which donation is called a ritlerbil. This applies only to
the Laplanders who derive their subsistence from their
herds of deer; the shore Laplander pays his dues in fish.
To collect the taxes for the crown, the fogeds or sheriffs,
and lendsmen or sheriffs’ officers, appoint general meetings
of the Laplanders, at stated times of the year, when they
receive their payments.
The language of the Laplanders is a Finnish dialect,
with so great an infusion of foreign words, that the inha¬
bitants of the two nations require an interpreter before
they can understand each other’s meaning. “ The nume¬
rous cases,” says Malte-Brun, “ the varied terminations of
nouns and compound verbs, the method of expressing pro¬
nouns by qffixa joined to verbs, and, lastly, the negative
conjugations, are characteristics equally applicable to the
languages of Finland, Esthonia, and Lapland. The last
is in some respects still poorer than the other two ; thus
there are five words for snow, seven or eight for a moun¬
tain ; but honesty, virtue, and conscience, must be expressed
by a periphrasis. The Lapponic has been mixed, perhaps,
still more than the other Finnic tongues, with the Ger¬
man and Scandinavian, which were spoken by the con¬
querors, who were too often the tyrants, of the Finnic
race.” Some old Hungarian roots are also found in it, from
which circumstance, as well as from others, it has been
inferred that the Laplanders are the descendants of a
Hunnic mixed with a Finnic people, or perhaps a distinct
branch of the great Finno-Hunnic race. The principal
roots and derivatives in the Lapponic tongue certainly
bear less affinity with those of the languages of Upper
Asia, than any other Finnic dialect. (a. r. r.)
LAPSE, in ecclesiastical law, a slip or omission of a
patron to present a clerk to a benefice within six months
after it becomes void, in which case the benefice is said to
vol. xnr.
be in lapse, or lapsed, and the right of presentation de- Laquea-
volves on the ordinary. rius
LAQUEARIUS, a kind of athlete amongst the ancients,
who in one hand held a laqueus, or sort of snare, wherewith 1 -ai (en3 •
to embarrass and entangle his antagonist, and in the other
a poniard to stab him.
LAR, the capital of the province of Laristan, in Persia,
once a magnificent city, but now in ruins. It is situated
at the foot of a range of hills in an extensive plain, which
is covered with palm trees. The houses are commodious
and neatly furnished, each having a badgeer and surdab ;
the former to cool the inner apartments, and the latter to
retire to in the summer season, in order to avoid the intoler¬
able heat of the climate. The residence of the khan, or go¬
vernor, is in the middle of the city, and is surrounded by
a strong wall flanked with towers. The celebrated castle
of Lar, now in ruins, is situated on the summit of a hill,
immediately behind the town, and is said by the Persians
to have been impregnable. The city is decorated with
many handsome buildings ; and the bazaar, which is in
good repair, is said to be the noblest structure of the kind
in Persia. It is very ancient, and is buiit in the same
manner as that of Shiraz, but on a much grander scale,
the arches being lofty, the breadth and length greater,
and the workmanship in every way superior. It still con¬
tains 12,000 inhabitants, and is celebrated for the manu¬
facture of muskets and of cotton cloth. Long. 52. 45. E.
Lat. 27. 80. N. (Kinneir’s Geographical Memoir of the
Persian Empire.)
EARACHE, or El Arache, a seaport town of the king¬
dom of Morocco, in Northern Africa, is situated at the
mouth of the Luccos, a river which anciently bore the
name of Lixus. This town, which formerly belonged to
the Spaniards, has some neat buildings ; and, though not
regularly fortified, possesses a fort and two batteries in
good repair. It has been made the imperial arsenal, and
is very strong towards the sea. The town contains about
four hundred houses, which extend from the banks of the
river up the steep declivity of a hill facing the north. It
was built, as well as the principal fortifications, by Chris¬
tians. The streets are paved ; there are several mosques,
and a decent bazaar, surrounded with very handsome stone
piazzas ; but there is a great deficiency of water. The
depth and security of the river, which is about half a
mile across at the ferry, render it the best port which
the emperor possesses for his larger vessels ; but ships
exceeding two hundred tons burden cannot get in, on ac¬
count of the bar, which is continually on the increase.
The road is not secure in winter during the prevalence of
southerly and westerly winds, but from April to Sep¬
tember inclusive it affords a safe anchorage. The cli¬
mate is mild, and the same as in Andalusia. Earache is
situated in long. 6. 1. 30. W. and lat. 35. 13. 15. N.
LARARIUM was a chapel which the Romans fre¬
quently had in their houses for the household gods, called
lares. Spartian informs us, that Alexander the son ofMam-
meus kept in his lararium the figure of our Saviour, to¬
gether with his other idols.
LARBOARD, amongst seamen, the left-hand side of
the ship when you stand with your face towards the head.
LARCENY, or Theft, by contraction for latrociny,
latrocinium, is distinguished by the law into two sorts ;
the one called simple larceny,t or plain theft, unaccompa¬
nied with any other atrocious circumstance ; and the other,
mixed or compound larceny, which also includes in it the
aggravation of a taking from one’s house or person.
Simple larceny, when it is the stealing of goods above
the value of twelvepence, is called grand larceny, but when
of goods to that value, or under, is petit larceny ; offences
which are considerably distinguished in their punishment,
but not otherwise. Mixed or compound larceny is such as
p
114 L A R
Lardner. j^s all the properties of the former, but is accompanied
with either one or both of the aggravations of a taking
from the house or the 'person.
LARDNER, Nathaniel, an eminent English dissent¬
ing divine, was born at Hawkhurst, in Kent, on the 6th
of June 1684. After receiving a grammatical education,
he was sent first to a dissenting academy in London,
which was under the care of the Rev. Dr Joshua Old¬
field ; and thence, in his sixteenth year, he went to prose¬
cute his studies at Utrecht, under Professors d Uries,
Grsevius, and Burmann. Here he remained above three
years, and then removed for a short time to Leyden. In
1703 he returned to England, and at his father’s house em¬
ployed himself in the most close and diligent preparation
for the sacred profession. But, notwithstanding his qualifi¬
cations, it was not till 1709 that he preached his first sermon,
on the authenticity and truth of the Christian revelation.
A few years after this, Lardner was received into Lady
Treby’s family as domestic chaplain, and tutor to her son,
and continued in this situation till her ladyship’s death in
1721. This event threw him into some perplexity, hav¬
ing preached to several congregations, during his resi¬
dence with Lady Treby, without obtaining the approbation
or choice of any one. It has been said that it reflects no
honour upon the dissenters, that a man of such merit should
so long have been neglected. But the pulpit was not
the place in which Mr Lardner was calculated either to
convey improvement or to acquire reputation. Dr Kippis
informs us, “ that his mode of elocution was very unplea¬
sant ; that from his early and extreme deafness he could
have no such command of his voice as to give it a due
modulation ; and that he greatly dropped his words.” It
cannot, then, be matter of surprise that he was not popu¬
lar ; nor can it be any reflection upon the congregations
to which he occasionally preached, that they did not
choose a man who, notwithstanding his great learning
and eminent virtues, was so deficient as a public speaker,
that it was impossible to hear him with any pleasure, and
scarcely without pain.
Though Mr Lardner had no church at which he offi¬
ciated as minister, he was engaged with some of his dis¬
senting brethren in preaching a Tuesday evening lecture
at the Old Jewry. Acquainted probably with the direc¬
tion of his studies, they also appointed him to preach on
the proof of the credibility of the gospel history. This
he discussed in two sermons; and prosecuting the sub¬
ject which he had taken up in these discourses, he, in
February 1727, published, in two volumes octavo, the first
part of the Credibility of the Gospel History, or the
Facts occasionally mentioned in the New Testament, con¬
firmed by Passages of Ancient Authors who were con¬
temporary with our Saviour or his Apostles, or lived near
their time. An appendix was subjoined, relating to the
time of Herod’s death.
Thus Mr Lardner commenced author, and began his
literary career with singular reputation. “ It is scarcely
necessary to say,” observes Dr Kippis, “ how well this
work w7as received by the learned world. Not only was
it highly approved by the Protestant dissenters, with
whom the author was more immediately connected, but
by the clergy in general of the established church ; and
its reputation gradually extended into foreign countries.
It is indeed an invaluable performance, and has rendered
the most essential service to the cause of Christianity.
Whoever peruses this work will find it replete with ad¬
mirable instruction, sound learning, and just and candid
criticism.” These two, with the subsequent fifteen vo¬
lumes octavo, and the four thin quartos entitled Jewish
and Heathen Testimonies, occupied him, with the inter¬
ruption arising from some smaller productions, during the
space of forty-three years.
L A R
Dr Kippis gives us a particular account of the time Larentin;
when each volume was published, and of the subjects dis- lia
cussed in each. Speaking of the Supplement to the Cre- II
dibility, he says, “ I cannot avoid strongly recommending ^_fres
this work to the attention of all young divines. Indeed,
I think that it ought to be read by every theological stu¬
dent before he quits the university or academy in which
he is educated. There are three other works which will
be found of eminent advantage to those who are intended
for, or beginning to engage in, the Christian ministry.
These are, Butler’s Analogy, Bishop Law’s Considerations
on the Theory of Religion, and Dr Taylor’s Key to the
Apostolical Writings, prefixed to his Paraphrase on the
Epistle to the Romans. Without agreeing with every
circumstance advanced in these works, it may be said of
them with the greatest truth, that they tend to open and
enlarge the mind; that they give important views of the
evidence, nature, and design of revelation ; and that they
display a vein of reasoning and inquiry which may be ex¬
tended to other objects besides those immediately consi¬
dered in the books themselves. It must not be forgotten,
that the Supplement to the Credibility has a place in the
excellent collection of treatises on divinity which have
been published by Dr Watson, bishop of Landaff. For a
collection which cannot fail of being eminently conducive
to the instruction and improvement of younger clergymen,
and for the noble, manly, and truly evangelical preface by
which it is preceded, this great prelate is entitled to the
gratitude of the Christian world.” It may not be improper
to add, that the Supplement to the Credibility has been
published separately by the booksellers, under the title of
the History of the Gospels and Epistles.
Applauded as Dr Lardner’s works were, he received
little recompense for them. Some of the latter volumes
of the Credibility were published at a loss ; and at last he
sold the copyright and all the remaining printed copies
to the booksellers, for the trifling sum of L.I50. His ob¬
ject, however, was not private emolument, but to serve
the interests of truth and virtue ; and it pleased divine
providence to spare his life, both to complete his exten¬
sive plan, and to see the last volume, the fourth of the Tes¬
timonies, published. This was in 1767. But he was seiz¬
ed with a decline in the following summer, and carried
off in a few days, at Hawkhurst, the place of his nativity,
where he had a small paternal estate. He died in the
eighty-fifth year of his age.
LARENTINALIA, in Antiquity, a feast held amongst
the Romans on the 23d day of December, but ordered to
be observed twice a year by Augustus. It was supposed
by some to have been instituted in honour of the Lares,
but by others, with more probability, in honour of Acca
Laurentia, and to have been the same with Laurentalia.
LARES, amongst the ancients, derived by Apuleius
from lar familiaris, a kind of domestic genii or divinities,
worshipped in houses, esteemed the guardians and protec¬
tors of families, and supposed to reside more immediately in
the chimney corner. The Lares were distinguished from
the Penates, as the former were supposed to preside over
housekeeping, the servants in families, and domestic af¬
fairs ; whilst the latter were the protectors of the masters of
families, their wives, and children. Accordingly the Lares
were dressed in short, succinct habits, to show their readi¬
ness to serve ; and they held a sort of cornucopia in their
hands, as a signal of hospitality and good housekeeping.
According to Ovid, there were generally two of them, who
were sometimes represented with a dog at their feet. Plu¬
tarch distinguishes good and evil Lares, as he had before
done good and evil genii. There are also some public,
others private Lares. Apuleius tells us the domestic Lares
were no more than the souls of departed persons, who had
lived well, and had discharged the duties of their station ;
L A R
whereas those who had done otherwise were vagabonds,
wandering about and frightening people, called Larva and
Lemures. The Lares were also called Penates, and were
worshipped under the figures of little marmosets, or images
of wax, silver, or earthen ware. The public Lares were
also called Compitales, from compitum, a cross-way ; and
Viales, from via, a way or public road; as being placed at
the meetings of roads and in the highways, and esteemed
the patrons and protectors of travellers. The private Lares
took care of particular houses and families, and were also
called Prcestites, from prasto. The Lares were likewise
genial gods, and were supposed to take care of children
from their birth. It is for this reason that, when Macro-
bius tells us the Egyptians had four gods who presided over
the births of children, viz. Genius, Fortune, Love, and Ne¬
cessity, called Prcestites, some interpret him as if he had
said the Egyptians had Lares, and they have mentioned
that there was a great difference between the Lares of the
Romans and the Praestites of the Egyptians. However, the
learned Mr Bryant affirms that they were the same. The
ancients differ extremely about the origin of the Lares.
Varro and Macrobius say that they were the children of
Mania ; Ovid makes them the issue of Mercury, and the
Naiad Lara or Larunda ; Apuleius assures us that they were
the posterity of the Lemures ; Nigridius, according to Ar-
nobius, makes them sometimes the guardians and protectors
of houses, and sometimes the same with the Curetes of Sa-
mothracia, which the Greeks call Idcei Dactyli. Nor was
Varro more consistent in his opinion of these gods; some¬
times making them the manes of heroes, and sometimes
gods of the air. Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, was the
first who built a temple to the Lares. The chimney and
fire-place in the house were particularly consecrated to
them. Tertullian is of opinion that the custom of worship¬
ping the Lares arose from this, that they anciently interred
their dead in their houses ; and hence the credulous people
took occasion to imagine that their souls continued there
also, and thus proceeded to pay them divine honours. To
this it may be added, that the custom being afterwards in¬
troduced of burying in the highways, they might hence take
occasion to regard them as gods of the highways. The vic¬
tim offered to the Lares in the public sacrifices was a hog;
but in private they were offered wine, incense, a crown of
wool, and a little of what was left at the table. They also
crowned them with flowers, particularly the violet, myrtle,
and rosemary. Their symbol was a dog, which was usually
represented by their side, on account of its fidelity and the
service it does to a man in watching his house. They were
sometimes also represented as clothed in a dog’s skin. The
term Lares, according to Mr Bryant, was formed from laren,
an ancient word by which the ark was represented. He
supposes that the Lares and Manes were the same domes¬
tic deities under different names ; and that by these terms
the Etruscans and Latins denoted the dii arkita, who were
no other than their arkite ancestors, or the persons preserv¬
ed in the laren or ark, the genius of which was Isis, the re¬
puted parent of the world. He observes further, that they
are described as demons and genii, who once lived upon
earth, and were gifted with immortality. Arnobius styles
them Lares quosdam genios et functorum animus ; and he
says that, according to Varro, they were the children of
Mania. Huetius {Demonst. Prop. iv. p. 139) adds, that
Mania had also the name of Larunda ; and that she is styled
the mother of the demons. By some she is called Lara,
and was supposed to preside over families ; and children
were offered at her altar in order to procure her favour.
Instead of these, they offered in after times the heads of
poppies and pods of garlic.
LARGE, a nautical term applied to the wind when it
crosses the line of a ship’s course in a favourable direction,
particularly on the beam or quarter. Thus, if a ship steers
L A R 115
west, then the wind in any point of the compass to the Largitio
eastward of the south or north may be called large, unless II
when it is directly east, and then it is said to be right aft. Larmier.
Sailing large is, therefore, advancing with a large wind, so ~
as that the sheets are slackened and flowing, and the bow¬
lines entirely disused. This phrase is generally opposed
to sailing close-hauled.
LARGITIO, in Roman antiquity, was a distribution of
corn, provision, clothes, money, and the like, amongst the
people. Gracchus, when tribune, in order to render him¬
self popular, passed a law for supplying the Roman citi¬
zens with corn out of the public granaries at a very low rate.
Claudius, another tribune, with the same view to popular
applause, procured it to be distributed gratis. Cato, to win
the common people from Caesar, persuaded the senate to
do the same; and three hundred thousand citizens shared
in the distribution. Caesar, after his triumph, extended
his bounty to a hundred and fifty thousand, giving them
each a mina. The Roman emperors enlarged still further
the list of those who were to partake of their distributions.
Largitio is frequently taken in a bad sense, to signify
masked .or secret bribery, by which candidates purchased
votes when they stood for places of honour or trust in the
state. The distribution of money was called congiarium,
and the distributors divisores and sequestres.
LARGO, Upper and Nether, is the name of two
small villages of Fifeshire, situated near the shore of the
Frith of Forth. The former is a very agreeable place,
about a mile from the sea, on the road between Leven and
Anstruther. It has a parish church, an ancient Gothic
fabric, with a spire rising from the middle. Nether Lar¬
go is an extensive fishing village, much resorted to as
summer quarters. This was the birth-place of Alexander
Selkirk, the accredited prototype of the fictitious Robin¬
son Crusoe. The weaving of linen is a source of emolu¬
ment both here and at Upper Largo.
LARGS, a small village on the west coast of Scotland,
opposite to the island of Bute. It contains only about
500 inhabitants, but is rendered memorable by the defeat
which the Norwegians sustained here, in their last inva¬
sion of Scotland.
LARISSA, a city of ancient Thessaly, in the Turkish
province of Tirhala. It is situated on the river Salam-
bria, the ancient Peneus, over which is a fine bridge of
ten arches. It is surrounded with walls, and contains two
large and twenty smaller mosques, several Greek churches,
and 4000 houses, with 25,000 inhabitants. It is the great¬
est manufacturing town in the Turkish empire, producing
silk and cotton goods, leather, and ironmongery. The
environs are pleasant and fertile, yielding abundance of
grapes, figs, raisins, and excellent corn and pulse ; but the
situation is marshy, and somewhat unhealthy. It is in
long. 22. 46. E. and lat. 39. 48. N.
LARISTAN, a province of Persia, which extends along
the northern shore of the Persian Gulf, from the fifty-fifth
to the fifty-eighth degree of east longitude. It is bounded
by Pars on the north-west, and Kerman on the north-east,
and is the poorest and least productive province of Persia.
The country is arid, and so destitute of wholesome water,
that it would be uninhabitable were it not for the periodical
rains, which fill the cisterns of the natives, and enable them
to cultivate the date tree, together with a small quantity
of wheat and barley. The coast is in possession of the
different Arab tribes, who, under the government of their
own sheiks, maintain their independence, and pay a trifling
tribute to the king. They subsist chiefly by piracy, and
reside in small towns or mud forts scattered along the shore
of the gulf. The chief town, besides Lar, the capital, is
Congoon, containing 6000 or 7000 inhabitants.
LARK. See Ornithology.
LARMIER, in Architecture, a flat square member of
116
LAS
LAS
Larrek the cornice, below the cimasium, and jetting out farthest.
II . It is so called from its use, which is to disperse the water,
Lasearis. and cause it to fall at a distance from the wall, drop by
drop, or as if by tears, the French word larme signifying
a tear.
LARREK, a small island in the Persian Gulf, about fif¬
teen miles in circumference, with a little conical hill in
its centre. It has no harbour, and is destitute both of water
and vegetation. It is ten miles south-west of Ormuz.
LARVA, in Natural History, a name given by Linnaeus
to insects in that state which is called by other writers
eruca or caterpillar.
LARViE, in Antiquity, derived from the Etruscan
word lar or lars, signifying “ prince or lord,” denoted the
ghosts of the deceased, considered as wicked and mis¬
chievous. Hence is formed the term larvatus, that is, larva
indutus or demoniac. The ingenious Mr Farmer urges
the etymology and use of this term to prove that the hea¬
then demons were human ghosts. The larvce were also
called lemures.
LARUS, the gull. See Ornithology.
LASCARIS, Constantine, one of those illustrious
Greeks who, having been expelled from their native coun¬
try in thefifteenth century, contributed greatly to the revival
of letters in Europe. He was descended of the imperial fa¬
mily of the same name, and born at Constantinople, though
in what year has not been ascertained. In 1454, he left
the imperial city, destined soon afterwards to become the
prey of the Turkish invaders, and went to seek an asylum in
Italy, where he was favourably received by Francisco Sfor-
za, who intrusted him with the education of his daughter
Hippolyta, afterwards married to Alfonzo king of Naples.
From Milan he proceeded to Rome, where he lived some
time in habits of intimacy with Cardinal Bessarion, and
then set out for Naples, whither he had been invited by
King Ferdinand, in order to profess Greek and rhetoric in
that city. Having spent some years in this occupation,
he formed the resolution of going to end his days in one
of the isles of Greece ; but the vessel in which he had em¬
barked having touched at Messina, the principal inhabitants
made to him such urgent applications, that he consented
to give lessons in their city. The reputation of this great
master of learning soon attracted thither numerous pupils,
amongst whom the celebrated Bembo is said to have been
one; and he received the honour of citizenship, which he
merited equally by7 his virtues and his erudition. He lived
to an advanced age, and died towards the end of the year
1493. In gratitude for the proofs of regard which he had
received from the senate, he bequeathed to it, by his will,
his library, consisting of valuable manuscripts, which were
afterwards transported to Spain, where they may still be
seen in the Royal Library of the Escurial. His published
works are, 1. Grammatica Grasca, sive Compendium octo
Orationis partium, Milan, 1476, in 4to, being the first
book printed in Greek ; 2. Two Opitscula on the Sicilians
and Calabrese who had written in Greek, published, for
the first time, by Maurolieo in 1562; 3. A Dissertation
on Orpheus, printed in the first volume of the Marmora
Taurinensia, from a manuscript in the library of the king
of Sardinia. (a.)
Lascaris, Andrew John, a learned Greek, of the same
family with the preceding, and surnamed Rhyndacenus,
probably because he was originally from Rhyndacus, a
small town between the Hellespont and Phrygia. Fie
abandoned his native country after the overthrow of the
lower empire, and took refuge at the court of Lorenzo
de’ Medicis. This great protector of letters sent him
back to the East to collect such manuscripts as had
escaped the fury of the Turks ; and having obtained per¬
mission to examine the libraries, he derived from them a
great number of valuable works. Some years afterwards,
he made a second voyage to Greece; but before his re- Lash
turn Lorenzo died, and the* troubles which broke out in ||
Florence determined Lascaris to accept the offers made Lasphe,
to him by Charles VIII. in order to draw him to France,
He was at Paris in the year 1495; and it was he who
taught the principles of the Greek language to Bude and
to Danes. In 1503, Louis XII. appointed him to the em¬
bassy of Venice ; a mission in which he must have acquitted
himself in a satisfactory manner, since he was sent thither
a second time in 1505. Nevertheless, Wicquefort pretends
that Lascaris was but ill qualified for an employment which
required a knowledge of the interests of princes, and great
experience of the world; and he even asserts that the
Venetians complained that France had sent them a pedant
instead of an ambassador. His functions ceas-ed in con¬
sequence of the rupture which took place between the
republic and France; and Lascaris resumed the teaching
of the Greek language. Leo X. having conceived the de¬
sign of extending the knowledge of this language, called
him to Rome, to put him at the head of the college of
young Greeks which he had just founded; and at the
same time confided to him the direction of a printing esta¬
blishment destined to multiply impressions of Greek books.
In 1515, the pope intrusted him with a mission to Fran¬
cis I.; and this prince, sensible of his merits, endeavoured
to retain him in France. Lascaris, however, returned
to Rome the same year; but he revisited Paris in 1518,
and, along with Bude, was employed to form the royal
library of Fontainebleau. Francis I. then appointed Las¬
caris his ambassador to Venice, as his predecessor had.
done; and he remained in that city until Pope Paul III.
testified a desire to have him at Rome. He yielded to
the solicitations of the pontiff, though suffering from the
gout, and immediately set out for the capital of the Chris¬
tian world ; but the fatigue of the journey augmented his
sufferings, and he died, in 1535, a few months after his
arrival, at the advanced age of nearly ninety. Lascaris
did not deem it unworthy of him to act as corrector of
the press, first in the office of F. Alopa at Florence, and
next in the printing-house established by Pope Leo X. in
Monte-Cavallo; and we are indebted to him for excellent
editions of the following works, viz. 1. Anthologia Epi-
grammatum Graecorum, libri vii. Greece, Florence, 1494,
in 4to; 2. Callimachi Hymni Gr. cum scholiis Graecis,
ibid, in 4to, the editio princeps, executed with the same
characters as the preceding work; 3. Scholia Graeca in
Iliadem, in integrum restituta, Rome, 1517, in folio, a very
rare edition; 4. Homericarum Quaestionum, liber, et de
Nympharum antro in Odyssea opusculum, ibid. 1518, in
small 4to, the editio princeps ; 5. Commentarii [Graeci] in
septem Tragoedias Sophoclis, ibid. 1518, in small 4to.
Lascaris wrote in Latin with equal facility and elegance ;
and he was entreated to undertake the translation of se¬
veral Greek authors, but he has only rendered some trea¬
tises of Polybius on the military art. Several smaller
works are also ascribed to him, viz. 1. Epigrammata Grse-
ca et Latina, Paris, 1527, in 8vo, and 1544, ip 4to; 2.
De veris Groecarum Litterarum formis ac causis apud
Antiques, Paris, 1536, in 8vo; 3. Orationes, Francfort,
1575. The Nuova Scielta di Lettere, by Bernardo Pino,
contains one of Lascaris. (a.)
LASH, or Lace, in nautical language, signifies to bind
or make fast; as, to lash the bonnet to the course, or
the drabbler to the bonnets. The carpenter takes care
that the spare yards are lashed fast to the ship’s side ; and
in a rolling sea, the gunners mind that the guns are well
lashed, lest they should break loose. Lashers are proper¬
ly those ropes which bind fast the tackles and the breech¬
ings of the ordnance, when hauled or made fast within
board.
LASPHE, a town of Prussian Westphalia, in the go-
lie
L A T
L|sa vernment of Arensburg, and circle of Witgenstein. It
stands on the river Lahn, and contains 160 houses, with
, Lallan. 1720 inhabitants, who are chiefly occupied in making iron
wares. Adjoining to the city is the palace of Prince Wit-
I genstein, whose dominions, now mediatised, extended over
170 square miles, and comprehended two towns, twenty-
4 eight villages, and 120 houses, with 8800 inhabitants.
LASSA, a town of Thibet, and capital of a province of
I the same name. It is the capital of the country, and the
s seat of the Delai Lama. It belongs, however, to the Chi-
II nese, who have a viceroy here, with a garrison, commanded
^ by a general officer, whose influence is superior to that of
1 the lamas. It has been visited by few Europeans, and
0 only by Catholic missionaries, who have left no very ac¬
curate or satisfactory description of it. The territory ex-
tends as far west as Kheroo, distant 350 miles west-south-
B west, which is within its limits. The city of Lassa is
u | usually crowded with royal and noble personages from all
P parts of Asia, who come to present their homage, with
S1 splendid offerings, to the Delai Lama. His temple is
crowned with a gilded dome, and adorned with numerous
P pyramids, either gilt or crowned with silver. Long. 91.
2 25. E. Lat. 29. 30. N.
LAST, in general, signifies the burden or load of a ship.
It signifies also a certain measure of fish, corn, wool,
£ leather, and the like. A last of cod-fish, white herrings,
11 meal, and ashes for soap, is twelve barrels ; of corn or
fi rapeseed, ten quarters; of gunpowder, twenty-four bar¬
's rels; of red herrings, twenty cades ; of hides, twelve do-
zen ; of leather, twenty dickers ; of pitch and tar, four-
ts i teen barrels; of wool, twelve sacks; of stock fish, one
tl thousand ; of flax or feathers, 1700 lbs.
LASTAGE, or Lestage, a duty exacted in some fairs
i1 and markets, for carrying things bought whithersoever one
P pleases to order. It signifies also the ballast or lading of
a a ship, and is sometimes used for garbage, rubbish, or such
ii like filth.
LASUS, or Lassus, a Greek poet and musician, re-
Sj specting whom only a few facts have been transmitted to
u us. He was the son of Charbinus, a native of Hermione,
ii in Argolis, and flourished about the sixty-ninth olympiad
( i (b. c. 504), during the reign of Darius 1. king of Persia.
Some of the ancients put Lasus in the number of the se-
v ven wise men of Greece, to the exclusion of Periander of
( Corinth. He was the first who wrote on the theory of
rt music, and joined example to precept, being also an ex-
c cellent musician. According to Clemens of Alexandria,
h he was the inventor of dithyrambic verse ; he was at least
t; the first to introduce it at the public games, and institut-
e ed prizes for the successful candidates. (Suidas, Aristoph.
k I SchoL Vesp. 1401.) We are informed by Herodotus (vii.
6 6), that Lasus caused the poet Onomacritus to be banish-
e I ed from Athens by Hipparchus, because he interpolated
t the poetry of Musaeus with false prophecies. He was the
c contemporary of Simonides, and the instructor of Pindar.
( (Thom. Mag. Vit. Find.) Athenaeus (viii. 20) has pre-
s served some witticisms of Lasus, which do not tend to raise
] j him in our estimation. He quotes also a hymn to Ceres
( of Hermione, and an ode entitled the Centaurs, in neither
( 1 of which he had made use of the letter S (x. 455 ; xiv. 624).
( (See Les Remarques de Burette sur le Dialogue du Plu-
l ' tarque touchant la Musique, in the Mem. de l’Acad, des
I Inscrip, xv. p. 324.)
LASWAREE, a small village of Hindustan, in the
j I province of Delhi, the scene of a desperate battle fought
between the British army and Scindia, in which the for¬
mer obtained a complete victory.
LATERAN was originally the proper name of a man,
from whom it descended to an ancient palace in Rome,
and to the buildings since erected in its place, particular¬
ly a church called St John of Lateran.
LAT 117
Councils of the Lateral are those which wrere held in A Latere
the basilica of the Lateran. Of these there have been II
five, which were held in 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, and 1513, Lathe;_ y
respectively. '"
Canons Regular of the Congregation of the Lateran is
a congregation of regular canons, of which that church is
the principal place or seat.
It is pretended that there has been an uninterrupted suc¬
cession of clerks, living in community, from the time of the
apostles ; and that a number of these were established in
the Lateran in the time of Constantine. But the canons
were not introduced till the time of Leo I.; and these held
the church eight hundred years, till the reign of Boniface,
who took it from them, and placed secular canons in their
room. A century and a half thereafter, the regulars were
reinstated.
A LATERE, a term used to denote the qualifications
of the cardinals whom the pope sends as legates into
foreign countries. They are called “ legates a luteref as
being his holiness’s assistants and counsellors in ordinary.
They are the most considerable of all the legates, being
such as the pope commissions to take his place in councils ;
and they are so called because he never confers this office
on any but his favourites and confidants, who are always
a latere, at his side. A legate a latere has the power of
conferring benefices without a mandate, and of legitimat¬
ing bastards; and a cross is carried before him as the en-
sign of his authority.
De Latere, legates who are not cardinals, but yet are
intrusted with an apostolic legation.
LATEEN Sail, a long triangular sail extended by a
lateen yard, and frequently used in xebecs, polacres, se-
tees, and other vessels which navigate in the Mediterra¬
nean Sea.
LATH, in building, a long, thin, and narrow slip of
wood nailed to the rafters of a roof or ceiling, in order to
sustain the covering.
LATHAM, a township in the parish of Ormskirk, in
the hundred of West Derby, in the county of Lancaster,
210 miles from London. The castle here formerly belong¬
ed to the Earls of Derby, and was boldly defended against
the parliament forces in the civil war in 1648. There is a
mineral spring, from which Epsom salt is made. The popu¬
lation amounted in 1801 to 2179, in 1811 to 2514, in 1821
to 2997, and in 1831 to 3272.
LATHE, a very useful engine for the turning of wood,
ivory, metals, and other materials. The invention of the
lathe is very ancient. According to Diodorus Siculus, the
first who used it was a grandson of Daedalus, named Talus.
Pliny ascribes it to Theodore of Samos, and mentions one
Thericles, who rendered himself famous by his dexterity
in managing the lathe. With this instrument the ancients
turned all kinds of vases, many of which they enriched
with figures and ornaments in bas-relief. The Greek and
Latin authors make frequent mention of the lathe; and
Cicero calls the workmen who used it vascularii. It was a
proverb amongst the ancients, to say a thing was formed in
the lathe, in order to express its delicacy and justness. The
lathe is composed of two wooden cheeks or sides, parallel
to the horizon, having a groove or opening between, and
perpendicular to these are tw o other pieces called puppets,
made to slide between the cheeks, and to be fixed down
at any point, at pleasure. These have two points, between
which the piece to be turned is sustained. The piece is
turned round backwards and forwards by means of a string
put round it, and fastened above to the end of a pliable
pole, and underneath to a treadle or board moved with the
loot. There is also a rest which bears up the tool, and
keeps it steady. As it is the use and application of this
instrument that forms the greatest part of the art of turn¬
ing, we refer for the particular description of it, as well as
118 L A T
L.athreve the manner of applying it in various works, to that head.
!j See Turning.
v _atim^'> LATHREVE, Leidgreve, or Trithengreve, was an
/ ^ officer under the Saxon government, who had authority
over a third part of the county, and whose territory was
therefore called trilhing, otherwise a leid or leithin, in
which manner the county of Kent is still divided. As to
the jurisdiction of this officer, those matters which could
not be determined in the hundred courtwere thence brought
to the trithing, where all the principal men of the three or
more hundreds being assembled by the laihreve or trithin-
greve, debated and decided it; or if they could not, then
the lathreve sent it up to the county court, to be there
finally determined.
LATIAR, in Roman antiquity, a feast or cei’emony in¬
stituted by Tarquinius Superbus, in honour of Jupiter La-
tiaris or Latialis.
LATICLAVE (Laticlavium), in Roman antiquity, was
an honourable distinction, peculiar, in the times of the re¬
public, to the senators ; but whether it was a particular
kind of garment, or only an ornament upon *it, the critics
are not agreed. The more general opinion, however, is,
that it was a broad stripe of purple sewed upon the fore
part of the tunic, and round the middle of the breast.
There were buttons set on the latus clavus or laticlave,
which appeared like the heads of large nails, from which
some think it derived its name. The senators, praetors,
and chief magistrates of colonies and municipal cities, had
a right to wear it. The praetexta was always worn over it;
but when the praetor pronounced sentence of death, the
praetexta was then put off, and the laticlave retained. The
laticlavium differed from the angusticlavium ; but authors
do not agree in what this difference consisted. The most
general opinion, however, seems to be, that the slips or
stripes of purple were narrower in the angusticlave.
LATIMER, Hugh, bishop of Worcester, was born
about the year 1480, at Thurcaston, in Leicestershire.
He was the only son of a yeoman of that village. At the
age of fourteen he was sent to Christ’s College, Cambridge,
where he applied himself to the study of divinity, and in
proper time took the degree of bachelor in that science.
At this time he was a zealous Catholic, and was honoured
with the office of keeper of the cross to the university;
but when he was about thirty years of age, he became a
convert to the Protestant religion; and being then one of
the twelve licensed preachers of Cambridge, he promul¬
gated his opinions with great freedom. It was not long
before he was accused of heresy ; and being summoned be¬
fore Cardinal Wolsey, he was obliged to subscribe certain
articles of faith, which he certainly did not believe. About
the year 1529 he was presented by the king to the rectory
of Westkinton, in Wiltshire, to which place, after residing
some time at court with his friend and patron Dr Butts, he
retired ; but having resumed his former invectives against
the Catholic doctrines, he was again summoned to answer
certain interrogatories, and again obliged to subscribe a re¬
cantation. In 1535, he was promoted to the bishopric of
Worcester, a dignity which he continued to enjoy till the
year 1539, when, rather than assent to the act of the six ar¬
ticles, he resigned his mitre, and retired into the country ;
but in a short time he was accused of speaking against the
six articles, and committed to the Tower, where he conti¬
nued prisoner till the death of Henry VIII. which happen¬
ed in January 1547. On the accession of Edward VI.
Latimer was released, but not restored to his bishopric,
though he had preached several times before the king, and
continued to exercise his ministerial functions with unre¬
mitting zeal and resolution. But young Edward finished
his short reign in the year 1553 ; and Mary having as¬
cended the throne, Latimer was immediately doomed to
destruction, and, together with Cranmer and Ridley, con-
L A T
fined in the Tower. In April 1554, they were removed Latin
to Oxford, that they might dispute with the learned ||
doctors of both universities. Latimer declined the dispu- hatomi;
tation on account of his great age and infirmities, but de-
livered his opinion in writing; and, having refused to sub¬
scribe the Romish creed, was condemned for heresy, and,
in the October following, burned alive, along with Bishop
Ridley. He behaved with uncommon fortitude on the
occasion, and died a real martyr to the Reformation. His
general character is that of a learned, virtuous, and brave
man. His works are, 1. Sermons, 1635, in folio; 2. Let¬
ters in Fox’s Acts and Monuments (vol. ii.), 1580 ; 3. An
Injunction to the Prior and Convent of St Mary’s in Wor¬
cestershire.
LATIN, a dead language, first spoken in Latium, and
afterwards at Rome. See Language and Philology.
LATINUS, king of the Latins in Italy, was the son of
Faunus, and, it is said, began to reign about 1216 years
before the Christian era. Lavinia, his only daughter, mar¬
ried iEneas, after that Trojan prince had killed Turnus
king of the Rutulians.
LATISANA, a town of Italy, the capital of a district
in the Austrian delegation of Frioul, on the river Taglia-
mento. There is a fine palace belonging to the Mocenego
family. It contains 3890 inhabitants, whose trade is
chiefly in timber. Long. 13. 8. 40. E. Lat. 45. 54. 10. N.
LATITUDE, in Astronomy, is the distance of a star
north or south from the ecliptic. In geography it signi¬
fies the distance of any place north or south from the equa¬
tor. See Astronomy, and Geography, passim.
LATITUDINARIAN, a person of moderation respect¬
ing religious opinions, who believes there is a latitude in
the road to heaven, which may admit people of different
persuasions.
LATIUM, in Ancient Geography, the country of the
Latins, at first contained within very narrow bounds, but
afterwards increased by the accession of various tribes and
races. The appellation, according to Virgil, is a latendo,
from Saturn’s lying hid there from the hostile pursuit of
his son Jupiter ; and from Latium comes Latini, the name
of the people, though Dionysius of Halicarnassus derives
it from King Latinus, who reigned about the time of the
Trojan war. But, be this as it may, it is certain, that La¬
tium, when under iEneas and his descendants, or the Al¬
ban kings, contained only the Latins, exclusive of the
iEqui, Volsci, Hernici, and other people; but that iEneas
reckoned the Rutulians, after their conquest, amongst the
Latins. And this constituted the ancient Latium, confin¬
ed to the Latins; but afterwards, under the kings, and
subsequently, it reached from the Tiber to Circeii. Under
the consuls, the country of the iEqui, Volsci, Hernici, and
others, after long and bloody wars, was added to Latium,
under the appellation of adjectitious or superadded Latium,
as far as the river Liris, the eastern boundary, and to the
north as far as the Marsi and Sabines. The various people
which in succession occupied Latium, were the aborigines,
the Pelasgi, the Arcades, the Siculi, the Arunci, the Ru-
tuli; and beyond Circeii, the Volsci, the Osci, and the Au-
sones; but the question as to who first, and who next, oc¬
cupied the country, it is exceedingly difficult to resolve.
LATMUS, in Ancient Geography, a mountain of Ionia,
or on the confines of Caria, famous for the fable of Endy-
mion, of whom the Moon was said to be enamoured : hence
called Latmius Heros, and Latmius Venator.
LATOMIA properly signifies a stone quarry; but the
places whence stones had been dug having been made use
of sometimes as dungeons, jails, or prisons for criminals, it
is often applied as a name for a prison. There was a place
of confinement of this sort at Rome, near the Tullianum,
and another at Syracuse, in which Cicero says Verres had
shut up Roman citizens.
L A T
,vUa LATONA, in Mythology, a goddess, whose history is
i very obscure. Hesiod makes her the daughter of Titan
atari* Coeus, and Phoebe his sister. She was admired for her
cu]! beauty, and celebrated for the favours which she granted
-v.-'to Jupiter. Juno, always jealous of her husband’s amours,
made Latona the object of her vengeance, and sent the
serpent Python to disturb her peace and persecute her.
Latona wandered from place to place during the time of
her pregnancy, continually alarmed for fear of Python.
She was driven from heaven; and Terra, influenced by
Juno, refused to give her a place where she might rest and
bring forth. Neptune, moved with compassion, struck
with his trident and made immoveable the island of Delos,
which had before wandered in the iEgean, appearing some¬
times above and sometimes below the surface of the sea.
Latona, changed into a quail by Jupiter, came to Delos,
where she resumed her original shape, and gave birth to
Apollo and Diana, leaning against a palm tree or an olive.
But her repose was of short duration. Juno discovered the
place of her retreat, and obliged her to fly from Delos.
She wandered over the greater part of the world; and in
Caria, where her fatigue compelled her to stop, she was
insulted and ridiculed by the peasants, of whom she asked
for water whilst they were weeding a marsh. Their refu¬
sal and insolence provoked her, and she entreated Jupiter
to punish their barbarity. They were all changed into
frogs. She was also insulted by Niobe, who boasted her¬
self greater than the mother of Apollo and Diana, and ri¬
diculed the presents which the piety of her neighbours had
offered to Latona. At last, Latona, though persecuted
and exposed to the resentment of Juno, became a power¬
ful deity, and saw her children receive divine honours.
Her worship was generally established where her children
received adoration; particularly at Argos, Delos, and other
places, where she had temples. She had an oracle in
Egypt, celebrated for the true and decisive answers which
it gave. Latona, Venus, and Diana, were the three god¬
desses most in veneration amongst the Roman women.
LA TOUR DU PIN, an arrondissement of the depart¬
ment of the Isere, in France, 556 square miles in extent.
It comprehends eight cantons, divided into 125 communes,
and contains 106,500 inhabitants. I he capital is the city
of the same name, situated in a pleasant valley on the river
Bourbon, but containing only 1550 inhabitants.
LATRINfE were public houses, or necessaries, amongst
the Romans. We do not find, in the writings or buildings
that remain of antiquity, that they had any such in their
dwellings.
LATRUNCULI, a game amongst the Romans, of
much the same nature with our chess. The latrunculi
were properly the chess-men, called also latrones and cal¬
culi. They were usually made of glass, and distinguished
by black and white colours; but sometimes they were
made of wax or other convenient substances. The inven¬
tion of this game is by some ascribed to Palamedes when
at the siege of Troy; Seneca attributes it to Chilon, one
of the seven Grecian sages; others honour Pyrrhus with
the invention ; and others again contend that it is of Per¬
sian origin. But is not this Us de lana ca,prina? Fre¬
quent allusions to this game are met with in the Roman
11 - classics ; and a little poem was written upon it, addressed
to Piso, which some say was the work of Ovid, others of
Lucan, in the end of some editions of whose works it is to
be found, and to which we refer for a fuller account of the
game. This game expresses so well the chance and order
of war, that it is, with great appearance of probability, at¬
tributed to some military officer as the inventor. One Ca-
nius Julius was so exceedingly fond of chess, that after he
was sentenced to death by Caligula, he was found playing,
and was interrupted in his game by a call to execution ;
he obeyed the summons, but first desired the centurion who
L A T . 119
brought the fatal order, to bear witness that he had one Lattaiatta
man upon the board more than his antagonist, that he might if
not falsely brag of victory when he should be no more. Latten.
LATTALATTA, one of the small islands adjacent to
Gilolo, and about twenty-five miles in circumference. It
is separated from the island of Jappa by a strait above a
mile and a half in length, and in some places not above
forty-six yards broad, in others eight miles. There is also
a cluster of small islands lying off the west coast of Gilolo,
a few minutes to the north of the equinoctial line, and about
the 127th degree of east longitude.
LATTEN denotes iron plates tinned over, of which tea-
cannisters are made. Plates of iron being prepared of a
proper thinness, are smoothed by rusting them in an acid
liquor, as common water made eager with rye. With this
liquor they fill certain troughs, and then put in the plates,
which they turn once or twice a day, that they may be
equally rusted over. After this they are taken out, and
well scoured with sand; and, to prevent their rusting
again, are immediately plunged into pure water, in which
they are to be left till the instant they are to be tinned or
blanched. The manner of doing this is as follows : They
flux the tin in a large iron crucible, which has the figure
of an oblong pyramid with four faces, of which two oppo¬
site ones are less than the two others. The crucible is
heated only from below, its upper part being luted with
the furnace all round. The crucible is always deeper than
the plates which are to be tinned are long; they always
put them in downright, and the tin ought to swim over
them; to this purpose artificers of different trades prepare
plates of different shapes, though M. Reaumur thinks them
all exceptionable. But the Germans use no sort of prepa¬
ration of the iron to make it receive the tin, more than the
keeping it always steeped in water till the time; only when
the tin is melted in the crucible, they cover it with a layer
of a sort of suet, which is usually two inches thick, and
the plate must pass through this before it can come to the
melted tin. The first use of this covering is to keep the
tin from burning; for if any part should take fire, the suet
would soon moisten it, and reduce it to its primitive state
again. The blanchers say, this suet is a compound matter.
It is indeed of a black colour ; but M. Reaumur supposed
that to be only an artifice to make it a secret, and that it
is only coloured with soot or the smoke of a chimney. But
he found it true so far, that the common unprepared suet
was not sufficient; for after several attempts, there was
always something wanting to render the success of the
operation certain. The whole secret of blanching, there¬
fore, was found to lie in the preparation of the suet; and
this at length he discovered to consist only in the first fry¬
ing and burning it. This simple operation not only gives
it the colour', but puts it in a condition to give the iron a
disposition to be tinned, which it does surprisingly.
The melted tin must also have a certain degree of heat.
For if it be not hot enough, it will not stick to the iron ;
and if it be too hot, it will cover it with too thin a coat,
and the plates will have several colours, as red, blue, and
purple, and, upon the whole, will have a cast of yellow. To
prevent this, by knowing when the fire has a proper degree
of heat, they might try with small pieces of iron ; but, in
general, use teaches them to know the degree, and they
put in the iron when the tin is at a different standard of
heat, according as they would give it a thicker or thinner
coat. Sometimes also they give the plates a double layer,
as they would have them very thickly covered. This they
do by dipping them into the tin when very hot the first
time, and when less hot the second. The tin which is to
give the second coat must be fresh covered with suet; and
that with the common suet, not the prepared.
Latten Brass, plates of milled brass reduced to differ¬
ent thickness, according to the uses they are intended for.
120
L A U
L
A
U
I-auba n LAIJBAN, a city, the capital of a circle of the same
ill name, in Prussian Silesia, within the government of Lieg-
‘U1(.n^z* ^ stan(ls on the Qneis, is walled, and contains four
churches and 784 houses, inhabited by 4560 persons.
Many are employed in making linen and woollen goods
and hosiery. A celebrated convent of St Mary Magdalen
existed here till 1817, when it was dissolved ; its estates
comprised six large villages, and 8800 inhabitants.
LAUD, William, archbishop of Canterbury in the
seventeenth century, was born at Reading in 1573, and
educated in St John’s College, Oxford, of which he was
afterwards a fellow and reader. In 1610, he took orders.
In 1611, he was elected president of St John’s College;
but his election being disputed, it was confirmed by his
majesty. The same year he was sworn the king’s chaplain.
In 1621, he w-as nominated bishop of St David’s. In 1628,
he was translated to the bishopric of London. In 1630,
he was elected chancellor of the University of Oxford. In
1633, he attended the king into Scotland, and was sworn
a privy councillor of that kingdom. During his stay in
Scotland, he formed the resolution of bringing the church
of that country to an exact conformity with the church of
England. In the same year he succeeded Archbishop
Abbot in the see of Canterbury ; and soon afterwards came
out his majesty’s declaration about lawful sports on Sun¬
days, which the archbishop w’as charged with having re¬
vived and enlarged, besides encouraging the vexatious
prosecutions of such clergymen as refused to read it in their
churches. In 1634-35, the archbishop wras put into the
great committee of trade and the king’s revenue; on the
4th of March following, he was appointed one of the Com¬
missioners of the Treasury; and on the 6th of March
1635-36, he received the staff of lord high treasurer of Eng¬
land. In order to prevent the printing and publishing of
w hat he thought improper books, he procured a decree to
be passed in the Star-chamber, on the 11th of July 1637,
by which it was enjoined that the master printers should
be reduced to a certain number, and that none of them
should print any books until they were licensed either by
the archbishop or the bishop of” London, or by some of
their chaplains, or by the chancellors or vice-chancellors of
the twro universities. A new parliament being summoned,
met on the 13th of April 1640, and the convocation as¬
sembled the day following; but the Commons launching
out into complaints against the archbishop, and insisting
upon a redress of grievances before they granted any supply,
the parliament was dissolved on the 7th of May. The con¬
vocation, however, continued sitting, and made seventeen
canons, which were supposed to be formed under the im¬
mediate direction of the archbishop. In the beginning of
the long parliament he was attacked on account of those
canons, which were condemned by the House of Commons on
the 16th of December 1640, “as containing many things
contrary to the king’s prerogative, to the fundamental laws
and statutes of this realm, to the rights of parliament, to
the property and liberty of the subject, and tending to se¬
dition, and of dangerous consequence.” On the 18th of
December, he was accused by the Commons of high trea¬
son, and committed to the Tower. Being tried before the
House of Lords, for endeavouring to subvert the laws, and
to overthrow the Protestant religion, he was found guilty,
and beheaded on lower-hill on the 10th of January follow¬
ing, in the seventy-second year of his age. Laud was
temperate in his diet, and regular in his private life ; but
his fondness for introducing new ceremonies, in which he
showed a hot and indiscreet zeal, his encouraging of sports
on Sundays, his illegal and cruel severity in the Star-
chamber and High Commission Courts, and the fury w ith
which he persecuted the dissenters, and all who presumed
to contradict his sentiments, exposed him to popular hatred.
The following is a correct list of his wwks, viz. 1. Seven
Sermons preached on several occasions, 1651, in 8vo; 2. Laudat;
Short Annotations upon the Life and Death of the most ||
August King James ; 3. Answer to the Remonstrance
made by the House of Commons in 1628; 4. His Diary v^oeni'
by Wharton in 1694, with six other pieces, and several let- W’'YV
ters, especially one to Sir Kenelm Digby on his embracing
Popery; 5. The second volume of the Remains of Arch¬
bishop Laud, written by himself, 1700, in folio ; 6, Officium
Quotidianum, or a Manual of Private Devotions, 1650, in
8vo; 7. A Summary of Devotions, 1667, in 12mo. About
eighteen Letters of Laud to Gerard John Yossius have
been printed by Colomesius in his edition of Vossii Epistolce,
London, 1690, in folio; some others are published at the
end of the Life of Usher by Parr, 1686, in folio ; and a fewr
more have been inserted by Dr Twells in his Life of Dr
Pococke, prefixed to the theological works of that author,
1645, in two vols. folio.
LAUDATIO, in a legal sense, wras anciently the tes¬
timony delivered in court, to the good behaviour and inte¬
grity of life of the person accused. It resembled the cus¬
tom which prevails in our trials, of calling persons to
speak to the character of the prisoner. The least number
of the laudatores amongst the Romans was ten.
LAUDER, William, a native of Scotland, was edu¬
cated at the University of Edinburgh, where he finished
his studies with great reputation, and acquired a consider¬
able knowledge of the Latin tongue. On the 22d of May
1734, he received a testimonial from the heads of the uni¬
versity, certifying that he was a fit person to teach huma¬
nity in any school or college whatsoever. In 1739 he pub¬
lished at Edinburgh an edition of Johnston’s Psalms. In
1742, he was recommended by Mr Patrick Gumming and
Mr Colin Maclaurin, the professors of church history and
mathematics, to the mastership of the grammar school at
Dundee, then vacant. Whether he succeeded in his ap¬
plication or not, is uncertain ; but a few years afterwards
we find him in London, contriving to ruin the reputation
of Milton, by an attempt which ended in the destruction of
his own. His reason for the attack probably sprung from
the virulence of party-spirit, which triumphed over every
principle of honour and honesty. He began, in 1747, to
retail part of his design in the Gentleman’s Magazine ;
and, finding that his forgeries were not detected, he was
encouraged in 1751 to collect them, with additions, into a
volume, entitled An Essay on Milton’s Use and Imitation
of the Moderns in his Paradise Lost, in 8vo. But the fide¬
lity of his quotations had been doubted by several people ;
and the falsehood of them was soon afterwards demon¬
strated by Dr Douglas, in a pamphlet entitled Milton Vin¬
dicated from the Charge of Plagiarism brought against him
by Lauder, and Lauder himself convicted of several For¬
geries and gross Impositions on the Public, in a Letter
humbly addressed to the Right Honourable the Earl of
Bath, 1751, in 8vo. The appearance of this detection
overwhelmed Lauder with confusion. He subscribed a
confession, dictated by a learned friend, in which he in¬
genuously acknowledged his offence, which he professed
to have been occasioned by the injury he had received
from the disappointment of his expectations of profit from
the publication of Johnston’s Psalms. This misfortune
he ascribed to a couplet in Mr Pope’s Dunciad (book iv.
ver. 3), and thence originated his rancour against Milton.
But he afterwards imputed his conduct to other motives,
abused the few friends who continued to countenance him,
and, finding that his character was not to be retrieved,
quitted the kingdom, and went to Barbadoes, where for
some time he taught a school. His behaviour there, how¬
ever, was mean and despicable. He passed the remainder
of his life in universal contempt; and died unregretted
by any one, some time about the year 1771.
LAUDICOENI, amongst the Romans, applauders, w ho
L A U
L A U
121
J,aU«hn
_ 1
L««m-
for reward entered the rehearsal-rooms, attended the repe¬
tition of plays, and were in waiting when orations were pro¬
nounced, to raise or increase the acclamation and applause.
tAUDOHN, Field-Marshal, a celebrated general
in the imperial service, born in 1716, was a native of Li¬
vonia, and descended from a Scotch family. He made
his first campaigns under Marshal Munich, in the war of
1738, between the Russians and Turks, and was present at
the taking of Oczakow, as well as at Choczim, and Sta-
wutzchane, where the Turks were entirely defeated. In
1741 Frederick the Great refused to take young Laudohn
into his service, saying he did not like his countenance ;
but this monarch, who was considered as the greatest ge¬
neral of his age, afterwards observed that he had often
admired the positions of other generals, but that he had
ever dreaded the battles of Laudohn. In 1756, when but
just entered into the service of the house of Austria, with
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he made such rapid pro¬
gress, that within less than a year he became a general
of artillery, and within three years commander-in-chief
of the army. He rescued Olmutz when besieged by the
Prussians, beat the king himself at Frankfort-on-the-Oder,
took General Fouquet prisoner at Zorndorf, carried Glatz
and Schweidnitz by assault, and stopped the progress of
Frederick in a war which might have proved fatal to the
house of Austria. In 1778, when elevated to the rank of
field-marshal, at the head of sixty thousand men, he pre¬
vented Henry, brother to the king of Prussia, from join¬
ing his army to that of the king. At Dubicza, Novi,
Grandisca, and Belgrade, in the war between the empe¬
ror and the Turks, he had but to present himself before
the enemy, and say with Csesar, Vent, vidi, vici. But at
his head-quarters in Moravia he was seized with a fever,
in consequence of an operation he underwent for an ob¬
struction in the urethra. His impatience under the medi¬
cal applications, the impetuous ardour of his character,
and, above all, the knowledge of his importance in the
war, contributed to irritate his mind, and promote the
violence of the fever. He resisted the application of cata¬
plasms, before and after the incisions were made, with a
fatal obstinacy, which raised the inflammation to such a
height, that he expired under an access of fever, on the
14th of July 1790, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
LAUDS, Laudes, the second part of the ordinary
office of the breviary, said after matins, though hereto¬
fore it ended the office of the night. The laudes consist
principally of psalms, hymns, and the like, and hence they
took their name from laus, laudis, praise.
LAUENBURG, a duchy in Germany, formerly a part
of Hanover, but at the congress of Vienna transferred to
Denmark. It extends in longitude from 9. 56. to 10. 37.
E. and in latitude from 53. 21. to 53. 48. N., and contains
443 square miles, with one city, one town, and 123 vil¬
lages, with 34,650 inhabitants. It borders on the Elbe,
where there are some rich meadows ; but the greater part
of the duchy is a poor and sandy soil, yielding little grain
excepting rye. There are some extensive woods in the
western parts, which afford good oak and beech timber.
There are few even of domestic manufactures beyond the
spinning of flax, and very little commerce of any kind ; and
the roads are in the present day by far the worst which are
to be met with in Germany. The capital is a city of the
same name, situated on the river Elbe, where the Stecnitz
falls into that stream. It is an ancient town, with pleasant
walks on the side of the smaller river, and contains 460
houses, with 2980 inhabitants. It was built in the year
1157, by Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, and was the
residence of a member of that family till 1697. The church
contains many monuments of that race, and has a lofty
tower visible over a large circle. Long. 10. 17. 10. E.
Lat. 53. 21. 5. N.
VOL. XIII.
LAUFFEN, a city of the kingdom of Wirtemberg, in Lauffen
the circle of the Neckar. It stands on the river of the II
same name, and contains three churches, 600 houses, and LauMllter-
3630 inhabitants, who grow wine, and have some manu- ^
factures.
LAUGHARNE, a market-town of South Wales, in
the county of Carmarthen, and hundred of Derlis, 223
miles from London. It stands at the mouth of the river
Towy. The market is held on Saturday. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1484, in 1811 to 1561, in 1821 to
1953, and in 1831 to 2020.
LAUGHTER, an affection peculiar to mankind, occa¬
sioned by something that tickles the fancy.
In laughter the eye-brows are raised about the middle,
and drawn down next the nose ; the eyes are almost shut;
the mouth opens and shows the teeth, the corners of the
mouth being drawn back and raised up ; the cheeks seem
puffed up, and almost hide the eyes ; the face is usually
red ; the nostrils are open; and the eyes are moistened.
Authors attribute laughter to the fifth pair of nerves,
which, sending branches to the eye, ear, lips, tongue, pa¬
late, and muscles of the cheek, part of the mouth, prse-
cordia, &c. there hence arises a sympathy, or consent, be¬
tween all these parts; so that when one of them is acted
upon, the others are proportionally affected. Hence a
savoury thing seen or smelt affects the glands and part
of the mouth ; a thing seen or heard that is shameful, af¬
fects the cheeks with blushes ; on the contrary, if it please
and tickle the fancy, it affects the praecordia and muscles
of the mouth and face with laughter; if it cause sadness
and melancholy, it likewise affects the praecordia, and de¬
monstrates itself by causing the glands of the eyes to emit
tears. Dr Willis accounts for the pleasure of kissing from
the same cause ; the branches of this fifth pair being
'spread to the lips, the praecordia, and the genital parts,
hence arises a sympathy between these parts.
The affection ot the mind by which laughter is pro¬
duced is seemingly so very different from the other pas¬
sions with which we are endowed, that it has engaged
the attention of very eminent persons to discover it.
Aristotle, in the fifth chapter of his Poetics, observes of
comedy, that “ it imitates those vices or meannesses only
which partake of the ridiculous but “ the ridiculous,'’
says he, “ consists of some fault or turpitude not attend¬
ed with great pain, and not destructive.” “ The passion
of laughter,” says Hobbes, “ is nothing else but sudden
glory arising from some sudden conception of some emi-
nency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of
others, or with our own formerly. For men,” continues
he “ laugh at the follies of themselves past, when they
come suddenly to remembrance, except when they bring
with them any sudden dishonour.” Akenside, in the
third book of his poem, treats of ridicule at considerable
length. He gives a detail of ridiculous characters; igno¬
rant pretenders to learning, boastful soldiers, and lying
travellers ; hypocritical churchmen, conceited politicians,
and old women that talk of their charms and virtue ; rag¬
ged philosophers who rail at riches, virtuosi intent upon
trifles, romantic lovers, wits wantonly satirical, fops that
out of vanity appear to be diseased and profligate, dastards
who are ashamed or afraid without reason, and fools who
are ignorant of what they ought to know. Having finished
the detail of characters, he makes some general remarks
on the cause of ridicule, and explains himself more fully
in a definition in prose, illustrated by examples. “ That
which makes objects ridiculous,” he observes, 44 is some
ground of admiration or esteem connected with other
more general circumstances comparatively worthless or
deformed : or it is some circumstance of turpitude or de¬
formity connected with what is in general excellent or
beautiful; the inconsistent properties existing either in
LAUGHTER.
122
Laughter, the objects themselves, or in the apprehension of the per-
son to whom they relate, belonging always to the same
order or class of being, implying sentiment and design,
and exciting no acute or vehement commotion of the
heart.’’ Hutcheson has given another account of the lu¬
dicrous quality, and seems to think that it is the contrast
or opposition of dignity and meanness which occasions
laughter.
But all these opinions are combated, by Dr Beattie in
his Essay on Laughter and Ludicrous Composition. “ To
provoke laughter,” says he, “ is not essential either to
wit or humour. For though that unexpected discovery
of resemblance between ideas supposed dissimilar, which
is called wit, and that comic exhibition of singular cha¬
racters, sentiments, and imagery, which is denominated
humour, do frequently raise laughter, they do not raise it
always. Addison’s poem to Sir Godfrey Kneller, in which
the British kings are likened to heathen gods, is exqui¬
sitely witty, and yet not laughable. Pope’s Essay on Man
abounds in serious wit; and examples of serious humour
are not uncommon in Fielding’s History of Parson Adams,
and in Addison’s account of Sir Roger de Coverley. Wit,
when the subject is grave, and the allusions sublime, raises
admiration instead of laughter ; and if the comic singula¬
rities of a good man appear in circumstances of real dis¬
tress, the imitation of these singularities in the epic or
dramatic comedy will form a species of humour, which,
if it should force a smile, will draw forth a tear at the
same time. An inquiry, therefore, into the distinguish¬
ing characters of wit and humour has no necessary con¬
nection with the present subject.
“ Some authors have treated of ridicule, without marking
the distinction between ridiculous and ludicrous ideas. But
I presume the natural order of proceeding in this inquiry,
is to begin with ascertaining the nature of what is purely
ludicrous. Things ludicrous and things ridiculous have
this in common, that both excite laughter; but the former
excite pure laughter, the latter excite laughter mixed with
disapprobation and contempt. My design is to analyze and
explain that quality in things or ideas which makes them
provoke pure laughter, and entitles them to the name of
ludicrous or laughable.
“ When certain objects,. qualities, or ideas, occur to our
senses, memory, or imagination, we smile or laugh at them,
and expect that other men should do the same. To smile
on certain occasions is not less natural than to weep at the
sight of distress, or cry out when we feel pain.
“ There are different kinds of laughter. As a boy,
passing by night through a churchyard, sings or whistles
in order to conceal his fear, even from himself; so there
are men who, by forcing a smile, endeavour sometimes to
hide from others, and from themselves too, perhaps, their
malevolence or envy. Such laughter is unnatural. The
sound of it offends the ear; the features distorted by it
seem horrible to the eye. A mixture of hypocrisy, malice,
and cruel joy, thus displayed on the countenance, is one
of the most hateful sights in nature, and transforms the
‘ human face divine’ into the visage of a fiend. Similar
to this is the smile of a wicked person pleasing himself
with the hope of accomplishing his evil purposes. Milton
gives a striking picture of it in that well-known passage :
He ceas’d ; for both seem’d highly pleas’d; and Death
Grinn’d horrible a ghastly smile, to hear
His famine should be fill’d, and blest his maw
Destin’d to that good hour.
But enough of this. Laughter that makes a man a fiend
or a monster I have no inclination to analyze. My inquifies
are confined to that species of laughter which is at once
natural and innocent.
“ Of this there are two sorts. The laughter occasioned
by tickling or gladness is different from that which arises
on reading the Tale of a Tub. The former may be called Laudu,
animal laughter, the latter, if it were lawful to adopt a's»»y1 i}
new word which has become very common, I should term
sentimental. Smiles admit of similar divisions. Not to
mention the scornful, the envious, the malevolent smile,
I would only remark, that of the innocent and agreeable
smile there are two sorts. The one proceeds from the
risible emotion, and has a tendency to break out into
laughter. The other is the effect of good humour, com¬
placency, and tender affection. This last sort of smile
renders a countenance amiable in the highest degree.
Homer ascribes it to Venus in an epithet
which Dryden and Pope, after Waller, improperly trans¬
late laughter-loving ; an idea that accords better with the
character of a romp or hoyden than with the goddess of
love and beauty.
“ Animal laughter admits of various degrees; from the
gentle impulse excited in a child by moderate joy, to that
terrifying and even mortal convulsion which has been
known to accompany a change of fortune. This passion
may, as well as joy and sorrow, be communicated by sym¬
pathy ; and I know not whether the entertainment we re¬
ceive from the playful tricks of kittens and other young
animals, may not in part be resolved into something like
a fellow-feeling of their vivacity. Animal and sentimen¬
tal laughter are frequently blended; but it is easy to dis¬
tinguish them. The former is often excessive ; the latter
never, unless heightened by the other. The latter is al¬
ways pleasing, both in itself and in its cause ; the former
may be painful in both. But their principal difference is
this : The one always proceeds from a sentiment or emo¬
tion exited in the mind, in consequence of certain ideas
or objects being presented to it, of which emotion we
may be conscious, even when we suppress laughter; the
other arises not from any sentiment or perception of ludi¬
crous ideas, but from some bodily feeling or sudden im¬
pulse on what is called the animal spirits, proceeding, or
seeming to proceed, from the operation of causes purely
material. The present inquiry regards that species that
is here distinguished by the name of sentimental laughter.
“ The pleasing emotion, arising from the view of ludi¬
crous ideas, is known to every one by experience; but,
being a simple feeling, admits not of definition. It is to
be distinguished from the laughter that generally attends
it, as sorrow is to be distinguished from tears ; for it is
often felt in a high degree by those who are remarkable
for gravity of countenance. Swift seldom laughed, not¬
withstanding his uncommon talents in wit and humour,
and the extraordinary delight he seems to have had in
surveying the ridiculous side of things. Why this agree¬
able emotion should be accompanied with laughter as its
outward sign, or sorrow express itself by tears, or fear by
trembling or paleness, I cannot ultimately explain, other¬
wise than by saying, that such is the appointment of the
Author of nature. All I mean by this inquiry is to de¬
termine, What is peculiar to those things which produce
laughter, or, rather, which raise in the mind that pleasing
sentiment or emotion whereof laughter is the external
sign.
“ Philosophers have differed in their opinions concern¬
ing this matter. In Aristotle’s definition, quoted above,
it is clear that he means to characterize, not laughable
qualities in general (as some have thought), but the ob¬
jects of comic ridicule only ; and in this view the defini¬
tion is just, however it may have been overlooked or des¬
pised by comic writers. Crimes and misfortunes are often
in modern plays, and were sometimes in the ancient, held
up as objects of public merriment; but if poets had that
reverence for nature which they ought to have, they
would not shock the common sense of mankind by so ab¬
surd a representation. The definition from Aristotle does
•augjer
'“"V-—
LAUGHTER.
123
not, however, suit the general nature of ludicrous ideas;
for it will appear by and by, that men laugh at that in
which there is neither fault nor turpitude of any kind.
« The theory of Mr Hobbes would hardly have de¬
served notice, if Addison had not spoken of it with appro¬
bation in the 47th paper of the Spectator. He justly ob¬
serves, after quoting the words of Mr Hobbes formerly
mentioned, that, ‘ according to this account, when we
hear a man laugh excessively, instead of saying that he is
very merry, we ought to tell him that he is very proud.'
It is strange that the elegant author should be aware of
this consequence, and yet admit the theory; for so good
a judge of human nature could not be ignorant, that laugh¬
ter is not considered as a sign of pride ; persons of singu¬
lar gravity being often suspected of that vice, but great
laughers seldom or never. When we see a man attentive
to the innocent humours of a merry company, and yet
maintain a fixed solemnity of countenance, is it natural
for us to think that he is the humblest, and the only hum¬
ble person in the circle ?
“ Another writer in the Spectator (No. 249), remarks,
in confirmation of this theory, that the vainest part of
mankind are most addicted to the passion of laughter.
Now, how can this be, if the proudest part of mankind
are also most addicted to it, unless we suppose vanity and
pride to be the same thing ? But they certainly are differ¬
ent passions. The proud man despises other men, and
derives his chief pleasure from the contemplation of his
own importance ; the vain man stands in need of the ap¬
plause of others, and cannot be happy without it. Pride
is apt to be reserved and sullen; vanity is often affable,
and officiously obliging. The proud man is so confident
of his merit, and thinks it so obvious to all the world, that
he will scarcely give himself the trouble to inform you of
it; the vain man, to raise your admiration, scruples not to
tell you, not only the whole truth, but even a great deal
more. In the same person, these two passions may, no
doubt, be united; but some men are too proud to be vain,
and some vain men are too conscious of their own weakness
to be proud. Be all this, however, as it will, we have not as
yet made any discovery of the cause of laughter ; in re¬
gard to which, I apprehend, that the vain are not more in¬
temperate than other people ; and I am sure that the
proud are much less so.
“ Hutcheson’s account of the origin of laughter is equal¬
ly unsatisfactory. Granting what he says to be true, I
would observe, in the first place, what the ingenious author
seems to have been aware of, that there maybe a mixture
of meanness and dignity where there is nothing ludicrous.
A city, considered as a collection of low and lofty houses,
is no laughable object. Nor was that person either ludi¬
crous or ridiculous, whom Pope so justly characterizes,
The greatest, wisest, meanest of mankind.
But, secondly, cases might be mentioned, of laughter
arising from a group of ideas or objects, wherein there is
no discernible opposition of meanness or dignity. We are
told of the dagger of Hudibras, that
It could scrape trenchers, or chip bread,
Toast cheese or bacon, though it were
To bait a mouse trap, ’twou’d not care ;
’Twou'd make clean shoes, or in the earth
Set leeks and onions, and so forth.
The humour of the passage cannot arise from the meanness
of these offices compared with the dignity of the dagger,
nor from any opposition of meanness and dignity in the
offices themselves, they being all equally mean; and must
therefore be owing to some peculiarity in the description.
We laugh when a droll mimics the solemnity of a grave
person ; here dignity and meanness are indeed united ; but
we laugh also (though not so heartily perhaps) when he
mimics the peculiarities of a fellow as insignificant as him- Laughter,
self, and displays no opposition of dignity and meanness.'
The levities of Sancho Panca, opposed to the solemnity of
his master, and compared with his own schemes of prefer¬
ment, form an entertaining contrast; but some of the va¬
garies of that renowned squire are truly laughable, even
when his preferment and his master are out of the ques¬
tion. Men laugh at puns; the wisest and wittiest of our
species have laughed at them; Queen Elizabeth, Cicero, and
Shakspeare, laughed at them ; clowns and children laugh
at them; and most men, at one time or other, are inclined
to do the same ; but in this sort of low wit, is it an oppo¬
sition of meanness and dignity that entertains us ? Is it
not rather a mixture of sameness and diversity; sameness
in the sound, and diversity in the signification ?
“ In the characters mentioned by Akenside, the author
does not distinguish between what is laughable and what
is contemptible; so that we have no reason to think that he
meant to specify the qualities peculiar to those things which
provoke pure laughter; and whatever account we may
make of his definition, which to those who acquiesce in the
foregoing reasonings may appear not quite satisfactory,
there is in the poem a passage that deserves particular no¬
tice, as it seems to contain a more exact account of the
ludicrous quality than is to be found in any of the theo¬
ries above mentioned. This passage we shall soon have
occasion to quote.”
Dr Beattie then proceeds to give his own theory con¬
cerning the origin of laughter, which he supposes to arise
from the view of things incongruous united in the same
assemblage. “ PIowrever imperfect,” says he, “ the above-
mentioned theories may appear, there is none of them des¬
titute of merit; and indeed the most fanciful philosopher
seldom frames a theory without consulting nature in some
of her more obvious appearances. Laughter very frequent¬
ly arises from the view of dignity and meanness united in
the same object; sometimes, no doubt, from the appear¬
ance of assumed inferiority, as well as of small faults and
unimportant turpitudes; and sometimes, perhaps, though
rarely, from that sort of pride which is described in the
passage already quoted from Hobbes.
“ All these accounts agree in this, that the cause of
laughter is something compounded ; or something that dis¬
poses the mind to form a comparison, by passing from one
object or idea to another. That this is in fact the case, can¬
not be proved a priori; but this holds in all the examples
hitherto given, and will be found to hold in all that are
given hereafter. May it not then be laid down as a prin¬
ciple, that laughter arises from the view of two or more
objects or ideas disposing the mind to form a compari¬
son ? According to the theory of Hobbes, this compa¬
rison would be between the ludicrous object and our¬
selves ; according to those writers who misapply Aris¬
totle’s definition, it would seem to be formed between the
ludicrous object and things or persons in general; and if
we incline to Hutcheson’s theory, which is the best of
the three, we shall think that there is a comparison of
the parts of the ludicrous object, first with one another,
and secondly with ideas or things extraneous.
“ Further, every appearance that is made up of parts,
or that leads the mind of the beholder to form a com¬
parison, is not ludicrous. The body of a man or woman,
of a horse, a fish, or a bird, is not ludicrous, though it
consists of many parts ; and it may be compared to many
other things without raising laughter ; but the picture
described in the beginning of the epistle to the Pisoes,
with a man’s head, a horse’s neck, feathers of different
birds, limbs of different beasts, and the tail of a fish, would
have been thought ludicrous 1800 years ago, if we be¬
lieve Horace, and in certain circumstances would no doubt
be so at this day. It would seem, then, that ‘ the parts
v
124 L A U
Laughter, of a laughable assemblage must be in some degree un-
suitable and heterogeneous.’
“ Moreover, any one of the parts of the Horatian mon¬
ster, a human head, a horse’s neck, the tail of a fish, or
the plumage of a fowl, is not ludicrous in itself; nor
would those several pieces be ludicrous if attended to in
succession, without any view to their union. For, to see
them disposed on the different shelves of a museum, or
even on the same shelf, nobody would laugh, except, per¬
haps, the thought of uniting them were to occur to his
fancy, or the passage of Horace to his memory. It seems
to follow, that ‘ the incongruous parts of a laughable idea
or object must either be combined so as to form an as¬
semblage, or must be supposed to be so combined.’
“ May we not then conclude, ‘ that laughter arises from
the view of two or more inconsistent, unsuitable, or in¬
congruous parts or circumstances, considered as united in
one complex object or assemblage, or as acquiring a sort of
mutual relation, from the peculiar manner in which the
mind takes notice of them?’ The lines from Akenside
formerly referred to, seem to point at the same doctrine:
Where’er the pow’r of ridicule displays
Her quaint-ey’d visage, some incongruous form,
Soine stubborn dissonance of things combin'd.
Strikes on the quick observer.
L A U
a ludicrous, was never intended for a contemptible person- Laui^
age. He often moves our pity, he never forfeits our ||
esteem ; and his adventures and sentiments are generally hauncf
interesting; which could not have been the case if his ^ ton
story had not been natural, and himself been endowed with
great as well as good qualities. To have given him such a
shape, and such weapons, arguments, boots, and breeches,
as Butler has bestowed on his champion, would have de¬
stroyed that solemnity which is so striking a feature in
Don Quixote ; and Hudibras, with the manners and person
of the Spanish hero, would not have been that paltry figure
which the English poet meant to hold up to the laughter
and contempt of his countrymen. Sir Launcelot Greaves
is of Don Quixote’s kindred, but a different character.
Smollett’s design was not to expose him to ridicule, but
rather to recommend him to our pity and admiration. He
has therefore given him youth, strength, and beauty, as
well as courage and dignity of mind ; has mounted him on
a generous steed, and arrayed him in an elegant suit of
armour. Yet, that the history might have a comic air, he
has been careful to contrast and connect Sir Launcelot
with a squire and other associates of very dissimilar tempers
and circumstances.
“ What has been said of the cause of laughter does not
amount to an exact description, far less to a logical de¬
finition ; there being innumerable combinations of con-
gruity and inconsistency, of relation and contrariety, of
likeness and dissimilitude, which are not ludicrous at all.
If we could ascertain the peculiarities of these, we should
be able to characterize with more accuracy the general na¬
ture of ludicrous combination. But before we proceed to
this, it would be proper to evince, that of the present
theory thus much at least is true, that though every in¬
congruous combination is not ludicrous, every ludicrous
combination is incongruous.
“ It is only by a detail of facts or examples that any
theory of this sort can be either established or overthrown.
By such a detail, the foregoing theories have been, or may
be, shown to be ill founded, or not sufficiently compre¬
hensive. A single instance of a laughable object, which
neither unites, nor is supposed to unite, incongruous ideas,
would likewise show the insufficiency of the present; nor
will I undertake to prove (for indeed I cannot), that no
such instance can be given. A complete enumeration of
ludicrous objects it would be in vain to attempt; and
therefore we can never hope to ascertain, beyond the pos¬
sibility of doubt, that common quality which belongs to
all ludicrous ideas that are, or have been, or may be,
imagined. All that can be done in a case of this kind is
to prove, by a variety of examples, that the theory now
proposed is more comprehensive, and better founded, than
any of the foregoing.” This our author afterwards shows
at full length ; but as the variety of examples adduced by
him would take up too much room to be inserted here,
and as every reader must be capable of adducing num¬
berless instances of ludicrous cases to himself, we shall
content ourselves with the above explanation of the dif¬
ferent theories of laughter, referring those who desire
further satisfaction to the treatise already quoted.
LAUINGEN, a city of Bavaria, in the circle of the
Upper Danube, the capital of a bailiwick of the same name.
It is walled, and has 733 houses, with 3530 inhabitants, who
make linen and woollen cloths, and have much trade by
the Danube, on which it is situated.
LAUNCESTON, a borough towrn of the hundred of
East, in the county of Cornwall, 213 miles from London.
It is pleasantly situated on a gentle elevation overlooking
the river Tamer. It has good markets, which are held on
Wednesday and Saturday. It is one of the county towns,
in which the assizes are held in the spring, as they are at
Bodmin in the summer. The corporation consists of a
And to the same purpose, the learned and ingenious Dr
Gerard, in his Essay on Taste: ‘ The sense of ridicule is
gratified by an inconsistence and dissonance of circum¬
stances in the same object, or in objects nearly related in
the main ; or by a similitude or a relation unexpected be¬
tween things on the whole opposite and unlike.’
“ And therefore, instead of saying with Hutcheson, that
the cause or object of laughter is an ‘ opposition to dig¬
nity and meanness,’ I would say, in more general terms,
that it is ‘ an opposition to suitableness or unsuitableness,
or of relation and the want of relation, united, or supposed
to be united, in the same assemblage.’ Thus the offices
ascribed to the dagger of Hudibras seem quite heteroge¬
neous; but we discover a bond of connection among them,
when we are told that the same weapon could occasion¬
ally perform them all. Thus, even in that mimicry which
displays no opposition of dignity and meanness, we perceive
the actions of one man joined to the features and body of
another ; that is, a mixture of unsuitableness, or want of
relation, arising from the difference of persons, with con-
gruity and similitude, arising from the sameness of the ac¬
tions. And here let it be observed in general, that the
greater number of incongruities that are blended in the
same assemblage, the more ludicrous it will probably be.
If, as in Butler’s resemblance of the morning to a boiled
lobster, there is a mixture of dignity and meanness, as well
as of likeness and dissimilitude, the effect of the contrast
will be more powerful than if only one of these oppositions
had occurred in the ludicrous idea. The sublimity of Don
Quixote’s mind, contrasted and connected with his miser¬
able equipage, forms a very comical exhibition ; but when
all this is still further connected and contrasted with Sancho
Pan^a, the ridicule is heightened exceedingly. Had the
knight of the lions been better mounted and accoutred, he
would not have made us smile so often ; because, the hero’s
mind and circumstances being more adequately matched,
the wffiole group would have united fewer inconsistencies,
and reconciled fewer incongruities. Butler has combined
a still greater variety of uncouth and jarring circumstances
in Ralpho and Hudibras; but the picture, though more
elaborate, is less natural. Yet this argues no defect of
judgment. His design was, to make his hero not only ludi¬
crous, but contemptible ; and therefore he jumbles to¬
gether, in his equipage and person, a number of mean and
disgusting qualities, pedantry, ignorance, nastiness, and ex¬
treme deformity. But the knight of La Mancha, though
L A U L A U 125
1, mayor, a recorder, and twelve aldermen. The population
^ j|f amounted in 1801 to 1483, in 1811 to 1758, in 1821 to
^ oet-bu. 2183, and in 1831 to 2231. It formerly returned two mem-
I rei‘ hers to the House of Commons, but by the reform act elects
n—v^now only one.
LAUNCH, in the sea language, signifies to put out;
3i as, launch the ship, that is, put her out of dock ; launch
!) aft, or forward, speaking of things that are stowed in the
II hold, is, put them more forward. Launch, ho ! is a term used
v when a yard is hoisted high enough, and signifies hoist no
,! more. See also Lanch.
LAUNDER, in Mineralogy, a name given in Devon-
h shire, and other places, to a long and shallow trough, which
e receives the powdered ore after it comes out of the box or
0 coffer, a sort of mortar, in which it is powdered with iron
pestles. The powdered ore, which is washed into the laun-
e der by the water from the coffer, is always finest nearest
I the grate, and coarser all the way down.
LAUPEN, a town of the canton of Berne, in Switzer-
II land, the capital of a bailiwick of the same name, situat-
^ ed at the junction of the rivers Sense and Laane. It is
e celebrated for the victory gained by the confederated
states in 1339, and contains 1230 inhabitants.
LAURA, in Ecclesiastical History, a name given to a
0 collection of little cells at some distance from one another,
1 in which the hermits in ancient times lived together in
' a wilderness or desert place.
These hermits did not live in community, but each monk
^ provided for himself in his own distinct cell. The most
e celebrated lauras mentioned in ecclesiastical history were
> 1 in Palestine; as the laura of St Euthymus, four or five
;£ leagues distant from Jerusalem ; the laura of St Saba,
e near the brook Kedron; and the laura of the Towers,
e near the river Jordan.
Poet-LAUREATE, an officer of the household of the
it kings of Britain, whose business consists only in compos-
ing an ode annually on his majesty’s birth-day, and the
e ! new year ; and sometimes also, though rarely, on occasion
f of any remarkable victory. Of the first institution of
o poets laureate, Mr Wharton has given an account in his
I History of English Poetry. “ Great confusion,” says he,
“ has entered into this subject, on account of the degrees
i in grammar, which included rhetoric and versification,
n anciently taken in our universities, particularly at Oxford,
n I on which occasion a wreath of laurel was presented to the
e j new graduate, who was afterwards usually styled Eoeta
a Laureatus. These scholastic laureations, however, seem
) I to have given rise to the appellation in question. I will
i’ give some instances at Oxford, which at the same time
'i will explain the nature of the studies for which our aca-
e demical philologists received their rewards. About the
e year 1470, one John Watson, a student in grammar, ob-
a tained a concession to be graduated and laureated in that
c science, on condition that he composed one hundred La-
ir tin verses in praise of the university, and a Latin comedy,
i Another grammarian was distinguished with the same
ie badge, after having stipulated that at the next public act
k . he would affix the same number of hexameters on the
ji • great gates of St Mary’s Church, that they might be seen
y by the whole university. This was at that period the
j most convenient mode of publication. About the same
;i 1 time one Maurice Byrchensaw, a scholar in rhetoric, sup-
j plicated to be admitted to read lectures, that is, to take
a a degree in that faculty; and his petition was granted,
it with a provision that he should write one hundred verses
o i on the glory of the university, and not suffer Ovid’s Art
o of Love, and the Elegies of Pamphilius, to be studied in
a auditory. Not long afterwards, one John Bulman, another
r rhetorician, having complied with the terms imposed, of
e explaining the first book of Tully’s Offices, and likewise
t the first of his Epistles, without any pecuniary emolu¬
ment, was graduated in rhetoric, and a crown of laurel Lauren-
was publicly placed on his head by the hands of the chan- taha-
cellor of the university. About the year 1489 Skelton
was laureated at Oxford, and in the year 1493 was per¬
mitted to wear his laurel at Cambridge. Robert Whit¬
tington affords the last instance of a rhetorical degree at
Oxford. He was a secular priest, and eminent for his
various treatises on grammar, and for his facility in Latin
poetry. Having exercised his art many years, and sub¬
mitting to the customary demand of a hundred verses,
he was honoured with the laurel in the year 1512.
“ With regard to the poet-laureate of the kings of
England, he is undoubtedly the same that is styled the
king’s versifier, and to whom 100 shillings were paid as
his annual stipend in the year 1251. But when or how
that title commenced, and whether this officer was ever
solemnly crowned with laurel at his first investiture, I
will not pretend to determine, after the searches of the
learned Selden on this question have proved unsuccess¬
ful. It seems most probable that the barbarous and in¬
glorious name of versifier gradually gave way to an ap¬
pellation of more elegance and dignity ; or rather, that at
length those only were in general invited to this appoint¬
ment who had received academical sanction, and had me¬
rited a crown of laurel in the universities for their abili¬
ties in Latin composition, particularly Latin versification.
Thus the king’s laureate was nothing more than a gradu¬
ated rhetorician employed in the service of the king.
That he originally wrote in Latin, appears from the an¬
cient title versfcator; and may be moreover collected
from the two Latin poems which Baston and Gulielmus,
who appear to have respectively acted in the capacity of
royal poets to Richard I. and Edward II. officially com¬
posed on Richard’s crusade, and Edward’s siege of Stri-
veling Castle.
“ Andrew Bernard, successively poet- laureate of Henry
VII. and VIII. affords a still stronger proof that this offi¬
cer was a Latin scholar. He was a native of Thoulouse,
and an Augustine monk. He was not only the king’s poet-
laureate, as it is supposed, but his historiographer, and
preceptor in grammar to Prince Arthur. He obtained
many ecclesiastical preferments in England. All the
pieces now to be found which he wrote in the character
of poet-laureate are in Latin. These are, An Address
to Henry VIII. for the most auspicious beginning of the
tenth year of his reign, with an Epithalamium on the
marriage of Francis the dauphin of France with the king’s
daughter; A New Year’s Gift for the year 1515; and
Verses wishing prosperity to his majesty’s thirteenth
year. He has left some Latin hymns; and many of his
Latin prose pieces, which he wrote in the quality of his¬
toriographer to both monarchs, are remaining.
“ I am of opinion that it was not customary for the
royal laureate to write in English, till the reformation of
religion had begun to diminish the veneration for the
Latin language; or, rather, till the love of novelty, and
a better sense of things, had banished the narrow pedan¬
tries of monastic erudition, and taught us to cultivate our
native tongue.”
LAURENTALIA, or Larentalia, called also Lau-
rentinalia, Laurentales, and Larentales, feasts celebrated
amongst the Romans on the tenth of the kalends of Ja¬
nuary, or twenty-third of December, in memory of Acca
Laurentia, wife of the shepherd Faustulus, and nurse
of Romulus and Remus. Acca Laurentia, from whom
the solemnity took its name, is represented as no less re¬
markable for the beauty of her person than her lascivious¬
ness, on account of which she was nick-named by her
neighbours lupa, or she-wolf, which is said to have given
rise to the tradition of Romulus and Remus being suckled
by a she-wolf. She aiterwards married a very rich man,
126 L A U
Lauren- who brought her great wealth, which, at her death, she left
tius' to the Roman people ; in consideration of which they per-
formed these rites in honour of her, though others repre¬
sent the feast as held in honour of Jupiter Latiaris.
LAURENTIUS, one of the first printers, and, accord¬
ing to some, the inventor of the art, was born at Haerlem,
about the year 1370, and filled several offices in the ma¬
gistracy of that city. Those writers are mistaken who as¬
sign to him the surname of Coster, or assert that the of¬
fice of cedituus was hereditary in his family. In a diploma
of Albert of Bavaria in 1380, in which, amongst other ci¬
tizens of Haerlem, Laurentius’s father is mentioned by the
name of Joannes Laurentii films, Beroldus, who was surely
of another family, is called cedituns; and in 1396 and 1398
Henricus a Lunen enjoyed that office, after whose resigna¬
tion, Count Albert having conferred on the citizens the
privilege of electing their (zdituus, they soon afterwards
fixed on Laurentius, who was subsequently called Coster
from his office, and not from his family name, as he was
descended from an illegitimate branch of the Gens Breder-
odia. His office was very lucrative ; and that he was a man
of great property is testified by the elegance of his resi¬
dence. That he was the inventor of printing, is asserted in
the narrative of Junius. His first work was an Horarium,
containing the Letters of the Alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer,
the Apostles’ Creed, and two or three short Prayers; the
next was the Speculum Salutis, in which he introduced
pictures on wooden blocks; then he printed Donatus, in the
larger size ; and afterwards the same work in a less size.
All these were printed on separate moveable wooden types,
fastened together by threads. If it be thought improb¬
able, that so ingenious a man should have proceeded no
^arther than the invention of wooden types, it maybe an¬
swered, that he printed for profit, not for fame; and wooden
ypes were not only at that time made sooner and cheaper
than metal could be, but were sufficiently durable for the
small impressions of each book he must necessarily have
printed. His press was nearly shaped like the common
wine-presses. He printed some copies of all his books
both on paper and vellum. It has been commonly sup¬
posed, though without reason, that he quitted the profes¬
sion, and died broken hearted ; but it is certain, that he
did not live to see the art brought to perfection. He died
in 1440, aged seventy ; and was succeeded either by his
son-in-law, Thomas Peter, who married his only daughter
Lucia ; or by their immediate descendants, Peter, Andrew,
and Thomas, who were old enough to conduct the business,
the eldest being at least twenty-two or twenty-three years
of age. What books they printed it is not easy to determine,
since, after the example of Laurentius, they added to their
books, neither their names, nor the place where they were
printed, nor the date of the year. Their first essays were
new editions of Donatus and the Speculum. They after¬
wards reprinted the latter, with a Latin translation, in
which they used their grandfather’s wooden pictures, and
printed the book partly on wooden blocks, partly on wooden
separate types, according to Mr Meerman, who has given
an exact engraving of each sort, taken from different parts
of the same book, which was published between the years
1442 and 1450. Nor did they stop here. They con¬
tinued to print several editions of the Speculum, both in
Latin and in Dutch ; and many other works, particularly
Historia Alexandri Mayni; Flavii Vedatii [for Vegetii]
Renati Epitome de Re Militari; and Opera variaa Thomas
Kempis. Of these Mr Meerman has given an engraved
specimen. They were all printed with separate wooden
types, and, by their great neatness, are a proof that the
descendants of Laurentius were industrious in improving
his invention. Kempis was printed at Haerlem in 1472,
and was the last known work of Laurentius’s descendants,
who soon afterwards disposed of all their materials, and
LAV
probably quitted the employment; the use of fusil types Laurer.
having about that time been universally diffused through- tium
out Holland by the settling of Martens at Alost, where II
he pursued the art with reputation for upwards of sixty ^aval
years. See Printing.
LAURENTIUM, or Laurens Castra, in Ancient Geo¬
graphy, a town of Latium, supposed to have been the royal
residence of those most ancient kings Latinus, Picus, and
Faunus. Hither the Emperor Commodus retired during
a pestilence. Its name was derived from an adjoining
grove of bay trees, midway between Ostia and Antium,
and it is supposed to have stood in the place now called
San Lorenzo, which seems to be confirmed from the Via
Laurentina leading to Rome.
LAURO, Philippo, a celebrated painter, was born at
Rome in 1623. He learned the first rudiments of the art
from his father Balthasar, who was himself a good painter;
but he afterwards studied under Angelo Carosello, his
brother-in-law, and proved so great a proficient, that in a
short time he far surpassed his tutors in design, colouring,
and elegance of taste. He applied himself to painting
historical subjects in a small size, enriching the back¬
grounds with lively landscapes, that afforded the eye and
the judgment equal gratification ; but though his small
paintings are most approved, he finished several grand
compositions for altar-pieces which were highly esteemed.
He died in 1694; and his works are eagerly bought up at
high prices all over Europe.
LAUSANNE, a city, the capital of the canton ofVaud,
in Switzerland, in the circle of the same name. It is built
on five hills, near the lake of Geneva. The situation is
fine, though it is an irregularly built place. There is a fine
Gothic cathedral, a council-house, a hospital, and some
other public buildings, with 1060 dwelling-houses, and
10,200 inhabitants. The situation is healthy, though cold
in winter, from its elevation being 1570 feet above the
level of the sea. There is a college with fourteen profes¬
sors, and a good library. A few manufactures are carried
on, chiefly for articles of luxury or ornament. Some good
wine is grown near the city. Long. 6. 40. 10. E. Lat. 46.
31. 5. N.
LAUSATIA, one of the circles into which the present
kingdom of Saxony is divided. It touches on the south
the Austrian kingdom of Bohemia, and on the north and
the east the Prussian provinces of Brandenburg and of
Silesia. It is extended over 1650 square miles, compre¬
hends sixteen cities and towns, 458 villages, and. 336,500
inhabitants, of whom one fifth are of the ancient race of Wen-
den or Vandals, and still retain their primitive language
and manners. The northern portion of the circle is moun¬
tainous, but the southern division is more level, and is fer¬
tile and well cultivated. The chief city is Bautzen.
LAUTERBACH, a town of Hesse-Darmstadt, in the
canton of Upper Hesse. It is the capital of the bailiwick
of its name, is situated on the river Altfell, is walled, and
contains 538 houses, with 3050 inhabitants, who are em¬
ployed in linen and woollen manufactures, and in tanneries.
LAVA, a stream of melted minerals, which runs out of
the mouths, or bursts out through the sides, of burning
mountains, during the time of an eruption. See ./Etna
and Vesuvius, also Volcano.
LAVAL, an arrondissement of the department of the
Mayenne, in France, extending over 715 square miles. It
is divided into nine cantons and ninety-three communes,
and contains a population of 108,600 persons. • The chief
place is the city of the same name, which is also the capital
of the department. It is finely situated on both sides of the
Mayenne, but is ill built, with narrow and crooked streets
and antique houses, and only agreeable from the walks that
surround it. It contains 3520 houses, with 15,500 inhabi¬
tants, who are chiefly employed in making linens, which,
LAV
LAV
127
jailer, under the name toiles de Laval, have great celebrity through¬
-out the kingdom. There are also some serges and thin
stuffs of worsted made. Long. 0. 52. W. Lat. 4<8. 4. N.
LAVATER, John Gaspard Christian, best known
by his writings on physiognomy, was born at Zurich, in
Switzerland, in 1741. He was brought up a protestant
minister, and entered into holy orders in 1761. He was for
some time pastor of the orphans’ church in that city ; but
from the year 1778 he was deacon and pastor of St Peter’s
church in the same place. The eloquence of his discour¬
ses in the pulpit, as well as the ardent zeal and Christian
benevolence with which he discharged the duties of his
office, procured for him an early reputation. Though not
much conversant with books, he had a very extensive know¬
ledge of human nature, and a most acute discernment.
His theological writings in prose and verse are little known,
but his works on physiognomy have extended his fame
throughout every part of Europe. We are informed by
himselfj that he felt an early propensity to study the hu¬
man face, and frequently drew such features as made a pe¬
culiar impression upon his mind ; but his choice of physiog¬
nomy was fixed by the suggestion of Dr Zimmerman, who,
having heard his remarks on the singular countenance of
a soldier whom they saw passing by as they stood together
at a window, urged him to pursue and methodise his ideas.
He soon acquired a full conviction of the reality of phy¬
siognomical science, and of his own discoveries in it. His
first volume on this subject appeared at Leipzig in 1776,
and the twenty sections of which it was composed he
modestly denominated fragments. With him it appeared
to be an axiom, that the powers and faculties of the mind
have representative signs in the solid parts of the counte¬
nance. This^ notion he extended to all animated nature,
firmly believing that internal qualities invariably denote
themselves by external marks or tokens.
Two more volumes soon appeared in succession, con¬
taining a wonderful assemblage of curious observations,
refined reasoning, delicate feeling, and philanthropic sen¬
timents, with a number of engravings highly finished and
singularly expressive. This work was well translated into
the French and English languages, and for some time
formed the favourite topic of literary discussion. So much
was its author admired, that no foreigner of distinction
passed through Zurich without obtaining an interview with
Lavater, and asking his opinion of some character from a
shade or miniature. His huge volumes, however, are now
seldom looked at except for the sake of the plates, and his
physiognomical notions appear to be consigned to oblivion
with other sciences of a chimerical nature. One of the
best known of his miscellaneous publications is his Apho¬
risms on Man, which contain originality both in sentiment
and expression, with deep and philosophical views of hu¬
man nature.
Lavater was zealously attached to the Christian revela¬
tion, and translated Bonnet’s Inquiry into the Evidences of
Christianity, into the German language. This book he
dedicated to the celebrated Jewish philosopher Moses
Mendelsohn, with a challenge either to refute it publicly,
or profess his conviction of the truth of its arguments.
This challenge he afterwards confessed to have been incon¬
siderate, and allowed that his zeal had misled him. His
popularity at Zurich was so extremely great, that in his
walks it was no uncommon thing to see the people flocking
around him, and kissing his hand in token of respect. He
had a most exemplary moral character, and his zeal in doing
good was scarcely ever surpassed. He was mild and mo¬
derate in conversation, although naturally full of fire and
sensibility ; he was candid in his estimate of such as dif¬
fered from him in opinion ; he always rose early, and never
took his breakfast till he thought he had earned it. He
was the determined enemy of tyranny in every shape, be¬
ing possessed of the genuine Swiss zeal for liberty. He Lavatory
was therefore a friend to the French revolution at its com- II .
mencement; but the rapine, plunder, and bloodshed which x avoisie*
afterwards disgraced it, made him one of its bitterest ad¬
versaries. On the day when the unfortunate city of Zu¬
rich was stormed by Massena in 1799, he received a wound
in the breast from a Swiss soldier in the streets, to whom
he had formerly been a benefactor. He never wholly re¬
covered from the effects of this wound; and he brought on
a train of dangerous symptoms by attending for more than
an hour, in the open air, a man who was condemned to
be shot as a spy. The activity and vigour of his mind,
however, continued till a short time before his death, which
took place on the 2d of January 1801.
LAVATORY, or Lavadero, a name given to certain
places in Chili and Peru, where gold is obtained from earth
by washing.
LAVAUR, an arrondissement of the department of the
Tarn, in F'ranee, 316 square miles in extent. It consists
of five cantons, divided into sixty-one communes, and con¬
tains 47,800 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the
same name, situated on the left bank of the river Agout.
It contains 850 houses, and 6600 inhabitants employed in
making silk goods. Long. 1. 47. E. Lat. 43. 42. N.
LAVENHAM, a town of the hundred of Baberg, in the
county of Suffolk, sixty-two miles from London. It is go¬
verned by a corporation of six capital burgesses, chosen for
life. It had once a cloth manufactory, which has disappear¬
ed, and now only carries on some trade in hempen goods.
The population amounted in 1801 to 1776, in 1811 to 1711,
in 1821 to 1898, and in 1831 to 2107.
LAVER, in scripture history, a sacred utensil placed
in the court of the Jewish tabernacle, consisting of a ba¬
son, whence water was drawn by cocks, for washing the
hands and feet of the officiating priests, and also the en¬
trails and legs of the victims.
LA VERNA, in Antiquity, the goddess of thieves and
cheats amongst the Romans, who honoured her with pub¬
lic worship, because she was supposed to favour those
who wished that their designs might not be discovered.
Varro says that she had an altar near one of the gates of
Rome, which was hence called porta lavernalis.
L AVINIUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Latium,
six miles to the east of Laurentum, according to an ancient
map; so named from Lavinia, consort of fEneas, and daugh¬
ter of King Latinus, and built by the Trojans.
LAVOISIER, Antoine Laurent, the celebrated dis¬
coverer of the new chemical theory, was born at Paris in
the month of August 1745. His father being a man of opu¬
lence acquired in commerce, spared no cost on the educa¬
tion of his son. The latter studied at Mazarin College,
and obtained a great number of prizes in his classes ; but
he soon evinced a decided taste for the sciences, which
his father had the good sense to encourage. On leaving
college, he applied himself to the study of mathematics
and astronomy in the observatory of Lacaille, to that of
chemistry in the laboratory of Rouelle, and to that of bo¬
tany under Bernard de Jussieu, whom he attended in his
herborisations. His passion for study was such, that he put
himself on a milk diet, and denied himself the pleasures
of general society, living only with his masters and fellow-
students, all of whom remained his friends throughout life.
An extraordinary premium having been offered by the
French government in the year 1764, for the best and
most economical method of lighting the streets of an ex¬
tensive city, Lavoisier, although at that time only twenty-
one years of age, gained the gold medal; and his excellent
memoir was published by the academy, of which he be¬
came a member on the 13th of May 1768. His attention
was successively occupied with the pretended conversion
of water into earth, the analysis of the gypsum found in
128
LAV
LAW
Lavoisier, the vicinity of Paris, the congelation of water, the phenO'
mena of thunder, and the aurora borealis.
By undertaking journeys with Guettard into every pro¬
vince of France, he was enabled to procure an immense va¬
riety of materials for a description of the mineral kingdom,
and serving also as the foundation of a great work on the
revolutions of the globe, two admirable sketches of which
are to be seen in the Memoirs of the French Academy for
1772 and 1787. His whole time and fortune were dedi¬
cated to the cultivation of the sciences, nor did he seem
more attached to one than to another, till an interesting
event decided his choice in favour of chemistry. The dis¬
covery of gases, just made known to the learned world by
Black, Priestley, Scheele, Cavendish, and Macbride, ap¬
peared to him like a new creation.
Lavoisier was so struck with the grandeur and import¬
ance of the discovery, that he turned all his attention to
this fountain of truths, perceiving the powerful influence
which this new science would exert over all physical re¬
searches. He was inspired with the true spirit of induc¬
tive philosophy, and all his experiments had a direct re¬
ference to general views. In the year 1773, he presented
to the academy, and published, his Opuscules Physiques et
Chimiques, containing a history of whatever had been
done before respecting the gases, and concluding with
his own grand and interesting experiments. He demon¬
strated that metals, in calcination, derive their increased
weight from the absorption of highly-respirable air, of
which he afterwards proved that nitrous acid is composed.
His chemical ingenuity was now so well known, that Tur¬
got employed him in 1776 to inspect the manufacture of
gunpowder, which he greatly improved in strength, or ex¬
plosive force. In the year 1778 he discovered that all
acids contain the respirable portion of the atmosphere
as a constituent principle, and to this he gave the name
of oxygen. This was the first grand step towards the
new chemistry, which was fully completed by his confh'm-
ing the discovery of the composition of water, ascertained
in 1783.
His Elements of Chemistry, in two vote. 8vo, were pub¬
lished in 1789, and form a beautiful model of scientific com¬
position, being at once clear, logical, and elegant. In a
very few years his system was alm’ost universally adopted,
so complete was the conviction it carried along with it to
every candid and reflecting mind. The last of Lavoisier’s
philosophical works was on the respiration and transpiration
of animals, first read to the academy on the 4th of May
1791. By a number of the nicest experiments, he found
that a man in one day perspires forty-five ounces ; that he
consumes thirty-three ounces of vital air or oxygen ; that
eight cubic feet of carbonic acid gas are discharged from
his lungs; that the weight of water discharged from the
lungs is twenty-three ounces, composed of three of hydro¬
gen and twenty of oxygen ; which interesting discoveries
he directed to the improvement of medicine.
There are no fewer than forty memoirs of Lavoisier in
the volumes of the Academy of Sciences from 1772 to
1793, all relating to the grand phenomena of the science ;
such as the analysis of atmospherical air, the formation
of elastic fluids, the properties of the matter of heat, the
composition of acids, the decomposition of water, &c.
To the sciences, arts, and manufactures, he rendered the
most essential services, both in a public and in a private
capacity. He succeeded Buffon and Tillet as treasurer
to the academy, into the accounts of which he intro¬
duced both economy and order. He was consulted by
the National Convention as to the most eligible means of
improving the manufacture of assignats, and of augment¬
ing the difficulties of forging them. Fie turned his at¬
tention also to political economy, and, between the years
1778 and 1785, he allotted 240 arpents in the Vendo-
mois for experimental agriculture, and increased the Law,
ordinary produce by one half. In 1791, the Constituent W"YV
Assembly invited him to draw up a plan for rendering
more simple the collection of the taxes; which produced
an excellent report, printed under the title of Territorial
Riches of France.
Whilst the horrors of Robespierre’s usurpation conti¬
nued, he used to observe to Lalande that he foresaw he
would be deprived of all his property, but that he was
extremely willing to work for his subsistence ; and it is
supposed that he meant to pursue the profession of apo¬
thecary, as most congenial to his studies. But the un¬
relenting tyrant had already fixed his doom. He was
thrown into prison, whence he was soon dragged to the
scaffold, where he perished, with twenty-eight farmersr
general, on the 8th of May 1794, for no other crime but
because he was opulent, and belonged to that body. A
report, drawn up by M. Halle, a courageous citizen, con¬
taining a description of the works, and a recapitulation
of the discoveries, of Lavoisier, sufficient to make an im¬
pression upon the most obdurate heart, was presented to
the revolutionary tribunal. Even Lavoisier himself deign¬
ed to ask of the miscreants who had condemned him, a
delay for a few days, that he might have time to com¬
plete some experiments interesting to humanity ; alluding
probably to his researches on transpiration, which had
been suspended by his imprisonment. But all was in
vain. The president of that horrible tribunal told him,
in a ferocious tone, that they had no longer any need of
learned men ; and his head fell under the axe of the guil¬
lotine, in the fifty-first year of his age.
Lavoisier was tall, and possessed a countenance full of
benignant expression. His character was mild, humane,
social, obliging; and he discovered an incredible degree of
activity. He had great influence, on account of his credit,
fortune, reputation, and his office in the treasury; but all
the use he made of it was to do good; yet this did not
prevent jealousy on the part of others. In 1771 he mar¬
ried Marie-Anne-Pierette-Paulze, the daughter of a far¬
mer-general, whose excellent accomplishments formed the
delight of his life, who assisted him in his labours, and
even drew the figures for his last work. This lady had
the misfortune to behold her father, her husband, and
her most intimate friends, assassinated in one day; and
she was herself imprisoned, nay, even menaced with
a similar fate; but the unshaken fortitude of her mind
enabled her to rise superior to the horrors of her condi¬
tion. Lavoisier died childless.
LAW (says Blackstone, from whose work the following Definit®
observations are abridged), in its most general and com¬
prehensive sense, signifies a rule of action ; and is applied
indiscriminately to all kinds of action, whether animate or
inanimate, rational or irrational. Thus we say, the laws of
motion, of gravitation, of optics, of mechanics, as well as
the laws of nature and of nations. And it is that rule of
action which is prescribed by some superior, and which
the inferior is bound to obey.
Thus, when the Supreme Being formed the universe, and
created matter out of nothing, he impressed certain prin¬
ciples upon that matter, from which it can never depart,
and without which it would cease to be. When he put
that matter into motion, he established certain laws of mo¬
tion, to which all moveable bodies must conform. And, to
descend from the greatest operations to the smallest, when
a workman forms a clock or other piece of mechanism, he
establishes at his own pleasure certain arbitrary laws for its
direction, as, that the hand shall describe a given space
in a given time ; to which law as long as the work conforms,
so long it continues in pei'fection, and answers the end of
its formation.
If we advance farther, from mere inactive matter to vege-
L A W.
129
table and animal life, we fehall find them still governed by
laws, more numerous indeed, but equally fixed and invariable.
The whole progress of plants, from the seed to the root,
and from thence to the seed again; the method of animal
nutrition, digestion, secretion, and all other branches of
vital economy ; are not left to chance, or the will of the
creature itself, but are performed in a wondrous involun¬
tary manner, and guided by unerring rules laid down by
the great Creator.
This, then, is the general signification of law, a rule of ac¬
tion dictated by some superior being. And, in those crea¬
tures that have neither the power to think nor to will, such
laws must be invariably obeyed, so long as the creature it¬
self subsists ; for its existence depends on that obedience.
But laws, in their more confined sense, and in which it is
our present business to consider them, denote the rules, not
of action in general, but of human action or conduct; that
is, the precepts by which man, the noblest of all sublunary
beings, a creature endowed with both reason and free will,
is commanded to make use of those faculties in the gene¬
ral regulation of his behaviour.
Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be sub¬
ject to the laws of his Creator, for he is entirely a depen¬
dent being. A being independent of any other has no
rule to pursue but such as he prescribes to himself; but a
state of dependence will inevitably oblige the inferior to
take the will of him on whom he depends as the rule of
his conduct, not indeed in every particular, but in all
those points wherein his dependence consists. This prin¬
ciple, therefore, has more or less extent and effect, in pro¬
portion as the superiority of the one and the dependence of
the other is greater or less absolute or limited. And con¬
sequently, as man depends absolutely upon his Maker for
every thing, it is necessary that he should in all points
conform to his Maker’s will.
This will of his Maker is called the law of nature. For
as God, when he created matter, and endued it with a
principle of mobility, established certain rules for the per¬
petual direction of that motion ; so, when he created man,
and endued him with free will to conduct himself in all
parts of life, he laid down certain immutable laws of hu¬
man nature, whereby that free will is in some degree re¬
gulated and restrained, and gave him also the faculty of
reason to discover the purport of those laws.
Considering the Creator only as a being of infinite
power, he was able unquestionably to have prescribed
whatever laws he pleased to his creature man, however
unjust or severe. But as he is also a Being of infinite wis¬
dom, he has laid down only such laws as were founded in
those relations of justice that existed in the nature of
things antecedent to any positive precept. These are the
eternal immutable laws of good and evil, to which the
Creator himself in all his dispensations conforms, and
which he has enabled human reason to discover, so far as
they are necessary for the conduct of human actions.
Such, among others, is the principle, that we should live
honestly, hurt nobody, and render to every one his due ;
to which three general precepts Justinian has reduced the
whole doctrine of law.
But if the discovery of these first principles of the law
of nature depended only upon the due exertion of right
reason, and could not otherwise be obtained than by a chain
of metaphysical disquisitions, mankind would have wanted
some inducement to have quickened their inquiries, and the
greater part of the world would have rested content in
mental indolence, and ignorance, its inseparable companion.
As therefore the Creator is a being not only of infinite
power and wisdom, but also of infinite goodness, he has
been pleased so to contrive the constitution and frame of
humanity, that we should want no other prompter to in¬
quire after and pursue the rule of right, but only our own
VOL. XIII.
self-love, that universal principle of action. For he has so Law.
intimately connected, so inseparably interwoven, the laws^
of eternal justice with the happiness of each individual,
that the latter cannot be attained but by observing the
former ; and if the former be punctually obeyed, it cannot
but induce the latter. In consequence of which mutual
connection of justice and human felicity, he has not per¬
plexed the law of nature with a multitude of abstracted
rules and precepts, referring merely to the fitness or unfit¬
ness of things, as some have vainly surmised; but has
graciously reduced the rule of obedience to this one pater¬
nal precept, “ that man should pursue his own happiness.”
This is the foundation of what we call ethics, or natural law ;
for the several articles into which it is branched in our
systems amount to no more than demonstrating that this
or that action tends to man’s real happiness, and therefore
very justly concluding, that the performance of it is a part
of the law of nature ; or, on the other hand, that this or
that action is destructive of man’s real happiness, and there¬
fore that the law of nature forbids it.
This law of nature, being coeval with mankind, and dic¬
tated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to
any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all coun¬
tries, and at all times : no human laws are of any validity
if contrary to this, and such of them as are valid derive all
their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediate¬
ly, from this original.
But in order to apply this to the particular exigencies of
each individual, it is still necessary to have recourse to rea¬
son ; whose office it is to discover, as was before observ¬
ed, what the law of nature directs in every circumstance of
life, by considering what method will tend the most effec¬
tually to our own substantial happiness. And if our rea¬
son were always, as in our first ancestor before his trans¬
gression, clear and perfect, unruffled by passions, uncloud¬
ed by prejudice, unimpaired by disease or intemperance,
the task would be pleasant and easy ; we should need no
other guide but this. But every man now finds the con¬
trary in his own experience; that his reason is corrupt,
and his understanding full of ignorance and error.
This has given manifold occasion for the benign inter- Law of re.
position of Divine Providence; which, in compassion tove^a^on*
the frailty, the imperfection, and the blindness of human
reason, hath been pleased, at sundry times and in divers
manners, to discover and enforce its laws by an immediate
and direct revelation. The doctrines thus delivered we
call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found
only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when re¬
vealed, are found upon comparison to be really a part of
the original law of nature, as they tend in all their conse¬
quences to man’s felicity. But we are not from thence to
conclude, that the knowledge of these truths was attainable
by reason in its present corrupted state ; since we find
that, until they w ere revealed, they were hid from the wis¬
dom of ages. As then the moral precepts of this law are
indeed of the same original with those of the law of nature,
so their intrinsic obligation is of equal strength and perpe¬
tuity. Yet undoubtedly the revealed law is of infinitely
more authenticity than that moral system which is framed
by ethical writers, and denominated the natural law: be¬
cause the one is the law of nature, expressly declared so to
be by God himself; the other is only what, by the assistance
of human reason, we imagine to be that law. If we could
be as certain of the latter as we are of the former, both
would have an equal authority ; but till then they can never
be put in any competition together.
Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the
law of revelation, depend all human law's ; that is to say,
no human laws should be suffered to contradict these.
There are, it is true, a great number of indifferent points,
in which both the divine law and the natural leave a man
R
130
Law.
L A W.
tions.
at his own liberty, but which are found necessary, for the
'benefit of society, to be restrained within certain limits.
And herein it is that human laws have their greatest force
and efficacy; for, with regard to such points as are not in¬
different, human laws are only declaratory of, and act in
subordination to, the former. To instance in the case of
murder : This is expressly forbidden by the divine, and de¬
monstrably by the natural law; and from these prohibi¬
tions arises the true unlawfulness of this crime. Those hu¬
man laws that annex a punishment to it do not at all in¬
crease its moral guilt, or superadd any fresh obligation in
foro conscientice to abstain from its perpetration. Nay, if
any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit it, we
are bound to transgress that human law, or else we must
offend both the natural and the divine. But, with regard
to matters that are in themselves indifferent, and are not
commanded or forbidden by those superior laws ; such, for
instance, as exporting of wool into foreign countries ; here
the inferior legislature has scope and opportunity to inter¬
pose, and to make that action unlawful which before was
not so.
Law of na- If man were to live in a state of nature, unconnected
with other individuals, there would be no occasion for any
other lawTs than the law of nature and the law of God.
Neither could any other law possibly exist; for a law al¬
ways supposes some superior who is to make it; and in a
state of nature we are all equal, without any other superior
but him who is the Author of our being. But man was
formed for society ; and, as is demonstrated by the writers
on this subject, is neither capable of living alone, nor indeed
has the courage to do it. However, as it is impossible for
the whole race of mankind to be united in one great so¬
ciety, they must necessarily divide into many, and form
separate states, commonwealths, and nations, entirely in¬
dependent of each other, and yet liable to a mutual inter¬
course. Hence arises a third kind of law to regulate this
mutual intercourse, called the law of nations; which, as
none of these states will acknowledge a superiority in the
other, cannot be dictated by either, but depends entirely
upon the rules of natural law, or upon mutual compacts,
treaties, leagues, and agreements, between these several
communities ; in the construction also of which compacts
we have no other rule to resort to but the law of nature,
being the only one to which both communities are equally
subject; and therefore the civil law very justly observes,
that quod naturalis ratio inter omnes homines constituit,
vocatur jus gentium. See the article on the Law of Na¬
tions.
To the consideration, then, of the law of nature, the re¬
vealed law, and the law of nations, succeeds that of the
municipal or civil law; that is, the rule by which particu¬
lar districts, communities, or nations, are governed ; being
thus defined by Justinian, “jus civile est quod quisque sibi
populus constituit? We call it municipal law, in compli¬
ance with common speech ; for though, strictly, that ex¬
pression denotes the particular customs of one single mu-
nicipium or free town, yet it may with sufficient propriety
be applied to any one state or nation which is governed by
the same laws and customs. Municipal law, thus under¬
stood, is properly defined to be “ a rule of civil conduct
prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding
what is right, and prohibiting what is wrong.” Let us en-'
deavour to explain its several properties, as they arise out
of this definition.
And, first, it is a rule ; not a transient sudden order from
a superior to or concerning a particular person ; but some¬
thing permanent, uniform, and universal. Therefore a par¬
ticular act of the legislature to confiscate the goods of
Titius, or to attaint him of high treason, does not enter
into the idea of a municipal law ; for the operation of this
act is spent upon Titius only', and has no relation to the
Municipal
or civil
law.
community in general; it is rather a sentence than a law.
But an act to declare that the crime of which Titius is ac- v
cused shall be deemed high treason ; this has permanency,
uniformity, and universality, and therefore is properly a
rule. It is also called a rule, to distinguish it from advice or
counsel, which we are at liberty to follow or not as we see
proper, and to judge upon the reasonableness or unreason¬
ableness of the thing advised; whereas our obedience to
the law depends not upon our approbation, but upon the
makers will. Counsel is only matter of persuasion, law is
matter of injunction ; counsel acts only upon the willing,
law upon the unwilling also.
It is also called a rule, to distinguish it from a compact
or agreement; for a compact is a promise proceeding from
us, law is a command directed to us. The language of a
compact is, “ I will, or will not, do thisthat of a law is,
“ Thou shalt, or shalt not, do it.” It is true there is an
obligation which a compact carries with it, equal in point
of conscience to that of a law ; but then the original of the
obligation is different. In compacts, we ourselves deter¬
mine and promise what shall be done, before we are ob¬
liged to do it; in laws, we are obliged to act without our¬
selves determining or promising any thing at all. Upon
these accounts law is defined to be “ a rule.”
Municipal law is also “ a rule of civil conduct? This
distinguishes municipal law from the natural or revealed ;
the former of which is the rule of moral conduct; and the
latter not only the rule of moral conduct, but also of faith.
These regard man as a creature, and point out his duty to
God, to himself, and to his neighbour, considered in the
light of an individual. But municipal or civil law regards
him also as a citizen, and bound to other duties towards his
neighbour than those of mere nature and religion ; duties
which he has engaged in by enjoying the benefits of the
common union, and which amount to no more than that
he do contribute, on his part, to the subsistence and peace
of the society.
It is likewise “ a rule prescribed;” because a bare reso¬
lution, confined in the breast of the legislator, without ma¬
nifesting itself by some external sign, can never be proper¬
ly a law. It is requisite that this resolution be notified to
the people who are to obey it. But the manner in which
this notification is to be made is matter of very great in¬
difference. It may be notified by universal tradition and
long practice, which supposes a previous publication, and
is the case of the common law of England and of Scotland.
It may be notified viva voce, by officers appointed for that
purpose, as is done with regard to proclamations, and such
acts of parliament as are appointed to be publicly read in
churches and other assemblies. It may, lastly, be notified
by writing, printing, or the like ; which is the general
course taken with all our acts of parliament. Yet, what¬
ever way is made use of, it is incumbent on the promulga¬
tors to do it in the most public and perspicuous manner ;
not like Caligula, who (according to Dio Cassius) wrote
his laws in a very small character, and hung them up upon
high pillars, the-more effectually to ensnare the people.
There is still a more unreasonable method than this, which
is called making of laws ex post facto ; when, after an ac¬
tion (indifferent in itself) is committed, the legislator then
for the first time declares it to have been a crime, and in¬
flicts a punishment upon the person who has committed it.
Here it is impossible that the party could foresee that an
action, innocent when it was done, should be afterwards
converted to guilt by a subsequent law : he had therefore
no cause to abstain from it; and all punishment for not ab¬
staining must of consequence be cruel and unjust. All
laws should be therefore made to commence infuturo, and
be notified before their commencement; which is implied
in the term “ prescribed.” But when this rule is in the
usual manner notified or prescribed, it is then the subject’s
Law,
LAW.
131
rt
Cehv.
business to be thoroughly acquainted therewith ; for if
ignorance of what he might know were admitted as a legi¬
timate excuse, the laws would be of no effect, but might
always be eluded with impunity.
But further, municipal law is “ a rule of civil conduct
prescribed t/ie supreme power in a state for legisla¬
ture, as was before observed, is the greatest act of superio¬
rity that can be exercised by one being over another.
Wherefore it is requisite to the very essence of a law, that
it be made by the supreme power. Sovereignty and legis¬
lature are indeed controvertible terms; one cannot sub¬
sist without the other.
This will naturally lead us into a short inquiry concern¬
ing the nature of society and civil government; and the
natural inherent right that belongs to the sovereignty of a
state, wherever that sovereignty be lodged, of making and
enforcing laws.
From what has been advanced, the truth of the former
branch of our definition is, we trust, sufficiently evident;
that “ municipal law is a rule of civil conduct, prescribed
l>?/ the supreme power in a state!' We proceed now to the
latter branch of it; that it is a rule so prescribed, “ com¬
manding what is right, and prohibiting what is wrong.”
Now, in order to do this completely, it is first of all ne¬
cessary that the boundaries of right and wrong be esta¬
blished and ascertained by law. And when this is once
done, it will follow of course, that it is likewise the busi¬
ness of the law, considered as a rule of civil conduct, to
enforce these rights, and to restrain or redress these
wrongs. It remains therefore only to consider, in what
manner the law is said to ascertain the boundaries of right
and wrong, and the methods which it takes to command
the one and prohibit the other.
For this purpose, every law may be said to consist of
several parts: one, declaratory, whereby the rights to be
observed, and the wrongs to be eschewed, are clearly de¬
fined and laid down; another, directory, whereby the
subject is intrusted and enjoined to observe those rights,
and to abstain from the commission of those wrongs; a
third, remedial, whereby a method is pointed out to re¬
cover a man’s private rights, or redress his private wrongs :
to which may be added a fourth, usually termed the sanc¬
tion or vindicatory branch of the law, whereby it is signi¬
fied what evil or penalty shall be incurred by such as
commit any public wrongs, and transgress or neglect their
duty.
With regard to the first of these, the declaratory part
of the municipal law, this depends not so much upon the
law of revelation or of nature, as upon the wisdom and will
of the legislator. This doctrine, which before was slightly
touched, deserves a more particular explication. Those
rights, then, which God and nature have established, and
are therefore called natural rights, such as are life and
liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effec¬
tually invested in every man than they are ; neither do
they receive any additional strength when declared by
the municipal law's to be inviolable. On the contrary, no
human legislature has power to abridge or destroy them,
unless the owner shall himself commit some act that
amounts to a forfeiture. Neither do divine or natural
duties (such as, for instance, the worship of God, the main¬
tenance of children, and the like) receive any stronger
sanction from being also declared to be duties by the law'
of the land. The case is the same as to crimes and mis¬
demeanors, that are forbidden by the superior laws, and
therefore styled mala in se, such as murder, theft, and
perjury; which contract no additional turpitude from be¬
ing declared unlawful by the inferior legislature. For that
legislature in all these cases acts only, as was before ob¬
served, in subordination to the Great Lawgiver, trans¬
cribing and publishing his precepts. So that, upon the
whole, the declaratory part of the municipal law has no
force or operation at all, with regard to actions that are
naturally and intrinsically right or wrong.
But with regard to things in themselves indifferent, the
case is entirely altered. These become either right or
wrong, just or unjust, duties of misdemeanors, according
as the municipal legislator sees proper for promoting the
welfare of the society, and more effectually carrying on
the purposes of civil life. Thus our own common law has
declared, that the goods of the wife do instantly upon mar¬
riage become the property and right of the husband ; and
our statute law has declared all monopolies a public of¬
fence ; yet that right and this offence have no founda¬
tion in nature, but are merely created by the law, for the
purposes of civil society. And sometimes, where the
thing itself has its rise from the law of nature, the parti¬
cular circumstances and mode of doing it become right or
wrong, as the laws of the land shall direct. Thus, for in¬
stance, in civil duties, obedience to superiors is the doc¬
trine of revealed as well as natural religion ; but who those
superiors shall be, and in what circumstances, or to what
degrees, they shall be obeyed, is the province of human
laws to determine. And so, as to injuries or crimes,
it must be left to our own legislature to decide in what
cases the seizing another’s cattle shall amount to the crime
of robbery; and where it shall be a justifiable action, as
when a landlord takes them by way of distress for rent.
Thus much for the declaratory part of the municipal Directory
law. The directory stands much upon the same foot- part,
ing; for this virtually includes the former, the declara¬
tion being usually collected from the direction. The law
that says, “ thou shalt not steal,” implies a declaration
that stealing is a crime. And we have seen, that, in
things naturally indifferent, the very essence of right and
wrong depends upon the direction of the laws to do or to
omit them.
The remedial part of a law is so necessary a consequence Remedial
of the two former, that laws must be very vague and im- part,
perfect without it. For in vain would rights be declared,
in vain directed to be observed, if there were no method
of recovering and asserting those rights when wrongfully
withheld or invaded. This is what we mean properly
when we speak of the protection of the law. When, for
instance, the declaratory part of the law has said that
“ the field or inheritance which belonged to Titius’s father
is vested by his death in Titius,” and the directory part
has “ forbidden any one to enter on another’s property
without the leave of the ownerif Gains after this will
presume to take possession of the land, the remedial part
of the law will then interpose its office, will make Gaius
restore the possession of Titius, and also pay him damages
for the invasion.
With regard to the sanction of laws, or the evil that
may attend the breach of public duties, it is observed, that
human legislators have for the most part chosen to make
the sanction of their laws rather vindicatory than remu-
neratory, or to consist rather in punishments than in actual
particular rewards; because, in the first place, the quiet
enjoyment and protection of all our civil rights and liber¬
ties, which are the sure and general consequence of obe¬
dience to the municipal law, are in themselves the best
and most valuable of all rewards ; because also, were the
exercise of every virtue to be enforced by the proposal of
particular rewards, it were impossible for any state to
furnish stock enough for so profuse a bounty; and farther,
because the dread of evil is a much more forcible principle
of human actions than the prospect of good. For which
reasons, though a prudent bestowing of rewards is some¬
times of exquisite use, yet we find that those civil laws,
which enforce and enjoin our duty, do seldom, if ever,
propose any privilege or gift to such as obey the law, but
332 LAW.
Law. do constantly come armed with a penalty denounced
^ against transgressors, either expressly defining the nature
and quantity of the punishment, or else leaving it to the
discretion of the judges, and those who are intrusted with
the care of putting the laws in execution.
V imliea- Qf ajj tjie parts 0f a jaWj t]ie most effectual is the vindi-
Par • catory; for it is but lost labour to say, “ Do this, or avoid
that,” unless we also declare, “ This shall be the conse¬
quence of your non-compliance.” We must therefore ob¬
serve, that the main strength and force of a law consists
in the penalty annexed to it. Herein is to be found the
principal obligation of human laws.
Legislators and their laws are said to compel and oblige:
not that, by any natural violence, they so constrain a man
as to render it impossible for him to act otherwise than
as they direct, which is the strict sense of obligation ;
but because, by declaring and exhibiting a penalty against
offenders, they bring it to pass, that no man can easily
choose to transgress the law; since, by reason of the im¬
pending correction, compliance is in a high degree prefer¬
able to disobedience. And, even where rewards are pro¬
posed as well as punishments threatened, the obligation
of the law seems chiefly to consist in the penalty: for re¬
wards, in their nature, can only persuade and allure ; no¬
thing is compulsory but punishment.
It has been held true, and very justly, by the principal
of our ethical writers, that human laws are binding upon
men’s consciences. But, if that were the only or most
forcible obligation, the good only would regard the laws,
and the bad would set them at defiance. And, true as
this principle is, it must still be understood with some re¬
striction. It holds, we apprehend, as to rights ; and that,
w hen the law has determined the field to belong to Titius,
it is a matter of conscience no longer to withhold or to
invade it. So also in regard to natural duties, and such
offences as are mala in se. Here we are bound in con¬
science, because we are bound by superior laws, before
those human laws were in being, to perform the one and
abstain from the other. But in relation to those laws which
enjoin only positive duties, and forbid only such things as
are not mala in se, but mala prohibita merely, w ithout any
intermixture of moral guilt, annexing a penalty to non-
compliance ; here conscience seems to be no farther con¬
cerned, than by directing a submission to the penalty, in
case of our breach of those laws : for otherwise the mul¬
titude of penal laws in a state would not only be looked
upon as an impolitic, but would also be a very wicked
thing, if every such law were a snare for the conscience
of the subject. But in these cases the alternative is of¬
fered to every man ; “ either abstain from this, or submit
to such a penalty and his conscience will be clear, which¬
ever side of the alternative he thinks proper to embrace.
Thus, by the statutes for preserving the game, a penalty
is denounced against every unqualified person that kills a
bare, and against every person who possesses a partridge
in August. And so too, by other statutes, pecuniary penal¬
ties are inflicted for exercising trades without serving an
apprenticeship thereto, for erecting cottages without an¬
nexing four acres of land to each, for not burying the dead
in wmollen, for not performing statute work on the public
roads, and for innumerable other positive misdemeanors.
Now these prohibitory laws do not make the transgression
a moral offence, or sin ; the only obligation in conscience
is to submit to the penalty, if levied. It must, however,
be observed, that we are here speaking of law's that are
simply and purely penal, where the thing forbidden or en¬
joined is wholly a matter of indifference, and where the
penalty inflicted is an adequate compensation for the civil
inconvenience supposed to rise from the offence. But
wrhere disobedience to law involves in it also any degree
of public mischief or private injury, there it falls within
our former distinction, and is also an offence against con- ban-,
science.
We have now gone through the definition laid down of
a municipal law ; and have shown that it is “ a rule of
civil conduct, prescribed by the supreme power in a
state, commanding what is right, and prohibiting what is
wrongin the explication of which we have endeavoured
to interwreave a few useful principles concerning the
nature of civil government, and the obligation of human
laws. Before we conclude this part, it may not be amiss
to add a few observations concerning the interpretation
of law's.
When any doubt arose upon the construction of the Ro-JnterPre
man laws, the usage was to state the case to the emperor j^“nc:
in writing, and take his opinion upon it. This was cer¬
tainly a bad method of interpretation. To interrogate the
legislature to decide particular disputes, is not only end¬
less, but affords great room for partiality and oppression.
The answers of the emperor were called his rescripts, and
these had in succeeding cases the force of perpetual laws ;
though they ought to be carefully distinguished, by every
rational civilian, from those general constitutions which
had only the nature of things for their guide. The Em¬
peror Macrinus, as his historian Capitolinus informs us,
had once resolved to abolish these rescripts, and retain
only the general edicts: he could not bear that the hasty
and crude answers of such princes as Commodus and Ca-
racalla should be reverenced as laws. But Justinian
thought otherwise, and he has preserved them all. In
like manner, the canon laws, or decretal epistles of the
popes, are all of them rescripts in the strictest sense.
Contrary to all true forms of reasoning, they argue from
particulars to generals.
The fairest and most rational method to interpret the
wilPof the legislator, is by exploring his intentions at the
time when the law was made, by signs the most natural
and probable. And these signs are either the wmrds, the
context, the subject-matter, the effects and consequence,
or the spirit and reason of the law. Let us take a short
view of them all.
L Words are generally to be understood in their usual
and most known signification; not so much regarding the
propriety of grammar, as their general and popular use.
Thus the law mentioned by Puffendorf, which forbade a
layman to lay hands on a priest, was adjudged to extend
to him who had hurt a priest with a weapon. Again :
Terms of art, or technical terms, must be taken according
to the acceptation of the learned in each art, trade, and
science. So, in the act of settlement, where the crown of
England is limited “ to the Princess Sophia, and the heirs
of her body being Protestants,” it becomes necessary to
call in the assistance of lawyers to ascertain the precise
idea of the words “ heirs of her body,” which, in a legal
sense, comprise only certain of her lineal descendants.
Lastly, Where words are clearly repugnant, in two laws,
the latter law takes place of the elder; leges posteriores
priores contrarias abrogant, is a maxim of universal law, as
well as of our own constitutions. And accordingly it was
laid down by a law of the twelve tables at Rome, Quod
populus postremum jussit, id jus ratum esto.
2. If words happen to be still dubious, we may establish
their meaning from the context; with which it may be of
singular use to compare a word or a sentence, whenever
they are ambiguous, equivocal, or intricate. Thus the
proeme, or preamble, is often called in to help the con¬
struction of an act of parliament. Of the same nature and
use is the comparison of a law with other laws that are
made by the same legislator, that have some affinity with
the subject, or that expressly relate to the same point.
Thus, when the law of England declares murder to be
felony without benefit of clergy, we must resort to the same
L A W.
133
: a*
a La Wf
K'atids.
law of England to learn what the benefit of clergy is; and,
when the common law censures simoniacal contracts, it
affords great light to the subject to consider what the canon
law has adjudged to be simony.
3. As to the subject-matter, words are always to be un¬
derstood as having a regard thereto; for that is always
supposed to be in the eye of the legislator, and all his ex¬
pressions directed to that end. Thus, when a law of Ed¬
ward III. forbids all ecclesiastical persons to purchase pro¬
visions at Home, it might seem to prohibit the buying of
grain and other victual; but when we consider that the
statute was made to repress the usurpations of the papal
see, and that the nominations to benefices by the pope were
called provisions, we shall see that the restraint is intended
to be laid upon such provisions only.
4. As to the effects and consequence, the rule is, That
where words bear either none, or a very absurd significa¬
tion, if literally understood, we must a little deviate from
the received sense of them. Therefore the Bolognian law,
mentioned by Puffendorf, which enacted, “ that whoever
drew blood in the streets should be punished with the ut¬
most severity,” was held after long debate not to extend to
the surgeon who opened the vein of a person who fell down
in the street with a fit.
5. But, lastly, the most universal and effectual way of
discovering the true meaning of a law, when the words are
dubious, is by considering the reason and spirit of it, or the
cause which moved the legislator to enact it. For when
this reason ceases, the law itself ought likewise to cease
with it. An instance of this is given in a case put by Ci¬
cero, or whoever was the author of the rhetorical treatise
inscribed to Herennius. There was a law, that those who
in a storm forsook the ship, should forfeit all property there¬
in, and the ship and lading should belong entirely to those
who staid in it. In a dangerous tempest, all the mariners
forsook the ship, except only one sick passenger, who, by
reason of his disease, was unable to get out and escape.
By chance the ship came safe to port. The sick man kept
possession, and claimed the benefit of the law. Now here
all the learned agree, that the sick man is not within the
reason of the law; for the reason of making it wras, to give
encouragement to such as should venture their lives to Law
save the vessel; but this is a merit which he could never II
pretend to, who neither staid in the ship upon that account,
nor contributed any thing to its preservation. x xjj ‘ 1 '
From this method of interpreting laws by the reason Equity,
of them, arises what we call equity, which is defined by
Grotius, “ the correction of that, wherein the law (by rea¬
son of its universality) is deficient.” For since in laws all
cases cannot be foreseen or expressed, it is necessary that,
when the general decrees of the law come to be applied to
particular cases, there should be somewhere a power vested
of defining those circumstances which (had they been fore¬
seen) the legislator himself would have expressed. And
these are the cases which, according to Grotius, lex non
exacte dejinit, sed arbitrio boni viri permittit.
Equity thus depending essentially upon the particular
circumstances of each individual case, there can be no
established rules and fixed precepts of equity laid down,
without destroying its very essence, and reducing it to a
positive law. And, on the other hand, the liberty of con¬
sidering all cases in an equitable light must not be indulged
too far, lest thereby we destroy all law, and leave the de¬
cision of every question entirely in the breast of the judge.
And law without equity, though hard and disagreeable, is
much more desirable for the public good than equity with¬
out law, which would make every judge a legislator, and
introduce infinite confusion ; as there would then be almost
as many different rules of action laid down in our courts,
as there are differences of capacity and sentiment in the
human mind.
For some account of the laws and judicial establish¬
ments of England and Scotland, and generally of the prin¬
cipal countries of Europe, the reader is referred to the re¬
spective articles concerning them in this work.
Law, Canon. See Canon Law.
Law, Civil. See Civil Law.
Law, Feudal. See Feudal Law.
Law, Maritime. See Maritime Law.
Law, Mercantile. See Mercantile Law.
Law, Military. See Military Law.
Law, Mosaic. See Mosaic Law.
LAW OF NATIONS.
I.—Ideas involved in the term Law.— These ideas how mo¬
dified in the term Law of Nations.— The only sanction
applicable to the Law of Nations is the popular sanction.
— What dependence may be placed upon the popular
sanction.
In the meaning of the word Law, three principal ideas
ar are involved ; that of a command, that of a sanction, and
tb that of the authority from which the command proceeds.
Every law imports that something is to be done, or to be
le left undone.
But a command is impotent, unless there is the power
of of enforcing it. The power of enforcing a command is the
p( power of inflicting penalties if the command is not obeyed.
k | . And the applicability of the penalties constitutes the sanc-
ti tion.
There is more difficulty in conveying an exact concep-
ti tion of the authority which is necessary to give existence
U to a law. It is evident that it is not every command, en-
f( forced by penalties, to which we should extend such a
ti title. A law is not confined to a single act; it embraces a
c class of acts : it is not confined to the acts of one man ; it
e embraces those of a community of men. And the autho-
r rity from which it emanates must be an authority which
t that community are in the habit of obeying. An autho¬
rity to which only a temporary obedience is paid, does not
come up to the notion of that authority which is requisite
to give existence to laws ; for thus the commands of a
hostile army, committing plunder, would be laws.
The conditions which we have thus described may all
be visibly traced in the laws which governments lay down
for the communities to which they belong. There we ob¬
serve the command, there the punishment prescribed for its
violation, and there the commanding authority to which
obedience is habitually paid.
Of these conditions, how many can be said to belong to
any thing included under the term Law of Nations ?
By that term is understood, something which either
does, or which, it is supposed, ought to bind the conduct
of one nation towards another.
But it is not understood that one nation has a right to
command another. When one nation can be commanded
by another, it is dependent upon that other; and the laws
of dependence are different from those which we are at
present considering. An independent nation would resent,
instead of obeying, a command delivered to it by another.
Neither can it properly be said that nations, taken aggre¬
gately, prescribe those laws to one another severally; for
when did they ever combine in any such prescription ?
When did they ever combine to vindicate the violations of
LAW or NATIONS.
134
Law of them ? It is therefore clear, that the term command can-
Nations. not be applied, at least in the ordinary sense, to the laws
of nations.
In the next place, it would not seem that any thing de¬
serving the name of sanction belongs to them. Sanction,
we have already seen, is punishment. Suppose nations to
threaten one another with punishment, for the violation
of any thing understood to be a law of nations. To
punish implies superiority of strength. For the strong,
therefore, the law of nations may perhaps have a sanction
as against the weak. But what can it have as against the
strong ? Is it the strong, however, or is it the weak, by
whom it is most liable to be violated ? The answer is ob¬
vious and undeniable. As against those from whom al¬
most solely any violation of the laws of nations need be
apprehended, there appears, therefore, to be no sanction
at all.
If it be said that several nations may combine to give it
a sanction in favour of the weak, we might, for a practical
answer, appeal to experience. Has it been done ? Have
nations in reality combined, so constantly and steadily, in
favour of the law of nations, as to create, by the certainty
of punishment, an overpowering motive to unjust powers,
to abstain from its violation? For, as the laws against
murder would have no efficacy if the punishment pre¬
scribed were not applied once in fifty or a hundred times,
so the penalty against the violations of the law of nations
can have no efficacy if it is applied unsteadily and rarely.
On the mode in which it has been applied, we may ap¬
peal to a great authority. Montesquieu says, “ Le droit
public est plus connu en Europe qu’en Asie : cependant
on peut dire que les passions des princes, la patience des
peuples, la flatterie des ecrivains, en ont corrompu tous
les principes. Ce droit, tel qu’il est aujourd’hui, est une
science qui apprend aux princes jusqua quel point ils
peuvent violer la justice, sans choquer leurs interets.”
(Lettres Persanes, xciv.)
To go a little deeper, we may consider whether the in¬
terest of nations, that which in the long run governs
them all, can ever produce combinations, from which an
effectual sanction, of the nature in question, can be ex¬
pected to proceed. That they would derive some advan¬
tage from the general observation of those maxims which
have been called laws of nations, frivolous as are the
points upon which the greater part of them turn, cannot
be denied. These advantages, however, are seen at a dis¬
tance, and with the mind’s eye; they are speculative ra¬
ther than sensible. The inconveniences, on the other
hand, which must result from any movement to lend ef¬
fect to the law of nations, are immediate and formidable;
the whole train of the evils of war are almost sure to arise
from them. The latter class of impressions must, in
general, be far more powerful than the former; and thus
the interposition in favour of the law of nations will gene¬
rally be shunned. A nation is often but too easily stimu¬
lated to make war in resentment of injuries done to itself.
But it looks with too much coolness upon the injuries
done to other nations, to incur the chance of any great in¬
convenience for the redress of them.
Besides, the object is to be gained by the means of com¬
bination. But the combinations of nations are very diffi¬
cult things. Nations hardly ever combine without quar¬
relling. _ _ ,
Again, all nations ought to combine for an object com¬
mon to all. But for all nations to combine in any one en¬
terprise is impossible. Suppose a prince to have violated
the law of nations, it would be absurd to suppose that all
the countries on earth should conspire to punish him.
But if not all, what is to be the selection ? Who shall
come forward; who stand excused ? By those who are
condemned to the sacrifice, in what proportion are the con¬
tributions to be made ? Who is to afford the greatest, and Law Cf
who may come with the least ? Nations,
It is unnecessary to pursue any farther the analysis of ''"’"V'*
this extraordinary hypothesis. It is evident, from what
has been said, that it is full of impracticabilities.
Are we, then, obliged to consider the maxims or rules
which pass under the name of Laws of Nations, as utterly
without force and influence ; and the discourse which is
made about them as mere affectation and impertinence ?
Not wholly so. It is of use that the ordinary inter¬
course of nations should be conducted according to certain
forms, generally known and approved; because they will
be observed on all occasions when there is no particular
motive to violate them, and will often prevent disputes
which might arise on frivolous occasions. They resemble
in this respect the ceremonial of a court, or the establish¬
ed forms of polished society.
The objects, however, which are understood to be em¬
braced by the law of nations, are of two sorts. The first
are those minor objects which partake more of form than
of substance ; the other are objects which deeply affect
humanity. That there are certain interests of nations,
which it were good to have considered as their rights,
and of which it is infinitely to be desired that the viola¬
tion could be prevented, is most true. But if national law
has no penalty annexed to it; if the weaker party who is
wronged has no means of redress, where, it may be said, is
the advantage of such a law ? Or where the propriety of
calling that a law which is only a declaration respecting
rights; violated by the more powerful party with impuni¬
ty, as often, and to as great an extent, as he pleases ?
There is still, however, a power which, though it be not
the physical force either of one state or of a combination
of states, applied to vindicate a violation of the law of na¬
tions, is not without a great sway in human affairs; and
which, as it is very nearly the whole of the power which
can be applied to secure the observation of that law, de¬
serves to be carefully considered, that, by duly appreci¬
ating its efficacy in this important affair, we may neither
trust to it where it will disappoint our expectation, nor
neglect the use of it where it may be turned to ad¬
vantage.
That the human mind is powerfully acted upon by the
approbation or disapprobation, by the praise or blame, the
contempt and hatred, or the love and admiration, of the
rest of mankind, is a matter of fact, which, however it
may be accounted for, is beyond the limits of dispute.
Over the whole field of morality, with the exception of
that narrow part which is protected by penal laws, it is
the only power which binds to good conduct, and renders
man agreeable and useful to man. It is evident, also, that
where there is not great inequality, it is a power, the
binding force of which must be necessarily great; be¬
cause every individual, considered in himself is weak and
helpless as compared with the rest of the community.
Unless, therefore, he can prevail upon them to abstain
from injuring him, he must be exposed to unlimited suf¬
fering. And if, on the other hand, he can prevail upon
them to combine in doing, or in desiring to do, him good,
he is put in the way of receiving perpetually the greatest
advantages. His motive, therefore, to obtain the favour¬
able and to avoid the unfavourable regards of the mem¬
bers of the society in which he lives, is of the highest
order. But he can obtain their favourable, and avoid
their unfavourable sentiments, only by abstaining, with
scrupulous anxiety, from doing any injury to them, and
observing all such modes of conduct as are calculated to
be useful and agreeable to them.
The Value which men set upon these favourable regards
of the persons among whom they live, is strikingly mani¬
fested by some of the most ordinary forms of their dis-
LAW OF NATIONS.
135
ctaw>f course and behaviour. What is more esteemed than cha-
atks. racter? What injury reckoned more deep and unpardon-
ll~~v‘~'/able, than that of the man who exerts himself to take
away unworthily any part of the reputation of his neigh¬
bours ? But what is character, if not the title to the fa¬
vourable sentiments of other men ? And what is the loss
of character, but the opinion of other men that we do not
deserve those favourable sentiments with which they have
been accustomed to regard us ?
Honour and shame, those emotions, the intensity of
which is proved by so many phenomena of human life, are
but the feeling's which attend upon those different situa¬
tions. When a man finds himself in possession of the love,
the esteem, and admiration of those by whom he is sur¬
rounded, he is filled with that delight which the belief of
the secure possession of a great source of benefit cannot
fail to inspire : he is fearless, elated, and confident; the
principal characteristics of that state of mind which we
denominate pride. When he is conscious, on the other
hand, of having forfeited in any degree the favourable sen¬
timents of those among whom he lives, he suffers that de¬
pression which the loss of a highly valued possession is
calculated to create ; he ceases, in some degree, to look
forward to his fellow-men for good, and feels more or less
the apprehension of evil at their hands ; he fears to prove
how far their disapprobation of him reaches, or to excite
them to define it too accurately for themselves; he hangs
down his head, and dares not so much as look them in the
face.
When men are favourably situated for having those
impressions deeply struck, or, more correctly^speaking,
when those combinations of ideas have consistently and
habitually been presented to their minds, the association
becomes at last so indissoluble and strong, as to operate,
even where the connection among the things themselves
may not exist.
When persons who have been educated in a virtuous
society have, from their infancy, associated the idea of
certain actions with the favourable sentiments, and all the
advantages which flow from the favourable sentiments, of
mankind ; and, on the other hand, have associated the
idea of certain other actions with the unfavourable senti¬
ments, and all the disadvantages which flow from the un¬
favourable sentiments, of mankind ; so painful a feeling
comes in time to be raised in them at the very thought of
any such action, that they recoil from the perpetration of
it, even in cases in which they may be perfectly secure
against any unfavourable sentiments which it might be
calculated to inspire.
It will, we apprehend, upon the most accurate investi¬
gation, be found, that this is the only power to which we
can look for any considerable sanction to the laws of na¬
tions ; for almost the only species of punishment to which
the violation of them can ever become amenable : it is
the only security, therefore, which mankind can ever en¬
joy for the benefit which laws, well contrived for this pur¬
pose, might be calculated to yield.
It is, in the next place, incumbent upon us to inquire,
what dependence can be placed upon this security, in the
set of case^ now under consideration ; and in what cir¬
cumstances it is calculated to act with the greatest, in
what with the least efficacy, towards this important end.
A power which is wholly derived from the good which
may follow the favourable, the evil which may follow the
unfavourable, sentiments of mankind, will act most effica¬
ciously upon him who is the most, least efficaciously upon
him who is the least, exposed to receive good and evil
from the immediate inclination of his fellow-men.
It seems to be evident, that he who is most weak, as
m u| compared with the rest of the community, is the most ex¬
po posed to receive good or evil in consequence of their fa¬
vourable or unfavourable sentiments ; and that he, on the
other hand, who is the most powerful, as compared with
them, is the least exposed to receive good or evil in con¬
sequence of those sentiments.
When men are nearly upon equality, no one has any
chance of inducing other people to abstain from hurting
him, but by his abstaining from doing hurt in any way to
them. He has no means of inducing them to do him any
acts of service, but by their expectation of receiving si¬
milar acts of service from him. He is, therefore, intensely
interested in its being generally believed of him, that he
is a man who is careful to abstain from injuring, and ever
ready to exert himself to do services to others.
The case is exceedingly different where one man is
lifted high above others. In that case, he has powerful
means of protection against their hurtful acts, powerful
means of obtaining their services, altogether independent
of his conduct, altogether independent of his disposition
either to abstain from injuring them, or to render them
service.
So far, therefore, as good conduct arises from a man’s
dependence upon the sentiments of others ; and from this
is derived the moral power, to which alone the term moral
sanction or obligation can properly belong; the security
for good conduct is apt to be lessened, in exact propor¬
tion as any one is raised above the level of those com¬
posing the mass of the community. If any man possesses
absolute power over the rest of the community, he is set
free from all dependence upon their sentiments. In this, or
nearly in this situation, is every despot having a well-estab¬
lished authority. So far as a man is educated as a des¬
pot, he can therefore have but few of those associations
on which a conduct beneficent to others depends. He is
not accustomed to look, for the services which he needs,
or the evils which he apprehends, from others, to the
opinion which they may entertain of the goodness or bad¬
ness of his conduct ; he cannot, therefore, have that salu¬
tary train of transitions from the idea of an evil act to that
of the condemnatory sentiments of mankind, and from the
condemnatory sentiments of mankind to the forfeiture of
all those delights and advantages which spring to him
from the operation of their favourable regards ; associations
which in men favourably situated become at last habitual,
and govern the conduct, as it were mechanically, without
any distinct recurrence to the consequences, upon the
thought of which, nevertheless, this salutary and ennobling
sentiment ultimately depends, and from which it has been
originally derived.
If such is the situation of the despot with regard to
these important associations, it is in a proportional degree
the situation of all those who partake of that species of ele¬
vation. In an aristocratical country, for example, a coun¬
try in which there is great inequality of wealth, those
who possess the large fortunes are raised to a great de¬
gree above any chance of receiving evil, or of standing
deprived of any good, because the great mass, the lower
orders, of their countrymen, think unfavourably of them.
They are, no doubt, to a considerable degree dependent
upon what the people of their own class may think of
them ; and it is accordingly found, that those qualities and
acts which are useful to that class are formed into a par¬
ticular, an aristocratical code of morality, which is very
effectually sanctioned by the favourable and unfavourable
sentiments of the aristocratical body, at the same time
that it is exceedingly different from that more enlarged
and all-comprehensive code, on which the happiness of the
greatest number depends, and to which alone the epithet
moral in propriety belongs.
Such being the state of the facts connected with this
important case, it remains to see what are the inferences
bearing upon it which we are entitled to draw from them.
Law of
Nations.
136
LAW OF NATIONS.
Law of We have already ascertained, that the only power which
Nations. can operate to sanction the laws of nations, in other
' words, to reward or punish any nation, according as it
obeys or as it disobeys them, is the approbation and dis¬
approbation of mankind. It follows, that the restraining
force is, in this case, determined by the associations which
they who govern it may have formed with the approba¬
tion and disapprobation of mankind. If they have formed
strong associations of a pleasurable kind with the appro¬
bation, strong associations of the painful kind with the
disapprobation, of mankind, the restraining force will be
great; if they have not formed such associations, it will
be feeble and insignificant. It has, however, appeared,
immediately above, that the rulers of a country, of which
the government is either monarchical or aristocratical, can
have these associations in but a very low degree; as those
alone, who are placed on a level with the great body of
other men, are placed in circumstances calculated to pro¬
duce them. It is only then in countries, the rulers of
which are drawn from the mass of the people, in other
words, in democratical countries, that the sanction of the
laws of nations can be expected to operate with any con¬
siderable effect.
II What is required to give to the Law of Nations its
greatest perfection.—Necessity for a Code of Interna¬
tional Law Rights of Nations.
Having thus ascertained what is the power which re¬
strains from violating the laws of nations, and what the de¬
scription of rulers upon whom its restraining force is the
greatest, we are next to inquire by what expedients the
force of it may be raised to the greatest pitch, and the
greatest amount of benefit may be derived from it.
It is sufficiently recognised, that whatever is intended
to produce any effect as a punishment, produces it in a
greater degree, in proportion as it operates with greater
precision and certainty. The inquiry, then, regards the
means of giving precision and certainty to those senti¬
ments of the world, on which the binding power of the
laws of nations so greatly depends.
Two things are necessary to give precision and cer¬
tainty to the operation of laws within a community. The
one is a strict determination of what the law is ; the se¬
cond, a tribunal so constituted as to yield prompt and ac¬
curate execution to the law. > It is evident that these two
are indispensable requisites. Without them no penalties
can operate with either precision or certainty. And the
case is evidently the same, whether we speak of the laws
which regulate the actions of individual and individual
within the state, or those which regulate the actions of one
state towards another.
It is obvious to remark, in the first place, that, with re¬
gard to the laws of nations, not one of those two indispen¬
sable requisites has ever yet had any existence. It has
neither been determined what the laws in question are,
nor has any common tribunal for cognizance of the viola¬
tions of them ever been constituted. With respect to the
last, not so much as the idea of it seems to have been en¬
tertained. And with respect to the first, though much has
been written, it has been almost wholly in the way of
vague and general discourse. Hardly a single accurate
definition has yet been applied to any part of the subject.
Here, then, we come to what is obviously the grand in¬
quiry ; namely, first, what can be done towards defining
the laws of nations ? and, secondly, what can be done to¬
wards providing a tribunal for yielding prompt and accu¬
rate decisions in conformity with them ? in other words,
for applying with the greatest possible efficacy the opinion
of the wrorld for restraining the violation of them ?
In the article Jurisprudence, to wdiieh it is necessary
for us here to revert, we have sufficiently made it appear, Law of
that the foundation of all law is the constitution of rights. Nations.
Of two parties, unless it is previously determined what^^v>-
each shall enjoy, it can never be determined whether one
has improperly disturbed the enjoyment of the other. To
determine, however, what a party is to enjoy, is to deter¬
mine his rights.
Now then, with regard to nations, the question is, what
ought to be constituted rights ? or, in other words, what
would it be desirable for the good of mankind upon the
whole, that the several nations should respect as the rights
of each other?
This, it is pretty obvious, is one of the most extensive
of all inquiries, far exceeding the limits of an article in
the present work. We can attempt little more than to
show the w?ay in which the inquiry may be carried on.
In the article Jurisprudence, we have endeavoured to
clear up the meaning which in legislation can, without
leading to confusion, be alone attached to the term rights ;
and we have there likewise seen, that there are but two
classes of objects in which individuals can have rights,
namely, things and persons.
The case, we believe, will be found the same with re¬
spect to nations. They also can have rights in nothing
but persons and things. Of course it follows that they
can receive injury in nothing but in persons or things.
The inquiry, however, with respect to the rights of na¬
tions, is not so simple as that with respect to the rights of
individuals; because, between individuals subject to the
same system of laws, the legislature recognises no state of
hostility; but between nations there is the state of war
and the state of peace, and the rights which are under¬
stood to belong to nations are different in these two dif¬
ferent states. In the state of war, nations recognise in
one another very few rights respecting either persons or
things ; they kill the one, and take and destroy the other,
with little other limit than the want of ability. In the
state of peace they respect as rights belonging to one ano¬
ther, nearly the same things which are constituted rights
of individuals, by the ordinary systems of national law.
HI.— What should he recognised as Rights in time of Peace.
— The Property of Individuals.— The Persons of Indi¬
viduals.— The Property or Dominion of the State.—
Dominion in Land.—Dominion in Water.
We shall begin with the consideration of those things
which it would be desirable that nations should respect as
the rights of one another in the time of peace.
And, first, of rights with respect to things. As the
subject of the rights of nations, things may be divided into
two sorts ; things belonging to some individual member of
the nation, and things belonging to the nation in its col¬
lective or corporate capacity.
Those rights in things which the nation guarantees to
its individual members within the nation, it would be de¬
sirable, with hardly any exception, that nations should re¬
spect in regard to one another ; that those things, for ex¬
ample, which the government of the country to which a
man belongs, would regard, and would compel all its sub¬
jects to I’egard, as his property, the governments oi all
other countries should respect, and compel all their sub¬
jects to respect as his property.
There are two states of circumstances in which ques¬
tions may arise between nations, respecting the property
of their respective subjects. The first, where the property
in question, when the cause of dispute arises, is Avithin the
country of the individual to whom it belongs. The second,
where the property has by its owner been previously re¬
moved into the foreign country, with which, or some of the
inhabitants of which, the dispute has arisen.
LAW OF NATIONS.
137
37
atioi-
1. The first set of circumstances exists between two
conterminous countries, the bordering inhabitants of which
being neighbours to one another, may, as any other neigh¬
bours, infringe the properties of one another. The proper
mode of settling these disputes seems to be sufficiently ob¬
vious. The rights of the party complaining should be
adjudged according to the laws of the country to which
he belongs. But the party sued or prosecuted should be
amenable only to the tribunals of the country to which he
belongs ; that is to say, the question should be tried be¬
fore the tribunals of the country of the defendant; but the
definition of the right in question should be taken from
the law of the country to which the plaintiff belongs. It
might in some cases be convenient for countries in this
situation to agree in constituting a common judicature,
appropriated to these disputes, to consist, for example, of
two judges, one of each country, with power to choose a
third when they could not agree.
The injury complained of may be capable of redress by
a remedy of the nature of a civil suit merely ; or it may be
of that more atrocious sort, theft or robbery, for which the
remedy of punishment is required.
It would appear that punishment ought to be apportioned
according to the laws of the country to which the party
who has incurred it belongs. Whatever would be the pu¬
nishment decreed for the offence, if committed against a
man of his own country, such a punishment he ought to
sustain for the offence against the man of the other coun¬
try. The question of punishment is here understood as
extraneous to that of compensation. This ought always
to be made to the party injured, where it is capable of
being made, and in a case of property it is always capable ;
if not by the author of the injury, from want of property,
or other cause, at least by the government of the country
to which he belongs.
2. Where a man has removed his property from his own
into another country, there seems to be no peculiar reason
why it should be regulated by any other laws than those
of the country into which he has removed it; why the
rights which it confers should be otherwise determined,
or the violation of them otherwise punished.
We have now considered, though in a very general man¬
ner (and our limits preclude us from attempting any thing
more), the mode in which hations should agree about the
rights of one another (in other words, the laws they should
establish), in as far as the property of individuals belong¬
ing to them is concerned. After the property of indivi¬
duals, their persons are to be considered as requiring the
protection of laws.
There is more difficulty in determining what is desirable,
as international law, with regard to this part of the subject,
than that which regards the property of individuals. It is
desirable that the persons of the inhabitants of every coun¬
try should receive protection according to the laws of their
own country ; but it is also desirable that each man should
sustain punishment according to the laws of his country ;
and these two objects are to a certain extent inconsistent
with one another.
The inconvenience, however, seems to be greater, in
permitting the inhabitants of one country to be punished
according to the laws of another, than in leaving the inha¬
bitants of one country to the same measure of protection
against injury to their persons from the inhabitants of other
countries, as is aft'orded to the inhabitants of those coun¬
tries by their own laws. Many cases, indeed, may be con¬
ceived, in which this is a measure of protection which all
reasonable men would allow to be inadequate. In such
cases, however, the only remedy seems to be the forma¬
tion of a compact, by which a mode of proceeding, agree¬
able to the sentiments of both parties, may be positively
prescribed. This latter expedient is of course extraneous
VOL. xm.
to that equitable construction which ought to be uniformly Taw ot
applied by the tribunals of one country to the injuries per- Nations,
petrated, by those whom they may have to judge, upon y^*'
the inhabitants of another country. If an inhabitant of
Persia, for example, should force cow-broth down the
throat of an inhabitant and native of Hindustan, the tribu¬
nals of Persia should not punish this outrage as they would
punish one Persian for making another swallow the same
liquid. To the Persian it would be a trifling injury, and
more than a trifling punishment would not be required.
To the Hindu it would be one of the greatest of all con¬
ceivable injuries. It ought to be, therefore, put upon the
same footing with an injury of an equal degree done to a
Persian ; the nature of the injury, not the external act,
should be the object of consideration; and whatever the
punishment which would be awarded against a Persian for
one of the greatest injuries of which he could be guilty to a
Persian, the same ought to be inflicted upon him for this,
one of the greatest which he could occasion to a Hindu.
Besides the cases in which a government, as represen¬
tative of the country, may be injured through the indivi¬
duals who live under its protection, there are cases in
which it may be injured more directly. Certain things
belong as property to the government, without belonging
to any individual; and there are persons, members of the
government, or agents of the government, who may re¬
ceive injuries in that capacity, distinct from those which
affect them as private individuals. These are the cases
to which it now remains that weedirect our attention.
Those things which belong to government as goods and
chattels ; its moveables, for example ; or the lands which
it holds, as any individual holds them, in the way of an
estate ; there seems to be no reason for considering as
subject to any other rules than those applicable to the
goods and chattels which belong to individuals.
Of other things, those to which any government can
claim a right, as representative of a nation, must be either,
first, portions of land, or, secondly, portions of water.
1. The questions which relate to the rights which any
nation may claim in any portion of land, are questions re¬
garding boundaries; and these involve the whole of the
questions respecting the acquisition of dominion.
To have any standard for determining questions with
regard to dominion, the different modes of acquiring do¬
minion must be recognised ; those which are proper to be
allowed and respected by other nations must be distin¬
guished from those which are improper, must be accurate¬
ly defined, and the definitions made known.
For this purpose it is easy to perceive that the same
process is necessary as that for the definition of rights,
described at some length in the article in this work en¬
titled Jurisprudence, to which we must again refer.
It is necessary, according to that example, that the
events which are to be considered as giving commence¬
ment to a right of dominion, and those which are to be
considered as putting an end to it, should be fully enume¬
rated, and accurately defined.
This is the first part of the process. The other part
is, to distinguish the different degrees of dominion. There
is a dominion which is perfect, which includes every
power over the subject in question, and leaves nothing
farther to be acquired, a dominium plenum ; there is also
a dominion, which is but the commencement, as it were,
of dominion, and includes the smallest possible fragment
of a full dominion. These are the two extremes; and be¬
tween them are various distinguishable degrees. All these
should be fully enumerated, and accurately defined.
When any of those events occurs which are to be con¬
sidered as giving commencement to rights, it often hap¬
pens that they are accompanied by circumstances which
limit the right they would otherwise convey, and render
s
LAW OF NATIONS.
138
Law of the dominion less than full. These circumstances ought
Nations, also to be completely enumerated, and the power of each
' to be accurately defined.
If this were done, an international code would be com¬
posed, in which the rights of dominion would be accurate¬
ly defined ; and to determine any question about bounda¬
ries, or about the degree of dominion, nothing farther
would' then be necessary than an adequate inquiry re¬
specting the state of the facts.
The questions would exactly resemble those which we
have already described in the article Jurisprudence, in
analyzing what is called pleading in judicature. In a ques¬
tion about boundaries there is, let us suppose, a district
over which one country affirms that it has a right of do¬
minion, a dominion more or less complete, and another
country denies that it has that right. The first question
is, whether any of those events has occurred which would
give the affirming country a right of dominion ? The se¬
cond question is, whether, if such an event had occurred,
it was accompanied with any of those circumstances which
limit dominion, and render it less than full; and if so, un¬
der what degree of limiting power they are classed? The
third question is, whether, if an event thus giving com¬
mencement to a right of dominion had occurred, any
other event putting an end to that right had subsequent¬
ly occurred ?
We need not here enlarge upon these several topics,
because the}r will be sufficiently understood by those read¬
ers who bear in mind the expositions already given in the
article referred to; and to those who do not, we suggest
the propriety of recurring to that article, as a preparation
for the perusal of this.
It is evidently disproportionate to the limits which we
must here prescribe to ourselves, to enumerate the events
which it would be agreeable to the interests of mankind
in general that nations should regard as giving, and alone
giving, commencement and termination to rights of domi¬
nion, because, in order to aft'ord an enumeration which
would be in any degree instructive, the reasons must be
given why one set of events, and not another, should have
the privilege in question conferred upon them.
It may be proper, however, in the mean time, to ob¬
serve, that the events in question will not be found to be
numerous, nor very difficult to discover. In fact they are,
and among civilized nations almost always have been,
pretty nearly agreed upon ; and they are the questions of
modification, and questions of fact, upon which chiefly
differences have arisen. For example, there is no dispute
that occupancy, where there is no prior right, is an event
which should be considered as giving commencement to
a right of dominion. Neither is there any doubt that the
consent of those who have a right may transfer that right
to others ; or, in other words, that such consent is an event
which gives commencement to a right in those others.
Conquest, also, made in a lawful war, is recognised as an
event of the same description ; and it will be found upon
inquiry that these do in fact constitute the whole. For,
on every occasion on which dominion is acquired, the ter¬
ritory so acquired must beforehand either have belonged
to somebody, or have belonged to nobody. If it belong¬
ed to nobody, occupancy is the only event which can be
supposed to give commencement to the right. If it be¬
longed to somebody, it must be taken from him, either
willingly or by force. If it is taken from him willingly,
we have his consent. If it is taken by force, it is by
conquest in war that the new right is created.
It is evidently, however, farther necessarj', that the
different species of consent should be distinguished, and
those to which it would be proper to attach this investi¬
tive power separated accurately from those from which
it should be withheld. It is here, accordingly, that the
doctrine of contracts would need to be introduced; that La«- G[
the different species of them applicable to this subject, in Nation;
which all treaties would be included, should be enumerat-'''-“v*
ed; that the effects proper to be given to each of them
should be defined; and the mode of interpreting them,
or fixing the sense which they ought to bear, accurately
laid down.
It would also be expedient, after the principal contracts
applicable to international concerns are ascertained, to
exhibit in the international co&e, formula, with blanks to
be filled up, which should be employed by nations on all
occasions of such contracts ; and, being framed with the
greatest possible accuracy, would go as far as it would be
possible by words to go, in excluding ambiguity and the
grounds of dispute.
With respect to conquest, the last event calculated to
give commencement to rights of dominion mentioned in
the above general enumeration, it is allowed, that as there
are some conquests which ought not to be considered as
conferring rights of dominion, there are others which ought
to be considered as doing so. It is evidently necessary,
therefore, that the line of separation should be drawn.
Whether a conquest, however, should or should not be
considered as conferring a right of dominion, depends very
much upon the nature of the war through which it is made.
If the war be what is regarded as just, and the mode of
warfare conformable to the recognised rules, the conquest
is apt to be regarded as conferring a legitimate title; if
the war, and mode of war, be of a contrary description,
the validity of the title conferred by the conquest may be
liable to dispute.
It is evident, therefore, that in order to define the spe¬
cies of conquest on which the investitive power in ques¬
tion should be conferred, the circumstances which render
a war justifiable, and the mode in which it is justifiable to
carry it on, must first be ascertained. This forms the se¬
cond part of our inquiry ; and the question regarding the
investitive power of conquest must be deferred till that
inquiry is performed.
2. Having thus far considered the mode in which
should be determined the rights which nations acquire
over portions of territory or land, it remains that we con¬
sider the mode in which their rights should be determin¬
ed with regard to waters.
Waters, as concerns the present purpose, are either ri¬
vers or the sea.
As the sea involves the questions of greatest extent and
importance, we shall attend to that part of the subject first.
Even in the language of ordinary discourse, the sea is
denominated the common domain of nations.
The first principle with regard to the sea is this, that
all nations have an equal right to the use of it. The uti¬
lity of recognising this principle is so apparent, that it has
never been the subject of any dispute. And all the rights
assigned to nations severally in the enjoyment of this
common domain ought to rise out of this principle, and
to be limited by it. Whatever use any nation makes of
it, should be such as not to prevent a similar and equal
use from being made by other nations. And every use
which cannot be shown to have that effect, should be re¬
cognised as a right by the law of nations.
The principal use which nations make of the sea is that
of a passage for their ships. Agreeably to the principle
which we have recognised, the ships of one nation should
pass in such a manner as not to obstruct the passage of
those of another. The rules according to which the pos¬
sible cases of interference should be regulated are very
simple, and are, in fact, laid down and acted upon with
considerable accuracy. They resemble in all respects
those according to which the vessels of the same country
are made to avoid and to regulate their interferences in
LAW OF NATIONS.
139
llVaw.' the rivers of the country, or upon its coasts. There would
U'ration* be no difficulty, therefore, in making accurate definitions-of
the requisite rights, for insertion in the international code.
* The rights being established, the violations of them
should be punished, on the same principles as those
which we have laid down in regard to the preceding cases.
Either property has been injured, or persons. In either
case, compensation is an indisputable part of the remedial
process, wherever it is practicable. In loss of property it
is fully practicable. It is also practicable in many of the
injuries done to the person. As in the case of offences
committed on land, the rights of the individual who has
suffered should be estimated according to the laws of the
country to which he belongs; but the punishment of the
offender should be measured according to the laws of the
country to which he belongs. 'In the case of piracy,
which is robbery or murder committed by persons whom
no country recognises, and upon whom, therefore, justice
can be demanded from no foreign government, it has
hitherto been the practice that the nation suffering has
taken the punishment into its own hands. Accordingly,
the punishment of piracy has always been extremely se¬
vere. It would be no doubt better if a mode were adopt¬
ed by which it would not be necessary for a nation to be
judge in its own cause. A rule does not seem impossible
to be framed, according to which the punishment of pi¬
racy might be provided for, by referring those accused
of it either to some general tribunal constituted for that
purpose, or to the tribunals of some nation other than
that against which the offence has been perpetrated.
A general law on this subject, to be observed by all na¬
tions, would be highly desirable.
Rules, therefore, seem not difficult to be laid down for
regulating the proceedings of nations on the high seas. A
distinction, however, is drawn between what is called the
Aiff/i, and what is called the narrow seas. By the narrow
seas is commonly meant some portion of sea to a greater
or less extent immediately surrounding a particular coun¬
try, and in which that country claims peculiar privileges.
The question is, whether any such privileges should be
allowed, and, if allowed, to what extent ?
The regulating principle in this, as in other cases, is
the general advantage, the principle of utility. There are
cases in which certain privileges in the waters surround¬
ing a particular country are of so much importance to
that country, and the exercise of those advantages occa¬
sions so very little inconvenience to other nations, that
what is lost by all of them taken together bears no com¬
parison with what is gained by that particular nation. In
these cases the exercise of such privileges should be al¬
lowed ; they should, however, be defined, in as many in¬
stances as possible, and promulgated by insertion in an
international code.
Of the privileges in question, are all those which are es¬
sential, or to a considerable degree subservient, to the na¬
tional security. In some cases the exclusive right of fish¬
ing might perhaps come under the same rule. But this
is in general provided for by the necessity of drawing the
nets, or curing the fish, upon the land, a privilege which,
of course, it is in the power of any nation to give or to
withhold.
In obedience to this equitable principle, it appears that
such foppish privileges as have sometimes been insisted
upon, affording no advantage to one nation which is not
wholly at the cost of others (lowering the flag, for exam¬
ple, and such like impositions), should not be recognised
by the code of nations.
It appears, also, that those tolls which have been some¬
times and are levied at the narrow inlets of some seas, de¬
serve to fall under the same condemnation. The passage
through these inlets is a common good to all the nations
of the earth which may have a motive to use them, a good Taw of
of the highest importance to the nations which are situ- Nations,
ated within, and to which it is the only means of mari-
time communication; and, while it imparts no evil to the
conterminous nation, the toll which that nation levies is
an advantage obtained wholly at the cost of others, and im¬
posing upon them a burden, in the way of obstruction and
trouble, which is compensated for by advantage to nobody.
The waters, we have said, in respect to which rights
should be assigned to nations, are rivers and the sea.
Having stated what appears necessary on the present
occasion with respect to the sea, it remains that we offer
the few observations required on the subject of rivers.
Rivers are either the boundary between two countries,
or they are wholly within a particular country.
Those which are wholly within a particular country, it
seems most agreeable to the principle of utility to regard
as wholly belonging to that country. In the case of na¬
vigable rivers which pass through several countries, it
would indeed be desirable for those countries which are
situated higher up than at the mouth of each, as well as
for all those who might thus have intercourse with them,
that the navigation of such rivers should be free; but it
would be difficult so to regulate this right, as not to af¬
fect the security of the country through which a free na¬
vigation should thus be allowed; and a slight diminution
in its security would be so great a loss to that country as
would require, to compensate for it, a very great advan¬
tage to those by whom the navigation was enjoyed. Un¬
less where this advantage were very great, it would not,
therefore, be agreeable to the principle which should dic¬
tate the laws of nations, that the freedom of the naviga¬
tion should be regulated on any other principles than
those of mutual agreement.
In regai-d to those rivers which flow between two coun¬
tries, the principle of regulation is sufficiently plain. The
benefits derivable from the river should be shared equally
between them. Its principal benefits arise from the fish¬
ing and from the navigation. The right of fishing in most
cases may be fitly distributed, by each party fishing from
its own bank to the middle of the stream. The right of
navigating of each must be so exercised as not to ob¬
struct the right of the other. In this case the same sort
of rules are required to prevent the ships of the two na¬
tions from obstructing one another in a common river, as
are found available to prevent the ships of different indi¬
viduals from obstructing one another in a river belonging
to one country. There is no difficulty, therefore, here,
which it is worth stopping to show how to remove.
IV.— What should be recognised as Rights in time of War.
— What should be regarded as necessary to render the
Commencement of a War just.— What should be regard¬
ed as just and unjust in the Modes of carrying on a
War.
We have now adduced what our limits admit to be said
upon the first great branch of the inquiry relative to the
law of nations, namely, the rights which they should recog¬
nise in one another in the state of peace. We proceed
to the second branch, relating wholly to the state of war.
The questions which present themselves for solution
relating to the state of war, are either those which re¬
spect its commencement, or those which respect the mode
of carrying it on.
With respect to the commencement of a war, the prin¬
cipal question is, What are the conditions which should
be regarded as necessary to render it just?
, As men, in a situation where laws, and the protection
derived from them, do not exist, are left to their own pro¬
tection, and have no means of deterring other men from
LAW OF NATIONS.
140
Law of injuring them, but making them dread injury in return ;
Nations. so nations, which, with respect to one another, have, as we
have seen before, but little protection from the legal sanc¬
tion, are left to supply its place by this dread of injury in
return, which, in the case both of individuals and of nations,
may be called the retributive sanction, and of which, in the
case of nations, war is the principal organ.
From this view of the essence and end of war, we lay
down immediately one pretty extensive proposition with
regard to the conditions necessary to render it just.
As the legal sanction, or punishment for the offences of
individuals, ought to operate only where some right has
been violated, and the violation has been such as to require
it, so the retributive sanction of nations, which is war,
ought to operate only where some right of the nation, or
something which ought to be traced as a right, has been
violated, and where the violation has been such as to re¬
quire that desperate remedy.
But as not all violations which may possibly be commit¬
ted of the rights of a nation will justify it in inflicting war,
the next object is to draw the line of separation, and dis¬
tinguish between those violations of the rights of nations
which justify, and those which do not justify, the extre¬
mity of war.
As the evils which war produces are exceedingly great,
it is, first of all, evident, that no violation of rights which
is not very great, will, upon the principle which we have
so often recognised, suffice to justify it. Of two evils, the
least is the choice of all sound legislation.
Of the violation of the rights of individuals in the same
country, the cases meet for punishment are capable of be¬
ing pointed out with a degree of accuracy not wanting
much of perfection. Of the violation of the rights of na¬
tions committed by one nation against another, the cases
which would justify the remedial operation of war are much
more difficult to define. The difficulty, indeed, is not uni¬
versal ; for there are cases which may be very satisfactorily
defined ; and as far as definition can go, it is of the utmost
importance that it should be carried. Uncertainty, then,
pervades only one part of the field ; which the more we are
able to lessen, the greater is the advantage in favour of hu¬
manity. If a proper code of international law were formed,
there would be certain defined violations of the rights of
nations which would be pointed out, not only as deserving
the indignation and hatred of all the world, but as justify¬
ing the injured nation before all the world, in inflicting
upon its injui:er the calamities of war. There would also
be certain other injuries pointed out, of a more doubtful
character, which might, or might not, according to circum¬
stances not easy to define, be such as to justify recourse to
war. The injuries of this secondary character, also, which
might, or might not, according to circumstances, justify a
war, are capable of being pointed out with a certain degree
of accuracy. To a certain degree, likewise, the circum¬
stances which would convert them into justifying causes,
are capable of being foreseen. So far definition is capable
of extending, and so far, of course, it ought to be carried.
In illustration of this latter class of injuries, we may se¬
lect the most remarkable, perhaps, and important of all the
instances; preparations for a threatened attack. A sense
of security is one of the most valuable treasures of a na¬
tion ; and to be deprived of that sense of security, is one
of the greatest injuries. But what state of preparation
shall or shall not be considered as justifying the threatened
nation in striking the first blow, in order not to give its
enemy the advantage of completing his preparations, and
making his attack just at the moment when it would be
most destructive, it is perhaps impossible to determine for
all cases beforehand; though, no doubt, a certain progress
may be made towards that determination, and the bounds
of uncertainty may be greatly reduced.
We are aware how general, and therefore how unsatis- paiv
factory, these observations are, on the important sub- Nation,
ject of defining those violations of the rights of nations,
which ought to be regarded as justificatory causes of war;
but at the same time it is to be observed, that not much
more could have been done without framing the code, by
actually enumerating and defining the violations for which
that remedy should be reserved.
Another consideration is now to be weighed. It is evi¬
dent, that whatever injuries are done by one nation to an¬
other, compensation may almost always be made for them.
It is equally evident, that whatever injury may have been
sustained, if compensation is made for it, the justificatory
cause of war is removed.
The doctrine of compensation, therefore, is an important
part of international jurisprudence. Before recourse is had
to war for any violation of rights, compensation ought first
to be demanded; and no war, except in cases fit for ex¬
ception, should be regarded as just, which this demand had
not preceded ; a demand which should be made through a
constituted organ, and in a predetermined mode, as we
shall more fully describe in a subsequent page, when we
come to treat of an international tribunal.
As there can be no reason why the demand of compen¬
sation should not always precede the use of arms, except
in cases of such a necessity as will not allow time for de¬
manding compensation, a necessity for the immediate use
of arms, in order to prevent an evil immediately impend¬
ing, those cases of urgent necessity should, as far as pos¬
sible, be sought out and defined.
Other circumstances may be enumerated, as belonging
to this first stage of the remedy against a nation which
places itself in an attitude affecting the sense of security
of any of its neighbours. If a nation is making prepara¬
tions, or executing any other measures calculated to excite
alarm, it may be called upon to desist from them; or it
may be called upon to give security that it will not make
a hostile use of them. Of these securities, hostages are one
of the most familiar instances. Various other instances
will easily present themselves to the consideration of our
readers. Upon this part of the subject, therefore, it is un¬
necessary for us to enlarge.
It thus appears, that we may lay down, with a consider¬
able degree of precision, the conditions upon which the com¬
mencement of a war ought to be regarded as just. It re¬
mains, under this head of inquiry, that we show how it may,
as far as possible, be determined, what ought to be regard¬
ed as just and unjust in the modes of carrying it on.
This is an inquiry of more complexity, a good deal, than
the first. In looking out for a guiding principle, it is evi¬
dently necessary to.keep in view the end to which every
just war is of necessity restricted. That is, compensation
for an injury received, and security that a fresh injury shall
not be committed. Combining this with the grand prin¬
ciple of humanity and utility, in other words, of morality ;
namely, that all evil, wilfully occasioned, and not calculated
to produce a more than equivalent good, is wicked, and to
be opposed, we obtain one comprehensive and highly im¬
portant rule; which is this: That in the modes of carrying
on war, everything should be condemned by the law of
nations, which, without being more conducive,"or more in
any considerable degree to the attainment of the just end
of the war, is much more mischievous to the nation against
whom it is done.
As the end is to be gained, in most cases, only by in¬
flicting a loss of men and property upon the opposing na¬
tion, it would be desirable that the distinction should be
drawn between the modes of inflicting this loss, which are
the most, and those which are the least, calculated to inflict
pain and suffering, without being more conducive to the
end.
LAW OF NATIONS. 141
One distinction is sufficiently remarkable; namely, the the invading army should abstain from the violation of pri- Lavy of
i. distinction between the men who are in arms, or actually vate property, but that it should in return have the be- Nations,
opposed to the designs of the belligerent, and the men who nefit of an unrestricted market; that nothing should be v
are not so ; also between the property which belongs to done on the part of the government of the invaded coun-
the government of the opposing nation, and that which be- try to prevent its subjects from buying and selling with the
longs to private individuals composing the nation. invaders, as they would with any other parties.
With respect to the first class of objects, the men in It may no doubt be true, that the plunder and devasta-
arms, and the property of the government, there is not tion of a province, or other portion of a country, must have
much difficulty. To produce the loss of them, as rapidly an effect in diminishing the resources of the government
as possible, till the end or purpose of the war is obtained, for carrying on the war. In this point of view, it must be
appears to be a privilege which cannot be separated from allowed that the destruction of private property is of some
the right of warring at all. importance to the invading nation with regard to the re-
With respect to the loss of men, indeed, there is an suit of the war. But the question, in settling the difficul-
important restriction. It means the loss of them for the ties of international jurisprudence, is not whether an ad-
purposes of the war, and no more. If it be practicable to vantage is gained, but whether the advantage, such as it is,
put them in a situation in which they can no longer be of be not gained at too great a cost.
any service to the war, all farther injury to them should be If it be certain that the losing party, in consequence of
held unjustifiable. Under this rule falls the obligation so the destruction in question, loses more than the gaining
generally recognised of making our enemies, as often as party gains, it is certain that the two paities, taken to-
possible, prisoners, instead of killing them, and of treating gether, are losers by the proceeding ; and of course that na-
them with humanity while retained in that condition. tions, in the aggregate, are losers upon the whole. IN ay,
That part of the subject, therefore, which relat,es4o men it is certain that each nation, taken by itself, is a loser,
in arms, and to such property as belongs immediately to upon the balance of the cases in which it is liable to lose,
the government, it is not impossible to include in rules of and those in which it is liable to gain. If it loses more in
tolerable precision. The difficulty is with respect to those the cases in which it bears, than it gains in the cases in
individuals who, composing the body of the nation, form which it inflicts invasion, and if it is as liable to beai as
no part of the men in arms, and with respect to the pro- to inflict, which is the usual condition of nations, it follows
perty of such individuals. clearly that it is its interest to concur in a rule which shall
1 Though it would not be correct to say, that these do not protect the property of individuals in cases of invasion,
contribute, or rather that they may not be made to con- Even in that more civilized mode which has been adopt-
tribute, to the means with which the government carries ed by invading armies, of availing themselves of the pio-
on the war ; yet it would be absurd not to recognise a very perty of individuals, by exacting contributions through the
broad distinction between them and the men and things instrumentality of the local authorities; contributions which
which are immediately applied, or applicable to the war. these authorities are left to partition among the people, as
A difference, therefore, equally broad, ought, in reason, to they may deem equitable ; though it is admitted that this
be made in the mode of treating them. The mode of treat- is a much less hurtful proceeuing than military lapine, still
ing the one ought to be very different from that of treat- we think it will easily appear, that the evil inflicted upon
ing the other. As the rule of destruction must be the rule the contributors is greater than the benefits derived to the
with regard to the first, only limited by certain restrictions ; receivers.
so the rule of forbearance and preservation ought to be the Unless the amount thus received by. an invading army
rule with regard to the latter, only to be infringed upon is very considerable, the benefit which is derived, the aid
special and justifying circumstances. which is gained towards accomplishing the end of the war,
Thus far we seem to have travelled with the advantage must be considered as trifling. But if a contribution, the
of light to our path. We may go a little farther with equal amount of which can be of any considerable avail towards
certainty, and say, that, as far as regards the persons of those attaining the object of the war, is levied suddenly upon a
who are not engaged in the immediate business of hostility, particular district, a comparatively small poition of the in-
very few occasions can occur, in which it would be allow- vaded country, it must operate upon the contributors wit r
able, upon any just principle of international law, to do a dreadful weight of oppression. Upon an equal estimate
them any injury. Leaving them out of the question, we of the circumstances, it can, therefore, hardly fail to appear
narrow it to the case of the property belonging to indivi- that, whether the contribution exacted is heavj/ 01 lig it (it
duals; and shall now proceed to see how far the protection must always be heavy to those who sustain it), the loss to
of it can be embraced within general rules. those who suffer must greatly outweigh the advantage to
We must suppose the case which is the strongest, that those who receive. If it be so, this mode of exaction shou c,
of an invading army. The advantage which is capable of it is evident, be forbidden by the law of nations,
being derived to such an enemy, by seizing and destroying If these are the principles upon which an international
the property of individuals, bears, unless in certain very code, regarding this branch of the subject, ought to be con-
extraordinary instances, no sort of proportion to the evil structed, they will enable us to determine the question with
inflicted upon the individuals. This, we presume, cannot regard to the property of individuals in another set of cn-
admit of a dispute. Upon the principle, therefore, so often cumstances, to which the 1’ules of civilized society have
recognised, as dictating the rules which ought in this af- hardly yet begun to be applied. Whatever rules apply to
. fair to be solely obeyed, no such destruction, unless in such the property of individuals found upon the land, the same
instances, ought to be sanctioned by the law of nations, rules ought, by parity of reason, it should seem, to app y
Such property, it is well known, can rarely be counted to it when found upon the sea.
upon as any considerable resource ; because it is to a very I he conduct of nations, however, has hitherto not oeen
great extent in the power of the people invaded to drive conformable to the parity which appeals to belong to t ic
their property away, or to destroy it. The property of in- two sets of cases. Some tenderness, more or less, accor
dividuals in an invaded country would in general be a ing to the progress of civilization, appears to have been
much more certain resource to an invading army, if that shown, by all but savages, to the pioperty of indivi na 8
army were to purchase from them the articles it desired, upon the land, fo this hour the property of mdividua s
And, perhaps, this would be the most advantageous com- upon the sea is made prize of without mercy, by the most
promise of which the circumstances admit; namely, that civilized nations in the world.
142
LAW OF NATIONS.
Law of The notions of piracy, in fact, have, on this subject, un-
Nations. happily prevailed, and governed the minds of men. Pi-
v rates make prey of everything. Sailors, originally, were
all pirates. The seafaring state was a belligerent state, of
almost every vessel against every other vessel. Even when
nations had gradually advanced into a more civilized state,
and w hen their vessels abstained from injury to one another
in a period of peace, they appear, when the ties of peace
were dissolved, and they were placed with respect to one
another in a state of war upon the seas, to have felt the
force of none but their old associations, and to have looked
upon the state of war as a state of piracy. Two nations at
war with one another continue to act towards the property
of individuals belonging to one another at sea, exactly as
two nations of pirates would do.
Assuredly this is a state of things to which the present
intelligence and morality of the world ought speedily to
put an end. The very same reasoning which we have ap¬
plied to the case of the property of individuals upon the
land, is not less conclusive when applied to the property of
individuals upon the sea. The loss to the party losing is
more than an equivalent for the gain to the party that
gains.
There is another consideration of great importance. All
nations gain by the free operations of commerce. If, then,
we u7ere to suppose that the losses and gains of the two
belligerent parties balanced one another, which yet they
never do, there is an advantage derived from their com¬
merce to every nation on the earth to which, in any de¬
gree, either directly or indirectly, that commerce extends;
which advantage is either lost or diminished, by their prey¬
ing upon the property of the individuals belonging to one
another. This, therefore, is an unquestionable balance of
loss to the general community of nations, which the law
of that community ought to endeavour to prevent.
If, then, we should suppose that it were enacted as the
law of nations, that the property of individuals passing on
the seas should be equally respected in peace and in war,
we may proceed to consider whether any disadvantage,
nearly countervailing the general good, would thence ac¬
crue to the- belligerents.
It may be alleged, that a nation at war with another is
retarded in reducing its antagonist, by the riches which
the commerce of that antagonist, if undisturbed, will place
at its disposal. But it is evident that an advantage to one
of two antagonists, when compensated to the other, by a
power to overcome that advantage, exactly equivalent, is
in reality no advantage'at all. Such is the case with the
advantage accruing to the nation with which another is at
war, when the property of individuals upon the sea is al¬
lowed to pass unmolested. If its riches are increased by
freedom of commerce, so are those of its antagonist. The
advantages are equal where the circumstances are equal,
which, in the majority of cases, they undoubtedly are.
If it be still objected, that there may be cases in which
they are not equal, the answer is obvious and incontrover¬
tible. There is no general rule without its exceptions, but
partial evil must be admitted for general good. Besides,
if the case were very remarkable, it might be excepted from
the general rule.
If this were adopted as part of the law of nations, all
those questions respecting the maritime traffic of neutrals,
questions which have been the source of so much trouble¬
some inquiry, so much animosity, and so much mischief,
would be immediately at an end. If the traffic of the bel¬
ligerents, so far as concerned the property of individuals,
were free, so would be that of all neutral nations.
Places actually blockaded, that is, surrounded with
an hostile force for the immediate purpose of being re¬
duced, either by arms or by famine, would still form ex¬
ceptions ; because the admission of ships into them with
supplies, either of food or munition of w’ar, would be di¬
rectly at variance with the very object of the blockade.
In all other cases, the admission either of provisions or'
of instruments of war into a belligerent country ought,
undoubtedly, upon the principle of utility, not to be dis¬
turbed. I he benefit, except in rare and remarkable cases,
could not be material to the country into which they
might enter, nor hence the injury to its antagonist; on
the other hand, that antagonist would enjoy the same pri¬
vilege of the free admission of those commodities, and thus
they would be equal in all respects. The inconvenience,
however, which would thus be saved to the neutrals—the
annoyance of search, the loss by detention, the occa¬
sions of quarrel—are known to be evils of no ordinary mag¬
nitude.
I he desertion of sailors from the ships of a belligerent
to those of a neutral has given rise to disputes in one in¬
stance only, that of Great Britain and the United States
of America. The question to be determined, in laying
down the principles of international jurisprudence, is,
whether this desertion ought to be considered as consti¬
tuting a ground for the general right of search ; in other
words, whether the evil to which a belligerent is exposed
by desertion, or rather by that portion of desertion which
can be prevented by the right of search, is an equivalent
for all the evil which is unavoidably produced by it.
Desertion must take place either from the ships of war
of the belligerent, or from its merchant ships.
In respect to ships of war, it is so easy for a belligerent
to prevent desertion to neutrals, at least in any such de¬
gree as to constitute a great evil, that it would be altoge¬
ther absurd to speak of it as fit to be compared with the
evils arising from the right of search. The only occasions
on which ships of war can be exposed to desertion to neu¬
trals, must be those on which they go into a neutral port.
But on those comparatively rare occasions, they can so
easily take precaution against desertion, that the danger
to which they are exposed is hardly worth regarding.
When the sailors belonging to merchant ships transfer
their services to the ships of a neutral, it is not to be call¬
ed desertion. It can only take place in very consider¬
able numbers when seamen’s wages in the neutral coun¬
try are much higher than in the belligerent. The sailor, in
this case, leaves his own for another country, only be¬
cause he improves his situation by so doing. This is a
liberty which, as it ought to belong to every body, so it
ought not to be withheld from the sailor. If, indeed, any
nation thinks proper to forbid any class of its people to
leave their country, as England with regard to its arti¬
ficers, other countries cannot help that; but they ought
not to be called upon to lend their aid to such an antiso¬
cial regulation, by allowing their vessels to be searched,
as security against its infringement. Besides, it is evi¬
dent that there is a much greater security, arising from
the very nature of the case, against the chance of a na¬
tion s being, to any considerable degree, deprived of its
sailors by any such means. If the sailors go into the neu¬
tral country because wages are higher there, a small num¬
ber only will have gone, when wages, from diminution of
the numbers, will begin to rise in the country which they
have left, and, from increase of the numbers, will begin to
fall in the country to which they have been tempted to
repair. When the w'ages of seamen have thus sufficiently
risen in the belligerent country, which they are sure to
do if the demand for them rises, the sailors will not only
come back from every country in the world, but the sailors
of other countries will hurry along with them; and the
evil of desertion cures itself.
Only two questions of any great importance appear to
remain ; that relating to the march of troops, for a hostile
purpose, through a neutral country, and that relating to
c
LAW OF NATIONS.
143
the extent to which the operations of a successful war
ought to be pursued.
According to the principles which we have already laid
down for regulating the proceedings of a hostile army
even in the invaded country, namety, that of committing
no plunder, and enjoying the right of market, it appears
that the right of passing through a neutral country on si¬
milar terms should be refused to no party. This rule,
while it holds out equal advantages to all belligerents, ad¬
mits, less than any other rule, grounds of dispute.
The end, which we have already described as that alone
the pursuit of which can render any war justifiable, suffi¬
ciently defines the extent to which the operations of a
successful war ought to proceed. The end of every jus¬
tifiable war is to obtain compensation for an injury sus¬
tained, and security against the repetition of it. The last
point, that of security, alone admits any uncertainty. Na¬
tions are apt to exaggerate the demand for security; to re¬
quire too much ; very often unconsciously, from the mere
cravings of self-love; sometimes fraudulently, as a cover
for ambitious views. As the question, however, respect¬
ing what may or may not, in each instance, be sufficient
security, is a question of fact, not of law, it must be de¬
termined, if determined at all, by a tribunal empowered
to take cognizance of the facts.
V.—Of the Construction of an International Code, and an
Internationl Tribunal.—How the Nations might concur in
framing an International Code.—How an International
Tribunal should be constructed.—Form of Procedure be¬
fore the International Tribunal.
We have now, then, laid down the principles by which,
in our opinion, the rights of nations, in respect to one
another, ought to be determined; and we have shown in
what manner those principles should be applied, in order
to come to a decision in the most remarkable cases. The
minor points it is, of course, not in our power to illustrate
in detail; but that will not, we should hope, be difficult,
after the exemplification exhibited, and the satisfactory so¬
lutions at which we seem to have arrived, of all the more
considerable questions which the subject presents.
From what has been shown, it is not difficult to see
what would be the course pursued by nations, if they were
really actuated by the desire of regulating their general
intercourse, both in peace and war, on the principles most
advantageous to them all.
Two grand practical measures are obviously not only of
primary importance toward the attainment of this end, but
are of indispensable necessity toward the attainment of it
in any tolerable degree. These are, first, the construction
of a code ; and, secondly, the establishment of a tribunal.
It is perfectly evident, that nations will be much more
likely to conform to the principles of intercourse which are
best for all, if they have an accurate set of rules to go by,
than if they have not. In the first place, there is less room
for mistake ; in the next, there is less room for plausible
pretexts ; and, last of all, the approbation and disapproba¬
tion of the world is sure to act with tenfold concentration,
where a precise rule is broken, familiar to all the civilized
world, and venerated by all.
How the nations of the civilized world might concur in
the framing of such a code, it is not difficult to devise,
ihey might appoint delegates to meet for that purpose
in any central and convenient place, where, after discus¬
sion, and coming to as full an undertaking as possible
upon all the material points, they might elect some one
person, the most capable that could be found, to put these
their determinations into the proper words and form; in
short, to make a draught of a code of international law,
as effectually as possible providing for all the questions
which could arise, upon their interfering interests, be- Law of
tween two nations. After this draught was proposed, it Nations,
should be revised by the delegates, and approved by them,
or altered till they deemed it worthy of their approbation.
It should then be referred to the several governments, to
receive its final sanction from their approbation; but, in
the mean time, it should be published in all the principal
languages, and circulated as extensively as possible, for
the sake of twro important advantages. The first would
be, that, the intelligence of the whole world being brought
to operate upon it, and suggestions obtained from every
quarter, it might be made as perfect as possible. The
second would be, that the eyes of all the world being fix¬
ed upon the decision of every nation with respect to the
code, every nation might be deterred by shame from ob¬
jecting to any important article in it.
As the sanction of general opinion is that upon which
chiefly, as we have already seen, such a code must rely
for its efficiency, not a little will depend upon the mode
in which it is recognised and taught. The recognition
should in each country have all possible publicity and so¬
lemnity. Every circumstance which can tend to diffuse
the opinion throughout the earth, that the people of each
country attach the highest importance to such a code, is
to themselves a first-rate advantage; because it must be
of the utmost importance to them, that all the nations of
the earth should behave towards them upon the prin¬
ciples of mutual beneficence ; and nothing which they
can do can have so great a tendency to produce this de¬
sirable effect, as its being generally known that they
venerate the rules which are established for its attain¬
ment.
If nations, then, were really actuated by the desire of
regulating their mutual intercourse upon principles mu¬
tually beneficent, they would adopt measures for having
a code of international law constructed, solemnly recog¬
nised, and universally diffused and made known.
But it is not enough that a code should exist: everv
thing should be done to secure a conduct conformable to
it. Nothing is of so much importance for this purpose as
a tribunal; before which every case of infringement should
be tried, the facts of it fully and completely explored,
the nature and degree of the infringement ascertained ;
and from which a knowledge of every thing material to
the case should be as rapidly as possible diffused through
the world; before which also all cases of doubt should re¬
gularly come for determination : and thus wars, between
nations which meant justly, would always be avoided, and
a stigma would be set upon those which justice could not
content.
The analogy of the code, which is, or ought to be, fram¬
ed by each state for regulating the intercourse of its own
people within its own territory, throws all the illustration
which is necessary upon the case of a tribunal for the in¬
ternational code. It is well known, that laws, however
carefully and accurately constructed, would be of little
avail in any country, if there was not some organ, by
.means of which it might be determined when individuals
had acted in conformity with them, and when they had
not; by which also, when any doubt existed respecting the
conduct which in any particular case the law required,
such doubt might be authoritatively removed, and one de¬
terminate line of action prescribed. Without this, it is
sufficiently evident that a small portion of the benefit ca¬
pable of being derived from laws would actually be attain¬
ed. It will presently be seen how much of the benefit ca¬
pable of being derived from an international code must be
lost, if it is left destitute of a similar organ. We shall first
consider in what manner an international tribunal might
be constructed; and, next, in what manner it might be
appointed to act.
144 LAW OF NATIONS.
Law of As it is understood that questions delating to all nations
Nations, should come before it, what is desirable is, that all nations
■v-—should have equal security for good judicature from it, and
should look with equal confidence to its decisions.
An obvious expedient for this purpose is, that all na¬
tions should contribute equally to its formation ; that each,
for example, should send to it a delegate or judge. Its
situation should be chosen for its accessibility, and for the
means of publicity which it might afford; the last being,
beyond comparison, the advantage of greatest importance.
As all nations could not easily, or w ould not, send, it w ould
suffice if the more civilized and leading nations of the
world concurred in the design, with such a number of the
less considerable as would be sure to follow their example,
and would be desirous of deriving advantage from an in¬
strument of protection, which to them would be of peculiar
importance.
As it is found by specific experience, and is, indeed, a
consequence of the ascertained laws of human nature, that
a numerous assembly of men cannot form a good judica¬
tory ; and that the best, chance for good judicial service is
always obtained when only one man judges, under the vi¬
gilant eyes of interested and intelligent observers, having
full freedom to deliver to the world their sentiments re¬
specting his conduct; the whole of these advantages may
be obtained, in this case, by a very effectual expedient. If
precedent, also, be wanted, a thing which in certain minds
holds the place of reason, it is amply furnished by the Ro¬
man law ; according to which, a great number of judges
having been chosen for the judicial business generally of
the year, a selection was made out of that number, accord¬
ing to certain rules, for each particular case.
Every possible advantage, it appears, would be combin¬
ed in the international tribunal, if the whole body of dele¬
gates or judges, assembled from every country, should, as
often as any case for decision came before them, hold a
conference, and, after mature deliberation, choose some
one individual of their body, upon whom the whole duty of
judge should, in that case, devolve ; it being the strict
duty of the rest to be present during the whole of his pro¬
ceedings, and each of them to record separately his opi¬
nion upon the case, after the decision of the acting judge
had been pronounced.
It wmuld be, no doubt, a good general rule, though one
can easily foresee cases in which it would be expedient to
admit exceptions, that the judge, who is in this manner
chosen for each instance of the judicial service, should not
be the delegate from any of the countries immediately in¬
volved in the dispute. The motive to this is sufficiently
apparent.
We apprehend, that few words will be deemed necessary
to show how many securities are thus provided for the ex¬
cellence of the judicial service.
In the first place, it seems impossible to question, that
the utmost fairness and impartiality are provided for in
the choice of the judge ; because, of the two parties in¬
volved in the dispute, the one is represented by a dele¬
gate as much as the other, and the rest of the delegates
are indifferent between them. In general, therefore, it is
evident, that the sinister interest on the two sides being
balanced, and there being a great preponderance of in¬
terest in favour of nothing but a just decision, that inte¬
rest wfill prevail.
The best choice being made of a judge, it is evident
that he would be so situated as to act under the strongest
securities for good conduct. Acting singly, he would bear
the whole responsibility of the service required at his
hands. He would act under the eyes of the rest of the
assembled delegates, men versed in the same species of
business, chosen on account of their capacity for the ser¬
vice, who could be deceived neither with respect to the
diligence which he might exert, nor the fairness and ho. Law of i
nesty with which he might decide; while he would be \
watched by the delegates of the respective parties, hav-^“v* -
ing the power of interest stimulating them to attention;
and would be sure that the merits or demerits of his con¬
duct would be made fully known to the whole, or the greater
part of the world.
The judicatory being thus constituted, the mode of pro¬
ceeding before it may be easily sketched.
The cases may be divided into those brought before it
by the parties concerned in the dispute, and those which
it would be its duty to take up when they were not
brought before it by any of the parties.
A variety of cases would occur, in which two nations,
having a ground of dispute, and being unable to agree,'
would unite in an application to the international tribunal
for an adjustment of their differences. On such occa¬
sions, the course of the tribunal would be sufficiently clear.
The parties would plead the grounds of their several
claims ; the judge would determine how far, according to
the law, they were competent to support those claims;
the parties would adduce their evidence for and against the
facts on which the determination of the claims was found
to depend ; the judge would receive that evidence, and
finally decide. All this is so perfectly conformable“to the
course of pleading, and receiving proof, in the case of suits
between individuals, as analysed and explained in the
article Jurisprudence, that it is unnecessary to be more
particular here. If further exposition is required, it will be
found upon a reference to the article to which we allude.
Decision, in this case, it is observable, fully accomplishes
its end; because the parties come with an intention of
obeying it.
Another, and a numerous class of cases, would probably
be constituted, by those who would come before it, com¬
plaining of a violation of their rights by another nation,
and calling for redress.
This set of cases is analogous to that, in private judica¬
ture, when one man prosecutes another for some punish¬
able offence.
It should be incumbent upon the party thus applying
to give notice of its intention to the party against which
it is to complain, and of the day on which it means that
its complaint should be presented.
If both parties are present when the case comes for¬
ward for trial, they both plead, according to the mode de¬
scribed in the article Jurisprudence ; evidence is taken
upon the decisive facts ; and if injury has been committed,
the amount of compensation is decreed. When it happens
that the defendant is not present, and refuses to plead, or
to submit, in this instance, to the jurisdiction of the court,
the inquiry should notwithstanding go on ; the allegations
of the party present should be heard, and the evidence
which it adduces should be received. The non-appear¬
ance of the party defendant should be treated as an article
of evidence to prove the truth of its opponent’s allegations.
And the fact of not appearing should itself be treated as
an offence against the law of nations.
It happens, not unfrequently, when nations quarrel,
that both parties are in the wrong; and on some of these
occasions neither party might think proper to apply to an
equitable tribunal. This fact, namely, that of their not
applying to the international,,tribunal, should itseli, as
stated before, be marked in the code as an international
offence, and should be denounced as such by the interna¬
tional tribunal. But even when two offending parties do
not ask for a decision from the international tribunal, it is
not proper that other nations should be deprived ot the
benefit of such a decision. If these decisions constitute
a security against injustice from one another to the gene¬
ral community of nations, that security must not be al-
av
Watii
LAW OF NATIONS.
145
lowed to be impaired by the refractory conduct of those
who dread an investigation of their conduct.
Certain forms, not difficult to devise, should be laid down,
according to which, on the occurrence of such cases, the
tribunal should proceed. First of all, it is evident that
the parties in question should receive intimation of the in¬
tention of the court to take cognizance of their disputes
on a certain day. If the parties, one or both, appeared,
the case would fall under one of those which have been
previously as above considered. If neither partyappear¬
ed, the court would proceed to estimate the facts which
were within its cognizance.
It would have before it one important article of evidence,
furnished by the parties themselves, namely, the fact of
their non-appearance. This ought to be considered as
going far to prove injurious conduct on both sides. The
evidence which the court would have before it, to many
specific facts, would be liable to be scanty, from the ne¬
glect of the parties to adduce their pleas and evidence.
The business of the court, in these circumstances, would
be, to state correctly such evidence, direct or circumstan¬
tial, as it had before it; giving its full weight to the evi¬
dence contained in the fact of non-appearance ; and to
pronounce the decision which the balance of the evidence,
such as it was, might be found to support.
Even in this case, in which the practical effect of a de¬
cision of the international court may be supposed to be
the least, where neither party is disposed to respect the
jurisdiction, the benefit which would be derived would by
no means be inconsiderable. A decision solemnly pro¬
nounced by such a tribunal would always have a strong
effect upon the imaginations of men. It would fix and
concentrate the disapprobation of mankind.
Such a tribunal would operate as a great school of po¬
litical morality. By sifting the circumstances in all the
disputes of nations, by distinguishing accurately between
the false colours and the true, by stripping off all dis¬
guises, by getting at the real facts, and exhibiting them
in the true point of view, by presenting all this to the
world, and fixing the attention of mankind upon it by all
the celebrity of its elevated situation, it would teach men
at large to distinguish. By habit of contemplating the
approbation of such a court attached to just proceeding,
its disapprobation to unjust, men would learn to apply
correctly their own approbation and disapprobation ;
whence would flow the various important effects which
those sentiments, justly excited, would naturally and un¬
avoidably produce.
As, for the reasons adduced at the beginning of this
article, the intention should never be entertained of sup¬
porting the decisions of the international court by force
of arms, it remains to be considered what means of an¬
other kind could be had recourse to in order to raise to
as high a pitch as possible the motive of nations respec¬
tively to yield obedience to its decisions.
We have already spoken of the effect which would be
produced, in pointing the sentiments of mankind, and
giving strength to the moral sanction, by the existence of
an accurate code, and the decisions themselves of a well-
constituted tribunal.
To increase this effect to the utmost, publicity should
be carried to the highest practicable perfection. The
code, of course, ought to be universally promulgated and
known. Not only that, but the best means should be in
full operation for diffusing a knowledge of the proceedings
of the tribunal; a knowledge of the cases investigated,
the allegations made, the evidence adduced, the sentence
pronounced, and the reasons upon which it is grounded.
The book of the law of nations, and selections from the
book of the trials before the international tribunal, should
form a subject of study in every school, and a knowledge
VOL. XIII.
of them a necessary part of every man’s education. In
this manner a moral sentiment would grow up, which
would, in time, act as a powerful restraining force upon
the injustice of nations, and give a wonderful efficacy
to the international jurisdiction. No nation would like
to be the object of the contempt and hatred of all other
nations; to be spoken of by them on all occasions with
disgust and indignation. On the other hand, there is
no nation which does not value highly the favourable
sentiments of other nations ; which is not elevated and
delighted with the knowledge that its justice, generosity,
and magnanimity, are the theme of general applause.
When means are taken to make it certain, that what affords
a nation this high satisfaction will followa just and benefi¬
cial course of conduct, that what it regards with so much
aversion will infallibly happen to it if it fails in the pro¬
priety of its own behaviour, we may be sure that a strong
security is gained for a good intercourse among nations.
Besides this, it does not seem impossible to find various
inconveniences, to which, by way of penalties, those na¬
tions might be subjected, which refused to conform to the
prescriptions of the international code.
Various privileges granted to other nations, in their in¬
tercourse with one another, might be withheld from that
nation which thus demeaned itself in a way so contrary
to the general interests. In so far as the withholding of
these privileges might operate unfavourably upon indivi¬
duals belonging to the refractory nations, individuals who
might be little, or not at all, accessory to the guilt, the
effect would be the subject of proportional regret. Many,
however, in the concerns of mankind, are the good things
which can only be attained with a certain accompaniment
of evil. The rule of wisdom, in such cases, is, to make
sure that the good outweighs the evil, and to reduce the
evil to its narrowest dimensions.
We may take an instance first from trivial matters.
The ceremonial of other nations might be turned against
the nation, which, in this common concern, set itself in
opposition to the interests of others. The lowest place in
company, the least respectful situation on all occasions
of ceremony, might be assigned to the members of that
nation, when travelling or residing in other countries.
Many of those marks of disrespect, implying injury nei¬
ther to person nor property, which are checked by penal¬
ties in respect to others, might be free from penalties in
respect to them. From these instances, adduced merely
to illustrate our meaning, it will be easy to see in what
manner a number of considerable inconveniences might,
from this source, be made to bear upon nations refusing
to conform to the beneficial provisions of the international
code.
Besides the ceremonial of other nations, means to the
same end might be derived from the law. A number of
cases might be found in which certain benefits of the law,
granted to other foreigners, might be refused to them.
They might be denied the privilege of suing in the
courts, for example, on account of any thing except some
of the higher crimes, the more serious violations of per¬
son or property.
Among other things, it is sufficiently evident that this
tribunal would be the proper organ for the trial of piracy.
When preponderant inconvenience might attend the re¬
moving of the trial to the usual seat of the tribunal, it
might delegate for that purpose the proper functionaries
to the proper spot.
By the application of the principles which we have thus
expounded, an application which implies no peculiar diffi¬
culty, and requires nothing more than care in the de¬
tail, we are satisfied that all might be done, which is cap¬
able of being done, toward securing the benefits of inter¬
national law. (a. a. a.)
T
Law of
Nations.
146 LAW LAW
Law- LAW-Language. In England all law proceedings, as
Language. inJeed public proceedings of all kinds, were formerly con-
ducted in Norman-French, and even tlie arguments of the
counsel and decisions of the court were delivered in the
same barbarous dialect; an evident and shameful badge
of tyranny and foreign servitude, having been introduced
under the auspices of William the Norman and his sons,
and by which the sneer of the Roman satirist was once
more verified, Gallia causidicos docuit facunda JBritan-
nos. This continued till the reign of Edward III. who,
having employed his arms successfully in subduing the
kingdom of France, thought it unbecoming the dignity of
the victors to use any longer the language of a vanquish¬
ed country. By a statute passed in the thirty-sixth year
of his reign, it was therefore enacted, that for the future
all pleas should be pleaded, shown, defended, answered,
debated, and judged, in the English tongue, but should be
entered and enrolled in Latin ; in the same manner as Don
Alonso X. king of Castile, the great-grandfather of our Ed¬
ward III., obliged his subjects to use the Castilian tongue
in all legal proceedings, and as, in the year 1286, the Ger¬
man language was established in the courts of the empire.
And if our legislature had then directed that the writs
themselves, which are mandates from the king to his sub¬
jects, enjoining them to perform certain acts, or to appear
at certain places, should be framed in the English lan¬
guage, according to the rule of our ancient law, it would
have been a still further improvement. But the record
or enrolment of these writs, and the proceedings thereon,
being calculated for the benefit of posterity, was more
serviceable, because more durable, in a dead and immut¬
able language than in a living and fluctuating one. The
practitioners, however, being used to the Norman lan¬
guage, and therefore imagining that they could express
their thoughts more aptly and more concisely in that than
in any other, still continued to take their notes in Norman-
French ; and when those notes came to be published,
under the denomination of reports, they were of course
printed in that barbarous dialect, which, joined to the
additional terrors of a Gothic black letter, has occasioned
many a student to throw away his Plowden and Littleton,
without venturing to attack a page of them. Yet, upon
a nearer acquaintance, they would in reality have found
nothing very formidable in the language, which differs in
its grammar and orthography as much from the modern
French, as the diction of Chaucer and Gower differs from
that of Pope and Addison. Besides, as the English and
Norman languages were concurrently used by our ances¬
tors for several centuries together, the two idioms natu¬
rally assimilated by a reciprocal interchange; and for
this reason the grammatical construction of each is so
much the same, that an Englishman, with a week’s pre¬
paration, could understand the laws of Normandy, col¬
lected in their Grand Coustumier, as wrell as, if not better
than, a Frenchman bred within the walls of Paris.
The Latin, which succeeded the French for the entry
and enrolment of pleas, and which continued in use for
four centuries, answers so nearly to the English, that it is
not at all surprising that it should generally be imagined
to have been totally fabricated at home, with little more
art or trouble than by adding Roman terminations to
English words. But in reality it was an universal dialect,
spread throughout all Europe, at the irruption of the
northern nations, and accommodated and moulded to the
purposes of lawyers with peculiar exactness and precision.
This is principally owing to the simplicity, or, it may be,
the poverty and baldness of its texture, being calculated
to express the ideas of mankind just as they arise in the
human mind, without any rhetorical flourishes or perplex¬
ed ornaments of style. For it may be observed that those
laws and ordinances are generally the most easily under¬
stood, in compiling which, strength and perspicuity, not Law
harmony or elegance of expression, have been principally Langu^
consulted. These northern nations, or rather their legisla-'^vw
tors, though they resolved to make use of the Latin tongue
in promulgating their laws, as being more durable and more
generally known than their own Teutonic dialects, yet,
either through choice or necessity, they frequently inter¬
mixed therein some words of Gothic origin ; a circum¬
stance which is more or less the case in every country of
Europe, and therefore not to be imputed as any peculiar
blemish in English legal latinity. The truth is, that what
is generally denominated Law-Latin is in reality a mere
technical language, calculated for eternal duration, easy
to be apprehended both in present and future times, and
on these accounts best suited to preserve the memorials
which are intended for perpetual rules of action. The
rude pyramids of Egypt have endured from the earliest
ages, whilst the more modern and elegant structures of
Attica, Rome, and Palmyra, have sunk beneath the wast¬
ing influence of time.
As to the objection of locking up the law' in a strange
and unknown tongue, this is of little weight with regard
to records, which few have occasion to read, but such as
either do or ought to understand the rudiments of La¬
tin. And besides, it may be observed of the Law-Latin,
as Sir John Davis observes of the Law-French, “ that it
is so very easy to be learned, that the meanest wit that
ever came to the study of the law doth come to under¬
stand it almost perfectly in ten days without a reader,”
It is true, indeed, that the many terms of art with which
the law abounds are sufficiently harsh when latinized,
and, as Mr Selden observes, may give offence “ to some
grammarians of squeamish stomachs, who would rather
choose to live in ignorance of things the most useful and
important, than to have their delicate ears wounded by
the use of a word unknown to Cicero, Sallust, or the other
writers of the Augustan age.” Yet this is only what
must unavoidably happen when things of modern use, of
which the Romans had no idea, and consequently no
phrases to express them, come to be delivered in the La¬
tin tongue. It would puzzle the most classical scholar to
find an appellation, in pure latinity, for a constable, a re¬
cord, or a deed of feoffment; and it is therefore to be im¬
puted as much to necessity as ignorance, that they were
styled in our forensic dialect, co7istabularius, recordum,
andfeoffamentum. Thus, again, another uncouth word
of our ancient laws, the substantive murdrum, or the verb
murdrare, however harsh and unclassical it may sound,
was necessarily framed to express a particular offence,
since no other word in being, occidere, interjicere, necare,
or the like, was sufficient to express the intention of the
criminal, or quo animo the act was perpetrated, and there¬
fore by no means came up to the notion of murder at pre¬
sent entertained by law, viz. killing or slaying with malice
aforethought.
A similar necessity produced a similar effect at Byzan¬
tium when the Roman laws were converted into Greek
for the use of the oriental empire ; lor, without any regard
to Attic elegance, the lawyers of the imperial courts made
no scruple to translateJidei commissarios, <pidsi xopgiGaapovg;
cubiculum, xovSoux.'kziov; jilium-familias, vaibx-fpagjiXiag-, re-
pudium, gixouhiov, compromissum, ; reverentiaet
obsequium, geuzgzyr/u nut ofifcxoviov; and so in many other in¬
stances. They studied more the exact and precise im¬
port of the w'ords, than the neatness and delicacy of their
cadence. And it may be suggested, that the terms of the
law are not more numerous, more uncouth, or more diffi¬
cult to be explained by a teacher, than those of logic,
physics, and the whole circle of Aristotle’s philosophy,
nay, even of the more polite art of architecture and its
kindred studies, or the science of rhetoric itself. Sir Tho-
:.u
'langiige
pf II
LAW
L A W
147
J#n.
mas More’s famous legal question contains in it nothing
more difficult than the definition which in his time the
philosophers currently gave of their materia prima, the
groundwork of all natural knowledge, that it is “ neque
quid, neque quantum, neque quale, neque aliquid eorum
quibus ens determinatur or than the subsequent explana¬
tion given by Adrian Heereboard, who assures us that
“ materia prima non est corpus, neque per formam corpo-
reitatis, neque per simplicem essentiam : est tamen ens,
et quidem substantia, licet incornpleta; habetque actum
ex se entitativum, et simul est potentia subjectiva.” The
law, therefore, with regard to its technical phrases, stands
upon much the same footing with other studies, and re¬
quires only the same indulgence.
This technical Latin continued in use from the time of
its first introduction till the subversion of the ancient con¬
stitution under Cromwell, when, amongst many other in¬
novations, the language of our records was altered and
converted into English. But at the restoration of Charles
II* this novelty was no longer countenanced, the practi¬
tioners finding it very difficult to express themselves con¬
cisely or significantly in any other language than the La¬
tin. And thus it continued without any sensible incon¬
venience until about the year 1730, when it was again
thought proper that all proceedings at law should be in
English, and it was accordingly so ordered by statute
4 Geo. II. c. 26. This was done in order that the common
people might have knowledge and understanding of what
was alleged or done for and against them in the process
and pleadings, the judgment and entries in cause. It is
doubtful how far this has answered the purpose; for there
is reason to suspect that the people are now, after many
years experience, altogether as ignorant in matters of
law as before. On the other hand, certain inconveniences
have already arisen from the alteration. Many clerks and
attorneys are now hardly able to read, much less to under¬
stand, a record even of so modern a date as the reign of
George I. It has also enhanced the expense of all legal
proceedings. For, since the practitioners are confined
to write only a stated number of words in a sheet, and as
the English language, through the multitude of its parti¬
cles, is much more verbose than the Latin, it follows that
the number of sheets must be greatly augmented by the
change. I he translation also of technical phrases, and
the names of writs and other process, were found to be so
very ridiculous (a writ of nisi prius, quare impedit, fieri
facias, habeas corpus, and the rest, not being capable of
an English dress with any degree of seriousness), that in
two years it was found necessary to make a new act, 6
Geo. II. c. 14, which allows all technical words to con¬
tinue in the usual language, and has thereby defeated
every beneficial purpose of the former statute/
LAW, Joiin, commonly known by the name of the Pro¬
jector, was the eldest son of William Law, and was born at
Edinburgh in the month of April 1671. His father fol¬
lowed the profession of goldsmith or banker, with so much
success, that he was enabled to purchase the lands of Lau-
riston and Randleston, which afterwards descended to his
son. The latter was educated at Edinburgh, where he is
said to have made some progress in literature ; but the bent
of his genius having led him to study arithmetic and geo-
- metry, he attained such proficiency in these branches, as
to be able to solve with facility the most intricate problems;
and he likewise made himself master of algebra. The prin¬
ciples of public and private credit, the state of trade and Law, John,
of manufactures, the theory and practice of taxation, and
other matters connected with political economy, also en¬
gaged his attention ; and the accession of knowledge result¬
ing from these inquiries laid the foundation of his future
eminence. But he soon became noted as a man of plea¬
sure as well as of study. Having lost his father before he
had completed his fourteenth year, he was thus left at an
early age without paternal control; and as the graces of a
naturally handsome person were improved by the acquisi¬
tion of external accomplishments, Jessamy John, or Beau"
Law, as he was indifferently called by his companions, ad¬
dicted himself to the practice of all games of chance, skill,
and dexterity, and appears to have engaged in other pur¬
suits of a still more questionable character. In 1694, he
visited London, where his wit and accomplishments procur¬
ed him admission into the first circles, whilst his extrava¬
gance speedily involved him in difficulties. At this time he
was noted for his propensity to deep play, and for his gal¬
lantries amongst women. By the former, he injured his
fortune ; in consequence of the latter, he narrowly escaped
an ignominious end. An intrigue which he had with a Mrs
Lawrence proved the occasion of a quarrel between him and
one Mr Edward Wilson ; a hostile meeting ensued, and Mr
Law killed his antagonist on the spot. He was immediate¬
ly apprehended, and brought to trial at the Old Bailey, on
a charge of murder; and being found guilty, received sen¬
tence of death. Upon a representation of the case to the
crown, however, Law obtained a pardon; but an appeal
being lodged by a brother of the deceased, he was detained
in the King’s Bench prison. This appeal was brought be¬
fore the court of King’s Bench in Trinity-term 1694 ; and
as the exceptions taken on the part of Law were overruled
by the court, the latter, judging it prudent not to await the
result, found means to escape from prison,1 and retired to
the Continent.
During his stay abroad, he acted for some time as secre¬
tary to the British resident in Holland, and occupied him¬
self in improving his knowledge of financial operations, and
particularly in making himself acquainted with the consti¬
tution and practical operation of the bank of Amsterdam.
He returned to his native country in 1700, and in that
year appears to have written his Proposals and Reasons
for Establishing a Council of Trade, which was published
at Edinburgh early in 1701. His project met with no en¬
couragement ; but the publication had the effect of making
him known to some of the principal personages of the
country, including the Duke of Argyll, his sons the Mar¬
quis of Lorn and Lord Archibald Campbell, the Marquis
of Tweeddale, and other persons of distinction. Relying
upon the support of these noblemen, he offered to the Scot¬
tish parliament, in 1705, a plan for removing the difficul¬
ties under which the kingdom then laboured from the scar¬
city of specie, and the stoppage of payments by the bank ;
and, with a view to further his object, he published another
work, entitled Money and Trade considered, with a Pro¬
posal for Supplying the Nation with Money, which appeared
at Edinburgh the same year. His “ proposal" was, that
commissioners, to be appointed by an act, under the con¬
trol of parliament, should be empowered to issue notes,
either in the way of loan, at ordinary interest, upon landed
security, the debt, however, not to exceed half, or at the
most two thirds, of the value of the land; or upon land-
pledges, redeemable within a certain period, to the full
John T !w nLsn<!T Gazeittf1°f Monday’ Tth /anuary 1695, a reward of fifty pounds was offered for the apprehension of “ Captain
John Law, a Scotchman, lately a prisoner in the King s Bench for murther, ’ who is described as “ a very tail, black, lean man well
verv^avourlhlP^/001 f1?11’ Pock-holes in his Gee, big high nosed, speaks broad and loud.” This description, which conveys no
eiy iav curable idea of Kaw s personal appearance, and differs from his real portrait, is supposed by Mr Wood to have been drawn
“uCeS rrs “„,tscaF-The of “ Ca‘,tai"’'’wUch is oti,“wise “ s°“d
148
LAW.
Law, John, value of the land; or, lastly, upon sale irredeemably to the
"—amount of the price agreed upon. Paper-money, thus issued
and secured, would, he conceived, be equal in value to gold
and silver money of the same denomination, and might
even be preferred to these metals, as not being, like them,
liable to fall in value. But this scheme, though supported
by the united weight of the court party, and of that called
the squadrone, headed by the Duke of Argyll and the Mar¬
quis of Tweeddale, was rejected by the parliament, which
resolved, “ that to establish any kind of paper credit, so as
to oblige it to pass, was an improper expedient for the na¬
tion.” The rejection of the plan was occasioned by an ap¬
prehension, that if it were adopted, all the estates of the
kingdom would thereby be brought to a complete depend¬
ence upon the government.
Mr Law now resolved to abandon his native country, and
to try his fortune abroad. He resided some time at Brus¬
sels, where he became noted for extraordinary success at
play; and in two excursions which he made to Paris, his
good fortune at the gaming-table became still more con¬
spicuous. Having visited the principal cities of Italy, he
continued the same career, playing at all sorts of games,
and betting and speculating in the public funds and banks,
with uninterrupted success; insomuch that, in the year 1714,
he was worth upwards of L.l 10,000 sterling. During these
rambles, Law, having the advantage of a graceful figure
and an insinuating address, was everywhere well received
by persons of the highest quality. At Florence he became
acquainted with the Duke de Vendome, whom he had the
honour to oblige with the loan of a considerable sum of
money. At Neufchatel he obtained access to the Prince
of Conti, to whom he imparted some of his financial pro¬
jects. During a short residence at Turin, he communi¬
cated to Victor Amadeus, king of bardinia, a scheme for
aggrandising his territories, of the same nature as thatwhich
he afterwards proposed to the Duke of Orleans; but the
prudent monarch declined embarking in so perilous an ad¬
venture, observing to the projector, that his dominions were
too small for the execution of so great a design, and that^
France was the proper theatre for such speculations. , “ If
I know the disposition of the people of that country, ad¬
ded Victor Amadeus, “ I am sure they will relish your
schemes.; and therefore I would advise you to go thither
without delay.”
Law took the advice which was thus given him, and re-,
turned to Paris, where he arrived in 1714, not long before
the death of Louis XIV. He was more favourably received
than on the occasions of his former visits, when he appears
to have been regarded as a mere adventurer; and soon
gained the confidence of the Duke of Orleans to such a de¬
gree, that he was not only admitted to the convivial parties
of the regent, but even nominated one of his counsellors of
state. At this time the French finances were in the greatest
disorder, indeed in a situation accounted desperate ; the
nation was burthened with an immense load of debt, con¬
tracted during the expensive wars of Louis XIV.; and the
people groaned under the intolerable pressure of the taxes
which had been imposed for payment of the interest. All in¬
dustry was thus checked, and trade in a manner annihilated;
manufactures, commerce, and navigation, had almost ceased;
the merchant and the trader were reduced to beggary, and
the artificer was compelled, for want of employment, to leave
the kingdom. In a word, the state of affairs was such, that
it had been debated in council, and actually proposed to
apply a spunge to the debt, and to seek relief by means of
a national bankruptcy. The proposal, however, was reject¬
ed by the regent, and a commission appointed to inquire
into the claims of the state creditors, and endeavour to in¬
troduce some degree of order into the public finances. At
this calamitous crisis, when the surplus of the public re¬
venue, after payment of the interest of the debt, was found
insufficient to defray the necessary expenses of the civil Law,Joi,t
government, Law came forward with his favourite nos-'—-n,
trum or panacea, and proposed to liquidate the debt, by
establishing a bank for issuing notes secured upon landed
property, and on the unalienable impledgement of all the
royal revenues. The project seems to have been approved
of, but as the conjuncture was thought unfavourable for
risking so bold an experiment, his application proved inef¬
fectual. Nothing discouraged, Law requested and obtained
permission to establish a private bank, to consist entirely of
funds advanced by himself, and others who chose to em¬
bark in the undertaking. The letters-patent, which are dat¬
ed the 2d and 20th of May 1716, specify the principles upon
which the bank had been established, as well as the regu¬
lations according to which it was to be conducted. The
scheme promised success, and, in fact, the General Bank
of Law and Company had acquired great credit, when, in
December 1718, it was dissolved by an arret of the regent,
who, observing the advantages resulting from the establish¬
ment, resolved to take it into the hands of government; a
resolution which could not be very agreeable to the founder
and his associates in the enterprise. Law, however, was
named director-general of the Royal Bank, in which his
own had merged ; and branches were established at Lyons,
Rochelle, Tours, Orleans, and Amiens.
Law now began to develope the stupendous project he
had long meditated, and which afterwards became so well
known to all Europe, under the name of the Mississippi
System. This scheme was nothing less than the vesting
of the whole privileges, effects, and possessions of all the
foreign trading companies, the great farms, the mint, the
general receipt of the king’s revenues, and the management
and property of the bank, in one great company, who, hav¬
ing thus in their hands all the trade, taxes, and royal re¬
venues, might be enabled to multiply the notes of the bank
to any extent they pleased, doubling or even tripling at
will the circulating medium of the kingdom, and, by the
immensity of their funds, possessed of a power to carry the
foreign trade and the improvement of the colonies to a
height altogether unattainable by other means. Ibis mon¬
strous and impracticable monopoly was approved of by the
regent, and by letters-patent a commercial company was
established, under the name of the Company of the West;
to which was at the same time granted the whole province
of Louisiana, a country watered throughout its whole ex¬
tent by the Mississippi, from which the project accordingly
took its name. The scheme was well calculated to entrap
the unwary and to seduce the speculative. Of this company
200,000 actions or shares were issued, at 500 livres each,
and the subscriptions were made payable in a depreciated
paper-currency, called billets d'etat, which, however, in the
subscriptions, was taken at its full value. This could not
fail to operate as a tempting bait to the holders of these
billets or notes to lay them out in the purchase of shares,
especially since the depreciation amounted to between sixty
and seventy per cent. The company thus became credi¬
tors of the king to the extent of a hundred millions of livres,
the interest of which sum was fixed at the rate of four
per cent.
Law, who had now advanced high in the regent’s favour,
was of course named director-general of the Company of
the West, and thus intrusted with the development of his
own stupendous project. Louisiana having been repre¬
sented as a region abounding in gold and silver, and pos¬
sessing a fertile soil capable of the highest cultivation, the
actions or shares were bought up with the greatest avidity;
and such was the rage for speculation, that the unimproved
parts of the colony were actually sold for 30,000 livres
the square league. In pursuance of the scheme, the farm
of tobacco was made over to the company at an advance
of rent exceeding two millions of livres. Soon afterwards
LAW. 149
!y j«n. they acquired the charter and effects of the Senegal Com- highest quality employed every artifice, sometimes at the Law, John,
y JL' panv . anj this was succeeded by a still more important ac- risk of their necks, to attract his passing notice.3 The v'-—v—^
1 quisition, namely, the exclusive privilege of trading to the property which he acquired was immense. He purchased
“ East Indies, China, and the South Seas, together with all no less than fourteen estates with titles annexed to them,
1 the possessions and effects of the China and India com- and amongst these the marquisate of Rosny, which had
1 panics, now dissolved, upon the condition of liquidating all belonged to the illustrious Sully, the friend and minister of
5 just claims against them. Upon this occasion, the Company Henry IV. About this period, too, a free pardon for the
of the West assumed the title of Company of the Indies ; murder of Mr Wilson was conveyed to him from Eng-
1 and 50,000 new shares were ordered to be constituted, at land ; and Edinburgh, proud of having produced so great
) 550 livres each, payable in coin. The price of actions a personage, transmitted to him the freedom of the city in
1 quickly rose to 1000 Uvres each. On the 25th of July 1719, a gold box. By his abjuration of the Protestant religion,
( the mint was made over to this company for a considera- the only obstacle which stood in the way of his advance-
1 tion of fifty millions of livres, to be paid to the king within ment to the highest offices in the state was soon after-
1 fifteen months ; on the 27th of August following, the regent wards removed ; and, on the 5th of January 1720, he was
3 took out of the hands of the farmers-general, and made appointed comptroller-general of the finances. A few
f over to them, the great farms, for which they agreed to days previous to this, the Academy of Sciences had elect-
5 pay an advance of rent of three millions and a half of livres ; ed him one of its honorary members; and the flattering
( and, on the 31st of the same month, they also obtained the incense of poetry was offered up at the same shrine with
1 o-eneral receipt or collection of the other branches of the the homage of an infatuated people. Thus the asto-
1 king’s revenue. Having acquired all these grants, and nished world beheld an obscure foreigner, of doubtful re-
J 1 thus concentrated in themselves not only the whole foreign putation and questionable character, rise in a few months
l( trade and possessions of France, but also the collection and from a private condition to the high station of prime mi-
1 management of the royal revenues, they promised an an- nister of France, and govern fora time, with almost abso-
£ nual dividend of 200 livres on every share ; the price of lute power, one of the greatest and most enlightened na-
1 actions instantly rose in the market to 5000 livres ; and the tions of Europe. It might well be said of him, Tollitur in
I public ran with such eagerness upon the last creation of altum id casu graviore cadat.
II stock, that nearly double the requisite sum was subscribed, But after having raised himself to such an unexampled
1 whilst the greatest interest was exerted, and every strata- eminence, Law at length fell a sacrifice to the intrigues
r gem put in practice, to secure places in that subscription, of the other ministers, who, partly from envy, and partly
> The frenzy now became general. A rage for the acquisi- from apprehension, combined with ignorance, undermined
i tion of shares in the India Company seized and infatuated the insecure fabric he had reared, and thus precipitated
all ranks in the kingdom. Clergy and laity, peers and pie- its fall. The credit of the bank and of the India Com-
i beians, princes and peasants, statesmen and magistrates, nay, pany had attained its height in November 1719, when
c even ladies, all, in short, who either had or could procure shares of the latter sold for more than 10,000 livres each,
i money for the purpose, turned stockjobbers, outbidding and money was so abundant in the former that the direc-
c each other with such avidity, that in November 1719, the torsagreed to lend any sum upon proper security at twoper
i price of shares rose to above 10,000 livres, or (when the cent. But amidst the general delirium, there were symp-
1 depreciation of the billets d'etat is taken into account) more toms which evidently betokened an approaching revulsion.
£ than sixty times the sum they originally sold for. Nothing The most alarming of these was a constant drain of spe-
a was talked of but actions ; every place echoed with Missis- cie from the bank, either for the purpose of being hoard-
[ sippiand Quinquempoix.1 All classes appeared to have but ed or sent abroad. Astonished at their exorbitant gains,
i one object, one pursuit. Mechanics laid aside their work, the original proprietors of the company thought only of
a tradesmen forsook their shops, and persons of all grades converting their shares into gold, and realizing the for-
!: neglected their professions or employments, to embark in tunes which they had so suddenly acquired ; and it was
i this new occupation ; whilst even the few who observed computed that not less than 500 millions of Uvres, the pro-
r | some degree of moderation, showed by their conduct how perty of persons of this description, had been sent out
t little concern they took in affairs foreign to the Mississippi of France. To avert the danger which thus threatened
1 scheme.2 The delirium had reached its culminating point, the system, several edicts were issued early in 1720, by
Mr Law now blazed a meteor of unequalled splendour, which payments in specie were restricted to small sums,
( He possessed the ear of the Duke of Orleans ; he was al- and the standard of the coin was kept in continual fluc-
{ most adored by the people, ever ready to worship at the tuation, whilst bank-notes were declared to remain inva-
i shrine of the idol of the hour; and he was surrounded riable, and rents, taxes, and customs, were made payable
i, by princes, dukes, peers, marshals, and prelates, who all in notes. But what crowned all, was the edict of the 27th
) 1 courted his friendship, and even seemed ambitious of his February 1720, prohibiting individuals, as well as secular
i I patronage. Nobles were content to wait in his ante- or religious communities, from having in their possession
j chambers, like the meanest subjects ; and ladies of the more than 500 livres in specie, under the penalty of a
1 The street where the stockjobbing was at first carried on.
■* The unexampled rise in the price of actions enabled obscure and humble individuals to acquire at once princely fortunes; and
many amusing anecdotes are told of persons thus suddenly raised to affluence. A footman having realised a large sum, provided him¬
self with a carriage ; but the first day it drew up at his door, obeying the instinctive habit of his calling, he, instead of stepping into
the vehicle, mounted up to his old station behind it. Another of the same fraternity, who had obeyed the like familiar impulse, endea¬
voured adroitly to cover his mistake by pretending that he got up merely to see if there was room at the back for two or three more
lacqueys, whom he was resolved to hire instantly. Law’s coachman had made so great a fortune that he asked a dismission from the
service of his master, which was granted, on condition of his procuring another as good as himself. Cook-maids and waiting-women
appeared at the opera bedizzened with jewels and finery ; many who had not a dozen livres in the world suddenly “ tumbled from a
garret into a carriageand the son of a baker at Toulouse, being desirous of having a superb service of plate, purchased the contents
of a goldsmith’s shop for 400,000 livres, and sent them home to his wife, with orders to set them out properly for supper. In a word,
property underwent a new and most grotesque distribution.
3 The regent’s mother asserts, in one of her letters, that “ si Laws le vouloit, les femmes Francoises lui baiseroient la derrierea
strong expression, certainly, but one which shows that all ideas of delicacy, or even decency, were absorbed by the cupidity and ava¬
rice which had taken possession of the public mind.
150
L A W.
Law, John, fine, and confiscation of all sums found exceeding that
"amount; a measure which could scarcely fail to sow dis¬
trust in the bosom of families, and to excite alarm in the
public mind. Still the delusion prevailed. On the 23d of
February, a few days before the publication of this edict,
the Royal Bank had been incorporated with the company,
and the king not only remained guarantee of the bank¬
notes, but gave up to the company all the profits made by
the bank since December 1718, when the government had
taken it into its own hands. Meanwhile, the manufacture
of notes proceeded with so much activity, that, by the 1st
of May 1720, paper-money had been fabricated to the
amount of more than 2600 millions of livres, or nearly
L.110,000,000 sterling; whilst the specie in the kingdom
was estimated at only 1300 millions of livres, or about
L.52,000,000 sterling. In this state of matters, Cardinal
Dubois and M. d’Argenson represented to the regent
that it had become necessary to equalize the proportion
between the notes and the coin, either by reducing the
value of the one to the extent of a half, or by doubling
that of the other.
This extraordinary point was debated in council, where
it was opposed by some of the members, amongst whom
was the comptroller-general, who strenuously contended
for letting matters remain as they were; but the majority
being in favour of the proposition for lowering the value
of the paper, it was decided accordingly ; and, on the 21st
of May 1720, an edict was issued, which, contrary to all
sound policy, and even to the most solemn stipulations,
reduced the value of the company’s bank-notes one half,
and fixed their actions or shares at 5000 livres. By this
unjustifiable and fatal step, the whole paper fabric was
destroyed in an instant, the notes lost all credit, and next
day a man might have starved with 100 millions of paper
money in his pocket. The consternation with which all
ranks were seized was soon converted into rage, and it be¬
came necessary to station troops in different parts of the
capital, to prevent the consequences to be apprehended
from the fury and despair of the populace. Disorder and
confusion reigned everywhere; seditious and inflamma¬
tory libels were posted up and distributed; and the life of
the regent himself was threatened.1 Some conception
may be formed of the distress of the people, when it is
considered that at the time when the bank thus stopped
payment, and the value of paper money instantly sunk to
zero, not less than 2,235,085,590 livres, or upwards of
L.90,000,000 sterling in notes, were in circulation. Law
was of course peculiarly obnoxious to popular odium,
which he endeavoured in vain to allay by resigning into
the hands of the regent his office of comptroller-general,
on the 29th of May; but, though several times exposed
to imminent danger, from the vengeance both of the par¬
liament and the people, he remained in France until to¬
wards the close of the year 1720, when he withdrew to
Brussels; and soon afterwards his whole property was
confiscated, and his brother William sent to the Bastile.
Law arrived at Brussels on the 22d of December 1720,
and, after waiting there for some time, in the vain expec- Law,jot
tation of being recalled to France, set out for Venice,v>—
which he reached early in January J721 ; he then visited
other places on the Continent, and, in October, arrived in
England, for the ostensible purpose of pleading the king’s
pardon. He was at first well received, and visited by per¬
sons of distinction ; but when it was discovered that the
fallen financier was in a state almost bordering upon desti¬
tution, his friends began to fall off, and, of those who had
known or perhaps courted him in his day of power, he
could find none good-natured enough to lend him a thou¬
sand pounds. In a letter addressed to Mrs Howard, after¬
wards Countess of Suffolk, he calls that lady his “ only
friend an avowal which affords a striking instance of the
instability of fortune, power, and friendship. After resid¬
ing some years in England, this extraordinary man return¬
ed once more to the Continent, and closed his chequered
career at Venice, where, on the 21st of March 1729, he
died in a state but little removed from indigence, in the
fifty-eighth year of his age. Soon after his death appear¬
ed the following epitaph, the point of which reminds us
of the bitter jests which appeared upon the occasion of his
fall:—
Ci git cet Ecossois celebre,
Ce calculateur sans £gal,
Qui, par les regies de I’algebre,
A mis la France a I’hopital.
We do not think that any great difference of opinion can
now be entertained respecting the real character of Law’s
project; and indeed it seems to be generally agreed that,
even if it had not been violently interrupted by the edict
of the regent, it was too insecure in its principles to have
proved permanent. The favourite maxim inculcated by Law,
and upon which his whole fabric of the Mississippi system
was reared ; namely, that the power and prosperity of a na¬
tion increase in proportion to the quantity of money circulat¬
ing therein, and that, as the richest nations have not specie
sufficient to afford full employment to their inhabitants, this
defect may be supplied by paper credit; involves a danger¬
ous fallacy, even in the most restricted view that can be
taken of its application, inasmuch as it implies that paper
money may be issued with advantage to an almost unlimited
extent, upon general security; and that its credit, or, in other
words, its value, may thus be maintained without its being
rendered convertible at pleasure into cash. But all experience
has proved that this is absolutely impossible. When paper is
in excess, in comparison with the total amount of gold and
silver currency, it necessarily becomes depreciated; the
prices of commodities experience a corresponding rise ; the
nominal value of the precious metals is increased in propor¬
tion to the amount of the depreciation, of which this increase
is the only measure, and they disappear from circulation.
All existing contracts and obligations are disturbed ; debtors
benefited at the expense of creditors ; a spirit of reckless
speculation and adventure is thus engendered; and, after
a time, the crisis of revulsion and ruin arrives. Whenever
the quantity of money in circulation is too great in propor-
1 Even in this season of calamity, the French exemplified the indestructible gaiety of their national character, by sporting with
their own misfortunes in jests and epigrams. The following hebdomadal record is, perhaps, unique amongst d'esprits.
Lundi j’achetai des actions ;
Mardi je gagnai des millions;
Mercredi j’arrangeai mon menage;
Jeudi je pris un equipage ;
Vendredije m’en fus au bal;
Et Samedi a I’hopital.
The Abbe', afterwards Cardinal, de Tencin, having had the principal share in Mr Law’s conversion, a service for which he was re¬
warded by the bishopric of Grenoble, is thus addressed by a malicious epigrammatist:—
Foin de ton zele se'raphique,
Malheureux Abb^ de Tencin !
Depuis que Laws est Catholique,
Tout le royaume est Capmjn.
L A W.
151
tion to the total amount of commodities to be circulated by it,
muni, depreciation is the necessary consequence, or, in other words,
a proportional rise in the price of commodities. Money
has no creative power, as Law seems all along to have ima¬
gined, and can never be in excess without endangering
“ the power and prosperity ” of the nation where this is the
case. His whole system, therefore, was built upon a sandy
foundation, and, even if it had received no rude or sudden
shock, would have fallen to pieces from its own insecurity
and instability. At the same time, there is much truth in
an observation of Mr Burke, in his Reflections on the French
Revolution. “ It is not true,” says he, “ that Law built solely
on a speculation concerning the Mississippi; he added the
East India trade, he added the African trade, he added
the farms of all the farmed revenue of France; all these
unquestionably could not support the structure which the
public enthusiasm, not he, chose to build on these bases.”
He laid the best foundation that he could, perhaps the best
which, in the circumstances, it was possible to lay; but
the nation went suddenly mad, an event which he could
scarcely have foreseen; the company was hurried onwards
by the general frenzy ; and when the delirium had reached
its height, the regent was advised to issue the fatal edict,
which levelled the whole fabric with the dust.
(See CEuvres de Law, passim; Histoire du Systeme des
Finances, tom. i.; Pollnitz, Memoires ; Massillon, Memoires
de la Minorite de Louis X V.; Memoires de la Regence de M.
le Due d' Orleans, tom. i.; Richelieu, Memoires, tom. iii.;
Voltaire, Si'ecle de Louis XV. ; Chalmers’s Biog. Diet. art.
Law ; Wood, Life of John Law of Lauriston, Edinburgh,
1824.) (a.)
Law, Edmund, bishop of Carlisle, was born in the parish
of Cartmel, in Lancashire, in the year 1703. His father,
who was a clergyman, held a small chapel in that neigh¬
bourhood ; but the family had been situated at Askham, in
the county of Westmoreland. He was educated for some
time at Cartmel school, and afterwards at the free gram¬
mar-school of Kendal, from which he went, well instructed
in the learning of grammar-schools, to St John’s College
in Cambridge.
Soon after taking his first degree, he was elected fellow
of Christ College in that university. During his residence
in this college, he became known to the public by a trans¬
lation of Archbishop King’s Essay on the Origin of Evil,
with copious notes ; in which many metaphysical subjects,
curious and interesting in their own nature, are treated of
with ingenuity, learning, and novelty. To this work was
prefixed, under the name of a preliminary dissertation,
a very valuable piece, written by the Reverend Mr Gay of
Sidney College. He also, whilst at Christ College, under¬
took and went through a laborious task, in preparing for the
press an edition of Stephens’s Thesaurus. His acquaintance,
during this his first residence in the university, was princi¬
pally with Dr Waterland, the learned master of Magdalen
College; Dr Jortin, a name known to every scholar; and
Dr Taylor, the editor of the Demosthenes.
In the year 1737 he was presented by the university to
the living of Graystoek in the county of Cumberland, a
rectory of about L.300 a year. The advowson of this bene¬
fice belonged to the family of the Howards of Graystock,
but devolved to the university, for this turn, by virtue of an
act of parliament, which transferred to these two bodies the
nomination to such benefices as appertained, at the time of
the vacancy, to the patronage of a Roman Catholic. The
right, however, of the university was contested ; and it was
not until after a law-suit of two years’ continuance that Mr
Law was settled in his living. Soon after this, he married
a daughter of Mr John Christian of Unerigg, in the county
of Cumberland.
In 1743, he was promoted by Sir George Fleming, bi¬
shop of Carlisle, to the archdeaconry of that diocese; and
in 1746 he wTent from Graystock to reside at Salkeld, a
pleasant village upon the banks of the river Eden, the rec¬
tory of which is annexed to the archdeaconry. Mr Law
was not one of those who lose and forget themselves in the
country. During his residence at Salkeld, he published
Considerations on the Theory of Religion ; to which were
subjoined, Reflections on the Life and Character of Christ,
and an appendix concerning the use of the words Soul and
Spirit in Holy Scripture, and the state of the Dead there de¬
scribed.
At this time Dr Keene held, with the bishopric of Ches¬
ter, the mastership of Peterhouse in Cambridge. Desir¬
ing to leave the university, he caused Dr Law to be elect¬
ed to succeed him in that station. This took place in the
year 1756, in which Dr Law resigned his archdeaconry
in favour of Mr Eyre, a brother-in-law of Dr Keene. Two
years before this, he had taken his degree of doctor of di¬
vinity, in his public exercise for which, he defended the
doctrine of what is usually called the “ sleep of the soul.”
About the year 1760, he was appointed principal libra¬
rian of the university ; a situation which, as it procured him
an easy access to books, was peculiarly agreeable to his
taste and habits. Some time after this, he was also ap¬
pointed casuistical professor. In the year 1762, he suftered
an irreparable loss by the death of his lady. Some years
afterwards, he received several preferments, which were
rather honourable expressions of regard from his friends,
than of much advantage to his fortune.
Dr Cornwallis, then bishop of Litchfield, afterwards arch¬
bishop of Canterbury, who had been his pupil at Christ
College, appointed him to the archdeaconry of Staffordshire,
and to a prebend in the church of Litchfield. Dr Green,
bishop of Lincoln, his old acquaintance, made him a pre¬
bendary of that church. In the year 1767, he obtained a
stall in the cathedral church of Durham, by the interven¬
tion of the Duke of Newcastle, to whose interest, in the
memorable contest for the high stewardship of the univer¬
sity, he had adhered, in opposition to some strong tempta¬
tions. The year after this, the Duke of Grafton, who had
a short time before been elected chancellor of the univer¬
sity, recommended the master of Peterhouse to his majesty
for the bishopric of Carlisle. This recommendation was
made not only without solicitation on his part or on that of
his friends, but without his knowledge, until the duke’s in¬
tention in his favour was signified to him by the archbishop.
About the year 1777, Bishop Law gave to the public a
handsome edition, in three volumes quarto, of the works of
Mr Locke, with a Life of the Author, and a Preface. Mr
Locke’s writings and character he held in the highest es¬
teem, and seems to have drawn from them many of his
own principles. He was a disciple of that school. About
the same time he published a tract, which attracted some
attention, on the controversy concerning subscription ; and
he published new editions of his two principal works, with
considerable additions, and some alterations.
Dr Law held the see of Carlisle for nearly nineteen years,
during which time he twice only omitted spending the
summer months in his diocese at the bishop’s residence at
Rose Castle; a situation with which he was much pleased,
not only on account of the natural beauty of the place, but
because it restored him to the country in which he had
spent the best part of his life. In the year 1787, he paid
this visit in a state of great weakness and exhaustion, and
died at Rose Castle about a month after his arrival there,
on the 14th of August, being then in the eighty-fourth
year of his age.
The life of the Bishop of Carlisle was a life of incessant
reading and thought, almost entirely directed to metaphy¬
sical and religious inquiries. Besides the works already
mentioned, he published, in 1734 or 1735, a very ingenious
Inquiry into the ideas of Space and Time, in which he
Law,
Edmund.
152
L A W.
Law,
William.
combats the opinions of Dr Clarke and his adherents on
these subjects ; but the tenet by which his name and writ¬
ings are principally distinguished is, “ that Jesus Christ, at
his second coming, will, by an act of his power, restore to
life and consciousness the dead of the human species, who,
by their own nature, and without this interposition, would
remain in the state of insensibility to which the death
brought upon mankind by the sin of Adam had reduced
them.” He interpreted literally that saying of St Paul (1
Cor. xv. 21), “ As by man came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead.” This opinion had no other
effect upon his own mind than to increase his reverence
for Christianity, and for its divine founder. He retained it,
as he did his other speculative opinions, without laying, as
many are wont to do, an extravagant stress upon their im¬
portance, and without pretending to more certainty than
the subject admitted of. No man formed his own conclu¬
sions with more freedom, or treated those of others with
greater candour and equity. He never quarrelled with any
person for differing from him, or considered that difference
as a sufficient reason for questioning any man’s sincerity,
or judging meanly of his understanding. He was zealous¬
ly attached to religious liberty, because he thought that it
leads to truth ; yet from his heart he loved peace. There
was nothing in liis elevation to his bishopric which he spoke
of with more pleasure, than its being a proof that decent
freedom of inquiry wTas not discouraged.
He wus a man of great softness of manners, and of the
mildest and most tranquil disposition. His voice was never
raised above its ordinary pitch. His countenance seemed
never to have been ruffled ; it preserved the same kind and
composed aspect, truly indicating the calmness and benig¬
nity of his temper. He had an utter dislike of large and
promiscuous companies. Next to his books, his chief sa¬
tisfaction was in the serious conversation of a literary com¬
panion, or in the company of a few friends. In this sort
of society he opened his mind without reserve, and with a
peculiar turn and sprightliness of expression. His person
was low, but well formed ; and his complexion fair and deli¬
cate. Except occasional interruptions by the gout, he had
for the greater part of his life enjoyed good health; and,
when not confined by that distemper, he was full of motion
and activity. About nine years before his death, he was
greatly enfeebled by a severe attack of the gout in his sto¬
mach, and, a short time afterwards, lost the use of one of
his legs. Notwithstanding his fondness of exercise, he re¬
signed himself to this change, not only without complaint,
but without any sensible diminution of his cheerfulness and
good humour. His fault was the general fault of retired
and studious characters, too great a degree of inaction and
facility in his public station. The modesty, or rather bash¬
fulness, of his nature, together with an extreme unwilling¬
ness to give pain, rendered him sometimes less firm and
efficient in the administration of authority than was requi¬
site. But this is the condition of human frailty. There
is an opposition between some virtues which seldom per¬
mits them to subsist together in perfection.
Law, William, the author of many pious works, some
of which obtained great popularity, was born at King’s-
cliffe, Northamptonshire, in the year 1686. Having com-
pleted his school education, he entered Emmanuel College,
Cambridge, in 1705 ; commenced bachelor in 1708 ; was
elected a fellow of his college in 1711 ; and took his de¬
gree of master of arts in 1712. Soon after the accession
of George I. being called upon to take the oaths, and sign
the declaration prescribed by act of parliament, he refused,
and in consequence vacated his fellowship in 1716, after
which he was considered as a nonjuror. It appears that
he had for some time officiated as a curate in London, but
had obtained no ecclesiastical preferment. Soon after his
resignation of his fellowship, he wrent to reside at Putney,
as tutor to Edward Gibbon, father of the historian of the
same name ; but how long he remained in this situation J ia
has not been ascertained. In 1727, he founded at Cliffe^qi-
an alms-house for the reception of two old helpless women,
and a school for the instruction and clothing of fourteen
girls. The money which he thus applied was, it seems,
the gift of an unknown benefactor. Whilst standing at
the door of a shop in London, he was accosted by a per¬
son he had never seen before, who, having inquired his
name, as well as whether he was of King’s-clifie, and re¬
ceived a satisfactory answer on both points, put into his
hands a sealed paper, containing a bank note for a thou¬
sand pounds. There is no evidence that this money was
given him in trust for purposes of charity, and he is there¬
fore fully entitled to the merit of having appropriated it
for the benefit of the poor. It appears that, some time be¬
fore 1740, he was instrumental in bringing about an inti¬
macy between Mrs Hester Gibbon, the sister of his pupil,
and Mrs Elizabeth Hutcheson, the widow of a gentleman
of the Middle Temple. This circumstance, trifling as it
may seem, decided the direction and character of his fu¬
ture life. These ladies, being of congenial sentiments,
formed a plan of living together in the country, secluded
from the world, and of assuming Mr Law as their chap¬
lain, instractor, and almoner. With this view, they ulti¬
mately settled at King’s-cliffe, in a house prepared for
their reception by Mr Law, and which formed the only
property that had been devised to him by his father. Here
their whole income, after deducting necessary expenses,
was employed in acts of beneficence to the needy and the
afflicted, or in donations of larger amount to persons of a
somewhat higher grade who had known better days, but
whom misfortune had reduced to poverty. In this situa¬
tion Law remained twenty years, and died on the 9th of
April 1761, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
Gibbon, in his Miscellaneous Works, has drawn the
character of Law in the happiest manner, and for once
commended a man of piety, not only without irony, but
even with a feeling approaching to affection. “ In our
family,” says the historian, “ he left the reputation of a
worthy and pious man, who believed all that he professed,
and practised all that he enjoined. The character of a
nonjuror, which he maintained to the last, is a sufficient
evidence of his principles in church and state; and the
sacrifice of interest to conscience will always be respecta¬
ble. His theological writings, which our domestic con¬
nexion has tempted me to peruse, preserve an imperfect
sort of life, and I can pronounce with more confidence
and knowledge on the merits of the author. His last
compositions are darkly tinctured by the incomprehensi¬
ble visions of Jacob Behmen ; and his discourse on the ab¬
solute unlawfulness of stage-entertainments is sometimes
quoted for a ridiculous intemperance of sentiment and
language. But these sallies of religious phrensy must
not extinguish the praise which is due to Mr William Law
as a wit and a scholar. His argument on topics of less
absurdity is specious and acute, his manner is lively, his
style forcible and clear; and, had not his vigorous mind
been clouded by enthusiasm, he might be ranked with the
most agreeable and ingenious writers of the times. While
the Bangorian controversy was a fashionable theme, he
entered the lists on the subject of Christ’s kingdom, and
the authority of the priesthood ; against the Plain Account
of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, he resumed the
combat with Bishop Hoadly, the object of Whig idolatry
and Tory abhorrenceand at every weapon of attack and
defence, the nonjuror, on the ground which is common to
both, approves himself at least equal to the prelate. On
the appearance of the Fable of the Bees, he drew his pen
against the licentious doctrine that private vices are public
benefits, and morality as well as religion must join in his ap-
;irles3
art
L A W
plause. Mr Law’s master-work, the Serious Call, is still
read as a popular and powerful book of devotion. His
precepts are rigid, but they are founded on the gospel;
Vignce. satire is sharp, but it is drawn from the knowledge of
human life; and many of his portraits are not unworthy
of the pen of La Bruyere. If he finds a spark of piety in
the reader’s mind, he will soon kindle it to a flame; and
a philosopher must allow that he exposes, with equal se¬
verity and truth, the strange contradiction between the
faith and practice of the Christian world.”
Mr Law’s works amount to nine volumes octavo, com¬
prising, besides a collection of letters, sixteen distinct
treatises, which, however, it is unnecessary to enumerate,
seeing they are all printed together. Although Law is
best known as a devotional writer, and there can be no
doubt that his Serious Call, and Christian Perfection, have
proved eminently useful in leading many to think in ear¬
nest of religion, yet his merits as a controversial writer
are of a very high order, and, in respect of style, wit, and
argument, his letters to Bishop Hoadly are amongst the
finest specimens of polemical composition to be found in
our language. (a.)
LAWLESS Court, a court said to have been held an¬
nually on the King’s Hill at Rochford, in Essex, on the
Wednesday morning after Michaelmas day, at cock-crow¬
ing, where they whispered, and had no candle, nor any pen
and ink, but only a coal. Persons who owed suit or ser¬
vice, and did not appear, forfeited double their rent every
hour they were missing. This servile attendance, Camden
informs us, was imposed on the tenants for conspiring at
the like unseasonable hour to raise a commotion. The
court belonged to the honour of Raleigh, and to the Earl
of Warwick, and was called lawless, from its being held at
an unlawful hour.
Lawn, in manufactures, a fine sort of linen, remarkable
for being used in the sleeves of the clerical dress of bishops.
LAWRENCE, Sir Thomas, a celebrated English
painter, was born at Bristol, on the 13th of April 1769.
His father, who kept an inn, first in Bristol, and after¬
wards in Devizes, made some pretensions to literary taste,
and was in the habit of reciting poetry; an accomplish¬
ment which his son acquired at a very early age, as well
as that of taking likenesses with striking fidelity. One
of the earliest instances recorded of young Lawrence’s
genius is to be found in an incident which occurred to
Lord and Lady Kenyon, some years previous to the time
when the former was elevated to the peerage. Happen¬
ing to remain for a day at the inn of the elder Lawrence,
they were introduced by Boniface to his son, who, he said,
“ although then only in his fifth year, could recite them
poetry or speeches, or take their likenesses.” The visitors
agreed that the boy’s skill with the pencil should be put
to the test; and the future president having been lifted
on the table, and seated in an arm-chair, took their like¬
nesses, with a rapidity, a spirit, and a correctness, which
astonished them. With the exception of a few lessons in
Latin and French, obtained through a private channel, all
the education which young Lawrence received, he acquired
between his sixth and eighth year ; but his was a mind ca¬
pable of educating itself, and long ere the young artist at¬
tracted public attention, he had treasured up a more than
ordinary stock of knowledge. But drawing, particularly
taking likenesses, chiefly occupied his attention until he
was ten years of age, when he began of his own accord to
attempt original compositions of the highest class. The
subjects which he chose were of the most ambitious descrip¬
tion, such as Peter denying Christ, Haman and Mordecai,
an^ tbe like. His fame as an artist now spread amongst
tbe fanjilies of distinction in the surrounding counties ; and
not long afterwards, the Honourable Daines Barrington
noticed him in his Miscellanies, as a striking instance “ of
vol. xm.
LAW
153
early genius in children.” The elder Lawrence having Lawrence,
failed in business, removed to Bath, where he placed hisv—^
son for some time with a celebrated crayon painter, under
whom he made surprising progress. At this time he exe¬
cuted, at half a guinea each, likenesses of the fashionables
of Bath ; and this initiatory exercise in drawing indivi¬
duals in high life, arrayed in their gay and elegant cos¬
tume, had, doubtless, considerable influence in forming the
style of the artist, and preparing him to become the painter
ot patricians. He now numbered amongst his warm ad¬
mirers and patrons persons of rank and fortune ; but the
most, remarkable incident in his early career, was his re¬
ceiving the great silver pallet from the Society of Arts, with
a present of five guineas. These marks of distinction tvere
conferred upon him for executing in crayons the Transfigu¬
ration of Raphael, when he was only thirteen years of age.
His large crayon drawings became in great request; and
in Oxford, Salisbury, and other places which he visited, he
obtained considerable employment for his pencil. When
in his sixteenth year, he conceived a strong desire to ap¬
pear upon the stage ; but the remonstrances of his friends
induced him to abandon this project; and about a year
afterwards, he made his first attempt in oil painting. In
1787 he removed to London, where he availed himself of
the public institutions for instruction in his art, and com¬
menced that career which terminated so triumphantly. He
was received at the house of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and en¬
couraged by the great head of the English school of art.
His admission as a student at the Royal Academy, and his
first appearance in the exhibition at Somerset House, soon
followed his arrival in the metropolis. Each succeeding year
he increased the number of the performances which he sent
in; and his reputation growing apace, he was elected an asso¬
ciate of the Royal Academy on the 10th of November 1791.
The death of Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1792 opened up a
fair field ot competition for aspiring genius ; and although
Mr Lawrence was then only in his twenty-third year, it
soon became apparent that he was destined to bear away
the palm from the most gifted artists with whom he had to
contend. The Dilettanti Society unanimously chose him as
their painter in the room of Sir Joshua ; and his majesty
George III. also appointed him to succeed the deceased
president, as his principal painter in ordinary. On the
10th of February 1794i, Mr Lawrence was elected a royal
academician ; and employment now flowed upon him from
all quarters. He made the most rapid progress in his
profession, and his reputation grew steadily until he came
to be generally considered as the first portrait painter of
the age. An enumeration of the works of this description
which he executed would comprehend all the rank, fashion,
and intelligence which distinguished the times in which
he lived, including those of most of the crowned heads of
Europe. The royal family, the nobility and gentry, distin¬
guished men of letters and statesmen, actors and actresses,
all sat for their portraits to Lawrence. It may be justly
said of him as it was said of Sir Joshua Reynolds, that
“ he painted three generations of beauties.” In 1815 the
Prince Regent conferred on him the honour of knighthood;
and in 1818, at the request of the same illustrious indivi¬
dual, he was induced to proceed to Aix-la-Chapelle, to
take likenesses of the most distinguished statesmen who
had there assembled for diplomatic purposes. Having exe¬
cuted his mission at Aix-la-Chapelle, Sir Thomas proceed¬
ed to Vienna, and thence to Rome, where he had an op¬
portunity of contemplating for the first time the great mas¬
terpieces of ancient art. During the whole of his resi¬
dence on the Continent, he was received by the sovereigns
of the different countries he visited, and entertained with
marked distinction; and the propriety and elegance of his
deportment made an impression highly favourable to his
character as an English artist and gentleman. After an
154
LAW
liawrence, absence of eighteen months, he returned to England; but,
St- before reaching his native country, he had been unani¬
mously elected to succeed Mr West as president of the
Royal Academy ; and this office he continued to hold till
his death, which took place on the 7th of January 1830.
In portrait-painting, the branch of art which he made
his profession, Sir Thomas Lawrence was the most distin¬
guished artist of the day. He was one of the few English
painters who attained a proficiency in their art before visit¬
ing Italy, or without studying the old masters; a circum¬
stance which must be attributed to his strong native ge¬
nius and exquisite taste. The distinguishing characteristic
of his style was the power of conveying a faithful resem¬
blance, with, at the same time, a singularly delicate sense
of beauty, grace, elegance, and dignity. An able writer
thus speaks of him : “ No painter who ever lived seemed
to have dived more deeply into individual character, as con¬
veyed by the conformation of the visage, and the expres¬
sion of the features; and none knew more skilfully how to
avail himself of the changeful appearances which they be¬
trayed in those conversations which were dexterously in¬
troduced during the sitting, and which destroyed or re¬
laxed a rigidity of muscle assumed on such occasions, and
which frequently baffles the utmost ingenuity of the artist.
In his female portraits (the great test of talent) he had
more grace and a greater variety of attitude than Vandyke,
although he certainly did not. equal him in colouring. It
is a general opinion also, among painters, that he had less
nature and less breadth than Sir Joshua Reynolds; and that
opinion is probably well founded. Sir Thomas, especially
in the latter periods of his practice, exhibited more detail
in his portraits, and appeared to paint with a smaller pen¬
cil, than his illustrious predecessor, who in his effects of
light and shade seemed to take Correggio as his model. rIhe
hair in Sir Thomas’s pictures was painted in fine masses,
in a way peculiar to himself; and his eyes, to the splen¬
dour of which he sometimes made great sacrifices, were
divine. The late Mr Fuseli, who was by no means a tho¬
rough-going admirer even of Sir Thomas, has been heard
to say of him, ‘ But he paints eyes better than Titian.’ ”
His drawing was admirable, and some of his chalk sketches
are considered by the best judges as fine as Michel An¬
gelo or Raffaelle "could have executed. Sir Thomas did
not confine himself to portrait-painting alone, but executed
paintings of a far higher order of art. Of these it has been
observed by Mr Westmacott, “ His illustrations of Cato,
Coriolanus, and Hamlet, may be considered historical works,
and examples of his creative genius, possessing a vigour
of imagination, a propriety of sentiment, a breadth and
chasteness of composition, worthy to be ranked with the
classical and distinguished efforts of the sixteenth cen¬
tury ; whilst his more comprehensive powers were display¬
ed in the admirable picture of Satan: all eminent proofs
that he possessed talents equal to the accomplishment of
the highest designs in the art.” In private life Sir Thomas
Lawrence was most exemplary, being* kind and liberal to
artists, and ready to encourage rising merit. In discharge
of his duties connected with the high station which he
filled in relation to the academy, he displayed unremitting
diligence and zeal; “ and no man,” says an academician,
“ died with better claims to the respect of his brother mem¬
bers.” (r. r- r*)
Lawrence, a river of North America, and one of
the largest in the world. It takes its origin in the mag¬
nificent basin of Lake Superior, in Upper Canada, and
has a course to the.sea of nearly 3000 miles. It is the
grand outlet by which the immense Lakes Superior, Hu¬
ron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, pour their surplus wa¬
ters into the ocean through the Gulf of St Lawrence. The
remotest spring of this great river is the stream called St
Lewis, in lat. 48. 30. N. and long, about 93. W. From its
LAW
source the general direction through Lakes Superior and La-
Huron is south-east to Lake Erie, nearly due east from that
lake, and then north-east to the sea. It receives in its'''"
vast course almost all the rivers that rise in the extensive
range of mountains to the northward, called the Land’s
Height, which separate the waters falling into Hudson’s
Bay from those that descend into the Atlantic, together
with all the rivers that have their sources in the ridge which
commences on its southern bank, running nearly south-west
to where the ridge falls on Lake Champlain. In differ¬
ent parts of its course this great river is known by differ¬
ent names. From the sea to Montreal it is called St
Lawrence; from thence to Kingston in Upper Canada,
the Cataraqui ox Iroquois; between Lakes Ontario and
Erie, the Niagara ; between Lakes Erie and St Clair,
the Detroit; between Lakes St Clair and Huron, the St
Clair ; and between Lakes Huron and Superior, the dis¬
tance is called the Narrows or Falls of St Mary. There
is thus formed an uninterrupted connection of upwards of
2000 miles. It is navigable for ships of the line to Que¬
bec, about 400 miles; and to Montreal, a distance of 580
miles from the sea, for ships of 600 tons burden. The
distance from Montreal to Lake Ontario is about 200
miles. The breadth of the river between Montreal and
Quebec is from half a mile to four miles, the average
breadth being about two miles. Below Quebec it gra¬
dually widens till it enters the gulf, where, from Cape
Rosier to the Mingan settlement on the coast of Labra¬
dor, it is about 105 miles in breadth. The St Lawrence
discharges annually into the ocean about 4,277,880 mil¬
lions of tons of fresh water, of which 2,112,120 millions
of tons may be reckoned melted snow ; the quantity dis¬
charged before the thaw comes on being 4512 millions
of tons per day for 240 days, and the quantity after the
thaw begins being 25,560 millions per day for 125 days, the
depth and velocity when in and out of flood being duly con¬
sidered. Hence, a ton of water being nearly equal to fifty-
five cubic yards of pure snow, the St Lawrence frees a
country of more than 2000 miles square covered with it to
the depth of three feet. The embouchure of this mighty
stream is that part of the Gulf of St Lawrence where the
island of Anticosti divides the mouth of the river into two
branches. The solid contents of the St Lawrence, em¬
bracing Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and On¬
tario, have been estimated at 1,547,792,360,000 cubic
feet, and the superficial area being 72,930 square miles,
the water therein would form a cube of nearly twenty-
two miles on each side. The river, and the whole country,
from the lowest parishes to Quebec, unfold scenery, the
magnificence of which, in combination with the most
delightful physical beauty, is certainly unequalled in
America, and probably in the world. As the eminence
is ascended, over which the post-road passes, or in sailing
up or down the St Lawrence, there are frequently pros¬
pects which open a view of from fifty to one hundred
miles of a river from ten to twenty miles in breadth.
The imposing features of these vast landscapes exhibit
lofty mountains, wide valleys, bold headlands, luxuriant
forests, cultivated fields, pretty villages, and settlements
(some of them stretching up along the mountains) ; fer¬
tile islands overspread with cottages, pastures, and flocks;
rocky islets, and tributary rivers, some of them rolling
over precipices, and one of them, Saguenay, like an inland
mountain lake, bursting through a perpendicular chasm
in the granitic chain; whilst, on the surface of the St
Lawrence, majestic ships, large brigs, and vessels and
boats of every description, present a spectacle at once su¬
blime and beautiful, and calculated to charm the mind of
the beholder. Of course the trade carried on by means
of this river is very great. An account of it will be found
in the article Canada. (r» R* R-)
LAY
LEA
155
javtence, Lawrence, Gulf of St, the gulf which receives the
JU uf St, waters of the numerous lakes and rivers of the Canadian
I portion of the American continent, and is formed bj' the
L!ers. western coast of Newfoundland, the eastern shores of La-
'•^"^brador, the eastern extremity of the province of New
Brunswick, and by part of Nova Scotia and the island of
Cape Breton* It communicates with the Atlantic by
three different channels, namely, by the Gut of Canso,
which divides Cape Breton from Nova Scotia, by a wider
and main channel between Cape North in Cape Breton
Isle and Cape Ray in Newfoundland, and by the narrow
straits of Belleisle, which separate the coast of Labrador
from Newfoundland. The distance from Cape Rosier,
Gaspe Bay, to Cape Ray in Newfoundland, is seventy-
nine leagues; and from Nova Scotia to Labrador, the dis¬
tance is one hundred and six leagues. Several islands
are situated in the gulf, of which the one most dangerous
to navigators is St Paul’s, a small barren isle lying be¬
tween Newfoundland and Cape Breton. On the south
side of the bay is St John’s or Prince Edward’s Island ; to
the northward are the small Magdalen Islands, eleven in
number; north of the Magdalensis Brion’s Island; and be¬
yond this are the Bird Isles or Rocks, the most northerly
of which is in lat. 47.50. 28. north, and long.61.12.53. west.
On this island it is proposed to erect a light-house.
LAY, a kind of ancient poem amongst the French, con¬
sisting of very short verses.
There were two sorts of lays, the great and the little.
The first was a poem consisting of twelve couplets of
verses, of different measures. The second was a poem
consisting of sixteen or twenty verses, divided into four
couplets. These lays were the lyric poetry of the old
French poets, and were imitated by some of the English.
They were principally used on melancholy subjects, and
are said to have been formed on the model of the trochaic
verses of the Greek and Latin tragedies.
LAY-Brothers, amongst the Catholics, those pious but
illiterate persons who at some convent devote themselves
to the service of the religious. They wear a different
habit from that of the religious, but never enter into the
choir, nor are present at the chapters; nor do they make
any vow except those of constancy and obedience. In the
nunneries there are also lay-sisters.
Lay-Muii, one who follows a secular employment, and
has not entered into holy orders.
LAYERS, in Gardening, are tender shoots or twigs of
trees, laid or buried in the ground, till, having struck root,
they are separated from the parent tree, and become dis- Lazar-
tinct plants. The propagating of trees by layers is done house
in the following manner: The branches of the trees , H
are slit a little way, and laid under the mould for about *
half a foot; the ground should first be made very light,
and after they are laid they should be gently watered.
If they do not remain easily in the position they are put
in, they should be pegged down with wooden hooks. The
best season for doing this is, for evergreens, towards the
end of August, and, “for other trees, in the beginning of
February. If they be found to have taken root, they are
then cut off from the main plant the succeeding winter,
and planted out. If the branch be too high from the
ground, a tub of earth is raised to a proper height for it.
Some pare off the rind, and others twist the branch, before
they lay it; but this is not necessary. The end of the
layer should be about a foot out of the ground ; and the
branch may either be tied tightly round with a wire, or cut
upwards from a joint, or cut round for an inch or two at
the place ; and it is a good method to pierce several holes
through it with an awl above the part tied with the wire.
LAZAR-House, or Lazaretto, a public building, of
the nature of an hospital, to receive the poor, and those
afflicted with contagious distempers. In some places, la¬
zarettos are appointed for the performance of quarantine ;
in which case thoseonlyare confined in them who have come
from places suspected of being infected with the plague.
LEAD, a metal of a white colour, inclining to blue, and
the least ductile, the least elastic, and the least sonorous
of all the metals, but possessing a considerable degree of
specific gravity.
The lead mines of Great Britain have been wrought from
a very remote era. Previously to 1289, however, it would
seem that those of Derbyshire only had been explored.
But in the year now mentioned lead manes were discover¬
ed in Wales; and traces of silver having also been found
in them, they were wrought with increased assiduity and
attention. The present produce of the lead mines of Great
Britain cannot be ascertained with any degree of accura¬
cy. The lead mines of Derbyshire have been supposed
to yield 5000 or 6000 tons annually; but they are said to
be on the decline. Those upon the borders of Cumber¬
land and Northumberland are supposed to yield, at an
average, from 11,000 to 12,000 tons. The total produce
of the Scotch mines is estimated at above 4000 tons. Sub¬
joined is a table showing the past and present state of the
trade in this article.
Exports and Imports of Lead, Lead Ore, and Preparations of Lead, for Thirteen Years ending oth January 1833.
Years.
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
Pig and
Rolled
Lead and
Shot.
Tons.
18,300
15,646
13,784
11,044
10,833
8,616
10,222
13,275
10,001
6,832
7,442
6,777
12,181
Litharge.
Tons.
395
573
576
816
586
831
901
1,140
1,545
463
490
335
433
Red
Lead.
Tons.
229
242
441
280
338
338
408
534
382
382
520
281
396
White
Lead.
Tons.
603
652
574
549
885
616
629
1,012
1,133
750
662
435
652
Lead
Ore.
Tons.
252
287
455
225
350
139
249
256
195
220
194
105
236
Total
British
Lead and
Lead Ore.
Foreign
Lead
in Pig.
Tons.
19,779
17,400
15,830
12,914
12,991
10,560
12,409
16,217
13,256
8,647
9,308
7,933
13,898
Tons.
4
69
298
749
3,655
1,847
2,282
1,785
1,700
859
1,234
957
F oreign
Lead
Ore.
Tons.
12
9
IMPORTS.
Lead.
Tons.
4
72
369
712
6.163
913
2.164
2,450
1,533
662
1,232
1,090
Lead
Ore.
Tons.
275
811
177
191
1,603
1,120
1,076
5,016
175
341
3'21
269
156
LEA
LEA
Leaf
II
League.
More than a third part of the whole lead sent out of the
country in 1833 went to the United States, about 3000
tons to the East Indies and China, 1483 tons to Russia,
and the remainder, in comparatively insignificant quanti¬
ties, to various other countries. The decline of trade
which has taken place since 1821 has been attributed to
the opening of very rich mines in Spain ; whilst the cheap¬
ness and facility with which they can be wrought enables
the Spaniards to undersell every other country. The
price of lead has fluctuated very much. The average
price from 1800 to 1810 was L.27. 14s. 6d. per ton; from
1811 to 1821, L.23. 6s. 6d. per ton; and from 1822 to 1832,
L.20. 7s. per ton. In 1832 the price had sunk as low as
L.13. 10s. per ton, but it has since risen; indeed there is
scarcely any article the price of which is subject to such
variations. In France the consumption is rapidly increas¬
ing, and it is nearly all imported from Spain. The impor¬
tations have increased from 6,211,500 kilogrammes, at an
average of the four years ending 1822, to 15,742,192 kilo¬
grammes, at an average of the two years ending with 1830.
The lead-mines of the United States are as productive as
any in the world, and have recently become of considera¬
ble importance. Those on Fever River produced in 1832
about 1412 tons. American manufactures of white and
red lead, as well as shot, now nearly supply the domestic
market.
LEAF, a part of a plant extended into length and
breadth in such a manner as to have one side distinguish¬
able from the other. This is Miller’s definition. Linnaeus
denominates leaves the organs of motion, or muscles of
the plant. See Physiology, Vegetable.
Leaf- Skeletons. One help for acquiring a knowledge of
the anatomy of plants, is the art of reducing leaves to skele¬
tons, which may be done by exposing the leaves to decay’
for some time soaked in water, by which means the softer
parts will be separated from the internal and harder. By
carefully wiping, pressing, and rinsing them, the harder
parts may be obtained from the rest quite entire. Some
have been able to separate the outer covering on both
sides from the woody net, and even to split the latter into
two. A naturalist in the year 1645 first conceived the
idea of making leaf-skeletons by employing decomposition
for that purpose, assisting it by several ingenious opera¬
tions of art. When the method of producing these skele¬
tons was publicly known, numberless preparations of them
were everywhere attempted. So much did leaf-skeletons
afterwards engage the attention of philosophers, that one
Seligmann wrote a treatise on the various methods which
might be employed in their preparation.
Leaf, in clocks and watches, is an appellation given to
the notches of their pinions.
LEAGUE, a measure of length, containing more or
fewer geometrical paces, according to the different usages
and customs of countries. A league at sea contains 3000
geometrical paces, or three English miles. The French
league sometimes contains the same measure, and some¬
times consists of 3500 paces ; the mean or common league
consists of 2400 paces, and the little league of 2000. The
Spanish leagues are larger than the French; seventeen Spa¬
nish leagues making a degree, or twenty French leagues, or
sixty-nine and a half English statute miles. The Dutch
and German leagues contain each four geographical miles.
The Persian leagues are pretty nearly of the same extent
with the Spanish; that is, they are equal to four Italian
miles, which is pretty near what Herodotus calls the length
of the Persian parasang, which contained thirty stadia,
eight of which, according to Strabo, were equal to a mile.
The word comes from leuca or leuga, an ancient Gaul¬
ish word for an itinerary measure, and retained in that
sense by the Romans. Some derive the word leuca from
Aeuxos, ivhitey as the Gauls, in imitation of the Romans,
marked the spaces and distances of their roads with white
stones.
League also denotes an alliance or confederacy be¬
tween princes and states for their mutual aid, either in v
attacking some common enemy, or in defending themselves
against one. The word comes from Uga, which, in the
corrupt Latin, was used for a confederacy: Qua quis cum
alio ligatur.
Leagues, amongst the Greeks, were of three sorts: 1.
STro^rj, SiaSjjx?], or E/gw, by which both parties were ob¬
liged to cease from hostilities, without molesting the allies
of each other; 2. E-r/^a^/a, by which they engaged to
lend assistance to each other in case of invasion ; and, 3.
IviMfiayju, by which they engaged to have the same friends
and enemies, and to assist each other upon all occasions.
All these leagues were confirmed with oaths, and impre¬
cations, and sacrifices. The victims most generally sacri¬
ficed were a boar, ram, or goat, sometimes all the three;
and sometimes bulls and lambs. They cut out the testicles
of the animal, and stood upon them whilst they swore;
then some of the hair of the victim was distributed to all
present; and, lastly, they cut the animal’s throat, which
was called 6gx/a ngniv, in 'Lzim, ferire fadus. This being
done, they repeated their oaths and imprecations, calling
the gods to witness the honesty of their intentions. A
libation was then made of wine, which was mixed, to im¬
ply their conjunction and union ; and whilst this was pour¬
ing out, they prayed that the blood of him who should
break the treaty might be poured out in like manner.
Upon these occasions no part of the victim was eaten.
Still further to increase the solemnity of this obligation,
the league was engraved upon brass, fixed up in places of
public resort, and sometimes read at the solemn games.
Some exchanged certain ffugfiohct, or tessercz, upon the oc¬
casion, and frequently sent ambassadors on an appointed
day, to keep each other in mind of their engagements.
7Vie League, by way of eminence, denotes that famous
one which existed in France from the year 1576 to 1593.
Its intention was to prevent the succession to the crown
of Henry IV. who was of the reformed religion; and it
ended with his abjuration of that faith.
The Leaguers, or confederates, were of three kinds.
The zealous leaguers aimed at the utter destruction, not
only of the Huguenots, but also of the ministry. The
Spanish leaguers had principally in view the transferring
of the crown of France to the king of Spain, or the infanta
his daughter. The moderate leaguers aimed only at the
extirpation of Calvinism, without any alteration of the
government.
LEAK, at sea, is a hole in the ship, through which the
water comes in. A ship is said to spring a leak when she
begins to leak, or to let in the water. The manner of
stopping a leak is to put into it a plug wrapped in oakum
and well tarred, or to insert a tarpawling clout, which keeps
out the water, or to nail a piece of sheet-lead on the place.
Seamen sometimes stop a leak by thrusting a piece of salt
beef into it. The sea-water, says Mr Boyle, being fresher
than the brine imbibed by the beef, penetrates into its
body, and causes it to sWell so as to bear strongly against
the edges of the broken plank, and thereby stops the in¬
flux of the water. A ready way to find a leak in a ship
is to apply the narrower end of a speaking trumpet to the
ear, and the other to the side of the ship where the leak
is supposed to be ; then the noise ot the water rushing
in at the leak will be distinctly heard, and thereby dis¬
covered.
LEAKAGE, the state of a vessel that leaks, or lets
in or out water or other liquid. - _ . \
LEAKE, Richard, was born at Harwich in 1629, and
was bred to the sea. At the Restoration, he was made
master gunner of the Princess, a frigate of fifty guns, and
I’tie
1 le,
LEA
LEA
157
’ake. in the first Dutch war distinguished himself by his skill
-v—'and bravery in two extraordinary actions; one against
fifteen sail of Dutch men of war; and another in 1667
against two Danes in the Baltic, in which, the command¬
ing officers of the Princess being killed or desperately
wounded, the command, according to the rules of war at
that time, fell to the gunner. In 1669 he was promoted
to be gunner of the Royal Prince, a first-rate man of war.
He was engaged, with his two sons, Henry and John, in
the battle against Van Tromp, in 1673, when the Royal
Prince had all her masts shot away, nearly 400 of her
men killed and disabled, and most of her upper tier of
guns dismounted. As she lay thus like a wreck upon the
water, a great Dutch man of war came down upon her
with two fire-ships, either to burn or carry her off; and
Captain, afterwards Sir George Rooke, thinking it impos¬
sible to defend her, ordered the men to save their lives,
and the colours to be struck. Mr Leake hearing this,
ordered the lieutenant off the quarter-deck, and took the
command himself, saying, “ the Royal Prince shall never
be given up to the enemy while I am alive to defend her.”
The undaunted spirit of the brave gunner inspired with
resolution the small residue of the ship’s company; they
returned with alacrity to the fight, and, under the direc¬
tion of this valiant gunner and his two sons, sunk both
the fire-ships, and having obliged the man of war to sheer
off, saved the Royal Prince, and brought her into Chatham.
But Mr Leake’s joy in obtaining this victory was damped
by the loss of Henry, his eldest son, who was killed near
him. Soon afterwards Mr Leake was preferred to the
command of a yacht, and also made gunner of Whitehall.
In 1677 he obtained a grant for life of the office of mas¬
ter gunner of England, and storekeeper of the ordnance
at Woolwich. In this situation he had full scope for his
genius. He accordingly, amongst other things, invented
the cushee piece ; and contrived to fire a mortar by the
blast of a piece, which has been used ever since. He
was also the principal contriver of what the French call
infernals, used at the bombardment of St Malo in 1693.
Mr Leake had a surprising genius for all inventions of this
kind; and had frequent trials of skill with French and
Dutch gunners and engineers in Woolwich Warren, at
which Charles II. and the Duke of York were often pre¬
sent, and in which he never failed to excel all his com¬
petitors. Nor was he less skilled in the art of contriving
compositions for fireworks, of which he likewise made fre¬
quent trials with equal success.
Leake, Sir John, an English admiral, distinguished by
his bravery and success, was born in 1656, and taught ma¬
thematics and gunnery by Mr Richard Leake, his father,
master gunner of England. Having early entered into the
navy, he distinguished himself under his father in 1673, in
the memorable engagement between Sir Edward Spragg
and Van Tromp, when only sixteen years of age; and
being afterwards appointed captain, he signalized himself
on various occasions, particularly by executing the despe¬
rate attempt of convoying some victuallers into London¬
derry, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege, and also
at the famous battle of La Hogue. In 1702, being made
commodore of a squadron, he destroyed the French trade
and settlements at Newfoundland, and restored to the Eng¬
lish the possession of the whole island. On his return
he was created rear-admiral; and soon afterwards he was
made vice-admiral of the blue, and knighted. He was en¬
gaged with Admiral Rooke in taking Gibraltar; after which
he particularly distinguished himself in the general engage¬
ment oft' Malaga, when, commanding the leading squadron
of the van, consisting only of six ships, he drove that of the
enemy, consisting of thirteen, out of the line of battle,* so
disabled that they never returned to the fight. In 1705,
he relieved Gibraltar, which the French had besieged by
sea, and the Spaniards by land, so seasonably, that the Leake,
enemy was to have attacked the town that very night in
several places, and would undoubtedly have made them¬
selves masters of it. Five hundred Spaniards had, by the
help of rope-ladders, climbed up the rocks by a way which
was thought inaccessible; and at the same time they had
got a great number of boats, to land, at the New Mole, three
thousand men, who, by making a vigorous assault on the
side next the sea, were to draw the garrison to oppose the
attack, whilst the five hundred men concealed rushed into
the town. The latter being the next day forced by hunger
to quit their ambuscade, were discovered ; upon which, Sir
John assisting the garrison with sailors and marines, they
were attacked with such vigour, that, though they had taken
an oath not to surrender to the English, a hundred and
ninety common soldiers and thirty-five officers accepted
quarter, two hundred were killed on the spot, and the rest
who endeavoured to make their escape fell headlong down
the rock. He was soon afterwards made vice-admiral of
the white, and then twice relieved the same fortress. The
last time, he attacked five ships of the French fleet coming
out of the bay, of which two were taken, and two driven
ashore and destroyed. Baron Pointi died soon afterwards
of the wounds he received in the battle; and in a few days
the enemy raised the siege. In the year 1706, Sir John
engaged in the reduction of Barcelona, and next year re¬
lieved that city when it was reduced to the last extremity,
obliging King Philip to raise the siege. Soon afterwards
he took the city of Carthagena, whence he proceeded to
Alicant and Joyce, which both submitted to him; and he
concluded the exploits of that year with the reduction of the
city and island of Majorca. Upon his return home, Prinee
George of Denmark made him a present of a ring valued
at L.400, and he had the honour of receiving L.lOOOfrom
the queen as a reward for his services. Upon the unhappy
death of Sir Cloudesly Shovel, in 1707, he was made ad¬
miral of the white, and commander-in-chief of her ma¬
jesty’s fleet; and the next year, having surprised a convoy
of the enemy’s corn, he sent it to Barcelona, and thus saved
both that city and the confederate army from the danger
of famine. He then proceeded to the island of Sardinia,
which he reduced to the obedience of King Charles; and
soon afterwards assisted Lord Stanhope in the conquest
of Minorca. On his return home, he was appointed one
of the council to the lord high admiral; and in 1709 he
was made rear-admiral of Great Britain. He was several
times chosen member of parliament for Rochester; and
in 1712 conducted the English forces to take possession of
Dunkirk. But upon the accession of King George I. he
was superseded, and allowed a pension of L.600 a year.
After this he lived privately till his death, which happened
at his house in Greenwich in 1720.
Leake, Stephen Martin, son of Captain Martin, went
through different ranks in the herald’s office till he came
to be garter king at arms. He was the first person who
wrote professedly on our English coins, two editions of his
Historical Account of which were published with plates,
under the title of Nummi Britannici Historia, the first,
London, 1726, 8vo ; the second, much improved, London,
1745, 8vo. He printed, in 1750, a Life of Sir John Leake,
admiral of the fleet, to whom he was indebted for a con¬
siderable estate, which the admiral devised to trustees
for the use of his son for life, and upon his death to Cap¬
tain Martin, who had married Lady Leake’s sister, and his
heirs, by which means it came to the captain’s son, who,
in gratitude to the memory of Sir John Leake, wrote an
account of his life, of which only fifty copies were print¬
ed. In 1766, he printed also fifty copies of the statutes
of the order of the garter, 4to. He died in 1773, and was
buried in the chancel of the parish church of Thorp in
Essex.
158 ' LEA
Leander LEANDER, in poetical history, a young man of Abydos*
il in Asia. He used to swim across the Hellespont by night
v Lease. to vjgjt jjero> j^g mistress, who set forth a light to guide
Y_^ him ; but in a tempestuous winter night he was drowned;
upon which Hero seeing him dead on the shore, cast her¬
self headlong from the tower, and perished.
LEAO, a mineral substance approaching to the nature
of lapis lazuli, found in the East Indies, and of great use
in the Chinese porcelain manufactures, as it affords the
finest blue they are possessed of.
Lead, a river of Chinese Tartary, which traverses the
greater part of the province of Cheng-yang or Leao-tong,
and falls into the head of the Gulf of Leao-tong.
LEAO-TONG, Gulf of, a considerable gulfaconnected
with that of Pe-tche-lee, and extending along the coast
of the province of the same name in Chinese Tartary.
It is 120 miles in length by eighty in breadth.
LEAP, in Music, is when the song does not proceed by
conjoint degrees, as in the case where between each note
there is an interval of a third, a fourth, a fifth, and the like.
LEAPING, or Vaulting, was an exercise much used
both amongst the Greeks and Romans. The former called
it uhijja, and performed it with weights upon their heads and
shoulders. Sometimes they carried the weights in their
hands, which were of different figures, but generally oval,
and made with holes or covered with thongs, through which
the leapers put their fingers. These weights were called
ahryeig. The contest was who could leap the highest and
farthest. Theplacewhencethey jumped was called (3arr]P,
and that to which they leaped isyiu^sva, because the ground
was there dug up. This exercise was performed in the
same manner by the Romans.
LEAR, the name of a British king, said in old chronicles
to have succeeded his father Bladud, about the year of the
world 3160. The story of this king and his three daughters
is well known, from Shakspeare’s tragedy founded upon it.
LEARCHUS, a celebrated Greek sculptor of Rhegium,
in the south of Italy, who seems to have flourished at a
very early period, before 620 b. c. He made a statue of
Jupiter in bronze, which was seen at Sparta, and which
was regarded as the most ancient work of its kind. It
was not of one piece, but was made of pieces worked sepa¬
rately, and fixed to one another by means of nails and large
hooks, so that the parts could not be separated. It is this
species of work which Quatremere de Quincy has perfectly
explained under the name of Sphurelaton in his Jupiter
Olympien. (Pausanias, iii. 17. See Winckelmann, Op.
vi. 1,7.)
LEASE, from the French leiser, demittere, to let, in law,
a demise, or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments,
unto another for life, a term of years, or at will, for a rent
reserved. A lease is either written, called an indenture,
deed-roll, or lease in writing; or by word of mouth, called
lease parole.
Lease and Release, a species of conveyance used in the
English law, first invented by Serjeant Moore, soon after
the statute of uses, and now the most common of any, and
therefore not to be shaken ; though very great lawyers for¬
merly doubted its validity. A lease, or rather bargain and
sale, upon some pecuniary consideration, for one year, is
made by the tenant of the freehold to the lessee or bar¬
gainee. Now this, without any enrolment, makes the bar¬
gainer stand seised to the use of the bargainee, and vests in
the bargainee the use of the term for a year; and then the
statute immediately annexes the possession. He therefore,
being thus in possession, is capable of receiving a release
of the freehold and reversion, which must be made to
a tenant in possession ; and accordingly, the next day, a
release is granted to him. This is held to supply the
place of livery of seisin; and so a conveyance by lease and
release is said to amount to a feoffment.
LEA
LEASH, amongst sportsmen, denotes three creatures of \ ^
any kind, but chiefly greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares.
The term leash also signifies a line to hold in a hunting Le e,
dog; and a small long thong of leather, by which a falconer tv
holds his hawk.
LEATHER, the skins of several sorts of beasts dressed
and prepared for the use of various manufacturers, whose
business it is to apply them to useful purposes.
The manufacture of leather is of great importance in
every country; and in Great Britain it ranks third or
fourth on the list, being inferior only to those of cotton,
wool, and iron, if it be not superior to the latter. Mr
M'Culloch estimates the total quantity of all sorts of
leather, tanned, tawed, dressed, and curried in this coun¬
try at about 50,000,000 lbs. which, at one shilling and
eight pence per pound, gives L.4,166,000 as the value of
the leather only. By the same authority, the value of
the finished articles of leather manufacture is estimated
at L.12,500,000, the value of the leather being taken at one
third that of the goods produced from it; and four millions
being deducted for the material, there remain L.8,500,000
as the aggregate amount of profits, wages, and the like.
Twenty per cent, being set aside as profit, rent of work¬
shops, and the like, there remains as wages, the sum of
L.6,800,000; and supposing those employed as shoemakers,
saddlers, glovers, and others, to make at an average L.30
a year each, the entire number of such persons will amount
to 226,000. This, howrever, does not include the tanners,
curriers, and other persons employed in dressing the
leather; and these being estimated at 28,300, we have a
grand total of 254,300 individuals employed in the various
departments of the business. “ Those who may be in¬
clined to suspect these estimates of exaggeration,” says Mr
M‘Culloch, “ would do well to reflect on the value of the
shoes annually manufactured. It is generally supposed,
that the expenditure upon shoes may be taken, at an
average of the whole population, at ten shillings each in¬
dividual, young and old; which, supposing the population
to amount to 16,000,000, would give eight millions for the
value of shoes only ; but taking the value of the shoes at
only 8s. 6d. each individual, it gives L.6,800,000 for the
amount. Mr Stevenson supposed that the value of the
saddlery, harness, gloves, &c. may be assumed, to be at
least equal to that of the shoes; but we believe this is
too high, and have taken it at L.1,100,000 below the value
of the shoes. In estimating the value of the entire ma¬
nufacture at L.12,500,000, we incline to think that we are
as near the mark as it is easy to come in such investiga¬
tions.”
Leather was long subject to a duty of l^d. per pound,
and in 1812 this was doubled. In 1822, however, it was
reduced to the former amount, and in 1830 the duties on
leather were totally abolished.
Number of Pounds Weight of Leather charged with Duties
of Excise in England in 1824-1829.
1824  53,429,539 1827 47,616,316
1825  52,274,957 1828 50,233,689
1826  44,927,216 1829 46,200,843
The quantity annually charged with duty in Scotland
during the same period was at an average about 6,000,000
lbs. The quantity of wrought and unwrought leather ex¬
ported in 1829 amounted to 1,338,937 lbs. of the declared
value of L.268,380. The value of the saddlery and har¬
ness exported during the same year was L.83,303. Near¬
ly two thirds of the leather exported is sent, principally
in the shape of shoes, to the British VVest-Indian and
North-American colonies.
Dyeing of Leather, Skins, 8fc. Blue is given by steep¬
ing the subject a day in urine and indigo, then boiling it
with alum ; or it may be given by tempering the indigo
159
L E B
en wjth red wine, and washing the skins therewith. Red is
iC L given by washing the skins, and laying them two hours in
Lelija. galls, then wringing them out, dipping them in a liquor
made with ligustrum, alum,"and verdigris in water ; and,
lastly, in a dye made of Brazil wood, boiled with ley. Purple
is given by wetting the skins with a solution of roche alum
in warm water ; and, when dry again, rubbing them with the
hand with a decoction of logwood in colder water. Green
is given by smearing the skin with sap-green and alum-water
boiled. Bark green is also given with steel filings and sal-
ammoniac steeped in urine till soft, then smeared over the
skin, which is to be dried in the shade. Sky colour is
given with indigo steeped in boiling water, and the next
morning warmed and smeared over the skin. Yellow, by
smearing the skin over with aloes and linseed oil dissolved
and strained, or by infusing it in weld. Orange colour is
given by smearing with fustic berries boiled in alum-water;
or, for a deep orange, with turmeric.
LEAVEN, a piece of sour dough, used to ferment and
render light a much larger quantity of dough or paste.
Leaven was strictly forbidden by the law of Moses during
the seven days of the passover ; and the Jews, in obedience
to this law, carefully purified their houses from all leaven,
as soon as the vigil of the feast began. Nothing of honey
or leaven was to have place in any thing presented to the
Lord, upon his altar, during this solemnity. If, during the
feast, the least particle of leaven was found in their houses,
they imagined that the whole was polluted, for a little lea¬
ven leaveneth the whole lump. Leaven, in its figurative
sense, signifies the bad passions of envy, and malice, and
rancour, which sour the temper, and extend their ferment¬
ing influence over the social affections ; whereas unleavened
bread implies sincerity and truth. It is frequently used
for any kind of moral contagion.
LEAVES of Plants. See Leaf.
LEBADEA, or Lebadia, an ancient town of Boeotia,
on the borders of Phocis, situated between Llelicon and
Chaeronea, near Coronaea. In it stood the oracle of Jupiter
Trophonius, which whoever went to consult descended into
a subterraneous gulf.
LEBEDAN, a circle in the Russian province of Tambow,
extending from north latitude 52. 37. to 53. 9. and in east
longitude from 38. 33. to 40. 13. It contains 1210 square
miles, and a population of 67,260 persons. It is chiefly
watered by the Don, and is of somewhat more than mode¬
rate fertility. The capital is the city of the same name,
680 miles from Petersburg, situated on the river Don. It
contains seven churches, 604 houses, and 3540 inhabitants.
Long. 39. 3. E. Lat. 53. 5. N.
LEBED JAN, a circle of the Russian province of Ukraine,
extending in north latitude from 50. 20. to 50. 60. and in
east longitude from 34. 13. to 34. 59. It contains 1366
square miles, with a population of 136,000 persons, inha¬
biting two cities, and 218 villages. The capital is a city
situated on the river Atschonaja, 945 miles from Petersburg.
It contains thirteen churches, all of wood, 1207 houses, and
8971 inhabitants. Long. 34. 35. E. Lat. 50. 30. N.
lebrija, or Lebrixa, a town of Spain, in the pro¬
vince of Andalusia, about three leagues north of Xeres,
and on the road by the plain from that city to Seville. It
was a plain of great celebrity during the contests between
Cmsar and Pompey. It was the head-quarters of the lat¬
ter, and the place where three Roman knights had form¬
ed a conspiracy to desert, with all the cavalry, and join
Cmsar, a few days before the decisive battle of Meenda.
A Roman camp, near the town, with a magnificent castle
in the centre, is still remaining. The lower part is Roman
bricks, the upper part is of Moornsh erection. It is partly
ln ru'iis, but a large portion is converted into a monastery,
and the whole has a most imposing effect. The country
mound is very fertile, abounding in corn, wine, and oil, in
LEG
the cultivation of which the inhabitants find employment. Lecce
It contains 6000 inhabitants. ||
LECCE, a city of the kingdom of Naples, the capital of^ectoure.
the province of Otranto. It stands on an extensive and
fertile plain between Bari and Otranto, is surrounded
with walls, and is the most regular and one of the most
beautiful cities of the south of Italy. The great square
contains some magnificent edifices, adorned with valuable
statues. It is the seat of a bishop, and of the several pro¬
vincial courts of law. It contains a cathedral and thirty-
two churches, twenty-eight religious houses for both sexes,
two Latin schools, and a college for nobles. It has a po¬
pulation of 14,100 persons, some of whom are engaged in
cotton manufactures from cotton-wool grown in the vicini¬
ty, which is of an excellent quality. Good wine and to¬
bacco are also raised around it. Long. 18. 30. E. Lat.
40. 38. N.
LE CROIFIC, a sea-port of France, in the department
of the Lower Loire, and arrondissement of Savenay. It is
situated on a tongue of land which forms the harbour, and
has near it some extensive marshes, on which salt is made.
It contains 320 houses, and 2450 inhabitants, who are
chiefly employed in the herring and Sardinia fishery. Long.
2. 37. W. Lat. 47. 17. N.
LECTI, beds or couches, were of two kinds amongst the
Romans, as being destined to two different uses, viz. to lie
upon at entertainments, and to repose upon for nightly
rest. The first was called lecti tricliniares, the other lecti
cubicularii.
LECTTCA was a litter or vehicle in which the Ro¬
mans were carried. It was of two kinds, covered and un¬
covered. The covered lectica is called by Pliny cubiculum
viatorum, a traveller’s bed-chamber. And indeed we are
informed that Augustus frequently ordered his servants
to stop his litter that he might sleep upon the road. This
vehicle was carried by six or eight men called lecticarii.
The lectica differed from the sella in this, that in the one
the traveller could recline himself for sleep, whereas in the
other he was obliged to sit. The lectica was invented in
Bithynia; the sella was a Roman machine, and esteemed
the more honourable of the two. Lectica was also the
name of the funeral bed or bier for carrying out the dead.
LECTICARII, amongst the Romans, servants who car¬
ried the lectica.
LECTIC ARIUS was also an officer in the Greek church,
whose business it was to bear off the bodies of those who
had died, and to bury them. They were otherwise de-
nbminated decani and copiatce.
LECTISTERNIUM, a solemn ceremony observed by
the Romans in times of public danger, when an enter¬
tainment was prepared with great magnificence, and serv¬
ed up in the temples. The gods were invited to partake
of the good cheer, and their statues were placed upon
couches round the table, in the same manner as men used
to sit at meat. The first lectisternium held at Rome was
in honour of Apollo, Latona, Diana, Hercules, Mercury,
and Neptune, to put a stop to a contagious distemper
which raged amongst the cattle, in the year of Rome 354.
At these feasts the Epulones presided, and the sacred
banquet was called epulum. Something like the lectister¬
nium w’as occasionally observed amongst the Greeks, ac¬
cording to Casaubon.
LECTORES, amongst the Romans, servants in great
men’s houses, who were employed in reading whilst their
masters were at supper. They were called by the Greeks
Anagnostce.
LECTOURE, an arrondissement of the department of
Gers, in France. It extends over 427 square miles, com¬
prehends five cantons, divided into ninety-three com¬
munes, and contains 58,500 inhabitants- The capital, the
city of the same name, is situated on a hill, at the foot of
160
:l e e
Lecturers which the Gers flows. It contains 940 houses, and 6600
II. inhabitants, who tan leather, and carry on considerable
Lee-Side. trafl}c in wjne an(j brandy. Long. 0. 31. 48. E. Lat. 43.
56. 2. N.
LECTURERS, in England, are an order of preachers
in parish churches, distinct from the rector, vicar, and
curate. They are chosen by the vestry, or chief inhabi¬
tants of the parish, supported by voluntary subscriptions
and legacies, and are usually the afternoon preachers in
the Sunday service.
LEDA, in fabulous history, a daughter of Thespius and
Eurythemis, who married Tyndarus, king of Sparta. She
was seen by Jupiter bathing in the river Eurotas when
she was some few days advanced in her pregnancy, and
the god, struck with her beauty, resolved to deceive her.
He persuaded Venus to change herself into an eagle,
whilst he assumed the form of a swan ; and after this me¬
tamorphosis, Jupiter, as if fearful of the tyrannical cruelty
of the bird of prey, fled through the air into the arms of
Leda, who willingly sheltered the trembling swan from
the assaults of his superior enemy. The caresses with
which the naked Leda received the swan enabled Jupi¬
ter to avail himself of his situation, and nine months after
this adventure the wife of Tyndarus brought forth two
eggs, from one of which sprung Pollux and Helena, and
from the other Castor and Clytemnestra. The two for¬
mer were deemed the offspring of Jupiter, and the latter
were claimed by Tyndarus. Some mythologists attribute
this amour to Nemesis, and not to Leda ; and they fur¬
ther mention, that Leda was intrusted with the education
of the children which sprung from the eggs brought forth
by Nemesis. To reconcile this diversity of opinions, others
maintain that Leda received the name of Nemesis after
her death. Homer and Hesiod make no mention of the
metamorphosis of Jupiter into a swan, and hence some
have imagined that the fable was unknown to these an¬
cient poets, and probably invented since their age.
LEDBURY, a market-town of Herefordshire, in the
hundred of Radlow, 121 miles from London, not far from
the foot of the Malvern Hills. It is situated on the river
Leden, and on the side of a canal from Gloucester to
Hereford. There are some remains of a woollen manufac¬
ture, which was formerly considerable. The market is
held on Tuesday. The population amounted in 1801 to
3058, in 1811 to 3136, in 1821 to 3421, and in 1831 to
3852.
LEDGER, the principal book in which merchants enter
their accounts. See Book-keeping.
LEE, an epithet used by seamen to distinguish that
part of the hemisphere to which the wind is directed,
from the other part whence it blows, and which is accord¬
ingly called to windward. This expression is chiefly used
when the wind crosses the line of a ship’s course, so that
all on one side of her is called to windward, and all on the
other side to leeward. Hence,
Under the Lee, implies farther to the leeward, or far¬
ther from that part of the horizon whence the wind blows.
Under the Lee of the shore, means at a short distance
from the shore which lies to windward. This phrase is
commonly understood to express the situation of a vessel
anchored, or sailing under the weather-shore, where there
is always smoother water, and less danger of heavy seas,
than at a great distance from it.
Lee Lurches, the sudden and violent rolls which a ship
often takes to the leeward in a high sea, particularly when
a large wave strikes her on the weather-side.
LsE-Side, all that part of a ship or boat which lies be¬
tween the mast and the side farthest from the direction of
the wind; or otherwise, that half of a ship which is press¬
ed down towards the water by the effort of the sails, as
separated from the other half by a line drawn through
LEE
the middle of her length. That part of the ship which
lies to windward of this line is accordingly called the
weather-side. Thus, admit a ship to be sailing southward,
with the wind at east, then is her starboard or right side^"
the lee-side, and the larboard or left the weather-side.
LEE, Nathaniel, a dramatic poet of the eighteenth
century, was the son of a clergyman, who gave him a libe¬
ral education. He received the rudiments of learning at
Westminster School, from which he went to Trinity Col¬
lege, Cambridge. Coming to London, however, his incli¬
nation prompted him to appear on the stage; but he was
not more successful in representing the thoughts of other
men than many a genius besides, who has been equally un¬
fortunate in treading the stage, although he perhaps knew
well enough how to write for it. He produced eleven
tragedies, all of which contain a very great portion of
true poetical enthusiasm. His Rival Queens, his Theo-
docius, and his Alexander the Great, are those which
longest kept possession of the stage. None, perhaps, ever
felt the passion of love more truly, nor could any one de¬
scribe it with more tenderness. Addison commends his
genius highly, observing, that none of our English poets
had a happier turn for tragedy, although his natural fire
and unbridled impetuosity hurried him beyond all bounds
of probability, and sometimes were quite out of nature.
The truth is, this poet’s imagination ran away with his
reason; so that he at length became quite crazy, and
grew so mad that his friends were obliged to confine him
in bedlam. Here he made the famous reply to a coxcomb
scribbler, who had the cruelty to jeer him with his mis¬
fortune, by observing that it was an easy thing to write
like a madman. “ No,’’ said Lee, “ it is not an easy thing
to write like a madman ; but it is very easy to write like
a fool.” Lee had the good fortune to recover the use of
his reason so far as to be discharged from his melancholy
confinement; but he did not long survive his enlarge¬
ment, and died at the early age of thirty-four. Cibber, in
his Lives of the Poets, states that he perished unfortu¬
nately in a night ramble in London streets.
LEECHES, in a ship, the borders or edges of a sail,
which are either sloping or perpendicular.
The leeches of all sails, the tops and bottoms of which
are parallel to the deck, or at right angles to the mast, are
denominated from the ship’s side, and the sail to which
they belong; as the starboard leech of the main-sail, the
lee leech oV the fore-top-sail, and so on. But the sails
which are fixed obliquely on the masts have their leeches
named from their situation with respect to the ship’s
length; as the fore-leech of the mizen, the after-leech of
the jib or fore-stay sail, and the like.
LsECH-Lines, certain ropes fastened to the middle of
the leeches of the main-sail and fore-sail, and communi¬
cating with blocks under the opposite sides of the top,
whence they pass downwards to the deck, and serve to
truss up those sails to the yard as occasion requires.
LEECH-Rope, a name given to that part of the bolt-rope
to which the border or skirt of a sail is sewed. In all sails,
the opposite leeches of which are of the same length,
it is terminated above the earing, and below the clue.
LEEDS, in the west riding of Yorkshire, the metropo¬
lis of the woollen manufacture, is the fifth town in Eng¬
land in point of population and commercial activity, being
only exceeded in these respects by London, Manchester,
Liverpool, and Birmingham. The population of the parish
and borough, which are co-extensive, amounted, by the
census of 1831, to 123,393. The progressive rapidity with
which this flourishing place has increased within the pre¬
sent century, is shewn by the decennial enumerations of the
inhabitants, which are as follows:—In 1801, the popula¬
tion of the borough was 53,162; in 1811, it was 62,534;
in 1821, it was 83,796; and in 1831, it was 123,393. The
ds.
LEEDS.
, borough and parish of Leeds are, however, very extensive,
measuring, in their longest diameter, not less than seven
miles, and in circumference thirty ; covering 21,450 acres;
and comprising, besides the town and township, ten out-
townships, several of which are populous villages, nearly all
engaged in the manufacture of woollen cloth. The popula¬
tion of the township of Leeds, that is, of the town, in 1831,
was 71,602 ; and of the out-townships as follows :—Huns-
let, 12,074; Holbeck, 11,210; Bramley, 7039; Wortley,
5944; Armley, 5159; Headingley-with-Burley, 3849;
Beeston, 2128; Chapel Allerton, 1934; Farnley, 1591;
Potternewton, 863. The first two of these out-townships,
Hunslet and Holbeck, may strictly be called suburbs of
the town, and therefore the population of the town may be
considered as 94,886.
Leeds is situated nearly in the centre of the West Riding,
in the wapentake of Skyrack, and in the pleasant and well-
cultivated valley of the Aire. The surrounding country
possesses much cheerful beauty, of which one indication is
furnished by the fact, that the Abbey of Kirkstall, one of
the grandest monastic structures in the kingdom, and of
which the remains are highly picturesque, was built in the
same valley, within three miles of the town. The soil is
moderately fertile, and the country is not deficient in wood.
For manufacturing and commercial purposes, the situation
of Leeds is highly advantageous. Placed within a short dis¬
tance of the great line of road from the metropolis to Scot¬
land, betwixt the two ports of Liverpool and Hull, both ex¬
ceedingly favourable for foreign trade, and on a navi¬
gable river emptying itself into the Humber, its facilities for
internal and foreign traffic can scarcely be surpassed. But
in its vicinity to large and productive coal-fields and iron-
mines, it possesses still higher requisites for manufacturing
prosperity. Coal, water, and iron, are the three grand
sources of success in manufactures, because they afford all
that is needed for the making and working of machinery.
This combination of advantages exists in an eminent de¬
gree in Leeds, and in the woollen district of Yorkshire.
The productive coal-pits of Middleton are within three
miles of the town, and the coals are brought to Leeds by a
private railway belonging to the proprietor of the pits, Mr
Brandling.
Though regarded as the capital town of this great ma¬
nufacturing district, Leeds is not in its centre, but on its
border. Eastward and northward of Leeds, the country is
wholly agricultural; westward and to the south-west, in all the
valleys and on all the hills betwixt that town and the long
and high range that separates Yorkshire from Lancashire,
the populous towns and villages resound with the steam-
engine and the shuttle, and are daily, save on the Sabbath,
canopied by their self-created clouds of smoke. In this
district are carried on, a woollen manufacture of great ex¬
tent and of some antiquity ; a worsted stuff manufacture,
a modern and vigorous graft on the former ; fancy manu¬
factures, of which the raw materials are wool, cotton, and
silk; the spinning of flax ; and the weaving of linen. The
inanufactures of Leeds itself are principally that of woollen
cloth, the spinning of flax to a great extent, and of worsted
to a smaller extent, and one branch of the worsted stuff ma¬
nufacture ; but its merchants also buy extensively the wool¬
en and stuff goods made in the neighbouring towns and vil-
fages, and get them finished and dyed; so that Leeds is a
general mart for all these fabrics. The operatives in all
the branches of manufacture and trade, except the stuff
" eavers, earn good wages, and thus have the means of great
comfort.
1 n^fkets of Leeds, held every Tuesday and
aturday, are attended by several hundreds of clothiers from
te surrounding villages to a distance of about ten miles.
ost of these clothiers are small freeholders, possessing
capital enough to keep a fewr looms at work in their own
vol. XIII.
161
houses or an adjoining workshop, and often labouring them- Leeds.
selves, and employing their families, in weaving. They 
purchase their own wool, get it dyed at Leeds or elsewhere,
and scribbled and slubbed at the mills which perform those
processes for hire ; they then spin it by means of the jenny,
and weave the cloth, which they bring in an undressed
state to the Leeds cloth-halls, where it is bought by the
merchants, and is afterwards dressed and finished in the
mills of that town. From twelve to twenty years since,
this system of domestic manufacture seemed in danger of
extinction, from the successful rivalry of the factory sys¬
tem. The large manufacturers having, a few years before
that time, succeeded, by gig-mills and dressing machinery,
in taking the finishing department out of the hands of the
croppers, thought they could, with equal advantage, carry
on the spinning and weaving in their large establishments,
and thus perform every part of the manufacture within the
same building, from the sorting of the wool to the turning-
out of the superfine cloth ready for the draper or tailor.
This change was not occasioned by the application of steam-
power to the moving of the looms, for the power-loom was
then only used in one or two woollen mills ; but was recom¬
mended chiefly by the advantage of having the cloth made
under the eye of the merchant-manufacturer, who expect¬
ed thus to be able to adapt his fabrics more exactly to the
wants of his customers, to command a better cloth, and to
obtain for himself the profit of spinning the yarn and mak¬
ing the cloth, as well as of the early and the finishing pro¬
cesses. With this view, extensive weaving shops were at¬
tached to most of the mills; and mule-jennies driven by
power were substituted for the jennies of the domestic manu¬
facturers. The calculations of the mill-owners were, how¬
ever, disappointed. The spinning department succeeded, but
not so the weaving. They found it necessary, even in the
ordinary state of things, to pay higher wages for weaving
in the towns than were paid in the country ; and the trades’
unions formed amongst the weavers in these large establish¬
ments, forced up wages still higher, so as to make it more
expensive to the great manufacturers to make the cloth
than to buy it of the domestic clothier. In consequence
of this, and of the extreme annoyance given by the trades’
unions to the masters, many of the leading houses either
wholly or partially abandoned the weaving; and the village
clothiers, who had been threatened with ruin, regained
their trade, and are now enjoying much prosperity. If,
however, the power-loom should continue to gain ground
as it has done within the last two or three years, and it
should appear that woollen cloth can be manufactured bet¬
ter or cheaper by that machine than by the hand-loom,
another change must take place, and the town of Leeds
will then probably take away much of the weaving from
the villages.
The Leeds cloth-halls, of which there are two, one for
the sale of coloured cloths, and one for white cloths only,
form an interesting spectacle on the market days. They
are very large plain structures, not divided into rooms, but
forming covered galleries or streets of great length, simply
fitted up with low stands or benches along each side of
the street, on which the clothiers place their cloth ; and
leaving an aisle of about two yards in width down the cen¬
tre, along which the merchants walk, to examine the pieces
exposed for sale, and make their bargains. The cloth-halls
are under the management of trustees chosen by the
clothiers, one or two from each considerable village, and
each clothier purchases one or more stands. The mar¬
ket opens, at a certain fixed hour, on the mornings of
Tuesday and Saturday, and is kept open only about an
hour and a half, during which period all the business of
buying and selling is transacted. Punctuality and despatch
are of course requisite. At the appointed hour of com¬
mencement, the clothiers are ranged behind their stands,
162
LEEDS.
I,eeds. and the merchants enter the hall- When the latter find
—-v"—' such pieces of cloth as they require, the price is inquired,
and, if a bargain should be struck, a slight memorandum
of price and quantity is made on the spot; the cloth is
left, and the clothier afterwards takes it to the merchant’s
warehouse, to be measured and more carefully examined.
In this way goods of the value of many thousand pounds
are sold each market-day within a very short time. The
hour of closing the market is rigidly enforced, by a fine of
five shillings being levied on any merchant remaining in the
hall five minutes after the ringing of a bell. The remain¬
der of the day is generally spent by the clothier in deliver¬
ing his goods, in attending their measurement and exami¬
nation, in receiving payment, in buying of the woolstapler
a fresh stock of the raw material, and in making his arrange¬
ments with the dyer and the mill-owner for dyeing and scrib¬
bling the wool. The coloured cloth-hall was built in the
year 1758 ; it forms a great quadrangle, inclosing an area
of the same shape. The longer sides of the quadrangle are
128 yards in length, and the shorter sixty-six yards, and
it contains 1800 stands. The white cloth-hall was built
in 1775 ; it is nearly of the same extent as the other hall,
and contains 1210 stands. The market in the white
cloth-hall commences after that in the coloured-cloth-hall
is over, so as to allow the merchants an opportunity of at¬
tending both. Before the erection of these halls, the cloth-
market was held in the long street called Briggate, and on
the bridge.
The woollen-cloths of Leeds and Yorkshire are confess¬
edly inferior to those of the West of England. About
twenty years since, a great improvement in the manufac¬
ture and finishing of cloth was made by Mr William Hirst,
of Leeds, whose manufacture was at least equal to that ot
the West of England ; and he was able to command a high
price for his goods. His success and that of others shew
that as good cloth may be made in Yorkshire as in Glou¬
cestershire and Wiltshire. But the Yorkshire manufac¬
turers having been habituated to make an inferior article,
and to sell it at a lower price, they do not readily aban¬
don their old habits. In cloths of the lower qualities they
are unrivalled, and these constitute the great bulk of their
The spinning of worsted yarn, and the weaving of wor- jji
sted stuffs by power-looms, are successfully carried on by'*—
a few houses in Leeds, and these branches seem likely to
be extended, though they belong more peculiarly to Brad¬
ford. There is also in Leeds a branch of the worsted-stuff
manufacture, consisting of the weaving of camlets and low
stuffs, employing about a thousand looms, the weavers
being for the most part Irish. The mercantile department
of the stuff-trade is largely prosecuted ; and the merchants
buy their goods, in the grey or unfinished state, at the
Bradford market, and have them dyed and finished at Leeds.
There is an establishment in this town for the spinning of
waste silk.
Where several manufactures are carried on to a great
extent, there must of course be many machine-makers;
and this, accordingly, is a flourishing business in Leeds.
Steam-engines, of excellent quality, are made by the firm
of Fenton, Murray, and Jackson. The woollen and stuff
dyers also form a rather numerous class in this industrious
community; and the trades of the wool-stapler, the dry-
salter, and the oil-merchant, employ considerable capitals.
The following statements are from the returns of Mr
Baker, the superintendent of factories, at the close of the
year 1835 :—
Number of Persons employed in Mills in the Borough of
Leeds.
Woollen. Flax. Worsted. Silk.
1420
153
9312 5926
Number of Power-Looms in the Borough of Leeds.
Woollen. Worsted.
213 818
It should be observed, that the above numbers by no
means shew the proportional importance of the woollen
and flax trades in Leeds. Flax being only spun, and no
linens woven, in Leeds, all the processes are performed in
the mills, and all the hands employed are shewn in the
above returns. But not so in the woollen manufacture.
Most of the weavers work in their own houses, or small
work-shops; some branches of the finishing are not per-
production. The example of a few manufacturers of ca- formed in the mills ; and the establishments of the dyers,
pital, intelligence, and spirit, and adding to the qualities, woolstaplers, &c. are also separate.
which are already possessed by many of the Yorkshire
manufacturers, a determination to use the best materials,
and to turn out the best fabrics, would probably regain for
that county a reputation for superfine cloths. The largest
woollen mills in Leeds are those of the wealthy firm of Ben¬
jamin Gott and Sons.
The spinning of flax by machinery was commenced in
Leeds, or the neighbourhood, nearly fifty years since, by
Mr John Marshall, who, though not the first, was one of
the first to apply the principle of Sir Richard Arkwright’s
water-frame, invented in the cotton-manufacture, to the
spinning of linen yarn. After a doubtful struggle with
the difficulties that presented themselves, Mr Marshall’s
talent, boldness, and perseverance at length triumphed,
and he established a trade which has raised him from
very moderate circumstances to the possession of immense
wealth, and has made him a great benefactor to his native
By the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Leeds has a water
communication with the Western Sea; and by the river
Aire, and the canals formed in connection with it by the
Aire and Calder Navigation Company, vessels of consider¬
able burden come up from the Humber to Leeds. The
water communication with the ports of Hull, Goole, and
London, and with other parts of the United Kingdom and
the north of Europe, is therefore good. Still further to
facilitate the transport of goods and passengers, a railway
of twenty-one miles in length has been formed from Leeds
to Selby, a town on the river Ouse, to which steam-packets
come daily from Hull. This railway was opened in Sep¬
tember 1834 ; it is well constructed, and is paying a fair
interest to the proprietors. It will, however, be more use¬
ful and prosperous when the projected railway from Hull
A bill for this undertaking is now
to Selby shall be made.
(1836) before Parliament, and when the work shall be com-
That gentleman represented the county of York pleted, the journey from Leeds to Hull will be performed in
ampnt from 1826 to 1830, and his second son has less than three hours, which will at once be advantageous
to the commerce of Hull, and to the manufactures of York-
town _
in Parliament from 1826 to 1830, and
represented the borough of Leeds in one Parliament. The . , . . _
flax-mills of Messrs Marshall and Sons, in the township of shire and Lancashire. A railway is also projected between
Holbeck, are very extensive, employing 1300 work-people. Manchester and Leeds ; and when this shall be ma e, as
Several other flax-mills have also been established in Leeds, well as that from Hull to Selby, a railway communication
most of them by gentlemen who were originally in the em- will be completed across the island, hom Liverpool to Hu >
nlovment of Messrs Marshall. The business has succeed- through the heart of the greatest cotton and woollen ma-
ed to a great extent, and now employs about six thousand nufactures in the world. The prosperity of those districts
hands, with excellent profit to the capitalists, and good must necessarily be increased by the extraordinary facilities
wages to the workmen. that will thus be given to foreign and inland traffic. 1 he
LEEDS.
Leee capitalists of Leeds being alive to the importance of this
new mode of conveyance, a railway has been planned from
Leeds to Derby, called the North Midland Railway, and
the bill is now (1836) before Parliament. By this line, in
connexion with the London and Birmingham Railway, now
in course of formation, and either the Midland Counties or
the Derby and Birmingham Railway, both projected, a
direct communication will be opened from Leeds to the
metropolis, and to the centre and west of England, as well
as to Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham,
and Leicester. It is also more than probable that a rail¬
way will shortly be constructed from Leeds northwards to
Durham, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. This town
will then enjoy every advantage that can be given by the
most rapid communication with all parts of Great Britain.
Leeds is an ancient town, but has been the scene of no
historical events. It was probably a Roman station. The
ancient name, Loidis, is Saxon, being derived either from
Loid, a people, or from the proper name of one of its Saxon
possessors. In the time of William the Conqueror it ap¬
pears to have had a very small population. The following is
the record of Domesday Book : “ In Ledes, ten carucates
of land and six oxgangs to be taxed. Land to six ploughs.
Seven thanes held it in the time of King Edward for seven
manors. Twenty-seven villanes, and four sokemen, and
four bordars, have now there fourteen ploughs. There is a
priest and a church, and a mill of four shillings and ten
acres of meadow. It has been valued at six pounds, now
seven pounds.” After the Conquest, Leeds belonged to
Ilbert de Lacy, by whom it seems to have been granted to
the Paganels ; and in the reign of John, by which time the
town had risen into some consequence, Maurice Paganel
granted a charter to the burgesses. A castle of consider-
„ able strength, called “ famous” by the historian Thoresby,
e existed here in the reign of Stephen, by whom it was be¬
sieged in 1139 on his march to Scotland ; and Richard II.
was confined in it in 1399, before being committed to
I,, Pontefract Castle, the scene of his murder. Every trace
of the castle has long since disappeared, and the site of the
park attached to it is only known from the names of the
streets which have been built upon it. A survey taken
rs in the reign of Edward III. shews that the woollen-trade
already existed here, as “ fulling-mills” are mentioned ; so
.fI that Leeds must have been one of the oldest seats of the
woollen manufacture in England. Its trade seems, how-
h, ever, to have languished, for Leland thus speaks of it in
Ithe reign of Henry VIII. “ Ledes, two miles lower down
than Christal Abbay, on Aire river, is a praty market
tonne, subsisting chiefly by clothing, having one paroche
cliirch, reasonably well budded, and as large as Bradeford,
but not so quik as it.” At that day, also, Wakefield was
larger than Leeds; but the latter place subsequently in-
creased far beyond all the neighbouring towns. Charles I.
f gave a charter to the borough, under which Sir John Sa-
vile, of Howley-hall, from whom several noble families are
descended, was the first honorary alderman. The arms of
the town bear testimony to this connexion with the Saviles,
as two crowned owls, or hullarts, the arms of that family,
were added to the golden fleece, the appropriate ensign of
this seat of the woollen manufacture. Another charter was
; given to Leeds by Charles II. in 1661, under which a
corporation was formed, consisting of a mayor, twelve alder¬
men, and twenty-four assistants. This charter, though taken
away by James II., was restored by William and Mary, and
continued in existence till the general reform of the muni¬
cipal corporations of England by the act of 5th and 6th
11 William IV, c. 76, which has given to Leeds, instead of a
close and self-elected body for the government of the
borough, a representative body consisting of sixteen aider-
men and forty-eight councillors. The charter of Charles
11. had, for its principal object, the making of municipal
163
laws and regulations to protect the staple manufacture from Leeds.
“ abuses, defects, and deceits in the making, selling, and""—
dyeing of woollen cloths.” The trade, however, was allow¬
ed a happy degree of liberty ; no restrictions were placed
on settling in the town, or carrying on any business; the
corporation, having no property, and little political influ¬
ence, (seeing that the borough did not return members to
Parliament,) remained free from the abuses which stained
many other corporations, and simply presided over the po¬
lice, doing otherwise neither good nor harm. During the
Commonwealth, Leeds returned one representative, Cap¬
tain Adam Baynes, of Knostrop; but on the Restoration
that privilege was taken away, and this borough was one of
those great and flourishing places, the non-representation
of which formed so irresistible an argument for the reform of
the House of Commons. By the reform act, Leeds re¬
ceived two representatives. One of its first members was
the eloquent Thomas Babington Macaulay, since appointed
a member of the supreme council in India; and the other
Mr John Marshall jun. It is now represented by Sir John
Beckett, formerly Judge-Advocate under Tory adminis¬
trations, and by Mr Edward Baines, the proprietor, and
for many years the editor, of the Leeds Mercury, the most
extensively circulated, and perhaps the most influential of
the English provincial newspapers, now conducted by his
son, who is also the author of a History of the Cotton
Manufacture.
Leeds has a parish church of great antiquity, but not
very remarkable either for its architecture or its monu¬
ments. The town has, besides, seven churches (not reckon¬
ing those in the out-townships), and numerous chapels
belonging to the Methodists, Independents, Baptists, and
Unitarians. The Dissenters are a very large body in Leeds ;
intelligent, active, and influential. There are perhaps
few towns of equal size where the moral and religious
feeling is stronger, or where there is greater sobriety of
temper amongst the inhabitants. The latter characteristic
is indicated by the absence of any undue degree of specu¬
lation in trade, by popular riots or commotions being almost
unknown, and by the temperate and judicious, though de¬
cided and influential, part which this town has taken in
promoting the cause of civil and religious liberty, and of
reform in the national institutions.
Leeds is irregularly built, having no police regulations
to enforce any thing like uniformity in building. It has
few attractions for the stranger. Yet some of its structures
are handsome, and there is a spirit of improvement, which
is likely ultimately to remove many of the present defects,
and to ornament the town. The Court-house, of the date
of 1815, is a handsome stone edifice; and the Commercial
Buildings are still more elegant. The town has several
commodious markets, an excellent suite of public baths,
a good music-hall, and a miserable theatre. Its water¬
works are shamefully defective, but new works are contem¬
plated. The town is well lighted by two gas companies.
Cavalry barracks were erected a few years since at one of
the outskirts. The savings bank is well supported. The
charities of Leeds are considerable ; several of them, in¬
cluding the free grammar-school, the hospital or alms¬
houses, &c. were either founded or endowed by a munifi¬
cent public benefactor, Mr John Han’ison, who lived in the
early part of the seventeenth century, and who also built and
endowed St John’s Church. Of modern date, are a spacious
and well-managed infirmary, a house of recovery for fever
patients, a dispensary, a guardian asylum, a lying-in chari¬
ty, a benevolent or strangers’ friend society, Lancasterian
and National schools, an infant school, &c. The literary
and scientific institutions of the town are very respectable.
The Philosophical and Literary Society, founded in 1820,
has a good museum, and its building is elegant, though
plain. A literary institution, a mechanics’ institution, and
164
LEE
LEG
Leek.
Leefoga subscription libraries also exist in the town. A medical
school has lately been established, and is supported with
talent and success by the physicians and surgeons, so that
it has attained some reputation, and its lectures are admit¬
ted by the College of Surgeons and the Apothecaries’ Com¬
pany as qualifying the pupils for entering on the profession.
The present number of pupils is from forty to fifty. A very
elegant and beautiful cemetery, covering nine acres of
ground, was constructed in the year 1835, in an elevated
situation near the town; and this burial-place, so desirable
an appendage to a large town, is likely to be generally used
by the inhabitants.
The history of Leeds has been written by two antiqua-
-Ralph Thoresby, F. R. S., a learned and pious na
tive of the town, who published his Ducatus Leodiensis in
1714, and the Rev. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, LL. D.,
F. S. A., who re-published Thoresby’s work, and added
another volume, under the title of Loidis and Elmete, in
1816. The latter work deserves high praise for its ability
and antiquarian learning, but it is miserably defective in
its notice of the manufactures and trade of the place, and
treats them with the most prejudiced contempt. Leeds
was the native place of Dr David Hartley, the pupil of Sir
Isaac Newton, and author of “ Observations on Man he
was the son of a clergyman at Armley. General Guest,
the commander of the King’s troops at Edinburgh in 1745,
was the son of a Leeds cloth-dresser. Mr John Smeaton,
the celebrated engineer, and the architect of Eddystone
light-house, was born at Austhorp, in this parish, where his
family still reside. Benjamin Wilson, the eminent painter,
who flourished about the middle of the last century, was a
native of Leeds. The Rev. Joseph Priestley, LL. D., the
distinguished philosopher, was born at Bristol, within eight
miles of Leeds, and officiated for several years as the mi¬
nister of the Unitarian Chapel in this town ; and during
his residence here, a select literary society was formed, of
which the Doctor and the late William Hey, F. R. S., an
eminent surgeon and a Christian philanthropist, were the
most active members : they met for the purpose of philo¬
sophical enquiry and experiment. The Leeds Subscription
Library originated in the suggestion of Dr Priestley.
Leeds gives a ducal title to the family of Osborne, which
sprung from this town. Edward Osborne, in the reign
of Henry VIII., went from Leeds to be apprenticed to Sir
William Hewet, Lord Mayor of London; and having
plunged into the Thames to save the life of his master’s
only daughter, who had fallen into the river from their
house on London Bridge, he was appropriately rewarded
for his gallantry with the lady’s hand. He himself became
Lord Mayor of London ; and his descendant, Sir Thomas
Osborne, Bart., became the celebrated Earl of Danby and
Duke of Leeds, and was president of the council in 1689.
Leeds is distant 190 miles from London, and 24 from York.
LEEFOGA, one of the smallest of the Hapaee Islands,
in the South Pacific Ocean. It is not above seven
miles long, and in some places not above two or three
broad. There is a reef running to a considerable extent
from the east end of it, on which, from being exposed to the
trade-winds, the sea breaks with great violence. It was
here that in 1800 the Port-au-Prince privateer was cut
off, and almost all the crew massacred. Long. 185.40.
E. Lat. 12. 49. S.
LEEK, a market-town and parish of the hundred of
Totmonslow, in the county of Stafford, 154 miles from
London. It is in the neighbourhood of coal mines, which
have given rise to manufactures. The making of an in¬
ferior description of ribbons has been long a source of
employment, and has latterly been extended by the re¬
moval of the duty on x’aw silk. There is a well-supplied
market on Wednesday. The population within the town
amounted in 1801 to 3489, in 1811 to 3703, in 1821 to
4855, and in 1831 to 6374; but the whole parish, at the Let,
latter census, contained 10,780 inhabitants.
LEER, in glass-making. See Glass. Lgiit
LEER, a city of the province of East Friesland, in the
kingdom of Hanover, the capital of a bailiwick of the same
name. It is situated on the river Leda, near its junction with
the Eras, and is a well-built town, containing three churches,
a synagogue, 739 houses, and 5514 inhabitants. It is a
place of active trade in corn, with extensive distilleries and
breweries, several oil-mills, and fabrics of linen, soap, and
leather. The harbour is adapted for vessels not exceed¬
ing 150 tons. Long. 7. 20. 10. E. Lat. 53. 13. 43. N.
LEES, the grossest and most ponderous parts of liquors,
which, being separated by fermentation, fall to the bot¬
tom. The word comes from the French lie; and that
either from limus, mud, or from Lyceus, one of the surnames
of Bacchus ; or, according to Du Cange, from lia, a corrupt
Latin word signifying the same thing. The vinegar-makers
carry on a great trade in the lees of wine dried and made
into cakes, after having squeezed out the remains of the
liquor in presses.
LEETAKOO, or Lattakoo, the capital of the Bos-
huana territory, in Southern Africa. The old town of
this name, when first visited in 1801, contained from 10,000
to 15,000 inhabitants, who had made some advancement
in the arts of civilized life ; but in consequence of a
schism in one of the tribes, the inhabitants removed to a
place about sixty miles farther north. New Leetakoo is
supposed to contain about 6000 people.
LEEUWARDEN, a city, the capital of the province ot
Friesland, in the Netherlands, and of the circle of the same
name in that province, which contains ten cantons, with
95,000 inhabitants. The city is situated on a canal which
proceeds to Dockum, is well built, with clean, w ide streets,
intersected by several canals. The chief edifices are the
stadthouse and the palace of Orange. It is fortified, and
contains 1900 houses, with a population (in 1830) of 20,938
persons, viz. 9857 males, and 11,081 females. It has a
considerable trade in making linen goods, paper, and cloth,
and is the great market for Friesland horses. Long. 5. 54.
E. Lat. 53. 17. N.
Leeward Ship signifies a vessel that falls much to lee-
wrard of her course when sailing close-hauled, and conse¬
quently loses much ground.
To Leeward, towards that part of the horizon which
lies under the lee, or whither the wind blows. Thus, “ We
saw a fleet under the lee” and, “ We saw a fleet to leeward,”
are synonymous expressions.
LEGATE, a cardinal or bishop, whom the pope sends
as his ambassador to sovereign princes. There are three
kinds of legates, viz. legates a latere, legates de latere, and
legates by office, or legati nati. Of these, the most consi¬
derable are the legates a latere; the next are the legates de
latere. Legates by office are those who have not any par¬
ticular legation given them, but who, by virtue of their
dignity and rank in the church, become legates. Such are
the archbishops of Rheims and Arles ; but the authority ol
these legates is much inferior to that of the legates a latere.
The term legate comes from legatus,vj\\ic\\ Varro derives
from legere, to choose, and others from legare, delegare, to
send, to delegate.
Court of the Legate was a court obtained by Cardinal
Wolsey from Pope Leo X. in the ninth year of Henry VIII.
in which he, as legate of the pope, had power to prove
wills, and dispense with offences against the spiritual laws.
It was but of short continuance.
LEGATES, a military officer amongst the Romans, who
acted as deputy of the commander-in-chief. The leguti,
at their first institution, were appointed not so much to
command as to advise ; and they were generally chosen
by the consuls, with the approbation of the senate. As to
LEG
LEG
.ege !
the number of the legati we have no certain information,
though we may upon good grounds assign one to every
,egbn. legion. In the absence of the consul or proconsul, they
had the honour of the fasces. Under the emperors there
were two sorts of legati, consulares and prcetorii. The
former commanded whole armies, as the emperor’s lieute-
nants-general; the latter had the command of particular
legions. The legati under the proconsuls in the provinces
served for judging inferior causes, managing smaller con¬
cerns, and remitting things of great moment to the gover¬
nor or president himself. This, as above hinted, was ori¬
ginally the duty of the legati, though, as we have also seen,
they were afterwards admitted to command in the army.
LEGEND, any idle or marvellous story told concerning
1 saints, and other pei’sons.
The legend was originally a book used in the churches,
containing the lessons to be read at divine service; and
hence the lives of the saints and martyrs came to be called
f legends, because chapters were read out of them at matins,
and in the refectories of religious houses. Amongst these,
the golden legend, which is a collection of the lives of
;■ the saints, was received with great applause in the church,
if where it maintained its ground for two hundred years;
fl though it is so full of ridiculous and romantic stories, that
il the Romanists themselves are now ashamed of it.
a Legend is also used by authors to signify the letters or
a words which are engraved round the margins and other
s parts of coins.
Legend is likewise applied to the inscription of medals,
which serves to explain the figures or devices represented
it on them. In strictness, the legend differs from the in-
1 scription, which properly signifies words placed upon the
\ reverse of a medal, instead of figures,
s. It seems as if the ancients had intended their medals to
it serve both as images and as emblems ; the former for the
id common people, and the latter for persons of taste and
li parts; the images to represent the faces of princes, and the
i emblems their virtues and great actions. Hence the le-
i gend is to be looked upon as the soul of the medal, and
1 the figures as only the body.
Every medal has properly two legends; that upon the
.. front, and that upon the reverse. The former generally
i. serves to distinguish the person by his name, titles, offices,
and the like; the latter is intended to express his noble
J and virtuous sentiments, his good deeds, and the advan-
! tages which the public has reaped from them. This, how¬
ever, does not hold universally ; for we sometimes find
the titles shared between both sides, and sometimes also
Is the legend.
In the medals of cities and provinces, as the head usually
J represents the genius of the place, or at least some deity
j. adored there, the legend contains the name of the city,
ji province, or deity, or of both together; whilst on the re¬
verse is some symbol of the city, frequently without a le¬
gend, sometimes with that of one of its magistrates.
t LEGERDEMAIN, a denomination given to certain de¬
ceptive performances, which either depend altogether on
« dexterity and address, or derive but a small degree of aid
from philosophical principles.
LEGER Line, in Music, one added to the staff of five
lines, when the ascending or descending notes run very
i high or very low. There are sometimes many of these
[, lines both above and below the staff.
( LEGHORN, properly Livorno, a commercial city of
the duchy of Tuscany, in Italy. It stands on the sea¬
shore, near the island of Melora, which, by its castle, de¬
fends the entrance of the harbour. It is surrounded by
strong walls on every side ; but towards the land these are
thought to be untenable, from being commanded by neigh¬
bouring heights. The outer harbour has not depth of
water for ships of more than 400 tons burden. It is sur¬
rounded by a long mole, the efficiency of which is lessen¬
ed by the great quantity of sand brought in by the west
and the north winds. The inner harbour, called Darsena,
is only used for repairing ships, and for the reception of
fishing boats and small craft. The river Arno connects
Florence with the harbour of Leghorn. It is a well-built
city, with many massive houses, which, if not elegant, are
well calculated for a mercantile place. There is a ducal
and an episcopal palace, many churches and hospitals,
and more than 6000 houses, with 72,924 inhabitants.
One third of the population consists of Jews, who are
enclosed in a separate quarter, but otherwise enjoy great¬
er privileges than in almost any other part of Italy.
The trade is very extensive, and much ingenuity is ap¬
plied to several branches of manufactures of a minute
kind, such as works in coral, ivory, and marble, in distil¬
ling liqueurs, in preparing snuff, cream-of-tartar, soaps,
starch, powder, leather, shot, and other articles. It is,
next to Marseilles, the most extensive sea-port in the
Mediterranean, and it is visited by ships from England,
France, America, and the northern countries of Europe,
and has considerable shipping belonging to its merchants,
who trade chiefly with the towns in Northern Africa. The
following table will show the several nations whose com¬
merce with this port is carried on by their own vessels.
Statement of the Number of Vessels, distinguishing the Coun¬
tries to which they belong, that entered the port of Leg¬
horn in each of the Years 1829, 1830, and 1831.
The far greater proportion of Neapolitan, Sardinian,
Tuscan, Lucchese, and Roman vessels, consists of small
coasting craft, of from fifteen to twenty tons burden.
Account of the British Vessels that cleared out, with their
Tonnage and Crews.
^ears.
1829
1830
1831
Ships.
148
169
154
Tonnage.
22,675
26,362
24,188
Crews.
1381
1627
1468
The lighthouse is in longitude 10. 11. 25. E. latitude
45. 33. 5. N.
LEGION, in Roman antiquity, a body of foot, which
consisted of different numbers at different periods of time.
The word comes from the Latin legere, to choose; be¬
cause, when the legions were raised, they made choice of
such of the youth as were of the proper age to bear arms.
In the time of Romulus the legion consisted of 3000
165
Legion!.
166 LEG
"^egisla- f00t an(j 300 horse, although, after the reception of the
i-°n' Sabines, it was augmented to 4000. In the war with
Hannibal it was raised to 5000 ; after which it declined to
4000 or 4500, the number in the time of Polybius. The
number of legions kept in pay together differed according
to times and occasions. During the consular state, four
legions were organized every year, and divided between
the two consuls ; yet we meet with as many as sixteen or
eighteen, according as the situation of affairs required.
Augustus maintained a standing army of twenty-three or
twenty-five legions ; but so large a number is seldom found
in after times. The different legions borrowed their names
from the order in which they were raised, thus legio pri-
ma, secunda, tertia: but as there might be many primcc,
secundce, tertice, they were surnamed from the emperors,
as Augusta, Claudiana, Galbiana, Flavia, Ulpia, Traja-
na, Antoniana ; or from the provinces which had been
conquered by their means, as Parthica, Scgthica, Gallica,
LEG
Arabica ; or from the deities under whose protection the
commanders had particularly placed themselves, as Miner-
via, Apollinaris ; or from the region where they were quar¬
tered, as Cretensis, Cyrenaica, Britannica ; or from parti¬
cular accidents, as adjutrix, martia, fulmi-vatrix, rapax,
victrix. Each legion was divided into ten cohorts, each
cohort into ten companies, and each company into two
centuries. The chief commander of the legion was called
legatus or lieutenant.
The standards borne by the legions were various. Ori¬
ginally the standard was a wolf, in honour of Romulus’s
nurse ; afterwards a hog, which animal was usually sacri¬
ficed at the conclusion of a treaty, to indicate that war is
undertaken with a view to peace ; sometimes a minotaur,
to remind the general of his duty of secresy, of which the
labyrinth was an emblem. The figures of a horse and a
boar were also borne ; and Marius, we are told, was the first
who exchanged all these for the eagle. See Army.
LEGISLATION.
The word Legislation is used in two senses; the one
ancient, the other comparatively modern. In its ancient
and most ordinary acceptation, it comprehends the science
of law, as law ought to be; explaining the principles from
which law should be universally derived, and also the
rule to be observed in the application of those principles
to particular countries. In its much more recent and re¬
stricted sense, it is made to represent as much of the con¬
tents of the municipal laws of a country, and as much only,
as is created immediately by the supreme authority, act¬
ing in its legislative capacity. In either case, it is equally
distinguished from the several meanings which have, at
different times, been given by the majority of writers, to
the word Jurisprudence. For instance, the science of le¬
gislation (or what law ought to be) is carefully separated
by Mr Austin, in his Province of Jurisprudence, from the
science of jurisprudence (or the qualities which are common
to all laws,—what law therefore is, and must be), which it
was the characteristic object of Mr Austin’s lectures to in¬
terpret. Again, legislation, in both of the above senses,—
whether used as meaning the science of perfect laws, or
as descriptive of that portion of the body of any law which
has emanated from the legislature itself,—is manifestly a
very different subject from the jurisprudence (prudentia
juris) of the Romans. In their written wisdom, jurispru¬
dence was understood in its more primitive acceptation ;
in the meaning, in short, which with most persons and for
most purposes it still retains, namely, that of a general and
scientific knowledge of the laws, whatever they may be.
There is a third and later meaning of jurisprudence, in
which it is narrowed down to the usage of the courts.
This application of it is of French invention, having been
manufactured by them, in technical opposition to an equally
peculiar construction which they had put upon the word
legislation. This was done with the view of distinguish¬
ing between the positive letter of the codes (termed
“ legislation Fran^aise”) and judicial decisions ; which
latter division of their laws they consequently thought
fit specially to characterize by the name of jurisprudence.
It is plain, therefore, that upon most occasions, legislation
and jurisprudence will mean different things. But, on
comparing legislation in the first and usual sense, as above
mentioned, with the description of natural or universal
jurisprudence, as copied in a succeeding paragraph from
Adam Smith, it will appear that, until we come to the mo¬
difications introduced by particular legislation, these two
sciences are substantially the same.
Man bv the very constitution of his nature is social,
and society supposes government. Investigations into the
origin of government (as, for instance, whether, at its com¬
mencement, it was patriarchal or military) are amongst
the creditable amusements of conjectural philosophy.
But they are amusements only, when compared with
practical criticisms on the form and the spirit of particu¬
lar political institutions, or with the higher reasonings by
which the true principles of a sound constitutional sys¬
tem are developed and determined. All political insti¬
tutions are artificial constructions, admitting of great va¬
riety. But they may be brought under one or other of
two comprehensive classes; since, in whatever hands
the supreme authority of a state is lodged, it must be
founded either on the partial interests of certain indivi¬
duals, more or less numerous, or on the general interest
of the whole community. According to which of these
classes a government may happen to belong, there will be
considerable difference in the aspect and object of its
legislation ; but from the moment one or two are gather¬
ed together into a society, their most pressing neces¬
sity is that of ascertaining or making the laws upon which
the social interests of its members are henceforward to
depend.
The universal elements of the science of legislation
would seem to be sufficiently simple. Depending on the
nature of things and of man, it may be thought there
could be no mistake. Unfortunately, the history of the
human race has not been so reasonable and so straight¬
forward. It was late before the nature and condition
of man, either as an individual or as a member of society,
were analysed, with the view of determining the choice
between opposite means of happiness, or of ascertaining
the rules of justice. In process of time most of these
questions were settled more or less rudely by the re¬
spective societies, without much consultation amongst
each other. It was still later before the thought occur¬
red of forming into a general system the common princi¬
ples which all nations might be expected to adopt. Bar¬
barism and sophistry had had such long possession, and
had so confused and complicated the subject, that to dis¬
cover these common principles is the great, and indeed
arduous object of philosophical legislation.
Looking at legislation with the help of philosophy and
history, it is evident that its uniformity has always been,
and must always continue to be, disturbed by two causes,
to a certain degree independent of each other. These are,
the form of government, and the state of civilization. The
contemporary tendency and character of laws will vary
LEGISLATION.
egi«- with the frame and nature of the political organization
ion i which has been employed in their manufacture. Much
' more will they vary with (as in truth the substance of
them is necessarily derived from) the condition physical
and moral, the intelligence and the public virtue, of each
particular community.
The rules of municipal law are “ in general intended,”
says Adam Smith, “ to coincide with those of natural
justice. It does not indeed always happen that they do
so in every instance. Sometimes what is called the con¬
stitution of the state, that is, the interest of the govern¬
ment, sometimes the interest of particular orders of men
who tyrannize the government, warps the positive laws of
the country from what natural justice would prescribe.
In some countries the rudeness and barbarism of the peo¬
ple hinder the natural sentiments of justice from arriving
at that accuracy and precision which, in more civilized
nations, they naturally attain to. Their laws are, like
their manners, gross, and rude, and undistinguishing. In
other countries the unfortunate constitution of their courts
of judicature hinders any regular system of jurisprudence
from ever establishing itself among them, though the
improved manners of the people may be such as would
admit of the most accurate. In no country do the deci¬
sions of positive law coincide exactly, in every case, with
the rules which the natural sense of justice would dic¬
tate.” The extent to which he conceived these aberra¬
tions to have proceeded appears in another passage.
Speaking of the civil and criminal law of particular coun¬
tries, he observes, “ the principles upon which those
rules either are or ought to be founded, are the subject
of a particular science, of all sciences by far the most
important, but hitherto perhaps the least cultivated,—
that of natural jurisprudence.” Adam Smith calls the
work of Grotius not only the first, but “ as yet the most
complete,” on this subject. The legislative writings of
Mr Bentham (which have no necessary connection with
his theory of morals) will form an equal era.
Robert Hall observed of Mr Bentham, that “ in the
particular province of his speculations, the science of le¬
gislation, he had advanced the limits of reason ; and that
if he were compelled to legislate for the world upon un¬
inspired principles, he should take Bentham, and go from
state to state with as firm a step as though he walk¬
ed upon a pavement of adamant.” Had this eminent
preacher given as much attention to law as to divinity,
he would have seen that some further deduction should
be made from this unlimited panegyric. There are strik¬
ing warnings scattered over Mr Bentham’s treatises upon
legislation, of the respect due to both the disturbing
causes above mentioned. But the general effect left, both
by the matter and manner of his writings, upon most
minds, is on one important point (that of domestic legis¬
lation) inconsistent with the forbearance and caution
which he otherwise inculcates. For instance, an ardent
disciple, impregnated with his principles, might be in¬
duced to alter the laws of his own country at once too
suddenly and too far, and, when the alteration was
made, to err equally in inferring that it was made for
ever. Yet Mr Bentham was fully awrare of the nature of
the limitations and variations by which his general theo¬
ry ought to be accommodated to practice. An express
dissertation on the influence of time and place on subjects
of legislation is set apart to the solution of the problem,
how, the best laws being given, the legislator ought to
modify them according to temporary and local consider¬
ations? There is nothing to add to his observations and
admissions on the necessary effect of cAam/e of place, with
reference to the propriety of transplanting laws from one
people to another. He saw the difficulty of English law¬
making for India. But a great deal, we think, is wanting
in his sketch of the probable effect of change of time in Legisla-
preventing the same law's from being equally suited to tion.
distant generations of the same people. He restricts thisv'—-v-—
effect to the constitutional code, excluding almost entire¬
ly the civil and criminal codes from its operation. Mon¬
tesquieu’s Spirit of Laws, and the Treatise on Legislation
by M. Comte, are excellent repertories of the principal
facts by which travellers have established the variety
that exists amongst the families of the human species scat¬
tered over the globe. The differences between the ex¬
treme limits of our common nature (to which differences
all rational legislation will conform) are indeed immense.
It was in this point of view that Burke received the les¬
sons contained in Dr Robertson’s History of America, and
felt their application to all who have to take part in the
government of man. The British statesman has acknow¬
ledged his obligations to the historian of the new world,
in language which those of his countrymen who are bent
on judging of all institutions by their own standard, and
on assimilating all nations to themselves, would do well to
recollect. “ I have always thought that we possess at
this time very great advantages towards the knowledge
of human nature. We need no longer go to history to
trace it in all stages and periods. History, from its com¬
parative youth, is but a poor instructor. When the Egyp¬
tians called the Greeks children in antiquities, we may
well call them children; and so we may call all those
nations which were able to trace the progress of society
only within their own limits. But now the great map of
mankind is unrolled at once, and there is no state or gra¬
dation of barbarism, and no mode of refinement, which
we have not at the same moment under our view: the
very different civility of Europe and of China; the bar¬
barism of Persia and of Abyssinia; the erratic manners
of Tartary and of Arabia; the savage state of North
America and of New Zealand.”
All this is very true, and yet a given race may be no
more a fixed quantity (the proper subject of an identical
legislation) than the human species itself. The historian
of the old world has not, owing to the effect of lapse of
time, his evidence as accessible as was the case with the
historian of the new, in respect of a removal from one
hemisphere to another. It should be observed, however,
that it happened in the instance of the natives of Ame¬
rica, that both the causes were at work. As to the ex¬
tent of the changes wrought by time in the condition
and character of the same nation, whilst dwelling on the
same soil, nobody can doubt. And the legislators of suc¬
cessive periods must notice and follow out these changes,
upon principles precisely similar to the precautions by
which transplanted legislation is controlled. No greater
suffering can be inflicted on a progressive people, than by
the attempt at constructing immutable law s on the supposi¬
tion of this partial immutability of nature. A system of
uniformity and contraction which might fix for ages, as
in a mould, some strangely stationary races (the Jews, the
Medes and Persians, or the Chinese), must have been tor¬
ture to the Greeks even of Sparta. If the Twelve Tables
had been the perfection of appropriate legislation in the
age of the Decemvirs, there can be no question but that
Justinian’s Institute was more in harmony with the con¬
temporaries of Tribonian. It is probable that the Koran
may not have been, even from the first, the best possible
system for the followers of Mahommed. Supposing it to
have been so, it is very certain that, through every change
of circumstance, it could not remain the best for their de¬
scendants. Instead of stipulating, like the Locrians, that
the man who at any time proposed a new law, should do so
with a halter round his neck, when Locke undertook to
legislate for Carolina, it was on the understanding that his
laws were to be revised at the expiration of a hundred
168
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- years. At the present moment, in all those moral and so-
tion. cial qualities with which the law is concerned, the Hindu
is not much more remote from the European than the ac¬
tual generation of artificial Englishmen is separated from
the Anglo-Saxon hordes, whom, nevertheless, they repre¬
sent, in blood, in language, and in soil. Adam Smith is
for putting a more extended meaning than Bentham and
De Tracy will allow, on the celebrated saying of Solon,
that he had given the Athenians, if not the best laws, the
best that they could bear. We should say indeed that we
know of no such thing as an abstract best in positive le¬
gislation. Best for them, is in their case best. To ascer¬
tain Mr Bentham’s opinion, however, on this, as on other
subjects, the whole body of his writings must be taken to¬
gether. Otherwise, on looking at his personal ambition for
becoming the legislator of almost every nation under hea¬
ven, and at his hypothesis, that no person was likely to le¬
gislate for a country so well as a stranger, it might be in¬
ferred, that he was disposed too hastily to pull down or
to overleap the great partition-wall of national distinctions.
In the same manner, the prospect on the effect of time, so
narrow in the chapter alluded to, is elsewhere enlarged,
until it embraces every distant contingency we could de¬
sire. Mr Bentham is aware that a periodical revision of
its provisions will be a necessary supplement to a code.
He was apparently unconscious of the property of accom¬
modation which the admirers of the common law have disco¬
vered in its popular and malleable nature. So, in his first
letter to Mr Madison, in 1811, after observing that the com¬
mon law was nothing but “ an ideal and shapeless mass of
merely conjectural and essentially uncognoscible matter,”
he proceeds to complain of it as unfitted to our actual wants :
“ Law, which being, in so far as it could be said to be
made, made at a multitude of successive periods, and for
the use and governance of so many different generations
of men,—men imbued with notions, habituated to modes
of life, differing more or less widely from each other, as
well as from those which have place at present,—would,
even had it been well adapted to the circumstances and
exigencies of the times in which its parts came respec¬
tively into existence, have, to a considerable degree, been
thereby rendered, not the better adapted, but by so much
the worse adapted, to the notions and manners now pre¬
valent, to the state of things at present m existence.” Ad¬
missions more extensive than these as to the vast altera¬
tions which the quiet hand of time, passing over the body
of the laws and the character and condition of a people,
must necessarily produce, severing them from each other
wider and wider, even modern English law-makers, who
are never easy but when tinkering at an act of parliament,
could not possibly require.
The word law, in its proper and original sense, carries
with it the notion of a superior. This intimation of supre¬
macy is the principal quality conveyed in the widest defi¬
nition of law, namely, “ the expression of a will by a com¬
mand.’’ In this point of view the authoritative interposi¬
tion of conscience enables moralists who adopt the theory of
conscience to speak with perfect correctness of the law of
morals. In their mouth it is no metaphor. What is the
nature of the will, or of the command which may be cou¬
pled with the law, is an entirely distinct consideration. A
frequent source of misconception (that of false analogies)
would have been avoided, if writers had more carefully
separated the several meanings in which the word law is
used. Above all, there are two meanings, between which
it is important to discriminate; one in which the differ¬
ence consists in the subject of the laws, the other in their
author. The first division is formed by the distinction be¬
tween matter and the mixed human constitution,—between Lcm#-
the passiveness and uniformity of matter, and the free tim jor
agency and the consequent variableness of imperfect man.
Hence originates the complete disseveration of those laws
of the material world, which simply represent what is,
from the laws of the moral world, which represent what
ought to be. The laws of the material world are physical
phenomena stated in a general proposition. The occur¬
rence of a single exception would disprove the law. The
laws of ethics, although really derived from and dependent
upon human nature, presuppose a moral assumption with
which the facts are to coincide. Accordingly, they will con¬
tinue equally to be the laws of our moral being, even whilst
they are violated every day. The second division is formed
by the distinction between a perfect and imperfect legis¬
lator : between the legislative attributes of God and the le¬
gislative attributes of man. If Montesquieu had observed
the first of these divisions, he probably would not have put i
in apposition so many different senses of the word law as i
are used in the following sentence, nor have left his
readers to infer that the same word on these several oc- l
casions meant always the same thing: “ The Deity has (
his laws : the material world its laws: intelligences superior t
to man their laws: the brutes their laws: man his laws.” At¬
tention to the second division would have protected Black- s
stone from quoting the description given by Cicero of the li
law of nature or morals as synonymous with that of posi- a
tive or municipal law.1 Speaking of municipal law, he has b
made the fact of law or no law depend upon its nature. 1)
According to the latter member of his definition, there a;
can be no such thing as a bad municipal law; for he de- tl
fines it to be “ the rule of civil conduct prescribed by the
supreme authority in the state, commanding what is right, m
and prohibiting what is wrongT The consequence of so sc
fallacious a proposition at the threshold, has been just la
what might have been expected. A mischievous confu- H
sion between particular and general jurisprudence per- la
vades and perverts the whole of his elementary chapter. tli
An assertion of this kind is unfortunately contradicted at ni
once by the experience of great portions of mankind. A tli
particular law, issuing from the supreme authority of the is,
state, does not cease to be the law within the territories of ca
that state, as long as the supreme authority is strong pr
enough to enforce it, although it should command what Fc
is wrong, and prohibit what is right. Nevertheless, a law- to
giver approaches to perfection only in proportion as he as
succeeds in his attempts to realize the other attributes of tal
God; the attributes of goodness and of wisdom, as well as ae
the coarser attribute of power. Goodness is wanted in order Bi
to supply general rectitude of intention; wisdom, in order to
to estimate the value of every specific end, and the aptitude po
of the means. A government with good intentions will a
propose for its object the happiness of the governed. But to
a government must be wise as well .as good to enable it
to discover the precise measures by which this object will !l
be most effectually promoted.
One of the principal provisions of what is called consti- an
tutional law is, to organize such a system of electoral le- It
gislation as will return to the legislature a representative su
body, so identified in interest with the people as almost
to guarantee rectitude in their intention. The wisdom
of their measures will be in proportion to the statesman¬
like knowledge of the individual members of whom the le* i
gislature is composed; their personal attainments being gr
combined with and helped out by the knowledge of the an
persons whom they may happen to consult. It is impro¬
bable, for many reasons, that a legislature, and more espe¬
cially a popular legislature, should at all times, or even at L
1 Blackstone, 44, 122.
LEGISLATION.
any time, possess a competent degree of knowledge
wholly within itself. But there are no limits to the assist-
' ance from without which the supreme authority of a state
has always at command. It need not be afraid of asking
for advice. The doctrine of its supremacy can want no
farther recognition than that it should keep the ultimate
sanction and revision of the laws in its own hands. In
this way it may accomplish much by means of foreign assist¬
ance. But if a legislative assembly is to have the full be¬
nefit of the ability of its own members, it must proceed, by
a proper division of legislative labour, to distribute the
work which it reserves for its own body, into appropriate
departments. A prudent distribution of labour, although
indispensable for preparing and digesting the materials,
will not be enough. The deliberative assembly must, by
well-considered regulations, secure the freedom and order
of its own discussions. This done, no further condition
regarding mere arrangements can be required, than that
skilful draughtsmen should be called in for the mechanical
operation of putting the meaning of the legislature into
169
becoming form and language. The criminal laws of all
countries, and even the civil laws of some, proceed upon
the hard (although, in the first of these cases at least, the
indispensable) presumption, ignorantia legis neminem excu-
sat. It is clearly, therefore, an act of bare justice to the in¬
habitants of every country, first, that its laws should, as far
as possible, be drawn up in such a manner as to be capa¬
ble, with due attention on the part of sensible persons, of
being correctly and completely understood; and next,
after being made intelligible, that by due promulgation
they should be made known.
Amongst ourselves, the proceedings of the British parlia¬
ment have forced the attention of thinking men, and must,
sooner or later, force the attention of the public, upon these
latter topics. One of our wants has been ably stated by
Mr Wickens, in “ an argument for more of the division of
labour in civil life in this country.” The height to which
the grievance has grown can never be more strongly sig¬
nified than in the extravagance of the suggestions which
the late Sir John Sinclair made for its redress. The truth
is, that the supreme legislature, or British parliament, oc¬
casionally troubles itself about many things which do not
properly fall within the province of government at all.
For the province of government has been properly defined
to be “ that of promoting the happiness of the community
associated under it, by such measures as cannot be under¬
taken by individuals, or subordinate associations for them¬
selves, or cannot be undertaken with equal advantage.”1
But, on our present system, we employ a steam-engine
to crack nuts. We are frequently seen wasting the whole
powers of the council of the nation over .questions of
a partial or local nature, with which (supposing them
to be within the province of government) the supreme
legislature at all events ought not to have interfered.
These are the hundred minor matters which never came
before the legislature until comparatively recent days;
and which would have been in every way infinitely better
disposed of, if they had been left to the discretion of
subordinate jurisdictions, subject only to the supremacy
of the state. With respect to such general measures as it
18 necessary to reserve, in the first instance, to the discre¬
tion of the supreme authority itself, it is equally clear
that its work would be often done with incomparably
greater ease and efficiency by a more prudent division
and application of its force.
On this head, Mr Symonds, in a very judicious work en¬
titled The Mechanics of Law-making, intended for the use of
Legislators, and all other persons concerned in the making
and understanding of English Laws, observes, that “ in the Legisla-
progress of invention, schemers often discover new prin- tion.
ciples, that are fruitless, for the want of mechanical know-
ledge or skill to develope them in some tangible form. So
our legislators often dream wisely, and talk after the fashion
of their dreams; but, from ignorance and want of skill in the
workmanship of details, which they leave to the routine per¬
formance of mere artisans, they seldom succeed in giving
to the people a law intelligible either to themselves or the
persons for whose especial guidance the law was design¬
ed. The beauty of a piece of mechanism is shown in the
completeness of all its parts, and their combined action
towards one grand general result. There is nothing ex¬
cessive, nothing wanting. Each part has its special use,
and is indispensable. Apply these principles to the Eng¬
lish laws, what are they ? The clumsiest pieces of work¬
manship which the unskilled labour of man ever made.”
“ Our laws are written on different methods by different per¬
sons. Even those which should be, as the single act of
the legislature, corresponding in spirit, structure, and
terms, to other acts of the seme body, are often antago¬
nist to each other. The statutes of a single session con¬
tain every variety of anomaly that can be embraced in
that species of composition. This must be the case till
the legislature shall appoint persons to draw or revise all
laws; to couch them in an uniform expression ; or, at
least, to take care that there be no difference in form
where the substance is the same. If the time should ever
arrive when our legislature shall, in its wisdom, determine
on the adoption of such an expedient, it would be neces¬
sary that it should be preceded by a statute of directions,
governing the arrangement, style, and character of our
acts of parliament.” Many enactments, which by their
subject ought to be, and might be, perfectly accessible to
the people at large, are made exclusive matters of profes¬
sional knowledge, by the want of method, and by the exu¬
berant phraseology in which the sense of almost all enact¬
ments is lost at present. Were the substance of parlia¬
mentary legislation as good as possible, its value would
be infinitely lessened to us by the stat^ in which it is is¬
sued to the world. The English statute-book is a vast
jungle of technical tautology. The remonstrances of the
late Lord Colchester, as far back as 1797, and the im¬
proved example of America, have hitherto been made in
vain. Notwithstanding the criticism of Mr Miller in his
right-minded book on the civil law, upon the precipitancy
with which bills are hurried through the House ; notwith¬
standing the suggestions and the specimens towards an
amendment in the plan and language of our enactments,
published ten years ago by Mr Uniacke and Mr Twiss ;
the statutory system of 1835 is shown to be just as bad
as that of 1830. The impolicy and insufficiency of the
principal arrangements of our legislation can of course
be satisfactorily met only by corresponding changes.
The following propositions are made by Mr Symonds,
as comprising, in his opinion, the very minimum of what
is necessary for £ny adequate reform. “ There shall
be some individual or individuals employed in the pre¬
paration of the information connected with every pro¬
posed new law, before it is formally proposed to the
House ; that the information so prepared should be sub¬
mitted to a committee, who should report on the state
of the matter, with a view to guide the House as to its
further determination; that if the law should be deter¬
mined upon, it should pass the usual stages of proceeding,
being, however, before the second and third readings,
reported upon by an officer charged with the verbal revi¬
sion of its terms ; that the law being passed, the heads of
1 See on this
VOL. xm.
point the Rationale of Political Representation, by the author of Essays on the Formation of Opinions.
M
170 LEGISLATION.
Legisla- ^]ie department of the executive to which it relates, and of thousands. Had such a reference taken place, it is im- Leg) f -'
other heads to be appointed specifically for the functions possible that in the eighteenth century it could ever have tit'*,
’ of public instruction, the administration of the law, reli- been made a capital crime to break down (however mali-
gion, and justice, should superintend the promulgation ciously) the mound of a fish-pond, whereby any fish shall
and operation of such law ; for which purpose, all ques- escape, or to cut down a cherry-tree in an orchard. Were
tions arising upon it should be reported to such chief of- even a committee appointed but once in a hundred years
ficer, by a regular body of reporters, attached to the courts to revise the criminal law, it could not have continued to
of justice, and by the law officers of departments, where this hour a felony, without benefit of clergy, to be seen for
the matter should be determined upon by petition or memo- one month in the company of persons who call themselves
rial, without appeal to the courts of justice. There being or are called Egyptians.’ “ It is a melancholy truth, that
a systematic report of all questions arising in the courts on among the variety of actions which men are liable to corn-
each branch of the law, and fixed committees of the legis- mit, no less than an hundred and sixty have been declar-
lature to report upon such questions, the work of amend- cd by act of parliament to be felonies without benefit of
ment would follow as of course. It would not be safe to clergy, or, in other words, to be worthy of instant death.”
omit any one of these parts of the machinery. They Things have changed a little in this respect since Black-
should all exist, acting in connection with each other, not stone wrote. But in the way in which the change has ,
for a season only, but throughout all time. The efficiency taken place, nothing has transpired to affect the inference
of the machine depends on its wholeness and permanence. ’ which Blackstone s language more than intimates to his
From the absence of all counteracting provisions of this reader. Ihe inference can be nothing short of this: j
description, parliamentary legislation has fallen into such that a popular assembly is qualified neither morally nor
disorder, that the excellence of the regulations long ago intellectually for the responsible office of fixing the cri-
adopted by the House of Commons, for securing the free- minal law. Supposing it to be incompetent to the com-
dom and order of its deliberations, yield comparatively paratively easy task of criminal legislation, the function
imperfect fruits. The wisdom of these regulations has been of settling the principles and the detail of the civil law
pointed out by Mr Bentham, with his usual comprehen- must, in the nature of things, lie still further beyond the
siveness and minuteness, in his searching notice “ upon the sphere of its capacity. Ihe civil laws of all countries have
tactics of legislative assemblies.’’ To use a humble illus- been, up to a certain point, more eaily established than
tration, there maybe no fault to find either in the market the criminal; they strike their loots far deeper into the
or in the kitchen ; the victuals may be good and the most intimate interests and relations of private life ; they
cookery excellent; yet the dinner may be spoiled by the are complicated with the authoiity of piecedents and
dishing up, bv the vessels into which it is put, and the the subtlety of refinements, such as do not entei at all i
manner in which it is served at table. inf° plain and palpable objects of ciiminal piovisions.
A good redaction of laws is absolutely essential to their I hey are accordingly everywhere vastly more volunn-
workmg well. Therefore, if the above censure of the nous. This is the spirit of the explanation given by the *
English system of parliamentary legislation were only Chancellor d Aguesseau, in his Mistakes on Law, on the c
sufficiently near the truth to be even a plausible ac- disproportion which exists both in the digest and the code,
count of it, it would be pretty clear that there is no ne- between the space appropiiated to private and to public
cessary connection between a representative government law. Out of fifty books of the Digest, more than foity are w
and a judicious method of framing laws. But the ob- given up to the former. It a popular assembly cannot
jection, as stated, principally applies to the mode in move the lesser weight, it is not likely to intermeddle satis- c
which this description of business is transacted in par- factorily with the greater. Ihe consequence is, that what-
liament, and to the form into which the results are thrown, ever reforms of any importance have taken or are taking
Will the experience of English legislation, however, justify place in England in either of these the principal depart-
an observer in confining his criticisms within these bounds? ments of the law, they are altogether owing to the labours j ti
Quite the contrary. It is equally clear, from the nature of either of individuals or of commissions. A survey of the t!
the case and from experience, that a popular assembly, legal history of other countries corroborates the results of p
unless it adopt systematic arrangements for its guidance our experience at home. On comparing the state of the c
(somewhat similar to those suggested by Mr Symonds), civil or criminal laws of two countries, the merit of their
must fall as far short in its competence to undertake the systems will not be found to vary directly as their free- j
substance of some, at least, of its principal duties; for in- dom. On many occasions the interposition of a numer-
stance, the greatest of all,—the civil and criminal law,— ous assembly only retards and spoils. The operation is too
with a view to their character and their improvement, scientific and delicate a one for popular hands. Ben-
With regard to its superintendence of the criminal law, tham says expressly, that he undertook what is geneially qi
the following was Blackstone’s account of the matter as it considered as the greatest of all his writings, that he might
stood in his day, and he was a writer not likely to exclaim show that the tissue of laws, easy to be torn and difficult is
without provocation. “ The enacting of penalties, to which to be repaired, should not be delivered over to rash and jt
a whole nation should be subject, ought not to be left as a ignorant workmen. In this point of view, arbitrary rulers
matter of indifference to the passions or interests of a few, have considerable facilities for prompt and extensive legis-
who, upon temporary motives, may prefer or support such lation ; and, within the limits to which the above compa-
a bill but be calmly and maturely considered by persons rison is restricted, they have no temptation to abuse their pi
who know what provisions the laws have already made to advantages. Hardly any government can be conceived,
remedy the mischief complained of, who can from experi- in which the interest of the governors and of the govern*
ence foresee the probable consequences of those which are ed does not for the most part coincide. When the most d,
now proposed, and who will judge without passion or pre- absolute governments go wrong concerning them, it is not
judice how adequate they are to the evil. It is never for want of will to go right, but from the want of knowing
usual in the House of Peers even to read a private bill better. If this be the case, and nevertheless a tar greater
which may affect the property of an individual, without amount of happiness be found, upon the whole, amongst g
first referring it to some of the learned judges, and hear- free communities, of what vast importance to mankind are
ing their report thereon. And surely equal precaution is the inspiriting questions of constitutional law, and how
necessary when laws are to be established which may af- inestimable are the health and animation bieathed into a u
feet the property, the liberty, and perhaps even the lives society by the very air of freedom. Ihe public have to
LEGISLATION.
pay dearly for the pleasure which’ servile politicians may Jurisprudence, p. 279.) Thus, comparing two communities
i derive from the foolish couplet of the poet: with each other, he would say that the degree in which
For forms of government let fools contest: they respectively enjoyed civil liberty depended upon their
Whate’er is best administered is best. comparative freedom from legal restraint. According to
The cause of truth, however, has much to lose and no- this definition, it might happen that, in consequence of the
thing to gain by any exaggeration. The zeal, therefore, of absence of prudent restraints, the community which enjoy-
writers who attribute too much to the influence of govern- ed the highest degree of civil liberty would on that very
ment, is to be not less deprecated than the sophisms of
others who attribute to it too little. Thus far is certain,
that allowing the principal sources of human happiness to
be naturally independent of all legislatures, and that, there¬
fore, but little happiness can be directly originated by a
government, its means for doing evil are immense. A
good government, then, has this incalculable advantage ;
it protects the natural sources of human happiness from
the invasion of others, and abstains from invading them itself.
Half-truths are made whole falsehoods by precipitate ge¬
neralizations. A comprehensive consideration of the pro¬
per objects, and of the effective capabilities of legislation,
would have prevented the opposite errors ; that of a depre¬
ciating despondency, as well as that of extravagant expec¬
tations. Living in England, Dr Johnson underrated the
importance of the difference between institutions and laws
of one kind or another. He saw that, compared with other
sources of enjoyment, they were productive of but little im¬
mediate good; and he appears to have consequently in¬
ferred that they could also be productive but of little evil.
On the other hand, Filangieri, living at Naples, was a daily
witness of the infinite misery arising out of mis-government.
He seems to have consequently supposed that legislatures
had the power of creating prosperity and happiness in the
same proportion. This account of the matter, although pro¬
bably the true solution of the particular contradiction which
we are noticing, stops short of the point at which the prin¬
cipal difference between the two classes of government
will be most marked ; their good faith in the execution of
their laws. Laws cannot execute themselves. Therefore,
whatever may be the comparative merit of two systems
upon paper, it may be taken for granted that, if the one
contains constitutional guarantees which are wanting in the
other, there will be all the difference in the world in their
practical results. It is certain that no government can
long continue to be well administered, the good adminis¬
tration of which is not protected by guarantees. As far,
therefore, as the very substance of the law is concerned,
political arrangements for this purpose are indispensable
conditions to the truth of Dr Paley’s conclusion, “ that
that people, government, and constitution is the freest which
makes the best provision for the enacting of expedient and
salutary laws.”
But the substance of the laws is not the only object
of national legislation. A thing of still greater conse-'
quence is the spirit and character of the people. Civil
liberty, however explained, is not sufficient of itself. There
is great difference amongst jurists as to the proper mean¬
ing of the expression, civil liberty. If Mackintosh (on
the correction of the phrase jus gentium for that of jus in¬
ter gentes) could reasonably doubt whether that particular
innovation in a scientific term was one of those which re¬
paid us, by its superior precision, for the uncertainty and
■confusion which the change occasioned, the same doubt must
apply much more strongly in the present instance. It is
not only important for the science of legislation, that a
term supposed by many to imply its principal object,—but
it is important, with a view to our vulgar and daily prac¬
tice, that a term which is popularly used as the test of
good government,—should be uniformly understood. Mr
Austin has latterly defined civil liberty (and the language
of Destutt de Tracy comes to the same thing) to be, “ the
liberty from legal obligation which is left or granted by a
sovereign government to its own subjects.” {Province of
account be in possession of the worst government. On the
other hand, the definition given by Paley (which agrees
with that of Blackstone, and with the common understand¬
ing of the word), declares civil liberty to be “ the not be¬
ing restrained by any law but what conduces in a greater
degree to the public welfare.” Here civil liberty is distin¬
guished from natural liberty, that is, from the mere absence
of restraint, by being considered as that portion of natural li¬
berty which, under the supposed circumstances, ought to be
sanctioned by the law, and recognised by a just society, as
constituting the social rights of all its members. Civil li¬
berty is thus made synonymous with good government. On
comparing two communities together, they may be subjected
to very different degrees of restraint, and nevertheless may
be in the equal enjoyment of civil liberty. All that, for
this purpose, is required, is that, in the two cases, the dif¬
ferent degrees of restraint which are respectively imposed
shall conduce in the same proportion to the public welfare.
It is very difficult, (notwithstanding the explanation by Sir
David Evans in his preface to the collection of the sta¬
tutes) to extract a consistent sense out of Justinian’s well-
known definition. Blackstone, by mistranslating^ws into
justice, instead of law, and by leaving out the word vi, made
it the authority for the definition, which he himself gave,
and of which we have just been speaking. The words are,
naturalis facidtas ejus quod cuique facere libet, nisi quid vi
autjure prohibetur. That is, according to the translation of
Blackstone, civil liberty consists in doing what you like, un¬
less you are hindered justly or unjustly. So far all is cer¬
tain. The paragraph in the Institute cannot,have been
meant to coincide with that into which Blackstone has tor¬
tured it. Were it not for the word vi, it might be supposed
to mean the same with Mr Austin. But it appears to us,
that its authors have attempted to compress more into this
celebrated definition than it could possibly hold. Hence the
dilemma. One of the conflicting words must be given up ;
and then the species of liberty which is defined will depend
upon the word which is retained. If vis is retained, it will
be a definition of natural liberty ; ifyws, of civil. What¬
ever construction is given to naturalis (and the whole de¬
finition is put in opposition to that of slavery imposedywre
gentium), naturalis facidtas must be used in two senses,
and not in one, before vis and jus can be equally excep¬
tions to it. Civil liberty, in all senses in which the term
has ever been mentioned, is compatible wfith acts of vis, or
illegal violence. Accordingly, Montesquieu’s interpreta¬
tion (for it is apparently intended as such) of Justinian
discards this alternative, and admits only of the exception
made by the law'. “ La liberte est le droit de faire tout
ce que les foix permettent” {droit ought to be pouvoir
or moyens, sc. facidtas). Again, “ La liberte est le gou-
vernement dont on jouit.” In the Manchester debate,
Lord Plunkett defended what had taken place, on the
authority of a similar construction of the passage in Jus¬
tinian. According to this notion of civil liberty, on compar¬
ing two communities together, the degree of it which they
respectively enjoy will not depend upon the degree in which
their respective freedom of action is left absolutely unre¬
strained, nor upon the proportion which may be observed be¬
tween private restraint and public advantage, but will turn
on the single question, w hich of the two governments is suc¬
ceeding best in the complete and faithful administration of
its actual laws. Thus liberty and law become the same thing,
and this without any reference to the quality of the laws.
171
Legisla¬
tion.
LEGISLATION.
Of these conflicting definitions, it will be readily acknow- the legislative authority, that it should be compelled as I
lodged that the intermediate one,—that by which civil liber- much as possible to keep in the position, and be con-
ty and good government are synonymous,—is the only one versant with the views of legislation only ; that, having ^
which can be] properly considered as the principal end of legislated, it should be, as it weve, functus officio, and that
legislation. Sir James Mackintosh, in his Discourse on the the interpretation and execution of its laws should thence-
Zawo/Wataream/iVa&'orcSjexpressesandjustifiesitwithhis forth be transferred to other departments of the state,
usual truth of principle, and with more than his usual preci- In this consists one of the main advantages of a mixed or
sion of language. The security of which man in society has constitutional government. It not only affords the oppor-
need, is, it must be remembered, twofold; security against tunity,—it almost creates a necessity,—for separating the
wrong from individuals, as well as from the government it- exercise of the legislative, judicial, and executive authori-
self. “ The description of liberty which seems most com- ties from one another. Notwithstanding the classical im-
prehensive, is that of security against wrong. Liberty is, mortality conceded to Minos, Lycurgus, and Solon,—Mr
therefore, the object of all government. Men are more Bentham, who could have no prejudice in favour of cham-
free under every government, even the most imperfect, bers over individuals as legislators, says, that he cannot
than they would be if it were possible for them to exist discover in antiquity the traces of any true knowledge
without any government at all: they are more secure from concerning legislation. It seems impossible that the Greeks
wrong, more undisturbed in the exercise of their natural should have had any knowledge on the subject, whether
powers, and therefore more free, even in the most obvious as to the organization of a legislature, or the principles of
and grossest sense of the word, than if they were altogether law, which should not have been communicated to the
unprotected against injury from one another.” Now, as all Romans. But what in this respect was the history of Rome
unnecessary restraint imposed by government is a wrong, throughout all the period concerning which the history of
and as all individual restraint is unnecessary, unless an Rome is usually thought to be worth reading ? With the
equivalent is obtained by it for the general advantage of genius, which the military and administrative masters of
society, all restraints which are unaccompanied by this ad- the world ultimately exhibited as its law-makers, it seems
vantage, are so many deductions from civil liberty. But, quite extraordinary that the personal application of their
on the other hand, a restraint, by means of which we gain legislative intelligence to their own affairs should have
more in our personal freedom from the check put upon been so long in growing. Cicero, boasting of the per-
others (not to say sometimes upon ourselves), than we lose fection of the Twelve Tables, and of the short time which
from being ourselves restrained to the same extent, leaves it took to learn the Roman law, never seems to have
a balance of free agency in our favour, and becomes a part been aware that this account of it was a symptom of its
of civil liberty properly understood. deficiencies, just as would be the case with a boasting
As long as political liberty is wanting, the written letter Turkish cadi at the present day. The few lines in which
of civil liberty may indeed exist, but it will exist compara- the philosophical Tacitus dismisses the mass of laws which
tively spiritless and fruitless. Experience has shown that the by his time had accumulated upon the practitioner and
sense of security and of independence is no less essential to the public to an unmanageable bulk, are as severe a sa-
the advancement of society than to the comfort of indivi- tire as a more laboured commentary. Professing to turn
duals. Filangieri, having treated, in his Science of Legisla- aside to the principles of Roman jurisprudence, and to
tion, of the causes of the decay of Spanish greatness, anti- the methods by which Rome had reached its infinite
cipates a similar declension of the power of England. B. multitude and variety of laws, he conveys to the reader
Constant, commenting upon the passage in question, is far his deliberate opinion, that the Twelve Tables were the
from professing any very decided opinion in favour of the finis cequi juris, and that they comprehended whatever
general superiority of English legislation, But he attributes was really just and valuable in Roman law. “ The
the decay of Spain to the truer reason; to the perpetual pres- laws which followed, although sometimes directed against
sure of a government, which ground down the national in- wrong-doers, were generally passed by violence, either
telligence, and which, in order to have nothing to fear from through the dissension of the orders, or for the sake ot
its subjects, kept them in apathy, and paralysed their powers, gaining unlawful honours, or in order to expel distin-
B. Constant proceeds with the other side of the picture. He guished men, or for some other disgraceful object.” This
was writing in 1822. “ For the proof of this, we have only was no peculiar fancy taken up by Tacitus for the sake
to look at England. We shall find there commercial laws of throwing one of his Caravaggio-shadows over the pic-
not less absurd, not less vexatious, not less unjust. We ture. The popular Livy, too, who loved to see and to paint
shall see in the massacres of the Catholics, especially every thing brightly, finds equally in these ancient records
in Ireland, and in the execrable regulations which reduce the fountain of public and private law. Up to the time of
all that portion of the Irish people to the condition of Cicero, what could be the actual laws of Rome or the Roman
Helots, a pendant to the persecution and almost to the world, when he appealed {fremant licet) to these Twelve
banishment of the Moors; and yet England has remained Tables as the pillars of Hercules, which civil philosophy
in the first rank among the nations. The reason is, that could never hope to pass ? So much for the legislation
the political institutions, the parliamentary discussions, the of the Roman Republic, and for lamentations over what
liberty of the press, which England has uninterruptedly en- the world has lost in lessons of legal wisdom (at least
joyed for more than a hundred years, have counterbalanced up to the age of Tacitus) by the negligence or the
the vices of her laws and of her government. Her inha- treachery of Tribonian. What is called the age of its
bitants have maintained their energy of character, because classical jurisprudence visited the Roman law at last,
they have not been disinherited of their participation in By the time of Papinian and Ulpian, the various other
the administration of public affairs. This participation, al- sources from which the laws of every country must al¬
though almost imaginary, gives her citizens a feeling of ways be more or less derived, had sent forth such abun-
importance, which keeps their moral life in action ; and dant streams, that Tribonian and his colleagues had no-
England, governed, with few exceptions, since the time thing to do but choose amongst them from what waters
of Sir Robert Walpole, by Machiavellian ministers, and re- they should fill that imperishable reservoir at which all
presented by a corrupt parliament, has nevertheless re- future generations were to come and drink. Had the
tained the language, the habits, and many of the advantages Roman constitution made a juster arrangement ot the
of freedom.” three great political powers, it is improbable that so much
It is an important object in the organic structure of of its laws should have had to be sought for in these in-
LEGISLATION.
173
egi;a- direct channels. And, in that case, it would have been
tfoi impossible that the period of their being brought together
and united in one majestic body should have been defer¬
red so long. But there is another consideration, of still
greater consequence to contemporary generations than
even the formation of a system of jurisprudence. In that
case, it would have been equally impossible, that a hun¬
dredth part of the injustice, whether legislative, judicial,
or executive, with which Roman history swarms, should
ever have been committed. The Romans as a nation
seem to have remained for ages incapable of discerning
the fundamental difference between a legislative and a ju¬
dicial act. It is a distinction upon which the English
constitution is founded, and is carefully described by a
great master in politics. “ A legislative act has no refe¬
rence to any rule but these two, original justice, and dis¬
cretionary application. Therefore it can give rights—
rights where no rights existed before; and it can take
away rights where they were before established. For the
law, which binds all others, does not, and cannot, bind the
law-maker; he, and he alone, is above the law. But a
judge, a person exercising a judicial capacity, is neither
to apply to original justice, nor to a discretionary applica¬
tion of it. He goes to justice and discretion only at second
hand, and through the medium of some superiors. He is to
work neither upon his opinion of the one nor of the other;
but upon a fixed rule, of which he has not the making,
but singly and solely the application to the case.” (Burke,
vol. x. p. 66.) He adds, addressing the House of Com¬
mons on the case of Mr Wilkes, in the Middlesex elec¬
tion : “ In our legislative capacity we are in most in¬
stances esteemed a very wise body. In our judicial we
have no credit, no character, at all.” M. Comte, we per¬
ceive, admits the pre-eminence of England upon questions
of legislation. The authorit}', it is true, of the English par¬
liament as representing the public weal, has acted through¬
out all English history like a charm. Should it be doubted
whether the legislative reputation of parliament stands at
present quite so high with the English public as Burke
imagines it to have stood in 1771, there can be no doubt
but that its judicial reputation continues quite as low.
But in this, as in other cases, a disorder is half cured when
its cause is known. It was the misfortune of the Roman
government, owing to the confusion in which the exercise
of all authorities was mixed up together under it, that
there were not always the means, in point of fact, and
there was never any sound and recognised principle of law
to appeal to, as a test distinguishing between them.
The study of the science of legislation is the noblest of all
studies. The art of applying this science to the practical
necessities of mankind is the noblest of all professions. No¬
thing can more tend to fill the understanding and ele¬
vate the spirit of a human being. Every legislator, to be
worthy of his office, ought to have a high idea of its dignity.
He should think it is his duty to learn the boundaries of
the science, and to master the criteria which deter¬
mine what is contained in and what excluded from it.
Its legitimate province is so immense that no single in¬
telligence can be capable of cultivating and command¬
ing the whole of it. Different individuals will be guided
by appropriate considerations, private and public, respect¬
ing the special departments they particularly select. But
whether the department be easy or laborious, one or many,
the spirit and the principles by which its legislation ought
to be conducted will be the same. The previous know¬
ledge of the general nature of his subject, which is for
this purpose required of a statesman, is" not to be picked
Srds
111; of
ian
% i'
le
Inn
up in a day. Members of society, one and all, stand,
with regard to the body of which they are parts, in two
opposite relations; and they are entitled to demand that
their joint and several interests in both relations should
be measured and respected. It is their right, on the one
hand, that no restraint shall be imposed upon any indivi¬
dual, but what will contribute in a greater degree to the
public welfare. It is not less their undoubted right, on the
other hand, that whenever a restraint will so contribute, it
shall be forthwith imposed upon all. If unnecessary restraints
are so much wanton destruction of human happiness, the
omission or relaxation of necessary restraints may be no
less fatal. They expose to wanton injury the means of
happiness, which the law ought to protect, and they compel
the party injured to seek out the imperfect remedies of irre¬
gular and barbarous times, and to carve out for himself
the reparation which the law refuses. To draw lines of
this description justly, is the work of great observation
and profound philosophy combined. What investigations
does it not require on the nature of property. We need
only allude to the controversy between Grotius and Sel-
den, on the famous question of the freedom of the seas ;
and to the absence of all principle in the unsatisfactory
regulations respecting animals, called ferce. naturae, in the
laws as well of France as of England and America. What
discrimination does it not require in marking the subtile
limits by which, in the case of a hundred rights and du¬
ties, morals are separated from law. Principles and ex¬
amples of this kind are to be found in abundance in the
great writers upon duty and natural jurisprudence.1 In the
legislation of every country—certainly in that of Eng¬
land—there are many instances of some actions being
made cognizable by law which more properly belong to
morals; and of others being left to morals, which ought to
be brought under the penalty of the law. A due exami¬
nation into the boundaries of morals and law can scarce¬
ly fail to inspire becoming caution wherever there is a
chance of opposite laws being brought into collision with
each other. Occasions may easily be conceived when a
man will be called upon to perform an action which shall
place him within the concentric circles of the several
jurisdictions of the divine law, the law of morals, the
law of honour, the law of nations, and the law of the land.
If these several laws, acting with their respective sanctions,
concur in the line of duty which they require of him, all
is well. Wo to him if they should pull in opposite direc¬
tions. A government is answerable for the lives and
consciences of men, whenever, without an absolute ne¬
cessity, it drives its subjects to this terrible alternative.
The following passage is taken from Burke’s tract on the
Irish popery laws. No argument that human wisdom
can devise would prove more forcibly the wickedness of
legislating against the law of morals,—that is, against
the paramount principles of human nature,—than that a
political reasoner like Burke should have been so mad¬
dened by the contradiction, as to find there the legal
evidence by which municipal laws are annulled, instead
of the moral authority by which they are resisted. “ The
true weakness and opprobrium of our best general con¬
stitutions is, that they cannot provide beneficially for
every particular case, and thus fill, adequately to their
intentions, the circle of universal justice. But where the
principle is faulty, the erroneous part of the law is the
beneficial, and justice only finds refuge in those holes and
corners which had escaped the sagacity and inquisition of
the legislator. The happiness or misery of multitudes
can never be a thing indifferent. A law against the ma-
Legisla-
tion.
& Serm0m' 274 ’ Jerem>r Taylor, vol. i. 241 ; On Obligation and Relaxation of Human Laws, vol. xiii. 2.‘}0 ; Traite
174
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- jority of the people is in substance a law against the peo-
tion. pie itself: its extent determines its invalidity; it even
'changes its character as it enlarges its operation; it is not
particular injustice, but general oppression; and can no
longer be considered as a private hardship, which might
be borne, but spreads and grows up into the unfortunate
importance of a national calamity. Now, as a law direct¬
ed against the mass of the nation has not the nature of a
reasonable institution, so neither has it the authority; for
in all forms of government the people is the true legisla¬
tor ; and whether the immediate and instrumental cause of
the law be a single person or many, the remote and effi¬
cient cause is the consent of the people, either actual or
implied; and such consent is absolutely necessary to its
validity. To the solid establishment of every law two
things are essentially requisite ; first, a proper and suffi¬
cient human power to declare and modify the matter of
the law; and, next, such a fit and equitable constitution
as they have a right to declare and render binding. With
regard to the first requisite, the human authority, it is their
judgment they give up, not their right. The people, in¬
deed, are presumed to consent to whatever the legislature
ordains for their benefit; and they are to acquiesce in it,
though they do not clearly see into the propriety of the
means by which they are conducted to that desirable end.
This they owe as an act of homage and just deference to
a reason which the necessity of government has made
superior to their own. But though the means, and indeed
the nature, of a public advantage, may not always be evi¬
dent to the understanding of the subject, no one is so
gross and stupid as not to distinguish between a benefit
and an injury. No one can imagine, then, that an exclusion
of a great body of men, not from favours, privileges, and
trusts, but from the common advantages of society, can
ever be a thing intended for their good, or can ever be
ratified by any implied consent of theirs. If, therefore,
at least an implied human consent is necessary to the ex¬
istence of a law, such a constitution cannot in propriety
be a law at all. But if we could suppose that such a ra¬
tification was made, not virtually, but actually, by the
people, not representatively, but even collectively, still it
would be null and void. They have no right to make a
law prejudicial to the whole community, even though the
delinquents, in making such an act, should be themselves
the chief sufferers by it; because it would be made against
the principle of a superior law, which it is not in the power
of any community, or of the whole race of man, to alter,
—I mean the will of Him who gave us our nature, and, in
giving, impressed an invariable law upon it. It would be
hard to point out any error more truly Subversive of all
for it elsewhere. In reality, there are two, and only two,
foundations of law ; and they are both of them conditions, lion,
without which nothing can give it any force ; I mean equity A
and utility. With respect to the former, it grows out of the *
great rule of equality, which is grounded upon our com¬
mon nature, and which Philo, with equal propriety and
beauty, calls the mother of justice. All human laws are,
properly speaking, only declaratory ; they may alter the
mode and application, but have no power whatever over
the substance, of original justice. The other foundation of
law, which is utility, must be understood, not of partial or
limited, but of general and public utility, connected in the
same matter with, and derived directly from, our rational
nature; for any other utility may be the utility of a rob¬
ber, but cannot be that of a citizen ; the interest of the do¬
mestic enemy, and not that of a member of the common¬
wealth. This present equality can never be the founda¬
tion of statutes, which create an artificial difference be¬
tween men, as the laws before us do, in order to induce
a consequential inequality in the distribution of justice.
Law is a mode of human action respecting society, and
must be governed by the same rules of equity which go¬
vern every private action ; and so Tully considers it, in his
Offices, as the only utility agreeable to that nature. Unum
debet esse omnibus prepositum, ut eadem sit utilitas uniuscu-
jusque, et universorum ; quam si ad se quisque rapiat dis-
solvetur omnis humana consortia? It is no wonder that this
kind of conflict between opposite laws of distinct authority
which outraged Burke, should have also misled Blackstone.
Locke, On the Extent of the Legislative Power, equally de¬
nies the moral right to legalize injustice ; and Hooker the
same ; but Locke afterwards (vol. ii. p. 250), in his letter
on toleration, shows that he is aware that the rectification
of a similar abuse of power is to be sought for in the field
of battle, not in a court of justice. “ What if the magis¬
trate believe that he has a right to make such laws, and
that they are for the public good, and his subjects believe
the contrary? Who shall be judge between them? I
answer, God alone. There are two sorts of contests among
men, the one managed by law, the other by force ; and
these are of that nature, that, where the one ends, the
other always begins.”
But there is as little excuse for some of the contra¬
dictions which subsist between the positive laws of dif¬
ferent nations. Most of them might be removed by a
judicious comparative legislation. In this point of view,
it is highly desirable that the independent states, which
constitute the great commonwealth of the civilized world,
should make a rational concordance of those chapters of
their municipal laws, in which the subjects of all must,
the order and beauty, of all the peace and happiness, of from their intercourse with each other, have a common
human society, than the position that any body of men
have a right to make what laws they please ; or that laws
can derive any authority from their institution merely, and
independent of the quality of the subject-matter. No argu¬
ments of policy, reason of state, or preservation of the
constitution, can be pleaded in favour of such a practice.
They may indeed impeach the frame of that constitution
interest. Mr Justice Story has done much towards open¬
ing the way both to the end and to the means, in his
Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws in regard to Con¬
tracts, Rights, and Remedies, and especially in regard to
Marriages, Divorces, Wills, Successions, and Judgments.
The state of things by which a couple are married or un¬
married, according as they may happen to be in France,
but can never touch this immoveable principle. This seems Scotland, or England, is hardly less monstrous than the
to be indeed the doctrine which Hobbes broached in the contradictory title which, on the doctrine of a double al-
last century, and which was then so frequently and so legiance, England and America, for instance, may set up
ably refuted. Cicero exclaims with the utmost indigna¬
tion and contempt against such a notion (efe Legibus, lib. i.
15, 16) ; he considers it not only as unworthy of a philo¬
sopher, but of an illiterate peasant; that of all things this
was the most truly absurd to fancy, that the rule of jus¬
tice was to be taken from the constitutions of common-
to the obedience of the very same individual,—each being
ready to enforce its legal title by the extreme sanction of
the law. England is likely to have the honour of leading
the way on one subject. Mr Justice Story elsewhere
observes on the predominance which the system of com¬
mercial law, as established in England, is obtaining over
wealths, or that laws derived their authority from the sta- the world ; and anticipates that Europe has nearly arrived
tutes of the people, the edicts of princes, or the decrees at the point when the same commercial principles will form
of judges. If it be admitted that it is not the black letter part of the public law of all its sovereignties. If, in the
and the king’s arms that make the law, we are to look last generation, Lord Mansfield acquired this honour for
LEGISLATION. 175
Leg;a- his country and for himself, whilst dealing with and con- truly legislative, instead of being disposed of in the few Legisla-
, tic; ciliating the gracious interests growing up from out of the paragraphs of a summary, would occupy each a volume tion.
-0'—' civilizing intercourse of peace, Lord Stowell has in our own by itself. Besides, whatever may be the precise subject
time derived an equal glory from out of the calamities and on which a legislator may be engaged, he should always
injuries of war. Foreigners, looking on upon the just and remember that there is that sympathy and connection
liberal jurisprudence administered in his prize-courts, have between the several parts, even of the most irregular sys-
thought it not too much to call him the ornament, not of tem, that he can never be safe in dealing with any speci-
his “own age or country only, but of all ages and all coun- alty or fragment of it unless he knows something also of
tries; the intrepid supporter equally of neutral and belli- the rest, or knows at least the general bearings of the divi-
gerent rights ; the pure and spotless magistrate of nations.” sions which adjoin.
The mischief arising from intemperate and ignorant en- In a view of legislation, howTever cursory, it would be
actments makes it of great importance to fix accurately, in unpardonable to omit the outline sketched by the masterly
every case, the true limits of prudent legislation. Thus, hand of one who was certainly the greatest and the wisest
the sphere of mischief is railed in ; and thus also a legislator (and we believe very far from the meanest) of mankind,
may more easily learn the extent of the knowledge which What a treasure for all ages, had but the outline been filled
he has to acquire, and of the responsibility which he in- up by his weighty sentences, and with his capacious views,
curs. From the mode in which Burke’s political maxims “ For the more public part of government, which is laws, I
are scattered about in the different parts of his voluminous think good to note only one deficience : which is, that all
writings, as the occasion happened to call them forth, the those which have written of laws, have written either as phi-
greater and more philosophical portion of them are not losophers or as lawyers, and none as statesmen. As for the
so stedfastly recollected by the public as must have been philosophers, they make imaginary laws for imaginary com-
the case if they had been incorporated and presented in monwealths, and their discourses are as the stars which give
a more systematic form. Having occasion to restate the little light, because they are so high. For the lawyers,
principles expressed by Burke, it would, however, be great they write according to the states where they live, what
injustice to the reader to express them in other words. “ It is received law, and not what ought to be law ; for the
is,” says he, “ one of the finest problems in legislation, and wisdom of a law-maker is one, and of a lawyer is another,
what has often engaged my thoughts whilst I followed For there are in nature certain fountains of justice, whence
that profession, ‘ what the state ought to take upon itself to all civil laws are derived but as streams ; and like as wa-
direct by the public wisdom, and what it ought to leave, ters do take tinctures and tastes from the soils through
with as little interference as possible, to individual discre- which they run, so do civil laws vary according to the
tion.’ Nothing, certainly, can be laid down on the sub- regions and governments where they are planted, though
ject that will not admit of exceptions, many permanent, they proceed from the same fountains. Again, the wis-
some occasional. But the clearest line of distinction dom of a law-maker consisteth not only in a platform of
which I could draw, whilst I had my chalk to draw any justice, but in the application thereof, taking into consi-
line, was this,—that the state ought to confine itself to deration by what means laws may be made certain, and
what regards the state, or the creatures of the state, what are the causes and remedies of the doubtfulness and
namely, the exterior establishment of its religion; its uncertainty of law ; by what means laws may be made apt
magistracy; its revenue ; its military force by sea and and easy to be executed, and what are the impediments
land; the corporations that owe their existence to its fiat; and remedies in the execution of laws ; what influence
in a word, to every thing that is truly and properly pub- laws touching private right of meum and tuum have into
lie; to the public peace, to the public safety, to the pub- the public state, and how they are to be made apt and
lie order, to the public prosperity. In its preventive po > agreeable; how laws are to be penned and delivered,
lice it ought to be sparing of its effects, and to employ whether in texts or in acts, briefer large, with preambles
means, rather few, unfrequent, and strong, than many or without; how they are to be pruned and reformed from
and frequent, and of course (as they multiply their puny time to time, and what is the best means to keep them
politic race, and dwindle) small and feeble. Statesmen from being too vast in volumes, or too full of multiplicity
who know themselves will, with the dignity which belongs and crossness ; how they are to be expounded, when upon
to wisdom, proceed only in this, the superior orb and first causes emergent, and judicially discussed ; and when
mover of their duty, steadily, vigilantly, severely, cou- upon responses and conferences touching general points
rageously; whatever remains will, in a manner, provide or questions, how they are to be pressed, rigorously or
for itself. But as they descend from a state to a pro- tenderly ; how they are to be mitigated by equity and
vince, from a province to a parish, and from a parish to a good conscience; and whether discretion and strict "law is
private house, they go on, accelerated in their fall. They to be mingled in the same courts, or kept apart in seve-
cannot do the lower duty ; and in proportion as they try it, ral courts. Again, how the practice, profession, and eru-
tlwy will certainly fail in the higher. They ought to know dition of law is to be censured and governed, and many
the different departments of things ; what belongs to laws, other points touching the administration and (as I may
and what manners alone can regulate. To these, great term it) animation of laws.”1
politicians may give a leaning, but they cannot give a law. We have no very great respect for what are called funda-
Our legislature has fallen into this fault, as well as other mental laws. We do not share in the want of confidence
governments; all have fallen into it more or less.” ' which they imply in the wisdom and virtue of posterity ;
A great deal is here excluded. Much of what the Pu- which wisdom and virtue, when once wanting, a mere
ntans legislated for instantly on their arrival in New Eng- paper constitution can do nothing to supply. They are,
land; much of that on which the imperial parliament of we are convinced, far more likely in most cases to retard
ureat Britain is often unwisely called upon to legislate the progress of a country for the future, than to secure in
at present; for example, amongst other things, for the perpetuity, or for a day, the possession of those advantao-es
better observation of the Sabbath. Quite enough, how- which have already been obtained. At the same time
ever, is left for the most industrious and intrepid states- there are a few leading principles in politics pretty well
man. The discussion of the questions which Burke reckons settled. And if bills of rights, charters, and constitutions,
1 The Advancement of Learning.
176
LEGISLATION.
legisla¬
tion.
confined themselves to these, as much good perhaps as
harm might accompany the declaration of them. But the
particularity to which the constitutions of some of the
American states have descended is ridiculous now, and
may be mischievous hereafter. For this it is sufficient to
refer to the commentaries of Chancellor Kent. Few coun¬
tries have sought to tie up the body of their civil and cri¬
minal laws in leading-strings of this description. Laws of
this class (except in rare instances of occasional presump¬
tion) are respected as great problems, on which mankind
may as yet have much to learn, and which therefore had
best be left open for whatever improvements time and dis¬
cussion may suggest. With regard to them, therefore, we
will premise a few very general directions. They may
well claim to be approached in the spirit both of a philo¬
sopher and an historian.
1. On approaching the subject, a reflecting person must
perceive the necessity of laying out before him, in the
first instance, as it were upon a map, the leading princi¬
ples of general jurisprudence. What these are can only
be learned from a patient analysis of human nature.
Here Romagnosi and Comte call on him to observe the
powerful tendencies of mankind, of which the law ought
to be the express image. Here Bentham points out the
anti-social passions which it is one of the first offices of
the law to thwart and to subdue. Here come in Destutt
de Tracy's admissions, the more important in proportion
as they appear reluctant and extorted, on the necessity of
watching and picking out our way amongst the contradic¬
tions and infirmities of our imperfect nature. If it be true
that the laws of nature exist anterior and superior to ours,
—that what is fundamentally just is that w'hich is in con¬
formity with them, what is radically unjust is that which is
opposed to them ; and therefore that our laws, inasmuch as
they are weaker and subsequent, should, in order to be good,
be in harmony with these natural laws of greater antiquity
and strength,—it is no less true, that the immediate feel¬
ings and opinions of considerable bodies of men often re¬
present so ill the interests of the actual generation (those
of the next often not at all), that the real interests, even
of the parties themselves, much more those of mankind,
including the generations that come after, will be best
promoted by their immediate feelings and opinions re¬
ceiving a peremptory contradiction from the law. All
that is wanted in any case, in justification of thus much
of contradiction, is to suppose that the restraints ai’e wise¬
ly placed, and that the members of the community in
question, at least that part of them which is not incorrigi¬
ble, are capable, like those of a well-regulated family, of
accommodating their wills to the restraints. Destutt de
Tracy agrees with Montesquieu, when Montesquieu is treat¬
ing of the disadvantages of certain climates, in considering
“ that bad legislators are those who favour the vices of the
climate; good, those who are opposed to them.” The
maxim is equally true of all evil tendencies, however gene¬
rated. And the problem to be solved is in every case the
same ; the cost of the opposition, and the probability of suc¬
cess. On the one hand, you must not expect too much, and
enter upon a vain contest. On the other, you must not put
up with miseries and scandals that a little vigour would re¬
move. Connected with this part of the subject, or rather
practical parts of it of the greatest nicety, are the two im¬
portant questions; first, at what point in any given instance
the predominance of personal or local peculiarities is so great
as to overbalance the considerations upon which the general
principle had been constructed ; and, next, what are the
cases where observation and reason can only show that it
is necessary there should be some rule, but are not able
clearly to discover tvhat the rule should be. If man could
be kept right in his body natural or politic by a few
universal principles, the sciences of medicine and of le¬
gislation would be comparatively easy. But there is no Le™ M
limit to the modifications which the use of the most ap- ti« J
proved specifics may require ; and the best statesmen are
quite as well aware as the best physicians, that a know¬
ledge of the constitutions of their patients is n© less ne¬
cessary than a knowledge of the theory of their respec¬
tive arts. Before simplicity and uniformity can be merits,
there must be simplicity and uniformity in the subject to
which they relate. Now these are not among the charac¬
teristics of man. Accordingly, Bacon has directed the at¬
tention of lawgivers towards the particular exceptions to
general jurisprudence which differences in regions and go¬
vernments must always be introducing into the different sys¬
tems of practical law. The conquerors of the East, whether
ancient Greeks or modern Britons, have felt the obligation
of respecting usages so originating. Mr Bentham feels this
so strongly that, in indulgence to immemorial custom, he
questions, for instance, our laws against infanticide in Cutch.
Nothing is more to the credit of the discretion of our Indian
government than the gradual measures by which they pro¬
ceeded against suttees ; measures, where every symptom
and circumstance required to be watched as the experiment
was going on, in order to ensure its success. A great portion
of the rules of property are expedients in solution of the
other dilemma. On the one hand, property exists every¬
where; property, by law established. To ask, therefore,
whether there should be such a thing as private property, is,
in other words, to ask whether there should be such a thing
as society. And if utility requires property as an institu¬
tion, it equally requires that the conditions of it should be
fixed by the only authority capable of fixing it,—the muni¬
cipal law of the country where the question arises. On the
other hand, an enumeration of the countless diversity of
these conditions in different countries would cover pages.
Some of them certainly might be drawn nearer to each other
by the line of reason. But many are purely arbitrary, and
must always remain so. Hume, towards the conclusion of
his appendix on Farther Considerations with regard to Jus¬
tice, explains (in a passage which Paley has enlarged) the
slight analogies to which, in cases of this description, le¬
gislation must resort. “ When natural reason points out
no fixed view of public utility by which a controversy of
.property can be decided, positive laws are often framed to
supply its place, and direct the procedure of all courts of
judicature. Where these two fail, as often happens, pre¬
cedents are called for; and a former decision, though
given itself without any sufficient reason, justly becomes a
sufficient reason for a new decision. If direct laws and
precedents be wanting, imperfect and indirect ones are
brought in aid; and the controverted case is ranged under
them, by analogical reasonings and comparisons, and simi¬
litudes and correspondences, which are often more fanci¬
ful than real. In general it may safely be affirmed, that
jurisprudence is, in this respect, different from all the
sciences ; and that in many of its nicer questions, there
cannot properly be said to be truth or falsehood on either
side. If one pleader brings the case under any former law
or precedent, by a refined analogy or comparison, the op¬
posite pleader is not at a loss to find an opposite analogy
or comparison. And the preference given by the judge is
often founded more on taste and imagination than on any so¬
lid argument. Public utility is the general object of all
courts of judicature; and this utility, too, requires a stable
rule in all controversies. But where several rules, nearly
equal and indifferent, present themselves, it is a very slight
turn of thought which fixes the decision in favour of either
party.” If the well-known distinction between legislation
and that part of the administration of justice the results of
which we are learning to call jurisprudence had been pre¬
sent to the mind of the philosopher whilst he was w riting the
above paragraph, he would have perceived that he was de-
LEGISLATION.
51 scribing the cotirse of the first, and not the second. Courts
ol tfom of justice may be driven to such resources by a necessity
m Hr-" more or less imperative. Whenever they are so, the differ¬
ence in this respect between their course in adjudicating up¬
on questions which arise under the common law and those
*' which arise upon the statute law is, at the most, only a dif-
el ference in degree ; and, in the two cases, their comparative
111 authority was originally construed quite the reverse from
r' what is usually understood at present. Nevertheless, in truth,
!>< the court must be always discharging, on these occasions,
the office of a legislator, not a judge. In another part of his
,0, works, Hume notices the very delicate question, What are
1£' the degrees of relationship within which marriage ought not
V to be contracted ? This is another of those cases in which
l>ii philosophical jurisprudence can do no more than intimate
ie> the principle. “ Love between the nearer relations is con-
ah trary to reason and public utility ; but the precise point
h1. where we are to stop can scarcely be determined by natu-
11 ral reason, and is therefore a very proper subject for mu-
nicipal law or custom. If the Athenians went a little too
r) far on the one side, the canon law has surely pushed mat-
rit ters a great way into the other extreme.” On taking leave
h of the preliminary inquiry into general jurisprudence, it is
H; no exaggeration to say that Mr Bentham was the first ju-
iC- risconsult who ever applied, with any thing like adequate
lfc, detail, a searching analysis of human nature to the elements
li, of law. His catalogues of the pains and pleasures of which
in man is susceptible, have acted like a blister to the former
in- plausible and superficial systems. With an analysis of this
ft; sort on their tables, an end has been put to those morean-
cient and contradictory catalogues of the laws of nature
ii': which bookish scholars so long invented at their pleasure,
iff Had it existed earlier, wre should not have had, for in-
m. stance, Domat and Montesquieu at issue on the very prin-
)l<r ciple of filial inheritance ; Domat declaring that it is a law
fl of nature that children should succeed to the property
tlf of their parents ; Montesquieu, on the other hand, declar-
; • ing that it is a law of nature that a parent should exercise
>(e his discretion.
L 2. After having settled his map of general jurisprudence
tt on the common principles of human nature, a wise legis-
oif lator will proceed to examine the legislation of the parti-
k) cular country for which he is about to legislate. This
]$f must lead him on every subject to a complete and correct
!«• view of the progress and actual condition of its law. Mr
mi Bentham, in his Theory of Legislation, has treated history
) i too much like an old Almanac. It is indeed the standard
fel defect of his writings, that he seldom looks for help from
je any other understanding except his own. The sages of
e r the English law, however, have every reason to be con-
nt- tent with the value which he teaches the legal reformers
1. of England to put upon their collected labours. “ Tra-
rst verse,” he observes, “ the whole Continent of Europe ;
Hi; ransack all the libraries belonging to the jurisprudential
st; system of the various political states ; add the contents
ar of all together, and you would not be able to compose
ciF a collection of cases equal in variety, in amplitude, in
:a. clearness of statement, in a word, in all points taken to¬
ll; gether, in instructiveness, to that which may be seen to
!.; be afforded by the collection of English Reports of ad-
f judged Cases, on adding to them the Abridgments and Trea-
tises, by which a sort of order, such as it is, has been given
t . to their contents.” (^Papers Relative to Codification, 1817.)
3 / 3. The legislator ought in the next place to compare,
ia on all points of importance, different systems of jurispru-
!iif dence with each other. The necessity of this extended
fo, information on the part of the English legislature arises
atf h-om even a higher duty than that of enlarging the sphere of
177
philosophical induction. It is a direct necessity imposed Legisla-
on its members, by the fact that there is scarcely a species ti011-
of law existing on the face of the earth which is not within
the province of their immediate superintendence. “ At this
moment there are few of the systems of legislation, either
of ancient or modern times, which are not in force as liv¬
ing law within the British empire. Menu and Mahommed
decide the civil rights of the Hindu and the Mogul ; and
an appeal from India compels our privy councillors to con¬
sult the Koran and the Puranas as authorities at Whitehall.
Justinian is obeyed by the courts of the Ionian republic.
In the Norman isles, the severed portions of the domains
of the conqueror, the barbaric custumal framed by his jus¬
ticiars still guides the grand bailiff and the seneschal, who
dispense the equity of Rollo, now forgotten in the hall of
Rouen. Canada cherishes the volumes which have been
cast forth from the palace of justice ; and the legitimate
representatives of the proud and learned presidents of the
parliament of Paris, are found in the court-house of a co¬
lonial town. Banished from the flowery meadows of the
Seine, the ordinances expounded by Saint Louis beneath
the oak-tree at Vincennes constitute the tenures of lands
on the Gulf of St Lawrence ; and, whilst every vestige of
feudality has been blotted out of the title-deeds of the
European continent, it remains in full vigour in the wilds
and wastes of the New World. In the opposite hemi¬
sphere, we bestow an equal protection on the codes of
Napoleon ; and it is possible that, in future ages, the speck
of land, the Mauritius, in which they are now in force,
may alone preserve the vestiges of the jurisprudence of
the Great Empire. Our sovereign appoints his alcades
and his corregidors in the Indies of Columbus ; whilst
his landrosts in Southern Africa are guided by the placets
of the states-general of the departed republic of the Ne¬
therlands. The laws of king Christian of Denmark are
administered by British authority in the torrid zone. And
the deemsters assembled on the Tynwald of Man have
not abandoned the polity of the sea-kings of Scandinavia.
It is difficult to question the policy which first induced
England to soothe her stranger subjects, by thus indulging
them with the exercise of the laws which habit had ren¬
dered dear to them. But our legislators should now be¬
gin, slowly and cautiously, to assimilate the institutions
of the dependencies to those of the mother country.”1
4. Lastly, a legislator should be qualified, as far as pos¬
sible, to refer the variations of different systems to their
true causes, whether of climate, geographical peculiarities,
state of civilization, political events, particular institutions,
or of any other description.
There is no difference of opinion as to the reality
of most of the variations just mentioned, or their causes.
Those which it is the most important to dwell upon, be¬
cause, being the most insensible, they run the greatest risk
of being overlooked or underrated, are the changes by
which, in the course of generations, the moral and intel¬
lectual identity of almost every nation is necessarily destroy¬
ed. In this manner the gradual amendment of the laws of
a country should be the best part of the history of its pro¬
gressive civilization. It ought to be consequent upon it,
and to be the surest sign of it. Strangely opposite theories
upon the transitiveness or stationariness of laws have been
put forward in the discussions on codification. The fact,
thus asserted on one side and denied on the other, seems
to be regarded by some of the disputants as decisive of that
particular controversy. This we conceive to be a most
imprudent, and, what is more to the purpose, a most erro¬
neous admission upon the part of the advocates of a code.
The extent to which the fact of a gradual, and thus at last
1 Edinburgh Review, vol. xxxvi. p. 288, Courts of Ancient English Common Loac, attributed to Sir F. Palgrave.
VOL. XIII,
Z
178
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- an almost total, change in the moral and intellectual iden-
tion. tity of a people, affects the value of a code, is a matter only
^ of degree. The fact, if true, will certainly prevent a code
from being framed, once and for ever. But it by no means
follows that a code may not after all be a desirable com¬
promise in the alternative of difficulties which the question
of code or no code necessarily presents. It will only fol¬
low that it must be put up in moveable types, not in ste¬
reotype. If our extract from Savigny should be thought an
exaggerated statement of the necessarily flexible and fluent
character of nations, and of their laws, this statement is,
in our opinion, much nearer the truth than any notion of
immutability, even than that of an immutability liable to
be broken in upon only by great occasions, such as Meyer
apparently insinuates rather than positively affirms. “ In
the earliest times to which authentic history extends, the
law will be found,” says Savigny, “ to have already attained
a fixed character, peculiar to the people, like their language,
manners, and constitution. Nay, these phenomena have
no separate existence; they are but the particular faculties
and tendencies of an individual people, inseparably united in
nature, and only wearing the semblance of distinct attri¬
butes to our view. That which binds them into one whole
is the common conviction of the people, the kindred con¬
sciousness of an inward necessity, excluding all notion of an
accidental and arbitrary origin. But these moral faculties
require some bodily existence to fix them. Such, for lan¬
guage, is its constant uninterrupted use,—such, for the con¬
stitution, are palpable and public powers; but what supplies
its place with regard to the law ? In our times it is supplied
by rules communicated by writing and word of mouth. This
mode of fixation, however, presupposes a high degree of ab¬
straction, and is therefore not practicable in early times.
On the contrary, we then find symbolical acts universally
employed where rights and duties were to be created or
extinguished. These formal acts may be considered as
the true grammar of law in this period. But this organic
connection of law with the being and the character of the
people, is also manifested in the progress of the times; and
here again it may be compared with language. For law,
as for language, there is no moment of absolute cessation ;
it is subject to the same movement and development as
every other popular tendency; and this very development
remains under the same law of inward necessity, as in its
earliest stages. Law grows with the growth and strength¬
ens with the strength of the people, and finally dies away as
the nation loses its nationality. The sum, therefore, of this
theory is, that all law is originally formed in the manner in
which, in ordinary but not quite correct language, customary
law is said to have been formed ; that is, it is first developed
by custom and popular faith, next by jurisprudence; every¬
where therefore by internal, silently operating powers, not
by the arbitrary will of a lawgiver.”1 Meyer, on the other
hand, from the way in which he expresses himself, gives his
readers to understand, that the elements of internal change
in the habits of a people, to the degree even in which they
influence its customary law, are nothing more than occa¬
sional exceptions. “ Supposing,” says he, “ all law to be
introduced by usage, it would ensue that it was susceptible
of variation when the difference of circumstances in which
a nation finds itself, introduces a notable change in its
necessities, that is, in its manner of existence. But there
is no reason to conclude that a change of this kind is the
necessary and immediate consequence of the ordinary al¬
terations naturally resulting from the lapse of time. Ac¬
cording to our manner of considering the subject, law,
whether it is regarded as an emanation of human wisdom
applied to given facts, or is looked upon as the result
of the necessary combinations which a state of society
introduces, must be unalterable, unless by reason of some
important event, sufficient either to displace the facts to
which the theory has been applied, or to destroy the usage.
Custom is unalterable, or it would not be custom; rest¬
ing on a series of similar facts, it excludes all idea of vari¬
ation and constant flux. Beginning from the point at
which uncertainty ceases, whatever remains stable (not¬
withstanding slight variations in the species which present
themselves) is alone that which can be considered to con¬
stitute usage; just as the height of water is calculated by
the line which it constantly draws, though one wave may
rise above, and another may fall below. The main notion
of a law always in movement, always in a course of im¬
provement, and adapting itself to the demands of the mo¬
ment, and which consequently can never be stationary or
regarded from a settled point, is one of those vague con¬
ceptions which can only arise in minds pre-occupied by fal¬
lacious systems. Law, even customary law, is by its nature
invariable and fixed, though capable of being changed when
circumstances imperatively require it. But these changes,
so far from being of the essence of law and custom, are, on the
contrary, altogether exceptions; and it is impossible to have
a precise idea of floating laws.”2 This is very unguarded
language, quite unworthy of the author of the Institutions
Judiciaires, and of the good sense and learning which cha¬
racterize the work in which it appears. Of course, every
effect, in the case of laws, as of other things, must have
its cause, and that a sufficient one, although not always
equally assignable; or it would not have taken place. As
far, therefore, as man is unchangeable, such laws as have
been once put in harmony with his nature, may be ex¬
pected to be also unchangeable. But even the class of
laws properly belonging to human nature is affected by
many causes which produce little or no change in the visi¬
ble wants and aspect of society ; whilst the numerous other
laws which follow the bidding of a government, or the
temporary tendencies of juridical learning, must change as
they change, and often from causes slight enough.
Foreign jurists, when most favourably disposed to English
law, are ne vertheless marvellously struck by the poverty and
narrowness of most English law-books. Few of our legal
writers have thought of any thing further than of com¬
piling and classifying books of practice. Practising law¬
yers, for the most part, therefore, it may be taken for grant¬
ed, will consider as quite superfluous almost all and every
portion of the labour which we have above required of
the makers of the law. Partisans of the historical school
in Germany and elsewhere will take their own share of
antiquarian doctrine, but be disposed to pay too little at¬
tention to the general philosophy of human nature. On the
other hand, many of the strict followers of Mr Bentham, too
confident in the expanded views opened to them by their
master, will think it beneath them to descend from their moun¬
tain top, and shut themselves up, as it were, within the paltry
bounds of one or two private schools. Now, the several
classes thus enumerated are disqualified for the task of
legislation, just in the proportion that they are exclusive.
Their favourite views are all highly valuable, and the more
so because they are to a considerable degree independent
of each other. The greater part of all positive systems of
jurisprudence were originally built up by means of cus¬
toms, incidental text-books, and the decisions of courts of
justice upon particular cases. After being thus construct¬
ed, they were subsequently taught synthetically only as
sciences, without having the aid and correction of any real
1 Savigny on the Vocation of our Age for Legislation and Jurisprudence.
2 Be la Codification en general, et de celle de VAngleterre en particulkr.
LEGISLATION.
179
tiori
,egiji- analysis applied to them. Little, therefore, having been principles which are wanted for facilitating and securing Legisla-
ever derived directly from this source, we believe that, in this application. Now, what will be these subaltern prin- tion-
making or amending laws, a philosophical analysis of human ciples ? theoretical or practical ? They will be theoretical, in
nature is of such paramount importance, that without it as much as they are, as it were, a filiation from the first ge-
nothing new and really great will ever be introduced. In neral principle: they will be practical, inasmuch as they are
intended to provide for practical cases. How then shall
these principles be called ? Rules of criminal jurisprudence.
In criminal matters, therefore, there is not one part theo¬
retical, another practical. There is the science of legisla¬
tion, or that of establishing criminal law; and there \$,ju¬
risprudence, or the science of the application of the crimi-
this manner alone can a statesman hope to learn what is
the standard to which every reform in legislation, except
as controlled by special circumstances, should be directed 5
and by these means alone can he learn how this standard
is to be approached. On the other hand, comparative law
is a science as well worth studying, and, mutatis mutandis,
ought to be studied for the same purpose, as comparative nal law which has been thus established. Nor can these two
anatomy. Religion is the only other subject which has
occupied half the same amount of understanding. Be¬
sides, no human genius is competent to think out unas-
sistedly a system of law. The legislative and judicial re¬
cords of mankind are amongst the very highest subsidiary
authority for discovering the true principles of human na
branches of knowledge be properly disjoined, the first being
a filiation from the second; nor can a proper value be put
on this filiation, but by means of analysis.”
Whatever mode of legislation is adopted, in case law is
ever to be a rational science, it can only be made so by the
application of powers and processes, both of observation and
ture upon the questions to which they relate. But, inde- generalization, similar to those by which other intelligible
pendently of this consideration, the immediate influence ex- sciences have been made. There can be no “ high priori
ercised by their laws and institutions upon a people, and the road;” no assumption, without evidence, of certain general
way in which all laws and institutions of any standing lean principles or maxims, from and by means of which all doc-
upon and penetrate each other, are practical points of the trines are to be afterwards synthetically propounded. By a
greatest nicety and weight. An accurate knowledge of philosophical abstraction, what is common in *Wmafwa/cases,
them, both of their past history and present condition, in must be separated and classed, in order to form the species ;
relation to the particular country to which the new legisla- and then the same must be done with what is common to
tion is to be adapted, is at least as indispensable as any il- the species, in order to form the genus. A marked advance-
lumination which the most consummate generalizations of ment has taken place in legislation at certain periods. But
universal jurisprudence can afford. Fortunately, the two the greater part of this has in all periods been directly owing
methods may be combined. Otherwise, on the supposition to an improved analysis of some of the principal facts which
that law reforms were to be intrusted to a single jurist, and
that accordingly we were obliged to choose our legislator,
pure and unadulterated, out of one or other of these oppo¬
site schools, we should think ourselves safer among the pre¬
cedents of the legal antiquarian, than among the specula¬
tions of the juridical metaphysician. The precedents have
been a part of the real business of life at one time. That
is certain. Whether the particular speculations ever will
become so, may be a very doubtful matter.
A union of theory and practice can alone secure tolerable
legislation. Whether the above schools act herein separately
enter into legal constitutions, and by a better exposition
and understanding of their causes and effects.’l In this man¬
ner alone can the advantages and disadvantages of existing
laws be faithfully ascertained. It is thus, to mention two
or three instances only, that the legal maxims of former
times on heresy and witchcraft, on secret tribunals, torture,
extreme or barbarous punishments, have been, one after the
other, successively exploded. It has been truly said that
“ Beccaria would not have produced a* revolution in crimi¬
nal legislation, if, instead of exposing the consequences of
sundry mischievous laws, he had restricted himself to an
or conjointly, the work, if it is to approximate to the form of eloquent development of his principles on the right to punish ;
reasonable laws, must be the work of a well-practised theorist, and that the discussions which during the last century arose
The observations of Carmignani upon the mode in which a out of certain celebrated trials, contributed more to the
legislator ought to proceed in getting at his general and progress of legal science than the social contract of Rous-
subordinate principles, if true of criminal law, must be seau.” Nor is this method the only one really and perma-
true with respect to law of all kinds. In the working them
out, however, it is clear that the great (perhaps the greater)
part of the rules of jurisprudence will have been antici¬
pated and ascertained in what is here supposed the earlier
process of investigating the principles of legislation. “ If
every notion belonging to criminal laws proceeds, as it
ought to proceed, from an examination of the qualities
of the object out of which it arises, verifying them by ob¬
servation and experience (and this is the main difficul¬
ty), what, it may be asked, is the nature of the principle
which such an examination will establish ? It will be the
most general rule that the human mind can conceive for
providing for the wants of that particular object. Will the
principle be theoretical or practical ? It will be both one
and the other : practical because it proceeds from the expe¬
rience of facts; theoretical because the result of this expe¬
rience is here converted into a general rule. What, then,
shall this principle be called ? A principle of criminal legis¬
lation. But how shall this principle be made to descend
from the elevated generalization in which it consists, and
be so applied as, in every possible case, to provide for the
wants of the object out of which it has first arisen ? By
observing how best to apply it to the sevei’al cases, by con¬
sidering whether it embraces them all, and how it embraces
them, and by fixing the nature and number of subaltern
seau.
nently available for the getting rid of bad laws. It is equally
necessary for the framing of good ones. In no other manner
can a proper use be made of the mateifials of existing laws,
with a view to the construction of an improved system.
This latter enterprise certainly requires a combination of
great qualities and attainments. In order to duly correct
the English system, for instance, what different capacities
must be put in requisition for the task. There will be
wanted the learning of Serjeant Hill to collect the materials
of a purely professional kind (the most important materials
after all),—the philosophical genius of Lord Mansfield to
deduce from them liberal and comprehensive rules,—the
logic and the caution of Lord Eldon to trace the conse¬
quences of the rules to their remotest fibres, and to fix, in
one of his exact parentheses, the limits and the exceptions
by which particular rules ought to be guarded. The diffi¬
culties to be overcome in legislation are great, but not alto¬
gether insuperable. It is no answer to a proposition for
a thorough sifting into the state of the laws of any country,
that any extensive improvement of laws is a difficult un¬
dertaking. It is an equally insufficient objection to say,
that the best possible system of legislation must, after all,
be to a certain degree imperfect. The English nation has
inherited a system of laws founded on the force of habit, the
authority of prescription, the learning of text writers, and
180
LEGISLATION.
1 legisla¬
tion.
the discretion of judges. Its government must (supposing
it to be otherwise competent to the performance of the
high trust with which it is invested) be capable of deter¬
mining whether it has, in point of fact, sufficient means
at its command for the introduction of a^better system,
either in substance, by a substitution, in certain cases, of
more reasonable principles ; or in form, by the aid either of
a general consolidation, or of special codes.
A careful perusal of an excellent chapter by Dugald
Stewart, in the first volume of his Philosophy of the Human
Mind, on “ the use and abuse of general principles in po¬
litics,” ought to satisfy a statesman, that any pains which
he may take in this investigation are not likely to be thrown
away, at the period which society has at present reached.
Reading it, he will the better understand by what causes
the science of legislation has hitherto been principally re¬
tarded, by what means its successful cultivation may be
most effectually promoted, and on what grounds and to
what extent we may reasonably hope that the future will
consist of something better than a patchwork repetition of
the past. The simplifying of legislation means some¬
thing more than weeding the trash out of a lawyer’s li¬
brary. A single paragraph (we shall give no more from
a book which everybody ought to be presumed to know)
will serve to show the spirit of his opinions : “ In order to
lay a solid foundation for the science of politics, the first
step ought to be, to ascertain that form of society which
is perfectly agreeable to nature and to justice, and what
are the principles of legislation necessary for maintaining
it. Nor is the inquiry so difficult as might at first be ap¬
prehended ; for it might be easily shown, that the greater
part of the political disorders which exist among mankind,
do not arise from a want of foresight in politicians, which
has rendered their laws too general, but from their having
trusted too little to the operation of those simple institu¬
tions which nature and justice recommend; and, of con¬
sequence, that, as society advances to its perfection, the
number of laws may be expected to diminish, instead of
increasing, and the science of legislation to be gradually
simplified.”
Codification. Codification is one of the many polysylla¬
bic terms which Mr Bentham constructed in order to ex¬
press in single sonorous words the growing wants of legal
science. M. Dumont made it French, and by so doing
has made it European. It signifies either the science or
the operation of making codes. Modern usage has disre¬
garded the technical nomenclature of the Roman law,
wdierein the code represented the compilation of that par¬
ticular portion which was derived from the imperial con¬
stitutions. Most persons understand by the word at present
no more than an authoritative consolidation, either of the en¬
tire body of national law, or of some particular division of
it; and this, without distinguishing between the materials
used or the form adopted. Five codes on law and procedure,
collected from various sources, and arranged systematically
in separate paragraphs, constitute the Code Napoleon. In
case it is attempted to reduce the English laws to some¬
thing of a system, the common law and the statute law
may be incorporated or kept distinct;—the form may be
that of enumerated articles, or of a continuous digest,—the
digest may be framed upon either the historical or scientific
principle; and yet, in these several cases, the enacted vo¬
lume would be called, and with equal propriety, a code.
Each of these courses has found able advocates. But there
is a previous question to determine,—one on which much
learning, argument, and passion, have been of late exhaust¬
ed,—that is, whether, on general principles, a code is of
any real advantage to a nation. To know this, it is ne¬
cessary to know the several characteristics of written and
unwritten, or, to speak more correctly, of enacted and un¬
enacted laws. The comparative merits of these two sys¬
tems will perhaps be better (at least more practically and Le^
popularly) stated, by a narrative of the circumstances and %
the method in which different nations have attempted to 's“v.
solve the problem, and by an examination into the discus¬
sions which have taken place in consequence, than by an
analysis conducted in a more formal manner.
Municipal law is a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the
supreme authority of the state. The legal rule ought in
all cases to have the character of a rule. But it may exist,
and in point of fact has existed, under very different for¬
malities and presumptions in different countries. It begins
in barbarous countries orally, and is necessarily continued
in them by oral tradition. It is, however, everywhere com¬
mitted to the custody of writing, as soon as writing becomes
common. By some nations, as soon as it is put in writing,
it is embodied into digests; by others it is separated into
articulate propositions. Under some systems it is to be got
at out of special precedents, by means only of comparison
and analogy; under others it is understood to be contained,
as matter of necessary inference, in a certain number of de¬
finitions and general principles. In the same manner, the
rule expressive of the will of society must everywhere be
supposed to be invested, first or last, with the sanction
of society, speaking by the voice of its supreme authority,
that is, by the voice of the legislature. But this sanction
may be implied as well as expressed. It exists, although in¬
directly, in behalf of rules which, if they are made by others,
the legislature nevertheless adopts, just as completely as
it exists in behalf of those which the legislature has itself
originated, and on which, therefore, it set its seal from the
beginning. The prudence of an arrangement, by which an
intelligent community consents to the surrender of the ini¬
tiative by its legislature, thus countenancing a wanton con¬
fusion of judicial and legislative action, and leaving the law,
as it were, all of a heap, comparatively inaccessible and un¬
known, is a different question. This may, in some cases,
have been the least of two evils. But the exigencies of
one state of society need not be made the deliberate
choice of another. In the mean time, the various laws,
pouring in from these different sources, though not equally
open to the inspection of the public, are equally recognised
by its members, as possessing the authority of law. The
abuse, if any, is not transacted in a corner. There are
popular usages, transmitted orally from generation to ge¬
neration by the common report of neighbours, or, as in
the city of London, certified by the mouth of the recor¬
der : there are judicial principles, whether laid down by
the praetor in general terms, or extracted from the deci¬
sions of courts in particular cases : there are the private
opinions of learned text writers, such as the jurisconsults
at Rome, or as Littleton, Coke, and Fearne in England:
there is the uniform understanding of the profession, the
usus fori, acknow ledged even unto the practice of convey¬
ancers. Whilst so many concurrent streams are notoriously
feeding and filling the channels of the law, the silence of the
legislature is equivalent to its assent. This, most of the ad¬
vocates of a code are reasonable enough to admit. But it
is the legal obligation which is thus impressed upon laws of
this description, that constitutes the very ground of their
complaint. They insist, that laws so diversified as often to
clash, and so latent as often to remain unknown, can never
adequately fulfil the characteristic conditions of a legisla¬
tive rule. They propose, accordingly, that there should
be only one form of law,—that of writing ; and only one
source of law,—that of express legislative enactment.
A complete code, of course, embraces the whole field of
law, indeed every subject competent to be raised in a court of
justice. Partial codes embrace only legal rights and obli¬
gations of a particular description. We shall look at the
subject historically in the first instance. If its very prin¬
ciple and rationale have been left to be settled almost to our
i
i
<
S
a
s
I
I
r.
c
c
o
P
tl
d
It
la
o:
It
(1
o
o
a
It
li
\)
it
c
li
s;
c
!)
P
t
«
t
t
c
i
i
t
i
i
LEGISLATION. 181
:.egii!- own times, this does not arise from a lack of early prece- except at Rome; nor at Rome, for practical purposes, by Legisla-
tior: dents; whilst it is to the credit of modern civilization that any body except by Caesar and Justinian. On this point t^on-
■"V'^the argumentative statements latterly advanced on both Cicero gives us the first and almost the only information
sides of the case contain the greater part, if not all, of we possess. His own views are so excellent, that, sup-
what philosophy can have to say about it. There have posing them to have originated with himself, he must
been codes of one sort or another in the world from the have created a school of law reformers. It is clear that
earliest ages. The title of a legislator was in great request Cicero regarded the writings of the Greeks upon politics
with antiquity. It was an honour of the same order as and law as purely literary compositions. Under this con-
that of the founder or restorer of a state. We must not, viction, he took great credit to himself for writing on law
however, be the slaves of splendid names. It is difficult to as a statesman. He looked at the laws and the common-
believe that, on the formation of a semi-barbarous govern- wealth in connection with each other; and in all his ob-
ment, it could have the means or the desire of construct- servations had the Roman institutions principally in his
ing an entire system of positive legislation ; still less that mind. If the legal literature of Greece w'as too abstract
it would think of admitting, in the course of its future pro- to work with, in what relation stood their judicial juris-
gress, no laws to pass current but what were either origi- prudence ? The Greek bar, if it was not of a kind to
nally produced in that mould, or what were as soon as pos- much embarrass Athenian reformers, must have been still
sible thrown into it, in order that they might be repro- more incapable of assisting to settle the law upon new
duced under its stamp and fashion. This is one of the and improved foundations. Nor is this the extent of the
wants and achievements of wiser times. These ancient loss. Wherever lawyers are not a distinct and respec-
codes, instead of being born, like our first father, full table profession, it may be taken for granted that there
grown, were diminutive, feeble births, and left outstanding is little or no law. The jurisconsults of Rome, in the
a much greater mass of customary law. They extended to comparative infancy of Roman law, had already become
some few principal subjects only, and were probably not al- more powerful by their authority than even by their ta-
ways the sole and exclusive authority even upon them. The lents. On the other hand, what could be expected of
proportion between the written law, thus enacted by the Greek lawyers, such as Cicero describes them by .way
legislature, and the remainder of the law, which was de- of contrast: Injimi homines apud Grcecosmercedula addicti
rived from other sources, must have varied in different qui ministros se prcebent injudiciis oratoribus ? Whilst ju-
countries at the very commencement of their several so- rists and judges apparently did but little for the cultiva-
cieties. The proportion, unequal at first, must have gone tion of municipal law in Greece, was the deficiency real-
on varying still more from age to age. If we should sup- ly supplied from other sources—by popular usages or po-
pose the Twelve Tables, the capitularies of Charlemagne, sitive legislation ? Cicero has not in this respect a word
the code of Alfred, to have constituted nearly the whole of to say for the nursery of philosophy, literature, and the
the municipal law of their respective periods, this could not arts. On the contrary, Rome was in his opinion the only
long remain so. The shape which their subsequent legis- substantial home of virtue, dignity, and empire in all the
lation might assume would, even in the same state, depend world. The most vulgar lawyer, admiring his own little
on very different considerations, at different stages of its his- manual of practice, and despising the institutions of every
tory ; whilst the course which might have been most ju- other people, could not throw out a more scornful chal-
dicious in one country might be most imprudent in an- lenge than the comparison he puts into the mouth of Cras-
other. Codes then, it is clear, have always existed more sus, between the Roman laws and the laws of Draco,
or less, of one sort or another, from time immemorial. The Solon, and Lycurgus. Incredibile est, quam sit omne jus
advantages and disadvantages also of this species oflegis- civile prceter hoc nostrum inconditum ac pcene ridiculum ; de
lation vary from country to country, and from age to age. quo multa soleo in sermonibus quotidianis dicere, cum homi-
In most cases the experiment has been tried, concurrently num nostrorumprudentiam cceteris omnibus maxime Greeds
with other kinds of legislation. This is the state of things antepono.” Nevertheless, all the praise to which the civil
which history from time to time necessarily presents. Ac- law in the time of Cicero seemed entitled, was by compa-
cordingly a period must arrive in all civilized communi- rison only. The black-letter wisdom of the Twelve Tables
ties for subjecting the opposite pretensions of contrasted was losing its interest, except with antiquarians and mo-
systems to the test of a philosophical and historical dis- ralists. In his childhood it had been taught as a sort of
cussion. The general question, in what form laws are catechism to young people. He himself had learned it
best authenticated, communicated, and preserved,—the {carmen necessarium), in the way that their constitutional
particular question of code or no code in a given coun- code is a prescribed lesson in the schools of some of the
try,—are questions which (in whatever way they may be United States; but the practice had gone out of fashion
ultimately decided) must sooner or later come to be de- during his lifetime {De Leyibus, 25). Its old-fashioned
bated. Of course, we speak of countries where man is in authority was just then in the course of being displaced by
movement, and where the population is sufficiently or- the successive edicts of the praetors. Non ergo a preetons
derly and prosperous for the laws to spread out and accu- edicto ut plerique nunc neque a duodecim tabulisut super lores
mulate to their natural extent. sedpenitvs ex intima philosophia hauriendam juris discipli-
Some persons seem determined to presume every thing nam putant. The annual code of the praetor could, how-
in behalf of classical antiquity. It may be suggested ever, at this period cover but a small corner of the field of
therefore, that the evidence of its legislative deliberations law. The rest, such as it was, must have been given over
upon this subject may have been lost; otherwise the si- into the hands of the jurisconsult. But the juridical learn-
lence of the most celebrated amongst the ancient states is ing of Rome, which was afterwards destined to acquire
a very suspicious circumstance. If they were never made the character of written wisdom, and become the arbiter
aware of the necessity of meeting the question, they can of the civilized world, was at that time in a state hardly
have had little or no law on many important subjects. If removed from childhood. Cicero himself, in the oration
they were too ignorant or indifferent to make serious pro- for Mursena, treats it with the utmost contempt. Primurn
vision for a satisfactory determination of it, they must dignitas in tarn tenui scientia queepotest esse ? As regarded
have left their law in an imperfect, incoherent, desultory the forms, Dum erant occulta, necessario ab eis, qui ea Re¬
condition. There is no evidence come down to us from nebant, petebantur : postea vero pervulgata atque in mam-
antiquity, that the demand for reducing the whole body bus jaetata et discussa, inanissima prudentice reperta sunt,
of national law to principle and method was ever raised, fraudis autem et stuldtice plenissima. As regarded the
182
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- substance, Cum permulto prceclare legibus essent constituta,
tl0n* , ea jurisconsultorum ingeniis pleraque corrupta acdepravata
sunt. Scientia, qua tota ex rebus fictis commentitiisque con-
staret. He finishes by saying, in case where Servius Sulpi-
cius provokes him, that, overwhelmed with business as he
is, he will undertake to make himself master of the civil law
in three days: Sapiens existimari nemo potest in ea pru-
dentia, quae neque extra Romam usquam, neque Roma,
rebus prolatis, quidquam valet. Peritus ideo haberi nemo
potest, quod in eo, quod sciunt omnes, nullo modo possunt
inter se discrepare : difficilis autem res ideo no7i putatur,
quod et perpaucis, et minime obscuris litteris continetur.
Itaque, si mihi, homini vehementer occupato, stomachum
moveritis, triduo me jurisconsultum esse projitebor. Nor
was this contemptuous language the artifice of an advocate
for oratorical effect. In the treatise De Legibus he speaks
of the learning of the profession quite as slightingly ; and
declares that it consists but of mean things, qua et scripta
sunt a multis diligenter, et sunt humiliora quam ilia qua a
vobis expectari puto. Again, in the treatise De Oratore, he
states that their writings neque ita multis Uteris autvolumini-
bus magnis continentur. Eadem enim sunt elata primum a
pluribus ; deinde paucis verbis commutatis, etiam ab eisdem
scriptoribus scripta sunt sapius. And he adds, Non dicerem
hoc, audiente Scavola, nisi ipse dicere soleret nullius artis
faciliorem sibi cognitionem videri. Up to this period,
therefore, notwithstanding the boasted superiority of the
Roman law to that of all other nations, to what must the
boast be in truth reduced ? The foundation consisted of
the Twelve Tables, whatever they might be worth. But
almost the entire fabric was raised up by means of the an¬
nual edict of an annual unprofessional officer, professing
to make his laws for the year, and to administer them
upon the latitudinarian principles of a court of honour or
of conscience." On certain subjects, the additional element
of that occasional, partial, and conflicting legislation de¬
scribed by Tacitus, embroiled the fray. These new laws
would raise up the debateable examination which Cicero
mentions, into the old ones, whether, for instance, they
are to be supposed ipsa sua vetustate consenuisse aut novis
legibus esse sublatas. Now this was the state of the Ro¬
man law when Caesar is understood to have aspired to the
character of a legal reformer. The last-mentioned mate¬
rials, produced by extensive and arbitrary legislation, at
the passion and in the interest of opposite authorities, ap¬
pear, in their complication, their contradiction, and their
evil spirit, to have been the greatest grievance. What
evidence have we of the measures which he contem¬
plated ? Gibbon’s imagination seems to have taken wing
without authority, when he anticipates on this occasion
the avatar of a more than Roman Bentham. According
to the rhetorical historian, if Caesar had achieved the re¬
formation of the Roman law, his creative genius, en¬
lightened by reflection and study, would have given to
the world “ a pure and original system of jurisprudence.”
Suetonius is so far from supporting this conjecture, that
he expressly restricts the intended amendment of thejW
civile to the reduction of it within a moderate compass,
and to the making out of its immense quantity of laws, a
small compilation of those only which were best and most
needful; optima quaque et necessaria inpaucissimos conferee
libros. If we suppose Caesar to have meditated something
more than this, it would probably have been an attempt to
carry into his legislative digest that logical arrangement,
by which Servius Sulpicius had perfected his practice,
and by the aid of which Cicero insinuates that he himself
had at one time thought of writing a didactic treatise on
the civil law. Ought we to conjecture that this intention
was really executed in the last books of the treatise De Le¬
gibus ? In that case there is, more than ever, reason to
lament their loss. The world would then have known
what kind of a code the Roman republic had really the
means of making. The passages in which Cicero inti¬
mates his views are therefore extremely valuable, as form¬
ing part of the history of the progress towards codification.
The execution of these ideas would of course have had
its own difficulties. But the conception of them places
the universal genius of their author in a remarkable light.
They afford ample proof of the spirit in which the only
Roman philosopher and statesman that we ever read of
was preparing the way for the legislative authority of the
victorious dictator. Speaking of Servius Sulpicius, in the
Brutus, he says, “ Existimo, juris civilis magnum usum
et apud Scavolam, et apud multos fuisse ; artem, in hoc
uno ; quod nunquam effecisset ipsius juris scientia, nisi
earn prater ea didicisset artem, qua doceret rem univer-
sam tribuere in partes, latentem explicare definiendo, obscu-
ram explanare interpretando; ambigua primum videre,
deinde distinguere, postremo habere regulam, qua vera et
falsa judicarentur, etqua, quibus positis, essent, quaque non
essent consequentia. To this passage must be joined the
notice of the design, which he attributes to Crassus in the
treatise De Oratore. He says, Si enim aut mihi facere licue-
rit, quod jamdiu cogito,aut alius quispiam, me impedito, occu-
pdrit, aut mortuo effecerit, ut primum omnejus civile in gene¬
ra digerat, qua perpauca sunt; deinde eorum generum quasi
qua dam membra dispertiat; tumpropriam cujusque vim de-
jinitione declaret; perfectam artem juris civilis habebitis,
magis magnam, atque uberem, quam difficilem, atque obscu-
ram. More than five hundred years were allowed to pass
before this conception was partially executed by Justinian.
We say partially; for Justinian’s plan falls far short of that
of Cicero, although perhaps not more so than the plan of
Caesar would have done, when it came to be reduced to prac¬
tice. The long interval which intervened, a period equal to
theentire duration of some commonwealths, did notof itself
render a change in the plan necessary, supposing that Tri-
bonian had felt himself to be equal to the execution. But
it brought along with it a necessary change in the mate¬
rials. There had arisen in the interim a bright age of
jurisprudence. The earlier legal authorities were thrown
into the shade. The Pandects contain but three names
which belong to the republic. Accordingly, the jurist finds
as little of the civil policy of republican Rome in the
imperial laws which pass under her name, as the antiqua¬
rian discovers of the ancient city within the modern walls.
The new learning, whatever facilities it might create in
one way, added to the difficulties in another. The interme*
diate five hundred years had been years of legislative de¬
spair. Justinian has boasted in his code that he had accom¬
plished that quod nemo principum, ante nostrum imperium,
aut in mentem induci posse authumano ingenio possibile esse
existimavit. On the whole, therefore, modern law-reformers
must not look for much light, either as to the principles or
the method of legislation, from the practice and opinion of
antiquity. It affects to offer no information of any value
except in the instance of Rome. In that instance, the only
comprehensive view of which we are in possession was
that of Cicero. Defining virtue to be perfecta atque ad sum-
mum perducta natura ; declaring its object to be naturam
sequi et ejus quasi lege vivere ; explaining in this sense the
moral philosophy of Socrates, as that by which we are to
learn the most difficult of all lessons, ut nosmet ipsos nos-
ceremus ; he was led on to a similar doctrine in the case
of universal law. Universal law is with him a recta ratio
imperandi atque prohibendi, of which it is the very essence
that it must be a lex natura congruens, ad illam anti-
quissimam et rerum omnium principem expressa naturam.
If the entire treatise De Legibus had, by good fortune,
come down to us, we should have known the degree to
which Cicero, in setting down on paper the detail of his
several codes, had ventured to approach to the execution
LEGISLATION.
183
of a scheme of natural jurisprudence. From the ridicule
with which he describes the narrowness of all preceding
Roman lawyers, even of the Scaevolas, he certainly would
not have blindly put himself into the same trammels, nor
have committed the error of the school divines/ in pound¬
ing the crystal into dust by infinite subdivisions. Sed
jurisconsuld, sive erroris objiciendi causa, quo plura et diffi-
ciliora scire videantur ; sive, quod similius veri est, ignora-
tione docendi (nam non solum scire aliquid, artis est, sed
qucedam ars etiam docendi) scope, quod positum est in una
cognitione, id in injinita dispartiuntur. On the other
hand, the practical principles which he professed, bound
him to the doctrine, Spartam nactus es; hanc exorna.
Besides, his particular declarations still remain to us.
The course he was about to pursue was to exemplify his
creed, that the laws and the government ought always
to be in harmony with each other. Regarding the old
Roman commonwealth as the best, and intending to give
it appropriate laws, he adds, Ergo adeo cxpectate leges, quce
genus Mud optimum reipublicoe contineant: et, si quce forte
a me hodie rogabuntur, quce non sint in nostra republica, nec
fuerint, tamen erant fere in more majorum ; qui turn, tit lex,
valebat. But, more than this, his specimens of codifica¬
tion on the two great heads of ecclesiastical and constitu¬
tional law' have come down to us in the second and third
book Be Legibus. It is evident from these that he was
extremely conservative of the ancient faith on these two
important points, and was thus far at least resolved to
deviate as little as possible from the beaten track of pre¬
scriptive authority into the open and debateable domain
of reason. Mr Bentham, we think, could not have been
induced to make similar concessions to national vanity or
supposed expediency. There would have been some'dif-
ficulty in persuading him into an apparent belief that he
could make the standard of universal jurisprudence in
matters of church and state happily fall in with the laws
of Alfred and the Saxon code. But Cicero’s legislation
is Roman throughout. His idea of nature for this occa¬
sion, was nature as it existed within the walls and policy
of the eternal city ; consequently the interest of the work,
so far from being universal, is principally the interest which
attaches to every thing belonging to Rome, and composed
by Cicero. Nor is the treatise calculated to be of greater
use, as a precedent, to a codifier, from any advantages
of method. And Cicero having disappointed us in the
execution of his plan, can we expect the practical official
law-reformers to be more philosophical ? If the philoso¬
pher by profession, when he came to apply his theories, bowr-
ed before the mos majorum, in obedience to the strict and
statesmanlike reserve of his nation, Caesar and Justinian
were not likely to have dreamed of being more latitudi-
narian. As masters of the world, they did not enter on
the subject from any concern about the philosophy of le¬
gislation, but in the hope of lessening the burden of the
obscure and conflicting laws which they were called upon
to administer.
From this brief sketch, two things are evident in the
case of the Roman law : first, what required to be done;
next, the difficulty of doing it. Its evil condition had be¬
come not only perceptible, but so flagrant as to demand a
-remedy, as early as the time of Caesar. Suetonius declares
that the mischief consisted principally in the immensa dif¬
fusa legum copia.1 Livy also and Tacitus repeat it. The
complaint had become proverbial. It is admitted, more¬
over, that no remedy was applied till the melancholy crisis
of the sixth century. At this extreme period, another, and
soon indeed the only question, had arisen. It was this:
Whether civilization should be left to linger out a few more
decrepit years in impotent decline, or should come to a
violent end at the hands of the barbarians ? Whatever may
be the imperfections in the legal production of Justinian-
whether incident to the age or to the persons—it is ac¬
knowledged, not only that the older works on Roman law
would hardly have been preserved at all, except for the dif¬
ferent compilations of the many contemporary codes of this
late season, “ but, that it would scarcely have found en¬
trance into modern Europe, had not Justinian’s works been
among them, in which alone the spirit of the Roman law is
discernible.” This is the statement of Savigny, generally
regarded as the ablest opponent of codification in general,
and certainly far from being an indulgent critic to the Jus¬
tinian specimen in particular. Upon Savigny’s own state¬
ment, therefore, posterity at least is under great obligations
to Justinian for having rescued the floating materials from
destruction. Nor can we see that there is any reason for
supposing that the desirableness of presenting the mate¬
rials in an accessible form was not acknowledged even at
the time, by his contemporaries. True, there is no exist¬
ing trace of any experiment towards a code having been
made by Papinian, Ulpian, and Paulus, who were not only
the three most celebrated jurists, but were also prcefecti
pratorio. But, to infer, that therefore they considered a
code as neither necessary nor advantageous, seems a very
rash conclusion. Their wishes may have been practically
thwarted by a hundred causes, and the evidence of their
wishes may have perished a hundred times over. Such
is, in truth, the legal history of many countries upon this
very point. Savigny admits that, in the time of the clas¬
sical jurists, “ there would have been no difficulty in form¬
ing an excellent code.” But this being so, it is surely
very much to be lamented that the middle period,—that
between the infancy and the decline of Rome,—which,
for this particular purpose, Savigny accounts the summit
of appropriate civilization, was not taken advantage of.
The actual generation might not itself be so much in want
of a code as the generations that were to follow. But the
highest duties of a statesman are partly prospective, in re¬
gard to affairs of this description. The opposite doctrine
is poor indeed. The immediate generation itself, however,
would probably have also been the better for it. Long be¬
fore this middle period, the learned or technical element
must have overgrown the natural or political one. The
original confidence supposed to be possessed by a people
in their common law must have disappeared. According¬
ly, the only remaining problem—that which peculiarly be¬
longs to an advanced stage of society—had already arrived:
Ought artificial jurisprudence to be left at large, in all the
varieties into which it branches out, or would it best per¬
form its office by being from time to time consolidated,
arranged, and authenticated in the shape of positive le¬
gislation ?
In modern times, this arduous experiment has been
tried upon the largest scale, and with the most success, by
trance. Political circumstances facilitated the legal in¬
novation in a remarkable degree. The fury of the Re¬
volution had made a clear space for the architects of the
Code Napoleon to build upon. This was a great accom¬
modation. But the necessity of a reformation, tantamount
to a reconstruction of their whole legal system, existed
previously, and had been admitted during two or three suc¬
cessive centuries by the most distinguished magistrates of
France. Louis XI. “ who had it in his mind (though he
performed it not) to make one constant law of France,
surely might have done well, if, like as he brought the
crown (as he said himself) from Page, so he had brought
his people from Lackey; not to run up and down for their
Legisla¬
tion.
1 In Vit. Ccesar. c. 44.
184
LEGISLATION.
Legisla¬
tion.
laws to the civil law, and the ordinances, and the cus¬
toms, and the discretions of courts, and discourses of phi¬
losophers, as they used to do.”1 The only question re¬
garding the Code Napoleon must be as to the manner in
which it was executed. None can be raised as to the
necessity of a code.
Whatever may have been the incompetency of the French
councillors of state on this occasion, there is no pretence
for alleging that they were not sufficiently French, and
that they ran wildly into foreign notions, revolutionary
opinions, or abstract theories of human nature and general
jurisprudence. For we are informed by M. Dupin, in his
Dissertation on the Life and Writings of Pothier, that the
treatises of that perspicuous and trust-worthy jurist fur¬
nished three fourths of that which is by far the most dif¬
ficult and complex portion of law, the Code Civil. Mr
Butler, in a learned note on Coke upon Littleton, dis¬
poses of what has been considered by many as one of the
great boasts of modern civilization, in a very summary
manner. After saying that M. Bernardi thinks that the
Assizes of Jerusalem (which, in its present state, is a work
of the thirteenth century) is superior to it, he adds, “ The
Codes Napoleon are five, the Code Civil, the Code Cri-
minel, the Code de Commerce, the Code de Conscription,
and the Code de Procedure. It is allowed that the first
possesses great merit, that the third is very faulty, and
that whatever is good in any of them is rendered almost
entirely useless by the last, which has completely con¬
founded and paralysed all the judicature of the country.”
The practical merit or working qualities of specific laws
can be only properly estimated by a native lawyer. The
character, therefore, of the different codes, as given by
M. Dupin in his letter to Mr Sampson of New York, 1826,
is entitled to much greater credit than the comparatively
hearsay judgment of Mr Butler. Besides, it carries the
evidence down to a later date. It is as follows: “ The
civil code is the first and best of all; it is clear and me¬
thodical ; neither too long nor too short; the language of
the legislature is noble and pure; the rules are well laid
down, and, with the exception of the difficult subject of
mortgages, it has met with nothing but approbation, more
especially at the present time, since the immoral law of
divorce has been struck out. The code of civil procedure
has simplified the forms and diminished the expense of law¬
suits. No fault is found with it, except in the law form of
execution {expropriation'), the unfortunate though neces¬
sary adjunct to the law of mortgage. The commercial
code, which re-enacts, in a great measure, the ordonnance
relative to maritime affairs of 1681, and that of 1673 re¬
lative to commerce, is also generally esteemed. The only
exception is the title of bankruptcy, which is equally com¬
plained of, both by bankrupts and by their creditors. The
code of criminal procedure, and the penal code, are the
last, and are those to which the greatest objections have
been raised. Despotism dictated them. In many in¬
stances state policy has made them her instrument; and
liberty has suffered accordingly. Their revision has there¬
fore been demanded even in the Chamber of Peers. But
all these codes, such as they are, have been productive
of the greatest benefit; they have delivered us from the
chaos of our ancient law. Above all, the institution of
the court of cassation, which acts, as at a central power,
to regulate and check the decisions of all the other juris¬
dictions, has been of the highest benefit.” What then is
the result of this experiment in the instance of France ?
Under the opposition of local prejudices and private in¬
terests, it is very possible (as M. Dupin believes would
have been the case), that, but for the Revolution, not even
a Solon or a Lycurgus, placed On the throne of France, 1*^
could have been sufficiently powerful to carry an effectual tioiu #
reform. The reform nevertheless would not have been the
less wanted. It is absurd to consider the codes as poli¬
tical measures artfully plotted by Napoleon, because they
happened to be digested at last under his counsel, and
promulgated in his name. The projet du code civil, com¬
menced as early as 1793, proves that it was completed
to a considerable extent years before the name of Napo¬
leon was heard of. It was owing to the previous discus¬
sions on the original propositions of Cambaceres, that the
Code Civil was enabled to be brought out at the com¬
mand of Napoleon, within the short period of four months.
The code of France may be, and doubtless is, far short of
abstract perfection; but, with all its faults, an immense
majority of those who live under it, of those who practise
it, and of those who administer it, allow it to have been
amongst the greatest of national blessings.
The desirableness of a code of laws for any particular
country, at any given period, is a question of fact. Royer
Collard sensibly observes, that it is impossible to give, on
so mixed and variable a case, one uniform answer appli¬
cable equally to all times and places. What may have been
clearly good in France may possibly leave a doubtful ba¬
lance of advantage in England. On the other hand, what it
would have been dangerous to attempt a hundred years ago
in England, may perhaps be easily accomplished to-day.
Before entering upon the case of England, it may be
observed, that the question with regard to a portion of
her provincial legislation has been latterly supposed to be
placed beyond dispute. Whatever balance of opinion for
and against codification may be found to be elsewhere keep¬
ing legislation in suspense, there is one part of the globe,
namely, British India, in which almost every body con¬
versant with the subject appears agreed. The governor-
general in council, assisted both by the most experienced
civil servants of the company, and by the judges of the
supreme court, has certified that nothing short of a code,
however slowly or gradually proceeded in, can meet the
necessities of the case. The undertaking is certainly sur¬
rounded with many impediments, and will in its execution
require at every step consummate prudence. On framing
the precise provisions, some twenty different nations, now
politically united under the British government, must be
treated as distinct nations ; varying sometimes in the spi¬
rit, frequently in the letter, of their laws. There is one
branch, however, that of the criminal law, in which the
difficulties belonging to this view of the subject are thought
very lightly of. Yet it is the case of criminal law, to
which, speaking of what has been called the best code of
this kind in Europe, that of Bavaria, Mr Cooper has ap-
pealedasfurnishing conclusive proofs in favour of Savigny’s,
general objections against the present capabilities of Eu¬
rope for framing codes. The judges of the supreme court
of Calcutta are of opinion that “ any one intelligent Eng¬
lish lawyer, and one of the civil servants employed in the
Nizamut Adawlut, with the assistance of the reports of
that court recently published, might jointly prepare a re¬
gulation in a few months, which would be, for all persons
throughout India, as good a penal code as any now existing
in the worlds In the instance of India, the nature of the
specific evils to be provided for by a code cannot be more
powerfully stated than in the words of one who has been
since deputed to the high office of ascertaining and super¬
intending the remedies to be applied. The passage to
which we allude is contained in a speech delivered by
Mr Macaulay, in the House of Commons, on the last re¬
newal of the charter. The reader will there see, to what
Bacon.
Appendix, 5, Affairs of the East India Company, 1831.
LEGISLATION.
185
Cl,fgisi- complexion unwritten law, that is, law derived from other
>( tiom sources than the legislature, has a tendency to come. A
■ force like that of gravitation is always dragging it in this
direction. “ Having given to the government supreme le¬
gislative power, we next propose to give to it for a time
the’assistance of a commission, for the purpose of digesting
and reforming the laws of India, so that those laws may,
as soon as possible, be formed into a code. Gentlemen, of
whom I wish to speak with the highest respect, have ex¬
pressed a doubt whether India be at present in a fit state
to receive a benefit which is not yet enjoyed by this free
and highly-civilized country. I can allow to this argu¬
ment very little weight beyond that which it derives from
the personal authority of those who use it. For, in the
first place, our freedom and our high civilization render
this improvement, desirable as it must always be, less in¬
dispensably necessary to us than to our Indian subjects;
and, in the next place, our freedom and civilization, I fear,
render it more difficult for us to obtain this benefit for
ourselves than to bestow it on them. I believe that no
country ever stood so much in need of a code of laws as
India, and I believe also that there never was a country
in which the want might so easily be supplied. I said
that there were many points of analogy between the state
of that country after the fall of the Mogul power, and the
state of Europe after the fall of the Roman empire. In
one respect the analogy is very striking. As in Europe
then, so in India now, there are several systems of law,
widely differing from each other, but co-existing and co¬
equal. The indigenous population has its own laws.
Each of the successive races of conquerors has brought
with it its own peculiar jurisprudence ; the Mussulman
his Koran and its innumerable commentators, the Eng¬
lishman his statute-book and his term-reports. As there
were established in Italy at one and the same time, the
Roman law, the Lonabard law, the Ripuarian law, the
Bavarian law, and the Salic law; so we have now in our
eastern empire Hindu law, Mahommedan law, Parsee
law, English law, perpetually mingling with each other,
and disturbing each other ; varying with the person, va-
rying with the place. In one and the same cause the
process and pleadings are in the fashion of one nation;
the judgment is according to the laws of another. An
issue is evolved according to the rules of Westminster,
and decided according to those of Benares. The only
Mahommedan book in the nature of a code is the Koran ;
the only Hindu book the Institutes. Everybody who
knows those books, knows that they provide for a very
small part of the cases which must arise in every commu¬
nity. All beyond them is comment and tradition. Our
regulations in civil matters do not define rights; they
merely establish remedies. If a point of Hindu law arises,
the judge calls on the Pundit for an opinion. If a point
of Mahommedan law arises, the judge applies to the Cau-
zee. What the integrity of these functionaries is, we may
learn from Sir William Jones. That eminent man de¬
clared, that he could not answer it to his conscience to
decide any point of lawron the faith of a Hindu expositor.
Sir Thomas Strange confirms this declaration. Even if
there were no suspicion of corruption on the part of the
interpreters of the law, the science which they profess is
m 9uch a state of confusion, that no reliance can be placed
on their answers. Sir Francis Macnaghten tells us, that
it is a delusion to fancy that there is any known and fixed
law under which the Hindu people live; that texts may
1 be produced on any side of any question ; that expositors,
equal in authority, perpetually contradict each other ; that
the obsolete law is perpetually confounded with the law
actually in force; and that the first lesson to be impress-
ed on a functionary who has to administer Hindu law is,
t lat it is vain to think of extracting certainty from the books
vol. xm.
of the jurists. The consequence is, that in practice the
decisions of the tribunals are altogether arbitrary. What
is administered is not law', but a kind of rude and capri¬
cious equity. I asked an able and excellent judge lately
returned from India, how one of our Zillah courts would
decide several legal questions of great importance, ques¬
tions not involving considerations of religion or of caste,
mere questions of commercial law. He told me that it
was a mere lottery. He knew how he himself should de¬
cide them, but he knew nothing more. I asked a most
distinguished civil servant of the company, with reference
to the clause in this act abolishing slavery, whether at
present, if a dancing-girl ran away from her master, the
judge would force her to go back? 4 Some judges,’
he said, 4 send a girl back; others set her at liberty.
The whole is a mere matter of chance. Every thing de¬
pends on the temper of the individual judge. Even in
this country we have had complaints of judge-made law ;
even in this country, where the standard of morality is
higher than in almost any other part of the world—where,
during several generations, not one depositary of our le¬
gal traditions has incurred the suspicion of personal cor¬
ruption—where there are popular institutions—where
every decision is watched by a shrewd and learned au¬
dience—where there is an intelligent and observant pub¬
lic—where every remarkable case is fully reported in a
hundred newspapers—where, in short, there is every
thing which can mitigate the evils of such a system. But
judge-made law, where there is an absolute government
and a lax morality—where there is no bar and no public
—is a curse and a scandal not to be endured. It is time
that the magistrate should know what law he is to admi¬
nister ; that the subject should know under what law he
is to live. We do not mean that all the people of India
should live under the same law : far from it: there is
not a word in the bill susceptible of such an interpre¬
tation. We know how desirable that object is; but we
also know that it is unattainable. We know that respect
must be paid to feelings generated by differences of reli¬
gion, of nation, and of caste. Much, I am persuaded,
may be done to assimilate the different systems of law,
without wounding those feelings. But, whether we assi¬
milate those systems or not, let us ascertain them, let us
digest them. We propose no rash innovation ; we wish
to give no shock to the prejudices of any part of our sub¬
jects. Our principle is simply this: uniformity where
you can have it—diversity where you must have it—but
in all cases certainty. As I believe that India stands
more in need of a code than any other country in the
world, I believe also that there it no country on which
that great benefit can more easily be conferred. A code is
almost the only blessing—perhaps it is the only blessing
—which absolute governments are better fitted to confer
on a nation than popular governments. The work of di¬
gesting a vast and artificial system of unwritten jurispru¬
dence is far more easily performed, and far better per¬
formed, by few minds than by many—by a Napoleon than
by a chamber of deputies and a chamber of peers—by a
government like that of Prussia or Denmark, than by a
government like that of England. A quiet knot of two
or three veteran jurists is an infinitely better machinery
for such a purpose than a large popular assembly, divided,
as such assemblies almost always are, into adverse fac¬
tions. This seems to me, therefore, to be precisely that
point of time at which the advantage of a complete writ¬
ten code of laws may most easily be conferred on India.
It is a work which cannot be well performed in an age
of barbarism—which cannot, without great difficulty, be
performed in an age of freedom. It is the work which
especially belongs to a government like that of India—
to an enlightened and paternal despotism.”
2 A
Legisla¬
tion.
186
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- We proceed to refer in the most summary manner to
tlon- the domestic history of codification in England. Our ob-
servations will relate to what has been performed, and what
projected by parliament; and, next, to the principal argu¬
ments and objections on both sides out of doors, as we find
these elicited in the course of the discussions from the
reign of Elizabeth down almost to the present time.
On tracing the course which the English parliament has
followed with regard to the defects of English law, its
course will be found to have hitherto been marked by its
habitual reluctance to great changes. Law-reformers need
not shrink from discussion. But, owing to the prevalence
of apprehensions and jealousies, and from a weak subser¬
vience to personal interests, many of our most useful re¬
forms have been hitherto introduced and passed with as
little noise as possible. In point of fact, therefore, English
codification, whilst it has taken place to a considerable ex¬
tent, has only been partial. Some of its experiments have
been confined to a mere consolidation and amendment of
concurrent or conflicting statutes ; others have, by adding
the incorporation and revision of the corresponding portion
of the common law, gone the whole length of codification
on particular subjects. This is admitted, and even approved
of, both by Mr lieddie and Sir Edward Sugden ; on which
Mr Humphreys naturally observes: “ Whether the re¬
sult be termed a code, or be an act, or a series of acts, to
amend and consolidate the laws in question, is a mere
question of words. Many of our present reforming and
consolidating acts, for instance those relating to the cus¬
toms and the excise, to crimes against property, to trus¬
tees and mortgagees under legal disabilities, to bankrupts,
to insolvent debtors, are all in eftect distinct parts of a
code; correcting and embodying all prior laws and rules,
whether statutory, judicial, or textuary, on the same sub¬
ject.” The necessity of such a revision, and the mode of
making it, are amongst the different matters submitted to
the several commissions appointed of late years for inquir¬
ing into the different departments of the English law. Im¬
portant parts of the law of real property will be shortly
comprised in express legislative provisions under the re¬
commendation of the real property commission. It is true,
that the amendments of the criminal law, brought in under
the sanction of Sir Robert Peel, are chiefly examples of the
process of statutory consolidation only. But the present
commissioners on the criminal law have closed their first Re¬
port (1834, p. 35) with a strong opinion that “ the combina¬
tion of a digest of the statute law with that of the common
law, into one body of criminal law, is a measure which will
tend greatly to the improvement of the jurisprudence of the
country. In support of our views upon this subject,” they
add, “ we may observe, that the definitions of crimes, the
nature of punishments, and the forms of criminal proce¬
dure, originated, for the most part, in common-law prin¬
ciples. But most of the unwritten rules touching crimes
have been modified by acts of the legislature, which as¬
sume the terms and definitions of the common law. And
thus it happens that the language in which these acts are
expressed, and the subjects to which they refer, are com¬
monly unintelligible without a knowledge of the common
law. ' The actual law in regard to any particular offence
lies partly in the statutes, and partly in the reports and
text-books. A reference to a single instance may be suf¬
ficient to illustrate our meaning. A modern statute makes
it essential to the statutory offence, that it does not
amount to an offence at common law, and thus the com¬
mon-law description of the offence must be referred to for
the purpose of ascertaining the limits of the statutory of¬
fence. As one digest, therefore, would be imperfect with¬
out the other, this seems to be a sufficient reason for unit¬
ing them. But it may be further urged, that most of the
advantages which may be expected to be derived from a
consolidation of the statute law will be attained by com- Ler
bining the two digests into one body of criminal law ; and, ticj
in particular, the size of a joint digest would be much ^
more compendious than that of two separate digests, and,
what is still more essential, the means afforded by metho¬
dical arrangement, and by the context, for construing the
intention of the legislature with certainty and precision,
would, if the two digests were united, be greatly in¬
creased.”
The above Report was accompanied by a digest of the
common law of theft. It is given as a specimen of what
may be accomplished in the case of an offence, the decisions
upon which are more technical, complicated, and confused
than any other portion of the English criminal law. But
the public and the profession will soon have the means of
judging with greater precision how far this encouraging
expectation is likely to be realized. For, on alluding to
the subject in the following year, in their Report on the
general question of the propriety of a consolidation of all
the statutes, civil as well as criminal, they state that they
had already made considerable progress “in forming a di¬
gest of the criminal law, as well unwritten as written, into
one statute, with such partial alterations as might be
considered to be necessary or expedient for more simply
and completely defining crimes and punishments, and for
the more effectual administration of criminal justice.”
The criminal digest, although it will be the first executed,
can only be meant to be a beginning. The example will do
much. But, independently of the example, their general re¬
commendation in favour of a statutory incorporation com¬
prehends every case where statute law and common law
are mixed up together. It can never be intended to do
any thing so anomalous as stop here ; as it were solely for
the purpose of excluding from the national code that small
remainder of the common law, with which it may have
happened that no legislative enactments had ever inter¬
fered. They mention three plans. The first suggests
a mere redaction of existing statutes, by clearing them
of whatever in form or in substance is superfluous or ob¬
solete. The second plan proposes to go a step further,
and, by consolidation and classification, to bring the whole
statute law into a systematic form. But the last goes
further still, and advises that, wherever judicial decisions
have altered the natural meaning of the words of an
enactment, the enactment itself should be forthwith ver¬
bally corrected, so as to make its apparent import cor»
respond with its legal effect. On this, their final recom¬
mendation, they observe that “ no plan of reformation
short of remodelling the statute law on the third principle
proposed will be co-extensive with existing evils; but
that whilst such a reform would be highly desirable, and
is in their opinion practicable, its execution would be diffi¬
cult, would require the greatest caution, and occupy a con¬
siderable portion of time.” These are vigorous resolu¬
tions ; and if once duly acted on, the English legislature
will soon recover whatever ground it may have lost.
The above statement comprehends nearly all that Eng¬
land has yet performed in parliament upon this subject.
Before passing on to the next point, namely, what she has
projected, it is proper-, in connection with this part of the
case, and almost as a portion of it, to notice what the
American legislatures have been doing. Their principal
legal materials are so nearly identical with, and their cir¬
cumstances for this purpose so similar to our own, that
the question of codification is substantially the same ques¬
tion in both countries.
America, during her short political career, has proceed¬
ed in this great undertaking with a remarkable union of
zeal and caution. Mr Livingstone had comparatively easy
work in Louisiana, which stands alone in this respect.
The civil law on which he had to work was already sys-
f1’
i*
i
f
t
P
o
t(
ai
bi
bi
F
ill
ci
tb
ot
ta
ca
tri
in
cl
ed
oti
TO
of
sn
wl
tai
th,
or
evi
pe
it
ev
oc
of
‘t
an
to
ce
all
be
co
of
gb
ini
an
st;
im
St!
tei
re<!
i()'
ill!:
ei
Itl
ie:
hi
ir
lel
re:
] l(
ie;
leu
lie.
'Cl'
-
an
ie t
es:
ae"
ni!,
Il1
hi ■
a •
an:
if!
16; [
HI
ant
)S('
ici
nei
10'
is.
ilei
g>j
IVIi
et1
if)
tia
iv;
:r
n
ta
ei
u:
ti
101
i
;es
lo
no
en
as
idi
Ci
tl
01
rei
:oi
d
.to
a
iti
LEGISLATION,
> r-iall tematized; and the Code Napoleon was, mutatis mutandis,
ion., ready to his hand. The committee appointed to revise
-V^the statutes of New York brings us on English ground.
It published, as early as the year 1827, an analysis of a por¬
tion of their labours. The charge committed to them was
limited to the statute law. But they seem to have consi¬
dered that they could perform this limited duty very im¬
perfectly, unless they also included in their operation the
interpretations which the courts of justice had put upon
the statutes. This precedent appears to be precisely that
which the English commissioners have since adopted, as
far as they have gone. The following passage will explain
the views taken at New York. “ In attaining the object
prescribed to us, to collect together the various provisions
on the same subject, to introduce, in their proper places,
the successive alterations which had from time to time
been made by the legislature, it was obviously impossible
. to preserve the original language of the statute which was
amended, and of the amendments. Parts of sections have
been repealed and qualified, and an amendment had again
been amended. Enactments are frequently contained in
provisos, and, in the haste with which statutes are often
drawn, the language frequently does not express the pre¬
cise intent, or expresses more than was intended. In
these cases, changes in phraseology were unavoidable. In
other cases it became necessary to break up sections con¬
taining provisions on distinct subjects, or containing compli¬
cated and voluminous details and provisos, in order to dis¬
tribute them in their proper places, and to arrange them
in a natural order. This also unavoidably produced a
change in the language. Some statutes which were pass¬
ed in different years in England, explaining or amending
others which preceded them, have been copied into our
volumes, with the original acts which were the subjects
of amendment, in the very language which had required
subsequent legislation. In the same manner, later statutes,
which were intended to include prior acts, have been re¬
tained with the acts so included. In some instances, by
the omission of preambles, a different meaning was given to
the statutes. In these cases great changes were indispen¬
sable. We have not been able to understand why the
language of the written law should defy all attempt at im¬
provement, more than the language of any other science,
or upon any other subject. It must be susceptible of
emendation, by undergoing the process which improves
every other production of human skill; and more es¬
pecially when new interests and new wants arise, which
it was not originally intended to embrace. Still, when¬
ever it was practicable, and consistent with the general
plan of the revision, we have preferred to retain the im¬
portant words of the present statutes, unless they have
received a settled construction, which would not at once
occur to an attentive reader. In these cases the language
of the courts has been substituted, whenever it appeared
‘ more plain and easy to be understood.’ In doing so,
and in expressing the supposed meaning of various sta¬
tutes, we have been guided by the decisions of the chan¬
cellors and judges of our state, under whose examination
almost every statute embraced in this part has at intervals
been brought. Those decisions form a body of practical
.construction and exposition, as honourable to those who
made them, as they have been useful. Their utility will
| be consummated by transferring them into the very body
of the statute which they illustrate and explain. And it
is one of the results of the arrangement adopted, which
gives us the greatest satisfaction, that it has enabled us to
incorporate with the law the expositions it has received,
and thus communicate directly to those who examine the
statutes, for information and government, their sense and
intent, as understood by the events. For forty years our
statutes have been the subject of professional criticism and
judicial exposition. For centuries those borrowed from Eng¬
land have been, in like manner, illustrated and expounded.
If at this time a knowledge of their meaning and of their
defects has not been attained, it probably never can be ac¬
quired. But it is believed that a meaning has been affixed
to them, that their discrepancies and incongruities have
been ascertained, and that industry and care only are ne¬
cessary to comprehend that meaning, and to be apprised of
those defects. It will, therefore, not be a difficult task to
determine whether we have or have not faithfully ren¬
dered the existing law whenever we have professed to do
so, and whether the imperfections we have supposed to
exist are not such, and whether the suggested alterations
are or are not necessary and expedient.” The Report in
the same year, 1827, of the Committee of South Carolina, in
favour of a code of the statute and common law, was thought
so convincing, that it overcame the previous scruples of
their legislature, and its execution was afterwards directed.
Mr W ilson’s speech must have done much towards con¬
verting all whom argument was calculated to convince. Ac¬
cording to his recommendation, the common law will be
left in the extended form of a digest, instead of being com¬
pressed into precise enactments. He sees, like Bacon, a
stronger objection to touching the form or language of the
common law, than is felt by his professional brethren, the
commissioners consulted in England or in New York. It
cannot now be long before the two systems, as respectively
proposed in New York and in South Carolina, are at work.
The old English system remains undisturbed in the other
states. Three several methods will therefore be then going
on together under nearly similar circumstances. In each
instance their practical effect must accordingly be soon ob¬
served. Considering the premeditation with which the
English legislature proceeds, there can be little doubt but
that some definite results, nearly decisive one way or the
other, as to the obstacles which the peculiarities of the com¬
mon law are supposed by some people to interpose in the
way of codification, will thus have been arrived at in the
United States, before it can be expected that the recom¬
mendation of the English commissioners shall come to
be acted upon in England. The following is an appo¬
site extract from Mr Wilson’s speech: “ I would, in the
first place, recommend a general and careful classification
of the whole statute law, which should be printed and put
in the hands of the citizens, with a well-digested index.
All acts of a homogeneous nature should be reduced to one
act, with reference in the marginal notes to the statute
from whence it is taken. The verbose jargon of the acts
should be reduced to precise and definite terms. The di¬
vision should be into chapters and sections, so that a refer¬
ence to any particular act, or part of an act, would be ren¬
dered easy. Immediately after the acts, should be noted
the decisions of our courts upon them respectively, and the
point ruled should be set down in plain and direct terms,
and the point ruled only. So much of the common law as
relates to the subject of any particular division, should fol¬
low in the nature of a digest. If this plan was well exe¬
cuted, a great deal would be gained. I would require the
judges, when any new case arose which was not provided
for by the laws, to give it the best determination in their
power, which decision should be the law of that case; but
it should be their duty to report the case to the succeeding
legislature, so that a law might be enacted to meet future
cases of the like kind. Thus, if the representatives of the
people were true to their trust, they would be enabled to
keep the laws in pari passu with judicial legislation. It is
a fact, not to be resisted, that the judges make more law^s
than the legislature, notwithstanding the inhibition of the
constitution, which specially requires that the three great
co-ordinate branches of the government should be kept for
ever distinct. I do not think it would be well, and certainly
188
LEGISLATION.
Jieg'sfcu very difficult, to break up the common law into legislative
lion, enactments. Lord Bacon has said, that the work which he
propounded, ‘ tendeth to pruning and grafting the law, and
not to ploughing it up and planting it again: for such a
remove he held, indeed, for a perilous innovation.’ I agree
entirely with this opinion. No legislative reconstruction
of the common law should be attempted, nor would it be
requisite. When the digest of it should be made and set¬
tled, the statutes classed and purged of their verbosity, con¬
tradictions, and uncertainties, a short enactment declaring
the code to be the law of the land, as well with respect to
the common as the statute law therein contained, would be
all-sufficient. Thus, afterwards weeding out all the cum¬
brous references which, however useful now, as vouchers
indicating the authentic sources of the text, would become
useless when the text should be established as authentic in
its own right; after settling the disputed points, by decla¬
ratory or explanatory enactments; and after constituting
the digest in its own natural miscellaneous style, it would
be practically found to answer every useful purpose of mu¬
nicipal law, better than the most copious enactments.
Whoever undertakes the work must guard against the
omission of any obscure or straggling rule, enactment, or
decision, in any stage of the work. He should take care
not only that each enactment, rule, and decision, be in¬
cluded, but that it be inserted in evenj division with which
it can properly be deemed to connect itself. In the index,
which will accompany each process of the work, the refer¬
ence to every topic should be registered, not merely under
one appropriate title, but under all the titles under which
it could reasonably be sought. The marginal abstracts in
each enactment, or other article, should be constructed in
such a manner as to give to each word its appropriate sense
and proportionate value with respect to the entire subject
to which the particular article so abstracted or analysed
may relate. I have thus briefly stated my views of the
plan of a code, and suggested some rules to be observed in
carrying the plan into effect. I hope I have satisfactorily
established the following points :
“ 1. That our laws are in that crude and indigested state,
that they are a mystery to all but those of the profession.
“ 2. That every nation, in its progress to civilization, has
acknowledged the propriety and necessity of reducing its
laws to the form of a code.
“ 3. That the practicability of doing this has been es¬
tablished by every people that have attempted it.
“ 4. That it is imperative upon the legislative authority
to reduce the law to writing, and, when so reduced to a
code, to promulgate it in a way so public that every in¬
quiring citizen may know it.
“ 5. That to punish the infraction of an unknown law,
which no ordinary diligence or foresight could have ac¬
quired, is against the dictates of common sense, as well as
revelation.
“ 6. That much of the common law of England made of
force here, partakes largely of the ignorance and supersti¬
tion of the age that produced it, and should be abolished
by legislative authority.”
The next stage in the history of English law reform
brings us to the schemes or approximations towards a
code, which have been at different periods unsuccessfully
debated in the English legislature. From the reign of
Elizabeth unto the present day, parliament has never lost
sight of the necessity of an amendment of the law more
or less extensive. Subject to two exceptions, it, however,
never carried its views beyond a revision of the statutes.
These exceptions are the criticisms of James I. on the com¬
mon law, in his speeches at Whitehall in 1607 and 1609;
and the directions submitted to the committees which
were appointed in the years 1652 and 1653, during the
Commonwealth. James, coming from the more liberal
and scientific system which Scotland had borrowed from U
the civilians, and, moreover, a scholar of extensive read- t"
ing, was naturally shocked at the pedantry, meagreness,
and looseness, in which he found the legal system, if it
could be so called, of his new kingdom. It was his favour¬
ite wish to assimilate, as much as possible, the laws of Eng¬
land and Scotland ; a wish since indulged in by Lord Hard-
wicke and Lord Karnes, but equally in vain. If James had
succeeded, the project could have been accomplished only
by means of a code. The first of the Commonwealth com¬
mittees was instructed to report generally upon the incon¬
veniences of the law ; the second, to consider of a new
model or body of it. The first committee, of which Sir
Matthew Hale was a member, reported a revised sys¬
tem of law to the house within the year. But it is plain,
from the shortness of the time taken, that it can have
been nothing more than a sketch ; perhaps detailing the
general views contained both in his preface to Itolle, and
in his considerations touching the amendment of the law,
which have since been printed by Mr Hargrave. If the
system thus reported had been, as Mr Cooper has de¬
scribed it in his Letters on the Court of Chancery (p. 153,
note), un livre qui contenait un systeme complet des lois,
it seems impossible that a work of this importance, from
the hands of Hale, Cooper, and Rushworth, should have
been lost. The reverence which from the first gathered
around the name of Hale, and which has since faithfully
abided by it, would have prevented such a result. Crom¬
well attributed his failure, as Ludlow has recorded, and
as Mr Bentham rejoices in repeating, to a conspiracy
amongst the lawyers, the sons of Zeruiah. But Ludlow
was politician enough probably to be well aware of the
real reason why “ a reformation of the laws was so much
desired by those then in power, and, on the other side,
as industriously and warily declined and shifted off by
many good and knowing men that were respected in
those times.” At all events, Mr Bentham might have
learned it in Hale’s fourth chapter “ on some things ne¬
cessarily to be premised, touching the matter, the man¬
ner, the persons, and the season of public undertaking for
a reformation of the laws.” And Mr Cooper would have
found there the utmost extent to which any parliamentary
report or system subscribed to by Hale at that period could
possibly have gone. “ The things desired were many of
them for the matter good ; but the end and design, and
the state and condition of things, would not allow of such
an undertaking. And therefore those that were solicited
to undertake that business rather chose to propound such
things only to be done as might be done by the power
of courts of justice, but declined whatsoever required a
new Jaw to authenticate it.” Lord Colchester, in a Re¬
port to the House of Commons on temporary and expir¬
ing laws, as early as 1796, set forth at length a long array
of the several ineffectual attempts which had been made
by parliament, year after year, towards a revisal of the sta¬
tutes. The narrative has been subsequently copied into
almost every publication directed to this object. The fail*
ure cannot in fairness be laid at the door of the lawyers.^
As a body, they have been amongst the loudest to complain
of the evil of the present system. But, doing so, they
would have performed this duty very imperfectly if they
had not equally protested against the quackery of insuf¬
ficient remedies. The cause of the delay which has taken
place is sufficiently obvious. In the successful commence¬
ment made by the professional commission at last ap¬
pointed, the grounds of the failure of all former schemes
for consolidating the law is at once explained. Parliament
is really incompetent to the task. Nevertheless, it would
never before, except during the commonwealth, intrust
the task to a separate and permanent commission, capa¬
ble of doing for it that which it was incapable of doing
l
e
Si
a
t!
■
C
et
ca
Ik
a
th
liv
Wi
CO
pei
[lit
liai
am
am
pla
bee
Lo'
tiic
upc
(loi
Col
Mi
con
add
tbo
less
mit
?re
mol
toi
itv
ter
pila
wit
giVi
tbe
ball
Gn
'tc
of,
mis
fee
the
1d§
toe
tr0
ins
LEGISLATION.
189
for itself. If James I. could have taken as wise and pm-
„n. dent a course for the law of man as he took with the law
/-''of God (see his Letter, in 1604, to the archbishop, for
the naming of fifty-four learned persons to translate the
Bible), he might have identified his reign with another
lasting service to the kingdom. At all events, if the work
had been so completed, government would have set an
example such as the public is entitled to expect from its
superior station. It is true, the work might have been
afterwards thrown aside. This has been the case with
the reformatio legum ecclesiasticarum, the code of which
was prepared even at a still earlier period. The labours of
Cranmer and the other commissioners who were appoint¬
ed under 27 Hen. VIII. and 3 Edward VI. to correct the
canon law, have ever since been unaccountably neglected,
both in and out of parliament. The consequence is, that
a great division of the English law, which, properly au¬
thenticated and amended by the legislature, might have
lived and done the state some service, has lain, for up¬
wards of two centuries, civilly dead, and covered with the
dust of contempt and oblivion. The same neglect can¬
not produce the same consequences in the case of tem¬
poral laws. But it does something of the sort; much
more, from the silence with which it works, than most
people are aware.
Thus much for the puny and abortive adventures, or ra¬
ther the inroads, made into this unknown territory by par¬
liament itself. English legal literature has been a little
more active. This literature begins with Coke and Bacon,
and it opens with a demand for law reforms. James I. had,
amongst other things, required that there should be one
plain penal statute, taking care not to repeal what had
been profitably woven into the common law. Of this,
Lord Coke promised that, “ God willing, somewhat in due
time shall be performed.” Yet Coke left it to be begun
upon by his successors, and they passed it on and on
downwards to Sir Robert Peel. The distinction by which
Coke acknowledges, that, “ to reduce the penal laws into
method and order were an honourable, profitable, and
commendable work for the whole commonwealth,” yet
adds, “ for the bringing the common law into a better me¬
thod, I doubt much the fruits of that labour,” is a dis¬
tinction we do not comprehend. It is a distinction the
less intelligible in the person of Lord Coke ; since it is ad¬
mitted by a vehement opponent of codification, that Coke’s
great work, “ under the title of Reports, is in truth a
most masterly and powerful redaction of each head of law
to which his reported cases bring him.” In other words,
it was “a bringing of so much of common law into a bet¬
ter method.” The method and the service of this com¬
pilation were so universally recognised, that Bacon, not¬
withstanding his personal enmity, bears witness that, “ to
give every one his due, had it not been for these Reports,
the law by this time had been almost like a ship without
ballast.” Lord Bacon was both a philosopher and a lawyer.
Great weight is deservedly attributed to his name, wherever
it can be enlisted on either side of any argument. From
the pertinacity with which the rival parties in this dispute
have struggled to grace themselves with his sanction, it
might be inferred, that, if his authority be great, his ob¬
scurity is still greater. This makes it necessary to exa¬
mine, with some minuteness, the evidence, as it exists,
concerning his opinions. It is admitted by the adversaries
of codes, that his Aphorisms, taken by themselves, might
mislead superficial readers. But audacious codifiers are
remanded, for an answer to them, or an explanation of
them, to the proposition made by him to James I., “ touch¬
ing the compiling and amendment of the laws.” The precise
measures there recommended, it is said, conclusively con¬
trol the general expressions in his Aphorisms. On a closer
inspection, however, it will be found that a comparison be¬
tween the two leads to no alteration in either. If it did, Legisla-
the rule that, between two contradictory opinions, the tion.
latter abrogates the former, would oblige us to enlarge the '
practical measures of the attorney-general of the year 1613
into conformity with the deliberate maxims of the ex-chan¬
cellor of the year 1623 ; for the Aphorisms were the later
work, and were originally published by him in 1623, as a
portion of the first part of his Great Imtauration of the
Sciences. Bacon never appears to have wavered as to the
necessity of something very like a code. It had been one
of the first objects of his legal Jife, and it was evidently a
favourite object with him to the last. Towards the close
of the reign of Elizabeth, he thanks her Majesty “ for hav¬
ing imparted to him a purpose, for these many years infused
into her breast, to enter into a general amendment of the
state of her laws, and to reduce them to more brevity and
certainty.” By way of contributing to this end, he in¬
scribes to the queen a selection of twenty-five out of three
hundred maxims. He had set himself upon extracting
out of the books the essence as it were of the law, with
a general view to the amendment, “ in some measure, of
the very nature and complexion of the whole law; since
particular positive learnings oflaws do easily decline from
a good temper of justice, if they be not rectified and go¬
verned by such rules.” The Aphorisms also, although
published, for the first time, towards the close of his life,
had been amongst the cherished meditations of his early
years. They are in truth the self-same supplements
which, in the Advancement of Learning^ as far back as
1605, he had promised, “ having begun a work of this na¬
ture to propound hereafter.” So far from their being in
contradiction with the practical measures recommended
by him when attorney-general, the measures are applica¬
tions, and almost translations, of the greater part of them.
It is thus shown, that the principles of his Aphorisms must
have lain by him, carefully treasured up, as rules to pro¬
ceed by, for many years. There can be no falser view of
the conduct of the great father of experimental philoso¬
phy on tins occasion, than to suppose that he was a law-
reformer in the abstract only ; or that his theory was one
thing, and his practice another. The measures actually
proposed by him are such as, were they to be agreed
upon, would bring the dispute amongst reformers within
narrow limits. Hi.s plan, as laid before James I. is as fol¬
lows. It consists of three parts, ls£, a reforming and re¬
compiling of the statute-law ; 2<i, a reducing and perfecting
of the course of the common law as contained in the re¬
ports ; and, 3g?(t/, the further paternal office of certain intro-
ductive and auxiliary books touching the study of the law.
For the sake of civilians, he has added in his Aphorisms a
caution which, addressing a king of England, it would have
been superfluous to include in the above practical arrange¬
ments, The English system has never acknowledged the
direct authority of text writers. Bacon was, however, well
aware of the encroachments by which institutional or legal
literature had become authentic in the civil law, and also of
the degree to which both legislative and judicial authority
had been thus seriously undermined. Accordingly, he pro¬
vided against the occurrence or continuance of the evil, in
his seventy-eighth Aphorism. But there is further evidence
that this great man separated theory from detail as little
in law as in philosophy. In his old age, and after his dis¬
grace, that is, contemporaneously with the first publica¬
tion of the Aphorisms, he was as anxious as ever for the
royal permission to realise their application at home. The
renewal, at this mournful period, of his offer to the king
of a digest of the laws of England, is at once a commentary
on the permanence of his opinions, and a testimony of the
earnestness with which he held them. “ I have commended
them,” he says on this occasion, “ for the matter, but sure¬
ly they ask muck amendment for the form, which to reduce
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- and 'perfect, I hold to be one of the greatest dowries that
' can be conferred upon this kingdom” There is an air of
touching and melancholy self-reproach, joined to a con¬
sciousness of the importance of the proposition which he
was making, in his concluding words. One could almost
imagine that he was looking to this occasion as a providen¬
tial means by which he might indemnify his country for
the scandal he had brought upon its justice, and might
redeem in some degree his own judicial fame. “ Your
majesty is a great master in justice and judicature, and it
were pity the fruit of that your virtue should not be trans¬
mitted to the ages to come, ^our majesty also reigneth
in learned times, the more (no doubt} in regard of your
own perfection in learning, and your patronage thereof;
and it hath been the mishap of works of this nature, that
the less learned time hath (sometimes) wrought upon the
more learned, which now will not be so. As for myself,
the law was my profession, to which I am a debtor ;*some
little helps I have of other arts, which may give form to
matter ; and I have now (by God’s merciful chastisement,
and by his special providence) time and leisure to my
talent, or half talent, or what it is, to such exchanges as
may perhaps exceed the interest of an active life. There¬
fore, as in the beginning of my troubles, I made offer to
your majesty to take pains in the story of England, and
in compiling a method and digest of your laws, so have I
performed the first (which rested but upon myself) in some
part; and I do in all humbleness renew the offer of this
latter (which will require help and assistance) to your ma¬
jesty, if it shall stand with your good pleasure to employ
my service therein.”
The importance attributed, and justly, to the opinions
of so extraordinary a man, must be our excuse for go¬
ing a little more into particulars, in order to show that
there is no opposition to be reconciled. Indeed, on the con¬
trary, the Aphorisms of Lord Verulam the philosopher, and
the propositions of Sir Francis Bacon the attorney-gene¬
ral, throw light upon each other, and must have been
meant to do so. The statute law is divided from the com¬
mon law in the Proposal. The two are separated in the
same manner by Aphorism 61. The Proposal divides the
suggestions for the reformation and recompiling of the
statute law into four parts. These agree with Aphorisms
54, 60, and 78. The common law he emphatically calls,
in the Proposal, by way of distinction from the statutes,
the laws of England. The way “ to reduce and recom¬
pile” them, he conceives, should be laid down as follows :
In the first place, he requires a full examination of the ju¬
dicial records, that they may be set down and registered
(rarely in hcec verba), so as to show in order of time, not
by title, tbe antiquities of the law. This recommenda¬
tion coincides with Aphorisms 76, 86. In the next place,
he requires that there should be prepared a complete
series of the year books or reports from the time of Ed¬
ward I. to this day, leaving out all such cases as are obso¬
lete, and all such points as are merely idle queries; of
identical cases, retaining those only which are best re¬
ported and argued, specially noting what cases have been
so long militant, that they must be brought before the
exchequer chamber or parliament to be set at rest; cut¬
ting off from prolix cases all tautologies and impertinen-
cies, and rectifying errors by the record. These recom¬
mendations coincide with Aphorisms 60, 72, 73, 74, 75, 89,
91, and 92. A note subjoined to this part of his proposi¬
tions shows to how late a period he was zealously watch¬
ing and preparing the necessary means for carrying his
scheme into execution. He observes, that, in order to se¬
cure competent reporters, he had obtained of the king,
when he was chancellor, the appointment of two grave and
sound lawyers, with a stipend of L.100 a year a piece.
This constitution of reporters, he vainly hoped, was thus
“ settled for all times.” These were Bacon’s amendments Lete
of the past, and his provisions for the present. They %
might be expected to secure the future also, as far as hu-^v
man prudence can secure it. But Bacon was not content
with this. Knowing the frailty of man, and the influence
of the innovator time, Aphorisms 55, 56, 57, and 58, re¬
commend, that, from every three to five years, parliament
should revise the jurisprudence which had been forming
during the interim. For this purpose, special commis^
sioners are to examine into and report upon contradictory
decisions, under express directions not to seek out inge¬
nious distinctions for reconciling inconsistencies, so as,
omnia, ut loquuntur, salvare. These commissioners are
to be vested with the power, ex officio, of clearing away
all obsolete laws, against which even courts of equity are
to be authorized to decree. It is a sign of Bacon’s "good
sense in the affairs of life, that he did not embarrass the
former measures of immediate urgency by adding this ul¬
terior recommendation to those enumerated in the Propo¬
sal. When the law had once been reformed, it might have
been introduced at any future time. Bacon’s third object,
—the official composition of auxiliary books conducive to
the study and science of the law,—was a distinct considera¬
tion, with which we need not trouble ourselves at present.
Now, the above statement proves two things beyond
dispute. It proves, first, that by Bacon’s plan, the statute
law and the common law were to be kept distinct; that
each was to preserve its own ancient speech ; and that,
whilst he dared not advise casting the law into a new
mould, yet both statute law and common law were to be
alike consolidated, corrected, and arranged. It proves,
secondly, that the entire body and substance of the law,
thus consolidated, corrected, and arranged, should be au¬
thenticated as law by the express sanction of the state;
and that the successive jurisprudence of the country
should be constantly kept in order and in view, by being
submitted to the legislature for revision at very short pe¬
riods. English law reformers are contending more for a
shadow than for the substance, who are not satisfied with
this. Bacon expressly declares, that he does not mean to
enter on the general question, whether text law, mean¬
ing thereby the articulate propositions of a statutory enact¬
ment, is or is not the most advantageous form of legis¬
lation. “ It is too long a business to debate, whether lex
scripta, aut non scripta, a text law, or customs well regis¬
tered, with received and approved grounds and maxims,
and acts and resolutions judicial from time to time, duly
entered and reported, be the better form of declaring and
authorizing laws.” Neither codifiers nor anti-codifiers
can pretend, therefore, that they have any colour for con¬
jecturing even what was the opinion of Bacon as to the
question of code or no code. Flis argument, in its
most universal form, is particular, and proceeds upon the
dilemmas of a supposed complicated system. But two
points are sufficiently clear with regard to the particular
case of England. On the one hand, he held the new-mould¬
ing of the whole of its common law to be a perilous inno¬
vation ; and, on the other hand, he contemplated a thorough
reconstruction of its form. The method he proposed to em¬
ploy for the “ reducing and recompiling” of the common
law, was the very method of a miscellaneous digest which
has been lately recommended by Mr Wilson to the people
of South Carolina. The difference between the two me¬
thods is a difference solely of arrangement. Bacon pre¬
ferred an historical digest in order of time ; Mr Wilson
prefers a logical one according to the order of the sub¬
jects.
The late Mr Park objected that Bacon’s plan, if appli¬
cable to the wants of the sixteenth century, was inappli¬
cable to the wants of the nineteenth. The two grounds
on which this notion is founded, are equally singular. First,
#■
J
t
ii
a
e
I
P
c
1!
Cl
o:
0
si
ci
al
ci
P1
1)(
tli
ii
tli
it
ta
lie
la1
F
F
»/
an
is
or
tifi
Im
ric
cai
re,
tbi
cu
do
po
(11
pn
SO!
*i
fei
coi
foi
de
of
vo
pa
fo!
mi
vva
pti
Do
Ha
, po-isls.
° tion..
t)ii
LEGISLATION.
it is surmised that the state of things which made a digest
desirable in the age of Bacon, and even of Hale, no longer
'exists; namely, a want of books in which the law is exhi¬
bited with scientific coherence and development. The
reign of James I. he observes, knew only of two abridg¬
ments, those of Brooke and Fitzherbert. He surely had
forgotten the protests of Bacon, Coke, and Fleetwood,
against abridgments, or he would not suppose that they
were likely to set a high value on this department of our
wealth. Only eleven treatises, he adds, were then to
be found in a lawyer’s library; whereas we have at least
two hundred treatises at present, some of them by writers
of the highest ability and learning; for instance, Fearne
and Butler, Mr Preston and Sir Edward Sugden. The
extent to which Bacon would have allowed this statement
to be an answer to any part of his recommendation, sup¬
posing the works enumerated to be as good as possible,
can be carried no farther than this: We may dispense
with the composition by authority of auxiliary books, ac¬
cording to his third suggestion. That is all. The poverty
of their legal literature, and the superfluity of ours, are
considerations which, as far as they apply to the other
suggestions^-the only ones with which we are now con¬
cerned—aggravate the comparative necessity of a code
at present. For, what was the real object which Bacon
contemplated wdien he required that, in a system as com¬
plex as that of England, the whole law, as law, should
be put under legislative sanction ? He expresses it in
the motto to the first title of his Aphorisms, “ de prima
dignitate legum, ut sint certce.” This title was the only title
that he finished ; and, on summing up, he adds that he gave
it ad exemplum digesti reliqui quod meditamur. Uncer¬
tainty, therefore, was in his eyes the great grievance to
be removed, and by means of a digest from out of all
laws. At the close of the reign of Elizabeth, he had
previously declared, that “ the uncertainty of law is the
principal and most just challenge that is made to the laws
of our nation at this time'.' Can it be said that things
are in this respect any better at present? and that it
is to the number of its volunteer authors on this" subject
or on that, that the law of England is indebted for scien¬
tific development and coherence ? In spite of its two
hundred treatises, the uncertainty of the law, its inglo¬
rious uncertainty, still continues to be its reproach. In
case of this being denied, we answer by the celebrated
reply which Lord Eldon made to the representation of
the bar, when they requested that he would not en¬
cumber his judgments by the declaration of so many
doubts. Mr Park’s second objection presumes, that a di¬
gest, if useful, practicable, and economical, when the re¬
ported cases lay in the compass of twenty-five volumes
(their number when Bacon wrote), would be useless, im¬
practicable, and ruinously costly, when they amount to
somewhere about four hundred, as at present. The reader
will judge for himself, whether Bacon would not on this
very account have held that the want of a digest of the
common law must be so much the more felt. The necessity
lor a digest of the reports, and for a digest of the statutes,
depends on the same cause ; and in both cases it must
ol course rise precisely in the same proportion with their
voluminousness. The work, it is true, will require greater
pains. The cost would be once only. Money advanced
ior a saving of time, of thought, and of error, is the best
money that can be laid out. But this last objection, as it
was already made in Bacon’s time, is one which we can
reject in his own words, “ Sciences must lead books, not
books sciences.”
Halt a century or thereabouts intervened between the
propositions of Bacon and those of Hale. Burnet does not
notice Hale’s service during the commonwealth, on the par¬
liamentary law commission. It had evidently been objected
to him as an undue compliance with the times; but howfalse-
ly, is proved by his own account of his conduct as a commis¬
sioner. He verily believed, he says, owing to the very great'
earnestness of those who had gotten the power into their
hands, “ that anything which prudent and knowing men
would have offered, might have been then passed for the
reformation of things amiss in the law.” This belief impos¬
ed a consequent obligation upon him. He was bound to en¬
deavour to recover for the public similar advantages, as soon
as the political reasons were removed, in consequence of
which, according to his own narrative, he had been acces¬
sory to the obstructing of the law reforms in the promotion
of which he was nominally engaged. Hale was remarkable
for the moderation of his opinions, for the superstitious ex¬
tent to which he reverenced prescriptive authority in go¬
vernment, and for the unrivalled mastery which he pos¬
sessed over all the mysteries of legal learning. However,
notwithstanding the apparent prevarication incident to the
awkward position in which he was placed, he was thoroughly
honest; and the language which he used after the restora¬
tion, proves that he felt the obligation which he had incurr¬
ed. “ The very name,” he observes, “ of reformation and
of reformer has begun to be a style of contempt and ob¬
loquy, so that men are as fearful to be under the imputa¬
tion of a reformer of the law, as they would of the name of
knave or fool or hypocrite; on which account its sages
dare not meddle with it, but let it live as long and as well
as it can in the state they find it. Only, to save their cre¬
dit upon such occasions, they meddle with some little incon¬
siderable things, as they set the price upon turnip and car¬
rot seed ; but nothing is dared to be done of use and import¬
ance.” He proceeds to excuse the generation immediately
preceding for having left all schemes of legal reformation un¬
touched. But his excuse is coupled with a warning to his
contemporaries and their successors. “ The truth is,"that for
the last forty years, little hath been done of this kind: the
times were tumultuous and not seasonable for it: and indeed
there is the more need, by reason of that intermission and
chasm, that somewhat of this kind should be done. Indeed
it may justly be feared, that if something considerable for
the reformation of things amiss in the law be not done by
knowing and judicious persons, too much may some time
or other be done by some, either out of envy at the profes¬
sors, or mistaken apprehensions or humours.” But little of
this “ something considerable” has been yet performed. In
law reforms the authority of Hale in favour of really sub¬
stantial changes is not and cannot be disputed. Our pre¬
sent question is, In the execution of his reforms, how far,
and in what direction, would Hale have travelled towards a
code? Are there sufficient means of learning ? What he
would not do, is abundantly evident, both by his Consider¬
ations touching the Amendment of Laic, and by his preface
to Ilolle’s Abridgment. He would have had nothing to do
with anything tending to the alteration of the government;
nothing that would change the foundation or integral prin¬
ciple of the law; nothing that, by depriving the common
law of its particularity, fitted to almost all particular occa¬
sions, would have left it to rest in generals. On the other
hand, he saw that it was the very nature of the body of the
laws, as in the rolling of a snowball, to increase in bulk in every
age, till it became utterly unmanageable. “ Every age did
retain somewhat of what was past, and somewhat of its own,
and so carried over the whole product to the quotient. And
this produceth mistakes. A man perchance useth one sort
of conveyance, where he should have used another. It
breeds uncertainty and contradiction of opinion, and that
begets suits and expense. It must necessarily cause igno¬
rance in the professors, and profession itself, because the
volumes of the law are not easy to be mastered.” From
the unfinished state of the fragment which Mr Hargrave
published, the whole extent and precise nature of the re-
191
Legisla¬
tion.
LEGISLATION.
192
Legisla- medies here contemplated by Hale cannot be clearly as-
tion. certained; but Mr Hargrave adds in a note,1 that there
is on this subject another manuscript of Lord Hale, which
contains “ a chapter on the boohs both of the statute and com¬
mon law, with a view to the reduction and digest of them.”
To this extent, therefore, the advocates of a code, it seems,
are warranted in appealing to the authority of Hale. It is
just what we should have expected from a paragraph in the
preface to Rolle, notwithstanding the attempt that has been
made to narrow down its general scope to the single ob¬
ject expressed in the concluding words : “ It were to be
wished,” he says, “ that some complete corpus communis
juris were to be extracted for the contracting of the laws
into a narrower compass and method, at least for ordinary
study.” But that Hale had in view the use of the public
in courts of justice, as well as that of students in a lecture-
room or at a special pleader’s chambers, is sufficiently clear
by his reference, in the preceding paragraph, to the prece¬
dents of the compilation of the laws of Rome by Justinian,
and of those of Wales by Edward I.
Latter times ought perhaps not to be harshly judged of
for allowing a question, which Bacon and Hale had been
unable to bring to any practical conclusion, to go quietly to
sleep. At all events, it is no wonder that the law partook
of the general incapacity by which the eighteenth century
will be known in English history. It was one of those
comfortable periods in which, wearied with excitement or
satiated with food, mankind seems sunk in a dose, and in¬
disposed to trouble itself with comprehensive views, or
the exercise of original powers, or the engaging in vigorous
entei’prises. Of all departments, the law is that in which
the spirit of routine has ordinarily and properly the most
undisputed way. The repose was far too profound in Eng¬
land to be interrupted by the various experiments towards
a code which, from one end of the Continent to the other,
were receiving the patronage of almost every sovereign in
Europe. Savigny dates from the year 1746 the continuous
series of Prussian legislation. It began under Cocceii with
the Code Frederic in 1750. This led on in 1780 to the
compilation of the Landrecht. The Landrecht was pro¬
mulgated in 1794, and appeared in a revised edition in 1803.
The same authority assigns to 1753 the first germ of the new
Austrian legislation. It passed through the ordeal of the
reigns of Maria Teresa and of Joseph II. and finally issued
in the present Gesetzbuch, which was promulgated in 1811.
During all this time Russia was equally busy, manufactur¬
ing and remanufacturing the project which had been com¬
menced as far back even as the time of the father of Peter
the Great. The Empress Catherine imagined, or affected
to imagine, that she could construct, by means of barbarous
deputations from distant provinces, a national legislation.
The Emperors Alexander and Nicholas have condescended
to take up this splendid scheme as a part of their imperial
inheritance. Nicholas, we learn, promises his subjects a
new code as the fruits of his law commission {Introduction
by M. Dumont to the Principles of Codification, \ 828;
Annales de Legislation, t. i. p. 290). The youthful phi¬
losopher of Naples was so much the dupe of the first vo¬
lume of the legislative romance of a Russian code of per¬
fect jurisprudence, as to predict, in 1785, that all the in¬
habitants of Europe might some day receive their laws di
questa sobria nazione. II codice di Caterina (he adds) mi dd
piu di pensare che la sua flotta spedita neW Arcipelago. In
this foreign panegyric Filangieri had probably in view (as
was usual with Voltaire on such occasions) an object nearer
home. That object wus to reproach his fellow-citizens for
the opposition which had stifled the Codice Carolina of
Tanucci. Tanucci had been obliged to content himself with
a much more scanty reform than what he had wished to in-
troduce. What he hoped that he had secured, is comprised t«r
in a decree Del Raggionamento delle Sentenze, publishedV'"Y
in 1774. The end contemplated by the decree was, as far
as possible, to compel the old materials to do the office of
a code. For this end it was ordered that all suits should
be decided according to an express text of law; that, in
case of any ambiguity in a particular text, the judges should
interpret it in such a manner that the two premises of the
judicial syllogism should be founded upon express laws;
that, when the legal argument could not be so framed, or
the law was altogether silent, the judges should apply to
the supreme power of the state for assistance; that the
authority of the doctors should be forthwith banished from
the tribunals ; and that every judge should publicly deliver
in writing the grounds on which he founded his sentence.
The argument published by Filangieri in defence of this
decree, at the age of twenty-two,2 is, all things considered,
fully as remarkable a production as the Science of Legisla¬
tion itself.
It is impossible to guess whether these continental pro¬
ceedings would have ever attracted attention in England,
but for the French revolution. The consequences of that
event, and of the exciting discussions on every thing con¬
nected with law and politics which it provoked, were soon
visible. It is true, that, for a time, reform was by most
official persons, and by a great part of the public, consider¬
ed as only another word for rebellion. But prejudices of
this kind necessarily pass away with the alarm. Mean¬
while the arguments and the appeals, the philosophy and
the personalities, of Mr Bentham, began to attract the
admiration of a very intelligent portion of his country,
although as yet inconsiderable in point of numbers. They
convinced some, and familiarised all, to views on legisla¬
tion of a much bolder and more original character than had
hitherto ever been presented by an English writer to the
English public. It was not till 1817 that his papers on
codification were first published. Within a year or two
afterwards, they were themselves codified into French by
M. Dumont. The principles had been sufficiently declar¬
ed in his earlier works. It was not Mr Bentham’s fault that
the world received from him principles only. He offered
his services as a codifier to America, Russia, Spain, and
Portugal, in succession. But, in cdnsequence of his spe¬
cific offers having been declined, there is extant no plan
of a regular code prepared by him, but what is far too ge¬
neral to be of much use beyond the purposes of an outline.
Of all Mr Bentham’s professional disciples, the only one who
has come forward with direct propositions and specimens,
is the late Mr Humphreys. In applying himself to the law
of real property, and in undertaking to ground it anew on
the three titles of enjoyment, transmission, and liability,
he at once tried his strength with the most difficult pro¬
blem in the whole English system. The approbation ex¬
pressed in the Edinburgh Review by Sir Samuel Romilly,
of Mr Bentham’s general views on codification, and the
favourable opinion expressed in the Quarterly Review by
Mr Butler, of the more special measures of Mr Humphreys,
compose, in point of professional authority, as strong a
presumption, as practical men can ever expect to have, in
behalf of any theory seeking to be put upon its trial-
The ablest papers on the question will be found in the
several numbers of the Jurist. Mr Hammond has laboured
only in the comparatively narrow field of statutory conso¬
lidation ; for instance, on the masses of criminal law con¬
tained under the heads of forgery and game laws. Indeed
the censure on written laws, which he has prefixed to Sir
David Evans’s collection of the statutes, is so sweeping in
Hargrave’s Tracts, p. 275.
* Filangieri, t. v. p. 346.
,-isi,
Itioi)--
—
LEGISLATION.
193
its principle, that he can scarcely be reckoned amongst the
advocates of statutory enactment, much less amongst the
advocates of codes. Mr Uniacke, on more than one occa¬
sion, has recommended an entire redaction of the law,
after the manner of Domat; and, with the assistance of Mr
Harrison, he has gone so far as to lay before the public
one or two specimens of his method, for example, the
chapter of evidence. Mr Twiss appears to have adopt¬
ed, as he certainly enforced, in his Enquiry into the means
of consolidating and digesting the Laws of England, that
part of Mr Uniacke’s views which relates to the correction
of the very defective mode, both in arrangement and phra¬
seology, in which the common law and the statute law
have hitherto expressed their respective rules. However,
suppose Mr Twiss to have to this extent lighted his taper
at his predecessor's candle, what does the illumination
amount to ? Merely to the suggesting, first, that, on di¬
gesting the common law, the leading principles and gene¬
ral rules on each subject must be extracted and laid down,
with their reasons and diversities ; next, that, wherever it
can conveniently be done, the general rule should com¬
prise the particular cases which it affects ; but, where that
cannot be attained, the particular cases should be placed
in supplemental sentences. A similar course is recom¬
mended for adoption on consolidating the statute law. In¬
stead of throwing all the particular cases into one integral
and necessarily involved rule, the general rule ought to be
extracted in a clear phrase by itself, and then a subsequent
enumeration of the cases which fall under it should be ad¬
joined. These suggestions are such as Mr Symonds would
admit to be very reasonable. There is nothing in them,
however, so ingenious or characteristic as to make them
the peculiar property of any individual as their inventor.
An inconceivable irritability seems to attach to almost all
writers who have meddled with the subject, whether as
friends or as foes. Otherwise, Mr Uniacke might have
expected to accept gratefully a more lucid and elegant
exposition of his argument than he had given to it him¬
self. Mr Twiss expressly disclaimed any pretence to ori¬
ginal invention. His particular object was simply to pre¬
sent the respective measures which better authorities had
recommended, in such a consecutive order and relation,
that each would be complete and available in itself, inde¬
pendently of those others which might or might not be ex¬
ecuted after it. This he has done in a business-like sketch
of the scheme by which it might be best managed ; and,
next, by pointing out what would be a proper constitution
of the body which was to be intrusted with the work.
The present law-commission may probably think that their
own body is as well constituted for the purpose, as either
the body proposed by Lord Stanhope in 1816, or the one
proposed by Mr Twiss in 1826. Nevertheless, it may be
well worth their considering whether it would not be ad¬
visable, in the execution of their task, to proceed step
by step; securing, first the classification, next the con¬
solidation, and lastly the re-enactment of the statutes pre¬
viously consolidated; and, secondly, proceeding, first to
the classification of the unenacted law, then to the digest¬
ing this with the former, and lastly to the imposing the
legislative authentication upon the whole. In this man¬
ner, let the work proceed fast or slow, stop in the middle,
or advance to its termination, every movement must tell,
and not an iota of the labour so expended will be thrown
away. We cannot dismiss this catalogue of names without
expressing our respect for the zeal and foresight of the pri¬
vate lawyers, who, notwithstanding public indifference and
public obloquy, have not feared to anticipate their age,
and sow the seeds of a harvest which posterity will reap.
In England nobody has taxen a part in this discussion Legisla-
who has not admitted in the most unqualified manner the tion-
absolute necessity of very considerable amendments in the
English law. To the legislative alteration of certain de¬
fective principles the late Mr Park was ready to consent:
further, however, he could not go. Acknowledging the
evil of our judicial literature, and its inevitable tendency to
become worse and worse, he could not bring himself to
adopt any of the means by which codifiers seek to coun¬
teract it. Mr Cooper does not merely allow, he insists that
a great deal has to be done.1 Nor would he stop with Mr
Park. We see no reason for supposing that he would keep
out of the crucible of reform, as needing no amendment,
a larger portion of the common law, than the most deter¬
mined codifier also might exclude. His quarrel with the
codifier begins with the further question, What are the most
appropriate measures by which these necessary amendments
should be effected ? On this point, however, we have no¬
thing more definite from Mr Cooper or from Mr Park than
their contemptuous repudiation of a code. They have not
divulged their secret, nor breathed a syllable, enabling us
to judge of the character and efficiency of the reformatory
measures which they propose to be substituted instead.
In case no other measures are devised, or none which are
adequate, what alternative remains for the English nation ?
We have to choose between the state of the law as it exists
before the code, and the state of the law as it will exist
after it, according to the best opinion we can form of an
untried future. In other words, we have to choose between
the suffering from the actual disorder, and the suffering
from the proposed operation. Competent persons differ in
opinion, which way the balance inclines at the present mo¬
ment. It is certain, however, that a burden is daily accu¬
mulating in the scale which represents our actual system ;
a burden heavier than our fathers have borne before us, and
heavier than we or than our children can ever bear. The
crisis in the legal history of England, foreseen by Mr Hal-
lam, “ when our laws, like those of Rome, must be cast
into the crucible,” is at hand. It is a responsibility which
her statesmen and her lawyers may well be excused for
regarding with apprehension ; but it is one for which, when
it can no longer be safely avoided, it is their duty honest¬
ly to prepare. The important questions are, Is the time
arrived ? Are we equal to the occasion ? How should it be
done ?
The objections mooted by Mr Cooper and by Mr Park
range at a wider distance. Agreeing with the partisans of
codes on the nature of the present evils, they persist never¬
theless in declining to entertain the question of a code.
This appears, therefore, to be the proper place for short¬
ly stating the grounds of their respective objections. They
have paid considerable attention to the subject, and have
written upon it with much of learning, and still more of
warmth. Their writings, however, do not, if we properly
understand them, contain the proportion of well-directed
and determinate reasoning which an argument of this mag¬
nitude demands. Mr Cooper can scarcely expect that per¬
sons reading for information would be satisfied by general
assertions of the following description. A code will plunge
us in uncertainties; it will multiply litigation ; it will lower
the price of land ; it will put us back to the condition of an
infant people. Codes, instead of being called for by the
people at large, or instead of having been the result of free
national legislation, have been almost always the gifts of
despotic princes ; codes are not wanted since the multipli¬
cation of the copies of law-books at a reasonable price
by means of printing ; parliament could never induce the
best men to abandon the more profitable employment of
VOL. xin.
1 Lettres sur la Cour de la Chancellerie, 1830, Appendix, p. 382.
194
LEGISLATION.
Legisla¬
tion.
the bench and of the bar, in order to take their intellectual
share in so very precarious an adventure, &c. These are
dogmatisms, which, we candidly confess, go with us for very
little ; yet, we hope, for all that they are really worth. But
some of Mr Cooper’s letters contain a great deal of very
valuable instruction. We allude to the parts where he
endeavours to distinguish between the actual condition of
law and society in England and that of other countries, for
the purpose of showing what may be the comparative exi¬
gency for, and what the probable efficiency of, an English
code : again, when he points out the imperfections of the
principal codes which have hitherto been devised ; but,
above all, in his endeavours to reduce within reasonable
bounds the extravagant representations of what any code
can possibly effect towards restraining law-books and law¬
suits in an intelligent and flourishing society. Law reform¬
ers are not a kind of people to be charmed or intimidated by
declamation. Nevertheless, all whom he can have intended
to address would have been thankful for a complete and
correct analysis of the advantages and disadvantages, in gene¬
ral, of legislating by way of codes, as compared with other
systems of legislation. They would attentively listen to an
historical statement of the advantages and disadvantages
which had been practically experienced by particular coun¬
tries on the adoption of codes. They are also fully aware
of the use of judicious prospective calculations. If a simi¬
lar balance-sheet, adapted to the case of England, had
been thoughtfully prepared for them, they would have
carefully studied its probable results, before permitting
the experiment to be tried upon the existing elements of
English law, and in the atmosphere which surrounds it.
Towards this, Mr Cooper has done something; and so far
he has done wisely and well.
Mr Park, in his Contreprojct to the Humphreysian
Code, and to the projects of Redaction of Messrs Hammond,
Uniache, and Twiss, took up a position of his own. His
circle appears a wide one ; but it is in fact almost a sin¬
gle point. He abstains from entering into the general dis¬
cussion for or against codes. He has been informed that
Savigny had settled the general question in the negative.
The province to which he confines himself, is that of show¬
ing that, whatever may become of the argument in other
countries, the law of England is a law of precedents, de¬
pendent upon established maxims and rules of adjudication,
and framed upon some peculiar principle of its own. He
calls it the principle of systematic coherence and dialectic
deduceableness. To this character he conceives codes or
redactions must be alike fatal; for they must equally (as
he opines) withdraw the law as a science from the mas¬
tery of its practitioners, and introduce a corresponding un¬
certainty into the decision of its judges. We fully admit
the judicial origin of the greater part of the English law in
times past. We even believe that the most important hints,
and perhaps the most important materials of law and legis¬
lation, must continue for the future also to come out of
courts of justice. Yet the question recurs, What possible
good can the public derive from the above theory of assum¬
ed coherent principles, which the public cannot equally
possess when the actually existing law is transferred into a
code ? Mr Tyrrell observes, that a considerable shaking
of precedents must occur when principles are taken up
and separated from their context. We agree, that upon
transplanting maxims, a little time will be wanted before
they take root kindly in the new soil prepared for them. But
that is all. Besides this temporary annoyance is different, .
in different systems. In some, a single thread cannot be
loosened but the whole web is ravelled up at once. In
others, the system has grown up piecemeal and in the dark :
it has started originally from no more comprehensive prin¬
ciple than the circumstances of the moment: it has spread
by individual accretion only : it is kept together by cohesion
rather than coherence. In this case, whatever principles and
rules are hammered out at last, or rise up under the mould¬
ing influence of time, they exist there in so arbitrary and
conventional a state, that the percentage of temporary in¬
convenience which may accompany their removal to a more
favourable position must be cheaply purchased. If there
are no principles and rules to be discovered, whatever
precautions may be taken in dealing with a mere chaos of
nominal authorities, is tenderness misplaced. But granting
them to be in existence and in operation, it is impossible
to believe that they cannot do their work as effectually in
a code, as whilst they are scattered up and down in the
floating repository of voluminous reports. Of the two pre¬
sumptions, which is the more probable,—that the qualities
of systematic coherency and dialectic deduceableness will
be the natural accompaniments of a system which branches
out from sound general principles, however originally de¬
rived, into plain didactic regulations? or that they will
be the artificial consequences of a fictitious system, built
upon an interminable series of specialties, called prece¬
dents ; especially when it is considered that the very
element of case-law involves so many points of variation,
that, on any occasion, nobody can be sure that he is not
exercising his logic upon a different set of precedents, or
upon those specialties in the self-same precedent, which,
after all, the judge may not consider as properly applicable
to the case? There are embodied in almost every prece¬
dent, opposite analogies, with sundry hanging threads at¬
tached to them, any one of which a judge, who is a little
capricious, may lay hold of at his pleasure.
In regard to the English system, Mr Park considered him¬
self unquestionably safe upon ninety-five per cent, of the
advice which he gave his clients. Mr Preston informed him,
that upon an inspection of his opinion-books for thirty-
three years, an average of not above three per cent, went
on to judicial litigation. Here, exclaims Mr Park, are
33,000 cases intercepted in their course towards the tri¬
bunals. Now, we know why it is that codified France
requires 5000 judges. Before any such use, to the dis¬
advantage of the Code Napoleon, can be made of this closet-
calculation, we must have before us the average of error
and litigation incident to the consultations of French
lawyers of equal eminence. Mr Park appears to imagine
that there are no cases disposed of in this quiet way under
codes, and that the French tribunals are all occupied in
dispatching what English practice would have anticipated
out of court. In trying the merits of the question—code
or no code—by experiment, the judicial systems for the
administration of each must be taken to be equally good;
and the code must be something steadier than “ a heaving
ocean of jurisprudential ethics?” If it be answered, that
the supposition of this inferiority in the judges and in the
code is a part of the case, there is no use in continuing the
discussion, except to say that the supposition is a pure
assumption. It is one, too, as little warranted by fact or
probability, as the opposite theory of Mr Bentham, whose
delight it was to anticipate the golden age, when codifica¬
tion should have deprived opinionists of their bread. The
statistics of litigation in different countries have as ^et
been far too imperfectly observed, to allow of our form¬
ing even a guess as to what would be the result, in
this respect, of a comparison between France and Eng¬
land. We have no reason to believe that tile return would
be unfavourable to the working of the Code Napoleon.
But the advocates of codification in general, still less of
English codification, are not bound to put their case on
the issue of any single comparison. The case of England
is too peculiar to be governed by the success or failure of
any of the codes of modern Europe. The peculiarities,
as they are acknowledged to prevail up to our own times,
are sufficiently striking. The testimony of Mr Park’s
LEGISLATION.
tesla- favourite authority, Mr Preston, is decisive upon a sub-
11- ject, too, which, above all others, has exercised and ex-
hausted for ages the learning of the English bar : although
it seems, nevertheless, that it had been little studied as a
science. “Till a recent period, the knowledge of this branch
of the law (that of real property) had received a very mode¬
rate share of attention as a science. The rules of property
were scattered in books on the subject of the laws in gene¬
ral...The knowledge of these rules was not to be acquired
with ease. Much perplexity and confusion must have been
experienced by the student, who, out of many disagreeing
opinions equally specious, was to collect the one best sup¬
ported by principles; on whom it was incumbent, from a
number of particular cases, to propose to himself, or to ex¬
tract, a genera! rule, and to mark the cases which were not
within the reason or the scope of the rule. This was to be
accomplished only by discriminating the very minute cir¬
cumstances, by which cases within the reason of the rule
were to be distinguished from those cases which were be¬
yond or beside that reason.” If this were the case, till very
recently, with the most elaborate and systematic part of
the law, assuredly the doubt which sensible persons will
entertain, is not so much, whether a code upon this por¬
tion of the law were wanting, as whether this particular
portion were in a state ripe enough to be incorporated into
a code. It is trifling with men, after a statement of this
description, to tell them that the uncertainty is not in the
law, but in the method of discovering it; that method
being the only one you have. When a precedent is over¬
ruled, how is a suitor the better off for being told by
Blackstone that there has been no change in the law ; but
that all that has taken place is, that an imposition has been
unmasked, and a certain amount of supposititious law dis¬
placed to make way for the rightful interpretation. The
law is a practical science. What can be that marvellous
perfection which is consistent with being obscure, un¬
manageable, and inaccessible ? What would be said of a
musical instrument, which, from its size and complication,
required a Polyphemus to play upon it ? In law, as in
morals, there must be a mistake somewhere, when what
is called the theory is one thing, whilst the practice turns
out to be something else. The desire of anticipating every
possible exercise of discretion, through the instrumentality
of refinements and subtleties, and by means of an enor¬
mous magazine of case-law, only opens the door to dis¬
cretions of another class. We have admitted that there
is a certain inconvenience attending the most, necessary
changes. On constructing a code, a short intermediate
period must elapse before it settles, as builders say. Du¬
ring this interval, however, it is some compensation, that,
even from the first, the decisions will keep closer and closer
to the merits; and that, according as the doubtful points
become gradually fixed, they will be fixed on founda¬
tions which will not fail us. But Mr Preston says, that
the law of real property has latterly acquired the charac¬
ter of a science. Let us take his single treatise on Merger.
Its author calls it elementary. But it is considered as one
of the most profound books in an English law library ; and
one must hope, for the sake of the English community,
whether clients, practitioners, or students, that it is justly
considered so (or what is to become of them under such
a system of jurisprudence ?) when we are told by its author
that the volume “ contains at least 3000 propositions on
subjects of every day’s occurrence.” Whoever may be
called upon to codify the law of Merger, will owe much to
Mr Preston. Books of this class represent at the present
day the writings of the jurists of the third century under
the Roman law. They must at last have to be put to the
same honourable use. Their authors are our Ulpians and
Papinians, preparing the way for the Tribonian who is to
come. Mr Hallam has said, that it will be a disgrace to
195
the nineteenth century if it should not produce one. We Legisla-
pray, then, for better things. t^or1.
Does England mean, as the master and the maker of V^'Y'W
English law, to fall back into the wake of the United
States ? If not, we may have no great time to lose. We
have already shown how far New York and South Caro¬
lina are in advance. But the division of opinion upon this
point, which exists in some quarters amongst our transat¬
lantic coparceners in the common law, as well as amongst
ourselves, seems with them to be more entirely a question
of time, and not of principle, than is yet the case in Eng¬
land. In the meanwhile, the turn which it has taken there,
appears to be both rapid and singular. It was only the
other day that Mr Madison scarcely thought the offer of a
code from Mr Bentham worth the trouble of acknowledging.
The common law was a thing too sacred and tender to be
touched. But that delicacy is over. Law, framed as the
common law has been framed, will want reforming at some
time. The only doubt is, whether lawyers of the years
of our Lord 1823, 1836, are born too late or too early for
the Herculean task. Mr Sampson has great merit for hav¬
ing taken the lead in disabusing his countrymen of their
blind idolatry of the common law. He proposed, in his dis¬
course of 1823, an immediate revision of it. His view
would seem to be, that nothing is to be got by waiting till
it gets worse. On the other hand, Mr Duponceau, in his
Dissertation on the Nature and Extent of the Jurisdiction of
the Courts of the United States, only begged of reformers,
the year afterwards, to have a little patience. If they re¬
frained a little longer, the judges would have substituted
for the still remaining errors of these old Sybilline books
more solid principles of jurisprudence, and we should have
a common law worth codifying. “ It is much better that
things should remain as they are until the common law
shall, by successive improvements, have attained its high¬
est degree of perfection, and then it will be time to reduce
its principal provisions to a text; for the details must
always be left to the sound application of the principles
of the system, as it is impossible for any legislator to
foresee all the cases that may possibly arise. I think,
however, that we are sufficiently ripe for a national sys¬
tem of commercial law, and therefore I have ventured
to express a hope, that congress will exercise the powers
which the constitution has given them upon that subject.”
The particular question of time was submitted in 1826
to Mr Dupin. His answer, although diffident in form, is
positive enough in substance. “ As to the precise point
of whether your country is ripe for such a digest, I do not
undertake to decide it. I confess that, if our codes had
been digested in the fifteenth, or even in the sixteenth
century, they would not have possessed by any means
the qualities which now recommend them. To produce
them, it was necessary that the labours of jurists, the de¬
cisions of magistrates, and the experience of all classes,
should have brought the science, as it were, to a certainty.
Are you yet arrived at this point ? You can answer this
better than I can. I admit the force of the reason given
by some of your adversaries, that a badly made law would
tie up the judges, and prevent them from improving the
system by degrees. But what are these improvements
which they suppose must result from the liberality and
the wisdom of the judges, but the exercise of arbitrary
power ? And is not this attended with most serious in¬
conveniences ? Bacon has well said, optima lex est quce
minimum relinquit arbitrio judicis, optimus judex qui mini¬
mum sibi. And yet there are persons in your country who
would wish the judges in reality to be legislators. Can
your nation, so enlightened in matters of politics and go¬
vernment, be only in arrear in matters of civil and criminal
law ?” Under these circumstances, the scruples of Mr
Duponceau and his friends may perhaps be already over-
196 LEGIST,
1^- come ; for he has declared that he thinks “ the common
v 10n'_ , ^avv i® susceptible of being carried to the highest degree
of perfection, and that he believes the honour of producing
the result is reserved to the jurists of the United States.”
It is impossible, therefore, to tell with what rapidity this
process may be taking place, and when the propitious hour
may happen to arrive. English jurists have nothing to
wait for on either of these opposite suppositions. On the
argument of Mr Sampson, they ought not merely to be
content, but to make good speed with their actual mate¬
rials for legislation. The rubbish gets deeper and deeper
every year. According to the expectation of Mr Dupon-
ceau, they have nothing to stay for. The promised con¬
tributions to the perfection of our old vernacular juris¬
prudence are not to come from us. Unless, therefore, we
mean to wait for the American Tribonian, we should do
well, without more delay, to set about providing ourselves
with a Tribonian of our own.
Mr Justice Story, in his Discourse on the Past His¬
tory, Present State, and Future Prospects of the Law, de¬
livered about the same period, looks on the mother coun¬
try more favourably. He admits her into partnership in
this heroic work. We cannot, therefore, do less than quote
his advice. “ The mass of the law is accumulating with
an almost incredible rapidity, and with this accumulation
the labour of the students, as well as professors, is seri¬
ously augmenting. It is impossible not to look without
some discouragement upon the ponderous volumes which
the next half century will add to the groaning shelves of
our jurists. The habits of generalization which will be
acquired and perfected by the liberal studies which I have
ventured to recommend, will do something to avert the
fearful calamity which threatens us, of being buried alive,
not in the catacombs, but in the labyrinths of the law. I
know, indeed, but of one adequate remedy, and that is,
by a gradual digest, under legislative authority, of those por¬
tions of our jurisprudence which, under the forming hand of
the judiciary, shall from time to time acquire scientific accu¬
racy. By thus reducing to a text the exact principles of
the law, we shall, in a great measure, get rid of the neces¬
sity of appealing to volumes which contain jarring and
discordant opinions ; and thus we may pave the way to a
general code, which will present, in its positive and autho¬
ritative text, the most material rules to guide the lawyer,
the statesman, and the private citizen. It is obvious that
such a digest can apply only to the law, as it has been ap¬
plied to human concerns in past times ; but, by revision at
distant1 periods, it may be made to reflect all the light
which intermediate decisions may have thrown upon our
jurisprudence. To attempt more than this, would be a
hopeless labour, if not an absurd project. We ought not
to permit ourselves to indulge in the theoretical extrava¬
gancies of some well-meaning philosophical jurists, who
believe that all human concerns for the future can be pro¬
vided for in a code speaking a definite language. Suffi¬
cient for us will be the achievement to reduce the past
to order and certainty; and that this is within our reach
cannot be matter of doubtful speculation. It has been al¬
ready accomplished, in a manner so triumphant that no
cavil has been able to lessen the fame of the authors. The
Pandects of Justinian, imperfect as they are, from the
haste in which they were compiled, are a monument of
imperishable glory to the wisdom of the age ; and they
gave to Rome, and to the civilized world, a system of
civil maxims which have not been excelled in usefulness
and equity. They superseded at once the immense col¬
lections of former times, and left them to perish in obli¬
vion; so that, of all ante-Justinianian jurisprudence, little
A T I O N.
more remains than a few fragments, which are now and Lee
then recovered from the dust and rubbish of antiquity, in tk
the codices rescripti of some venerable libraries. The mo-'s^
dern code of France, embracing as it does the entire ele¬
ments of her jurisprudence, in the rights, duties, relations,
and obligations of civil life ; the exposition of the rules of
contracts of every sort, including commercial contracts;
the descent, distribution, and regulation of property; the
definition and punishment of crimes ; the ordinary and
extraordinary police of the country, and the enumeration
of the whole detail of the civil and criminal practice and
process; is perhaps the most finished and methodical
treatise of law that the world ever saw. This code forms
also the law of Holland, and, with comparatively few al¬
terations, has been solemnly adopted as its fundamental
law by the state of Louisiana. The materials of it were
to be sought for among an almost infinite variety of pro¬
vincial usages and customary laws, and were far more
difficult to reduce into system, than any which belong to
tbe common law. It is left to the future jurists of our
country and England to accomplish for the common law
what has thus been so successfully demonstrated to be a
practical problem in the jurisprudence of other nations, a
task which the modest but wmndeiTul genius of Sir Wil¬
liam Jones did not scruple to believe to be within the
reach of a single mind successfully to accomplish.”
Marvellous pains are taken, and with marvellous suc¬
cess, to make people misunderstand each other, to exag¬
gerate the importance of the minor points upon which they
differ, and to slur over or forget the far greater matters on
which they are agreed. From the way in which Mr Ben-
tham’s adversaries represent or rather misrepresent his opi¬
nions, their readers would not suspect him to have stated
tha-t there are three stages of legislation, of which it is
the last which will terminate in a code. This view, or
something extremely like it, is also that entertained by Sa-
vigny. In the muster-roll of names, it is repeatedly men¬
tioned, that Thibaut, Feuerbach, Pfeiffer, Almendigin,
Gonner, and others, have written in favour of codifica¬
tion ; Schlosser, Hugo Schrader, and others, against it.
We have had no opportunity of seeing the particular
works alluded to. But we comfort ourselves in our igno¬
rance of the fact, by the probability that the real bearing
of their debate is confined to Germany; since this is true,
even in the instance of Savigny’s celebrated essay upon
The Vocation of our Age for Legislation and Jurispru¬
dence. His very title significantly fixes the object of
the work. It is addressed to the present age. This ought
to have been enough to put honest readers upon their
guard against drawing conclusions beyond the intention
of the author. On reading it, it is plain that his ge¬
neral observations have a positive and limited reference,
as much as his special criticisms. By no possibility can
they be reasonably applied to any country but to one
which is placed by its political circumstances, by the cha¬
racter of its laws, and even by the state of its language, as
well as of its legal attainments, in the particular predica¬
ment which the whole of his argument assumes. M.
Meyer has inscribed to Mr Cooper a very able essay, which
we have -cited before for another purpose. We agree with
him in the greater part of the opinions which he has ex¬
pressed, and altogether in the conclusions in favour of
codification at which he has arrived. But in criticising Sa-
vigny, he appears to us, in attacking him, to have mistaken
occasionally the extent of this admirable scholar’s argument,
equally almost with the English writers, who, without dis¬
criminating very accurately their right to claim it, have
sought for shelter under his name. Savigny’s essay, at
1 Bacon says short.
LEGISLATION. 197
(t ala- the time it was published, was a political pamphlet against state of clear perceptiveness which is ordinarily peculiar to Legisla-
\n. the French. Prussia had just cleared her soil of their the law of young nations, will be combined with the height tion'L y
bayonets, and her tribunals of their laws. Korner’s songs of scientific development. Then, too, may future degene- J,_v
are not more the burst of triumph from a soldier at their rate times be provided for, and then will be the time for
military emancipation, than Savigny’s pages are the exult- considering whether this be done best by codes or in ail¬
ing gratulations of an enthusiastic lawyer on the recovery other form. I do not say that this state of things will ever
ofMiis country’s legal freedom. The work did*and does arrive ; this depends upon the combination of the rarest and
infinite credit to his patriotism. His statements, too, ac- most fortunate circumstances. What we jurists can con-
cording to our understanding of them, we can have no dif- tribute towards it, is an openness to conviction, and honest
ficulty in taking upon his own authority. The inaptitude of hearty co-operation.” The following passage regards the
Prussian lawyers to legislate for themselves at present may language in which this substance is supposed to be cu¬
be true to the letter. Trained up under the minutiae of shrined and communicated: “ It has frequently been re-
the landrecht, it is natural to expect that this should be the quired that the code should be popular; and Thibaut also
case. Meyer ought to have borne these circumstances in once refers to the demand. Properly understood, this de¬
mind ; in which case, he would have made more allowance mand may be complied with. For language, the most ef-
for the local and temporary spirit in which the argument fective medium by which a communication of mind can
of the Prussian jurist is not only conceived, but actually take place, also checks and limits this mental intercourse in
expressed. There are, however, essential differences in the many ways. The best part of thought is frequently absorbed
legal principles and the habits of these two writers, and in by this medium, in consequence of the incapacity either of
their general drift of thought. Savigny is an ardent ad- the speaker or the hearer. But, by natural ability or art,
vocate of the historical school of law; Meyer of the prag- this medium may be brought under such command, that
matic. Savigny looks to the traditions from which laws neither sort of incapacity is any longer an obstacle. The
are derived ; Meyer to the express sanction by which they thought passes over the varying characters and capacities of
are imposed. But when Meyer says, that if the system the listeners, and hits them in the common intellectual
of the historical school be well founded, not only are written centre point. Then is it that the high are satisfied, whilst
codes and positive legislations chimeras and impossibilities, all is clear even to the low ; both see the thought above
but every attempt to arrive at them must lead to serious them, in an elevated improving point of view ; and it is
inconveniences, and adds, that Savigny thinks so too,— within the reach of both. Thus, there was somewhere a
the observation is much too sweepingly worded. With the miraculous image of Christ, which had the property of
exception of a few bitter sneers at France, Savigny argues being a hand’s breadth taller than the tallest man who
the case of Germany only. The single point he makes, might place himself beside it; were it a man of moderate
is its incapacity at present to frame a code of any real size, or a little man, that came, the difference was still the
merit, owing to the defective education of its lawyers, and same, never greater. This simple, truly popular style, is
the insufficiency of its language. His objection includes to be seen (to speak only of our native literature) in our bet-
every species of legislation and jurisprudence ; and only ter sort of chronicles, but it may also appear in many other
specifies codes in particular, because they are more promi- forms. Should we once regain it, many an excellent thing
nent and arduous than the rest. Instead of saying that a will be possible; amongst others, a good historical style,
good code is universally impracticable, he says just the and, amongst others, a popular code.” Savigny plainly
contrary. Nay, he goes the length of saying, that by means states the real grounds of his objections to be, not to a code
of historical law-schools, well conducted, Germany itself qua code, but to a code made by the present contempo-
will become qualified to frame one. But whether it would rary generation, in consequence of their incompetency,
be prudent or not to do so ; in other words, which system “ Thibaut sees the cause of the evil in the sources of the
would be preferable, that of enacted or unenacted laws ; law, and believes that they could remedy it by a code. I,
is a further point on which, like Bacon, he abstains from on the other hand, find it in ourselves, and believe, for this
intimating an opinion. It is no imputation on Savigny to very reason, that we are not qualified to frame one.” The
state that the essay was written under great political ex- conditions which he requires for ths purposes of composing
citement, and with the professed object of beating up a a good system of law in any shape, are, according to his
crusade against denationalization. Under these circum- account, all wanting in Prussia. The first condition is
stances, we feel that it is not presumptuous to surmise, unity of system. “ To begin with the least important par-
that if he eould have honestly pronounced an opinion uni- ticular, let any man run over in his mind a number of the
versally unfavourable to the adoption of a code, he would jurists now living, and ask himself, whether the existing
not have withheld it. law could be so much as systematized by their combined
The following are the passages in which Savigny con- labours ; he would soon be convinced of the utter impossi-
templates the euthanasia of the historical school. The bility. But that a code is a much greater work, and that a
■ first regards the substance of the law, as it will have higher degree of organic unity must be required of it, is
been created by legal talent: “ Let jurisprudence be what no one will deny. In reality, therefore, the code, if
once generally diffused amongst the jurists, in the man- it is not to be a mere lifeless, mechanical, and, consequent-
ner above mentioned, and we again possess, in the legal ly, worthless composition, could not be framed by such a
profession, a subject for living customary law, conse- committee, but only by an individual: the others would
quently for real improvement; the practice of our courts only be able to afford a subordinate description of aid, by
of justice is but a clumsy substitute for this customary communicating their advice and opinions on the occurrence
law, the practice of the law-faculties the clumsiest of of particular doubts, or by exerting themselves to purify
all. The historical matter of law, which now hems us in the work when completed, by the detection of individual
on all sides, will then be brought under subjection, and defects. But whoever admits this, must, as regards the
constitute our wealth. We shall then possess a truly na- present age, despair of the practicability of the proposal;
tional law, and a powerful expressive language will not be for, to find that same individual the true lawgiver, is per-
wanting to it. We may then give up the Roman law to fectly impossible, because, by reason of the heterogeneous
history, and we shall have, not merely a feeble imitation of character of the modes of thought and knowledge of our
the Roman system, but a truly national and new system of jurists, no individual can be treated as the representative
our own. We shall have reached somewhat higher than to of the species.” The next condition is, that laws, proper-
a merely sure and speedy administration of justice ; that ly grounded and combined, must consist of leading axioms.
198
Legisla¬
tion.
LEGISLATION.
<" lo distinguish these, and deduce from them the internal
connection and the precise degree of affinity which subsist
between all juridical notions and rules, is amongst the most
difficult of the problems of jurisprudence. Indeed, it is pe¬
culiarly this which gives our labours the scientific character.
If, then, the code be formed in a time which is unequal to
this art, the following evils are inevitable. In the attempt
at material completeness, particular decisions, unnoticed by
the framers, will be constantly crossing and contradicting
each other, which will gradually come to light by practice
only, and, in the case of a bad administration of justice,
not even by that. This result would be clearly inevitable,
so far as contemporaries are concerned, were an age, with¬
out being fully qualified, to fix its legal notions by legisla¬
tive authority in this manner; but the effect of it would
be no less injurious to succeeding times.” The last condi¬
tion provides for the form of laws, and for the art of exposi¬
tion and of expression, whether it be brevity or diffuseness
which the occasion may require. We have extracted and
brought into juxtaposition the above passages, with two
purposes in view.
The reader will now understand what are the precise
qualities upon which Savigny considers the faculty of mak¬
ing good laws of every description to depend; there be¬
ing no further particularity in the case of codes, but that
the difficulty rises with the magnitude of the undertaking.
On recapitulating the conditions, the reader must deter¬
mine how far the English lawyer can comply with them.
We cannot but think that the approximation is sufficiently
close to encourage us in making the attempt. According
to the degree that our conclusion is correct, England need
not disclaim the vocation of her age to legislation and ju¬
risprudence. To begin with the last condition, language;
Latin was perhaps a better legislative language than even
the Oieek. french and Italian may have a similar pre-emi¬
nence in modern times. Yet there is no reason that we know
of for believing that the vagueness of the English statute-
book is attributable to the language, and not to the compilers
of it. The next condition w as a perception of the affinity
between different juridical rules and notions. Notwith¬
standing the extent of the English law, and the consequent
dangers hanging over it from day to day, its axioms, and
what has been termed the science of legal judgment, have
not yet escaped the grasp of the profession. In their talent
for analogical reasoning, for seeing the proper legal rela¬
tion in an individual case, and for an union of theory with
practice, the existing English school resembles the Roman,
as it existed at the best times of classical jurisprudence. It
may be said equally of the great men of both, “ Their
theory and practice are the same; their theory is framed
foi immediate application, and their practice is uniformly
ennobled by scientific treatment. They see in every prin¬
ciple a case of application, in every case the rule by which
it is to be decided; and in the ease with which they pass
fiom geneials to particulars, and back again from particu¬
lars to generals, their mastery is undeniable.” Rut the re¬
semblance between the two in the remaining condition is
still more striking. “ Amongst the Romans in Papinian’s
time, a code was possible, because their aggregate juridical
literature constituted an organic whole. It might be said
(to use an expression of the later jurists), that at that time
the individual jurists v- ere f ungible persons. In such a state
of things, indeed, there were many w ays leading to a good
code ; one jurist might frame it, and the others afterwards
MippJy particular defects; which was practicable, because
each individual jurist was then entitled to rank as the re-
pi esentative of the juridical cultivation of the time; or se¬
veral, independently of each other, might each work out
the w hole, and, by collating and combining their produc¬
tions, a new one might be formed, more complete than
each taken singly, but homogeneous with all.” On these
grounds, taken from the tests of competency laid down LeL
by Savigny himself, we feel justified in submitting to his
admirers, that a prima facie case at least is made out''*",
to this extent, viz. that the common law of England is
capable, at the present moment, of being converted into a
code.
It may be proper to remind all parties that England, on
entering upon this labour, has two great advantages. They
are advantages, in the degree to which she enjoys them,
certainly peculiar to herself. The first is, the unity of
her present system. She has no disturbing forces arising
from permanent disparities of soil and of climate between
different parts of her empire. She has no personal laws,
the inheritance of races that refuse to amalgamate with
each other. She has few conflicting customs represent¬
ing cherished recollections, and wrought into the charac¬
ter of respective portions of her population. The early
centralization of her judicial system has prevented all this.
She is saved from those embarrassments which the appeal
court of Montpelier so forcibly depictured in their criti¬
cism on the compromise enforced by the Code Napoleon,
between the laws and usages of the pays du droit ecrit and
the pays du droit coutumier. These were the obstacles
by which James I. was foiled in his darling project of an
union between the laws of England and Scotland. He
could not succeed, even with the comparatively simple
and flexible principles of the criminal laws. What is to
be done in a case like that of Canada, where the French
and English settlers make it a point of national pride and
national antipathy to cling the closer, each to their opposite
systems of jurisprudence? Extensive variances of this de¬
scription, whilst they constitute one of the great necessities
for an uniform system of law throughout our Indian empire
(if we mean to govern it by Europeans, and to govern it by
law), also, on the other hand, constitute a great, though it
is to be hoped not insuperable, difficulty in the execution
of the task. It is unfortunate that, in this point of view,
the practical difficulty of the task must always rise pre¬
cisely in proportion to the abstract importance that it
should be performed. Savigny would estimate very highly
the advantage belonging to the unity in our materials; and
he would be disposed to do this by the general policy of
his historical creed. But all Prussians have been made
sensible of it, from the tenderness with which Prussia has
been compelled to humour her subjects on this very point.
A government which, by breaking up the estates of its
landowners, has invaded, and, in the course of a f ew years,
overturned, the rights of private property ; which has
formed into codes at its pleasure the great body of its
Germanized Roman law ; and which had actually decreed
that all provincial laws should be also turned into codes
within three years ; was nevertheless defeated here. They
were unable to succeed in this last object, excepting in a
single province, that of East Prussia ; and they have since
been compelled to suspend, if not abandon, their purpose
in the rest.
The second advantage is scarcely an inferior one. If
the remark of Sir James Mackintosh be correct, “ that
there is but one way of forming a civil code, either con¬
sistent with common sense, or that has ever been prac¬
tised in any country, namely, that of gradually building
up the law in proportion as the facts arise which it is to
regulate, too great value cannot be set on the quantity
and quality of the judicial materials which the history of
a nation may thus have collected in its course. It can be
nothing but the intrinsic merit of the English reports
which has extorted from Mr Bentham repeated panegy¬
rics. “ A library composed of the books in which these
cases are thus brought to view,—such a library, even
though there were not so much as a single law in it, is at
any rate a rich storehouse of materials for legislation;
LEGISLATION.
w a. such a storehouse, that without it no tolerably adequate
ti<> system of laws could be made. The more ample the
stock, so that it be not to such a degree vast that the
mind is lost in it, the more effectual the provision made
for this most necessary and arduous of all intellectual
works. The greatest quantity of wealth possessed in this
shape by any other nation, is penury in comparison
of that which has been furnished by English common
law.” In the immense mass to which the repertory of
its adjudged cases extends, it has well acquitted itself
of that preliminary process on which Leibnitz set so high
a value. Speaking of the writers of consultations, he has
said that they are “ almost the only juridical writers who
really extend jurisprudence, and enrich it by the obser¬
vation of new cases.” In his autoribus laudibile esl, quod
novos emergentes casus perpetual memoriae consignant, or-
bemque juridicum continud auctione locupletant, quod non
faciunt autores exercitationum et commentatiorum semper
vetera ruminantesl
There is an ancient prejudice which has been conceived
against the law, both by men of the world and by men of
learning. It is high time that the prejudice were removed.
This would be done as soon as ever means were taken
to do justice to the good sense, the close reasoning, and
just principles, at present buried under its forms. The
science, however, must be reconstructed by authority,
before the points and peculiarities of the law can, by a
proper analysis and synthesis, be so separated and com¬
bined as to clear away unsatisfactory anomalies, and pre¬
sent its rules in a way which will bear examination. When
Lord Mansfield boasted that the English law was a law of
principle,"he at least saw the means of making it so. He
had made it so for himself. When Hale called upon every
student to methodize the law in his reading, telling him,
that otherwise he could never carry it in his memory for
seven years together, or a much shorter period, he could
not have stopped by choice at the case of individual stu¬
dents. He must have been prepared to call upon the
legislature to take the same course, for the sake of the
profession who were to practise it, and the public who were
to obey it. Ihe advantage of whatever method or prin¬
ciple can be put into the law is one of those advantages
which ought to be diffused as widely, and put forward as
prominently, as possible. These two things are so nearly
connected, that we must not expect to get the benefit of
one without the other. By the help of method, the true
principles are brought to light; and then, by a philoso¬
phical re-action, the principles do as much in return, or
more, towards assisting us to improve our methods. The
perfection of both terminates in a code. With this view,
Bacon’s collection of legal maxipis appears to have been
one of his most valuable works, though only a small por¬
tion of them has been preserved. He speaks of them as
the regula juris, with their differences and limitations,
warranted by good authorities, and set forth by discourse
and deducement in a just tractate, “ the thing most im¬
portant to the health and good institution of laws.” He
had seen little in this kind either in our law or in that of
others which satisfied him, but he was so well satisfied with
the beginning which he had made himself, that he had
. ^le confidence to assure his majesty, “ I am in good hope,
that when Sir Edward Coke’s reports, and mv own rules
and decisions, shall come to posterity, there will be (what¬
soever is now thought) question who was the greater law¬
yer. It will be seen, when the English law is thus put
. lnto system, whether it can, equally with the Roman, de¬
serve the commendation which Leibnitz bestowed upon
the Roman, when he said of it, that he knew nothing so
mathematical out of the mathematics. ,
The practical question upon which the estimate of a code,
oi', in other words, of enacted law, must depend, involves
three distinct points. First, what are the evils inherent in
unenacted law generally ? next, what are those which are
peculiar to the particular shape which unenacted law has
assumed in England? These are matters of fact. There is a
further question, how far the turning of unenacted into
enacted law is likely to get rid of these evils. This must
be comparatively a matter of opinion. These points have
been anticipated more or less in our historical narrative.
The inquirer is referred for a more particular detail to
Mr Bentham’s papers on Codification, and to the comment
on them by Sir Samuel Romilly in the fifty-seventh num¬
ber of the Edinburgh Review. He will find there what
is the nature of the unknown God from whose worship it
is one of the principal objects of a code to set him free.
These evils are reduced in malignity under the English
system, and, to a considerable degree, are kept out of pub¬
lic sight, from the manner in which common law and sta¬
tute law are there mixed up together. Otherwise a sys¬
tem of barefaced judge-made law, and nothing else, wTould
not be tolerated lor a day. It is true that laws, however
constituted, cannot sustain the character of a people,
when, from more powerful independent causes, the na¬
tional character is falling into decay. It is true also that
such a people will pull down their laws with them. Still
it is a presumption against the possible stability and firm¬
ness of unenacted law, that all the admitted excellence of
the expositions of the Roman jurisconsults of the third
century could not prevent the civil law from getting into
such a state of anarchy, that a code, put together by very
inferior workmen, was acknowledged, universally, of two
evils to have become the least.
I here is a proverbial saying, by which law is denomi¬
nated a necessary evil. The expression assumes, and as¬
sumes truly', that there are evils inseparable from law.
Amongst these, are particular consequences, which it has
been sometimes absurdly expected, or disingenuously re¬
presented, that codification would remove. We must
mention a few of those which wise reformers never held,
and which ignorant ones must instantly give up. The first
of these fallacies, and almost the most absurd, is the imagi¬
nation of such a thing as an immutable code. There is
no such combination as “ man and for ever.” We must
leave to pretenders, playing at legislation, like Frederick
the Great or the Empress Catherine, the fiction that a
code may be a manual as cheap, short, and familiar, as a
catechism ; and that its immediate consequence will be
the enabling the world to dispense with lawyers as a dis¬
tinct profession. Instead of doing away with judges and
lawyers, professionally educated, the effect of a good sys¬
tem must be quite the reverse. It is among the merits of
a code properly made and properly studied, that it will want
lawyers of a higher order, and that it will help to make
them. The notion of doing without the profession of the
law belongs to the region of the legal debates during the
Commonwealth, in one of which it was seriously mov¬
ed to burn the records. Ihe unlearned member was of
course proceeding upon Knox’s principle in ecclesiastical
reform, viz. to displace the rooks by pulling down the rook¬
eries. Hale had some trouble to bring the fanatics to
reason. If the notion of simplifying the interpretation of
a code by destroying the old authorities be absurd on one
hand, equally so is the opposite notion, that the neglect
of them will be the necessary consequence of a code. It
is nothing to the discredit of the reforms by Justinian
(quite the contraiy) to admit that, in ease he had been
succeeded by enlightened times, the Jurisprudents ante-
Justinianea would not have been suffered to fall into obli¬
vion. Is the question a different one with regard to the
contributions of contemporary legal learning? Not at
all. Tet the government of Bavaria was insane enough,
in publishing its new penal code in 1813, to follow it up
200
LEGISLATION.
Legisla- by an ordinance that no public servant or lawyer should
tlon‘ , print a commentary upon it. It was the plain consequence
of such an order, as far as government was concerned, to
abolish law as a science, to deprive it of all capability of
improvement, and to perpetuate every existing blunder.
The most appropriate and righteous censure which could
be passed upon such folly, was the necessity which they
had to submit to, of stultifying themselves by being ob¬
liged to add to this perfect work above one hundred no¬
vels within the four succeeding years. An attempt to re¬
press what the French call the Jurisprudence des Arrets,
by discouraging the preservation and the study of judicial
decisions, under the alarm of being overwhelmed by them,
is even still more prejudicial. For this is to dry up at its
source the natural fountain, whose tributary waters, if duly
analysed and conducted, are, from among many subsidiary
means, the best qualified of all for supplying the code
from time to time with whatever accessions it may require,
and for maintaining it on a proper level with the wants and
the intelligence of society. It shows the incorrigibleness
of mankind, that most of these modern errors are only re¬
petitions of the very errors which were committed by Tri-
bonian.
The sooner all delusive hopes are laid aside the better.
We are spared disappointment in quarters where nothing
but disappointment is to be met with; and by concentrating
our efforts in the right direction, upon objects within our
reach, all that is attainable is more likely to be attained.
How far is it possible to reduce the causes of litigation
by giving to the law what Bentham has chosen to term
cognoscibility? Every possible facility to litigation, wher¬
ever rights given to a party by the law are violated or
withheld, is one of the most obvious, though one of the
most neglected, duties of society. On the other hand,
that it is extremely desirable, and also to a certain ex¬
tent practicable, to reduce the causes of litigation, which
arise from the uncertainty of the law, nobody can deny.
But, on comparing their respective amounts of litigation,
with the view of testing thereby the merit of their respec¬
tive legal systems, there are unavoidable difficulties in the
way of a fair comparison between one country and another.
Tabular returns from courts of justice, in the case of coun¬
tries governed respectively by enacted and unenacted law,
have, as was said above, never been inquired into with
this object. But the tables are yet to be drawn up, which
a person who knew what he ought to look for would be at
the trouble of consulting. Tables, to be of any use for
this purpose, must distinguish, by appropriate classification,
the falling off in litigation, which is to be set down to the
clearness with which a government has simplified or par¬
ticularized its laws, from the falling off which as certainly
would take place as often as a government bad succeeded,
by the help of complication, expense, or terror, in ob¬
structing the entrance into its tribunals. Consequently
we should not place much value (were they to be had) on
numbers given in the gross, one way or the other. But
there are facts in evidence which, whatever else may be
their value, are fully sufficient to refute the assertion that
codes must necessarily increase litigation. Filangieri, for
example (t. v. p. 370), quotes from Formey s abridged Ex¬
position of the Royal Plan for the Reform of Justice, the
example of Pomerania. In consequence of its having been
proverbially called terra litigiosa, it was the first selected
by Frederick the Great for his experiment. The result
was, that law-suits became rarer every day. After such
an event as the French revolution, how many causes, be¬
sides the legal novelty of the code, might explain a sud¬
den rush into courts of justice. Meyer observes, that, in
the Low Countries, and in Rhenish Prussia, authentic in¬
terpretations of the Code Napoleon, during the short time
that those countries had been subjected to its jurisdiction,
had so satisfactorily verified the greater part of its debate- L
able points, that this class of litigation was already sensi- t
bly on the decline. We have no reason to believe that it^iL
is not the same in France. Again, although it is essential
to improvement in the law that juridical learning should
be cultivated, and adjudged cases collected and studied,
yet it is as essential to one of the main advantages ex¬
pected from a code, that its auxiliary literature should not
supersede, and, as it were, swamp the precise letter of the
enacted law. The character of cognoscibility would other¬
wise again belost. The opponents of codes have strenuously
maintained that juridical learning comes of so progressive
and masterful a stock, that a code cannot possibly escape
from the alternative of all or none. The proposed dilemma
leaves us to choose which of the evils we shall prefer.
Whichever we may choose, we are asked in a sarcastic tone
to calculate the mighty stakes which we have won, and to
answer honestly, whether we find them worth the trouble
which we have had in playing for them. On this point also
the example of France is shaken in terroreni over England
and America. All who would lay irreverent hands upon the
ark of the common law, are solemnly and perseveringly as¬
sured that the drowning of the Code Napoleon in a sea of
literature and jurisprudence, is already the most charac.
teristic and undoubted fact in the legal history of France.
This, by the way, were it correct, w ould be an ample an¬
swer to the narrowness and poverty of their legal learning,
which Savigny conceived must be the consequence of the
adoption of a code in the actual circumstances of that coun¬
try. There can be no question that such a state of things
as that described, supposing the representation accurate,
would be a good argumentum ad hominem to any French¬
man who were to boast that the Code Napoleon had solved
the problem. But it would prove nothing against codification
in general; unless codifiers were to admit that the Code
Napoleon, and the circumstances under which it had been
introduced and administered, were all as good as possible.
What, however, are the facts ? In 1822, M. Dupin wrote
his Essay de la Jurisprudence des Arrets, with the view
principally of remonstrating against the excess to which
French advocates wrere carrying, especially in the pro¬
vinces, the citation of judicial precedents in their argu¬
ments. He mentions as a flagrant abuse (whatever Eng¬
lish practitioners may think of it), an instance where an
advocate had cited fourteen cases. The practice, he adds,
sometimes passed from the bar even to the bench. This
was thought to look ominous. Fortunately we have the
positive testimony of M. Dupin himself, that, notwith¬
standing an occasional dip or so, the code keeps its head
triumphantly above the waters, and easily shakes off these
encumbrances. In 1826, Mr Sampson had been so per¬
plexed by what he was constantly hearing of the warn¬
ing to codifiers, contained in the present state of French
jurisprudence, that he took courage and addressed M.
Dupin personally. “ We are told,” he says, “ that the
French codes have had but the life of a day; that the
civil code, the model of all the others, is already almost
buried by the multiplicity of laws, decrees, and commen¬
taries with which it is loaded ; and that, in a short time,
the law will be sought for, not in the code, but in the so¬
lutions of its difficulties, and in the questions to which it
has given rise. What degree of credit is due to the as¬
sertion ?’’ It was impossible to consult an oracle more
above all suspicion than the lawyer who, four years be¬
fore, was on the alert, and had appeared to be himself
sounding the alarm. But nothing can be more satisfactory
than M. Dupin’s answer on the question put to him. On
the other hand, he properly recognizes and claims, in aid of
a code, the full benefit of the just distinction between the
learning of the jurist and the authority of the law. “ The
assertion,” he answers, “ is not true, that the jurisprudence
LEGISLATION.
Leeia- of decided cases has prevailed in any way against the text
tl- of our codes ; nor are we in any way threatened, even at
pjLw a distance, with the danger of seeing the letter of our laws
disappear under the load of interpretations. In every
discussion, the text of the law is first looked into, and if
the law has spoken, non exempli* sed legibus judicandum
est. If the law has not clearly decided the point in ques¬
tion, its silence or its error is endeavoured to be supplied.
But what country is there where decisions have not thus
been used to supply the defects of legislation ?” That
this is, therefore, the fact in France, we must take M.
Dupin’s word ; and we can have no difficulty in taking it.
But the last paragraph admits that in France judge-
made law is creeping in beyond what Meyer states it to
have done in the Low Countries. And, though M. Dupin
is protected against the error of putting the two sources
of law, the legislative and the judicial, in opposition to
each other, it is equally certain that inferior lawyers are
equally secure. He had observed, in his Jurisprudence des
Arrets, that nothing was more common than to hear the
two things put in contradiction, law and jurisprudence.
II est de principe en droit que—mais la jurisprudence est con-
traire; cest-d-dire, les arrets ont juge autrement. After
such a statement, he must not be surprised that strangers
have been misled by his book, or that hostile readers of
his letter should only use it in order to quote him against
himself. Taking the letter by itself, all that is wanted
in French legislative organization is an institution charged
with the duty of condensing and carrying up the recti¬
fied spirit of their judicial decisions from the courts to the
legislature. The legislature ought to permit no depart¬
ment in the state to exercise legislative power except it¬
self ; and it ought to be provided with the official means of
duly discharging its trust. The province of the court of cas¬
sation, as a central and regulating power, is of infinite use.
Its decisions are reported officially, but its province stops
short of the still higher jurisdiction of the institution which
is required for the present purpose. The necessity of a
“ council of laws” of this description has been frequently
established by writers on the theory of legislation. It was
mentioned during the discussions on the Code Napoleon,
but unfortunately dropped through. Without it, any system
of enacted law, however complete and correct, at a given
moment, cannot long continue so. Jurisprudence must get
ahead of law. Upon these points, therefore, how does the
argument stand ? Whatever may be the form in which laws
subsist (code or no code), on either supposition fresh cases
will be rising up, which are fairly determinable under the
existing law, but only determinable by means of judicial
interpretation. The question is, which of the systems of¬
fers the likelihood of the'fewest of these instances occurring,
and, when they do occur, that a ready and a rational inter¬
pretation will be at hand ? Again, on either supposition,
fresh cases must also be rising up, which, not falling with¬
in the existing law, must be provided for, directly or indi¬
rectly, by further legislation. There are many reasons, in
our opinion, why, upon both occasions, viz. that of a de¬
mand for fresh interpretation and for fresh legislation, the
work would be better done under a system of enacted than
of unenacted law. For the converse conclusion we are
!' aware of no reason whatsoever.
On the supposition that a code is decided upon, there
remain behind very important considerations, which have
been incidentally alluded to in former parts of the present
paper, but which the space that we have already occupied
will not allow of our formally discussing. 1. Every species
of preliminary aid ought to be forthcoming. By what in¬
quiries, arrangements, and writings, shall we best prepare
the way for the formation of a complete and correct code,
and facilitate its practical introduction ? 2. The best ma¬
chinery for executing the work ought to be procured. Is
VOL. xm.
201
it likely to be most effectually performed by a single presid- Legisla-
ing mind, as Mr Bentham proposes ? or by a commission tion.
more or less numerous ? In the latter case, the principle on v—
which the labour is distributed amongst the persons em¬
ployed will have to be well considered. At this stage, too,
the main question of all comes to be determined ; that is,
upon what principle the code is to be drawn up. Are the
common law and the statute law to be kept distinct, or to be
incorporated with each other ? In either case, is the form
to be that of articulate propositions, or of a miscellaneous
digest? If a digest, is it to be arranged by title and method,
or by historically following the course of time ? 3. A code
will want protecting against encroachment, from the mo¬
ment that it is passed. Accordingly, the collateral regula¬
tions which may help to secure it by a vigilant control over
the judiciary, must be carefully reviewed. For this end,
questions of the following kind should be anticipated and
fixed. Ought judges to be required in every judgment to
specify the authority in the code'on which their judgment
is founded ? Ought judges in pronouncing judgment, or
advocates in conducting a forensic argument, to be re¬
strained to a particular class of authorities ? Concurrently
with the formation of a tcode, a tribunal distinct from and
raised above the ordinary courts (something like the court
of cassation) may be wanted, in order to keep the ordinary
administration of justice within the sphere to which it is
one of the definite objects of a code that judicial interpre¬
tation should be confined. 4. Lastly, the code will want
improving. This must be provided for by prospective regu¬
lations ; by the creation of a minister of justice, or a coun¬
cil of laws, expressly appointed to superintend the unity and
the efficiency of the entire system, and specially instructed
to keep open an active communication between the tribu¬
nals and the legislature. Cases, either not provided for at
all, or provided for imperfectly, will from time to time be
brought unsuccessfully before the courts. The occurrence
of such cases will direct the attention of the officers in
question to a point upon which, it is evident, by the sup¬
position, that new legislation is wanted for the purposes of
justice. In other cases, which nevertheless have been suc¬
cessfully carried through the courts to final judgment, the
interpretation of the courts will have wandered wider than
is expedient from the strict letter of the law. The occur¬
rence of this latter class of cS|es will point out the neces¬
sity of enlarging the provisioil^, of the code into a more
explicit conformity with the judicial construction put upon
them. Theoretical writers, in contemplating the possibility
of drawing nearer and nearer towards a perfect system, have
perceived, that an institution of this kind is an indispensable
condition. We repeat the observation here, from our sense
of its importance. This is the object of the permanent
commission recommended by Lord Bacon. And a council
of laws for the absorption and assimilation of occasional
jurisprudence into the general body of the law, is part of
the political mechanism suggested in the “ idea of a per¬
fect commonwealth.”
We cannot dismiss this subject without referring the
reader to the concluding observations of the Second Report
of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Consoli¬
dation of the Statute Law (page 29). The Report bears
date July 1835. The suggestions are the deliberate recom¬
mendations of practical lawyers, acting under the authority
of parliament. On remarking how nearly they approach to
the recommendation of a code (for the whole principle of
a code is contained in the suggestions), the thinking part
of the public may well feel satisfied with the quiet pro¬
gress which the question is making from year to year.
The time is evidently approaching, perhaps more rapidly
than we are aware, when “ a work rare enough in the
memory of times to show it excellent, and yet not so rare
as to make it suspected for impossible, inconvenient, or
2 c
202
L E I
Legislator
\l\ .
Leibnitz.
unsafe,” must be undertaken by us. Glory and gratitude
to the men who shall be privileged in that day to stand
in the presence of their fellow-citizens, having so raised
L E I
their minds, and shaped their studies, as to be worthy of the i
“ vocation” to which our age and country arc assuredly 1
called- (e. e. e. e.) k
LEGISLATOR, a lawgiver, or person who establishes
the polity and laws of a state. Such was Moses amongst
the Jews, Lycurgus among the Lacedemonians, and many
others.
LEGITIMATION, an act by which illegitimate chil¬
dren are rendered legitimate.
LEGNAGO, a city of Italy, in the Austrian delega¬
tion of Verona. It is the capital of a district, and is
strongly fortified. It is situated on the river Etsch or
Adige, between which and the Tartaro is a marshy plain,
on which a great extent of land produces excellent crops
of rice. It is a well-built city, containing several churches
and a fine theatre, and inhabited by 5920 persons. Long.
11. 13. 48. E. Lat. 45. 11. 18. N.
LEGUMEN, a species of seed-vessel which has two
valves or external openings, enclosing a number of seeds
which are fastened along one suture only. In this last cir¬
cumstance the seed-vessel in question differs from that
termed by botanists siliqua, in which the enclosed seeds
are fastened alternately to both the sutures or joinings of
the pod.
LEGUMINOUS, an appellation given to all plants the
fruit of which is a legumen.
LEIBNITZ, Godfrey William, Baron de, a philo¬
sopher and mathematician of the first order, and the most
universal scholar of modern times, was born at Leipsig
on the third of July 1646. At the age of six he lost his
father, Frederick Leibnitz, professor of’law, and secretary
to the university. After this event his mother placed him
in the school of St Nicolas at Leipsig. Here he learned
the principles of the Greek and Latin languages; but soon
breaking through a routine ill suited to his precocious
disposition, he applied himself to the study of the classic
writers of both languages. Titus Livius and Virgil be¬
came his favourite authors ; and in his old age he could
still repeat entire cantos of the Roman poet. Early dis¬
tinguished by a rare facility in performing his tasks, he
often assisted such of his companions as dulness or idle¬
ness prevented from completing their own ; and he him¬
self informs us, that when scarcely fourteen, he composed
in this way three hundred Latin verses in one day, with¬
out any elisions; but he takes care to add, “ Credo a
lectore non qumri quam cito, sed quam bene.” At fifteen
he entered on his academical career in the university of
Leipsig, and, under the direction of Thomasius, devoted
himself to the study of philosophy and the mathematics.
He then passed a year at lena, and returned to Leipsig,
where he occupied himself with law and philosophy. Hav¬
ing soon mastered the details of the philosophical and
mathematical sciences, the genius of Leibnitz now took a
grander flight, directing him to the writings of Plato and
of Aristotle. These he not only read and thoroughly com¬
prehended, but used to pass entire days in a wood near
Leipsig, endeavouring to reconcile the doctrines of the
Academy with those of the Lyceum. He was scarcely
twenty when he wished to be received as doctor of laws ;
but although some petty jealousies prevented his want of
the requisite standing or age being dispensed with at
Leipsig, this favour was granted him without difficulty
by the university of Altorfi, which at the same time offer¬
ed him the situation of extraordinary professor of law.
This, however, he declined ; and leaving Altorf, he pro¬
ceeded to Nuremberg, where a considerable number of
men of science and learning were then assembled. At
that time a society of chemists in that city occupied them¬
selves with researches, the object of which was to discover
the philosopher’s stone. Tormented with a continual desire
of acquiring something new, Leibnitz hoped to find, even
in the reveries of these visionaries, some aliment for his
mind. With this view he wrote to the society soliciting
admission, and craving to be initiated into their myste-
lies. I his letter, which was full of abstruse terms ex¬
tracted from books of chemistry, and so conformable to
the style of these mystics that he himself did not under¬
stand it, had prodigious success. Leibnitz was admitted
a member of the society, and immediately appointed secre¬
tary thereto. His duty in this capacity consisted in regis¬
tering their processes and experiments, and in extracting
from the books of the chemists such things as might be
of use to his associates in prosecuting their researches.
But happily for himself and the sciences, Leibnitz, whilst
at Nuremberg, chanced to make the acquaintance of the
Baron de Boineburg, chancellor to the elector of Mayence,
who, being struck with his merit, and conceiving a high
opinion of his talents and learning, recommended to him to
aPPty himself particularly to history and jurisprudence,
and expressed a desire to see him established at Frank¬
fort, at the same time promising to obtain him some em¬
ployment under his sovereign. Leibnitz followed the ju¬
dicious counsel thus given him ; and from this epoch,
1667, may be dated the real commencement of his lite¬
rary career. It was at Frankfort that he brought out his
Nova Methodus discendcs docendceque Jurisprudentiam.
Ibis little volume contained a tableau raisonne of the ob¬
jects necessary for the double purpose expressed in the
title; and in it he already displayed that practical spirit
which enabled him to produce so much that is really use¬
ful. But that which placed its author in the first rank of
philosophical writers, was the new manner in which he
treated his subject, and the profound and ingenious views
which he presented in regard to a science so long abandoned
to routine and pedantry. The order, the clearness, the pre¬
cision of the ideas, and the style which makes books live,
contributed to give great popularity to this production,
which, at a subsequent period, the author himself judged
with impartiality.1 We may also mention here a treatise
published in 1669 in favour of the Prince of Neuburg,
whom Leibnitz endeavoured to recommend to the Poles,
as uniting, in a higher degree than all his competitors, the
qualities they required in their king. This piece, which
is somewhat lengthy, is written in Latin, and consists of
sixty propositions, proved by a rigorous series of axioms,
supported sometimes by expositions full of erudition,
amongst which may be mentioned that under the head, Eli-
gendus Catholicus esto. These propositions do not always
follow in a necessary order; some of them are superfluous;
and the form is a little fatiguing, especially since the in¬
terest of the subject has altogether ceased. The Prince
of Neuburg was not elected king. But the work of Leib¬
nitz did not on that account make a less sensation, and
may, in fact, be regarded as a sort of tour deforce. Boine¬
burg, at whose request it had been composed, observing
1 Leibnitii Opera Omnia, tom. iv. p. 4. Geneva, Dutens, 17G8.
LEIBNITZ.
with satisfaction that Leibnitz justified the idea which
he had conceived of his talents, attached him to the ser¬
vice of the elector, by causing him to be appointed coun¬
sellor of the chamber of revision in the chancery of the
electorate of Mayence.
The material occupations of this office, however, could
not shackle a genius so vast and so active as that of Leib¬
nitz. He held it during three years; and it was in this
interval that he conceived the design of re-casting or new-
modelling the Encyclopaedia of Alstedius. It is not well
known what his ideas then were respecting this project;
but in some subsequent writings he explains himself in a
manner sufficiently specific. He defines the Encyclopaedia
to be the “ system of all the true and useful propositions
then known.” He thinks that, to be complete, it should
contain definitions of all words ; explanations of every fun¬
damental and useful process in the liberal and mechanic
arts ; and, lastly, a summary of universal history. He then
enumerates the different branches of human knowledge ;
indicates, as models to be followed in each, the principal
existing works, amongst which he cites some of his own,
and points out what remains to be done ; and, finally, he
recommends the order of the materials or subjects, in pre¬
ference to the order of the alphabet.1 In another passage
he recommends subjoining to the treatise on each science
a succinct account of its origin and progress, together
with a list of the authors who have treated of it in detail.
This was one of the predominant ideas of his life, one to
which he appeared to attach great importance, and which
occupied his mind as long as he lived.
Leibnitz now began to evince a mastery in almost all the
sciences. He already enjoyed a great reputation as juris¬
consult and philosopher; and he mjide himself known in
physics by the publication of two treatises, viz. Theoria
Motus abstracti and Theoria Molus concreti, which appear¬
ed in 1671. These theories were not admitted by philo¬
sophers, and did not deserve to be so; but they never¬
theless excited astonishment by the boldness and origi¬
nality of genius displayed in the conception of them. The
year following he brought out, at the request of Boine-
burg, a small treatise entitled Sacrosancta Trinitas per
nova argumenta logica defensa. In this work, intended
to refute the attacks of a Pole named Wissowatius against
the doctrine of the Trinity, the author endeavours to
show that sound logic is not contrary to orthodoxy. Thus
each year Leibnitz produced some work, which served
as a new title of distinction, and enabled him to rank suc¬
cessively amongst the masters in the different sciences.
He had long entertained a desire to visit Paris. France
then fixed the attention of the learned world, and extort¬
ed the admiration of Europe by the victories and the in¬
fluence of the great monarch to whom she also owed an
extraordinary development of military and literary glory.
Leibnitz felt the importance of forming a connection with
the learned men of that country ; and Boineburg procured
him the means of attaining this object, by proposing to him
to accompany his son, whom he was then sending to Paris.
Delighted with the proposal, and at the same time anxious
to testify his gratitude to so zealous a patron, Leibnitz glad¬
ly accepted die offer, and set out for Paris in 1672. Placed
amongst the illustrious men of that capital, and already
worthy of them, he felt that ardour which leads to the
distinction conferred by useful discoveries burn with re¬
doubled force in his bosom. He now applied himself more
especially to the mathematics, in which he had not as yet
203
made any considerable progress ; and this choice, in the Leibnitz,
midst of distractions of every kind in a new society, and
of studies apparently much more attractive, is not one of
the least proofs of the force and energy of his character.
He found at Paris the illustrious Huygens; and he after¬
wards confessed, with that ingenuousness which is so be¬
coming in great men, his obligations to the work De Ho¬
rologia Oscillatorio, which had just appeared, and which,
of all modern works, after those of Galileo and Descartes,
proved the most useful to Leibnitz. The learned men
whose society he frequented soon recognized his superior
genius; and he confirmed this high estimate of his powers
by the exposition of his ideas on the reform of the arithme¬
tical machine of Pascal, or rather by the invention of a new
machine, which he has described in the Miscellanea Be-
rolinensia? He obtained the suffrages of the Academy of
Sciences, the members of which signified to him that he
might be admitted into that illustrious body as pension¬
ary, provided he chose to embrace the Catholic religion ;
but although the proposition was equally honourable to
Leibnitz, as a proof of the estimation in which his talents
were held, and to the Academy, which knew how to ap¬
preciate them, he did not think it proper or right for him
to accept the offer.
His protector Boineburg died in 1673; and having no
longer any business to detain him at Paris, he passed over
into England, where he was received with the same distinc¬
tion as in France. He had the satisfaction of making the
acquaintance and enjoying the society of Boyle, Oldenburg,
Collins, and other celebrated men, who disputed the palm
in several of the sciences with the philosophers of the Conti¬
nent; and it was from Collins that he received some hints
concerning the invention of the method of fluxions, which
had been discovered by Newton as early as the year 1664
or 1665, and by him communicated to Dr Barrow in 1669.
But he had not been long in England when he received in¬
telligence of the death of the elector of Mayence, by which
he lost his pension. As this event made an entire change
in his position, he resolved to communicate his embar¬
rassments to the Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg. This
prince, who had always testified much regard for him,
availed himself of the opportunity thus afforded him to
assure Leibnitz of his favour, and to offer him the situa¬
tion of counsellor, with a salary, at the same time grant¬
ing him permission to prolong at pleasure his stay abroad.
Overjoyed with this reply, which removed all cause of
uneasiness as to his circumstances, Leibnitz returned to
Paris, where he remained fifteen months buried in the
depths of geometry. He quitted Paris in 1674, revisited
England where he spent fifteen days, and proceeded by
way of Holland to join his new benefactor. Leibnitz was
still under thirty. At an age when great men are in ge¬
neral only beginning to distinguish themselves, each in
his respective career, he had entered upon almost all in
succession ; had received, in the three countries which he
had visited, testimonies of the highest esteem ; and had
established, with a great number of learned men, literary
connections, which proved very advantageous to the sci¬
ences. We shall soon see him attain a still more com¬
manding eminence, and at length arrive at that species of
supremacy which he acquired over his age by the univer¬
sality of his genius and talents.
Soon after his arrival at Hanover, he published his trea¬
tise on the Right of Sovereignty and of Embassy claimed
by the Princes of Germany, who demanded the same pri-
1 See Opera Omnia, tom. v. pp. 181-185 ; also tom. v. p. 405.
1 See Mitccll. Berolin. i. xxxi. and fig. TS. In 1763 he had exhibited this machine to the Royal Society of London ; and, in fact,
it appears to have occupied his attention at intervals during the whole of his life. It is still preserved in the Museum of Gottin¬
gen, and is thought superior to other machines of the same kind. (Gersten, xvii. 232.)
204 L E I B
Leibnitz, vilege as the electors, namely, those enjoyed by kings.
This work, which appeared under the name of Ccesarinus
JFurstnerius, and maintains that the emperor is the tem¬
poral head ©f the states of the West, as the pope is the
spiritual head, possesses little interest at the present day;
but it displays a profound knowledge of public law and of
history, gives minute details of titles and ceremonial, and
is written in that decorous and measured style which dis¬
tinguishes all the writings of Leibnitz. He continued to
cultivate all the sciences. He likewise supported, by every
means in his power, the project of publishing the Acta
Eruditorum, the first volume of which appeared at Leip-
sig in the year 1682. The celebrity which this journal
acquired from its very commencement was in a great mea¬
sure owing to Leibnitz, who enriched it with a great va¬
riety of curious pieces, from extracts of rare books, to
problems in the higher geometry.
The Duke of Brunswick died in 1679; but his succes¬
sor, Ernest Augustus, afterwards George I. of England,
inheriting the same esteem for Leibnitz, extended to him
the same favour, and engaged him to write the history of
the house of Brunswick. Leibnitz, anxious to obey this
honourable call, resolved to visit the south of Germany
and Italy, that in these countries he might make the ne¬
cessary researches, and collect materials for the work. He
devoted no less than three years to these journeys, consult¬
ing learned men, exploring libraries and archives, perusing
old charters and manuscripts, and examining other monu¬
ments.1 The fruit of so many researches was a prodigious
collection of materials of all kinds. Besides the documents
necessary for his history, it comprehended an immense
multitude of political and diplomatic acts, as declarations of
war, manifestoes, contracts of marriage, treaties of peace,
bulls, and other public pieces. Leibnitz put these mate¬
rials in order, and with their aid produced a work altoge¬
ther different from, and independent of, the principal, and
indeed one of much greater importance, entitled Codex Juris
Gentium Diplomaticus, the first volume of which appeared
in 1693, and the second in 1700, under the title of Mantissa
Codicis. This collection contains a great number of acts
which had never before appeared, and many others which,
though previously published, had become very scarce.
Read with discernment, it exhibits great knowledge, not
only of history, but also of the genius of nations and lan¬
guages, as well as of other subjects of inferior interest and
importance. In other respects, any methodical mind might
have been capable of a similar effort. What the genius of
Leibnitz could alone produce is the preface to the work,
in which, ascending to the principles of natural law and the
law of nations, he expounds his ideas on both with great
depth and originality. But that which distinguishes this
book, and the preceding ones published by him on the
same subjects, particularly his project for compiling a
new body of law,2 from those of the same epoch, is the
tendency towards that reasonable reform of jurisprudence
which was afterwards effected, in a great measure owing
to the influence of Leibnitz, by whom its necessity was
first pointed out; and likewise the union, recommended
throughout, of the study of jurisprudence with that of re¬
ligion and philosophy, which he regarded as the most so¬
lid basis of human happiness.3
N I T Z.
In the midst of labours so various, he did not lose sight
of the principal object of his recent travels, and occupied
himself diligently in collecting the historians of Bruns¬
wick. He even composed for that house several writings,
one of which, intended to establish its connection with the
house of Este, procured for him the place of privy coun¬
cillor of justice ; a sinecure appointment destined to recom¬
pense his zeal without withdrawing him from his ordinary
labours, amongst which the history, with its collateral
branches, occupied an important place. The immense
researches Leibnitz had made for the history of Brunswick,
however, furnished him with materials for other works of
a secondary kind. Thus in 1698 he published a new col¬
lection under the title of Accessiones Historicce (in two
vols. 4to), containing a great number of rare and curious
pieces, which had escaped the observation of his predeces¬
sors. But nothing attests so much the extent of his views
as what he did for the history he had undertaken. He com¬
menced by collecting all the writers who had spoken of
the house of Brunswick. The first volume appeared in
1707, the second in 1710, and the third in 1711 ; and sub¬
joined were extracts from all the ancient authors relative
to the tribes inhabiting the banks of the Elbe and the We-
ser, with notes explanatory of obscure passages. This col¬
lection, therefore, like those of Muratori, Duchesne, and
others, had a merit independent of the object for which it
had been compiled. But it was still, so to speak, only a
preliminary work. The history even of Brunswick has not
appeared. Ihe learned Eckhard found amongst the papers
of Leibnitz only the plan of it, which he published in the
Acta Eruditorum, of 1717. This history was to have been
preceded by a dissertation on the primitive state of the
globe, and particularly of Germany. A curious monument
of the ideas of Leibnitz on this subject is contained in his
Prologaa, a sort of essay, which, in 1693, he caused to be
inserted in the Leipsig journal, and which was afterwards
published separately by Scheidius (Gottingen, 1749, in
4to). In this production he attempts to explain the for¬
mation of the earth, and of the different substances which
it includes. He admits a conflagration of the globe, then
a general submersion, which, independently of the testi¬
mony of Scripture, is sufficiently established by the animal
and vegetable remains that are frequently met with, and
at different heights. This double hypothesis enables him
to assign to the solid bodies {corpora firma) a double ori¬
gin, that is, cooling after the fusion, and consolidation af¬
ter the subsiding and evaporation of the waters; and in
these ideas he finds the germ of a new science, which he
calls Natural Geography. He enters into some details on
minerals, and speaks of crystals, which he considers as the
geometry of inanimate nature. Further, Leibnitz thought
it incumbent on him to prove that animal and vegetable
petrifactions were not a freak or sport of nature {jeu de la
nature), and also to rebut forcibly the opinion as to the pro¬
ductive power of matter. This short exposition will suf¬
fice to give an idea of the immensity of the plan of Leib¬
nitz, and of the prodigious variety of subjects which it em¬
braces ; a plan in many respects similar to that which has
been followed by Herder and some other authors posterior
to Leibnitz. It is much to be regretted that this design
was not carried into execution, seeing it would probably
to Mesola he heard the nilo? of the hlI«s!lf ov.ertaten by a tempest in the Adriatic Sea, whilst passing from Venice
ffitf^e sea tL Sermanheretfc thn,e n/ ^ ^ im,agme hue was “"^stood by the stranger, propose to the crew to throw
presence on board was, he conceived, the sole cause of the squall {bourasque). Leibnitz,
menced telW ^ betraying the slightest emotion, drew from his pocket a chaplet or rosary, and com-
‘I- -Abs-ing £ the pilot,
2 Corporis Juris Reconcmnandi Ratio, Mayence, 1668, in 12mo.
3 Opera Omnia, tom. vi. p. 4, et passim.
LEIBNITZ.
205
tz> have presented a solution of many historical and other pro-
blems of the greatest importance.
We must here take particular notice of one of those
works which he continually let drop from his hands, and
which were, so to speak, merely his pastimes ; we tmean
his book on the origin of the Franks.1 This people, he con¬
ceives, came originally from the shores of the Baltic Sea.
He founds his opinion on the authority of the anonymous
writer of Ravenna, and of Ermoldus Nigellus, a French poet
of the ninth century, and on passages in several authors ;
alleging, moreover, that some of the ancients have con¬
founded the Palus Maeotis with the Baltic Sea. This opi¬
nion was attacked by Father Tournemine, who combated
it with much urbanity, saying, amongst other things, that,
even in espousing a contrary hypothesis, the French did
not disclaim being the countrymen of Leibnitz, since he
appeared to have proved that the Franks had occupied the
countries situated between the right bank of the Rhine
and the Ocean. Gundling also published a refutation of
the assertions of Leibnitz. The latter, who did not hold
himself beaten, replied to both his antagonists; but, far
from pretending to decide in the last resort, he appealed
to the judgment of several learned men of his time, and,
amongst others, to that of Huet and Montfaucon, whom he
highly respected on account of their learning.
This seems the proper place to speak of the. correspon¬
dence which Leibnitz for a long time maintained with Bos-
suet, in regard to the project for the re-union of the Pro¬
testants with the Catholics ; a project which had for some
time been pushed with activity, and which gave Leibnitz
occasion to display attainments in theology which no one
could ever have suspected in a mathematician of the first
order. The details may be seen in the History of Bossuet
by M. Bausset.2 It is sufficient to state that this negocia-
tion, in which Leibnitz did not take part till the year 1692,
was carried on with a degree of good faith very rare in¬
deed in affairs of this description ; that at one time it en¬
couraged the hope of a successful and happy termination ;
and that it ultimately failed, owing to circumstances alto¬
gether independent of the matters which had formed the
subjects of discussion. Amongst these may be reckoned the
new political situation in which the elector of Hanover, to
whom Leibnitz was altogether devoted, found himself placed
in the year 1701. This prince saw reason to apprehend, that
were he to labour longer in endeavouring to effect a recon¬
ciliation between the two communions, he might alienate the
English people, who then manifested the greatest aversion to
Catholicism, and might even bar his accession to the throne
of England, to which he saw himself eventually called.
From the Syntagma Theologicum of Leibnitz, however, it
is clear that this philosopher had personally little disincli¬
nation to the doctrines of the Catholic church. To effect
the re-union desired, he had reckoned much upon the influ¬
ence of Louis XIV.; and it is curious to observe how this
prince is judged by a man as independent of France as
Leibnitz then was.3
Having been admitted a member of the Royal Society
of London during his second visit to England in 1674, and
associated to the Academy of Sciences at Paris since 1699,
Leibnitz too well appreciated the advantages which aca¬
demies owe to this combination of labours directed towards
a common centre, not to second, by all the means in his
power, the project for establishing a Royal Academy at Ber¬
lin, formed in 1700 by the elector of Brandenburg, who,
the following year, assumed the title of king of Prussia.
This prince had solicited the advice and assistance of Leib¬
nitz. The reply of the latter is equally remarkable for the
excellence and wisdom of its views, and the great simpli- Leibnitz,
city by which it is throughout distinguished. “ The ob-v'—-v'-’—'
ject,” says he, “ ought to be to advance the happiness of
men, which consists principally in wisdom and in virtue,
and next in health and the comforts of life.” He points
out, as the first object, “ the good education of youth,
which includes also the regulation of studies ; nothing be¬
ing more important than to give a good cast to the mind
as well as to the body.” He then indicates summarily the
plan of study which the Academy ought to recommend,
and which is in the main that presently followed in the uni¬
versities of Germany. The elector, as may well be suppos¬
ed, adopted the views of Leibnitz. But he did more ; he
appointed him president of the new society, with the most
unlimited powers, and without any restraint as to residence,
or requiring that he should quit the service of the elector of
Brunswick. The patent by which this office was conferred
forms one of the most honourable titles ever bestowed on
a man of learning and science.
Eleven years later, Leibnitz received marked proofs of
confidence on the part of Peter I. of Russia, who, during
his travels in Saxony, consulted him as to the execution of
his vast projects relative to the civilization of his empire,
and to whom Leibnitz in his turn communicated views with
which that monarch expressed himself highly satisfied. In - -
reward of this service he received the title of privy coun¬
cillor. Lastly, the king of Prussia having died in 1713,
Leibnitz, who foresaw the fall of the Academy of Berlin
under his successor, repaired to Vienna to propose to the
Emperor Charles VI. the institution of a similar body,
wherein the sciences, which were about to be banished
from Berlin, might find an asylum. Owing to several
circumstances unconnected with Leibnitz, this project did
not succeed ; but every mark of consideration was lavish¬
ed on the author. The emperor had already named him
an aulic councillor; to this he now added a pension of two
thousand florins, and employed every means to induce him
to enter the imperial service. But Leibnitz, having de¬
clined these offers, went to fix his abode at Hanover, the
elector of which had just been called to the throne of Eng¬
land.
In 1710 there appeared a volume of the Miscellanea
Berolinensia, in which Leibnitz amply acquitted his debt
as founder and president, and showed himself under forms
so varied, that this volume alone would have been suffi¬
cient to insure him the reputation of universal genius. In
proof of what is here said, it is only necessary to refer to
his Essay on the Origin of Nations. This production ex¬
hibits the principal points of his system, a complete know¬
ledge of which may be obtained by the perusal of his vo¬
luminous correspondence. By the aid of etymologies, and
by means of analysis, Leibnitz endeavours to distinguish,
through the successive alterations of languages, the origins
of different nations, whom he divides into two great prin¬
cipal races,—that of the North and that of the South; then,
by way of synthesis, he attempts to recompose the primi¬
tive language ; and, finally, by means of this last operation,
he labours to discover the relations between the signs of
language and the ideas expressed by them. A great part
of his labours had for their object to obtain these different
results; he had himself plunged into the chaos before which
almost all those who are more occupied with ideas than with
words usually recoil: it formed one of the principal objects
of his correspondence with the learned, as well as with travel¬
lers and missionaries; and new views on the language of
the Copts or the Hottentots afforded him as much pleasure
as the demonstration of a metaphysical truth, or the solu-
1 Disquisitio de Francorum origine, Hanover, 1715, in 8vo. 2 Histoire de JSossuet, tom. iv. p. 144, 2d edit.
* See his second letter to Madame Brinon, Opera, tom. v. p. 558.
206
LEIBNITZ.
Leibnitz, tion of an important problem in geometry. He is not al-
"'--'V'-—ways of the same mind with other learned men, and often
contradicts received opinions. Like all etymologists, he
has placed too much reliance upon fanciful coincidences
and strained derivations; but, as he himself observed, er¬
rors are often useful to truth, and the search after the three
great chimeras (trio, magna inania), the philosopher’s stone,
the perpetual motion, and the quadrature of the circle,
materially contributed to enrich the sciences.1
We have seen that Leibnitz succeeded in stamping the
impression of his genius upon almost all kinds of know¬
ledge. Natural history alone did not specially occupy his
attention. His Protogcea is the only essay which he pub¬
lished on the subject; but in his works we often meet with
proofs of the interest with which that science had inspired
him; and it is not forgotten either in his general plans of
education, or in his encyclopedical schemes. He was
even a poet, and wrote verses in both the languages which
he habitually employed; but it is right to add, that he ac¬
quired no illustration by his poetry, particularly his French
verses, which are below mediocrity. Leibnitz is justly ob¬
noxious to the literary reproach of having neglected his
mother-tongue. But few of his writings appeared in Ger¬
man ; and, what is not a little singular, the object of one
of these pieces, which is very ill written, but exceedingly
curious, is to recommend the study, practice, and improve¬
ment of the German language.2 It is the more to be re¬
gretted that he did not himself labour in the execution of
the plan which he proposed for attaining this object, as he
might, by his influence, have effected that which was not
accomplished until half a century afterwards, by the united
efforts of the poets and literary men who distinguished that
epoch. Besides, although he attaches great importance to
that language, he does not appear to have understood its
resources or its flexibility; for, in citing French Sapphic
verses, he adds, that he does not believe a similar attempt
would succeed equally well in German, although he had
himself composed German anapests, in imitation of those
of Seneca. In justification of Leibnitz, however, it is
proper to add, that, being in correspondence with men of
all nations, he naturally adopted the two languages, Latin
and French, which were then in general and almost exclu¬
sive use.
His Latin style is neither elegant nor agreeable. Some¬
times, however, he rises with his subject, and assumes a
certain degree of majesty ; but what may appear singular
is, that we frequently meet with Gallicisms in his Latin
compositions. We are less surprised to find Germanisms
in his French prose; but these, however, are of rare oc¬
currence. What strikes us most in his general style, is
that grand and noble simplicity which distinguishes the
French writers of the same period, and which is equally
suited to pure reason and to sublime conceptions. In his
works, as in his correspondence, there is an almost total ab¬
sence of ornament. I he most simple literary correspon¬
dence of the present day would exhibit more brilliancy
and point than that of this great man; but, on the other
hand, there is not one of his letters which does not contain
the germ, the expression, or the development of some great
or useful idea. Those of greatest extent commonly ex¬
hibit a sort of abridged or epitomized encyclopedical view
of the state of the sciences, or the labours of the learned.
But what we are never weary of admiring is his constant
urbanity towards his correspondents, as well as the modera¬
tion and propriety exhibited in the expression of his judg¬
ments, whatever may be their occasional severity. No
personal predilection, no national prejudice, ever disturbs
the impartiality of that genius which viewed every thing
as it were from on high. Embracing, so to speak, entire LeL
humanity, he incessantly recommends sending European'" ™
missionaries into foreign countries, for the triple purpose
of augmenting the amount and variety of our knowledge,
establishing new commercial relations, and, above all, pro¬
pagating the faith and the doctrine of Christianity. “ Peu
lui importe,” says his French biographer, “ que cette doc¬
trine soit enseignee aux etrangers avec moins de purete
(on ne doit pas oublier que c’est un Lutherien qui parle),
pourvu qu’elle se repande ; et pour le succes des missions
aux Malabar, entre autres, il conseille d’amener en Europe
des habitants de cette cote, qui puissent y enseigner leur
langue a des missionnaires Europeens.”
Leibnitz had a sweet expression of countenance, blend¬
ed with a studious air; he possessed considerable gaiety,
and his conversation was equally easy and instructive.
His temper was naturally choleric; but, like most passion¬
ate men, he soon recovered his equanimity. Affable and
communicative, he conversed freely with all who came in
his way, and even carried his complaisance so far as, ac¬
cording to Fontenelle, to read a multitude of worthless
books, out of politeness to their authors. He was never
married. At the age of fifty he had some thoughts of
forming a matrimonial connection ; but as the lady he wish¬
ed to espouse desired time to consider his proposal, Leib¬
nitz also made his own reflections on the subject, and un¬
luckily came to the conclusion that, though marriage is a
good thing, a wise man ought to consider of it all his life.
Much has been said of his avarice, but apparently without
any sufficient reason. I here is no doubt that his expendi¬
ture was exceedingly frugal; but he had no expensive pas¬
sions or tastes to satisfy, and it is probable that his money
accumulated without his being aware of it. The reproach
of not having attended the service of his religion appears
to be better founded. Nevertheless, he was equally attach¬
ed to the forms and the substance of religion; and though
he may have been wanting in punctuality of attendance,
there is no ground whatever for questioning the sincerity
of his sentiments. De Murr, in his Journal of Nuremberg,
of the 11th March 1779, gives entire the Memoir of Eck-
hard, from which Fontenelle has derived most of the par¬
ticulars inserted in his Eloge de Leibnitz. It is there
stated, that Leibnitz was of a middle stature, and had black
hair, a lai'ge head (which early became bald), and small
eyes. He was short-sighted, but his vision continued excel¬
lent even until his last moments. He read the smallest
characters, and his hand-writing was very minute. He
had on the crown of his head an excrescence of the size of
a pigeon’s egg; and he always wTalked stooping, with his
head projected, which gave him the appearance of being
hunch-backed. He was of a thin habit, but of a vigorous
temperament; he drank little, supped plentifully, and went
to rest immediately after. He remained in bed only a few
hours ; sometimes he contented himself with sleeping in a
chair, and, awaking about six or seven in the morning, in¬
stantly resumed his labours. When deeply immersed in
study, he was known to have scarcely quitted his chair for
weeks. But, however strong his constitution might be, it
could not, in the long run, escape being undermined by a
life so sedentary ; in fact, the result was an ulcer in one of his
legs. He was, besides, subject to the gout, the attacks of
which became more frequent and painful tow ards the close
of his life. He consulted few physicians; and his death ap¬
pears to have been occasioned by blindly using a remedy
which he had received from one of his friends, and which,
producing violent spasms, terminated his existence in little
more than an hour after he had swallowed it. Lie died
on the 14th of November 1716, at the age of seventy. His
1 Opera Omnia, tom. iv. p. 199.
See some remarks prefixed to his Collectanea Etymologka, in Opera Omnia, tom. vi. p. 651.
.
LEIBNITZ. <201
j^ilatz. monument, constiucted in the form of a small temple, at which he had stolen from the gods. His curiosity extend- Ijeibnitz.
' the extremity of the great alley leading to the gates of ed to every branch of chemistry, mechanics, and the arts ;v 
Hanover, bears the simple inscription, Ossa Leibnitii. and the thirst of knowledge was always accompanied with
This extraordinary man is, beyond contradiction, one of the spirit of improvement. The vigour of his youth had
those who have most highly exalted and ennobled the hu- been exercised in the schools of jurisprudence ; and while
man understanding. But if he has merited our admiration he taught, he aspired to reform the laws of nature and
by the astonishing variety of his labours, he is still more nations, of Rome and Germany. The annals of Bruns-
deserving of om gratitude on account of that practical ac- wick, and of the empire, of the ancient and modern world,
tivity which had always for its object the good of his fel- were presented to the mind of the historian; and he could
low-creatures. Along with his most profound meditations, turn from the solution of a problem to the dusty parch-
are presented the means which indicate their utility, and ments and barbarous style of the records of the middle
facilitate theii application. His letters to Aladame Brinon, age. His genius was more nobly directed to investigate
his judgments on Shaftesbury, the whole of his correspon- the origin of languages and nations ; nor could he assume
dence, and a thousand passages in his writings, attest his the character of a grammarian without forming the project
profound respect for religion and morality ; and he crown- of an universal idiom and alphabet. These various studies
ed his glorious life by giving, in his Theodicaa, the sup- were often interrupted by the occasional politics of the
port of his influence to ideas at once the most sublime times, and his pen was always ready in the cause of the
and the most necessary to the welfare of humanity. None princes and patrons to whose service he was attached ;
of his labom s was without gloiy to himself, or without ad- many hours were consumed in a learned correspondence
vantage to society. His reputation would perhaps have with all Europe; and the philosopher amused his leisure
been more solid and peimanent had he less ambitiously with the composition of French and Latin poetry. Such an
grasped the whole circle of human science ; yet it is diffi- example may display the extent and powers of the human
cult to name any department of human knowledge which understanding, but even his powers were dissipated by the
has not profited by his labours, or received fresh illustra- multiplicity of his pursuits. He attempted more than he
tion from his genius. As a theologian, he successively con- couldiinish ; he designed more than he could execute : his
tended with the sceptics who believed too little, and with imagination was too easily satisfied with a bold and rapid
the Catholics, who, in his opinion, believed too much ; with glance on the subject, which he was impatient to leave;
the heretics, who believed otherwise than was inculcated and Leibnitz may be compared to those heroes, whose em-
by the confession of Augsburg ; and with the Arminians, pire has been lost in the ambition of universal conquest.”
who contended for the liberty of indifference. Yet the Variety in unity, or unity varied, the expressive sign of
philosopher betrayed his love of union and toleration. In every masterpiece of nature and of art, characterizes°hap-
conjunction with the illustrious Bossuet, he laboured zeal- pily enough the productions of the genius of Leibnitz :
ously to effect a leconciliation between the Catholic and extreme variety in the number and the species of the ideas
Protestant churches ; and if he failed in this truly Christian with which he enriched the intellectual world, of the
enterprise, his sincerity and good faith remain unimpeach- truths which he discovered or demonstrated, and of the
ed; for, whatever may be thought of the selfish and worldly elements of every order which he combined: absolute
policy of the elector of Hanover, there can scarcely be but unity of principle, of method, of plan, and of object or aim,
one opinion as to the purity of the motives which actuated in this great and beautiful system, which connects and
Leibnitz. In an intolerant age, however, his orthodoxy harmonizes the two worlds, spiritual and material, by sub-
did not escape suspicion ; and the moderation which re- jecting them to the unity of a monarchy constituted under
fleets so much honour on his memory was construed as in- the government of the greatest and best of sovereigns,
difference. His faith in revelation itself was accused, be- If we consider the form under which the different produc-
cause he attempted to prove the doctrine of the Trinity by tions of this fertile genius present themselves, as detached
the principles of logic ; and in the defence of the attri- pieces, or as fragments disseminated in vast collections,
butes and providence of the Deity, he was suspected of a the mind is at first struck with their prodigious variety;
secret correspondence with his adversary Bayle. Asa me- and it is in this point of view that they most commonly
taphysician, he expatiated in regions too elevated ever to appear, not only to biographers, but frequently to the his-
be explored by human genius and intellect. Llis pre-esta- torians of philosophy. But he who regards them in this
bhshed harmony of the soul and body, if an untenable, is at light alone, will absolutely fail to discover the total and
least a sublime conception, and, as such, might have ex- harmonious effect of this grand and beautiful sceno^raphy,
cited the jealousy of Plato himself; whilst his optimism, or will only obtain partial views, and glimpses without
or the best of all possible worlds, seems an idea too vast for any sequence or connection. The philosophical works of
a mortal mind, and too beneficent for the actual condition Leibnitz form a body o<i doctrine, the parts of which, what-
of humanity. He was a natural philosopher, in the large ever be their number or diversity, are nevertheless inti-
and genuine acceptation of the term; and if, like some mately connected, and all referrible to the same principles,
others, he amused himself with endeavouring to penetrate as well as animated by the same spirit. This spirit, dif-
the mysteries of cosmogony, his Protogcea, or primitive fused throughout each of his numerous productions,'per-
carth, has not been useless to Buffon, and those who have vades equally the works of the jurisconsult, the historian,
succeeded him, in investigating the changes which have the theologian, the natural philosopher, and the mathe-
taken place in the constitution of the globe, and tracing matician.1 In proof of this, as far as regards the philoso-
. me causes or agents to which these are to be attributed. phical system of Leibnitz, it is only necessary to refer our
“lam not worthy,” says Gibbon, “ to praise the mathe- readers to the ample and masterly exposition of it con-
matician ; but his name is mingled in all the problems and tained in the First Preliminary Dissertation to this work
iscovenes of the times ; the masters of the art were his (part second, sect. ii. p. 122, et seq.), where the philoso-
nvals or disciples ; and if he borrowed from Sir Isaac New- pher will find abundant aliment for thought, and the man
on the sublime method of fluxions, Leibnitz was at least of taste will discover new sources of gratification, in the
ie Prometheus who imparted to mankind the sacred fire splendid combination of genius, eloquence, and philosophy.
in the °f the Pilil0S°JlhiCal S-VStCm °f LeibniU’ annexed t0 the life of that illustrious man
208
L E I
L E I
Leibnitz. In like manner, with reference to the mathematical la-
hours of Leibnitz, and more particularly his claim to the
discovery of the differential calculus, it is only necessary
for us to direct the reader to the Third Preliminary Dis¬
sertation (part second, sect. i. p. 517, et seq.) where the
subject generally is treated with profound science and
consummate ability, and the claims of Leibnitz to the dis¬
covery in question are weighed and judged with that per¬
fect candour and judicious discrimination, which ought
ever to guide such decisions. In recent times, however,
a new competitor for the honour of this discovery has
been brought forward by no less distinguished a personage
than Laplace. “ II parait,” says he, in his Essai Philoso-
phique sur les Probabilites, “ que Fermat, le veritable in-
venteur du calcul differentiel, a considere ce calcul comme
une derivation de celui des differences finies.” Against
this affirmation, however, Professor Playfair, in his review
of Laplace’s Essai, enters a strong and solemn protesta¬
tion. “ The age in which that discovery was made,” says
he, “ has been unanimous in ascribing the honour of either
to Newton or Leibnitz ; or, as seems to us much the fairest
and most probable opinion, to both ; that is, to each inde¬
pendently of the other, the priority in respect of time
being somewhat on the side of the English mathemati¬
cian. The writers of the history of the mathematical
sciences have given their suffrages to the same effect;—
Montucla, for instance, who has treated the subject with
great impartiality, and Bossut, with no prejudices certain¬
ly in favour of the English philosopher. In the great
controversy to which this gave rise, all the claims were
likely to be well considered; and the ultimate and fair
decision, in which all sides seem to have acquiesced, is
that which has just been mentioned. It ought to be on
good grounds, that a decision passed by such competent
judges, and that has now been in force for a hundred
years, should all at once be reversed.” He then proceeds
to show that there are no such grounds, and concludes
by observing, “ Great as is the merit of Fermat, which no¬
body can be more willing than ourselves to acknowledge,
and near as he was to the greatest invention of modern
times, we cannot admit that his property in it is to be put
on a footing with that of Newton or of Leibnitz;—we
should fear that, in doing so, we were violating 019 of the
most sacred and august monuments that posterity ever
raised in honour of the dead.” 1
For the most extensive collection of the works of Leib¬
nitz, we are indebted to Louis Dutens, who in 1768 pub¬
lished at Geneva, Go. Gul. Leibnitii Opera Omnia, in six
vols. 4to. The first volume contains the Opera Theologica,
amongst which are the Theodiccea in the Latin transla¬
tion, and the tracts in controversy with Bossuet; the
second includes the writings relative to logic, metaphysics,
general physics, chemistry, medicine, botany, natural his¬
tory, the arts, &c. particularly the AfecfoVaft'oraes, the treatise
J)e Primce Philosophies Emendatione, the Principia Phi-
losophica, and the Correspondence with Dr Clarke; the
third is devoted to mathematics ; and the three remaining
volumes contain the writings of Leibnitz on history, an¬
tiquities, jurisprudence, philology, etymology, the Chinese,
&c. Dutens, however, excluded from his collection all
that had been published by Rud. Eric. Raspe at Amster¬
dam in 1765, 4to, under the title of (Euvres Philosophiques
de M. Leibnitz, tirees des ses manuscrits, viz. 1. Nouveaux
Essais sur 1’Entendement Humain, intended as a refuta¬
tion of Locke ; 2. Examen du Sentiment de Malebranche,
Que nous voyons tout en Dieu ; 3. Dialogus inter Res et
Verba, and some other small treatises on logic and^the Le
Caracteristique Universelle. Those who wish to possess all's-
that has appeared from the pen of Leibnitz, must add to
these two collections, 1. Essais de Theodicee, sur la bonte
de Dieu, la liberte de I’homme, et 1’origine du mal, Am¬
sterdam, 1716; 2. Epistolee ad diversos, cum notis Kor-
tholti, Leipsig, 1734-1742, in four vols. 8vo ; 3. Jo. Dan.
Gruberi Commercium Epistolicum Leibnitzianum, Hano¬
ver, 1745, in two vols. 8vo; 4. Leibnitzii et J. Bernoullii
Commercium Philosophicum et Mathematicum, editum a
Cramer, Geneva, in two vols. 4to; 5. His Correspondence
with Jablonski, published by Professor Kappe, Leipsig,
1745, in 8vo; 6. Epistolae ad Schmidium, theologum
Helmstadiensem, quas evulgavit Wesenmeyer, 1788; 7.
Lettres choisiesde laCorrespondance de Leibnitz, publiees
pour la premiere fois par G. H. Feder, Hanover, 1805,
in 8vo; and, 8. A kind of Leibnitziana in the Otium Ha-
noveranum, 1718, in 8vo. The historical collections pub¬
lished by Leibnitz during his life were, 1. Codex Juris
Gentium diplomaticus, Hanover, 1693, in folio; 2. Man¬
tissa Codicis Juris Gentium diplomat, ibid. 1700, in folio;
3. Scriptores Rerum Brunsvicensium, ibid. 1707-1711, in
three vols. folio ; 4. Accessiones Historicae, Leipsig, 1698-
1700, in two vols. The number of works that have been
published in relation to or in connection with Leibnitz,
is immense, and therefore precludes any attempt at enu¬
merating them. (a.)
LEICESTER, a town, the capital of the county of the
same name, ninety-eight miles north of London. It is si¬
tuated on the river Soar; but, by means chiefly of canals,
has the means of conveyance to every part of the kingdom.
It is an ancient town, said to have been built by King
Lear, and was a place of strength when England was in¬
vaded by the Romans. It appears by Doomsday Book,
that at the Norman conquest, it was a city, and populous.
In the reign of Henry V. a parliament was held here.
Richard III., after his defeat and death, was buried in a
Franciscan convent, which then stood near St Martin’s
Church. The town was formerly fortified, and the remains
of the wall may now be in many parts distinctly traced.
The castle was a most extensive building ; and though a
great part of the ground upon which it stood is now cover¬
ed with good dwelling-houses, other parts are entire, and
a portion is appropriately made of use for courts of justice
at the county assizes. Leicester is divided into six pa¬
rishes, and the castle, which is extra-parochial. It con¬
tains six churches, and twenty-one chapels for dissenters
of the different denominations. It is a corporate town;
and its government, under the provisions of the municipal
corporation act, consists of a mayox*, recorder, high bailiff,
forty-two councilmen, fourteen aldermen, ten magistrates,
town-clerk, and other officers, with an efficient police. It
sends, as before, two members to the House of Commons.
The chief employment of Leicester is the manufacture of
hosiery goods, long consisting of worsted and thread stock¬
ings, to which afterwards cotton hose were added, and of
late years hose of silk. But within a very few years a large
quantity of gloves of cotton have been made. The lace
trade is also carried on to a very considerable extent. The
smaller branches of trade, such as braces, cravats, tapes,
children’s fancy worsted boots and shoes, and other arti¬
cles, are all in the most prosperous condition. The winding
and sewing of cotton has also been carried on for several
years, and is now arrived at the highest state of perfection.
This part of the trade gives employment to vast numbers
of young females, who are amply paid by their employers.
her.
1 Edinburgh Review, vol. xxiii. pp. 324, 325. See also M. Biot Sur les Travaux Mathc-matiques, annexed to the article Leibnitz
in the Biography; Universelle; an exposition which contains a very full and distinct, though not altogether unprejudiced, view of the
controversy above reterred to.
L E I
.feter- The price of coals has been very much reduced of late
sl-e. years, in consequence of a new railway, constructed about
✓four years ago, by which coals are conveyed from the
northern part of the county. This has caused an active
competition between the Leicestershire and Derbyshire
coal-owners; and the reduction in the price of fuel has in¬
duced the manufacturers to erect steam-engines, which are
employed in combing wool, spinning worsted, and other
branches of trade. There are few towns in which are to
be seen so very many charitable institutions for the relief
of poverty, age, sickness, and general distress, and for the
gratuitous instruction of the inferior classes. The coun¬
try around is highly fertile, and the markets, held on Wed¬
nesday and Saturday, are amply and cheaply supplied.
The population has rapidly increased, amounting in 1801
to 16,953, in 1811 to 23,146, in 1821 to 30,125, in 1831
to 39,306, and being at the present time (1836) not fewer
than 44,000. The town has been greatly improved by
the removal of old houses, and the erection of new ones.
Several public buildings are in progress, viz. a new coun¬
ty lunatic asylum, and a reading and news-room, to be
supported by subscriptions; a new theatre, and two new
schools.
LEICESTERSHIRE, an English inland county. It is
bounded on the north by Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire,
on the west by the latter county and Warwickshire, on the
south by Northamptonshire, and on the east by Rutland¬
shire and Lincolnshire. It is of a triangular form, and few
of its limits are marked by nature, as the rivers Soar and
Trent form only a part of its northern boundary, and the
river Anker a smaller portion of its western frontier. Its
greatest length from north to south is forty-five miles, and
its greatest breadth from east to west thirty-five miles.
Its area contains 816 square miles. It is divided into six
hundreds, in which are ten towns and 196 parishes. The
population at the four decennial enumerations has been es¬
timated as follows:—In 1801 it amounted to 130,081,
in 1811 to 150,419, in 1821 to 174,571, and in 1831 to
197,000. The annual value of the real property, as as¬
sessed in the year 1815, was L.902,217. The burials, in¬
cluding both the registered and unregistered, in the period
from 1821 to 1831, appear to have been only one in fifty-
two of the whole number of inhabitants then living. The
proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births was only one
to twenty-eight, whereas, in the whole of England, it was
one to twenty. The occupations of the inhabitants are
thus shown by Mr Rickman.
Occupiers of land employing labourers 2,656
Occupiers of land not employing labourers 2,145
Labourers employed in agriculture 10,542
Ditto employed in manufacture 12,240
Employed in retail trade or handicraft 13,772
Capitalists, bankers, &c 1,421
Labourers not agricultural   3,701
Other males twenty years of age 2,509
Male servants 1,164
Female servants 5,994
The chief towns of the county, and their populath
in 1831, were,
Leicester 39,306
Loughborough 10,800
Hinckley 6,468
Ashby-de-la-Zouch 4,400
Melton-Mowbray 3,356
Donnington Castle 3,182
Market-Harborough 2,272
Wigston Magna   2,174
The county of Leicester may be described generally as
a level district, the undulations of which are very gentle,
and exhibit but few interesting prospects. The exceptions
VOL. xm.
L E I
209
to this remark are the Charnwood Hills, on the northern Leicester-
part of the county, which rise in an insulated mass, and shire,
from the summit of which the rest of the county appears
extended in a well-wooded but even surface under the
feet. The most lofty eminence of this range of hills (com¬
monly denominated the Forest, though it is destitute of
trees) is Bardon Hill, the summit of which is 850 feet
above the level of the sea. The Vale of Belvoir, in which
the castle of the Duke of Rutland stands, displays much
beauty, of a soft rather than a romantic or picturesque cha¬
racter.
None of the rivers of this county are considerable streams,
nor are any of them calculated for the conveyance of com¬
modities, except the Soar, for a short distance; but they are
abundant, and contribute to increase the beauty and ferti¬
lity of the district. Their names are, the Anker, Avon,
Blackbrook, Deane, Eye, Scalford, Sence, Snite, Soar,
Swift, Trent, Willand, and Wreke. The intercourse of
the county, both in its own different districts, and with the
surrounding parts of the kingdom, is amply provided for
by several navigable canals. One of these connects the
town of Leicester with the Grand Junction Canal, in
Northamptonshire; another communicates by Loughbo¬
rough with the river Trent; another from the coal-mines
near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, passes by Hinckley, and proceeds
into Warwickshire ; and one is designed to connect Mel¬
ton-Mowbray with the centre of Rutlandshire.
Though the soil is various, yet, in general, it may be
classed under the denominations either of clay or of loam ;
for there are very few portions of it that are calcareous,
sandy, or gravelly. The best soil is on the hills, and ge¬
nerally the valleys consist of a cold clay, very wet in the
winter, and with the turf so tender as scarcely to bear the
treading of sheep in that season. The soil is naturally
productive of the best and most abundant crops of grass,
and is better fitted for feeding cattle than for arable cul¬
ture. In consequence of this quality, a very small por¬
tion is under the plough ; but that portion produces most
excellent wheat, oats, and beans, which have acquired
great celebrity. There are few open fields now remaining,
and the quantity of waste land is very small. The prin¬
cipal productions of the county are sheep and cows. Mr
Bakewell, whose fame in improving the breeds of all cat¬
tle is generally known, has been the means of stocking
this county first, and afterwards many other parts of Eng¬
land, with a race of sheep produced by various crosses,
which by many farmers is now preferred to every other,
and universally known by the name of the new Leicesters.
They unite perfect symmetry of shape with the smallest
possible quantity of bone and offal, and their wool is both
fine and abundant. The horned cattle were, in like man¬
ner, improved by the lessons of this skilful breeder ; and
no part of England exceeds Leicestershire either in its
beef or in the produce of the dairy. The cheese com¬
monly made is in great request throughout all the north
of England; and the kind called Stilton, from having been
first sold in that town, though made near Melton-Mow¬
bray, is perhaps the richest in the world. The process
of making it was long kept a secret in a few villages, but
is now universally known. Its richness arises from one
half the milk being skimmed, and the cream taken from
that added to the other milk, so that the cheeses have
double the usual quantity of cream in their composition.
Bakewell improved also the breed of horses to a great ex¬
tent. In this line there was less room for any extraordi¬
nary progress; but bis black horses, of the cart kind, ori¬
ginating principally from mares which he brought from
Flanders, enabled him to introduce the method of plough¬
ing with two horses abreast, by which much labour in
agriculture has been saved.
The manufacture of most consequence in this county is
2 D
210 L E I
^shirter* t^iat ^os^ery’ gives employment, more or less
, 5 ire'_ . constant, to two thirds of its inhabitants. The quantity
of stockings made here is prodigious, and supplies the
greater part of the British dominions, as well as many
other parts of the world, with those of an inferior and
middling quality. Stocking-frames were invented about
1590 ; but the first introduced in Leicestershire was used
at Hinckley in 1640. Since that period many improve¬
ments in the machinery of them have been made. The
chief seat of this manufacture is in the towrn of Leicester,
in which there are 3400 manufacturers, of whom 3000 are
stocking-makers. Loughborough has 900, Hinckley 700,
Sheepshead 500, Wigston and Shilton 280 each; and in
many of the smaller places there are to be found to the
number of from 100 to 200 weavers of hosiery and gloves.
About 700 men are employed in making lace, chiefly at
Melton-Mowbray and Quornden. The makers of ma¬
chinery are numerous, and in the county some linen is
manufactured, and also some carpets. The making of
stuffs at Harborough has nearly disappeared.
In the north-west part of the county there are exten¬
sive mines of valuable coal, which supply the inhabitants
of the surrounding districts. With them terminate the
mines in the direction of the German Ocean to the south¬
ward. At Bredon, on the confines, the singular rock
called Bredon Hill is composed of a most valuable kind
of limestone, which forms an excellent cement in water,
and which was used for building the pier of Ramsgate.
The Roman roads are still visible in many parts of the
county, though in many instances they have been covered
by the more recent highways. The Watling-Street road,
the Fossway, and the Via Havana, traversed the county,
and have been traced with great accuracy by antiquaries.
At Radcliffe, on the Wreke, is an ancient tumulus, gene¬
rally attributed to the Celts, 350 feet in length, and 120
in breadth. At Leicester, which was a Roman station,
are still visible the remains of the architecture of that
people, in what is called the Jewny Wall, consisting of a
mass of stones, brick-work, and dilapidated arches, built
in alternate courses of brick in three layers, and of stone.
Near the town is the vestige of a British Cursus, accord¬
ing to some antiquaries, or of a Roman camp, according
to others. At different and distant periods a great num¬
ber of coins have been discovered, with the names of
Titus, Trajan, Diocletian, Constantine, Constantins, Ha¬
drian, and other Roman emperors. Other Roman anti¬
quities have been found at Rothley, at Wanlip, at Mar-
ket-Harborough, at Burrow, and at Cathorpe. The Go¬
thic remains are considerable; those of the Abbey of
Leicester, of the Nunnery of Grace Dieu, Ulvestoft
Priory, Laund Priory, the Castle of Ashby-de-la-Zouch,
the churches of Hinckley and Melton-Mowbray, and the
chapel of Market-Harborough, all reward the inspection
of the antiquary.
In the church of Lutherworth, the pulpit and part of
the vestments of the g»eat reformer Wickliffe are still pre¬
served. He was buried there in the year 1387; but in 1428,
his bones were taken up and burnt, and the ashes thrown
into the river, by order of the council of Sienna. Leices¬
tershire has been the scene of two great military events,
which have been the means of transferring the govern¬
ment of England; the first, the battle of Bosworth,
which terminated the reign and life of Richard III. in
1485 ; and the other, the battle of Naseby in 1645, which
led to the death of Charles L, and the subsequent eleva¬
tion of Oliver Cromwell.
L E I
One of the chief distinctions of this county is its adap- Le
tation for fox-hunting, which has given rise to establish- i
ments for that purpose at the town of Melton-Mowbray, heigtj
where, at the appropriate season, are collected the bests'“'.<
horses, dogs, and riders that England produces, and
where, also, may be seen some of the most wealthy and
distinguished of the nobility and gentry.
By the reform bill this county received an addition of
two members to the House of Commons ; for which pur¬
pose it is divided into two parts, the northern and southern
divisions. The polling-places for the former are Lough¬
borough, Melton-Mowbray, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; and
for the latter, Leicester, Market-Harborough, and Hinck-
ley. The town of Leicester, as before, returns two mem¬
bers.
LEIGH, a town and port, with a custom-house, of the
hundred of Rochford, in the county of Essex, thirty-nine
miles from London. Here much corn is shipped for the
supply of the metropolis. The population amounted in
1801 to 570, in 1811 to 702, in 1821 to 905, and in 1831
to 1254.
Leigh, a large parish, consisting of two chapelries and
four townships, in the hundred of West Derby, in the
county of Lancaster, 198 miles from London. It is placed
conveniently for water communication with most of the
great rivers of the kingdom ; from which, and the great
extension of the cotton trade, its population has been
rapidly augmented. The inhabitants amounted in 1801
to 12,976, in 1811 to 15,565, in 1821 to 18,372, and in
1831 to 20,083.
LEIGHLIN, a decayed town of Ireland, situated in
the county of Carlow, about forty-three miles from Dub¬
lin, near the river Barrow. It is a borough, and formerly
returned two members to the Irish parliament. The pa¬
tronage is in the bishop of the diocese, this being a bi¬
shopric united to Ferns.
LEIGHTON, Robert, a prelate of eminent talents and
learning, and of the most exalted piety, was born in the
year 1611. His father, Alexander Leighton, a descen¬
dant of the ancient family of Ulyshaven in Forfarshire,
commenced his academical studies at St Andrews, and
afterwards repaired to Leyden, where he took the degree
of M. D. 1 hat he ever took the degree of D. D. seems
to be asserted without sufficient evidence : as he became a
clergyman, it was apparently taken for granted that he
must have proceeded in the theological faculty. That he
never was a professor of philosophy in the university of
Edinburgh, is still more certain. Dr Leighton fixed his
residence in London, where he betook himself to the prac¬
tice of physic, but met with strong opposition from the
college of physicians. He was however doomed to en¬
counter persecution in a more appalling form. His indig¬
nation was violently moved by the lordly pretensions and
popish practices of the bishops of those days ; and he
was induced to prepare an elaborate volume, under the
title ol Sio?is Plea against the Prelacie, in which his in¬
dignation was very strongly expressed. With the view of
conducting his work through the press, he retired to Hol¬
land ; and we find that the year 1629 he became minis¬
ter of the English church at Utrecht. But his conscien¬
tious scruples respecting the observance of the appointed
festival days, which he doubtless regarded as a remnant
of superstition, induced him to resign his charge within
the space of a few months.1 His book having been print¬
ed in the course of the preceding year,2 he returned to
London. Two copies were presented to parliament two
therfaSrp? 3“!">Mnb';hm3r8voh ChUrCh’ KoUe,<la”> t0 ”'hich are °f «>* other British Churches in the Ni
the ifandlinfwherciff' h'1"' “S8™,1 the I’relacie : th.e sumrae “’I'ereoff is delivered in a decade of positions, i
e handling whereoff the Lord Bishops and their appurtenances are manifestly proved, both by divine and humane lawes, to be h
LEIGHTON.
211
Leiiiton. days before its dissolution ; and it was immediately per-
w>^-^ceived that the author had treated the bishops with un-^
compromising severity, describing them as men of blood,
and maintainers of superstitious worship and antichristian
government. This last position was verified by the inhu¬
man treatment to which he was himself subjected. He
was soon afterwards arrested by two pursuivants of the
high commission, and was first conducted to the house of
Dr Laud, who was then bishop of London, and who may
with sufficient propriety be described as the inquisitor
general of England. On the bishop’s warrant he was
committed to a dark, cold, and loathsome dungeon in
Newgate, to a place not fit for the reception of a Chris¬
tian’s dog, and there he was kept, without meat or drink,
from Tuesday night to Thursday at noon. It was only
after a dismal interval of fifteen weeks that the inquisi¬
tors would permit even his wife to visit him. Four days
after his commitment, she had been treated with the
most barbarous inhumanity and indecency by a pursuivant
and other ruffians, who were sent to ransack his house,
under the pretext of searching for Jesuits books. They
presented a pistol to the breast of a boy five years of age,
threatening to shoot him if he did not inform them where
the books were to be found ; “ and so affrighted the poor
child, that he never recovered it all his days.” They not
only carried off books and manuscripts, but robbed the
house of arms, clothes, and furniture. His wife had suf¬
ficient courage to remind them that a day of reckoning
might yet come ; and come it did, in a signal manner, to
the chief authors and abettors of such flagitious proceed¬
ings. Some of Laud’s emissaries infested him in New¬
gate ; and, by means of flattering and deceitful promises,
one of them prevailed upon him to confess that he was
the writer of the book in question. During a subsequent
visit, he offered to procure him pardon and favour, on con¬
dition of his disclosing the names of those who had en¬
couraged him to write ; but although nearly five hundred
individuals had, by their subscriptions, testified their ap¬
probation of Sions Plea, he had too much magnanimity
to betray any one of his friends and adherents. After this
refusal, he was brought before the court of Star-Chamber,
and required to answer a long information, setting forth
bis many and grievous offences. He admitted that he was
the author of the book, but denied all criminality of inten¬
tion. No counsel dared to plead his cause, and he re¬
turned to prison in order to await his doom. It was the
opinion of four physicians that poison had been adminis¬
tered to him in Newgate. He had been seized with a
violent distemper, which was accompanied with loathsome
symptoms, and his strength was so completely exhausted
that he could not be produced before this atrocious court.
In his absence the following sentence was unanimously
pronounced on the 4th of June 1630 : that Dr Leighton
should pay a fine of L.10,000; that the high commission
should degrade him from his ministry; that he should be Leighton,
brought to the pillory at Westminster during the sitting '
of the court, and should there be whipped; that after
whipping he should be set upon the pillory for a conve¬
nient time, should have one of his ears cut off, one side
of his nose slit, and his face branded with the letters S. S.
denoting a Sower of Sedition ; that he should then be car¬
ried back to prison, and, after an interval of a few days,
should again be pilloried at Cheapside, should then like¬
wise be whipped, have his other ear cut off, and the other
side of his nose slit; and should then be detained in close
custody in the Fleet-prison for the remainder of his life.
When this sentence was pronounced, it has been stated
that Laud pulled off his cap, and gave thanks to the God
of mercy; nor does such an act appear to be in any re¬
spect inconsistent with the general character of the fero¬
cious and unrelenting bigot to whom it is imputed.1 This
is the same individual whonrr the high-churchmen of our
own times describe as an excellent prelate. Between the
passing and the execution of the sentence, Leighton made
his escape from prison; and two of his countrymen, nam¬
ed Anderson and Elphinstone, were each fined L.500 for
aiding and abetting him in his flight. He was however
l etaken in Bedfordshire ; and, before the expiration of a
foitnight, having again been committed to the Fleet, he
endured the first part of his punishment on the 26th of
November : it was inflicted with the most unrelenting se¬
verity; the second part followed after a short interval;
and his bodily frame having thus been miserably shatter¬
ed, he lingered in prison for the tedious space of nearly
ten years." In 1640 he presented a petition to the long
parliament, reciting the direful persecution to which he
had been subjected, and he now obtained such redress as
could be afforded to him ; “ but,” as Dr Benson has too
truly remarked, no sufficient reparation, in this world,
could possibly be made to a man so highly injured.”3
Robert Leighton, the eldest son of this learned and per¬
secuted individual, is commonly represented as a native
of Edinburgh ; but as Burnet speaks of his father’s having
sent him to be educated in Scotland, it has been inferred
that he was born in London.4 The name of his mother
we have not found recorded, but it is certain that he was
of the issue of the first marriage. His father’s second
wife was Isabel the daughter of Sir William Musgrave of
Leby in Cumberland, and she had previously been mar¬
ried to William Calverley, and Ralph Hopton, Esq.5 After
the death of her third husband, she retired to the neigh¬
bourhood of Leeds ; and she appears to have been left in
very comfortable, if not affluent circumstances. Her step¬
son was educated in the university of Edinburgh, and be¬
came one of its brightest ornaments. He “ was accounted
a saint from his youth up;” but he seems originally to
have had, what the readers of his works could not easily
have supposed, some slight propensity to satire. He in-
TiZ]^0" ,the pr\viled/es 0f Christ’ 5the KinS- and of the Common-weal; and therefore, vpon good evidence <ffven she hartelie
desireth a lodgement and execution. Printed the year and moneth wherein Rochell was lost. 4to. S ^iven, she hartelie
fallen Zrinnf^Sa0aiUdei ° ^sTpris^’ ^aud to ^ve entertained a deliberate opinion that Dr Leighton’s punishment had
tLVoub^and TryS’of LauTvoh h71^’t! things S
EadThuf «hbCh Lei£1,ton ^appointedkeeper; and this amiable preiate felt it as of hi^p^
^ ‘ of
110 Rup£rth;s ^t™™1 Collections, part ii. p. 58. Oldmixon’s Hist, of England during the Reigns of the House of Stuart r,
of T«™p.S22r ^nd°%Mvod‘tah°P Laud’5 Cruel Trea““ent °f Dr Lei«ht0"' insmod in “o third edition of his Collection
5 Murray s Life of Robert Leighton, D. D. Archbishop of Glasgow, p. 42. Edinb. 1828, 12mo.
fol. Le2§i€n\is' °y the Topography of the ancient and populous Town and Parish of Leedes, n. 97. Lond. 1715
her admirably pious^on in hw^Archbishn^f rt ^ ^ e®P,0yed 111 “ wRting Memoirs of the charitable Madam Leighton, and’
8v0.) 7 P °US SOn'in-law’ Archbishop of Glasgow.” (Diary of Ralph Thoresby, F.R.S. vol. ii. p. 10. Lond. 1830, 2 vols.
212
L E
I G H T O N.
Leighton, curred some degree of academical censure, for writing an
epigram on the provost of the city, whose name was
Aikenhead. The point of it is, “ his head cannot be made
of oak, or his fiery nose would have produced combustion.”1
That he made uncommon progress in his studies, is suf¬
ficiently evident from his works. He took the degree of
A. M. in the year 1631. After he left the university, his
father, who was thei* groaning under the rod of the op¬
pressor, sent him to travel on the continent, and he thus
enlarged his knowledge of men and manners. Among
other places, he visited Douay, where some of his relations
were then residing. In France he spent several years, and
learned to speak the language like a native. Returning to
the land of his fathers, he became a clergyman of the pres-
byterian church, having on the 16th of December 1641
been ordained minister of Newbattle, a parish within seven
miles of Edinburgh. He had now attained the age of
thirty, and was qualified by his natural endowments, as
well as by his acquired knowledge, to appear with singular
advantage in his public capacity. 44 His preaching,” says
Bishop Burnet, 44 had a sublimity both of thought and ex¬
pression in it. The grace and gravity of his pronuncia¬
tion was such, that few heard him without a very sensible
emotion : I am sure J never did. It was so different from
all others, and indeed from every thing that one could hope
to rise up to, that it gave a man an indignation at himself
and all others. It was a very sensible humiliation to me,
and, for some time after I heard him, I could not bear the
thought of my own performances, and was out of counte¬
nance when I was forced to think of preaching. His style
was rather too fine ; but there was a majesty and beauty
in it that left so deep an impression, that I cannot yet for¬
get the sermons I heard him preach thirty years ago. And
yet with this he seemed to look on himself as so ordinary
a preacher, that while he had a cure, he was ready to em¬
ploy all others, and when he was a bishop, he chose to
preach to small auditories, and would never give notice be¬
forehand : he had indeed a very low voice, and could not
be heard by a great crowd.”2
The leading clergy of that period were men of fervent
zeal, and several of them possessed no mean share of learn¬
ing ; but in various instances the heat of their zeal seems
to have dried up the sources of their Christian charity;
nor did they think it lawful, not to say expedient, to tole¬
rate any differences of religious opinion. The sinfulness
of toleration was a topic too frequently inculcated. It must
at the same time be recollected that there was no existing
church from which the principles of toleration could then
be learned. The bishop proceeds to state that Leighton
44 soon came to see into the follies of the presbyterians,
and to dislike their covenant; particularly the imposing it,
and their fury against all who differed from them. He
found they were not capable of large thoughts : theirs were
narrow, as their tempers were sour. So he grew weary
with mixing with them. He scarce ever went to their
meetings, and lived in great retirement, minding only the
care of his own parish at Newbottle near Edenborough.
Yet all the opposition that he made to them was, that he
preached up a more exact rule of life than seemed to them
consistent with human nature: but his own practice did
even outshine his doctrine.” Let it in the mean time be
remembered that the follies of the episcopalians were at
least equally conspicuous, and that they took a more bloody
direction. The presbyterians did not let loose a ferocious
band of ruffians to cut the throats of men and women, if
they merely refused to pray as they were directed.
In the year 1648 Leighton declared in favour of theLeig
engagement for the king, and thus exposed himself to the^J
hazard of being subjected to heavy penalties. When some
of his parishioners who had been concerned in the unfor¬
tunate expedition to England, were enjoined to make a
public profession of their repentance, he studiously avoid¬
ed all mention of the grounds of the war, but admonished
them that 44 they had been in an expedition, in which, he
believed, they had neglected their duty to God, and had
been guilty of injustice and violence, of drunkenness, and
other immoralities, and he charged them to repent of these
very seriously.” The earl of Lothian, who resided in his
parish, and entertained a high esteem for his character,
had sufficient influence to protect him from any serious
annoyance. It is however evident that he found himself
placed in a very uncomfortable situation; and his uneasi¬
ness must in no small degree have been encreased by the
differences which unhappily ensued between the resolu-
tioners and protesters. He was at length induced to re¬
sign the pastoral charge of Newbattle. This resignation
took place in the year 1652; and, under the date of May
24, 1653, we find the subsequent record of a conversation
with Brodie, one of the judges. 441 spoke with Mr Leigh¬
ton. He did shew me that the composing of our differ¬
ences was not a harder task than the finding out the Lord’s
mind by them, both the procuring and final cause. He
thought holiness, the love of God and our brethren, was
the chief duty God was calling us unto, and sobriety and
forbearance to one another. He knew not if it were not
from his natural temper, or something of the English air;
but he thought it was the safest to incline in mitiorem
partem. Much persecution was there upon our imposing
upon one another, as if we were infallible, allowing none
that differed from ourselves in the least measure. He
thought the Lord would break that which we would’so
fain hold up, our judicatories: he had observed so much
of our own spirit in them these many years past, that
he had lothed them for the most part, and wearied of
them.” 3
The office of principal of the university of Edinburgh be¬
came vacant by the death of John Adamson in the year 1652.
He was a man of learning and reputation, nor did the elec¬
tors fail to look for a worthy successor. Their first choice
fell upon William Colville, minister of the English church
at Utrecht; but some difficulties, whether political or eccle¬
siastical, having been interposed, Leighton was elected on
the 17th of January 1653, and was persuaded to accept
of an office for which he was so eminently qualified by his
character, his talents, and his attainments. With the of¬
fice of principal is conjoined that of primarius professor of
divinity. The other professor of divinity was David Dick¬
son, who published several theological works, and was a
man of high consideration with his own party. Some of
Dr Leighton’s academical prelections, as well as his ad¬
dresses to the students, have been preserved, and they
exhibit the author in the most favourable light. He con¬
tinued several years in that post, says Burnet, 44 and was
a great blessing in it; for he talked so to all the youth of
any capacity or distinction, that it had great effect on
many of them. He preached often to them ; and if crowds
broke in, which they were apt to do, he would have
gone on in his sermon in Latin, with a purity and life that
charmed all who understood it. Thus he had lived above
twenty years in Scotland, in the highest reputation that
any man in my time ever had in that kingdom.”
During the vacations, he made occasional excursions to
Scotish I asquils, b. iii. p. 88. It is here stated that he was extruded from the college for writing this epigram ; but if the state¬
ment is correct, he must speedily have been re-admitted. Among Wodrow’s MSS. in the Advocates Library (Rob. III. 6. 14.),
a copy ot the epigram is followed by an Apologie of twenty-four lines, ascribed to 44 Mr R. Li^htoune.”
! Barnet s Histoiy of his own Time, vol. i. p. 230. Oxford, 1823, 6 vols. 8vo. This is the first genuine edition of the book.
Diary of Alexander Brodie of Brodie, Esq. p. 50. Edinb. 1740, 8vo.
LEIGHTON. 213
:yi on. England, and even to Flanders. He had an opportunity
^1.—'0f observing the character of the eminent men who fre¬
quented the protector’s court; but, according to the ac¬
count which he gave to his friend, “ he could never see
any thing among them that pleased him. They were
men of unquiet and meddling tempers; and their dis¬
courses and sermons were dry and unsavoury, full of airy
cant, or of bombastic swellings. Sometimes he went over
to Flanders, to see what he could find in the several orders
of the church of Rome. There he found some of Janse-
nius’s followers, who seemed to be men of extraordinary
tempers, and studied to bring things, if possible, to the
purity and simplicity of the primitive ages; on which all
his thoughts were much set.” The restoration of a heart¬
less and profligate monarch, who had derived no wisdom
from experience, introduced a material and fatal change
in the state of ecclesiastical affairs in Scotland. The great
body of the people were firmly and zealously attached to
the presbyterian polity and form of worship, which Charles
had solemnly promised to maintain : but episcopacy was
considered as more favourable to those maxims of govern¬
ment which he and some of his councillors were inclined
to propose; and the resolution, equally iniquitous and im¬
politic, was finally adopted of forcing upon his northern
subjects an ecclesiastical establishment, which the most
honest and devout portion of them regarded as but one
small degree removed from popery. The undaunted op¬
position to the innovations of the late unfortunate reign,
seems to have been utterly erased from the memory of
those who now devised the restoration of episcopacy in
Scotland. It was doubtless thought a wise and dexterous
measure to place at the head of this new establishment a
very conspicuous proselyte from the presbyterian cause,
James Sharp, who had recently been appointed professor
of divinity at St Andrews,1 and who had been sent to
London as the accredited agent of the Scotish clergy.
He was a person of address and of talents for business;
but being at the same time aspiring and unscrupulous, he
could not resist the temptation which was now presented
to him; and in an evil hour he entered upon a career of
ambition which he pursued with great violence, and which
was at length brought to a very tragical termination.
Sharp was nominated to the archbishopric of St Andrews,
Fairfowl to that of Glasgow; Sydserf, who had been bishop
of Brechin and Galloway, and who was the sole survivor
of the ancient bench, to the see of Orkney ; and Hamilton,
a brother of Lord Belhaven, to that of Galloway. Leigh¬
ton, who was then in London, on his return from Bath,
where he had been residing for the benefit of bis health,
was persuaded to accept of a bishopric, and he selected
that of Dunblane, a small diocese, as well as a small re¬
venue. He had previously cultivated an acquaintance
with several episcopalians, and, among others, with the
father of Bishop Burnet. He was a man of so much pri¬
mitive piety, and was so uncontaminated with worldly
ambition, that no person of ordinary candour can impute
his change to any unworthy motive. He evidently con¬
sidered church government as a matter not dertermined by
any positive injunctions, but open to the adjustment of
bodies of men varying in their opinions, and placed in a
I . variety of circumstances. In the mere name of a bishop
there is nothing pernicious; but that the office may be
rendered highly pernicious, the history of the church has
too clearly evinced. According to Dr Paley, “ the ap¬
pointment of various orders in the church, may be con¬
sidered as the stationing of ministers of religion in the
various ranks of civil life. The distinctions of the clergy
ought, in some measure, to- correspond with the distinc-Leighton,
tions of lay-society, in order to supply each class of the
people with a clergy of their own level and description,
with whom they may live and associate upon terms of
equality.”- In conformity with this evangelical distribu¬
tion of rank and office, the English curate is reduced to
the condition of the labouring poor, and the archbishop is
raised to the level of the first nobility. All this is fre¬
quently described as very apostolical: but we are not
aware that the apostles recommended their successors to
a seat in the house of lords; nor have they clearly taught
us to infer that the prosperity of the church of Christ has
any necessary connexion with such splendour. We re¬
collect the appropriate remark of a writer eminently dis¬
tinguished by his acuteness and candour of mind. “ Ex¬
orbitant wealth annexed to offices,” says Dr Campbell,
“ may be said universally to produce two effects. These
two effects are, arrogance and laziness.” And on this
subject what were the sentiments of Dr Leighton ? “ It is
true,” he remarks, “■ that penury and want of competency
in temporals, in those who bring an eternal treasure, ar¬
gues base ingratitude, and is most unworthy of well-con¬
stituted churches. But where the remedy exceeds too
tar, it becomes worse than the disease, being compounded
of carnal prudence and ambition, both of which are enmity
to God.” Ecclesiastics raised to great and superfluous
wealth, may in some instances be fully as much inclined
to imitate the folly as to improve the piety of their fashion¬
able associates. We are very far from wishing to reduce
the order to a primitive state of poverty; but we are not
prepared to acquiesce in the opinion, that the personal
respectability, or the spiritual influence, of a clergyman,
is more effectually secured by five thousand than by five
hundred pounds a year.
The nomination of the other bishops was chiefly left to
Dr Sharp; but the promotion of Dr Leighton, who was
not such a person as he would have been inclined to se¬
lect, was solely imputed to his brother Sir Ellis Leighton,
who was at that period secretary to the duke of York.
In his face, as well as in the vivacity of his talents, he re¬
sembled the bishop of Dunblane, but in other respects no
two individuals could be more unlike each other. The
knight was as unprincipled as the other courtiers of that
time and place. In order to favour his schemes of ambi¬
tion, he had embraced the Romish faith, and the general
tenor of his conduct exhibited a great laxity of moral
feeling. But, in such a foul atmosphere, who could be
free from contamination ? He was intimately acquainted
with Lord Aubigny, a brother of the duke of Richmond’s,
who had not only changed his religion, but had even en¬
tered into holy orders. It was perhaps one recommenda¬
tion to the king’s favour, that he led a very vicious life ;
and as he was in the secret of his majesty’s religion, and
was acquainted with his private schemes for the advance¬
ment of popery, he enjoyed an ample share of his con¬
fidence. Sir Ellis impressed this nobleman with a very
high opinion of his brother’s qualifications: he did not
overlook his celibacy and his ascetic mode of life, as be¬
ing conformable to the popish notions of piety; nor did
he scruple to aver, what was very remote from the truth,
that he was persuaded of his being secretly inclined to
their own faith. Through this polluted channel did the
learned and pious Leighton arrive at his high station in
the church ; for at the suggestion of Aubigny, the king
nominated him to a bishopric, and thus excited the sus¬
picion of Sharp, who did not wish for a coadjutor of his
spiritual habits and superior character. It was not with-
1 Symson’s Account of the Life of Dr James Sharp, Arch-bishop of St Andrews, p. 42. Printed in the year 1723, 8vo.
“aley’s Sermons and Tracts, p. 92. Lend. 1815, 8vo«
214
LEIGH T O N.
Leighton, out the utmost reluctance that he was induced to accept
v —L ^ of this preferment. Of the four bishops-elect, only two had
received episcopal ordination ; but before the consecra¬
tion ot the other two, Sharp and Leighton, it was con¬
sidered as absolutely necessary to ordain them deacons
and priests. The same necessity was not recognized at
the consecration of Scotish bishops in the year 1610 ; for
when Bishop Andrews maintained that they must first be
ordained presbyters, as having received no episcopal ordi¬
nation, Archbishop Bancroft replied that “ there was no
necessity, seeing where bishops could not be had, the or¬
dination given by the presbyters must be esteemed lawful;
otherwise that it might be doubted if there were any law¬
ful vocation in most of the reformed churches.” 1 Wycliffe
had adopted the opinion of St Jerom, that in the age of the
apostles,2 presbyter and bishop were names of the same
office-bearers. This opinion was likewise maintained by
the founders of the English reformation ; and Cranmer has
unequivocally stated that “ a bishop may make a priest by
the Scriptures, and so may princes and governors alsoe,
and that by the auctority of God committed to them, and
the people alsoe by their election.” Archbishop Whitgift
declares that no form of government is by the Scriptures
prescribed to the church of God; and the mutability of
ecclesiastical government is asserted by Hooker, and other
distinguished writers of that period. This indeed appears
to have been a prevalent opinion, till the pontificate of the
unhappy Laud, who was but too anxious to complete the
assimilation of the English with the Romish hierarchy, and
whose mind was deeply tinctured with the most abject su¬
perstition. The divine right of episcopacy was not how¬
ever maintained by some of the most eminent divines of
the succeeding age. Bishop Stillingfleet, in a very learned
and able work,3 has completely demonstrated that bishop
and presbyter were originally different appellations of the
same office-bearers; that the apostles have nowhere en¬
joined any particular form of ecclesiastical polity ; and that
‘‘ a mere 'apostolical practice being supposed, is not suf¬
ficient of itself for the founding an unalterable and perpe¬
tual right for that form of government in the church,
which is supposed to be founded on that practice.” And
as to what is called the perpetual succession in the
church,4 he has distinctly averred, that “ this personal
succession, so much spoken of, is sometimes attributed
to presbyters, even after the distinction came into use
between bishops and them.”—To this idle or arrogant
ceremony of reordination, Sharp, who “ had swallowed
down greater matters,” submitted with no small reluc¬
tance ; but, as Dr Mitchell has remarked, “ Leighton sub¬
mitted easily to this, not because he was eager to put on
a mitre, but because he had good sense enough, and a
sufficient acquaintance with Scripture, and the writings of
early antiquity, to know that it was a matter of no conse¬
quence, whether he submitted to it or not.” These two
were privately ordained deacons^nd priests ; and on the
15th of December 1661, all the four were publicly conse¬
crated in Westminster Abbey. The good bishop of Dun¬
blane w as scandalized at the feasting and jollity which fol¬
lowed this religious ceremony. They travelled towards
Scotland in one coach ; and Leighton stated to Burnet that
he believed his associates w ere weary of him, for he was
very weary of them. When he found that they intended
to enter the metropolis with some degree of pomp, he left
them at Morpeth, and reached Edinburgh a few days be¬
fore them. I he other bishops made a kind of triumphal
entry ; the lord chancellor, with the nobility and privy
counsellors, as well as the city magistrates, having joined in Le
a procession, and met them in due form. Soon after their
arrival, other six bishops w^ere consecrated ; but they were
not subjected to the previous ceremonial of being ordained
deacons and priests. Parliament assembled in the month
of April 1662, and most of the bishops immediately took
their seats: Leighton did not however appear among
them, and he adhered to the practice of only attending in
his place when he expected some discussion concerning
religion or the church. He did not permit his friends to
give him the title of lord, nor did he willingly acquiesce in
its being given to him by others; for he evidently had not
unlearned the presbyterian lesson, that Christ has no lords
in his house.
He speedily found that his new associates were for
the most part men from whom the cause of religion could
derive very slender aid, and that the affairs of the church
were managed with as little wisdom as moderation. Sharp,
though a man of talents, was artful and insincere. Of the
other prelates, very few were eminently distinguished by
either learning or piety, and the parochial clergy were in
all respects greatly inferior to those whom they had sup¬
planted. “ By these means,” says Bishop Burnet, “ Leigh-
toun quickly lost all heart and hope ; and said often to me
upon it, that in the whole progress of that affair there ap¬
peared such cross characters of an angry providence, that,
how fully soever he was satisfied in his own mind as to
episcopacy itself, yet it seemed that God was against
them, and that they were not like to be the men that
should build up his church ; so that the struggling against
it seemed to him like a fighting against God. He who
had the greatest hand in it proceeded with so much dis¬
simulation ; and the rest of the order were so mean and
selfish ; and the earl of Middleton, with the other se¬
cular men that conducted it, were so openly impious and
vicious, that it did cast a reproach on every thing relating
to religion, to see it managed by such instruments.” He
governed his own diocese like a truly Christian bishop,
labouring very assiduously in his vocation, and uniformly
pursuing measures of gentleness and conciliation. But
the ecclesiastical, as well as the civil rulers, were gene¬
rally inclined to pursue measures of so opposite a nature,
that he at length adopted the resolution of resigning his
bishopric. This resolution he announced to the clergy
of Dunblane in the year 1665, and afterwards proceeded
to London, for the purpose of communicating it to the
king. He gave his majesty a true account of the proceed¬
ings in Scotland, “ which, he said, were so violent, that
he could not concur in the planting the Christian religion
itself in such a manner, much less a form of government.
He therefore begged leave to quit his bishopric, and to
retire; for he thought he was in some sort accessory to
the violences done by others, since he was one of them,
and all was pretended to be done to establish them and ,
their order.” The king appeared to be somewhat moved
at the good bishop’s recital; and having spoken of the
primate with severe reprehension, he promised to enforce
a more lenient method of proceeding with the nonconfor¬
mists. He thus prevailed upon Leighton to retain his
bishopric ; and he so far fulfilled his promise as to suspend
the functions of the ecclesiastical commission. But most
of his Scotish ministers were so utterly destitute of all
principle and humanity', that no material improvements
ensued. The presbyterians were subjected to such into¬
lerable grievances, that at length, in the year 1666, they
had recourse to arms, but their military proceedings were
^ Spotswood’s History of the Church of Scotland, p. 514.
' Pr Campbell’s Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 125.
Stillingfleet s Irenicum, a Weapon-salve for the Churches Wounds, second edition.
See Hr Mitchell’s Presbyterian Letters, p. 185. Lond. 1809, 8vo.
Lond. 1002, 4to.
LEIGHTON.
n very speedily terminated at the battle of Pentland-hills.'
^ _^Xhe atrocious murders committed among a conscientious
and resolute people, were committed under the sanction
of a king who had once professed the same religion with
themselves, and who was now consigning them to the
sword and halter, because they refused to adopt the rites
of a church whose creed he had secretly renounced. If
every other action of his life had been free from reproach,
this cold-blooded and unrelenting villany would alone have
been sufficient to ensure the execration of all posterity.
What a lamentable picture of human depravity was ex¬
hibited in the two monarchs of Britain and France; men
immersed in the most debasing sensuality, surrounded by
the most profligate of both sexes, and, from the polluted
atmosphere in which they daily breathed, sending forth
mandates to their subjects to shape their religious creed
and ritual according to the pattern which their majesties
were graciously pleased to prescribe. To this point, the
matter only seems capable of exciting derision ; but a very
different sentiment arises in the mind when we recollect
that both Charles and Louis were prepared to carry havoc
and devastation where other means of conversion had been
found ineffectual. In the French king there might be a
certain species of consistency when he cut the throats of
his protestant subjects, because they refused to embrace
popery: but in the English king there was manifestly
none when he cut the throats of his presbyterian subjects,
because they refused to embrace episcopacy; unless we
can discover some consistency in the mere consideration,
that those converted to episcopacy were brought one step
nearer to his own faith.
In the midst of these direful scenes of persecution, the
gentle spirit of Leighton must have been heavily afflicted.
He opposed all the violent methods of producing a for¬
mal compliance with the established mode of worship; and
to the nonconformists of his own diocese he granted a li¬
berty of conscience which the laws of those flagitious times
did not acknowledge. Not satisfied with this limited in¬
dulgence, he made great exertions to secure a more gene¬
ral and permanent toleration. With this view he repaired
to court in the year 1669, and had two audiences of the
king. One of those who seconded his endeavours was Dr
Wilkins, bishop of Chester. The king at length addressed
a letter to the privy council, commanding them to indulge
such of the presbyterian clergy as were peaceable and loyal,
so far as to suffer them to serve in vacant churches, though
they did not submit to the present establishment. But
this indulgence was not attended with any beneficial effects:
the presbyterians and episcopalians were alike dissatisfied,
and the country long continued in a state of the most un¬
happy agitation. It was violently opposed by the clergy
of the diocese of Glasgow; and the archbishop, Dr Alex¬
ander Burnet, gave so much offence to Lauderdale by his
zeal against it, that he found it expedient to retire to a pri¬
vate station, with the provision of an annual pension. It
was not without much reluctance that Leighton was in¬
duced to accept of the vacant office. As his translation
was attended with some informalities, he became, accord¬
ing to the strictness of the ecclesiastical law, not archbishop,
but administrator of the archbishopric.1 He removed to
u . Glasgow in 1670, and in the course of the preceding year
his friend Dr Gilbert Burnet had been elected professor of
divinity in that university. They appear to have lived
upon terms of great cordiality ; and to Burnet, who became
bishop of Salisbury, we are indebted for a copious and most
interesting record of his evangelical virtues.
Soon after his translation, he held a synod of his clergy,
who uttered many complaints of being deserted and ill-
215
treated by the people. In his public and private discourses, Leighton,
he exhorted them to consider themselves as ministers ofs'“—v"—'
the cross of Christ, to lay aside all desire of revenge, and
to humble themselves before God. “ This was a new strain
to the clergy. They had nothing to say against it; but it
was a comfortless doctrine to them, and they had not been
accustomed to it. No speedy ways were proposed for for¬
cing the people to come to church, nor for sending soldiers
among them, or raising the fines to which they were liable.
So they went home, as little edified with their new bishop
as he was with them.” Accompanied by the professor of
divinity, he afterwards visited some of the most eminent of
the indulged ministers in different districts, with the view
of persuading them to listen to terms of accommodation.
Although his overtures were but coldly received, he was
unwilling to abandon all hope of conciliation. In the pre¬
sence of the earls of Lauderdale, Rothes, Tweeddale, and
Kincardine, he held a conference at Edinburgh with six of
the presbyterian clergy. Fie spoke for nearly half an hour,
with much gravity and force, but his arguments in favour
of episcopacy produced no effect upon those to whom they
were addressed, nor was a second conference attended with
a different result. Fie sent to the western counties six
episcopal clergymen, Burnet, Charteris, Nairne, Aird, Cook,
and Paterson, who were commissioned to preach in vacant
churches, and to argue with the people on the grounds of
conformity and accommodation. “ The people of the
country,” says Burnet, “came generally to hear us, though
not in great crowds. We were indeed amazed to see a
poor commonalty so capable toargue upon points of govern¬
ment, and on the bounds to be set to the power of princes
in matters of religion : upon all these topics they had texts
of Scripture at hand ; and were ready with their answers
to any thing that was said to them. This measure of know¬
ledge was spread even among the meanest of them, their
cottagers, and their servants. They were indeed vain of
their knowledge, much conceited of themselves, and were
full of a most entangled scrupulosity; so that they found,
or made, difficulties in everything that could be laid before
them. We staid about three months in the country; and
in that time there was a stand in the frequency of conven¬
ticles.” Against these conventicles two acts had recently
been passed. In reference to one of them, Leighton de¬
clared to the earl of Tweeddale, that the entire tenor of it
was so contrary to the common rules of humanity, not to
say Christianity, that he was ashamed to participate in the
councils of those who could frame and pass such laws. Nor
must it be forgotten that these atrocious laws were not suf¬
fered to continue a dead letter. At Paisley the archbishop
had another meeting with the presbyterians, to the number
of about thirty; and their conferences came to a final close
in the month of January 1671, when, at a meeting in the
earl of Rothes’s house in Edinburgh, Hutcheson declared,
in the name of his party, that “ they had considered the
propositions made to them, but were not satisfied in their
consciences to accept of them.”
In the course of one year, four bishoprics became va¬
cant, and the choice of them was offered to Dr Burnet.
Leighton was authorized to recommend such individuals as
he thought most worthy of promotion ; but neither Burnet,
Charteris, nor Nairne, could be induced to undertake the
episcopal office in the church, as it was then constituted ;
and as they were among the most learned and respectable
of the episcopal clergy, he thus found himself beset w ith
new discouragements. He had failed in his endeavours to
conciliate the presbyterians, and was suspected and hated
by the episcopalians. In utter despair of securing any
benefit to others or satisfaction to himself, he adopted the
Keith’s Catalogue ot the Scottish Bishops, p. 267- Russell’s edit. Pref. to Symson’s Life of Sharp, p. xlviii.
216
LEIGHTON.
Leighton, resolution of resigning his preferment, and retiring from
‘j—y-w ajj pUb]ic employment. He accordingly repaired to Lon¬
don in 1672, and, not without considerable difficulty, ob¬
tained the king’s permission to resign after an interval of
one year. He however retained the archbishopric till the
year 1674, and Alexander Burnet was then restored to his
former dignity. Leighton now returned to Edinburgh,
and for some time lived within the precincts of the univer¬
sity ; where the chair which he had occupied was not un-
worthily filled by William Colville, who had been put in
nomination at the time of his own election. He afterwards
retired to England, and spent the remainder of his life
with his sister Sapphira, the wife and finally the widow of
Mr Lightwater of Broadhurst, a demesne in the parish of
Horsted Keynes and county of Sussex. He had another
sister married to a Mr Rathband, of whom we find no fur¬
ther mention. His time was chiefly spent in devout seclu¬
sion, but he frequently officiated in the parish church, and
in some others of that vicinity. In the year 1679, an at¬
tempt was made to draw him from his retreat: at the sug¬
gestion of the duke of Monmouth, the king was induced
to request that he would again fix his residence in Scot¬
land, and use his endeavours in reconciling the ecclesiasti¬
cal animosities wdiich still prevailed in that country. “ I
desire you may go down to Scotland with your first con-
veniency, and take all possible pains for persuading all you
can, of both opinions, to as much mutual correspondence
and concord as may be; and send me, from time to time,
characters both of men and things. In order to this de-
sign, I shall send you a precept for two hundred pounds
sterling upon my exchequer, till you resolve to serve me in
a stated employment.” But the duke soon afterwards
ceased to have any influence in the affairs of either king¬
dom, and this negociation seems to have made no further
progress.
In the year 1684 Leighton wras urged by Dr Burnet to
make a journey to London, for the purpose of meeting the
eail of Peith, chancellor of Scotland, who had expressed
an earnest wish to see him; and his friend entertained a
hope that this “ angelical man might have awakened in
him some of those good principles which he seemed once
to have, and which were now totally extinguished in him.”
A lien he reached the metropolis, Burnet was surprised to
see him look so fresh and active at his advanced period of
life : his hair w^as still black, and he retained much of his
former vivacity, with the same quickness of conception
and strength of memory. Ble however spoke of his work
and journey being nearly finished at the same time : he
was next day seized with a pleurisy ; on that which ensued,
he suddenly fell into a state of insensibility, which con¬
tinued for about twelve hours, and he then expired with¬
out pangs or convulsions. He was constantly attended by
that friend whose zeal had prevailed upon him to under¬
take this fatal journey. He died on the 25th of June 1684,
in the seventy-fourth year of his age, ten years after he
had ceased to be archbishop of Glasgow. He closed his
earthly pilgrimage at an inn in Warwick-lane, and his re¬
mains were deposited at Horsted Keynes. A great por¬
tion oi his income had been devoted to deeds of charity
and benevolence ; and by a will, dated on the 17th of Feb-
iuai\, he had destined the residue of his property to cha¬
ritable uses.1 To his sister, and to her son Edward Light-
water of Broadhurst, he only left a small token of grateful
acknowledgement of the great kindness with which they
had treated him while he was their guest. His library he
bequeathed to the cathedral of Dunblane, for the use of
the clergy of that diocese ; and although the fashion of aL
cathedral and diocese has there passed away, the library is v.
still preserved in the same place.
The character of Leighton has been drawn by Bishop
Burnet in very striking colours. “ He had great quick¬
ness of parts, a lively apprehension, with a charming viva¬
city of thought and expression. He had the greatest com¬
mand of the purest Latin that ever I knew in any man. He
was a master both of Greek and Hebrew, and of the whole
compass of theological learning, chiefly in the study of the
Scriptures. But that which exalted all the rest was, he
was possessed with the highest and noblest sense of divine
tilings that I ever saw in any man. He had no regard to
his person, unless it was to mortify it by a constant low-
diet, that was like a perpetual fast. He had a contempt
both of wealth and reputation. He seemed to have the
lowest thoughts of himself possible, and to desire that all
other persons should think as meanly of him as he did him¬
self: he bore all sorts of ill usage and reproach, like a man
that took pleasure in it. He had so subdued the natural
heat of his temper, that in a great variety of accidents, and
in a course of twenty-two years’ intimate conversation w ith
him, I never observed the least sign of passion, but upon
one single occasion. He brought himself into so compos¬
ed a gravity, that I never saw him laugh, and but seldom
smile. And he kept himself in such a constant recollec¬
tion, that I do not remember that ever I heard him say one
idle word. There was a visible tendency in all he said to
raise his own mind, and those he conversed with, to seri¬
ous reflections. He seemed to be in a perpetual medita¬
tion. And, though the whole course of his life was strict
and ascetical, yet he had nothing of the sourness of temper
that generally possesses men of that sort.”2 In another
work, he mentions the archbishop in terms of similar com¬
mendation. “ I have now laid together with great sim¬
plicity what has been the chief subject of my thoughts for
above thirty years. I was formed to them by a bishop that
had the greatest elevation of soul, the largest compass of
knowledge, the most mortified and most heavenly disposi¬
tion, that I ever yet saw in mortal; that had the greatest
parts as well as virtues, with the perfectest humility that I
ever saw in man ; and had a sublime strain of preaching,
with so grave a gesture, and with such a majesty both of
thought, of language, of pronunciation, that I never once
saw a wandering eye where he preached, and have seen
whole assemblies often melt in tears before him ; and of
whom I can say with great truth, that in a free and fre¬
quent conversation with him for above two and twenty
years, I never knew him say an idle word, that had not a
direct tendency to edification : and I never once saw him
in any other temper but that which I wished to be in, in
the last minutes of my life. For that pattern which I saw
in him, and for that conversation which I had with him, I
know howr much I have to answer to God: and though
my reflecting on that which I knew in him, gives me just
cause ot being deeply humbled in my self, and before God,
yet I feel no more sensible pleasure in any thing, than in
going over in my thoughts all that I saw and observed in
him.”3
Of his indifference to literary reputation we have a suffi¬
cient proof in the fact of his never having committed any
of his works to the press. For their preservation we are
chiefly indebted to James Fall, D.D. who had been prin¬
cipal of the university of Glasgow', and, having vacated his
office at the Revolution, was collated to the precentorship
oi the cathedral of York.4 The first of these posthumous
1 Pearson’s Life of Leighton, p. clxxiv. edit linn an tt- . .
3 Burnet’s Discourse of the Pastoral Care, p. 22 * 4th edit I ond ^rm n, Hlst“r^ ^hls. ownu Time; vo1-1 P- 228.
4 Diary of Ralph Thoresby, F.R.S. voi i n w n 1 17d6’ 8 , See llkTlse the preface to his Life of Bedell,
of Queensberry’s in London.” (Vol. ii. p 24 *1 Prnfps6 & f'r,w^r^,s rnenL°ns that he “ visited the excellent Dr Fall at the duke
“ edente quodam Jacobo Fall.” * P’ •) sor c olefield apparently considered him as some very obscure person:
L E I
jiton works is a volume of “ Sermons; published at the desire of
ujarcL |,js friends after his death, from his papers written with his
^ own hand.” Lond. 1692, 8vo. This was followed by his
“ Praelectiones Theologicae, in Auditorio Publico Acade¬
mic Edinburgense (dum Professoris Primarii munere ibi
fungeretur) habitae: una cum Paraenesibus in Comitiis
Academicis ad Gradus Magistralis in Artibus Candidates.
Quibus adjiciuntur Meditationes ethico-criticae in Psalmos
iv. xxxii. exxx. Ex Authoris autographo fideliter editc.”
Lond. 1693, 4to. Of a very recent date, there is a more
correct edition, published under the title of “ Robert!
Leighton, S. T. P. Archiepiscopi Glasguensis, Praelectiones
Theologicae; Paraeneses; et Meditationes in Psalmos iv.
xxxii. exxx. ethico-criticae. Editio nova, recensente Ja-
cobo Scholefield, A.M. R.S.L.S. Graecarum Literarum
apud Cantabrigienses Professore Regio, et Collegii SS.
Trinitatis nuper Socio.” Cantabrigiae, 1828, 8vo. An
English translation of the prelections and exhortations had
been published with the title of “ Theological Lectures, read
in the Publiek Hall of the University of Edinburgh ; to¬
gether with Exhortations to the Candidates for the Degree of
Master of Arts : translated from the original Latin.” Lond.
1763, 8vo. Mr Pearson is evidently mistaken in supposing
that these compositions had been translated by Dr Fall.
The Meditationes were translated under the inspection of
Dr Doddridge, and inserted in his edition of the author’s
works. Dr Fall next edited “ A practical Commentary upon
the first Epistle General of St Peter.” York and Lond. 1693
-4, 2 vols. 4to. The first volume was printed at York, and
the second at London. “ Perhaps,” says the late Mr Orme,
“there is no expository work in the English language equal
altogether to the exposition of Peter. It is rich in evange¬
lical sentiment and exalted devotion. The meaning is sel¬
dom missed, and often admirably illustrated. There is
learning without its parade, theology divested of systema¬
tic stiffness, and eloquence in a beautiful flow of unaffected
language and appropriate imagery.”1 These original edi¬
tions are most -incorrectly printed. The commentary was
followed by “ An Exposition of the Creed, Lord’s Prayer,
and ten Commandments; with two Discourses, on" St
Matth. xxii. 37, 38, 39, and Heb. viii. 10; to which is
annext a short Catechism.” Lond. 1701, 8vo. The vo¬
lume contains a portrait of the author, engraved by R.
White. Of his works edited by Dr Fall, the last is a small
collection of Tracts. Lond. 1708, 12mo. It includes the
Rules for a Holy Life, a Sermon, and the Catechism. Af¬
ter a considerable interval appeared “Select Works of Arch¬
bishop Leighton, some of which were never before printed.
To which is prefixed an account of the author’s life and cha¬
racter.” Edinb. 1746, 8vo. This publication was soon fol¬
lowed by “The Expository Works and other Remains of
Archbishop Leighton, some of which were never before
printed. Revised by P. Doddridge, D. D. with a preface
hy the doctor.” Edinb. 1748, 2 vols. 8vo. There are many
other editions of a subsequent date, but among these we
shall only specify that of Lond. 1825, 4 vols. 8vo. To this
collective edition, which has been more than once reprint¬
ed, the Rev. John Norman Pearson has prefixed a copious
life of the author, and has made some important additions
to the old stock of biographical materials. (x.)
LEIGHTON BUZZARD, or Beaudesekt, a market-
town of the hundred of Manshead, in the county of Bed¬
ford, forty-one miles from London. It is situated on a
branch of the river Ouse, and has a good market-place,
with a cross in the centre. The only trade is some lace-
niaking, and some plaiting of straw. There is a good mar¬
ket, which is held on Tuesday. The population of the
town amounted in 1801 to 1963, in 1811 to 2114, in 1821
LEI
217
Leith.
to 2749, and in 1831 to 3330, but the whole parish at the Leinster
last census contained 5149 inhabitants. II
LEINSTER, the eastern province of Ireland, bounded,
by Ulster on the north; by St George’s, or the Irish Channel,
on the east and south ; and by the provinces of Connaught
and Munster on the west. The capital city of this pro¬
vince and of the kingdom is Dublin. It contains twelve
counties, viz. Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, King’s
County, Longford, Louth, Meath, Queen’s County, West
Meath, Wexford, and Wicklow.
LEIPA, a city of the circle of Leutmeritz, in the Aus¬
trian kingdom of Bohemia. It stands on the river Polzen,
and has a gymnasium, 688 houses, and 4918 inhabitants.
It is a manufacturing place, producing linen and woollen
cloths, glass, and earthenware.
LEIPZIG, one of the circles into which the kingdom of
Saxony is divided. It extends over 1195 square miles, com¬
prehends twenty-three cities and towns, with 794 villages,
and contains 216,564 inhabitants. It consists of two parts,
Leipzig and Wurzen, which are again subdivided into
bailiwicks. The city of the same name is the capital. It
is situated on the river Pleisse ; is surrounded with walls,
which are useless for any defensive purpose ; and contains
a population, including the garrison and the university, of
38,000 persons. The university is more remarkable for
its learning than for the number of its students, but it has
a good library, observatory, anatomical theatre, and other
establishments for professional education. There are
one Catholic, one Reformed, and eight Lutheran churches.
Some of the streets are narrow, but the houses are large,
and the market-place is a fine square. It is a place abound¬
ing in manufactures of various kinds ; but few of them are
on an extensive scale, and most of them for articles of
convenience and luxury. It has a prosperous trade, chiefly
arising from its two great fairs, which are resorted to by
producers and consumers from all parts of Germany, many
of the former being from England, France, the Nether¬
lands, and Switzerland. It is the great emporium of Ger¬
man literature, where books, at whatever place printed,
are commonly published. It has been the scene of battles
in 1631 and in 1646, and especially in October 1813, when
the fate of the French empire was decided in what the
Germans have called “ the battle of nations.” Long. 12.
16. 31. E. Lat. 51. 20. 24. N.
LEITH, a populous sea-port town in the county of Edin¬
burgh, situated on the southern shore of the Frith of Forth,
at the mouth of the Water of Leith, and distant about a
mile and a half from the centre of the Scottish capital.
The ancient, name of the town, which is of considerable
antiquity, having been for several centuries not only the
first, but almost the only port in Scotland, was Inverleith,
a compound word of Gaelic origin, inver signifying in that
language the mouth of a river, and being thus descriptive
of the situation of the port.
Although there are traces of the existence of Leith in
ancient documents as far back as the twelfth century, yet
little is certainly known regarding it until the fourteenth,
when it had acquired such importance, and begun to hold *
out such prospects of commercial benefit, as to attract the
notice and excite the cupidity of the magistrates and ci¬
tizens of Edinburgh, who, with the view of availing them¬
selves of the advantages it offered for maritime adventure
and speculation, obtained a grant of its harbour and mills
from King Robert I. for the yearly payment of fifty-two
merks. This right they subsequently extended so far as
to secure almost the entire trade of the port, to the ex¬
clusion, and even ruin, oi its inhabitants, by purchases at
various times from Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig, who
VOL. XIII.
Orme’s Bibliotheca Biblica, p.. 288. Edinb. 1824, 8vo.
2 E
218 LEITH.
Leith, was proprietor and baronial lord of Leith ; and finally com-
pleted its feudal subjection by purchasing the superiority
of the town from Queen Mary, to whose mother, Mary of
Lorraine, it had been sold by Logan, in the year 1565, for
10,000 merks. Even at this early period, the trade of Leith
was considerable, at least comparatively so ; and not a few
names of celebrity in the ancient naval annals of Scotland
are found associated with it. From these we may select
that of the Bartons, famous as mariners in Scottish story.
Besides being a place of pretty high antiquity, Leith is
also one of no small note in the history of Scotland, having
been the scene of more military service perhaps than any
other town in the kingdom. Neither has it been less re¬
markable for the frequency of its misfortunes. In 1313 all
the vessels in the harbour were burned by the English, and
again in 1410. In 1488 (an occasion, however, on which
it suffered no injury) it was occupied by the forces com¬
manded by the disaffected lords who had risen in arms
against James III., after the defeat of the latter at Ban¬
nockburn. In 1544 it was plundered and burned, its pier
destroyed, and its shipping carried off, by the Earl of
Hertford, whom Henry VIII. had sent down by sea to
Scotland, with an army of 1.0,000 men, to avenge the in¬
sult which he conceived the Scotch had offered him, by
refusing to betroth their young queen, Mary, to his son
Prince Edward. Three years subsequently to this, viz. in
1547, immediately after the battle of Pinkey, it was again
plundered and burned by the English under Hertford,
now Duke of Somerset, and protector of England. On
this occasion, although the town itself did not suffer to the
same extent as before, its whole shipping, together with all
that in the Forth, was entirely annihilated by the English
admiral, Lord Clinton, who co-operated with Hertford
with a fleet of no less than thirty-five ships of war, besides
tenders and other vessels. Four years after this, the town
was fortified by Desse, a French general, who came over
with 6000 men to assist the queen-regent in suppressing
the Reformation. On the completion of these fortifica¬
tions, which consisted in throwing a strong and high wall,
with towers at intervals, around the town, the queen-re¬
gent took up her residence there, and, surrounded with
her countrymen, hoped to be able to maintain her autho¬
rity in the kingdom. These measures, however, had only
the effect of widening the breach between her and her
subjects, till they finally took up arms, and besieged her
in her stronghold. In October 1559, the lords of the con¬
gregation, as the disaffected leaders called themselves, in¬
vested Leith with an army, but after various ineffectual
attempts to gain access to the town by scaling the walls,
they were driven back with great slaughter by a despe¬
rate sally of the besieged.
In the month of April in the succeeding year, the forces
of the congregation again invested the town, being now aid¬
ed by an army of 6000 men under Lord Grey of Wilton,
which had been dispatched to their assistance by Eliza¬
beth. On this occasion the contest was protracted and
sanguinary, hundreds falling on both sides in the fierce as¬
saults and sallies which were daily made by the besiegers
and besieged respectively. For two months, during which
the town suffered dreadfully from famine, as well as from
the more violent casualties of war, the struggle continued,
without any decisive advantage being gained by either
side. At the end of that period, however, both'parties
being heartily tired of the contest, a treaty was entered
into, by which it was stipulated that the French should
evacuate the kingdom, that they should be allowed to em¬
bark unmolested, and that the English army should, upon
the same day, begin its march to England. Immediately
after the conclusion of this treaty, the walls of Leith were
demolished by order of the town-council of Edinburgh, and
no vestige of them now remains. The town, however, was
temporarily re-fortified by the Earl of Morton during the re- pc
gency of the Earl of Lennox, by whom it was constituted
the head-quarters of the king’s faction, and was thus once
more involved in the miseries of war. Some new fortifica¬
tions were shortly afterwards erected around it by the re¬
gent himself, who came to reside there, holding his. court
in the town, and making it the general rendezvous for the
friends of his party.
In giving this chronological sketch of the most remark¬
able events which distinguish Leith, it would be a defect to
omit noticing the landing, at that port, of the unfortunate
Queen Mary, when she came from France to take posses¬
sion of the throne of her ancestors. This event took place
on the morning of the 20th of August 1561, between the
hours of seven and eight o’clock. She landed upon the
pier; but that pier has long since ceased to exist.
In 1643 the solemn league and covenant was signed by the
inhabitants of Leith with great solemnity. Two years after¬
wards, the unhappy town was visited by the plague, by which
it was nearly depopulated. Many melancholy memorials of
this dreadful calamity have, up to a late period, been found
in its vicinity; amongst these, quantities of half-decayed
bones wrapped up in blankets, the remains of its unfortunate
victims, for whom there was not room in the church-yard, nor
time to provide them with the usual decencies of sepulture.
The next remarkable period in the annals of Leith is
the year 1650, when it was taken possession of by Crom¬
well, and subjected to a monthly assessment of about
L.22 sterling, besides the proportion of an exaction of
L.2400 Scots, which was levied by the conqueror on
Edinburgh and the vicinity, including Leith, immediately
on his arrival. Upon Cromwell’s return to England, Gene¬
ral Monk, who was appointed commander-in-chief in
Scotland, took up his residence in Leith, where he con¬
structed a strong fort, and established a regular garrison.
Some portions of this fort or citadel still remain, includ¬
ing the house in which Monk himself resided. The for¬
mer was of a pentagonal shape, and consisted of five bas¬
tions, with one principal gate fronting the east. The ex¬
pense of the whole was L.10,000 sterling. Whilst resi¬
dent in Leith, Monk induced a number of respectable Eng¬
lish families to come down and settle in the town. These
introduced with their wealth a spirit of mercantile adven¬
ture, besides establishing certain branches of manufacture
that greatly benefited the toum, and laid the foundation
of much of the prosperity which it has since enjoyed.
In 1715, the citadel was taken possession of by a party
of the adherents of the Stuart family, headed by one
Mackintosh of Borlum ; but, being threatened by the Duke
of Argyll, who was then in Edinburgh, with a strong mi¬
litary force, he evacuated the fort after dark, availing him¬
self of low-water to march his men over the sands, upon
which the citadel opened to the seaward; and with this
event terminates the military history of Leith.
For a long period Leith was celebrated for its horse¬
races. These were held during the recess of the tide, on
a large tract of sand lying on the east side of the town,
and were first established at the Restoration. Though far
inferior to a regular race-course, on account of the wet¬
ness of the sand, which rendered it exceedingly bad foot¬
ing for the horses, these races were long celebrated with
a spirit, and accompanied by a feeling of satisfaction and
universal joy, which is rarely witnessed on similar occa¬
sions at other places. The race-week was, indeed, con¬
sidered as a sort of carnival by the citizens of Edinburgh,
which during its continuance was crowded by persons of
rank and fashion from all parts of the kingdom. The
races were removed, in 1816, to the Links of Musselburgh,
a distance of about six miles, where the ground is much
better adapted for this pastime.
Leith, though, as already stated, a pretty ancient town,
L E
Lith. has not many antiquities of a very marked character to
boast of; modern improvement having swept them near¬
ly all away. Amongst the few of any note that remain
is the parish church of South Leith, a fine old Gothic
edifice, though of comparatively but small dimensions.
The precise date of the erection of this structure is not
known ; but it is certain that it was built previous to the
year 1496. Of the ancient pier, the pier on which the ill-
fated Mary landed in 1561, nothing now remains but a
few blackened stumps, which have been seen protruding
through the sand a little to the eastward of the present
pier; but, from the frequent shifting of the former, they
are rarely visible, and have now, we believe, disappeared
altogether. Upon the south-east side of the town, on
extensive downs, or, as they are called in Scotland, links,
are several mounds, which were raised by the besieging
army in 1560, and crowned with cannon. These are still
entire, and, to all appearance, precisely in the same state
in which they were left by those who constructed them.
The only other piece of antiquity that remains to be no¬
ticed is the old church of North Leith. This ancient
structure was founded in the year 1493, and was dedicat¬
ed to St Ninian. It was long the parish church of North
Leith, but has now been for many years disused for re¬
ligious purposes. To these memorials of other times may
be added a few private houses situated in the oldest parts
of the town, which, though now, for the most part, in a
dilapidated state,, and inhabited by the poorest classes,
bear evident marks of having been once of no small con¬
sideration. Amongst the ancient buildings of note that
have disappeared may be mentioned, 1$£, an ancient mo¬
nastery, founded in 1435, and dedicated to St Anthony;
its monks were of the order of St Augustin ; the establish¬
ment, which was a very extensive and magnificent one, was
situated at the head of the Kirkgate, but no trace of it
remains, excepting some vaults, now included in the pre¬
mises of a brewer. 2d, The King’s Work, a building of
great antiquity, and on good grounds believed to have been
a royal residence; it was situated at the foot of Bernard
Street, or rather between that street and the Broad Wynd;
but all vestige of it has long since disappeared. 3c?, The
old Tolbooth was erected in 1565, and occupied the site
of the present structure. 4t/i, Trinity-House, a very old
building, stood where the modern house stands. Lastly,
King James’s Hospital; this edifice, now entirely remov¬
ed, stood on the east side of the Kirkgate ; it was founded
by the church-session of South Leith in 1614, and endow¬
ed with certain lands and tenements belonging to the pre-
ceptory of St Anthony. Of the ancient pier, and of the
walls and citadel, we iiave spoken elsewhere.
Leith is divided into the parishes of North and South
Leith, the division being marked by the Water of Leith,
which intersects the town. The greater and principal part
of the latter, however, stands on the south side, where the
chief business of the place is conducted. The town alto¬
gether may be about from one mile and a half to two miles
in circumference; but, as it is in various places strag¬
gling and detached, it occupies more ground than would
bear a fair proportion to its population. It is for the
most part irregularly and confusedly built, and a great
I - portion of it is extremely filthy, crowded, and inelegant.
Some parts of it, again, are the reverse of this, being spa¬
cious, cleanly, and handsome. Such are two or three of
the modern streets, and various ranges of private dwel¬
lings erected of late years on the eastern and western skirts
of the town. Many of these, indeed, occupy situations and
command views of so pleasant a character as to render
them very desirable places of residence. The modern
public buildings of Leith worthy of remark are, the Ex¬
change Buildings, a large and elegant structure in the
Grecian style of architecture; they contain a spacious
I T H. 219
and handsome assembly-room, a commodious hotel, and Leith,
public j;eading-room, and the expense of the erection was y——^
L. 16,000: the Custom-house, situated in North Leith,
is also a very splendid building; it was erected in 1812,
at an expense of L.12,000: the Leith Bank, a neat little
edifice, erected in 1805-6 : the new Court-house, by far the
most elegant building in the town, and forming altoge¬
ther, whether the chasteness of the design or the neat¬
ness of the workmanship be considered, a very favourable
specimen of modern architecture on a small scale.. The
grammar school is a spacious building, of an oblong figure,
in the Grecian style, erected in 1805-6.
Sea-field Baths.—These are situated at the distance of
about half a mile from the town. They were erected in
1813, at an expense of L.8000, raised in shares of fifty gui¬
neas each. The building is large and handsome, and, besides
the baths, contains a hotel; but it has not been a thriving
speculation. The Trinity-House is another handsome
though small edifice, in the Grecian style. It was erected in
the year 1817, at an expense of L.2500. The Tolbooth
is a new structure, in the Saxon style of architecture.
It has several suits of well-lighted apartments; but, never
having been legalized, is not used as a jail, the new court¬
house being employed for that purpose, although only as
a place of temporary confinement, offenders against the
laws being sent as soon as possible to Edinburgh. The
Markets of Leith are both spacious and handsome. They
were erected in 1819, and include a butcher-market, which
is of an octangular form, surrounded with neatly-fitted up
stalls, well lighted wuti^gas'; a fish-market; and poultry and
vegetable markets.
The ecclesiastical statistics of Leith include the parish
church of South Leith, which has been already spoken of.
This charge is collegiate, one of the two ministers being
appointed by the crown, the other by the magistrates and
incorporated trades. It became the parochial place of
worship in 1609, and was originally dedicated to St Mary.
This parish has a chapel of ease of spacious dimensions.
The parish church of North Leith is an exceedingly
handsome though plain structure, surmounted by a lofty
and tasteful spire. The stipend of the clergyman, who
is appointed by the inhabitants, is reckoned one of the
best in the Church of Scotland, and includes the tithe, now
commuted into money, of all fish landed on,, the beach.
To these fall to be added a neat though small English
chapel, one Methodist, one Relief, one Independent, and
three United Secession churches, capable altogether of
containing, including the two parish churches and chapel
of ease, upwards of 10,000 persons.
The charitable institutions of Leith are, a female socie¬
ty for relieving indigent and sick women ; a society for
relieving the destitute sick; the sympathetic society ; a
female school of industry; and a charity school for boys.
To these may be added the Trinity-House, formed on
the usual principles, for the relief of indigent or superan¬
nuated mariners.
• The chief manufactures of Leith are ropes and cordage,
sail-cloth, bottles, soap, and candles. Ship-building is also
carried on there to a considerable extent. There are like¬
wise several breweries, a distillery, and an extensive sugar¬
refining establishment. Crown-glass was also till lately
manufactured there on a large scale; but not having been
found a profitable speculation, it has been abandoned.
Hitherto we have treated of Leith merely as a town : we
shall now' proceed to consider it as a sea-port. For this it
possesses no natural advantages ; and the consequence has
been a perpetual struggle, attended with enormous expense,
to supply its deficiencies by works of art, and hitherto with¬
out by any means attaining fully either the objects aimed
at, or a commensurate benefit for the outlay incurred.
The trade of Leith, as we have elsewhere said, has been
220
LEITH.
Leith, considerable for several centuries past; but notwithstand- It would appear, however, that the natural disadvanta-
^ ing this, it was not till the year 1720 that any thing of ges of Leith are so great, and of so irremediable a charac" w!
importance was done for the improvement of its harbour, ter, that no ingenuity nor expense can ever wholly over-
In that year a dock was formed on the east side of it, and come them, or make it more than a mere tidal harbour and
that part of the present pier which is of. stone erected, even as that, but a very indifferent one. At present not-
Fifty-seven years after this (for so long an interval occur- withstanding all that has been done for it, it will not at
red before any other improvement was attempted), a small any time admit of vessels of more than 400 tons, and not
quay, called the custom-house quay, was built; but these always of ships approaching that burthen; circumstances
trifling accommodations being found wholly inadequate to which, when added to its heavy charges, must always great-
the increasing demands of the port, the city of Edinburgh, ]y limit its prosperity. ^ °
in the year 1799, obtained an act of parliament authorizing The collection of the revenues of the docks and harbour
them to borrow L.160,000, to enable them to form the pre- of Leith is in the hands of the corporation of Edinburah
sent superb wet-docks designed by Mr John Rennie, ci- and the business of management is invested in a commis-
vil engineer. These docks, of which there are two, were sion, formed by persons nominated both by Edinburgh and
begun in the year 1800, and were completed in 1817. by Leith.
Each of them measures 250 yards in length and 100 in The general trade of the port has of late years been upon
breadth, and both include a space equal to 10^ English the whole, rather on the decrease. In 1826 the tonnage
acres. On the northern side are three graving docks, each belonging to Leith was 25,674 tons; in 1832, 23 094 ton's •
136 feet long and forty-five wide at bottom, and 150 feet in 1835, 22,073 tons; thus showing a progressive decay
long by seventy feet wide at the top, with an entrance of At one time it enjoyed nearly all the Baltic trade in the
the width of thirty-six feet. The whole of these works east of Scotland, but a great portion of this has now found
are protected from the sea by a strong retaining wall. At its way to Kirkcaldy, Dundee, and Aberdeen. Durin°-the
average spring tides the depth of water in the wet-docks war, too, it was the principal naval station to which prizes
is sixteen feet nine inches; and at average neap tides, were brought for condemnation ; a source of benefit which
twelve feet nine inches. They are lined on the south side it has likewise lost. Like many other towns also, it has suf-
by a row of lofty and spacious warehouses for bonding and fered severely by foreign speculations; but unlike some
storing foreign liquors and other goods. of these, it seems never to have entirely recovered from its
The expense of these works amounted altogether to misfortunes,
about L.285,000, of which L.265,000 was subsequently The opening of the Union Canal has likewise operated
borrowed by the city of Edinburgh from government, at unfavourably for Leith, in as far, in particular, as regards its
the rate of five per cent, interest, of which three per coal trade, of which it has deprived it of nearly one half,
cent, was to be the rate of interest payable annually, and The quantity of this article formerly brought into Leith aver-
two per cent, to go to a sinking fund. This rate of inte- aged about 57,000 tons annually. It does not at present
rest, however, was, for certain considerations, reduced to much exceed 33,000. A branch railway, however is now
four per cent, for twelve years. The security given by being introduced into Leith from Musselburgh and other
the city for this loan was a preferable claim on the whole places, which may have the effect of improving this de-
of their Leith property, and a concurrent claim with other partment of its trade.
creditors over the entire property of the city of Edinburgh, Leith enjoys a small West India trade, chiefly carried on
besides ceding a part of the docks and shire-ground to the by Glasgow merchants. This trade, again, is improving
admiralty. Of this debt the sinking-fund cleared off and now employs shipping to the amount of 1768 tons be-
about L.25,000, but subsequent arrears have left it nearly ing an increase of upwards of 1000 tons within the last
in its original state. ten years. At some previous periods, however, it has em-
since the improvements above mentioned were effected, ployed an amount nearly equal to the former,
another has taken place in the extension of the pier, and The coasting trade of Leith is still pretty extensive and
in the formation of a covering bulwark; the former at the its foreign trade, particularly with the north of Europe
expense (L.28,000) of the city of Edinburgh, the latter considerable. The chief imports in the latter are cheese’
(L.12,000) at that of government. The addition which bark, hides, tallow, timber, rags, and flax. Lar^e quanti-
has been made to the length of the pier is 2550 feet, mak- ties of wine and tobacco are also imported into Leith
ing it altogether upwards of half a mile in length. The ob- The following tables will give a correct idea of the
ject proposed by this extension, and the erection of the bul- amount of the trade of the port, with its fluctuations • in
wark, was to increase the depth of water in the channel, the one case, during the last ten years; in the other dur-
an effect which it has had to the extent of about two feet, ing three parts of a century.
Account of Dues levied on Shipping and Goods at Leith from 1825 to 1835, both inclusive.
Years.
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
On Vessels.
L. s. d.
8941 18 2
9908 17 3
8461 3 10
7690 11
8302 2
ql
On Goods Imported. On Goods Exported, i Total Amount.
9
9506 4 11
9749 17 8A
9061 15 U±
9104 9
9626 9
9254 5
L. s. d.
11,277 14 5
9,661 3 9
9,070 9 2|
8,258 9 8
8,852 10 0
8,432 19 5
8,845 8 61
8,072 16 8
7,632 • 3 0
8,569 19 61
7,898 16 2i
//. s. d.
965 16 6
962 13 4
930 0 5
971 4 2
1048 3 2
1018 15 4
1096 6 9
1204 17 8
1365 4 7
1353 14 1
1402 15 2
L.
21,185
20,532
18,461
16,920
18,202
18,957
19,691
18,339
18,101
19,550
18,555
5-1-
°2
9
14
13
5 H
15 11
19 8
13 0
10 31
17 2*
3 21
16 61
The feus, rents, and other revenues at the wet docks, for the year 1836, amounted to L.3108. 19s. 3id.
LEI
I'th.
Amount of Skipping entering Leith since 1760.
Years. Tons.
1760 34,000
1770 66,000
1781  63,000
1788 117,000
1801 186,000
1810 266,000
1815 257,000
1818 341,000
1821 312,000
1824 342,000
1827 365,000
1830 308,000
1832 309,000
1834  340,000
1835  340,540
The want of a sufficient depth of water, as has been else¬
where remarked, is one of the great disadvantages under
which Leith labours. At present, after all that has been
done to remedy this evil, there are only seventeen feet
water on the bar at high water during spring-tides, and only
fourteen during neap tides. The depth of water is indi¬
cated to vessels approaching, or at anchor in the roads,
from a small light-house erected on the pier, by a train of
signals during the day, and at night by a stationary light,
which is exhibited whilst there are nine feet water on the
bar.
Vessels that do not choose to enter the harbour, or that
cannot enter it in consequence of drawing too much water,
anchor in the roads off the town, at the distance of about
a mile and a half or two miles, where they have from four
to six fathoms water, with good anchorage ground.
There are three companies belonging to the town, en¬
gaged in the London and Leith trade, who have altogether
eighteen vessels in constant intercourse with the two ports.
One of these companies has, besides, three large steam¬
ships for passengers and goods in the same trade. There
is also a company in the Leith and Hull trade, with five
vessels; a company in the Liverpool and Leith trade, with
five vessels ; a company in the Leith and Newcastle trade,
with four vessels ; one in the Hamburg and Rotterdam
trade, with eight vessels ; one in the Aberdeen trade, with
four vessels ; one in the Inverness trade, with two vessels ;
one in the trade with Wick, with two vessels ; one in the
Helmsdale trade, with one vessel; one in the Greenock
trade, with four vessels ; besides companies which trade
with different parts of Fife, with Dundee, Stirling, and
other places. To these may be added, a Newcastle steam¬
er, which sails once a week in winter, and twice a week
in summer; two regular traders to Peterhead, one to Ber¬
wick, and one to Banff.
There are five vessels belonging to the port, engaged in
the Greenland trade. Formerly, that is, within these three
or four years, there were seven, but they are now reduced
to the number stated.
The municipal government of Leith was formerly vested
virtually, and at an earlier period literally, in the town
council of Edinburgh, which exercised an uncontrolled ju¬
dicial authority over the town and suburbs. But by a bill
vYilliam 3 and 4, cap. 77, passed on the 28th August 1833,
and which came into operation on the first Tuesday of No¬
vember following, Leith was rendered wholly independent
of the city of Edinburgh in the constitution and exercise
0 ’ts municipal government, the latter being invested in
a provost, four bailies, and twenty-five councillors, with
their officers, to be chosen by the inhabitants by popular
election. *
The judicial authority of Edinburgh over Leith, there-
01 e, is now entirely abolished, and the former discharged
L E I 221
from interfering with or exercising any control over the Leitomis-
affairs of the town. This, however, does not extend to the chel
city’s rights in the harbour and docks, nor to the revenues Jl
arising therefrom, which remain untouched. The provost Leitrim-
and treasurer remain each three years in office, whilst the
councillors go out by a special order of rotation specified
in the act.
By the same act the admiralty jurisdiction, which wTas
formerly invested in the council of Edinburgh, has been
transferred to the provost and magistrates of Leith; the for¬
mer being admiral, and the latter depute-admirals, inherit¬
ing all the rights, power, and privileges connected with this
jurisdiction enjoyed by the body by which it was formerly
exercised.
Leith has also a resident sheriff-substitute, an officer of
recent appointment, who holds a small debt court every
Friday. This functionary, whose salary is L.200 per an¬
num, is paid out of the funds of the burgh ; but this burden
on the latter ceases with the death or removal of the pre¬
sent incumbent, Leith being declared relieved in such case
from all charge for any future sheriff-substitute that may
Wb appointed. Leith, together with Musselburgh, includ¬
ing Fisherrow, Portobello, and Newhaven, returns a mem¬
ber to parliament. The town is lighted with coal-gas,
manufactured there by a joint-stock company ; and is sup¬
plied with water by a branch of the pipes by which Edin¬
burgh is furnished with that article.
Ihe town’s expenses are defrayed by a heavy assessment
upon the inhabitants. Neither literature nor the fine arts
are much cultivated in Leith. A laudable and successful
attempt, however, has been made to introduce at least one
branch of the latter, viz. music. In 1830, a Philharmonic
Society was instituted, which has since acquired consider¬
able celebrity. There are also two public subscription
libraries, and a mechanics’ institution, with a library and lec¬
ture-room, in the Exchange Buildings.
Having concluded our sketch of Leith, we have only to
add, that we have studiously avoided all allusion to the
protracted disputes in which it has been engaged with the
city of Edinburgh, not thinking these fit matter for a work
of this nature. The population of the parishes of North
and South Leith in 1831 was 26,000, and is now estimated
at 30,000.
LEITOMISCHEL, a city of the circle of Chrudim, in
the Austrian kingdom of Bohemia. It stands on the river
Lauzna, and contains 634 houses, with 4653 inhabitants,
who are occupied in making muslins and other cotton goods,
and in distilleries. There is a college with six professors,
and a gymnasium or public classical school.
LEITRIM, a maritime county of the province of Con¬
naught, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by tlie Atlantic
and the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh, on the east
by the counties of Fermanagh and Cavan, on the south by
those of Longford and Roscommon, and on the west by
Roscommon and Sligo. In shape it has been compared to
an hour-glass, broad at both ends, and contracted in the
middle. Its greatest length, measured from south-east to
north-west, is fifty-two miles; its breadth where broadest is
twenty, and where narrowest not more than seven miles;
extending over an area of 420,375 acres, of which 266,640,
or little more than one half, are cultivated land, 128,167
are bog or unimproveable mountain, and 25,568 are under
water.
The county, which derives its name from an obscure vil¬
lage on the Shannon, is supposed to have formed part of
the region inhabited by the tribe of the Nagnatae in the
time of Ptolemy. The Irish chroniclers distinguish it by
the name of Hy-Brune-Brefine, or Brennie. The family
of O’Ruarck, which derived its descent from Roderic, king
of Ireland, held in it the rank of chieftain ; and under
him were those of O’Murrey, M‘Loghlin, M‘Glanchie, and
222
LEITRIM.
Leitrim. M‘Granell. It was made shire-ground, together with the
other counties in Connaught, by Queen Elizabeth ; and is
now divided into the five baronies of Carrigallon, Droma-
haire, Leitrim, Mohill, and Rosclogher. These baronies are
subdivided into seventeen parishes, of which ten are in the
diocese of Kilmore, and seven in that of Ardagh. For the
greater convenience of transacting the sessional business
of the county, it is divided into two districts; that of Manor-
Hamilton in the north, comprising the baronies of Ros¬
clogher and Dromahaire; and that of Carrick-on-Shannon to
the south, comprehending the three southern baronies.
The climate is not only colder than the more southern
counties, but also moister, owing to the number and height
of the mountains with which the greater part of its sur¬
face is overspread. The whole of the northern part of the
county is mountainous. Lugnaquilla, the most elevated
of the mountains, rises to the height of 14*85 feet; Benbo
is 1403 feet high; Lacka, 1315 ; the Green Mountain, 950
feet. More southerly are Slieve-an-Eirin and Bencroi.
Large tracts of ground comparatively level are to be found
in the southern part of the county, the greater part of which
is Veil wooded, fertile, and abounding in picturesque scenery.
The soil in general is stiff, heavy, cold, and wet. The tops
and sides of most of the hills are covered with a thin fer¬
ruginous loam, based upon a hard gravel. The valleys,
which are in general w ell watered, are of a quality superior
to the hills, deeper in mould, and much more fertile. The
more level tracts, already noticed, are a dark rich soil on a
limestone bottom.
The county is not more remarkable for its mountains
than for its lakes. The principal is Lough Allen, situated
in its centre, where narrowest. It is eight miles long from
north to south, and fourVhere broadest, and may be look¬
ed upon as the great reservoir and distributer of all the
running water in the county, and the embryo feeder of
every canal that may be made to traverse it. Storms on
this lake are violent, and the waves run very high. The boat¬
men who navigate it assert that it is unfathomable in some
parts. A few miles to the north is Lough Clean, or Bel-
hovel Lake, which discharges its waters into Lough Allen
by a stream of some magnitude. Several smaller sheets
of water are scattered throughout the southern baronies.
On the borders are Lough Gill, Lough Melvyn, Lough
Cane, and Lough Boffin. The Shannon is said by some
writers to take its rise in Lough Clean, but its source is
more generally reputed to be in Quilca Mountain, where it
is known by the name of Avonmore, or the Great River, to
distinguish it from the many lesser streams that, like it,
contribute to feed the great central lake. Issuing from the
southern extremity of Lough Allen, it forms the western
boundary o^f the county. The Bonnet rises near Lough Clean,
and falls into Lough Gilly. The small rivers Bundrows and
Brinduff, which separate Leitrim from Donegal and Sligo,
contain between their mouths the scanty line of three miles
of sea-coast belonging to the county. Many other streams,
too small to be particularly noticed, and discharging them¬
selves into some of the numerous lakes or larger rivers,
afford a copious and perennial supply of water.
The central parts of the county form part of the great
coal-fields of Ireland. The principal vein is in Bencroi
Mountain, the summit of which is bog. The works origi¬
nally belonged to the O’Reillys, from whom they devolved
by mortgage to one of the Latouche family, who, after a
very great expenditure, relinquished them. The coal is not
considered as of good quality. Coal has also been found in
the hill of Lacka, and in Lugnaquilla, where it crops out
at an elevation of about 1170 feet above the sea level, at
Meneask. Iron-ore abounds in the Slieve-na-Eirin, or Iron
Mountain. On its northern side, where the interior has
been denuded by the mountain floods, the metal shows it¬
self in large quantities, alternating with strata of limestone.
The ore here is considered as richer than that of Roscom¬
mon. It was worked until the failure of timber and the
want of a sufficient supply of mineral coal put a stop to the
operations. Indications of the same ore are to be found in
several other parts of the mountainous district, and even in
the interior of the plain country, near the Shannon. In¬
deed the soil is so deeply and extensively impregnated
with it, that the inhabitants, who have not the means of
rendering it profitable, denounce it as the bane of the
country. Lead has been found near Lurganboy. Upon the
north side of Benbo Mountain are pits whence copper has
been extracted. Manganese is also found in large quan¬
tities, as is pipe clay, yellow ochre, white and brown chalks,
clays of various hues, and sand suited for the manufacture
of glass. The substratum of the parts of the county north
and south ot the coal and iron district is chiefly limestone,
interspersed occasionally with sandstone. Benbo is granitic.
The quantity of bog is estimated to occupy 7234 acres.
Its general depth is thirty feet, and it rests on a stratum of
marl or blue clay. The highest level of any of the bogs
above the Shannon at Lough Reagh is 114 feet, that of the
lowest twenty-nine. All are so far elevated as to admit of
drainage. There is a sulphureous spa at Drumsna, in high
repute for cutaneous disorders, and by many considered
as more effective than that of Swadlinbar. There are also
others of the same quality at Annaghduff, Meelock, and
Attymanus, and in some other places. Cavan spa is a
chalybeate, issuing from the southern part of a peninsula
in the north of Lough Allen. Oakfield spa, likewise cha¬
lybeate, is near the sea. Both are visited for their sup¬
posed sanative qualities.
The population, like that of every other part of Ireland,
has been progressively on the increase ever since any series
of systematic observations have been directed to ascertain
it. The following are the most important epochs of its
increase :—
1750 De Burgho 26,142
1792 Beaufort 50,000
1813 Parliamentary census 94,095
1821 Ditto 124,785
1831   Ditto 141,303
The foregoing table exhibits an increase upwards of
quintuple in seventy years. But it is to be observed, that
the ratio of increase between the first and last parliamen¬
tary census, which may be deemed to have been taken
with greater accuracy than those of former years, which
rest chiefly on conjectural computation, does not establish
the authenticity of such a rapid increase. The average of
population to the superficial contents of the county gives
a rate of one inhabitant to one acre and eighty-eight hun¬
dred parts.
This population was represented in the Irish House of
Commons by six members, two for the county at large,
and two for each ot the close boroughs of Carrick-on-
Shannon and Jamestown. The union struck off the bo¬
rough representatives, and as no change has been made in
this point by the reform act, the county now sends but two
members to the imperial parliament. The state of the
constituency, as affected by the legislative alterations made
since the passing of the Catholic emancipation bill, by which
the right of the forty-shilling freeholders to vote in the
election of representatives wras abolished, exhibits the fol¬
lowing results:—
Date. L.50. L.20. L.10. 40s. Total.
Jan. 1829, 174 86 —- 6101 6361
Jan. 1830, 196 128 278 — 602
Jan. 1832, 156 144 1018 — 1318
Hence it appears, that whilst, previously to the extinc¬
tion of the forty-shilling freeholders, there was one elector
for every four families nearly, the number was reduced,
after the change, to one for every eighteen.
LEITRIM.
223
1* rim
The state of crime may be estimated, to a certain degree,
■''from the following return of the numbers committed for
criminal offences during the seven years ending December
1834, viz:—
1828  380 1832 293
1829  372 1833 389
1830  282 1834 330
1831  209
The foregoing statement is taken from the annual re¬
port of the inspectors-general of prisons. Another return
from the county officers gives the following result for the
year 1834, which is both more specific, and varies from the
other in no small degree as to the number of committals.
The great excess of persons discharged unpunished above
those convicted presents a very extraordinary character¬
istic as to the administration of justice in this, as in many
other counties. Capital executions are very uncommon
here.
Committals in 1834 628
Convictions   109
Acquittals by jury 153
No bills found 66
No prosecution 208
Bailed and not tried 5
Remaining for trial 87
Total not convicted 519
The state of public education, as collected from the par¬
liamentary inquiries in 1821 and 1824-28, may be inferred
from the following table. The information on this inte¬
resting topic, collected by the late commission of public
instruction, having been made up according to dioceses,
instead of counties, as had been the case in the preceding
parliamentary returns, precludes the possibility of giving
a statement either of the numbers of children receiving in¬
struction, or of the comparative amount of the different re¬
ligious persuasions, for the year 1834.
Sex not
Year.
Boys. Girls. , Total.
ascertained.
1821, 3580 1609 _ 5,189
1824-6, 6736 3627 770 11,135
Of the numbers in the latter of these returns, 2147 were
of the established church, twenty-seven were dissenters,
7757 Roman catholics, and 1204 whose religious persuasion
could not be ascertained. The total number of schools was
242, of which twenty-one, educating 1181 pupils, were
maintained by grants of public money; sixty-four, edu¬
cating 3113, derived their support from private contribu¬
tions^; and the remaining 157 schools, educating 6841 pu¬
pils, were supported wholly by the fees of those who re¬
ceived instruction in them.
The quantity of land under tillage is small, and the
plough little used excepting in the champaign districts. In
the other parts the mode of culture is by the loy, a narrow
spade with a long handle. I he hills are generally steep,
and, though abounding with stones, are tough, and retentive
of moisture. The loy penetrates into this species of soil
more easily than the common broad spade, and the length
of its handle serves as a lever to overcome the resistance
of the tenacious soil. Potatoes are planted with a steveen,
which is a stake about four feet long and three inches in
diameter, tapering to a point at the lower end, near which
a cross piece is fixed to rest the foot on whilst pressing the
implement into the ground. The seed is dropped into the
lole thus made, which is then filled up with mould. Oats
are the general crop ; barley is but little grown ; rye and
wheat still less. Flax forms a part of the usual rotation
o crops, lillage farms are small; those for grazing are
0 considerable size, and often held by several tenants in
common. The grasses are mostly natural, and in general
excellent, producing fat and well-flavoured meat, and ex- Leitrim,
cellent milk and butter. Dairies of large size are seldomv'—
to be met with, but every small farmer produces butter
to dispose of at some of the neighbouring markets. Green
food is seldom used. The cattle are housed in some parts
from December to May, whilst in others they are left out
during the winter. The usual fence is a drain, backed at
one side with a bank of clammy aluminous earth, about
three or four feet high. The ditch thus made soon har¬
dens into a consistency nearly equal to brick, and answers
every purpose of fencing except against sheep, in which
case it is topped with brushwood. Stone-walls are few.
Hawthorn hedges are to be met with in some parts. Ma¬
nures are rich and abundant. Every part has a command
of limestone, eithersolid, or in gravel or marl. The far¬
mers living upon the confined verge of sea-coast within
the county industriously take advantage of the sea-weeds,
shells, and gravel found there. Much attention is paid to
the collection of every kind of manure. The farm-houses
are generally long, narrow buildings, of one story high, with
a^ yard before them, of which the offices form the sides.
The repairs are always made by the landlord, a custom
very uncommon in other counties. Leases are generally
for three lives, or thirty-one years. Non-alienation clauses
are common, and the tenant is sometimes bound down to
manure a certain portion of the land.
4 he manufactures are confined to that of coarse linen,
the weaving of which is carried on to a considerable ex¬
tent. Potteries of coarse vessels are numerous about Lei¬
trim and Dromahaire. The only navigable river by which
an inland trade can be carried on is the Shannon. About
fifty years ago a canal was opened from near Longford to
Battlebridge, about three miles south of Lough Allen, in
order to form a water communication thence to Lime¬
rick. This canal, if completed to the lough, would enable
boats to ply thence to Dublin by its connection with the
Royal Canal at Tarmenbarry. There are no fisheries of
any consequence, although many kinds of fresh-water fish,
particularly perch, may be caught in great abundance.
The general food of the peasantry is potatoes and oaten
bread, with butter and eggs occasionally, and flesh meat
at the great festivals. The clothing is neat, clean, and
substantial; the coat usually of native frize, and the waist¬
coat and breeches of corduroy. In their general demean¬
our the peasantry are kind, warm-hearted, and amenable
to the laws. I hey are, like those of most other parts of
Ireland, singularly ^attached to peculiar places of inter¬
ment. One of the most frequented of these is on a small
island near the entrance of the Shannon into Lough Nea<di
where there are the remains of a church. It has been from
time immemorial the burying-place for the residents in all
the surrounding country; and when access to it is prevent¬
ed on such occasions, by the stormy state of the lake, the
friends of the deceased prefer remaining on the shore by
the putrefying corpse, until the weather become favourable
enough to permit a passage across, to removing it for in¬
terment elsewhere. The frequent occurrence of fatal ac¬
cidents in these funereal voyages induced a neighbourino-
gentleman to have a piece of ground upon the adjoinino-
mainland consecrated as a cemetery, but to no purpose.
The survivors preferred awaiting all chances of weather
rather than relinquish the idea of depositing the bones of
their departed friend with those of his forefathers. The
mountainous districts are thickly peopled, but have few re¬
sident pioprietois. Ihe lowest classes there speak Irish.
They have a singular custom, when thev have recourse to
blood-letting, of opening a vein in each arm, in order to
let the blood run even. Dancing is the favourite amuse¬
ment in convivial meetings; every one is fond of display¬
ing his agility in this enlivening exercise. At weddings
the men ride to the place of worship, each horseman
221
L E I
L E L
Leixlip. having a woman behind him, except the bridegroom, who
rides single. When a person is seen ridingPon a pyebald
horse, it is considered as a sign that he is a physician.
The cabin-doors in these districts are of wicker-work, lined
in the inside by a mat. The harness for the cattle is ex¬
ceedingly rude, being little more than a hay rope or band.
The people in the neighbourhood of the iron-works ap¬
pear to live in a state of extreme misery. They are
wretchedly clothed, and dwell in mud houses filled with
smoke. The vicinity of the three counties of Leitrim,
Cavan, and Sligo to each other, gives occasion to party
feuds, which often lead to desperate battles between hos¬
tile clans or factions, that never terminate without blood¬
shed, and not unfrequently with loss of life.
There are but few remains of ancient Irish antiquities.
The most remarkable are two druidical altars ; one very
large near Fenagh, the other of smaller dimensions at Let-
terfyan. They are called by the natives Leaba Dearmud
is Graine, or Darby’s and Graine’s bed. The principal
monastic buildings of which any vestiges can now be
traced, are the following. Crevlea, near the river Bonnet,
built by Margaret, widow of O’Ruarck, in 1509. The walls,
which are nearly entire, have on them some curious figures,
and contain several antique monuments. Fionagh, in
Fenagh parish, still exhibits a window of fine workmanship :
the place was anciently celebrated as a school of divinity,
and was resorted to by students from many parts of Europe.
A Franciscan friary, at Jamestown, was remarkable in the
eventful period of 1641, as being the place where the Ro¬
man Catholic clergy assembled, and nominated commis¬
sioners to treat with such foreign powers as were willing to
assist them in their struggle against the usurped authori¬
ties which then governed England. Clone, near a small river
of the same name in Mohill barony, has still some ruins to
point out its site. Mohill Abbey, Annaghduff, and Drum-
leas, have been converted into parish churches. Some
others are known only by name. Amongst the military an¬
tiquities maybe noticed O’Rorke’s Hall, atDromahaire, near
the Bonnet, the destruction of which was expedited by
using its materials for the construction of the neighbouring
castle of Dromahaire, supposed to have been built by Sir
William Villiers in the year 1628. Other castles, built by
various members of the O’Ruarck family, are those of Long-
field, Cloncorrick, Castle Cor, undone on the banks of Lough
Gill. Woodford House is built on the site of another of
the O’Ruarcks’ castles. Manor-Hamilton Castle, built by Sir
Frederick Hamilton, in the reign of Elizabeth, is by much
the largest, best built, and handsomest in the county. Castle
John stands on an island in the little lake of Lough Scur.
Dungarbery Castle, near the sea, is of the era of Elizabeth.
The population of Leitrim may be said to be wholly
rural: no town in it contains two thousand inhabitants.
Carrick-on-Shannon, the county town, where the assizes are
held, and all the public business transacted, contains no
more than 1428 inhabitants. Though well circumstanced
for inland trade, from its situation on a fine navigable river,
no advantage has been taken of its position. Its only pub¬
lic buildings are a court-house, a jail, a chapel of ease, and
a barrack. The mail-coach road to Sligo passes through
it. The only other towns whose population exceeds a thou¬
sand souls are, Mohill, which contains 1606, and Manor-
Hamilton, which has 1348 inhabitants.
LEIXLIP, a post and fair town of Ireland, pleasantly
situated in the county of Kildare and province of Leinster,
about eight miles from Dublin. Near it are the ruins of
the church and castle of Confy. The castle of Leixlip is
beautifully situated on the banks of the river Liffey. It is a
fine edifice, with large and pleasant gardens, at one side of
which is a fine waterfall called the Salmon leap, there be¬
ing plenty of that species of fish hereabouts. A mile from
this is Castletown, the magnificent seat of Mr Conolly.
LELAND, John, an eminent English antiquarian, was
born in London about the year 1507. Having lost his v
parents when a child, he had the good fortune to find a
friend and patron in a Mr Thomas Myles, who placed him
in St Paul’s school, of which the grammarian William Lilly
was master. From that school he was sent to Christ’s Col¬
lege, Cambridge, whence, after some years’ residence, he
removed to All Souls, Oxford. From Oxford he went to
Paris, chiefly with a design to study the Greek language,
which at that time was but little understood in this king¬
dom. Upon his return to England he took orders, and was
soon afterwards appointed chaplain to King Henry VIII.,
who also gave him the rectory of Poppeling, in the marches
of Calais ; appointed him his librarian ; and in 1533 granted
to him, by commission under the great seal, the office of
king’s antiquary, an office never borne by any other per¬
son before or since. By this commission he was em¬
powered to search for ancient writings in all the libraries
of abbeys, priories, colleges, cathedrals, and places where
“ records, writings, and secrets of antiquity were reposited”
in his majesty’s dominions. We are informed by one of his
biographers, that he renounced popery soon after his return
to England ; but no authority is quoted for his statement.
Be this as it may, in 1536 he obtained a dispensation to
keep a curate at Poppeling, and set out on his journey in
quest of antiquities. In this employment he spent six years,
during which time he visited every part of England where
monuments of antiquity were expected to be found. After
his return, in the year 1542, he was presented by the king
to the rich rectory of Haseley in Oxfordshire ; and in the fol¬
lowing year Henry gave him a prebend of King’s College,
now Christ’s Church, Oxford, besides that of East and West
Knowle, in the cathedral of Salisbury. Being thus amply
provided for, he retired to a house of his own in the parish
of St Michael le Querne in London, where he spent six
years more in digesting the materials which he had col¬
lected. Henry VIII. died in 1547; and in a short time
afterwards poor Leland appears to have lost his senses. He
was at first seized with a deep melancholy, which was suc¬
ceeded by a total deprivation of reason. In this lamentable
state he continued till the beginning of the year 1552, when
he was happily released by death. He was buried in the
church of St Michael le Querne, which was destroyed by
the fire in 1666. Leland was a man of great learning, an ac¬
complished linguist, and an indefatigable and skilful anti¬
quarian. Upon his death, Edward VI. gave all Leland’s
papers to Sir John Cheke, his tutor, and Latin secretary of
state. When this king died, Sir John, being obliged to
leave the kingdom, gave to Mr Humphrey Purefoy four
folio volumes of Leland’s collections, which, in 1612, were
transferred by his son to William Burton, author of the
history of Leicestershire. This gentleman also became
possessed of the Itinerary in eight vols. folio, which, in
1632, he deposited in the Bodleian Library. After the
death of Sir John Cheke, many other of Leland’s manu¬
scripts fell into the hands of Lord Paget, Sir William Cecil,
and others, and at last fortunately came into the possession
of Sir John Cotton. These were of great use to all our
succeeding antiquarians, particularly Camden, Dugdale,
Stowe, Lambard, Batteley, and Antony Wood. His Iti¬
nerary throughout most parts of England and Wales was
published by Mr Hearne, in nine vols. 8vo, 1710-1711; as
was also his Collectanea de Rebus Britannicis, six vols. 8vo,
1715.
Leland, John, a distinguished writer in defence of the
Christian religion, was born at Wigan, Lancashire, in 1691,
and descended of eminently pious and virtuous parents, who
took the earliest care to season his mind with proper in¬
structions. But, in his sixth year, the small-pox deprived
him of his understanding and memory, and expunged all
his former ideas. He continued in this deplorable state
L E L
LEM
225
if
,e*eis near twelve months, when his faculties seemed to spring gether with the gentle and loose management of the dra- Lemberg
up anew ; and though he did not retain the least traces of peries, he excelled most of his predecessors. Yet the cri- J} b
l y- any impressions made on him before the distemper, yet he tics remark, that he preserved in almost all his female Ijemgo.
now discovered a quick apprehension and strong memory, faces a drowsy sweetness of the eyes peculiar to himself, '''"““'y-’-'"
In a few years afterwards his parents settled in Dublin, and for which he is reckoned a mannerist. The hands of
When he was properly qualified by years and study, he was his portraits are remarkably fine and elegantly turned; and
called to officiate as pastor to a congregation of Protestant he frequently added landscapes in the back-grounds of his
dissenters in that city. He was an able and acceptable pictures, in a style peculiar to himself. He likewise ex¬
preacher, but his labours were not confined to the pulpit, celled in crayon-painting. He was familiar with, and
The many attacks made on Christianity, and by some wri- greatly respected by, persons of the greatest eminence in
ters of no contemptible abilities, induced him to consider the kingdom. He became enamoured of a beautiful Eno--
the subject with the greatest care, and the most faithful lish lady, to whom he was some time afterwards married;
examination. Upon the most deliberate inquiry, the truth and he purchased an estate at Kew, in the county of
and divine original, as well as the excellence and import- Surrey, to which he often retired in the latter part of his
ance, of Christianity, appeared to him so clear and certain, life. He died of apoplexy in 1680, at London, and was
that he published answers to several authors who appeared buried at Covent Garden Church, where there is a marble
successively in that cause. He was indeed a master in this monument erected to his memory.
controversy; and his View of the Deistical Writers that LEMBERG, a circle in the Austrian province of Gal-
have appeared in England, is very greatly and deservedly licia, extending over 1090 square miles. It comprehends
esteemed. In the decline of life he published another la- four cities, two market-towns, and 167 villages, with
borious work on the Advantage and Necessity of the Chris- 18,551 houses, inhabited by 140,468 individuals, of’whom
tian Revelation, shown from the State of Religion in the 18,550 are Jews. The capital of the circle, as of the pro¬
ancient Heathen World, especially with respect to the vince, is a city of the same name, but recently has assum-
Knowledge and Worship of the one true God, in two vols. ed the name of Lopoldstadt. It is situated on the river
4to. This noble and extensive subject, the several parts Peltew, which runs into the Vistula. It is surrounded with
of which have been slightly and occasionally handled by gentle elevations, in a fertile district, and, though antique,
other writers, Leland treated at large with the greatest is well built, especially in the suburbs. It contains a Ca-
care, accuracy, and candour. In his View of the Deistical tholic, an Arminian, and a Greek cathedral, with eleven
Writers, his cool and dispassionate manner of treating their other churches, nine monasteries, and a Lutheran chapel,
arguments, and his solid confutation of them, have contri- There are, in 2515 houses, 41,490 inhabitants. It is a
buted much more to depress the cause of infidelity than place of considerable trade, which is chiefly in the hands
the angry zeal of intemperate disputants. Besides his of the Jews. There are some manufactures of linen and
learning and abilities, his amiable temper, great modesty, woollen cloth, of ribbons, turnery ware, and musical instru-
and exemplary life, recommended his memory to general ments; but the trade rather arises from its being the seat
esteem and affection. He died in 1766. of government, than from any productions of internal crea-
LELEGEIS, the ancient name of Miletus, from the Le- tion. There is a university with no less than twenty-six
leges, the first inhabitants of it. professors, and an academy with six teachers. There is
LELEGES, anciently a people of Asia, of Greek ori- also a public library, much increased of late years. It is
gin; the name denoting “ a collection of people.” They in long. 24. 3. 20. E. and lat. 49. 51. 42. N.
first occupied the islands; then passing over to the conti- LEMERY, Nicholas, a celebrated chemist, born at
nent, they settled partly in Mysia, on the Sinus Adramyt- Rouen, in Normandy, in 1645. After having made the
tenus, and partly in that part of Ionia next to Caria. There tour of France, he, in 1672, commenced an acquaintance
were also Leleges of Laconia. These went to the Trojan with Martyn, apothecary to the prince, and performed
war with Altes their king. Achilles plundered their conn- several courses of chemistry in the laboratory of this che-
try, and obliged them to retire to the neighbourhood of mist; at the Hotel de Conde, which were the means of
Halicarnassus, where they fixed their habitation. The in- making him known to the prince. He provided himself
habitants of Laconia and of Megara also bore this name at length with a laboratory of his own, and might have
for some time, from Lelex, one of their kings. been created a doctor of physic; but he chose to continue
LELY, Sir Peter, an eminent painter, was born in an apothecary, from his attachment to chemistry. He
Westphalia in the year 1617. He was placed as a disciple opened public lectures on that subject; and his confluence
with Peter Grebber at Haerlem; and in 1641 was indu- of scholars was so great as scarcely to allow him room to
ced, by the encouragement which Charles I. gave to the perform his operations. The true principles of chemistry
fine arts, to visit England. He became state-painter to were but ill understood in his time. Lemery was the first
Charles II., who knighted him ; and being a gentleman as who abolished the senseless jargon of barbarous terms, re-
well as a painter, that king took pleasure in conversing with duced the science to clear and simple ideas, and promis-
hini. He practised portrait-painting, and succeeded so well ed nothing which he did not perform. In 1681 he was
that he was preferred to all his contemporaries. Hence he disturbed on account of his religion, and came to England,
was so much engaged in business, that he was prevent- where he was well received by Charles II.; but affairs not
ed from visiting Italy to finish the course of his studies, promising him the tranquillity he had sought for, he re-
ilowever, he made himself amends, by getting the best turned to France, and took shelter under a doctor’s de¬
drawings, prints, and paintings, of the most celebrated Ita- gree. The revocation of the edict of Nantes, however,
ian masters. Amongst these were the greater part of the drove him into the communion of the Catholic church to
Arundel collection, which he received from the family of avoid persecution. He then became associate-chemist
mat name, many pieces of which were sold after his death and pensionary in the Royal Academy of Sciences, and
at prodigious rates, bearing upon them his usual mark, died in 1715. He wrote, 1. A Course of Chemistry; 2.
1 he advantage which he reaped from this collection, the best An universal Pharmacopoeia; 3, An universal Treatise of
c losen of any one of his time, appears from the admirable Drugs ; and, 4. a Treatise on Antimony,
style which he acquired by daily conversing with the works LEMGO, a city of the principality of Lippe-Detmold,
o those great masters. In his correct drawing and beau- in Germany, the capital of the bailiwick of Brake. It is
i ul colouring, but more especially in the graceful airs of situated on the river Vega, and is the largest place in the
ns heads, and the pleasing variety of his postures, to- dominion, containing the palace of the sovereign, the courts
VOL. XIII. 9
226
Lemma
Lemon-
nier.
LEM
of justice, the institutions for education, and 640 houses,
with 3570 inhabitants. It was formerly one of the Hans
Towns, but has now little trade, and only manufactures fine
linen. Long. 8. 49. 13. E. Lat. 52. 1. 40. N.
LEMMA (from Xa/xSavw, 1 assume}, in Mathematics, de¬
notes a previous proposition, laid down in order to clear
the way for some following demonstration, and prefixed
either to theorems, in order to render their demonstration
less perplexed and intricate, or to problems, to make their
resolution shorter and more easy. Thus, to prove a pyra¬
mid one third of a prism or parallelepiped, of the same
base and altitude, the demonstration of which in the or¬
dinary way is difficult and troublesome; this lemma may
be premised which is proved in the rules of progression,
that the sum of the series of the squares, in numbers in
arithmetical progression, beginning from 0, and going on,
I, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, &c. is always subtriple of the sum of as
many terms, each equal to the greatest; or is always one
third of the greatest term multiplied by the number of
terms. Thus, to find the inflection of a curve line, this
lemma is first premised, that a tangent may be drawn to
the given curve in a given point. So, in physics, to the
demonstration of most propositions, certain lemmata are
necessary to be allowed, as that there is no penetration of
dimensions, that all matter is divisible, and the like.
LEMNIAN Earth, Terra Lemnia, a medicinal, astrin¬
gent sort of 'earth, of a fatty consistence and reddish colour.
It derives its name from the island of Lemnos, whence it
is chiefly brought. Many form it into round cakes, and
impress a seal upon it; and hence it is also called terra
sigillata.
LEMNIUS, L^evinus, a famous physician, born in Zea¬
land in 1505. He practised physic with much applause;
and, having taken holy orders, became canon of Ziric Zee,
where he died in 1560. He left several works, the princi¬
pal of which is entitled De occultis Natures Miraculis.
LEMNOS, an island in the Archipelago, in the Turk¬
ish province of Lesbos or Midilly. It extends over 165
square miles, from north latitude 39. 46. to 40. 2. and from
east longitude 24. 52. to 25. 33. It is very narrow in the
middle, where there are two harbours on the opposite sides
of the tongue of land which joins the two parts. These are
mountainous, and, though not lofty, were in ancient times
said to have been volcanic ; and the warm springs near the
mountain Therma confirm the opinion. The soil is not
highly fertile, but it produces wheat, barley, grapes, figs,
almonds, and some oil. Water is not abundant, and there
is a great scarcity of fuel. The inhabitants are about
8000, mostly Greeks, and inhabit two towns and fifty vil¬
lages, some of whom find occupation in the fisheries. The
capital is the town of the same name, the ancient Myrina.
It is the seat of a Greek bishop, is without walls, but pro¬
tected by a castle, and has a small haven, and about 1000
inhabitants, of whom 300 are Turks. There are some esta¬
blishments for building vessels, which is the principal em¬
ployment of the population.
LEMON Island, one of the Skelig Islands, situated off
the coast of the county of Kerry, in the province of Mun¬
ster, in Ireland. It is a round rock, always above water,
and therefore nowise dangerous to ships. An incredible
number of gannets and other birds breed here; and it is
remarkable that gannets nestle nowhere on the southern
coasts of Ireland except on this rock, though many of them
are seen on all parts of the coast upon the wing. There is
another rock on the northern coast of Ireland, remarkable
for the same peculiarity.
LEMONADE, a liquor prepared from water, sugar,
and lemon or citron juice, and which is very cooling and
grateful.
LEMONNIER, Peter (Claude) Charles, a diligent
and accurate astronomer, born at Paris, on the 23d of No-
L E M
vember 1715, was the son of Peter Lemonnier, of St Lett
Sever, in Normandy. nd
His father was a professor of philosophy in the College
d’Harcourt, and member of the Academy of Sciences. He
distinguished himself, as a teacher, by his activity in pro¬
moting the introduction of mathematical reasoning into
the Cartesian philosophy. Under such auspices, the son
might have enjoyed facilities for the cultivation of any of
the sciences; but he soon showed a decided preference
for astronomy, and began to be a practical observer before
he was sixteen. In the month of November 1732, Mr
Pouchy procured him the use of a mural quadrant of three
feet radius, and he soon applied himself with diligence to
the determination of the sun’s greatest equation, an in¬
vestigation which he continued for many years; and in
1741, he found the equation to amount to 1° 55r 31"; a
quantity differing only by 7" from Delambre’s latest de¬
termination.
He presented to the Academy of Sciences, in 1735, an
elaborate map of the moon, accompanied by some re¬
marks ; and in the month of April of the following year,
before he was twenty-one years old, he was made a mem¬
ber of the Academy, in the character of Adjunct Geo¬
metrician. He continued to be a constant contributor to
its Memoirs for more than fifty years. The winter of 1736
and 1737 he passed at Torneo, with Clairaut and Mauper-
tuis, as a member of a committee appointed by the Aca¬
demy for measuring a degree in Lapland ; and he was not
less zealous than any of his colleagues in the execution of
that arduous undertaking.
He is considered as having effected, in conjunction with
Lacaille, a complete reformation in the practical astrono¬
my of France. He entered very early into correspond¬
ence with the English astronomers of the day ; they had
carried their instruments and modes of observation to a
higher degree of perfection than their neighbours; and
Lemonnier was of great use to the science, in making
known to his countrymen the practical methods of Flam¬
steed, and in introducing the instruments of Graham and
Bird.' In April 1739, he was made a foreign member of
the Royal Society of London, and for the last twelve or
fourteen years of his life he is said to have been the se¬
nior member of the society. He was the first that intro¬
duced the effects of nutation, then lately discovered by
Bradley, into the solar tables; and he complained bitter¬
ly of Lacaille’s injustice, in not giving him due credit for
the improvement.
The Due de Noailles made him known to the king of
France, who was fond of his company, and showed him
many kindnesses. In 1742, he gave him apartments at the
Capucins in the Rue St Honore, where he continued to
live till the Revolution. On another occasion, when he
had taken great pains to fix an accurate meridian at St
Sulpice, the king made him a present of 15,000 livres,
which he expended in the purchase of instruments, as the
greatest luxury that he was capable of enjoying.
The places of the stars, which he determined in 1740,
served Lalande for the purpose of computing their proper
motions, though they differed a little from the results of
Bradley’s observations. About 1746, he was much en¬
gaged in examining the inequalities of Saturn, produced
by the attraction of Jupiter; and Euler employed his
computations in the theory which obtained a prize in
1748; each confirming the accuracy of the other. He
continued to observe the moon, without intermission, for
fifty years, though a small part only of his observations
was published.
In the year 1748 he went to England, partly for the
purpose of obtaining further information from a personal
acquaintance with the astronomers and opticians resident
in London, and partly in order to observe the solar eclipse
L E M
I,non- of that year, in a situation where it would be very nearly
.. i >r. annular. He proceeded accordingly to Scotland with the
'—.'-—'Earl of Morton, accompanied by Short the optician, and
they observed the eclipse together at Aberdour, an an¬
cient residence of Lord Morton’s, in Fifeshire. They ob¬
tained their time from the College at Edinburgh, where
there was a transit instrument, by means of the flash of a
cannon fired from the castle at twelve, and another five
minutes after. “ The eclipse was so nearly annular, that,
at the nearest approach, the cusps seemed to want about
one-seventh of the moon’s circumference to be joined;
yet a brown light was plainly observed, both by Lord
Morton and myself,” says Mr Short, “ to proceed or
stretch along the circumference of the moon, from each
of the cusps, about one third of the whole distance of the
cusps from each cusp; and there remained about one
third of the whole distance of the cusps not enlightened
by this brown light, so that we were for some time in sus¬
pense whether or not we were to have the eclipse annular
with us. During the greatest darkness, the planet Venus
was seen at Edinburgh, and other places, by a great num¬
ber of people, but I did not hear of any other stars being
seen. The darkness was not great, but the sky appear¬
ed of a faint languid colour.” In fact, our mornings and
evenings are always illuminated by a light, which has ac¬
quired more or less of a red tinge in its oblique passage
through the atmosphere; and when we have a similar light
without the redness, the contrast between the sensation
and the memory makes it appear “ faint,” that is, green¬
ish or grey, instead of white. Mr Lemonnier was parti¬
cularly anxious to measure the moon’s diameter, which
“ he found 29'agreeing precisely with the computed
diameter, and not requiring any correction for the suppos¬
ed effects of irradiation. A similar remark was made by
a very accurate practical astronomer in the eclipse of
1820.
In order to verify the position of his mural quadrant,
which was of eight feet radius, and made by Bird, Le¬
monnier felt the advantage of having a moveable one to
compare with it, and he procured a block of marble eight
feet by six, and fifteen inches thick, turning on an axis, to
which he fixed his smaller instrument, of five feet radius,
in order to be able to reverse its position. He devoted a
considerable portion of his time to the investigation of the
laws of magnetism, and especially to the variation of the
compass; and he endeavoured to ascertain the effect of
the moon’s influence on the winds, and on the atmosphere
in general.
Lemonnier had long disputed the accuracy of the Pa¬
risian base, measured by Cassini and Maraldi, but he was
at last convinced that his objections were groundless. He
was originally a most zealous friend and patron of La-
lande; but afterwards, having taken offence at some slight
cause, he refused to see him for many years. In fact, he
appears to have been somewhat obstinate and irritable;
but he is said to have had genius, zeal, activity, and intel¬
ligence, as well as credit in the world, and reputation
among men of science. He was a voluminous writer; he
had much learning and sagacity, but he often wanted pre¬
cision in his language and his reasoning. In November
. H91, he had a paralytic attack, which terminated his
scientific career, though he survived it till the 2d of April
1799, when a second stroke carried him off, at Heril, near
Baieux. He was made, in the mean time, one of the 144
original members of the National Institute, as a testimony
to the merit of his past labours.
He had married, in 1763, Mile, de Cussy, a lady of
very respectable family in Normandy. He had three
daughters; the first married Mr de Parfouru, who was an
early victim of the Revolution ; the second the celebrat¬
ed Lagrange; and the third her uncle, Lemonnier the
LEM 227
physician, who was also a man of considerable science, Lemon-
and a member of the Royal Society of London. nier.
From 1735 to 1790, there are very few volumes of the
Memoirs of the Academy without one or more of Lemon-
nier’s papers; but though not unimportant in the aggre¬
gate, they are somewhat uninteresting in the detail. They
relate almost exclusively to astronomical observations;
eclipses, occultations, appulses, oppositions, and conjunc¬
tions ; solstices, longitudes and latitudes ; with some ac¬
counts of astronomical instruments and apparatus. There
are also some memoirs relating to the sun’s equation and
diameter, and on his place, as compared with Arcturus ;
on the motion of Saturn, and on his fifth satellite; on the
expansion of wooden measures; on the transit of Venus,
and on the diameter and the tables of that planet; on
Euler’s formula for parallax; on the variation of the needle;
on lunar altitudes; on the tides; on horizontal refrac¬
tion ; on Saturn’s ring; and on some currents of wind. He
also published separately some extensive works, which ac¬
quired considerable celebrity.
1. The first was his Histoire Celeste, 4to, 1741, com¬
prehending the interval from 1666 to 1685, and contain¬
ing an account of a transit instrument of Graham’s con¬
struction.
2. Theorie des Cometes, 1743, in 8vo, including a trans¬
lation of Halley’s work on comets, together with a method
of computing the orbit from three observations.
3. Institutions Astronomiques, 4to, 1746; an improved
translation of Keill’s Astronomy, which long continued to
be the best elementary treatise in the French language.
It contains also solar tables, and a variety of other addi¬
tions derived from observation.
4. Observations Astronomiques, part i. 1751; ii. 1754;
iii. 1759 ; iv. 1775.
5. A Letter on the Theory of the Winds, in Halley’s
Tables, published by Chappe.
6. Nouveau Zodiaque, reduit a 1755, Paris, 1755, in 8vo,
containing thirty-one pages of charts, much more com¬
plete than those of Senex, and superseded by some very
late publications only.
7. A History of Astronomy in the Traite d’Aberration
of Fontaine des Crutes.
8. Observations pour la MesUre du degre entre Paris et
Amiens, 8vo, 1757.
9. Abrege du Pilotage, par Goubert, 1766, in 4to, with
additions.
10. Astronomic Nautique Lunaire, 8vo, 1771.
11. Exposition des Moyens les plus faciles de resoudre
plusieurs questions dans 1’Art de la Navigation, 1772, in
8vo, employing very generally a table of verse sines, and
greatly recommending the use of Gunter’s scale for nau¬
tical computations.
12. Essai sur les Marees, 1774, in 8vo, particularly de¬
scribing the effects of the tides at Mont St Michel, and
on the neighbouring flat sands, and including also some
considerations on refraction, and on magnetism.
13. Description et Usage des principaux Instrumens
d’Astronomie, 1774, folio, forming part of the collection of
Arts et Metiers.
14. Atlas celeste de Flamsteed, 1776, in 4to, revised.
15. Lois du Magnetisme, 2 parts, 8vo, 1776-8, with an
elaborate chart.
16. Traite de la Construction de Vaisseaux, par Chap¬
man, 1779, folio, from the Swedish, and said to be less per¬
fect than the translation of Vial du Clairbois.
17. Memoires concernant diverses questions d’Astro¬
nomie et de Physique, 4 parts, 1781-T-6-8, in 4to.
18. De la Correction introduite pour accourcir la Ligne
seche du Lock de dix-huit pieds, 8vo, 1790.
19. Lettre au sujet d’une Eclipse, Par. 1791; toge¬
ther with some remarks on navigation, and on the cur-
228 L E N
Lemures rents of the South Seas, all apparently from the Memoirs
I ending t^e ^ca^emy* ^he eclipse, which was observed as
Houses" annu^ar China, should have been total, according to the
computed distance of the luminaries concerned.
LEMURES, in Antiquity, spirits or hobgoblins, restless
ghosts of departed persons, who return to terrify and tor¬
ment the living.
These are the same with larvae, which, according to the
ancients, wandered throughout the world frightening good
people, and plaguing the bad. For this reason, lemuria
or feasts were instituted at Rome to appease the manes of
the defunct.
Apuleius explains the ancient notion of manes. The
souls of men i*eleased from the bonds of the body, and
freed from performing their corporeal functions, become a
kind of demons or genii, who were formerly called lemures.
Of these lemures, those that were kind to their families
were called lares familiares ; but those who, for their crimes,
were condemned to wander continually, without meeting
with any place of rest, terrifying good men, and vexing the
bad, were vulgarly called larvae.
An ancient commentator on Horace mentions, that the
Romans wrote lemures for remures, a word formed from
Remus, who was killed by his brother Romulus, and who
returned to the earth to torment him. But Apuleius ob¬
serves, that, in the ancient Latin tongue, lemures signifies
the soul of a man separated from the body by death.
LEMURIA, or Lemuralia, a feast solemnized at Rome
on the 9th of May, to pacify the manes of the dead, or in
honour of the lemures. It was instituted by Romulus to
appease the ghost of his murdered brother Remus, which
he thought was continually pursuing him to revenge the
crime. Sacrifices continued for three nights, the temples
were shut up, and marriages were prohibited during the so¬
lemnity. A variety of whimsical ceremonies were per¬
formed, and the ghosts were desired to withdraw, without
endeavouring to hurt or affright their friends above ground.
The chief formalities were ablution, putting black beans
into their mouths, and beating kettles and pans, to make
the goblins keep at a respectful distance.
LENA, a large river of Asiatic Russia, which rises in
the ridge of mountains to the north-west of Lake Baikal,
and which flows almost from south-west to north-east, till
near Yakoutsk. In this part of its course its tributaries
are the Wilime and the Olekma ; and, combined with the
Obi and the Toungouska, it furnishes an almost continued
navigation across Siberia. Soon after passing the Yakoutsk,
it receives the Aldane, the largest of its tributaries, by
which the navigation is continued nearly to Okhotsk.
Turning north-west from this point, and slightly declining
to the west, it rolls through vast and uninhabited plains.
The Wilhoui is the only other considerable one of its tributa¬
ries. It has a broad and deep channel, and it forms nu¬
merous islands, both in its course and in the sea at its mouth.
The length of its course may be estimated at 2000 miles.
LENyEA, a festival observed by the Greeks in honour
of Bacchus, at which there was much feasting and jollity,
accompanied with poetical contentions, and the exhibition
of tragedies.
LENDINAR A, a town of Italy, in the Austrian delega¬
tion of Polesina. It is situated on the river Adigetto, is
the capital of the district, and contains thirteen churches,
and 5190 inhabitants, employed in various trades and ma¬
nufactures.
LENDING-Houses. That it should have once been
conceived unlawful to exact interest for the loan of money,
will not appear surprising, when it is considered, that at
an early period the occupations by which a man could sup¬
port his family were neither so numerous nor so produc¬
tive as in modern times. As money, therefore, was at that
time sought to remove immediate necessity, those who ad-
L E N
vanced it were influenced by benevolence and friendship. xjenf,
But on the extension of trade, arts, and manufactures, money
lent produced much more than what was adequate to the
borrower’s daily support, and therefore the lender might
reasonably expect from him some remuneration. To the
lending of money upon interest, according to the earliest
accounts, succeeded the practice of establishing funds for
the relief of the needy, on condition that they could depo¬
sit any thing equal in value to double the sum borrowed,
for which they were to pay no interest. But as, on the
one hand, the idea of exacting interest for the loan of
money was odious to the members of the Catholic church
in general, and as, on the other, it appeared proper and
even necessary to pay interest for money to be employed
in commerce, the pontiffs themselves at length allowed the
lending-houses to take a moderate interest; and in order
not to alarm the prejudices of those to whom the measure
was obnoxious, it was concealed under the name of being
paid pro indemnitate, the expression made use of in the
papal bull.
It appears that lending-houses, which gave money on the
receipt of pledges, at a certain interest, are by no means of
recent date; for many houses of this description, in Italy
at least, were established in the fifteenth century, by Marcus
Bononiensis, Michel a Carcano, Cherubinus Spoletanus,
Antonius Vercellensis, Bernardinus Tomitano, and others.
The lending-house at Perugia, established by Barnabas
Interamnensis, was inspected in 1485 by Bernardinus, who
augmented its capital, and in the same year established one
at Assisi, which was confirmed by Pope Innocent, and vi¬
sited and improved by its founder in the year 1487. He
likewise established one at Mantua, after formidable oppo¬
sition, having procured for it the sanction of the pope.
The same person also founded lending-houses at Florence,
Parma, Chieti, and Piacenza, in doing which he was some¬
times well received, whilst at others he frequently met with
great opposition. A house of this kind was established at
Padua in the year 1491, and another at Ravenna, which
were approved of and confirmed by Pope Alexander VI.
Long after the period here referred to, lending-houses
were established at Rome and Naples; that of the former
city having been opened in 1539, and that of the latter
probably in the following year. A lending-house was esta¬
blished at Nuremberg in Germany about 1618, the inhabi¬
tants having obtained from Italy the regulations of differ¬
ent houses, in order to select the best. In France, Eng¬
land, and the Netherlands, lending-houses were first known
under the denomination of Lombards. Similar institutions
were formed at Brussels in 1619, at Antwerp in 1620, and
at Ghent in 1622.
Although such houses must be allowed to be of very consi¬
derable utility under certain circumstances, especially when
interest is not allowed to be exorbitant, yet they were al¬
ways odious in France. One was however established at
Paris in 1626, in the reign of Louis XIII. which the mana¬
gers next year were obliged to abandon. The montde piete
at that city, which has sometimes had in its possession
forty casks full of gold watches that were pledged, was
established by royal authority in the year 1777, as we
learn from the Tableau de Paris, published at Hamburg in
1781.
LENFANT, James, a learned French writer, was born
in 1661. After studying at Saumur, he went to Heidel¬
berg, where he received imposition of hands for the minis¬
try in 1684. Fie discharged the functions of this charac¬
ter with great reputation there, as chaplain of the electress
dowager palatine, and pastor in ordinary to the French
church. But the descent of the French into the palati¬
nate obliged him to depart from Fleidelberg in 1687. He
went to Berlin, where the elector Frederick, afterwards
king of Prussia, appointed him one of the ministers. He
L E N
f~ Ber let continued there thirty-nine years, distinguishing himself by
i1 his writings. He was preacher to the queen of Prussia,
^Lenten* Charlotte Sophia, and, after her death, to the king of
fe'Fin Prussia. In 1707 he took a journey to England and Hol-
'"■^ •^land, where he had the honour to preach before Queen Anne,
and might have settled in London, with the title of chap¬
lain to her majesty. In 1712 he went to Helmstadt, in
1715 to Leipsig, and in 1725 to Breslau, to search for rare
books and manuscripts. It is not certain whether it was
he that first formed the design of the Bibliotheque Germa-
nique, which began in 1720 ; or whether it was suggested
.o him by one of the society of learned men, which took
the name of Anonymous, and who ordinarily met at his
house. He died in 1728. His principal works are, 1. The
History of the Council of Constance, in two vols. 4to ; 2. A
History of the Council of Pisa, in two vols. 4to; 3. The
New Testament, translated from the Greek into the French,
with Notes by Beausobre and Lenfant, in two vols. 4to ; 4.
The History of Pope Joan, from Spanheim’s Latin Disser¬
tation ; 5. Several pieces in the Bibliotheque Choisie, Ba
Republique des Lettres, La Bibliotheque Germanique, and
other publications.
LENGLET, Nicholas du Fresnoy, born at Beauvais,
in France, 1674, was a prolific and useful French writer
on a variety of subjects, historical, geographical, political,
and philosophical. His chief productions are, a Method
of Studying History, with a Catalogue of the Principal
Historians of every Age and Country, published in 1713,
a work which established his reputation as an historical
writer, and was translated into most of the modern lan¬
guages; and a Copious Abridgment of Universal History
and Biography, in chronological order, under the title of
Tabkttes Chronologiques, which made its first appearance at
Paris in 1744, in two vols. 8vo, and was universally admired
by the literati in all parts of Europe. The author attended,
with great candour, to well-founded and judicious criti¬
cisms. In subsequent editions he made several alterations
and improvements; and from one of these, that of 1759, an
English translation wTas made, and published at London in
1762, in two vols. 8vo. Du Fresnoy died in 1755. The
Paris edition of 1759 w as printed from the author’s corrected
copy; and the impression being sold off, another edition
appeared in 1763, with considerable improvements by an
unknown editor. To the biographical part a great number
of names of respectable persons are added, not to be found
in the former edition ; and it has this advantage in the his¬
torical parts, that the general history is brought down to
the year 1762. Du Fresnoy, however, has loaded his work
with catalogues of saints, martyrs, councils, synods, here¬
sies, schisms, and other ecclesiastical matters, fit only for
the libraries of convents and colleges.
LENGTH, the extent of any thing material from end to
end. In duration, it is applied to any space of time, whether
long or short.
LENGTHENING, in ship-building, the operation of
cutting a ship down across the middle, and adding a cer¬
tain portion to her length. It is performed by sawing her
planks asunder in dift'erent places of her length, on each
side ot the midship frame, to prevent her from being too
much weakened in one place. The two ends are then drawn
j . apart to a limited distance, which must be equal to the
proposed addition of length. An intermediate piece of
timber is next added to the keel, upon which a sufficient
number ot timbers are erected to fill up the vacancy pro¬
duced by the separation. The two parts of the kelson are
afterwards united by an additional piece, which is scored
down upon the floor timbers, and as many beams as may
be necessary are fixed across the ship in the new interval,
finally, the planks of the side are prolonged so as to unite
With each other, and those of the ceiling are refitted in the
same manner, by which the whole process is completed.
L E N 229
LENHAM, a town in the hundred of Eyhorne, qnd lathe Lenham
of Aylesford, in the county of Kent, forty-five miles from !l
London and ten from Maidstone, situated at the source of Lent,
the river Len. It had formerly a market, which has been
long discontinued. The population amounted in 1801 to
1434, in 1811 to 1509, in 1821 to 1959, and in 1831 to
2197.
LENNEP, a city, the capital of a circle of the same
name, in the Prussian government of Dusseldorf. It is the
chief seat of the fine broad cloth manufacture, in which
machinery has been much extended of late years. It con¬
tains 480 houses, and about 5000 inhabitants, who have
much increased, from the state of the trade.
LENKEROON, a port of Ghilan, in Persia, on the Cas¬
pian. Its harbour, being much safer than that of Reshd,
is more frequented by the merchants. It exports silk in
considerable quantity. The Russians attempted to storm
it, but were repulsed with great loss. It is 110 miles north¬
west of Reshd.
LENNOX, or Dumbartonshire, a county of Scotland.
See Dumbartonshire.
LENS, a piece of glass, or any other transparent sub¬
stance, the surfaces of which are so formed that the rays
of light, by passing through it, are made to change their
direction, either tending to meet in a point beyond the
lens, or rendered parallel after converging or diverging, or,
lastly, proceeding as if they had issued from a point before
they fell upon the lens. Some lenses are convex, or thick¬
er in the middle; some concave, or thinner in the middle;
some plano-convex, or plano-concave, that is, with one side
flat, and the other convex or concave; and some are called
meniscuses, or convex on one side and concave on the other.
Lenses are of two kinds, either blown or ground. Blown
lenses are only made use of in the single microscope, and
the common method of making them has been to draw out
a fine thread of the soft white glass called crystal, and to
convert the end of it into a spherule by melting it at the
flame of a candle. Mr Nicholson observes, that window-
glass affords excellent spherules. A thin piece from the
edge of a pane of glass one tenth of an inch thick was held
perpendicularly, and the flame of a candle was directed
against it by means of the blow-pipe, when it became soft,
and the lower end descended by its own weight to the dis¬
tance of about two feet, where it remained suspended by
a thin thread of glass about j^th of an inch in diameter.
A part of this thread was applied endwise to the lower blue
part of the flame of the candle without the blow-pipe, when
the end became instantly white-hot, and formed a globule,
which was gradually thrust towards the flame till it became
sufficiently large. A number of these were made, and ex¬
amined by viewing their focal images with a deep magni¬
fier, when they appeared to be bright, perfect, and round.
Ground lenses are such as are rubbed into the shape re¬
quired, and polished.
LENT, a solemn time of fasting in the Christian church,
observed as a time of humiliation before Easter, and the
great festival of our Saviour’s resurrection.
Those who belong to the Catholic church, and some of
the Protestant communion, maintain that it was always a
fast of forty days, and, as such, of apostolical institution.
Others think that it was only of ecclesiastical institution,
and that it was variously observed in different churches,
and grew by degrees from a fast of forty hours to a fast of
forty days. This is the opinion of Morton, Bishop Taylor,
Dumoulin, Daille, and others.
Anciently the manner of observing Lent amongst those
who were piously disposed, was to abstain from food till
evening. Iheir only refreshment was a supper ; and then
it was indifferent whether it was flesh or any other food,
provided it was used with sobriety and moderation.
Lent was thought to be the proper time for exercising
230 L E 0
Lentini more abundantly every species of charity. Thus what they
Leo X sPare^ from their own use, by abridging themselves of a
^ ^ ^ ^J .meal, was usually given to the poor; they employed their
vacant hours in visiting the sick and those that were in
prison, in entertaining strangers, and in reconciling differ¬
ences. The imperial laws forbade all prosecution of men
in criminal actions, that might bring them to corporeal
punishment and torture, during the whole of this season.
It wras a time of more than ordinary strictness and devo¬
tion, and therefore in many of the great churches they had
religious assemblies for prayer and preaching every day.
All public games and stage-plays were prohibited at this
season ; also the celebration of all festivals, birth-days, and
marriages, as unsuitable to the occasion.
The Christians of the Greek church observe four lents.
The first commences on the 15th of November ; the se¬
cond is the same with our lent; the third begins the week
after Whitsuntide, and continues till the festival of St Peter
and St Paul; and the fourth commences on the first of
August, and lasts no longer than till the 15th. These lents
are observed with great strictness and austerity; but on
Saturdays and Sundays they indulge themselves in drink¬
ing wine and using oil, which are prohibited on other days.
LENTINI, a parliamentary city of the island of Sicily,
in the kingdom of Naples, and province of Noto, 120 miles
from Palermo. It is situated on some broken ground
above the Leontine fields. The situation is subject to
malaria, and, though it contains 1400 houses, the inhabi¬
tants scarcely exceed 5000. The surrounding district
is highly productive of rice, hemp, corn, oil, and liquorice.
LEO X. Pope, second son of Lorenzo de’ Medicis, was
born at Florence in December 1475, and received the
baptismal name of Giovanni, or John. He received the
tonsure at seven years of age, his father having destined
him for the church. Being even at that early period de-
N dared capable of clerical preferment, he obtained two
rich abbeys, through the interest of his father with Louis
XI. of France, and Sixtus IV. At a very early period
he held no fewer than twenty-nine church preferments, a
strong proof of the most scandalous corruption, as well as
of the interest which his family enjoyed. In the time of
Innocent VIII. he was promoted to the rank of cardinal,
when no more than thirteen years of age, which took
place in the year MSS'. If the great influence of his fa¬
ther was unquestionably censurable in promoting the ra¬
pid and illegal advancement of his son, it is but justice to
admit, that he employed all his efforts to qualify him for
such premature dignity. Angelo Poliziano had the care
of his early education, which was greatly accelerated by
the uncommon gravity and solidity of his disposition. He
was invested with the purple in 1492, and went after¬
wards to reside at Rome as one of the sacred college.
Having opposed the election of Alexander VI. to the pon¬
tificate, he found it prudent to withdraw to Florence, in
which place he acquired much personal esteem ; but on
the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of France, he was
involved in the expulsion of his brother Pietro, and took
refuge at Bologna. In 1499 he made a tour through the
states of Venice, Germany, and France, and afterwards
went to Rome, where, in consequence of his prudent be¬
haviour, he lived safe and respected during the ponti¬
ficate of Alexander.
In 1505, when thirty years of age, he began to take
an active part in public affairs, and Julius II. appointed
him governor of Perugia. As he adhered with unshaken
resolution to the interest of the pope, he acquired the
confidence of his holiness in so eminent a degree, that he
was intrusted with the direction of the papal army against
France; and, if he was not competent to conduct the mi¬
litary operations, he was of singular service in maintain¬
ing good order in the camp. He was taken prisoner at
LEO
the bloody battle of Ravenna in 1512, and conveyed to iec
Milan, where the dignity of his sacred office procured him
respect. From this place he found means to escape, re¬
turned to Bologna, and assumed the government of the
district in the capacity of the pope’s legate.
At the election of a new pope in the room of Julius II.
he was chosen to the pontificate, being then only thirty-
eight years of age. Whatever might be the leading mo¬
tives of the conclave for electing so young a pope, it is
agreed on all hands that it was not effected by those cor¬
rupt practices too common on such occasions; and he as¬
cended the throne under the name of Leo X. with strong¬
er proofs of affection on the part of both Italians and fo¬
reigners than the greater part of his predecessors. He
displayed his love of literature by the nomination of
Bembo and Sadoleti as papal secretaries.
One of his first attempts was to free Italy from the do¬
minion of foreign powers; and having taken into pay a
large body of Swiss, he gained a victory over the French
in the reign of Louis XII. at the bloody battle of Novara,
by which means they were driven from Italy ; whilst the
king of France having incurred ecclesiastical censure, sub¬
mitted in form, and received absolution. Having thus
secured internal tranquillity, he turned his attention to
the encouragement of literature and men of genius. He
effected the restoration of the Roman university to its
former splendour by means of new grants and privileges,
and by filling the professorships with distinguished cha¬
racters from every quarter. A Greek press was establish¬
ed in the city, and all Europe was informed that persons
bringing ancient manuscripts to the pope would be libe¬
rally rewarded, besides having them printed at the ex¬
pense of the holy see. He also promoted the study of
oriental literature, and he had the honour of founding the
first professorship of the Syriac and Chaldaic languages at
Bologna.
On the death of Louis XII. of France, and the acces¬
sion of Francis I. to the throne, it soon became apparent
that a new war was inevitable in the north of Italy. Leo
endeavoured to remain neutral, but without success; in
consequence of which he joined in a league with the em¬
peror, the king of Aragon, the states of Milan and Flo
rence, and the Swiss cantons, against the French king
and the state of Venice. But he soon found it expe¬
dient to desert his allies, and form a union with Francis,
which took place in 1515, at an interview between the two
sovereigns.
In 1517, the Duke of Urbino, whom he had expelled
in order to make way for his nephew Lorenzo, collected
an army, and by rapid movements regained his capital
and dominions, which chagrined Leo to such a degree
that he endeavoured to excite all the Christian princes
against him. He raised an army under the command of
his nephew, and the duke was finally compelled to relin¬
quish his dominions upon honourable terms. In this year
the life of Leo was in danger, and all his moments were
embittered by a conspiracy against him in his own court.
Petrucci, the ringleader, had formed a plan of destroying
the pope by poison; but having failed in this attempt, he
withdrew from Rome, still, however, carrying on a corre¬
spondence with his secretary. Some of his letters being
intercepted, he was arrested on his way to Rome, com¬
mitted to prison, and strangled, whilst his accomplices
were put to death with the most severe tortures. To
shelter himself from danger, whether real or imaginary,
Leo created thirty-one new cardinals in one day, chiefly
from amongst his own relations, though some of them
were deserving of the dignity by their virtues and ta¬
lents.
In the reign of this pontiff began the reformation of re¬
ligion under the celebrated Martin Luther, who inflict-
LEO
lf>«c ed a wound on the Catholic church which will never
Hiuinltf probably be healed. Leo’s taste for magnificence and
1 f il expense having exhausted his coffers, he took from the
church the profits arising from the sale of indulgences, for
own private emolument. These wares were extolled
in language which shocked the pious and thinking part of
mankind, and facilitated the progress of the reformation
in the hands of such a man as Luther. The latter, du¬
ring his opposition to the extravagance of Leo in the sale
of indulgences, was still willing to be reconciled to the
church; but as he insisted on making an unqualified ap¬
peal to the language of Scripture, and Leo would admit
of nothing but an unqualified appeal to the decrees of the
church,'a reconciliation was found impossible. The works of
Luther were burned in different places by Leo’s command,
and Luther in his turn made a solemn and public confla¬
gration of the papal decrees and constitutions, and even
of the bull itself. It was this pontiff who conferred on
Henry VIII. of England the title of defender of the faith.
The private hours of Leo, it is said, were devoted to in¬
dolence, or to amusements, some of which were unworthy
of his clerical dignity. He never lost sight of his favour¬
ite idea of expelling the French from Italy. The Swiss in
the service of France having been induced to desert, the
allies crossed the Adda, and occupied Milan without oppo¬
sition. They next entered the territories of the Duke of
Ferrara, who had espoused the cause of France. Many of
his strong places were taken, and siege was about to be
laid to his capital, when it was prevented by the indisposi¬
tion of the pope, which in the space of eight days termi¬
nated in his death, on the 1st of December 1521, in the
forty-sixth year of his age and the ninth of his pontificate.
LEOMINSTER, a borough and market-town of the
hundred of Wolphy, in Herefordshire, situated on the river
Wye, 137 miles from London. It has a corporation, con¬
sisting of a high steward, bailiff, recorder, and twelve bur¬
gesses, and still sends, as before, two members to parlia¬
ment. The church is a neat and spacious building, adorn¬
ed with an altar-piece by the celebrated Rubens. The
tower of it has a musical peal of eight bells. There was
formerly some woollen manufactures, which have disappear¬
ed. The chief trade now is in wool and flax, the latter of
which grows of excellent quality. The market was for¬
merly held on Thursday, but has been exchanged for Fri¬
day by act of parliament. The magistrates of Leominster
have an exempt jurisdiction. The population of the bo¬
rough amounted in 1801 to 3019, in 1811 to 3238, in 1821
to 3651, and in 1831 to 4300 ; but the whole parish at the
last census contained 5249 inhabitants.
LEOBSHUTZ, a city, the capital of a circle of the same
name, in Prussian Silesia, situated at the foot of the moun¬
tains. It is surrounded with walls, and contains five Ca¬
tholic churches, an hospital, 530 houses, and 3670 inhabi¬
tants employed in making woollens, hosiery, and linen goods.
LEOBEN, a city of Austria, in the circle of Bruch, in
the province of Steyermark. It stands on the river Mur, and
is the see of a bishop ; contains 278 houses, and 2200 in¬
habitants, who are employed in making iron. It is remark¬
able for the peace concluded at it in 1798, between Aus¬
tria and France. Long. 15. 0. 25. E. Lat. 47. 23. 36. N.
LEON, a province, or, as it is more commonly called by
the natives, a kingdom, of Spain. Asturias bounds it on the
north side, Galicia on the west, Estremadura and Old Cas¬
tile on the south, and New Castile on the east. Its extent
is 1207 square leagues, and the number of its inhabitants
is 714,037. It is frequently divided into six departments,
those of Leon, Palencia, Valladolid, Tora, and Zamora; but
the more recent division into two departments, each clearly
i defined by the course of the river Duero, is more natural,
and less likely to perplex. The two divisions are denomi¬
nated that of Leon to the north, and that of Salamanca to
LEO 231
the south, of the Duero. Of the various rivers that cross Leon.
Leon, the most considerable is the Pisuerga, in the north- s-—
ern limits, to the eastward of the fountains of the Ebro and
Reynosa. This is one of the points of separation which
divide those streams that run to the Atlantic, from those
which run to the Mediterranean, and is consequently one of
the most elevated districts in Spain. From its great ele¬
vation, it is necessarily cold ; and some of its summits reach
the line of perpetual snow. These hills produce the lof¬
tiest and best oaks in the peninsula, and are highly useful
in the construction of ships. Many bears and some wolves
are found in this range of mountains. The principal part of
the labour of the mountaineers is directed to the iron mines,
and to the manufactory of hardware. In the intervals be¬
tween the highest hills they have good pastures, and feed
many cows, from whose milk butter is made, which, if the
natives understood, or rather practised, the simple art of
salting, and packing in casks, might become a valuable
branch of commerce with the other parts of Spain, which
draw their supplies of that commodity from Holland or
from Ireland. The mountains which diverge from these
towards the west are very steep, and gradually increase in
height till they Teach the border of Asturias, with which
the communication is held by fissures in the mountains
called the Puertos de Piedrafita, de Pajares, de Somceda,
&c.
The height of these mountains has never been accu¬
rately ascertained ; but if the various plants that grow on
their tops is a certain criterion of their elevation, they are
equal to the Pyrenees, and to most of the points of the Alps.
The inhabitants of these mountains are a detached race,
and are thus described by Don Mariano Lagasca, a recent
and very intelligent traveller. “ The villages have few
inhabitants, and are mostly in the valleys. The inhabit¬
ants are robust and simple in their manners; they are
equally ignorant of luxury and drunkenness ; all are cloth¬
ed very coarsely, but warmly, from the looms of their
own females, and have their garments made in, the sim¬
plest fashion. Without physician, surgeon, or apothecary;
without irregular pleasures, they live happily, drinking
the milk of their cows, and eating their barley-bread and
salted meat. They have no other bed than a table fixed
to the wall at one end of their dwellings, which in shape
resembles a coffin. They cultivate a few vegetables, and
grow barley in some of the least cold parts of the district,
but not sufficient for even their scanty consumption. From
June to September they have abundant pasture for their
own cattle, as well as for the migratory flocks of merino
sheep that pass through their confines. In the valleys
they have meadows, on which they make hay for winter
food for their cattle. The only industry that is exercised
is in making wooden shoes, and bowls and platters of the
same substance, which they sell in the neighbouring low¬
er districts. Some are also employed in collecting medi¬
cinal plants, which are sold to the city of Leon. Before
the year 1803, it was not known that the district abound¬
ed in the Iceland moss. Since that period considerable
quantities of that substance have been collected, and it is
now sold in Madrid at twenty reals the pound, whereas
before it was sold at 160. It has be£un to form a branch
of commerce with the mountaineers, and in time it may
become an important article of subsistence for them, as it
is for the natives of Iceland.”
The river Pisuerga, descending to the plains, receives
on the right the river Carrion, and on the left the Ar-
lanza, and passes by Palencia, and through the fertile
valley of Tierra de Campos, abounding in w ine and oil,
till it is joined by the Esgueva near the city of Vallado¬
lid, whence it has a short course to the Duero. The other
rivers of Leon are the Esla, the Torio, the Bernesga, the
Sil, and the Boeza, all of which unite ultimately with the
‘232 LEO
Leon Duero. On the southern part of Leon, the department
II. of Salamanca, the population is thicker, and the country
v ^ _ > more tertile. Inere are some mines or copper, and quar¬
ries of marble. Many cows, sheep, horses, and mules, are
bred; and, though not a rich, yet, when compared with the
mountain districts, it is a fertile tract of land. The prin¬
cipal rivers that water it are the Daraton, the Eresma,
the Adaja, the Tormes, and the Agueda, which run to
the Duero, and the Alogon, which runs south, and, after
crossing part of Estremadura, loses its name in the Tagus.
The different agricultural and commercial productions
of the kingdom of Leon will be found under the places in
which they are created ; and the history of Leon, long a
separate kingdom, is included in the general history of
Spain. The province of Leon, one of the five in the
kingdom, according to the ancient mode of dividing it, is
493 square leagues in extent, and is inhabited by 239,810
people. It contains two cities, 197 towns, and 1284 vil¬
lages, in 1373 parishes; and has fifty monasteries, and
sixteen charitable institutions.
Leon, a city of Spain, in the province of the same name,
and capital of it, as it was of the ancient kingdom of Leon
before its union with Castile. It is situated on a kind of pe¬
ninsula, formed by two rivers, the Torio and the Bernesga.
It contains a population of about 7000 souls, who are em¬
ployed principally in spinning thread, and making it into
coarse linen. The country around it yields wheat, barley,
and particularly flax ; and they have meadows where the
cattle are pastured, and, what is not usual in Spain, where
they make hay. It is the see of a bishop, and, among va¬
rious public buildings that attract attention, the most re¬
markable is his cathedral, a most beautiful specimen of the
Gothic style of architecture. It contains thirteen parish
churches, nine monasteries, four hospitals, 1500 houses, and
6170 inhabitants. Lat. 42. 45. N. The inhabitants make
worsted stockings and caps, in forty looms; leather and
leathern gloves; and have some tanneries.
Leon, Peter Cicca de, author of the history of Peru.
He left Spain, his native country, at thirteen years of age,
in order to go into America, where he resided seventeen
years, and observed so many remarkable things, that he
resolved to commit them to writing. The first part of his
history was printed at Seville in 1553. He began it 1541,
and ended it in 1550. He was at Lima, the capital of the
kingdom of Peru, when he.gave the finishing stroke to it,
and was then thirty-two years of age.
LEONARD, St, a city of France, in the department of
the Upper Vienne, and arrondissement of Limoges. It is
situated on the Vienne; was formerly surrounded with
walls, now converted into pleasing promenades, planted
with trees. It contains 410 houses, and 4950 inhabitants,
who carry on manufactories of flannels and druggets, make
much leather, and some copper ware. Long. 1. 25. E.
Lat. 45. 50. N.
LEONARDO da Vinci. See Vinci.
LEONESSA, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in the
province Abruzzo Ulteriore. It stands on the river Corno,
at the foot of the mountain Triglia. It contains 4719
inhabitants, who hav£ some trade in corn, from living in a
frontier town.
LEONIDAS I. king of Sparta, a renowned warrior, slain
in defending the straits of Thermopylae against Xerxes,
480 b. c.
LEONINE, in poetry, is applied to a kind of verses
which rhyme at every hemistic, the middle always chiming
to the end. The origin of the word is somewLat obscure.
Pasquier derives it from one Leoninus or Leonius, who
excelled in this species of composition, and dedicated se¬
veral pieces to Pope Alexander III.; others derive it from
Pope Leo, and others from the lion, by reason it is the
loftiest of all verses.
L E R
LEONTIC A, feasts or sacrifices celebrated amongst the Leo
ancients in honour of the sun. They were called Leontica, |
and the priests who officiated at them Leones, because they Leri
represented the sun under the figure of a lion radiant, bear-^'
ing a tiara, and griping in his two fore paws the horns of a
bull, which struggled with him in vain to disengage himself.
The critics are extremely divided about this feast. Some
will conceive it to have been anniversary, and make its re¬
turn, not in a solar, but in a lunar year; others hold its
return more frequent, and give instances where the period
was not above two hundred and twenty days. The cere¬
mony was sometimes also called Mithriaca, Mithras being
the name of the sun amongst the ancient Persians. There
was always a man sacrificed at these feasts till the time of
Hadrian, who prohibited it by a law. Commodus intro¬
duced the custom anew, but after his time it was again
exploded.
LEOPARD. See Mammalia.
LEPANTO, a town of Turkey in Europe, the capital
of the province Ainabachti. It is situated in a bay ce¬
lebrated for a victory over the Turkish fleet, by Don
Juan, in 1751. It is defended by two forts, and contains
a population of 2000 persons, chiefly Greeks, who carry
on several tanneries, and other trades. Long. 21. 57. E.
Lat. 38. 30. N.
LEPER’S Island, one of the New Hebrides, in the
South Pacific Ocean, so called by Monsieur Bougainville,
by whom it was visited in 1768. Long. 168. 4. E. Lat.
15. 21. N.
LEPIDOPTERA, in Zoology, an order of insects with
four wings, which are covered with imbricated scales.
LEPROSY, a cutaneous disease, appearing in dry,
white, thin scabs, either on the whole body, or only on
parts of it, and usually attended with a violent itching
and other pains. The leprosy is of various kinds, but
the Jews were particularly subject to that called Eh-
phantiasis. Hence the Jewish law excluded lepers from
communion with mankind, banishing them into the coun¬
try or uninhabited places, without excepting even kings.
When a leper was cleansed, he came to the city gate, and
was there examined by the priests. After this he took
two live birds to the temple, and fastened one of them to a
wisp of cedar and hysop tied together with a scarlet rib¬
bon ; the second bird was killed by the leper, and the
blood of it received into a vessel of water ; with this wa¬
ter the priest sprinkled the leper, dipping the wisp and
the live bird into it. The live bird was then let go; and
the leper having undergone this ceremony, was again
admitted into society, and to the use of things sacred.
(See Levit. xiii. 46, 47; and Levit. xiv. 1, 2, et seq.)
LEPTUM, in Antiquity, a small piece of money, which,
according to some, was only the eighth part of an obo-
lus; but others think it was a silver or brass drachm.
LEPUS, the hare, in Astronomy, a constellation of the
southern hemisphere, the stars of which in Ptolemy’s ca¬
talogue are twelve, in that of Tycho’s thirteen, and in the
Britannic nineteen.
LERIDA, a city of Spain, in the province of Catalonia.
It is strongly fortified, and in a situation favourable for de¬
fence. It was the brilliant theatre of one of the campaigns
of Julius Caesar, and continued to be a place of military im¬
portance down to the war of the succession, when it sup¬
ported the Austrian family ; but, after the battle of Alman¬
za, it submitted to the Bourbons. It is situated near the
junction of the river Cinca with the Ebro, in a rich and
well-cultivated plain. It is the see of a bishop, has a uni¬
versity, and a strong citadel ; four parish churches, six¬
teen monasteries, one hospital, and 16,818 inhabitants.
LERWICK, the principal, and, indeed, with the excep¬
tion of Scalloway, a village containing a few scattered cot¬
tages, the only town in the Zetland Islands. It is situated
L E S
Lesl ? on the east side of Mainland, the largest island of the
group, in latitude 60. north, and longitude 1. west. It con-
pcaye. sists of one irregular, ill-paved street, with several lanes
■vH branching off. The town is of comparatively modern date.
Captain Smith, who visited the islands in 1633, describes
the harbour, but makes no allusion to any town, which he
would have done had it then existed. In 1700, Brand
speaks of it as containing between two and three hundred
families. A century afterward^, it is described as having
a population of about 1000. By the census of 1821 the
inhabitants amounted to 2224, and by that of 1831 to
2750. The only public buildings are, the town-house, which
unites under one roof the court-room, the prison, the cus¬
tom-house, and masonic lodge ; the parish church ; and a
dissenting meeting-house. To the south of the town stands
Fort-Charlotte, a citadel, first erected during the protecto¬
rate, and rebuilt by the second Charles in 1665; but hav¬
ing been burned in 1673 by the Dutch, it lay in ruins till
1781, when it was re-modelled, mounted with twelve guns,
and named after the queen of George III. The harbour
of Lerwick, called Bressa Sound, is large and most secure,
the depth of water varying from five to sixteen fathoms.
Two thousand busses from Holland, it is asserted, have
found accommodation in it during the fishing season ; and
Sir Robert Sibbald says that, in 1653, the English fleet,
consisting of ninety-four men of war, lay some days in the
harbour, and that in 1665, another fleet, to the number of
ninety-two sail, were there for some time. The only ma¬
nufactory in Lerwick is one of straw-plait; still there is a
considerable trade carried on with Leith and other towns.
The exports are chiefly fish, butter, hides, tallow, calf and
rabbit skins, stockings, and, till lately, kelp; the imports are,
coals, cloths, groceries, and grain, Zetland not producing a
sufficient quantity of the last for the consumption of the
inhabitants. Few strangers have visited Lerwick without
being delighted with the kindness and hospitality of the
inhabitants; and all agree in praising the morals and in¬
telligence of the common people. From the statistical fe-
turns made to the General Assembly in 1833, by the com¬
mittee for increasing the means of education and religious
instruction in Scotland, it appears that in the parish of Ler¬
wick, containing a population of 3194 (viz. 2750 in the
town, and 444 in the landward part of the parish), there
are six schools, the parochial, and five on the teachers’ own
adventure; 201 scholars, of whom sixty-five attend the paro¬
chial, and 136 the other schools; and that, of the whole num¬
ber of scholars, sixty-one are learning Latin, and twenty-five
mathematics. The same document states, that all the inha¬
bitants above six years of age are able to read; but this
statement must be received with some grains of allowance.
LESBOS, a large island in the Aegean Sea, on the coast
of ditolia, about 168 miles in circumference. It has been
successively called Pelasgia, from the Pelasgi,'by whom it
was first peopled ; Macaria, from Macareus, who settled in
it; and Lesbos, from the son-in-law and successor of Ma¬
careus, who bore the same name. The chief towns of Les¬
bos were Methymna and Mitylene. It was originally go¬
verned by kings, but they were afterwards subjected to the
neighbouring powers. The wine which it produced was
greatly esteemed by the ancients, and is still held in the
same repute amongst the moderns. The Lesbians were so
debauched and dissipated, that the epithet of Lesbian was
often employed to signify debauchery and extravagance.
Lesbos has given birth to many illustrious persons, such
us Arion, ferpander, Sappho, and others.
LESCAILLE, James, a Dutch poet and printer, was
mrn at Geneva. He and his daughter Catherine Lescaille
excelled most of the Dutch poets. But the latter, who was
L E S
surnamed the Sappho of Flolland, and the tenth muse, died
in 1711. A collection of her poems has been printed, in
which are the tragedies of Genseric Wenceslaus, Herod
and Mariamne, Hercules and Dejaneira, Nicomedes, Ari¬
adne, Cassandra, and others. James Lescaille, her father,
deserved the poet’s crown, with which the Emperor Leo¬
pold honoured him in the year 1603. He died about the
year 1677, aged sixty-seven.
LESGHISTAN, a territory of the Caucasus, bounded on
the north by Circassia, and on the east by Daghestan. It is
a stupendous range of mountains running in a south-easterly
direction, of great length, but of inconsiderable breadth, and
forming the whole north-eastern frontier of Georgia. Dr
Reineggs describes this mountainous tract as broken by
innumerable and frightful gulfs. These, he says, are united
by strong stone or wooden bridges, by roads carried over im¬
practicable rocks; streams are confined to a particular course,
and wholesome spring-water is carried everywhere by pipes
and canals cut out of the rock. The soil being scanty, and
the level ground insufficient to enable the proprietor to
raise the means of subsistence, he ingeniously contrives to
increase the surface to the very summit of the heights, by
graduated terraces, filling the intermediate spaces with
rubbish, and covering them with earth. The houses of the
inhabitants, seen from a distance, have an awful appear¬
ance, being situated on the loftiest summits of the moun¬
tain, and on the most frightful precipices. The Lesghaes
are the bravest, as they are the most turbulent, of all the
nations of the Caucasus, being the terror and scourge of all
the neighbouring tribes, whose villages they lay waste, and
whose inhabitants they carry into servitude. They are
partly Mahommedans and partly idolaters, the few tribes
who yet remain in ignorance never changing the object of
their veneration, which is either the sun, moon, or stars, or
any other grand object that has made an impression on
their minds. I hey have from time immemorial maintain¬
ed their independence, partly by their own valour, and
partly owing to the inaccessible nature of their country.
They are accustomed to hire themselves out to fight the
battles of their neighbours; their pay is twelve roubles the
campaign, which must not last above three months. In
these wars they often take opposite sides, to which they re¬
main faithful, so that it frequently happens that a Lesghae
falls by the hand of his brother or intimate friend. They
are lightly dressed, according to the custom of the Tar¬
tars ; and are armed with a gun, pistols, dagger, and sabre.
Their women are distinguished for their beauty, surpass¬
ing even the females of Mount Caucasus; and they bring
the largest prices in the markets of Constantinople.
LESKARD, a market and borough town of Cornwall,
in the hundred of West, 237 miles from London. It was
incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, and is governed by a
mayor, recorder, and twelve capital burgesses. Upon the
hills to the north are many tin mines at work, and the
country surrounding feeds many sheep, so that the chief
trade consists of tin and wool. The population of the town
amounted in 1801 to 1860, in 1811 to 1975, in 1821 to
2423, and in 1831 to 2853; but the whole parish at the
last census contained 4042 inhabitants.
LESLEY, John, bishop of Ross, was born on the 29th
of September 1527. In an account of his life for which
he must himself have supplied the materials, he is said to
have been born of honourable parents, and to have been a
descendant of the ancient and noble family of Lesley,
which then continued to flourish in Scotland. According
to another account, which is less vague in its terms, but
still disguises the truth, his father was Gavin, a great,
grandson of Andrew Lesley of Balquhain,1 the represen"
233
Lesghis-
tan
II
Lesley,
John.
V0L.UxnJLeslaeana exPlicata’ § 31* Grsecii, 1G92, fol. “ Gavanus, Alexandri quartogenitus, ducta in consortem thori N. N.
2 G
234 LESLEY.
Lesley, tative of a well-known family in the county of Aberdeen, differences betwixt parties, proceedinge either of deadly Lgj
dohn. Knox has clearly stated that he was the son of a priest;1 feads, or other debates for lands or goods, which is the Jcj'
^ v_^ and the illegitimacy of his birth is sufficiently ascertained right office of a judge, as saith the jurisconsult.”4 „
from a dispensation, granted under the authority of a pa- The protestant religion had now obtained a stable foot-
pal bull, and rendering him capable of receiving holy or- ing in Scotland ; and the Book of Discipline was present-
ders ;2 for without such a dispensation, a person of spurious ed to a convention of estates held at Edinburgh in the
birth was declared incapable by the canon law. In this month of January 1561. Several of the papists had been
document, bearing date the 9th of July 1538, he is de- summoned to give an account of their faith; and among
scribed as a scholar of the diocese of Moray; and Keith , these was the official of Aberdeen, together with Patrick
conjectures, with great probability, that he was the son Myrtom, treasurer, James Strahan, a canon of the cathe-
of Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingusie, and likewise, as he dral, and Alexander Anderson, sub-principal of King’s
supposes, official of that diocese. The bishop’s father is College. The disputants on the other side were Knox,
described as an eminent lawyer; and a knowledge of the Willock, and Goodman, whom we may easily suppose to
canon law was indispensable in a person who held this have been an over-match for the theologians of Aberdeen,
judicial situation. Of this disputation Lesley and Knox have each given an
Lesley prosecuted his studies in King’s College, Aber- account, nor is it easy to reconcile their statements with
deen, where he took the degree of A. M. Keith men- each other. According to one of them, the four respond-
tions a deed by the bishop of Aberdeen, promoting him, a ents made a very firm profession of the catholic faith;
“ clerk of his diocese, to the character of an acolyte in and of the sacrifice of the mass Anderson gave so able an
his cathedral church, dated 15th June 1546.” This state- exposition, that the heretics evinced no further inclination
ment is scarcely intelligible : the character of an acolyte, to dispute, either with him or any other catholic, concern-
which cannot well be described as promotion, is that of ing the high mysteries of the true religion. According
an individual who has been admitted to one of the lower to the other account, the sub-principal made a very lame
orders in the Romish church ; the seven orders being defence of his opinions, and finally declined to continue
those of porter, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, dea- the disputation, admitting “ that he was better sein in
con, and priest. In the twentieth year of his age, he be- philosophy then theology.” Lesley was then required to
came a canon of the cathedral churches of Aberdeen and answer the former arguments against the mass ; “ and he
Elgin. It was apparently this improvement in his circum- with gravity began to answer, If our master have nothing
stances that enabled him to obtain the most liberal edu- to say to it, I have nothing; for I knaw nothing bot the
cation which was then to be procured. Having spent canone law; and the grittest ressoun that ever I culd
some time in Paris, where he directed his attention to the find thare is Nolumus Sf Volumus” The historian of the
study of divinity and languages, especially the Greek and reformation subjoins, “ the nobility hearing that neyther
Hebrew, he proceeded to the university of Poitiers, and the ane nor the uther wald answer directly, said, We have
there applied himself to the study of the civil and canon bene miserably deceaved heirtofor ; for if the mess may
laws for the space of nearly four years. He afterwards not obtean remissioun of sines to the quick and the dead,
resided about a year at Toulouse, where he took the de- quharefore war all the abbacies so richly dotit with our
gree of licentiate of the civil law ; and having returned temporall lands ?”5 The other historian has stated that
to Paris, and taken the degree of LL. D. he continued for he and his associates were subjected to the punishment
nearly another year to read lectures on the canon law. of being compelled to remain in Edinburgh, and listen to
With these proofs of his academical attainments, here- the sermons of the ministers.6 From this statement, which
turned to his native country in the month of April 1554, is by no means incredible, there is a material departure
and successively obtained many different preferments, se- in the biography to which we have already referred,
cular as well as ecclesiastical. He was appointed profes- “ Upon this, the sectarian nobility were, by the instiga-
sor of the canon law in the university of Aberdeen ;3 and tion of the heretical ministers, so much incensed against
on the 18th of April 1558, Bishop Gordon, with the dean Dr Lesley, and the doctors his associates, that they were
and chapter, granted a commission, nominating him offi- taken into custody, and put in the prison of Edinburgh,
cial of that diocese. The commission describes him as the chief city of Scotland, where, after confinement
parson of Oyne and Morthlack, prebendary and canon of for some time, they found sureties, who were bound in
the cathedral church of Aberdeen ; but a subsequent do- a very great penalty, that they should make their appear-
cument, dated on the 2d of July 1559, relates to his in- ance, in order to their trial, whenever they should be
duction and investiture in the parsonage, canonry, and required: upon which they were at length set at liberty,
prebend of Oyne, stall in the choir, and place in the chap- and returned to Aberdeen.” This biographical tract was
ter. “ I did accept the office judicator of the dioces obviously intended to exalt the subject of it to the charac-
of Aberdene,” he remarks, “ where in I travelled ten ter of a great confessor and sufferer for the catholic faith;
yeres, and how I did behave my selfe therein, I report and some of its statements are apparently to be received
my selfe to the testimonie of the country; for besids the with a certain degree of caution, if not suspicion,
ministratioun of justice in mine owne office, I assisted the On the death of Francis the Second, the leaders of the
sheriffe of the shire with my counsell for execution of jus- protestant party sent the prior of St Andrews to France,
tice according to the lawes, and imployed alsoe other with the view of preparing the mind of the young queen
whyles great travells in compoundinge and agreeinge of for a favourable consideration of their cause. In order to
suseepit ex ea Joannem episcopum Rossensem.” There is evidently a studied ambiguity in the expression. Mr Riddell mentions
that the parson of Oyne was summoned as one of the nearest of kin to “ Andrew Lesslie, son to the deceased William Lesslie of Neiv-
Lesslie, a pupil.” (Remarks upon Scotch Peerage Law, p. 205. Edinb. 1833, 8vo-)
1 Knox’s Historie of the Reformatioun of Religioun, p. 262. edit. Edinb. 1732, fob
Keith’s Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, p. 198. Russell’s edit. From the originals belonging to the family of Balquhain,
this industrious writer has given the substance of twelve documents which reflect much light on the bishop’s personal history.
3 Orem’s description of King’s College, Aberdeen, p. 156.
4 Lesley’s Negotiations, p. 7-
5 Knox’s Historie of the Reformatioun of Religioun, p. 262.
6 Leslseus de Rebus gestis Scotorum, p. 574.
LESLEY.
235
counteract this influence, Lesley was despatched on a si¬
milar mission by the popish earls of Huntley, Crawford,
^ Athole, Sutherland, and Caithness, the archbishop of St
Andrews, the bishops of Aberdeen, Moray, and Ross. He
found Mary at Vitri in Champagne on the 15th of April
1561, and earnestly recommended to her care and protec¬
tion the interests of the tottering church: he appears at
the same time to have recommended himself very effec¬
tually to her good graces. She did not however adopt his
desperate scheme of landing at Aberdeen, and endea¬
vouring to raise an army for the purpose of restoring the
catholic faith. He attended the queen on her return to
Scotland, where she landed on the 21st of August. On
the 14th of January 1564 he was admitted an ordinary
judge of the court of session. If we may rely on the au¬
thority of the tract already quoted, he became president
of that court, but this statement is not supported by the
records: in the absence of the president, he may occa¬
sionally have filled his chair, and this is perhaps the only
charitable construction which such an averment will easi¬
ly admit. The queen likewise nominated him a member
of the privy council, and bestowed upon him the abbacy
of Lindores, which he was allowed to hold in commendam.
The bishopric of Ross becoming vacant by the death of
Henry Sinclair on the 2d of January 1565, she secured
to him this higher preferment, and the necessary bulls
were procured from the pope.
In the year 1566 the queen issued, under the great
seal, a commission to certain noblemen, prelates, and law¬
yers, granting to them, or any six of their number, full
power and authority to revise and publish the laws of the
realm. They were to commence with the books called
Regiam Majestatem and Quoniam Atfachiamenta, and were
to descend according to the order of chronology ; but the
only apparent fruit of their labours was a publication of
the acts of parliament, from the reign of James the First.
Ihese were printed under the superintendence of the
learned civilian, Dr Henryson, one of the commissioners ;
and in his preface he has particularly commended “ ane
Ileuerend Father in God, Johne Bischop of Ros, Lord of
our Soueranis Secreit Counsall, and of hir College of Jus¬
tice, for his suggestioun to our Souerane of this notabill
purpose, eirnistfull performing of the said commissioun, and
cure in conuening of my Lordis Commissaris his colligis,
and liberalitie in the furthsetting of this imprenting.”1
To the fortunes of the queen Lesley adhered with un¬
shaken fidelity ; and as her career was marked by many
actions which set virtue and decency at defiance, his em¬
ployment as a privy counsellor could not always be very
suitable to his character as a churchman. He is suppos¬
ed to have been the individual who suggested an expe¬
dient for granting to the earl of Bothwell an indirect par¬
don for the murder of the king ;2 a crime to which there
is the strongest moral evidence that the queen was an ac¬
cessory, before as well as after the fact. On the 24th of
April 1567 the earl seized her person, and conducted her
as a prisoner to the castle of Dunbar. This act of appa¬
rent violence, which at first seemed to be so unnecessary,
had evidently been devised with her entire approbation.
Ihe ultimate object of such an expedient did not long
remain doubtful: in the course of a few days, she granted
him a pardon for this treasonable act, and for all other
cnnies with which he could be charged. By a general
clause, inserted in the common form, she pardoned the
murder of her own husband, and yet avoided the scandal
of mentioning it in direct terms. She soon afterwards Lesley,
created her paramour duke of Orkney; and having hasti- John,
ly procured a divorce from his wife, his infamous nuptials—
with the queen were celebrated on the 15th of May, about
three months after he had assassinated her former hus¬
band. The measure of her guilt and folly was now full.
She was committed to custody in the castle of Lochleven
on the 15th of June, and wms finally divested of the royal
authority. On the 2d of May 1568 she escaped from her
prison, and soon afterwards found herself at the head of a
considerable army. The bishop of Ross had retired to
his diocese, and, according to his own account, wms there
employing his time in contemplation and study, and in
giving counsel to friends and others committed to his
charge, when the queen sent him a message requiring his
immediate attendance at Hamilton. In company with
certain noblemen, whose names he does not mention, he
accordingly hastened to obey this summons; but before
his arrival her forces had been completely dispersed at
the battle of Langside, and she had found it necessary to
consult her safety by proceeding towards the borders of
the two kingdoms. In an evil hour, she entered the Eng¬
lish territory; for she speedily discovered that she had
reposed her confidence in a cruel and unrelenting rival,
whom neither the common ties of blood, nor the sympathy
due from one sovereign princess to another who had fallen
from, her high estate, had any tendency to move with
feelings of generosity or even of compassion.
Taj (poivu; 2/sip^s
Qvnraii, oMitr/v uvdani, /uavccgg/a.
Mary again required the services of the bishop, and in
the month of September he waited upon her at Bolton
castle. Lesley acted as one of her commissioners during
the conferences which opened at York on the 4th of Oc¬
tober, and in the course of the ensuing month were conti¬
nued at Westminster. After many debates, which were
very ably maintained on both sides, this commission ter¬
minated without any immediate result. In February 1569
he proceeded to Tutbury castle, where the queen was
detained under the custody of the earl of Shrewsbury;
but on some suspicion of having concerted a plan to
effect her escape, both he and Lord Boyd w'ere soon af¬
terwards retained in ward at Burton upon Trent, and
were not released till after an interval of nearly three
months. The bishop was now employed in the capacity
of an ambassador to the queen of England, and he acquit¬
ted himself with great zeal and ability, but not with cor¬
responding success. He was instructed “ to sue earnest¬
ly that the queen his mistres might be put to libertie,
and restored to her crowne and realme ; and to that ef¬
fect to make such reasonable offers to the queen of Eng¬
land, as might fully satisfie her for anie speciall debate or
contraversie that had hapned betwixt their majesties,
touchinge the title of the crowne of England, and to as¬
sure that shee would alsoe shew her clemencie toward
her subiects^ in Scotland whoe had offended her.” His
insti actions embraced other particulars ; and he was spe¬
cially enjoined to acquaint the French and Spanish am¬
bassadors with his proceedings, and to ask their advice
in all matters connected with his mission. In the mean
time, his pecuniary resources were somewhat scanty and
precarious. A messenger brought me advertisement, he
informs us, that the earl of Moray “ had taken my house
of Rosse from my servants, and medled with my whole
as curators ofAhe younge/chUdren of ^eorge^burtl^earl of^Huntl1”11’ ^ 15G7,tlie bishoPs of Aberdeen and Ross acted
,e*lL12,elr-fapthet’sm the I'roceedl”ss for ”b,aini'« “re-
fiuchanam Rerum Scoticarum Historia, lib. xviii. p. 356. edit. Ruddiman. ? '
236 L E S
Lesley, benefices, and all that I had in Scotland, and had sayd to
v J°hn. ^ my freinds that he wrould cause me to leave my ambas-
Y-'1' sade for povertie ; which he intended should take effect,
for he putt Androwe Monrowe his servaunt in my house
at Rosse, whoe had spoiled it before, and slaine some of
my servaunts in it, since my cominge into England, albeit
it was recovered shortely by my friends in my absence
from him at that time: but nowe he hath withholden the
same, and taken up my whole fruicts continually since
that time. And farther the erle would not suffer anie of
my friends or merchants to make me anie furnyshinge;
and he did well forsee that the queen my mistres might
not support her owne necessitie, nor yet my chargs, at
that time a great strayte; for he toke up her whole rents
in Scotland, and the prince of Condies armie was lieinge
then at Poicters and Toures, where the moste parte of
her dowrie in Fraunce consists, and by that meanes shee
could gett none of it, soe that truely wee were driven to
a great strayte.” In the midst of these perplexities, he
applied to the French ambassador, wdio was unable to af¬
ford him any relief. Mary then wrote to the duke of Al¬
va ; and, on his responsibility, the Spanish ambassador
furnished him with a thousand crowns, one portion of
which he remitted to the queen, another to the garrison
of Dunbarton castle, and the residue he retained for the
expenses of the embassy; nor did he obtain any further
supply during his residence at the court of England.
The scheme of a marriage between Mary and the duke
of Norfolk involved many of their adherents in danger and
difficulties. The duke was himself committed to the
Tower, and several other men of rank were detained in
custody. Lesley was repeatedly examined before the
English queen and council, and was confronted with the
earl of Leicester, w ho had likewise been implicated in the
same transaction. The earls of Northumberland and
Westmoreland had recourse to arms, but were not long
able to keep the field: a force having been sent against
them, they suddenly retired into Scotland, in the month
of December 1569. The former of these noblemen hav¬
ing entered Liddaldale, was seized by a band of freeboot¬
ers, and delivered into the hands of the earl of Moray,
who detained him as a prisoner in Lochleven castle. A
short time before his assassination, the regent intimated
to the ministers of Elizabeth that the earl of Northumber¬
land, and other Englishmen then in Scotland, had men¬
tioned the bishop of Ross as having been cognizant of
their designs, and having encouraged them by the pro¬
mise of obtaining money from foreign princes. In conse¬
quence of this information, he was placed under arrest,
and was detained in custody for six weeks before he was
subjected to any examination. In March 1570 he was
brought before the council at Hampton Court, and confi¬
dently denied the charge; but what is directly denied in
the account of his Negotiations, is virtually admitted in
the narrative of his life. He did not recover his liberty
till after a further detention of two months, and he was
speedily involved in fresh troubles. Ridolfi, a papal emis¬
sary, was employed in conducting certain negociations
between the Scotish queen, the duke of Norfolk, and the
duke of Alva. At Brussels he had entrusted Charles
Baily, a Flemish servant of the queen’s, with a packet of
letters addressed to Mary herself, to Norfolk, Lesley, the
Spanish ambassador, and Lord Lumley. Instead of obey¬
ing the bishop’s injunctions, by leaving the packet with
the captain of Calais, this messenger retained it in his own
possession ; and having been searched at Dover, all his
papers and books were seized, and he was himself com¬
mitted to the Marshelsea. Among the books were some
copies of the bishop’s defence of Mary’s honour, and her
right of succession to the crown of England. By means
of Lord Cobham, warden of the Cinque Ports, he had
LEY.
sufficient influence and dexterity to obtain possession of i
the most material letters, and having “ others made to Jo
their quantitie and similitude,” these were transmitted to's—>
the council. Of this substitution he contrived to make
the prisoner duly aware, in order to allay his fears, and to
prevent him from making any dangerous disclosures ; for
his alarm had been so great that he plainly declared he
was the bearer of letters which would cause himself and
many others to be hanged. Being now recovered from
his agitation, he refused to divulge any material fact on
his first examination; but on being sent to the Tower,
and placed upon the rack, he avoided the torture by a
full confession of his transactions with Ridolfi, and by a
statement of tbe letters having been conveyed to the bi¬
shop of Ross. Of this confession the bishop obtained se¬
cret intelligence, and he lost no time in preparing himself
against its consequences. Only one individual, John
Cuthbert, his chief secretary^, was acquainted with his ci¬
phers and secret writings : he was immediately sent to a
place of safety, and after being concealed four months in
London, was secretly conveyed to France. The ambas¬
sador took care that no dangerous papers should be found
in the search which he now anticipated. In the mean
time, his labours, anxieties, and disappointments had se¬
verely affected his health, though for the last thirty years
he had not been visited with any sickness. For nearly
three months he was afflicted with a fever or ague, and
was attended by two of the best physicians in London.
On the 13th of May 1571, while his malady was still una¬
bated, four members of the council, the earl of Sussex,
Lord Burleigh, Sir Walter Mildmay, and Sir Ralph Sad¬
ler, came to his residence, and began to interrogate him
respecting the facts disclosed by the intercepted messen¬
ger. He averred that he was accountable to his royal
mistress, and would not admit any other responsibility.
They did not fail to enquire for Cuthbert, but found that
he could not be traced. They then removed all his ser¬
vants, except twro who were left to attend him during his
illness ; and two gentlemen of good credit, named Ship-
worth and Kingsmill, were appointed to remain with their
own servants in charge of the ambassador and his house.
His papers were carefully examined, and his study was
locked and sealed. On the following day, afflicted as he
was, he was conveyed in a chariot of the queen’s to Ely
House in Holburn, and was there committed to the keep¬
ing of the two gentlemen already mentioned, and of the
bishop of Ely’s own retinue. When his health was some¬
what restored, he was on five different occasions examin¬
ed before the privy council. The key of his study was
at length restored to him ; and on the 17th of August he
was commanded to accompany the bishop to the country,
being permitted to retain five of his own servants, who
were to attend their master wherever the English prelate
should travel or reside.
The duke of Norfolk, after having been set at liberty,
was a second time committed to the Tower ; and the in¬
vestigation of his alleged acts of treason led to further dis¬
coveries respecting the bishop of Ross’s participation in
his designs. An order was despatched to the Isle of Ely,
directing Bishop Cox to send his prisoner to London.
There he accordingly arrived on the 19th of October, and
was first detained in the house of the lord mayor. Seve¬
ral members of the council, the earl of Bedford, the lord
admiral, Lord Burleigh, Sir Francis Knowles, and Sir
Thomas Smith, accompanied by the attorney and solicitor
general, came to interrogate him on the twenty-fourth of
that month, and treated him with the utmost harshness,
threatening him with the rack and the gallows. He plead¬
ed the privileges of an ambassador, and, producing the
queen of England’s safeconduct, appealed to his royal
mistress as the only competent judge of his conduct dur-
LESLEY.
v, ing his embassy. He was nevertheless sent to the Tower,
i. where he appears to have been treated with great and un-
necessary rigour. “ At my entry into the Towre,” he
states, “ I was received by the leivetenant, and placed in
a prison called the bloudie towre, a very evill ayred and
infected house (where noe man of honest callinge had bin
kepid manie yeres before) with close windowes and dores
with manie locks and bolts, which was torment sufficient
enough for any livinge man that had bin all his daies at
libertie, with a cockshott, as they call it, sett up without,
right against my windowe, to keepe all light and sight
from me. And at my first entres I was searched in all
parts, and such paper and inke, as was in my companie,
taken from me, which was another greife. And in this
manner I was straytly and closely kept, and noe man had
recourse unto me, butonelythe leivetenant himselfe, dur-
inge the whole time I was a prisoner.” Of his subsequent
treatment, of his different examinations, and of the vari¬
ous attempts to draw from him information which might
either criminate himself or others, he has given a circum¬
stantial and interesting detail in his Negotiations.
Dr Wilson, master of the requests, was sent to him for
the purpose of inducing him to become a witness against
the duke of Norfolk, and to deliver certain letters which
he had himself received from Ilidolfi and others, and
which were to be produced in evidence at the trial; but
the bishop again relied upon his character as an ambassa¬
dor, and, according to his own statement, refused either
to appear as a witness, or in any other way to furnish in¬
formation which might tend to the prejudice of any indi¬
vidual. This unfortunate nobleman was convicted of high
treason on the 16th of January, and was brought to the
scaffold on the 2d of June, 1572. The rules of evidence
were at that period little understood, and less regarded,
nor was it necessary to produce the witnesses in court,
provided there was any other method of rendering their
depositions available : previous answers to interrogatories,
the declarations or admissions of the prisoner or other in¬
dividuals, were all received as the most legitimate evi¬
dence ; and in fact the trial of the duke of Norfolk before
his peers, was entirely conducted without the aid of parole
testimony. The bishop of Ross, whose name was perpe¬
tually mentioned in the course of the proceedings, may
be considered as the principal witness against him; for
of all the most material charges the proof seems in a
great measure to have rested on what are described as the
bishop’s confessions, that is, the answers emitted during
his repeated examinations after he had himself been taken
into custody,1 2 On perceiving that all their designs were
discovered, Lesley had become more communicative, and
had thus contributed to the ruin of a man whom he had
so much contributed to entangle in dangerous schemes of
ambition.
While he was beset with such perils in England, the re¬
gent sent Nicholas Elphinstone with a demand that he
should be conveyed to Scotland ; a demand which he con¬
sidered as a sufficient indication of the treatment that
awaited him in his native country. But the duke of
Montmorency having arrived from France on a special
mission, brought instructions from the king to intercede
lor his release ; and this application was so far successful
as to procure his removal to Farnham castle, the seat of
the bishop of Winchester. The lieutenant of the Tower
charged for his maintenance the sum of two hundred
237
pounds, which was advanced by the French ambassador, Lesley,
and repaid by Mary: he likewise retained as a lawful John,
perquisite the whole of the furniture and silver plate
which the prisoner had brought for his own use ; and
finally, says Lesley, “ the gentleman-porter of the Towrer
retained my satin gown as due to him, because it was mjr
uppermost cloth when I entred.” Being only permitted
to take one attendant, he selected Thomas Lesley, a se¬
cretary who had resided with him during his captivit}',
and had himself been subjected to a short imprisonment.
In the castle of this prelate, Dr Horne, he has stated, “ I
remained the space of a year and three moneths, and all
that time was very straitly keept, and two gentlemen did
continually wait upon me night and day, and had no
liberty to speake to any other his servants but in their
presence, nor yet with any other but in my Lord of Win¬
chesters own presence ; yet in all other things I was very
honourably and friendly used by him.”
During his confinement in the Tower, he had sought
for consolation in study and meditation. There he had
composed his Pice Consolation.es ; and he was now per¬
mitted to transmit them to the queen, who needed con¬
solation still more than her ambassador. From this pious
treatise she derived so much gratification, that she de¬
voted some of her prison hours to the task of transfusing
a portion of it into French verse. He was induced to
prepare a similar work, Animi tranquilli Munimentum,
which he sent to her on the 1st of October 1573, and had
again the satisfaction of finding that his labours were duly
appreciated. In the mean time, he was not free from the
apprehension of personal danger ; the earl of Morton hav¬
ing twice sent a diplomatic agent, Captain Cockburn, for
the purpose of renewing the demand for the delivery of
his person. Having some reliance upon his own elo¬
quence, he now addressed to Elizabeth a Latin oration
for the recovery of his liberty; and, whatever might be
the effect of his classical pleading, he was soon afterwards
released from his tedious confinement. The bishop of
Winchester, on receiving the necessary order, conducted
him to London on the 11th of November. On the six¬
teenth, he was brought before the council, at the house
of the lord treasurer, and was informed that he would be
permitted to proceed either to Scotland or France. That
Lesley had been deeply implicated in transactions which
would justly have exposed a subject to punishment, there
seems little or no reason to dispute : the state-papers, as
well as the histories of that period, exhibit him in the
light of a subtle, restless, and dangerous plotter, who re¬
sorted to a great variety of expedients for promoting the
interest of the unfortunate queen. The English states¬
men seem to have been much inclined to treat him as they
ultimately treated Mary herself; and in 1571 they had
submitted his case to the opinion of five learned civilians,
Lewis, Dale, Drury, Aubrey, and Jones,a In answer to
one of the questions propounded, they declared, that, ac¬
cording to the law of nations, as well as the civil law, an
ambassador who excites rebellion against the sovereign to
whom he is sent, forfeits all his privileges, and may be sub¬
jected to punishment. But among the more civilized na¬
tions it has very generally been regarded as the safest
maxim, rather to spare a delinquent than not to spare an
ambassador ;3 and although he was thus subjected to along
and arbitrary imprisonment, the ministers of Elizabeth had
never ventured to bring him to a formal trial.4
1 Brown’s Tryal of Thomas Duke of Norfolk by his Peers. Lond. 1709, 8vo.
2 Camdeni Annales, vol. ii. p. 237- edit. Hearnii.
4 ‘VLe.vius eorum peccatum fore,” says Cicero, “ si homini scelerato pepercissent, quam si legato non pepercissent.”
,tius <ie Jure Kelli ac Pacisi hb. h- cap. xviii. § iv. 5. Bynkershoek de Foro Legatorum, cap. xviii. p. 533. Wicquefort,
Ambassadeur et ses Fonctions, part. i. p. 559. All these writers refer to the case of Lesley, but Grotius in a more cursory man¬
ner, in one of his notes.
238 L E S L E Y.
Lesley, In the month of January 1574 he landed in France, and following year, Lesley was intercepted and cast into pri- r
, there he remained till the folio wing year, when Mary thought son ; and in order to pay a ransom of nearly three thou- Joh
v it expedient to send him on a mission to Rome. He ex- sand pistoles, he was under the necessity of selling his's-\>
perienced a very gracious reception from Gregory the Thir- furniture and other goods. The city of Rouen was invest-
teenth, who in a great measure defrayed his expenses du- ed in 1591, and during the siege he is said to have ex¬
ring the three years of his residence in that holy city. Be- erted himself with great perseverance and resolution in
sides the release of the queen from captivity, her ambas- encouraging the governor, officers, and citizens. As a re-
sador’s instructions related to various other matters, con- ward of his services, the duke of Mayenne recommended
nected with her joint interest and that of the popish faith, him to Clement the Eighth as well qualified to fill the va-
The great object to be attained was her restoration to the cant bishopric of Coustance in Normandy. The pope
throne; and with the view of removing some of the obstacles, issued the necessary bulls, accompanied with an unavail-
she was willing to admit her son to a participation of the ing licence to retain the see of Ross till he should be put
royal dignity; but in order to render him worthy of being in possession of his new diocese; and he was graciously
thus associated, some scheme was to be devised for con- pleased to remit the annats, or first fruits, and other pay-
veying him to a catholic country, and uniting him in mar- ments which usually attend a bishop’s promotion. As he
riage either with a daughter of the emperor of Germany could not safely present himself at his episcopal seat, the
or the king ot Spain. ceremony of his admission was in the year 1594 perform-
Lesley was more usefully employed in preparing for ed in the metropolitan church of Rouen,
the press his general history of Scotland, which was pub- But from this preferment he appears to have derived
lished at Rome in the year 1578. It is dedicated to the no advantage; and the unhappy situation of public affairs
pope, and the epistle dedicatory is followed by an address in France induced him to seek another place of refuge,
to Cardinal Cajetano, described as protector of the Scotish Directing his course towards Flanders, he reached Cha-
nation. Among the commendatory verses inserted in the teau d’Aussy in the province of Artois, in the month of
volume, we find the contributions of Muretus, Ninian Win- March, and afterwards proceeded to Brussels, where he
zet, and Alexander Seton, afterwards earl of Dunfermline, experienced a friendly reception from the archduke Br¬
and chancellor of Scotland.1 These elegant studies of nest, governor of the Netherlands. Of the history of
the author were speedily interrupted by a new mission. Scotland, he had at an earlier period transmitted a copy
Hopes were now entertained that the ancient faith might to his catholic majesty, who testified its gracious recep-
be restored in Scotland by the power and influence of the tion by a letter, written in Latin, and bearing the royal
earl of Athole ; and with the view of watching any fa- signature. On this occasion he had promised to be mind-
vourable change of affairs, the pope directed the bishop ful of the bishop’s private affairs. On the day before her
of Ross to proceed towards the coast of France adjacent execution, Mary had addressed to Philip a letter in which
to Britain. His holiness having appointed him to supply she recommended her son to his special protection; and
the place of a nuncio who had recently died at the impe- she likewise requested him to bear in remembrance the
rial court, Lesley travelled through Germany, and re- faithful services which had been rendered to her by the
mained for some time at Prague, where Maximilian was bishop of Ross. He directed the princTe of Parma, then
then residing. His instructions from Mary partly re- governor of the Netherlands, to bestow upon him the first
lated to the Scotish monasteries founded in Germany ; bishopric or other prelacy that should become vacant in
some of which having been seized by heretics and other these provinces, and in the mean time to provide for him a
evil disposed persons, he exerted his influence to procure suitable maintenance. The prince had accordingly assigned
their restoration to the Scotish monks. Monastic insti- to him a pension of fifty crowns a month, to be computed
tutions have often been the strongholds of political, as from the first of June 1587; and this pension still conti-
well as moral misrule ; nor is it difficult to discern the nued to be paid, though not with sufficient regularity to
spirit which dictated this ambassador s instructions. He prevent him from being exposed to occasional difficulties,
visited the duke of Bavaria, and other catholic princes of The archbishopric of Mechlin having become vacant, the
the empire, and was every where well received till he ar- archduke and the council of state recommended him to
lived at Lalsburg, a town near Strasburg, where he was Philip for this high preferment; but the design seems to
seized by some officers with a guard of four hundred men, have been frustrated, partly by the unexpected demise of
under the command of a protestant nobleman, George Ernest, who, almost in the article of death, signified to the
^assimir of Littelsteyn. . lor the space of nearly two council his wish that Lesley’s suit should not be neglected,
months, he was detained in the castle of Palsburg; but He was encouraged by the nobility and counsellors to
t icy at length discovered their mistake in supposing him await the arrival of the new governor, Cardinal Albert,
to be the archbishop of Rossana, a papal legate; and on another archduke of Austria, brother to the deceased;
paying a considerable sum of money, he was permitted to and in order to smooth the path of preferment, he pre¬
prosecute his journey. Passing through Lorraine, he ar- pared a congratulation, which was not however published
iivec in r ranee, and had there the mortification to receive till after the death of the author. Part of the summer of
intelligence of the earl ot Athole’s sudden death, which 1595 he spent at Spa for the benefit of his declining health,
took place on the 24th of April 1579. It was some con- and, as we are informed, “ not without great inconveni-
so ation that the Cardinal de Bourbon, archbishop of ence, and even the danger of his life, by the incursions
Rouen, soon afterwards appointed him suffragan and vicar of the hereticks and the rebels of Holland ; who crowd- !
geneial or that diocese. In this station he continued for ing in those parts, robbed him of all his goods, and en- j
tie space of foiuteen years, the kingdom was then de- deavoured to seize his person, that they might carry it I
vastated by civil war, and he naturally adhered to the off.” But all his personal dangers, as well as his schemes 1
party o the leaguers, who, with the vievy of excluding of ambition, were terminated at Brussels on the 31st of
enTcon P™C-aimf^ c.ardinal king in the May 1596, when he died in the sixty-ninth year of his
year lo89. While visiting this diocese in the course of the age.2
• An epigram in commendation of Lesley occurs among the poems of Joannes Gesseus, in the Delithe Poetarum Gallorum, tom.
i. p»
Aodd has recorded his pious benefactions to the church. “ He laid the foundation of three colleges for the education of cler-
L E S
- v, Bishop Lesley was evidently a man of very superior
Jo talents for literature as well as business. His studies and
^- .-^pUrsuits had been those of a lawyer and statesman, rather
than a theologian; and his intellect had been much ex¬
ercised and whetted by a long course of diplomatic ser¬
vices, of a peculiarly delicate and dangerous nature.
With the accomplishments of an elegant scholar, he
united the dexterity of a man of the world. He is the
author of various works, and several of these must still be
considered as valuable. His defence of Q,ueen Mary’s
honour is written with no small acuteness and address:
the task which he had undertaken was sufficiently for¬
midable ; if the queen was not guilty of adultery and mur¬
der, her conduct had at least exhibited the strongest in¬
dications of guilt; but this zealons and able champion
shrinks from no difficulties, and is undismayed by the
most prominent obstacles. His negociations contain some
characteristic details, and furnish some curious materials
for history. But the most conspicuous of his works is his
Latin history of Scotland, which is written with a very
considerable degree of elegance, and, in the more recent
portion of it, supplies much important information. The
work is divided into ten books ; of which the first seven,
ending with the reign of James the First, comprehend
little more than an abridgement of Boyce. As he de¬
scends to his own times, he becomes much more copious
and interesting. With the transactions of Mary’s reign,
which he has not however prosecuted beyond the year
1562, he had peculiar opportunities of becoming familiarly
acquainted; and it is useful, as well as interesting, to
compare the statements and reflections of Lesley and
Buchanan, the most distinguished adherents of the popish
and protestant parties.
Of the works of Lesley we subjoin a catalogue, accom¬
panied with a few notices, chiefly bibliographical.
1. A Defence of the Honour of the right highe, mightye,
and noble Princesse Marie, Queene of Scotlande, and Dow¬
ager of France ; with a Declaration aswell of her Right,
Title, and Intereste to the Sucessioun of the Crowne of
Englande, as that the Regimente of Women ys conform¬
able to the Lawe of God and Nature. Imprinted at Lon¬
don in Flete Strete at the signe of Justice Royall against
the Blacke Bell by Eusebius Dicaeophilus, anno Dom.
1569, 8vo. A Treatise concerning the Defence of the
Honovr, &c. Made by Morgan Philippes, Bachelar of Di-
uinitie, an. 1570. Leodii, apud Gualterum Morberium,
1571,8vo. Here the tract relating to the succession bears
the following title : “ A Treatise tovching the Right, Title,
and Interest of the mightie and noble Princesse Marie,
Queene of Scotland, to the Succession of the Croune of
England. Made by Morgan Philippes, Bachelar of Diuini-
tie, assisted with the aduise of Antonie Broune, Knight,
one of the Justices of the Common Place. An. 1567.”
This treatise he afterwards translated into Latin, as well as
French, and likewise published the original in a separate
form. “ De Titulo et Jure serenissimae Principis Mariae
Scotorum Reginae, quo Regni Angliae Successionem sibi
juste vendicat, Libellus,” &c. Rhemis, 1580, 4to. “ A
Treatise towelling the Right, Title, and Interest,” &c. An.
LEY. 239
1584, 8vo. “ Du Droict et Tiltre de la serenissime Prin- Lesley,
cesse, Marie Royne d’Escosse, et de tres illustre Prince John.
Jacques VI. Roy d’Escosse son fils, a la Succession du
Royaume d’Angleterre : avec la Genealogie des Roys d’An-
gleterre ayans regne depuis cinq cens ans. Premierement
compos6 en Latin et Anglois, par R. P. en Dieu M. Jean
de Lesselie, Euesque de Rosse, Escossois, lors qu’il estoit
Ambassadeur en Angleterre pour sa Majeste, et nouuelle-
ment mis en Francois par le mesme Autheur.” Rouen,
1587, 8vo. The same work was also translated into Spa¬
nish, under the title of “ Declaracion del Titulo y Derecho
que la serenissima Princesa Doha Maria Reina de Escosia
tiene a la Sucesion de Inglaterra.”1 The defence of the
queen’s honour, from the edition of 1571, is reprinted in
Anderson’s Collections, vol. i. and the Latin version of the
tract on the right of succession in those of Jebb, “ De Vita
et Rebus gestis Mariae Scotorum Reginae Autores sede-
cim,” tom. i. Lond. 1725, 2 tom. fol. Of his tract on fe¬
male government he also published a Latin translation.
“ De illustrium Foeminarum in Repub. administranda, ac
ferendis Legibus, Authoritate, Libellus,” &c. Rhemis, 1580,
4to. This tract was occasioned by Knox’s “ First Blast of
the Trumpet against the monstrvovs Regiment of Women,”
published in 1558. His vindication of the queen’s right
of succession was written in answer to a book published in
1560 by John Hales, clerk of the hanaper. Lesley writes
in the character of an Englishman, and therefore borrows
the name of Morgan Philips, who was a popish priest of
Douay. In order to maintain his assumed character with
more propriety, he submitted the manuscript to his friend
and physician Dr Good, “ that he might turn into English
any Scottish words in it.”2
2. Joannis Leslaei Scoti, Episcopi Rossen. pro Libertate
impetranda, Oratio, ad serenissimam Elizabetham Anglias
Reginam. Parisiis, 1574, 8vo. This oration is reprinted
in Nichols’s “ Progresses of Queen Elizabeth,” vol. iii.
3. Joannis Leslaei Scoti, Episcopi Rossen. libri duo : quo¬
rum uno, Piae afflicti Animi Consolationes, divinaque Re¬
media; altei’o, Animi tranquilli Munimentum et Conser-
vatio, continentur. Ad serenissiman Principem D. Mariam
Scotorum Reginam. His adjecimus ejusdem Principis Epis-
tolam ad Rossensem Episcopum, et Versus item Gallicos
Latino carmine translates, pias etiam aliquot Preces, &c.
Parisiis, 1574, 8vo.
4. De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus gestis Scotorum libri
decern : e quibus septem veterum Scotorum res in primis
memorabiles contractius, reliqui vero tres posteriorum re¬
gum ad nostra tempora historiam, quae hucusque desidera-
batur, fusius explicant. Accessit nova et accurata Regio-
num et Insularum Scotiae, cum vera ejusdem tabula topo-
graphica, Descriptio. Authore Joanne Leslaeo, Scoto,
Episcopo Rossensi. Romae, 1578, 4to. Nunc denuo re-
cus. anno Domini 1675, 4to. This latter edition, which is
said to have been printed in London, contains a dedication
to the earl of Rothes, subscribed by a George Lesley.
That portion of the history which relates to the reign of
Mary, is inserted in the collection of Dr Jebb, tom. i.
5. Congratulatio serenissimo Principi et illustrissimo Car¬
dinal! Alberto Archiduci Austriae, &c. de fausto ac felici
gymen, to be sent upon the mission, after the example of Dr Allen, as I find by letters between them upon that subject. Having
compleated the establishment of a college for his countrymen in Paris, he gave a beginning to another at Rome, with a subsistence
tor about ten students ; where the Jesuits slept in to be managers. This zealous bishop died in the year 1596, leaving behind him
a sum of money towards the foundation of a third college, also for the clergy. The design could not be brought to bear till 1609,
when a small community was set up at Antwerp, whereof the Jesuits were made superiors. But before matters could be entirely
compleated, it was removed to Doway an. 1612, and governed by Walloon Jesuits, till one Curie (son to Mr Curie, formerly se¬
cretary to Mary queen of Scots) becoming a Jesuit, and bringing with him an addition of 5000 florins to the original stock, he was
made rector of the college about 1620. Since that time the superior has been a Scotch Jesuit. Very few clergymen were educat¬
ed there afterwards, and of latter years none at all; the old fund, as may be supposed, being swallowed up by the latter addition.”
(Church History of England, from the year 1500 to the year 1688, vol. ii. p. 42. Brussels, 1737-42, 3 vols. fol.)
1 Antonii Bibliotheca Hispana, tom. ii. p. 354.
Anderson's pref. to Lesley’s Defence, p. xi.
240 L E S
Leslie, ejus Adventu ad Regimen Provinciarum Inferioris Ger-
nCharles, manias. Per R. in Christo P. Joan. Leslaeum, Episcopum
N J Rossensem, Scotum. Subjicitur series vitae suae. Bruxel-
lae, 1596, 8vo. This Httle work is reprinted in Anderson’s
Collections, vol. i. Of the account of the author’s life, a
translation is inserted in vol. hi.
6. A Discourse conteyninge a perfect Accompt given to
the moste vertuous and excellent Princesse, Marie Queene
of Scots, and her Nobility, by John Lesley, Bishop of Rosse,
Ambassador for her Highnes toward the Qneene of Eng¬
land, of his whole Charge and Proceedings during the time
of his Ambassage, from his entres in England in September
1568, to the 26th of March 1572. This account of the
bishop’s negociations, which extends to 252 pages, was
printed, for the first time, in Anderson’s Collections relat¬
ing to the History of Mary Queen of Scotland, vol. iii.
Edinb. & Lond. 1727-8, 4 vols. 4to. As the language
was Anglicized by Dr Good, it may be presumed that Lesley
intended the work for immediate publication.
7. The History of Scotland, from the death of King James
I. in the year m.cccc.xxxvi. to the year m.d.lxi. By John
Lesley, Bishop of Ross. Edinburgh, 1830, 4to. This va¬
luable relique was edited by Thomas Thomson, Esq. from a
MS. belonging to the earl ofLeven and Melville. Prefixed is
a portrait of the author, copied from an old engraving, and
representing him as a man of a dignified and sagacious as¬
pect. Of his Scotish history the Latin is not a mere trans¬
lation. “ The readers of this volume,” as the editor has
remarked, “ who may take the trouble of comparing it with
the Latin version, will readily perceive that the alterations
made by the author on his own original sketch do not con¬
sist merely in correction and enlargement; but that, in
numerous instances, he has been induced to suppress or
generalize those more minute details and domestic occur¬
rences which he may have found less susceptible of that
classic attire in which he was naturally ambitious of exhi¬
biting his historical work. In this respect, the present pub¬
lication may be found to contribute some few particulars
to the materials of our national history ; but a still higher
value will probably be attached to it as a specimen of pure
and vigorous composition, in his native language, by one
of the most able and accomplished Scotchmen of the six¬
teenth century.” (x.)
LESLIE, Charles, was the second son of Dr John
Leslie, bishop of Clogher, in Ireland, who was descended
from an ancient family in the north of Scotland, and, being
an admirable scholar, rose to the dignity of bishop of Ork¬
ney in his own country, whence he was, in the year 1633,
translated to Raphoe, and afterwards, in 1661, to the see
of Clogher, in Ireland.
Our author was born in Ireland, but in what year we
have not learned. There is a ludicrous story, indeed, of his
having been begotten in prison, and of his father having
said that he hoped he would in consequence become the
greatest scourge of the covenanters that Great Britain or
Ireland had ever seen. This story, with all its circum¬
stances, can scarcely be true; but we think it could not
have been fabricated, had not Charles Leslie been born
within a year of Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland, when the
good bishop, having sustained a siege in his castle of Ra¬
phoe, was some time kept in close confinement.
We are equally ignorant of the school where he was
educated as of the year of his birth ; but we know that he
received his academical education in Trinity College, Dub¬
lin, where he took the degree of master of arts. In the year
1671, he lost his father, when he came over to England,
and, entering himself in the temple, studied law for some
years, but afterwards relinquished it for the study of divi¬
nity. In 1680 he was admitted into holy orders, and, in
1687, was made chancellor of Connor.
About this period he rendered himself particularly ob-
L E S
noxious to the Catholic party in Ireland, by his zealous
opposition to them, which was thus called forth. R0gCT
Boyle, bishop of Clogher, dying in 1687, Patrick Tyrrel ^
was made Catholic bishop, and had the revenues of the see
assigned him by King James. He set up a convent of friars
in Monaghan, and, fixing his habitation there, held a pub¬
lic visitation of his clergy with great solemnity; when,
some subtile logicians attending him, he challenged the
Protestant clergy to a public disputation. Leslie under¬
took the task, and performed it to the satisfaction of the
Protestants; though it happened, as it generally does at
such contests, that both sides claimed the victory. He
afterwards held another public disputation with two cele¬
brated Catholic divines, in the church of Tynan, in the
diocese of Armagh, before a very numerous assembly of
persons of both religions ; the issue of which was, that Mr
John Stewart, a Catholic gentleman, renounced the church
of Rome.
As the Catholics had got possession of an Episcopal see,
they engrossed other offices also ; and a Catholic high-she¬
riff was appointed for the county of Monaghan. This pro¬
ceeding alarmed the gentlemen in that county, who, de¬
pending much on Leslie’s knowledge as a justice of peace,
repaired to him, then confined, by the gout, to his house.
He told them, that it would be as illegal in them to permit
the sheriff to act as it would be in him to attempt it. But
they insisting that he should appear himself on the bench
at the next quarter-sessions, and all promising to stand by
him, he was carried thither with much difficulty and in
great pain. When the sheriff appeared, and was taking his
place, he was asked whether he was legally qualified; to
which he answered smartly, “ That he was of the king’s
own religion, and it was his majesty’s will that he should
be sheriff.” Leslie replied, “ that they were not inquiring
into his majesty’s religion, but whether he (the pretended
sheriff) had qualified himself according to law, for acting
as a proper officer ; that the law was the king’s will, and
nothing else to be deemed such ; that his subjects had no
other way of knowing his will, but as it is revealed to them
in his laws; and it must always be thought to continue so,
till the contrary is notified to them in the same authentic
manner.” Upon this the bench unanimously agreed to
commit the pretended sheriff, for his intrusion and arro¬
gant contempt ot the court. r Leslie also committed some
officers of the army which the Lord Tyrconnel raised, for
offences.
By this spirited conduct Leslie acted like a sound di¬
vine and an upright magistrate ; but though he thought
himself authorized to resist the legal mandates of his so¬
vereign, like many other great and good men, he distin¬
guished between active and passive obedience, and felt
not himself at liberty to transfer his allegiance from that
sovereign to another. Refusing therefore to take the
oaths to King William and Queen Mary, he was de¬
prived of all his preferments; and in 1689 he removed
with his family to England, where he published the fol¬
lowing amongst other works: 1. Answer to Archbishop !
King’s State of the Protestants in Ireland. 2. Cassan- '
dra, concerning the new Associations, &c. 1703, 4to. 3.
Rehearsals; at first a weekly paper, published afterwards
twice a week in a half-sheet, by way of a dialogue on the j
affairs of the times ; begun in 1704, and continued for six
or seven years. 4. The Wolf stripped of his Shepherd’s
Clothing, in Answer to Moderation a Virtue, 1704, 4to.
The pamphlet it answers was written by James Owen. 5.
The Bishop of Sarum’s [Burnet’s] proper Defence, from a
Speech said to be spoken by him against occasional Con¬
formity, 1704, 4to. 6. The new Association of those called
Moderate Churchmen, &c. occasioned by a pamphlet en¬
titled The Danger of Priestcraft, 1705, 4to. 7. The new
Association, part ii. 1705, 4to. 8. The Principles of Dis-
LESLIE.
jj|£iie. senters concerning Toleration and occasional Conformity,
■hijes. 1705, 4to. 9. A Warning for the Church of England, 1706,
Some have doubted whether these two pieces were
his. 10. The good old Cause, or Lying in Truth, being
a second Defence of the Bishop of Sarum from a second
Speech, &c. 1710. For this a warrant was issued out
against Leslie. 11. A Letter to the Bishop of Sarum, in
Answer to his Sermon after the Queen’s Death, in Defence
of the Revolution, 1715. 12. Salt for the Leech. 13. The
Anatomy of a Jacobite. 14. Gallienus Redivivus. 15.
Delenda Carthago. 16. A Letter to Mr William Molyneux,
on his Case of Ireland’s being bound by the English Acts
of Parliament. 17. A Letter to Julian Johnson. 18. Se¬
veral Tracts against Dr Higden and Mr Hoadly. 19. A
Discourse, showing who they are that are now qualified to
administer Baptism. 20. The History of Sin and Heresy,
&c. 1698, 8vo. 21. The Truth of Christianity demonstrated,
in a Dialogue between a Christian and a Deist, 1711, 8vo.
22. Of private Judgment and Authority in Matters of Faith.
23. The Case stated between the Church of Rome and
the Church of England, 1713. 24. The true notion of the
Catholic Church, in Answer to the Bishop of Meaux’s
Letter to Mr Nelson. Besides these, he published the
four following tracts: 25. A Sermon preached at Chester,
against Marriages in different Communions, 1702, 8vo.
This sermon occasioned Mr Dodwell’s Discourse upon the
same subject. 26. A Dissertation concerning the Use and
Authority of Ecclesiastical History. 27. The Case of the
Regal and the Pontificate. 28. A Supplement in Answer
to a Book entitled The Regal Supremacy in Ecclesiastical
Affairs asserted. These last two pieces were occasioned
by the dispute about the right of convocation, between
Wake, &c. on one side, and Atterbury and his friends,
amongst whom was Leslie, on the other.
It is said by the authors of the Biographical Dictionary,
that, in consequence of a publication of his, entitled “The
Hereditary Right of the Crown of England asserted,” he was
under the necessity of leaving the kingdom ; and that he
repaired to the Pretender at Bar-le-duc, where he was al¬
lowed to officiate, .in a private chapel, according to the
rites of the church of England, and where he endeavoured,
though in vain, to convert the Pretender to the Protest¬
ant religion.
That he repaired to Bar-le-duc, and endeavoured to
convert to the faith of the church of England him whom
he considered as the rightful sovereign of England, is in¬
deed true; but there is reason to believe that this was not
in consequence of his being obliged to leave the kingdom.
In the first place, it is more than probable that “ The Here¬
ditary Right of the Crown of England asserted” was not
written by Leslie; and there is still in existence undoubted
evidence, that, in consequence of his great fame as a pole¬
mic, he was sent to Bar-le-duc for the express purpose
of endeavouring to convert the son of James II., by some
gentlemen of fortune in England, who wished to see that
prince seated upon the throne of his ancestors. The writer
ot this article had the honour to be well known to the
grand-daughter of one of those gentlemen, a lady of the
strictest veracity ; and from her he received many anec¬
dotes of Leslie and his associates, which, as he did not then
foresee that he should ever have any occasion to use them,
he has suffered to slip from his memory. That lady, we
have reason to believe, was in possession of many letters
by Leslie, written in confidence to her grandfather, both
from Bar-le-duc and from St Germains; and by the ac¬
count which she gave of these letters, Leslie appears to
have considered his prince as a weak and incorrigible bi¬
got, though, in every thing but religion, an amiable and
accomplished man. This may have been his genuine cha¬
racter, for we know very well that it was the character of
his father; but it is not of him that we are now writing.
VOL. XIII.
Mr Leslie having remained abroad from the year 1709
till 1721, returned that year to England, resolving, what¬
ever the consequences might be, to die in his own coun¬
try. Some of his friends having acquainted Lord Sun¬
derland with his purpose, implored his protection for the
good old man, which his lordship readily and generously
promised. Mr Leslie had no sooner arrived in London,
than a member of the Flouse of Commons officiously wait¬
ed on Lord Sunderland with the news, but met with such
a reception from his lordship as the malice of his errand
deserved. Our author then went over to Ireland, where
he died, on the 13th of April 1722, at his own house at
Glaslough, in the county of Monaghan.
His character maybe summed up in a few words. Con¬
summate learning, attended by the deepest humility, the
strictest piety without the least tincture of moroseness, a
conversation in the highest degree lively and spirited, yet
to the last degree innocent, made him the delight of man¬
kind ; and has left what Dr Hickes says of him unquestion¬
able, that he made more converts to sound faith and a
holy life than any other man of his time.
A charge, however, has been brought against him, which,
if well founded, must detract not only from his literary
fame, but also from his personal integrity. The Short
and Easy Method with the Deists is unquestionably his most
valuable, and apparently his most original work ; yet this
work has been published in French amongst the works of
the Abbe St Real, who died in 1692; and therefore it
has been said, that unless it was published in English prior
to that period, Charles Leslie must be considered as a
shameless plagiary.(
The English work was certainly not published prior to
the death of the Abbe St Real, for the first edition bears
date the 17th of July 1697 ; and yet many reasons conspire
to convince us that our countryman was no plagiary. There
is indeed a striking similarity between the English and
the French works ; but this is no complete proof that the
one was copied from the other. The article Philology
in this Encyclopaedia, of which the late Dr Doig of Stir¬
ling was the author, was published the very same week
in which Dr Vincent's dissertation on the Greek verb ap¬
peared. It was therefore impossible that either of these
learned men, who till then were strangers to each other’s
names, could have stolen aught from the other; and yet
Dr Vincent’s derivation of the Greek verb bears as striking
a resemblance to that of Dr Doig as the Abbe St Real’s
work does to that of Charles Leslie. In the article Mi¬
racle, too, the credibility of the gospel miracles is esta¬
blished by an argument, which the author certainly did not
borrow from any one, and which the late Principal Camp¬
bell of Aberdeen considered as original; yet within half a
year of the publication of that article, the credibility of the
gospel miracles was treated in the very same manner by
Dr Sayers, though there is in his dissertation complete
internal evidence that he had not seen the article in this
Encyclopedia. Further, the author of this sketch re¬
viewed, in one of the Journals, the work of a friend, which
was at the same time reviewed in another Journal which
he never saw. Yet he was told by a friend, who was
conversant in that kind of reading, and knew nothing of
his concern with either Journal, that the book in question
must, in both, have been reviewed by the same hand, be¬
cause in both the same character was given of it in almost
the very same words.
After these instances of apparent plagiarism, and which
we know to be only apparent, has any man a right to say
that Charles Leslie and the Abbe St Real might not have
treated their subject in the way that they have done, with¬
out either borrowing from the other ? The coincidence
of arrangement and reasoning in two different works is in¬
deed very surprising ; but it is by no means so surprising
2 H
241
Leslie,
Charles.
242
LESLIE.
Leslie, as the coincidence of etymological deductions which ap-
Charles. pear in tile writings of Drs Doig and Vincent. The divines
" v ^ reason from the acknowledged laws of human thought;
the reasonings of the grammarians, with all deference to
their superior learning, we cannot help considering as
sometimes a little fanciful.
But this is not all that we have to urge on the subject.
If there be plagiarism in the case, and the identity of titles
looks very like it, it is infinitely more probable that the
editor of St Real’s works stole from Leslie, than that Les¬
lie stole from St Real; unless it can be proved that the
works of the abbe, and this work in particular, were pub¬
lished before the year 1697. At that period the English
language was very little read or understood upon the Con¬
tinent, whilst in Britain the French language was, by
scholars, as generally understood as at present. Hence it
is, that so many Frenchmen, and indeed foreigners of dif¬
ferent nations, thought themselves safe in pilfering from
the British philosophers; whilst there is not, in as far as
we know, one well authenticated instance of a British phi¬
losopher appropriating to himself the discoveries of a fo¬
reigner. Is it then very improbable that the editor of
the works of St Real would claim to his friend a cele¬
brated tract, of which he knew the real author to be ob¬
noxious to the government of his own country, and there¬
fore not likely to have powerful friends to maintain his
right ?
But further. Dr Burnet, bishop of Sarum, was an excel¬
lent scholar, and well read, as every one knows, in the works
of foreign divines. Is it conceivable, that this prelate,
when smarting under the scourge of Leslie, would have let
slip so favourable an opportunity of covering with dis¬
grace his most formidable antagonist, had he known that
antagonist to be guilty of plagiarism from the writings of
the Abbe St Real ? Let it be granted, however, that
Burnet was a stranger to these writings and to this pla¬
giarism ; it can hardly be supposed that Le Clerc was
likewise ignorant of them. Yet this author—when, for
reasons best known to himself, he chose, in the year 1706,
to depreciate the argument of Leslie’s Short and Easy Me¬
thod, and to traduce its author as ignorant of ancient his¬
tory, and as having brought forward his four marks for
no other purpose than to put the deceitful traditions of
popery upon the same footing with the most authentic
doctrines of the gospel—does not so much as insinuate that
he had borrowed these marks from a popish abbe, though
such a charge, could he have established it, would have
served his purpose more than all his rude railings and
invective. But there was no room for such a charge. In
the second volume of the works of St Real, published in
1757, there is indeed a tract entitled Methode Courte et
Aisee pour comhattre les Deistes ; and there can be little
doubt but that the publisher wished it to be considered as
the work of his countryman. Unfortunately, however,
for his design, a catalogue of the abbe’s works is given
in the first volume; and in that catalogue the Methode
Courte et Aisee is not mentioned.
We have dwelt thus long on The Short and Easy Me¬
thod with the Deists, because it is one of the ablest works
that ever was written in proof of the divine origin of the
Jewish and Christian Scriptures ; a work of which the high
merit was acknowledged even by Lord Bolingbroke, and
which, as is well known to theological scholars, Dr Conyers
Middleton confessed to be unanswerable. If by men of
science we should be thought to have spent our time well
in vindicating the rights of some of our illustrious philo¬
sophers, to discoveries which have been unjustly claimed
for the philosophers of Germany and France, we will not
surely, by the friends of Christianity, be thought to have
employed our time ill in vindicating Leslie’s claim to this
decisive argument in support of our holy religion.
Leslie, Sir John, Professor of Natural Philosophy in i
the University of Edinburgh, and author of several scien- Sir?
tific works, inventions, and discoveries, of great celebrity y
was born at the village of Largo, in the county of Fife*
on the 16th of April 1766. If, in sketching the Life of
this eminent person, we should happen to exceed the usual
limits of our biographical notices, we can at least plead in
excuse that we have done so in the case of one of the
greatest benefactors of this Encyclopsedia—one whose
counsels led to not a few of the improvements which dis¬
tinguish the later years of its history, and to whom it is
indebted for many contributions, marked with the stamp
of his vigorous and original powers. It is painful to us
to recollect the number of similar claims to our atten¬
tion. Too many illustrious contemporary benefactors
have, like him, left us the mournful duty of preserving
some memorials of their personal history, in the work
which received from their co-operation its highest honours
and proudest recommendations.
He was the son of humble, but, in their line of life,
highly respectable parents, who lived to enjoy the cele¬
brity of their son, and for whom he ever cherished that
affection which formed a marked feature of his charac¬
ter, in regard to all the members of his family. His
father, originally from the neighbourhood of St Andrews,
lived for some time at Anstruther, but ultimately set¬
tled at Largo, as a joiner and cabinet-maker. His wife,
Anne Carstairs, was a native of that place ; and the sub¬
ject of this article was the youngest child of their mar¬
riage. Though he attained in manhood a robust frame,
he was, in early youth, of a very feeble constitution; so
much so, that when sent, at four years of age, to a sort of
school, kept by an old woman, who plied her wheel whilst
teaching the alphabet, he was indulged with a separate
stool, near the fire-place, which the dame set apart for the
feeblest of her juvenile pupils. As long as he was per¬
mitted to monopolize this seat of honour, he seems to
have been tolerably pleased with his situation ; but being
at length superseded by a younger, or more favoured
pupil, he eloped from the school, hid himself for a day
in some obscure corner, and, when obliged to come forth,
obstinately refused to return to the tutelage of the an¬
cient spinster. He was in consequence placed in another
school, where he remained six months, and was taught
writing and arithmetic ; his father and his eldest brother,
who appear to have possessed some knowledge of the ele¬
mentary parts of mathematics, giving him, at the same
time, his first lessons in that science. He was afterwards
entered at a school in the neighbouring town of Leven,
where Latin was taught; but his intense dislike, at this
time, to that language, and his inability to walk and re¬
turn daily a distance of three miles, induced his parents
to discontinue his attendance, after a short trial of six
weeks. Such was the brief and meagre curriculum which
formed the whole training of the future mathematician
and philosopher, previous to his being entered a student at
the University of St Andrews ! But we must not too
hastily despatch this early period of his life, when his
genius, working with its own inward resources, already
began to attract observation.
I he first person of any sort of distinction who noticed
his precocious attainments, was Mr Oliphant, who became
Minister of Largo about the time when the boy had reached
his eleventh or twelfth year. Struck with the knowledge
in mathematical and physical science which he displayed,
the reverend gentleman kindly lent him some scientific
books, with which he was but poorly provided; and he
also strongly urged him to study Latin,—telling him,
by way of showing the necessity of an immediate com¬
mencement, that it had cost himself seven years to ac¬
quire that language. This was the worst argument that
LESLIE.
Lc,c, could be urged to the young philosopher, who unhesi-
Sir.tin. tatingly declared that he never would bestow half that
— -''time upon any language, and that he particularly disliked
m Latin. In this state of his knowledge and taste, he was,
in his thirteenth year, sent to the University of St An¬
drews to study mathematics under Professor Vilant. On
examination by the Professor, he was found already
qualified for the second or senior class ; and, at the close
of the session, he obtained a prize. It is remembered, as
a characteristic particular, that having previously discover¬
ed, in some of those antiquarian researches to which also
he was early addicted, that it was not indispensable for
students of the first year to wear a gown, he steadily re¬
fused, during this year, to exhibit himself in the accus¬
tomed academical habiliment.
This session proved a decisive one as to the course of
his future studies. The Earl of Kinnoull, then Chancellor
of the University, having been informed of his remarkable
abilities, sent for his father, and proposed to him to defray
the expense of his son’s education, provided the father
would agree to maintain him at college, with the view of
qualifying him for the Church. The proposal was readily
embraced; and the repugnance of theyouth toapply himself
to Latin was at length overcome, by making the permis¬
sion to attend the Natural Philosophy class of next ses¬
sion,—the great object of his desire,—conditional on his
agreeing to qualify himself, during the vacation, for at¬
tending also the Latin class. With this lure before him, he
applied assiduously to his lessons, under the direction of
a private teacher, and succeeded in fitting himself for
admission into that class. No one could discover, in his
after life, any traces of this early and vehement dislike to
Latin ; for though he ever held that the learned lan¬
guages were suffered to engross too much attention in
our system of education, and was by no means sparing of
reprehension upon this subject,1 his own scholarship had
become considerable ; and indeed his writings manifest a
more than ordinary degree of fondness for embellishing
the conclusions of science with illustrations from the Greek
and Latin Classics. He continued to the last to read
them occasionally, particularly Lucretius, whose bold and
imaginative philosophy, and splendid descriptions, were
peculiarly adapted to his taste. He came also to be well
versed in the theory of grammar; and his observations
upon languages often evinced learning, as well as inge¬
nuity.
His health, at the period above alluded to, was still so
delicate that it became necessary to moderate and regu¬
late his studious habits ; but he succeeded, during his se¬
cond session, in acquiring additional honours, and in at¬
tracting in a more marked degree the flattering attentions
of the Chancellor, who kindly invited him to Dupplin
Castle, where, notwithstanding the bashfulness of his man¬
ner, he contrived to impress the other visitors with a high
opinion of his powers. About the same time, he became
known to Mr Playfair, on occasion of a visit which the
latter, alongst with the Reverend Dr Small, made to St
Andrews. Dr Small’s son was a fellow-student and com¬
panion of young Leslie, and hence his introduction to both
these mathematicians. Mr Playfair was at this time parish
minister of Liff, in Forfarshire. Here he was afterwards
visited by his young acquaintance, neither of them then
dreaming of that lot which was to place them, in succes¬
sion, in two conspicuous Chairs of the University of Edin¬
burgh, destined to derive from both additional lustre and
243
recommendations. His visits to Mr Playfair were continu- Leslie,
ed after the latter, in 1782, resigned his clerical charge, in Sir Joim-
order to superintend the education of the present Robertv~
Ferguson, Esq. of Raith, and his brother Sir Ronald. It
was in this way, we believe, that he first became known
to these excellent and distinguished men, then youths of
his own age ; and the acquaintance, in after years", ripened
into a warm and lasting friendship, alike honourable to
both parties, and which formed one of the chief and most
valued solaces of his life.
In 1783 or 1784, he quitted St Andrews, and proceeded
to Edinburgh, with the intention of entering himself a
studentof Divinity in the metropolitan university. He was
accompanied by a fellow-student, destined, like himself,
to obtain a distinguished niche in the Temple of Science,
James Ivory; and they lived together for some time. He
never had any liking for the Church as a profession ; and
though he was formally entered at the Divinity Hall, he
contrived to devote his first session to the sciences, parti¬
cularly to Chemistry. In fact, he seems early to have re¬
linquished all thoughts of the Church ;—a resolution per¬
haps hastened by the death of his patron the Earl of
Kinnoull, which took place soon after his removal to
Edinburgh. He continued to study here till the close
of the session of 1787; and, as is customary with stu¬
dents of greater ability and industry than means, de¬
voted part of his time to private tuition. One of the
young men whose studies he assisted was nearly related
to, and became the heir of, Dr Adam Smith ; a circum¬
stance which he was accustomed to recollect with plea¬
sure, as having made him known to that illustrious philo¬
sopher, who treated him kindly, and occasionally favoured
him with directions as to his own pursuits. His first essay
as an author must have been composed about the time of
h is leaving this university. It was a Paper 0?i the Resolu¬
tion of indeterminate Problems, which was read to the Royal
Society of Edinburgh by Mr Playfair, in 1788, and pub¬
lished in their Transactions?
In this year, he was prevailed upon by two young stu¬
dents of the name of Randolph, and of the distinguished
American family of that name, to accompany them, in
capacity of tutor, to Virginia; and he accordingly left
Scotland alongst with them. They arrived at the place of
their destination in the beginning of November; and his
time afterwards seems to have passed both agreeably and
usefully. He was all his life fond of visiting other coun¬
tries, and pei haps a little disposed to underrate his own.
Thus he was wont to say, that the thunder-storms of Vir¬
ginia took away all feelings of awe at those of Scotland,
just as the Alps of Switzerland left him nothing to admire
in the Scottish mountains. His stay in the new world did
not much exceed a year, owing to the breaking up of the
family establishment by the death of the father of his
young friends. After visiting New York and Philadel¬
phia, he returned to his native place towards the close of
the year 1789.
From some letters to his family, written about the time
of his leaving America, his thoughts seem to have been
anxiously directed to his future means of employment and
support; and one of his schemes appears to have been to
try his fortune in India, probably as a civil engineer. This
notion recurred afterwards, but without leading to any re¬
sults. His next field of adventure was London, whither he
proceeded in January 1790, carrying with him various let¬
ters of recommendation; one of which was written by Dr
1 “ The c
the precious 
ixmcnU of Geometry, published in 1828.)
See vol. ii. p. 193.
lie> “ in modern education consists in the undue attention paid to the dead languages, which consumes
icomctry^pubUshed in S.)^’ UnnS ^ freshness of>uth>to the higher intellectual pursuits.” g(S?e Preface to his Ru.
244 L E S
Leslie, Adam Smith, then drawing near the close of his career. It
Sir John. was on thig occasion, if our recollection does not mislead us,
that Dr Smith exhorted his young friend never to approach
any author whose favour he might wish to win, without first
reading his book, lest the conversation should happen to
turn that way. One of Mr Leslie’s objects in visiting the
capital, was to ascertain what success he might expect from
a course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy ; and the in¬
formation he received soon satisfied him, as he says in a
letter to one of his brothers, that “ rational lectures would
not succeed.” He therefore employed himself for some
time in writing for the Monthly Review, and in executing
literary jobs delegated to him by his countryman Dr Wil¬
liam Thomson, author of the continuation of Watson’s His¬
tory of Philip the Third, and of many other works now for¬
gotten, and who was much in the habit of lending his ver¬
satile pen, as well as his name, to those who required the
assistance or recommendation of either. But a more eli¬
gible and suitable connection was ere long opened to him,
by the invitation of the younger Wedgewoods, who had
been his fellow-students at Edinburgh, to reside with them,
and superintend their studies. He readily acceded to their
proposals; and proceeded', in April 1790, to their resi¬
dence at Etruria, in Staffordshire, where he remained till
the close of 1792, in the enjoyment of a liberal salary, and
of society at once agreeable and intelligent. This was,
in every sense, a happy and profitable period of his life.
The time not devoted to tuition was assiduously employ¬
ed in experimental investigations, and in completing a
translation of Buffon’s Natural History of Hirds, which he
had previously undertaken for a London bookseller. It
was published in 1793, after he left Etruria, in nine vo¬
lumes octavo. Though executed with fidelity and vi¬
gour, it was valued by himself, at least after he became
otherwise eminent, only as having, by the sum which it
procured him, laid the foundation of that pecuniary com¬
petency which he early foresaw to be necessary to the in¬
dependent prosecution of his favourite studies ; and which
his industrious and prudent habits enabled him in no long
time, in a moderate degree, to attain. The preface, how¬
ever, speaks of this “ first attempt” with some anxiety ;
and endeavours to bespeak lavour for it as executed “ at
an early period of life, and in the retirement of the coun¬
try.” This preface is written in that nervous, but strained
' and ornate style, which characterises his after writings.
His first contribution to Natural Philosophy, entitled Ob¬
servations on Electrical Theories, was also written at Etru¬
ria; and was, in 1791, transmitted to the Royal Society
of Edinburgh, for insertion in their Transactions. This
was promised; but performance having, as he thought,
been long and unhandsomely deferred, he indignantly re¬
called his Paper, and laid it aside for many years. It did
not, indeed, see the light till 1824, when he was induced
to publish it in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal?
conducted by his distinguished friend Professor Jameson.
About the period of the close of his agreeable engage¬
ment at Etruria, which was occasioned, we believe, by the
ill health of Mr Thomas Wedgewood, and the marriage of
his younger brother, a Cornish gentleman with whom he
had become acquainted at that place proposed to engage
him as a companion in an extensive tour through Greece,
Egypt, and the Holy Land. Ever fond, as he was, of visit-
L I E.
ing foreign countries, particularly those hallowed by me- he:
morable events or classical associations, the proposal could 4, j
not but prove agreeable to him, and it was accordingly em- I
braced with alacrity. The tour was to commence early in
1793; but a change of plan having been decided upon
without his concurrence, and by which he found that his I
observations were to be transferred to another, he indig¬
nantly relinquished the engagement. His intention to visit
these interesting countries, when a fit opportunity should
occur, remained with him through life; and, at a period
nearly forty years subsequent to this,—in his last years, in¬
deed,—he actually made some preparations for a year’s so¬
journ in Egypt and Palestine, from which he was diverted
only by engagements and avocations of which he found it
difficult to disencumber himself.
After leaving Etruria, he passed some months in Hol¬
land ; a country which, like Descartes, he seems to have
thought peculiarly suited to secluded study, and where he
at this time acquired the German language. Thereafter,
he returned to Largo, where he remained for about two
years, devoted to experimental researches, in the course
of which he invented and perfected his Differential Ther¬
mometer; the parent, if we may so speak, of that beau¬
tiful family of philosophical Instruments,1 2 with which he
enriched the Treasury of Science, and amplified and va¬
riegated the means of physical inquiry. His ingenuity
had been early exercised in some attempts to construct
an accurate Hygrometer, and these ultimately suggested
to him the well-known contrivance above named ;—a con¬
trivance happily adapted to the measurement of the small¬
est variations of temperature, and which richly rewarded
his inventive powers by its ministry to the achievement of
his subsequent discoveries. It has generally, indeed, been
allowed to be one of the most useful as well as elegant in¬
ventions that inductive genius ever applied to the inves¬
tigation of chemical changes. At a later period, when his
name had attained a high degree of celebrity, he, like
most of the other sons of genius, was made to feel that
fame brings with it pains as w^ell as pleasures; for it was
now discovered that the Differential Thermometer, instead
of being an invention of his own, perfected, as he has him¬
self recorded, in the course of a series of experiments on
the evaporation of ice, which the severe winter of 1794i-5
afforded him an opportunity of performing,3 was in reality
a plagiarism, if not from Van Helmont, who died in 1644,
at any rate, from John Christopher Sturmius, who died
some sixty years later. Such was one attempt to impeach
the originality of this eminently inventive experimentalist.
An Instrument of which all the world remained ignorant,
till he, by means of it, told the world the better part of all
it yet knoyrs concerning the phenomena of radiated heat,
was discovered to have been furtively purloined from one
or other of these worthies ! Neither the authors nor the
abettors of this allegation pretended that either Van Hel¬
mont or Sturmius ever dreamt of such applications, or
derived such results from their supposed invention, as
were reserved, by some caprice of chance, no doubt! for
its luckier plagiarist; and it is now, we believe, allowed,
that this is just one of those cases of curious but partial
anticipation so frequently to be met with in the history
of science, and where the ultimate discoverer shows, by
his skilful and fruitful employment of the disputed inven-
1 See vol. xi. p. 1.
2 These Instruments, viz. the Differential Thermometer, Hygrometer, Hygroscope, Photometer, Pyroscope, /Ethrioscope, and
Atmometer, are all described, and their principles explained, by himself, in the articles Climate and Meteorology. The latter,
like the former, will, at the proper place, be transferred, to this work, from the Supplement to the preceding editions. Properly
speaking, the Hygrometer was the parent instrument; the Differential Thermometer having been invented in the course of his en¬
deavours to improve it; but as the Hygrometer, in its latest form, is only a modification of the other, it may be represented as derived
from it. See the article Cold.
3 See the article Meteorology.
L E S
3 tion> how much he surpassed, and how little he needed the
ibt m. help of, those whom he is ungenerously supposed to have
— ■—'robbed of their legitimate honours.
In the spring of 1796, Mr Leslie received an invitation
from his friend Mr Thomas Wedgewood, to accompany
him in a tour through the north of Germany and Switzer¬
land. To this proposal, which was every way agreeable,
he immediately acceded. They arrived at Hamburg about
the first of May, and employed that and thenext four months
in their tour, part of which was performed on foot. He
alludes to their observations in the course of their journey-
ings amongst the mountains of Switzerland, in one of the
notes to his work on Heat; but of this, as of all his sub¬
sequent tours on the Continent, he kept regular Journals,
which are still preserved, and which show that he was no
less observant of the social, moral, and economical condi¬
tion of the countries he visited, than of their geological,
meteorological, and physical aspects.
For some years after the period just mentioned, he seems
to have employed himself in his experimental pursuits, and
to have divided his time, chiefly, between London and
Largo; to which place, and to the society of his family,
he ever was fondly attached. His earnings by literary la¬
bour, and his allowances, had raised his humble fortune to
what a philosopher might view as an independence; and
he accordingly employed or amused himself as his own in¬
clinations dictated. Early in the summer of 1799 he set
out with an old college acquaintance on a tour to the north¬
ern kingdoms of Europe ; in the capitals of which, the
latter, who had for some time been settled in Spain as a
merchant, had business to transact. After traversing Den¬
mark, part of Norway, and Sweden, they proceeded through
Brandenburg to Berlin ; and from thence returned to Eng¬
land about the end of November. From his Journal of this
tour, which is more detailed than any of those he subse¬
quently kept, the Swedish mines appear to have formed
particular objects of his attention. One of his entries re¬
cords his having, before quitting Hamburg, written an ac¬
count of his Hygrometer, for insertion in Voght’s 'Maga¬
zine, and in the Annales de Chimie.
In the following year, he published the Paper just men¬
tioned, but with some alterations, in Nicholson’s Philosophi¬
cal Journal. It is entitled a Description of an Hygrome¬
ter and Photometer ; and was followed with Additional Re¬
marks on these Instruments. In the same year, he also
published, in that Journal, a Paper On the Absorbent
Powers of the Different Earths ; and other two, containing
Observations a/nd Experiments on Light and Heat, with
Remarks on the Inquiries of Dr Herschel on these objects}
These small pieces are very valuable, as showing the pro¬
gress of his researches and discoveries in that field of in¬
quiry which their titles indicate.
The results of his more extended investigations were
ere long to appear before the world in a different shape.
Having'collected at Largo all the necessary apparatus, he
prosecuted with ardour a series of experiments, which en¬
abled him, in the years 1801 and 1802, to compose the bulk
of his celebrated work on Heat. In the latter year, “ the
gleam of peace,” as he tells us in his usual ornate style,
“ tempted him to indulge in a temporary suspension ; and
I - to repair to the famed capital where the treasures of art and
science are so profusely displayed. In that vortex of plea¬
sure and centre of information, I spent,” he adds, “ several
months very agreeably ; but the work I had undertaken re¬
called my thoughts, and I hastened again to my retreat.”1 2 3
His Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Properties of
LIE. 245
Heat was here at length completed. It was published at Leslie,
London in the spring of 1804, with a dedication, couched Sir John,
in terms of strong and affectionate friendship, to Mr Thomas
Wedgewmod, the companion of his studies at Etruria, and
of his first continental tour. The early death of that in¬
genious and excellent person, whose delicate health is here
feelingly alluded to, was always mentioned by him as a
public as well as private misfortune. The originality and
boldness of the peculiar doctrines of the Inquiry, and
the number of new and important facts disclosed by its
ingenious experimental combinations, conspired to render
it an object of extraordinary interest in the scientific
world; and, indeed, it must ever be viewed as constitut¬
ing an era in the history of that branch of physical sci¬
ence which forms its subject. The Boyal Society of
London unanimously adjudged to its author the Rumford
Medals appropriated as the reward of discoveries in that
recondite province. As a philosophical disquisition, it is
far, however, from being perfect. Its hypotheses are not
warranted by the sober maxims of inductive logic; and
its method and style are alike liable to serious criticism.
But it would be difficult to name any work in the whole
range of physical science more strongly indicative of a
vigorous and inventive genius; and it must be allowed by
all, that its beautifully devised experiments, and its large
stock of new observations, far more than atone for its
questionable theories, and for that desultory arrangement,
and those ambitious modes of expression, which so often
mar its reasonings and obscure its sense. More than ten
years before the appearance of this work, Mr Leslie wrote
an essay on Heat and Climate, which contains some of
the theoretical opinions advanced in the former, as w'ell as
the germs of some of its discoveries. It was read at two
successive meetings of the Royal Society of London in the
spring of 1793; but it was not admitted into the Transac¬
tions of that body. Its aspiring author was not of a dispo¬
sition to be checked in the career of inquiry by this repulse ;
and he did not shrink from bringing his Paper forth, in
1819, from its long oblivion of twenty-six years ; he having
then published it, for the first time, in Dr Thomson’s An¬
nals of Philosophy?
Twice before that period of his life at which we are now
arrived, Mr Leslie had appeared as a candidate for an Aca¬
demical Chair; first in the University of St Andrews,
afterwards in that of Glasgow, and on both occasions
without success. He was again to try his fortune in the
same line in the Metropolitan University. Early in the
year 1805, a vacancy occurred in its Mathematical Chair,
owing to the removal of Professor Playfair, on the death ofDr
John" Robison, to that of Natural Philosophy. This afford¬
ed a new opening to his academical ambition; and he was
particularly desirous to occupy a Chair upon which the
names of the Gregories, of Maclaurin, of Matthew Stew¬
art, and of Playfair, had shed so much lustre. He accord-
ingly presented himself as a candidate; and, with his now
high reputation as a discoverer and original thinker, and
his known eminence in mathematical science, it was not
to be expected that he could have any formidable com¬
petition to surmount. Nor did there occur any, in as far
as fame or talents were concerned. His principal compe¬
titor, though a man of amiable character, and respect¬
able attainments, was wholly unknown in the scientific
world, and as inferior to him in abilities as in renown. But
he was one of the Ministers of the City, and supported
with all the influence of that body; then pretty gene¬
rally suspected of a wish to secure a monopoly of the
1 See Nicholson’s Journal for 1800, vol. iii. p. 4G1-518, and vol. iv. p. 196, 344, 416.
2 Preface to the Experimental Inquiry on Heat.
3 See vol. xiv. p. 5-27, and vol. xvi. p. 7, for somejust observations by the very able Editor.
246
LESLIE.
Leslie, Philosophical Chairs of the University. It soon, however,
jr^Jolm. became known that the Patrons were determined to de-
cide uj)on a comparison of claims, and that Mr Leslie
must triumph. In this state of things, and in an evil hour
tor themselves, the City Clergy were induced to raise an
objection to his eligibility, on the serious ground of his
having, in one of the notes appended to his work on Heat,
approved of a doctrine directly leading to atheism. We
are sorry to be obliged to notice this discreditable pro¬
ceeding ; but it forms too memorable an occurrence in
Mr Leslie’s life to allow us to pass it without some ani¬
madversion. In the note alluded to, the author, though
no metaphysician, and in general rather a contemner of
metaphysical science, was, naturally enough, led to illus¬
trate what he had said in the text with reference to the
unphilosophical opinion that impulse is necessary to the pro¬
duction ot motion, by some remarks on Causation. He pre¬
faces these by observing, that Mr Hume was the first who
treated this subject “ in a truly philosophical manner;”
and that u the unsophisticated notions of mankind are in
perfect unison with the deductions of logic, and imply no¬
thing more at bottom, in the relation of cause and effect,
than a constant and invariable sequence.”* Founding
upon these remarks, the Ministers of Edinburgh charged
him with having “ laid a foundation for rejecting all die
argument that is derived from the works of God to prove
either his Being or Attributes.’2 This heavy charge was
preferred in a formal Protest, tendered by them to the
Patrons of the University, in which they alleged that, in
the election of Professors, the former were, by the charter
of erection, bound to act with the advice of the Ministers.
1 hat advice was, in the present instance, given with suf¬
ficient emphasis ; but the Patrons, much to their honour,
tieated it as it deserved; and Mr Leslie, to the great joy
of all liberal minds, was, in March 1805, elected to the
Mathematical Chair. The efforts of the disappointed junto
did not, however, cease with this rebuff; nor did they
desist from their ill-starred opposition, till a decision of
the General Assembly of the National Church, pronounced
on the 23d of May, after a memorable debate of two days,3
satisfied them that persecution had now exhausted its
resources, and that its hopes must, however sorrowfully,
be i elinquished. Dismissing any supposition of interested
designs, and even allowing that Mr Leslie’s expressed opi¬
nion as to Causation., if taken apart from the subject-mat¬
ter of his book, or left unexplained, was calculated to oc¬
casion some alarm in the minds of the pious, still, impar¬
tial history ever must brand the proceedings of his oppo¬
nents as alike uncharitable, unfair, and arrogant; and as
deeply injurious to the character of that Church with
whose name and authority they clothed themselves. It
was on all hands admitted, that if Mr Leslie had, by a
single word, limited his observations to Physical causes,
they would have been wholly free from objection; and,
surely, it required a most perverse and intolerant con¬
struction to extend to any but such causes, the observa¬
tions of an illustrative note to a work purely physical, and
undeniably levelled at those theories which resort to cer¬
tain invisible intermedia, in order to account for the con¬
nection of physical sequences. But this was not all. Mr u
Leslie, on being informed of the charge, immediately de- Sir j
dared, in a very pointed Letter laid before the junto, that''
his observations “ referred entirely to the relation between
cause and effect, considered as an object of physical exa¬
mination.”4 Yet was this prompt explanation disinge¬
nuously disregarded—nay suppressed; whilst his perse¬
cutors—owing to an ignorant blunder in their statement
of what they conceived to be the true notion of Causation
—were themselves obliged to have recourse to explana¬
tion, in order to show that their doctrine was not idem
tical with that of the Fatalists and Spinoza !5
Mr Leslie commenced and prosecuted his official duties
with great ardour. He entertained lofty ideas of the dig¬
nity and utility of the professorial character, and was thus
disposed to make all the exertions necessary to success.
Though the bent of his genius lay more to Physics than
to Pure Mathematics, he had cultivated the study of
Geometry with kindred relish ; and with an admiration,
in particular, of the analytical investigations of the an¬
cient geometers, which led to his happiest essay in
that science. As a teacher, he not only laboured to pro¬
mote the study, but to procure for it a larger share of
attention than our academical system usually assigns to it.
His instructions were better suited, perhaps, to youths
of superior ability than to ordinary students; but repu¬
tation and intellectual power produced their usual results,
and secured for him an attendance as numerous as could
be expected by any teacher, during the whole of the fif-
teen years that he occupied the Mathematical Chair.
Soon after his election, he resolved to compose and to
publish, at successive intervals, a complete “ Course of
Mathematics, ’ digested and arranged according to his
own ideas of what was wanted towards promoting a
purer taste in the cultivation of the science. Of this
Course, the first volume, comprising Elements of Geome-
try, Geometrical Analysis, and Plane Trigonometry, was
published in 1809; and it has gone through several very
extensive editions. The first part of it has been viewed
as the least perfect and useful; but his own favourite por¬
tion, on Geometrical Analysis, has been extolled by the
most unsparing critics of the former, as “ a great acquisi¬
tion to Elementary Geometry; and as calculated to keep
alive the knowledge of a most beautiful and interesting
branch of the mathematics, which has been too much
overlooked during the improvement of the more general
and powerful methods of algebraic investigation.”0 Abroad,
it seems to have been viewed in a light equally favour¬
able ; as it was speedily translated into the French and
German languages. Fie re-produced it, with considerable
emendations, in the second volume of his “Mathematical
Course, which, besides, contains the Geometry of Curve
Lines. This volume was not published till 1821—an inter¬
val of twelve years having thus elapsed from the appear¬
ance of the first. A third volume, on Descriptive Geometry,
and the Theory of Solids, was still wanting to complete his
original design; but his removal to another Chair,and other
circumstances, called his attention to different objects,
and his “ Mathematical Course” was thus left unfinished.
44.
> Inquiry into the Nature of Heat, p. 135, and Note 16, p. 522.
] See Report of the Delate, pubfishe^ a Mathematical Professor in the University of Edinburgh
5 See ShllTsZumZt^T^M^nrRep^t 'If ihfoeZt? ^ G?erf AssemU>J, p- 16.
publications ; but none of them, with the exception of these’ UvrTan a 1 '1S /'eni3rkable controversy gave rise to a number of other
fessor Playfair, and Dr Brown’s Observations on the nature and tendency o^hfln 0t a IiepIy t0 the former’ ^ Pr°-
two pieces by that most acute metaphysician have the least ebanee^f'Cf doctrine of Mr Hume concerning cause and effect, with other
criticism of the terms of the charge agailst Mr’Leslie in the Stafrlc^ posterity The two pieces alluded to were, A short
in Dr Ingtis's Reply to Professor Playfair. The Renlv bv DrtnoV * ^ Ministers^ of Edinburgh, and An examination of some remarks
evinced a good deal of controversial ability. 1 ^ - r n" 15 was the ablest production on the clerical side, and certainly
fi Edinburgh Review, vol. xx. p. 98.
LESLIE. 247
Lesb, He was induced, at a late period of his life, to recast Congelation, there were some similar endeavours to trans- Leslie,
ir Jen. the first volume in a greatly abridged form. His object fer the merit of it to a gentleman of the name of Nairne. Sir J°hn.
IfY-'' in doing so was to accommodate it to the use of those The claim for him was founded on a Paper published in '
who, in riper years, become desirous to supply the defects 1777, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Lon-
of early education, and to qualify themselves for obtaining don; from which it appeared that he was acquainted with
some knowledge of Natural Philosophy. This abridgment the facts, that evaporation produces cold, and that sul-
appeared in 1828, under the title of Rudiments of Plane phuric acid, the absorbent employed by Mr Leslie, im-
Geometry, including Geometrical Analysis, and Plane bibes moisture. But in order to decorate Mr Nairne
Trigonometry. In connection with his mathematical with the laurels of the latter, his depreciators ought to
works, though forming no part of his “ Course,” we may have been able to show, that the former had combined
here mention the profound and learned treatise on the the properties alluded to, in a manageable process for the
Philosophy of Arithmetic, which he published in 1817. It production of ice ad libitum. In such an attempt they
was a republication, with considerable alterations and ad- must have failed ignominiously; and, perhaps, there is not
ditions, of one of the numerous articles contributed by in the whole history of science any more triumphant re-
him to the Supplement to the former editions of this En- ply to a charge of plagiarism, than is furnished by the
cyclopaedia. admitted facts, that with Mr Nairne’s Paper before them
It was not to be expected that the labours of the Mathe- for a long course of years, the scientific world remained
matical Chair would wean Professor Leslie from his expe- utterly ignorant of the existence of any such process till
rimental inquiries. His fine Instruments were always at the date of Mr Leslie’s discovery; nay, that with his de¬
hand, and always in use, in connection with some ingeni- scription of that process in their hands, the most distin-
ous conception or other. Early in the summer of 1810, he guished experimentalists of the capital failed in their trials
determined to proceed with some experiments previously of it, till it was performed there by himself, in the ensuing
suggested in the course of his researches with his Hygro- summer!2
meter, but which had for some time been suspended; and In a letter from London to one of his friends, written
they now conducted him to the discovery of that beauti- in June 1811, he says, “ My package has at last arrived,
ful process of Artificial Congelation, by which he was en- and I shall proceed without delay to make my debutT It
abled to produce ice, and even to freeze mercury, at plea- was only now that the experiment was first successfully
sure. The discovery was achieved by means of a happily- performed in the capital. This took place before a meet-
conceived combination of the powers of rarefaction and ab- ing of some members of the Royal Society, and pthers.
sorption, effected by placing a very strong absorbent under The discovery was announced in the same year, in the
the receiver of an air-pump. It was in the month of June Memoirs of the French Institute ; and the process itself
of that season that the discovery was consummated.1 We was afterwards exhibited; in presence of that body, by
happened to witness this consummation,—at least the per- M. Pictet and M. Gay-Lussac.3 He did not himself pub-
formance of the first successful repetition of his process,— lish any detailed account of his experiments and views
and we never shall forget the joy and elation which beamed on this interesting subject till 1813, when he explained
on the face of the discoverer, as, with his characteristic them at considerable length, in a small volume entitled
good nature, he patiently explained its principles, and the A short Account of Experiments and Instruments depend-
steps by which he had been led to it. We could not but ing on the Relations of Air to Heat and Moisture. This
feel, on looking at, and listening to him, how noble and publication, which was partly intended to promote the
elevating must be the satisfaction derived from thus ac- circulation of his Instruments, and to explain their prin-
quiring a mastery over the powers of Nature, and enabling ciples, would have been infinitely more useful had its
man, weak and finite as he is, to reproduce her wondrous author superadded the powers of methodical and elemen-
works! Proportioned to the admiration which such achieve- tary exposition to his other endowments. But notwith-
ments are calculated to excite, ought to be the disapproba- standing its defects in these particulars, it was much com-
tion of any unfair endeavours to lower or depreciate them, mended by those competent to appreciate its value as a
We have already alluded to an attempt to divest this illus- contribution to science.4 Closely connected with the sub-
trious experimentalist of the honours connected with his jects of this treatise, and which, therefore, we may notice
Differential Thermometer; and we have now to add, that here, though it did not appear till some years later, was
several years after the discovery of his process of Artificial an ingenious Paper, published in 1818, in the Transac-
1 See the article Cold. The successive steps of the discovery are here recorded by himself, in those verba ardentia which the bent
of his genius so strongly prompted him to employ.
- Some very complete and curious legal evidence of these facts was adduced by Professor Leslie, in 1822, in a prosecution
which he was advised to institute against the publisher of a well-known Magazine, for a series of libels inserted in that work, and
in one of which he was accused of having stolen the discovery alluded to, from Mr Nairne. Amongst other witnesses, two very
distinguished Chemists were examined on that occasion—the late Dr Marcet, and Dr Thomson, Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgow. We shall extract a small portion of that of Dr Marcet, to whom Mr Leslie was, personally, but little
known—“ Q. Is it your opinion that Mr Leslie is to be considered as having borrowed or stolen this discovery, or do you consider
his discovery to be original ?—A. Some of the facts were known long before, but the process itself is perfectly original Q. Is the
discovery of Mr Leslie analogous to other discoveries in the science of chemistry ?—A. There is hardly any discovery of the least
value that has been made in that science but from the known properties of bodies. It is by combining those properties, so as to
produce certain effects, that a discovery is made.—4?. Then, you mean to say that Mr Leslie has done what none before him ever
accomplished ?—A. Certainly. He has done what the whole philosophic world, with all the facts before them for a long period, had
not been able to accomplish—Q. When and by whom was the experiment first successfully performed in London ? A. It was suc¬
cessfully performed in London by Mr Leslie himself. My belief is, that no one succeeded in this experiment, in London, until Mr
Ueslie himself showed the way.—Q. Do you know that Sir Humphry Davy tried and failed ?—A. I cannot positively say; I believe
he tried it, but without success.” {Report of the Trial by Jury, Professor Leslie against William Blackwood, p. 82-6.)
3 Seeil/ewoim de la Classe des Sciences Math'ematiques et Physiques, t. xii. p. 80 ; t. xiv. p. 117-18.
4 See Edinburgh Review, vol. xxiv. p.339-52, and Dr Thomson’s Annals of Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 457-62, for a skilful analysis
qt this treatise. In the Trial above alluded to, the party prosecuted took an Issue to show that the article in the Edinburgh Review
m commendation of the work, was written by Mr Leslie himself. The attempt was not made; and it is hardly worth while to
mention, with reference to such a charge, that the article was written by a very able chemist, the late Dr John Murray.
248 L E S
Leslie, tions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, under this title :
Sir John. Qn cerfajn impressions of cold transmitted from the higher
'~r~atmosphere ; with a description of an Instrument adapted
to measure them. The JEthrioscope, the instrument here
alluded to, is, in another place, described, in the poetical
language of its author, as “ fitted to extend its sensation
through indefinite space, and to reveal the condition of
the remotest atmosphere.”
In the autumn of 1814, Professor Leslie indulged him¬
self with a tour of six weeks in France and the Netherlands.
He never was satisfied if he allowed a vacation to pass
without seeing or revisiting some foreign scenes. One or
two extracts from Letters written by him on the pre¬
sent occasion, may be here introduced, as either curious
in themselves, or characteristic of the writer. Writing
from Pax*is, on the 1st of August, he says, “ you know
that it was not my intention at present to mix much v/ith
the Sgava?is. But I have been so well received, and even
feasted by them, that I may perhaps depart a little from
my original design. Plumboldt has been very kind and
attentive to me, and introduces me wherever I want. They
are much better acquainted with what we are doing than
I should have imagined. My book on Heat is better
known than in England. I was even reminded of some
passages in it which in England were considered as fanci¬
ful, but which the recent discoveries on the Polarity of
Light have confirmed. Even Laplace has, in consequence
of some observations of mine, silently omitted a passage in
the last edition of his Systeme du Monde. I paid a visit
the other day at Arcueil. Berthollet has a fine chateau
seated on a bank amidst gardens, vineyards, &c.; and
Laplace has another, little inferior, and adjoining to the
grounds. I dine with Laplace next Sunday. Some
person had informed him that I was the author of a cri¬
tique in the Edinburgh Review on a paper of his, and he
had sent an answer to me, which, however, I never receiv¬
ed.”1 The following extract from another letter, written at
Bordeaux, in the beginning of September, gives a rapid
and lively sketch of his journey to that place :—“ My tour
has furnished what I wanted—a number of images of the
milder and hotter regions of the Continent. From Paris I
proceeded to Macon, over a rich and well-cultivated coun¬
try, covered with wheat and vineyards, the crop for the
most part already gathered in. Thence I descended the
Somme, a fine, clear river, to Lyons ; the banks covered
with luxuriant vineyards stretching to a range of hills, and
the waved surface sprinkled with trees, intermixed with
frequent villages, and lively villas, all of white limestone.
At Lyons I met with the celebrated Baron Zach, and was
conducted by him in his carriage to the fountain of Vau-
cluse, Avignon, and thence to Marseilles. His society was
particularly entertaining and instructive. We now passed
through the country of the mulberry, the fig, and the olive ;
but I confess that Provence did not come up to my expec¬
tation. I have seen, what I had longed to see, the awful
fountain of Vaucluse, and the blue expanse of the Medi¬
terranean ; but the shores at Marseilles are terminated by
gray, naked rocks, shooting fantastically to great heights.
I staid some days at Marseilles, and spent most of my time
at a country house occupied by the old Duchess of Saxe-
Gotha, with whom Baron Zach lives in quality of Cham-
L I E.
berlain. I found her very kind and affable, and extremely
glad to hear any news of the Royal Family of England. Sir
From Marseilles I returned to Avignon, and then crossing ^
the Rhine, pi’oceeded to Nismes, over a country extremely
fertile and interesting. This is almost a Roman town.
There is a temple to Augustus, beautifully Corinthian, a
fine temple of Diana, and an amphitheatre almost entire,
capable of holding twenty thousand spectators. I now
proceeded to Montpellier, and saw the majestic range of the
Pyrenees stretching on our left, and covered with eternal
snow. Montpellier is an interesting place,—its Botanic
Garden rich, and its promenades superb. I then proceeded
to Toulouse. In leaving it, the carriage plunged into a
hollow across the road; it w^s eleven at night, but the
moon shone full, and lighted up a fine rich plain. I shud¬
dered when told that we had just crossed five hundred dead
bodies, which had been thrust into a cut or trench of the
road, after the late battle. The road to Bordeaux runs
near the course of the Garonne, through one of the finest
and richest countries I have ever seen.” From this place
he returned to Paris, and, after a short stay, proceeded
through the Netherlands to Rotterdam, where he took
shipping for Scotland.
The publication of the Supplement to the three editions
of this Encyclopaedia immediately preceding the present
one, commenced towards the close of 1815, and was conti¬
nued progressively till its completion early in 1824. To
that work, which was undertaken upon an unusually ex¬
tensive plan, and which aimed at procuring the highest
attainable assistance, Mr Leslie was throughout a Contri¬
butor. His contributions, surprisingly numerous when
his other avocations are considered, display all the powers
and attainments for which he was remarkable. Nor was it
by his writings alone that he aided this publication. His ad¬
vice, his invaluable information,—amazing alike for its mi¬
nuteness and extent,—and his influence, were always at the
service of its Editor, whose acknowledgment of these va¬
rious obligations has long been before the public.2 But it
is due to Mr Leslie’s memory to specify in this sketch
of his life what the work owes to his genius and know¬
ledge. Ranged in alphabetical order, his writings in it
occur under the following heads : Achromatic Glasses;
Acoustics; Aeronautics; Andes; Angle; Angle, trisection
of ; Arithmetic, palpable and figurate ; Atmometer; Baro¬
meter ; Barometrical Measurements ; Climate ; Cold and
Congelation ; Dew; Interpolation ; Meteorology.3
Another work which at intervals enjoyed the benefit of
his co-operation, was the Edinburgh Review. But his con¬
tributions, though commencing in the year 1809, were not
numerous. They helped, however, and that in an emi- i
nent degree, to strengthen and diversify the scientific de¬
partment of that Journal; whilst those regarding Voyages j
and Travels combine scientific observation with powers
of writing of no ordinary description. Among his prin¬
cipal articles may be mentioned those on the Physical and
Chemical Memoirs of the Society of Arcueil; on the his¬
tory of the Barometer; on Delambre’s work on the Arith¬
metic of the Greeks; on Von Buck’s Travels; on Hum¬
boldt’s Physical View of the Equatorial Regions, and on
his Travels ; and on the attempts to discover a North-West
Passage to Asia. The picture in the last, of the revolv-
1 This must allude to a Paper by Laplace On the Motion of Light in Diaphanous Media, in the M(moires de la Societt d'Arcueil
These Memoirs were reviewed by Professor Leslie, in two articles, in the fifteenth volume of the Edinburgh Review, published in 1810.
They formed his first contributions to that Journal.
2 See Preface to Supplement, p. 13.
3 The present edition is enriched with the whole of these articles. That part of the article Arithmetic, which relates to palpable
notation, has been omitted, with the exception of the curious disquisition on the Abacus, which is printed separately in this edition.
The article Interpolation is, in it, annexed to that on Logarithms.
LESLIE.
249
Xe e, ing year, as observed within the arctic circle, is executed not perceive, that the connecting links between premises Leslie,
Sir.hn. with a force of conception, as well as of colouring, that and conclusion, though familiar to the teacher, may, to Sir John.
J have not often been surpassed. the learner, be all unknown ; that views quickly reached
In the year 1819, a new field of professorial labour was by the acquired perceptions of the one, must be opened up,
opened to Mr Leslie, by the vacancy in the Chair of Na- step by step, to the yet imperfect vision of the other ; and
tural Philosophy, occasioned by the death of one of the that it is the imperative duty of a public instructor to bring
greatest ornaments of the University, Mr Playfair. Mr down knowledge from its highest spheres, and place it on
Leslie was on his return from one of his summer trips to a level adapted to the powers of unpractised understandings,
the Continent when this lamented occurrence took place. His views of the nature of science were grand and animat-
The news met him on being put ashore at Largo, and ing; and his strictures on the great discoveries which con-
is thus mentioned in a letter from that place, written on stitute the epochs of its history, sometimes swelled into lofty
the first of August; in which he also describes an accident strains of admiration ; but, generally, in lecturing, as in
that had nearly, as he says, deprived the University of writing, he wanted that consecution of thought, and that
another Professor: “ After having been detained for perspicuity of exposition, without which reasoning can-
i    not kg macje intelligible, nor its conclusions satisfactory.
Still, the attraction of his numerous experiments, the ce¬
lebrity of his name, and the opinion entertained of his
extraordinary powers, joined with great simplicity and af¬
fability of manner, concurred to secure him the respect-
about a week in Holland, and after a tedious but agree¬
able passage of near ten days, I was at last put ashore
here, from a sloop bound from Rotterdam to Grange¬
mouth. Every thing looked jojmus ; but I had soon the
tidings of poor Playfair’s death, which was most unex¬
pected and distressing. The loss to the university is se- ful homage of his students, and to sustain the glory of
vara T cncr»or»f tliof ^ TT~: l a.., 1 OOO  *1 1 r • n .i
vere I suspect that you were nearly deprived of two
professors at once ; for on Tuesday the 13th ultimo, I
met with an alarming accident in Holland. I had passed
the evening at a clergyman’s with an intelligent merchant,
late Provost of Aberdeen. On coming out of the house,
at the end of the Boomtiges Street, or the street with
rows of trees, the Maas running close, I stepped hastily
forward to show him the Comet, and the quay being quite
dark, I fell eight feet, and then plunged four feet in the
water. This was the affair of an instant, and I felt that I
was drowning; but I quickly recovered myself, and was
helped out, with no damage but that of a bruise sustained
in the fall.” The eyes of the Patrons, and others in¬
terested in the University, were now turned to Mr Les¬
lie, as the person best qualified to fill the vacant Chair.
the University. In 1823, he published, chiefly for" the
use of his class, a volume entitled Elements of Natural
Philosophy; being the first of a Course intended to ex¬
tend to three, and to exhibit a comprehensive view of
the principles of that congeries of sciences which we are
accustomed to class under the above term. Here, as was
the case with his Mathematical Course, his plan was not
completed; for he published no part of it but the volume
mentioned, which includes only Mechanics and Hydrosta¬
tics. A second edition of this volume, corrected, and aug¬
mented with Notes, was published in 1829, three years be¬
fore his death.
Mr Leslie had early determined to visit Italy at a
fit opportunity; and he at last, in the summer of 1823,
carried his design into execution. He set out with
Two years before, when Mr Playfair was abroad, and an mind still glowing with youthful enthusiasm, at the pros-
arrangement failed for carrying on the Class, Mr Leslie, pect of beholding the “ eternal city but, whether from his
at the very commencement of the session, unhesitatingly entertaining too lofty conceptions, or from his view beino-
undertook the task for his absent colleague but, inde- too hurried and superficial, the tour, in as far at least as
pendently of this circumstance, his eminence in mathe- respected that crowning object of it, ended in disap-
matical and physical science was such, that no one else pointment. The following letter, written at Innsbruch
could reasonably be thought of; and he accordingly was, on the 11th of August, contains a brief outline of his
without dilficulty, appointed to the Chair; being thus a journey. “ I have thus reached the frontiers of Germany
second time, but in more melancholy circumstances than on my return from Italy. I have fortunately achieved
on the former occasion, nominated a successor to his early the principal objects of my tour ; and though I have
m • • travelled slowly, I have seen a great deal in a short time.
Hie Chair to which he was thus unexpectedly called From Geneva I proceeded by Lausanne up the Valois
was unquestionably that for which he was best suited ; and to Brieg—thence crossed the Simplon, and descended
had he happened to be placed in it at the commencement through the plains of Lombardy to Milan. From this
of his professorial career, science in all probability would place I advanced by Parma and Modena to Bologna—next
have derived greater benefits than she actually reaped from crossed the Appenines to Florence—again crossed another
Ins powers. The time spent in his mathematical composi- part of that broad chain to Rome. For various reasons, I
tions would have been more profitably employed in that
wider and richer province which he was so peculiarly qua¬
lified to cultivate. One of the first cares of his new situa¬
tion was the extension of the Apparatus required for that
greatly enlarged series of experiments which he thought
necessary for the illustration of the Course. This, indeed,
made the ‘eternal city’ the limit of my journey. I there¬
fore traversed the Appenines again to Ancona—skirt¬
ed a considerable portion of the Adriatic—returned to
Bologna, and thence proceeded to Mantua. I spent two
days, about twenty miles from that place, at an old cha¬
teau, the residence of Acerbi, who accompanied me to
was an object of which, from the first to the last year of Verona. Thence I went to Trent, and journeying through
ns incumbency, he never lost sight; and it is due to him the Tyrol, have reached this spacious, interesting city,
o state, that it was through his exertions that the means Italy has rather fallen below my expectations, whilst
o experimental illustration, in the Natural Philosophy Switzerland has surpassed my early impressions. The
ass, were for the first time made worthy of the place, passage of the Simplon alone is worth the journey; but
lowing him merely as a teacher, it must be admitted that the route through the Tyrol, though not so sublime, is
He was not eminent. He was apt to forget, or rather did highly picturesque. Italy has every thing on a grand
froriMvhat wlnHlu lns.latitude, m very warm terms, for the promptness with which Mr Leslie, on this occasion, relieved him
that the nkcah Ihv ^her"’lse proved an unpleasant predicament; and it is but justice to the latter to mention the act, as showing
which the somPwKt * hls nature> aided perhaps by the consciousness of intellectual power, had entirely obliterated those feelings
have left to rTnlTlo ^vere cntl(lue of’ms Geometry in the Edinburgh Review, known to have been written by Mr Playfair, would
rankle, and produce the ordinary results, in a mind more irritable or less magnanimous.
VOL, XIII, „
2 i
250 L E S
Leslie, scale. The plains, mountains, rivers, works of art, are all
Sir John, majestic and noble. But there is no comfort. Rome it*
Y ^ ^elf stands in the midst of a desert. Its grandeur has al¬
ways been artificial—the result of force or fraud. I have
seen whatever is most interesting; and I am inclined to
differ very widely from our ordinary travellers. I heard
much of the malaria, but I escaped untouched. I suffer¬
ed little from the heat, and bore it better than the na¬
tives. Conformably to the custom, however, I was a sort
of prisoner during a great part of the day—the windows
shut to exclude every ray of light; and I was only called at
times to look out, by the babbling chant of the Monks, with
their torches and crosses, carrying the dead to their graves,
and followed by the Charitable Brethren, like ghosts, ap¬
parelled in white sheets, with only holes for their eyes.
They seemed better fitted to terrify the living than to
comfort the dying.” Two years after this, he made ano¬
ther tour on the Continent, in which he seems only to
have gone over ground in France, the Netherlands, and
Holland, which for the most part he had traversed before.
This, we believe, was the last of his journeys abroad.
The only important production of Mr Leslie’s latter
years was that which formed his crowning benefaction
to this work—his Discourse on the Progress of Mathema¬
tical and Physical Science during the eighteenth century ;
which, with others of a similar description, constitute its
first volume. The opening tribute to Mr Playfair, of
whose history of the earlier progress of these sciences, this
Discourse is a continuation, does honour alike to the wri¬
ter’s candour and taste. “ The progress of mathematical
and physical science during the brilliant period which
closed with Newton and Leibnitz, has,” he says, “ been
traced with fidelity and sustained interest by the hand of
a master, whose calm judgment weighed impartially the
different claims of discovery, whose powers of illustration
could expand the fine results, and whose luminous elo¬
quence was commensurate with the dignity of the sub¬
ject.” Nor is his observation on his own task less just;
namely, that the more crowded field of discovery which
it presents rendered it one of increased difficulty;—“ its
multifarious materials often lying scattered among the
countless volumes of the Transactions of learned Socie¬
ties.” His arrangement of these materials, and his view
of the whole subject, is comprehensive, vigorous, and
spirited ; and the greater ease and perspicuity of its style
make this the most agreeable of all his writings.
The volumes of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,
published between 1824 and 1829, contain some small con¬
tributions, which may be here mentioned as also belonging
to his latter years. The first consists of Remarks on the
Light of the Moon and of the Planets ; the second, of an
Enumeration of the Instruments requisite for Meteorological
observations ; the third, of a Letter on the Goniometer ;
and the last, of Observations on the Theory of Compression,
applied to discover the internal constitution of our Earth.
The characteristic boldness and poetical dress of his spe¬
culations are abundantly displayed even in these small
productions. In the first of them, he endeavours to
show that the moon is ^phosphorescent substance, like the
Bolognian stone ; and he anticipates a period when “ she
will no longer cheer our nights by her soft and silvery
beams ; when she will become dim and wane, and seem
almost blotted from the blue vault of heaven. To our
most distant posterity,” he adds, “ this prospect is indeed
gloomy ; but other changes will arise to renovate and em¬
bellish the spectacle of the universe.” In the last, he
carries his reasonings to the startling conclusion, that the
crust of the planet on which we tread includes “ an im-
L I E.
mense concavity, not dark and dreary, as poets have fa- Les
bled, but containing light in its most concentrated state, SirJ
shining with intense refulgence and overpowering splen* ^
dour !”
Early in the year 1832, which unhappily proved to be
that of his death, he was, on the recommendation, we
believe, of Lord Brougham, then Lord High Chancel¬
lor, created a Knight of the Guelphic Order. This ho¬
nour was also conferred on several other distinguished
men of science, at the same time. In a letter mention¬
ing this occurrence, he says, “ my holiday title is now of
course Sir John; but I shall always retain an affection
for my old distinction of Professor.” He had but few
other titular distinctions of any sort; for he was far
from setting any value on those arising from fellowship
with Scientific Bodies. He was a member of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, but not of that of London. The
only distinction of this kind that he in the least degree
prized was his being elected a Corresponding Member I
of the Royal Institute of France. This took place, with
honour, in 1820 ; the choice, if we recollect rightly, hav¬
ing fallen upon him, in preference to others then pro¬
posed, by a majority of thirty-three out of thirty-seven
votes.
For a few years before the fatal one above mentioned,
his occupations had been agreeably diversified, by his
attention to the improvement of a small estate, called I
Coates, situate near his native place, of which he made
a purchase. Here, the house and garden being every
way commodious and suitable, and surrounded with scenes
endeared by his earliest recollections, he loved to re¬
side ; and even those of his friends who most regretted
that, his precious time should be wasted on rural oc¬
cupations, could not but sympathise with his feelings, and
rejoice that the honourable labours of the Philosopher
had enabled him to secure such a retreat. No one could
enjoy more vigorous or constant health; and though of
a corpulent habit of body, he was exceedingly active, and
fond of exercise. His strength, and the longevity of his
family—a circumstance on which he himself founded flat¬
tering hopes—alike gave promise of longer life ; and it is
melancholy to think that its close was but too probably
hastened by one of his foibles—a contempt for medicine,
and an unwillingness to think that he could be seriously
ill. In the last days of October, whilst engaged in super¬
intending some improvements on his grounds, he exposed
himself to wet, and caught a severe cold. This was fol-^
lowed by erysipelas in one of his legs, which he neglect¬
ed, and again imprudently exposed himself in the fields.
He soon afterwards became dangerously ill, and expired
at Coates, on the evening of Saturday the third of No¬
vember 1832, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
It has been well observed by Dr Johnson, that “ of
every great and eminent character, part breaks forth into
public view, and part lies hid in domestic privacy. Those
qualities which have been exerted in any known and last¬
ing performances, may, at any distance of time, be traced
and estimated; but those peculiarities which discrimi¬
nate every man from all others, if they are not recorded
by those whom personal knowledge enabled to observe
them, are irrecoverably lost.”1 To prevent “ this muti- ,
lation of character,” as the same writer calls it, we shall
close our narrative with a few details more particularly
illustrative of the mind, opinions, and dispositions of
this remarkable person. His discoveries, and the facts
and controversies connected with them, may be discuss¬
ed by many; and the full detail of them would require
1 Johnson’s Life of Sir Thomas Browne.
LESLIE.
251
L* more space than can here be afforded; but, having enjoyed
l>ir J in- all the advantages for observation which long and intimate
“ personal knowledge” alone can supply, we think it right
to endeavour, though briefly, to prevent some characteris¬
tic features from being “ irrecoverably lost.” The portrait
may be imperfect; we cannot, indeed, complete it to our
own satisfaction on our narrow canvass ; but, in as far as
the sketch extends, we can honestly say that it is faithfully
copied from nature.1
It would be impossible, we think, for any intelligent
and well-constituted mind, thoroughly acquainted with the
powers and attainments of Sir John Leslie, to view them
without a strong feeling of admiration for his vigorous and
inventive genius, and of respect for that extensive and
varied knowledge, which his active curiosity, his excursive
reading, and his happy memory, had enabled him to amass
and digest. Some few of his contemporaries in the same
walks of science may have excelled him in profundity of
understanding, in philosophical caution, and in logical ac¬
curacy ; but we doubt if any surpassed him, whilst he must
be allowed to have surpassed most, in that creative faculty
—one of the highest and rarest of nature’s gifts—which
leads to and is necessary for discovery, though not all-suf¬
ficient of itself for the formation of safe conclusions; or in
that subtilty and reach of discernment which seizes the
finest and least obvious qualities and relations of things—
which elicits the hidden secrets of nature, and ministers to
new and unexpected combinations of her powders. “ Dis¬
coveries in science,” says he, in one of his works, “ are
sometimes invidiously referred to mere fortuitous incidents.
But the mixture of chance in this pursuit should not de¬
tract from the real merit of the invention. Such occur¬
rences would pass unheeded by the bulk of men; and it is
the eye of genius alone that can seize every casual glimpse,
and discern the chain of consequences.” With genius of
this sort he was richly gifted. Results overlooked by
others were by him perceived with a quickness approach¬
ing to intuition. To use a poetical expression of his own,
they seemed “ to blaze on his fancy.” He possessed the
inventive in a far higher degree of perfection than the
judging and reasoning powers; and it thus sometimes hap¬
pened, that his views and opinions were not only at va¬
riance with those of the majority of the learned, but incon¬
sistent with one another. Notwithstanding the contrary
testimony, explicitly recorded, of the founders of the Eng-
Ifch Experimental School, he denied all merit and in¬
fluence to the labours of the immortal delineator of the
Inductive Logic. He freely derided the supposed utility
of Metaphysical Science, without perceiving that his own
observations on Causation virtually contained the impor¬
tant admission, that physical is indebted to mental philo¬
sophy for the correct indication of its legitimate ends and
boundaries. His writings are replete with bold and ima¬
ginative suppositions; yet he laments the “ ascendancy
which the passion for hypotheses has obtained in the
world.”2 His credulity in matters of ordinary life was, to
say the least of it, as conspicuous as his tendency to scep¬
ticism in science. It has been profoundly remarked by Mr
Dugald Stewart, that “ though the mathematician may be
prevented, in his own pursuits, from going far astray, by
the absurdities to which his errors lead him, he is seldom
apt to be revolted by absurd conclusions in other matters.”
f‘ Thus, even in physics,” he adds, “ mathematicians have
been led to acquiesce in conclusions which appear ludi¬
crous to men of different habits.” Something of this sort
was observable in the mind of this distinguished mathema¬
tician. He was apt, too, to indulge in unwarrantable appli¬
cations of mathematical reasoning to subjects altogether Leslie,
foreign to the science; as when he finds an analogy between Sir John,
circulating decimals and the lengthened cycles of the sea-
sons! But when the worst has been said, it must be al¬
lowed that genius has struck its captivating impress over
all his works. Whether his bold speculations lead him
to figure the earth as enclosing a stupendous concavity
filled with light of overpowering splendour ; or to predict
the moon’s arrival at an age when her “ silvery beams” will
become extinct; or to ascribe the phenomena of radiated
heat to aerial pulsations ; wre at least perceive the workings
of a decidedly original mind. This, however, is not all.
His theoretical notions may be thrown aside or con¬
demned ; but his exquisite instruments, and his experi¬
mental combinations, will ever attest the utility no less
than the originality of his labours, and continue to act as
helps to farther discovery. We have already alluded to the
extent and excursiveness of his reading. It is rare, in¬
deed, to find a man of so much invention, and who him¬
self valued the inventive above all the other powers, pos¬
sessing so vast a store of information. Nor. was it in the
field of science alone that its amplitude was conspicuous.
It was so in regard to every subject that books have
touched upon. In Scottish history, in particular, his know¬
ledge was alike extensive and accurate; and he had, in
acquiring it, gone deep into sources of information—such
as parish records, family papers, and criminal trials—which
ordinary scholars never think of exploring. The ingenious
mathematician, the original thinker, the rich depositary of
every known fact in the progress of science, would have
appeared to any one ignorant of his name and character,
and who happened to hear him talk on this subject, as a
plodding antiquary; or, at best, as a curious and indefati¬
gable reader of history, whom nature had blessed with at
least one strong faculty, that of memory. His conversation
showed none of that straining after “ thoughts that breathe,
and words that burn,” so conspicuous in his writings. In
point of expression, it was simple, unaffected, and correct.
Though he did not shine in mixed society, and was latterly
unfitted, by a considerable degree of deafness, for enjoying
it, his conversation, when seated with one or two, was high¬
ly entertaining. It had no wit, little repartee, and no fine
turns of any kind; but it had a strongly original and racy
cast, and was replete with striking remarks and curious in¬
formation.
Viewing the whole of his character, moral and intellec¬
tual, it must be confessed that it presented some blemishes
and defects. He had prejudices, of which it ’would have
been better to be rid; he was not over charitable in his
views of human virtue; he was not so ready, on all occa¬
sions, to do justice to kindred merit as was to be expected
in so ardent a worshipper of genius; and his care of his
fortune went much beyond what is seemly in a philosopher.
But his faults were far more than compensated by his many
good qualities;—by his constant equanimity, his cheerful¬
ness, his simplicity of character almost infantile, his straight¬
forwardness, his perfect freedom from affectation, and,
above all, his unconquerable good nature. He was, in¬
deed, one of the most placable of human beings ; and, not¬
withstanding his general attention to his own interest, it
is yet undeniable, that he was a warm and good friend,
and a relation on whose affectionate assistance a firm re¬
liance ever could be placed. He was fond of society, and
greatly preferred and prized that of the intelligent and re¬
fined ; but no man ever was more easily pleased; no fasti¬
diousness ever interfered with his enjoyment of the passing
hour ; he could be happy, and never failed to converse in
Ihc substance of some of the following observations appeared in the Newspapers immediately after the death of Sir John Leslie.
zy may, without impropriety, be used here, by the pen from which thev originally proceeded,
bee introduction to Elements of Natural Philosophy.
252
L E S
LET
Lesnaia his usual way, though in the humblest company; and we have
Reka often known him pass an afternoon with mere boys, dis-
L’Estra coursing to them pleasantly upon all topics that presented
themselves, just as if they had been his equals in age and
attainments. He was thus greatly liked by many who knew
nothing of his learning or science, except that he was fa¬
mous for both.
He was never married. As to his person,—he was some¬
what under the middle size, and corpulent, but strong
and well limbed; and though his face was large and florid,
there was that about his eyes and forehead which seemed to
show that he was no ordinary man. There is a Bust of
him by Joseph; a Portrait of the ordinary size, taken a
few years before his death, by Wilkie; and a Head, drawn
at an earlier period, by Henning, which presents a striking
likeness.
LESNAIA Reka, a river of Asiatic Russia, which flows
through the government of Tobolsk, in Russia. Its course
is towards the north, and it flows into the Frozen Ocean.
LESPARRE, an arrondissement of the department of
the Gironde, in France, 742 square miles in extent. It
contains four cantons, which are divided into thirty-seven
communes, and it is peopled by 32,500 inhabitants. The
capital is a town of the same name, situated on a swampy
spot, whence a brook runs to the Gironde. It has 200
houses, and 1050 inhabitants.
LESSER Tone, in Music. See Tone.
LESSINA, a large island in the Adriatic Sea, being a
part of the Austrian province of Dalmatia. It extends
over 396 square miles, and contains one city, three mar¬
ket-towns, and thirty villages, with 8819 inhabitants. Al¬
though the surface is both woody and mountainous, it has
some beautiful and productive valleys, yielding in abun¬
dance wine, olives, figs, and almonds, and an adequate
supply of corn. Much of the wine is exported. The Sar¬
dinia fishery is a profitable branch of industry. The ca¬
pital is a town of the same name, containing a castle, a
cathedral, and 1237 inhabitants.
LESSINES, a city of the Netherlands, in the province
of Hennegau, and arrondissement of Tournay, situated on
the left bank of the Dender. It contains 3800 inhabitants,
and has several breweries, distilleries, tanneries, and oil-
mills. Long. 3. 43. E. Lat. 51. 41. N.
LESSOE, an island belonging to the Danish province
of Aaland. It is situated in the Cattegat, and contains,
in three parishes, 1570 inhabitants, who subsist partly by
fisheries and by pilotage. Long. 10. 45. E. Lat. 57. 23. N.
LESSONS, amongst ecclesiastical writers, portions of
the Holy Scripture, which were read in Christian churches
at the time of divine service.
In the ancient church, reading the Scriptures was one
part of the service of the catechumens, at which all per¬
sons were allowed to be present, in order to obtain instruc¬
tion.
L’ESTRANGE, Sir Roger, a well-known writer of
the seventeenth century, was descended from an ancient
family of Hunstanton Hall, in the county of Norfolk, where
he was born in 1616, being the youngest son of Sir Ham¬
mond I’Estrange, a zealous royalist. Having in 1644 ob¬
tained a commission from Charles I. for reducing Lynn in
Norfolk, then in possession of the parliament, his design was
discovered, and his person seized. He was tried by a court-
martial at Guildhall in London, and condemned to death as
a spy; but he was subsequently reprieved, and continued in
Newgate for some time. He afterwards went beyond sea;
but in August 1653 returned to England, where he applied
himself to the protector, Cromwell, and having once played
before him on the bass-viol, he was by some nicknamed
“ Oliver’s fiddler.” Being a man of parts, master of an
easy, humorous style, and withal in narrow circumstances,
he established a newspaper, under the title of The Public
Intelligencert in 1663 ; but upon the publication of the first r
London Gazette in 1665, he discontinued it, having been 61
allowed a compensation by government. Some time after Le
the Popish plot, when the Tories began to gain the ascen-^
dency over the Whigs, he, in a paper called the Observatw,
became a zealous champion of the former. He was after¬
wards knighted, and served in the parliament called by
James II. in 1685. But things taking a different turn in
that prince’s reign, in point of liberty of conscience, from
what most people had expected, his Observators were dis¬
continued, as not being at all suited to the times. However,
he continued licenser of the press until the accession of King
William III., in whose reign he met with some trouble, from
being considered a disaffected person. , However, he went
down to his grave in peace, after he had in a manner sur¬
vived his intellects. He published a great many political
tracts, and translated from the Greek, Latin, and Spanish,
the works of Josephus, Cicero’s Offices, Seneca’s Morals’
Erasmus’s Colloquies, /Esop’s Fables, and Bonas’s Guide
to Eternity. The character of his style has been variously
represented; his language being considered by some as
easy and humorous, whilst others conceive that his produc¬
tions are not fit to be read by any who have pretensions to
taste or good breeding.
LETCHLADE, a market-town in the hundred of Bright-
wells Barron, in Gloucestershire, seventy-six miles from
London. It has some trade, from standing on the canal
which joins the Thames with the Severn. There is a mar¬
ket on Tuesday. The population amounted in 1801 to
917, in 1811 to 993, in 1821 to 1154, and in 1831 to 1244.
LETHARGY, in Medicine (from oblivion, and
«£//«, numbness, laziness), a disease consisting of a pro¬
found drowsiness or sleepiness, from which the patient can
scarcely be awaked ; or, if awaked, he remains stupid, with¬
out sense or memory, and presently sinks again into his
former sleep.
LETHE (from Xavdavu, to hide or conceal), in the an¬
cient mythology, one of the rivers of hell, signifying obli¬
vion or forgetfulness; its waters, according to poetic fic¬
tion, having the peculiar quality of making those who drank
them forget everything that was past.
LETI, Gregorio, an eminent Italian writer, was de¬
scended of a family which once made a considerable figure
at Bologna. Jerom, his father, was page to Prince Charles
de’ Medicis ; served some time in the troops of the grand
duke as captain of foot; and married at Milan, where Ife
settled in 1628. He was afterwards governor of Almantea
in Calabria, and died at Salerno in the year 1639. Gregorio
was born at Milan in 1630, studied under the Jesuits at Co-
senza, and was afterwards sent to Rome by an uncle, who
wished him to enter the church ; but he being averse to
this, proceeded to Geneva, where he studied the principles
of religion and government. Thence he went to Lausanne;
and having contracted an acquaintance with John Anthony
Guerin, an eminent physician, lodged at his house, made
profession of the Calvinist religion, and married his daugh¬
ter. Fie settled at Geneva, where he spent nearly twenty
years, carrying on a correspondence with learned men, espe¬
cially with those of Italy. Some contests obliged him to
leave that city in 1679 ; upon which he went to France, and
then to England, where he was received with great civility
by Charles II. who, after his first audience, made him a
present of a thousand crowns, and promised him the place
of historiographer. Whilst in England, he wrote a history
of that country ; but as this work displeased the court, on
account of his too great liberty in writing, he was ordered
to leave the kingdom. He went to Amsterdam in 1682,
and was honoured with the place of historiographer to that
city. Leti died suddenly in 1701. He was a man of in¬
defatigable application, as is evinced by the multiplicity of his
w orks. The principal of these are, 1. The Universal Mo-
LET LET 253
r. narchy of Louis XIV.; 2. The Life of Pope Sixtus V.; stance, had not advanced beyond picture-writing, in its Letter.
^3. The Life of Philip II. King of Spain; 4. The Life of rudest and simplest form. The Chinese have, for ages,
the Emperor Charles V.; 5. The Life of Elizabeth, Queen employed a multitude of ideagraphic characters, derived,
of England ; 6. The History of Oliver Cromwell; 7. The by composition and otherwise, from a limited number of
History of Great Britain, in five vols. 12mo; 8. The History elementary pictures or representations of external objects,
of Geneva; besides other works. without making the least step towards an alphabet, on the
LETRIM, a county of Ireland. See Leitrim. very verge of which invention they stand as often as they
LETTER, a character used to express one of the simple employ their ideagraphic characters, phonetically, to ex¬
sounds of the voice. As the different simple sounds are press the sounds of a foreign proper name. The ancient
expressed by different letters, these, by being differently Egyptians also remained contented with their hierogly-
compounded, become the visible signs or characters of all phical system; and although Plato attributes to their god
the modulations and varieties of sound used to express Thoth the invention of letters, the honour of that disco-
our ideas in a regular language. Thus, by the help of very appears rather to have belonged to other nations, who
speech we render our ideas audible; by the assistance of were not trammelled by habit, or restrained by prejudice,
letters we render them visible; and by means of these we can from attempting to improve their method of written ex¬
wrap up our thoughts, and send them to the most distant pression. But it does not follow from this, as some have
parts of the earth, or read the transactions of different pretended, that letters are not derivable from ideagraphic
ages. What letters were originally, who first invented signs, because some nations had not the ingenuity to make
them, and amongst what people they were primarily used, the derivation. It might with as much reason be maintain-
there is still reason to doubt. Philo attributes this great ed, that the law of universal gravitation is not deduceable
and noble invention to Abraham; Josephus, St Irenaeus, and from the fact of the descent of heavy bodies in a line di-
others, to Enoch ; Bibliander, to Adam; Eusebius, Clemens reeled towards the centre of the earth, because the de-
Alexandrinus, Cornelius Agrippa, and others, to Moses ; duction was not fully made, and clearly established, until
Pomponius Mela, Herodian, Rufus Festus, Pliny, Lucan, and the time of Newton. The Egyptians, like the Chinese, as
others, to the Phoenicians; St Cyprian, to Saturn; Plato often as they had occasion to write a foreign proper name,
and Tacitus, to the Egyptians; some, to the Ethiopians; employed their ideagraphic characters phonetically, that
and others, to the Chinese, who cannot possibly be en- is, as alphabetical letters expressive of sounds merely; in
titled to this honour, since all their characters are the other words, the very exigencies of their graphic system
signs of simple ideas, and have nothing in common with forced upon them the knowledge and the practice of an
letters. alphabet, to the extent here indicated. They were, there-
There have also been various conjectures respecting the fore, upon the very threshold of the discovery; necessity
different kinds of letters used in different languages. Thus, itself had impelled them in the right direction ; the slight-
according to Crinitus, Moses invented the Hebrew letters ; est attempt at generalization would have led them to the
Abraham the Syriac and Chaldaic ; the Phoenicians those grand consummation ; and, if they had tried to do that, ge-
of Attica, brought into Greece by Cadmus, and thence nerally, which they found themselves obliged to do in parti-
carried into Italy by the Pelasgians; Nicostrata, the Ro- cular cases, the result would have been the displacement
man; Isis, the Egyptian ; and Vulfilas, those of the Goths, of ideagraphic by alphabetic characters. But does it fol-
These, however, are but fanciful conjectures, which it is low, because they failed to make this final step, that the
sufficient to state, and would be vain to examine or discuss, invention of letters was not the natural result of that
The natural order of invention, in the visible represen- state of things which immediately preceded it; or that al-
tation of thought, seems to be indicated, not merely by phabetic writing is not an invention of man, but “ a mira-
theory, but by facts ascertained from the analysis of an- culous gift to him from God,” as Dr Wall of Dublin and
cient graphic remains, as well as by the practice actually some others contend ?
followed amongst several existing nations. The primary This seems to be not only unphilosophical in an emi-
and elemental form was unquestionably that of picture-writ- nent degree, but likewise absurd and preposterous. For
ing, or the delineation, more or less rude, of external objects, if it required a miracle to deduce letters from hiero-
as these present themselves to the eye; with perhaps some glyphics, it must have equally required one to deduce
marks expressive of day, week, month, year, and even of hieroglyphics, in all their complex variety of tropical,
time generally. The next was the hieroglyphic or idea- kuriological, and anaglyphic, from mere imitative repre¬
graphic form, which consisted not only of pictures or re- sentations, such as were found in use amongst the Mexi-
semblances of external objects, but also, and in a much cans when the Spaniards first landed in the New World,
larger proportion, of images metaphorically or analogical- The distance between the Mexican and the Egyptian
ly transferred, so as to become signs of other things, and systems is fully as great as, if not greater than, the dis-
to indicate general notions as well as simple ideas. This tance between phonetic hieroglyphics and the alphabet of
was no doubt a very great improvement on picture-writing, Cadmus. If we were always to presume the interposition
inasmuch as it gave considerable extension and variety to of miraculous agency in cases where men failed to reach
the power of expression, and enabled mankind, though in a inventions or discoveries, upon the very borders of which
laborious form, to write their annals, inscribe their monu- they had been standing for ages, history would become a
ments, and preserve what knowledge they had acquired, romance, and philosophy a manual of superstition. The
The third and the last step in the gradual improvement of order of nature is not thus dislocated and disturbed ; nor
writing, was the invention of letters; that is, of signs or does the ordinary progress of invention, improvement, and
marks expressive, not of ideas whether simple or com- generalization require to be accounted for or explained by
plex, but of the elementary sounds of the human voice, supposititious assumptions of supernatural interposition.
Ihis was the ultimate term, the final generalization, which The miracle connected with the invention of an alphabet
led to the greatest and happiest of all discoveries, that of is its extreme simplicity, united with the almost unli-
a literal alphabet. mited power which it gives to man of expressing his
It is no doubt true that some nations appear to have thoughts in writing,
stopped short before reaching this final term, and to have Letters constitute the first or elementary part of gram-
•"emamed satisfied with a more elaborate and imperfect mar; and they are combined, first, into syllables, second¬
mode of graphic representation. The Mexicans, for in- ly, into words, and, thirdly, into sentences. The alphabet
254 LET
Letter. 0f every language consists of a certain number of letters,
which ought to have each a different sound, figure, and
use. As the difference of articulate sounds was intended
to express the different ideas of the mind, so one letter
was originally intended to signify only one sound, and not,
as at present, to express sometimes one sound, and some¬
times another ; a practice which has brought a great deal
of confusion into languages, and rendered the acquisition
of the modern tongues much more difficult than it would
otherwise have been. This consideration, together with
the defects of all the known alphabets, from their want¬
ing certain letters to express certain sounds, has occa¬
sioned several attempts to form an universal alphabet,
containing an enumeration of all the single sounds or let¬
ters which are used in any language.
Grammarians distinguish letters into vowels, consonants,
mutes, liquids, diphthongs, and characteristics. They re¬
ceive their denomination from the shape and turn which
is given to them; and in writing are distinguished into
different hands, as round text, German text, round hand,
Italian, and so forth; and in printing, into Roman, Italic,
and black letter.
The term Letter, or Type, amongst printers, not only
includes the capitals, small capitals, and small letters, but
all the points, figures, and other marks cast and used in
printing; and also the large ornamental letters cut in
wood or metal, which are employed instead of the illuminat¬
ed letters used in manuscripts. The letters used in printing
are cast at the ends of small pieces of metal, about three
quarters of an inch in length ; and the letter being not in¬
dented, but raised, easily gives the impression, when, after
being blacked with a glutinous ink, paper is closely press¬
ed upon it. (See the article Printing.) A fount of let¬
ters includes small letters, capitals, small capitals, points,
figures, spaces, and other necessary adjuncts. See Fount.
Letter is a writing directed and sent by one person to
another. See Epistle.
The art of epistolary writing was considered by the
Romans amongst the number of polite and liberal accom¬
plishments ; and we find Cicero mentioning, with great
pleasure, in some of his letters to Atticus, the elegant spe¬
cimen he had received from his son of his genius in this
way. It seems indeed to have formed part of their edu¬
cation ; and, in the opinion of Mr Locke, it well deserves
to have a share in ours. The writing of letters enters so
much into all the occasions of life, that no gentleman can
avoid showing himself in compositions of this kind. Oc¬
currences will daily force him to make this use of his pen,
which lays open his breeding, and sense, and his abilities,
to a severer examination than any oral discourse.
Purity in the choice of words, and justness of construc¬
tion, joined with perspicuity, are the leading properties of
the epistolary style. Accordingly, Cicero says, “ In writ¬
ing letters, we make use of common words and expres¬
sions and Seneca observes, “ I would have my letters
to be like my discourses, when we either sit or walk to¬
gether, unstudied and easy.” For what prudent man, in
his common discourse, aims at bright and strong figures,
beautiful turns of language, or laboured periods ? Nor is
it always requisite to attend to exact order and method.
He who is master of what he writes, will naturally enough
express his thoughts without perplexity and confusion;
and anything more than this is seldom necessary, especi¬
ally in familiar letters.
As the subjects of epistles are exceedingly various, they
necessarily require corresponding variety in the manner of
expression. If the subject be something weighty and mo¬
mentous, the language should be strong and solemn; in
things of an inferior description, free, easy, and familiar;
and upon lighter matters, jocose and pleasant. In exhor-
L E U
tations, it ought to be lively and vigorous; in consolations, r
kind and compassionate; in admonition, grave and se-ofAttoj
rious. In narratives, it should be clear and distinct; in |j
requests, modest; in commendations, friendly; in pros-
perity, cheerful ; in adversity, mournful, but not mean orV'“V
desponding. In a word, the style ought to be accommo¬
dated to the particular nature of the subject concerning
which it is the object of the writer to express his senti¬
ments and feelings.
Letter of Attorney, in Law, is a writing by which one
person authorizes another to do some lawful act in his
stead.
Letter of Marque. See Marque.
Letters Patent or Overt, are writings sealed with the
great seal of England, by which a man is authorized to
do or to enjoy any thing exclusively for a period of time,
which, of himself, he could not do without such authori¬
ty. They are so called by reason of their form, as being
open, w ith the seal affixed, ready to be shown for the con¬
firmation of the authority given by them.
LETTITSCHEW, a circle of the province Podolia, in
Russia. It extends in north latitude from 49. 6. to 49.
37. and in east longitude from 25. 9. to 27. 52. It is well
watered by the Bug and the Wotschik, and has many ex¬
tensive forests, with some fertile soil. The capital, a city
of the same name, is 950 miles from Petersburg; it is
situated on the Wotschik, and has one Catholic and two
Greek churches, 380 houses, and 1860 inhabitants. Long.
27. 39. E. Lat. 40. 22. 30. N.
LEUCA, in Antiquity, a geographical measure of length,
in use amongst the later Gauls, and which, according to
Jornandes, who calls it leuga, contained fifteen hundred
paces, or one mile and a half. Hence the name of league,
in the lower age called leuva, and now reckoned at about
threejmiles.
LEUCATA, or Leucate, in Ancient Geography, a pro¬
montory of Leucadia, being a white rock projecting into
the sea towards Cephalonia, on which stood a temple of
Apollo surnamed Leucadius. At the festival which was
annually celebrated here, the people were accustomed to
offer an expiatory sacrifice to the god, to avert all the ca¬
lamities with which they might be threatened. For this
purpose they made choice of a criminal condemned to
death, whom, having conducted to the brink of the promon¬
tory, they precipitated into the sea amidst the loud shouts
of the spectators. The criminal, however, seldom perish¬
ed in the w'ater; for it was the custom to cover him with
feathers, and to fasten birds to his body, which by spread¬
ing their wings served to break his fall. No sooner did
he touch the sea, than a number of boats stationed for the
purpose flew to his assistance, and drew him out; but
after being thus saved, he was banished for ever from the
territory of Leucadia.
According to ancient authors, a strange opinion con¬
cerning this promontory prevailed for some time amongst
the Greeks. They imagined that the leap of Leucate was
a potent remedy against the violence of love. Hence dis¬
appointed or despairing lovers, it is said, were often known
to go to Leucadia, and, having ascended the promontory,
and offered sacrifices in the temple, and engaged by a formal
vow to perform the desperate act, to precipitate them¬
selves into the sea. Some are reported to have recover¬
ed from the effects of the fall; and, amongst these, men¬
tion is made of a citizen of Buthroton, in Epirus (Butrin-
to, in Albania), whose passions always taking fire at new
objects, had four times recourse to the same remedy, and
always with success. As those who made the trial, how¬
ever, seldom took any precaution to render their fall less
rapid, they were generally destroyed ; and women often
fell victims to this act of superstitious desperation. -At
LEU LEU 255
W^uci-msLeucate was shown the tomb of Artemisia, the celebrat-
|| ed queen of Caria, who gave so many proofs of courage at
Fittic«e- the battle of Salamis. Inflamed with a violent passion
fMriai; for a young man who inflexibly refused her love, she
surprised him in his sleep, and put out his eyes. But re¬
gret and despair soon drove her to Leucate, where she
perished in the waves, notwithstanding that every effort
was made to save her. Such likewise was the end of the
unhappy Sappho. Forsaken by her lover Phaon, she went
thither to seek relief from her sufferings, and found it in
destruction.
LEUCIPPUS, a celebrated Greek philosopher, re¬
specting the exact period of whose birth and death we
are ignorant. Neither is his birth-place known; but Dio¬
genes Laertius, who furnishes us with a few facts respect¬
ing him, states that he was a native either of Velia in
Italy, Abdera, or Miletus. According to Jamblichus, he
had in his youth attended Pythagoras ; he was the disci¬
ple of Melissus, and of Zeno of Velia, which confirms the
supposition that he must have flourished about b. c. 430.
He was the first who invented the system of atoms, which
was afterwards more fully explained by Democritus and
Epicurus. Posidonius (Strab. xvi. 512) ascribed the honour
of this invention to Moschus, a Phoenician philosopher,
who lived, it is said, before the siege of Troy ; but there
seems little reason to believe that this statement is correct.
Several other philosophers had, before the time of Leucip-
] pus, considered matter as divisible into indefinitely small
I particles; but Leucippus and Democritus were the first
who taught that these particles were originally destitute
of all qualities except figure and motion. According to
this theory, the universe, which is infinite, is in part a 'ple¬
num and in part a vacuum. The plenum contained innu¬
merable corpuscles or atoms of various figures, which, fall¬
ing into the vacuum, struck against each other ; and hence
arose a variety of curvilinear motions, which continued, till
at length atoms of similar forms met together, and bodies
were produced. The primary atoms being specifically of
equal weight, and not being able, on account of their
multitude, to move in circles, the smaller rose to the ex¬
terior parts of the vacuum, whilst the larger, entangling
themselves, formed a spherical shell, which revolved about
its centre, and which included within itself all kinds of
bodies. The central mass was gradually increased by a
p perpetual accession of particles from the surrounding
shell, till at last the earth was formed. Lactantius has
?. ^futed the hypothesis of Leucippus {Instil. Divin.
iii. 17.) (See a Memoir of Batteux on the Active Princi-
: I^e °f the Universe, Mem. de VAcad, des Inscrip, xxix.;
al also Montucla, Hist, des Math. i. 147 ; and Bayle, Dic-
li tionaire.)
LEUCOMA, in Antiquity, was a public register amongst
the Athenians, in which were inserted the names of all
the citizens as soon as they were of age to enter upon
t their paternal inheritance.
LEUCOPE1 RIANS, in Ecclesiastical History, the name
or a fanatical sect which sprang up in the Greek and eastern
churches towards the close of the twelfth century. The fa¬
ns natics of this denomination professed to believe in a dou¬
ble trinity ; rejected wedlock ; abstained from flesh ; treat-
ei j ed with the utmost contempt the sacraments of baptism
at and the Lord’s supper, with all the various branches of
external worship; placed the essence of religion in inter¬
ns nal prayer alone; and maintained that an evil being or
genius dwelt in the breast of every mortal, and could be
o expelled thence by no other method than by perpetual
at supplication to the Supreme Being. The founder of this
8c sect of enthusiasts is said to have been a person called
I, ^eucopetrus, and his chief disciple Tychicus, who cor¬
rupted, by fanatical interpretations, several books of Scrip-
lt ture, particularly St Matthew’s Gospel.
LEUCOTHOE, or Leucothea , in fabulous history, the Leucothoe
wife of Athamas, who was changed into a sea deity. She II
was the Matuta of the Romans, and had a temple at Rome, Ljeuwen-
where all the people, particularly women, offered vows . xloeck’
for their brothers’ children. They did not entreat the
deity to protect their own children, because Ino had been
unfortunate in hers. No female slaves were permitted to
enter the temple; or if curiosity tempted them to trans¬
gress this rule, they were beaten with the greatest seve¬
rity.
LEUCTRA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Bceotia,
to the west of Thebes, situated between Platasa and Thes-
pia, where the Lacedaemonians sustained a terrible defeat
by the Thebans under Epaminondas and Pelopidas. See
Sparta.
LEUSDEN, John, a celebrated philologist, born in
1624. He studied the learned languages and mathema¬
tics at Utrecht, and then went to Amsterdam to con¬
verse with the rabbin, and perfect himself in the Hebrew
tongue ; after which he became professor of Hebrew at
Utrecht, where he acquired a great reputation, and died
in the year 1699. He wrote many valuable works, the
principal of which are, 1. Onomasticum Sacrum, 8vo; 2.
Clavis Hebraica et Philologica Veteris Testamenti, 4to;
3. Novi Testamenti Clavis Graeca, cum Annotationibus
Philologicis, 8vo; 4. Compendium Biblicum Veteris Tes¬
tamenti, 8vo ; 5. Compendium Graeeum Novi Testamenti,
the best edition of which is that of London, in 1668, 12mo ;
6. Philologus Hebraeus, 4to; 7. Philologus Hebraeo-mixtus,
4to ; 8. Philologus Hebraeo-Graecus, 4to; 9. Notes on
Jonas, Joel, Hosea, and other books. He also gave cor¬
rect editions of several learned works.
LEUTMERITZ, a circle in the Austrian kingdom of
Bohemia, extending over 1394 square miles, containing
forty-two cities and towns, 942 villages, and 54,060
houses, inhabited by 300,711 individuals. It is a roman¬
tic district of hills, covered with wood, and narrow valleys
of considerable natural fertility. The Elbe carries off the
waters of the many small streams which run through the
valleys. It is productive of corn, flax, hops, fruit, and
yields some wine, and may be considered as a granary for
part of the kingdom of Saxony. The capital, from which
the circle derives its name, is a city situated on the Elbe,
and surrounded with walls and ditches. It has a magni¬
ficent cathedral and eleven other churches, a town-hall,
565 houses, and 3950 inhabitants. Long. 13. 1. 33. E.
Lat. 50. 31. 38. N.
LEUTSCHAU, a city of the circle of Zips, in the pro¬
vince of Hither Theiss, in Hungary. It is unfortified, and
irregularly built, has a Catholic and a Lutheran church,
and contains 866 houses, with 4340 inhabitants. It has
much trade in brewing and distilling, and in wine, and is
much frequented by pilgrims, who visit there an image of
the Virgin Mary. Long. 20. 21. 5. E. Lat. 49. 0. 58. N.
LEUWENHOECK, Antony, a celebrated naturalist,
was born at Delft in the year 1632, and died on the 26th of
August 1723. The peculiar talent he displayed in cutting
glasses for microscopes and spectacles at first procured him
much reputation, owing to the superiority of the instru¬
ments he constructed ; and he afterwards acquired still
higher distinction as a naturalist and anatomist, by the va¬
riety of his researches on the internal structure of the dif¬
ferent parts of the human body. His microscopical labours
and observations were so numerous, that it would be im¬
possible to give an exact detail of them ; we shall, there¬
fore, advert only to his principal researches. The antago¬
nists of Harvey, author of the discovery of the circulation
of the blood, objected to the doctrine of this great anato¬
mist, that if the blood passed directly from the arteries to
the veins, it could not nourish the parts it traversed. The
question was undecided; and, in 1686, Leuwenhoeck com-
256 LEU
Leuwen- municated to the Royal Society of London a memoir, in
hoeck. which, contrary to the opinion of Harvey, he maintained
V j^ v ‘ that the passage of the blood from the arteries to the veins
was not immediate. Nevertheless, in 1690, having scru¬
pulously re-examined the parts with his improved micro¬
scope, he discovered and demonstrated in the clearest man¬
ner the continuity of the arteries with the veins ; and he
even refused to admit any division between the capillary
vessels, because, said he, it is impossible to determine
where the arteries end and the veins begin. At this pe ¬
riod, the chemical theory which prevailed in medicine as¬
sumed as certain the fermentation of the blood. Leuwen-
hoeck combated this hypothesis successfully, opposing to
it his microscopic experiments, from which it results that
there exist no bubbles of air in the blood-vessels, a pheno¬
menon which ought to occur if the blood underwent fer¬
mentation. This experimenter having also directed his re¬
searches to the form of the globules of blood which Mal¬
pighi had already perceived, showed that these globules are
oval and flattened, being composed of six small cones
which float in the serum, and which, taken separately, do
not reflect the red colour, but which, by their union, com¬
municate to the blood the physical qualities it is known to
possess. This discovery served as the basis of the theory
of Boerhaave on inflammation. In order to support his
system, Leuwenhoeck showed that the red capillary vessels
proceed from other vessels, where the circulation of the
blood takes place beyond the influence of the heart, and
where this liquid appears white, because its globules are
divided, in order to accommodate themselves to the tenuity
of the canals through which it must pass. Ulterior expe¬
riments have not confirmed his ideas as to the physical
composition of the blood; but his observations on the
structure of the capillary vessels have been recognised as
exact by the most enlightened anatomists. The brain and
the nerves formed also subjects of research to Leuwenhoeck.
He pretended that the cortical substance is entirely vas¬
cular ; that the vessels which compose it are five hundred
and twelve times smaller than the most attenuated capil¬
lary vessels ; and that the globules composing the fluid
contained in the cortical substance are thirty-six times
smaller than those of which the red blood is formed. Last¬
ly, he conceived that each of these globules is surrounded
with a very fine reticulation of vessels and of fibres. But
new experiments made in 1717 induced him to modify his
ideas; and he then alleged that the brain is a fibrous struc¬
ture, and that blood-vessels are intertwinedg amongst the
fibres composing that organ. Science, however, has de¬
rived no advantage from these last researches, which are
more fitted to perplex than to enlighten. Leuwenhoeck
studied the structure of the crystalline lens, and describ¬
ed, with accuracy, the coats which compose this part of the
organ of vision ; adding very good figures to his descrip¬
tion. Much has been said of the discovery of the animal¬
cules which he perceived in the sperm. He described
these minute bodies at great length, and conjectured that,
having reached the uterus, they irritate that organ, attract
the ovum, and communicate vitality to the embryon contain¬
ed in it. Benjamin Martin has contested these observations,
a detail of which may be found in the Natural History of
Buffon. Leuwenhoeck employed his whole life, which was
very long, in making anatomical observations and experi¬
ments ; and he only wanted, to obtain more numerous re¬
sults, that erudition and sagacity which are necessary to
discern what is true from what is only apparent. It is thus
that he often believed himself to have seen what did not
exist, and that he persisted in his error. Amongst his pa¬
radoxes may be mentioned the opinion he supported, that
the coat of the intestines, which the anatomists of his time
called tunica villosa, is muscular. He also maintained that
pulsation belonged to the veins, and not to the arteries.
LEV
The Czar Peter the Great was an admirer of Leuwenhoeck. i
This prince, passing by Delft in 1698, sent two of his at- 7
tendants to request Leuwenhoeck to pay him a visit, and m
to bring some of his “ admirable” microscopes; adding, 's"'y
that he would have gone to visit him at his residence, had
it not been that he wished to escape the notice of the mul¬
titude. The naturalist, after having showed his instru¬
ments to the emperor, exhibited to him the curious pheno¬
menon of the circulation of blood in the tail of an eel.
Leuwenhoeck communicated to the Royal Society of Lon¬
don all his Memoirs, which are inserted in the Philosophi¬
cal Transactions. They have also been printed (for the
most part separately) in Dutch, at Delft and at Leyden.
But a foreign hand has translated into Latin all the com¬
positions of this celebrated naturalist, under the title of
Arcana Naturae detecta, Delft, 1695-1699, in four vols.
4to; reprinted at Leyden in 1719, and with the author’s
correspondence in 1722.
LEUZE, a city of the Netherlands, in the province of
Hennegau, and arrondissement of Tournay. It is situat¬
ed on the river Dender, about six miles from its source,
contains 4500 inhabitants, and has a considerable trade in
linen. Long. 3. 33. E. Lat. 50. 34. N.
T LEVANSO, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, near
the western extremity of Sicily, four miles from Favig-
nana. It is the Phorbantia of antiquity. It is nearly six
miles in circumference, lofty, rugged, and, excepting at
two or three places, inaccessible. It is inhabited, and
furnishes corn, wine, oil, and cotton, and faggots and fire¬
wood, to the cities of Marsala and Trapani. Long. 12.
20. 29. E. Lat. 38. 1. 36. N.
LEVANT, in Geography, signifies any country situat¬
ed to the eastward of us, or in the eastern part of any con¬
tinent or country, or in that quarter where the sun rises.
Levant is also a name given to the eastern part of the
Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Anatolia or Asia Minor on
the north, by Syria and Palestine on the east, by Egypt
and Barca on the south, and by the island of Candia and
the rest of the Mediterranean on the west.
LEVEL, an instrument which enables us to find a line
or surface exactly level; that is, such as shall be every¬
where parallel to the true horizon, or at right angles to
the plumb-line or direction of gravity. It also enables us
to find the difference between the heights of two or more
places on the surface of the earth.
Amongst the great variety of instruments which have
been invented for these purposes, and which are all guid¬
ed by the agency of gravitation, the following are tlie
most important and useful.
Levels in which the plummet or plumb-line forms the Plumb-,
most essential part have been constructed in many differentvel.
forms, and under as many names, to suit the purpose or
fancies of the various artificers who employ them ; such as
masons, bricklayers, paviors, carpenters, and others. But
the general principle of the construction is to attach a
thread and plummet to the upper part of a board or flat
frame of wood or metal, in such a manner that, when the
thread of this plummet, hanging freely, coincides with, a
fiducial line marked on the frame, it is at right angles to
the base of the instrument; so that when this occurs, the
thing to which the base is applied must obviously be le¬
vel ; but if the thread declines from the mark, the thing is
lower on one side than the other. In some of these levels,
the fiducial line or mark is at the middle of the base, in
others at or near the end. But though it is easy to see,
that the longer the base, and the farther down the thread
the fiducial line extends, so much the more accurate or
sensible is the instrument likely to be ; yet little or no re¬
gard is generally had to this in practice. The vibrations
of the lead, which are troublesome in nice operations, may
be in a great measure prevented by having it immersed
l( >1.
—
\rtii: y
bot-l-el.
iunnis
;vel.
LEVEL.
ilaiii
?el.
>riot»'s
lecti
el.
■ter.
in a vessel with water or other liquor. Sometimes the
''plummet is enclosed in a glass cover to protect it from
the agitation of the wind, and sights or even a telescope
are occasionally applied. For a telescope may be added
to any kind of level, by applying it upon or parallel to the
base of the instrument when there is occasion to take the
level of remote objects. One of the simplest forms of a
plumb-level is shown in fig. 1, Plate CCCXXIL; and the
next we shall describe is another.
The Artillery Foot-Level is in the form of a carpenter’s
square, having its two legs or branches of equal lengths ;
at their juncture is a little hole, whence hangs a thread
and plummet playing on a quadrant, which is divided into
twice forty-five degrees from the middle, as shown in fig. 2.
By placing the feet or ends of its two branches on a
plane, in such a manner that the thread may play perpen¬
dicularly over the middle division of the quadrant, the
plane is assuredly level. To use it in gunnery, place the
two ends on the piece of artillery, which may be raised to
any proposed height, as indicated by the plummet, whose
thread will give the degree above the level.
Gunners Level, for levelling cannons and mortars, con¬
sists of a triangular brass plate about four inches high
(fig. 3), at the bottom of which is a portion of a circle,
divided only into forty-five degrees, as this number is
sufficient for the highest elevation of cannons and mor¬
tars, and for giving shot the greatest range. On the cen¬
tre of a segment of a circle turns a piece of brass A B,
which may be fixed by a screw at pleasure. Its lower
end B serves for a plummet and index, to show the diffe¬
rent degrees of elevation of pieces of artillery. This in¬
strument has also a brass foot, not shown in the figure, to
set upon cannons or mortars; so that when those pieces
are horizontal, the instrument is perpendicular. The foot
is to be placed on the piece to be elevated, in such a
manner that the point of the plummet may fall on the pro¬
per degree ; this they call levelling the piece.
I he Balance-Level is wholly suspended as a pendu¬
lum. It is furnished with sights, which, when the instru¬
ment hangs at rest, show the line of level, and sometimes
even a telescope is applied to it. Levels of this sort have
been made in various forms. They have but little sensi¬
bility, and are liable to be sadly disturbed by the wind.
Desagulier’s level, described at considerable length in
almost every treatise on this subject, is essentially the
same with the method of measuring heights by the baro¬
meter, to which, as a mode of levelling, we therefore beg
to refer. 8
Reflecting Level, that made by means of a pretty long
surface of water representing the same object inverted
which we see erect by the eye ; so that the point where
these two objects appear to meet, is on a level with the
place where the surface of the water is found.
There is another reflecting level, consisting of a mirror
ot steel, or the like, well polished, and placed a little be-
, object-glass of a telescope, suspended perpendi¬
cularly. This mirror must make an angle of 45° with the
telescope, in which case the perpendicular line of the te¬
lescope is converted into a horizontal line, which is the
same with the line of level.
Water-Level, that which shows the horizontal line by
means of a surface of water or other liquor, founded on
ns prmciple, that a liquid always places itself level.
ihe most simple water-level is made of a long wooden
rough or canal, whose sides are parallel to the base ; so
mt, being equally filled with water, its surface shows the
me °t level. This is the chorobates of the ancients, de¬
scribed by Vitruvius.
It is also made with two cups fitted to the two ends of
a pipe three or four feet long, bout an inch in diameter,
7 means of which the water communicates from the one
v'ol. xm.
257
cup to the other; and this pipe being moveable on its Level,
stand by means of a ball and socket, when the two cups
become equally full of water, their two surfaces mark the
line of level.
This instrument, instead of cups, may also be made
with two short cylinders of glass three or four inches long,
fastened to each extreme of the pipe with wax or mastic.
Into the pipe is poured some common or coloured water,
which shows itself through the cylinders, by means of
which the line of level is determined ; the height of the
water being the same in both cylinders, whether these
are themselves perfectly level or not. This level, though
very simple, is yet very commodious for levelling at small
distances. Various instruments constructed on this princi¬
ple with water, mercury, and other liquids, have aimed at
great perfection ; but, as refined levels, we consider them
so inferior to the spirit-level, shortly to be noticed, as not
to merit a particular description here.
Air-Level, that which shows the line of level by means Air-level,
of a bubble of air enclosed with some liquor in a glass tube
which is slightly convex upward, and has its two ends her¬
metically sealed. When the bubble fixes itself at a cer¬
tain mark in the middle of the tube, the plane or ruler
whereon it is fixed is level. When it is not level, the bub¬
ble will rise to one end. This glass tube may be set in
another of brass, or in a piece of wood, having an aper¬
ture in the middle, through which the bubble of air may
be observed. The liquor with which the tube is filled is
most commonly alcohol or spirit of wine. This application
of a bubble of air is said to be the invention of Dr Hooke ;
but some ascribe it tojThevenot.
One of these instruments made with sights, is an im¬
provement upon that last described,land, by a little addi¬
tional apparatus, becomes more commodious and exact.
It consists of an air-level AB (fig. 4), about eight inches
long, and seven or eight lines in diameter, set in a brass
tube 2, with an aperture in the middle C. The tubes are
supported by a straight ruler a foot long, at whose end
are fixed two sights, 3, 3, exactly perpendicular to the
tubes, and of an equal height, having a square hole, sub¬
divided by a cross of thin brass, in the middle of which is
drilled a very small hole, through which a point on a level
with the instrument is observed. The brass tube is fas¬
tened on the ruler by means of two screws, one of which,
marked 4, serves to raise or depress the tube at pleasure,
for bringing it towards a level. The top of the ball and
socket is riveted to a little ruler that springs, one end
whereof is fastened with a screw to the great ruler, and
at the other end has a screw, 5, serving to raise and de¬
press the instrument when nearly level.
We should consider wires greatly preferable to sights
with holes, which, though very small, will take in too
great a space to determine the point of level precisely.
But the principle of the air-level is brought to an incom¬
parably greater degree of perfection in the instrument
next to be described.
Spirit-Level. The most accurate levelling instrument Spirit-
in use, and that possessed of the greatest essential advan-level.
tages, is the spirit-level, which was first constructed by
Mi feisson, and to which various additions and improve¬
ments have been since made, particularly by Mr Rams-
den. The following is a description of one of the best of
these levels, hig- 5 represents the instrument mounted
on its staves, PQ,R. Ihe telescope, AB, is made from
fifteen inches to two feet in length, as may be required.
It is achromatic, of the best kind, and shows the objects
erect. By turning the screw a at the side of the tele¬
scope, the object-glass is moved; and thus the telescope
is exactly adapted to the eye. In the focus of the eye¬
glasses are exceedingly fine cross wires, the intersection
of which should be so perfectly in the axis of the tube,
2 K
258
LEVEL.
Level, that by turning it round on its two supporters D, E, and
''“■"'V—looking through the telescope, the intersection of the wires
may constantly cut the same part of the object viewed.
They are easily adjusted to this state by means of the
four screws bbbb placed on the telescope, near the end
for the eye. These screws act in directions perpendicular
to one another, so that, by unscrewing one and tightening
the opposite one, the wire perpendicular to them may be
moved either way at pleasure; and in this manner the
other wire may be moved, and thus the intersection of
the wires is brought exactly into the axis of the tube.
To the telescope is fixed, by two small screws, the le¬
vel tube cd, containing the spirits, with a small bubble of
air: this bubble, when the instrument is well adjusted,
will settle exactly in the same place, in or near the middle
of its tube, whether the telescope be reversed or not on
the supporters, which in this case are kept unmoved. To
render the level truly parallel to the telescope, the screw
at c adjusts it vertically, and that at d horizontally. The
two supporters D, E, on which the level rests and turns,
are shaped like the letter Y. The telescope rests within
the upper part of them; and the inner sides of each of
these Y’s are tangents to the cylindric tube of the tele¬
scope, which is turned to a true cylinder, and each side
touches it only at one place. The telescope can be con¬
fined in the Y’s by means of two jointed arches or rims,
ff, which fasten with pins, gg> as shown in the figure.
The lower ends of these supporters are inserted into a
strong brass bar F G, so as to stand perpendicularly on
it. To one of these is applied a fine threaded screw, H,
to adjust the tube, when on its supporters, to a true level;
and to the same supporter D is sometimes applied a line
of tangents as far as ten degrees, in order to take an an¬
gle of depression or elevation to that extent. Between
the supporters is also sometimes fixed a compass-box I,
divided into 360°, and again into four times 90°, having a
centre pin and needle, and trigger to throw off the needle
from the centre when not used; so as to constitute a per¬
fect circumferentor, connected with all the foregoing im¬
provements. This plate is fixed on a conical brass ferrule,
which is adapted to the axis or bell-metal frustum of a
cone at top of the brass head of the staves, having a ball
and socket, with three bell-metal joints, two strong brass
plates LL, four screws eeee, for adjusting the conical
axis of the stand to be truly vertical, a regulating screw
M to the motion on this axis, and a fastening screw N to
tighten it on the cone when necessary. The fastening
screw N, and the regulating screw M, by which the whole
instrument is moved steadily round the vertical axis
through a small space, were an addition of Mr Ramsden’s.
It is to be observed that, since the lower of the two plates
LL generally partakes of the inclination of the ground,
while the upper should always be level, they are almost
never parallel, though usually called “ the parallel plates.”
Manner of The whole level being now placed steadily on its
adjusting staves, we must gradually adjust the axis of the stand to
the level be truly vertical, if it is not so already. For this purpose
at one sta- tjie telescope must be placed in a line with two of the
screws e e, and then levelled by these, if-necessary, till
the bubble of air in the spirit-tube keeps its position in
the middle. It is next to be turned into a line with the
other two screws e e at right angles to the former, and to
be also levelled in that position.
The horizontal motion on the vertical axis being thus
far adjusted, the rims //of the Y’s are to be opened, the
telescope is to be taken off and laid the contrary way
upon these supporters. If the bubble of air then rests ex¬
actly the same as before, the level and telescope are al¬
ready adjusted rightly to one another; but if the bubble
does not remain the same, the end to which it goes
must be noticed, and its position altered; correcting the
error partly by the screws e, d, and H, and partly by re- Lev
peating the adjustments above described, upon the screws's“y
eeee.
The intersection of the wires being now directed to any
distant object, it may be one of the vanes of the staves or
poles hereafter described. (See Levelling Staves.) If
they continue to be against it precisely, while the tele¬
scope is turned round its axis on its Y’s, it proves, as be¬
fore mentioned, that the axis coincides with the intersec¬
tion of the wires. In this easy mode of adjustment con¬
sists the excellence of the instrument; for it is hereby
capable of being adjusted by only one station and one ob¬
ject, which will at the same time determine it to be in a
true level. If, by change of weather, accident, or other
cause, the instrument should have lost its level or adjust¬
ment, it may thus be readily restored and re-adjusted at
the first station ; which is an advantage many levelling in¬
struments do not possess.
Since it is often of great importance to execute level¬
ling with accuracy, and the best instrument when out of
its adjustment being of little use, it is quite necessary that
every person using such an instrument should have it
readily in his power to correct it; and the above, which
is Ramsden’s construction, is well adapted for this pur¬
pose. There are no doubt simpler instruments, as, for in¬
stance, some of Troughton’s ; but none of these simple
ones admit of anything like such perfect adjustments as
the one just described, though they may suit fully as
well in the hands of a person not capable of making the
adjustments, and of course not capable of taking a nice
level at all.
It is well known, that when a plummet or pendulum Theon
vibrates freely in a circular arc, the tendency of gravity thespir
to bring it to the resting position is everywhere as the'™!
sine of the angular distance from that position. Now, if
the bubble in the spirit-level moves in a circle, it is ob¬
viously acted on by a force precisely similar to that
which gravity exerts upon the plummet; and there¬
fore it would seem that a spirit-level should measure
small angles with the same accuracy as a sector whose
radius is equal to that of the curvature of the glass tube,
or a plumb-line of the same length ; but there are some
causes which diminish its accuracy. When the bubble of
air has been brought to the middle of the glass tube, and
when the tube, after being deranged, is restored to the
very same position, we cannot be sure that the bubble of
air will return to the very middle of the tube. This irre¬
gularity is produced by the friction of the included liquid
against the sides of the tube, and depends on the magni¬
tude of the bubble and the quantity of liquid. In a good
level, where the bubble moves about five lines for a mi¬
nute of inclination, this uncertainty does not exceed half
a line, which may be ascertained by pointing the tele¬
scope to any object. The coincidence of a plumb-line
with a particular mark will, on account of the insensible
oscillation of the thread, leave about double the uncer¬
tainty which is left by the index of a sector, and which
may be estimated at about a hundredth of a line. A va¬
riety of interesting researches on this subject by Mr Nix¬
on will be found in the Philosophical Magazine for April
and May 1827, March 1829, and June 1831.
Levels are commonly made of glass tubes in the state Co#
they are obtained at the glass-house. Of these, the tion^
straightest and most regular are selected and examined,#
by filling them nearly with spirit of wine, and ascertain¬
ing by trial that side at which the bubble moves most re¬
gularly, by equal inclinations of the instrument upon a
stage called the bubble trier, which is provided with a
micrometer screw for that purpose. The most regular
side is chosen for the upper part of the instrument, the
others being of little consequence to its perfection. Spi*
t
t
P
it
it
it
ai
a
it
st
at
bil
sit
lit
sb
j;. I.a
ide (](
■ ndin;
tubi
LEV
rit of wine is used, because if pure it does not freeze
'at natural temperatures, and is more fluid than water.
Sometimes, indeed, though very rarely, ether is employ ¬
ed. The tube and the bubble must be of considerable
length. The longer the bubble, the more sensible it is
to a small inclination. A very small bubble is scarce¬
ly sensible, appears as if attached to the glass, and moves
but slowly.
In the use of a level of this kind constructed by Lan-
glois, it was remarked, that when it was properly set in
the cool of the morning, it was no longer so in the middle
of the day, or when the weather became hot; and that
when it was again rectified for the middle of the day, it
became false in the evening, after the heat had diminish¬
ed. Ihe bubble was much longer in cold than in hot wea¬
ther, and when longer it was too much so, and could not
be kept in the middle of the tube, but stood a little on
the one or the other side, though the inclination was pre¬
cisely the same. Ihese defects were small, and such as
claim the notice of careful observers only ; but they ap¬
peared of too much consequence not to produce a wish to
remedy them. It was observed that they arose from in¬
equalities in the interior surface of the tube ; and by ex¬
amining a great number of tubes, selected for levels of
the same kind, there was reason to conclude that all these
levels would have more or less of the same defects, be¬
cause there was not one tube of a regular figure within.
They were at best no otherwise cylindrical than plates
of glass can be said to be plane before they are ground.
The irregularities were easily discernible.
It was therefore concluded that it would be advisable
to grind the inner surfaces of the tubes, and give them a
regular cylindrical or rather spindle form, of which the
two opposite sides should correspond with portions of
circles of very long radius. To accomplish this, a rod
of iron was taken of twice the length of the glass tube,
and on the middle of this rod was fixed a stout tube of
brass of the same length as the tube of glass, and nearly
filling the bore. The rod was fixed between the cen¬
tres of a lathe, and the glass gently rubbed on the brass
cylinder, with fine emery and water, causing it to move
through its whole length. The glass was held by the
middle, that it might be equally ground, and was from
time to time shifted on its axis, as was also the brass cy¬
linder, in order that the wear might be everywhere alike.
1 he operation had scarcely commenced before the tube
broke; and several others experienced the same misfor¬
tune, though they had been well annealed. It was sup¬
posed that the emery which became fixed in the brass
might contribute to split the glass, each grain continuing
its impression with the same point, in a straight line, and
in some instances might be disposed to cut the glass
as diamond. Yet it is curious that some artists find
a wooden cylinder to suit pretty well, probably because
it does not hold the emery so firmly as brass does. But
when a cylinder of glass was substituted instead of the
brass, the emery, rolling on the surface of the glass in¬
stead of fixing itself, had better success; so that the
tube and cylinder touched each other through their whole
length. The same operation was continued, using finer
and finer emery to smooth the tube, and prepare it for
polishing; after which the tube and cylinder having been
we 1 washed, thin paper was pasted round the cylinder,
and very equally covered with a small quantity of Venice
npoli. Ihe tube was then replaced and rubbed as be¬
fore, till it had acquired a polish.
A level thus ground may be either of the proper sensi-
} ftyj or be too much or too little sensible. It will be too
s uggish, if, before grinding, exclusive of the inequali-
!es ”, the tube> its diameter in the middle of the length
S 10u much exceed the diameter of the extremities ; or it
LEV
259
will be too sensible if this diameter should not sufficient- Levelling,
ly exceed the other; or, lastly, if the middle diameter
be smaller than that of the extremes, the bubble will be
incapable of continuing in the middle, but will, in every
case, either run to one or the other end, or be divided
into two parts.
To correct these defects, and to give the instrument
the required degree of perfection, it is proper to examine
its figure before the grinding is entirely finished. For this
purpose, after cleaning it well, a sufficient quantity of spi¬
rit of wine must be put into it, and secured by a cork at
each end. The tube must then be placed on the forks or
Y’s of a bubble trier, and its sensibility, or the magnitude
and regularity of the space run over by the bubble, by
equal changes of the micrometer screw, must be ascer¬
tained. If the run or spaces passed over be too great,
they may be rendered smaller by grinding the tube on a
short cylinder ; but if they be too short, they may, on the
contrary, be enlarged, by grinding on a longer cylinder.
It is necessary, therefore, to be provided with a number
of these cylinders of the same diameter, but of different
lengths, which it is advisable to bring to a first figure, by
grinding them in a hollow half cylinder of brass. By means
of these it will be easy to regulate the tube of the level
to any required degree of sensibility, after which the tube
may be very quickly smoothed and polished.
A level thus ground was one foot in length, and so
was the cylinder on which it was first worked. When
finished it was found to be too sensible. It was therefore
worked on another cylinder between nine and ten inch¬
es long, which diminished its sensibility so far, that the
bubble, which was nine inches and four lines long, at
the temperature of 68° Fahrenheit, was carried from the
middle of the tube exactly one line for every second of
inclination. This sensibility was thought sufficient; but
if greater is required, it may be obtained by the process
here described. For more on this subject, we again beg
to refer to Mr Nixon’s papers already cited.
It may be remarked, that a glass tube is very subject
to be split by grinding its inner surface; the same tube
will not be endangered by grinding its external surface,
even with coarse emery ; and when once the polish of the
inside is ground off, the danger is over, and coarser emery
may be used with safety. Thick glass is more subject
to this misfortune than thinner. The coarsest emery used
in grinding the tube here spoken of was sufficiently fine to
employ one minute in descending three inches in water.
LEVELLING may be defined the art which enables
us to find a line or surface exactly level, as also to find
how much higher or lower any given point on the surface
of the earth is than another.
The practice of levelling, therefore, consists, 1. in find¬
ing and marking two or more points that shall be on a le¬
vel, as already defined ; 2. in comparing the points thus
found with other points, to ascertain the difference in
their heights or levels, for the purpose of making roads,
conducting water, draining low grounds, rendering rivers
navigable, forming canals, and the like.
With regard to the theory of levelling, we must ob¬
serve, that a plumb-line, hanging freely in the air, marks
the direction of gravity, and a line drawn at right angles
to the direction of the plumb-line, and touching the
earth s surface, is a true level only on that particular spot;
but if this line which crosses the plumb be continued for
any considerable length, it will rise above the earth’s sur¬
face, and the apparent level will be above the true one,
because the earth is globular; and this rising will be as
the square of the distance to which the said right line is
produced; that is to say, it is raised eight inches very
nearly above the earth’s surface at one mile’s distance;
four times as much, or thirty-two inches, at the distance
260
LEVELLING.
Difference
between
the appa¬
rent and
Levelling, of two miles; nine times, or seventy-two inches, at the
' distance of three, &c. This is owing to the globular fi¬
gure of the earth ; and this rising is the difference betwixt
the true and apparent levels; the curve of the earth be¬
ing the true level, and the tangent to it the apparent le¬
vel. Hence it appears, that the less distance we take
betwixt any two stations, the truer will be our opera¬
tions in levelling; and so soon does the difference be¬
tween the true and apparent levels become perceptible,
that it is necessary to make an allowance for it if the
distance betwixt the two stations exceeds two chains.
Let BD be a small portion of the earth’s circumference,
whose centre of curvature is A, and consequently all the
points of this arch will be on a level. But a tangent BC
true level, meeting the vertical line AD in C, will be the apparent
level at the point B ; and therefore DC is the difference
between the apparent and true level at the point B. The
distance CD, therefore, must be deducted from the ob¬
served height, to have the true difference of level, or the
difference between the distances of two points from the
surface of the earth, or from the centre of curvature A.
But we shall afterwards see how this correction may be
avoided altogether in certain cases.
To find an expression for CD, we have (Euclid, iii.
36) BC2 = CD (2 AD + CD). But since
in all cases of levelling CD is exceedingly
small compared with 2 AD, we may safely
neglect CD2, and then BC2 = 2 AD X
BC2
CD, or CD = Hence the depres¬
sion of the true level is equal to the square
of the distance divided by twice the radius
of the curvature of the earth. If we take the
mean radius of the earth as the mean radius of its curva¬
ture, and consequently 2 AD = 7912 miles, then 5280 feet
being one mile, we shall have CD the depression in inch¬
es = ^B0_X_12_xJC2 _ 8.008 BC2> Bufc when BC
7912
Distance.
Yards.
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
Depression.
Inches.
•026
•103
•233
•414
•646
•931
1-267
1- 654
2- 094
2- 585
3- 128
3- 722
4- 369
5- 067
5- 816
6- 618
7- 471
8- 376
Distance.
Miles.
•25
•50
•75
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-
12-
13-
14-
15-
Depression.
Feet.
2
6
10
16
24
32
42
54
66
80
96
112
130
150
Inches.
0-50
2-00
4-50
8-01
8-03
0-07
8-13
8-20
0-29
8-39
8-51
0-65
8-80
8- 97
1-15
9- 35
9-57
1-80
occupy several pages; but the formula is of general appli.Lev n
cation. However, when the distance is in miles, eight
times its square will be very nearly the depression in
inches, or two thirds of the same square the depression in
feet. When the distance is in chains, a convenient rule
for many ordinary purposes is to divide its square by 800;
the quotient is very nearly the depression in inches. In
this manner was computed the following table of the cur¬
vature of the earth :—
is in yards, the value of CD in inches becomes -000002585
BC2. From these data was computed the following
Distance.
Chains.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Depression.
Inches.
0-00125
000500
0-01125
0-020
0-031
0-045
0-061
0-080
0-101
0-125
0-150
0-180
0-211
0-24
0-28
0-32
0-36
0-40
0-45
0-50
0-55
0-60
0-66
0-72
0-78
0-84
Distance.
Chains.
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Depression.
Inches.
0-91
0-98
1-05
1-12
1-20
1-27
1-35
1-44
1-53
1-62
1-71
1-80
1- 90
2- 00
2- 53
3- 12
3- 78
4- 50
5- 28
6- 12
7- 03
8- 00
9-03
10-12
11-28
12-50
Table showing the Difference between the True and Appa¬
rent Levels, so far as depends on the Curvature of the
Earth.
til
A table sufficiently large to embrace every case, by sim¬
ply taking proportional parts between its numbers, would
The preceding formulae and tables suppose the visual
ray CB to be a straight line ; whereas, on account of the
unequal densities of the air at different distances from the
earth, the rays of light are incurvated by refraction. The
effect of this is to lessen the difference between the true
and apparent levels, but in such an extremely variable
and uncertain manner, that if any constant or fixed allow¬
ance is made for it in formulae or tables, it will often lead
to a greater error than what it was intended to obviate.
For, though the refraction may at a mean compensate for
about a seventh of the curvature of the earth, it some¬
times exceeds a fifth, and at other times does not amount
to a fifteenth. We have therefore made no allowance for
refraction in these tables or formulae; but we shall pre¬
sently see how its effects may frequently be obviated.
Levelling is either simple or compound. The former
is when the level points are determined from one station,
whether the level be fixed at one of the points or between
them. Compound levelling is nothing more than a repe¬
tition of many simple operations.
An example of simple levelling is given Plate CCCXXII.Simpk
fig. 7, where A, B are the station-points of the level)6™111'
C, D the two points ascertained. Let the height from A
to C be six feet, and from B to D nine feet, the differ¬
ence is three feet which B is lower than A.
Had the station-points of the level been above the line
of sight, and the distance from A to C been six feet, and
from B to D nine feet, the difference would still have been
three feet which B was higher than A.
But when the distance between the stations is consi-
^ ng. derable, we must provide for the effects of the curvature
of the earth and of the refraction of the atmosphere. As
lever;: to the former, it may be readily ascertained by the tables
ays (ob-and formulae given above, provided we know the distance
LEVELLING.
261
£#eand we shall presently show how it may be frequently com-
fect" e pensated for, or avoided altogether. But the refraction is
|7re ic- so extremely variable,'that it cannot be disposed of with
the like certainty, though there are several ways in which
its effects may often be avoided or compensated in a great
measure along with those of curvature, as we shall now
explain. If the levelling instrument, instead of being
placed at the one station and directed to the other, were
set either in the middle between or at equal distances
from both stations, such instrument, properly adjusted,
being directed first to the one station and then to the
other, would, by means of the intersection of the wires,
mark upon the poles at these stations two points, which
would either be exactly on a level, or would differ only
in a small degree, owing to some slight inequality in the
refractions. For if, on account of the joint effects of cur¬
vature and refraction, the point observed on the one
pole were, for example, six feet above the level of the
instrument itself, the same must obviously hold of the
point observed on the other pole, so far at least as the
curvature of the earth is concerned; and unless the re¬
fraction be different on the different sides of the instru¬
ment (which may sometimes happen in a small degree),
the points marked on the two poles must be on a level.
In'this way, it is obvious, that were it not for the figure of
the earth being slightly spheroidal, the effect of curvature
would be entirely avoided, and that of refraction very
nearly.
Sometimes, in place of using two poles and one levelling
instrument, two of the latter are employed simultaneous¬
ly at equal distances from the same pole. In that case
the difference in the heights of the points which they
mark upon it should be equal to the difference in the
heights of the instruments themselves, were it not for the
source of slight inaccuracy already stated,
ale 1 To facilitate the operations just mentioned, there is in
ima’ g the telescopes of some levels a semi-transparent micro-
ual(• meter scale instead of wires. This having its graduated
edge crossing the axis at right angles, readily affords the
means of approximately estimating equal distances from
the stations or from the levelling instrument, without ac¬
tual measurement. For this purpose an assistant at some
distance holds up a pole so as to be parallel to said scale,
while the observer, viewing the pole through the tele¬
scope, notices how many divisions it subtends on the scale ;
and, of course, in whatever manner the positions of the
assistant or telescope are varied, if the same length of
pole held parallel to the scale subtends the same part of
it, the distance between them must be the same.
• But where great accuracy is required, a somewhat dif¬
ferent and greatly preferable mode of avoiding the effects
of curvature and refraction is by reciprocal levelling;
which consists in two observers simultaneously taking the
levels from the opposite ends of the same range, each
having a levelling instrument placed close by the station-
pole of the other. Thus, supposing the effects of refrac¬
tion to be alike in both directions, it is evident that the
difference in the heights of tele¬
scopes placed horizontally at T
and t must equal the difference
in the heights of the points P and
p, to which these telescopes are
respectively directed on the op¬
posite station-poles PS and ps;
so that p is as much below the
level of P as £ is lower than T, and therefore P* —pT
is double the difference in the levels of T and t, or of P
and p. A great recommendation to this method is, that it Levelling,
does not require the distance between T and t to be
known. But it readily affords the means of ascertaining
the effect of refraction separately when the distance is
known, because that is equal to the excess of the effect of
the earth’s curvature over the difference in the levels of
T and P.
When the levelling instruments in the reciprocal me¬
thod admit of their telescopes being elevated or depressed
from a state of parallelism with the spirit-levels, and are
likewise provided with the means of measuring such devi¬
ation ; then, if each telescope be directed exactly to the
other, the two angles which the axes of the telescopes
make with the respective vertical lines, together with the
horizontal angle (or that which these verticals form with
each other), must obviously exceed 180° by the sum of
the refractions in both directions. This, however, is more
properly applicable to the mensuration of great differences
of level by a trigonometrical process than to ordinary le¬
velling. But neither this nor any other method yet known
gives the exact values of the two refractions separately.
It only gives their sum, still leaving some little uncer¬
tainty as to the separate or proper value of each refrac¬
tion.
As an example of compound levelling, suppose it were Compound
required to know the difference of height between the levelling,
points A and N, fig. 8. In this operation stakes or pegs
should be driven down at A and N, nearly level with the
surface ; and should be so fixed, that they may not be
changed until the whole operation is finished. A plan of
the ground between the proposed points A and N should
then be made, by which will be discovered the shortest
way between them, and whence, too, the number of sta¬
tions necessary to be taken will be determined. The ope¬
rator will also be able to distribute them properly accord¬
ing to the nature and situation of the ground. In the
figure twelve stations are marked. Stakes or pegs ought
to be driven in at the limits of each station, as A, B, C,
D, &c. They ought to be two or three inches above the
ground, and driven firmly into it; but where rock occurs,
it may be sufficient to make a mark on it. Stakes should
also be driven in at each station of the instrument, as 1,
2, 3, 4, &c.
The operation may be begun in the following manner.
Let the first station be at 1, equally distant from the two
points A and B, which themselves are distant 166 yards.
Write down then in one column the first limit A, with the
number of feet, inches, and tenths, which the point of
sight indicated on the station-staff at A, viz. seven feet six
inches; in the second column, the second limit B, with
the height indicated at the station-staff B, viz. six feet;
lastly, in the third column, the distance from one station-
staff to the other, which in this case is 166 yards. Remove
now the level to the point marked 2, which is in the mid¬
dle between B and C, the two places where the station-
staves are to be held; observing that B, which was the
second limit in the former operation, is the first in this.
Then write down the observed heights as before ; in the
first column B with four feet six inches; in the second,
C with five feet six inches t*16 third, 560 yards,
the distance between B and C.
Should it be impossible, on account of the inequality of
the ground at the third station, to place the instrument
in the middle between the two station-staves, find the most
convenient point, as at 3 ; then measure exactly how far
this is from each station-staff, as, for instance, from 3 to C
160 yards; from 3 to D 80 yards; and the remainder of
the operation will be as in the preceding station.
In the fourth operation, we must endeavour to compen¬
sate for any error which might have happened in the last,
from the instrument not being in the middle between, or
262 LEVELLING.
Levelling. at equal distances from the .stations. Mark out, therefore, ling from one station to the other. Thus, suppose the Lev 11
•^“''80 yards from the station-staff D to the point 4, and 160 point K to be the bottom of a basin where it is required StS
yards from 4 to E; and this must be carefully attended to, to make a fountain, the reservoir being at A ; so that, inW'
as by such compensations the work may be much facili- order to know the height to which the jet d’eau will rise 1
tated. Proceed in the same manner with the eight re- it is necessary to know how much the point A is above K
maining stations, observing to enter everything in its pro- In great heights such as this, it will be necessary to
per column. If all the ascents are not in one column by proceed by small descents or ascents, as from A to B, or
themselves, and all the descents in another, regard must be C. The instrument must be adjusted with all possible
had to the proper signs of these quantities, which is ra- care; and it may even be proper, in some part of the
ther more troublesome. And when the whole is finished, work, to use a smaller instrument. The following is a
sum each column separately, and then subtract the less table of the different operations used in making this level,
from the greater; the difference, which in the present
case is 5 feet 4 inches j^yths, shows the ground at N to be
thus much lower than at A.
To obtain a section of this level, draw the dotted line
O O, fig. 8, either above or below the plan, which may be
taken for the level or horizontal line. Let fall then per¬
pendiculars upon this line from all the station-points and
places where the station-staves were fixed. Beginning
now at A, set off 7 feet 6 inches upon the vertical line
from A to a ; for the height of the level point determined
on the staff at this place, draw a line through a parallel to
the dotted line 00, which will cut the third perpendicular
at b, the second station-staff. Set off from this point
downwards six feet to B, which shows the second limit of
the first operation; and that the ground at B is one foot
six inches higher than at A : place your instrument be- In this case only two levellings are supposed to be made
tw een these two lines at the height of the level line, and between A and D, though more were necessary; but they
trace the ground according to its different heights. Now are omitted to avoid confusion. In the fourth station the
set off, on the second station-staff B, four feet six inches height found was sixteen feet eight inches; but, on ac-
to C, the height determined by the level at the second count of the great length, it was requisite to reduce the
station ; and from C draw a line parallel to O O, which will apparent level to the true one. At the last limit we get
cut the fifth perpendicular at d, the third station-staff, the height from n to o; then from o to I; from I to K;
From this point set off five feet six inches x7(yths downwards all which added together, and then corrected for the cur-
to C, which will be our second limit with respect to the vature, give forty-seven feet three inches. Now, by sum-
preceding one, and third with respect to the first. Then ming each column separately, and subtracting one from
draw your instrument in the middle between B and C, and the other, we have fifty-one feet three inches for the
delineate the ground, with its inequalities. Proceed in the height which the point A is above the bottom of the ba-
same manner from station to station, till you arrive at the sin, and which will cause the jet d’eau to rise forty-five
last N, and you will have the profile of the ground over feet. The figure shows only the general section of this
which the level was taken. operation, but an exact profile of the mountain is more
This method answers very well where only a general difficult, as requiring many operations; though some of
profile of the different stations is required ; but where, for these might be obtained by measuring from the level line
some special purpose, it is necessary to have an exact de- without moving the instrument.
tail of the ground between the limits, we must go to work When the principal limits of the levelling have been
more particularly. Suppose, therefore, the level to have determined and fixed, it only remains to find the level
been taken from A to N by another route, but on more between the limits, according to the methods already
uniform ground, in order to form a canal. Draw at plea- pointed out, using every advantage that may contribute
sure a line to represent the level, and regulate the rest; to the success of the work, and at the same time avoiding
then let fall on this line perpendiculars to represent the all obstacles and difficulties that may retard or injure the
staves at the limits of each station, taking care that they operations. The first rule is always to take the shortest
be fixed accurately at their respective distances from each possible route from one limit to another, though this rule
other. The difference between the extreme limits in this ought not to be followed if there are considerable ob-
case ought to be the same as in the former, viz. fivd feet stacles in the way, as hills, woods, marshy ground, or if,
four inches x_ths. Set off this measure upon the perpendi- by going aside, any advantage can be obtained. It may
cular of the first limit; and from it, prolonging the per- sometimes be useful to deviate very considerably from
pendicular, mark off the height determined at the first sta- the general rule, in order to take in ponds, the surfaces
tion-staff. Do the same with the second and third, and of which, except during storms, might all be taken as per-
so on with the rest, till this part of the work is finished; fectly level; and thus levels are frequently taken across
there remains then only to delineate in detail the ground the country for a considerable way.
between the station-staves. Sometimes a series of stakes Farther information connected with the practice of le-
is fixed in the ground, of such various lengths that all their veiling will be found under the articles relating to Canals,
tops are on a level. This, however, can only be done Inland Navigation, Railroads, Surveying, &c.; as also in
where the difference of level is small; and is used rather the various accounts which have been published of the
with the view of regulating some works to be executed Trigonometrical Survey, and in other works on similar sub-
or erected along the line, than for the mere purpose of jects.
levelling. Levelling-Staves, instruments used in levelling, serv-
Fig. 9 gives an example of compound levelling, where ing to support the marks to be observed, and at the same
the situation is so steep and mountainous, that the staves time to measure the heights of those marks from the
cannot be placed at equal distances from the instrument, ground. They usually consist of mahogany staves ten
or where it is even impossible to make a reciprocal level- feet long, each being in two parts, which slide in upon
Ascents.
Feet. Inches.
A 21 6
C
D
E
F
G
H
4
3
5
10
5
5
55
Descents.
Feet. Inches.
C 0 9
D
E
F
G
0
16
17
5
H 19
K 47
106
Distances.
Yards.
90
40
350
250
375
300
1000
2405
j:
i
t
s
t
i
ti
i
ei
K
»
t!
01
w
le
tl
so
in
tn
is
iif
S'
H
tii
tli
k
it
(le
of
se
of
os
(fi
r>evi
L E V
one another to about 5j]j feet, for the more convenient
carriage. They are divided into small equal parts, and
iefit; numbered at every tenth division by 10, 20, 30, &c. as in
^figure 6 ; and on one side the feet and inches, or tenths,
are also sometimes marked. These staves are likewise
frequently called levelling poles, station-poles, or station-
staves.
A vane A slides up and down each of these staves, and
by brass springs will stand at any part. These vanes are
about ten inches long and four inches broad ; and are
painted with stripes of white and black alternately. They
have each a brass wire across a square hole in the cen¬
tre, which serves to point out the height correctly, by
coinciding with the horizontal wire of the telescope of
the level.
LEVEN, the name of a river in Dumbartonshire, an¬
other in Fifeshire, and of a loch in Kinross-shire.
Leven, a town or large village of Scotland, on the coast
of Fife. It consists of two principal streets, with nume¬
rous by-lanes and detached mansions. The staple trade
of Leven is the weaving of linen goods, which employs a
considerable number of workmen. There is also an iron
foundery, a brick and tile work, and a pottery for coarse
earthenware. The population may be estimated at 1500.
LEVER, in Mechanics, is a bar of iron or wood, one
part of which being supported by a fulcrum, all other parts
turn upon that as their centre of motion. This instru¬
ment is of two kinds. First, the common sort, where the
weight which we desire to raise resting at one end, our
strength is applied at the other, and the fulcrum is be¬
tween both. When we stir up the fire with a poker, we
make use of this lever; the poker is the lever, it rests
upon one of the bars of the grate as a fulcrum, the incum¬
bent fire is the weight to be overcome, and the other end
held in the hand is the strength or power. In this, as in
all the others, we have only to increase the distance be¬
tween the strength and fulcrum, in order to give him who
uses the instrument greater power.
The lever of the second kind has the fulcrum at one
end, the strength is applied at the other, and the weight
to be raised rests between them. Thus in raising the
water-plug in the streets, the workman puts his iron lever
through the hole of the plug till he reaches the ground
on the other side, and, making that his prop, lifts the plug
with his strength at the other end of the lever. In this
lever also, the greater the distance of the fulcrum from
the strength, the greater is the workman’s power.
These instruments, as we see, assist the strength ; but
sometimes a workman is obliged to act at a disadvantage
in raising either a piece of timber or a ladder upon one
end. We cannot, with grammatical propriety, call this a
lever, since such a piece of timber in fact in no way con¬
tributes to raise the weight. In this case, the man who
is the strength or power is in the middle, the part of the
beam already raised is the weight, the part yet at the
ground is the fulcrum on which the beam turns or rests.
Hence the man’s strength will be diminished in propor¬
tion to the weight it sustains. The weight will be greater
the farther it is from the fulcrum, therefore the man will
bear the greater weight the nearer he is to the prop.
. LEVERET, amongst sportsmen, denotes a hare in the
first year of her age.
LEVIGATION, in Pharmacy and Chemistry, the re¬
ducing hard and ponderous bodies to an impalpable pow¬
der, by grinding them on a porphyry, or in a mill.
LEVITE, in a general sense, means all the descendants
of Levi, amongst whom were the Jewish priests them¬
selves, who, being descended from Aaron, were likewise
•>t the race of Levi. In a more particular sense, Levite is
used to signify an order of officers in that church, who
were employed in performing the manual service of the
LEW
263
Lewis.
temple. They were obedient to the priests in their mi- Leviticus
nistration, and brought them wood, water, and other ne¬
cessaries for the sacrifice. They sung and played upon.
instruments in the temple and in other places. They ap¬
plied themselves to the study of the law, and were the
ordinary judges of the country, but always subordinate to
the priests. Their subsistence consisted of the tithes of
corn, fruit, and cattle, throughout Israel; but the priests
were entitled to a tenth of their tithes, by way of first fruits
to the Lord. Forty-eight cities were assigned for the re¬
sidence of the Levites, of which the priests claimed thir¬
teen, six being chosen as cities of refuge. They were
consecrated, before they entered upon their ministry, by
shaving their flesh, washing their clothes, and sprinkling
with the water of expiation. Imposition of hands was
used in consecration, and two bullocks were offered at the
door of the tabernacle. They waited weekly, and by turns,
in the temple, beginning their attendance on one sabbath
and ending the next, during which time they were main¬
tained out of the offerings. In the time of Solomon, the
number of Levites, from the age of twenty, and capable
of serving, was thirty thousand.
LEVITICUS, a canonical book of the Old Testament,
so called from its containing the laws and regulations re¬
lative to the priests, Levites, and sacrifices.
LEVROUX, a town of France, in the department of
the Indre, and the arrondissement of Chateauroux. It
stands on the river Nahon, and contains 330 houses, with
2900 inhabitants.
LEWES, a borough-town of the rape of Swanbrough,
in the county of Sussex, situated on the right bank of the
Ouse, from which it gradually rises, forty-nine miles from
London. It stands at the foot of the chalk hills, and is well
built and pleasantly situated. It was anciently walled, and
still retains the remains of an ancient fortress. It formerly
had twelve churches, now reduced to six, and before the
reformation several religious houses. It has now several
charity schools, and other benevolent institutions. It is
not incorporated, but returns, and will continue to do so,
two members to the House of Commons. The summer
assizes are held here. There is some trade by the river,
which is navigable for barges to Newhaven. On its banks
are some cast-iron founderies. The market is held on Sa¬
turday. The population amounted in 1801 to 4909, in
1811 to 5221, in 1821 to 7083, and in 1831 to 8592.
LEWIS, one of the largest of the Hebrides, or Western
Islands of Scotland, extending about eighty miles in
length from north to south, and from thirteen to fourteen
in breadth, consisting of a great number of isles and rocks,
and parted by the sea into two divisions, called Lewis and
Harris, the former lying to the westward of the latter.
Lewis belongs to the county of Ross, is divided by seve¬
ral channels, distinguished by several names, and portion¬
ed out amongst different proprietors ; but the Lewis, strict¬
ly so called, stretches out about thirty-six miles in length,
from the northern point of Bowling Head to the southern
extremity of Hussiness in Harris. The air is temperate¬
ly cold, moist, and healthy; a great part of the low ground
is flooded with lakes, and the rest is in some parts arable.
Lewis is not so mountainous a region as Harris, but it
is of as desert a character. Except along the margin of
the sea, and in the immediate neighbourhood of Storno¬
way, the country is everywhere open, bare, brown, and un¬
interesting. The shores, particularly near the middle of
the island, are deeply indented with arms of the sea, in
which herrings and white fish are plentiful. A variety of
streams, which issue often from small inland lakes, abound
with trout and salmon. The grazing of cattle constitutes
the chief means of support of the inhabitants. Lewis is
divided into four parishes, viz. Barvas, Lochs, Stornoway,
and Uig. There are a few scattered hamlets, but only one
264
LEW
LEW
Lewis, town, Stornoway, which lies on the east side of the island,
■v™"-' at the head of a bay or harbour, to which it gives its
name. It is a place of considerable size, and there are
in it schoolmasters and missionaries for the instruction of
the inhabitants. It is a singular fact, that the latter are of
unmixed Danish origin, which is the case in none of the
other islands. The population amounts to about 12,000.
Lewis is the name of an instrument which is indent¬
ed into a large stone, and has a ring for the purpose of
making fast a rope, in order to move the stone, or to
act as a stay. It is called in Italian ulivella, in French
la louve, in German stein zange. The lewis consists of
three wedges of iron, forming, when put together, a dove¬
tail. The wedges are inserted into an equal and similar
hollow dove-tail excavated in the stone. This hollow
dove-tail is made exactly of the form and size of the lewis,
and is a figure of six sides; a pair of vertical sides, which
are opposite, equal, and parallel, and in form of truncated
isosceles triangles; a pair of inclined sides, opposite equal
rectangles, equally inclined to the axis of the hole, and
not parallel. The top and base of the hole are rectangles
parallel to each other, the base being longer than the top.
The centre of the base and the centre of the top are in
one vertical line. The form of the hole therefore is that
of an inverted wedge with the point cut oft'; it is like a
cavity fitted to contain the inverted keystone of an arch.
When the iron dove-tail called the lewis is inserted into
this hollow dove-tail made in the stone, the ring at the
smaller and upper end of the iron dove-tail serves for
making fast a rope, for the purpose of raising the stone.
The constitution of the substance of timber enables the
workman to fix a rope to it by merely inserting a screw or
a spike into the log; stone will not admit of these, and is
made fast by the contrivance of the lewis. The lewis of
the most useful form, and that which is used in Britain, is
represented at fig. A, Plate CCCXXI.; a and b are two
pieces of iron, in form of inverted wedges. These pieces
are inserted into a quadrangular hole which is made in the
stone. The two opposite and shortest sides of the hole
are dove-tailed, or, in other words, under-cut, as repre¬
sented at fig. B, which is a vertical section of the hole ; t
is the plan of the hole at top, o is the plan of the bottom
of the hole. The hole, as represented in the figure, is
five inches long at top, and six inches at bottom ; the
width is one inch; the depth seven inches. Sometimes
the width is one and a half inch, and the depth four or five
inches. The hole is made of such a size that the lewis fits
exactly into it; a!, c', b', are transverse geometrical views
ot the pieces a, c, b ; in the transverse views it is seen that
the transverse sections of the parts of these pieces that
enter the stone are of the same breadth from top to bot¬
tom. The piece c is represented with a perforation at top,
for the purpose of taking out this piece more easily when
the lewis is to be unshipped, but the lewis is usually
made without this upper perforation. The pieces a, b, are
first introduced into the hole, then is driven in c, which
may either be a parallelepiped, or it may be a little thick¬
er above, in form of a wedge ; the ring m is then put on,
and the bolt g h is passed through the holes of the ring
and of the three pieces ; the bolt enters at g, and fore¬
locks at h. The tackle by which the stone is to be ele¬
vated is hooked on the ring m. This ring, in cases where
a rope is to be passed through it, is bound round with
cord, to prevent the rope from being chafed by the iron
of the ring.
Piranesi has proposed and figured some other forms of
this machine in his Antichith di Roma, but they do not
appear to be so convenient as the lewis of the common
form above described : one ot the forms of lewis given by
Piranesi is represented at fig. F. The two pieces which
constitute the iron dove-tail open and shut by a joint; n
is a bolt, which is put into the round hole at p after the i
instrument is inserted into the stone ; this transverse boltO *
serves to keep the legs of the instrument spread out, so as ,
to retain the form of the dove-tail. The lewis of the most || '
usual form, represented at fig. A, and a lewis of another
form, fig. G, are figured and described in Perrault’s Vi¬
truvius, lib. x. chap. 2, and in the Theatrum Machinarum,
tab. xxxv. p. 111. In the lewis, fig. G, the iron dove-tai’l
L has a ring at top, r, for receiving a rope ; L is put into
the dove-tailed hole in the stone, and then the two paral-
lelopipedal iron bolts e, u, are put in on each side of the
iron dove-tail; e and u are of equal thickness throughout.
The top of the hole must not be less than the bottom of
the piece L, to the end that L may enter into the hole.
The ring must not project beyond the lines which form
the prolongation of the inclined sides of the wedge L; for
if the ring projected, the pieces e, u, could not be put into
the hole. The hole must be formed so that the machine
may fit accurately into it.
The lewis is used for raising large stones of several tons
weight, in the building of harbours, bridges, and other
solid fabrics, which, from the forces by which they are as¬
sailed, or on account of the long period they are designed
to endure, require to be constructed of great masses of
stone. Leupold, in his Theatrum Machinarum, mentions,
that in many churches in Holland the pavement consists
of large slabs of stone or marble, each of them the size of
a grave, and covering a burying-place ; these slabs are
laid close to one another, and join accurately, so that no
lever or crow can be introduced into the joint to raise
them ; in each of the slabs there is a hole cut in form of a
hollow dove-tail, and into this hole a lewis is introduced
when occasion requires that the tomb should be opened.
In the construction of harbours, the lewis fixed in a
large stone frequently serves to make fast the ropes which
stay the cranes. The lewis is commonly used in the
docks at London for fixing mooring-rings in the stone:
the ring is easily removed when requisite, by unshipping
the bolt of the lewis ; for this and other reasons it is found
more convenient to employ the lewis for fixing rings, than
to run the ring-bolt into the stone with melted lead.
The largest stones that have been wrought and moved
by the industry of man, occur in the buildings of the an¬
cient Egyptians; but it is not ascertained whether their
architects employed the lewis.
Piranesi, in his Antichitd di Roma, describes and figures
lewis-holes existing in the upper surface of the large
stones of the tomb of Caecilia Metella, at Capo di Bove,
near Rome. The forcipes ferrei quorum dentes in saxa fo-
rata accommodoMur, mentioned by Vitruvius (lib. x. cap.
2), denote a machine in the form of nippers, used to effect
the raising of stones in the same way as the lewis; but the
words seem to indicate a machine different in form from
the lewis. Piranesi also observed in some ancient unfi¬
nished buildings, stones which appeared to have been
raised by another method, namely, by knobs left on the
front and side of the stone, to which knobs the ropes were
attached. The knobs were taken off when the building
was finished.
Vasari relates, in his account of Brunalesco, that the
use of the lewis was revived in Italy by that architect, who
was well skilled in mechanics, and who constructed the
cupola of the cathedral church of Santa Maria del Fiore,
at Florence, about the year 1430; the first great cupola
that was built in Europe, and which Michel Angelo had
in view when he designed the cupola of St Peter’s. The
lewis called Brunalesco’s is represented at fig. C, Plate
CCCXXI. Leo Baptista Alberti, a Florentine architect,
who lived in 1440, in his treatise de Architectura, men¬
tions the lewis by the Latin name of impleola. He de¬
scribes the side wedges as having the figure of the letter
tie
LEY
i^a D, and from that form the machine had its Italian name
ulivella, that is to say, little olive. Philander of Cha-
yder tillon, in his Commentary on Vitruvius, published at Rome
' in 1544, gives a figure of the lewis used at Rome in his
time, which resembles that used in England, and repre¬
sented at figure A. In the Archceologice (vol. x.) there is a
description of holes observed in the keystones of the Ab¬
bey Church of Whitby, which was built about 1370, in
the reign of Edward III. as is supposed. These holes ap¬
pear to have been lewis-holes ; they are of the form of an
inverted Y, as represented at fig. D, where w is the plan
of the top of the hole, and 11 the plan of the bottom ; the
lewis that fitted into these holes would resemble that re¬
presented at fig. E. These keystones at Whitby weigh
about one ton and a half.
Lewis, or Louis, the name of several kings of France.
See the article France.
LEWISHAM, a parish in the hundred of Blackheath
and county of Kent, six miles from London, situated on a
branch of the river Broxbourne. It is chiefly inhabited
by the richer class of citizens of the metropolis as their
country retreats. The church is an elegant modern struc¬
ture, rebuilt since it was destroyed by a fire. The popu¬
lation amounted in 1801 to 4007, in 1811 to 6625, in 1821
to 8185, and in 1831 to 9659.
LEXIARCHI, at Athens, six officers, assisted by thir¬
ty inferior ones, whose business it was to impose fines
upon such as came not to the public assemblies, and also
to make scrutinies amongst such as were present. The
lexiarchi kept a register of the age, manners, and abili¬
ties of the citizens, who were always enrolled at the age
of twenty.
LEXICON, the same with dictionary. The word is
chiefly used in speaking of Greek dictionaries, and is de¬
rived from the Greek word, diction, from Xtyu,' I
speak.
LEXINGTON, a town of Kentucky. See Kentucky.
LEYDEN, a circle of Holland, divided into three can-
tons, viz. Leyden, Noordwyk, and Woubrugge, and con¬
taining about 60,000 inhabitants. The city of Leyden,
which gives its name to the circle, is situated on both sides
if a branch of the river Rhine, which, though diminished
py other branches that take their course to the sea before
t arrives at this city, still retains its original name. It re¬
ceives here the water of the smaller streams of the Does,
:he Bliet, the Mare, and the Zyl, and is, besides, intersect-
3d by several canals, thus dividing the city into nume-
ous islands, which are connected together by nearly 100
bridges. The streets are broad, clean, and well paved;
md the high street, which runs through the whole city,
s perhaps one of the finest in Europe. The walks in and
iround the city are distinguished by their pleasing neat-
icss. Ihe most striking building is the stadthouse, in
vhich is the fine picture of the last judgment by Lucas.
5t Peter s church is remarkable for the sarcophagus to
he memory of Boerhaave, and monuments to three of the
nost distinguished citizens who lost their lives by the ex-
dosion of a vessel laden with gunpowder in 1807. There
re, besides, sixteen other churches, and two fine hospitals,
'ne of the finest of which is that which belonged to the
'atholics a few years ago. The university, founded in
5/5, has long maintained a high rank amongst the best
istitutions for education in Europe, and has produced the
mst distinguished men in every branch of knowledge,
t now contains about twenty professors in the four de-
artments of law, theology, medicine, and philosophy, and
om 300 to 400 students. Attached to the university is
library, containing 60,000 volumes of books, and 14,000
manuscripts, some of them of the most valuable and cu-
lous kinds. It has also an observatory, an anatomical
icatre, a botanic garden, a chemical laboratory, and se-
vol. XIII.
LEY
265
veral collections of natural and physical curiosities. The Leyden,
trade and manufactures of Leyden were once very exten¬
sive, but have much declined of late years. It has still,
however, some considerable manufactures of woollen and
linen cloths, and the black and scarlet cloths are much
admired for their beautiful and permanent colours. The
printing of books, especially of classical books, was once a
great branch of industry, though now it is much dimi¬
nished. Leyden has been the birth-place or residence of
some of the most distinguished individuals, especially of
Rembrandt and Lucas, painters; of Muschenbroeck and
Boerhaave, naturalists; and of Scaliger, Salmasius, Hein-
sius, and others, critical and classical scholars. In 1816,
the population was 28,600, but since that time it has in¬
creased, and, by the census of 1830, appears to be 34,564,
viz. 16,131 males, and 18,433 females. It is situated in
latitude 52. 8. 25. north, and longitude 4. 22. east. The
environs of the city are ornamented with many seats of
the inhabitants. The soil is rich, but, from its moisture,
more appropriate for pasture than for grain. The dairies
are numerous, and afford butter excellent for its flavour;
and, from being capable of being kept a long time, it,
along with cheese, forms an important part of the export¬
able commodities of Holland.
Leyden Isle, an island situated off the north-west
coast of Ceylon, about thirteen miles in length by two and
a half in breadth. It contains excellent pasture for cattle
and horses.
Leyden, Jb/m, a celebrated linguist, antiquary, and
poet, was born on the 8th of September 1775, at Den¬
holm, a village on the banks of the Teviot, nearly oppo¬
site to Minto House, in the parish of Cavers and county
of Roxburgh. His father was able to trace back his pe¬
digree through a line of shepherds and husbandmen who
had long occupied small farms on the estate of Douglas of
Cavers, one of whom, Adam Ledan, in Little Cavers, a
stern Presbyterian, had been denounced as a rebel, in a
royal proclamation, in 1684. From his second to his six¬
teenth year, young Leyden lived with his parents in a re¬
tired cottage near the bottom of the “ stormy Rubers-
law,” where he was taught to read by his father’s mother,
and where he had no companions except the inmates of
that rustic dwelling, and no books except the Bible, and
such other volumes as are commonly possessed by the
Scottish peasantry. His chief delight in the years of
childhood was to listen to the tales of martial adven¬
ture and supernatural agency, recited by a blind uncle of
his mother, and to read such works as the Metrical His¬
tories of Bruce and Wallace, the Poems of Sir David
Lindsay, and the Arabian JSights' Entertainments. In his
tenth year, he went first to school at Kirktown, a dis¬
tance of two miles from his father’s house, and there, un¬
der three successive schoolmasters, he learned writing,
arithmetic, and the elements of Latin grammar. After
having spent three years in this manner, he was placed
under the charge of Mr Duncan, a Cameronian minister
at Denholm ; and at the end of two years, not unprofita-
bly employed in this small seminary, he entered the uni¬
versity of Edinburgh in November 1790. Mr Dalzel, then
professor of Greek, has repeatedly stated to the writer of
this article, that he had seldom known any young man
who at first appeared worse prepared for college, and who
so speedily surmounted the disadvantages of imperfect
tuition. He had accumulated a great stock of knowledge
by a process of study peculiar to himself; but he had not
thought it necessary to make himself master of gramma¬
tical rules ; and, with all his strength and acuteness of
mind, he at this time expressed his meaning in terms ex¬
ceedingly awkward, and in a tone of voice so dissonant
and loud as to set his fellow-students in a roar. He at¬
tended three winter sessions at the classes for languages
2 x.
266 LEYDEN.
Leyden. an(j philosophy, appiying with extraordinary ardour to
every branch of inquiry connected with his academical
studies, and to many other pursuits in which none of his
instructors could have guided him. The vacations were
generally passed in his native wilds amongst his own re¬
lations, with the exception of the summer 1792, when he
acted as assistant in a village school at Whitebanklee, or
Clovenfords, on Cadon Water, a mountain stream which
falls into the Tweed below Ashiesteel, on the skirts of
Ettrick Forest. The charge of the school was left almost
entirely to him ; but the management of thirty boys and
girls, from six to twelve years of age, appeared to be a
task for which he possessed no manner of aptitude. Two
of his pupils, who were learning Latin, looked up to him
with deference and admiration ; one of whom did not long
survive him, and the other has held various appointments
in the church and the universities ; but the children in
general were in a state of insubordination and tumult,
which he endured with a degree of calmness, of which
those who knew him in maturer life would have conceived
him to be incapable. At this time his appearance was
very prepossessing. He was ruddy and fair, with a frame
rather delicate than robust, and an expression of great
good-nature and gentleness in his features.
In November 1793, he entered on the study of divini¬
ty, church history, and Hebrew, and passed through the
usual course of four years’ attendance, before he was pro¬
posed for trials as a licentiate or probationer of the church
of Scotland. Much of his attention was in the mean
time devoted to historical research, to philology, to me¬
taphysical speculations, and to natural history and medi¬
cine. He was a member of various debating societies, in
all of which he distinguished himself by the fluency and
copiousness of his unpremeditated harangues, rather than
by any graceful or polished eloquence. In one of these
institutions, he contracted an intimacy with Mr Henry
Brougham, and with the late Dr Thomas Brown and Mr
Francis Horner, as well as with several other individu¬
als, who subsequently attained no inconsiderable distinc¬
tion. About the same time he formed an acquaintance
with some literary men farther advanced in life, as Mr
Thomson, author of Whist, a poem, and Dr Robert An¬
derson, editor of the British Poets, and then supposed to
be connected with the Edinburgh Magazine, to which
both Leyden and Mr Thomas Campbell, one of his youth¬
ful friends, contributed some of their earliest poetical
essays.
When he had completed his theological education, he
accompanied one or two pupils to St Andrews in 1797,
where he eagerly embraced the opportunity of attending
the lectures of Dr Hunter, professor of humanity, and of
Principal Hill, one of the divinity professors. He became
also a member of the Theological Society, in which he de¬
livered a number of discourses, one On the Argument a
priori for the Existence of God; another On Thanksgiv¬
ing; and two On Regeneration. He also engaged at al¬
most every meeting in the discussion of some controvert¬
ed point in divinity or philosophy; and it cannot be
doubted that these discussions must often have been
highly interesting, when such persons engaged in them as
Dr Chalmers, whose speeches differed from most of the
others in being generally read. Amongst the members
at that period were, Mr Duncan, now professor of ma¬
thematics at St Andrews, and Sir John Campbell, now
attorney-general of England. In one respect Leyden
felt and acknowledged lus inferiority to the students at
St Andrews, namely, in having paid scarcely any atten¬
tion to mathematics; a study for which he had so lit¬
tle turn, that, by his own account, he could never com¬
prehend the definition of a straight line, owing to some
metaphysical difficulty, which nobody could solve to his
satisfaction. He appears to have disliked the style of L
society in St Andrews, where, however, he acquired more^-v
than one of his most valued friends, particularly Dr Hun¬
ter, and another gentleman of high intellectual capacity
and scientific attainments. From the presbytery of St
Andrews he received license to preach, in May 1798;
and on this occasion he was much disgusted by a vulgar
piece of waggery, attempted to be practised, at his ex¬
pense, by one of the members, who told him, that, as he
would be called upon to return thanks after dinner, it was
expected that, according to established custom, he should
give a specimen of his gifts in prayer, by using a form of
words comprehending all the leading doctrines of the
Christian faith. When the expected signal was given,
Leyden stood up and began to pronounce such a prayer
as might have been very suitable for the church; but
after having proceeded at some length, and in a very so¬
norous voice, to enumerate the Divine attributes, he per¬
ceived that the company was astonished by this unusual
exhibition, and sitting down abruptly in no very placid
humour, he was more than half disposed to inflict perso¬
nal chastisement on the offending individual, with whom
he felt enraged, not merely on account of the indignity
offered to himself, but for the indecent mockery of one of
the solemnities of religion. About this time he returned
to Edinburgh, where he frequently preached, not indeed
so as to attract popular admiration, but in a manner which
satisfied his numerous friends that he possessed a serious,
as well as a philosophical mind. His memory was reten¬
tive ; but, in conducting the devotions of a religious assem¬
bly, he was apt to be disconcerted by circumstances which
would have given him no uneasiness if he had been ad¬
dressing a learned society.
In the winter of 1798, he attended some of the medical
classes, and at this period nearly lost his life, in conse¬
quence of his rash and unskilful treatment of a complaint
which he believed to be an attack of colic. He swallow¬
ed a glass of spirits, in the expectation of receiving imme¬
diate relief; but the disorder proved to be enteritis, or in¬
flammation of the intestines, and his constitution was so
much weakened by venesection, blistering, and evacua¬
tions, that he never afterwards recovered the bloom of
health. In addition to his duties as a tutor in a family, by
which much of his time was engrossed, he had been en¬
gaged as a writer in the New London Review, and, amongst
other articles, contributed those on Horne Tooke’s Diver¬
sions of Parley, on Dr Thomas Brown’s Observations on
Zoonomia, and on Vallancey’s Sanscrit History of Ire¬
land.
In the summer of 1799, he published a volume, entitled
A Historical and Philosophical Sketch of the Discoveries
and Settlements of the Europeans in Northern and Western
Africa, at the Close of the Eighteenth Century. This inter¬
esting piece (an octavo of 442 pages) was written in about
six weeks, whilst the author was in bad health, and at a
distance from books; but it exhibits proofs of extensive
information, as well as of sound reflection. In the course
of the autumn he engaged to publish The Complaynt oj
Scotland, a very rare anonymous w'ork in the Scottish
language, written early in the sixteenth century. It did
not appear for nearly two years ; but the preliminary dis¬
sertation, extending to nearly 300 pages, as well as the
notes and glossary, indicated a compass of antiquarian
lore, and a depth of research in various other unfrequent¬
ed walks of erudition, which could not easily be rivalled.
Fie also displayed great acuteness and ingenuity in at¬
tempting to prove, from internal evidence, that The Com¬
playnt was the production of Sir David Lindsay.
Through Mr Richard Heber, to whom he was intro¬
duced by Mr Constable, he became acquainted with the
most distinguished literary characters in Edinburgh, and,
LEYDEN,
267
dei amongst others, with Sir Walter Scott, who at this time
-v—'was engaged in collecting the ancient traditionary rhymes
published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border ; a col¬
lection which Leyden contributed largely to enrich, both
by recovering unedited fragments of antiquity, and by
communicating imitations, written in the spirit and man¬
ner of the age of chivalry, as well as by furnishing mate¬
rials for many of the notes, and particularly for the intro¬
duction to the tale of Tamlane, containing a learned dis¬
sertation on the Fairies of popular superstition.
In the year 1800, a plan was formed to establish him as
assistant and successor to the minister of his native pa¬
rish’; but it failed, in consequence of the reluctance of the
incumbent to agree to an arrangement on which the heri¬
tors and parishioners had set their hearts. Soon after¬
wards, he was anxious to obtain the professorship of rhe¬
toric and belles lettres in Edinburgh ; but here also he
was doomed to experience a disappointment.
About this time he made two successive tours through
the Highlands, and collected much curious information,
which was once intended for publication. He wrote
several poems, founded on the remains of Celtic story,
two of which have been inserted in the Border Min¬
strelsy. In 1801, be also contributed to Lewis’s Tales of
Wonder.
The year 1802, the last which he spent in Scotland, was
one of the busiest of his life. About the beginning of the
year, he had carried through the press nearly half a volume
of an enlarged Account of the Progress of Discovery in
Africa. At the same time he engaged to conduct the
Scots Magazine, on an improved plan; and the volume for
that year contains many articles furnished by him, and by
another eminent orientalist, the late Dr Alexander Mur¬
ray. He was also employed in correcting the papers of the
Highland Society for publication ; and he edited a volume
entitled Scottish Descriptive Poems, with some Illustra¬
tions of Scottish Literary Antiquities, containing Clyde, by
John Wilson, schoolmaster of Greenock ; Albania, address¬
ed to the Genius of Scotland; The Day Estival, by Alex¬
ander Hume ; and Poems, by William Fowler. Early in
this year, he offered to the African Society to explore the
interior of those obscure and inhospitable regions in which
so many Europeans have perished. His friends, alarmed
at this apparently fatal resolution, became eager to obtain
for him an Indian appointment, that might give him access
to the treasures of eastern learning, which his past attain¬
ments peculiarly qualified him to appreciate. Through
the interest of Mr WTlliam Dundas, he was nominated as¬
sistant surgeon; and though it was privately stipulated,
that, on his arrival in India, he was to devote himself chief¬
ly to literary inquiries, he could not be permitted to go
out as a passenger in that capacity, without producing a
surgeon’s diploma, and undergoing an examination before
the Medical Board. He had attended many of the medi¬
cal classes, but he had hitherto paid little attention to the
practice of surgery, and it was therefore necessary to pre¬
pare himself for passing through the strict trials prescribed
by the college of surgeons. It reflects no slight credit on
his capacity and application, that he accomplished this task
within six months. He was not equally successful in pro¬
curing the degree of doctor of physic from the university of
kdinburgh; but having gone to St Andrews with certifi¬
cates of his character and regular education, and having sa¬
tisfied the Senatus Academicus at a'private examination, as
well as by reading several exercises prescribed to him in the
Batin language, that degree was conferred on him there, on
the 7th of August 1802. Whilst he was occupied in these
unpoetical avocations, he continued at every interval of lei¬
sure to court the inspiration of the muses, and he gave the
finishing hand to the Scenes of Infancy, descriptive of Te-
' wtdale, a poem which had been partly written before, but
which was now enlivened by some of its most touching Leyden,
passages, and left for publication in the hands of Dr Tho-1
mas Brown, who, in the revision of the sheets, suppressed
a number of verses which the author conceived ought to
have been retained.
Leyden spent the winter in London, having narrowly
escaped the misfortune of sailing in the Hindostan, which
was wrecked in its passage down the Thames. Fie sailed
from Portsmouth in the Hugh Inglis, on the 7th of April
1803, and soon after his arrival at Madras, was attached as
surgeon and naturalist to the commission for surveying the
districts of the Mysore, in which capacity he was expected
to turn his attention, not only to the natural history of the
country, but to the manners, institutions, and language of
the inhabitants. His constitution had nearly sunk under
the labours to which he subjected himself, and he was under
the necessity of removing to Prince of Wales’s Island.
Here he was befriended by the governor, Mr Dundas, and
here too he procured the chief materials of the Essay on
the Languages and Literature of the Indo-Chinese Na¬
tions, contained in the tenth volume of the Asiatic Re¬
searches.
He removed in 1806 from Prince of Wales’s Island to
Calcutta, where, through the favour of the governor-ge¬
neral, Lord Minto, he was appointed one of the professors
in the Bengal College, from which station he was soon
transferred to the office of judge of the Twenty-four Per-
gunnahs of Calcutta. The income attached to this charge
was applied chiefly in purchasing manuscripts, and reward¬
ing the native teachers whose instructions he solicited;
and all his leisure hours were spent in the eager investiga¬
tion of the languages, the laws, and history of the East. In
1809 he was appointed a commissioner of the court of re¬
quests in Calcutta, and, in the end of the following year,
having resigned this office, he obtained the office of assay-
master of the mint. Soon afterwards, he was required to
attend Lord Minto upon the expedition to Java, that he
might be employed in collecting information with respect
to the learning and institutions of the native tribes, and
that the governor-general might enjoy the benefit of his
services in negotiating with the local authorities, and in ad¬
justing the future government of the country. After the
British troops took possession of the city of Batavia, he
ventured rashly into an ill-aired library, supposed to con¬
tain many Indian manuscripts, and, on leaving it, was im¬
mediately seized with a fever, which proved fatal three
days after its accession, and a few days before the conquest
of the island was completed. He died on the 21st of Au¬
gust 1811.
A very high tribute to his memory was paid by Lord
Minto, on occasion of a visitation of the College of Fort-
William, after his lordship’s return from the conquest of
Java. “ To speak of all that Dr Leyden had already per¬
formed, especially in the prosecution of Asiatic learning—,
to compute the treasures which his incomparable genius,
urging and sustaining his invincible powers of mental la¬
bour, presented the fair promise of acquiring and accumu¬
lating—would be to relate a history of the shortcut memo¬
rable life he was allowed to live, and to expatiate into the
yet more ample fields of inquiry of which he had projected
the survey. I need not remind those who hear me, of the
zeal he had long nourished for exploring the philology of
the more eastern regions of Asia; of the first steps he had
already made in the prosecution of that purpose, by the
construction of vocabularies, but, above all, by methodising
and reducing into system the classification of the various
languages spoken on the continent intermediate between
India and China; the various kingdoms and districts of
which, as they recede from each of these extreme points,
appear, with some relation to their local approximation, or
to historical affinities, gradually to have blended and assi-
268 L E Z
Leyria milated their respective languages into compound dialects,
II partaking of both the distinct and primitive tongues. To
Lezoux. just ancj authorized tribute to the literary merits of Dr
~’r'Leyden, I must yet add a personal testimony, prompted
by personal experience, to virtues of a higher class, neither
connected with the talents and toils of a student, nor so
uniformly the companions of learned reputation, as it
would be natural perhaps to wish and to expect. But I
speak it in the presence of many who can attest it with
myself, that, founder as he was of his own fortunes and re¬
putation, and climbing, by many laborious steps, from the
lowest stage of social life, to an eminence which many can¬
not even maintain, though placed yet higher by their
birth ; no man, whatever his condition might be, ever pos¬
sessed a mind so entirely exempt from every sordid pas¬
sion, so negligent of fortune and all its grovelling pursuits,
in a word, so entirely disinterested, nor ever owned a spirit
more firmly and nobly independent. I speak of these
things with some knowledge, and wish to record a compe¬
tent testimony to the facts, that, within my experience, Dr
Leyden never, in any instance, solicited an object of per¬
sonal interest, nor, as I believe, ever interrupted his higher
pursuits, to waste a moment’s thought on those minor
cares. To this exemption from cupidity was allied every
generous virtue worthy of those smiles of fortune which he
disdained to court; and amongst many estimable features
of his character, an ardent love of justice, and a vehement
abhorrence of oppression, were not less prominent than the
other higher qualities I have already described.”
Sir John Malcolm bears testimony, in terms equally
strong, to the purity, disinterestedness, and independence
of his character, as well as to the indefatigable perseve¬
rance and ardour with which he devoted himself to literary
and scientific acquirements; and, after adverting to some
rather unpleasing oddities of manner, “ How trivial,” he
adds, “ do these appear, at a moment when we are la¬
menting the loss of such a rare combination of virtues,
learning, and genius, as were concentrated in the late Dr
Leyden.”
(See Edinburgh Annual Register for 1811; and The
Poetical Remains of the late Dr John Leyden, with Me¬
moirs of his Life, by the Rev. James Morton, 8vo, Lon¬
don, 1819.) (p. p. p.)
LEYRIA, a city of Portugal, in the province of Estre-
madura. It is situated on the banks of the river Lis, at
its confluence with a smaller stream, and was formerly a
royal residence, well fortified. Its inhabitants are now
estimated to amount to 4000. It is the see of a bishop,
and contains a cathedral, two parish churches, an hospital,
an almshouse, and 630 houses.
LEYTA, one of the southernmost of the Philippines,
ninety-five miles in length by thirty-eight in breadth. The
soil is fertile, and the mountains abound in deer, wild hogs,
and fowls. The air is pure, healthy, and temperate. A
chain of mountains runs through the island in a direction
north-west and south-east; and so materially do they in¬
fluence the climate, that the seasons are entirely different
on opposite sides of the mountains. The inhabitants
amount to 9000, who pay a tribute in wax, rice, or cloth.
Long. 124. 40. E. Lat. 10. 50. N.
LEYTON, Low, a village in the hundred of Becontree,
in the county of Essex, six miles from London, on the
border of Epping Forest. It is chiefly filled with houses
used as country-seats by the richer traders of the metro¬
polis, and is supposed to have been a Roman station under
the name of Durolitum. The population amounted in
1801 to 2519, in 1811 to 3162, in 1821 to 3374, and in 1831
to 3223.
LEZOUX, a city of France, in the department of the
Puy-de-Dome,“and arrondissement of Rioum, containing
an hospital, 570 houses, and 3450 inhabitants.
L H U
LHUYD, or Lhoyd, Humphrey, a learned antiquary n
of the sixteenth century, born at Denbigh. He applied O
himself to the study of physic, and, living mostly within
the walls of Denbigh Castle, practised there as a physi- ,
cian, and died in 1570, with the character of a well-bred
gentleman. He wrote and translated several pieces rela¬
tive to history and antiquities, particularly the History of
Cambria, or Wales, from Caradoc of Langcarvan, which
however, he did not live to finish ; but Sir Henry Sid¬
ney, lord-president of Wales, employed Dr David Powel
to complete it, and by him it was published in 1584. A
new and improved edition of this work was published in
1774.
Lhuyd, Edward, keeper of the museum at Oxford, was
a native of South Wales, and the son of Mr Charles Lhuyd
of Lhanvorde. He was educated at Jesus College, Ox-
ford, where he was created master of arts in July 1701.
He was bred under Dr Plot, whom he succeeded as keeper
of the Ashmolean Museum, and had the use of all Vaughan’s
collection. With incessant labour and great exactness he
employed a considerable part of his life in searching into
the Welsh antiquities, and perused or collected a great
deal of ancient and valuable matter from their manuscripts;
transcribed all the old charters of the monasteries that he
could meet with ; travelled several times over Wales, Corn¬
wall, Scotland, Ireland, and Armorica (Bretagne), coun¬
tries inhabited by the same people ; compared their anti¬
quities, and made observations on the whole. But he died
in July 1709, before he had digested them into the form
of a treatise, as he intended, on the ancient inhabitants
of this island. The untimely death of this excellent anti¬
quary prevented the completion of many admirable de¬
signs. For want of proper encouragement, he did very
little towards illustrating the British bards, having seen
but one of those of the sixth century, and not being able
to procure access to two of the principal libraries in the
country. He communicated many observations to Bishop
Gibson, whose edition of the Britannia he revised; and
he published Archceologia Britannica, giving some further
account of the language, history, and customs of the origi¬
nal inhabitants of Great Britain, from collections and obser¬
vations made in travels through Wales, Cornwall, Bretagne,
Ireland, and Scotland. He left in manuscript a Scottish
or Irish-English Dictionary, proposed to be published in
1732 by subscription, by Mr David Malcolm, a minister
of the church of Scotland, with additions ; as also the
Elements of the same Language, with necessary and useful
information, for propagating more effectually the English
language, and for promoting the knowledge of the ancient
Scottish or Irish, besides many branches of useful and
curious learning. Lhuyd, at the end of his preface to the
Archceologia, promises an historical dictionary of British per¬
sons and places mentioned in ancient records ; and it seems
to have been ready for press, though he could not fix the
time of publication. His collections for a second volume,
which was to give an account of the antiquities, monu¬
ments, and remains, in the principality of Wales, were nu¬
merous and well chosen ; but, on account of a quarrel be¬
tween him and Dr Wynne, then fellow, and afterwards
principal, of the college, and bishop of St Asaph, he refused
to buy them, and they were purchased by Sir Thomas
Sebright of Beachwood, in Hertfordshire. They consist
of about forty volumes in folio, ten in quarto, and above a
hundred of smaller size, all relating to Irish or Welsh anti¬
quities, and chiefly in those languages. Carte made extracts
from them about 1736; but these were chiefly historical.
Sir John Sebright gave to Mr Pennant twenty-three of
Lhuyd’s manuscripts, in Latin and English. Many of his
letters to Lister, and other learned contemporaries, were
presented by Dr Fothergill to the University of Oxford, and
are now in the Ashmolean Museum. Lhuyd undertook
L I B
^ptirt more for illustrating the Celtic part of the kingdom than
any man besides ever attempted.
LlANCOURT, a town of the arrondissement of Cler-
Y*'' mont, in the department of the Oise. It is situated on
the river Bresche, and contains about 1200 inhabitants;
and it is remarkable for the castle and park of the duke of
the same name. It is celebrated for its manufactures of
cambrics, lenos, lawns, and cotton goods of the finer kinds.
LIBANIUS, a Greek rhetorician and sophist in the
fourth century, was born at Antioch, and shared the friend¬
ship of Julian the Apostate. That prince offered him the
dignity of prcefectus prcetorio; but Libanius refused it,
thinking the name of sophist, or professor of eloquence,
much more honourable. There are still extant several of
his letters and Greek orations, by which he acquired great
reputation ; but his style is somewhat affected and obscure.
St Basil and St Chrysostom were his disciples about the
vear 360. His letters were published at Amsterdam in
1738, and his Orations at Venice in the year 1755. Li¬
banius was a pagan.
LIBANOMANTIA, in Antiquity, a species of divina¬
tion, performed with frankincense, which, if it presently
caught fire, and sent forth a grateful odour, was esteemed
a happy omen, and vice versa.
LIB ANUS, a lofty mountain of Syria, the ancient Le¬
banon, so celebrated in Scripture. Its direction is nearly
north and south, from the vicinity of Tripoli to the borders
of Palestine. Its distance from the Mediterranean is from
thirty to forty miles. To the east there is the parallel chain
of Anti-Libanus, which is covered with snow at its summit.
The exact height of the mountain of Lebanon has not been
ascertained. Mr Buckingham ascended to its summit; but
he does not state its precise height, which must be consi¬
derable, as it is covered with snow to an unknown depth
at all seasons; for he mentions, that though his horses
sometimes sunk to the belly, they never were able to pe¬
netrate to the ground. The cedars of Lebanon, so often
mentioned, still flourish at a lower level on the hill. Mr
Buckingham saw about 200 cedar trees, all fresh and green.
Some of them were very large, the trunk ten or twelve feet
in diameter, with branches of corresponding size, each of
them like large trees extending outward from the parent
stock, and overshadowing a large space of ground. The
view from the summit was magnificent, embracing the
boundless prospect of the ocean to the westward, with the
coasts of Syria. To the east the prospect was interrupted
by the range of Anti-Libanus. The mountain consists of
a species of limestone, which presents frequently the ap¬
pearance of towers and castles.
LIBATION, amongst the Greeks and Romans, was an
essential part of solemn sacrifices. It was also performed
alone, as a drink-offering, by way of procuring the protec¬
tion and favour of the gods in the ox-dinary affairs of life.
Libations, according to the nature of the gods in honour
of whom they were made, consisted of different liquids,
but wine was that most usually employed. The wine of¬
fered to the gods was always unmixed with water. There
were libations of water, libations of honey, libations of milk,
and libations of oil, called vriipaXia hgct. The libation was
made with a serious deportment and solemn prayer. At
sacrifices, the libation, after it had been tasted by the
priest, and handed to the bystanders, was poured out upon
the victim. At entertainments a little wine was generally
poured out of the cup, before the liquor began to circulate,
to show the gratitude of the guests to the gods for the bles¬
sings they enjoyed.
Libations wex-e likewise in use amongst the Hebrews,
who poured out a kind of wine on the victim after it was
killed; and the several pieces of the sacrifice were laid
upon the altax-, ready to be consumed in the flames.
LIBEL (libellus faniosus), taken in its largest and most
L I B
extensive sense, signifies any wx-iting, pictm-e, or the like,
of an immoral or illegal tendency ; but, in a peculiar sense,
it denotes a malicious defamation of any person, and espe¬
cially of a magistrate, made public either by printing or by
writing, by signs or by pictures, in order to provoke him to
wrath, or expose him to public hatred, contempt, and ridi¬
cule. The direct tendency of these libels is a breach of
the public peace, by stirring up the objects of them to re¬
venge, and perhaps to bloodshed. The communication of
a libel to any one person is a publication in the eye of the
law, and therefore the sending an abusive private letter to
a man is as much a libel as if it were openly printed, for
it equally tends to provoke a breach of the peace.
With regard to libels in general, thei'e are two reme¬
dies ; one by indictment, and another by action. For the
public offence, the remedy is indictment; because every
libel has a tendency to break the peace, or provoke others
to break it, an offence vrhich is the same whether the mat¬
ter contained be true or false; and therefore the defend¬
ant, on an indictment for publishing a libel, is not allowed
to allege the truth thereof by way of justification. But in
the remedy by action on the case, wlxich is to repair the
party in damages for the injury done him, the defendant
may, as for words spoken, justify the truth of the facts, and
show that the plaintiff' has received no injury at all. What
has been said with regard to words spoken, will also hold in
every particular with regard to libels by writing or print¬
ing, and the civil actions consequent thereon ; but as to
signs or pictures, it seems necessary always to show, by
proper inuendos and averments of the defendant’s mean¬
ing, the import and application of the scandal, and that
some special damage has followed; otherwise it cannot
appear that such libel by picture is understood to have
been levelled at the plaintiff, or that it was attended with
any actionable consequences.
In a civil action, then, a libel must appear to be false
as well as scandalous; for, if the charge be true, the plain¬
tiff has received no private injury, and has no ground to
demand a compensation for himself, whatever offence it may
be against the public peace; and therefore, upon a civil ac¬
tion, the truth of the accusation may be pleaded in bar of
the suit. But, in a criminal prosecution, the tendency
which all libels have to create animosities, and to disturb
the public peace, is the sole consideration of the law.
Hence, in such prosecutions, the only points to be consi¬
dered are, first, the making or publishing of the book ox-
writing ; and, secondly, whether the matter be criminal;
and, if both these points are against the defendant, the
offence against the public is complete. The punishment
of such libellers, for concocting, repeating, printing, ox-
publishing the libel, is a fine, and such corporal punish¬
ment as the court in its discretion may inflict; regard being
had to the quantity of the offence, and the quality of the
offender. By the law of the Twelve Tables at Rome, libels
which affected the reputation of an individual were made
a capital offence; but before the reign of Augustus, the
punishment became corporal only. Under the Empeiw
Valentinian it was again made capital, not only to write,
but to publish, or even to omit destroying libels. In this
and many other respects, our law corresponds rather with
the middle age of Roman jurisprudence, when liberty,
learning, and humanity, were in their full vigour, than
with the cruel edicts that were established in the tyranni¬
cal age of the ancient decemviri, or in that of the latter
emperors.
LIBELLA, a piece of money amongst the Romans,
being the tenth part of the denarius, and equal in value to
the as. It was called libella, as being a little pound, be¬
cause equal to a pound of brass.
LIBELLI, the name given to the bills which were put
up amongst the Romans, giving public notice of the time
270 L I B
Libera when a show of gladiators would be exhibited, with the
I iberia num^er combatants, and other circumstances. This
v ia~ y was called munus pronunciare or proponere. The libelli
or bills were sometimes termed edicta. These public no¬
tices were given by the person who intended to oblige
the people with a show, and were frequently attended
with pictures representing the engagement of some cele¬
brated gladiators. There was also the famosus libellus,
or defamatory libel. Seneca calls them contumeliosi li-
betti, infamous rhymes, which, by a Roman ordinance,
were punishable with death. Libellus in the civil law
also signifies the declaration, or state of the prosecutor’s
charge against the defendant; and it has the same signi¬
fication in the English spiritual courts.
LIBERA, in Mythology, the name of a goddess, which
Cicero, in his book De Naturct Deorum, represents as the
daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Ovid, in his Fasti, says,
that the name was given by Bacchus to Ariadne. Libera
is exhibited on medals as a kind of female Bacchus, crown¬
ed with vine leaves.
LIBERAL ARTS, are such as depend more on the la¬
bour of the mind than on that of the body ; or, which con¬
sist more in speculation than operation, and have a greater
regard to enlightened amusement and curiosity than to ne¬
cessity. The word comes from the Latin libemlis, which
amongst the Romans signified a person who was not a
slave, and whose will consequently was not checked by the
command of any master. The liberal arts, including
under this name rhetoric, painting, sculpture, music, and
architecture, used formerly to be summed up in the verse,
Lingua, Tropus, Ratio, Numerus, Tonus, Angulus, Astra;
and the mechanical arts, which are innumerable, under
Rus, Nemus, Arma, Faber, Vulnera, Lana, Rates.
L I B
visible. It is fertile, healthy, and in every way adapted to
the purpose for which it was obtained from the natives.
About forty-eight miles due north-west from Cape Mont-
serrado, is Grand Cape Mount, which rises from a level
country, on a base of about four miles in diameter, about
900 feet above the sea, which washes it on three sides.
This mount, the north-western extremity of Liberia Bay, is
covered with a deep and unfading foliage. Several springs
of excellent water descend from it, and the Pisson River
empties itself into the ocean on its northern side. The St
Paid’s River, which flows into Liberia Bay, is of consider¬
able magnitude, and is supposed to admit, above its falls,
which are about twenty miles from its mouth, of boat na¬
vigation, for 200 or 300 miles. The Montserrado River is
forty miles long, and enters the sea on the northern side of
the cape of the same name. In the Junk district, south¬
east of Cape Montserrado forty miles, are two considerable
rivers, which pour their waters into the ocean at the distance
of only two miles from each other. The river St John’s,
eighty-one miles south-east from Cape Montserrado, is the
largest of all, and navigable for vessels of from 90 to 100
tons, abounding with fish, and having its course through a
fertile and salubrious country, of a rich soil. Cape Mont-
sen-ado is elevated about eighty feet above the ocean, is
washed on three sides by the water, is connected with a level
tract of land on the fourth, and comprehends about 1600
acres. The town of Monrovia, the capital of the settle¬
ment, is situated on the inland side of the peninsula which
forms the south-west bank of the river Montserrado, about
two miles within the extremity of the cape. The original
settlement approached within 150 yards of the water, and
occupied the highest part of the ridge, which traverses a
large part of the peninsula, and rises at this place to about
seventy-five feet. A dense and lofty forest, entangled with
vines and brushwood, so as to be nearly impracticable by
any but the feet of savages and wild beasts, formed the
majestic covering of a large portion of this tract, when
the territory was purchased by the American Colonization
Society.
Opposite the town of Monrovia, and near to the mouth of
the Montsen-ado River, are two small islands, containing
together about three acres of ground. The largest of these
islands is nearly covered with houses built in the native
style, and was for some time occupied by a number of
domestic slaves, formerly held in a state of qualified vas¬
salage, very common in Africa, by a black man, to whom
the right of the original owner had devolved after his re¬
turn to Europe. The tribes in the neighbourhood are, first,
the Deys, who inhabit the coast from twenty-five miles to
the northward of Montserrado, to the mouth of the Junk,
about thirty-six miles to the south-eastward; contiguous
to this nation, and next interior, are the Queabs, whose
country lies to the east of Cape Montserrado ; and, lastly,
the Garrahs, a much more numerous race of men, who oc¬
cupy the country to the northward of the upper parts of
the St Paul River. Still farther towards the interior is the
formidable and warlike nation of the Condoes, the terror
of all their maritime neighbours. About a mile to the
northward of the settlement, a portion of the beach is oc¬
cupied by the Kroomen, who are the watermen and pilots
of the country. They originate from a populous maritime
tribe, whose country is Settra-Kroo, near Cape Palmas. The
articles to be obtained by trade at Liberia are chiefly ivory,
camwood, gold, tortoise-shell, hides, the teeth of the sea¬
horse, and a small quantity of coffee. The country abounds
in cattle, goats, swine, and fowls, and in most of the fruits
and vegetable productions of other tropical climates. The
first efforts of the American Colonization Society were at¬
tended with considerable success. Great numbers of free
people of colour were transported to Liberia, and some im¬
provement was effected both in their condition and their cha-
See the article Arts.
LIBERALIA, feasts celebrated by the ancient Romans,
in honour of Liber or Bacchus, and the same with those
which the Greeks called Dionysiaca. They derived their
name from liber, free, a title conferred on Bacchus in
memory of the liberty or freedom which he granted to the
people of Bceotia ; or, perhaps, because wine, of which he
was the reputed deity, delivers men from care, and sets
their minds at ease and freedom. Varro derives the name
of this feast from liber, free, because the priests were
free from their function, and eased of all care, during the
time of the liberalia ; as the old women officiated in the
ceremonies and sacrifices of these feasts.
LIBERIA, an American colony, situated on the western
coast of Africa. This territory was purchased from the
native chiefs in 1821, by the American Colonization So¬
ciety, for the purpose of forming an establishment for libe¬
rated negroes belonging to America, who, by the prejudices
of the country, are regarded as beings of an inferior order.
It is situated in that part of Africa called Grand Bassa, a
part of the Grain Coast of Guinea, about 300 miles south
of Sierra Leone ; and its capital, which is called Monrovia,
stands on an island at the mouth of the Mesurado, called
Cape Mesurado or Montser-rado, longitude 10. 36. 30. west,
latitude 6. 15. 0. north. The territory presents the form of
a narrow tongue of twelve leagues in extent, and is con¬
nected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus, formed by
the approach of the head waters of the Montserrado and
Junk Rivers. Cape Montserrado, the north-western termi¬
nation of this linear tract of country, rises to a promontory
sufficiently majestic to present a bold distinction from the
uniform level of the coast. Towards the south-east, Libe¬
ria is terminated by the mouth of the Junk River. The
country upon the coast is low, but it gradually rises to¬
wards the interior; and at a distance of from twenty to
thirty miles from the sea, hills of considerable elevation are
L I B
L I B
271
![jbe.t racter. Those who had been slaves were transformed into
II masters; and, from being a depressed and degraded being
bert e?'in America, the freed negro found himself raised to the
level of those who had formerly been his task-masters and
oppressors. In theory the plan of the American Coloniza-
tion Society was excellent, and indeed it appears to be the
only one by which civilization can be introduced into Af¬
rica. Natives of Africa alone possess physical constitu¬
tions which are proof against the climate ; and to operate
by a continuous force, as it were, is the only way to make
an impression upon the country, or to effect a change in the
moral deportment of its inhabitants. The scheme was not
only praiseworthy, as far as the freed men of colour were
themselves concerned, but in regard to the land of their
nativity it might have effected an important change. Un¬
fortunately, however, almost every prospect of success has
been blasted by the native Africans, who, in 1835, attack¬
ed the colonists, and massacred a number of the inhabitants ;
and by the most recent accounts, it appears that they are
in continual danger of entire extirpation. ^
Liberia, in Roman antiquity, a festival observed on
the 16th of the kalends of April, at which time the youth
laid aside their juvenile habit for the toga virilis, or habit
peculiar to grown men.
LIBERTINES, Libertini, in ecclesiastical history, a
religious sect which arose in the year 1525, and the princi¬
pal tenets of which were, that the Deity was the sole ope¬
rating cause in the mind of man, and the immediate au¬
thor of all human actions ; that, consequently, the distinc¬
tions of good and evil, which had been established with
regard to those actions, were false and groundless; that
men could not, properly speaking, commit sin ; that reli¬
gion consisted in the union of the spirit or rational soul
with the Supreme Being ; that all those who had attained
this happy union, by sublime contemplation and elevation
of mind, were allowed to indulge, without exception or re¬
straint, their appetites or passions; that all their actions and
pursuits were then perfectly innocent; and that, after the
death of the body, they became united to the Deity. This
sect likewise held that Jesus Christ was nothing but a mere
entity, composed of the spirit of God, and of the opinion
of men. These maxims occasioned their being called Li¬
bertines ; and the word has been employed in a bad sense
ever since.
The Libertini spread principally in Holland and Bra¬
bant. Their leaders were one Quintin, a native, Picards,
Pockesius, Ruffus, and another person called Chopin, who
joined Quintin, and became his disciple.
This sect obtained a certain footing in France through
the favour and protection of Margaret, queen of Navarre,
sister of Francis L, and it found patrons in several of the
reformed churches. It was probably a remnant of the more
ancient Beguards, or Brethren of the Free Spirit.
Libertines of Geneva, were a cabal of rakes rather than
of fanatics; for they made no pretence to any religious
system, but pleaded only for the liberty of leading volup¬
tuous and immoral lives. This cabal was composed of a
certain number of licentious citizens, intolerant of the
severe discipline of Calvin, who punished with rigour not
only dissolute manners, but also whatever bore the aspect
I - of irreligion and impiety. In this turbulent cabal there
were several persons who were not only notorious for their
dissolute and scandalous manner of living, but also for their
atheistical impiety, and contempt of all religion. To this
odious class belonged one Gruet, who denied the divinity
ol the Christian religion, the immortality of the soul, and
the difference between moral good and evil, and who re¬
jected with disdain the doctrines that are held most sa¬
cred among Christians; impieties for which he was at last
brought before the civil tribunal, in the year 1550, and con¬
demned to suffer death. At this time the Genevan spirit of
reformation, directed by the excessive zeal of Calvin, tend¬
ed to defeat itself, and to introduce the greatest disorders.
In 1544, Castalio, master of the public school of that city,
a man of probity, and distinguished by his learning and
taste, was, nevertheless, deposed from his office and banish¬
ed the city, because he disapproved of some of the measures
which were pursued, as well as of the opinions entertained
by Calvin and his colleagues, particularly that of absolute
and unconditional predestination. Jerome Bolsec, also a
man of genius and learning, who became a convert to the
Protestant religion, and fled to Geneva for protection, was
cast into prison, and soon afterwards driven into exile, be¬
cause, in 1551, he imprudently declaimed, in full congre¬
gation, against the doctrine of absolute decrees.
LIBERTUS, or Libertinus, amongst the Romans, a
freedman, or a person set free from a legal servitude.
Persons of this class still retained some mark of their
ancient state, he who made a slave free having a right of
patronage over the libertus ; so that if the latter failed in
showing due respect to his patron, he was restored to his
servitude, and if the libertus died without children, his pa¬
tron was his heir.
In the early age of the republic, libertinus denoted the
son of a libertus or freedman ; but afterwards, that is, be¬
fore the time of Cicero, and under the emperors, the terms
libertus and libertinus were used as synonymous.
LIBERTY denotes a state of freedom, in contradistinc¬
tion to slavery or restraint, and may be considered either
as natural or as civil.
The absolute rights of man, considered as a free agent,
endowed with a discernment to distinguish good from evil,
and with a power of choosing those measures which appear
to him to be most desirable, are usually summed up in one
general appellation, and denominated the natural liberty
of mankind. This natural liberty consists properly in a
power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or
control, unless by the law of nature ; being a right inhe¬
rent in us by birth, and one of the gifts of God to man at
his creation, when he endowed him with the faculty of
free-will. But every man, when he enters into society,
gives up a part of his natural liberty, as the price of so va¬
luable a purchase ; and, in consideration of receiving the
advantages of mutual commerce and of protection, obliges
himself to conform to those laws which the community
has thought proper to establish. This species of legal
obedience and conformity is therefore infinitely more de¬
sirable than that wild and savage liberty which is sacri¬
ficed to obtain it. For no man, who considers for a mo¬
ment, would wish to retain the absolute and uncontrolled
power of doing whatever he pleased, because every other
man would have the same power, and then there would
be no security to individuals in any of the enjoyments of
life.
Civil liberty, therefore, which is that of a member of
society, is no other than natural liberty, restrained by hu¬
man laws, as far as is necessary and expedient for the ad¬
vantage of the public. Hence we may collect, that the
law, which restrains a man from doing mischief to his fel¬
low-citizens, though it diminishes the natural, increases
the civil liberty of mankind ; but every wanton and cause¬
less restraint of the will of the subject, whether practised
by a monarch, a nobility, or a popular assembly, is a de¬
gree of tyranny. Even laws themselves, whether made
with or without our consent, if they regulate and constrain
our conduct in matters of mere indifference, without any
good end in view, are laws destructive of liberty; but if
any public advantage can arise from observing such pre¬
cepts, the control of our private inclinations, in one or
more points, will conduce to preserve our general freedom
in others of more importance, by supporting that state of
society which alone can secure our independence. Thus
272 LIB LIB
Liberty of the statute of Edward IV. which forbade the fine gentle-
the Press. men 0f tjme to Wear pikes upon their shoes or boots
^ of more than two inches in length, was a law that savour¬
ed of oppression, because, however ridiculous the fashion
then in use might appear, the restraining it by pecuniary
penalties could serve no purpose of general utility. But
the statute of Charles II. wdiich prescribed a thing appa¬
rently as indifferent, viz. a dress for the dead, who were or¬
dered to be buried in woollen, was a law consistent with
public liberty ; for it encouraged the staple trade, on which
in great measure depended the prosperity of the nation.
Hence laws, when prudently framed, are by no means sub¬
versive, but rather introductive, of liberty; for, as Mr
Locke has well observed, where there is no law there is no
freedom. But then, on the other hand, that system of laws
is alone calculated to maintain civil liberty, which leaves
the subject entire master of his own conduct, excepting
as to those points in which the public good requires some
direction or restraint.
The idea and practice of this civil liberty flourish in
their highest vigour in these kingdoms, where it falls little
short of perfection, and can only be lost or destroyed by
the folly or demerits of its owner ; the legislature, and of
course the laws of Britain, being peculiarly adapted to the
preservation of this inestimable blessing even in the mean- Libert
est subject. And this spirit of liberty is so deeply ini- the p1
planted in our constitution, and rooted even in our very''”-^
soil, that a slave or a negro, the moment he lands in Bri¬
tain, falls under the protection of the laws, and so far be¬
comes a freeman, though his master’s right to his service
may possibly still continue.
The absolute rights of every Briton, as they are founded
on nature and reason, so they are coeval with our form of
government, though subject at times to fluctuation and
change ; their establishment, excellent as it is, being still
human. At some periods we have seen them depressed
by overbearing and tyrannical princes ; at others, so luxu¬
riant as even to tend to anarchy, a state worse for the time
than tyranny itself, as any government is better than none
at all. But the vigour of our free constitution has always
delivered the nation from these embarrassments; and, as
soon as the convulsions consequent on the struggle have
ceased, the balance of our rights and liberties has settled
at its proper level; whilst their fundamental articles have
been asserted in parliament, as often as they were thought
to be in danger. See the articles Government and Le¬
gislation.
Liberty and Necessity. See Metaphysics.
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
I. NATURE AND OBJECTS OF THE INQUIRY.
The task of pointing out which of the acts, capable of
being committed by the press, it wovdd be expedient to
prohibit under penalties, we trust will be found to be greatly
diminished, by what we have already established in the
articles Government and Jurisprudence.
There is scarcely a right, for the violation of which,
scarcely an operation of government, for the disturbance of
which, the press may not be employed as an instrument.
The offences capable of being committed by the press are
indeed nearly co-extensive with the whole field of delin¬
quency.
It is not, however, necessary to give a separate defini¬
tion of every such violation or disturbance, when commit¬
ted by the press ; for that would be to write the penal code
a second time, first describing each offence as it appears
in ordinary cases, and then describing it anew for the case
in which the press is the particular instrument.
If, for the prevention of the violation of rights, it were
necessary to give a separate definition, on account of every
instrument which might be employed as a means of pro¬
ducing the several violations, the penal code would be end¬
less. In general, the instrument or means is an immate¬
rial circumstance. The violation itself, and the degree of
alarm which may attend it, are the principal objects of con¬
sideration. If a man is put in fear of his life, and robbed
of his purse, it is of no consequence whether he is threat¬
ened with a pistol or with a sword. In the definition of a
theft, of a fraud, or of a murder, it is not necessary to in¬
clude an account of all the sorts of means by which these
injuries may be perpetrated. It is sufficient if the injury
itself be accurately described. The object is to prevent
the injury, not merely when produced by one sort of means
or another sort of means, but by any means.
From these illustrations, it sufficiently appears, that, if
an accurate penal code were composed, defining the viola¬
tions of rights, and the disturbances of the operations of
government, to which penalties were to be annexed, every
offence capable of being committed by the press would be
defined without mentioning the press. It is no less evi¬
dent, that if we include in the term libel, as, to the great
encouragement of confusion, is generally done, all the of¬
fences capable of being committed by the press, we include
in the definition of libel all the definitions of the penal code.
As far as persons and property are concerned, the gene¬
ral definition of the acts by which rights are liable to be
violated, has always been held sufficient; and has been re¬
garded as including not less the cases in which the instru¬
mentality of the press has been employed, than those in
which any other means have been employed to the same
end. Nobody ever thought of a particular law for restrain¬
ing the press on account of the cases in which it may have
been rendered subservient to the perpetration of a murder
or a theft. It is enough that a law is made to punish him
who has been guilty of the murder or theft, whether he has
employed the press or any thing else as the means for ac¬
complishing his end.
There can be no doubt, however, that the press is an in¬
strument peculiarly adapted for the commission of injuries
against reputation, and for effecting disturbance to the
operations of government, while it has no peculiar adap¬
tation for the commission of other offences. Here, too,
there is the greatest disposition to restrain the press within
improper limits. It is demanded of us, therefore, upon this
part ot the subject, to enter into greater detail.
We are then to inquire, in the first place, What are the
acts of the press with respect to private reputation; and
next, What are the acts with respect to government, which
it is desirable that punishment should be employed to re¬
strain.
ii—offences of the press, with respect to private
rights.
Agreeably to the principles which have been already
considered in the article Jurisprudence, no act can be
regarded as an offence with respect to an individual, which
is not a violation of some of his rights.1
1 In the description which follows of that violation of rights which is most liable to be committed by the press, and of the mode
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
In considering the rights which ought to be established
|r]s. with respect to reputation, one proposition may be assumed;
•v'that every man should be considered as having a right to
the character which he deserves ; that is, to be spoken of
according to his actions.
Such Offences should be defined.
In what manner the definition of this right, which would
form a part of the civil code, should be expressed, is not
now^the question ; it is evident there is no peculiar difficul¬
ty in the matter. As words, not thoughts, are the object of
legal cognizance, the right can only have respect to security
against certain words; words, imputing to the individual
actions which he has not performed, or a disposition to cer¬
tain actions, without evidence that such a disposition exists.
Suppose that one man has instituted a suit against an¬
other, for the offence of having violated, through the press,
his right to some part of the reputation which he deserves.
In his ground of complaint he must affirm that the man has
imputed to him either fhe performance of actions which he
did not commit, or a disposition to certain actions, where
no evidence of such disposition can be given.
The words are produced; and the first question is, whether
they do or do not impute the actions which, in the com¬
plaint, or bill of accusation, they are alleged to impute ?
It is to be observed, that they who oppose the attempt
to define the offences, which, for shortness, we call the of¬
fences of the press, make use of such occasions as this to
raise their objections. How, they ask, can all the forms of
expression be defined, by which the imputation of such and
such actions may be, either more openly, or more covertly,
conveyed ?
It is very evident that the question, on such an occasion,
whether the words do or do not impute such or such ac¬
tions, is a question of fact. The law says, that such and
such actions shall not be imputed, defining the actions.
Whether such and such a man has imputed such actions,
and whether by one set of words, or another set of words,
are questions of fact.
The law, when it said that such and such acts should
not be imputed to a man, could not determine whether A,
who is accused by B of having imputed to him one of those
acts, did so or not. That is to be determined by evidence
hearing upon the point. One, and in general the main
article of that evidence, are the words which have been
used. What is the import of these words, or, which comes
to the same thing, what is the degree of proof involved in
them, is to be determined, as all questions respecting the
weight of evidence are, in each instance, to be determined,
|y the tribunal before which the accusation is brought.
| he interpretation of words rests upon the same footing in
ms, as in all other cases, that, for example, of a will. The
aw determines, that whatsoever disposition a man has made
fj respect to his property, shall take effect after His
math. But whether A has left his manor of Dale to B, is
i matter of fact to be determined by evidence applying to
iat particular point; principally by that arising from the
vords of the will.
It may still be argued, by persons who do not easily re-
munce an opinion to which they have once given their
upport, that the actions, the imputation of which, the le¬
gislature means to prohibit, cannot be defined.
But this is a position which cannot long be maintained.
B is hurtful to a man, if he is believed to have com-
m ed some actions, or to have a disposition to commit
lem 5 ^ 18 not hurtful in the case of others. Evidently it
273
is by imputation of the first sort alone, that any right with Liberty of
respect to reputation can be infringed. the Press.
Ihe acts which a man receives injury from being be¬
lieved to have committed, or to be disposed to commit, are
either those to which the law has annexed penalties, or
those to which the penalties of public disrepute and dislike
are annexed.
With respect to those acts to which the law has annexed
penalties, as theft, murder, perjury, and so on, it will not
be pretended that there is any difficulty; the law has al¬
ready defined them, or ought to define them, and they may
be marked with perfect precision by a few words.
Those acts which it is hurtful to a man, solely on account
of the disrepute and dislike which they produce, to have it
believed that he has committed them, may also be with
sufficient accuracy determined.
Compensation should be made to ihe Individual for Injuries
sustained by Offences of the Press.
The ends to be attained by punishment are, Reparation
to the individual to whom injury has been done, and Pre¬
vention of similar acts in future.
In the idea of all punishment, effectual reparation to the
injured individual is a necessary and essential ingredient.
Suppose, then, it were declared by the legislature that
every imputation to a man of acts which bring the evil
of dislike and disrepute upon him who has committed them,
tliat is, every false imputation, shall be punished at least
by reparation to be made to the party injured ; the term
evil is to this purpose perfectly precise. It would remain
with the complainant to show what kind and degree of in¬
jury he had received; which is a matter of fact, to be esti¬
mated, in each instance, from the evidence adduced, by
the tribunal before which the question is brought. If the
injury sustained is a pecuniary injury, the question coin¬
cides exactly with the question of damages, decided regu¬
larly, in English courts, as a question of fact, by the jury.
Injuries of the kind which we are now considering can
affect a man only in two ways; either by lessening the
pecuniary value which he might otherwise have enjoyed,
or by lessening the marks of respect and affection which
he would otherwise have received. What the loss is, in
this latter instance, is also evidently a question of fact. It
has nothing, therefore, to do with the legal definition of the
offence, the business of the legislature. It is a question,
which, like other questions of fact, must of necessity be
determined upon evidence by the tribunal before which it
is brought. It is no doubt a question of delicacy, and
considerable difficulty, because the evidence must often
consist of very fine and minute circumstances, which can
seldom be precisely ascertained. But this is not the only
class of judicial questions, the determination of which de¬
pends upon such evidence as it is very difficult accurately
to collect and to weigh. What is of greatest importance,
on this occasion, to remark, is, that all the difficulty lies in
the matter of fact. There is no doubt or obscurity in the
law, which says, that whatsoever hurt a man has sustained
through actions or dispositions falsely imputed to him,
he shall receive compensation for. Difficulties, however,
arising either from the complexity of the matter of fact,
or the obscurity of the evidence, no legislative enactments
can prevent. These are confided to the skill and integrity
of the judge.
The compensation which ought to be made to a man
for the diminution of those marks of respect and affection
which he would otherwise have received, is a question for
'indoAhe rpf!wt0 .J?®,treated’ the developments presented in the article Jurisprudence are understood to be present to the
vm reatler; B they are not, the very brief exposition here given will not be understood.
-XIII. ^
2 M
274
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
Liberty of the legislature. Let us suppose that a soldier has been
the Press, accused of cowardice, in such a manner as to create a
general belief of the truth of the accusation ; that a man
of honour has been accused of mendacity, or of some of
those irregular propensities to which the horror of the
public is attached ; it is evident that money is not, in such
cases, an appropriate compensation.
When a man, through the offence of another, has been
deprived of a certain amount of money, or of money s
worth, we say that he has received compensation, when
he is placed in the same situation in which he would have
been if the offence had never taken place.
According to this idea of compensation, a man, against
whom an unfavourable opinion has been created by the
act of another man, has received compensation, when he
is placed in the same situation with regard to the opinion
of those with whom he is connected, as if that act had
not taken place. This, therefore, is the object which it
ought to be the endeavour of the legislature to effect.
One expedient is perfectly appropriate. It is, that the
man who has falsely propagated an unfavourable opinion
with respect to another, should be made to do whatever
is in his power to remove the impression he has made.
To this end, he should publish the sentence of the judge,
declaring that the action or disposition which he had im¬
puted to the individual injured, he had imputed to him
falsely. He should at least be made to publish it in every
way in which he had published the imputation. Frequent¬
ly a more extensive publication might be required.
In some cases, it will be allowed, that thus much would
suffice. It may, however, be affirmed, that often the^im¬
pression would be too profoundly struck, to be effaced by
a mere knowledge of the sentence of the judge. In such
cases, something more in the way of compensation would
be required. On this, it is of importance to be observ¬
ed, that if the impression produced by an imputation,
which, after solemn inquiry, the judge has declared to be
false, should not, by that declaration, be completely ef¬
faced, it implies necessarily one of two things ; either that
the public have evidence of the truth of the accusation,
which was not adduced to the judge, and then the remain¬
ing impression is not owing to the imputation which the
judge has condemned, but to the evidence ; or, secondly,
that the public mind is in a state of gross ignorance and
imbecility, capable of forming opinions, even on the clearest
subjects, not only not according to evidence, but in oppo¬
sition to it. If the public mind, however, is in such a de¬
plorable condition, it is the fault of the legislature; and
for the rectification of this evil, the best course undoubt¬
edly is, to take effectual measures for the instruction of
the people, which instruction would soon place them be¬
yond the danger of such delusions. In the mean time, if
something more than the publication of the sentence of
the judge were necessary to restore a man to that degree
of consideration, of which the false imputation had de¬
prived him, governments have numerous w'ays of raising
the consequence of individuals; and no legislature would
be at a loss for a gradation of expedients suited to the
scale of demand.
Means which should he used for preventive/ the Violation of
Rights by the Press.
We have now illustrated that part of this question which
regards compensation to the injured individual. It re¬
mains to inquire what is best to be done in this case, for
the attainment of the other object of punishment, namely,
the prevention of similar offences in time to come.
To devise a punishment sufficient to prevent an offence,
is to provide a motive sufficient to counteract the motive
which leads to the offence. We have hence to consider
what are the motives by which men are incited to make j ^ |
false imputations on the characters of others. ^ jf
These motives may be of three different sorts. A man''—y
may derive pecuniary profit, he may derive comparative
distinction, or he may satisfy his desire of vengeance by
blackening the character of his neighbour.
In the case in which a man has by calumny wrongfully
intercepted the pecuniary receipts of his neighbour, the
obligation of making satisfaction to the party injured would,
it is obvious, alone suffice, provided the machinery of the
laws were sufficiently perfect to render the execution of
them certain. Seldom would any man calumniate his
neighbour for the sake of placing L.20 in his own pocket,
if he were sure that, next day, or next week, he would
have to restore it, with all the profit which might have
been made by the use of it, and with the disgrace besides
of having committed an action which other men abhor.
Sometimes, however, a man may derive pecuniary pro¬
fit from calumniating persons whom he has not by that
means deprived of any pecuniary advantage; by the sale,
for example, of a slanderous publication ; when the satis¬
faction due to the individual may not be of a nature to
counteract the motive which leads to the offence. The
expedient in this case, also, is sufficiently obvious, and
sufficiently simple. It is necessary to ascertain the whole
of the gain which has been made by the offender, and to
take it away from him. This, together with the satisfac¬
tion which he ought to make to the injured individual,
would, if it were certain, create a surplus of motive to ab¬
stain from the injurious act.
In both of these cases, if the execution of the law is uncer¬
tain, an additional punishment may be necessary, sufficient
to compensate for the chance of escape. The allowance
to be made on this score must depend upon the imperfec¬
tion of the laws ; while one important fact is to be kept
in remembrance, that as severity of punishment, beyond
a certain point, is increased, certainty of execution is di¬
minished. The true expedient, therefore, is to render
the machinery of the laws so perfect, that the penalties
which they denounce may always be sure of execution;
and then hardly any thing beyond compensation to the
individual, and the abstraction of any additional gain which
might have been made by the propagation of slander, would
be necessary to repress all offences against the reputation
of others, to which the motive was constituted by pecu¬
niary gain.
The two remaining cases are still more simple. If a
man propagates a falsehood, for the sake of injuring the
character of a man by whom his own consideration is
eclipsed, it is only when he expects to obtain by that
means a permanent advantage. If he knows that imme¬
diately the law will take its hold upon him; that he will
be compelled to re-elevate the character of his neighbour,
and to proclaim his own disgrace, he will see that, to at¬
tempt depressing the character of another man by calum¬
ny, is the very worst of all expedients for giving a com¬
parative elevation to his own. The same is the result in
the case where vengeance constitutes the motive to in¬
jure the reputation of another. To render this proposition
manifest, the most obvious illustration will suffice. No
man, to gratify his malignity to another person, would kill
his ox or his ass, provided he were sure that immediately
he would be obliged to make him full satisfaction ; and in¬
stead of injuring the man whom he hated, to injure only
himself. No, the rudeness and inefficacy of the law,
holding out a chance of escaping the duty of making re¬
paration, is the sole origin and cause of all offences of this
description; and if the law were placed in a state but
approaching to perfection, hardly any thing beside the
obligation of making satisfaction would be necessary to
repress the whole of this order of crimes.
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
jait’iof Whether any Imputation hy which Truth is not violated,
> h should be considered an Offence by the Press.
Wn
We have now made considerable progress in this im¬
portant inquiry. We have ascertained, we think, with
sufficient evidence, all that is necessary to be done for
preventing injuries to the reputation of individuals ; pro¬
vided the rights of reputation are not, by the civil code,
made to extend beyond the boundaries of truth. Whether
or not they ought to extend farther, and individuals ought
to be protected from the disclosure of acts which they
may have committed, is, we confess, a question highly
worthy of solution ; upon which, therefore, before we pro¬
ceed to any of the subsequent topics, we shall offer the fol¬
lowing reflections.
There can be no doubt that the feelings of the indivi¬
dual may be as painful, where actions'of a disreputable
nature are truly, as where they are falsely, imputed to
him. It is equally certain, that no painful feelings ought
to be wilfully excited in any man, where no good, sufficient
to overbalance that evil, is its natural consequence.
We have already shown, that reputation is injured by
the imputation of acts of two different descriptions ; first,
those to which the law annexes penalties ; secondly, those
to which disrepute and the dislike of others are annexed.
With respect to those acts to which the law annexes
penalties, there is no room for uncertainty or dispute.
Unless the law is a bad law, which ought to be repealed
(this, we confess, constitutes an exception, and one which,
in very imperfect codes, extends a great way), the law
ought not to be disappointed of its execution. The man
who gives information against a murderer, or a thief, by
the press, or without the press, renders a public service,
and deserves not punishment, but reward.
It appears, therefore, that the question, whether a man
ought to be protected from the imputation of actions which
he has really committed, refers solely to those acts which,
without being punishable by the law, are attended with
disrepute ; acts, in other words, which the members of
the society disapprove and dislike.
The prospect of the immediate and public exposure of
all acts of this description, would be a most effectual ex¬
pedient to prevent their being committed. Men would
obtain the habit of abstaining from them, and would feel
it as little painful to abstain, as at present it is to any well
educated person to keep from theft, or those acts which
constitute the ill manners of the vulgar. The fable of
Momus has always been understood to carry an important
moral. He found grievous fault that a window had not
been placed in the breast of every man, by which, not his
actions alone, but his thoughts, might have been known.
The magnanimity of that Roman has been highly applaud¬
ed, who not only placed his residence in such a situation
that his fellow-citizens might see as much as possible of
his actions, but declared a wish that he could open to all
eyes his breast as well as his house.
If the hatred and contempt of the people, therefore,
were always rightly directed, and rightly proportioned,—
it they never operated against any actions but those which
were hurtful, either to the individual himself, or to others,
and never, but in the degree in which they were hurtful,—
the case would be clear; the advantage which would be
derived from the true exposure of any man’s actions of
any sort, would exceed beyond calculation the attendant
evil. The great difficulty of insuring the practice of mo¬
rality, in those numerous and highly important cases to
which the legal sanction, or the security of pains and pe¬
nalties, does not extend, consists in the want of a motive
always present, and powerful enough to counteract the
instant motive which urges to the instant offence. That
motive almost every man would derive from the know-
275
ledge that he had the eyes upon him of all those the good Liberty of
opinion of whom it was his interest to preserve; that no d16 Tress,
immoral act of his would escape their observation, and a
proportionate share of their hatred and contempt. It is
in this view that the aid of religion has been sometimes
regarded as of importance to morality, suggesting the
idea of a high and constant observer. All motives, how¬
ever, are feeble, in proportion as the pains and pleasures
upon which they depend are distant, vague, or uncertain.
Divines agree with all other men in complaining of the trif¬
ling effect of religious motives upon the lives of the greater
number of men. From the nature of the prospect on which
these motives depend, they could not be less feeble than
they have been thus described. The case is not the same
with the motives arising from the sentiments which we
know we shall inspire in the breasts of our fellow-crea¬
tures. It is a matter of daily and incontrovertible expe¬
rience, that these are among the most powerful which
operate upon the human mind. The soldier rushes upon
death, and endures all the hardships and toils of his cruel
profession, that he may enjoy the admiration and escape
the contempt of his fellow-men. On what else is founded
the greater part of all human pursuits ? How few, even
oi those who toil at the meanest occupations, but exert
themselves to have something for show, something to make
an impression upon the eyes of those wjio surround them ?
The very subject of the present inquiry derives from this
source the whole of its importance. The value of repu¬
tation is, indeed, but another name for the value which
we attach to the favourable and unfavourable sentiments
of our fellow-men.
It is, however, true, that their unfavourable sentiments
do not always fall where they ought; and this, we confess,
is a consideration of the highest importance. It very of¬
ten happens that men’s antipathies are excited to actions
from which no evil ensues, either to him who performs
them, or to any body else. If any man derives a pleasure
from such actions, it is to limit his sphere of innocent en¬
joyment to debar him from them. And if the press ex¬
poses him to the antipathies, the hatred, and contempt of
his fellow-creatures, on account of those actions, it pro¬
duces an evil, uncompensated by the smallest portion of
good. To an Indian Brahmin, if he were known to have
eaten, even when starving, a morsel of food which had
been prepared by a Christian, the consequences would be
dreadful. Where the Roman Catholic religion is in vi¬
gour, a man who should indulge himself in animal food on
forbidden days would be regarded with horror. The use
of wine, however moderate, would render a Mahommedan
execrable to the whole of his tribe.
Ibis misdirection of the favourable imd unfavourable
sentiments of mankind; in other words, this perversion
and corruption of their moral sentiments, has, in by far
the greater number of instances, been the work of priests,
contriving the means of increasing their influence. In
some very important instances, such, for example, as the
prejudices of birth, at one time in Europe so powerful as
to make men of low birth objects of the greatest contempt,
men of elevated ^birth objects of the highest veneration,
the perversion of the moral sentiments is evidently the
work of the aristocratical class, securing to themselves a
more easy dominion over the rest of their fellow-creatures.
It is, therefore, evident, that where antipathies, religious
or aristocratical, should prevail, the press would be hurt-
fully employed in giving notoriety to the facts which would
expose a man to the operation of either.
We have now ascertained the cases in which it would
not be good that men should be protected from the decla¬
ration of truth by the press, and also the cases in which it
woidd be good that they should be so protected.
What, upon this view of the subject, would be desirable,
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
276
Liberty ofis sufficiently clear. It would be desirable that, in the one
the Press. get 0f cases, the declaration should be allowed, in the other
it should not be allowed. Are the two sets of cases, how¬
ever, capable of being accurately distinguished ?
If the comparison is made with any attention, it will not
be difficult to determine that the evil to be incurred byjthe
loss of truth in the set of cases in which the declaration of
it would be useful, is much greater than that which would
arise from permitting the declaration in the cases in which
it would be hurtful.
In the first place, the set of cases in which the declara¬
tion would be useful are much more numerous, and much
more important, than those in which, in any tolerably civi¬
lized state of society, it would be hurtful. Those in which
it w^ould be useful embrace the whole field of morality, all
those acts, the performance of which, on account of their
singular importance, has been elevated to the rank of vir¬
tues. Every body believes and proclaims, that the univer¬
sal practice of the moral virtues would insure the highest
measure of human happiness ; no one doubts that the
misery which, to so deplorable a degree, overspreads the
globe, while men injure men, and, instead of helping and
benefiting, supplant, defraud, mislead, pillage, and oppress
one another, would thus be nearly exterminated, and some¬
thing better than the dreams of the golden age would be
realized upon earth/ Toward the attainment of this most
desirable state of things, nothing in the world is capable of
contributing so much as the full exercise of truth upon all
immoral actions, that is, all actions, the practice of which is
calculated to lessen the amount of human happiness. Ac¬
cording to this view, the justice of which it is impossible to
dispute, the evil incurred by forbidding the declaration of
truth upon all immoral actions is incalculable. That which
would be incurred by the antipathies of misguided minds
against actions innocent in themselves, nobody, we should
imagine, would so much as think of placing in comparison.
In our own country, for example, the classes of actions
which, though they injure nobody, expose a man to the
unfavourable sentiments of others, are not numerous. The
number of persons who would be exposed to inconvenience
on account of the declaration of truth in regal'd to them,
would be small in comparison wdth those who w'ould bene¬
fit by its declaration in the case of all really hurtful acts. *
It is, indeed, important to be observed, that a compara¬
tive smallness of number is necessarily implied in the sup¬
position of injury from any unfounded antipathy. Those
who share in the antipathy, of course, abstain from the ac¬
tion. And unless the antipathy were so general as to in¬
clude almost the whole of the society, it would lose its in¬
jurious effect. Besides, all the injury which can be done
to the individuals against whom truth would in this man¬
ner operate injuriously, would be, to make them abstain
from the acts which were thus condemned.
Another thing to be considered is, that the whole of the
evil arising from the exercise of truth is dependent upon
an accidental circumstance, capable of being removed; upon
a mental disease, requiring to be cured, which the legisla¬
ture ought to be constantly endeavouring to cure, and to¬
ward the cure of which truth is likely to operate as the
most effectual of all expedients. If any considerable in¬
convenience were experienced from exposure to unfounded
antipathies, in consequence of the publication of truth, the
groundlessness of these antipathies could not fail in this
case to be so often canvassed, and made to appear, that at
last it would become familiar to the multitude, and the an¬
tipathies would expire.
It clearly, therefore, appears, that, if the cases in which
the declaration of truth would expose to unfounded pre¬
judices could not be clearly defined, and separated from
the cases in which the declaration would be salutary, the
rule of permitting truth ought to be universal. But,
though we perceive, that, to a considerable extent, there Lib rt,
are cases, in respect to which it would be vain to hope for the hi
agreement in drawing the line of distinction between whatN'”Y
is hurtful and what is not, we are persuaded that prin¬
ciples might be laid down in which all would agree, and
which would serve to mark out certain cases for exception
with sufficient exactness. If any such cases could be se¬
parated, either of actions, which, though injurious to no¬
body, excited antipathies, or of facts, as those of birth, for
which, though a man was in no respect worse, he might
be regarded as worse; the exercise of truth, with regard
to them, might, on the express ground that they were ac¬
tions innoxious, or facts which ought to be of no import¬
ance in the estimate of human worth, be forbidden, when
injurious, under the penalty of at least making reparation
for all the injury of which it had been the cause.
III. OFFENCES OF THE PRESS WITH RESPECT TO GOVERN¬
MENT.
We have now explained, we trust with sufficient clear¬
ness for the present occasion, the principles upon which
laws should be constructed for protecting the rights of in¬
dividuals against violations committed by the press. The
first part of this inquiry, therefore, we must consider as
completed. In the second part we have to explain the
principles upon which they should be constructed for pro¬
tecting the operations of government.
Exhortations to obstruct the Operations of Government in
detail should, Exhortations to resist all the Powers of
Government at once should not, be considered Offences.
Unless a door is left open to resistance of the govern¬
ment, in the largest sense of the word, the doctrine of
passive obedience is adopted; and the consequence is,
the universal prevalence of misgovernment, insuring the
misery and degradation of the people. On the other hand,
unless the operations of government, instituted for the
protection of rights, are secured from obstruction, the
security of rights, and all the advantages dependent
upon the existence of government, are at an end. Be¬
tween these two securities, both necessary to obtain the
benefits of good government, there appears to be such a
contrariety, that the one can only be obtained by the sa¬
crifice of the other.
As this difficulty, however, arises chiefly from the ex¬
tent of the terms, a close inspection of the cases which
they involve, and which they have a tendency to confuse,
will enable us to discover the course which it belongs to
practical wisdom to pursue.
It is necessary, first of all, to ascertain what sort of ob¬
structions are inconsistent, and what are not inconsistent,
with those operations of government which are necessary
for the protection of rights.
The application of physical force to resist the govern¬
ment in applying to the execution of the laws the physi¬
cal power placed at its disposal by the law, is such an ob¬
struction of the operations of government, as would, if fre¬
quent, render it inadequate to the ends which it is provided
' to secure. This application of force, therefore, must be
treated as an offence ; and any thing proceeding from the
press, tending directly to produce it, as a similar offence.
This proposition requires to be illustrated. The apph*
cation of physical force which is here described, and treat¬
ed as an evil, is clearly distinguishable from that resistance
of government which is the last security of the many
against the misconduct of the few. This is an application
of physical force to obstruct the operations of government
in detail; the proceedings, for example, of a court of jus-
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
Pitert of tice ; the proceedings of the legislative organ, or the pro-
iKePi'i3- ceedings of any of the administrative functionaries, in the
execution of the duties with which they are charged.
This is not that species of resistance which is necessary,
in the last resort, to secure the people against the abuse
of the powers of government. This last is not a resistance
to the operations of government in detail. It is a resis¬
tance to all the powers of government at once, either to
withdraw them from the hands in which they have hi¬
therto been deposited, or greatly to modify the terms
upon which they are held.
Even this last species of resistance it may be necessary
to punish, at least in a certain degree, whenever it is not
successful; that society may not be disturbed by commo¬
tions which the majority of the people disapprove. This,
however, is a question which belongs to the penal code
in general, and does not concern the inquiry into the of¬
fences capable of being committed by the press ; because
we think it may be satisfactorily shown, that no operation
of the press, however directly exhorting to this species of
resistance, ought to be treated as an offence.
The reason is, that no such exhortation can have an}'
immediate or formidable effect; can, indeed, have any
effect at all, except through such mediums as ought to be
at all times perfectly free. Suppose that a work is pub¬
lished, exhorting the people in general to take arms against
the government, for the purpose of altering it against the
consent of its rulers. The people cannot take arms against
the government without the certainty of being imme¬
diately crushed, unless there has been already created a
general consent. If this consent exists in such perfection
as to want nothing to begin action but an exhortation,
nothing can prevent the exhortation; and forbidding it is
useless. If the consent does not exist in nearly the last
degree of perfection, a mere exhortation, read in print,
( can have no effect which is worth regarding. In all cir¬
cumstances, therefore, it is useless, and consequently ab¬
surd, to treat this species of exhortation as an offence.
If, on the other hand, it were clearly recognised, that
f every man had a license to exhort the people to the ge¬
neral resistance of the government, all such exhortations
i would become ridiculous, unless on those rare and ex¬
treme occasions on which no prohibitions and no penal¬
ties can or ought to prevent them. The doctrine of this
[ paragraph, which will appear somewhat startling and pa¬
radoxical to minds accustomed only to a certain train of
« ideas, will receive illustration, and we trust will be amply
confirmed, as we proceed.
Having mentioned this as a grand exception, we now
r return to the cases in which not only physical force ap-
p plied to obstruct the operations of government, but the
publishing of exhortations to that obstruction, ought to
be treated as an offence. These relate solely, as above
fi remarked, to the operations of government in detail. Ob¬
structions, it is evident, may be offered to the operations
m detail of a government which possesses and deserves
the fullest confidence of the community at large; and the
press may be employed in directly and efficiently exciting
to these obstructions. A hand-bill, for example, distri¬
buted at a critical moment, and operating upon an in-
fl 9 -named state of mind, in a narrow district, may excite a
11 mob to disturb the proceedings of a court of justice, to
o obstruct public officers in the execution of their duties,
m or even to disturb, on this or that occasion, the delibera-
ti tions of the legislature itself.
These are clearly hurtful acts ; they may be very ac-
c curately defined; and penalties, of moderate severity,
would be sufficient to deter from the performance of them.
Satisfaction by the party offending to the party injured,
» would often, in offences of this description, be out of the
i] question; because there would be no definite party to
277
whom an injury would be occasioned. It would only beLibertyof
necessary to ascertain the sorts of motives by which such the Press,
offences would be liable to be produced, and to apply
skilfully, as in other cases, motives of an opposite ten¬
dency, sufficient to counteract them. This would not be
more difficult in this than in other cases, and it is not,
therefore, necessary to explain at any length the mode of
performing it.
One principle is to be carefully and most religiously
observed, that of not imposing an atom of punishment for
the purposes of vengeance. This is a principle, the just¬
ness and importance of which are so completely recog¬
nised, that we might have expected to be relieved ere
now from the necessity of recommending attention to it.
The fact, however, is, that so long as there are abuses in
governments, so long will the men, who have the means
of profiting by those abuses, exert themselves to multiply
the list of offences against government, and to apply to
them punishments of the greatest severity.
Punishments for contempt of court; punishments to
vindicate the honour of the court, of the government, of
the magistracy ; punishments for the support of dignity ;
punishments severe in proportion as the dignity of the
party offended is supposed to be high, and so on, are
punishments almost always applied lor purposes of ven¬
geance, or the protection of the instruments of abuse.
They are punishments, therefore, which will be rigidly
excluded from a code which wisely and steadily pursues
the general good.
Of Exhortations to obstruct the Operations of Government
in detail, there are two Sorts: 1. The Direct; 2. The
Implied, or Constructive.
What the sort of acts are, to which the exhortations of
the press ought not to be applied, has been so far ascer¬
tained. The next point is, to determine with accuracy
what sort of exhortation it is that ought to be forbidden.
To all those who profit by the abuses of government,
that is, more especially, to all those who, in a defective
government, wield any of its powers, it is of great impor¬
tance to leave as undefined as possible the sort of exhor¬
tation that ought to be forbidden. The point of greatest
importance to them is, to keep the people at large from
complaining, or from knowing or thinking that they have
any ground of complaint. If this object is fully attained,
they may then, without anxiety, and without trouble, riot
in the pleasures of misrule: there is no limit to the de¬
gree in which the few may pursue their own advantage at
the expense of the many.
There can be nothing, therefore, in which they have
a greater interest, than preventing the press from being
employed in any such way as will lead the people to
think that they have any thing, on the part of their rulers,
of which to complain. All artifices possible will be sure
to be employed to effect that prevention. And if it is en¬
acted, that exhortations to acts which obstruct the ope¬
rations of government in detail should be punished, with¬
out defining accurately what sort of exhortations, they will
easily find expedients; which will, to a great extent, ac¬
complish their purpose.
Under the sort of constructions which it will be their
interest to apply, every thing which can be done by the
press to make the people know or believe that there is
any thing in the system of their government, or the con¬
duct of their rulers, of which they have to complain, may
be treated as an exhortation to obstruct the operations of
government. Of these constructions our experience af¬
fords innumerable examples. Does not the imputing of
defects to the government, or misconduct to those who
wield the potvers of government, tend to bring both “ into
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
278
liberty of hatred and contempt r ’ And if’ the people hate and con-
'ti_.e ^ ie^S'temn ^ie institutions and rulers of their country, will
","~Y they not oppose their operations? The imputing of these
faults, therefore, is it not, in essence and effect, an exhor¬
tation to oppose the operations of government? And are
we to be governed, in our legislature, by the mere forms
in which a set of words may appear, and not by our know¬
ledge of their nature and consequences ?
This is not only exceedingly plausible, but almost all
the propositions which it involves are true. It is thus,
therefore, the more easy to establish such a mode of in¬
terpreting an indefinite law of the press, as will prevent,
or, where the people cannot yet bear a total prevention,
will go far towards preventing, whatever can lead the
people to believe that any thing is amiss in the manner in
which they are ruled.
There are two species of exhortations, the one explicit
and direct, the other implied and constructive. In the
one, a particular act is pointed out, and the party or par¬
ties addressed are called upon to perform it. In the
other, certain grounds are only laid, from which the opi¬
nion of the addresser, that the act ought to be performed,
may, with more or less certainty, be inferred.
With respect to the first, there is no occasion for doubt.
A direct and explicit exhortation to commit one of those
acts, described above as obstructing the operations of go¬
vernment in detail, should be treated as an offence. The
precise question is, whether any exhortation, which is
only implied and constructive, should be considered an
offence? In the answer to this question, almost every
thing which relates to the use of the press in matters of
government will be found to be involved.
ment of creating discontent, is, in all civilized countries, Libert
among all but the advocates of misgovernment, regarded the Pj1
as an indispensable security, and the greatest safeguard
of the interests of mankind.
For what is meant by a vicious government ? or where¬
in do the defects of government consist ? Most assuredly
they ail consist in sacrificing the interests of the many to
the interests of the few. The small number, in whose
hands the powers of government are, in part directly, in
part indirectly, placed, cannot fail, like other men, to have
a greater regard for what is advantageous to themselves,
than what is advantageous to other men. They pursue'
therefore, their own advantage, in preference to that of’
the rest of the community. That is enough. Where there
is nothing to check that propensity, all the evils of mis¬
government, that is, in one word, the very worst evils by
which human nature is afflicted, are the inevitable con¬
sequence. (See the article Government.)
There can be no adequate check without the freedom
of the press. The evidence of this is irresistible. In all
countries, the people either have a power legally and
peaceably of removing their governors, or they have not
that power. If they have not that power, they can only
obtain any considerable ameliorations of their govern¬
ments by resistance, by applying physical force to their
rulers, or, at least, by threats so likely to be followed by
performance, as may frighten their rulers into compliance.
But resistance, to have this effect, must be general. To
be general, it must spring from a general conformity of
opinion, and a general knowledge of that conformity.
How is this effect to be produced, but by some means,
fully enjoyed by the people, of communicating their sen¬
timents to one another ? Unless where the people can
all meet in general assembly, there is no other means of
attaining this object, to be compared with the freedom of
the press.
It is, no doubt, true, that in countries where the liber¬
ty of the press is unknown, bad governments are frequent¬
ly overthrown. This is almost always accomplished by the
military force, revenging some grievance of their own, or
falling in with some heat and animosity of the people.
But does it ever enable them to make a new government,
in which any greater security is provided for their in¬
terests than there was before ? In such cases, the people
get rid of one set of rulers, whom they hate, only to ob¬
tain another set, with equal powers of doing them injury.
I here are, however, we believe, some people who say,
that though the liberty of the press is a necessary instru¬
ment to attain good government, yet, if it is fairly attain¬
ed, and if legal and peaceable means are in the hands of
the people of removing their governors for misconduct;
if the people of England, for example, really chose the
members of the House of Commons, and renewed their
choice so frequently, as to have the power of removal af¬
ter a short experience of misconduct; the freedom of the
press would be unnecessary.
So far is this from being true, that it is doubtful whe¬
ther a power in the people of choosing their own rulers,
without the liberty of the press, would be an advantage.
Freedom of Censure on the Conduct of their Rulers, is ne¬
cessary for the good of the People.
It is perfectly clear that all chance of advantage to the
people, from having the choice of their rulers, depends
upon their making a good choice. If they make a bad
choice, if they elect people either incapable, or disin¬
clined, to use well the pow-er intrusted to them, they in"
cur the same evils to which they are doomed when they
are deprived of the due control over those by whom their
affairs are administered.
Exhortations which are Implied and Constructive, ought not
to be punished.
We have already divided the subject of resistance to
government into two parts ; first, that general resistance,
the object of which is some great change in the govern¬
ment at large; and, secondly, resistance to this or that of
its operations in detail.
We have already adduced an argument, which appears
to us to be conclusive, to show that no exhortation, whe¬
ther explicit or implied, direct or indirect, the object or
tendency of which is to produce the first species of re¬
sistance, ought to be subject to legal restraint.
If is necessary here to enter a little more fully into the
grounds of that opinion.
We think it will appear, with sufficient evidence, that,
in the way of indirect exhortation to resistance, that is,
in laying the grounds of dissatisfaction with the govern¬
ment, there is no medium between allowing every thing
and allowing nothing ; that the end, in short, which is
sought to be gained, by allowing any thing to be publish¬
ed in censure of the government, cannot be obtained,
without leaving it perfectly free to publish every thing.
The end which is sought to be obtained by allowing
any thing to be said in censure of the government, is, to
censure the goodness of the government; the most im¬
portant ot all the objects to the attainment of which the
wisdom ot man can be applied. If the goodness of go¬
vernment could be insured by any preferable means, it is
evident that all censure of the government ought to be
prohibited. All discontent with the government is only
good, in so far as it is a means of removing real cause of
discontent. If there is no cause, or if there is better
means of removing the cause, the discontent is, of course,
an evil, and that which produces it an evil.
So true it is, however, that the discontent of the people
is the only means of removing the defects of vicious go¬
vernments, that the freedom of the press, the main instru-
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
279
We may then ask, if there are any possible means by
e PHs. which the people can make a good choice, besides the
liberty of the press ? The very foundation of a good choice
is knowledge. The fuller and more perfect the know¬
ledge, the better the chance, where all sinister interest
is absent, of a good choice. How can the people receive
the most perfect knowledge relative to the characters of
those who present themselves to their choice, but by in¬
formation conveyed freely, and without reserve, from one
to another ?
There is another use of the freedom of the press, no
less deserving the most profound attention, that of mak¬
ing known the conduct of the individuals who have been
chosen. This latter service is of so much importance,
that upon it the whole value of the former depends.
This is capable of being rigidly demonstrated. No be¬
nefit is obtained by making choice of a man who is well
qualified to serve the people, and also well inclined to
serve them, if you place him in a situation in which he
will have preponderant motives to serve himself at their
expense.
If any set of men are chosen to wield the powers of
government, while the people have not the means of
knowing in what manner they discharge their duties, they
will have the means of serving themselves at the expense
of the people; and all the miseries of evil government
are the certain consequence.
Suppose the people to choose the members of the le¬
gislative assembly, with power of rechoosing or dismissing
them at short intervals; to what desirable end could
these powers be exercised, without the liberty of the press?
Suppose that any one of those whom they have chosen
has misconducted himself, or promoted, as far as depend¬
ed upon him, the ends of misgovernment, how are the
people to know that the powers with which they had in¬
trusted him had been treacherously employed ?
If they do not know, they will rechoose him, and that as
cordially as the man who has served them with the great¬
est fidelity. This they are under a deplorable necessity
of doing, even to be just; for, as they know no difference
between him and the best, it would be on their part ini¬
quity to make any. The consequences would be fatal.
If one man saw that he might promote misrule for his
own advantage, so would another; so of course would
they all. In these circumstances we see laid the founda¬
tion on which, in every country, bad government is reared.
On this foundation it is impossible that it should not be
reared. When the causes are the same, who can expect
that the effects will be different? It is unnecessary to
dwell upon these fundamental truths, because they have
already been developed in the article Government.
Without the knowledge, then, of what is done by their
representatives, in the use of the powers intrusted to
them, the people cannot profit by the power of choosing
them, and the advantages of good government are unat¬
tainable. It will not surely cost many words to satisfy
all classes of readers, that, without the free and unrestrain¬
ed use of the press, the requisite knowledge cannot be
obtained.
I hat an accurate report of what is done by each of
the representatives, a transcript of his speeches, and a
statement of his propositions and votes, is necessary to
be laid before the people, to enable them to judge of his
conduct, nobody, we presume, will deny. This requires
the use of the cheapest means of communication, and, we
add, the free use of those means. Unless every man has
t ie liberty of publishing the proceedings of the legisla¬
te e assembly, the people can have no security that they
aie fairly published. If it is in the power of their rulers
to permit one person, and forbid another, the people may
)e sure thtd a false report, that is, a report calculated to
make them believe that they are well governed when they Liberty of
are ill governed, will be often presented to them. the Press.
One thing more is necessary, and so necessary, that if -y'*-''
it is wanting, the other might as well be wanting also.
The publication of the proceedings tells what is done.
This, however, is useless, unless a correct judgment is
passed upon what is done.
We have brought this inquiry, then, to an important
point. In the article Government, we have seen that, un¬
less the people hold in their own hands an effectual power
of control on the acts of their government, the govern¬
ment will be inevitably vicious. We have now seen that
they cannot exercise this control to any beneficial pur¬
pose, without the means of forming a correct judgment
upon the conduct of their representatives. We have like¬
wise seen, that one of the means necessary to enable them
to judge correctly of the conduct of their representatives,
is the liberty to every body of publishing reports of what
they do. It remains to inquire by what other acts the
press can be made to contribute to the same desirable end.
What is wanted is, that all the people, or as many of
them as possible, should estimate correctly the conse¬
quences of the acts proposed or done by their representa¬
tives, and also that they should know what acts might
have been proposed, if the best were not proposed, from
which better consequences would have followed. This
end would be accomplished most effectually, if those who
are sufficiently enlightened would point out to those who
are in danger of mistakes, the true conclusions ; and, show¬
ing the weight of evidence to be in their favour, should
obtain for them the universal assent.
How is this to be accomplished ? In what manner are
those wise men to be chosen ? And who are to be the
choosers ? Directly the object cannot be attained. There
are no distinct and indubitable marks by which wisdom,
and less by which integrity, is to be known. And who is
to be trusted with the privilege of pointing them out ?
They whose judgment requires to be directed are not
well qualified to determine who shall direct them. And
if the rulers are to choose, they will employ none but
those who will act in conformity to their views, and en¬
able them to benefit themselves by the pillage and op¬
pression of the people.
As there is no possible organ of choice, no choice what¬
ever ought to be made. If no choice is to be made, every
man that pleases ought to be allowed. All this is indu¬
bitable. , The consequences of denying any part of it are
so obvious, that hardly any man, we suppose, will risk the
imputations to which such a denial would justly expose
him.
They who say that no choice ought to be made, say, in
effect, that no Ihnit whatsoever ought to be imposed upon
the liberty of the press. The one of these propositions
is involved in the other. To impose any restraint upon
the liberty of the press, is undoubtedly to make a choice.
If the restraint is imposed by the government, it is the
government that chooses the directors of the public mind.
If any government chooses the directors of the public
mind, that government is despotic.
Suppose that, by the restraint imposed upon the liberty
of the press, all censure of the government is forbidden";
here is undoubtedly a choice. The government, in this
case, virtually says, the people who might attempt the
task of directing the public mind are of two sorts ; one,
those who would censure; another, those who would not
censure ; I choose the latter.
Suppose that not every censure, but only such and such
kinds of censure, are forbidden; here, again, is still a
choice, while confessedly there is no party to whom the
power of choosing for the rest can with satiety be given.
If not every censure, but only some censures, are to be
280 LIBERTY OF
Liberty of forbidden, what are those to which the prohibition should
the Press- extend ? The answer to this question will elucidate near-
^ ly all that yet remains in any degree obscure, of the doc¬
trine of the liberty of the press.
It will not be said that any censure which is just should
be forbidden, because that would undoubtedly be to de¬
tract from the means of enabling the people to form cor¬
rect judgments ; and we have, we trust, rendered it indis¬
putable that no source of benefit to society is at all to be
compared with that of correct judgments, on their govern¬
ment and its functionaries, formed by the people, and de¬
termining their actions.
But what censures are just and what are unjust; in
other words, what are the conclusions which ought to be
formed respecting the properties and the acts of the go¬
vernment, is exactly the point to be determined. If you
say that no man is to pass an unjust censure upon the go¬
vernment, who is to judge? It is surely unnecessary to
repeat the proof of the proposition, that there is nobody
who can safely be permitted to judge. The path of prac¬
tical wisdom is as clear as day: all censures must be per¬
mitted equally, just and unjust.
Where various conclusions are formed among a num¬
ber of men, upon a subject on which it would be unsafe,
and therefore improper, to give any minor portion of them
a power of determining for the rest, only one expedient
remains. Fortunately, that is an expedient, the opera¬
tion of which is powerful, and its effects beneficial in the
highest degree. All the conclusions which have formed
themselves in the minds of different individuals should
be openly adduced, and the power of comparison and
choice should be gi'anted to all. Where there is no mo¬
tive to attach a man to error, it is natural to him to em¬
brace the truth ; especially if pains are taken to adapt
the explanation to his capacity. Every man possessed
of reason is accustomed to weigh evidence, and to be
guided and determined by its preponderance. When va¬
rious conclusions are, with their evidence, presented with
equal care and with equal skill, there is a moral certainty,
though some few may be misguided, that the greater
number will judge right, and that the greatest force of
evidence, wherever it is, will produce the greatest im¬
pression.
As this is a proposition upon which every thing de¬
pends, it is happy that the evidence of it should be so
very clear and striking. There is, indeed, hardly any
law of human nature more generally recognised, wherever
there is not a motive to deny its existence. “ To the
position of Tully, that if Virtue could be seen, she must
be loved, may be added,” says Dr Johnson, “ that if Truth
could be heard, she must be obeyed.” (Rambler, No.
87.) “ Je vous plains, mes Peres,” says M. Pascal to
the Jesuits, “ d’avoir recours a de tels remedes. Vous
croyez avoir la force et fimpunite : mais je crois avoir la
verite, et 1’innocence. C est une etrange et longue guerre
que celle ou la violence essaie d’opprimer la verite. Tons
les efforts de la violence ne peuvent affoiblir la verite, et
ne servent qu’a la relever davantage: toutes les lumieres
de la verite ne peuvent rien pour arreter la violence, et
ne font que 1’irriter encore plus. Quand la force combat
la force, la plus puissante detruit la moindre : quand 1’on
expose les discours aux discours, ceux qui sont veritables
et convainquants confondent et dissipent ceux qui n’ont
que la vanite et le mensonge.” (Lettres Provinciates, 12.)—
“ Reason, says Burke, “ clearly and manfully delivered,
has in itself a mighty force ; but reason, in the mouth of
legal authority, is, I may fairly say, irresistible.” (Letter
on a Regicide Peace?)
It is of importance to show how many of the greatest
men, of all aggs and countries, have borne testimony to
the prevalence of true over false conclusions, when both
THE PRESS.
are fairly offered to the human mind. “ Truth,” says Mr Libert !
Locke, “certainly would do well enough, if she were h
once left to shift for herself. She seldom has received,
and I fear never will receive, much assistance from the
power of great men, to whom she is but rarely known,
and more rarely welcome. She is not taught by laws,
nor has she any need of force to procure her entrance
into the minds of men.” (Letter on Toleration?) The
following is the emphatical language of Montesquieu:
“ La raison a un empire naturel; elle a meme un empire i
tyrannique: on lui resiste, mais cette resistance est son
triomphe, encore un peu de temps, et 1’on sera force de
revenir a elle.” (Esprit de Loix, 1. xxviii. ch. 38.) “ It
is noted out of Cicero, by Machiavel, that the people,
though they are not so prone to find out truth of them¬
selves, as to follow custom, or run into error, yet if they
be shown truth, they not only acknowledge and embrace
it very suddenly, but are the most constant and faithful
guardians and conservators of it.” (Harrington?) “The I
labour of a confutation,” says Chillingworth, “ I have not
in any place found such labour or difficulty, but that it
was undertakeable by a man of very mean abilities; and
the reason is, because it is Truth I plead for; which is
so strong an argument for itself, that it needs only light
to discover it.” (Religion of Protestants?) “ About things
on which the public thinks long,” says Dr Johnson, “ it
commonly attains to think right.” (Life of Addism?) j
“ The adversary,” says Dr Campbell, “ is both subtile
and powerful. With such an adversary, I should on very
unequal terms enter the lists, had I not the advantage of
being on the side of truth. And an eminent advantage
this doubtless is. It requires but moderate abilities to
speak in defence of a good cause. A good caus$ demands
but a distinct exposition, and a fair hearing ; and we may
say, with great propriety, it will speak for itself.” (Camp¬
bell on Miracles, Introd.)
We have, then, arrived at the following important con¬
clusions, viz. that there is no safety to the people in allowing
any body to choose opinions for them ; that there are no
marks by which it can be decided beforehand, what opi¬
nions are true and what are false ; that there must, there¬
fore, be equal freedom of declaring all opinions, both true
and false ; and that, when all opinions, true and false, are
equally declared, the assent of the greater number, when
their interests are not opposed to them, may always be ex¬
pected to be given to the true. These principles, the
foundation of which appears to be impregnable, suffice for
the speedy determination of every practical question.
All censure thrown upon the government, all censure
thrown either upon the institutions of the government, or
upon the conduct of any of the functionaries of govern¬
ment, supreme or subordinate, has a tendency to produce
resistance to the government.
Of the censures thrown upon government, some may
have a tendency to produce resistance to the operations of
government in detail; others that general resistance which
has in view some great alteration in the government.
Of the first sort would be any such accusation of the
conduct and disposition of a judge, as might excite the
people, whose sympathies were roused in favour of the in¬
dividual against whom his sentence was to operate, to res¬
cue him from the officers of justice. We have already
shown that such a rescue ought to be punished, and any
direct exhortation to it ought to be punished. It will now
be evident, we trust, that no censure on the judge, though
capable of being treated as an indirect exhortation, ought
to be punished.
The reason is conclusive. The people ought to know,
if possible, the real qualities of the actions of those who
are intrusted with any share in the management of their
affairs. This they have no chance of knowing, without the
A"*
(
(
i
i
i
t
(
i
t
i
i
a
o
o
J
i
a
o
ii
k
o
t<
»
fi
ti
artjif unlimited power of censure upon those actions, both in the question is, whether they have performed them ? One Liberty of
'ijprrti- gross and detail. To see the full force of these proposi- man affirms that they have. Is that to be taken for granted ? the Press,
tions, it is only necessary to apply the principles which And is no man to be allowed to affirm the contrary, and to
have been already established. sift the grounds upon which the allegations of the other
If the people have not the means of knowing the actions man are supported ? It is by weighing well the evidence
of all public functionaries, they have no security for the on both sides that a well-founded opinion is capable of be-
good conduct even of their representatives. Suppose it is ing formed. And it is certain, that the best security for
the duty of their representatives to watch the conduct of having the evidence on both sides fully adduced, and the
the judges, and secure the perfection of judicature, the strength and weakness of it perfectly disclosed, is by per-
people cannot know whether their representatives perform mitting all those who are attached to different opinions to
this duty, unless they know what the conduct of the judges do what they can for the support of them,
is. Ignorance of this would of itself suffice to vitiate the go- If it is evident that it ought not to be permitted to speak
vernment. ^ A door would be left open, through which the evil of public functionaries without limit, while any limit is
put to the power of speaking well of them; it is equally
evident that, for the purpose of forming a correct opinion
of their conduct, it ought not to be permitted to speak well
of them, and oppose any limit whatsoever to the power of
speaking ill of them.
It ought not to be permitted to speak evil of them with¬
out an equal liberty of speaking well; because, in that case,
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
281
rulers might benefit themselves at the expense of the
people. All the profit to be made by an abuse of the
power of justice, would thus become the profit of the re¬
presentatives, by whom it would be allowed and encou¬
raged, as far as the knowledge which they could not with¬
hold from the people would permit.
That the people ought, therefore, to know the conduct
of their judges, and when we say judges we mean every the evidence against them might be made to appear much
other functionary,^ and the more perfectly the better, may stronger than it was. It ought not to be permitted to
be laid down as indubitable. They are deprived of all speak well of them without an equal liberty of speaking ill;
trust-worthy means of knowing, if any limit whatsoever is
placed to the power of censure.
All censure consists in the delivery of an unfavourable
opinion, with or without the grounds of it. This is the
essence of censure. But if the conduct of the judge de¬
serves that an unfavourable opinion should be entertained
of it, the more perfectly that is known to the people the
better.
The conduct of the judge, on this occasion, says a de¬
fender, does not deserve an unfavourable opinion. A pub¬
lic expression of such an opinion ought, therefore, to be
prohibited. But there are occasions on which the conduct
of judges deserves an unfavourable opinion. When it is
deserved, there is no security for good government, unless
it is allowed to be made known. How can you allow an
unfavourable opinion to be delivered in the one case, and
not delivered in the other ? To have the benefit of it in
the one case, you must submit to the evil of it in the
other.
In matters of Government, undeserved Praise is as mischie¬
vous as undeserved Blame.
As the real point of importance is, to establish correct
opinions in the minds of the people, it is as mischievous to
inculcate a favourable opinion when an unfavourable is de¬
served, as an unfavourable when a favourable is deserved ;
and, in the eye of reason, it is incontrovertible, that, if the
one deserves to be prevented by punishment, so does the
other.
But if an unfavourable opinion is pronounced of any
public functionary—of a judge, for example—would you
have it left uncontradicted ? Would you not grant the li¬
berty of calling in question the truth of the allegations,
and of supporting a different opinion ? If not, the charac¬
ter of no public functionary would be safe, and any man,
iiowever deserving, might be made to appear the proper
object of the most unfavourable sentiments. Why should
not the two cases be treated equally ? Why should not the
favourable, as well as the unfavourable opinion, be open to
contradiction.
It is perfectly certain, that it is not in the power of law
to mark out, by antecedent definition, any sort of men, of
I' 'om it can say, all opinions favourable to such men shall
,)e Punished. It can never be affirmed of any men before-
iund, that they will certainly perform such and such inju¬
rious actions. If they do not perform them, all declara¬
tions conformable with the matter of fact are good. But
vol. xm.
because, in that case, the evidence in favour of them
might be made to appear much greater than it really was.
In either case, the people would be misguided, and de¬
frauded of that moral knowledge of the conduct of their
rulers, the paramount importance of which has so fully ap¬
peared.
It may be said (as by the short-sighted, if we did not
anticipate them, it would be said), that if, by limiting the
power of censure, the people are made to judge more fa¬
vourably of their rulers than they deserve, the evil is small;
but if they are permitted to form a very unfavourable opi¬
nion, the consequences are alarming.
We believe it may be rigidly demonstrated, that no
evils are greater than those which result from a more fa¬
vourable opinion of their rulers, on the part of the people,
than their rulers deserve; because just as far as that undue
favour extends, bad government is secured. By an opi¬
nion of their rulers more favourable than they deserve, is
implied an ignorance on the part of the people of certain
acts of their rulers by which the people suffer. All acts by
which the rulers have any motive to make the people suf¬
fer, are acts by which the rulers profit. When the igno¬
rance of the people extends to material points, all the evils
of bad government are secured. These are the greatest of
all possible evils. To this it will not be said that the ig¬
norance of the people ought to extend. On all material
points, it is admitted, then, that the freedom of censure
ought to be complete. But if it is to be allowed on great
points, on those where it is calculated to excite the great¬
est disapprobation ; what can be thought of their consis¬
tency, who would restrain it on those where it is only cal¬
culated to excite a small ? If it is proper to protect the
people from great injuries at the hands of their rulers, by
exciting a strong, it is good to protect them against small
injuries, by exciting a weak disapprobation.
To public functionaries may be imputed either acts
which they have not performed, or a want of certain qua¬
lifications, moral or intellectual, which they ought to pos¬
sess.
With respect to acts, and even dispositions, which do
not, either directly or indirectly, concern their public func¬
tion, the same protection may be safely extended to them
as to private men.
Acts, in their public capacity, which they have not per-
forijied, may be imputed to them either by mere forgery,
and without any appearance of ground, or they may be im¬
puted with some appearance of ground. From permitting
the former, no good can be derived. They ought, there-
2 N
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
282
Liberty of fore, to be prevented, in the same way as false imputations,
the Press. injur;0US individuals in their private capacity. That
^ There should be no restraint in imputing actions to any
public functionary which he may appear to have done,
flows immediately from the principles already established,
and requires not that any thing should here be added to
its proof. Any appearance sufficient to lay the. foundation
of the slightest suspicion, renders it useful to call the at¬
tention of the public to the suspected part, which can only
be done by making the suspicion known, A man may,
indeed, publish, as a matter of fact, what is supported by
appearances which would only justify the slightest suspi¬
cion. In that case, he is sure of incurring the disgrace of
temerity, if not of malignity; and this is all the penalty
which needs or can safely be inflicted upon him.
In imputing inaptitude to a public functionary, on the
score either of intellectual or moral qualities, scarcely any
limitation would be safe. Every man ought to have liber¬
ty to declare upon this subject any opinion which he
pleases, and support it by any evidence which he may
think adapted to the end. If, in supporting his opinion of
the inaptitude of any public functionary, he imputes to him
actions which there is not even an appearance of his hav¬
ing performed, that limited prohibition, the propriety of
which we have just recognised, will strictly apply. With
this exception, freedom should be unimpaired.
We have now, therefore, explained, we hope sufficiently,
in what manner the principles which we have established
require that the use of the press should be regulated in
speaking of the actions of public functionaries, and of their
fitness for the duties which they are appointed to discharge,
whether those functionaries are the immediate representa¬
tives of the people, or others whom it is the business of
those representatives to control.
Freedom of Censure on the Institutions of Government is
necessary for the good of the People.
We have next to inquire in what manner those princi¬
ples require that the use of the press should be regulated
in speaking of the institutions of government. The illus¬
trations already adduced will supersede the use of many
words upon this part of the subject.
Institutions of government are good in proportion as
they save the people from evil. Institutions of government
are bad in proportion as they are the cause of evil to the
people, either by what they create, or what they fail in
preventing.
According to this statement, which it is impossible to
controvert, institutions of government may, in strict pro¬
priety of speech, be said to be the cause of all the evil
which they do not save the people from, and from which
the people would be saved by any other institutions.
It is therefore of the highest importance that the people
should know what are the institutions which save from the
greatest quantity of evil, and how much their own institu¬
tions want of being those best institutions.
Institutions of government are bad, either because those
in whose hands the powers of government are placed, do
not know that they are bad, and, though willing, cannot
improve them ; or they are bad, because those who have in
their hands the powers of government do not wish that
they should be improved.
When the rulers are willing, but do not know how to
improve the institutions of government, every thing which
leads to a knowledge of their defects is desirable to both
rulers and people. That which most certainly leads to such
knowledge is, that every man who thinks he understands
any thing of the subject, should produce his opinions, with
the evidence on which they are supported, and that every
man who disapproves of these opinions should state his ob¬
jections. All the knowledge which all the individuals inLiU
the society possess upon the subject is thus brought, as the j!
it were, to a common stock or treasury; while every thing ^
which has the appearance of being knowledge, but is only
a counterfeit of knowledge, is assayed and rejected. Every
subject has the best chance of becoming thoroughly under¬
stood, when, by the delivery of all opinions, it is presented
in all points of view; when all the evidence upon both sides
is brought forward, and all those who are most interested
in showing the weakness of what is weak in it, and the
strength of what is strong, are, by the freedom of the
press, permitted, and by the warmth of discussion excited,
to devote to it the keenest application of their faculties.
False opinions will then be delivered. True; but when
are we most secure against the influence of false opinions?
Most assuredly when the grounds of those opinions are the
most thoroughly searched. When are the grounds of opi¬
nions most thoroughly searched ? When discussion upon
the subject is the most general and the most intense;
when the greatest number of qualified persons engage in
the discussion, and are excited by all the warmth of com¬
petition, and all the interest of important consequences, to
study the subject with the deepest attention. To give a
body of rulers, or any other body of men, a power of
choosing, for the rest, opinions upon government, without
discussion, we have already seen, upon good evidence, is
the way to secure the prevalence of the most destructive
errors.
When institutions are bad, and the rulers would gladly
change them if they knew they were bad, discussion, it
will not be disputed, would be good for both parties, rulers
and ruled. There is, however, another case, and that by
far the most common, where the rulers are attached to the
bad institutions, and are disposed to do all in their power
to prevent any alteration. This is the case with all in¬
stitutions which leave it in the power of the men who are
intrusted with the powers of government, to make use of
them for their own advantage, to the detriment of the peo¬
ple ; in other words, which enable them to do injury to the
people, or prevent the people from good. This is the
case with by far the greater number of those institutions
by which the people suffer. They are institutions con¬
trived for benefiting the few at the cost of the many.
With respect, therefore, to the greater number of defec¬
tive institutions, it is the interest of the rulers that true
opinions should not prevail. But with respect to those in¬
stitutions, it is of still greater importance to the people that
discussion should be free. Such institutions as the rulers
would improve, if they knew that they were defective, will
be improved as the rulers themselves become sensible of
their defects. Such defective institutions as the rulers
would not wish to see improved, will never be improved,
unless the knowledge of those defects is diffused among
the people, and excites among them a disapprobation which
the rulers do not think it prudent to disregard.
That the prevalence of true opinions among the people,
relative to those defects in their political institutions, by
which the rulers profit at their expense, is of the utmost
importance to the people, is therefore a proposition which
no improbity will dare openly to controvert. That freedom
of discussion is the only security which the people can
have for the prevalence of true opinions, has already been
proved. It is therefore proved, that freedom of discussion,
in its utmost perfection, they ought to enjoy.
What is included in the term, freedom of discussion, is
evident from what has already been said.
Freedom of discussion means the power of presenting
all opinions equally, relative to the subject of discussion;
and of recommending them by any medium of persuasion
which the author may think proper to employ. If any ob¬
struction is given to the delivering of one sort of opinions,
i
s
0
5
a
tl
t!
ft
!)i
if
tl
II
cl
pt
t!i
m
to
plf
pti
rep
to
prs
5'
m
el
sect
it
’il,
ter
peat
| ofo
toll
Otic
tree
talse
lejf
pres
pool
T.
Io
sea
ketti
ftoii
tali
asa;
{*po
oflit
Firii
ffess
h
h\
am
ifiK
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
y-ty ’ not given to the delivering of another; if any advantage is
Pte attached to the delivering of one sort of opinions, not at-
Hr^tached to the delivery of another ; so far equality of treat¬
ment is destroyed, and so far the freedom of discussion is in¬
fringed ; so far truth is not left to the support of her own
evidence; and so far, if the advantages are attached to the
side of error, truth is deprived of her chance of prevailing.
To attach advantage to the delivering of one set of
opinions, disadvantage to the delivering of another, is to
make a choice. But we have already seen, that it is not
safe for the people to let any body choose opinions for
them. If it be said, that the people themselves might be
the authors of this preference, what is this but to say, that
the people can choose better before discussion than after ;
before they have obtained information than after it ? No ;
if the people choose before discussion, before information,
they cannot choose for themselves. They must follow
blindly the impulse of certain individuals, who, therefore,
choose for them. This is, therefore, a pretence, for the
purpose of disguising the truth, and cheating the people of
that choice, upon which all their security for good govern¬
ment depends.
If these deductions are as clear and incontrovertible as
to us they appear to be, the inquiry respecting the princi¬
ples which ought to regulate the use of the press is drawn
pretty nearly to its close. We have shown that, as far as
regards the violation of the rights of individuals, in respect
to both persons and things, no definition on account of the
press is required. We have shown in what manner the
’ights of individuals, in regard to reputation, should be de-
ined by the civil code, and the violation of them prevent¬
ed by the penal. We next proceeded to what may be con-
iidered as the main branch of the inquiry, namely, the use
)f the press in speaking of the institutions and functionaries
if government. We have found that, in this respect, the
reedom of the press is of such importance, that there is no
security for good government without it. We have also
bund, that the use of it, in respect to those subjects, ad-
nits of but two useful restrictions, that of a direct exhorta-
ion to obstruct any of the operations of government in de¬
ad, and that of imputing to a functionary of government
criminal act, which there was no ground, nor even an app¬
earance of ground, to impute to him. These restrictions,
f course, it would be very easy to define in the criminal
ode, and to find appropriate motives to sanction. In all
ther respects, we have seen that the press ought to be
•ee; that if there is any limit to the power of delivering
nfavourable opinions respecting either the functionaries
r the institutions of government, and of recommending
lose opinions by any media, with the single exception of
ilse facts, under the circumstances mentioned above, the
enefits which may be derived from the freedom of the
mss are so greatly infringed, that hardly any security for
I sod government can remain.
283
—limitations to freedom of discussion, which
INVOLVE ITS DESTRUCTION.
In the administration of English law, or rather of what
II called law, upon this subject, without being any thing
itter than the arbitrary will of the judges, it is said, that
ough discussion should be free, it should be “ decent
id that all “ indecency” in discussion should be punished
a libel. It is not our object in this discourse to give an
j position of the manifold deformities of the English law
libel. If we have been successful in developing the true
mciples which ought to regulate the freedom of the
j ess, every reader may, by an application of those princi-
lyS, determine what he ought to think of the several par-
• ‘mars which there may attract his attention. We shall
confine ourselves to a short notice of those dicta, or doc- Liberty of
trines, which seem most likely to be pleaded, in opposition the Press,
to the principles which we have endeavoured to establish. •v—-"
The question is, whether indecent discussion should be
prohibited? To answer this question, we must, of course,
inquire, what is meant by indecent.
In English libel law, where this term holds so distin¬
guished a place, is it not defined ?
English legislators have not hitherto been good at de¬
fining ; and English lawyers have always vehemently con¬
demned, and grossly abused it. The word “ indecent,^
therefore, has always been a term under which it was not
difficult, on each occasion, for the judge to include what¬
ever he did not like. “ Decent,” and “ what the judge
likes,” have been pretty nearly synonymous,
Indecency of discussion cannot mean the delivery either
of true or of false opinions, because discussion implies
both. In all discussion there is supposed at least two par¬
ties, one who affirms, and one who denies. One of them
must be in the wrong.
The delivery, though not of all true opinions, yet of
some, may be said to be indecent. All opinions are either
favourable or unfavourable. True opinions that are fa¬
vourable to government and its functionaries will not be
said to be indecent; nor will all opinions that are true
and unfavourable be marked out for prohibition under
that name. Opinions unfavourable may either be greatly
unfavourable or slightly unfavourable. If any unfavour¬
able opinions are exempted from the charge of indecency,
it must be those which are slightly so. But observe what
would be the consequence of prohibiting, as indecent,
those which are greatly unfavourable. A true opinion,
greatly unfavourable to a functionary, or institution, of
government, is an opinion that the functionary, or institu¬
tion, is greatly hurtful to the people. You would permit
the slight evil to be spoken of, and hence removed; you
would not permit the great evil to be spoken of.
If no true opinion can be regarded as indecent, mean-
ing by indecent, requiring we must inquire if
any false opinion on matters of government ought to be
treated as such. If all false opinions are indecent, all
discussion is indecent. All false opinions, therefore, are
not indecent. The English libel law does not treat any
favourable opinions, how much soever false, as indecent.
If all opinions that are false and unfavourable are said to
be indecent, who is to judge if they are false ? It has
been already proved, that the people can confide the
power of determining what opinions are true, what are
false, to none but themselves. Nothing can resist the
following argument. Either the people do know, or they
do not know, that an opinion is false: if they do not know,
they can permit nobody to judge for them, and must leave
discussion its free course : if they do know, all infliction of
evil for the delivery of an opinion which then can do no
harm, would be purely mischievous and utterly absurd.
If ail opinions, true and false, must be allowed to be de¬
livered, so must all the media of proof. We need not ex¬
amine minutely the truth of this inference, because it will
probably be allowed. It- will be said, however, that though
all opinions may be delivered, and the grounds of them
stated, it must be done in calm and gentle language.
Vehement expressions, all words and phrases calculated
to inflame, may justly be regarded as indecent, because
they have a tendency rather to pervert than rectify the
judgment.
To examine this proposition, it must be taken out of
that state of vagueness in which so many things are left
by the English law, and made, if possible, to speak a lan¬
guage, the meaning of which may be ascertained^
We have just decided, and, as it appeared, on very sub- '
stantial grounds, that the statement of no opinion, favour-
284 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
Liberty of able or unfavourable, true or false, with its media of proof, and commiserate the sufferers ; that I think he ought toLi^M
the Press.ought to be forbidden. No language necessary for that be punished; and that other people ought to feel as I do.the
purpose can be indecent, meaning here, as before, no- It cannot be pretended, that between these two modes of'S~Y'
thing by that term, as nothing can be meant, but simply expression, the difference, in point of real and ultimate
punishable, or proper for punishment. effect, can be considerable. For a momentary warmth,
But the only difference between delivering an opinion the passionate language may have considerable power,
one way and another way is, that in the one case it is The permanent opinion formed of the character of the
simply delivered, in the other it is delivered with indica- man, as well as the punishment, which, under a tolerable
tions of passion. The meaning of the phrase in question administration of law, he can sustain, must depend whol-
then must be, that an opinion must not be delivered with ly upon the real state of the facts ; any peculiarity in the
indications of passion. language in which the facts may have been originally an-
What! not even a favourable one ? nounced soon loses its effect. If that language has ex.
“ Oh, yes ; a favourable one. Merited praise ought to pressed no more indignation than what was really due, it
be delivered with warmth.” has done nothing more than what the knowledge of the
Here, then, is inequality, and therefore mischief, at facts themselves would have done. If it has expressed
once. An opinion, meaning here a time opinion, if it is more indignation than what was due, the knowledge of
favourable, you allow, if unfavourable, you do not allow, the facts operates immediately to extinguish it, and, what
to be delivered in a certain way. Why? Because in is more, to excite an unfavourable opinion of him who had
that way, you say, it is calculated to make an undue im- thus displayed his intemperance. No evil then is produ-
pression. Opinions favourable, then, you wish to make ced, or none but what is very slight and momentary. If
an undue impression, and by that confess the wickedness there should be a short-lived excess of unfavourable feel-
of your intention. You desire that the people should ing, we have next to consider what is the proper remedy,
think better of the institutions and functionaries of their Punishment should never be applied where the end can
government than they deserve; in other words, you wish be obtained by more desirable means. To desire any ex-
the government to be bad. cess of unfavourable feeling, all that is necessary is to
If opinions, to what degree soever unfavourable, may show the precise state of the facts, and the real amount
be freely and fully delivered, there are two conclusive rea- of the evil which they import. All excess of feeling
sons why the terms in which they are delivered should arises from imputing to the facts a greater efficacy in the
not be liable to punishment. In the first place, the dif- way of evil than belongs to them. Correct this opinion,
ference between one mode of delivery and another is of and the remedy is complete.
little consequence. In the second place, you cannot for- Secondly, you cannot forbid the use of passionate lan-
bid the delivery in one set of terms, without giving a yuaye, without giving a power of obstructing the use of cmso-
power of preventing it in almost all. rial language altogether. The reason exists in the very
First, the difference is of little consequence. If I say nature of language. You cannot speak of moral acts in
barely that such a functionary of government, or such an language which does not imply approbation and disappro-
institution of government, is the cause of great injury bation. All such language may be termed passionate lan-
and suffering to the people, all that I can do more by any guage. How can you point out a line where passionate
language is, to give intimation, that the conduct of such language begins, dispassionate ends ? The effect of words
functionary, or the existence of such institution, excites upon the mind depends upon the associations which we
in me great contempt, or great anger, or great hatred, have with them. But no two men have the same asso-
and ought to excite them in others. But if I put this in ciations with the same words. A word which may excite
the way of a direct proposition, I may do so, because then strains of emotion in one breast, will excite none in ano-
it will be a naked statement with regard to a matter of ther. A word may appear to one man a passionate word,
fact, and cannot be forbidden, without overthrowing the which does not appear so to another. Suppose the legis-
whole of the doctrine which we have already established, lature were to say, that all censure, conveyed in passion-
If, then, I give indication of certain sentiments of mine, ate language, shall be punished, hardly could the vices
and of my opinion of what ought to be the sentiments of of either the functionaries or the institutions of govern-
others explicitly, I ought, you say, to be held innocent; ment be spoken of in any language which the judges
if implicitly, guilty^. Implicitly, or explicitly, that is the might not condemn as passionate language, and which
difference, and the whole of the difference. If I say, they would not have an interest, in league with other
that such a judge, on such an occasion, took a bribe, and functionaries, to prohibit by their condemnation. The
pronounced an unjust decision, which ruined a meritorious evil, therefore, which must of necessity be incurred by a
man and his family, this is a simple declaration of opinion, power to punish language to which the name of passion-
and ought not, according to the doctrine already establish- ate could be applied, would be immense. The evil which
ed, to meet with the smallest obstruction. If I also state is incurred by leaving it exempt from punishment is too
the matter of fact with regard to myself, that this action insignificant to allow that almost any thing should be
has excited in me great compassion for the injured family, risked for preventing it.
and great anger and hatred against the author of their Religion, in some of its shapes, has, in most countries,
wrongs, this must be fully allowed. I must further be al- been placed on the footing of an institution of the state,
lowed to express freely my opinion, that this action ought Ought the freedom of the press to be as complete, in ve¬
to excite similar sentiments in other members of the com- gard to this, as we have seen that it ought to be, in regard
munity, and that the judge ought to receive an appropri- to all other institutions of the state ? If any one says
ate punishment. Much of all this, however, I may say in that it ought not, it is incumbent upon him to show where-
another manner. I may say it much more shortly by in the principles, which are applicable to the other institu*
implication. Here, I may cry, is an act for the indigna- tions, fail in their application to this,
tion of mankind. Here is a villain, who, invested with We have seen, that, in regard to all other institutions,
the most sacred of trusts, has prostituted it to the vilest it is unsafe for the people to permit any but themselves
of purposes. Why is he not an object of public execra- to choose opinions for them. Nothing can be more cer-
tion ? Why are not the vials of wrath already poured tain, than that it is unsafe for them to permit any but
forth upon his odious head ? All this means nothing, but themselves to choose for them in religion,
that he has committed the act; that 1 hate him for it, If they part with the power of choosing their own reli*
L I B
jiterv gious opinions, they part with every power. It is well
11| ' known with what ease religious opinions can be made to
Varie; every thing upon which the unlimited power of
riV" rulers, and the utmost degradation of the people, depend.
1 j'ke doctrine of ■passive obedience and non-resistance was
3 a religious doctrine. Permit any man, or any set of men,
t(1 to say what shall, and what shall not, be religious opinions,
you make them despotic immediately.
LIB 285
This is so obvious, that it requires neither illustration Libra
nor proof. . I!
But if the people here, too, must choose opinions for them- Jj*branes;
selves, discussion must have its course ; the same proposi-
tions which we have proved to be true in regard to other
institutions, are true in regard to this ; and no opinion ought
to be impeded more than another, by any thing but the
adduction of evidence on the opposite side. (a. a. a.)
an
at'
'lit
Tf
ie
til
il
R(
Ju
tk
tat
i
C3[
wi(
pre
tie
at
tod
tec
n
tat
sal
alt
at
pro
II
of
to:
till
tie
Jet
tor
Liberty, in Mythology, was a goddess worshipped both
amongst the Greeks and the Romans. Amongst the former
she was invoked under the title Eleutheria ; by the latter
she was called Libertas, and held in singular veneration.
Temples, altars, and statues were erected in honour of this
deity ; and there was consecrated to her on the Aventine
hill by Tiberius Gracchus, a magnificent temple, before
which was a spacious court called atrium libertatis. The
Romans also erected a temple in honour of Liberty, when
Julius Caesar established his supremacy over them, as if
their liberty had been secured by an event which proved
fatal to its existence. In a medal of Brutus, Liberty is ex¬
hibited under the figure of a woman, holding in one hand a
cap, the symbol of liberty, and in the other two poniards,
with the inscription idibvs Martiis.
LIBITINA, in the Roman mythology, the goddess who
presided over funerals. This goddess was the same with
the Venus Infera or Epithymbia of the Greeks. She had
a temple at Rome, where a certain piece of money was
lodged for every person who died, and whose name was
recorded in a register called Libitince Ratio. This practice
was established by Servius Tullius, to obtain an account of
the annual number of deaths in the city of Rome, and con¬
sequently the rate of increase or decrease of its inhabitants.
LIBITINARII, were undertakers whose office it was to
take care of funerals, prepare all things necessary upon this
solemn occasion, and furnish every article required. They
obtained their livelihood by this gloomy business, and kept
a number of servants to perform the working part of the
profession, such as the pollinctores, vespillones, and others.
The name Libitinarii is derived from Libitina, the goddess
of funerals, in whose temple were sold all things relating
to funerals. See Funeral.
LIBNA, in Ancient Geography, a sacerdotal city in the
tribe of Judah, a place of strength, as appears from Senna¬
cherib’s laying siege to it (2 Kings, xix.; Isaiah, xxxvii.). In
Jerome’s time, it was a village, called Lobna, in the terri¬
tory of Eleutheropolis.
LIBOURNE, an arrondissement of the department of
the Gironde, in France, 544 square miles in extent. It
comprehends nine cantons, which are divided into 143
communes, and contain 105,400 inhabitants. The capital
is the city of the same name, situated on the right bank of
the Dordogne, where the water of the river Isle falls into
it. It is surrounded with walls and pleasing promenades,
and contains 900 houses and 8400 inhabitants, whose chief
occupations consist in making woollen goods, porcelain,
glass and leather, and collecting salt and wine. Long. 0.
21. W. Lat. 44. 55. N.
LIBRA, or Balance, one of the mechanical powers.
See Balance.
Libra, in Astronomy, one of the twelve signs of the zo¬
diac, exactly opposite to Aries, and so called because when
the sun is in this sign at the autumnal equinox, the days
and nights are equal, as if weighed in a balance. The stars
in this constellation are, according to Ptolemy 17, to Tycho
10, to Hevelius 20, and to Flamsteed 51.
Libra also denotes the ancient Roman pound, borrowed
from the Sicilians, who called it litra.
The libra was divided into 12 uncice or ounces, and the
ounce into 24 scruples. The divisions of the libra were,
the uncia, one twelfth ; the sextans, one sixth; the qua-
drans, one fourth ; the triens, one third ; the quincunx, five
ounces; the semis, six ; the septunx, seven ; the bes, eight;
the dodrans, nine; the dextrans, ten ; and the deunx, eleven;
whilst the as weighed twelve ounces or one libra.
The Roman libra was used in France for the proportions
of their coin till the time of Charlemagne, or perhaps till
that of Philip I. in 1093, their sols being so proportioned that
20 of them were equal to the libra. By degrees it became
a term of account; and every thing of the value of twenty
sols was called a livre.
Libra Pensa, in our law books, denotes a pound of money
in weight. It was'usual in former days not only to tell the
money, but to weigh it, because many cities, lords, and bi¬
shops, having their mints, coined money, and often very
bad money too; for which reason, though the pound con¬
sisted of twenty shillings, they always weighed it.
LIBRARII, amongst the ancients, were a sort of copyists
who transcribed in beautiful or at least legible characters,
what had been written by the notarii in notes and abbre¬
viations.
LIBRARIES.
me
Dpi
k
tile
of
cul
Cot
tile
eat
ai1]
Library, in common language, means either an apart¬
ment or edifice destined to contain books placed regularly
upon shelves, or the books themselves which are therein
disposed and arranged. It is in the latter sense only that
the term is employed in the present article. The necessity
of preserving, in distinct forms, writings relating to parti¬
cular subjects, first led to the formation of books; and the
convenience of being able to compare different writings on
the same subject, or to consult various writings on differ¬
ent subjects, naturally suggested the assemblage of books,
any considerable collection of which constitutes a librarjL
Hence in almost all parts of the world where civiliza¬
tion has made any considerable progress, traces may be
discovered of the existence of libraries. At the period of
the Spanish invasion of South America, for instance, em¬
blems or pictural representations were employed instead
of writing, letters being wholly unknown ; in Yucatan and
Honduras there were books composed of the leaves of
trees; and in the kingdom of Mexico the natives had a
library, histories, and calendars, in which they painted
such things as had proper figures by their natural repre¬
sentations, and such as had none, by means of various other
286
LIBRARIES.
Origin of
libraries.1
I ihrvriU c iarac^ers’ 80 that they expressed in this way whatever
i ^ ‘ they pleased.1 This may be considered as a library in its
earliest stage ; for all those which are described as having
belonged to the ancients were composed of rolls, which,
though different in form from our books, supplied the
place of them, and, when collected, constituted a library,
even in the modern acceptation of that term.
The origin of libraries is involved in obscurity. According
to some, the distinction of having first made collections of
writings belongs to the Hebrews ; but others ascribe this
honour to the Egyptians. Those who support the former
opinion contend that the care which the Hebrews bestow¬
ed in preserving their sacred books, in which the history
and fortunes of their ancestors, as well as their laws, were
recorded, became an example to other nations; whilst those
who hold the latter opinion maintain that, as the civilization
and learning of Egypt were of much higher antiquity than
in almost any other country with the history of which we
are acquainted, and as the art of writing was known and
practised therein from the earliest times, indeed long be¬
fore knowledge had dawned amongst any other people, so
it may be presumed that collections of books first began to
be made in that region where the art of writing seems to
have been originally invented* This question, however, is
not one which it is of importance to discuss. It is suffi¬
cient to observe, that, in ancient Egypt, the priests ap¬
pear, from the earliest times, to have kept records or ar¬
chives, in a character expressly appropriated for the pur¬
pose, and hence called hieratic or sacerdotal; that con¬
sequently every sacred college contained a library, com¬
posed in part at least of such archives; and that, besides,
they had written books, in which were inscribed all the
knowledge, whether of science or of art, which had either
descended to them from their predecessors, or had been
the fruit of their own labour and research.
I. ANCIENT LIBRARIES.
As the earliest form of the graphic art appears to have
consisted in inscribing or engraving characters on stone,
metal, wood, or other durable substance, so the first pub¬
lic libraries were composed exclusively of archives depo¬
sited in the temples, that the acts relating to history and
public law might there be preserved. This will be found
to hold true almost universally. Men invariably begin
with what is absolutely necessary to their well-being ; and
it is only after the lapse of a long interval that time and
the progress of improvement add the useful to the neces¬
sary, and the ornamental to the useful.
Libraries Osymandyas, one of the ancient kings of Egypt,2 * is said
ot the ^ to have been the first who founded a library, and esta-
Lgyptians. blished it in a division or compartment of the edifice which
has sometimes been called his palace and sometimes his
tomb. On the entrance was inscribed the words, fuYtjg
largs/ov, Medicine of the Soul; whilst the sculptures upon
the walls represented a judge, with the image of truth sus¬
pended from his neck, and many books or rolls lying be¬
fore him. Such is the account given by Diodorus,^ who
had himself visited Egypt, but who merely mentions the
fact, without giving us any information as to its contents.
It probably contained works of very remote antiquity, and
also the books accounted sacred by the Egyptians, all of
which perished amidst the destructive ravages which ac¬
companied and followed the Persian invasion under Cam-
1 Herrera, decade ii. book ix. c. 4.
^ Sodoru^SlusTlib-T. elf 600 after the DelUge’ °r ab0Ut the year of the world 2250-
4 Encyclopedic, tom. & zxt.miioMque ; Joseph. Ant. Jud. lib. xii. c. 2.
Athenaeus, lib. 1. c. 4, ed. Schweighaeuser. e Upwards of L.3000 sterling.
byses. There was also, according to Eustathius and other 1
ancient writers, a fine library at Memphis, deposited in the LiW
temple of Phtha, from which Homer has been accused of W
having stolen both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and after¬
wards published them as his own. (See the article Ho¬
mer.) From this charge, however, the bard has been vin¬
dicated by various writers, and by different arguments.
But the most superb library of Egypt, perhaps of'the
ancient world, was the one founded by Ptolemy Soter, at
Alexandria, and enriched by successive sovereigns of that
country. About the year 290 b. c. Ptolemy Soter, a learn¬
ed prince, founded an academy at Alexandria, called the
Museum, where there assembled a society of learned men,
who were devoted to the study of philosophy and the scien¬
ces ; and for their use he formed a collection of books, the
number of which has been variously computed, by Epipha-
nius at 54,000, and by Josephus at 200,000.4 His son
Ptolemy Philadelphus, an equally liberal and enlightened
prince, collected great numbers of books in the temple of
Serapis, in addition to those accumulated by his father,
and at his death left in it about 100,000 volumes. He had
agents in every part of Asia and of Greece, commissioned
to search out and purchase the rarest and most valuable
writings; and amongst those he procured were the works
of Aristotle, purchased of Neleus,5 and the Greek version
of the Jewish Scriptures, designated the Septuagint, which
was undertaken at the suggestion of Demetrius Phalereus,,
who first executed the office of librarian to this monarch.
The measures adopted by Ptolemy Philadelphus, for aug-
menting the Alexandrian Library, were pursued by his
successor Ptolemy Euergetes, with unscrupulous vigour.
He caused all books imported into Egypt by Greeks or
other foreigners to be seized and sent to the academy or
museum, where they were transcribed by persons employ¬
ed for the purpose; upon which the copies were delivered
to the proprietors, and the originals deposited in the lib¬
rary. He borrowed of the Athenians the works of Sopho¬
cles, Euripides, and yEschylus ; caused them to be trans¬
cribed in the most elegant manner possible; retained the
originals for his own library; and returned to the Athe¬
nians the copies which had been made of them, with fifteen
talents0 for the exchange. As the museum, where the
library was originally founded, stood near the royal palace,
in the quarter of the city called Bruchion, the books were
at first deposited there; but when this building had been
completely occupied with books to the number of 400,000
volumes, a supplemental library was erected within the
Serapeion, or temple of Serapis ; and the books there
placed gradually increased to the amount of 300,000 vo¬
lumes ; thus making, in both libraries, a grand total of
700,000 volumes.
The Alexandrian Library continued in all its splendour
until the first Alexandrian war, when, during the plunder
of the city, the Bruchion portion of the collection was ac¬
cidentally destroyed by fire, owing to the recklessness of
the auxiliary troops. But the library in the Serapeion still
remained, and was augmented by subsequent donations, par¬
ticularly by that of the Pergamean Library, amounting to
200,000 volumes, presented by Mark Antony to Cleopatra;
so that it soon surpassed the former both in the number
and in the value of its contents. At length, after various
revolutions under the Roman emperors, during which the
collection was sometimes plundered and sometimes re-esta¬
blished, it was utterly destroyed by the Saracens, under the
orders of the Caliph Omar, when they acquired possession
I '3*
1 -4
f
,ien
i-arie
aries
L I B R A R I E S.
ill of Alexandria, a. d. 642. Amrou, the victorious general,
»was himself inclined to spare this inestimable treasury of
'ancient science and learning; but the ignorant and fana¬
tical caliph, to whom he applied for instructions, ordered it
to be destroyed. “ If,” said he, “ these writings of the
Greeks agree with the Koran, or book Allah, they are use¬
less, and need not be preserved; if they disagree, they are
pernicious, and ought to be destroyed.” The sentence of
destruction was executed with blind obedience. The vo¬
lumes of parchment or papyrus were distributed to the
four thousand baths of the city ; and such was their incre¬
dible number, that six months were scarcely sufficient for
their combustion.1
The ancient Greeks, whose poetry has been to us the
H primary source of all our profane literature, had as yet no
other theology than the system which resulted from ob¬
servations made on the theory of the different parts of na¬
ture, when the Hebrews, in the books of Moses, cited by
one of those ancient historians who copied the chronicles,2
read the account of the creation, and, along with it, a sum¬
mary of the traditions of fifteen centuries of continuous
history. These books composed the first collection of the
Hebrews; but subsequently this people, like most others,
had their archives. Those which Herod caused to be
burned, with the intention of destroying the monuments
of the ancient families, appear to have reached as far back
as the very origin of the nation.3 But though he consign¬
ed the public records to the flames, those of individuals
were beyond his power, and afterwards served to re-esta¬
blish the history of this subjugated people. There also
existed libraries, properly so called, in Judaea. One in
particular is supposed to have been attached to, if not
kept in, the temple of Jerusalem, and the Hebrew authors
speak of “ the multitude of booksan expression which
seems to imply that the collection was not confined to the
sacred books alone, but included others, relating probably to
the laws and institutions of Moses, and the history of the
Jewish nation. The books, particularly those of history,
had indeed become so numerous, that Judas Maccabeus
caused extracts to be made and circulated from those con¬
tained in the library of Nehemiah,4 mentioned in the se¬
cond book of Esdras, in which also were preserved the writ¬
ings of the prophets, the compositions of David, the let¬
ters of the Hebrew kings, and the records of offerings. As
the Jews dwelt alone, and were not reckoned amongst the
nations, we know nothing of their early literature, beyond
the books which are contained in the Old Testament. It
has been supposed, however, that they had some cities
celebrated on account of the sciences which were there cul¬
tivated. Amongst these may be mentioned the town called
:>y Joshua Kiriath-sepher, or the City of Letters^ which was
situated near the confines of the tribe of Juda. In later
limes, the university or school of Tiberias wras not less
287
celebrated. It is probable that this and other academies Ancient
of the same description were furnished with libraries.5 Libraries.
Scripture also mentions a library of the kings of Per- ' '
sia, which some suppose to have consisted of the histo- Libraries
rians of that nation, and of memoirs on the affairs of state, p ■
but which appears rather to have been a depository of the eisians’
laws, charters, and ordinances of the Persian kings. In the
Hebrew text it is stated that a search was made “ in the
house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Ba¬
bylon,” for a decree issued by Cyrus ordaining a temple to
be built at Jerusalem ; the ordinance sought for, however,
was found, not in Babylon, but at Acmetha, in Media.6
It appears that “ the house of the rolls” was not a library
belonging to the Persians, but a collection of the records
or archives of the kingdom. There was formerly a con¬
siderable library at Susa, the residence of the Persian
sovereigns, where Metasthenes consulted the annals of
the Persian monarchy, in search of materials for his his¬
tory. This library is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus ;
but, like that referred to by Ezra, it seems rather to have
been a collection of laws and records, than an assemblage
of books on science or learning.
Amongst the Greeks, as amongst other nations, the first Libraries
libraries consisted merely of archives, deposited, for the sake of the
of preservation, in the temples of the gods. The sacred Greeks,
books, of which mention is made by Dionysius of Halicar¬
nassus, under the denomination of Deltoids, were of this
description. Amongst the most ancient people of Greece
these archives comprehended also the genealogies of the
royal families; the successions of the priesthood, which
served to fix historical epochs; and the titles of public
property, engraved, according to their importance, on mar¬
ble and on brass. Tacitus attests the existence of one of
these titles, which was dated twelve hundred years before
his time, and the authenticity of which was recognised bv
the senate in the time of TiberiusJ Amongst the archives
were likewise preserved the ancient chronicles, of which the
historians of an epoch anterior to the Peloponnesian war
had confined themselves to transcribing the contents, with
a rigorous fidelity, without either adding or retrenching any
thing, not even the circumstances invented in the fictions
of mythology, which criticism soon learned to discriminate
and to separate from the actual facts.8 Of Grecian lite¬
rature or history we have no authentic information prior
to the wars of Thebes and of Troy ; and it would therefore
be fruitless to seek for any traces of books in that nation
before those events. The Lacedaemonians had no books ;
amongst them writing was considered as a superfluous ac¬
complishment. At Athens, on the contrary, the sciences
and literature were diligently cultivated.
Pisistratus the tyrant was the first who established a
public library in that city, though Strabo ascribes to Aris¬
totle the honour of having rendered this important ser-
\ vd' thej*tudy off iUiogrwphy, vol. i. p. vi. et seq. Gibbon {Dccl and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. ix. p.
idered !f P°SltlVe account Slven Abulfaragius, by means of negative arguments. It should be con-
S; amument Af r i P0Sltlve statement of an historian of such unquestionable credit as Abulfaragius, cannot be set
'us and ofZfs arffifJeSaf1Vfv,an h^othe.tlcal character Besides, Gibbon’s references to Aulus Gellius, Ammianus Marcelli-
he time of TnHn« P < gft t0 masmuch as the destruction referred to by these writers is that which took place in
onsequence^of the^^cree^ff Omar.4"^1 7 reSt0red’ ^ C°ntinUed t0 fl°Urish’ Until * WaS annihilat?d b7 the Saracens, in
! ttedanicus apud Justinum, Ad Groccos Cohortat. p. 18.
4 Eusebius, Historia Eccles. lib. i. c. 7.
ibufnt^tf^ aUutefm in desf jptionffius, et commentariis Nehemiae base eadem ; et ut construens Ubliothecam congregavit de regio-
I S«m7Ll/PrPtetarUm’ f D.aV1£ et eP1Stolas Regum’ eb de Donariis- lib. ii. C. ii. V. 13.) Considerantes enim mul.
ncm hbrorum...hoc opus breviandi causa suscepimus. (Machab. lib. ii. c. ix. v. 25.1
Encyclopedic, tom. ii. p. 229. 1
^ Ezra, chap. v. verse 17 ; and vi. 1, 2.
uanue^ii* d?in.-C Lafedae™oni(™ et Messeniorum legationes, de jure templi Dianse Limnatidis, quod suis a majoribus,
ulis r CatUni’ Lacedsemonu firmabant annalium memona, vatumque carminibus...Contra Messenii, veterem inter Her-
ius rei scnlntn lvls.loneni 1 eloponnesi, protulere, suoque regi Dentheliatem agrum, in quo id delubrum cessisse; monimentaque
ius m sculpta saxis, et aere pnsco manere.” (Tacitus, AnriaU lib. iv. sect. 43.) 1
■Dionysius Halicarnasseus, de Thucyd. Judic. p. 133.
m
288 LIBRARIES.
Ancient vice to his countrymen. In this library he deposited the
Libraries. WOrks of Homer, which he had collected with great diffi-
culty, and at a very considerable expense ; and the Athe¬
nians themselves were at great pains to increase the col¬
lection. The fortunes of this library were various and sin¬
gular. It was transported to Persia by Xerxes ; brought
back by Seleucus Nicator; plundered by Sylla; and at last
restored by the Emperor Hadrian. On the invasion of
the Roman empire by the Goths (a.d. 260), Greece was
ravaged; and in the sack of Athens they had collected
all the libraries, and were upon the point of setting fire to
this funeral pile of ancient learning, when one of their
chiefs interposing, dissuaded them from the design, ob¬
serving at the same time, that as long as the Greeks were
addicted to the study of books, they would never apply
themselves to that of arms.
Library of Next to the Alexandrian Library, that of Pergamus
ergamus. wag ^ most conspicuous, and, according to Plutarch, con¬
tained 200,000 volumes. It was founded and successive¬
ly enriched by the kings of Pergamus called Eumenes,
all of whom were zealous promoters of the arts, and to
one of whom we are indebted for the invention of parch¬
ment {charta Pergamena). Attalus surpassed all his pre¬
decessors in magnificence, and after their example devot¬
ed part of his treasures to the purchase of the principal
works or writings of his age. As already noticed, the Per-
gamean library was presented by Antony to Cleopatra, in
order to form the foundation of a new library at Alexan¬
dria. Vitruvius makes honourable mention of both these
libraries.1 There were other collections of less magni¬
tude, amongst which has been mentioned that of Tyran-
nion, a grammarian contemporary with Pompey, which is
said to have contained about 30,000 volumes.
Places These particulars, scanty as they may no doubt seem,
where ma- are nevertheless sufficient to show that the libraries of
nuscripts Greece, in ancient times, were both numerous and exten-
may be gjve> j^ut a qUestion 0f much more immediate interest here
still to presents itself, viz. as to whether any of the treasures with
exist. which they were enriched still remain undiscovered, and
wdiere these may be supposed most likely to be found. On
this subject various conjectures have been formed, parti¬
cularly in regard to the remains of the ancient Greek his-
toi'ians. It is well known that many manuscripts had been
collected at a vast expense in Greece for the library of
Ruda, which was destroyed by the Turks in the year 1526.
In this library Alexander Brassicanus had seen the whole
of the Hyperides with scholia, the works of many of the
Greek fathers, and also those of the classical writers. From
it issued parts of Polybius and of Diodorus Siculus. A
manuscript of Heliodorus, from which was afterwards
printed the first edition of the 2Eihiopica, likewise be¬
longed to it, having been found by a soldier, who carried
it to Vincentius Obsopaeus. Neander, speaking of this col¬
lection, says, “ Ex media Graecia inaestimandis sumptibus
emerat Matthias Corvinus rex.”2
Constantinople and Athos have contributed the greater
number of the manuscripts which are still extant in differ¬
ent parts of Europe. Until a comparatively recent period
tiiere were monasteries full of learned men at Byzantium,
and every monastery had its library. The Turks, on their
conquest of Constantinople, did not indulge in that indis- Anci
criminate destruction which has sometimes been imput- LibnpJ
ed to them. Mahommed II. secured the library of the Ws
Greek emperors, which his successors preserved until it
was destroyed by Amurath IV. At Byzantium, Constan¬
tine Lascaris transcribed many of the works which were
afterwards conveyed to the Royal Library at Madrid ; and
in this city were procured those manuscripts which, hav¬
ing been presented to Hurtado de Mendoza by Solyman
II., were left by the former to the library of the Escorial.
Possevin has given partial catalogues of some of the lib¬
raries at Constantinople ; and an early traveller, who visit¬
ed that city in the year 1597, mentions a valuable collec¬
tion which he had seen there, though without specifying
its contents. With respect to Athos, it appears that there
were deposited in one library alone, two hundred manu¬
scripts originally obtained from the monasteries upon the
mountain ; and a great part of those formerly at Moscow
had been collected by the monk Arsenius, in Athos, at the
suggestion of the patriarch Nicon. Thessaly, Chios, Corfu,
Crete, Cyprus, Chalce,3 Rhodes, and Epidauria, may also
be mentioned as places which, at different times, have sup¬
plied manuscripts.4
Mr Walpole is of opinion, that notwithstanding the ac¬
quisitions which have already been made, researches in
the Levant should not be intermitted. By these many
manuscripts may still, according to him, be rescued from
destruction. No care whatever appears to have been
taken to preserve them. Dr Covell mentions having seen,
in the monasteries of Mount Athos and elsewhere, vast
heaps of manuscripts of the Fathers, and other learned
authors, all covered over with dust and dirt, many of them
rotten and spoiled, and never in any instance placed upon
shelves or arranged in good order. Mr Walpole also thinks
that an inquiry should be made into the truth of what was
stated to Hemsterhusius by some Greeks, viz. that part
of the comedies of Menander was still extant. “ Appli¬
cation,” says he, 44 might be made to the Greek nobles of
the Phanar, many of whom are versed in ancient Greek,
and probably the possessors of some valuable manuscripts.
Parts of the first book of the Demonstratio Evangelica of
Eusebius were printed by Fabricius, from a manuscript
belonging to Prince Mavrocordato; and a copy of the
Greek Orators, now in England, was once the property of a
Greek noble.” This, however, is, we fear, much too san¬
guine. It is probable that many Greek manuscripts have
experienced the treatment which works of the same sort
have met with in other countries. Poggius, whilst at the
council of Constance, found a manuscript of Quintilian upon
the table of a pickling shop. Masson met with one of Ago-
bardus in the hands of a bookbinder, who was preparing
to use it for the back of a book; and one of Asconius was
about to be employed for the same purpose. In the roof
of a Benedictin monastery, Musculus discovered some of
the works of Cicero, and the whole of Ovid. Numbers))!
manuscripts in Greece are irrecoverably, lost, either by
design or accident,^by the casualties of war or the havoc
of revolution ; and of those which may hereafter be met
with, it can scarcely be supposed that almost any will prove
to be of much value, or of any great antiquity.
1 Tertull. Ajml. c. 18. Vitruvius, lib. vii. in prcnfat. “ lieges Attalici,” says he, magnis philologise dulcedinebus indued, cum
egregiam Bibtiothecam Pergami ad communem delectationem instituissent; tunc item Ptolemseus, infinite zelo cupiditatisque incita-
tus studio, non minoribus industriis ad eundem modum contenderat Alexandriae comparare.” {Argentorati, 1807-)
2 Epistolw, p. 10. 3 The island in the Propontis or Sea of Marmora.
4 If the life of Professor Biornstahl had been prolonged, we should probably have received much valuable information concerning
the libraries in the monasteries of Thessaly. He had visited all of them, and had resided many days at Triccala for the express
purpose of copying a Greek manuscript belonging to a monastery. But having been attacked by fever at the foot of Mount
Olympus, he remained ten days without medical assistance, after which he was taken to Salonica, where he died in July 177!b ,''ince
his death, no one appears to have resumed the search which he had so diligently pursued.
:.P:
|sp
Jiei
LIBRARIES.
289
•g.; A list of the theological manuscripts in the library of
a*k. Patmos has been given by Possevin; and another, copied
the Marquis of Sligo, has been published by Mr Wal¬
pole. The actual catalogue contains the titles of nine¬
ty-two manuscripts, and about 400 printed volumes ; but
-the Greek compiler has not stated any circumstance re¬
lating to the manuscripts by which an estimate of their
value may be formed. He gives no information concern¬
ing the form of the letters or that of the spirits, or upon
any of those subjects by which a knowledge of their re¬
spective dates might be obtained. But there is one ma¬
nuscript mentioned in the catalogue, in regard to which it
is impossible not to feel more than ordinary curiosity. We
allude to a manuscript of Diodorus Siculus, an accurate in¬
spection of which would probably determine whether the
hopes which were oftener than once entertained, of re¬
covering the lost books of that historian, were in this in¬
stance also to be disappointed.1 But, without dwelling
longer upon particulars, we may observe, that notwith-
jstanding the sanguine expectations entertained by the
admirers of ancient learning, very few valuable manu¬
scripts have latterly been discovered; and, with the ex-
| ception of the fragments of ancient authors, deciphered
I from palimpsest or rescribed manuscripts, it must be ad-
; mitted, that those accidentally rescued from destruction
I liave, in general, been either of comparatively modern date
I or of but little consequence. Neither the inquiries which
liave been extended to the African states, nor the exca¬
vations and researches made at Herculanum and Pompeii,
have recovered the lost historians, or indeed brought to light
iny works of importance.2 (See the article Herculaneum.)
an i Rome was still in its infancy when the archives of the
“*s- litruscans contained a continuous collection of public acts,
,ind particularly an uninterrupted series of births and
leaths, that enabled that people to fix the unequal dura-
ion of the eight centuries of their previous history, which
hey reckoned up to about the middle of the sixth cen-
ury before Christ. The details given by Censorinus in
Varro, prove that the Etruscans kept regular registers of
lirths and deaths, from the epoch of their first establish-
fnent in Italy, which Larcher refers to the year 1344 be-
bre Christ; that, the eighth century thereafter, to which
he Etruscan histories were written, must have been the
sixth before the Christian era, in which other histories ap¬
peared that are no longer extant; and that, during these
hght hundred years, the most extended term of human life
vas nearly the same as at the present day. In the works
of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, of Plutarch, and other ancient Ancient
authors, we also discover scattered glimpses of the history Libraries.
of Italy in the most remote times, and learn that the tribes   
or races by whom the Etruscans were surrounded had also
their historical archives. It may even be supposed that
the Romans, in causing their Capitoline marbles to be en¬
graved, followed, amongst others, the example of Praeneste ;
a city much more ancient than Rome, and which had long
continued the practice of classifying as well as engraving
its municipal records. Such were the sources consulted by
several historians who treated of the antiquities of differ¬
ent Italian nations, particularly Zenodotus of Trcezene,
who composed a history of the Ombrians.
If the ancient Greeks had but few books, the ancient Roman
Romans possessed still fewer. Incessantly occupied in mi- libraries,
litary expeditions, defensive wars, and the aggrandisement
of their empire, that warlike people had no leisure, and,
probably, as little inclination, to cultivate letters. It was
not until they had subdued Magna Graecia that they be¬
gan to emerge out of barbarism, nor until they had accom¬
plished the conquest of Greece itself, that a taste for the
arts, sciences, and books was diffused amongst them. They
became civilized by frequent contact and familiarity with
civilization. The immediate consequence of the conquest
of Greece was a more frequent intercourse with the Greeks,
at once their subjects and their masters; and in proportion
as they became acquainted with the literature and arts of
that refined people, the asperity of character and manners
which had distinguished this nation of conquerors began to
disappear.
The first library established at Rome was that founded by Libraries
Paulus iEmilius, b. c. 167. Having subdued Perses, king ofm Rome.
Macedonia, he enriched the city of Rome with the library of
this conquered monarch, which was subsequently augmented
by Sylla.3 On his return from Asia, where he had success¬
fully terminated the first war against Mithridates, Sylla visited
Athens, whence he took with him the library of Apellicon the
Teian, in which were the works of Aristotle and Theophras¬
tus. Lucullus, another conqueror of Mithridates, was not
less distinguished by his taste for books. The number of
volumes in his library was immense; and they were writ¬
ten in the most distinct and elegant manner possible. But
the use which he made of his collection was still more ho¬
nourable to that princely Roman than the acquisition or pos¬
session of it. His library was open to all; and the Greeks,
who visited Rome, resorted to the galleries and porticos
of Lucullus as to the retreat of the Muses, where they spent
1 See Mr Walpole’s observations on this subject, published in Dr Clarke’s Travels.
- Memoires de l'Academic des Inscriptions, tom. vii. ; Nouveau Traite de Diplomatique par deux Benedictins; Yilloison, Anecdota
h«ert, tom. ii.; Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graca, tom. xiv—A letter written at Patmos on the 28th of February 1832, by Professor
L’hiersch of Munich, gives some interesting information respecting the library of that celebrated island. “We left Geronta on
[lie 23d February,” says he, “ and reached this island, after experiencing the fury of a violent storm. The town is situated upon
I lie summit of a mountain in the rear of the harbour, and, rising above it like a citadel, stands the monastery of John the Baptist ”
dter the travellers had dried themselves in a storehouse at the harbour, they proceeded to pay their respects to the Hegumenos of
lie monastery, and the patriarch of Alexandria, who was upon a visit to his birth-place, Patmos ; and Thiersch and his companions met
hearty welcome under the prelate’s roof, and were received in the far-famed library of the fraternity of monks, which was their
nncipal inducement to visit the island ; but, as far as manuscripts connected with ancient literature were concerned, thev found
one of striking importance. A codex of Diodorus Siculus, extending from the eleventh to the eighteenth book, contained nothing
ut what has appeared in print; and the readings, so far as Thiersch had an opportunity of investigating them, were not of much
iterest lie attached greater value to a manuscript of Paulus JEgineta, which is of the ninth or tenth century, and upon a care-
ul examination of which he expresses a confident opinion, that valuable emendations may in consequence be made on the text of
i-gineta’s work. The library contains enough in grammatical treatises, glossaries, lexicons, and scholia, to afford employment* to a
oung philologist for six months at least; and it is particularly rich in ancient manuscripts of the Bible, amongst which are a Greek
manuscript of the book of Job, another of two of the Gospels with commentaries, a third exhibiting the musical characters of the
ireek church, and others containing the works of some of its fathers. As these are considered in the light of sacred relics none of
lem have been injured, and they are in a respectable state of preservation. But the heathen manuscripts, on the contrary lie
altered about and cut to pieces; whilst those on cotton paper, having been severely treated by the moths, were, in the course of
‘e last century, thrown by the monks into the oven which they used for baking their bread ; an act of literary sacrilege for which
icse monastic destroyers deserved to have been themselves baked in their own oven. Three or four, which chance saved from de-
ruction, Were purchased by Dr Clarke, and are now safely deposited in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. {Journal of Education, vol.
PP* MW, 177-)
' Such is the statement of Isidorus (Origines, 1. vi. c. 4), though Plutarch {in Vit. JEmil. tom. ii. p. 180, ed. Bryan) expressly says
iat lie reserved for his sons, who were literary men. the books taken from the library of King Perses. ' "
V0L- xm« 2 o
LIBRARIES.
290
Ancient whole days in conversation on literary subjects. But al-
Libraries. though both Sylla and Lucullus liberally gave public access
to their literary treasures, still their libraries can, in strict¬
ness, be considered as oxdy private collections. Amongst
the various projects which Julius Caesar had formed for the
embellishment of Rome was that of a public library, which
should contain the largest possible collection of Greek and
Latin works ; and he had assigned to Varro the duty of se¬
lecting and arranging them ; but this design was frustrated
by the assassination of the dictator, and the establishment
of public libraries did not take place until the reign of Au¬
gustus.
The honour of suggesting these valuable institutions is
ascribed by the elder Pliny1 to Assinus Pollio, who erect¬
ed a public library in the Court of Liberty on the Aven-
tine Hill. Augustus, amongst other embellishments which he
bestowed upon Rome, erected two public libraries, viz. the
Octavian and the Palatine. The Octavian Library, which
was thus denominated in honour of the emperor’s sister,
stood in the portico of Octavia; and the charge of it was
committed to Melissus, who had been manumitted by Au¬
gustus. The Palatine Library was added by Augustus to
the temple of Apollo, which he had erected on the site of
that part of the Palatine House which had been struck by
lightning. There were deposited the corrected books of
the Sybils; and, from two ancient inscriptions quoted by
Lipsius and Pitiscus, it would seem that it consisted of two
distinct collections, one Greek and the other Latin. This
library having survived the various revolutions of the Ro¬
man empire, existed until the time of Gregory the Great,
whose mistaken zeal led him to order all the writings of
the ancients to be destroyed.2 The successors of Augus¬
tus, though they did not equally encourage learning, were
not altogether neglectful of its interests. Suetonius in¬
forms us that Tiberius founded a library in the new temple
of Apollo ; and we learn from some incidental notices, that
he instituted another in his own house, called the Tiberian
Library. Vespasian, following the example of his predeces¬
sors, established a library in the Temple of Peace, which
he erected after the burning of the city by order of Nero ;
and even Domitian, in the commencement of his reign, re¬
stored at great expense the libraries which had been de¬
stroyed by the conflagration, collecting copies of books
from every quarter, and sending persons to Alexandria to
transcribe volumes in that celebrated collection, or to cor¬
rect copies which had been made elsewhere. Various
writers have asserted that there was a library attached
to the Temple of the Capitol; but they have not inform¬
ed us by whom it was founded. Lipsius ascribes it to
Domitian, whilst Donatus refers it to the Emperor Hadrian,
by whom it was at least enlarged, if not founded, and who
probably erected the Tiburtine Library, at Tibur, in the
vicinity of Rome.3 But the most magnificent of all the
libraries founded by the sovereigns of imperial Rome was
that of the Emperor Ulpius Trajanus, from whom it was
denominated the Ulpian Library. It was erected in Tra¬
jan’s Forum, but afterwards removed to the Viminal Hill,
to ornament the baths of Diocletian. In this library were
deposited the elephantine books, written upon tablets of
ivory, wherein were recorded the transactions of the em¬
perors, the proceedings of the senate and Roman magis¬
trates, and the affairs of the provinces. It has been con¬
jectured that the Ulpian Library consisted of both Greek a 1
and Latin works; and some authors affirm that Trajan LiJ
commanded all the books which could be found in the^vl
cities he had conquered to be immediately conveyed to
Rome, in order to increase his collection. The library of
Domitian having been consumed by lightning, in the reign
ofCommodus, was not restored until the time of Gordian
who rebuilt the edifice, and founded a new library, adding
thereto the collection of books bequeathed to him by Quin¬
tus Serenus Samonicus, the physician, amounting, it is
said, to no less than 72,000 volumes. Donatus conjectures
that this library was deposited in the palace ofPompey.4
In addition to the imperial libraries, there were others Lit®
to which the public had access in the principal cities andinthe
colonies of the empire. Pliny mentions a public library which provii
he had founded for the use of his countrymen ; and Vopis-
cus informs us that the Emperor Tacitus caused the histori¬
cal writings of his illustrious namesake to be deposited in
the libraries. The number of calcined volumes, which have
been excavated from the ruins of Herculanum and Pom¬
peii would also seem to indicate that collections of books
were common in those cities. (See the article Hercu¬
laneum). But the irruptions of the barbarians who over¬
ran and desolated the western empire proved more de¬
structive to the interests of literature than either volca¬
noes or earthquakes, and soon caused the disappearance
of those libraries which, during several centuries, had
been multiplied in Italy. The libraries of the East, how¬
ever, escaped this devastating torrent; and both Alex¬
andria and Constantinople preserved their literary trea¬
sures, until the capture of those cities by the Saracens and
the Turks, who finally subverted the Roman empire in the
East.5
When Constantine the Great (a. d. 336) made Byzan- Libra
tium the seat of his empire, he decorated that city with Const!
splendid edifices, and called it after his own name. Desi-noP*e'
rous to make reparation to the Christians for the injuries
they had suffered during the reign of his predecessor, he
commanded the most diligent search to be made after
those books which Diocletian had doomed to destruction;
he caused transcripts to be made of such as had escaped
the fury of the Pagan persecutor; and, having collected
others from various quarters, he formed the whole into a
library at Constantinople. On the death of Constantine,
however, the number of books in the imperial library was
only 6900 ; but it was successively enlarged by the Empe¬
rors Julian and Theodosius the younger, who augmented
it to 120,000 volumes. Of these, more than half were burn¬
ed, in the seventh century, by the command of the Em¬
peror Leo III. who thus sought to destroy all the monu¬
ments that might be quoted in proof respecting his oppo¬
sition to the worship of images. In this library was de¬
posited the only authentic copy of the Council of Nice;
and it is also said to have contained the poems of Homer,
written in gold letters, together with a magnificent copy
of the Four Gospels, bound in plates of gold, enriched
with precious stones ; all of which were consumed in the
conflagration. The convulsions which distracted the low¬
er empire were by no means favourable to the interests of
literature. In the eleventh century learning flourished
for a short time during the reign of Constantine Porphyro-
gennetus ; and this emperor is said to have employed many
if
i
1
s
i
i
i
I
ti
i
o:
t
ai
It
01
ti
i E
1:
P
1
1 “ Qui primus bibliothecam dicando, ingenio hominum rem publicam fecit. (Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xxxv. c. 2.) Ovid also ascribes
this honour to Pollio. (Tristia, lib. iii. el. 1.) -
- Plutarch, in Marcello ; Suet, de Illust. Gram. c. 41; Idem in August, c. 29 ; Lipsius de BiUioth. c. 7 ; Pitiscus, Lex'tcon, tom. f
p. 27b ; Brucker, Hist. Crit. Philosoph. tom. i. p. 20.
3 Suet, in Tiber, c. 74, et in Vespas. c. 9; Aul. Cell lib. xvi. c. 8; Lipsius de Biblioth. c. 20; Suet, in Domitian. c. 20.
1 Encyclopedic, tom. ii. art. Bibliothetpue; Euseb. in Commodo ; Capitolinus, in Vit. Gordiuni Junioris, c. 18; Donatus, Roma Vetut,
lib. iii. c. 8, p. 119. P
5 Hartwell. Horne, Introduction to the Study of Bibliography, vol. i. p. xv. et seq.
A aiark;
LIBRARIES.
291
ram
Middle
Ages.
r s learned Greeks in collecting books, and forming a library, nastery which he had built, and there founded a library Libnyies
’ the arrangement of which he himself superintended. But for the use of the monks, about the middle of the sixth of the
the final subversion of the eastern empire, and the cap- century. At a later period, Charlemagne, distinguished
ture of Constantinople in 1453, dispersed the literati of as a patron of learning, instituted, near Lyons, a library,.
/-. . t? j .1.- i-. which, according to the statements of historians, contain¬
ed books bound in a magnificent manner. After this the
monasteries almost exclusively possessed libraries, which
were increased by the accessions of centuries ; and had
the zeal of religious reformation been as little destructive
to learning as the invasions of the northern barbarians,
Greece over western Europe, and placed the literary re¬
mains of that capital at the mercy of the conqueror. The
imperial library, however, was preserved by the express
command of Mohammed, and continued, it is said, to be
kept in some apartments of the Seraglio ; but whether it
was sacrificed in a fit of devotion by Amurath IV.
commonly supposed, or whether it was suffered to fall into numberless monuments of ancient learning which are now
decay from ignorance and neglect, it is now certain that
the library of the Sultan contains only Turkish and Ara¬
bic writings, and not one Greek or Latin manuscript of
any importance.
Upon the whole, it appears that books were abundant,
both at Rome and at Constantinople, and that learned
irrecoverably lost might have been in the hands of every
scholar.
The monastic institutions seemed as if framed for the Monaste-
special purpose of transmitting the remains of ancient li-ries; sys-
terature, sacred and profane, through a period in which,tem °f.
except for so extraordinary a provision, they must inevi-|lanscriP"
men in those cities had at their command greater resour- tably have perished. Though there were considerable di-
flion Vttirvlkf of ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C? ’ 1 „ _ _ i? _  _ * Li.  1  1  n t • nr* t k 11011 1/11016-
ces than might at first be supposed. Some idea of the
quantity of books accessible to persons of study and re¬
search may be formed from the great number of refer¬
ences and citations to be found in the works of some au¬
thors, particularly in those of Strabo, Pliny, and some others.
versities in the rules and practices of the different orders in.
of monks, the elements of the monastic life were in all
orders and in every country the same; and, generally
speaking, wherever there was a monastery there was also
a manufacture of books. The transcription of ancient
works, the only mode in which, anterior to the invention
of printing, they could be multiplied and preserved, was
a favourite employment among the inmates of these peace¬
ful retreats ; and an opinion of meritoriousness attached
General epithets and figurative expressions frequently to the labour, served to animate the diligence, and to en-
convey a meaning which is calculated to mislead. Hear- courage the perseverance, of the labourer.2 If in some mo-
ing constantly of “ the dark ages,’’ “ the period of intel- nasteries the monks employed themselves in transcribing
lectual night,” and “ the season of winter in the history of nothing but missals, legends, and romances, others enrich-
II.—LIBRARIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
man,” we are apt to imagine that, during the time thus
designated, the human mind was utterly palsied, and all
learning extinct. But in fact, throughout that period, rea¬
son, though misdirected, was not asleep; philosophy was
rather bewildered than inert; and learning was immured,
but not lost. In no part of that long period which extends
from the reign of the Emperor Justinian, when Greek and
Roman literature everywhere lay open to the light of day,
to the fall of Constantinople and the revival of learning in
the fifteenth century, do we entirely lose the traces even
of the classic authors, much less of sacred literature; for
in each intervening age, and in every quarter of Europe,
there were writers whose works, being still extant, afford
abundant evidence of their acquaintance with most of the
principal authors of more remote times.1 When the em¬
pire of the west sunk under the overwhelming pressure of
barbarian invasion, those institutions which had been found¬
ed and nurtured in the midst of civilization, were, no
doubt, swept away by the torrent which desolated Italy,
and spread its ravages over all parts of the empire. But
learning, though expelled from her ancient establishments,
and forced from her favourite haunts, found a safe asylum
in the monasteries, which, amidst all the violence and
anarchy that reigned without, remained in undisturbed
tranquillity, respected even by the barbarians who had
overthrown an empire.
It is doubtless true that little comparatively is recorded
of the libraries of those ages which intervened between
the fall of the Roman empire and the revival of letters in
t/urope about the middle of the fifteenth century. But,
as we shall immediately have occasion to show, every age
produced learned and inquisitive men, by whom books were
uglily prized, and industriously collected. Cassiodorus,
minister of Theodore, king of the Goths, retired to a mo-
ed their libraries with splendid copies of the works of the
fathers of the church, and of the Holy Scriptures ; and not
a few laboured to reproduce such of the classical authors
as they were acquainted with or could obtain access to.
This system of transcription, to which alone we are indebt¬
ed for all that remains of ancient learning, was carried on
to an extent of which those who are unacquainted with
the history of the middle ages can form no conception.
We have already had occasion to advert to the occupa¬
tion of the inmates of the monastic establishments on
Mount Athos, the lofty promontory which stretches from
the Macedonian coast far into the Aegean Sea; and we
have also noticed the immense number of manuscripts
which have at different times issued from these establish¬
ments. Many manuscripts still extant prove that the
copying of books was likewise practised to a great extent
during the middle ages, in the monasteries of the Morea,
and in those of Eubcea (Negropont), and of Crete (Can-
dia). The latter island seems indeed to have been a place
of refuge for learned men during the disastrous period
which preceded the fall of the eastern empire ; in its mo¬
nasteries they found an asylum and the means of subsis¬
tence. In Calabria and the kingdom of Naples, fifty reli¬
gious establishments have been mentioned, from which
proceeded a large number of the books afterwards collect¬
ed in the libraries of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan.3
In the monasteries of western Europe, also, especially in
those of the British islands, the same system of transcrip¬
tion was carried on. Books were multiplied, and, by their „
multiplication, preserved, whilst the knowledge of their
contents was extended. In a word, it is mainly to the la¬
bours of these establishments, that we are indebted for
the remains of the classic authors, and the preservation of
the sacred books, which they so carefully transcribed.
' Taylor, History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times, pp. 8G, 87.
This book, copied by M. N. for the benefit of his soul, was finished in the year 948 ; may the Lord think upon him !” Such
is the subscription of many of the manuscripts of the middle ages; and to us, we confess, there is something almost affecting in its
pious simplicity. s & t-
3 I\vlor, History of the Transmission of Ancient Books, p. 83.
libraries.
292
Libraries Under the impression produced by certain loose modes
M- nf sPea^nS relation to the deep and universal ignorance
"ao'cs6 sa’^ t0 have prevailed in Europe during seven cen-
v J-T . v turies, the existence of a large number of manuscripts of the
State of classical authors, executed during those very ages, presents
knowledge, a great apparent difficulty. From what motive, it may be
asked, or for whose use, were these works transcribed so
frequently as to be found in all parts of Europe on the re¬
vival of learning? Was this an employment which igno¬
rance would have selected, or which ignorance could have
encouraged and promoted ? A rapid survey of those ages
of darkness, as they are called, will to some extent fur¬
nish a solution of the difficulty, by proving that, during
these times of general intellectual lethargy, there were
not a few individuals who cultivated letters with ardour,
and to whom the preservation of books was a matter of
the most lively interest. The names which we are about
to mention bear but a small proportion to the total num¬
ber which might be produced, it being sufficient for our
purpose to refer to one or two writers in each century;
but briefas our exposition must necessarily be, it will never¬
theless serve to show that learning was not then comp’ete-
ly abandoned to neglect and oblivion.
Sixth and s{xth century abounds with writers in all depart-
centuries ments literature, many of whose works, having descend¬
ed to modern times, afford evidence of the undiminished
diffusion of general learning. Amongst these may be men¬
tioned Procopius, the historian ; Agathias, his continua-
tor ; Boethius, author of the Consolation of Philosophy ;
Hesychius, the lexicographer; Proclus, a Platonic philo¬
sopher ; Fulgentius and Cassiodorus, ecclesiastical writers;
Priscian, the grammarian ; Gildas, an Anglo-Saxon histo¬
rian ; Evagrius Scholasticus, an ecclesiastical historian;
Simplicius, the commentator of Aristotle and Epictetus ;
Ammianus Marcellinus, a critic and historian whose works
contain very copious references to ancient literature ; and
Stephen of Byzantium, a grammarian and geographer.
The seventh century produced fewer writers than perhaps
any other period of equal extent within the compass of
history. The only names deserving to be mentioned are
those of Theophylact of Simocatta, who wrote a history of
the Emperor Mauritius; and Isidore, an ecclesiastical writer.
Eighth In the latter part of the seventh and beginning of the
century. ejghth century flourished the Venerable Bede, whose writ¬
ings afford a proof of the general diffusion of books of all
classes in that age. Bede displays extensive if not pro¬
found learning, the whole of which he had acquired from
the sources ordinarily accessible to monastic students. He
was a poet, a rhetorician, an arithmetician, a chronologist,
a geographer, a philosopher, and an historian ;l he was
versed in the profane authors, says Bale, beyond any man
of that age, and derived his physics and general learn¬
ing, not from turbid streams, but from pure fountains, that
is, from the principal Greek and Latin authors. Even
during his life, and whilst he still continued to write, his
works were, by the ordinance of the British bishops, ap¬
pointed to be read in the churches.2 Alcuin, a disciple
of Bede, contributed much, by his learning, and his influ¬
ence at the court of Charlemagne,3 to assist that enlight¬
ened prince in his endeavours to effect the restoration of
literature. He was skilled in the Latin, Greek, and He¬
brew languages ; he gave lectures in all the sciences; he Ijy
founded many public schools ; and his works, historical ofl
and theological, which are still in part extant, justify the ^
reputation he enjoyed.4 * * AJ
Raban Maurus, a disciple of Alcuin, taught theology,
philosophy, poetry, and rhetoric, at Paris, in the schoolw?1
established there by the Anglo-Saxon monks. Accord- '
ing to Trithemius, he was well versed in the Holy Scrip,
tures, and thoroughly learned in profane literature. He
enriched the monastery of Fulda, on the Rhine, with a
large collection of books; founded a school there; and
trained in every branch of learning two hundred and se¬
venty monks belonging to the establishment. He was
created archbishop of Mayence in 847, and died in 856.
One of the first professors in the university of Oxford was
John Scot, a man of considerable acquirements. He after¬
wards went to France, where he translated some Greek
authors into Latin, but so literally that his versions were
almost unintelligible. His writings display various learn¬
ing ; but they were condemned as heretical by the church,
on account of his opinions relative to the eucharist. Be¬
ing forced to leave France, he took refuge in an English
monastery, which, however, afforded him no asylum. At
the instigation of the monks, he was, like Cassianus, killed
by his scholars, with their iron styles. Contemporary with
Scot was Photius, with whom no author of that, or of se¬
veral succeeding ages, can be compared. Educated for
secular employments, and for some time engaged in the
service of Michael III., he was by that emperor forcibly
invested with the dignity of patriarch of Constantinople
(856), in the room of Ignatius; and, that he might pass re¬
gularly to this office, he was made monk, reader, sub-dea¬
con, deacon, priest, and patriarch, all in the course of six
days. From the office thus violently thrust upon him he
was expelled by Basiiius, the successor of Michael; but,
at the head of a band of soldiers, he repossessed himself
of the patriarchate, of which, however, he w as at length
finally7 deprived, by similar means, and upon this retired
to a monastery, where he ended his days. Before his ele¬
vation he had composed the 3fyriobiblion, which, in the
form of criticisms, analyses, and extracts, contains accounts
of more than two hundred and seventy works, exhibits
numerous valuable fragments from authors whose wmrks
have perished, and affords important aid in ascertaining
the genuineness of many remains of ancient literature.
Though of the existing manuscripts so large a numberTenth
were executed in the tenth century, as to prove that, intul7'
the reproduction of books, great activity prevailed in that
age, yet it presents the names of but few authors whose
works have descended to modern times. Eutychius, pa¬
triarch of Alexandria, wrote an universal history which is
stilhextant, and, though crowded with fabulous narratives*
displays considerable learning.
The eleventh century is much richer in distinguishedfle,,er
names. Avicenna, an Arabian physician, reduced thecentur
science of medicine to a systematic form, including al¬
most every thing that had been written on the subject
by his predecessors, and was, besides, well versed in Greek
literature. Michael Psellus, a Greek physician, wrote
upon subjects of all kinds, and wras celebrated for the ex¬
tent of his acquirements both in sacred and in profane
2 ?e.nnensis’ lea™ed Italian of the sixteenth century, quoted by Blount, in his Censura Celebriorum Authorum.
ien it is remembered that Bede passed his life in a remote monastery (St Peter and St Paul, on the Tyne, in the diocese of
afM.’i 118 van°us learning is at least a proof that the means of acquiring it were within his reach.
• , '“f ema8ne apoured zealously to restore learning both in the church and out of it. He invited learned men to his court, em-
r 0^e i_; !U11 in “g Latin translations of the Greek classics and the Fathers; founded public schools; and introduced regulations
ox ma iiig a cer ain degree of education indispensable to all who held office in the church. Muratori, speaking of the exertions ot
this prince, is also loud in praise of Great Britain and Ireland, “ which, in the study of the liberal arts,” says he, “ surpassed
all other nations of the West m those times.” “ Nor,” he adds, “ must we omit to record the diligence of the monks of those
countries, who raised and maintained the glory of letters which everywhere else was languishing or fallen.”
Alcuin, in his letters, quotes familiarly Virgil, Ovid, and Horace.
1
i
i
4!
11
I a
I e
1 1
«
I 5
I 11
I e
• a
I 9
I *
P
I C
I ''
ai
« 1
I si
ai
1 «
1
1 e
IEl
i: ai
I oi
i Hi
ai
1
I 1;
? it
IA
it
! re
r
I sc
111
1 9
• j C(
■\r
e
I
P1
(j
-teen.
? «u7-
lli
a;!
in
ip
teen
liry.
Hil
*1
an
ai
LIBRARIES.
learning. Lanfranco, an Italian, created archbishop of is afforded by the works of Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio,
Canterbury by William the Norman, promoted learning Chaucer, and Gower, which were not merely produced
amongst the clergy, and was esteemed accomplished in in that period, but extensively read and admired. Dur-
the literature of his age. Anselm, the disciple and succes- ing no part of that long tract of time which extends from
sor of Lanfranco, was also in repute for general learning, the decline of learning in the sixth century till its revival
The works of Suidas, like those of Photius, contain a trea- in the fifteenth, had there been a total extinction of the
sure of various learning upon points of criticism and lite- knowledge of ancient literature; and those inestimable
rary history ; whilst his lexicon, besides the definitions of treasures which the religious houses had saved from the
words, includes accounts of ancient authors, and quota- ravages of revolution, anarchy, and barbarism, now began
tions from works which have since perished. Sigibert, a to be drawn forth and studied. The continuance of the
monk of Brabant, has left a chronicle of events from the eastern empire till the middle of the fifteenth century, af-
year 381 to his own time, and a work containing lives of forded an uninterrupted protection to Greek learning dur-
illustrious men ; he was, besides, profoundly versed in the ing those periods when western Europe was laid waste by
Scriptures, and inferior to none of his countrymen in ge- the Gothic nations; and hence, on the revival of letters,
neral learning. the study of the Greek authors first engaged the attention
The name of Anna Comnena distinguishes the early of those individuals whom an awakening impulse now di¬
portion of the twelfth century. She wrote a history of reeled to the cultivation of learning. But that of the
the reign of her father, the Emperor Alexius Conmenus ; kindred authors of Rome soon followed ; and the monu-
a work which displays a masculine understanding, and an ments of ancient wisdom and genius which had been pre-
extensive acquaintance with literature and the sciences, served in the monasteries, furnished ample materials for
During this century England produced several eminent laying the foundations of a new and more extensive, if
writers, particularly William of Malmesbury, Geoffrey of not more perfect, edifice of civilization.
Monmouth, Joseph of Exeter,1 and, somewhat later, Lang- More than half a century before the taking of Constan- Revival of
ton, archbishop of Canterbury, esteemed the most learn- tinople by the Turks, the learned men of the imperial learning,
ed man of western Europe in those times. Eustathius, city, apprehending the approaching ruin of the empire,
archbishop of Thessalonica, flourished towards the close began to emigrate into Italy, where they opened schools,
of the twelfth century. His commentaries on Homer, be- and became the preceptors of princes, as well as the guides
sides serving to elucidate the Greek language by im- of the public taste, which they directed towards the study
portant criticisms, contain innumerable references to the of the classical writers of Greece and Rome. The fall of
Greek classics, and thus furnish the means of ascertain- Constantinople, in 14<53, filled the Italian cities with these
ing the integrity and genuineness of the text of those learned strangers. At this period the Italians required
authors, as it has descended to our times. John and Isaac only to receive some kind of direction, and to be provided
Tzetzes, critics and grammarians of Constantinople, are with the means of study'. They had for some time been
still consulted as commentators upon some of the Greek placed in those peculiar circumstances which have almost
authors. always proved favourable to the advancement of the human
Robert Grostest, or Greathead, bishop of Lincoln, was mind. A number of independent states were crowded
celebrated for his skill in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew lan- upon a narrow space, throughout which the same language,
guages, as well as for the bold resistance he offered to the diversified by dialects, prevailed, exhibiting, in a sort of
exactions of the supreme pontiff.2 Matthew Paris, the Eng- reflected or secondary form, that of ancient Italy7. The
lish historian, display's in his works an acquaintance with energy, rivalry, and munificence which accompany com-
ancient learning, and a familiar knowledge of the antiquities merce, kept the whole mass of society in movement;
of his native country. He vigorously opposed the papal whilst the influence of a religion, which seeks to recom-
usurpations in England; and his reputation for learning mend itself by every embellishment that the genius of
and virtue enabled him to effect a considerable reformation man can devise or execute, overruled the debasing ten-
in many of the English monasteries. He died in the year deucy of successful trade, and directed the ambition of
1259. The works of Albert, surnamed the Great, a Do- princely merchants towards objects more refined and in¬
minican friar, and afterwards (in 1260) bishop of Ratisbon, tellectual than those which wealth usually selects as the
fill twenty-one volumes, forming a sort of encyclopaedia of means of distinction.
the learning and science of the age. Like Roger Bacon, The formation of libraries, suggested or favoured by Formation
Albert of Ratisbon incurred amongst his contemporaries the importation of manuscripts from Constantinople, prov- oflibra-
the suspicion of dealing in magic. Learning, in the more ed the means not only of making more widely known theries*
restricted sense of the term,, that is, the knowledge of works of the Greek authors (which had never fallen into
books, was too common to excite wonder or envy; but oblivion), but of prompting those researches which issued
science, or a knowledge of nature, acquired by experi- in the recovery of the Latin writers, many of whom had
mental investigation, was so rare, that it seldom failed to long been forgotten. The appetite for books being thus
engender both, and to occasion perilous accusations of a revived and quickened, neither labour nor expense was
correspondence with infernal agents. spared in accumulating them ; learned men were despatch-
I he revival of learning is usually reckoned to have com- ed in all directions throughout Europe, Western Asia,
menced in the fifteenth century; but even in the four- and Africa, to collect manuscripts; and, in the course of
teenth a decided advancement in almost every depart- a few years, most of the authors now known were brought
ment of literature is discernible. Gross and degrading together in the libraries of Rome, Naples, Venice, Flo-
ignorance was wearing away from the bulk of the commu- rence, Vienna, and Paris. Aided by the munificence of
nity in several parts of Europe; the educated classes princes and popes, the scholars of the fifteenth century
were acquiring a better taste and more expanded views; applied themselves to the discovery, restoration, and pub-
and a general awakening of the energies of the human lication of the remains of Greek and Roman literature ;
mind was perceptible. This needs no other evidence than and, in the course of sixty or eighty years, most of the
293
Libraries
of the
Middle
Ages.
' Author of two Latin poems, one on the Trojan war, and another on the war of Antioch, or the Crusade.
Camden says of Greathead, “ he was versed in the languages, and in general literature, in a degree scarcely credible, when the
'ge in which he lived is considered; a terrible reprover of the pope, the adviser of his king [Henry III.], and a lover of truth.”
294
LIBRARIES.
Invention
of print¬
ing.
Modern works now known were committed to the press. Since
libraries. time additional discoveries have been made; but the
’~s' principal improvements of a subsequent date have consist¬
ed in the emendation of the text of ancient authors, part¬
ly by a more extensive collation of manuscripts than the
first editors possessed the means of instituting, and
partly also by the lights and aids of a cautious and judi¬
cious criticism.1
The invention of printing, by virtually exempting books
from the operation of the law which subjects all human
things to decay, has also greatly promoted the process of
their renovation. By giving to the issue of an edition of
a standard work a degree of importance several hundred
times greater than that which belonged to the transcrip¬
tion of a single copy, it has called for a proportionally
larger amount of learning, diligence, and caution, in the
work of revision ; and, by enabling each successive editor
to avail himself of the labours of his predecessors, all the
advantages resulting from the concentration of many minds
upon the same subject have further been secured. Since
the fifteenth century, therefore, the lapse of time, instead
of gradually impairing and corrupting the literary remains
of antiquity, has incessantly contributed to their renova¬
tion ; what was then unknown or doubtful, imperfect or
corrupted, has been ascertained, restored, and completed ;
and the learning and industry of the four centuries which
have since elapsed, being constantly directed towards the
same object, have left but few questions of literary anti¬
quity open to controversy. Books are no longer liable to
the hazard of extinction from political changes or the de¬
cline of learning in this or that country. Unless an uni¬
versal devastation should overtake every region of the ci¬
vilized world, the body of learning and science now ex¬
tant can neither perish nor suffer corruption. And thus
it is that the written records of distant ages, as well as
the products of modern genius, industry, and research,
are secured from extinction by a mode of conservation
less liable to extensive hazard than any other that can be
imagined.2
III. MODERN LIBRARIES.
Louis Jacob, a Carmelite who wrote on the subject of
libraries about the middle of the seventeenth century, enu¬
merates above eleven hundred collections of books, ancient
and modern.3 Many of these were no doubt contained in
monasteries, which have since been suppressed, and others
did not perhaps possess sufficient consequence to merit spe¬
cification ; but still the numerical amount of them must sa¬
tisfy the reader as to the impracticability of attempting to
comprise, in an article like the present, a complete list,
much less a detailed description, of such collections. All
that we propose, therefore, under this head, is to extract
from the materials before us such particulars as, when
thrown together in a condensed form, may serve to convey
an accurate idea of the general character, contents, and
classification of the principal modern libraries of Europe;
and, with this view, as well as for convenient reference, we
shall arrange them under their respective heads of British
Libraries, and Foreign Libraries.
British Libraries.
The principal libraries in Great Britain are those of the
Bntish Museum and other institutions in London, Lambeth,
Oxford, Cambridge, and Althorp, in England; the Advo- ju
cates’, Writers’, and College Libraries, Edinburgh, and those Libre i
of the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen v>“y!
in Scotland ; and, lastly, that of Trinity College, in the capi¬
tal of Ireland.
The library of the British Museum, which is now consi-T i,
dered as the great national depository of science, literature, the
art, and antiquities, has been composed of various collections Musemi
successively obtained, and is chiefly remarkable for its nu¬
merous and valuable manuscript acquisitions.
The department of printed books consisted originally of
the libraries of Sir Hans Sloane and Major Edwards, which
were acquired about the middle of last century. In 1757
George II., by an instrument under the great seal, added
the library of the kings of England, the printed books of
which had been collected from the time of Henry VII.
and the manuscripts from a much earlier date. This col¬
lection was very rich in the prevailing literature of different
periods; and it included, amongst others, the libraries of
Archbishop Cranmer, of Henry prince of Wales, and of
Isaac Casaubon. His majesty annexed to his gift the pri¬
vilege which the royal library had acquired in the reign of
Queen Anne, of being supplied with a copy of every pub¬
lication entered at Stationers’ Hall. The same department
was further enriched, in 1763, by a donation from George
III. of a collection of pamphlets and periodical papers pub¬
lished in England between 1640 and 1660, and chiefly illus¬
trative of the civil wars in the time of Charles L, by whom
the collection was commenced.
It would be vain to attempt a detailed enumeration of
all the additions which have since been made, whether by
gift or by purchase. Amongst the smaller acquisitions may
be mentioned Dr Thomas Birch’s library; two collections
of books on musical science from Sir John Hawkins, and
one from Dr Charles Burney; Garrick’s collection of old
English plays; numerous classics from the library of Mr
Thomas Tyrwhitt, with his manuscript notes; Sir William
Musgrave’s collection of biography; a collection of classics,
enriched with Dr Bentley’s manuscript notes; a library of
ceremonials, processions, and heraldry, from Mrs Sophia
Sarah Banks; and a collection of Italian history and topo¬
graphy, from Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Amongst the larger
and more important are, the general library collected by the
Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode ; the law library of Mr
Erancis Hargrave ; the library of science which belonged
to the Baron de Moll of Munich; the libraries of M. Guin-
guene, author of the Histoire Litteraire d1 Italic, and of the
Rev. Dr Charles Burney; and Sir Joseph Banks’s library
of natural history. Four separate collections of tracts, illus¬
trative of the revolutionary history of France, have been
purchased at different times by the trustees, in the exercise
of the powers with which they are invested. One of these
was the collection formed by the last president of the par¬
liament of Bretagne, at the commencement of the revolu¬
tion ; two others extended generally throughout the whole
revolutionary period; and the fourth consisted of a collection
of tracts published during the reign of the hundred days in
1815; forming altogether a body of materials for the his¬
tory of the revolution as complete in regard to France as the
collection of pamphlets and tracts already mentioned is with
respect to that of the civil wars of England in the time of
Charles I. Another feature of the Museum Library is its
progressive collection of newspapers from the appearance
of the first of these publications in 1588. Sir Hans Sloane
had formed a great collection for his day. But to this was
works to tVioir nrUtLj- ’°f Ancicnt Boo/a, p. 10G. “ This restoration,’’ continues Mr Taylor, H of the remains of ancient
materials in nn^mnmr,0!f ’ jias n.0^ been effected like that of a dilapidated building or mutilated statue, by the addition of new
of the verv mrti o n c £?n^0.1*nVty Wlth the plan and taste of the original work, but by the industrious collection and replacement
ot tne very particles of which it first consisted.” » ■> j i
Taylor, History of the Ttansm. of Ancient Books, p. 108. 3 See Traitc des plus belles Bibliotldques, passim.
ilem
e:arie
m
!'!
ieric
ara
libraries.
madded, in 1818, the Burney collection, purchased at the
^■estimated value of L. 1000; and since that period the com
•missioners of stamps have continued periodically to forward
to the Museum, copies of all newspapers deposited by the
publishers in their office.
In 1823, the Royal Library collected by George III. was
presented to the British nation by his successor, George IV.,
md ordered by parliament to be added to the library of the
British Museum, but to be kept for ever separate from the
uther books in that institution. The general plan of its
formation appears to have been determined on by George
III. soon after his accession to the throne ; and the first
axtensive purchase made for it was that of the library of
Mr Joseph Smith, British consul at Venice, in 1762, for
vhich his majesty paid about L.10,000. In 1768, Mr (after¬
wards Sir Frederick) Barnard, the librarian, was despatched
;o the Continent by his majesty ; and, as the Jesuits’ houses
were then being suppressed, and their libraries sold, through-
)ut Europe, he was enabled to purchase, upon the most
idvantageous terms, a great number of valuable books, in-
:1 tiding some very remarkable rarities,1 in France, in Italy,
indin Germany. Under the judicious directions of Mr Bar-
lard, the entire collection was formed and arranged ; it was
ed,duringa period of sixty years, by an annual expenditure
if about L.2000; and it is in itself perhaps one of the most
:omplete libraries of its extent that was ever formed. It
:ontains selections of the rarest kind, particularly of scarce
looks which appeared in the first ages of the art of print-
ng; it is rich in early editions of the classics, in books
rom the press of Caxton, in English history, and in Ita-
ian, French, and Spanish literature ; and there is likewise
i very extensive collection of geography and topography,
ind of the transactions of learned academies. Thenum-
>er of books in this library is 65,250,2 exclusively of a
/ery numerous assortment of pamphlets ; and it appears to
lave cost, in direct outlay, about L. 130,000, but is esti-
nated as worth at least L.200,000.3 When the King’s Lib-
ary was added to that which previously belonged to the
vluseum, the number of duplicate volumes in the two col¬
ections was found to be about 21,000 volumes, of which
he committee of the House of Commons recommended that
lot more than 12,000 should be disposed of; and hence,
iy the gift of George IV., a clear addition was made to the
mtional library of between 40,000 and 50,000 volumes.
The aggregate of the collections here enumerated, aug-
nented annually by gifts, by claims under the copyright
icts, and by grants of money from parliament, have now
295
placed the department of printed books in the British Modern
Museum upon a respectable footing; though, in point of Libraries,
extent at least, it is still far inferior to the principal lib-
raries of the Continent, particularly those of Berlin, Got¬
tingen, Dresden, Naples, Vienna, Copenhagen, St Peters¬
burg, Munich, and Paris.4 The number of printed volumes
in the library, officially returned to parliament, is 220,000,
not 240,000, as stated by Sir Henry Ellis, in his evidence ;5
and nearly L.2000 is expended annually in the purchase
of old and of foreign publications. In the department of
recent continental literature, numerous deficiencies have
been pointed out by Mr Edwards, especially in German
literature, in French history, in philosophy and legislation,
and in the belles-lettres ;6 deficiencies which, it is to be
hoped, will ere long be supplied. According to Sir Henry
Ellis, however, “ the Museum Library is not decidedly poor
in any class.”
The nucleus of the department of manuscripts, at the esta¬
blishment of the British Museum, was formed by the Har-
leian, the Sloane, and the Cottonian collections. The next
addition made to this department was that of the manu¬
scripts of the ancient royal library of England, conferred
by George II. in 1757. In this last collection, which con¬
tains the acquisitions of our kings from the time of Richard
II. to the date of the grant by George II., there are a num¬
ber of valuable manuscripts. Of these, one of the most re¬
markable is the Codex Alexandrinus, a present from Cyril,
patriarch of Constantinople, to King Charles I. It is in four
quarto volumes, writtenupon fine vellum, probably between
the fourth and sixth centuries, and is believed to be the
most ancient manuscript of the Greek Bible now extant,
in uncial characters. Many of the other manuscripts came
into the royal collection at the time when the monastic in¬
stitutions of Britain were destroyed ; and some of them still
retain upon their spare leaves the honest and hearty ana¬
themas which the donors denounced against those who
should alienate or remove the respective volumes from the
places in which they had been originally deposited. This
collection abounds in old scholastic divinity, and possesses
many volumes, embellished by the most expert illuminators
of different countries, in a succession of periods down to the
sixteenth century. In it are also preserved an assemblage
of the domestic music-books of Henry VIII., and the Ba-
silicon Doron of James I. in his own handwriting. The
Cottonian collection, which was purchased for the use of
the public in 1701, and annexed by statute to the British
Museum in 1753, is especially rich in historical documents
lerkkTmard fbr'lO^ ^ menti°ned the F1°rence Homer of 1488> which formerly brought L.120, but was purchased by Sir Fre-
Ellis’ in hi.s evidence before the Select Committee on the British Museum {Minutes, 500), states the number loosely
Vp’000 )olumes j but, m this estimate, every tract in the library is probably considered as a separate volume. 7
, ttepyrt °t the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Royal Library, 18th April 1823
n extern*’ ^ u bj SirDHenr^ Ellis’ that “ there are few libraries abroad which equal the Museum Library
t some nfo 1 Edwai'ds has shown (Letter to Benjamin Hawes, Esq. M.P. p. 34, et seq.) that there are at least nine which exceed
200 0001^ Tkf17! T SeVtTa fhe7 "u nearly equal extent, as those of Wolfenbuttel (190,000), Stuttgard (197,000), Madrid
vard's •— C' db<? extent respectively ol the nine libraries which exceed that of the British Museum is thus stated by Mr Ed-
_ Vols. of Printed Books. Vols. of MSS.
Berlin 250,000 5,000
Gottingen 300,000 5,000
Dresden 300,000 2,700
Naples 300,000 6,000
Vienna 350,000 16,000
Copenhagen 400,000 20,000
St Petersburg 400,000 16,000
Munich ....500,000 16,000
Baris   700,000 80,000
London, British Museum 220,000 22,500
Population.
248,816
9,594
69,000
354,000
320,000
109,000
320,000
95,718
1,528,301
.r . , ^v,***^**,   
™We c(CKuSiZ 'what thv possess betag weU sdected’ -4 admira^
r ^eport, Minutes of Evidence, 2419.
IU pp. f2^' fs.’ contai”in« “ StricluIes »"the taken before the Select Committee
I
296
libraries.
Modern from the time of the Saxons to that of James I. It like-
^Libraries. w;se contains the numerous registers of English monas¬
teries ; the charters of Edgar and of Henry I. to Hyde
Abbey, near Winchester, written in gold letters; and the
manuscript called the Durham Book, being a copy of the
Latin Gospels, with an interlinear Saxon gloss, written
about the year 800, illuminated in the most elaborate style
of the Anglo-Saxons, and believed to have once belonged
to the Venerable Bede. This collection is also rich in
royal and other original letters, and comprises the corre¬
spondence of most of the great personages, not only of this
country,’but throughout Europe, from the earliest periods
at which letters were written until the commencement of
the seventeenth century. The Harleian coWecixon is still
more miscellaneous, though historical literature in all its
branches forms one of its principal features. It is parti¬
cularly' rich in heraldic and genealogical manuscripts, in
the visitations of counties, and in English topographical
collections ; in parliamentary and legal proceedings; in
originals, copies, and calendars of ancient records ; in abbey
registers; in manuscripts of the classics, amongst which
is one of the earliest known of the Odyssey of Homer; in
missals, antiphonars, and other service-books of the Catho¬
lic church ; and in ancient English poetry. It possesses
two very earty copies of the Latin Gospels, written in gold
letters ; and also contains a large number of splendidly illu¬
minated manuscripts, besides an extensive mass of corre¬
spondence. It further includes about three hundred
manuscript bibles or biblical books, in Hebrew, Ghaldaic,
Greek, Arabic, and Latin; nearly two hundred volumes
of writings of the fathers of the' church; and works on the
arts and sciences, amongst which is a tract on the steam-
engine, with plans, diagrams, and calculations by Sir
Samuel Morland. The Sloane collection consists princi-
palty of manuscripts on natural history, voyages and tra¬
vels, on the arts, and especially on medicine. It comprises
the chief of Kaempfer’s manuscripts, with the voluminous
medical collections of Mayerne, including the annals of his
practice at the court of England from 1611 to 1649 ; and
it also contains a collection of medical and other scientific
correspondence, with numerous manuscripts on history,
poetry, and miscellaneous subjects. Some of the drawings
of animals in this collection are exceedingly rich and ac¬
curate; two volumes upon vellum are from the pencil of
Madame Merian ; and one relates entirely to the insects
of Surinam.
In 1807, the collection of manuscripts formed by the first
Marquis of Lansdowne was added to these libraries, having
been purchased by parliament for L.4925. It consists in
part of the Burghley and Csesar papers, supplementary to
the Cottonian collection, but principally of a large assem¬
blage of Bishop Kennett’s manuscripts, and numerous col¬
lections of an historical kind.1 Another large collection of
manuscripts, almost exclusively belonging to the faculty of
the law, was purchased in 1813, of the representatives of
Mr Francis Hargrave. Amongst these, besides numerous
copies of early reports, is an abridgment of equity in forty-
three volumes, by Sir Thomas Sewell, master of the rolls.
A collection of manuscripts, chiefly of the Greek and Latin
classics, which had been formed at a vast expense by the
Rev. Dr Charles Burney, was purchased in 1818. Amongst
these is the Townley Homer, a manuscript of the Iliad, si¬
milar to that of the Odyssey in the Harleian collection ;2
two early manuscripts of the Greek rhetoricians ; a volume
of the mathematical tracts of Pappus ; and a Greek manu-
1 Amongst the single volumes is a manuscript of Hardyng’s Chronicle, a French version of the sacred Scriptures upon vellum,
five volumes of Saxon homilies, and a fac-simile of the Vatican Virgil, executed by Bartoli in 1642. To these may be added, a Chi¬
nese map, and nearly two hundred drawings, in the first style of eastern art, representing the dresses, customs, and natural history
of the interior of China.
2 This manuscript was purchased by Dr Burney, at the price of six hundred guineas.
script of Ptolemy’s Geography, adorned with maps of the
fifteenth century. Two oriental collections have also been Liy
added. One of these, made by Mr C. J. Rich whilst Bri-^—y
tish consul at Bagdad, and purchased by parliament in 1825
contains, amongst other rare manuscripts, several copies of
the Syriac version of the Scriptures, which are believed to
be of great antiquity. The other, a collection made in
different countries of the East, and consisting chiefly of
Arabic and Persian manuscripts, was bequeathed to the
Museum in the year 1827, by the collector, Mr J. F.
Hull. In 1829, a small but valuable collection of ma¬
nuscripts, partly relating to French history, and partly of
a literary character, was bequeathed to the Museum by
the Earl of Bridgewater, accompanied by a small real es¬
tate, and a sum of L.7000 to be invested, and the inte¬
rests, as they became available, applied in the purchase of
manuscripts. The last distinct collection is that of the
Howard-Arundel manuscripts, acquired from the Royal
Society in 1831, partly by exchange, and partly by pur¬
chase at an estimated value of L.3560. It consists of more
than five hundred volumes, contains many manuscripts of
interest in almost every branch of learning, and is rich in
materials for the history of our own country and language.
The ancient rolls and charters of the Museum, many thou¬
sands in number, form another division of the department
of manuscripts, wuth a distinct catalogue. These records
and deeds partly belong to the Cottonian, Harleian, and
Sloane collections, and partly are accumulated additions,
being chiefly illustrative of English history, and of monas¬
tic and other property.
These are the larger and separate collections. The Do¬
nation Manuscripts, as they are called, consist of smaller col¬
lections, which have either been acquired by purchase or are
the gifts or bequests of individuals. Amongst these may
be specified, Madox’s collections for the history of the Ex¬
chequer ; Rymer’s materials for his Fcedera, used and un¬
used; Dr Birch’s historical and biographical manuscripts;
the decisions of the judges upon claims made in the city of
London after the great fire of 1666; Sir William Mus-
grave’s obituary ; Cole’s collections for a history of Cam¬
bridge and Cambridgeshire, with materials for an Athena:
Cantabrigienses ; various Coptic and other ancient manu¬
scripts taken from the French in Egypt; Ducarel’s abstracts
of the archiepiscopal registers at Lambeth; a long series
of calendars of the Originalia Rolls from 1 Henry VIII. to
2 James I.; Sir Andrew Mitchell’s diplomatic correspond¬
ence with every part of Europe, during his residence at the
court of Frederick the Great of Prussia ; Sir William Bur¬
rell’s and Mr William Hayley’s joint collections for the his¬
tory of Sussex ; Mrs Banks’s manuscripts on heraldry, pro¬
cessions, and archery ; Abbot’s drawings and descriptions
of American insects, in seventeen vols. quarto; Wollay’s
collections for Derbyshire ; Sir Joseph Banks’s foreign cor¬
respondence ; Essex’s and Kerrich’s collections on Gothic
architecture and costumes; the Stepney papers; the papers
of the Count de Puisaye, chiefly relating to the Chouan war
and the Royalists of La Vendee, from 1793 to 1825, in a
hundred and seventeen vols.; the Jermyn collections for a
history of Suffolk, in forty-one vols. folio ; the materials col¬
lected by Archdeacon Coxe, whilst employed in the com¬
pilation of his various historical and other works, in two
hundred and six vols.; numerous manuscripts, illustrative
of Italian history, selected from the collection of the Earl of
Guilford ; three hundred and ten rolls commonly known as
the Chancellor’s Rolls, being duplicates of the great rolls ol
stpi
-oft
Get
j1
T'tlli
irari':
V-'i
net
LIBRARIES.
,t the Pipe, between 9 Henry II. and 17 Janies I.; the topo-
' graphical collections of Samuel, and Daniel Lysons, being
chiefly materials for the Magna Britannia and “ Environs
of LondonEgyptian Papyri, partly purchased from Mr
Salt and others, and partly presented by Mr J. G. Wil¬
kinson ; an extensive collection of ancient Irish manu¬
scripts, including one or two copies of the Brehon Laws;
and a selection, made at an expense of more than L.2000,
from the manuscripts possessed by Mr Richard Heber.
The total number of manuscripts in the Museum is about
S^OOO.1
The catalogues of the printed books are chiefly in two
series; first, the printed catalogue of 1812, with manuscript
enlargements, now far exceeding in bulk the original, in
twenty-two volumes folio ; and, secondly, the catalogue of
the library of George III. in five volumes imperial folio,
with an addendum. There is likewise a catalogue of the
geographical and topographical collection attached to the
library of George III. printed in one volume folio to match
the general catalogue of this library, and also in two vo¬
lumes 8vo, 1834. All the catalogues are alphabetical; and
there is yet no general classed catalogue,2 although a sum
considerably exceeding L.5000 has been paid by parlia¬
mentary grants as “ expenditure on account of a classed ca¬
talogue,” and an admirable example of such a work has
been furnished in the catalogue of the library belonging to
the London Institution.3 The want of such a catalogue is
undeniably a great inconvenience. As are the catalogues
i if a library, so will be its utility.4 “ What good is the use
if a library of more than 200,000 volumes,” says Heeren,
‘ if one knows not what it contains, or knows not where
hat which it does contain is to be found.”5 The catalogues
)f the manuscripts are, 1. That of the manuscripts of the
^ )ld royal library, by David Casley, 1734, in 4to ; 2. That
)f manuscripts heretofore undescribed, by S. Ayscough,
L82, in two vols. 4to; 3. That of the Cottonian manu¬
scripts, by Joseph Planta, 1802, in folio; 4. That of the
darleian manuscripts, by H. Wanley and R. Nares, 1808,
n four vols. folio ; 5. That of the Hargrave manuscripts, by
4. Ellis, 1818, in 4to; 6. That of the Lansdowne manu-
cripts. by F. Douce and H. Ellis, 1819, in folio ; and, 7.
I hat of the Arundel manuscripts, by J. Forshall, 1834, in
olio. Manuscript catalogues of the additions in the depart-
nents ol printed books and manuscripts to the latest time
ire kept in the Museum reading-room. There is also a se-
larate manuscript catalogue of the collection of tracts re¬
nting to the civil wars in the reign of Charles I.; and a
eparate catalogue of the Cole manuscripts; besides copies
f the catalogue of the Royal Library, printed privately by
xeorge IV.
pub I he library of the Royal Society is a repository con-
urie: is ting chiefly of books of science and general literature,
1 onvhicli may be consulted by all the fellows, and from
ddch books may also be borrowed by them under the
egulations prescribed by the statutes; nor have the So-
tety, at any time that is remembered, ever refused to lend
ooks or manuscripts to learned men not belonging to
297
their corporation, who had occasion to consult them. The Modern
titles of the books presented to the Society have been in- Libraries,
serted at the end of the later volumes of their Tran sac-
tions; they possess no further catalogue. The library of the
Royal Institution was founded by a few gentlemen, for the
immediate use of the subscribers to that establishment;
but any person may, upon the recommendation of a patron,
always have access to it. This collection contains the best
and most useful edition of almost every Greek and Roman
classic, with the best translations in English, and some in
other modern languages ; the class of mathematical science
in all its branches is very full, including the best scien¬
tific journals, and transactions of learned societies; and
the historical department, founded on the collection of Mr
Astle, which was purchased by the managers at the for¬
mation of the library, is, in its various divisions and sub¬
divisions, exceedingly interesting. A catalogue, metho¬
dically arranged, with an alphabetical index of authors,
by William Harris, was printed in 1809, in 8vo. The lib¬
rary of the London Institution was commenced under the
direction of Professor Person, and has been admirably se¬
lected. Next to that of topography, the departments of
classical literature, mathematics, and history, are the most
amply stocked. It is also rich in bibliography, there being
few works absolutely necessary to be consulted by the
bibliographical student, which may not be found in this
valuable collection. In the “introductory preface” to the
methodical catalogue of the library, recently published,
there are some judicious remarks as to the importance of
classed catalogues. The library of the Surrey Institution,
though less numerous than either of the two preceding
ones, presents a choice collection of the most useful books
in the different departments of literature, together with
some rare and curious works. The catalogue is systema¬
tically arranged, with an alphabetical index of authors.6
The library of printed books founded by Archbishop Lambeth
Bancroft in the reign of King James I. occupies the four library,
galleries over the cloisters of Lambeth Palace. The number
of volumes contained in this library is estimated at upwards
of 25,000, many of which are of extreme rarity. In eccle¬
siastical history and in biblical literature, few collections
contain so large a number of scarce and curious editions.
The class of English topography is also extensive and va¬
luable. The first catalogue of printed books was drawn
up by Bishop Gibson; it was afterwards transcribed in a
fair hand by Dr Wilkins, and has been continued by his
successors to the present time. The manuscripts, many
of which are extremely valuable, are arranged in seven
sets or divisions, distinguished as Codices Lambethiani,
Whartoniani, Carewani, Tenisoniani, Gibsoniani, Miscel-
lanei, and Suttoniani. This department, besides being rich
in copies of the sacred writings, contains Expositions of
the Fathers of the Church; Missals, and Hours of the
Holy Virgin; a number of papal bulls; various treatises
of Wickliffe; manuscripts relating to the history of France,
and other European nations, particularly Spain, Italy, Po¬
land, Germany, and Holland ; seventeen volumes in folio
Ihrough some want of attention and management, the Museum has lost some collections which it might otherwise have ob-
4G7dU74 Ca arly r*at. °lMr K‘eI1lanl ?°Ugl1’ V!h° Ieft his books and manuscripts to the Bodleian Library {Minutes of Evidence,
'enny Cydopw^a^^ ^ *iei30rt’ 4 ' In reSard to tlie contents of the Museum Library, see the article under that head in the
Jecrge111-there is a classed catalogue in manuscript, made by Sir Frederick Barnard, at Buckingham House ;
out tins, says Mr Edwards, “ is not in the reading-room.’ &
v0^PrehenidSi a tablf,of, thf cla5ses ’ secondly a plan of the arrangement, in classes, of the books
emseives , thirdly, a general classed catalogue of all the books ; fourthly, an index of authors’ names and works • and fifthly an
dex of anonymous works, and of many different subjects of which some account is to be found in the library.” As to foreign class
analogues, it is only necessary to mention two examples; first, that of the library of Gottingen, prenared bv the celebrated
' uTVS ’rr'V'ilhl St Pe'erstu’s a„ .cco""' of „hich is given in the Appendix toV „„VbS Mn-
^ O, p- 404, et seq. But that of the London Institution is allowed to be in several respects superior to either.
5 yousllL Report on Prussian Education, in which there are some excellent observations on this subject.
5 "ei)ne s Bwgraphisch dargestcllt, von A. H. L. Heeren, Gottingen, 1812, in 8vo.
■Halt well Horne, Introduction to the Study of Bibliography, vol. ii. pp. G26, 827.
2 P
298
LIBRARIES.
Modern 0f the Shrewsbury correspondence, besides several letters
Libraries, j,0 an(j from Charles II.; and certain manuscripts on herald-
ry and genealogy, written or corrected by Lord Burghley.
But perhaps the two greatest curiosities in this collection
are the ancient French version and exposition of the Apo¬
calypse, ornamented with miniature paintings; and the
Latin copy of the Apocalypse, also beautifully illuminat¬
ed, which is supposed to have been written in the thir¬
teenth century. A catalogue ot these manuscript trea¬
sures, compiled by the Rev. H. J. lodd, the keeper, was
printed in 1812, in one volume folio, at the expense of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.1
Oxford lib- The different colleges of Oxford and Cambridge have
raries. an libraries of various extent attached to them; but in
each university there is at least one great or principal
library, as the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and that of
Trinity College, besides the Public or University Library,
at Cambridge.
Bodleian The Bodleian Library, so called from the name of its il-
library. ]Ustrious founder, was instituted towards the close of the
reign of Elizabeth, by Sir Thomas Bodley, who, having
become disgusted with some court intrigues, resigned all
his employments about the year 1597, and immediately
afterwards undertook the generous task of restoring the
public library at Oxford, which had been despoiled of
its contents in the reign of Edward VI. With this view,
he despatched from London a letter to the vice-chan¬
cellor, offering not only to restore the building, but to
provide a fund for the purchase of books, and the main¬
tenance of proper officers. This offer being thankfully ac¬
cepted, he commenced his undertaking by presenting to
the library a large collection of books purchased on the
Continent, and valued at L.10,000. He also collected 1294
rare manuscripts, which were afterwards increased to 6818,
independently of 1898 in the Ashmolean Museum. Other
collections and contributions were also, by his example
and persuasion, presented to the new library. The most
important of these, perhaps, was a considerable portion of
the very valuable library which had belonged to Jerom
Ossorius, the Cicero of Portugal, successively bishop of
Sylvas and of Algarve, in which last see he died in 1580.
This library having fallen to the share of the Earl of Essex,
amongst the booty which had been taken] in the expedi¬
tion against Cadiz in 1598, part of it was by him presented
to Bodley, in order to enrich the collection he was then
forming. The additions thus made soon swelled to such
an amount that the old building was no longer sufficient
to contain them. The edifice was accordingly enlarged;
and when Bodley had succeeded in enriching his collec¬
tion beyond his most sanguine expectation, he drew up
for its government a body of statutes, which have since
been incorporated with those of the university. The
Bodleian Library was first opened to the public on the
8th of November 1602; and, since 1780, a fund of more
than L.400 a year, arising from a small addition to the
matriculation fees, and a moderate annual contribution
by such members of the university as are admitted to
the use of the library, have been established for the pur¬
chase of books. It would require a volume to contain an
enumeration of the many important additions which have
been made to this library by its numerous benefactors, or
to admit even a sketch of its ample contents in almost
every branch of literature and science.2 It is supposed to
contain upwards of 160,000 volumes of printed books, and
about 30,000 volumes of manuscripts. The oriental manu¬
scripts are the rarest and most beautiful to be found in any
European collection ; and the first editions of the classics, -Ifode
procured from the Pinelli and Crevenna libraries, rival those Lil)rji!
at Vienna. In a word, it is exceedingly rich in many de- '"V
partments in which most other libraries are deficient, and
it forms altogether one of the noblest collections of which
any university can boast; but a complete catalogue of the
valuable stores of literature contained in it is still, we
regret to say, a desideratum ;3 and, for want of a classed
catalogue, the general utility of the collection is mate¬
rially abridged. The first catalogue of the printed books
was published by Dr Hyde in 1674, and another of the
manuscripts was printed in 1697. A fuller catalogue of
the books, compiled by Bowles, Fisher, and Langford, was
printed in 1738, in two volumes folio; but, from the‘im¬
mense increase of the collection since that period, this, as
well as the others, has become of little use. A catalogue
of the manuscripts relating to oriental history, drawn up
by Professor Urie, was printed in 1787, in one volume folio.
In 1795, there was also printed a iVbftVfa of first, early, or
Aldine editions of certain Hebrew, Greek, and Latin works
contained in the library, the articles indicated being all of
the greatest rarity ; and, in 1812, appeared the first part
of a catalogue by Professor Gaisford, of the manuscript
collection purchased by Dr Edward Daniel Clarke, in his
travels through various parts of Europe and Asia. But no
complete or general catalogue, either of the printed books
or the manuscripts, has yet been published ; and for this
reason it is impossible to give any specific or satisfactory
account of this magnificent collection.
The riches of the Bodleian Library are very imperfect¬
ly known to the world, and its stores are increasing faster
than they can be catalogued; yet the library is not gene¬
rally accessible, even to the students of the university;
and the arrangements are such, that the very persons en¬
gaged in teaching have but a limited use of it. The aver¬
age number of daily readers is stated to be about half a
dozen; whilst, in the British Museum, it is at least one
hundred and fifty. The books of the Bodleian Library are
not allowed to go out, and, by this restriction, its utility
is greatly abridged. The use, to a reasonable extent, of
a collection which is certainly one of the best in the
world, would of itself form a strong inducement to study
at Oxford ; and it is inconceivable how this advantage
should have been withheld, considering that the terms in
which Sir Thomas Bodley made his donation to the uni¬
versity present no obstacle whatever to the lending out
of books.4
The libraries of the different colleges are many of themLib®
considerable, some of them extensive, and not a few ofok^
them enriched with much that is both curious and rare.
Bishop Rede contributed the first part of the collection
of books in Merton College, which has since been aug¬
mented, both in manuscripts and in printed books, by the
liberality of succeeding benefactors. University College
Library possesses a considerable collection of printed books
and manuscripts, together with some works of art. Baliol
College Library suffered by the depredations of the visi¬
tors appointed by Edward VI.; but the damage was after¬
wards repaired by' a supply of books from Durham Col¬
lege, and by successive donations. The library of Queens
College contains some curious manuscripts, chiefly heraldic
and political, a valuable series of coins, a collection of nu-
mismatical works, and a fine orrery. The books of New
College occupy two spacious apartments, and there is also
a collection of manuscripts. The library of Lincoln Col¬
lege is chiefly remarkable for a collection of Greek and
i
(m
1 Repertorium Bibliographicum, or Some Account of the most celebrated British Libraries, p. 93.
2 Chalmers, Hist, of the Colleges, attached to the University of Oxford, vol. ii. p. 460, et seq. Reperiorium Bibliographicum, p-
3 Hartwell Horne, Introduction to the Study of Bibliography, vol. ii. p. 629.
4 A Few Words on the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1833, 8vo. Journal of Education, vol. v. p. 288, et seq.
Sder i Latin manuscripts made by Sir George Wheler in his Christopher Wren, being two hundred feet in length, for- Modern
rark travels. That ot All-Souls’ College is an excellent col- ty in breadth, and thirty-eight in height. The collection Libraries,
lection ; it was admirably arranged, under the superinten- is separated into thirty classes, distributed in cases of oak ;
and the books are both numerous and valuable. Amongst
fs
LIBRARIES.
299
dence of Sir William Blackstone ; and the greatest facility
is consequently afforded in consulting any class. In the
library of Brazen-nose College, the ancient custom of
chaining the books to the shelves was strictly observed
until the year 1780, when this conservative practice was
abandoned. This collection is of considerable extent and
value. The library of Corpus Christi College is enriched
with a valuable set of Aldine classics, with many manu¬
scripts and printed books, of great rarity and in excel¬
lent preservation, and with the manuscripts of Twyne
and Fulman, the Oxford antiquarians. The Aldines were
collected by the founder, Richard Fox. In 1755, Lord
Coleraine gave to this library a large and valuable collec¬
tion of Italian literature. The library of Christ Church
would probably have exceeded that of any contemporary
establishment, had Wolsey been able to complete his ori¬
ginal design, which was, not only to supply it with such
books as had appeared since the invention of printing, but
also with copies of the most valuable manuscripts in the
Vatican. This collection is principally composed of the
other literary curiosities, there are some interesting ma¬
nuscripts in the handwriting of Milton. They are con¬
tained in a thin folio volume, which was discovered by Pro¬
fessor Mason amongst the papers of Sir Henry Puckering,
and consist of the original copy of the Masque of Comus ;
several plans of Paradise Lost, composed at the period
when he intended to have mad-e that subject the ground¬
work of a tragedy; and the poems of Lycidas, Arcades,
and several others. Here are also the Arabic manuscripts
left by Dr Gale, and the collection relating to English an¬
tiquities by his son Dr Roger Gale; Sir Isaac Newton’s
copy of his Principia, with his manuscript notes, and
his letters to Roger Coles; and the voluminous Shak-
speare manuscripts and printed books of Edward Capell,
a catalogue of which was printed by Mr Steevens.2
The University or Public Library of Cambridge is ex¬
tensive, and contains much that is valuable or curious both
in the department of printed books, and in that of manu¬
scripts. The printed books comprise a fine series of co¬
extensive and valuable library bequeathed by the Earl of tiones principes of the classics, and a very considerable pro-
Orrery, amounting to 10,000 volumes ; of that left to the portion of the productions of Caxton’s press. The most
college by Wake archbishop of Canterbury, consisting of important acquisition made by this library was that of the
printed books and manuscripts, with a collection of coins collection which had belonged to Dr Moore, bishop of Ely,
and medals; and ot the contributions of a number of be- amounting to 30,000 volumes, which were munificently
nefactors. In 17G7, the numismatical series was further purchased for six thousand guineas by his majesty King
enriched by the collection of British and English coins be- George I., who presented them to the library, and further
longing to Dr Barton, and, in 1780, by that of oriental coins gave L.2000 towards fitting up the apartments destined for
collected by Dr R. Brown, canon and regius professor of their reception. Bishop Moore’s collection, which is sin-
Hebrew. I he library of Trinity College was instituted by gularly rich in the productions of the early English print-
the founder, Sir Ihomas Pope, who was also the first con- ers, was offered to the Earl of Oxford for L.6000, and on
tributor ot books. The collection was afterwards enlarged his refusal was purchased and presented as has just been
by various benefactions, and is now one of considerable mentioned. A method of arranging the books in the public
extent. The library of St John’s College contains a valu- library of Cambridge was long ago proposed by Dr Middle-
able collection of printed books and manuscripts given by ton, but no catalogue of them has yet been printed. The
Archbishop Laud ; many specimens of natural and artifi- number of volumes in this library must now considerably
cial curiosities,^and relics of antiquity; with a collection exceed 100,000. Amongst the manuscripts contained in
of Greek, Roman, and English coins, bequeathed by Dr it are, 1. the celebrated manuscript of the four Gospels
Kawlinson, along with his books. In the library of Wad- and Acts of the Apostles, known by the name of the Co-
brid;
ries.
ham College are many early printed books, and a good
collection of classics and works on theology, together with
French, Italian, and Spanish literature. The library of
Worcester College is a considerable collection, and par¬
ticularly rich in architectural books and manuscripts. The
Radcliffe Library, so called from the munificent founder,
Br Radcliffe, who left L.40,000 for the erection of a pub¬
lic library in Oxford, with an endowment of L.150 a year
to a librarian, and L.100 for the purchase of books, is an
extensive and valuable collection, and contains some valu¬
able but neglected manuscripts.1
I he library of Trinity College, Cambridge, is extensive,
dex Bezce, which was presented to the university by that
distinguished reformer; 2. Magna Charta, written on vel¬
lum ; 3. several very valuable manuscripts purchased at the
sale of Dr Askew’s collection ; 4. some curious Syrian
manuscripts presented by the Rev. Dr Buchanan ;3 5. a
Coptic manuscript written upon long narrow papyrus, with
an ancient stylus; and, 6. a Koran upon cotton paper, su¬
perbly executed.
The library of Bene’t College contains a number of ma¬
nuscripts. Those which were collected after the dissolution
of the monasteries relate to the writings of the fathers,
school divinity, the reformation, civil and ecclesiastical al¬
and contained in a very magnificent structure built by Sir fairs, and the concerns of various religious houses; and
, Lh® state in which William Augustus Schlegel found a manuscript fragment of the Ramayana in the lladcliffe Library, shows
Tl r n condition ,of oriental manuscripts in England is not satisfactory, and that things least used are not always best cared for.
e tollowing is his own account of the matter :—“ We commenced a diligent search ; at last we drew forth from a press which had
ong been unvisited, the separate and torn portions of manuscripts, covered with dust and dirt, and leaves rolled up together promiscu¬
ous y. (jh5 what destruction did I then see! Nothing was ever scattered more confusedly from the Sybil’s cave into every quarter of the
eavens, when the leaves on which she used to write her oracles were carried away by a sudden storm. I was not able to examine
fiisti?.,8!, c °r I WaS in,haste rel,urn home, it being late in the autumn. I selected, however, from the midst of that disgraceful con-
(Sri Bharagavata-,
antiquity of the
m t - .     - ——,   1405-1407. The
Sj ancient in the King’s Library at Paris is a manuscript of the same poem, which was written sixty-five years after, k Samvat,
"irp ’ A ]D' V1 ■■' ^ university of Oxford, therefore, although still ignorant of its wealth, possesses a manuscript which is most
* v’ a .indeed unique in Sanscrit literature.” This statement requires no comment. (Journal of Education, vol. i. pp. 403, 404.)
■*vly m the Present century, a public infirmary, and an astronomical observatory, now amply supplied with astronomical instru-
:s’ were erected from the funds still in the hands of Dr Itadclifie’s trustees.
3 *Mpertorium Bibliographicum, p. 110.
See Chalmers’s History of the Colleges, 4'c- of Oxford, passim ; also Athence Oxonienses, Bliss’s edition. |
LIBRARIES.
300
Modern many of them are in the old Saxon character. St John’s
Libraries.^ College Library contains one of the most valuable and ex-
"" Y^'_ tensive collections of books in the University, particularly
in biblical and classical literature, and is also enriched with
some first editions which came originally from the Har-
leian collection. The Pepysian Library, Magdalen Col¬
lege, is so called from the founder, Samuel Pepys, secre¬
tary to the admiralty in the reigns of Charles II. and James
II. who bequeathed to this college his valuable library, to¬
gether with his prints and drawings. It is remarkable for
a collection of old English ballads, in five volumes folio,
begun by Mr Selden, and continued to the year 1700; and
two volumes of Scottish poetry, consisting of pieces by
Gawin Douglas, Dunbar, Lindsay, Drummond, James I.
and other poets. Dr Percy, in his Reliques, has made a ju¬
dicious selection from the former; and, in 1776, Mr Pin¬
kerton published copious extracts from the latter. Pepys’s
collection of prints and drawings, illustrative of the history
of London, and his rare British portraits, are particularly
valuable.1
Earl Spen- The library of Earl Spencer, at Althorp, Nottingham-
cex s ib- ghij.^ though a private collection, is eminently deserving
of notice here, not so much by reason of its extent, which
is very considerable, as on account of the unrivalled trea¬
sures which it contains in several departments of literature,
sacred as well as profane. This library, amounting to not
less than 45,000 volumes, exclusively of the Cassano col¬
lection purchased in 1820, was entirely formed by the
late Earl Spencer, within a period of time not exceed¬
ing twenty-four years ; and it is unquestionably the richest
private collection in Britain, perhaps in Europe.2 The
foundation of the department of books printed in the fif¬
teenth, and of valuable first editions published in the six¬
teenth century, was laid by the purchase of the collection of
Count Reviczky, a foreign nobleman who had occupied him¬
self in accumulating rare and curious works of a peculiar de¬
scription. But many scarce and valuable impressions of the
classical authors were afterwards obtained; and in the de¬
partments of literature and the belles-lettres it was enrich¬
ed with some magnificent acquisitions. Impressions of
Bibles and Testaments, and of portions of the sacred text
in almost all languages, are to be found in this extraordi¬
nary collection; the departments of classical literature, in
the Greek, Latin, and Italian languages, are of equal, if not
greater extent and value ; whilst the choice, condition, and
splendour of the entire collection are such as render it quite
unique and unrivalled.3 But, perhaps, its most remarkable
feature is the unexampled assemblage to be found in it of
works illustrating the origin and progress of typography.
It contains several books, consisting of impressions taken
from carved wooden blocks previously to the invention of
metallic types, and thus exhibiting the earliest specimens
of stereotype printing. In others, engraved figures consti¬
tute the principal part, to which is added a small proportion
of text, and only one side of the leaf is employed, the other
being left blank. Such is the Ars Memorandi Notabilis
per Figuras, supposed to have been thrown off previous to
the year 1430, and consisting of a number of rude cuts of
the principal events recorded in the Gospels, with text on
the opposite page ; and such, also, is the Ars Moriendi,
the subject of which is a sick man in bed, surrounded by
grotesque and hideous figures of angels and demons. The
taste of the time inclined to the monstrous or the absurd. In jy
the former work St Luke is represented by a bull standing Libra^
on his hind legs, whilst St Mark is depicted as a rampant
lion. The Historia Veteris et Novi Testamenti seu Biblia
Pauperum, also in this collection, is supposed to have been
executed prior to the year 1450, and is by some considered
as the earliest specimen of block-printing. Amongst the
early printed and scarce bibles in the Althorp Library, may
be mentioned the Mazarin Bible, printed between 1450
and 1455 ; one supposed to be the work of Albert Pfister,
prior to 1460; Fust and Schoeffer’s Bible, 1462; that by
Sweyheym and Pannartz, 1471; a Dutch Bible, 1477;
Prince Radzivil’s Bible in Polish; besides other early co¬
pies in the different languages of Europe. The same col¬
lection contains the Latin Psalter of Fust and SchcefFer,
printed in 1457, being the first printed to which a date is
affixed ; and another of nearly equal rarity, printed in 1459.
Many of the earliest editions of the classics, beautiful co¬
pies on vellum, and the works of all the celebrated printers
of the fifteenth century, add to the value of this unrival¬
led collection. The Cassano Library,4 purchased by Earl
Spencer in the year 1820, and soon afterwards united with
his general collection, formed a valuable addition to the
Althorp Library. Amongst other rarities, it contained the
famous edition of Horace, printed at Naples in 1474, by
Arnoldus de Bruxella, of which there is no other known
copy; that of Terence, printed by Riessinger, without date,
but probably not later than 1471; the earlier productions
of the Neapolitan press; rare editions of the early Italian
classics; specimens of early printing at Rome, including
the edition of Juvenal by Ulric Han ; together with all the
rare editions of Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and other Roman
poets.5
We come now to Scottish libraries, and shall commence Advo®
with the largest as well as richest of the number; that oflibran.
the Faculty of Advocates. The plan of forming a library ap¬
pears to have been adopted by the Faculty as early as the
year 1680. The author and active promoter of the scheme
w as Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh. It was origi¬
nally intended that it should consist merely of the works
of lawyers, and of such other books as were calculated to
advance the study of jurisprudence. This maybe infer¬
red from the inaugural address delivered by Sir George
Mackenzie when the library was first opened, and from
several other papers relative to the subject. At its com¬
mencement, this library had no certain fund allotted for
its maintenance. It depended upon and owed its increase
to the donations of benefactors, together with such suras
as the Faculty from time to time placed at the disposal of
the curators. In the year 1700, the apartment where the
library was kept being nearly destroyed by fire, it was re¬
moved to the place which it partly still occupies, namely,
the ground floor of the Parliament House. During the
nine years immediately following, it must have increased
considerably,6 since by the act passed in the eighth year
of Queen Anne’s reign, the privilege of receiving a copy
of every book entered at Stationers’ Hall was conferred
upon it, alongst with eight other libraries, four of which
were Scotch, being those attached to the universities of
St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh.
The department of printed books comprehends, in a
greater or less degree, almost every branch of science,
1 Repertorium Bibliographicum, p. 109, art. Pepysian Library, See.
2 Dibdin, Bibliotheca Spenceriana, preface, London, 1814, in four vols. royal 8vo, with a supplementary volume.
3 Dibdin, CEdes Althorpiance, vol. i. p. 37*
4 So called from the Duke di Cassano Serra, a Neapolitan nobleman, by whom it was sold to Earl Spencer.
5 See Supplement to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana, forming vol. v. of that Descriptive Catalogue of the Books printed in the Fif¬
teenth Century, &c. London, 1823.
6 In 1707, the library received a large donation of books in natural history, to which many of the most costly and magnificent
works on that branch of science have since been added.
LIBRARIES.
301
er: philosophy, jurisprudence, literature, and the arts. As
iriii might be expected, the collection of law-books is exten-
V*' sive; but it is much more complete in ancient than in
modern works, many important treatises on foreign juris¬
prudence being still wanting. The historical collection,
which is exceedingly valuable, contains almost every work
of consequence that has been published in Great Britain,
France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden.
This department alone comprehends upwards of 20,000
volumes. The collection of Greek and Roman classics,
though it cannot vie with some others, is also choice and
extensive, including several first and many early editions.
The library is rich in modern poetry and belles-lettres,
and, besides the miscellaneous department, contains a
very considerable collection of voyages and travels. It
is defective in the great branch of mathematical and
physical science; in archaeology or antiquities; in early
as well as modern Italian literature; and, generally, in
foreign literature of a recent date. Amongst the se¬
parate collections are, the Astorga library, the Thorkelin
collection, and that of old Scottish books. A collection
of Spanish books, amounting to about 3400 volumes,
which had formerly belonged to the library of the Mar¬
quis of Astorga, was purchased from a London bookseller
in 1824, for the sum of L.3000. It consists principally of
works on Spanish history, including the old chronicles, as
well as of books on law and theology, with a sprinkling of the
old Spanish poems and romances. The Thorkelin collec¬
tion, so called from Professor Thorkelin, to whom it ori¬
ginally belonged, contains about 1200 volumes, chiefly on
northern law, history, and antiquities. Of the Scottish
books, those relating to old Scottish poetry are exceed¬
ingly rare and curious. They amount to between three
and four hundred volumes, and their number is likely to
be still further increased by the zeal and research of the
present librarian, Dr Irving, who has already made many
important additions to this collection, partly by the ac¬
quisition of new articles, and partly by detaching curious
pieces from other collections, and putting them in a dis¬
tinct and more accessible form. His labours in this de¬
partment, with which he is intimately conversant, have
been beyond all praise; and he is constantly on the watch
to take advantage of every opportunity that offers for aug¬
menting its treasures. There is also a collection of Ger¬
man dissertations, amounting to upwards of 100,000, call¬
ed Count Diedrich’s collection, which was purchased by
Sir William Hamilton, on account of the library, for the
trifling sum of L.80. This library is not rich in typogra¬
phical rarities. It contains few Caxtons, and, with the
exception of the Mentz Bible, and some specimens of early
printing in Scotland,1 has but little to interest those who
lelight in the productions of the press during the infancy
>f the art. The total number of printed volumes contain¬
ed in the library does not, it is thought, fall much short of
150,000.
Ihe department of manuscripts, though not so extensive
is in some other libraries of the same class, is neverthe¬
less of great interest and value with reference to the civil,
and particularly the ecclesiastical history of Scotland.
Soon after the foundation of the library, the Faculty ap¬
pear to have turned their attention to the collection of
nanuscripts ; and this important department now consists
if nearly 1700 volumes, of which about 250 have been
added within the last fifteen years. The most valuable Modern
portion of the manuscripts is that which relates to the Libraries,
ecclesiastical state of Scotland immediately preceding the
era of the Reformation, and includes, amongst other things,
thirteen chartularies or volumes of records of the different
religious houses, which escaped the general destruction
in which the edifices themselves were then involved.
Considerable light is also thrown on the civil and ecclesi¬
astical history of Scotland at a later period, by the docu¬
ments and other materials contained in the collections
of Sir James Balfour, Sir Robert Sibbald, and Wodrow the
historian. Balfour’s collection, which consists of upwards
of sixty volumes, was purchased at a considerable expense
in 1698. About the half of it consists of original state
papers, and several very curious royal letters written in the
times of James VI. and Charles I. From these, selections
were made by Lord Hailes, and printed in 1762 and 1765.
The Annals of Scotland, compiled by Sir James Balfour,
were also printed in 1824, 1825, in four volumes 8vo. But
there still remain unprinted some manuscripts on genealogy
and heraldry, besides a considerable number of curious
documents. Sir Robert Sibbald’s collection, consisting of
upwards of thirty volumes, was purchased by the Faculty
in 1723. It is chiefly of a topographical and literary cha¬
racter; but the substance of the greater part relating to
topography has already been published. Wodrow’s col¬
lection is by far the most voluminous, consisting of upwards
of 160 volumes. It was chiefly from this immense mass of
materials that that laborious writer compiled his History of
the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland; but by far the
greater portion of the collection, containing many curious
original documents not to be met with elsewhere, is still
unprinted. His correspondence with many eminent li¬
terary characters, embracing a period of more than thirty
years (from 1694 to 1726), and extending to about thirty
volumes, is also full of curious information respecting the
literature and history of the period to which it refers. A
collection of original documents belonging to the reigns
of James V., Queen Mary, and James VI., was presented to
the library by the Earl of Balcarrasin the year 1712; these
papers have lately been arranged and bound, and now
consist of nine volumes folio. This department also con¬
tains Lord Fountainhall’s collections, in his own hand¬
writing, including his decisions, historical notices, diary,'and
other matters. We may likewise notice the curious and in¬
teresting papers of Paton, Murray, Anderson, and Hutton,
all of which have recently been arranged and bound in se¬
veral folio and quarto volumes ; and also those collected by
Mr Scott of Perth, consisting of about twenty volumes folio,
and comprising the Blackfriars charters, in three volumes,
extracts from the records of the Church of Perth, in four
volumes, the records of the Hospital from 1577 to 1732,
extracts from the records of the Kirk-session, a chro¬
nicle, and a register of baptisms and deaths. Amongst
the Scottish historical records are, letters from James V.,
and the Earl of Arran, governor of the kingdom in the
infancy of Queen Mary, to the kings of England, France,
Norway, and Portugal, to the Duke of Guise, the Earl of
Suffolk, and others, from 1539 to 1542: also original let¬
ters by Queen Mary, addressed to her mother the queen-
dowager, during the early years of that beautiful but ill-
fated princess; by Anne of Denmark, queen of James
VI.; by Prince Henry and Prince Charles, his sons; by
1 first Procluction of the Scottish press preserved in this library should not pass unnoticed. It is a breviary composed by
■ ie bishop of Aberdeen for the use of his cathedral, and printed in the year 1509 ; and it consists of two volumes in small octavo, but of
•lie nrst volume the title-page and some leaves at the end are wanting. The second volume, printed in 1510, has at the beginning
1 Can(l at the end these words: “ Opido Edinburgensi impresso jussu et impensis honorabilis viri Walter! Chepman ejusdem
’pi i a lercatoris quarto die Junii milesimo CCCCC decimo.” On the outside of this leaf is a wooden engraving representing a man
woman clothed in skins of beasts, with their shoulders bare, and their heads adorned with wreaths of flowers; whilst between
lem stands a tree, from which is suspended a shield with W. C. in cipher.
302 LIBRARIES.
Modern the Princess Elizabeth, his daughter; and by the Elector
Lib lanes. pa]atine and his son to James VI., entirely of a familiar
nature.
The same department includes a number of manuscripts
on heraldry, genealogy, and Scottish law, besides many of
a miscellaneous nature. It also contains several early
manuscripts of the classics, and a few illuminated missals,
Amongst the former may be mentioned a vety fine copy
of Horace, belonging to the thirteenth century; the plays
of T erence, executed in the year 1436; a copy of the
Epigrams of Martial, in perfect preservation, which, from
the style of the writing, has been ascribed to the ninth
century, and is supposed to be one of the most ancient
manuscripts of the Epigrams extanta copy of Valerius
Maximus, beautifully written on vellum, dated 1398 ; Lac-
tantius De Opificio Dei, a gem of its kind ; the mathema¬
tical collections of Pappus of Alexandria, written in beau¬
tiful Greek, with admirably-executed diagrams; besides
portions of several classics, as Cicero, Ovid, Juvenal, and
Persius, all of considerable antiquity. A manuscript copy
of St Jerome’s translation of the Bible, supposed to have
been written about the tenth century, and said to have
been found in the Abbey Church of Dunfermline during
the reign of David I.; the Auchinleck manuscript, from
which Sir Walter Scott printed the Romance of Sir Tris-
trem ; and Bannatyne’s manuscript, in two volumes folio,
being a collection of ancient poems made by different
learned Scotchmen, lovers of antique song, and “ written
by Geo. Bannatyne in the time of his youth, 1568 ;”2 like¬
wise adorn this department of the library. It was from
the Bannatyne collection that Allan Ramsay selected the
poems which were printed in the Evergreen ; and from the
same source Lord Hailes extracted a volume, which was
printed in the year 1770. In 1825, about a hundred volumes
of Icelandic manuscripts, amongst which are several an¬
cient Sagas, were purchased of Professor Magnuson of
Copenhagen, and added to the collection ; and in the fol¬
lowing year, Mr Elphinstone, and Mr Erskine, former¬
ly of Bombay, presented to the library some valuable Per¬
sian and Sanscrit manuscripts. Not long ago a beautiful
manuscript of the Hebrew Bible was purchased in Ger¬
many ; it is in two large folio volumes; and the Penta¬
teuch, besides the original, has also the Chaldaic para¬
phrase. A manuscript of the Corpus Juris Civilis, well
executed, but of uncertain date and doubtful authority,
and, in several respects, exceedingly defective, was like¬
wise purchased several years ago.
The building which contains the bulk of the Advocates’
Library is not only confined, but is in several parts exceed¬
ingly dark and inconvenient. The historical department,
however, has been separated from the rest of the collec¬
tion, and arranged in a spacious and elegant apartment,
with convenient side-rooms, recently provided for its re¬
ception, being intended to form the grand entrance to a
large building which it is proposed to erect for the recep¬
tion of the great body of the library, as soon as the neces¬
sary funds can be obtained. The library is governed by
five curators, one of whom goes out of office annually by
rotation, and another is elected in his stead from amongst
the body of the Faculty. Under the curators are a prin¬
cipal keeper or librarian, and several assistants. The lib¬
rary is supported partly by the acquisitions which it is
continually making in virtue of the right conferred upon
it by the copy-right act, and partly by an annual sum paid
to the curators for the use of the establishment out of the
revenue of the Faculty. No public institution in Great
Britain, or perhaps in Europe, is conducted with greater
liberality than the Advocates’ Library. Strangers arriv¬
ing in Edinburgh are freely admitted without introduc- 1
tion ; and any one who is at all known is never denied LibranV
the privilege of resorting to, and of reading or writing in, y*
the library. Very eminent men have been keepers of this
collection, particularly Thomas Ruddiman, David Hume
and Adam Ferguson. The present librarian, Dr Irving,
well known by his Life of Buchanan and other works, is
a distinguished scholar, a learned civilian, and eminently
skilled in ancient Scottish history, biography, and poetry.
The first volume of the general catalogue was begun in
1735, and printed in 1742, under the superintendence of
the learned Ruddiman and Mr Walter Goodall; the se¬
cond, consisting of later acquisitions, was compiled by Mr
Alexander Brown ; and this was followed by a third vo¬
lume, printed in 1807, all in folio ; but the manuscript ad¬
ditions which have since been made are at least equal to
other two printed volumes of the same size. There are ma¬
nuscript catalogues of the Astorga and Thorkelin collec¬
tions ; but as yet there exists no separate catalogue of
the manuscripts. A catalogue of the law-books was print¬
ed in 1831, in one volume 8vo. There is no classed ca¬
talogue of the Advocates’ Library, nor even a classed in¬
dex to the general catalogue, which would be a great con¬
venience to those engaged in scientific or literary pursuits.
The library of the Writers to his Majesty’s Signet is an Library
excellent and valuable miscellaneous collection of books oftheffr,
in science, law, history, geography, statistics, antiquities,tfstotl*
literature, and the arts ; and it has recently been rendered8^1
much more accessible by the ample and spacious accom¬
modation provided for it. It is contained in two large and
beautiful apartments, both under the same roof, with small
rooms adjoining. The accommodation altogether is per¬
haps superior to that of any library in Britain. The books
are arranged in classes or departments, not in conformity
to any particular bibliographical system, but with refe¬
rence simply to the nature and extent of the collection,
and the circumstances necessary to be attended to in
placing it in the particular apartments which it occupies.
The arrangement, however, is such as to afford facilities
for reference, and to exhibit, in a general way, the compo¬
nent parts or branches of the collection. The upper apart¬
ment, in which about 14,000 volumes have already been
placed, contains the following classes, viz. theology and
ecclesiastical history; general and particular history, bio¬
graphy, and antiquities ; arts and sciences ; transactions of
learned societies, encyclopaedias, and dictionaries; poly-
graphy, or the collected works of authors who have treat¬
ed on various subjects ; classics, translations, and works
illustrative of the classics ; .and, lastly, belles-lettres and
miscellaneous literature in the learned as well as in foreign
languages. The lower apartment, and the adjoining small
rooms, contain the classes of civil, Scottish, English, and
foreign law ; British and Irish history, biography, anti¬
quities, topography, and statistics, with all works relating
to these heads; geography, voyages and travels; biblio¬
graphy ; belles-lettres, in the English language, and the
miscellaneous productions of British literature; besides
collections of periodical publications, parliamentary reports,
and parliamentary debates, with a collection of maps sus¬
pended in spring cases. The class comprising works re¬
lating to the history, biography, antiquities, topography,
and statistics of the British empire, forms the most ex¬
tensive department of this collection, and is, in fact, near¬
ly complete in most of its subdivisions. The choice and
condition of the books generally-, and the rarity', value,
and splendour of many, deserve particular notice ; and, in¬
deed, this library, though supported exclusively from the
funds of the Society to which it belongs, possesses some
•^n account of this manuscript was published by Mr Dalyellin 1811, in 8vo, two copies of which were printed on vellum.
- Bannatyne’s manuscript was presented to the library, in the year 1772, by the Earl of Hyndford.
CO.
Ml
ant
me
i)ue
of tl
trici
LIBRARIES.
303
den: of the noblest and most expensive works ever published,
aries either abroad or at home. The number of volumes may
A* be estimated at nearly 50,000. There is a classed cata¬
logue, formed on De Bure’s system, and very skilfully exe¬
cuted, which was printed in the year 1805 ; but this applies
only to a small portion of the collection, which has been
very greatly increased since the catalogue in question
was prepared. An alphabetical catalogue of the whole
collection has been printed, in progressive parts; and to
this there is now (1836) in the Press, a classed index,
which will, in a great measure, supply all the advantages
of a catalogue raisonne. The government of the library
is vested in a body of curators, elected by the Society;
and under them are a principal librarian and several assist¬
ants. Here, as is the case of the Advocates’ Library, the
utmost liberality is shown to strangers, and to literary
men generally.
nirg; Like most other college libraries, that of the University
crsifof Edinburgh was founded by a donation ; and, for a long
!• period, the casual contributions of benefactors constituted
its principal means of support as well as of increase. In
1580, Mr Clement Little, commissary in Edinburgh, be¬
queathed his library, consisting of about 300 volumes,
chiefly theological, to Edinburgh and the Kirk of God ;
and this small collection was, not long afterwards, trans¬
ferred by the Town Council to the College, which they
were then instituting. Little’s bequest thus laid the
foundation of the University Library. But it was subse¬
quently augmented, partly by the donations of citizens,
and still more by the benefactions of persons who had re¬
ceived their education in the College. Amongst the lat¬
ter may be mentioned, Dr Robert Johnston, the Rev.
James Nairne, and, above all, Drummond of Hawthornden,
jone of the favourite sons of the Scottish muse. Drum¬
mond bequeathed to the College his whole library, con¬
sisting of about 500 volumes; and the gift is the more
valuable, because, independently of the high reputation of
the donor, the collection is enriched with many rare speci¬
mens of our early literature, and may indeed be considered
as altogether unique and unrivalled. In 1763, the library
)f the incorporation of surgeons was added to that of the
College, in consequence of an agreement, which has event-
aally proved eminently advantageous to the former body,
whatever may be the case in as far as regards the interests
of the University. This collection consisted of about 500
volumes, almost entirely professional, and now of very little
value. The principal bequest which the library has more
recently received is that of Dr William Thomson, who, in
1808, left it about 600 volumes, chiefly on medical subjects,
hi a testamentary bequest by the late General Reid, who
was educated at this university, mention is made of the
ibrary, as an object to the improvement and extension
)f which, his munificent legacy is, amongst other things,
m be applied. The funds by which the library is main-
mined, and its progressive enlargement secured, are, ma-
riculation fees, fees on graduation in three faculties, a
lonation of L.5 from each professor on his induction, an
annual payment of L.20 by the College of Surgeons, oc-
rasional donations of books, and its acquisitions as one of
die privileged libraries ; but from the sums thus realized
ire of course to be deducted the salaries of the persons
imployed in the establishment. The ordinary manage-
nent of the library is vested in nine curators appointed
annually by the Senatus Academicus, four of whom retire Modern
from office every year, and are immediately succeeded by Libraries,
an equal number of professors next in seniority, who are
willing to undertake the duty. Four of these curators are
from the medical, one from the theological, and four from
the general department, including classes neither medical
nor theological.1 This library consists of about 90,000 print¬
ed volumes, including some great typographical rarities ;
and the accommodation now provided for it is of the most
magnificent description, the library-hall being by far the
most spacious and noble apartment in Scotland. As to the
collection generally, it contains much that is valuable, and
a good deal that is both curious and rare ; but, considered
as a repository of varied information in science and litera¬
ture, it is unequal and defective, being redundant in some
branches and deficient in others. Its most ample depart¬
ment is that of medicine, a purely professional one, and
more largely replenished than any other with obsolete
matter. Those of natural philosophy and natural history'
are tolerably supplied with the works belonging to them.
But the case is different in the departments of metaphy¬
sical, ethical, and political science, in all of which the de¬
ficiencies are still great, though, happily, in the way of
being gradually supplied. In classical literature, too, in¬
cluding under that head all that relates to the exposition
and illustration of the ancient authors, there are perhaps
few great libraries more defective.2 It is to be hoped,
however, that every exertion will be made, not only to
supply obvious and glaring deficiencies, but also to give
to the collection that character of generality, founded
upon the possession of all that is most useful and interest¬
ing in every branch of knowledge, which constitutes the
best recommendation of a great public library. This it is
which has imparted to the library of Gottingen its great and
acknowledged excellence. The only catalogue }ret printed
is one of the books relating to medicine, arranged alphabe¬
tically according to the names of the authors.3 In addition
to the public, there is attached to the university a theologi¬
cal library, founded towards the close of the seventeenth
century, and now containing about 5000 volumes.
The history of the library of Glasgow College, though Glasgow
curious and interesting, is chiefly a register of the numer- Lniversitv
ous successive donations by which it was gradually form- lljrar-v‘
ed. Amongst the names of its early benefactors we find
that of George Buchanan, who, it appears, presented to
the college twenty volumes, consisting entirely of Greek
works, chiefly classics,4 and made other benefactions, the
extent of which cannot now be ascertained. This library is
said to contain upwards of 30,000 volumes ; and the funds
for its support are derived from the interest of certain small
sums bequeathed by individuals, from graduation fees, and
from the contributions of students, including the interest
accruing from the deposit money. It also enjoys the pri¬
vilege of receiving books from Stationers’ Hall.5 Amongst
the manuscripts in this library are several volumes by Wod-
row, principally on biography. A catalogue of the print¬
ed books, by Professor Arthur,6 appeared in 1791, and, we
presume, is the one still chiefly consulted, though consider ¬
able additions must have been made since it was printed.
There was very early a library in each of the colleges at St ^n-
St Andrews ; but no mention is made of an university lib- (Le^vs ,
rary until about the commencement of the seventeenth
century. At that period, there occurs a notice of such a
1 Report of Commissioners on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland, App. p. 167, et seq.
3 Lvhh p. 648, quoted in the App. to the Report of the Commissioners on the Univ. and Coll, of Scotland, p. 172.
Catalogus hbrorum ad rem medicam spectantium in Eibliotheca Academia; Edinburgensis, secundum auctorum nomina disnosi-
us- Editio altera. Edinburgi, 1798, 8vo.
1 Such as the works of Plutarch, Plato, Demosthenes, Apollonius, Aristophanes; Strabo, and Euclid.
Appendix to Report of Commission, p. 278, et seq.
Catalogus impressorum librorum in Bibliotheca Universitatis Glasguensis, secundum literarum ordinem dispositus. Lahore et
iuuio Archibald! Arthur, A. M. Glasguse, U'dl, 2 vols. folio. Printed by Andrew E'oulis.
304
libraries.
Modern
Libraries.
Libraries
of Aber-
deen Col¬
leges.
Library of
Trinity
College,
Dublin.
collection ; and a catalogue of its contents, made at the
time, is still extant, the books being chiefly presents from
James VI. and the members of his family. With this pub¬
lic university library, those of St Salvator’s and St Mary s
Colleges came, in process of time, to be incorporated ; and,
rather more than half a century ago, that of St Leonard’s
College, the best of the collections, was conjoined with the
rest. As now constituted, the library is supported by the
interest of money made up out of the excess of the receipts
above the expenditure of its funds, the surplus rent of some
teinds and lands held in lease from the exchequer, certain
fees on graduations, and an annual payment by every stu¬
dent of the university, exclusively of its right to receive
books from Stationers’ Hall.1 It contains about 35,000
printed volumes, and is, upon the whole, an excellent col¬
lection. There is a printed catalogue to the year 1826,
and a progressive manuscript one since that time.
There is reason to believe, that from the first institution
of the university of Aberdeen there was a collection of
books at King’s College, but no particular record of the lib¬
rary or its management, prior to the year 1634<, is now to
be found. The collection is considerable, containing from
15,000 to 20,000 printed volumes, and a number of manu¬
scripts. Amongst the latter are, a splendid copy of the
Koran, said to have belonged to Tippoo Sahib ; a work on
Hindu theology, written upon fine vellum, and rolled on a
piece of ivory like the volumina of the ancients ; and a
Shaster in Sanscrit, written on the leaves of trees. This
library is entitled to a copy of every book entered at Sta¬
tioners’ Hall. Its funds, however, are altogether inadequate,
not. only for the purchase of new, and particularly foreign
publications# but even for binding the books obtained from
Stationers’ Hall, in the way proper for a public library.
The library of Marischal College had its origin in a collec¬
tion of books made at the time of the Reformation by the
magistrates of Aberdeen, and partly procured from the sup¬
pressed monasteries of that city.2 The number of volumes
in it is about 11,000. The funds for supporting this library
arise from fees of graduation, and the interest of a sum of
money amounting to rather more than L.900. The prin¬
cipal and professors of Marischal College have a right to the
use of the books transmitted from Stationers’ Hall, and de¬
posited in the library of King’s College.3
The library of Trinity College, Dublin, owed its esta¬
blishment to a very curious incident. In the year 1603, the
Spaniards were defeated by the English at the battle of
Kinsale. Determined to commemorate their victory by
some permanent monument, the soldiers collected amongst
themselves the sum of L. 1800, which they agreed to apply
in the purchase of books for a public library, to be founded
in the then infant institution of Trinity College. This sum
was placed in the hands of the celebrated Usher, who imme¬
diately proceeded to London, and there purchased the books
necessary for the purpose. It is a curious coincidence, that
Usher, whilst occupied in purchasing these books, met in
London Sir Thomas Bodley, engaged in similar business
with a view to the establishment of his famous library at
Oxford. From this commencement, the library of Trinity
College was at difterent periods increased by many valu¬
able donations, including that of Usher’s own collection,
consisting of 10,000 volumes, until at length its growing
magnitude requiring a corresponding increase of accommo¬
dation, the present library-hall, a magnificent apartment of
stately dimensions, was erected in the year 1732. In 1787
the entire collection consisted of 36,047 volumes of print¬
ed books, and 1111 volumes of manuscripts and prints.
But since that time great additions have been made to the
library. When the French invaded Holland in 1794, the
collection of Pensionary Fagel, amounting to upwards of
20,000 volumes, was removed to England, where, in 1802,
it was purchased by the College for the sum of L.8000,
granted for the purpose by the trustees of Erasmus Smith.11
Another important addition was made to the original col¬
lection by the acquisition of the valuable classical and Ita¬
lian books which had belonged to Mr Quin; and, alto¬
gether, the library of Trinity College now forms one of the
first order, at least in this country. In the department of
printed books, the total number of volumes is now suppos¬
ed to fall little short of 100,000. The Usher manuscripts
amount to 693, the Stearne to 135, the Stearneand Alexander
to 77, and those presented by other persons to upwards
of 200 volumes. Usher’s manuscripts may be classed into
Bibles, and parts of Bibles, with commentaries ; breviaries,
missals, Roman rituals, the works of the fathers, and orien¬
tal writers ; systematic, scholastic, and polemic writers;
catalogues, philosophical, medical, and historical; and,
lastly, Irish histories and genealogies, civil and ecclesiasti¬
cal. The subjects of the Stearne manuscripts are some¬
what similar to these, with the exception that some of them
treat of forensic subjects.5 In this department of the col¬
lection, there is preserved the Gospel of St Matthew, along
with other fragments of Scripture, written in Greek capitals,
and ascribed by Dr Barrett to the sixth century.
M<
Libi;
Foreign Libraries.
Having described the principal libraries of Great Britain
and Ireland, we shall now proceed to those of foreign coun¬
tries, and, in particular, endeavour to give some account of
the principal collections in France, Spain, Italy, Germany,
Poland, Russia, Denmark, and Sweden. This account,
however, must necessarily be brief and imperfect; for,
owing to the magnitude of the subject, the space we can
devote to the whole would scarcely be sufficient for an ade¬
quate description of the treasures contained in the Vatican
or the Royal Library at Paris.
The libraries of France may be divided into those of the Dei
capital, and those of the departments. The principal lib-^K
App. to Report, p. 413.
•7 7- rieSe ^00^s were retained in one of the churches, under the care of the magistrates, and were called the Town’s Librarv, and
hhhnthr.na Kr.rlp.srnstrm. Tin tDo iQtV. ^4' ino/< 1%/r^ m  ‘.i t „ ^. , , , , . . , r
T ^ , 1,1 lI,e cnurcnes, unaer tne care ot the magistrates, and were called the t own’s Librarv, and
Bibliotheca Ecclesiastica. On the 19th of May 1G24, Mr Thomas Reid, Latin secretary to James VI., bequeathed his books to the
college, and left bOOO merks to the town, the interest of which was to be applied as a salary to a librarian. Reid’s collection was
afterwards united to the Bibliotheca Ecclesiastica. and to the books bequeathed by Dr Liddel, and ocher benefactors ; and the whole,
forming one collection, was deposited in the college, of which it now constitutes the public library. (See Appendix to the Report of
Commission on the Uni ersities and Colleges of Scotland, i). Ml.)
3 App. to Report, p. 301.
,4. \lie collection being at first intended for sale by public auction, a classed catalogue by Mr Samuel Paterson was print-
wh!"h hi this_C0lleCii0,n’ “ the Preface Mr Paterson says,_ “ It is one genuine library,
L- \ u u  * i • 0i tins collection, in the pretace Mr Paterson says, “ It is one genuine library,
T t10.*1 •ia'V*een ^CC^”1U m ^e family of lagel, a name of the first respectability, and which has borne in succession the high¬
est civil ofLces in the united states of the Netherlands upwards of one hundred and twenty years. It abounds in many of the
c oices oo s in no ogy and ecclesiastical history, in classical and philological learning, and in most branches of polite literature,
aS’fnd s<jlences ; it includes almost all the great corpora of history, antiquities, and diplomatic science; the books of prints, ar-
chaiological, numismatical, and topographical (which are very numerous), are commonly of the best impressions: as an historical,
geographical genealogical, and statistical library, it may justly rank among the most distinguished.” P
Trinity CdlegTlAbrary, Londof, 1329,1n jfvo^'"’ ^ V' ^ ^ London’ 18i8’ in 4to' ^pertorhm Bibliographiam, art-
libraries.
305
Mncrn
Libries.
ranes of the capital are, the Roya Library, the Mazarin The additions from the Vatican Library selected hv the m„h
Library, the library of the Arsenal, the hbrary of St Ge- French commissioners in 1797, were partf^larly valuab c Ltari™
„ev,eve, the City Library, and the Itbranes of the Cham- amounting to 501 manuscripts. Of these. tweMy were"-
her ofPeers the Chamber of Deputies, the Institute, and Hebrew; forty Syriae ; nineteen Coptic eleven Cid
the University. The libraries of the departments are two nese; 133 Greek, amongst which were he edebrated
hundred and fifty in number, exclusively of those which are Code* Vaticanm of the Septuagint; 176 Latin faclud no
specially annexed to learned bodies, to establishments of the famous Virgil of the seventh century, Terence of h?
public utility to colleges, and other institutions. tenth, Horace of the eleventh, Catsar of ti e twelfth, Plan!
The Royal Library of Pans is justly considered as the tus of the eleventh, Pliny of the tenth, and Ovid of the
finest m Europe. It was commenced under the reign of twelfth centuries ; besides many other manuscripts llus-
Kmg John, who possessed only to volumes, to which 900 trative of the history of the ninth and tenth centuries
were added by Charles V., many of them superbly illumi- Numerous manuscripts in modem languages were also
nated by John of Lruges, the best artist in miniatures of seizor! in virlnn nf f-hn o-nm mil oww, rI'_ 1 . . . •
nated by John of Lruges, the best artist in miniatures of seized in virtue of the compulsory treaty'of folentino naT
that time. Under Francis I. it had increased to J890 vo- ticularly the Commed' n ^ ’ P
lumps, nnrl unrlpr Tamiifi XTTT Tv^ 'XaQA   a /» r-.
lumes, and under Louis XIII. to 16,746. In 1684 it pos¬
sessed 50,542 volumes ; in 1775 it amounted to 150,000 ;
and by 1790 it had increased to about 200,000. At pre¬
sent it contains about 700,000 printed volumes, and 80,000
manuscripts. In 1667, Louis XIV. having ordered all the
medals and curiosities contained in the royal residences to
be collected together, caused them to be deposited in the
library. Learned antiquarians, sent into foreign countries,
augmented this collection ; rare and precious objects were
successively acquired ; and the library at present possesses
the richest and most varied collection that exists in Europe.
The cabinet of engravings, also founded by Louis XIV., is
composed of paintings on vellum, designs, and an immense
collection of prints and maps, from the discovery of en¬
graving to the present time. It contains 1,400,000 prints
or engravings, and 50,000 maps and charts.
The Royal Library is at present divided into the follow¬
ing departments : viz. Itf, printed books ; 2d, manuscripts,
charters, and diplomas ; 3c?, coins, medals, engraved stones,
and other antique monuments ; kth, engravings, including
geographical charts and plans. Ihese four departments
form foui distinct establishments, which, by their import¬
ance and the richness of their treasures, exceed every thing
of the kind that is to be found in other countries. It is in¬
dispensable that the library should every year make the
acquisition either of foreign books or of French works in
which it is deficient; and it is equally obliged to purchase
manuscripts, prints, charts, and medals. A decree of 1556,
which fell into desuetude during the troubles of the Fronde,
hut was renewed in 1689, imposed on publishers the obli¬
gation of furnishing to the Library of the King copies of all
works printed by privilege ; and each copy required to be
hound. At present the law prescribes the deposit of copies
0 , l)00^s printed ; but the other condition is dispensed
Wlth: In consequence of this privilege, the Royal Library
leceives annually about 9000 volumes stitched; and the
number of foreign books sent to it, or acquired by purchase,
may be estimated at from 2000 to 3000 volumes. Now, as
„ Commedia of Dante, transcribed by Boccacio,
the Arcadia of Sannazaro, Michel Angelo’s letters, and
also those of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn; besides 136
early printed books, thirteen Etruscan vases, and 737 an¬
cient coins, lo these must further be added the manu¬
scripts collected by the French in other parts of Europe,
to which their victorious eagles had penetrated. But
the events of 1814 and 1815 were followed by as complete
a restitution of the literary treasures as of the works of
art acquired by right, or rather by abuse, of conquest.
Of the contents of this magnificent, nay matchless collec¬
tion, it would far exceed our limits to give any details, or
even to enumerate the choicest articles. It is rich in every
branch and department, unique in some, scarcely surpassed
in any, unrivalled in all taken together.^ Of books printed
on vellum, it contains at once the finest and most exten¬
sive collection in the world.2 Excepting on Sundays and
holidays, the Royal Library is open daily, from ten until
two o’clock ; every book is brought that is required ; and
literary men of known respectability are permitted to take
books to their own residences. The annual expense of
the establishment is 274,000 francs, or nearly L.l 1,000
sterling, which is provided for in the budget. The princi¬
pal librarian is the celebrated Hellenist, M. Letronne, with
the title of director-president; the conservators, or keepers,
are MM. Van-Praet, Magnin, Champollion-Figeac, Hase,
Silvestre de Sacy, Raoul-Rochette, Ihevenin, and Jomard,
all men of distinguished eminence. The actual adminis¬
tration of the library is conducted in conformity with the
principles and rules prescribed in an Ordonnance du Roi,
dated 26th March 1833.3
There is no complete catalogue of this vast collection.
That ofLabbe, printed in 1653, in 4to, treats of some manu¬
scripts, which are divided into historical and chronological,
biblical and theological, epistolary and diplomatic, techni¬
cal and philological. Anicetti Mellot’s catalogue of the
manuscripts in the Royal Library was printed at Paris,
1739-1744, in four vols. folio. The first volume contains
the'nrirp nf  vuiuiuca. x>uw, US the oriental manuscripts; the second, the Greek manu-
three frLl-f bj „ ing each volume 1S> °n an average, scripts; the third and fourth comprise those in the Latin
36,000 franr, 1 T iTn^ f, amountinS to about language. The catalogue of the printed books, arranged
to defrav fhn L-145°’T°"ld necessary, every year, by Sallier Boudot, in six vols. folio, comes down only to
have fo/mln °f b-ndl^ alone- But as the funds the Jear 1753- Besides these, there are notices and ex-
this evnpn x yTv! bee? insudlcient t0 meet the whole of tracts of the manuscripts in the Royal and National Lib-
volumefst tchelf nr at Pr,eSe,nt “or£: than 120’000 raries> Paris> 1787-1804, in seven vols. 4to, and a cata-
80 000 wS S b°ard*’ ant.d °[.these there are about logue the Sanscrit manuscripts in the former collection,
wise 15 nnn mgendy re(Iuire binding. There are like- by Hamilton and Tangles, Paris, 1807, 8vo. There is no
or of S- r rrCnPtS Which either recluire to be bound> classed catalogue.4
  h the bmding should be renewed.1 This library was founded by Cardinal Mazarin. TheMazarin
library.
PP; 525,IS"'" queSri°m adrcss'tcs au Gouverncmcnt Franks sur les BMiotMques, Appendix to Report on the British Museum,
storecUn ^Sl^and^lMS^3 ^The tota.?nnrr)hn, nf ^f ^ Lib/ary at Paris> amounts to 1467, exclusively of those re.
tb2 richest in this country ITrvP eXta"t doeS n°l exceed 2700. Lord Spencer’s collection, which is
18.22, in six vols. 8vo.) ^ 1 S °nly l08- (Van-praet, Catalogue des Livres imprimis sur Velin de la Bibliotheque du Roi. Paris,
No; ^nol'efseq!’ ** mslement concernant Ia BiUiothlque Royale, 26 Mars 1833. Appendix to Report on the British Museum,
vnr PrU!Ce’ Essai Historique sur la BiUiotheque du Roi, Paris, 1782 ; Horne, Introd. to Study of Bibliography, vol. ii. p. 567, et seq.
V°L. XIII,
2 «
306
libraries.
Modern formation of it was intrusted to the learned Gabriel Naude,
Libraries, who, having first selected all that suited his purpose in the
'***-'f~*~' booksellers’ shops in Paris, travelled into Holland, Italy,
Germany, and England, where the letters of recommenda¬
tion of which he was the bearer enabled him to collect
many very rare and curious works. In 1648, this collec¬
tion consisted of 40,000 volumes, and was already a pub¬
lic library, though that of the king did not become one
until 1737. Cardinal Mazarin by his will bequeathed it to
the college which he founded, and which, until the epoch
of the llevolution, bore the name of the founder. At pre¬
sent it contains 90,000 printed volumes, and 3437 manu¬
scripts. It is remarkable for a great number of collections
containing detached pieces, and small treatises, which date
as far back as the fifteenth century, and exist nowhere
else ; nor has any other library so complete a body of the
ancient books of law, theology, medicine, and the physi¬
cal and mathematical sciences. It also possesses a most
precious collection of the Lutheran or Protestant authors.
In one of the halls are placed models in relief of the Pe-
lasgic monuments of Italy and of Greece; in another is^
a terrestrial globe, eighteen feet in diameter, formed of
plates of copper, and executed by order of Louis XVI. I his
monument, which is unique in Europe, is unfortunately
not finished ; a sum of 25,000 francs (L.1000) would be
necessary to provide it with the requisite circles. The Ma¬
zarin Library is habitually frequented by more than an hun¬
dred readers. It is supported by an annual grant of about
L.1400, provided for in the budget.1 M. Petit-Radel is
the principal librarian.
Library of This library, founded by the Marquis de Paulmy, for-
the Arse- meviy ambassador of France in Poland, was, in 1781, ac¬
quired by the Count d’Artois, who conjoined with it near¬
ly the whole of the library of the Duke de Valf re. It con¬
sists of more than 175,000 volumes, of which about 6000
are manuscripts. It possesses the most complete collection
extant of romances, since their origin in modern literature ;
of theatrical pieces, or dramas, from the epoch of the mora¬
lities and mysteries ; and of French poetry since the com¬
mencement of the sixteenth century. It is less rich in
other branches, but it has all works of importance, and, in
particular, contains historical collections which are not to
be found elsewhere. The library of the Arsenal has always
attracted the attention of the learned from all parts of Eu¬
rope. It is constantly frequented by more than sixty read¬
ers, who there apply themselves to scientific and literary re¬
searches. The annual grant for its support is 36,000 francs,
or L.1440. M. Charles Nodier is principal librarian.2
Library of The foundation of this library dates as early as the year
St Gene- 1624, w hen Cardinal de Rochefoucauld, having reformed the
Sainte-Genevieve, made it a present of 600 volumes. In
1687, the abbey had already 20,000 printed volumes, and
400 volumes of manuscripts. In 1710, Letellier, archbishop
of Paris, bequeathed to it all his books. At the epoch of the
Revolution it possessed 90,000 printed volumes and 3000
manuscripts; at present it contains 160,000 volumes and
3500 manuscripts. In it may be found all the academical
collections, and a complete set of Aldines ; it is particu¬
larly rich in historical works; and its most remarkable
manuscripts are Greek and oriental. Its typographical
collections of the fifteenth century are not more valuable
for their number than the high state of preservation in
which they are found. This fine library is daily frequented
by upwards of two hundred persons, of whom more than
a half are students in the different faculties. It is sup¬
ported by an annual grant from the public treasury of
40,500 francs, or upwards of L. 1600. The principal lib- m
rarian is M. de Lancy.3 . . Libh.
The City Library contains 50,000 volumes, and is sup-^'-
ported by a grant of'7500 francsfrom the funds of the muni-[?t!l' 4
cipal council. The library of the Chamber of Peers con-TT
tains 16,000 volumes, and has allotted to it a sum of 10,000 les1
francs for the purchase of books and to defray the expense
of binding. The library of the Chamber of Deputies con¬
tains 50,000 volumes, and receives annually a sum of
12,000 francs for the same objects. The University Lib¬
rary, which is placed in the buildings of the Sorbonne,
consists of 40,000 volumes, and is very useful to the stu¬
dents of the different faculties, who frequent it in the inter¬
vals between the lectures or prelections. It expends an¬
nually a sum of about 1800 francs.4
The foundation of the library of the Institute was theLlbjr
old City Library (Bibliothequede la Ville), which consisted0P ln.
of scarcely 20,000 volumes. At present this excellent8111
and useful collection amounts to nearly 80,000 volumes.
It is not yet complete in any department; but it never¬
theless exhibits the best possible selection of the princi¬
pal wmrks in all the important branches of human know¬
ledge ; and it may be truly said that it is kept up to the
actual state of science and learning. In the acquisitions
which are made, the object is not to search for rare editions,
but to obtain such as possess some peculiar merit. Aca¬
demical collections of all kinds and of all countries, ma-
o-azines and journals of science and literature in all lan¬
guages, are to be found in it in greater number than any
whe're else. The library increases daily. Numerous works
are presented to the Institute, which, on its part, is con¬
stantly making new acquisitions ; and the premises allotted
for its accommodation have become insufficient to contain
its accumulations. This collection is reserved for the
members of the five academies of which the Institute is
composed; but all strangers presented by them are ad¬
mitted, and it is de facto public. As it is open every day
during seven hours, the service therein is more severe than
in the other libraries, which are only open four hours, and
enjoy vacations. The number of books has been quad¬
rupled since the institution of the library, and yet the
number of the conservators and assistants remains the
The annual expense of the establishment, though
same.
amounts to 46,500
vieve.
arranged with the strictest economy
francs, or about L.1860.5
The provincial libraries of France, as they are supported pjj
at the expense of the different cities, are naturally placed lit!
under the immediate direction of the mayors and muni¬
cipal councils'; but they are not the less on that account
under the superintendence of the superior authority of the
minister of public instruction. Their number, as already
stated, exceeds 250, exclusively of those attached to socie¬
ties, colleges, and other institutions. Amongst the most
considerable are those of Bordeaux (115,000), Lyons
(100,000), Aix (75,000), Besanqon (56,000), Amiens
(48,000), Versailles (40,000), Marseilles (35,000), _ Tou¬
louse (30,000), &c. The catalogue of the manuscripts m
the library of Lyons, 1518 in number, is one of the most
interesting which has issued from the French press (Fans
et Lyon, 1812, in three vols. 8vo). The preliminary dis¬
quisition contains notices of the ancient libraries of Lyons,
the historical essay on manuscripts contains a neat account
of the materials anciently used in writing ; the biography ot
writers who have treated of the subject, though brief, e
worthy of attention ; and the manuscripts are classed anc
described with equal judgment and learning.0
’ Bibliothtques Royales, App. to Iteport, note (M), art. 47, p. 0G7.
3 Ibid. App. to Report, tibi supra. 4 Reponses aux Qi/cslions, &C
2 Ibid. App. to Report, ubi supra.
:. in the Appendix to Report, Mo. 18, p- •
it. ± 7 I J- L cy/u / loud uiicv vx. • in - -
Hotcs sur le Budget du Ministere de VInstruction Publique, chap. vii. Appendix to Report, p. 564.
e Reponses, &c. App. to Rep. ubi supra; Edwards, Letter to Benjamin Hawes, M. P. p. 36 (note); Horne, Introd. to Bibliog. vol. m P
, 573.
LIBRARIES.
307
Moc n The number of public libraries in Spain is much greater Celtic, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Gothic, Modern
Libnes- than has commonty been supposed, nor have the science Arabic, and modern coins and medals, in excellent pre- Libraries,
and literature of that country sunk to such a state of servation. “ Le cabinet des medailles de Madrid,” says
if1". depression as some have been pleased to represent. Few M. Faure, “ est sans doute le plus remarquable de 1’Eu-
1 ir nations, it is true, have ever been doomed to pass through rope. landis que Paris, qui I’emporte si incontestable-
so long and dreary a course of misgovernment; in none ment sur la capitale des Espagnes par les monumens des
have bad laws corruptly administered, and a system of arts et de 1’antiquite, n’a que cent mille medailles dans
civil polity at variance with every sound principle, done sa collection, il y en a cent quatre-vingt-trois mille dans
more to cramp the energies and debase the general cha- celle de Madrid: cent cinquante mille sent classees dans
racter of the people. But in spite of the evils which have 1’ordre le plus parfait; trente-trois mille seulement res-
thus been entailed upon her, Spain is by no means the tent a classer. Ces preuves materielles du passage des
degraded and benighted country which many have been Celtes, des Tyriens ou Pheniciens, des Carthaginois, des
led to suppose. Her scientific and literary institutions Remains, des Vandales, des Sueves, des Alains, des
are respectable ; several of her establishments are admi- Goths, des Maures sur cette malheureuse terre qu’ils se
rable; and some of her collections are unique. I he very sont arrachee les uns aux autres, reconcile avec les Es-
extravagance and absurdity of her fiscal regulations and pagnols, dont on a d’ailleurs tant d’occasions d’accuser 1’-
expurgatory prohibitions have served to defeat their own indifference. On trouve dans cette collection precieuse
operation; and the contrabandistas have ministered to de quoi applaudir au zele de ceux qui font formee et de
those wants which, under a better and more healthy sys- ceux qui 1’entretiennent avec tant de soin.”2 A still more
tern, would have been supplied by the regular dealer.1 recent traveller, speaking of the Biblioteca Real, says, “ It
This applies to books as well as to other articles; for is one of many institutions which awaken the admiration
where there is a demand, no law can prevent the supply, of the stranger in Spain, as being at variance with the
though it may change the direction in which it flows, pervading decay.”3 The only catalogue that has been
Hence the quantity of books of every kind in general cir- printed is one of the Greek manuscripts, by D. Juan
eolation has at all times been much greater than persons Yriarte (Madrid, 1769, folio); a work rarely to be met
unacquainted with the real state and condition of that with, the king of Spain having reserved the whole impres-
country could have imagined. But our business here is sion for presents.
with the public and permanent collections of Spain, which The convent of the Escorial, situated upon the south-Library of
are, the Royal Library at Madrid, the library of the Escu- ern declivity of the Guadarrama chain, about half way the Esco¬
rial, and the libraries of the provinces. up the mountain, owes its existence to a vow made by rial-
k°’ There are in Madrid four public libraries, which are Philip II. during the crisis of the battle of Saint-Quintin.
Ii,,r ' constantly open from nine in the morning until two in the It derives its name from San Lorenzo del Escorial,4 to
afternoon, holidays excepted. Of these, the principal is whom it was dedicated, and has been often described. At
the Biblioteca Real, which was, several years ago, re- present we have only to do with the literary treasures
moved to a building erected for the purpose in the square contained in this magnificent edifice. In the library of the
beside the palace. This noble collection is open to all, Escorial there are about 130,000 printed volumes, and
as far at least as the printed books are concerned. The between 4000 and 5000 manuscripts, of which 567 are
reading-tables are placed in three spacious apartments, Greek, 67 Hebrew, and 1800 Arabic. The Arabic manu-
corresponding to as many sides of the edifice, which is scripts were originally much more numerous ;5 but a large
built round a court, with a fine stair-case in the centre ; proportion of them was consumed by the fire which, in
in the middle of these rooms are rows of tables provided 1671, destroyed a great part of the library, and all that
with writing materials and chairs; and against; the walls remains is the number just stated. Besides these, which
are the book-shelves, numbered and tastefully ornament- are extremely curious, there are detached manuscripts of
ed. The catalogues are kept in a small room apart, where great rarity and value, particularly one of the Four Gos-
there are two or three persons in attendance to answer pels, written on 160 leaves in gold letters, and supposed to
the inquiries of the stranger, and to furnish him with the be of the tenth century; a treatise by St Augustin, De
number and shelf where any particular work may be Baptismo Parvulorum, said to be in his own handwrit-
found. The service of the library is excellent. The ing ; the original works of St Teresa ; and a parchment roll
principal attendants, ten in number, are respectable lite- containing an original Greek manuscript by St Basil. The
rary men, who find here a maintenance, and leisure to fol- books are placed, whimsically enough, with their backs to
low their different pursuits. The Royal Library contains the wall, so that the edges of the leaves are turned out-
200,000 printed volumes, and from 4000 to 5000 manu- wards, and the titles of the works written thereon. This
scripts, amongst which are many valuable Greek, Latin, was the practice of Arias Montanus, whose library formed
and Arabic manuscripts, and unedited works, chiefly Spa- the basis of that of the Escorial; and the same absurd
nish. The establishment of the library consists of one method has continued to be followed for the sake of what
principal librarian, D. Joaquin Patino, six keepers, and is called uniformity. The library of the Escorial was
the ten attendants already mentioned. The Monetario, or founded by Charles V.6 There is no printed catalogue of
cabinet of medals, is arranged in an elegant and beauti- the books; and that of the learned Casiri includes only
ful apartment, and contains an unrivalled collection of the Arabic manuscripts rescued from the conflagration
1 Le fisc preleve des droits aux frontieres des royaumes de Navarre, d’Aragon, de Castille, de Valence, de Grenade, a cours de
1’Ebre, autour de seigneuries de Catalogne et de Biscaye, vers les frontieres de Portugal; d’ou la chertd des denrees ou marchandises,
et les avantages de la contrabande. On estime a vingt mille hommes I'armee des contrubaudiers en Espagne." (Mortonval, Conde de Vil-
lamayor).
2 laure, Souvenirs du Midi, ou VEspagne telle qu'eUe est, pp. 43, 44, Paris, 1831, in 8vo.
3 A Year in Spain, vol. i. p. 243, et seq. London, 1831, in 8vo.
4 Escorial is formed from the Spanish word escoria, signifying dross. It is commonly applied to all places where there are old or
exhausted mines.
5 In a fortress belonging to the emperor of Morocco, there were found 4000 Arabic manuscripts, which were carried to Paris
for sale; but not being prized in that capital, they were transported to Madrid, where about 3000, including the most valuable, were
selected for the library of the Escorial by order of Philip II.
It is not a little singular, that in the return of the “ Public Libraries and Archives of Spain,” made to Lord Palmerston by Mr
308
LIBRARIES.
Provincial
libraries.
Italian
libraries.
Modern of 1671, with a few others subsequently acquired. This
Libraries, catalogue, however, is particularly valuable, inasmuch as
each manuscript is not only enumerated, but its age and
the author’s name, when known, are also given, together
with occasional extracts both in the original Arabic and
in the Latin language.1
The number of provincial libraries in Spain is consider¬
able. The more extensive and important are those of
Toledo (30,000), Salamanca (24,000, with 1500 MSS.),
Santiago University at Coruna (17,307, with forty-one
MSS.), and Valladolid (13,000). But at Malaga, Peruel,
Seville, Murcia, Lugo, Cervera, Oviedo, Palma, and some
other places, not to mention the library of the Asturian
Institute, and that of the Junta of Commerce at Coruna,2
are collections of books varying from 3000 or 4000 to be¬
tween 9000 and 10,000 volumes each.
Italy is rich in literary institutions of all kinds, particu¬
larly in noble collections of books and manuscripts. In¬
deed there is scarcely a city in the whole peninsula with¬
out its library; and many of those which are considered
as small collections in that country would be differently
estimated in most others. It is to be regretted, how¬
ever, that of some of the larger collections, as for instance
the Ambrosian Library at Milan, no adequate account can
be given, owing to the inaccessibility of the necessary
materials.
Library of Amongst the libraries of Italy, that of the Vatican, at
the \ ati- Rome) stands pre-eminent, not more for its grandeur and
magnificence, than for the inestimable treasures with which
it is enriched. The origin of this library is attributed by
some to Pope Hilarius, who, in the fifth century, founded
one in the Lateran Palace. But although it is probable,
that, even prior to that period, the Roman church must
have possessed a considerable stock of books for the use
of its clergy, yet it may be supposed that the pontiffs
were too much occupied with the dangers and difficulties
of the times, to have either the leisure or the means ne¬
cessary for the formation of libraries. That a good many
volumes, however, had been collected at an early period,
seems pretty certain ; nor is it less so, that Pope Zacha-
rias considerably augmented their number about the mid¬
dle of the eighth century. Still Nicholas V., learned him¬
self, and a distinguished patron of letters, is justly consi¬
dered as the founder of the Vatican Library; for of the
collections of his predecessors little remained when he
ascended the papal throne, the books having been either
lost or destroyed by the frequent removals from Rome to
Avignon, and from Avignon to Rome. This pontiff added
above 5000 manuscripts to the original collection, placing
all in the Vatican; and Calixtus III. is said to have en¬
riched it with many volumes saved from the libraries of
Constantinople, when that city fell into the hands of the
Ottomans. From this period, it continued to increase in a
regular progression, receiving almost every year vast ad¬
ditions, sometimes even of whole libraries, owing not only
to the favour of the pontiffs and various princes, but also
to the well-directed zeal of its librarians, many of whom
have been men of eminent talents as well as of high rank
and extensive influence.3 4 Under the reign of Pope Urban J ;e
VIII. a most valuable addition was made by the purchase L ^
of the library at Heidelberg, belonging to the Elector Pa-''
latine; and those of the Dukes of Urbino, and Christina
queen of Sweden, were likewise annexed to the collection
in the Vatican. The same pontiff despatched Leo Alla-
tins into Germany for the purpose of selecting the most
valuable books to be sent to Rome j* and by these acqui¬
sitions, conjoined with the liberality of subsequent popes,
the Vatican Library became the richest perhaps in the
world, at least in manuscripts, before the most valuable of
these were conveyed to Paris in the year 1797.
This magnificent library consists of three divisions or
compartments, besides the vestibule; the ante-room, the
double gallery, and the great saloon or hall. The vestibule
contains Chinese works relating to geography and chro¬
nology, together with two columns bearing ancient inscrip¬
tions. The ante-room is appropriated to the two keepers
of the library, and the secretaries, or rather interpreters,
seven in number, who can speak the principal languages
of Europe, and who attend for the convenience of learned
foreigners. In this apartment are also accommodated
those engaged in translating from the Hebrew, Arabic,
Syriac, Greek, and Latin languages ; and it is open daily
for the use of students, Thursdays and holidays alone ex¬
cepted. Passing from the ante-room, the visitant enters
a double gallery of two hundred and twenty feet in length,
which strangers at first conceive to be the whole library;
but at its extremity there opens upon the astonished visit¬
ant, in almost interminable perspective, another gallery,
which, according to some, exceeds a thousand English
feet in length,5 and forms the great saloon or hall of the
Vatican, with various rooms and cabinets annexed. These
galleries and apartments, all vaulted and painted with
varied effect by painters of different eras and talents, con¬
stitute the receptacle of this noble collection. The books
are all kept in close cases ; and in the Vatican the stranger
seeks in vain for that imposing display of volumes which
he may have seen and admired in other libraries. The
number of these has never been accurately stated; some
confine it to 200,000, others raise it to 400,000, and some
swell it to more than 800,000,6 whilst not a few, carrying
exaggeration into the other extreme, reduce it as low as
90,000, and even below 50,000, or the number of the ma¬
nuscripts. This monstrous discrepancy has been occa¬
sioned partly by the want of a catalogue, and partly also
by the books being kept in close cases ; but when we take
into view the successive accumulations of so many cen¬
turies, and consider the number of entire libraries which
have, at different times, been combined with this vast col¬
lection, we shall not probably err in estimating the total
number of printed volumes at upwards of 500,000, amongst
which is a choice collection of books printed in the fif¬
teenth century.
But the superiority of this library consists not so much in
the quantity of printed books it contains, as in the number
of its manuscripts, which are said to exceed 50,000.7 Some
of these manuscripts are of the highest antiquity, such as
Yilliers, and printed in the Appendix to the Report on the British Museum (p. 511, et sen.), no notice whatever is taken of the lib-
length ^ 6 ^ SCOna^ ’ wllls*: *^ie regulations of a provincial library (that of the Junta of Commerce at Coruna) are inserted at full
1 Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis, Madrid, 1760-1770, in two vols. folio.
s See Appendix to the Report on the British Museum, pp. 514, 515, et seq.
3 Eustace, Classical Tour through Italy, vol. ii. pp. 57, 58, London, 1817, in 8vo.
4 Allatms wrote in Italian a tract on the conveyance of the Palatine Library to Rome, which tract was translated into Latin by
Quade, and published at Gryphiswald, 1708, in 4to.
•’ Rome in the Nineteenth Century, vol. ii. p. 383, Edinburgh, 1822, in 8vo. Mr Eustace {Classical Tour, vol. ii. p. 56), makes the
great hall only 800 feet in length, which seems more likely to be correct. > b
Eustace, Classical Tour, vol. ii. p. 57.
' number of manuscripts, like that of printed books, has been variously stated. In Starke’s Guide (art. Biblioteca Vaticana,
c. vn.) it is set down as forty thousand.” The authoress of Rome in the Nineteenth Century (vol. ii. p. 380) informs us that the col-
LIBRARIES.
309
Mot'n
that of Virgil of the fifth century, written in capital let-
iibnies. ters, and illuminated with miniatures, representing the La¬
tins and Trojans in the respective dresses of their own
times; a Terence equally ancient; another of the ninth
century, illuminated with ancient masks; a Greek Bible
of the sixth century, written in capital letters, according
to the Septuagint version, and from which all the subse¬
quent copies have been taken ; and the Gospels of St Luke
and St John, written in the tenth centurjq and bound in
ivory. Amongst the rare manuscripts in this splendid
collection may also be mentioned, several Hebrew, Syriac,
Arabic, and Armenian Bibles ; a very large Hebrew Bible
presented to the library by the Duke of Urbino, for which
the Venetian Jews offered its weight in gold ; a Greek ma¬
nuscript containing the Acts of the Apostles, written in
gold letters, and presented to Innocent VlII. by the queen
of Cyprus; a Missal written in 1118 ; another adorned with
miniatures by Giulio Clovio, the scholar of Giulio Romano,
and the finest miniature-painter of his time ; a large Bre¬
viary, ornamented with beautiful miniatures, and present¬
ed to the library by Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary ;
the Annals of Baronius, in twelve volumes, written with
his own hand; several volumes of Ecclesiastical History,
by the learned Onofrio Panvinio ; a Martyrology, curious
on account of its antiquity and its miniatures; a manu¬
script of Pliny, with five miniatures of animals ; a beauti¬
ful copy of Tasso’s Gierusalemme Liberata; a Dante
adorned with exquisite paintings, begun by the Floren¬
tine school, and finished by Giulio Clovio; a treatise on
the Seven Sacraments by Henry VIII. of England; se¬
veral Letters between that royal wife-killer and Anne
Boleyn; several papers written by Martin Luther; and
manuscripts on Egyptian papyrus. This library possesses
a very fine cabinet of medals, which was carried off by the
French, but compulsorily restored, after the events of
18H and 1815. There is also attached to it a chamber
filled with a fine collection of prints, to which admission
can only be obtained by a particular order; and in ano¬
ther are deposited the secret archives of the Vatican, to
which, of course, there is no admission at all. A cardinal
is always nominal librarian; but the actual head of the
Vatican Library is the celebrated Angelo Maio, so dis¬
tinguished for the discoveries which he has made by de¬
ciphering the palimpsest or rescribed manuscripts.1 In
fine, there is every reason to conclude that the riches of
this department have by no means been fully explored,
and that an abundant harvest yet awaits future inquirers
who to the requisite skill join inflexible perseverance.
The other libraries at Rome, of sufficient importance to
deserve notice, are the Barberini collection, containing
about 50,000 printed books, and several thousands of ma¬
nuscripts; the Colonna Library, distinguished for about four
hundred volumes of books and engravings, printed or exe¬
cuted in the fifteenth century; and the collection of the
Koman College, in which is contained the library and mu¬
seum of Athanasius Kircher, the German Jesuit, so famous
Othc
srii-.
li'i;
for his misapplied learning and ingenuity, not to add Modern
imaginative vagaries, on the subject of Egyptian hiero- Libraries,
glyph ics.2 s»—y——'
The Ambrosian Library, notwithstanding its appella- Ambrosian
tion, has no connection with antiquity, and owes its ex-library,
istence entirely to the munificence of Cardinal Federigo
Borromeo, nephew of Charles Borromeo, and his successor
in the see of Milan. This prelate began to collect books,
when a student at Rome; and enlarging his plan as he ad¬
vanced in age and dignities, he, when raised to the arch¬
bishopric of Milan, erected an edifice, placed in it his col¬
lection, and opened it to the public under the title of Bib¬
liotheca Ambrosiana. This library contains between 40,000
and 50,000 printed volumes, and upwards of 15,000 manu¬
scripts ; and there is annexed to it a gallery of pictures,
statues, antiques, and medals, comprising many articles of
great rarity and value. In the department of manuscripts
is a collection of the various works of Leonardo da Vinci,
enriched with his drawings and designs: it was presented
by a citizen of the name of Galeas Arconati, who gene¬
rously refused a vast sum for the precious treasure, and, to
secure the possession of it to his country, consigned it to
the Ambrosian Library as to an inviolable sanctuary. The
sanctuary, however, was violated by the French—“ di Pa-
rigile vagabonde belve,”—in 1791, who seized the cherish¬
ed relic of Leonardo’s genius, and sent it off to Paris, tum¬
bled and tossed in the common mass of plunder;3 but what
an abuse of victory enabled them to carry off, the fortune
of war at length compelled them to restore. The same
department also includes a Virgil with annotations by Pe¬
trarch, in his own handwriting; a Pliny, a Plato, and a
Cicero of the second century; and a Josephus, on papy¬
rus, written on both sides of each leaf. It is to be regret¬
ted, however, that the manuscript treasures of this collec¬
tion have not been particularly described. Signor Angelo
Maio, now librarian of the Vatican, formerly held the same
office in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, and there com¬
menced those researches relating to palimpsest or rescribed
manuscripts, which have issued in the recovery of some
ancient remains believed to have been for ever lost, and
entitled this ingenious and indefatigable scholar to the last¬
ing gratitude of the learned.4 The other libraries of note
in the Lombardo-Venetian territory are those belonging
to the universities of Pavia and Padua. These libraries
contain about 50,000 volumes each, and are open ten
months in the year, four hours in winter and six in sum¬
mer, every day excepting Wednesdays, Sundays, and ho¬
lidays.5
Bologna, celebrated for its scientific and literary insti-®0l°&na
tutions, and its academy for the encouragement and pro-librar*y-
motion of art, boasts likewise a great public library. This
extensive collection, consisting of above 100,000 printed
volumes, and from 4000 to 5000 manuscripts, is contained
in the Manfredi Palace, and is open to the public six days
in the week. In the same palace are, an observatory, fur¬
nished with an excellent astronomical apparatus; a large
lection amounts to “ upwards of thirty thousand.” And Mr Eustace says that it is supposed to exceed “ fifty thousand.’ The last esti¬
mate, we have reason to believe, is the nearest to the truth. As to the authoress of Rome, she evidently writes on a subject which
slie had not examined. Vasi, after describing the rarities of the Vatican, speaks of it as “ arrichita collo spoglio di moitissime li-
brerie di Europa, e di altrove ancora ; tanto che in oggi non vi e una simile.” [Itinerario di Roma, p. 503, Rome, 1777-)
1 The palimpsest or rescribed manuscripts are those in which the ancient writing has been totally or partially obliterated, to make
way for later compositions, merely to save parchment. From manuscripts thus barbarously manipulated, Signor Maio has recovered
part of Cicero’s celebrated treatise De Republica ; the correspondence between Fronto and Marcus Aurelius, before and after the lat¬
ter became emperor; a fragment of an oration by Q. Aurelius Symmachus, with the supplements of two other orations; and the sup¬
plement to the Ulpian Commentaries.
Vasi, Rinerairc, p. 552. 3 Eustace, Classical Tour, vol. iv. p. 27, et seq.
4 No account of this collection, that we are aware of, has appeared in recent times. Oppicelli’s Monumenta Biblioth. Ambros, was
printed at Milan in 1618, 8vo ; and lloscha de Orig. et Stat. Bibl. Ambros. was published in the ninth vol. of Muratoris Thesaurus,
pint vi. An Oratio de usu etfructu librorum Biblioth. Avibros. appeared at Leyden in 1623, 8vo.
Rolletino Statistico ed Economico di Milano, 1833.
310
LIBRARIES.
Modem chemical Jaboratory; a cabinet of natural history; an ex-
Libraries. perimental cabinet, with all kinds of instruments for phy-
^ v sical operation; two halls of architecture, civil and mili¬
tary ; a gallery of antiquities, another of statues, and a
third of paintings ; with halls of anatomy and midwifery.1
An establishment so complete in itself, and so concen¬
trated for all the purposes of education and study, is no¬
where else to be found. The other universities of the Ro¬
man states are also possessed of considerable collections of
books. That of Perugia, founded as early, as 1807, has a
library of 30,000 volumes ; that of Ferrara, founded at a
much later period, has a library containing no less than
80,000 volumes; and the three universities of Macerata,
Urbino, and Camerino, have each libraries, though upon a
smaller scale.2
Florentine The public libraries at Florence are the Mediceo-Lau-
libraries. renzana, or Laurentian ; the collection bequeathed to the
public by Magliabechi, by whose name it is distinguish¬
ed ; the Marucelliana; the Riccardiana, which was pur¬
chased not long since of the Riccardi family ; and the li¬
brary of the Belle Arti, containing the books which were
taken out of the suppressed convents.
Mediceo- The Mediceo-Laurentian Library, which is contained in
nlUrentian the convent annexed to the church of San Lorenzo, was
1 commenced by Cosmo de’ Medicis, the father of a line of
princas whose name and age are almost synonymous with
the restoration of learning. “ His credit,” says Gibbon,
“ was ennobled into fame ; his riches were dedicated to
the service of mankind : he corresponded at once with
Cairo and London ; and a cargo of Indian spices and
Greek books were often imported by the same vessel.”3
As the natural disposition of this princely merchant led
him to take a very active part in collecting the remains of
classical antiquity, so his wealth and extensive commercial
intercourse enabled him to gratify his taste to the fullest
extent. He enjoined his friends and correspondents, as
well as the missionaries who travelled into remote coun¬
tries, to search for and procure ancient manuscripts in
every language and upon every subject. He availed him¬
self of the services of the most learned men, his contempo¬
raries ; and the situation erf the eastern empire, then falling
into ruins, afforded him an opportunity of obtaining many
valuable works in the Hebrew, Greek, Chaldaic, Arabic,
and Indian languages. After the death of Cosmo, his son
pursued the same object with steady perseverance, and
added considerably to the treasures which had been accu¬
mulated by his father. But although the ancestors of Lo¬
renzo de’ Medicis had laid the foundation of the Lauren¬
tian library, the honour of raising the superstructure be¬
longed to Lorenzo himself, whose assiduity and liberality in
enlarging his collection of books, manuscripts, and antiqui¬
ties, were unbounded. To this object his time and his
fortune, exceeding that of princes, were equally devoted.
Shortly after the death of Lorenzo, however, this match¬
less collection was dispersed by the French troops under
Charles VIII. in resentment of some imaginary insult; and
in the perpetration of this sacrilegious deed, “ the Gallic
herd” were joined by the Florentines themselves, who
openly carried off, or secretly purloined, whatever they
could discover that was most rare, curious, and valuable.
The library, however, was subsequently restored by the
perseverance and liberality of Leo X. who caused it to be Mod
removed to Rome; but it was reconveyed to Florence by Libraries
his successor Clement VII., who, by a bull dated the I5th'—^
of December lo32, made provision for its future security.4
Ibis library, the noblest monument which the Medicis
have left of the glory of their line, contains about 100,000
printed volumes, and 9000 manuscripts, many of them of
great rarity and value. The latter have been described
in a catalogue of eleven folio volumes, undertaken and exe¬
cuted by the learned Bandini, formerly librarian, at the
suggestion of the Emperor Francis I. who presented him
with a sum of money towards the expense, and made him
promises of further assistance, which, however, were ren¬
dered unavailing by the death of that sovereign.5 The
Laurentian Library is under the'charge of Signor del Faria,
who receives annually 396 scudi, or about L.94 sterling. ’
Magliabechi, from being a servant to a dealer in vege-Maeliabe
tables, raised himself to the honourable office of librarian chian lib.
to tbe Grand Duke ol luscany at Florence, and becamerai7-
one of the most eminent literary characters of his time.
The force of natural talent overcame all the disadvantages
of the humble condition in which he had been born, and
placed him in a situation to make his name known and re¬
spected. But he endeavoured to deserve still better of his
countrymen, by presenting them, some time before his
death in 1714, with his large and valuable collection of
books, together with what remained of his fortune, as a fund
for its support. This constituted the foundation of the Mag-
liabechian Library, which, by the subsequent donations of
several benefactors, and the bounty of some of the grand
dukes, was so much increased both in number and value,
that it may now vie with some of the most considerable
collections in Europe. The books printed in the fifteenth
century have been described by the Abbate Fellini, the
present librarian, who dedicated his catalogue6 to Ferdi¬
nand III.; but there is no general catalogue of the library.
It is particularly rich in the early productions of the Ita¬
lian press, which are described alphabetically, with much
accuracy of detail; and to these are added brief notices of
the lives of the different authors, derived from the most au¬
thentic sources. The Magliabechian Library is supposed to
contain 150,000 printed volumes, and 9000 manuscripts ;
and the public are admitted to it every day of the year, ex¬
cept on Sundays and festivals. The Librarian has an annual
stipend of 240 scudi, but not more than 100 scudi are ex¬
pended annually in the purchase and binding of books.7
The further extension of this collection is, therefore, ef¬
fectually precluded, otherwise than by donations.
The Marucellian, containing 50,000 volumes, is also under otherFb
the charge of Signor del Faria of the Laurentian, and it isrentine
open every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Ric-andTus-
cardi collection is managed by the Canon Bianchi and acanllbra‘
sub-librarian ; it contains 26,000 volumes. The collectionnes'
of the Belle Arti consists of 11,000 volumes, and is open
to the public every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
The disbursements on account of these various libraries
are made by their respective librarians, under the control
of the minister of the interior; the sums expended, how¬
ever, are but trifling. The libraries of the universities
of Pisa and Sienna are valuable, each of them possessing
about 50,000 volumes, to which an annual addition of
\ Eustace, Classical Tour, vol. i. p. 164. 2 Serristori, Saggio Statistico delV Italia, 1833.
° Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. xii. p. 136.
4 Itoscoe, Life of I.orenzo de' Medicis, vol. i. pp. 37, 38, and vol. ii. pp. 60, 254, 284, et seq.
1 Roscoe, Life of Leo X. vol. iy. p. 181, note, 8vo ed. See also Bibliotheca Leopoldino-Laurentiana ; give Catalogus Manuscriptorum
qui jussu Petri Leopoldi in Laurentianam translati sunt,.&c. Florence, 1791, 1792, 1793, &c.
Catalogus Codicum sceculo xv. impressorum, qui in publica Bibliotheca Magliabechiana Florentice adservar.tur. Florence, 1793-1795, in
three vols. folio.
7 Appendix to the Report on the British Museum, pp. 488, 489.
•n b(
es-ali
^to
ar
tfl
an
Li
vei
the
St.
10,
fret
allc
for
do,
iu
dtlf
Naj
ed
the
the
ciar
ise
don,
in t
the
ere;
whi
dilj
!
•lOf
c,Tu
cop
is a
was
ha’
to
to
soil
LIBRARIES.
311
Mlern
Liiiaries.
Hfciolitan
libnies.
Liikries
of bnice,
Tub, &c.
books to the value of 100 scudi is respectively made. In
almost all the provincial towns of Tuscany, there are also
to be found public libraries more or less extensive, which
are all placed under the control of the communal magis¬
trates.1
There are five public libraries at Naples, viz. the Royal
Library, the Brancacciano Library, the library of the Uni¬
versity, the library of the Military Staff, and the library
of the Monks of St Jerome. The Royal Library contains
about 300,000 printed volumes and 6000 manuscripts;
the University possesses 50,000 volumes; the Convent of
St Jerome has an equal number; the Brancacciano contains
10,000; and the Military Staff has 10,000. The public have
free admission to read in these libraries, but no books are
allowed to be taken away. They are all open every day,
for about six hours, excepting on holidays, when they are
closed. The expenses of the Royal Library are included
iu those of the Museum, of which it forms part. It is en¬
titled to two copies of all books printed in the kingdom of
Naples; and 4000 ducats (L.687) are annually appropriat¬
ed to the purchase of foreign books. The expenses of
the library of St Jerome are defrayed out of the funds of
the Convent to which it belongs; but, like the Brancac¬
ciano, the Military Staff, and the University Libraries, it
is entitled to one copy of every book printed in the king¬
dom of Naples. This collection is singularly rich, chiefly
in ancient books. There are no public libraries in any of
the provincial towns, excepting Foggia and Lucera; but in
every diocese there is a library belonging to the see, to
which, upon application, admission may at all times be rea¬
dily obtained.2
The remaining libraries in Italy are numerous, and some
of them considerable, particularly those of Venice and
Turin. In the library of St Mark at Venice, there is a
copy of the Gospel of the evangelist of that name, which
is affirmed to have been written by himself. This library
was founded in the fourteenth century, the collection
having been begun by Petrarch, who bequeathed his books
to the republic. Cardinal Bessarion, by his will, added
to the library the curious collection of manuscripts which
he had formed in Constantinople, in Egypt, and in Greece ;
and further additions were subsequently made to it by other
cardinals. The library of St Mark is deposited in two
apartments, one of which is appropriated to manuscripts,
whilst the other contains the printed books. Though small
when compared with other libraries of the Continent, this
collection includes many rare and valuable articles.3 The
library attached to the university of Turin contains 112,000
printed books, and a rich collection of manuscripts. It is
open to the public in general every day except festivals.
Connected with the university are several museums, parti¬
cularly that of Egyptian antiquities, purchased by the king,
of Mr Drovetti, which is one of the richest and most valu¬
able in Europe. Attached to the university of Genoa, which
now belongs to the king of Sardinia, is a library, consist¬
ing of about 45,000 volumes.4 Several public and private
libraries at Padua contain a number of manuscripts ; as do
also the chapters of Verona, Novara, and Vercelli. From a
rescribed manuscript discovered by Niebuhr, the Roma1* Modern
historian, in the collection of the chapter of Verona, was Libraries,
deciphered and published no inconsiderable portion of the '
Institutions of Gaius, which served as a model to Justinian,
or rather to Tribonian, in framing that elementary exposi¬
tion of principles which is prefixed to the Digest. The
library at Mantua is inconsiderable. The library of Mes¬
sina in Sicily contains a valuable collection of Greek manu¬
scripts, described in a catalogue, printed in the ninth volume
of Grasvius’s Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Uistorice Sicilia;?
The libraries of Germany, taking that name in its widest Libraries
acceptation, are, some of them, of the first order, and many of Ger-
of them extensive and important; but, from the length to many,
which this article has already extended, we must confine
our notices exclusively to the principal collections, which
we shall describe in the order, not of place or of time, but
of their relative magnitude and value.
The Imperial Library at Vienna is perhaps inferior only Imperial
to that of the Vatican and the Royal Library at Paris, for library at
the rarity and value of its contents. It was founded by the Vienna.
Emperor Frederick III. who spared no expense to enrich
it with printed books as well as manuscripts in every lan¬
guage. By the munificence of succeeding emperoi’s, nu¬
merous important and valuable accessions wrere made to
the collection ; amongst which may be mentioned the lai’ge
and interesting library of Prince Eugene, and a consider¬
able portion of the Buda Library, founded by Matthias Cor-
vinus, king of Hungary. The Imperial Library occupies
eight spacious apartments ; and a ninth is appropriated to
a very valuable collection of medals and other curiosities.6
It contains 350,000 volumes of printed books, and 16,000
volumes of manuscripts.7 The books are disposed accord¬
ing to their sizes, and comprise almost a complete series,
exhibiting the origin and progress of the typographic art.
The number of works printed in the fifteenth century ex¬
ceeds 12,000, amongst which are four out of the five incu¬
nabula on vellum, printed by Pannartz at Rome. Here
also is a copy of the Soncino Bible, printed in 1488, by
far the scarcest, and perhaps the most valuable of all the
impressions ; a copy of the first edition of Apuleius, printed
in 1469, on vellum, and unique; and a copy of the first
edition of Aulus Gellius, printed the same year, on vellum,
and also unique. These two treasures were once the pro¬
perty of Cardinal Bessarion, and are compax-atively but re¬
cent acquisitions of the imperial collection. The Florence
Dante of 1481, with the commentary of Landino, and the
plates of Baldini from designs by Boticelli, is likewise in
this library. This is the finest copy extant, excepting that
in Earl Spencer’s collection, each of which possesses twenty
copperplates.8 The Cimelia, or reinarkable rai'ities, are
twenty-four in number. Amongst these are, a tablet of
bronze, containing the original senatm-comultum or decree
of the Roman senate for the suppression of the Bacchanalians,
passed in the year 186 before Christ ;9 Tabula Peutingeri-
ana, a travelling map of the Roman empire in the fourth
century, on parchment; sevei'al palimpsests procured from
the monastery of Bobbio; and the great roll of Mexican
picture writings, published by Lord Kingsborough. A few
1 Appendix to the Report on the British Museum, uli supra. 2 App. to Report, pp. 490, 491.
3 Balbi, in the appendix to his Essai Statistique, gives some very extraordinaiy particulars of the Archivio Generate at Venice, to
which great attention is paid by the Austrian government. This unparalleled collection contains 8,664,709 stitched quires, divided
into 1890 departments, and arranged in 298 apartments. But whether its value corresponds with its magnitude, is a point on which
we have been left to our own conjectures. See Athenaeum for the 19th March 1836.
4 The General Sardinian Calendar for 1831. 5 Horne, Introd. to the Study of Bibliography, pp. 600-605.
6 “ Ce cabinet est encore plus remarquable par la collection de toutes les monnoies, qui est unique dans le monde, quoiqu’elle ne
soit pas absolument complete.” {Voyage de deux Fran^ais, tom. iv. p. 144, Paris, 1796.) It is not equal to the Monetario at Madrid.
7 Stein, Geographic und Statistik, vol. ii. p. 363. Balbi, Statisques sur les Bibliotheques de Vienne, 1835.
8 Dibdin’s Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii. pp. 291, 486, 518. See also his Library Companion, pp. 22, 581, 752.
9 This is the same deci-ee which is cited by Livy (lib. xxxix. c. 18) ; it was found in Calabria, on the estate of Prince Cigala. (Voy¬
age de deux Franqais, tom. v. p. 136.)
312
LIBRARIES.
Modern 0f the manuscripts deserve to be mentioned, on account of
Idbiaries. their singular rarity. Amongst these are, a Mexican manu-
script, with coloured figures, on human skin ; a manuscript
of Livy, of the fifth century, of which a few pages are want¬
ing ; a manuscript of St Mark’s and St Luke’s Gospels,
written in gold and silver characters; and a manuscript of
Dioscorides, with coloured drawings of plants, written in
the fifth century, by order of the Princess Julia Anicia,
only daughter of the Emperor Olybrius. This precious
manuscript was brought from Constantinople in 1550, by
the celebrated Busbequius,1 ambassador from Charles V. to
the Porte, by whom about 300 other Greek manuscripts
were collected in the Turkish capital, including a manuscript
of Pliny’s Historia Naturalis, of contemporary date. Besides
these there are, in this collection, fragments of Genesis in
uncial Greek, the letters silver embossed on purple parch¬
ment, richly ornamented with miniature paintings; a frag¬
ment on papyrus, containing the decrees of the third coun¬
cil of Constantinople, held in the year 680; codex clathra-
tus, or fragments of the most ancient German translation
of the Gospel of St Matthew, written in the early part of
the eighth century;2 a German Bible in six volumes folio,
richly illuminated, written for the Emperor Wenceslas, in
the fourteenth century ; a French manuscript of the four¬
teenth century, written in large letters, according to the
ancient orthography, profusely illuminated, and containing
the history of Tristan, the celebrated knight of the Round
Table ; together with many other rare, curious, and inte¬
resting manuscripts. The Greek manuscripts in the Impe¬
rial Library have been described by Lambecius, Nessel, and
Kollarius, whose labours were confined to this class; and
in the important and accurate work of Denis may be found
an ample account of the Latin, with a few notices of ori¬
ental manuscripts, the ages of the different manuscripts
being stated where these could be ascertained. Besides
the cabinet of medals, there is also attached to the library
a superb collection of engravings, consisting of 473 large
folio volumes, 510 volumes of different sizes, and 215 folio
cartoons. The collection of music contains 6000 volumes,
theoretical and practical; and that of autographs exceeds
8000 pieces, classed under the heads of monarch s and
princes, ministers and statesmen, poets, philosophers, and
men of learning or science, generals and renowned war¬
riors, artists, and others. The sum allowed for the purchase
of new books is about L.2000 annually. The Imperial
Library is open to the public every day except on Sundays,
holidays, and the vacations.3
In Vienna, the University Library ranks next to the Im¬
perial Library, but the number of books in it is not stated
riv<fn/*vf' by Balbi. It received the collections which belonged to the
convents suppressed by Joseph II.; and since 1806 it has
had a right to a copy of every work printed in Lower Aus¬
tria. Amongst what are called the private libraries, the
most important is that of Military Archives, established in
1801, upon a plan devised by the Archduke Charles. It
contains 6626 works on military science and art; twenty
large folio volumes of bulletins, gazettes, and journals,
with an index; seventy-three atlasses, with about 3000
charts, maps, and plans, of various kinds ; and a small col¬
lection of manuscript military memoirs, amongst which are
those of Montecuculi, who commanded the imperialists
opposed to Turenne, and of Prince Eugene. The libraries
Univer¬
sity, and
ries at Vi¬
enna
of onental literature, of natural history, of the Philharmo- Modern
me Society, and of the Imperial Archives, are also of Library I
great value. In the last are preserved the archives of'^V^'
Venice, and Marino Sanudo’s original history of that re¬
public, in fifty-six volumes, which was unknown when M.
Dam published his celebrated work. Of the libraries be-
ongmg to individuals, the most remarkable are those of
Prince Metternich, M. Von Hammer, and Mr Castelli.
Von Hammer possesses an unrivalled collection of Turkish
manuscripts. Mr Castelli’s is a dramatic collection, con-
aining upwards of 10,000 German dramas, original and
translated; about 500 manuscripts; 700 portraits of ac¬
tors, actresses, and dramatists; and an unique collection
of play-bills from the year 1600. The total number of lib¬
raries, public and private, in Vienna, is forty-five; and even
the latter are accessible to students furnished with proper
introductions.4 v r
The Royal Library at Munich is the most extensive col- Royal
lection in Germany, containing 500,000 volumes of printedlib™yat
books and 16,000 volumes of manuscripts; thus exceed-Munich>
ing the Imperial Library at Vienna by 150,000 printed &C‘
volumes, and equalling it in the number of manuscripts,
luom a discourse on the origin and increase of the library at
Munich, delivered in 1784, by the Canon Steigenberger,the
librarian, and translated into Latin by Vitali, it appears that
the Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Greek, and Latin manuscripts
contained in this library then formed a precious treasure;
and, since the period to which this discourse refers, nu-
meious and important additions have been made to all the
departments of the collection. The ancient manuscripts
ic ative to the art of music amount to a great number, and
are exceedingly curious.5 A catalogue of the Greek ma¬
nuscripts in this library, compiled by Ignatius Hardt, was
printed at Munich in 1806.3 The Royal Library is depo¬
sited, not in the palace, but in a college formerly belong¬
ing to the Jesuits, where it occupies a handsome building.
It is opqp to the public at certain hours each day, Sundays
and holidays excepted.? Besides the Royal Library, Mu¬
nich has its University Library, which contains 160,000
printed books.8
I he king of Saxony s library at Dresden contains 300,000 Royal
volumes of printed books, besides 150,000 dissertations,librarv at
and 2300 volumes of manuscripts. The valuable library1)resde11’
that formerly belonged to Count Bunau forms part of this
noble collection, which is most complete in general history,
and in Gi eek and Latin classic authors. Amongst the
printed books are some of the rarest specimens of earlv
typography, .including 600 of the Aldine editions, and
many on vellum, besides a copy of the first edition of the
Orlando Furioso, printed by Mazocco, “ coll’ assistenza
dell autore, in 1516, and other rarities. In the depart¬
ment of manuscripts are, a Mexican manuscript, written
on human skin, containing, according to Thevenot, a ca¬
lendar, with some fragments of the history of the Incas ;
Liber de re militari,ow vellum, with superb paintings in fine
preservation, presented to an elector of Saxony, by Matthias
Corvinus, king of Hungary; the original manuscript of the
Reveries of Marshal Saxe, bearing at the end that he had
composed this work in thirteen nights during a fever, and
completed it in December 1733; a fine copy of the Koran,
taken fiom a lurk by a Saxon officer, at the last siege of
Vienna, and said to have formerly belonged to Bajazet II.;
See Busbequii Epistola, lib. iv. p. 391.
Of this manuscript Dioscorides Busbequius himself has given a very interesting account.
These fragments were found in some old bindings of books.
Balbi, Statistiques mr les BiUiotheques de Vienne ; Horne, Introd. to BtUiog.
See an abstract of Balbi’s Essai Statistique in the Athenaeum of the 19th March 1836.
Burney’s Present State of Music in Germany, vol. i. p. 129.
It is entitled Catalogue Codicum Manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Regia Bavarica, 4to.
Voyage de deux Franqais, vol. i. p. 17-
A more particular account of this library may be found in Schaden’s Beschreibmg der Haupstadt Aiunchen, p. 78, 1833, 2d ed.
lay of
LIBRARIES.
313
ys jern a Greek manuscript of the Epistles of St Paul, of the
Liiaries. eleventh century; and a very fine collection of portraits
'of the most celebrated persons of the seventeenth century,
by Rabel, a French artist, the outlines only having been
engraved.1 An extensive collection of antiquities is pre¬
served, in twelve apartments under the library, below
which are eighteen vaulted cellars, stored with a vast
quantity of valuable porcelain, partly of foreign, and partly
of Dresden manufacture. The expenses of the Royal Lib¬
rary are defrayed by the state. The sum of 2500 dol¬
lars, equal to L.375, is allowed yearly for the purchase of
books, binding, &c. The only other public library in Sax¬
ony is that at Leipzig, which is principally intended for
the use of the university of that city; it is under the
control of the minister of public worship, and contains
110,000 printed volumes, and 2000 volumes of manu¬
scripts. There are printed catalogues of all the collecr
tions at Dresden, excepting those of natural history and
of engravings. These libraries are open to the public, ex¬
cept on Sundays and holidays.2
Liliiryof The library attached to the university of Gottingen
Go ngen. contains 300,000 printed volumes, and 5000 volumes of
manuscripts. But its extent is its least recommendation ;
for it is not only the most complete amongst the universi¬
ties, but there are very few royal or public collections in
Germany which can rival it in real utility; and if not in
Germany, where else? It is not rich in manuscripts, even
including the acquisitions which it made from Helmstadt,
when the university of that place was dissolved ; and
many other libraries, as Mr Russell justly observes, sur¬
pass it in typographical rarities, and specimens of typo¬
graphical luxury ; but none contains so great a number of
really useful books, in almost every branch of human know¬
ledge, This library is mainly indebted for the pre-emi¬
nence it has obtained to the labours and exertions of the
illustrious Heyne. In the year in which he came to Got¬
tingen as second librarian, the entire control of the library
was committed to him, and he became chief. From this
moment commenced at once its extension and its improve¬
ment. When Heyne went to Gottingen, it already pos¬
sessed a library of from 50,000 to 60.000 volumes, which,
compared with those of most universities, was a consider¬
able collection. At his decease it had, according to the
most moderate computation, increased, exclusively of ex¬
traordinary acquisitions, to upwards of 200,000 volumes.
But this increase of number was its smallest claim to ad¬
miration. At the commencement of this period entire de¬
partments of learning were wholly wanting; at its close
not only were these deficiencies supplied, but the library
had become proportionally rich in every department, and,
in point of completeness, unrivalled. It would be inte¬
resting to trace the manner in which this change was ef¬
fected ; but neither our plan nor our space admits of such
details. The system of catalogues appears to be some¬
what complete. There are, in fact, four catalogues con¬
nected with each other. Every addition to the library is
first entered in the Manual of the year, in which are con¬
cisely written the title and date of the book, and the day of
its reception. Then the book is entered with its full title
I I - in the Accession-Catalogue, which is also commenced with
every year, and forms at its close four volumes ; the first
containing entries of books on theology; the second, of
books on jurisprudence ; the third, of those on history ; and
the fourth, miscellaneous works. These two catalogues are
intended more particularly for the use of the librarians ; Modern
the remaining two are for readers. The third of the se- Libraries,
ries is a complete Alphabetical Catalogue, in which every
book is entered under the author’s name, when given, or,
when not given, but known, with a reference thereto un¬
der the chief word of the title. Every book of which the
author’s name is not known, is entered under such chief
word of title; and, on one side, are also entered the date
and form, with reference to the entries of the same book
in the Manual and the Accession-Catalogue ; on the other
is entered the head of the classed catalogue to which the
book belongs. Lastly, the book is entered in the Classed
or Scientific Catalogue, according to its subject, and is
then placed in that division of the library to which it be¬
longs. The alphabetical catalogue answers the question,
whether a certain book is in the library, and where it is
to be found ; and the scientific or classed catalogue shows
what books are contained in the library upon any given
subject. Such is a brief account of the mechanism of
this very extensive library. A full exposition of it would
require the scientific schematismus upon which the whole
is founded, and would lead us to take a general survey of
human knowledge.3
The Royal Library at Berlin contains 250,000 volumes ofltoyal lib-
printed books, and 5000 volumes of manuscripts. Thisrary.at
collection includes works upon almost all the sciences, and^er*in*
in nearly all languages, but it is perhaps most complete in
the sciences. Amongst the manuscripts are several Egyp¬
tian deeds, written on papyrus, in the demotic or enchorial
character, but whether with or without Greek x’egistries,
we have not ascertained. Professor Kosegarten, in his
first commentation on the Ancient Literature of the
Egyptians,4 has published fac-similes of a considerable
portion of one of these, and of the exordia of twelve
others, with interlinear translations in Latin, according
to Dr Young’s method of interpretation. The same de¬
partment also includes several manuscripts of Lacroze, the
celebrated author of the Coptic Lexicon, particularly his
reply to Bergier, in which he mentions the additions
made to the Royal Library, the librarians, the number of
books at the time when he wrote, and the curious articles
contained in the collection. No complete catalogue has
ever, so far as we know, been printed. Heinrick’s Noti-
tia, printed in 1687, 4to, and his Pandectce Brandenbur-
gicce, printed in 1699, folio, are both incomplete, the lat¬
ter including only the first two letters of the alphabet;
but, even if they had been finished works, they could
have afforded little or no help in ascertaining the actual
contents of the collection. A good analytical account of
this library is still a desideratum.
The public library at Stuttgart contains 197,000 printed Library of
volumes, and 1800 volumes of manuscripts. It is divided Stuttgart,
into three departments, each of which is under the super¬
intendence of one of the librarians, who are charged with
the purchase and binding of books, the keeping of cata¬
logues, and other duties. The general government of the
library is vested in directors, who endeavour, as far as
their means allow, to procure every thing that is of real
worth or value. Recommendations from any of the au¬
thorities of the state, for the purchase of particular works,
are invariably attended to. All booksellers in the king¬
dom are required to furnish a copy of every work published
by them. To certain persons, and under certain regulations,
books are allowed to be lent out from the library. The
1 Voyage an Nord de VEurope, vol. i. p. 71, et seq. 2 Appendix to Report, p. 495.
3 Heeren, C. G. Heyne's Biographisch dargestellt, Gottingen, 1812, in 8vo. “ Was hiilfe eine Bibliothek von mehr als 200,000
bander,” says Heeren, “ wenn man nicht wuszte was man hatte, wenn man nicht wuszte wo das was man hat, zu finden sey ?” (Ubi
supra.)
4 De Prisca JEgyptiorum Litteratura, Commentatio prima, tab. ix. et seq.
VOL. XIII. 2 R
314
LIBRARIES.
Modern annual expense of the establishment amounts to about
.1 >.aiies. 7QQ0 florinSj 0f which about 4000 are expended in the
purchase of books; and it is defrayed out of the public
treasury. There is a provincial library at Tubingen.1
Other The library of Wolfenbuttel is little inferior to that of
^rm.an Stuttgart; it contains 190,000 printed volumes, with a
imanes. pevv Besides the libraries connected with
various public institutions, as the Seckenburg Museum,
and the institution of Staendel for the Fine Arts, there
is a public library at Frankfort, called the Stadt Biblio-
thek. This collection contains 50,000 volumes of print¬
ed books, and 500 volumes of manuscripts, of which 20
are Abyssinian, 12 Turkish and Persian, 6 Hebrew, 2
Indian and Burmese, and the rest in Latin, German, and
other languages. No catalogue of this library has been
published since 1728 ; but a new descriptive one is, it
seems, in progress. The annual expense, which amounts
to about 4400 florins, is principally contributed by the pub¬
lic treasury^2 The library of Naumburg was founded in
the sixteenth century by Julius Pflug, bishop of that
place, who is celebrated in ecclesiastical history as a zea¬
lous opponent of the Reformation, and as one of the three
divines deputed by Charles V. to draw up the plan of the
Interim in 1548. In the seventeenth century this library
received a further augmentation by the purchase of the
collection of books formed by Thomas Reinesius. The
printed books and manuscripts, though fewjn number, are
of considerable value. Amongst the latter are the Scho¬
lia of Olympiodorus on several of Plato’s Dialogues, writ¬
ten in the sixteenth century; a fragment of Orpheus’s
Argonautics, of the fifteenth ; the Olympic Odes of Pindar,
of the sixteenth, apparently transcribed from an ancient
manuscript; the Cassandra of Lycophron, with the Com¬
mentary of Tzetzes, dated 1438; and several tracts of
Jamblichus, on the Pythagorean philosophy, belonging to
the fifteenth century.3 From these manuscripts Muller,
in his excellent catalogue, printed at Leipzig (180G-
1811, in 8vo) has given a selection of various readings.4 5
Dutch lib- There are many libraries in Holland, indeed almost every
raries. city has one, but the principal collection is that belonging
to the university library of Leyden. This library was found¬
ed by William I. prince of Orange, and is justly celebrat¬
ed throughout Europe for the many valuable specimens
of Greek and oriental literature with which it abounds.
To it Joseph Scaliger bequeathed his fine collection of
Hebrew books ; and it was further enriched by the learn¬
ed Golius, on his return from the East, with many Ara¬
bic, Turkish, Persian, and Chaldaic manuscripts. In ad¬
dition to these, it received the collections of Holmanus,
and particularly those of Isaac Vossius and Ruhnken;
the former containing a great number of valuable manu¬
scripts, supposed to have once belonged to Christina
queen of Sweden ; and the latter, an almost entire series
of classical authors, with a collection of manuscripts, per¬
haps unique, amongst which are to be found copies of se¬
veral that were consumed by fire in the Abbey of St Ger-
main-des-Prez. The library at Leyden is computed to con¬
tain 60,000 printed volumes, and 14,000 volumes of manu¬
scripts, many of which, as we have seen, are equally curi¬
ous and valuable.6 Of the public library at Amsterdam,
Peignot drily remarks that it would be more useful if the
books it contains were arranged in better order and method.6
At Brussels there are two principal libraries; one of Modem
which, composed of printed books, belongs to the city, and libraries,
the other, consisting entirely of manuscripts, belongs to ""'v-*-'
the government. The former was founded on that which 1B^gian
formerly appertained to the house of Burgundy, a family llbranes‘
that gave to Flanders several counts or earls, by whose li¬
berality it wras enriched with numerous valuable manu¬
scripts which, it would appear, are now separated from the
collection. Santander7 traces the history of this library
through its various fortunes, having been successively burn¬
ed, buried under ground, and decimated by French com¬
missaries on the capture of Brussels. Though restored to
its ancient splendour by the care of Count de Cobentzel
and of Prince Stahremberg, minister plenipotentiary of
the empress-queen, its prosperity was of short duration.
For, when the French armies overran the Netherlands, and
occupied Brussels, in 1797, Laurent, the representative of
the people, caused seven waggon-loads of books and ma¬
nuscripts to be taken from the Burgundy Library; and
some time afterwards, Wailly, Leblond, and others, de¬
puted to commit a second spoliation, selected about 200
manuscripts for the National (Royal) Library at Paris.
In 1797, a place was provided for the reception of the
books belonging to the Burgundy Library; and in 1798,
the collection was enriched with all that was most valu¬
able from the great depot of the Cordeliers, which was
then broken up. Since that period the Brussels Library
has, by gradual acquisitions, become more extensive than
ever, and at present contains 140,000 volumes of planted
books. The library of the government, as it is called,
comprises 15,000 volumes of manuscripts, which, however,
have not been particularly described. The city library
is open four days in the week, from ten o’clock in the
morning until two in the afternoon, and the public have
free access to the collection. The ordinary annual ex¬
pense of this establishment amounts to 4800 francs (a
mere trifle), but additional sums are from time to time
granted for the purchase of books. The library of the
government is open every day from nine in the morning
until four in the afternoon; and the annual expense
amounts to 10,000 francs. The first of these establish¬
ments is supported by the city, the second by the govern¬
ment out of the public treasury. The provincial libraries
of Belgium are those of Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Liege,
Louvain, Mons, Namur, and Tournay, three of which
(those of Ghent, Liege, and Louvain) are under the direc¬
tion of the universities established at these places, whilst
the others are under the superintendence of the local au¬
thorities.8
It is well knowm that a noble library, rich in valuable ma- Libraries
nuscripts, had been formed at Buda, by the celebrated Mat- of Hun-
thias Corvinus, king of Hungary ; but this collection wasgary-
dispersed, on the capture of Buda by the Turks under
Solyman in 1526 ; and Cardinal Bozman in vain offered
the conqueror two thousand crowns to restore this part of
the spoil. Some of the books which belonged to it have
been found in the Imperial Library at Vienna, in that of
Wolfenbuttel, and in the private collection of Morelli,
librarian of St Mark’s at Venice.9 By the liberality of
Count Sczecheny, his private collection at Pesth has be¬
come the library of the kingdom of Hungary. The books
are entered alphabetically in the catalogue and supple-
odefH
‘S' t
1 Appendix to Report, p. 486. 2 Appendix to Report, pp. 492, 493.
Horne, Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii. p. 582.
4 There is a library at Berne, in Switzerland, containing 35,000 printed volumes, and upwards of 1000 manuscripts, philological,
classical, and historical; hut it is not of sufficient importance to deserve a separate notice.
5 Horne, Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii. pp. 503, 594. See also the art. Leyden. fi Peignot, Diet, de Biblioth. tom. i. p. 99.
7 Mimob'e historique sur la Bibliotltequc piiblique de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, 1809, in 8vo. 8 Appendix to Report, p. 486.
!l Morhof, Polyhist. lib. i. c. 4, § 21. Delandine, Bibliotheque dc Lyon, tom. ii. pp. 67, 68. Morelli, Bibliotheca Graca, tom. i- pp-
330,405, 417-
LIBRARIES.
||dern ments, and classed in the indexes according to the sub-
Li aries. jects. M. de Miller, librarian to the count, having disco-
vered several works printed at Gros-waradin in the six¬
teenth and seventeenth centuries, published an account of
them at Pesth in 1804.1
Litltries Of Poland it may be said, in a bibliographical as well as
of 1.land. p0]iticai sense, Stat magni nominis umbra. The literary
treasures of that ancient kingdom have gone to enrich its
principal spoiler; and it is at Petersburg rather than at
Warsaw that we must seek for evidence of what it origi¬
nally possessed. What is called the King’s Library at War¬
saw does not much exceed 20,000 volumes, most of which
are modern ; but it contains a manuscript, in three folio
volumes, with nearly two hundred fine drawings, descrip¬
tive of the antiquities excavated at Velleia between the
years 1760 and 1765. The university of Warsaw, found¬
ed by the Emperor Alexander in 1816, had accumulated
a library of about 150,000 volumes; but, since the events
of 1830 and 1831, every book and pamphlet in it, con¬
ceived to be hostile to the Russian government, have
been removed, and numbers of scientific works have like¬
wise been abstracted and sent off to St Petersburg. The
university of Cracow has also attached to it a library,
containing about 4000 manuscripts, amongst which is a
Latin encyclopaedia, in a large folio volume, written by
Paul of Prague in 1459. But the most extensive and va¬
luable collection in Poland was that which Count Zaluski
and his brother had formed, and which, in 1747, was de¬
voted to the public. The Zaluski Library, called also the
Library of the Republic, originally consisted of 300,000
volumes, including upwards of 50,000 duplicates, which
were subsequently disposed of; and by the sale of these,
together with the losses sustained by various depreda¬
tions, the collection was supposed, in 1791, not greatly
to exceed 200,000 volumes. At length, in 1795, this lib¬
rary was unceremoniously seized by Suwarof, hastily pack¬
ed up, and despatched to St Petersburg, to aggrandise the
conqueror with the literary spoils of Poland.
The mpe- The Imperial Library of St Petersburg is, according to
rial >rary Mr Edwards, “ the creation of but a few years.”2 We confess
aUTe- our inability to understand what this gentleman means bv
temYcr C' j
b‘ the word “ creation” here employed by him. A robber does
not surely create the wealth which he forcibly appropriates.
Considerably more than half the actual contents of the Im¬
perial Library were obtained by one act of wholesale spolia¬
tion. The French, when they conquered Italy and Bel¬
gium, decimated the libraries of those countries. But the
Russians, wdien they triumphed over the independence of
Poland, carried off’ entirely the largest collection of books
which that country could boast of. The original founder
in his own cabinet, he transferred the whole, in 1742,
to a house which had previously belonged to the family
of Danilovitch, and had probably come to him by in¬
heritance. In 1747 he rendered it public, and fixed an
annual income or endowment for its support and increase.
After the death of this prelate, his brother, Joseph Za¬
luski, still further augmented it by the addition of a great
number of volumes, and, by his will, made in 1761, be¬
queathed it, along with the house in which it was depo¬
sited, to the college of Jesuits at Warsaw.3 After the
suppression of that order in 1773, it was placed under the
care of the commission of education, and at last transferred
to St Petersburg in 1795, as already mentioned. This
transportation being made by land, and along roads which
the late season of the year rendered impracticable, seve¬
ral cases suffered much from the inclemency of the wea¬
ther, others were broken or damaged, and the books which
they contained spoiled, misplaced, or separated, and the
sets broken. The collection was conveyed to the impe¬
rial cabinet in two convoys, and after the inventory had
been completed on the 23d of February 1796, it was found
that the collection still amounted to 262,640 volumes, and
24,573 prints. This library, thus seized and carried off,
and which had been packed in such haste at Warsaw,
that the books had been huddled in without any order,
so that the volumes of the same work were found disper¬
sed in different cases, comprised in general all that relates
to the sciences, the arts, and the belles-lettres. The theo¬
logical, and, after it, the historical and literary branches,
were the most considerable. The theological department
alone comprehended above 80,000 volumes. It was also
rich in topography, especially the histories of towns ; and
the literary branch included a precious collection of clas¬
sical books and works on bibliography ; but the depart¬
ments of philosophy, mathematics, physics, voyages, and
antiquities wjere very incomplete.4 Such w^as the “ crea¬
tion” which formed the basis of the Imperial Library at St
Petersburg, and but for which that collection, instead of
now ranking in the first class, would scarcely have been
entitled to a place in the third.
This library, augmented by various other collections,
amounts to about 400,000 printed volumes, and 16,000 vo¬
lumes of manuscripts. Its management is detailed at
length in the Appendix to the Report of the Select Com¬
mittee on the British Museum (p. 449, et seq.), to which
we refer. The total annual expense for the support of the
Imperial Library, and paying the salaries of the employes,
amounts to 45,000 roubles ; and the paltry sum of 7000
roubles is the utmost that is allowed in any year for the
purchase of books; from which we may infer that its prin-
315
Modern
Libraries.
of this library was Joseph, count de Zaluski, bishop of cipal chance of further increase depends, not on the libe
Kiof. In the space of forty-three years he had acquired,
at his own expense, above 200,000 volumes. His brother,
Andrew Zaluski, bishop of Cracow, enriched this nume¬
rous collection, as well with books drawn from the museum
of John III. king of Poland, as with those which he col¬
lected from the libraries of his uncles, Andrew Olszofski,
primate of the kingdom of Poland, Prince Andrew Chry¬
sostom, bishop ofWarmia, and Louis Bartholomew, bishop
of Plock; and after having joined to these the collection
rality of the Russian government, but on the probability of
some new conquest, followed closely by a fresh act of
spoliation. The public is admitted to the library every
Tuesday from eleven o’clock in the forenoon to three in
the afternoon, to visit the establishment, and on the Wed¬
nesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays of each week, to read or
make extracts therein.
A most laudable attempt is making to introduce a new
bibliographical system of classification, which we shall en.
1 Fragmenta veteris Typographicc Magno-varadensis, Pesth, 1801, in 8vo.
2 Letter to Benjamin Hawes, Esq. M. P. p. 35, note.
3 “ The celebrated library of Zaluski at Warsaw,” says Denis, in his Introduction to the Knowledge of Books, “ was opened to the public
in 1747. It must contain at present near 300,000 volumes. Benedict XIV. in 1752, issued a bull of excommunication against those
who should dare to commit depredations on this library ; but, notwithstanding, many books were carried off, particularly during the
late troubles. In 1747, the laborious librarian, lanozki, made notices of the rare books printed in Polish ; and, in 1752, he published
a catalogue of the manuscripts in this library. After the death of its founder, the Bishop of Kiev, the king and the commonwealth
took possession of this treasure, in spite of the attempts made by the heirs to retain it.” (Denis, Einledung in die Bucherkunde, Wien,
1777, th. i. p. 184.)
4 See Precis Historique sur la Fondation, VAcquisition, et VArrangement de la Bibliotheque Imperial, Appendix to Report, p. 457, et seq.
316
LIBRARIES.
Modern deavour to describe as briefly as possible, by exhibiting
^Libraries.' t]ie p]an 0f catalogues as stated in the official returns.1
These are, 1st, Le catalogue alphabetique des limes, par
ordre des matures ; 2d, Le catalogue alphabetique des au¬
teurs ; and, 3d, Le catalogue raisonne, ou les matieres se-
ront classees d'apres le nouvel ordre bibliographique, avec des
observations sur les limes et sur les editions rares. Their
redaction must be exemplified rather than described.
The books already entered in the catalogues of the differ¬
ent sections of the library have their titles re-transcrib-
ed on separate feuillets, or slips of paper, after the follow¬
ing model:
Danicorusn Monumentorum Libri Sex
e spissis antiquitatum tenebris et in Da-
nia ac Norvegia extantibus ruderibns
eruti ab Oloa Worm. D. Medicinse in
Acad. Haffh. professore publ.
Haffnite, apud Joachimum Moltke-
mum, Bibliopolam ibidem primar. A
MDCXLIII.
1 he feuillets, or slips, thus prepared, are daily distri¬
buted amongst the employes, each intrusted with a par¬
ticular division, and taking the titles belonging thereto,
which are arranged in portfolios, for the purpose of faci¬
litating their assortment. If a book treat of several sub¬
jects, it is first entered under that to which it most imme¬
diately belongs, and afterwards under the others. Each
employe then inscribes on these feuillets, severally, the
initial letter of the title, the author’s name, the class, di¬
vision, section, and position in the library, of the book, its
size and number, as in the following model :
D
a, o
5 2
Danicorum Monumentorum libri sex
e spissis antiquitatum tenebris et in
Dania ac Norvegia extantibus ruderibus
leruti
ab
Oloa Worm. D. Medicinae in acad.
Haffn. Professore publ.
Hafniae,
Apud Joachimum Moltkenium, Biblio-
polam ibidem primar.
Anno MDCXLTII (1643).
O. Worm.
VII.
B.
1 vol.
in fol.
N.
3673.
The slip, thus prepared, is transferred to the employes
engaged on the several catalogues; 1st, to the alphabe¬
tical catalogue, in the order of subjects ; 2d, to the alpha¬
betical catalogue, in the order of authors’ names ; and,
3d, to the catalogue raisonne, or classed catalogue; so
that all of these proceed simultaneously without the least
difficulty or confusion. With regard to the first, in the
alphabetical order of subjects, it is held sufficient to in¬
scribe in the catalogue the titles of books in an abridged
form, which it is unnecessary to exemplify. It appears by
the official returns, that the number of books put in order
is about 103,000, and that the number already entered in
the catalogues amounts to about 90,000.2
Academy The Academy of Sciences at St Petersburg was insti-
of Sciences, tuted by Peter the Great, who, in his travels, had observ¬
ed the benefits resulting from public societies for promot- Modem
ing the advancement of knowledge. The library of the Libraries.
Academy originated in 2500 volumes which the Czar V'*'
had, more Rossico, seized at Mittau in his Swedish cam¬
paign, and which Catharine I. presented to the newly-in¬
stituted society. It continued to increase, by the bounty
of succeeding Czars, and, in 1802, received an important
addition in the library and cabinet of Count Boutourlin,
purchased by the Emperor Alexander. This collection
is now open to the public two days in the week, and con¬
tains about 70,000 volumes. Some interesting particu¬
lars relating to this library may be found in the works of
different authors.3
I here are three public libraries at Copenhagen, viz. Libraries
the king’s Library, the University Library, and Classen’sat Copen.
Library. The King’s Library contains 400,000 volumesliaSen-
of printed books, and 20,000 volumes of manuscripts.
The University Library contains about 110,000 printed
volumes, all collected since the year 1728, when the ori¬
ginal library was destroyed by fire ; together with 1761
Icelandic, 202 oriental, and 1228 other manuscripts, partly
classical, partly connected with Danish history, besides
manuscript collections of the classics. Classen's Library
contains about 35,000 printed volumes, but possesses no
manuscripts. These libraries, consisting of 568,000 volumes
printed and manuscript, are accessible to all respectable
householders, and likewise to strangers introduced by
such ; and, besides, the books are, under certain restric¬
tions, allowed to circulate. The King’s Library is general,
and about equally complete in all the branches of human
knowledge. The University Library is also to a certain
extent general, but the main body of the collection has
been made chiefly with reference to academical educa¬
tion. Classen’s Library consists principally of books of
geography, travels, natural history, and agriculture. The
administration of these libraries seems to be equally eco¬
nomical and efficient, and is conducted solely with a view
to public utility, which, in this case, means public in¬
struction.4
' v*
I he public libraries, in Sweden are the Royal Library,
situated in the northern wing of the king’s palace at Stock-libraries.
situated in the northern wing of the king’s palace at Stock-libraries,
holm, and the library called Benzielstjerna-Engestrom,
founded by private individuals, but to which admission is
readily granted on recommendation. The Royal Library,
which was founded by Gustavus Vasa, and enlarged by
the liberality of succeeding sovereigns, contains 70,000
volumes of printed books, with 2500 volumes of manu¬
scripts, besides 16,500 diplomas, and is open to the pub¬
lic every day excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays ;
besides, books are lent out on respectable recommenda¬
tion. The library of Benzielstjerna-Engestrom contains
about 12,000 volumes of printed books, and 3000 volumes
of manuscripts, rich in materials for Swedish biography.
Besides these, there are libraries attached to the different
academies. The number of provincial libraries in Swe¬
den, including those of the universities of Upsala and
Lund, is thirteen, lhat of Upsala, which was founded
by Gustavus Adolphus, is the largest in Sweden, and con¬
tains 100,000 printed volumes, with 600 volumes of manu¬
scripts. A catalogue of the collection, by Professor Aurivi-
lius, was printed in the year 1814, in two vols. 4to.5 The
Male
el'ni-
itcs
i jieri-
1 Essai sur un Nouveau Systeme liihiiographiquc, § iii. Redaction dcs Catalogues. Appendix to Report, p. 461, et seq.
2 Appendix to Report, pp. 448, 480. r > * >
3 ^ee Loxe s Tuivels in Russia, c. 17 ; Storch’s Picture of St Petersburg ; and Voyage au Nord de l'Europe, tom. iii. p. 212, et sen.
4 Appendix to Report, p. 483.
•' One of the apartments of this library contains a deposit, the supposed contents of which have excited much conjecture and spe¬
culation amongst the learned. The deposit alluded to consists of a large box, upon which stands another of smaller dimensions,
both of which aie secured by means of strong chains and locks. These were presented to the university by Gustavus III. with strict
injunctions that they should not be opened for yf/h/years. When that period expires, which will be in the year 1842, they will
probably be found to contain a history of his own time, with various documents, letters, &c.
LIBRARIES. 317
Libu'ies
library of Lund was founded at the same time as that uni¬
versity, by Charles X., and possesses about 40,000 volumes.
These libraries are supported and increased by an annual
grant from the state, and by a fee paid by each student
on entering the universities. They are open every day,
and each student can borrow books, on the responsibility
of a professor, or of some other respectable person. In
those provincial towns where large public schools, called
gymnases, are established, there are also public libraries,
to the number of about eleven in all. These libraries,
which have been founded by private individuals, are kept
up much in the same way as those belonging to the uni¬
versities.1
In the United States of North America there are forty-
oBRai- three incorporated colleges or universities, of which thirty
tedptes iiaVe libraries of greater or less extent, containing alto-
ofpen- gether 128,118 volumes. The largest college library is
that of Harvard, which contains 30,000 volumes ; and the
next is that of St Mary’s College, Baltimore, which pos¬
sesses 10,000 volumes. Besides these, there are four col¬
leges which have libraries to the amount of about 8000
volumes each. A catalogue of the library at Harvard
College, Massachusetts, was printed in 1830, in three
volumes 8vo; from which it appears that the number of
books, which, in 1790, amounted to only 12,000 volumes,
now exceeds 30,000, besides several thousands of tracts.
The first and second volumes of this catalogue contain a
list of the books in alphabetical order; and the third con¬
sists of a systematic or classed index to the alphabetical
catalogue. There are several other considerable libraries
in the United States, as the Public Library at Philadel¬
phia, the Congress Library at Washington, and a few
others ofless note. The Loganian Library, which, in 1791,
was incorporated with the Philadelphia Public Library,
contained about 15,000 volumes, amongst which were
many rare works in classical literature.2
Oriental libraries are, in general, but limited collec-
oftlEast. tions, the contents of which possess little interest or
value to Europeans. Their general character, however,
will be most satisfactorily indicated by the description of
some of them.
At Constantinople there are, within the walls of the
seraglio, two libraries, which were founded by Achmed
III. and Mustapha HI., and enriched with books acquired
by themselves or their successors. These libraries con¬
tain upwards of 20,000 volumes, and are gradually increas¬
ed, either by purchase, by donations made to the sultan
by his grandees, or by confiscations of the effects of public
officers, amongst which books are commonly to be found.3
Much uncertainty has prevailed, and many erroneous re¬
ports have been circulated, respecting the contents of these
libraries. The Abbe Sevin, who arrived at Constantino¬
ple in December 1728, failed to obtain admission into the
sultan’s library ; and, deterred by the assurances he had
received, that Amurath IV. had caused all the Greek ma¬
nuscripts to be burned, he deemed any further research
or inquiry to be hopeless; whilst succeeding travellers,
relying on statements of a different kind, have confidently
asserted that in these libraries were preserved the an¬
LiWries
Tu;
libit
iish
ries.
cient collections of the Greek emperors.4 More fortu- Modern
nate than his predecessors, however, Toderini, after three Libraries,
years’ unremitting attempts during his residence at Con- s—v——'
stantinople, found means to procure transcripts of the ca¬
talogues of the libraries in the seraglio, through the in¬
strumentality of a page who clandestinely copied a few
lines every day.5 6 From the inquiries of the learned Ab-
bate, it appears that the merits of this double collection
had been greatly exaggerated. The libraries of the sera¬
glio are much inferior to some of those which are open to
the public. Commentaries, explanations, marginal notes,
and other writings on the Koran, form the subjects of the
largest portion ; to which succeed treatises on jurispru¬
dence (also accompanied with notes and commentaries),
on philosophy, logic, astronomy, arithmetic, medicine, and
ethics. The historical works are few in number, and
chiefly confined to the Ottoman empire. There are some
manuscripts in the Greek, Latin, and other European lan¬
guages ; but no traces wiiatever have been discovered of
the lost decades of Livy, of the writings of Homer or Ta¬
citus, or of those parts which are wanting to complete the
works of other ancient authors.0
Besides those of the seraglio, Constantinople possesses
thirty-two public libraries, all varying in extent, but more
or less celebrated for the number and value of their ma¬
nuscripts, which are neatly bound in red, green, or black
morocco. The Mahommedans have a peculiar method of
indorsing, placing, and preserving their books. Each vo¬
lume, besides being bound in morocco, is preserved from
dust in a case of the same material; and on it, as well as
on the edges of the leaves, the title is written in large
and legible characters. The books are placed one upon
another in presses ornamented with trellis-work, and are
disposed along the wall, or in the four corners of the li¬
brary. All these collections are open to the public
throughout the year, excepting on Tuesdays and Fridays ;
the librarians are as polite and attentive as Turks can be,
to those whom curiosity or love of study attract thither;
and every one is at liberty, not merely to peruse, but to
make extracts from, the books, and even to transcribe
them entirely, provided this be done within the walls of
the library. To facilitate literary researches, each library
is furnished with a catalogue, containing the title, and
giving a short account of the subject of each volume.
Theology, including the Koran and commentators thereon,
jurisprudence, medicine, ethics, and history, are the sci¬
ences chiefly cultivated by the Osmanlees. The books
are all written with the greatest care, on the finest vel¬
lum ; the text of each page is enclosed in a highly orna¬
mented and gilt frame-work ; the beginning of each chap¬
ter or section is splendidly illuminated ; and the prices of
the manuscripts vary in proportion to the beauty of the
characters.7 Under the reign of the present sultan,
Mahmoud, the introduction of European discipline, and,
to a certain extent, of European customs and manners, is
fast paving the way for a still more important innovation ;
the introduction of European knowledge and civilization,
with the subversion of those fanatical prejudices which,
nurtured by ignorance and inflamed by religion, present
1 Notices sur les Bibliothe^ues Puhliques en Suede, Appendix to Report, p. 497, et seq. _ ,
s Journal of the American Education Society; Christian Examiner, Boston; Catalogue of Books belonging to the Libraiy Com¬
pany of Philadelphia, 1807, in 8vo.
3 D’Ohsson, Tableau general de 1'Empire Ottomane, tom. ii. pp. 487-494.
4 It is not a little singular that Dr E. D. Clarke has made no mention whatever of the libraries of the seraglio, although he las
given a detailed, and, upon the whole, picturesque description of its interior. _ . .
5 Catalogo della Tibreria della Seraglio, trasportato da Constantinopoli a Venezia, dall’ Abbate Giamabattista lodenni, nel anno 17 ,
in 8vo. See also Della Lette,atura Turchescha, tom. ii. pp. 53-81, and in Turkish at the end of the same volume.
6 Toderini, Letteratura Turchescha, tom. ii. pp. 51,53, et seq.
7 D’Ohsson, tom. ii. pp. 488, 489 ; Toderini, tom. ii. p. 32, et seq.
318 * LIB
Libration the most formidable obstacle to the improvement of na-
li tions.1
s The library of the convent of Mount Sinai was found
Library of ^ Burckhardt to contain a great number of Arabic
Mount Si- manuscripts, and some Greek books; but the former prov-
nai. ed to be of little literary value; and of the latter, Burck-
bardt carried away two beautiful Aldine editions, a Homer,
and an Anthology. The priests refused to show him their
Arabic memorandum-books previous to the fifteenth cen-
tury; but from those which he was permitted to inspect,
he copied some very interesting documents concerning
the former state of the country.2
Indian lib- Of the libraries in India, whether composed of European
ranes. m, 0f nat;ve ti}e want 0f t}ie reqUjsite information
prevents us from attempting to give any details. The fol¬
lowing account of the largest library at Goa, that of theAu-
gustinian monks, extracted from the journal ofa tour made
by Sir James Mackintosh, is almost the only notice of the
kind that we have met with, and it is certainly by no means
flattering. “ The books,” says he, “ are about 10,000,
chiefly Latin and Portuguese, with a few Spanish, a very
few Italian and Greek, no French, and of course no English,
and none of any other language. There are not above
twenty printed since the close of the seventeenth century.
I here are a few bad editions of classics, but not a com-
*plete edition even of Cicero himself; a great many school¬
men, casuists, and canonists, with some jurists; very
little history, scarcely any of modern times, except a lit¬
tle Portuguese; about ten volumes of Portuguese and
L I C
Spanish poetry ; no morals, but as the handmaid or rather r;,,
slave of superstition ; no politics, no political economy, no T
astronomy, no chemistry, no zoology, no botany, no mine- Licetm
raiogy, and no book even on mathematics by Euclid. I ^"vn
did not know before that the world had produced 10,000
such useless and pernicious books, or that it had been pos¬
sible to have formed a large library, with so curious an
exclusion of whatever is instructive or elegant.”3 At the
difterent presidencies, and in some other parts of British
India, are collections, more or less extensive and valuable,
of European and native productions ; but they have not
been particularly described. Of the native libraries of
Incha, we know but little. That of Tippoo Sahib, which
fell into the hands of the British when his capital was ta¬
ken, consisted, according to Stewart’s catalogue, of near-
ly 2000 \olumes, many of them highly ornamented. In
China and Japan, and likewise in the capital of the Bur-
man empire, there are considerable collections, though
of the precise nature of their contents we still remain
entirely ignorant.
Having thus completed our laborious survey, which we
have endeavoured to render as complete as the materials
to which we have had access would admit, it now only re¬
mains to refer the reader to the article Bibliography,
as containing various inquiries intimately connected with
the present subject; and which may, in fact, be said to
constitute the Science of those who are intrusted with the
formation and superintendence of Libraries. (a.)
LIBRATION, in Astronomy, an apparent irregularity
of the moon’s motion, by w hich she seems to librate about
her axis, sometimes from the east to the west, and at other
times from the west to the east. See Astronomy, Index.
LIBURNIA, in Ancient Geography, a district of Illyri-
cum, extending towards the Adriatic, between Istria on
the west, Dalmatia on the east, and Mount Albius on the
north. I he people were called Liburni. The apparitors,
who at the command of the magistrate summoned the
people iiom the country, were called Liburni, because ge¬
nerally men of Liburnia.
LIBURNUS, in Ancient Geography, a mountain of
Campania. It was also a port of Tuscany, and is now Li¬
vorno, or Leghorn. Long. 11. E. Lat. 43. 30. N.
L1L1 A, in general, a term which, according to the
Greeks, denoted Africa. It was derived from Lub,
thirst, being a dry and thirsty country. See Africa.
Libya, in a more limited sense, was the middle part of
Africa, extending north and west, between the Mediter¬
ranean to the north, and Ethiopia to the east. It was di¬
vided into the Hither or Exterior Libya, and the Farther
or Interior. I he former lay between the Mediterranean
on the noith, and the Farther Libya and Ethiopia beyond
on south. Ihe Farther or Interior Libya was
a vast country, situated between the Hither Libya on the
north, the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Ethiopic on
the south, and /Ethiopia beyond Egypt on the east.
Libya, in a still more confined sense, called Libya Pro¬
pria, was a northern district of Africa, and part of the Hi¬
ther Libya, situated between Egypt on the east, the Me-
diterranean on the north, the Syrtis Major and the Regio
Iripolitana to the west, the Garamantes and .Ethiopia be-
f° the south. Fliis Libya was again subdi¬
vided into Libya taken in the strictest sense of all, and
into Marmarica and Cyrenaica. Libya in the strictest
sense was the most eastern portion of Libya Provria, next
to Egypt, with Marmarica on the west, the Mediterra¬
nean on the north, and the Nubi, now called Nubia, to
the south.
TICENSE, in Law, an authority given to a person to
do some lawful act.
LICENSER of Books, an officer without, whose per¬
mission, formally granted, no book could be published. It
has been proved by Beckman that such an office was esta¬
blished, not only in the Roman empire, but also in the
states of Greece. All the copies of the wmrks of Prota¬
goras which could be procured were burned at Athens by
the public crier, and the satirical works of Labienus shared
the same fate under the reign of the Emperor Augustus.
Not long after the invention of printing, laws were enacted
for subjecting books to examination. See Bibliography.
LICENTIATE, one who has obtained the degree of
a license. The greater number of the officers of justice in
Spain are distinguished by no other title than that of li¬
centiate. In order to pass as licentiate in common law^, civil
law, and physic, they must have studied seven years, and
in divinity ten. Amongst us a licentiate usually means a
physician who has a license to practise, granted by the
College of Physicians.
LICETUS, a celebrated physician of Italy, was born at
liappollo, in the state of Genoa, in the year 1577. He
came into the world in the seventh month; but his father,
an ingenious physician, wrapped him up in cotton, and
nurtured him so carefully that he lived to be seventy-seven
great spiril since °L0firM ^ JaWes of Events, has proceeded w.
pernaps have been led to conclude. Whlch 18 by n° means the French original of the former, as the public m
2 Travels in Nubia, p. Ixviii.
'* Life 0fthe Right Hon- Sir James Mackintosh, vol. ii. p. 85, London, 1836, 8vo, 2d edition.
L I D
I Aden-
Lin
v Litlel.
years of age. He was trained with great care, became a
distinguished man in his profession, and was the author of a
great number of works, particularly one De Monstris. He
_ was professor of philosophy and physic at Padua, where
he died in the year 1655.
LICH TENBERG, a part of the duchy of Saxe-Co-
burg, but detached from the other territory of that state.
It is situated to the west of the Rhine, surrounded by the
lands of Prussia, Bavaria, and Hesse-Homberg. It extends
over 248 square miles, contains two towns, ninety-six vil¬
lages, 4038 houses, and 26,315 inhabitants. The capital
is St Wendel, situated on the river Blies.
LICHTENSTEIN, a sovereign principality, one of the
smallest in Germany. It is situated on the frontier of
Switzerland and the Tyrol, and borders on the Rhine. It is
fifty-five square miles in extent, and contains 1207 houses,
in two towns and nine villages, with 5800 inhabitants.
The revenue is said to be about L.2000 annually; but the
prince has other territory, which has been mediatized, the
income of which far exceeds that of the independent sove¬
reign state.
LIGHTER VELDE, a town of the Netherlands, in the
province of West Flanders, and arrondissement of Bruges.
It contains 4250 inhabitants, who are employed in linen
manufactures.
LICINIUS Stolo, a Roman tribune, styled Slob on
account of a law he made, whilst tribune, that no Roman
citizen should possess more than 500 acres of land; alleg-
ing,vthat when they occupied more, they could not culti¬
vate it with care, nor pull up the useless shoots (stolones)
which grow from the roots of trees. He is remembered
also for having enacted, that one of the consuls should al¬
ways be of a plebeian family. He lived about 362 b. c.
LlCNON, in the Dionysiac solemnities, the mystical van
of Bacchus, a thing so essential to all the solemnities of
this god, that they could not be duly celebrated without it.
LICNOPHORI, in the Dionysiac solemnities, those
who carried the licnon.
LICODIA, a city of the island of Sicily, in the king¬
dom of Naples, and province of Noto. It stands on a
steep rock, rising above the river Dirillo, known as the
Euboea of Strabo. It is in a healthy situation, and con¬
tains 6950 inhabitants.
LICOLA, or Lago di Licola, a lake in the kingdom
of Naples, anciently famous for excellent fish ; but, in the
year 1538, an explosion of a volcano changed one part of
it into a mountain of ashes, and the other into a morass.
It was anciently known by the name of the Lucrine Lake,
the oysters of which are highly commended by Horace.
LICIORS, amongst the Romans, were officers esta¬
blished by Romulus, who always attended the chief ma¬
gistrates when they appeared in public. The duty of their
office consisted of three parts : L Submotio, or clearing the
way for the magistrate they attended. This they did by
word ot mouth ; or, if there was occasion, by using the
rods they always carried along with them. 2. Animadversio,
or causing the people to pay the usual respect to the ma¬
gistrate, as to alight, if on horseback or in a chariot; to
rise up, uncover, make way, and the like. 3. Prceilio, or
walking before the magistrates. This they did not con-
msedly, or altogether, nor by two or three abreast, but
singly, following one another in a straight line. They also
preceded the triumphal car in public triumphs ; and it was
a further part of their office to arrest criminals, and to act
as public executioners. Their ensigns were the fasces and
securis. As to the number of lictors allowed each magis¬
trate, a dictator had twenty-four, a master of the horse six,
a consul twelve, a praetor six; and each vestal virgin, when
she appeared abroad, had one.
RIDDEL, Duncan, professor of mathematics and of
medicine in the university of Helmstadt, was born in the
lie
year 1561, at Aberdeen, where he received the elementary
part of Ins education in languages and philosophy. About'
the age of eighteen he repaired to the University of Frank¬
fort, where he spent three years in a diligent applica¬
tion to the mathematics and to philosophy. From Frank¬
fort he proceeded to Wratislau or Breslau in Silesia, where
he is said to have made uncommon progress in his favou¬
rite study of mathematics, under the direction of a very
eminent professor, Paulus Wittichius. Having studied at
Breslau for the space of one year, he returned to Frank¬
fort, and remained there for three years, giving the most
intense application to the study of physic. A contagious
distemper having broken out at that place, the students
weie dispel sed, and Liddel retired to the university of
Rostock. Here he renewed his studies, rather as a com¬
panion than as a pupil of the celebrated Brucaeus, who,
though an excellent mathematician, did not scruple to con¬
fess that he was instructed by Liddel in the more perfect
knowledge of the Copernican system, and other astrono¬
mical questions. In J590 he returned once more to Frank¬
fort ; but having there heard of the increasing reputation
of the Academia Julia, established at Helmstadt by Henry
duke of Brunswick, Mr Liddel removed thither; and soon
after his arrival was appointed to the first or lower profes¬
sorship of mathematics. From this, however, he was pro¬
moted to the second and more dignified mathematical chair,
which he occupied for nine years, with much credit to him¬
self and to the Julian Academy. In 1596, he obtained his
degree in physic, was admitted a member of the faculty, and
began publicly to teach physic. By his teaching and his
w ritings he was the chief support of the medical school at
Helmstadt, was employed as first physician at the Court
of Brunswick, and had much practice among the principal
inhabitants of that country. Having been several times
elected dean of the faculties both of philosophy and phy¬
sic, he had in the year 1600 the honour of being chosen
protector of the university. But neither academical ho¬
nours, nor the profits of an extensive practice abroad, could
make Dr Liddel forget his native country. In the vear
1604 he took a final leave of the Academia Julia; and
after travelling for some time through Germany and Italy,
he at length settled in Scotland, where he died in the vear
1613, in the fifty-second year of his age. By his last wfill
he bestowed certain lands purchased by him near Aber¬
deen upon the university there, for the education and sup¬
port of six poor scholars. Amongst a variety of regula¬
tions and injunctions for the management of this charity,
he appointed the magistrates of Aberdeen his trustees, and
solemnly denounced the curse of God against any person
who should abuse or misapply it. His works are, 1. Dispu-
tationes Medicinales, Helmstadt, 1603, 4to ; 2. Ars Medica
siwcincte et perspicue explicata, Hamburg, 1607, 8vo, de¬
dicated to James \ I. and divided into five books, viz. In-
troductio in totam Medicinam, de Physiologia, de Patholo-
gia, de Signorum Doctrina, de Therapeutica; 3. De Fe-
bribus JAbri tres, Hamburg, 1610, 12mo; 4. Tractatus de
DenteAureo, Hamburg, 1628, 12mo. This last production
Dr Liddel published, in order to refute a ridiculous story
then current, of a poor boy in Silesia, who, at seven years
of age, having lost some of his teeth, produced a new tooth
of pure gold. The imposture w as discovered to be a thin
plate of gold, skilfully drawn over the natural tooth by an
attist of that country, with a view to excite the public ad¬
miration and charity. He was also the author of Artis Con-
servandi Sanitatem Libri duo, Aberdeen, 1651, 12mo; a
posthumous work.
LIE, in morals, denotes a criminal breach of veracity.
Archdeacon Paley, in treating of this subject, observes,
that there are falsehoods which are not lies, that is, which
are not criminal; and that there are lies which are not li¬
terally and directly false.
319
Lie.
320
L I E
Lief ken-
shoek
Liege.
Cases of the first class are those, 1. where no one is de¬
ceived ; as, for instance, in parables, fables, novels, jests,
tales to create mirth, or ludicrous embellishments of a
story, in which the declared design of the speaker is not
to inform, but to divert; compliments in the subscription
of a letter; a prisoner’s pleading not guilty ; an advocate
asserting the justice, or his belief of the justice, of his
client’s cause. In such instance no confidence is destroyed,
because none was reposed ; no promise to speak the truth
is violated, because none was given or understood to be
given. 2. Where the person you speak to has no right to
know the truth, or, more properly, where little or no incon¬
venience results from the want of confidence in such cases ;
as where you tell a falsehood to a madman for his own ad¬
vantage ; to a robber, to conceal your property ; to an as¬
sassin, to defeat or to divert him from his purpose. It is
upon this principle that, by the laws of war, it is allowable
to deceive an enemy by feints, false colours, spies, false
intelligence, and the like ; but by no means in treaties,
truces, signals of capitulation or surrender. The difference
is, that the former suppose hostilities to continue, whilst
the latter are calculated to terminate or suspend them.
As there may be falsehoods which are not lies, so there
may be lies without literal or direct falsehood. An open¬
ing is always left for this species of prevarication, when
the literal and grammatical signification of a sentence is
different from the popular and customary meaning. It is
the wilful deceit that makes the lie ; and we wilfully de¬
ceive when our expressions are not true in the sense in
which we believe the hearer apprehends them. Besides,
it is absurd to contend for any sense of words, in opposi¬
tion to usage ; for all senses of all words are founded upon
usage, and upon nothing else. A man may also act a lie ;
as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction, when a tra¬
veller inquires of him his road ; or when a tradesman shuts
up his windows, to induce his creditors to believe that he
is abroad ; for to all moral purposes, and therefore as to
veracity, speech and action are the same, speech being
only a mode of action.
LIEFKENSHOEK, a strong fortress of the Nether¬
lands, in the province of East Flanders. It stands on the left
bank of the Scheldt, opposite Lillo, and with it forms the
chief defence of that river. It has four bastions, two ra¬
velins, a ditch, and counterscarp, with only one gate to¬
wards the water ; and the whole country on the land side
can be laid under water when the defence requires it.
LIEGE (Ligius) properly signifies a vassal, who holds
a kind of fee, that binds him in a closer obligation to his
lord than other people. The term seems to be derived
from the French Her, to bind, on account of a ceremony
used in rendering faith or homage ; which was by locking
the vassal’s thumb or his hand in that of the lord, to show
that he was fast bound by his oath of fidelity. Cujas,Vige-
nere, and Bignon, choose rather to derive the word from
the same source with leudis or leodi, loyal, faithful. But
Du Cange coincides in the opinion of those who derive it
from liti, a kind of vassals, so firmly attached to their lord,
on account of lands or fees held of him, that they were
obliged to do him all manner of service, as if they were
his domestics. He adds, this was formerly called litgium
servitium, and the person litge. In this sense, the word
is used (Leg. Edw. cap. 29): Judcei sub tutela regis ligea
debent esse ; that is, wholly under his protection. By liege
homage, the vassal was obliged to serve his lord towards
all, and against all, excepting his father. In this sense,
the word was used in opposition to simple homage, which
only obliged the vassal to pay the rights and accustomed
dues to his lord, and not to bear arms against the empe¬
ror, prince, or other superior lord ; so that a liege man was
a person wholly devoted to his lord, and entirely under
his command. But it must be observed, there were for¬
L I E
merly two kinds of liege homage ; the one, by which the uj
vassal was obliged to serve his lord against all, without
exception even of his sovereign; and the other, by which Liegnil
he was bound to serve him against all, except such other^
lords as he had formerly owed liege homage to.
In our old statutes, lieges and liege people are terms
peculiarly appropriated to the king’s subjects; as being
liges, ligi, or ligati, obliged to pay allegiance to him (8
Henry VI., 14 Hen. VIII. &c.), though private persons had
their lieges too. Reinaldus, Dei gratia, abbas Ramesiee,
prceposito et hominibus de Brancestre, et omnibus vicinis
Francis et Anglis salutem. Sciatis me dedisse terrain Ulfe,
in depedene (Jwdie depedale) huic Boselino, et uxori ejus
Alfnice ; ea conditione quod effecti sint homines legis.
Liege, a province of the Netherlands, formed in part
out of what, before the French Revolution, was the inde¬
pendent ecclesiastical state of that name, and was by
France divided into the departments of the Ourthe and
of the Sambre and Meuse. It contains also small parts
taken from the duchy of Limburg, from the county of
Dahlen and the abbey of Stablo, and also of certain vil¬
lages known by tbe name of Terres de Redemption. It ex¬
tends in N. lat. from 49° 40' to 50° 46', and in E. long,
from 4° 49' to 5° 57', and is 2255 square miles in extent.
It comprehends four arrondissements, divided into nine
cantons, and those into 466 communes, containing 360,000
inhabitants, who are chiefly of the Walloon race, and
speak that language, though of late years the use of the
French tongue has been very much extended. The face
of the country in the northern part is hilly ; but in the
southern, the largest division is mountainous, where the
Ardennes forms a considerable portion. The soil is very
various. On both sides the Meuse, towards the province of
Limburg, there are some plains of moderate fertility, and
well cultivated; but on that part where the Ourthe joins
.the Meuse, and especially towards Luxemburg, the land
is rocky and stony, with much slate, which last is the pre¬
vailing stone in the woody district of the Ardennes. Agri¬
culture in the north affords moderate products, in the south
very poor returns; so that an importation of corn is re¬
gularly required, though the extension of potatoes, which
has taken place of late years, has diminished the demand
for grain. The woods are one of the chief sources of the
wealth procured from the soil, and they cover more than
200,000 acres. There are mines producing iron and coal,
which, before the revolution effected in Brussels in 1830,
was a great source of benefit, the former yielding employ¬
ment to numerous persons in making ironmongery goods;
and the latter being of vast importance when the fuel con¬
sumed in Holland was drawn by the Meuse from Liege,
instead of being furnished by sea from England. Besides
the iron manufactures, there are others of paper, wood¬
work, leather, beer, and corn spirits. The city of Liege,
the capital of the province and of the arrondissement of
the same name, is situated on the left bank of the Meuse,
where it is joined by the Ourthe. It is in a picturesque
and fertile district, in a valley of contracted extent. It
is fortified, and defended by two powerful citadels on the
western and northern sides. It is not well built, though
there are some spacious houses and splendid churches,
with pleasing promenades. It contains 8000 houses, and
48,000 inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in the fabri¬
cation of great guns and small arms, cutlery, and other
iron wares. There are breweries, distilleries, and tan¬
neries, and other branches of industry ; but all have suf¬
fered severely by political occurrences.
LIEGNITZ, one of the governments into which the
Prussian province of Silesia is divided, comprising the
north-western part of Upper Silesia, and a part of Upper
Lausatia. It extends over 4158 square miles. It com¬
prises thirty-five cities or walled towns, and 1383 smaller
I Bfter
ch i LifjPre.
ler^* seifers.
tns
ng
(8
lad
ice,
nis ]
'fi, :
ius
art i
le-
by
nd
rts
of i
•il-
:x' i
1g-
nt.
ne
100
nd
be
ice
he
he
fry
i of
nd
ins
nd
re-
Ti¬
lth
re-
ch
L I F
towns and villages, and 713,362 inhabitants, of whom the
Protestants and Catholics are nearly equal in number.
The chief products are corn, fruit, and culinary vegetables,
, with much excellent flax. Of late years there are large
flocks of sheep, the fineness of the wool of which has been
improved by crosses of the better breeds. The chief indus¬
try is spinning. The capital is the city of the same name,
situated on the river Katsbach, where the Blackwater falls
into that stream. It is surrounded with walls, but for a pro¬
menade rather than defence ; and has four gates, with an
old castle. It contains two Lutheran and four Catholic
churches, several hospitals and courts of law, and a gym¬
nasium, with 780 houses, and about 11,500 inhabitants.
It is a place of active manufacturing industry, producing
cotton goods of various kinds, camlets, serges, and other
woollens, leather, Prussian blue, lace, starch, and musical
instruments, and has several breweries and distilleries.
This place is remarkable for a battle fought in 1760, in
which the Austrians were defeated by the Prussians.
Long. 16. 7. 1. E. Lat. 51. 12. 30. N.
LIER, or Lierre, a city of the Netherlands, in the
province of Antwerp, and arrondissement of Mechlin. It
stands at the junction of two small streams, which, when
united, form the river Neethe. It contains 10,500 inha¬
bitants, who are industriously occupied in distilleries,
breweries, oil-mills, salt-works, and in printing calicoes.
Long. 4. 26. E. Lat. 51. 9. N.
LIEVENS, John or Jan, a celebrated painter, was born
at Leyden in 1607. He discovered an early inclination
for the arts, and was the disciple, first of Joris van Schoo-
ten, and afterwards of Peter Lastman. He excelled prin¬
cipally in painting portraits, but he also executed several
historical subjects with great success. He came over to
England, where he resided three years, and painted the
portraits of Charles L, the queen, the prince of Wales,
and several of the nobility; after which he returned to
Antwerp, where he met with full employment for his pen¬
cil. We have several etchings by this master, which are
performed in a slight but masterly manner. The chiaro
scuro is very skilfully managed in them, so as to produce
a most powerful effect. His style of etching bears some
resemblance to that of Rembrandt; but it is in general
coarser, and less finished.
L1EOU-KIEOU, or Loo-Choo. See Loo-Choo.
LIEUTAUD, Joseph, counsellor of state and first
physician at the court of France, was born at Aix, in Pro¬
vence, and resided principally there till he took the de¬
gree of doctor of physic. After this he prosecuted his
studies for some years at Montpellier, and having return-
d-
;e,
of
10)
io
It
ie
h
r
LI F E-P R E
Although it too frequently happens, that an accident,
which materially endangers the life of an individual, de¬
prives him, in the mean time, of that presence of mind
which alone would enable him to take proper measures for
his safety; yet to have meditated, in an interval of leisure,
upon the best method of proceeding in case of emergency,
must tend greatly to diminish the embarrassment and con¬
fusion that commonly accompany the accident, even if it
should not be thought necessary to provide any particular
apparatus for the purpose of escaping the danger. There
are also many ways in which those who are not immediate¬
ly involved in the disaster may contribute to the preserva¬
tion of life, whether actuated by interest, or by humanity
only; and the modes of relief will, therefore, be naturally
divided into the internal and the external, whether relating
to Jires or to shipwrecks.
VOL. XIII.
L I F 321
ed to Aix, he soon acquired extensive practice, and be-Lieutenant
came eminent for literary abilities. He resided there till II
the year 1750, when he was invited to act as physician to Life-Pre-
the royal infirmary at Versailles. There he practised servers-
with such reputation and success, that he soon arrived at ^
the head of his profession; and in the year 1774, upon
the death of M. Senac, he was appointed chief physician.
His extensive engagements in practice did not prevent
him from cultivating the science of physic in all its bran¬
ches, and from freely communicating to others the result
of his own studies. He published many valuable works,
amongst which the following may be accounted the most
remarkable, viz. 1. Elementa Physiologige ; 2 Precis de la
Medecine; 3. Precis de la Matiere Medicale ; 4. Essais
Anatomiques; 5. Synopsis universae praxeos Medicinae ;
6. Historia Anatomico-Medica. He died at Versailles in
1780, aged seventy-eight.
LIEUTENANT, an officer who supplies the place and
discharges the office of a superior in his absence. Of
these, some are civil, as the lord-lieutenants of kingdoms,
and the lord-lieutenants of counties ; and others are mili¬
tary, as the lieutenant-general, lieutenant-colonel, &c.
Lord-LiEUTENANT of Ireland is properly a viceroy, and
has all the state and grandeur of a king of England, ex¬
cept being served upon the knee. He has the power of
bestowing all the offices under the government, of dubbing
knights, and of pardoning all crimes, except high treason.
Lord-Lieu tenants of Counties are officers who, upon
any invasion or rebellion, have power to raise the militia,
and to give commissions to colonels and other officers, and
to arm and form them into regiments, troops, and com¬
panies. Under the lord-lieutenants, are deputy-lieuten¬
ants, who possess the same power; these are chosen by
the lord-lieutenants, out of the principal gentlemen of
each county, and presented to the king for his appro¬
bation.
Lieutenant, in the land service, is the second com¬
missioned officer in every company both of foot and horse,
next to the captain, and who takes the command upon
the death or absence of the captain.
Lieutenant of a Ship of War, the officer next in rank
and power to the captain, in whose absence he is accord¬
ingly charged with the command of the ship, as also the
execution of whatever orders he may have received from
the commander relating to the king’s service. See Navy.
LIFE is peculiarly used to denote the animated state
of living creatures, or the time during which the union of
the soul and body lasts. See Physiology.
Life, Duration of. See Mortality.
SERVERS.
Sect. I.—Internal Fire-Escapes.
Whenever a family establishes itself in a residence not
detached from others, it becomes of importance to ascer¬
tain what facilities the house affords for ascending to the
roof, and for passing to those of the neighbouring houses.
It is scarcely possible that a conflagration should extend at
once to the contiguous houses on each side, before the in¬
habitants of the house in question have had time to escape.
But in a detached house, if there are not two or more stair¬
cases remote from each other, and even in a house conti¬
guous to others, when there is no facility of communicat¬
ing by the roof, it becomes highly expedient to provide
some internal means of escaping through the windows in
case of fire, and to have on every floor a good strong rope,
with a hook or a loop at the end, by which it may be fas-
322 LIFE-PRE
liife-Pre- tened to a bed-post, so as to enable an active person to de-
v servei's. scend by its help out of the window, finding from time to
S ’ Y'~"—^ time a partial footing in the inequalities of the wall. This
process will be greatly facilitated by having the rope knot¬
ted at intervals of about a foot throughout its length ; the
knots being nearly as convenient as the blocks or clips that
are sometimes made for the purpose of retarding the de¬
scent, by holding them, and regulating the friction by the
pressure of the hand1 (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 13) ; unless
the clip be attached to a strong cross bar, on which a per¬
son may sit, while he regulates the position of the clip by
its handles, and allows himself to descend with more or
less velocity at pleasure. The arrangement for this pur¬
pose may be made by a roller, or pipe, sliding on the rope,
and pushed down so as to open the handles of the clip and
tighten its teeth, when the person holds by the roller and
draws it down (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 12) ; and, on the
contrary, the clip may be opened by pressing on the han¬
dles with the other hand, or with the thighs ; or any other
simple mode of regulating the clip may be adopted, pro¬
vided that it be not liable to be misunderstood, or misap¬
plied, in a moment of confusion. After all, a rope-ladder
would perhaps be preferable, as not being liable to be de¬
ranged ; it is often kept ready made in the shops ; and, in
the absence of any other rope, a common bed-cord will
generally be found strong enough to support the weight
even of A stout man ; for a quarter-inch rope may be safely
trusted with two hundredweight, and ought indeed to sup¬
port three tinies as much if new and good.
Sect. II.—External Means of Escape from Eire.
The external means to be employed in cases of confla¬
gration must be provided by the managers of fire-offices,
or by other public officers ; and every ingenious workman,
whom they may employ, will be able, at his leisure, to de¬
vise such apparatus as he can the most conveniently exe¬
cute, and to give it a full trial in the absence of all dan¬
ger ; it will, therefore, only be advisable that he should
compare for himself the particular inventions which have
been suggested for this purpose, and that he should choose
from among them such as he thinks most likely to do him
credit; and he may, indeed, very possibly find means of
improving on any of them.
1. In Leopold’s Theatrum Machinarium (plate liv. Iv.)
we find the representation of a chair calculated to be drawn
up or down by means of pulleys. 2. Mr Varcuurt ob¬
tained, in 1761, the approbation of the Parisian Acade¬
my of Sciences for his invention of a hollow mast, fixed in
a waggon, and supporting a stage, with the means of as¬
cending and descending. (Hist. p. 158.) 3. In the be¬
ginning of the present century, a fire-escape of Mr Audi-
bert was approved by the Parisian Institute. (Mem. Inst.
iv.) 4. A committee was also appointed for examining
several similar inventions at the Lyceum of Arts, and a
medal was awarded by it to Mr Daujon, for his apparatus,
which consists of a platform carried on wheels, supported
by three frames, with brass wires, on which boxes are made
to slide up and down for the conveyance of persons or of
furniture. (Annales des Arts, Repertory ii. vol. i. p. 439.)
5. Mr Collins’s invention of pipes raised by ropes, and af¬
fording a centre to a long lever, is described in the fourth
volume of the American Transactions, and in the Reper¬
tory (vol. xv. p. 35). 6. In the thirty-first volume of the
Transactions of the Society of Arts (for 1813, p. 244), we
have an account of a fire-escape invented by Mr Adam
Young, for which he received a medal from the society.
SERVERS.
It appears to constitute by far the most portable of lad- Life.Pre
ders, consisting of cross bars or rounds, connected by servers. >
ropes, and having their ends fitted together, so as to form 1
a pole, which is readily elevated to the window; and the
rounds being separated, and the hooks at the end properly
fixed to the window-frame, the whole forms itself into a
very convenient ladder of a mixed structure. 7. The
thirty-fourth volume, for 1816 (p. 227), contains a descrip¬
tion of Mr Braby’s fire-escape, consisting of a car made to
slide on a strip of plank fixed to a pole, and governed by a
rope, which is cased with iron, to protect it, in case of ne¬
cessity, from the effect of the fire.
The modes of extinguishing fires are not precisely the
objects of the present inquiry ; but it deserves to be re¬
marked, that the only rational principle on which the me¬
thods proposed have been founded, is that of cutting off
the supply of air, either by a coat of water or steam, or by
means of some chemical substance, capable of forming an
impenetrable varnish, or glazing, on the surface of the
combustible materials. A mixture of clay, with sulphate
of iron and alum, has been proposed for this purpose; but
its utility must obviously be extremely limited, and it must
require to be applied with great address, so as to be brought
into fusion exactly at the place where it is capable of pro¬
tecting the substances not yet consumed.
Sect. Ill Internal Means of Escape from Shipwreck.
The means of escaping from shipwreck may be similarly
divided into internal and external, or into the precautions
to be taken by the ship’s company, and the measures to be
adopted by persons on shore. The internal means depend
either on enabling the individuals to swim or float, or es¬
tablishing a connection with the shore by ropes ; and of the
former, we may first consider those which require no parti¬
cular preparation before the occurrence of the accident
that calls them into action, and which are therefore the
most universally applicable.
Of such expedients, the most effectual appear to be
those which depend on the employment of empty water-
casks for assisting the ship’s company to drift on shore. 1.
A paper on the arrangement of water-casks, to serve as
floats in case of shipwreck, appears in the publications of
the Society for the Improvement of Naval Architecture,
dated in 1796 (vol. ii. 1, p. 51). 2. In 1818, Mr Grant of
Bideford obtained a gold medal from the Society of Arts,
for the invention of a life preserver, consisting of a thir¬
ty-six gallon cask, with some iron ballast fixed on a wood¬
en bed, and lashed to the cask, and with ropes round
it for the men to hold; and it was found that ten men
were supported by it with convenience in tolerably smooth
water, the bung of the cask being well secured by cork
(vol. xxxvi. p. 63.) The ballast could be of very little use,
and a cask simply tied round with a rope, like a common
parcel, would probably answer the purpose equally well.
It would, indeed, be prudent for every ship in a storm on
a lee shore, to have a few of her casks well emptied and
stopped, and tied in this manner, before the actual occur¬
rence of imminent danger. 3. In the thirty-seventh volume
of the Transactions of the Society (p. 110), there is an ac¬
count of Mr Cook’s life-raft, consisting of a square frame
with canvass nailed across it, supported by a cask at each
corner, for which the gold medal was voted to him. 4. It
is followed by a description of Lieutenant Rodger’s life-
raft (p. 112), which obtained a similar compliment. This
raft has the advantage of requiring only such materials as
are usually found on board of every ship; capstan bars,
Emerson’s Mechanics, fig. 228, 229; Leupold’s Theatrum Machinarium, plate liv.
LIFE-PRESERVERS.
323
LifiPre- boat-masts, yards, or any other spars of moderate dimen- at some distance, nine hours after; she had been used to Life-Pre-
seiers^sionS) which are tied together so as to make a sort of wag- swim; her anxiety and suffering, however, had arrived servers.
^ gon frame, with a large cask fixed on each side ; it appears at so great a pitch, that just at the time that the boat" v—:
to afford a very convenient support to the men, but it can which took her up appeared, she was trying to force her
scarcely possess any great strength for resisting the force head under water, to put a period to her miserable ex-
of the breakers. istence.”
Mr J. Bremner, a clergyman in the Orkneys, had re- In China, a frame of bamboo surrounding the person is
ceived a medal from the Society in 1810, for his method used for a float, and the lightness and strength of this
of converting any ship’s boat into a life-boat, by putting substance must make it extremely proper for the purpose ;
into it three or four casks attached to the keel, which is to sometimes also a gourd is tied to a child, to secure its
have a ring-bolt fixed in it for receiving the ropes by which floating in case of accident. The inflated goat-skins used
the casks are fastened; he gives particular directions for from time immemorial by the Arabs, or the seal-skins em-
making all the necessary arrangements, in the twenty- ployed by the Chilians, have the disadvantage of being
eighth volume of the Transactions (p. 134); he particu- easily punctured by a rock or a spar; an objection which
larly advises that no use should be made of the natural is also more or less applicable to all substances containing
buoyancy of the cavity of the boat, but that the bottom air; for example, to the air jackets described in Leopold’s
should be perforated without hesitation, wherever the hole Theatrum Pontijicium, published about 1724. A float of
would afford any additional facility for fixing a rope. Cap- a semicircular form was recommended by Ozanam, the
tain Manby’s jolly-boat, fitted as a life-boat, “ at the ex- author of the Recreations ; and Bachstrom, in his Art of
pense of three pounds,” seems to be comprehended among Swimming, proposed to float a troop of cavalry, by fixing
those preparations which are to be made previously to the cork to the saddles. The cork jacket of Gelacy is de-
voyage. scribed in the History of the Parisian Academy of Sciences
The buckling a soldier’s canteen on his breast, as an as- for 1757, and Lachapelle’s Scaphander, which is consi-
sistance to enable him to float, belongs to those tempo- dered an improvement on it, in the volume for 1765. In
rary expedients which may occasionally be employed with the year 1764, the attention of the British public was par-
advantage. Tying a hat in a pocket-handkerchief, and ticularly called to the floating powers of cork, by some
holding it as a float, has been recommended by Mr Law- experiments which were made with cork jackets on the
son in the Philosophical Magazine (vol. xx. p. 362); he Thames, together with some comparative experiments on
advises that the crown of the hat should be held down- air jackets; and Dr Wilkinson, in the Trans-
wards, and observes that a stick may be employed, to en- actions for 1765, describes some experiments by which
able us to use two or four hats at once; but this method he ascertained that about a pound of cork was amply suf-
can only be adopted when the accident occurs in very still ficient to enable a man of ordinary size and make to float
water. without effort. It is almost superfluous to enumerate the
The first and most obvious preparation for enabling a multitude of trifling variations that have been made in the
person to float, is the learning to swim. It is well known arrangements of cork jackets and air jackets, apparently
that swimming is scarcely ever sufficient to enable a sea- for the purpose of exciting a momentary interest, though
man to reach the land from a ship that has been wrecked, possibly from the best motives. Mr Bosquet advised a
without some assistance; and many have certainly been bag of cork shavings to be kept in readiness by each per-
drowned from depending too much on their own strength ; son ; the Seaman’s Friend was composed of two pieces of
but for a momentary support, and to afford courage and cork, united by straps ; the Collinetta was a hollow vessel
presence of mind to seek for other aid, there is no ques- of copper, divided into cells ; a “ marine spencer” has been
tion but that the faculty of swimming possesses an inesti- described by Mr Spencer, in the sixteenth volume of the
mable advantage. A boy generally learns to swim by the Philosophical Magazine, consisting only of a number of
help of his schoolfellows, better than by any general old corks, arranged so as to form a girdle; and in 1806,
rules, and more agreeably than in a school of natation ; Mr T. C. Daniel obtained a gold medal from the Society
but it may be of some use to observe, that the act of div- of Arts, for the invention of an apparatus of waterproof
ing to the bottom and re-ascending, in tolerably shallow leather, surrounding the body, which, according to the
water, is much more easily performed by a beginner than testimonials he produced, had saved the lives of some
that of simply supporting himself on the surface; and persons who had been sailing in a pleasure-boat on a
when he has thus acquired the feeling of the immediate river. In smooth water, it has been suggested that throw-
effect of his arms in propelling and sustaining him, he ing a foot-ball, with a small weight tied to it, to the per-
soon finds out the means of employing his feet in their as- son immersed, would often afford sufficient assistance;
sistance. The art of swimming has, however, been sys- and, with respect to floating, there is no doubt that any
tematically treated by Bachstrom, Kunst zu Schwimmen, of the assistances which have been proposed would be
8vo, Berlin, 1742; by Thevenot, Artde Nager, Paris, 1711; sufficient if they were at hand; but there is another ob-
and by Bernard!, Arte Ragionata del Nuoto, 2 vols. 4to, ject, to which it is necessary to attend, in cold, and even
Naples, 1794. in temperate climates, that of supporting a temperature
It is easy to convince ourselves, by trials in a warm compatible with life and health, if the immersion is likely
bath, without reference to Robertson’s experiments {Phil, to be of long duration ; and an additional provision of
Trans. 1757), that a substance possessing a very small worsted stockings, jackets, and trow-sers, will be almost
degree of buoyancy is sufficient to enable the human body as essential, in such cases, as the means of obtaining buoy-
to float without effort. In fact, when the chest is fully ancy.
expanded, the thinnest and most bony person will com- For the second object which is desirable to a ship in
monly float in sea-water; but the effort of keeping the distress, that of obtaining a safe communication with the
chest expanded is as fatiguing as any other muscular shore, it has been usual of late years to rely principally
exertion; and when the chest collapses, the fattest peo- on the humane exertions of persons who may be on the
pie may be in danger of sinking, unless they have learned coast, and who may have made preparations f or this pur-
to swim. Sir William Hamilton, indeed, tells us that, in pose; and with this view, some instructions for properly
1783, “ a woman of Scilla, four months gone with child, co-operating in the measures to be adopted with Captain
was swept into the sea by the wave” accompanying the Manby’s apparatus, have been liberally distributed to all
earthquake, “ and was taken up alive, floating on*her back ships when they received their papers from some of the
324 LIFE-PRE
Life-Pre- British custom-houses. There are, however, some simple
servers, expedients which may be adopted for this purpose by per-
sons on board of the ship ; for example, the making a kite
with a pocket-handkerchief stretched over a hoop, and
causing it to carry a cord to the lee shore, by means of
which a stronger line, and at last a hawser, may be drawn
by persons standing on the beach. A line may also some¬
times be carried on shore by a cask, allowed to drift be¬
fore the wind; and a bag has been recommended to be
attached to such a cask, or to a buoy, in order to act as a
sail, and to insure its crossing the surf. Mr Cleghorn was
also rewarded, in 1814, by the Society of Arts, for the in¬
vention of a buoyant line, having a heart of cork, to ob¬
viate the inconvenience which would arise from its sink¬
ing and being dragged on the stones under the breakers ;
but he observes, that in heavy storms there is generally a
current along shore, which renders the method almost im¬
practicable. (7'ra/wac&'ows, xxxii. p. 181.) A Mr Wheatley
assures us, in Captain Manby’s Essay, that his own life,
and that of eight other persons, were saved, in 1791, by a
lead line, which was carried on shore by a Newfoundland
dog that he happened to have on board, when two good
swimmers had been drowned in the attempt to swim on
shore. It had occurred to Lieutenant Bell, in 1791, that
a rope might be thrown from a ship which had struck, by
means of a mortar carrying a heavy shot, and upon the
principle of the gun harpoon; and he showed the practi¬
cability of the suggestion by an actual experiment, in
which a deep-sea line was carried to a distance of about
400 yards. {Trans. Soc. Arts, xxv. p. 136.) He recom¬
mended that every ship should be provided with a mortar
capable of carrying such a shot, and observed that it
might be placed on a coil of rope to be fired, instead of a
carriage. The line was to be coiled on handspikes, which
were to be drawn out before the mortar was fired. In
1792 he received a premium of fifty guineas from the So¬
ciety of Arts ( Transactions, x. p. 204) ; and he obtained
his promotion in the Ordnance as an acknowledgment of
his merits. The shot was to weigh about sixty pounds or
more, and the mortar five or six hundredweight. The
experiments of the French artillery at Lafere were sub¬
sequent to those of Mr Bell, though they have sometimes
been quoted as the first of the kind.
It has, however, generally been thought impracticable
to manage a mortar with effect under the circumstances
of actual shipwreck ; and Mr Trengrouse has preferred a
rocket, as more easily fired, and as having a smaller initial
velocity than a shot, so that the rope would be less in
danger of being broken by the impulse. He found that a
rocket of eight ounces carried a mackerel line 180 yards,
and a pound rocket 212; and in some experiments made
under the inspection of the Society of Arts, a rocket an
inch and a quarter in diameter carried a cord across the
Serpentine River in Hyde Park. The musket is provided
with a valve, to prevent the escape of the materials of the
rocket, and it is to be fired with a little powder, without
wadding. The whole apparatus is packed in a chest, con¬
taining from eight to twelve rockets, the musket, a life-
spencer, a chair to traverse on a rope, a canvass bag, and
a ball of wood to throw to a person swimming. Mr Tren¬
grouse was complimented with a medal from the Society
of Arts in 1820. (Vol. xxxviii. p. 161.)
SERVERS.
actual execution of this proposal, in a variety of cases, we Life.pre
are indebted to the meritorious exertions of Captain G. servers.
W. Manby, whose apparatus, according to the report of a
committee of the House of Commons, dated in March
1810, appears “ to be admirably adapted to its purpose,
and to have been attended with the fullest success in al¬
most every instance.” In consequence of this report, Cap¬
tain Manby was thought worthy of a parliamentary re¬
ward ; and he afterwards published a description of his
inventions, under the title of An Essay on the Preservation
of Shipwrecked Persons, 8vo, London, 1812. He had pre¬
viously received a gold medal from the Society of Arts in
1808. (Transactions, xxvi. p. 209.) His success makes it
expedient to extract from his Essay a detailed description
of the apparatus, and it will be easy to make it somewhat
more intelligible by a slight alteration of the order of ar¬
rangement.
P. 21. “ The method of affixing a rope to a shot, for
the purpose of effecting communication, when projected
from a piece of ordnance over a stranded vessel, was at
length succeeded in, by introducing a jagged piece of
iron, with an eye at the top, into a shell, and securing it
by filling the hollow sphere with boiling lead; and in an¬
other way, by drilling a hole through a solid ball, and
passing a piece of iron, with an eye to it, as before de¬
scribed, to the bottom, where it should be well secured
by riveting.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 22.)
“ To produce the means of connecting a rope to a shot,
and prevent its being burnt, and rendering it ‘ irresisti¬
ble' to the powerful inflammation of gunpowder, was the
labour of infinite time, and the number of experiments to
accomplish it is beyond all possible conception. Chains
in every variety of form and great strength breaking,
proved that it required not only an elastic, but a closer
connected body. At length, some stout platted hide,
woven extremely close to the eye of the shot, about two
feet in length beyond the muzzle of the piece, and with a
loop at the end to receive the rope, happily effected it.”
(Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 14.)
“ This method is certainly desirable, as the rope may,
immediately [as] it is required, be affixed to the loop, and
applied in service. The form of the platted hide may
likewise be woven by twisting it in the manner that the
lashes of whips or ropes are spun ; there is another me¬
thod, by passing the rope through a case of leather, taking
the greatest care that it is so well secured at the eye of
the shot, as to leave no room for the slightest play, as
is represented by the following barbed shot.” (Plate
CCCXXIII. fig. 21.)
“ When the crews of the distressed vessel are incapa¬
ble of availing themselves of the benefits arising from com¬
munication, they having previously lashed themselves in
the rigging to prevent being swept away by the sea, which
is repeatedly breaking over them, and when, from long
fatigue and the severity of the storm (on which occasions
it too frequently occurs), they totally lose the use of their
limbs, and are rendered incapable of assisting themselves
in the slightest degree—the advantages of this shot are,
that, on its being projected over the vessel, and the people
of the shore hauling it in, it firmly secures itself on some
part of the wreck or rigging, by which a boat can be haul¬
ed to the relief of the distressed objects; and by the coun¬
terbarbs it is rendered impossible [that it should] give up
its hold, or slip, while that part of the wreck remains to
which it has secured itself.
“ Among the many that have been saved by this shot,
the following are testimonials of a few of the cases: We,
the crew of the brig Nancy of Sunderland, do hereby cer¬
tify, that we were on board the said vessel when she was
stranded on the beach of Yarmouth, on Friday morning,
• the 15th of December 1809, and compelled to secure our-
Sect. IV.—External Means of Escape from Shipwreck.
The means to be employed by persons on shore, in
cases of shipwreck, depend either on projecting a line
over the ship, or on the use of a life-boat. Mr Bell had
cursorily observed, that a line might be carried over a
ship from the shore by means of his mortar; but for the
LIFE-PRESERVERS.
L#!Pre- selves in the rigging to prevent being swept away, the
seiers. sea running so high over the vessel. And we do farther
declare and certify, that Captain Manby, firing a rope
with a hooked shot, securely holding on the wreck, en¬
abled a boat to be hauled from the shore over the surf to
our relief, otherwise we must inevitably have perished.”
This certificate is attested by six signatures.
P. 27.—“ Facilitating communication is at all times of
importance; but when the stranded vessel is in momen¬
tary danger of going to pieces, this point becomes a con¬
sideration of extreme urgency. I feel a persuasion that
this particular service can only be carried into effect by a
small and light piece of ordnance, the range of which is
consequently very inconsiderable, when compared with
that of a large and heavier piece, as it is weight alone
that conveys the rope. In order, therefore, to increase
the powers of a shot projected from a small mortar, its
natural form must be varied, so as to give it additional
‘ preponderance.’ The following shape, in the form of
a pear, has been used with the greatest success; for, by
the increased weight, the shot’s momentum and power
over the line is in consequence considerably augmented
in its range ; and when made to fit the piece as close
as possible, a great increase of velocity is likewise pro¬
duced from that decrease of windage.” (Plate CCCXXIII.
% u*)
“ Portability in the construction of a piece of ordnance
(as just described) is the very essence of this service; and
communication with the stranded vessel or wreck may be
effected with a cord, by which cord a rope can be con¬
veyed, and by that rope a hawser or cable sent to the
distressed vessel; for this purpose the following was con¬
structed.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 18.)
P. 31.—“ A person completely equipped with every
necessary apparatus to effect communication with a ves¬
sel driven on a lee-shore the horseman, fully equipped,
travelled a mile and a half, the howitzer was dismounted,
and the line projected 153 yards, in six minutes.
“ The application of a small piece of ordnance (Plate
CCCXXIII. fig. 17) likewise offers particular advantages,
capable of being employed from a boat to go to the assist¬
ance of a vessel grounded on a bar when running for a
harbour, the necessity of which repeatedly occurs, and
was twice witnessed at Blakeney on the 10th of Novem¬
ber 1810, when boats endeavoured to go to their relief,
and were enabled to get out of the harbour on the ebb
tide, within twenty yards of the vessel; but it was found
impossible to approach them nearer. Had such boats
been provided with a piece of this description, and the
same firmly secured on a stout piece of plank, by the
holes left at each corner of the iron bed, they might have
projected a small rope, coiled in a crate or basket made
to the form of the bow of the boat, and the persons in the
boat, so provided, would not have remained the distress¬
ed spectators of the untimely end of their fellow-crea¬
tures, without being able to afford them the smallest re¬
lief, although so little was then wanted for that desirable
purpose.”
“ Although advantages have been pointed out in the
use of these small mortars, it is necessary to be kept in
remembrance, that they are produced for particular ser¬
vices, as the nature of the coast, and circumstances at¬
tending the distressed vessel, will direct what piece is
best adapted to the undertaking. To enable the mind
to form a judgment what can be effected by other pieces,
the following are the minutes of experiments made with
a five and half inch brass mortar, stating the quantity
of powder used, and distance the ropes were projected
against a strong wind, at the angle of seventeen degrees
(elevation): weight of the mortar and bed about three
hundred.
Ounces of
Powder.
4
6
8
10
12
14
Yards of inch
and half Rope.
Yards of Deep-
sea Line.
134
159
184
207
235
250
148
182
215
249
290
310
325
“ With a short eight-inch mortar, the weight of which
and bed was supposed to be about seven hundred ; the
angles of elevation uncertain.
Ounces of
Powder.
Yards of Deep-
sea Line.
Yards of two-inch patent
Sunderland Rope, capable
of hauling the largest
Boat from a beach.
32
32
32
439
479
336
P. 15.—“ Directions for using the Apparatus. When
the rope (which should be pliant and well stretched) is
brought on the beach or cliff opposite to the stranded ves¬
sel, the most even spot, and free from projecting stones,
should be selected to lay it on, and great care be taken
that no two parts of it whatever overlay or even touch
each other, nor must it be laid in longer lengths than of
two yards. But to project a small line or cord, it will
be necessary, if it is required, to contract the faker to
half a yard at most, to avoid the jerk received at the end
of each right line. The best method, with such a descrip¬
tion of cord, is to lay it on the ground in the most short
and irregular windings, to relieve it from this powerful
impulse. To prove the effect of the impulse on a rope, if
it is faked in lengths of ten or fifteen yards, it will break
each time, as it then becomes a most powerful pendulum.
These precautions are absolutely necessary to the success
of the service.
“ The following has, after various trials, been found a
certain method of laying the rope, and placing it into
compartments.” {French Faking, Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 1.)
“ A particular attention to this mode will never fail
with a good rope, when the impediments are removed that
might otherwise obstruct its rapid flight. Its advantages
are, that it will allow the eye rapidly (yet correctly, just
before firing, which is absolutely necessary) to pass over
the different compartments, and at once discover if any
fake has been displaced by the storm, or by any other ca¬
sualty or accident come in contact with another part,
which would destroy its application by the rope breaking.
“ It may likewise be coiled in the manner used in the
whale fishery, whale lair (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 5); and
in the following method, chain faking (Plate CCCXXIII.
fig. 4).
“ It is, however, necessary to add, that great attention
is required in laying it agreeably to the two latter me¬
thods, arising not only from the arm being liable to get
under certain parts of the rope, and thereby displace it,
but from the great anxiety of mind natural on these occa¬
sions, where the lives of fellow-creatures are literally de¬
pendent on the correctness with which the rope is laid;
it is therefore extremely difficult, in a moment of agita¬
tion, to determine whether any overlay has taken place,
an error that would infallibly destroy every endeavour,
and occasion even the fate of those whose lives we might
be exerting ourselves to preserve. Could persons in the
LIFE-PRESERVERS.
326
Life-Pre- performance of this service be always collected, the two
^servers, latter methods would have a decided advantage over the
- v^^flrst mode of faking, they being laid in a much less space
of time.
“ As all these methods of laying the rope occupy time
to place it with the care necessary ; and as it has repeat¬
edly happened that vessels, very soon after grounding,
have gone to pieces, and all hands perished ; it was neces¬
sary to produce a method of arranging the rope, so that it
could be immediately projected as soon as it arrived at
the spot; and none proved so effectual as when brought
ready laid in a basket.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 20.)
“ In this case, the rope should be most carefully laid in
alternate tiers or fakes, no part of it overlaying, and it
should be well secured down, that in travelling it be not
displaced. But, above all things, no mistake must hap¬
pen in placing the basket properly. For example,
that the end of the basket, from which the shot hangs in
the above plate, should be previously marked, as it is
here represented, and must be placed towards the sea or
wreck, that the rope be delivered freely, and without any
chance of entanglement. It will be scarcely necessary
to add, there will be several tiers of the rope when laid.
The utmost care and attention are required in laying
the rope in tiers with strict regularity, to prevent en¬
tanglement.”
P. 36.—“ The next is the application of the mortar. If
the wind is sideways to the shore, it must be pointed suffi¬
ciently to windward to allow for the slack of the rope light¬
ing on the object, as the rope will, of course, be consider¬
ably borne to leeward by the effect of a strong wind, and
by its being laid at a low elevation insures the rope falling
against the vveathermost part of the rigging. While this
service is performing, great care should be taken to keep
the mortar dry; nor should it be loaded until every thing
is ready; when that is done, it should be primed ; but as
it wrould be impossible to do it with loose powder in a
storm, a tube is constructed in the simplest manner, of
common writing paper (the outer edge being cemented
with a little gum) in this form (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 2.)
It is filled with meal gunpowder, made into paste with
spirit of wine ; when in a state of drying, run a needle
through the centre, and take care the whole is left open,
for, on the tube being inflamed, a stream of fire darts
through the aperture with such force as to perforate the
cartridge. The mortar should then instantly be fired ; and
in order to lessen a difficulty that has often occurred in per¬
forming this service, a pistol may be used, having a tin
box over the lock, to exclude the effect of wind or rain on
the priming; and the muzzle being cut [obliquely], dilates
the inflammation, so as to require but little exactness in
the direction of the aim.
“ We will suppose the communication to be secured, al¬
though it is scarcely necessary to offer any other assistance
than that of a rope, as the inventive genius of a sailor will
supply every thing else; yet I could expect the people on
shore to get a boat ready for meeting the vessel when
driven on a beach : it is the promptest and most certain
method of relief, as well as the most easy to be accom¬
plished ; for by hauling her off with the rope projected, the
boat’s head is kept to the w aves, and not only insures safe¬
ty by rising to the surge, but prevents her upsetting.”
Again, p. 59.—“ When the rope attached to the shot
(not having barbs to it) is fired over the vessel and lodges,
let it be secured by those on board, and made fast to some
firm part of the rigging or wreck, that they may haul off a
boat by it; but should there not be any boat, then haul on
board by the projected rope a larger one, and a tailed
block, through which a smaller rope is rove. Let the
large rope be made fast at the mast-head, between the cap
and the top of one of the lower masts, and the^tailed block
a little distance below it; but, if the masts should have Life.pre
been cut or carried away, then it must be made fast to the servers,
loftiest remaining part of the wreck. When this is done,
there will be supplied from the shore a cot, hammock, net¬
ting, basket, hoop, or any of the numerous resources of
seamen, which will run on the larger rope, and be worked
by the people on shore. If a cot be used, the men may
be so securely fastened to it as to preclude all possibility
of falling out, and then be brought from the wreck, one by
one, in perfect safety.”
P. 47.—“ While communication is gaining, three stakes
should be driven into the ground in a triangular position,
so as to meet close at the heads to support each other. As
soon as communication has been effected by the crew of
the vessel, and they have secured the line attached to the
shot, made fast to these stakes, and the crew will haul on
board by it a large rope and a tailed block, through which
a smaller rope is to be rove, both ends of which (the small¬
er rope) are to be kept on shore. When they have se¬
cured these on board, and the larger rope is rove through
the rollers, let a gun-tackle purchase be lashed to it, then
lash the purchase to the stakes. By the means of the pur¬
chase, the larger rope may be kept at a fit degree of ten¬
sion ; for, if care be taken to slacken the purchase as the
ship rolls out to sea, the danger of the rope being broken
will be guarded against; and, on the other hand, if the pur¬
chase be gathered in as the ship rolls toward the shore, the
slackness of the rope, which wmuld prevent the cot tra¬
versing as it ought to do, and plunge it in the water
more than it otherwise would, will be avoided.” (Plate
CCCXXIII. fig. 9.)
P. 59.—“ Supposing neither boat nor cot apparatus at
hand, first cast off’ the shot from the projected rope, and
with a close hitch, thus (Plate CCCXXIiI. fig. 16), let it
be put over the head and shoulders of the person to be
saved, bringing it close under each arm, drawing it tight,
OBSERVING PARTICULARLY THE KNOT IS ON THE BREAST¬
BONE ; for, by having the knot in that position, on the
people of the shore hauling the person from the wreck,
he will naturally be on his back, consequently, the face
will be uppermost to seize every moment for respiration,
after each surf has passed over the body. If circum¬
stances compel recourse to this method, care must be
taken to free the rope from any part of the wreck, and to
jump clear away; but should there be more than one on
board, each man should make himself fast in the same
way, about four feet from the other, and join hands, all
attending to the same directions.”
P. 61. —“ jFor giving Relief to Vessels Stranded on a
Lee Shore in a Dark and Tempestuous Night.. It will be
requisite, first, to devise the means of discovering precise¬
ly where the distressed vessel lies, when the crew are not
able to make their situation known by luminous signals;
secondly, to produce a method of laying the mortar for
the object, with as much accuracy as in the light; third¬
ly, to render the flight of the rope perfectly distinguish¬
able to those who project it, and to the crew on board of
the vessel, so that they cannot fail of seeing on what part
of the rigging it lodges, and consequently have no difficul¬
ty in securing it.”
“ To attain the first object, a hollow ball wTas made to
the size of the piece, composed of layers of pasted cart¬
ridge paper of the thickness of half an inch, having a lid
on the top to contain a fuze (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 3),
and it was then filled with about fifty luminous balls of
star composition, and a sufficient quantity of gunpowder
to burst the ball and inflame the stars. The fuze fixed in
the ball was graduated, to set fire to the bursting powder
at the height of 300 yards. Through the head of the
fuze were drilled holes, at equal [distances], to pass through
them strands of quick match, to prevent the possibility,
LIFE-PRESERVERS.
327
Lifi Pre- from any accident of the match falling out, or from its not
sercrs. firing the fuze.
' “ On the stars being released, they continued their
splendour while falling, for near one minute, which allow¬
ed ample time to discover the situation of the distressed
vessel.
“ During the period of the light, a stand, with two up¬
right sticks (painted white, to render them more discern¬
ible in the dark), was ready at hand, and pointed in a di¬
rect line to the vessel.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 6.)
“ A shell, affixed to the rope, having four holes in it,
to receive a like number of fuzes (headed as before de¬
scribed), and filled with the fiercest and most glaring com¬
position, which, when inflamed at the discharge of the
piece, displayed so splendid an illumination of the rope,
that its flight could not be mistaken.” (Plate CCCXXIII.
fig. 24.)
P. 66.—“ To get a Boat from a. Beach over the Surf.
The importance of going to the relief of ships in distress
at a distance from the land, or for taking off pilots, was
viewed as of the highest consequence by the Elder Bre¬
thren of the Trinity House, and offered to my particular
attention by several distinguished characters. After nu¬
merous experiments to accomplish it in various ways, the
mode following was most approved. About forty fathoms
of two and a half inch rope, made fast to two moving an¬
chors, was laid out parallel with the shore, at a distance
beyond the sweep of the surf; to the centre of this rope
was made fast a buoy, of sufficient power to suspend the
great rope, and prevent it from chaffing on the sand, rock,
or stones, as well as embedding, a circumstance that has
rendered it impossible, on a sandy or shingly coast, to
heave out an anchor with a rope to it from the shore. As
this service should be performed in fair weather (to be
prepared for the storm), it may be regulated with the
greatest exactness, and should take place at the top of
high-water, that the upper part of the buoy may be at
the full stretch of its power, and only seen at that time.
(Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 8.)
“ Should the shore be extremely flat, it will be desir¬
able to place another set at a sufficient distance beyond
the first, to insure the operation of this method in any
state of the tide.”
P. 71.—“ The royal mortar being brought to the spot,
is to be pointed in the direction for the buoy, and should
be laid at a very low elevation, but such as to insure the
range ; for the more it is depressed, the less slack of rope
there will be from the parabola formed in the shot’s
flight; the basket with the rope ready laid (having a
barbed shot to it) is to be placed in the front of the
mortar; on its being fired, instantly haul the slack of the
rope in, to prevent the effect produced on it by a strong
tide. Which being done, let the remainder be gently
hauled in, to insure the shot’s grappling with the great
rope; when that is caught and hooked, a power will be
acquired fully adequate to the service. (Plate CCCXXIII.
fig. 15.)
“ As a cast-iron anchor appears particularly adapted to
this method, and would be much cheaper than hammered,
the following is a plan of one which the Honourable the
Navy Board approved, and allowed me to cast at their
expense, for the purpose of making the experiment.”
(Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 19.)
P. 43.—“ When a vessel is in that extreme and perilous
situation, driven under a rugged and inaccessible cliff, and
in danger of going soon to pieces, the most prompt me¬
thod I should suggest is, by lowering to the crew a rope
with stiff' loops spliced into it, at the distance of a foot
and a half from each loop, of sufficient size to contain the
foot, by which they can ascend as a ladder. (Plate
CCCXXIII. fig. 7.)
“ This rope ladder is capable of being projected ; and Life-Pre-
one of an inch and half rope was thrown from a mortar servers.
194 yards. It might also, from the simplicity of its struc- 's—
ture, be extremely useful in escaping from a house on
fire. By making one end fast to the leg of a bed or a table,
the person would come down from the window in safety,
and with much less difficulty, and quicker, than with the
common rope ladder, which is heavier and more unwieldy.
It has great advantages when employed in saving ship¬
wrecked men in situations just described, when, from ex¬
treme cold, and almost benumbed limbs, it would be im¬
possible for them to climb up a rock, or ascend it even by
the aid of a common rope. The holds, thus spliced in,
will support both hands and feet.”
The Report of the Committee of the House of Com¬
mons contains also a paper of instructions for the mana¬
gers of Captain Manby’s apparatus on shore, which are
somewhat more minute than the directions published in
his Essay. For example (p. 13)—
, “ If the wind be sideways to the shore, the mortar must
be pointed sufficiently to windwards to allow for the slack
of the rope lighting on the object, as the rope will, of
course, be borne considerably to leeward by the effect of
a strong wind.”
“ The distance your judgment decides the vessel to be
from the shore, should regulate the charge of powder as
stated in the scale,—taking just a sufficient quantity to
clear the object: an attention to this will be more certain
of your effecting communication, and guarding against
the danger of the rope breaking, or any other circum¬
stance that might prevent the successful performance of
the service. The elevation of fifteen degrees is to be
preferred, particularly if the wind is sideways, pointing
the mortar sufficiently to windward, as the rope would
then fall against the weathermost part of the rigging of
the stranded vessel.”
“ When a vessel is driven on shore in the night, you
will flash gunpowder as often as convenient on your way;
this will animate the crew, and denote to them you are
coming to their assistance. On getting to the spot where
you have reason to suspect the vessel lies, as you are not
able to discover her from the extreme darkness, and if
the people on board cannot [make known] their situation
by luminous signals or noises (which they will be direct¬
ed to make if possible), you will lay the mortar at a very
high elevation, and fire a light ball.”
“ Just before you fire (the rope) it would be advisable
to let off a blue light to put the crew on their guard, to
look out, and be ready to secure the rope. The service
can be performed with a carronade.”
In p. 15, chap. iv. we have a copy of directions to per¬
sons on board vessels stranded on a lee shore, proposed
to be delivered to the masters at the custom-house. It is
observed, that even snapping a pistol, when the powder
is wet, may sometimes afford a signal visible on shore,
from the sparks of the steel alone. The other parts of
the directions will be easily supplied by those who under¬
stand the principles of the proposed mode of relief.
The last description of the inventions to be considered Life-boat,
with regard to the preservation of lives, in cases of ship¬
wreck, is that of life-boats which are of such a construc¬
tion as to be incapable of sinking even when filled with
water. The occasional adaptation of the common boats
of the ship to such purposes, by means of empty casks,
has been already considered. But the boats now in ques¬
tion are supposed to be kept on shore at proper stations,
and manned by active persons, who are in the habit of ex¬
erting themselves for the relief of seamen in distress.
Mr Henry Greathead, of South Shields, received a gold
medal and fifty guineas from the Society of Arts in 1802,
and a parliamentary reward of L.1200, besides further re-
328 L I G
Ligature, numerations from the Trinity House, and from Lloyd’s
N‘-^v ' Coffee-House, for his invention of a life-boat, which is de¬
scribed in the Transactions of the Society, vol. xx. p. 283.
The length of this boat is thirty feet, its breadth ten, and
its greatest depth about three, besides a general curva¬
ture which nearly doubles the depth, as reckoned from
the ends ; the convexity below being intended to give it
a greater facility of turning, and a greater power of
mounting on the waves without submersion of the bow,
which would increase the resistance, though it would not
sink the boat; the breadth is also continued further than
usual fore and aft, in order to contribute to the same pro¬
perty. The gunwale projects some inches, and the sides
below it are cased with pieces of cork, amounting in the
whole to seven hundredweight, which are secured by
plates of copper. There are ten short oars of fir, fixed on
pins to the gunwales, and a longer oar for steering at
each end, both ends of the boat being alike. It is painted
white, in order to be more conspicuous ; and a carriage is
provided, for conveying it over land when required. The
description is accompanied by documents of the preserva¬
tion of two or three hundred men by the boats of South
Shields and North Shields, which were built in 1789 and
1798 respectively.
Mr Christopher Wilson received a gold medal in 1807,
for a life-boat with air gunwales, which was tried at New-
haven, and was said to be lighter and more manageable
than Mr Greathead’s. {Transactions, xxv. 55.)
“ Little is required,” says Captain Manby, p. 73, “ to
establish the importance and advantages that will result
from giving every boat the properties of a life-boat, par¬
ticularly when taken into consideration that it can be pro¬
duced at a very trifling expense.”
To illustrate the method of giving the properties of pre¬
servation to any boat, I have selected the representation
of a man of war’s jolly boat, fitted up to make experiments
thereon, by permission of the Honourable Commissioners
of the Navy Board. (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 23.)
“ To give it buoyancy, empty casks were well lashed
and secured in it. For the advantage of keeping it in an
upright position, launching from a flat shore, beaching,
and to resist upsetting, it had billage boards of equal
depth with the keel, and when a good sized piece of iron
or lead was let into or made fast to the keel, if any acci¬
dent did upset the boat, it immediately regained its ori¬
ginal posture. A stout projecting rope, with swellings
upon it to increase its elasticity, surrounded the gunwale,
served as a fender, and prevented it being stoved in low-
L I G
ering down, or when driven in contact with the vessel it Ligatures,
might be going to relieve. v-*-/
“ The boat thus described had the plug out, and was
filled with water until it ran over the gunwale, when a
crew of four, with myself, tried it in every way, and found,
from the buoyant property of the casks, it kept the boat
so much above the water’s edge, that it was rowed with
the greatest ease, and was capable of performing any ser¬
vice required.”
Mr J. Boyce, in 1814, obtained a medal for his life¬
boat and safety buoy, consisting of hollow cylinders made
of canvass painted and varnished, and connected with each
other. It was tried on a river, and carried a man with
safety (vol. xxxii. p. 177); but surely it could not be
trusted among breakers on a lee shore. In 1818, Mr Ga¬
briel Bray obtained a silver medal for his invention of a
boat filled with air boxes under the seats and along the
sides. (Vol. xxxv. p. 172.)
Captain Manby’s proposal for throwing ropes from ship
to ship in cases of accidents, may easily be understood
from the methods which he employs for saving lives in
shipwrecks. Mr Thomas Cook’s life-buoy is related to
the same class of inventions ; its object is to preserve the
life of a person falling overboard in the night, by means
of a floating light; and it obtained him a gold medal from
the Society of Arts in 1818. (Transactions, xxxvi. p.
121.) He observes that a ship may often have to run
half a mile before she can get about and lower a boat,
so that it becomes highly desirable to afford a temporary
support to the sufferer. The machine consists of two
casks, with a pillar between them, carrying a composition
of potfire, to be lighted by a lock when the accident hap¬
pens, and to serve as a rendezvous to the man and the
boat. He found that it might be lighted and let down
into the water in the short time of five seconds, being
always kept suspended in a proper manner between the
cabin windows at the stern of the ship. Mr Miller’s safe¬
ty poles for skaiters, and Mr Prior’s mode of preventing
accidents in descending mines, are mentioned in the
Transactions of the Society of Arts (vols. xxxii. and xxxvi.);
but they do not require more particular notice on the
present occasion.
A sketch of the expedients which have been recom¬
mended for the preservation of mariners, published in a
work entitled Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea (vol. iii.
p. 459, Edinb. 1822, 8vo), contains a few further histori¬
cal details relating to some of the inventions which have
been described. (l. l.)
LIGATURE, in Surgery, is a cord, band, or string, or
the binding any part of the body with a cord, band, fillet,
&c. whether of leather, linen, or any other matter. See
Surgery.
Ligature is also used to signify a kind of bandage or
fillet, tied round the neck, arm, leg, or other part of the
bodies of men or beasts, to divert or drive off some disease,
accident, &c.
Ligature, in the Italian music, signifies a tying or bind¬
ing together of notes. Hence syncopes are often called
ligatures, because they are made by the ligature of many
notes. There is another sort of ligatures for breves, when
there are many of these on different lines, or on different
spaces, to be sung to one syllable.
LIGATURES, amongst printers, are types consisting
of two letters or characters joined together; as 8$, ff, fl,
fi. The old editions of Greek authors are extremely full
of ligatures ; but the ligatures of Stephens are by much
the most beautiful. Some editions have been printed
without any ligatures at all; and there was a design to
explode them quite out of printing. Had this succeeded,
the finest ancient editions would in time have grown use¬
less ; and the reading of old manuscripts would have been
rendered almost impracticable to the learned themselves.
11#.
(
I
I
a
s
t
a
v
s
li
fi
a
(
b
t:
a
a
P
1
s
t
a
ii
e
n
s
1
ii
V
I
t
t
(
s
I
t
«
t
!
329
LIGHT.
L.ut. SECT. I. HISTORY OF THE SUBJECT.
The nature and properties of the agent on which vision
depends have been objects of philosophical disquisition
from ancient times. The earliest speculations which have
reached us on this subject are those of Pythagoras, who
considered vision as produced by particles continually
emanating from the surfaces of bodies, and entering the
pupil of the eye. The Platonists, on the other hand, con¬
ceived that vision was the consequence of the emission of
something from the eye meeting with certain emanations
from the surfaces of things ; yet, with this very gratuitous
hypothesis, the Platonists appear to have detected seve¬
ral properties of Light, especially its propagation in right
lines, and the equality of the angles of incidence and re¬
flection when it falls on bright and polished surfaces.
The effects of the concentration of the sun’s rays by con¬
cave specula were certainly known to the ancients ; and
antiquaries have supposed, that, in this manner, the Ro¬
mans kindled their sacred fire ; and thus also it has been
alleged that Archimedes destroyed the Roman fleet at the
siege of Syracuse.
Aristotle regarded light but as a mere quality of mat¬
ter ; he has some ingenious speculations on the rainbow,
and on other luminous meteors. Ptolemy the geographer
wrote a treatise on optics, which has perished ; but, from
some fragments preserved by other authors, he appears to
have had distinct ideas on the subject of atmospherical re¬
fraction.
A long interval of scientific darkness succeeded his era,
until the Arabians began to cultivate the learning of the
Greeks, and several of their philosophers treated of optics ;
but the earliest Arabian work which has reached our
times, is the celebrated treatise of Alhazen. In it we find
a description of the eye, and the uses of its different parts.
The author details many experiments on refraction, both
as exhibited in the atmosphere, and as light is modified in
passing from one medium to another of different density.
He also notices the magnifying power of segments of
spheres of glass; a hint from which it has been supposed
that the important invention of spectacles originated. We
also owe to him the idea that single vision, with two eyes,
is produced by images painted on corresponding points in
each retina ; and that stars may be seen by refraction,
when they are actually below the horizon : remarkable
speculations for the twelfth century.
The work of Alhazen was in 1270 commented on by
Vitellio, a native of Poland, who added a considerable
number of observations on the refractive power of air,
water, and glass, which he reduced into a tabular form.
He made some ingenious attempts to explain the pheno¬
mena of refraction ; and he seems to have conceived the
true idea of burning lenses.
Roger Bacon, the contemporary of Vitellio, was un-
1| - doubtedly acquainted with the magnifying property of
segments of spheres, and recommended that small seg¬
ments should be preferred for such purpose ; adding, et
idea hoc instrumentum est utile senibus et habentibus oculos
debiles. This so plainly indicates the invention of spec¬
tacles, that we cannot doubt that it had then been made.
We know that they became common in the thirteenth
century, and are described by Spina of Pisa in 1313, al¬
though we have no absolute certainty of their first con¬
structor.
After the revival of letters, one of the earliest cultiva¬
tors of mathematics was Maurolycus of Messina, who made
. VOL. XIII.
optics his study. He proved that the crystalline lens of Light,
the eyes of animals converges the rays of light which enter
that organ, and transmits them to the retina, in or near
which the foci of the lenses are situated. Hence also he
inferred, that in persons who are short sighted, the defect
is owing to the too sudden convergence of the pencil of
rays before the retina; and that in those who are long
sighted, the foci are placed behind that expansion of the
optic nerve. Maurolycus, however, did not discover that
the images of objects are painted on the retina.
Baptista Porta, the author of Magia Naturalis, a Nea¬
politan of rank, was much addicted to philosophic re¬
search ; to him we owe the first description of the camera
obscura, and its application to the delineation of objects.
His work contains many observations on light, some of
which are accurate ; and though some are now found to
be erroneous, his remarks are always ingenious. This
subject also engaged the attention of Lord Bacon, who
complained that the form and origin of light had been too
much neglected ; but his labours in other branches of phi¬
losophy diverted his powerful mind to different objects.
The true theory of the rainbow was first given by An¬
tonio, bishop of Spalatro, although he could not satisfacto¬
rily explain the cause of the colours.
The next optical discovery of importance was the tele¬
scope, for which we are indebted to Zacchias Jansen, a
spectacle-maker of Middleburg, in Walcheren, in 1590 ;
and this important invention was quickly applied by Ga¬
lileo to physical astronomy, with brilliant success, crown¬
ed by the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter, the struc¬
ture of the Via Lactea, the phases of Venus, the ring of
Saturn, the spots on the sun’s disk, and a knowledge of
numerous stars unknown to former observers.
The study of light was improved under the auspices of
Kepler, who gave an explication of the effect of lenses on
the rays, and suggested the form of the telescope now call¬
ed astronomical. He treated of refraction, and discovered,
that when light falls within glass at an angle a little above
42°, it is wholly reflected ; but his theory of vision is much
more important; and he showed that images of external
objects are painted on the retina, and appear there invert¬
ed, a fact also ably illustrated by Scheiner. The inven¬
tion of the compound microscope seems also due to Jan¬
sen, and dates from the same period.
Perspective was first scientifically treated by Pietro del
Borgo, Baldassare Perussi, and Guido Ubaldi. To the se¬
cond of these is due the detection of the distance points, to
which all lines making an angle of 45° with the ground line
are drawn ; to the third, the convergence of all parallel
lines inclined to the ground line, in a point in the horizon¬
tal line; and also that a line drawn from the eye, parallel
to them, will pass through this point. These principles are
the foundation of perspective, which afterwards received
improvements from ’sGi*avesande, and were completed by
Brooke Taylor. The true law of refraction is undoubted¬
ly due to Willebrod Snell, or Snellius, professor of mathe¬
matics at Leyden. He experimentally showed that the
co-secants of the angles of incidence and refraction are al¬
ways in the same ratio. This discovery, we are assured, on
the authority of Huygens, was appropriated by Descartes,
who had consulted the papers of Snell, but gave it as his
own, under a somewhat different form. The successive la¬
bours of Descartes, Kircher, Grimaldi, De la Hire, Hooke, and
Huygens, gave to the study of optics a profound scientific
character j and the interesting discoveries of that century
w ere crowned by the important researches of our immortal
330
Light.
LIGHT.
Newton into the optical properties of light. During the
last century, our knowledge of this subject has been steadily
progressive, by the labours of a multitude of philosophers,
so numerous, that we can afford space for little more than
to record the names of some of the most successful inqui¬
rers into the mysteries of this subtile agent. Among these,
Mairan, Dufay, Mariotte, Boscovich, Euler, Mitchell, Mel¬
ville, Canton, Bennet, and Lagrange, stand conspicuous;
nor must we omit the important fact, illustrated by the la¬
bours of Bradley and Roemer, that the velocity of light,
from whatever source derived, whether from the sun, the
fixed stars, the planets or their satellites, is equal, or that
its velocity before and after reflection is the same: a formi¬
dable objection to the theory of emission. During the pre¬
sent century, the progress of discovery in this field has been
no less brilliant. Very early in it, Dr Thomas Young il¬
lustrated the principle of the interference of the rays of light,
founded on some facts observed by Grimaldi, but first dis¬
tinctly stated in Dr Young’s Memoir in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1803, entitled Experiments and Calcula¬
tions Relative to Physical Optics ; and his conclusions have
been demonstrated beyond all doubt by the researches of
Fresnel and of Sir John Herschel. The splendid talents of
Laplace, of Poisson, Biot, Arago, Pouillet, Cauchy, Am¬
pere, and Fresnel, among continental philosophers, have
especially illustrated the phenomena and theory of light:
and in our own country, Sir William Herschel, Young,
Brewster, the younger Herschel, Airy, Whewell, have pur¬
sued these delicate investigations with singular ability and
success. Above all, we must record, as among the most
signal triumphs of modern science, the detection and ex¬
planation of the polarization of light, and the singular con¬
firmation thereby afforded of the theory of its propagation
by undidations.
SECT. II. NATURE OF LIGHT.
Notwithstanding this long list of splendid discoveries,
the nature of light is still in some degree enigmatical. It
is admitted, that the phenomena of vision depend upon the
agency of a subtile, extremely attenuated matter, set in mo¬
tion by the sun and other luminous bodies. Its materia¬
lity is inferred from its deflection from its rectilinear course,
in passing near various bodies; by its being arrested by
certain substances, though it passes freely through others;
by its reflection from polished surfaces; by its capability
of condensation and dispersion, in passing through certain
media; by its producing chemical changes in some com¬
pounds ; and by its apparently entering into the composi¬
tion of some bodies, from which it may be again extricated.
Thus far the majority of philosophers are agreed ; but
two opposite theories have been advanced respecting its
propagation, and the mode in which it manifests itself to
our senses.
Some maintain that light is a peculiar matter, which is
projected in all directions from luminous bodies in a rapid
succession of material particles. This theory is sustained
by the illustrious name of Newton, and has been very ge¬
nerally received; but of late, certain difficulties in the ex¬
planation of the recently-discovered properties of light, es¬
pecially its polarization, have tended to revive the doc¬
trine maintained by Descartes, Huygens, and Euler, viz.
that all the phenomena of light depend on the undulations
of a highly attenuated fluid or ether, universally diffused
throughout space, which, while at rest, is inappreciable by
our senses, but, when acted on by luminous bodies, is thrown
into a succession of waves. Luminous bodies are thus sup¬
posed to act on the universally diffused fluid somewhat in
the manner that sonorous bodies do on air in the produc¬
tion of sound.
It is true, that all the known facts regarding light may
be explained upon either hypothesis. It must be owned,
however, that the remarkable coincidence of fact with
theory, and the facility of explanation, favour the theory
or undulations, while it scarcely can be said to involve any
greater assumption than the doctrine of direct transmis¬
sion. Both assume the existence of a subtile fluid ; both
admit the influence of luminous bodies ; and it does not
seem more difficult to conceive them acting, by causing an
undulation in the matter of light, than by projecting it in a
rapid succession of particles, the minuteness and velocity
of which almost elude the grasp of our imagination.
Whichever hypothesis we adopt, the propagation of light
is a process of astonishing rapidity. Astronomers have
found, from observations on the eclipses of Jupiter’s satel¬
lites, that planetary light requires about fourteen minutes
to cross the earth’s orbit; or, if we adopt the more recent
and probably more accurate determination of Bradley, that
the light of the sun requires about eight minutes to reach
our earth ; and, if we reckon the mean distance of the sun
to be 94,879,956 English miles, it follows, whether we re¬
gard it as an emanation or an undulation, that light must
travel with a velocity of about 200,000 miles per second.
It is difficult to form any adequate idea of such enormous
velocity ; but we may approximate it, by comparing this
with the ascertained velocity of a cannon ball. A twenty-
four pounder, with the common charge of powder, accord¬
ing to Robins, discharges its ball with an initial velocity
equal to 1600 feet per second ; yet, if such a ball were to
continue this velocity undiminished, it would require about
ten years to traverse a space which the light of the heavenly
bodies pervades in eight minutes.
This prodigious rate, and the ease with which light can
penetrate many solid bodies, have been adduced as arguments
against the doctrine of the successive emanation of particles
from luminous surfaces ; but did not the undulatory theory
afford an easier solution of certain recently-discovered pro¬
perties of light, we should not regard such arguments as
conclusive. Now, however, the undulatory theory has been
shown to correspond so exactly with known facts, and has
even enabled us to predict so exactly what experiment has
since confirmed, that it has received the sanction of the
greatest names in modern science.
SECT. Ill PROPERTIES OF LIGHT.
Whichever hypothesis be adopted, light must be consi¬
dered as a material substance, possessed of certain proper¬
ties, detected by observation and experiment.
1. Light is given out by luminous bodies in all direc¬
tions, and from every point of the luminous surface. This
is proved by its being equally seen from every point of ob¬
servation.
2. It is divisible into homogeneous, independent por¬
tions, like air or water ; the smallest portion we can sepa-
rate is termed a ray ; and several rays form a pencil of light.
3. Light appears to be absorbed by certain bodies, and
is again given out by them spontaneously. This property
is well seen in the diamond, which, after being exposed to
the sun’s rays, continues for a short time to shine in the
dark. Various artificial do the same, as the Bo-
lognian stone, calcined oyster shells, and the like.
4. All solids give out light when heated between 700°
and 800° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, and are then said
to be incandescent. All liquids that can be heated to that
point are luminous, as melted metals; and, if the elasti¬
city of their vapours be repressed, other liquids appear ca¬
pable of this emission. Gases do not, however, seem to be
capable of incandescence, yet the phenomena attending their
sudden condensation, when they enter into chemical union,
shows that they contain light. Thus, when a mixture of
'' oxygen and hydrogen is suddenly and strongly compress¬
ed, the gases unite to form water, and both light and heat
are extricated.
5. Some bodies have the property of arresting the pro¬
gress of light, and are termed opake ; others transmit it,
and are said to be transparent. Yet probably no substance
is either perfectly opake or perfectly transparent. Thus,
gold is one of the most condensed and opake bodies in na¬
ture ; yet if we enclose gold leaf between two plates of
glass, and examine it by transmitted light, it appears of a
decidedly greenish hue ; showing the transmission of some
light through the metal. On the other hand, the most trans¬
parent glass, when viewed in a thick plate, and the most
limpid water, when in a deep column, appear greenish.
6. When the rays of light fall obliquely on the sux*face of
-all bodies, whether transparent or opake, solid or fluid, they
are more or less reflected. Smooth and shining surfaces
reflect most light, but the degree also depends on the na¬
ture of the reflecting substance : the reflected rays are re¬
turned from the surface at an angle equal to the angle of
incidence : if the reflecting sux-face be a plane, the parallel
rays that fall on it are reflected parallel to each other.
When the rays are reflected from a concave surface, the
reflected rays are more inclined to each other than the
incident rays; and if that concave surface be the segment
of a sphere, the parallel incident rays will converge to a
point in the axis of the mirx-or half way between its surface
and the centre of the sphere of which it is a segment; and
this point is termed its principal focus, or focus of the pa-
i*allel rays: if the incident rays be converging, they will
meet the axis between the principal focus and that centre;
if the incident rays be divei’ging, they will meet the axis
in a point between the principal focus and the surface of
the mirror. From the immense distance of the sun, all the
incident rays may be considered as parallel; and therefore
his x-ays will be condensed into the principal focus of such
a mirror, which will in this instance also be that of great¬
est heat. This is the principle of burning mirrors. When
the incident rays fall on a convex miri*oi*, they are all re¬
flected more divergingly, or are dispersed.
The properties of reflected light form the object of the
science of Catoptrics. See Optics.
We are not, however, to imagine that all the light inci¬
dent on bright surfaces is reflected. Many curious expe¬
riments were made on this subject by Bouguer. The
quantity of light returned differs with the inclination of
the rays to the reflecting surface. It is generally sti-ong-
est at small angles of incidence; and the difference be¬
comes excessive when the rays impinge on the surface of
transparent fluids with different degi*ees of obliquity. Me¬
tals, from their opacity and splendour, form the best re¬
flecting surfaces; but even pure mercury, perhaps the most
perfect of reflectors, does not reflect more than three
fourths of the whole incident light.
7. When the rays of light fall on transparent bodies,
they^are differently affected, according to the angle of in¬
cidence. When a ray passes from one transparent medium
to another, in a direction perpendicular to their touching
surfaces, that ray will pass through them in a straight line ;
but w'hen the ray passes in a direction oblique to their
touching surfaces, that ray will be bent, or will form an
angle at their junction.
\Y hen the density of a medium is uniform, the x'ays of
light traverse it in sti’aight lines ; but in a medium vary¬
ing in density, like columns of liquids, or the atmosphere,
in which density increases with the superincumbent pres¬
sure, the passage of the rays will form curves.
When a ray passes obliquely from a dense to a rarer
medium, it is bent or deflected from a line perpendicular
to their touching surfaces. When passing obliquely from a
rare to a denser medium, they are bent toward the perpen-
diculai’. In such instances the light is said to be refracted.
In the first instance, the angle of refraction is always great¬
er than the angle of incidence ; in the latter it is always
less. The study of the properties of refracted light con¬
stitutes the science otDioptrics. (See Optics).
8. The refractive power of different media is unequal;
and when the rays of light pass from one medium to an¬
other, it may be measured by the ratio between the sines
of the angles of incidence and refraction ; and the number
expressing the ratio between the first and the last is the
exponent or index of the refractive power of that sub¬
stance.
The refractive power of different substances appears to
be nearly in the ratio of their density; but with inflamma¬
ble bodies, or those containing an inflammable principle,
the refractive power is in a ratio greater than their densi¬
ty. It was this law which led Newton to his happy con¬
jecture that icater and the diamond might contain an in¬
flammable principle ; speculations which have been verified
by modem chemistry. The same opinion as regards the
diamond was long before maintained by Boetius de Boodt.
He says that unctuous and fiei’y bodies are easily united,
but will not mix with watery substances ; and because the
diamond readily adheres to resins, which are of & fiery na¬
ture, and because, like amber, another fiery body, the dia¬
mond, when rubbed, attracts light bodies, the diamond it¬
self must be of an inflammable or sulphureous nature : an
argument which he considers as confirmed by that gem
being “ produced in a hot, sulphureous climate.” It is ob¬
vious that the deduction of Newton differs widely in its
principles from the hypothesis of De Boodt; but the lat¬
ter must be regarded as a curious instance of a true con¬
clusion dei'ived from unsound premises.
9. If a pencil of light be admitted by a small hole in the
window-shutter of a darkened room, through a triangular
prism of any transparent substance, the white light will be
found to undergo a remarkable change. The rays w ill be
separated in the prism, their image will be enlarged; and,
if received on a white screen, will be seen variously colour¬
ed. The colours will assume a certain determinate order
of juxtaposition ; and this appearance is termed the pris¬
matic spectrum. This coloured spectrum will then be seen
divided into colours, of which Newton enumerates seven ;
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. These, it
is evident, may be resolved into red, yellow, and blue ; for
the boundaries of the colours are not well defined, and the
compound colours which lie between these may be consi¬
dered as made up of the intermixture of * contiguous rays.
These rays are not in equal proportions in the spectrum.
If we consider it divided into 360°, the red occupies 45°,
the orange 27°, the yellow 48°, the green 60°, the blue 60°,
the indigo 40°, the violet 80° ; and it is worthy of remark,
that this division of the scale of colour is a striking ap¬
proximation to the divisions of a chord that would give
the musical intervals of the octave. But as these colours
are not bounded by defined lines, but gx*aduate into each
other, it is very difficult to determine their relative extent
with tolerable precision. The cause of their separation is
the difference of their refrangibility by the pi’ism; the red
being the least, the violet the most refrangible ; that is,
turned from the line of the incident pencil of light. The
green ray will be found in the centre of the prismatic spec¬
trum ; and hence its index of refraction is considered as
the mean refraction of the substance of which the prism
consists. Newton employed in his experiments prisms of
different substances ; but he seems to have taken it for
granted, that when the mean refraction was the same,
the length of the spectrum was also equal, or that the dis¬
persive power of the bodies in that case was equal. He
considered that prisms and lenses of all kinds of glass,
332
LIGHT.
Light, and of all bodies, whether solid or fluid, with the same
1 mean refraction, possessed also the same dispersive power,
or formed spectra proportional to their mean refraction.
Hence he was led to conclude that “ the improvement of the
refracting telescope was desperate.” This error has, since
his day, been detected; and this principle forms the basis
of Dollond’s admirable invention of the achromatic tele¬
scope, in which the error of refraction in one species of
glass is ingeniously remedied by a correction derived from
the different dispersive power of another kind of glass, so
adapted to the first as to form with it one object-glass.
The difference in dispersive power has now been ascer¬
tained in a considerable number of diaphanous bodies ;
and tables of this difference have been formed from the
observations of many philosophers, particularly of Sir David
Brewster.
The illuminating power of the different rays of the spec¬
trum is different. Sir William Herschel found, that with
a prism of flint-glass, the greatest illumination is towards
the middle of the spectrum ; the yellow rays aft’ording most
light, while the illuminating power, diminishing towards
each end of the spectrum, is least in the violet ray. A
series of experiments on this subject by Frauenhofer, a
late celebrated instrument-maker of Munich, showed, that
with the best made prisms, when other light is careful¬
ly excluded, the most luminous point is nearer the red
than the violet end of the spectrum, in the proportion of
one to four ; and he states the mean refrangibility to be
between the blue and indigo rays. But one of the most
curious discoveries of this ingenious inquirer is, that the
solar spectrum is traversed by numerous dark lines of un¬
equal thickness, perpendicular to the length of the spectrum,
and parallel to one another. These lines require a fine*
prism for their exhibition, a microscope for their detection,
and the exclusion of light, except that of the coloured ray
under examination. He counted 590 of these lines in the
spectrum ; the greatest number of them being towards the
most refrangible end of the spectrum.
It is well known that the rays of the sun communicate
heat as well as light; but the heating power of the colour¬
ed rays is very different. Herschel discovered that the
red ray raises the thermometer most; and that the effect
diminishes as we approach the other end of the solar spec¬
trum. This is sufficiently striking; but in pursuing his
investigations he made another singular discovery, that the
point of greatest heat is fully half an inch beyond the red
end of the prismatic spectrum. Delicate thermometers
were placed in the different rays, and gave the following
results:—
In the blue ray in 3 minutes it = 56° F.
Green 3
Yellow 3
Middle of the red 2^
Outer confines of red 2^
56°
58°
62°
72°
73'
79°
rr 73° 5'
Half an inch beyond the red 2^
These curious experiments were confirmed by Sir Henry
Englefield and Sir H. Davy. The inference^ from them is,
that light and heat are unequally refracted.
The prisms used by these philosophers appear to have
been of flint-glass; but Dr Seebeck has since found that
the position of the point of greatest heat varies with the
nature of the refracting prism. Seebeck found, as Herschel
did, that with flint-glass the greatest heat was beyond the
red; with plate-glass, in the middle of the red ; with sul¬
phuric acid in a hollow thin glass prism, in the orange; with
water, in the yellow. The sun’s rays would appear to be still
more complex. Early in this century, Ritter of Jena found
that the rays of the solar spectrum possessed different che¬
mical powers. He found that the salts of silver became
soonest black a little beyond the violet end of the spec¬
trum, a little less so in the violet, and still less so in the
blue; and Seebeck, in repeating the experiments, found
that beyond the violet ray muriate of silver became reddish
brown; in the blue, bluish gray; and in the yellow it retained
its w hite colour, or at most had a yellowish tint; it became
reddish in the red ray, and even when placed beyond it.
These changes might have been attributed to the influence
of heating or illuminating power, had not the greatest de¬
oxidating effect been observed where the heat and illumi¬
nation are the least. Dr Wollaston, who observed these
facts about the same time with Ritter, considers the sun¬
beams as compounded of calorific and deoxidating as w'ell
as luminous rays, all with different degrees of refrangibi¬
lity. But if the experiments of Morichini are confirmed,
the sunbeams have also the property of magnetizing steel.
About twenty-five years ago he announced this discovery ;
it was repeated by several persons without success, but
Mrs Somervile appears to have succeeded. She covered
one half of small sewing needles with paper, in Morichini’s
method, and exposed the naked half to the violet rays for
two hours, when she found that the gieedle had thus ac¬
quired a north pole. The indigo ray produced nearly the
same effect, but the effect was feeble in the blue and the
green; while, though exposed in the orange, yellow, and
red, for two successive days, no magnetism was induced.
Similar effects followed when one half of the needle was
enveloped in white paper, and the other half, exposed to
the rays, was covered with blue or green glass, or with silk
of those colours.
10. The facts already noticed respecting the bendingof the
rays toward the perpendicular*, when they pass from a rare
to a denser medium, lead to the inference that the dispo¬
sition of the surfaces of the refracting medium must ma¬
terially influence the direction of the rays of light which
enter and pass through. Accordingly, it is found that if
one or both surfaces be convex, the rays are bent toward
the axis of the medium. If the medium be spherical, or a
segment of a sphere, the ray, falling perpendicularly on its
centre, will pass straight through; but all those that fall
obliquely on the spherical surface will emerge from the
medium in a direction inclined to the central ray (which
may be considered as the axis of the medium), and will
cut this axis in some point, which is termed the refracted
focus of those rays. When the medium has its surfaces
forming segments of spheres, it is called a lens ; and lenses
are divided into convex and concave, plano-convex and
plano-concave, double convex and double concave, ac¬
cording to the form of their surfaces.
When a lens is nearly or really spherical, optical prin¬
ciples will show, that all the emergent rays will not meet
in the same point; those farthest from the axis will meet
first. But if the lens be a thin segment of a sphere, with
one or both of its surfaces convex, this error will not be very
conspicuous, and the emergent rays will meet nearly in
one focus.
\Vhen both surfaces of a lens are concave, or when one
is concave and the other plane, the emergent rays will be
bent fro?n the axis. The mathematical demonstration of
these facts, their application to practical purposes, and to
the explanation of natural appearances, belong to Optics ;
to which article attention is directed.
11. Some crystallized bodies have the property of divid¬
ing the rays of light which permeate them into two dis¬
tinct portions, one of which passes in the ordinary direc¬
tion, while the other pencil undergoes an extraordinary
refraction, passing at some distance from the other. Hence,
when any body is viewed through such a crystal in a cer¬
tain direction, both sets of rays become apparent by giving
a double image of the object. This curious property was
first detected by Erasmus Bartholin, in calcareous spar
brought from Iceland. But this subject was first philoso¬
phically investigated with his usual sagacity by Huygens,
LIGHT.
ijfeht. who proved that the property of double refraction was not
confined to calcareous spar; and it has, since his time,
been shown, that all crystals, the primitive form of which
is neither a cube nor a regular octahedron, possess this
property. Newton attempted to explain this double re¬
fraction ; but his explanation was not happy. He ascribed
it to an original difference in the rays of light, by which
some are refracted in the usual manner, while others un¬
dergo unusual refraction. Huygens discovered, that when
the ray of light was received through the Iceland crystal
in any direction but one, it was always divided into two
rays of equal intensity; but he remarked with surprise,
that when he received the divided rays through a second
crystal of Iceland spar, the two portions into which each of
them was now subdivided were no longer equally intense ;
that their relative brightness depended on the position of
the second rhomb with regard to the first; and that there
were two positions of the second, in which one of the rays
vanished altogether. This Newton supposed to depend on
the rays having different sides, possessed of different pro¬
perties, each of which “ answers to or sympathizes with
that virtue or disposition of the crystal, as the poles of two
magnets answer to one another.”
This idea was followed up by Malus. He conceived that
the molecules of Xkixs polarized light have all their homolo¬
gous sides in the same direction; and he expressed this
modification of light by the term polarization, as he com¬
pared the effect produced to the influence of a magnet,
which directs the poles of a series of needles all to the same
side—an hypothesis which Biot modified by supposing that
each molecule of light had one axis, similarly placed in
each, and all turned in one direction, in a polarized ray ;
while the molecules were conceived to have a free motion
round such axes, by which they could assume different po¬
sitions according to the attractions and repulsions they ex¬
perience at the surface of each new medium they traverse.
The term polarization is not certainly very happy, and it
is to be regretted that one more appropriate and less hy¬
pothetical had not been employed.
If the rays, thus divided into two pencils by calc spar,
be received by a rhomb of the same substance, while the
axes of both crystals are in the same direction, no new divi¬
sion of the rays takes place ; but if, while the first crystal
remains at rest, the second be turned round, by the time
it has made one eighth of a revolution the rays will be
again subdivided, and four images will be produced. By
continuing the motion until the crystal has described one
fourth of a revolution, the subdivision will again disappear.
Malus discovered that an analogous effect was produced
by reflection. If a pencil of rays fall on a polished surface
of glass at an angle of 35° 25', it is reflected at any angle
equal to the angle of incidence. If we now place another
plate of glass in such a position that the rays reflected from
the first shall fall on the second also at an angle of 35°
25', or when the plane of both reflections coincide, the rays
will also be reflected from the second plate: but if the se¬
cond plate be turned round one quarter of a revolution, so
as to make the plane of the second reflection perpendicular
to the plane of the first, the whole of the rays will now be
1 • transmitted through the second plate : when this plate has
described half a revolution, the rays will be reflected as at
first; and when it has made three quarters of a revolution,
they will again be transmitted, i. e. when the planes of
reflection are parallel, light is reflected, but when they are
perpendicular, it is transmitted—or light in such circum¬
stances can permeate glass in one direction, but not in an¬
other. Sir David Brewster, soon after Malus, began a vast
series of experiments to determine the angles of polariza¬
tion of different media, and to investigate the general law
which regulates polarization by reflection from transparent
bodies, which was crowned with the beautiful discovery
that “ the tangent of the angle of polarization is equal to the Light.'
refractive index,” or that when a ray is entirely polarized   
by reflection, “ the angles of incidence and refraction are
complimentary” In this sketch it would be impossible to
do justice to the investigations and beautiful theoretic
deductions of Fresnel, which have combined the whole
into an inductive science. We must direct the reader to
the article Polarization for his important labours, as
well as for the profound researches of Airy, Poisson, Biot,
Arago, and Cauchy.
Newton rejected the explanation of double refraction
offered by Huygens, because he considered the apparent
polarization of the rays of light inconsistent with motions
“ propagated through a fluid medium but this arose from
his limiting his ideas of luminous vibrations, as entirely
analogous to those of producing sound in air, in which
they are propagated in the direction of the advance of the
undulations. We owe to the late Dr Thomas Young the first
idea of the vibrations being transverse to the direction of
the luminous wave; an hypothesis which he illustrated by
the propagation of the vibrations of a stretched cord put in
motion at one of its ends. This happy idea has been shown
to be a necessary consequence of the phenomena of the
interference of polarized light, if we admit the theory of
luminous waves. The subsequent investigations of Arago
and of Fresnel have confirmed the speculations of the
English philosopher, which have connected and elucidated
those brilliant discoveries that have conferred lustre on the
names of Malus, Fresnel, and Brewster. See Optics and
Polarization.
SECT. IV. COLOUR OF OBJECTS.
The discovery by Newton of the colours produced by
the decomposition of the sun’s rays, naturally turned the
attention of that profound philosopher to the cause of co¬
lour in different objects; and he has delivered a theory of
colours, of which we shall now exhibit an outline.
1. Newton regards the colour of natural objects, not as
produced by any modification which light undergoes from
refraction or reflection at their surfaces, but as something
inherent in the rays according to their different degrees of
refrangibility. The same degree of refrangibility invari¬
ably gives the same colour; and when the rays are fully
separated from each other by the prism, he found it im¬
possible to change the colour. Thus he refracted the red
ray with prisms, but found its tint unaltered ; he reflected
it from bodies which in day light had other colours, but
still it remained red; he transmitted it through coloured
media of different tints, he passed it through the coloured
rings produced by pressing together plates of glass, but
he was unable to convert it into another colour. By con¬
densation or dispersion he could render it stronger or
fainter, but still it remained red. Similar experiments on
the other rays were attended with similar results.
2. He found, however, that by mingling the different
rays of the coloured spectrum, he could produce a sort of
intermediate tint: thus the intermixture of the yellow and
red rays formed an orange, and that of the yellow and blue,
a green. But this effect was only distinctly produced by the
intermixture of contiguous rays ; if they were far removed
from each other in the spectrum, no such effect was produ¬
ced: thus the orange and indigo rays do not produce an in¬
termediate green.
3. The intermixture of all the rays reproduced white light.
Newton reflected a pencil of rays through a prism into a
dark room, and then interposing a lens of three feet radius,
about four or five feet distance from the aperture admitting
the light, he collected the convergent rays upon a paper
screen, and obtained an intense spot of white light, iiy
334 LIGHT.
Light, moving the paper he could easily find the point of perfect
—    whiteness; and, by drawing it farther from the lens, he
could reproduce the coloured spectrum in an inverted or¬
der, as the crossing rays diverged farther from each other.
If any of the coloured rays were cut off before their con¬
vergence by the lens, the image on the paper exhibited
colour; and if either of them were made to predominate,
that tint was rendered perceptible. Newton endeavoured
to show the same with mixtures of coloured powders; and
though this method presents mechanical difficulties not
easily overcome, and the mixtures only afford a gray shade,
yet when these were strongly illuminated by concentrated
solar light, they became of a dazzling white: and all co¬
loured objects appeared most splendid in the prismatic rays
of their own colour. From these facts he considered the
colour of objects to depend on the predominance of the
coloured rays they reflect. Thus minium, or red lead, ap¬
pears red, because it reflects principally the least refran¬
gible rays ; a violet appears of the colour so denominated,
because it chiefly reflects the most refrangible rays; and
what we denominate the colour of an object is merely the
hue of the rays which it most copiously returns to the eye.
On the other hand, transparent bodies which have colour,
when held between the eye and the light, appear so by trans¬
mitting most copiously that ray. Thus, too, we see why a
body not quite transparent may sometimes appear of different
colours by transmitted and reflected light. Such a body
may transmit most copiously the blue rays, and reflect the
green ones; as we often find in coloured liquids, and some¬
times observe in the crystals of fluor spar, and other mine¬
ral substances. This fact is a confirmation of the Newto¬
nian theory of colour; for, were the colour inherent in the
substance itself, it ought to appear equally by either mode
of viewing it.
In transparent coloured liquids the shade often varies
with the thickness of the column through which the light
is transmitted. Thus a clear red liquid in a conical wine
glass appears below of a pale yellowish hue ; higher up it
seems orange, and only has its full red hue when the co¬
lumn is of considerable thickness. This is owing to the
most refrangible rays never being able to penetrate the
liquid at all. The remaining part of these rays gives the
yellowish colour to the thin film at the bottom of the glass;
the separation of part of the yellow rays gives an orange
tint to the next film of liquid; and, when the yellow rays
are wholly stopped by the thicker column, the red, or least
refrangible, come undilated to the eye of the observer, and
give their colour to the body of the liquid in the glass.
SECT. V. RELATION OF LIGHT AND HEAT.
It is well known that light and heat are intimately mixed
in the beams of the sun—that some bodies give out both
light and heat during combustion—and that a high tempe¬
rature causes the extrication of light in all bodies, the gases
excepted. This intimate relation between light and heat
has induced some philosophers to consider them as mere
modifications of each other. Certain it is that they have
many properties in common. They are capable of reflection,
of refraction, of concentration, of dispersion, and of polariza¬
tion—they radiate between distant objects with great ce¬
lerity, they penetrate solid bodies very readily, they are
absorbed by dark and rough surfaces, are generally reflected
by smooth surfaces, and they are capable of subverting
some chemical combinations.
These properties show very striking analogies ; and the
phenomena of the polarization of heat, so well illustrated by
Professor Forbes of Edinburgh, have undoubtedly rendered
this analogy still more apparent: yet in the present state
of our knowledge, it would be rash to pronounce their ab¬
solute identity. Their total separation, at least as far as Light
our means of detection extend, in some instances,—the very
different substances which permit or retard their progress,—
the different manner in which they affect our sensations, 
have led some inquirers to the opposite conclusion ; and
though it may still be true that they are modifications of
the same kind of matter, it is safest to content ourselves
with pointing out those circumstances in which they differ,
as well as their general agreements.
1. Light and caloric are not intercepted by the same
substances. If we interpose a plate of thin transparent
glass between the face and a bright blazing fire, the inten¬
sity of the light has no apparent diminution, but the ca¬
lorific rays seem immediately arrested; and if we make
the experiment with a thin diaphanous plate of ice, they
seem absolutely intercepted. Some recent experiments
of Professor Forbes, with thin plates of ice, afforded an
almost microscopic effect on the galvanometer of Melloni’s
apparatus; but supposing there was no minute hole in the
ice, the difference of the transmission of light and heat
through diaphanous ice is sufficiently striking. The same
takes place with all other species of terrestrial light, though,
as we shall presently see, the calorific rays of the sun in¬
stantaneously pervade ice.
2. The rays of caloric are more powerfully reflected from
a metallic mirror, even of an imperfect shape, than from
the best glass mirror ; whereas the latter very powerfully
reflects light. Dark and dense solids are very readily pene¬
trated by caloric, though they are totally impervious to
light.
3. Light affects the organs of vision in a peculiar manner,
without producing inconvenience to that most delicate or¬
gan, the eye ; but a radiation of heat without light, as from
a vessel of boiling fluid, though the rays entering the eye
may be so powerful as painfully to affect the eye, does not
produce any thing analogous to vision.
In the sun’s rays, however, heat and light are so inti¬
mately i blended, that we cannot entirely separate them.
The difference in their refractive power causes a partial
separation in the coloured spectrum ; but both the heat
and light of the sun’s rays seem to pervade glass or ice
with equal facility. Leslie’s photometer, placed behind a
sheet of diaphanous ice, is immediately affected by the di¬
rect rays of the sun, and a lens of transparent ice will con¬
centrate them, so as to fire combustibles; as was long ago
observed by Jan Metius and Descartes, and has more re¬
cently been proved by Scoresby. This difference between
the calorific influence of the sun and of artificial fires has
been attributed to the different initial velocity imparted to
the calorific emanations in both cases. This is not im¬
probable ; but some have considered the calorific influence
of the sun’s rays as an effect of the condensation or fixa¬
tion of light. This was the idea of the late celebrated
Leslie, and is the principle of his elegant photometer.
SECT. VI. MEASURES OF LIGHT.
Various methods have been proposed for affording com¬
parative measures of light. The principles of these depend
either on the illumination, as ascertained by the distance at
which we can distinctly perceive small objects, such as
printed letters of a certain size ; the comparati ve depths
of the shadows of an opake object; or the heat excited by
the luminous emanations of the bodies compared.
1. The distance at which the same eye can read a parti¬
cular printed paper forms certainly a good criterion of the
comparative degree of light given out by two or more lu¬
minous bodies, at the moment of comparison ; but as it
must greatly vary with the goodness of eye, it obviously
cannot afford the basis of a general scale of illumination,
LIGHT.
Lint.
by which the same individual can compare his observations
''at distant periods, or render the experiments of one per¬
son comparable with those of another. Still it is a conve¬
nient method, and requires but a very simple apparatus;
a tube to admit the light in an uniform manner to the
paper, and a graduated sliding rule to ascertain with ease
the distance of the paper from the eye.
2. The comparison of shadows, which appears first to
have been employed by Bouguer among several other in¬
genious contrivances, was the mode recommended by Count
Rumford, who, in 1794, read a paper on this subject to
the Royal Society of London. It is reprinted in a volume
of his Philosophical Papers, published in 1802. This in¬
strument, though well suited to the object in view, is cum¬
brous, and somewhat complicated. The photometric part
a is a box eight inches wide; its back a plate of glass,
covered by tissue paper, on which the shadows are pro¬
jected. It is supported at a convenient height by a tripod-
stand. The table consists of two narrow arms c d, resting
on b at one end, and kept horizontal by feet at the other,
intended to support the moveable brackets e e, on which
are placed the lights to be compared. The arms are di¬
vided into decimals of an inch; and are here represent¬
ed on a smaller scale than the rest of the instrument.
Rumford's Photometer.
Similar results may be obtained by the following contri¬
vance, proposed, we believe, by Dr W. Ritchie. It con¬
sists of a rectangular box of brass, a, b, c, d, three inches
long, and 2*2 inches wide. In its centre are two plane
Ritchie's Photometer.
glass mirrors, g g, two inches square, cut from the same
plate, and placed accurately at angles of 45° to the base
of the box, as in the diagram. Each end e f of the box
is open, and has, at equal distances from the mirrors, two
cylindrical wires of brass, h, h, 0*2 inch in diameter, fixed
vertically in the centre of the box. The top of the box
consists of two thin plates of glass, i i, on which is pasted
tissue paper. The inside of the box and the wires are
blackened. When the two lights to be compared are
placed before the ends of the box, and in its axis, the sha¬
dows of the wires will be reflected from the inclined mir¬
rors on the tissue paper. The adjustments of the lights
to the machine may be conveniently made by sliding
brackets, placed on a long and steady table. If one of the
lights be fixed, the other is to be moved backwards or for¬
wards, in the line of the axis of the machine, until both
shadows of the wires shall be of equal intensity. Thus, as
the intensity of the light, in such cases, is inversely as the
square of the distance of the luminous body, the difference
between the position of each light, ascertained either by
a graduated fillet on the table, or by a common Gunter’s
scale, will afford a numerical value of the comparative in¬
tensity of each light. The method appears sufficiently ac¬
curate for such experiments, but, like the former mode, is
not susceptible of a fixed scale, unless we could find some
uniform unvarying light to be considered as a standard.
3. The calorific influ¬
ence of luminous mat¬
ter was proposed as the
measure of the light
by Lambert, and was
adopted by Sir John
Leslie as the principle
on which he construct¬
ed his photometer. It
is the author’s differen¬
tial thermometer, with
one of its balls made
of black enamel, while
the other is of clear
glass. An instrument
so prepared, when ex¬
posed to a heating
cause, has its balls un¬
equally heated. To
prevent the influence
of currents of air, the
whole is covered with
an air-tight case of
transparent glass. The
black ball absorbs the
calorific rays which im¬
pinge on it, the air with¬
in it expands, and raises
Leslie's Photometer.
336
LIGHT.
I.iffht.
the coloured liquor in the opposite stem of the instrument,
' to which a scale of equal parts being attached, each equiva¬
lent to Y(jth of a degree of the centigrade thermometer,
affords a numerical result; and if we were sure that the
intensity of the light is always in proportion to the ca¬
lorific effect, the instrument would be a perfect photome¬
ter. But, unfortunately, we now know that this is not the
fact, especially when we compare different kinds of light
by means of this instrument. Thus the influence of a fire,
so dull that it is impossible to distinguish a letter of a
printed page, will affect this photometer at the distance of
several feet, more than the diffused light of day sufficient
to enable one to read the same book with facility ; and it
is more affected by radiation from a piece of iron scarcely
incandescent in the dark, than by the intense light of phos¬
phorus burning in oxygen gas. Even with the light of
the sun refracted by the prism, the photometer does not
indicate the point of the maximum of light. The great¬
est illumination is in the yellow rays ; but this photome¬
ter rises highest when in or just beyond the confines of
the red.
But if we employ the instrument for the purpose chiefly
in the view of its ingenious inventor, the measure of the
intensity of solar light, this beautiful instrument appears
to us the most elegant and useful photometer hitherto pro¬
posed. Its delicacy is such, that when freely exposed, in
our climate, to the light of the sky, without being acted
on by the direct solar rays, it generally ranges in summer
from 30° to 40°, and in winter from 10° to 15°. Exposed
freely to the sun-beams at noon in summer, it usually
mounts to between 80° and 90° ; and in the depth of win¬
ter is generally about 25°. In the glowing language of its
inventor, “ the photometer exhibits distinctly the progress
of illumination from the morning’s dawn to the full vigour
of noon, till evening spreads her sober mantle. It marks
the growth of light, from the winter solstice to the height
of summer, and its subsequent decay through the dusky
shades of autumn ; and it enables us to compare, with nu¬
merical accuracy, the brightness of distant countries—the
brilliant sky of Italy, for instance, with the murky air of
Holland.”
SECT. VII.
-EVOLUTION OF LIGHT WITHOUT APPRECIABLE
HEAT.
The most familiar instance of this phenomenon is in the
rays of the moon, planets, and fixed stars, in the beams of
which the most delicate instruments, even the thermo-
magnetic combinations of Melloni, have been unable to
detect any calorific effect. In the beams of the moon and
planets, the greatest portion of the incident light would
probably be absorbed by the dark nucleus of those celes¬
tial bodies; and if any heating rays were emanated from
them towards us, they probably are far too attenuated to pro¬
duce sensible effects at our planet. The light of the fixed
stars, though probably like that of the sun, radiates through
too enormous a distance to become sensible to any instru¬
ment for measuring heat hitherto contrived. The luminous
meteors, too, that belong to our atmosphere, have in ge¬
neral no sensible heat; if we except meteoric stones and
condensed electricity or lightning, which has occasion¬
ally fired combustibles. We must not confound the effect
of the aurora borealis on the magnetic needle with heat;
it appears to be altogether magnetic, not calorific. We
find, also, that certain terrestrial bodies have the power of
emitting light, in some instances largely, without a corre¬
sponding degree of heat; and such are usually termed
phosphorescent. Some of these have the property of ab¬
sorbing light when exposed to it, and again visibly emit¬
ting it. Some become phosphorescent when slightly heat¬
ed ; others give out light during their spontaneous de¬
composition. Phosphorescence has been examined byv
Bartholini, Fabricius ab Aquapendente, Bayle, Algarotti,
lleaumur, Father Beccari, Father Boui'ges, Abbe Haller,
Seroi, and Canton.
1. Many bodies, when exposed to light, particularly
that of the sun, absorb it, and emit it immediately on
being removed into a dark place. When a diamond of
some size is thus exposed, it has been observed to give out
flashes of light in the dark for a short period, and it recovers
this property on a fresh exposure. Several other precious
stones, some calcareous minerals, almost all animal and ve¬
getable substances, when very dry, or after solution in ni¬
trous acid, and* even snow, are stated by Beccari to pos¬
sess the same property in a greater or less degree. Seve¬
ral artificial compounds, when carefully calcined, have the
same effect. This is particularly the case with the Bolog-
nian stone, and with Canton’s phosphorus. The former is a
calcined sulphate of baryta, found at the foot of Monte
Paterno, near Bologna. Its properties were first discover¬
ed by Vincenzo Cascariolo, a shoemaker of that city, who,
from its weight, mistaking it for a metal, attempted its
reduction. The inventor kept the process secret, but
it seems to have at length transpired: according to
Kircher, the stone was reduced to a fine powder, beaten
up with whites of eggs or linseed oil, and formed into a
paste, which was repeatedly baked in a furnace. The Bo-
lognian stone, as the preparation was called, has a very
powerful phosphorescence, of a reddish colour; and the
Italian preparation generally has this quality in a higher
degree than the imitations prepared elsewhere; but it has
been quite eclipsed by the phosphorus of Canton. Canton
recommends oyster shells which have been long worn on a
sea-beach, as the materials to be employed. They are to
be calcined in a good coal-fire for half an hour. The pu¬
rest parts are then to be collected, and reduced to a fine
powder. Three parts of this, with one of sulphur, are to
be rammed into a crucible about 1^ inch deep, till nearly
full. Place it in the midst of the fire, where it must be
kept red hot for at least one hour, and then allowed to
cool, when it is to be removed from the crucible. The
fine portions of this, which will be quite white, are to be
scraped off, and immediately enclosed in a bottle with a
well-ground stopple.
When this bottle is exposed for a short time to the light
of day, to any artificial light, or, better, to the direct rays
of the sun, it will be luminous for some minutes in the
dark ; and its light will be renewed by a fresh exposure to
the sun. At one time it was a subject of controversy,
whether or not these substances emitted only the light
they had imbibed by exposure, as it was conceived to be
a ready mode of deciding the dispute between the fol¬
lowers of Newton and Descartes respecting the nature of
light. Galeazzo, Zanotti, and Algarotti of Bologna, tried
whether, when exposed to the different rays of the prism,
the Bolognian phosphorus would only show the colour of
that ray to which it had been exposed ; and they thought
that its light was reddish, to whichever ray it had been
previously exposed. But in these experiments its light
was very feeble, and therefore not satisfactory. After¬
wards, however, Father Beccari of Turin, by exposing
pieces of more powerful phosphori in tubes of different
coloured glass, found that, in the dark, they only emitted
the colour of the light to which they had been exposed.
Van Helmont appears to have discovered another power¬
ful phosphorus; and Baldwin of Misnia, in 1677, found
that the residuum of a solution of chalk in aquafortis, after
distillation, formed a phosphorus of considerable power,
but inferior to the Bolognian. Du Fay, in 1734, found
that similar properties resided in gypsum, marble, and
topaz. The emerald, diamond, and many other precious
LIGHT.
Ljg., stones, he found to have the same property, without cal-
cination, and by mere exposure to light. From the expe¬
riments of Margraaf, all the earthy sulphates have this
property when calcined ; but he thought that neither me¬
tals, metallic ores, nor agates, possess it. The analy¬
sis of topaz shows that it contains fluoric acid; and we
may now generalize the observation, and state, that all
substances capable of becoming phosphorescent by cal¬
cination contain some fixed acid, and probably all mine¬
rals containing such acids are capable of becoming, in
like manner, phosphorescent.
The experiments of Canton are the most complete on
this subject (Phil. Trans. Iviii.). When his phosphorus
was, for a short time, exposed to the light of a candle, the
moon, or the diffused light of day, it shone for a consider¬
able time in the dark. When exposed to the direct rays
of the sun, it gave out light for two hours, at the com¬
mon temperature of the air. When it had ceased to shine
in the dark, the application of heat renewed its luminous¬
ness for a short time. If the glass containing the phos¬
phorus be placed in boiling water, its luminousness will
be stronger than in the cold, but will last a shorter time.
When it has ceased to give light in hot water, it will again
give out light on being placed on a hot iron between 400°
and 700° Fahrenheit.
2. Some natural bodies become phosphorescent by a
gentle heat. Thus, some kinds of fluor spar, particularly
the coloured varieties, give out a pure greenish or a bluish
light by being heated; and this is finely exhibited by the
green varieties. The mineral called 'phosphorite, which is
a fibrous phosphate of lime, found principally in Spanish
Estremadura, gives out much light when heated. Some
marbles, some ores of metals, coal, wax, butter, oil, and
several other mineral and vegetable substances, so treated,
become more or less luminous. In some the light is mo¬
mentary, in others it lasts several minutes. It soon attains
its maximum brightness, and then fades away. A stream
of cooler air extinguishes the light for a moment, but it
re-appears on the ceasing of the cool current. Analo¬
gous to this class of bodies in some degree are those sub¬
stances which give out light on percussion ; such as silice¬
ous minerals, either with one another or with steel, hard
porcelain, or the like ; but they also, in such collisions, emit
heat as well as light.
3. Mineral and vegetable bodies, during their decompo¬
sition, often give out light. Fish, mutton, and rotten wood,
are the best known instances of phosphorescent bodies of
this class.
The luminousness of fish is well known ; and Dr Hulme
has shown that the light of herrings and mackerels begins
to appear while the fish is still eatable, and soon arrives at
its maximum, but begins to decrease when they pass to
putridity. To produce this change, the fish should be kept
in a dark and cool place. It is not confined to the skin of
the animal, for if cut into pieces, the surface of each piece
becomes luminous ; and it is often seen within the mouth of
the fish. The luminous matter easily rubs off, and may be
transferred to the hands of him who touches the fish. This
light is not attended by any perceptible heat. When scrap-
r| - ed off’, it forms a gelatinous liquid, that will shine for seve¬
ral days, if preserved in a phial. The addition of fresh wa¬
ter, lime water, water impregnated with carbonic acid, of ve¬
getable acids and alkalies, extinguishes it, as do neutral salts,
infusions of pepper, and camphor, when strong ; yet the
same substances, in a weak solution, seem to promote it, and
even render it more durable; but sea-water increases its
splendour. This luminous property is also found in lob¬
sters and in shell-fish, especially in the Pholas Dactylus,
and its congeners. This shell-fish is luminous when quite
fresh, and is mentioned by Pliny as rendering the mouths
of those who eat it luminous. The light is readily impart-
VOL. XIII.
331
ed to milk and sea-water, but it is extinguished by spirit, Light,
wine, or vinegar. Sea-water, thus rendered luminous, in-
creases in brightness by a gentle heat; but when heated
to 133° Fahrenheit, it is suddenly extinguished, and can¬
not again become luminous. This luminous matter, when
narrowly examined, sometimes appears to give out a sort of
lambent flame, which closely resembles that of a solution
of common phosphorus in oil; and it smells ef phosphorus
or of phosphuretted hydrogen. The flesh of Mammalia
undergoes similar changes during its decomposition. This
has often been seen in mutton, beef, and veal. This light
has sometimes been observed on corpses, much to the terror
of the vulgar; and in vaults where dead bodies have been
deposited, it has sometimes been observed in a glairy mat¬
ter adhering to the vault. This last matter, however, pro¬
bably is the produce of some cryptogamian plant; and it is
well known that rotten wood is sometimes highly luminous.
A light of this kind is stated to have been observed round
the body of a woman at Milan, but it flitted from the bed
on the approach of the reporter. This appearance has been
more frequently seen around graves, and has obtained in
Scotland the name of elf-candles.
The light from corrupting animal and vegetable matter
requires oxygen in some form for its continuance. It is
soon extinguished in the exhausted receiver of the air-
pump, as Mr Boyle long ago observed ; but it would seem
that the small quantity of air which is contained in water
is sufficient to sustain its luminousness. No perceptible
heat is extricated in any of these kinds of phosphorescence.
Analogous to the light from decaying organized bodies,
is the curious meteor termed ignis fatuus, or will-o’-the-
wisp. Its ordinary appearance is like the faint flame of a
taper; sometimes it resembles the light of a torch, or a
faggot; but it usually recedes as it is approached, and can
rarely be observed near at hand. The colour of the light
is usually pale bluish, and seems brightest when most dis¬
tant. It is most frequent in marshy grounds, in church¬
yards, or where a considerable mass of animal and vegetable
putrefaction is going on. Dr Derham once observed an
ignis fatuus playing round the head of a dead thistle ; and,
by cautiously approaching, he got within two or three yards
of it, when a slight movement of the air made it flit; and
when he pursued it, he was unable to overtake it.
A remarkable appearance of ignis fatuus was, about a
century and a half ago, common in the vicinity of Bologna,
which has been well described by Beccari (Phil. Trans.
vii.). He estimated that two, which at that time appeared
almost every dark night, one to the east, the other to the
north, of the city, gave light equal to an ordinary faggot.
One of them accompanied a friend of Beccari for a mile
along the road to Bologna, giving as much light as that of
the torch carried before him. Sometimes these meteors
divided into several parts, or floated like waves of flame,
dropping small scintillations.
Dr Shaw, the author of Travels in the Holy Land, de¬
scribes a remarkable one which accompanied him, for up¬
wards of an hour, in one of the valleys of Mount Ephraim.
Its shape was at first globular, but it afterwards spread so
as to involve the party of the traveller in a pale inoffen¬
sive blaze, then disappeared ; again it re-assumed the glo¬
bular form, and again expanded itself, at certain intervals,
over more than two or three acres of the adjacent moun¬
tains. The atmosphere that evening had been very hazy,
and the dew, as it fell on their bridles, felt unusually unc¬
tuous and clammy ; a Jdnd of weather, says Shaw, in
which sailors observe the balls of fire that flit about the
masts and yards of ships.
The cause of ignis fatuus has been disputed. It can
scarcely be accounted for by the phosphorescence of the
glow-worm, or any species of fire-fly. It differs also from
electric flame, but has the greatest resemblance to the flame
2 u
LIGHT.
338
Light, of phosphuretted hydrogen ; a gas which spontaneously in-
flames, on coming into contact with air, and which is given
out during the corruption of organic matter. This gas is
absorbable by water and by fatty oils, to which last it im¬
parts its phosphorescent qualities ; and perhaps the lumi¬
nousness of fish may depend on the union of this substance
with oily or mucous matter. There is some difficulty in
accounting for the appearance so constant and consider¬
able as that described near Bologna. The ground on which
the largest meteor appeared is a hard clay, very retentive
of water ; while in the hilly district, where the Bolognian
ignis fatuus was smaller, the soil was a loose sand. Bec-
cari however states, that they chiefly frequented the banks
of streams. All accounts confirm the absence of sen¬
sible heat from these meteors.
SECT. VIII LIGHT EMANATING FROM LIVING ANIMALS.
A luminous appearance somewhat similar to that given
out by decaying organic matter is occasionally observed to
play round some classes of living animals ; and regularly
emanates from the bodies of others, at particular seasons ;
or as a constant concomitant of motion, by another class.
Of the first kind, probably, is that light sometimes observ¬
ed playing around the ears and manes of horses, which,
though by some attributed to electricity, is probably an
emanation from the animal itself; and may perhaps con¬
sist of a phosphuretted gas, disengaged by some unknown
process of the animal economy. A lambent flame, of a si¬
milar nature, has in a few instances been remarked around
the heads of children ; a circumstance which is happily
seized by Virgil in his fine description of the glory that ap¬
peared on the temples of the young Ascanius.
Ecce levis summo de vertice visus luli
Fundere lumen apex, tractuque innoxia molli
Lambere flamma comas, et circa tempora pasci.
Ain. ii. 683.
Living vegetables, in like manner, also occasionally give
out light. This has been particularly noticed in the mari¬
gold, the orange, the Indian pink or lilium bulbosum, aco-
nitum napellus, tropoeolum majus, &c. But there are ani¬
mals in whom luminousness forms a necessary part of their
economy.
The most familiar instance of this is the common glow¬
worm, Lympyris noctiluca, and its congeners. The male
of this species is a coleopterous insect, and sports in the air;
while the female is apterous, doomed for ever to crawl
among herbaceous plants, or to nestle on the leaves of
shrubs : but when the shades of evening are drawn around,
during the summer months, a spot of lucid yellow light,
generally tinted with a shade of green, emanates from the
extreme rings of her abdomen, and sprinkles the hedges,
in some parts of our island, and the warmer parts of Eu¬
rope, with brilliant stars. The final object of this light is
probably to attract the notice of the male insect, who other¬
wise could with difficulty distinguish his wingless mate.
The male of the English glow-worm is generally believed
to be destitute of the apparatus for light; though Mr Wal¬
ler (Phil. Trans, for 1684) asserts, that the male of one
species of English glow-worm has the luminous appendage.
The winged species of glow-worm are common in Italy,
Spain, the south ot France, and still more so in equinoctial
America, in which the flickering light of the numerous fire¬
flies affords a pleasing and interesting spectacle. This light
is found to belong to both sexes, though it is most striking
in the females.
But the luminous property of the Fulgora Lanternaria
of South America surpasses that of all animals, in the splen¬
dour of its light. It is a large insect, of the order Hemip-
tera, three and a half inches long. It has a sort of thick Lieht
proboscis, about one inch in length, which is the luminous
organ. The light emitted by this species is so splendid
that two or three of them will illuminate a chamber.
In all these animals the light has so much the appearance
of phosphorus dissolved in oil, that probably it may be a
secretion of an analogous nature.
Many animals inhabiting the sea are highly luminous;
and it is almost established that the luminousness so often
exhibited by the ocean depends entirely upon myriads of
minute phosphorescent animals.
1’his appearance is not constant, but is very frequent in
most latitudes, and generally, whenever the night is dark,
may be seen exceedingly brilliant around our own coasts.
When the water is still, it is seen as numerous bright points
of a bluish white phosphorescent light of considerable in¬
tensity ; but when the water is agitated, as by the waves,
the motion of a ship, or the dashing of oars, the light ap¬
pears often in flashes so intense as to show the hours on a
watch, or to render legible the pages of a large printed
book. The number of the luminous points varies greatly
at different times and in different places; and often in the
course of a short sail this fluctuation is very conspicuous.
We have observed the coruscations, during a gentle
breeze, like a line of fire several hundred yards in length
from the bows, or in the wake of the vessel. This appear¬
ance is found in every sea, but with some difference in in¬
tensity and colour, as it seems to proceed from various ge¬
nera of animals.
The luminousness of the sea was long ascribed to elec¬
tricity ; but about the beginning of this century it was
proved, in many instances, to depend on the presence of
animalcules in the ocean, particularly of a minute species
of medusa, which abounds in our seas, and seems to be the
same as M. Hemisphairica of Muller. Several years before,
Sir Joseph Bankes discovered other two animals which
rendered the sea luminous, viz. a sort of shrimp, Cancer
Fulgens, and a large medusa, M. Pellucens, both of which
abound on the coasts of Brazil.
About twenty-two years ago, the writer of this article
made many observations on this subject, both on the coasts
of Britain and in the Bay of Biscay. When the water
was very luminous in that sea, on several evenings he drew
water and carried it for examination into the cabin. Of
course it ceased to appear luminous when viewed by candle
light, but he could distinguish, floating in a glass of sea¬
water, a number of pellucid animalcules, which, when mag¬
nified by the globular form of the containing vessel, evi¬
dently belonged to several species of Medusaria, among
which he could observe the genera Noctiluca of Lamarck,
a Cayanea, and a Beroe. The general size of these ani¬
mals was from one twentieth to one thirtieth of an inch in dia¬
meter. That the luminousness of the sea was derived from
these minute animals, appears to be proved by the following
simple experiments. Portions of this sea-water were put
into separate beer glasses, and the number of animalcules
in each was carefully ascertained: they were carried suc¬
cessively to the deck, and wdien the water was dashed on
it, the number of lucid points was ascertained. In most in¬
stances the number of these points coincided with the
number of animals previously observed in the glass; in no
instance were the lucid points more ; though occasionally
they were not so numerous, probably owing to some ot
them adhering to the glass, or having escaped the shock
that stimulated their light-making organs. The same ani¬
mals he has often observed, even more numerous, in the
luminous sea-water of the British coasts; and has obtain¬
ed similar results by a repetition of the experiments. The
luminous points often adhere to the fingers; and on intro¬
ducing such a luminous speck into a glass of non-luminous
sea-water, careful inspection will show a medusary animal
LIGHT. 339
Lig-. floating in the water. The sea-water, on such occasions,
—rv,—if left at rest in glass vessels on deck, or even if suspend¬
ed in gimbals, would occasionally exhibit luminous points;
and the author conceives that the light either attends the
voluntary movements of those minute creatures, or is emit¬
ted at their will. When sulphuric or other strong acid is
poured into luminous water, it will produce a considerable
flash of light, either by the effort of the animals to escape,
or the unexpected stimulus it produces. In some climates
the sea exhibits a fiery-red hue. This has often been ob¬
served in the Chinese seas, and in some parts of the Indian
Ocean. It is produced, according to the best authorities,
by myriads of minute animals that emit a reddish light.
Captain Horsburgh and Mr Langstaff have described other
kinds of light occasionally observed in the Indian Ocean.
The latter mentions, that during a passage from China to
New Holland, the sea at night had a faint milky appearance,
as if snow had just fallen on the water. The sailors thought
it was produced by a coral shoal, but seventy fathoms of line
did not find bottom ; and when the water drawn up was
examined,! it was observed to swarm with minute globular
bodies, about the size of a pin’s head, linked together, and
of a milky hue, probably some minute species of medusa.
It is well known that the larger fish are sometimes lumi¬
nous. This has been remarked in the bonito and the
shark ; but whether they are naturally luminous, or only in
consequence of the adhesion of luminous animalcules to
them, is not determined.
Some have ascribed the luminousness of the sea to elec¬
tricity, others to putrescent particles in the water. The
former opinion is not probable, from the appearances ob¬
served ; the latter is supported by the luminous matter of
dead fish being diffusible through water, and imparting to
it luminous qualities; but the known phosphorescence of
many small sea animals, and the coincidence of the number
of scintillations, in the experiments above detailed, with
that of the animals observed, incline us to believe that
the luminous appearance of the ocean depends on the pre¬
sence of minute animals.
SECT. IX. CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF LIGHT.
Light appears to be possessed of chemical properties
and energies distinct from those of heat, which may be
considered as further proofs of its materiality.
It is capable of decomposing various metallic salts.
Thus, if a colourless solution of nitrate of silver be expos¬
ed to light, it gradually blackens ; a powder is deposited
which has the same colour, and the salt is found to have
lost a portion of its oxygen. This change is more rapid¬
ly effected by the direct rays of the sun than by the dif¬
fused light of day. The neutral solutions of gold, also,
when exposed to light, in contact with charcoal, with vege¬
table or animal matter, as cotton and silk, are decomposed.
This is the principle of the beautiful process invented
by Mrs Fulhame, for ornamenting muslin and silk stuffs
with flowers and sprigs of gold. The salt of gold parts with
its acid and its oxygen to the vegetable or animal matter
through the agency of light. The dry salt formed by dis¬
solving gold in nitro-muriatic acid is also slowly decom¬
posed by light under similar circumstances.
Scheele examined the effects of light on metallic solu¬
tions, and discovered that the chemical effects of the dif¬
ferent coloured rays of the prismatic spectrum were differ¬
ent. By enclosing solutions of silver in glasses of differ¬
ent colours, he found, that in red glass there was very little
effect produced, whilst in violet-coloured glass the black¬
ening was speedily produced. These interesting facts
were confirmed by Senebier and by Thomas Wedgwood.
I he latter showed, that in the full sunshine, the blacken- Light,
ing of muriate of silver was produced in two minutes, and
in the shade that several hours were required to produce
this effect. The sunbeams transmitted through red glass
have very little blackening effect; yellow and green gldss
are somewhat more effectual; but blue and violet glass
produce the most decisive effects. The discovery of Her-
schel, respecting the different refrangibility of light and
heat, induced Ritter and Wollaston to try the effect upon
the salts of silver beyond the violet ray ; and they found
that the blackening was most decided beyond the visible
boundary of the spectrum at the violet end. In some ex¬
periments of Senebier, muriate of silver was darkened by
the violet ray in 15", by the blue in 29", by the green in
37", by the yellow in 5' 30", by the orange in 12', and by
the red in 20'. These effects are wholly due to light; for
no effect is produced in the hottest point just beyond the
red rays.
Berthollet proved, that during the action of light on
many metallic oxides, as those of gold, silver, lead, and
mercury, a portion of their oxygen was extricated; and
this is supposed to be the change produced in the black¬
ening of the salts of silver,—a partial reduction of the me¬
tal. Sir H. Davy found that tritoxide of lead, when mois¬
tened, and exposed to the red rays, became red, that is,
it lost oxygen, and became a deutoxide. Oxide of mer¬
cury, obtained by mixing potash and calomel, was not
changed by the most refrangible rays, but became red in
the least refrangible rays, w'hich must have resulted from
the absorption of oxygen. The violet rays produced on
the moistened red oxide of mercury the same effect as a
stream of hydrogen gas, that is, a deoxidation. Wollaston
found that these rays produced an oxidizing effect on one
vegetable substance, resin of guaiacum. This resin be¬
comes green by absorbing oxygen ; and he found that it
underwent this change in the violet rays, but again ob¬
tained its yellow hue on being exposed to the red rays.
Some of the acids suffer decomposition by light; thus,
if we expose colourless nitric acid to the sun’s rays, in a
flask provided with a bent tube, and terminating in a
pneumatic apparatus, the acid becomes coloured, from the
formation of nitrous gas, and oxygen may be collected in
the trough in the usual way, as Berthollet ascertained.
Light also decomposes some vegetable acids, such as the
hydrocyanic; and to preserve such compounds pure, it is
necessary carefully to exclude light.
Light also in some cases favours chemical combination.
If chlorine which has been collected over water, and
therefore contains water, be exposed to light, the water
is slowly decomposed; its hydrogen enters into combina¬
tion with the chlorine to form hydro-chloric or muriatic
acid, and its oxygen is liberated. The influence of light
is still more striking on chlorine and on hydrogen. If we
mix equal proportions of these gases, and the access of
light be carefully excluded, no action takes place, or their
union is very slowly produced ; but if we expose them to
the diffused light of day, combination will take place in a
quarter of an hour. If exposed to the direct beams of the
sun, the union is instantaneous, and with a violent explo¬
sion. Davy found that when such a mixture was exposed
to the red rays only, the gases united without explosion,
yet more rapidly than when exposed to the violet rays ;
but that the conversion of a solution of chlorine into mu¬
riatic acid took place most readily at the most refrangible
end of the solar spectrum.
SECT. X. EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON PLANTS.
The change produced on vegetable colouring matter by
light is familiar in the process of bleaching by exposure to
340
LIGHT.
Light, the sun. But the influence of light on living vegetables is
much more remarkable.
If a plant grow in total darkness, its natural green hue
is not acquired; but it will be white, though in other re¬
spects vigorous. This is familiar in the etiolation or blanch¬
ing of certain garden-stuffs, as celery, sea-kale, endive, &c.
The late Professor Robison, many years ago, remarked
that plants growing in darkness were not only white, but
that they did not attain the natural form of their leaves,
nor their natural odour. In descending into a coal mine,
he accidentally met with a plant growing luxuriantly, the
form and qualities of which were entirely new to him. The
sod on which it grew was removed, potted, and carefully
attended to in his garden. The etiolated plant languished
and died ; but the roots speedily threw out vigorous shoots,
which, from the form of the leaves, and peculiar odour,
he readily recognised as common tansy. He repeated si¬
milar experiments upon plants of lovage, carvi, and mint,
with analogous results.
The green colour of vegetables, and even the form of
their leaves, are materially influenced by light.
Some experiments of Senebier would lead to the conclu¬
sion that it is the violet end of the spectrum which has the
greatest influence in counteracting the effects of etiolation.
This production of the dark colour of plants would appear
to depend upon the decomposition of carbonic acid by the
living vegetable, when acted on by light, and the fixation
of its carbon. That light is necessary to this process, is
proved by the experiments of Priestley, Senebier, Ingen-
houz, De Saussure, Davy, and many vegetable physiolo¬
gists. Growing plants in sunshine give out oxygen by the
decomposition of carbonic acid; but in darkness carbonic
acid is evolved; and Ellis has demonstrated, in his interest¬
ing essays, that oxygen, under such circumstances, always
disappears from the air in which vegetation is going on.
Light, then, acts an important part in the vegetable eco¬
nomy, by fixing the most dense and abundant of the three
general elements of vegetable matter. The influence of
light in maturing fruits, is well known. The fruits which
when ripe are saccharine, are previously acid; that is, their
hydrogen and carbon are combined with an excess of oxy¬
gen. Light, by favouring the evolution of oxygen, and the
fixation of carbon, converts the vegetable acid into sugar,
and thus provides a suitable food for the embryon in the
seed. On the other hand, the influence of light is not less
conspicuous in another class of vegetables. In an early
stage of the germination of seeds yielding farina when ripe,
the tender rudiment of the seed is enveloped in a slightly
saccharine juice, as may be seen in young wheat and maize.
Now, what is wanted to convert them into farina is the
evolution of oxygen, and the fixation of a larger quantity
of carbon. These two indications are fulfilled by the in¬
fluence of light on the growing vegetables; and thus we
can explain why the sun’s influence is so essential in the
one case to the formation of sugar from an acid ; and in the
other, of farina from a saccharine juice. The same prin¬
ciples will explain why a farinaceous seed, when planted
in the ground, becomes again saccharine. Light is now
wanting ; oxygen is absorbed, and partly aids in the evolu¬
tion of the redundant carbon, partly is added to the two
other general elements. This view affords an instance of
the important agency of light in vegetation, and a beauti¬
ful example of the simplicity of the means employed to
produce diversified effects in the works of creation.
SECT. XI. EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON ANIMALS.
The facts noticed in the last section show the powerful
influence of light on vegetable forms. But its effects on
the exterior of animals, though less striking, are not unim- T.
portant.
1. The influence of the sun’s rays in deepening the colour,
or in giving a brown tint to the skin, seems to be more
due to the light than to the heat of the sunbeams ; for the
parts of the skin covered by the clothes, though kept thus
hotter than the parts exposed, do not undergo this change.
The pale visage and enfeebled vitality of those who live
much in obscure apartments, in prisons, and in mines, are
well known ; and though probably the most violent symp¬
toms that characterize the anhcemia of miners, in which
the skin assumes a yellowish, waxy hue, and the lips be¬
come bloodless, be chiefly due to breathing a vitiated at¬
mosphere, yet some influence is certainly attributable to
want of light. The anhaemia of persons long confined in
dungeons has often been remarked, and was lately de¬
scribed as strikingly exemplified in the person of Caspar
Hausser, the young man whose mysterious birth, confine¬
ment, and assassination, have hitherto baffled conjecture.
In climates where the heat renders a state almost ap¬
proaching to nudity desirable, all travellers agree that the
development of the human frame is early, and the form has
fewer deviations from the symmetry natural to the race
than among northern nations. Deformity is said to be
comparatively rare in hot climates, where the surface is
much exposed; and this has been attributed by Dr Ed¬
wards in some measure to the influence of light. Perhaps,
after making due allowance for the less chance of rearing
sickly or deformed children among barbarous nations, and
for the prevalence of infanticide among them in such cases,
there is considerable justice in his remarks on this subject^;
without which it would be difficult to account for the fine
muscular and rounded forms so often observed among na¬
tions agreeing in nothing except in the prevalence of a very
free exposure of their persons to the full influence of light;
as among the Mexicans and Peruvians, the Chaymas and
Muyscas of South America, the Caribbs of the Antilles, the
inhabitants of the numerous groups of the South Seas, or
the free inhabitants of Africa. Probably, too, a part of the
effects attributed to country air, in restoring to health the
sickly child of the city artizan, is due to insolation, or
the exposure to light, which appears to have the .property
of invigorating the vital functions, and of elevating the
spirits of those who have suffered a long deprivation of its
cheering influence.
2. The effect of light on the lower animals is more mark¬
ed, and is strikingly illustrated in the curious experiments
of Dr W. F. Edwards upon the spawn of frogs. He enclosed
portions of the spawn of the frog in different vessels per¬
meable to w ater, some of w hich were perfectly opake, while
others freely admitted light; the temperature was the
same, yet the eggs exposed to light came to maturity; but
those deprived of light w ere not hatched.
He even found that the development of the perfect form
of such animals depended on light. By enclosing tadpoles
of both frogs and toads in different boxes, some of which
ffeely admitted light, while others totally excluded it, and
placing them in running water, he found that the tadpoles
exposed to light underw ent the change to the perfect form
of the animal, as usual; while the tadpoles excluded from
the light, though they seemed perfectly vigorous, did not
undergo the transformation, even though they had increas¬
ed to double or triple their primitive w eight. He also con¬
jectures that the Anguine Syren, Proteus a?iguinus, may
only be the larva of some reptile retained in its imperfect
form by the profound obscurity of the subterranean lakes
of Carniola, in which it is found. In this conjecture, how¬
ever, he is mistaken ; for that singular animal has been kept
alive without change a considerable time, under circum¬
stances favourable to its transformation, if really an imper-
LIGHT. 341
l Lift* feet species, by various naturalists; particularly, as we have
w been informed, by the Austrian archduke John; and also
by Mr Melly, a zealous naturalist now resident in Liverpool.
The facts, however, already detailed, show that the in¬
fluence of light on the animal economy is by no means in¬
considerable. But the most interesting property of light,
in relation to animals, is its effect in producing vision.
3. The rays of light emanating from bodies, or reflect¬
ed from their surfaces, are destined to impress the sen-
sorium through the eye ; an admirable and complex op¬
tical apparatus, in which the rays, after passing through
the transparent cornea, a, sustain various refractions, until
they reach the sentient expansion of the optic nerve,/, call¬
ed retina. The cornea constitutes the front of the eye¬
ball, the rest of its surface is formed of a dense white tu¬
nic, called the sclerotic coat, bb, which joins the cornea by
its edges, forming with the latter an almost globular body,
# which contains the more delicate structures of the eye.
11 j Just within the cornea is observed a coloured ring, appa-
1 rently formed of diverging fibres, termed the iris, hh. This
e ring is perforated by the 'pupil, a circular aperture in its
s centre, which is capable of contraction and expansion, by
e the action of the fibres of the iris, according to the increase
e or diminution of the light. This movement of the pupil
s is not under the will of the animal, but is regulated by
the stimulus of light, so as to exclude a quantity that
» would be hurtful to the organ. The iris is attached to
; the outer coat of the eye, the sclerotic, by the ciliarypro-
1 cesses, nn. Within the sclerotic lies a delicately thin vas-
, ’ cular membrane named the choroid coat, having its interior
; surface lined with a black secretion termed the pigmen-
2 5 turn nigrum, the probable use of which is to aid clear vi¬
sion, by preventing a multiplicity of reflections in the bot-
1 tom of the eye.
; Still nearer to the centre of the eye lies the retina,
1 which is continuous with the optic nerve,/, and is the part
; of the eye sentient to the impressions of light. Entering
• the bottom of the eye, but not just in its axis, is seen a
thick cord, the optic nerve, by which the impressions upon
; the retina are conveyed to the brain.
\ The bulk of the eyeball is made up of three substances,
which have been improperly termed humours. The first
lies just within the cornea, and fills the space between it
and the iris, as well as the smaller space immediately be¬
hind the latter. From its fluidity, it is termed the aqueous
humour, g. The iris divides the chamber of the aqueous
humour into an anterior and a posterior portion. The
| posterior wall of this chamber is formed by a delicate,
transparent, capsular membrane, enclosing a lenticular
i body, convex on both sides, though more so posteriorly,
which is named the crystalline lens, l. This body consists
of concentric layers, formed of fibres externally less con¬
sistent, but increasing in density towards its centre ; a
structure intended for the purpose of correcting its sphe¬
rical aberration. The capsule of the crystalline lens is
retained in its situation by the ciliary circle or ciliary pro¬
cesses ; and it lies imbedded in the most considerable of
all the humours of the eye, the vitreous, m, which consists
of a clear gelatinous substance, that recent anatomical in¬
vestigations prove to be lodged in very delicate membra¬
nous cells. In the healthy state, especially in young
persons, these humours are perfectly colourless and trans¬
parent, but they become coloured by age; and the crys¬
talline lens has been seen in very old persons of a bright
amber colour, though still transparent. Opacity of the lens
forms the disease termed cataract. The obvious use of
the humours of the eye is to refract the rays of light en¬
tering the eye by the transparent cornea, and to concen¬
trate them on the retina. The difference in their consist¬
ence seems intended to make that organ a true and nicely
adjusted achromatic optical instrument.
1 The ray from any object falling directly in the centre
of the eye, perpendicular to its surface, will not undergo
any refraction, but pass straight through to the retina;
and its direction may be termed the axis of the eye. All
the rays which fall obliquely on the eye will, by the re¬
fraction of the humours, be bent from their course, and
cut the axis somewhere between the lens and the retina ;
and the refractive power of the humours is such as to
converge on the retina all rays proceeding from any one
point of a visible object, whether these rays fall on the
cornea in a parallel or a diverging condition. But as
these rays have all crossed the axis of the eye by the re¬
fractive power of the humours, it is obvious that the rays
from the upper part of the object will impinge on the lower
part of the retina, and those from the lowest point, on the
upper part of that membrane. Hence the image of the
object will be inverted on the retina. That this actually
takes place we can easily satisfy ourselves, by removing
from the posterior part of the eye of a sheep a portion of
the sclerotic coat with a sharp knife, until it becomes
translucent, when the image of a candle placed before the
cornea will be seen inverted on the back part of the eye
thus prepared.
In the usual state of the eye, its refractive apparatus
is so contrived that all the rays from the same points
of objects at some distance from the eye will converge in
the retina, or the principal focus of the eye will lie in that
membrane; but divergent rays from very near objects
would converge in a point behind the retina, were there
not some power of adjustment in the eye for correcting
the confused image which would thus be formed. This
may be effected in two ways ; either by increasing the
convexity of the cornea, or by bringing the lens to a
greater distance from the retina. Some have attributed
this adjustment to an alteration in the form of the eye¬
ball, and consequently of the cornea, by the action of the
motor muscles of the organ ; but there is much more pro¬
bability in the opinion that this adjustment is produced
by the contractions and expansions of the iris. This part
3*2 L I G H T.
Light, of the eye is attached to the ciliary ligament, which is
also connected with the capsule of the crystalline lens.
Hence contraction of the pupil would tend to draw for¬
ward the lens, or remove it farther from the retina ; and
thus the rays which have their point of convergence be¬
hind the retina, would meet in that membrane, and a
distinct image would be produced. That some such ad¬
justment is necessary is obvious ; for if, after contemplat¬
ing a distant object, our attention be suddenly turned to
a very near one, it is some time ere the second object is
distinctly perceived ; and the movement of the iris will be
seen to take place before the second image is well defined.
I he retina is capable of affording the perception of exter¬
nal objects in its whole extent, except at the insertion of
the optic nerve, a spot about ^th of an inch in diameter
in man. Any image falling on this spot is invisible, as
multiplied experiments have shown. This insensible point
in either eye may be indicated by the familiar optical
experiment of placing three coloured wafers horizontal¬
ly on a wall, on a white ground, about two feet from
each other. Let the operator place himself about two
feet from the w’all, opposite the middle wafer; shut one
eye, and then gradually retire backwards, while he fixes
his open eye on the wafer nearest the closed eye. When
an ordinary eye is distant from the wall about Jive times
the distance of the wafers from each other, the image of
the middle wafer will have fallen on the insertion of the
optic nerve, and will no longer be visible.
Two very interesting speculations connected with vi¬
sion have long exercised the ingenuity of physiologists
and metaphysicians, viz. how it happens that animals with
two eyes see objects single., by means of double images on
the retinae; and how they appear erect by means of invert-
ed images?
The first has been explained on the supposition of there
being corresponding points in each eye that convey simi¬
lar perceptions to the mind, and that such afford only the
idea of unity. In the natural movements of the eyes, the
images of external objects are supposed always to fall on
such points; but should any cause throw the images on
dissimilar points, then we have double vision. Hence, if
with the finger we push one eyeball slightly out of its pa¬
rallel position with regard to the other, two objects are
perceived. In persons who squint, the parallel movement
of the eyes is lost; and it has been supposed that in cases
where the squinting has come on in adults from imperfec¬
tion in one eye, that habit enables the individual to cor¬
rect the illusion of double vision, and that the person
ceases to notice the impressions made on the least perfect
of the two eyes.
I he second fact alluded to is that of erect vision by in¬
verted images. That images of external objects are depict¬
ed inverted on the retina is perfectly well ascertained; and
philosophers have been much puzzled to explain how the
indications of vision and touch are reconciled. Some have
imagined that at first we really see objects inverted, but
learn by experience and by the sense of touch to correct
the illusion. Other attempts have been made to explain
it by what has been termed the law of visible direction;
by which it is supposed that when any point of an object is
viewed, the rays proceeding from that point must fall on
the eye with different degrees of obliquity, yet that point
will be only seen in the direction of the central ray of the
cone of light proceeding from that point: And as the lines
of visible direction must necessarily cross each other at the
centre of visible direction, those of the lower part of the
image on the retina must go to the upper part of the ob¬
ject, and those of the upper part of the image to the lower
part of the object; and hence an erect object is considered
as the necessary result of an inverted image.
This is very ingenious, but it is obviously hypothetical
and obscure. The physiological explication of single vision r jA.
by double images suggested by Newton, and since support- w’.l
ed by Wollaston, is based on what has been termed the ^
semi-decussation of the optic nerves at their commissure,
whereby the right half of the retina of each eye is placed
in direct nervous communication with the right optic lobe,
or light half of that part of the brain termed corpora
quadrigemina, and vice versa. Hence impressions made
on corresponding points in each retina may, in fact, be
impressions on the same points oj the common sensorium,
and therefore co-operate in producing the same perception.
I he anatomical proof of this is still defective, but many
facts give it probability'. I he subject has engaged the
attention of Piofessor Alison of Ldinburgh, who considers
that this arrangement of the optic nerves is but a part of
the provision by which nature has secured harmony between
perceptions afforded by sight and touch. His explanation
of one of the most perplexing questions in animal physi¬
ology is so ingenious, that we gladly avail ourselves of his
permission to lay it before our readers.
According to him, the peculiar contorted or involuted
course of the optic nerves (in all vertebrate animals)
around the crura cerebri, until they are lost in the optic
lobes, seems designed to secure that the position of the
impression on the sensorium should be conformable to the
true position of the object.
It is only in those animals intended by nature to con¬
template objects with both eyes at once, as in mammalia
and buds, that the semi-decussation of the optic nerve is
found. The contrivance in fact implies that both eyes
are to be at the same time directed to the same object,
or that both optic lobes are to be constantly employed in
vision at the same time; the right half of each retina being
in connection with each optic lobe, and the left half of
each retina in like manner connected with the left optic
lobe. Now, the right half of each retina contains the
image of the left half of the field of vision ; and therefore
the impressions made by the left half of the field of vision
fall on the right optic lobe, and have, on their left, the
impression resulting from the right side of the field of
vision ; on which, as both optic lobes are necessarily exer¬
cised together, the attention of the mindjs equally directed.
Dr Alison considers that the grand contrivance adopted
by nature to secure harmony between the indications of
sight and touch is the decussation at the pyramids of the
nervous fibres concerned in common sensation and in vo¬
luntary [movements; the effect of which must be, that
while the right side of the brain is that to which impres¬
sions from the left half of the field of vision are brought,
it is also that on which all the other sensations of the left side
of the body depend ; or, in other words, we both see and feel
what is on our left by the right side of the brain. According¬
ly, it is in those animals only in which the semi-decussation of
the optic nerves exists (namely, in Mammalia and birds)
that the decussation at the pyramids exists, or that the sen¬
sations and voluntary motions of each side of the body
appear to be in connection with the opposite side of the
brain.
As the admirable mechanism of the eye, and its beautiful
adaptation to the necessities and comfort of the animal
creation, afford a striking instance of that wisdom and be¬
neficence so conspicuous in the handywork of the Deity ;
so the extinction of this exquisite and important organ
must be considered as one of the severest of human cala¬
mities ; a misfortune that perhaps cannot be fully appre¬
ciated by those who have not experienced the loss of sight,
so feelingly deplored by our mighty bard in poetry that
can only perish with the language in which it is express¬
ed.
Thus with the year
Seasons return, but not to me returns
L I G
mt.
Hl'se
Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom or summer’s rose,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine;
But cloud instead, and ever during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off', and for the book of knowledge fair
Presented with an universal blank
Of nature’s works, to me expunged and raz’d,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.
Some of the works that treat of light are, Aristotelis Ope¬
ra de Anima et de Meteor.; Seneca? Opera; Plinii Hist.
Nat.; Euclklis Optica; Heliodorus Larissaeus De Opticis;
Alhazen, Optica cum Comment. Vitellionis ; Baconis Opus
Majus; Maurolycus De Lumine et Umbra ; Baptista Porta,
Magia Nat. et de Refractione; Bacon’s Works; Antonio
de Dominis De Radiis Visus et Lucis; Borelli De Vero
Telescopii Inventore ; Galileo Galilei, Opere et Vita ; Kep-
L I G 343
lev, Parolipomena ad Vitellionem ; Schotti Magia Univer- Light foot.
sails ; Descartes, Opera ; Gassendi, Opera ; Athan. Kir-  '
cheri Opera; Huygenii Opera, also Snell’s Discoveries;
Newton s Optics and Principia ; Boyle’s Works ; Hooker’s
Micrographia, and Posth. Works; Muschenbroeck’s Tenta-
■mina et Introd. ; Grimaldi De Lumine; Beccaria DelV
Elettricismo, Sac.; Beccarii Comment, de Phosphoris;
Bouguer, Traite d'Optique ; Lambert, Photometric; Mon-
tucla, Histoire des Mathematiques ; Smith’s Optics ; Priest¬
ley on Vision ; Hutton on Light ; Cavallo’s Philosophy ;
Leslie on Heat; Biot, Traite de Physique; Muncke, Hand-
buch der Naturlehre ; Treviranus, Beitrache zur Lehre von
den Gesichtwerkzengen und dem Sehen; Memoires de
VAcad. Royale des Sciences ; Memoires de VInstitute et de
VAcad, des Sciences ; Phil. Trans. London ; Phil. Trans.
Edin. j. j j
LiaiiT-Horse, an ancient term, signifying an ordinary
cavalier or horseman lightly armed, in opposition to the
men-at-arms, who were heavily accoutred, and armed at
all points.
LiGHT-House, a building erected upon a cape or pro¬
montory upon the sea-coast, or upon some rock in the sea,
and having on its top in the night-time a light, such as to
be seen at a great distance from the land. As the Bri¬
tish light-house system is at present under the considera¬
tion of parliament, we feel that it would be premature and
unsatisfactory to give any article under this head; and we
are therefore under the necessity of referring to another,
viz. that of Sea-Lights, where the whole subject will be
fully discussed.
LiGHT-Room, a small apartment, enclosed with glass
windows, near the magazine of a ship of war. It is used
to contain the lights by which the gunner and his assist¬
ants are enabled to fill cartridges with powder to be ready
for action.
LIGHTER, a large, open, flat-bottomed vessel, gene¬
rally managed with oars, and employed to carry goods to
or from a ship when she is to be laden or delivered. There
are also some lighters furnished with a deck throughout
their whole length, in order to contain those merchandises
which would be damaged by rainy weather. These are
usually called close lighters. i
LIGHTFOOT, John, a learned English divine, was
the son of a divine, and born in March 1602, at Stoke-
upon-Trent, in Staffordshire. After having finished his
studies at a school on Morton Green, near Congleton in
Cheshire, he was removed in 1617 to Cambridge, where
he applied himself to the study of eloquence, and succeed¬
ed so well as to be thought the best orator among the
under graduates in the university. He also made extra¬
ordinary proficiency in the Latin and Greek, but neglect¬
ed the Hebrew, and even lost that knowledge of it which
he brought from school. His taste for the oriental lan¬
guages was not yet excited; and as for logic, the study
of it, as conducted at that time among the academics, was
too disputatious and fierce for his meek disposition. As
soon as he had taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he
left the university, and became assistant in a school at
llepton in Derbyshire. Having held this situation a year
or two, he entered into orders, and became curate of Nor-
ton-under-Hales, in Shropshire. This curacy occasioned
an awakening of his genius for the Hebrew tongue. Nor¬
ton lies near Bellaport, then the seat of Sir Rowland Cot¬
ton, who being his constant hearer, made him his chap¬
lain, and took him into his house. This gentleman, being
a perfect master of the Hebrew language, engaged Light-
foot in that study; and, by conversing with his patron,
he soon became sensible, that without that knowledge it
would be impossible to attain to an accurate understand¬
ing of the Scriptures. Having, therefore, applied himself to
it with extraordinary vigour, he in a little time made great
progress; and his patron removing with his family to re¬
side in London, he followed his preceptor to that city.
But he did not stay long there ; for, having a mind to im¬
prove himself by foreign travel, he went down into Staf¬
fordshire, in order to take leave of his father and mother.
But passing through Stone in that county, and finding the
place destitute of a minister, he was prevailed on by the
pressing entreaties of the parishioners to undertake that
cure; and having laid aside his design of travelling, he
began to turn his thoughts to settling at home. During
his residence at Bellaport, he had made the acquaintance
of a gentlewoman, the daughter of Mr William Crompton
of Stonepark, and being now in possession of that living,
he married her in 1628. But notwithstanding this settle¬
ment, his unquenchable thirst after rabbinical learning
would not suffer him to continue there ; and Sion College
library at London being well stocked with books of that
kind, he quitted his charge at Stone, and removed with
his family to Hornsey, near the city, where he gave the
public a specimen of his advancement in those studies, by
his Erubbim, or Miscellanies Christian and Judaical, in
1629. He was at this time only twenty-seven years of
age, and appears to have been well acquainted with the
Latin and the Greek fathers, as well as the ancient hea¬
then writers. These first fruits of his studies were dedi¬
cated to Sir Rowland Cotton, who, in 1631, presented
him to the rectory of Ashley, in Staffordshire.
Considering himself as now fixed for life, he built a study
in the garden, to be out of the noise of the house, and ap¬
plied himself with indefatigable diligence in searching the
Scriptures. Thus employed, the days passed agreeably ;
and he continued quiet and unmolested, till the great
change which happened in public affairs brought him into
a share of the administration relating to the church ; for
he was nominated a member of the memorable assembly
of divines for settling a new form of ecclesiastical polity.
This appointment was the effect of his distinguished me¬
rit; and he accepted it solely with a view to serve his
country, as far as lay in his power. The non-residence
which this would necessarily occasion, apparently induced
him to resign his rectory; and having obtained the pre¬
sentation for a younger brother of his own, he set out for
London in 1642. Having now satisfied himself in clear-
ing up many of the most abstruse passages in the Bible,
and provided the chief materials, as well as formed the
plan, of his Harmony, an opportunity of inspecting it at
the press was no doubt an additional motive for his going
to the capital, where he had not been long before he was
chosen minister of St Bartholomew’s, behind the Royal
344 L I G
Laghtfoot. Exchange. The assembly of divines having met in 1643,
our author attended diligently there, and made a distin¬
guished figure in their debates, where he used great free¬
dom, and gave signal proofs of his courage as well as learn¬
ing, in opposing many of those tenets which the divines
were endeavouring to establish. His learning recommend¬
ed him to the parliament, whose visitors, having ejected
Dr William Spurstow from the mastership of Catharine
Hall in Cambridge, put Lightfoot in his room, in the year
1653; and he was also presented to the living of Much-
Munden in Hertfordshire, void by the death of Dr Samuel
Ward, Margaret-professor of divinity in that university,
before the expiration of this year. Meanwhile he had his
turn with other favourites in preaching before the House
of Commons, most of which sermons were printed ; and in
them we see him warmly pressing the speedy settlement
of the church in the Presbyterian form, which he cordial¬
ly believed to be according to the pattern in the Gospel.
He was all the while employed in preparing and publish¬
ing the several branches of his Harmony, which were so
many excellent specimens of the usefulness of human
learning to true religion ; but he met with great difficulties
and discouragements in that work, chiefly from that spirit
of hostility to erudition which then prevailed, and even
threatened the destruction of the universities. In 1655
he entered upon the office of vice-chancellor of Cambridge,
to which he was chosen that year, having taken the degree
of doctor of divinity in 1652. He performed all the regu¬
lar exercises for his degree with great applause, and exe¬
cuted the vice-chancellor’s office with exemplary diligence
and fidelity; and, particularly at the commencement, sup¬
plied the place of professor of divinity, then undisposed
of, as an act which was kept for a doctor’s degree in that
profession. At the same time he was engaged with others
in perfecting the Polyglott Bible, then in the press. At
the Restoration he offered to resign the mastership of Ca¬
tharine Hall. But, as what he had done had been rather
in compliance with the necessity of the times than from
any zeal or spirit of opposition to the king and govern¬
ment, a confirmation was granted to him by the crown,
both of the place and of his living. Soon after this he was
appointed one of the assistants at the conference upon the
liturgy, which was held in the beginning of 1661, but at¬
tended only once or twice; being probably disgusted at the
heat with which that conference was managed. However,
he stuck close to his design of perfecting his Harmony ;
and being of a strong and healthy constitution, which was
assisted by a strict temperance, he prosecuted his studies
with unabated vigour to the last, and continued to publish,
notwithstanding the many difficulties he met with from
the expense of the work. However, not long before he
died, some booksellers got a promise from him to collect
and methodise his works, in order to print them; but the
execution was prevented by his death, which happened
on the 6th of December 1675. Dr Lightfoot was twice
married ; and his first wife brought him four sons and two
daughters. His second wife was likewise a widow, relict
of Mr Austin Brograve, uncle of Sir Thomas Brograve, of
Hertfordshire, a gentleman well versed in rabbinical learn¬
ing, and a particular acquaintance of our author; but he
had no issue by her. She died before him, and was bu¬
ried in Munden church, where he was himself likewise
interred near both his wives. Dr Lightfoot’s works were
first collected and published in 1684, in two volumes fo¬
lio. The second edition was printed at Amsterdam, 1686,
in two volumes folio, containing all his Latin writings,
with a Latin translation of those which he wrote in Eng¬
lish. At the end of both these editions there is a list of
such pieces as he left unfinished. It is the chief of these,
in Latin, which make up the third volume, added to the
former two, in a third edition of his works, published by
L I G
John Leusden, at Utrecht, in 1699, folio. They were Light'
communicated by Mr Strype, who, in 1700, published ano- ofltreet
ther collection of these papers, under the title of Some Ge-
nuine Remains of the late pious and learned Dr John
Lightfoot.
LIGHTING of Streets. This invention, which is
generally considered as of modern date, contributes great¬
ly to the convenience and safety of the inhabitants of
large cities, as well as to the ornament of their streets. It
is not probable that the streets of ancient Rome were
lighted, since the Romans considered the use of flambeaux
and lanterns as necessary in returning home from their
nocturnal visits. It appears that such as walked the streets
without these went home in darkness ; and the return of
Gito in the night time, of which Petronius makes men¬
tion, clearly proves that the streets of Naples were not
lighted. Those who have ascribed to a remote antiquity
the lighting of streets, seem to have mistaken it for illumi¬
nations, which indeed were of great antiquity. Egyptians,
Jews, Greeks, and Romans, during the celebration of me¬
morable festivals, were in the habit of illuminating their
houses ; but this is entirely different from the practice
which we are now considering.
Paris was probably the first city in modern times, the
streets of which were lighted about the beginning of the
sixteenth century, as they were much infested by robbers
and incendiaries. This occasioned an edict, issued in
1524, commanding the inhabitants, whose windows front¬
ed the street, to keep lights burning after nine o’clock at
night. In 1558, these were changed for lanterns, of a
similar construction with those used at present. In 1671
the lanterns were ordered to be lighted every year from
the 20th October to the end of March the ensuing year.
Some time after this a premium was offered for a disserta¬
tion on the best means of improving the lighting of the
streets, when a journeyman glazier obtained a premium of
200 livres, and MM. Bailly, Le Roy, and Bourgeois de
Chateaublanc, 2000 livres. The lamps of Paris amount¬
ed in 1721 to 5772, and in 1771 to 6232. The city of
Nantes was lighted in 1777, and had no fewer than 500
lamps in the year 1780.
The inhabitants of the city of London were ordered, in
1688, to hang out lanterns duly at the accustomed time,
which order was renewed in 1690 ; and in 1716 it was en¬
acted that all those whose houses fronted any street, lane, or
public passage, should hang out one or more lights, which
were to burn from six o’clock till eleven. B}^ another act,
the lamps were increased from 1000 to 4769, and after¬
wards to 5000. But as these were confined to the city
and liberties, about one fifth of the whole of London, the
number of lamps could not be less than 15,000. The
continuance of their burning was also increased from 750
to 5000 hours. In 1744, another act was obtained to re¬
gulate still farther the lighting of the city, and it was
placed on the footing on which it stood until the intro¬
duction of gas-light. Birmingham was lighted for the
first time in 1733, with 700 lamps.
In 1669 Amsterdam was lighted by lanterns; the
Hague in 1553 was lighted in a particular manner, but
lamps were not fixed up in all the streets till the year
1678. The streets of Copenhagen were lighted in 1681,
and the plan of lighting was much improved in 1683.
Vienna began to be lighted in 1687, and lamps were intro¬
duced in 1704. In 1776 their number amounted to 2000,
which was increased to 3000, to be lighted at the annual
expense of 30,000 florins. Leipzig was lighted in 1702,
Dresden in 1705, Cassel in 1721, and Gottingen in 1735.
A practice so beneficial to the safety and convenience of
mankind has been very laudably imitated by almost every
city and town in Europe.
By far the greatest improvement that has been made in
L I L
tning the lighting of cities is the application of coal-gas to this
purpose. See the article Gas-Lights.
Gibrne. LIGHTNING; a bright and vivid flash of fire, sudden-
"‘•f^^ly appearing in the atmosphere, and commonly disappear¬
ing in an instant, sometimes attended with clouds and
thunder, and sometimes not.
Lightning was looked upon as sacred both by the Greeks
and Romans, and was supposed to be sent to execute
vengeance on the earth. Hence persons killed with light¬
ning, being considered as hateful to the gods, were bu¬
ried apart by themselves, lest the ashes of other men
should receive pollution from them. Some say they were
interred upon the very spot where they died ; others think
that they had no interment, but were suffered to rot where
they fell, because it was unlawful for any man to approach
the place. For this reason the ground was hedged in,
lest any person should unawares contract pollution from
I it. All places struck with lightning were carefully avoid¬
ed and fenced round, from an opinion that Jupiter had
either taken offence at them, and fixed upon them the
marks of his displeasure, or that he had, by this means,
pitched upon them as sacred to himself. The ground thus
fenced about was called by the Romans bidental. Light¬
ning was much observed in augury, and was a good or bad
omen, according to the circumstances attending it.
LIGULATED, amongst botanists, is an appellation
given to such flosculesas have a straight end turned down¬
wards, with three indentures, but not separated into seg¬
ments.
LIGURIA, in Ancient Geography, a country of Italy,
bounded upon the south by the Mediterranean Sea, upon
the north by the Appenine Mountains, upon the west by
part of Transalpine Gaul, and upon the east by Etruria.
There is a great disagreement amongst authors concern¬
ing the origin of the Ligurians, though most probably
they were descended from the Gauls. Some carry back
their origin as far as the fabulous heroes of antiquity; whilst
others trace them from the Ligyes, a people mentioned
by Herodotus as having attended Xerxes in his expedi¬
tions against Greece. These Ligyes were by some ancient
geographers placed in Colchis, and by others in Albania.
According to Diodorus Siculus, the Ligurians led a very
wretched life; their country being entirely overgrown
with woods, which they were obliged to pull up by the
roots, in order to cultivate their land, which was also en¬
cumbered with great stones, and, being naturally barren,
made but a very poor return for their labour. They were
much addicted to hunting ; and, by a life of continual ex¬
ercise and labour, became so strong, that the weakest Li¬
gurian was generally an overmatch for the strongest and
most robust amongst the Gauls. The women are said to
have been almost as strong as the men, and to have borne
an equal share in all laborious enterprises. With all
their bravery, however, they were not able to resist the
Roman power, but were subdued by that warlike nation
about 211 b. c.
LILBURNE, John, an enthusiastic demagogue, who was
tyrannically punished by the star-chamber court, being put
in the pillory, whipped, fined, and imprisoned, for import¬
ing and publishing seditious pamphlets, printed in Holland,
and which chiefly reflected on the church of England and
its bishops. He suffered imprisonment in 1637, and in
jail was doubly loaded with irons. In 1641, he was releas¬
ed by the long parliament; and from this time he had the
address to make himself formidable to all parties, by his
bold and aspiring genius. He signalized himself in the par¬
liament army; and was at one time the secret friend and
confidant of Cromwell, and at another his avowed enemy
and accuser ; so that, in 1650, Cromwell found it to be his
interest to silence him, by a grant of some forfeited estates.
But after this he grew outrageous against the protector’s
VOL. xm.
L I L
345
Lilly,
William.
government; became the chief of the levellers ; and was Liliaceous
twice tried for high treason, but acquitted by the juries.
The last trial of Lilburne was for returning from exile
without a pass, after having been banished by the parlia¬
ment. He died in 1657, aged eighty-eight.
LILIACEOUS, in Botany, an appellation given to such
flowers as resemble those of the lily.
LILLO, George, an excellent dramatic writer, was born
at London in 1693. He was a jeweller by profession, and
followed his business for many years in that neighbourhood
with a fair reputation. He was at the same time strongly
attached to the muses, yet seemed to have laid it down as
a maxim, that the devotion paid to them ought always to
tend to the promotion of virtue, morality, and religion. In
pursuance of this aim, Lillo was happy in the choice of his
subjects, and showed great power of affecting the heart, by
working up the passions to such a height as to render the
distresses of common and domestic life equally interesting
to the audiences with those of kings and heroes, and the
ruin brought on private families by an indulgence of ava¬
rice, lust, and other passions, with the havoc made in states
and empires by ambition, cruelty, or tyranny. His George
Barnwell, Fatal Curiosity, and Arden of Feversham, are
all planned on common and well-known stories ; yet they
have perhaps more frequently drawn tears from audiences
than the more pompous tragedies of Alexander the Great,
All for Love, and others of the same stamp. In the pro¬
logue to Elmeric, which was not acted till after the author’s
death, it is said, that when he wrote that play, he was de¬
pressed by want and afflicted by disease ; but in regard to
the former particular, there appears to be evidently a mis¬
take, as he died possessed of an estate of L.60 a year, be¬
sides other effects to a considerable amount. His death
happened in 1739, in the forty-seventh year of his age.
His works have been collected and published, with an ac¬
count of his life, in two vols. 12mo.
LILLY, John, a dramatic poet, was born in the Wealds
of Kent, about the year 1553, and educated in Magdalen
College, Oxford, where he took the degree of bachelor of
arts in 1573, and that of master in 1575. From Oxford
he removed to Cambridge; but how long he continued
there is uncertain. On his arrival in London, he became
acquainted with some of Queen Elizabeth’s courtiers, by
whom he was caressed and admired as a poet and a wit;
and her majesty, on particular festivals, honoured his dra¬
matic pieces with her presence. His plays are nine in
number. His first publication, however, printed in 1580,
was a romance called Euphues, which was universally read
and admired. This romance, which Blount, the editor of
six of his plays, says, introduced a new language, especially
amongst the ladles, is, according to Berkenhout, in fact a
most contemptible piece of affectation and nonsense. Ne¬
vertheless it is very certain, that it was in high estimation
amongst the women of fashion of those times, who, we are
told by Whalley, the editor of Ben Jonson’s works, had all the
phrases by heart; and those who did not speak Euphuism
were as little regarded at court as if they could not speak
French. “ He was,” says Oldys, “ a man of great read¬
ing, good memory, ready faculty of application, and un¬
common eloquence; but he ran into a vast excess of allu¬
sion.” When or where he died is not known. Anthony
Wood says he was living in 1597, when his last comedy
was published. After attending the court of Queen Eliza¬
beth for thirteen years, notwithstanding his reputation as
an author, he was under the necessity of petitioning the
queen for some small stipend to support him in his old age.
His two letters or petitions to her majesty on this subject
are preserved in manuscript.
Lilly, William, a noted English astrologer, was born
in 1602 in Leicestershire, where his father not being able
to give him more learning than common writing and arith-
2 x
346 L I L
Lilybseum metic, lie resolved to seek his fortune in London. He
(I arrived in 1620, and lived four years as a servant to a
William niantua"maker in the parish of St Clement Danes ; but he
^ then moved a step higher to the service of Mr Wright,
master of the Salters’ Company in the Strand; and as he
was not able to write, Lilly, amongst other offices, kept his
books. In 1627, when his master died, he paid his ad¬
dresses to the widow, whom he married with a fortune of
L.1000. Being now his own master, he followed the pu¬
ritanical preachers ; and turning his mind to judicial as¬
trology, became the pupil of one Evans, a profligate Welsh
parson, in that pretended art. Getting a manuscript of
the Ars Notitice of Cornelius Agrippa, with alterations, he
drank in the doctrine of the magic circle, and the invo¬
cation of spirits, with great eagerness. He was the au¬
thor of the Merlinus Anglicus junior, the Supernatural
Sight, and the White King’s Prophecy. In him we have
an instance of the general superstition and ignorance that
prevailed in the time of the civil war between Charles I.
and his parliament; for the king consulted this astrologer
to know in what quarter he should conceal himself, if he
could escape from Hampton Court; and General Fairfax,
on the other side, sent for him to his army, to ask him if
he could tell by his art, whether God was with them and
their cause. Lilly, who made his fortune by favourable
predictions to both parties, assured the general that God
would be with him and his army. In 1648, he published
his treatise of the Three Suns seen the preceding winter;
and also an astrological judgment upon a conjunction of
Saturn and Mars. This year the council of state gave
him in money L.50, and a pension of L.100 per annum,
which he received for two years, and then resigned on
some disgust. In June 1660, he was taken into custody
by order of the parliament, by whom he was examined
concerning the person who had cut off the head of King
Charles I. The same year he sued out his pardon under
the great seal of England. When the plague raged in
London, he removed with his family to his estate at
Hersham ; and in October 1666, he was examined before
a Committee of the House of Commons concerning the
fire of London, which happened in September that year.
After his retirement to Hersham, he applied himself to
the study of physic, and, by means of his friend Mr Ash-
mole, obtained from Archibald Sheldon a license for the
practice of it. A little before his death he adopted for
his son, by the name of Merlin the Younger, one Henry
Coley, a tailor by trade ; and at the same time gave him
the impression of his almanack, after it had been printed
for thirty-six years. He died in 1681 of a dead palsy.
Mr Ashmole placed a monument over his grave in the
church of Walton-upon-Thames. His Observations on
the Life and Death of Charles, late king of England, if
we overlook the astrological nonsense, may be read with
as much satisfaction as more celebrated histories; Lilly
being not only very well informed, but strictly impartial.
This work, with the Lives of Lilly and Ashmole, written
by themselves, were published in one volume 8vo, in 1774,
by Mr Burman.
LILYByEUM, in Ancient Geography, a city of Sicily,
situated on the most westerly promontory of the island,
and said to have been founded by the Carthaginians on
their expulsion from Motya by Dionysius, tyrant of Syra¬
cuse. It is remarkable for the three sieges it sustained ;
one by Dionysius the tyrant, another by Pyrrhus, king of
Epirus, and the third by the Romans. The first two
failed in their attempts, but the Romans with great diffi¬
culty made themselves masters of it. No remains of this
once stately city are now to be seen, except some aque¬
ducts and temples.
LILYE, William, a grammarian, was born in the year
1466 at Oldham in Hampshire, and in 1486 admitted a
L I L
semi-commoner o. Magdalen College, Oxford. Having Lima,
taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he left the univer-
sity, and travelled to Jerusalem. Returning thence, he
continued five years in the island of Rhodes, where he
studied the Greek language, several learned men having
retired thither after the taking of Constantinople. From
Rhodes he travelled to Rome, where he improved him¬
self in the Greek and Latin languages, under Sulpitius
and Sabinus. He then returned to London, where for
some time he taught a private grammar-school, being the
first person who taught Greek in the metropolis. When
Dr Colet founded St Paul’s school, 1510, Lilye was ap¬
pointed the first master; at which time, it seems, he was
married, and had many children. In this employment
he had laboured twelve years, when, being seized by the
plague, which then raged in London, he died in February
1523, and was buried in the north yard of St Paul’s. He
had the character of an excellent grammarian, and a suc¬
cessful teacher of the learned languages. His principal
work is Brevissima Institutio, seu ratio Grammatices cog-
noscendcB, London, 1513, reprinted times without number,
and commonly called Lilye’s Grammar. The English ru¬
diments were written by Dr Colet, Dean of St Paul’s;
and the preface to the first edition, by Cardinal Wolsey.
The English syntax was written by Lilye, and also the
rules for the genders of nouns, beginning with propria
quce maribus, and those for the preterperfect tenses and
supines, beginning with As in presenti. The Latin syn¬
tax was chiefly the work of Erasmus. (See Ward’s pre¬
face to his edition of Lilye’s Grammar, 1732.)
LIMA, a department of the republic of Peru, in South
America, bounded on the north by Truxillo, on the east
by Junin and Ayacucho, on the south by Arequipa, and on
the west by the Pacific Ocean. The Cordillera of the An¬
des ranges along its eastern side. The climate is consi¬
dered as fine; and although the atmosphere is cloudy and
humid, it seldom rains throughout the whole year. The heat
is excessive along the coast; but as the country becomes
more elevated towards the interior, the air becomes purer
and more temperate. Earthquakes are frequent, from six
to twelve occurring annually; and these convulsions of na¬
ture on a large scale seem to observe a periodical return
at intervals of fifty years. It is watered by several streams,
but none of any considerable size, the largest being the
river Rimac, which, during the summer months, is much
swollen by torrents from the Andes. The soil is good,
and agricultural pursuits are followed to a considerable
extent. The chief wealth of the country, however, con¬
sists in the produce of the mines, which are worked by
proprietors in Lima. Next to Lima in importance is
the sea-port of Callao, situated in the bay of that name,
and containing a population of about 8000. The port is
defended by three castles, which are surrounded with thick
walls, a moat, and batteries of great strength. It is con¬
nected with the city of Lima by a straight road, about six
miles in length. It was entirely destroyed by an earth¬
quake in 1746, when upwards of 3000 of the inhabitants
are said to have perished, and nineteen ships sunk in the
harbour. Trade has lately much increased, and the town
has greatly improved. Its appearance, however, is mean
and unfavourable.
Lima, a city in the department of that name, and capital
of the republic of Peru, is situated in a spacious plain, on the
southern bank of the river Rimac, about ten miles from the
sea. Long. 76. 56. 45. W. Lat. 12. 3. S. The population,
according to the latest accounts, is 40,000 inhabitants. It
was founded in 1553 by Pizarro, who called it La Ciudad
de les Reyes, or City of Kings; but the name has been
since changed to Lima, a corruption of Rimac. The city is
built in an amphitheatre formed by sierras of the great
chain of the Andes, which shelter it from the northerly
L I M L I M 34-;
liia. and easterly winds. The figure of the city is nearly semi- Spaniards of Lima are at present almost all creoles ; the Limassol
^ circular, the river being the diameter, and is two miles European Spaniards having quitted the country at the pe- ||
long fiom east to west, and one and a quarter in breadth, riod of the revolution. There were formerly 15,000 slaves ; Limboreh.
It consists of 157 squares, and 355 streets, built at right but slavery was abolished in 1828 by the new constitution!
angles, and about twenty-five feet wide. The streets are Lima has been repeatedly laid in ruins by earthquakes, the
well paved, and furnished with streams of water, which are most destructive of which were those of 1678 and 1746
arched over, and rendered subservient to cleanliness and when, out of 3000 houses, not more than twenty were
other conveniences. It stands nearly 700 feet above the left standing. In 1822 and 1828 also very destructive
level of the sea, and, when seen from Callao roads, presents earthquakes occurred. The political events which have
a beautiful appearance, owing to its numerous domes and occurred in Lima will be fully detailed under the article
spires rising from so elevated a situation. The entrance Peru.
is by a fine avenue dr public walk called the Almeda,v at LIMASSOL, or Limisso, a town of Cyprus, in the south
the teimination of which are the ruins of a handsome gate, of the island. Of the ancient city, nothing but ruins now
It is surrounded by a brick wall, flanked with thirty-four remain, though it was a celebrated place, even under the
bastions, but without embrasures. At the south-eastern government of the dukes. King Richard, the conqueror of
extremity of the city is a small citadel, called Santa Cata- the last of these vassals of the empire, razed it in 1191,
lina ; and on the right side of the river, connected with the and it was never afterwards rebuilt. This city was origi-
city by a bridge, is the suburb of San Lazarro, which is in- nally the same as Amathus or Amathonte, so famous for
habited by the lower classes. The city having suffered its temple erected in honour of Venus and Adonis. Ama-
much from earthquakes, the houses are generally built of thus was the residence of the first nine kings of the island,
one story, the walls being composed of mud and cut straw, and amongst others of Onelistus, who was afterwards sub¬
formed into bricks by the heat of the sun, and strengthen- dued by the arms of Artabanes, the Persian general. This
ed by pieces ol timber. The houses of the wealthy inha- city, erected into an archbishopric in the time of the Chris-
bitants, built in a Moorish style, generally consist of a tians, has produced a number of personages celebrated for
square pile, two stories in height, enclosing a quadrangu- their knowledge and the sanctity of their lives. Richard,
lar court, which is surrounded with piazzas, and sometimes king of England, having destroyed Amathonte, Guy de
contains a second, or even third inner court. The Plaza, or Lusignan, in the twelfth century, laid the foundation of the
great square, in the centre of the city, is surrounded part- new city which the Greeks called Neopoleos. The family
ly with shops and private houses, and partly with public of Lusignan, who continued to embellish and fortify it,
buildings. On the eastern side is the cathedral, to the built there palaces, besides Greek and Latin churches, and
north of which is the principal parish church, adorned with made it the seat of a bishop. When the island was taken
a beautiful facade, and adjoining it is the archiepiscopal pa- by the Turks in 1570, the Ottoman army entered this city
lace, part of which is now occupied by the Peruvian synod, on the 2d of July, and ravaged it without mercy. It was
On the north side are the viceroy’s palace and the city then destroyed by fire.
hall, under which is the city jail. In the centre of the LIMB, in general, denotes the border or edge of a thing,
square is a fine brass fountain, erected in 1653, the water Thus we say, the limb of a quadrant, of the sun, of a leaf^
of which being the best in Lima, is conveyed to all parts and so forth.
of the city. In this square the principal market is held. Limb, in Anatomy, an appellation given to the extremi-
The cathedral is a noble edifice, and at each corner is a ties of the body, as to the arms and legs,
tower, nearly 200 feet in height. The interior is very rich, Limb, Limbus, Limbo, in the church of Rome, is used
and the high altar has a magnificent appearance. The in two different senses. The limbo of the patriarchs is said
roofs of the houses, and domes and spires of the churches, to be the place where the patriarchs waited the redemption
are built of wood, covered with stucco-work, variously of mankind, and where they suppose our Saviour’s soul
ornamented, which presents a splendid appearance when continued from the time of his death till that of his resur-
viewed from a distance; but the traveller is apt to feel dis- rection. The limbs of infants dying without baptism, is a
appointed upon a nearer inspection. Formerly the num- place supposed to be distinct from both heaven and hell;
ber of monks was reckoned at 1200, but they have now since they hold that children dying innocent of any actual
decreased nearly one fifth in amount. There are fourteen sin, do not deserve hell, and, by reason of their original sin,
convents for females, and a number of religious houses, cannot be admitted into heaven.
into which ladies retire for a short period. Some of the LIMBAT, the name of a periodical wind, common in
conventual churches are remarkably beautiful; that of St the island of Cyprus, and of great service in moderating
Domingo having a tower about 180 feet high, which is the the heats of the climate, which would otherwise be in-
loltiest in the city. There are several hospitals of a chari- tolerable.
table and benevolent description. The university, found- LIMBORCH, Philip, a learned writer amongst the Re¬
ed in 1549, and possessing peculiar privileges, is a hand- monstrants, was born at Amsterdam in 1633. After having
some building, with several good halls, and an extensive made great proficiency in his studies, he was, in 1655, ad-
library. mitted to preach in public, which he did first at Haerlem.
Ihe higher classes of the inhabitants are generally well His sermons had in them no affected eloquence, but were
educated, though in a limited sense; and the females are solid, methodical, and edifying. He was chosen minister
equally celebrated for their vivacity and beauty. They of Gouda, whence he was called to Amsterdam, where he
are said, however, to be somewhat licentious in their man- held the professorship of divinity, in which he acquitted
ners ; and their walking-dress, consisting of a petticoat fit- himself with great reputation till his death, which happen-
ted close to the body, and a hood thrown over the head, ed in 1712. He had many friends of distinction in foreign
seems peculiarly favourable to intrigue. Both sexes are parts, as well as in his own country. Some of his letters
addicted to smoking; but the females do not practise it to Mr Locke are printed along with those of that celebra-
openly. All classes of the inhabitants are extravagant in ted author. He had all the qualifications suitable to the
their dress, the richest stuffs of Europe being used even character of a sincere divine, lived an example of every
on ordinary occasions. Music, cards, and dancing, are the virtue, and preserved the vigour of his body and mind till
principal sources of amusement; bull-fights having been a considerably advanced age. He wrote many estimable
abolished. Gambling formerly prevailed in the higher cir- works, the principal of which are, 1. Arnica Collatio de veri-
oles ; but this vice has of late sensibly diminished. The late religionis Christiance cum erudito Judcco, in 12mo; 2.
348 L I M
Limburg a Complete Body of Divinity, according to the opinions and
II , doctrines of the Remonstrants ; and, 3. a History of the In-
Limenck. qUjsitionj which was translated into English by Dr Samuel
Chandler. Limborch also published the works of the fa¬
mous Episcopius, who was his great-uncle by the mother’s
side.
LIMBURG, a city of the Netherlands, in the province
of Liege, and arrondissement of Verviers. It is fortified,
and stands on the river Besdre, and, including its suburb
Dalhem, contains 320 houses, and 2000 inhabitants. Long.
5. 58. E. Lat. 50. 40. N.
Limburg, a city of the duchy of Nassau, in Germany,
the capital of the bailiwick of that name. It is situated on
the river Lahn, is surrounded with walls, and has the mint
for the ducal coinage. It has some mineral springs, and
contains 508 houses, with 2820 inhabitants. The neigh¬
bourhood produces the best wheat of any part of Germany.
Limburg, a pi'ovince of the Netherlands, formed out of
the greater part of the former French department of the
Lower Meuse, and a small portion of the department of
the Roer, to which has been added a portion of Dutch Lim¬
burg, part of the bishoprick of Liege, of Austrian and
Prussian Guelders, and some small part of the duchies of
Cleves and Juliers, with communes taken from the circle
of Westphalia in Germany. It is now a compact district,
extending over 1546 square miles, between north latitude
50. 44. and 51. 45. and between east longitude 4. 52. and
6. 5. It is a level plain, except that a few hills, of no great
height, rise in the south-east division. The soil is gene¬
rally fertile in the vale, through which the Meuse, its only
navigable river, runs; but the north-western part consists
chiefly of barren heaths. The parts of these heaths that
are cultivated produce scarcely any grain, except buck
wheat. The meadows on the banks of the Meuse, as well
as the lands adjoining to them, where clover is grown, are
adapted to the breeding and fattening of cattle ; and their
dairies, which are conducted on the plan of the Holland¬
ers, produce excellent butter and cheese. Much rape seed
is also raised for making oil, and the crops of hemp, flax,
madder, chicory, and tobacco, are found profitable. Coals
are obtained in some parts; and the quarries yield good
stone, peculiarly adapted to building under water, for
which there is a great demand in Holland. The manufac¬
tures of the province are inconsiderable, and confined chief¬
ly to such articles as are of common domestic demand.
There are in the province three arrondissements, divided
into twenty-two cantons, and subdivided into 336 com¬
munes. The inhabitants, amounting to 292,500, are for
the most part of the Walloon race ; but the Dutch, Flemish,
and Walloon dialects are almost equally spoken by them.
The capital is Maestricht.
LIMERICK, a maritime county of the province of
Munster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the estu¬
ary of the Shannon and the county of Tipperary, on the
east by the same county, on the south by the county of
Cork, and on the west by that of Kerry. In extent of
surface it ranks as tenth amongst the counties of Ireland.
It contains 674,783 acres, of which 582,802 acres are fit
for cultivation, and only 91,981 are bog or unprofitable
mountain.
It was formerly inhabited by the tribe of the Velaborii.
The principal Irish families in it afterwards were the
O’Briens, O’Gradys, O’Gormans, M‘Enerys, M'Sheehys,
Moronys, M‘Mahons, andO’Quins. Much of it was con¬
fiscated in the time of Cromwell, since which period the
proprietorship of the soil has mostly devolved upon set¬
tlers of English descent. The county is now divided into
the ten baronies of Clanwilliam, Upper and Lower Conello,
Coonagh, Coshma, Costlea, Kenry, Owneybeg, Pubble-
brian, and Small County, which are again subdivided into
126 parishes.
L I M
According to the ecclesiastical arrangements of the Limerici
country, the county of Limerick comprehends portions of
the dioceses of Limerick, Emly, Killaloe, and Cashel.
The whole of the first named of these dioceses, a small
portion excepted, is within the county; eighty-five of the
parishes which constitute it being within its limits, and
three only in the county of Clare. This see is one of the
few which is unaffected by the changes introduced into
the ecclesiastical divisions of Ireland by the late consoli¬
dation of the bishoprics. It is still, as before, to continue
united with those of Ardfert and Aghadoe in Kerry. Its
revenue is estimated at L.5369 per annum. The cathe¬
dral, an ancient and venerable pile, stands in the city of
Limerick ; and the bishop’s palace, a modern mansion, is
situated on the bank of the Shannon, at the western ex¬
tremity of the city. The chapter consists of a dean,
precentor, chancellor, treasurer, and archdeacon, and has
eleven prebendaries and six vicars-choral connected with
it. The see of Emly, united with that of Cashel, has
thirty-eight parishes in the county of Limerick, and twen¬
ty in that of Tipperary. The seat of the see is in the
latter county. One parish of the diocese of Cashel, and
two of that of Killaloe, are within the limits of the county
of Limerick.
The face of the country, though diversified by numer¬
ous small hills, is not mountainous, except on the south¬
east, where it is bounded by the Galtees, a ridge of con¬
siderable extent, and 2500 feet high at its most elevated
point, extending into the adjoining county of Tipperary.
On the borders of Kerry the surface also rises into a grand
amphitheatre of low but steep mountains, that spread
themselves out in a wide curve from Loghill to Drumcol-
logh. The only river of any size is the Maig, which rises
in the Galtees, and discharges itself into the Shannon
west of Limerick. It is navigable by barges as far as the
town of Adare. A plan to make this river available for
the purpose of connecting the cities of Limerick and Cork,
by an inland navigation from Adare to Mallow on the
Blackwater, has not been carried into effect. The Feale
and the Gale, which rise in the western mountain range,
are considered as belonging to Kerry, and the Blackwater,
which rises in the same range, to Cork. The county is
well watered by numerous smaller streams. Its only lake
is Lough Gur, about five miles in circumference, and stud¬
ded with several small islands.
The soil in the level parts is considered as the richest
in Ireland. The Golden Vale, a district which obtained
its name from the remarkable exuberance of its fertility,
lies mostly in this county. Along the banks of the Shan¬
non are large tracts of marsh land, called corcachs, also
celebrated for their richness; a circumstance attributed
to the quantity of alluvial mould deposited there by the
Shannon when it overflows its banks. In a geological
point of view the low country forms part of the great flcetz
limestone plain of Ireland; but the mountainous district in
the south and west consists chiefly of sandstone. A mine
of coal or culm is worked at Loghill, but it is found to
be better adapted for kilns than for domestic use. At
Castleconnel, a town beautifully situated, is a mineral spa
of great celebrity from its sanative effects. It is of the
same quality as the Poutron at Spa.
The state of the population, at the different periods at
which returns respecting it have been made, together with
the authorities on which those returns depend, is as fol¬
lows :—
1760 De Burgho 92,376
1792 Beaufort 170,000
1821 Parliamentary return...218,432
1832 Ditto  233,505
The returns from the commissioners of public instruc¬
tion in 1834, being made in dioceses instead of counties,
L I M
Litn ick. cannot be rendered available in this and the subsequent
statement. The return of 1831 gives an average of one
inhabitant to every two acres and eighty-eight hundred
parts of the county in general, and to every two acres and
thirty-five hundred parts of that portion of its land which
is capable of profitable cultivation.
The state of education in 1821 and 1824-26 was as fol¬
lows :—
Year. Boy, Girl, Total.
1821, 16,510 7,896 _ 24,406
1824-26, 19,173 10,347 568 30,088
Of the numbers in the latter of these statements, 2064
were Protestants of the established church, 27,735 were
Roman Catholics, and 45 were dissenters; but the reli¬
gious persuasion of 244 was not ascertained. The total
number of schools was 461; of which 27, affording edu¬
cation to 2841 children, were maintained by grants of
public money ; 29, educating 3274 children, were sup¬
ported by the voluntary contributions of societies or indi¬
viduals, and the remaining 405 schools, in which 24,040
children were educated, depended wholly on the fees of
the pupils.
The county returned eight members to the Irish par¬
liament ; two for the county at large, two for the city of
Limerick, and two for each of the boroughs of Askeaton
and Kilmallock. The boroughs having been disfranchised
at the union, the number of representatives sent to the
imperial parliament was fixed at three, two for the coun¬
ty and one for the city. The reform act has added one
representative to the latter place.
The land in the level parts is divided into large farms,
many of which are almost exclusively devoted to grazing.
In the more hilly region the farms are smaller, and in
some parts cut up into holdings much too small for the
profitable culture of the soil, or the comfortable support
of the cultivators. Still, however, the agi'icultural produce
is considerable. Wheat, barley, oats, and rape, are raised
in large quantities. In the year 1709, a colony of Pala¬
tines brought from Germany by Lord Southwell settled
near Bruff, Rathkeale, and Adare. They tended much to
improve the state of agriculture, as also that of the linen
manufacture. The rich lands on the borders of the rivers
produce a kind of flax very different from that of the
north; it grows to a great height, and is well adapted for
sail-cloth. Hemp was formerly cultivated extensively on
the lands of the same quality. The horses are of large
size, strong, active, and generally well bred; the heaviest
and fattest beasts slaughtered in the southern markets
are reared in this county. The sheep are also of a good
description, but they are not bred here. Hogs of large
size are sent to the same markets. The exportation of
cattle and grain is very considerable, constituting the main
source of the wealth of the inhabitants. The Shannon,
which here assumes the character rather of an estuary of
the ocean than of an inland river, supplies marine fish,
both round and flat, in great abundance. Pike, carp,
, tench, trout of large size, and salmon highly esteemed for
its flavour, are caught in most of the rivers.
The manners of the people are similar to those in other
parts of the province. Their habits are almost exclusively
agricultural. Their dwellings are poor, their food chiefly
the potato; their fuel is turf, except near the collieries at
Loghill, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the city,
where British coal is much used. The Irish language is
still spoken by the peasantry in their colloquial inter¬
course, but the English is universally understood and
spoken, excepting perhaps in some of the more retired
mountain districts.
The county possesses many remains of antiquity. The
L I M 349
most remarkable of the ancient monastic buildings are in Limerick,
the city of Limerick, where, besides the cathedral, there 'v'^—^
was a Dominican friary founded by Carbreagh O’Brien,
king of Thomond, in which he was interred. Some re¬
mains of the monument erected to his memory still exist.
In the same city was an Augustinian friary, a convent
of black nuns, a Franciscan friary, and a preceptory of
knights-templars, besides several other minor religious
establishments. Amongst the most admired of the many
fine monastic ruins in various parts of the county is the
the abbey of Adare.
The city of Limerick, the capital of the county, is situat¬
ed on the Shannon, about 100 miles from its mouth, partly
on an island and partly on the main land. It is the third
city in Ireland in population and importance, being sur¬
passed in these respects only by Dublin and Cork. The
number of its inhabitants in 1821 and 1831 was 59,045
and 66,575 respectively. The city consists of three prin¬
cipal divisions; the Irish town, the English town, and
Newtown Pery. The first is the most ancient, having
been built before the arrival of the English in 1172. The
second occupies King’s Island, on the Shannon, and was
formerly a strongly fortified position. The third was
commenced in 1769, by Mr Sexton Pery, from whom it
takes its name. It is laid out along the eastern banks of
the river, in streets, intersecting each other at right angles
with the utmost geometrical precision. The city was for¬
merly considered as the strongest place in Ireland. In 1174
it was taken by the English, but shortly afterwards eva¬
cuated by them, and burned, to prevent its occupation be¬
ing serviceable to the enemy. In 1651 it was taken by
Ireton, Cromwell’s lieutenant-general, after a vigorous re¬
sistance ; and in 1690, its garrison baffled the army of
King William, who conducted the siege in person ; but it
surrendered on terms the next year to General Ginckel,
on which occasion the celebrated treaty of Limerick was
concluded. Most of the walls and gates have been de¬
molished, and quays, warehouses, and streets built on their
site. The different parts of the town are connected with
each other by bridges, of which Thomond Bridge is wor¬
thy of notice from its antiquity, and Wellesley Bridge,
lately erected, still more so, as being one of the finest
specimens of this kind of architecture in the island. Be¬
sides the cathedral, and three parish churches, and two
chapels of ease of the established church, there are seven
Roman Catholic places of worship. The methodists, pres-
byterians, baptists, independents, and quakers, have each
a meeting-house. The court-house is a handsome build¬
ing. The prison is constructed according to the modern
improvements in prison discipline. The other more re¬
markable public buildings are the Tholsel, which is orna¬
mented with a Tuscan colonnade, the custom-house, the
commercial buildings, and the lunatic asylum. The city
was originally incorporated by King John, whose charter
was confirmed and extended by several succeeding so¬
vereigns. It was first governed by a bailiff, but obtained
the privilege of electing mayors and sheriffs ten years be¬
fore that right was conferred on London. The city offi¬
cers at present are, the mayor, two sheriffs, a recorder,
four charter justices, to which the lord chancellor is em¬
powered to add six more, and a common council, whose
number fluctuates from thirty-seven to forty. This body
is self-elective. It has also a military governor, constable,
and town-major, and is a permanent mditary station. The
jurisdiction of the city extends over a considerable space,
the city and liberties comprehending twenty-one parishes
or parts of parishes. One of the principal public institutions
is the Chamber of Commerce, incorporated by charter and
act of parliament. It is possessed of considerable property,
a savings bank, and a mechanics’ institute consisting of
about 200 members. The charitable endowments are nu-
350 L I M
Limerick merous, and some of them extensive. They are, the
il . house of industry, which supports an average number of
v 'immi]g- 336; the lunatic asylum, fever hospital, lying-in hospital,
Magdalen asylum, dispensary, Barrington’s hospital, Vil-
lars’s alms-house, asylum for the blind, Hall’s alms-houses,
the forty-shillings alms-houses, Craven’s charit}7, Mrs
Rose’s charity, and the jubilee, Pery, and London tavern
loan funds. The trade of this place is extensive, and va¬
rious linen, woollen, cotton, and paper manufactures are
carried on in it. Several breweries, distilleries, and salt¬
works, find permanent employment. The exports chiefly
consist of provisions and grain. The imports are, coal, turf,
for the carrying of which from Clare and Kerry, 200 barges
of twenty tons each are employed; timber, wine, spirits,
and all the articles of British and foreign production which
the wants or luxuries of a numerous and well-employed
population require. Vessels of 400 tons’ burden ride at
the quay. The navigation from the Atlantic to the city
is open and secure, and the inland navigation connects it
with Dublin, and all the intermediate line of country.
The estimated value of the exports and imports for 1832
was, exportsL.1,005,727, imports L.289,596. Large quan¬
tities of merchandise are brought by the Grand Canal from
Dublin.
The number of vessels that have cleared outwards from
the port during a period of five years is as follows:
Year. Vessels. Tonnage.
1828  462 58,242
1829  334 42,591
1830  365 49,513 *
1831  423 52,316
1832  472 59,004
Eleven vessels, of about 1760 tons in all, belonged to Li¬
merick ship owners in 1832.
The other towns of some note in the county are, Rath-
keale, Shanagolden, Ballingarry, Newcastle, Adare, As-
keyton, and Castleconnel. Kilmallock is more remark¬
able for its remaining vestiges of former greatness than
tor its present condition. It was the second town in the
county, having a charter of incorporation, being surround¬
ed by substantial fortifications, and consisting of a num¬
ber of large houses, so durably constructed of cut stone,
that their ruins have induced some modern topographers
to distinguish the place, somewhat quaintly, by the title
of the Irish Balbec.
Limerick is also the name of a fair-town in the coun¬
ty of Wexford and province of Leinster; the fairs are four
in the year.
LIMIT, in a restricted sense, is used by mathemati¬
cians for a determined quantity to which a variable one
continually approaches; in which sense, the circle may be
said to be the limit of its circumscribed and inscribed po¬
lygons. In Algebra, the term limit is applied to two quan¬
tities, one of which is greater and the other less than an¬
other quantity ; and in this sense it is used in speaking of
the limits of equations, by which their solution is much
facilitated.
LIMITED Problem denotes a problem that has but
one solution, or some determinate number of solutions; as
to describe a circle through three given points that do not
lie in a right line, which is limited to one solution only;
to divide a parallelogram into two equal parts by a line
parallel to one side, which admits of two solutions, ac¬
cording as the line is parallel to the length or breadth of
the parallelogram ; or to divide a triangle in any ratio
by a line parallel to one side, which is limited to three
solutions, as the line may be parallel to any of the three
sides.
LIMNING, the art of painting in water-colours, in con¬
tradistinction to painting executed in oil-colours.
Limning is by much the more ancient kind of painting.
L I N
Till a Flemish painter, John van Eyck, better known by Limogej
the name of John of Bruges, found out the art of paint- ||
ing in oil, the painters all painted in water and in fresco, ^nacre,
both on walls, on wooden boards, and on other materials. ^““Yv
When they made use of boards, they usually glued a fine
linen cloth over them, to prevent their opening, then laid
on a ground of white, and lastly mixed up their colours
with water and size, or with water and yolks of eggs, well
beaten with the branches of a fig tree, the juice of which
thus mixed with the eggs ; and with this mixture they
painted their pieces.
In limning, all colours are proper enough, excepting the
white made of lime, which is only used in fresco. The
azure and ultramarine must be mixed with size or gum;
but there are always applied two layers of hot size before
the size colours are laid on. The colours are all ground
in water, each by itself; and, as they are required in
working, are diluted with size-water. Wlien the piece is
finished, they go over it with the white of an egg well
beaten ; and then with varnish if required.
LIMOGES, an arrondissement in the department of
the Upper Vienne, in France, 769 square miles in extent.
It comprehends nine cantons, divided into eighty-three
communes, containing 89,500 inhabitants. The capital of
the department, as well as that of the arrondissement, is the
city of the same name, situated on the right bank of the
river Vienne. It is ill built, with narrow and crooked
streets, and very antique buildings. There is a fine Gothic
cathedral, the tirade of which is much admired. The
episcopal palace and the mint are striking edifices. It con¬
tains 2570 houses, with 20,500 inhabitants. It is a place
of great manufacturing industry, producing cotton twist,
thin woollen and some lineA goods; china-ware, scarcely
excelled by that of Sevres ; besides hats, wine, and copper
articles. Long. 1. 10. E. Lat. 45. 49. N.
LIMOUX, an arrondissement of the department of the
Aude, in France, 762 square miles in extent. It compre¬
hends eight cantons, divided into 151 communes, and is
inhabited by 71,800 persons. The capital is a city of the
same name, situated in a district abounding in good wine,
on the river Aude. It contains 1050 houses, and 6200
inhabitants, who make some of the finer descriptions of
cloths, and convert to various purposes most of the iron
that is found within the department. Long. 2. 11. E.
Lat. 43. 5. N.
LINACRE, Thomas, a physician, was born at Canter¬
bury about the year 1460, and educated there under the
learned William Selling. He thence removed to Oxford,
and in 1484 was chosen fellow of All-Souls’ College. Sel¬
ling, his former instructor, being at this time appointed
ambassador from King Henry VII. to the court^of Rome,
Mr Linacre accompanied him to Italy, where he attained
a high degree of perfection in the Greek and Latin lan¬
guages. At Rome he applied himself particularly to the
study of Aristotle and Galen, in the original. On his re¬
turn to Oxford, he was incorporated doctor of physic, and
chosen public professor in that faculty. But he had not
been long in England before he was commanded by
Henry VII. to repair to court, to attend the young Prince
Arthur as his tutor and physician. He was afterwards
appointed physician to the king, and after his death to his
successor Henry VIII. Dr Linacre founded two medical
lectures at Oxford, and one at Cambridge ; but that which
has most effectually immortalized his name amongst the fa¬
culty, is his being the founder of the College of Physicians
in London. He beheld with vexation the wretched state
of physic in those times; and, by an application to Cardi¬
nal Wolsey, obtained a patent in 1518, by which the phy¬
sicians of London were incorporated. The intention of
this corporation was to prevent illiterate and ignorant per¬
sons from practising the art of healing. Dr Linacre was
L I N
It Li :oln the first president, and held the office as long as he lived.
| Their meetings were held in his own house in Knight-
, It Li :oIn- rj(jer Street, which he bequeathed to the college. But,
Pre- when he was about the age of fifty, he took it into his
: head to study divinity, entered into orders, and, in 1509,
I was collated to the rectory of Mersham. In the same
i year he was installed as prebendary of Wells, in 1518 as
I prebendary of York, and in the following year was admit-
i ted precentor of that cathedral. This, we are told, he
r resigned for other preferments. He died of stone in the
bladder in October 1524, at the age of sixty-four, and
; was buried in St Paul’s. Thirty-three years after his
i death, Dr John Caius caused a monument to be erected
; to his memory, with a Latin inscription, which contains
. the outlines of his life and character. He was a man of
1 . great natural sagacity, a skilful physician, a profound
i grammarian, and one of the best Greek and Latin scho-
i lars of his time. Erasmus, in his epistles, speaks highly
1 of his translations from Galen, preferring them even to the
original Greek. His works are, 1. Be emendata Structura
[ Latiiii Sermonis libri sex, London, printed by Pynson,
1524, 8vo, and by Stephens, 1527, 1532; 2. Rudiments
i of Grammar, for the use of the Princess Mary, printed
f by Pynson, and translated into Latin by Buchanan, Paris,
, 1536. He likewise translated into Latin several of Galen’s
works, which were at different times printed abroad; also
j Procli Diadachi Sphcera, translated from the Greek, Ve-
. nice, 1499, 1500.
' LINCOLN, a city, the capital of the county of that
' name, 133 miles from London, situated at the bottom, on
, the side, and the top of a lofty hill, which rises from the
banks of the river William. It was formerly walled, and
the castle, now converted into the county prison, still re¬
mains. The cathedral is on the summit of the hill, and is
a most conspicuous object from an extensive surrounding
country. It is a magnificent fabric, with two towers at
the western front. It was found to be one of the richest in
gold, silver, and precious stones, of any of the religious in¬
stitutions of the kingdom in the reign of Henry VIII. and
is still the seat of the largest of all the bishoprics. The
city as a whole is not well built, and the streets leading
from the lower to the upper town are too steep to be ascend¬
ed by carriages, which make use of a circular road round
the face of the hill, without the city. The town is go¬
verned by a mayor, twelve aldermen, and two sheriffs,
and returns, as before, two members to parliament. The
assizes and elections for the county are held here. It has
no manufactures ; and not much trade, what little there is,
is carried on by the river William, which has a communi¬
cation with the Trent, through the Foss Dyke. The city
has an exempted jurisdiction, within a circuit of nearly
twenty miles. It contains, besides the cathedral, ten pa¬
rish churches, and seventeen parishes. The inhabitants
amounted in 1801 to 4909, in 1811 to 8861, in 1821 to
10,367, and in 1831 to 11,892.
LINCOLNSHIRE, an English maritime county. It is
bounded on the north by Yorkshire, on the east by the
German Ocean and Norfolk, on the south by Cambridge,
Northampton, and Rutland shires, and on the west by
Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Its greatest length
is seventy-three miles, and its greatest breadth forty-
eight. The area is 2814 square miles, or about 1,800,000
acres.
The county is divided into three districts or provinces.
The largest of these, Lindsey, is more extensive than
the other two, containing more than 1,000,000 acres, and
stretching from the shores of the German Ocean to Not¬
tinghamshire. It is rather an elevated tract of country,
but the whole is so level as scarcely to contain a single hill.
The north-eastern part of this division is a very exten¬
sive district of heathy land, generally very poor, especially
L I N 351
the northern part of it, and denominated the Wolds. Lincoln-
Though some parts of it have recently been brought into shire,
cultivation, yet a great portion has scarcely any other
live stock than the numerous rabbits, which multiply in
extended warrens. A small part, however, of this divi¬
sion, contains a rich tract of low land, formed by the
rivers Trent, Dun, and Idle, where horned cattle are pas¬
tured, and some excellent flax is produced. The pro¬
vince of Lindsey is subdivided into fifteen hundreds and
two sokes.
The province of Kesteven extends along the western
side of the county, from its middle to its southern extre¬
mity ; in which latter part is a portion of the fens. Not¬
withstanding there are many extensive heaths, especially
near Lincoln and Ancaster ; and though the soil and ele¬
vation are various, yet on the whole it may properly be de¬
scribed as a fertile country. Towards the west a ridge
of hills, which forms an abrupt boundary, extends from
Grantham nearly to Lincoln; but none of the points at¬
tains a great elevation. This province is subdivided into
nine hundreds and three sokes.
The third province, Holland, contains the greater part
of that unhealthy division of Lincolnshire usually called the
Fens. It is subdivided into three hundreds, sometimes
denominated sokes, sometimes wapentakes. The charac¬
ter of this province is similar to that of the province of the
same name in the Netherlands, after which it has been
called. Nearly the whole of it appears, at a remote pe¬
riod, to have been covered by the sea, and only brought
into its present state of productiveness by the active and
persevering labour of the inhabitants. The embankments
and the draining have been expensive, perpetual, and
progressive, and the soil that has been redeemed has con¬
ferred a most abundant remuneration. Excellent pas¬
ture land has been formed out of the swamps and bogs,
and some of it produces extraordinary crops of corn, es¬
pecially oats. Even in those parts that have not been
reclaimed, the reeds, which abound, are converted into
good covering for houses and barns, and they are well
stocked with aquatic wild fowl. The taking of them is a
profitable employment to many persons, and the markets
of London are principally supplied from thence with those
delicacies. The decoys in this district are more nume¬
rous than in any other part of England. They are com¬
monly formed around quiet pools, to which pipes made
of bent willows, and covered with nets, gradually enlarg¬
ing as they approach the water, are conducted. Into the
large orifice of the pipes the wild birds are enticed by
tame ones trained for that business, and who conduct them
into the funnel, when the appearance of a man or his dog
behind drives them to the most contracted part, where
they are taken. The quantity of birds taken in some sea¬
sons is prodigious, amounting to some hundreds of thou¬
sands. They usually consist of teal, widgeon, and wild
ducks ; but occasionally wild geese, godwits, coots, ruffs,
and reeves and whimbrels, are caught. In these other¬
wise unproductive fens, the keeping of geese, principally
for the sake of the feathers, is a considerable branch of
rural industry, and supplies a large part of the demands
of the kingdom, both for beds and for pens. The feathers
are plucked from the birds at three, four, sometimes five
different periods in the course of a year. This is thought
a barbarous custom ; but the charge of cruelty is denied by
the breeders, who assert that, for their own profit, they
pluck only those feathers which are so near falling off as
to occasion little pain ; those more firmly fixed, and which
have some portion of blood at their end, being of very in¬
ferior value. The young ones are plucked as well as the
old ones ; experience having taught that, when plucked
early, the future growth of the feathers becomes greater.
During the breeding season, the birds are lodged in the
352 LIN
Lincoln- same houses as their owners, in wicker pens, which are
shire, arranged in rows, frequently in the bed chambers. A
''’■"’■'y'""''- gooseherd in attendance on the flock leads them daily to
water, and assists them, on their return, to get into their
several cells. The attendants are acquainted with each
individual goose in the flock, and can commonly distinguish
them by the tones of their voices. Near Spalding there
is a considerable heronry, and a smaller one near Surflet,
where the herons, like rooks, build their nests on high trees.
The air in the fens is generally insalubrious, and the
inhabitants suffer much from the nature of the water,
which is generally of a brackish quality ; and though they
make reservoirs to preserve rain water, in dry summers
they experience very great distress. In warm weather,
vast swarms of insects add to the annoyances peculiar
to this district.
The population, according to the returns at the four
decennial enumerations, appear to have amounted in 1801
to 208,557, in 1811 to 237,891, in 1821 to 283,053, and
in 1831 to 317,400. The annual value of the real pro¬
perty, as taken in 1815, amounted to L.2,061,830.
The burials, including both the registered and the un¬
registered, in the period from 1821 to 1831, appear to
have been one in 53 of the whole number of inhabitants
then living. The illegitimate births were one in nine¬
teen of the whole born.
The occupations of the inhabitants, according to the
returns arranged by Mr Rickman in 1831, were as follow :
Occupiers of land employing labourers 6,901
Occupiers of land not employing labourers 6,204
Labourers employed in agriculture 32,167
Labourers employed in manufactures 167
Employed in retail trade or handicraft 20,490
Capitalists, bankers, &c 2,734
Labourers not agricultural 5,855
Other males twenty years of age 3,886
Male servants  1,848
Female servants   16,011
The towns containing more than 2000 inhabitants, and
their population in 1831, were—
Lincoln, city 11,892
Boston, town .' 11,240
Lowth 6,927
Gainsborough   6,658
Stamford 5,837
Grantham 4,590
Grimsby 4,225
Horncastle 3,988
Llolbeach 3,890
Long Sutton 3,510
Sleaford   2,450
Bourn 2,355
Crowland 2,268
The reform bill has left the city of Lincoln, and the bo¬
roughs of Boston, Stamford, and Grantham, with two mem¬
bers each, as before. It has left Grimsby with only one ;
and has divided the county into two districts, one called
the Part of Lindsey, and the other the Part of Kesteven
and Holland. The polling places for the former are Lin¬
coln, Gainsborough, Epworth, Barton, Brigg, Market Ro¬
sin, Louth, Spilsby, and Horncastle ; and for the latter,
Sleaford, Boston, Holbeach, Bourn, Bonington, Navenby,
Spalding, and Grantham.
The capital of this pounty is the see of a bishop, whose
jurisdiction is the largest of any in England, extending
over the counties of Lincoln, Leicester, Huntingdon, Bed¬
ford, and Buckingham ; over one half of Hertfordshire,
and several portions of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Rutland¬
shire, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire ; and includ¬
ing 1517 parishes, under the superintendence of six arch¬
deacons.
L I N
The fens of Lincolnshire have running through them Lincoii
wide ditches, which serve to drain the water from the land, shire'1
and which, when united and extended, become navigable,
and highly beneficial as means of conveying the produc¬
tions to the various markets. The Foss Dyke, the ear¬
liest canal made in Britain, was constructed in the year
1121, to form a connection between the city of Lincoln
and the river Trent; and though, from the nature of the
soil, it has been often obstructed, and the expense of
keeping it in order has been great, it has continued to be
used from that time to the present day. The river Trent,
though rising in Staffordshire, may be considered as a
Lincolnshire river, from the principal navigation upon it
belonging to this county. It receives the Dun and the
Ouse, and, before reaching the sea, unites with the Hum¬
ber. It is navigable for large barges to Gainsborough.
It has, upon the influx of the tide, a most extraordinary
bore, or, as it is provincially termed, eager, when the wa¬
ters run up resembling a wall with a rapidity that has no
equal in any of our English rivers, except the Wye at
Chipstow. The Witham rises within the county, about
ten miles from Stamford. The early part of its course is
through a beautiful district till it reaches the fen country,
when its course becomes sluggish ; but being navigable
to Boston, it is highly beneficial both for draining and for
commerce. The other rivers are the Ancholme, the Wel¬
land, the Glen, the Grant, and the Ouse. The Humber,
indeed, is its boundary on part of the northern side; but
is more commonly and properly considered as a York¬
shire than a Lincolnshire river, from Hull, its principal
port, being in that county. Two small canals communi¬
cate with the river Witham, one from Horncastle, and the
other from Sleaford.
The great bay or estuary into which the different rivers
and dykes that drain the fens are disembogued, is very
shallow, and filled with drifting sands, which render the
approach to the shore highly dangerous. The rivers are
constantly loaded with mud, and, in times of flood, en¬
counter the tide, equally charged with its floating silt,
which causes a stagnation and deposit that is constantly
shifting its position, as the strength of the rivers or of the
tides happens to be the more powerful.
The face of the country in the fens is generally unin¬
teresting, exhibiting extensive plains, with nothing to
break the continuity of the line of vision, and only ren¬
dered less monotonous by the vast numbers of cattle with
which the green meadows are covered. On the wolds a
more bleak and dreary prospect presents itself; but the
western division of the country near Stamford and Gran¬
tham is variegated, woody, and undulating, and presents
generally pleasing pictures.
The agriculture of the fens is of the simplest kind ; for
where nature has created such a productive soil, little re¬
mains to be done by the operations of man. In the more
elevated parts of the county the cultivation is con¬
ducted with various, but, on the whole, good judgment;
and the land produces ample crops of wheat, oats, bar¬
ley, and beans, and in some parts hemp and flax. The
attention, however, of the whole county is more turn¬
ed to derive profit from cattle than from the use of the
plough.
The oxen of Lincolnshire are proverbial for their good¬
ness. The original race were of a great size, with large
heads and short horns, thick in the bone, deep in the
belly, short on the neck, high on the rump, and bare cn
the shoulders ; but these have been improved by such
various and judicious crossings of breeds, that their sym¬
metry and excellent qualities render them the best in
the island. Many cattle bred in other countries are fat¬
tened here on the rich natural pastures; but a portion ot
oil-cake is very commonly given, to fit them earlier for
L I N
Ihcoln- the market of Smlthfield, to which numerous droves are
Bure, weekly despatched. This fattening of cattle for the sup-
wY'“"“^p]y of London is so advantageous that the dairy is almost
everywhere considered as a secondary object.
The sheep of this county are almost peculiar to it.
They are of a large size, have horns, and produce heavy
fleeces of long wool, highly prized in the manufacture of
stuff’s and some kinds of baizes. The flesh is, however,
rank in flavour, and, unless the animals are improved by
crossing with other races, is not generally relished. As the
foundation of an excellent breed, they were selected by
the late judicious Mr Bakewell, who, from mixing them
with other races, produced those excellent sheep known
by the name of the new Leicesters. The fleeces of the
pure Lincolnshire sheep in general weigh from ten to
twelve pounds; but extraordinary instances have been
known in which the)' have attained more than twenty
pounds.
The live stock, in which this county exceeds every
other, is rabbits, which the numerous warrens on the
wolds produce in vast numbers. From their prodigious
quantity, the flesh is of small value, and the sale of the
skins for the use of the furriers and hatters is the princi¬
pal source of profit. The number of warrens has consi¬
derably diminished of late years, and the land they occu¬
pied has been appropriated to tillage ; but they are still
very extensive.
Lincolnshire is not a manufacturing county. Before the
extension of machinery, the spinning of their native wool
gave occupation to the female part of the population ; but
that employment has been nearly discontinued of late
years, and no other has yet been substituted in its place.
In some parts the flax is spun for domestic use. The na¬
ture of its sea-shores operates to prevent foreign commerce;
and there is little or no intercom-se between Lincolnshire
and the ports even of Holland and Germany, which are
opposite to it. The county produces neither minerals nor
coals.
The antiquities of Lincolnshire are numerous, Almost
all the churches are fine specimens of ancient architecture,
a singularity which distinguishes them from those in every
other county of England. The remains of Crowland,
founded in 716, the seat of a mitred abbot, and anciently
a place of great fame, are still visited by every antiquary;
and near them is the triangular bridge over three streams,
in good preservation. It is, however, so lofty and precipi¬
tous, that it is only useful to horse and foot travellers, as
carriages usually pass under it. The other most prominent
antiquities are, Torksey Castle, at the junction of the Foss
Dyke with the Trent; Thornton Abbey, near the Hum¬
ber ; Bardney Abbey, on the banks of the Witham ; Tat-
tershall Castle, on the same river; and Somerton Castle,
in the parish of Boothby.
Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Burghley, Lord Bolingbroke,
Stukeley the antiquarian, and Wesley, the founder of
Methodism, were, amongst many other eminent men, na¬
tives of this county.
The most remarkable seats of noblemen and gentlemen
are, Blankney, Charles Chaplin, Esq.; Brocklesby Park,
l r n
353
Lord Yarborough; Coleby Hall, Earl Lindsey; Gautby, Linfev.
Kobert Vener, Esq.; Gnnsthorpe Castle, Lord Gwydir ;' '
Hanby Hall, Sir William Manners; Harmston, Samuel
Ihorold, Esq.; Hainton Park, G. Heneage, Esq.; Noc-
ton Park, Earl of Ripon ; Belton House, Lord Brownlow •
Normanby Hall, Sir J. Sheffield; Reevesby Abbey, late
Sir Joseph Banks ; Subton, Sir Robert Heron; Summer
Castle, Lady Wrey; Syston, Sir John Thorold; Thur-
gunby, Lord Middleton.
LINDESFARN, or Landisfarn. See Holy-Island.
Sir David, a Scotish poet of high reputa¬
tion, descended from a younger branch of the family of
Lord Lindsay of Byres, was the eldest son of David Lind¬
say, who possessed the estate of Garmylton in the countv
of Haddington, and that of the Mount in the county of
Fife. The honour of the poet’s birth belongs to Fife-
shire, but the date has not hitherto been ascertained. It
appears that a student of the same name was admitted at
St Andrews in the year 1505: if we suppose this to be the
same individual, and further suppose him to have been ad¬
mitted at the age of fifteen, his birth is thus referred to
the year 1490. This youth, whoever he may have been,
was still a member of the university in 1508. Lindsay’s
father was then dead, and had left five sons. One of his
biographeis has sent him, after completing his academical
studies, to prosecute his travels through England, France,
Italy, and Germany ;2 but this account seems to rest upon
mere conjecture, rather than historical evidence. He him¬
self informs us that he had travelled through divers coun¬
tries, and he particularly mentions the appearance of the
ladies in Italy ; but that he had visited those countries in
his youth, is neither stated by himself, nor by any early
writer with whom we are acquainted. When first em¬
ployed in the king’s household, he appears to have been
still a very young man: in a poem addressed to James the
Fifth, he takes occasion to state that he had entered into
his majesty s service on the very day of his nativity, that
is, on the 12th of April 1512. In the following year, we
find him described as a “ special servant” to that prince’s
father; whom he attended at Linlithgow when a supposed
apparition warned the devoted monarch of his approach¬
ing fate.3 J he tutor of the young king was Gavin Dun¬
bar, afterwards archbishop of Glasgow, and chancellor of
the kingdom.4 The situation of Lindsay was that of a su¬
perior attendant: he is first described as usher to the prince,
and afterwards, for several successive years, as the king’s
master usher. His wife, Janet Douglas, had for many
years the charge of the king’s linen.5 In the dedication
of his Dreme, he reminds James of the faithful services
which he had rendered him in the tender years of his in¬
fancy ; and in the “ Complaynt directit to the Kingis
Grace,” he prosecutes the same topics.
Lindsay was afterwards dismissed from his office; and
this event is supposed to have taken place in the year
1524, when the earl of Angus, who had married the queen
dowager, regained his influence at court, and introduced
such changes as were most conducive to his private views.
His former services were not however forgotten, for he
acknowledges that his pension continued to be regularly
‘ Andrew Robertson, in the preface to the Danish translation of Lindsay’s poems, informs us that he was born in the countv of
b lie. “ Hand vaar fbdt i Skotland vdi Fyff Stict.”
2 Mackenzie’s Lives of Scots Writers, vol iii. p. 35.
3 Buchanani Rerum Scoticarum Historia, p. 251. Lindsay’s History of Scotland, p. 111.
4 The subsequent entry occurs in the Treasurer’s Accounts, 28th August 1517 : “ Item to Maister Gawan Dunbar the kinsis
maister, tor expensis maid be him in reparahng of the chalmer in the quhilk the king leris now in the castell iii li ”
« t The 'rreasurer’s Accounts contain many notices of Lindsay and his wife. Under the date of 1522, we find the following entry •
Item to Jonet Douglas, spous to Dauid Lindesay, maister ischeare to the king, for sewing of the kingis lynning claithis, de mandate
domim gubernatons, xxmj. li.” And under that of 1526; “ Item gevin that samyn to Dauid Lyndsays wife to sew the kingis sarkis
v dowble hankis gold, 1. s.’ She is then mentioned as “ Jonet Dowglas, semestair of the kingis lynyng claithis.” In 1537 she still
nad the charge of “ the kingis sarkis;” for under that date occurs the subsequent “Item, to Jonet Douglas, the spous of Dauid
Lindesay of the Month, at the kingis grace command, as the precept beris, xl. li.”
vol. xm. 2 y
354
LINDSAY.
Lindsay, paid. Not satisfied with such a remuneration, he took
occasion to bring his own merits under the king’s review,
and to acquaint him with his disposition to accept of any
better preferment. In the Complaynt to which we have
already referred, he contrived to convey a hint how a
peerage might be very suitably bestowed. It is therefore
sufficiently evident that this poet was not deaf to the calls
of ambition, and that any addition to his rank or fortune
would have been very acceptable. As he seems to have in¬
herited a competent estate, and was not burdened with the
maintenance of a numerous family, it is not easy to feel
any deep sympathy for his disappointments and mortifica¬
tions. The wants of a courtier, placed in such circum¬
stances, are of so artificial and factitious a kind, that he
must generally be left to bewail his own misfortunes. His
remonstrances were not however ineffectual; he at length
obtained an office of some dignity and emolument, that of
chief herald, quaintly denominated lion king at arms. He
afterwards received the honour of knighthood. In his
new capacity, he was connected with various embassies.
In the year 1531, he was employed in a mission to the
emperor Charles the Fifth, whom he found residing at
Brussels: this mission had a reference to the commercial
intercourse between Scotland and the Netherlands. When
the king afterwards became anxious to find a suitable con¬
sort, Lindsay repeatedly visited the continent: in 1535 he
was connected with one embassy, which solicited a princess
of the imperial family, and in the ensuing year with an¬
other, which solicited a daughter of the duke of Vendome ;
but neither of those negotiations was followed by a treaty
of marriage. The young and handsome prince next re¬
paired to France as the bearer of his own proposals; and
having soon attracted the warm regard of the king’s daugh¬
ter Magdalene, he married this sickly princess, who died
within forty days after her arrival in Scotland.1 The public
joy w^as thus converted into public mourning; and on this
melancholy event Lindsay composed a poem entitled “ The
Deploratioun of the Deith of Quene Magdalene.” She died
on the seventh of July 1537, and after an interval of
eleven months James received another wife from the same
country.
The reformation was now advancing with gradual steps ;
and Sir David Lindsay may certainly be classed among
those who contributed to accelerate its progress: his
writings tended to prepare the public mind for a systema¬
tic attempt to overthrow the papal superstition, and to
introduce a more pure and rational form of worship. *A
species of devotion which rather engages the senses than
the understanding, and which substitutes unmeaning ob¬
servances for the vital power of religion, must always be
regarded as having proceeded through a polluted chan- Lindsay,
nel. But the lives of the ecclesiastics were not less ex- ''■'“v'w
posed to animadversion than their creed ; nor was Lindsay
destitute of skill in selecting proper topics of ridicule.
His satire, and particularly his dramatic satire, must have
had no inconsiderable effect in fostering the rising spirit
of contempt for the clergy and their doctrines; and the
papists were long disposed to number him among their
most formidable enemies.2 Nor was his ridicule entirely
confined to his compositions. The king being one day
surrounded by a numerous train of nobility and prelates,
Lindsay declared himself a candidate for an office that
had lately become vacant. “ I have,” said he, “ servit
your grace lang, and luik to be rewardit as others are ;
and now your maister taylor, at the pleasure of God,
is departit; wherefore I wald desire of your grace to
bestow this little benefite upon me.” The king replied
that he was amazed at such an application from a person
who could neither shape nor sew. “ Sir,” rejoined the
poet, “ that maks nae matter ; for you have given bishop¬
rics and benefices to mony standing here about you, and
yet they can nouther teach nor preach ; and why may not
I as weill be your taylor, thocht I can nouther shape nor
sew, seeing teaching and preaching are nae less requisite
to their vocation than shaping and sewing to ane taylor.”
James immediately perceived the object of his application,
and did not scruple to amuse himself at the expense of
the indignant prelates.3
Of the king he always speaks in terms of affection, though
his admonitions are sometimes not very ceremonious. He
was one of the few courtiers who witnessed the melan¬
choly termination of his short career: oppressed by that
sickness of heart which arises from a consciousness of fa¬
tal misconduct, James expired in the royal palace of Falk¬
land on the 14th of December 1542, when he had only
attained the thirty-first year of his age. The earl of Ar¬
ran was soon afterwards appointed regent of the kingdom ;
and Lindsay is enumerated among those who adhered to
him while he continued to act in conformity to the prin¬
ciples which they avowed. He was a member of parlia¬
ment for the borough of Cupar in 1543, and the three
succeeding years ; and in 1544 he was again sent on an
embassy to the emperor, for the purpose of delivering into
his hands the insignia and statutes of the order of the Gol¬
den Fleece, which had been conferred on the late king.
After an interval of four years, we find him employed on
an embassy to Christian king of Denmark. One of his
biographers avers that at Copenhagen he became acquaint¬
ed with his countryman Dr Machabaeus, and other men of
learning,4 nor is the supposition destitute of probability;
1 The Treasurer’s Accounts contain the following statement of “ The Expensis debursate upoun the Quenis Saullmes and Dirige
ouhom God assoilze.” .... „ *••••• j c   nun
Item to Sir Thomas Cragy and ane uther with him formating of mj dosane or armes mj u. ,
Item to the bellman . • * * D XV11^
Item to the powpenny deliverit to David Lindsay, Lyoun Herald, ane croun of wecht xx s.
Item to chaiplanis being at the dirige and saullmes the tyme of the obsequyis, ilk
chaiplane havand ij s. extending to vij xxx, summa . • • , ... IO
2 a Knoxii, Lindsayi, Buchanani, Villoxii, aliorum, impia scripta incautorum mambus teruntur: opus erat antidote, ne latius
mimthe famouslind worthie knight Sir Dauid Lyndsay of the Mont, alias Lyoun King of Armes.
Edinb, 1582, 4to Of this very rare edition there is a copy in the Advocates Library. It was “ imprentit at Edmbu g
Charteris and contains the same poems as the edition of 1592. The table of contents on the reverse of the title includes the
Historie of Squyer Meldrum, which is not however to be found in the volume. ....... c r • i „ . a™ THalo?
4 Chalmers’s' Life of Lindsay, p. 37 The name of Machabaeus is otherwise connected with that of I.mdsay. Ane B £
betuix Experience and ane Courteour, off the miserabyll Estait of the Warld : compylit be Schir Dauid Lyndesay of the M .,
Knycht, alias Lyone Kyng of Armes, and is deuidit in foure partis, as eftir followis, &c. and imprentit at the comman p ^
of Doctor Machabevs, in Copmanhouin, 1552, 4to. This first edition of the poem is however supposed to have bee" F^ted, n
Copenhagen, but at St Andrews by John Scott. John Machabaeus, whose family name was Macalpine was driven from Scotland b>
the^persecution (Knox, p. 20.), and having sought refuge in Germany, he prosecuted his studies at Wittemberg and Co •
the suggestion of Melanchthon he adopted the name of Machabaeus Alpinas. He took the degree of B.D. at Cologne ’ a . g_
annoS professor of divinitv at Copenhagen in 1542, he took the degree of D. D. Here he died in the year 15o7. (Wormsto
s^ tif et Lexicon over Danske, Norske, og Islandske laerde Mamd, Bind ii. S. 2. Kiobenhavn, 1771-84, 3 Bind. 8vo. Nyerups Al-
LINDSAY.
355
Ljdsay. but it is always dangerous and always reprehensible to sub-
---''stitute mere conjecture for historical evidence.
Sir David Lindsay had decidedly espoused the cause of
the reformers before they had become very formidable to
the government; and it may perhaps be considered as re¬
markable that he escaped every species of persecution. In
the year 1546, Cardinal Beaton, a prelate whose glaring
vices were redeemed by very few virtues, was murdered in
his own castle by a band of conspirators, who were partly
instigated by private animosity, partly by public spirit, and
who must all have been accustomed to contemplate with¬
out compunction this desperate method of inflicting punish¬
ment or perpetrating revenge. They were possessed of
sufficient resources to garrison the castle of St Andrews,
and to defend it against the royal forces for the space of
fourteen months. To this strong hold John Knox repaired
at Easter 1547 ; and at a conference which was there held,
Lindsay was one of those who recommended the ordina¬
tion of this distinguished individual,1 in whom his pene¬
tration had doubtless discovered that energy of mind which
qualified him for the arduous task that he was destined to
perform.
The period of Lindsay’s decease has not been ascertain¬
ed. On the 17th of January 1555 we find him holding a
chapter of heralds, for the purpose of investigating certain
charges against a messenger-at-arms. He appears, accord¬
ing to one account, to have died between this period and
the year 1558. As he died without issue, his estates de¬
scended to his brother Alexander; and they have long
ceased to be inherited by the family of Lindsay.
Beside his poetical works, the chief foundation of his
fame, he composed several others of less general interest.
The nature of his office directed his attention to a species
of knowledge which human folly has dignified with the
name of science; and on the subject of heraldry he has left
two different productions, one of which still continues in
manuscript,2 and the other, a curious collection of Blazon-
ings, has lately been given to the public.3 Bale informs
us that he composed “ Acta sui Temporis,”4 and Macken¬
zie affirms that he was the author of a history of Scotland.
For this statement he quotes the authority of Robert Lind¬
say of Pitscottie ; who however refers to Sir David Lind¬
say, the knight of the Mount, and other individuals, as
those from whom he had derived private information. Dr
Leyden supposes Lindsay to be the author of the Com-
playnt of Scotland ; but we have never yet met with a sin¬
gle enquirer who professed to be convinced by his argu¬
ments.
It is the poetry of Lindsay that chiefly recommends him
to our notice, and he appears with no inconsiderable dis¬
tinction in the literary annals of his country. Vernacular
poetry was most successfully cultivated in Scotland when
it was in a great measure neglected in England. An
English critic of unquestionable taste has remarked that
“ the interval between the reigns of Henry V. and Henry
VIII. which comprehends near a century, although uncom¬
monly rich in Scotch poets of distinguished excellence,
does not furnish us with a single name among the natives Lindsay,
of England deserving of much notice.’’5 When England ^
produced only obscure versifiers, Scotland could boast of
King James, Henry the Minstrel, Henryson, Dunbar,
Douglas, Lindsay, and various other writers of genius.
Sir David Lindsay has written so many verses that they
cannot always be expected to reach a very high standard :
his works indeed exhibit considerable inequalities; but
where they are not distinguished by any superior force of
imagination, they are often entertaining by their strokes
of humour, or instructive by their views of life and man¬
ners. He was evidently a man of sense and observation,
with serious impressions of virtue and piety ; nor was he
destitute of those higher powers of mind which enable a
writer to communicate his ideas with effect. He frequent¬
ly displays no mean vivacity of fancy ; and the extensive
and continued popularity to which he attained, must have
rested on some solid foundation. Many of his poems have
a satirical tendency ; and the freedom with which he ex¬
poses vice, even when it belongs to royalty, has stamped
his works with the character of intrepid sincerity. Of
the state of society and manners, Lindsay presents us with
many curious pictures ; and although his delineations are
sometimes extremely coarse, they are not on that account
to be considered as less faithful. In this respect, his writ¬
ings possess a peculiar value, and ought to be carefully
examined by those who particularly direct their attention
to the history of that period. The author’s talents seem
to have been cultivated with considerable assiduity: he
was much conversant in history and divinity ; and his know¬
ledge of Latin writers, ancient as well as modern, was ap¬
parently respectable. His acquaintance with Grecian li¬
terature may perhaps be called in question : he denomi¬
nates Hesiod the sovereign poet of Greece; a character
which he could scarcely be expected to receive from any
person acquainted with the language of Homer. Lindsay’s
versification is generally distinguished by its ease and
fluency. His style often rises to a considerable degree of
elegance, but on many occasions is overloaded with ex¬
traneous terms. This vicious taste was indeed too preva¬
lent in both kingdoms: Hoccleve, Lydgate, and other
successors of Chaucer, who possessed but a small portion
of Chaucer’s genius, endeavoured to render their diction
poetical by the easy expedient of garnishing it with af¬
fected words, chiefly polysyllables of Latin origin; and
the manner in which those words were applied, imparted
a vague and tautological character to their most elaborate
compositions. Dunbar, Douglas, and Lindsay were all
infected with the prevailing taste, and have all exhibited
specimens of this vitiated style. “ It does not,” says Dr
Nott, “ occur so frequently in Lindsay as in his contem¬
poraries, because perhaps his subjects were mostly those
of common life. Still, as it is to be found in those pas¬
sages which aspire to elevation of thought, we must con¬
clude him to have considered it the proper language of
the higher walks of poetry.”6 This remark might be veri¬
fied by many quotations from his poems ; where we find
mindeligt Litteraturlexicon for Danmark, Norge, og Island, S. 367- Kidbenhavn, 1820, 4to.) He was respected for his learning, and
is the author of some professional tracts, which are enumerated by these literary historians. His son Christian Machabaeus, born at
Wittemberg in 1541, published several Latin works in prose and verse. His last preferment was a prebend at Lund, where he died
in 1598.
1 Knox’s Historic of the Ileformatioun of Religioun, p. 67-
2 Both his MSS. are preserved in the Advocates Library. That which is still unpublished bears the following inscription in the
hand-writing of Sir James Balfour: “ Collectanea Domini Dauidis Lindesay de Mounthe, Militis, Leonis Armorum liegis.” Of
this heraldic compilation a copious specimen has been inserted in Dr Leyden’s Dissertation on the Complaynt of Scotland, p. 55.
There is another MS. which the catalogue ascribes to the same author, but which evidently belongs to one of his successors.
3 Fac-Simile of an ancient Heraldic Manuscript, emblazoned by Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount, Lyon King of Armes, 1542.
Edinb. 1822, fol.
4 Balei Scriptores Britanniae, cent. xiv. p. 224.
5 Ellis’s Specimens of the Early English Poets, vol. i. p. 316.
b Nott’s Dissertation on the State of English Poetry before the Sixteenth Century, p. cxcii.
356 LINDSAY.
Lindsay, such terms as formose, matutyne, mansweit, prepotent,
consuetude, celsitude, pulchritude, immundicitie, and many
others of a similar denomination.
The longest of his poems is entitled “ Ane Dialog be-
twix Experience and ane Courteour, of the miserabill
Estait of the Warld.” This poem, which is otherwise de¬
scribed as the Monarchic, is indeed of great length: it is
not however, as has sometimes been asserted, a tedious
detail of well-known events, but a work replete with vari¬
ous learning, and enlivened by the remarks of an acute
and reflecting mind. It appears to have been composed
when the author had reached an advanced age, and may
therefore be regarded as the result of much reflection on
human life. It has been unfaithfully characterized as a
meagre compendium of universal history : the poet’s prin¬
cipal object is not to detail events, but, by referring to
the great occurrences recorded in sacred and profane his¬
tory, to illustrate general positions; and notwithstanding
the great extent of his work, he can seldom be considered
as languid or tedious. A Latin translation of the Mo¬
narchic was undertaken by David Carnegie of Aberdeen,
who did not however live to complete the task.1 The
poem was translated into English, and repeatedly printed
in London ; and, along with other works of the author,
was translated into Danish, and published at Copenhagen
in the year 1591. The process of converting Lindsay’s
compositions into this language was somewhat peculiar:
they were first translated into Latin prose by Andrew
Robertson, and were afterwards translated into Danish
verse by Jacob Mattsson.2
Lindsay’s Dreme, which is supposed to be his earliest,
has likewise been regarded as his most poetical composi¬
tion. In the opinion of Warton, the prologue to this
poem evinces strong talents for high description and rich
imagery. His Complaynt, which is likewise addressed to
the king, is a valuable and interesting production: it ex¬
hibits some lively sketches of the author’s personal for¬
tunes, of the prevalent manners of the times, and of the
early history of James the Fifth. The mode in which
the tender age of this hopeful prince was corrupted by the
designing profligacy of his attendants, is painted in strik¬
ing colours ; and although the information is conveyed in
rhyme, it seems to be nearly allied to historical accuracy.
James was possessed of superior talents, and of a disposi¬
tion capable of receiving a virtuous direction ; but his edu¬
cation was interrupted at a critical period, and he was
early initiated in vice by those who by every tie of de¬
cency were bound to inculcate the lessons of virtue. The
king was himself a lover of poetry, and his court was fre¬
quented by poets: Lindsay and Bellenden belonged to
the royal household ; and he had sufficient discernment to
appoint Buchanan the tutor of one of his natural sons.
From Lindsay’s “ Answer to the Kingis Flyting,” it ap¬
pears that James was a writer of verses : he begins by
stating that he had read his majesty’s ragment, and pro¬
ceeds to compliment him on his “ ornate meter, pro- Lindsar.
claiming him the prince of poetry.
The “ Supplication directit to the Kingis Grace, in con-
temptioun of side Taillis,” is at least conspicuous for the
author’s zeal as a reformer of manners. He seems to have
contemplated long trains and veiled faces with an unne¬
cessary degree of alarm ; but, like a good Christian, he
recollected that a long train proceeds from pride, and
pride from the devil. He is chiefly scandalized at observ¬
ing nuns and other religious persons followed by train-
bearers. Nor is he less offended with the “ muzzled faces”
of the ladies. The queen is the only female whom he
proposes to exempt from the necessity of shewing her
face and curtailing her gown. Kitteis Confession, another
of his satirical poems, contains many happy strokes of hu¬
mour. It is directed against auricular confession, a copi¬
ous source of priestly influence; and the practice is ex¬
posed with equal pungency and good sense. The damsel
remarks that her ghostly instructor gave her no injunc¬
tions to lead a holy life, and to confide in the merits of
Christ, but only to follow certain external observances, of
which she ventures to doubt the efficacy :
Bot gave me pennance ilk ane day,
And Ave Marie for to say.
And fry day is fyve na fische to eit—
Bot butter and eggis ar better meit;
And with ane plak to by ane messe
Fra drunkin Schir Jhone Latynlesse.
The sanctified lasciviousness of the father confessor is. de¬
picted with no unskilful pencil. But the impurities of
the Romish church were exposed to a more formidable
attack, in “ The Testament and Complaynt of our So-
verane Lordis Papingo;” a singular performance, in which
he admonishes the king and his courtiers, and exposes the
corrupt doctrines and vicious lives of the clergy. “ In
the course of the poem before us,” says Mr Warton, “ an
allegory on the corruptions of the church is introduced,
not destitute of invention, humour, and elegance; but
founded on one of the weak theories of Wicklifle, who, not
considering religion as reduced to a civil establishment,
and because Christ and his apostles were poor, imagined
that secular possessions were inconsistent with the simpli¬
city of the gospel.” 3 But if we recollect what precious
fruits both Wycliffe and Lindsay had seen produced by
this civil establishment of religion, it is by no means won¬
derful that they should have adopted such a theory. The
clergy enjoyed a very large proportion of the wealth of
both kingdoms, and they doubtless exhibited different
degrees of piety and learning; but it cannot be denied
that their profligacy bore some proportion to their opu¬
lence, and that true and vital religion, that religion which
affects the heart and influences the conduct, was in a great
measure supplanted by idle and unavailing ceremonies.
In the Tragedie of the Cardinall, this zealous reformer
still prosecutes the same design. The plan of the poem
1 Gray, Oratio de illustribus Scoriae Scriptoribus, p. xxxi.
2 Diaiogvs, eller en Samtale imellom Forfarenhed oc en HofFtienere, om Yerdens elendige Vaesen, oc begribis vdi fire Bbger om
Monarchier: fordum screffuen paa Skotske, aff velbyrdige Herre Herr Dauid Lyndsay, Bidder de Monte, etc. oc nu nylige transfe-
rerit aff Skotske Maal paa Latine ved Anders Robertson, fodt i Aberdijn i Skotland, oc siden aff Latine paa Danske Rijm ved Jacob
Mattssbn Kibbenhaffn, o. s. v. Prentit i Kibbenhaffh, 1591, 4to—This very curious volume includes a translation of the Monarchic,
the Dreme, the Complaynt, the Testament and Complaynt of the Papingo, the Tragedie of the Cardinall, and the Deploratioun of
Quene Magdalene. Robertson has prefixed a preface, which is chiefly derived from that of Charteris ; and he has adopted the Scotish
printer’s Adhortatioun, with some slight adaptations to the Danish public. From the peculiar process followed in this translation,
we can scarcely expect it to be uniformly correct. Charteris, in his preface, mentions the execution of “ the vicar of Dolour, hreir
Kelour,” and others. Friar Kelour was no doubt translated by Robertson Frater ivelour; Mattssbn has translated it “hans Broder
Kelour,” and thus we have the vicar of Dollar and his brother. Andrew Robertson was a native of Aberdeen, and prosecuted his
studies in the university of Copenhagen. He is the author of some Latin poems, which have escaped the notice of Nyerup. (Al-
mendeligt Litteraturlexicon for Danmark, Norge, og Island, S. 499.) The name of Jacob Mattssbn or Madsen occurs in the history
of Danish poetry written by Nyerup and Rahbek. (Bidrag til den Danske Digtekunsts Historie, Bind ii. S. 88. Kibbenhavn,
1800-19,5 Bind. 8vo.)
3 Warton’s History of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 149.
*1
L I N D S A Y.
357
Linctiy. bears some resemblance to that which was afterwards
^-'adopted in the Myrrour for Magistrates. As the author,
after the hour of prime, is sitting in his oratory and read¬
ing the work of Boccaccio De Casibus Virorum illustrium,
he suddenly perceives the figure of a wounded man, with
pale visage and deadly cheer. This visitor, who proves
to be the ghost of Cardinal Beaton, entreats him to com¬
mit his tragic story to writing; and on his assenting to
this proposal, the woe-begone cardinal begins a relation of
the principal events of his wicked life ; but the story is not
told with much elegance or energy.
Lindsay has evinced his humour and good sense in ri¬
diculing practices of another kind. One of the most bar¬
barous usages connected with chivalry was the exhibition
of tournaments, in which it frequently happened that the
valiant knights displayed their courage and address at the
expense of their lives ; and the ladies of the middle ages
attended these spectacles with nearly as little compunction
as the ladies of the present age attend the representation
of a tragedy at Drury Lane. It was however during the
decline of chivalry that Lindsay produced his facetious ac¬
count of “ The Justing betwix Watsoun and Barbour.”
He represents this justing to have taken place at St An¬
drews between two gentlemen of the king’s household :
they are both described as adepts in physic; and as envy
is apt to arise among those who follow the same calling,
the subject of the poem was probably suggested by the
feuds and jealousies which subsisted between these gentle
leeches.
One of the author’s most entertaining works is the His-
torie of Squyer Meldrum, which is to be considered as a
tale of chivalry, although the champion and the poet flou¬
rished at the same period. Lindsay professes to have de¬
rived some part of his information from the hero of his
story ; and the romantic adventures of William Meldrum
were yet fresh in the recollection of his countrymen. By
assimilating him to the heroes of classical antiquity and of
more recent romance, he has imparted to his work a cer¬
tain air of fiction. With the romantic he has occasion¬
ally blended a sufficient mixture of the ludicrous. It is
nevertheless to be presumed that much of his narrative is
substantially true; and some parts of it can be verified
from other authorities. After the exploits of his youth,
the heroic squire fixed his residence in Fife, where he pos¬
sessed an estate, and was appointed the deputy of Patrick
Lord Lindsay, sheriff of that county. Here he is said to
have administered justice in an exemplary manner, and to
have dispensed physic as well as law to the poor. The
desperate wounds which he himself had received directed
his attention to the healing art; and as ardour was the es- Lindsay,
sence of his character, he seems to have engaged in this new
pursuit with his wonted enthusiasm. It is therefore evi¬
dent that the squire was a person of a very singular cha¬
racter, and his exploits have furnished his friend, the knight
of the Mount, with materials for a long and entertaining
poem. In the course of his adventures, Meldrum arrives
at a castle in Stratherne, and falls in love with its beauti-
full owner, a young widow, who had been married to his
own relation, apparently a cousin. Being conducted to his
bedchamber, he continues to meditate on her charms, and
at length begins to vent his passion in loud ejaculations:
from her own apartment the lady overhears this soliloquy
of her heroic guest, and speedily arrives at the conclusion
that such ardent love ought to be duly requited. We
learn from Lindsay of Pitscottie that she bore him two chil¬
dren, and their marriage wras only deferred till they should
obtain a dispensation from the pope ; for her deceased hus¬
band was related to the squire within the prohibited de¬
grees.1 It does not however appear that the dispensation
was ever obtained ; and in the mean time “ a gentleman
called Luke Stirling, envied this love and marriage betwixt
thir two persons, thinking to have the gentlewoman to him¬
self in marriage, because he knew the laird might not have
the pope’s licence by the laws: therefore he solisted his
brother’s son, the laird of Keir, with a certain company of
armed men, to set upon the laird of Binns, to take this lady
from him by way of deed ; and, to that effect, followed him
betwixt Leith and Edinburgh, and set on him beneath the
Rood chapel with fifty armed men ; and he again defended
him with five in number, and fought cruelly with them,
and slew the laird of Keir’s principal servant before his
face, defending himself, and hurt the laird, that he was in
peril of his life, and twenty-six of his men hurt and slain;
yet, through multiplication of his enemies, he was overset
and driven to the earth, and left lying for dead, bought of
his legs, and stricken through the body, and the knops of
his elbows stricken from him. Yet, by the mighty power
of God, he escaped the death, and all his men that were
with him, and lived fifty years thereafter.”2
But the most remarkable of Lindsay’s productions still
remains unnoticed ; namely, his “ Satyre of the thrie Es-
taits, in commendation of vertew and vituperation of vyce.”
Of the genuine Scotish drama this is the earliest specimen
that is now to be found. It does not appear that he was
the author of any other work of this description, though it
is probable that the same play was somewhat modified for
different representations. This play is said to have been
acted at Cupar in the year 1535; and it appears to have
1 In the civil law there were various fluctuations with respect to the marriages of cousins-german ; and the reader, who is desirous
of prosecuting such researches, will find ample information in the dissertation of Gothofredus, De Nuptiis Consobrinorum, subjoined
to his edition of Philostorgii Historia Ecclesiastica, Genevae, 1643, 4to, and in Otto’s Dissertationes Juris Publici et Privati, p. 79-
Traj. ad Ithen. 1723, 4to. The law of Justinian stood thus : “ Duorum autem fratrum vel sororum liberi, vel fratris et sororis, jungi
possunt.” (Inst. lib. i. tit. 10. § 4.) The canon law has adopted a different doctrine : prohibitions introduce the necessity of dispen¬
sations ; dispensations increase the influence and the emoluments of the church. It even prohibits the marriage of third-cousins;
and, as we have seen in the case of Squire Meldrum, extends its rule to affinity as well as consanguinity. To this discrepancy between
the civil and the canon law, as Dr Wood has suggested, we may trace the origin of a vulgar notion, still prevalent in this kingdom,
that first-cousins may marry, but second-cousins may not. (Institute of the Civil Law, p. 47.) In computing the degrees ot con¬
sanguinity in the transverse line, the civil and the canon law follow very different methods. The rule of the civil law is, that there
are as many degrees as persons, exclusively of the common stock ; that of the canon law, that degrees of consanguinity are to be reck¬
oned by the number of descents in one line ; and where the lines are unequal, the canonist takes the longer ot the two. The canon
law prohibits marriages in the fourth, the civil law permits them in the same degree; or, in other words, the one law prohibits the
marriages of third-cousins, and the other permits the marriages of first-cousins. It may not be superfluous to mention that the
earlier canonists differed from each other in one point: “ Alii namque patrem in primo gradu, filios in secundo ponunt. Alii pri-
mum gradum filios appellant.” (Decretum, p. 2. c. 35. qu. 2 & 3. § 21.) But the decision of pope Alexander the Second, that two
degrees in the civil law make one in the canon law, has been generally adopted by later writers. “ Qui tamen parens,” says Canisius,
“ gradum non efficit, sed ipsius filius et filia primum gradum constituunt; et ex his filius et filia secundum gradum.” (Summa
Juris Canonici, lib. ii. tit. xii. § 9.) This decision is however overlooked by Dr Taylor, who describes first-cousins as standing in the
third degree of consanguinity, according to the computation of the canon law. (Elements of the Civil Law, p. 331.)
2 Lindsay’s Hist, of Scotland, p. 129. Edinb. 1728, fol—This fair lady was “ called the Lady Gleneagies, who was daughter to
Mr. Richard Lawson of Humby, provost of Edinburgh; the which lady had born to this laird two bairns, and [he] intended to marry
her, if he might have had the pope’s licence, because her husband before and he were sib.”
358 L I N
Lindsay, been acted before the king and his court at Linlithgow
^in the year 1539. It was likewise “ playit beside Edin¬
burgh, in presence of the quene regent and ane greit
part of the nobilitie, with ane exceiding greit nowmer
of pepill, lestand fra nyne houris afoir none, till six houris
at euin.” Spectators wTio retain their places for the
space of nine hours, must certainly meet with no slight
degree of entertainment; but it appears from one of the
stage-directions that the play was divided into two parts,
and that they had thus an opportunity of taking some re¬
freshment during a short pause in the representation. Lind¬
say’s Satyre of the thrie Estaits is a morality, containing a
mixture of real and allegorical characters, and cannot there¬
fore be expected to exhibit a succession of very probable
incidents. It however exhibits some curious germs of the
dramatic art; and in reference to those to whom it was ori¬
ginally addressed, it must be regarded as a powerful satire.
The principal burden of his satire falls upon the ecclesias¬
tics. It contains an extraordinary mixture of piety and
obscenity; and without approaching to the model of a re¬
gular drama, it furnishes many unequivocal proofs of the
author’s ingenuity. As a dramatic composition, it is not
necessary to specify its defects, which are indeed sufficient¬
ly obvious: Lindsay must however be compared, not with
the poets of a later age, but with those of his own ; the
contemporary history of English poetry presents to us no
dramatic work equal to the Satyre of the thrie Estaits. Of
this play there is an appendage, apparently written by the
same author, which yet remains to be noticed : it is en¬
titled the “ Proclamatioun of the Play, maid be Dauid Lind¬
say.” This proclamation is itself a dramatic entertainment,
consisting of a few pages, and intended to announce that
the play was to be acted on the castle-hill of Cupar on a
particular day. Newspapers and play-bills were not then
invented ; and this was evidently a device for collecting a
crowd of people on the market-day, in order to disperse the
intelligence.
Sir David Lindsay has now maintained his popularity for
the space of three hundred years, and his works have been
printed in a great variety of forms. The last edition, which
makes very extraordinary pretensions to general erudition
and to particular accuracy, was published by Mr George
Chalmers. Lond. 1806, 3 vols. 8vo. The editor displays
a modesty of disposition and an elegance of taste, which
are only surpassed by the suavity of his manner and the
profundity of his learning. All these topics might afford
scope for illustration, but we shall at present confine our¬
selves to the subject of his erudition, which has been high¬
ly extolled by writers nearly as learned as himself. The
following line occurs in Ketteis Confession.
Thocht Codrus kyte suld cleue and birst.
“ I know not,” says the accomplished editor, “ if there be
any allusion here to either of the Codruses, who are feign¬
ed by poets : Lindsay may have alluded to Urceus Co¬
drus, an Italian professor, and poet, of a singular character,
who died, in 1500.” Vol. ii. p. 214. But if his classical
studies had ever proceeded so far as the seventh eclogue
of Virgil, he would have had no difficulty in discovering to
which “ of the Codruses” the poet alludes.
Pastores, hedera crescentem ornate poetam,
Arcades, invidia rumpantur ut ilia Codro.
In vol. i. p. 81. we find the subsequent remarks : “ Coc-
burn’s Meditatio was printed at St Andrews, by Jhone
Scot, in 1555. He calls himself Johannis Scot, in the
titlepage, and Johannes Scott, in the colophon.” This
change from Johannis to Johannes we can undertake to
L I N
explain: the title bears “ex typographia Johannis Scot,’’ LindseT
and the colophon, “ excudebat Joannes Scott.” The nume- I! ’
rous works of this writer betray such a radical ignorance of Hindus. ,
the Latin language, that we have no doubt of his intend-
ing to express his surprise at the variation of the genitive
from the nominative case. In another publication, he enu¬
merates “ Cicero’s Epistles de Senectute, de Amicitio;
Terence’s Comedies and Elegies ; Ovid’s Tristium.” After
meeting with these specimens of his scholarship, we are
sufficiently prepared for his commentary on another pass¬
age of Lindsay, which alludes to the pretensions of the pope.
His style at lenth gif thow wald knaw,
Thow moste ga luke the cannon law :
Baith in the Sext and Clementene
His staitlie style thair may be sene.
“ The allusion,” he is pleased to inform his readers, “is
to the Works of Pomponius Sextus, the great jurist of the
3d century.” Vol. iii. p. 89. Pomponius did not flourish
in the third, but in the second century : if however he had
actually written in the third century, how could he have
illustrated the temporal power and splendour of the pope,
before Christianity was established in the Roman empire?
The Sext to which Lindsay alludes is “ Liber sextus De-
cretalium,” a portion of the Corpus Juris Canonici. See
above, vol. vi. p. 94. A further specimen of this editor’s
acquaintance with literary and ecclesiastical history oc¬
curs in the following passage: “We may infer, that the
Calvinists were not yet known, as a sect.” Vol. i. p. 425.
Certainly we may infer that the Calvinists were utterly
unknown as a sect in 1535, inasmuch as Calvin, the foun¬
der of that sect, did not become a minister and professor
at Geneva till the ensuing year.1 (x.)
LINDSEY, the third and largest division of the coun¬
ty of Lincoln, in England. On the east and north it is
washed by the sea, into which it runs out with a large
front; on the west it has Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire,
from which it is parted by the rivers Trent and Dun; on
the south it has Kestoven, from which it is separated by
the river Witham and the Foss-dyke, which is seven miles
long, and wras cut by Henry I. between the Witham and
the Trent, for the convenience of carriage in those parts.
It derived its name from Lincoln, the capital of the county,
which stands in it, and by the Romans was called Lindum,
by the Britons Lindcoite, by the Saxons Lindo-collyne, pro¬
bably from its situation on a hill, and the lakes or woods
that were anciently thereabouts; but the Normans called
it Nichol.
LINDUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Rhodes, si¬
tuated on a hill on the western side of the island. It was
built by Tlepolemus the son of Hercules, according to
Diodorus Siculus; but by one of the Heliades, grandsons
of the Sun, named Lindus, according to Strabo. It was
the native place of Cleobulus, one of the wise men. Here
was the famous temple of the Lindian Minerva, built by
the daughters of Danaus. Cadmus enriched this temple
with many splendid offerings. The citizens dedicated and
hung up here the seventh of Pindar’s Olympic odes, written
in letters of gold. The ruins of that superb edifice are
still to be seen upon the top of a high hill which overlooks
the sea. Some remains of the walls, consisting of stones
of an enormous size, still show that it had been built in the
Cyclopian style.
Lindo, the modern city, stands at the foot of the hill.
A bay of considerable wideness and depth serves as a har¬
bour to the city. Ships find good anchorage there in
twenty fathoms water. They are safely sheltered from the
south-west wands, which constantly prevail during the se-
Bayle, Dictionaire Historique et Critique, tom. i. p. 729.
L I N
L I N
359
e vere season of the year. In the beginning of winter, they
cast anchor off a small village named Massary. Before the
n- building of Rhodes, Lindus was the harbour which re-
ceived the fleets of Egypt and of Tyre ; and it was enriched
by commerce. Mr Savary observes, that a judicious govern ¬
ment, by taking advantage of its harbour and happy situa¬
tion, might yet restore it to a flourishing state.
LINE, in Geometry, a quantity extended in length only,
without breadth or thickness. It is formed by the flux or
motion of a point.
Line, in the art of war, is understood of the disposition
of an army ranged in order of battle, with the front ex¬
tended out, so that it may not be flanked.
Like of Battle, is also understood of the disposition of a
fleet in the day of engagement; on which occasion the
vessels are usually drawn up as much as possible in a
straight line, as well to gain and keep the advantage of the
wind, as to run the same board. See Naval Tactics.
Horizontal Line, in Geography and Astronomy, a line
drawn parallel to the horizon of any part of the earth.
Equinoctial Line, in Geography, is a great circle on the
earth’s surface, exactly at the distance of 90° from each of
the poles, and of consequence bisecting the earth in that
part. From this imaginary line, the degrees of longitude
and latitude are reckoned. In astronomy, the equinoctial
line is that circle which the sun seems to describe round the
earth on the days of the equinox in March and September.
Meridian Line, is an imaginary circle drawn through
the two poles of the earth and any part of its surface.
Ship of the Line, a vessel large enough to be drawn up
in the line of battle, and to have a place in a sea-fight.
Line, in Genealogy, a series or succession of relations
in various degrees, all descending from the same common
father.
Lines, in Heraldry, the figures used in armories to divide
the shield into different parts, and to compose different
figures. These lines, according to their different forms and
names, give denomination to the pieces or figures which
they form, except the straight or plain lines.
LINEAMENT, amongst painters, is used for the out¬
lines of a face.
LINEAR Numbers, in Mathematics, such as have re¬
lation to length only ; like a number which represents one
side of a plain figure. If the plain figure be a square, the
linear figure is called a root.
Linear Problem, that which may be solved geometri¬
cally by the intersection of two right lines. This is called
a simple problem, and is capable of but one solution.
LINEN (in German, linnen, leinwand), a species of cloth
usually made of thread of flax, but sometimes also of hemp.
Linen seems to have been known and manufactured in
Egypt from the earliest times, and used, if not as an arti¬
cle of ordinary dress, at least in swathing the bodies of the
dead. But it was not worn by the Jews, the Greeks, or
the Romans, under tunics of a finer texture having amongst
them supplied the place of shirts ; and hence the necessity
of frequent bathing. Alexander Severus was the first Ro¬
man emperor who wore linen ; but the use of this neces¬
sary article did not become common until long after his
time.
The manufacture of this commodity has been prosecut¬
ed in England for a very long period, probably since the
time of the Romans ; but though its progress has been con¬
siderable, particularly within the last twenty or thirty years,
it has not been so great as might have been anticipated.
This is no doubt to be ascribed partly to the efforts which
have been made to encourage and bolster up the manufac¬
ture in Ireland and Scotland, and partly to the rapid growth
of the cotton manufacture, the fabrics of which have to a
considerable extent supplanted those of linen.
In 1698, both houses of parliament addressed the king, Linen.
William III., representing that the progress of the woollen
manufacture of Ireland was such as to prejudice that of
England, and that it would be for the public advantage
were the former discouraged, and the linen manufacture
established in its stead. His majesty replied that he would
do all that in him lay to discourage the woollen manufac¬
ture in Ireland, to encourage the linen manufacture, and
to promote the trade of England. Nothing can be more
strikingly characteristic of the erroneous and illiberal no¬
tions which were then entertained respecting the plainest
principles of public economy, than this address, and the an¬
swer made to it by the sovereign. But whatever the peo¬
ple of Ireland might think of the king of England delibe¬
rately avowing his determination to do all in his power to
crush a manufacture in which they had made considerable
progress, government had no difficulty in prevailing upon
the legislature of that country to second their views, by pro¬
hibiting the exportation of all woollen goods from Ireland,
except to England, where prohibitory duties were already im¬
posed on the importation of such goods. The parliament and
government of England, however, though anxious to protect
the woollen manufacture of that country, never discovered
any backwardness to promote the linen trade of Ireland; and
ever since the reign of W illiam III. it has been the object
of regulation and encouragement. It may indeed be doubt¬
ed w hether the regulations in question have always been
the most judicious that might have been devised, and whe¬
ther Ireland has really been benefited by the forced exten¬
sion of the linen manufacture. Mr Young and Mr Wake¬
field both contend that the extension of the linen manu¬
facture has not been advantageous to that country; and it
seems to be sufficiently established, that though the manu¬
facture might not have been so widely diffused, it would
have been in a sounder and more healthy state had it been
less the subject of legislative interference.
Besides premiums and encouragements of various kinds,
bounties were granted on the exportation of linen from an
early period down to the year 1830. In 1829, for instance,
notwithstanding the bounty had then been very much reduc¬
ed, it amounted to about L.300,000, or nearly one-seventh
of the declared value of the linen exported in that year. It
would be difficult to imagine a greater abuse than this.
Such a bounty, instead of promoting the manufacture, ren¬
dered those engaged in it comparatively indifferent to im¬
provements ; and, though it had been otherwise, the policy
of persisting, during more than a century, in supplying fo¬
reigners with linens for less than they cost, cannot possibly
be defended. There is no reason to doubt, that were the
various sums expended in well-meant but useless attempts
to force this manufacture, added together with their ac¬
cumulations at simple interest, they would be found suffi¬
cient to yield an annual revenue little if at all inferior to
the entire value of the linens which we now send abroad.
In fact, the business never began to do any real good, or to
take firm root, until this manufacture ceased to be a do¬
mestic one, and was carried on principally in mills, and by
the aid of machinery ; a change which the forcing system,
so long pursued, tended to counteract. The only real and
effective legislative encouragement which the manufac¬
ture has ever met with, has been the reduction of the
duties upon flax and hemp, and the relinquishment of the
absurd attempts made to force the growth of these raw
commodities at home.
The following table, which it is to be regretted the parlia¬
mentary accounts do not furnish the means of continuing
to the present day, exhibits an account of the quality
and value of the linens exported from Ireland, during a
period of nearly thirty years, from 1800 to 1829 both in¬
clusive.
LINEN.
360
Linen.
Years.
1800
1802
1804
1806
1808
1810
1812
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
To Great Britain.
Yards.
31,978,039
33,246,943
39,837,101
35,245,280
41,958*719
32,584,545
33,320,767
39,539,443
37,986,359
42,330,118
50,288,842
44,746,354
34,957,396
40,318,270
45,519,509
43,226,710
48,066,591
46,466,950
52,559,678
The exportations to Great
Britain cannot be ascertained
for these years, the cross¬
channel trade having been as-
similateJ by law to a coasting
traffic-
To Foreign Parts.
Yards.
2,585,829
2.368.911
3,303,528
3,880,961
2,033,367
4,313,725
2,524,686
3,463,783
5,496,206
3,399,511
5,941,733
6,178,954
2,683,855
3,294,948
4,011,630
3,374,993
3,196,006
3,026,427
2,553,587
2,726,297
4,284,566
3.214.911
2,386,223
Total.
34,563,868
35,615,854
43.140.629
39,126,241
43,992,086
36,898,270
35,845,453
43,003,226
43,482,565
45.729.629
56,230,575
50,925,308
37,641,251
43,613,218
49,531,139
46,601,703
51,235,597
49,493,377
55,113,265
Amount of Bounty paid
in Ireland on Linen ex¬
ported to Foreign Parts.
10,545
15,668
6,740
16,448
11,548
17,231
17,430
12,082
21,524
28,848
16,177
11,928
18,218
17,112
17,765
17.114
12,015
10,249
12.114
9,494
6,886
d.
2 2
4 6
16 0
19 9
3 4
14 11
17 3
6 4
15 41
6 2
8 31
9 11“
19 2f
9 2
5 10
13 101
9 61
17 9
0 8
7 5
1 11
Linen,
Of these exports more than twelve-thirteenths have
been to Great Britain. The total average exportation
during the three years ending with 1825, was 51,947,413
yards, of which 49,031,073 were sent to this country; the
exports to all other parts being only 2,916,340 yards.
Since 1825, the trade between Ireland and Great Britain
has been placed on the footing of a coasting trade, so that
linens are now exported and imported without any speci¬
fic entry at the Custom-house.
In 1727, a board of trustees was established in Scot¬
land for the superintendence and improvement of the
linen manufacture. It is not probable that the institution
of this board could of itself have been of any material
service ; but considerable bounties and premiums being at
the same time given on the production and exportation
of linen, the manufacture went on increasing. Still it did
not increase as fast as cotton and some others, which re¬
ceived no adventitious support, until machinery began to
be extensively employed in the manufacture; and hence
it is doubtful whether the influence of the bounty has
been as great as it might at first view appear to have been.
The regulations as to the manufacture, after having been
long objected to by those concerned in it, were abolished
in 1822; and the bounties have in like manner ceased.
Dundee is the principal seat of the Scottish linen manu¬
facture, and its progress there has latterly been extraordi¬
nary. The manufacture appears to have been introduced
into Dundee about the beginning of the last century ; but
for a long period its progress was comparatively slow. In
the year 1745, the quantity of flax imported amounted
only to seventy-four tons, without any hemp; and the
shipments of linen cloth, during the same year, were esti¬
mated at about 1,000,000 yards; but no mention is made
either of sail-cloth or of bagging. In 1791, the imports
of flax amounted to 2444 tons, and those of hemp to 299
tons ; whilst the exports of that year were 7,842,000
yards of linen, 280,000 yards of sail-cloth, and 65,000
yards of bagging. From this period the trade began to
extend itself gradually. Previously to the peace of 1815,
no great quantity of machinery had been employed in
spinning; but about this period, the trade began to in¬
crease rapidly, partly in consequence of the improvement
of the machinery, and its extensive employment in the
manufacture, and partly also from the greater regulari¬
ty with which supplies of raw material were obtained
from the northern powers. Indeed its progress has been
quite astonishing; the imports of flax having risen from
3000 tons in 1814, to 15,000 tons in 1830. The exports
of manufactured goods have increased in a corresponding
ratio. During the year ending on the 31st of May 1831,
there were imported into Dundee 15,010 tons of flax, and
3082 of hemp ; and there were shipped off 366,817 pieces,
being about 50,000,000 yards, of linen; 85,522 pieces, or
about 3,500,000 yards, of sail-cloth ; and about 4,000,000
yards of bagging; making a total of about 57,500,000
yards. In the year ending on the 31st of May 1833, the
imports of flax amounted to 18,777 tons, besides 3380
tons of hemp. The shipments of linen, sail-cloth, and
bagging, increased in a corresponding ratio, and were this
year valued at L.1,600,000.
It appears, therefore, that the shipments of linen from
this single port are as great as those from all Ireland;
and whilst the manufacture has been tardily progressive
in the latter, it has advanced in Dundee with even great¬
er rapidity than the cotton manufacture at Manchester.
It is not easy to account, in a satisfactory manner, for
this wonderful advancement. Something must be ascribed
to the convenient situation of the port for obtaining sup¬
plies of the raw material from the north of Europe; and
more, perhaps, to the manufacture having been long es¬
tablished in the towns and villages of Strathmore, the
Carse of Gowrie, and the northern parts of Fife, of which
Dundee is the emporium. But these circumstances do
not seem adequate to explain the pre-eminence which this
place has recently attained in the linen manufacture; a
superiority which must, we think, be ascribed, partly to a
concurrence of fortunate accidents, and partly to the in¬
creased skill, enterprise, and capital of the manufacturers.
From whatever causes this pre-eminence may have in the
first instance arisen, it is obvious, however, that, having
once been attained by any place like Dundee, it must be
exceedingly difficult for others to come into competition
LINEN.
with its manufacturers, who have on their side establish¬
ed connections, workmen of superior skill and dexterity,
improved machinery, and constantly accumulating capital.
Recently, indeed, the advantages possessed by old estab¬
lishments have, to a considerable extent, been neutralised Linen
by the prevalence of combinations amongst the workmen;v-—
but it is to be hoped that means will speedily be devised
for obviating this formidable, and, we fear, growing evil.
S ft,
•ig>
TS S
SS O
s a
s |
s s
o ^
y Hi.
b
O
o
^ *-3
‘3 o
•rH O)
^ O
O ~
^5H
2 z
VOL. XIII,
362 LIN LIN
Linen. There are no data sufficient to enable us to form an ac- c. 49, § 14. (See M‘Culloch’s Dictionary of Commerce, Fossil
curate estimate of the entire value of the linen manufacture art. Linen.) (a.) Linen
of Great Britain. Colquhoun estimated it at L.15,000,000; Fossil Linen, is a kind of amianthus, which consists of II
but there cannot be a doubt that this is a great exaggera- soft, flexible, parallel fibres, and has been celebrated for
tion. Sir F. M. Eden estimated the entire value of the the use to which it has been applied, of being woven, and ^owstl*f!‘i
linen manufacture of Great Britain, in 1800, at L.2,000,000; forming an incombustible cloth. Paper and wicks for lamps
and if we assume that since that period the manufacture have also been made of it.
has been tripled in value, we shall not probably be far LINGEN, a city of the province of Osnaburg, in the
from the truth. Professor M‘Culloch thinks that the en- kingdom of Hanover, the capital of a bailiwick of the same
tire produce of the manufacture in the united kingdom name. It is situated on the river Ems, which is only navi-
does not exceed L.7,500,000 ; but some very intelligent gable thereto for a few months in the year. It is surround-
individuals, largely engaged in the trade, do not estimate it ed with ditches, contains a Catholic, a Reformed, and a Lu-
at so much ; and, at all events, we may feel confident that theran church, 380 houses, and 1930 inhabitants. There is
this sum, if it err not in excess, is certainly by no means a seminary, sometimes called a university, with five pro-
within the mark. If, then, we set aside a third part of this fessors. It has some manufactures of woollen goods. Long,
sum for the value of the raw material, and twenty-five per 7. 12. 16. E. Lat. 52. 31. 41. N.
cent, for profits, wages of superintendence, wear and tear LINKOPING, a province in the south of Sweden, which
of fixed capital, coals, and other charges, there will remain extends in north latitude from 57.41. to 59. 1., and in east
L.3,125,000 to be divided as wages amongst those engaged longitude from 14.26. to 17. 1., including 4510 square miles,
in the manufacture; and, supposing every individual to It is a most picturesque country, covered with mountains,
earn at an average L.18 a year, the total number employed hills, lakes, rivers, and forests, but inhabited by only 165,000
in it would be about 172,000. It may, perhaps, be thought inhabitants, in five cities or towns, and 5489 detached
that L.18 is too low an estimate for wages, and such would, settlements. The chief employment is cutlery, sawing
no doubt, be the case, if Ireland were not taken into the wood, and extracting some copper and iron from the mines,
average ; but as a great many persons are there employed The capital is a city of the same name, situated on the
at very low wages, it maybe inferred that L.18 is not very Stang An, over which there is a well-constructed stone
far from the mean rate, more especially as a vast number bridge. It is the seat of a bishop, and has a respectable
of persons in Ireland are only partly employed in the ma- cathedral, and two other churches; a gymnasium, with a
nufacture, whereas by this estimate it is supposed that good library and collections of natural history and medals;
172,000 individuals are wholly employed in it. with 550 houses, and 2995 inhabitants, who carry on some
It appears from official statements, which it is unneces- trade in tanning and in linen weaving. Long. 15. 27. 48.
sary to give in detail, that in 1830 the aggregate amount E. Lat. 58. 22. 28. N.
of the importations into the united kingdom, from vari- LINLITHGOW, the capital of the county of that name,
ous countries, of undressed hemp, flax, and tow or codilla, and once a place of some importance, is pleasantly situated
of hemp and flax dressed or undressed, and linen yarn, on the bank of a fine lake, sixteen miles west from Edin-
is, of the first, 506,771 cwt, of the second 944,096 cwt., burgh, and thirty-one east from Glasgow. It consists
and of the third, 19,211; the official value thereof being chiefly of a single street, running east and west along the
respectively, for Great Britain, L.411,832, L.1,923,428, south bank of the lake, containing many substantial though
and L. 104,559, and for Ireland, L.15,926, L.18,803, and old houses; and is gradually improving in appearance, in
L.19,623. The official value of exports, ranged under the consequence of the increasing number of modern buildings,
same heads, is, respectively, L.11,798, L.7720, and of linen The name Linlithgow is supposed by some to signify the
yarn nil; so that the official value of hemp, flax, and linen concavity of the Lin or Loch, and according to others the
yarn, left for consumption in the united kingdom, in 1830, lake of the sheltered valley. It is a very ancient town, hav-
was L.415,960, L.1,934,511, and L.124,182. From other ing been the residence of royalty, and hence was entitled
accounts, it further appears that the consumption of foreign to be called a king’s burgh in the twelfth century. It pos-
linens in this country is inconsiderable ; in fact, the real or sesses an old palace or castle built by David I., which was
declared value of those entered for home consumption, in destroyed by fire in 1745, and has not since been repaired.
1830, could scarcely exceed L.20,000. It has also a very ancient church, built in the Gothic style,
The regulations as to the linen manufacture may be short- ornamented with a spire of some height; and three dis-
ly stated. They are as follow: ls£, Any person, native or seating meeting-houses. Though the town is very dull in
foreigner, may, without paying any thing, set up in any appearance, the inhabitants are by no means inactive,
place, privileged or not privileged, corporate or not corpo- The tanning of leather, for which the adjoining lake affords
rate, any branch of the linen manufacture ; and foreigners, great convenience, is carried on to a considerable extent;
practising the same, on taking the oath of allegiance, &c. as also the craft of shoemaking. Linen and woollen manu-
become entitled to all the privileges of natural-born sub- factures are pretty extensive, and there is a large calico-
jects. 2d, Persons affixing stamps to foreign linens, in imi- printing establishment about a mile from the town. It re¬
lation of the stamps affixed to those of Scotland or Ire- ceives great advantage from the Union Canal, which passes
land, forfeit L.5 for each offence ; and persons exposing to in the immediate vicinity, for transporting goods to the capi-
sale or packing up any foreign linens as the manufacture tal. There is a weekly stock market held on Friday. The
of Great Britain or Ireland, forfeit the same, besides L.5 population in 1831 amounted to 4874.
for each piece of linen so exposed to sale or packed up. LINLITHGOWSHIRE, or West-Lothian, a county
3tf, Any person stealing, to the value of L.10, any linen, in Scotland, having the Frith of Forth on the north, Edin-
woollen, silk, or cotton goods, whilst exposed during any burghshire or Mid-Lothian on the east and south-east,
stage of the manufacture, in any building, field, or other Lanarkshire on the south-west, and Stirlingshire on the
place, shall, upon conviction, be liable, at the discretion of west, is situated between 55. 49. and 56. 1. north latitude,
the court, to be transported beyond seas for life, of for any and 3. 18. and 3. 51. west longitude from Greenwich. It
term not less than seven years, or to be imprisoned for is of a triangular form, about nineteen miles long on its
any term not exceeding four years ; and, if a male, to be eastern boundary, and thirteen on its western; but at a
once, twice, or thrice, publicly or privately whipped, as the medium it is only about seven miles broad and sixteen long,
court shall think fit. These regulations are founded on 15 and its area is therefore 112 square miles, or 71,680 Eng-
Charles II. c. 15; 17 Geo. II. c. 30 ; and 7 and 8 Geo. IV. lish acres; though, according to some surveys, the super-
L I N
ft Lklith- ficial contents of the whole is 121 square miles, or 77,440
li gonhire. statute acres.
So large a portion of the surface of this county is either
level or gently undulating, that only a fifth part of it is
* stated to be unfit for cultivation. Yet a considerable space
is occupied by hills. A ridge extends across it from north¬
west to south-east, of which Cairnpapple, the most elevated
point, is about 1500 feet high. The highest ground is in
the middle, and towards the west; on the south there is
much moor and moss ; but the hills for the most part
yield good pasturage, and some of them are planted. The
climate, though variable, is not severe. The prevailing
winds are from the south-west, which blow for about two
thirds of the year. According to a register of the weather,
kept at Duddingston on the coast of the frith, about the
middle of the northern boundary, the greatest number of
rainy and snowy days, in any one year, for a period of thirty
years, from 1778 to 1808, was 111 (in 1780), and the
smallest number 22 (in 1803); but days on which slight
showers fell are not included. The greatest heat in that
period was in June 1785, when the thermometer stood at
87° in the shade, in a northern exposure. In June 1787,
there was a week of frost, with ice one sixteenth of an inch
in thickness.
Though there is a great variety of soil in this district,
with considerable tracts of gravel and sand, yet clay is the
most general. The coldest soil is chiefly on the south and
south-western parts, which have also the coldest climate.
The following estimate will show the quantity of the differ¬
ent kinds of soil found in the county :—Clay of good quality,
20,000 English acres ; clay on cold bottom, 24,500; loam
10,000; light gravel and sand, 10,000; moors and high
rocky land, 15,220; mosses, 1700; water, 500: total
81,920 English acres.
The only streams of any note are, the Almond, which
rises on the border of Lanarkshire, and flows north-east for
about twenty-four miles between this county and Edin¬
burghshire ; and the Avon, which forms the western boun¬
dary for about twelve miles. Both these rivulets fall into
the Frith of Forth. On the north side of the town of Lin¬
lithgow there is a lake about a mile long and half a mile
broad, occupying about 150 acres, which contains pike,
perch, and eels; and a smaller one on the south, called
Loch Coat, which occupies about twenty-two acres, stock¬
ed with the same kinds of fish. In the parishes of Linlith¬
gow, Ecclesmachan, and Abercorn, there are several sul¬
phureous springs; and a strong chalybeate is found in the
parish of Torphichen ; but none of them are much resort¬
ed to.
Silver and lead were at one time got in the hills of Bath¬
gate, in the parish of Linlithgow ; and in the neighbourhood
a small vein of silver ore was found several years ago in a
limestone quarry. Ironstone is wrought occasionally in
the parishes of Borrowstownness and Carriden. Sandstone,
in some places of an excellent quality, prevails along the
coast of the Forth ; and in the interior, whinstone, granite,
and basalt, are also found ; and there is an inexhaustible
L I N
363
store of limestone. On Dundas Hill there is a basaltic rock Linlith-
250 yards in length and about sixty feet in height, with an gowshire.
almost perpendicular front, consisting of a bluish granite'
of a very fine texture. There is also abundance of potters’
clay, brick clay, red chalk, and marl. Shell marl was dragged
in considerable quantities from the lake at Linlithgow, as
a manure, till the benefits of lime superseded the use of it.
But the chief mineral production is coal, which abounds in
almost every part of the county, and is wrought in the pa¬
rishes of Borrowstownness and Carriden on the Forth, in Up-
hall and Whitburn on the east and south, and in the parish
of Bathgate in the middle. An excellent kind of coal has
been wrought near Cultmuir, on the south-western border.
The Union Canal, which passes through this county, affords
excellent means of transporting the coal of the interior to
the city of Edinburgh.
Linlithgowshire is for the most part divided into estates
worth from L.200 to L.3000 a year; but there are a few
above, and several below, these extremes. In the neigh¬
bourhood of the burghs of Linlithgow and Queensferry there
are properties of only a few acres. Four of the greatest
estates, rented at from L.4000 to L. 10,000, belong to as many
noblemen. The valued rent, taken in 1649, was L.75,027.
12s. 2d. Scots; in 1806, the real rent was L.64,518. 18s.
7d. sterling; and, in 1811, the real rent of the lands and
mines was L.82,947. 2s., and of the houses, L.5798. 8s.
Almost half the county is entailed. The principal seats
are, Hopetoun House, Earl of Hopetoun, two miles west of
Queensferry; Barnbougle Castle and Livingston House,
Earl of Rosebery ; Craigiehall, Mr Hope Vere ; Dudding¬
ston, Mr Dundas; Hallyards, Mr Ramsay; Houston, Mr
Sharp ; Kinneil, Duke of Hamilton, near Borrowstownness;
and Polkemmet, Mr Baillie.
The size of the farms is from fifty Scotch acres to 600,
but the greater part consist of between 100 and 300 English
acres. The rent of the better soils, which extend over
half the county, varies from L.2 to more than L.5 the acre;
that of the inferior clays is from 14s. to 20s., and of the
high grounds from 6d. to 10d.; the average rent of the
whole, in 1811, being rather more than 23s. the English
acre. The common term of leases is nineteen or twenty-
one years; but, in some instances, they are for twenty-
four, thirty-eight, and even fifty-seven years: grazing
farms are let on short leases, from one to four years. The
crops raised are the same as in the other counties in this
part of Scotland, which have already been described ; and
the general system of husbandry is not materially differ¬
ent, except that the dairy is more an object here than in
the counties to the east and south-east. The county has
two royal burghs, Linlithgow and Queensferry, and the
towns of Bathgate and Borrowstownness ; besides a number
of thriving villages. It is divided into fourteen parishes,
which, with two in Mid-Lothian, and four in Stirlingshire,
form one presbytery. It sends one member to parliament,
the constituency, according to the latest census, being 692.
The annexed table contains an abstract of the population
for 1811, 1821, and 1831.
YEARS.
1811
1821
1831
HOUSES.
3098
3302
3400
By how
many Fa¬
milies oc¬
cupied.
4404
4965
5014
186
96
205
OCCUPATIONS.
Families
chiefly em¬
ployed in
Agricul¬
ture.
1132
1224
1093
Families
chiefly em¬
ployed in
Trade, Ma¬
nufactures,
or Handi¬
craft.
1506
1817
1891
All other
Families
not com¬
prised in
the two
preceding
classes.
1766
1924
2030
PERSONS.
Males.
8,874
10,713
10,995
Females.
10,577
11,982
12,296
Total of
Persons.
19,451
22,695
23,291
364
L I N N ^ U S.
Linnaeus. LINNiEUS, or Linne, Sir Charles, a celebrated bo-
' tanist and natural historian, was born on the 24th of May
1707, in a village called Roeshult, in Smaland, where his
father, Nicholas Linne or Linnseus, was then vicar, but after¬
wards preferred to the curacy of Stenbrohult. It is said,
that on the farm where Linnaeus was born there yet stands
a large lime tree, from which his ancestors took the sur¬
names of Tiliander, Lindelius, and Linnceus ; and that this
origin of surnames, taken from natural objects, is not un¬
common in Sweden.
This eminent man, whose talents enabled him to reform
the whole science of natural history, acquired, early in life,
some of the highest honours that await the most successful
proficients in medical science. We find indeed that he was
made professor of physic and botany in the university of
Upsala at the age of thirty-four, and, six years afterwards,
physician to Adolphus king of Sweden, who in the year
1753 still further honoured him, by creating him knight of
the order of the polar star. Nor did his honours terminate
here. In 1757 he was ennobled ; and in 1776 the king of
Sweden accepted the resignation of his office, and rewarded
his declining years by doubling his pension, and by a libe¬
ral donation of landed property settled on him and his
family.
It seems probable that Linnaeus’s taste for the study of
nature was formed from the example of his father, who, as
he has himself informed us, cultivated, as his first amuse¬
ment, a garden plentifully stored with plants. Young Lin¬
naeus soon became acquainted with these, as well as with
the indigenous plants of his neighbourhood. Yet, from the
smallness of his father’s income, the young naturalist was
on the point of being destined to a mechanical employment:
fortunately, however, this design was overruled. In 1717
he was sent to school at Wexio, where, as his opportuni¬
ties were enlarged, his progress in all his favourite pursuits
was proportionally extended. At this early period he paid
attention to other branches of natural history, particularly
to the study of entomology.
The first part of his academical education Linnaeus re¬
ceived at Lund, in Sweden, under Professor Stobaeus, who
favoured his inclination for the study of natural history.
After a residence of about a year, he removed in 1728 to
Upsala. Here he soon contracted a close friendship with
Artedi, a native of the province of Angermania, who had
already been four years a student in that university, and,
like himself, had a strong bent to the study of natural history
in general, but particularly to that of ichthyology. Soon
after his residence at Upsala, our author was likewise for¬
tunate enough to obtain the favour of several gentlemen of
established character in literature. He was in a particular
manner encouraged in the pursuit of his studies by the pa¬
tronage of Dr Olaus Celsius, at that time professor of divi¬
nity, and the restorer of natural history in Sweden; who,
being struck with the diligence of Linnaeus in describing
the plants of the garden at Upsala, and his extensive know¬
ledge of their names, not only patronized him in a general
way, but admitted him to his house, his table, and his lib¬
rary. Under such encouragement, it is not strange that he
made a rapid progress, both in his studies and the esteem
of the professors ; in fact, we have a very striking proof of
his merit and attainments, since we find, that, after a resi¬
dence of only two years, he was thought sufficiently qualified
to give lectures occasionally from the botanic chair, in the
room of Professor Rudbeck.
In the year 1731, the Royal Academy of Sciences at
Upsala, having for some time meditated the design of im¬
proving the natural history of Sweden, at the instance par¬
ticularly of Professors Celsius and Rudbeck, deputed Lin¬
naeus to make the tour of Lapland, with the view of explor¬
ing the natural history of that arctic region ; an undertak¬
ing to which his reputation, already high as a naturalist,
and the strength of his constitution, equally recommended Linnipus.
him. He left Upsala on the 13th of May, and took his route
to Gevalia or Gevels, the principal town of Gestricia, forty-
five miles distant from Upsala. From thence he travelled
through Helsingland into Medalpadia, where he made an
excursion, and ascended a remarkable mountain before he
reached Hudwickswald, the chief town of Helsingland. He
then proceeded through Angermanland to Hernosand, a
sea-port on the Bothnian Gulf, seventy miles distant from
Hudwickswald. When he had advanced thus far, he found
it proper to retard his journey, as the spring was not suffi¬
ciently advanced, and took this opportunity of visiting those
remarkable caverns on the summit of Mount Skula, though
at the hazard of his life.
When Linnaeus arrived at Uma, in West Bothnia, about
ninety-six miles from Hernosand, he quitted the public
road, and took his course through the woods westward, in
order first to traverse the most southern parts of Lapland.
Having now reached the country that was more particularly
the object of his inquiries, being equally a stranger to the
language and to the manners of the people, and without
any associate, he committed himself to the hospitality of
the inhabitants, and never failed to experience it fully. He
speaks in several places, with peculiar satisfaction, of the
innocence and simplicity of their lives, and their freedom
from diseases. In this excursion he reached the mountains
towards Norway ; and after encountering great hardships,
returned into West Bothnia, quite exhausted with fatigue.
He next visited Pitha and Lula, upon the Gulf of Bothnia;
from which latter place he again took a western route, by
proceeding up the river of that name, and visited the ruins
of the temple of Jockmock in Lula Lapland or Lap Mark;
he thence traversed what is called the Lapland Desert, des¬
titute of all villages, cultivation, roads, or any convenien¬
ces, and inhabited only by a few straggling people, origi¬
nally descended from the Finlanders, who settled in this
country in remote ages, being entirely a distinct people
from the Laplanders. In this district he ascended a noted
mountain called Wallevari, in speaking of which he has
given us a pleasant relation of his finding a singular and
beautiful new plant (Andromeda tetragona), when travelling
within the arctic circle, with the sun in his view at mid¬
night, in search of a Lapland hut. From hence he cross¬
ed the Lapland Alps into Finmark, and traversed the
shores of the North Sea as far as Sallero.
These journeys from Lula and Pitha on the Bothnian
Gulf, to the north shore, were performed on foot; and he
was attended by two Laplanders, one his interpreter, and the
other his guide. He tells us that the vigour and strength
of these two men, both old, and sufficiently loaded with his
baggage, excited his admiration, since they appeared quite
unfatigued by their labour, whilst he himself, although
young and robust, was frequently quite exhausted. In this
journey he was wont to sleep under the boat with which
they forded the rivers, as a defence against rain, and the
gnats, which in the Lapland summer are not less teasing
than in the torrid zone. In descending one of these rivers,
he narrowly escaped perishing by the oversetting of the
boat, and lost many of the natural productions which he had
collected.
Linnaeus thus spent the greater part of the summer in
examining this arctic region, and those mountains on which,
four years afterwards, the French philosophers secured im¬
mortal fame to Sir Isaac Newton. At length, after having
suffered incredible fatigues and hardships, in climbing pre¬
cipices, passing rivers in miserable boats, suffering repeat¬
ed vicissitudes of heat and cold, and not unfrequently hun¬
ger and thirst, he returned to Torneo in September. He
did not take the same route from Torneo as when he set out
for Lapland, having determined to visit and examine the
country on the eastern side of the Bothnian Gulf. His first
L I N N JE U S.
Liiueus. stage, therefore, was to Ula in East Bothnia, and thence to
Old and New Carlebay, eighty-four miles south from Ula.
He continued his route through Wasa, Christianstadt, and
Biorneburg, to Abo, a small university in Finland. Win¬
ter was now setting in apace ; he therefore crossed the
gulf by the island of Aland, and arrived at Upsala in No¬
vember, after having performed, mostly on foot, a journey
of ten degrees of latitude in extent, exclusively of those de¬
viations which such a design rendered necessary.
In 1733 he visited and examined the several mines in
Sweden, and made himself so well acquainted with mine¬
ralogy and the docimastic art, that he was sufficiently qua¬
lified to give lectures on these subjects upon his return to
the university. The outlines of his system of mineralogy
appeared in the early editions of the Systerna Naturae ; but
he did not exemplify the whole until the year 1768.
In the year 1734 Linnaeus was sent by Baron Reuter-
holm, governor of Dalecarlia, with several other naturalists
in that province, to investigate the physical productions of
that part of the Swedish dominions ; and it was in this jour ¬
ney that he first laid the plan of an excellent institution,
which was afterwards executed, in a certain degree at least,
by himself, with the assistance of many of his pupils, and
the result published under the title of Pan Suecicus, in the
second volume of the Amcenitates Academicce.
After the completion of this expedition, it appears that
Linnaeus resided for a time at Fahlun, the principal tdtvn
in Dalecarlia, where he tells us that he taught mineralogy
and the docimastic art, and practised physic; and where
he was very hospitably treated by Dr More, the physician
of the place. It also appears that he contracted at this
time an intimacy with one of that gentleman’s daughters,
whom he married about five years afterwards, upon his
settling as a physician at Stockholm. In this journey he
extended his travels quite across the Dalecarlian Alps into
Norway ; but we have no particular account of his disco¬
veries in that kingdom. In 1735 Linnasus travelled over
many other parts of Sweden, some parts of Denmark and
Germany, and fixed in Holland, where he chiefly resided
until his return to Stockholm, about the year 1739. In
1735, the year in which he took the degree of doctor of
physic, he published the first sketch of his Systema Naturae,
in a very compendious way, and in the form of tables, only
in twelve pages in folio. By this it appears that he had at
a very early period of his life, certainly before he was
twenty-four years of age, laid the basis of that great struc¬
ture which he afterwards raised, not only to the increase of
his own fame, but to that of natural science.
In 1736 Linnaeus arrived in England, and visited Dr Dil-
lenius, the learned professor at Oxford, whom he justly
considered as one of the first botanists in Europe. He
mentions with particular respect the civilities he received
from Dillenius, and the privileges he gave him of inspecting
his own and the Sherardian collections of plants. It is need¬
less to say, that he visited Dr Martyn, Mr Rand, and Mr
Miller, and that he was in a more singular manner indebt¬
ed to the friendship of Dr Isaac Lawson. He also contract¬
ed an intimate friendship with Mr Peter Collinson, which
was reciprocally increased by a multitude of good offices,
] I - and continued to the last without any diminution. Dr
Boerhaave had furnished him with letters to Sir Hans
Sloane ; but these, it seems, did not procure him the recep¬
tion which the warmth of his recommendation appeared to
claim.
One of the most agreeable circumstances that happened
to Linnaeus during his residence in Holland, arose from
the patronage of Mr Clifford, in whose house he lived a
considerable part of his time, being now as it were the
child of fortune. Exivi patrid triginta sex nummis aureis
dives, are his own words. With Mr Clifford, however, he
enjoyed pleasures and advantages scarcely at that time to
365
be met with elsewhere in the world; that of a garden ex- Linnaeus,
cellently stored with the finest exotics, and a library fur->
nished with almost every botanic author of note. How
happy he found himself in this situation, those only who
have felt the same kind of ardour can conceive. Whilst
in Holland, Linnaeus was recommended by Boerhaave to
fill the place, then vacant, of physician to the Dutch set¬
tlement at Surinam ; but he declined it on account of his
having been educated in so opposite a climate.
Besides being favoured with the particular patronage
and friendship of JBoerhaave and Mr Clifford, as has al¬
ready been mentioned, he had also the pleasure of being
contemporary with, and of reckoning amongst the number
of his friends, many other learned persons who have since
proved ornaments to their profession, and whose merit has
most deservedly raised them to fame and honour. Amongst
these may be mentioned Dr John Burmann, professor of
botany at Amsterdam, whose name and family are well
known in the republic of letters, and to whom our au¬
thor dedicated his Bibliotheca Botanica, having been
greatly assisted in compiling that work, by the free access
he enjoyed to that gentleman’s excellent library; John
Frederick Gronovius of Leyden, editor of Clayton’s Flora
Virginica, and who very early adopted Linnaeus’s system ;
Baron Van Swieten, physician to the empress-queen;
Isaac Lawson, afterwards one of the physicians to the
British army, who died much regretted, at Oosterhout, in
the year 1747, and from whom Linnaeus received singular
and most obliging civilities; Kramer, well known for an ex¬
cellent treatise on the docimastic art; Van Royen, bota¬
nic professor at Leyden ; and Lieberkun of Berlin, famous
for his skill in microscopical instruments and experiments.
To these may also be added the names of Albinus and
Gaubius, and of others, were it requisite to show that
our author’s talents had very early rendered him conspi ¬
cuous, and gained him the regard of all those who culti¬
vated and patronized any branch of medical science; and
to which, doubtless, the singular notice with which Boer¬
haave had honoured him did not a little contribute.
Early in the year 1738, after Linnaeus had left Mr Clif¬
ford, and, as it should seem, when he resided with Van
Royen, he had a long and dangerous attack of sick¬
ness ; and upon his recovery went to Paris, where he was
kindly entertained by the Jussieus, at that time the first
botanists in France. The opportunity this gave him of
inspecting the Herbaria of Royen and Tournefort, and
those of the above-named gentlemen, afforded him great
satisfaction. He had intended to proceed from thence
into Germany, to visit Ludwig and Haller, with whom he
was in close correspondence; but he was not able to com¬
plete this part of his intended route, and was obliged to re¬
turn without this gratification.
Our author did not fail to avail himself of the advan¬
tages which access to the several museums of this country
afforded him, in every branch of natural history; and the
number and importance of his publications, during his
absence from his native country, sufficiently demonstrate
that fund of knowledge which he must have imbibed
before, and no less testify his extraordinary application.
These were, Systematis Naturae, Fundamenta Botanica, Bib¬
liotheca Botanica, and Genera Planiarum ; the last of which
is justly considered as the most valuable of all the works
of this celebrated author. The immense application be¬
stowed upon it the reader may easily conceive, when he
is informed, that Before the publication of the first edition
the author had examined the characters of eight thousand
flowers. The last book of Linnaeus’s composition, publish¬
ed during his stay in Holland, was the Classes Plantarum,
which is a copious illustration of the second part of the
Fundamenta.
About the latter end of the year 1738, or the begin-
366 L I N N iE U S.
Linnaeus, ning of the next, Linnaeus settled as a physician at Stock-
where he seems to have met with considerable op¬
position, and was oppressed by many difficulties; but all
of these he at length overcame, and got into extensive
practice ; and, soon after his settlement, married the lady
before mentioned. By the interest of Count Tessin, who
was afterwards his great patron, and even procured me¬
dals to be struck in honour of him, he obtained the rank
of physician to the fleet, and a stipend from the citizens
for giving lectures in botany. And what at this time
especially was highly favourable to the advancement of
his character and fame, by giving him an opportunity of
displaying his abilities, was the establishment of the Royal
Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, of which Linnaeus
was constituted the first president, and to which the king
granted several privileges, particularly that of free postage
to all papers directed to the secretary. By the rules of the
academy, the president held his place but three months.
At the expiration of that term, Linnaeus made his Oratio
de memorabilibus in Insectis, on the 3d of October 1739 ;
in which he endeavours to excite an attention and inquiry
into the knowledge of insects, by displaying the many
singular phenomena that occur in contemplating the na¬
ture of those animals, and by pointing out, in a variety of
instances, their usefulness to mankind in particular, and
to the economy of nature in general.
During all this time, however, Linnaeus appears to have
had his eye fixed upon the botanical and medical chair
at Upsala, then occupied by Rudbeck, who was far ad¬
vanced in life. We learn indeed that he was so intent on
pursuing and perfecting his great designs in the advance¬
ment of his favourite study of nature, that he had deter¬
mined, if he failed in procuring the professorship at Up¬
sala, to accept the offer which had been made to him by
Haller, of filling the botanic chair at Gottingen. How¬
ever, in course of time, he obtained his wish. In the year
1741, upon the resignation of Roberg, he was constituted
joint professor of physic, and physician to the king, with
Rosen, who had been appointed in the preceding year on
the death of Rudbeck. These two colleagues agreed to
divide the medical departments between them; and their
choice was confirmed by the university. Rosen took ana¬
tomy, physiology, pathology, and the therapeutic part;
Linnaeus,natural history, botany, materia medica, dietetics,
and the diagnosis morborum.
During the interval of his removal from Stockholm to
Upsala, in consequence of this appointment, our professor
was deputed by the states of the kingdom to make a tour
to the islands of Oeland and Gothland in the Baltic, at¬
tended by six of the pupils, commissioned to make such
inquiries as might tend to improve agriculture and arts in
the kingdom, to which the Swedish nation had for some
time paid particular attention. The result of this journey
was very successful, and having proved fully satisfactory
to the states, was afterwards communicated to the public.
On his return he entered upon the professorship, and on
the 17th of October pronounced before the university his
oration de Peregrinationum intra Patriam necessitate, in
which he forcibly displays the usefulness of such excur¬
sions, by pointing out to the students that vast field of
objects which their country held out to their cultivation,
whether in geography, physics, mineralogy, botany, zoolo¬
gy, or economics, and by showing the benefit that must
accrue to themselves and their country as rewards of their
diligence. The animated spirit which pervades the whole
of this composition renders it one of the most pleasing and
instructive of all our author’s productions.
Linnaeus was now fixed in the situation which was the
best adapted to his character, his taste, and abilities ; and
which seems to have been the object of his ambition and
the centre of his hopes. Soon after his establishment, he
laboured to get the academical garden, which had been Linnsus,
founded in 1657, put upon a better footing, and very soon
effected it, procuring also a house to be built for the resi¬
dence of the professor. The whole had been in ruins ever
since the fire in 1702; and at the time Linnaeus was ap¬
pointed professor of botany, the garden did not contain
above fifty plants that were exotic. His correspondence
with the first botanists in Europe soon supplied him with
great variety. He received Indian plants from Jussieu of
Paris, and from Van Royen of Leyden; European plants
from Haller and Ludwig; American plants from Mr Col-
linson, Mr Catesby and others ; and a variety of annuals
from Dillenius ; in short, how much the garden owed to his
diligence and care in a few years, may be seen 'by the
catalogue published under the title of Hortus Upsaliensis,
exhibens plantas exoticas horto Upsaliensis Academics a sese
(Linnceo) Matas ah anno 1742, in annum 1748, additis dif-
ferentiis synonymis, habitationibus, hospitiis, rariorumque
descriptionibus, in gratiam studiosce juventutis, Holm. 1748,
8vo. By this catalogue it appears that the professor had
introduced eleven hundred species, exclusively of all the
Swedish plants and varieties, which, in ordinary gardens,
amount not unfrequently to one third of the whole num¬
ber. The preface contains a curious history of the cli¬
mate at Upsala, and the progress of the seasons through¬
out the whole year.
From the time that Linnaeus and Rosen were appointed
professors at Upsala, it should seem that the credit of that
university, as a school of physic, had been increasing:
numbers of students resorted thither from Germany, at¬
tracted by the character of these two able men; and in
Sweden itself many young men were invited to the study
of physic by the excellent manner in which it was taught,
who otherwise would have engaged in different pursuits.
Whilst Linnaeus was meditating one of his capital per¬
formances, which had long been expected and greatly
wished for, he was interrupted by a tedious and painful at¬
tack of the gout, which left him in a very weak and dis¬
pirited state ; and, according to the intelligence which his
friends gave of him, nothing was thought to have con¬
tributed more to the restoration of his spirits than the
seasonable acquisition, at this juncture, of a collection of
rare and undescribed plants.
The fame which our author had now acquired by his
Systema Natures, of which a sixth edition, much enlarged,
had been published at Stockholm in 1748, in 8vo, with
eight tables explanatory of the classes and orders, had
brought, as it were, a conflux of every thing rare and va¬
luable in every branch of nature, from all parts of the
globe, into Sweden. The king and queen of Sweden had
their separate collections of rarities, the former at Ul-
ricksdahl, and the latter, very rich in exotic insects and
shells, procured at a great expense, at the palace of Drott-
ningholm, both of which our author was employed in ar¬
ranging and describing. Besides these, the museum of
the Royal Academy of Upsala had been augmented by a
considerable donation from the king, whilst hereditary
prince, in 1746, by another from Count Gyllenborg the
year before, and by a third from M. Grill, an opulent ci¬
tizen of Stockholm.
From this time the professor appeared in a more ele¬
vated rank and situation in life. His reputation had al¬
ready procured him honours from almost all the royal so¬
cieties in Europe; and his own sovereign, sensible of his
merit, and greatly esteeming his character and abilities,
favoured him with a mark of his distinction and regard,
by creating him a knight of the polar star. With science,
it was no longer laudatur et alget. His emoluments kept
pace with his fame and honours; his practice in his pro¬
fession became lucrative ; and we find him soon after pos¬
sessed of a country-house and gardens atHammarby, about
Liiseus.. five miles from Upsala. He had moreover received one
' of the most flattering testimonies of the extent and mag¬
nitude of his fame that perhaps was ever shown to any li¬
terary character, the state of the nation which conferred
it, and all its circumstances, being duly considered. This
was an invitation to Madrid from the king of Spain, there
to preside as a naturalist, with the offer of an annual pen¬
sion for life of two thousand pistoles, letters of nobility,
and the perfect free exercise of his own religion. But,
after the most perfect acknowledgments of the singular
honour done him, he respectfully answered, “ that if he
had any merits, they were due to his own country/’
In the year 1755, the Royal Academy of Sciences at
Stockholm honoured our professor with one of the first pre¬
miums, agreeably to the will of Count Sparree, who had
decreed two gold medals, of ten ducats value each, to be
annually given by the academy to the authors of such
papers, in the preceding year’s Stockholm Acts, as should
be adjudged most useful in promoting agriculture particu¬
larly, and all branches of rural economy. This medal bore
on one side the arms of the count, with this motto, Super-
stes in scientiis amor Frederici Sparree. Linnaeus obtained
it in consequence of a paper De plantis quce Alpium Sue-
cicarum indigence, magno rei ceconomicce et medicce emolu-
mento fieri possint; and the ultimate intention was to re¬
commend these plants as adapted to culture in Lapland.
This paper was inserted in the Stockholm Acts for 1754
(vol. xv.). Linnaeus also obtained the prcemium centum
aureorum, proposed by the Imperial Academy of Sciences
at St Petersburg, for the best paper written to establish or
disprove, by new arguments, the doctrine of the sexes of
plants. It was, if possible, an additional glory to Linnaeus
to have merited this premium from the St Petersburg Aca¬
demy, inasmuch as a professor of that society, a few years
before, had with more than common zeal, although with a
futility like that of the other antagonists of our author, en¬
deavoured to overturn the whole Linnaean system of bo¬
tany, by attempting to show that the doctrine of the sexes
of plants had no foundation in nature, and was unsupported
by facts and experiments.
It appears that Linnaeus, upon the whole, enjoyed a good
constitution; but that he was sometimes severely afflicted
with a hemicrania, and was not exempted from the gout.
About the close of 1776, he was seized with an apoplexy,
which left him paralytic ; and at the beginning of the year
1777, he suffered another attack, which very much impaired
his mental powers. But the disease supposed to have been
the more immediate cause of his death, was an ulceration
of the urinary bladder, of which, after a tedious indispo¬
sition, he died, on the 11th of January 1778, in the seven¬
ty-first year of his age. His principal other works, besides
those already mentioned, are, The Iter O'elandicum et Got-
landicum, Iter Scanicum, Flora Suecica, Fauna Suecica,
Materia Medica, Philosophia Botanica, Genera Morborum,
different papers in the Acta Upsaliensia, and the Amceni-
tates Academics. The last of his treatises was the Man-
tissa Altera, published in 1771; but before his death he
had finished the greater part of the Mantissa Tertia, after¬
wards completed and published by his son.
? . To the lovers of science it will not appear strange that
uncommon respect was shown to the memory of this great
man. We are told, “ that on his death a general mourn¬
ing took place at Upsala, and that his funeral procession
was attended by the whole university, as well professors as
students, and the pall supported by sixteen doctors of
physic, all of whom had been his pupils.” The king of
Sweden, after the death of Linnaeus, ordered a medal to
be struck, one side of which exhibits Linnaeus’s bust and
name, and the other Cybele, in a dejected attitude, hold¬
ing in her left hand a key, and surrounded with animals
and growing plants, with the legend, Beam luctus angit
367
amissi; and beneath, Post Obitum Upsalice, die x. Jan. Linnaeus.
m.dcc.lxxviii. Rege jubente. The same generous mo- '''—“v™*-7
narch not only honoured the Royal Academy of Sciences
with his presence when Linnaeus’s commemoration was
held at Stockholm, but, as a still higher tribute, in his
speech from the throne to the assembly of the states, he
lamented Sweden’s loss by his death.
His stature was diminutive, being below the middle size ;
his head was large, and its hinder part very high ; his look
was ardent, piercing, and apt to daunt the beholder; his
ear was not sensible to music; and his temper quick, but
easily appeased. Nature had, in an eminent manner, been
liberal in the endowment of his mind. He seems to have
possessed a lively imagination, corrected by a strong judg¬
ment, a most retentive memory, unremitting industry, and
the greatest perseverance in all his pursuits. This is evident
from that continued vigour with which he prosecuted the
design, which he appears to have formed so early in life, of
totally reforming and constructing anew the whole science
ot natural history. And this fabric he raised, and gave to
it a degree of perfection unknown before ; and he had more¬
over the uncommon felicity of living to see his own struc¬
ture rise above all others, notwithstanding every discour¬
agement its author at first laboured under, and the opposi¬
tion it afterwards met with. Neither has any writer more
cautiously avoided the common error of building his own
fame upon the ruin of another man’s. He everywhere ac¬
knowledged the peculiar merits of each author’s system;
and no man appears to have been more sensible of the par¬
tial defects of his own. Those anomalies which had princi¬
pally been the objects of criticism, he well knew that every
artificial arrangement must abound with ; and having laid
it down as a fixed maxim, that every system must finally
rest on its intrinsic merit, he willingly committed his own
to the judgment of posterity. Perhaps there is no circum¬
stance of Linnaeus’s life which shows him in a more dig¬
nified light than his conduct towards his opponents. Dis¬
daining controversy, and justly considering it as an unim¬
portant and fruitless sacrifice of time, he never replied to
any assailant, numerous as they were at one season.
To all who observe the aid which this extraordinary man
has brought to natural science, his talents must appear in
a very conspicuous point of view; but more especially to
those who, from similarity of tastes, are qualified to see
more distinctly the vast extent of his original design, the
greatness of his labour, and the elaborate execution he has
given to the whole. He had a happy command of the La¬
tin language, which alone is the language of science; and
no man ever applied it more successfully to his purposes,
or gave to description such copiousness, united with that
precision and conciseness which so eminently characterize
his writings.
The ardour of Linnaeus for the study of nature, even
from his earliest years, and that uncommon application
which he bestowed upon it, gave him a most comprehen¬
sive view both of its pleasures and usefulness, at the same
time that it opened to him a wide field, hitherto but little
cultivated, especially in his own country. Hence he was
early led to regret, that the study of natural history, as a
public institution, had not made its way into the universi¬
ties ; in many of which, logical disputations and metaphy¬
sical theories had too long prevailed, to the exclusion of
more useful science. Availing himself therefore of the ad¬
vantages which he derived from a large share of eloquence,
and an animated style, he never failed to display, in a lively
and convincing manner, the relation which this study has
to the public good ; to incite the great to countenance and
protect it; to encourage and allure youth into its pursuits,
by opening its manifold sources of pleasure to their view,
and showing them how greatly this agreeable employment
would add, in a variety of instances, both to their comfort
L I N N iE U S.
368
LIN
Linz.
Linosa and emolument. His extensive view of natural history, as
connected with almost all the arts of life, did not allow
, him to confine these motives and incitements to those only
who were designed for the practice of physic. He also la¬
boured to inspire the great and opulent with a taste for
this study, and wished particularly that such as were de¬
voted to an ecclesiastical life should possess some share of
natural science; not only as a means of sweetening their
rural situation, confined, as many are, perpetually to a
country residence, but as that which would almost inevita¬
bly lead, in a variety of instances, to discoveries.
Linnaeus lived to enjoy the fruit of his own labour. Na¬
tural history raised itself in Sweden, under his culture, to
a state of perfection unknown elsewhere ; and was from
that time disseminated throughout all Europe. His pupils
dispersed themselves all over the globe ; and, with their
master’s fame, extended both science and their own. More
than this, he lived to see the sovereigns of Europe found
several public institutions in favour of this study; and even
professorships established in different universities for the
same purpose, chairs which do honour to their founders,
and which have excited a curiosity for the science, and a
sense of its worth, that cannot fail to advance its progress,
and in time to raise it to that rank which it is entitled to
hold amongst the pursuits of mankind.
LINOSA, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, belong¬
ing to the kingdom of Naples. It is about six miles in
circumference, and entirely volcanic, with an extinct cra¬
ter in [its eastern side, and three others, smaller, but dis¬
tinctly marked, in other parts. It is uninhabited. Long.
12. 52. 9. E. Lat. 35. 51. 50. N.
LINT. See Flax and Linen.
Lint, in Surgery, is the scrapings of fine linen, used by
surgeons in dressing wounds. It is made into various
forms, which acquire different names according to the dif¬
ference of the figures. Lint made up in an oval or orbicu¬
lar form is called a pledgit; if in a cylindrical form, or in
the shape of a date, or olive-stone, it is called a dossil.
LINTON, a market-town of Cambridgeshire, in the
hundred of Chilford, forty-six miles from London, and ten
from Cambridge. The ancient Roman i-oad, the Ikeneld
Street, runs to this town, and the river Granta flows at the
end of it. The market day is Thursday. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1157, in 1811 to 1373, in 1821 to
1519, and in 1831 to 1678.
LINTSTOCK, in military affairs, a wooden staff about
three feet long, having a sharp point in one end, and a sort
of fork or crotch on the other; the latter serving to contain
a lighted match, whilst by the former the lintstock is oc¬
casionally stuck in the ground, or in the deck of a ship
during an engagement. It is frequently used in small
vessels, where there is commonly one fixed between every
two guns, by which the match is always kept dry, and
ready for firing.
LINZ, a city of Austria, in the circle of Muhlviertel,
and province of Upper Ens. It is the capital of the pro¬
vince and the circle, and stands on the right bank of the
Danube. It is a well-built city, with three suburbs, a fine
market-place, and a castle upon a hill which overlooks it.
It contains three churches, three monasteries, and two nun¬
neries, 1280 houses, and 18,500 inhabitants. There is an
academical institution, with eighteen professors, directing
studies in divinity, law, philosophy, surgery, and medicine,
and a library of 22,000 volumes. It is a place of manu¬
facturing industry, producing good woollen cloths, cassi-
meres, and carpets, as well as some cotton goods and ho¬
siery. It carries on considerable trade by the Danube,
both upwards and downwards, and has two fairs annually,
which continue fourteen days. Long. 14. 11. 25. E. Lat.
48. 18. 54. N.
Linz, a city, the capital of the circle of the same name,
L I O
in the Prussian government of Coblentz. It is situated on Linug
the river Rhine, and contains 380 houses, with 1980 inha- ||
bitants, who grow some wine, and carry on fisheries, and Dotard,
also navigation on the river. Near it are some iron-works.
LINUS, in classical history, a native of Colchis, who was
contemporary with Orpheus, and one of the most ancient
poets and musicians of Greece. It is impossible, at this
distance of time, to discover whether Linus was the disci¬
ple of Orpheus, or Orpheus of Linus. The majority, how¬
ever, seem to decide this question in favour of Linus. Ac¬
cording to Archbishop Usher, he flourished about 1280
b. c. and is mentioned by Eusebius amongst the poets who
wrote before the time of Moses. Diodorus Siculus tells us,
on the authority of Dionysius of Mitylene the historian,
who was contemporary with Cicero, that Linus was the first
amongst the Greeks who invented verses and music, as
Cadmus first taught them the use of letters. The same
writer likewise attributes to him an account of the exploits
of the first Bacchus, and a treatise upon Greek mythology,
written in Pelasgic characters, which were also those used
by Orpheus, and by Pronapides the preceptor of Homer.
Diodorus says that he added the string called lichanos to
the Mercurian lyre, and ascribes to him the invention of
rhythm and melody, which Suidas, who regards him as the
most ancient of lyric poets, confirms. Marpurg conceives
that Linus invented catgut strings for the use of the lyre,
which, before his time, was only strung with thongs of
leather, or with different threads of wax strung together.
He is said by many writers to have had several disciples
of great renown ; amongst whom were Hercules, Thamy-
ris, and, according to some, Orpheus. Hercules, says Dio¬
dorus, in learning from Linus to play upon the lyre, being
extremely dull and obstinate, provoked his master to strike
him ; which so enraged the young hero, that instantly seiz¬
ing the lyre, he beat out the brains of the musician with
his own instrument.
LIONCELLES, in Heraldry, a term used for several
lions borne in the same coat of arms.
LIOTARD, called the Turk, an eminent painter, was
born at Geneva in 1702, and was intended by his father to
be a merchant; but, by the persuasion of his friends, who
observed the genius of the young man, he was permitted
to give himself up to the art of painting. He went to Paris
in 1725, and in 1738 accompanied to Rome the Marquis
de Puisieux, who was going as ambassador to Naples. At
Rome he was taken notice of by the Earls of Sandwich
and Besborough, who engaged Liotard to attend them in
a voyage to Constantinople. There he became acquainted
with Lord Edgecumbe, and with Sir Everard Fawkener,
our ambassador, who persuaded him to proceed to Eng¬
land, where he staid two years. In his journey to the Le¬
vant he had adopted the eastern habit, and wore it here
with a very long beard. It contributed much to the por¬
traits which he drew of himself, and, some thought, to draw
customers; but he was really a painter of uncommon merit.
After his return to the Continent, he married a young wife,
and sacrificed his beard to Hymen. He came again to
England in 1772, and brought a collection of pictures ot
different masters, which he sold by auction, and some pieces
of glass painted by himself, with surprising effect of light
and shade, but which were a mere curiosity, as it was ne¬
cessary to darken the room before they could be seen to
advantage. He remained here about two years, as in his
former journey. He has engraved some Turkish portraits,
one of the empress queen, and the eldest archduchess, in
Turkish habits, besides the heads of the emperor and em¬
press. He painted well in miniature, and also in enamel,
though he seldom practised it. But he is best known by
his works in crayons. His likenesses were as exact as
possible, sometimes too like to please those who sat to him.
Being devoid of imagination, he could render nothing but
L I P
L: iri. what he saw before his eyes. Freckles, marks of the small-
—''pox, every thing found its place; not so much from fideli¬
ty, as because he could not conceive the absence of any
thing that appeared to him. Truth prevailed in all his works,
grace in few or none. Nor was there any ease in his out¬
line ; the stiffness of a bust prevailed in all his portraits.
LIPARI, the collective name of a group of islands in
the Mediterranean Sea, forming a part of the kingdom of
Naples. They were known in the most remote ages as
the Ephestiades, in the subsequent centuries as the Aeo¬
lian Islands, and latterly have commonly borne the name
of the most considerable of their number. According to
the mythology of the heathens, they were imagined to be
the chimneys of a vast subterraneous cavity, inhabited by
Steropes, Brontes, and Argos; and the caverns in which
iEolus confined the winds were in this archipelago. Here
Diana was said to have been placed by Latona in her in¬
fancy, and here also Vulcan forged the thunderbolts of
Jupiter.
It is most probable that, at an early period, Liparus, the
son of Auson, having passed from Italy with some of his
followers, planted the largest of the islands, and conferred
his name upon it. iEolus, the son of Hippotas, arrived
afterwards, and marrying Cyane, the daughter of Lipa¬
rus, succeeded to the throne ; and being very attentive to
meteorology, and often successfully predicting changes of
weather, this may have given rise to the fabulous power
attributed to him. This colony had suffered a decline, in
spite of an augmentation of the inhabitants by the immi¬
gration of some Rhodians and Cnidians, when it was visited
by some Etruscan pirates, who built the city of Lipari, and,
by means of husbandmen transported from the continent,
extended cultivation to the other islands. Since that pe¬
riod, they have been subject to Sicily, forming in Chris¬
tian times a bishopric, restricted in 1394 to these islands.
The whole of these islands exhibit the corrosive effects
of gases and spray; but their western coasts, rising
abruptly in precipitous masses, and shelving down gradu¬
ally to the eastward, form an interesting geological feature,
in which it agrees with the greater part of the West In¬
dia and other islands. It is remarkable that, besides the
western coasts of all these islands being steep and craggy,
they have each of them a high isolated rock on their
northern shores. The basis of the whole group is horn-
stone, with the various alterations and decompositions oc¬
casioned by volcanic influence; an influence easily trace¬
able throughout these islands, in its grandest and wildest
varieties.
The climate is highly salubrious, and the weather gene¬
rally soft and refreshing; but though there are a few trifl¬
ing springs, a general scarcity of water is experienced, as
the soil, consisting almost entirely of scorise, tuffa, pumice,
pozzolana, and ashes, without any intervening stony stra¬
tum, except occasional masses of obdurate vitrification,
rapidly absorbs the moisture. The natives are consequent¬
ly obliged to construct capacious cisterns, in which rain¬
water is preserved in a cool temperature. Most of the
cattle are lean, and they are not abundant, as the pastur¬
age is only adapted for the most part to the feeding of
Jl - goats. The land is well cultivated, and yields grapes,
currants, figs, prickly pears, corn, cotton, olives, and pulse,
which latter grow under the cane trellises that support
the vines. Violent rains sometimes cause great injury
to the grounds, owing to their situation, and the friabili¬
ty of the soil; and at other times swarms of locusts great¬
ly injure and diminish the produce. A large quantity of
wine and currants is annually exported, and an active
trade is carried on in bitumen, pumice, nitre, pozzolana,
cinnabar, coral, and fish. At one period alum formed a
considerable article of export, but it has decreased, pro¬
bably owing to the diminished heat of the subterranean
VOL. XIII.
LIP 369
fires. Some sulphur is still shipped, but in less quantity Lipari.
than formerly, owing to a prejudice entertained by the^
inhabitants, that the vapour which arises from purifying it
infects the air, and is injurious to vegetation.
The inhabitants, who amount in all these islands to
22,350, are contented, temperate, and hardy, and are es¬
teemed excellent sailors; but they are commonly consi¬
dered as impertinent, mean, and immoral. They are by
no means ricb, but few are in extreme poverty ; and, from
leading an active life, they are healthy, except that, from
their filthy habits, the itch is very prevalent amongst all
classes. They are described as very expert slingers and
throwers of stones, a valuable talent in an unarmed popu¬
lation, exposed to predatory visits from corsairs. The
islands are variously enumerated, some stating them to
be eight or nine, and others eleven. This has arisen from
those who stated them at the greater numbers including
some which are uninhabited, or may be considered as mere
rocks belonging to adjacent islands.
ls£, The island of Lipari is the largest and most populous
of the whole group. It is accessible by a bay on the east
side of the island, formed on the north by Monte Rosso,
an immense mass of volcanic matter, and on the south by
Cape Capistello, a rugged rock of lava. It is hilly, but
intermixed with peculiarly beautiful and fertile valleys
and plains, from which, amongst other produce, is supplied
the Malmsey wine, whose flavour is admired in most parts
of the world. The extent of the island is 110 square
miles, and the population amounts to about 15,000 per¬
sons. Lipari has not suffered from volcanic eruptions for
many ages, but its subterraneous fires are not yet extin¬
guished ; for, on digging in the central parts of the island
to a trifling depth, heat, smoke, and a sulphureous smell,
immediately arise. The highest mountain, St Angelo,
contains a crater 200 feet wide ; and on another mountain,
Guardia, the course of the lava from an eruption is still
visible. Lipari is literally the wreck of a vast conflagra¬
tion, and affords perhaps the finest field in the world for
the study of the geologist. This island contains the capi¬
tal, the seat of government of the whole group. It is a
city of the same name, situated on the south-east side; it
has two havens, is the see of a bishop, and has a castle, a
cathedral, and several other churches. It is healthy, though
crowded, irregular, and filthy. It contains 12,500 inhabi¬
tants. Long. 14. 57. 50. E. Lat. 38. 27. 56. N.
2d, Volcano is a lofty island, fifteen miles in circuit, and
possesses two small ports on the northern side. At a
small distance from these ports is a hill, having a great
crater, with a deep valley encircling, and detaching it
from the neighbouring hills. It is about 2400 feet in
height, but accessible to the summit with no little fatigue
and some danger. The crater is a mile and a quarter in
circumference, and nearly a quarter of a mile deep, form¬
ing an inverted elliptical cone, with the northern consi¬
derably higher and hotter than the southern side. The in¬
terior is full of volcanic scoriae, coatbd over with sulphur,
alum, vitriol, and muriate of ammonia, diverging into every
possible shade of brown, red, green, blue, orange, black,
yellow, and white. From the numerous apertures in every
part, a sulphureous and hydrogenous vapour rushes out in
gusts, which, when collected on the sides, where a consi¬
derable quantity of sulphur has been deposited by subli¬
mation, forms a species of stalactite, covered with boracic
or other light efflorescences. The bottom is about two or
three hundred yards in extent. There is a frequent ex¬
plosion of gases, and a continued roar similar to that of
a cataract, or of many anchor-smiths’ forges, which im¬
press on the imagination the horrid feeling of being only
separated by a frail crust from some vast abyss of central
fire. Fire is only observable at night, when a pale lam¬
bent flame is seen to issue from many of the fissures, ac-
3 a
370 L I P
Lipari. companied with nauseous fumes and vapours. There are
few inhabitants, and these are mostly employed in the
sulphur works. Long. 14. 57. 50. E. Lat. 38. 27. 56. N.
3d, Salina. This island is to the north-west of Lipari, and
is about fourteen miles in circumference, with an indus¬
trious population of 4000 persons, employed in raising grain,
fruit, pulse, capers, salt, alum, and soda. Although no
mention is made in history of any eruption, it is evidently
of volcanic origin, and there are palpable vestiges of its
once desolating craters, the fires of which must have
ceased before the dawn of history, whilst they have now
become the most pleasing and fertile spots of the group of
islands. Long. 14. 55. 56. E. Lat. 38. 35. 40. N.
4di, Felicudi. This island is ten miles to the west¬
ward of Salina, is nine miles in circumference, and con¬
tains about 1100 inhabitants. The soil consists chiefly
of detached masses of ferruginous and argillaceous lava,
strongly marked with white felspars and black schorl,
intermixed with enamel, cinders, sand, and pozzolana.
It is highly fertile, and produces wheat, barley, grapes,
olives, pulse, and flax, in abundance. It is an extinct vol¬
cano, with three high mountains ; but there are no re¬
mains of the fire that produced the island, nor does his¬
tory give any accounts of eruptions. Long. 14. 29. 37. E.
Lat. 38. 34. 5. N.
bth, Alicudi. This is the westernmost of the islands,
and rises like a cone from the sea, having a crater, the
fires of which have been extinct for ages ; but the lava is
seen in grotesque streams, extending from the summit to
the sea. The few spots capable of cultivation are highly
fertile, and support 750 inhabitants. Long. 14. 16. 30. E.
Lat. 38. 32. 41. N.
6*4, Panaria, a small island to the north of Lipari, is
seven miles in circumference, has a good port, and about
two hundred inhabitants, who, from a rich soil, produce
corn, wine, soda, and especially excellent raisins. The
rocks around it, called the Dattoli, appear to have formed
the circumference of an immense crater. It was known
by the Romans as Thermissea, and was celebrated for its
warm baths. Long. 15. 2. 55. E. Lat. 38. 37. 40. N.
Ith, Basiluzzo, a small island to the north of Panaria,
is about a mile and three quarters in circumference, and
is very thinly inhabited. It produces corn, flax, and cu¬
linary vegetables, and is overrun with rabbits, which in¬
jure the crops. Like the rest of the group, this island ex¬
hibits abundant proofs of its volcanic origin. Long. 15.
7. 54. E. Lat. 38. 39. 50. N.
Bth, Stromboli, the most northern of this group of islands,
was known to the ancients by the name of Strongyle. It
is a conical mountain, with an irregular base. It is up¬
wards of 2000 feet high, is bifurcated, and about nine
miles in circumference ; and, from every indication, seems
an evident product of subterranean fire. The crater has
been rarely visited, on account of the great difficulty of
ascending to it. The best description is that of Captain
William Henry Smyfh, who surveyed the whole of these
islands, as well as the shores of the Mediterranean.
About one third of the way from the summit of the
mountain the crater appears. It is continually burning,
with frequent explosions, and a constant ejection of fiery
matter. It is of a circular form, about one hundred and
seventy yards in diameter, with a yellow efflorescence
adhering to its sides like that of iEtna. When the smoke
clears away, an undulating igneous substance is to be
seen, which at short intervals rises and falls with great
agitation, and, when swollen to the utmost height, bursts
with a violent explosion and a discharge of red-hot stones
in a semi-fluid state, accompanied with showers of ashes
and sand, and a strong sulphureous smell. The masses
are usually thrown up to the height of from sixty or
seventy to three hundred feet; but some, the descent of
L I P
which Captain Smyth found to occupy from nine to Lipes
twelve seconds, must have ascended above a thousand. il
In the moderate ejections, the stones in their ascent gra-, ^PP6,
dually diverge like a pyrotechnical exhibition, and fall
into the abyss again, except on the side next the sea,
where they roll down in quick succession, after bounding
from the declivity, to a considerable distance in the wa¬
ter. This crater, which is on the north-west side of the
mountain, has burned without intermission from the ear¬
liest periods. The incessant combustion is supposed to
be kept up by oxygen, pyrites, and sulphur ; but there are
no traces of the presence of bitumen. It appears to be
not only the vent of all these islands, but to have a subter¬
raneous communication with Sicily and Italy; for, previ¬
ous to a severe earthquake taking place in those parts,
Stromboli has been observed to be covered with dense
clouds of smoke, and to emit, with increased activity, un¬
usually ardent flames. It appears, moreover, from the
concurrent relation of the islanders, to be influenced by
atmospheric changes, as storms, particularly those from
the southward, which are preceded by thick volumes of
smoke, so that the native pilots are guided at night by its
flame, and gain intimation of the weather by day from
the smoke.
The island contains about 1200 inhabitants, who have
neither magistrate nor lawyer, but are governed by two
priests. The soil is a fertile black mould, producing wine,
wheat, barley, cotton, raisins, currants, and figs. There
is an extinct volcano on Mount Schicceola, which burned
in the time of Aristotle, and was noticed by him. The
church is dedicated to St Bartholomew, and is in long.
15. 13. 10. E. and lat. 38. 48. 12. N.
LIPES, a province of Bolivia, or Upper Peru, in the
department of Potosi, aboutsixty leagues long from north¬
west to south-east, and twenty in breadth. It was for¬
merly a place of great wealth, possessing a considerable
number of valuable mines; but many of them have been
abandoned on account of the breaking in of water. It has
still two mines of gold, one of silver, and one of copper;
together with mines of red and white copper, the strata
of which are intermixed with gold, silver, iron, and load¬
stone. The climate is generally cold, and the land un¬
fruitful ; but there are particular parts where it is good,
and vegetation considerable. Cattle are found in great
abundance, inhabiting that part of the chain of the Andes
which intersects the province. There are also great num¬
bers of birds.
Lipes, the capital of the above province, was formerly
a large and populous town, but has gradually decayed in
importance with the province. It is now a small and
miserable place. Long. 68. 16. W. Lat. 21. 40. S. The
population of the district and town is estimated at about
20,000.
LIPEZK, a circle in the Russian province of Tambow,
extending from north latitude 52. 6. to 52. 4., and from
east longitude 39. 18. to 40. 32., and containing 1208
square miles. It consists of an extended plane, which in¬
cludes some steppes, and is more abundant in corn than
in wood. It is watered by the rivers Woronesh and Worona.
The capital is the city of the same name situated on the
Woronesh, 760 miles from St Petersburg, containing 1015
houses and 6440 inhabitants. Long. 39. 45. E. Lat. 52.
50. N.
LIPPA, a fortified town of the circle of Arad, in the
province of Farther Theiss, in Hungary. It stands on
the river Maros, has a Catholic and a Greek church, and
is the seat of a protopope. It contains 390 houses, and
2530 inhabitants, who make much culinary salt, and grow
good corn and wine. Long. 21. 35. 7. E. Lat. 46. 5.
9. N.
LIPPE, the capital of a county of the same name in the
L I P
L I P
371
jjppe- circle of Westphalia, in Germany. It is situated on a ri-
Dimold ver of the same name, and was formerly the residence of
Mil. the principal branch of the house of Lippe. It is now in
I^siiis. tjie pOSSession of the king of Prussia, and carries on a good
trade in preparing timber for building vessels on the
Rhine, with which it has a communication by the river
Lippe. The country round it is unwholesome and marshy.
Long. 8. 12. E. Lat. 51. 43. N.
LIPPE-DETMOLD, a principality in the north-west
of Germany. It is bounded on the north by the Prussian
Westphalian province, on the north-east by Schauenburg,
on the east by Hanover and Waldeck, and on the south¬
east, south, and west by the Prussian provinces. It is
453 square miles in extent, and comprehends six walled
towns, five market-towns, and 145 villages, with 71,450
inhabitants. It is a hilly and woody district, between the
Rhine and the Weser. On the slope of the hills there
is some good wheat and rye land, but the whole principa¬
lity produces barely corn sufficient for the consumption,
and the cultivation of potatoes has been of late years ex¬
tended in a degree commensurate with the increase of the
population. The only articles for exportation furnished
by the state are wood, which passes down the Weser to
Bremen ; flax and linen yarn, which is sold to the mak¬
ers of linen in Lemgo, Bielfield, and other parts of West¬
phalia ; and wool, which passes by Bremen to England or
Holland. There are no mines, but there is a saline spring
at Salzuflen, from which 35,000 bushels of culinary salt
are prepared. The income of the state is about L.48,000
yearly, of which L.30,000 is derived from the princely
domains and royalties. There was a national debt till
lately, but it is nearly discharged by a sinking fund. The
military force consists of a battalion of infantry, containing
300 men; besides which there is a militia, in which every
man is liable to serve. The principality is divided into
twelve bailiwicks. The capital is the city of Detmold,
containing 2500 inhabitants.
LIPPI, Lorenzo, an historical and portrait painter,
was born in 1606, and learned the principles of painting
from Matteo Roselli. He had a fine genius for music
and poetry, as well as for painting; and in the latter his
proficiency was so great, that some of his compositions
in the historical style were taken for those of Roselli. But
becoming dissatisfied with the manner of that master, he
chose that of Santi di Titi, who was excellent both in de¬
sign and invention, and appeared to have more of simple
nature and truth in his compositions than any other artist
of that time. At Florence Lippi painted many excellent
designs for the chapels and convents, by which he extend¬
ed his reputation ; and at the court of Innspruck he paint¬
ed a great number of portraits of the first nobility, which
were deservedly admired. Yet, although he was fond of
imitating simple nature without any embellishments of in¬
vention, his works are held in the highest esteem for the.
graceful airs of the heads, the correctness of his outline,
and the elegant disposition of the figures. He died in
1664.
LIPPSTADT, a city, the capital of a circle of the same
name in the Westphalian Prussian government of Arens-
I - burg. It stands on the river Lippe, and contains 575 houses
and 3290 inhabitants. There are in it one Catholic, one
Calvinist, and four Lutheran churches. One half of the city
belongs to the prince of Lippe-Detmold, but the garrison
consists of Prussians, and the officers of that monarch
regulate the affairs of the post. There is some trade in
linen and woollen goods, and in making oil, soap, vinegar,
and corn spirits. Long. 7* 45. 55. E. Lat. 51. 38. 59. N,
LIPSIUS, Justus,‘ a critic and antiquary of high repu¬
tation, was born on the 18th of October 1547, at the vil¬
lage of Isque, situate at an equal distance from Brussels
and Louvain. His father, Gilles Lipse, a native of Brus¬
sels, belonged to one of the best families of that city, and Lipsius.
inherited considerable property, which he impaired by his
improvident mode of life. The name of his mother was
Isabelle Petirive. At the age of six he removed to Brus¬
sels along with his parents ; and being then sent to school,
he discovered great aptitude for acquiring the elements of
learning. Having reached his tenth year, he was placed
at Ath in Hainaut, where he was initiated in Latin gram¬
mar ; and after another interval of two years, he became
a student in the college of the Jesuits at Cologne. There
he devoted himself to the study of the Greek language,
and likewise of history and philosophy. It was the policy
of the Jesuits to allure into their society such of their
pupils as exhibited the greatest promise of talent; and
this young scholar was nearly entangled in their net,
when his parents, having heard of his desire to enrol him¬
self in the fraternity, recalled him from Cologne, and sent
him to the university of Louvain. He had then attained
the age of seventeen, and had already begun to exhibit
various indications of his future eminence in letters. His
father had destined him for the legal profession, and, that
he might seem to comply with his wishes, the son bestow¬
ed some attention upon-the study of jurisprudence; but
philology and philosophy were his favourite pursuits, and
of his proficiency in philology he exhibited a very early
and conspicuous specimen. The death of his father, when
he himself had nearly completed the eighteenth year of
his age, left him at full liberty to devote himself to such
studies as best suited his own inclination. After this
event, his mother fixed her residence at Louvain, bring¬
ing with her an only daughter: she made a strenuous ef¬
fort to preserve the remnant of their fortune, but her
worldly cares were soon terminated by a dropsy. In the
year 1567, before he had completed the age of twenty, he
published his “ Yariarum Lectionum libri tres,’’ which he
dedicated to Cai'dinal de Granvelle, and which procured
him no mean reputation as a critic. It likewise had the
effect of recommending him to the favour pf this digni¬
tary ; who on proceeding to Rome for the purpose of as¬
sisting at the election of a pope, was accompanied by
Lipsius in the capacity of his Latin secretary.
Here he had an opportunity of attending the prelections
of Muretus, who was at that time a professor in the uni¬
versity of Rome; and with this very elegant scholar he
appears to have contracted some degree of intimacy. He
likewise became acquainted with several other learned
men who then resided in Italy. His leisure hours were
chiefly devoted to the examination of manuscripts pre¬
served in the Vatican and other libraries; nor did he ne¬
glect those monuments of antiquity which, in so many
different forms, solicited the notice of a young and ar¬
dent scholar. In the service of the cardinal he. continued
nearly two years ; and having then returned to Louvain,
and being released from all his engagements, as well as
from all restraint, he there spent another year with little
improvement of his learning or morals. But he at length
became sensible of the folly of a life wasted in the frivo¬
lous and unsatisfactory pursuit of pleasure ; and in order
to effect a complete interruption of his habits and asso¬
ciations, he adopted the prudent resolution of again tra¬
velling in foreign countries. On passing through Tranche
Comte, he directed his course to Dole, the seat of a uni¬
versity, and there pronounced a panegyric on his friend
Victor Giselin, on the occasion of his taking a doctor’s
degree in physic. To the banquet which followed this
ceremony he did so much honour, that he was seized with
a fever which endangered his life. On regaining sufficient
strength, he pursued his journey to Vienna, and there
became acquainted with Busbequius, Sambucus, Pighius,
and other men of learning. Such was the impression of
his talents and attainments, that he was solicited to re-
372 L I P S I U S.
Lipsius. main in the Austrian dominions; but he declined more
■—-v"'"'' than one offer of employment, and adhered to the resolu¬
tion of returning to his native country. Proceeding to
Bohemia, he visited Prague, and was travelling through
Germany, when he received an alarming account of the
progress of the war in the Netherlands, and the serious
injury to which his own property had been exposed. In
this situation of his affairs, he was glad to accept the pro¬
fessorship of history and eloquence in the university of
Jena. To this office he was admitted in the year 1572,
and he retained it till the first of May 1574, when some
indications of a favourable change had encouraged him to
think of revisiting his native soil. But he first directed
his course towards Cologne, where he married a widow
named Anne Calstrie, who was descended of a good fa¬
mily at Louvain, and by whom he had no children. His
first edition of Tacitus was printed in octavo, at Ant¬
werp, in the year 1574. To the illustration of this favou¬
rite author he afterwards devoted much labour ; and a
sixth edition, in folio and quarto, was printed at the same
place in 1600. His “ Antiquarum Lectionum libri quin-
que” were printed at Antwerp in 1575.
Having lingered nine months at Cologne, he conducted
his wife to Isque, where he hoped to lead a life of stu¬
dious tranquillity ; but his dreams of felicity were speedi¬
ly dispelled by the renewal of hostilities in that vicinity,
and he found it expedient to seek shelter at Louvain. At
the suggestion of his friends, he resumed the study of ju¬
risprudence, and in the year 1576 he took the degree of
LL. D. His taste and inclination did not lead him to the
practice of this profession; but his knowledge of the civil
law was of material use in the illustration of Homan anti¬
quities. In 1577 he published his “ Epistolicarum Quses-
tionum libri quinque ; in quis ad varies Scriptores, ple-
raeque ad T. Livium, Notae.” Here he could not long
pursue his studies without alarm and danger: the war
continuing with unabated vigour, Louvain was exposed
to a siege, and changed its masters. After this event, he
was offered the professorship of history in the university
of Leyden ; to which he accordingly removed in the year
1579, and there taught with high reputation. At Lou¬
vain he was a papist, at Jena he had been a Lutheran,
and at Leyden he now became a Calvinist; if any ade¬
quate preferment had allured him to Constantinople, he
would in all probability have become a Mohammedan.
Towards the close of his life, Lipsius denied that he had
ever conformed to the established church of Holland ;
but if any regard is due to this denial, how are we to un¬
derstand the positive declaration of his zealous biogra¬
pher Le Mire, who has stated that after his retreat from
Leyden, he was publicly reconciled to the church of
Rome ? If he had never forsaken its communion, where
was the necessity or the pretext for such a reconciliation ?
Niceron admits that he long appeared to be very indiffe¬
rent about religion, and that it was his great principle to
conform to the religion of the place where he resided;
but, subjoins the reverend father, he at length quitted
this state of indifference, and was constantly and sincere¬
ly attached to the Catholic faith, in which he was born.1
Of the sincerity of a man who had so long adhered to this
great principle, that is, who had so long evinced a total
want of principle, it would seem but reasonable to require
some very substantial evidence. During the latter years
of his life, he certainly adhered to the tenets of popery,
and endeavoured to signalize his zeal by professing to
merge his intellect in the most abject superstition: but
this was perhaps the mere zeal of a convert making his
third profession, and fully aware of the extreme suspicion
which his previous conduct could not have failed to ex--y^
cite ; and had the course of his fortunes finally conducted
him from Louvain to Oxford, it is by no means a violent
or uncharitable supposition that he might have closed his
career in the odour of high-church sanctity..
At Leyden he produced several of his more elaborate
works. In 1580 appeared “ Electorum liber primus,” and
in 1582 “ Electorum libri duo ; in quibus, prseter Censu-
ras, varii prisci Ritus in 1584 “ De Amphitheatro liber;
in quo Forma ipsa Loci expressa, et ratio spectandito
which is subjoined “ De Amphitheatris quae extra Romam
libellus and in 1585 “ Saturnalium Sermonum libri duo,
qui de Gladiatoribus.” In 1586 he published “ De recta
Pronuntiatione Latinae Linguae Dialogusof which dia¬
logue the scene is laid in Rome, and the interlocutors are
Lipsius and Muretus. It is dedicated to Sir Philip Sidney.
His edition of the tragedies ascribed to Seneca was printed
in 1588. Nor were his enquiries confined to philology and
antiquities. In 1584 he had published “ De Constantia
libri duo, qui Alloquium praecipue continent in publicis
Malis ; ’ and in 1589 he produced a more ample work en¬
titled “ Politicorum, sive Civilis Doctrinae, libri sex, qui
ad Principatum maxime spectant.” The publication of
this work was attended with some unpleasant consequences
to the author, and it served to evince that his wisdom was
not equal to his learning. He recommends, in very plain
terms, the punishment of heretics, or, in other words, of
those who dissent from the established faith ; nor can it
escape the observation of the most obtuse reader that this
recommendation proceeded from a man who, according to
his own doctrine, ought to have been punished at Jena if
he had adhered to the opinions which he professed at Lou¬
vain, who ought to have been punished at Leyden if he had
adhered to the opinions which he professed at Jena. But
it must be admitted that his conduct was perfectly consis¬
tent in one respect, inasmuch as he changed his religion as
often as he changed his place of residence. Wherever his
lot was cast, he was never to be found among the noncon¬
formists. This doctrine of exterminating heresy by fire
and sword, proceeded with a peculiar grace from an indi¬
vidual who, having escaped from the wreck of his fortunes,
had been protected and cherished by a people so recently
released from the iron yoke of Spain, with all the atrocities
of the Spanish inquisition. His intolerant opinions were
immediately attacked by Theodore Koornhert; and finding
himself placed in a situation of no small embarrassment,
he, in 1590, made a very abortive attempt to defend him¬
self, in a work entitled “ De una Religione adversus Dia-
logistam liber; in quo tria capita libri quarti Politicorum
explicantur.” His antagonist prepared a reply, which was
not printed till after the death of the author.2 In conse¬
quence of these illiberal and unseasonable speculations, he
probably found that his residence in Holland had been ren¬
dered less agreeable. Under the pretext of drinking the
medicinal waters, he proceeded to Spa, and afterwards with¬
drew to Mentz, where the Jesuits gladly received the lost
sheep returning to the sheepfold. From this place, on the
14th of April 1591, he addressed a canting letter to Delrio,
a learned father of the same order ; and only a short time
elapsed before he was publicly reconciled to that church
whose communion he had renounced as often as it suited
his interest. So true it is that the bigots of a corrupt
church are easily satisfied with a specious show of outward
conformity, while the disguise of their votary is too trans¬
parent to deceive any one who is unwilling to be deceived.
On ascertaining that there was no hope of his returning to
1 Niceron, Memoires pour servir a PHistoire des Homines illustres, tom. xxiv. p. 110.
2 See Bayle, Dictionaire Historique et Critique, tom. ii. p. 1723.
L I P S I U S.
373
Leyden, the curators of the university manifested the ut-
' most anxiety to find another scholar of equal and even su¬
perior attainments ; and with true discernment they select¬
ed Joseph Scaliger, a man distinguished beyond all others
by the extent and solidity of his learning. The rulers of
the state acted with conspicuous liberality towards him,
and afterwards towards Salmasius ; “ who,” as Dr Bentley
has remarked, “ were invited out of their own country with
the solemnity almost of an embassy, that they would ho¬
nour a potent republic with their presence, and accept of a
noble pension without any incumbrance of an office.”1 In
many r-espects, Scaliger was greatly superior to Lipsius,
and in none more than in the knowledge of the Greek lan¬
guage and literature, both of which his capacious mind had
embraced in their entire conjpass. His advice and exam¬
ple had a great and lasting influence in recommending this
study to the youth of his adopted nation, in which it long
continued to flourish with a degree of vigour scarcely
equalled in any other country of Europe.2
Having entered Mentz as a heretic and quitted it as a
good catholic, he afterwards lingered for about two years
at Spa and Liege. During this interval, many advantage¬
ous offers were made to him by princes and by dignitaries
of the church. One offer, not from a king or cardinal, but
from a private individual, deserves to be recorded : Bene-
dictus Arias Montanus, a learned Spaniard whose name is
so frequently mentioned in the annals of biblical literature,
repeatedly urged him to come and share his income during
his life, and to be the heir of all his property at his death.
But the love of his native land prevailed over many other
inducements, and Lipsius finally returned to Louvain as
professor of history and eloquence. His salary as a pro¬
fessor amounted to eight hundred florins ; and with the
title of historiographer royal, Philip the Second bestowed
upon him a pension of one thousand. The archduke Al¬
bert, governor of the Netherlands, added two hundred
florins, and nominated him a member of the council; but
having no wish or aptitude to engage in public affairs, he
wisely restricted himself to the duties of his academical
office. He taught with much ability, and with high repu- Lipsius.
tation, but his lectures did not attract a numerous audi- -v—-
tory ; the students of that university having been trained
by the Jesuits to set a higher value upon scholastic dispu¬
tation than upon classical erudition.3 He however con¬
tinued with unabating ardour to pursue his favourite in¬
vestigations, and about this period he composed several
of his antiquarian works. “ De Cruce libri tres, ad sacram
profanamque Historiam utiles,” appeared in 1595 ; “ De
Militia Romana libri quinque ; Commentarius ad Poly-
bium,” in 1596 ; “ Poliorceticwn, sive de Machinis, Tor-
mentis, Telis, libri quinque,” in the same year ; “ Admi-
randa, sive de Magnitudine Romana, libri quatuor,” in
1598; “ De Vesta et Vestalibus,” in 1603. In 1604 he
published “ Manuductionis ad Stoicam Philosophiam libri
tres, & Physiologise Stoicorum libri tres, L. Annaeo
Senecae, aliisque Scriptoribus illustrandis.” “ Monita et
Exempla Politica, libri duo, qui Virtutes et Vitia Prin-
cipum spectant,” followed in 1605. In the course of the
same year he published his edition of Seneca the philo¬
sopher, and likewise “ Lovanium, sive Oppidi et Academiae
ejus Descriptio.” It would have been well for his repu¬
tation if he had adhered to such lucubrations as these, in¬
stead of occupying himself with miserable details of the
miracles of our Lady of Hall and of Zichem. In 1604
he published “ Diva Virgo Hallensis ; Beneficia ejus et
Miracula fide atque ordine descripta and in 1605 “ Diva
Sichemiensis, sive Aspricollis; nova ejus Beneficia et Ad-
miranda.” These abject tales of superstition exposed him
to the ridicule and contempt of protestants, nor have the
more rational papists commended him for such a manifes¬
tation of his zeal. His idolatry of the wooden goddess4 5
afforded occasion for several controversial tracts; and the
character of Lipsius was not much indebted to those
friends who undertook his vindication. One of his fier¬
cest antagonists was our learned countryman George Thom¬
son, who was a protestant clergyman in France, and the
author of several works in French as well as Latin.3 In
the year 1602 the professor had suspended his silver pen
1 Bentley’s Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, p. c.
2 “ Sub ipsa academise incunabula Leidae bonas literas docuit Justus Lipsius, perfectus literis Latinis, Grsecarum mediocriter peritus.
Is dicere ausus est, Grsecas literas homini erudito decoras esse, necessarias non item. Quod stultissimum dictum Isaaco etiam Ca-
saubono, quo non fuit lenioris naturae criticus, vehementer bilem movit. Sed bonum factum, quod tarn perniciosa literis opinio nullas
radices egit. Mox enim tamquam coelo missus Josephus Scaliger, cui Batavi prope omnem rectum ingenii cultum, quem exeo tem¬
pore ceperint, si grati esse velint, acceptum referre debent, Scaliger igiturcum ceteras ingenuas artes, turn Graecas literas, earumque
cum Latinis conjunctionem, in his regionibus fundavit. Scaligerana disciplina per Grotios, Heinsios, Gronovios, Graevios, et alios
usque ad patrum nostrorum memoriam propagata est.” (Ruhnkenii Elogium Tiberii Hemsterhusii: Opuscula, tom. i. p. 2G8,)
3 “ Docet vir doctus,” says Scultet in allusion to Puteanus, “ ut et ante ipsum Lipsius, in sterili auditorio, non alia de causa (ex
magno viro hoc audivi) quam quod juventus a melioribus studiis ad tricas disputationum scholasticarum per Jesuitas avocatur : a
quibus hominibus, imperium in orbis terrarum academias affectantibus, nihil aliud quam barbarica politiorum literarum captivitas
est expectanda.” (De Curriculo Vitae, inprimis vero de Actionibus Pragensibus Abrah. Sculteti, p. 60. Emdae, 1625,4to.) Erycius
Puteanus was the immediate successor of Lipsius.
4 An anonymous work, written by P. Denaisius, a German lawyer, was published under the following title: “ Dissertatio de Idolo
Hallensi, Justi Lipsii Mangonio et Phaleris ornato, atque producto.” Heidelbergae, 1605, 4to. This dissertation was answered by a
Carmelite friar named Anastase Cochlet: “ Pahestrita Honoris D. Virginis Hallensis pro Justo Lipsio.” Antv. 1607, 8vo.
5 Yindex Yeritatis : adversus Justum Lipsium libri duo. Prior insanam ejus religionem politicam, fatuam nefariamque de Fato,
sceleratissimam de Fraude doctrinam refellit. Posterior 'Fs»Wa^sy*w Sichemiensis, id est, Idoli Aspricollis, et Deoe lignese miracula
convellit. Uterque Lipsium ab Oreo Gentilismum revocasse docet. Auctore Georgio Thomsono Andreapolitano Scoto-Britanno.
Londini, 1606, 8vo. The defence of Lipsius was undertaken by Claude Dausquei, a canon of Tournay, who published a work entitled
“ Scutum duplex, alterum B. Virginis Aspri-Collensis, alterum J. Lipsii; utrumque adversus Agricoloe Thracii satyricas petitiones.”
Duaci, 1610, 8vo. Thomson is mentioned in the following terms by Dominicus Baudius : “ Georgium Thomsonum amo quidem et
aestimo plurimum, ob studium bonarum partium, et egregios in solida doctrina progressus ; sed, utverum apud te fabuler, nullo modo
possum probare nimiam ejus violentiam atque asperitatem in nostrum Lipsium : cujus quidem Divarum sanos omnes pudet pigetque,
sed tamen majore cum reverentia tractandum fuit praestantissimum pene ingenium hujus seculi, et qui pro parte sua strenue tutatus
est literarum gloriam.” (Baudii Epistolse, p. 298. edit. Lugd. Bat. 1650, 12mo.) See likewise p. 242. and Camdeni Epistoke, p. 71.
Lond. 1691, 4to. His treatment of Lipsius is more strongly censured by Scaliger: “ De libro Georgii Thomsoni gratias ago. Mi-
tius illi cum Lipsio agendum, et alia via cum illo congrediendum fuit. Nam praefractam illam et gladiatoriam violentiam non laudo.
Non enim tanquam vindex veritatis, ut ipse profitetur, sed tanquam ultor offensae alicujus cum eo agit, quum tamen ab eo nunquam
ne verbulo quidem ullo loesus aut perstrictus fuerit.” (Scaligeri Epistolae, p. 809. Lugd. Bat. 1627, 8vo.) George Thomson was
born at St Andrews, and studied in the university of his native city. Here he took the degree of A. M. and was incorporated at Ox¬
ford on the 30th of August 1605. (Wood’s Fasti Oxonienses, part i. col. 309. Bliss’s edit.) He was appointed minister of the re¬
formed church at Chataigneraye in Poitou. His command of the French language, and his eloquence as a preacher, are celebrated
by John Dunbar. (Epigrammaton centurhe sex decades totidem, p. 191. Lond. 1616, 8vo.) Under the date of 1617, we find the
following obituary notice by Robert Boyd : “ Mr Thomson, pasteur de la Chaistaignoraye, demeurant a la laiterie en Poytou ;
374
Lipsius. in the chapel of our Lady of Hall, to whose intercession
—v—-*1’ he ascribed his recovery from a painful disease ; and his
votive tablet was ornamented with an effusion in Latin
verse, not remarkable for the elegance of the composition.
Here we very clearly discern the spirit of pagan idolatry;
and it was under the same cloud of superstitious delusion
that he awaited the approach of death. His biographer
has deemed it worthy of record, that, when the spark of
life was nearly extinct, he prayed with great fervour to
the blessed virgin : of his reliance on the mercy of God
through the atonement and mediation of Christ, we find
a less anxious commemoration. With his dying breath
he directed his wife to deposit his academical gown at the
altar of the virgin in the church of St Peter; and having
now testified as much false and as little true devotion as
the five priests in attendance could require or expect, he
expired on the 23d of March 1606, in the fifty-ninth year
of his age. According to the direction of his testament,
his remains were interred before the altar of the virgin in
the church of the Franciscan friars. His death was la¬
mented and his merits were extolled in prose and in verse
by many different writers. One of his admirers under¬
took to prove that he wras a good catholic; and of what
materials a good catholic may be composed, we have al¬
ready had occasion to state. Another, Wower of Ant¬
werp, thought himself well employed in defending the pro¬
priety of his devout dedication of an old gown edged with
fur ; an act of driveling imbecility which had exposed his
memory to much sarcastic animadversion.
Vidit homo frigere sme miracula divse,
Crassaque pro calido stragula thure dedit.
I u s.
dence at Louvain he generally kept three, one of them Lipsius.
being of a Scotish breed.
Lipsius was a great master of the Latin language and
literature. He has evinced much critical skill, as well as
much erudition, in illustrating many of the ancient au¬
thors, and many different branches of Roman antiquities.
His lucubrations on the poets are not in general very feli¬
citous, nor did his taste particularly qualify him for this
department of classical criticism : of the style and scope
of historians, philosophers, grammarians, and rhetoricians,
he was a more competent judge. In the Greek language
he was not eminently skilled; and he has occasionally
treated of subjects which required that knowledge in which
he was somewhat deficient. His treatise on the military
affairs of the Romans is foupiled on the Greek text of Po¬
lybius, which he transcribes and expounds; but, according
to the opinion of Casaubon, where that text was formerly
obscure, he has left it without any new elucidation. It is
another charge against the same work, urged by Scaliger
and Salmasius,1 and repeated by many later writers, that
the materials are in a great measure stolen from the Ita¬
lian treatise of Patrizi.2 Nor is this the only occasion
on which an accusation of downright plagiarism has been
preferred against him : Muretus complained of his having
appropriated some of his emendations on Tacitus; and
Faber, in more indignant terms, averred that from his
Semestria Lipsius had without acknowledgment borrowed
the best part of the materials for his treatise on the gla¬
diators. Torrentius and other writers had similar charges
to prefer against him, nor is it easy to believe that these
accusations were destitute of all foundation.3
The political writings of Lipsius possess little or no va¬
lue, excep. as a mere ■collection of facts and quotations.
Here he displays no liberality or enlargement of mind; and
beyond the limits of classical erudition, he appears to have
been a man of very slender judgment. His two treatises
on the Stoic philosophy are however of more interest and
importance. His taste in composition was singularly quaint
and affected, nor does he seem to have retained the power
of conveying any information in plain and direct terms.
This vitiated mode of writing excited the disgust of some
of his most learned contemporaries ; and on the Latinity
of Lipsius a volume of 560 pages was published by H.
Stephanus.4 A considerable portion of it is however oc¬
cupied with considerations respecting a war with the
Turks ; and this, says Scaliger, appeared so ridiculous that
some person proposed to entitle it “ De Lipsii Latinitate
adversus Turcdm." “ The style of Lipsius,” says Dr Jor-
tin, “ is execrable, in his later compositions ; for in his
The personal appearance of Lipsius presented nothing
very striking or dignified. Le Mire, who abounds in rhe¬
torical flourishes, is pleased to inform us that he had a
divine twinkle in his eye ; but he does not attempt to
disguise the fact, that many of the strangers who came to
visit him were not a little disappointed at the meanness
of his aspect. He had an ample forehead, and was of an
ordinary size and shape; but during the latter part of his
life, his appearance was much affected by the diseased
state of his liver. Fie lived in a plain style, and retained
only one man servant, who likewise acted as his amanu¬
ensis. Nature had denied him all relish for music; but
from his literary toils he found an agreeable relaxation in
the cultivation of his garden, which was planted with a
variety of flowers, and was particularly rich in tulips. Flis
biographer has likewise thought it worthy of notice fhat
he was always fond of dogs, and that during his last resi-
L I P S
homme scavant, disert, joyeuse, entier, et d’un fort agreable conversation.” (Bannatyne Miscellany, vol. i. p. 289.) Thomson is the
author of a large volume entitled La Chasse de la Beste liomaine : ou est refute le xxiii. chap, du Catechisme et Abrege des Con-
troverses de nostre temps touchant la Religion Catholique, imprime a Fontenay le Comte en Tan M.DC. VII. et est recerche' et
evidemment prouve' que le Pape est I’Antichrist. Par George Thomson, Pasteur de 1’Eglise Reformee de la Chastegneraye.’’ Ro¬
chelle, 1611, 8vo. Geneve, 1612, 8vo. Some copies of the second edition likewise bear Rochelle. Some passages of this elaborate
work were attacked by Rene le Corvaisier, in “ La Chasse au Loup Cervier, contre les Calomnies de G. Thomson.’’ Paris, 1612, 8vo.
Thomson strenuously defended himself in “ La Desroute de la Chasse du Loup Cervier; ou, Refutation du Traicte du leusne, fait
par Maistre Rene le Corvaisier, soi disant Theologien de la Faculte de Paris : contre quelques passages par lui attaques en la Chasse
de la Beste Romaine. Par George Thomson,” &c. Rochelle, 1612, 8vo. Thomson had at an earlier period published a French version
of Napier’s commentary on the Revelation, under the subsequent title : “ Ouverture de tons les Secrets de 1’Apocalypse ou Revelation
de S. lean, par deux traite's, 1’un recerchant et prouvant la vraye interpretation d’icelie, 1’autre appliquant au texte ceste inter¬
pretation paraphrastiquement et historiquement, par lean Napeir (c. a. d.) Nonpareil, Sieur de Merchiston : reveue par lui-mesme,
et raise en Francois par Georges Thomson Escossois.” Rochelle, 1602, 4to. Rochelle, 1605, 8vo. Rochelle, 1607, 8vo. To the se¬
cond edition he added “ Quatre Harmonies sur la Revelation de S. lean.” His Latin poems are partly reprinted in the DeMia Poe-
tarurn Scotorum, tom. ii. p. 509-38.
1 Scaligerana, p. 143. Salmasii Epistolae, p. 213. Lugd. Bat. 1656, 4to.
2 La Militia Romana di Polibio, di Tito Livio, e di Dionigi Alicarnaseo, da Francesco Patricii dichiarata, e con varie figure illus-
trata: la quale a pieno intesa, non solo dara altrui stupore de’ suoi buoni ordini e disciplina, ma ancora, in paragone, fara chiaro
quanto la moderna sia difettosa e imperfetta. Ferrara, 1583, 4to.
:1 Thomasii Hissertatio philosophica de Plagio Literario, § 115. 222. 487- Lipsiae, 1673, 4to. Crenii de Furibus Librariis Disser-
tationes epistolicae, p. 95. Lugd. Bat. 1716, 12mo.
4 De Lipsii Latinitate (ut ipsimet antiquarii antiquarium Lipsii stylum indigitant) Palaestra I. Henr. Stephani, Parisiensis, nec
Lipsiomimi, nec Lipsiomomi, nec Lipsiocolacis, multoque minus Lipsiomastigis, Ac. Francofordii, 1595, 8vo.
L I Q
Ijiqpfac- youth he wrote far better, till he fell into a broken, inco-
icn herent, sententious, oracular, and figurative language, not
through incapacity of doing better, but through an affected
iZ°!\ancl vitiated taste. He had a few disciples, who imitated
him, and wrote ten times worse than he, because they had
not his learning, and his fancy, and vivacity ; he was in¬
genious, and they were dull.”1 His Latinity has,been
zealously vindicated by Klotz, who was however a lover of
paradoxes ; nor is it very probable that his arguments have
made much impression on any scholar of a genuine taste
for classical composition.2
The epistles of Lipsius, amounting to the number of a
thousand, occupy an entire volume in the collection of his
works ; and to this number a very large addition was after¬
wards made by Burman.3 Many of them relate to topics
of literature, and are very elaborate. On epistolary com¬
position he has left a brief treatise, entitled “ Epistolica
Institutio.” Another of his short tracts may likewise de¬
serve to be mentioned, namely, “ De Bibliothecis Syntag¬
ma,” which relates to the libraries of ancient times. His
only labour as a civilian is a collection of “ Leges Regke
et Leges Decemvirales,” to which he has however added
no illustrations. Of his critical treatises he published a
collection under the title of “ Justi Lipsii Opera omnia
quae ad Criticam spectant.” Antv. 1585, 4to. Lugd.
Bat. 1596, 8vo. An elegant edition of his works appeared
with the subsequent title: “ Justi Lipsii, V. C. Opera
omnia, postremum ab ipso aucta et recensita: nunc pri-
mum copioso rerum indice illustrata.” Antverpke, 1637,
4 tom. f'ol. A life of the author by Aubertus Miraeus,
or Aubert le Mire, and various panegyrics and defences,
are inserted in the first volume. The collection of his
works is sometimes described as consisting of six folio vo¬
lumes; but this enumeration includes his edition of Taci¬
tus and Velleius Paterculus, forming one volume, and his
edition of Seneca the philosopher, forming another vo¬
lume of the same size. Of his original works there is a
more recent edition. Vesaliae, 1675, 4 tom. 8vo. The
third volume contains seven very slight tracts on Roman
antiquities, which are not inserted in the folio edition,
and which ought never to have been printed. Lipsius
contributed brief annotations on Catullus, Tibullus, Pro¬
pertius, Martial, the younger Pliny, Florus, Suetonius, and
Valerius Maximus ; but his reputation as an editor chiefly
depends on his emendations and elucidations of Seneca,
and more especially of Tacitus.4 (x.)
LIQUEFACTION, an operation by which a solid body
is reduced into a liquid by the action of heat.
LIQUID, a body which has the property of fluidity, as
water, mercury.
Liquid, amongst grammarians, is a name applied to
certain consonants which are opposed to mutes. Thus l,
m, n, and r, are liquids.
LIQUOR, a name for any fluid substance of the aque¬
ous or spirituous kind. The principal beverage amongst
the Jews, as well as the Greeks and Romans, was. water,
milk, and the juices of various plants infused therein,
lor along time, under the commonwealth of Rome, wine
was so scarce, that in their sacrifices to the gods the li-
L i S 375
bations were made with milk only. Wine did not become Lis
common there till the year 600 of the city, when vines II
began to be planted. Lisbon.
LIS, or Lys, John Vander, painter of history, land-V ^ v —
scapes, and conversations, was born at Oldenburg in 1570,
but went to Haerlem to place himself as a disciple under
Henry Goltzius; and as he was endowed with great na¬
tural talents, he soon distinguished himself in that school,
and imitated the manner of his master with great success.
He adhered to the same style till he went to Italy, where,
haying visited Venice and Rome, he studied the works of
Titian, Tintoret, Paolo Veronese, and Domenico Fetti, so
effectually, that he improved his taste and judgment, and
altered his manner entirely. He soon received marks of
public approbation ; and his compositions became univer¬
sally admired for their good expression, their lively natu¬
ral colouring, and the sweetness and delicacy of his pen¬
cil ; although it must be acknowledged that he could
never totally divest himself of the ideas and taste pecu¬
liar to the Flemings. His subjects were usually histories
taken from the sacred writings, or the representations of
rural sports, marriages, balls, and villagers dancing, dress¬
ed in Venetian habits; all which he painted in a small as
well as a large size, with a number of figures, well de¬
signed, and touched with a great deal of delicacy. He
likewise painted naked figures admirably, with natural and
elegant attitudes, and a very agreeable turn of the limbs.
A capital picture of this master is, Adam and Eve lament¬
ing the death of Abel, which is admired, not only for the
expression, but also for the beauty of the landscape; and
in the church of St Nicholas at Venice is another of his
paintings, representing St Jerome in the desert, with a
pen in his hand, and his head turned to look at an angel,
who is supposed to be sounding the last trumpet. The
colouring of this picture is rather too red; but it is de¬
signed in a fine style, and charmingly pencilled. The
paintings of this master are very rarely to be purchased,
He died in the year 1629.
Lis, John Vander, of Breda, an historical painter, was
born at Breda about the year 1601, and became a disciple
of Cornelius Polemburg, whose manner he imitated with
extraordinary exactness, in the tint of his colouring, his
neatness of pencilling, and the choice of his subjects.
There are some paintings of this master which, though
they appear to have somewhat less freedom and lightness
of touch, are nearly equal to those of Polemburg, and are
frequently taken to be his.
LISBON, a city of Portugal, the metropolis of that king¬
dom, as well as of the province of Estremadura, in which it
is situated. It is built on the banks of the river Tagus, which
is a most secure and capacious harbour, well defended,
and capable^ of admitting 10,000 sail of vessels, without
dangei to them. I he only difficulty is the bar at the en¬
trance, which makes it hazardous either to enter or depart
without the aid of skilful pilots. Between the bar and
the city the strong castle of Belem, under whose guns
all ships must pass, is a sufficient protection. Few finer
objects can be seen than a panoramic view from the har¬
bour of Lisbon. 1 he smooth expanse of water studded
Jortin s Life of Erasmus, vol. i. p. 460—Grotius entertained nearly the same opinion of his style : “ Cum floridum insi et nro
fluens natura baud abnegaret, alterum malmt dicendi genus, consisum quidem, nec sine festivitate, sed vere novum obtentu anthmi '
lib. wCp.m37a) ren ’ qUlbUS ingeni1 Judlclique non ldem fuit’ ad corruptissima quaeque deventum est.” (Hist, de Rebus Belglcis,
2 Klotzii Opuscula varii argumenti, p. 1. Altenb. 1766, 8vo.
second111"11111 Syll°Se Epistolarum’ tt,m- L iL The correspondence of Lipsius occupies all the first volume, and 193 pages of the
‘‘.LiP®d1?Pe,ra ita Pr.obata est yiris intelligentibus, ut et Sospitator Taciti diceretur, et inter princines internretum referretur ”
Lg tP- if edi\E™stV With the works of Tacitus he was so fSly^Sted" ort-
nlt howe “ bT"alen “lh a graill oS. P ' fr°” ,0 e"A Htmcotheca Wth., p. 2.) This morse!
376
L I S
Lisbon.
with ships, the vineyards on the surrounding hills, inter-
^spersed with villas, and the magnificent city extending
two miles along the shore, afford a coup d’ceil which has
few equals. • .
Lisbon is a city of great antiquity ; it was known in re¬
mote periods by the name Ulyssippo,and its origin attribut¬
ed to Ulysses. It was a municipium under the Roman go¬
vernment, and one of the favourite cities under the Moorish
yoke. It was regained from the African marauders in
1154, by Alphonso, who had a few years before assumed
the regal power, and who was assisted by a fleet of ad¬
venturers bound on a crusade to the Holy Land. Since
that period it has continued the metropolis of Portugal,
an independent kingdom, except from the year 1580 to
1640, when it was united to the Spanish monarchy.
From the vicissitudes this city has experienced, we may
expect to find it abounding in Phoenician, Roman, and
Moorish antiquities; but the tremendous earthquake which
it suffered in 1755 buried most of what then remained in
a heap of ruins. After the dismal catastrophe of that
period, the city rose again with unexampled rapidity, and
with a beauty and splendour far exceeding its former con¬
dition. The traces of this calamity are not, however, wholly
obliterated. Near the river, and the Pra^a di Commercio,
large masses of ruined churches and convents are visible
amongst the modern buildings; and the fractured strata
of the rocks on which these stand, still show the nature of
the concussion which destroyed the former city. 1 his
city seems exposed to this calamity, as there have been
frequent shocks of earthquakes since; and indeed few years
pass without some slight indications of a tendency in tlm
earth to similar tremblemens. The streets of Lisbon are of
competent breadth, and paved; but, owing to the inequa¬
lity of the ground on which they stand, and their slippery
state, they are uncomfortable to walk or ride through. The
attention of a vigilant police is wanted to enforce a greater
observance of cleanliness. As few of the Portuguese no¬
bility reside on their estates, their residences within the
city are very splendid; and some of the richer merchants
have houses,. which in appearance rival those of the
higher orders; but the habitations of the lower classes of
the inhabitants are miserable and disgusting by their ex¬
cessive filthiness.
The public buildings are very spacious ; and some of the
few which sustained the concussion of 1755 exhibit fine
specimens of ancient architecture. The church of Belem
is one of these, and though two of the columns which sup¬
ported the roof were then thrown down, and have since
been replaced by two mis-shapen masses of modern ma¬
sonry, it exhibits the finest specimen of the Arabesque-Go¬
thic style of building. The royal palace is finely situated on
the banks of the Tagus at Belem, but, being composed of
wood, is not equal to the general taste of the other public
buildings. The most imposing object near Lisbon is the
aqueduct, which conveys fresh water to the city, and which
in grandeur yields to no work of ancient or modern times.
The cathedral is a large and magnificent building, and en¬
dowed with a revenue estimated at more than L.100,000
sterling annually.
Lisbon is enriched with such establishments as usually
adorn the capitals of kingdoms. It possesses an academy
of sciences, a botanic garden, a well arranged cabinet of
natural history, some public libraries, amongst which that
of the Regalia contains upwards of 80,000 volumes, a col¬
lege for the nobles, and several other seminaries. Amongst
other charitable institutions, is an hospital, where the sick
of all countries are freely admitted and relieved.
The climate of Lisbon is remarkably salubrious, and is
sought after by invalids from the more northern countries,
for relief in pulmonary complaints. It is thought that the
water drunk in this city has a tendency to alleviate these
L I S
maladies. This water, which is brought from Montelavar Lisbon,
by the aqueduct, is strongly impregnated with carbonate of'"■-v-**
lime, and, on analysis, is like the water of Clifton, but has
a greater quantity of lime in a state of suspension.
The markets of Lisbon are most profusely supplied with
every article that can administer to human appetite. The
consumption of animal food is small, that of beef exceed¬
ing that of mutton in a very great degree ; but, for the num¬
ber of inhabitants, the quantity of animal food consumed
in Lisbon is only one eighth of that which London requires
to supply it. Fish, both from the sea and the rivers, is
abundant and cheap. Fruit of every kind, and flour of ex¬
cellent quality, are to be purchased; and garlic, which seems
to be one of the articles in most extensive demand, is fur¬
nished in prodigious quantities.
Before the great earthquake of 1755, the city of Lisbon
was calculated to contain 150,000 inhabitants ; but, by the
census taken in 1804, the number amounted to 240,000.
The removal of the court to Brazil did not diminish the po¬
pulation, but it has since declined, so that in 1830, by the
last census, there were only 200,000, which, indeed, was
both increased and enriched by this city having been dur¬
ing the peninsular war the focal point through which com¬
munication with the army was maintained, and the depot
for the ammunition, provisions, and recruits, destined to sup¬
port the forces employed in the interior of Spain and Por¬
tugal.
There are few people in Lisbon occupied in manufac¬
tures. Some fine woollen cloths are made, some linens, and
a quantity of silk goods more than equal to that of both the
others. The greatest taste of this city is displayed in its
jewellery business, in which, though rather tawdry than
elegant, they excel. The goldsmiths and silversmiths are
excellent workmen. As a specimen of the best faculties
exercised in that branch, it deserves to be noticed, that the
splendid service of plate presented to the Duke of Welling¬
ton by the government of Portugal was wholly made in
Lisbon; and no person was permitted to execute the least
part of the work who was not a native of the kingdom.
This service, both for value and for the exquisite workman¬
ship, is the first collection that was ever seen, and far ex¬
ceeds that of any royal household in Europe.
The foreign trade of Lisbon is second to no city in Eu¬
rope excepting that of London. Its domestic productions,
wine, oil, fruits, and bay salt, are conveyed to all the north¬
ern parts of the continent of Europe, but more especially
to England, with which is the principal commerce. It re¬
ceives in return from every country the articles in which
it excels; from Russia, hemp, flax, and other naval stores;
from the other parts in the Baltic Sea, linens, iron, steel,
salted fish, timber, pitch, and tar ; from Germany and
Plolland it obtains linens, corn, and some other commodi¬
ties. England makes returns in cloths, linens, cotton,
hardware, porcelain, and the various products of its looms,
its forges, and its kilns. France supplies some linens, and
the more fanciful articles of its tasteful industry. These
varied commodities, received at Lisbon, are partly con¬
sumed in Portugal, whilst a very considerable proportion
of them are destined for re-exportation to the transmarine
settlements.
The commerce of Lisbon is considerable with the Portu¬
guese establishments in China, in India, and on both sides of
the continent of Africa. The latter consists principally of
such articles as are required to be given in exchange for hu¬
man beings, in that abominable traffic denominated the
slave-trade, but which deserves to be stigmatized as the com¬
merce of cruelty and the stimulus to murder and barbarism.
Brazil furnished for a long period the great rudiments of
the distant trade of Lisbon. Its sugars were distributed
from hence to all the continental ports, where they obtained
the name of the port at which they had first been receive
L I S
Liiwni in Europe. The cotton from that country, before the re¬
cent encouragements to its growth had given birth to its
1 le' present enormous production, all centred in Lisbon ; and
' " it was the entrepot for the gold, the silver, and the precious
stones which the mines of Brazil yielded.
The removal of the seat of the Portuguese government
from the European metropolis to its American dominions,
caused a great revolution in the commercial relations of
both parts of the empire. Brazil, having quitted its co¬
lonial character, had its ports opened to the commercial
ships of all nations; the transit trade of Lisbon was in some
measure terminated ; but the alteration communicated such
a stimulus to Brazil, and its population, its wealth, and its
productions, increased so much within the first ten years
that elapsed after the emigration of the court, that, after
allowing for what passed direct to and from Brazil in its in¬
tercourse with other countries, its transactions of commerce
with Lisbon were as great as before the removal of the go¬
vernment.
We have no authentic accounts of the foreign imports
and exports ; but some judgment may be formed from the
returns of the vessels that entered the port in the years,
1829, 1830, and 1831, as furnished by the British con¬
sul :—
Countries.
Ships in
1829.
Ships in
1830.
Ships in
1831.
British  
Portuguese.
Foreign 
Total
322
320
560
294
242
692
230
131
308
1202
1228
669
The average number of vessels, and their tonnage, which
belonged to the port of Lisbon in the same three years,
was, by the consular report, sixty ships, and of 9090 tons
burden.
Lisbon is situated in north latitude 38. 42. 20., and
west longitude from London 8. 37. 25., as determined by
trigonometrical observations.
LISBURN, a town of Ireland, in the county of Antrim,
situated on the western bank of the river Lagan, about seven
miles south-south-west of Belfast. It is a large and busy
town, being the second in commercial importance in the
county. The manufacture of linen, muslin, and cambric,
is carried on to a considerable extent. The principal pub¬
lic buildings are, a fine church, a market-house, an infir¬
mary, a catholic chapel, and several dissenting places of
worship. It was destroyed by fire in 1707, and rebuilt in
its present form. It returns a member to parliament. It
contains a population of 6201.
LISIEUX, an arrondissement of the department of Cal¬
vados, in France, extending over 339 square miles, and in¬
habited by 69,500 persons. It is divided into five cantons,
and these into 142 communes. The capital is the city
of that name situated at the junction of the two rivers
Toques and Orbec. It was formerly fortified, but the ram¬
parts have been converted into elegant promenades. It
contains 1700 houses, and 11,500 inhabitants, who are
employed in the woollen manufacture, and also, but to a
greater extent, in making linen of a superior quality, known
as toiles cretonnes through France. It is particularly cele¬
brated for its bleaching and its dyeing. Long. 0. 10. E.
Lat. 49. 11. N.
LISLE, or Lille, an arrondissement of the department
of the North, in France. It extends over 356 square miles,
is divided into sixteen cantons, and subdivided into 129
communes, which together contain 241,800 inhabitants.
The capital is the city of the same name, the most cele¬
brated fortified place in Europe, and in the most fertile
VOL. XIII.
LIS 377
district of France. It is situated on the river Deule, Lisle,
which is navigable for bai'ges and other small craft. The''
streets are broader than is usual in fortified places, and the
new part of the city is handsome. Some of the public
buildings, especially the theatre, the exchange, the bar¬
racks, and St Stephen’s church, are fine. It contains 11,500
houses, and 62,500 inhabitants, who are occupied in nu¬
merous manufactures, though most of them are on a small
scale. The most important are sugar-refining, glass-making,
weaving linen, cotton, and woollen goods. The spinning
of lace, and making of thread, employs many hands, as does
the fabrication of pillow-lace. A vast quantity of seed-oil
and of oil-cake is also made, both for domestic use and for
exportation. Long. 2. 59. 11. E. Lat. 50. 37. 50. N.
Lisle, Joseph Nicholas de, an eminent astronomer and
geographer, was born at Paris in the year 1688. His fa¬
ther having taught him the principles of grammar, he
afterwards attended lectures in Mazarin College, where
he delivered rhetorical exercises in the year 1706. A total
eclipse of the sun having taken place on the 12th of
March in that year, his taste for mathematics was thus
discovered, and he was accordingly placed under a proper
tutor, who taught him the elements of geometry, fortifi¬
cation, and mechanics; but his favourite study was the
science of astronomy.
In 1707, he obtained the place of engineer at Martini-
co, which made him acquainted with the art of drawing^;
an acquisition which proved highly useful to him in his
geographical labours, and also in the study of astronomy.
His father having procured a copy of an Account of a
Voyage to the South Sea, from his son’s master, young
De Lisle was excited by the perusal of it to the study of
natural history, and began to make collections of insects,
and sketch their varieties; but being afterwards persuad¬
ed that a study requiring such immense collections to be
made as he found in Aldrovandus, was wholly incompati¬
ble with the unremitting attention which his favourite
science required, he relinquished it entirely. The atten¬
tion he paid to astronomical researches was so great, that
he was considered as meriting the correspondence of some
of the ablest astronomers of Europe at the early age of
twenty-one. In 1709 he made a wooden quadrant, which
he divided with the utmost accuracy, and which answered
the intended purpose in his early observations. He like¬
wise constructed a table for Cassini, of the right ascen¬
sions and declinations, adapted to all the degrees of lati¬
tude and longitude of the planets, and the obliquity of
the ecliptic ; and this table was made use of by Cassini in
foretelling the occultations of the stars by the moon.
De Lisle being informed by Cassini in 1710 of his me¬
thod of representing an eclipse of the sun, by the projec¬
tion of a terrestrial parallel on a plane, he instantly con¬
ceived the idea of applying it to every part of the earth,
by means of a globe mounted and prepared for that pur¬
pose. Such astronomers as he made acquainted with his
project conceived it to be impracticable; but when the
machine was completed, they bestowed the highest enco¬
miums on the noble invention. The first memorable ob¬
servation made by De Lisle was that of the moon, on the
23d of January 1712, after which his labours experienced
some interruption from indisposition. About this time the
situation of his father’s numerous family rendered it ne¬
cessary that he should provide for himself, so that he was
obliged to make his astronomical knowledge subservient
to the absurdities of astrology, receiving pecuniary pre-'
sents from the regent for his services. He also received,
in 1715, the grant of a pension of six hundred livres, on
which occasion he calculated tables of the moon accord¬
ing to the Newtonian theory, prior to Halley’s communi¬
cations to him, which were printed in 1719. De Lisle was
chosen a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1714.
L I S
In 1720 he delivered a proposal to the academy for as¬
certaining in France the figure of the earth, a design
which was carried into execution some years afterwards.
In 1723 he delivered to the same body a memoir on the
transits of Mercury, wherein a method of calculating them
was proposed by him, as well as the way in which they
were to be observed, and the inferences to be deduced
from these observations. He proposed the use of the
quadrant in observing the transits of Venus and Mercury,
which has been found superior to any other instrument
for that important purpose, and is sanctioned since his day
by the practice of the ablest astronomers.
De Lisle visited England in the year 1724, and there
became acquainted with Newton and Halley, and had the
honour of obtaining their approbation. Newton made him
a present of his own portrait, and Halley gave him a copy
of the tables which he had published in 1719. He was also
created a member of the Royal Society, and enjoyed si¬
milar honours from every literary society in Europe before
his death. In 1721 he received an invitation from Peter
the Great to go to St Petersburg to fill the chair of astro¬
nomer in the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Upon the
death of that emperor, his successor Catharine renewed the
invitation, at the same time offering him a considerable pen¬
sion, which he accepted, and, in 1726, set out for St Peters¬
burg, accompanied by his brother Louis and M. Vignon,
who were to act as his assistants. He reached St Peters¬
burg in the month of October, and was established in the
observatory erected by Peter the Great, which he occu¬
pied for twenty-one years. It was in every respect com¬
modious, but extremely deficient in astronomical appara¬
tus, which his own ingenuity and indefatigable applica¬
tion in a great measure supplied.
A transit of Mercury over the sun’s disc was expected
in the year 1740, which would not be visible in Europe,
and therefore De Lisle undertook a journey to the distant
regions of Asia ; but after travelling through the inhospi¬
table wilds of Siberia, the cloudiness of the atmosphere
prevented him from observing the transit; a mortification
which he endeavoured to support by his geographical and
physical remarks, and in drawing up a description of the
country. He constructed an interesting map of Russia,
assisted by his brother Louis, who was appointed to make
observations in the most distant parts of that immense
empire. He was occasionally employed for the long pe¬
riod of forty years in making meteorological observations,
which he executed with an accuracy almost incredible.
After a number of discouragements and difficulties, and
the irregular payment of his pension, had been long ex¬
perienced by De Lisle at St Petersburg, he returned dis¬
gusted to his native place, and was chosen professor of
mathematics at the Royal College, where he rendered the
most essential service to the sciences, by the important in¬
structions which he gave to his numerous pupils, many of
whom became afterwards the most distinguished charac¬
ters, such as MM. de Lalande and Messier.
When the transit of Mercury over the sun was eagerly
expected in 1753 by the greatest astronomers, De Lisle
published an interesting map of the world, representing
the effect of Mercury’s parallaxes in different countries,
that those places might be known which were proper for
making such observations on the transit as might determine
the distance of the sun. As the apparent orbit of the planet
traversed nearly the centre of the sun, De Lisle made use
of this circumstance to determine the diameter of that
luminary. "I he last work of our author which was insert¬
ed in the volumes of the French Academy was a memoir
on the comet which appeared in the year 1758, discovered
by a peasant in the vicinity of Dresden.
It may perhaps be asserted with justice, that the most
important service which he rendered to astronomers was
L I S
the correction of the double error of Halley respecting LisciotP
the transit of Venus, looked for in the year 1761, as by || I,
this means he prevented many learned men from under- Lisa.
taking long voyages in order to observe it. About the^—^ ^
year 1754, De Lisle was appointed by the king of France
astronomical geographer to the marine, in which capacity
he was employed to collect plans and journals of naval cap¬
tains, to arrange them methodically, and to make extracts
from them of whatever might be beneficial to the service.
About the year 1758 he withdrew into retirement at the
abbey of St Genevieve, where much of his time was spent
in devotional exercises, and in acts of charity and bene¬
ficence. Still, however, he continued to prosecute those
studies which had been so dear to him during the earlier
part of his life. In 1768, he was seized with a scorbutic
complaint, of which he was cured by his medical friends ;
but in the month of September of the same year he was
seized with a species of apoplexy, which carried him off on
the 11th of that month, in the eighty-first year of his age.
His extraordinary merit as a man of science may in
some measure be gathered from this concise account of
his life ; and, as a citizen of the world, his piety was un¬
affected, his morals pure, his integrity undeviating, his
spirit generous and disinterested, and his whole manners
highly amiable. The only publication of his, besides those
already mentioned, consisted of Memoirs illustrative of
the History of Astronomy, in two vols. 4to.
LISMORE, one of the Hebrides, or Western Islands of
Scotland, belonging to Argyleshire, situated at the mouth
of Loch Linnhe, about nine miles in length, and from one
to two in breadth. The surface is hilly and uneven; but
the soil is fertile, and yields a sufficient quantity of grain
for the support of the inhabitants; oats, bailey, potatoes,
and flax being the articles of crop generally cultivated.
The whole island lies upon a rock of limestone, which ar¬
ticle is exported in considerable quantities. In the lakes
there are strata of marl found varying from ten to sixteen
feet in depth. It was anciently the residence of the
bishops of Argyle, and contained, until very recently, a
Rotfian Catholic college for the education of the clergy of
that persuasion in this part of the country. The ruins of
an old castle are still to be seen, and in several places ves¬
tiges of fortified camps. The population amounted in 1831
to 1790.
Lismore, a town of Ireland, in the county of Water¬
ford, situated on the southern bank of the Blackwater,
about twenty-six miles north-east of Cork. It was for¬
merly a considerable city, being the see of a bishop, but
has been often destroyed by fire, and is now a small, mean
place. It possesses a small cathedral, and a castle situat¬
ed on the verge of a rock which rises perpendicularly over
the river. It has no manufacture of any kind, the inha¬
bitants being principally engaged in agricultural pursuits.
LISSA, an island in the Adriatic Sea, being a part of
the Austrian province of Dalmatia. It is fifty-seven square
miles in extent, and contains 4557 inhabitants. Although
it is mountainous, it is very productive in wine, oil, honey,
figs, almonds, and silk, but deficient in corn. There are
large flocks of sheep yielding excellent wool, and many
goats, and upon the coast there are large fisheries. The
chief town, of the same name, is on a convenient harbour,
and contains, including the two adjoining hamlets ofBanca,
2676 inhabitants. It is situated on the spot where formerly
stood the celebrated city of Issa, noticed by Strabo.
Lissa, a city of Polish Prussia, in the government ol
Posen, and circle of.Fraustadt. It is situated on the fron-
tier towards Silesia, is a well-built city, in a sandy district.
It contains two churches of Calvinists, one of Lutherans,
and one of Catholics, two hospitals, 780 houses, with 7954
inhabitants, of whom 3640 are Jews. It. enjoys consider¬
able trade, chiefly carried on by the Jews, who make linen,
L
I T
L I T
379
Ii woollen, and other goods. Long. 16. 32. 20. E. Lat. 51.
51. 55. N.
1 Litcleld. LIST, in commerce, the border of cloths or stuffs, serv-
" ^ ing not; only to show their quality, but to preserve them
1,. from being torn in the operations of fulling, dyeing, &c.
List is used on various occasions, but chiefly by gardeners
for securing their wall trees.
List is also used to signify the enclosed field or ground
wherein the ancient knights held their jousts and combats.
It was so called, as being hemmed round with pales, bar¬
riers, or stakes, as with a list. Some of these were dou¬
ble, one for each cavalier, which kept them apart, so that
they could not come nearer each other than within a
spear’s length.
Givi/ List, in the British polity. The expenses de¬
frayed by the civil list are those which in any shape re¬
late to civil government, as the expenses of the house-
i* hold; all salaries to officers of state, to the judges, and
every one of the king’s servants ; the king’s private ex¬
penses, or privy purse ; and other very numerous out¬
goings. The civil list is indeed properly the whole of
the king’s revenue in his own distinct capacity ; the rest
being rather the revenue of the public or its creditors,
though collected and distributed again in the name and
by the officers of the crown. It now stands in the same
place as the hereditary income did formerly; and as that
has gradually diminished, the parliamentary appointments
have increased. See England.
LISTER, Martin, an eminent English physician and
naturalist, was born in 1638, and educated at Cambridge.
He afterwards travelled into France, and on his return
practised physic at York, and afterwards at London. In
1683, he was created doctor of physic, and became fellow
of the College of Physicians in London. In 1698, he at¬
tended the Earl of Portland in his embassy from King Wil¬
liam III. to the court of France (of which journey he
published an account on his return), and was afterwards
physician to Queen Anne. He also published, 1. Histo-
ria Animalium Anglia, 4to; 2. Conchyliorum Synopsis,
folio ; 3. Cochlearum et limachum exercitatio anatomica, in
four vols. 8vo ; 4. Many pieces in the Philosophical Trans¬
actions ; and other works
LITANY, a solemn form of supplication to God, in
which the priest utters some things fit to be prayed for,
and the people join in their intercession, saying we beseech
thee to hear us, good Lord. The word comes from the
Greek Xiravua, supplication, from Xtraveuu, I beseech.
At first the use of litanies was not fixed to any stated
time, but they were only employed as exigencies required.
They were observed, in imitation of the Ninevi.tes, with
ardent supplications and fastings, to avert the threatening
judgments of fire, earthquakes, inundations, or hostile in¬
vasions. About the year 400, litanies began to be used
in processions, the people walking barefoot, and repeating
them with great devotion ; and it is pretended, that by
this means several countries were delivered from great ca¬
lamities. The days upon which these were used were called
rogation days. These were appointed by the canons of
different councils, till it was decreed by the council of To-
- ledd that they should be employed every month throughout
the year ; and thus by degrees they came to be used week¬
ly on Wednesdays and Fridays, the ancient stationary days
for fasting. To these days the rubric of the episcopal church
has added Sundays, as being the greatest days for assem¬
bling at divine service. Before the last review of the com¬
mon prayer, the litany was a distinct service by itself, and
performed some time after the morning prayer was over; at
present it is made one office with the morning service, being
ordered to be read after the third collect for grace, instead
of the intercessional prayers in the daily service.
LITCHFIELD, a city in the hundred of (Mow, in Staf¬
fordshire, situated upon a branch of the river Trent, 119 Litchfield
miles from London by Coventry, and 124 by Northampton. _ II
It has been an episcopal city almost from the introduction Literati,
of Christianity into this island ; and the cathedral is said
to have been first built in the year 300. It is a fine build¬
ing, walled in like a castle, and, from its elevated situation,
a prominent object over a great extent of country. A
spire rises from the centre, 256 feet in height; and at the
west end are two towers, terminating also in spires. This
city was for a short period in the eighth century made the
see of an archbishop; but was soon afterwards reduced
again to a bishopric. In the year 1072, it was removed to
Chester, and in 1102 to Coventry, and united to that see.
The cathedral is a fine piece of architecture, and the inte¬
rior is adorned with some marble monuments, particularly
those of Dr Johnson and Mr Garrick, both natives of the
city. The government is executed by a corporation con¬
sisting of two bailiffs and twenty-four burgesses, and sends,
as before the passing of the reform act, two members to
parliament. It is a county, with exempt jurisdiction. There
is little trade, except what is internally carried on upon the
canals. It has markets on Tuesdays and Fridays. The
population amounted in 1801 to 4712, in 1811 to 5022,
in 1821 to 6075, and in 1831 to 6723.
Litchfield, a county of Connecticut, United States,
bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the east by
Hartford, on the south-east by New Flaven, on the south¬
west by Fairfield, and on the west by New York. The face
of the country is rough and mountainous; but the soil is
good, yielding excellent crops of wheat and Indian corn,
and affording fine pasturage. From the inland situation of
the county, no maritime commerce can be carried on, and
the inhabitants are almost wholly engaged in agricultural
and manufacturing pursuits. The population amounted in
1830 to 42,855.
Litchfield, the capital of the above county, a post-
town, situated about thirty miles west of Hartford, and
thirty-one north-north-west of New Haven. The situation
is elevated, and affords a beautiful and extensive prospect
of the surrounding country. The town contains a court¬
house, a jail, a female academy, a law-school, a printing
establishment, a bank, and nine places of worship. It is
a good agricultural town, and possesses numerous mills and
manufacturing establishments, cotton manufactories, iron¬
works, &c. Long. 73. 37. W. Lat. 41. 50. N. The popu¬
lation amounted in 1830 to 4456.
LITERARY, any thing belonging to literature.
Literary Property, or Copyright. See Copyright.
LITERATI {letrados, lettered), an epithet given to
such persons amongst the Chinese as are able to read and
write their own language. The literati alone are capable of
being made mandarins. Literati is also the name of a
particular sect, either in religion, philosophy, or politics,
consisting principally of the learned men of that country,
amongst whom it is called jukiao, or learned. It had its
rise in the year of Christ 1400, when the emperor, to
awaken the native affection of the people for knowledge,
which had been quite banished by the preceding civil wars,
and to stir up emulation amongst the mandarins, selected
forty-two of the ablest of the doctors, to whom he gave
a commission to compose a body of doctrine agreeable
to that of the ancients, which was then become the rule or
standard of the learned. The delegates applied themsel ves
to the business with very great attention ; but some fan¬
cied them rather to have wrested the doctrine of the an¬
cients to make it consist with their own, than to have built
up theirs upon the model of the ancients. They speak ot
the Deity as if that being were no more than mere na¬
ture, or the natural power or virtue that produces, disposes,
and preserves the several parts of the universe. He is, say
they, a pure, perfect principle, without beginning or end;
380
L I T
L I T
Litharge the source of all things, the essence of every being, and
II that which determines it to be what it is. They make
^Litho- q0(j souj 0f j.]le . they say he is diffused through-
J^,out all matter, and produces all the changes which occur
in it. In short, it is not easy to determine whether they
resolve God into nature, or lift up nature into God ; for
they ascribe to it many of those things which we attribute
to the Deity. This doctrine introduced a refined kind of
atheism, instead of the idolatry which prevailed before. The
work, being composed by so many persons of learning and
parts, and approved by the emperor himself, was received
with infinite applause by all the people. Many were
pleased with it, because it seemed to subvert all religion;
others approved of it, because the little religion that it left
them could not give them much trouble. And thus was
formed the sect of the literati, consisting of the main¬
tainors and adherents to this doctrine. The court, the
mandarins, and the persons of fortune and quality, and
others, are generally amongst its adherents; but a great
part of the common people still hold to their worship of
idols. The literati freely tolerate the Mahommedans, be¬
cause they adore, with them, the king of heaven, and au¬
thor of nature; but they entertain a perfect aversion to
all sorts of idolaters, and it was once resolved to extir¬
pate them. The disorder this would have occasioned in
the empire prevented it; and they now content them¬
selves with condemning them, in general, as heresies,
which they do solemnly every year at Pekin.
LITHARGE, a preparation of lead, usually in form of
soft flakes, of a yellowish-red colour. If calcined lead be
urged with a hasty fire, it melts into the appearance of oil,
and on cooling concretes into litharge. The greater part
of the litharge met with in the shops is produced in the
purification of silver from lead, and the refining of gold
and silver by means of this metal. According to the de¬
gree of fire and other circumstances, it proves of a pale
or deep colour. The first has been commonly called li¬
tharge of silver, the other litharge of gold.
LITHGOW, William, a Scotchman, whose sufferings
by imprisonment and torture at Malaga, and whose travels Lithgow
on foot over Europe, Asia, and Africa, seem to raise him ||
almost to the rank of a martyr and a hero. He published Htho.
an account of his peregrinations and adventures. Though Scy¬
the author deals much in the marvellous, the account
the strange cruelties which he gives us has yet an air of
truth. Soon after his arrival in England from Malaga,
he was carried to Theobald’s upon a feather-bed, that
King James might be an eye-witness of his “ martyred
anatomy,” by which he means his wretched body, mangled,
and reduced to a skeleton. The whole court crowded
to see him, and his majesty ordered him to be taken
care of, and he was twice sent to Bath at his expense.
By the king’s command he applied to Gondomar, the
Spanish ambassador, for the recovery of the money and
other things of value which the governor of Malaga had
taken from him, and for L.1000 for his support. He was
promised a full reparation for the damage he had sus¬
tained ; but the perfidious minister never performed his
promise. When he was upon the point of leaving Eng¬
land, Lithgow upbraided him with the breach of his word,
in the presence-chamber, before several gentlemen of the
court. This occasioned their fighting upon the spot; and
the ambassador, as the traveller oddly expresses it, had
his fistula, with which disorder he was afflicted, contra¬
banded with his fist. The unfortunate Lithgow, who was
generally condemned for his spirited behaviour, was sent
to the Marshalsea, where he continued a prisoner during
nine months. At the conclusiorrof the octavo edition of his
Travels, he informs us, that in his three voyages, “ his
painful feet have traced over, besides passages of seas and
rivers, 36,000 and odd miles, which draweth near to twice
the circumference of the whole earth.” Here the mar¬
vellous seems to rise to the incredible, and to place him,
in point of veracity, below Coryat, whom it is neverthe¬
less, certain that he far outwalked. His description of
Ireland is whimsical and curious. This, together with
the narrative of his sufferings, is reprinted in Morgan’s
Phoenix Britannicus.
LITHOGRAPHY.
Lithography is the art of taking impressions from
drawings or writings made on stone.
The principles upon which this art is founded are, Is#,
The quality which a compact granular limestone has of
imbibing grease or moisture ; and, 2dly, The decided an¬
tipathy of grease and water for each other.
A drawing being made upon the stone with an ink or
crayon of a greasy composition, is washed over with wa¬
ter, which sinks into all the parts of the stone not defend¬
ed by the drawing. A cylindrical roller, charged with
printing-ink, is then passed all over the stone, and the draw¬
ing receives the ink, whilst the water defends the other
parts of the stone from it on account of its greasy nature.
This process, therefore, depends entirely upon chemical
principles, and is thus distinct from letter-press or copper¬
plate printing, which are altogether mechanical. On this
account it has in Germany been called chemical printing
and, as metallic plates can be prepared to be printed from
in a similar manner, lithography is considered only as a
branch of chemical printing.
I. HISTORY OF LITHOGRAPHY.
History of The invention of lithography was the result of acci-
the art. dent. Its inventor, Alois Senefelder, the son of a per¬
former at the theatre-royal of Munich, was placed for
education at the university of Ingolstadt, as a student of
jurisprudence ; but after his father’s death he attempted
a theatrical career. Not succeeding in this, he became
an author, though his poverty prevented him from publish¬
ing his works. He now tried many plans with copper¬
plates and compositions, as substitutes for letter-press, in
order to be his own printer. He found, in the course of
his experiments, that a composition of soap, wax, and
lamp-black, formed a good material for writing on his
plates; that, when dry, it became firm and solid, and that
it resisted aquafortis. Wanting facility in writing back¬
wards on the plates, he got some pieces of Kilheim stone,
as cheap materials, upon which he could practise after po¬
lishing their surfaces. One day being desired by his
mother to take an account of some linen about to be sent
to be washed, and having no paper at hand, he wrote the
account on a polished stone, with his composition ink, in¬
tending to copy it at his leisure. When he was after¬
wards about to efface this writing, it occurred to him that
he might obtain impressions from it; and, having eaten
away the stone with acid for about the hundredth of an
inch, he found that he could charge the lines with print¬
ing ink, and take successive impressions. This new mode
of printing appeared to him very important, and he perse¬
vered through all difficulties in applying his discovery to
practical purposes, and in improving it.
In the course of many experiments, he found that it
LITHOGRAPHY.
Ifcho- was not necessary to have the letters raised above the sur-
gvPhy- face of the stone, but that the chemical principles by which
'-V'*grease and water are kept from uniting, were alone suffi¬
cient for his purpose. This point obtained, lithography
may be said to have been fully discovered. All that was
required was the improvement of the materials, and the
mode of working with them, and the construction of a
proper press for taking the impressions.
The perseverance with which he followed up his expe¬
riments, in order to overcome the difficulties which suc¬
cessively arose in his progress, is astonishing, and the
more so, considering the total want of method in his pro¬
ceedings. Often did he waste months in surmounting a
difficulty which a little knowledge, or a very little reason¬
ing, would have enabled him to conquer immediately.
His uniform plan seems to have been, to try the first thing
that came to hand, and so on in succession, till chance re¬
warded his assiduity by presenting to him the material
suited to his purpose.
The first essays he made to print for publication were
some pieces of music, executed in 1796 ; but afterwards
he attempted drawings and writings. The difficulty he
had in writing backwards led him to the process of trans¬
fer ; and the use of dry soap, which was found to leave per¬
manent traces that would give impressions, naturally led
to the mode of chalk drawings.
Having made considerable improvements, Mr Senefel¬
der obtained, in 1799, a patent privilege for Bavaria, when
he made known his process, and afterwards entered into
partnership with Mr Andre of Offenbach, who proposed
to establish presses, and take out patents at London, Paris,
and Vienna. For this purpose Senefelder came to Lon¬
don with a brother of Andre’s, and the invention having
been much spoken of, under the name of Poly autography,
most of the principal English artists made trials of it.
Unfortunately, however, the art of printing from the
stones was not then fully understood, and the difference
between the materials of Germany and those of England,
used both for the purposes of drawing and printing, caused
constant failures, and the artists in succession abandoned
the practice of it. To this cause is to be attributed the
slow progress which lithography made for many years in
England, as it was left entirely in the hands of amateurs,
whose productions, generally speaking, did no credit to
the art, and whose faults awere in some degree supposed
to be those of the art itself.
In August 1800, Senefelder, who had now separated
from Andre, went to Vienna, where, after much difficulty,
a patent was obtained, and extensive preparations were
made, for applying his process to print cottons ; but bad
management, and some unfortunate circumstances, pre¬
vented his success, and he returned to Munich in 1806,
leaving the establishment in other hands.
In 1806, Mr Mitterer, professor of drawing at the pub¬
lic school at Munich, practised lithography to multiply
copies for the pupils, and is said to have invented the
chalk composition in its present form, or at least to have
improved it greatly.
From this period, the practice of the art has extended
| - and improved rapidly, and more particularly at Munich,
where several establishments were formed for the pur¬
pose of applying it to the fine arts, as well as for printing
writings and official forms for the different departments
of the government.
In October 1809, Senefelder was appointed inspector
of the royal lithographic establishment at Munich, for
printing from stone a complete map and survey of Bava¬
ria ; after which period he devoted his time to experi¬
ments, and to writing the history of his invention. Among
other points of improvement to which his attention was
directed, was a substitute for the stones, which are incon¬
venient to use on account of their weight; and they are Litho-
also liable to break in the press, when used without due graphy.
caution, or when they contain flaws. For this purpose he
made a composition of drying oil, finely ground earth, and
other substances, which was thinly spread over pieces of
parchment; but nothing of this sort has hitherto been
found to answer. The surface cracks after repeated wet¬
ting and exposure to the power of the press, and the
printing ink then enters the cracks, and spoils the im¬
pressions. Thus a very small number only of good im¬
pressions can be obtained. A public exhibition of print¬
ing from this stone paper was made in London, on the 23d
July 1821, by a partner of Mr Senefelder; but the result
was not such as to induce much confidence in the ultimate
success of the trials to form this desirable substitute of a
light material for a heavy one.
In England lithography was never entirely given up
from its first introduction in 1800, although it was but lit¬
tle practised after 1806, till its revival at the latter end of
1817. Since then it has been most sedulously cultivated,
and with such success, that its importance as a branch of
trade is now almost equal to the art of engraving.
In France but little was done in lithography till 1815,
when it was established at Paris by Lasteyrie, and being
taken up by good artists, it soon attained great excellence.
Since this period it has extended most rapidly, and
there is not now a town of any importance, either in
Europe, North America, or in the East or West Indies,
where lithography is not practised.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MATERIALS, AND THE MODE OF
PREPARING THEM.
1. Of the Stones, and the manner in which they are prepar¬
ed to receive the Drawings.
As calcareous stones will all imbibe grease and mois- Stones,
ture, and effervesce with an acid (the use of which will
appear when we speak of the process of printing), they
are all capable of being used for lithography. Those are
best adapted to the purpose which are very compact, of a
fine and equal grain, and free from veins, or imbedded
fossils or crystals.
The quarries of Solenhofen, near Pappenheim, in Bava¬
ria, furnished the first plates, and none have as yet been
found to equal them in quality. They are of a very uni¬
form pale yellowish-white colour. The fracture is per¬
fectly conchoidal. The beds divide into thin portions of
considerable size, with perfectly flat surfaces, and were on
this account carried to Munich, and other places, for paving
kitchens and halls, and thus came in the way of Senefel¬
der, when he discovered the chemical process of printing.
The stones of this quarry vary in their quality, but the
best may be had in great abundance. Generally speaking,
the hardest are the best, provided they are quite uniform
in texture. Such are necessary for fine chalk drawings;
softer ones may do for ink, or for coarser drawings in chalk.
In France, stones have been found near Chateauroux
{Departement de CIndre), of a similar colour to those of
Solenhofen, and even harder and of a finer grain ; but they
are so full of large spots of a softer nature, that it is scarce¬
ly possible to get one perfect of a greater size than twelve
inches square.
In England, a stone has been used for lithography
which is found at Corston, near Bath. It is one of the
white lias beds, but not so fine in grain, or so close in tex¬
ture, as the German stone, and therefore far inferior. But
it is good for transfers, and does tolerably well for ink
drawings or writings. Another stone, found near Stony
Stratford, is also used ; but it is of a brownish-gray tint,
382
Litho¬
graphy.
LITHOGRAPHY.
Ink.
and too dark in colour to show the effect of the drawing
with sufficient clearness.
To bear the pressure used in taking the impressions, a
stone twelve inches square should be at least an inch and
a quarter thick. The thickness must increase with the size
of the stone, but two inches and a half are a thickness
sufficient for stones of three feet by three feet and a half.
The stones, when sawn to a proper size and thickness,
are ground level by rubbing two of them face to face
with water and sand, and very carefully examined with a
straight-edge, to ascertain that they are perfectly level in
all directions. This applies only to the side which is after¬
wards to receive the drawing, as the natural division of
the stone is sufficiently true for the back.
To prepare them for chalk-drawings, two stones, which
have been perfectly levelled, are well washed, in order to
free them from any of the coarser grains of sand which
have been previously used upon them. They are now to
be placed on a board over a trough, and a small quantity
of water and fine sand being strewed over the surfaces,
they are to be rubbed face to face, adding occasionally a
little fresh sand and water. The best sort of sand in Eng¬
land is that called silver sand for preparing the stone,
and the common brown sand for giving a fine grain. The
sands must be passed through a sieve of the fineness re¬
quired, which will vary with the nature of the drawing;
and the greatest care must be taken to have the sieves
perfect, and to prevent any coarser particles of sand from
being mixed with the rest. A single grain would fill the
stone with innumerable scratches, which would all appear
in the drawing. The upper stone is in this operation
moved in small circles carefully and equally all over the
under one, taking care not to move the one beyond the
edge of the other, or the faces would become rounded.
When the grain is equal, and sufficiently fine, the stones
are carefully washed, and wiped with a clean cloth. The
stone, thus prepared, should have, when dry, a perfectly
uniform appearance in the colour and grain, and resemble
a sheet of vellum. It should be free from scratches, and
have no shining parts. The upper stone is always the finer
grained of the two.
To prepare the stones for ink drawings or writings, the
process just described is first followed; they are then well
washed to get rid of the sand, and the same operation of
rubbing two together is continued with powdered pumice-
stone and water. Wrhen perfectly smooth, they are again
washed, and afterwards separately polished with a large
piece of fine pumice-stone, or Water of Ayr stone. The
polish now given to the stone should be such as to show
the reflection of objects to the eye placed close to the
stone, and looking along it towards the light.
When a writing or drawing has been fully used, and the
stone is to be again prepared, sand is strewed over the sur¬
face, and it is sprinkled with water, and rubbed with an¬
other stone, as before described, till all traces of the draw¬
ing has disappeared. After this, the stone is again pre¬
pared for a new drawing with fine sand, by being grained
or polished, as before.
Ink drawings sink deeper into the stone than the chalk,
and require the stone to be more ground away to efface
them. The longer drawings remain upon the stone, the
deeper the ink or the chalk penetrates.
2. Lithographic Inh and Chalk.
For these materials, the union of several qualities is re¬
quired ; and as no single substance possesses them all, it is
necessary to combine several substances together.
Lithographic Ink.
The qualities required in lithographic ink, by which is
meant the ink for drawing on stone, are, first, that it shall Litho.
have in its composition such a quantity of greasy or graphy,
fatty matter as will secure its imparting to the stone, even v-""'
when it is laid on in the most delicate lines, a trace strong
enough to attract readily the ink afterwards to be applied
by the roller; and, secondly, that this grease be so pre¬
pared, by being mixed with alkali and other substances,
as to be easily soluble in water, and to flow readily from
the pen or brush when used for drawing. Many receipts
have been given for this purpose, but the following is one
of the most approved; and, ordinary care being taken in its
preparation, it will be found to answer.
Composition of Lithographic Ink for drawing on Stone.
Tallow candle 2 oz.
Virgin wax 2 oz.
Shell lac 2 oz.
Common soap 2 oz.
Lamp black, about one twentieth of the whole.
These materials are prepared in an iron saucepan, with
a cover. The wax and tallow' are first put in and heated
till they ignite ; whilst they are burning, the soap must be
thrown in in small pieces, one at a time, taking care that
the first is melted before a second is put in. When all
the soap is melted, the ingredients are allowed to continue
burning till they are reduced one third in volume. The
shell lac is now added, and as soon as it is melted, the
flame must be extinguished. It is often necessary, in the
course of the operation, to extinguish the flame, and take
the saucepan from the fire, to prevent the contents from
boiling over ; but if, after the process above described, any
parts are not completely melted, they must be dissolved
over the fire without being again ignited.
Sometimes a larger proportion of wax is used, when
only half of the soap is put in, and the burning goes on
until the quantity is reduced one half. The remainder of
the soap is then added over a fire which keeps the mass
melted without igniting it.
The black, being previously mixed with thick varnish,
such as will be described when we come to treat of print¬
ing inks, should now be added; and when it is completely
dissolved, the whole mass should be cast on a marble slab,
and a heavy weight laid over it, to render its texture fine.
When cold, though not so hard, it should in its fracture
have an appearance resembling Indian ink.
So much here depends upon the manipulation, that
even the most experienced person can never be sure that
the desired result is altogether attained, until the product
is subjected to experiments ; the mass may have been
burned a little more or a little less than enough ; too much
or too little time may have been allowed to elapse betwixt
the putting in of one ingredient and another: such cir¬
cumstances, trifling as they appear, are quite sufficient to
render the ink altogether unfit for use. It not unfre-
quently happens, therefore, that such faults as the follow¬
ing are to be found : If it has been too little burned, it may
appear soft, and, if soluble, it may, when mixed with
water, speedily become thick and slimy, in which case it
must be re-melted and burned a little more ; but if, on the •
other hand, it has been burned too much, it may appear
to be composed of sand, and, when used, although it will
flow pleasantly enough, may not have enough of grease
left in it to attract the printing ink when applied. This
fault may be corrected by remelting it, and adding a
small quantity of soap and wax.
Keeping in view the principles here pointed out, any
one can, after a few trials, make good lithographic ink.
Ink for Transfers.
This ink may be composed of the same materials as the
ink for drawing on stone, with the addition of a little more
LITHOGRAPHY.
383
('has.
I.'ho- wax. If it is too little burned, the lines of the writing or
gruhy. drawing will spread on being transferred to the stone; if
too much, a sufficient quantity of grease will not be im¬
parted to the stone to attract the ink from the roller when
it is applied : but either of these defects may be corrected
as before directed.
Lithographic Chalk.
This should have the qualities of a good drawing cray¬
on ; it should be even in texture, and carry a good point.
It is, however, difficult to avoid making it too soft and
greasy on the one hand, and too brittle on the other. For
the chalk, as for the ink, more or less of the soap, wax, and
tallow may be used, as the extent of the burning may render
necessary ; and the remedies pointed out for defects of the
ink will enable the operator to judge of what is wanting.
The following proportions are the best:
Common soap 1^ oz.
Tallow 2 oz.
Virgin wax 2|- oz.
Shell lac   1 oz.
The manipulation is similar to that for the ink. It is
well, however, to throw in a little of the wax just before
the flame is extinguished. Less black must be mixed with
the chalk than with the ink, its only use being to colour
the drawing, so that the artist may see the lines he traces.
When the whole is well mixed, it should be poured into
a mould, and very strongly pressed to prevent any bubbles,
which would make the texture irregular.
3. Mode of Drawing.
Dilwig. Wfth these materials the artist proceeds to work on the
prepared stone, taking care first to wipe the stone with a
clean dry cloth. The ink being rubbed with warm water
like Indian ink, is used on the polished stone ; and it is to
be observed, that a gradation of tints can be obtained only
by varying the thickness of the lines, and the distance at
which they are placed apart, as the line traced by the
ink, being sound and unbroken throughout, receives the
printing ink all over. Hence it follows, that the artist
cannot gain any advantage by diluting the ink for the
lighter tints of the drawing, as the printing ink will take
effect equally upon all the lines, and at once render all of
them equally black. The object of the artist is to mix
the ink to that consistency which, whilst it works freely,
shall yet be strong enough to stand perfect through the
process of printing. A consistency a little stronger than
writing ink is sufficient for this purpose.
The chalk cannot be used upon the polished stone.
The grained stone, prepared for chalk, being carefully
wiped to free it from dust, must be drawn upon with the
crayon as common drawing chalk is used on paper. The
subject may be traced on the stone with lead pencil or
red chalk, but care should be taken to do this very light¬
ly, so as not to fill up any of the grain of the stone. In
drawing, the degree of pressure of the hand will vary the
strength- of the tint, and it is desirable to give the requi¬
site strength at once, as the surface of the stone is a lit-
I ‘ tie altered by receiving the chalk, and hence it does not
take any additional lines with the same equality. Prac¬
tice is necessary to give a command of the material, as it
does not work quite like the common crayon, there being
great difficulty in keeping a good point. There is also
much difficulty in obtaining the finer tints found in the
impression; and for the light tints it is necessary to put
the chalk in a reed, as the metal port-crayon is too heavy
to draw them, even without any pressure from the hand;
and therefore the artist cannot draw them with freedom,
as his touch will be unsteady, by being obliged to support
the pencil from the stone.
It is necessary to observe the grain with which the stone Litho-
is prepared, which should vary with the fineness of the graph}',
drawing. Several pieces of chalk should be prepared to
use in succession, as the warmth of the hand softens it.
It is useful to cut the chalk in the form of a wedge ra¬
ther than a point, as it is less likely to bend in that form.
Small portions of the point will break off during the draw¬
ing; and these must be carefully removed with a small
brush.
4. Printing Press and Roller.
/The printing press for lithography does not differ mate- Printing
rially from the ordinary copperplate press. A detailed de- Press-
scription of one of the most approved construction will be
given under the article Printing.
The Roller.
The following is a representation of the roller:
The length may vary, Holler,
but it ought to be full
four inches in diame¬
ter. It is covered with
flannel, rolled tightly
three or four times
round, and nailed at
the ends. It is then
covered with a stretched calf skin, fitting quite tight.
The seam must be made neatly with the boot-maker’s
closing stitch. The ends of the leather are gathered with
a string, and tied round the projecting ends of the roller.
Loose handles, A, A, made of thick leather, are put on
these ends when it is used. The leather must be put on
the roller with the smooth side outwards.
5. Printing Ink.
The printing ink is composed, as other printing inks are, Printing
of oil, varnish, and very fine lamp-black, well mixed to-ink-
gether. To prepare the varnish, a saucepan is about half
filled with pure linseed oil, and heated over a fire till it
ignites from the flame of a piece of burning paper. It
should then be allowed to burn till it be reduced to the
degree required; and if, during the operation, there ap¬
pear danger of its boiling over, it should be immediately
taken off the fire, and the cover, which ought to fit quite
close on the saucepan, must be put on to extinguish the
flame. This is to prevent accidents; and the operator
cannot be sufficiently cautioned against the danger attend¬
ing the burning of the varnish, which ought never to be
performed in a room with a boarded floor, or indeed in
any part of a house. Wet sacks are the best things to
put out the flame in case of accident.
Several inks must be prepared, differing in the degree
of viscidity, or thickness of the varnish from which they
are made, and the quantity of black mixed with them.
The longer the oil is burned, the thicker the varnish
becomes. The thinnest varnish is burned till it has lost
nearly one fourth of its volume ; the next till it is reduced
one third ; the thickest till it is reduced one half.
ihese directions are to be considered as very general
ones; and the state of the varnish is best judged of du¬
ring the burning, by taking out some with a spoon, and
letting a drop fall on a cold earthenware plate, and trying
its degree of viscidity with the finger. The thinnest sort
sh&uld be like common honey, and the other should draw
out in strings, which will be longer as the varnish is thicker.
The thickest will draw out in strings two or three feet in
length.
It is quite essential to have the oil pure, and the sauce¬
pan perfectly clean, and to keep the varnish in clean close
LITHOGRAPHY.
384
I-itho- jars in a c00i place. It is best not to make the varnish
S^phy* l°ng before it is wanted ; for if any decomposition takes
^ place in it, the drawing will be spoiled by the printing ink.
The black is mixed with the varnish on a grinding stone
with a muller, in small successive quantities; care being
taken that the first portion of black is equally mixed with
the varnish before a second is added. In the thickest inks
this requires considerable labour. By mixing the varnish¬
es together, any degree of stiffness of the ink may be ob¬
tained ; and by putting more or less black, its thickness is
regulated. The printer must always have by him several
small pots, each containing a different printing ink, to be
used as occasion requires. A small quantity, not more
than the size of a hazel-nut, should be used at a time; for
it is desirable to charge the roller with as small a quantity
as possible. It must be worked well on the colour table
with the roller in all directions, that it may be equally
distributed all over the roller. Ink drawings are general¬
ly printed with a stiffer ink than chalk drawings.
6. Preparation of the Stone for Printing.
Etching. The drawing being finished on the stone as before de¬
scribed, is sent to the lithographic printer, on whose know¬
ledge of his art the success of the impressions in a great
measure depends. The first process is to etch the draw¬
ing, as it is called. This is done by placing the stone ob¬
liquely on one edge over a trough, and pouring over it
nitric acid very much diluted. It is poured on the upper
part of the stone, and runs down all over the surface.
The stone is then turned, and placed on the opposite
edge, and the etching water, being collected from the
trough, is again poured over it in the same manner. The
degree of strength, which is little more than one per cent,
of acid, should be such as to produce a very slight effer¬
vescence ; after the etching water has lain on the stone
for a second or two, its strength must vary according to
the heat of the atmosphere and the degree of fineness of
the drawing. It is desirable to pass the etching water
two or three times over the darkest parts of the drawing,
as they require more etching than the lighter tints; and
when the drawing is fine, a little green should be mixed
with it. Some stones also, and different chalks, require
different degrees of strength of the acid; and experience
alone can guide the lithographer in his practice on this
point. Chalk drawings require weaker acid than the ink.
The stone is now carefully washed, by pouring clean
rain-water over it, and afterwards with gum-water; and
when not too wet, the roller, charged with printing ink, is
rolled over it in both directions, viz. sideways, and from top
to bottom, till the drawing takes the ink. It is then well
covered over with a solution of gum-arabic in water, of
about the consistency of oil. This is allowed to dry, and
preserves the drawing from any alteration, as the lines
cannot spread, in consequence of the pores of the stone
being filled with the gum. After the etching, it is desir¬
able to leave the stone for a day, and best not to leave it
more than a week, before it is printed from. In some es¬
tablishments a few proofs are taken immediately after the
drawing is etched, but it is better not to do so.
The operation of the etching requires great nicety, and
must be done quickly. If the drawing is etched too
strongly, the fine tints disappear ; if too weak, the print¬
ing ink mixes with the darker parts, and the drawing runs
into blots. A soft stone requires weaker acid than a hard
one, if they are equally pure in quality. The differences
in the composition of the stones also require differences
in the strength of the etching water, so that no strict or
certain rules can be given.
The effect of the etching is, first, to take away the al¬
kali mixed wfith the drawing chalk or ink, which would
make the drawing liable to be affected by the water ; and, Litho.
secondly, to make the stone refuse more decidedly to take graphy.
any grease. The gum assists in this latter purpose, and
is quite essential to the perfect preparation of the surface
of the stone.
7. Printing.
When the stone is to be printed from, it is placed on Printing,
the bed or platten of the press; at this time a proper
sized scraper for the printing is very carefully adjusted to
the surface of the stone. The gum on the stone is now
sprinkled with rain-water, and being gradually dissolved,
and a wet sponge passed lightly all over it, the printer
works the ink which is on the colour table placed beside
him, with the roller, in all directions, till it is equally
and thinly spread all over the roller. He then, the stone
being wet, passes the roller all over the stone in both di¬
rections, observing, as his experience enables him to do,
that all parts of the drawing take the ink in due propor¬
tion. The roller should be applied with an equal motion
and pressure, which must be regulated according to the
mode in which the drawing takes the ink ; if it does not
take it readily, the pressure must be increased, [and the
roller moved more slowly. The roller should turn freely
as it passes over the stone ; if it slips, the cause is either
that the stone is too wet, or that too much of the gum
remains upon the stone; in the first case, a drier sponge
will correct the evil; in the second, the stone must be
again washed with a little water; but this must be done
with caution, as the gum should not be entirely washed
off the stone.
At first the drawing receives the ink with some difficulty,
and it is frequently necessary to wet the stone and roll it
in several times, before it will take the ink readily. Care
must now be taken not to wet the stone too much; the
less dampness the better, provided it is sufficient to keep
the stone from taking the ink in the parts where there is
no drawing; at all events, no drops of water should be
seen upon the stone, as they spoil the printing ink, and
also are imbibed by the roller, which therefore becomes
unfit for use. After the drawing is thus rolled in, the
sheet of paper is placed on the stone, and the impression
taken in the manner described in the account of the press.
When, after the impression, the paper is taken up, the
stone appears dry, the moisture having been imbibed by
the paper. It must be again wetted with a damp sponge,
and rolled in with ink as before, taking care to work the
roller well on the colour table each time before applying
it to the stone.
Generally the first few impressions are imperfect, from
the drawing not taking the ink fully ; but this is gradual¬
ly corrected in the succeeding impressions.
During the printing some gum must always remain on
the stone, though it will not be visible, otherwise the
ink will take on the stone, and also spoil the drawing.
If, by too much wetting, or by rubbing too hard with the
sponge, the gum is entirely removed, some fresh gum-
water must be laid on. If the stone has, in the first in¬
stance, been laid by with too small a quantity of gum,
and the ink stains the stone on being first applied to it, i
gum-water must then be used to damp the stone instead of
pure water. Sometimes, however, this may arise from
the printing ink being too thin, as will appear below. If
some spots on the stone take the printing ink, notwith¬
standing the above precautions, some strong acid must be
applied to them with a brush; and after this is washed
off', a little gum-water is dropped on the place. A steel
point is here frequently necessary to take off the spots j jr,
of ink. The edges of the stone are very apt to soil, and
generally require to be wiped with an old sponge or rag
LITHOGRAPHY.
385
tho- after the rolling in. They must also frequently have an
phy. application of acid and gum, and sometimes be rubbed
with pumice-stone. Chalk drawings are much the most
difficult to print. After this general description of the print¬
ing, the following development of the principles on which
it is regulated, and notice of the difficulties which arise in
its progress, will be found useful. An ink which is too thin,
and formed of a varnish not sufficiently burned, will soil the
stone, notwithstanding that the proper precautions are taken
of wetting the stone, and preparing it properly with acid
and gum. Ink which is too stiff will tear up the lighter tints
of the chalk from the stone, and thus destroy the drawing.
The consideration of these circumstances leads us at
once to the principles of the printing. These accidents
arise at the extreme points of the scale at which the print¬
ing inks can be used; for it is evident, that the only inks
which can be employed are those which are between these
points, that is, thicker than that which soils the stone, and
at the same time thinner than that which takes up the
drawing. Any increase of temperature will diminish the
consistency of the printing ink; the stone will therefore
soil with an ink which could be safely used at a lower tem¬
perature ; hence a stiffer ink must be used. Now, if the
temperature should increase so much that the stone will
soil with any ink at all less thick than that which will take
up the drawing, it is evident that the printing must cease
till, by standing, the lines of the drawing shall have acquir¬
ed additional strength. This, though it sometimes occurs,
is a rare case ; but it shows that it is desirable to draw
with a chalk or ink of less fatness in summer than in win¬
ter ; and also, that if the printing-room is in winter artifi¬
cially heated, pains should be taken to regulate the heat
as equally as possible.
We will now enumerate some other difficulties which are
not referrible to the above general principle.
If the pressure of the scraper is too weak, the ink will not
be given off to the paper in the impression, although the
drawing has been properly charged with it. Defects will
also appear from the scraper being notched, or not correctly
adjusted, or from any unevenness in the leather or paper.
Inequalities in the roller will cause the drawing to re¬
ceive the ink unequally, and if the roller or its leather is
too hard, it will not ink the drawing clearly.
After printing a considerable number of impressions, it
sometimes happens that the drawing takes the ink in dark
spots in different parts. This arises from the printing ink
becoming too strongly united with the chalk or ink of the
drawing, and if the printing is continued the drawing will
be spoiled. A little consideration will show us the reason
of this accident. The printing ink readily unites with the
drawing, and being of a thinner consistency, it will by re¬
peated applications accumulate on the lines of the drawing,
soften them, and make them spread. In this case it is
necessary to stop the printing, and let the stone rest for a
day or two, for the drawing to recover its proper degree of
hardness. If the drawing should run smutty from any of
the causes before enumerated, the following mixture will
clean it.
M ture Take equal parts of water, spirits of turpentine, and oil
to ean of olives, and shake them well together in a glass phial,
in /hiT" Unt^ tlie mixture froths; wet the stone, and throw this
pr tinrr.0 ^rot^ uPon it, and rub it gently with a sponge. The print-
ing ink will be dissolved, and the whole drawing also will
disappear, though, on a close examination, it can be dis¬
tinguished in faint white lines. On rolling in again with
printing ink, the drawing will gradually re-appear as clear
as at first.
A ched Accidents sometimes occur in the printing, from the
Pa r unfit qualities of the paper. If the paper has been made from
str'iiy0" raSs wkich have been bleached with oxymuriatic acid, the
“If 'V‘ drawing will be incurably spoiled after thirty impressions.
VOL. xm.
Chinese paper has sometimes a strong taste of alum ; this Litho-
is so fatal as sometimes to spoil the drawing after the first graPh7-
impression. “v—
When the stone is to be laid by after printing, in order Printing
that it may be used again at a future period, the drawingink-
must be rolled in with a preserving ink, called by Sene¬
felder, aelzfarhe, as the printing inks would, when dry,
become so hard, that the drawing would not take fresh
printing ink freely. . The following is the composition of
the preserving ink.
Thick varnish of linseed oil 2 parts.
Tallow    4 do.
Venetian turpentine 1 do.
Wax  I do.
These must be melted together, and then four parts of
lamp-black very carefully and gradually mixed with it, and
it must be preserved for use in a close tin box.
Very fine effects are produced in lithographic prints, by
printing from two or more stones with different coloured
inks. This is managed by preparing a composition of
Wax 2 parts.
Soap  1 do.
A little vermilion.
Melt them in a saucepan, and cast them into sticks.
This must be rubbed up with a little water to the thick¬
ness of cream, and then applied to the surface of a polished
stone. An impression is taken in the common way from
a drawing, and applied to a stone prepared in this manner,
and passed through the press, care being taken to mark, by
means of this impression, two points in the margin corre¬
sponding on each of the stones. The artist having thus
on the second stone an impression from the first drawing
to guide him, scrapes away the parts which he wishes to
remain white in the finished impression. The stone must
now be etched with acid stronger than the common etch¬
ing water, having one part of acid to twenty of water.
The whole is then washed off with turpentine.
This plan has been very much followed at Munich, and
in this country some splendid specimens have lately been
produced. It is generally used to print a middle tint from
the second stone. The black impression being given from
the first stone, a flat transparent brownish tint is given
from the second, and the white lights are where the paper
is left untouched. The dots are necessary to regulate the
placing of the paper on the corresponding parts of the two
stones.
The coloured inks for the tints are differently made, ac¬
cording to the tint required, but the varnishes alone make
very good light browns.
The paper for lithographic printing should not be so
damp as for copperplate printing.
8. Different manners of Lithography.
Besides the manners already described of drawing with
ink and chalk, lithography is practised in various other ways.
Transfers.
The most useful of these is the transfer before alluded Transfers,
to in speaking of the inks, as it saves the labour and in¬
convenience of writing backwards. This is performed by
writing with the composition ink on a prepared paper, and
then transferring the writing to a stone, by passing it
through the press.
Dissolve in some water half an ounce of gum-traga-Tints,
canth, to which, after it is well mixed and strained, add
one ounce of glue and half an ounce of gamboge.
Then take of French chalk 4 ounces.
old plaster of Paris.. ^ ditto,
starch 1 ditto.
Powder these, and sift them through a fine sieve ; grind
3 c
386
L I T
tia
II
Lithon-
triptics.
Lithoman- them with a portion of the gum-tragacanth, glue, and gam¬
boge ; then add sufficient water to give it the consistency
of oil, and apply it with a brush to thin sized paper. The
writing must be made with the ink on the prepared side.
When the transfer is to be made, a polished stone is
warmed to about 130° Fahrenheit, and placed in the press.
The paper is then carefully damped at the back with a
sponge, and placed between some sheets of soft paper. It
is next placed on the stone with the writing towards it, and
passed through the press as in printing an impression. This
must be repeated four or five times without raising the
leather cover of the bed of the press, beginning with a
slight pressure at first, and increasing it every time. The
press is now to be opened, and the paper, being damped,
taken off, when the writing will appear to have come off
the paper on the stone.
When the stone is quite cold, it is etched and prepared
for printing in the usual manner.
This mode is peculiarly valuable for maps, plans, writ¬
ings, &c. when expedition and economy are objects of im¬
portance ; and the impressions produced by skilful litho¬
graphers retain all the purity and sharpness of the origi¬
nal drawing or writing.
Imitation of Wood Cuts.
Imitation This is a very easy mode, though not much practised,
of wood A polished stone is covered all over with lithographic ink,
cuts’ and the parts which are to be left white are scraped away
with a steel point. Very fine lines are most easily obtain¬
ed by putting them in with a hair pencil. The stone is
etched as before described.
Etchings on Stone.
Lithogra- A polished stone is prepared for this mode by washing
phic etch- it with diluted acid as weak as the water used for etching
inSs- a drawing; and after that is washed off, and the stone is
dry, it is to be covered with weak gum-water and a little
lamp-black. This forms a coating to the stone, and the
artist works on it with an etching needle, as in etching
upon copper. The lines which he traces appear white, but
look stronger than they will appear afterwards. The stone
should be a little warmed, for the needle to work freely
through the coating, and care must be taken not to breathe
upon it. When the etching is finished, the surface is to be
rubbed all over with linseed oil, which penetrates into the
lines drawn by the needle. After this the coating is to
be all washed off with water.
In this mode lines can be drawn as fine as on copper¬
plate; it is, however, but little practised in England, though
it is often employed in Germany.
The great distinction between lithography and engrav¬
ing, when employed for works of art, is, that the former
gives a fac-simile of an original drawing, which retains all
the freedom and touch of the artist’s own hand; whilst, on
L I T
the contrary, an engraving must be a copy. This charac¬
ter in a lithographic print arises from the facility with
which the drawing is produced, as the process is exactly
that which the artist would follow in making a common v,
drawing : and the farther advantage of a great saving of
expense is derived from the same cause ; for the drawing
being made at once on the stone, the whole expense of the
engraving is saved. This is particularly the case with
drawings in chalk, or with outlines or slight works in ink;
and thus the door is opened to the production of many
works which could not otherwise be published on account
of the expense of engraving.
The more finished drawings in ink, however, have not
the same advantages, for the gradations in tint can be ob¬
tained only by the variations in the breadth and distance
of the lines, which is the same principle as that on which
the engraver works; and hence the labour is more nearly
equal in the two methods.
There is, however, much less difficulty in drawing lines
on the stone than in cutting them on copper, and of course
the operation is less expensive ; and the cost of printing
from stone is also considerably under that of printing from
plates, which renders theemploymentoflithography doubly
advantageous when a large number of copies are required.
The number of impressions that may be taken from a chalk
drawing varies according to the fineness of the tints and
the manner in which the drawing has been executed. Some
drawings will be exhausted by 1500 or 2000 copies, others
have stood 20,000, and some even 30,000 impressions.
Ink drawings and writings give considerably more; the
finest, if properly managed, will give from 6000 to 10,000 ;
others it seems to be impossible to exhaust, hundreds of
thousands having been printed from some without any
material injury.
The advances which lithography has made within these
few years have been really immense. Specimens in the
chalk manner have been produced which vie in beauty
with the stippled engravings in the line manner. Efforts
equally wonderful have been made, and there seems no
reason to doubt that further improvements will yet be
effected in this infant art. The external delicacy of tint
of the finest engravings there is reason to believe, as has
already been shown, it never can equal; and it is more
than probable that the station which it has already attain¬
ed, is that which it is destined to fill; that is, betwixt the
first class of engravings and the middling productions of
copper and steel, its greatest advantages being economy
and expedition in the execution. The innumerable in¬
stances in which the public have already been presented
with valuable works by means of lithography, which could
not have been produced by the more expensive and tedi¬
ous mode of engraving, are sufficient evidences of its vast
importance, and afford ground for the anticipation of still
greater benefits.
Lithnj.
troton
11
nitina.
lATKOM ANTI A., \n Antiquity, a species of divination
performed with stones. Sometimes the stone called si-
derites was used. This they washed in spring-water in
the night by candle light; and the person who consulted
it was purified from all manner of pollution, and had his
face covered. This being done, he repeated divine pray¬
ers, and having placed certain characters in an appointed
order, the stone then moved of itself, and in a soft, gentle
murmur, or, as some say, in a voice like that of a child,
returned an answer. By a stone of this nature Helenus
is reported to have foretold the destruction of Troy.
LITHONTRIPTICS (from Xidog, a stone, and tyutfroj,
to break), an epithet applied to medicines that are suppos¬
ed to break or dissolve the calculus in the bladder.
LITHOSTROTON, amongst the Romans, was a pave¬
ment of mosaic work, consisting of small pieces of cut
marble of different kinds and colours, and first used in the
time of Sylla, who caused one to be formed at Praeneste,
in the temple of Fortune, and afterwards in private houses.
They were brought to such perfection, that they exhibit¬
ed representations of nature with all the accuracy of the
finest painting.
LITHOTOMY, in Surgery, the operation of cutting for
the stone. See Surgery.
LITHUANIA, an extensive province of Poland, now
annexed to Russia. See the article Russia.
LITINA, a circle of the Russian province of Podolia,
extending in north latitude from 49. 5. to 49. 45., and
litmus
ill
; turgy.
L I T
in east longitude from 27. 45. to 28. 31. It is watered by
the Bug, and has a rich and productive soil. The chief
place, of the same name, is 1028 miles from St Petersburg.
Long. 27. 4. E. Lat. 49. 19. N.
LITMUS, in the arts, is a blue pigment, formed from
archil. It may be prepared by adding quicklime and pu-
trified urine, or spirit of urine distilled from lime, to archil
previously bruised by grinding. The mixture being cool¬
ed, and the fluid suffered to evaporate, becomes a mass of
the consistence of a paste, and is laid on boards to dry in
square lumps. It is only used in miniature paintings, but
cannot be much depended on, because the least approach
of acid changes it instantly from blue to red.
LITTER (lectica), a kind of vehicle borne upon shafts,
anciently esteemed the most easy and genteel way of car¬
riage. Du Cange derives the word from the barbarous
Latin lecteria, straw or bedding for beasts ; but others
conceive that it comes from lectus, a bed. Pliny calls the
litter the traveller s chamber ; it was much in use amongst
the Romans, and was borne by slaves kept for that pur¬
pose. The Roman lectica made to be borne by four men
was called tetraphorum; that borne by six, hexaphornm; and
that borne by eight, octaphorum. The invention of litters,
according to Cicero, was due to the kings of Bithynia.
Litter also denotes a parcel of dry old straw put on the
floor of a horse’s stall, for him to lie down and rest upon.
LITTLETON, Sir Thomas, a judge of the common
pleas, was the eldest son of Mr Thomas Westcote, of the
county of Devon, by Elizabeth, sole heiress of Thomas
Littleton of Franldey in Worcestershire, at whose request
he took the name and arms of that family. He was edu¬
cated at one of the universities, probably at Cambridge,
and thence removed to the Inner Temple, where he be¬
came one of the readers. He was afterwards made stew¬
ard or judge of the court of the palace, or marshalsea of
the king’s household, to Henry VI. In 1455, being the
thirty-third of that reign, he was appointed king’s ser¬
geant, and travelled the northern circuit as judge of assize.
In 1462, the second of Edward IV., he obtained a pardon
from the crown ; and, in 1466, was appointed one of the
judges of the common pleas, and went the Northampton¬
shire circuit. In the year 1474 he was, with many of the
first nobility, created knight of the bath. He died in
1481, and was buried in the cathedral church of Worces¬
ter, where a marble tomb, with a statue on it, was erected
to his memory. As to his character as a lawyer, it is suf¬
ficient to state, that he was the author of the treatise upon
tenures, on which Sir Edward Coke wrote a comment,
well known by the title of Coke upon Littleton.
Littleton, Adam, descended from an ancient family
in Shropshire, was born in 1627, educated at Westminster
school, and entered at Oxford as a student of Christ
Church, whence he was ejected by the parliamentary visit¬
ors in 1648. Soon afterwards he became usher of West¬
minster school, and in the year 1658 was made second
master of that institution. After the Restoration he
taught a school at Chelsea in Middlesex, and was admit¬
ted rector of the church of that place in the year 1664.
In 1670 he obtained his degree in divinity, being then
chaplain in ordinary to his majesty. In 1674 he became
prebendary of Westminster, of which church he was after¬
wards sub-dean. Besides the well-known Latin and Eng¬
lish Dictionary, he published several other works. He
died in the year 1694, and was interred at Chelsea.
LITURGY denotes all the ceremonies in general be¬
longing to divine service. The word comes from the
Greek, \uroueyia, service, public ministry, formed from X«/-
rog, public, and tgyov, work. In a more restricted significa¬
tion, liturgy is used amongst the Roman Catholics to sig¬
nify the mass, and amongst the Episcopalians it is used
to signify the common prayer.
L i v
387
Livadia.
In the primitive days divine service was exceedingly Lituus
simple, being clogged with but few ceremonies, and con¬
sisting of only a small number of prayers ; but by degrees ,
the number of external ceremonies was increased, and new
prayers were added, to make the office look more vener¬
able to the people. At length things were carried to such
a pitch, that regulation became necessary; it was,found
proper to put the service, and the manner of performing it,
into writing; and this was what was called a liturgy.
In the early ages of the church every bishop had the
power to form a liturgy for his own diocese ; and if he
kept to the analogy of faith and doctrine, all circumstan¬
ces were left to his own discretion. Afterwards the prac¬
tice was for the whole province to follow the metropoli¬
tan church, which also became the general rule of the
church ; and this Lindwood acknowledges to be the com¬
mon law of the church, intimating, that the use of several
services in the same province, which was the case in Eng¬
land, had no warrant except by long custom.
The liturgy of the church of England was composed in
the year 1547, and established in the second year of Ed¬
ward VI. (2 and 3 Edw. VI. cap. 1.) In the fifth year
of this king it was reviewed, because some things were
contained in that liturgy which showed a compliance with
the superstition of the time, and various exceptions were
taken against it by some learned men at home, and by
Calvin abroad. Certain alterations were made in it, which
consisted in adding the general confession and absolution,
and the communion to begin with the ten commandments.
The use of oil in confirmation and extreme unction was left
out; prayers for souls departed, and what tended to a be¬
lief of Christ’s real presence in the eucharist, were also
omitted. This liturgy, so reformed, was established by
the act 5 and 6 Edward VI. cap. 1. But it was abolished
by Queen Mary, who enacted that the service should stand
as it was most commonly used in the last year of the reign
of Henry VIII. The liturgy of 5 and 6 Edward VI., how¬
ever, was re-established with some few alterations and ad¬
ditions by 1 Elizabeth, cap. 2. Some further alterations
were introduced, in consequence of the review of the com¬
mon-prayer book, by order of James I. in the first year of
his reign, particularly in the office of private baptism, in
several rubrics, and other passages, with the addition of
five or six new prayers and thanksgivings, and all that
part of the catechism which contains the doctrine of the
sacraments. The book of common prayer, so altered, re¬
mained in force from the first year of James I. till the
fourteenth of Charles II. The last review of the li¬
turgy was made in the year 1661, and the last act of uni¬
formity enjoining the observance of it is 13 and 14 Car.
II. cap. 4.
LITUUS, amongst the Romans, was the staff made use
of by the augurs in quartering the heavens. It was crook¬
ed at one end, and thickest in the curved part, according
to Aulus Gellius. Upon medals we frequently meet with
a representation of it, amongst other pontifical instruments.
It was called Lituus Quirinalis, from Quirinus, a name of
Romulus.
Lituus was also an instrument of music in use in the
Roman army. It was straight, excepting that it had a little
bending at the upper end, like a lituus or sacred staff of
the augurs ; and from the similitude it derived its name.
LIVADIA, an ancient town of Turkey in Europe, and
capital of a province of the same name in Greece. It is
a large and populous place, situated on the Gulf of Le-
panto, about twenty-five miles from the city of that name.
It has now a considerable trade in woollen stuffs and rice.
Anciently it was celebrated for the oracle of Trophonius,
which inhabited a cavern in a hill above the town. Long.
23. 29. E. Lat. 38. 40. N.
LIVER. See Anatomy
388
LIVERPOOL.
History.
Liverpool. This town, which, after London, is the most considerable
place ot commerce in the British empire, or perhaps in the
world, is situated in the hundred of West Derby, on the
eastern bank of the river Mersey, in 53° 22' 30" of north
latitude, and 2° 57' of longitude west from Greenwich, at
a distance of 30 miles west of Manchester, and 205 miles
north-west of London. The town is bounded on the west
by the river Mersey, on the east by Low Hill and Everton
on the north by the township of Kirkdale, and on the south
by Toxteth Park.
The limits of the ancient borough were defined by marks
called mere-stones, within which its liberties were included.
It occupied an area of 2202 acres, of which about 1000
belonged to the Corporation, and the rest to individuals;
but under the Parliamentary and Municipal lleform Acts’
the limits of the present borough have been greatlv ex-
tended and now include a large part of Toxteth Park,
Edge Hill, Low Hill, West Derby, Everton, and Kirkdale.
1 he name of this place has given rise to much discus¬
sion. The most ancient record in which it is mentioned,
is the charter of Henry II., where it is called Lyrpul or
Litherpul, either of which is inconsistent with the fanciful
derivation from the heraldic bird called the liver. It seems
to be agreed that the latter part of the name designates a
pullum, or pool of water ; and Camden, who gives a Saxon
derivation, explains only the termination.1 But as the
name Lyferpole does not rest upon any Saxon authority,
its conect ness may be questioned. To account for the
moie ancient orthography, however, it has been supposed
that the name Litherpool was formed of the words lithe
pol, signifying gentle lake. In an assessment of Lanca¬
shire, made in 1245, when Lancaster was charged thirteen
mciks, and Preston fifteen, Liverpool paid only eleven. In
Leland s account of his journey, made about the years
1515 and 1516, we find this passage : “ Lyrpole, or Lyr-
poole, is a pavid towne, hath but a chapel, Walton a iv
miles of, not far from the se is paroche chirch. The kino-
hath a castlet there, and the Erie of Darbe hath a stone
house there. Irisch merchants cum much thither as to a
good haven. At Lyrpole is smaule custom payid, that cau-
sith marchants to resort. Good marchundise at Lyrpole,
and much Irisch yarn that Manchester men do by ther.”
A charter was granted to this town by King John in
1203, and renewed by Henry III. in 1228, by which he
constituted Leverpolle a free borough. In 1272 a census
was taken of the town, when it was found to consist of 168
houses, and occupied by about 800 inhabitants. Some re¬
cords of the year 1555 represent it as a poor and obscure
place, having only 138 householders and cottagers; but
six years afterwards, the number of vessels belonging to
the port were twelve, of 177 tons, and manned by 175
seamen.
In 1626 Charles I. granted a new charter, by which a
corporate and politic body was created. At the levy of
ship-money, in the early part of that reign, this town was
assessed for L.25, whilst Chester was rated at L.26, and
Bristol at L.1000, which may be some guide to the rela¬
tive importance of the several places. During the civil
war, in the latter part ot this reign, it was the scene of se¬
veral conflicts between the royalists and the parliamenta¬
rians ; and, after a siege, when it was taken by the former,
it suffered severely by the plague, which carried off 200 of
its inhabitants. About this time, the ships in Liverpool Live™ ,
and the dependent ports had increased as follows :-Z P C!;S
Liverpool . . ships, 24 . . tons, 462 . . men, 76.
tlvnlfll ,thei .res!°.ration’ and the internal national peace
that followed it, Liverpool seems gradually to have gone on
increasing in extent, population, and trade. It Appears
that, in 1753, there were 3700 houses, and 20,000 inhabi¬
tants; and that in 1760, the houses were 4200, and the
population 25,000. Dr Enfield, to whom we are indebted
for these two comparative statements, does not give any
data that can be implicitly confided in, but they have everv
appearance of approximating to accuracy. ^
Till tlie year 1698, Liverpool was included in Walton
pansh, but in that year it was separated from it. In 1699
it became an independent parish. The first newspaper
was established in the year 1756; and in the year 1760
the first st^e-coach was established between Liverpool and
London. In 1770, the public library commenced and
wasUfoundedarae ^ ^ °f ArtiStS of Livc’rP°ol
The African and West India trade had been rapidly
growing during seventy years, and all other branches had
also been increasing. In the year 1754, there were
83 ships in the African trade.
124 ... in the West India trade.
28 ... in the American and foreign trade.
21 ... in the London cheese trade.
101 coasters and Irish traders.
80 sloops and flats on the river.
At this time a new dock was constructed, and received
the name of the Salt-house Dock.* From that period, the
progress of Liverpool has been truly without example in
country.6" ^ 0r PerhapS in ^ other aSe or
anc?eVVjope0fSTt-Ge°rgfsCl1Urch> formerly stood theAntiqui-
tnc h l* i°f LTrpooL According to Camden, it tics,
was built as early as the year 1076. Whatever may have
;nCCl\ S 0riS1r,f,lt1Was demolished by order of Parliament
m the year 1659; but it existed in a dilapidated state from
Jrn TV. the year !1721’ When il ^aS razed to the
ground. Ihere was also a building denominated the
lower, which occupied a site of about 3700 square yards,
and was situated near the bottom of Water Street It
served for ages as the residence of the Earls of Derby, then
as an assembly-room, and afterwards as a prison. It was
demolished in 1819, and with it disappeared the last re¬
maining vestige of the ancient days of Liverpool.
i 1 Stat,e t0 fhl,ch Liverpool has arrived, and the gra-Population,
dual steps by which it has been accomplished, within the
present century, may be most accurately shewn by the re¬
turns obtained in the four decennial enumerations of Great
Britain, which, by the diligence and acuteness ofMr Rick¬
man, have been collected, arranged, and presented to the
wo muses of parliament. Every ten years exhibits more
fully the state ot the country than was to be found in the
volumes that preceded it.
Population of Liverpool, including that of Toxteth Park.
1801.
79,722
1811.
100,240
1821.
131,801
1831.
189,242
S“0',1“! VUlg0 “'P001- * diffus* “ »>•<«■» nm, «t opinio est, nominatm Camden
* The first dock constructed was the Old Dock, as it is called, which had been formed in 1699.
LIVERPOOL.
Liveiijol- In the last of these years, the families were 38,122, of
whom 227 were chiefly employed in agriculture; 18,881
were principally employed in trade, manufactures, or han¬
dicraft; and 19,014 were not comprehended in either of
the before-mentioned classes.
The number of males who had attained the age of twen¬
ty years was 44,726. Of these, the portion employed in
agriculture were, 39 occupiers of land, employing labour¬
ers ; 165 occupiers of land, not employing labourers ; and
132 employed as labourers in agriculture. The remainder
are thus classed: 359 making manufacturing machinery ;
21,208 employed in retail trade, or in handicraft, as mas¬
ters or as workmen; 5201 capitalists, bankers, professional
and other educated men ; 16,095 labourers employed in
labour not agricultural; 1214 others not particularly class¬
ed, and 313 domestic servants. The number of female
servants was 9033.
Of the whole population, as before stated, of 189,242
individuals, the males were 87,919, and the females 101,323.
The excess of the latter over the former may be attributed
to the number of seafaring people, a part of whom must
necessarily be much absent from their residences.
The rapid increase of the town will be observed from
what has been stated; but the most authentic record of
this increase is to be found in the bills of mortality, as pre¬
served in the parish registers, and from them the following
results are derived:—
1700. 1760. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1830. 1834.
Baptisms,... 132 986 3033 4001 4718 7258 8154
Burials, 124 599 3157 1544 3680 3845 5881
Marriages,.. 35 408 1217 1434 1653 2220 2675
Exclusive of the baptisms, marriages, and burials in the
places of public worship in Toxteth Park and Everton, and
of the burials at the Necropolis, which, in 1834, amounted
to 1586.
It appears by the bills of mortality that the increase of
the population, as shewn by deducting the number of bu¬
rials from the number of baptisms, would have been only
22,108 individuals in the ten years, from the year 1821 to
the year 1831 ; whereas the returns shew an increase of
59,441 ; thus proving that besides the increase from itself,
there must have been an immigration of 37,333 persons at
Liverpool. The increased salubrity of the town is also ob¬
servable. The whole of the burials in 1821 were 3267,
out of a population of 131,801, or about one in forty ; and
in 1830 they were 3620, out of a population of 189,242, or
one in fifty-two.
The increase in the population since 1830 has been re¬
markably steady, although the town has been twice visited
by the cholera, and on one of the occasions very severely.
The births in 1835 were 8145.
bocks One of the main causes of the increase and prosperity of
Liverpool has been the construction of the docks for the
reception of ships. The river Mersey, on the right bank of
which the town is built, empties itself through a great estu¬
ary filled with banks, and crossed by a bar at its mouth,
which is very shallow at low-water; but the tides rise twen¬
ty-one feet at neap, and twenty-eight feet at spring tides,
j - The land around is low, and ships in the river are in conse¬
quence exposed to gales of wind. The entrance to the river
is easy and safe, from some of the prominent objects on the
peninsula which separates the Dee from the Mersey; and the
nearer approach to the harbour has been facilitated by the
construction of light-houses, by the erection of buildings
called the Bootle-marks on the shore, by the establishment
of floating-lights, and by an appropriate placing of buoys
to mark the channel. The Mersey is navigable for vessels
of sixty tons thirty-five miles above Liverpool, to the con¬
fluence of the Irwell. The river Weaver falls also into
the estuary, and is navigable for vessels of sixty tons as
389
far as Northwich, the great depository of rock-salt. It was Liverpool.
to remedy the inconveniences felt after entering the har-v v 
hour, that the docks here described were constructed. Be¬
tween the town and the river, a tract of low land, nearly
three miles in length, extending to low-water mark, was
found adapted for the pm’pose of forming docks. The space
thus recovered from the sea by persevering labour has been
gradually converted into docks, containing 111 acres, and
much of it is covered with warehouses and other buildings
required by commerce.
In the notices of the docks, we shall follow their position Brunswick
from south to north rather than the date of their construe- Bock,
tion. The southernmost of these is the Brunswick Dock.
It is the largest of all, being chiefly constructed for the use
of vessels employed in the timber trade. The east and west
ends are 430 yards long, and the north and south 140 yards.
It is connected with another, called the Half-Tide Basin,
the dimensions of which are 120 by 108 yards.
The Queen’s Dock, which is next to the Brunswick, has Queen’s
a communication with it by means of the Half-Tide Dock Dock,
of the latter. It was opened in 1796, and is now chiefly fre¬
quented by vessels from the Baltic and from Holland. The
mean length is about 400 yards, and the mean breadth
about 100 yards. The gates are 42 feet wide, and 28 deep.
At the south end, and the east and west sides, there are
well-constructed sheds, affording shelter from the incle¬
mency of the weather, whilst the cargoes are receiving or
discharging. The quay is very extensive, and between it
and the river are two graving-docks, 170 yards in length,
admirably calculated for the building and repairing of
ships.
The King s Dock, to the north of the Queen’s and with King’s
an opening into it from a basin common to both, was first Dock,
used in the year 1788. It extends from north to south
2/0 yards, and from east to west 95 yards. It is surround¬
ed by spacious quays, with sheds for discharging tobacco,
which constitutes the cargoes of most of the vessels that re¬
pair to it. The entrance, which is on the south side, has
strong gates, 28 feet deep, and 42 wide, with a cast-iron
bridge turning on a swivel. On the west side of this dock
is one of the most capacious storehouses in the world, in¬
tended as the warehouse for bonded tobacco. It is a plain
brick building, with walls eighteen inches in thickness, ex¬
tending from north to south 575, and from east to west
239 feet; being in extent fifty per cent, more than the in¬
ternal area of St Paul’s cathedral in London, and contain¬
ing three acres one rood and twenty perches. In this
dock a vessel has been converted into a floating chapel,
in which divine service is performed on Sundays. The
pier on the west side forms a fine promenade, from which
an extensive prospect over the river may be obtained.
I he next dock, so called from the name of the constructor, Bridgewa-
the late Duke of Bridgewater, is small, but elegantly con-ter Dock,
structed. It has a x-ange of storehouses upon an arch, un¬
der which vessels may enter and have their loading drawn
up to the proper warehouses above them. This is private
property, now belonging to Lord Francis Egerton, and used
for purposes connected with his vast excavations and water
communications on the Bridgewater canal.
Nearest to the Bridgewater, and to the north of it, isSalthouse.
the Salthouse Dock, which was opened in 1753. The form Docic-
of this dock is irregular, being on the east side 297 yards,
on the south end 80 yards, and on the north end 150 yards ;
the whole, with the passage, comprehending an area of
23,025 square yards. On the east side is a range of exten¬
sive warehouses, under the front of which is a piazza for
the accommodation of passengers. The vessels which chief¬
ly occupy this dock are those from the Levant, and the
coasters from the neighboui'ing ports, and many from Ire¬
land.
The Dry Dock, next to the north, is also of an irregular Dry Dock.
390
George’s
Dock.
Manches¬
ter Dock.
Prince’s
Dock.
Clarence
Docks.
LIVERPOOL.
[.figure. The west side is 150 yards in length* the north
'end 64 yards, the east side 219 yards, and the south end
108 yards. It has connected with it the graving docks,
which are made use of for the purpose of building or re¬
pairing ships. The vessels which chiefly repair to this
dock are those loaded with foreign corn, or employed in
the coasting trade ; the former generally load back with dif¬
ferent kinds of foreign or colonial articles with which Li¬
verpool is at all times well stored.
George’s Dock, originally commenced in the year 1767,
was repaired and considerably enlarged about ten years
ago. It communicates at the south end with the Dry
Dock by means of a canal 110 yards long, the gates of
which are 25 feet long, 36 deep, and 42 wide. The dock
is 246 yards long, and 100 broad, containing an area of
26,068 square yards. On the eastern side is a magnificent
pile of warehouses, with an extensive piazza for the ac¬
commodation of foot passengers. The quay room around
is spacious, and on the western side sheds are constructed
to protect the goods, as they are landed, from the incle¬
mencies of the weather. The basin belonging to this dock
is at the north end, and its dimensions are, on the south
side 163 yards, on the east and west sides 112 yards, and on
the north side 154 yards. Within it is the Mariner’s Church,
in which divine service is weekly performed to the seamen.
To the south of the pier-head of this dock is a smaller
one, the property of the Mersey and Irwell Company, call¬
ed Manchester Dock, which is appropriated solely for the
purpose of receiving the flats belonging to the company,
which are loaded or discharged with their articles from the
adjacent counties.
The most beautiful as well as the most stable of all the
docks, is that called Prince’s, which was begun in May 1816,
and opened on the day of the coronation of King George IV.,
viz. on the 19th of July 1821. The length of the dock
from north to south is 500 yards, and the average breadth
from east to west is 110 yards, thus containing an area of
54,000 square yards. The total expense, as appears from
official vouchers, was L.46l,059: 19:4, exclusive of the
land, which is valued at L. 100,000. At each end there is
a dwelling-house, with appropriate offices, designed for the
use of the dock-masters. There are two entrances; one
from the George’s Dock basin at the south, the gates of
which are 45 feet wide, and 34 deep; and another at the
north end, whose gates are of the same dimensions. Each
of these passages is furnished with a lock, so contrived as
to admit vessels either in or out at half-tide. The dock
and its quays are inclosed with brick walls, having gates at
the north and south ends, and on the east side. Between
the western wall and the river is the Marine Parade, which
is 700 yards long and 11 yards broad, and protected on the
side next the water by a stone wall about a yard in height.
There are also three flights of steps down to the river, for
the convenience of passengers, who may land or embark in
any state of the tide. When the tide is in, this forms a
most varied and delightful promenade. The basin belong¬
ing to the Prince’s Dock is situated at the northern end of
it, and is 140 yards long, and about 134 wide at the centre,
but differs a few feet at each end.
The newest, as w'ell as the most northern of the docks, is
that named the Clarence, in honour of William IV. It was
first opened in September 1830. It consists of a principal
dock, 250 yards long, 135 yards broad at the north end,
and 111 yards at the south end, with a basin 160 yards by
100, between it and the river, furnished with gates, by
means of which vessels may be allowed to pass either in¬
ward or outward at half-tide. The stone of which the walls
are formed is of the most durable quality, and the masonry
surpasses that of most works of the same description. On
each side of the passage two beautiful circular offices have
been erected, supplied with windows on all sides, through
which a complete view may be obtained of every part of Liverpool
the dock and of the quays. A lofty and spacious shed ex-'^y-w
tends the entire length of the eastern side, and the whole
of these works is surrounded by a strong and lofty wall.
Between the Clarence and the basin of the Prince’s New
Dock, there are constructing three other wet docks, with bocks,
an extensive graving dock, which is to be furnished with
patent slips. One of them, the Waterloo Dock, is open to
vessels, and requires only some additions to be made to the
pier to complete it; the others are likely to be finished very
shortly. They are to be called the Victoria and Trafalgar
Docks.
The w’hole of these works are defended against the force
of the powerful tides, which twice in twenty-four hours as¬
sail them, by a strong sea wall more than two miles and a-
half in length.
To this general description we are enabled to add, from
an official paper, the following table, shewing the area of
water contained in the stupendous excavations, and the
quantity of qua.y-space which they afford :—
Dry Basins.
Prince’s Basin,
Seacombe Basin,
George’s Basin,
George’s Ferry Basin,
Old Dock Gut,
Queen’s Basin,
Brunswick Basin,
South Ferry Basin,
Wet Docks.
Prince’s Dock, with its 2 locks, .
George’s Dock, with its 2 passages,
Dry Dock as altered, .
Salthouse Dock, with its passage,
King’s Dock, with its passage,
Queen’s Dock, with its 2 passages,
Half-tide Dock, with it passage,
New North Works.
No. 1 Dock, with No. 1 Lock, and
half of passage,
No. 2 Dock, with Entrance-Lock,
and half of 2 passages,
No. 3 Dock, with No. 2 Lock, and
half of passage,
No. 4 Dock, with its Lock,
Half-tide Basin,
New South Docks.
Brunswick Dock, with its passage,
Half-tide Basin,
Area of
water in
square
yards.
20,999
1,805
16,372
1,344
7,737
24,391
23,622
2,927
57,129
26,793|
19,095
23,025
37,776
51,501!
13,185!
30,764!
29,085!
33,642!
29,313
17,605
60,824
9,245
Quay
space in
lineal
yards.
509
188
455
160
447
601
572
205
1613
1001
500
759
875
1255
497
1012
839
1050
914
586
1092
483
This forms a total, of dock-room of one hundred and
eleven acres, and the quay-space extends to nearly eight
miles in length. The whole length of the river wall is
about two miles and a half, exclusive of openings.
Proper precautions are adopted for clearing these docks
from the mud, which every influx of the tide carries into
them, and this purpose is effected by the aid of improved
machinery, worked by steam. Strict rules are established
and enforced as a guard against fire. No ship is allowed to
have any gunpowder on board, nor any combustible articles
on the deck. No fire is allowed in any ship, nor a candle
to be lighted, except in a lantern, and these only to be used
in the presence of a custom-house officer. The arrange-
LIVERPOOL
391
Lirerjpl. ments for admitting, or for the exit of vessels, and for their
position when in dock, to forward their loading or discharg¬
ing, are all well known and simple, and are executed under
the authority of a dock-master, who is placed at the head
of the officers of each dock, with proper persons under him
to open and shut the gates at the proper time, and to exe¬
cute such other business as may be required for facilitating
the business to be transacted.
These extensive works have been accomplished by means
of loans raised by the dock-trustees on bonds, for the pay¬
ment of the principal and interest of which the rates are
appropriated agreeably to an act of Parliament. When
these bonds shall be discharged, or when the income is
greater than the expenditure, the duties are to be reduced,
so as to leave an amount equivalent to the expenses of the
establishment, and to the necessary reparations. Such bonds
are safe deposits for the savings of the inhabitants, and for
the property of widows, orphans, or any trust-money ; and
thus great numbers in and around Liverpool are interested
in the prosperity of these valuable works.
By means of these establishments, the cost in wear and
tear of ships, and the expense of loading and unloading, is
less at Liverpool than at most of the other ports of the
kingdom. The celerity, also, with which every operation
relating to the dispatch of ships is carried on, is greater
than elsewhere, and thus an additional saving is effected in
the wages and provisions for the masters and crews.
The warehousing or bonding system has tended very es¬
sentially to increase the commerce of Liverpool. The num¬
ber of warehouses and vaults for bonded goods are very con¬
siderable, and there are a number of yards for bonded tim¬
ber, as well as ample granaries under the King’s Lock for
foreign corn. The estimated value of bonded property is
one million and a half Sterling.
i)ock d! Our limits do not allow of tables to shew, for a series of
ies. years, the increase of the exports and imports of the vari¬
ous commodities which form the trade of Liverpool. The Liverpool
following table gives the amount of the dock duties re-
ceived, and will shew the progress of its trade.
A Statement of the amount of Dock Duties received at the
port of Liverpool for every \i)tli year, ending the 2\th
June, from 1752 to 1835, both inclusive.
Year.
1752
1762
1772
1782
1792
1802
1812
1822
1832
1833
1834
1835
Number of
Vessels.
1,307
2,259
2,496
4,483
4,781
4,599
8,136
12,928
12,964
13,444
13,941
Tonnage.
510,691
446,788
892,902
1,540,057
1,590,461
1,692,870
1,768,426
Amount of Dock
Duties.
L.
1,776
2,526
4,552
4,249
13,243
28,192
44,403
102,403
170,047
182,980
191,729
198,637
■v. d.
8 2
19 6
5 4
6 3
17 8
9 10
7 11
17 4
6 11
16 4
17 8
18 9
This account includes not only what is paid for the
space and the time which the vessels occupy, but also for
the storage of goods in the several warehouses belonging
to the docks. In fact, the dock duties and storage duties
are about equal, but the latter somewhat exceed the for¬
mer.
The following official tables will shew more distinctly the
manner in which the dock estate is raised, and also the na¬
ture of some of the other principal charges to which the
commerce of the port is subject.
A Comparative Statement of the Rates and Duties received in the years ending on the 2Ath of June 1834 and 1835.
Year.
1835
1834
Duties on
Tonnage.
L. s. d.
87,644 14 5
84,061 15 11
Increase! 3,582 18 6
Duties on
Goods.
L. s. d.
110,993 4 4
107,688 1 9
3,325 2 7
Lighthouse
Duties.
L. s. d.
9,791 16 7
9,408 0 8
383 15 11
Floating-
light Duties
L.
4,424
4,245
s. d,
5 10
0 10
179 5 0
Graving Dock
Duties.
L.
3,192 19
2,911 3
281 16 0
Graving Block Extra Dock
Duties. Bent.
L. s. d.
1,528 9 6
1,323 4 6
205 3 0
L.
249 11
248 2
1 8 2
Total.
L. s. d.
217,825 0 8
209,865 9 6
7,959 11 2
The amount of the different duties, as stated above, for for the two years ending June 24, 1832 and 1833 we e-ive
the present year (1836) is L. 244,814 : 5 : 9* the following abstract1000, we give
lock The dock estate is at present under the management of
evenuo trustees, who give an annual statement of the receipts and
payments. The trusteeship, after the 1st November 1836,
by the Municipal Reform Act, falls again into the hands of
the corporation of the town. From the printed accounts
1832.
Receipts, L. 187,873 1 7
Payments 303,545 11 7
1833.
L.201,376 10 11
173,678 1 7
General Statement of the Affairs of the Trustees of Dock up to June 24. 1833.
Dr.
1832.
June 23. To amount of bonds and assignments outstanding
this day, .... L. 1,348,756 0 11
1833.
June 24. To amount of bonds issued
since 24th June last, . 57,973 18 0
1833.
Or.
June 24. By amount of bonds and assignments paid off
since 24th June last, . . L. 56,277 12 0
Amount of bonds and assign¬
ments outstanding this day,
redeemable up to the year
1845 inclusive, .... 1,350,452 6 11
L. 1,406,729 18 11
L. 1,406,729 18 11
392
Liverpool.
Liverpool.
Cr
Trade and
Commerce.
LIVERPOOL.
Dr.
1833.
June 24.
General Statement of the Affairs of the Trustees up to June 24. 1833 continued.
To amount of bonds and
assignments, . . . X.1,350,452 6 11
Interest, unclaimed, . . 707 9 8
To sundry balances due to
different persons, . . 1,997 6 3
1833.
June 24. By cash in the hands of A.
Heyvvood, Sons, & Co.
Bankers, 
In the hands of Treasurer, .
By balances due in sundry
open accounts, ....
By amount of materials un¬
expended,  
By balance, 
L.40,397 2 3
613 2 10
22,317 15 4
62,820 14 3
1,227,008 8 2
L.1,353,157 2 10
L.1,353,157 2 10
The debt due by the trustees, 24th June 1833, was
L.1,353,157, 2s. 10d., and the income on an average
amounts to nearly L. 180,000 per annum.
The countries with which the extensive commerce from
Liverpool is carried on, could be best exhibited by shewing
the arrivals and departures of vessels in a series of years;
but ,as such accounts would be long, and to many uninte¬
resting, one year is selected to shew in what proportion the
arrivals have been from the various quarters of the globe.
The year 1832 is selected because it was one of about an
average trade.
An Account of the number of Ships that entered the Port
of Liverpool in the year 1832.
Countries.
British.
Vessels Tonnage.
F oreign.
Vessels. Tonnage.
Europe generally, 
Africa, 
Asia, 
British Nor. America.
British West Indies,.
Foreign ditto, 
United States,  
Sou. American States,
Guernsey, Jersey, &c.
Isle of Man, 
Coasters, 
Irish trade, 
Total,...
388
93
56
421
186
14
210
145
33
173
4,856
3,259
53,658
23,379
19,498
131,288
49,885
2,456
70,392
31,249
2,480
8,648
349,693
386,699
449
1
1
365
1
1
10
9,834
1,134,325
82,424
100
200
142,165
78
250
1,870
828 | 227,087
In order to shew the commercial importance of Liverpool
in comparison with that of the other larger ports of this
kingdom, the following statements are exhibited :—
Ports.
Number of
Ships.
London, 2663....
Newcastle,  987....
Liverpool,  805 
Sunderland,  624....
Whitehaven,  496....
Tonnage.
.572,835
.202,379
.161,780
.107,628
72,967
Hull,   579  72,248
Bristol,  316  49,535
Yarmouth,  585  44,134
Whitby,  258  41,576
The following are the number of vessels, with their ton¬
nage, which arrived in the years 1835 and 1836 :—
Year.
1836.,
1835.,
Number of
Vessels.
14,959,
13,941,
Tonnage.
1,947,613
1,768,426
As the business of the shipowner is not an accurate
criterion of the commercial importance of places, neither is
the amount of custom duties an actually certain standard.
The imports of articles which are brought from one part
of the United Kingdom to another, and consequently pay
no duty, may cause an enormous trade, and be highly bene¬
ficial, but nothing of it would appear in the returns of the
amount of duty collected at the custom-house. Although
we exhibit the means of making comparative estimates,
yet, in the case of Liverpool, the imports from Ireland
must not be omitted to be recorded in taking a view of the
state of its trade. It appears that their imports of agri¬
cultural products alone, consisting of live cattle, corn, flour,
malt, bacon, pork, beef, hams, butter, hogs-lard, and eggs,
amounted, in 1832, tolL.4,444,500, 6s.; in 1833, to the
estimated amount of L.8,179,844, exclusive of linen, fea¬
thers, hides, wool, and porter, to at least the value of
L.50,000 of the latter article.
The quantity of Wheat sold in Liverpool from 1825 to
1834, is also given to shew its importance as a wheat market:
Quarters sold.
1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829,
8,913. 3,527. 27,703. 93,516. 177,197.
1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834,
150,010. 119,118. 168,170. 153,632. 155,155.
The number of bales of cotton imported into Liverpool,
in the year 1835, from the United States, were, 491,271
bales in 396 foreign ships, and 180,870 bales in 157 Bri¬
tish ships.
An Account of the net produce of the duties of Customs, as
remitted from the several parts of the , United Kingdom,
in the years ending bth January 1835 and 1836.
London,
Liverpool,
Bristol, .
Hull,
Dublin, .
Greenock,
Newcastle,
Leith,
Glasgow,
Belfast, .
Cork,
Port-Glasgow,
Waterford,
Gloucester,
1835.
.9,576,972 1 0
3,622,310 11 11
998,002 0 4
650,764 14 4
691,057 5 10
350,167 12 5
271,287 19 10
267,653 3 8
263,944 12 2
259,962 13 8
166,132 18 8
107,466 1 6
113,009 18 8
126,067 10 10
1836.
L.10,601,600 5 8
4,044,894 18 8
1,120,808 1 4
689,573 18 6
844,559 3 9
316,575 4 8
275,369 9 4
373,954 6 11
303,317 0 5
326,179 9 10
185,866 18 2
112,696 14 5
123,861 15 6
155,158 12 3
The Gross and Net Amount of the Duties collected at
Liverpool Custom-House in the years ending 6th Janu¬
ary 1834 and 1835.
Gross Receipt. Net Receipt.
1834.. ..L.3,733,166 8 10 L.3,540,472 14 1
1835.. .. 3,846,306 9 11 3,622,310 11 11
Increase,
1,018
179,187
LIVERPOOL.
393
Livenol. The salaries paid to the officers at the Custom-House
v.—^for 1835, wera L.46,447 : 18 : 0; and the incidental ex¬
penses amounted to L,47,541 : 3 : 7.
The vast extent of the commerce of Liverpool, as here
in some measure exhibited, has in a great degree been
indebted for its progress to the capital, the skill, and the
industry of the inhabitants of the counties in its vicinity,
as well as to the convenience of its port and its docks. With
these counties the facilities of intercourse have been con¬
stantly advancing, chiefly by the numerous internal canals
which branch out from the river Mersey. One of these, the
Leeds and Liverpool, which brings Hull, by the Aire, in com¬
munication with the Mersey, forms a way for conveying the
woollen and cotton goods made in the West Riding of York¬
shire to the great shipping port for America, where are the
greatest number of the consumers of them. In the course of
this canal, either by direct or indirect communication, it is
brought in contact with the manufacturing towns of Wigan,
Chorley, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn, and Rochdale, in Lan ¬
cashire, and with Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds,
Wakefield, Barnsley, and Sheffield, all towns of great ma¬
nufacturing activity. By the Duke of Bridgewater’s ca¬
nal from Runcorn, Liverpool is brought into direct contact
with Manchester and Stockport, and with that vast mass of
coal on the duke’s estate, which could easily supply the
whole fuel for these and the surrounding populous places,
but it is surprising how little of that valuable commodity
comes down to Liverpool by the canal. By the Grand
Trunk Canal, the Mersey is supplied with the rock and re¬
fined salt, both articles of very great export, from the towns
of Middlewich and Northwich, in Cheshire ; and the cheese
of that county is by the same channel brought to be ship¬
ped for London, and other ports of the southern divisions
of the kingdom. The same canal passes Staffordshire, from
the northern part of which the potteries of Burslem, and
the large new built towns in its vicinity, convey thousands
of crates of their ware annually, which are dispatched from
Liverpool to all parts of the globe ; whilst, in its progress
to the south, it touches Wolverhampton, the head-quarters
of the heavy iron manufactory ; and then, by other canals
to Birmingham, with its innumerable articles of hardwares
of which every country in the world receives a portion.
The canal navigation to the south joins the two great rivers,
the Severn on the west, and by the Grand Junction with
the Thames on the east; and thus a wrater communication Liverpool,
is maintained internally with almost every part of the south
of the kingdom.
The annual revenue of the corporation in 1793 wasCorpora-
L.25,000, which, valued as capital, was estimated attion Reve-
L. 1,044,766. rLhe debts due by the corporation w ere also nueSl
valued and found to amount to L.367,816, 12s., leaving a
balance in favour of the corporation of L.676,959, 8s. The
revenues have, since that period, materially increased in
value. The income is now about L. 150,000 per annum,
and the debt is upwards of a million.
The most abundant source of revenue to the corporation
is in the town-dues,—a rate levied generally on all merchan¬
dise imported or exported into or out of Liverpool. Free¬
men are exempted from this tax. The following table
shews the amount of the town-dues every tenth year from
1731 to 1831, each year ending 12th of October :—
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
L.648 16 3
1,163 9 2
1,338 1 5
2,162 7 10
2,899 11 8
4,479 15 8
1791,
1801,
1811,
1821,
1831,
L.10,440 11
19,728 3
21,418 5
33,090 5
35,176 12
There are few tow ns which have their parochial concerns Stale of
of such magnitude as Liverpool, or have the affairs con-the Poor-
nected with it better conducted.
The Workhouse, perhaps the largest in the kingdom,
was erected in 1771, but has been much enlarged since
that period. The paupers in it are well supplied with the
necessaries of life, and the aged amongst them are allowed
many additional comforts. All that are not sick are em¬
ployed in some trade or useful manufacture, such as joiners,
blacksmiths, wheel-wrights, shoemakers, tailors, &c., but
their labour is not very productive. The boys are instruct¬
ed in some trade, and the girls above nine years of age are
taught to knit, sew or spin, to make straw bonnets, or to
weave calicoes or other cloth.
The local taxes for this and other purposes, assessed and
collected in Liverpool, are shewn by the following table,
and clearly prove that neither pauperism nor taxation have
increased in the same ratio as the population, and, it may
be presumed, not in the same ratio as the wealth.
lunicijj
overn.l
lent.
Table to shew the number of the Poor, their Maintenance, the annual Parochial Assessment, Rental, Receipts,
Expenditure.
Year.
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
Number
of Poor
in the
Work-
house.
1411
1533
1606
1648
1715
1792
Whole cost
of their
mainte¬
nance.
L.10,259
11,359
14,288
13,790
13,971
15,981
Average
weekly
number
of out-door
Poor.
1070
1291
1442
1635
1980
2083
Whole cost
of their
mainte¬
nance.
L.10,034
11,793
13,906
14,922
17,534
18,624
Number
of houses
assessed.
26,253
27,023
27,791
30,320
32,554
33,032
33,222
Rates on
the whole
rental.
L.O
0
0
0 1
0 2
Amount of
the rent of
the houses.
L. 530,623
548,218
568,531
695,759
854,587
790,515
801,964
Amount
of the
rates.
L.66,327
54,821
56,853
60,879
106,872
82,367
83,660
Amount ,,
received. ^PendAure
L.50,844
42,127
43,637
45,788
80,000
61,200
62,500
L.42,870
43,582
51,899
51,725
62,415
58,980
54,201
The valuations of the several premises were, in the years
1820, 1821, and 1822, about equal to the rack rent. From
1823 to 1830 they were about four-fifths of the rack rent,
and from 1831 and 1834 they were nearly equal to the full
value.
d he proportion of these rates, which are actually col¬
lected, has varied in different years between 70 and 74
per cent, of the amount assessed.
The corporation, which is one of the most ancient and
wealthy in the kingdom, has been altogether remodelled by
VOL. xm.
the Muncipal Reform Bill. Previous to the passing of the
act, the Body-Corporate consisted of forty-one persons,
chosen by the freemen of the borough. These formed the
common-council, and from amongst whom were chosen
annually a mayor and two bailiffs : vacancies were filled up
by the members of the council, as they occurred. By the
Municipal Reform Act, the old corporation was abolished,
and the town was divided into sixteen wards, returning
forty-eight councillors and sixteen aldermen, who are to be
elected on the 9th of November by the resident rate-pay-
3 D
394
LIVERPOOL.
Adjoining
districts.
Markets.
Liverpool, ers. The councillors remain in office for three years. The
mayor is elected from amongst themselves; the whole cor¬
porate body being thus sixty-four. They are required to
meet quarterly, but they generally meet once a month, and
often more frequently. The council is empowered to enact
laws for the better regulation of the police of the town, of
the port, and of the dock, as well as for watching and light¬
ing of the town, and other public purposes.
Since the accession of the new council to office, a new
and improved system of police has been formed; old laws
have been consolidated ; and preparations are now making
to extend to the new extended borough, the advantages en¬
joyed by the inhabitants of the old. There are twenty-
nine justices of the peace for the borough of Liverpool.
At the registration of 1836, the total number of persons
qualified to vote for members of parliament was 10,600.
The districts in immediate communication with Liver¬
pool have within the last thirty years increased from 2,000,000
inhabitants to 3,600,000; and there can be no doubt but
that their wealth has been augmented in a still greater ratio.
It has, too, been brought into indirect communication with
a much larger district, as the advance extends the limits
of supply at every step on both sides its course. T. he
increase of the import trade, or of foreign commodities, in¬
cluding colonial, is thus very naturally acounted for.
The recent introduction of steam navigation has been
extended amply to Liverpool, and been found of the greatest
benefit. In the supply of the markets with every kind of
provisions from the adjoining districts on the shore, but es¬
pecially from Ireland, the accuracy of their arrival when
loaded with perishable products, has had a manifest good
effect in reducing their prices. Steam-boats are constantly
passing between the Mersey and the ports of Ireland, of
the Isle of Man, of Scotland, and of North Wales. They
are used at the ferry to the city of Chester, and, in con¬
trary winds, to tow vessels into or out of the river. The
celebrated rail road, with its steam-carriages, between Man¬
chester and Liverpool, has given a wonderful impetus to
communication. A particular account of this railroad will
be given under the article Manchester.
No place can be better supplied, or at lower rates, with all
the necessaries and comforts of life, than Liverpool. W ater,
one of the first of those necessaries, is furnished by two
companies. It is raised by steam- engines to the due height,
to convey it to the upper floors of the dwellings. Ihey
also supply large reservoirs and many tanks, in different
parts, which have always abundance of water ready to ex¬
tinguish fires.
It has been observed that the markets are well supplied;
to which may be added, that they are well calculated for
the display and preservation of the commodities, by the
appropriate nature of the buildings. The most extensive
market is St John’s, containing an area of 8235 square
yards, being 183 in length and 45 in breadth. It is very
light and clean, and at night is lighted by gas. The roof
is lofty, supported by cast-iron pillars, and against the walls
are nearly sixty small shops, eighteen feet long, and twelve
feet wide, with a fireplace in each. There are besides up¬
wards of 500 stalls or compartments, allotted for the exhi¬
bition of vegetables, eggs, poultry, fish, fruit, and potatoes,
and on the basement thirty convenient storehouses. The
whole is supplied with pumps of hot and cold water, and
every evening the floor is swept and washed, and then shut
up under the care of watchmen. The regulations for
weighing, or otherwise ascertaining the quantities of the
articles sold, are simple and cheap ; as are those for the re¬
gulation of the porters, who are known by a badge, and
carry the purchases from the market to the residence of
the buyers. It is perhaps the best and neatest market of
any city in Europe. There are others. St James’s market
is neat, but has an area of only 3000 yards. At the end
of the same street is a commodious fish-market, opened in Liverpool
1826. A new market, with an elegant front, has been built
in a situation convenient for those in the neighbourhood of
Scotland Road; and besides these are Islington, Pownal
Square, and Cleveland Square Markets; one for hay and
cattle in Lime Street, and one for pigs in Great Howard
Street. There is a market for live cattle three miles from
the town on the London road.
The streets in the centre of the town are genei-ally nar-gt
row, and rather gloomy in their appearance ; but many of];^^
the recently-built portions are handsomely, and some ele- oi
gantly arranged, and contain very excellent houses. There
are abundance of good hotels and inns. The streets are
well paved, and lighted with gas furnished by two compa¬
nies ; and the police, for the preservation of the peace and
of cleanliness, is well arranged. The public buildings de¬
serve notice. The first of these, in point of extent, is the
Town-Hall, built on the site of a former one which was
consumed by fire in 1795. It is of a quadrangular form,
with a rustic basement, on which rises a range of columns
and pilasters, having rich and finely-finished capitals. Be¬
tween the pilasters are handsome well proportioned win¬
dows, with semicircular heads. On the western and south¬
ern sides the spaces between the capitals are ornamented
with various designs, executed in bas-relief, emblematic of
commerce. The whole is surmounted with a large and
stately dome, in strict keeping with the rest of the build¬
ing, and supporting a massive figure of Britannia in a sit¬
ting posture. The principal entrance is through a portico,
which leads to a splendid staircase, illuminated from above
in a manner to produce a highly pleasing effect. It is
adorned by a fine white marble statue of the late Mr Can¬
ning, by Chantrey. The principal story is laid out in a fine
saloon, two drawing-rooms, and a ball-room of great dimen¬
sions ; and in the former are excellent portraits of his pre¬
sent Majesty William IV., when Duke of Clarence, by
Shee ; of George HI., by Sir Thomas Lawrence ; of George
IV., when Prince of Wales, by Hopner ; and of the late
Duke of York, by Philips. The painting and other orna¬
mental finishing of the apartments, as well as the furniture,
are tasteful and appropriate, and executed at an expense
becoming the liberality of the second commercial city of
the world. The dome has a gallery surrounding it, whence
a very fine view may be obtained of the whole of the river
and docks, and of the country around.
This building forms one side of another mass of erec¬
tions, executed about twenty-five years ago, for the pur¬
pose of an Exchange. It is of great extent, being 197
feet long and 178 broad, thus forming a quadrangle of
3500 square feet, being nearly double the space occu¬
pied by the area of? the Royal Exchange in London. It
has upon one side a finely-proportioned Doric front, with
three rusticated arches, one forming the entrance to a large
and splendid vestibule, composed of thirty-two columns,
from which spring richly ornamented groined arches. The
architectural beauty of this arcade attracts universal admi¬
ration. In the eastern wing is the new room 94 feet in
length and 51 in width, in which are to be found the pa¬
pers relating to knowledge in general, of either politics or
commerce, that are issued in the several countries of the
globe. Over this is another apartment, used by the insu¬
rance-brokers and underwriters, where insurances of ship¬
ping are effected. The rest of the building is used as of¬
fices, and the exterior consists of large and convenient
warehouses.
In the centre of the area a splendid bronze monument
to the memory of Lord Nelson was erected in 1813. R
stands on a circular marble basement, at the top of which
is the principal figure, in an erect attitude, receiving from
Victory a fourth naval crown, whilst Death is aiming the
fatal blow from under the folds of the enemy’s flag, whilst
LIVERPOOL.
Li-srpool. a sailor is seen grasping a battle-axe about to revenge the
death of a hero, and Britannia leaning on her spear, with
laurels in her hand, seems overwhelmed with a sense of her
loss, and apparently regardless of her glory. The pedestal
is beautifully adorned with designs in bas-relief, descrip¬
tive of some of the admiral’s great naval battles. The
whole is a fine piece of workmanship, executed by West-
macott, from a design by Wyat, and the expense, about
L. 9000, was collected by public subscription.
The Sessions-house is a fine building, with a front of
174 feet in length. Its architecture is a specimen of sim¬
ple elegance, whilst the interior is skilfully contrived to
form an excellent court of justice, with easy access, and
appropriate places for the magistrates, council, attorneys,
witnesses, jurors, and prisoners. It contains also conve¬
nient apartments for committees, and a gallery for audi¬
tors.
A new custom-house was begun to be erected in 1828,
and is now nearly finished. It is a large and magnificent
building of fine freestone, of the Ionic order of architec¬
ture. It is composed of three facades rising from a rusti¬
cated basement. The portico on the north front forms the
principal entrance, and is 470 feet in length, and the wings
from north to south are each 220 feet. When the interior
is finished it will be one of the most convenient, as it now
is one of the most splendid edifices in the kingdom ; and
the Excise-office will be removed to and occupy a part of
it, which will give great facility to both the revenue de¬
partments, as well as to the merchants and masters of the
trading vessels.
The Dock-office, the Public Baths, where cold, tepid,
vapour, and sulphur baths are always ready ; the Corn-ex¬
change, where sales of grain are made; are all, as build¬
ings and as conveniences, worthy of observation.
The whole town of Liverpool constitutes but one parish.
The mother church, dedicated to St Nicholas, is said to be
on a site with a chapel built at the time of the Norman
Conquest, but to have been kept by repairs in a state for
public worship till 1774, when it was rebuilt. It is chiefly
to be noticed on account of an accident which happened
to it in 1810. Whilst the bells were calling the congrega¬
tion to the morning service, the tower fell down upon the
body of the church. Few adults were yet seated, but the
children of a charity school had entered when the tower
fell. Twenty-eight persons were taken out from among
the ruins, of whom twenty-three were dead, or expired
soon afterwards, and seventeen were of the charity chil¬
dren. A new tower has since been erected, in the orna¬
mental Gothic style, which is a fine object, 180 feet high,
and furnished with a peal of twelve bells.
Besides this there are twenty-seven other churches, and
two chapels, in the Docks, for the adherents of the esta¬
blished religion. Many of them are elegant, most of them
recently erected, and all commodious and spacious. They
are capable of seating from 1200 to 2000 persons each,
and in most of them the free sittings bear a very great pro¬
portion to the whole of the seats. In one of these, St Da¬
vid’s, the service is performed in the Welsh language.
If our limits allowed it, many of these would be entitled
!to elaborate descriptions, but it can orly here be said that,
in combination with their spires, they produce a very strik¬
ing effect on the appearance of the place, whether looked
at in walking the streets, or viewed from the gallery of the
Town-Hall, or any similar height. Some other churches
are now building or projecting.
The several classes who differ from the established reli¬
gion have their respective places of public worship. The
Roman Catholics have five chapels, one of them a hand¬
some Gothic edifice in Hawk Street, and another, equally
spacious and neat, in Seal Street; the remainder are less
striking, and are attended chiefly by the Irish of the lower
395
classes. There are two churches of the Scotch establish-Liverpool.
ment, and two for seceders from it. The Wesleyan Me-  '
thodists, including their several sections or subdivisions,
have twelve places of worship; one in Pit Street is large
and commodious, and furnished with an organ ; another in
Moss Street is spacious, with rows of seats one above ano¬
ther like a theatre. I he others, though of somewhat less
dimensions, are neat and clean. The Independents have
five chapels, one of which, the largest, in Great George
Street, is a very spacious building, capable of seating 2000
persons; and being very commodiously arranged, the gal¬
leries contain nearly 1000 children of a Sunday school.
One of the other chapels belongs to the Welsh Indepen¬
dents. There are eight chapels belonging to the different
sections of Anabaptists, three to Welsh Calvinists, two to
Unitarians, one each to the Quakers, to the Sandemanians,
and the Swedenborgeans, and the Jews have also a syna¬
gogue. I here is also a place of public worship for con¬
verted Jews. Several of the places of worship have their
separate burying-grounds, and most of them, like all the
churches of the established religion, have charity schools,
either on Sundays or week days, or both.
Very few of the churches have burying-grounds attach¬
ed to them, but an extensive cemetery has been formed,
with the chapel of St James’s within it for reading the funeral
service. The ground contains 44,000 square yards, and
was originally the stone quarry from which much of the
materials for the buildings of the town was drawn. It is
laid out with taste, and kept in good order, and recently a
handsome house has been erected for the officiating minis¬
ter. There is another cemetery at Low Hill, which is open
for the entombment of persons of every religious denomi¬
nation.
Besides the institutions for communicating religious in¬
struction, Liverpool is not deficient in others for the pro¬
motion of general knowledge, and the diffusion of a taste
for the fine arts, and other objects which give grace to
human society. One of these is the Liverpool Royal In¬
stitution in Colquit Street. It was first opened in 1817,
with an appropriate address from that celebrated and esti¬
mable native of the town, the late William Roscoe. On the
ground-floor there is an elegantly furnished reading-room,
ornamented with several ancient paintings, formerly part
of Mr Roscoe’s collection, the production of the early mas¬
ters, shewing the progress of the art to the commence¬
ment of the fifteenth century. The apartment is provided
with a library, and most of the periodical works. In con¬
nexion with it is a lecture-room, 30 feet by 50, with seats for
pupils in an ascending order. The upper stories are form¬
ed into a museum, containing collections of natural history,
casts of the Elgin marbles, and of other Grecian antiquities,
and a few specimens of statuary.
There are other institutions for the diffusion of know¬
ledge, which may be noticed without entering into the mi¬
nute details of their more peculiar objects. These are the
School of Arts for the benefit of the artizans of the town ;
the Athenaeum, a library of 14,000 volumes, with a news¬
room ; the Lyceum, with a library of 30,000 volumes, and
a spacious and elegant news-room ; the Union News-room,
with a select library, and an apartment used as a school of
arts, in which lectures are delivered; the Apprentices’ Li¬
brary, and the Law Library, whose names designate the
purposes to which they are applied. The Blue-coat Hos¬
pital was founded 125 years ago, and then maintained,
taught, and clothed 40 boys and 10 girls, and the number
is now increased to 350 of the two sexes. There are be¬
sides upwards of twenty free day-schools, mostly supported
by bequests from, or subscriptions by, the members of the
Established Church, and the children are instructed in the
doctrines ard worship adopted by it. One of these is a
W elsh school, with 300 boys and 100 girls. The dissenters
396 L I V
^Liverpool, of every class are not behind their neighbours in providing
Earl of. means of education for the poorer members of their com-
' v'-'—/ munion. The Wesleyan Methodists have more than 1000
children in the schools connected with their chapels, and
the other sectaries display an equal degree of zeal, in pro¬
portion to their numbers, in this cause. There are six in¬
fant schools established, where those too young to receive
much instruction are amused, kept from mischief, and are
taught to acquire docility before they become prepared to
enter the free schools.
The Infirmary is a public hospital, open to patients of
every age, country, complexion, or creed. It is a fine build¬
ing, capable of receiving 220 patients, if its funds were
more ample than they are at present, of which the expec¬
tation is sanguinely indulged. There are two dispensaries,
where advice from the ablest medical men can be obtained,
and where medicines are supplied gratuitously every day.
There are besides, a lunatic asylum, two ophthalmic insti-
L I V
tutions, an institution for relieving diseases of the ear, a i,ivern . ;
marine humane society, an institution for teaching the deaf Earl 0l' i
and dumb, a female penitentiary, and above all, the Blind *
Asylum, in which 120 beings are maintained and instruct¬
ed, and occupied in such employments as are suitable to
their melancholy condition.
Like other large towns, Liverpool has its places of amuse¬
ment. The Theatre-Royal was built in 1772, and was en¬
larged in 1803. There is also an amphitheatre for eques¬
trian and pantomimic performances, which open in some
months of each year. A little but neat theatre has also been
built in Church Street, for exhibiting dramatic pieces.
The Wellington Rooms, opened in 1816, are adapted for
balls and for public dinners, or other social assemblies,
having a ball, supper, and card room of elegant appear¬
ance, and tastefully furnished.
See Baine’s Valuable History of Lancaster.
Liverpool, Charles Jenkinson, first Earl of, was the
eldest son of Colonel Jenkinson, the representative of a
family which had been settled at Walcot, near Charlbury,
Oxfordshire, for above a century. Mr Jenkinson received
his education at the Charter-house School, and at the Uni¬
versity of Oxford. In early life he published verses on the
death of Frederick prince of Wales, a dissertation on the
establishment of a national and constitutional force in
England, independently of a standing army, and a dis¬
course on the conduct of government respecting neutral
nations. In 1761, having obtained an introduction to the
Earl of Bute, he became one of the under secretaries of
state, and in the same year was returned to parliament
for Cockermouth. In 1763, he was appointed joint secre¬
tary to the treasury, and having shared with Lord Bute
the marked favour of his majesty George III. he, on that
nobleman’s sudden retirement from office, became a con¬
spicuous member of the party then commonly called the
King’s Friends. On the accession to power of the Rock¬
ingham administration, in 1765, he resigned his public ap¬
pointments ; but about the same period he was nominated
auditor of accounts to the Princess-dowager of Wales. In
1766 he was appointed a lord of the admiralty by the
Grafton administration ; and the following year he became
a lord of the treasury. Under Lord North’s government
new honours awaited this steady aspirant for promotion.
In 1772, he was appointed one of the vice-treasurers of
Ireland ; and, in 1775, he was allowed to purchase the pa¬
tent office of clerkship of the pells in that country. He af¬
terwards succeeded Lord Cadogan as master of the mint;
and, in 1778, he became secretary at war. In 1783, he
became a member of the Board of Trade; and, in 1785,
he published his Collection of all the Treaties of Peace, Al¬
liance, and Commerce, between Great Britain and other
Powers, from the treaty of Munster in 1648 to the treaties
signed at Paris in 1783. In 1786, he was made chancellor
of the duchy of Lancaster; called up to the House of
Lords by the style and title of Baron Hawkesbury of
Hawkesbury, in the county of Gloucester; and appointed
president of the Board of Trade. The commerce of the
country formed a prominent object of attention to Lord
Hawkesbury, and though his theoretical views were con¬
fined, his practical knowledge was extensive. He is said
to have drawn up the commercial treaty with America,
and to have facilitated the establishment of the South Sea
fishery, to which he had been the first to direct the atten¬
tion of the government. In 1796, his personal honours
were carried au comble by his advancement to the dignity
of Earl of Liverpool. His lordship was twice married, and
had two sons and a daughter. After obtaining his earl¬
dom, he rarely quitted his retirement; but whenever he
spoke in the House of Peers, the extent and accuracy of
his information, particularly on commercial subjects, pro¬
cured him marked attention. In 1805, he addressed a let¬
ter to the king on the coins of the realm, containing a
concise and distinct statement of most of the facts deserv¬
ing of notice in the history of British coinage. Lord
Liverpool died on the 17th of December 1808. (a.)
Liverpool, Robert Banks Jenkinson, second Earl of
son of the preceding, was born on the 7th of June 1770.
At an early age he was placed at an academy at Parson’s
Green, near Fulham, where he remained until his thir¬
teenth year; he was then removed to the Charter-house
School, where he continued between two and three years;
and soon after leaving the Charter-house, he was entered
as a student at Christ Church College, Oxford, xlere he
became acquainted with Mr Canning, the most distinguish¬
ed of his contemporaries, and formed for him a friend¬
ship which proved of an unusually permanent character,
and had more than once an important influence on the for¬
tunes of Mr Canning’s public life. About the period of
the breaking out of the French revolution, Mr Jenkinson
paid a visit to Paris, and was in that capital when the Bas¬
tille was demolished. This sudden ebullition of popular fury
against one of the strongholds of tyranny, and some other
excesses which he is said to have witnessed in the streets
of Paris, appear to have excited in his mind apprehensions
which clouded his judgment, and led him to form the most
distorted and incorrect notions of the events which the
progress of the revolution evolved in France. Soon after
his return to England, he was introduced to parliament as
one of the representatives of Rye, and took his seat under
the avowed patronage of the minister, Mr Pitt. On the
27th of February 1792, he made his first speech, in oppo¬
sition to certain resolutions proposed by Mr Whitbread,
on the subject of the claim urged by the Czarina Catherine
to the fortress of Ockzakow and the adjoining territory.
His address was praised as manifesting considerable know¬
ledge of the question in dispute, as well as of the affairs
and prospects of Europe generally; and as the protege ot
a powerful minister always finds indulgent critics, it was
prognosticated that Mr Jenkinson would rise to be a dis¬
tinguished parliamentary speaker, and an efficient member
of the British cabinet. His next public appearance was
one which reflects no honour on his memory. His father
had been one of the opponents of the abolition of the slave-
trade in the House of Commons ; and the son was scarcely
warm in his seat in the House of Commons, when he join¬
ed the ranks of those who, w ithout venturing to defend the
principle, sought to perpetuate the practice of this enor¬
mous iniquity. On the 2d of April 1792, Mr Wilberforce
moved, in a committee of the whole house, “ that the trade
LIVERPOOL.
Liwpool, carried on by British subjects for the purpose of obtaining
En of. slaves on the coast of Africa, ought to be abolished.” This
was met by an insidious suggestion of Mr Dundas, who
proposed to insert the word “ gradually,” before the word
“ abolished;” but Mr Jenkinson, whose zeal was too hot to
be satisfied with mere evasion, moved “ that the chairman
should leave the chair.” The amendment was, however,
rejected by a large majority, and Mr Dundas’s more adroit
proposition agreed to. Never, perhaps, was so much splendid
oratory displayed in the House of Commons, as in the de¬
bate which followed on Mr Wilberforce’s motion.
Mr Jenkinson’s next appearance was in a more promi¬
nent and less questionable position. The king of France had
been deposed, and the British ambassador, Lord Gower,
recalled. On the 15th of December 1792, Mr Fox moved
an address to the king, praying that a minister might be
sent to Paris to treat with the provisional government of
France, touching such points as might be in discussion be¬
tween his majesty and his allies, and the French nation.
In the temporary absence of Mr Pitt, who had vacated his
seat by accepting the wardenship of the Cinque Ports, Mr
Jenkinson replied to Mr Fox, in a speech which, though
warmly complimented by Burke, is more remarkable for
rambling and vehement declamation, than any quality of
a higher order. Mr Fox was much more effectually an¬
swered by an overwhelming majority. His motion was ne¬
gatived without a division. In April 1793, Mr Jenkinson
was appointed one of the commissioners of the India Board ;
and on the 6th of May he stood forward in opposition to
Mr Grey’s memorable motion on the subject of parliamen¬
tary reform, defending the state of the representation as it
then stood, and maintaining that the House of Commons,
constituted as it was, answered all the ends for which it
had been designed. On the 6th March 1794, he opposed Mr
Grey’s motion for an address to the king, expressive of
the concern of the House that his majesty should have
formed an alliance with powers whose apparent aim was
to regulate the affairs of a country with which they had no
right to interfere. On the 10th of April, he undertook a
more difficult task, namely, to justify the measures of the
ministry, and to palliate the failure of the army command¬
ed by the Duke of York at Dunkirk. Mr Jenkinson was
long twitted in parliament and elsewhere, with an obser¬
vation which fell from him on this occasion. He declared
that “ the marching to Paris was attainable and practica¬
ble ; and that he, for one, would recommend such an expe¬
dition.” The ridicule which this excited was unbounded;
it became a stock topic of derision. “ The conquest of
France !” says Mr Fox, in his letter to the electors of
Westminster. “ Oh, calumniated crusaders, how rational
and moderate were your objects! Oh, tame and feeble Cer¬
vantes, with what a timid pencil and faint colours have you
painted the portrait of a disordered imagination !” Yet, such
are the accidents of war and fortune, Mr Jenkinson, con¬
trary to all human probability, lived to see his notion re¬
alized ; arid what seemed, in the year 1794, like a sick man’s
dream, or the vision of a disordered imagination, was ef¬
fected in 1814, and repeated in little more than a year af¬
terwards. On the 30th of May 1794, he made one of his best
efforts, in opposition to Mr Fox’s motion for putting an end
to the war with France. This was perhaps the most active
period of his life.
In the next session, Mr Jenkinson was absent from his
place in parliament, love having superseded politics. On
the 25th of March 1795, he married the third daughter of
the Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry. At the opening of
the session of 1796, the address was seconded by Mr Stew¬
art, afterwards Lord Castlereagh, in the first speech deliv¬
ered by him in the House of Commons. He was answered
by Mr Sheridan, who strongly censured ministers, at the
same time advising them to declare themselves willing to
397
treat with the French republic. Mr Jenkinson replied Liverpool,
to Mr Sheridan, repeating his former arguments in justi- Earl of. ’
fication of the government measures. Upon commercial's——y—^
subjects Mr Jenkinson entered with confidence, conceiv¬
ing, perhaps, that he had some claims to “ hereditary know¬
ledge.” On Mr Grey’s motion in the House of Commons
(10th of March 1796) for an inquiry into the state of the
nation, he descanted on the effect of the war upon our
commerce, contending that, notwithstanding its pressure,
the situation of Great Britain, in a commercial point of
view, was more prosperous than at any preceding period.
On the 28th of May 1796, Mr Jenkinson participated in
the honours of his family, exchanging its surname for his
father’s second title of Lord Hawkesbury. When the great
measure of the legislative union with Ireland was proposed,
it received his entire concurrence. The subject was in¬
troduced by a message from the crown, on the 22d of Ja¬
nuary 1799 ; and, in the discussion which ensued, Lord
Hawkesbury warmly supported the views of government
respecting it.
The circumstances which attended the temporary retire¬
ment of Mr Pitt from power early in 1801, are too well
known to render it necessary to say any thing respecting
them. In the new ministry, the formation of which was
announced on the 14th of March, with Mr Addington at
its head, Lord Hawkesbury was appointed to the office of
secretary of state for the foreign department, and took a pro¬
minent part in the debates which ensued. The great busi¬
ness of the succeeding summer and autumn consisted in
the adjustment of preliminaries of peace with France. Lord
Hawkesbury, as foreign secretary, was of course intrusted
with the interests of Great Britain in the negotiations
which followed the signature of the preliminaries; and, on
the 28th of March 1802, a definitive treaty of peace was
concluded at Amiens between the French republic, the
king of Spain, and the Batavian republic, on the one hand,
and the king of Great Britain and Ireland on the other.
In the important debate on this peace, which took place on
the 13th ofMay 1802, Lord Hawkesbury defended the treaty
at great length, in a speech which was considered as the
ablest that had been delivered in either house of par¬
liament on the ministerial side. He also distinguished
himself by the part he acted in reference to the remon¬
strances of the First Consul respecting the strictures made
on his person and conduct by the newspaper press of Bri¬
tain; and, in the correspondence which ensued with M.
Otto, he ably vindicated the public character and liberties of
his country. The evil complained of, though certainly cal¬
culated to keep alive national animosities, and to provoke
a renewal of the war, was not one for which the govern¬
ment could afford any redress. The constitution of this
country admits of no previous restraint upon publications
of any description. But there exist judicatures, wholly in¬
dependent of the executive government, capable of taking
cognizance of such publications as the law deems to be cri¬
minal, not only of libels against the government and magis¬
tracy of this kingdom, but also of publications defamatory of
those in whose hands the administration of foreign govern¬
ments is placed To these the French minister was with strict
constitutional propriety referred. For, as the government of
this country neither enjoys nor requires any other protec¬
tion than that which is afforded by the laws, it could never
be expected to consent to new-model laws, or to change its
constitution, in order to gratify the wishes of a foreign power.
In October, Lord Hawkesbury, in his turn, remonstrated
against the occupation of Switzerland by the French un¬
der Ney, in order to enforce the reception of a new consti¬
tution for that country, prepared by the First Consul in his
own cabinet. This he did in a note addressed to M. Otto,
in which he expressed the deep regret excited in the breast
of his majesty by the proclamation of the First Consul to
L IVERPOOL.
398
Liverpool, the Helvetic people, and declared that his majesty could
Earl of. view the recent exertions of the Swiss cantons in no other
light than as the lawful efforts of a brave and generous
people to recover their ancient laws and government, and
to procure the re-establishment of a system not only fa¬
vourable to their domestic happiness, but perfectly consis¬
tent with the tranquillity and security of other powers.
At this period, the management of the House of Com¬
mons had, in a great measure, devolved on Lord Hawkes-
bury, who, of course, spoke on everjr topic involving the
character of the administration, as well as on the political
questions which were brought under the consideration of
the House of Commons. At the opening of next session,
he was called to the House of Lords by writ, as a peer’s
eldest son ; but the only measure of importance which in
that session he brought forward in the new situation in
the legislature where he had been placed to defend the
measures of ministers, was the volunteer consolidation bill.
About the same time, he addressed a circular to the mi¬
nisters of foreign courts resident in London, disclaiming
indignantly the charge that his majesty’s government had
been a party to plans of assassination, and describing the
recent seizure and execution of the Duke d’Enghien as
“ a sanguinary deed, perpetrated by the direct order of
the First Consul, in violation of the rights of nations, and
in contempt of the most simple laws of humanity and ho¬
nour.” That the British government were innocent of the
crime imputed to them, is beyond a doubt. But, on the
other hand, it cannot be denied that the life of the First
Consul had been openly attempted in the streets of Paris ;
that Pichegru, Cadondal, and their associates, avowedly
meditated assassination ; that these conspirators had been
landed on the coast of France by an English vessel, com¬
manded by an English captain ; that the English press
continued to revile in unmeasured terms the head of the
French government, if not to insinuate that taking him
off would be a meritorious act; and that, consequently,
appearances unhappily seemed to give some ground to
the charge which the First Consul preferred against the
government of the country, in justification of a deed which,
however it may be viewed, was, if not the greatest crime,
at all events the greatest error, he ever committed.
On the 12th of May, the administration was dissolved,
by the resignation of Mr Addington; Mr Pitt returned to
the head of the ministry, and Lord Hawkesbury received
the seals of the home department. The renewal of the
war being now inevitable, the first effort of the new go¬
vernment was to place the military establishments of the
country on a more enlarged and efficient footing; and with
this view, Lord Hawkesbury exerted himself in the House
of Lords in support of the additional force bill. At a
later period of the session, Mr Wilberforce renewed his
attempts to put an end to the detestable traffic in human
flesh, and a bill for that purpose passed the House of Com¬
mons ; but, on its transmission to the House of Peers, it
was postponed, on the motion of Lord Hawkesbury, for
more mature investigation in the ensuing session. The
pretext was worthy of the cause in favour of which it
was employed. On the 10th of May 1805, Lord Gren¬
ville moved the order of the day for taking into consider¬
ation the petitions of the Roman Catholics of Ireland.
This motion Lord Hawkesbury also opposed. He would
neither consent to break the fetters of the enslaved Afri¬
can, nor agree to remove the disabilities which placed mil¬
lions of our fellow-subjects beyond the pale of the consti¬
tution. In the autumn of 1805, Mr Pitt retired to Bath,
his health being then in a state of rapid decline. On the
11th of January 1806, he returned with difficulty to his
house at Putney, where he died on the 23d, two days af¬
ter the meeting of parliament. The death of Mr Pitt af¬
forded Lord Hawkesbury an opportunity of placing him¬
self at the head of the cabinet; but being well acquaint- Liverpool
ed with the relative position and strength of parties, his Ead of.
ambition yielded to his good sense, and he declined the^,^"^/
flattering offer. His majesty, however, appointed him to
the situation of warden of the Cinque Ports, vacant by the
death of Mr Pitt. On the return to power of that mi¬
nister’s friends in 1807, Lord Hawkesbury resumed his
station in the cabinet as home secretary, and took a pro¬
minent part in defence of all the measures of government,
particularly of the questionable expedition to Copenhagen,
and the famous orders in council. Towards the close of
1808, Lord Hawkesbury was, by the death of his father,
placed at the head of his family, as second Earl of Liver¬
pool.
Lord Liverpool was the political heir of Mr Pitt, in all
except his talents. Reposing a just confidence in the
stability of our institutions, which had safely weathered
the conflict with democratical principles, he adhered to
the system of his early patron and master; and although
Mr Pitt had died despairing of his country, Lord Liver¬
pool was one of those who had the temerity or the cou¬
rage to brave the concentrated power of imperial France,
wielded by the most wonderful genius that any age or
country has produced. True to the principle of eternal
war with France, as long as a man sprung from the Re¬
volution presided over her destinies, though the prospect
was still dark, the immediate peril great, and the future
shadowed out by portentous omens, he had still faith in
the ultimate approach of a day of crowning triumph ; and
fortune at length smiled upon counsels which the ordi¬
nary inspirations of human wisdom had disclaimed. With
these feelings, Lord Liverpool warmly advocated the
cause of Spain, in the session which commenced on the
19th of January 1809. His doctrine was based upon the
principle of tenacity. He contended that, according to
all the lights furnished by history, nations, after maintain¬
ing such contests for ten or twenty years, have eventual¬
ly succeeded, in spite of frequent and severe reverses, in
securing the object which they struggled to attain. In a
few days (23d January) he had occasion to move the thanks
of the House of Peers to Lord Wellington for his conduct
in the Peninsula. This motion especially related to the
battle of Vimiero.
When the quarrel and subsequent duel between Lord
Castlereagh and Mr Canning induced both to resign,
and led the Duke of Portland to withdraw from his situa¬
tion as nominal head of the administration, Mr Percival
united in name, as he had already done in effect, the offi¬
ces of first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the ex¬
chequer ; and, in this new arrangement, Lord Liverpool
became secretary of state for the war department. The
illness of George III., the introduction of the regency
bill, the difficulties which beset the prince regent in his
endeavours to form a new administration, and his final de¬
termination to abide by Mr Percival, are all too well known
to require any detail. In the two succeeding sessions the
exertions of Lord Liverpool were unremitting, but not
marked by any thing of prominent importance. At length,
on the 11th of May 1812, Mr Percival fell by the hand
of an assassin, leaving the ministry in so disjointed a state,
that, after some abortive negotiations with the Marquis
Wellesley and Lords Grey and Grenville, Lord Liver¬
pool yielded to the request of the prince regent, that
he would place himself at its head. The only additions
made to the ministry upon this occasion were Lord Sid-
mouth, and Mr Vansittart, afterwards Lord Bexley.
The first important measure of Lord Liverpool’s govern¬
ment was rendered necessary by the disturbances which
had taken place in the manufacturing districts, where,
owing to various causes, great distress prevailed; and it
assumed the form of a bill to prevent the rioters from pos-
LIVERPOOL.
399
Lirpool, sessing themselves of arms, to guard against tumultuary
Ea of. meetings, and to give more extensive jurisdiction to the
■^magistrates of the disturbed districts. Towards the close
of the session, his lordship signalised himself by the ex¬
plicit and unqualified opposition which he gave to a reso¬
lution proposed in the House of Lords by Marquis Wel¬
lesley, that the house would, early in the next session
of parliament, take into consideration the state of the
laws affecting the Roman Catholics. Upon this occasion
the premier came boldly forward as the champion at
once of injustice and intolerance. He would not con¬
sent that the question should be entertained in any
shape, or that even so much as a hearing should be given
to those who were suing to be relieved from the galling
and ignominious stigma of bondage. He declared it to be
a maxim of his political life, that, with respect to a great
constitutional question, if a stand were to be made, it
should be made in limine; and, in such a code of political
morality as that which Lord Liverpool had espoused,
there can be no doubt whatever that this is a maxim
which Macchiavelli would have himself recommended as
the only safe rule of conduct. When free scope is once
allowed to formal inquiry, perseverance in injustice is no
longer possible. On the 20th of September parliament
was dissolved.
Meanwhile the transactions in Spain and the north of
Europe were highly favourable to the cause of legitimacy.
In the Peninsula, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz had fal¬
len ; the victory of Salamanca had been followed by the
advance of Lord Wellington on Madrid ; the siege of Ca¬
diz had been abandoned, and the whole south of Spain
evacuated by the enemy. In the north of Europe events
of a still more decisive character had occurred. The burn¬
ing of Moscow, and the premature setting in of the frost,
had sealed the doom of the French grand army; the for¬
mer event had rendered retreat inevitable, and the latter
soon converted that retreat into a scene of the most ap¬
palling horrors and disasters. What the fire had begun,
the frost consummated; General Morosow did the work
which General Kutusow could never have accomplished ;
and the Scythian wilderness was covered with the wrecks
of that mighty host which had swept onwards in the
proud confidence of superior power. These disasters be¬
came known in England during the bustle of the elections,
and contributed to augment the public confidence in the
war policy of ministers, which the elements had thus
unexpectedly crowned with success.
The first session of the new parliament opened on the
28th of November 1812, and closed on the 22d of July
1813. The principal subjects brought under the notice
of parliament were, the Marquis Wellesley’s charge
against the government, of not affording sufficient force
to his brother; a proposition for granting relief to the
Russians; an explanation of the causes of the rupture with
America; the sinking-fund; the renewal of the East India
Company’s charter ; and the treaty between Great Britain
and Sweden; in the discussion of all which Lord Liver¬
pool took part. The military campaign was one of still
greater activity. Lord Wellington, after gaining the
battle of Vittoria, taking San Sebastian, and blockading
Pampluna, entered France, beat the French on their own
ground, and fully established himself on the “ sacred ter¬
ritory.” In the north of Europe, where nations rather
than armies assembled to combat the French, the cam¬
paign opened favourably for the allies ; and the subsequent
loss of the battle of Leipsig threatened the French em¬
peror with utter ruin. The administration was duly sen¬
sible of the importance of the crisis. Parliament was
assembled, principally to sanction loans of large amount to
foreign powers; and before Christmas it was adjourned
until the month of March. In the intoxication of victory,
it was to the executive rather than to the legislative body Liverpool,
that the eyes of the country were directed. The govern- Earl of.
ment had become omnipotent. The great events which
followed were the entrance of the allies into Paris, the
abdication of Napoleon, and the signature, on the 30th of
May 1814, of a definitive treaty of peace between France
and the allied powers. On the 24th of December a treaty
was concluded at Ghent, which put an end to the unfor¬
tunate contest with America; and thus terminated a year
as fortunate for Great Britain as any in her annals.
But the peace was destined to be short-lived. On the
20th of March 1815, Napoleon, having left Elba, landed
in France, marched in a sort of triumphal procession to
Paris, drove out the Bourbons, and replaced himself upon
the throne, without firing a shot or spilling a single drop
of blood. No sooner had intelligence of these astounding
events been received, than messages were sent to parlia¬
ment by the prince regent, and corresponding addresses
moved by Lord Liverpool, who, in his speeches, dwelt
much on the fortunate circumstance that Napoleon had
undertaken his dangerous enterprise whilst the confede¬
racy of the allies remained undisturbed, and they were
still in a condition to act in concert. The result is uni¬
versally known. Britain made gigantic efforts, both finan-
cial and military, to overthrow the man whom France had
again placed at its head; and she was rewarded by the
victory of Waterloo, where Napoleon drained the cup of
misfortune to the very dregs. This was ere long followed
by the treaty of Paris.
In the session of 1816 the principal subjects to which
Lord Liverpool directed his attention were, the defence
of the military establishment, explanations of the recent
treaty, the transactions between government and the
bank of England, and the state of the silver coinage. The
meeting of parliament in 1817 was, from various causes,
anticipated with much anxiety. The distress which pre¬
vailed amongst the manufacturers had produced disturb¬
ances in the inland counties, and a riot had occurred in
the metropolis itself. The suspension of Habeas Corpus
was proposed by the government; and Lord Liverpool
had the unenviable task assigned him of defending that
measure in the House of Peers. In seasons of distress,
suffering naturally renders men credulous, and there are
always persons ready to take advantage of this adjunct of
misery ; but there is too much reason to suspect that, in
many instances, the starving people were first misled and
afterwards betrayed by the agency of characters of a still
more odious description, who were not altogether unknown
to the government. The Catholic question having been
brought under the consideration of the House of Lords on
the 16th of May, by Lord Donoughmore, the premier
restated his opinions concerning it, adding that “ if the
demands of the Catholics were complied with, the parlia¬
ment would cease to be a protestant parliament.” At a
subsequent period of the session, ministers found it con¬
venient to urge the continuance of the Habeas Corpus
suspension act, which Lord Liverpool declared that he
called upon parliament to vote, because “ he considered
the measure essential to the preservation of property and
morality.”
The death of George III. and the accession of George
IV., who had already exercised the sovereign power for
nearly eight years, made no change in the government,
the ministers being immediately reinstated in their seve¬
ral offices. It is unnecessary to enter further into details,
which more properly belong to the general history of the
time. The principal affairs in which Lord Liverpool took
a prominent and leading part were, the proceedings against
Queen Caroline, particularly the bill of pains and penal¬
ties ; the bill for the resumption of cash payments; the
conduct of France and the allies in regard to constitu-
400 L I V
Livery tional Spain ; the Catholic bill of 1825, with its twoaux-
II iliary measures, commonly termed “ wings the state of
Liverymen. j.jie coun(;ryj especially of the circulation, produced by
unexampled panic in the money market that followed
the blind rage for speculation which distinguished the
year 1825; the corn laws; and some other measures of
less magnitude and importance. The Earl of Liverpool
was in his place in the House of Lords on the 15th of
February 1827, having brought down a message from the
king recommending a provision for the Duke and Duchess
of Clarence ; and next day he moved an address expres¬
sive of the willingness of the house to comply with his
majesty’s request. This was the last occasion upon which
his lordship appeared at his post. On the 17th he expe¬
rienced an apoplectic attack, accompanied with paralysis,
which at once prostrated both his mind and body; and,
after lingering for a considerable time in a hopeless state,
he expired in convulsive agony on the 4th of December
1828.
The public character of Lord Liverpool belongs to the
history of that period, crowded with events of the great-
' est magnitude, during which he was either an influential
member of the British government, or placed at its head ;
and he will be variously judged, according to the precon¬
ceived opinions of those who attempt to decide as to the
character of that system of policy of which he was so long
a prominent exponent. He was not a man of brilliant ge¬
nius or excursive fancy, but he possessed useful talents,
inflexible perseverance, and unimpeachable integrity, and
towards the close of his life manifested a disposition to ac¬
commodate his policy to the advancing knowledge and
opinions of the age. Excepting on a few points, he was
perhaps the least bigoted and impracticable of the party
which, after the death of Mr Pitt, recognised him as its
head. As to his style of speaking, if it had little to recom¬
mend it in the form of eloquence, it commonly impressed
the hearer with a conviction that the speaker was in ear¬
nest. He was vehement rather than energetic, and more
noisy than forcible, but never intemperate. He entertain¬
ed no angry feelings towards his parliamentary opponents;
he never refused to others the tribute of applause which he
thought they merited; and his gentlemanly deportment,
unruffled by the rude collisions of party warfare, frequent¬
ly disarmed his fiercest adversaries. In private life Lord
Liverpool was justly respected for his amiable deportment
and irreproachable conduct; sincere in his religious belief,
and unobtrusive in the fulfilment of his duties as a mem¬
ber of society. We are far from entertaining any admira¬
tion of the principles of the minister, but it is a pleasing
task to render homage to the virtues of the man. (a.)
LIVERY, in matters of dress and equipage, a certain
colour and form of dress, by which noblemen and gentle¬
men choose to distinguish their servants. Liveries are
usually taken from fancy, or continued in families by suc¬
cession. The ancient cavaliers, at their tournaments, dis¬
tinguished themselves by wearing the liveries of their mis¬
tresses. Thus people of quality make their domestics wear
their livery. Father Menestrier, in his Treatise of Carou¬
sals, has given a very ample account of the mixtures of co¬
lours in liveries. Dion tells us that CEnomaus was the first
who invented green and blue colours for the troops which,
in the circus, were to represent land and sea fights. The
Roman Catholic church has also her several colours and
liveries; white, for confessors and virgins, and in times of
rejoicing; black, for the dead ; red, for the apostles and
martyrs; blue or violet, for penitents; and green, in times
of hope. Formerly, great men gave liveries to several
who were not of their family or servants, in order to en¬
gage them in their quarrels for that year.
LIVERYMEN of London, are a number of men chosen
from amongst the freemen of each company. Out of this
L I V
body the common council, sheriff, and other superior offi- Liviuj
cers for the government of the city, are elected ; and until —v-*
the passing of the reform act they alone had the privilege
of giving their votes for members of parliament, from which
the rest of the citizens were excluded. See London.
LIVIUS, Titus, the most celebrated of the Roman his¬
torians, was descended from an illustrious family which had
given several consuls to Rome. Only a few particulars of
his life have been transmitted to us. He was born at Pata-
vium, now Padua, in the north of Italy, b. c. 59, the year
before Cicero was driven into banishment; and died, at the
advanced age of ninety-six, a. d. 18, the same year as Ovid.
He resided during the greater part of his life at Rome ; and,
if we may credit a statement of Suetonius (in Claud. 41),
became the instructor of the Emperor Claudius. His his¬
tory was written partly at Rome and partly at Naples, and
it is said that his reputation was so widely diffused, that
a native of Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain, actually visited
Rome for no other purpose than to have the pleasure of
forming an acquaintance with the historian. (Plin. Ep. ii.
3.) From some inscriptions found at Padua in 1413, it has
been asserted that Livy was twice married, had two sons
and four daughters; but this must rest merely on conjec¬
ture, as there were no doubt many of the same name in
Padua. Seneca (Procem. v. Controv.), indeed, states
that one of his daughters was married to L. Magius the
rhetorician.
Besides his history, we are acquainted with the titles of
three other works of which he was the author ; but not a
fragment of them has been preserved. These were, Epis-
tola ad Filium scripta, mentioned by Quintilian (i. 10);
Dialogi, which Seneca (Epist. c.) hesitates whether he
ought to class amongst historical or philosophical works; and
Libri ex professo Philosophiam continentes. The loss, how¬
ever, of these works, is less a subject of regret than that
of the greater part of his Roman History, or, as he him¬
self modestly entitles it, Annals of the Roman people.
This work extends from the building of the city to the
year 744 (b. c. 9), when Drusus was carrying on war in
Germany, and in which he died. Livy undertook this
work probably at the suggestion of Augustus, when he
was already far advanced in years. It consisted of 142
books, of which only thirty-five remain; and some of these
(lib. xli. xliii. xliv. xlv.) are in a very imperfect state.
The first ten contain the history of Rome from its foun¬
dation to the year of the city 460, the others (xxi.-xlv.)
from 536 to 586, or from the beginning of the second
Punic war to the end of the wars with Perseus and Gen-
tius. Of the remaining books we possess only short epi¬
tomes, which have been supposed, though without any
sufficient reason, to have been composed by the writer
Florus. It would appear that a complete copy of Livy’s
History existed at the beginning of the sixteenth century;
but all attempts to discover it have hitherto proved un¬
availing. Some fragments have indeed been found, and
published at Rome, by Niebuhr (1820) ; but they are few
and unimportant. There is, indeed, no loss that has be¬
fallen us in Roman literature at all to be compared to that
which has left this history imperfect.
Livy follows a chronological arrangement in his history,
and, like Dionysius of Halicarnassus, has adopted the Ca-
tonian era for his basis. He therefore supposed the city
of Rome to have been founded b. c. 751, whereas Varro
placed it two years earlier, b. c. 753. The sources from
which he derived his information, more particularly for
the earlier parts of his history, seem less worthy of belief,
though he probably had recourse to the best within his
reach. All the more ancient historical records had no
doubt disappeared, and he could therefore only be ac¬
quainted with their statements through the medium of later
annalists. For this early period he had recourse to the
L I V
U us. works of no Greek historian, unless we include amongst them
^ that of L. Cincius Alimentus, who, though a Roman, wrote
in the Greek language. This author served in the second
Punic war, and he is called by Livy (vii. 3) a most dili¬
gent investigator of ancient monuments. In the early part
of the war he fell into the hands of Hannibal, and from him
he received an account of his passage through Gaul and
across the Alps, which he incorporated in his history. To
the works of this writer Livy acknowledges himself much
indebted. As to the sources from which he drew his ma¬
terials for the second decade (xi.-xx.), which is lost, all that
can be said is only matter of conjecture; but we know
that Polybius was the principal writer w hom he consulted,
and that he followed that writer generally both in the ar¬
rangement of his materials and in the development of the
story. It is not a sufficient answer to this that Livy sel¬
dom alludes to Polybius as his authority, since he does not
think it necessary to cite the writer upon whom he depends
for his information, unless on occasions where there is a
difference of opinion. There is no doubt, that wherever he
has adopted the statements of Polybius, we may place per¬
fect confidence in the account; and yet, where they differ,
we must not condemn Livy, who evidently consulted Ro¬
man authorities of undoubted credibility, and who may, upon
due examination, have come to the conclusion that Poly¬
bius was mistaken. The difference in the accounts given
by the two historians of Hannibal’s passage across the Alps
is an example of this, though the balance of probability is
greatly in favour of that of Polybius.
Livy has been accused of a wilful perversion of the truth,
of an undue partiality for his own country, and a desire
to recommend himself to the favour of the nobility, by
flattering their pride by the manner in which he records
the deeds of their ancestors. But if he represents the
characters of his countrymen in a different light from other
writers, might he not suppose himself better able to appre¬
ciate their conduct ? and if his love of country led him to
conceal whatever might be prejudicial to them in the eyes
of posterity, it was a fault for which he may be forgiven,
though it certainly must be allowed to detract considerably
from the value of his work. He has been accused also of
superstition, because he has reported faithfully all the pro¬
digies and omens in which those early ages abounded, and
which seemed to have formed the principal part of their
religion; but he has several times observed, that he nar¬
rates those wonderful events because he found them in the
ancient annalists whom he consulted, without meaning to
vouch for their accuracy. Livy was evidently gifted by
nature with a brilliant talent for narration, and for seizing
the characteristic features of humanity. Pie was a poet,
though without the power or perhaps the love of versify¬
ing. His rhetorical powers, too, w'ere of the highest order;
and, in the palmy state of the republic, he would have rank¬
ed amongst the first orators of his age. The periods of Livy
are full and well rounded, in imitation of the style of Cicero ;
and indeed the age in which he lived would have tolerated no
other mode of writing. It is strange that there should be
any difficulty in discovering the political sentiments of the
historian ; but he felt that he was writing under the eye of a
- despot, however amiable, and he thought himself obliged to
suppress many sentiments to which he would in other cir¬
cumstances have given utterance. He was fully sensible of
the degeneracy of his own days, and w as glad to forget it by
reviving the recollection of all that was glorious and noble in
the past. He might also imagine that he could excite in the
breasts of his countrymen a desire to emulate the heroic
deeds of their ancestors, and might thus be the means of
restoring the constitution of his country to its ancient form
and strength. It is said that Augustus accused him of
being too favourable to the party of Pompey (Tacit. Ann.
iv. 34); and we may therefore conclude that he was in his
VOL. xm.
L I v
heait a partisan of the republic. It has been much dis¬
puted what Asinius Pollio (Quintil. viii. 1) meant by the
accusation he brought against Livy of Patavinity (Patavi-
nitas) ; but it seems the most likely conjecture that it was
some provincialism in the language and style, perceptible
to the refined ear of a Roman critic, though we can no
longer discern it.
! S ^istorPvvas first P^ted at Rome, about the year
1469, by Sweynheym and Pannartz, in folio. Of this rare
edition Lord Spencer is in possession of a fine copy; but
the most exquisite one is that printed on vellum, which
formerly belonged to the Imperial Library at Vienna, but
was afterwards acquired by a private collector in Eno-ffind.
Amongst the subsequent editions of the history may be
mentioned thatof Gronovius, “cum notis variorum etsuis,”
Leyden, 1679, in three vols. 8vo ; that of Leclerc, Am¬
sterdam, 1709, in, ten vols. 12mo ; that of Crevier, Paris,
in six vols. 4to ; that of Drakenborch, Amsterdam,
1/38, in seven vols. 4to, reprinted at Stuttgardt, 1820-
!n Arisen vols. 8vo ; that of Ruddiman, Edinburgh,
l/ol, in four vols. 12mo; that of Llomer, London, 1794
in eight vols. 8vo; that of Oxford, 1800, in six vols. 8vo!
and that of Ruperti, Gottingen, 1807, in six vols. Svo.’
I he edition of the first five books of Livy, by Dr John
Hunter of St Andrews, Cupar Fife, 1822, is remarkable
for its great accuracy, and is accompanied with English
notes, in which are treated some of the most refined prin-
cjPles of philology. (See Lachmann, F. De Pontibus
Historiarum Livii, Comment. 4to, Gotting. 1822-1828.
Maierotto, J. H. L. De Candore Livii, fob Berlin, 1796 ;
De Testimoniorum Livii fide, 1797 ; De Livii Arte Nar-
randi et Artificio Historico, 1798.)
Livius Andronicus, a comic poet who flourished at Rome
about 240 years before the Christian era. He was the first
who turned the personal satires and Fescennine verses, so
long the admiration of the Romans, into the form of a pro¬
per dialogue and regular play. Though the character of a
p ayei, so valued and applauded in Greece, was reckoned
vile and despicable amongst the Romans, Andronicus acted
a part in Ins dramatical compositions, and engaged the at¬
tention of his audience by repeating what he had worked up
after the manner of the Greeks. Andronicus was the freed-
man of M. Livius Salinator, whose children he educated.
His poetry had grown obsolete in the age of Cicero, whose
nicety and judgment would not even recommend the read¬
ing of it.
LIVONIA, a province or stadtholderate in European
Russia. A part of Esthonia is now included in it, viz.
Dorpat and the island of Oesel. It extends over 20,636
square miles, between 56.34. and 59. 3. north latitude, and
2o. 29. and 27.32. east longitude. Though a great part of
the province is sandy, and contains much woody, swampv,
and heathy land, yet there are many portions of good soil,
veiy productive in corn, hemp, and flax, which form the
principal exports from Riga, and the several small ports
eno nnn6 rJl0re °* the Baltic. The inhabitants are about
800,000, the greater part of whom are of German origin,
amongst whom the ancient tribes, the Letts and the Es-
thonians, are much mingled, though their original language
has nearly disappeared. About two thirds of the popu-
lation adhere to the Lutheran religion ; the rest are Greeks,
Catholics, or Jews. The trade is extensive in the export
of nativ e products ; and in some seasons the quantity of
corn grown beyond that consumed causes a brisk trade in
giain, as well as in the spirits distilled from it, and pays for
t le sait, iron, lead, wine, and articles of luxury which the
country does not yield.
LIVONICA Ierra, a kind of fine bole used in the
shops of Germany and Italy. It is found in Livonia, from
which it derives its name. It is in the form of little cakes.
LIVORNO, a town of the province of Vercelli, in Pied-
3 E
401
Livius
Livorno.
402
L,ivre
II
Llandillo
Vawr.
L L A
miles from London, situated on the river Towy, which
abounds in fish, especially salmon. It has a well-supplied
market on Saturday. The population of the town amounted
in 1801 to 647, in 1811 to 776, in 1821 to 1019, and ins
1831 to 1268 ; but the whole parish at the last census con¬
tained 5149 inhabitants.
LLANDOVERY, a market-town of South Wales, in the
county of Carmarthen and hundred of Derlis. It stands on
the river Towy, 188 miles from London. Near to it are ,
the remains of an ancient castle, now covered with ivy. It
has a market on Friday, and several fairs. It is not a parish,
but forms part of the parish of Landingal. The population
amounted in J.801 to 1395, in 1811 to 1442, in 1821 to
1820, and in 1831 to 2242.
LLANELLY, a town which had formerly a market, in
South Wales, in the hundred of Carnwallen and county of
Carmarthen. It is 220 miles from London. It stands on
a creek running out of the Severn, called the Bury, at the
mouth of which is an island, on which formerly stood the
monastery of Machunis. The chief trade consists in the
shipment of coals for Bristol, and the several towns of the
north of Somerset and Devon. This commerce has in¬
creased the population, which, including the whole parish,
amounted in 1801 to 2972, in 1811 to 3891, in 1821 to
5649, and in 1831 to 7646.
LLANGADDOCK, a town of South Wales, in the coun¬
ty of Carmarthen and hundred of Perfydd, 184 miles from
London. It stands between the rivers Branc and Swathy.
It has some manufactures of woollen stockings and coarse
cloth. It contains three hamlets. There is an ancient cas¬
tle, now in ruins. The market is held on Thursday. The
population of the parish amounted in 1801 to 1821, in 1811
to 1964, in 1821 to 2484, and in 1831 to 2476.
LLANGOLLEN, a town of Wales, in the county of
Denbigh and hundred of Chirck, 192 miles from London.
It is in a most romantic situation on the river Dee, and on
the great post road from London to Dublin. The bridge
is an object of great curiosity. About two miles from it
are the striking remains of Valle Cruces Abbey, and not
far from it those of one of Owen Glendower’s castles. It
has a market, which is held on Saturday. The population
of the whole parish amounted in 1801 to 2658, in 1811 to
2897, in 1821 to 3535, and in 1831 to 4498.
LLANOS, San Juan de eos, a province in that part of
      ^  the republic of Colombia which formerly constituted the
LLANBEDER, or LLAMPETER, a market-town of viceroyalty of New Granada, being bounded on the north
Wales, in the county of Cardigan and hundred of Modwyn, by Meridas and Varinas, on the east by Varinas, on the
204 miles from London. It is situated on a fertile vale on south by Quixos, and on the west by Bogota. Its limits
the river Teife, over which a bridge, built by the king of are somewhat vague, the name signifying province of the
that name, gives the town the addition of Pont Stephen, plains, which extend their dreary surfaces from 200 to 300
It is an ancient borough, having, with Cardigan, Aberyst- leagues in length, and about the same in breadth. It is
with, and Aspar, formerly returned a member to parlia- watered by many large rivers, the principal being the Rio
ment, and by the recent law it enjoys the same privilege. Meta, the Casanare, the Vichada, and the Orinoco. The
There is a market on Tuesday, and five fairs are held in the soil is fertile, and perfectly level: not a hill nor any other
course of the year. The population amounted in 1801 to inequality is to be seen as far as the eye can reach. But
1037, in 1811 to 750, in 1821 to 937, and in 1831 to 1317. the appearance of the plains is totally changed at different
LLANDAFF, a small city, but so classed because it is seasons of the year. During the rainy season they are
the see of a bishop. It is in the hundred of Kibbon, of the covered with fine grass, on which numerous herds of cat-
county of Glamorgan, Wales, 162 miles from London, and tie graze; and in the time of extreme drought, vegetation
is situated on the river Taff. The cathedral is an ancient being destroyed by the excessive heat of the sun, they ap-
building, of the architecture of various ages, and of most pear but a sandy desert. Upon the banks of the riveis,
discordant styles, but containing some admirable monu- however, vegetation is at all times so profuse and often so
ments. The palace of the bishop may be traced by remains ■' 1 " ' 1 ‘ u ,c immn-
of ancient walls, and the building itself is reported to have
been destroyed by the Welsh prince, Owen Glendower.
Llandaff, though a city, has no market. It has a small har¬
bour on the north bank of the Severn, two miles from Car-
L L A
mont, containing 3640 inhabitants, who subsist by culti¬
vating rice and breeding silk worms.
LIVRE, a French money of account, containing twenty
,sols or sous. See Money.
LIWN Y, a circle of the Russian province of Orel, which
extends in north latitude from 52. 49. to 53. 30. and in
east longitude from 37. 16. to 38. 20. The capital is a
city of the same name, situated on the 1’iver Sosna, 720
miles from Petersburg. It contains ten churches, 750
houses, and 6800 inhabitants. It is in latitude 53. 10. N.
and longitude 37. 45. E.
LIXiVIOUS, an appellation given to salts obtained from
burned vegetables by pouring water on their ashes.
LIXIVIUM, in Pharmacy, a ley obtained by pouring
some liquor upon the ashes of plants. It is more or less
powerful in proportion as it has imbibed the fixed salts
contained in the ashes.
Lizard, in Geography, a cape or promontory of Corn¬
wall, situated, according to the most common computation,
in long. 5. 47. W. and lat. 49. 50. N.
LJUBIM, a circle of the province of Jaroslaw, in Rus¬
sia, extending between 57. 49. and 59. 2. north latitude,
and 40. 10. and 40. 43. east longitude. It comprehends one
city and 620 villages, which are divided into thirty parishes,
each having a church. The inhabitants are 57,584. It
depends wholly on agriculture and the breeding of cattle.
The capital, of the same name, is situated on the river
Obnora, 620 miles from St Petersburg. It contains four
churches, 531 houses, and 1590 inhabitants. Long. 41. 1.
E. Lat. 58. 6. N.
LLANB AD ARN VAWR, a market-town of Wales, in
the county of Cardigan and hundred of Isar, 204 miles
from London, and situated on the river Rydal. It is said to
have been once a large city, the see of a bishop, and called
Mauritania. Near to it, on the road to Aberystwith, are
the remains of an extensive pile of buildings, which, ac¬
cording to tradition, was the castle of Owen Glendower.
It is a corporate town, with a market, which is held on
Tuesday. The population amounted in 1801 to 1228, in
1811 to 1373, in 1821 to 1479, and in 1831 to 1634.
LLANBEBLICK, a large parish of Wales, in the coun¬
ty of Carnarvon and hundred of Irwigfai, 250 miles from
London. The town of Carnarvon forms part of this parish,
and the population of the whole amounted in 1801 to 3626,
in 1811 to 4595, in 1821 to 5788, and in 1831 to 7642
Llando-
very
II
Llanos.
thick as to be almost impenetrable. The climate is immo¬
derately hot, and very unhealthy. In some parts the air
is pure, and in others vaporous, and full of fine dust raised
from the dried mud of the rivers.
The northern portion of this province has been re-
diff. The population amounted in 1801 to 860, in 1811 to cently separated into a distinct district called Casanare,
960, in 1821 to 1138, and in 1831 to 1299. which name is now often applied to the whole. In this ter-
LLANDILLO VAWR, a market-town of South Wales, ritory, cacao, maize, yucas, plantains, &c. are produced;
in the county of Carmarthen and hundred of Perfydd, 202 and the lakes and rivers furnish abundance offish tor the
L L O
nos support of the inhabitants. Its principal town is Pore,
II situated in an unhealthy climate, about 133 miles north-
east of Bogota, and containing 500 inhabitants. On the
banks of the rivers there are many missionary and other
villages, instituted for the conversion of the scattered
tribes of Indians who roam through the country between
the Orinoco and the Andes. These tribes are termed Lla-
neros, or inhabitants of the plains, whose chief employment
consists in attending to the herds of cattle which feed on
the pastures. The principal commodity of the plains is
the peltry of animals manufactured by the inhabitants.
The population, including Casanare, is about 20,000.
Llanos, San Juan de los, the capital of the above pro¬
vince, is situated in longitude 73. 55. 30. west, and latitude
3. 11. north, about fifty miles east-south-east of Bogota.
It was founded in 1555, and was celebrated for the gold
found in its neighbourhood, but now contains very few in¬
habitants, who live in great poverty.
LLAN-RHAIDAR-YN-MOCHNANT, a large parish
of Wales, in the county of Denbigh and hundred of Chirck.
It is situated in a deep hollow, and surrounded on every
side by lofty mountains. It is much frequented by visitors,
who go to it to get a view of the celebrated water-fall of
Pistell-Raiadr. It is 224 miles from London. The popu¬
lation amounted in 1801 to 1869, in 1811 to 1974, in 1821
to 2229, and in 1831 to 2344.
LLANTRISSANT, a borough and market town of
South Wales, in the county of Glamorgan and hundred of
Miskin, 170 miles from London. In the neighbourhood are
valuable lead mines. It has a market, which is held on
Friday. In conjunction with Cardiff and Cowbridge, it will
in futui-e elect one member to parliament. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1715, in 1811 to 2122, in 1821 to
2585, and in 1831 to 2789.
LLANVILLING, a borough and market town of North
Wales, in the hundred of Llanfyling and county of Mont¬
gomery, 186 miles from London. It is well built, and was
incorporated by Edward I. There is a good market on
Tuesday. This town, in conjunction with Llanydloes,
Welch-Pool, Machynlleth, and Newton, returns, under the
new law, one member to the House of Commons. The
population amounted in 1801 to 1394, in 1811 to 1508, in
1821 to 1706, and in 1831 to 1836.
LLANYDLOES, a market-town of North Wales, in the
county of Montgomery and hundred of its own name, 190
miles from London. It is pleasantly situated on the right
bank of the Severn. Plinlimmon, the highest mountain in
Males, is distant from it about seven miles. It joins with
Welch-Pool, Machynlleth, Llan villing, and Newton, in elect¬
ing one member to the House of Commons. The popula¬
tion amounted in 1801 to 2282, in 1811 to 2386, in 1821
to 3145, and in 1831 to 4189.
LLOYD, William, a learned English writer and bishop,
was born in Berkshire, in England, in 1627. He was
educated under his father, rector of Sonning, and vicar of
Tyle-hurst in Berkshire. He then went to Oxford, and
finally took orders. In 1660 he was made prebendary of
Rippon, and in 1666 ^chaplain to the king. In 1667 he
took the degree of doctor of divinity; in 1672 he was in¬
stalled as dean of Bangor; and in 1680 he was consecrat¬
ed bishop of St Asaph. He was one of the six bishops
who, with Archbishop Sancroft, were committed prisoners
to the Tower of London, for subscribing a petition to the
king against distributing and publishing his declaration
for liberty of conscience. Soon after the Revolution he
was made almoner to King William and Queen Mary. In
1692 he was translated to the bishopric of Litchfield and
Coventry, and in 1699 to the see of Worcester, where he
remained till his death, which happened in 1717, in the
ninety-first year of his age. Dr Burnet gives him an ex¬
alted character, and his works are highly esteemed.
L . o A
403
Load
LOAD, or Lode, in Mining, a word used especially in
the tin mines, and signifying any regular vein or course, n
whether metallic or not; but load most commonly means L°ango
a metallic vein. When the substances forming these loads '—
are reducible to metal, the loads are by the Eno-lish mi-
neis said to be alive ; otherwise they are termed dead
loads.
Load is also used for nine dishes of ore, each dish being
about half a hundredweight.
LOADSTONE. See Magnet.
LOAMS are defined to be earths composed of dissimi¬
lar particles, stiff, dense, hard, and rough to the touch *
not easily broken whilst moist, readily diffusible in water’
and composed of sand and a tough viscid clay. Of these
loams some are whitish, and others brown and yellow.
LOAN, any thing given to another, on condition of re¬
turn or payment.
Public Loans. See Funding System.
LOANDO, St Paul de, a city on the coast of Ango¬
la, capital of the Portuguese settlements in Western
Africa. It is built partly upon a hill, which commands the
surrounding country, and partly on the sea-shore, and
covers a large extent of ground. It has no walls, but pos¬
sesses a good fort, garrisoned by malefactors. The streets
are wide and regular. The houses of the whites are built
of stone, and those of the natives of mud and straw. The
port is safe and spacious, and is defended from storms
by an island lying in front. The city is the seat of a
bishop, and possesses numerous churches and convents.
The surrounding country is< pleasant and fertile, abound¬
ing in cattle, corn, and fruits; but water is very scarce,
and must be brought some distance. The climate dur¬
ing summer is warm, but regular sea-breezes moderate
the heat considerably. The population is estimated at
3000 whites and free people of colour, without determin¬
ing the number of slaves, one proprietor often having
more than 100 in his service. Long. 13. 22. E. Lat. 8.
55. S.
Loando is also the name of an island situated opposite
the city, and about twenty miles long and one broad. It
is separated from the main coast only by a narrow channel.
It produces no grain, but yields good pasture for sheep
and goats, and there are some fisheries upon its coast.
The wealthier inhabitants of the city have a number of
country houses and gardens here for the purposes of re-
creation ; and it also contains several small villages. It
yields, by digging to a small depth, the best water in this
part of the country, from which the city is principally
supplied! r “
LOANGO, a considerable country in that part of the
coast of Africa known by the name of Lower or Southern
Guinea. Its limits are not accurately known. The coun¬
try tributary to the king of Loango, however, extends
fiom Cape Lopez to the river Congo, a distance of up¬
wards of 400 miles ; but Loango proper occupies only the
middle pait, being bounded by the town of Malemba on
the south, and that of Mayomba on the north. The coast
in some parts is high, of a red-coloured soil, and the hills
are covered with a luxuriant vegetation ; but generally it is
composed of a very fine sand carried about by the slight¬
est breeze. Towards the interior the soil is fertile, but
little improved by an indolent people. The principal
grains cultivated are, the manioc, which is used instead
of bread, the maize, a species of pulse, and the potato,
which grows to a much larger size and is of a stronger
flavour here than in Europe. The palm and several other
fruit-trees grow wild in abundance, and a great part of
the country is covered with thick grass, which often at¬
tains the height of eight or ten feet. Wild animals are
found, but generally of the smaller tribes; the Chinese
hog, sheep, and goat, are used for domestic purposes. The
404 L O .B L 0 C
Loango climate is in general good. The year is divided into the that name, in the dominions of the prince of Reus, of the
II . dry and the rainy seasons, both of nearly equal duration, younger branch. The principality extends over about 100 u
1 .obestem. pur^ng t]le fay seas0n, from April to October, the climate square miles, and contains 7500 inhabitants. The city is Lock.
is exceedingly warm, and so entirely free from hurricanes on an elevated stony spot, 1400 feet.above the level of the^V'’
or high winds, that vessels may anchor on any part of the sea, at the foot of which runs the river Lemnitz. It is
coast with perfect safety. The temperature, however, is surrounded with walls, and contains a residence of the
cooled by regular light breezes from the south and south- prince, 417 houses, with 2960 inhabitants, who carry on
east. Rain occurs very seldom, and is never violent; but some manufactures of linens and woollens. Long. 11. 42.
heavy dews fall during the night, which are sufficient for E. Lat. 50. 26. N.
the support of vegetable life. In the rainy season the LOBO, Jerome, a Jesuit missionary, was born at Lis-
heat of the sun is greater than in the dry, and would be bon in the year 1593. He became a member of the so-
insupportable but for the great rains which fall and re- ciety of Jesus at the age of sixteen, and in 1622 went out
fresh the atmosphere. Iron and copper are found in the as a missionary to the East Indies. After making some
country, but the natives are not aware of the method of stay at Goa, he sailed to the coast of Mozambique; and
extracting them from the soil. Salt abounds in shallows subsequently penetrated into Abyssinia, where his zeal
along the coast, and is also obtained in the interior by boil- and resolution drew upon him the hatred of the monks, in
ing and allowing the water to evaporate. Trades and ma- consequence of which he incurred much danger and suf-
nufactures are entirely neglected, or only exercised as far fering. On his return to Portugal he was shipwrecked on
as is absolutely necessary for the purposes of life. The in- the coast of Natal, where seven months were spent in con-
habitants live in a state of great ignorance and superstition, structing shallops to bring away the survivors. One of
and although several missions have been sent to the coun- these foundered, but that in which Father Lobo sailed ar-
try, little or no good has come of them. The males are rived safe at Angola. After a variety of adventures he
very indolent; their chief occupation is hunting or fish- arrived at Lisbon; and he employed himself in the cause
ing ; agricultural affairs they deem degrading, and leave of the Ethiopian mission both at Madrid and Rome. He
to the females to perform. Their houses are built of straw made a second voyage to the Indies, where he was appoint-
and junk, and roofed with palm leaves bound together ed rector of the house at Goa. But he returned to Lisbon
with small branches, which forms a covering impenetrable in 1658, and was chosen rector of the college of Coimbra,
to rain. They are congregated in villages, and surround- where he died in 1678, at the age of eighty-four. Lobo
ed with palm and cocoa-nut trees, which are carefully wrote an historical account of Abyssinia in the Portu-
kept from injury. The government is despotic, and the guese language, which contains information both curious
dignity is transmitted only in the female line. The prin- and valuable. It was translated into French by the Abbe
cess has the right of choosing her husband, who is com- Legrand, in 1728, in 4to ; and the earliest production of
pelled to accept the honour, and is debarred the privilege Dr Samuel Johnson was an abridged version of this work
of polygamy, enjoyed in an unlimited manner by his sub- into English.
jects. The king is elected by a council of seven, and it LOCARNO, a market-town of the canton of Ticino, in
is necessary that the choice should fall on a prince of the Switzerland, alternately with Bellenz and Lugano, the ca-
blood. His authority is constitutionally absolute, but he pital thereof, as well as of the circle of its own name. It
is obliged to be circumspect in the use of it in the case stands on the river Maggia, which, about one mile from
of chiefs or tributary princes, who are often equal in power it, falls into Lake Maggiore, or, as it was sometimes call-
with himself. He is assisted in the executive government ed, Lake Locarno. It is a romantic spot, and contains
by several ministers of state, and great part of the judi- 340 houses, with 1600 inhabitants. Bell-founding is one
cial authority is exercised by an assembly in the ditt'erent of the trades carried on at it. Long. 8. 35. E. Lat. 45.
villages and towns. He is restricted from using any ar- 39. N.
tide not the produce of the country. The slave-trade LOCCUM, a town of the province of Calenbourg, in
was formerly carried on to a great extent in this country, the kingdom of Hanover. It contains 152 houses, and
but is now much diminished. The port of Loango was 1120 inhabitants. It is remarkable for its abbey, which
almost the exclusive theatre of this trade, but other is possessed by a Protestant superintendent, and is the
towns on the coast are now equally frequented. From richest preferment of the church of Hanover*, as the ab-
this practice the population is greatly diminished, and now bot of Loccum is the chief magistrate of the district, and
scarcely exceeds 600,000. has a seat in the upper legislative house of the states.
Loango, a city, capital of the above kingdom, situated LOCHABER, a district of Inverness-shire, in Scot-
about a league from the sea, in a large and fertile plain, land. It is bounded by Moidart on the west, Glengary
It is about four miles in circuit; but this extent is owing on the north, Badenoch on the east, and Lorn on the
principally to the houses being built in squares, with large south. It derives its name from the lake or loch of Aber;
spaces between. The streets are long, straight, and kept and extends about twenty miles from east to west, and
very clean. The harbour is not deep enough to admit thirty from north to south. The country is barren, bleak,
vessels of large tonnage, and its entrance is obstructed mountainous, and rugged. See Inverness-shire.
by a range of rocks stretching half way across. The LOCHES, an arrondissement of the department of the
coast around the city is recognised by red cliffs, which Indre and Loire, in France. It extends over 768 square
appear very brilliant when illuminated by the morning miles, is divided into six cantons and seventy-six corn-
rays of the sun. There is some trade here in fine stuffs, munes, and contains 58,500 inhabitants. The chief place
manufactured by the inhabitants from leaves. The popu- is the city of the same name, in a fine situation on the left
lation is about 15,000. Long. 12. 13. E. Lat. 4. 40. N. bank of the Indre, over which is a fine bridge. It is sur-
LOBBY, in Architecture, is a small hall or waiting- rounded with vineyards, and is overlooked by an ancient
room. It is also an entrance into a principal apartment, castle, in the church of which is a monument in memory
where there is a considerable space between that and a of the celebrated Agnes Sorel. It contains 640 houses,
portico or vestibule, and the length or dimensions do not and 4800 inhabitants, who make some thin woollen goods,
allow it to be considered as a vestibule or an anti-room. Long. 0. 54. E. Lat. 47. 7. N.
LOBE, in Anatomy, any fleshy protuberant parts, as LOCK. This very useful article needs little descrip-
the lobes of the lungs, the lobes of the ears, &c. tion ; but an explanation of the principles on which its se-
LOBESTEIN, a city, the capital of the principality of curity depends will probably be new and interesting.
L O
k. The most essential portion of a lock is a bolt which can
^*'/'be thrown out or withdrawn only by its proper key; and
the best lock is that which most perfectly prevents any
other instrument from effecting this purpose.
There are two distinct modes by which this excellence
has been sought; and a clear understanding of their prin¬
ciples and differences will greatly promote a due appre¬
ciation of the many ingenious contrivances to which the
pursuit of this object has given rise.
The first mode consists in the insertion of fixed ob¬
stacles, called ivards, to the entrance of other instruments
than the proper key. They are placed between the key¬
hole and the bolt; and in good locks they are made nu¬
merous and intricate, for the double purpose of prevent¬
ing access to the bolt, and of varying the patterns of the
keys.
The second mode consists in the insertion of obstacles
to the motion of the bolt; not fixed, therefore, like the
wards, but moveable, by means of the proper key, into po¬
sitions which give freedom to the bolt. They are frequently
called tumblers ; and we shall here apply that very expres¬
sive term to all moveable impediments to the retraction of
the bolt, retaining the equally appropriate designation of
wards to describe the fixed impediments to the introduc¬
tion of surreptitious instruments.
These two means of protection, namely, wards and tum¬
blers, may be applied separately or combined.
Till the middle of the last century, the locks used in
Europe depended principally on the number and intricacy
of their wards. But very little skill was exhibited even in
this respect, though a great deal of misplaced labour and
ingenuity was sometimes expended in fanciful decorations.
One very serious objection to the use of wards alone is,
that they do not require to have exact counterparts in the
key. It is true that the proper key is usually cut in perfect
correspondence with the wards in the lock, but such ac¬
curacy is not indispensable, as the diagram figures 1 and
2 in Plate CCCXXIV. will render evident.
Let figure 1 represent the bit or wet of a key curiously
cut. The essential parts of such a key are the pipe a,
which fits on to the pin of the lock, and the extremity
be, which acts against the bolt. The intermediate por¬
tions are required merely to connect these two ; the great¬
er portion of the metal is therefore superfluous, and might
clearly be removed, as shown in figure 2, which retains all
that is wanted for connection and strength. But this faci¬
lity of fabrication from an impression of the key is not the
only evil. There is the chance that out of many variously
formed skeletons, one will be found to pass almost any
lock guarded by wards alone ; to which may be added, the
fact that an impression of almost any fixed wards may be
obtained by introducing into the lock a blank key of pro¬
per size, having its bit covered with wax or tallow.
Whilst we are on the subject of keys, it may be noticed
that some, instead of the small piercings, such as are shown
in figures 1 and 3, have considerable portions of the bit cut
away, more nearly resembling figure 2. In the former
cases the wards are formed of thin iron plate ; in the latter,
of solid brass, and hence such locks are called solid ward¬
ed. This peculiarity, however, adds nothing to the diffi¬
culty of picking, or of making false keys. The best sort
of wards are those which intertwine from opposite sides of
the bit, as in figure 3, which, it is obvious, would require
to be more nearly imitated than the more numerous cut¬
tings of figure 1. The bits of keys, as viewed end-ways,
are variously shaped ; the ordinary form is figure 4; figure
5 is called a taper bit, and figure 6 an S-shaped bit. No
effect besides variety of pattern is obtained from these de¬
vices.
In reference to the operation called picking, the num¬
ber and variety of the wards afford no security whatevei’.
405
There must always be a clear passage in the lock for the re- Lock.
volution of the portion be of the key, and through this pas- v y—
sage the pick-lock introduces his pick, which is made semi¬
circular for the purpose of passing round the exterior circle
of the wards.
Locks destitute of tumblers may be generally recognized
by a smart snapping noise in the act of locking, which
arises from the pressure of a spring formed in the back of
the bolt, and from which they are called back-spring locks.
Figure 7 shows one of these locks, in which a, a are two
notches on the underside of the bolt, connected by a
curved part; b is the back-spring, which is here compres¬
sed by the passage of the curve through a limited aperture
in the rim cc of the lock. The bolt is in the state called
half-shot; when it is wholly shot, or wholly withdrawn, the
notches a, a rest upon the rim cc, and the force with
which they fall into this position, urged by the spring b,
gives rise to the noise before mentioned. The back-spring
lock is further objectionable from the facility with which
the bolt may be forced back by any pressure applied to its
end; an application which, on wooden doors and furniture,
it is frequently possible to make.
The first improvement on the lock guarded by wards
consisted in the addition of a single tumbler, as seen in
figure 8. The bolt is here also supposed to be half shot,
and it has two notches on its upper edge, which receive
the stud a of the tumbler respectively, when the bolt is at
one or other end of its course. The tumbler turns on a
pin at its other extremity; it is forced downwards by a
spring, and it is wide enough, lying behind the bolt, as
shown by the dotted lines, to be elevated by the bit of
the key.
This construction, in addition to a more or less perfect
box of wards, forms what is called the common-tumbler
lock, and which, though better than the back-spring lock,
is easily picked, for this reason, that the tumbler merely
requires to be lifted sufficiently high; if it be raised more
than is necessary, the bolt is equally set free. An expert
smith therefore finds little difficulty in throwing out the
tumbler, and at the same time moving the bolt.
In this state the art of lock-making remained, when, in
the year 1778, Mr Barron obtained his patent for what
may be called the first scientific attempt to improve this
very important instrument. Mr Barron increased the num¬
ber of tumblers to twm or more, and he so applied them,
that mere elevation was no longer sufficient to release the
bolt; they required a precise degree of elevation, neither
more nor less, and each tumbler a peculiar quantity. Figure
9 w ill explain this ingenious and effectual change; the
tumblers are shown by dotted lines behind the bolt, which
latter has in its middle a groove or slit, notched on both
edges, through which are seen projecting the studs of the
tumblers. The bolt, as in the former cases, is supposed to
be half shot; but it w ill be easily perceived, that if the
studs of the tumblers rested in the lower notches, they
would require to be elevated to the level of the groove be¬
fore the bolt could be moved ; and it is equally clear, that
if lifted too high, they would be engaged in the upper
notches, and would equally detain the bolt. The tumblers
were made unequally wide, and demanded therefore simi¬
lar inequalities in the bit of the key, which was stepped or
notched, as shown in figure 3. The relative positions of
the bolt and tumblers are seen in the section of the lock,
figure 10. It must, however, be understood, that this and
the former figures are not portraits of locks, but rather dia¬
grams, to explain the theory of their action.
Barron’s lock, when well made, with two or three tum¬
blers, and a good box of wards, is extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to pick; for the wards, which are useless as
preventives to the operation of throwing up a single tum¬
bler, greatly impede so delicate a proceeding as the eleva-
C K.
406
LOCK.
Lock- tion of two or more to a precise height; and this required
-"■'v'—delicacy of manipulation has formed the basis of all the
subsequent attempts at improvement.
The first of these in time and ingenuity is that of Mr
Bramah, who procured his patent in 1784, but afterwards
very materially modified his invention. Mr Bramah’s
lock, though presenting little that is novel in principle, is
singularly ingenious and compact in its arrangement; and
it has the advantage of being chiefly formed in the lathe,
by which means the most perfect accuracy of form is made
compatible with very moderate cost.
Mr Bramah rejected entirely the use of fixed wards, em¬
ploying only moveable guards, which we shall call tum¬
blers, because they are analogous to the parts so named in
Barron’s and other locks. Of these he introduced never
less than four, and,frequently six or eight. Having no
wards, he required no large bit on which to cut their coun¬
terparts ; and thus he effected the double purpose of giving
great portability to the key, and of so reducing the size of
the key-hole as in some measure to compensate for the ab¬
sence of wards as checks to any fraudulent attempts upon
the tumblers.
The general features of this lock will be best understood
from an examination of figures 11 to 16. It may be de¬
scribed as consisting of two brass barrels, the outer one,
aaaa, being screwed to the plate or body of the lock,
which is, however, not shown, and the inner one, ccccc,
revolving within it. The inner barrel is shown detached
in figures 14 and 15 : it has a pin or stud b, which moves
the bolt in the act of locking or unlocking, performing there¬
fore the office of the bit of the ordinary key. The security
of this lock depends, then, on certain contrivances, which
prevent the revolution of this inner barrel, except on the
application of its proper key. For this purpose, it has an
external circular groove penetrating to the depth shown by
the dotted circle in its section, figure 15; and it has four
internal longitudinal grooves, as seen also in figure 15, but
here seen occupied by what are in fact double pieces of
steel-spring, formed like figure 16. These pieces of steel
are the moveable guards or tumblers; and they prevent,
except under certain circumstances, the revolution of the
inner barrel. To do this, a thin plate of steel, called the
locking-plate, d d, figures 11, 12, and 13, is screwed in two
portions to the outer barrel, and at the same time occu¬
pies the external circular groove of the inner barrel, hav¬
ing four notches to receive the edges of the tumblers,
figure 16, which lie in the internal longitudinal grooves. It
will be seen now that the inner barrel is locked to the
outer, because the tumblers of the inner barrel are detain¬
ed in the notches of the locking-plate d d, which is screw¬
ed to the outer barrel. If, however, the tumblers be also
notched as much as the locking-plate projects into their
grooves, and if these notches be brought into the plane of
the locking-plate, it is obvious that the barrel would then
revolve, and the notches so formed would traverse the pro¬
jection of the locking-plate into the longitudinal grooves.
Such a notch is therefore formed in each tumbler; they
are represented by the deepest of the three notches shown
in the several figures, and are at various distances from the
end of the tumbler. The smaller notches need not be al¬
luded to at present. The tumblers have a projection at one
end, by which they are pressed upwards by means of the
spiral spring shown in figures 11 and 12. In the former
figure, the tumblers occupy their usual position in the lock ;
in the latter they are unequally depressed by the unequal
slits in the pipe of the key, so that their deep notches are
now7 in the plane of the locking-plate, and the inner bar¬
rel is free to revolve. As the tumblers are unequally de¬
pressed, it is clear that only one of them (the low est) can
be supported by the spiral spring; the other three would
therefore be left unsupported, but that they have sufficient
friction in their grooves to retain them where they are Loci,
placed, for the purposes of locking and unlocking. Thiss'"V>^
friction is given by bending outwards the spring-plate of
which they are made, as in figure 16 ; but it is not sufficient
to prevent the spiral spring from elevating them all to the
same level as soon as the key is withdrawn.
Such was Bramah’s lock, as it first came extensively
into use, and as it continued for many years, employed for
the most important purposes, and by the most distinguish¬
ed persons. At length an advertisement appeared in the
public papers, requesting those who had lost keys of Bra¬
mah’s locks, not, as had hitherto been done, to break open
their doors or drawers, but to apply to the advertiser, who
would undertake to save this destructive process by pick¬
ing. And it appeared that an individual of great dexteri¬
ty could perform this operation almost with certainty.
The effect of this discovery on the demand for the locks
may easily be imagined ; but the effect it had in stimulat¬
ing ingenuity to provide a remedy, is one of the best illus¬
trations of the proverb, that necessity is the mother of in¬
vention. Within a few days or weeks, Mr Russell, who
was at that time employed in Mr Bramah’s establishment,
devised an alteration which at once, and without any ex¬
pense, entirely overcame the difficulty, and converted the
lock into one of perfect security. This contrivance is the
most simple and extraordinary that ever effected so im¬
portant an object; but before we describe it, we will en¬
deavour to explain what has been called the tentative pro¬
cess of lock-picking, and which had been so successfully
applied to Bramah’s locks. To do this, we will refer to
the diagram, figure 17, in which a represents a bolt fit¬
ting loosely an outer case, and tending to move in the di¬
rection of the arrow. It is, however, prevented by three
studs, which are moveable upwards and downwards by their
knobs, 1, 2, and 3 ; but it would be free to move if these
studs were elevated or depressed to correspond with the
notches made in the end of the bolt. Now, if the case
were closed, it would be perfectly easy to place these studs
in the requisite position by the following process : Apply
a pressure to the bolt, which can be done in any lock,
tending to move it for unlocking. This will of course be
resisted by the studs 1, 2, 3, but not by all equally; it will
in fact be resisted by only one of them ; the necessary im¬
perfections of all workmanship would prevent more than
one at a time from coming into sensible contact with the
bolt. Having therefore applied pressure to the bolt with
one hand, with the other the operator would ascertain
which of the studs was most bound by the pressure. This
would be easily done, and then he would move the stud
gently up and down till he felt it catch in the notch to
which it belonged. The bolt would move till the next most
prominent stud received it, which would be tracked to its
notch in the same manner, and so on till all were dispos¬
ed of.
By a similar process the picking of Bramah’s lock was
effected. A tendency to revolve was given with some
force to the barrel; then, by means of a pair of small for¬
ceps, the several tumblers were tried, and it was ascertain¬
ed which was most detained by the pressure against the
locking-plate. That which offered most resistance w7as gra¬
dually depressed till its notch w7as felt to hang itself upon
the locking-plate, and so on till the whole were depressed
in succession, exactly as they would have been depressed
simultaneously by the key.
Returning to figure 17, it will be easily understood, that
if, in addition to the three principal notches, a number of
shallower notches, as indicated by dots, be made, equal
however in depth to any possible inequality in the projec¬
tion of the studs, the process we have described is entire¬
ly prevented, because it will be perfectly impossible for
the picker to tell whether he has brought the stud to one
L
X :k. of the deep notches, or to one of the shallow or false
—■•—'notches ; and he will of consequence be entirely baffled.
This was the happy suggestion to which we have allud¬
ed. This will explain the two shallow or false notches
which now appear in the edges of Bramah’s tumblers, and
which require corresponding false notches, or rather false
widening in the notches, of the locking-plate, as shown by
the dots in figure 13.
From this time the art of lock-making presents nothing
very decidedly new, though almost every year produces
something which claims the public attention for a time,
and is forgotten. From this description must, however,
be excepted the lock of Mr Chubb, which has come into
extensive use. It consists of Barron’s tumblers, more or less
numerous in proportion to the price, with few or no fixed
wards, and without the false notches, or any similar con¬
trivance. But it has an ingenious piece of mechanism
called a detector, consisting of a lever, which, if any undue
elevation be given to the tumblers, catches into and de¬
tains the bolt, till, by a peculiar application of the proper
key, it is again released. Whether this detector be a more
or less perfect guard than the others we have described,
and whether it be or be not an advantage to learn that a
false key has accidentally or designedly been introduced
into a lock, are questions which remain open to discussion.
Certain, however, it is, that by thus varying the construc¬
tion of locks, we obtain the benefit of greater variety in the
keys, which would otherwise be so multiplied of similar
makes, as to neutralize in a great measure the benefits of
the skill which has been applied to the locks. On this
point it may be mentioned, that Bramah’s keys, as made
by himself and by Mordan, are constructed by a beautiful
tool, which secures a constant change in the pattern, so that
duplicates are not likely to recur for a long series of years.
Of the locks called “ Combination Locks,” it will not be
required to say much. The common letter padlock is ge¬
nerally known ; and, from the description here given of other
locks, it will be easily understood that the lettered rings of
the padlock are in fact tumblers, exposed to the operation
of the hands, instead of being subjected to the concealed
application of a key. These locks are not difficult to pick,
though they might be made quite secure by the use of the
false notches. There is indeed no tumbler lock to which
this most invaluable idea might not be advantageously ap¬
plied.
We have reserved till now the notice of a very curious
lock, which is said to have been used for four thousand
years in Egypt and Turkey, and which was first made well
known to Western Europe through the French invasion of
Egypt at the beginning of the present century, though it
had been previously described by Eton in his Survey of the
Turkish Empire. It appears to be extensively, or rather
universally, employed for gates of towns and of houses, as
well as for the smallest articles of furniture. The evidence
of its alleged antiquity is derived, according to M. Denon
(in whose magnificent work on Egypt it was published),
from the circumstance of finding one sculptured amongst
the bas-reliefs which decorate the great temple at Karnak,
from which also it was ascertained that during forty cen-
- turies the lock had undergone no sensible change.
However this may be, its construction is singular and in¬
teresting, and particularly so because it makes exclusive use
of tumblers, which, it will have been seen, were the last
means of security adopted in this country. It will be un¬
derstood by an examination of figures 18 to 21. In figures
18 and 19, aa is the case screwed to the door, and bb is
the bolt. In the case, above the bolt, are a number of small
cells containing headed pins, arranged in any form chosen
by the maker. The top of the bolt has a number of holes
similarly arranged, so that when brought into the right po¬
sition, the ends of the headed pins may drop into the cor-
407
responding holes in the bolt. In this state the bolt is fas- Lock,
tened. In order to unlock it, a large hollow or cavity is 'v —*~ v'"—
made at the exposed end of the bolt, which extends under
the holes occupied by the pins. The key consists of a
piece of wood, figs. 20 and 21, having pins arranged like
those in the lock, and as long as the thickness of the bolt
above the cavity. When therefore the key is introduced
and pressed upwards, its pins exactly fill the holes in the
bolt, and of course dislodge those which had fallen from the
upper part of the case. The bolt may in consequence be
withdrawn, as in fig. 19, leaving the headed pins elevated
in their cells, instead of occupying the position shown by
the dotted lines in fig. 18. It should be observed, that in
fig. 19 the key is shown in its place, diminishing therefore
the apparent size of the cavity in the bolt, which of course
must be high enough to receive the key and its pins before
the latter are lifted into the holes.
The attention excited by this lock when it was first made
generally known caused its merits to be greatly overrated.
M. Denon described it as no less secure than any other
lock, and fit to be applied on all rural occasions. There
would, however, be little difficulty in picking it, or in ob¬
taining a wax impression of the holes; and there is an ob¬
vious awkwardness in the mode of using the key as com¬
pared with those revolving j-ound fixed centres, which quite
disqualifies it for superseding the modern lock. In other
respects, it admits of considerable variety in the number,
arrangement, and length of the pins ; and by grooves in
the top of the bolt they might be varied in the same lock.
By a slight modification, also, it might have the benefit of
Barron’s invention, and require a precise degree of eleva¬
tion. In fact, it has this principle to some extent; for if
the pins be raised too much, whatever raises them will hold
the bolt by entering into the upper cells.
Numberless contrivances for the improvement of locks,
and some of great merit and ingenuity, will be found in
the Repertory of Patent and other Inventions, in the
Transactions of the Society of Arts, and in other scientific
journals. Many of these will be found more curious than
useful; such, for instance, as the locks which ring bells or
discharge fire-arms when an attempt is improperly made
to open them. Such, also, are the propositions to enlist
magnetism into the service of lock-making, by employing
polarized tumblers, and magnetic keys to act upon them,
through the agency of magnetic attractions and repulsions,
instead of the vulgar modes of pulling and pushing; and
such are the locks made to open only by a peculiar sleight
of hand, as if it were possible to preserve such tricks
from the knowledge of those who are interested in ac¬
quiring them. A more useful class of inventions are the
shifting or combination keys, whose parts may be kept by
the owner in such a state of derangement as to require the
knowledge of a certain cipher or motto in order to use
them.
The theory of what have been called master keys,
which figure more perhaps in romances than in the real
world, will be understood by considering figures 1 and 2
of the engraving. It is clear that a great variety of locks
might be made, with keys somewhat resembling figure 1;
differing, however, sufficiently to be opened only by their
respective keys, yet all of them adapted to the skeleton,
or, in this case, the master key, figure 2. In this respect,
the greatest facilities are presented by Bramah’s arrange¬
ment. Any number of these locks, of the same size, and
having the same quantity of tumblers, may be made to
open by one key, though each be proof against any other
of the series. For this purpose, nothing is required, but,
after the completion of the locks, to cut in each an addi¬
tional set of notches adapted to the intended master key,
leaving the other notches to open it by the application of
its peculiar key.
LOCK.
408
LOG
LOG
Lock Lock, or Weir, in inland navigations, the general name
II for all those works of wood or stone made to confine and
Locke. raise tiie water of a river. The banks also which are made
to divert the course of a river are called by these names
in some places. But the term lock is more particularly
appropriated to express a kind of canal enclosed between
two gates; the upper called by workmen the sluice- gate,
and the lower called the flood-gate. These serve in arti¬
ficial navigations to confine the water, and render the pas¬
sage of boats easy in passing up and down the stream. See
Navigation, Inland.
LOCKE, John, one of the greatest philosophers that
England has produced, was born at Wrington, Somersetshire,
on the 29th of August 1632, ten years before Sir Isaac New¬
ton. His father was a man of moderate estate, who had
suffered by the civil wars, in which he served as a captain
on the parliamentary side. After receiving his school edu¬
cation at Westminster, he was sent to Oxford in 1651, and
soon became distinguished amongst his fellow-students of
Christ Church for his learning, as well as his natural abili¬
ties. The philosophy of the schools then held entire do¬
minion at Oxford ; and, in after life, Mr Locke was heard
to regret having consumed the most valuable time for study
at that university, where, in those days, he could learn so
little of what was really useful. But it is probable that much
more has been made of these expressions than they de¬
serve ; for he must have derived considerable benefit from
the leisure there afforded for cultivating privately other
branches of learning, when he had perceived the futility of
the scholastic system ; and he undoubtedly enjoyed at
that place advantages which led him thus early to form
the idea of his great work. That he iield self-education
to be by far the most important of any, and had expe¬
rienced this in his own case, there can be no doubt what¬
ever.1 The first productions that gave him a relish for the
study of philosophy, were, it seems, the writings of Des¬
cartes, which, from their perspicuity and originality, no less
than the boldness with which received opinions were im¬
pugned in them, naturally found favour with Locke, al¬
though he did not, in many cases, approve of the doctrines Locke,
which they taught.
After having taken his degrees in arts, Mr Locke applied
for some time to the study of physic, not so much, it is
said, with a view to practice, as for the benefit of his
own constitution, which was originally feeble, and required
the observance on his part of a strict regimen. But he
must have cultivated medical science to a far greater ex¬
tent than this would seem to imply, because many of the
learned in the faculty entertained a high opinion of his
medical knowledge; and, in particular, Dr Sydenham,
in his treatise on acute diseases, speaks of his great
genius and sound judgment, in terms of very strong com¬
mendation. “ You know,” says he, “ how much my me¬
thod has been approved of by a person who has examined
it to the bottom, and who is our common friend. I mean
Mr John Locke, who, if we consider his penetrating ge¬
nius and exact judgment, or the purity of his morals, has
scarcely any superior and few equals now living.” 2 Hence
he was often saluted by his acquaintance with the title,
though he never took the degree, of doctor, which he would
probably have done had he intended to prosecute physic
as a profession, or had he not been diverted from it by
other studies and avocations.
In 1660, when the restoration had given rise to great
controversies respecting the settlement of the church esta¬
blishments, Locke appears to have written a tract on the
subject, with the intention of printing it; but, from what¬
ever cause, he abandoned his design. It has, however,
been preserved, and is the earliest of his works extant.
Lord King, in his Life of Locke, has given a few extracts
from it, which are extremely interesting, inasmuch as they
show how great a leaning he then had towards the side of
authority, and how much he was disposed to recommend
concessions, upon matters not absolutely essential, for the
sake of avoiding civil anarchy and religious discord. The
excesses of those who had been the real friends of liberty,
but who chose to represent themselves as its only friends,
appear to have alarmed him so much as to lead him to
' The following passages from two letters to Lord Peterborough set this in a strong light. In answer to a letter from his lord-
ship, who had applied to him to recommend a tutor to his son, he says, “ I must beg leave to own that I differ a little from your
lordship in what you propose; your lordship would have a thorough scholar, and I think it not much matter whether he be any great
scholar or no : if he but understand Latin well, and have a general scheme of the sciences, I think that enough ; but I woufd have
him well bred, well tempered ; a man that, having been conversant with the world and amongst men, would have great application in
observing the humour and genius of my lord your son, and omit nothing that might help to form his mind, and dispose him to vir¬
tue, knowledge, and industry. This I look upon as the great business of a tutor; this is putting life into his pupil, which, when he
has got, masters of all kinds are easily to be had; for when a young gentleman has got a relish of knowledge, the love and credit of
doing well spurs him on ; he will, with or without teachers, make great advances in whatever he has a mind to. Mr Newton learn¬
ed his mathematics only by himself; and another friend of mine Greek, wherein he is well skilled, without a master; though both
these studies seem more to require the help of a tutor than almost any other.” And, in a letter to the same person on the same sub¬
ject, he says, “ when a man has got an entrance into any of the sciences, it will be time then to depend on himself, and rely upon his
own understanding, and exercise his own faculties, which is the only way to improvement and mastery.” After recommending the
study of history, he proceeds to observe, “ The great end of such histories as Livy, is to give an account of the actions of men as em¬
bodied in society, and so of the true foundation of politics; but the flourishings and decays of commonwealths depending not barely
on the present time for what is done within themselves, but commonly on remote and precedent constitution and events", and a train
of concurrent actions amongst their neighbours as well as themselves ; the order of time is absolutely necessary to a due knowledge
and improvement of history, as the order of sentences in an author is necessary to be kept to make sense of what he says. With the
reading of history, I think the study of morality should be joined ; I mean not the ethics of the schools fitted to dispute, but such as
Tully in his Offices, Puffendorf de OfficioHominis et Civis, de Jure Naturali et Gentium, and, above all, what the New Testament teaches,
wherein a man may learn to live, which is the business of ethics, and not how to define and dispute about names of virtues and
vices. True politics 1 look on as a part of moral philosophy, which is nothing but the art of conducting men right in society, and
supporting a community amongst its neighbours.”
2 “ Nosti praeterea quam huic meai methodo suffragantem habeam, qui earn intimius per omnia perspexerat utrique nostrum con-
junctissimum dominum Joannem Locke ; quo quidem viro, sive ingenio judicioque acri et subacto, sive etiam antiquis, hoc est, opti-
mis modbus, vix superiorem quenquam, inter eos qui nunc sunt homines repertum iri confido, paucissimos cede pares.” “ The me¬
rit of this method, therefore,” says Mr Stewart, in his Dissertation on the progress of Intellectual Philosophy, “which still continues
to be regarded as a model by the most competent judges, may be presumed to have belonged in part to Mr Locke; a circumstance
which deserves to be noticed, as an additional confirmation of what Bacon has so sagaciously taught concerning the dependence of all
the sciences, relating to the phenomena either of matter or of mind, on principles and rules derived from the resources of a higher
philosophy : on the other hand, no science could have been chosen more happily calculated than medicine to prepare such a mind as
that of Locke for the prosecution of those speculations which have immortalized his name ; the complicated and fugitive, and often
equivocal, phenomena of disease, requiring in the observer a far greater portion of discriminating sagacity than those of physics strict¬
ly so called; resembling in this respect, much more nearly, the phenomena about which metaphysics, ethics, and politics, are con¬
versant.”
LOCK E. 409
|||:e. think somewhat too favourably of their antagonists. “ Since
s—ff"—^ I find,” says he, “ that a general freedom is but a general
bondage ; that the popular assertors of public liberty are
the greatest engrossers of it too, and not unfitly called its
keepers; I know not whether experience would not give us
some reason to think, that were the part of freedom con¬
tended for and indulged in England, it would prove only
a liberty for contention, censure, and persecution.” He
then states that liberty, in his view of it, is “ not a liberty
for ambitious men to pull down well-framed constitutions,
that out of the ruins they may build themselves fortunes,
nor a liberty to be Christians, so as not to be subjects;
but that all he can wish for his country or himself is, to
enjoy the protection of those laws which the prudence and
providence of our ancestors established, and the happy re¬
turn of his majesty has restored.” Such are often the early
impressions of those whom reflection and experience after¬
wards conduct to sounder conclusions. Nothing, in truth,
can be more natural, than to feel disgust at the extrava¬
gance, intolerance, and injustice of the men with whom
we are agreed upon points of essential importance. When
we find them ready to persecute us the moment they de¬
tect the least difference in our sentiments, it is almost un¬
avoidable to stigmatise them as “ the engrossers and keep¬
ers of liberty.” But the worst effect of such pretensions
to infallibility, and of the excesses to which it leads, is, that
it sometimes tempts honest and conscientious men to fall
into the error of Locke, and to betray a disinclination to¬
wards the cause itself, because its most forward professors
demean themselves in an overbearing manner. This feel¬
ing, be it observed, makes Locke here speak the language
of the friends of the Restoration, and overlook those more
lasting evils which have almost always attended the return
of exiled sovereigns. A short time only elapsed, indeed,
before he was made fully sensible of his oversight. The
high-church party, finding themselves strong in the new
parliament, abandoned all notion of comprehension ; and,
more intolerant than the Presbyterians themselves, they
sought to make differences in all matters, however trivial,
operate an absolute exclusion. This change prevented
the publication of the tract above mentioned, by render¬
ing its object unavailing.
In 1665, Mr Locke accompanied Sir Walter Vane, as
seci*etary, on his mission to the elector of Brandenburg ;
but he returned to England within the year, and went back
to Oxford, where he resumed his studies with great vigour,
and, in particular, applied himself to that of natural philo¬
sophy. He refused two offers of diplomatic employment,
in Germany and Spain, which were made to him at differ¬
ent times ; and he was also pressed by a friend, wLo had
interest with the Duke of Ormond, then lord-lieutenant
of Ireland, to take orders, and accept of considerable pre¬
ferment in the Irish church. Mankind have reason to be
thankful that this great man did not subside into a profes¬
sional diplomatist; but there is no reason to conclude, as
Lord King has done, that, had he accepted of preferment
in the church, he would never have attained the name
“ of a great philosopher, who has extended the bounds of
human knowledge.” There appears, indeed, to be nothing
| - in the peculiar duties of a divine which should incapacitate
or disqualify him for engaging in scientific pursuits ; and
the annals, both of the English and of other churches,
abound in examples of the successful cultivation of philo¬
sophy by their ministers. Berkeley was an Irish bishop ;
yet he unquestionably attained the name of a great philo¬
sopher, and, by his admirable Essay on Vision, extended
the bounds of human knowledge.
In the year 1666, commenced Locke’s acquaintance with
Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury. His lord-
ship had repaired to Oxford, with the intention of taking
some mineral water for an abscess in the chest, under
VOL. XIII.
which he then laboured ; and the physician to whom he Locke,
applied, being absent, requested Locke to receive the dis-v'—v—-
tinguished visitor. Deeply versed in medical science, al¬
though he had not practised it professionally, Locke seems
to have promptly divined the true mode of treatment for
his lordship’s complaint; whilst the charms of his conver¬
sation, in which wit, and sense, and learning were happily
blended, could scarcely fail to make a deep impression
upon a person of Shaftesbury’s taste and discernment.
Locke in his turn could not avoid being captivated by the
brilliant qualities of a man whose genius and exemption
from all vulgar corruption were sufficient to gloss over the
most turbulent ambition, and the greatest sacrifice of prin¬
ciple and consistency which was ever, perhaps, made for
its gratification. At the time when Locke made his ac¬
quaintance, he had, after serving the parliament in the civil
wars, and being a zealous partisan of Cromwell during the
protectorate, devoted himself to the cause of the restora¬
tion, and become a courtier of the sovereign from whom
he derived his nobility. Mr Locke now accompanied Lord
Ashley from Oxford to London ; and having engaged him
to submit to an operation which saved his life, such an in¬
timacy grew up between them, that Locke was the inmate
of Ashley House during a considerable part of every year,
with the exception of three, which he spent abroad ; and
he was consulted by Shaftesbury upon all his most import¬
ant private concerns. The part of his time which he did not
spend with Lord Shaftesbury was passed at Oxford, where,
as early as the year 1670, he appears to have sketched
the plan of his Essay concerning Human Understanding.
Lord King seems to think that this immortal work was
completed in the following year; for he informs us that
“ the original copy, in Locke’s own handwriting, dated
1671, is still preserved.” But in this copy much must have
been left to be added ; for it was during his exile in Hol¬
land, as we learn from Leclerc, that Locke finished his
Essay, and the year 1687 is mentioned as that in which it
was completed. Besides, even after the work had been pub¬
lished, material and important additions were made to the
subsequent editions, particularly the second and the fourth.
Towards the close of the year 1675, Locke went to re¬
side in the south of France for the benefit of his health,
and thus was happily absent during the disgraceful ex¬
cesses connected with the pretended Popish Plot. Although
his pure and tolerant principles must, with all right-think¬
ing men, have exempted him from the least suspicion of
encouraging Shaftesbury in the part which he then took,
even if he had been residing with that unprincipled noble¬
man ; yet it is fortunate for his fame, that the distance at
which he then was from those dismal scenes deprives the
most uncandid reasoner of every pretence for charging him
with any participation in them. He kept a full and regu¬
lar Journal of his travels from the day he landed at Calais ;
and one of the most curious and interesting portions of
Lord King’s work consists in the remarks upon men and
things which he has extracted from it. Nor are any of
these observations more instructive than those which con¬
vey to us an idea of the state of things which prevailed
under the old government of France, the overthrow of
which has been so bitterly lamented by a certain class of po¬
liticians in this country. Thus we find an estimate of the
revenues of the Gallican church, according to which they
amounted to not less than twenty-four millions sterling a
year. The exemption of the lands of the nobility from taxes,
as well as the ancient church lands, formed another glory
ot the old system, which the Revolution mercilessly swept
away. The oppressive gabelle, or salt-duty, and the abuses
ot its farmers, as well as the laws for enforcing its collec¬
tion, are also fully exposed. 11 The salt,” says the Journal,
“ which the owner sells for five sous, the farmer sells again
for fifteenand “ the defrauding the duty is of such con-
3 F
LOCKE.
410
Locke, sequence, that if a man should be taken with but an hand-
"■ ' ful of salt not bought from the farmers, he would be sent
to the galleys.” Nor was the corruption in the adminis¬
tration of justice less flagrant and odious than the iniquity
of the financial system. “ Many murders are committed
here (at Montpelier). He that endeavoured to kill his
sister in our house, had before killed a man, and it had
cost his father five hundred crowns to get him off; by
their secret distribution gaining the favour of their coun¬
sellors.” Under1 such a system, the condition of the com¬
mon people was, of course, most wretched. “ Their or¬
dinary food is rye-bread and water; flesh seldom sea¬
sons their pots ; they can make no distinction between
flesh and fasting days, but when their money reaches to a
more costly meal, they buy the inwards of some beast in
the market, and then feast themselves.”
At Versailles, Mr Locke saw the other extreme of French
society under the same happy dispensation. The queen sat
on one hand of Louis XIV., and Madame de Montespan,
his majesty’s mistress, sat on the other, in the royal box at
the opera. The latter also attended him in like manner at
a hunting party. This monarch was, however, exceedingly
punctual in his devotional exercises. “ At the king’s le¬
vee,” says Mr Locke, “ which I saw this morning, there is
nothing so remarkable as his great devotionj which is very
exemplary ; for as soon as ever he is dressed, he goes to
his bedside, where he kneels down to his prayers, several
priests kneeling by him, in which posture he continues for
a pretty while, not being disturbed by the noise and buzz
of the rest of the chamber, which is full of people stand¬
ing and talking to one another.” Here we have a pretty
conspicuous example of that blessed condition, “ where
prayers are morality, and kneeling is religion.”
The same Journal contains some dissertations of very
great value. The most complete and instructive of these is
that upon Study. The sagacity and plain strong sense of
Locke, and his freedom alike from the trammels of preju¬
dice, or any affectation of originality, form the distinguish¬
ing features of this piece, as of all the illustrious author’s
works, and impress us with the persuasion, that if he differed
from received opinion, it was simply for the love of truth,
and not for the sake of appearing wiser than other men. In
this discourse he lays it down that there are so many
things to be known, whilst our time on earth is so short,
that we must at once reject all useless learning. The first
parcel of lumber which he condemns to be thrown over
board, is all that maze of words and phrases invented to
instruct people in the art of disputing, and abounding in the
logic, physics, and divinity, of the schools. “ Such words,”
he says, “ no more improve the understanding than the
motion of a jack will fill our bellies.” Next he condemns a
too great desire to know what opinions other men have en¬
tertained. He does not undervalue the light which we re¬
ceive from others, nor think that there are not books which
assist us mightily in our endeavours after knowledge ; but
he conceives that it is idle and useless to make it one’s busi¬
ness to study what have been other men’s sentiments in
things where reason is, after all, the only judge. The third
class of rejected studies consists of “purity of language,
a polished style, or exact criticism in foreign tongues;”
under which head, he says, are to be comprehended Greek
and Latin, as well as French and Italian. To spend much Locke,
time upon such niceties he considers as only labouring for
an outside, a handsome dress of truth and falsehood, which
may become fashionable gentlemen, but is unsuited to wise
and useful men. But from this prohibition, which we can¬
not help thinking a great deal too broad, he specially ex¬
cepts whatever amount of philological learning may be re¬
quired for the right interpretation and understanding of
the Scriptures; a case for which, according to his system,
no sufficient provision is made, and which seems indeed to
be excluded by the general prohibition. Another branch
of proscribed study comprehends all “ nice questions and
remote useless speculations ; as, where the earthly paradise
was, what kind of bodies we shall have at the resurrection,”
and such like insoluble difficulties. The remarks upon
useless historical study are judicious and discriminating;
and the rest of the discourse is well worthy of attentive
consideration, however much we may be disposed to dis¬
sent from some of the author’s principles and views.
Amongst the lesser pieces which are inserted in the
Journal under different dates, the most curious is one upon
Religion, in which Tillotson’s argument against the doc¬
trine of the real presence, which is naturally turned by
Hume into an argument against the possibility of miracles,
is very clearly anticipated. He begins by affirming that the
being and attributes .of God can only be discovered and
judged of by natural reason. Any other source of know¬
ledge can only be inspiration ; but even this, according to
Mr Locke, cannot be admitted by any one who receives it,
much less by any other to whom he tells it, as the ground
of believing an alleged supernatural communication, ex¬
cepting in as far as it is conformable to reason, which alone
can enable either the one or the other to distinguish be¬
tween inspiration and fancy, revelation and delusion. He
holds it to be impossible that God should have made a
creature to whom the knowledge of himself was necessary,
and yet only imparted that knowledge by a channel through
which all manner of errors are conveyed into the mind;
“ a channel much more likely to let in falsehoods than
truths, since nobody can doubt, from the contradictions
and strangeness of opinions concerning God and religion
in this world, that men are likely to have more frenzies
than inspirations.” He next proceeds to inquire how far
inspiration can enforce any opinion concerning God or his
religion, when accompanied with a power to work miracles;
and here again he maintains that “ the last determination
must be that of reason.” His remarks upon religious en¬
thusiasm are a continuation of the same argument; and
although the definition of “ enthusiasm” is not guarded by
proper limitations, and consequently may admit of a dan¬
gerous extension, it ought at the same time to be kept in
view that the sentiments of Locke upon this subject are
those of a man who approved himself a sincere and devout
advocate of the cause of Christianity. His observations
concerning miracles bear date September 1681, and, conse¬
quently, must have been written a considerable time before
Tillotson’s discourse against transubstantiation, which ap¬
pears to have been composed about the end of the reign of
Charles II.1
Locke’s return to England was accelerated by Shaftes¬
bury, who had been taken into the ministry, and was now
It is not a little remarkable that, a few years before this, Locke accidentally came near to one of the greatest discoveries of physi¬
cal science, that of fixed air, which, a century afterwards, changed the whole face of chemistry. “ M. Teinard produced a large bottle
of muscat; it was clear when he set it on the table, but when he had drawn out the stopper, a multitude of little bubbles arose, and
swelled the wine above the mouth of the bottle. It comes from this, that the air which was included and disseminated in the liquor,
wu ,ertV° ?xPa. and to become visible, and, being much lighter than the liquor, to mount with great quickness. Q-
hether this be air new generated, or whether the springy particles of air m the fruits out of which these fermenting liquors are
diawn, have by the artifice of nature been pressed close together, and thereby other particles fastened and held so ; and whether f’er-
mentation does not loose these bonds and give them liberty to expand themselves again ? Take a bottle of fermenting liquor, and tie
J b adder on the mouth. Q. How much new air will it produce ? Whether this has the quality of common air
LOCKE.
411
L.'ke.
presideht of the council which the king had appointed,
-''with the view of promoting conciliation. This measure,
and the appointment of the popular leaders to office, was
adopted by the advice of Sir William Temple; but the
whole arrangement had not his concurrence, for he pro¬
tested so vehemently against Lord Shaftesbury’s admis¬
sion, that it made him rather desire the whole plan should
miscarry than be executed with such an addition.1 It is
also incorrect to represent Lord Shaftesbury’s resignation
as voluntary, and, like Lord Russell’s, the consequence
of the king proroguing the new parliament, chosen after
he had dissolved the short one which succeeded the pen¬
sioned parliament, and passed the first exclusion bill and
the habeas corpus act. Shaftesbury was deprived of his
place as president of the council by the king, about the
same time that he made the Duke of Monmouth retire
to Holland, in consequence of the intrigues of Essex and
Halifax, and the Duke of York’s coming over, at their
suggestion, on the occasion of the king’s illness. This is
the account given of the transaction by Temple; and
Hume, though he makes Shaftesburj^’s removal take place
at the date of the prorogation, yet is so far accurate that
he does not describe him as resigning, but as dismissed.
The account of this transaction given by Burnet is nearly
the same with that of Temple.2 Mr Locke arrived in Eng¬
land in May 1679, about a fortnight after the new council
had been formed; and it may be presumed that he was liv¬
ing in his usual habits of familiar intercourse with Shaftes¬
bury during that remarkable session when the exclusion and
habeas corpus bills were powerfully supported by his lord-
ship s talents and zeal. But the asthma, with which Mr
Locke was afflicted, obliged him to pass the greater part
of his time either at Oxford or in the west of England;
notwithstanding which, several passages in his Journal
plainly show his sense of the delirium which still prevailed
upon the subject of the Popish Plot. The trials of the five
Jesuits, and of Langhorne, the lawyer, were then going on,
or in preparation ; thatof Sir George Wakeman, the queen’s
physician, took place in the month of July, when he was
acquitted. This may be said to have terminated the frenzy,
so disgraceful to the nation; for, excepting thatof Strafford,
Wakeman’s was the last of the trials. Lord Shaftesbury
was now in avowed opposition to the court; and for some
time his party had every success that could be expected,
short of passing the exclusion bill, in which they were
always foiled by the House of Lords. The new parlia¬
ment had been returned with a decisive majority in fa¬
vour of the country party. The king dissolved it, and an¬
other of the very same description was chosen. This the
king also dissolved suddenly in March 1681 ; and, within
a month or two, the most humiliating spectacle which the
history of popular fickleness presents, either in ancient or
modern times, was exhibited by the people of England.
Ihe whole tide of popularity now turned in favour of
the court and the king, and even the Duke of York. The
sanguinary delusions of the Popish Plot seem to have
stiicken the infatuated nation with a kind of compunctious
self-hatred, which was to be gratified only by rushing blind¬
ly to the opposite extremity. From grand juries, the bench
of justices in the counties, cities, and boroughs, the fran¬
chises and corporations, many manors, the companies in
towns, and, lastly, from the very apprentices, addresses
were sent up, the purport of which was to declare unlimit¬
ed confidence in the king, readiness to devote lives and
fortunes to his service, condemnation of the exclusion bill,
and charges of a seditious and even treasonable nature
against the late parliamentfor having faithfully represented
the sense, or rather the violence, of those very parties on
the subject of popery and the Duke of York. As for the
clergy, they struck up even a higher note of servility,
evincing as much zeal for the duke’s succession “ as if a
Popish king had been a special blessing of heaven to be
much longed by a Protestant church.”3 The court per¬
ceived its advantage, and improved it by turning out of
the commissions of the peace and the militia all whose
attachment was considered as doubtful. And then began
that campaign of judicial murders, which continued with¬
out pity or remorse until the end of this reign, and which
plainly showed, as indeed the whole history of despotism
in this island proves, that, with scarcely any exception,
the judges of the land have ever been found the ready in¬
struments of the most cruel and profligate of our tyrants.
Indeed almost the only person who escaped their servile
violence was the least deserving of those whom the court
had resolved to destroy. Lord Shaftesbury being charged
with high treason, the grand jury threw out the bill; but
this was the last instance of resistance to the pleasure of
the court. All the other victims of its malignity were regu¬
larly handed over to the “justice’’ then administered by the
despot’s ermined sycophants, who, we are authorized by
legislative authority to say, murdered them in detail. As
it was manifestly dangerous for Shaftesbury to rely upon
the frail chance of a second escape, he retired to Holland,
where he soon afterwards died; and his illustrious friend^
deeming it unsafe to remain any longer in a country thus
ruled and judged, went also into voluntary exile, about
the close of the year 1683.4
At this period Locke was removed from his studentship
at Christ Church, by virtue of an illegal order of the kina:,
cheerfully, nay, almost thankfully, submitted to by the time¬
serving priest who then held the see at Oxford and the
deanery of Christ Church. The common version of this
memorable passage in his life, which treats it as an expul¬
sion, and as the act of the university, is incorrect; it was
merely a deprivation of his collegiate situation by the dean
and chapter of the lesser body. The correspondence be¬
tween the court of St James’s and their wretched slaves of
the university is very remarkable. In November 1684 Sun¬
derland writes to Bishop Fell that the king understands
that “one Mr Locke, who belonged to the late Lord Shaftes¬
bury, and has on several occasions behaved himself very
facetiously and undutifully to the government, is a student
ot Christ Church, and adds, “ that his majesty would have
him removed from being a student, and that in order thereto
the bishop would let them know the method of doing it.”
Ihe answer of the right reverend prelate is instinct with
Locke.
Burnet, History of his own Times, vol. ii. p. 477.
1 Temple, Memoirs from 1629 to his retirement.
3 Burnet, History of his own Times, vol. ii. p. 501.
<JwJcSat thf TtrAr\not,behirid the ermine in the foul contamination of those times, abundant proof may be found both in the
geneial conduct of the church as described by Burnet, and in the strain composed by the heads of the hierarchy, to testify the erati
tude of the nation for its enslavement. Lord King has given a form of prayer appointed for the thanksgfvSlden unon the 9th of
ttlSXVaK ‘f®1 *0 rh from the SP and .ha^fem
CWi T d 1 f th Ch™11311 church of England.” Ihey exult in the reflection that God “ had given their gracious kimr
erih?wpr\th?v,ne-tkiS 0t hlS fnlmleS ;”ihat 1S’ of the virtuous Lord Bussell, who had suffered, and of Sidney, who was yet to be dellverl
LctTon of^^ra^andn tr l / acknowledge that in all ages the Almighty has “ shed forth his power in the miraculous pro-
k-ngS ; and “ymld from the very bottom of their hearts, unfeigned thanks” for the delivery of those
Tf° “ghteous and religious princes, Charles and James, from the “ unnatural and hellish conspiracy of wicked and ungodly men.”
SrnourS *ouPtriainmaand ^ ^ ^ the Crown ma>' Wer fl™™h 5 and, under the7form of a prayer for e^emTes,
thL wPork by quoting Sem.^ ^ ^ P°lltlCal antag0msts’ exPressed in ^rms so gross that we shall not pollute the purity of
unparalleled meanness and treachery. After stating that he
had “ for divers years had an eye upon ” Locke, in order, no
doubt, to find matter of charge against him, but that (“ so
close had his guard been of himself’) all this episcopal espio¬
nage proved unavailing; and “although very frequently,
both in public and in private, discourses have been purposely
introduced, to the disparagement of his master the Earl of
Shaftesbury, his party and designs, he could never be pro¬
voked to take any notice, or discover in word or look the
least concern,” Bishop Fell proceeds thus : “ He has here
a physician’s place, which frees him from the exercise of
the college, and the obligation which others have to resi¬
dence in it, and he is now abroad upon want of health; but
notwithstanding that, I have summoned him to return home ;
which is done with this prospect, that, if he comes not hack,
he will be liable to expulsion for contumacy ; if he does, he
will be answerable to your lordship for what he thall be
found to have done amiss ; it being probable, that though he
may have been thus cautious here, where he knew himself
to be suspected, he has laid himself more open in London,
where a general liberty of speaking was used, and where
the execi’able designs against his majesty and his govern¬
ment were managed and pursued. If he does not return
by the first day of January next, which is the time limited
to him, I shall be enabled of course to proceed against him
to expulsion. [But if this method seem not effectual or
speedy enough, and his majesty shall please to command his
immediate remove, upon the receipt thereof, by the dean
and chapter, it shall accordingly be executed.” This letter
is dated the 8th of November 1684. The immediate answer
of Sunderland brings the grossly illegal order of the crown
to deprive ; and the bishop forthwith replies that it has been
“ fully executed,” which elicits an expression of satisfaction
on the part of the king “ with the college’s ready obedience
an expression with which that learned body was probably
satisfied, until its members should have occasion for some
more substantial mark of approbation. But this is not all.
There is still extant a letter by Bishop Fell, dated the 1st
of June 1680, about four years before this, and addressed to
Mr Locke himself, which proves that this right reverend
pander of despotism, and forward tool of persecution, was
the friend of the man whom he now showed himself so
eager to beti’ay.
There can be but one opinion as to this prelate’s base
and treacherous conduct in the matter of Mr Locke’s remov¬
al from his college; yet we must not shut our eyes to the
lesson which is afforded by the proceeding of the court.
It is a mistake to suppose that absolute princes are not so
much to be abhorred as mean and petty tyrants, because
they never come into conflict with individuals. Upon this
subject, which he had long and profoundly considered,
Mr Fox has, in his history, expressed a different opinion.
“ Thus,” says he, “ while, without the shadow of a crime,
Mr Locke lost a situation attended with some emolument,
and great convenience, was the university deprived of, or
rather thus, from the base principles of servility, did she
cast away, the man, the having produced whom is now her
chiefest glory; and thus to those who are not determined
to be blind, did the true nature of absolute power disco¬
ver itself, against which the middling station is not more
secure than the most exalted. Tyranny, when glutted
with the blood of the great and the plunder of the rich, I
will condescend to hunt humbler game; and make the
peaceable and innocent fellow of a college the object of
its persecution. In this instance, one would almost ima¬
gine there was some instinctive sagacity in the govern¬
ment of that time, which pointed out to them, even be¬
fore he had made himself known to the world, the man
who was destined to be the most successful adversary of
superstition and tyranny.” It affords a striking confirma¬
tion of these remarks, that Charles, not satisfied with driv¬
ing Locke from the situation which he held in England,
and which in a great measure formed the means of his
subsistence, followed him to the retreat abroad, where he
had sought shelter from tyranny, and demanded, through
his ambassador at the Hague, that the illustrious exile
should be given up to his vengeance. Locke was there¬
fore obliged to live in concealment during part of his re¬
sidence in Holland; and it was about this time that he,
appropriately enough, composed that admirable Letter on
Toleration, which has ever since its publication been the
chosen manual of the friends of religious liberty.
Mr Locke remained in exile until the Revolution, hav¬
ing refused many offers from powerful friends to obtain
the king’s permission to return. William Penn, amongst
othersfJiaving some favour with James II., and probably
fancying he had more, offered to procure him a pardon;
but Locke nobly refused to accept one, being conscious of
no offence.1 Upon his return to England, he was pressed
to accept a high diplomatic situation in Germany; but de¬
clined, partly from a modest apprehension of his insuffi¬
ciency, and partly from an idea that his health would not
stand the climate, and the service, of which he seems to
have formed a somewhat unfavourable opinion. He states
his reasons in a letter to Lord Mordaunt, afterwards Earl
of Peterborough, in which he says, “ I beg leave to tell
your lordship, that if there be any thing wherein I may
flatter myself I have any degree of capacity to serve his
majesty, it is in some little knowledge I perhaps may have
in the constitutions of my country, the temper of my coun¬
trymen, and the divisions amongst them; whereby I per¬
suade myself I may be more useful to him at home, though
I cannot but see that such an employment would be of
greater advantage to myself abroad, would but my health
consent to it.”
His great work, the Essay concerning Human Under¬
standing, was first published in the year 1690. The se¬
cond edition appeared in 1694, the third in 1697, and the
fourth in 1700.2 The second edition received an addition¬
al chapter, namely, that on Identity; and the fourth, two
more chapters, one on Association of Ideas, and another on
Enthusiasm. Besides these entire chapters, various other
partial additions and alterations were made by the author
in the editions referred to. By this work Mr Locke soon
became involved in several controversies. That with Stil-
lingfleet, bishop of Worcester, is well known ; and he also
appears to have been teazed with another, which the third
Lord Shaftesbury, the . distinguished author of the Cha¬
racteristics, insisted upon carrying on in private, by means
of letters, which, though clever enough, are at the same
time models of flippancy and affectation.
Soon afterwards, Locke took an active and most useful
1 Much about the same time, Penn busied himself with Bishop Burnet, and tried to bring him also over to England. The bishop,
however, seems to have had but very little confidence in him. “ He was,” says he, “ a talking vain man ; he had such an opinion
of his own faculty of persuading, that he thought none could stand before it; but he was singular in that opinion, for he had a tedious,
luscious way, that was not apt to overcome a man’s reason, though it might tire his patience.” (Burnet, History of his own Times,
vol. i. p. 693.) He tried to pe'rsuade the Prince of Orange, and indeed undertook to bring him into the king’s measures, but of
course without the least success. He also told Bishop Burnet many prophecies which he said he had from “ a man that pretended
to a commerce with angels.” Amongst other things, he foretold, in 1686, that a change in the face of affairs would happen in 1688,
and amaze all the world. But when, after the Revolution, Burnet asked him if that was the event, he had the rare candour to ad-
mit that he meant “ the full settlement of the nation, upon a toleration, to quiet and unite all men’s minds.”
2 Leclerc, Bihliothequc Choisic, tom. vi. p. 379.
LOCKE.
413
part in the great political discussions of the time. The
toleration act, it is well known, was chiefly promoted by
him, although he always lamented that it stopped so far
short of the true point. His treatise on Civil Government,
written in defence of the Revolution, against the Tories,
and a second letter in defence of toleration, were both
published in 1690. The act passed in 1662, establishing
a censorship of the press, under pretence of preventing
irreligious publications, remained in force, as is well known,
until the year 1694, when it was allowed to expire, the
House of Commons having refused to renew it. Upon
that occasion Mr Locke probably prepared the curious and
valuable piece which was first published by Lord King,
and contains the author’s observations upon the objection¬
able clauses of the bill. In considering these, it is inte¬
resting to observe that one of the substitutes for a licenser,
which he points out, is the law passed above a century
afterwards ; whilst at the Revolution, when men’s tempers
were much heated, and their part}' differences ran as high
as they ever did since, our ancestors were content to
abolish the censorship, which had existed about thirty-
two years, and to take no surety against the licentious¬
ness of the press beyond that which had been provided
by the common law. “ I know not,” says Mr Locke in
the admirable piece referred to, “ why a man should not
have liberty to print whatever he would speak ; and to be
answerable for the one, just as he is for the other, if he
transgresses the law in either.”
About the same period commenced the intimacy between
Newton and Locke, which forms so interesting a part of
their biography. Of that memorable friendship some cu¬
rious and instructive monuments have been preserved.
One of these will more particularly interest mathematicians.
It is a demonstration of the fundamental proposition in the
Principia, and its principal corollary ; and we presume that
it must have been drawn out for the purpose of explaining
the matter fully to Locke. Lord King informs us that the
paper containing it is indorsed “ Mr Newton, March 1689;”
and thinks that it was communicated before the publication
of the Principia. But however the indorsement may be ac¬
counted for, this is a mistake; the Principia having, as is
well known, been published in 1687. The demonstration
begins with three hypotheses, of which two are the first
axioms or laws of motion, and the third is the first corollary
to the third axiom in b. i. prop, 1 of the Principia. Then
follows the important proposition of the radius-vector de¬
scribing equal areas in equal times, being the well-known
proposition first of the second section, and demonstrated
in nearly the same manner in which it is there given. Next
comes the first proposition of the third section, in substance,
but given in the form of a theorem upon the law of attrac¬
tion applied to bodies moving in elliptical orbits. The con¬
struction and demonstration differ materially from those
contained in the Principia; and three lemmas are prefixed,
the substance of one of which may be recognised in the
early part of the demonstration given in the Principia,
whilst it forms the subject of a note in the Jesuits’ com¬
mentary on that proposition. These lemmas being ex¬
pressed in a more explanatory form than those of the Prin¬
cipia usually are, we may hence conclude, that Newton’s
illustrious pupil had required him to state as plainly as
possible the grounds of his fundamental doctrine.
But these things, however interesting to mathematicians,
will not arrest the attention of the general reader so much
as the very curious correspondence between Newton and
Locke, which Lord King has given to the world. Part of
this correspondence relates to the letter which Newton had
addressed to Locke upon the famous verse in John (1 John,
v. 7), and the controverted passage in Timothy (1 Tim. iii.
16). He had been desirous at one time to have his re¬
searches upon these texts published ; but being anxious to
avoid controversy, and aware of the virulence with which he
would be attacked as soon as his theory became known, he
begged Locke to get it translated into French and published
on the Continent. Locke, therefore, sent the manuscript to
his friend and correspondent Leclerc, without disclosing
the name of the author, for the purpose of having it trans¬
lated and published in Holland. But some time after¬
wards Newton appears to have become alarmed at the risk
of being discovered ; and on the 16th of February 1692, he
addressed a letter to Mr Locke, in which he says, “ Let
me entreat you to stop the translation and impression so
soon as you can ; for I design to suppress them.” Accord-
ingly, Leclerc did not proceed with the publication, but
retained the papers until Locke’s death in 1704, and, never
having been informed to whom they belonged, deposited
them in the library of the Remonstrants, where they were
found, and published in 1754. Other parts of Newton’s
correspondence relate to his opinions upon passages in the
Prophecies, which appear to have engrossed a large share
of his attention, especially after he had ceased to devote
himself so unremittingly to science as he did in the early
part of his life.
But the most singular part of this correspondence re¬
lates to that affecting passage in Newton’s life, in which
it appears that his great mind, whether from bodily ail¬
ment, some original morbid predisposition, or from too
vast a burden being imposed upon it, had, for a season,
been liable to aberrations. And, in the first place, we
shall refer to the authority upon which this passage in the
history of Newton’s life rests ; a fact of which so melan¬
choly a confirmation is afforded by his correspondence
with Mr Locke. In a manuscript diary of Lluygens, pre¬
served in the library of Leyden, there is a noterin which
it is stated that, on the 29th of May 1694, a Scotchman
of the name of Colin (or Collins) informed him, that,
eighteen months before, Newton had become deranged,
in consequence either of too severe application, or of dis¬
tress occasioned by the loss of his papers, which were ac¬
cidentally burned ; that his alienation had first appeared
in a conference with the archbishop; and that, having
been confined by his friends, he gradually recovered, so as
of late (that is, prior to the date of Colin’s communication
to Huygens) to have become capable of resuming his pur¬
suits. This would carry back the period of his being taken
ill to December 1692; and there is at Cambridge a manu¬
script letter of Mr de la Pryne, dated in February 1693,
in which the well-known circumstance of the burning of
the papers containing his calculations, by a lap-dog, is
mentioned, and a statement added, that Newton “ was
so troubled thereat, that every one thought he would have
run mad, and he was not himself for a month after.”1
These facts would seem to fix the winter of 1692-1693
as the period at which this malady commenced.
Locke.
1 This shows how wide of the truth is the common version of the anecdote, which gives it as a striking instance of Newton’s ex¬
treme composure and patience, that he contented himself with exclaiming to the little dog, “ Diamond,” thou little knowest what
mischief thou hast done !” The absurdity of this, and some other anecdotes of a similar kind, consists in the supposition upon which
they all proceed,' that Newton was raised above the ordinary impulses, feelings, and weaknesses of humanity. But there is no evi¬
dence of any kind to show that he was exempted from the common frailties of our nature, and some which goes to establish the con¬
trary. In “ patient thinking,” no one, dead or living, ever approached him; but his temper could occasionally be ruffled, like that
ot any other man ; and in such cases, it is highly improbable that excited feelings would find expression in a miserable scrap of sen¬
timent. When provoked with Flamsteed, he called the astronomer royal “ a puppy,” just as any body else would have done in simi¬
lar circumstances.
414
LOCKE.
A degree of irritability and suspicion may, however, be
discerned in his correspondence during the earlier part of
the year 1692. The letter written to Mr Locke, concerning
the papers which had been sent to Leclerc, betrays morbid
feeling; and there is one respecting Mr Montague, after¬
wards Lord Halifax, which is tinged with very unmerited
suspicions of that person. “ Being fully convinced,” says he,
“ that Mr Montague, upon an old grudge which I thought
had been worn out, is false to me, I have done with him.”
Mr Montague had been his colleague in the representation
of Cambridge ; and having always had the highest esteem
for Newton, obtained for him, a few years afterwards, the
office of Master of the Mint. There is likewise another
letter, dated in August of the same year, containing a
good deal of suspicion insinuated against Mr Boyle. But
these indications would have excited no rash observation,
had they not been followed by the letters of the next year.
In one dated in September 1693, addressed to Mr Locke,
he says, “ Being of opinion that you endeavoured to em¬
broil me with women, and by other means, I was so much
affected with it, as that when one told me you were sickly
and would not live, I answered, ’twere better you were
dead. I desire you to forgive me this uncharitableness.
For I am now satisfied that what you have done is just,
and I beg your pardon for my having hard thoughts of
you for it, and for representing that you struck at the root
of morality, in a principle you laid [down] in your book
of ideas, and designed to pursue in another book, and that
I took you for a Hobbist.” Locke’s answer is admirable;
full of excellent and amiable feeling towards his illustrious
friend, and, at the same time, breathing the dignity of a
mind wholly unconscious of offence. It is dated at Oates,
5th of October 1693. “ I have been, ever since I first knew
you, so entirely and sincerely your friend,” says Mr Locke,
“ and thought you so much mine, that I could not have
believed what you tell me of yourself, had I had it from
any body else. And though I cannot but be mightily
troubled that you should have had so many wrong and
unjust thoughts of me, yet, next to the return of good
offices, such as from a sincere good will I have ever done
you, I receive your acknowledgment of the contrary as
the kindest thing you could have done me, since it gives
me hopes I have not lost a friend I so much valued. After
what your letter expresses, I shall not need to say any¬
thing to justify myself to you. I shall always think your
own reflection on my carriage, both to you and all man¬
kind, will sufficiently do that. Instead of that, give me
leave to assure you, that I am more ready to forgive you
than you can be to desire it; and I do it so freely and
fully, that I wish for nothing more than the opportunity
to convince you that I truly love and esteem you; and
that I have still the same good will for you as if nothing
of this had happened. To confirm this to you more fully,
I should be glad to meet you anywhere ; and the ra¬
ther, because the conclusion of your letter makes me ap¬
prehend that it would not be wholly useless to you. But
whether you think it fit or not, I leave wholly to you. I
shall always be ready to serve you to my utmost, in any
way you shall like, and shall only need your commands or
permission to do it.*’ The letter which this called forth
from Newton shows plainly the unhappy state to which
he must have been reduced. “ The last winter,” says he,
“ by sleeping too often by my fire, I got an ill habit of
sleeping; and a distemper, which this summer has been
epidemical, put me farther out of order, so that when I
wrote you, I had not slept an hour a night for a fortnight
together, and for five nights together not a wink. I re¬
member I wrote to you, but what I said of your book I
remember not.” Here we have direct evidence that the
mind of this illustrious man had been in a state of obscu¬
ration, and that the temporary darkness was beginning to
be dispelled. These disclosures may also serve to explain Locke
the otherwise remarkable fact, that Newton had completed
all his discoveries in science before attaining the age of
forty-five, and that he did little or nothing after that, al¬
though he lived in the enjoyment of health forty years
longer.
In 1695, Mr Locke was appointed a commissioner of
trade and plantations. For this office, worth about L.1000
a year, he was indebted to the friendship of Lord Somers,
who reposed great confidence in him, and paid much de¬
ference to his judgment in the practical details of politics.
About the same time the bad state of the coin was such as
to call for the attention of the government. The practi¬
cal men, as they delight to call themselves, though they
are often the most fanciful of speculators (only that their
theory being founded on a partial view of a few facts, and
therefore necessarily false, assumes the shape of detail),
recommended as the obvious remedy an alteration of the
standard ; but, happily for the credit and the interest of
the country, it had at that time ministers both honest and
sagacious enough to pursue a different course. Lord So¬
mers and Sir William Turnbull preferred the counsels of
Mr Locke to those of Mr Lowndes and his practical friends,
and the great measure of the recoinage was carried through.
The difference between the embarrassments which affect¬
ed the currency in the reign of William III. and those which
have occurred in our own time, are well stated by Lord
King in his Life of Locke. “ The coin, at the period first
mentioned, had been deteriorated by the frauds of indivi¬
duals and the neglect of the public; but when the evil was
felt, and the remedy pointed out, the parliament, notwith¬
standing the pressure of the war, and the false theories of
the practical men of those days, applied the proper reme¬
dy at the proper time, before any great permanent debt
had been incurred. In our own time, the depreciation of
the currency was entirely to be attributed to the bank and
the government. The paper-money of a banking company,
without the one indispensable security against it, payment
in specie on demand, was in an evil hour substituted in
place of the king’s lawful coin ; and in order that the minis¬
ter might avoid the imputation of being an unskilful finan¬
cier, who borrowed money on unfavourable terms, a debt
of unexampled magnitude was accumulated in a debased
currency, to be ultimately discharged in specie at the full
and lawful standard. It must be confessed, that by the
tardy act of retributive justice, which was passed in 1819,
the punishment inflicted upon the nation was in the exact
proportion to the former deviations from good faith and
sound principle; and we may at least hope that the seve¬
rity of the penalty will in future prevent a repetition of
the same folly.”
The increasing infirmities of Mr Locke, arising from
his asthmatic complaint, induced him, in 1700, to resign
his seat at the board of trade, notwithstanding the press¬
ing instances of Lord Chancellor Somers. He felt an in¬
vincible repugnance to retain the office when he found
that, from the state of his health, he must leave a great por¬
tion of its duties unperformed. For the same reason, he de¬
clined a proposal of another and apparently a higher situa¬
tion, made to him by the king himself, who sent for him
to Kensington that he might persuade him to accept it.
The air of London appears to have been unfavourable to
his ailment; and he spent the last four years of his life at
the seat of Sir Francis and Lady Masham, at Oates, in Es¬
sex, where he had occasionally resided during many pre¬
ceding years. In this hospitable and friendly retreat, his
chief occupation consisted in the study of the Scriptures,
an employment in which he found so much gratification
that he regretted not having devoted more of his time to
it in the earlier part of his life. But, though thus occu¬
pied, his affection for his friends and his love of his coun-
Lcoce. try suffered no diminution. His correspondence, at this
period, with his cousin Sir Peter, afterwards Lord Chan"
cellor King, is full of the gentlest affection, mixed with
his wonted sagacity, and breathing the warmest attach¬
ment to the liberties of his country.
In 1703, Locke suffered severely from the asthmatic
complaint with which he had been so long afflicted ; but
though labouring under an incurable disorder, his natural
cheerfulness never forsook him, and, whilst perfectly resign¬
ed to his own fate, he continued to the last deeply interest¬
ed in the welfare of his friends. His literary occupation at
this time was the study of, and preparation of a commentary
on, St Paul’s Epistles, afterwards published amongst his
posthumous works. In October 1704, his malady had great¬
ly increased. On the 27th of that month, Lady Masham,
not finding him in his study as usual, went to his bedside,
when he told her that the fatigue of getting up the day
before had been too much for his strength, and that he
never expected to rise again from his bed. He had now,
he said, finished his career in this world, and in all pro¬
bability would not outlive the night, certainly not survive
beyond the next day or two. After taking some refresh¬
ment, he observed to those present that he wished them
all happiness when he was gone. To Lady Masham, who
remained with him, and whose kind attentions had soothed
so many hours of hopeless suffering, he said that he
thanked God he had passed a happy life, but that now he
found that all was vanity; and he earnestly exhorted her
to consider this life as only a preparation for a better and
happier state hereafter. He would not suffer her to watch
by him during the night, observing, that perhaps he might
be able to sleep; but that if any change should happen,
he would send for her. Having had no sleep in the night,
he was taken out of bed, and carried into his study, where
he slept for some time in his chair. When he awoke he
desired to be dressed, and then heard Lady Masham read
the Psalms, apparently with great attention, until, per¬
ceiving that his end drew near, he stopped her, and a few
minutes afterwards expired, about three o’clock in the
evening of the 28th of October, in the seventy third year
of his age.
It is difficult to say whether mankind have been more
indebted to this illustrious man as a philosopher or as a po¬
litician. The publication of his great work, the Essay con¬
cerning Human Understanding, undoubtedly fixed an era
in the history of intellectual science. On this subject,
however, it is only necessary here to refer the reader to
the First Preliminary Dissertation (Part ii. sect. i. p. 100,
et seq.), where the highest attainments in philosophy, an
eloquence worthy of Plato himself, and a cautious, discri¬
minating sagacity, all happily combined, have been em¬
ployed in the exposition of Locke’s speculative labours. But
his writings and his personal exertions in favour of liberty,
and more especially of religious toleration, may truly be
said to have produced a greater effect than can be as¬
cribed to the efforts of perhaps any other individual who
bore a part in the transactions of the important period
immediately succeeding the Revolution. The true doc¬
trines of toleration were first promulgated by him in
their full extent; he asserted the principle in its greatest
amplitude, that opinion is not a matter cognizable by the
civil magistrate, and that belief, being the result of rea¬
son, is wholly independent of the will, and the subject
neither of praise nor of censure, far less the object of
punishment or reward. It is well known, indeed, that in¬
tolerance had not ceased at the Reformation ; that the
Protestant church had not put an end to persecution.
The influence of the Reformation had, do doubt, been sa¬
lutary in this, as in other respects; but persecution had
been mitigated by very slow degrees ; and, in its eai’ly
stages, the reformed church was to the full as intolerant,
and nearly as persecuting, as the hierarchy which it had
supplanted. In proof of this, it is only necessary to refer
to the numerous-executions of Catholics, and even of Pro¬
testant dissenters, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; ex¬
ecutions which were not unfrequently accompanied by
the most cruel tortures.1 At a later period, the Episco¬
palian church of Scotland not only equalled, but even
surpassed the cruelties of the older times ; and the intole¬
rance of the Presbyterians during the whole of the seven¬
teenth century is too well known to require any particu¬
lar exposition. It is from the era of the Revolution that
we must date the establishment of that toleration wdiich
the Reformation had in no respect secured ; and it has
been reserved for our own times to carry the principles
of Locke to their full extent, and to supply those defi¬
ciencies in the scheme of religious freedom which he and
his coadjutors were unfortunately obliged to leave in their
great work. In the matter of civil government, the obli¬
gations of mankind generally, and of his countrymen in
particular, to the genius, the wisdom, and the sagacity of
Locke, are not less conspicuous and important. He it was
who not only exposed the folly, as well as injustice, of the
slavish doctrines which had hitherto prevailed, but who
placed upon a solid foundation the true principles of legis¬
lation and government.
All the works of this great man have been collected, and
frequently reprinted in different forms. They consist of, 1.
Three Letters upon Toleration, the first (in Latin) printed
at London in 1689 ; 2. A Register of the Changes of the
Air observed at Oxford, inserted in Mr Boyle’s General
History of the Air, 1692 ; 3. New Method for a Common¬
place Book, 1686; 4. Essay concerning Human Under¬
standing, 1690; 5. Treatises of Civil Government, 1690,
1694, andI698; 6. Some Considerations of the Consequences
of lowering the Interest and raising the Value of Money,
1691 and 1695 ; 7. Observations on a printed paper en¬
titled For coining Silver Money in England ; 8. Farther
Observations concerning the raising the Value of Money ;
9. Some Thoughts concerning Education, 1695; 10. The
Reasonableness of Christianity, 1695; 11. Vindication of
the Reasonableness, 1695; 12. A Second Vindication,
1696; 13. A Letter to the Bishop of Rochester, 1697;
14. Reply to the Bishop of Rochester, 1697 ; 15. Reply,
in answer to the Bishop’s second Letter, 1698; 16. Post¬
humous works of Mr John Locke, containing, Of the Con¬
duct of the Understanding, intended as a supplement to
the Essay, An examination of Malebranche’s Opinion that
we see all things in God, A Discourse of Miracles, part of
a Fourth Letter on Toleration, Memoirs relating to the
Life of Anthony first Earl of Shaftesbury, &c. At his
death he left several manuscripts, from which his executors.
Sir Peter King and Mr Anthony Collins, published, in
1705, his paraphrase and notes upon St Paul’s Epistle to
1 Of the persecuting spirit of that age it is scarcely possible for us to form any adequate conception. Fox, the martvrologist, ad¬
dressed to Queen Elizabeth an earnest entreaty that she would be pleased to put a stop, not to persecution, but only to" the burning
of the Anabaptists in Smithfield. He seems to have thought it a great deal too much to seek that no punishments, even no capital
punishments, should be inflicted for the crime of dissent; he merely begs that such “ horrors” as burning should be disallowed.
“ There are chains,” says Fox, “ there is exile, there are branding and stripes, and even the gibbet; this alone (burning) I earnest¬
ly deprece.” It is only one form of cruelty that shocks the soul of the martyrologist; he seems to have felt great “ horror” at the
infliction of death by fire ; but he makes no objection to the application of such other specifics, in case of non-conformity or dissent,
as chains, exile, branding, stripes, and even the gallows itself. Disallow fire, and he is satisfied. What a picture does this exhibit
of the glorious reign of “ the good Queen Bess !”
416
LCD
LOG
Locle the Galatians, which were soon followed by those upon the
II Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians, with an Essay pre-
Lodi. ^ fixed for the understanding of St Paul’s Epistles, by con-
suiting St Paul himself. In 1708 were likewise publish¬
ed some familiar letters which passed between Mr Locke
and several of his friends. (See Lord King’s Life of John
Locke, London, 1829, in 4to; and particularly the Edin¬
burgh Review, vol. 1. p. 1, et seq.) (a.)
LOCLE, a market-town of the province of Valangin, in
the canton of Neufchatel, in Switzerland. It is 1487 feet
above the level of the sea, being situated in a deep valley
of the Jura Mountains. It contains 489 houses, and 4670
inhabitants. It is remarkable as being the first place
where a watch was made by John Ri, who taught the art
to his neighbours, who have since continued the operation.
Hosiery and thread-lace are now also made. Long. 6. 49.
35. E. Lat. 47. 3. 15. N.
LOCMINE, a town of France, in the department of
Morbihan, and arrondissement of Pontivy. It contains
1700 inhabitants, but within the bounds of the parish there
are 9500 persons.
LOCRI, or Local Epizephyrii, in Ancient Geography,
a town on the Ionian Sea, near the promontory Zephy-
rium. The inhabitants are said to be the first who used a
code of written laws.
LOCUS Geometricus, a line by which a local or inde¬
terminate problem is solved. A locus is a line, any point
of which may equally solve an indeterminate problem.
Thus, if a right line suffice for the construction of the equa¬
tion, it is called locus ad rectum ; if a circle, locus ad circu-
lum ; if a parabola, locus ad parabolam ; if an ellipsis, lo¬
cus ad eUipsin ; and so of the rest of the conic sections.
LOCUTIUS, in Mythology, the god of speech amongst
the Romans, called by Livy Anis Locutius.
LOCUTORIUM, a hall or apartment in monasteries,
where the monks and other religious persons met after
dinner to converse.
LODDON, a market-town of the county of Norfolk,
and hundred of its own name, 111 miles from London, and
five from Bungay. The market is held on Saturday, but
is inconsiderable. The population amounted in 1801 to
799, in 1811 to 937, in 1821 to 1038, and in 1831 to 1175.
LODEVE, an arrondissement of the department of the
Herault, in France, 522 square miles in extent. It com¬
prehends five cantons, divided into seventy-five communes,
containing 51,500 inhabitants. The chief place is the city
of the same name, situated between two lofty mountains,
at the foot of the Cevennes, on the river Ergue. It con¬
tains 840 houses, and 850 inhabitants. It is an ill-built
but an industrious place, yielding, besides much wine,
woollens, silks, and hats, olive oil, and brandy. Long. 3.
15. E. Lat. 43. 47. N.
LODGEMENT, in military affairs, a work made by the
besiegers in some part of a fortification, after the besieged
have been driven out, in order to maintain it, and cover
themselves from the enemy’s fire.
LODI, a delegation or province within the government
of Milan, in the Austrian kingdom of Venetian Lombar¬
dy. It is surrounded by the other Austrian provinces of
Bergamo, Cremona, Pavia, and Milan. It extends over 709
square miles, and comprehends two cities, eight market-
towns, 189 villages, with 27,726 houses, and 195,485 in¬
habitants. It is well watered by various streams, some
running to the Po, and others to the Adda; and the whole
is fertile. The district around the city comprehends some
of the richest lands of the Austro-Italian dominions. It is
chiefly a rich pasture, upon which the largest herds of cows
are fed. The dairies are managed with much skill and
attention, and yield the greater part of that rich cheese
known in most parts of Europe by the name Parmesan,
but which in Italy is commonly described by the name of
this city, as Fromaggio Lodisana. The capital is the city
of the same name, situated on the river Adda, over which
is a bridge that was the scene of one of the most daring
and successful events of the early years of Bonaparte’s
military career. It is an old, extensive city, the see of a
bishop, and of the provincial courts of law. It contains a
cathedral and nineteen other churches, and 1412 houses,
with 17,812 inhabitants. There is a fine theatre, a royal
college, and an institution of a collegiate kind for the edu¬
cation of females. The chief employment consists in
spinning and weaving silk, and there are also some manu¬
factures of earthenware and china. Long. 9. 25. 32. E.
Lat. 45. 18. 31. N.
LOG, in the Jewish antiquities, a measure which con¬
tained a quarter of a cab, and consequently five sixths of
a pint. There is mention made of a log (2 Kings, vi. 25)
under the name of a fourth part of a cab. But in Leviticus
the word log often signifies the measure of oil which lepers
were to offer at the temple after they were cured of their
disease. Dr Arbuthnot thinks that the log was a measure
of liquids, the seventy-second part of the bath or ephah,
and'the twelfth part of the hin.
Log, a nautical term, signifying a small piece of timber,
of a triangular, sectoral, or quadrantal figure, generally
about a quarter of an inch thick, and five or six inches
from the angular point to the circumference. It is balan¬
ced by a thin plate of lead, nailed to the arch, or circular
side, so as to swim perpendicularly in the water.
Log-Line, a little cord or line, fastened to the log by
means of two legs, one of which passes through a hole at
the corner, and is knotted on the opposite side, whilst the
other leg is attached to the arch by a pin fixed into an¬
other hole, so as to draw out occasionally. By these legs
the log is suspended in equilibrio ; and the line thus an¬
nexed to it is wound round a reel, fixed for that purpose
in the gallery of the ship.
The use of the log and log-line is to keep account and
make an estimate of the ship’s way or distance run, which
is done by observing the length of line unwound in half a
minute’s time, told by a half-minute glass; for so many
knots as run out in that time, so many miles the ship sails
in an hour. Thus, if there be four knots veered out in
half a minute, the ship is computed to run four miles an
hour. The author of this device for measuring the ship’s
way is not known; and no mention of it occurs till the
year 1607, in an East India voyage published by Purchas;
but from that time its name occurs in other voyages
amongst his collections, and henceforward it was noticed
both by our own authors and by foreigners; as by Gunter
in 1623, Snellius in 1624, and by almost all the succeed¬
ing writers on navigation.
The log is a very precarious mode of computation, and
must always be corrected by experience, much uncertain¬
ty arising from the motions of the ship, the winds of vari¬
able force, the friction of the reel, and the lightness of the
log in the course of the current. See Navigation.
Perpetual Log, a machine so called by its inventor, Mr
Gottlieb of London, is intended for keeping a constant
and regular account of the rate of a ship’s velocity in the
interval of heaving the log.
Loc-Board, a sort of table, divided into several columns,
containing the hours of the day and night, the direction
of the winds, the course of the ship, and all the material
occurrences that happen during the twenty-four hours, or
from noon to noon ; together with the latitude by observa¬
tion. From this table the officers of the ship are furnished
with materials for compiling their journals.
Loc-Book, a book into which the contents of the log-
board are daily copied at noon, together with every circum¬
stance deserving notice which happens to the ship, either
at sea or in harbour.
417
LOGARITHMS.
I. HISTORY OF LOGARITHMS.
Silst(V> The labour and time required for performing the arith-
metical operations of multiplication, division, and the ex¬
traction of roots, were at one time considerable obstacles
to the improvement of various branches of knowledge, and
in particular the science of astronomy. But about the end
of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seven¬
teenth, several mathematicians began to consider by what
means they might simplify these operations, or substitute
for them others more easily performed. Their efforts pro¬
duced some ingenious contrivances for abridging calcula¬
tions ; but of these the most complete by far was that of
John Napier, baron of Merchiston, in Scotland, who in¬
vented a system of numbers called logarithms, so adapted
to the numbers to be multiplied or divided, that these
being arranged in the form of a table, each opposite the
number called its logarithm, the product of any two num¬
bers in the table was found opposite that formed by the
addition of their logarithms; and, on the contrary, the
quotient arising from the division of one number by ano¬
ther was found opposite that formed by the subtraction of
the logarithm of the divisor from that of the dividend;
and similar simplifications took place in the still more la¬
borious operations of involution and evolutioh. But be¬
fore we proceed to relate more particularly the circum¬
stances of this invention, it will be proper to give a general
view of the nature of logarithms, and of the circumstances
which render them of use in calculation.
Let there be formed two series of numbers, the one
constituting a geometrical progression, whose first term is
unity or 1, and the common ratio any number whatever;
and the other an arithmetical progression, whose first term
is 0, and the common difference also any number what¬
ever ; for example, suppose the common ratio of t^ie geo¬
metrical series to be 2, and the common difference of the
arithmetical series 1, and let them be written thus :
Geom. Prog.
1
2
4
8
16
32
64
128
256
512
1024
2048
4096
&c.
Arith. Prog.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
&c.
Here the terms in the arithmetical series are called the
logarithms of the corresponding terms of the geometrical
series; that is, 0 is the logarithm of 1, and 1 is the lo¬
garithm of 2, and 2 is the logarithm of 4, and 3 that of 8,
and so on.
From the manner in which the two series are related to
each other, it will readily appear by induction that the
logarithms of the terms of the geometrical series have the
two following properties:
1. The sum of the logarithms of any two numbers or
terms in the geometrical series is the logarithm of that
number, or term of the series, which is equal to their
product.
VOL. xm.
For example, let the terms of the geometrical series History,
be 4 and 32; the corresponding terms of the arithmetical'
series (that is, their logarithms) are 2 and 5: now the
product of the numbers is 128, and the sum of their
logarithms is 7 ; and it appears by inspection of the two
series, that the latter number is the logarithm of the for¬
mer, agreeing with the proposition we are illustrating. In
like manner, if the numbers or terms of the geometrical
series be 16 and 64, the logarithms of which are 4 and 6,
we find from the table that 10=4-}-6 is the logarithm
of 1024=16x64; and so of any other numbers in the
table.
2. The difference of the logarithms of any two numbers
or terms of the geometrical series is the logarithm of
that term which is the quotient arising from the division
of the one number by the other.
Take, for example, the terms 128 and 32, the logarithms
of which are 7 and 5 ; the greater of these numbers divid¬
ed by the less is 4, and the difference of their logarithms
is 2; and by inspecting the two series, this last number
will be found to be the logarithm of the former. In like
manner, if the terms of the geometrical series be 1024
and 16, the logarithms of which are 10 and 4, we find
that 1024-f- 16 = 64, and that 10 — 4 = 6; now, in the
table, the latter number, viz. 6, is the logarithm of the for¬
mer, 64.
These two properties of logarithms, the second of which
indeed is an immediate consequence of the first, enable us
to find with great facility the product or the quotient of any
two terms of a geometrical series to which there is adapted
an arithmetical series, so that each number has its logarithm
opposite to it, as in the preceding short table. For it is
evident, that to multiply two numbers, we have only to add
their logarithms, and opposite to that logarithm which is
the sum we shall find the product required. Thus, to mul¬
tiply 16 by 128; to 4 the logarithm of 16, add 7 the loga¬
rithm of 128, and opposite the sum 11, we find 2048, the
product sought. On the other hand, to divide any num¬
ber in the table by any other, we subtract the logarithm
of the divisor from that of the dividend, and look for the
remainder among the logarithms, and opposite to it we find
the number sought. Thus, to divide 2048 by 128; from
11, the logarithm of 2048, we subtract 7, the logarithm of
128, and opposite the remainder 4, we find 16, the quotient
sought.
Let us now suppose any number of geometrical means
to be interposed between each two adjoining terms of the
preceding geometrical series, and the same number of arith¬
metical means between every two adjoining terms of the
arithmetical series; then, as the results will still be a geo¬
metrical and an arithmetical series, the interpolated terms
of the latter will be the logarithms of the corresponding
terms of the former, and the two new series will have the
very same properties as the original series.
If we suppose the number of interpolated means to be
very great, it will follow that among the terms of the re¬
sulting geometrical series, some one or other will be found
nearly equal to any proposed number whatever. Therefore,
although the preceding table exhibits the logarithms of 1,
2, 4, 8, 16, &c. but does not contain those of the interme¬
diate numbers, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, &c. yet it is easy to con¬
ceive that a table might be formed by interpolation which
should contain, amongst the terms of the geometrical series,
all numbers whatever to a certain extent (or at least others
very nearly equal to them), together with their logarithms.
If such a table were constructed, or at least if such terms
3 G
418 LOGARITHMS.
History. 0f the geometrical progression were found, together with
their logarithms, as were either accurately equal to, or coin¬
cided nearly with, all numbers within certain limits (for
example, between 1 and 100,000), then, as often as we
had occasion to multiply or divide any numbers contained
in that table, we might evidently obtain the products or
quotients by the simple operations of addition and sub¬
traction.
The first invention of logarithms has been attributed by
some to Longomontanus, and by others to Juste Byrge,
two mathematicians contemporary with Napier ; but there
is no reason to suppose that either of these anticipated him,
for Longomontanus never published any thing on the sub¬
ject, although he lived thirty-three years after Napier had
made known his discovery ; and as to Byrge, he is indeed
known to have printed a table containing an arithmetical
and a geometrical progression written opposite to each
other, so as to form in effect a system of logarithms of the
same kind as those invented by Napier, without however
explaining their nature and use, although it appears from
the title he intended to do so, but was probably prevented
by some cause unknown to us. But this work was not
printed till 1620, six years after Napier had published his
discovery, namely, in 1614, in a book entitled Mirifici Lo-
gariihmorum Canonis Descriptio ; but he reserved the con¬
struction of the numbers till the opinion of the learned
concerning his invention should be known. It is therefore
with good reason that Napier is now universally consider¬
ed as the first, and most probably the only inventor. His
work contains a table of the natural sines and cosines, and
their logarithms, for every minute of the quadrant, as also
the differences between the logarithmic sines and cosines,
which are in effect the logarithmic tangents. There is no
table of the logarithms of numbers ; but precepts are given,
by which they, as well as the logarithmic tangents, maybe
found from the table of natural and logarithmic sines.
In explaining the nature of logarithms, Napier supposes
some determinate line which represents the radius of a
circle to be continually diminished, so as to have succes¬
sively all possible values, and thus to be equal to every
sine, one after another, throughout the quadrant. And he
supposes this diminution to be effected by a point moving
from one extremity towards the other extremity (or rather
some point very near it), with a motion that is not uniform,
but decreases gradually in such a manner, that if the whole
time between the beginning and the end of the motion be
conceived to be divided into a very great number of equal
portions, the decrements taken away in each of these shall
be to one another as the respective remainders of the line.
According to this mode of conceiving the line to decrease,
it is easy to show that at the end of any successive equal
intervals of time from the beginning of the motion, the
portions of the line which remain will constitute a decreas¬
ing geometrical progression.
Again, he supposes another line to be generated by a
point which moves along it equably, or which passes over
equal intervals of it in equal times. Thus the portions of
the line generated at the end of any equal successive inter¬
vals of time from the beginning of the motion will form a
series of quantities in arithmetical progression. Now if the
two motions be supposed to begin together, the remainders
of the one line at the end of any equal intervals of time
will form a series of quantities in geometrical progression,
while the corresponding portions generated of the other
line will constitute a series in arithmetical progression, so
that the latter will be the logarithms of the former. And
as the terms of the geometrical progression decrease con¬
tinually from radius, which is the greatest term, to 0, while
the terms of the corresponding arithmetical progression in¬
crease from 0 upwards, according to Napier’s system the
logarithm of radius is 0, and the logarithms of the sines
from radius down to 0 are a series of numbers increasing Histor,
from 0 to infinity.
The velocities or degrees of quickness with which the
motions commence may have to each other any ratio what¬
ever, and by assuming different ratios we obtain different
systems of logarithms. Napier supposed the initial velo¬
cities to be equal; but the system of logarithms produced
in consequence of this assumption having been found to
have some disadvantages, it has been long superseded by
a more convenient one, as we shall presently have occasion
to explain.
Napier’s work having been written in Latin, was trans¬
lated into English by Mr Edward Wright, an ingenious
mathematician of that period, and inventor of the princi¬
ples of what is commonly though erroneously called Mer¬
cator s sailing. The translation being sent to Napier for
his perusal, was returned with his approbation, and with
the addition of a few lines, intimating that he intended to
make some alterations in the system of logarithms in a
second edition. Mr Wright died soon after he received
back his translation ; but it was published after his death
in 1616, accompanied with a dedication by his son to the
East India Company, and a preface by Henry Briggs, who
afterwards distinguished himself by improving the form or
system of logarithms. Mr Briggs likewise gave in this
work the description and draught of a scale which had
been invented by Wright, as also various methods of his
own for finding a logarithm to a given number, and a num¬
ber to a given logarithm, by means of Napier’s table, the
use of which had been attended with some inconvenience,
on account of its containing only such numbers as were
the natural sines to every minute of the quadrant and their
logarithms. There was an additional inconvenience in
using the table, arising from the logarithms being partly
positive and partly negative. The latter of these was, how¬
ever, well remedied by John Speidell in his New Loga¬
rithms, first published in 1619, which contained the sines,
cosines, tangents, cotangents, secants, and cosecants, and
given in such a form as to be all positive; and the former
was still more completely removed by an additional table,
which he gave in the sixth impression of his work in 1624,
and which contained the logarithms of the integers 1, 2,
3, 4, &c. to 1000, together with their differences and
arithmetical complements, &c. This table, which is of
great use in finding fluents, is commonly called hyperbolic
logarithms, because the numbers serve to express the areas
contained between a hyperbola and its asymptote, and
limited by ordinates drawn parallel to the other asymp¬
tote. This name, however, is certainly improper, as the
same spaces may represent the logarithms of any system
whatever.
In 1619, Robert Napier, son of the inventor of logarithms,
published a second edition of his father’s Logarithmorum
Canonis Descriptio ; and, along with this, the promised
Logarithmorum Canonis Constructio, and other pieces
written by his father and Mr Briggs. An exact copy of
the same two works in one volume was also printed in
1620 at Lyons in France. In 1618 or 1619, Benjamin
Ursinus, mathematician to the elector of Brandenburg,
published Napier’s tables of logarithms in his Cursus
Mathematicus, to which he added some tables of propor¬
tional parts; and in 1624 he printed his Trigonometria,
with a table of natural sines, and their logarithms of the
Napierian kind and form, to every ten seconds of the
quadrant.
In the same year, 1624, the celebrated John Kepler
published, at Marpurg, logarithms of nearly the same kind,
under the title of Chilias Logarithmorum ad totidem Nu-
meros Rotundos, prcemissa Demonstratione legitima Orlus
Logarithmorum eorumque Usus, &c.; and in the following
year he published a supplement to this work. In the
LOGARITHMS.
• preface to this last he says, that several of the professors
of mathematics in Upper Germany, and more especially
those who were advanced in years, and grown averse to
new methods of reasoning which carried them out of
their old principles and habits, doubted whether Na¬
pier’s demonstration of the property of logarithms was
perfectly true, and whether the application of them to tri¬
gonometrical calculations might not be unsafe, and lead
the calculator who should trust in them to erroneous re¬
sults ; and in either case, whether the doctrine were true
or not, the}’ scarcely considered Napier’s demonstration of
it as legitimate and satisfactory. This opinion induced Kep¬
ler to compose the above-mentioned work, in which the
whole doctrine is treated in a manner strictly geometrical,
and free from the considerations of motion to which those
elderly Germans had objected.
On the publication of Napier’s Logarithms, Mr Henry
Briggs, some time professor of geometry in Gresham Col¬
lege, London, and afterwards Savilian professor of geo¬
metry at Oxford, applied himself with great earnestness
to the study and improvement of them. From the par¬
ticular view which Napier took of the subject, and the
manner in which he conceived logarithms to be gene¬
rated, it happened that in his system the logarithms of a
series of numbers which increased in a decuple ratio (as
l, 10, 100, 1000, &c.) formed a decreasing arithmetical
series, whose common difference was 2’3205851. But it
occurred to Briggs that it would be better and more con¬
formable to the received decimal notation, to adopt a sys¬
tem in which the logarithms of the terms of such a geome¬
trical series should differ from each other by unity or 1.
This idea Briggs communicated to the public in his lec¬
tures, and also to Napier himself. He even went twice to
Edinburgh to converse with him on the subject; and, on
his first visit, Napier said that he had also formerly thought
of the same improvement, but that he chose to publish
the logarithms he had previously calculated, till such time
as his health and convenience would allow him to make
others more commodious. And whereas, in the change
which Briggs proposed, it was intended to make the lo¬
garithms of the sines to increase from 0 (the logarithm of
radius) to infinity, whilst the sines themselves should de¬
crease, it was suggested to him by Napier that it would
be better to make them increase, so that 0, instead of be¬
ing the logarithm of radius, should be the logarithm of 1,
and that 100,000, &c. should be the logarithm of radius.
This Briggs admitted would be an improvement; and
having changed the numbers he had already calculated so
as to make them suit Napier’s modification of his plan, he
returned with them next year to Edinburgh, and submit¬
ted them to his perusal.
It appears, therefore, that whether Napier or Briggs
was the inventor of this improved system of logarithms
which has since been universally adopted, Napier had
suggested to begin with the low number 1, and to make
the logarithms, or the artificial numbers, as he had always
called them, to increase with the natural numbers, instead
of decreasing ; which, however, made no alteration in the
figures, but only in their affections or signs, changing them
from negative to positive.
On Briggs's return from Edinburgh, in 1617, he printed
the first thousand logarithms to eight places of figures,
besides the index, with the title of Logarithmorum Chi-
liasprima; but these seem not to have been published
till after the death of Napier, for in his preface he express¬
es a hope that the circumstances which led to a change in
the system would be explained in Napier’s posthumous
work, about to appear. But although Napier had intimated
in a note he had given in Wright’s translation of the Canon
Mirificus, as well as in his Rabdologia, printed in 1617,
that he intended to alter the scale, yet he does not state
that Briggs was the first to think of this improvement, or History,
to publish it. And as nothing was said on this point in -
Napier’s posthumous work published in 1619 by his son,
Briggs took occasion, in his Arithmetica Logarithmica, to
assert his claims to the improvement which he had carried
into execution. But he has by no means proved that he
himself, and not Napier, was the first who had thought
of such improvements.
In 1620, Mr Edmund Gunter published his Canon of
Triangles, which contains the artificial or logarithmic sines
and tangents to every minute to seven places of figures
besides the index, the logarithm of radius being 10. These
logarithms are of the kind which had been agreed upon
between Napier and Briggs, and they w ere the first tables
of logarithmic sines and tangents that were published of
this sort. Gunter also, in 1623, reprinted the same in his
book T)e Sectore et Radio, together with the Chiliasprima
of Briggs; and in the same year he applied the loga¬
rithms of numbers, sines, and tangents, to straight lines
drawn upon a ruler. This instrument is now in common
use for navigation and other purposes, and is commonly
called Gunter s Scale.
The discoveries in logarithms were carried to France
by Mr Edmund Wingate, but not first of all, as he says in
the preface to his book. He published at Paris in 1624)
two small tracts in French upon logarithms, which were
reprinted with improvements at London in 1626.
In the year 1624, Briggs published his Arithmetica Lo¬
garithmica, a stupendous work, considering the short time
he had been in preparing it. He there gives the loga¬
rithms of 30,000 natural numbers to fourteen places of
figures, besides the index; namely, from 1 to 20,000, and
from 90,000 to 100,000, together with the differences of
the logarithms. He also gives an ample treatise on their
construction and use, and he earnestly solicits others to un¬
dertake the computation of the intermediate numbers, of¬
fering to give instructions, and paper ready ruled for that
purpose, to any person inclined to contribute to the com¬
pletion of so valuable a wmrk. By this invitation, he had
hopes of collecting materials for the logarithms of the in¬
termediate 70,000 numbers, whilst he should employ his
time upon the Canon of Logarithmic Sines and Tangents,
and so carry on both works at once.
Soon after this, Adrian Vlacq or Flack of Gouda, in
Holland, completed the intermediate 70 chiliads, and re¬
published the Arithmetica Logarit/mica in 1627 and 1628,
with these intermediate numbers, making in all the loga¬
rithms of all numbers to 100,000, but only to 10 places of
figures. To these was added a table of artificial sines, tan¬
gents, and secants, to every minute of the quadrant.
Briggs himself lived also to complete a table of logarith¬
mic sines and tangents, to the 100th part of every degree
to fourteen places of figures, besides the index, together
with a table of natural sines to the same parts to fifteen
places, and the tangents and secants of the same to ten
places, with the construction of the whole. But death pre¬
vented him from completing the application and uses of
them. However, when dying, he committed this to his
friend Henry Gellibrand, who accordingly added a preface,
and the application of the logarithms to plane and spheri¬
cal trigonometry. The work was called Trigonometria
Britannica, and was printed at Gouda in 1633, under the
care of Adrian Vlacq, who in the same year printed his
own Trigonometria Artificialis, sive Magnus Canon Tri-
angulorum Logarithmicus ad JDecadas Secundorum Scru-
pulorum Constructus. This contains the logarithmic sines
and tangents to 10 places of figures, with their differences
for every ten seconds in the quadrant. It also contains
Briggs’s table of the first 20,000 logarithms to ten places,
besides the index, with their differences; and to the whoie
is prefixed a description of the tables and their applications,
420
LOGARITHMS.
History, chiefly extracted from Briggs’s Trigonometria Britannica
just mentioned.
Gellibrand also published, in 1635, An Institution Tri¬
gonometrical, containing the logarithms of the first 10,000
numbers, with the natural sines, tangents, and secants, and
the logarithmic sines and tangents, for degrees and minutes;
all to seven decimal places.
The writers whose works we have hitherto noticed were
for the most part computors of logarithms. But the sys¬
tem best adapted to practice being now well ascertained,
and the labour of constructing the table accomplished, suc¬
ceeding writers on the subject have had little more to do
than to give the tables in the most convenient form. It
is true, that in consequence of the numerous discoveries
which were afterwards made in mathematics, particularly
in the doctrine of series, great improvements were made in
the method of computing logarithms; but these, for the
most part, came too late to be of use in the actual construc¬
tion of the tables, although they might be applied with
advantage to verify calculations ^previously performed by
methods much more laborious, and to detect various errors
which had crept into the numbers.
As it is of importance that such as have occasion to em¬
ploy logarithms should know what works are esteemed for
their extent and accuracy, we shall mention the follow-
ing:
Sherwin’s Mathematical Tables, in 8vo. These contain
the logarithms of all numbers to 101,000; and the sines,
tangents, secants, and versed sines, both natural and loga¬
rithmic, to every minute of the quadrant. The third edi¬
tion, printed in 1742, which was revised by Gardiner, is
esteemed the most correct; but, in the fifth edition, the
errors are so numerous, that no dependence can be placed
on it.
Gardiner’s Tables of Logarithms for all numbers to
101,000, and for the sines and tangents to every ten se¬
conds of the quadrant; also for the sines of the first 12
minutes to every single second, &c. This work, which is
in quarto, was printed in 1742, and is held in high esti¬
mation for its accuracy. An edition of the same work,
with some additions, was printed in 1770, at Avignon, in
France; and another by Callet at Paris in 1783, with far¬
ther improvements. The tables in both are to seven
places of figures.
Hutton’s Mathematical Tables, containing common, hy¬
perbolic, and logistic logarithms, &c. and much valuable
information respecting the history of logarithms, and
other branches of mathematics connected with them.
Taylor’s Table of Logarithmic Sines arid Tangents to
every second of the quadrant; to which is prefixed an able
introduction by Dr Maskelyne, and a table of logarithms
from 1 to 100,000, &c. This is a most valuable work;
but being a large quarto volume, and rather expensive, it
is less accessible than the preceding, which is an octavo,
at a moderate price.
Tables portatives des Logarithmes, contenant les Loga-
rithmes des nombres depuis 1 jusqud 108,000 ; les loga¬
rithmes des sinus el tangentes, de seconde en seconde pour les
cinq premiers degres, de dix en dix secondes pour tons les
degres du quart de cercle, et suivant la nouvelle division
centesimale de dix-millieme en dix millieme, &c. par Callet.
This work is in octavo, and printed in stereotype by
Didot.
There are various smaller sets of tables; but probably
the most accurate of all are those which Professor Bab¬
bage has produced with his very ingenious calculating
machine, which has enabled him to detect a variety of
errors in former tables. But, what is rather amusing, on
examining a set of tables printed in the Chinese cha¬
racter, and which, like every Chinese invention, were
older than the deluge, Mr Babbage found they contained
precisely the same errors as those of Vlacq did; thus Mature
proving, as had long been suspected, from what source °fLoga.
those original inventors had derived their logarithms. nthms.
In addition to these, it is proper that we should notice
a stupendous work relating to logarithms, originally sug¬
gested by the celebrated Carnot, in conjunction with
Prieur de la Cote d’Or, and Brunet de Montpellier, about
the beginning of the French revolution. This enterprise
was committed in 1794 to the care of Baron de Prony, a
mathematician of great eminence, who was not only to
compose tables which should leave nothing to be desired with
respect to accuracy, but to make them the most extended and
most striking monument of calculation ever executed or ima¬
gined. Two manuscript copies of the work, composed of
seventeen volumes large folio, contained, besides an intro¬
duction,
1. The natural sines for each 10,000th part of the quad¬
rant, calculated to twenty-five places of decimals, to be
published with twenty-two decimals and five columns of
differences.
2. The logarithms of these sines, calculated to fourteen
decimals, with five columns of differences.
3. The logarithms of the ratios of the sines to the arcs
for the first five thousand 100,000th parts of the quadrant,
calculated to fourteen decimal places, with three columns
of differences.
4. The logarithms of the tangents corresponding with
the logarithms of the sines.
5. The logarithms of the ratios of the tangents to the
arcs, calculated like those of the third article.
6. Logarithms of numbers from 1 to 100,000, calculated
to nineteen places of decimals.
7. The logarithms of numbers from 100,000 to 200,000,
calculated to 'twenty-four decimals, in order to be pub¬
lished to twelve decimals and three columns of differences.
The printing of this work, though begun by the French
government, was afterwards suspended.
II. NATURE OF LOGARITHMS, AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION.
We have already shown that the properties of logarithms
are deducible from those of two series, the terms of one of
which form a geometrical progression, and those of the
other an arithmetical progression ; and as this manner
of treating the subject is simple, it is perhaps the best
adapted of any to such of our readers as have not pursued
the study of mathematics to any great extent. We shall
now show how, from the same principles, the logarithm of
any proposed number may be found, as was done by the
earlier computers, though it is far from affording the easiest
mode of forming a table.
The first step to be taken in constructing a system of
logarithms is to assume the logarithm of some determinate
number, besides that of unity or 1, which must necessarily
be 0. From the particular view which Napier first took
of the subject, he was led to assume unity for the logarithm
of the number 2-718282, by which it happened that the lo¬
garithm of 10 was 2-302585; and this assumption being
made, the form of the system became determinate, and the
logarithm of every number fixed to one particular value.
It was, however, soon observed, that it would be better
to assume unity for the logarithm of 10, instead of making
it the logarithm of 2-718282, as in Napier’s first system;
and hence the logarithms of the terms of the geometrical
progression
1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, &c.
were necessarily fixed to the corresponding terms of this
arithmetical progression,
0, 1, 2,
i in
A:
3,
4, &c.
LOGARITHMS.
421
Xat; e That is, the logarithm of 1 being 0, and that of 10 being
of Lfa- 1, the logarithm of 100 is 2, that of 1000 is 3, and so on.
rith:|s. logarithms of the terms of the progression 1, 10,
100, 1000, &c. being thus determined; in order to form
the logarithms of the numbers between 1 and 10, and be¬
tween 10 and 100, and so on, we must conceive a very
great number of geometrical means to be interposed be¬
tween each two adjoining terms of the preceding geome¬
trical series, and as many arithmetical means between the
corresponding terms of the arithmetical series ; then, like
as the terms of the arithmetical series 0, 1, 2, 3, &c. are
the logarithms of the corresponding terms of the geometri¬
cal series 1, 10, 100, 1000, &c. the interpolated terms of
the former will also be the logarithms of the corresponding
interpolated terms of the latter. Now, by supposing the
number of means interposed between each two terms of
the geometrical series to be sufficiently great, some one or
other of them may be found which will be very nearly equal
to any proposed number. Hence, to find the logarithm of
such a number, we have only to seek for one of the in¬
terpolated means which is very nearly equal to it, and to
take the logarithm of that mean as a near value of the lo¬
garithm required.
As a particular example, let it be required to find the
logarithm of 5, according to Briggs’s system.
First step of the process—The number 5 is between 1
and 10, the logarithms of which we already know to be 0
and 1: Let a geometrical mean be found between the two
former, and an arithmetical mean between the two latter.
The geometrical mean will be the square root of the pro¬
duct of the numbers 1 and 10, which is 3*162277 ; and the
arithmetical mean will be half the sum of the logarithms 0
and 1, which is 0*5 ; therefore the logarithm of 3*162277 is
0*5. But as the mean thus found is not sufficiently near
the proposed number, we must proceed with the operation
as follows :
Second step.—The number 5, whose logarithm is sought,
is between 3*162277, the mean last found, and 10, the lo¬
garithms of which we know to be 0*3 and 1; we must now
find a geometrical mean between the two former, and an
arithmetical mean between the two latter. The one of
these is v/(3*162277 X 10) = 3*623413, and the other is
—0*75, the logarithm of 3*623413.
Third step.—We have now obtained two numbers, name¬
ly, 3*162277 and 5*623413, one on each side of 5, together
with their logarithms 0*5 and 0*75 ; we therefore, proceed¬
ing as before, find the geometrical mean, 01*^(3*162277
X 5*623413), to be 4*216964, and the arithmetical mean
0.5 _i_ o*75
   = 0*625, the logarithm of 4*216964.
Fourth step.—We proceed in the same manner with the
numbers 4*216964, and 5*623413 (one of which is less and
the other greater than 5), and their logarithms 0*625 and
0*75, and find a new geometrical mean, viz. 4*869674, and
the corresponding arithmetical mean or logarithm 0*6875.
We must go on in this way till we have found twenty-
two geometrical means, and as many corresponding arith¬
metical means or logarithms. And that we may indicate
how these are found from each other, let the numbers 1
and 10 be denoted by A and B, and their geometrical
means taken in their order by C, D, E, &c. then the re¬
sults of the successive operations will be as in the following
table:
Numbers. Logarithms.
A = 1-000000 0-0000000
B = 10-000000 1-0000000
C = ^/AB = 3162277 0*5000000
D = x/BC = 5*623413 0*7500000
E = //CD — 4*216964 0*6250000
F = /DE r=
G = /DF -
H - /EG
I = v/FH =
K = /HI =
L = /IK =
M = /KL =
N = /KM —
O = /KN =
P = /NO =
Q = /OP rr
R = / OQ —
S = /OR =
T = /OS =
V = /OT -
W — /TV —
X = /wv=
Y = /VX -
Z = /XY =
Numbers.
4*869674
5*232991
5*048065
4*958069
5*002865
4*980416
4*991627
4*997242
5-000052
4*998647
4*999350
4*999701
4*999876
4*999963
5*000008
4*999984
4*999997
5*000003
5-000000
Logarithms.
0*6875000
0*7187500
0*7031250
0*6953125
0*6992187
0*6972656
0*6982421
0*6987304
0*6989745
0*6988525
0*6989135
0*6989440
0*6989592
0*6989668
0*6989707
0*6989687
0*6989697
0*6989702
0*6989700
Nature
of Loga¬
rithms.
As the last of these means, viz. Z, agrees with 5, the pro¬
posed number, as far at least as the sixth place of decimals,
we may safely consider them as very nearly equal, and
therefore their logarithms very nearly equal; that is, the
logarithm of 5 will be 0*6989700 nearly.
In performing the operations indicated in the preceding
table, it is necessary to find the geometrical means at the
beginning to many more figures than are here put down,
in order to insure at last a result true to 7 decimal places.
Fhus it appears that the labour of computing logarithms
by this method is indeed very great. It is, however, that
which was employed by Briggs and Vlacq in the original
construction of logarithms ; but since their time more easy
methods have been found, some of which we shall pre¬
sently have occasion to explain; and a still easier method
by Sir John Leslie will be found at the end of this article.
The logarithm of any number whatever may be found
by a series of calculations similar to that just explained.
But in constructing the table it would only be necessary
to have recourse to this method in calculating the loga¬
rithms of prime numbers ; for as often as the logarithrn of
a number which was the product of other numbers, whose
logarithms were known, was required, it would be imme¬
diately obtained by adding together the logarithms of its
factors. On the contrary, if the logarithm of the product
of two numbers were known, and also that of one of its
factors, the logarithm of the other factor would be obtain¬
ed from these, by simply taking their difference.
From this last remark it is obvious, that having now
found the logarithm of 5, we can immediately find that of
2 ; for since 2 is the quotient of 10 divided by 5, its loga¬
rithm will be the difference of the logarithms of 10 and 5 ;
now the logarithm of 10 is 1, and that of 5 is 0*6989700,
therefore the logarithm of 2 is 0*3010300.
Having thus obtained the logarithms of 2 and 5, in ad¬
dition to those of 10, 100,1000, &c. we may thence find the
logarithms of innumerable other numbers. Thus, because
4 = 2X2, the logarithm of 4 will be the logarithm of 2
added to itself, or will be twice the logarithm of 2. Again,
because 5 X 10 = 50, the logarithm of 50 will be the sum
of the logarithms of 5 and 10. In this manner it is evi¬
dent we may find the logarithms of 8 = 2 X 4, of 16
= 2x8, of 25 = 5x5, and of as many more such num¬
bers as we please.
Besides the view we have hitherto taken of the theory
of logarithms, there are others under which it has been
presented by different authors. Some of these we pro¬
ceed to explain, beginning with that in which they are
defined to be the measures of ratios; but to see the pro¬
priety of this definition, it must be understood what is
meant by the measure of a ratio.
422 L O G AIII T H M S.
Nature According to the usual definition of a compound ratio,
of fj°ga* if there be any number of magnitudes A, B, C, D, in con-
Ut > tinued proportion, the ratio of the first, A, to tlie third, C,
is considered as made up of two ratios, each equal the ra¬
tio of the first, A, to the second, B. And in like manner
the ratio of the first, A, to the fourth, D, is considered as
made of three ratios, each equal the same ratio of the
first to the second, and so on. Thus, to take a particular
example in numbers, because the ratio of 81 to 3 may be
considered as made up of the ratio of 81 to 27, and of 27
to 9, and of 9 to 3, which three ratios are equal among
themselves, the ratio of 81 to 3 will be triple that of 9 to
3 ; and in like manner the ratio of 27 to 3 will be double
that of 9 to 3. Also, because the ratios of 1000 to 100,
100 to 10, 10 to 1, are all equal, the ratio of 1000 to 1
will be three times as great as that of 10 to 1; and the
ratio of 100 to 1 will be twice as great; and so on.
Taking this view of ratios, and considering them as a
particular species of quantities, made up of others of the
same kind, they may evidently be compared with each
other in the same manner as we compare lines or quanti¬
ties of any kind whatever. And as, when estimating the
relative magnitude of two quantities, two lines, for exam¬
ple, if the one contains five such equal parts as the other
contains seven, we say the one line has to the other the
proportion of 5 to 7; so, in like manner, if two ratios be
such, that the one can be resolved into five equal ratios,
and the other into seven of the same ratios, we may con¬
clude that the magnitude of the one ratio is to that of the
other as the number 5 to the number 7; and a similar
conclusion may be drawn, when the ratios to be compared
are any multiples whatever of some other ratio.
Since lines and other quantities, which admit of no
common measure, are said to be incommensurable to each
other, the same will obviously happen to ratios; that is,
there may be two ratios such, that into whatever number
of equal ratios the one is divided, the other cannot possi¬
bly be exactly equal to a ratio composed of any integral
number of these. We may, however, conceive the num¬
ber of equal ratios into which the one is divided to be so
great, that a certain number of them shall compose a ra¬
tio more nearly equal to the other ratio than by any as¬
signable difference. Therefore, like as we can always find
numbers which shall have among themselves, either accu¬
rately, or as nearly as we please, the same ratios as lines
or other magnitudes have to each other, and which there¬
fore may be taken as the measures or representatives of
the lines; so also, corresponding to any system of ratios,
there may be always found a series of numbers which will
have the same proportions among themselves as the ra¬
tios have to each other, and which may in like manner be
called the measures of the ratios.
Let us now suppose that unity, or 1, is assumed as the
common consequent or second term of all ratios whatever ;
and that the ratio of 10 (or some particular number) to 1
is compounded of a very great number of equal ratios, as,
for example, 1,000,000: then, as each of these will be very
near the ratio of equality (for it will be the ratio of the
first term to the second of a series consisting of one mil¬
lion and one continued proportionals, the first of which is
10 and last 1), it will follow, and is easy to conceive, that
the ratios of all other numbers to unity will each be very
nearly equal to some multiple of that small ratio. And by
supposing the number of small equal ratios of which the
ratio of 10 to 1 is composed, to be sufficiently great, the
ratios of all other numbers to unity may be as nearly equal
to ratios which are multiples of that small ratio, as we
please. Let us still suppose, however, for the sake of il¬
lustration, that the number of small ratios contained in
that of 10 to 1 is 1,000,000; then, as it may be proved that
the ratio of 2 to 1 will be very nearly the same as a ratio
composed of 301,030 of these, and that the ratio of 3 to 1 ^atu
will be nearly equal to a ratio composed of 477,121 of them, of
and that the ratio of 4 to 1 will be nearly equal to a ratio rithms,
composed of 602,060 of them, and so on ; these numbers
viz. 1,000,000, 301,030, 477,121, and 602,060, or any
other numbers proportional to them, will be the mea¬
sures of the ratios of 10 to 1, 2 to 1, 3 to 1, and 4 to 1,
respectively; and the same quantities will also be what
have been called the logarithms of the ratios ; for the word
logarithm, if regard be had to its etymology, is 'koym
agidfLoi, or the numbers of small and equal ratios (or rati-
unculce, as they have been called) contained in the seve¬
ral ratios of quantities one to another.
We have, for the sake of illustration, assumed 1,000,000
as the measure of the ratio of 10 to 1, by which it hap¬
pens, as already observed, that the measures of the ratios
of 2 to 1, 3 to 1, &c. are 301,030 and 477,121 respectively ;
as, however, these measures are not absolute, but relative
quantities, we may assume any other numbers whatever
instead of these, provided they are proportional to them.
Accordingly, we may assume 1 as the measure or loga¬
rithm of tire ratio of 10 to 1 ; and then the logarithms of
the ratios of 2 to 1, 3 to 1, &c. instead of being 301,030, •
477,121, &c. will be -301030 and •477121, &c. respective¬
ly, that is, each will be one millionth of what it was be
fore.
In Briggs’s system, the logarithm of the ratio of 10 to 1,
or, to speak briefly, the logarithm of 10, is unity; but we
are at liberty to assume any number whatever, as that
whose logarithm shall be unity. Napier, in consequence
of his particular views, chose 2,718,282 ; and hence it hap¬
pens that the logarithms of the ratios are expressed by
different numbers in the two systems.
But, to show the identity of the properties of logarithms,
as explained in the two different views now given of the sub¬
ject, let A and B denote any two numbers. The ratio of their
product to unity, that is, the ratio of A X B to 1, is com¬
pounded of the ratio of A to 1 and of B to 1; and conse¬
quently the logarithm of the ratio of A X B to 1 w ill equal
the sum of the logarithms of the ratios of A to 1, and of
B to 1 ; or, in other words, the logarithm of A X B will be
the sum of the logarithms of A and B. Now, log. (A X B)
= log. A -{- log. B, therefore, log. B — log. (A X B)
C
— log. A. Let — be substituted for B, and D for A, then
C C
(because A X B = D X =: C) we have log. ^ =
log. C — log. D.
Such is a short sketch of the theory of logarithms as de-
ducible from the doctrine of ratios. It was in this way that
the celebrated Kepler treated the subject; and he has been
followed by Mercator, Halley, and Cotes, as well as by ma¬
thematicians of later times, as by Baron Maseres in his Tri¬
gonometry. The same mode was likewise adopted in the
posthumous works of Dr Robert Simson. As, however,
the doctrine of ratios is very abstract, and the mode of rea¬
soning upon which it has been established is of a peculiar
and subtile kind, we presume that the greater number
of readers will think this view of the subject less simple
and natural than the following, in which we mean to de¬
duce the theory of logarithms, as well as the manner of
computing them, from the properties of the exponents of
powers.
The common scale of notation in arithmetic is so con¬
trived as to express all numbers whatever by the powers of
10, which is the root of the scale, and the nine digits serv¬
ing as co-efficients to these powers. Thus, if R denote
10, the root of the scale, so that R2 will denote 100, and R3
1000, and so on, the number 471,509 is otherwise express¬
ed by 4R5 + 7R4 + 1R3 + 5R2 +0R1 4- 9R°, which is
LOGARITHMS.
\ 423
Ns re equivalent to 4R5 + + R-3 + 5R2 -f- 9. Again, the
of L;a- mixed number 371-243 is expressed by 3R2 -j- 7R1 R°
—^^3’ or by 3R2 + +~R-1+ 4R-2
-f- 3R-3* As to vulgar fractions, by transforming them to
decimals, they may be expressed in the same manner.
Thus | -375 = SR-1-*- 7R-2+ 5R-3- Also f = -666,
&C. zr 6R-1 + 6R-2 + 6R-3 + &c.
But instead of expressing all numbers by the sums of
certain multiples of the successive powers of some particu¬
lar number, we may also express them, if not accurately,
at least as near as we please, by a single power, whole or
fractional, of any positive number whatever, which may be
either whole or fractional, but must not be unity.
Let us take, for example, 2 as the number, by the pow¬
ers of which all others are to be expressed. Then it may
be shown that the numbers 1, 2, 3, &c. are all expressible
by the powers of 2, as follows.
1 = 2° 6 = 22,584'96 nearly
2 - 21 7 = 22-8°73 nearly
3 rr S1,58498 nearly 8 = 23
4 —- 22 9 — 23,1699 nearly
5 rz 22,3219 nearly 10 zz 23,3219 nearly
and so on. And if instead of 2 we take the number 10,
then we have
1 zz 10° 6 zz 10-77fii5
2 zz lO*30103 7 zz 10-84510
3 zz 10-47712 8 zz 10-90309
4 — lo-eoaod 9 _ jo-93424
5 _ 10-69897 10 Z= 101.
Hence we may conclude, that if r be put for some de¬
terminate number, and n for any indefinite positive num¬
ber, whole or fractional, it is always possible to find an¬
other number N, such that r being raised to the power N,
shall either be exactly equal to re, or as near it as we please ;
tha^4 we shall have zz n.
'When numbers are expressed in this way by the powers
of some given number r, the exponent of that power of r
which is equal to any assigned number is called the loga¬
rithm of that number. Thus, if r ^ zz n (pi being put for
any number), N is the logarithm of n.
The logarithms which are produced by giving to r some
determinate value, constitute a system of logarithms ; and
the constant number r, from which the system is formed,
is called the base, radix, or radical number of the system.
The properties of logarithms may readily be deduced
from the above definition as follows: Let a and b be any
two numbers, and A and B their logarithms; then r being
supposed to denote the base or radical number of the sys¬
tem, we have a — rA and b — r J>>: now if we take the
product of a and b, we have a b — /■■^zzr'^"*’^ ;
but, according to the definition, A B is the logarithm of
a b (for it is the index of that power of r which is equal to
a b), therefore the sum of the logarithms of any two numbers
a and b is the logarithm of their product a b. Again, we
A
, a r a r»
have ^ zz r , but here A — B, being the index
of that power of r which is equal to is the logarithm of^;
hence, if one number a be divided by another b, the differ¬
ence between their logarithms is the logarithm of the quo¬
tient y.
b
Let n express any number whatever, then raising both Nature
sides of the equation a — rA to the nth power, we have V
z=(r )n—rn^ ; but here w A is manifestly the logarithm of^-^'v^-"
an ; therefore, the logarithm of an, any power of a number,
is the product of the logarithm of the number by n, the index
of the power. This must evidently be true, whether n be a
ivhole number or a fraction, positive or negative.
From these properties, it is ea§y to see in what manner
a table exhibiting the logarithms of all numbers within
certain limits may be applied to simplify calculations ; for
since the sum of the logarithms of any two numbers is the
logarithm of their product, it follows, that as often as we
have occasion to find the product of two or more numbers,
we have only to add their logarithms taken from the table
into one sum, and to look for the number whose logarithm
is equal to that sum, and this number will be the product
required. Also, because the difference between the loga¬
rithm of the dividend and that of the divisor is the loga
rithm of the quotient, whenever we have occasion, to di¬
vide one number by another, we have only to subtract the
logarithm of the divisor from that of the dividend, and op¬
posite to that logarithm in the table, which is the remain¬
der, we find the quotient.
As the logarithm of any power of a number is the pro¬
duct of the logarithm of the number by the index of the
power; and, on the contrary, the logarithm of any root of
a number is the quotient found by dividing the logarithm
of the number by the index of the root; it follows that we
may find any power or root of a number by multiplying the
logarithm of the number by the index of the power, or di¬
viding it by the index of the root, and taking that number
in the table whose logarithm is the product or quotient for
the power or root required.
If in the equation a — (where a is any number, A its
logarithm, and r the base of the system) we suppose azz 1,
then rAzz 1; but this equation can only be satisfied by
A zz 0. Hence it appears, that in every system of loga¬
rithms, the logarithm of unity must be 0. If, on the other
hand, we assume a z=. r, then we have the equation r zzrA,
which is immediately satisfied by putting A zz 1 ; there¬
fore, the logarithm of the base, or radical number of every
system, is necessarily unity.
If we suppose r and a to be each a positive number
greater than unity, then A will be a positive number ; for
if it
be a negative we would have a
(=
a pro¬
per fraction, and at same time a number greater by hypo¬
thesis than unity, which is absurd. If, on the contrary,
we suppose a a proper fraction, then A must necessarily
be negative, otherwise /-A would be greater than unity,
and a ( zz rA) also greater than unity, while by hypothesis
it is a fraction less than unity, which is absurd. There¬
fore, in every system, the base of which exceeds unity, the lo¬
garithm of a whole or mixed number is always positive, but
the logarithm of a proper fraction is always negative.
Because the logarithm of r is unity, that of rn will be
n ; therefore, the logarithm of any integral power of the
radical number r will always be an integer.
Let r and F denote bases of two different systems ; and
let A be the logarithm of a number, a, taken according to
the first ol these, and A' its logarithm according to the se¬
cond. Then, because a—r^, and a zz r'^', it follows that
M
rk — p , ancl r — r*^. Let us now suppose that /' is
the base of a third system of logarithms, and R and R',
424
LOGARITHMS.
Nature the logarithms of r and v), taken according to this third
of Loga- SyStem ; then, because
nth ms. J
we have r*
yJl— r,
RR'_ rR'
i3 ;
r"
therefore z= r' a, and r = / ; but we have already
A' A A
found r z=r'A, therefore rfA =r'^, and consequently
J__ J_
R _ R'*
Hence it appears, that the logarithm of a number, taken
according to one system, has to its logarithm, taken accord¬
ing to any other system, a constant ratio, which is the same
as that of the reciprocals of the logarithms of the radical
numbers of those systems.
Let us next suppose that a and b are two numbers, and
A and B their logarithms, taken according to the same
system, and r the base of the system ; then, because
,R
RR'_
R
_ ^R'.
A'=|.„and A:A'(::R':R);
rA— a,
we have = a A
rK— b ;
rAB=bA
therefore a® = bA, and a= bB. Now asr is not found
A
in this equation, the value of the fraction — depends only
on a and b; therefore, the logarithms of any two given
numbers have the same ratio to each other in every system.
Having now explained the properties which belong to
the logarithms of any system, we proceed to investigate
general rules by which the number corresponding to any
logarithm, and, on the contrary, the logarithm correspond¬
ing to any number, may be found the one from the other.
And for this end let us denote any number whatever by y,
and its logarithm by x, and put r as before for the base or
radical number of the system ; then, by the nature of lo¬
garithms,
y— rx.
Put r = 1 a, and let the expression (1 + a)x be
panded into a series by the binomial theorem ; thus
ex-
y = 1 + a: a +
x{x— 1) 2 X (x — 1) (a? — 2)
+
1 • 2 ~ 1 1
x(x— 1) fx — 2) (a? — 3)
2 • 3
a4 -f &c.
‘ 1 • 2 • 3 • 4
Let this series, the terms of which are arranged according
to the powers of a, be transformed into another, whose
terms shall be arranged according to the powers of x ; and
to effect this we must find the actual products of the fac¬
tors which constitute the powers of a, and arrange the
terms anew, as follows:
1 = 1,
x a — -f- a a?,
„2
X (x-
x(x 1)
1 • 2 ~
1) (x‘
ai
x + Y x‘~’
2)
x(x-
1 • 2 • 3
-l)(a:—2)(a?-
I “ “ S' . M s
■3).
1 • 2 • 3
,i=~Tx+
11a4
a
ri
+ («——+ir —1:+ &c.)x
y = r*= <
a? ct'3
+ <T-T +
3 4
11a4
^onstrui.
d°nofio.
garithms.
24
&c.) a^
+ (Y~T + &C-^
+ (g-&c.)^4
+ &c.
Put A = a~~- +
a*
Ti
11 a4
24
+ &c.
&c.
A"=ir
V"- —
A “24
 H &C.
&C.
&c.
then — 1 + A a? + A'x2 + A"x3 + Amx* + &c.
Next, to determine the law of connection of the quanti¬
ties A, A', A", A"', &c. since the last equation is to hold
good whatever be the value of the variable quantity, a si¬
milar equation may be formed with the same co-efficients,
and having x z for its variable (z being any indefinite
quantity); thus we have also
r*'+szr l + A(^ + z) + A'(x+z)2+A*(x+z)3 + &c.
But rr+s=rrx^s, and since it has been shown that
r”— 1 + Ax + Afxz + A V + A'V + &c.
for the same reason
rz= 1 + Az + A’z2 + A'V5+A"^4 + &c.
therefore the series
1 + A(a:+z) + A'(x + z)2 + A"(x + z)3 + Am(x + zf -f &c.
is equal to the product of the two series
1 + Ax + A'a?2 + A"x3 + A'V + &c.
l + Az + Alz1 + A”z3 + Aw24 + &c.
That is, by the actual involution of the former and multi¬
plication of the two latter,
1 + Ax+ A'#2 + A" x3 + A'"#4 + &c. T
-f* Az -f- 2A'xz + i3A'fx~z -f- kA,,'x3z -f- &c. |
+ A!z2 +3A'^z2 + 6A'Vz2 + &c. }> =
+ A!' z3 ■j-4A'"xz3 + &c. j
-f- A"r z* -j- &c. J
f 1 + A* + A'x2 + A7*3 + A'" *4 + &c.
Az -j- A2xz -f- AA’x^z + AA"x3z + &c.
= <J 4* A’z2 4~ AA'xz2 + A'A'x2z2 -j- &c.
+ A"z3 + AA"xz3 + &c.
I 4* A'" z4 4* &c.
Now the quantities A, A', A", &c. being quite independent
of x and z, the two sides of the equation can only be iden¬
tical, upon the supposition that the co-efficients of like terms
in each are equal; therefore, setting aside the first line of
each side of the equation, because their terms are the same,
and also the first term of the second line, for the same rea¬
son, let the co-efficients of the remaining terms be put equal
to one another. Thus we have
4 4 ~ ‘ 24
&c. &c.
so that adding into one sum the quantities on each side of
the sign =, and recollecting that the sum of those on the
left-hand side is equal to y, we have
A2=2 A'
A A' =3 A" r
AA"=4AW ^
&c.
and hence
we have
A'-
A":
A2
L • 2
A3
A"'=-
2 • 3
A4
• 2- 3
&c.
Here the law of the co-efficients A,. A', A'", &c. is obvious,
LOGARITHMS.
each being formed from the preceding by multiplying it by
A, and dividing by the exponent of the power of A, which
is thus formed. Let these values of A', A", &c. be now
substituted in the equation
y—rr— 1 -f- hx + A'a?2 + A"a?3 + &c.
and it becomes
A2 „ . A3 _ ’ A4
425
logarithms of the bases of the systems, these last loga- Construe-
rithms being taken according to any system whatever, tion of Lo-
that is, garithms.
log. y to base e : log. y to base r : : ^
y='i+^+—/‘+1T^f'+
-T4 + &c.
2*3 '1 -2 • 3 • 4"
Thus we have obtained a general formula expressing a
number in terms of its logarithm and the base of the sys¬
tem, for we must recollect that since a — r— 1, the quan¬
tity A, which is equal to
log. e log. r’
hence we find
log. y to base r = x log. y to base e.
a1 , a3
a4' o’
T + T
&c.
is otherwise expressed by
—g—-+—3  &c-
where r denotes the base of the system.
If in the formula
A2
r*— 1 + Aa;+ j—
A3
A4
1 -2*3
we suppose a? — 1, it becomes
.... A2 , A3 .
r=I +A +
1 • 2 • 3 • 4
■a;4 + &c.
A4
1-2 ' I-2-3^1;2-3-4
4- &c.
an equation which contains r only; but as r has been all
along supposed an indeterminate quantity, this equation
must be identical, that is, if, instead of A, its value, as ex¬
pressed above in terms of r, were substituted, the equation
would become r — r.
Again, let us suppose that — is substituted instead of x
in the general formula; thus it becomes
1
rA~ 1 + 1 +
-—f- —1 
• 2^1 • 2 • 3
1
1-2-3-4
&c.
Thus the quantity rA. whatever be the value of r, is evi¬
dently equal to a constant number, which, as appears
from the last equation, is equal to the value of r when
A 1. By adding together a sufficient number of terms
of the last series, we find it nearly equal to
2-7182818284590452353602874.
1
It this be denoted by e, we have rA = e, and r — e^\ hence,
if the number e be considered as the base of a logarithmic
system, the quantity A, namely,
r ! O-l)2 . (r-1)3 (r—l)4 , (r-1)
2 ‘ 3 4 ' 5
■ &c.
is the logarithm of v to the base e. But as v is not restrict¬
ed here to any particular value, we may substitute ?/ in¬
stead of it, keeping in mind that y denotes any number
whatever, and x its logarithm ; thus we have x the loga¬
rithm of?/, expressed by the series
- ■ (y-1)21 G-i)3 o-o*. „
y a + s ^‘+'—6 &c-
supposing that the base of the system is the number we
have expressed above by e.
We have now found a general formula for the logarithm
of any number y, taken according to a particular system,
namely, that which has the number e for its base. But it
is easy from hence to find a formula, which shall apply to
any system whatever. For it has been shown that the lo¬
garithms of the same number, taken according to two dif-
erent systems, are to each other as the reciprocals of the
VOL. XIII.
Let the value already found for the logarithm of y to base e
be substituted in this equation, and it becomes
log. t/=x=~^ L-i-(i=ir+(J=lI _ (y-1)*
° ^ log.r V 2 ‘ 3 4
4- &c. |
which is a general formula for the logarithm of any num¬
ber whatever, to the base r. And it is to be recollected
* losr. c
that in the fraction —^L., which is a common multiplier to
log. r
the series, the logarithms are to be taken according to the
same base, which however may be any number whatever.
If in the above formula we suppose r — e, the multiplier
log. e
iog~r wil1 be unity> and the formula will become simply
iog.y=?/—i—fcii+fcii _ + &c.
as we have already remarked. Now this is the system
which was adopted by Lord Napier ; and although the lo¬
garithms which were computed according to this system, or
upon the supposition that the radical number is 2-7182818,
&c. have been called hyperbolic logarithms, because they
happen to be proportional to certain hyperbolic spaces, yet,
as the logarithms of every system have the same property,
it is more proper to call them Napierian logarithms.
As the constant multiplier ^^—, which occurs in the
log. r
general formula for the logarithm of any number, is the
only part of the formula which depends for its value upon
the base of the system, it has been called by writers on
logarithms the modulus ot the system. If we suppose the
logarithms taken to the base e, then the numerator, viz.
log. e, will be unity, and the denominator will be the Na¬
pierian logarithm of r. If however we suppose the loga¬
rithms taken to the base r, then the numerator will be
log. e to base r; and the denominator will be unity, so
that the modulus of any system whose base is r, is the re¬
ciprocal of the Napierian logarithm of that base ; or it is
the logarithm of the number e (the base of the Napierian
system) to the base r.
In the Napierian system, the modulus is unity, and
hence the logarithms of this system are more easily- com¬
puted than those of any other. It was, however, soon
found that a system whose base should be the same as the
root of the scale of the arithmetical notation, viz. the num¬
ber 10, would be the most convenient of any in practice;
and accordingly such a system was actually constructed
by Mr Briggs. This is the only one now in common use,
and is called Briggs s system, also the common system o{' \o-
garithms. The modulusoi this system therefore is the reci¬
procal of the Napierian logarithm of 10, viz. -43429448,
which is the common logarithm of e = 2-7182818, &c. the
base of the Napierian system. We shall in future denote
this modulus by M; so that the formula expressing the
common logarithm of any number y will be
y _ O-fl)2 , O-^)3 __ (l-^)4
log. y=m{
+ &c
1
If the number y, whose logarithm is required, be very near
3 H
426
LOGARITHMS.
Construe- to unity, so that 1 — ?/ is a small quantity, then the loga- of y, which, by taking the number n sufficiently great, Construe,
tion of Lo-rithm may be found from this formula with great ease, may come as near to each other as we please. tionofLo-
garithms. because the series will converge very rapidly. If, how- In like manner we find two limits to the value of the garithms.
ever, 1—^ be greater than unity, the series, instead of reciprocal to the modulus, viz.
converging, will diverge, so as to be, in its present form, 1 , 1A t\ 1 „ /i 1^
of no use. M ^ n ^ ^ ~ H \ ~
It may, however, be transformed into another, which
shall converge in every case, by substituting in it n ^/y
log. y
instead of y) and observing that log. (n y) =  ;
M v v M \ V1(V
It is evident that the difference between the two limits of
log. y, is
.M
(i-4)
it thus becomes
log.?/ = wMl”^?/—!—1)2 + i(nv'^—i)3”- &c*}
where n may denote any number, positive or negative.
But whatever be the number y, we can always take n,
such, that n\/y shall be as near to 1 as we please; there- garj{hm of any number true to m figures, if we give to n
fore, by this last formula, we can always find the loga- such a value that the root n/s/y shall have m ciphers be-
{ev*/ i) ^ vwr
therefore, if we take either the one or the other of the two
preceding expressions for log y, the error in excess or de¬
fect is necessarily less than this quantity.
By these formulae we may depend upon having the lo-
rithm of y to any degree of accuracy.
If n be taken negative, then n\/?/ =
Vy'
and the se¬
ries for log. y becomes, by changing the signs,
l„g.» = »M{ l-„V=+i(l-„-^) +K
tween the decimal point and the first significant figure on
the right. So that in general, as the error is the smaller
as n the exponent of the root is greater, it may be neglect¬
ed when n is taken indefinitely great; and this being the
case, we may conclude that either of these expressions,
s/y)
Vy'*V Wy)
+ &c.|
where all the terms are positive. Thus we have it in our
power to express the value of y, either by a series which
shall have its terms all positive, or by one which shall
have its terms alternately positive and negative : for it is
evident that if y be greater than unity, n*Jy will also be
greater than unity, and vice versa; but the differences
will be so much the smaller as n the exponent of the root
is greater ; therefore n\/y— 1 will be positive in the first
case, and negative in the second.
Because Nap. log. 10 = ^, we have by the two last
formulas
1 = n{vio—!—HVio—1)2 + HV1o—l)3
1), (1
L.)
Wy)
M
also
— &c. j
M — w |1 vio) +K1 V10)
"V'lO
V10
+ &c-}
is the accurate value of log. y.
The best manner of applying the preceding formula is
to take some power of the number 2 for n ; for by doing
so, the root n^/y may be found by a repetition of extrac¬
tions of the square root only. It was in this way that
Briggs calculated the first logarithms ; and he remarked,
that if in performing the successive extractions of the
square root, he at last obtained twice as many decimal
places as there were ciphers after the decimal point, the
integer before it being unity, then the decimal part of this
root was exactly the half of that which went before; so
that the decimal parts of the two roots were to each other
in the same proportion as their logarithms : now this is an
evident consequence of the preceding formula.
To give an example of the application of the formula,
let it be required to find the numerical value of M, the
modulus of the common system of logarithms, which, as
it is the reciprocal of the Napierian logarithm of 10, is
Vt x Vio~ I‘early’
when n is some very great number. Let us suppose
n 260 = 820; then, dividing unity by 8, and this result
again by 8, and so on, we shall, after 20 divisions, have
i, or equal to
0-00000 00000 00000 00086 73617 37988 4035L
It is evident, that by giving to ny/y such a value that
n\/y — 1 is a fraction less than unity, we render both the
series for the value of log. y converging ; for then the
expression 1—- will also be less than unity, seeing Also, by extracting the square root of 10, and the square
v y vrint nf tin's rpsult. and so on. after nerforminff 60 extrac-
. • , —1
it is equal
Therefore, in the first series, the
second and third terms (taken together as one term) con¬
stitute a negative quantity; and as the same is also true
of the fourth and fifth, and so on, the amount of all the
terms after the first is a negative quantity, or one which
is to be subtracted from the first, to obtain the value of
logy. Hence
log. y Z. nM (’Vy — !)•
And since, on the contrary, the terms of the second se¬
ries are all positive, the amount of all the terms after the
first is a positive quantity, or one which must be added to
the first to give the value of log. y ; so that
log.y ynM^l 
root of this result, and so on, after performing
tions we shall find w^/10 equal to
1-00000 00000 00000 00199 71742 08125 50527 03251.
Therefore, -
n
1
”^/10
86736173798840354
T
or M is equal to
0-4342944819.
199717420812550527,
As a second example, let it be required to find by the
same formula the logarithm of 3, which is nearly
n OV3 — l) V3 — 1
n M (’V3 — x) —n (n^o _ 1) — V10 — 1’
n being as before a very great number. Let us suppose
Thus we have two limits to the value of the logarithm
also in this case that rc = 260 ; then after 60 extractions
of the square root we have ”^3 equal to
1-00000 00000 00000 0095 28942 64074 58932.
nr
LOGARITHMS.
Consti..c-
tion of|-o-
garittis.
v 
Therefore, taking the value of ”^10 as found in last ex¬
ample, we have „
V3—1 _ 95289426407458932
0g' 3 “ y/\0— 1 “ 199717420812550527
- '477121254719662.
This method of computing logarithms is evidently at¬
tended with great labour, on account of the number of ex¬
tractions of roots which it requires to obtain a result true
to a moderate number of places of figures. But the two
series which we have given serve to simplify and com¬
plete it. For, whatever be the number y, it is only neces¬
sary to proceed with the extractions of the square root, till
we have obtained for n^/y a value which is unity follow¬
ed by a decimal fraction; and then n\/y — 1 being a
fraction, its powers will also be fractions so much the
smaller as their exponents are greater; thus a certain
number of terms of the series will express the logarithm
to as many decimal places as may be required.
There are yet other artifices by which the series
\og.y=M{y—l—ji(y—l)2+±(y—iy—i(y—iy + &c.}
may be transformed into others which shall always con¬
verge, and in particular the following. Let 1 -(- w be sub¬
stituted in the series for y ; then it becomes
log.(l + M)=M^—— +   — + _ _ &c. j
In like manner, if 1 — u be substituted for y, we have
log- (1—"2 3 4^ 5" &c-J
Let the latter equation be subtracted from the former;
and since log. (1-j-m) — log. ( 1 — m), is equal to log.
\ u
l
log.
we shall have
1 -p w
2M-^m +
+ ~r + T +
&c. j-
which series, by substituting z for
1 +
1 —
and
conse¬
quently
z— 1
z + 1
for u, will be otherwise expressed thus,
&c.
|og-z=2M{^+^y+^y+
which is not only simple, but has also the property of con¬
verging in every case.
As an example of the utility of this formula, we shall
employ it to compute the Napierian logarithm of 2, which
will be
3*33 1 5-35
7-37
+
9'39
-f- &c
•)
— A -f* -p J-C -p yD -p -p &c.
2 „„ 2 A _ 2
where A is put for -, B for
f 2 C ^
for 37 = T’&C-
B
= —, C for ^ , D
35
A = -666666666666
| B = -024691358025
J C = -001646090535
f D = -000130642106
-4- E = -000011290056
A, F = -000001026369
X G z= -000000096496
yV H = -000000009292
-Jy K = -000000000911
tl L =z-000000000091
JT M = -000000000001
Nap. log. 2 = -693147180551
Thus, by a very easy calculation, we have obtained the
Napierian logarithm of 2 true to the first ten places of
figures ; the accurate value, as far as the 12th place, being
0-693147180560.
If this very simple process, by which we have found the
logarithm of 2 (the whole of which is here actually put
down), be compared with the laborious calculations which
must have been performed to have found the same loga¬
rithm by the method explained in the beginning of this sec¬
tion, the great superiority of this method to the other, and
even to the second method, by which we found the value
of M, and the logarithm of 3, must be very apparent.
In the same manner as we have found the logarithm of
2, we may find those of 3, 5, &c. In computing the loga¬
rithm of 3, the series would converge by the powers of the
3__1
fraction ^r-r—. =r -g-, and in computing the logarithm of 5 it
427
Construc¬
tion of Lo¬
garithms.
3+1
5—1
would converge by the powers of = f 5 but in each
of these cases the series would converge slower, and of
course the labour would be greater than in computing the
logarithm of 2. And if the number whose logarithm was
required was still more considerable; as, for example, 199,
the series would converge so slow as to be useless.
We may however avoid this inconvenience by again
transforming this last formula into another which shall ex¬
press the logarithm of any number by means of a series,
and a logarithm supposed to be previously known. To
1 zt z
effect this new transformation, let r;  = 1 -| , and
1 — u n
consequently u — these values being substituted in
the formula,log. —^ = 2M fu+ + + —+ &c.)
we have log. ^1 + equal to
2M { 27T7 + * (reT+ ‘ fe)S + }
(£\ yi JL 2,
1 + “J = log — = log. (w + z) — log. n,
The calculation will be as follows: theiefore, log. (n + z) _ log. n +
A =
B = £ A
C = 4B
D
¥
iG
E = iD =
F = ^E =
G = i F =
H= iG =
I =iH =
K= £1 =
L = ^K =
M = £L =
•666666666666
•074074074074
•008230452674
•000914494742
•000101610527
•000011290059
•000001254451
•000000139383
•000000015487
•000000001721
•000000000191
•000000000021
2M
{+ * fer+s) + * (&+i) ’ + &c-}
By the assistance of this formula, and the known properties
of logarithms, we may proceed calculating the logarithm of
one number from that of another as follows.
To find the Napierian logarithm of 3 from that of 2, al¬
ready found. We have here n=2,z=l, and rr-A— = |.
2w + z J
Therefore the logarithm of 3 is
log.2 + 2(|+gL + A+_L+&c.)
= log. 2 + A + £B + + fD + $E + &c.
428
LOGARITHMS.
tiorTofLo-where A is put for f, B for A c for and so on.
The calculation may stand thus :
B = is
A =
B -
C =
c = A
D — A
E = 2 V D =
E = 2J E =
G = A F =
H = ^G =
•400000000000
■016000000000
•000640000000
•000025600000
•000001024000
•000000040960
•000000001638
•000000000066
A rz -400000000000
4 B = -005333333333
4 C = -000128000000
| D — -000003657143
^ E r= -000000113778
JT F = -000000003724
TV G = -000000000126
A H = -000000000004
•405465108108
Nap. log. 2 = -693147180551
Nap. log. 4 = 1-386294361102
This is also true to 10 places besides the integer.
To find the Napierian logarithm of 5, from that of 4;
z
we have n = 4, z z= 1, and -—j—- — 4, therefore the lo-
2?i l J
garithra of 5 is expressed by
1 ■ 1 1 +*C.)
log. 4 + A + 4 B + i C + | U + &c.
where A = f, B = A, C = A B, &c.
lo
5. 4 + 2 (y + 3<93 + ^ ^ ^ g7
Nap. log. 2 = 0-693147180551
% Nap. log. 3 = 1-098612288659
Nap. log. 6 = 1-761759469210
This result is correct as far as the tenth decimal place.
We might find the logarithm of 7 from that of 6, that
is, from the logarithms of 3 and 2, in the same manner as
we have found the logarithms of 5 and 3 ; but it may be
more readily found from the logarithms of 2 and 5 thus.
2 x 52 50
Because —, therefore log. 2+2 log. 5 —
Construe,
bon ofLo.
garithms,
72
49’
50
1 1 50
2 °g- 49-
Nap. log. 3 = 1-098612288659
This logarithm is true to 10 decimal places, Xhe accurate
value to 12 figures being 1-098612288668, which would
have been our result had the correct value of log. 2, viz.
•693147180560 been employed.
The Napierian logarithm of 4 is immediately had from
that of 2 by considering that as 4 — 22, therefore log. 4
zz log. 2 + log. 2.
Nap. log. 2 zz -693147180551
2
2 log. 7 zz log. —, and consequently
log- 7 = 2 Iog- 2 + log- 5 —
50
Now the logarithm of — may be readily obtained from
'og-*=2M{rTT+ i(n4r)+KAl)S+ &c-}
50
For, substituting —for z, the formula gives
Nap. log. g = 2 (4 + _!_ + _L + &c.)
= A + iB + jC + &c.
B
&c. This series
where A zz —, B zz ———, C  
9-11’ g2-!!2’ “ 92-Il2’
converges with great rapidity, and a few of its terms will
be sufficient to give the logarithm of 7, as appears from
the following operation.
A zz-020202020202
B zz A zz -000002061220
C zz B zz -000000000210
A zz -020202020202
£B zz -000000687073
4C zz -000000000042
Nap. log. zz -020202707317
1 log. 2 zz 0-346573590275
log. 5 zz 1-609437912417
The calculation.
A zz -222222222222
B ZZ A A ZZ -002743484225
C zz JT B zz -000033870176
D ZZ A C zz -000000418150
E zz A F> ZZ -000000005162
F zz A E ZZ -000000000064
A zz-222222222222
^ B zz -000914494742
4 C zz -000006774035
| D = -000000059736
| Ezz-000000000574
A F zz -000000000006
•223143551315
Nap. log. 4 zz 1-386294361102
Nap. log. 5 zz 1-609437912417
This result is also correct to the first ten places.
The logarithm of 6 is found from those of 2 and 3, be¬
cause 6 zz 2 X 3, therefore log. 6 zz log. 2 + log. 3.
1-956011502692
50
4 log. — zz 0-010101353658
~ “To/
Nap. log. 7 zz 1-945910149034
This logarithm, like those we found before, is correct in
the first ten decimal places.
The logarithms of 8, 9, and 10 are immediately obtain¬
ed from those of 2, 3, and 5, as follows :
Nap. log. 2 zz 0-693147180551
3
Nap. log. 8 zz 2-079441541653
Nap. log. 3 zz 1-098612288659
2
Nap. log. 9 zz 2-197224577318
Nap. log. 2 zz 0-693147180551
Nap. log. 5 zz 1-609437912417
Nap. log. 10 zz 2-302585092968
LOGARITHMS.
429
Consiiuc- Thus by a few calculations we have found the Napier- Here the series expressed by N converges very fast, so Construc¬
tion <jLo-ian logarithms of the first ten numbers, each true to ten that two of its terms are sufficient to give the, logarithm tion of Lo.
garittois^ decimal places; and since the Napierian logarithm of 10 true to 10 places of decimals. But the logarithm of 11 garithms.
is now known, the modulus of the common system, which may be expressed by the logarithms of smaller numbers, s
is the reciprocal of that logarithm, will also be known, and and a series which converges still more rapidly, by the
will be following artifice, which will apply also to some other rmm-
 •4S42044810 bers* Because dm numbers and 100 are the pro-
2-302585092968 ~ ' ’ ducts of numbers, the greatest of which is 11, for 98 zz 2
The common logarithms of the first ten numbers may X 72, 99 z= 9X 11, and 100 — 10 X 10, it follows that if
now be found from the Napierian logarithms by multiply- we have an equation composed of terms which are the lo-
ing each of the latter by the modulus, or dividing by its garithms of these three numbers, it may be resolved into
reciprocal, that is, by the Napierian logarithm of 10. And
as the modulus of the common system is so important an
element in the theory of logarithms, we shall give its value,
together with that of its reciprocal, as far as the 30th de¬
cimal place.
M = -434294481903251827651128918916
zz 2-302585092994045684017991454684
The formulae already given are sufficient for finding the
logarithms of all numbers whatever throughout the table ;
but there are yet others which may often be applied with
great advantage, and we shall now investigate some of
these.
Because
=2G^+K*-ti)+4S-!M
lo
If we now suppose
so that
1
1
z+ 1
log
2n2— 1’
n
KaAr) +
n2
l)(n + 1)
3 K
(n— 1) (n + 1)’
then the formula becomes
fj = 2M { 2rd — I +
2^2
D +&c-}
But los- (VT- TJln + i) = 2 los- n-l0«- o - *>
(w -f- 1), therefore, putting N for the series
2M / —i— + | ( i V+ if i V-f-
\2n2—1 ^ \2n2—1/ J\2n2—1/
■ log.
&c.
}
we have this formula,
2 log. n — log. (n — 1) — log. (ra + 1) zz N;
and hence, as often as we have the logarithms of any two
of three numbers whose common difference is unity, the
logarithm of the remaining number may be found. Exam¬
ple : Given log. 9 = 0-95424250943, log. 10 = 1 ; to find
the common logarithm of 11.
Here we have n — 10, so that the formula gives in this
case 2 log. 10— log. 9—log. 11 =N, and hence we have
log. 11 = 2 log. 10 — log. 9 — N,
. " XT 2M . 2M
WI’ereN= 199+ 3^953+ &c.
M being -43429448190.
Calculation of N.
. 2M
A = T99 =
00436476866
B =
3-1992
zz -00000003674
N = 0-00436480540
log. 9 zz 0-95424250943
log. 9 + N zz 0-95860731483
2 log. 10 zz 2-00000000000
log. 11 zz 1-04139268517
another, the terms of which shall be the logarithms of the
number 11 and other smaller numbers. Now by the pre¬
ceding formula, if we put 99 for n, we have
2 log. 99 -— log. 98 — log. 100 zz N,
that is, substituting log. 9 + log. 11 for log. 99, log, 2 +
2 log. 7 for log. 98, and 2 log. 10 for log. 100,
2 log. 9 + 2 log. 11 —log. 2 —2 Jog. 7 — 2 log. 10 zz N,
and hence by transposition, &c.
log. 11 zz | N + ^ log. 2 + log. 7 — log. 9 + log. 10;
and in this equation
AT 2M 2M ,
~ 19601 ^ 3 I960!3 ^
The first term alone of this series is sufficient to give the
logarithm of 11 true to 14 places.
Another formula, by which the logarithm of a number
is expressed by the logarithms of other numbers and a
series, may be found as follows.
Resuming the formula
'eg. Z= 2M {1=1 + i(5+|) + A g=i)5 + &c. }
{n — l)2 (n + 2) n3 — 3^ + 2
put 2 zz •  y x 7 —
{n — 2) (rt + l)2
1
n3 — 3 n — 2'
then
z+1
— 3n
Let these vames of z, and --r—:, be substituted in the
2+1
formula, and it becomes
(«-iy(«+8)_ f —?— +i( 8 y+ &c l
& (n—2)(n+iy- \ n3—3n ^ 3 \n3—3n) ^ ^c* J
But the quantity on the left-hand side of this equation is
manifestly equal to 2 log. (n — 1) + log. (n + 2) — log.
(n — 2)—2 log. (ra + 1); therefore, putting P for the
series,
2
2M / -  — V+ 4Y —
\ n3—3n 3 —3nJ a \w3—S
:si)
+ &c.
we have this formula,
log.(w + 2) + 2 log.(w—1)—log.(w—2)—21og.(x+ I)zz P.
By this formula we may find, with great facility, the loga¬
rithm of any one of the four numbers n — 2, n— 1, w + 1,
n + 2, having the logarithms of the other three. We may
also employ it in the calculation of logarithms, as in the fol¬
lowing example. Let the numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, be substi¬
tuted successively in the formula ; then, observing that
log. 6 zz log. 2 + log. 3, and log. 8 zz 3 log. 2, we have
these four equations,
log. 7 + 2 log. 2— 3 loc
2M
55 ~
2M
3-553
&c.
2 log. 7 + log. 2 + 2 log. 5:
2M _2M
: 99 + 3-993 +
&c.
4 log. 3 — 4 log. 2-
. £ 2 M 2 M
0g* 161 + 3-1613
2M
&c.
^ OlVT
log. 5-5 log. 3 + 2 log T = m + 3^3+ &c.
Let log. 2, log. 3, log. 5, and log. 7, be now considered as
430
LOGARITHMS.
Construe- four unknown quantities, and by resolving those equations
tion of Lo-in the usuai manner, the logarithms may be determined,
gari ims. Resuming once more the formula
l„g.* = 2M{*-=]+i(i=i)3+*c.}
n (n o) (n o) substituted in it
1
let
(n + 3) (« — 3) (n + 4) (n — 4)
instead of z, then, by this substitution,
z+1
will become
   , and the formula will be transformed to
7*4 _ 25ft2 + 72
1 ft2(ft + 5) (ft — 5)
log’ .(ft + 3) (ft — 3) (ft + 4) (ft — 4)
f 72 . 72 \3 , )
-_2M| 7*4—25ft2 + 72 + 3 U4—25ft2+ 72/ + 1 c* }
Hence, putting the latter side of this equation equal to Q,
we have this formula,
2 log. ft + log. (ft + 5) + log. (ft—5) —log. (ft + 3) ] _0
— log. (ft—3) — log. (ft + 4) — log. (ft—4) + Q /
which may be applied in the calculation of logarithms in
the same manner as the former.
But when it is required to find the logarithm of a higher
number, as, for example, 1231, we may proceed as follows.
log. 1231 = log.(1230 + 1)= log.( 1230 (l + —) }
= l„g. 1230 + log. (l + ji^)-
Again, log. 1230 = log. 2 + log. 5 + log. 123, and log.
123 = log.] 120 (l + } =log. 120+log. (l + i).
log. 120 = log. (23 x 3 x 5) = 3 log. 2 + log. 3 + log. 5.
Therefore log. 1231 = 4 log. 2 + log. 3 + 2 log. 5 +
lo8-(1 + ^)+10g-(1 + lio)
Thus the logarithm of the proposed number is expressed
by the logarithms of 2, 3, 5, and the logarithms of
1 +^~j» 1 + Y^q’ which may be easily found by
the formulae already delivered.
New views may he proper here briefly to notice some new views
of Loga- on the doctrine of logarithms, which hav^been advanced
rithms. at considerable length by Mr Graves in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1829. The discovery made by Poisson
and Poinsot, in their researches on angular sections, of
errors in trigonometrical formulae usually deemed com¬
plete, drew Mr Graves’s attention to what he considered
analogous defects in logarithmic series. He accordingly
professes, in the paper cited, to exhibit in an amended
form two fundamental developments, especially that of the
one we have given above of the equation y — rx; but the
new formulae are unfortunately exhibited in such an ab¬
struse and indefinite form, as to be quite unintelligible to
most readers, and our limits will not admit of introducing
them here with a sufficient explanation. The chief objec¬
tion made to the ordinary series is, that it only gives one
value to y for each value of x ; whereas, when # is a ra¬
tional fraction in its lowest terms, y should have as many
values of some sort as there are units in the denominator
of x. Thus, when x zz ± and r — 10, the value of y being
V10, may be — 3T62277 as well as + 3T62277 ; but
it is surely never meant that y should ever have more
than two possible values, or indeed more than one such Construe
value, when the denominator of x is odd. tion ofL0.
Mr Graves considers the principles employed in this garithms,
inquiry as presenting a solution of many difficulties, and'v~v^
illustrating peculiarities in the theory of logarithms of ne¬
gative quantities ; and, when applied to geometry, as fur¬
nishing the means of tracing the form and developing the
properties of curves whose equations involve exponential
quantities. He also states that, by their means, various
differential and other formulae usually exhibited in trea¬
tises on logarithms may be rendered complete. He com¬
bats the opinion that equations which are numerically
false may yet be analytically true ; and explains the dif¬
ficulty by reverting to the limitations inherent in the hy¬
pothesis on which the developments are founded. In op¬
position to John Bernoulli and D’Alembert, he maintains
that the logarithms of negative numbers are not in gene¬
ral the same as those of positive ones; and hence infers
that negative numbers have occasionally even real loga¬
rithms. But several objectionable things in Mr Graves’s
paper have been pointed out by Mr Peacock, in an able
article on analysis in the Third Report of the British As¬
sociation, page 266; and, indeed, until Mr Graves chooses
to put his new views in a more definite and intelligible
shape, and to express himself in ordinary mathematical lan¬
guage, we suspect his speculations are not likely to meet
with a favourable reception.
In addition to the works already mentioned on the
theory of logarithms, the following may be consulted, viz.
James Gregory, Vera Circuli et Hypcrholce Quadra-
tura, 1667.
James Gregory, Exercitationes Geometric^ 1668.
James Gregory, in Commercium Epistolicum, 1712.
Mercator, Logarithmotechnia, 1668; and Philosophical
Transactions of same year.
Brouncker and Wallis, Phil. Trans. 1668.
Barrow, Lectiones Geometricce, 1674.
Halley, Phil. Trans. 1695, 1696.
Jones, Synopsis Matheseos, 1706.
Craig, Phil. Trans. 1710.
Sir Isaac Newton, Commercium Epistolicum.
Sir Isaac Newton, Method of Fluxions, 1736.
Cotes, Phil. Trans. 1714.
Cotes, Harmonia Mensurarum, 1722.
Long, Phil. Trans. 1714.
Brooke Taylor, Phil. Trans. No. 352.
Dodson, Phil. Trans. 1753.
Maseres, Trigonometry, 1760.
Maseres, Scriptores Logarithmici, which is a valuable col¬
lection of the more interesting and scarce tracts on loga¬
rithms. It is in six vols. 4to, published from 1791 to 1807.
Waring, Phil. Trans. 1779.
Hellins, Phil. Trans. 1780-1796.
Lagrange, Theorie des Fonctions.
Laplace, Journal de VEcole Polytechnique, 1809.
Wallace on the Conic Sections, in Transactions of the
Royal Society of Edinb. vol. vi.
Lavernede, Annales des Mathematiques, 1811.
Vincent, Annales des Mathematiques, 1824, 1825.
To most of the larger sets of tables is prefixed an in¬
troduction on the theory and construction of logarithms.
The following short article may be fitly introduced here Easy L
as an addition to the foregoing treatise. It was written
by the late Sir John Leslie for the Supplement to the for-b»
mer editions of this work, in which it was inserted under jnterpola-
the word Interpolation, in the Addenda. tiou-
Few disquisitions in modern mathematics have greater
practical utility than those concerning the extension and
LOGARITHMS.
431
Coittruc- interpolation of the terms of numerical progressions. But
tion f'Lo-the modes of solution generally proposed, however inge-
gifnms. njous an(l refined, are often too complex for ordinary pur-
poses. We shall therefore point out a procedure of ex¬
treme simplicity and most ready application. It will em¬
brace any system of numbers, but seems peculiarly fitted
for the computation of logarithms.
Napier first published in 1614 his canon Mirificus Lo-
garithnorum, comprised in a very thin and small quarto vo¬
lume, exhibiting, as far as seven places, the logarithms only
of the sines and tangents to every minute of the quadrant;
those of the ordinary numbers being left to be deduced
from the nearest sines or tangents. In the summer fol¬
lowing, Briggs, then professor of geometry in Gresham
College at London, who was enchanted by that noble dis¬
covery, paid a visit to its illustrious author at Merchiston,
in the vicinity of Edinburgh. During an agreeable stay
of a month, it was concerted between them to change the
natural system of logarithms into another of a more arti¬
ficial form, but adapted to our denary scale of notation,
the labour of the calculation, however, being devolved
upon Briggs, as younger, and enjoying robust health.
Next season, Briggs performed a second journey to Edin¬
burgh, and showed to Napier a table which he had com¬
puted of the new logarithms for the first chiliad or thou¬
sand of the series of natural numbers. But the great in¬
ventor was now fast declining in years, and expired on the
3d of April 1618. Briggs, employing most skilfully all the
abbreviations which ingenuity could devise, prosecuted
his most arduous task with such vigour and active perse¬
verance, as to compute, in the space of seven years, to
fourteen places of figures, not only the logarithms of the
sines and tangents of every degree and centesimal minute
of the quadrant, but also the logarithms of thirty chiliads
of numbers. These tables were printed in 1624, in a folio
volume, entitled Arithmetica Logarithmica. In his anxiety,
however, to bring out this stupendous work, Briggs con¬
tented himself with calculating the logarithms from unit
to 20,000, and from 90,000 to 100,000, leaving the com¬
putation of the seventy intervening chiliads to be after¬
wards supplied. The very ingenious author annexed a
full explanation of his mode of framing the tables, ground¬
ed chiefly on the consideration of differences, and he thus
traced the first steps of that important theory. But he
likewise gave instructions for the readier filling up of the
intermediate logarithms, abridging the toil of calculation
no doubt, yet detailing a procedure sufficiently irksome
and complicated. “ To encourage some skilful persons
to perform this task, he offered to furnish them with paper
he had by him, ready prepared, and divided into columns
proper for that purpose, as likewise to inform them at
what part to begin, that they might not interfere one with
another; and promised, when the whole was finished, to
endeavour to procure a new edition of the work so com¬
pleted.” This slender boon seems not to have tempted
the mathematicians in England. In Holland, however,
Adrian Vlacq, chancing to meet two years afterwards with
a copy of the work, and, prompted only by his patriotic
zeal, had the resolution to revise and compute the whole
i - canon, reducing it from fourteen to ten places of figures,
which he printed in folio at Gouda, as early as 1628. The
same able calculator, only five years afterwards, published,
likewise in folio, at Gouda, a very extensive system of lo¬
garithmic sines and tangents, to every ten seconds of the
quadrant, having restored the sexagesimal subdivision,
which Briggs had partly changed into a centesimal one.
These two volumes may be deemed a precious thesaurus
of logarithms, from which succeeding compilers have
drawn very liberally. They form the basis of the Tables
published by Vega at Leipsic in 1794, which, till lately,
were the best and completest extant.
But though the Tables of Vlacq, carried only to ten Construc-
places of figures, are sufficiently accurate for every ordi- don of Lo.
nary purpose, and even for the most delicate calculations ^arithms.^
in astronomy, yet many persons have often regretted that'
the original system of Briggs was never completed. The
celebrated Legendre has employed that table, imperfect
as it is, in some of his most refined numerical investiga¬
tions. It is well known that Mr Baron Maseres devoted
a considerable portion of his time and of his fortune to
the republication of the works of the early writers on lo¬
garithms. In the course of this extensive undertaking,
he entertained some thoughts of giving a new edition of
the Arithmetica Logarithmica, and expressed an earnest
wish that the vacant chiliads were filled up. To promote
the liberal designs of the baron, the author of this article
was induced to bestow some reflection on the subject, and
a very simple mode occurred to him, which would have
reduced the labour of computing those logarithms to little
more than the trouble of mere transcription. But the ob¬
ject of completing the canon was deferred for a time, and
afterwards gradually forgotten. The method of interpo¬
lation then proposed seems, however, to deserve notice on
account of its great simplicity, and its ready application,
not only to the immediate object, but to other questions
of a similar nature. We shall, therefore, now state the
principle, and illustrate its application by a few examples.
The square root of the quantity a2 -|- 1 is evidently ex¬
pressed by the continued fraction a \
2a + 1
2a -f &c.
If two terms only of the fractional part be taken, the
expression will become Va2 -j- 1 =
4a3 -f- 3a
4a2 + 1 ’
and
conse
queiitfy or J(^) =g±f,a very
near approximation. Put b = 2a2, and by substitution
(¥)=S4f; wherefore * log. HT? = log. fr+T
Hence half the differences of the alternate logarithms of
the series b, b + 1, ^ + 2, &c. added to the logarithm of
2b 1, must give the logarithm of 2b -f- 3. By this
simple process, then, any table of logarithms is carried to
double its actual extent through all the odd numbers,
those of the even ones being found by the mere addition
of the logarithm of 2.
To find the limits of approximation, let three terms
//a2 + 1\
of the fractional series be taken, and 1  —J
8a4 + 8a2 + 1
8a1 + 4a~’
or
6 + 2\ _ 2W +46 + 1
/lb + 2\ _ 2lr
V i b ) ~ *
262 + 2b
_ 26 + 3 /463 + 1062 + 66 + ]
~ 26 +TV 463 + 1062 + 66“
26 + 3/, . 1
)
40+p
26 + 1 \ (26 + 3) (26 + 1)6,
fb + 2\  , 26 + 3
Whence ^ log.
/6+_2N 2^+3 /
\ b ) 26+1 * 1 ‘ (2
(26 + 3) (26 + 1)6)*’
and, therefore, since this last quantity exceeds unit only
6 4- 2 26 4-
by a very minute difference, ^ W. ——— = log.———
2 ^ 2 & 26 + 1
, where M denotes the modulus
M
+ (26 + 3) (26 + 1)6
of the system. If the number 26 + 3 or 26 + 1 be ex-
432
LOGARITHMS.
Construe- pressed by N, this small correction will amount but
earithms0' M 2M , , 26+3 7 , b + 2
« to or—. Consequently log. ^ + } = ^log.—
iN3
2M
N3 *
It may hence be computed, that the correction
on the first approximation will only reach unit in the last
figure for the logarithms of numbers under 206 in tables
of seven places, for those under 2055 in tables of ten
places, and for the logarithms of numbers under 44286 in
tables extending to fourteen places.
The corrections required in Briggs’s Tables of fourteen
places will therefore correspond to these limits :
35150
30706
27899
25898
24372
23151
22143
21290
20557
19913
— 7
— 8
— 9
— 10
— 11
Suppose it were required to find the logarithms of the
odd numbers above 300, to seven places of decimals. As¬
suming the logarithms of the series of the halves of the
intermediate even numbers, let the differences between
their alternate terms be taken, and then bisected.
Numbers.
Logarithms.
Alternate
Differences.
Their Halves.
150
151
152
153
154
155
1760913
1789769
1818436
1846914
1875207
1903317
57523
57145
56771
56403
28761
28572
28386
28201
Hence the logarithms of
the doubles are formed by the
mere addition of these halves.
In this manner the opera¬
tion may be continued ; but,
to prevent any accumulation
of errors, the logarithms of
the Qomposite numbers should
serve as standards, being
formed by the addition of the
logarithmsof their several fac¬
tors. The logarithms of the
intermediate even numbers
302,304,306,308, and 310, are
easily determined by adding
•3010300 to the logarithms of
151, 152, 153, 154, and 155.
To extend the process a little farther, let Vlacq’s lo¬
garithms be computed for the numbers above 4000.
Numbers.
logarithms.
301
2-4785665
28761
303
305
2-4814426
28572
2-4842998
28386
307
2-4871384
28201
309
2-4899585
Numbers. | Logarithms.
Alternate
Differences.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
3-3010299957
3-3012470886
3-3014640731
3-3016809493
5-3018977172
3-3021143770
4340774
4338607
4336441
4334277
Their Halves.
2170387
2169303
2168220
2167139
Whence are derived,
Numbers.
Logarithms.
4001
3-8021885514
2170387
4003
3-6023855901
2169303
4005
3-6026025204
2168220
4007
3-6028193424
2167139
4009
3-6030360563
Construe,
tion of Lo.
garithms.
Again, to compute the logarithms in Briggs’s Canon.
Numbers.
9995
9996
9997
9998
9999
10000
19991
19993
19995
19997
19999
Logarithms.
Alternate . TT .
Differences. rheir Halves.
3-99978279845413
3-99982624745441
3-99986969210827
3-99991313241658
3- 99995656838020
4- 00000000000000
4-30083451916161
4344682696
8689365414
8688496217
8687627193
8686758342
4344682707
4344248108
4343813596
4343379171
4-30087796598857
4344248097
4-30092140846954
4343813585
4-30096484660539
4343379161
The additive parts
here consist of those
half differences dimi¬
nished by 11 and the
last one by 10, since
the numbers now ap-
T proach to the limit
20557.
4-30100828039700
The first mode of interpolating, thus derived from the
nature of logarithms, and so commodious for their com¬
putation, might likewise be deduced from general consi¬
derations. Let A, B, C, D, E, &c. represent any series
of numbers. If they advance regularly and slowly, their
first differences, B — A, C — B, D — C, E — D, &c.
may be viewed as constituting an arithmetical progression.
Wherefore the sum of the extremes will be equal to that
of the mean terms, or (E — D) + (B — A) (D — C)
+ (C — B), that is, E — A = 2D — 2B, and therefore
D — B = -—5—’ whence D = B + A. Applying
this to the logarithms of eight places of figures, let A, B,
C, D, E, &c. represent the logarithms of 500, 501,502, 503;
504, &c. then log. 503 = log. 501 + —^Jog^JjOO
1 1 log. 252 — log. 250 , ,
= log. oOl + -a --2  = 2-69983773 + \
(2-40140054 — 2-39794001) =2-79156799; the halves
of the differences of the alternate logarithms of 250, 251,
252, 253, &c. being thus taken, as before, to compose by
their additions the logarithms of the odd numbers 503,
505, 507, &c.
LOG
LOG
433
But since E — A = 2D — 2B, it follows that E = A
+ 2 (D — B). Wherefore, in any series, the fifth term
will be found nearly, by adding to the first term twice
the difference between the second and fourth terms. In
this way the tables of natural sines, tangents, and secants,
could easily be framed. Thus, the logarithmic sines of
the successive arcs, 50°, 50° T, 50° 2', and 50° 3' being
given from Vlacq s Tables^ to find the logarithmic sine of
50° 4'.
Arcs.
50° 0'
V
2'
3'
4'
Logarithmic Sines.
9-8842539665
9*8843599396
9*8844658502
9*8845716981
9*8846774835
2117585
2
4235170
Here, passing over the middle term, the difference be¬
tween the logarithmic sines of 50° 1' and of 50° 3' is dou¬
bled, and added to that of 50°, to form the logarithmic
sine of 50° 4'.
But a nearer approximation may be obtained, by sup¬
posing the second differences of any series to form the
arithmetical progression. The sum of the extreme terms
^ 2B A and F — 2E + D would, therefore, be
equal to the sum of the mean terms D — 2C + B and E
— 2D + C ; whence F — A = 3B + 3E — 2C 2D,
or F = A + 3 (B + E) _ 2(C + D). Thus, the na¬
tural sines of the successive arcs 30, 31, 32, 34, and 35
degrees may be easily computed to seven places of fi¬
gures.
Arcs.
30°
31
32
33
34
35
Sines.
*5000000
*5150381
*5299193
*5446390
*5592929
•5735764
1-0742310 x 3 = 3-2226930
1-0745583 x 2 = 2-1491166
Difference T0735764
The sines of 31° and of 34° are here added together,
and the sum tripled, and from this amount is taken twice
the sum of the sines of 31° and of 33° ; the sine of 30°
being subtracted from that remainder, leaves finally the Logic,
sine of 35°. -v—.
Employing the same number of terms of the series, a
still closer approximation may be discovered, by consi¬
dering the third differences only as uniformly progressive.
WTherefore the extreme differences D — 3 C + 3B — A
and F — 3E + 3D — C will be together equal to double
the middle one, E — 3D + 3C — B, and consequently
F— A = 5E — 10D + 10C —5B, or F = A + 5 (E — B)
— J0(D —C).
Hence the logarithms even of low numbers may be
computed exact to eight decimal places. Thus, the loga¬
rithms of 150, 151, 152, 153, and 154, being given, that
of 155 is found by this process :
Numbers.
!'fi
i1
1-60
151
152
153
154
155
Logarithms.
2-17609126
2-17897695
2*18189359
2-18469143
2*18752072
2-19033170
854377 x 5 = 4271885
284784 x 10 = 2847840
Difference, 1424045
Add, 2-17609126
2-19033171
The difference between the logarithms of 151 and 154
is here multiplied by 5, and the difference of the loga¬
rithms of 152 and 153 is multiplied by 10; and the ex¬
cess of the former product above the latter being added
to the logarithm of 150, gives the logarithm of 155.
It would obviously be preferable, however, to employ
the formula in a modified form for interpolation merely.
Hence D = C + ^(E — B) + A — F.
If six terms of the series were given, the seventh could
be found to a high degree of accuracy. The sum of the
extremes of the progressive third differences being now
assumed equal to that of the means, we have D —3C
+ 3B — A + G — 3F + 3E — D = E — 3D + 3C
— B + F — 3E -f 3D — C, and by reduction G — A
— 4 F — 5 E — 5 C — 4B, whence G = A 4 (F — B)
— 5 (E — C). It seems unnecessary to subjoin any fur¬
ther illustrations ; but the very simple methods of inter¬
polation now proposed might be applied with great faci¬
lity and advantage in various physical researches. In
this way much light may be thrown upon the resistance
of fluids, and upon the force, the density, and the com¬
ponent heat of steam, at different temperatures.
LOGIC.
Logic is the art ol properly conducting reason in the
knowledge of things, whether for instructing ourselves or
others; or it maybe defined the science of human thought,
inasmuch as it traces the progress of knowledge, from the
first and most simple notions, through all the different com¬
binations of these, and the numerous deductions which re¬
sult from variously comparing them one with another.
1 he business of logic, therefore, is to evolve the laws of
human thought, and the proper manner of conducting
the reason, in order to the attainment of truth and know¬
ledge. It lays open those errors and mistakes which we
are apt, through inattention, to run into ; and teaches us
how to distinguish between truth, and what only wears the
resemblance thereof. By these means we become acquainted
with the nature, limits, and force of the understanding,
and see what things lie within its reach ; where we may at¬
tain certainty and demonstration ; and when we must be
contented with probability.
VOL. XIII.
This science is generally divided into four parts, namely,
Perception, Judgment, Reasoning, and Method.
I OF PERCEPTION.
We find ourselves surrounded with a variety of objects,
which, acting differently upon our senses, convey different
impi essions into the mind, and thereby rouse the atten¬
tion and notice of the understanding. By reflecting, too,
on what passes within us, we become sensible of the ope¬
rations of oui own minds, and attend to them as a new set
of impi essions. But in all this there is only bare conscious¬
ness. The mind, without proceeding any further, takes
notice of the impressions which are made upon it, and views
things in order, as they present themselves one after an¬
other. This attention of the understanding to the objects
acting upon it, whereby it becomes sensible of the impres-
3 i
LOGIC.
434
Of Percep-sions they make, is called by logicians perception ; and the
tion. notices themselves, as they exist in the mind, and are there
V',^,,*v"'w treasured up to become the materials of thinking and know¬
ledge, are distinguished by the names of ideas, notions,
thoughts, &c. In the article Metaphysics it will be shown
at large, how the mind, being furnished with ideas, con¬
trives to diversify and enlarge its stock; we have here
chiefly to consider the means of making known our thoughts
to others, that we may not only understand how knowledge
is acquired, but also in what manner it may be communi¬
cated with the greatest certainty and advantage.
1. Of Words, considered as the Signs of Ideas.
Words the 1. The ideas of which we are conscious, though mani-
means of fold and various, are nevertheless of themselves unknown
recording t0 others. But God, designing us for society, has provid-
thoughts. e(j ug organs fitted to frame articulate sounds, and
given us also a capacity of using those sounds as the signs
of internal conceptions. Hence spring words and language ;
for, having once pitched upon any sound to stand as the
mark or sign of an idea in the mind, custom by degrees es¬
tablishes such a connection between them, that the appear¬
ance of the idea in the understanding suggests to our re¬
membrance the sound or name by which it is expressed;
as, in like manner, the hearing of the sound excites the idea
which it represents. And thus it is easy to conceive how
a man may record his own thoughts, and bring them again
into view in any succeeding period of life ; for this con¬
nection being once settled, as the same sounds will always
serve to excite the same ideas, if he can but contrive to
register his words in the order and disposition in which the
actual train of his thoughts presents itself to his imagination,
it is evident that he will be able to recall these thoughts
at pleasure, and that too in the very manner of their first
appearance. Accordingly we find, that the inventions of
writing and printing, by enabling us to fix and perpetuate
such perishable things as sounds, have also furnished us
with the means of giving a kind of permanence to the
transactions of the mind, insomuch that they may there¬
by be subjected to our review like any other objects of na¬
ture.
Communi- 2. But besides the capacity of recording our thoughts,
cation of external signs also enable us to communicate our thoughts
now ec ge. j.0 0fjiers^ an[} receiVe information of what passes in their
minds. For any number of men, having agreed to esta¬
blish the same sounds as signs of the same ideas, it is ap¬
parent that the repetition of these sounds must suggest
similar ideas in each, and thus tend to create a perfect cor¬
respondence of thoughts. When, for instance, any train
of ideas succeed one another in the mind, if the names by
which we are wont to express them have been annexed by
those with whom we converse to the same order of ideas, no¬
thing is more evident, than that, by repeating those names
according to the tenor of our actual conceptions, we shall
raise in their minds a similar train of thought. For, by bare¬
ly attending to what passes within themselves upon hear¬
ing the sounds which we repeat, they will also be made aware
of the ideas in our understanding. So that we here clear¬
ly perceive how a man may communicate his sentiments,
knowledge, and discoveries to others, if the language in
which he converses be extensive enough to mark all the
ideas and operations of his mind. But as this is not always
the case, and men are often obliged to invent terms of their
own to express new views and conceptions of things, it may
be asked, how, in these circumstances, we can become ac¬
quainted with the thoughts of another, when he makes use
of words with which we have never associated ideas? In
order to unveil this mystery, and afford some insight into
the foundation, progress, and improvement of language, the
following observations are deserving of attention.
3. First, it is evident that no word can be to any man the Of Perc<?p,
sign of an idea, unless that idea comes to have a real exist- tion.
ence in his mind. For names, being only so far intelligible as
they denote known internal conceptions ; where they have
none such answering to them, they are plainly sounds with¬
out signification, and of course they convey no instruction
or knowledge. But no sooner are the ideas to which they
belong raised in the understanding, than, finding it easy to
connect them with the established names, we can join in
any agreement of this kind established by others, and thereby
enjoy the benefit of their discoveries. The first thing
therefore to be considered is, how these ideas may be con¬
veyed into the mind ; that being there, we may learn to
connect them with their appropriate sounds, and so become
capable of understanding others when they make use of
these sounds in communicating their thoughts. Now, to
comprehend this distinctly, it is necessary to attend to the
division of our ideas into simple and complex (see Meta¬
physics). And, firstly, as to our simple ideas, they can find
no admission into the mind, except by the two original por¬
tals of knowledge, sensation and reflection. If therefore any
of these have as yet no being in the understanding, it is
impossible by words or description to excite them there.
A man who had never felt the sensation of heat, could not be
brought to comprehend that sensation by any thing which
we might say to explain it. If we would really produce the
idea in him, it must be by applying the proper object to his
senses, and bringing him within the influence of a heated
body. When this is done, and experience has taught him
the sensation to which men have annexed the name of heat,
it then becomes to him the sign of that idea, and he thence¬
forth understands the meaning of the term, which, before,
all the words in the wrorld would not have been sufficient
to convey into his mind. The case is the same in respect of
light and colours. A man born blind, and thereby deprived
of the only means of acquiring the ideas of this class, can
never be brought to understand the names by which they
are expressed. The reason is obvious. They stand for ideas
which have no existence in his mind ; and as the organ ap¬
propriated to their reception is wanting, all other contri¬
vances are vain, nor can they by any description be sug¬
gested to his imagination. But it is quite otherwise in the
case of complex notions ; for these being no more than cer¬
tain combinations of simple ideas, put together in various
forms, if the original ideas out of which the combinations
are made have already obtained admission into the under¬
standing, and the names serving to express them are known,
it will be easy, by enumerating the several ideas concerned
in the composition, and marking the order and manner in
which they are united, to raise any complex conception in
the mind. Thus the idea answering to the word rainbow
may be readily excited in the imagination of another who has
never seen the appearance itself, by barely describing the
figure, size, position, and order of colours, if we suppose
that these several simple ideas, with their names, are suffi¬
ciently known to him.
4. And this leads to a second observation upon this sub- Names of
ject, namely, that words standing for complex ideas are all complex
definable, whereas those by which we denote simple ideas ^ea®tie'
are not; for simple ideas being a sort of secondary percep- na
tions, which have no other entrance into the mind than by
sensation or reflection, can only be obtained by experience,
from the several objects of nature which are proper to pro¬
duce in us those perceptions. Words indeed may very
well serve to remind us of them, if they have already found
admission into the understanding, and their connection
with the established names be known ; but they can never
give them their original being and existence there. And
hence it is, that when any one asks the meaning of a word
denoting a simple idea, we pretend not to explain it to him
by a definition, w'ell knowing that to be impossible; but,
LOGIC.
nfPercep-supposing him already acquainted with the idea, and only
tion. ignorant of the name by which it is called, we either men-
-y-"”'' tion it to him by some other name with which we presume
he knows its connection, or appeal to the object from which
the idea itself is derived. Thus, were any one to ask the
meaning of the word white, we should tell him it stood for
the same idea as alhus in Latin, or hlanc in French; or, if we
thought him a stranger to these languages, we might ap¬
peal to an object producing the idea, by saying that it de¬
notes the colour which we observe in snow ox milk. But this
is by no means a definition of the word, exciting a new idea
in his understanding; it is merely a contrivance to remind
him of a known idea, and teach him its connection with
the established name. For if the ideas after which he in¬
quires have never yet been raised in his mind, as suppose
one who had seen no other colours than black and white,
should ask the meaning of the word scarlet, it is easy to per¬
ceive, that it would be no more possible to make him compre ¬
hend it by words, or by a definition, than to introduce the
same perception into the imagination of a man born blind.
The only method in this case is, to present some object, by
looking at which the perception itself may be excited ;
and thus he will learn both the name and the idea to¬
gether.
Ixperi- 5. But how comes it to pass that men agree in the names
nee and 0f their simple ideas, seeing they cannot ascertain the per-
serva- ceptions in one another’s minds, nor by words make known
these perceptions to others ? The effect is produced by
experience and observation. Thus finding, for instance,
that the name of heat is annexed to that sensation which
men feel when they approach the fire, we make it also the
sign of the sensation excited in us by such an approach,
nor have we any doubt that it denotes the same perception
in our mind as in theirs. For we are naturally led to ima¬
gine, that the same objects operate alike upon the organs
of the human body, and produce an uniformity of sensa¬
tions. No man fancies that the idea raised in him by the
taste of sugar, and which he calls sweetness, differs from
that excited in another by the same object; or that worm¬
wood, to the relish of which he has applied the epithet
ter, produces in another the sensation which he denotes by
the word sweet. Presuming therefore upon this conformity
of perceptions, when they arise from the same objects, we
easily agree as to the names of our simple ideas ; and if at
any time, by a more narrow scrutiny into things, new ideas
of this class should come in our way, which we may chuse
to express by terms of our own invention, these names are
explained, not by a definition, but by referring to the ob¬
jects whence the ideas themselves have been obtained,
onvey- 6. Being in this manner furnished with simple ideas,
wot anti jhg names by which they are expressed, the meaning
teis bv ^le terms which stand for complex ideas is easily got at,
;finitions. hecause th0 ideas themselves answering to these terms
may be conveyed into the mind by definitions; for our com¬
plex notions are only certain combinations of simple ideas.
When, therefore, these are enumerated, and the manner
in which they are united into one conception explained,
nothing more is wanting to raise that conception in the
understanding; and thus the term denoting it comes of
course to be understood. But here it is worth while to
reflect a little upon the wise contrivance of nature, in thus
furnishing us with the aptest means of communicating our
thoughts to others. For were it not so ordered, that we
could thus by definitions convey our complex ideas from
one to another, it would in many cases be impossible to
make them known at all. This is apparent in those ideas
which are the proper work of the mind itself; for as they
exist only in the understanding, and have no real objects
in nature in conformity to which they are framed, if we
could not make them known by description, they would
for ever lie hid within our own breasts, and be confined
435
to the narrow acquaintance of a single mind. All the Of Percep-
fine scenes which arise from time to time in the poet’s tion.
fancy, and by his lively painting give such entertainment
to his readers, were he destitute of this faculty of lay¬
ing them open to the view of others by words and de¬
scription, could not extend their influence beyond his own
imagination, or give pleasure to any one but the original
inventor.
7. There is this further advantage in the ability we en-Of great
joy of communicating our complex notions by definitions, avail to-
that as these constitute by far the largest class of our ideas, war<i.s im-
and most frequently occur in the progress and improve- jCnowledo'e
ment of knowledge, so they are by this means imparted ' U"e’
with the greatest readiness, than which nothing can tend
more to the increase and diffusion of science; for a de¬
finition is soon pursued, and if the terms of it are well
understood, the idea itself finds an easy admission into the
mind. But, in simple perceptions, where we are referred
to the objects producing them, if these cannot be come
at, as is sometimes the case, the names by which they
are expressed must remain empty sounds. As new ideas
of this class, however, occur but rarely in the sciences,
they seldom create any great obstruction. Yet it is other¬
wise with our complex notions; for, every step we take
leading us into new combinations and views of things, it
becomes necessary to explain these to others, before they
can be made acquainted with our discoveries; and as the
manner of definitions is easy, requiring no apparatus but
that of words, which are always ready at hand, we can
hence with less difficulty remove such obstacles as might
arise from terms of our o wn invention, when these are made
to stand for new complex ideas suggested to the mind by
some actual train of thinking. And thus at last we are
let into the mystery hinted at in the beginning of this
chapter, viz. how we may become acquainted with the
thoughts of another, when he makes use of words to which
we have as yet joined no ideas. From what has already
been said, the answer is obvious. If the terms denote
simple perceptions, he must refer us to those objects of na¬
ture whence the perceptions themselves are to be obtained;
but if they stand for complex ideas, their meaning may be
explained by a definition.
2. Of Definition.
1. A definition is the development and determination Definition
of some conception of ike mind, answering to the word or defined.
term made use of as its sign. Now as, in exhibiting any
idea to another, it is necessary that the description be
such as may excite that precise idea in his mind, it is
plain that definitions, properly speaking, are not arbitrary,
but confined to the representing of certain determinate
settled notions, such, namely, as are annexed by the
speaker or writer to the words he employs. As neverthe¬
less it is universally allowed that the signification of words
is perfectly voluntary, and not the effect of any natural and
necessary connection between them and the ideas for
which they stand, some may perhaps wonder why defini¬
tions are not so likewise. In order, therefore, to unravel
this difficulty, and show distinctly what is and what is not
arbitrary in speech, we must carefully distinguish between
the connection of our words and ideas, and the unfolding
of the ideas themselves.
2. First, as to the connection of words and ideas ; this, Connection
it is evident, is purely an arbitrary institution. When, between
for instance, we have in our minds the idea of any parti-^ori^s an<^
cular species of metals, the calling it by the name gold™e™'
is an effect of the voluntary choice of men speaking the
same language, and not of any peculiar aptness in that
sound to express that idea. Other nations we find make
use of different sounds, and with the same effect. Thus
LOGIC.
436
Of Percep-awnwH denotes the same idea in Latin, and or in French;
tion. and even the word gold itself would have as well served to
express the idea of that metal which we call silver, had
custom in the beginning so established it.
Ideas li- 3. But although we are thus entirely at liberty to con-
mited to nect any idea with any sound, yet it is quite otherwise
represent- in unfolding the ideas themselves; for every idea having
ing the a precjse appearance of its own, by which it is distinguish-
by'which06 e<^ ^rom every other idea, it is manifest, that in laying it
they are open to others, we must study such a description as shall
distinguish-exhibit that peculiar appearance. When we have formed
ed. to ourselves the idea of a figure bounded by four equal
sides, joined together at right angles, we are at liberty to
express that idea by any sound, and call it either a square
or a triangle. But whichever of these names we use, so
long as the idea is the same, the description by which we
would signify it to another must likewise remain so. Let it
be called square or triangle, it is still a figure having four
equal sides, and all its angles right ones. Hence we clear¬
ly see what is and what is not arbitrary in the use of
words. The establishing any sound as the mark of some
determinate idea in the mind, is the effect of free choice,
and of a voluntary combination amongst men; and as differ¬
ent nations make use of different sounds to denote the same
ideas, hence proceed all that variety of languages which we
meet with in the world. But when a connection between
our ideas and words is once settled, the unfolding of the
idea answering to any word, which properly constitutes a
definition, is by no means an arbitrary thing. In this case
we are bound to exhibit the precise conception which ei¬
ther the use of language, or our own particular choice,
has annexed to the term we employ.
Causes of 4. And thus it appears, that definitions, considered as
obscurity, descriptions of ideas in the mind, are steady and invariable,
v erbal de- being confined to the representation of those precise ideas,
finitions. |^u{. tjien) jn tiie application of definitions to particular
names, we are altogether left to our own free choice;
because, as the connecting of any idea with any sound is
a perfectly arbitrary institution, the applying the descrip¬
tion of that idea to that sound must be so likewise. When,
therefore, logicians tell us that the definition of the name
is arbitrary, they mean no more than this, That as different
ideas may be connected with any term, according to the
pleasure of him who employs it, in like manner may dif¬
ferent descriptions be applied to the term, suitable to the
ideas so connected. But this connection being settled,
and the term considered as the sign of some fixed idea in
the understanding, we are no longer left to arbitrary ex¬
planations, but must study such a description as corre¬
sponds with that precise idea. Now, this alone, according
to what has been before laid down, ought to be accounted
a definition. What seems to have occasioned no small
confusion in this matter, is, that many explanations of
words, where no idea is unfolded, but the connection be¬
tween some word and idea is merely asserted, have yet
been dignified with the name of definitions. Thus, when
we say that a clock is an instrument by ivhich ice measure
time, that is by some called a definition; and yet it is
plain that we are beforehand supposed to have an idea of
this instrument, and only taught that the word clock serves
in common language to denote that idea. By this rule all
explanations of words in our dictionaries would be defini¬
tions, nay, the names of even simple ideas might be thus
described. White, we may say, is the colour we observe in
snow or milk; heat, the sensation produced by approach¬
ing the fire; and so in innumerable other instances. But
these, and all others of a similar kind, are by no means de¬
finitions, exciting new ideas in the understanding, but
merely contrivances to remind us of known ideas, and to
teach their connection with the established names. .
5. But, in definitions properly so called, we have first to
consider the term we use as the sign of some inward con- Of Percep
ception, either annexed to it by custom, or by our own free tion. ^
choice; and then the business of the definition is to un-^'-^v-''-'
fold and explicate that idea. As therefore the whole art Complex
consists in giving just and true copies of our ideas, a defini-ldeas alone •
tion is said to be made perfect, when it serves distinct- definife
ly to excite the idea described in the mind of another, even Real defi.
supposing him to have been previously unacquainted withnitions.
it. This point being settled, then, let us next inquire what
those ideas are which are capable of being thus unfolded.
And, in the first place, it is evident that all our simple ideas
are necessarily excluded. We have already seen that ex¬
perience alone is to be consulted here, insomuch that if
either the objects whence they are derived come not in our
way, or the avenues appointed by nature for their reception
are wanting, no description can be sufficient to convey them
into the mind. But where the understanding is already
supplied with these original and primitive conceptions, as
they may be united together in an infinity of different
forms, so may all their several combinations.be distinctly
laid open, by enumerating the simple ideas concerned in
the various combinations, and tracing the order and manner
in which they are linked together in composition. Now
these combinations of simple notices constitute what we
call complex notions ; whence it is evident, that complex
ideas, and these alone, admit of that kind of description
which goes by the name of definition.
6. Definitions, then, are pictures or representations of
our ideas ; and as these representations are only possible
when the ideas themselves are complex, it is obvious to re¬
mark, that definitions cannot have place, except where we
make use of terms standing for such complex ideas. But
our complex ideas being, as we have said, nothing more
than different combinations of simple ideas, we know and
comprehend them perfectly, when we know the several
simple ideas of which they consist, and can so put them
together in our minds as may be necessary towards the
framing of that peculiar connection which gives every idea
its distinct and proper appearance.
7. Two things are therefore required in every defini-Things re-
tion. The first is, that all the original ideas, out of which quired in a
the complex one is formed, be distinctly enumerated ; and defiaff'011-
the second is, that the order and manner of combining them
into one conception be clearly explained. Where a de¬
finition has these requisites, nothing is wanting to its per¬
fection ; because every one who reads it and understands
the terms, seeing at once what ideas he is to join together,
and also in what manner, can at pleasure form in his own
mind the complex conception answering to the term de¬
fined. Let us, for instance, suppose the word square to
stand for that idea by which we represent to ourselves a
figure whose sides subtend quadrants of a circumscribed
circle. The parts of this idea are the sides bounding the
figure. These must be four in number, and all equal
amongst themselves, because they are each to subtend a
fourth part of the same circle. But, besides these com¬
ponent parts, we must also take notice of the manner of
putting them together, if we would exhibit the precise idea
for which the word square here stands ; for, four equal
right lines, anyhow joined, will not subtend quadrants of a
circumscribed circle. A figure with this property must
have its sides standing also at right angles. Taking in
this last consideration, therefore, respecting the manner of
combining the parts, the idea is fully described, and the
definition thereby rendered complete; for a figure bounded
by four equal sides, joined together at right angles, has
the property required, and is moreover the only right-lined
figure to which that property belongs.
8. It will now be obvious to every one in what manner How to
we ought to proceed, in order to arrive at just and ade-__
quate definitions. First, we are to take an exact view
LOGIC.
fPercep- the idea to be described ; trace it to its original principles ;
tion. and mark the several simple perceptions which enter into
'■—^''—^the composition of it. Secondly, we are to consider the
particular manner in which these elementary ideas are
combined, in order to form that precise conception for
which the term we make use of stands. When this is
done, and the idea is wholly unravelled, we have nothing
more to do than fairly to transcribe the appearance it makes
to our own minds. Such a description, by distinctly exhi¬
biting the order and number of our primitive conceptions,
cannot fail to excite, at the same time, in the mind of every
one who reads it, the complex idea resulting from them;
and therefore it attains the true and proper end of a defi¬
nition.
3. Of the Composition and Resolutions of our Ideas, and
the Rules of Definition thence arising.
rocedure 1. The rule laid down in the foregoing chapter is gene-
com- extending to all possible cases, and is indeed that to
mnding wj1jc]1 a]one we can haVe recourse where any doubt or
difficulty may arise. It is not, however, necessary that we
should practise it in every particular instance. Many of
our ideas are extremely complicated, insomuch that to
enumerate all the simple perceptions out of which they
are formed would be a very troublesome and tedious task.
For this reason logicians have established certain compen¬
dious rules of defining, which it may not be amiss here to
give some account of. But in order to the better under¬
standing of what follows, it will be necessary to keep in
view, that there is a certain gradation in the composition
of our ideas. The mind of man is very limited in its ap¬
prehension, and cannot take in a great number of objects
at once. We are therefore obliged to proceed gradually,
and make our first advances subservient to those which
follow. Thus, in forming our complex notions, we begin
at first with but a few simple ideas, such as we can ma¬
nage with ease, and unite together into one conception.
When we are provided with a sufficient stock of these, and
have by habit and use rendered them familiar to our minds,
they become the component parts of other ideas still more
complicated, and form what may be called a second order
of compound notions. This process, it is evident, may be
continued to any degree of composition we please, mount¬
ing from one stage to another, and enlarging, as we as¬
cend, the number of combinations,
leas of 2. But, in a series of this kind, whosoever would make
is class himself perfectly acquainted with the last and highest
st com- order of ideas, must find it expedient to proceed gradually
diended tlwoogh all the intermediate steps. For, were he to take
vancee any very composite idea to pieces, and, without regard
adually. to the several classes of simple perceptions which have
already been formed into distinct combinations, break it
down at once into its original elements, the number would
be so great as perfectly to confound the imagination, and
overcome the Utmost reach and capacity of the mind.
When we observe a prodigious multitude of men huddled
together in crowds, without order or any regular position,
we find it impossible to arrive at an exact knowledge of
their number. But if they are formed into separate bat¬
talions, and so stationed as to fall within the leisurely sur¬
vey of the eye, by viewing them successively and in or¬
der, we may come to an easy and certain determination.
It is the same in regard to complex ideas. When the
original perceptions out of which they are framed are very
numerous, it is not enough that we take a view of them
m loose and scattered bodies; we must form them into dis
tinct classes, and unite these classes in a just and orderly
manner, before we can arrive at a true knowledge of the
compound notions resulting from them.
3. This gradual progress of the mind to its composite
437
notions, through a variety of intermediate steps, plainly Of Pereep-
points out the manner of conducting the definitions by tion.
which these notions may be conveyed into the minds of ^"'T'^
others ; for, as the series commences with simple and easy ^^11'(|tlons
combinations, and advances through a succession of dif-kee pace
ferent orders, rising one above another in the degree of with ideas,
composition, it is evident that, in a. train of definitions
expressing these ideas, a similar gradation is to be observ¬
ed. Thus the complex ideas of the lowest order can no
otherwise be described than by enumerating the simple
ideas out of which they are formed, and explaining the
manner of their union. But, in the second, or any other
succeeding order, as they are formed out of those gradual
combinations, it is not necessary, in describing them, to
mention one by one all the simple ideas of which they are
composed. They may be more distinctly and briefly un¬
folded by enumerating the compound ideas of a lower or¬
der, of whose union they are the result, and which are all
supposed to be already known in consequence of previous
definitions. Here then it is that the logical method of
definition takes place ; which, that it may be the better
understood, we shall explain somewhat more particularly
the several steps and gradations of the mind in compound¬
ing its ideas, and thence deduce that peculiar form of defi¬
nition which logicians have thought proper to establish.
4. All the ideas we receive from the several objects of Procedure
nature that surround us represent distinct individuals ; and from par-
these individuals, when compared together, are found in ticular to
certain particulars to resemble each other. Hence, by col-^®“aegral
lecting the resembling particulars into one conception, we 1 t5’
form the notion of a species. And here let it be observed,
that this last idea is less complicated than that by which
we represent any of the particular objects contained under
it; for the idea of the species excludes the peculiarities
of the several individuals, and embraces such properties
only as are common to all. Again, by comparing seve¬
ral species together, and observing their resemblance, we
form the idea of a genus; where, in the same manner as
before, the composition is lessened, because we leave out
what is peculiar to the several species compared, and re¬
tain only the particulars in which they agree. It is easy
to conceive the mind proceeding thus from one step to
another, and advancing through several classes of general
notions, until at last it arrives at the highest genus of all,
denoted by the word being, where the idea of existence
alone is concerned.
5. In this procedure we observe the mind unravelling a Conduct of
complex idea, and tracing it in the ascending scale, from the mind
greater or less degrees of composition, until it terminatesin coni*
in one simple perception. But if we take the series the
contrary way, and, beginning with the last or highest
genus, carry our view downwards, through all the inferior
genera and species, to the individuals, we shall thereby ar¬
rive at a distinct apprehension of the conduct of the un¬
derstanding in the composition of its ideas ; for, in the seve¬
ral classes of our perceptions, the highest in the scale is for
the most part that which is made up of but a few simple
ideas, such as the mind can take in and survey with ease.
This first general notion, when branched out into the dif¬
ferent subdivisions contained under it, has in every one of
them something peculiar, by which they are distinguish¬
ed amongst themselves; insomuch that, in descending
from the genus to the species, we always superadd some
new idea, and thereby increase the degree of composition.
Thus the idea denoted by the word figure is of a very
general nature, and composed of but few simple percep¬
tions, as implying no more than space everywhere bound¬
ed. But if we descend further, and consider the boun¬
daries of this space, as that they may be either lines or
surface, we shall fall into the several species of figure. For
where the space is bounded by one or more surfaces, we
440
LOGIC.
2. Experi¬
ence.
Of mutable truths. If it be true that the whole is equal to all
Judgment. jtg parts? jj, must be so unchangeably; because the rela-
v tion of equality, being attached to the ideas themselves,
must ever intervene where the same ideas are compared.
Of this nature are all the truths of natural religion, mo¬
rality, and mathematics, and, in general, whatever may
be gathered from the bare view and consideration of our
ideas.
4. The second ground of human judgment is Experience;
from which we are led to infer the existence of those objects
that surround us, and fall under the immediate notice of our
senses. When we see the sun, or cast our eyes towards a
building, we not only have perceptions of these objects
within ourselves, but ascribe to them a real existence in¬
dependent of the percipient mind. It is also by the in¬
formation of the senses that we judge of the qualities of
bodies; as when we say that “ snow is white, fire hot, or
steel hard.” For as we are wholly unacquainted with the
internal structure and constitution of the bodies which
produce these sensations in us, and are unable to trace
any connection between that structure and the sensations
themselves, it is evident that we build our judgments al¬
together upon observation, ascribing to bodies such quali¬
ties as are answerable to the perceptions which they ex¬
cite in us. Not that we ever suppose the qualities of bo¬
dies to be things of the same nature with our percep¬
tions ; for there is nothing in fire similar to the sensa¬
tion of heat, or in a sword similar to that of pain ; but when
different bodies excite in our minds similar perceptions,
we necessarily ascribe to these bodies, not only an exist¬
ence independent of us, but likewise similar qualities, of
which it is the nature to produce similar perceptions in
the human mind. But this is not the only advantage de¬
rived from experience; for to that too we are indebted
for all our knowledge regarding the co-existence of sen¬
sible qualities in objects, and the operations of bodies
one upon another. Ivory, for instance, is hard and elastic ;
this we know by experience, and indeed by experience
alone. For, being altogether strangers to the true nature
both of elasticity and hardness, we cannot by the bare
contemplation of our ideas determine how far the one ne¬
cessarily implies the other, or whether there may not be
a repugnance between them. But when we observe that
both exist in the same object, we are then assured from
experience that they are not incompatible ; and when we
also find that a stone is hard and not elastic, and that air
though elastic is not hard, we likewise conclude upon the
same foundation that the ideas are not necessarily con¬
joined, but may exist separately in different objects. In
like manner, with regard to the operations of bodies upon
one another, it is evident that our knowledge this way is
all derived from observation. Aqua regia dissolves gold,
as has been found by frequent trial, nor is there any other
way of arriving at the discovei'y. Naturalists may tell us,
if they please, that the parts of aqua regia are of a tex¬
ture apt to insinuate between the corpuscles of gold, and
thereby loosen and burst them asunder. If this be a true
account of the matter, it will notwithstanding be allowed
that our conjecture in regard to the conformation of these
bodies is deduced from the experiment, and not the ex¬
periment from the conjecture. It was not from any pre¬
vious knowledge of the intimate structure of aqua regia
and gold, and the aptness of their parts to act or to be
acted upon, that we came by the conclusion above men¬
tioned. The internal constitution of bodies is in a man¬
ner wholly unknown to us; and could we even surmount
this difficulty, yet, as the separation of the parts of gold
implies something like an active force in the menstruum,
and we are unable to conceive how the latter comes to be
possessed of this activity, the effect must be owned to be
altogether beyond our comprehension. But when repeat¬
ed trials had once confirmed it, insomuch that it was ad¬
mitted as an established truth in natural knowledge, itJud
then became easy for men to spin out theories of their
own invention, and contrive such a structure of parts, both
for gold and aqua regia, as would best serve to explain the
phenomenon upon the principles of that system of philoso¬
phy, whatever it might be, which they had adopted.
5. From what has been said, it is evident that as intui-
tion is the foundation of what we call scientific, so expe¬
rience is the foundation of what we call natural knowledge.
For this last being wholly concerned with objects of sense,
or those bodies that constitute the natural world, and their
properties, as far as we can discover them, being to be
traced only by a long and painful series of observations, it
is apparent, that, in order to improve this branch of know¬
ledge, we must betake ourselves to the method of trial and
experiment.
6. But though experience is what we may term the im-
mediate foundation of natural knowledge, yet with respect
to particular persons its influence is very narrow and con¬
fined. The bodies that surround us are numerous, many
of them lie at a great distance, and some are quite beyond
our reach. Life is so short, and so crowded with cares, that
but little time is left for any single man to employ himself
in unfolding the mysteries of nature. Flence it is necessary
to admit many things upon the testimony of others, which
by this means becomes the foundation of a great part of
our knowledge of body. No man doubts of the power of
aqua regia to dissolve gold, though perhaps he never him¬
self made the experiment. In these, therefore, and such
like cases, we judge of the facts and operations of nature
upon the mere ground of testimony. However, as we can
always have recourse to experiment where any doubt or
scruple arises, this is justly considered as the true founda¬
tion of natural philosophy, being indeed the ultimate sup¬
port upon which our assent rests, and to which we appeal
when the highest degree of evidence is required.
7. But there are many facts which do not admit of an ap-3. T<
peal to the senses ; and in this case testimony is the truemonJ
and only foundation of our judgments. All human actions,
of whatever kind, w hen considered as already past, are of
the nature here described; because having now no longer
any existence, both the facts themselves, and the circum¬
stances attending them, can be known only from the rela¬
tions of those who had sufficient opportunities of arriving at
the truth. Testimony, therefore, is justly accounted a third
ground of human judgment; and as from the other two we
have deduced scientific and natural knowledge, so we may
from this derive historical, by which we mean, not mere¬
ly a knowledge of the civil transactions of states and king¬
doms, but of all facts whatsoever, where testimony is the
ultimate foundation of our belief.
2. Of Affirmative and Negative Propositions.
1. Whilst the comparing of our ideas is considered mere-The
ly as an act of the mind, assembling them together, andject;
joining or disjoining them according to the result of its
perceptions, we call it judgment; but when our judgments^
are put into words, they then bear the name of proposi¬
tions. A proposition, therefore, is a sentence expressing
some judgment of the mind, by which two or more ideas
are affirmed to agree or disagree. Now, as our judgments
include at least two ideas, one of which is affirmed or de¬
nied of the other, so must a proposition have terms answer¬
ing to these ideas. The idea of which we affirm or deny,
and of course the term expressing that idea, is called the
subject of the proposition. The idea affirmed or denied, as
also the term answering it, is called the predicate. Ihus,
in the proposition, “ God is omnipotent,” God is the sub¬
ject, it being of him that we affirm omnipotence, and om-
-nr
I
>
L 0
I (, nipotent is the predicate, because we affirm that the idea
inlgjent. expressed by that word belongs to God.
/ 2. But as in propositions ideas are either johied or dis-
The iPu* joined, it is not enough to have terms expressing those
ideas, unless we have also some words to denote their
agreement or disagreement. That word in a proposition
which connects two ideas together, is called the copula ;
and if a negative particle be annexed, we thereby under¬
stand that the ideas are disjoined. The substantive verb is
commonly made use of for the copula, as in the above-men¬
tioned proposition, “ God is omnipotent,” where is repre¬
sents the copula, and signifies the agreement of the ideas
of God and omnipotence. But if we mean to separate two
ideas, then, besides the substantive verb, we must also use
some particle of negation to express this repugnance. The
proposition, “ Man is not perfect,” may serve as an example
of this kind ; for here the notion perfection being removed
from the idea of man, the negative particle not is inserted
after the copula, to signify the disagreement between the
subject and the predicate.
’rope 3. Every proposition necessarily consists of these three
|wsfe-parts, but then it is not alike needful that they be all seve-
Hby raIly exPressed in words ; because the copula is often in-
5in„ ’ eluded in the term of the predicate, as when we say “ He sits,”
ronL which imports the same as “ He is sitting.” In the Latin lan¬
guage a single word has often the force of a whole sen¬
tence. I bus ambulat is the same as Me est ambulans;
amo, as ego sum amans ; and so in innumerable other in¬
stances, by which it appears that we are not so much to re¬
gard the number of words in a sentence, as the ideas which
they represent, and the manner in which they are“ put to¬
gether. For wherever two ideas are joined or disjoined in
an expression, though of but a single word, it is evident
that we have a subject, predicate, and copula, and of con¬
sequence a complete proposition,
ire a . niind joins two ideas, we call it an affirma-
egat * tim judgment; when it separates them, a negative ; and as
ropoi any two ideas compared together must necessarily either
ions, agree or not agree, it is evident that all our judgments fall
undei these two divisions. Hence, likewise, the proposi¬
tions expressing these judgments are all either affirmative
or negative. An affirmative proposition connects the pre¬
dicate with the subject, as, “ A stone is heavy a negative
proposition separates them, as “God is not the author of evil.”
Affirmation, therefore, is the same as joining two ideas to¬
gether ; and this is effected by means of the copula. Nega¬
tion, on the contrary, marks the repugnance between the
ideas compared, in which case a negative particle must be
called in to show that the connection included in the copu¬
la does not take place.
tftb ^ Hence we see the reason of the rule commonly laid
rres own by logicians, lhat in all negative propositions the
sjoin negation ought to affect the copula. For as the copula,
eas. " hen placed by itself between the subject and the predi¬
cate, manifestly binds them together, it is evident, that in
order to render a proposition negative, the particles of ne¬
gation must enter it in such a manner as to destroy this
union. In a word, two ideas are only disjoined in a pro¬
position when the negative particle may be so referred to
the copula as to break the affirmation included in it, and
undo that connection it would otherwise establish. When
We saY> f°r instance, “ No man is perfect,” take away the
negation, and the copula of itself plainly unites the ideas in
t it proposition. But as this is the very reverse of what
18 intended, a negative mark is added, to show that this
G I C. 44!
union does not take place here. The negation, therefore, Of
by destroying the effect of the copula, changes the very Judgment,
nature of the proposition, insomuch that, instead of bind-
ing two ideas together, it denotes their separation. On
the contrary, in this sentence, “ The man who departs
not from an upright behaviour is beloved of God,” the pre¬
dicate beloved of GW is evidently affirmed of the subject an
upright man ; so that, notwithstanding the negative parti¬
cle, the proposition is still affirmative. The reason is plain.
The negation here affects not the copula, but, constituting
properly a part of the subject, serves, with other terms in
the sentence, to form one complex idea, of which the pre¬
dicate beloved of God is directly affirmed.
3. Of Universal and Particular Propositions.
1. The next considerable division of propositions is that Division
into universal and particular. Our ideas, according to°fpropo-
what has been already observed, are all singular as they siti°ns.
enter the mind, and represent individual objects. But
as by abstraction we can render them universal, so as to
comprehend a whole class of things, and sometimes se¬
veral classes at once, hence the terms expressing these
ideas must be in like manner universal. If, therefore, we
suppose any general term to become the subject of a pro¬
position, it is evident, that whatever is affirmed of the ab¬
stract idea belonging to that term, may be affirmed of all
the individuals to which that idea extends. Thus, when
we say, “ Men are mortal,” we consider mortality, not as
confined to one or any number of particular men, but as
what may be affirmed without restriction of the whole spe¬
cies. By this means the proposition becomes as general as
the idea which forms the subject of it, and indeed derives
its universality entirely from that idea, being more or less
so according as this may be extended to more or fewer
individuals. But it is further to be observed of these gene¬
ral terms, that they sometimes enter a proposition in their
full latitude, as in the example above given, and sometimes
appear with a mark of limitation. In this last case we are
given to understand that the predicate agrees not to the
whole universal idea, but only to a part of it; as in the pro¬
position, “ Some men are wise.” Here wisdom is not af¬
firmed of every particular man, but is restricted to a few
of the human species.1
2. Now, from this different appearance of the general Proposi-
idea which constitutes the subject of any judgment, arises Bons are
the division of propositions into universal and particular
An universal proposition is that in which the subject iswh®re,the
some general term taken in its full latitude, insomuch that go.J 18
the predicate agrees to all the individuals comprehended
under it if it denotes a proper species, and to all the seve¬
ral species and their individuals if it marks an idea of a
higher order. The words all, every, no, none, See. are the
proper signs of this universality; and as they seldom fail
to accompany general truths, so they form the most obvious
criterion by which to distinguish them. “ All animals
have a power of beginning motion.” This is an universal
proposition, as we know from the word all prefixed to the
subject animals, which denotes that it must be taken in
its full extent. Hence the power of beginning motion
may be affirmed of all the different species of animals.
3. A particular proposition has in like manner some Particular
general term for its subject, but with a mark of limitation proposi-
added, to denote that the predicate agrees only to some oftions-
the individuals comprehended under a species, or to one
is equaUy aoEten V den,\°.nst.rated that the te\m\ al°^ and not the ideas, are in reality general. The term man
or dLied of all tt\divS indl.^dual °fthe1ra?e Land therefore what is affirmed or denied of men in general, is affirmed
prefixed to thi WAth°Ut r-fard t0 t]lel,r dl™unating qualities. Some is a definitive word (see Grammar), which,
if part of thehrflr P h.u ,S-.heH--gn catl0n °f ^ t£rm ’ and therefore what is affirmed of some men, is affirmed only
r or me race, but that part itself is not ascertained.
VOL. XIII. _
3 K
440
LOGIC.
Of mutable truths. If it be true that the whole is equal to all
Judgment, j^g part;Sj must be so unchangeably; because the rela¬
tion of equality, being attached to the ideas themselves,
must ever intervene where the same ideas are compared.
Of this nature are all the truths of natural religion, mo¬
rality, and mathematics, and, in general, whatever may
be gathered from the bare view and consideration of our
ideas.
2. Experi- 4. The second ground of human judgment is Experience ;
ence. from which we are led to infer the existence of those objects
that surround us, and fall under the immediate notice of our
senses. When we see the sun, or cast our eyes towards a
building, we not only have perceptions of these objects
within ourselves, but ascribe to them a real existence in¬
dependent of the percipient mind. It is also by the in¬
formation of the senses that we judge of the qualities of
bodies ; as when we say that “ snow is white, fire hot, or
steel hard.” For as we are wholly unacquainted with the
internal structure and constitution of the bodies which
produce these sensations in us, and are unable to trace
any connection between that structure and the sensations
themselves, it is evident that we build our judgments al¬
together upon observation, ascribing to bodies such quali¬
ties as are answerable to the perceptions which they ex¬
cite in us. Not that we ever suppose the qualities of bo¬
dies to be things of the same nature with our percep¬
tions ; for there is nothing in fire similar to the sensa¬
tion of heat, or in a sword similar to that of pain ; but when
dilferent bodies excite in our minds similar perceptions,
we necessarily ascribe to these bodies, not only an exist¬
ence independent of us, but likewise similar qualities, of
which it is the nature to produce similar perceptions in
the human mind. But this is not the only advantage de¬
rived from experience; for to that too we are indebted
for all our knowledge regarding the co-existence of sen¬
sible qualities in objects, and the operations of bodies
one upon another. Ivory, for instance, is hard and elastic ;
this we know by experience, and indeed by experience
alone. For, being altogether strangers to the true nature
both of elasticity and hardness, we cannot by the bare
contemplation of our ideas determine how far the one ne¬
cessarily implies the other, or whether there may not be
a repugnance between them. But when we observe that
both exist in the same object, we are then assured from
experience that they are not incompatible ; and when we
also find that a stone is hard and not elastic, and that air
though elastic is not hard, we likewise conclude upon the
same foundation that the ideas are not necessarily con¬
joined, but may exist separately in different objects. In
like manner, with regard to the operations of bodies upon
one another, it is evident that our knowledge this way is
all derived from observation. Aqua regia dissolves gold,
as has been found by frequent trial, nor is there any other
way of arriving at the discovery. Naturalists may tell us,
if they please, that the parts of aqua regia are of a tex¬
ture apt to insinuate between the corpuscles of gold, and
thereby loosen and burst them asunder. If this be a true
account of the matter, it will notwithstanding be allowed
that our conjecture in regard to the conformation of these
bodies is deduced from the experiment, and not the ex¬
periment from the conjecture. It was not from any pre¬
vious knowledge of the intimate structure of aqua regia
and gold, and the aptness of their parts to act or to be
acted upon, that we came by the conclusion above men¬
tioned. The internal constitution of bodies is in a man¬
ner wholly unknown to us; and could we even surmount
this difficulty, yet, as the separation of the parts of gold
implies something like an active force in the menstruum,
and we are unable to conceive how the latter comes to be
possessed of this activity, the effect must be owned to be
altogether beyond our comprehension. But when repeat¬
ed trials had once confirmed it, insomuch that it was ad- a
mitted as an established truth in natural knowledge, itJudgi
then became easy for men to spin out theories of their
own invention, and contrive such a structure of parts, both
for gold and aqua regia, as wmuld best serve to explain the
phenomenon upon the principles of that system of philoso¬
phy, whatever it might be, which they had adopted.
5. From what has been said, it is evident that as intui-
tion is the foundation of what we call scientific, so expe¬
rience is the foundation of what we call /zotfwra/knowledge.
For this last being wholly concerned with objects of sense,
or those bodies that constitute the natural world, and their
properties, as far as we can discover them, being to be
traced only by a long and painful series of observations, it
is apparent, that, in order to improve this branch of know¬
ledge, we must betake ourselves to the method of trial and
experiment.
6. But though experience is what we may term the im¬
mediate foundation of natural knowledge, yet with respect
to particular persons its influence is very narrow and con¬
fined. The bodies that surround us are numerous, many
of them lie at a great distance, and some are quite beyond
our reach. Life is so short, and so crowded with cares, that
but little time is left for any single man to employ himself
in unfolding the mysteries of nature. Flence it is necessary
to admit many things upon the testimony of others, which
by this means becomes the foundation of a great part of
our knowledge of body. No man doubts of the power of
aqua regia to dissolve gold, though perhaps he never him¬
self made the experiment. In these, therefore, and such
like cases, we judge of the facts and operations of nature
upon the mere ground of testimony. However, as we can
always have recourse to experiment where any doubt or
scruple arises, this is justly considered as the true founda¬
tion of natural philosophy, being indeed the ultimate sup¬
port upon which our assent rests, and to which we appeal
when the highest degree of evidence is required.
7. But there are many facts which do not admit of an ap-3. Test
peal to the senses ; and in this case testimony is the true™!’
and only foundation of our judgments. All human actions,
of whatever kind, w hen considered as already past, are of
the nature here described; because having now no longer
any existence, both the facts themselves, and the circum¬
stances attending them, can be known only from the rela¬
tions of those who had sufficient opportunities of arriving at
the truth. Testimony, therefore, is justly accounted a third
ground of human judgment; and as from the other two we
have deduced scientific and natural knowledge, so we may
from this derive historical, by which we mean, not mere¬
ly a knowledge of the civil transactions of states and king¬
doms, but of all facts whatsoever, where testimony is the
ultimate foundation of our belief.
2. Of Affirmative and Negative Propositions.
1. Whilst the comparing of our ideas is considered mere-The sa
ly as an act of the mind, assembling them together, nnd,lw,t^
joining or disjoining them according to the result of its
perceptions, we call \t judgment; but when our judgments gitjon
are put into words, they then bear the name of proposi¬
tions. A proposition, therefore, is a sentence expressing
some judgment of the mind, by which two or more ideas
are affirmed to agree or disagree. Now, as our judgments
include at least two ideas, one of which is affirmed or de¬
nied of the other, so must a proposition have terms answer¬
ing to these ideas. The idea of which we affirm or deny,
and of course the term expressing that idea, is called the
subject of the proposition. The idea affirmed or denied, as
also the term answering it, is called the predicate, dhus,
in the proposition, “ God is omnipotent,” God is the sub¬
ject, it being of him that we affirm omnipotence, and om-
L 0 G I C.
441
0 mpotent is the predicate, because we affirm that the idea
nlgi nt. expressed by that word belongs to God.
2. But as in propositions ideas are either joined or dis-
c11'joined, it is not enough to have terms expressing those
ideas, unless we have also some words to denote their
agreement or disagreement. That word in a proposition
which connects two ideas together, is called the copula ;
and if a negative particle be annexed, we thereby under¬
stand that the ideas are disjoined. The substantive verb is
commonly made use of for the copula, as in the above-men¬
tioned proposition, “ God is omnipotent,” where is repre¬
sents the copula, and signifies the agreement of the ideas
of God and omnipotence. But if we mean to separate two
ideas, then, besides the substantive verb, we must also use
some particle of negation to express this repugnance. The
proposition, “ Man is not perfect,” may serve as an example
of this kind ; for here the notion of perfection being removed
from the idea of man, the negative particle not is inserted
after the copula, to signify the disagreement between the
subject and the predicate.
iposi 3. Every proposition necessarily consists of these three
issk-parts, but then it is not alike needful that they be all seve¬
rity rally exPressed in words 5 because the copula is often in-
n^l eluded in the term of the predicate, as when we say “ He sits,”
■i. \ which imports the same as “ He is sitting.” In the Latin lan¬
guage a single word has often the force of a whole sen¬
tence. Ihus ambulat is the same as Me est ambulans;
umo, as ego sum amans j and so in innumerable other in¬
stances, by which it appears that we are not so much to re¬
gard the number of words in a sentence, as the ideas which
they represent, and the manner in which they are, put to¬
gether. For wherever two ideas are joined or disjoined in
an expression, though of but a single word, it is evident
that we have a subject, predicate, and copula, and of con-
, sequence a complete proposition.
■am . 4\ When the mind j°ins tvv0 ideas, we call it an affirma-
ati'i ^judgment; when it separates them, a ; and as
pos any two ideas compared together must necessarily either
is. agree or not agree, it is evident that all our judgments fall
undei these two divisions. Hence, likewise, the proposi¬
tions expressing these judgments are all either affirmative
or negative. An affirmative proposition connects the pre¬
dicate with the subject, as, “ A stone is heavy a negative
proposition separates them, as “ God is not theauthor of evil.”
Affirmation, therefore, is the same as joining two ideas to¬
gether ; and this is effected by means of the copula. Nega¬
tion, on the contrary, marks the repugnance between the
ideas compared, in which case a negative particle must be
called in to show that the connection included in the copu¬
la does not take place.
|y ? 5. Hence we see the reason of the rule commonly laid
eg down by logicians, lhat in all negative propositions the
)in nt’gation ought to affect the copula. For as the copula,
s. "hen placed by itself between the subject and the predi¬
cate, manifestly binds them together, it is evident, that in
order to render a proposition negative, the particles of ne¬
gation must enter it in such a manner as to destroy this
union. In a word, two ideas are only disjoined in a pro¬
position when the negative particle may be so referred to
the copula as to break the affirmation included in it, and
undo that connection it would otherwise establish. When
we say, for instance, “ No man is perfect,” take away the
negation, and the copula of itself plainly unites the ideas in
t ie proposition. But as this is the very reverse of what
is intended, a negative mark is added, to show that this
union does not take place here. The negation, therefore, Of
by destroying the effect of the copula, changes the very Judgment,
nature of the proposition, insomuch that, instead of bind-v
ing two ideas together, it denotes their separation. On
the contrary, in this sentence, “ The man who departs
not from an upright behaviour is beloved of God,” the pre¬
dicate beloved of GW.is evidently affirmed of the subject an
upright man ; so that, notwithstanding the negative parti¬
cle, the proposition is still affirmative. The reason is plain.
The negation here affects not the copula, but, constituting
properly a part of the subject, serves, with other terms in
the sentence, to form one complex idea, of which the pre¬
dicate beloved of God is directly affirmed.
3. Of Universal and Particular Propositions.
1. The next considerable division of propositions is that Division
into universal and particular. Our ideas, according to °f propo-
what has been already observed, are all singular as they siti°ns*
enter the mind, and represent individual objects. But
as by abstraction we can render them universal, so as to
comprehend a whole class of things, and sometimes se¬
veral classes at once, hence the terms expressing these
ideas must be in like manner universal. If, therefore, we
suppose any general term to become the subject of a pro¬
position, it is evident, that whatever is affirmed of the ab¬
stract idea belonging to that term, may be affirmed of all
the individuals to which that idea extends. Thus, when
we say, “ Men are mortal,” we consider mortality, not as
confined to one or any number of particular men, but as
what may be affirmed without restriction of the whole spe¬
cies. By this means the proposition becomes as general as
the idea which forms the subject of it, and indeed derives
its universality entirely from that idea, being more or less
so accox-ding as this may be extended to moi-e or fewer
individuals. But it is further to be observed of these gene¬
ral terms, that they sometimes enter a proposition in their
full latitude, as in the example above given, and sometimes
appear with a mark of limitation. In this last case we are
given to understand that the predicate agrees not to the
whole universal idea, but only to a part of it; as in the pro¬
position, “ Some men are wise.” Here wisdom is not af¬
firmed of every particular man, but is restricted to a few
of the human species.1
2. Now, from this different appearance of the general Proposi-
idea which constitutes the subject of any judgment, arises Bons are
the division of propositions into universal and particular
An universal proposition is that in which the subject is wlie.re,the
some general term taken in its full latitude, insomuch that 5” J tS
the predicate agrees to all the individuals comprehended
under it if it denotes a proper species, and to all the seve-
ral species and their individuals if it marks an idea of a
higher order. The words all, every, no, none, &c. are the
proper signs of this universality; and as they seldom fail
to accompany general truths, so they form the most obvious
criterion by which to distinguish them. “ All animals
have a power of beginning motion.” This is an universal
pi'oposition, as we know from the word all pi’efixed to the
subject animals, which denotes that it must be taken in
its full extent. Hence the power of beginning motion
may be affirmed of all the different species of animals.
3. A particular proposition has in like manner some Particular
general term for its subject, but with a mark of limitation proposi-
added, to denote that the predicate agrees only to some oftions-
the individuals comprehended under a species, or to one
is equaUy aEblem Pvp’rvta® 1 ffVTu 11 ^ and not the are in reality general. The term man
or denied of al life In , °f ^ race 5 .and therefore, what is affirmed or denied of men in general, is affirmed
prefixed to thl wor-a , ; '?l h0Ut r.fard to t]ieiur discriminating qualities. Some is a definitive word (see Grammar), which,
of>r< of the r Jp tir^\ im ,S-,heuS-SnihCatl0n °f ^ Urm ’ and therefore what is affirmed of some men, is affirmed only
r vi me race, but that part itself is not ascertained. J
VOL. XIII. ^ ^
LOGIC.
442
Of or more of the species belonging to a genus, and not to
Judgment, tfjg entire universal idea. Thus, “ Some stones are hea-
vier than iron“ Some men have an uncommon share of
prudence.” In the latter of these propositions, the subject
some men implies only a certain number of individuals,
comprehended under a single species. In the former,
where the subject is a genus which extends to a great va¬
riety of distinct classes, some stones may not only imply
any number of particular stones, but also several whole
species of stones, inasmuch as there may be not a few with
the property there described. Hence we see that a pro¬
position does not cease to be particular by the predicate’s
agreeing to a whole species, unless that species, singly and
distinctly considered, forms also the subject of which we
affirm or deny.
Singular 4. There is still one species of propositions which remains
proposi- ke described, and which the more deserves our notice,
as it is not yet agreed amongst logicians to which of the two
classes mentioned above they ought to be referred ; name¬
ly, singular propositions, or those where the subject is an
individual. Of this nature are the following: “ Sir Isaac
Newton was the inventor of fluxions “ This book contains
many useful truths.” What occasions some difficulty as to
the proper rank of these propositions is, that the subject
being taken according to the whole of its extension, they
sometimes have the same effect in reasoning as universals.
But if it be considered that they are in truth the most li¬
mited kind of particular propositions, and that no proposi¬
tion can with any propriety be called universal but where the
subject is some universal idea, we shall not find any difficul¬
ty in determining to which class they ought to be referred.
When we say, “ Some books contain useful truths,” the
proposition is particular, because the general term appears
with a mark of restriction. If, therefore, we say, “ This
book contains useful truths,” it is evident that the propo¬
sition must be still more particular, as the limitation im¬
plied in the word this is of a more confined nature than in
the former case.
Fourfold 5. We perceive, therefore, that all propositions are either
division of affirmative or negative ; nor is it less evident that in both
proposi- cases they maybe universal ox particular. Hencearisesthat
celebrated fourfold division of them into universal affirma¬
tive and universal negative, particular affirmative and par¬
ticular negative, which indeed comprehends all their varie¬
ties. The use of this method of distinguishing them will
appear more fully afterwards, when we come to treat of rea¬
soning and syllogism.
4. Of Absolute and Conditional Propositions.
Distinction 1. The objects about which we are chiefly conversant in
of qualities, this world, are all of a nature very liable to change. What
may be affirmed of them at one time, cannot often be af¬
firmed at another ; and one of the objects of our knowledge
is to enable us to distinguish rightly these variations, and
trace the reasons upon which they depend. For it is ob¬
servable, that amidst all the vicissitudes of nature, some
things remain constant and invariable ; nor are even the
changes to which we see others liable, effected, except in
consequence of uniform and steady laws, which, when
known, are sufficient to direct us in our judgments concern¬
ing them. Hence philosophers, in distinguishing the ob¬
jects of our perception into various classes, have been very
careful to state, that some properties belong so essentially
to the general idea, as not to be separable from it except
by destroying its very nature ; whilst others are only ac¬
cidental, and may be affirmed or denied of it in different
circumstances. Thus solidity, a yellow colour, and a great
weight, are considered as essential qualities of gold ; but
whether it shall exist as an uniform conjoined mass, is not
alike necessary. We find that by a proper menstruum it
may be reduced to a very fine powder, and that an intense
heat will bring it into a state of fusion. ' ,
2. From'this diversity in the several qualities of things^?
arises a considerable difl'erence as to the manner of our hiveS
judging concerning them. For all such properties as are in-in °urt
separable from objects when considered as belonging to any!’610^
genus or species, are affirmed absolutely and without re- g'
serve of that general idea. Thus we say, “ Gold is very
weighty “ A stone is hard ;” “ Animals have a power of
self-motion.” But in the case of mutual or accidental quali¬
ties, as they depend upon some other consideration distinct
from the general idea, that must also be taken into the ac¬
count, in order to form an accurate judgment. Should we af¬
firm, for instance, of some stones, that they are very suscepti¬
ble of a rolling motion, the proposition, whilst it remains in
this general form, cannot with any advantage be introduced
into our reasonings. An aptness to receive that mode of
motion flows from the figure of the stone, which, as it may
vary infinitely, so our judgment only becomes applicable
and determinate, when the particular figure, of which volu¬
bility is a consequence, is also taken into the account. Let
us then introduce this other consideration, and the proposi¬
tion will run as follows: “ Stones of a spherical form are
easily put into a rolling motion.” Here we see the condition
upon which the predicate is affirmed, and therefore know
in what particular cases the proposition may be applied.
3. This consideration of propositions respecting the man-Absolut
ner in which the predicate is affirmed of the subject, gives and con
rise to the division of them into absolute and conditional ditional
Absolute propositions are those in w hich we affirm some pro-P.roP08i-
perty inseparable from the idea of the subject, and whichtlons,
therefore belongs to it in all possible cases; as, “ God is infi¬
nitely wise;” “ Virtue tends to theultimatehappinessof man.”
But where the predicate is not necessarily connected with
the idea of the subject, unless upon some consideration dis¬
tinct from that idea, there the proposition is called condi¬
tional. The reason of the name is taken from the suppo¬
sition annexed, which is of the nature of a condition, and
may be expressed as such, thus : “ If a stone be exposed
to the rays of the sun, it willcon tract some degree of heat;”
“ If a river run in a very declining channel, its rapidity will
constantly increase ”
4. There is not any thing of greater importance in phi-Impor-
losophy than a due attention to this division of propositions. ta?ce0(
If we be careful never to affirm things absolutely excepting ^ ^
where the ideas are inseparably conjoined, and if in our
other judgments we distinctly mark the conditions which
determine the predicate to belong to the subject, we shall
be the less liable to mistake in applying general truths to
the particular concerns of human life. It is owing to the
exact observance of this rule that mathematicians have been
so fortunate in their discoveries, and that what they demon¬
strate of magnitude in general may be applied with ease
in all obvious occurrences.
5. The truth of it is, that particular propositions are only
known to be true, when we can trace their connection with
universals ; and it is accordingly the great business ol
science to find out general truths which may be applied with
safety in all obvious instances. Now the great advantage
arising from determining with care the conditions upon
which one idea may be affirmed or denied of another, is
this ; that thereby particular propositions really become
universal, may be introduced with certainty into our rea¬
sonings, and serve as standards to conduct and regulate our
judgments. To illustrate this by a familiar instance; if
we say, “ Some water acts very forcibly,” the proposition is
particular ; and as the conditions on which this forcible ac¬
tion depends are not mentioned, it is as yet uncertain in
what cases it may be applied. Let us then supply these
conditions, and the proposition will run thus : “ Water con¬
veyed in sufficient quantity along a steep descent acts very
LOGIC,
Ci forcibly.” Here we have an universal judgment, inasmuch
[pdgqnt. as the predicate^/omiWe action may be ascribed to all water
under the circumstances mentioned. Nor is it less evident
that the proposition in this new form is of easy application;
and in fact we find that men do apply it in instances where
the forcible action of water is required, as in corn-mills and
many other works of art.
5. Of Simple and Compound Propositions.
iinpl(jnd 1. Hitherto we have treated of propositions where only
impo d two ideas are compared together. These are in the ge-
■°P0S neral called simple, because, having but one subject and
ons- one predicate, they are the effect of a simple judgment, that
admits of no subdivision. But if it so happens that seve¬
ral ideas offer themselves to our thoughts at once, by which
we are led to affirm the same thing of different objects, or
different things of the same object, then the propositions ex¬
pressing these judgments are called compound; because
they may be resolved into as many others as there are sub¬
jects or predicates in the whole complex determination on
the mind. Thus, “ God is infinitely wise and infinitely
powerful.” Here there are two predicates, infinite wisdom,
and infinite power, both affirmed of the same subject; and
accordingly the proposition may be resolved into two others,
affirming these predicates severally. In like manner, in the
proposition, “ Neither kings nor people are exempt from
death,” the predicate is denied of both subjects, and may
therefore be separated from them in distinct propositions.
Nor is it less evident, that if a complex judgment consists
of several subjects and predicates, it may be resolved into
as many simple propositions as are the number of different
ideas compared together. “ Riches and honours are apt
to elate the mind, and increase the number of our desires.”
In this judgment there are two subjects and two predicates,
and it is at the same time apparent that it may be resolved
into four distinct propositions. “ Riches are apt to elate
the mind;” “ Riches are apt to increase the number of our
desires.” And so of “ honours.”
2. Logicians have divided these compound propositions
poun into a great many different classes; but, in our opinion,
JO'lbi. not with a due regard to their proper definition. Thus,
conditionals, causals, relatives, and others, are mentioned as
so many distinct species of this kind, though in fact they are
no more than simple propositions. To give an instance of
a conditional; “ If a stone be exposed to the rays of the
sun, it will contract some degree of heat.” Here we have
but one subject and one predicate ; for the complex expres¬
sion, a stone exposed to the rays of the sun, constitutes the
proper subject of this proposition, and is no more than one
determinate idea. I he same thing happens in causals. Thus,
“ Rehoboam was unhappy because he followed evil coun¬
sel.” Here there is an appearance of two propositions
arising from the complexity of the expression ; but when
we come to consider the matted more nearly, it is evident
that we have but a single subject and predicate. “ The
pursuit of evil counsel brought misery upon Rehoboam.”
t is not enough, therefore, to render a proposition com¬
pound, that the subject and predicate are complex notions,
inquiring sometimes a whole sentence to express them;
■or in this case the comparison is still confined to two ideas,
and constitutes what we call a simple judgment. But where
there are several subjects or predicates, or both, as the
affirmation or negation may be alike extended to them all,
the proposition expressing such a judgment is truly a col¬
ection of as many simple ones as there are different ideas
compared. Confining ourselves, therefore, to this more
■l n1Ct ,an<? -iust noti°n of compound propositions, they are
hati * .! Ct*uc‘^e t° two kinds, viz. copidatives and disjunctives.
..A copulative proposition is, where the subjects andpre-
{icates are so linked together that they may be all severally
443
affirmed or denied one of another. Of this nature are the Of
examples of compound propositions given above. “ Riches ^u^nment*
and honours are apt to elate the mind, and increase the
number of our desires ;” “ Neither kings nor people are
exempt from death.” In the first of these, the two predi¬
cates may be affirmed severally of each subject, whence we
have foui distinct propositions. The other furnishes an
example of the negative kind, where the same predicate,
being disjoined from both subjects, may be also denied of
them in separate propositions.
u‘ ™e0ther sPe?ies of compound propositions are those Disjunc-
called disjunctive ; in which, comparing several predicates tive propo-
with the same subject, we affirm that one of them neces-sitions-
sarily belongs to it, but leave the particular predicate un¬
determined. If any one, for example, says, “ This world
either exists of itself, or is the work of some all-wise and
poweiful cause, ’ it is evident that one of the two predicates
must belong to the world; but as the proposition deter¬
mines not which, it is therefore of the kind we call disjunc¬
tive. Such too are the following: “ The sun either moves
round the earth, or is the centre about which the earth re¬
volves; “ Friendship finds men equal, or makes tiiem so.”
It is the nature of all propositions of this class, supposing
them to be exact in point of form, that upon determining
the particular predicate, the rest are of course to be re¬
moved ; or if all the predicates but one are removed, that
one necessarily takes effect, to the exclusion of the others.
Thus, in the example given above, i£ we allow the world to
be the work of some wise and powerful cause, we of course
deny it to be self-existent; or if we deny it to be self-
existent, we must necessarily admit that it was produced
by some wise and powerful cause. Now this particular
manner of linking the predicates together, so that the esta¬
blishing of one displaces all the rest, or the excluding all but
one necessarily establishes that one, cannot otherwise be
effected than by means of disjunctive particles. And hence
it is that propositions of this class take their names from
these particles, which form so necessary a part of them,
and indeed constitute their very nature considered as a dis¬
tinct species.
6.
Of the Division of Propositions into Self-evident and
Demonstrable.
1 osi.
1. When any proposition is offered to the view of theproposi-
mind, if the terms in which it is expressed be understood, tions di-
upon comparing the ideas together, the agreement or dis- vided into
agreement asserted will either be immediately perceived, 0rself-evi*
will be found to lie beyond the actual reach of the under-({ent and
standing. In the first case, the proposition is said to be self- ttSble.
evident, and admits not of any proof, because a bare attention
to the ideas themselves produces full conviction and cer¬
tainty ; nor is it possible to call in any thing more evident
by way of confirmation. But where the connection or re¬
pugnance comes not so readily under the inspection of the
mipd, we must have recourse to reasoning; and if by a
clear series of proofs we can make out the truth proposed,
insomuch that self-evidence shall accompany every step of
the procedure, we are then able to demonstrate what we
assert, and the proposition itself is said to be demonstrable.
When we affirm, for instance, “ That it is impossible for the
same thing to be and not to be,” whoever understands the
teims made use of, perceives at the first glance the truth of
what is asserted, nor can he by any efforts bring himself to
believe the contrary. I he proposition, therefore, is self-
evident, and such that it is impossible by reasoning to make
it plainer ; because there is no truth more obvious or better
known, from which it may be deduced as a consequence.
But if we §ay, This world had a beginning,” the asser¬
tion is indeed equally true, but shines not forth with the
same degree of evidence. We find great difficulty in con-
444
LOGIC.
Self-evi
dent
truths.
Of ceiving how the world could be made out of nothing, and
Judgment. are not brought to a free and full consent, until by reason-
ing we arrive at a clear view of the absurdity involved in
the contrary supposition. Hence this proposition is of the
kind we call demonstrable, inasmuch as its truth is not im¬
mediately perceived by the mind, but yet may be made
clear by means of others more known and obvious, whence
it follows as an unavoidable consequence.
2. From what has been said, it appears that reasoning
is employed only about demonstrable propositions, and that
our intuitive and self-evident perceptions are the ultimate
foundation upon which it rests.
3. Self-evident propositions furnish the first principles
of reasoning; and it is certain, that if in our researches we
employ only such principles as possess this character of self¬
evidence, and apply them according to the rules to be af¬
terwards explained, we shall be in no danger of error in
advancing from one discovery to another. For this we may
appeal to the writings of the mathematicians, which being
conducted by the express model here mentioned, furnish
incontestable proof of the firmness and stability of human
knowledge, when built upon so sure a foundation. For not
only have the propositions of this science stood the test of
ages, but they are found attended with that invincible evi¬
dence, which forces the assent of all who duly consider the
proofs upon which they are established. Since the mathe¬
maticians are universally allowed to have hit upon the right
method of arriving at \4nkn0wn truths, since they have been
the happiest in the choice as well as the application of their
principles, it may not be amiss to explain here their me¬
thod of stating self-evident propositions, and applying them
to the purposes of demonstration.
Defini- 4. First, then, it is to be observed, that they have been
tion a help very careful in ascertaining their ideas, and fixing the sig-
nification of their terms. For this purpose they begin with
definitions, in which the meaning of their words is so dis¬
tinctly explained, that they cannot fail to excite in the
mind of an attentive reader the very same ideas which are
annexed to them by the writer. And indeed the clearness
and irresistible evidence of mathematical knowledge is
owing to nothing so much as this care in laying the foun¬
dation. Where the relation between any two ideas is ac¬
curately and justly traced, it will not be difficult for another
to comprehend that relation, if in setting himself to disco¬
ver it he brings the very same ideas into comparison. But
if, on the contrary, he affixes to his words ideas different
from those that were in the mind of him who first advanced
the demonstration, it is evident, that as the same ideas are
not compared, the same relation cannot subsist, insomuch
that a proposition will be rejected as false, which, had the
terms been rightly understood, must have appeared incon¬
testably true. A square, for instance, is a figure bounded
by four equal right lines, joined together at right angles.
Here the nature of the angles constitutes a part of the idea
no less than the equality of the sides ; and many properties
demonstrated of the square are deduced entirely from its be¬
ing a rectangular figure. If therefore we suppose a man, who
has formed a partial notion of a square, comprehending only
the equality of its sides, without regard to the angles, read¬
ing some demonstration which implies also this latter consi¬
deration, it is plain that he would reject it as not universal¬
ly true, inasmuch as it could not be applied where the sides
were joined together at equal angles. For this last figure,
answering still to his idea of a square, would be yet found
without the property assigned to it in the proposition. But
if he comes afterwards to correct his notion, and to render
his idea complete, he will then readily admit the truth and
justness of the demonstration.
Their use 5. We see, therefore, that nothing contributes so much
in mathe- to the improvement and certainty of human knowledge, as
matics. the having determinate ideas, and keeping them steady and
to clear¬
ness and
evidence
in know¬
ledge.
invariable in all our discourses and reasonings concerning of
them. On this account it is that mathematicians, as has<hidgmei
already been observed, always begin by defining their terms v—'Y''
and distinctly unfolding the notions which they are intended
to express. Hence such as apply themselves to these studies
have exactly the same views of things; and, bringing always
the very same ideas into comparison, they readily discern
the relations between them. It is likewise of importance
in every demonstration, to express the same idea invaria¬
bly by the same word. From this practice mathematicians
never deviate ; and if it be necessary in their demonstra¬
tions, where the reader’s comprehension is aided by a dia¬
gram, it is much more so in all reasonings concerning mo¬
ral or intellectual truths, where the ideas cannot be repre¬
sented by a diagram. The observation of this rule mav
sometimes be productive of ill-sounding periods; but when
truth is the object, euphony ought to be disregarded.
6. When the mathematicians have taken this first step, Establish
and made known the ideas the relations of which they in-m™tof j
tend to investigate, their next care is, to lay down some self- I
evident truths, which may serve as a foundation for their fu- t|le seco1
ture reasonings. And here indeed they proceed with re-thematic
markable circumspection, admitting no principles but such knowledj
as flow immediately from their definitions, and necessarily
force themselves upon every mind in any degree attentive to
its ideas. Thus a circle is a figure formed by a right line
moving round some fixed point in the same plane. The
fixed point round which the line is supposed to move, and
where one of its extremities terminates, is called the centre
of the circle. The other extremity, which is conceived to
be carried round until it returns to the point whence it
first set out, describes a curve running into itself, which is
termed the circumference. All right lines drawn from the
centre to the circumference are called radii. From this de¬
finition geometricians derive the self-evident truth, “ That
the radii of the same circle are all equal to one another;”
or rather, perhaps, it is part of, and involved in, the very
definition.
7. We may now observe, that in all propositions w e either Proposi-
affirm or deny some property of the idea which constitutes1™^'
the subject of our judgment, or w e maintain that something
may be done or effected. The first sort are called s/jecu-
lative propositions, as in the example mentioned above, cai,
“ The radii of the same circle are all equal one to another.”
The others are called practical, for a reason too obvious to
be mentioned; thus, “ That a right line may be drawn from
one point to another,” is a practical proposition, inasmuch
as it expresses that something may be done.
8. From this twofold consideration of propositions arisesMathem;
the twofold division of mathematical principles into axioms fical P™
and postulates. By an axiom is understood any self-evi-0
dent speculative truth ; such as, “ That the whole is great-
er than its parts ;” “ That things equal to one and the same6
thing are equal to one another.” But a self-evident prac¬
tical proposition is what is denominated a postulate. Such
are those of Euclid : “ That a finite right line may be con¬
tinued directly forwards ;” “ That a circle may be described
about any centre with any distance.” And here we have
to observe, that as in an axiom the agreement or disagree¬
ment between the subject and predicate must come under
the immediate inspection of the mind ; so in a postulate, not
only the possibility of the thing asserted must be evident
at first view, but also the manner in which it may be effect¬
ed. For where this manner is not of itself apparent, the
proposition comes under the notion of the demonstrable
kind, and is treated as such by geometrical writers. 4 bus,
“ To draw a right line from one point to another,” is as¬
sumed by Euclid as a postulate, because the manner of
doing it is so obvious, as to require no previous teaching.
But then it is not equally evident how we are to construct
an equilateral triangle. For this reason he advances it
LOGIC. 445
( as a demonstrable proposition, lays down rules for the ex- view, especially if the}' are of such a nature as not to ad- Of
Reas ing- act performance, and at the same time proves, that if these mit of an exact application one to another. Reasoning.
rules are followed, the figure described will be an equila- When, for instance, we compare two figures of a differ-
teral triangle. _ ont form, in order to judge of their equality or inequality,
9. This leads us to take notice, that as self-evident it is plain, that by barely considering the figures them-discovered
truths are distinguishable into different kinds, according as selves, we cannot arrive at an exact determination, be-by means
they are speculative or practical, so is it also with demon- cause, by reason of their disagreeing forms, it is impossi-°f interme-
strable propositions. A demonstrable speculative propo- ble so to put them together that their several parts shall ^eas*
sition is by mathematicians called a theorem. Such is the mutually coincide. Here, then, it becomes necessary to
famous forty-seventh proposition of the first book of the look out for some third idea which will admit of such an
Elements, known by the name of the Pythagorean theorem, application as the case requires, wherein, if we succeed,
from its supposed inventor Pythagoras, viz. “ That in every all difficulties vanish, and the relation we are in quest of
right-angled triangle, the square described upon the side may be traced with ease. Thus, right-lined figures are
subtending the right angle is equal to the sum of the all reduced to squares, by means of which we can mea-
squares described upon the sides containing the right an- sure their areas, and determine exactly their agreement
gle.” On the other hand, a demonstrable practical pro- or disagreement in point of magnitude.
position is called a ■problem; as where Euclid teaches us 2. But how can any third idea serve to discover a rela-T,lis man-
to describe a square upon a given right line. tion between tvfo others ? The answer is, by being com-n.er.of ar'
10. It may not be amiss to add, that, besides the four pared severally with these others; for such a comparison Cutlftenn
kinds of propositions already mentioned, mathematicians enables us to discern how far the ideas with which this third ed reason-'
have also a fifth, known by the name of coro/Zanes. Ihese is compared are connected or disjoined between them-ing.
are usually subjoined in theorems or problems, and differ selves. In the example mentioned above, of two right-
j from them only in this, that they flow from what is there lined figures, if we compare each of them with some square
demonstrated, in so obvious a manner as to discover their whose area is known, and find the one exactly equal to
dependence upon the proposition whence they are de~ it, and the other less by a square inch, we immediately
duced, almost as soon as proposed. Thus, Euclid, having conclude that the area of the first figure is a square inch
demonstrated, “That in every right-lined triangle all the greater than that of the second. This manner of deter-
three angles taken together are equal to two right angles, mining the relation between any two ideas, by the inter¬
adds by way of corollary, “ That all the three angles of vention of some third one with which they may be com-
anyone triangle taken together are equal to all the three pared, is that which we call reasoning, and is indeed the
angles of any other triangle taken together;” which is chief instrument by which we extend our discoveries and
evident at first sight, because in all cases they are equal enlarge our knowledge. The great art consists in finding
to two right angles, and things which are equal to one and out such intermediate ideas as, when compared with others
the same thing are equal to one another.1 * * * * in the question, will furnish evident and known truths;
11. The scholia of mathematicians are indifferently an- because, as will afterwards appear, it is only by means of
nexed to definitions, propositions, or corollaries, and an- these that we arrive at the knowledge of what is hidden
swer the same purposes as annotations upon a classic au- and remote.
thor. For in them occasion is taken to explain whatever 3. Hence it appears that every act of reasoning neces-The parts
may appear intricate and obscure in a train of reasoning ; sarily includes three distinct judgments; two in which thethat con-
to answer objections; to teach the application and uses ideas whose relation we want to discover are severally stltu^.e an
of propositions; to lay open the origin and history of the compared with the middle idea, and a third in which they so^/and
several discoveries which have been made in the science; are themselves connected or disjoined, according to the a syllo-
and, in a word, to acquaint us with all such particulars result of that comparison. Now, as in the second part ofgism.
J as deserve to be known, whether considered as points of logic, our judgments, when put into words, were called
curiosity or of profit. propositions, so here in the third part the expressions of
our reasonings are termed syllogisms. And hence it fol¬
lows, that as every act of reasoning implies three several
in.—of reasoning. judgments, so every syllogism must include three distinct
propositions. When reasoning is thus put into words, and
1. Of Reasoning in general, and the Parts of which it con- appears in the form of a syllogism, the intermediate idea
sists. made use of to discover the agreement or disagreement
we search for is called the middle term, and the two ideas
It often happens, in comparing together ideas, that their themselves with which this third is compared are denomi-
a agreement or disagreement cannot be discerned at first nated the extremes.
1 It is proper here to caution the reader against being led into any misconception as to the real nature of axioms, which, as above
stated, have commonly been understood to mean “ self-evident speculative truths.” That they are “ self-evident” is undeniable;
but it is not so easy to see how they can be called “ speculative truths,” since in all cases where they predicate equality they are
identical propositions, and, where they do not, they are mere truisms, if we may use such a term, or propositions of such a kind that
to suppose the contrary would involve an obvious absurdity. When we say, That the whole is equal to all its parts put together,
or. That things which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another, we merely express two identical propositions, or in
effect just affirm that a = a, and y =y; affirmations which can add nothing either to the evidence or the truth of any demonstra¬
tion. Such propositions amount only to a sort of jeu de mots. Besides, they are illogical, inasmuch as the “ self-evident” truth
which is predicated in the second is invariably assumed in the first branch of the proposition. The “ whole” necessarily includes all
its parts, and “ things equal to one and the same thing” involve mutual equality. If we were to repeat the axiom, “ That whatever
is, is for an age, or for ages, we would not be in any respect wiser, or nearer to the discovery of any truth not self-evident, than
we were before. Again, when we say. That the whole is greater than any of its parts, we merely affirm a truism, since the bare idea
of a “ whole” necessarily excludes that of the equality of any of its parts. It is, therefore, a mistake to suppose that axioms add any
thing to the clearness or force of mathematical evidence. No conclusion whatever can be deduced from an identical proposition, in
which the thing assumed is also the thing predicated. The whole fabric of geometry is built, hot upon axioms, but upon definitions,
expressing simple facts, as, for instance, the definition of a circle ; and the real character of geometrical evidence consists in this,
that it is founded, not upon identical propositions or truisms, but upon an appeal to observation, though of the simplest and most
elementary kind. & u.\
446
LOGIC.
. 4. But as these things are best illustrated by examples,
easonmg. ]ej. ug^ por instancej sej; ourselves to inquire “ Whether men
be accountable for their actions.” As the relation between
the ideas of man and accountableness comes not within the
immediate view of the mind, our first care must be to find
out some third idea that will enable us the more easily to
discover and trace it. A very small measure of reflection
is sufficient to inform us, that no creature can be account-
tween the premises, where these extremes are severallv
compared with the middle term. That proposition which W
compares the greater extreme, or the predicate of the
conclusion, with the middle term, is called the major Vr0M*u
position ; the other, in which the same middle term ' 1
is com-
iflinor
pared with the subject of the conclusion or lesser extreme* 111
is called the minor proposition. All this is obvious from’^1
is sumcient to inform us, that no creature can be account- the syllogism already stated, where the conclusion i sitw
able for his actions unless we suppose him capable of “ Man is accountable for his actions.” For here the nrS’ °n
distinguishing good from evil; that is, unless we suppose dicate accountable for his actions being connected with th*
him possessed of reason. Nor is this alone sufficient. For middle term in the first of the two premises, « Ever6
what would it avail him to know good from evil actions creature possessed of reason and liberty is accountable
if he had no freedom of choice, and could not avoid the for his actions,” gives what we call the major proposition
one or pursue the other ? Hence it becomes necessary to In the second of the premises, “ Man is a creature nos
take in both considerations in the present case. It is at sessed of reason and liberty,” we find the lesser extreme"
the same time equally apparent, that wherever there is the or subject of the conclusion, viz. mail, connected with the
ability of distinguishing good from bad actions, and of pur- same middle term, whence it is known to be the minor
suing the one and avoiding the other, there also a creature proposition. When a syllogism is proposed in due form
is accountable. We have then got a third idea, with the major proposition is always placed first, the minor
which accountableness is inseparably connected, viz. reason next, and the conclusion last.
and liberty, which are here to be considered as forming 7. These things being premised, we may in general de-In ’
one complex conception. Let us now take this middle fine reasoning to be an act or operation of the mind de-actoS
idea, and compare it with the other term in the question, ducing some unknown proposition from other previoussoning)t
viz. man, and we all know by experience that it may be ones which are evident and known. These previous propo-prem®s
affirmed of him. Having thus, by means of the interme- sitions, in a simple act of reasoning, are only two in num-niustbei
diate idea, formed two several judgments, viz. that man is ber ; and it is always required that they be of themselvesf'T
possessed of reason and liberty, and that reason and liberty apparent to the understanding, insomuch that we assent ^ '''
imply accountableness, a third obviously and necessarily to and perceive the truth of them as soon as proposed,
follows, viz. that man is accountable for his actions. Here In the syllogism above given, the premises are supposed
then we have a complete act of reasoning, in which, ac- to be self-evident truths, otherwise the conclusion could
cording to what has been already observed, there are not be inferred by a single act of reasoning. If, for in-
three distinct judgments ; two which may be styled pre- stance, in the major, “ Every creature possessed of reason
vious, inasmuch as they lead to the other, and arise from and liberty is accountable for his actions,” the connection
comparing the middle idea with the two ideas contained in between the subject and predicate could not be perceived
the question; the third is a consequence of these previous by a bare attention to the ideas themselves, it is evident
acts, and flows from combining the extreme ideas between that this proposition would no less require a proof than
* themselves. If now we put this reasoning into words, it the conclusion deduced from it. In this case a new mid¬
exhibits what logicians term a syllogism, and, when pro- die term must be sought for to trace the connection here
posed in due form, runs thus : “ Every creature possess- supposed; and this of course furnishes another syllogism,
ed of reason and liberty is accountable for his actions, by which having established the proposition in question,
Man is a creature possessed of reason and liberty : There- we are then, and not before, at liberty to use it in any
_ fore man is accountable for his actions.” succeeding train of reasoning. And should it so happen,
conclusion 5‘ syllogism we may observe, that there are that in this second essay there still existed some previous
extremes”’f111"66 several propositions expressing the three judgments proposition whose truth did not appear at first sight, we
middle implied in the act of reasoning, and so disposed as to re¬
term. present distinctly what passes within the mind in tracing
the more distant relations of its ideas. The first two pro¬
positions answer the two previous judgments in reason¬
ing, and are called the premises, because they are placed
before the other. The third is termed the conclusion, as
being gained in consequence of what was asserted in the
premises. We are also to I’emember that the terms express¬
ing the two ideas the relations of which we inquire into,
as man and accountableness, are in general called the ex¬
tremes; and that the intermediate idea, by means of which
must then have recourse to a third syllogism in order
to lay open that truth to the mind; because, as long as
the premises remain uncertain, the conclusion built upon
them must be so likewise. When, by conducting our
thoughts in this manner, we at last arrive at some syllo¬
gism where the previous propositions are intuitive truths,
the mind then rests in full security, as perceiving that
the several conclusions it has passed through stand upon
the immoveable foundation of self-evidence, and, when
traced to their source, terminate in it.
8. We see, therefore, that in order to infer a conclu-Reason%
the relation is traced, viz. a creature possessed of reason sion by a single act of reasoning, the premises must beontyac011
and liberty, takes the name of the middle term. Hence intuitive propositions. Where they are not, previous syl-
it fnllnws. that hv thp nremiRpa a avllno-iam wp nro logisms are required ; in which case reasoning becomes a0 ^ C
it follows, that by the premises of a syllogism we are
always to understand the two propositions where the
middle term is severally compared with the extremes;
for these constitute the previous judgments, whence the
truth we are in quest of is by reasoning deduced. The
conclusion is that other proposition, in which the ex¬
tremes themselves are joined or separated, agreeably to
what appears upon the above comparison.
6. The conclusion is made up of the extreme terms of siderably removed from self-evidence, yet if we trace the
the syllogism ; and the extreme which serves as the pre- reasoning backwards, we shall find them the conclusions of
dicate of the conclusion goes byftthe name of the major previous syllogisms, whose premises approach nearer and
term ; the other extreme, which makes the subject in the nearer to intuition in proportion as we advance, and are
same proposition, is called the minor term. From this found at last to terminate in it. x\nd if, after having thus
distinction of the extremes arises also a distinction be- unravelled a demonstration, we take it the contrary way,
. . _ gisms.
complicated act, taking m a variety of successive steps.
This frequently happens in tracing the more remote rela¬
tion of our ideas, where, many middle terms being called
in, the conclusion cannot be made out but in consequence
of a series of syllogisms following one another in train.
But although in this concatenation of propositions, those
which form the premises of the last syllogism are often con-
*
Qt and observe how the mind, setting out with intuitive per-
ieasoDig- ceptions, couples them together to form a conclusion ; how
ituit'i?
■rtain
iquin:
eve;:
of'iie
ope-1
on.
ep
LOGIC.
447
■asons^
'ofoldi
le fir:
> id re :
•ds tt
oera id
■cies 1
ngs
psbv
ch w
vea;
'’clu-
4s of
sort,
hv introducing this conclusion into another syllogism, it
still advances one step farther, and so proceeds, making
every new discovery subservient to its future progress;
we shall then perceive clearly that reasoning, in the high¬
est sense of that faculty, is no more than an orderly com¬
bination of those simple acts which we have already so
fully explained.
9. Thus we see, that reasoning, beginning with first prin¬
ciples, rises gradually from one judgment to another, and
connects them in such manner that every stage of the pro¬
gression brings intuitive certainty along with it. And now
at length we may clearly understand the definition given
above of this distinguishing faculty of the human mind.
Reason, we have said, is the ability of deducing unknown
truths from principles or propositions which are already
known. This appears evident by the foregoing account,
where we see that no proposition is admitted into a syllo¬
gism to serve as one of the previous judgments on which
the conclusion rests, unless it be itself a known and esta¬
blished truth, the connection of which with self-evident
principles has already been traced.
2. Of the several kinds of Reasoning ; and, first, of that by
which we determine the Genera and Species of Things.
All the aims of human reason may in the general be re¬
duced to these two: First, to rank things under those uni¬
versal ideas to which they truly belong; and, secondly, to
ascribe to them their several attributes and properties in
consequence of that distribution.
2. One great aim of human reason is to determine the
genera and species of things. We have seen, in the first
part of this treatise, how the mind proceeds in framing ge¬
neral ideas. We have also seen, in the second part, how,
by means of these general ideas, we come by universal pro¬
positions. Now, as in these universal propositions we affirm
some property of a genus or species, it is plain that we
cannot apply this property to particular objects till we have
first determined whether they are comprehended under that
general idea of which the property is affirmed. Thus there
are certain properties belonging to all even numbers, which
nevertheless cannot be applied to any particular number,
until we have first discovered it to be of the species ex¬
pressed by that natural name. Hence reasoning begins
with referring things to their several divisions and classes
in the scale of our ideas; and as these divisions are all dis¬
tinguished by particular names, we thereby learn to apply
the terms expressing general conceptions to such particu¬
lar objects as come under our immediate observation.
3. Now, in order to arrive at these conclusions, by which
the several objects of perception are brought under general
names, two things are manifestly necessary. First, that we
should take a view of the idea itself, which is denoted by that
general name, and carefully attend to the distinguishing
marks which serve to characterize it. Secondly, that we
should compare this idea with the object under considera¬
tion, observing diligently wherein they agree or differ. If
the idea be found to correspond with the particular object,
we then without hesitation apply the general name; but if
no such correspondence intervene, the conclusion must ne¬
cessarily take a contrary turn. Let us, for instance, take the
number eight, and consider by what steps we are led to pro¬
nounce it an even number. First, then, we call to mind the
idea signified by the expression an even number, viz. that it
is a number divisible into two equal parts. We then compare
this idea with the number eight, and finding them manifest¬
ly to agree, see at once the necessity of admitting the con¬
clusion. These several judgments, therefore, transferred
into language, and reduced to the form of a syllogism, ap¬
pear thus: “ Every number that may be divided into two Of
equal parts is an even number: The number eight may be Reasoning,
divided into two equal parts : Therefore the number eight •
is an even number.”
4. Here it maybe observed, that where the general idea, Those steps
to which pai ticular objects are referred, is perfectly familiar always
to the mind, and frequently in view, this reference, and the followed,
application of the general name, seem to be made without
any apparatus of reasoning. When we see a horse in the
fields, or a dog in the street, we readily apply the name of
|he species ; habit, and a familiar acquaintance with the
general idea, suggesting it instantaneously to the mind.
We are not however to imagine on this account that the
understanding departs from the usual rules of just thinking.
A frequent repetition of acts begets a habit; and habits are
attended with a certain promptness of execution, which pre¬
vents our observing the several steps and gradations by
which any course of action is accomplished. But in other
instances, where we judge not by precontracted habits, as
when the general idea is very complex, or less familiar to
the mind, we always proceed according to the form of
reasoning established above. A goldsmith, for instance,
who is in doubt as to any piece of metal, whether it be of
the species called gold, first examines its properties, and
then, comparing them with the general idea signified by
that name, if he find a perfect correspondence, no longer
hesitates under what class of metals to rank it.
5. Nor let it be imagined that our researches here, be- Impor-
cause in appearance bounded to the imposing of general tance of
names upon particular objects, afe therefore trivial and ofthisbranch
little consequence. Some of the most considerable debates ?f reason*
amongst mankind, and such too as nearly regard their lives, ins‘
interest, and happiness, turn wholly upon this article. Is
it not the chief employment of our several courts of judica¬
ture to determine, in particular instances, what is law, jus¬
tice, and equity ? Of what importance is it in many cases
to decide aright whether an action shall be termed murder or
manslaughter^ We perceive then that no less than the lives
and fortunes of men depend often upon these decisions.
The reason is plain. Actions, when once referred to a ge¬
neral idea, draw after them all that may be affirmed of that,
idea ; insomuch that the determining the species of actions
is all one with determining what proportion of praise or
dispraise, commendation or blame, ought to follow them.
For as it is allowed that murder deserves death, by bring¬
ing any particular action under the head of murder, we of
course decide the punishment due to it.
6. But the great importance of this branch of reasoning, Exact ob-
and the necessity of care and circumspection in referring servance of
particular objects to general ideas, is still further evidentRpract‘sed
from the practice of the mathematicians. Every one who “athe-
has read Euclid, knows that he frequently requires us tomaticians*
draw lines through certain points, and according to such
and such directions ; and that the figures thence resulting
are often squares, parallelograms, or rectangles. Yet Euclid
never supposes this from their bare appearance, but always
demonstrates it upon the strictest principles of geometry.
Nor is the method he takes in any thing different from that
described above. Thus, for instance, having defined a square
to be a figure bounded by four equal sides joined together
at right angles, when such a figure arises in any con¬
struction previous to the demonstration of a proposition, he
never calls it by that name until he has shown that its sides
are equal, and all its angles right angles. Now this is appa¬
rently the same form of reasoning we have before exhibit¬
ed in proving eight to be an even number.
7. Having thus explained the rules by which we are to Fixed in¬
conduct ourselves in ranking particular objects under ge-variable
neral ideas, and shown their conformity to the practice and ideas,
manner of the mathematicians, it remains only to observe,
that the true way of rendering this part of knowledge both
448
LOGIC.
Of easy and certain is, by habituating ourselves to clear and
Reasoning, determinate ideas, and by keeping these steadily annexed to
their respective names. For as all our aim is to apply ge¬
neral words aright, if these words stand for invariable ideas
which are perfectly known to the mind, and can be readily
distinguished upon occasion, there will be little danger of
mistake or error in our reasonings. Let us suppose that,
by examining any object, and carrying our attention suc¬
cessively from one part of it to another, we have made our¬
selves acquainted with the several particulars observable in
it. If amongst these we find such as constitute some general
idea, framed and settled beforehand by the understanding,
and distinguished by a particular name, the resemblance
thus known and perceived necessarily determines the spe¬
cies of the object, and thereby gives it a right to the name
by which that species is called. Thus four equal sides, join¬
ed together at right angles, constitute the notion of a square.
As this is a fixed and invariable idea, without which the
general name cannot be applied, we never call any par-
ticxdar figure a square until it appears to have these se¬
veral conditions ; and, contrarily, wherever a figure is found
to possess these conditions, it necessarily takes the name of
a square. The same will be found to hold in all our other
reasonings of this kind, where nothing can create any dif¬
ficulty but the want of settled ideas. If, for instance, we
have not determined within ourselves the precise notion
denoted by the word manslaughter, it will be impossible
for us to decide whether any particular action ought to bear
that name ; because, however nicely we may examine the
action itself, yet, being strangers to the general idea with
which it is to be compared, we are utterly unable to judge
of their agreement or disagreement. But if we take care
to remove this obstacle, and distinctly trace the two ideas
under consideration, all difficulties vanish, and the resolu¬
tion becomes both easy and certain.
8. Thus we see of what importance it is towards the im¬
provement and certainty of human knowledge, that we
should accustom ourselves-to clear and determinate ideas,
and to a steady application of words.
3. Of Reasoning, as it regards the Powers and Properties
of Thbigs, and the Relations of our general Ideas.
Distinction L We now come to the second great end which men
of reason- have in view in their reasonings; namely, the discovering
mg, as it anj ascribing to things their several attributes and proper-
sSences™6 ties’ And here lt wil1 be necessary to distinguish be¬
am! com- tween reasoning, as it regards the sciences, and as it con-
mon life, cerns common life. In the sciences, our reason is employ¬
ed chiefly about universal truths, because by these alone
are the bounds of human knowledge enlarged. Hence
the division of things into various classes, called otherwise
genera and species. For these universal ideas being set up
as the representatives of many particular things, whatever
is affirmed of them may be also affirmed of all the indivi¬
duals to which they belong. Murder, for instance, is a
general idea, representing a certain species of human ac¬
tions. Reason tells us that the punishment due to it is
death. Hence every particular action, coming under the
notion of murder, has the punishment of death allotted to
it. Here then we apply the general truth to some obvious
instance, and this is what properly constitutes the reason¬
ing of common life; for men, in their ordinary transac¬
tions and intercourse with one another, have, for the most
part, to do only with particular objects. Our friends and
relations, their characters and behaviour, the constitution
of the several bodies that surround us, and the uses to
which they may be applied, are what chiefly engage our
attention. In all these, we reason about particular things ;
and the whole result of our reasoning is, the applying the
general truths of the sciences in the ordinary transactions
of human life. When we see a viper, we avoid it. Wher*
ever we have occasion for the forcible action of water toll ^
move a body which makes considerable resistance, we take Jiv
care to convey it in such a manner that it shall fall up0n
the object with impetuosity. Now all this happens in con¬
sequence of our familiar and ready application of these
two general truths: “ The bite of a viper is mortal •”
“ Water falling upon any body with impetus, acts very
forcibly towards setting it in motion.” In like manner, if
we set ourselves to consider any particular character, in
order to determine the share of praise or dispraise which
belongs to it, our great concern is to ascertain exactly the
proportion of virtue and vice. The reason is obvious. A
just determination, in all cases of this kind, depends en¬
tirely upon an application of these general maxims of mo¬
rality : “ Virtuous actions deserve praise“ Vicious ac¬
tions deserve blame.”
2. Hence it appears that reasoning, as it regards com-s,
mon life, is no more than the ascribing the general pro- the tea I
perties of things to those several objects with which wesoning ;
are more immediately concerned, according as they arecomi™
found to be of that particular division or class to which the*^6'
properties belong. The steps, then, by which we proceed,
are manifestly these. First, we refer the object under
consideration to some general idea or class of things. We
then recollect the several attributes of that general idea.
And, lastly, we ascribe all those attributes to the actual ob¬
ject. Thus, in considering the character of Sempronius,
if we find it to be of the kind called virtuous, when we at
the same time reflect that a virtuous character is deserv¬
ing of esteem, it naturally and obviously follows that Sem¬
pronius is an estimable man. These thoughts put into a
syllogism, in order to exhibit the form of reasoning here
required, run thus : “ Every virtuous man is worthy of
esteem. Sempronius is a virtuous man : Therefore Sem¬
pronius is worthy of esteem.”
3. By this syllogism it appears, that before we affirm Connec
anything of a particular object, that object must be refer-tionanc
red to some general idea. Sempronius is pronounced depen.
worthy of esteem only in consequence of his being avir-denceo:
tuous man, or coming under that general notion. Hencej^1™
we see the necessary connection of the various parts oQrea'
reasoning, and the dependence which they have one uponsonjng,
another. The determining the genera and the species of
things is, as we have said, one exercise of human reason;
and here we find that this exercise is the first in order, and
previous to the other, which consists in ascribing to them
their powers, properties, and relations. But when wejiave
taken this previous step, and brought particular objects
under general names, as the properties we ascribe to them
are no other than those of the general idea, it is plain that,
in order to a successful progress in this part of knowledge,
we must thoroughly acquaint ourselves with the several
relations and attributes of these our general ideas. When
this is done, the other part will be easy, and require scarce¬
ly any labour or thought, being no more than an applica¬
tion of the general form of reasoning represented in the
foregoing syllogism. Now, as it has already been sufficient¬
ly shown how we are to proceed in determining the genera
and species of things, which, as we have stated, is the pre¬
vious step to this second branch of human knowledge, all
that is further wanting towards a due explanation of it is,
to offer some considerations as to the manner of investigat¬
ing the general relations of our ideas. This is the high¬
est exercise of the powers of the understanding, and that
by means of which we arrive at the discovery of univer¬
sal truths ; insomuch that our deductions in this way con¬
stitute that particular species of reasoning which, we have
before said, regards principally the sciences.
4. But, that we may conduct our thoughts with some de¬
gree of order and method, we shall begin with observing,
0I that the relations of our general ideas are of two kinds;
easoMg- either such as immediately discover themselves, upon com-
V paring the ideas one with another ; or such as, being more
htogif-remote and distant, require art and contrivance to bring
lired ' them into view. The relations of the first kind furnish us
ake a
wd nr
exW
■P,
medi;
"w,
'll
ing
logic.
449
. . . j ir • i ^ ^ rri, T :  v^cii unucioiuuu uie manner oi rorming the
with intuitive and self-evident truths. Those of the second mind, always began with mathematics as the foundation of
soning that makes a reasoner; and therefore the true way Of
to acquire this talent is, by being much conversant in those Reasoning,
sciences where the art of reasoning requires to be exercis-
ed in the greatest perfection. Hence it was that the an¬
cients, who so well understood the manner of forming the
are traced by reasoning, and a due application of interme¬
diate ideas. It is of the latter kind that we are to speak
here, having despatched what was necessary with regard to
the other in the second part. As, therefore, in tracing the
more distant relations of things, we must always have re¬
course to intervening ideas, and are more or less success¬
ful in our researches, according to our acquaintance with
these ideas, and ability in applying them ; so it is evident
that, to make a good reasoner, two things are principally
required: First, An extensive knowledge of those inter¬
mediate ideas, by means of which things may be compared
their philosophical studies. In this pursuit the under¬
standing is by degrees habituated to truth, it contracts in¬
sensibly a certain fondness for it, and learns never to yield
its assent to any proposition but where the evidence is suffi¬
cient to produce full conviction. For this reason Plato has
called mathematical demonstrations the cathartics or pur¬
gatives of the soul, as being the proper means of cleansing
it from error, and restoring that natural exercise of its fa¬
culties in which just thinking consists.
8. If, therefore, we would form our minds to a habit of Value of
    — - -<* w.xwgo uc uumpcu eu reasoning closely and in train, we cannot take any moremathema-
one with another; and, secondly, I he skill and talent of certain method than that of exercising ourselves in mathe-tical de*
applying them happily in all particular instances which come matical demonstrations, so as to contract a kind of familia- “onstra'
under consideration. rity with them. Not that we look upon it as necessary thattl0nS-
Jn order t0 ou.r successful^ progress in reasoning, we all men should be deep mathematicians; but that, having
kj -must have an extensive knowleage of those intermediate mastered the way of reasoning which that study necessari-
lij.1 , by m£ans of. w.hich things “ay be compared one with ly brings the mind to, they may be able to transfer it to
mi another- /or as.lt ^ pot every idea that will answer the other parts of knowledge, as they shall afterwards have oc-
inpurpose of our inquiries, but only such as are peculiarly casion.
related to the objects about which we reason, so as, by a 9. But though the study of mathematics be of all others Value of
comparison with them, to furnish evident and known truths, the most useful to form the mind, and to give it an early re- authors dis-
notlung is more apparent than that, the greater variety of lish for truth, yet other parts of philosophy ought not to be tinguished
conceptions we can call into view, the more likely are we neglected. For there also we meet with many onnortuni-forJs.rength
to find some amongst them which will help us to the truths ties of exercising the powers of the understanding ; andnessJof rea
here required. And,_ indeed, it is found to hold in expe- the variety of subjects naturally leads us to observe allsonino'.
nence, that m proportion as we enlarge our views of things, those different turns of thinking which are peculiarly adant- °
fad grow acquainted with a multitude of different objects, ed to the several ideas we examine, and the truth we search
after. A mind thus trained acquires a certain mastery over
the reasoning faculty gathers strength ; for, by extending
our sphere of knowledge, the mind acquires a certain force
and penetration, as being accustomed to examine the se¬
veral appearances of its ideas, and observe what light they
throw upon one another.
6. This is the reason why, in order to excel remarkably
in any one branch of learning, it is necessary to have at
least a general acquaintance with the whole circle of the
arts and sciences. 1 he truth is, that all the various divisions
of human knowledge are very nearly related amongst them¬
selves, and, in innumerable instances, serve to illustrate
and set off one another. And although it is not to be de-
its own thoughts, insomuch that it can arrange and model
them at pleasure, and call such into view as best suit its
actual designs. Now in this consists the whole art of rea¬
soning ; from amongst a great variety of different ideas to
single out those which are most proper for the business in
hand, and to lay them together in such order, that from
plain and easy beginnings, by gentle degrees, and a con¬
tinued train of evident truths, we maybe insensibly led on
to such discoveries as at our first setting out would appear
beyond the reach of human understanding. For this
purpose, besides the study of mathematics already recom-
ni0a u i .. .. .° “ ^ LUI. Biuuy ui Iimuieuiaucs already recom-
d that, by an obstinate application to one branch of mended, we should apply ourselves diligently to the read¬
's udy, a man may make considerable progress, and acquire ing of such authors as have distinguished themselves for
some degree of eminence in it, yet his views will always strength of reasoning, and a just and accurate manner of
>e narrow and contracted, and he will want that masterly thinking; for it is observable, that a mind exercised and
iscernment which not only enables us to pursue our disco- seasoned to truth seldom rests satisfied with the bare con¬
venes with ease, but also, in laying them open to others, to templation of the arguments offered by others, but will be
spread a certain brightness around them. But when our frequently essaying its own strength, and pursuing its dis-
reasomng regards a particular science, it is further neces- coveries upon the plan which it is most accustomed to.
/ry t lat we should more nearly acquaint ourselves with Thus we insensibly contract a habit of tracing truth from
ia ever relates to that science. A general knowledge is one stage to another, and of investigating those general
j^arat.10nh ant ei\a^les ,us t0 proceed with ease relations and properties which we afterwards ascribe to
particular things, according as we find them comprehend¬
ed under the abstract ideas to which the properties belong.
ind expedition in whatever branch of learning we apply to.
but then, in the minute and intricate questions of any sci-
mce, we are by no means qualified to reason with advan-
age until we have perfectly mastered the science to which
hey belong.
\\ e come now to the second thing required in order
4. Of the Forms of Syllogisms.
(h -m>
u/4 #*’
,, _ ... . ~ o i “ — — * “ J. Hither to we have contented ourselves with mvinp* a mmivne
md XfSte8 “ reas»'l;I'g; general nolion of syllogisms, and of the parts of whfch they syUogSns.
Q ta ent of applying intermediate ideas happily in all consist. It is now time to enter a little more particular!v
1 iere rules^ ConsiderTaTtion- ]And into the subject, to examine their various forms, and tolly
lienee are th^hpTLT 0ffl lev'erVhe' UseandeX" d°7n .the rules of argumentation proper to each. In the
nay boast of 1 1 ^ c r01’’ however l^'/ans syllogisms mentioned in the foregoing chapters, we mav
aid rule b G t0 form ?er\Ct reafnef by b°°k observe, that the middle term is the subject of the major
•euts doU n t by exPe.rience that tbe study of their pre- proposition, and the predicate of the minor. This dispo-
he umWnn^ any gr.eat depe? strength to sition, though the most natural and obvious, is not, how-
vol. xii/ ding* In Sb°rt’ U 18 tbe bablt a one of rea" ever> necessary, as it frequently happens that the middle
3 L
450 LOGIC.
term is the subject in both the premises, or the predicate
Reasoning. ;n . an(j sometimes, directly contrary to its disposi-
tion in foregoing chapters, it is the predicate in the ma¬
jor, and the subject in the minor. Hence the distinction of
syllogisms into various kinds, called figures by logicians;
for figure, according to their use of the word, is nothing
else but the order and disposition of the middle term in
any syllogism. And as this disposition is, as we have shown,
fourfold, so the figures of syllogisms thence arising are four
in number. When the middle term is the subject of the
major proposition, and the predicate of the minor, we have
what is called the first figure ; as, “ No work of God is
bad : The natural passions and appetites of men are the
^rk of God: Therefore none of them is bad.” If, on
the other hand, it is the predicate of both the premises,
the syllogism is said to be the second figure; as, “ What¬
ever is bad is not the work of God : All the natural pas¬
sions and appetites of men are the work of God : There¬
fore the natural passions and appetites of men are not
bad.” Again, in the third figure, the middle term is the
subject of the two premises : as, “ All Africans are black :
All Africans are men: Therefore some men are black.”
And, lastly, by making it the predicate of the major, and
subject of the minor, we obtain syllogisms in the fourth
figure; as, “ The only Being who ought to be worship¬
ped is the Creator and Governor of the world : The Crea¬
tor and Governor of the world is God : Therefore God
is the only Being who ought to be worshipped.”
Moods of 2. But, besides this fourfold distinction of syllogisms,
syllogisms, there is also a further subdivision of them in every figure,
arising from the quantity and quality, as they are called,
of the propositions. By quantity we mean the considera¬
tion of propositions, as universal or particular; by quality,
as affirmative or negative.
Now as, in all the several dispositions of the middle
term, the propositions of which a syllogism consists may
be either universal or particular, affirmative or negative,
the due determination of these, and the putting them to¬
gether as the laws of argumentation require, constitute
what logicians call the moods of syllogisms. Of these
moods there is a determinate number to every figure, in¬
cluding all the possible ways in which propositions dif¬
fering in quantity or quality can be combined, according
to any disposition of the middle term, in order to arrive
at a just conclusion.
The first figure has only four legitimate moods. The
major proposition in this figure must be universal, and the
minor affirmative ; and it has this property, that it yields
conclusions of all kinds, affirmative and negative, univer¬
sal and particular.
The second figure has also four legitimate moods. Its
major proposition must be universal, and one of the pre¬
mises must be negative. It yields conclusions both uni¬
versal and particular, but all negative.
The third figure has six legitimate moods. Its minor
must always be affirmative ; and it yields conclusions both
affirmative and negative, but all particular. These are
all the figures which were admitted by the inventor of
syllogisms, and of which, so far as we know, the number
of legitimate moods has been ascertained, and severally
demonstrated. In every figure it will be found upon trial
that there are sixty-four different moods of syllogism ;
and he who thinks it worth while to construct so many in
the fourth figure, always remembering that the middle
term in each must be the predicate of the major and the
subject of the minor proposition, will easily discern what
number of these moods are legitimate, and evolve true con¬
clusions.
Besides the rules which are proper to each figure, Aris¬
totle has given some that are common to all, by which
the legitimacy of syllogisms may be tried. These may be
reduced to five, viz. 1. There must be only three terms in 0f
a syllogism; and as each term occurs in two of the pro-Reason!
positions, it must be precisely the same in both; for if it
be not, the syllogism is said to have four terms, which
makes a vicious syllogism. 2. The middle term must be
taken universally in one of the premises. 3. Both pre¬
mises must not be particular propositions, nor both nega¬
tive. 4. The conclusion must be particular, if either of the
premises be particular; and negative, if either of the pre¬
mises be negative. 5. No term can be taken universally
in the conclusion, if it be not taken universally in the pre¬
mises. For understanding the second and fifth of these
rules, it is necessary to observe, that a term is said to
be taken universally, not only when it is the subject of a
universal proposition, but also when it is the predicate at &
negative proposition ; and, on the other hand, a term is said
to be taken particularly, when it is either the subject of a
particular or the predicate of an affirmative proposition.
3. The division of syllogisms according to moods andFounda
figures respects those especially which are known by thetionofti
name of plain simple syllogisms ; that is, which are limited°.t!ler<ii'
to three propositions, all of them simple, and where thef10"0^8
extremes and middle term are connected, according to the 0"15™5,
rules above laid down. But as the mind is not tied down
to any one precise form of reasoning, but sometimes makes
use of more, sometimes of fewer premises, and often em¬
ploys compound and conditional propositions, it may not
be amiss to take notice of the different forms derived from
this source, and explain the rules by which the mind con¬
ducts itself in the use of them.
4. When in any syllogism the major is a conditional Condltiof
proposition, the syllogism itself is termed conditional^tym
Thus : “ If there be a God, he ought to be worshipped:
But there is a God : Therefore he ought to be worshipped.”
In this example the major or first proposition is, we see,
conditional, and therefore the syllogism itself is also
of the kind called conditional. And here we must ob¬
serve, that all conditional propositions are composed of two
distinct parts ; one expressing the condition upon which
the predicate agrees or disagrees with the subject, as in
this now before us, If there be a God ; and the other joining
or disjoining the said predicate and subject, as here, he
ought to be worshipped. The first of these parts, or that
which implies the condition, is called the antecedent; the
second, where we join or disjoin the predicate and sub¬
ject, receives the name of the consequent.
5. In all propositions of this kind, supposing them to Ground i
be exact in point of form, the relation between the ante-re^lon 1
cedent and consequent must ever be true and real; that^^
is, the antecedent must always contain some certain and0'
genuine condition, which necessarily implies the conse¬
quent ; for otherwise the proposition itself will be false,
and therefore ought not to be admitted into our reason¬
ings. Hence it follows, that when any conditional pro¬
position is assumed, if we admit the antecedent of that
proposition, we must at the same time necessarily admit
the consequent; but if we reject the consequent, we are
in like manner bound to reject the antecedent. For as
the antecedent always expresses some condition which
necessarily implies the truth of the consequent, by ad¬
mitting the antecedent, we allow of that condition, and
therefore ought also to admit the consequent. In like
manner, if it appear that the consequent ought to be re¬
jected, the antecedent must evidently be so too; because,
as has just been demonstrated, the admission of the ante¬
cedent would necessarily imply the admission likewise of
the consequent.
6. There are two ways of arguing in hypothetical syllo- Two ^
gisms, which lead to a certain and unavoidable conc^u'”^0(]itiot
sion ; for, as the major is always a conditional proposi- ^h^sii
tion, consisting of an antecedent and a consequent, if the
LOGIC.
451
Of minor admit the antecedent, it is plain that the conclu-
veasong-sion must admit the consequent. This is called arguing
v^'/from the admission of the antecedent to the admission of
the consequent, and constitutes that mood or species of
hypothetical syllogisms which is distinguished in the
schools by the name of the 7nodns ponens, inasmuch as by
it the whole conditional proposition, both antecedent and
consequent, is established. Thus : “ If God is infinitely
wise, and acts with perfect freedom, he does nothing but
what is best: But God is infinitely wise, and acts with
perfect freedom : Therefore he does nothing but what is
It
1(
c
ci
ese i
':! deali?
i imatc
■ « of I -
i!o
best.
Here we see that the antecedent or first part of the con¬
ditional proposition is established in the minor, and the
consequent or second part in the conclusion ; whence the
syllogism itself is an example of the modus ponens. But
if, on the contrary, we suppose that the minor rejects the
consequent, then it is apparent that the conclusion must
also reject the antecedent. In this case we are said to
argue from the removal of the consequent to the removal
of the antecedent, and the particular mood or species of
syllogisms thence arising is called by logicians the modus
tollensy because in it both antecedent and consequent
are rejected or taken away. This will appear by the fol¬
lowing example : “ If God were not a Being of infinite
goodness, neither would he consult the happiness of his
creatures: But God does consult the happiness of his
creatures: Therefore he is a Being of infinite goodness.”
7. These two species include the whole class of condi¬
tional syllogisms, and all the possible ways of arguing
which lead to a legitimate conclusion ; because we can¬
not here proceed by a contrary process of reasoning, that
is, from the removal of the antecedent to the removal of
the consequent, or from the establishing of the consequent
to the establishing of the antecedent. For, although the
antecedent always expresses some real condition, which,
once admitted, necessarily implies the consequent, yet it
does not follow that there is therefore no other condition ;
n and if so, then, after removing the antecedent, the conse-
f quent may still bold, because of some other determina-
tio tion which infers it. When we say, “ If a stone be ex¬
po posed some time to the rays of the sun, it will contract a
® certain degree of heat,” the proposition is certainly true ;
M and, admitting the antecedent, we must also admit the con-
® sequent. But as there are various other ways by which
as a stone ipay become heated, it will not follow, from the
tei i ceasing of the before-mentioned condition, that therefore
the consequent cannot take place. In other words, we can-
M not argue, “ But the stone has not been exposed to the
raj rays of the sun ; therefore neither has it any degree of
k heatinasmuch as there are a great many other ways by
i which heat might have been communicated to it. And if
»e we cannot argue from the removal of the antecedent to
«( the removal of the consequent, no more can we argue
b from the admission of the consequent to the admission of
b the antecedent; because, as the consequent may flow
) from a great variety of different suppositions, the allowing
! of it does not determine the precise supposition, but only
aa that some one of them must take place. Thus, in the
or foregoing proposition, “ If a stone be exposed some time
:o to the rays of the sun, it will contract a certain degree of
lei heat;” admitting the consequent, viz. that it has contract-
■I ed a certain degree of heat, we are not therefore bound to
idi admit the antecedent, that it has been some time exposed to
fe the rays of the sun, because there are many other sources
til whence that heat may have proceeded. These two ways
if of arguing, therefore, hold not in conditional syllogisms.
8. As from the major being a conditional proposition, Of
we obtain the species of conditional syllogisms ; so, where Reasoning,
it is a disjunctive proposition, the syllogism to which it
belongs is also called disjunctive, as in the following ex¬
ample : “ The world is either self-existent, or the work of
some finite, or of some infinite Being : But it is not self-
existent, nor the work of a finite Being : Therefore it is
the work of an infinite Being.”
Now, a disjunctive proposition is that where, of several Manner of
predicates, we affirm one necessarily to belong to the sub-arguing
ject, to the exclusion of all the rest, but leave that parti-disjun?tive
cular one undetermined. Hence it follows, that as soonsyllogisms'
as we determine the particular predicate, all the rest are of
course to be rejected ; or if we reject all the predicates but
one, that one necessarily becomes effectual. When, there¬
fore, in a disjunctive syllogism, the several predicates are
enumerated in the major, if the minor establishes any one
of these predicates, the conclusion ought to remove all the
rest; or if, in the minor, all the predicates but one be re¬
moved, the conclusion must necessarily establish that one.
Thus, in the disjunctive syllogism given above, the major
affirms one of the three predicates to belong to the world,
viz. self-existence, or that it is the work of a finite, or that it
is the work of an infinite Being. Two of these predicates
are removed in the minor, viz. self-existence, and the work
of a finite being. Hence the conclusion necessarily as¬
cribes to it the third predicate, and affirms that it is the
work of an infinite Being. If now we give the syllogism
another turn, insomuch that the minor may establish one
of the predicates, by affirming the earth to be the produc¬
tion of an infinite Being, then the conclusion must remove
the other two, asserting it to be neither self-existent, nor
the work of a finite Being. These are the forms of reason¬
ing in such species of syllogisms, the justness of which ap¬
pears at first sight; and that there can be no other, is evi¬
dent from the very nature of a disjunctive proposition.
9. In the several kinds of syllogisms hitherto mention- Imperfect
ed, we may observe that the parts are complete ; that is, or mutilat-
the three propositions of which they consist are represent- ed sy1!°-
ed in form. But it often happens that some one of thegisms'
premises is not only an evident truth, but also familiar and
in the minds of all men, in which case it is usually omit¬
ted, whereby we have an imperfect syllogism, which seems
to be made up of only two propositions. Should we, for
instance, argue in this manner : “ Every man is mortal:
Therefore every king is mortal the syllogism appears to
be imperfect, as consisting but of two propositions. Yet
it is really complete ; only the minor \_every king is a man\
is omitted, and left to the reader to supply, as being a
proposition so familiar and evident that it cannot escape
him.
10. These seemingly imperfect syllogisms are called ew-Enthv-
thymemes,1 and occur very frequently in reasoning, espe-memes.
cially where it forms a part of common conversation.
Nay, there is a particular elegance in them, because, not
displaying the argument in all its parts, they leave some¬
what to the exercise and invention of the mind. By this
means we are put upon exerting ourselves, and even seem
to share in the discovery of what is proposed to us. Now
this is the great secret of fine writing, so to frame and put
together our thoughts as to give full play to the reader’s
imagination, and draw him insensibly into our very views and
course ot reasoning. This gives a pleasure not unlike to
that which the author himself feels in composing. Besides,
it shortens discourse, and adds a certain force and live¬
liness to our arguments, when the words in which they
are conveyed favour the natural quickness of the mind in
1, •! Re®pecting the prevalent mistake relative to the Enthymeme, and Aristotle’s doctrine concerning it, see Edinburgh Review, vol.
J‘U. p. 221, et seq.
LOGIC.
452
Of its operations, and a single expression is left to exhibit a
Reasoning. wh0]e train of thoughts.
Ground of ®ut; t^ere *s another species of reasoning with two
reasoning Propositions, which seems to be complete in itself, and
in imme- where we admit the conclusion without supposing any
diate con- tacit or suppressed judgment in the mind, from which it
sequences, follows syllogistically. This happens between propositions
where the connection is such that the admission of the
one necessarily and at the first sight implies the admis¬
sion also of the other ; for if it so happens that the pro¬
position upon which the other depends is self-evident, we
content ourselves with barely affirming it, and infer the
other by a direct conclusion. Thus, by admitting an uni¬
versal proposition, we are forced also to admit of all the
particular propositions comprehended under it, this being
the very condition which constitutes a proposition univer¬
sal. If then that universal proposition chance to be self-
evident, the particular ones follow of course, without any
further train of reasoning. Whoever allows, for instance,
that things equal to one and the same thing are equal to one
another, must at the same time allow, that two triangles,
each equal to a square whose side is three inches, are also
equal between themselves. This argument, therefore,
“ Things equal to one and the same thing, are equal to
one another : Therefore these two triangles, each equal to
the square of a line of three inches, are equal between
themselves,” is complete in its kind, and contains all that
is necessary towards a just and legitimate conclusion. For
the first or universal proposition is self-evident, and there¬
fore requires no further proof. And as the truth of the
particular is inseparably connected with that of the uni¬
versal, it follows from it by an obvious and unavoidable
consequence.
All redu- 12. Now, in all cases of this kind, where propositions
cible tosyl-are deduced one from another, on account of a known and
one former ev^en^ connection, we are said to reason by immediate
another consequence. Such a coherence of propositions, manifest
at first sight, and forcing itself upon the mind, frequently
occurs in reasoning. Logicians have explained at some
length the several propositions in which it takes place,
and allow of all immediate consequences which follow in
conformity to them. It is however observable, that these
arguments, though seemingly complete, because the conclu¬
sion follows necessarily from the single proposition which
goes before, may yet be considered as real enthymemes,
whose major, which is a conditional proposition, is want¬
ing. The syllogism but just mentioned, when represented
according to this view, will run as follows: “ If things
equal to one and the same thing are equal to one another,
these two triangles, each equal to a square whose side is
three inches, are also equal between themselves. But
things equal to one and the same thing, are equal to one
another : Therefore also these triangles, &c. are equal be¬
tween themselves.”
This observation will be found to hold in all immediate
consequences whatsoever, insomuch that they are in fact
no more than the enthymemes of hypothetical syllogisms.
But then it is particular to them, that the ground on which
the conclusion rests, namely, its coherence with the minor,
is of itself apparent, and observed to flow immediately from
the rules and reasons of logic.
A sorites 13. The next species of reasoning we shall take notice of
of plain here is what is commonly known by the name of a sorites.
lo^iPle Syl‘ This is a way of arguing, in which a great number of pro-
ogisms. pOSitions are so linked together that the predicate of one
becomes continually the subject of the next following, un¬
til at last a conclusion is formed, by bringing together the
subject of the first proposition, and the predicate of the
last. Of this kind is the following argument: “ God is
omnipotent: An omnipotent Being can do every thing that
is possible: He that can do every thing that is possible,
can do whatever involves not a contradiction : Therefore
God can do whatever involves not a contradiction.” Reasonit1
This particular combination of propositions may be con-v>-v*
tinued to any length we please, without in the least weak¬
ening the ground upon which the conclusion rests. The
reason is, because the sorites itself may be resolved into
as many simple syllogisms as there are middle terms in
it; and this is found universally to hold, That when such
a resolution is made, and the syllogisms are placed in
train, the conclusion of the last in the series is also the
conclusion of the sorites. This kind of argument, there¬
fore, as it serves to unite several syllogisms into one, must
stand upon the same foundation with the syllogisms of
which it consists, and is, indeed, properly speaking, no other
than a compendious way of reasoning sjdlogistically.
14. What is here said of plain simple propositions may A sorites
be as well applied to those that are conditional; that is, of hypo
any number of them may be so joined together in a series,theti“l
that the consequent of one shall become continually thes^°8'8ni
antecedent of the next following; in which case, by esta¬
blishing the antecedent of the first proposition, we also esta¬
blish the consequent of the last, or by removing the last
consequent, remove also the first antecedent. This way
of reasoning is exemplified in the following argument:
“ If we love any person, all emotions of hatred towards
him cease : If all emotions of hatred towards a person
cease, we cannot rejoice in his misfortunes : If we rejoice
not in his misfortunes, we certainly wish him no injury:
Therefore, if we love a person, we wish him no injury.”
It is evident that this sorites, as well as the last, may be
resolved into a series of distinct syllogisms, with only this
difference, that here the syllogisms are all conditional.
15. The last species of syllogism which we shall take no-Ground o
tice of under this head is that commonly distinguished byargumen-
the name of a dilemma. A dilemma is an argument by which tat*on in
we endeavour to prove the absurdity or falsehood of some®611™'
assertion. In order to this, we assume a conditional pro¬
position, the antecedent of which is the assertion to be
disproved, and the consequent a disjunctive proposition,
enumerating all the possible suppositions upon which that
assertion can take place. If then it appears, that all these
several suppositions ought to be rejected, it is plain that
the antecedent or assertion itself must be so too. When
therefore such a proposition as that before mentioned is
made the major of any syllogism, if the minor rejects all
the suppositions contained in the consequent, it follows
necessarily that the conclusion ought to reject the ante¬
cedent, which, as we have said, is the very assertion to be
disproved. This particular way of arguing is that which
logicians call a dilemma; and from the account here given
of it, it appears that we may generally define it to be
a hypothetical syllogism, where the consequent of the
major is a disjunctive proposition, which is wholly taken
away or removed in the minor. Of this kind is the fol¬
lowing : “ If God did not create the world perfect in its
kind, it must either proceed from want of inclination or
from want of power : But it could not proceed either from
want of inclination or from want of powder: Therefore
he created the world perfect in its kind : Or, which is
the same thing, It is absurd to say that he did not create
the world perfect in its kind.”
16. The nature, then, of a dilemma is universally this:linker:!
The major is a conditional proposition, whose consequent^cnP‘
contains all the several suppositions upon which the an¬
tecedent can take place. As therefore these suppositions
are wholly removed in the minor, it is evident that the
antecedent must be so too, insomuch that we here always
argue from the removal of the consequent to the removal
of the antecedent; that is, a dilemma is an argument m
the modus tollens of hypothetical syllogisms, as logicians
express it. Hence it is plain, that if the antecedent oi
ason
first
jyed
!ut
,jlars
LOGIC.
Of the major be an affirmative proposition, the conclusion of
453
uoni'f- the dilemma will be negative ; but if it be a negative pro-
-y'*'position, the conclusion will be affirmative.
5. Of Induction}
1. All reasoning is ultimately resolvable into first truths,
e'-which are either self-evident or taken for granted; and the
first truths of syllogistic reasonings are general propositions.
But, except in the mathematics, and such other sciences
' as, being conversant about mere ideas, have no immediate
relation to things without the mind, we cannot assume as
truths propositions which are general. The mathemati¬
cian, indeed, may be considered as taking his ideas from
the beginning in their general form. Every proposition
composed of such ideas is therefore general; and those
which are theoretical are reducible to two parts ov terms, a
predicate and a subject, with a copula generally affirmative.
If the agreement or the relation between the two terms
be not immediate and self-evident, he has recourse to an
axiom, which is a proposition still more general, and which
supplies him with a third or middle term. This he com¬
pares, first with the predicate, and then with the subject,
or vice versa. These two comparisons, when drawn out in
form, constitute two propositions, which are called the pre¬
mises; and if they happen to be immediate and self-evident,
the conclusion, consisting of the terms of the question
proposed, is said to be demonstrated. This method of
reasoning is conducted exactly in the syllogistic form ex¬
plained in the preceding chapter.
2. But in sciences which treat of things external to the
mind, we cannot assume first principles the most gene¬
ral propositions, and from them infer others less and less
general, till we descend to particulars. The reason is ob¬
vious. Every thing in the universe, whether of mind or
body, presents itself to our observation in its individual
state ; so that perception and judgment eu\p\c>ye.&. in the in¬
vestigation of truth, whether physical, metaphysical, moral,
or historical, have in the first place to deal with particu¬
lars. With these reason begins, or should begin, its ope¬
rations. It observes, tries, canvasses, examines, and com¬
pares them together, and judges of them by some of those
native evidences and original lights which, as they are the
first and indispensable inlets of knowledge to the mind,
so they have been called the prijnary principles of truth.
iSee Metaphysics.
3. By such acts of observation and judgment, diligent¬
ly practised and frequently repeated, upon many individuals
rals. i same c^ass or a similar^ nature, observing their
agreements, marking their differences however minute,
and rejecting all instances which, however similar in ap¬
pearance, are not in effect the same, reason, with much
labour and attention, extracts some general laws respect-
n pa
}’[ ars,
If ds
ing the powers, properties, qualities, actions, passions, vir- Of
tues, and relations of real things. This is no hasty, prema- Reasoning,
tuie, notional abstraction of the mind, by which images
and ideas are formed which have no archetypes in nature ;
it is a rational, operative, experimental process, instituted
and executed upon the constitution of beings, which in
part compose the universe. By this process reason ad¬
vances from particulars to generals, from less general to
more general, till, by a series of slow progression, and by
regular degrees, it arrive at the most general notions, called
eorms, or formal causes.i 2 And by affirming or deny-
ing a genus of a species, or an accident of a substance or
class of substances, through all the stages of the gradation,
we form conclusions, which, if logically drawn, are axioms,3 *
or general propositions ranged one above another, till they
terminate in those that are universal.
4. I hus, for instance, the evidence of the external senses The pro-
is obviously the primary principle from which all phy-cess of in-
sical knowledge is derived. But, whereas nature begins ^uct\on ex_
with causes, which, after a variety of changes, produce
effects, the senses open upon the effects, and from them, 11 * * * l)1'SiCf'‘
through the slow and painful road of experiment and ob¬
servation, ascend to causes. By experiments and observa¬
tions skilfully chosen, artfully conducted, and judiciously
applied, the philosopher advances from one stage of in¬
quiry to another in the rational investigation of the general
causes of physical truth. From different experiments and
observations made on the same individual subject, and from
the same experiments and observations made on different
subjects of the same kind, by comparing and judging, he
discovers some qualities, causes, ox phenomena, which, after
carefully distinguishing and rejecting all contradictory in¬
stances that occur, he finds common to many. Thus, from
many collateral comparisons and judgments formed upon
particulars he ascends to generals; and by a repetition of
the same industrious process and laborious investigation, he
advances from general to more general, till at last he is en¬
abled to form a few of the most general, with their attri¬
butes and operations, into axioms or secondary principles,
which are the well-founded laws enacted and enforced by
the God of nature. This is that just and philosophic me¬
thod of reasoning which sound logic prescribes in this as
well as in other parts of learning; by which, through the
slow but certain road of experiment and observation, the
mind ascends from appearances to qualities, from effects to
causes, and, from experiments upon many particular sub¬
jects, ioxms, general propositions concerning the powers and
properties of physical body.
5. Axioms so investigated and established are applica- Axioms
ble to all parts of learning, and constitute the indispensable, applicable
and indeed the wonderful expedients, by which, in every Par|:s
branch of knowledge, reason pushes on its inquiries in the Jearn*
particular pursuit of truth ; and the method of reasoning in°*
i 1 On the distinction of logical and real induction, a distinction hitherto wholly overlooked, see Edinburgh Review, vol. Ivii. p.224,
2 “ Qf formas novit, is, quae adhuc non facta sunt, qualia nec naturae vicissitudines, nec experimentales industrke unnuam in ac-
® turn produxissent, nec cogitationem humanam subiturae fuissent, detegit et educit.” (Baconi Novum Organon.)
Ihe word axiom, uliuya., literally signifies dignity. Hence it is used metaphorically to denote a general truth or maxim, and
)a ometimes any truth that is self-evident, which is called a dignity on account of its importance in a process of reasoning. The ax-
ti ioms ot Luchd are propositions extremely general; and so are the axioms of the Newtonian philosophy. But these two kinds o,
sio moms have very different origins. The former appear true upon a bare contemplation of our ideas ; whereas the latter are the re-
j j* ot ttle most laborious induction. Lord Bacon, therefore, strenuously contends that they should never be taken upon conjec-
i" |Ure’or evea uP°n lb6 authority of the learned; but that, as they are the general principles and grounds of all learning, they should
rf,caavafed] an‘l examined with the most scrupulous attention, “ ut axiomatum corrigatur iniquitas, quce plerumque in exemplis
I ^ 1S. amentum habent. (Dc Augm% Sclent, lib. ii. cap. 2.) u Atqueilla ipsa putativa principia ad rationes reddendas compel-
' \rtf ?^rtVlnlUS, llU0USflue plane conslant. (Distrib. Operis.) Hr Tatham makes a distinction between axioms intuitive and axioms
aj-ev%dent. Intuitive axioms, according to him, pass through the first inlets of knowledge, and flash direct conviction on the minds,
in th eT 0 ao on the senses, of all men. Other axioms, though not intuitive, may be properly said to be self-evident, because,
‘ll :1'feir ™rmation, reason judges by single comparisons, without the help of a third idea or middle term, so that they have their evi-
r< n ; 6 * * * * ”? themselvesf and, though inductively framed, they cannot be syllogistically proved. If this distinction be just, and we think
-is R is, only particular truths can be intuitive axioms.
454
LOGIC.
Of
Reasoning.
Induction
prior to
definition.
Prior also
to syllo¬
gism.
Induction
and syllo¬
gism total¬
ly differ¬
ent.
Induction
the foun¬
dation of
syllogism.
by which they are formed is that of true and legitimate
induction, which is therefore by Lord Bacon, the best and
soundest of logicians, called the key of interpretation.
6. Instead of taking his axioms arbitrarily out of the
great families of the categories, and erecting them by his
own sophistical invention into the principles upon which
his disputation was to be employed, had the analytical ge¬
nius of Aristotle presented us with the laws of the true
inductive logic, by which axioms are philosophically
formed, and had he with his usual sagacity given us an
example of it in a single branch of science, he would have
brought to the temple of truth an offering more valuable
than he has done by the aggregate of all his logical and
philosophical productions.
7. In all sciences, excepting the mathematics, it is only
after the inductive process has been industriously pur¬
sued and successfully performed, that definition may be
logically and usefully introduced, by beginning with the
genus, passing through all the graduate and subordinate
stages, and marking the specific difference as it descends,
till it arrive at the individual, which is the subject of the
question. And by adding an affirmation or negation of
the attribute of the genus or the species or individual, or
of a general accident on the particular substance so defined,
making the definition a proposition, the truth of the ques¬
tion will be logically solved, without any further process.
So that, instead of being the first, as employed by the logic
in common use, definition may be the last act of reason in
the search of truth in general.
8. These axioms or general propositions, thus induc¬
tively established, become another species of principles,
which may be properly called secondary, and which lay
the foundation of the syllogistic method of reasoning. When
these are formed, but not before, we may safely admit the
maxim with which logicians set out in the exercise of their
art, as the great hinge on which their reasoning and dis¬
putation turn : “ From truths that are already known, to
deduce others which are not known or, to state it more
comprehensively, so as to apply to probable as well as to
scientific reasoning, “ From truths which are better known,
to deduce others which are less known.” Philosophically
speaking, syllogistic reasoning is, under general propositions,
to reduce others which are less general, or which are par¬
ticular; for the inferior ones are known to be true, only as
we trace their connection with the superior. Logically
speaking, it is to predicate a genus of a species or indivi¬
dual comprehended under it, or an accident of the substance
in which it is inherent.
9. Thus induction and syllogism are the two me¬
thods of direct reasoning corresponding to the two kinds of
principles, primary and secondary, on which they are
founded, and by which they are respectively conducted.
In both methods, indeed, reason proceeds by judging and
comparing, but the process is different throughout; and
though it may have the sanction of Aristotle, an inductive
syllogism is a solecism.
10. Till general truths are ascertained by induction,
the third or middle terms by which syllogisms are made are
nowhere safely to be found. So that another position of
the Stagirite, that syllogism is naturally prior in order to
induction,1 is equally unfounded; for induction does not
only naturally but necessarily precede syllogism, and, ex¬
cept in mathematics, is in every repect indispensable to its Of
existence ; since, till generals are established, there can be^sonf
neither definition, proposition, nor axiom, and of course noV'““v>
syllogism. And as induction is the first, so is it the more
essential and fundamental instrument of reasoning; for as
syllogism cannot produce its own principles, it must have
them from induction; and if the general propositions or
secondary principles be imperfectly or infirmly established,
and much more, if they be taken at hazard, upon au¬
thority, or by arbitrary assumption like those of Aristotle,
all the syllogizing in the w'orld is a vain and useless logo¬
machy, and only instrumental in the multiplication of
false learning, and the invention and confirmation of error.
The truth of syllogisms depends ultimately on the truth of
axioms, and the truth of axioms on the soundness of induc¬
tions.2 But though induction is prior in order, as well as
superior in utility, to syllogism, we have thought it expe¬
dient to treat of it last; both because syllogism is an easier
exercise of the reasoning faculty than induction, and be¬
cause it is the method of mathematics, the first science of
reason in which the student is commonly initiated.
6. Of Demonstration.
1. Having concluded all that seemed necessary to be said
in regard to the two methods of direct reasoning, the syllo¬
gistic and inductive, we now proceed to consider the laws
of demonstration. And here it must be acknowledged,
that in strict demonstration, which removes from the mind
all possibility of doubt or error, the inductive method of
reasoning can have no place. When the experiments and
observations from which the general conclusion is drawrn
are numerous and extensive, the result of this mode of
reasoning is moral certainty ; and if the induction could be
made complete, it would be absolute certainty, equally con¬
vincing with mathematical demonstration. But however
numerous and extensive the observations and experiments
may be upon which an inductive conclusion is established,
they must of necessity fall short of the number and ex¬
tent of nature; which, in some cases, by its immensity,
will defeat all possibility of their co-extension, whilst, in
others, by its distance, it lies out of the reach of their im¬
mediate application. Though truth does not appear in all
other departments of learning with that bold and resistless
conviction with which it presides in the mathematical sci¬
ences, it shines through them all, if not interrupted by pre¬
judice or perverted by error, with a clear and an useful
though inferior certainty. And as it is not necessary for
the general safety or convenience of a traveller, that he
should always enjoy the heat and splendour of a mid-day
sun, whilst he can with more ease pursue his journey under
the milder influence of a morning or an evening sky; so
it is not requisite, for the various concerns and purposes
of life, that men should be led by truth of the most re¬
dundant brightness. Such truth is to be had‘only in those
sciences which are conversant about abstract ideas of space
and number, and their various relations, where every thing
being certainly what it appears to be, definitions and axioms
arise from mere intuition. Here syllogism takes up the pro¬
cess from the beginning, and by a sublime intellectual motion
advances from the simplest axioms to the most complicated
speculations, and exhibits truth springing out of its first and
Ibis is a sad misrepi esentation of Aristotle’s doctrine. He makes the deductive syllogism prior in the order of nature to the induc¬
tive syllogism, as he makes the state in the same order prior to the family, and the family prior to the individual. But he expressly
declares that the highest principles from which, in the syllogism proper, the deduction is made, are all the results of a foregone
induction. Ihe error arises from ignorance of the difference of a priority in the order of nature and intention, and priority in the
order of time and execution.
- I his chapter is almost wholly taken from Tatham’s Chart and Scale of Truth ; a work which, notwithstanding the ruggedness of its
style, has so much real merit as a system of logic, that it cannot be too diligently studied bv the young inquirer who wishes to tra¬
vel by the straight road to the temple of science.
♦
«
LOGIC.
455
0i purest elements, and spreading upon all sides into a system
tasong-of science. As each step in the progress is syllogistic, we
' shall endeavour to explain the use and application of syllo¬
gisms in this species of reasoning.
(■ (rea-. We have seen, that in all the different appearances they
, by assume, we still arrive at a just and legitimate conclusion,
icate • Now, it often happens, that the conclusion of one syllogism
noi ^'becomes a previous proposition in another ; by which means
fisms great numbers of them are sometimes linked together in a
series, and truths are made to follow one another in a train.
And as in such a concatenation of syllogisms all the vari¬
ous modes of reasoning which are truly conclusive may be
with safety introduced, hence it is plain, that in deducing
any truth from its first principles, especially where it lies
at a considerable distance from them, we are at liberty to
combine all the different kinds of syllogisms above explain¬
ed, according as they are found best suited to the end and
purpose of our inquiries. When a proposition is thus, by
means of syllogisms, collected from others more evident
and known, it is said to be proved; so that, in general, we
may define the proof of a proposition to be a syllogism,
or series of syllogisms, collecting that proposition from
known and evident truths. But more particular!)^, if the
syllogisms of which the proof consists admit of no premises
but definitions, self-evident truths, and propositions al¬
ready established, then is the argument so constituted
called a demonstration; whereby it appears that demon¬
strations are ultimately founded upon definitions and self-
e! evident propositions.
syll!
Mms r:
a :ible i
L! first
iure.
il
k
mu
tin
log
ia
lei
igt
itri
I
ite
:oi
)os
'es
fe
lie
in
2. All syllogisms whatsoever, whether compound, multi¬
form, or defective, are reducible to plain simple syllogisms
in some one ot the four figures. But this is not all. Syl¬
logisms ol the first figure, in particular, admit of all pos¬
sible conclusions; that is, in any propositions whatsoever,
whether universal affirmatives or universal negatives, par¬
ticular affirmatives or particular negatives, which fourfold
division embraces all their varieties, the conclusion may
be inferred by virtue of some syllogism in the first figure,
by this means it happens that the syllogisms of all the
other figures are reducible also to syllogisms of the first
figure, and may be considered as standing on the same
foundation with them. We cannot here demonstrate and
explain the manner of this reduction, because it would too
much swell the bulk of this article. It is sufficient to no¬
tice, that the thing is universally known and allowed amongst
logicians, to whose writings we refer such as desire further
satisfaction in this matter. This, then, being laid down, it is
plain that any demonstration whatsoever may be consi¬
dered as composed of a series of syllogisms, all in the first
figure. For, since all the syllogisms that enter the demon¬
stration are reducible to syllogisms of some one of the four
figures, and since the syllogisms of all the other figures
are further reducible to syllogisms of the first figure, it is
evident that the whole demonstration may be resolved in¬
to a series of these last syllogisms. Let us now, then, if
possible, discover the ground upon which the conclusion
rests in syllogisms of the first figure ; because, by so doing,
we shall come at an universal principle of certainty, whence
the evidence of demonstrations in all their parts may be ul¬
timately deduced.
fund
I'll unin i
.re.
im
in
lie
mi
I
3. Ihe rules, then, of the first figure are briefly these.
The middle term is the subject of the major proposition,
and the predicate of the minor. The major is always an
universal proposition, and the minor always affirmative.
Let us^ now see what effect these rules will have in reason¬
ing. The major is an universal proposition of which the
middle term is the subject, and the predicate of the con¬
clusion the predicate. Hence it appears, that in the major
tile predicate of the conclusion is always affirmed or denied
universally of the middle term. Again, the minor is an
affirmative proposition, of which the subject of the conclu¬
sion is the subject, and the middle term the predicate. Of
Here then the middle term is affirmed of the subject of the Reasoning*
conclusion ; that is, the subject of the conclusion is affirm-
ed to be comprehended under, or to form a part of, the
middle term. Thus, then, we see what is done in the pre¬
mises of a syllogism of the first figure. The predicate of
the conclusion is universally affirmed or denied of some
idea. The subject of the conclusion is affirmed to be or to
form a part of that idea. Hence it naturally and unavoid¬
ably follows, that the predicate of the conclusion ought to
be affirmed or denied of the subject. To illustrate this by
an example, we shall resume one of the syllogisms of the
first figure. “ Every creature possessed of reason and
liberty is accountable for his actions: Man is a creature
possessed of reason and liberty : Therefore man is account¬
able for his actions.”
Here, in the first proposition, the predicate of the con¬
clusion, accountableness, is affirmed of all creatures possessed
of reason and liberty. Again, in the second proposition,
man, the subject of the conclusion, is affirmed to be or to
form a part of this class of creatures. Hence the conclu¬
sion necessarily and unavoidably follows, viz. that man is
accountable for his actions; because, if reason and liberty
be that which constitutes a creature accountable, and man
has reason and liberty^, it is plain he has that which con¬
stitutes him accountable. In like manner, where the
major is a negative proposition, or denies the predicate of
the conclusion universally of the middle term, as the minor
always asserts the subject of the conclusion to be or form
a part of that middle term, it is no less evident that the
predicate of the conclusion ought in this case to be denied
of the subject; so that the ground of reasoning, in all
syllogisms in the first figure, is manifestly this: What¬
ever may be affirmed universally of any idea, may be affirmed
of every or any number of particulars comprehended under
that idea. And again, Whatever may be denied univer¬
sally of any idea, may be in like manner denied of every
or any number of its individuals. These two propositions
are called by logicians the dictum de omni, and dictum de nul-
lo ; and they are indeed the great principles of syllogistic
reasoning, inasmuch as all conclusions whatsoever rest im¬
mediately upon them, or upon propositions deduced from
them. But what adds greatly to their value is, that they
are really self-evident truths, and such as we cannot gain¬
say without running into an express contradiction. To
affirm, for instance, that no man is perfect, and yet to argue
that some men are perfect; or to say, that all men are mor¬
tal, and yet that some men are not mortal; is to assert a
thing to be and not to be at the same time.
4. And now we may affirm, that, in all syllogisms of the Demon-
first figure, if the premises be true, the conclusion also must ftration an
needs be true. If it be true that the predicate of the con-^n^j^e
elusion, whether affirmative or negative, agrees universally”^®
to some idea; and if it be also true that the subject of thecertainty.
conclusion is a part of or comprehended under that idea;
then it necessarily follows, that the predicate of the con¬
clusion agrees also to the subject. For to assert the con¬
trary, would be to run counter to some one of the two
principles before established; that is, it would be to main¬
tain an evident contradiction. And thus we have come at
last to the point we have been all along endeavouring to
establish ; namely, that every proposition which can be de¬
monstrated is necessarily-true. For as every demonstra¬
tion may be resolved into a series of syllogisms all in the
first figure, and as in any one of these syllogisms, if the pre¬
mises are true, the conclusion must needs be so likewise, it
evidently follows, that if all the several premises are true, all
the several conclusions are so, and consequently also the con¬
clusion of the last syllogism, which is always the proposi¬
tion to be demonstrated. Now, that all the premises of a
demonstration are true, will easily appear from the very
45f)
LOGIC.
nature and definition of that form of reasoning. A demon-
Iteasoning. station, as we have said, is a series of syllogisms, all whose
premises are either definitions, self-evident truths, or pro¬
positions already established. Definitions are identical
propositions, in which we connect the description of an idea
with the name by which.we choose to have that idea called,
and therefore as to their truth there can be no dispute.
Self-evident propositions appear true of themselves, and
leave no doubt or uncertainty in the mind. Propositions,
before established, are no other than conclusions gained by
one or more steps from definitions and self-evident prin¬
ciples, that is, from true premises, and therefore must needs
be true. Hence all the previous propositions of a de¬
monstration being thus manifestly true, the last conclu¬
sion, or proposition to be demonstrated, must likewise be so ;
so that demonstration not only leads to certain truth, but
we have here also a clear view of the ground and founda¬
tion of that certainty. For as, in demonstrating, w^e may
be said to do nothing more than combine a series of syllo¬
gisms together, all resting on the same basis, it is plain
that one uniform ground of certainty runs through the
whole, and that the conclusions are everywhere built upon
some one of the two principles before established, as the
foundation of all our reasoning. These two principles are
easily reducible into one, and may be expressed thus:
Whatever predicate, whether affirmative or negative, agrees
universally to any idea, the same must needs agree to every
or any number of individuals comprehended under that idea.
And thus at length we have, according to our first design,
reduced the certainty of demonstration to one simple and
universal principle, which carries its own evidence along
with it, and which is indeed the ultimate foundation of all
syllogistic reasoning.
Rules of 5- Demonstration, therefore, serving as an infallible guide
logic fur- to truth, upon so syre and unalterable a basis, we may now
nish a cri- venture to assert, that the rules of logic furnish a sufficient
distinguish- cri^eri.on for the distinguishing between truth and falsehood,
ing truth ^or s'nce every proposition that can be demonstrated is
from false- necessarily true, he is able to distinguish truth from false¬
hood. hood wffio can with certainty judge when a proposition is
truly demonstrated. Now, a demonstration, as we have
said, is nothing more than a concatenation of syllogisms,
all the premises of which are definitions, self-evident truths,
or propositions previously established. To judge, there¬
fore, ot the validity of a demonstration, we must be able
to distinguish whether the definitions that enter into it are
genuine, and truly descriptive of the ideas they are meant
to exhibit; whether the propositions assumed without proofs
as intuitive truths have really that self-evidence to which
they lay claim ; whether the syllogisms are drawn up in
due form, and agreeably to the laws of argumentation ; in
fine, whether they are combined together in a just and
orderly manner, so that no demonstrable propositions serve
anywhere as premises unless they are the conclusions of pre¬
vious syllogisms. Now, it is the business of logic, in ex¬
plaining the several operations of the mind, fully to instruct
us in all these points. It teaches the nature and end of
definitions, and lays down the rules by which these ought
to be framed. It unfolds the several species of propositions,-
and distinguishes the self-evident from the demonstrable.
It delineates also the different forms of syllogisms, and ex¬
plains the laws of argumentation proper to each. In fine,
it describes the manner of combining syllogisms, so that
they may form a train of reasoning, and lead to the succes¬
sive discovery of truth. The precepts of logic, therefore,
as they enable us to judge with certainty when a proposi¬
tion is duly demonstrated, furnish a sure criterion for the
distinguishing between truth and falsehood.
6. Perhaps it may be objected, that demonstration is a
thing very rare and uncommon, as being the prerogative of
but a few sciences, and therefore the criterion here given
can be of no great use. But wherever, by the bare con¬
templation of our ideas, truth is discoverable, there alsoReawL
demonstration may be attained. Now that is an abun- wl
dandy sufficient criterion which enables us to judge with
certainty in all cases where the knowledge of truth comes
within our reach ; for with discoveries that lie beyond the
limits of the human mind we have properly no sort of busi¬
ness or concern. When a proposition is demonstrated, we
are certain of its truth. When, on the contrary, our ideas
are such as have no visible connection or repugnance, and
therefore furnish not the proper means of tracing their
agreement or disagreement, there we are sure that scienti-
fical knowledge is not attainable. But where there is some
foundation of reasoning, which yet amounts not to the full
evidence of demonstration, there the precepts of logic, by
teaching us to determine aright the degree of proof, and
discern what is still wanting to render it full and complete,
enable us to make a due estimate of the measures of pro¬
bability, and to proportion our assent to the grounds upon
which the proposition stands. And this is all we can pos¬
sibly arrive at, or even so much as hope for, in the exer¬
cise of faculties so imperfect and limited as ours.
7. Before we conclude this branch of the subject, it mayDistinc.
not be improper to take notice of the distinction of demon-tbn ofi
stration into direct and indirect. A direct demonstration is,monstra-
when, beginning with definitions, self-evident propositions, j.on illt0
or known and admitted truths, we form a train of syllogisms,
and combine them in an orderly manner, continuing the
series through a variety of successive steps, until at last we
arrive at a syllogism the conclusion of which is the proposi¬
tion to be demonstrated. Proofs of this kind leave no doubter
uncertainty behind them • because, all the several premises
being true, the conclusions must likewise be so, and of course
the very last conclusion or proposition to be proved. The
other species of demonstration is the indirect, or, as it is
sometimes called, the apogogical. The manner of proceed¬
ing here is, by assuming a proposition which directly contra¬
dicts that which we mean to demonstrate ; and thence, by a
continued train of reasoning, in the way of a direct demon¬
stration, deducing from it some absurdity or manifest un¬
truth. For hereupon we conclude that the proposition as¬
sumed was false, and thence again, by an immediate conse¬
quence, that the proposition to be demonstrated is true.
Thus Euclid, in his third book, having to demonstrate that
circles which touch one another inwardly have not the same
centre, assumes the direct contrary of this, viz. that they
have the same centre; and thence, by an evident train of
reasoning, proves that a part is equal to the whole. The
supposition therefore leading to this absurdity he concludes
to be false, viz. that circles touching one another inwardly
have the same centre; and thence again immediately infers,
that they have not the same centre.
8. Now, because this manner of demonstration is ac-Ground®
counted by some not [altogether so clear and satisfactory, f®880!1"1?
w e shall therefore endeavour to show that it equally with
the other leads to truth and certainty. Two propositions t;ons
are said to be contradictory of one another, when that which
is asserted to be in the one is asserted not to be in the
other. Thus the propositions, “ Circles that touch one
another inwardly have the same centre,” and “ Circles
that touch one another inwardly have not the same centre,”
are contradictories, because the second asserts directly the
contrary of that which is asserted in the first. Now, in all
contradictory propositions, this holds universally, that one ol
them is necessarily true, and the other necessarily false.
For if it be true that circles which touch one another in¬
wardly have not the same centre, it is unavoidably false
that they have the same centre. On the other hand, if h
be false that they have the same centre, it is necessarily
true that they have not the same centre. Since, therefore,
it is impossible for them both to be true or both false at
LOGIC.
457
Of the same time, it unavoidably follows that one is necessa-
awni (• rily true and the other necessarily false. This, then, be-
:»V"ying allowed, which indeed is self-evident, if any two con¬
tradictory propositions are assumed, and one of them can
by a clear train of reasoning be demonstrated to be false,
it necessarily follows tfiat the other is true. For as the
one is necessarily true, and the other necessarily false,
when we come to discover which is the false proposition,
we thereby know the other to be true,
lirect. 9. Now this is precisely the manner of an indirect demon-
^onst-stration, as is evident from the account which has been given
lsaSi2of it above. For there we assume a proposition directly con-
'aint ■ tradictory of that which we mean to demonstrate ; and, hav-
' ing by a continued series of proofs shown it to be false, we
thence infer that it is contradictory, or that the proposition
to be demonstrated is true. As, therefore, this last conclu¬
sion is certain and unavoidable, let us next inquire after what
manner we come to be satisfied of the falsehood of the as¬
sumed proposition, that so no possible doubt may remain
as to the force and validity of demonstrations of this kind.
The manner, then, is plainly this : Beginning with the as¬
sumed proposition, we, by the help of definitions, self-evi¬
dent truths, or propositions already established, continue
a series of reasoning, in the way of a direct demonstra¬
tion, until at length we arrive at some absurdity or known
falsehood. Thus Euclid, in the example before mentioned,
from the supposition that circles touching one another in¬
wardly have the same centre, deduces the inference that a
part is equal to the whole. Since, therefore, by a due and
orderly process of reasoning we come at last to a false con¬
clusion, it is manifest that all the premises cannot be true ;
for, were all the premises true, the last conclusion must
likewise be so, by what has been before demonstrated.
Now, as to all the other premises made use of in the course
of reasoning, they are by supposition manifest and known
truths, being either definitions, self-evident propositions, or
truths previously established. The assumed proposition is
that only as to which any doubt or uncertainty remains.
That alone, therefore, can be false; and, indeed, from
what has been already shown, it must unavoidably be so.
And thus we see that, in indirect demonstrations, two con¬
tradictory propositions being laid down, one of which is
demonstrated to be false, the other, which is always the
proposition to be proved, must necessarily be true; so that
here, as well as in the direct mode of proof, we arrive at a
clear and satisfactory knowledge of truth.
dcuU 10. This is universally the method of reasoning in all
“fk apogogical or indirect demonstrations. But if any propo¬
sition is assumed, from which, in a direct train of reason¬
ing, we can deduce its contradictory, the proposition so as¬
sumed is false, and the contradictory one true. For if we
suppose the assumed proposition to be true, then, since all
the other premises that enter the demonstration are also
true, we shall have a series of reasoning consisting wholly of
true premises ; and hence the last conclusion or contradic¬
tory of the assumed proposition must be true likewise ; so
that by this means we should have two contradictory pro¬
positions both true at the same time, which is manifestly
impossible. The assumed proposition, therefore, whence
this absurdity flows, must necessarily be false; and conse¬
quently its contradictory, which is here the proposition de¬
duced from it, must be true. If, then, any proposition is
proposed to be demonstrated, and we assume the contra¬
dictory of that proposition, and thence directly infer the
proposition to be demonstrated, by this very means we
know that the proposition so inferred is true. For, since
from an assumed proposition we have deduced its contra¬
dictory, we are thereby certain that the assumed proposi¬
tion must he false ; and if so, then its contradictory, or that
deduced from it, which in this case is the same with the
proposition to be demonstrated, must be true.
VOL. xm.
tdo
istrn
s.
11. We have a curious instance of this in the twelfth Of
proposition of the ninth book of the Elements. Euclid Method,
there proposes to demonstrate, that in any series of num-
hers, rising from unity in geometrical progression, all the knowledge
prime numbers that measure the last term in the series w^ciples oflo-
also measure the next after unity. In order to this, he as-gicneces- "
sumes the contradictory of the proposition to be demon- sary to
strated, namely, that some prime number measuring the judge of
term in the series does not measure the next after unity ; and d.emonstra*
thence, by a continued train of reasoning, proves that ittlon'
actually does measure it. Hereupon he concludes that the
assumed proposition is false; and that that which is de¬
duced from it, or its contradictory, which is the very pro¬
position he proposed to demonstrate, is true. Now that this
is a just and conclusive way of reasoning, seems abundantly
manifest from what has been so clearly established above.
Whence it appears how necessary some knowledge of the
rules of logic is to enable us to judge of the force, justness,
and validity of demonstrations. For though it is readily
allowed that, by the mere strength of our natural faculties
we can at once discern, that of two contradictory proposi¬
tions, the one is necessarily true and the other necessarily
false, yet when they are so linked together in a demonstra¬
tion as that the one serves as a previous proposition whence
the other is deduced, it does not so immediately appear,
without some knowledge of the principles of logic, why
that alone, which is collected by reasoning, ought to be em¬
braced as true, and the other, whence it is collected, should
be rejected as false.
12. Having thus sufficiently evinced the certainty of de-This of it-
monstration in all its branches, and shown the rules by sflf suffi-
which we ought to proceed in order to arrive at a just con-c^ent to
elusion according to the various ways of arguing made use S
of, it is needless to enter upon a particular consideration of faise rea-
those several species of false reasoning which logicians dis- soning.
tinguish by the name aisophisms. He who thoroughly un¬
derstands the form and structure of a good argument, will
of himself readily discern every deviation from it. And
although sophisms have been divided into many classes,
which are all called by sounding names, that carry in
them much appearance of learning, yet are the errors them¬
selves so very palpable and obvious, that it would be lost
labour to write for a man capable of being misled by them.
Here, therefore, we choose to conclude this part of logic,
and shall in the next give some account of Method, which,
though inseparable from reasoning, is nevertheless always
considered by logicians as a distinct operation of the mind,
because its influence is not confined to the mere exercise
of the reasoning faculty, but extends in some degree to
all the transactions of the understanding.
IV.—OF METHOD.
We have now done with the three first operations of General
the mind, whose office it is to search after truth, and en-remai'ks.
large the bounds of human knowledge. There is yet a
fourth, which regards the disposal and arrangement of our
thoughts, when we endeavour so to put them together
that their mutual connection and dependence may be clear¬
ly seen. This is what logicians called Method, and place
always the last in order in explaining the powers of the
understanding, because it necessarily supposes a previous
exercise of our other faculties, and that some progress has
been made in knowledge, before we can exert it in any ex¬
tensive degree.
2. In this view it is plain that we must be beforehand
wTell acquainted with the truths which we are to combine
together, otherwise, how could we discern their several con¬
nections and relations, or so dispose of them as their mu¬
tual dependence may. require ? But it often happens that
3 M
r
458
L 0 G I C.
^ the understanding is employed, not in the arrangement and
,_,ct composition of known truths, but in the search and disco-
x very of such as are unknown. And here the manner of
proceeding is very different. We assemble at once our whole
stock of knowledge relating to any subject, and, after a ge¬
neral survey of things, begin with examining them sepa¬
rately and by parts. Hence it comes to pass, that although
at our first setting out we were only acquainted with
some of the grander strokes and outlines of truth, by thus
pursuing her through her several windings and recesses
we gradually discover those more inward and finer touches
whence she derives all her strength, symmetry, and beauty.
And here it is that when, by a narrow scrutiny into things,
we have unravelled any part of knowledge, and traced it
to its first and original principles, insomuch that the whole
frame and contexture of it lies open to the view of the
mind ; here it is that, taking it the contrary way, and be¬
ginning with these principles, we can so adjust and put
together the parts as the order and method of science
requires.
3. But as these things are best understood when illus¬
trated by examples, let us suppose any machine, for instance
a watch, presented to us, the structure and composition of
which we are as yet unacquainted with, but want, if pos¬
sible, to discover. The manner of proceeding, in this
case, is, by taking the whole to pieces, and examining the
parts separately one after another. When by such a scru¬
tiny we have thoroughly informed ourselves of the frame
and contexture of each, we then compare them together,
in order to judge of their mutual action and influence. By
this means we gradually trace out the inward make and
composition of the whole, and come at length to discern
how parts of such a form, and so put together as we found
in unravelling and taking them asunder, constitute that
particular machine called a watch, and contribute to all the
several motions and phenomena observable in it. This
discovery being made, we can take things the contrary
wray, and, beginning with the parts, so dispose and connect
them as their several uses and structures require, until at
length we arrive at the whole itself, from the unravelling of
which those parts resulted.
Ground of 4,. And as it is in tracing and examining the works of
art, so is it in a great measure in unfolding any part of hu¬
man knowledge ; for the relations and mutual habitudes of
things do not always immediately appear upon comparing
them one with another. Hence we have recourse to inter¬
mediate ideas, and by means of them are furnished with
those previous propositions which lead to the conclusion
we are in quest of. And if it so happen that the previous
propositions themselves are not sufficiently evident, we en¬
deavour by new middle terms to ascertain their truth, still
tracing things backwards in a continual series, until at
length we arrive at some syllogism where the premises
are first and self-evident principles. This being done, we
become perfectly satisfied as to the truth of all the conclu¬
sions we have passed through, inasmuch as they are now
seen to stand upon the firm and immoveable foundation of
our intuitive perceptions. And as we arrived at this cer¬
tainty by tracing things backwards to the original princi¬
ples whence they flow, so may we at any time renew it by
a directly contrary process, if, beginning with these prin¬
ciples, we carry the train of our thoughts forward until
they lead us, by a connected chain of proofs, to the very
last conclusion of the series.
Division 5. Hence it appears, that in disposing and putting toge-
ot method tiier ouv thoughts, either for our own use, that the disco-
ticanT^n"vei'es we have made may at all times lie open to the re-
thetic ^ n' view of the mind, or where we mean to communicate and
unfold these discoveries to others, there are two ways of
proceeding equally within our choice ; for we may pro¬
pose the truths relating to any part of knowledge, as they
the analy
tic and
synthetic
methods.
presented themselves to the mind in the manner of inves¬
tigation, carrying on the series of proofs in a reverse order' Methrt
until they at last terminate in first principles; or, begin-
ning with these principles, we may take the contrary way
and from them deduce, by a direct train of reasoning, the
several propositions which we want to establish. This diver¬
sity in the manner of arranging our thoughts gives rise to
the twofold division of method established amongst looi-
cians ; for method, according to their use of the word, is no¬
thing else but the order and disposition of our thoughts re¬
lating to any subject. When truths are proposed and put
together as they w ere or might have been discovered, this is
called the analytical method, or the method of resolution; in¬
asmuch as it traces things backwards to their source, and
resolves knowledge into its first and elementary principles.
When, on the other hand, they are deduced from these
principles, and connected according to their mutual de¬
pendence, insomuch that the truths first in order tend al¬
ways to the demonstration of those which follow, this consti¬
tutes what w e call the synthetical method, or the method of
composition ; for here we proceed by gathering together
the several scattered parts of knowledge, and combinino-
them into one whole or system, in such manner that the
understanding is enabled distinctly to follow truth through
all her different stages and gradations.
6. There is this further to be taken notice of in relation Theine.
to these two species of method, that the first has also ob-tbo(lofiE.
tained the name of the method of invention, because it ob-vention’
serves the order in which our thoughts succeed one ano-j^n®
ther in the invention or discovery of truth. The other, gci0enc°e
again, is often denominated the method of doctrine or in¬
struction, inasmuch as, in laying our thoughts before others,
we generally choose to proceed in the synthetic manner,
deducing them from their first principles. For we have to
observe, that although there is great pleasure in pursuing
truth in the method of investigation, because it places us
in the condition of the inventor, and shows the particular
train and process of thinking by which he arrived at his
discoveries, yet it is not so well accommodated to the pur¬
poses of evidence and conviction. At our first setting out,
we are commonly unable to divine where the analysis will
lead us, insomuch, indeed, that our researches are for some
time little better than a mere groping in the dark. And even
after light begins to break in upon us, we are still obliged
to make many reviews, and a frequent comparison of the se¬
veral steps of the investigation amongst themselves. Nay,
when wre have unravelled the whole, and reached the very
foundation upon which our discoveries stand, all our certain¬
ty, in regard to their truth, w ill be found in a great mea¬
sure to arise from that connection w hich we are now able to
discern between them and first principles, taken in the order
of composition. But in the synthetical manner of disposing
our thoughts, the case is quite different. For, as we here
begin with the intuitive truths, and advance by regular de¬
ductions from them, every step of the procedure brings
evidence and conviction along with it; so that, in our pro¬
gress from one part of knowledge to another, we have al¬
ways a clear perception of the ground upon w hich our assent
rests. In communicating our discoveries to others, there¬
fore, this method is apparently to be chosen, as it won¬
derfully improves and enlightens the understanding, and
leads to an immediate perception of truth.
7. The logic which for so many ages kept possession oi
the schools, and was deemed the most important of the
sciences, has long been condemned as a mere art of wrang¬
ling, of very little use in the search after truth. Attempts
have been made to restore it to credit, but without suc¬
cess ; and for a considerable time little or no attention
whatever has been paid to the science of logic in the course
of what is called a liberal education. As both extremes
may be faulty, it should seem that we cannot conclude this
tilit pf short treatise more properly than with some general ob
liOgi servations on the utility of this science.
LOGIC.
459
V.—OF THE UTILITY OF LOGIC.
If Aristotle was not the inventor of logic, he was cer¬
tainly the prince of logicians. The whole theory of syllo¬
gisms he claims as his own property, the 'fruit of much
time and labour ; and it is universally known that the later
writers on the art have borrowed their materials almost en¬
tirely from his Organon and Porphyry’s Introduction. But
after men had laboured nearly two thousand years in search
of truth by the help of syllogisms, Lord Bacon proposed the
method of induction as a more effectual engine for that pur¬
pose ; and since his days the science of logic has gradually
and undeservedly fallen into disrepute.
To this effect a variety of causes have contributed. The
syllogistic art is admirably calculated for wrangling ; and by
the schoolmen it was employed with but too much success
to keep'in countenance the absurdities of the scholastic phi¬
losophy. Under their management it produced number¬
less disputes and numberless sects, who fought against
each other with much animosity, without gaining or losing
ground; but it did nothing considerable for the benefit of
human life, whilst the method of induction has improved
arts and increased knowledge. It is no wonder, therefore,
that the excessive admiration of Aristotle, which continued
for so many ages, should end in an undue contempt; and
that the high esteem of logic, as the grand engine of sci¬
ence, should at last make way for the too unfavourable
opinion which now seems prevalent, of its being unworthy
of a place in a liberal education. Men rarely leave one ex¬
treme without running into the opposite. They who think
according to the fashion of the time, will be as prone to go
into the present extreme as their grandfathers were to go into
the former; and even they who in general think for them¬
selves, when they are offended at the abuse of any thing,
are too apt to entertain prejudices against the thing itself.
“ In practice,” says Bishop Warburton,1 “ logic is more a
trick than a science, formed rather to amuse than instruct.
And in some sort we may apply to the art of syllogism what
a man of wit says of rhetoric, that it only tells us how to
name those tools which nature had before put into our
hands. In the service of chicane, indeed, it is a mere jug¬
gler’s knot, now fast, now loose ; and the schools where this
legerdemain was exercised in great perfection are full of
the stories of its wonders.” The authority of Warburton
is great, but it maybe counterbalanced by another, which,
on subjects of this nature, is confessedly greater.
“ Laying aside prejudice, whether fashionable or un¬
fashionable, let us consider,” says Dr Reid,2 “ whether lo¬
gic is or may be made subservient to any good purpose.
Its professed end is to teach men to think, to judge, and
to reason with precision and accuracy. No man will say
this is a matter of little importance ; the only thing there-
fore that can admit of doubt is, whether it can be taught ?
“ To resolve this doubt, it may be observed, that our
rational faculty is the gift of God, given to men in very
different measures. Some have a large portion, some a
less; and where there is a remarkable defect of the natu¬
ral power, it cannot be supplied by any culture. But this
natural power, even where it is the strongest, may lie dead
for want of the means of improvement. Many a savage
»ay have been born with as good faculties as a Newton, a
bacon, or an Aristotle ; but their talents were buried by
laving never been put to use, whilst those of the philoso¬
phers were cultivated to the best advantage. It may like¬
wise be observed, that the chief mean of improving our Utility of
rational power, is the vigorous exercise of it in various Logic,
ways, and on different subjects, by which the habit is ac-
quired of exercising it properly. Without such exercise,
and good sense over and above, a man who has studied
logic all his life may be only a petulant wrangler, without
true judgment or skill of reasoning in any science.”
This must have been Mr Locke’s meaning, when, in his
Thoughts on Education, he says, “ If you would have
your son to reason well, let him read Chillingworth.” The
state of things is much altered since Locke wrote. Logic
has been much improved chiefly by his writings; and yet
much less stress is laid upon it, and much less time consum¬
ed in its study, than formerly. His counsel, therefore, was
judicious and seasonable, viz. That the improvement of
our reasoning powers is to be expected much more from
an intimate acquaintance with the authors who reason best,
than from studying voluminous systems of scholastic logic.
But if he had meant, that the study of logic was of no use,
nor deserved any attention, he surely would not have taken
the pains to make so considerable an addition to it, by
his Essay concerning Human Understanding, and by his
Thoughts on the Conduct of the Understanding; nor would
he have remitted his pupil to Chillingworth, the acutest
logician as well as the best reasoner of his age.
It must indeed be confessed, that a man without know¬
ing the rules of logic may acquire a habit of reasoning just¬
ly in mathematics, and perhaps in any other science. Good
sense, good examples, and assiduous exercise, may bring
a man to reason justly and acutely in his own profession
without rules. But whoever thinks, that from this con¬
cession he may infer the inutility of logic, betrays by this
inference a great want of sense ; for he might as well in¬
fer that, because a man may go from Edinburgh to Lon¬
don by the way of Paris, therefore any other road is use¬
less.
There is perhaps no art which may not be acquired in
a very considerable degree, by example and practice, with¬
out reducing it to rules. But practice conjoined with rules
may carry a man forward in his art farther and more
quickly than practice without rules. Every ingenious art¬
ist knows the utility of having his art reduced to rules, and
thereby rendered a science. By rules he is enlightened
in his practice, and works with more assurance. They
enable him sometimes to correct his own errors, and often
to detect the errors of others; and he finds them of great
use to confirm his judgment, to justify what is right, and to
condemn what is wrong. Now mathematics are the praxis
of logic. Through them we may perceive how the stated
forms of syllogism are exemplified in one subject, namely,
the predicament of quantity; and by marking the force
of these forms as they are there applied, we may be ena¬
bled to apply them of ourselves elsewhere. Whoever,
therefore, shall study mathematics with this view, will be¬
come not only by mathematics a more expert logician, and
by logic a more rational mathematician, but a wise philo¬
sopher, and an acuter reasoner on all the possible subjects
either of science or deliberation. But when mathematics,
instead of being applied to this excellent purpose, are used,
not to exemplify logic, but to supply its place, no wonder if
logic should fall into contempt, and if mathematics, instead
of furthering science, should become in fact an obstacle.
For when men, knowing nothing of that reasoning which
is universal, come to attach themselves for a series of years
to a single species, a species wholly involved in lines and
numbers, the mind becomes incapacitated for reasoning at
large, and especially in the search of moral truth. The
object of mathematics is demonstration; and whatever in
Introduction to Julian, &c.
Appendix to Lord Karnes’s Sketch on the Principles and Progress of Reason.
460
LOGIC.
Utility of that science is not demonstration, is nothing, or at least
Logic, below the regard of the geometrician. Probability, through
its almost infinite degrees, from simple ignorance up to
absolute certainty, is the terra incognita of the mathema¬
tician ; and yet here it is that the great business of the
human mind is carried on in the search and discovery of
all the important truths which concern us as reasonable
beings ; and here too it is that all its vigour is exerted;
for to proportion the assent to the probability accompany¬
ing every varying degree of moral evidence, requires the
most enlarged and sovereign exercise of reason.
In reasonings of this kind, will any man pretend that it
is of no use whatever to be well acquainted with the vari¬
ous powers of the mind by which we reason ? Is it of no use
to resolve the various kinds of reasoning into their simplest
elements; and to discover, as far as we are able, the rules
by which these elements are combined in judging and in
reasoning ? Is it of no use to mark the various fallacies in
reasoning, by which even the most ingenious men have been
led into error ? It must surely betray great want of un¬
derstanding to think these things useless or unimportant.
Now these are the things which logicians have attempted ;
and which they have also executed, not indeed so com¬
pletely as to leave no room for improvement, but in such
a manner as to give very considerable aid to our reason¬
ing powers. That the principles they have laid down with
regard to definition and division, the conversion and op¬
position of propositions, and the general rules of reason¬
ing, are not without use, is sufficiently apparent from the
blunders daily committed by those who disdain to culti¬
vate any acquaintance with them.
Although the art of categorical syllogism is confessed¬
ly little fitted for the discovery of unknown truths, it may
yet be employed to excellent purposes, as it is perhaps the
most compendious method of detecting a fallacy. A man
in quest of unknown truths, must generally proceed, by the
method of induction, from effects to causes ; but he who as
a teacher has to inculcate any system upon others, begins
with one or more self-evident truths, and proceeds, in the
way of demonstration, to the conclusion which he wishes
to establish. Now every demonstration, as has been al¬
ready observed, may be resolved into a series of syllogisms,
of wliich the conclusion of the preceding always enters
into the premises of that which follows; and if the first
principles be clear and evident, and every syllogism in
some legitimate mode and figure, the conclusion of the
whole must infallibly be admitted. But when the demon¬
stration is thus broken into parts, if we find that the con¬
clusion of one syllogism will not, without altering the
meaning of the terms, enter legitimately into the premises
of that which should immediately follow; or, supposing it
to make one of the premises of a neiv syllogism, if we find
that the conclusion resulting from the whole series thus
obtained, is different from that of the demonstration; we
may, in either of these cases, rest assured that the au¬
thor’s reasoning is fallacious, and leads to error; and that
if it carried an appearance of conviction before it was thus
resolved into its elementary parts, this must have been
owing to the inability of the mind to comprehend at once
a long train of arguments. Whoever wishes to see the
syllogistic art employed for this purpose, and to be con¬
vinced of the truth of what we have said respecting its
utility, may consult the excellent writer recommended by
Mr Locke, who, in places innumerable of his incomparable
book, has, without pedantry, even in that pedantic age,
made the happiest application of the rules of logic for un¬
ravelling the sophistry of his Jesuitical antagonist.
Upon the whole, then, although we readily acknowledge
that much time was wasted by our forefathers in syllogis¬
tic wrangling, and what might with little impropriety be
termed the mechanical part of logic, yet the art of form¬
ing and examining arguments is certainly an attainment Gen
not unworthy the ambition of a being whose highest dig- Observ-
tinction it is that he is endowed with reason. tions,
The preceding article was written at a period when
some views in regard to the object and the end of logic
were entertained in this country, which, in the present
state of the science, would be regarded as incorrect. The
influence of these views upon this treatise does not, how¬
ever, affect its utility. They are observable more in the
definition than in the treatment of the subject. It is, ac¬
cordingly, sufficient to correct the former, by showing
what is the true scope and peculiar province of logic, and
to point out to the reader the more accessible sources to
which he may resort.
The common error, in which Bacon participated, of iden¬
tifying logical (formal) and philosophical (real) induction ;
and the errors of Locke in supposing that logic supplied
any peculiar method of reasoning, and that syllogism was
ever intended as an instrument of discovery; had af¬
forded to these philosophers a ground on which they found
no difficulty in demonstrating the comparative inutility of
the whole logical system of Aristotle. Nor was the fal¬
lacy of their refutation soon exposed by detecting the de¬
fect in its foundation. On the contrary, in this country,
and in some others, it was long admitted to be conclusive;
and this admission in a great measure determined the
mode in which the subject was treated by the greater
number of those British authors who subsequently pre¬
sented to the public what they denominated systems of
logic. Instead of showing that this science was only un¬
dervalued for not effecting what it really did not propose
to accomplish ; instead of showing that the end which it
does propose is of high importance, and is fully accomplish¬
ed by this science, and by this science alone; and, instead
of rigorously excluding from their systems all not neces¬
sarily conducive to this end ; they, on the contrary, pro¬
posed to logic an end which no one science could possibly
accomplish ; and in attempting this, they transmuted the
most certain, definite, and independent of the philosophi¬
cal sciences, into a precarious assemblage of foreign, in¬
coherent, and insecure materials. Logic was regarded as
the doctrine which taught the art of using rightly our in¬
tellectual faculties in the acquisition of knowledge; but
as the promise here necessarily stood in melancholy con¬
trast with the performance, this false and exaggerated
estimate of the science only contributed to sink still lower
the humble opinion now entertained of its importance.
Logic may be defined the science of the laws of thought,
considered as thought. This is the central notion towards
which the various views of the science from Aristotle down
wards gravitate ; it is the one definition, in which others,
apparently the most opposite, find their complement and
reconciliation. This definition, however, requires some
elucidation.
In the first place, logic is said to be conversant about
thought. The term thought properly denotes a self-active
or spontaneous operation of the mind upon its objects, and
in opposition to those passive determinations by which
these objects are originally received into the mind, or sub¬
sequently suggested to its view. Logic is thus confined to
the discursive agency of mind in its three degrees of Ap¬
prehension, Judgment, and Reasoning, to the exclusion ol
the subordinate operations of perception, imagination, and
memory. Those who limit the definition of logic to
soning, are incorrect, inasmuch as, though the laws of rea¬
soning are the principal, they are not the adequate object
of the science. Those also are wrong who make logic
proximately conversant about language, thus confounding
it with grammar. We may, however, with the schools, il*
*
,ener
:bsen •
;ions:
LOGIC.
461
lustratively style logic the grammar of thought, as general
grammar may analogically be termed the logic of speech.
In the second place, logic is conversant about thought con¬
sidered as thought. In every act of thinking we distinguish
by reflection two things : 1. the object of thought (the mat¬
ter) ; 2. the mode of thinking it (the form). For example,
when I think “ This pen is bad,” the matter of the thought
\$the bad pen ; the form in which the matter is contained
is & judgment. Again, the word “ animal,” in so far as it is
viewed as expressive of ^certain conceived multitude of living
existences, is material; in so far as it is considered as only
significant of a general notion, it is formal. This distinction
of material and formal in thought was also expressed by the
schoolmen in the contrast of entia realm and entia ratio-
nis, of notiones (intellecta, conceptus, intentiones) primce,
and notiones secundce. This distinction is indeed only a
mental abstraction for the sake of science, as the matter
and the form of thought are in reality inseparable ; for we
are conscious of no object excepting under some form of
thought, and of no form of thought without a reference to
some determinate matter which constitutes the object of
thought. Of these, the matter is infinite in variety and
number; the form, of few and determinate modifications.
Logic, therefore, can only consider the form of thought.
For if it took the matter into account, it must either take
all objects indifferently, or only some. On the former
principle, logic would be a treatise upon the omne scibile,
a complement of all the sciences, which is impossible and
absurd and upon the latter, no reason can be shown why
certain objects should be selected for consideration, to the
exclusion of all others. But if we can neither make all
nor some objects of thought the object-matter of logic,
it only remains that we propose as its object-matter the
form of thought itself; that is, that we consider in logic,
thought as thinking, to the neglect of the particulars about
which it thinks. Nor is this view of the province of logic
any novelty. In the schools, to say nothing of more re¬
cent philosophers, logic was universally viewed as a ra¬
tional not a real, as a formal not a material science; in
other words, as conversant, not about things as conceived or
known, but about the mode of conceiving and knowing them.
Its object-matter was thus by the schoolmen limited to entia
rationis, in contrast to entia realia; to notiones secundce,
in contrast to notiones primes ; to things in general, in so far
as they stand under second notions, fyc.; expressions which,
when rightly understood, manifest that those persons who
employed them held views, in regard to the scope and do¬
main of the science, far more accurate than those latterly
prevalent, at least in this country.
In the third place, logic is the science of the laws of
thought. Logic, as we have seen, is solely conversant
about the faculty of thought, considered in its formal rela¬
tion. But the forms of thought can be made the object of
consideration from two points of view. We can either
contemplate them as objects of mere experience, that is,
delineate and arrange the special modifications of the
thinking principle, as facts of observation and history ; or
we may regard them as objects of speculation, that is, by
means of reflection and abstraction seek out and deter¬
mine what, as necessary in each act of thinking, affords
the condition of the possibility of thought in general. The
consideration of the human mind, as an object of expe¬
rience, belongs not to logic, but to psychology. A know-
ledge, indeed, of the phenomena of mind, as facts of expe¬
rience, must chronologically precede their consideration as
objects of speculation ; the •philosophy of the human mind,
as an empirical science, forms therefore the natural pre¬
liminary of logic as a speculative science. Logic in itself,
however, constitutes not the less an independent and ex¬
clusive system. For where the knowledge of our intellec- General
tual nature founded upon observation and induction ends, Observa-
and where, by an abstraction from all that experience affords tions-
of particular and contingent, we ascend by reflection to
the universal, and necessary, and a priori conditions it in¬
volves, there the domain of logic commences, and that of
psychology, as a doctrine explanatory of mere facts, ter¬
minates. But if logic be conversant about the universal
and necessary in thought, it is thereby conversant about
the laws of thought. For the universal and necessary is
only conceived as what is determined by laws ; and again,
the very conception of a law involves the universality and
necessity of its application.
Logic is thus conversant, not about thought considered
in itself, but about thought viewed as subject to laws.
Those therefore who, without qualification, make the ope¬
rations or processes of the discursive faculty the object of
logic, are wrong; for logic considers these only as governed
by laws. Nor is this any modern observation. “ To treat
ot thoughts as thoughts,” says Simplicius, “ is not the
function of logic, but of psychology.” Those schoolmen
who held entia rationis or notiones secundee to be the ob¬
ject of logic, did not propose that these should be considered
in themselves, but only in their application to entia realia
or notiones primce, as the instruments and regulators of
thought; whilst those again who proposed all or some of
the three intellectual operations for this object, did so only
in as far as these were dirigible or determinable by laws.
Thus the same correct view of the science may be detect¬
ed under forms of expression which at first sight appear to
be the most contradictory; and what we have shown in
regard to the schoolmen may be more easily proved in re¬
gard to the Leibnitzian and Kantian logicians. But thoush
a right conception of the scope and limits of logic must be
allowed to have long and generally prevailed, it must be
acknowledged that the speculative notion did not in prac¬
tice regulate the contents and treatment of the science.
From Aristotle downwards (the example and authority of
the Stagirite having mainly determined the practice of his
successors), the purity of the science has been, and is still,
contaminated by foreign infusions; and it is only by slow
and painful efforts that one extraneous doctrine after an¬
other has been banished from its domain. Thus, though
it has always been speculatively allowed that logic is ex¬
clusively conversant with the form of thought; yet a con¬
sideration of the material modality of propositions and
syllogisms (a subject as useless as it is irksome) remained,
though often overlooked, an integral portion of the science,
until it was proved to be intrusive in the article on logic
in the Edinburgh Review (vol. Ivii. p. 220, et seq.), and has
accordingly, by subsequent writers on the science, been for¬
mally expunged, as paralogical, from their systems. In this
country there is, however, no work on logic which displays
the science in a pure and perfect form; which evolves its
doctrines from fundamental principles, and displays its
parts in that necessary connection and dependence, which
constitutes the elegance of a scientific system. Whately’s
Elements of Logic is the English book which is best de¬
serving of attention. Though somewhat vague and vacil¬
lating in its views of the science, and though its doctrines
are neither developed from the primary laws of thought,
nor combined together as the essential parts of one ne¬
cessary whole, yet it displays a talent which shows that the
author, with a more comprehensive knowledge of his sub¬
ject, might have produced a work not easily to be super¬
seded. There are also several minor works recently pub¬
lished on logic in this country, not unworthy of consider¬
ation, a detailed estimate of which may be seen in the
Review previously referred to.
'
462
L O I
L O I
Logistae LOGISfiE, certain officers at] Athens, ten in number,
Loire w^lose business consisted in receiving and passing the ac¬
counts of magistrates when they went out of’ office. The
logistcB were elected by lot, and had under them ten eu-
thyni or auditors of accounts.
LOGOGRAPHY, a method of printing, in which the
types, instead of answering only to single letters, are
made to correspond to entire words. In the year 1783,
there appeared a treatise upon this subject by Henry
Johnson, in which the origin as well as the utility of the
Oiethod are largely discussed. Mr Johnson informs us,
that about five years before, that is, in the year 1778, in¬
tending to publish a daily list of blanks and prizes in the
lottery, numerically arranged, he found that it could not be
accomplished in time by the ordinary method of printing.
On this account he procured types of two, three, or more
figures, as was necessary for this purpose; and thus any
entire number might as readily be taken up as if it bad
been a single type. His next attempt was in forming
some large mercantile tables of pounds, shillings, pence,
and farthings. For these he procured types expressive of
any sum of money ready composed and united; “ by
which every species of figure-printing could be perform¬
ed for the tenth part of the cost, printers always charging
it double the price of letter-printing.” Having thus suc¬
ceeded to his wish in his two first attempts, he next be¬
gan to consider if the method could not be applied to
words ; and in this also the success, he says, was equal.
The properties of the logographic art, according to its
author, are, Itf, that the compositor shall have less charg¬
ed upon his memory than in the common way; 2d, that
it is much less liable to error; 3d, that the type of each
word is as easily laid hold of as that of a single letter ;
4/4, that the decomposition is much more readily per¬
formed, even by the merest novices, than the distribution
of letters ; bth, that no extraordinary expense, nor great¬
er number of types, is required in the logographic than
in the common method of printing. But, for fuller details,
we must refer to the work above mentioned.
LOGRONO, a town of Spain, in the province of Old
Castille. It is situated on the banks of the Ebro, in a fer¬
tile territory, in which oil, wine, and some corn is pro¬
duced. It has three parish churches, nine monasteries,
two hospitals, and 7000 inhabitants, and was the seat of a
court of inquisition.
LOIRE, the largest river in France, rises in the moun¬
tains of the Cevennes, and, after running a course of
about 500 miles, falls into the Bay of Biscay.
Loire, a department of the south-east of France,
formed out of the whole district of Forez, a part of the
Lyonnois, and a few portions added from the neighbour¬
ing departments. It extends in north latitude from 45.
10. to 46. 12. and in east longitude from 3. 39. to 4. 46.
It contains 2032 square miles, or 496,000 hectares. It
is bounded on the north by the departments of Allier and
Saone-Loire, on the east by those of the Rhone and of
the Isere, on the south by Ardeche and the Upper Loire,
and on the west by Puy de Dome and Allier. It com¬
prehends three arrondissements and twenty-eight can¬
tons, which are subdivided into 327 communes, and con¬
tain a population of 318,500 persons. The face of the
country is generally hilly, and towards the south-east is
mountainous, where Mount Pilat attains the height of
3000 feet. With this is connected a chain, of lower ele¬
vation, called the Perouse Range, which, from the vast
quantity of basalt, is supposed to be extinguished vol¬
canoes. The greatest plain is the basin of the Loire,
which is about fifteen miles in extent. The highest moun¬
tains are stony, and many of them incapable of cultiva¬
tion. The sides of the hills, and even the tops of those
of lower elevation, are covered with vineyards; and the
basin of the Loire, and the other plains in the valleys, are
fertile, and yield abundant crops of corn, and much hemp
The chief river is the Loire, which is navigable from
Roane, receives the waters of the Semene, the Bonson
the Furand, the Lignon, the Rahins or Rhine, and the
lessonne, as well as that of many smaller streams that
issue from the hills. In the middle of the department
especially in the arrondissement of Montbrison, are a mul¬
titude of lakes, which abound in fish, the water of which is
let off every two or three years, and the ground is sow¬
ed with wheat, and thus alternately the land produces
fish and corn. Hie whole growth of corn does not equal
the consumption; but the deficiency is supplied from the
neighbouring departments, which take hemp in exchange
for it. The chief products of the soil are, wine, fruit,
honey and wax, chestnuts, wood for building and fuel’
and the flesh of sheep, cows, and goats, with cheese made
from the two latter classes of animals. The agriculture is
but indifferently conducted. Many of even the valleys grow
only rye, and the produce of some scarcely equals the
expense of raising it. There are numerous coal-mines
worked, which yield annually 300,000 tons of that sub¬
stance. Mines of lead and of iron are also worked, but
scarcely yield more of those metals than is consumed
within the department. The quarries of granite, marble,
porphyry, and flint, are sources of employment and wealth.
The chief manufacturing industry is occupied in making
ironmongery and cutlery goods ; and, besides these trades,
many silk goods, chiefly ribbons, are prepared, and cloth
of cotton, of wool, and of hemp, with brandy, paper, glass,
and leather. The department elects two deputies to the
legislative chamber. The capital is Montbrison.
Loire, Lower, a department of France, formed out of a
part of Upper Bretagne, extending in north latitude from
46. 44. to 47. 50. and in w est longitude from 1. 6. to 2.
39. It is bounded on the north by the departments of
Morbihan and Ille-Vilaine, on the east by those of May-
enne and Mayenne-Loire, on the south by Vendee, and
on the west by the ocean. It is divided into five arron¬
dissements, forty-five cantons, and 209 communes, and
contains 417,120 inhabitants. The extent is 3021 square
miles, or 766,000 hectares. Of this land, 268,100 hectares
are under the plough, 105,700 are pastures and morasses,
137,800 are not cultivated, 82,780 consist of vineyards,
80,430 are woods and forests, and the remainder are the
sites of towns and villages, roads, rivers, and salt marshes.
I he face of the country is generally level, but inter¬
spersed with a few hills of inconsiderable height. The
highest of them are covered with a vegetable or clayey
soil, resting on a bed of granite or schist. In some dis¬
tricts the overflooding has created extensive turf ground,
which is applied to the purposes of fuel. The agricul¬
ture is in a backward state, though somewhat improved
of late years. In the northern portion of the department,
wheat, and in greater proportion rye, buckwheat, and
pulse, form the grain crops, but in the south-west, wheat
is the principal grain ; yet the wdiole corn grown is scarce¬
ly more than three fifths of what the consumption re¬
quires. The meadows on the left banks of the Loire pas¬
ture many cows, and the butter from the dairies is
much esteemed. The cultivation of the vine is an im¬
portant object of industry, especially in the arrondisse¬
ments of Savenai, Ancenis, and Nantes. The greater part
of the wine is converted into brandy. Apples are the
most abundant fruit, and a great quantity of cider*is made
from them in several districts. There are mines of iron
and of coal, but the former are not highly productive, and
only yield 1000 tons annually; the latter are said to be
equal in quality to the best coals of England. The prin¬
cipal manufacture is that of linen; but oflate the cotton
trade has been much extended, and in printed cotton a
Loire.:
'ppei
iCher
l o r
great progress has been made, and a large quantity is fa¬
bricated. The chief trade is concentrated in the city of
Nantes, the capital. A large portion of culinary salt is col-
1 lected from the marshes on the sea-shore. The river
, Loire conveys to the sea the water of most of the other
streams. The department elects four members of the le¬
gislature.
Loire, Upper, a department on the south-east of France,
formed out of the ancient district of Belay, a part of Lan¬
guedoc, of a portion of the Upper Auvergne, and of some
communes taken from Gevaudun, Vivarais, and Forez. It
extends in north latitude from 44. 48. to 45. 25. and in
east longitude from 3. 4. to 4. 18. It is bounded on the
north by the departments of Puy de Dome and Loire, on
the east^ and south-east by the Ardeche, on the south by
the Lozere, and on the west by Cantal. It contains 1920
square miles or 502,854 hectares, is divided into three ar-
rondissements, twenty-eight cantons, and 272 communes,
and contains 272,600 inhabitants, of whom about 5000 are
Protestants, and the others adhere to the Catholic church.
It is generally a mountainous district, consisting of some
branches of the range of the Auvergne, and some of the
Cevennes range, the highest points of both of which are
within this department. The soil is generally of volcanic
origin, consisting in a great measure of lava or pozzolana.
It is dry and hard, but in the valleys is not wholly unpro¬
ductive. The principal rivers are the Loire and the Ai¬
der, which receive the waters of the several smaller streams ;
but neither of them become navigable till they have passed
)ut of this department. There are several small mountain
akes, the most extensive of which is that of Bouchet. Al¬
though, from the mountainous nature of the district, it is
letter calculated for pasture than for the plough, yet, as
he sides of the hills are cultivated like gardens, and easily
rrigated, sufficient corn is grown for the consumption of
he population. The chief source of profit, in husbandry
s the breeding of black cattle and of horses, and making
lutter and cheese. Fruit is extensively produced, particu-
arly chestnuts and apricots. The bees yield abundance
>f honey and wax, both of which form branches of the ex¬
tort trade. There are no mines but those of coal, which
field about 18,000 tons yearly. Manufactures are incon-
iderable, consisting chiefly of linen goods, and some lace,
10th of silk and thread. The other articles are those for
lomestic use, such as leather, heavy ironmongery, and
ommon earthenware. The department furnishes two de-
'Uties to the legislative chamber. The capital is Puv en
lelay. :
Loire and Cher, a department of France, formed out
f the ancient divisions of Blesois and Cologne, in the Or-
'annois. It extends in north latitude from 47.18. to 48. 4.
nd in east longitude from 0. 28. to 1. 57. It contains 2647
]uare miles, or 671,500 hectares, of which 320,000 are
table land, /0,000 are woods, 20,000 are vineyards, and
te rest pastures, meadows, rivers, roads, and the sites of
wns and villages. It is bounded on the north by the de-
artment of the Eure-Loire, on the north-east by Loiret,
i the south-east by the Cher, on the south by the Indre,
i the south-west by the Indre-Loire, and on the north-
est by the Sarthe. It is divided into three arrondisse-
ents, twenty-four cantons, and 309 communes, and con-
ins a population of 220,000 persons, amongst whom it
said there are scarcely 20,000 who can read and wiite.
ie department is a level district, with a few inconsidera-
e elevations, which are covered with vines. The south-
n part or arrondissement of Romorantin is a miserable
strict, filled with heaths and swamps, between which only
e spots of cultivable land scattered over it, in which are
?a an^ wretched villages. The northern part contains
arger proportion of cultivated soil, but is filled with san
'heaths —- • - -- -
L O K
sometimes mixed with clay or chalk, but often-
er with pebbles. There are numerous small streams, all
of which empty themselves into the two rivers which give
theis name to the department. No part of France con¬
tains so many small lakes and swamps. The agriculture is
badly conducted. In many of the cantons no wheat is
grown, and in some the only corn is buckwheat, which,
with rye from the vicinity, forms the chief bread of the in¬
habitants. Along the banks of the rivers there are some
meadows, which afford pasture for cows; and some good
butter and cheese is produced. A number of horses, ^f a
small but active race, are bred on the heathy lands/ The
land is divided into small portions, and cultivated for the
most part by small and poor proprietors. The wine made
in the department is chiefly sent to Orleans or Paris, but
a great part of it is converted into brandy. The only
product of the mines is iron ; but flints for muskets are
abundantly found, and the army is chiefly supplied from
hence. The only manufacturing industry is the spinning
of flax, which is carried on in every family. The depart¬
ment elects two deputies to the legislative chamber. The
capital is the city of Blois.
LOIRE I, a department of France, formed out of a part
of the ancient Orleannois. It extends in north latitude from
47. 35. to 48. 22. and in east longitude from 1. 24. to 2.
59., comprehending 2789, square miles, or 675,191 hec¬
tares. It is bounded on the north by the departments of
the Seine and Oise and the Seine and Marne, on the east
by Yonne, on the south by the Nievre, the Cher, and the
Cher and Loire, and on the west by the Eure and Loire.
It is divided into four arrondissements, fourteen cantons,
and 111 communes, whose population amounts to 134,500
persons. It is, as a whole, a fruitful plain ; but, upon the
right side of the Loire, it is well covered with profitable fo¬
rests. The soil is light and sandy, especially in the arron¬
dissement of Montargis, but highly productive, although it
scarcely affords a sufficiency *of corn for the consumption
of the inhabitants. Wine is the most valuable article of cul¬
tivation, and both red and white wine of good quality are
made, as well as much vinegar and brandy. It is favoura¬
bly situated for the conveyance of its productions by inter¬
nal navigation. Much fruit, as well as wood, is conveyed
by water to Paris. There are manufactures of cotton and
of linen goods, of hosiery, paper, and leather, and some
refineries for sugar. The department elects three de¬
puties to the legislative body. The capital is the city of
Orleans.
LOJA, or Loxa, a city of Spain, in Granada, within the
province of Andalusia. It is situated about twenty miles
from the city of Granada, in a gorge between the stupen¬
dous mountains which seem to shut in the plain from the
rest of the kingdom. At the bottom of this fissure, the
river Xenil runs from the plain, and the streets of the city
rise above each other on the declivities of the mountain.
It was a place of vast military importance when the Moors
were in possession of Granada, as it is the only entrance on
the western side of the plain. The surrounding country
is thickly covered with olive woods, which yield a great
quantity of oil. Some corn is raised, but not sufficient for
the population, who are supplied with the remainder by
exchanging oil. It contains about 9000 inhabitants.
LOKE, in Mythology, the name of one of the deities of
the northern nations, answering to the Ahriman of the
Persians, whom they represent as at enmity with both
gods and men, and the author of all the evils which deso¬
late the universe. Loke is described in the Edda as pro¬
ducing the great serpent which encircles the world (which
seems to have been intended as an emblem of corruption
or sin) ; and he also gives birth to Hela or death, the
queen of the infernal regions, and to the wolf Fenris, the
monster who is destined to encounter the gods and to de¬
stroy the world.
463
Loiret
II
Loke.
464
L O L
L O M
Lokeren LOKEREN, a large market-town of the Netherlands,
II in the province of East Flanders, and the arrondissement
of the Dender. It is situated on the river Durme, on the
y-w roa(j from Ghent to Antwerp. It stands in a district
yielding heavy crops of corn, hemp, flax, and clover and
linseed, which form its chief objects of commerce. It has
also manufacturing establishments for making cotton and
linen goods, lace, and other goods. It contains 1800 houses,
with 12,800 inhabitants.
LOKMAN the Wise, an eminent philosopher amongst
the orientals. The Arabians say he was the son of Baura,
the son or grandson of a sister or aunt of Job. He was an
Ethiopian, and for some time a slave. It is related that
he was bom in the time of David, and that he lived till
the age of the prophet Jonah. Some suppose him to have
been the same with JEsop the mythologist; and indeed
we find in the parables or apologues of Lokman in Arabic
many particulars which are seen in Esop’s fables, so that it
is not easy to determine whether the Greek or the Ara¬
bian are the originals. He is said to have been deformed in
his person ; but this defect was sufficiently compensated
by the perfections of his mind. Some pieces of his are
extant; and he was looked upon as so excellent a person,
that Mahommed has inserted a chapter in the Koran
called after his name, in which he introduces God as say¬
ing, “We heretofore bestowed wisdom on Lokman.” It
is related that he obtained his liberty upon the following
occasion. His master having given him a bitter melon
to eat, he ate it all. Surprised at his exact obedience,
his master asked him, How it was possible for him to eat
such a nauseous fruit ? He answered, “ I have received
so many favours from you, that it is no wonder I should
once in my life eat a bitter melon from your hand.”
This generous answer of the slave struck the master to
such a degree, that he immediately gave him his liberty.
A French translation of the fables of Lokman, and of
Bidpai or Pilpay, a Brahminical philosopher, by M. Gal-
land, was published at Paris in 1724.
LOLLARDS, in Ecclesiastical History, a religious sect,
which arose in Germany about the beginning of the four¬
teenth century, and was so called, as many writers have
thought, from Walter Lollard, who began to dogmatize in
1315, and was afterwards burned at Cologne; though
others think that Lollard was no surname, but merely a
term of reproach applied to all heretics who concealed the
poison of error under the appearance of piety.
The monk of Canterbury derives the origin of the word
Lollard amongst us, from lolium, a tare ; as if the Lollards
were the tares sown in Christ’s vineyard. Abelly says
that the word Lollard signifies praising God, from the
German loben, to praise, and herr, Lord ; because the Lol¬
lards employed themselves in travelling about from place
to place, singing psalms and hymns. Others, again, derive
lollhard, lullhard, or lollert, lullert, as it was written by the
ancient Germans, from the old German word lullen, lalien,
or lallen, and the termination hard, with which many of
the Dutch words end. Lollen signifies to sing with a low
voice, and therefore Lollard is a singer, or one who fre¬
quently sings; and in the vulgar tongue of the Germans
it denotes a person who is continually praising God with
a song, or singing hymns in his praise. The Alexians or
Cellites were called Lollards, because they were public
singers, who made it their business to inter the bodies of
those who died of the plague, and sang a dirge over them
in a mournful and indistinct tone as they carried them to
the grave. The name was afterwards assumed by persons
who dishonoured it; for we find that, amongst those Lol¬
lards who made extraordinary pretences to piety and reli¬
gion, and spent the greater part of their time in meditation,
prayer, and such acts of piety, there were many abomin¬
able hypocrites, who entertained the most ridiculous opi¬
nions, and concealed the most enormous vices under the i
specious mark of this extraordinary profession.
Many injurious aspersions were propagated by the priestsLmibari
and monks against those who assumed this name ; so that, WY>
by degrees, any person who covered heresy or crime un¬
der the appearance of piety was called a Lollard. Thus
the name was used not to denote any one particular sect,
but was formerly common to all persons and all sects who
were supposed to be guilty of impiety towards God. or the
church, under an external profession of extraordinary
piety. However, many societies, consisting both of men
and women, under the denomination of Lollards, were
formed in most parts of Germany and Flanders, and were
supported partly by their manual labours, and partly by
the charitable donations of pious persons. The magis¬
trates and inhabitants of the towns where these brethren
and sisters resided, gave them particular marks of favour
and protection, on account of their great usefulness to the
sick and needy. They were thus supported against their
malignant rivals, and obtained many papal constitutions, by
which their institute was confirmed, their persons exempt¬
ed from the cognizance of the inquisitors, and subjected
entirely to the jurisdiction of the bishops ; but as these
measures were insufficient to secure them from molestation,
Charles duke of Burgundy, in the year 1472, obtained a
solemn bull from Sixtus IV. ordaining that the Cellites or
Lollards should be ranked amongst the religious orders, and
delivered from the jurisdiction of the bishops ; and in the
year 1506 Julius II. granted them still greater privileges.
Mosheim informs us that many societies of this kind still
subsisted at Cologne, and in the cities of Flanders, though
they had evidently departed from their ancient rules.
Lollard and his followers rejected the sacrifice of the
mass, extreme unction, and penances for sin ; arguing that
Christ’s sufferings were all-sufficient. He is likewise said to
have set aside baptism, as a thing of no effect; and repen¬
tance, as not absolutely necessary.. In England, the fol¬
lowers of Wickliffe were by way of reproach called Lol¬
lards, from the affinity there existed between some of their
tenets and those of that sect; though others are of opinion
that the English Lollards came from Germany.- The Lol¬
lards were solemnly condemned by the archbishop of Can¬
terbury and the council of Oxford.
LOMBARD, Peter, well known by the title of Mas¬
ter of the Sentences, was born at Novara, in Lombardy; but
being bred at Paris, he distinguished himself so much at
that university, that he had conferred on him the canonry
of Chartres, was for some time tutor to Philip son of Louis
le Gros, and lastly obtained the see of Paris. He died in
1064. His work of the Sentences is regarded as the source
of the scholastic theology of the Latin church. He also
wrote Commentaries upon the Psalms, and upon St Paul’s
Epistles.
LOMBARDS, a northern nation, who settled in Italy
in the fourth century, and for some time made a consider¬
able figure.
The name of Lombards, or Longobards, is by some de¬
rived from the word lack, or lache, signifying in the Ger¬
man tongue winter, because the Lombards, whilst in
Scandinavia, lived in marshes, or near to the sea; whilst
others think that it comes from the two German words
langen harden, or helleborden, that is, from the long hal¬
berts they were supposed to use in war. But Paulus Dia-
conus their historian, and w ho was himself a Lombard, tells
us that they were called Longobards, from the length o
their beards. A nation called Lombards is mentioned by
Tacitus, Strabo, and Ptolemy; but these are different from
the Lombards who afterwards settled in Italy, and are
reckoned the same with the Gepidae, whom the Italian
Lombards almost exterminated. The Lombards who set¬
tled in Italy are first mentioned by Prosper Aquitanus,
»
LOMBARDS.
anbasS. bishop of Rhegium in the year 379. That writer tells us,
^y" that about the time referred to, the Lombards, abandoning
the distant coasts of the ocean, and their native country
Scandinavia, and seeking' for new settlements, as they were
overstocked with people at home, first attacked and over¬
came the Vandals in Germany. They were then headed
by two chiefs, Iboreus and Aion, who, having died about
the year 389, were succeeded by Agilmund, who is com¬
monly reckoned the first king of the Lombards.
Before the time of Odoacer, Lombard history presents
nothing very remarkable; in his time, however, they set¬
tled on the Danube, in the country of the Rugians, whom
Odoacer had almost totally exterminated or carried into
captivity. During their stay in this country, they render¬
ed themselves formidable to the neighbouring nations, and
carried on successful wars with the Heruli and Gepidee.
In 526 they were allowed by the Emperor Justinian to
settle in Pannonia ; and here they made war a second time
with the Gepidae. Alboin, the Lombard king, killed the
king of the Gepidae with his own hand, put his army to the
route, and cut in pieces such numbers of them, that they
ceased from that time to be a nation. Having caused the
deceased king’s head to be cut off, he made a cup of his
skull, called in the language of the Lombards schala, which
he made use of in all public entertainments. However,
having, amongst many other captives of great distinction,
taken the last king’s daughter, by name Rosamunda, he
married her after the death of his former wife Clodisvinta,
the daughter of Clothaire king of France.
By this victory Alboin gained such reputation that his
friendship was courted by Justinian ; and, in consequence
of the emperor’s application, a body of six thousand Lom¬
bards was sent to the assistance of Narses against the
Goths. The success of the Romans in this expedition, the
invasion of Italy by the Lombards, and their successes in
that country, have been noticed under the article Italy.
At last, Alboin having made himself master of Venetia,
Liguria, TEmilia, Etruria, and Umbria, was slain by the
treachery of his wife, in the year 575, being the fourth
of his reign. This princess was the daughter of the king
of the Gepida?, whom Alboin had killed in battle, and
made a cup of his skull, as above related. As he was one
day feasting at Verona, with his chief favourites and prin¬
cipal officers, in the height of his mirth he sent for the
queen, and, filling the detested cup, he commanded her to
drink merrily with her father. Rosamund, struck with
horror, hurried out of the room; and, highly incensed
against her husband for thus barbarously triumphing over
the misfortunes of her family, resolved, at all events, to
make him pay dear for his inhuman and insulting conduct.
She discovered her intention to Helmichild the king’s
shield-bearer, a youth of great boldness and intrepidity;
hut he peremptorily refused to imbrue his hands in the
blood of his sovereign, or to be in any way accessory to
his death; and in this resolution he persisted, until, by a
shameful stratagem, forced to comply with the queen’s
•vishes. Knowing that he carried on an intrigue with one
A her ladies, Rosamund placed herself one night in that
ady’s bed, and receiving the youth, indulged him in his
tmorous desires, as if she had been his own mistress. Then
discovering herself to the deceived lover, she told him
hat he must now either put the king to death, or be
>ut to death by him. Helmichild, well apprised that, af-
er what he had done, his safety depended upon the death
the king, engaged in the treason, which he otherwise
tbhorred. One day, therefore, whilst Alboin was reposing
n his chamber after dinner, Helmichild, with some others
'horn he had made privy to his design, broke in unex-
rectedly, and fell upon the king with their daggers. Al-
>oin started up and laid hold of his sword, which he had
ihvays by him; but having in vain attempted to draw it,
vOL. XIII.
465
the queen having beforehand fastened it in the scabbard, Lombards,
he defended himself for some time with a footstool. In’
the end, however, he was overpowered, and despatched
with many wounds.
Rosamund had promised to Helmichild, that, as soon as
he had despatched the king she would marry him, and,
with her person, bestow upon him the kingdom of the Lom¬
bards. The first part of her promise she immediately per¬
formed ; but she was so far from being able to bestow the
crown upon him, that both of them were obliged to save
themselves by flight. They fled to Longinus the exarch
of Ravenna, taking with them all the jewels and treasure
of the late king. Longinus received her with the greatest
marks of friendship and kindness, and assured her of his
protection. But she had not been long in Ravenna, before
the exarch, thinking that a favourable opportunity now of¬
fered for making himself king of Italy by her means, im¬
parted his design to her, and declared his intention to marry
her, provided, by some means or other, she despatched Hef-
michild. Rosamund, highly pleased with the proposal, re¬
solved to satisfy her ambition by getting rid of the person
whom she had only married in order to gratifykher revenge.
Accordingly, having prepared a strong poison, and mixed
it with wine, she gave it to her husband as he came out of
the bath, and called for drink, according to his custom.
Helmichild had not half emptied the cup, when, by the
sudden and strange sensation which he felt in his bowels,
he concluded what it was ; and, with his sword pointed at
the queen’s breast, compelled her to drink the rest. The
poison had the same effect on both, for they died in a few
hours. Longinus, on the death of the queen, laid aside all
thoughts of making himself king of Italy, and sent the king’s
treasure to Constantinople, together with Albisoinda, the
daughter of Alboin by Rosamund, whom she had brought
along with her.
After the death of Alboin, the Lombards chose Clephis,
one of the nobility, as their king. But he was murdered after
a short reign of eighteen months; upon which ensued an
interregnum of ten years. During this time, they extended
their conquests in that country ; but at length the Romans,
jealous of their progress, resolved to put a stop to their vic¬
tories, and, if possible, to expel them from the country. For
this purpose, they entered into an alliance with the Franks;
which so alarmed the Lombards that they re-established the
monarchical form of government amongst themselves, and
chose Autharis the son of Clephis as their king. This mo¬
narch, considering that the power of the dukes, who had
governed Lombardy for the space of ten years, was during
that time tolerably well established, and that they would
not probably be willing to part with the authority which
they had so long enjoyed, allowed them to continue in their
government, but obliged them to contribute one moiety
of their revenues towards the maintenance and support of
his royal dignity, suffering them to dispose of the other as
they thought proper. He reserved to himself the supreme
dominion and authority, and took an oath from the dukes,
that in time of war they would readily assist him to the
utmost of their power. Though he could remove the dukes
at pleasure, yet he deprived none of them of their duke¬
doms, excepting in cases of treason, nor gave them to others,
except when their male issue failed. Having settled mat¬
ters in this manner, he enacted several very wholesome
laws against theft, rapine, murder, adultery, and other vices
which prevailed amongst his subjects, and was the first of
the Lombard kings who embraced Christianity. Most of
his subjects followed the example of their monarch ; but as
they were all instructed by Arian bishops, they continued
long infected with that heresy, which occasioned great dis¬
putes between them and the orthodox bishops of the cities
subject to their sway.
FTom the re-establishment of the monarchy under Au
3 N
466 LOMBARDS.
Lombards, tharis, until the reign of Rotharis in 636, the history of the
Lombards affords nothing memorable. * This period is re¬
markable for the introduction of written laws amongst the
Lombards. Before his time they had been governed only
by tradition but Rotharis, in imitation of the Romans and
Goths, undertook the publication of written laws; and to
those which he enacted many were added by succeeding
princes. Grotius prefers the method which the Lombards
followied in making laws, to that which was practised by the
Romans themselves. Amongst the latter the emperor was
the sole lawgiver ; and whatsoever he decreed had the force
of a law. But the Lombard kings did not assume that
power to themselves, since their laws were enacted in public
assemblies convened for the purpose, after they had been
maturely examined and approved of by all the lords of the
kingdom. From these assemblies were excluded the ec¬
clesiastical order, and the people; so that the legislative
power was lodged exclusively in the king and the nobles.
The reign of Rotharis is remarkable, not only for his in¬
troducing written laws amongst his subjects, but for the
conquests which he made, and the successful wars which he
carried on with the exarch of Ravenna, whom he totally
defeated in several engagements, at the same time making
himself master of some part of his territories. This mo¬
narch died in 652; and the affairs of the Lombards went on
prosperously, till the ambition of Luitprand laid the founda¬
tion of the total ruin of his kingdom. He ascended the
throne of Lombardy in 711, and watched every opportunity
of enlarging his dominions at the expense of the emperor.
For this a fair occasion offered in 716. The Emperor Leo
Isauricus, who at that time reigned in the East, having, by
his famous edict, forbidden the worship of images, and or¬
dered them to be everywhere pulled down, the people were
so incensed at that innovation, that, in several places, they
openly revolted, and, falling upon the emperor’s officers,
drove them out of the cities. In the East, Germanus, the
patriarch of Constantinople, opposed the emperor’s design
with great warmth ; but Leo caused him to be deposed,
and Anastasius to be raised to that see in his room, at the
same time ordering that all the images in the imperial city
should be pulled down and publicly burned. He strictly
enjoined his officers in the West, especially the exarch of
Ravenna, to see his edict punctually obeyed in their respec¬
tive governments. In compliance with these orders, Scho-
lasticus, then exarch, began to pull down the images in all
the churches and public places in Ravenna; a proceeding
which incensed the superstitious multitude to such a de¬
gree, that, taking arms, they openly declared that they would
rather renounce their allegiance to the emperor than give
up the worship of images.
A kind of civil war being thus kindled in the city, Luit¬
prand thought he had now a favourable opportunity of
making himself master of the seat of the exarch, not doubt¬
ing but the conquest of such an important place would be
followed by that of the whole exarchate. Flaving therefore
drawn together all his forces, he unexpectedly appeared be¬
fore Ravenna, which he closely besieged. The exarch had
little expected such a surprise, a friendly correspondence
having been maintained for many years between the ex¬
archs and the Lombard kings. However, he defended the
place with such courage and resolution, that Luitprand, de¬
spairing of success, raised the siege, and led his army against
Classis, at a small distance from Ravenna, which he took,
plundered, and levelled with the ground. The loss of this
place, and the severe treatment which the inhabitants met
with from the king, threw the citizens of Ravenna into the
utmost consternation. Informed of this, Luitprand resolv¬
ed to take advantage of their fears, and, returning before
Ravenna whilst the inhabitants were thus disheartened, to
attempt once more the reduction of the place. According¬
ly he led his whole army against it, and, by frequent at¬
tacks, tired the inhabitants and garrison to such a degree, Lomii
that the exarch, finding they could hold out no longer, and W,
despairing of relief, withdrew' privately. Luitprand, in¬
formed of his retreat, attacked the town with more violence
than ever; and, having carried it by storm, gave it up to
be plundered by his soldiers, who found in it an immense
booty. The king stripped it of most of its valuable monu¬
ments of antiquity, and, amongst the rest, caused an eques¬
trian statue of an emperor, of wonderful workmanship, to be
conveyed to Pavia, where it is to be seen to this day. The
reduction of Ravenna was followed by the surrender of se¬
veral cities of the exarchate, which Luitprand reduced to a
dukedom, appointing Hildebrand his grandson to govern
it with the title of duke, and giving him, as he was yet an
infant, Peredeus duke of Vicenza as his guardian.
The conquest of Ravenna and the greater part of the
exarchate alarmed Gregory II. bishop of Rome. He was
then at variance with the emperor, whose edict against
the worship o^ images he had opposed with all his might,
and thereby provoked Leo to such a degree that he had
threatened to drive him from the see, and send him into
exile. However, the pope, no less jealous of the power
of the Lombards than all his predecessors had been, re¬
solved, by some means or other, to put a stop to their
conquests. The only prince in Italy to whom he could
have recourse, was Ursus duke of Venice. To him ac¬
cordingly he wrote a very pressing letter, conjuring him
to assist his worthy son the exarch, and, for the love of
the holy faith, to attempt with him the recovery of the
exarchate, which the wicked nation of the Lombards had
unjustly taken from his sons Leo and Constantine, empe¬
rors. Ursus and the Venetians, moved with the pope’s
letter, and at the same time alarmed at the growth of so
powerful a neighbour, promised to assist the exarch with
the whole strength of the republic ; and accordingly fit¬
ted out a considerable fleet, pretending that it was designed
for the service of the emperor against the Saracens. At
the same time the exarch, who had taken refuge in Ve- j
nice, abandoning that place as it were in despair of bring¬
ing the duke over to his party, raised, in the places still
subject to the emperor, what forces he could; and having
got together a considerable body, he marched with them
towards Imola, giving out that he designed to besiege
that city ; but turning on a sudden towards Ravenna, as
had been agreed upon between him and the Venetians, he
laid siege to that city by land, whilst almost at the same in¬
stant they invested it by sea. Peredeus defended the town
for some time with great courage and resolution, obliging
all those who were able to bear arms to repair to the
walls. But the Venetians having, in spite of all opposi¬
tion, forced open one of the gates on the seaward face,
the city was taken, and Peredeus slain, whilst he was at¬
tempting, at the head of a chosen body, to drive the ene¬
my from the posts they had seized. As for Hildebrand,
he fell into the hands of the Venetians, who, having thus
recovered Ravenna to the emperor, returned home, leav¬
ing the exarch in possession of the city. Luitprand was
then at Pavia ; but the town was taken before he could
assemble troops to relieve it.
Gregory, bishop of Rome, to whom the recovery of Ra¬
venna was chiefly owing, having persuaded himself that
the emperor would, out of gratitude, give ear to his re¬
monstrances and admonitions, began to solicit him more
pressingly than ever to revoke his edict against the wor¬
ship of images; but Leo, apprised that the bishop, in all
the measures he had taken, had been more influenced by
a regard to his own interest than to that of the empire,
instead of listening to his remonstrances, was still more
provoked against him for thus obstinately opposing the
execution of his edict. Being therefore resolved at all
events to cause it ‘to be observed in Rome itseffi and, on
t
*
,ns. the other hand, not doubting but the pope would oppose it
to the last, in order to remove all obstacles, he sent three
officers to Rome, with private orders, either to despatch
the pope, or to take him prisoner and convey him to Con¬
stantinople. At the same time, he wrote to Mauritius,
duke of Rome, secretly enjoining him to assist his officers
in their undertaking; but no favourable opportunity hav¬
ing offered to put their design in execution, the emperor,
in the year 725, recalled Scholasticus, and sent Paul, a pa¬
trician, into Italy, to govern in his stead, with private in¬
structions to encourage the officers already mentioned
LOMBARDS.
467
so many idols, out of the churches. Hereupon the ad-Lombards,
verse party, supported and encouraged by the pope, flew '
to arms, and, falling upon the iconoclasts, or image-break¬
ers, as they styled them, raised a civil war within the
walls of Ravenna. Great numbers were killed upon both
sides ; but those who were for the worship of images pre¬
vailed in the end ; a dreadful slaughter was made of the
opposite party; and, amongst the rest, the exarch himself
was murdered. However, the city of Ravenna continued
faithful to the emperor ; but most of the citizens of Ro¬
magna belonging to the exarchate, and all those of Pen-
with the promise ot great rewards, and to assure them oi tapolis or the March of Ancona, abhorring the emperor
his protection. as an heretic, submitted to Luitprand, king of the Lom-
But, in the mean time, the plot was discovered, and two bards, who, pretending a zeal for the Catholic religion,
of the conspirators having been apprehended by the citi- took care to improve the discontent of the people to his
zens of Rome, were put to death ; the third escaped into advantage, by representing to them that they could never
~'“'1 J maintain their religious rights under a prince who was not
a monastery, where he took the monastic habit, and end¬
ed his days. Hereupon the exarch, in compliance with
the emperor’s orders, resolved to proceed no longer by
secret plots, but by open force. Accordingly he drew to¬
gether a considerable body of troops, and set out at their
head, on his march to Rome, with the design of seizing
the pope, and sending him, as he had engaged to do, in
chains to Constantinople. But, on this occasion, Luit¬
prand, though highly provoked against Gregory for hav¬
ing stirred up the Venetians against him, resolved to as¬
sist him and the citizens of Rome against the exarch, in
order to keep the balance even between them, and, by
aiding sometimes the one, and sometimes the other, to
only an heretic, but a persecutor of the faithful.
In Naples, Exhilaratus, duke of that city, having re¬
ceived peremptory orders from the emperor to cause his
edict to be put in execution, did all that lay in his power
to persuade the people to receive it; but finding his en¬
deavours thwarted by the bishop of Rome, for whom the
Neapolitans had a great veneration, he hired assassins to
murder the pontiff. But the plot being discovered, though
carried on with great secrecy, the Neapolitans, highly
provoked against the duke, tore both him and his son to
pieces, and likewise put to death one of his chief officers,
who had composed a libel against the pope. Luitprand,
weaken both. Pursuant to this resolution, he ordered the and Gregory, at that time Duke of Benevento, laying hold
I  C rr  _ J  f  11 1 rn ^ r* ii . . , , / °
Lombards of Tuscany, and those of the dukedom of Spo-
letto, to join the pope and the inhabitants of Rome, who
being by this reinforcement far superior in strength and
number to the exarch, obliged him to return to Ravenna,
and give over all thoughts of any further attempt on the
person of the pope.
In the mean time, Leo, persisting in his former resolu¬
tion of suppressing throughout his dominions the wor¬
ship of images, sent fresh orders to the exarch Paul,
strictly enjoining him to cause his edict to be put in exe¬
cution in all the cities of Italy, especially in Rome. At
the same time, he wrote to the pope, promising him his
favour and protection, if he complied with the edict; and
declaring him, if he continued to oppose it, a rebel, and
no longer invested with the papal dignity. But Gregory
was so far from yielding to the emperor’s threats or pro¬
mises, that, on the contrary, he solemnly excommunicat¬
ed the exarch for attempting to put the imperial edict in
execution, and at the same time wrote circular letters
to the Venetians, to King Luitprand, to the Lombard
dukes, and to all the chief cities of the empire, exhorting
them to continue stedfast in the Catholic faith, and to op¬
pose with all their might such a detestable innovation
of so favourable an opportunity to make themselves mas¬
ters of the dukedom of Naples, did all in their power to
persuade the Neapolitans to submit to them. But the
Neapolitans, bearing an irreconcilable hatred to the Lom¬
bards, with whom they had been constantly at variance,
rejected every overture of that kind with the utmost in¬
dignation ; and continuing stedfast in their allegiance to
Leo, received from Constantinople one Peter, who was
sent to govern them in the room of Exhilaratus. Some
writers suppose that the Neapolitans, in this general re¬
volt of the cities of Italy, had shaken off the yoke along
with the rest, and appointed magistrates of their own elec¬
tion to govern them, in the room of the officers hitherto
sent from Constantinople, or named by the exarch. But
they are certainly mistaken ; for it is manifest from his¬
tory that Peter succeeded Exhilaratus in that dukedom,
and that the Neapolitans continued to live under the em¬
perors until they were conquered many years afterwards
by the Normans.
In the mean time, Leo, hearing of the murder of the
exarch, and the general revolt of the cities, and not doubt¬
ing that the pope was the chief author of so much mis¬
chief, sent the eunuch Eutychius into Italy, with the title
ihese letters made such an impression on the minds of and authority of exarch, strictly enjoining him to get the
the people in Italy, that though of different interests, and
often at war with one another, they all united, protesting
they would defend the Catholic faith, and the life of the
pope, in so glorious a cause, at the expense of their own;
oay, the citizens of Rome, and the inhabitants of Penta-
polis, now the March of Ancona, not content with such
i protestation, openly revolted against the emperor, and
pulling down the statues, elected, by their own authority,
nagistrates to govern them during the interregnum. We
ire even told, that, transported with a blind zeal, they
u ere for choosing a new emperor, and conducting him to
Constantinople, not doubting that the people would every-
ivhere join them. But the pope, thinking this resolution
Jnseasonable and impracticable, opposed it.
In the mean time, the exarch Paul, having gained a
■onsiderable party in Ravenna, began, pursuant to the re-
leated orders from the emperor, to remove the images, as
pope despatched by some means or other, since his death
was absolutely necessary for the tranquillity of Italy. The
exarch spared no pains to get the pope into his power.
But a messenger, whom he had sent to Rome, being ap¬
prehended by the citizens, and an order from the empe¬
ror being found upon him to the imperial officers in that
city, commanding them to put the pope to death at all
events, the pontiff’s friends thenceforth guarded him with
such care, that the exarch’s emissaries could never after¬
wards find an opportunity of executing their design. As
for the messenger, the Romans were for putting him to
death ; but the pope interposed to save him, and contented
himself with excommunicating the exarch.
And now the Romans, provoked more than ever against
Leo, and, on the other hand, unwilling to live under the
Lombards, resolved to revolt against the emperor, and ap¬
point their own magistrates, keeping themselves united
LOMBARDS.
• under the pope, not as their prince, but only as their head. But the emperor still insisting upon his edict against the I
This they did accordingly; and from these slender begin- images being received in Rome, the Romans, at the in.W*
nings the sovereignty of the popes in Italy took its rise, stigation of the pope, publicly renounced their allegiance" ~ "
though the pontiffs did not then, as is commonly sup- to Leo, paid him no more tribute, and withdrew for ever
posed by historians, become sovereign lords of Rome, but their obedience to the emperors of the East,
many years afterwards. Leo, informed of this revolt, and not questioning that
Eutychius failed in his design upon the life of the pope; the pope was the author of it, immediately caused all the
but having brought with him from Constantinople a good patrimony of the church of Rome in Sicily, Calabria and
number of troops, he easily quelled the rebellion in Ra- his other dominions, to be confiscated. At the same tinie
venna, and severely punished the authors of the late dis- he ordered a powerful army to be raised, with the design of
turbances. As for the rebellious Romans, he was well ap- recovering the towns which had revolted, chastising the
prized that he could never reduce them, as long as they Romans for their rebellion, and, above all, being reveno-ed
were supported by the king of the Lombards ; and there- on the pope, who had raised these disturbances, by himself
fore he employed all his art and policy to detach that opposing, and persuading others to oppose, the execution
prince from the party of the Romans, and to bring him of his edict. Gregory, alarmed at the warlike prepara-
over to his own interest. tions which were making throughout the empire, and well
Luitprand for some time withstood all his offers; but apprised that they were chiefly designed against himself
Thrasimund, duke of Spoletto, having revolted at that and the Romans, resolved to recur to the protection of the
juncture, the exarch, taking advantage of the opportuni- French, the only nation at that time capable of coping
ty which presented itself, offered to assist the king with with the emperor, and upon whom, on account of their zeal
all his means against the rebellious duke, provided he for religion, he thought he might depend. The Lombards
would, in like manner, assist him against the pope and were then very powerful; but, as they wanted to be mas-
the Romans. With this proposal Luitprand readily closed; ters of Rome, he did not think it advisable to trust them,
and a league being concluded upon these terms, between The Venetians, though zealous in thetlefence of the pope,
him and the exarch, the two armies joined, and began were not yet in a condition to withstand the power of the
their march towards Spoletto. At their approach, the emperoi-, and, besides, were jealous of the Lombards, who
duke, despairing of being able to resist two such powers, watched all opportunities of enlarging their dominions at
came out with a small attendance to meet them, and, the expense of their neighbours. As for Spain, it was then
throwing himself at the king’s feet, sued, in that humble in a deplorable condition, being overrun, and almost wholly
posture, for pardon ; which Luitprand not only granted ruined, by the Saracens.
him, but confirmed him in the dukedom, after he had The French nation was at this time governed by the ce-
obliged him to take a new oath of allegiance, and to give lebrated Charles Martel, who had distinguished himself in
hostages for his fidelity in time to come. From Spoletto, an eminent degree in the wars of France and Germany;
the two armies marched, in pursuance of the treaty, to and having, not long before, gained a signal victory over
Rome, and encamped in the meadows of Nero, between the Saracens in the neighbourhood of Tours, he was ge-
the Tiber and the Vatican. nerally reputed the best commander, and the greatest
Gregory had caused the city of Rome to be fortified in hero, of his time. To him, therefore, Gregory sent a so-
the best manner he could; but being sensible that the lemn embassy, with a great number of relics, earnestly en-
Romans alone could not long hold out against two such treating him to take the Romans, and the church, under
armies, and reflecting on the kind treatment the duke of his protection, and to defend them against the attempts of
Spoletto had met with upon his submitting to the king, Leo. The ambassadors were received with extraordinary
he resolved to follow his example ; and accordingly, tak- marks of honour, and a treaty was soon concluded be¬
ing with him some of the clergy, and the principal inha- tween them and Charles, who engaged to march into Italy
bitants of the city, he went to wait upon the king in his in person, at the head of a powerful army, in defence of
camp, where, by a pathetic speech, he softened Luit- the Romans and the church, if they should be attacked
prand to such a degree, that throwing himself at his either by the emperor or the Lombards. On the other
feet, in the presence of the whole army, he begged par- hand, the Romans were bound to acknowledge him as
don for entering into an alliance against him, and, as- their protector, and to confer upon him the honour of
suring him of his protection for the future, he went the consulship, as it had been formerly conferred on Clo-
with them to the church of St Peter, where, disarming vis by the Emperor Anastasius, after that prince had de-
himself in the presence of his principal officers, he laid feated the Visigoths. The ambassadors returned from
his girdle, his sword, and his gauntlet, with his royal France loaded with rich presents. But Gregory did not
mantle, his crown of gold, and cross of silver, on the long enjoy the fruit of their negociations; for he died
apostle’s sepulchre. After this, he reconciled the pope the same year, 731, and was succeeded by Gregory Ilk,
with the exarch, who was thereupon received into the in whose time some have placed the embassy here men-
city, where he continued for some time, maintaining a tioned.
friendly coi'respondence with the pope. At this time an At this time the French nation had just recovered from
impostor, taking the name of Tiberius, and pretending to its distressed situation under the descendants of Clovis;
be descended from the emperors, seduced a great many and, by the bravery and conduct of Charles Martel, it had
people in I uscany, and was by them proclaimed emperor, become the most powerful kingdom in the west. His suc-
The exarch resolved to march against him ; but as he had cessor Pepin was no less wise and powerful than his fa-
not sufficient forces to oppose the rebels, Gregory, who ther had been ; and as the ambition of the Lombard
let slip no opportunity of obliging Leo, persuaded the Ro- princes would be satisfied with nothing less than the en-
mans to attend the exarch in this expedition, by which tire conquest of Italy, the French monarch, Charlemagne,
means the usurper was taken in a castle, his head sent under colour of assisting the pope, at last put an end to
to the emperor, and the rebellion utterly' suppressed, the empire of Lombardy.
469
LOMBARDY.
Vi This interesting part of Italy was in remote periods
^ thinly inhabited, till in the sixth century it formed a king¬
dom. As the history of Lombardy is in this work included
in the general history of Italy, we must refer to that
article in its alphabetical order, where may be traced the
manner and period by which it became the territory of the
house of Austria.
In its present state it is distinguished by the name of
the kingdom of Venetian Lombardy, which was conferred
on it by the treaties of Vienna in 1815. It is a compact
territory, bounded on the north by Switzerland and the
Tyrol, on the east by Illyria and the Adriatic Sea, on the
south by the States of the Church and the duchies of
Modena and Parma, and a part of the kingdom of Sardi¬
nia, and on the west by Sardinia. It extends over 18,744
square miles, and contains 4,217,650 inhabitants, all of
them adhering to the Roman Catholic church.
The far greater part of this kingdom is a level plain,
bounded on the north by the Rhaetian Alps, and on the
south by the river Po, into which most of the numerous
rivers and rivulets empty themselves. The whole valley
declines towards the south, but so gently, that the fall of
water in that river, from its source to its mouth, is not
more than 190 feet; and the smaller streams are equally
languid. The soil is generally light, but fertile, on a basis
of calcareous subsoil, except that at the foot of the moun¬
tains there are some portions of sandy heaths, and on
the coast, where the great rivers discharge their waters,
the land is marshy, and formed into extensive lagunes.
In the mountainous northern border the land is frequent¬
ly stony, but even there the soil which covers the valleys
is a vegetable mould of a greater or less degree of fertility.
The mountains which form the southern boundary, and
which are within the kingdom, are a portion of the Alps,
beginning on the north side of the lake of Como, and ex¬
tending between it and Switzerland to the Tyrol. The
valley of the Valteline is enclosed by them ; and the lofti¬
est points are, the Splugen, 8130; the Legnone, on the
lake of Como, 8130; the Godena, 7459 ; the Tremezzo,
5106 ; and the Corno de Canza, 4260 feet in height.
Some of the mountains on the frontier towards the Tyrol
are still higher, but have this difference, that they are
not at all seasons bound in frost. Towards the east these
ranges of mountains are joined with those of Carinthia.
Amongst all these extensive elevations are to be found
valleys of greater or less extent, but of high fertility, and
presenting the most exciting prospects.
The Po, the greatest of the Lombardy rivers, has a
course of near 200 miles ; and, though languid in its cur¬
rent, is so filled, generally in the spring, as to cause exten¬
sive inundations on both its banks. In its progress it re¬
ceives the waters of the Ticino, which rises near Mount
StGothard,and joins the Po near Pavia. The other streams
which contribute to this great river are, the Olona, the
Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio, and the Mincio. The next
great river is the Adige or Etsch, which rises in the
fyrol, passes through two lakes near to Botzen, where it
receives the Eisach, when it becomes navigable and en¬
ters Lombardy, and then, passing by Rivoli, empties itself
into the Adriatic Sea at Brendola. In its progress it is
augmented by the waters of the Brenta, the Bachiglione,
the Piave, the Livinza, the Lemone, and the Tagliamento,
all of which are navigable.
In Lombardy there are two descriptions oflakes, those
of fresh water amongst the mountains, and those of salt
water in the level country on the borders of the Adriatic.
Of the former, the most remarkable for extent, and for
the picturesque scenery on the banks, are the following:
\st, Lago Maggiore. It begins in the Swiss canton of
Ticino, and extends into the boundaries of Lombardy
and of Sardinia to Sesto. It is formed by the river Ti¬
cino and twenty-six smaller streams, is about forty-eight
miles in length, from four and a half to seven in breadth,
varying considerably, and generally from twenty-four to
thirty feet deep. It is connected by the river Tresa
with the lake of Lugano, and is 750 feet above the level of
the sea. 2d, Lago Lugano. This is also on the frontiers
of Switzerland, is 870 feet above the level of the sea, and
is fed by forty-three brooks and rivers, entering it from
the Austrian dominions. 3c?, I,ago di Como. This is
formed by the river Maixa, near Cordona, and is divided on
the southern part into two arms or branches. Its elevation
above the sea is about 700 feet; the greatest length is
thirty-seven miles, and its breadth varies from one and a
quarter to four miles. It is plentifully stocked with fish ;
the banks are studded with farms and villages, whilst the
lofty mountains form a most picturesque background to the
scenery. The river Adda receives from it several of its
tributary streams. 4?/c, Lago dTseo. This lake, near
the foot of the mountains, is about twenty miles in length,
and in breadth varying from four and a half to seven miles.
bth, Lago dTdro, which is only about seven miles in
length, bth, Lago di Garda, or, as it is still sometimes called
by the ancient name, Lake of Benaco. It is one of the
most beautiful of the lakes of Lombardy, is about thirty-
five miles in length, varying in breadth from four to four¬
teen miles, and in depth from ten to 300 feet. It is chief¬
ly fed by the river Sarca, and a discharge of its water
near Peschiera forms the river Mincio. It was the sub¬
ject of the panegyrics of Virgil and Catullus; and has
been rendered celebrated by the victories of Bonaparte over
Wurmser in the year 1796.
The lagunes are formed by the rivers which descend
from the Alps, and spread along the shores of the Adria¬
tic ; they are defended from the sea by steep artificial walls,
not unlike the dykes in Holland, which in some degree
prevent the influence of the rise and fall of the tides ; but
in some cases, where the force of the sea has broken
through, harbours have been formed. Of such havens,
there are four large ones, viz. Malamoco, Santa Nicolo,
Chioggio, and Tre-Porti; and two inconsiderable, viz.
Lido Maggiore and St Erasmo.
There are mineral springs of various degrees of efficacy
and reputation for medicinal purposes. The most remark¬
able of them are at Worms and Massimo in the Valteline.
at Albano in the delegation of Padua, at Caldiero near
Verona, at Recoaro in the province of Vicenza, at Tres-
coria and St Pelegrino in the delegation of Bergamo, and
Cenedo and Piano in that of Treviso. The climate is very
mild, except on the border mountains. On the plains the
snow scarcely ever remains on the ground, and it is rare
that ice is found in the still lagunes near Venice. What,
falls from the heavens in winter is much more common in
the form of rain than of hail or snow. The winter scarce¬
ly lasts more than two months ; and in February the fields
are covered with new grass. In May the hot weather be¬
gins, and the harvest is secured in June and July. In
September and October the annual labours of the vintage
are performed.
The climate, on the whole, may be described as healthy ;
but from that description must be excluded those parts
where rice is extensively cultivated, as well as the vicinity
LOMBARDY.
470
Lombardy, of Mantua, and the marshy districts extending from Venice
 'to Rovigia, and beyond it. In the latter, sickness is mark¬
ed in the complexions of the inhabitants ; and numbers
of the people from the Apennines, or of Illyrian peasants,
a hardy race, who descend from their lofty homes to ga¬
ther the harvest, fall victims to the marsh fevers.
As Lombardy is the most densely peopled, so it is the
best cultivated, district in Europe. In no other part is the
benefit of irrigation more clearly understood, or more accu¬
rately appreciated ; and the practical application of it be¬
comes in some measure a substitute for that animal ma¬
nure which is more abundantly supplied in the other most
productive portions of the earth. Although, from the na¬
ture of the climate and the habits of the people, a larger
quantity of leguminous vegetables are used for aliment than
of bread and flesh, yet abundance of corn is annually
raised. Wheat, barley, and oats are grown, but not ex¬
tensively ; and rye is to be found very rarely, excepting in
the delegation of Friouli; but, on the other hand, rice is
grown to a great extent, insomuch that the government has
attempted to check its further extension. As the wealth
and prosperity of Lombardy, and in fact of the whole of
Italy, is derived chiefly from the productions of the soil,
an extended view of its agriculture must be of much im¬
portance ; and we enter upon the subject here, because,
in the description of the agriculture of the other parts of
Italy, it will only be necessary, in the progress of this
work, to refer generally to the practices of Lombard}', and
to point out the few differences that may exist.
The importance of irrigation is more felt, and the prac¬
tice of it more extended, in Lombardy, than in any other
part of Europe. This depends much on the physical cir¬
cumstances of the country, but has also in a great mea¬
sure arisen from the skill of the people, who, by long prac¬
tice in the art of conducting water, have acquired the ha¬
bit of leading it to the parts where it may be applied with
the greatest success.
Two of the reservoirs that supply water for the purpose
of irrigation, viz. Lago Maggiore and Lago di Lugano, are
only in part within the Austrian territory; but the waters
they discharge enter that part of Italy, and become avail¬
able within it for both the purposes of internal navigation
and of irrigation. The lakes of Como and of Garda, and
several of smaller extent, are wholly within the bounda¬
ries of Lombardy. All of them are vast deposits of wa¬
ter, chiefly formed by the rapid streams issuing from the
frozen ice and snow of the Alps, and in part by springs,
which abound near the foot of those lofty elevations. They
are scarcely ever frozen, and never to so intense a degree
as wholly to suspend the course of the streams which issue
from them, and so powerfully tend to fertilize the land
through which they pass in their progress towards the Po.
Ihe lake of Como and Lago Maggiore are about 700
feet above the level of the sea; and that of Garda, whose
termination is nearer the Po, is 150 feet above it. As the
Po is a river of many sinuosities, by which its course to
the sea is much elongated, the river Ticino, from Lago
Maggiore, which joins the Po a little below Pavia, is cal¬
culated at that point to be about 300 feet above the level
of the Adriatic, and, through the stream of the Po, with
many curves, is at length lost in the sea.
I he plains of Lombardy, then, may be considered as a
gentle slope, looking to the south, and bounded in that
quarter by the Po. If the average distance from the foot
of the mountains, where the lakes have been formed, to
the Po, be computed at sixty miles, and the points where
the rivers fall into it at 300 feet low'er, we may assume
that the slope of the plain is at the rate of about five feet
in the mile. Such a rate of declination cannot be accu¬
rate, but it is a sufficient approximation to accuracy to give
an idea of the facility with which irrigation may be per¬
formed. Though this representation of the gradual slop-i0
ing of the face of the country may be generally applicable'^!!!
to it, yet many exceptions must be allowed for. Between ^
the courses of the various streams are numerous eleva¬
tions, though none of them lofty, which are too high to be
susceptible of being irrigated by the great rivers ; but in
many instances such spots are benefited by being near to
springs or brooks, which the long acquaintance of the na¬
tives with the practices of irrigation leads them to apply
in a greater or less degree to that purpose. Near to the
principal streams which convey these collected waters to
the sea, there are portions of land so low as to be liable to
such abundant overflowings, that they can only be for a
time left with a surface sufficiently dry to admit of culti¬
vation for rice ; and the vicinity of such lands is injurious
to human life, whilst those fields which can, at the will of
the occupier, be left either dry, or watered with streams
in motion, are not known to be less salubrious than those
on the hills near them. *■
The facilities for irrigation in the best districts have
been much increased by the construction of canals, which,
w'hilst they serve the purpose of inland navigation, are
made use of to convey streams of water over the fields,
which pass from the property of one proprietor to that
of another, till they enter again the canals at a lower
level. Some of these canals are the work of remote ages.
The most ancient, as well as the most considerable, of
these, is the Naviglio Grande, which was opened in the
year 1270. The water is conveyed to the Ticino, near
Tornavento, and proceeds to Abbiategrasso, a distance of
eighteen miles, where it divides into two branches. One
of these is conducted to Beneguardo, eleven miles, and
the other to Milan, fourteen miles, thus making a line of
forty-three English miles. This great undertaking was
commenced after the death of Charlemagne, just as the
cities of Lombardy began to be constituted independent
states, about the year 1177, and in a few years was exe¬
cuted to Abbiategrasso. It was extended to Milan by
1257, but was then only adapted to the purpose of irriga¬
tion. It was next widened, and thus rendered navigable,
at the expense of the city of Milan, which, within that
period, had become the capital of a rich dukedom; and, by
the water communication it thus obtained, flourished in a
great degree from its commerce, as well as from the rich
fields which the waters had rendered highly productive.
It would be needless to record the progress of the other
canals which have since been constructed, or to enume¬
rate them. It may not, however, be improper to notice
the last of these great and beneficial works. It is known
as Nuovo Naviglio di Pavia, and passes from Milan to
Pavia, through Benasco, and there falls into the Adda, a
little above the junction of that river with the Po. This
undertaking was begun in 1814, and completed in 1819.
The quantity of goods conveyed by it, and the quantity of
water supplied by it to the neighbouring fields, have se¬
cured a large profit to the operators, and conferred a great
additional value on the lands in its vicinity.
An ancient law of Lombardy has contributed, from the
most remote period, to the extension of the distribution of
water. The whole of that substance was the property of
the sovereign. An individual, or a corporate body, might
purchase the water, and thereby acquire the right to con¬
duct it by canals in any direction, and there to sell it to
the cultivators. But they could not carry it through gar¬
dens or pleasure-grounds, and were bound to pay the
owners of the land the value of that portion which was
made use of for the passage of the water. In process ot
time the right of the sovereign over the water was ceded
to those who became the purchasers thereof, and was
at length extended to those who had springs on their
ground, or should afterwards discover any. One instance
i
*
LOMBARD Yu
jmba J-recently occurred of the exercise of this right. An indi-
—y-'vidual found a spring on a small piece of ground, seventeen
miles from the main bulk of his property, and conducted
the water from one to the other over the lands of a vast
number of proprietors. Though, as all judicious people
foresaw, he ruined himself by the operation, instead of
making money by selling his water near the spring, as he
might have done, yet the law proceedings which arose
confirmed the right.
The value of water in Lombardy is best seen by a com¬
parison of the rent paid for land of the same quality, ac¬
cording to the power of obtaining irrigation. Dry mea¬
dows will let at from 24s. to 40s. per English acre, and that
so situated as to be accessible to water is eagerly rented
at from 48s. to 160s. per acre, according to its greater or
less capability of obtaining water.
The purchase and sale of water is a traffic of much im¬
portance in Lombardy. There are individuals whose sole
but respectable incomes are derived from such operations.
They are possessors of a given volume of water which
they have purchased out of the great canals, or they have
several small springs or brooks which they have bought
or inherited, united in one small canal, and conducted
to such distances as the fail will allow, where it is sold to
the cultivators. The greater part of the proprietors are
also the owners, or have shares in the canals, from which
they procure their water ; but many amongst them, and es¬
pecially those who extend their irrigations, are insufficient¬
ly supplied from their own canals, and must consequently
buy it from others.
The distribution of water is settled for a term, with strict
covenants between the parties. Fixed days and hours are
appointed for opening and shutting the sluices, and watch¬
ful guards are appointed ; but, in spite of all precautions,
the courts of law are supplied with most abundant process¬
es from the several parties. The volume of water is reckon¬
ed by means of a local measure called the oneia, being
about two English inches. An opening is made through
the sluice, which is three of these oneias in breadth and
four of them in depth, and the water is raised two oneias
above the top of the orifice through which the passage is
made, in order to give due force to the current. This
opening is calculated to discharge about seven cubic feet
of water in a minute. With this, in twenty-four hours,
seven acres of sandy meadow, or six acres of ploughed
land, is deemed to be sufficiently irrigated. For the win¬
ter meadows, which will be hereafter noticed, a large por¬
tion of water is requisite, and the measure here described
is applied to not more than one and a third acre. A me¬
chanical contrivance, invented by Ferrari, an officer of en¬
gineers, has of late years been chiefly applied to the mea¬
suring of water, which has been found to be accurate in
its operation ; but it is difficult to describe without the
drawing, which is given by the inventor in his work,
Descrizioni del modo con cui sono formate le bocche che
estraggono I'acque delli naviglj di Milano.
The value of water depends upon a variety of circum¬
stances, and the purchaser can afford to pay more for that
•vhich is applied to gardens and to meadows than for what
s wanted on arable land. The water of the canals is of
nore value than that which comes immediately from
springs or from small brooks. That water which has
)assed over the land is worth more than that immediate-
y from the canals, as it is supposed to bring with it more
mtritive particles. In the vicinity of Milan the water of
he Vettabbia is more valued than any other, because it
j ontains particles of matter collected from the filth of the
' ity. In that neighbourhood, the common water obtained
rom the other canals is generally, where a constant stream
bought, paid for at the rate of from L.40 to L.50 the
neia. If it be bought for the winter only, the payment is
471
not more than the same number of shillings. Some in- Lombardy,
stances are stated by a writer of accuracy and veracity,—v—--'
where an oneia of water has been sold for more than
L.600. (Breislak, Descrizione Geologica della Provincia di
Milano.)
Whatever may have been the original component parts
of the soil of Lombardy, yet, from the great facilities for
irrigation, those lands which are susceptible of that ope¬
ration have become the most productive of any in the king¬
dom, or perhaps of any in Europe. There are, however,
some exceptions; they are indeed but few, and chiefly
confined to the vicinity of Mantua, where, even with great
power of watering, the land, which is mere sand, does not
produce copiously.
These watered lands may be divided into three classes:
The first of them, “ convertible meadows,” or, in Italian,
Prati a Vicenda, are the most abundant, and are constantly
increasing. They are prepared to be laid down in grass
by previous corn or green crops, and those are prepared
which require good manuring, and also best tend to clean
the land from weeds. The course adopted, therefore, is
to grow maize and then wheat, or to sow hemp, succeeded
by millet, and that followed by wheat; or, in the first
year to sow hemp and then millet, in the second year
maize, and in the third wheat. In each of these rotations
a half fallow is introduced, and the ground three or four
times ploughed, and such fallowing is either in the spring
or the autumn, as may best suit the variations in the rota¬
tion. Red clover is generally sown in the wheat, which
yields a good crop the first year after the wheat harvest,
which usually takes place in June, and in the following
spring; but after that it disappears, and gives place to
most abundant crops of white clover, which seems to be
the most natural, and almost the spontaneous, product of
the soil, and the seed of which must be scattered on the
landi by the wind from the fields around it. It continues
in grass for three, or in some cases four years, during
which time it is mowed three, four, and even five times in
the course of the summer. During the process of fallow¬
ing, great pains are taken to remove any such inequalities
of the surface as would impede the equal distribution of
the water over the whole of the field. The soil is re¬
moved, by a machine contrived for that purpose, from any
part above the level of the field, and thrown into the hol¬
lows. The field is divided into narrow beds, between
each of which is a water-furrow. In the process of water¬
ing, these become first filled, and then from them the
water is let in till it rises sufficiently high to cover the
whole surface of the land. The same furrows, in exces¬
sive rainy weather, serve to drain the land of its surplus
moisture. The mode of ploughing naturally raises the
middle of the bed somewhat higher than the sides of it,
but the difference seldom exceeds four or five inches.
The application of fields of this description may be general¬
ly stated to be as follows: Three sixths grass, one sixth
wheat, one sixth maize, and the remainder flax, beet,
rape, or other green crops. There are, as must be obvi¬
ous to any one acquainted with agriculture, many varia¬
tions ; but, assuming the crops to be grown in that propor¬
tion, we cannot be far from accuracy. The portion of the
grass-land on these meadows is very great; in many in¬
stances where there have been but three mowings and
subsequent feedings, they have yielded six London loads
of hay to the acre on the average of years, and in some
of the best farms near Lodi a load more. There may be
mentioned amongst the convertible meadows, those which
are chiefly cultivated with rice, which are on the lowest
level, and where the watering is the rule, and the letting
them dry the exception. The water on them is stagnant
during the greater part of the growth of the crops ; but, to
change the rotation, it is in some years cultivated along
472 LOME
Lombardy. wi(;]1 other plants. Such lands may be generally stated to
yield, one half of them rice, and the other half an equal
portion of clover, wheat, and maize. The culture of rice
will be further investigated.
The second of the classes of watered lands are those
denominated “ permanent summer meadows.” These
are day by day diminishing in extent, as the cultivators
become convinced that it is more profitable to change the
plants for a few years, than to leave them constantly in
grass. The difference in produce between these and con¬
vertible meadows arises chiefly from the gradual disap¬
pearance of the clovers, and their place being occupied by
a variety of the common grasses. They are fitted more
for having their plants converted into hay than those of
the convertible meadows, and less adapted for the growth
of those kinds of grass which are, in conformity with the
general practice-of the country, most beneficial for stall-
feeding. After the last mowing, they are depastured by
the oxen. Most of these meadows have on their banks wil¬
lows, which are from time to time cut a few inches from the
ground, and sold to the basket-makers with great benefit.
The most important portion of the land in Lombardy is
that part designated as “ permanent winter meadows.” In
laying them down, great attention is paid to levelling the
surface, so that no inequalities may prevent the regular dis¬
tribution of the water in passing over them, and that in no
part there may be hollow places in which it can become
stagnant. They can only be created in situations where a
flowing stream can in all seasons at pleasure be turned over
them. They are usually laid down by sowing them with
lolium perenne or rye-grass, with about one part of red
clover ; and the sweepings of the hay loft are abundantly
scattered. As these meadows grow older, other grasses
appear; and in the later mowing of each year, a large por¬
tion of white clover is always found. These meadows are
well dunged every year, and the omission of it, even once,
is considered by good cultivators as an unpardonable fault.
Thus, if the other descriptions of land are not manured, it
is because all of them are sacrificed to the winter mea¬
dows. Everywhere are to be seen on them heaps of ma¬
nure, which are to be prepared during the summer, in
order to be carried out and equally spread over the sur¬
face in the autumn. Those who intend to mow their
meadows in the middle of December, carry the manure
on them in the latter end of September, and then begin wa¬
tering them; but those who design to mow them in January,
carry on the manure at the end of October, or till the mid¬
dle of November. If sufficient manure be not obtained from
the farm, either ground rape-cake or ashes are used abun¬
dantly for the purpose, and thickly scattered over the soil.
A R D Y.
The manure is separated as much as possible before the I
watering commences. At first the water is turned over Ww
the meadows in very small quantity, that it may produce
the solution of the manure, and thus sink it down to the
roots of the plants before the force of the stream can carry
it away. Afterwards the water is let on in greater quanti¬
ties, and especially when the temperature of the air is below
the freezing point. At such times the greatest attention is
given to create such a current of water as shall prevent it
from freezing. If the cold is sufficiently strong to form a
thin coat of ice, which rarely happens, the water is in¬
stantly withheld, and thus the soil remains free from
frost, whilst a thin sheet of ice covers it; and if the cold,
as usual, is but for a few days, an additional stream of
warmer water melts the ice or carries it away, and the
grass remains uninjured, and continues to grow. If, how¬
ever, the frost should be so strong as to freeze the ground,
the first mowing of the meadow would be lost; but such
occurrences are so very rare, that they are looked at with¬
out any apprehension, nor are any precautions adopted by
the cultivators.
As the chief profit as well as the receipt of ready money
to the cultivator depends upon the cheese he makes, it
becomes of great importance to him to have an abundant
supply of green food to produce the milk; and this, which
the farmer is afforded in the north of Europe by the use of
turnips, mangel wurzel, or meal in tepid water, is supplied
in Lombardy, during ten or eleven months, by his winter
meadows. It is hence not a subject of surprise that every
other portion of his land is sacrificed by the Lombard far¬
mer to the necessity of raising the product of his winter
permanent meadows to the highest possible state of pro-
ductivenesss.
As the lands here spoken of are continually in a state of
producing crops, they would in time become exhausted
in spite of the irrigation, if they were suffered to remain
without the application of abundant manure. Although
some considerable quantity of extraneous manure is to be
procured from the large cities, by those cultivators who
carry on their operations near to them, or to the canals con¬
nected with them, yet the larger portion is provided for by
the live stock which is maintained on the land. The chief
labour of ploughing, except in a part of Pavia, is performed
by oxen, and horses are used for the carts and waggons
only. The cows are kept in the best possible condition, in
order to enable them to yield milk in the greatest quantity,
and of the richest quality. The number of black cattle is
considerable, as will appear from the following official ac¬
count of what existed in 1823, since which they have much
increased.
Provinces.
Milan 
Bergamo.
Brescia...
Pavia 
Como 
Mantua..
Lodi 
Sondrio...
Cremona.
Total,
Oxen.
16,753
14,216
33,374
6,069
17,683
30,624
10,142
1,835
15,880
146,576
Cows.
40,089
49,301
15,827
21,698
52.311
10,885
26,189
46,499
8,979
271,788
Bulls.
517
590
278
584
282
223
790
470
171
3,905
Young
Cattle.
4,929
12,237
7,795
4,213
15,771
12,116
6,405
9,201
12,884
85,551
Total.
62,288
76,344
57,284
32,564
86,047
53,848
43,526
58,005
37,914
507,811
Sheep.
4,669
80,579
23,365
489
54,070
12,735
2,803
45,600
2,169
2S6,479
As the number of young cattle is scarcely in due propor- the young cattle from Switzerland, and drew from thence
tion to the cows and oxen, it may not be amiss to mention a considerable number annually; but of late years their own
in this place, that the Italians used at one period to prefer race has been greatly improved, chiefly by the exertions ot
LOMBARDY.
473
nbir/. one enlightened gentleman, Signor Dominico Berra, a fol-
lower ot the system of our countryman Bakewell, and the
annual import of cattle has been diminishing for the last
twenty years. The numbers thus brought in of all kinds
from 1815 to 1819, were more than 50,000 on the average
of the five years. In the next five years, from 1819 to 1824,
the average number was 38,800. No official accounts of the
subsequent years could be obtained, but there is reason to
believe that the diminution had been progressive, and that
at this time the number scarcely amounts to 20,000 yearly.
In the whole period, however, the stock on the land has gone
on gradually increasing.
The whole of these animals are constantly fed in their
stalls, or, if sent out to graze, it is but for a very short
period. The use of roots, such as turnips, ruta baga, and
mangel wurzel, is almost unnecessary, as the cattle can be
supplied with sufficient green food from the meadows the
whole of the year. The farms where the convertible hus¬
bandry is followed have abundance of litter from the straw
of the wheat, but especially from the leaves of the Indian
corn, which, though good food whilst they are green, are,
when they become dry, used in the cattle-stalls for their
bedding. Whilst this practice of stall-feeding has been
found by long experience the most favourable to the
health of the cattle, it is decidedly preferable on account
of the vastly greater quantity of manure which it produces.
On all the meadow farms a great number of pigs are fat¬
tened on whey mixed with the flour of Indian corn. These
are put into the styes when they have attained the weight
of 100 or 110 pounds, and are kept there during five or
six months, till they attain the weight of 350 or 360 pounds.
It is found that twenty such pigs yield ample manure for
four or four and a half acres of the meadow-land. This
kind of manure is highly esteemed for that purpose, but
more especially so when proper reservoirs are constructed,
out of the influence of the sun or the rain, for the preser¬
vation of the urine of the animals. In Lombardy are many
small occupiers of land, who have not a number of cows
sufficient to yield as much milk as will make a cheese daily.
These sell their milk to the cheese-makers near them. In
their agreement for the milk for the year, the purchaser
contracts to keep in the seller’s styes a number of fattening
pigs, determined upon by a calculation of the quantity of
milk which the cows will yield. It is commonly believed
that the number of swine annually fattened by the meadow
occupiers amounts to more than 140,000; and, from the great
application of the flesh to hams, bacon, and especially to
sausages, it does not appear to be an exaggerated estimate.
In a country where the land is chiefly ploughed with
oxen, and where, as in Lombardy, much work is performed
with the spade and the hoe, the number of other beasts
for draft will be proportionally inconsiderable. This is the
case here, as the following official account shows, as far as
relates to the government of Milan.
Account of the number of Draft Cattle in 1823.
Provinces.
Milan 
Bergamo.
Brescia...
Pavia  
Como 
Mantua...
Lodi 
Sondrio...
Cremona.
Total.
Horses.
11,556
6,349
4,897
5,048
1,432
4,025
8,330
1,108
1,993
44,738
Mules.
1,974
2,881
2,172
351
1,993
1,118
482
616
825
12,412
Asses.
2,789
3,033
1,952
249
2,253
2,213
600
499
456
14,044
VOL. XIII.
So. scanty a stock of this description of animals can yield Lombardy,
but little manure, how carefully soever it may be preserv-
ed ; nor, with the addition made to it by the 226,479 sheep
that are kept, will it bear any comparison with that arising
from the half million of black cattle.
It deserves notice with reference to this subject, that
the rural parts of Lombardy exhibit but few houses except
those of the mere peasantry. The proprietors of even the
smaller properties, though they may in some measure be
viewed in the light of cultivators, yet, placing their estates
in other hands, on the system of the meta, seldom find it
necessary to reside on or near them, and are satisfied with
visiting them at the seasons when the produce is to be di¬
vided. When the estates are of small or of moderate extent,
or when they are large and comprehend several farms, the
superintendence is intrusted to their agents. Such agents,
also, in some cases, have the disposal of the share of pro¬
duce, and account for the proceeds to the proprietors of the
soil.
The great body of the population who are in circum¬
stances of even moderate ease are thus collected in the cities
and large towns; and in them is thus also collected that mass
of corrupted vegetable and animal substances which is
most adapted to the purposes of manure, and which is care¬
fully preserved for that application. The cities and towns
thus contain a larger proportion of the whole inhabitants
than most of the other parts of Europe. If the numerical
portion is not greater, the portion who by their mode of
living produce the greatest quantities of exuviae, which are
convertible into manure, is much larger. Such of these
substances as are of the liquid kind, or are the most easily
reduced to that form by putrefaction, are carried into the
canals and rivers on which the cities and towns are built;
and, when their water is distributed over the first fields with
a gentle motion, to enrich them by the deposition of the
matter they contain in suspension, no other manure is re¬
quired to be applied. Whilst the lower grounds near the
cities are refreshed by these means, the higher grounds are
supplied, with little expense of labour in the conveyance,
from the substances which retain a solid or less soluble form.
The management of manure when collected is not so
universally attended to as it ought to be; but the best cul¬
tivators have adopted a plan that is found highly beneficial,
and is likely to be extended. Large sheds are built, suffi¬
cient to cover the dung-hills. A bedding of mould is form¬
ed about one foot in thickness, on which the dung is heap¬
ed to the height of five or six feet. The roof protects the
heap from the great quantity of rain which falls in the
winter months, and in an equal degree from the excessive
drying influence of the sun during the burning months of sum¬
mer. The fermentation process is regulated from time to
time, as occasions require, by the application of the liquid mat¬
ter from the cattle, which is collected in the cess-pools near
the stables and cattle-stalls. Berra asserts that the most pro¬
fitable money expended on a farm, is that which is applied
to building sheds for the reception of dung heaps. When¬
ever there is an opportunity of doing so, the ashes collect¬
ed from the bleachers of linen, and those from the soap¬
boilers, are abundantly used as manure, and are found pe¬
culiarly beneficial for the grass land. It is necessary how¬
ever to use them in very dry weather, when they can be
most equably scattered upon the’ surface. When the air is
damp they run together into lumps, which it is difficult
afterwards to break.
With the best farmers it is the custom every year to
clean out the small canals of irrigation that are formed in
every part of the meadow-lands. These ditches contain a
compost of various earths, with a large quantity of vege¬
table and animal matter produced by the decomposition of
many organic substances. It is obvious that each of these
canals becomes a reservoir, in which is deposited the fat
3 o
Lombardy, which the water has brought, and which being mixed with which is gypsum, which is ground in mills, and then scat-r
the earth in them, must have a great degree of activity in tered on the clovers and the grass. Lime is used as a
promoting vegetation by the portion of gas it generates, manure in some of the provinces. It is laid on the ground
which forms the food of the several kinds of plants. in heaps in October, and covered with the soil; and after
In some lands of an inferior quality, the practice of the sowing of wheat, the compost with the lime, complete-
growing green crops, and ploughing them in to form ma- ly slaked, is spread over the field. The quantity of lime
nure, has been introduced. A kind of bean called fisole, is very small.
a species of lupin, grows almost spontaneously on some In taking a view of the amount of the produce of land
of even the poor soils. When they are cultivated they in Lombardy, it may be best to begin with the estimate of
produce a large quantity of succulent vegetable matter, the marciti, or winter-watered meadows. These are com-
which, when covered with earth, and mingled with it, monly mowed four, five, and even six times in the year-
forms an excellent pabulum for other plants. By two but it is not very easy to determine the quantity of hay
operations of this kind in succession, some of the poorest they yield, because the chief portion of their produce is
soils on the hills of moderate height have been suffi- consumed by the cattle in the stalls, in the form of grass,
ciently enriched to bear profitable crops of wheat. There One of the most accurate of the practical cultivators
is a part of Lombardy, not inconsiderable, where very lit- (Berra, already mentioned) has constructed a weighing
tie or no manure is applied to the land, and yet it is cul- bridge at his farm, over which every load of grass brought
tivated with corn, though the crops grown are very scan- from his meadows, as well as the manure carried on them
ty. It is a portion of the delegation of Mantua, and not is weighed and registered. According to him, the ave-
far from that city. It is easily susceptible of irrigation, rage produce, for a series of years, has been as follows,
but the soil is one of the poorest descriptions of sand. It They are kept by him in the weights and measures of
is chiefly cultivated by small occupiers. These tenants the country, but are here reduced into English hundred-
have no cattle of any kind, and the whole labour is per- weights, and English statute acres.
formed by the sole use of the spade and the hoe. Their lbs.
dwellings and their clothing are of the most wretched 1st mowing in January 11,160
description ; their food of the coarsest kind, and of that 2d ditto March 16,512
they have at times a bare sufficiency. Their usual course 3d ditto May 17,220
of cropping is alternately with Indian corn and wheat. 4th .ditto July 9,664
The farms are from four to eight acres in extent, and are 5th ditto September 8,244
divided into two equal parts, growing the two kinds of  
corn. One half of the produce is delivered to the pro- 62,800
prietor, out of which he pays the taxes, and the other is That is, 560^ cwts., or 30 loads.
for the subsistence of the occupier. In some cases the The whole of the grass which is cut in January and in
owner takes that half which consists of wheat, and the September is eaten in the green state, and the hay is
tenant is supported on the Indian corn. The value of made almost exclusively from what is cut in May and
these is nearly equal, as the price of wheat is commonly July. In what is converted into hay, it is found that there
about one third higher than that of maize, whilst the is a loss of weight by drying equal to three fourths. It is
quantity of the latter exceeds that of the former in about supposed that, from its containing so much more water, the
the same proportion. The maize is the sole food of the grass cut in January and September would lose five sixths
farmer, and is more convenient to him, as it can be con- of its weight, and that cut in March four fifths. This view
verted into aliment without any other operation previous would give six loads of the finest hay as the annual pro¬
to its culinary application. It is by those who use it duce of an English acre. There is good reason to believe
deemed the most healthy food for the working classes, that this may be near an accurate estimate, because the
Although the soil is poor, and little or no manure is ap- best meadows frequently, in the two mowings of May and
plied, yet crops are raised, one half of which maintains July, yield more than at the rate of five loads per acre;
the labourers who are occupied on the soil, though in the but these are in the vicinity of the city of Milan, where the
most wretched manner. As the maize is nearly three water that irrigates them is more fully impregnated with
months in the earth, and the wheat scarcely more than the rich drains from the city than that at a greater dis-
six months, there is an interval between the crops, during tance from it. From the last mowing in the beginning of
which the soil, by being frequently turned over by the September, till the end of November, the cows are fed on
spade, imbibes a certain portion of oxygen, which, with the meadows. Thus to the estimated crops of hay must be
the addition of w ater by the irrigation, furnishes food for added the value of this pasture for the cattle during about
the plants. two months. The usual price for the best hay in the cities
A district adjoining to this, with a soil somewhat less is about 40s. sterling the load. The cost of making it,
sterile, but capable of constant irrigation, is chiefly culti- where the weather is so settled as it usually is in Lom-
vated with rice, growing almost continually, or wdth very hardy, must be trifling, and that with the mowing and car-
short intervals, in the water. The inhabitants are scarce- rying cannot exceed the value of the after-feeding, so that
ly maintained on better or more abundant provisions; each acre will give a profit of L.12 sterling annually. It
and, on account of the maladies produced by the stagnant is not then surprising that such land can be sold as high
water, are remarkable for their sickly appearance, and for as 1000 lire the portica, or L.200 sterling the English acre,
the short duration of their lives. an occurrence by no means unusual.
Lombardy comprehends a large portion of the Alps The profit of these meadows does not arise from the sale
within its limits. The elevated pasture-lands on these of hay, which, in a country where few horses are kept for
mountains are stocked with cattle only during the summer pleasure, must necessarily be very insignificant, but from
months. At that time the peasants take up their tempo- the fattening of cattle in a small degree, and the operations
rary residence in the chalets, and there convert the milk of the dairy as the most important pursuit. The dairies
of the cattle into butter and cheese, as is practised in the are extensive, and carried on with the greatest care, and
adjoining Swiss cantons. I he dung of the cattle serves most scrupulous attention to cleanliness. The dairy-farms
to refresh the pastures during the summer, but no extra- in the three provinces of Milan, Lodi, and Pavia, are most-
neous manure is ever applied to them. ly occupied by persons of competent capital; many by the
Some mineral manures are used, the most important of proprietors, and the rest by tenants who are not metayers,
*
*
LOMBARDY.
If' )in^nV.but have leases for a term never exceeding nine years, at
/ a fixed money rent. They, unlike the farmers in other
parts, are the owners of the live stock, and of the imple¬
ments of husbandry, and have comfortable dwellings, mo¬
derately furnished, and are well informed and active, and
' with diligence unite much economy.
The dairies of the three delegations of Milan, Lodi, and
Pavia occupy the second place in the lists of articles as
regards the amount, that become the exportable produc¬
tions of the Milan division of Lombardy. The cheese dis¬
tinguished by the name of Parmesan is to be found in most
parts of Europe, and has long enjoyed a great reputation.
It may perhaps have been originally, or at some early pe¬
riod, made in the duchy from which it derives its name. It
is not now known in Italy by that name,’ but bears that of
the delegation where the most of it is produced. It is
commonly called Fromaggio Lodisana. At the present
day little or none of it is made in Parma. The annual
export of this cheese to foreign countries amounted to
1,800,000 pounds in the year 1824, and in each succeed¬
ing year has gone on increasing, besides what is consumed
10 in the Italian and German provinces of the Austrian em-
Pc pire.
The operative part of making the cheese is confined to
experienced practical men, who acquire a tact that enables
them to time the several steps of the process with great ac-
a curacy, and, without the aid of a thermometer, to ascertain
the requisite heat of the materials in each of these steps.
From the nature of the climate, the milk will not keep
long, but a cheese must be made every day. The cheeses
m are most valuable when they are large ; and as the greater
u number of farmers have not milk sufficient to make such a
11 cheese daily, the milk is sent by them to other farmers, so
as to make up the requisite quantity. Thus, on one farm
® near Lodi (Tavazzano), where only twenty-seven cows are
iCi kept, the milk is sent very early to a neighbouring farm,
™ where sixty-three cows are kept. Sometimes four, or five,
)f or more, small farms contribute their day’s milk to one who
las has more stock, to make the cheese; and there are in¬
to stances where the cazarro or cheese-maker buys the whole
n of the milk from which his cheese is made.
The cows are milked evenings and mornings, in the first
as case about five or six o’clock, in the second at daybreak, or
ns just before. The milk of the evening is skimmed of what
ie cream has risen on it before eight o’clock, and the milk of
to1 the morning, of that small quantity which is thrown up be-
»f tween day-break and that hour, and from that cream but¬
ter is made. Though the Parmesan cheese is thus made
roi from skimmed milk, yet a very large portion of the cream
i s is still left in it to enrich the cheese. The milk is then
'la placed in a kettle, and warmed to the heat of 22° Fahren-
ei heit, when the rennet is applied, the effect of which is in-
re creased by a small addition of vinegar, and sometimes of
la grated cheese, and a very small quantity of pepper. The.
tli other parts of the process so much resemble the practices
M in the best dairy-farms in England, as not to require any
pe 1 special notice.
1 It is salted after it is made, by sprinkling the surface
iti with that substance daily during six weeks, and turning the
lie cheese to imbibe the particles. These cheeses vary in
ei weight when fit for sale, from fifty-two to 122 pounds avoir-
up dupois. They are kept some time before they are sold, a
en few at eight months, some at one or two years old, a less
m number at three, and a few at four years old. It requires
m much care to preserve the cheese against the heat of the
lit climate. At Codogno and Corsica, where the wholesale
rai trade is carried on, there are large magazines on the ground-
ot ; door, twenty feet in height, with shelves around, on which
ac each cheese is placed singly. They have large windows,
hi which are carefully shut to exclude the sun the whole day,
ut kut are opened during the night. It is difficult to estimate
475
correctly the average quantity of butter and cheese pro-Lombardy,
duced from a given number of cows. In one farm (Meleg- ^
nanello) in the province of Lodi, there were on the farm
ninety-one cows, from wdiich were made 173 cheeses, vary¬
ing in weight from fifty to 120 pounds, but the weight of
which the man who made them averaged at 100 pounds
each. These had been made in the preceding six months
and a half. Supposing the remainder of the year to be equal¬
ly productive, the whole herd would have yielded on an
average at the rate of 370 pounds in the year. There was,
however, no certain accounts of the quantity of butter made
on the farm during the period; and the quantity of cheese
alone, though correct, does not give any certain data upon
which to frame an estimate of the productiveness of the
animals. The proportion which the cheese bears to the
butter varies in the different irrigated provinces. Thus, ac¬
cording to the estimate of the accurate Signor Berra,
lbs. lbs.
100 pounds of milk yields in Lodi 2^ of butter, 6^ of
cheese.
100 pounds of milk yields in Milan 2^% of butter, 6^3 of
cheese.
100 pounds of milk yields in Pavia 1T%\ of butter, 5-^8 of
cheese.
A writer in a periodical work, Annali di Agricoltura,
gives the medium product of each cow to be 416 pounds of
cheese and 178 pounds of butter yearly. Another person,
a practical and accurate man, who had passed much time
in examining every portion of the agriculture of the Aus¬
trian Italian dominions, gave, as the result of his investiga¬
tion, a calculation framed from data collected from a con¬
siderable number of farms of various extent. According
to him, the annual produce from each cow is from 102 to
120 pounds of butter, and from 340 to 392 pounds of
cheese. As the informant was perfectly master of the
local weights and measures, which vary in each of the pro¬
vinces of Austrian Italy, some credit may be given to the
estimate ; and the more so, because it makes the produce of
the dairies the lowest, though it far exceeds any returns of
the produce of those of Holland, England, or Germany.
The farms in these provinces are generally small. One
of 250 English acres would be denominated large; and
though there are a few that exceed that extent, yet the
greater portion of the irrigable land is occupied by farms
much below one half of that extent. Amongst the occupa¬
tions that are confined exclusively to the marciti or winter-
watered meadows, many, perhaps the greater part, do not
exceed forty acres. As the farms are small, so there are
very few proprietors. The family of Luoghi Pii have the
greatest tract of the best land in the province of Milan, di¬
vided into many farms, and said to amount to 3000 acres.
No other exceeds one third of that extent.
The value and the rent of land depend less upon the na¬
tural fertility than upon the local situation, on the power of
irrigation it can command, and on the capital expended on
making roads to it, fences around it, and in erecting houses
and agricultural buildings. In the vicinity of the city of
Milan, those winter-watered meadows have the greatest
value which are to the south, and are watered from the ca¬
nal of Yettabbia, whose water is furnished by the Riviere
Seveso and canal of Martisana, which flow through the
city, and bring with them the precious manure of that po¬
pulous place. The present price of such land is about
L.130 sterling the English acre; and, if it has good roads
and buildings, may be let to good tenants at from L.6 to
L.7 per acre. The land which has not sufficient irrigating
power to form winter meadows, but enough for the pur¬
poses ot convertible husbandry, is worth from L.50 to L.60
per English acre, and may be let at from 60s. to 70s. per
acre. In these cases the taxes and repairs are paid by the
proprietor, as well as the contributions collected for keeping
476
LOMBARDY.
Lombardy. jn proper repair the canal by which water is conveyed.
Some parts of the irrigable provinces have lands of infe¬
rior natural quality, but being on the banks of the Po, are
well calculated to grow rice, by their capability of being con¬
stantly flooded. An estate of that description in the pro¬
vince of Pavia, with four acres of winter meadow-land,
five acres of land in convertible husbandry, with sufficient
for the purpose of occasional irrigation, fifty acres of rice
land, and a house, garden, and homestead of two acres,
was lately sold at L.2000 sterling, or nearly L.33 per acre.
It was doubtful if the purchaser would occupy it or let it,
but it was thought a rent might be obtained of somewhat
more than L.100 per annum, the owner, as in other cases,
paying the government territorial tax.
The value of land is much affected by the rate of the
territorial taxation. This is founded on a very old valua¬
tion, and the parts that were then in a very high state of
cultivation and irrigation must contribute in proportion to
that state, whilst the properties that have since been re¬
claimed, either by irrigation, manuring, or by planting mul¬
berry-trees, or vines, or other valuable trees, pay a less
rate, and are consequently of greater value. In the pro¬
vinces of Milan, Lodi, and Pavia, where the great steps in
irrigation were made before the valuation which is now
acted upon was framed, the territorial and commune im¬
posts amount to nearly twelve shillings per annum for an
English acre, on an average of the whole land, and conse¬
quently they are much higher on that of the greatest value.
I. his circumstance alone makes it difficult for a stranger to
generalize with any accuracy the value of land, or the rent
of it in due proportion to the amount of the sum invested
on it. An opinion generally prevails, that the capital laid
out in land might be assumed to pay an annual rate of in¬
terest of about four per cent., but that as most of the rent,
with the exception of the irrigated provinces, was paid in
produce, those who employed factors to manage their pro¬
perty, or who managed it themselves, without great judg¬
ment and perpetual watchfulness could scarcely calculate
on obtaining more than, if so much as, three per cent.
It may serve to give some idea of the difficulty of ascer¬
taining the amount of the rent of land, if a slight view be
taken of the description of the classes of persons occupied
in cultivation. The first of these somewhat resembles the
middle-man now generally to be found in Ireland. They
xcnt laige portions of land at a money price, and either
let it out again to sub-tenants, who work it, if in small
lots, by means of their own family, with an additional ser¬
vant or two, or, if large, by day-labourers and their fami¬
lies, who are established on the property.
Ihe next class is called Affitjuoli, or farmers. These
are the most advantageous to the proprietors, and they are
tolerably numerous, as well in the Venetian as in the Lom¬
bard provinces. In this class is comprehended the farmers
in the watered provinces, whose chief object is the making
of cheese, in some cases combined with the culture of rice.
These lay out large sums at first, and have a good stock
of cattle and utensils, and a sufficiency of capital. The
advantage of this class to the proprietor is obvious. They
take from him the labour of superintendence, and all risks
from failing years and from loss of cattle; and, having
leases renewed every nine years, they can have no in¬
ducement to destroy the fertility of the soil. Though
many of them have more extent of land, the greater pro¬
portion may be described as occupying from seven to
twenty-five acres.
The third, and by far the largest class of all, are the
Lolom, colonists, sometimes called Pigionanti Chiusuranti
who occupy from three quarters of an acre to an acre and
a half of land, with a cottage, or more correctly a hovel
These premises they take either of the proprietors, of the
middle-man, or of the farmers, and pay a rent by a share
of the produce. They are in fact day-labourers, and be¬
sides what they pay in produce, must work for their su'
perior at a lower than the customary rate of wages. Some
of these, however, have a little larger extent of land but
rarely so much as two acres. Such a one pays to his su
perior a fixed quantity of corn yearly, or commutes that
for money, and an agreed proportion of the other products
such as wine, or in many cases the whole of it is divided’
When these shares are not too small, and the ground is
fruitful, the most common custom is to pay a distinct mea¬
sure of corn, and the half of the wine. The meadow-land'
is paid for in money, in silk-worms’ eggs, or in cocoons.
The cattle, perhaps a cow and a donkey, are furnished to
the colonist on credit, and if his terms are favourable, and
he gets forward, he becomes the proprietor of them, as
well as of the utensils; but if the land is unproductive
or the shares of the proprietor too great, he must give up
the cattle and the utensils, and may then be permitted to
continue on the land, giving to the proprietor at least one
half the produce, or, if the crops prove heavy, a still larger
share.
The farmers of the great estates in the watered pro¬
vinces are in prosperous circumstances, and generally well
educated persons; and their chief occupation consists in
overlooking the workmen, and making the due bargains for
the disposal of their produce. They are also necessarily
furnished with some capital, as a proof of which, one near
Lodi, occupying a farm of 250 English acres, upon which
were fifty-eight cows, a bull, and eight horses, and who
had on hand the cheese made in the six preceding months,
asserted that the value of his stock exceeded eight hun¬
dred pounds sterling. On that farm there are twenty-two
families of day-labourers. Six or seven men, the heads of
those families, are in the constant employment of the oc¬
cupier, either as herdsmen, ostlers, or stable-servants. All
the rest and the females and children are only employed
when there is work to be done, for which they are paid
daily wages, viz. to the men about fourpence halfpenny a
day, to the women threepence, and to the children from
twopence to threepence, according to the age or strength.
I hey have also one meal a day, consisting of rice and
beans, but no wine, and only milk one day in the year.
Some of them are occupied, on fixed terms, in rearing ar¬
ticles that require a great portion of labour to prepare them,
and receive a proportion of the product. Thus, of flax
they receive one half, of maize one third or one fourth,
and of rice one seventh. Their condition is generally
very wretched, though when not wanted they may get
occasional wages on neighbouring farms. They are, how¬
ever, frequently in want of the common necessaries of
life, are miserably clothed and housed, in case of sickness
can obtain no medical relief, and are utterly destitute of
instruction. In spite of the checks, the population is as
rapidly increasing as in those parts of Europe where the
labourers are placed in more favourable circumstances.
Ihe only' alleviation to their accustomed wretchedness is
but a temporary one during the time the silk-worms are at
work, or have finished their spinning, and the silk is to be
wound from the cocoons. In most of their habitations
they hatch a few eggs if they can find money or credit to
buy mulberry leaves; and if not, they have some occupa¬
tion in winding the silk for those who are a little better
situated.
In those provinces of Lombardy which are not to any
extent capable of irrigation, there are few large farms, and
no substantial or intelligent farmers. The greater portion
of the land is divided into small allotments of a few acres,
either directly by the proprietors, or through the manage¬
ment of middle-men. The real cultivators, called also co¬
lonists (coloni), with their wives and children, perform all
the labour, and contract to deliver half of the raw produce
LOMBARDY.
to, r(), t0 the proprietor. Their condition must be worse than
t‘1v— that of day-labourers in other countries. It is obvious to
^ any person who haS attended to the subject of husbandry
in jn any part of Europe, that the cost of labour in cultivating
co corn must amount to more than half the value of the pro-
do duce where the labour is in part performed by horses or
0!! oxen ; but in this case all is done by human hands, and it
mi mUst be of more real cost, and consequently the landlord
to draws more from the land than his due proportion, and
^ that is at the cost of the sweat of the brow of his tenant.
^ On land in England of such a quality as to bear three quar-
cri ters of wheat per acre, and which could be sold at 56s. per
f quarter, no farmer would contract to pay one half or one
1 quarter of that quantity as rent, even if the landlord paid
il£ the taxes; and the corn-land in Lombardy requires quite
31 as much labour as it does in England. The rapid increase
of population, and the difficulty of day-labourers finding
“’I employment, are such, that no proprietor finds himself at a
)iS loss to get occupiers on the metayer principle. It may per-
f haps arise from the nature of these contracts, that the owners
of land are rarely the cultivators. The few who have attempt-
ed to cultivate have soon discovered, that though by hiring
i)'1 day-labourers, and farming in a better style, they obtain
l<)r more raw produce, they draw from their estates much less
:tl net proceeds than they can now extract from them by means
1 of the slovenly cultivation of their ignorant and suffering
to oolonists. This description of tenants are as much bound
Cl ;o continue in their state of poverty and dependence as
he slaves on the estates in Russia, or those who were till
ttl •ecently feudatories under the nobles of Germany. If the
® xiffing property they possess is merely equal to the debt
ey hey owe their landlord, it is impossible for them to re-
w nove; and if they could remove in a state of destitution,
t would be difficult to pi’ocure land elsewhere. The mo¬
ld -al degradation produced by this system is not one of the
at east evils it generates. A constant struggle is going on
ds o defraud the proprietor of that part of the share which is
»d conditioned to be delivered to him, and the tenant feels no
nc remorse at the fraud, but justifies it to himself by the hard
® erms upon which the land is let to him. All friendly inter-
uri course is destroyed, the proprietor looks on the colonist as
hi i thief, and the latter views the former as an oppressor.
ie The depravity thus begotten tends to fill the country with
m mmerous offenders against the laws, chiefly amongst the
ne mined colonists, who have nothing left when expelled
m rom their narrow pieces of land but to take refuge in open
se ir secret robbery.
It The picture here exhibited, though a representation of
if; he far greater portion of the peasantry of Lombardy, has
ne ome, but not numerous exceptions. Instead of one or
3 i wo acres of land, a few tenants have from fifteen to twen-
ai y acres, and are enabled to keep two or three cows,
lie vhich are stall-fed, and perhaps a horse or a mule. The
;tli cattle and utensils are their own property. They pay a
df noderate money-rent for the corn-land, and divide with the
idl andlord in equal portions the wine, and the cocoons of the
M iilk-worms. Such persons, if they perform the work by
:i] he members of their own families, subsist chiefly on maize,
3i ise none of the wine, and otherwise practise the most rigid
Jn economy, though they do not become rich, may live in
re i respectable and comfortable manner when compared
th vith that in which the great body of the same class exist.
0 On the whole, the condition of the great mass of the
loi colonists is very far inferior to that of the lowest class of
ri( tgricultural labourers in England, France, or Germany,
(1 md nearly resembles that of the most wretched of the cot-
r$ iers of Ireland.
T] The ‘chief product which is furnished by Lombardy to
tei external commerce is silk, which interests more or less
;r every family in the country, and receives the greatest share
g >t general attention. As the quantity and the quality of
47*7
the silk depend on the worms that spin it, the subsistence Lombardy,
of those worms becomes an object which engrosses much v——
consideration. The leaves of the mulberry-tree are exclu¬
sively the food of the worms, and the greater weight of
these leaves that can be gathered, the greater is the silk
that is produced. In many parts are numerous nurseries,
where those leaves are raised, with most careftil cultiva¬
tion, from seed. The beds in which the seed is sown are
well and deeply ploughed or dug the year before, and ma¬
nured with the most powerful substances. It is at last dug
once more, made as fine and as level as possible, and the
seed is then sown in rows about eight or ten inches from
each other. It is slightly covered with earth, and also
with hay and straw, the latter to protect it equally from
the slight frosts which occasionally appear in winter, or
from the excessive droughts which frequently occur in
summer. In very dry weather they are watered as becomes
necessary. As the plants grow, they are carefully weeded
with the hoe, and are also thinned out. They grow but
little in the first year, but considerably in the second, at
the end of which, or at the beginning of the third year,
they are transplanted from the seed-bed to the nursery-
garden, and cut close to the eye. In the next year they
are again cut close, and the stump grafted. In the fourth
year, when the new shoots have formed what is to be the
crown of the tree, they are cut into a hollow so as to re¬
semble a basin, which is found the best shape, both for the
fruit and the leaves. In the fifth year they are generally
sold; or, when the nursery is kept by one who means to
plant them on his own property, they are transplanted to the
hedgerows or other spots where they are intended perma¬
nently to remain. The growth of the plant up to this pe¬
riod depends mainly on the manure which is applied to the
nursery, but generally they have attained a diameter of
from four to five inches.
The wild mulberry, or Moms Alba, yields the best leaves
for the nourishment of the worms, and the silk they spin
whilst feeding upon them is of the finest quality; but the
quantity of leaves they yield is so small, that it requires a
great outlay and a great number of trees to give sustenance
to an extensive silk establishment; on which account they
are grafted with other kinds of mulberry-trees, which have
larger and dark-green leaves, and in such abundance that
they yield at least double the weight of leaves. Attempts
are now making, and experiments in progress, for obtaining
a new genus of the mulberry-trees, which may unite abun¬
dance of leaves with greater fineness in the silk. Accord¬
ing to Moretti, professor of botany at Milan, the finest silk
is obtained from the wild ungrafted mulberry-tree, the
next finest from one of a new genus produced by his expe¬
riments, the third from the grafted white mulberry, and
the coarsest from the black mulberry. The fruit of none
of these trees is in any estimation. In order to procure
more leaves, the cultivators of the trees, every fourth year
after the leaves have been stripped, cut off all the smaller
branches quite close to the principal ones. In the succeed¬
ing year the leaves are not taken from the new shoots, but
they are in the next and following years; and in the
fourth year, when the shoots have attained a diameter of
four inches, they are as bushy and thick as if they had not
been tapped.
It is difficult to form an average of the produce of mul¬
berry leaves from each tree, as much depends on the soil,
but more upon the age of the tree. As soon as they have
attained six inches in diameter, they yield from 19 to 27
lbs., and continually increase their produce till they attain
a diameter of two feet, when they yield from 220 to
260 lbs. Having then attained their full growth, they
continue to increase in produce till they yield in some
cases, but extreme ones, as much as 500 lbs. The market
prices of the leaves undergo a great fluctuation, varying
478
.LOMBARDY.
Lombardy, sometimes one hundred per cent in a fortnight. In June
of the year 1833 they were sold at 3s. the hundredweight,
and two weeks before at 7s.
Some persons who have none, and others who have but
few mulberry-trees, yet breed silk-worms. They are care-
ful to make contracts for what they expect to want, in
March or April, when they are cheapest. It not unfre-
quently happens that by a storm of hail, which is not an
unusual occurrence, the price is so raised that the breeder,
instead of drawing a profit from his operations, finds he has
paid more for the leaves than he can obtain for the co¬
coons. There are persons so skilful in estimating in the
spring the weight of leaves which each tree will produce,
that their assistance is commonly resorted to by those who
make bargains for the leaves. W hen the first signs of life
begin in the worms they eat very little, but when they be¬
gin to spin they require a considerable quantity of food.
The price of leaves naturally rises very high; and if at
that time a hail-storm should occur, the advance becomes
most ruinous to those who are compelled to purchase. In
general the mulberry-trees are, by the terms of the leases,
let to-the farmers or colonists, who divide the cocoons
equally with the proprietors of the land. The tenant pro¬
vides half the eggs, and superintends the insects, feeding
them, and keeping them clean whilst they are working;
the other half of the eggs, as well as the leaves, are the
contributions of the landlord to this equally joint-stock
concern. Jhe tenant estimates what worms can be nou¬
rished by the quantity of leaves the trees upon his farm will
feed, and the two parties procure the estimated weight of
^ fh® tenant miscalculates, or if a hail-storm de¬
stroys his calculation, he is bound to purchase such a por¬
tion of leaves as will subsist the insects through their work¬
ing period.
The planting of mulberry-trees, and the consequent
produce of silk, have been favoured by circumstances which
have naturally led to a rapid extension of every branch of
that trade. It is an object of attraction to every grade of
society, from the greatest landholder to the lowest of the
colonists and day-labourers; and these have all been sti¬
mulated by the constantly advancing price of the raw silk
in each year from the return of tranquillity in the year
1814 to the present time ; but the most striking advances
of price were those which took place from 1820 to 1822.
From the vast number of trees, only an approximation to
the rate of increase can be made. It has, however, been
ascertained of late, that three fourths of all the mulberry-
tiees of Lombardy are of less than thirty years growth,
and that one half of that three fourths, consequently thirty-
seven per cent, of the whole, are under fifteen years of age.
The greatei portion of the mulberry-trees in Lombardy
are to be found in the dry provinces, though some few are
planted in the irrigated districts. From the city of Mi¬
lan to Varese, from that city to Como, between Lecco and
Beigamo, quite to the river Adda, the cultivation of vines
has almost everywhere given place to that of mulberry-
trees. One of the finest views in Italy is from the high
ground about Bergamo, which comprehends the hills of
Brescia and Bergamo, and the extended plain of Lom¬
bardy. Around the city the appearance is that of an ex¬
tensive orchard or fruit-garden ; but the trees are plant¬
ed chiefly for the leaves, and are found, with less annual
expense, more profitable than any trees cultivated for
theii fiuit. I he lowest calculation of the average profit
of the tiees makes it, including all ages, from five to fif¬
ty years old, nearly six shillings sterling from each tree
annually.
In the lovyer parts of Lombardy, in the irrigated pro¬
vinces of Milan, Pavia, and Lodi, the cultivation of mul¬
berry-trees, and the consequent breeding of silk-worms, are
by no means extensive ; yet, even in each of these of’late
an increase has taken place, and preparations are maiL K
winch it is calculated that in three years the number
the trees will become double what they are at present^
The greater number of mulberry-trees are at this time ,o
be seen on the sterile and strong soil in the provinc •
\ erona, especially between that capital and Desenzann
bell Th r0™; lhr°U^ Valleg°’ q^e to Rove?!
c Sur^ac1e of these districts consists of masses
of pebbles, rounded by having been washed down at SoTP
remote period from the neighbouring Alps, and in which
the culture of corn will scarcely repay the cost of the la
hour devoted to it. As much land is mingled with these'
stones, which is favourable to the mulberry-trees vast
numbers have been everywhere planted. A preiudice
said to prevail in these districts against the practice of
engrafting, and that owing to it the quantity of leaves
does not bear the same proportion to the number of the
trees, as in the other parts of Lombardy.
The eggs of the silk-worms are not preserved by all
those who manage their working, but are made an ob¬
ject of trade by a few persons whose establishments are
upon so large a scale as to make it worthy their attention
and who, when preserving for themselves, collect greater
quantities for sale. They are sold by weight, generally
at about two shillings the English ounce; and some indu
viduals have collected in one year as much as 2500 ounces
though one tenth of that weight is nearer the average of
the whole of the several producers. The eggs are divided
into three classes. The worm from the first of them casts
its skin four times, and is of a large size, and an ounce
contains 24,024 eggs. Supposing each egg to produce a
caterpillar, and each caterpillar a cocoon, as 110 cocoons
weigh a pound, the whole ounce of eggs will yield 218
pounds of cocoons. The second also casts its skin, but
the animal is of a smaller size, as are the cocoons; an
ounce of them contains 25,185 eggs, and the cocoons pro¬
duced from them weigh less, 216 being a pound, and con¬
sequently the whole weight of the cocoons is only ninety-
six pounds. The third class casts its skin but three times,
an ounce contains 31,004 eggs, 440 cocoons weigh about
a pound, and the whole weight of the cocoons is only about
seventy pounds.
In every house, room is made for laying out the worms
as soon as any symptoms of life appear, and in even the
poorest cottages of the colonists, who have but a single
apartment, it is so contrived that some space is allotted to
them, and the inhabitants shift as well as they can during
three weeks or a month. Tables of reed are formed, about
two feet and a half in breadth, and from fifteen to eigh¬
teen feet in length. Ihese are suspended from the roof,
the upper shelf two feet below it, and others at a foot dis¬
tance, with the lowest of them two feet from the floor.
Ihe window's are made of paper, to prevent currents of
cold air, and too great heat; the shutters are of straw,
and the door consists of a piece of old linen cloth. With¬
in, the place is kept in darkness, except when the worms
aie to be fed or the place cleaned out, when lamps are
used. In many of these places, thermometers, made for
the express purpose, are kept to ascertain the temperature.
They are made of spirits of wine, and show no other ,
change of heat than that between the 16th and 20th de¬
grees of Reaumur, to which limits it is deemed necessary
to confine their range of temperature. In the houses
where there are none of these simple instruments, habit
has given a tact, by which the people ascertain the degree
of heat with tolerable accuracy.
Some of the colonists within a season produce as much
as 140 pounds of cocoons. Taking their half of them at
seventy pounds, and estimating them at the average price
(for there is great variation in the price), viz. two shillings
and threepence per pound, it will yield for a month’s labour
LOMBARDY.
bard
near eight pounds, which is an enormous sum for persons
in that condition of life in that country. From it, how¬
ever, must often be deducted the cost of leaves, when the
landlords trees do not yield as much sustenance for the
insects as the tenant has calculated when purchasing the
eggs.
The rapid growth of these insects is one of those sin¬
gularities in natural history which seemed to be worth
collecting and recording, as is also the increased space
they occupy, and the increased portion of food they de¬
vour, in the several periods of their short existence. From
their escape tiom the shell to their death is commonly
thirty-two days, which is usually divided into five periods,
according to the change observable in them, thus:
1st period  5 days.
2d do  4, Jo.
do  6 do.
4th do  7 do.
5th do 10 do.
32
The space required for an ounce of the eggs is, in the
first period, square feet; in the second, 4^; in the
third, 10^; in the fourth, 25^; and in the fifth, 57
square feet. According to a course of experiments made
by Count Dandolo, it appears that the weight of 100 silk¬
worms at the different periods is as follows, viz.
479
100 at their first appearance.
100 at the 1st period  9 725
100 at the 2d ditto  60 912
100 at the 3d ditto  259 200
100 at the 4th ditto 1,051 700
100 at the 5th, when they have attained
their greatest weight and size 6,156,000
648 grains.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Ihus, in the thirty-two days they have increased nearly
1500 fold. The same course of experiments shows the
veight of mulberry leaves which is given to the worms
)roduced from one ounce of eggs to be as follows : 
n the 1st period  3^ pounds.
n the 2d ditto.  ip .5 do.
n the 3d ditto  3510 do.
n the 4th ditto.     do.
n the 5th ditto.   640 do.
Total.
.794
do.
As the leaves are kept at least one day, and sometimes
nore, after they are gathered, they have lost by drying
sixty-one pounds, and by cleaning from dirt and small Lombard j.
sticks eighty-three pounds, so that to supply this food 939'
pounds of leaves must have been procured. It is found in
cleaning the insects, that the remains of the leaves which
are not consumed, consisting of thick stalks in the middle
of each leaf, and some of the relics, weigh 329 pounds.
Thus the actual food is 465 pounds. According to those
experiments, as seventy pounds of cocoons were procured
from the ounce of eggs, each pound must have required
1 1mk) pounds of leaves as they come from the trees, or
Gfoo of real vegetable nourishment. The obtaining the
cocoons is a step of great importance in the whole ope¬
ration of procuring the silk. With the small producers,
and it is they who, after all, furnish the far greater quan¬
tity, their labours are for the most part at an end, as they
generally sell them to other persons, who make the wind¬
ing the silk, and the subsequent operations to fit it for the
manufacturer, a distinct trade. There are, however, some
few large establishments, in which the silk-worms are
nursed, and in which the cocoons are wound off, and all
the steps taken to prepare the silk for market. It would
lead to some very long description and discussion, to show
satisfactorily and accurately the relation which exists be¬
tween the quantity of leaves and the weight and number
of cocoons, and also the relation between the number and
weight of cocoons, and the actual weight of silk prepared
for the manufacturer. It has been minutely discussed by
Dandolo, with whose results this part of the subject may
now be closed. One hundred pounds weight of cocoons
yield about eight pounds and one third of silk. The thread
drawn from each cocoon must be about 800 feet long to
weigh a grain. Each of such cocoons yields nearly one
grain and a half of silk. One pound of them will produce
in length 17,600 feet. It requires about one hundred and
fifty pounds of mulberry leaves to produce one pound of
silk.
It is difficult to ascertain the quantity or the value of
the silk annually produced at present from the soil of that
part of Lombardy contained in what is now within the
boundaries of the government of Milan. Much of it is
consumed within that government. A much larger portion
is sent, without any official notice, to be manufactured in
Austria Proper, in Bohemia, and in Hungary. The greater
part of what goes to the Prussian factories on the Lower
Rhine, as well as that for France and for the English mar¬
ket, passes by land-carriage ; and the accounts, not being
kept for purposes of revenue, are not collected with exact¬
ness, nor brought into a focus. The only account whose
authenticity can be relied on, is an official paper transmitted
to Vienna tor the year 1824, since which period the growth
of silk has been constantly and extensively increasing.
Worms.
Cocoons 
Raw silk  
Spun silk.... 
Other kinds 
Manufactured silk goods,
Imports.
Exports.
128 quintals.
30,548 pounds.
93 do.
590 do.
1,179 quintals.
312,899 pounds.
634,593 do.
9,113 do.
Value of
Imports.
83,738
1,619,054
5,998
7,269
1,716,059
Value of
Exports.
827,507
17,522,377
41,883,144
764,380
3,291,896
64,289,304
1,716,059
62,573,245
This account is made out in Austrian lire, of which
ni’ty are about equal to a pound sterling, and thus give
ie excess of the value of silk exported above that im-
orted as L.2,085,774 sterling. Considering the increase
of mulberry-trees within the last ten years, and the ad¬
vanced price of silk, it will not be too much to assume the
balance of exports in 1833 at L,3,000,000. After review¬
ing the productions of most value, the cheese and the silk,
480
LOMBARDY.
.Lombardy, a slight notice may be taken of the results of those other
operations of agriculture, which are almost exclusively
confined to domestic consumption.
Amongst corn, that most extensively grown is maize. It
is the chief nourishment of the working classes, and is
deemed by them the most healthy and most strengthen¬
ing of all grain. It has, too, the advantage of being most
easily converted into wholesome food, requiring, unlike
wheat, no assistance from the baker. It requires only a
kettle and a little fuel to make it into polenta, a kind of
thick pudding or gruel, which, without any addition, forms
the common food of the peasantry. It is also a valuable
product on other accounts. The grains in a green state
are a substitute for green peas; the leaves, when fresh, are
a fodder, on which cattle eagerly feed, and, when dry,
they are used to make excellent beds, or rather mattresses ;
the stalks are used for fuel in that country, where fuel is
scarce ; and, finally, the feathery tops are converted into
brushes for sweeping the houses.
This article is also cheaper than wheat, being commonly
sold at about two thirds the price of that grain; but, from
its being the food of the far greater part of the population,
in seasons of great scarcity, such as those following the
harvest of 1816 and 1828, the indispensable demand for it
caused the price to rise higher than that of wheat. From
the circumstances here stated, more than one third of all
the arable land of Lombardy is destined to the cultivation
of this grain, and the average product per acre is greater
than that of wheat. It is grown almost indiscriminately
on all kinds of soil; and the nature of the climate is but
little regarded, as it is to be seen equally on the cold hills,
and in the warm valleys of the provinces. The culture of
it does not appear to have received any improvement
since its first introduction. It is in some cases sown broad¬
cast, and covered in with the plough. From this mode of
sowing it, it can only be cleared of weeds by hand, and
the earth is thrown round the plants in the same way;
whereas, in the countries where it is sown in rows or
drills, these operations can be more advantageously per¬
formed by appropriate instruments. The expense of this
hand-hoeing and shovelling up the earth is said to be
equal to the value of one third of the gross product of
the crop. It is customary, after the bloom is off, to strip
the plant of its leaves, and also to cut the stalks above
the cobs or ears, which, if not done too early, is not injuri¬
ous to the grain. There are several species of this plant.
The most common is that with a large yellow grain, whose
cobs grow about half way up the stalk, and which ripens
in three months, if sown in the month of May. If it can¬
not be sown so early, or if it is sown after a crop of flax,
or on clover after the first mowing, it is usual to sow an¬
other kind called brigantino, whose grains are smaller,
and of a darkish brown colour. In the vicinity of Ber¬
gamo, the greatest quantity of maize is of this kind.
There are some species of this corn of much smaller
grains, called cinquanto and quaranto, from the number
of days which pass between the sowing and the harvest¬
ing. These kinds are commonly sown on the wheat stubbles,
or after a crop of flax or of rape-seed has been gathered.
It is seldom very productive, and, if the field on which it
is sown be poor, scarcely repays more than the seed and
the labour.
In a country where the soil and the .climate are so va¬
rious as in Lombardy, and where the difference in the
quantity of manure applied to the soil is so great in the
several portions, it is impossible to arrive at any average
calculation of the produce of grain per acre. Nothing more
can be done here than to state a few facts on the sub¬
ject. One very accurate cultivator on the richest irriga¬
ble land, to which abundant manure is applied, stated that
his crops yielded annually in a series of years from fifty-
nine to seventy-eight English bushels an acre. AnotherLo !
also, in the same circumstances, a few miles distant, gave wZ' «
his range of bushels at from fifty to seventy-eight per
acre. The other side of the picture is vastly different.
According to an official valuation in the revenue office at
Milan, the following average of the produce of maize in
some of the poorest provinces is given, viz. in Verona
the greatest produce is rated at fifteen bushels the acre -
in Vicenza, from thirty-two to forty-two; in Padua, from
twelve to twenty-one; and in Udine, from thirteen to
tw’enty-two. No other provinces are noticed in the ac¬
count. To this account of the average produce of maize
may be added calculations made by two of the most ac¬
curate agriculturists of Lombardy. Count Dandolo in¬
forms us, that the average produce from the colonists
on his estates near to Vanese, on whose fields the pea¬
santry had been induced to plant the beans called fisole
amongst the maize, was 21f bushels of maize, and 4jA bu¬
shels of beans. The average on the whole of his estate,
including the part cultivated by himself, is stated to be
321 bushels of maize, and 7| bushels of beans. Another
intelligent agriculturist asserted, that, according to the
best calculation he could make, and he had taken much
pains on the subject, the average produce of maize did
not exceed twenty-one metzen the jock, or twenty-five
bushels the acre, which he considered to be a produce
one third greater than that of wheat.
Rice is a plant introduced from India and China at
some distant but not very remote period. According to
some, it was known as early as the tenth century; but
no one large field was cultivated with it, until a patri¬
cian of Milan, in the year 1522, first destined to it some
marshy land upon his own estate in the province of Ve¬
rona. In the provinces of Verona, Mantua, and Pavia, it
is the most profitable grain that is grown ; and in the
provinces of Lodi and Milan it always secures to the far¬
mer moderate benefit. Much of it is consumed at home,
as those who do not subsist on maize alone have one meal
a day of this article. Some of it is exported, but the
amount of that portion does not exceed in value L.12,000
sterling. Rice is a marsh plant, and can only be grown
where the land can be covered with water till it warms,
and is very slowly dried up. The evaporation is injurious
to human health, and hence laws are enacted regulating
the distance which must intervene between the rice-fields
and the cities and towns. Without these restrictions,
rice would be more extensively cultivated. At present
about 125,000 English acres form the extent of this cul¬
ture. Some portion of rice is grown in the rich provinces,
as one of the crops in rotation of convertible husbandry.
In this practice, called risare a vicenda, it is most com¬
monly sown after clover. The land is ploughed very
deep, but not harrowed. The water is then turned on,
so as to cover the surface, and to show any inequalities
which remained by the use of the spade. The seed is
then sown, or rather scattered on the water, having been
previously steeped during eight or ten hours, to give it
additional specific gravity, so that it may sink immediate¬
ly to the bottom. If it were sowed after clover, two
bushels of seed would be sufficient for one acre. When
it is sowed, as is oftentimes the case, after maize, the
quantity is usually three bushels.
The time of sowing is from the beginning of April till
the middle of May. It remains covered with water to the
height of from two to three inches, and in that state re¬
mains till weeding becomes necessary. That early sown
requires the operation to be performed in the middle of
May, that later sown, some time in June. It is executed
chiefly by the females, who, with their lower garments
tucked up, stand in water over the ancles, and with the
hand pluck up the weeds by the roots. If the land were
LOMBARDY.
481
,baiv. dry, the weeds would break off, and leave the roots to shoot
out again. The most prevalent weed is the cockfoot grass,
which, at an early period, it is difficult to distinguish from
the rice. Besides this, there are several other weeds,
chiefly of the rush kind. In the first year the operation
of weeding is performed twice. If the same field be sown
with the rice in the next year, once is deemed sufficient.
This is the most expensive part of the process, and is said
in the first year to require twenty-five days’ work for an
acre, which, as the employment is unpleasant and unheal¬
thy, is commonly paid for at the rate of about tenpence per
day. Much of this work is executed by the colonists upon
plans marked definitively in their leases. The terms vary
excessively, according to the locality and the soil. A com¬
mon plan is, for the colonist to receive one quarter of the
gross produce, after the quantity used as seed has been ab¬
stracted from it. For this he is bound to perform the fol¬
lowing portions of the labour, viz. the levelling the sur¬
face, the sowing, the weeding, the reaping, and all the la¬
bour not performed by cattle, until the crop is placed on the
threshing-floor. In the case of some of the poorest land,
the colonist receives one third, instead of one fourth, of the
produce. About midsummer-day the water is allowed to
run off the land, and during eight or ten days it is suffered
to become dry. This is done to destroy the numerous
water insects, which would prove injurious to the roots of
the rice, and cause it to fall into the water.
Some few persons have, however, of late abandoned this
practice of letting off the water, and say it is advantageous
to the perfecting the grain. In common cases, at the end
of this drying, the field is again covered with water, and it
continues until the time of harvest, which is usually the
first week of September. It is reaped, bound in sheaves,
and carried to the threshing place, where it is commonly
trodden out by horses. When the rice has been trodden
out, it is exposed to the sun to dry it for a few days, and
carried to the place where, by stamping in a kind of mor¬
tar with wooden pestles, it is cleared from the husks, which
are separated from the grain by appropriate sieves, through
which it is frequently poured. If the rice is very good, it
yields, when stamped, about one half the measure it did in
the raw state. If it yield but one third, it is considered as
scarcely marketable. The product of rice, as far as can be
gathered from the returns of the crops in various years and
various localities, is surprisingly difterent, and there seems
to be no means of forming any approximate average. The
following are all the acts that could be collected on the
subject.
Places.
Lowest Quantity per
Acre in Bushels.
San Novo 
Highest Quantity per
Acre in Bushels.
 96
Tavezzano 54X 102-Ar
Viltadoni 46 12(H
Ronearo 44 82”
Verona 35 47^
Ditto 33 46
Grigolate 29i 51
These are the quantities of rice before it was cleaned from
the husks, and from which one half must be deducted, to give
the produce in marketable rice.
Wheat is a grain cultivated upon a small scale in most
parts of Lombardy, excepting in that portion of it which
comprehends the mountainous Alps. It is not, however, a
plant which succeeds to the same extent as it does in cli¬
mates somewhat colder. There is but one species of it
sown in the whole of the province. It is a winter wheat,
sown between the first week of October and the first week
ot November; but the best farmers wish to finish their
sowing by the 21st of October, if the season permit. The
wheat is all of the bearded kind, the preference of which has
VOL. XIII.
been owing to the opinion that the beard is a protection Lombardy,
against the fogs of the blooming season, and against the 's—-v-w
depredations of the small birds at the time of the grain ri¬
pening. The produce is a kind of wheat harder than that
of the west and north of Europe, but less hard than some
of the wheat from the Black Sea. From this circumstance
it is better calculated to be converted into maccaroni than
our wheat would be, for which purpose it is much more
frequently pounded in a mortar than ground at a mill.
The product of the crops is less per acre than it is generally
in the German dominions of Austria, and considerably less
than in England or in the best parts of the Netherlands.
It is of course most productive on the best lands of the
rich provinces, where irrigation is practicable to the exact
extent which the nature of the crop may require. On that
description of soil it is less profitable than other crops, and,
therefore, only a small portion js applied to its growth;
but even on the best of that land it is a rare event to ob¬
tain sevenfold the quantity of the seed that has been sown.
On the farm of Tavezzano, one of the best cultivated in
the province of Lodi, the average produce of the wheat
land in the past year had been twenty-four and a third
English bushels the acre. In the farm of Viltadoni, near
to it, the report was, that three and a fourth bushels per
acre had been sown, fifteen and a half reaped. Berra, in his
work (SulV attuale Avvilimentodel Prezzodi Grant) publish¬
ed in 1826, calculates the increase of wheat in the dry parts
of Lombardy to be only at the rate of four and a half times
the quantity of the seed. In plain figures reduced into Eng¬
lish measures, he averages the seed sown to be two and a
fourth bushels per acre, and the crop gathered nine bushels
and three fourths. The late Count Dandolo estimates the
produce higher, and concludes that, with the common cul¬
ture, the increase of wheat is about five times the seed, or
that three bushels an acre are sown, and fifteen bushels reap¬
ed. He does not state what the increase had been on his own
land, which was highly cultivated ; but it appears, without
being informed whether he sowed thicker or thinner than
his neighbours, that he usually had a crop of twenty and a
half bushels. In the neighbourhood of Mantua, where the
poor colonists grow wheat and maize in alternate years,
where the soil is sandy, and where, from the paucity of
cattle, little manure is applied, it does not appear that the
crop of wheat grown more than equals four times the seed.
In some of the other provinces of the part of Lombardy
within the government of Milan, as well as in some of those
in the Venetian government, the report of the officers
employed in making a new valuation or cadastral, and who
had been occupied three years in examining the state of
the produce for financial purposes, was obtained. As it
was the business of these officers to examine only the pro¬
duce, no proportion is stated between the quantity of the
seed and that of the result.
In Verona, the higher part of which is stony, and the
lower part sandy, the best of the land yields ten bushels,
and the worst only six and a half. In Vicenza, where the
soil is better, the lands of the first quality yield eighteen
bushels, those of the second fifteen, the lowest twelve.
In Padua, the first class of lands yields fifteen and a half
bushels, the second eleven and a fourth, and the lowest
class only seven bushels. In Udine, a poor sandy soil,
mixed with many pebbles, and where there are but few
cattle, the first class of soils yields ten and a half bushels,
the second nine, and the lowest only six and a half.
It is not easy to ascertain what portion of the fields is
appropriated to the growth of wheat. It appears by the
appendix, that the whole land under the plough is 1,461,700
English acres ; of this portion, 125,000 acres are cultivated
with rice. On the best of the soils, according to the regu¬
lar rotation of crops, one half of the land is in grasses, the
proportion of maize is greater than that of wheat, and some
3 p
482
LOMBARDY.
Lombardy.
portion is sown with pulse, rye, millet, oats, flax, hemp,
and other kinds of crops. The whole portion sowed with
wheat does not probably exceed 200,000 acres, and the
best judges estimate that such is nearly the extent. If,
then, the crop be calculated to yield on the average two
quarters to the acre, it will afford 400,000 quarters. If
from this be deducted what will be required for seed, be¬
ing about a fifth, or 80,000 quarters, it will leave as food
for 2,500,000 persons, at the rate of little more than one
bushel for each, or about one eighth part of what is usual¬
ly considered as the annual consumption of each individual
in England. From the great articles of human consump¬
tion being so different, a comparison seems unnecessary;
but it may serve to illustrate a general principle of great
importance, viz. that consumption and production so act
upon each other as constantly to tend towards an equi¬
librium. Hence we may infer, that few countries extend
their growth of articles of the first necesssity far beyond
what their own population require.
The other kinds of grain are but very little cultivated.
Barley and oats are scarcely needed. They are never
used as human food, and neither is any beer brewed, nor
any corn-spirit distilled. A little rye is grown upon some
poor districts, but it yields a very low price, and the
quantity sown is every year diminishing, as the taste of
the people changes in favour of maize. Millet is grown,
but is not deemed a profitable crop, except occasionally,
when it comes to maturity, which it sometimes does if
sown in stubble after the harvest. Buck-wheat is known
only in or near the Alpine districts, and is but slightly at¬
tended to.
The plants which do not serve for food are not of any
great importance. Though flax is grown chiefly for the
employment it gives in spinning and weaving, yet some oil
is made from the seed, as also from rape, and the seed
of other plants of the brassica kind. The hilly regions
abound with several kinds of nuts; and chestnuts form an
important portion of the sustenance of the poorer classes of
the inhabitants. The walnuts and hazelnuts are convert¬
ed into a fine oil, much valued by painters; but the de¬
mand for it, as well as the supply, has been gradually de¬
clining of late years. Scattered olive-trees are to be seen
in most places between the hills and the lake of Garda,
and a few olive gardens on that and the lake of Como; but
the quantity of oil expressed from them is very insignificant.
As none of the trees have been planted within the last sixty
years, their number has diminished, and is still constantly di¬
minishing. The inducement to extend the growth of mul¬
berry trees and of vines is so much more powerful than
exists with regard to olive-trees, that the latter are almost
neglected, and more especially as the parts of Italy to the
south of Lombardy in contact with it have a more genial
soil and climate, and can render olive-oil upon more bene¬
ficial terms than it could be produced if much extended
within that territory.
Few things are more striking to a visitor in Italy from the
north of Europe, than the straight rows of trees of all kinds
that run through the corn fields, at the foot of which vines
are planted and trained, so as to extend in elegant festoons
from one tree to another, exhibiting the pendant clusters
of grapes. If the same mode of training the vines were
attempted in the somewhat colder climates of France and
Germany, it is thought the shade of the trees would pre¬
vent the grapes from ripening. This effect is not pro¬
duced in Lombardy, where the berries become ripe, and,
when eaten, are of good flavour; but the wine produced
from them is in general of a bad or very indifferent quality.
Though much of the wine is produced from such vines
in the corn fields as are distinguished by the names of
Campi Arative Vitati, or of Campi Arborati Vitati, and
others from vines planted in rows at such a distance from
each other as to admit of maize being grown betweenL
them, and called Ronchi; yet in some parts are vinevards
properly so called, because, like those of France and Ger¬
many, they alone occupy the ground, and are, like them
supported by props. The greater part of the best wine'
however, is produced from the Ronchi.
The wine generally in Lombardy is of a very bad qua¬
lity, which is attributed to its production being left almost
exclusively to that description of cultivators before noticed
under the name of colonists. These exercise little dis¬
cretion and little care, either in the choice of the kind of
grapes they plant, or in the management of the juice when
it is expressed from them. Their chief care is to obtain
the largest quantity, without much regard to the flavour
or the aptitude of keeping ; and commonly, as soon as it is
made, they divide it in equal shares with their landlords.
One cause to which the inferiority of the wine is attri¬
buted arises from the general predilection in favour of
red wine, or, as it is called, Vin Nero, which is prized ac¬
cording to the darkness of its colour. In order to produce
this deep colour, the skins of the grapes are left, in the
first part of the process, to ferment with the juice. Some¬
times this is suffered to continue during eight or ten days
in a vat before the liquor is drawn off, and sometimes still
longer, as the longer it continues the darker the wine be¬
comes.
There is no old wine in Lombardy, except, perhaps, in
small quantities in the hands of a few amateur proprietors.
The wine of each vintage is sold in the course of the fol¬
lowing year ; and when any of it is kept, even though it
should not have become, or show a tendency to become,
vinegar, it will sell at a lower price than new wine, because
it is milder, and more agreeable to the taste of the con¬
sumers. It would be as difficult to estimate the quantity
of wine made annually in Lombardy, as it would have been
fifty years ago, if no duty had been paid on malt, to have
calculated the quantity of malt liquor of all kinds made in
England ; at which time almost every family out of Lon¬
don brewed its own beer. From a long list of the num¬
ber of vines, and their produce in wine, of several farms
of various soils, around the corn-fields of which the vines
had been trained to the trees, it appears that in the most
productive, the highest produce was 122 gallons from 100
vines ; that in the least productive year, from that number
of vines only thirty-three gallons were produced ; and that
on the average of thirty-one such farms, every 100 vines
yielded fifty-one and a half gallons of wine.
In the vineyards properly so called, the vines are, like
those of France and Germany, supported with sticks.
Each vine, of course, produces less than those trained
from one tree to another. From a return of the produce
of fourteen such vineyards, it appears that the quantity
yielded by the lowest was thirty-two gallons, and the ave¬
rage of the whole seventy gallons to the acre. As wine
is not an article of export from the province of Lombardy,
but, on the contrary, much is imported from the other parts
of Italy, and, for the few who indulge in such luxuries,
some from France and from Germany, it has been looked
upon, whilst drawing up these notices, purely in an agri¬
cultural point of view. It would have been easy to have
given more details respecting the preparation, but it seemed
to be more proper to leave that part of the subject to such
persons as may be employed in writing the history of vines,
than to enter into it in this place.
Potatoes, which form so important a part of the food of
the inhabitants in the more northern parts of Europe, are
very little cultivated in Lombardy. They are almost ex¬
clusively confined to the Alpine districts, or, when grown
on the level country, are confined to the gardens. The
absence of this root is a subject of sincere regret to the
most patriotic individuals who have devoted their atten-
LOMBARDY.
,mba iy. tion to rural economics. Count Dandolo attributes much
of the dreadful consequences which followed the deficient
harvests of 1816 and 1828, when great numbers perished
from want of common necessaries, to the absence of that
seasonable supply of food which potatoes would then have
483
furnished. Others have made similar and ineffectual re- Lombardy,
marks. The taste for polenta is much too deeply rooted
and the dislike to potatoes so common amongst the working
classes of the rural-districts, that there is no present pros¬
pect of their cultivation being speedily extended.
Specification, from an official Document, of the Appropriation of the Cultivated Lands in Lombardy, in the year 1831,
rendered into English Acres.
Delegations or Provinces.
Milan  
Bergamo 
Brescia 
Como  
Cremona 
Lodi with Crema.
Mantua 
Pavia  
Sondrio 
Arable
Land.
157,544
162,448
277,380
92,922
222,624
147,770
282,119
100,141
13,820
1,456,768
Rice Land. | Meadows.
13,193
3,149
4,848
16,816
11,746
24,709
51,481
125,442
56,844
99,283
85,685
61,021
57,562
110,042
87,096
80,386
36,241
Gardens
and
Orchards.
Vineyards.
Upland
Pastures.
17,114
2,623
4,262
2,692
8,039
3,514
7,805
6,118
716
1 120,583
55,237
91.440
92,165
124,905
33.441
204,820
53,935
15,789
16,999
126,995
71,351
88,519
11,513
11,979
25,381
5,594
217,503
674,160 | 52,889 ! 792,315
575,834
Woods.
42,166
267,062
193,996
191,076
111,902
20,446
8,191
20,783
251,372
Total.
424,446
716,817
728,462
528,401
453,361
338,938
640,118
318,438
535,441
1,007,014 4,684,422
The most important tax is the territorial impost. It is
an ancient payment, which has been alike collected under
the several changes of rulers which have administered the
finances of the countrj-. It has resisted all general at¬
tempts to equalize its rate according to the productive
powers of the soil, and therefore falls in a very unequal
degree upon different estates. Attempts have been con¬
stantly making, and still are in progress, to equalize this
impost; but the pace of the commissioners appointed for
the business is so very slow, that no one can form an
opinion of the period at which the work will terminate. It
will not be possible here to give more than a general view
of the amount of this tax. The province of Milan extends
'over 16,500 square miles. Of this, the roads and the
water are 730, and of the remainder, one quarter is esti¬
mated to consist of sterile rocks, of miserable pasture, or
of more miserable woods, yielding no produce worth col-
ecting. This would leave of all descriptions of valuable
and to the extent of 11,830 square miles, or about
7,370,000 English acres. The whole amount of the tax
s 26,171,338 lire, or, taking the lira as the thirtieth part
if a pound sterling, is L.872,374, or about 2s. 2d. per
icre. In estates in the province of Lodi the amount of
vhose tax is clearly stated, it amounted in one instance to
Is. per acre, in others to 2s. 10d., in most to 2s. 6d. In the
province of Pavia it amounted in one instance to 7s. per
icre, in others to 6s. and in several to 4s. 6d. In the pro-
|ince of Milan some estates near the city were made to
>ay as much as from thirty-eight to forty-one and a fourth
)er cent, on the actual rent. The estates here referred
o were the best land, and the best cultivated; and those
he highest taxed were in that condition when the last
urvey was made. These prices, so high above the ave-
age, make up for the little value of the extensive parts of
he poor land of the other and larger six provinces. As
his impost is collected in all cases from the proprietor, it
s regularly paid, and attended with little cost in the col¬
ection.
It is generally believed that more than five sixths of the
nhabitants of Lombardy subsist wholly by the labours of
tie field. Of these, the far greater proportion are of the de-
cription which is here called colonists. They are small
ccupiers, dividing the trifling products of the soil w ith the
proprietors. Their condition is far worse than that of day-
labourers in this country, for they have no resource in case
of a deficient harvest but beggary or starvation. Their
dwellings are small and miserable ; they are without furni¬
ture, utensils, or the means of cleanliness. They gene¬
rally marry early, and have families, though they have no
prospect of supporting them, beyond the hope that the
half of the produce of maize on an acre of land may yield
them food during the year, with the exercise of the great¬
est parsimony in its use. In the event of sickness they
have no relief; and their clothing is deficient, and of the
coarsest materials. The charity of those who can afford it
is bestowed with as fair liberality as can be expected, consi¬
dering the numerous claimants that offer for its reception.
The worst part of this picture is, that no hope is enter¬
tained of bettering their condition, ai\d no means of doing
so attempted to be put in practice, either by public bodies,
such as monasteries, which formerly existed, or by the
government, or by private associations of individuals.
The mining operations are inconsiderable, and are con¬
fined to the procuring of iron in the Alpine valleys of Ber¬
gamo and Brescia, and of copper in Belluno.
Ihe manufactures of Lombardy are extensive; that
of silk gives the most employment, but very large occupa¬
tion is afforded by the linen and woollen trades, and in
both those branches the use of machinery has been widely
diffused. Woollen goods of almost every description are
made in the delegations of Venice, Padua, and Como.
Milan has been from remote times celebrated for its wea¬
pons and arms, and iron work of all kinds is still exten¬
sively made in the delegation. Besides the great branches
of manufacture, most of the smaller ones are carried on,
especially those of paper, glass, gold and silver articles,
and domestic utensils.
The foreign trade is not material; that of Venice has
much declined since its union with Austria, though some
of the smaller articles of that division are still dispersed
throughout the eastern countries. There are still many
ships navigating the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Seas,
now bearing the Austrian flag, which are built and equip¬
ped at Venice, and at the other ports under the dominion
of that power. The following table will show the extent
of the foreign trade.
484
L 0 M
L 0 M
liOmbes An Account showing the Value of Goods Imported and Ex¬
ported in 1824.
Lomono-
zof.
Groceries, including coffee, sugar, )
and spices /
Drugs 
Paints and dyers’ colouring articles.
Cattle of all kinds 
Wines,liqueurs, spirits, and eatables
Wool, hair, and goods made thereof
Flax, hemp, and goods made thereof
Skins of animals, and goods madel
of them J
Wood and wooden-ware 
Metals and metal articles, except 1
iron J
Various others, most small wares...
Silk and manufactured silk goods...
Corn and pulse 
Cheese 
Linen, yarn, and twine 
Cotton and cotton goods 
Iron and iron goods 
Imports.
7,163,737
1,129,308
1,544,745
10,275,481
15,011,384
1,042,311
1,585,002
2,188,573
1,158,002
161,621
5,387,803
1,716,130
2,319,189
633,910
208,536
2,815,529
106,207
Exports.
185,966
244,539
66,243
728,120
1,413,544
2,502,819
368,494
151,718
293,080
369,801
1,508,596
64,290,939
3,085,729
3,513,043
3,094,694
179,075
1,212,869
54,447,76883,209,320
Note The above account is made up in lire, of which thirty
are about the value of the pound sterling; according to which, the
excess of the exports beyond the imports amounts to L.958,000
sterling.
The government is almost an unlimited monarchy ; for
although, by the constitution of April 1815, there are both
central and provincial assemblies of representatives of the
people, their function is rather to form rules for the execu¬
tion of the laws promulgated from Vienna, than to contri¬
bute any share in making such laws ; and though they may
make representations against them, they have no power
to prevent or suspend their operation. The kingdom of
Lombardy is ruled by a viceroy, who resides at Milan, and Lom
enjoys a salary of about L.40,000 yearly. Under him are itl
the governors of the two divisions into which the kingdom
is formed, viz. Milan and Venice.
The revenue of the kingdom is derived in part from na¬
tional domains and royalties, part of which once belonged
to the church, a heavy tax upon tobacco, with some other
direct and indirect taxes. The gross sum extracted is ' A
about L.2,000,000; but the collection is expensive, and
the interest of the local debt is paid off it, so that not one
fifth of that amount reaches the imperial treasury. There
are also local taxes, which are collected and dispensed by
the municipal authorities of the cities and towns. By
some recent laws, all taxation on commodities passing from
this kingdom into the other Austrian dominions have been
abolished, and commerce between them is free. A mili-
tary board has the direction of the army, and of the seve¬
ral fortresses, with their stores and garrisons. Six regi¬
ments of infantry and two of cavalry are recruited in this
part of the empire.
The chief or head of the ecclesiastical body is the pa¬
triarch of Venice, under whom are the archbishops of Mi¬
lan and Udine, with seventeen suffragan bishops. The in¬
stitutions for education are, the universities of Pavia and
of Padua, medical and surgical colleges at Milan, lyceums
at Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantua, Vicenza,
Treviso, and Udine. The promotion of the higher branches
of science is achieved by learned societies in most of the
cities, the most eminent of which are those of Milan, Ve¬
nice, Padua, and Verona.
The naval force of Austria is constructed and equipped
in this kingdom. It consists of eight ships of the line of
seventy-six guns each, seven frigates of forty-four guns,
one corvette, eight brigs, and six schooners, mounting to¬
gether 1064 cannon. Besides, there are several vessels on
the stocks, but their building proceeds in a dilatory manner.
Most of them are at Venice, but some are stationed at
Trieste, Cattaro, and Zara. The commissioners who regu¬
late naval affairs meet at Venice. There is a corps of naval
engineers, and a battalion of infantry who serve as marines.
(o.)
LOMBES, an arrondissement of the department of the
Gers, in France, extending over 343 square miles. It
comprehends four cantons, divided into ninety-nine com¬
munes, and contains 39,700 inhabitants. The capital, of
the same name, is situated on a fertile plain, through which
the river Save runs, and contains 300 houses, with 1590
inhabitants. Long. 0. 49. E. Lat. 43. 28. N.
LOMONOZOF, a Russian poet, and a great improver
of his native tongue, was the son of a dealer in fish at Kol-
mogori. He was born in 1711, and was fortunately taught
to read; a rare circumstance at that time for a person of
his condition in Russia. His natural genius for poetry
was first kindled by the perusal of the Song of Solomon,
translated into verse by Polotski, whose rude compositions,
perhaps scarcely superior to our version of the psalms by
Sternhold and Hopkins, inspired him with such an irresisti¬
ble passion for the muses, that he fled from his father, who
was desirous of compelling him to marry, and took refuge
in the Kaikonospaski monastery at Moscow, where he had
an opportunity of indulging his taste for letters, and of
studying the^Greek and Roman languages. In this semi¬
nary he made so considerable progress in polite literature,
that he was noticed and employed by the Imperial Acade¬
my of Sciences. In 1736, he was sent, at the expense of
that society, to the university of Marpurg, in Hesse-Cas-
sel, where he became a scholar of the celebrated Christian
Wolf, under whom he studied universal grammar, rheto¬
ric, and philosophy. He continued at Marpurg four years,
during which time he applied himself with indefatigable
diligence to the study of chemistry, which he afterwards
pursued with still greater success, under Henckel, at Frey-
berg, in Saxony. In 1741 he returned to Russia; in 1742
he was chosen adjunct to the Imperial Academy; and, in
the ensuing year, he was elected a member of that society,
and professor of chemistry. In 1760, he was appointed in¬
spector of the seminary then annexed to the academy; in
1764 he was gratified by the empress with the title of coun¬
sellor of state ; and he died on the 4th of April that year, in
the fifty-fourth year of his age. Lomonozof excelled in
various kinds of composition ; but his reputation is chiefly
derived from his poetical compositions, the finest of which
are his odes. His poetical and miscellaneous pieces ap¬
peared in three volumes; and he also published two small
works relative to the history of his own country. The
first, styled Annals of the Russian Sovereigns, is a short
chronology of the Russian monarchs; and the second is,
the Ancient History of Russia, from the Origin of that Na¬
tion to the Death of the Great Duke Yaroslaf I. in 1054.
485
istor:
LONDON.
,011(1:1. This city, the metropolis of the British empire, is situated
-'if-'' on both banks of the Ihames, if the name be taken collec¬
tively, and in that sense, though chiefly within the countv
of Middlesex, includes a part of Surrey, and, for purposes
of criminal judicature (by the act of William IV, called the
Central Criminal Court Act), a portion of the counties of
Essex and Kent.
Like most cities, the early history of this is lost in the
obscurity of remote ages. The first notice of its existence
to which implicit credit can be given is that in the Annals
of Tacitus (lib. iv), who says, “ Londinum cognomento
quidem coloniae non insigne, sed copia negotiatorum et
commeatuum maxime celebre.” The derivation of the
name of this city has been variously traced, and though it
must remain a matter of doubt, we state that which seems
the most probable.
Llin in the Celtic or ancient British language signified a
lake, and din a town or a harbour for ships. As until re¬
cent dates the Surrey side of the river was often a lake in
some parts, and a swamp in others, the name might be
easily changed from Llindin to London, and be descriptive
of its local position. It could got, however be a place of
very great importance at the time of the invasion of Eng¬
land by Julius Caesar, for though that commander must
have passed near it, he has not noticed it in his Commen¬
taries.
The Romans, who appear to have taken possession of this
city under the Emperor Claudius, about 100 years after the
invasion of Caesar, gave to it the name of Augustus in ho¬
nour of that prince. Under the Roman government it
was erected into a praefecture, and the inhabitants, though
the name of citizens of Rome was conferred upon them,
were not allowed to be governed by their own laws, but by
military magistrates sent annually from Rome. It must
then have acquired some degree of importance, because, in
several of the itinera of Antoninus, the roads are described
by him as beginning or ending at this place. The doubts
respecting the author of the itinera, and the time when
they were drawn up, make this inference of less authority.
It seems certain that, under the Romans, London was
not fortified at an early period of their occupation; for when
the Britons revolted against the Romans, and were led by
their Queen Boadicea, she captured the city and burned it,
after a general massacre of the inhabitants. It continued
still without fortifications, till, according to Woodward, the
reign of Constantine, or, according to Maitland, till the go¬
vernorship of Theodosius, in the year 369. The great num¬
ber of coins of Helena, the mother of the Emperor Con¬
stantine, which have been found under the walls, give the
greatest degree of probability to the opinion of the former
of these authors. It was certainly erected into an epis¬
copal^ city by that emperor after he had been converted to
the Christian religion; and that increases the probability of
the opinion that he constructed the walls, for all the sees of
bishops were originally within fortified places.
Whatever may have been the date of the erection of the
walls, the limits to which they then extended may now be
ascertained by the concurrent testimony of all the antiqua-
tians, and by the ruins of the foundations and of parts of
the wall which have been traced out within very recent
Periods.
A fort on the site now occupied by the Tower of Lon-
lon, formed the commencement of the defences. A wall
vas extended from it through the Minories to Aldgate,
^ ence it proceeded between Bevis Marks, Cammomile
street, and Houndsditch, across the churchyard ofBishops-
gate to Cripplegate. It then took a southerly course to London.
Aldersgate, from which it run south-west by the back of^—v-—
Christ s Hospital and Old Newgate, and passing behind the
present prison of Newgate and Stationers’ Court, reached
Ludgate. From that gate it proceeded westerly by Cock
Court to the river Fleet, now New Bridge Street, and ter¬
minated at a fort called afterwards Barnard’s Castle. It was
also then covered by another wall along the bank of the
l names, which, however, was destroyed at a very remote
period. The extent of the wall, exclusive of that by the
side of the river, was two miles and one furlong; that on
the bank one mile and a tenth. The height of the walls
was twenty-two feet, and they were defended by fifteen
ofty towers. Through some of these were the great roads
leading to the different parts of the kingdom. The prae-
tonan way, or the Watling Street, passed under Newgate,
and then turned towards the river, where was a ferry con¬
nected with the road to Dover. The'Hermin Street road
passed under Cripplegate. Another passed through Aid-
gate and proceeded by Bethnal Green to the old ford over
the river Lea, and on towards Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk.
In process of time other roads were laid out, when the gates
corresponding to them were erected and received the names
of Bndgegate, Ludgate, Aldersgate, Moorgate, Bishops-
gate, and the Postern on Tower-hill.
It is probable that, after the Romans had been induced
to withdraw their forces from England, and left it exposed
to the ravages of the northern tribes of Piets and Scotch,
London was not much improved or extended. When the
Saxons had fixed themselves in the country, and assumed
something approaching to a regular government, the city,
which had suffered severely during the contests between
the Britons and the invaders, soon recovered its former
rank, and acquired new importance ; so that at that period
the Venerable Bede writes of it as a princely town of trade
under the rule of a chief magistrate, whose title of port-
grave or portreeve conveys the idea that its commerce bv
water must have been for the time so great as to require
magisterial superintendence.
During those civil wars which the new Saxon masters of
England carried on against each other till the several king¬
doms were united under one head in the person of Egbert,
in 819, the city of London, if it did not maintain a neutra¬
lity, seems to have sufficiently increased in importance to
induce that prince to make it the capital of his whole king¬
dom ; which it has continued to be ever since that rehun
Soon after this the Danes began their nautical preda¬
tory excursions, and at length, after attacking the northern
ports of the kingdom, in 849 entered the Thames with 250
vessels, seized upon London, plundered and then burned it,
and exeicised their savage cruelties on the inhabitants. A
second attempt by some piratical people was made, and with
gi eater force, about two years after; but on this occasion,
King Ethelwolf and his son Athelbald collected a sufficient
foice to disappoint and finally to overcome the invaders,
though the returning prosperity of London received a severe
check by the attempt.
In the reign of Alfred the Great, London soon began to
lecovei from the ruinous condition in which the attempts
of the Danish invaders had left it. He restored the ruined
defences, expelled those of the Danes who had been settled
there, affirmed the privileges which had been conferred,
added to them others, and contributed much to ornament
the whole city. Having made it a place of security by its
walls,rand capable of a powerful defence, it was placed under
the government of his son-in-law, Ethelred duke of Mer-
LONDON.
486
London. cia> In this condition it was, when, in 893, an accidental
v—^ fire bursting forth spread with unextinguislpble fury, and
the houses being wholly constructed of wood, became at
length a prey to the flames. As the walls were uninjured
by the conflagration, the security they afforded encouraged
the government and the inhabitants to restore their losses
with great expedition. The city was first divided into wards,
and magistrates were appointed to each, who then bore
the name of sheriffs, a title which had been first created for
those who exercised the authority of the monarch in the
several districts into which he had divided the whole king¬
dom. In the portreeve and those sheriffs are to be found
the first traces of that system which, with some variations,
has continued to regulate the affairs of the city to the pre¬
sent time. As soon as Alfred had settled the general state
of his dominions into moderate tranquillity, his attention was
drawn to the capital, and the spirit he inspired was speedily
exhibited in London. The new houses were constructed
with more solidity, and with greater skill and ornament.
The chief material used in the buildings was still wood,
but some of the nobility were induced by the king to erect
houses within the walls of the capital in which stone or
bricks were used, and a few of the more wealthy citizens
followed the example thus shewn to them; but still the
number of such buildings was small in proportion to the
whole. At that time thatch was the universal covering.
England had rested from the ravages of the Danes more
than a century, when, in 1013, the King of Denmark,
Swend, called by English writers Sweyne, or Sweno, aid¬
ed by Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway, undertook the
subjugation of the whole kingdom. The Danish monarch
landed in the Humber with a powerful and splendid ar¬
mament ; and leaving his fleet there under the command
of his son Kund or Canute, marched his forces into Wes¬
sex, which he laid waste and subdued. Ethelred then
abandoned his palace and capital, and sought refuge in the
Isle of Wight. The burgesses of London opened their
gates to the invader, who was acknowledged as their king
by the Anglo-Saxons; and Ethelred, who had married
Emma, daughter of the Duke of Normandy, repaired for
safety to that country.
Although war was still carried on in the kingdom by
the Danes under Canute, who had succeeded to the power
of his father, and by the Anglo-Saxons under the Prince
Edmund Ironside, the result was so doubtful, that a com¬
promise was entered into by the two commanders, by which
Canute secured his power over the city of London, and was
acknowledged and received there as the lawful sovereign.
Canute, then, as master of the whole kingdom, imposed
upon his subjects a tax to pay his army, amounting to
L. 72,000, of which L. 10,500 was to be paid by London.
As far as the combined wealth and the population can be
measured by the amount of taxation, London might then
be considered as constituting one-seventh part of the whole
kingdom, and this is nearly the proportion which it has borne
from that time to the present day.
On settling the succession to the crown, after the death
of Canute in 1046, the English supported the son of King
Ethelred, or, on default of him, Hardicanute, a son of Ca¬
nute, by Queen Emma ; whilst the citizens of London es¬
poused the claims of Harold Harefoot, a son of Canute by
the Queen. Edward’s party speedily declined, and the two
half brothers remained the sole competitors. Hardicanute
repaired early to England; and an assembly, or wittena-
gemote, was convened at Oxford, consisting of all the nobles
to the north of the Thames, at which Harold was raised
to the throne. At this assembly, where nobles only were
admitted, the pilots of London, comprehending probably
those who were the chief merchants, also held a meeting,
and no important affairs were resolved upon without their
cqnsent. Some have represented this as the first instance
of London having sent members to a legislature ; whereas
it seems to have been more like an aristocratic assembly, ' *
to which chartered citizens, forming a kind of commercial ‘ '
nobility, were admitted.
After the defeat of the Saxons, at the battle of Hastings,
the city of London tendered a ready submission to Wil¬
liam the Norman, who confirmed to them the privileges
which former monarchs had bestowed, and granted addi¬
tional power by two new charters. The city was tranquil
and prosperous; but it received a severe check by a fire,
which consumed a great part of the houses in 1077; and
by another, nine years afterwards, when the new buildings,
as well as the old, were consumed together. The fire of
1086, which began near Ludgate, burned the cathedral of
St Paul’s, which, however, was soon rebuilt, with more than
its former magnificence.
During the reign of the second William, the prosperity
of the city was in some measure checked by the exactions
he enforced, but in a greater degree by several fires, some
violent hurricanes, and extensive inundations. Henry, who
succeeded, granted several immunities to the city, which
tended to increase its commerce; and he especially re¬
strained the rapacity of the Norman barons, and prohi¬
bited within the walls the insolent conduct which they had
practised to an enormous excess. The city continued to
flourish under Stephen, and his turbulent reign; though,
for his own warlike purposes, he exacted large sums of mo¬
ney. The prosperity of the city seems to have begotten
internal disorders. Many confederacies were formed, in
which some of the rich citizens engaged, to commit robbe¬
ries, and even murders, in the night time. For these the
inhabitants were made to pay a fine of five thousand pounds,
and one of the conspirators, a rich man of the name of
Senex, was hanged, though an offer of five hundred pounds
weight of silver was made to save him from the gallows.
Henry II. changed the title of portreeve for that of bai¬
liff; and that officer claimed, as a matter of right, the per¬
formance of the duty of butler at the subsequent corona¬
tion of Richard I. In 1191, the bailiff assumed, or was
granted, the title of mayor ; and the following year Henry
Fitz-Alwene, who then filled the office, issued orders in his
own name, jointly with that of the aldermen, for the pre¬
vention of fires. By this document it was commanded
that “ all houses to be erected in London hereafter, whe¬
ther in the city or in the liberties thereof, should be built of
stone, with party walls of the same ; and should be covered
either with slates or tiles, to prevent those dreadful cala¬
mities which were frequently and chiefly occasioned by
houses built with wood, and thatched with straw or reeds.”
For this purpose it was also provided by the more discreet
men of the city, that “ twelve aldermen of the city should be
chosen in full hustings, and there sworn to assist the mayor
in appeasing contentions that might arise among neigh¬
bours in the city, upon inclosure betwixt land and land,
and to regulate the dimensions of party walls, which were
to be of stone sixteen feet high and three feet thick; and
to give directions about girders, windows, gutters, and
walls.” In 1198, Richard, who placed confidence in the
wisdom and fidelity of the city of London, when resolved
to fix a standard of weights and measures for the whole
kingdom, committed to the sheriffs of London and Mid¬
dlesex the execution of his plan ; and they ware charged
to provide measures, gallows, iron rods and weights for
standards, which were to be sent to every part of the king¬
dom.
King John, who succeeded Richard, conferred addition¬
al favours on the city of London, by several charters which
were granted in his reign. He first confirmed Tomer
grants, and conferred on the citizens the privilege of en¬
tering his foreign dominions free from all tolls and taxes;
a matter of considerable advantage in the commerce with
LONDON.
Lotion
Normandy, whence wine was imported, and to which Eng¬
lish wool was exported. This was, however, an affair of
bargain, as the king was paid for the privilege one thou¬
sand pounds weight of silver. By another charter the ci¬
tizens of London had conferred on them the jurisdiction
and conservation of the river Thames, and aii additional
grant of the same right oyer the river Medway. A third
charter conveyed to the citizens the power of choosing their
sheriffs, who had before been nominated by the crown,
and also invested them with the right of shrievalty over the
county of Middlesex, and valuable fee-farm rents, of which
they had been deprived under a former reign.
Henry III. made several attempts to encroach upon those
privileges which his predecessors had conferred upon Lon¬
don ; and this conduct was productive of many serious dis¬
turbances both in London and in Westminster. They were
suppressed by violent and arbitrary measures, and at length
the whole nation was in a state of alarm, when the parlia¬
ment interposed, and induced the king to redress, or pro¬
mise to i edress, the most severe of the grievances that
were the subject of complaint; but, with respect to the
city, the charters were renewed, and the rights and privi¬
leges of the citizens confirmed. At this time the right of
using a common seal was granted. The king, however,
during his whole reign, continued to exact money from the
city.
During that long reign of fifty-six years, though the city
was sorely afflicted with two years of famine, first in 1258,
when, according to Fleetwood, many people were starved,
and again, in 1270, when, according to the same authority’
“ provisions were so scarce, that parents did eat their own
children,” and wheat was sold at a price, equivalent in our
money to thirty-six shillings the bushel; London on the
whole continued to increase, but was disgraced, if not re¬
tarded, in the progress of its foreign commerce, by the
cruelties and plunderings which were exercised towards the
Jews who had settled there.
In the reign of Edward I. the city was first divided into
twenty-four wards, each of which was then allowed to
choose common councilmen and an alderman. Under Ed¬
ward III. the city received some additions to its authority,
the most eminent of which was the perpetual right of ma¬
gisterial supremacy over the borough of Southwark. An
epidemic disease, or kind of plague, proved a calamitous
visitation to London. It first became apparent in 1348,
and was said to have been imported from the East. Its
ravages were so extensive, that it is related in the chro¬
nicles of the time that more than 50,000 persons became
its victims; and it did not altogether disappear till it had
been nine years the source of grief and anxiety.
In the year 1380 the insurrection of Wat Tyler alarmed
the city, but was soon suppressed without much difficulty.
It is stated to have been put down by the zeal of Sir
William Walworth, the lord-mayor, who stabbed the leader
of the jaquerie in Smithfield. In commemoration of this
event the dagger was added to the arms of the city.
The first illuminations in the city took place at the coro¬
nation of Henry IV., and, after the victories of Henry V.
in France, they were again repeated; from which time Lon¬
don began to be lighted at night by lanthorns.
The latter part of the reign of Henry VI. was disturbed
by insurrections in several parts of the kingdom; the chief
of which, as affected London, was that in Kent under the
guidance of John or Jack Cade. He collected a body of
20,00(1 men, and having obtained some slight success over
the Sheriff near Sevenoaks, he advanced to London, which
opened its gates to admit him, whilst the king fled to Kenil¬
worth. At first some order was preserved by Cade; but
he found himself unable to repress the riotous disposition
o his followers. All became confusion among them ; and
e eader being killed, and several of his followers execut-
487
London.
ed, the suppression of the revolt was the speedy conse-
quence. This event occurred in 1450, and it was soon fol¬
lowed by the wars between the houses of York and Lan¬
caster. In this contest, the city of London chiefly favoured
the interests of the atter family; and, after the battle of
Barnet, Edward IV. bestowed the honour of knighthood on
the mayor, the recorder, and twelve of the aldermen In
this reign occurs the first notice to be found of bricks being
used foi building London. They were burned in Moor-
helds. It was also the era in which the first printing-press
was constructed and worked by Caxton; and about the same
time, the cisterns and conduits for supplying water, in
several parts of the city and suburbs, were erected.
In the reign of Henry VII. a nondescript disease, called
the sweating sickness, generally prevailed in England, but
especially in London, where it appears that two mayors and
six aldermen, with numerous other citizens, fell victims to
ns disease. N otwithstanding the very extensive spoliations
committed on the city by the king and his favourites,
Bmpson and Dudley, some considerable improvements were
made. I he chapel at Westminster, bearing that monarch’s
name, was commenced ; the river Fleet was rendered na¬
vigable to Holborn Bridge ; and an artillery-ground for tiie
practice of archery was established.
In the reign of Henry VIII. the city successfully resisted
the attempts of that monarch to extort money without the
authority of Parliament. Many improvements were made,
to which the suppression of several of the religious houses
contributed ; nor were these much impeded by the religious
persecutions sometimes directed against Catholics, and at
others against Protestants.
In the short reign of his son Edward, London was per¬
manently benefited by the establishment of the great hos¬
pitals of Christ’s, of Bridewell, and of St Thomas’s.
Owing to the wise conduct of Elizabeth and her minis¬
ters, the prosperity of London advanced during the whole
of her reign, j he great number of intelligent and wealthy
persons who took refuge there from the cruel wars carried
on in the IS etherlands, and who were protected by the go¬
vernment, generated a spirit of industry and order amongst
all classes ; and they introduced numerous manufactures be¬
fore unknown in England, which conferred benefits upon the
wnole kingdom, and especially upon London, which was the
chief point from which the trade was carried on. She, as well
as her successor James, was averse to the great increase
t,iat was going on in houses and inhabitants in London, and
both issued unavailing proclamations to prevent its growth.
As abundant materials of that period are now extant, it
may not be uninteresting to sketch from them a short de¬
scription of the extent of metropolis which created serious
uneasiness to the government of that time, and to enable
the reader to contrast the state of the city at that period,
with the appearance which it now exhibits.
Ly some apparently correct maps of the reign of James I. p
it may be seen that the chief part of London was along the dty
Newgate Street, Cheapside, the Poultry and Cornhill, and
the various streets and alleys leading from them to the
banks of the Iliames. Except in Coleman Street and a
few scattered houses in Lothbury and Bishopsgate, all the
way lower down was garden-ground or fields. There was
an irregular street from Bishopsgate to Shoreditch Church,
with open fields behind the houses ; and Houndsditch was
a single row of houses, looking on the city walls, with open
elds belnnd them. What is now Goswell Street was then
called the St Alban’s Hoad, with a few houses. Clerken-
wen consisted chiefly of the monastery, the gardens, and
buildings which had belonged to the church; and thence
to Giay s-inn-lane was open field, with a few gardens.
110m Holborn Bridge to Red Lion Street there were houses
on both sides ; but they ceased there ; and the road to the
small village of St Giles’s had hedges on both sides, and still
LONDON.
488
London, has the addition, “ in-the-fields,” to its name. To the north-
ward and westward of this spot, all was open field, excepting
on the road to Oxford, on both sides of which were hedges
and a few trees. Tyburn was then a hamlet two miles
from London. A road proceeded from the road to Oxford,
and joined that leading to Reading, opposite to what had
been the hospital, but subsequently the palace, of St James’s.
There were a few houses near St Martin’s Church, in the
way to the garden of the convent; but Leicester Square,
Long Acre, Seven Dials, and Drury Lane were open
fields.
Along the Strand were houses on both sides, but those
to the south were chiefly palaces of the nobility, with gar¬
dens behind them extending to the river. These were in
the occupation of the peers, whose names have been given
to the streets which have been built on their stately man¬
sions, viz. Northumberland, Salisbury, Arundel, Cecil,
Norfolk, Surrey, Villiers, Buckingham, and Essex. Each
of the noble owners kept barges, with watermen in splen¬
did liveries, to convey them either to the city or to the
court at Whitehall, or to visit at Lambeth or Chelsea.
Spring-gardens were a series of walks extending to the
palace of Whitehall, whence to the Abbey there was a re¬
gular street, and a few beyond, facing the water, near the
spot on which Abingdon Street has since been built.
On the Surrey side, there were not ten houses between
Lambeth and where now is the west foot of Blackfriars’
Bridge; but from that point a row of houses was continued to
the borough. Where Christchurch now stands, was a
theatre of some kind, called Paris Gardens. It is said that
Ben Jonson was an actor on these boards. It seems to
have been most frequented on Sunday, and to this profana¬
tion its fate has been attributed. Being filled with specta¬
tors in 1582, the scaffolding fell, when a number of persons
were killed and many much injured. Below this was a large
circular building for bear and bull baiting, which attracted
great crowds, and where it has been said Queen Elizabeth
frequently attended the spectacle. Southwark then ex¬
tended but a short distance along the High Street, and
there were small scattered houses from Tooley Street to
Horsely-down.
During the reign of James, the streets were first paved
with stones. The city was. however, visited by the plague
in 1604, by which many of its inhabitants were carried off.
In the commencement of the reign of Charles L, the
metropolis was once more visited by the plague; and
though it was not of long duration, the deaths occasioned
by it were estimated to amount to near 40,000 persons. In
the civil wars of that unfortunate period, a majority of the
corporation of London, and most of the lower class of citi¬
zens, took the side of the House of Commons; and the
treasury of the city was found of great service to the party
they espoused. As long as the king maintained an army,
it was remarked by the writers of the day that no building
in the city was carried on ; but, after the battle of Leices¬
ter, the progress of erecting new houses proceeded as be¬
fore.
Plague and After the restoration of the monarchy, London began
great fire, greatly to revive ; but a serious check was given to its ad¬
vancement, first by that dreadful visitation the plague,
which first appeared in December 1664, and continued
till January 1666. The greatest number of deaths were be¬
tween May and October 1665, when the victims of this
disease increased from 500 to 8000 in a week. The effect
of this visitation, during its continuance, was to suspend all
trade, to close the exchange and the courts of law, and to
leave the houses, which had been rendered vacant by the
demise of the occupiers, a prey to bands of thoughtless
and desperate plunderers. The total number of deaths oc¬
casioned by this calamity has been estimated at 100,000, or
nearly one-third of the whole population.
A short period only intervened between this calamitous Lon,jon
visitation and another, which seemed to be a dispensation of
Providence, to cure one evil by another. On the 2d of
September 1666, a fire broke out in a lane near London
Bridge, then as now called Pudding Lane. It was on a
Sunday, when the people were repairing to the churches.
It spread with wonderful rapidity, being increased by a very
high wind ; and it is remarked by Vincent, that during the
progress of the fire, the wind frequently changed its direc¬
tion, so as to convey the inflammatory matter to parts in
which, a few minutes before, no apprehension of danger
had been entertained. The houses were mostly of wood,
and much crowded together ; water was scarce, and the at¬
mosphere dry. In every direction the fire spread; and
Evelyn, one of the most observant spectators, compares the
whole spectacle to a sea of fire. It raged four days and
nights, and in that time five-sixths of the whole city within
the walls were reduced to ashes. In the destruction, the
halls of the companies, the churches, and other public build¬
ings, though of less inflammable substances than the dwell¬
ings, fell alike a sacrifice to the devouring element. At
length the blowing up of some houses by gunpowder, de¬
priving the fire of materials to feed upon, the progress was
stopped near to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, at a place called
Pye Corner. The ruins covered a space upwards of a mile
in length, and half a mile in breadth. It would have been
difficult at that day, and is much more so at the present time,
to estimate the pecuniary loss suffered by this visitation. It
was calculated by some, but the grounds of the calculation
are unknown, that the value of buildings and goods con¬
sumed amounted to ten or twelve millions sterling. A spi¬
rit of wisdom and generosity seemed to have been created
by the magnitude of the suffering ; and the government, as
well as individuals, made wonderful exertions to administer
relief. The tents in the Tower, and the sails from the
shipping, were converted into temporary coverings for sheds
to accommodate the inhabitants. The roads were almost
choked with horses and waggons loaded with necessaries,
and the boats and barges upon the river were occupied in
the same employment. Measures were immediately adopted
to rebuild the city, and a commission was appointed, of
which Sir Christopher Wren was the most active member,
for adjusting the boundaries of the property that had been
covered with ashes, and for regulating the new streets that
were to be built. Attention was not only directed to im¬
mediate necessities, but extended to other objects; such
as rebuilding the public edifices which had been burned,
of which St Paul’s Cathedral was one.
By w hat means the number of labourers were collected,
or from what funds the money to pay their wrages was ob¬
tained, has been often the subject of very unsatisfactory in¬
quiry ; but it is certain that the city was rebuilt with a degree
of rapidity which excited the astonishment of the age that
witnessed it. The work was well conducted ; for the greater
part of the public and private buildings which now exist
were erected at that period, and are still firm and strong
after the lapse of 170 years. The city rose in about four
years, more commodious than before ; and, however the
fact may be accounted for, since that period, it has never
been visited by that tremendous disease the plague, whose
recurrence before had been so frequent and so extensively
fatal.
From the time of this reconstruction, few events are to Recon-
be noticed that affect London peculiarly. Almost all im-struct ^
portant occurrences belong rather to the history of Eng-^^don.
land than to that of its metropolis. The revocation of the
edict of Nantes in France brought to London many french
Protestant families, who introduced the manufactory of silk,
and peopled Spitalfields, and of others, who being ornamen¬
tal jewellers and goldsmiths, were first established in Long
Acre, Seven Dials, and Soho.
>
LONDON.
4Sfl
,,^,1 The continued growth of London in the reign of Queen
A'yt^Anne, induced the passing of a law in 1711 for construct-
i"! ing fifty new' churches, for which a provision was made
by a tax on all coals brought into the river Thames. The
str streets were first generally lighted at night. The several
P* parishes were provided with fire-engines and buckets, and
measures were instituted for watching the city. In the same
reign, Clerkenwell, Old Street, the lower part of Shore-
: ditch, Marlborough Street, Soho, Bedford Row, Red Lion
Sf Square, and a district north of Holborn, were added to the
^ city.
In the reign of George I. some, but not great, additions
fE were made to London, chiefly to the north of Oxford Street,
to about Marylebone, and Berkeley Square.
Although the increase of London proceeded, it was at a
® languid pace, compared with what has been more recently
^ exhibited, throughout the whole reign of George II. New
* parishes were erected, viz. St George’s, Bloomsbury; St
to Ann’s, Limehouse ; St Paul’s, Deptford; and St Mathew’s,
^ Bethnal Green. The river Fleet was covered with an arch,
and a market built upon it; Grosvenor Square was built,
^ and also Westminster Bridge, with its appendage Great
^ George Street. Roads were also formed in several direc-
® tions, the chief of which was that from Paddington to Isling-
a ton, surrounding the northern part of the city.
The accession of George III. was followed by the peace
: ‘ of Paris in the year 176B, and that event gave a fresh sti-
■■ mulus to improvement and extension. A new bridge was
a built at Blackfriars, with handsome streets leading to it, and
? a great number of new dwellings were erected on the Sur-
■J rey side of the river. On the north-west side the parishes
: I of Pancras and Marylebone were formed. It was at the
® same period that the excellent pavement forming the foot-
® path for passengers was first laid down, and the kennels re-
w moved from the middle of the streets to the two sides of
® them. Most of the houses had large signs suspended across
« die street, which darkened them, and prevented the cir-
to culation of air. These were removed by law, and as they
tn were used for distinguishing the several houses, the practice
to of' fixing a number to each house was introduced. About
cs the same time the names of the streets, lanes, and squares
er( were ordered to be marked at each corner. During the
irl] early part of that reign, the complaints of the Spitalfields
eai weavers, and the agitation created by Wilkes, with the war
to with America that succeeded these grumbling times, seem
li to have given a temporary check to extension, as only So-
en merset House and Manchester Square, with some parochial
iap chapels in Marylebone, date their commencement in that
tie series of years. The disgraceful riots of the year 1780,
lei when, for a few days, a contemptible mob destroyed the pri¬
es sons and several other buildings, may also have had a ten-
nc iency to impede improvements, which continued to pro-
ed ;eed with slow steps, even after the peace of 1783, till the
ce recession of Mr Pitt to a firm seat at the head of the Mi-
str nistry. Whether that minister was the cause of the im-
ov orovements which followed, is not a question to be discussed
ire here, but from this period the advance became more rapid,
(1 md has never slackened from that to the present day ; but,
tl )n the contrary, has been constantly proceeding with ac¬
ta celerated force. The advance had its chief source in the
Vi power communicated by the rise of the funds in a short
rk period from fifty to eighty-five; w hich supplied a spare ca¬
pital for the construction of docks, by which the commerce
of the city was rapidly augmented, and the ground near the
water side covered with numerous and convenient struc¬
tures.
The trade which enriched the eastern part of the me¬
tropolis extended its influence, and displayed its effects, in
the western parts. Bedford Square, Russell Square, Bruns¬
wick Square, and the well-built streets contiguous to them,
have their origin at the period we refer to, and became the
habitations of persons, who, by property acquired in com¬
merce, were enabled to spend the latter portion of each
day in more elegant quarters than the city offered ; though,
at that time, the handsome square of Finsbury had been
formed, with many good streets in its vicinity.
The accession of George IV. to the regency in 1812,
followed by those glorious victories which led to peace two
years afterwards, must be viewed as an era from which to
date the commencement of that rapid advance in extent, in
elegance of design, and in excellence of workmanship which
London now displays, and which is rapidly proceeding.
In the description of this vast city the first object is the
population, its numbers, and gradual augmentation. Like
the rest of England, the number of inhabitants in London
was a subject of controversy, till the first census of the
whole kingdom taken in the year 1801, was produced to the
public by the indefatigable and accurate labours of Mr
Rickman, under the sanction of an act of Parliament. As
the facts ascertained by him at that period have been con¬
firmed by the three subsequent decennial census of 1811,
1821, and 1831, no doubt can be entertained of their com¬
plete accuracy.
Mr Rickman in a kind of summary of population in the
limits he assumes, and very properly, as those of the me¬
tropolis, makes it in the year 1700 to have been 674,000,
in the year 1801 to amount to 1,031,500, in 1811 to
1,220,200, in 1821 to 1,481,500, and in 1831 to 1,776,556.
As by the successive enumerations, it is clear that the inha¬
bitants have gone on increasing at the rate of twenty per
cent, in ten years (and there is no reason to suppose it has
proceeded at a slower rate in the last four years), we may add
eight per cent, to the population of 1831, and assume that
at the present time (April 1835), it amounts to 1,918,680.
The limits to which this enumeration refers, is to all
those parishes the churches of which are situated within
eight English miles in a straight line from St Paul’s, adding
a twenty-fifth part in each instance as a moderate allowance
for the great number of British seamen belonging to the
registered shipping at anchor in the Thames, for soldiers
quartered in the Tower and in other barracks, or for the
transitory population continually arriving and departing so
irregularly as to escape all enumeration.
In giving the population of the metropolis, we shall state
that of the city within the walls in a condensed form, not
enumerating each parish, of which some have not 100 inha¬
bitants ; but in the city without the walls, where the pa¬
rishes are more populous, in Westminster, and in the out-
parishes, wre shall name each, with their population at every
decennial census.
The city within the walls contains 97 parishes, with a
church to each; and the population amounted, in 1801, to
75,377; in 1821, 56,174; in 1831, to 55,778.
London.
Popula¬
tion.
V(
3 Q
VOL. Xiu.
LONDON.
The following are the parishes without the walls.
bt Andrew’s, Holborn, with Barnard’s Inn,
St Bartholomew the Great,
St Bartholomew the Less,
St Botolph without Aldersgate,
St Botolph, Aldgate, ....
St Botolph without Bishopsgate,
St Bride’s or Bridget’s, .....
Bridewell Hospital, with extra parochial precinct,
St Dunstan in the West,
St Giles’ without Cripplegate,
St Sepulchre without Newgate,
Trinity in the Minories,
White Friars’ precinct, ....
1801.
5,548
2,645
951
4,161
8,686
10,314
7,078
453
3,021
11,446
8,092
644
783
64,486
1811.
5,741
2,769
843
4,135
8,297
9,184
7,003
459
3,239
11,704
8,724
602
926
64,228
1821.
6,234
2,931
823
4,003
9,067
10,140
7,288
444
3,549
13,038
8,271
680
1,247
68,395
City of Westminster, in ten parishes.
St Anne, Soho,
St Clement’s Danes,
St George’s, Hanover Square,
St James’s, .
St John’s,
St Margaret’s,
St Martin’s in the Fields,
St Mary le Strand,
Duchy Lancaster, .
St Paul’s, Covent-Garden,
Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter,
Savoy precinct St John Baptist,
Verge of the palaces of St James’s and of Whitehall*
1801.
11,637
8,717
38,440
34,462
8,375
17,508
25,752
1,704
474
4,922
320
1,685
153,996
1811.
12,288
9,796
41,687
34,093
10,615
18,680
26,585
1,578
443
5,304
175
287
182
161,713
1821.
15,215
10,753
46,384
33,819
16,835
22,387
28,252
1,784
489
5,834
181
222
641
182,796
1831.
5,570
2,923
863
3,994
9,615
10,025
6,860
360
3,443
13,134
7,710
508
1,302
66,815
1831.
15,600
11,578
58,209
37,053
22,648
25,314
23,970
2,052
410
5,203
185
431
238
202,891
Parishes m Southwark, described by the bills of mortality as parts of the city without the walls.
St George’s,
St John’s,
St Olave,
St Saviour’s,
St Thomas’s,
1801.
22,293
8,892
7,846
15,596
2,078
56,705
1811.
27,967
8,370
7,917
15,349
1,586
1821.
36,368
9,163
8,420
16,808
1,807
61,189
72,566
1831.
39,769
9,871
8,694
18,006
1,456
77,796
Parishes described in the bills of mortality as “ Out parishes in Middlesex and Surrey.”
Christchurch, Surrey, ....
Christchurch, Spitalfields, ..!*.!
St Dunstan’s at Stepney,
St George’s in Bloomsbury, united with St Giles’ in 1
the Fields, r
St George’s in the East . . . ’ J
Carry over,
1801.
9,933
15,091
25,260
36,502
21,170
107,956
1811.
11,050
16,200
35,199
48,536
26,917
137,902
13,339
18,650
49,163
51,793
32,528
13,705
17,949
67,872
52,907
38,505
165,473 190,938
:
LONDON.
St George’s by Queen Square
St Giles’ in the Fields, .
St James’s, Clerkenwell,
St John’s, Clerkenwell,
St John’s, Hackney,
St John’s, Wapping,
St Katherine’s, Tower, .
St Leonard’s, Shoreditch,
St Luke’s, Middlesex,
St Mary’s, Islington,
St Mary’s, Lambeth,
St Mary’s, Bermondsey,
St Mary’s, Newington, .
St Mary’s, Rotherhithe,
St Mary’s, Whitechapel,
St Paul’s, Shadwell,
Brought forward,
1801.
107,956
23,396
12,730
5,889
2,652
34,766
26,881
10,212
27,939
17,169
14,847
10,296
23.666
8,828
337,227
1811.
137,902
30,537
16,771
3,313
2,706
43,930
32,545
15,065
41,644
19,530
23,853
12,114
27,587
9,855
417,352
1821.
165,473
39,105
22,494
3,078
2,624
52,966
40,876
22,417
57,638
25,635
33,047
12,523
29,407
9,557
516,440
1831.
190,938
47,634
31,047
3,564
72
68,564
46,642
37,316
87,856
29,741
44,526
12,875
30,733
9,544
641,052
491
London.
B
on
r«
w
ik
K
!ca
:cn
itli
m
0
ini
!3<
lat
idi
111!
at
lie
OSf
i
an
ies
irr
fei
»,
th
in
irl
in
N
ioi
The following parishes are in contact with the metropolis, and are necessarily the portions in which its greatest ex¬
tension has of late years been made, and in which the future greatest increase of houses and inhabitants mu** also
take place.
Chelsea,
Kensington,
Marylebone,
Paddington,
Pancras, .
1801.
11,604
8,556
63,982
1,881
31,779
117,802
1811.
18,262
10,886
75,624
, 4,609
46,333
155,714
1821.
26,860
14,428
96,040
6,476
71,838
215,642
1831.
32,371
20,902
122,206
14,540
103,548
293,567
Besides the portions formerly called London, the exten¬
sion of its limits upon every side has caused junctions be¬
tween the metropolis and many large villages, which are
now scarcely to be distinguished from, and in fact form
suburbs to it, and rapidly increase with it. They are now
as much a part of London as Paddington or Marylebone,
because the people who inhabit the houses have their chief
occupations in the metropolis, and are thence supplied
with most of the necessaries they consume. The calcula¬
tion before noticed was made by Mr Rickman, to shew the
contrast between the population of London and that of Pa¬
ris, and comprehended a circle of eight miles around St
Paul’s; but since the publication of his reports, the law of
1834 has extended the criminal circuit of London some¬
what farther, and included in it not only the villages in
Middlesex whose prisoners were always tried at the Ses¬
sions at the Old Bailey, but has brought within the limits of
that court, towns and villages in Essex, Surrey, and Kent.
The places forming, in this view, a part of London, besides
those included in the population already stated, are these:
in Middlesex, Tottenham, Edmonton, Hornsey, Highgate,
Hampstead, Hayes, Hendon, Wilsden, Brentford, Acton,
Cheswick, Isleworth and Fulham, with Hammersmith; in
Surrey, Battersea, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Clapham,
ktreatham, Barnes, Putney, Tooting, Wandsworth, Mer-
'on, Mortlake, Kew, Wimbledon, and Richmond ; in Kent,
hltham, Charlton, Lee, Lewesham, Greenwich, Woolwich,
I’hunstead, and Deptford; and in the county of Essex,
harking, East Ham, West Ham, Ilford, Low Layton, Wal-
hamstow, Wanstead, Chingford, and Woodford.
I Not to occupy too much space, the growth of the popu-
ation of these places must be omitted; but the number of
inhabitants at the census of 1831 is extracted, and stands
thus: In the places within the county of Middlesex, as
above mentioned, 70,458 ; in the county of Surrey 124 185 •
m the county of Kent, 79,971 ; and in Essex, 33,769- be¬
ing together 308,389. ’ ’
The whole population of the metropolis in May 1831
may thus be enumerated: 
City within the walls, .
City without the walls, .
City of Westminster, ....
Borough of Southwark, . . . ]
Out-parishes in the bills of mortality,
Parishes not in the bills of mortality,
Other places within the new judicial circle,
1,646,288
As the limits here assigned to the metropolis are different
from those assumed by Mr Rickman, the result of the num¬
bers necessarily varies without any incorrectness in either
i epresentation, each of which is taken from the same ascer¬
tained facts. Mr Rickman, as has been before remarked,
has very judiciously added to the number of persons, as col¬
lected from house to house in the metropolis, one twenty-
nfth part for seamen, military, and temporary residents;
which, considering the great number on board the ships,
seems not too much. Following the same rule, and adding
that proportion to the number before stated, we conclude
that the sum total of the population in 1831 was 1,704,830 ;
and, allowing for the same rate of augmentation of two
per cent, per annum, similar to what has appeared by the
accounts of former periods, we arrive at a conclusion ap-
202,891
77,796
641,052
293,567
308.38Q
492
LONDON.
London, proximating as nearly to accuracy as the nature of the mat-
v y ter will admit, that, in June 1835, the metropolis as here
defined contained 1,838,490 souls.
Situation London was founded in a situation peculiarly favourable
o .on on-for a large city. It stands on the banks of a fresh-water river,
but yet is operated upon by the tides. The natural soil is
composed of gravel and clay, with slight mixtures of loam
and clay, a soil easy to be made productive by addition of
that animal and vegetable matter which are exuviae of
large towns. In every part there are abundant springs of
pure water. The valley of the Thames has an immediate
gradual ascent on the north side ; and on the south side the
range of hills is not more than two miles distant, and the
intervening flat land has by embankments been well se¬
cured against inundations. The air is temperate and rather
dry than moist, and the health of the inhabitants has gra¬
dually but rapidly improved from the beginning of the
last century, when the deaths were annually one in twenty
ot the whole population, whereas at present they are about
one in forty.
Thames. The existence, the growth, and the prosperity of Lon¬
don have all been so indebted to its situation on the river
Thames, that any description of that city would be imper¬
fect which did not dedicate a portion of it to what relates
to that noble stream.
I he source of the Thames is just within the borders of
Gloucestershire, a little to the south-west of Cirencester; and
after crossing a small angle of Wiltshire, it again enters
that county, and proceeds to Lechlade. At that place it is
brought into connexion with the river Severn by means of
a navigable canal, which passes through a tunnel under
the park of Lord Bathurst, and then proceeds by Stroud to
the river which passes Shrewsbury, \\ orcester, Gloucester,
and Bristol. This was the first communication which was
formed between the two greatest of the English rivers.
Bold and public spirited as this attempt was, those who
have expended their money and their attention on it have
reason to regret the inq^lequate compensation which they
have received or are likely to receive.
The Thames becomes first navigable at Lechlade, and
by means of locks carries long barges of about seventy tons
burden; but the navigation is long and expensive. In
summer, when the water is low, it is necessary to pen it up
at the locks till a sufficient body is accumulated. When
they are opened, the rush carries them down till they get
aground, when they must wait for the next flash, as it is
locally called, to carry them forward. In winter it often
happens that the water is so swollen as not to admit the
barges, whose cargo is piled up high, to pass under the
arches of the bridges. Though the barges descend by the
current, they must be drawn upwards by horses against
the stream, which is very expensive, as, after heavy rains,
it is not unusual to see fifteen or sixteen horses drawing a
single barge, and with the greater difficulty from the towing
paths being at such times covered with water. The Thames
proceeds along its rich, but in places contracted, valley, till
it arrives at Oxford, where it is joined by the Isis, a short
but at times copious stream, rising near lylesbury in Buck¬
inghamshire. From additional quantity of water the barges
that navigate from Oxford to London are of a greater bur-
den than those which are used on the more western por¬
tion of the stream. 1
At Reading the river Kennet empties its water into the
names. I hat river is navigable upwards to Newbury,
whence a canal connects it with the Avon, which passes
to Bath and Bristol; and thus another line of communi¬
cation is formed between the two great streams the Thames
and Severn. Near Stains the river Coin adds its water
to that of the now great stream. A few miles lower the
VVey joins it, and by a canal from that stream to Basing¬
stoke, a water intercourse is formed with Winchester and
Southampton. At Brentford a communication by a cut:-
made into the Grand Junction Canal; and the ThairJ5
proceeds to London with no addition to its water exce f
from the river Wandle on the Surrey side, and some small
brooks on both sides. The effect of the tide is felt as hieh
up as Kingston, and sometimes even at Teddington. Th
rise of the tide just below London Bridge is eighteen feet
by which vessels of three hundred and fifty tons drawing
sixteen feet water can approach to the Custom-house. At
Deptford the rise is more than twenty feet, by which the
largest India ship drawing twenty-three feet water mav
come to that place. The river continues fresh as low as
Woolwich, and even there it is only brackish at high-water
in spring-tides. The river above London flows generally
over a gravelly or clayey bottom, which gives growth to
abundance of weeds, that afford shelter to vast multitudes
of fish, and protects them for the illegal fisherman more
than the care of the water-bailiff. The length of the course
of the river, from the time it becomes navigable at Lech
lade, till it reaches London, is 138 miles. As the corpora¬
tion of the city are the conservators of the river, they ap¬
point a navigation committee, who have the superintendence
of the towing-paths, the bridges, the water-courses, and
whatever relates to the river, as high as a stone marking
the city boundaries a little above the bridge at Staines.
Above that place the supervision is divided between the
city and a body corporate, which is chiefly composed of the
land-owners on both sides of the river.
The conservation of the river Thames below London is
also in some measure under the government of the cor¬
poration of the city, and extends up the Medway to Ro¬
chester ; but the corporation of the Elder Brethren of the
Trinity House have a concurrent jurisdiction. The city
has the protection of the fishery, but the soil of the river
to the main sea is vested in the Trinity House, for the be¬
nefit of poor and decayed seamen, their wives, widows and
orphans, and no ballast can be raised for any ship without
its authority, under^ very heavy penalties. The appoint¬
ment and control of pilots, the erection and repairing of
marks on the^ land, the placing and keeping in order the
buoys which indicate the channels, and the establishment
of floating lights, are under the superintendence of the
Trinity House. As there are numerous shoals in the river,
and some of them often shift their position, a great deal
of vigilance is required, as well as practical nautical know¬
ledge, to perform these important duties ; and the legisla¬
ture has placed the shipping of the port of London under
the direction of harbour-masters nominated by the corpo¬
ration and approved by the Trinity House, who direct the
mooring of all vessels excepting within 200 yards of the
docks, which space is under the control of the dock-mas¬
ters. In the river Thames, the time of the tides flowing,
and the perpendicular height to which it reaches at the
full and the change of the moon, are as follow: At Lon¬
don, at Ilf, it rises 18 feet; at Woolwich it is high water
at Ilf, at Purfleet at If, at Gravesend at If, at Holy
Haven at 12f, at the Nore I2f ; the rise at Purfleet is 17
feet, at Holy Haven 15, and at the Nore 14; but allow¬
ance must be made for the wind, which when high great¬
ly affects the tide.
The tide at the mouth of the Thames is thus full more
than two hours before it is high water at London Bridge,
and after it flows there, it rises in height upwards for
half an hour, in the middle of the river, although the wa¬
ter may have fallen a foot in height, having an eddy cur¬
rent on one or both sides the stream. In like manner, it
rises one foot in height before the flood appears to run up.
Owingtothe numerous, and sometimes opposite, directions Navi?1'05
which the river takes, the change of its currents accord-of the
ing to the state of the tide, and the various shoals in manyr'Ter'
parts, the navigation is intricate and difficult, and the river-
*
iximii- pilots are a distinct class of men from the sea-pilots ; the
ff* former conducting vessels to Gravesend, and the latter tak¬
ing charge of them to the Downs, or even to Portsmouth,
if they are bound to that place.
Before the introduction of steam-vessels, and the appli¬
cation of them to the purpose of towing ships, it frequently
happened to large loaded vessels ready for sea, whilst an
easterly wind blew which would be favourable if they were
at sea, that they could not safely descend the river to take
advantage of it. It was too dangerous for such large ves¬
sels to attempt to drop down with the ebb tide, and im¬
possible to turn to windward against the flood tide ; but
now steamers can take them in tow and carry them with¬
out risk to the part where they can avail themselves of the
propitious breeze.
As the mouth of the Thames, like that of other great rivers,
is filled with sand brought down by the constant current
of the water, through which banks the water makes its
way by channels of greater or less capacity, it is necessary
that such channels should be clearly pointed out either by
buoys or lights. At the mouth of the Thames, these in¬
dications of the channels are numerous, accurately placed,
and so distinguished that each can be easily known. The
buoys are chiefly to be distinguished by their colour, with
due regard to their position or bearing from some object
upon the land. They are securely moored, but turn with
the tide. Those upon the several channels are well known
to the pilots, and their enumeration here would be of no
use, as no vessels attempt the passage in or out without a
pilot on board. The lights are fewer, and deserve notice.
At the Nore, where the Thames is about nine miles from
shore to shore, one of the great channels through the sand¬
banks begins ; a light vessel is placed in the room of a for¬
mer one which was removed in 1825. The old vessel had
two lights, but the present has only one, though of great
brilliancy. At the sunk sand there is a floating light, which
is an excellent guide for the King’s Channel; this is only
four miles from Harwich lighthouses, for there are two of
different heights, which must be kept in a line in going
through the channel to that place. There are two towers
with a light in each at the same height, but one of these
towers was in 1818 raised forty feet above its lightroom,
in order to serve as a day-mark.
On the north passage through the sands, there is a great
shoal called the Galloper, extending about four miles in
length and being half a mile wide, with only six or seven
feet water at low tide. Ever since the year 1804, a ves¬
sel has been moored at the south-west end of the sand, in
which two lights are exhibited horizontally, from sunset to
sunrise. This may be readily distinguished from the Sunk
and the Goodwin lights, as the former exhibits but one
and the latter three lights.
I here is a lofty lighthouse on the north Foreland, which
is an ancient erection of great importance to ships coming
in from sea, by which a ledge of rocks which stretch two-
thirds of a mile northward from that point, may be avoid¬
ed. On the pier-head of Ramsgate a light is placed, the
principal object of which is to serve as a guide to the harbour.
As the lights from the windows of the town were liable to
be taken for this, shades of red glass have been affixed, so
as to produce a clear red light easily distinguishable.
I he floating light of the Goodwin is intended chiefly for
the benefit of vessels arriving from the northward, which, if
possible, keep to the eastward of it. In order to distin¬
guish this from the lights on the two Forelands, three dis¬
tinct lights are exhibited from the vessel, which is with
one mast and a yard crossing it securely moored. The
middle of these three lights is considerably higher than
those at the two extremes, thus forming an erect triangle
not easily mistaken. In foggy or hazy weather, a bell is
kept constantly ringing on board, to warn ships that they
LONDON.
are near the north end of the sand. On board this vessel,
thus kept continually in motion, the small crew is frequent'
ly for a long time completely cut off from all intercourse
with the shore. On the south Foreland there are one or
two lighthouses, but these scarcely belong to the mouth of
the Thames, being placed chiefly with a view to prevent
vessels from running on the Goodwin sands.
Complaints, as the commerce of London increased, be- Docks,
came very frequent, of the crowded state of the river, of
the delay and difficulty of procuring good berths for ships,
and of the want of accommodation for discharging car¬
goes, owing to the scarcity or the distance of commodious
warehouses. These complaints called the attention of the
merchants and ship-owners, and at length that of the go¬
vernment, to the subject. There were many difficulties to
be surmounted, arising from the vested rights of the corpo¬
ration, and of private individuals who had property in the
mooring chains, in the legal quays, the suffrance wharfs,
the upland warehouses, and in lighters or other craft, all
of which would be injured by the construction of docks.
Mr Pitt, then minister, applied all the powers of his mind
to the subject in the committee of the House of Commons ;
and at length, after seven years’ agitation, and with ample
compensation to the sufferers, the law was put in force by
the commencement of the West India Docks, in February
1800, and by their being opened for the reception of ships
in August 1802.
These, the first establishment of the kind in London, w r
''’ere formed in the gorge of an isthmus called the Isle ofdia Dock's.
Dogs, on the Middlesex side of the river. They comprised
at first an import and an export dock, each communicating
with one basin of five or six acres in extent, with the main
river at Blackwall, and another of two acres at the other
end near Limehouse ; and parallel to these was construct¬
ed the city canal, which having been rendered useless by
the application of steam-vessels to tow ships, has been re¬
cently also formed into a dock, and contains nineteen acres,
now used as a depot for bonded timber.
1 he export dock, where eastward-bound ships are load¬
ed, is the smaller of the two, being about twenty-five acres
in extent. The import dock is of the same length, but thirty
feet wider, and occupies thirty acres of ground. The locks
by which admission to both is gained, are forty-five feet
wide, and consequently admit vessels of 1200 tons burden.
At the highest spring-tides the water is twenty-four feet
deep; and there is within the docks sufficient space for
600 vessels of from 250 to 600 tons burden. A great be¬
nefit has been gained, both by the revenue and the traders,
by the separation of the import from the export dock.
1 hey are parallel to each other, but are divided by stacks
of warehouses, the chief commodities in which are rum,
brandy, and other spiritous liquors. There are sheds on
the side of the export dock, which afford shelter for goods
sent for exportation. The chief warehouses for import
goods are on the quays which bound that inclosure. They
are admirably contrived for the reception, preservation, and
delivery of goods, and are capable of storing 170,000 hhds.
of sugar, besides coffee and other tropical productions.
The whole space occupied by these docks and ware¬
houses extends over 295 acres. It is inclosed on every
side; all the buildings are fire-proof; and the premises are
well guarded by watchmen, so that the system of pilfering,
formerly practised to a great extent on the river, is com¬
pletely abolished. The carts or waggons which convey
goods to town are loaded from the backs of the warehouses,
without entering the dock-gates. The capital of the
company which built and now superintend the docks is
L. 1,380,000, raised by subscriptions at different times.
The proprietors were limited to ten per cent, interest, and
if the income amounted to more, the tolls and storage were
to be reduced in price. This establishment had the mo-
494
London, nopoly of the West India trade during the first twenty
^ years after their construction. At that time they accumu¬
lated a sum which in 1819 induced them to lower their
rates. But of late, from the competition of other compa¬
nies, though their profits did not reach ten per cent., they
have been induced to diminish the rates. The dividend
now scarcely exceeds five per cent.
The nearest end of these docks is at Limehouse, three
miles from the Royal Exchange, and the other end at Black-
wall is half a mile farther. The expense of cartage, though
the road is excellently paved, is therefore greater than from
the docks which have been subsequently constructed, and it
is doubtful if the benefit to the shipping by not proceeding
so high up the river is an adequate compensation.
Some admirable contrivances have been recently adopted,
by which the great body of water in the docks is kept al¬
ways sweet, and by which the constant deposit of mud
from the water of the river is carried away gradually.
London The docks which next followed the West India in their
Bocks. construction are the London Docks, situated between Rat¬
cliff Highway and the Thames. They were begun in June
1802, and opened for the admission of vessels in January
1805. They were originally planned chiefly to receive
ships and their cargoes loaded with tobacco, wine, brandy,
and rice. They consist of two docks of unequal extent; the
western covering a space of twenty acres, and the eastern
of about seven acres. The latter is entered through a
small basin from Shadwell, and the former has two through
their basins, the one between Wapping Old Stairs and Bell
Dock, and the other at the Hermitage. The whole can com-
modiously receive 500 vessels of from 200 to 800 tons
burden. The warehouses are very magnificent; the most
extraordinary is that for bonded tobacco. The roof and
pillars which support it are of iron, and the whole building
covers five acres of land, and is capable of containing
24,000 hogsheads of that commodity. There is another
warehouse for tobacco, but of smaller dimensions. The
vaults under these and the other warehouses are in extent
more than eighteen acres, and have space to store 66,000
pipes of wine or spirits. This company, like that of the
West India Docks, had a monopoly for twenty-one years,
which expired in 1826; by this all vessels loaded with wine,
brandy, tobacco, and rice were bound to discharge their
cargoes on their premises.
The company is governed by a directory, of whom the
Lord Mayor and a certain number of aldermen form part.
Their capital was L. 3,328,000; and besides that, as they
had to pay for 1300 houses, which were taken down to
make room for the operations, they were compelled to bor¬
row L. 700,000. This great expenditure, and the rivalry of
other similar associations, which have reduced the rates of
tolls and storage, have of late only enabled the company
to pay two and a half per cent, interest to the proprietors.
The regulations to prevent fire and pilfering are as ef¬
fectual in those as in the West India Docks. The whole
consists of seventy-one acres, and is walled, and the hours
for admission and for working are the same as in the other
docks.
East In- The East India Docks followed those of London. The
dia Bocks, commencement of the work took place in 1803, and its com¬
pletion in 1806. They are at Blackwall, and designed for
the trade of the East India Company. They consist of an
import basin of eighteen acres, and of an export basin of
about nine acres, with an entrance basin of 2| acres. As
they were constructed to receive ships of great burden, the
length of the entrance lock is 210, and the depths of the
gates forty-eight feet, and there is never less than twenty-
three feet of water. The extent of warehouse-room is
small, as most of the commodities unloaded here are car¬
ried immediately to the Company’s warehouses in the dif¬
ferent parts of London. The tea and the more valuable
DON.
goods are conveyed in covered waggons, secured by locks. Ly
along the Commercial Road, which has been constructed' 
to communicate with these and the other docks. The ca¬
pital of the Company is L. 500,000, paying a dividend of
four per cent. The directors of the Company have the
chief management, and the ships are loaded and discharged
by their servants, not by the crews ; and the regulations to
prevent fire and plunder are of the strictest kind.
St Katharme s Docks, the last that have been construct-St K j
ed, are situated between the London Docks and the Tower. meT”’
Though a great work, it was executed within a year and aD°ds.
half, and first opened in October 1828. The whole ex¬
tent of the property is twenty-four acres, of which nearly
one-half is included in the two docks, communicating by a
basin between them. The entrance is near Irongate, where
the lock from the river is 180 feet long, and 45 feet broad,
and is so constructed as to admit ships of 200 tons burden
to pass out three hours before high water, so as to enable
them to reach Blackwall before the ebb of the tide begins.
Ships of 800 tons burden can be conveniently received into
these docks, as the water at the entrance is deeper than at
any of the other docks, and they can enter or depart by
night as well as by day ; and vessels drawing eighteen feet
water may be afloat at a buoy opposite the gates at low
water. The two divisions are estimated to be capable of re¬
ceiving annually about 1400 merchant vessels. The ware¬
houses are very large and commodious, and, being partly
erected upon pillars close to the water, goods are craned up
to them direct from the hold of the discharging vessel, at a
diminished expense of time and labour, whilst the space is
also thereby economised. The whole work has been exe¬
cuted with great skill, taste, and judgment, and its situation
being within a quarter of an hour’s walk from the Royal
Exchange and the Custom House, is a very great accom¬
modation.
v The expense of this concern has been very great for its
extent, arising chiefly from the number of houses which re¬
quired to be purchased and pulled down, to make way for
the excavation. The capital originally raised was L. 1,3 50,000,
since which L. 800,000 have been borrowed on the security
of the tolls, for the completion of the works, and the pur¬
chase of land, possessing river frontage, from the Tower to
the corner of Lower East Smithfield. This, which cost
more than L. 100,000, has been recently made applicable
to the erection of a wharf, at which steam-vessels can take
in or land passengers without the inconvenience of embark¬
ing by means of wherries. The regulations of this dock
and the charges are similar to those of the other.
On the right bank of the Thames, extending along theCommer.
side of the river at Limehouse, reaching from Dog andcialDwk
Duck Stairs to near Cuckold’s Point, and terminating near¬
ly opposite to the entrance of the West India Docks, are
the Commercial Docks, and parallel to it the Surrey Canal.
The Docks are of great extent, inclosing within walls for¬
ty-nine acres, of which thirty-eight are water. They were
designed to receive vessels loaded with timber, corn, and
other commodities which are more bulky than costly. The
warehouses are neither extensive nor commodious, and their
establishments not so constructed as to entitle them to be¬
come bonding warehouses for many kinds of goods. They
are entered by a basin near Dog-and-Duck Stairs, which
is sometimes called the East-Country Docks, and the main
body of the water within is divided into three unequal
parts. The Surrey Canal consists of an inner and outer
dock at its entrance, in which ships are received; but at
present it is chiefly used for the reception of vessels offered
for sale. There is a communication by it with the Croy¬
don Canal. As the ships employed in foreign or colonial
commerce generally enter these docks to discharge or take
in their cargoes, there is room left in the river Thames for
the coasting trade, including that with Ireland and Scot¬
ia ON
t
a
m
2:
rade :
1,1 -indo:
y
i
LONDON.
L/OTK»l'
land. Of these the greater portion are such as are loaded
''with coal from the northern counties, which are allowed
to anchor in what is called the Pool, a part of the river
extending from the Custom House to the entrance of the
Regent’s Canal, near Limehouse. In this part, 210 ves¬
sels may anchor at one time ; but the average number of
them does not exceed 180, though about 7000 ship-loads
of coals are annually discharged.
As the Regent’s Canal terminates near the London and
the West India Docks, it may be appropriately noticed in
this place. The chief object of this work was to save the
expense of cartage through London of those articles brought
by sea and afterwards forwarded for consumption to the
distant parts of the metropolis in the north-west division,
and to communicate there with the Grand Junction Canal!
It therefore passes in a circular course round London from
Paddington on the west to Limehouse on the east. It
passes by a tunnel under Maida Hill to the Regent’s Park,
and from thence to Islington, under the street of which it is
carried through a tunnel about three quarters of a mile in
length, where there is a large basin. It then proceeds toHox-
ton, Hackney, and Limehouse. It is nine miles in length,
and has twelve locks so admirably contrived, and so large,
that barges eighty-three feet long and fourteen wide can
pass and not occupy more than three and a half minutes in
passing. It has much trade in coals, and some in convey-
ing goods from London to be sent to the northern parts of
the kingdom. It has been found a very expensive work,
and, whatever may hereafter be its increase of trade, does
not at present pay more than fifteen shillings interest on
21,400 shares of L.100 each.
It would serve to give some idea of the trade of London
in general, and the utility of the docks as subservient to it,
if our limits would allow of an enumeration of the names
495
and the quantities of all the commodities under the king’s London.
locks in the several bonding warehouses of the port. We v—
have only room to notice some of the most prominent.
Account of some articles in bond in London the oth January
1833.
Wheat,
Barley,
Oats,
Wheat flour,
Number of Canes for walking,
Gum lac,
Pimento,
Number of goose quills,
Silk, raw and thrown,
Rum,
Brandy,
Gin, ....
Tobacco, unmanufactured,
Ditto, manufactured,
Wine, Cape,
French,
Canary,
Madeira,
Portugal,
Rhenish,
Spanish,
not described,
Tallow, .
Tea,
Cotton wool,
Pepper,
Sheep’s wool,
Indigo,
260,384 qrs.
7,908 ...
42,290 ...
123,346 cwt.
5,254,421
1,989,228 lbs.
1,181,855 ...
14,822,900
2,006,079 lbs.
2,682,270 gals.
738,929 ...
27,489 ...
22,694,725 lbs.
229,765 ...
322,769 gals.
380,843 ...
87,355 ...
376,171 ...
1,442,869 ...
40,452 ...
2,111,329 ...
142 897 ...
813,821 cwts.
49,617,300 lbs.
8,411,252 ...
9,903,109 ...
3,063,762 ...
8,843,407
A^clou^\°f theNum[er and Tonnage of Ships that have entered the Port of London with carqoes from foreian
parts, distinguishing the countries from whence they have arrived, in the years 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833fund 1834/
Countries.
Russia,
Sweden,
Norway,
Denmark,
Prussia,
German States,
Netherlands,
France,
P ortugal, Azores, and M
deira,
Spain and Canaries,
Italian States,
Ionian Islands,
lurkey and Continental
Greece,
Morea and Greek Island
Egypt,
Tripoli, Barbary, and Mo
rocco,
Foreign Asia,
China,
United States of Americ
Foreign West Indies,
Foreign Continental Co
lonies in America,
1830.
Ships.
505
91
91
203
530
419
725
259
280
270
132
18
47
4
6
10
12
22
66
41
84
Tonnage.
113,919
17,921
30,493
17,866
94,726
63,424
77,555
28.231
26,999
30,100
18,931
2,535
6,781
562
4,509
960
4,406
27,782
22,485
8,341
15,815
1831.
Ships.
692
106
138
222
402
380
686
403
353
372
193
31
72
10
15
12
9
21
114
48
106
Tonnage.
147,250
24,482
40,510
21,490
82,891
53,649
75,470
39,232
33,292
83,881
32,939
4,645
10,105
1,285
3,341
1,178
3,261
27,889
38,757
9,902
20,930
1832.
Ships.
415
37
82
103
230
282
502
305
256
204
105
26
67
13
5
9
' 7
20
73
57
78
Tonnage.
1833.
92,859
10,177
26,505
11,532
44,346
46,554
52,104
29.964
25,708
21.965
14,525
3,575
9,339
1,985
862
957
2,201
25,237
27,156
13,058
15,416
Ships.
405
63
102
80
175
291
586
385
381
324
132
33
58
9
132
186
62
42
76
Tonnage.
186,166
18,384
31,859
'7,697
41,107
48,258
65,006
33,955
37,725
37,983
20,188
4,464
8,481
1,350
29,812
96,375
23,589
7,036
14,652
1884.
Ships.
470
98
137
229
161
339
706
403
363
266
128
25
69
14
4
28
9
27
75
34
89
Tonnage,
112,183
26,397
40,485
21,048
37,261
56,525
88,832
36,300
38,898
30,574
20,939
3,637
9,538
2,026
756
3,438
3,279
28,199
27,169
7,015
16,930
is rarrM ™ ? n !”m,e'vhat !nor! thf mn.e:t|nths five-sixths is carried on in vessels of those countries. In that
den No™ av y>nH n Tt *'■ .i1 S"’e; With whose shiPs are »f a ’“ger size upon tire ave-
. Norway, and Denmark, the case is the reverse, and rage than those of Great Britain that frequent the Baltic,
496
LONDON.
London, their tonnage in London is about double of our own. The
r commerce with the other states of Germany, employs dou¬
ble as much tonnage in British as in foreign ships, and the
same proportion is found in the trade with the Netherlands.
In the intercourse between London and France, the num¬
ber of British vessels employed is to that of foreign as seven
to six; but as the average of British vessels is somewhat
larger, the proportion of tonnage is as eight to five in fa¬
vour of our own shipping. The vessels which bring cargoes
to the metropolis from Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira,
from Spain and the Canaries, and from the Italian states,
are almost wholly British, as the number and tonnage of
the foreign ships that arrive, do not amount to more than
two and a half per cent.
The commerce with the Ionian Islands, with Turkey,
and Continental Greece, with the Morea and the Greek
Islands, with Egypt, with Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco,
with the foreign territories in Africa and in Asia, and with
China, is wholly in British-owned vessels. In the London
trade with the United States of America, the foreign ves¬
sels, mostly those of the States, are to the British vessels
in the proportion of nearly four to one. The commerce
with the West Indies, and with the continental colonies in
America, is almost wholly conducted in British ships, as
out of 500 sail of vessels that arrived in the Thames with
cargoes from those parts there were only forty, and those
of small size belonging to foreigners.
The whole of the commerce of Great Britain, with the
colonies of North and South America, with the islands in
the West Indies, with the settlements on the coast of Africa,
and with the East India Company’s extensive territories, is
carried on by British ships alone ; but it is not easy to esti¬
mate what proportion of it employs ships belonging to Lon¬
don. In fact, those which at one period of the year are em¬
ployed in one branch of commerce, are often employed in
another in a different part of the same or of a succeeding
year. Many, too, of the British ships which arrive at or de¬
part from London, are owned by persons resident in other,
especially the northern, parts of the kingdom.
In the absence of any recent account, it may be as near an
approximation to accuracy as can be obtained, if the num¬
ber and tonnage of the vessels belonging to the port of Lon¬
don be assumed to bear the same proportion to the number
of those that belong to the whole of the kingdom, as is exhi¬
bited by the net amount of the produce of the duty of
customs. In this view the year 1833 may be taken, when
the whole sum drawn to the revenue from the three king¬
doms was L. 18,575,182 : 15 : 9, and the sum drawn from
the port of London was L.7,662,521. In that year the
tonnage of all the ships in the U nited Kingdom, and of our
possessions in Europe, was 2,271,301. Of this a vast part
were occupied in the coasting trade, and the vessels so
employed were, in most cases, owned by persons in the
out-ports. The fisheries, whether for herrings, ling, or pil¬
chards, on our own coasts, as well as those for whales in the
northern ocean, or for cod on the banks of Newfoundland,
are mostly conducted in vessels also owned at the out-ports;
and though the southern whale-fishery is chiefly carried on
from London, the tonnage it employs is insignificant when
put in comparison with that of the other branches here
noticed. If a deduction be made for the tonnage of the
coasting vessels, including the colliers, and of the fisher¬
men, to the amount of 650,000 tons, from the 2,271,300
tons which appear on the register, there will remain about
1,620,000 ; and, in conformity with the view of reckoning
the tonnage by the custom’s revenue, that of London be¬
ing near two-fifths of the whole kingdom, so, if the ship¬
ping of London be two-fifths of that of the whole tonnage
on the register, it will be about 650,000, which cannot
be very far from the truth.
It is not easy, within a moderate compass, to give even a
sketch of the fc.cign commerce of London. It would be London,
an epitome of that of the whole world. The British
tal is the emporium to which are brought the products of
all soils, and all climates, whether such as are spontaneously
produced, or such as have been gradually created by ages
of observation and application. It has in store ready for
distant commerce, or for domestic use, whatever the inge¬
nuity and industry of man in any part of the globe can
spare to exchange for what his own country, or climate, or
skill, cannot yield him. We could, therefore, do little more
here than point out, as we have done, the foreign countries
with which the chief intercourse is maintained, and the pro¬
portions of it, as far as they can be indicated by the num¬
ber and size of the vessels that convey their commodities.
An Account of the Number of Vessels, and their aggregate
Tonnage, that have entered the Port of London from all
foreign countries in each year from 1820 to 1834.
Years.
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
British.
Ships.
3354
3000
3230
3031
3132
3989
3495
4012
4084
4108
3910
4140
3274
3421
3786
Tonnage.
655,239
585,994
603,167
611,451
607,106
785,565
675,026
769,102
767,112
784,070
744,229
780,988
640,057
678,289
735,693
Foreign.
Ships. I Tonnage.
856
571
597
865
1643
1743
1586
1534
1303
1300
1268
1557
886
1061
1280
122,619
89,073
106,099
161,705
264,098
302,122
215,254
221,008
195,129
215,605
207,500
269,159
154,514
175,183
216,063
On account of the fire at the Custom-house in 1814, Custans.
which destroyed the accounts of many years before 1800, it
is not easy to ascertain what was the amount of duty collect¬
ed by the commissioners of the customs prior to that date;
and some of the accounts of subsequent years having also
been then destroyed, the series is very much broken till
1825. The following is all that can now be obtained.
Statement of the Gross and Net Receipt of the Custom-
duty at the Port of London, as far as the same can be
made up from existing documents.
Year.
1800,
1805,
1810,
1815,
1820,
1824,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
Gross Receipt.
L.5,663,704
6,907,027
8,472,207
7,789,726
7,474,387
7,679,409
10,291,877
10,402,859
10,529,115
10,211,037
10,307,208
9,465,339
9,334,299
8,692,898
10,697,263
Net Receipt.
L.5,536,441
5,342,731
5,731,238
8,829,789
8,790,829
8,918,310
8,524,261
8,576,163
7,916,993
7,876,660
7,662,521
9,576,972
The comparative commercial importance of London may
be shewn by contrasting the amount of the duty of customs
LON
collected in it, with that collected at the greatest of the
✓ maritime towns within the three kingdoms.
Net Amount of Duty collected at the Customs in the year
1833, as transmitted to the Treasurer.
London,
Liverpool,
Bristol,
Hull, . .
Dublin,
Greenock,
Newcastle,
Leith, . .
Belfast,
Cork, . .
Glasgow, .
Port Glasgow
Waterford,
Gloucester,
I umerick,
Plymouth,
Whitehaven,
Sunderland,
Exeter,
Londonderry,
Aberdeen,
L.7,662,521 8 9
3,555,955 14 5
1,016,873 10 1
592,161 16 10
546,467 1 2
383,927 19 7
273,686 16 9
246,536 5 7
194,565 3 2
161,690 7 6
159,795 12 2
152,564 0 6
103,754 17 10
102,875 9 8
97,624 16 5
89,941 6 6
82,090 18 10
75,364 3 9
58,887 17 4
56,905 5 9
49,870 13 0
One of the chief sources of occupation for shipping is
the conveyance of coals to London. They are chiefly
brought from the north-eastern side of the kingdom, and
sold on their arrival by the cargo at an appropriate building
in Thames Street, called the Coal Exchange. The great
dealers sell the coals by barge-loads to the lightermen,
wharfingers, and other retailers ; and when they are dis¬
charged from the vessels that bring them to the Pool, they
are usually kept in coal barges at the several wharfs, ready
to supply the consumers. A great benefit has lately been
conferred on the public by the change in the mode of sell¬
ing coals, substituting weight instead of measure, or the
ton for the chaldron. As coals measure more when much
broken, it was the interest of the dealers to break the large
lumps; but now that they are sold by weight, they have no
inducement to break them, and they are delivered more
lumpy. Each waggon or cart that brings coal to the con¬
sumer, is bound to bring appropriate weights and scales,
and to weigh such part, if the buyer should require it. By
this some of the tricks formerly played in this trade are pre¬
vented. The ton of coals is sold, including cartage, which
varies according to the distance from the water side, and
the porterage, according to the quality, from 24s. to 30s.
The chaldron, which was before the law 1st and 2d Will. IV.
cap. 67, the legal measure, weighs one ton five hundreds
and a half.
The quantity imported in each of the ten last years has
been as follows :—
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
1835,
Tons.
1,992,104
2,040,291
1,882,321
1,960,559
2,018,975
2,079,275
2,045,292
2,139,078
2,010,409
2,078,685
2,104,602
The institutions of the city of London, which have grown
tip with and out of its commerce, are highly appropriate,
by their localities, their arrangements, and their regula¬
tions, for conducting business. The first object of import-
VOL. XIII.
I) O N. 497
ance to every ship, on its arrival in port, is the Custom- London.
house. This noble building has been erected on the site. ^—v '
but with much enlargement, of a similar building which Cust°ni-
was destroyed by fire in 1814, as the preceding one hadhouse
been by a similar calamity in 1718. A considerable exten¬
sion, and many alterations in the building, had been com¬
menced before the last fire occurred, but that accident in¬
duced the erection of an entirely new edifice, which was
opened for public business in May 1817.
The custom-house stands in Lower Thames Street, but
its principal front is towards the river, with a broad wharf,
having noble stairs at each end, by which to descend to the
water, whence wherries are constantly plying for passen¬
gers, who can embark or land at them with their baggage,
but where no goods are allowed to impede the way. The
length of the front is 480 feet, and it is 60 feet in depth.
On the view from the river, the front exhibits itself best,
with three porticos, each composed of six pillars of the Io¬
nic order, the centre one of which projects somewhat more
forward than the others, and is more elevated from the
ground by standing on arches. On the top of it is a ba¬
lustrade, with a clock in the centre.
I he arrangements of the interior are, however, most to be
admired. The long room, where most of the public busi¬
ness is transacted, is a noble apartment 186 feet in length,
and 60 in breadth, of an appropriate height, with desks on
each side for the several officers, and the centre left open for
such of the public as have business there. The other parts
of the edifice are distributed with great judgment into
apartments adapted for the several branches of the office,
in such a way that between six and seven hundred officers,
and more than a thousand tidewaiters and messengers are
enabled to work with regularity and dispatch, thus forming
a most pleasing contrast to the confusion, difficulty, and
delay which formerly prevailed.
An accident happened to this building in 1825, when a
part of the long room fell in ; it was found that the founda¬
tion had been insecurely constructed, upon which the centre
was taken down and rebuilt as it now appears, under the
direction of Mr Smirke.
The improvements on the building and its arrangements,
great as they are, are trifling, when compared with the vast
reform in the whole system which took place by the law of
1812 (act 51st Geo. III. cap. 7.), and by other salutary
regulations. Before that time, the highest offices were
held by patent, and the duties performed by deputies, and
both were paid by fees. These were abolished, and all
are now paid by salaries. Patronage in promotion has been
relinquished, and the road opened to the advancement, of
the most meritorious officers ; and, by an order of the Trea¬
sury, when the Duke of Wellington was at its head in Fe¬
bruary 1830, the salaries of the commissioners and other
officers were prospectively reduced; whilst directions were
given to revise the whole establishment, with a view to
every possible reduction.
The Bank of England is one of the most prominent ob- Bank of
jects within the city, not so much from the structure, though England,
that is magnificent, as from the great influence its creation
and progress have had on the state of society in general,
as w ell as on the commercial intercourse which it lias faci¬
litated between different individuals at home, and between
distant countries with this kingdom, and with each other.
The company was first founded in the reign of King
William III., by act of parliament, in 1694; the idea hav¬
ing been taken from the Bank of Amsterdam, established
eighty-five years before, whose success had been great, and
its influence seductive. After the incorporation, which
provided that the company should be under the manage¬
ment of a governor, a deputy-governor, and twenty-four
directors, to be annually chosen, the business was for many
years carried on at the Hall of the Grocers, in the Poultry.
3 R
498 LON
London. It remained there some years, till the success of the un-
dertaking had warranted the court of directors to purchase
a piece of ground, covered with buildings of little value, in
Threadneedle Street. Upon this a house was erected, on a
comparatively small scale, to which the business was trans¬
ferred in 1733 ; and soon afterwards, the present hall was
opened, as well as the bullion-office. The facade was then
extended under the direction of Sir Robert Taylor, and two
wings were added, with the returns on the east and west sides,
and several offices. In this work, it was found expedient
to remove the church of St Christopher le Stocks, with the
memorials of those who had been interred there. The
whole of this enlargement gradually advanced from 1770
to 1786, when, by the death of Taylor, Sir John Soane
became the bank architect, and he, in 1788, completed
that part of the plan. Under the superintendence of his
judgment and taste, the front and wings of the original
structure were rebuilt in one harmonious manner; and va¬
rious other alterations having been adopted, the whole was,
in 1825, completed in conformity with the judicious de¬
signs of that most distinguished architect.
From the nature of the ground, fronting towards three
public streets, on which it was practicable to intrude, the
area is an irregular square, having a front of 365 feet on
the south or principal side, and 410 on the north side, on
the east side a front of 245 feet, and on the west of 440
feet; this is so managed, that it does not appear to be a
defect, from whatever point the whole mass is surveyed.
The principal entrance is from Threadneedle Street,
though there is one from Bartholomew Lane, and another
from Lothbury. The interior contains eight open courts,
the rotunda or circular room, numerous large and smaller
offices, several committee rooms, and private apartments
for the residence of officers and servants. The principal
divisions and subdivisions of the structure are on the ground
floor, and there are no rooms over the chief offices, whose
height forbids the erection of such; but beneath there are
capacious vaults, and a greater number of rooms than above
ground. Within the building is an apartment for the
guards, and a separate room for the officers who have the
command.
It would require an elaborate work to describe all the
particular beauties of this edifice, or the peculiar adapta¬
tion and arrangement of its offices for the management of
the vast operations which are daily transacted; but to the
adaptation of the offices to the purposes for which they are
designed, the public are indebted for the order, expedi¬
tion, and security with which every thing is conducted.
The principal or great division, for several of them have
subdivisions, are the great hall, the dividend offices, the
discount-office, the bullion-office, the accountant’s office,
the chief cashier’s office, the interior office or check upon
forgery, and the parlour or apartment in which the direc¬
tors assemble. All of these are neat, clean, and light, and
some of them are elegant in their decorations and their
furniture.
The Bank has, by successive renewals of its charter,
since the first was granted in 1694, when the capital was
L. 1,200,000, been enabled to increase it to the present
amount of L. 14,553,000, which is lent to government at
an interest of three per cent. The dividends on this capi¬
tal have varied with the amount of profit gained by its va¬
rious operations. At first it was 8 per cent.; in 1697,
9 per cent.; between that period and 1767, its fluctuations
were frequent, but never lower than 41 per cent, nor high-
DON.
er than 6 per cent.; in 1788, it was raised to 7 per cent •
in 1807, to 10 per cent.; in 1823, it was lowered to 8 perw^'
cent., and has continued at that rate to the present time
But besides the annual dividends, the directors have at
several periods, when any peculiar prosperity has attended
the operations, distributed, under the name of bonus or
some other, large sums to the holders of their stock, within
the last thirty-six years.
The profit of the Bank is derived from various sources
which were laid before parliament, for the year ending the
29th of February 1832, were enumerated as follows:
Interest on commercial bills, . . . L.130 695
Interest on Exchequer bills, .... 204,,109
Annuity for 45 years (dead weight), . .
Interest on capital received from the govern¬
ment, • 446,502
Allowance received for the management of the
public debt,  251,896
Interest on loans on mortgages, • • . 60 684
Interest on stock in the public funds, . . 15 075
Interest on private loans, .... 56 941
Profit on bullion, commission, rent, receipts on
discounted bills unpaid, management of the
business of the Banks of Ireland, of Scotland, and
the Royal Bank of Scotland, and sundry items, 71,859
L.1,689,176
The expenses of the Bank for the same year are thus
stated in the parliamentary reports:—
Salaries and pensions, .... L.
House expenses, ......
Directors’ allowance, .....
Rent, ........
Expenses of eleven branches arising from the
banking department, .....
Expenses attending the circulation of L.2,500,000
_ of Branch Bank of England notes, at eleven
branches, .......
218,003
30,187
8,000
40,000
5,702
28,505
L.339,400
The amount of the notes of the Bank of England in circu¬
lation, has, since its establishment, varied from L. 1,200,000
to L.30,000,000; of late years it has varied only between
L.17,000,000 and L.24,000,000. The average during the
last fifteen years may be taken at L.20,000,000; whilst the de¬
posits of government, on the average, have been L.4,000,000,
of which sum, thus amounting to L.24,000,000, one-third
is estimated to be invested in bullion, and two-thirds in
securities. By the parliamentary investigation which pro¬
duced the preceding accounts, it appears that the balance
of the Bank, or surplus property, in 1832, was L.2,637,760
To which is to be added the capital, , . 14,553,000
Thus leaving together . . L. 17,180,760
a sum quite sufficient to make its stability as firm as the
British government.
The following account will shew how much diffused is the
property which is vested in the public funds, the dividends
of which are payable at the Bank ; and how much larger is
the proportion in the hands of the middle classes than that
belonging the large stockholders.
4
*
f.ond--
LONDON.
499
London.
500
LONDON.
London. The East India House, situated in Leadenhall Street,
first erected in 1726, but it has been gradually en-
liouse*1 13 Iarged’ 80 as no'v to f°rm a building of vast size, accommo¬
dated to the various departments which the extent of the
company’s affairs require. Its principal front and a consi¬
derable part of the interior have been built within the last
thirty years.
Towards Leadenhall Street it presents a front 200 feet
in length, and having in the centre a portico of six Ionic
fluted pillars, supporting a frieze with allegorical figures,
and on the top a statue of Britannia. The interior has
some fine apartments, especially the great court-room, in
which meetings of the proprietors are held. The new sale¬
room is one of the most complete apartments in the city.
It is adorned with pilasters, and with several appropriate
paintings. The sale-room is also adorned with some fine
statues of Lord Clive, Sir Eyre Coote, Sir George Pococke,
and General Lawrence. The room of the committee of
correspondence is embellished with views oflndian scenery,
and with the portraits of Warren Hastings and of Marquis
Cornwallis. The library is adorned with busts of the his¬
torian Orme and of Hastings; but is of inestimable value
from the books, and especially the manuscripts, illustrative
of the antiquities and the ancient and modern history of
India, and other parts of Asia. The museum contains
specimens of Indian arts and Indian curiosities of every
kind, and especially the throne of Tippoo Sultan taken at
Seringapatam. The company has several vast warehouses
in different parts of the city. These they still retain; and,
from their adaptation to the purpose, it is now in contem¬
plation to occupy them as bonding warehouses for Indian
and China articles.
i*,ast India The East India Company was formed as a commercial
Company, body in 1599, and first obtained a charter from Queen
Elizabeth in 1600. Although, in subsequent periods, the
company acquired and extended vastly their territorial
power, their commercial character remained to them until it
was taken away by the law of 1835. They are now, there¬
fore, a kind of board governing British India, under the
superintendence of the Board of Controul chiefly, but with
some power still left in the hands of directors chosen by
the proprietors of India stock, whose dividends are guaran¬
teed to them by the faith of parliament.
I rade with The following tables will show tfie value of the imports
India and from, and the exports to, India as well as China, from the
Uuna. year 1820 t0 J332.
An account of the Imports into Great Britain from all
places to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope ( Chi¬
na excepted), in each year from 1820 to 1832, both in¬
cluded, distinguishing whether imported by the Compa¬
ny or by private Traders.
Year.
Value imported
by the Company.
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
L.1,737,137
1,743,733
1,092,329
1,587,078
1,194,753
1,462,692
1,520,060
1,612,480
1,930,107
1,593,442
1,593,566
1,434,372
1,107,787
Value by
Private Traders,
L.4,201,389
3,031,413
2,621,334
4,344,973
4,410,347
4,716,083
5,210,866
4,068,537
5,135,073
4,624,842
4,085,505
4,295,438
5,229,311
Total.
L.5,958,526
4,775,146
3,713,663
5,932,051
5,605,100
6,178,775
6,730,926
5,681,017
7,065,180
6,218,284
5,679,071
5,720,810
6,337,098
An account of the Exports of Great Britain to all placed
eastward of the Cape of Good Hope {excepting China]
in each year from 1820 to 1832, both included, distin¬
guishing whether exported by the Company or by Pri.
vate Traders.
nondoj *
not,
Vw
Y ear.
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
Value by
the Company.
L.971,096
887,619
606,089
458,550
654,783
598,553
990,964
805,610
488,601
434,586
195,394
146,480
149,193
By Private
Traders.
L.2,066,815
2,656,776
2,838,354
2,957,705
2,841,795
2,574,660
2,480,588
3,830,580
3,979,072
3,665,678
3,891,917
3,488,571
3,601,093
Total
L.3,037,911
3,544,395
3,444,443
3,416,255
3,496,578
3,173,213
3,471,552
4,636,190
4,467,673
4,100,264
4,087,311
3,635,051
3,750,286
As the trade of the East India Company with China, up
to the expiration of the trading concerns of that Company,
centered wholly in London, a view of it belongs peculiarly
to a description of the metropolis.
An account of the quantity of each of the articles of Chi¬
nese produce imported into London from the near 1803
to 1831.
Y ear.
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
18131
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
18271
1828
1829
1830
1831
Tea.
lb.
30,843,134
26,680,784
28,538,825
22,155,557
12,599,236
35,747,224
•21,717,310
19,791,356
21,231,849
28,318,153
26,110,550
25,605,214
36,234,380
31,467,073
20,065,728
23,750,413
30,147,994
30,731,105
27,362,766
29,046,885
31,681,977
29,840,401
29,345,699
32.678.546
30,544,382
31.897.546
31,648,922
Silk.
lb.
74,538
90,362
76,359
18,607
55,277
117,855
90,603
54,376
81,397
86,197
150,629
216,129
88,987
103,367
146,878
141,328
271,115
275,110
222,673
392,717
293,014
142,676
405,185
208,287
606,916
456,991
476,692
Nanquin
Cloth.
Pieces.
233,894
264,407
252,207
376,234
72,135
484,647
287,720
305,009
316,616
503,276
783,253
896,797
396,453
564,226
409,349
523,852
969,746
569,062
287,431
412,076
1010,494
392,998
431,520
99,698
529,602
919,255
857,171
Miscellaneous
Articles.
Value.
L.23,134
26,184
15,198
10,504
11.474
17.617
14,268
14,890
9,630
12,929
29,054
19.474
29,050
35,703
19,510
55,595
70,827
39,654
23,419
73,935
69.618
75,963
124,569
97,752
95,412
94,131
89,796
1 The records of this year were destroyed by fire.
!nn
L O N D O N.
^..An Account shewing the Value of ike Articles exported to China from Great Britain, in each Year, from 1811 to 1833.
Years.
1811.
1812.
1813.
1814.
1815.
1816.
1817.
1818.
1819.
1820.
1821.
1822.
1823.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.,
1833.,
Broad Cloth.
. 142,293
174,542
207,589
212,664
354,047
218,026
172,604
157,513
223,362
204,699
219,610
181,763
200,314
195,744
239,625
224,253
173,529
163,067
145,284
149,255
121,274
195,273
104,011
Long Ells.
L. 516,023
524,496
461,338
351,332
359,469
321,652
35.3,035
283,229
335,004
312,382
334,112
301,407
279,969
254,288
374,151
267,025
299,636
212,799
235,485
213,277
219,875
159,078
137,426
Camblets and
Stuffs.
Lead.
L. 175,169
207,383
159,869
132,047
156,962
159,581
134,034
124,779
157,218
140,721
91,772
84,582
89,314
102,536
94,615
89,002
82,907
55,721
60,681
20,358
29,625
21,714
113,827
L. 31,057
3,352
7,249
17,852
17.927
16,325
12,948
16.928
18,963
11,437
11,047
20,480
22,433
32,470
40,050
38,874
32,626
17,793
14,983
21,792
18,611
20,863
2,341J
British Iron.
Tin.
L. 6,837
16,679
21,879
11,823
10,969
3,892
6,259
7,014
7,884
13,040
11,147
10,795
13,529
14,691
34,443
29,043
17,487
18,179
12,269
11,312
7,681
190
2,314
L. 27,173
62,521
49,499
37,694
22,691
29,930
British
Calicoes.
L. 4,774
5,487
3,365
4,131
6,092
607
12,162
21,262
40,213
34,500
19,010
27,531
21,925
13,174
Cotton
T wist.
L. 501
10,338
626
28,249
34,952
14,709
11,963
7,024
Besides the above articles there was an exportation of
oreign cotton wool, in 1820, to the value of L. 93,402 ; of
;>g breign skins, in 1823, 1824, and 1825, to the value of
M ... 64,663 ; and of 54 bales of yarn, in 1829 and 1830,
® alued at L. 1291 ; whilst the annual stores sent out to the
actory during the whole period of twenty-three years,
511 mounted to L. 79,582.
f'11 Kri The Royal Exchange is an edifice of more importance,
n e. rom the extensive mercantile affairs transacted within and
™ round it, than either from its beauty or its extent, in both
'h f which it is excelled by many other commercial cities,
tli U the suggestion of Clough, who had been a clerk to Sir
i® ’homas Gresham, and afterwards established as his repre-
at L'ntative at Antwerp, when that city was the great empo-
iu ium of Europe, the knight undertook the construction of
® n exchange for London. It was completed in 1567, and was
II ion afterwards visited in state by Queen Elizabeth, upon
ch hich occasion the title of Royal was conferred upon it.
tl ill the upper parts were at that time filled with shops
it 'om the bottom to the top. That building was destroyed
III y the great fire of 1666, after which it was rebuilt in its
ei resent form by a corporation of the city, and the company
iei f mercers, at the expense of more than eighty thousand
'nl ounds. It was opened by Sir William Turner, lord-
oi iayor, on the 28th of September 1669. In the new build-
tli i ig the statue of Sir Thomas Gresham was placed within it,
no I ut not in a conspicuous situation. There are also statues of
tli ' harles I. and Charles II., and in the centre is a statue of Sir
n ohn Bernard, long the representative in Parliament of the
,v 14y, who gained and maintained his popularity by the tena •
o| | ty of his opposition to all the measures, whether good, bad,
ad r indifferent, that were proposed by Sir Robert Walpole,
i] he Exchange is a square, surrounded with arcades, and
de ivided into quarters assigned to the respective merchants
in ading to the different parts of the world, called the Scotch,
nc rench, and American walks, or named from other countries;
si 1(1 some parts are known as the walks of different traders,
11 ho did or might resort to them. These divisions are,
ei Dwever, quite undefined, and by no means in practice so
1 sed. Within the area there are no shops, but the walls
are almost covered with placards, advertising sales of goods
or of ships, and various other notifications. The outside all
around is occupied by small shops, or by offices of brokers,
notaries, and persons of similar calling. On the upper
floor, on the north side, is Lloyd’s Coffee-house, consisting
of two long and lofty rooms, where the great business of
insurance against losses by sea is conducted between bro¬
kers and underwriters. The society, who regulate this,
employ agents in all ports, who furnish reports of the arri¬
val and departure of vessels, and give the needful informa¬
tion as to the character, condition, and equipment of the
ships. The accounts are registered accurately, and each
subscriber has a book, into which are written, from time to
time, by the clerks of the establishment, such descriptions
of every vessel, as enable the underwriters to calculate the
nature of the risk, and the premium it deserves. Upon the
same floor is a large auction-room, an office for a joint-
stock insurance company, bearing the name of the build¬
ing, and the office for the relief of sick and hurt seamen in
the merchant service. An institution, called from the
founder Gresham College, long occupied, or rather might
have occupied, if hearers would have attended, a part of
this floor. By will he left a part of his fortune to provide
lecturers in divinity, astronomy, music, and geometry.
Each of them had a salary of L. 100 per annum, but rarely
delivered any lectures, as no auditors were in attendance. In
consequence of this useless kind of expenditure, the trustees,
in 1830, transferred the professors to the London institu¬
tion, where, it is to be hoped, they may be found of bene¬
fit to the interests of science. The cellars under the Ex¬
change are let out for warehouses. It has been calculated
that, on an average, two hundred thousand persons daily
visit the Exchange, but this can be little more than a
guess. Much of the business which used to be transacted
upon the Exchange has necessarily been divided, as com¬
merce has gone on increasing ; and the merchants and bro¬
kers resort much to coffee-houses in the vicinity of the
building, which are distinguished by the names of the places
with which the traders that frequent them have connexion,
such as the East India, the New York, the Carolina, &c.
502
LONDON.
London. Most of the larger transactions are negociated by the
means of brokers, who in general confine themselves to
one branch of trade, with which their interest induces them
to become thoroughly acquainted. Many of them embrace
several branches ; but those of the first class have large
capitals or extensive credit, and are enabled to accom¬
modate merchants with advances of money, or acceptances
to a large amount upon the security of goods placed in
their hands for disposal. In the West India trade some of
them have large show-rooms, in which are exhibited sam¬
ples of sugar, coffee, and the other tropical products. Ship-
brokers are employed in buying and selling vessels, in hire-
ing them by charter, in entering and clearing them out, in
collecting the freights, and other business, which much
abridges the labour, and saves the anxiety of ship-owners
and ship-captains. Insurances, whether by joint stock
companies, or by individual underwriters, are effected by
the instrumentality of policy-brokers, who form a distinct
class, and are paid by a commission of five per cent, on
the premiums, and a fixed share of the profit which arises
on the balance of their account with the underwriter. The
rate of Exchange between London and the commercial
cities in other parts of the world is fixed twice a-week be¬
tween the drawers and the takers of foreign bills, and an¬
nounced to the exchange-brokers at the close of each of the
days.
Most of the brokers are licensed by the Lord Mayor and
Court of Aldermen, but that does not apply to ship-bro¬
kers, nor in actual practice to most of the stock-brokers.
Those so admitted must give security for the due perform¬
ance of the duties entrusted to them/and not deal or make
gain in goods ; but it is apprehended this last condition is
more generally broken than observed. There is a class
of brokers which has come into existence within a few
years, who are said to have made fortunes of an enormous
amount. They are usually called bill-brokers, but are
properly money-brokers, employed in arranging negocia-
tions in money matters of a large amount, between bank¬
ers, merchants, and others, who, in the fluctuating nature
of their trade, either have occasion to lend or to borrow
money upon indisputable security. Though the commis¬
sion paid to such brokers is small, yet the extent of the
transactions have made it a lucrative business.
Near to the Royal Exchange is another institution called
the Stock Exchange, wherein bargains are made for the
real purchase and sale of property in the public funds, and
where is carried on the enormous business of buying and
selling stock for a future day, at a fixed price in speculation,
as it is delicately called, though in fact, for the most part, it
is only gambling upon a large scale. The house is near the
Bank, and is conveniently arranged, and handsomely fitted
up. It was erected in 1804, at the expense of the sub¬
scribers, who elect a committee to manage the affairs, and
who have power to make regulations, and to admit or expel
such members as they please. Near to it is the market for
foreign funds; and in the rotunda of the Bank of England
is a crowded assemblage, who carry on some real, but more
gambling, transactions in public securities.
Having noticed those establishments in London which
are chiefly subservient to the commercial intercourse be¬
tween the metropolis and foreign countries, we proceed to
mention others, whose main object is internal, though it
extends also to external affairs.
Post-office. The Post- Office is one of those institutions which in
this country has arrived the nearest to perfection, and is
not only worthy of the talent by which it has been advanced,
but justifies the pride which its consideration inspires. It
is not necessary here to trace the history of the establish¬
ment from the commencement, in the reign of Charles I.,
1635, nor the advances it made up to 1784. At that pe¬
riod the letters were conveyed with dilatory irregularity
Stock Ex
change.
which was the inducement of Mr Palmer of Bath to sus- i
gest and arrange a plan for the conveyance of letters bv
coaches. After due consideration, the experiment Wa" ^
first tried between London and Bath, and was found to be
so safe, so quick, and so economical, that the scheme was
in due time adopted, and every part of the kingdom in a
few years became participators of the benefit, whilst the
State drew from it a constantly progressive revenue. In
1783 the net proceeds of the Post-Office did not exceed
L. 145,000 per annum, and it now regularly yields ahma
ten times that amount.
The old post-office in Lombard Street had been long
complained of as inadequate, or ill adapted to the extent
which the establishment had acquired; for it had grown,
under the direction of Mr Palmer, first as comptroller, and of
Mr, now Sir Francis Freeling, as secretary, to such a scale
that though buildings near to it had been added, the want
of room prevented the most beneficial arrangement of the
several branches of the institution.
I he site chosen is central, sufficiently near for the pur¬
poses of commerce, and much nearer to the offices of go¬
vernment than the former spot. This magnificent but
simple edifice was begun in St Martin’s le Grand, in 1825,
and the business transferred to it in 1829. It is of the
Grecian Ionic order of architecture. The basement is
of granite, but the superstructure is of brick, faced with
Portland stone. The building is in length 400 feet, and
in breadth 80 feet. The portico in the centre of the front
is 70 feet broad, consisting of six columns of Portland
stone, resting on pedestals of granite, and supporting a tri¬
angular pediment, beneath which is this inscription, “ Geor-
gio Quarto Rege,” and the date in Roman capitals,
“ mdcccxxtx.” At the extremity of each wing is a por¬
tico of four columns. In this front are forty-four windows.
I he east front is quite plain, and has upwards of 180 win¬
dows.
Under the centre portico is a vestibule of noble effect,
on the north side of which are the receiving rooms for let¬
ters, and apartments for the sorters of inland letters. These
extend the whole length. The mails are received at the
east front. The foreign-office is on the south side, as well
as the offices of the receiver and accountant. At the east
end of the vestibule are the twopenny offices. The sorters’
room is an apartment of forty-six feet by twenty-four, in
which their operations are performed with a dispatch and
regularity that is astonishing. A novel mode has been
adopted for conveying letters, which have come into the
wrong department, from one room to another; they are
placed in small waggons beneath the pavement, and made
to travel through a tunnel by machinery.
The whole building is fire proof, and machinery conveys
coals and water to every part of the building. The whole
is lighted by gas, and is furnished with more than one thou¬
sand burners. The assistant-secretary has a residence in
the building, and in the upper rooms are apartments for
the clerks to sleep in, as they are necessarily up early to
receive the mails.
As the business of this office must be performed in the space
of twro or three hours in the morning, and the same period
in the evening, it demands a regular system for the sorting
of so many letters. The average is about 46,000 letters,
which arrive at six in the morning, and these are generally
counted, examined, charged, and delivered to the letter-car¬
riers by half-past eight or nine o’clock. In the evening
the same number is received at the windows, and must be
dispatched before eight o’clock. As the greatest number
is received just before seven, the greatest expedition is
used to complete the whole operation. The letters are
first arranged as they arrive from the receiving-houses in
different compartments, marked with the name of the mail
by which they are to be sent, which is performed by the
site
«
LONDON.
lon. anior clerks. The senior clerks then mark on each letter
[he amount of postage, which is done at the rate of one
:>cond of time for each letter, and the letters are placed
i boxes labelled with the names of the towns. The re-
eiving-office is closed at seven o’clock, when the letters
jr each town are summed up, and the summation put in
ie bag with them. Letters may be sent later than seven,
y paying a fee, which is allowed as a perquisite to the
mior clerks. The bags of letters are tied, sealed, and de-
vered to the several guards at eight o’clock.
The delivering of the letters in the morning is expedited
503
by means of accelerators or light-built carriages first used London
when the new building was occupied. A postman, or ra¬
ther coachman, in these takes different divisions of the town,
and drops the letter-carriers, with the letters, in their va¬
rious walks, which saves the difference of time between
walking and riding, and produces a most expeditious deli¬
very in the most distant parts of the metropolis. The in¬
land office employs about 200 clerks and sorters, and about
the same number of persons for the delivery of letters. The
foreign office has twenty clerks, and thirty-four for the de¬
livery. The two-penny post employs about fifty persons.
An Account, shewing the Produce of the Post-Office Revenue, together with the Charges of Collection, in each near
  from 1820 to 1834, both inclusive
Year.
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
Gross Receipt.
L. 2.144,678
2.119.431
2,128,926
2,154,294
2,262,814
2,367,567
2,392,272
2,278,412
2,287,961
2,265,482
2.301.432
2,321,311
2,277,274
2,294,911
2,210,830
Returned Letters
and Overcharges.
L. 76,616
77,336
73,594
76,311
79,267
91,360
87,469
83,663
79,962
80,815
89,226
93,947
101,983
104,729
110,541
Net Receipt.
L. 2,068,061
2,042,095
2,055,331
2,077,983
2,183,547
2,276,207
2,304,802
2,194,749
2,207,998
2,184,667
2,212,206
2,227,364
2,175,291
2,190,181
2,100,299
Charges of
Collection.
L.588,514
617,056
594,082
569,117
594,874
605,988
680,546
693,692
663,774
675,319
694,254
658,325
643,464
636,755
650,962
Net Revenue.
L. 1,479,547
1,425,039
1,461,249
1,508,866
1,670,219
1,624,256
1,501,056
1,544,223
1,588,672
1,509,347
1,517,952
1,569,038
1,531,826
1,553,425
1,449,337
As the post-office is peculiarly a department of expendi-
i re as well as of revenue, much care and attention is ap-
ied in making the contracts with those who convey the
nails, and great economy in adjusting the appropriate sa-
I'ries to the different officers. This is clear from the num-
ir of persons employed under the postmaster-general,
An Account of the Amount of Postage collected at the principal Cities and Toivns of the United Kingdom, in the
years ending the bth January 1833, 1834, and 1835
being more than 3000, with from 4000 to 5000 horses, and
near 200 coaches. The packet service costs L. 115,000
yearly ; the mileage to mail-coaches, and the payments to
guards, tolls, &c. amount to abbut L. 72,000 ; and the ex¬
pense of conveying letters to Nova Scotia, Canada, and
Jamaica, to which parts the packets do not go, costs L. 12,500.
Places.
England
London,  
Birmingham,.
Bristol,  
Coventry, 
Hull, 
Leeds, 
Leicester, 
Liverpool, 
Macclesfield,..
Manchester,...
| Norwich, 
I Nottingham,...
|i Potteries, 
I Preston, 
| Sheffield, 
1833.
1834.
L. 632,696
28,685
33,884
4,446
14,607
20,316
6,464
70,011
2,064
53,510
10,004
9,033
6,714
5,200
11,027
L. 642,871
28,812
33,242
4,357
14,853
21,331
6,439
74,080
1,955
56,287
9,766
9,368
6,858
5,190
11,582
183t
L. 660,417
29,258
33,210
4,421
14,859
20,316
6,464
70,111
2,054
60,621
10,004
9,033
6,714
5,146
11,759
Places.
Scotland.
Aberdeen, 
Edinburgh,...
Dundee, 
Glasgow, 
Ireland.
Dublin, 
Belfast, 
Cork, 
Limerick, 
Drogheda, 
Londonderry,
Waterford,....
1833.
L. 8,660
42,759
7,367
36,053
80,611
9,747
11,557
6,380
1,932
3,479
5,383
1834.
L. 8,479
41,864
7,904
36,481
69,096
9,457
11,721
6,357
1,935
3,510
5,361
The Mint, on Towerhill, is a simple, elegant, and exten-
s e building, erected within a few years, under the direc-
Tn 4hat eminent architect, Smirke. It consists of three
8'reys, having a centre ornamented with columns, and a
jMiment displaying the British arms, and two wings with
I asters. W ithin the enclosure is a house for the master,
ad accommodation for the other officers of the establish-
pnt. The interior is appropriately arranged for the ma-
Liactory of coined money, all of which is executed by the
1835.
L. 8,596
41,680
8,162
36,483
70,344
10,312
12,516
6,967
2,040
3,654
3,339
best machinery, invented by Bolton, with some recent im¬
provements. The whole is put in motion by a steam-en¬
gine, and lighted by gas, and is capable, in case of need,
of coining a vast quantity of coin in an almost incredibly
short space of time. Strangers are only admitted to see it
upon some special recommendation of the superior.
I he amount of gold and silver money coined here in the
last seventeen years has been as follows:—
504
LONDON.
I/ondon.
Year.
1818,
1819,
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
Gold.
2,862,373
3,574
949,516
9,520,758
5,356,787
759,748
4,065,075
4,580,919
5,896,461
2,512,636
1,008,559
2,446,754
2,387,881
587,949
3,730,757
1,225,269
66,946
Silver.
L.
576,279
1,267,272
847,717
483,686
31,430
285,271
282,070
417,535
608,605
33,019
16,288
108,259
151
33,696
145
145
432,775
Total.
L. 3,438,652
1,270,847
1,797,233
9,954,444
5,388,217
1,045,020
4,347,145
4,998,454
6,505,067
2,545,656
1,024,847
2,555,014
2,388,032
621,646
3,730,902
1,225,414
499,721
Excise In Broad Street is the Excise Office. It was originally
Office, the property of that eminent merchant Sir Thomas Gres¬
ham, and is remarkable as being the spot upon which the
Iloyal Society was founded. It was begun here from Wil¬
kins, afterwards Bishop of Chester, having apartments in it,
at which, in 1658, meetings were held of scientific men, con¬
sisting of Dr Ward, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, the
great and good Mr Boyle, Sir William Petty, Doctors
Wallis, Goddard, Willis, and Bathurst, and Sir Christopher
Wren, with a few more. Such were the founders of that
society which has done so much for the promotion and dif¬
fusion of scientific knowledge, and whose fame is only bound¬
ed by the limits of the civilized world. It 1711, it was
removed from this place to Crane Court, Fleet Street, and
thence to the present apartments in Somerset House.
Gresham House was, after the great fire, converted into
alms-houses, which were sold to government in 1763, and
on the spot was built that extensive structure now used by
the commissioners of the excise branch of the public revenue.
It is a capacious edifice, consisting of two ranges of build¬
ing, separated by a court-yard, and connected by a passage
through it with Bishopsgate Street. It is well arranged in the
interior for the dispatch of business, which greatly facilitates
that regularity, expedition, and security which peculiarly
distinguish that portion of the public service.
Trinity An institution, which has proved of vast benefit to the art
House. of navigation, has its chief establishment on Tower Hill,
and is called the Trinity-House. This society was found¬
ed in 1515, when the British navy first assumed a systema¬
tical form, by Sir Thomas Sport, who was comptroller of
the navy, and commander of the great ship Henry Grace
de Dieu. It was first established at Deptford, Strand, un¬
der the name of “ the Master, Wardens, and Assistants of
the Guild or Fraternity of the most glorious and undivid¬
ed Trinity.” In process of time it has acquired large pro¬
perty, and the members being chosen partly from the high¬
est ranks, but chiefly from men of skill in the naval pro¬
fession, it is a body highly respectable and useful. Its
members are frequently seated with the judges on the bench
to assist by their advice in maritime affairs. They exa¬
mine and nominate pilots, superintend the light-houses,
buoys, and land-marks, regulate in London the ballasting
of ships, examine the masters of his Majesty’s ships of war,
and superintend the mathematical studies of the youth
of Christ’s Hospital. The corporation now consists of a
master, four wardens, eight assistants, and eighteen elder
brethren ; and though they retain the old house at Dept¬
ford, where they have an hospital for decayed masters of
ships and their wives, they hold their chief sittings at
their new house. As they are the guardians of many cha-
ritable funds, they yearly relieve the distress of numerous^"11
poor seamen and their families. Their elegant house was
built in 1793 by Wyatt. It is of Portland stone, with a
rustic basement, over which is one storey adorned with Ionic
columns and pilasters. In it are many portraits of eminent
naval men, particularly of the celebrated Admiral Sir John
Leake, who distinguished himself at the battle of La Hogue
and captured Gibraltar, Carthagena, and Minorca, in the
reign of Queen Anne. There are also preserved captured
flags and other naval trophies.
Hitherto attention has been directed to the commerce ofn
the metropolis, and the institutions connected with thattionrifU'
part of it, which is carried on by maritime means. It willtLTjrf
now be proper to notice the distribution of the variousfor«gn
articles which foreign commerce conveys to London. Itconi»«a
has already been observed, that the intervention of brokers
is had recourse to in mercantile transactions ; but between
the merchants and consumers, there are other classes of
traders who constitute an important part of the inhabitants
of the metropolis. This may be best described by taking
some prominent article of commerce, and attending to its
distribution; and as sugar is one of the largest amount ofany
commodity brought by sea, it is best adapted to the purpose
we have in view. The West India merchants import it by
ship-loads, but in the ships are various qualities, according
to the plantations which produce it. Upon their landing,
samples are exhibited of the different qualities, classed ac¬
cording to their value, upon boards by the brokers. The
wholesale grocers purchase the sugars by boards of ten,
twenty, or forty hogsheads at a time, and then sell them to
the retail grocers, whose demand is limited, by single hogs¬
heads, or by portions of hogsheads. The profit of the in¬
termediate wholesale grocers is generally small, but as the
amount is large, and the return quick, it is generally a lucra¬
tive trade. It facilitates the great operations of the import¬
ing merchant, and accommodates the condition of the re¬
tailer, and these middlemen or wholesale grocers being
generally possessed of large capitals, buy with ready money,
and sell on credit, which, though short, is of great service
to the retailers, who are commonly less provided with capi¬
tal. If the wholesale grocer can return his capital three or
four times in the year, with but a profit of two per cent,
beyond the interest, he is amply repaid for the use of his
capital, and the increase of his profit is scarcely felt by the
consumer. It is not necessary here to entertain the ques¬
tion, whether it would not be better for a community that
all transactions in commerce should be conducted solely
by ready money; our object being rather to shew the ex¬
isting mode, than to indulge speculations on a supposititious
arrangement under a different state of affairs.
The other great articles of commerce are distributed in
the same manner as sugar. Thus tea is bought at the
India House by the wholesale tea-dealers in lots of several
chests, and sold by them to the retailers in single chests, or
part of chests; so are currants, raisins, figs, coffee, spices, rice,
and in a great degree wine, rum, brandy, and gin. There
are, indeed, a few in each branch of trade who are both whole¬
sale and retail traders; but they form the exceptions, not the
rule.
In a similar way the wholesale traders of the metropolis
become the channels for conveying the articles manufactured
in one part of the kingdom to the retailers, and the latter to
the consumers in the other parts of it. Thus wholesale houses
in London collect the cloths of Yorkshire; the stuffs of Nor¬
wich ; the cottons of Lancashire or Scotland ; the linens of
Ireland, or of the northern counties ; the iron-ware of Bir¬
mingham ; the cutlery of Sheffield; the pottery and por¬
celain of Staffordshire ; the bottles of Northumberland; the
ribbons of Coventry and Leake ; and the hosiery of Not¬
tingham, Leicester, and Derby ; and from their warehouses,
LONDON.
ndon) by the assistance of their travellers, they supply the chief
^demand of the shopkeepers in the smaller towns in the
southern and western counties of England.
Thus London, from the capital possessed by its mer¬
chants, its easy accessibility from every part of the kingdom,
and the facilities of direct conveyance to and from it, has be¬
come a trading place far beyond what its own production
and consumption could ever have created. The system of
banking pursued in London is peculiarly favourable to the
interest and the convenience of the intermediate trade.
There are seventy private banking houses in the city and
its adjuncts; most of the traders keep accounts in them; and
the surplus money of some accounts is used to discount
bills for those who need it, whilst acceptances for goods sold,
the practice of giving which has vastly increased, can easily
be converted into money. The bankers can spare a greater
portion of their balances than they could do if they were
liable to general calls for it; but that is not much the case,
from the establishment created among the bankers called the
clearing-house. At that place, near Lombard Street, each
banking house sends a clerk with the checks on other houses
received in the course of the day, and there exchanges them
with the checks drawn upon them. By this exchange of
paper, sums of enormous magnitude are paid and received
mutually, with the use of only a small sum of money, or of
Bank of England notes. In fact, in London, generally
speaking, there is much less money left in a state of abso¬
lute rest, than in proportion to its amount is to be found in
any other of the commercial cities of Europe.
The ease and certainty with which assorted cargoes for
ships bound to foreign markets can be furnished is a great
advantage to London, and particularly to that intermediate
class of traders called warehousemen or wholesale dealers.
There is no product of any part of the United Kingdom, none
of those of the most distant parts of the globe, that may
not be obtained in London, without causing any detention
to the departing vessels, and without any great advance in
the price beyond the cost of conveyance.
4ufaci Although London, when compared with some of the
towns of the north of England and of Scotland, can scarcely
be entitled to the name of a manufacturing place; yet the
various articles fabricated in and around it, afford great oc¬
cupation to numerous individuals ; and they have been the
nurseries in which the most important branches of national
industry have received their birth and their first growth.
The silk trade is that which at present gives employment
to the greatest number of hands. This was originally in¬
troduced by French Protestant refugees, many of the de¬
scendants of whom still continue the trade of their ances¬
tors. The number of persons employed in the several ope¬
rations of dyeing, winding, warping, and weaving silk, a
1 Lrge proportion of whom consists of females and children,
is estimated at 48,000. The new-fashioned goods and the
kncy articles are mostly made here; and any kind of goods
hat happens afterwards to become much in demand, is
>oon made, where food, fuel, and labour are cheap, upon
-vhich it ceases in London. The change of fashion and the
variation of taste is so frequent, that the silk-weavers do
lot decline in the metropolis, notwithstanding the numer-
>us power-looms which make silk goods in the other parts
>f the kingdom. The good effects of the nurture which the
metropolis affords to infant fabrics, may be illustrated by
ome facts relating to the silk trade. In the middle of the
ust century, silk gauzes were exclusively made in Lon-
l°n. But some disturbances amongst the weavers, caused
family or two whose property was embarked in that busi-
icss to remove to Scotland in the beginning of the reign
•f George III. They there established the silk gauze trade,
mploying operative weavers, who had been occupied in
naking gauzes of flax, commonly known by the name of
scotch lawns or clear lawns. The attempt succeeded, and
505
VOL. XIII.
soon became so extensive that the great and flourishing London,
town of Paisley owes its present state to this circumstance,
The effect of this early nurture of the trade did not stop
with itself. In a few years, the fashion of wearing silk began
to decline, and the experiment was tried to turn the hands
who had woven silk gauzes to the kindred manufactory of
muslins like gauze, but made of cotton. Book muslins, as
they were called, and afterwards other sorts of muslin, were
then fabricated: a trade on the extent and value of which
to the whole kingdom it is unnecessary here to expatiate.
There are numerous small articles which are either made
exclusively in London, or which, having the name of “ town
made,” are better reputed than any others. Amongst the
first are. silk fringes, coach lace, gold and silver lace, lapi¬
dary articles, Prussian blue, and some others; amongst the
latter, as is well known to all ladies, are needles, pins, fine
scissors, and penknives, to which may be added musical,
mathematical, and surgical instruments ; brushes, combs';
clocks, watches, jewellery of the superior kinds, gold and
silver plate; ornamental and useful furniture, coaches and
other carriages, saddlery, painters’ and dyers’ materials;
numerous medicinal and chemical preparations, particularly
magnesia, aquafortis, sal-volatile, essential oils, and other
articles.
I lie publication of books is a great trade in London. The Trades,
population return of trades is necessarily indistinct; but,
according to it, there are 8950 imles above twenty years
of age, who are booksellers, printers, binders, or otherwise
employed. It gives subsistence to about 50,000 individuals.
The tailors and shoemakers furnish with their respective
articles of dress many who do not reside in London, and
many even in the colonies and in India, The numbers of
the tailors are stated at 13,783. Those of the shoemakers
and menders amount to 15,274 ; but the chief part of the
shoes furnished to London are made at Stafford, Northamp¬
ton, and Newxastle-under-Line. The bakers are stated at
5209; the butchers at 4069; the carpenters, 12,254; the
cabinet-makers, 4921; the publicans, 4804; the upholster¬
ers, 1724; the glaziers and plumbers, 2272; the brick¬
layers, 4874; the house-painters, 4439; the blacksmiths,
4106; the whitesmiths, 1822; plasterers, 1725; and the
stone masons, 1592.
As these numbers relate solely to males above twenty-
years of age, they can only be used for the purpose of com¬
parison ; but as females are excluded, and all males below
twenty, we may perhaps be justified in assuming that the
number of individuals subsisting by means of these pro¬
fessions may be multiplied by four.
It is obvious to remark the great number of persons em¬
ployed in the construction or reparation of buildings, and
the proportion they bear to those engaged in other kinds
of industry. This seems to show that the metropolis is still
most rapidly advancing in improvement, as it must be in
wealth, since the erection of new houses of any kind is the
best evidence of a previous accumulation of capital.
1 he next object of attention is the quantity of provisions Quan£jtv
consumed in London annually, and the means by which of provii
supplies are procured. The annual supply of cattle, in thesions con-
last ten years, has been 153,228; that of sheep, 1,265,958 ;sumed-
that of fatted calves, 20,780. The pigs are estimated,
but little faith can be placed in the calculation, as one-tenth
of the number of sheep. If the weight of the cattle be
taken at 300 lbs. on the average, and the offal be taken at
200 lbs., the weekly amount consumed will be 1,766,092 lbs.
If, in the same way, the weight of the sheep be taken on
the average at 80 lbs. each, and the offal at 20 lbs., the week¬
ly weight consumed will be 2,035,788 lbs. The calves,
averaging 140 lbs., with 35 lbs. allowed for offal, would
give a result of 61,191 lbs.
Thus, taking the whole into view, the weight appears to
be3 s
506
LONDON.
London.
Of beef,
Of mutton, ,
Of veal, . ...
To this may be added for pork, one-
twentieth the weight of mutton, .
1,766,092 lbs.
2,035,788 ...
61,191 ...
101,787 ...
3,964,858 lbs.
There is also brought to London a large
quantity of bacon hams, tongues, and
other salted meat. A portion also of
the offal, as tripe, liver, and other
parts, is used as human food, and so
are sausages. These may be estima¬
ted as equal to one-tenth, or . 396,485 lbs.
4,361,343 lbs.
We thus arrive at a weekly consumption of 4,361,342 lbs.,
or to a daily consumption of 623,049 lbs., being, for 1,800,000
persons, 5| ounces per day, or 109 lbs. yearly. The statis¬
tical accounts of Paris give, as the annual consumption of
each person in that city, 86 lbs.; and at Brussels the esti¬
mate is three pounds highet, or 89 lbs. In no other city
of Europe, excepting perhaps Hamburg, does the consump¬
tion reach so high as in Paris.
The preceding remarks on animal food are only made for
the sake of comparison, and not to obtain great confidence.
The only actually ascertained facts are the numbers of the
oxen and sheep, all the rest being estimate or conjecture. It
is well known that cattle are purchased at Smithfield, and
driven to the towns near London to be slaughtered, and
that many cutting butchers in such towns buy cattle of the
carcass butchers in London. From many distant towns
much meat is sent to the metropolis, when cut into joints.
The legs with the loins of sheep, and the best parts of the
roasting pieces of beef, are sent by coaches to the butchers
of London, and the inferior parts of the same animals are
sold in the country markets. All this makes any calcula¬
tion, whatever foresight may be applied to the subject, very
uncertain and doubtful. The weekly account of sales here
quoted only applies to the animals brought to Smithfield, of
which an account is taken by the city authorities. The
sales have not increased with the increase of the popula¬
tion, and chiefly because other markets recently rising, the
amount of sales in them has increased. One of these is at
Southall, on the Uxbridge road; another at Balls Pond,
Islington; and one near Croydon. Of these no accurate
account can be obtained.
Quantity The quantity of corn consumed in London is as difficult
of com to be ascertained as that of meat. The market of Mark
consumed. Lane, where, in two buildings of handsome appearance and
commodiously fitted up, the principal transactions in grain
and flour are conducted, is no criterion of the quantity ac¬
tually consumed. There are speculations at times going
on, which baffle all conjecture. Besides, much of the bread
made in London is compounded of flour brought by sea
from the northern parts of England, and some even from
Scotland and Ireland. Most of the mills which supply the
best flour are either in the vicinity of London, or at such a
distance that a waggon and horses can go and return within
the day. On the river Colne, from Walford to the Thames,
are several powerful mills. On the river Wandle, in Sur¬
rey, are also some; and there is one enormous mill at
Wandsworth, partly worked by steam. The Thames be¬
low London conveys to it much corn and flour; the best
of both is brought from the shores of Kent and Essex; but
much comes from the more distant ports in the counties of
Suffolk, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire. The supply of oats is
chiefly obtained from Lincolnshire and the rich marshes of
the Isle of Ely, which export at Wisbeach or Lynn. Bar¬
ley is generally supplied from the turnip farms of Norfolk,
and from the lands of the lighter kinds in Cambridgeshire,
Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire; but much of it is made T
into malt before it is sent to London. According to the W
accounts of the inspector of corn returns, the quantitv sold ^
in London has been as follows. 4 Y
An account of the quantities of British Wheat, Barley,
and Oats, sold in the London markets in each year from
1825 to 1835, both years inclusive.
London is well supplied with fish of all kinds, according s
to the season. The greater part is brought by vessels toyf'
the wholesale fish-market at Billingsgate, in Lower Thames
Street. Many of these vessels are Dutch, which catch the
fish, chiefly turbot, on the Dogger Bank, and convey it to
market; but much is taken by our own fishermen. From
Scotland, abundance of salmon, in the proper months, is
brought to Billingsgate, packed in ice. In some years there
have been imported from Norway as many as 1,200,000
lobsters, and some from Heligoland. There is no duty up¬
on turbot or lobsters, but all other fish, if not caught by
British fishermen, are prohibited. At some periods great
quantities of fish, chiefly mackerel, are brought to London
by land-carriage. Large quantities of cured fish are fur¬
nished to the metropolis, such as the salted cod brought
from Newfoundland, the smoked and the salted herrings
caught in Scotland, and on the shores of Norfolk and Suf¬
folk. The fish trade still centres in the city at the old mar¬
ket of Billingsgate, an attempt to establish a market of com¬
petition at Hungerford having hitherto failed. The trade is
carried on chiefly by means of salesmen, who contract for
the cargoes as they arrive, and retail them out to the fish¬
mongers, of whom there are 950 scattered about in every
division of the metropolis and the contiguous villages. The
oyster fishery depends chiefly on the demand in the metro¬
polis, where only the best can be obtained. The feeding '
of them is carried on chiefly at Colchester, to which neigh¬
bourhood they are brought from the shores of Hampshire
and Dorsetshire, and laid down in beds on creeks, to grow
and fatten during two or three years. The trade employs
about 200 vessels of from fifteen to forty-five tons burden.
The quantity caught of late years has been from 14,000 to
15,000 bushels. The packing them in small barrels as pre¬
sents, is a considerable trade. The quantity of fish brought
to London has been estimated at 50,000 tons weight an¬
nually, but with what degree of correctness this is stated, we
have not ascertained.
The land around London is much too valuable to be des- produ*-1
tined for the growth of corn. Whatever may have been the li;j-
the original quality of the soil (and it wras probably once^011^
very poor), the draining in the swampy parts, and the vast1'01
quantity of manure which a great city supplies, has made
it some of the most productive in the kingdom. It is,
however, chiefly devoted to feeding cows, whose milk must
be brought fresh to the consumer, or in growing such de¬
licate fruits and vegetables as are injured by long keeping
or long carriage. The number of cows kept for milking is
T kots.
LON
i calculated at about 12,000, yielding about 10,000 gal-
- lons of milk, which is supplied at each house twice a-day
out of tin pails. The grass-land is hardly sufficient to feed
that number, and some part of their food, besides hay, con¬
sists of grains from breweries, and often of Swedish tur¬
nips or mangel wurzel, brought from farms at a distance.
Except this feeding land, the greater part of the soil is
appropriated to nurseries or horticulture. The first yields
flowers in abundance, and young plants of the various kinds
proper for gardens. The latter produce the best of culi¬
nary vegetables that are required for daily use in the me¬
tropolis. The more delicate kinds used for salads are emi¬
nently good. The lettuces, especially, are more approved
than any grown at a distance from London. Cabbages,
broccoli, cauliflowers, and other plants of the Brassica tribe,
are deemed to be more appropriate products of the soil
and atmosphere of the vicinity of London, than of any other
parts of the kingdom.
Those fruits which are of the most perishable kind are
grown nearest to London, particularly raspberries, straw¬
berries, and cherries in their season. These are commonly
gathered at a very early hour in the morning, and sent to
the first-rate fruit shops, on the heads of women, mostly
from Wales, and are ready quite fresh at the hour of break¬
fast. Gooseberries, currants, and the common wall-fruits
are amply supplied. The vegetables from Chelsea, Ham¬
mersmith, Fulham, and on the banks of the river are con¬
veyed for the most part by the river Thames, and con¬
signed to Covent Garden and the other vegetable markets,
where they are met with those products that arrive in carts.
They are generally sold by salesmen or factors, and then
distributed throughout the metropolis by a class of small
traders denominated green-grocers.
rihe more common and less perishable vegetables, such
as potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips, are grown at a
greater distance, but are brought to the same markets, and
are dispensed to the consumers in a similar manner. It
may here be remarked, that the vicinity of Gravesend is
celebrated for the excellence of its asparagus and arti¬
chokes, the greater part of which is conveyed to London
by the steam vessels. Not far from that place is a kind of
farm which could be profitable nowhere but in the vicinity
of a great city. A few acres are destined to grow water-
cresses. These are gathered early every morning, bound
up in small bunches, and despatched by a light cart to Lon¬
don, where it arrives by the hour of breakfast, and is dis¬
tributed by persons wdio cry them through the streets for
sale. Poultry is abundantly if not cheaply provided ; but
if dear, it is remarkably good. Higglers travel the country
round London and purchase fowls in the lean state. These
are carefully fattened at some large establishment for that
purpose in the eastern side of London. Pigeons are also
kept for poulterers’ shops, and many tame rabbits. Of late
hares, pheasants, and partridges have been allowed to be
sold, and are obtained at moderate prices. These articles
furnish subsistence to about 350 traders, known by the
name of poulterers, who sometimes unite with them the
dealing in butter, eggs, and sausages.
The markets in the metropolis are numerous, but the
most considerable of these can here receive no other atten¬
tion than mentioning their names and localities.
Covent-Garden has been already noticed as the place for
vegetables. It is the centre of a square, and has been
newly built within the last six years by the Duke of Bed¬
ford, the proprietor. It is an elegant and commodious
structure, with two ranges of shops running from north to
south, and three from north to south. In these and in the
open parts of the market the display of fruits, flowers, and
vegetables, especially at an early hour of the morning, is a
very gratifying spectacle. Its situation is convenient, and
the access to it from every side peculiarly easy.
DON. 507
Newgate market is one of the largest, dealing much by London,
wholesale both in meat and vegetables. There are many 'V—^
carcass outchers who sell the whole animals when slaughter- Newgate,
ed, without the skin, tallow, and entrails, to others in the
same market, or in other parts of the town, who sell it by
the joint, and are distinguished by the name of cutting
butchers. There are also salesmen as well as retailers of
fruit and vegetables. The great or wholesale markets are
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Leadenhall market rivals that of Newgate in the number Leaden-
and extent of the carcass and cutting butchers, and excels hall,
it in the trade of skins and leather. A new market called
Farringdon has been constructed to supply the want of
Fleet market, which has been removed to form a good
avenue. It is large, covering more than an acre of ground,
and the building, which was finished in 1829, cost the cor¬
poration of the city L.200,000. It is very commodious, but
hitherto not filled with sellers and buyers.
Hungerford market has been built only two years, on the Hunger-
site, but enlarged, of a former market. It is an elegant ford. ”
and commodious structure, most appropriately fitted up.
As it stands on the bank of the Thames, and has conve¬
nient access to the water by stairs, it was expected that the
vessels with fish would come up and discharge them; but that
expectation has not been fulfilled, nor are the greater part
of the shops occupied. It was built by a joint stock com¬
pany. The length of the interior is 140 feet, and the
breadth 70. The front to the river has a fine appearance.
The great markets for hay and straw are held in White- other
chapel, in Smithfield, in the Borough, in the Haymarket, markets,
and near the Paddington canal. The other markets are
Newport for butcher-meat, Borough for meat and vege¬
tables, and Honey Lane for the best qualities of their seve¬
ral kinds of food; Clare, Cumberland, Fitzroy, Grosvenor,
Hoxton, James, Oxford, Red Lion, Mortimer, Tottenham
Court, St Luke’s, St George’s, Shadwell, Sheppard’s,
Brooks, and Chelsea, are all of them markets upon a retail
scale, but sufficiently supplied to accommodate the popula¬
tion in their immediate vicinity with what they require.
The class of tradesmen called cheesemongers, of which
there are 1395 in the metropolis, deal chiefly but not all of
them exclusively in butter and cheese. Some of them
add to their proper trade that of selling hams, bacon, and
tongues. The sale of butter is said to be 24,650 pounds,
and that of cheese to be 26,700,000; but this must at best
be a doubtful estimate.
The mode by which the poorest classes are supplied with
food, according to the power of purchasing it, is by small
shops scattered through every part of the outskirts of the
town. In some of these, small portions of meat, or of pud¬
dings, or of vegetables may be obtained ready cooked, at
very low rates. In some parts these are in cellars, which
are the most homely and cheapest. Of late a practice has
prevailed of carrying about potatoes ready boiled, and kept
warm, which are sold to the most destitute, who can only
command a penny or even a halfpenny, and with that can
purchase a meal, though a very scanty one.
No city can become large unless it is built on the banks Water
of a river which abundantly supplies it with water both for00111?311!®81
drinking and for cleanliness ; and when it becomes extend¬
ed far from the river, the expense and the labour to be ap¬
plied to afford a supply of water to such parts is very great,
especially if, as is almost always the case, the ground rises
in height as it is more removed from the stream. Although
London is supplied with many excellent springs of fresh
water, they were early found to afford an insufficient sup¬
ply, and, besides, the water was not fitted for many purposes.
Various means have been adopted to secure an adequate
portion of water, each of which deserves notice; but the
most prominent is that which still affords nearly one-half
the quantity that is consumed.
• In t,ie early part of the reign of James L, Sir Hugh
Middleton, a citizen of the Goldsmith Company of London,
undertook at his own risk and charge to convey to the
elevated hill above the city a river of fresh and good water.
He began the work in 1608, but the city refusing to em¬
bark in the undertaking, the King covenanted to advance
money for the purpose on condition of half the property
being conveyed to him. This agreement was made in
May 1612, and in September 1613 the water was let into
the basin at the place now called the New River head at
Rlington. From thence by subsequent labour it was at
length conveyed by pipes underground to the several streets
and houses that required it. Since that period the com-
pany has augmented its supply first from the river Lea and
then from other sources; and the concern has proved highly
beneficial to the company. The principal supply is ob¬
tained at Amwell in the county of Hertford, whence pre¬
serving the level so as to have only a fall of two inches in
a mile, it flows forty miles with a gentle motion, and in
that distance passes under 200 bridges, until it reaches the
main large or circular reservoir whence it is distributed to
the inhabitants.
The next attempt to supply water was by the Chelsea
Water-work Company in the year 1723; and these two,
with some aid from machinery at London Bridge, continued
to supply the north side of the Thames till 1810, when three
new companies, the East London, the West London, and
the Grand Junction, were established by authority of differ¬
ent acts of Parliament.
The following account from Wade on the Police will
best describe the operations and practical effects of the
companies. The progress of the New River has been no¬
ticed. I here are at Clerkenwell two reservoirs having be¬
tween them a surface of about five acres and a depth of ten
feet. 1 hese reservoirs are 84J feet above low water-mark
in the Thames, and by means of steam-engines and a stand-
pipe an additional height of sixty feet can be given to the
watei ; so that all the mains belonging to this company are
kept full by a considerable pressure of water. The highest
service given by the New River is the cistern on the top
of Covent Garden theatre. The aqueduct by which the
water is brought has only a fall of two inches in a mile ;
thus it wastes by evaporation in summer, and is impeded
by frosts in the winter. At such times the company pump
an additional supply from the Thames at Broken Whar£
between Llackfi’iars and Southwark Bridges. To this,
however, they seldom have recourse, and their engine*
erected since the works at London Bridge have been remov¬
ed, has worked only 176 hours in the year. The New
River Company supply 66,000 houses with water at an
annual average of 1100 hogsheads each, or, in all, about
75,000,000 hogsheads annually.
The East London water-works are situated at Old Ford,
on the river Lea, about three miles from the Thames, and
a little below the point to which the tide flows. By the
act of parliament this company must take its water when
the tide runs up, and the mills below have ceased working.
Hie water is pumped into reservoirs, and allowed to settle,
and a supply of 6,000,000 gallons is daily distributed to
about 42,000 houses. This company supplies no water at
a greater elevation than thirty feet, and the usual height at
which the delivery is made to the tenants is six feet above
the pavement. They have 200 miles of iron-pipes, which,
m some places, cost them seven guineas the yard. This
and the New River are the only companies that do not
draw their supply wholly from the Thames.
The West Middlesex Company derive their supply of
water from the Thames at the upper end of Hannner-
smith, 9 J miles above London Bridge, where the bed of the
Thames is gravel. The water is forced by engines to a
reservoir at Kensington, 309 feet long, 123 wide, and <>o
deep, which is paved and lined with brick, and is elevated
120 feet above low water in the Thames. They have
another reservoir on Little Primrose Hill, about 70 feet
higher, and containing 88,000 hogsheads of water, under
the pressure of which the drains are kept charged in the
event ol fires. 1 hey serve about 15,000 tenants, and the
average daily supply is 2,250,000 gallons.
The Chelsea water-works derive their supply from the
Thames about a quarter of a mile east from Chelsea Hos¬
pital, and they have two reservoirs ; one in the Green Parfe
near to Piccadilly, and another in Hyde Park near to Mount
Street, the former having an elevation of 44, and the latter
of 70 feet. These reservoirs till very recently had never
been cleaned, nor had any preparation been made for that
purpose in their construction. About one-third of the wa¬
ter served out by this company is allowed to settle in these
reservoirs, and the remaining two-thirds are sent directly
from the Thames. This company has recently construct¬
ed works by which they can filter their water by passing
through successive beds of stone and sand before it is sent
to the reservoirs. The Chelsea Company serves about
12,400 houses, and their daily supply amounts to 1,760,000
gallons.
The Grand Junction Company derive the whole of their
supply from the Thames immediately adjoining Chelsea
Hospital, whence it is pumped without any filtration or set¬
tling into three reservoirs at Paddington. These are respec¬
tively about 71, 86, and 92 feet above high water-mark in
the Thames ; their united contents are 19^355,840 gallons;
and by means of a stand-pipe the water is forced to the
height of 147 feet, or about 61 feet above the average
height in the reservoir. The number of houses supplied
by the Grand Junction Company is 7,700, and the average
daily supply of water is 2,800,000 gallons.
The Lambeth Company take their supply from the
Thames between Westminster and Waterloo Bridges. It
is drawn from the bed of the river by a suction-pipe, and is
delivered to the tenants without being allowed to subside,
there being only a cistern of 400 barrels at the works, as a
temporary supply till engines can be started. The greatest
height to which the company force water is about 40 feet.
Ihe South London or Vauxhall Company take their
supply from the river Thames by a tunnel which is laid six
feet below low water-mark, and as far into the river as the
third arch of Yauxball Bridge. At that particular place
the bed of the river is described as being always clean, and
without any of those depositions of mud and more offensive
substances that are found in many other places. Besides
the greater purity of the bed of the Thames there than
where any of the companies on the south side take their
supply, the company allow the water to settle in reservoirs.
This company supplies about 10,000 houses with water at
the rate of 1,000,000 gallons daily.
The Southwark water-works are the property of one in¬
dividual. They are supplied from the middle of the Thames
below Southwark and London Bridges; and the water thus
taken is sent out to tenants without standing to settle, or
without any filtration further than it receives from passing
through grates of wire or small holes in metallic plates.
The number of houses supplied from these works is about
7,000, and the daily supply of water about 720,000 gallons.
Lidon
LONDON.
The supply in a tabular form is thus
509
London.
Companies
New River,
East London,
West Middlesex,
Chelsea,
Grand Junction,
Lambeth,
South London,
Southwark,
Houses.
67,000
42,000
15,000
12,400
7,700
16,000
10,000
7,000
Average per day.
13,000,000
6,000,000
2,250,000
1,760,000
2,800,000
1,244,000
1,000,000
720,000
Average per Year.
4,056,000,000
1,872,000,000
702,000,000
549,120,000
873,600,000
388,128,000
312,000,000
224,540,000
Average per
House.
182
143
150
142
365
77
100
102
The three last companies, which all supply the south side of
the river, will appear to have a far less average supply than
the others on the north side. This arises from the differ¬
ence in the size of the houses and the number of inhabitants.
Thus the Grand Junction, which supplies the houses of
rich districts, contributes near five times as much water per
house as Lambeth, which is one of the poorest.
In consequence of the companies taking the water from
the Thames within the limits to which the tide flows, it is
necessarily, in the first instance, loaded with many impuri¬
ties. The reports that were recently circulated relative to
the deleterious quality of the water have been shewn to be
very greatly exaggerated. The statement of Dr Bostock,
given in the report of the commissioners, shews that by far
the greater part of the impurities in the Thames water are
mechanically suspended in, and not chemically combined
with it; that they may be separated from it by filtration,
or by merely allowing it to stand at rest. Most of the
companies have recently made considerable efforts to im¬
prove their water ; and though they may not have done as
much as they might and ought to have done, a considerable
improvement has been effected, and there is not the slightest
foundation for the notion that the impurities of the water
have ever been such as to affect in any degree the health
of the inhabitants.
?r- The beverage next to water in importance is the porter
mg. of London, a malt liquor much celebrated in every part of
the world. Its flavour has been attributed to some pecu¬
liar properties in the water from which it is manufactured;
but as some of it is made from Thames water, some from
New River water, and some from natural springs within
the premises of the brewers, that cannot be the cause.
The breweries are generally very large establishments, with
vessels of all kinds of most incredible capacity; and the
malt as well as the liquor is conveyed from one part of the
premises to another by machinery set in motion by steam
power. The capitals invested in many of the large brew¬
eries are enormous ; for not only do the cattle, drays, ves ¬
sels, and premises employ much, but most of them have
numerous public-houses either by purchase or on leases,
md the occupants placed in them are bound to take the
beer from the houses to which the premises belong. There
are some persons keeping public-houses who brew their
awn beer, but their number does not much exceed twenty,
md their operations are necessarily on a contracted scale.
In 1831, the number of males above twenty years of age
who are occupied in brewing appears by the parliamentary
returns to have been 563 ; but this is a very indeterminate
mode of viewing the extent of the trade.
Before the alteration of the law by which the tax on beer
»ras taken off, the books of the excise office afforded exact
iccounts of the quantities of beer annually brewed, but now
4 is difficult to collect any facts w ith accuracy. In the year
1830, the quantity brewed, in barrels of thirty-six gallons,
the last of those in which the tax was collected by the ten
principal houses in London, wras as follows :—
Barclay & Co. .
Truman, Hanbury, & Co.
Whitbread & Co.
Reid & Co.
Coombe & Co.
Henry Meux & Co.
Calvert & Co. .
Taylor & Co. .
Hoane & Co. .
Elliott & Co.
Barrels.
243,546
178,318
155,761
151,566
104,349
83,422
74,418
63,658
59,641
42,827
These supply the chief consumption, the others, though
numerous, not producing more than one-fifth of the great
houses.
One class of public establishments of the most beneficial Insurance
nature to trade especially, but in a greater or less degree offices,
to all other persons, consists of the various Insurance offices
in London. These may be divided into three sections,
viz. 1st, insurances on property at sea against all risks ; 2d,
insurances of houses and other goods against losses by
fire ; and, 3d, insurances on lives.
Marine insurances are chiefly e’ffected at Lloyd’s coffee¬
house, which has been already noticed under the head of
Royal Exchange ; but there are four joint stock companies
who insure against sea risks to a large extent, and who for
some descriptions of business are preferred to the under¬
writers at Lloyd’s. Two of these are of ancient establish¬
ment, viz. the London Assurance Company, and the Royal
Exchange Company. Two others are of more recent foun¬
dation, one called the Alliance Marine Assurance Com¬
pany, and the other the Indemnity Mutual Marine Assur¬
ance Company. All of these are of indisputable credit and
high honour, and transact a vast deal of business. Be¬
sides these there are clubs or associations formed by ship¬
owners, who agree, each entering his ships for a certain
sum, to divide amongst themselves each other’s losses. The
more public institutions act in some measure in concert
with the great mass of underwriters who carry on their
operations at large, so far as to contribute to the expense
of collecting information respecting the condition and equip¬
ment of all shipping in every port, and defraying the gene¬
ral expenses of the committee of Lloyd’s.
The business of insuring against fire, and the premiums
on the different descriptions of risks, are so w ell known, that
any enumeration of them here seems unnecessary. The
offices existing in London, and the amount they have paid
for stamps in one year, viz. 1832, are as follow:—
Albion,
Alliance,
Atlas,
British,
County,
Globe,
£15,011
20,147
21,010
15,644
48,507
27,198
Carry forward, £147,517
5J0
London.
Guardian, .
Hand-in-Hand,
Imperial, .
London,
Phoenix,
Protector, .
Royal Exchange,
Sun, .
Westminster,
Brought forward,
LONDON.
£147,517
31,528
10,960
28,234
8,125
75,076
59,182
54,824
124,127
15,315
whole of hie. The Rock allots to the assured two-thirds
r\T t MO 1a O V\ f rtvwl     * 1 . .1 • 1 ™
of the benefit, and adds one-third to the capital of the nm*,
nriptfirs. TIip ah:  T . . Pro'
£554,988
Each of these companies maintain fire-engines and a
company of firemen, who, as soon as an alarm is given,
hasten to the spot where a fire has broken out, and lend
their assistance to extinguish it, and to aid the inhabitants
in removing or saving their property. On such occasions
they are also found of great service to check the depreda¬
tions of thieves, who commonly congregate wherever a fire
happens. ...
This business of insurance against fire has led to the es¬
tablishment of county offices for the purpose in most parts
of England; but except that at Norwich, which has a branch
in London, and one at Exeter, they do but little business.
The stamps of all the others scarcely amount to £ 100,000.
The business of Life Insurance is one almost exclusively
known in England, and chiefly carried on in London; and
no other country has adopted the system which has been
so successfully pursued by us. The first society of the kind
in England was the Amicable, established in 1706. The
Royal Exchange and the London Assurance companies
began to insure on lives in the latter part of the reign of
George I., after which several projects of the kind were
started and failed. In the year 1763, the Equitable was
first established. This subject engaged the attention of Dr
Richard Price, an eminent mathematician, whose judicious
suggestions caused that society to obtain a high degree of
success, and encouraged others, on his principles, to start the
various companies which now exist in the metropolis. The
greatest business of all these companies consists in receiving
a sum by annual payments, according to the age of the life
insured, on condition to pay at the death a given sum. The
annual sum is greater or less as the person is younger or
older, and regulated by tables of the expectation of life,
framed from the most accurate views that have been obtained
of the average mass of human mortality. The tables used by
most of the companies are those of Carlisle and Northamp¬
ton, calculated on the proportion of deaths in a given num¬
ber of persons. Some of these tables having been thought
uncertain or erroneous, the government has employed Mr
Finlay son, and the companies Mr Milne and other calcula¬
tors, to render them more perfect, and much assistance has
been received from the facts relating to births and deaths
by the population reports of Mr Rickman.
Life insurances are effected by different companies on
various principles. One class receives a fixed annual pre¬
mium, and pays a fixed sum when death occurs, and the
proprietors themselves receive whatever benefits may ac¬
crue. The Pelican belongs to this class. Others divide
the whole of the profits equally between the assured, though
they may be divided into two sections, such as the Amicable,
which distributes the profits among all the assured; whilst
the Equitable allows none to participate in the profits, except
such as are assured for the whole term of their lives. The
third class have a body of proprietors distinct from the as¬
sured, and the profit is shared between the two bodies in
various proportions, and in various modes. Thus the Crown
Company divides tw o-thirds of the profits amongst the in¬
surers for life. The Economic divides three-fourths of the
profits amongst the assured. The Atlas gives the whole, by
a septennial division, to those insured above L.100 for the
. mi    ui tile pro
pnetors. The others, viz. the Alliance, the Imperial, the
Norwich Union, the Atlas, the European, the Guardian the
Hope, the Globe, the Law Life, and the Medical and Cle¬
rical, divide the whole profits, but differ much in their vari¬
ous times and manners of applying such profits.
The houses of several of the insurance companies are a
great ornament to the streets where they have been erect-
ed. The finest of them are the County and Provident, in
Regent Street; the Equitable, in New Bridge Street; the
Union, in Cornhill; the Globe, in Cornhill; the Albion
m JNew Bridge Street; the British, in the Strand; the
London and the Pelican, in Lombard Street.
1 he prosperity of London has been much advanced bv n ■.
r Rrido'ps hni'li nvoi- tha ’ti  i i_ .i „ /-ondgei
the Bridges built over the river Thames, and by the faci¬
lities of intercourse with the districts to the south of it
being thereby facilitated. In ancient times the connexion
with those districts was maintained by means of ferries, the
property of which belonged to individuals or to societies.
Some of these were adapted for foot-passengers, and others
for horses, or for other cattle; and the access by the roads
leading to the ferries was such as to forbid the general use
of wheel-carriages, so that even heavy goods were brought
by pack-horses. 1 he land on both sides was of a marshy
nature, and the cost of constructing roads was one amongst
many obstacles to the erection of bridges. With regard to
the six bridges now on the Thames, none of them has any
connexion with ancient recollections except London Bridge,
to which the first notice wall be directed, and then atten¬
tion will be given to the others, according to the dates of
their construction.
At what period a bridge was built across the Thames, atfondo'
the spot now occupied by one, cannot be settled. It could Br%‘
not have been before the year 993, when the Danish in¬
vader Unlaf sailed up the river as high as Staines; nor
later than the year 1016, when Canute the Dane, in be¬
sieging London, was impeded in his operations by a forti¬
fied bridge, which compelled him to cut a canal on the
south side of the river from Rotherhithe to a spot to the
west of the city, and thereby complete the investment.
The remains of this great work were found in 1694, at the
place called Dock-head.
Howe the historian, represents that construction as the
work of the monks of St Mary Overy, who not only built the
bridge, but kept it in repair. But however that may be, it was
built of wood, and was burned in 1136. It was then rebuilt
of stone, and commenced in 1176, and it occupied thirty-
three years to complete it, having been finished in 1209.
This great work was founded on enormous piles, driven
as closely as possible together, and on their tops were laid
planks nine inches thick, strongly bolted, on which the base
of each pier was placed. Around all were the sterlings to
protect the foundation, which so contracted the passage of
the water as to form a fall of five feet with the ebb-tide,
which caused the loss of thousands of lives between its erec¬
tion and removal. The length of this vast work was 915 feet,
and it had 19 arches of unequal dimensions, and greatly de¬
formed by the sterlings, and by the houses on each side,
which overhung it in a most terrific manner. In most
places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared but the
rude piers. It wTas narrow, darksome, and dangerous to
passengers from the multitude of carriages ; arches of strong
timber frequently crossed the street, from the tops of the
houses, to keep them together, and to prevent them from
falling into the river. The houses had shops mostly ten¬
anted by pin and needle makers. According to Fuller, the
first needles were made by a Spanish negro in Cheapside,
who died without communicating his art; but one Crouse,
a German, in the reign of Elizabeth, first taught the Eng*
lish to make them.
LONDON.
511
In one part of the building was a drawbridge, which was
•protected by a strong tower, that served to admit ships, and
served on several occasions as a means of defence. On
the top of this tower was constantly presented the horrid
;pectacle of the heads of persons condemned for treason.
The new bridge, which was begun in June 1824, and com¬
pleted in 1831, is about 200 feet higher up the river than
that which it replaced. It is a fine object, projected by
the late Mr Rennie, and executed by his sons. It is built
of Scotch and Derbyshire granite, and is composed of five
elliptical arches, the central one being the finest ever erect¬
ed. On either side of the ends of the bridge are five flights
of steps reaching to the water. The foundation of the
whole is laid on piers, which were driven down twenty
’eet into the stiff blue clay forming the bed of the river,
ind on their tops are horizontal sleepers, on which the
orst course of masonry was placed. The whole length of
the bridge is 928 feet, the breadth of the water-way 692
feet, the width from the outside of one parapet to that of
:he other 56 feet, the span of the centre arch 152 feet, that
jf the arches on each side of it 140 feet, the height above
ow water-mark 55 feet, and the width of the carriage-way
33| feet. It is a proud monument of the present age.
The money expended in building the. bridge amounted to
L.542,000, but to this must be added the cost of the ap¬
proaches, consisting partly of old buildings, and partly of
ground, so that the whole cost amounted to L.711,000.
Much of this sum has been borrowed upon the security of
the estates of the corporation.
tmim That noble structure, as it was then denominated, called
iridgj Westminster Bridge, was begun in January 1739. The
first stone was laid by Henry Earl of Pembroke, of whom
Walpole reports, that no nobleman had a purer taste in ar¬
chitecture. The design was made by M. Labelye, a native
jf France. The work was not completed till November
1748, having thus occupied eight years and nine months.
The expense of its erection was L.389,500. It is built
wholly of Portland stone. The difficulties in the founda-
don were great, and were only surmounted by L.40,000
oeing expended on materials for that part of the work.
The length is 1223, the breadth 44, and the foot-path 7 feet.
It consists of thirteen large and two small arches, the centre
ane of which is 76 feet wide, and the others decrease 4 feet
each as they proceed towards the two end arches, which
ire no more than 52 feet. On each side is a stone balus¬
trade 6 feet 9 inches in height, with arched recesses for
shelter from the rain ; the height of this has been a subject
if censure, because it obstructs a clear view of the noble
;pa
lei
th
■'es1
atei
expanse of water, and of the fine objects, especially to the
east, which are scattered with no unsparing hand. The
tide has been known to rise at this bridge 22 feet, much
;o the annoyance of the inhabitants of the lower parts of
Westminster, for at such times their cellars are filled with
water, and the floor of Westminster Hall so covered with it,
hat the judges and others require boats to bring them
Jut, or wait until the ebbing of the tide lower the water.
Blackfriars’ Bridge fills up the space which was once the
filthy mouth of Fleet ditch, and formed a continuation of the
river Fleet from Holborn Bridge, but which was a broad
lat surface filled with mud, on which coal barges rested
when the tide was out, but floated at the time of high-wa-
er. It was commenced in October 1760, and finished in
he same month of the year 1768. The plan was fur-
lished by Robert Mylne, a Scotch architect, and the ex¬
pense of the construction was L. 152,840 : 3 : 10. The
:orporation of London advanced the money, and were to
Je repaid by a daily toll, which, after some years, became
Jnly a Sunday toll, and a few years later was altogether
| }iven up. The corporation, in a political fit, resolved that
t should be called after the name of William Pitt, Earl of
Chatham, then a favourite statesman with that body; but
that name has never been adopted, except on the brass-plate London,
below the foundation. The small square, however, which
adjoins the bridge, bears the name of Chatham Place. The
bridge is composed of nine elliptical arches, the centre one
of which is 100 feet wide. The whole length is 995, the
breadth of the carriage-way is 28 feet, and that of the foot¬
way 7 feet. Over each pier is a recess, supported by ele¬
gant Ionic pillars, and at each extremity are handsome
flights of steps leading to the water, where boats are at all
times in attendance. It is just half-way between the two
more recently-erected bridges called Waterloo and South¬
wark, and has a fine view of both, as well as of St Paul’s
cathedral, and many other interesting objects.
A bridge across the Thames between those of Westmin- Waterloo
ster and Blackfriars had been long a desideratum, but no Bridge,
effort was made to erect one before the year 1806, when
Mr Dodd, an architect, formed a party, who obtained an
act of Parliament, and smoothed some of the obstacles which
had impeded the progress of such an undertaking. But the
committee and Dodd having disagreed, the work devolved
on that eminent architect the late Mr Rennie, who lived
to complete this most noble of all the structures of the Bri¬
tish metropolis. The work commenced in 1811, when the
foundation was laid, by driving into the ground at the bot¬
tom of the river, the piles upon which the several piers rest.
Each of those piers have under them 320 piles of 20 feet
in length, and 13 inches diameter, which are driven down,
being one in every square yard. The bridge is built partly
of Cornish, and partly of Aberdeen granite. The arches
are elliptical, and all of the same size, and the road is con¬
sequently without any elevation or depression on passing it.
The roads upon both sides leading to it have been raised
so as to maintain a complete level to and over it. The
style of the building is plain yet noble. It consists of
nine arches equal in span, being 120 feet. The whole of
the road from the Strand, where its ascent begins, to the
Surrey side, which has been raised on forty brick arches, is
2890 feet. The length of the stone-work within the abut¬
ments is 1242 feet. The width of the bridge within the
balustrades is 42 feet, that of the pavement or footway is
7 feet. The clear water-way under the nine equal arches
is 1080 feet. At each extremity of the bridge are hand¬
some flights of steps leading to the water.
This structure was erected in five years, and first open¬
ed on the 18th of June 1817, the anniversary of the victory
of Waterloo, from which it receives its name. The cere¬
mony was graced by the presence of the Prince Regent,
afterwards George IV., the Duke of Wellington, and other
distinguished personages. At the extremities of the bridge
are toll-houses, of neat Doric structure, with turnstiles,
which, by means of machinery below, indicate the number
of persons that pass through, and thus act as a check on
the collectors of the toll. The cost of this bridge, which
was constructed by a joint-stock company, amounted to one
million sterling, and it is to be regretted that the spirited
society should be such pecuniary sufferers as they are at
present. The chief hope of a better state of affairs, rests
upon the expectation of a great increase of buildings on
the Surrey side of the river.
Vauxhall Bridge, the next in date, connects Chelsea with Vauxhall
the parish of Lambeth. It was commenced in 1813, when Bridge,
the first stone was laid by Charles Duke of Brunswick, and
finished in 1816, at an expense of L. 150,000, which is to
be discharged by the tolls over it, which are necessarily
high. It is composed of nine arches of equal span, made
of cast-iron, resting on piers formed by a wooden frame,
faced with stone and Roman cement. The length is 860
feet. The arches are 78 feet in the span, and 29 feet in
height. It was projected by Mr Dodd, who began it, and
for a short time the conduct of the operation fell into the
hands of Mr Walker, but it finally came under the direc-
512
LONDON.
Southwark
Bridge.
London, tion of Mr Rennie, by whom the work was finished. The
 v'--*-' land upon the Middlesex side was very swampy, and it has
cost much to make a good road to it. It forms a good
communication with the western part of the town, and es¬
pecially with the buildings erecting near Belgrave Square.
The latest of the bridges is that called, after the part to
which it leads from Queen Street, in the city, the South¬
wark. It was projected by Mr Wyatt, but began to be
constructed by Mr Rennie in 1814, with the aid of Mr
Weston as sub-engineer. It was completed in 1819, hav¬
ing cost, including the expense of forming the avenues to
it, L. 800,000. Messrs Joliff and Banks contracted to per¬
form the work, and the cast-iron was supplied from the
foundery of the Walkers at Rotheram.
This stupendous bridge consists of three cast-iron arches,
resting on massive stone piers and abutments. The dis¬
tance between the abutments is 708 feet. The extent of
each abutment inclosed, including the land and the inverted
arches, is 71 feet, formed of solid masonry. There are two
piers, 60 feet high from the bed of the river to the top
of the parapet, 24 feet in breadth between high and low-
water marks, and 75 feet long between one acme and
another of the salient angles. The foundations of these
piers are each about twelve feet below the bed or bottom
of the river, and rest upon a platform of timber 2^ feet
thick; these platforms repose on about 420 piles, most of
which are driven 24 feet into the earth, making the depth,
from the shoe of the piles to the parapet of the piers, 98 feet.
The two side arches are 210 feet each in span, and the
centre arch 240, with 43 feet clear opening above low-
water mark at medium tides. The centre arch is thus the
largest in the work!, exceeding the admired bridge at Sun¬
derland by 4 feet, and that of the once highly boasted
Rialto of Venice by 167 feet. Many of the iron single
or solid castings weigh ten tons each, and the total weight
of iron in the bridge is 5308 tons. This bridge was con¬
structed with so much accuracy, that, when the centerings
of the middle arch were removed, it only sunk at the ver¬
tex one inch and seven-eighths. At the end of the bridge
are turnstiles, with machinery to shew the number of pas¬
sers through, similar to those of Waterloo Bridge. The
tolls are lower than those of Waterloo for all but foot-pas¬
sengers. They have not yet amounted to such a sum as
the shareholders expected, or as they probably will become
when all the avenues leading to it receive the improvements
that are in contemplation.
The attempted Tunnel under the Thames is so connected
with the purpose for which bridges are constructed, that
the two kinds of undertakings may be said to be in contact.
Mr Brunei, the eminent mechanic and projector of pub¬
lic works, had formed a scheme for making a tunnel under
the Thames, near Gravesend, which had failed; but the
failure, instead of deterring him from other attempts, urged
him on, by the conviction that it was practicable, and would
be beneficial to the public. The confidence in his talents,
assiduity, and integrity, was so great, that a company was
speedily formed, and an act of Parliament was passed, in¬
corporating it, for the specific purpose of the tunnel, in
June 1824. The expense was estimated at L 160,000,
which was soon subscribed.
Thames’
Tunnel.
The great merit of the invention for excavating with
security, entitles it to a particular description. A general
idea of the means proposed by this great engineer may be
obtained by supposing a hollow box, of sufficient strength
for its purpose, open to the rear, but closed on the front
with moveable boards, and sufficiently large to contain one
man at work. The front is placed against the face of
the earth to be removed, and separates the workman from
it. By means of the moveable boards, he can expose any
part of the earth at his discretion. When he has removed
one board, he excavates the earth which was behind it, to
the depth directed, and places the board against the new r
vertical surface exposed ; the board is then in advance 0f w\
the box, and is kept in its place by props, which have ‘
their support in the rear. When he has thus proceeded
with all the boards, it will be evident that an excavation
will have been made equal to the area of the front of the
box, and of a certain depth; and that the boards will be
all in advance equal to this depth, and held there, dis¬
engaged from the box. The box is then pushed forward
by screws to the boards, and the operation of excavation
then recommences. The brick-work is immediately exe¬
cuted up to the box, and the security of the work is com¬
plete. When the area of excavation is proposed to be
large, as in the case of this particular tunnel, a number of
similar boxes is required. Their size is not increased, but
they are arranged side by side to the width intended,’ and
tier on tier to the height proposed. Those which are over
each other are attached so as to be moved together in one
vertical group, and have no connexion with the others on
their sides. This whole assemblage is called the shield.
In large excavations the whole shield is not moved forward
at once ; any one of the vertical groups may be advanced in¬
dependently of any other, and the mode adopted is, to push
on the alternate ones equally to a certain distance in front,
and then to bring up* and advance those left behind through
the intervals of the first, and so on alternately.
Early in the year 1825 the shaft was begun which was
necessary to be sunk on the Rotherhithe shore, in order to
get down to the level of the intended works at that end of
the tunnel. The sinking of this shaft, though the principle
was well known to those employed in sinking wells, re*
quired a great degree of skill and intrepidity on the part
of the engineer, owing to the magnitude of the operation.
A tower or cylinder of brick-work, 50 feet in diameter,
40 feet in height, and the walls of which were 3 feet in thick¬
ness, and resting on a circle of cast-iron, having its lower
edges chisel-shaped, was built with the utmost care on the
surface of the ground, and immediately over the situation of
the intended shaft. In the upper part was suspended a
steam-engine, of thirty-six horse power, for the purpose of
draining and lifting the excavated earth to the surface.
This tower was begun on the 2d of March 1825, and, on
the 1st of April, the excavation commenced within the in¬
closure. As the work proceeded, this vast structure, with
its engine, descended without accident, and continued to
do so for twenty days, through successive strata of gravel
and other earths, until, at 37 feet from the surface, it rested
upon a solid bed of clay. It was there permitted to re¬
main, but the excavation was continued, and the cylinder
under built to the depth of 24 feet. At this level the dia¬
meter was reduced to 25 feet, and another cylinder insert¬
ed, sunk 20 feet more. This lower part was intended as
a tank or receptacle for drainage water ; and suction pipes
of the engine-pump were carried into it, for the purpose
of carrying it off. The total height of this extraordinary
shaft is 84 feet, 64 feet of which are of 50 feet diameter,
and 20 of 25 feet. It consumed 260,000 bricks, and 1200
barrels of cement, and the weight of it is about 900 tons.
It is intended eventually as the staircase for persons on
foot. Near it, a little to the southward, a shaft is to be
built, by which carriages are to ascend and descend, which
will be 160 feet in diameter.
The soundings along the proposed line across the river
give 12 feet water at low tide, and 36 at the highest, in
the deepest parts ; the bed of the river was found to be a
stratum of sand, about 3 feet 8 inches thick, lying upon
one of about half that thickness, composed of clay and
sand, beneath which was a bed of tenacious clay. The
descending order of the strata, at the lower part of this
bed, in which the tunnel is executed, is as follows: Stiff
blue clay about 2 feet; silt, 7 feet; silt, mixed with shells,
LONDON
513
do* V feet 5 indurated clay, 3 feet; silt and gravel stones, 3
.veet. It was found that the whole length from shaft to
ihaft would be 1300 feet.
Early in December the first horizontal excavation com-
nenced. At the bottom of the wider part of the shaft a
hield of cast-iron, weighing 120 tons, 37 feet in width by
12 feet in height, and 8 feet in depth, with a complement
>f thirty-six men, each in his respective cell, was entered
nto the solid earth, and began its new and extraordinary
narch. It proceeded for several months, at a rate of about
wo feet in twenty-four hours, displacing from 90 to 100 tons
if earth, which was lifted to the surface by the engine in the
haft. In each foot 5500 bricks w ere used. On the 2d of
darch 1826, it had advanced 470 feet, or about one-third of
he whole lengtn ; and, though the line of the tunnel dips
bout 3 feet in 100, the excavation in one part, towards the
uiddle of the river, had approached within 10 feet of the wa-
*‘er above it. The brick-work which followed immediately,
illed exactly the aperture which was made by the shield,
nd contained in its mass two arched passages or road¬
ways, each 13 feet 9 inches wide, and 16 feet 10 inches
: igh, lying by the side of each other, with a wall of 3 feet
(' inches between them. The passages at first have no con-
exion, but are subsequently laid together by arched
erforations through the brick-work that separates them,
’he sides are three feet, and the arches at top and bot-
am 2 feet 7 inches thick at their smallest parts. About
1,000 bricks per day were used, entirely laid in cement;
nd the labour of one hundred men was constantly kept
p by relays at stated periods. A main from a gas-work
ras laid along the floor, which conveyed the gas to columns
laced in the connecting arches as they were formed, branches
;-om which illuminated both the roadways, and a total free-
?om from water was preserved by drains beneath, which
mptied themselves into the engine-tank beneath in the
laft. In the use of these, and innumerable other expe-
ients to facilitate the progress, and anticipate or overcome
le difficulties, of this extraordinary work, Mr Brunei dis-
layed such fertility of invention, depth of resource, and
Professional intrepidity, as must place him in the highest
ink of professional engineers. But these qualities were
estined to a very severe trial. On the 18th of May 1827,
it a distance of 544 feet from the shaft, the river found its
ay through a portion of loose earth, and entered the tun-
|el, through the shield, with a velocity and volume that
illed the tunnel and the shaft in fifteen minutes. This
Happened whilst the workmen were at their duties, but no
ves were lost. About 1000 tons ofloose soil and rubbish
l escended into the tunnel.
The breach was examined by means of the diving-bell,
id repaired by depositing about 1500 cubic yards of clay,
i bags, in and around it. The wTater was then pumped out,
md the permanent works were found very slightly injured ;
me shield was restored and adjusted, and in the latter part
i September the work was recommenced. The danger-
is part was passed, and 52 feet added to the length be-
pre achieved, when, on the 12th January 1828, the river
.'■oke through the shield a second time. The tunnel
l as filled in less than ten minutes, and the rush of water
I ’ought with it a current of air that put out the lights ;
M, principally ow ing to this circumstance, six of the work-
PPn were unable to extricate themselves; the rest escap-
1. Mr Brunei reported that the aperture in the bed of
ie river was much less than at the former accident, and
msequently that the mischief might be repaired at much
ss expense. The point at which this irruption occurred
as at 600 feet from the shaft, within 25 feet of the middle
‘ the channel of the river, leaving about 700 feet to be
pecuted. The breach was, however, stopped, the water
limped out, and the rubbish removed.
| The funds of the company were now nearly exhausted.
vol. xiu. '
Independently of the expense caused by this last accident, London,
the expenditure up to that time had been L. 157,000, of
which about L. 38,500 had been laid out in the purchase
of premises and machinery, and L. 118,500 in the w’orks.
The directors, in their report, state that the sum of L.75,000
will be required to complete the Tunnel to the north em¬
bankment. As the public appeared to take a great inter¬
est in the completion of the work, it was resolved to try
the effect of contributions; but though some individuals
subscribed liberally, the amount was on the whole but small,
and not more than sufficient to clear the works. It was
then determined to open the tunnel to the inspection of
the public, on paying one shilling for admission. But this
has done little more than defray the expense of keeping
the works and the machinery in good order.
Of late the government has been prevailed upon to grant
the company a loan of exchequer bills, and the work is
again proceeding; but the prospect of its completion is
still obscure, owing more to the want of pecuniary power
than to any doubt of the practicability of its final accom¬
plishment.
The Hospitals of London are numerous, and some of Hospitals,
them very wealthy, especially those of royal foundation, St Tho-
which will here receive the first notice. St Thomas’s Hos- mas’s.
pital, in the High Street of Southwark, was founded by the
prior of Bermondsey in 1213, and surrendered to Henry
VIII. in the year 1538. The corporation of London hav¬
ing purchased the manor of Southwark in the reign of Ed¬
ward VI., are ex-officio governors; but others are elected as
governors who subscribe L.50 to the institution. The build¬
ing having become dilapidated by time, was taken down, and
rebuilt by voluntary subscriptions in 1693, and then formed
three squares, to which were added, in 1752, a new portion
of considerable magnificence, which comprised several
wards and various offices. It now consists of four quad¬
rangular courts. In the first are the wards for females; in
the second two chapels, with houses for the treasurer and
other officers ; the third court contains wards for the men ;
and the fourth, besides wards for men, has hot and cold
baths, a surgery, the theatre, capable of containing 300
persons, in which lectures to the pupils are delivered, and
the apothecary’s dispensary.
There are in the institution 18 wards, with 485 beds. It
is destined to receive the sick poor, and those maimed by
accident. The former must be recommended by a gover¬
nor, but the latter are received at any hour, without recom¬
mendation. The annual expenditure is about L. 10,000 ;
and in some years 11,000 patients have received assistance
either within the building, or at their own residences.
This is one of the chief surgical schools of the metropolis.
The medical officers being men of the greatest talents in
the profession, naturally draw around them those who are
solicitous to acquire skill and knowledge.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital is near the church of St Bar- St Bartho.
tholomew the Greater. It is in fact only the choir of an lomew’s.
ancient conventual church, belonging to a priory of black-
friars, founded by one Raliere, who had been a minstrel or
jester to King Henry L, whom, as the tradition goes, in a
horrible dream, from which he was delivered by St Bar¬
tholomew’s appearance, the saint warned to quit his profli¬
gate life, and found this religious house. To this person,
however, who lived in the year 1102, have the inhabitants
of London, during more than seven centuries, been indebted
for one of the most beneficent of its public institutions.
The king made Raliere a present of a waste spot of
ground, on which he built an hospital for a master, brethren
and sisters, for the entertainment of the diseased poor,
for women with child till they should be delivered, and for
the support of such children whose mothers died in the
house, till they obtained the age of seven years. It was
placed under the management of the priory ; and its re-
3 T
LONDON.
514
London, venues, by what means acquired does not appear, were
found, at the dissolution of the priory, to amount to about
L. 305 annually, a large sum at that day. By the libera¬
lity of numerous contributors, by benevolent legacies, and
above all by the increased value of land, this institution
has gone on increasing in wealth and utility. The pre¬
sent building was commenced in 1729. Although the an¬
cient erections had escaped the great fire of 1666, yet they
had become ruinous from age, when, by voluntary sub¬
scriptions, a sum to rebuild it wholly was collected. It is
a noble pile, composed of four buildings, which form a large
square, and are joined together by stone gateways. One
of these piles contains a large hall for meetings of the go¬
vernors, an accounting-house, and other offices; and the
three other piles consist of apartments well arranged, in
which are the patients. The principal gate is of the Doric
order, consisting of a large arch placed between two pil¬
lars, supported by emblematic figures. The grand stair¬
case, leading to the hall used by the governors, was gratui¬
tously painted by Hogarth, and the subjects are the Good
Samaritan and the Pool of Bethesda. The hall is deemed
the finest apartment in London, its proportions being those
of a double cube. Henry VIII. settled L. 500 per annum
on the institution, and a full length portrait of him adorns
the room, whilst the walls are covered with the names of
the contributors, who, by donations of L. 50 and upwards,
have been chosen governors. There is also a fine portrait of
Dr Ratcliffe, who left L. 500 a-year for the improvement of
the diet, and L. 100 a-year to purchase linen for the pa¬
tients ; and of Perceval Pott, the eminent surgeon, who
was a great benefactor to the institution. In the window
there is a portrait of Henry VIII. delivering the charter to
the Lord Mayor, and Prince Arthur, with two noblemen
holding white rods, standing near him. Attached to the
south pile of the square is the dispensary, a stone building,
in which medicines and dressings are prepared.
The physicians and surgeons of this establishment are
the first for skill and talent in the kingdom; and this, with
the numerous patients, makes it one of the best medical
schools of the metropolis. The number of patients an¬
nually relieved generally exceed 10,000; and the expen¬
diture of the institution, about equal to its income, is nearly
L. 30,000 a-year.
Luy’s. Guy's Hospital, in St Thomas’s Street, Southwark, is
perhaps the most extensive beneficent institution, that in
modern ages has been founded by one individual. Thomas
Guy was the son of an anabaptist lighterman and coal-
dealer in the borough. Upon his death his widow removed
to her native town of Tam worth, with her only child, and
from thence at the proper age sent him to London, to be
bound apprentice to a bookseller in Cheapside. When he
had served his term, he commenced business for himself,
with a capital of two hundred pounds. He connected him¬
self with some others in an illegal trade in bibles, which were
printed in Holland and smuggled into this country, to the
great injury of those who enjoyed the exclusive right to
deal in them. This was successfully carried on for some
time; but it was abandoned by some prosecutions. Guy
then prevailed on the University of Oxford to contract with
him for their privilege of printing bibles. By this and other
operations, accompanied with great economy, he was ena¬
bled to amass an early competence, and then he established
some charitable institutions in Tamworth, where he had
passed his early youth. By the sale of bibles, by buying
up seamen’s tickets in the latter part of the reign of Queen
Anne, when they were at a great discount, and operations
in South Sea stock in the reign of George L, he had ac¬
quired a vast fortune, without increasing in the same de¬
gree his personal expenses.
Guy had been a most extensive contributor, at an early
period of his prosperity, to the hospital of St Thomas, in
which he had been at the expense of adding to the former <
part three additional wards. At seventy-six years of age '
he took from the governors of that hospital a piece of va- ^
cant ground adjoining, on lease for 999 years, for which he
paid them L. 18,793, 16s., and began to build his hospital
in 1721. At his death, which happened in 1724, he be¬
queathed to the institution the vast sum of L. 219,499.
The building is entered from an area, inclosed by hand¬
some iron gates, in which is a statue of the founder. It
consists of a centre and two wings, and behind the former
a separate part for the reception of lunatics. One of the
wings contains a hall and a room for business, and the other
a chapel.
The hospital was originally established for 400 sick and
diseased persons, and for 20 incurable lunatics. The aver¬
age number now admitted is about 2250 patients, besides
upwards of 20,000 out-patients. It has an admirable esta¬
blishment of medical men of the highest rank in the seve¬
ral branches of the healing art, and is one of the best schools
for students in medicine and surgery.
The governors are a corporate body, appointed from those
of St Thomas’s, in number sixty ; and if there are not for¬
ty, the Lord Chancellor has the power to name as many
as shall complete the number to fifty. A committee of
twenty-one has the management of the interior, of whom
seven are changed each year. There is attendance at the
surgery constantly, and all accidental patients are instantly
admitted.
A splendid bequest has been added to the previous re¬
sources of the institution, by the will of Mr Thomas Hunt,
who, in 1829, left L. 200,000, on condition that adequate
accommodation should be made for the admission of 100
additional patients.
Christ-church Hospital, near St Bartholomew’s, is a royal Christ-
foundation. It was originally the house of the Greyffiars, church,
or mendicants of the order of St Francis, founded in 1225,
by John Ewen, a mercer. The church was considered as
the most superb of the conventual class, and was erect-
ed by the contributions of various devout and distinguished
persons. The choir was added in 1306 by Margaret, se¬
cond Queen to Edward I. Isabella, Queen to Edward II.,
gave three score and ten pounds of silver, and Queen
Philippa, wife of Edward III., gave three score and two
pounds, towards the building. John de Bretagne, Duke of
Richmond, built the body of the church at a vast expense,
and Robert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, gave twenty great
beams out of his forest of Tunbridge.
The reputation for sanctity which this order of friars had
acquired was so great, that numbers of persons of the high¬
est rank deemed their future state secure if they died in
that order, and were interred within its walls. Multitudes,
therefore, were crowded into this holy ground. Amongst
others, no less than four queens are recorded, and many of
the highest rank of the nobility, and members of the royal
family. Many of those who suffered under the sentence of
the law for atrocious or for state crimes were consigned to
the holy precincts, in order to secure their eternal salvation.
At the suppression of the religious houses by Hen¬
ry VIII., the fine church, after being despoiled of its orna¬
ments for the king’s use, was made a storehouse for French
prizes, and the monuments were sold or destroyed; but
Henry, from remorse or superstitious fear, granted the
church to the city, and directed it to be opened for divine
service.
The conventual building remained in a dilapidated state
till the latter end of the reign of Edward VI. The story
told is, that the amiable young prince was so deeply im¬
pressed by a sermon which he heard from Bishop Ridley,
that he resolved to found three great hospitals in the city-
These were, St Thomas’s, in the borough of Southwark, for
the sick or wounded poor; Bridewell, for the thriftless; and
LONDON.
515
ion. Christchurch, for orphans and other poor children, to be
K-aken care of, and apprenticed at proper ages to different
rades.
At first this institution was upon a contracted scale, but
eing gradually enlarged, it consists of common schools for
oys and girls. Charles II. joined to it a mathematical school,
nd charged the Exchequer with an annuity of L. 1000 for
;s support; and a private individual, named Travers, in-
leased the capacity for that kind of study. The corpora-
ion of London are governors, but any individual contri-
uting L.400 is elected to that rank. The pupils are no-
linated by the.governors in their turn as vacancies occur;
ut the aldermen of London have one annual nomination
ach. The greater part of the children admitted are those
f freemen of London, or of clergymen of the established
hurch. A branch of this institution is maintained at Hert-
jrd. The total number of children is about 1100. The
ducation is well conducted, and, as there are funds appro-
riated for that purpose, those who excel in classical learn-
ig have good exhibitions at the university. The mathe-
latical boys are fitted for the navy or other professions;
■nd many very distinguished men have received their edu-
ation here. The buildings are old and irregular; but of
ite years have received great improvements, and latterly
n opening has been made into Newgate Street, shewing
ic front of the new hall, in the architecture of the Tudor
ge. In the hall is a fine picture of Edward, the founder,
y Hans Holbeim The pupils are well fed, and warm-
j, though coarsely clothed, and carefully attended when
ck. The masters are generally men of great merit. The
•hole expenditure of the establishment amounts to about
LmJvjI
Bet
ion h
ion, 5
ilishir
:erson
lectio
The
4 by
isted
ably
romt
nnoyi
(l,be
roved
itywi
ion it
erof
-ord
rath i
rectei
fter i
'Oui$
'em(
most
'?wa
raotl
rants
rare a
'it 25
’reir
win
nishe
cent
Ui
oil©
%it
rants.
odrr
ilsb
-.30,000.
Bethlehem or Bedlam Hospital. Although this institu-
on has been recently removed to a more convenient situa-
on, yet some notice of the origin and history of an esta-
lishment that has generally engaged the attention of all
ersons who have either a permanent or a temporary con-
ection with London, cannot be unnecessary here.
The ancient building of St Mary of Bethlehem was found-
d by Simon Fitzmary, sheriff of London, in 1247. It con-
isted of a prior and canons, brethren and sisters, and pro-
lably stood in St Martin’s in the Fields, but was removed
l om thence at the instance of one of our kings, who was
irinoyed at the presence of lunatics, for whom it was found-
td, being so near his own residence. It was therefore re¬
lieved to Bethlehem without Bishopsgate. In 1545, the
ilty was presented with the hospital, and under their direc-
lon it continued till it was found too small for the num-
er of unfortunate beings that sought relief. In 1675, the
1 ord Mayor and Aldermen removed the hospital to the
tmth end of Moorfields, and, at an expense of L. 16,000,
rected a magnificent pile of buildings. It was designed
der the plan of the palace of the Tuilleries in Paris,
iouis XIV. was so incensed that his palace should be made
le model for a lunatic hospital, that it was said he ordered
■most whimsical and not very decent revenge. This build-
ig was 540 feet in length, with a gallery from one end to
lie other, out of which were the doors to the ranges of apart-
i tents for the patients on both sides of it. Two large wings
i ere added to the building in 1734, which enabled it to ad-
iit 250 patients. Being in a decayed state, it was resolved
fl) remove the whole institution to a more airy spot. The
ew hospital was begun in St George’s Fields in 1812, and
Hnished in 1814, at the cost of L. 100,000. Ithas amagni-
i cent front 580 feet in length; the centre is surmounted
ly a dome, and ornamented with an Ionic portico of six
olumns, supporting the arms of the United Kingdom. The
iterior is well arranged, and capable of receiving 200 pa-
ents. In the hall are two fine figures representing raving
pd melancholy madness, which were formerly on pedes-
ils before Old Bedlam, and ha\e always excited the great¬
est admiration. The annual income and
institution is about L. 18,000.
expenditure of this
London.
An account of the number of Patients admitted into Beth¬
lehem Hospital in the years from 1820 to 1832, both
years inclusive.
Curables admitted,
Incurables,
Criminals admitted,
Cured,
Died,
Males. Females.
1047 1534
29 51
37 24
1113 1609
242 461
90 86
Of those cured, four males and sixteen females were of the
class deemed incurable ; and of those who died, seventeen
males and twenty-four females were of that class.
Bridewell is in Bridge Street, Blackfriars, which, as well Bridewell,
as the church and the parish in which it stands, received the
name from a holy well dedicated to St Bridget or Bride. It
was formed in part out of the remains of an ancient castle,
which stood near the river Fleet. Many of the materials,
in the reign of William the Conqueror, and in that of
Henry L, were applied to reconstruct St Paul’s cathedral.
It subsequently became the residence of several of our
monarchs; and Henry VIII. fitted it up for the reception
of the Emperor Charles V., upon occasion of his visit to
England in the year 1522. The emperor, however, pre¬
ferred the Abbey of Blackfriars for his own residence, but
his retinue was lodged at Bridewell, and both were con¬
nected by a gallery over Fleet-ditch, and a passage cut
through the city wall. Henry himself took up his abode
in Bridewell in 1529, whilst the question of the validity of
his marriage was under discussion in the hall of Black¬
friars.
It was neglected and had fallen into a state of decay, when
Bishop Ridley requested it of Edward VI. for a charitable
purpose. It thus came into the hands of the city, who have
used it as a house of correction for disorderly persons,
idle apprentices, and vagrants; and of late years eight or
nine hundred persons have been annually consigned to it
for punishment or amendment. The buildings consist of a
quadrangle, on one side of which is an extensive hall, re¬
presenting the founder and some of the benefactors ; whilst
the other sides are occupied by the prisoners. Another
house connected with the institution has been recently
erected in St George’s Fields.
The Church of St Bride’s, near to this building, was
erected by Sir Christopher Wren, and is distinguished by
the beauty of its spire. The interior is imposing. It has
a clock illuminated at night; and it has been in some mea¬
sure opened to the public view, by purchasing the ruins of
some houses which had been burned down in Fleet Street.
Besides those of royal foundation, the following are the
most considerable hospitals that depend on donations al¬
ready received, or on annual subscribers, or on presents at
admission to the government.
St George’s Hospital, at Hyde Park Corner, was opened St George’s,
in 1733 for the reception of sick and lame patients; but as
the building was too confined, it was begun to be taken
down in 1828, and to be gradually rebuilt on a much larger
scale. Contributions for the purpose have flowed in with
great liberality. The magnificent structure, which is an
ornament to the entrance of London, has been completed,
and now about 350 beds are set up to receive patients ;
whilst the poor are supplied with medicines without being
received into the house when the beds are full.
The Middlesex Hospital, in Charles Street, Cavendish Middlesex.
Square, was founded in 1745, for the relief of sick and
516
LONDON.
London, lame patients, for the reception or attendance at their own
homes of lying-in married women, and for supplying the
indigent sick with advice, medicine, diet, and lodging.
There was afterwards added, by the liberality of the late
Mr Whitbread, a department for patients afflicted with can¬
cer, who are admitted to remain during their lifetime. The
hospital is capable of receiving 300 patients; but many are
attended at their homes, and supplied with medicines, un¬
der the superintendence of three physicians, an accoucheur,
and three surgeons. It is under the management of a pa¬
tron, a president, fourteen vice-presidents, and a committee
of the governors, who are such persons as contribute three
guineas annually to the establishment.
The Lon- The London Hospital is a vast pile of building in White-
don. chapel Road, to which spot it was removed, when it ob¬
tained a charter, in 1759. It had before existed in Pres¬
cot Street, Goodman’s Fields, since 1740. The patients
received here are chiefly sick and wounded seamen, water¬
men, coal-heavers, ship-wrights, rope-makers, and labour¬
ers in the dockyards and on the quays. It is a subject of
regret that this hospital, situated in a district where more
relief is required for the sick and diseased than perhaps in
any other division of the metropolis, should be so deficient
in resources to be unable to occupy the whole of the build¬
ing with patients, though zealous attempts have not been
wanting to obtain the disposal of more ample funds.
Si Luke’s. St Luke's Hospital, in Old Street Road, was originally
instituted at a place called Windmill Hill, near Moorfields,
in 1732, and removed to the present spot in 1751, but not
completed till 1786. It is destined for the reception of
such lunatics as are deemed incurable, as well as for those
of whom some hope is entertained. It is a solid large edi¬
fice, nearly 500 feet in length, consisting of three stories be¬
sides the basement, and with attics at the extremities; and
the whole has an imposing effect. The interior contains
apartments for the medical and the other officers, and ac¬
commodation for 300 patients, of whom 100 are on the in¬
curable list.
The annual income of the hospital is about L.9000.
Persons paying twenty guineas at once, or paying seven
guineas, and agreeing to pay three pounds eighteen shil¬
lings in the four succeeding years, are admitted to become
governors.
An account of the Patients received into St Luke's Hos¬
pital in the years from 1751 to 1834, both inclusive.
Of those deemed incurable at the time
of their admission, there have been
Of which there were cured,
Died,
Charitable
institu¬
tions.
Males.
6040
4181
718
222
3
147
Females.
8847
3938
469
319
13
205
Of those deemed incurable,
Cured, .....
Died, 
The charitable institutions of London and the adjacent
villages are so numerous, that they will not admit of mi¬
nute accounts being given of the whole of them. Some of
the most distinguished for their magnitude, their antiquity,
or their utility, have been already noticed, and the remain¬
der can only be enumerated, with the date of their origin,
their locality, and the purposes to which they are applied.
Institutions for Medical and Surgical Pelief generally.
Westminster Hospital, founded in 1719, in James Street,
Buckingham Gate, now rebuilding on a larger scale.
Charing Cross Hospital, in King William Street, founded
in 1831, and recently opened to patients.
Hospital of Surgery, in Panton Square, St James’s,
founded in 1827.
Royal Metropolitan Infirmary for Sick Children, in Broad T
Street, Golden Square, opened in 1830. ^don.
Royal Universal Infirmary for Children, in Waterloo- ^
Bridge Road, founded in 1816.
Seamen’s Hospital on board the ship Grampus, founded
in 1821, having an office in Bishopsgate Street Within.
French Hospital for Protestant Refugees, in Luke Street
Old Street, founded in 1716.
Asylum for the Recovery of Health for Persons in Nar¬
row Circumstances, who, by paying a small sum weekly
are accommodated better than they can be in hospitals or
in private houses, founded in 1820, at Leisson Grove
Marylebone.
Jews’ Hospital for the Support of Aged and Sick, in
Mile-End Road, founded in 1797, by voluntary subscrip¬
tions.
Institutions for Particular Complaints.
Hospital for Casual Small-Pox and for Vaccination, in
Pancras Road, Gray’s Inn Lane, founded in 1746.
London Fever Hospital, in Pancras Road, founded in
1820.
Lock Hospital for the Cure of Venereal Complaints, at
Grosvenor Place, Hyde-Park Corner, founded in 1746.
Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb Poor Children, a large
building, with means of receiving 200 children, and teach¬
ing them some handicraft trades, in the Kent Road, and
was founded in 1792.
London General Institution for the Gratuitous Cure of
Malignant Diseases in Greville Street, founded in 1820.
Institution for the Cure and Relief of Glandular and
Cancerous Complaints, founded in 1820, in Nelson Square.
Royal Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye, founded in
1804, in Cork Street, Burlington Gardens.
Institution for the Gratuitous Cure of Cataract, in Wind¬
mill Street, founded in 1819.
London Ophthalmic Infirmary, founded in Moorfields in
1805.
Kent and Surrey Eye Infirmary, in Dean Street, South¬
wark.
Surrey and Southwark Infirmary for Curing Diseases of
the Eye and Ear, founded in 1828.
Royal Westminster Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye,
founded in 1828, in Marylebone Street, Piccadilly.
Royal Infirmary for Diseases of the Ear, in Dean Street,
Soho, founded in 1816.
City of London Truss Society, in Queen Street, Cheap-
side, founded in 1807-
Rupture Society, Golden Square, founded in 1805.
Southwark Truss Society, in High Street, Southwark,
founded in 1811.
London and Westminster Infirmary for Cutaneous Dis¬
eases, Great Marlborough Street, founded in 1819.
Asylum for the Cure of Scrofula and Cancer, on the
Terrace, Bayswater, founded in 1822.
Infirmary for Asthma, Consumption, and Diseases of
the Lungs, Union Street, Bishopsgate.
National Vaccine Establishment, Percy Street.
Vaccine Pock Institution, Broad Street, Golden Square,
founded in 1799.
London Vaccine Institution, in Union Court, Holborn,
founded in 1800.
Royal Jennerian Society, in Beer Street, near the Tower.
Lying-In Hospitals, Infirmaries, and Charities.
Queen Charlotte’s Lying-in Hospital, Manor-House, Leis¬
son Grove, founded in 1752.
City of London Lying-in Hospital for Pregnant Married
Women, in the City-Road, founded in 1750.
(ion British Lying-in Hospital for Married Women, in Brown-
low Street, founded in 1742.
General Lying-in Hospital, in York-Road, Lambeth,
founded in 1755.
Westminster Lying-in Hospital, in Queen’s Square,
founded in 1801.
Royal West London Infirmary and Lying-in Institution,
Villars Street, Strand, founded in 1818.
Royal Maternity Charity for Delivering Poor Married
Women at their own Houses, in Knight Rider Street,
founded in 1757.
Ladies’ Benevolent Society for the Relief of Poor Ly¬
ing-in Women, in Salisbury Street, founded in 1813.
United Institution of London and Westminster for the
Relief and Delivery of Indigent Women, and for the Treat¬
ment of Diseases incident to Children, in Warwick Street,
Golden Square, and Philip Lane, London Wall, founded
in 1822.
The City of London Lying-in Institution for Providing
Medicines and Nurses to Poor Married Women in their
own Houses, founded in 1811, in Swan Alley, Colman
Street.
Endeavour Lying-in Charity for Delivering Poor Wo¬
men, and Lending Clothes, in Norton Street, founded in
1794.
Ladies’ Lying-in Charity for St Andrew’s, Holborn.
New Court Benevolent Society for Relieving Married
Women during their Confinement, in New Court, Carey
Street, founded in 1814.
Finsbury Midwifery Institution, in St John’s Street,
Clerkenwell, founded in 1823.
The Ladies’ Benevolent Society for Relieving and Cloth¬
ing Jewish Married Lying-in Women at their own Houses,
in Artillery Place, founded in 1812.
oftl
LONDON.
517
nls on
>my.
To the list of charities connected with the circumstances
of disease, might be added the names and situations of
twenty-seven dispensaries. These are to be found in every
district of the metropolis, and in them constant attendance
is given to the cases of the diseased, who are recommended
by governors. Advice and medicines are afforded gratis
at the houses, and the sick unable to attend are visited by
the professional men at their own homes. It deserves to
be noticed, to the credit of the liberality of the gentlemen
of the medical profession, that in all of those charities the
aid of physicians and surgeons of the greatest skill is gra¬
tuitously afforded.
Besides those charitable associations in behalf of lying-in
women, which appear ostensibly, there are in every quar¬
ter small societies of from ten to twenty ladies, who fur¬
nish the necessary clothing and food, within their re¬
spective circles, to indigent females, whilst waiting for, or
recovering from, their confinement. The benevolence of
the inhabitants of London, proved by the numerous insti¬
tutions for the relief of the diseased, has had a beneficial
effect on the health of the whole of the population of the
kingdom. It has produced one of the best schools of the
healing art, because one in which the greatest number and
variety of cases may be attentively examined, and where
instructions arising from actual practice may be most ad¬
vantageously acquired.
Schools of anatomy were first opened in London about
the year 1720, and have been extending ever since ; and
now every hospital has become a school, at which not only
anatomy, but every branch of medical or surgical know¬
ledge, may be acquired. Lectures are delivered by men
of the first eminence, during the winter months, and prac¬
tice, especially in the hospitals, is admirably combined with
theory. By a late law, greater facility has been given to
the study of anatomy, by the greater facility of obtaining
subjects for dissection than was formerly enjoyed.
The more public establishments for the promotion of the London,
art of healing may be here noticed.
The College of Physicians stood originally in Knight College
Rider Street, then in Amen Corner, and at length in War-of Physi-
wick Lane, near to Newgate. It was founded by a Drcians-
Linacre, who first rescued the medical art from the hands
of illiterate monks and empirics. He had studied in Italy,
and had been successively physician to Henry VII. and
VIII., and Edward VI., in whose reign he died, in 1524.
He was the first president of the college, and was succeeded
by Dr Caius, the founder of the college of that name in
Cambridge.
As the building in Warwick Lane had become injured
by time, it was resolved to build a new and more appro¬
priate pile, in a more favourable spot. Pall-Mall East
has been selected, and its eastern side forms a most im¬
posing part of the new square, in which the image of
Charles I. stands. It was designed by that eminent artist
Smirke, and the valuable materials of the ancient house
were removed to it in 1823. The portico, of six Ionic co¬
lumns, leads to a noble hall, the roof of which is supported
by fluted Doric pillars, each consisting of a single block
of stone. On the left is a dining-room, in which are nu¬
merous portraits, particularly those of Henry VIII., Car¬
dinal Wolsey, and Sir Hans Sloane. A handsome stair¬
case leads up to the library, which is surrounded with a
gallery, and contains a valuable collection of books, and
some anatomical preparations, and also portraits of Drs Har-
vey and Ratcliffe, with a bust of King George IV., by
Chantrey. The examiners’ room has several portraits, as
well as busts of Drs Baillie, Mead, and Sydenham. There
is also a small but neat theatre, a reading-room, and other
apartments.
The college is constituted in a president, elects, and fel¬
lows, who license all physicians who practise in the bills of
mortality, and grant extra licenses to those wrho practise in
the rest of the kingdom. The fellows can only be appointed
by such as have graduated at Oxford or Cambridge.
The Royal College of Surgeons was assembled for many College of
years in the Old Bailey, near the Sessions-House, and the Surgeons,
bodies of those criminals were carried to it for dissection,
who by the law were subject to that operation. It has
been now removed to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, to a structure
erected for the use of the college.
This was one of the old city guilds or companies connect¬
ed with that of the barbers till the reign of Henry VIIL,
when they obtained a separate charter. Since that time
various and important regulations have been obtained to
increase its utility and respectability. The duty of exa¬
mining medical officers for the navy and army, and for the
East India service, has devolved on them, and without their
examination no person is allowed to practise surgery in
London or Westminster, or in a circuit of seven miles
round the hall.
The hall is a noble building of the Ionic order, with a
handsome portico, over which is inscribed, Collegium re¬
gale chirurgorum, and above that are the arms of the col¬
lege, supported by the two sons of TEsculapius. The in¬
terior is grand and appropriate, containing a theatre in
which lectures are delivered on anatomy and other sub¬
jects connected with the profession, which are illustrated by
the collection in the rich museum, and especially the in¬
valuable preparations of the late John Hunter, purchased
by order of the government. In these is exposed to view
the gradations of nature from the most simple state in
which life is found to exist up to the most perfect and
most complex of the animal creation, man. There is also
a rare collection of objects of natural history, with speci¬
mens of vegetable and fossil productions. There is also a
most valuable library, and admission to every part is to be
obtained from any member of the company.
518
London.
LONDON.
Indepen¬
dent socie
ties.
The apothecaries of London were formerly incorporated
with the company ot grocers ; but in 1617 a separate char¬
ter was granted to them, which enabled them to regulate
the sale of drugs and medicines, and to sell them for gain.
This is now a trading company. They have a house and large
old premises in Water Lane, near Blackfriars Bridge, where
they sell drugs and chemical preparations, and such is the
accuracy with which the latter are prepared, that many
practitioners administer none but what is obtained from
their laboratory. The whole of the medicines for the navy
and the army are compounded and supplied from their ma¬
nufactory or stores. Prescriptions for private persons are
also made up by them. The Physic Garden at Chelsea is
under the direction of this company, having been be¬
queathed to them by Sir Hans Sloane, on condition that
they should present annually to the Royal Society fifty new
plants till the number should amount to 2000. This con¬
dition has been punctually fulfilled, and the specimens are
preserved in the collection of that society. A general her-
barizing tour is made yearly by the members of the com¬
pany for the improvement of students and apprentices. By
some legislative enactments several powers have been con¬
ferred on the company. No person is now allowed to
practise in any part of England or Wales, without having
first obtained a certificate of his qualification from the court
of examiners of this company. As a trading concern it is
profitable, and the directors, besides giving very sumptu¬
ous entertainments, divide a good yearly sum amongst its
members.
There are a variety of independent societies established
in London, which are voluntary associations, and not incor-
porated bodies. One of the first of these is in Bolt Court,
Fleet Street, and was opened in 1773 at Crane Court, by
an introductory lecture delivered by Dr Lettsom. There
is a library, consisting of more than 30,000 volumes; and
the object of the society is to receive medical papers, and
useful facts, respecting difficult and extraordinary cases,
to increase exertion by bestowing honorary rewards, and
to preserve and increase their collection of medical books.
Another and similar association was established in Lin-
colns-Inn-Fields in 1805. It has an extensive library, and
ranks amongst its members some of the most eminent mem¬
bers of the faculty in the metropolis.
Lectures on anatomy, physiology, medicine, obstetrics,
and chemistry, are delivered at stated times at the various
hospitals, at the London University, and at King’s College,
by the most celebrated men in the profession. Others are
delivered at theatres of anatomy in Great Windmill Street,
at Mr Tanton’s in Hatton Garden, at a theatre in Webb
Street, Maze Pond, in the borough, and by many medical
men at their own houses. These lectures are sometimes
advertised in the newspapers, but more commonly made
known by the medical booksellers. T he terms vary from
two to five guineas for the first course, but to those who at¬
tend more than one, the rate is subsequently lowered, as well
as for an annual or perpetual ticket of admission. These
lectures are commonly given in the autumn or the winter.
The Royal Humane Society may not improperly be no¬
ticed in connexion with medical societies. The object is
to restoie persons apparently drowned. It was founded in
1774, and has a permanent house in Chatham Place. It
has been so far of use that more than five thousand per¬
sons have been rescued from death, after their lives ap¬
peared to have terminated ; and by its example forty-five
other similar associations have been formed in different
parts of the kingdom. The Society offers rewards to per¬
sons who, within a certain time after the accident, rescue
drowned people from the water, and convey them to places
where means for their recovery can be applied, and also
gives medals to those who have exerted themselves to save
persons from death by water. It has eighteen receiving
houses in and about London, the principal of which is in
Hyde Park, near the Serpentine River. In them evervi?01
thing necessary for the resuscitating process is kept in \
state of constant readiness, and attendance can be imm*
diately obtained.
. A Veterinary College was established at Camden Town
in the year 1791, for promoting the knowledge of farriery
under a president and twenty-four directors. There is a
professor, and, upon an average, about thirty pupils. The
buildings are extensive, and appropriate lectures are deli
vered, and dissections performed, whilst an infirmary foi
horses has been established. J
In looking at the edifices in London dedicated to reli-
gious purposes, it is impossible, from their great number'
that the great majority can receive any further notice than
the bare mention of their names. But the two cathedrals
are national objects, to which all look with attention and
a degree of veneration that requires a descriptive account
and some others are sufficiently distinguished to claim
more notice than being merely named.
The cathedral church of St Paul’s, the fame of which CatlAt
is only second to that of St Peter’s at Rome, stands on an St Fault
elevated spot, the best that could have been chosen for its
display, above the north bank of the river Thames, on the
position where similar ecclesiastical edifices, through a suc¬
cession of centuries, had been placed
The best authority we have for the origin of this church,
is that of its great restorer Sir Christopher Wren. His
opinion that there had been a church on the spot, built by
the Christians in the time of the Romans, was confirmed.
When he searched for the foundations for his own design,
he met with those of the original presbyterium or the semi¬
circular chancel of the old church. They consisted wholly
of Kentish ruble-stone, artfully worked, and consolidated
with exceedingly hard mortar in the Roman manner, and
much excelling the superstructure. He refutes the no¬
tion which had prevailed of its having been a temple of
Diana. r
The first church is supposed to have been destroyed in
the persecution of Diocletian, and to have been rebuilt in
the reign of Constantine. T his was again demolished by
the Pagan Saxons, and restored in 603, by Sebert, a petty
prince, ruling under Ethelbert, King of Kent, the first mo¬
narch of the Saxon race, who, at the instance of St Au¬
gustin, appointed Melitus, the first Bishop of London.
Erkenwald, the son of King Ossa, the fourth in succession
after Melitus, ornamented the cathedral very highly, and
improved its revenues from his own patrimony. For this
he was canonized, and his relics, with those of his dress and
furniture, were imagined to have virtues sufficient to re¬
store the sick to health.
When the city was destroyed by fire in 1086, the church
was burned, when Bishop Mauritius began to rebuild it, and
laid those foundations, which remained till its last destruc¬
tion by fire in 1666. Though that prelate lived twenty
years, and his successor Beauvages enjoyed the see upon
equal terms; yet, from the magnitude of the plan, it
was still unfinished. Henry I. granted materials, consist¬
ing of part of the Palatine tower, exempted ships bringing
stone from all tolls, and contributed to the work the tithe
of all the venison in his forests in Essex.
After the death of the latter of these prelates, who had
applied the whole revenues of the episcopate to the work,
the building was interrupted, and the choir was burned in
1135. When that was restored does not appear; but the
consecration did not take place till 1240, or 225 years after
the work had been commenced by Mauritius.
I he dimensions of this noble temple, as taken in 1309,
were as follow: The length 600 feet, the breadth 120, the
height of the west part from the floor 102, and of the east
part 188 feet. The height of the tower was 260 feet, and
nion.
LONDON.
519
.of the spire, which was made of wood, and covered with
•lead, 274 feet. The whole area occupied by the church was
a little more than three acres and a-half, being one-third
more than the ground covered by the present cathedral.
It required enormous funds to defray the expense of erect¬
ing such an edifice. The several monarchs who reigned
during the long time it was building, resigned their reve¬
nues arising from the customs or taxes on the materials,
and furnished wood from the royal forests; the prelates
also gave up much of their revenues, and, what proved a
still greater resource, their payments for indulgences and
for commutation of penance. The Pope gave a release from
sixty days’ penance, the Archbishop of Cologne a relaxa¬
tion of forty days, the Archbishop of Canterbury forty
days; and each prelate thus excited his flock to contri¬
bute liberally.
The church contained numerous shrines and altars, richly
adorned; the high altar especially, which sparkled with
gems and gold, was the gift of numerous votaries. John,
King of France, when a prisoner, first paid his devotions
at the shrine of St Erkenwald, and presented at it four ba-
1 sins of gold ; and the gifts at the obsequies of princes, fo-
[reign and British, were of immense value. On the day of
the conversion of the tutelar saint, the charities were pro¬
digious, as well as other expenses. Thus, on one such oc¬
casion, by order of Henry III., fifteen hundred tapers were
placed in the church, and fifteen hundred poor persons fed
in the church-yard.
The sanctity of the place did not prevent thieves and
profligates of all denominations from assembling within the
precincts, and there committing, under favour of the night,
murders and every sort of crime. Edward I. gave permis¬
sion to the dean and canons to inclose the whole within a
wall, and to have the gates shut every night, to exclude
disorderly people. Within the walls was the bishop’s pa¬
lace, where several of our sovereigns were lodged, and
sometimes the foreign ambassadors, with their retinue, were
(juartered in it. Before the cathedral, was the famous
Paul’s Cross, a pulpit of wood on stone steps, and covered
with lead, from which eminent divines were appointed to
preach every Sunday. The court, with the mayor and aider-
men, and the principal citizens, resorted to the place, and
sat in the open air, but the king and his train had covered
galleries. It was not only used for preaching, but also for
promulgating laws, issuing papal bulls, anathematizing sin¬
ners, exposing penitents under censure of the church, and
denouncing those who had incurred the displeasure of the
crowned heads. Before this cross Jane Shore, the concu¬
bine of Edward IV., was brought, divested of all her splen¬
dour, after which she fell a victim to the malice of crook-
backed Richard. One of the best uses to which this cross
was applied, was perhaps the sermon on the thanksgiving
for the victory over the Spanish Armada, in the year 1588,
which was preached by command of Queen Elizabeth. 1 he
last sermon delivered at the cross, was by Dr John King,
Bishop of London, in the year 1620, in the presence ot
King James I. and his court, attended by the city digni¬
taries. The object of it was to collect contributions for
the repair of the cathedral. The spire had been set on fire
by lightning, in 1561, and it wras designed by the sums
thus collected to restore it. Inigo Jones was called upon
to furnish plans ; and, in 1633, some slight beginnings were
made, not to replace the spire, but to make alterations in
the style of the western portico. But in this, little progress
was made, and the fire of 1666, which destroyed the whole
magnificent pile, made way for the exercise of the talent
and judgment of Sir Christopher Wren, who planned and
completed the existing magnificent fabric.
That great artist, Sir Christopher Wren, brought to the
construction the whole weight of a powerful mind, then in
the full vigour of manhood, and every step was thoroughly
examined before it was made. The foundation was first London,
to be provided for; and, having found the former remains,
he was induced from curiosity to dig deeper, till he came
to a layer of hard and close pot earth. He found that, on
the north side, it was six feet thick, that it became thinner
towards the south, and on the decline of the hill was scarcely
four feet. On advancing farther, he met with nothing but
loose sand; at length he came to w ater and sand, mixed
with the shells of periwinkles and other sea fish, and, by
boring, came at last to the beach, and under that the na¬
tural clay, which evinced that the sea had once occupied
the space upon which St Paul’s now stands. This sand
had been one of those sand-hills so common on the coast
of Holland and Flanders, as well as on our owrn shores. It
was the opinion of our great architect, that all the space be¬
tween Camberwall Hill and the hills of Essex had been a
vast bay, but at low water a sandy plain; all which ap¬
peared in some remote age to have been embanked, pos¬
sibly by the Romans, who were much employed in that
useful kind of work, paludibus ernuniendis.
The foundation being secured, the next step was to pre¬
pare the plan of the intended temple; and in this, as in
every part of the subsequent progress, nothing was done
that was not preceded by the closest consideration. Sir
Christopher made a model in wood of his first conception
for rebuilding the church in the Roman style. In it he
had an eye to the loss of the Pulpit Cross, and had supplied
its place with a magnificent auditory within, for the recep¬
tion of a large congregation. This was approved of by
men of excellent judgment, but laid aside under the notion
that it had not a sufficiently temple-like form. A second plan
was then made, selected out of the various sketches which
he had drawn. On this design Sir Christopher set a high
value ; but this also was rejected, when the third, which pro¬
duced the present noble pile, was approved and executed.
The first stone was laid by Sir Christopher on the 21st of
June 1675, and it was completed by him in 1710 ; but the
whole decorations were not finished till 1723. It is re¬
marked as a singular circumstance that the edifice was be¬
gun and finished under the same architect, by one Strange,
the only master-mason, and during the episcopate of the
same prelate, Dr Henry Compton, Bishop of London;
whereas the church of St Peter’s, at Rome, was one hun¬
dred and thirty-five years in building, during the pontificates
of thirteen popes, and carried on by twelve successive ar¬
chitects.
Flaving thus compared the time occupied in building
these two temples, we may also here compare their respec¬
tive dimensions. The height of St Peter’s, to the top of
the cross, is 437 feet, that of St Paul’s is 340 feet. The
length of the former is 729 feet, that of the latter 500. The
greatest breadth of St Peter’s is 364, that of St Paul’s 180
feet. Although Sir Christopher Wren was most intimately
acquainted with the whole process of planning, and the pro¬
gress of building St Peter’s, he cannot be charged with
having copied from that stately pile. The whole was the
conception of the mind of our celebrated countryman, and
is thus exclusively, both in the planning and the execution,
whatever may be its merits or its defects, of native growth.
The church is surrounded with an iron balustrade, pla¬
ced on a dwarf wall; and at the west end is an area in which
is the statue of Queen Anne, and at the other extremity,
within the same inclosure, are burying-grounds for some of
the adjacent parishes. The whole of the church is built of
stone brought from the Isle of Portland, in Dorsetshire,
and is now very much discoloured by time, and the effects
of coal smoke. The principal entrance is under a noble
portico facing the west, consisting of twelve Corinthian co¬
lumns, supporting a portico above it of eight columns, of the
composite order. The history of St Paul’s conversion is
sculptured on the entablature. On the centre of the pe-
520
London.
diment is a statue of the patron saint, and at the sides
are those of St James, of St Peter, and of the four evange¬
lists. The base or floor of the church is gained by as¬
cending twenty-four steps of black marble, where noble
folding doors open into the church. The corners of this
front are furnished with two turrets, with each a dome,
terminating in a gilded pine-apple. The southern turret
contains a powerful clock, and the northern contains a fine
peal of bells.
I he north and the south entrances correspond with each
other in the^ style of their architecture, being domes sup¬
ported by Corinthian columns, with steps to ascend in a
semicircular form. The eastern end of the building is of
a semicircular shape, richly ornamented with a great variety
of fine sculpture. The floor is composed of alternate slabs
of black and white marble, and is a level surface to the
choir, without any rising, as is commonly the case in ca¬
thedrals. The floor of the altar is interspersed with por¬
phyry? but neither in the choir, nor in any part of the deco¬
rations, does the interior of the church correspond to the
elaborate magnificence of the exterior.
The entrances from the three doors meet where, (as the
whole of the pile is in the form of a cross), the upright part
of that figure is intersected by the transverse part, or nearer
the east than the west end of the buildings. Over this is the
magnificent dome supported by columns of such extent as
to give a kind of heavy look to the whole interior, though
they are not too large to harmonise with the great weight
they support. Few objects strike the beholder more for¬
cibly than this dome, when surveyed from the floor whence
it rises. Some of the trophies of victory acquired during
the wars in which the country has been engaged, are
placed here, as well as at the west end of the cathedral,
in honour of the marine and land forces by whom they
were gained. J
The dulness which, fifty years ago, appeared to the spec¬
tator standing under the dome, when he looked not up¬
wards but around him, has been relieved by the monuments,
all executed since that period, to the memory of the emi¬
nent men that have disappeared from the theatre of their
renown.
,, ^..was tl]* ] f90 that the thought was entertained
o riiling this part of the cathedral with the memorials of
the mighty dead, whether celebrated for their learning,
their virtue, their talents, or their bravery. The scheme
was no sooner suggested than it was acted upon, and the first
monument was. soon afterwards erected to John Howard,
the philanthropic visitor and improver of prisons and of hos-
pitah. It was the work of the late Bacon, with an inscrip¬
tion from the pen of Samuel Whitbread, the second mem¬
ber tor Bedford of that name. Since that time the events
of war have much contributed to increase the number of
these honourable and sacred memorials. They must be
ieie noticed, but it would require a long dissertation to
describe the characters of the individuals, to whose me¬
mory they have been erected, or the merits of the various
artists to whom the execution of them was entrusted. The
moment to Lord Nelson was the work of Flaxman.
Jhe following can be briefly noticed only:—Sir William
dones, by Bacon junior; Earl Howe, by Flaxman, and Sir
Joshua Reynolds, by the same artist; Captain Hardinge,
by Manning ; Sir Ralph Abercromby, by Westmacott;
Lord Rodney, by C. Rossi; Captain Westcott, by Banks;
Sir John Moore, by Bacon ; Lord Collingwood, by West¬
macott; Captain Duff, by Bacon ; Captains Moss and Riou,
by C Rossi; General Dundas, by Bacon junior ; Generals
Craufurd and Mackinnon, by Bacon junior; Dr Johnson,
Marquis Cornwallis, and Lord Heathfield, by Rossi; Ge¬
neral Picton, by Gahagan ; General Ponsonby, by Baily :
Captains Hutt and Burgess, by Banks; General Bowes
and Colonel Cadogan, by Chantrey ; Captains Falkner and
LONDON.
Millar, by Hayman; and Generals Hay and Marlon,-
by Langworth. y J Ma<*en2ie, ^
Over the entrance to the choir is a marble slab with ^
Latm mscnption thus translated : “ Beneath lies Chrko
pher Wren, the builder of this church and of this city wh'
lived upwards of ninety years, more for the benefit of tl
public than of himself. Reader, if you seek for his
ment, look around you.” The crypt beneath the eathe
dral contains inscriptions to Wren, to Bishop Newton to
the painters Barry and Opie, and to some other individuals
but the chief object of attention is the tomb of Nelson’
whose body rests there near to that of his friend Colli
wood. Other illustrious persons have been interred there
to whom hitherto no memorials have been erected, nor is
it known if any such designs are contemplated, viz. Alex
ander Wedderburne, first Earl of Roslyn J Sir John Braith!
waite, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Sir Thomas
RennieCe> ^emy Fuse^’ George Dawe, and Sir John
In the choir the cathedral service is daily performed. On
Sundays there are two services ; and on the first Sunday of
each term it has been the custom for the Judges, and the
Lord Mayor and Aldermen, to attend in the morning. This
part has a fine organ, supported by marble pillars of the
Corinthian order. The throne of the bishop, and the seats
or the city corporation, are of curiously carved wood The
reading-desk is formed of the extended wings of an’eaele
of bronze, standing on a pillar, and surrounded with gilded
rails. An early service is performed in a chapel near the
north-west corner of the church, which begins at six in the
morning m summer, and at seven in the winter. The ec¬
clesiastical officers appertaining to this cathedral, besides
toe bishop, are the dean, the chancellor, the precentor, the
treasurer, four canons residentiary, twenty-four prebenda¬
ries, and one layman, the chancellor of the diocese, which
includes the whole of London, of the counties of Middle¬
sex and Essex, and a part of Hertfordshire.
Within one of the pews a door leads from the floor of
the church, by a winding stair-case of 280 steps, to the
ciicular gallery, at the foot of the interior of the dome,
commonly denominated the Whispering Gallery; a name
to which it is entitled, by the increased intensity of
sound within its limits. This increase is such, that a whis-
pei may be communicated from a person on one side to
anotliei opposite to him in the gallery, though the distance
is 100 feet, if the voice of one and the ear of the other be
dnected to the wall. The effect was not designed, nor
y, as it discovered till after the building had been completed.
I he sound, on shutting the gallery-door, seems like loud
thunder. From this spot the paintings in the interior of
the dome may be seen to great advantage. They were
fiom the pencil of Sir James Thornhill, and admirably
pourtray all the most striking events in the life of St Paul,
as narrated in sacred history.
From this gallery the passage is short to another, which
on txie outside surrounds the bottom of the dome, and is
known by the name of the Stone Gallery, from which,
being higher than any of the surrounding buildings, a good
view, in clear weather, may be obtained of the whole city
and suburbs. From this point there is a further ascent of 254
steps in a number of staircases, or rather ladders with rails,
to the upper exterior or the golden-gallery. As the way
fiom one to the other passes through a vacancy left be¬
tween the interior and the exterior dome, it is dark, and
to those who first enter upon it alarming, but the guards
against danger are quite sufficient to protect those who as¬
cend. From the height of the golden gallery the view is
necessarily more extensive, and comprehends the adjacent
country to the hills of Hampstead to the north, and those
of Surrey to the south ; w hilst the course of the river, both
up and down, may be distinctly traced. Above this gallery
LONDON.
521
jon. is the ball and cross. These parts had been so affected by
^.their weight, and the length of time they had been ex¬
posed to the influence of the weather, that fear was enter¬
tained for their safety. In 1822 they were taken down, and
replaced by other ornaments of the same figure and di¬
mensions, but of more appropriate materials, which were
Id so of less weight. The whole, therefore, is now in a safe
>tate. The present, like the old ball, measures six feet in
liameter, and is capable, with squeezing, of containing
right persons, who may go there with safety, but they
icarcelysee more than they would in a covered copper boiler.
Nearly on a level with the whispering gallery, over the
iouth aisle of the nave, is the library, furnished with a col¬
ection of books by Bishop Compton; but most remark-
ible on account of the curious floor, consisting of more
ban two thousand pieces of oak, curiously laid together,
tnd for a most beautiful geometrical flight of steps.
The mechanical works in the southern turret, over the
j vest end of the church, are curious and interesting. The
great clock has a pendulum fourteen feet in length, and the
veight, whose descent gives motion to the clock, is of one
Hundred pounds. The length of the minute-hands of the
liials is eight feet, and of that of the hour-hands five feet
'ive inches. The diameter of the dials is eighteen feet ten
nches, and the length of the figures that indicate the hours
wo feet turn inches and a half. The loud and clear-sound-
ng bell which strikes the hours has been heard and dis-
inguished at two miles distance, and, when the weather is
lear, can be distinguished from all others in the metropo-
1s. It is about ten feet in diameter, and weighs four tons
.nd a half. It is never tolled except on the death of any
nember of the royal family, of the Lord Mayor or Bishop
[if London, or of the Dean of the Cathedral.
In the cathedral two meetings are annually held, which
xcite great interest, and usually attract considerable crowds
f spectators and auditors. The first is that of the chil-
jpen of the several parochial charity-schools of the metro-
lolis. These are marched under the care of their teachers,
nd placed in temporary galleries, rising above one another
nder the dome, presenting the gratifying spectacle of from
ight to ten thousand children of both sexes, neatly clothed,
■ho are receiving gratuitous instruction. Divine service
> performed, and a sermon by some eminent divine is
reached, when the whole of the children join in singing
he hundredth psalm to Luther’s noble tune, the effect of
hich is uncommonly interesting and beautiful. The day
nishes with a collection for the schools and the occasion.
An annual assemblage held in St Paul’s, is intended to
upport the charitable institution for the benefit of the sons
I the clergy. Handel’s grand Dettingen Te Deum, with
Dine of his most beautiful choruses and appropriate an-
lems are performed by a powerful orchestra, supported by
ie principal gentlemen, both lay and clerical, belonging
Ip the three choirs of St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, and
i ie Chapel Royal, who make a point of attending and of
l erforming gratuitously. A rehearsal precedes the grand
] irformance; and at both very large sums are obtained as
jbntributions to the benevolent institution.
Some of the dimensions of the cathedral have been al-
'i;ady stated, and the others are as follow. The breadth
llom north to south, at the transept, is 285 feet; the height,
inclusive of the dome, is 110 feet; the circuit 2292 feet;
ul the ground it covers 2 acres 16 perches and 70 feet.
In the reign of James I. and of Charles L, the body of the
! tthedral was the common resort of the politicians, the news-
ongers, and the idlers of the day. It was called Paul's
^alk, and the frequenters known by the name of Paul’s
alkers, as is mentioned in old plays and other books of that
tne* The Microcosmograph ia, printed in 1626, gives a
dicrous description applicable to the cathedral, and illus-
lative of the manners of London, which is worth inserting
VOL. xui.
here in the quaint phraseology of the period. “ It is the London.
land’s epitome, or you may call it the lesser ile of Greats , ——
Britaine. It is more than this, the whole world’s map,
which you may discerne in its perfectest motion, justling,
and turning. It is a heap of stones and men, with a vast
confusion of languages, and, were not the steeple sanctified,
nothing liker Babel. The noise in it is like that of bees,
a strange humming or buzze, mixed of walking tongues
and feet. .It is a kind of still roare, or loud whisper. It is
the great exchange of all discourse, and no business what¬
soever but is here stirring and afoot. It is the synod of all
pates politicke, jointed and laid together in the most se¬
rious posture ; and they are not half so busie at the parlia¬
ment. It is the anticke of tailes to tailes and backes to
backes; and for vizards, you need go no further than faces.
It is the market for young lecturers, whom you may cheapen
here at all rates and sizes. It is the general mint of all fa¬
mous lies, which are here, like the legends popery first
coyn’d and stampt in the church. All invertions are emp-
tyed here, and not few pockets. The signe of a temple in
it is the thieves sanctuary, which robbe more safely in the
croud than a wildernesse, whilst every searcher is a bush
to hide them. It is the other expense of the day, after
plays, taverne and a baudyhouse; and men have still some
oathes left to sweare here. It is the ears brothell, and sa-'
tisfies their lust and ytch. The visitants are all men with¬
out exceptions; but the principal inhabitants and posses¬
sors are stale knights and captains out of service; men of
long rapiers and breeches, which after all turne merchants
here, and trafficke for newes. Some make it a preface to
their dinner, and travell for a stomacke; but thriftier men
make it their ordinary, and board here verie cheape. Of
all such places it is least haunted with hobgoblins, for if a
ghost would walk, move he could not.”
The ancient history of this magnificent pile is necessarily We,tniii
involved in the common obscurity of remote ages. If anyster #
credit can be given to tradition, it stood originally on an
island in the Thames, called Thorney Island. But if it was
once an island, it must have been by the stream dividing,
and one branch of it, above Millbank, running in a direction
towards the spot where the Chelsea water-works now stand,
from thence by Pimlico into the Park, and then rejoining
the other branch somewhere about Scotland Yard. Ano¬
ther tradition places it on the site of an ancient heathen tem¬
ple dedicated to Apollo. Having barely noticed these re -
ports, we come to a period more within the compass of
accurate history. Wedmore, who was a man of great learn¬
ing, and examined all the extant records, fixes the date of
the abbey and buildings between the years 730 and 740. It
was in all probability injured if not destroyed by the Danes,
for it was rebuilt by King Edgar, at the urgent sugges¬
tion of Dunstan, and by him appropriated to the order of
the Benedictines, with sufficient endowments for the support
of twelve monks.
In the turbulent times that followed the reign of Ed¬
ward the Confessor, it was injured by the sacrilegious fury
of contending parties, which induced that pious monarch to
renovate and improve it. The Norman style of architec¬
ture was adopted, as appears from fragments of the build¬
ing which were recently in existence, and from a few which
still remain. Considerable revenues were established for
the monks by the king, and the nobles, stimulated by him,
contributed largely. During the incumbency of the Abbot
Lawrence, about the year 1159, many repairs were exe¬
cuted on the out-buildings, and the roof, which had suf¬
fered severely, was replaced by a new one, and for the first
time covered with lead.
The whole building was, however, taken down and re¬
built by the same prince. It was begun in 1425, but not
finished till fourteen years later, after his decease. An ac¬
cidental fire destroyed the roof, but by the contributions of
3 u
522
LONDON.
London, the king, of the monks, and of other pious persons, it was
■—-v—-repaired, and restored to the beauty and splendour which
it still displays. A chapel was added at this time, on the
spot where now stands the curious specimen of the Gothic
architecture of its age, known by the name of Henry VII.’s
Chapel, it having been built in the reign of that prince,
who laid the first stone of it on the 24th of January 1502.
His design was to preserve it as a burying-place for him¬
self and the other members of the royal family.
During the long interval between the death of Hen¬
ry VIII. and the accession of William and Mary, little care
was taken to preserve this ancient edifice. It had been
somewhat defaced in the civil wars, and generally ne¬
glected afterwards; but soon after the Revolution, the par¬
liament voted a considerable sum for the reparation, and
Sir Christopher Wren was appointed the architect, to su¬
perintend the expenditure. The defective parts were then
duly repaired and strengthened, and two new towers were
erected, which, by some critics, have been thought not to
harmonize with the general structure, which is Gothic,
whilst the towers are decorated with Roman ornaments.
The principal object of attention in the exterior, with the
exception of the towers and of Henry VII.’s Chapel, is the
magnificent Gothic portico leading into the north cross, or
Solomon’s gate, which has been adorned by a window of
modern design, admirably executed.
In the interior, the Gothic arches separating the nave
from the side-aisles are supported by forty-eight pillars of
grey marble, and are so disposed that the whole body of
the church may be seen on entering the western door, which
has a most commanding appearance.
The choir is of less ancient date than other parts. It
is in the Gothic style, and it is divided from the nave by an
elegant screen of stone, erected from the designs of Mr
Blore. The altar-piece is of ancient workmanship renew¬
ed ; and the Mosaic pavement in front of it is also very cu¬
rious, said to have been executed by Richard de Ware,
formerly Abbot of Westminster.
On the northern side of the choir are some monuments
which deserve notice, chiefly on account of their antiquity.
These are to the memory of Aymer de Valence, Earl of
Pembroke, and his countess, and of Edward Crouchback,
Earl of Lancaster; and on the south are two, remarkable
for the same reason, to Sebert, the original founder of the
abbey, and to Anne of Cleves.
The roof of the lantern, which was destroyed by an ac¬
cidental fire in 1803, has been rebuilt, but in a style better
harmonizing with the rest of the building than the one
which preceded it, and is now richly adorned with carving
and gilding.
There are within the structure several chapels, all of
which will reward the antiquary for the time occupied in
their inspection. Two of them pre-eminently require some
description. The chapel of Edward the Confessor is at the
east end of the choir, and contains the shrine of that mo¬
narch, a piece of workmanship affording a fine specimen of
the skill of the age in which it was executed, that of Hen¬
ry HE In this are the tombs of Editha, the Queen of
Edward, of Henry HI., of his son Edward I., and several
other royal personages. Here are preserved the iron sword
°f Edward I., and a part of his shield, and the coronation
chairs. The most ancient of these chairs was brought from
Scone, in Scotland, with the other regalia of that kingdom,
by Edward I. in 1297, and has been used at the coronation
of all our kings to the present time. The other chair was
constructed for the coronation of Mary, the wife of Wil¬
liam III. The skreen of this chapel is adorned with seve¬
ral statues, and with various legendary hieroglyphics re¬
specting the Confessor, executed in basso-relievo.
The chapel of Henry VII. was commenced in ] 502, and
was executed, according to some, under the direction of
Sir Reginald Fox, or, according to others, by Bolton the
Prior of St Bartholomew’s. It is built of Yorkshire stone
and the expense of it is said to have been L. 14,000. It is
at the eastern part of the abbey, and constructed in the
florid Gothic style. The exterior is adorned with fourteen
octagonal towers jutting from the building in different an¬
gles, and ornamented with exquisite sculpture. A thorough
repair of it was executed between the years 1810 and 1822
for which parliament voted the sum of L.42,000.
The steps by which the ascent to the chapel is gained
are of black marble, under a portico which is at the en¬
trance, with gates of brass, most curiously laboured. The
lofty stone ceiling contains a variety of figures. The stalls
for the Knights of the Bath are of wood, now of a deep
brown colour, with Gothic canopies beautifully carved, and
the seats of the esquires to the knights correspond in their
workmanship, and are all ornamented with curious devices.
I he pavement is of black and white marble. The banners
of the knights project over the stalls, and the whole has
a most imposing effect. On entering, the tomb of the
founder and the brass chapel present themselves, and at
the end are the chapels of the Dukes of Richmond and
Buckingham of past ages. The windows were formerly of
painted glass, and in each pane a white rose, the badge of
the royal house of Lancaster. The roof is nearly flat, and
is supported on arches between the nave and the side aisles,
which are turned upon twelve Gothic pillars, curiously ad¬
orned with figures, fruit, and foliage.
The chapel was destined to the sole purpose of interring
the members of the royal family; and the rule has been
adhered to so far, that none but those of the blood-royal
have found a sepulchre within the vaults beneath it. In
the north and south aisles of the chapel are many monu¬
ments to royal and noble persons; in the former, that of
Edward V., of Queen Elizabeth, of Mary Queen of Scot¬
land, and some others; and in the latter, of Monk Duke
of Albemarle, of Margaret Countess of Richmond and
Derby, mother of King Henry VII., and many others.
In both the naves, at the west end, and in Poet’s Corner,
are numerous monuments to princes, nobles, statesmen, land
and sea warriors, divines, lawyers, philosophers, historians,
poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, dramatists, and others,
distinguished for their rank, virtue, valour, patriotism, learn-
ing, or taste; a list of which, with due notices, however short,
would fill a volume.
Besides the church, many of the ancient appendages of the
abbey remain, such as the cloisters, filled with monuments,
in a quadrangle, with piazzas around it; the chapter-house,
now filled with ancient records, amongst which is a fine copy
of Doomsday-book, still in excellent preservation, whose
leaves are only allowed to be turned over by silver tongs;
the crypt beneath the chapter-house, the roof of which is
supported by plain ribs, diverging from a short round hol¬
low pillar, and having walls eighteen feet in thickness; and
the residence of the Dean, and of the several ecclesiastics
attached to the church, who assist daily in the public ser¬
vice in the choir.
Not far from the abbey stood the sanctuary, the place of
refuge once granted to criminals of certain classes. The
church belonging to it is supposed to have been the work of
the Confessor. Edward V. was born within the precinct; and
here his unhappy mother took refuge with her younger son
Richard, to secure him from his cruel uncle. Near to it
was the almonry, where charity was dispensed; but it is more
remarkable as being the place in which the first printing-
press was established in England, by William Caxton, in
1474, and where the first English book was printed, writ¬
ten, according to tradition, by Thomas Milling, then ab¬
bot, and entitled “ The game and play of the Cheese.”
The length of the abbey, exclusive of Henry VII.’s
chapel, is 416 feet on the outside, and 383 within. The
□'
102
of it
r
elev<
LONDON.
lies.
vest towers are 225 feet in height. The breadth of the
church at the transept is 203 feet, the height of the nave
102 feet, the length of the choir 156 feet, and the breadth
)f it 28 feet.
The clergymen belonging to this church are the dean,
eleven prebendaries, a precentor, and a chapter clerk, and
jesides these there is an organist, and an establishment of
ehoristers.
There is an establishment neither strictly to be classed as
ecclesiastical, nor with one of the hospitals, for the cure of
he diseased, but deserving notice, which may be given to it
n this part of the article. The Charter-House is in a small
;quare of the same name near to Smithfield. A house for
Carthusian monks, founded by a Sir Walter Many, a suc-
eessful officer in the wars with France under Edward III.,
rave to this establishment its existence, and (with a slight
hange) its name about the year 1349; it is situated on a
)iece of ground which he had purchased for the interment
if those who had died of the plague, to which, according
o some, fifty thousand, and according to others one hun-
Ired thousand had fallen victims. Ralph Stratford, Bishop
if London, bought another piece of ground adjoining, on
Which he built a chapel, and inclosed a burial-ground called
•’ardon Church-yard, in which criminals and suicides were
mried.
The Carthusians regulated these premises till the sup-
iression of monasteries, when there were twenty-four monks
if that rigid order. Though the last prior acknowledged
he king’s supremacy, this did not save the institution. It
vas seized with others, and then granted to persons who
old it to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, who again disposed
if it to a charitable individual Thomas Sutton. This man,
assessed of vast wealth, and devoted to beneficent pur-
loses, converted his purchase into a magnificent hospital,
onsisting of a master, a preacher, a head and second mas¬
er, with forty boys, and eighty decayed gentlemen, who had
ieen soldiers or merchants, besides physician, surgeon, and
egisters. Having, in the reign of James L, obtained an
ct of Parliament for the purpose, he endowed the institu-
ion with L.20,000 in money and landed estates of the an-
ual value of L.4500.
Scarcely any of the ancient conventual buildings are now
banding, but the present pile was chiefly erected by the
)uke of Norfolk before he had sold it to Sutton. The
i hapel is a venerable edifice with Gothic windows, in which,
[in painted glass, are the arms of the founder. The house
f the master is a curioOs suite of rooms. The old court-
oom is richly decorated with carving and pointing. The
brary, the gift of a Mr Wray, is a fine old collection.
This charity is under the government of trustees, who
re usually selected from the ranks of the most eminent
aiblic men of the country. They have the appointment
f the masters, physician, surgeon, chaplain, and other
fficers, who, besides their salaries, are provided with resi-
ences and other conveniences.
This has become one of the first classical schools in the
ingdom. Besides those on the foundation there are many
'ther scholars, who board in houses near it, in which some of
he junior teachers superintend their conduct whilst out of
chool hours. The number of such scholars has varied
luch, according to the supposed aptitude of the master for
lie time for communicating instruction. The youths edu-
ated at the Charter-House upon the foundation have ex-
ibitions at the university; and the hospital having the pa-
•onage of nine livings, those educated in it have the pre-
jrence in the presentations.
As it is not possible in this work to notice all the nu-
lerous churches in the metropolis, and as a selection of those
lost remarkable must be made, it seems best to begin that
flection by some of the sacred edifices in Westminster,
here they are generally larger than those in the city, and
523
where the number of them is in a much less proportion to London,
the population than in the eastern division of London. ■'   
The church of St James, in Piccadilly, was built in the
latter part of the reign of Charles II., but was not conse¬
crated till the accession of his brother James. The great
extension of London made new churches desirable, and a
part of the parish of St Martins-in-the-Fields was separated
from it, and attached to this new erection. It was built
on a piece of ground where the house of the gay Henry
Jermyne, Earl of St Albans, the favoured lover, perhaps the
secret husband, of Henrietta Maria, the widow of Charles I.
formerly stood. It w'as built by Sir Christopher Wren, part¬
ly of stone, and parly of brick. It is well proportioned,
being 85 feet long, 60 broad, and 45 high; and, having
deep galleries on both sides and at the end, it is adapted
for a large audience. The most remarkable object in the
church is a fine font of white marble, the work of Granlin
Gibbons. It is supported by the tree of life ; the serpent
is offering the forbidden fruit to our first parents who stand
beneath ; on one side is engraved the Baptist baptising our
Saviour; on another St Philip baptising the Eunuch ; and,
on the third, Noah’s dove bringing the olive branch, the
symbol of peace to mankind. The chancel above the altar
is enriched by some beautiful foliage in wood by the same
great artist. The living is a rectory, and the right of pre¬
sentation to it is vested in the Bishop of London at pre¬
sent ; Lord Jermyn had one turn in three, but conveyed it
to the episcopate. The pulpit of this church has been oc¬
cupied by some of the most pious and learned ministers of
the established church, who have been successively the
rectors.
Church of St Martins-in-the-Fields. This building was
erected in 1721, on the site of an ancient church, said to
have been constructed 500 years before. It is remarkable
for its magnificent facade, with a portico of eight Corinthian
columns, which is seen to great advantage as the termina¬
tion of the long street of Pall-Mall. It is 140 feet in length,
60 in breadth, and 45 in height, being furnished with deep
galleries, and with seats in the aisles ; it will accommodate
3500 persons. The interior is handsome, and the decora¬
tions fine, but at present they need both painting and gilding.
1 he ceiling is elliptical, which is deemed favourable for hear¬
ing. Near to it is the vicarage-house, recently built at the
sole expense of Dr Richards, the late vicar, in a superior
style. The tower is lofty and handsome, and contains a
peal of twelve bells. Around it, under the pavement, are
some recently constructed catacombs finished in 1830, and
the parish has besides a burying-ground at Camden Town.
Church of St John the Evangelist at Milbank, West¬
minster. This is one of the churches built in the reign of
Queen Anne, by Sir John Vanbrugh, the successor of Sir
Christopher Wren. It is a singular building, too much in-
cumbered with ornaments. On the north and south sides
are porticos supported by massive pillars, and at each of
the four angles is a stone tower with a pinnacle. The
front is an elegant portico, supported by Doric columns,
which order is continued in pilasters round the building.
The interior was much improved in 1825, and it is now
lighted with gas. It is 140 feet in length, 90 in breadth,
and 50 in height, and can accommodate 2500 hearers.
Over the altar is a painted window representing our Sa¬
viour’s descent from the cross, and the Apostles St John
and St Paul.
Church of St Georges, Hanover Square. This edifice
was erected in 1724, being one of the fifty built under the
act passed in the reign of Queen Anne; but the ground
on which it stands was presented to the parish by the liber¬
ality of General Steward, who bequeathed L.4000 for the
purpose. Next to St Martins-in-the-Fields, it is the hand¬
somest church in London. The fine portico consists of
six Corinthian columns, with an entablature and pediment;
524
LONDON.
London.
but from being in a street, it is not seen to the greatest ad-
vantage, i he steeple is very magnificent. The interior is
executed with more expense than taste. The altar-piece,
painted by Sir James Thornhill, represents the Last Sup¬
per. I he church is 100 feet in length, 60 in breadth, and
45 in height, and can accommodate 2500 hearers. This
parish has also a church at Pimlico, and a burying-ground
near Tyburn turnpike.
Church of St Margaret. This building is placed in such
a situation as to impede the view of Westminster Abbey,
and by contrast with that edifice, to appear less worthy of
notice than it would be in another situation. It is the
church of the House of Commons, with a pew for the
Speaker, and a gallery for members. On this account it
has often been repaired at the public expense, and its de¬
corations and ornaments are of great value. On the altar
table is a basso-relievo, representing Christ at Emmaus.
There is a fine painted window, prepared at Dort in Holland
in the reign of Henry VII., representing the crucifixion. The
church is 130 feet in length, 65 in breadth, and 45 in
height, and accommodates 2000 auditors. In one of the
aisles is a tablet to the memory of Sir Walter Raleigh, who
was buried there. In the enclosure by the church, a bronze
statue to the memory of Mr Canning, by Westmacor, has
been erected.
St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, was one of the fifty
ordered to be built in the reign of Anne, but it was not
finished till 1731, when the statue of George I. was placed
on the top of the tower. It was built by Hawksmoor, and,
contrary to the general practice, extending from north to
south. It has an admired portico of eight Corinthian columns.
In it are some handsome monuments, especially one to the late
Charles Grant, constructed at the expense of the East India
Company. The church is 110 feet in length, 90 in breadth,
and 50 in height, and can accommodate 2000 auditors.
The church of St Mary-le-Strand was built by Gibbs,
under the act of Queen Anne, and completed in l'717. It
is an elegant pile of architecture, with an entrance at the
west end by a flight of steps in a circular form, which leads
to a portico of Ionic columns covered with a dome, and
the columns in the same order are continued in pilasters
round the whole building, and in the intercolumniations
are niches tastefully ornamented. It is 70 feet in length,
30 in breadth, and 48 in height, and has a modern painted
glass window'.
St Clement Danes Church, in the Strand, was built in
1680 by Sir Christopher Wren. It is built of stone, with
two rows of windows, the lower plain, but the upper orna¬
mented ; and the termination is by an attic. On the north,
as well as on the south side of the front is a portico with a
dome, supported by Ionic columns. The steeple, which is
lofty and beautiful, was erected by Gibbs in 1719. The
church is 96 feet long, 63 broad, and 48 high. Both these
churches are inconveniently placed, as the noise, from the
constant succession of carriages passing close to them, pre¬
vents the distinct hearing of the preacher's voice.
T he church of St Anne, Soho, in Dean Street, was built
in 1685, on account of the great increase of inhabitants in
the parish of St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, of w hich this dis¬
trict then formed a part. It received its name from the
Saint, in compliment to the then Princess Anne of Denmark,
who afterwards became Queen. It is a brick building,
110 feet long, 60 broad, and 40 high, and is rendered sin¬
gular by a circular tower, surmounted by a large ball, con¬
taining a clock with four dials. 3 here is a fine organ, a
present from King William III., and two paintings of Moses
and Aaron around the tablets on which the decalogue is
painted. At the back of the church is a tablet in remem¬
brance of Theodoric, King of Corsica, who was interred
there.
The most remarkable of the churches in the western
part of the metropolis that have been opened within th
last eighteen years are the following: 
All Soids Church, in Langham Place, is a beautiful but
singular structure, erected in 1824, from the designs of M
J\ ash, and contains space for 1800 persons. The steeple
consists of a circular tower, surmounted by a cone. The
tower rests on a flight of steps, and the lower part is sur¬
rounded by a peristyle of twelve Ionic columns, the capi
tals of which are profusely ornamented. The base of the
cone is also surrounded by a peristyle consisting of fourteen
Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature and balus
trade. Phe cone is fluted and carried to a point, without
the usual addition of either weathercock or vane. The in¬
terior is very pleasing; three sides are occupied by gal¬
leries, and the fourth by the altar, w hich is adorned with a
painting by W estall, of Christ crowned with thorns. Above
the front of the galleries rises a colonade of Corinthian co¬
lumns, supporting the ceiling, which is enriched with sunk
panels.
The new church of St Luke’s, Chelsea, which was con¬
secrated on the 28th of October 1824, is one of the most
beautiful edifices, in the Gothic style, that has been pro¬
duced of late years. It is built of brick but faced with
stone, and is divided into a nave and aisles. At the east
end is a large window and splendid altar screen; and at the
west end is an organ, built by Nichols. The church is 130
feet long, 61 wide, and 60 high, and it accommodates 2000
persons conveniently. It has a handsome tower with pin¬
nacles at each angle, the height to the top of which is 142
feet. In it is an excellent peal of bells. The architect of
this work was Mr Savage.
Marylebone New Church, in the New Road, was origi-
nally designed as an additional chapel of ease to the parish;
but when the interior had been fitted up and arranged, it
was so much admired, that it wras thought expedient to
make it a parish church. A small stone cupola, which had
been elected, was taken dowrn, and the present tower,
adorned with representations of the winds, substituted. The
front was increased in length; and the portico of six Corin¬
thian columns, was tastefully attached to the building. The
interior is rendered remarkable by a double gallery. The
organ is over the altar, and stands at the south end of the
church ; and a picture, by West, of the nativity, forms the
altarpiece. The foundation was laid in July 1813,andthe
consecration was performed in February 1817. The length
of the church is 125 feet, thp breadth 70, and the height
53. The height of the tower is 154 feet, and the width of
the portico 20 feet. The builder w as Mr Hardwicke. At
tnis church more than three thousand baptisms are annually
performed.
Christ Church, in Woburn Square, is an elegant edifice,
completed in 1833. It is in the style of the architecture
w Inch flourished in this country in the fourteenth and fif¬
teenth centuries. J he principal front has a tower, which is
united to a spire 150 feet in height. There are five entrance
doors in the front, and the same number of windows, with
mullions and rich tracery over them. The interior, cal¬
culated for 1500 persons, is a square of 70 feet each way,
and has an height of 48 feet. Four massive pillars form
a transept, and support arches; the arms of the transept
being equal to the length of the nave, and thus a Greek
cross is described. T he great east window is enriched with
mullions and elaborate tracery, and being 28 feet by 13
becomes an important feature in this elegant church.
I he nevy church ot St Pancras was consecrated in May
1822. It is built of brick, but faced with Portland stone,
and the design of it by Mr Inwood, is in imitation of the
I emple of Erectheus at Athens. The portico is a beauti¬
ful object, consisting of six Ionic pillars, beneath which are
three doors, the centre of which is an exact representation
of the entrance to the Greek temple. At each end of the
1
LONDON.
525
‘ion,.church are two projecting wings, designed for the registry
1 r'JW’and vestry room, and formed on the model of the Pandro-
seum, which was attached to the Temple of Erectheus.
The steeple, which is 160 feet in height, is also from the
Athenian model, being an imitation of the Temple of the
Winds. The interior, which is 170 feet in length, and 60 in
breadth, is particularly elegant, the windows being composed
of ground-glass, with coloured borders ; and the galleries
supported by pillars taken from casts of the Elgin marbles.
The church of St Giles’-in-the-Fields, was erected in
the year 1730, on a spot where formerly stood an hospital,
in the front of which Sir John Oldcastle was burned for his
religious opinions in the reign of Henry V. It is a fine
building, with a tower at the west end of the Doric and
Ionic orders, terminated by a steeple, the clock of which is
now illuminated at night. The ceiling is arched, and sup¬
ported by Ionic pillars. At the north-west corner of the
churchyard is a handsome portico called the Resurrection
Gate, having over it a fine bronze representation of that
expected event executed about 1687.
St Stephen’s, Holborn Hill, is one of the churches built
under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren in 1670. It
iis 126 feet in length, exclusive of the ambulatory at the
west end, is 58 feet in breadth, and 35 in height, and cal¬
culated for 2000 auditors. The tower is 140 feet in height,
with four modern spires at the angles. The altarpiece, of
the Corinthian order, and the roof, supported by twelve Tus¬
can pillars, produce a very fine effect.
St Peter’s Church, Pimlico, is a chaste building of the
Ionic order, erected in 1826 from the design of Mr Hake-
veil. The portico consists of six fluted columns, support-
ng a pediment, behind which is a quadrangular tower,
crowned with a spherical dome and cross, and has a fine
effect. It accommodates 1680 persons. The altar-piece
s Christ crowned with thorns, painted by Hilton.
The churches in the city, though more numerous than
n the other parts of the metropolis, are in general much
wmaller, and so are the congregations ; for in some parishes
,o many houses have been taken down in order to erect
mblic buildings, and so many of the more substantial trades-
nen and merchants prefer to live either in the country or
it the west end of the town, rather than at their houses of
)usiness, that but few in comparison attend the parish
churches, whilst those churches in the more fashionable or
nore pleasant parts are in general crowded to excess, es-
>ecially if the preachers are at all popular.
Christ’s Church, in Newgate. Street, is one of the largest
>f the city churches. It was built by Sir Christopher
Wren on the site of a former church, which, before the
deformation, had belonged to the Franciscan monks. It
s a beautiful structure, but hidden by the houses that sur-
ound it. The tower is square and lofty. The pulpit is
uriously carved with representations of the Last Supper,
ind of the four evangelists. The font is of white marble,
domed with alto relievos. The western window is orna-
nented with the royal arms and painted glass. The num*-
>er of eminent persons interred in the vault is very great.
Annual sermons are preached here at Easter before the
-ord Mayor, Aldermen, and the Governors of royal hospi-
als, known as Spital sermons.
The Church of St Mary-le-Bow, or Bow Church, in
ipheapside, was built by Wren in 1673, upon the spot
rhere a very ancient one stood built on arches, from which
t derives the addition to its name. The tower is very
•eautiful, being 200 feet in height, and furnished with a very
celebrated peal of bells; and was in 1820 improved and
trengthened. The Bishop of London is consecrated here,
nd the lectures are preached in pursuance of the will of
dr Boyle, in defence of the Christian religion, many of
rhich have been published and maintained the highest rank
mongst theological writings.
St Dunstan’s in the West, in Fleet Street, was one of the I^ndon.
oldest churches in London, and none more attracted the
attention of passengers, owing to its clock, at which ap¬
peared two coarsely clad athletic figures with clubs in their
hands, who struck a bell to give notice of the hours and
quarters of hours. These have been sold to the Marquis
of Hertford, with their machinery, to ornament his villa in
the Regent’s Park. The sale was made when the church
was rebuilt in 1834. It is now a handsome Gothic edifice,
but placed thirty feet farther back than before. The south¬
ern front is a tower of freestone, square as high as the bel-
frey, which is lighted by four large windows. Above these
windows an octagonal battlement, springing from corbelled
heads, surmounts the tower, the four corners of which are
ornamented by pinnacles; and thence rises an octagonal
lanthorn, each angle having a buttress and fencal, and each
front two windows, one above the other ; the whole being
terminated by a richly-ornamented crown parapet. The
entrance doorway is finished with rich tracery, and flanked
by two buttresses. The arms of the kingdom and of the
city are placed upon each side of it, and four blank shields
over it; an iron rail and gate separating the whole from
the street. The interior of the church is appropriately
finished in a style harmonising with the exterior, and the
ornaments are extremely rich. The total height of the
tower is 130 feet. The accommodation provided is for
about 900 persons. The whole well deserves notice, and
does great credit to the skill and taste of the architect, Mr
John Shaw, who died just as the work was finished.
The church of St Saviour, in the Borough of South¬
wark, belongs to two parishes, St Margaret’s and St Mary
Magdalen. It was formerly a priory, but, from various re¬
pairs, little of its original architecture remains. It is, how¬
ever, a noble fabric, with three aisles running east and
west, and a cross aisle. It measures 270 feet in length,
54 in breadth, and 47 in height; and the breadth of the cross
aisle is 109 feet. The tower, which is surmounted by four
pinnacles 150 feet high from the ground, is remarkable as
the spot from which Hollar took his views of London, both
before and after the great fire. The Lodge Chapel, at
the east end of this magnificent church, and which forms
its most interesting part, had undergone some insufficient
repairs, and being still dilapidated, it was proposed to pull
it down, to avoid the great expense which was deemed ne¬
cessary to preserve it. This project having been opposed
by many of the admirers of our Gothic architecture, a suc¬
cessful appeal was made to the public in order to raise the
funds necessary to save it from destruction. The neces¬
sary sum having been obtained, the work is now proceed¬
ing with great rapidity, every part being made an exact
facsimile of the original fabric. By an act of Parliament
of the. session 1833, an additional width was given to the
opening in the main street leading from the new bridge,
which is now such as to display the whole of the fine
church of St Saviour to the greatest advantage.
The church of St Stephen’s, Walbrook, though but little
known, is considered by critics as the best specimen of the
taste of Sir Christopher Wren, who built it after the fire,
according to a design borrowed from the celebrated Palla¬
dio. The plan is original, but chaste and beautiful. The
dome, supported by eight arches, springing from eight Co¬
rinthian columns, is light and scenic in its effect, and
scarcely corresponds with the simple solemnity of our reli¬
gious worship. Over the altar is a fine picture represent¬
ing the interment of St Stephen, by West. The church
is 75 feet long, 36 broad, and the central roof 34 feet high.
The great number of the churches in London forbid even
an enumeration, but it may be confidently affirmed that,
varying as they do in age, in style of building, in decorations,
and in extent of accommodation, all of them are kept in ex¬
cellent order, as regards cleanliness, neatness, and warmth,
526
LONDON.
London, and have the service performed with punctual adherence may vie with most of those lately built for the English cimr 1,
v ' to the prescribed formularies. It is 100 feet in length, and 63 in breadth, and is camhi'
1 he new churches and chapels which have been built or of containing 1800 persons. It is after a design of Mr Tl ' 1
rebuilt under the direction of the commissioners for build- and well executed. b 1 e’
ing churches, from sums partly raised by voluntary contri¬
butions, and partly from the aid supplied from the Par¬
liamentary grant, are as follow :—
Opened in
Trinity Church, Newington Butts, . . 1823
St John the Evangelist, Waterloo Road,
St Mary’s Wyndham Place, Bryanston Square, 1824
St Peter’s, Rivington,
All Saints, Poplar, . . . . ....
Hanover Chapel, Regent Street, .
Regent Chapel, Sidmouth Street,
Somer’s Town Chapel,
Camden Town Chapel,
Christ’s Church, Marylebone, . . . 1825
St John’s Hoxton, ..<... 1825
Bethnal Green, . . . . . ....
St Barnabas, near Goswell Street, . . 1826
Trinity Church, Marylebone, . ....
St Mary’s, Haggerstone,
St Peter’s, Pimlico, . . . . ....
St Paul’s, Ball’s Pond, .... 1826
Trinity, Brompton, . . . . ....
St Mark’s, Clerkenwell, . . .1828
North Audley Street Chapel, or St Mark’s,
St Philip’s, Regent Street, 
Trinity Church, Sloane Street,
St Andrew’s, Saffron Hill, . . . .1831
All of these are capacious buildings, capable of accom¬
modating from 1500 to 2200 hearers each, and about two-
thirds of the sittings are free to all persons. The total
number of churches of the established religion in the me¬
tropolis, according to the limits here presumed, is 149, and
of chapels 88. These 237 buildings may, on an average,
accommodate about 1200 persons in each; for though a fewT
of the older churches are small, yet the vastly greater ca¬
pacity of some of the old, like St Martin’s and others, and
all the new, and those in Westminster of all ages, more than
compensate for the narrow limits of the more ancient edifices.
There is thus church accommodation for 255,000 persons.
Other Besides these structures destined for the national church,
places of there are numerous buildings appropriated to the various
worship, sectaries who prefer other modes of worship, or adopt dif¬
ferent professions of faith. As they are varying bodies, it
is difficult either to estimate the number of their places of
worship, or to classify them with much confidence of accu¬
racy. Though the buildings occupied by dissenting con¬
gregations are for the most part neat and commodious, few
of them have that imposing exterior which demands atten¬
tion ; and many of them are in courts, or lanes, or narrow
streets, or in the outskirts of the metropolis.
There are two, however, sufficiently distinguished from
the rest to merit notice. The Roman Catholic church in
Moorfields, a modern structure of great capacity, is a plain
building, but ornamented with paintings which produce a
fine effect. The altar is adorned with marble columns, and
there is a fresco painting of the Crucifixion, on which the
light from behind is thrown so as to produce a fine effect.
On the ceiling are representations of the Virgin Mary, of
the infant Jesus, and of the four Evangelists, surrounded
by paintings of the principal events in the life of our Sa¬
viour, all executed by M. Angelo, an Italian artist.
The members of the Established Church of Scotland re¬
sident in London have lately erected an edifice for the cele¬
bration of their form of worship in Regent’s Square, near to
Gray’s Inn Lane. The building is in the Gothic style, and
The number of places of worship, other than those of thp
Established Church, is 207, of which 16 belong to foreign
Protestants, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, French, Swiss, or
German, and they are both of the Lutheran and of the
Calvinist communion. The Roman Catholics occupy se„
venteen chapels, four of which belong properly to foreign
ambassadors. The Jews have six synagogues. The others
are used for the public worship of the various descriptions
of Protestants. Twelve of these are of the Scottish na¬
tion, and presbyterians either of the Established Kirk, or of
some of the secessions from it. The Wesleyan Method¬
ists, including the different branches into which the sect is
divided, have seventeen chapels. The Whitfield Methodists
or those of Lady Huntingdon’s connexion, possess five cha¬
pels. The Quakers, or Friends, occupy six meeting-houses.
There are eighty-eight chapels denominated Calvinist, many
of which are Independent, and some few Presbyterians, but
the most are occupied by congregations collected by some
popular preacher, who do not make any specific opinions a
centre of union, and have little connexion with each other.
There are forty-four meeting-houses of Baptists, compre¬
hending both Arminians and Calvinists, but the latter are
by far the most numerous ; in some of these the service is
performed in the Welsh language. The Arians and Soci-
nians, calling themselves Unitarians, have eight chapels.
There are, besides, small chapels used by Swedenborgians,
Sandemamonians, Huntingdoneans, Moravians, and Free-
thinking Christians, but not more than one to each sect.
As many of these chapels are very small, and only a few
of them large, they do not probably upon an average pro¬
vide room for more than half the number of auditors that
can be accommodated in the churches and chapels of the
established faith. It is doubtful, if taking one with ano¬
ther, they include more than 500 persons each.
The religious zeal of the metropolis is not more evincedTmfitn.
by the regard paid to the edifices of devotion than it is bytionsm.
the anxiety displayed by numerous societies formed for thenectoi
promotion of piety and virtue. These are of various de-"in¬
scriptions. The distribution of Bibles and other pious810"'
writings is the express object of some of these associations.
Of these two are pre-eminent by their extent. One of
them, called the Society for Promoting Christian Know¬
ledge, consists of members of the National Church, and
disseminates the sacred Scriptures, the Book of Common
Prayer, and other books of practical religion. The other,
composed of Christians of all religious denominations, con¬
fines its distribution to the Bible alone. It is called the
British and Foreign Bible Society, and employs persons to
translate the holy books into languages in which they
were never seen before, and in conveying them to the
countries where they are gratuitously dispersed. Its dis¬
tribution in this country is very considerable. Both these
societies have various branches connected with them, some
in London, and others more numerous in the different parts
of the kingdom, and these branches, like the parent socie¬
ty, collect money and disseminate pious books. There is
an old society called the Society for Promoting Religious
Knowledge, chiefly consisting of Calvinistic dissenters, who
distribute their writings amongst the poor. There is like¬
wise a Naval and Military Bible Society, and a Merchant
Seamen Bible Society, whose names are significant of their
objects. The pious desire to spread the knowdedge of Chris¬
tianity amongst unbelievers in distant countries has given
rise to the following missionary societies:—
Society for Propagating the Gospel in foreign parts,
which was established in 1701, and receives aid from go¬
vernment.
I
¥ I
, Ion. Society for Conversion of Negro Slaves in the British
‘^.West India Islands was incorporated in 1794.
then
fcr
Lot-
:ofC(
!«(
iris
minat
»ete
LONDON.
527
Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East in
1800.
Baptist Missionary Society in 1792.
London Missionary Society in 1795.
Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in 1802.
Moravian Missions of the United Brethren in 1732.
London Association in aid of Moravian Missions in 1817.
Other missionary societies are framed for the purpose of
jperating within the United Kingdom, one object of which
s attended to by the Society for promoting Christianity
imongst the Jews, founded in 1808, wdmse expenditure has
ieen very liberal, and another called the Philo-Judaean,
established in 1826.
Besides these, there are societies for promoting missions
it home, and in the neighbouring European countries. They
ire the Continental Society, the Christian Union Society,
he Irish Evangelical Society, the Hibernian Society, the
Baptist Irish Society, the London Itinerant Society, the
Village Itinerary Society, British and Foreign Seamen’s
Society, Port of London Society for promoting Religion
imong Seamen, Port of London and Bethel Union Society,
md Episcopal Floating Church Society.
According to the best account's which can be obtained,
he whole sum annually collected in London for this class
>f benevolent designs amounts to nearly L.350,000. Much
>f the money is raised, and many subscriptions procured,
>y public meetings, at which exciting speeches are made,
lescribing the success of their operations, and pressing on
he auditors the necessity or piety of assisting these institu-
ions. Meetings of this description have become so nume-
ous, that a large public building has been erected for hold-
ng them, called Exeter Hall, in the Strand. It is a fine
tructure, and the interior is very appropriate for the in-
ended purpose.
London is the source from which the law of England is
‘^"•dispensed over t]ie whole kingdom, and in it originate all
' he important legal proceedings. On this subject, the Inns
if Court, in which legal knowledge is imbibed, and in
vhich the initiation of the most respectable branch of prac-
itioners is performed, deserve the first notice. There are
bur of these inns, which have the power to call to the bar
uch students of their society as have passed the due prepara-
ory period, which occupies five years for all who have not
raduated at the universities, and three years for those who
iave proceeded to the degree of Master of Arts. No exa-
nination takes place at their admission. These societies
re of a nondescript nature, not being corporations in the
agal sense, but yet possessing considerable wealth, and ex-
rcising great power, with little or no actual controul, by
(leans of a body called the Benchers, which is chosen by
ules of their own.
The Temple is situated partly within and partly without
lie city. It receives its name from the religious military
rder of the Knights Templars. They were originally cru-
iders, who, happening to be quartered in places adjacent to
lie holy temple of Jerusalem, in 1118, consecrated them-
elves to the service of religion by deeds of arms. Hugo de
’aganis and Geoffrey of St Omers established the order, by
hiding themselves to chastity and obedience, and profess-
ig to protect the pilgrims to the Holy Land from all wrong
nd robbery on the road. By their devotion, and the fame
f their gallant actions, they became very popular in every
art of Europe, and were so enriched by the favour of prin-
es and other great men, that, at the time of their dissolu-
on, they were found to be possessed of sixteen thousand
ch manors. Their riches seem to have been their chief
rime, though their wealth enabled them to indulge in ex-
-ssive luxury. Crimes were imputed to them, and they
ere condemned without proof. They founded the Temple
the
in London in the year 1185, and continued in possession of it London.
till their suppression in 1310. When they were condemnedv y 
to penance and dispersion, Edward II. granted their house
to T. homas Earl of Lancaster, and on his rebellion to Aymer
de Valance, Earl of Pembroke, on whose death it reverted
to the crown. It was then given to the Knights of St
John of Jerusalem, for their gallant defence of the Island
of Rhodes against the Turks. These knights, in the reign
of Edward HI., granted the Temple to the students of the
common law, to whose use it has ever since been applied.
The church of the Temple is an object of great curiosi¬
ty. It was erected in 1185, on the model of the church of
the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. The entrance is through
a door with a Saxon arch. The form is circular; it is sup¬
ported by six round arches, each resting on four round pillars,
bound together by a fascia. It has undergone a thorough
reparation since 1828, and has been recased with stone. It
contains many monuments of eminent men connected with
the establishment during its existence; amongst others, of
the eminent lawyers Plowden, Selden, and Vaughan. A
division of the establishment was made into the Inner and
Middle Temple, which now form two distinct bodies, having
their members, revenues, and regulations separate, but en¬
joying the church in common. Each of these bodies admits
or calls students to the bar; each provides for them tables of
three grades for the benchers; the barristers and the students
are provided, during term time, at very moderate rates.
The whole of the buildings are divided into separate suites
of apartments, in which men of all degrees of expenditure
find accommodation. The garden of the Temple, formed
by embankment on the side of the river, is a pleasant pro¬
menade, which has been rendered celebrated by Shakspeare,
who makes it the place where the badge of the white and
red rose originated, under which the respective partizans of
the houses of York and Lancaster were arranged. The
chaplainship of the Temple is a valuable and honourable of¬
fice, and has been filled by some of the greatest divines of
the English church. The chaplain is denominated the
Master.
Lincoln's Inn is an old building in Chancery Lane, part¬
ly in the liberty of the Rolls, and partly in W estminster.
It was originally a Dominican monastery, but, on the monks
removing to Blackfriars, the ground was granted to Henry
Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, who built upon it an inn, or resi¬
dence for himself, where he died in the year 1312. From
this the present name has been derived. In the reign of
Henry VHL, one of the Bishops of Chester granted leases
of the buildings to certain students of the law, reserving a
lodging for themselves when they came to London. It has
a chapel built on massive pillars, with a dry walk under it.
The hall is used as a court out of term. The power of
calling to the bar, the service of the tables, and other mat¬
ters, are nearly regulated in the same manner as in the
two Jemples. I he new square and stone buildings con¬
tain many good apartments; and there have been other
modern erections.
Gray’s Inn, the last of the four establishments from
which barristers emanate, is in Holborn. It was the resi¬
dence of the Lord Greys in 1315, and was sold by one of
them to Hugh Denys, and then came to the Prior of Sheene,
who disposed of it to the students of law. It has its hall
adorned with a curiously carved oak-screen, with portraits
of the three kings of the house of Stuart. The chapel is
not remarkable; but it has a good and spacious garden, in
which new buildings have recently been erected. The re¬
gulations for admitting barristers, for the service of the ta¬
ble, and for other matters, differ but little from those of the
Temple and Lincoln’s Inn ; but the number of professional
men, especially of barristers, is much larger in proportion
to the establishment, than in the other Inns of Court.
There are other piles of building in the same vicinity.
LONDON.
London, still called inns, which were such probably in former times,
v nand occupied as preparatory schools of law, or by the at¬
torneys and attendants on the courts. These are, Clement’s
Inn, with a hall, in which there is a portrait of Judge Hale,
and those of some others, and, in the square, a fine statue
of a negro, holding in his hand a sun-dial. Thaves’s Inn, in
Holborn, has been purchased by the society of Lincoln’s
Inn, and is occupied by private persons. Clifford’s Inn, in
t leet Street, is small and old. Staples Inn, in Holborn, is
said to have been formerly the wool-market; in its hall
are casts of the twelve Roman Emperors, and some por¬
traits. Lyon’s Inn, in Newcastle Street, was originally an
inn with that sign; it is small. Furnival’s Inn, in Holborn,
belonged to a noble family of that name, now extinct; it
has been lately rebuilt, in a style which makes it an orna¬
ment to the street. Barnard’s Inn is also in Holborn, but
has nothing to render it remarkable. Symond’s Inn, in
Chancery Lane, was formerly used by the Masters in Chan¬
cery, before their removal to the public office in South¬
ampton Buildings. New Inn, in Wych Street, is small,
and in some way connected with the Middle Temple. There
are in all of these separate apartments, reached by common
staircases, into which they open. They are let indiscri¬
minately to any tenants, but are chiefly occupied by per¬
sons of the different branches of the legal profession. There
are two others, called Sergeant’s Inn, one in Chancery
Lane, mostly occupied by sergeants-at-law; the other in
Fleet Street, with private dwellings, except that the Ami¬
cable Insurance Company have their office in it.
Courts of The Courts of Law established in the metropolis are, in
Law. number and jurisdiction, conformable to the requisitions that
are made on them by the nature and division of the law, and
by the business transacted in them. The chief courts are
in Westminster Hall. On entering the great or eastern
door, the first on the right hand is the King’s Bench; the
Common-Pleas Court, the Exchequer, the Bail Court, the
Vice-Chancellor’s and the Chancellor’s follow in succession;
and above stairs is the Court of the Master of the Rolls.
In a building, once a part of the Exchequer, adjoining, and
which, according to tradition, was the Star Chamber, is a
court for the new Judges of Bankruptcy.
During term time these courts are occupied by the re¬
spective jvidges. They are neatly and appropriately fitted up,
and tolerably commodious. In the intervals between the
terms, the Lord Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, and the
Master of the Rolls, sit at Lincoln’s Inn ; the Chief Baron
of the Exchequer in Gray’s Inn; and the Chief Justice of
the King’s Bench and of the Comn on Pleas try jury causes
at the Guildhall of the city, where appropriate courts are
prepared to receive them.
^ There are two civil-law courts in Doctors Commons,
i he first is the ecclesiastical court, which takes cognizance
of blasphemy, heresy, divorces, adultery, fornication, simo¬
ny, incest, and some other crimes; and also regulates the
induction to church preferments, the rights of pews, church¬
es, and burial-grounds, the probates of wills, and the grant¬
ing administration in cases of intestacy. It is the deposi¬
tary of all wills in the province of Canterbury; and they
are so carefully preserved and registered, that reference
can be made to any will in a few minutes, and the examiner,
for the small fee of a shilling, may read any one in the place.
The other court, called the Court of Admiralty, is em¬
powered to decide on all cases of capture of ships, to judge
of crimes committed on the high seas, and to determine
disputes between sailors and their captains in merchant
ships. The Court of Arches is also held at the same place,
and is a court of appeal from the ecclesiastical court. There
are two classes of practitioners in these courts, the proctors
and the advocates. The former must be admitted by a fiat
from the archbishop, before the judges will admit them to
practise. The advocates are only such as have taken the
degree of doctoi oi laws in one of the universities Tlio
wtir>lo —i.*1 - i " V kondoi
whole building is somewhat in the style of a colWe in¬
closed with gates, and contains, besides the courts, apart
ments for the judges and officers, and chambers for the ari"
vocates.
There are some other inferior courts, such as that of thP
Lord Mayor, of the Sheriffs, several for the recoverv of
very small debts, called Courts of Request, and the Marshal-
sea, or Palace Court. To these may be added the Insol¬
vent Debtors’ Court, which has much more practice than
anyofthem, being presided over by regular and well-in¬
structed Judges, whose jurisdiction extends over the whole
kingdom. Upon fairly giving up the whole of his effects
and rendering a true account of his debts, the prisoner is
by this court released from confinement.
. The principal criminal court is that of the Sessions-house
in the Old Bailey, the jurisdiction of which was extended
by a law in 1834, to many parts of Surrey, Kent, and Essex’
where it did not reach before. It is*nominally presided
over by the Lord Mayor and aldermen ; but the prisoners
are tried by the regular judges, a few by the Recorder,
and some by the Common Sergeant. Inferior offences are
tried before the justices of the peace for the county of Mid¬
dlesex, at the Sessions-house at Clerkenwell. Misdemea¬
nors are also tried at Horsemonger Lane, by the justices of
Surrey, and at Guildhall by the city authorities. The Lord
Mayor sits at the Mansion-house, and an alderman at Guild¬
hall, to judge in smaller matters, and to inflict punishment
correspondent to their guilt on offenders. There are eight
offices of stipendiary magistrates beyond the limits of the
city, who, like the Lord Mayor and aldermen, have the power
to punish, by fine and imprisonment, for disorderly conduct,
and for various other offences specified in various acts of par¬
liament. These magistrates, like those of the city, examine
into crimes of the highest nature, and, on the charge being
made pi obable, commit them to prison, to be tried at the
gaol delivery. At each of these offices three magistrates
attend, and they have from eight to twelve constables at¬
tached to them, called police-officers, who, besides their '
pay, make profits from the services of summonses, warrants,
searching for offenders, and portions of penalties.
Ihe prisons in London are appropriated to various pur- priJ(m
poses, and under different authorities. The first to be no¬
ticed is Newgate, which is under the jurisdiction of the Lord
Mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, and is the common gaol for
London and Middlesex. It was burned by the mob in the
riots of 11 80, but speedily rebuilt, as at that time there was
little wood in it. It is divided for three classes of culprits;
one part for convicts, another for those to be tried and such
as have been committed for misdemeanors, and the third
divided into two parts, for tried and untried females. The
number of prisoners varies from 350 up to 900. There is a
chapel within the walls, in which divine service is performed
twice every Sunday, and once on three other days of every
week. The largest of the prisons is the Middlesex house
of correction in Coldbath Fields, which commonly contains
about 1200 persons, who are employed in picking oakum.
A tread-mill is in operation; and of late silence amongst the
prisoners has been enforced, which seems to have produced
a very beneficial effect.
Giltspur Street Prison is near to Newgate. It is a pile
of considerable extent, of rustic stone wTork, but has only
apartments for about 200 prisoners. These are such as
are under examination previous to commitment, besides va¬
grants or disorderly persons taken up at night. It is some¬
times used as a house of correction, and the persons sent
to it are employed in various kinds of work.
Clei kenwell Prison is near the house of correction in Spa
Fields, and is a common gaol for the county of Middlesex.
It receives prisoners of all descriptions, and is capable of
containing about 300 persons.
VOI
1
LONDON.
529
doii. Fleet Prison, in Farringdon Street, is chiefly used for
confinement of debtors, or for such as are committed
jy the Court of Chancery or of the Common Pleas for con-
;empt. The average number of persons confined in it is
ibout 250; but there are about 60 others within the rules
jr limits, which extend both up Ludgate Hill and Fleet
Street.
The King's Bench Prison, in Southwark, is large, and,
>y the improvement of the law, has of late been but thinly
: occupied. It is principally a place of confinement for
debtors, or of such as are sentenced to it for libels or other
nisdemeanors. It contains 220 rooms, and is surrounded
vith a lofty brick wall. Debtors are allowed to purchase
Kv'hat is called the liberties, that is, to have lodgings with-
>ut the walls, but within the rules, which extend over the
vhole of St George’s Fields, and into parts of Southwark.
Horsemonger Lane Prison, in Southwark, is the gaol for
he county of Surrey. It is a large building, erected in
1781, and surrounded with a lofty wall, and it is occupied
joth by felons and debtors. On the top of it is the place
>f execution for criminals sentenced to death. The num-
>er confined varies from 200 to 300.
The Borough Compter, though under the jurisdiction of
he Corporation of London, is restricted to some of the pa-
ishes in Southwark. The experiment is here tried of se-
>arating and classifying the prisoners, who are employed in
'arious kinds of labour.
Neiv Bridewell Prison is in St George’s Fields, and a
ubstitute for the City Bridewell. It is devoted to the
:orrection and education of the idle and disorderly," who
ire chiefly employed on a tread-mill, by which the corn is
pound for the support of the patients in Bethlehem Hos¬
pital.
The New Debtor’s Prison in White Cross Street, is used
inly for such debtors as were formerly confined in Newgate
imongst felons. It is capable of containing 400 persons.
The Penitentiary at Millbank has been a most expensive
:xperiment on the Panopticon principle. It is intended
o reform the convicts, who are kept regularly at work in
various manufactures; and attention is paid to their moral London.
and religious instruction. The females are under the ma-  —1
nagement of officers of their own sex. The prisoners re-
ceive a part of their earnings, and the remainder is given
to them on their being discharged. It is capable of receiv¬
ing 400 male, and the same number of female prisoners.
A Statement of the Number of Persons charged with Cri¬
minal Offences who were committed to the several Gaols
in London and Middlesex for Trial during the 21 years
from 1813 to 1833, both inclusive.
Years.
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
Number of Persons.
Males. Females. Total,
1229
1216
1514
1729
2157
2108
2193
2274
1998
2003
1955
2042
2228
2734
2719
2767
2763
2560
2753
2873
2829
2699
478
430
491
497
529
557
498
499
482
536
548
579
674
723
662
749
804
830
761
866
863
848
1707
1646
2005
2226
2686
2665
2691
2773
2480
2539
2503
2621
2902
3457
3381
3516
3567
3390
3514
3739
3692
3547
1 Statement of the Number of Persons charged with Criminal Offences, who were committed for Trial, and convicted,
sentenced, acquitted, fyc., in London and in Middlesex, in each of the three last Seven Years.
Committed for trial. Males, . .
Females, . .
Total, . .
Convicted and sentenced to * Death, 
Transportation for life,
  for 21 years,
  for 14 ...
  for 7 ...
5 years,
2 ye^s,’ and above f year,"
l year, and above 6 months,
6 months, and under, .
Whipping, 
Fined,   
Total convicted,
... acquitted,
No bills found, and not prosecuted, 
Total, .
* Of whom were executed, 
In the seven
years ending in
1819.
13,146
3,480
15,626
1,254
466
390
2,659
2
8
146
880
3,027
228
618
9,678
3,395
2,553
15,626
138
In the seven
years ending in
1826.
15,234
4,041
19,275
1,145
707
496
3,036
3
118
772
4,694
385
746
12,102
4,549
2,624
19,275
162
In the seven
years ending in
1833.
19,264
5,535
24,799
1,043
771
1
1,123
4,989
**6
161
616
6,975
424
724
16,833
5,151
2,815
24,799
81
VOL. XIII.
3 x
LONDON.
A Summary of the Crimes for which Convictions were obtained in London and Middlesex, in each of the years
from 1827 to 1833.
Arson, and other wilful burning,
Bigamy, 
Burglary, ......
Breaking a house or shop, with larceny,
Cattle-stealing, or feloniously killing cattle,
Child-stealing, .....
Coining,  
Coin, counterfeit, uttering and having,
Embezzlement by servants,
Forgery of, and uttering forged instruments,
Forgery of, and uttering Bank of England notes,
Fraudulent offences, . . .
Game laws, offences against,
Horse-stealing, .....
Larceny, ......
Larceny in a dwelling-house,
Larceny from the person,
Letters containing bank-notes, &c. secreting or stealing
Letters, sending threatening,
Manslaughter, .....
Murder,   
Murder, shooting at, stabbing, and administering poison
with intent to, ....
Murder, attempt to strangle an infant,
Murder, concealing the birth of an infant,
Perjury,   
Piracy, 
Rape, 
Rape, assault with intent to commit,
Robbery of the"person on the highway and other places
Sheep-stealing, and killing with intent to steal,
Sodomy, ......
Sodomy, assault with intent to commit, and other unna¬
tural offences, 
Stolen goods, receiving, . . . .
Transports being at large, ....
Felony, assembling armed to assist smugglers, &c.
Felony, trafficking in slaves, ....
Felony and misdemeanor not otherwise described,
Total,
1827.
2
33
28
3
*6
46
47
5
47
16
1502
68
340
2
14
1
1
11
39
5
9
34
5
31
2300
1828.
17
14
64
3
3
42
48
8
2
45
2
12
1524
26
325
1
9
1
9
23
2
2
14
22
2
11
39
2277
1829.
1
6
7
47
2
1
79
33
11
1
58
3
1594
30
321
1
5
1
1
1
4
2
9
18
5
6
24
3
44
2328
1830.
3
4
65
1
2
67
37
6
50
3
4
1507
44
325
1
4
1
19
32
2
3
16
2227
1831.
10
6
73
2
4
7
81
33
4
60
1
9
1574
42
376
1
6
3
11
10
3
2
28
18
2372
1832.
6
3
74
4
1
99
37
25
2
56
13
1725
39^
446
1
1
9
6
7
18
3
1
14
38
1
11
2653
1833.
107
48
27
5
37
3
1760
47
410
2
1
4
2
23
44
2
38
2686
Statement of the Number of Persons sentenced to Death, with their Crimes, and the Number that were executed in
London and Middlesex in the Years from 1827 to 1833.
Crimes.
Arson, ...
Burglary, .....
Breaking into a dwelling-house, .
Cattle-stealing, ....
Coining, .....
Coin, counterfeit, uttering, .
Forgery of instruments, and uttering,
Forgery of bank-notes, and uttering,
Horse-stealing, . . . „
Larceny in a dwelling-house,
Letters, stealing and secreting, with
bank notes,
Murder, 
Carry forward,
1827.
Con.
33
28
3
6
1
5
16
68
2
l
163
Ex.
12
1828.
Con.
14
59
3
3
2
8
2
12
26
. 1
130
Ex.
16
1829.
Con.
1
7
40
2
5
11
1
3
30
101
Ex.
1
2
6
17
1830.
Con.
4
47
1
2
5
4
44
108
Ex.
1831.
Con. Ex
6
68
1
1
3
4
9
42
143
1832.
1833.
Con. Ex,
3
54
2
1
7
3
13
1
6
90
Con.
3
78
5 ! 85
Ex
Titiiic
,ite-
Knsti'
the
tirer.
The
lllom
LONDON.
Crimes.
Brought forward,
Shooting at, or stabbing, or administer¬
ing poison with intent to murder,
Attempting to strangle an infant.
Piracy, • . . . .
Rape, • . . .
Robbing on the highway, .
Sheep-stealing, and killing with intent
to steal, . , '
Sodomy, • . . .
Transports being at large, .
Felonies, assembling to protect smug¬
glers, trafficking in slaves, and trans¬
ferring a stamp to defraud,
Total,
1827.
1828.
Con,
163
1
39
Ex. j Con.
12
214
17
130
23
2
2
2
11
Ex.
16
1829.
Con.
101
1
1
2
18
5
3
Ex.
17
1
1
1830.
Con
175
21
I The institutions of the metropolis for the purposes of the
professional education of legal and medical men having been
ilready noticed, it seems proper to advert to those esta-
ilishments which are designed to promote and diffuse
mowledge in general, whether scientific, historical, or clas-
•ICclla
The first of these is the Royal Society, founded in the
Glgn IL’ n°7 holding its meetings in apartments
iroyided by the crown for that purpose in Somerset House,
ts labours and its merits are so well known, that any de-
cnption or encomium here would be superfluous. It
consists of a president and a council, composed, with the
^‘Presidents, of twenty members, and a numerous body
i fellows chosen by ballot. It has a secretary, an assist¬
ant secretary, and librarian, and holds weekly meetings on
hursday evening, and one annual meeting on the SOth of
November, when the council and officers are chosen.
I he Royal Society of Antiquaries was founded in 1751
nd is also provided with apartments by the public in So-
nerset House. It is managed by a council of twenty-two
lembers, chosen annually on the 23d of April, and has
weekly meetings on the Thursday evenings. Its researches
ito the antiquities of this kingdom, and of other countries,
aye been diligent, and have thrown great light upon many
istoncal subjects and events. 1 ^
The Royal Society of Literature is of recent origin,
Javing been founded in 1825. It has published two vo-
| times of its proceedings, of great curiosity, and has con-
abuted to the inquiry respecting the Egyptian hierogly-
bics, by printing several fasciculi of such of them as seem
i the best preservation. It has a president, ten vice-pre-
dents, and a council, annually chosen of fifteen members,
‘dudrng the English and foreign secretary, and the trea-
irer. Its weekly meetings are on the Thursday morning, at
ross°USe W UCh U haS built hl St Martin’s Biace, Charing
*n[tituf™n hi Albemarle Street, was founded
1800, chiefly by the exertions of Count Rumford. It
i is a good chemical apparatus, which was long employed
i the best manner by the late Sir Humphry Davy, and,
yter Ins connection with it ceased, lectures continued to be
l evered, both on subjects of science and taste, which have
m much influence on the promotion of knowledge. It
li1brary’ and the currcnt Periodical literature
collected for the use of members. The lectures are an-
j mneed m the journals.
i 1 he London Institution, in Finsbury Circus, is an es-
Jblishment of the same kind as that in Albemarle Street,
is a handsome erection, and has a most valuable library,
131
108
4
4
9
3
2
25 133
Ex.
Con.
1831.
Ex.
143
6
10
3
1832.
163
Con.
90
9
e
18
1
1
1
Ex.
5
1833.
Con.
120
85
5
15
Ex,
2
6 107
weft arranged, and lectures are delivered on scientific sub-
The Linnaan Society was founded in 1802, in Soho
Square, it holds its meetings on alternate Thursdays, in the
evening and has been successful in extending the know-
ledge of botany both as regards foreign and British plants.
e horticultural Society, whose objects are pointed out
by its name, was founded in 1808, and has a suite of apart¬
ments in Regent Street, where, on alternate Tuesdays, in
the season, displays are made of improved specimens of
fruits, flowers, and other products of the garden.
The Zoological Society was first established in 1829
and m the few years that have passed, has met with unex¬
ampled success and approbation. Its house is in Bruton
Street, where a large collection of stuffed animals may be
seen ; but the most attractive part of this institution is its
gurden m the Regents Park, to be hereafter noticed.
ihe Royal Asiatic Society was founded in the year 1820
in Grafton Street, and holds its weekly meetings on Satur-
day, and is occupied with researches into eastern literature
I hese societies are here separately classed, because they
are chartered bodies; but there are others without charters
which are not less useful or respectable, and equally de¬
serving of notice. ^ y
1 he Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufac-
tures and Commerce, was first established in the year
!754, and has beneficially applied itself to the purpose
which its name announces. It meets in John Street, Adel-
phi, but has annual exhibitions, in some larger buildings
of improved mechanism, and of other inventions, and of
specimens m the fine arts, where prizes of an appropriate
nature aie distributed to successful competitors.
tV lie ^mII Institution, in Great Coram Street; the
Western Literary and Scientific Institution in Leicester
Square ; the city of London Literary and Scientific Insti¬
tution in Aldersgate Street; the Metropolitan Literary In-
IJnion0nRln Cr T uCe;, the Surrey Institution, in
Union Row, Camberwell; the Southwark Literary and
CRIniStltUt10?’ m Tnmty Place’ BJackman Street;
and the Belgrave Institution, in Sloane Street, have all
been established within the last fifteen years. Their ob¬
jects are the same as those of the Royal and the London
Institution, and, as far as their several degrees of pecuniary
knowledge61^’ ^ °f USG in Promotil)g the spread of
I he /SbczeD/, properly described by its name as having for
its object the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, now forms a
prominent part of the means of general instruction. It
was first established in 1827, in South Square, Gray’s Inn,
LONDON.
and its progress has been excessively rapid. Its attention
is chiefly directed to publishing, in a form so economical, as
to bring them within the reach of a vast number of per¬
sons, a great variety of works of such a nature, as must
tend to improve the minds of those who are anxious to ac¬
quire knowledge. By using good but not high priced paper,
by stereotyping, and by printing large editions, they are
enabled to furnish their books at very low rates. Their
Almanac, their Penny Magazine, their Penny Cyclopaedia,
and numerous other works, are all well and faithfully exe¬
cuted, and every degree of scrutiny is applied to prevent
in them the insertion of whatever may tend to weaken the
moral or religious principles of the readers.
Some other societies have been formed on the same, or
nearly the same plan ; but, though equally commendable
in their design and execution, they have not been attended
with equal success.
The Geological Society, formed in 1826, has been fa¬
voured with a suite of apartments by government, in So¬
merset House, where its valuable collection of fossil and
mineral specimens is rapidly increasing. It meets on the
first and third Fridays in each month, when communica¬
tions are made which must tend to increase the knowledge
of this branch of science.
The Astronomical Society, though not of more than
twelve years’ existence, has acquired and maintained the
highest reputation by its publications. It is composed of
the most eminent astronomers of this kingdom, and holds
a constant communication with those of other countries. It
holds monthly meetings on the second Friday of each month,
but its principal labours are performed in the observatories
of the several members, of which several have been erected
in different parts of the kingdom, chiefly in consequence
of the impulse given by the society.
The Fine Arts have also societies established for their
promotion, which may be mentioned here. The Royal
Academy of Arts was established by royal charter in 1768,
and has apartments at Somerset House, where they have
a good collection of paintings, casts, and statuary, and where,
under their direction, an annual exhibition is made of the
productions of the pencil and the chisel of British artists.
The British Institution, in Pall Mall, is an association
of amateurs, who obtain the best pictures from their own¬
ers, and produce them annually in an exhibition at their
house. It was founded in the year 1805. There is be¬
sides the Society of Painters in Water Colours, who an¬
nually exhibit the productions of its members and others.
The powers of the art, in this branch, are very great, and
have rapidly increased since the establishment of this so¬
ciety in the year 1804.
The societies for the cultivation of music are all of re¬
cent formation. Those which may be distinguished as
public institutions are the Royal Academy of Music in
Tenterden Street, founded in 1822 ; the Royal Harmonic
Institution, in Regent Street; the Philharmonic and the
Metropolitan Cambrian Institution. This delightful art is
taught in both instrumental and vocal branches, by nume¬
rous private professors, and is displayed at the numerous
private concerts annually given by eminent performers, in
the theatres, and the various assemblages where dancing
is combined with it.
Amongst the most prominent institutions for general in¬
struction, the London University deserves the first notice.
It was commenced by voluntary contributions, begun at a
public meeting in July 1825, and commenced some slight
operations in the February following, and the first stone of
the building was laid on the 30th of April 1827. It was
designed upon a plan so extensive, that the pecuniary means
to execute it were found insufficient, and the centre only
has been finished. It is a beautiful and classical edifice, and.
in its present state, is sufficiently ample for the number of
students. The whole is well arranged with lecture rooms j
apartments for the apparatus of natural philosophy, a spaci-^ 0" •
ous library, and an anatomical theatre. It receives pupils in ^
law, in the various branches of medical study, in the gene¬
ral sciences, in classics, and in modern languages. The
professors have usually been men eminent in the respec¬
tive branches they undertake to teach, but the frequent
change in them must have been somewhat disadvantageous.
The number of pupils in 1835 was as follows :—In the
medical school 394, of whom sixteen attended to veterinary
medicine alone, and of the remainder 132 attended the prac¬
tice of the hospital. The students in the Faculty of Arts
were 141, of whom fifteen attended solely to law. Twenty-
five of them attended law and other subjects, and seven of
them attended political economy. The numbers in the ju-
nior school were 375, thus making a total of 901.
King's College was founded somewhat later than the
London University. It has been built by voluntary sub¬
scriptions, on a vacant piece of ground on the east side of
Somerset House, and has been erected so as, in harmony
with that building, to form one of the wings of its front to¬
wards the river Thames. It was opened on the 8th of Oc¬
tober 1831. The college is patronized by the dignitaries
of the church and the more zealous of its lay members, and
instruction in the Christian religion, according to the forms
and faith of the establishment, forms part of the course of
education. In the chapel daily religious worship is per¬
formed. In these two respects it differs from the London
University. The other subjects of education for which it
provides are attended to by professors of great merit, and in
this respect it differs but little from the rival institution. The
college has attached to it a preparatory school, where the
first elements of classical literature are well impressed on
the pupils, and where the modern languages are taught.
The number of pupils, in the beginning of 1835, was as
follows:—
Regular students for the prescribed course, . 133
Occasional students in various departments of
science and literature,  104
  237
Medical department:—
Students for the whole course, 42
Occasional students in various branches, . . 175
  217
Junior branch, for the general course of instruction, 461
Total, . .915
Within the metropolis are several schools for classical
literature of the highest kind, besides those of the Charter-
house, and of Christ’s Hospital, for a select number of pu¬
pils, w hich have already been noticed. The most celebrated
is St Paul’s School, founded by Dean Collet, in 1509. It is
at the eastern end of St Paul’s Churchyard, and has been re¬
built on the same site since the year 1822. It is an ele¬
gant building, with a magnificent portico supported by six
columns. It was originally destined to educate 150 boys
gratis, but has now more than double that number. The
masters are excellent. The school consists of eight forms;
in the first the rudiments are taught, and the pupils are
advanced to the eighth, from which, with a competent por¬
tion of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, they are removed to one
of the universities, where they have the benefit of good ex¬
hibitions. The Mercers’ Company are the trustees of the
institution.
Merchant Tailors’ School, in Suffolk Lane, Canon Street,
w'as founded by that company in the year 1561. The build¬
ing was destroyed by the great fire of 1666, and the pre¬
sent house erected on the same spot. It is very spacious,
and supported on the east by stone pillars, forming a clois¬
ter, within which are apartments for the ushers. Adjoin-
Th
LONDON.
idoniing the school are the library and chapel, and contiguous is
■a house for the head master.
In the school about 300 boys are educated, of whom 100
are taught gratis, 50 at 2s. 6d. per quarter, and 50 at 5s.
Annual examinations are held, and public exercises per¬
formed by the scholars, of whom several are sent annually
to St John’s College, Oxford, which was principally found¬
ed for the use of this school, and where there are no less
than forty-six fellowships for those educated in it.
Besides these classical schools of ancient foundation,
many valuable institutions have been recently formed by. a
kind of joint-stock proprietors, which afford excellent edu¬
cation. They are in connexion with King’s College, and
have similar regulations and methods of teaching with that
institution. They are built in good taste, and capable of
receiving about 300 boys, and of qualifying them for ad¬
mission to the universities. Already one has been opened
at Pimlico, one at Kensington, one at Islington, one at
Hackney; and in several other parts of London they are
either built or building. Those boys sent by proprietors
are taken at a little lower rate than the others, but the
highest charge is moderate.
It is impossible to calculate the number of day and of
boarding- schools for both sexes in and around the metro¬
polis. They are of all degrees of utility, and of all classes,
as regards the expense of them.
Attention to the education of the poor has vastly increased
af late years. Half a century ago there were in every part
af the city what were called ward-schools, in which a num-
aer of both sexes were taught reading and writing, and
;he catechism, and uniformly clothed ; and in each of the
aut-parishes the same system was followed. These, to the
lumber of eight or nine thousand, were accustomed to at-
end divine service on a fixed day at St Paul’s, where tem-
aorary seats under the dome were prepared for them, and
hey presented a most striking and even delightful exhi-
aition. Of late years other schools upon what is called
he national plan have been framed and increased. In¬
ant and day schools have also been established, and in-
;truct great numbers.
By a report of a committee of the House of Commons,
nade in 1833, the following is the result of the inquiry in-
■tituted as regards purely charity schools of all kinds :—
533
st, Infant schools, . . 109
Number of males in them, ; 3,065
  females ... . 2,441
... aged from two to seven
years, but the sex not spe¬
cified, .... 3,226
id, Daily schools, . . .2,152
Number of males, . . 49,991
  females, . . 34,446
Sex not specified, . . 8,051
id, Sunday schools, . . 329
Number of males, . . 23,440
  females, . . 23,225
Sex not specified, . . 5,456
8,732
92,488
52,121
Schools, . 2590 Pupils 153,341
Schools established by Dissenters,—
Schools. Scholars.
Infant schools, . . . ^ 577
Daily schools, . . .103 9,170
Sunday schools, . . . 150 27,689
260 37,436
The above are returns from the county of Middlesex,
including the city and Westminster; and if the inhabitants London.
of the county beyond the limits of the metropolis be taken'  
as equal to those in the Southwark part of the metropolis,
the result will be the same.
In the amusements of the metropolis the attention is Places of
first of all attracted to the theatres. Considering the num- amuse-
ber of inhabitants and their aggregate wealth, London hasraent*
fewer of such houses than most of the other capitals of
Europe. The most fashionable and splendid is the Opera
House, where the music and the dancing highly delight the
visitors. It was burned down in 1790, and has since been
rebuilt at an enormous expense, from a design of Nash.
The interior is arranged with a total disregard of cost. It
is nearly the largest theatre in Europe. The stage is sixty
feet long, and eighty broad, and the distance between the
opposite boxes is forty-six feet. Each box is inclosed with
curtains, and those who occupy them sit in chairs. These
boxes are either private property or hired for the season.
The pit and gallery are open to those who chuse to pay the
price. The whole is capable of accommodating 2500 spec¬
tators, and those who frequent it are either persons of the
highest rank or amateurs, or those who are desirous of being
thought to belong to one or other of these classes. The prices
of admission are high, but do not equal the expense of the
establishment, which is involved in debt, and also frequently
embroiled with proceedings in the Court of Chancery.
Drury Lane Theatre, in Bridge Street, enjoys, with the
theatre in Covent Garden, a kind of monopoly, by patent,
as far as regards the mere exhibition of tragedy and comedy.
It has been burned down, but was replaced in 1811 by the
present large edifice. It is simple, and of the Doric order,
having in front a handsome portico, surmounted by a statue
of Shakspeare, added in 1820. The grand entrance leads
through a spacious hall, supported by five Doric columns,
to an elegant rotunda, whence staircases ascend to the
boxes. The interior of the house presents about three
quarters of a circle from the stage, and has a splendid
though not a gaudy appearance. It is illuminated by an
elegant gas chandelier, which hangs over the centre of the
pit. The stage at the opening of the curtain is 43 feet
wide and 38 high. The diameter of the pit is 53 feet, and
the height of the house from the pit floor to the ceiling is
50 feet. It is calculated that 3600 persons may be conve¬
niently seated, one-half of which number must be in the
boxes. During Lent performances of sacred music are
given instead of regular dramas.
Covent Garden Theatre has its principal front in Bow
Street, and much of the rest of the building is hid by houses.
It was destroyed by fire in 1808, after which the present
edifice was erected on an extensive scale. It is nearly of
a square form, and the design was taken from the Temple
of Diana in the Acropolis of Athens. The front is orna¬
mented with statues representing comedy and tragedy, and
basso-relievos descriptive of the ancient and modern drama.
The interior is elegant, having at the entrance an Ionic
staircase, between the columns of which are suspended
Grecian lamps. The stage is very spacious, and there are
three rows of boxes, an extensive pit, and two galleries,
which are calculated to seat 3000 spectators; it is through¬
out lighted by gas. A superb chandelier over the centre
of the pit produces a fine effect. When the house is crowded
the admission money received at the doors amounts to about
L.900.
From the complicated nature of the property, both these
great theatres, like the Opera House, have been the sub¬
ject ot frequent litigation, and heavy charges have on that
account been incurred. The Court of Chancery has sel¬
dom been free from dramatic suits. The taste for drama¬
tic performances in this country appears of late to have
changed much, and owing to the size of the houses, which
are too large for the human voice to be distinctly heard,
534
LONDON.
London, the pieces represented depend more upon splendid exhibi-
' "" v tions that strike the eye than upon the elegant language of
the authors of dramatic works. The expense of these
kinds of exhibitions, and the falling off of spectators, have
very much embarrassed the affairs of these great concerns.
Whilst the two great theatres are closed, that in the
Haymarket is allowed to be opened. It was once occupied
by the celebrated Foote. The present house, on the same
site, was rebuilt in 1821, from the designs of Mr Nash.
The front is ornamented with a lofty portico, supported by
six columns of the Corinthian order, over which are nine
circular windows, richly sculptured. It is much smaller
than the two regular theatres, but has two ranges of boxes,
with a pit and gallery. The prices of admission are lower
than at the other houses. Sometimes a company of French
actors have performed in it.
Besides these, which may be called the houses of the re¬
gular drama, several theatres have been opened which re¬
quire to be briefly noticed.
The English Opera House, or Lyceum, in the Strand,
is newly rebuilt, after being destroyed by a fire in 1830.
As its name denotes, the pieces represented are in a great
measure musical. In the interior, it is 40 feet in diame¬
ter, and 37 feet in height, with a handsome saloon 63 feet
by 24.
The Royal Circus, or Surrey Theatre, in Blackfriars
Road, was chiefly destined for exhibitions of horsemanship,
but has of late produced^ ballets, melo-dramas, and similar
performances.
The Royal Victoria Theatre, in Waterloo Bridge Road,
built in 1818, is well calculated for dramatic representa¬
tions, but the performers are not of the highest class. It
is sometimes called the Coburg Theatre.
Saddlers Wells, in St John’s Street Road, is an old
establishment, with the new river sometimes turned into it,
by which it is enabled to represent aquatic scenes, such as
Naumachia, Fingal’s Cave, and others.
At the Royal Amphitheatre, or Astlei/s, near Westmin¬
ster Bridge, are exhibited feats of horsemanship, rope-dan¬
cing, and other amusements; it is much frequented by
children during the school vacations.
The Royal Adelphi Theatre in the Strand, sometimes
distinguished as the Sans Pareil, is now open for enter¬
tainments of the comic kind, in which the powers of Mat¬
thews used to be much admired.
The Olympic Theatre in Wych Street was used for
equestrian performances, but, under the management of
Madame Vestris, has become a place for exhibiting vaude¬
villes and dancing.
The Royal Fitzroy Theatre in Tottenham Court Street
exhibits performances of farces, burlettas, and pantomimes.
It was formerly called the Regency Theatre.
According to some newly-contrived plans, theatres of a
still lower description are kept open. These are the Royal
Clarence, near Battle Bridge ; the Queen’s Theatre, Wind¬
mill Street, Haymarket; Dibdin’s Sans Souci Theatre, Lon¬
don Bridge Theatre, and Ducrow’s Olympic Circle in
Whitechapel.
In the summer months, the gardens of Vauxhall, on the
Suirey side of the new bridge of that name, are an inviting
place of amusement. I hey have been a place of resort for
uioi e than a century, and during that whole period have
been constantly improving in decoration, as well as advan-
cing in the price paid for admission. These gardens are
extensive, and, when lighted, have a beautiful appearance,
fiom the variegated lamps in the several walks, from dif¬
ferent portions of light distributed in the walks, and from
the numerous embellishments. In the centre is an orches¬
tra, and opposite to it an elegant pavilion for large parties,
whilst in other places are boxes of various sizes, suited to
large or small parties, in which refreshments are served.
Many of these are adorned with paintings. In fine weather
the music is performed in the orchestra, but when it is damn w
the band is assembled in the rotunda, which is a fine apart¬
ment, seventy feet in diameter, adorned with some fine
historical paintings upon the walls. Parties are formed
for dancing in many parts of the premises, and in the few
weeks of very warm weather it is a delightful place of re-
creation. The fire-works are magnificent, and there are
many transparencies exhibited. Few objects in London
have so striking an effect on foreigners as the sight of these
gardens, and hence almost every large city on the conti¬
nent has in its environs an establishment of a similar kind"
all retaining the name which it bears in the country whence
the idea was conveyed to them.
In so vast an assemblage of persons as London presents Cluk
where the incomes, the tastes, the education, and the man’
ners are so various, it is difficult to describe the several
sources of amusement that occupy their spare time. Pub-
lie exhibitions do not seem so congenial to our habits as
to the inhabitants of more southern climates; and other
sources of relaxation require to be provided. Amongst the
male portion of the higher classes, the club-houses are a
refuge fiom ennui; and they have greatly increased of
late years, both in numbers and in elegance of building
decoration, and furniture. At all of them newspapers, pe¬
riodical publications, and the current new works are pro¬
vided ; dinners, breakfasts, and refreshments are prepared;
and in most of them, in moderation, but in others to a dis¬
graceful extent, the practice of play is introduced. In these
clubs congenial society is to be found, for though some of
them are more open than others, yet many are restricted to
particular walks of life. Thus the United Service, the
Naval, the Military, the University, and others are com¬
posed of one description ; but as many members of them
are also members of other clubs, such as the Athenaeum,
the Travellers, the Alfred, the Union, and others, a suffi¬
cient variety is found to enable them to keep free from
what may be denominated clanship.
As there are already more than twenty-five of these so¬
cieties, varying in their regulations in the sum paid at ad¬
mission, and in the annual subscriptions, it would be use¬
less, as well as tiresome, to describe them. The number
of members in each club varies very much, a few having but
400, and still fewer 1500. The subscribers to the whole
amount at present to about 18,000; but as some subscribe
to more than one, and a few to three or four, it may fairly
be estimated, that the number of gentlemen, of some con¬
sideration and w ealth, who find amusement in these elegant
houses, cannot be less than 12,000. The sums annually
expended in these establishments, wdien the cost of their
erection is included, has been calculated to amount to more
than L. 160,000 annually.
The coffeehouses, which formerly abounded, and then Coffee-
formed a favourite lounge for many persons, have much bouss
decreased with the growth of clubs, which have a less
promiscuous society, as none who has not some tolerable
pretensions can easily become a member. These meet¬
ings form a medium between domestic circles and public
assemblies, and are in tolerable harmony with the charac¬
ter and disposition which prevail in what is usually termed
good English society.
Another source of amusement has been of late intro-Ba®5'
duced, but rather more appropriate to the ladies than to
the gentlemen. These are the bazars, consisting of shops,
or rather stalls, for the sale of elegant light fancy articles,
either of dress or of domestic ornament, but comprehend-
ing a great variety of goods, and, what is of importance,
mostly served by respectable females. Some of these display
uncommon elegance in their fittings up. The most re¬
markable of the number are the Soho Bazar, in the square
of that name ; the Queen’s Bazar, in Oxford Street; and the
par
led
^'clla-
beg
tain
conv
tkc
seem
T1
anai
LONDON.
IdonjPantechnicon, in Belgrave Place, which have been the
/--"longest open. These have, however, been vastly excel¬
led by a new one in St James’s Street, opened in 1832.
It consists of two spacious halls on the ground and first
floor, which communicate by a magnificent staircase, de¬
corated with mirrors of a large size. But another in the
building, known by the name of the Pantheon in Oxford
Street, opened in 1834, is thought to excel the St James’s
Bazar. The form of the interior, the adjoining garden, and
the decorations, give it a peculiar character, and excite
great admiration.
To these amusements must be added, the indulgence of
agreeable walks in St James’s and the Green Parks, whose
beauties have been much improved within the last few
years, the promenades in Hyde Park or the Regent Park,
and the delightful mixture of wood and water to be enjoy¬
ed in Kensington Gardens.
. In a city of such vast extent as the metropolis, there are
‘-dflmany objects worthy of consideration, which cannot well
be grouped under any specific class ; and though, to a cer¬
tain extent, it has been attempted in this article, it becomes
convenient to take a survey by making a kind of tour of
the different parts comprising the whole. In doing this it
seems desirable to begin with the city, and proceed round
it from the east, to the north and the west, and end with
the south or Surrey side.
The Guildhall of the city of London, being the ter¬
mination of King Street, proceeding from Cheapside, is
m ancient building of the beginning of the fifteenth cen-
tury. Before its erection the court-hall of the city was in
Aldermanbury, whence it was removed in 1411 to the pre-
ient edifice. It has a Gothic front, recently put in a good
state of repair. The great hall is 153 feet in length, 48 in
)readth, and 55 in height, and from its capaciousness, is ca¬
pable of containing seven or eight thousand persons. At
he east end is a raised platform called the hustings, from
vhich, at elections, or other public occasions, the speakers
tddress the audience, but can, with difficulty, make them-
ielves heard by those at the lower end. It is also used
is a dining apartment on the festival usually called Lord
Vlayor’s Day, held in November. Over one of the windows
ire two colossal figures, commonly named Gog and Magog,
vhich are supposed to represent a Saxon and an ancient
Iriton. This apartment is ornamented by some sculpture,
n honour of Lord Chatham, by Bacon; in honour of his son
iVilliam Pitt, by Bubb; and of Lord Nelson, by Smith.
There is also a statue to Alderman Beckford by Moore, with
i speech that never was spoken, but written by Horne Tooke.
)ver the entrance is the orchestra, and opposite to it the
>assage leading to the chamber in which the Common Coun-
:il assemble, and other rooms, which are occupied by the
udges of the Court of King’s Bench, Common Pleas, and
Exchequer for the trial of city causes. The Common Coun¬
cil Room is ornamented with some good pictures and busts
if Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Granville
Sharp. The Chamberlain’s office is in one part of the build-
ng, and there is within it a library, with a good collection of
looks and papers belonging to the city, and adjoining to it
s a museum. Near to it is an apartment for the sitting al-
lerman; and on the side is Blackwall Hall, which is now
ised as the Court of Bankruptcy.
The Mansion-House is the residence of the Lord Mayor
'f London during his year of office. It is a large stone
•uilding, erected upon the site of a market called Stocks, be-
ween the year 1739 and 1753. No public building has
»een the subject of more severe architectural criticism than
liis. It is, however, in spite of a heavy structure over the
'ediment, a magnificent pile, and is also seen to great dis-
dvantage by its confined situation ; but this evil is now re¬
medied by the removal of some of the houses that hid the
iew of it, and by the opening of a more spacious way to
it direct from the New London Bridge. The front has a London.
wide and lofty portico, composed of six fluted columns of' 
the Corinthian order, with two pilasters on each side. Be¬
neath this portico, a flight of steps on both sides leads to
the principal entrance. On the left of the entrance-hall
is the justice-room, a kind of court of justice, in which the
Lord Mayor sits daily in his magisterial capacity. On the
principal floor is a magnificent hall, described as the Egyp¬
tian Hall, adjoining to which is an elegant and spacious
drawing-room. The Egyptian Hall is used for dinner parties,
of a more select kind than is usually collected upon the Lord
Mayor’s Day at the Guildhall. Easter Monday is the chief
festival, when after the dinner a ball is given, in a suitable
apartment on the next story above. There are in it good
family apartments, and suitable apartments for cooking and
for servants.
Merchant Tailor^ Hall, belongs to one of the richest
of the guilds or companies of the city of London. It stands
in Threadneedle Street, on the south side. The hall is one
of the largest and best proportioned rooms in the city, and
it is chiefly remarkable for the great number of men, the
most eminent for rank and talent, who have been members of
the company, and whose portraits are here to be seen. This
company was founded in the reign of Henry VII., in the
year 1480, and is called in the charter the art and mystery
of the fraternity of John the Baptist. There have at dif¬
ferent times been admitted into it seven kings, one queen,
seventeen princes and dukes, two duchesses, one archbi¬
shop, thirty-one earls, five countesses, one viscount, twenty-
four bishops, sixty-six barons, seven abbots, seven priors,
and an innumerable list of esquires. In the present day
some of our most illustrious men have been admitted to the
fellowship; and the annual festivals are distinguished by
the rank, talent, and virtues of those who join in them. The
company possesses large estates, the income of which is
chiefly devoted to benevolent purposes. They support an
hospital for their decayed members, and are the patrons
of a school, in which the pupils have been regularly imbued
with a degree of classical knowledge. The school is in
Suffolk Lane, Cannon Street. It is a fine building, form¬
ing a kind of cloister, in which are apartments for the mas¬
ter and three ushers. There are in it about 300 boys, of
whom 100 are taught gratis, and 50 at ten shillings a-year.
They have valuable exhibitions, and numerous fellowships;
at St John’s College, Cambridge, numbers are annually
elected, according to the proficiency which they discover
at the general examination.
Many of the other guilds of the city, of which there are no
less than ninety-one, called companies, have halls, a few of
them very fine buildings, and most of them sufficiently large;
but many of the smaller companies being destitute of such
accommodations, hold their meetings in taverns.
The goldsmiths existed as early as the year 1180, and
were long the chief bankers of the metropolis. They have
now the assaying of all articles made of gold and silver.
Their hall has been recently rebuilt upon the site of the for¬
mer, in Foster Lane. It is an edifice of noble proportions,
the centre of which is composed of six Corinthian columns,
supporting an entablature surmounted by a rich cornice.
The five centre windows have balconies, and over them
are the sculptured arms of the company. The furniture
and decorations of this new building excite the highest ad¬
miration.
The hall of the drapers, in Throgmorton Street, is a
large square building, on the site of the residence of Crom¬
well Earl of Essex. It has handsome apartments, a good
garden, and is adorned with a fine portrait of Lord Nel¬
son, by Beechey, and some others. This company has some
large estates in Ireland.
Stationers’ Hall is a large but plain building, in a court
out of Ludgate Hill, formerly inhabited by a succession of
536 LON
London, noblemen of the first rank, from the reign of Edward II. to
that of Elizabeth, when an Earl of Abergavenny sold it to the
company, which then, as now, was a rich trading body. It
was destroyed by the fire of 1666, when the loss in books
and other property was estimated at L.200,000. It had
long the monopoly of publishing almanacs, and though it
has lost the exclusive privilege, continues to print large edi¬
tions under the name of Francis Moore, by which and other
operations, the members are enabled to divide some profit
amongst themselves.
Mercers’ Hall, in Cheapside, was originally the hospital
of St Thomas, having been the birth-place of the venerated
Saint Thomas-a-Becket. The present building was erect¬
ed after the great fire. The front is adorned with figures
of'Faith, Hope, and Charity, and it contains some very fine
apartments. It is a rich corporation, with considerable pa¬
tronage ; and in the list of its members more than sixty
have been Lord Mayors, amongst the rest Whittington,
Sir Richard Gresham, and Sir Thomas Gresham.
The Fishmongers are a rich company, having some large
estates in the north of Ireland. Their hall being removed
for the purpose of constructing New London Bridge, a new
and elegant one has been erected at the foot of that fine
pile. It is executed with much taste from the design of
Mr Roberts, presenting an imposing front towards the river,
and another towards the street. It has a granite basement
and the superstructure is of Portland stone.
Grocers’ Hall is a handsome building, but hidden, from
standing in a small court. It has a spacious public apart¬
ment, in which are portraits of Lord Chatham, and of his
son William Pitt, who were members of the company.
Other halls deserve mention and inspection, but our limits
forbid even a short description of them. The best are,
Ironmongers’ Hall, in Fenchurch Street; Barbers’ Hall,
in Monkwell Street; Salters’ Hall, in a court of Cannon
Street; Skinners’ Hall, on Dowgate Hill; Saddlers’ Hall,
in Cheapside ; Coachmakers’ Hall, in Noble Street; Vint¬
ners’ Hall, in Thames Street; and Painters’ Hall, in
Trinity Lane.
That elegant Doric column called the Monument, on
Fish Street Hill, is a splendid specimen of the taste and
genius of its architect Sir Christopher Wren. It was con¬
structed to commemorate the great fire of London in 1666,
which destroyed the chief part of the city, and broke out
in Pudding Lane, near to the pillar. It is a fluted column,
rising from the ground to the height of 202 feet. It stands
on a square pedestal of 40 feet, and the diameter of the
shaft is 15 feet. There is a winding marble staircase with¬
in it, which gives access to a gallery with an iron balcony,
from which is a fine view of the city and the suburbs. The
top of the column terminates in a large blazing urn of brass
gilded. This work was commenced in 1671, and finished
in seven years, at the expense of L. 14,500. It is built
wholly of Portland stone, of which it is said 28,500 feet were
employed. On the northern face of the pedestal is an in¬
scription in Latin, narrating the circumstances of the fire,
and stating, that the destruction occasioned by it was 89
churches, the guildhall, city-gates, many public structures,
hospitals, schools, libraries, a great number of stately edi¬
fices, and 13,200 dwelling-houses, and that the surface
thereby covered with ruins and ashes amounted to 436
acres. The inscription on the northern side is designed to
commemorate the merits of King Charles II., in assisting
to repair the evil created by the fire, and to raise the city
again to more than its former splendour. It states that a
tax on coals was imposed to pay the expenses, and that, in
three years, that was finished which was supposed to re¬
quire an age. On the eastern side the inscription merely
recites the date of the commencement of the column, its
progress, and the date of its completion. The western front
has an emblematic carving of the tragical scenes which oc-
D O N.
curred at the fire, which was ably executed by Cibber, the r 1
father of the poet and player of that name. The whole ^
building has been repaired of late years ; and the inscrip.
tion on the base, which Pope described as a lie, attribut¬
ing the fire to the Roman Catholics, was very properly re¬
moved in the year 1830.
Sion College, in London Wall, was originally a nunnery
attached to the church of St Aphage, Cripplegate; but its
resources having failed, it was at length granted to the
master of the Jewel Office, who held it till it was destroy¬
ed by the great fire ; but a fund for its support having been
established by Dr White, in 1623, it was again rebuilt, and
a society incorporated, having the supervision of the alms¬
house, in which ten men and as many women are provided
for. In a spacious hall, in which meetings of the London
clergy are held, is a large and valuable collection of books,
to which access is given with great readiness. The insti¬
tution has been enriched by donations at various times.
The library contains many portraits of eminent divines
who have been members of the college, amongst whom are
those of Archbishops Seeker and Tennison, and Bishops
Gibson, Compton, Terrick, and Sherlock. A benevolent so¬
ciety has been formed here for the relief of indigent widows
and families of the clergy of London and its vicinity.
In proceeding upon a tour from the city, we shall take the
course which has been pointed out by the law, in constitut¬
ing the new boroughs around the metropolis, and thus ar¬
rive at the Tower Hamlets. In this part, the most pro¬
minent objects have already been noticed, being the Docks,
the Mint, and the Trinity House. The dwellings in this
borough are mostly occupied by the inferior classes of
tradesmen, or by handicraftsmen, or by day-labourers;
but there is one object, the Tower of London, whose his¬
torical relations entitle it to a fuller notice.
Tower of London. The origin of this building is lost in Tow.
obscurity. It is known, by an examination of boundaries,
which took place after the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury,
that the walls were built on an ancient foundation, but at what
period no evidence could be obtained. The great square
tower, called the White Tower, foolishly attributed to Ju¬
lius Caesar, was certainly built in 1078, under the direction
of a great military architect, Gundulph, bishop of Roches- (
ter. Fitzstephen gives it the name of Arx Palatina, or
the Palatine Tower, and states, most romantically, that
the mortar of the foundation was tempered with the blood
of beasts. The commander had the title of Palatine be¬
stowed upon him, as was the custom in that age. Within
this tower is a very ancient chapel, said by Stowe to be coe¬
val with the building, having a long and dark flight of
steps ascending to it. It was used for the devotions of the
kings and queens who were residents in the building. In
the year 1092, a violent tempest caused much injury to the
Tower, which was, however, repaired by William Rufus, and
by his successor. The first of those monarchs added an¬
other castellated building on the south side, between it and
the Thames, which was afterwards called St Thomas’s
Tower, beneath which was Traitors’ Gate, through which
state prisoners were led from the river, over which was an¬
other gate, with a portcullis, called the Bloody Gate, as few
that entered ever left it alive, in the early times of our his¬
tory, when the name was given to it. The Tower was first
encompassed with walls by Longchamp, bishop of Ely, who
was chancellor of England in the reign of Richard I. He j
also constructed the ditch, to which water was introduced
from the Thames. Different princes afterwards added other
works, and thus, in process of time, enclosed a little more
than twelve acres of ground, the circuit on the outside or
the ditch of which is 1052 feet. . ,
The borough of Finsbury, which follows next to that of F:-
the Tower Hamlets, is very extensive, and filled with in¬
habitants of a higher class in general; though in some parts
fit
Fins',
terV ^
eral
sLul
fCoi
lie lit
nated
Thu
eratic
ibont
Th
titute
omid
y Fit
'net
ailed
he v
ousei
iedb
aries
aenw
avinj
tol
LONDON.
537
loiu re to be found the worst population of the metropolis.
—'’’insbury Square is a handsome quadrangular range of build-
Egs, surrounding a spacious garden. The houses are lofty,
nd well built in the modern style, having been gradually
reeled for the most part about forty-five years. Near to
is a spacious piece of ground, belonging to a voluntary
Irtilitary society, called the London Artillery Company,
fhere is a good house within the enclosure, where the arms
re deposited. In ancient times it was used for archers
3 practise in shooting arrows against butts. From this
lace Lunardi sent up the first balloon which had been ex-
ibited in London, in 1783. Near this is the chief ceme-
ery of the Protestant dissenters, known by the name of
lunhill Fields. It was first intended for the burial, at the
ime of the plague in 1665, of those for whom room could
ot be made in the churchyards, but afterwards was taken
y a Dr Tindal, by whom it was converted to the present
mrpose. The remains of the most eminent men amongst
lie dissenting clergy repose in this crowded ground. Of
hese, the most remarkable are Neale, the historian; Watts,
he poet and divine; Lardner, the author of the Credibility;
)r Guise; Dr Price ; Dr Kippis; and Dr Rees. It is at¬
tended by a clergyman of the established church, who per-
brms divine service ; or the devotional forms of any of the
ects may be used by their own ministers. Near to this ce-
netery are the trvo chapels of the respective sects of the Me-
hodists, which may be considered as their mother churches.
The one, belonging to the Wesleyans, is called the Foun¬
dry ; the other, belonging to the followers of Whitfield, is
ailed the Tabernacle. They have both respectable and nu-
nerous auditors, and the preachers are constantly changed,
o as to gratify the taste for variety, which is said to be
irevalent among both divisions of that religious sect. In
•lie parish of Clerkenwell, within this borough, is the pri¬
on already noticed, for the county of Middlesex ; and not
ir from it is Hicks’s Hall, the court of justice where cri-
ninals for light offences are tried. The old hall having be-
ome ruinous, was taken down, and the present building
rected in 1780. It is of stone, with a rustic basement,
wer which are four Ionic pillars, and two pilasters, sup-
iorting an architrave, frize, and cornice, with a pediment,
fhe interior is divided into the court, the room for magis-
rates, for the grand jury, and the hall. In one of the rooms
5 a portrait of the builder of the old hall, Sir Benjamin
licks. Within the borough of Finsbury are included se-
eral objects which have been already taken notice of, such
s Luke’s Hospital, several churches, and most of the inns
f Court, as its limits extend up Holborn, so as to inclose
he liberty of the rolls, within which some of them are si-
uated.
le. The borough of Marylebone next comes under consi-
eration. It consists of the three parishes of Pancras, Mary-
ibone, and Paddington, with (in 183!) 240,294 inhabitants.
The parish of Pancras, now so jomed to London as to con-
titute a part of the metropolis, is very extensive. It is
j ounded by Islington and Hornsey, and, in one direction,
j y Finchley, in which one-third of Highgate is comprised,
j hie of its hamlets is Kentish Town, and two modern towns
ailed Somers Town and Camden Town, form a part of it.
'he whole parish contains an area of 2700 acres. The
I ouses are in general of moderate size, and not much occu-
i ied by the fashionable part of society. Within its boun-
aries is the fine seat of the Earl of Mansfield, Caen or
Tenwood. The great lawyer, the first Lord, lived there,
aving purchased it of Lord Bute. The library in this house
> a very fine apartment, ornamented with paintings by Zuc-
hi, and adorned with many valuable busts and portraits,
'he gardens and woods are very delightful, and have some
ne cedars, said to have been planted by the celebrated
hief justice. The mother church of Pancras is an ancient
uilding, probably of the fourteenth century; but the ad-
VOL, XIII.
joining churchyard has long been remarkable for the great London.
number of Roman Catholics that have been interred within v——
it. Most of the tombstones have a cross and the initials
R. I. P. (Requiescat in pace) are observable on many of
them. A reason has been given for this preference, which
is, that, at a church in the south of France, dedicated to the
same saint, masses w^ere said for the souls of the deceased
interred at St Pancras in England. As already noticed, a
new and magnificent church has been recently built. A
chapel of ease has been erected in Camden Town, within
the last few years. At Battlebridge is the Small-Pox Hos¬
pital, opened in 1767, and recently used for vaccination, in
which more than 100,000 persons have been vaccinated.
Part of it is now used as a fever-ward for those who have
typhus or scarlet fevers.
Within this part are some fine squares deserving of men¬
tion. Brunswick Square is built but on three sides of a qua¬
drangle ; the eastern side being occupied by the garden wall
of the Foundling Hospital. It consists of about forty com¬
fortable, not very large houses, chiefly occupied by families
connected with some branch of the law. It is connected
by Bernard’s Street with Russell Square, a much larger qua¬
drangle, with an elegant garden in the centre. Many of
the houses are very large, and a few of moderate size, but
none small. It contains, on the whole, about sixty-eight
houses, filled by most respectable families. The following
squares are connected with each other by streets of modern
built houses, of competent breadth, well furnished with car¬
riage and foot ways, and kept remarkably clean at all times,
viz. Mecklenberg Square, with about forty-seven houses;
Bedford Square, with fifty-two; Easton Square, with seven¬
ty-two; Woburn Square, with forty-two; Tavistock Square,
with fifty-five ; Torrington Square, with seventy-one ; and
Burton Crescent, with forty-three ; to which may be added
Fitzroy Square, which is not far distant, and has forty
houses.
This part of the metropolis, which, within the memory
of many, was wholly open fields, without a house of any kind,
is more remarkable for the respectability and comfort of its
inhabitants, than for their splendour, taste, or magnificence.
They comprise those who live on incomes already accumu¬
lated, or drawn from their professions, chiefly that of the law,
or that class of traders who can afford to leave the bustle
of the city, for the quiet and greater neatness of such resi¬
dences. It may be estimated, that the expenditure of the
families in these squares, and the streets connecting them,
range, according to the size of their dwellings, and the
extent of their establishments, from L. 800 to L. 2500 per
annum.
There are few public buildings in the part which we are
now considering, that deserve especial notice, excepting the
churches, to which attention has already been directed^ and
two objects, which are not indeed within the boundaries of
Pancras, but may be appropriately mentioned in this place.
The first is the Foundling Hospital, forming a side of
Brunswick Square, opposite to the end of Lamb’s Conduit
Street. This beneficent institution owes its origin to a
Captain Coram, who had been master of a vessel trading
to the American colonies, and whose continued exertions
for many years at length obtained a charter, when he began
the building in 1739. The charity is not strictly for found¬
lings ; nor are they, as in many continental cities, admitted
spontaneously. The desertion of the father, and the pru¬
dent demeanour of the mother, are the best recommenda¬
tion ; but all applications are carefully examined by the go¬
vernors, and decided on with the greatest judgment and im¬
partiality. There are about 150 boys and the same number
of girls in the house, and some of the younger at nurse, mak¬
ing together about 400. They are taken in during their first
year, and are provided with education and all necessaries
till their dismission from the establishment. On their de-
3 Y
LONDON.
538
London, parture they are provided with money or necessaries to the
value of L. 10 ; and, in whatever walk of life they enter,
they are sure, as long as they conduct themselves well, to
find friends to assist them in the institution. Some of the
boys are bound apprentices to the sea, and some to trades.
The girls are taught needlework, laundry business, and
fitted to become servants, and are generally provided with
good places at fourteen years of age. There is a handsome
chapel, where divine service is performed twice every Sun¬
day, when a collection is made in aid of the funds, which
produces liberally. The whole income is about L. 13,000.
British The British Museum is one of those institutions which
Museum, reflect honour on the national character. It has been esta¬
blished for nearly a century ; the house in which it is depo¬
sited having been obtained in 1753. It had belonged to the
family of the Dukes of Montague, Which name it bore.
Sir Robert Cotton had bequeathed to the public his valu¬
able collections earlier, but Sir Hans Sloane, who had
made large and valuable collections at the expense of more
than L. 50,000, offered them to the public at less than half
the money he had expended. The purchase having been
completed, the two collections, consisting of various kinds
of curiosities in animals, vegetables, fossils, minerals, sculp¬
tures, inscriptions, books, manuscripts, and many other ob¬
jects, were united, and begun to be arranged in the mag¬
nificent pile of building still occupied by it, but recently
much extended. The building, when first obtained, was
situated at the very northern extremity of London, with its
back close to fields, which were so solitary, that they were
usually selected as the place for deciding what were called
affairs of honour. It has now, however, by the extension
beyond it of houses of elegant form and of capacious size,
become almost a central and very accessible spot.
On entering the gate from Great Russell Street, a spa¬
cious quadrangle presents itself to the eye, with an Ionic
colonnade on the south side, and the main building 216 feet
long and 57 feet high on the north, the two wings being
allotted for the residences of the officers. The architect,
Peter Puget, a native of Marseilles, was sent over from
Paris by Ralph, first Duke of Montague, solely for the pur¬
pose of constructing this splendid mansion. Capacious as
this building was deemed at the time, it has been found in¬
competent to contain and exhibit, properly arranged, the
numerous objects which have been added to the original
collections. A new edifice has therefore been constructed
in the garden, and is now nearly completed from designs by
Mr Smirke; it forms a quadrangle 500 feet long and of just
proportions, and which will, when completed, be the noblest
pile in the metropolis.
From the limits to which this article is restricted, it is
difficult to give even an abridgment of the valuable con¬
tents of this Museum, the synopsis of which alone fills near
two hundred printed pages, and the descriptions of various
departments, with the catalogues, occupy more than twenty
quarto volumes. But the progress of the collection, even
in an abridged form, is sufficiently interesting to deserve
being sketched in this place. After the Cotton and the
Sloane collections were obtained, the Harleian library and
the noble acquisitions of Sir Simon d’Ewes were added,
containing valuable Saxon manuscripts and other docu¬
ments, with the possessions of Stowe the celebrated anti¬
quarian. In 1767, the trustees were empowered to sell any
duplicates of books, medals, or coins, and supplied with the
amount to purchase others. In 1772, the Parliament voted
L. 8410 for purchasing some antiquities brought from Ita-
ly, and, in 1804, L. 16,000 for building additional galleries
and apartments for Egyptian and other articles; and a curi¬
ous collection of antiquities from that country was bequeath¬
ed by Colonel Lethieulier. The widow of Maddox the histo¬
riographer, bequeathed the valuable collection of manuscripts
which had been made by her husband. Major Edwards be¬
queathed many books and L.7000 to purchase others, when
the collections of Dr Birch were purchased; and, about the 1111,111
same time, Mr Da Costa presented many Hebrew manu-
scripts and several books, and Dr Cracherode a collection
of the best Greek and Latin classics. Since that, additions
have been made of the Greek coins of Mr R. Payne Knight,
and presents of architectural and other casts from the Royal
Academy. The valuable mineral collection of the Ho¬
nourable C. Fulke Greville was purchased by the public
and also the rare classical library of Dr Burney. The El¬
gin marbles, collected during Lord Elgin’s diplomatic resi¬
dence in Constantinople, have been purchased for L. 35,000
and casts from them have been made and liberally pre!
sented to several public institutions in foreign countries.
The Townley marbles have been a valuable addition, as well
as the manuscripts of classical and other ancient authors,
which belonged to that gentleman. Another addition has
been made of a series of newspapers from 1603 to the pre¬
sent time, which form more than 7000 volumes ; and also a
collection of 300 or 400 volumes in quarto, forming mate¬
rials for the history of the stage, and of actors and authors
from the year 1600 to the present time. The most consi¬
derable accession made to the books was the library of his
Majesty George III, presented to the institution by his son
George IV. on his succeeding to the throne. It is highly
valuable, as well for the number as for the rarity of the
works, but especially of the maps. The whole is preserved
in one of the magnificent rooms in the newly erected part
of the building. See the article Libraries.
The trustees, who have the management of this invalu¬
able institution, are of three descriptions. The first are
official trustees, consisting of the heads of the several de¬
partments of the government, of the law, of the church, and
the presidents of the Royal Society, of the College of Phy¬
sicians, of the Antiquarian Society, and of the Royal Aca¬
demy. The second class, called family trustees, are two
representatives of the Cotton family, two of the Harley
family, and one each of the family of Townley, of that of El¬
gin, and that of Knight. The third class are called elected
trustees, being chosen by the others, and include twelve
names, the most distinguished in the kingdom for rank and
talents.
The Museum is open to the inspection of the public from
ten o’clock till four, except on Sundays, and on a few holi¬
days, and during the months of August and September.
No other regulation is made but that the visitors shall write
their names and addresses in a book prepared for that pur¬
pose. A sufficient number of servants attends to preserve
the valuables from injury, and to give any necessary infor¬
mation, and no money is allowed to be taken by any of them.
Admission to the reading room may be obtained by ap¬
plication, in writing, specifying the name, abode, and pro¬
fession of the applicant, which the librarian lays before the
board at the next meeting, and if it be a person known a
temporary ticket is immediately given ; others must give a
reference, or their application receives no attention. The
tickets secure admission for six months, and must then be
renewed. In the reading-rooms are convenient tables^ fur¬
nished with writing materials and catalogues of the books.
Any person who wishes to consult any work has only to
write its title and his own name, and it is brought to him
by the servant to whom the note is given (of whom there
are abundance attending), with a dispatch that is not known
in any other institution of the kind in Europe. Students who
wish to make drawings in the galleries are admitted upon
application in the same manner, but must produce a re¬
commendation from a trustee, or from an officer of the in¬
stitution, or from one of the professors of the Royal Aca¬
demy. The number of visitors to the Museum, in 1834,
was 237,000 ; the number of those who had tickets of ad¬
mission to read was 70,200.
LONDON.
Jon. The decorations on the grand staircase and on the ceil-
*i«ng above it are worthy of observation, having been painted
jy artists of great skill and celebrity ; and the new part the
cing’s library'is finished in the most chaste and appropriate
nanner. The rooms filled with mineral collections, the
gallery of the Elgin marbles, and the other parts, are all
:alculated to excite delightful feelings.
At the beginning of the last century Marybone or Mary-
ebone was a small village nearly a mile distant from any
’art of the metropolis. In the year 1715a plan was formed
or building Cavendish Square, and several other streets on
he north side of the Tyburn Road. In the year 1717 or
718 the ground was laid out, and a circle on the centre
hen enclosed. The Duke of Chandos then took the whole
lorthern side, intending to build a magnificent mansion, of
finch the two existing houses were to form the wings,
jord Harcourt and Lord Bingley took ground on the east
nd west sides, and the remainder was let to builders ; but
he calamities which were caused by the South Sea bubble
ended to retard the progress of the operations till 1726.
The row of houses on the north side of the road to Tyburn
7as completed in 1729, and the name of Oxford Street given
P it, and soon afterwards most of the streets leading to
’avendish Square and Oxford market were laid out. Mait-
md says, that in 1739 there were 577 houses in the parish
f Marylebone, and 35 families who kept their coaches;
ut there still remained a considerable void between the
i ew buildings and the village, which consisted of pasture
elds. Portman Square was begun about 1764, when the
orthern side was built, but it was nearly twenty years be-
>re the whole was finished. In 1770, the continuation of
larley Street commenced, and also Mansfield Street, the
[ tter in a place where there was once a basin of water,
ortland Place and the streets near it were built soon after-
ards, and Stafford Place, in 1774, on a piece of ground be-
nging to the city, on which the Lord Mayor’s banqueting-
ibuse had formerly stood. Cumberland Place was begun
ii)out the same time. During the war with America the
Ate of augmentation was very languid. But in 1786 a
lew start was made, and Manchester Square, which had
ben commenced a few years before, was completed in
788. Since that time the advance has been much greater
id recently more rapid. The first step was to build over
hat was formerly the manor of Lilestone, but is now called
|!isson Green, to the north-west of the other buildings,
here several streets and some squares were filled with
Hmses, which, though upon a small scale, were for the
iiost ornamental and comfortable. From thence the houses
ere carried on farther in the same direction to what was
iaown as St John’s Wood, but is now called Portland Town,
'am the title of the noble proprietor of the land. It is in
is part that the magnificent rail-road from London to Bir-
ingham has begun to be formed. Lofty mounds have been
nected over valleys, and deep cuttings have been made
llrough hills. The present appearance of the work, in
p36, excites surprise in the beholder, and the completion
I it will become a very attractive object.
The most striking improvement which has been made in
it is quarter has been recently accomplished by covering
T th elegant rows of buildings, villas, and other edifices, a
I’liing piece of ground between the New Road and Hamp-
lead. This land had been let on long leases by the crown,
wfich expired in 1814, when it was planned out for build-
% by that eminent artist, Mr Nash, and under his direc-
<bn accomplished in a few years. The whole has received
Ate name of the Regent’s Park. It is nearly a circle of
pO acres, laid out with shrubberies, adorned by a fine piece
r water, and intersected by roads, which are adapted for
Jjiomenades, or for carriages. In the enclosures there are
lune villas, and the greater part is surrounded with noble
bilges of buildings. To the south of the New Road is the
remarkable pile of Park Crescent, a circular range of thirty
elegant houses, in the centre of which Portland Place termi¬
nates. Across the New Road the first mass of erections is a
neat quadrangular assemblage of twenty-four houses, called
Park Square, on the east side of which is the adult orphan
institution. To the eastward of this stands the Diorama, an
object which has excited great curiosity and exquisite de¬
light. The interior resembles that of a small theatre, the
part allotted to spectators being boxes elevated three or
four feet above the amphitheatre or pit. Above is a circu¬
lar ceiling ornamented with transparent devices, and sur¬
rounded with medallions of eminent sculptors and painters.
The whole is moveable, and is made to revolve with the
spectators at intervals of a quarter of an hour, so that as
one picture recedes, the other comes gradually into view.
The effect produced by the disposition of the building, and
by the various modifications of shade and light, renders the
optical deception complete, and almost persuades the spec¬
tator that he is not contemplating a work of art. This
striking production of art and of machinery was first open¬
ed in September 1823.
Near to this is the Colosseum, a name applied in con¬
sequence of the vastness of the buildings. It was erected
in 1828 by Decimus Burton, and is one of the noblest edi¬
fices of the metropolis. It presents a Greek Doric portico
of six columns, and is surmounted by a dome 120 feet in
diameter, of which 75 feet are wholly of glass. Its form is
that of a polygon with 16 faces, each of 25 feet, and the
circumference of the whole building is 400 feet. The
height of the walls on the outside is 64 feet, and on the in¬
side 79 feet, whilst the sky-light of the dome is 112 feet
from the ground. Beyond the entrance are vestibules, one
of which leads to a saloon for the exhibition of works of art,
and the other to the various galleries from which the pano¬
rama is to be viewed. There is also, in the centre of the
building, a curious contrivance, by means of which visitors
are raised at once to a level with the panorama, and saved
the trouble of ascending the staircase. The panorama of
London, which is here exhibited, far surpasses, in extent
and accuracy, every thing of the kind that had before been
attempted. Some idea of its size may be formed from its
occupying 40,000 square feet, or nearly an acre of canvass.
The various objects are depicted as seen from the top of St
Paul’s, where the original sketches were made, at the time
when the ball and cross were being replaced. The gardens
surrounding the building are laid out so as to appear much
more extensive than they really are. They comprise con¬
servatories. waterfalls, a Swiss cottage, and other interest¬
ing objects.
The next group beyond these public exhibitions is the
smallest in the park, named Cambridge Terrace, consisting
often houses, though the front appears as one building
with a centre and two wings having porticos of the Ro¬
man or Pseudo-Doric order. Chester Terrace follows next,
a grand and commanding range of buildings, consisting
of forty houses; they are of the Corinthian order, and at
each end of the terrace is an arch connecting them with
the pavilion-shaped mansions. One of the finest ranges
of buildings erected by Mr Nurse is considerably elevated
above the road, and separated from it by a garden, round
which is a sweep commanding a fine view of the park. It
is named Cumberland Terrace, consisting of thirty-three
houses, with a front in harmony with the whole. It has a
centre and wings connected by two arches. The ground-
story is rusticated, and, in the end, in the principal masses
of the building, serves as a base for Doric columns, sur¬
mounted by a balustrade, on which are placed allegorical
figures of the seasons, the arts and sciences, and other sub¬
jects. The central portion consists of a splendid colon¬
nade of twelve columns, surmounted by a pediment con¬
taining sculpture, which represents Britannia crowned by
540
LONDON.
London, fame, seated on a throne, at the base of which are figures
v'-—v—^ representing valour and wisdom, and some similar emble¬
matic subjects.
The next object, to the north, but still on the eastern
side, is St Catherine’s Hospital, founded by the queen of
that name, the consort of Henry VIII. It was originally
built near the Tower, but, upon the erection of the new
docks, it was, in 1826, removed to the Regent’s Park. The
institution consists of a master, three brethren chaplains,
three sisters, and ten poor women, who are maintained by
funds provided by that queen, and increased since by other
benefactions. The building is in the pointed style of archi¬
tecture, and consists of two ranges, each forming three
houses. In the centre is the collegiate church, elegantly
fitted up within, and with a corresponding front, surmount¬
ed by two pinnacles. On the opposite side of the road
is the house of the master, a handsome building surround¬
ed by two acres of ornamental garden.
After passing Gloucester Gate, a neat structure, of the
Doric order, consisting of four fluted columns, flanked by
stone lodges, which leads to the great north road, the next
object of attraction is the Zoological Garden. This esta¬
blishment, consisting of the Gardens and the Menagerie,
stands at the north-east corner of the Park. It was founded
by a society of men of science in 1826, and this spot opened
to the public two years after. The Gardens form a most
agreeable promenade, and the collection preserved in ap¬
propriate dens, aviaries, and paddocks, is already large and
constantly increasing. It is much frequented by visitors,
142,000 persons having been admitted in a year. It has
been much enlarged in 1835 and 1836, and the arrival of
four giraffes has drawn to it astonishing crowds.
The Regent’s Canal crosses the park on the northern
boundary, and over it is Macclesfield Bridge, a most ele¬
gant structure, consisting of three arches, supported by
cast-iron pillars of the Doric order. On the next, or north¬
west side, are some elegant detached villas; that of the
Marquis of Hertford is particularly an object of admira¬
tion. Hanover Terrace, on the west side, consists of nine ¬
teen houses, built by Mr Nash, forming an apparent con¬
tinuous building. It consists of a centre and two wings
of the Doric order, crowned with pediments surmounted
by statues of the muses. In the central pediment is a
group of figures in relievo, representing medicine, chemis¬
try, architecture, sculpture, poetry, peace, justice, agricul¬
ture, plenty, music, history, and navigation.
Opposite this pile is a small gate, opening into the en¬
closed part of the park by a footpath, which winds into a
serpentine form to a gate opposite to Sussex Place, and
terminates at another gate fronting York Terrace. Sussex
Place is rather a whimsical range of buildings, composed
of twenty-four houses, consisting of a centre flanked by
octagonal towers and wings with four similar towers, the
whole being disposed in a semicircular form, with a gar¬
den in front. The towers are finished with cupola tops
and minarets, which produce a singular effect. Near to
Sussex Place is Clarence Terrace, a group of twelve houses,
being the smallest in the park. It consists of two wings
and a centre, of the Corinthian order, connected by colon¬
nades of the Ionic order. Cornwall Terrace was one of the
earliest ranges of building in the park, consisting of twenty-
one houses. The basement is rusticated, and the upper
part is adorned with fluted columns and pilasters, with
well-proportioned capitals. This also is after the design of
Decimus Burton. York Terrace is the largest, and one of
the most splendid masses of building in the park, contain¬
ing sixty-one dwelling houses, on a plan designed by Nash.
The ground-story presents a range of semicircular-headed
windows and rusticated piers, above which is a continued
pedestal, divided between the columns into balustrades, in
trout of the windows of the principal story, to which they
form balconies. This terrace appears more like a single Lr,,
palace than a row of separate dwellings, from all the doors
being at the back of the buildings, and from the gardens
in the front having no divisions. In the centre of the pile
is York Gate, forming, with the two rows of mansions which
flank it, a noble entrance to the park. Ulster Terrace,
comprising seven houses at the western corner of Park
Square, is a plain and simple range, adorned at the base¬
ment story with a colonnade of the Ionic order.
It has appeared desirable to give a more detailed descrip¬
tion of the buildings in this part than can be allotted to si¬
milar objects in other parts of London, because it is unique
in its plan, elegant in its execution, and, as a whole, pre¬
sents a spectacle unrivalled either in Great Britain or in
any of the cities of the continent.
The handsomest assemblage of houses in this district is
Portland Place, terminating towards the north in an ele¬
gant circus, open to the Regent’s Park. The houses are
lofty, elegant, and regular, but differ somewhat in size,
though none of them is small. They may be calculated
for families whose expenses amount to from L.3000 to
L.6000 per annum. Portland Place is about a furlong or
eighth of a mile in length, and 126 feet in breadth, with a
proportional breadth of foot pavement. It contains seventy-
four large houses. The crescent, in which it terminates,
has thirty elegant houses, and in it is a fine bronze statue
of the late Duke of Kent, the work of Mr Gahagan, seven
feet two inches in height, and weighing two tons.
Baker Street, which runs nearly parallel to Portland
Place, is a fine street, about twro-fifths of a mile in length,
and containing ninety houses, besides fifty in the continua¬
tion of it, called Upper Baker Street. The houses vary
much in size, but from the breadth of the street, the whole
has a fine appearance. The intermediate streets between
Baker Street and Portland Place, consist of neat but small
houses, tolerably uniform in appearance, and are let at rents
varying from L.80 to L.150 per annum. In Gloucester
Place, and Upper Gloucester Place, to the west of Baker
Street, are good assemblages of uniform houses, contain¬
ing together 140 mansions, occupied by respectable fami¬
lies.
In this district are some of those fine squares which are
the peculiar ornament of London, and are not to be seen in
equal extent or elegance of building in any of the cities of the
continent. Cavendish Square, the oldest of them, is adorn¬
ed by a statue of William Duke of Cumberland. It con¬
tains several magnificent mansions, and a few of inferior
extent. The total number of houses is thirty-seven. In
the centre is a garden surrounded with iron palisades.
Portman Square, with numerous streets around it, is built
upon the estate of the Dorsetshire gentleman whose name
it bears, and the value of it will be prodigious, when the
present leases of the houses shall expire. The square con¬
tains forty first-rate houses, with a neat garden, of an oval
shape, in the centre. Manchester Square, though of smaller
extent than the others, and with houses of not quite so
expensive a rate, is well built and neat. The north side
is nearly occupied with the magnificent mansion of the Spa¬
nish Embassy, and near it is a handsome Roman Catholic
chapel, very fully attended. It contains, besides the Spa¬
nish house, twenty-six others. Grosvenor Square is one
of the oldest and most distinguished of the metropolis, as
well for the size and the architecture of the houses, as
for the number of the highest ranks of the nobility "ho
reside in it, and the taste displayed in laying out the garden
and shrubbery in its centre. It was built in 1726, by Sir
R. Grosvenor. It contains six acres of land, and forty-four
magnificent houses. In the centre is a gilt equestrian sta¬
tue of King George L, executed by Van Nost. ^
The village of Paddington was about one mile from Ty-|^
burn, but by the great increase of houses of late years, it is
n
t
t
c
t
t
T1
on®!
«rde(i;
»call
'•thin
rigin
'ottii
3 the
Jar
fthe
onsoi
xpir£
LONDON.
on. iow an undistinguishable portion of London. It, however,
—extends to the westward, and includes within its parochial
boundaries the hamlet of Bays Water, and the part called
Craven Hill. The parish was in ancient times a portion of
he estate of the Abbot of Westminster, and the pre¬
sent church was then a chapel of ease to the church of
fet Margaret’s, Westminster. The parish church in the
centre of the green was consecrated inT791. It is a hand¬
some building upon a Grecian model, with a portico of the
Doric order, and towards the south end a cupola on the
;op.
The general increase of inhabitants in this parish from
1800 to upwards of 15,000, has been in a great measure
wing Jo the completion of the Grand Junction Canal, the
company having constructed a capacious basin with wharfs
md warehouses, in which a vast deal of business is transact-
Jbd. The situation is very favourable to the extension of
rood houses, and accordingly many of those have been
erected within the few last years in the different squares,
itreets, and places which have been constructed. Bryan-
stone, Dorset, and Montague squares are neat assemblages
>f houses, letting from L.160 to L.260 per annum. Cum-
[jerland Street, and others near it, present very elegant
buildings, as do Connaught Terrace and Place, looking into
Tyde Park. One portion is filled with villas, upon a small
cale, in gardens known as Alpha Cottages, whilst beyond
hem, in what was called St John’s Wood, and now destined
o bear the name of Portland Town, new streets are laid
nit, which will probably, in a few years, be filled with hand-
ome houses, and with numerous inhabitants.
The Clergy’s Orphan School is now established in St
lohn’s, Wood-road. It is an old institution, established in
749, but of late greatly increased, and incorporated in
: 809, for the clothing, maintaining, and educating the or-
ihan children of the clergy of the Established Church. A
ine building has been erected, which is an ornament to
he spot, and the institution is well and economically con-
lucted.
One of the most striking objects in this new part of the
metropolis is the Roman Catholic Church, newly erected
ipon a spot said to have been formerly occupied by the
Cnights of St John of Jerusalem. It has been built and
ndowed with funds for its maintenance by two pious sis-
ers of the name of Galini. It is built in the style of the
lointed architecture of the thirteenth century. The front
;s deemed one of the best modern adaptations of the mate-
ials furnished by our ancient ecclesiastical architecture
hat London presents; and, whilst the style is strictly ad-
ered to, the composition is original, though the materials
re taken from existing examples. The length of the church
I'ithin the nave is 110 feet, that of the aisles 99 feet; the
readth of the body of the church is 44 feet, and the height
>4 feet.
The basin of the Grand Junction Canal, the new market
jrmed near it, and the large warehouses, have brought a
reat degree of trade to this quarter ; whilst the Regent’s
anal, which communicates with it, renders the convey-
I nee of coal and other heavy substances cheaper than for¬
merly.
One part of Paddington approaches near to the Royal
lardens and the Palace of Kensington. Kensington Palace,
f|o called from its vicinity to the village of that name, stands
HKthin the parish of St Margaret’s, Westminster. It was
riginally built by Sir Heneage Finch, afterwards Earl of
Nottingham, and Lord Chancellor. His son, the second
lari, sold it to King William III. soon after his accession
] m the throne. This palace has been successively inhabit-
d and improved by Queen Anne, and the two first Georges
f the present dynasty. King William, Queen Anne, her
onsort George Prince of Denmark, and George II. here
xpired. During the first part of the reign of George III,
541
V
none of the royal family made it their residence ; but of later London.
apartments have been assigned in it to the Duke of Sussex, s v—-
who still occupies them, and since that time, another con¬
siderable part has been, and still is, occupied by the Duchess
of Kent and her daughter the Princess Victoria, heiress-
presumptive to the throne. The palace is a large irregular
edifice, built at various times of red brick. The principal
entrance is on the west side, and leads to some elegant and
spacious apartments, one of which, called the cube-room,
is 37 feet square. There are two fine galleries, one called
the King’s, 94 feet by 21 ; and the other called the Queen’s,
84 feet by 21. The palace contains some pictures by the
old masters, and many portraits. The great staircase, and
the several ceilings, painted by the artist Kant, are much
admired. The charm of this palace consists in the gardens
in which it is placed, and which form a most refreshing
resource to the inhabitants of London. They are more
than three miles in circuit, and have, in addition to pure
air, that variety of lawn, shade, and water, which make
them a most delightful promenade ; in summer a band of
good music plays, and it is altogether one of the most agree¬
able, as well as most frequented, promenades in the vici¬
nity of the metropolis.
In the way from this to London, but a little to the Chelsea,
south, is the large and populous village of Chelsea. Chel¬
sea College was originally built in the reign of King
James L, and was intended to be maintained as a polemi¬
cal school of divinity. It was incorporated for that purpose
in 1610, and consisted of a provost and twenty fellows, of
whom eighteen were required to be in holy orders, and the
other two, who might be either laymen or divines, were to
be employed in writing annals of the times. Dr Sut¬
cliffe was the first provost, and Camden and Haywood the
first historians. Sutcliffe, who had counted upon voluntary
supplies, and also on the effect of the king’s letter, was to a
great extent disappointed, and having proceeded far in the
undertaking, was reduced to ruin. In consequence of a
chancery suit the unfinished building fell to the crown, and
in the civil war to ruins. After the Restoration, Charles II.,
in 1669, granted the site and the ruins to the Royal Society,
at that time incorporated ; but, having no funds to build
with, it was again sold to the crown in 1682 for L.1300.
It was then determined to erect an hospital for the recep¬
tion and maintenance of maimed and superannuated soldiers.
Sir Christopher Wren was the architect, and the work was
completed in the year 1690, at the cost of L. 150,000. Many
of the nobility and clergy contributed largely, and dona¬
tions have ever since been continually flowing in from various
quarters. It is a fine building, with a front of 790 feet, and
the gardens and ground are forty acres in extent. It is
three sides of a quadrangle, in the centre of which is a bronze
statue of the king who founded it. The east and west
sides are occupied by the pensioners, who amount to up¬
wards of 400 men, and are well clothed, lodged, and fed.
The centre is on one side occupied by the chapel, and on
the other by the halls; the former has a fine altar-piece,
and the latter an historical painting by Sterrio, and also
Ward’s picture of the Battle of Waterloo. The governor '
has a spacious house with a state-room, containing portraits
of Charles I. and II., of William III. and his consort, and
of George II. and George III. Adjoining to it is an appro¬
priate infirmary for the diseased.
Near to the hospital is the Royal Military Asylum, an
institution for the maintenance of the orphan children of
soldiers. It is an extensive and handsome building, form¬
ing three sides of a quadrangle. The principal part, which
is on the west side, has a noble portico of four Doric pillars,
supporting a pediment with the imperial arms. The centre
consists of dining and school-rooms, and a dormitory. On
the top is the telegraph, which communicates between the
Admiralty and Portsmouth and Plymouth. This establish-
542
LONDON.
London, ment at one time was a refuge for 700 boys and 300 girls,
but has of late, from economical motives, been much re¬
duced.
The new church at Chelsea, dedicated to St Luke, has
already been noticed; and the old church of St Luke is
now by law made a chapel of ease to the new building. In
it, and the burial-ground surrounding it, there are many
old and curious monuments to distinguished persons who
have been interred there. This large parish, containing
35,000 inhabitants, has, by act of parliament, been divided
into Upper and Lower Chelsea, as far as regards ecclesias¬
tical matters, and a new church for the former has been
erected in Sloane Street. It is a neat building, with two
spires, and is capable of accommodating 1200 persons. It
is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
A small brook, now covered with an archway, divides
Chelsea from the city of Westminster. A part of the pa¬
rish of St George’s, Hanover Square, is the first place which
is entered on that side. A few years ago it was a large piece of
swampy land belonging to Lord Grosvenor, since created
Marquis of Westminster. It has been recently built upon,
and already exhibits by far the best squares and streets of
the metropolis, whilst engagements are entered into, and
proceeding towards completion, which will in a few years
render this a most striking mass of splendid houses.
Belgrave Square is completed, and is the most admired
part of the undertaking. It is 684 feet long, and 617 wide ;
each of the fronts inward are uniform, and is adorned
with columns of the Corinthian order. The centre houses
are very magnificent; those on both sides of them are simi¬
lar, but not so large, and all are finished in the most elegant
manner. The latter have been sold for about L. 10,000 or
L.l2,000 each, when finished. Eaton Square, which is not
yet completed on the south side, will form a parallelogram of
1637 feet by 371, with elegant gardens in the centre, and
the beautiful portico of the new church of St Peter at the
end. The streets leading from Belgrave Square, or near
to it, are all new, and the houses are elegantly constructed.
Wilton Crescent and Street have a tasteful appearance,
and near them a new square is about to be built, to be called
Lownd’s Square, connected with Knightsbridge. On the
south, between Eaton Square and the Thames, it is pro¬
posed to construct a new pile of buildings, to be called
Chester Square. The whole of this district has been much
favoured by a new access to that part of Westminster,
where the two Houses of Parliament and the courts of
law are situated, through the Birdcage Walk in St James’s
Park.
One of the most prominent objects in this district is the
King’s Palace in St James’s Park, heretofore distinguished
by the name of Buckingham House, from the noble pro¬
prietor John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who erected
a residence in what was then called the Mulberry Garden,
in 1720. On the marriage of Queen Charlotte, the mo¬
ther of his majesty William IV, this house was settled upon
her; she continued her occupation of it many years, when it
obtained the name of the Queen’s Palace, and all her chil¬
dren were born there, with the exception of the oldest, af¬
terwards George IV.
With a view to reparation, as was at first announced,
money was voted by Parliament; but by some change of
plan, instead of repairing the ancient building, a new one
has been erected at the expense of nearly L. 700,000, ex¬
clusive of what may be required to finish and furnish it in
a mannei suitable for a royal residence. It is expected to be
habitable by the end of the year 1836.’
This great work was designed by the late Mr Nash, but,
before his death, it was superintended by Mr Blore, who
made considerable alterations in the plan of his predeces¬
sor. The grand entrance of the palace looks on the canal
in the park, and the view terminates with the building of
the Horse Guards. It is through an arch of white marble
in imitation of that of Constantine in Rome, and is orna^'w^
Bucking¬
ham Pa¬
lace.
mented with sculpture, by Westmacott and Bailey. A semi-'
cular railing, ornamented with mosaic gold, extends to the
two wings. The body of the palace is a parallelogram
from each end of which a wing is extended, thus forming
three sides of a square. At the termination of the left
wing are placed fine statues of History, Geography, and
Astronomy, and on the right wing of Painting, Music’ and
Architecture. The pediment in the centre contains the
royal arms, above which are statues of Neptune, Com¬
merce, and Navigation. Around the whole of the build¬
ing, and above the windows, is a frize, combining in a
scroll the Rose, the Thistle, and the Shamrock. t
The entrance hall, though low, is very splendid. It is
paved with variegated marble, bordered with a scroll of
sienna, and centered with puce-coloured rosettes. The walls
are of scagliola, and the ceiling is supported by forty-four
white marble pillars, decorated with Corinthian capitals of
mosaic gold. Behind the hall is a vestibule of considerable
length, against the sides of which are thirty-two columns
similar to those in the entrance-hall. In the centre of the
vestibule is the door of the library, a handsome suite of
three rooms looking into the garden ; to the right are the
apartments of the Queen, and the private staircase lead¬
ing to them; and to the left are the King’s study, and
apartments for secretaries and attendants. Returning to the
hall, the grand staircase is on the left, the steps of which
are solid blocks of white marble, whilst the rail is richly
formed of mosaic gold and mahogany. This staircase as¬
cends on either side, and leads to the state rooms, which
are very splendid. The three drawing-rooms are decorated
with blue and red imitation marble columns, surmounted
by gilt capitals; the floor of the ante-room is richly inlaid
with holly and satin wood. The throne-room is richly gilt,
the ceiling embossed with magnificence, and the frize
contains bas-reliefs by Bayley, after designs by Stothard,
representing the wars of York and Lancaster. The impe¬
rial throne is placed in an alcove at the end of the apart¬
ment. From this splendid room a door leads into the pic¬
ture gallery, a noble saloon running the whole length of
the palace, being 164 feet by 24. It is lighted by three
parallel ranges of sky-lights, decorated with tracery and
oriental pendants, presenting a very pleasing appearance.
Over the mantle-pieces are carved heads of the celebrated
artists of antiquity, and the floor is formed of pannelled oak.
T he dining-room is richly adorned, but by some is deemed
of insufficient capacity for royal banquets.
The front of this palace, which is the most pleasing, is that
from the garden. It is chaste and simple. A sheet of w ater
and a shrubbery have been formed before it, and the en¬
trance this way is through the magnificent triumphal arch,
designed by Nash. This arch is of the Corinthian order.
Towards Hyde Park are four columns, two at each side of
the arch supporting a portico. The arch itself is adorned
with six Corinthian pilasters. The front towards the gar¬
den is exactly similar. The vaulted part in the centre is
divided into compartments, richly sculptured. A small
doorway on each side leads to the porter’s apartment, within
which are stairs leading to the top. Along the entablature
are placed G. R. and the imperial crown. The gates, of
bronzed iron-work, are beautiful, and adorned with the
royal arms.
Hyde Park is entered by a fine triumphal gate, opposite Hyde
to that which leads to the garden front of the royal palace. Part
This gate, designed by Decimus Burton, and executed in
1826, consists of a screen of fluted Ionic pillars, with three
archways for carriages, two for foot-passengers, and a lodge.
The whole frontage is 107 feet. The central gateway is
adorned with four columns, supporting the entablature,
above which is a frize running round the four sides of the
(met
DUflI.
sente
vice;
f pal
ded
it of
,ecen
n’hicl
legat
ireh
icotl
;es,
is ar
wide
i bait
orn;
thes
grou
ids ir
astl
'hich
hep,
i side
piece
stro
?sin
ofwl
onto
Dane
n enh
irate
* II
i) adi
Ionic
een
and
rhoh
Tl
’gfo
*db;
non
ispi
LONDON.
in. itructure. This frize represents a naval and military
liumphal procession. The side gateways present two in¬
flated Ionic columns, flanked by antae. The gates are
Uiautiful specimens of bronzed iron-work, and the whole
toric has a most magnificent effect. The park consists of
Ilj acres in extent, and is a most valuable appendage to
He metropolis, by the advantageous means of recreation
much it affords both to pedestrians and equestrians. At the
etrance from Piccadilly is the colossal statue of Achilles,
iibronze, executed by Westmacott, cast from cannon taken
1 the Duke of Wellington, to whom it is dedicated, at
Samanca, Vittoria, Toulouse, and Waterloo. It stands
c: a base of granite, is eighteen feet in height, and is said
t; weigh thirty tons. One part of this park is used for
mewing troops, and another part is covered with the Ser-
pntine River, which, when frozen, affords very great gra-
t. cation to the practitioners and admirers of skating.
The finest entrance to London is by Hyde Park corner
ino Piccadilly. The street is nearly a mile in length
( 580 yards), but, from inequalities, can nowhere be seen
a.one view. It terminates at the other end, in the elegant
cscus, where the two parts of Regent Street meet, which
spet is exactly a mile long. At its lower end, in Water-
1< Place, is the Duke of York’s Column. A colossal
bimze statue of that prince, executed by Westmacott, has
bt:n placed on a podium rising out of the summit of this
ci umn. It is a fine bold composition, with full drapery
fking down the back of the figure, and giving it breadth
ad importance. The figure looks towards the parade
g^uind of the Horse Guards, and the back consequently is
pi sen ted to the view from Regent Street, and the United
SJ vice, Athenaeum, and other club-houses. The column
isff pale red granite, 150 feet in height, and may be as-
c-t ded by a spiral staircase within. At its foot is a fine
fli ht of steps leading into St James’s Park.
•ecent alterations have much improved the adjoining spot,
on which Carlton Palace stood. Besides a stately range
oiMegant buildings upon the site of the palace, a handsome
•are has been formed. The front towards St James’s
Pi k consists of sixteen houses, which are disposed in two
rages, raised on a substructure, which contains the kit-
clons and domestic offices, forming a terrace about fifty
fe' wide, adorned with Paestum Doric pillars, surmounted
bp balustrade. The superstructure consists of three sto-
rb, ornamented with Corinthian columns. On descend-
jiiithe steps into St James’s Park, the view of that pleas-
|n! ground is fine, shewing the course of the water, the
islnds in it, with the shrubberies and the gravel walks, as
will as the road from the royal palace to the Horse Guards,
byyhich the King passes in state to the parliament-house.
he parade place for the Guards is a fine opening, and at
can side are placed trophies of w ar, particularly two prodigi-
ova pieces of artillery, whilst the esplanade terminates with
thu strong and handsome stone building, in which the
imps in immediate attendance on the King are quartered,
tw of whom, on horseback, act as sentinels, in two lodges
in i ont of Whitehall. In this building is the office of the
con mander-in-chief of the army.
I'n emerging from the gate of the Horse Guards, the
ceibrated banqueting-house, built by Inigo Jones, presents
'tsf. It is an elegant and magnificent structure of hewn
stoce, adorned with an upper and lower range of pillars, of
thdonic and composite order. The capitals, and the space
bel'/een the columns of the windows, are enriched with
b'u and foliage. It is surrounded with a balustrade, and
ibeivhole exterior has been put in a complete state of re-
P*! The interior consists chiefly of one apartment, of an
°b|ng form, about forty feet in height. The ceiling was
parted by Rubens, and represents the apotheosis of James I.
k.lj now an elegant chapel, in which divine public wor-
S U1 performed every Sunday. It is adorned with the
543
eagles and other trophies taken from the French in Spain, London,
winch were deposited here with great military ceremony —-y—
in May 1811. Charles I. was led from this building,
through a window in the front of it, to the scaffold, where
he was executed on the 30th January 1649. In the gar¬
dens between this building and the river, there are some
dwellings of persons of the highest rank ; and in one part a
public building has been given up by the government, to
form the museum of the United Services. A valuable col¬
lection has been formed, by the zeal of the officers of the
army and navy, and is receiving daily augmentations. It
already contains many valuable and curious objects, not
only such as are connected with those professions, but also
in natural history, and in articles illustrative of the customs
and manners of the distant countries explored'by our ad¬
venturous countrymen.
Between the Horse Guards and Charing Cross is the Public
Office of the Paymaster of the Forces, which, though con- Offices,
veniently arranged for its intended purpose, has no pecu¬
liar claim to attention from its architecture ; but, adjoining
t*!, ^ that fine pile, the Admiralty Office, built on the site
of Wallingford House, and celebrated for the councils held
there by Oliver Cromwell and his officers. The front has
two deep wings, and a lofty portico, supported by four large
stone pillars of the Ionic order. J here is a screen in front
of the court, richly ornamented with naval emblems. The
entrance of the main building is a spacious hall, from which
are passages leading to staircases, by which the numerous
offices are reached. There is a fine board-room, and within
the building are numerous residences for the junior lords.
On the top of it is the telegraph, which maintains the cor¬
respondence with the great ports where there are naval ar¬
senals.
In Whitehall, next below the Horse Guards, is the en¬
trance, by a gateway common to both, and whose Gothic
ai chitecture is much admired, to the Office of the Secretary
of State for the Home Department, and the Treasury Of¬
fice. The first has some of its apartments looking on the
street, but that part is more remarkable for its antique than
its beautiful architecture. The interior is arranged very
appropriately, but it is rather too small for the increased
business to be transacted. The Treasury is a fine large
stone building, with its front towards the Parade. It is a
portion of the old palace erected by Cardinal Wolsey, and
altered at subsequent periods, but chiefly in the reign of
Charles II. It displays in its front the Tuscan, Doric, and
Ionic order of architecture, and the whole is surrounded
by a pediment. The board-room is a fine apartment; but
all the other parts are too much crowded, for the number
of clerks that are necessary. From this office there is a
communication with the official residence of the First Lord
of the Treasury.
The building next to these in Whitehall, is the elegant
recently-erected Office of the Privy Council and of the
Board of Trade, finished in 1826, from the design of Sir
John Sloane. Upon the left hand, or western side, are the
offices for the clerks of the privy council, and their subor¬
dinates, whence proclamations are issued, and patents are
prepared. Upon the first floor is the beautiful court where
the privy council sit as a court of law, to decide on appeals
from the colonial courts, or on other business referred to
them by the king. The interior is simply, yet beautifully
finished, and around it are rooms for the president, and
others for the advocates and agents. The right side of the
building is occupied by the committee of privy council for
affairs of trade. The several rooms for the president,
vice-president, secretaries, and clerks, are on both sides of
a gallery, which extends the whole length of the building.
In the construction of this part, the architect has preserved
the old board-room, erected in the reign of William III., in
order to retain the beautifully carved ceiling then placed
LONDON.
544
London, there. A communication, by a gallery, is maintained be-
^ r" tween these offices and that of the Home Secretary and
the Treasury.
In Downing Street, of which the council-office forms one
corner, is, on the right hand side, the house for the resi¬
dence of the First Lord ot the I reasury, a noble mansion,
with its best apartments looking into St James’s Park ; and,
adjoining to it, another upon a smaller scale, occupied by
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when that office and that
of First Lord of the Treasury are not filled by the same
individual, but otherwise by one of the secretaries ot the
treasury.
At the bottom of the same narrow street, but with its
best front towards the Park, is the office of the Secretary
of State for the Colonies and for War. The building has
nothing in its exterior to engage attention, but it contains
some fine apartments, and others very conveniently ar¬
ranged for the despatch of business, and has been of late
years extended by the addition of the house which was for¬
merly the office ot the Judge Advocate.
In the same street, touching the Colonial Office, and
forming a right angle with it, is the office of the Secretary
of State for foreign affiiirs. It has been formed out of se¬
veral houses in addition to the old building, and presents to
view neither regularity nor architectural beauty ; in its ap¬
pearance it is unworthy the dignified business there tran¬
sacted, where the representatives of all the states of the
civilized world have constant occasion to repair, and where
the cabinet councils are most commonly held. It is, how¬
ever, if not imposing, very appropriately fitted up in the in¬
terior, with noble apartments for the chief and under se¬
cretaries, where they receive the foreign diplomatists ;
and of late years the part occupied as a dwelling has been
repaired, beautified, and elegantly furnished, and as such
was first used as a residence by Mr Canning for a very short
time before his death.
In Duke Street, Westminster, near to Downing Street,
and looking on the Park, a new and noble building has just
been finished as a State Paper Office. It has a handsome
front, secured against any accident by fire, and well ar¬
ranged for the purpose of preserving and rendering easily
accessible the valuable documents which were removed to it
from the old building in George Street. These papers can
only be examined by a special order from the Secretary of
State for the Home Department, which is generally grant¬
ed on application, when asked, for any purely historical
purpose, and every inquirer for such objects finds all the
assistance he can desire upon the part of the officers of the
establishment.
Houses Westminster Hall has already been noticed ; but the two
of Parlia- Houses of Parliament were so much injured by the fire which
ment. accidentally broke out there in November 1834, as to ren¬
der it necessary to make use of such apartments as could
be most speedily converted to the purpose, for the accom¬
modation of the two legislative bodies. A variety of sug¬
gestions have been offered for repairing or building anew the
parts which were injured; but no decisive plan has been
adopted, and for the present the House of Lords assembles
in an apartment not very appropriate, and the House of Com¬
mons holds their sittings in what was the House of Lords,
with such temporary repairs as the short time allowed for
the purpose would admit. See the article Westminster.
Near to the parliament houses, in Cannon Row, is a neat
and elegant building, but little seen at present, which is
occupied by the Board of Controul for Indian affairs. It
was built during the war for the Transport Board, which
was abolished at the peace, and since that time it has been
applied to its present use. It is a handsome building, with
a fine portico of the Ionic order, its back front towards
the Thames, and with apartments appropriately laid out.
improve. Some of the greatest improvements made in the metro-
ments.
polls of late years have been projected or completed in the r
vicinity of Charing Cross, and along* the Strand. AH the '
old buildings at Charing Cross opposite to Northumberland ^ ^
House, including the western side of St Martin’s Lane
have been removed. The new Golden Cross Inn has been
completed, and the houses forming the east side of what is
called Trafalgar Square are occupied. On the northern
side of that square the new national gallery of painting,
sculpture, and architecture has considerably advanced. It
is being erected on the spot formerly occupied by the king’s
mews, but removed farther back, in order to give a better
view from Pall Mall of the fine portico of St Martin’s church.
The part of the gallery towards the east has its front nearly-
finished, but before its completion it would be unfair to
criticise the architecture. The gallery is intended to be
about 500 feet in length, and will consist of a central por¬
tico of eight Corinthian columns in front and two in depth,
ascended by steps at each end at an elevation of eight feet
from the ground. Between the centre and the wings will
be two entrances, composed of four Corinthian columns,
one leading to Castle Street, and the other to the barracks.
It is designed to have windows in the lower story for light¬
ing those apartments, and in the upper story there are to
be niches for statues. The portico will be surmounted by
an ornamental dome, and the whole range of building by
a balustrade. The part upon the right side of the portico
will be devoted to the Royal Academy, and that to the left
will comprise the galleries for the works of art; these be- ^
ing connected by the grand staircase and vestibule divid¬
ing the building into two parts. *
The beautiful equestrian statue of Charles I. remains
on the ancient spot, and it has been suggested that between
it and the gallery some object should be placed which might
do credit to the taste of the age. j
The widening of the Strand, by removing Exeter Change,
and many other obstructions, has made the West Strand a
noble street; whilst the beautiful streets, called Adelaide
Street and King William Street, have together contributed
with the elegant Lowther Arcade, the Ophthalmic Hospital,
the Charingcross Hospital, and many private houses, to r
change the character of that part of the town; especially .
by removing some hundreds of wretched houses, (in courts
and alleys), which were the haunts of the most depraved
portion of the population. (}
The new- Hungerford Market already noticed, has now a E
good approach from the Strand nearly completed, which 0|
forms an additional improvement to the appearance of the
western part of that street. ^
Somerset House, or rather, Somerset Palace, is a pile of Somerset ^
building standing on the site of a number of edifices, which : ^
were most tyrannically destroyed by the Duke of Somerset, (t
who was protector in the reign of Edward VI., and ulti- , |
mately the victim of his ambition and treason. The palace f |
was begun in the year 1549, and the architect was one John p
of Padua, who was appointed in the reign of Henry VUL s ^
under the title of Devisor of his Majesty’s buildings. The jp(
architecture was that mixture of Grecian and Gothic, which
had been introduced into England in the preceding reign. ^ t
It was a spacious and magnificent edifice, and as by death lt; m
devolved on the crown, it was made use of as a residence for ,[ r
some members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth resid- j 1(j
ed here with her kinsman Lord Hunsdon. A chapel was (^
begun by Inigo Jones, who had built the back, front, and ^
the water gate. It was intended for the use of the Catholic
Infanta of Spain, who was expected to become the wife o ^
Charles L, when Prince of Wales ; and though that mate ;if
did not take place, it was used by the professors of the Ca- :lia
tliolic religion, and amongst others by the Queen Henrietta p
Maria. It was also the residence of the queen of Charles 1L - „
who was thereby removed from the observation of her roy (^
consort’s gallantries. It was at that time that it became
LONDON.
ml lie theatre of an irritating plot, probably founded on fic-
—'ion, but which produced national agitation. Whether Sir
idmonbury Godfrey was murdered or destroyed himself,
ras, and must ever remain, a matter of doubt.
The present building is after a design of the late Sir
Villiam Chambers, and was begun in 1775. It occupies
space about 800 feet wide and 300 deep, and forms a
uadrangle, with a spacious court in the centre. The front
wards the street consists of a rustic basement of nine
rches, supporting Corinthian columns, surmounted in the
entre by an attic, and, at the extremities, by a ballustrade.
'he key-stones of the arches are adorned with colossal
msks in alto relievo, emblematical of the Ocean, and the
fight principal rivers of England. On the three central
indows of the first floor are medallions of George III., his
lueen, and the Prince of Wales. The attic is divided into
iree parts, by four statues, representing Justice, Truth,
alour, and Moderation, with the appropriate emblems of
le scales, the mirror, the sword, and the bridle in one hand,
id the fasces in the other. The whole is surmounted by
le British arms, supported by Fame, and the genius of
ngland. The front towards the river is a spacious terrace,
[his river front has now two wings, built uniformly; that
*fi the east side is a part of King’s College, at the expense
i'which it has been recently completed, after having been
ft for nearly sixty years a vacant and disgraceful spot.
The front part of the pile is occupied by the Royal Aca-
umy, who have in it their annual exhibitions of painting,
iiulpture, and architecture. The other part, the Royal
i iciety, the Antiquarian Society, and the Geological So-
iety at present occupy. The three other sides of the
uadrangle are destined to the use of the Navy Board, the
reasurer of which has an official residence looking on the
i ver; and some other houses in the same wing are occu-
| ed by Officers under the Admiralty. The Board of Taxes,
ith its Secretary, have the use of a large portion ; and the
mainder is under the Board of Stamps, where the ma-
fiiinery is worked in their operations.
In this part of the town are a few objects which deserve
otice, and which may here, as appropriately as in any other
j^rt, receive it. Covent Garden has already been noticed
* a market for fruit, vegetables, and flowers. It occupies
uree acres of land, covered with more elegant buildings
llan are usually to be seen in market-places; and it is, on the
prthern, and a part of the eastern side, bounded by a range
i' handsome buildings, planned by Inigo Jones, on arches,
rith a good walk or piazza under them. The greater part
)i these houses are used as taverns or coffee-houses. The
[lurch of St Paul, at the west end, has a fine portico, un-
Ifr which the elections of members of parliament for the
■ity of Westminster are held. This place was, in former
Tnes, the garden of the convent of St Paul’s, and was, on
'■e suppression of those institutions, given to the family of
ihssell, whose successor, the Duke of Bedford, is the pre¬
sat possessor, and has rebuilt the centre, from plans by Mr
Jwler, in 1829 and 1830.
j Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields is one of the largest squares in the
metropolis; but the appearance is not favourable. The
! ’teen side has no other building but the wall ofLincoln’s-
m Garden. The north side consists of small, and mostly
wnely houses ; but on the south and west sides are several
Mble mansions of considerable age, some used as offices
h public boards, and others let out in chambers, like those
©the Inns of Court. These houses have been inhabited
some of the most distinguished statesmen and lawyers
othe country. Within the few last years Sir John Soane
m presented to the public his house on the north side of
. square, with the valuable collection of curiosities, which,
j. c°urse of a long life, he has been able to draw from
W ious sources.
Leicester Square, like Lincoln’s-Inn, is more remark-
VOL. XIII
545
able for its extent than for its beauty. The greater part London,
of the houses are upon a small scale, and not distinguished^— -—l
by any architectural taste. On the north side were once
some distinguished edifices, particularly one the residence
of Frederick Prince of Wales, father of George III., which
was afterwards used for the exhibition of Sir Ashton Lever’s
museum. This square was the residence of Sir Joshua
Reynolds, and of Hogarth, and Woollet, celebrated artists;
and of John Hunter, the celebrated anatomist and surgeon!
In the centre is a fine bronze equestrian statue of Kin o-
George I.
In proceeding westward from Leicester Square, that sin¬
gular pile of buildings, called from its form the Quadrant,
is entered. It is a break in Regent Street, extending from
Piccadilly to Glasshouse Street. Ihis circular mass is or¬
namented by colonnades, with a good walk under a ^allery
surrounding the whole, which is supported by cast-iron
pillars. The outward effect is fine, but the houses are not
admired as residences, and have not been very advantage¬
ously occupied.
Between the Quadrant and Bond Street is Llanover Square,
which was built in honour of the present royal family, soon
after their accession to the throne. It occupies about two
acres, has some noble houses but not in the best style,
and is chiefly remarkable for a handsome suite of apart!
ments, fitted up in the most splendid manner, and let out
for the performance of concerts, or other public purposes.
On the eastern side is a bronze colossal statue of William
Pitt, executed by Chantrey. It is twelve feet in height,
and stands on a pedestal of granite, fifteen feet high. The
resemblance is very striking.
To the westward of Bond Street, Berkeley Square pre¬
sents itself. There are only houses on three sides of it,
as the wall of the noble mansion of the Marquis of Lans!
downe, occupies the whole of the south side. The garden in
the centre of the Square contains about three acres. There
are in the whole, including Lansdowne House, fifty-four
dwellings, several of them of the first class, but on the east
side some of them are of a much lowrer description.
By crossing Piccadilly, St James’s Square is arrived at.
It has much celebrity, as well from the magnificence of
several houses, and the eminent men who have lived in
them, as from its being one of the oldest of the larger
squares, and that which led to the practice of forming such
places upon an extensive scale. On the south side, the
back of some of the houses of Pall Mall, mixed with some
small dwelling-houses, intrude on the view; but the other
three sides are occupied by mansions of the very first class.
The whole number of these is only twenty-four. The centre
is a neat garden, laid out with shrubs, and, in the middle of
it, there is a sheet of water, from wdiich there rises a pedestal
surmounted by a statue of King William III. The largest
of the houses, are London House, belonging to the Bishop
of London ; and those of the Duke of Norfolk, Marquis of
Bristol, Earl de Grey, Duke of Cleveland, Earl of Hard-
wicke. Bishop of Winchester, Earl of Dartmouth, Earl of
Litchfield, Lord Rosslyn, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, and
Mr Hudson Gurney. ~
The Royal Palace of St James, in Pall-Mall, has so longpQ,a„0
been treated as an object of consideration, by all the diplo-st James’s
matists of Europe, as to deserve a particular description.
Ihis palace was originally an hospital dedicated to St
James, founded by some pious citizens before the Norman
conquest. It was designed to receive fourteen lepers, to
whom were afterwards added eight brethren, who w ere to
perform divine service. It was rebuilt in the time of Henry
HI. I he custody of it w as conferred on Eton College, by
a grant of the twenty-eighth year of Henry VI.; but it is
reported, that the living of Chattesham in Suffolk was given
m exchange for it, the college, on this consideration, having
resigned it to Henry VIII. At that time the revenue w as
3 z
546
LONDON.
.London, estimated at L. 100 per annum. The present building was
erected by that monarch soon after the transaction, which
took place in the year 1531, and was described by the his¬
torian Stowe, as “ a goodly manor.*’ The same king also
enclosed the park, which became subservient to the amuse¬
ment of this and the other palace of Whitehall. Charles II.
who was particularly fond of it, planted the avenues, and
formed the canal, and the aviary adjacent to the Bird-cage
Walk, which took its name from the cages which were hung
on the trees. The king, according to Cibber, was often
seen here, amidst crowds of spectators, feeding his ducks,
and playing with his dogs, and passing his idle time in con¬
versation with the meanest of his subjects, which made him
be adored by the common people. There exists no proof
that this palace was regularly inhabited by any of our mo-
narchs till after the fire in 1695, by which the palace of
Whitehall was destroyed. James I. presented it to his pro¬
mising son, Prince Henry, who resided in it until his death
in 1612. Charles I. was brought to it from Windsor, on
the 19th of January, by the power of the army, which had
determined on his death, and his apartment was hastily
furnished by his own servant, Mr Kinnersley of the ward¬
robe. Of the eleven days which he was permitted to live,
some were spent in Westminster Hall, and the nights were
passed in the house of Sir Robert Cotton, near the place
of his trial. On the 27th he was carried back to St James’s,
where he passed his three last days in the exercise of ex¬
emplary piety. On the 30tli he was brought to the place of
execution ; and walked, unmoved by every insult, with a
firm and quick pace, supported by the most lively senti¬
ments of religion. His son, the bigoted James, sent to the
Prince of Orange, when he had approached in force near to
the capital, an invitation to take up his lodging in this pa¬
lace. The prince accepted it; but, at the same time, hinted
to the frightened king, that he must leave Whitehall. It
was customary to mount guard at both the palaces. The
old hero, Lord Craven, was upon duty at the time when
the Dutch guards were moving through the Park, to re¬
lieve those at Whitehall, by order of their master. From
a point of honour, he determined not to quit his post, and
was preparing to maintain it; but, receiving the commands
of his sovereign, he reluctantly withdrew his party, and mar¬
ched away with sullen dignity.1
During the reign of King William, this palace was fitted
up for the residence of the Princess Anne, afterwards
queen, and her husband Prince George of Denmark; and
from that time to the present it has been regularly the court
of the successive monarchs. Pennant, who described it
about fifty years ago, and from whom a part of the pre¬
ceding account is extracted, says, “ Uncreditable as the
outside of St James’s Palace may look, it is said to be the
most commodious for regal parade of any palace in Europe.
The furniture of this palace is unbecoming the place.” In
this last respect very great improvements have been effected
since that author took his interesting walks through Lon¬
don. It is still an irregular brick building of no external
beauty, the front of a small part of which, in the form of a
gateway, alone appears from the street, but the state apart¬
ments look towards the park. These are but one story in
height, and appear tolerably regular, though somewhat
mean. The south-east wing, in which were the apartments
of the maids of honour, was destroyed by an accidental fire
in 1809, and has not since been rebuilt. Between 1821
and 1824 the whole of the state apartments have been
completely repaired and newly furnished, and thus put in
the state now to be described.
These apartments are entered by a passage and stair¬
case of great simplicity. The walls are distempered, of a
dead stone colour, and are lighted by Grecian bronze lights
with moon shades placed on plain granite pedestals, which
have an air of quakerly neatness, quite in unison with this
part of the edifice. The exterior walls are sprinkled with
black, in imitation of granite. On ascending is seen a sort
of gallery or guard-room, converted into an armoury, the
walls of which are decorated with daggers, swords, and
musquets, in various devices. When a drawing-room is
held, this apartment is occupied by the yeomen of the
guard in full costume, with their battle-axes in their hands.
The next room is a small chamber covered with tapestry,
in fine preservation, from the ceiling of which an elegant
chandelier depends. W hen a draw ing-room is held, a per¬
son attends here to receive the cards containing the names
of the parties to be presented, with the circumstances under
which the presentation takes place. A duplicate of the
card is subsequently handed to the lord in waiting, in order
to prevent the introduction of improper persons. The next
is the first of a succession of apartments, the last of which
is the Presence Chamber. It is fitted up in a style of
magnificent splendour. The walls are covered with crim¬
son damask, and the window curtains are of the same ma¬
terial. The cornices and basements are formed of broad
carved and gilt moulding, and extend to every part of the
room. On entering, the eye of the spectator is first at¬
tracted by a looking-glass of unusual magnitude, which
reaches completely from the ceiling to the floor. At the
east end of the room is a painting of George II. in his par¬
liamentary robes, and on the other walls hang two large
pictures of Tournay and of Lisle. The furniture consists
of sofas, ottomans, and stools, covered with crimson velvet
trimmed with gold lace. From the ceiling hangs a superb
or-molu lustre, containing two rows of lights of three
branches each ; and at each end of the apartment are two
splendid candelabras elegantly gilt, calculated to receive
twelve lights each.
The next room is fitted up in the same style of decora¬
tion, and contains an excellent full-length portrait of George
III. in the robes of his order. On each side of these are
two paintings of the celebrated sea-fights of Lord Howe on
the first June, and of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. The bril¬
liant effect of the whole is considerably heightened by the
addition of three magnificent pier-glasses, reaching from the
floor to the ceiling. From the middle of the ceiling also
hangs a delicately chased Grecian lustre.
The third and last room is the Presence Chamber, in
which the king holds his drawing-rooms. This, in point of
gorgeous decoration, far exceeds that of the preceding apart¬
ments, although the style is somewhat similar. The throne
is splendid, and, in point of size and magnificence of effect,
far exceeds that in the House of Lords. It is composed of
rich Genoa velvet, thickly covered with gold lace, and is
surmounted by a canopy of the same material, on the inside
of which is a star embroidered in gold. There are three
steps for his Majesty to ascend, which lead to a state chair
of exquisite workmanship ; close to which is a footstool to
correspond. Over the fire-place is a full-length portrait of
George IV. in his coronation robes, by Sir Thomas Law¬
rence. Upon each side of this picture are paintings of the
battles of Vittoria and Waterloo. The piers of the room
Ion, ,
'"“Vv
1 James, the son of James II, who so long made pretensions to the British throne, was born in the room now called the old
bed-chamber, at present the antichamber to the levee room. The bed stood close to the door of a back stair which descends to an
inner court. It certainly was very convenient to carry on any secret design, and might favour the silly warming-pan story, had
not the bed been surrounded by twenty of the privy-council, four other men of rank, and twenty ladies, besides other attendants.
James, with imprudent pride, neglected to disprove the tale, and it was adopted by a party, and perhaps believed by some credulous
zealots.
idoiai are entirely fitted up with plate-glass, before which are some
beautiful marble slabs. The window curtains are of crim¬
son satin, trimmed with gold-coloured fringe and lace.
The cornices, mouldings, &c. are richly gilt, and the other
embellishments and furniture, of corresponding elegance,
present a coup d’ceil in every way suited to the dignity and
splendour of the British court.
i Injbetli
the'
hetli,
of 0
h
JCC01
King
whicl
when
Place
Stanj
when
Th
centu
impro
tlieL
edof
it is
turei
into t
Bisho
was tl
Du
heth,
The
dead,
sothi
the si
Th,
"ho 1,
Has
have j
c°ntai
eianv
Ihep.
Scott,
LONDON.
or at least from dispersion, by the discreet and dexterous
management of the celebrated Selden. It appears by the
bequest of Bancroft, that, in the event of his successors fail¬
ing to give bond to deliver the books entire from one to
the other, they should be given up to Chelsea Hospital.
Two years after the execution of Archbishop Laud, the
. _ books still remained at Lambeth, when Selden, alarmed for
Behind the Presence Chamber is his Majesty’s closet, in their safety, suggested to the University of Cambridge their
which he gives audience and receives the members of his right to them. On the claim being made, it was acquiesced
own family, foreign ambassadors, cabinet ministers, and in, and the whole were removed to Cambridge. Juxon
officers of state. It contains a state chair and footstool; made application to have the books restored to the original
an elegant writing-table with a buhl inkstand, and other use- repository, and, though not immediately surrendered ftiev
ful furniture. The king’s dressing or private room is be- were so soon afterwards, when Archbishop Sheldon filled
yond this. The dining-room belongs to another suite of the see. That prelate, as well as Tennison. Seeker and
apartments, and is admirably fitted up and furnished. Many Cornwallis, made several additions of considerable value to
of the sleeping-rooms are in the house built by William IV. the library ; and almost every one who has held the dignity
when Duke of Clarence, which has been united by a gal- has been a contributor to the store. This noble collection
lery with the palace. Some members of the royal family ofbooks, now exceeding 25,000 volumes, is placed in Juxon’s
have suites of apartments within the palace, as well as the hall, a fine apartment, forming part of the ancient palace
great officers of the household and the guards on duty. There is a chapel and a vestry adjoining, in which are many
There is a chapel for the household and also a German portraits of several prelates, and in the banqueting-hall are
chapel, where divine service is performed after the Lutheran portraits of all the archbishops from Laud to the present de¬
form in the German language. nitary. By the magnificence and taste of the present arch-
In passing by Westminster Bridge to the right bank of bishop, the domestic part of the palace has been gi-eatly en-
the Thames, we reach the newly erected borough of Lam- larged; a new Gothic wing of great beauty, designed by Mr
beth, where the palace belonging to the Archiepiscopal see Blore, having been erected at an expense of more than
of Canterbury is well entitled to notice. L.52,000. The whole of the interior is fitted up in a style
Lambeth, in the earliest period of which there are any of simple beauty, oak pannelling pervading the edifice, and
accounts, was a royal manor, and had a palace, in which contrasting finely with the fretted ceilings and ornaments.
King Hardycanute died, after a feast, in 804, and where The study of the archbishop is a noble apartment, forty
Harold is said to have seized the crown, and placed it upon feet by twenty; the drawing-room is also of fine propor-
liis own head. It was then a part of the estate of Goda, tions, commanding, from the ample bay-window, a pleasing
who became successively the wife of Walter Earl of Man- prospect of the gardens, and a peep at the abbey and the
tis, and of Eustace Earl of Boulogne ; she presented it to bridge through the foliage.
the church of Rochester, but reserved to herself the eccle- Not far from Lambeth is the Surrey Zoological Garden,
dastical patronage. It became, in 1197, the property of in which there is a collection of various animals, with a den
the see of Canterbury, by exchange with Rochester; but and pole for bears, a cottage for the wapiti and camel, a ruin
for eagles, folds for deer, and a variety of sheds, &c. for
547
London.
the bishop of the latter preserved a small piece of land, on
which a house was built for the residence of the bishops,
when they were attending on parliament, called Rochester
Place. One of the bishops, John de Shepy, in 1357, built
Stangate Stairs, to accommodate himself and his retinue,
when he had occasion to cross the river to Westminster.
The palace had been built by Bishop Boniface near two
:cnturies before, but, between .1414 and 1443, was much
mproved by the munificent Bishop Chichley. He founded
he Lollards’ Tower, which was a prison for those suspect-
id of heresy, in which are still to be seen rings, to which
t is said the followers of Wickliffe were fastened when tor-
ured. Hilsley and Fisher occupied this palace when it fell
uto the hands of Henry VIII., who exchanged it with the
iishop of Carlisle for some houses in the Strand, and it
ras then known by the name of Carlisle House.
During the civil wars in the reign of Charles L, Lam-
icth, like other ecclesiastical property, suffered severely.
| The fine works of art, and the sacred memorials of the
lead, were in most cases sacrificed to puritanical barbarism;
I o that when, after the restoration, Juxon was appointed to
he see, he found it a heap of ruins. During his short pri-
iacy, he did much to restore it to its former condition, and
uilt a noble apartment, which was afterwards converted
! ito a library.
The founder of the library was Archbishop Bancroft,
ho left to it all his books, as did his successor Abbot; and
has been increased by the several eminent prelates who
ave since filled the see, so that at present the collection
ontains more than twenty-five thousand volumes, besides
lany valuable manuscripts. (See the Article Libraries.)
Gien the long parliament had abolished episcopacy, and
ie palace was delivered to one of their party, the regicide
cott, this valuable library was preserved from destruction,
various beasts and birds. There is a fine piece of water,
and an elegant circular glass-house surrounding the cages
of the animals. The whole is laid out with much taste,
and excites great delight in the visitors.
Though the government of the far greater portion of the Corpora-
metropolis is under the immediate direction of the Secre-tion of
tary of State for the Home Department, and is adminis- London,
tered by means of the magistrates and the police; yet that
part which is usually denominated the city, and which is in
the strictest sense London, is under the superintendence of
an ancient corporation, which possesses great power and
extensive property, and is therefore entitled to a somewhat
minute description.
The rise of the corporation has already been traced, in
the historical view at the commencement of this article.
In its frame it bears a strong resemblance to the British
constitution. It is composed of three grades; of a Lord
Mayor, the executive officer, of a permanent body, the
court of aldermen, and an annually-appointed body, the
court of common-council In the latter body the aldermen
have seats and votes, and therein it differs from the relation
that exists between the Lords and Commons. All of these
are chosen by the citizens by a majority of votes, when the
choice is not determined by the show of hands. The Lord
Mayor is chosen annually, but is capable of being re-elect¬
ed. The right of voting for this dignity is restricted to
those freemen who have been admitted into the livery of
their respective companies. The restrictions on the choice
are, that the person proposed to fill it must be an alderman,
must have previously served the office of sheriff, and must
be one of two chosen by the livery, and returned to the
court of aldermen, who finally determine which of the two
shall be invested with the dignity. The aldermen are ap-
548
LONDON.
London, pointed during life. They are chosen for a particular di-
——vision of the city, called the ward, and in the election all
resident freemen are entitled to a vote, whether they have
been admitted into the livery of their companies or not. Af¬
ter the election, however, the court of aldermen has the
power of rejecting the individual as a member of their body,
in which case the election is declared void, and another must
be made choice of. If, at the second election, the same
person have a majority of votes, those votes are considered
as null, and the next on the poll is invested with the dig¬
nity. From this choice an appeal may be made to the Court
of King’s Bench, when the reason for the rejection must
be made out to the satisfaction of that tribunal, as happened
in the only instance which occurred in modern times. The
city is divided into twenty-six wards, each of which has its
alderman, and a deputy appointed by him. One of these
wards, called the Bridge Without, which was composed of
the houses standing on London Bridge, has long ceased to
contain any habitations, and the senior alderman is always
removed from the ward which chose him, and is installed
as alderman of the Bridge ward, and his former place filled
by a new choice.
The whole of the common council is chosen on St Tho¬
mas’s day for the succeeding year; but the former mem¬
bers may be, and for the most part are, rechosen. As the
extent of the several wards differs very materially, so does
the number, but not in exact proportion, of their represen¬
tatives in the court of common council. The wards of
Bassishaw and Lime Street have four each; Portsoken has
five; Aldgate, Coleman Street, Cornhill, and Queenhithe,
have six each ; Aldersgate, Candlewick, Cordwainers, Dow-
gate, and Walbrook, have eight each; Vintry has nine;
Broad Street, Castle-Baynard, Billingsgate, and Langbourn,
have ten each; Bread Street, Cheap, and Tower, have
twelve each; Bishopsgate has fourteen; Bridge Within,
fifteen; Cripplegate and Farringdon Without, sixteen; and
Farringdon Within, seventeen. The ward of Bridge With¬
out can elect none, now that it has no inhabitants. Thus
the whole number is two hundred and forty, with which are
combined the twenty-six aldermen, making a deliberative
assembly of two hundred and sixty-six members, of which
the Lord Mayor is always president. They meet in a com¬
modious apartment at Guildhall, where the aldermen have
an elevated row of seats at one end; but their votes are
counted with those of the common council, who are seated
on the floor. The proceedings of this assembly are con¬
ducted with regularity, the business of each day being an¬
nounced to the members by printed notices. Order is
maintained by the power of the Lord Mayor, who, if the
debate should become intemperate, can, of his own will,
close the sitting, by ordering the mace to be removed.
The law-officers of the corporation, the Recorder and Com¬
mon Sergeant, have seats in the court, but no votes, though
they mingle in the proceedings, as far as these are connect¬
ed with legal subjects.
Besides these bodies, two important offices are filled by
persons who may or may not be members of the corpora¬
tion. They are the two sheriffs,who are the executive of¬
ficers, not only of the city of London, but of the county of
Middlesex. To them all writs are directed, and they have
the custody of all prisoners, and the painful duty of super¬
intending the execution of all penal laws. It is an honour¬
able office, but an expensive one, unless (which is said to be
no uncommon practice of late) the profits of the office of
under sheriff are divided between that officer and the high
sheriff, who appoints him. The sheriffs are chosen exclu¬
sively by the livery, from amongst the freemen. It is
customary, on a fixed festival, for the Lord Mayor to drink
to the health of a number of gentlemen, which is supposed
to be a recommendation of them to the office of sheriff,
and such persons frequently compound by a sum of money
for not being called upon to serve it. It is not, however,
requisite that the health of a person should be drank in this'
way, as any liveryman, without notice, may propose a sheriff
and he may be chosen, by having a party of his supporters
collected in the Guildhall on the day of election, when very
few persons attend, if no previous expectation of a contest
exists. In this way improper persons have sometimes been
chosen, who would not have been elected, if any opposition
followed by a poll, had been previously arranged. In such
cases, the character of the other sheriff, and the ancient
practice of the city, counteract any bad influence or effect
which might arise from such an appointment.
The principal legal officer of the corporation is the Re¬
corder, commonly a barrister of eminence. He is chosen
by the court of aldermen alone, and for life. He had a
salary of L.2500, and besides, might practise as an advocate
at the assizes in the counties ; but recently, on account of
the increase of business, by the act including parts of Kent,
Surrey, and Essex within the city criminal court, the salary
has been increased to L.3500, and he is not now allowed to
practise as an advocate. Next to him is the common Ser¬
jeant, who is also a barrister. He is chosen by the com¬
mon council, and has a salary of L.1500 per annum. Both
of these officers sit as judges in the trial of criminal offences
committed either within the city of London, or the coun¬
ty of Middlesex, or in those parts of Surrey, Kent, and
Essex, which, by the law, have been brought within the
limits of the jurisdiction of the court held in the Old Bailey.
The chamberlain is an officer of high dignity and ample
emolument. He is chosen by the livery at large, and only
for one year, but is most commonly rechosen each year,
and in regard to long practice, it may be considered as an
office for life. He has the care of the money of the cor¬
poration, for which he gives sufficient security. All free¬
men are admitted by him to their freedom upon taking the
prescribed oaths; and he has the settlement of all disputes
between masters and apprentices. Besides these offices
are those of the city remembrancer, the city solicitor, the
town-clerk, and the city comptroller, which are import¬
ant and lucrative, and many inferior officers, most of whom,
as vacancies occur, are chosen by the court of common
council by ballot.
The dignity and power of the first city officer, the Lord
Mayor, is very great. He becomes, when sworn in, the
king’s representative in the civil government of the city;
the chief commissioner of the lieutenancy ; perpetual coro¬
ner and escheator within the city and liberties of the city
and borough of Southwark ; chief justice of oyer and ter¬
miner, and gaol delivery of Newgate ; judge of the courts
of Wardmote at the election of aldermen ; conservator of
the rivers Thames and Medway ; chief commissioner in all
affairs relating to the river Lea; and chief butler to the
king at the coronation, for which, as a fee, he is entitled to
a gold cup, with a cover and a ewer of gold.
The office is one of the most constant attendance, and
such are the restraints of its duties during the year, that
whoever undertakes it, usually arranges his commercial af¬
fairs so as to be able to withdraw his attention from them al¬
together, and devote his whole time to the public service.
A salary, in some measure appropriate to the dignity of the
office, is annually allowed by the corporation, amounting to
L. 8000, besides the use of the magnificent mansion-house
as a residence, and the splendid furniture and carriages which
have been provided. In the case of liberal and hospitable
Lord Mayors this sum has been considerably below the ac¬
tual expenditure, but with some it has been found sufficient,
and a few have been so parsimonious, that they have not
nearly expended the amount voted for the support of the
office.
One of the greatest occasions of expense consists in the
annual procession by land and water, on what is called the
Londoi
LONDON.
549
Lor^
/into
I the
at an
ringe
prot'6
state
COfflp
scribe
then
hall)*
when
river!
his L
towh
then
Toth
}layo
ahund
these
the sv
then)'
pi by
pan,!
seijea
procet
day cl
magn
royal
often
indivii
areac
on. (Lord Mayor’s Day, the 9th of November, when he enters
—-''•nto office. On that occasion the new Lord Mayor meets
lie aldermen, sheriffs, recorder, and other great officers,
t an early hour at the Guildhall, whence, in the state car-
iage, attended by them in their respective carriages, he
iroceeds to London Bridge, where they embark in the city
tate barge, and, accompanied by the barges of the city
ompanies, proceed up the river, and land at Westminster
•Bridge. The party walk to Westminster Hall, where his
^ordship, after some ancient ceremonies, takes the pre-
cribed oaths before the Barons of the Exchequer. He
hen passes with the recorder to each of the courts in the
lall, and invites the several judges.to dinner on that day,
idien he again embarks, and the procession descends the
iverto Blackfriars Bridge and there lands. From thence
lis Lordship is preceded by the artillery company, next
o which march the company of which he is a member, and
hen the other city companies in their regular order, with
heir distinguishing banners and bands of music ; amongst
he rest, the armourers have usually persons on horseback,
ompletely equipped in various kinds of ancient armour,
fo these succeed the domestics and servants of the Lord
f day or, and then the state coach, finely ornamented with
hundance of gilding, and so large as to contain between
he seats two stools, on one of which, facing the door, sits
he sword-bearer with the sword of state, and on the other
he mace-bearer carrying the city mace. The train is clos-
:d by the carriages of the retired Lord Mayor, of the alder-
nan, the recorder, the sheriffs, the chamberlain, the common
erjeant, the town-clerk, and other great officers, and the
irocession returns to the Guildhall. This annual proces-
ion excites great interest both on land and water, and ex¬
hibits an extraordinary display of municipal splendour. The
lay closes at Guildhall by an entertainment of appropriate
nagnificence, at which it is common to see members of the
oyal family, the most distinguished public characters, and
iften the ambassadors of foreign courts. About a thousand
ndividuals take their seats at this dinner, to which they
re admitted by tickets from the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs,
who, in fixed proportions, bear their share of the expense,
which generally amounts to about L. 3000.
Under the corporation of London criminal justice is ex¬
tensively administered. At the sessions the Lord Mayor
is supposed to preside even when the judges are trying pri¬
soners, and the presence of at least one alderman is deem¬
ed necessary. The Lord Mayor sits daily at the Mansion-
house for the examination of offenders, and the committal
of prisoners for trial; and an alderman, on fixed days in
each week, attends for the same purpose at Guildhall, the
aldermen being all ex officio justices of the peace. There
are inferior courts for the recovery of small debts, and some
for the determination of civil causes, such as the Lord
Mayor’s Court, the Court of Hustings, the Sheriffs’ courts,
and some others.
The management of the great estates and other property
belonging to the corporation require much attention. The
care devolves on the court of common council, which, for this
purpose, is divided into committees, that regulate whatever
relates to the several divisions into which the property is
classed, but under the ultimate direction of the general
court. Each of these committees has one or more aider-
men nominated as members of it, and the other members
are appointed by the court in regular rotation. The com¬
mittees which have the most business to transact are those
of the Irish estates, of the city lands, and of the bridge
estates; but there are several others, some of them perma¬
nent, and others only appointed as occasions require their
formation.
This sketch of the corporation of London might have
been fuller and more minute if the report of the Com¬
missioners of Municipal Corporation inquiry had been
printed. It may be proper, however, to notice the gene¬
ral apprehension, that all corporate bodies will, in a few
years, present a different appearance from that which they
have hitherto done ; and that London, though the last, will
certainly undergo a renovation, which may render any
greater extension of this branch of our subject an unneces¬
sary and uninteresting enlargement.
London.
550
LON
LON
London,
New
London¬
derry.
London, New., a city and port of entry in the United
States of North America, in New London county, Con¬
necticut. It is situated on the western bank of the river
Thames, three miles from its mouth, and thirteen miles
I south of Norwich. The town is irregularly laid out, but
has convenient public buildings, and churches for Congre-
gationalists, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Methodists. New
London harbour is the best in the state; and packets and
steam-boats ply regularly between the port and New York.
It is defended by Fort Trumbull on the west side of the
river, and by Fort Griswold on the east side. There is
likewise a lighthouse, which has been erected on a point
projecting pretty far into the sound. A considerable com¬
merce is carried on, both in the coasting trade with the
southern states, and in foreign trade with the West Indies.
The population amounted in 1821 to 3330, and in 1831 to
4356. Long. 72. 9. W. Lat. 41. 22. N.
LONDONDERRY, a maritime county in the province
of Ulster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the At¬
lantic, on the east by the county of Down, on the south
by that of Tyrone, and on the west by Donegal and
Lough Foyle. The area is imperfectly triangular. Its
greatest length is from the point of Magilligan, at the en¬
trance of Lough Foyle, to Cookstown, a distance of fifty,
two miles; its greatest breadth, from the western point of
the liberties of Londonderry to Yow Ferry on the Bann,
is forty-four miles. It extends over a surface of 518,270
acres, of which 372,667 are cultivable land, 136,038 bog
or unprofitable mountain, and 9565 are under water.
According to Ptolemy, who is followed by Whitaker,
the tribe of the Robogdii were located here. Afterwards
it was the territory of the O'Canes, or O’Cathans, feuda¬
tories of the great O’Neil family. After the confiscation
of this latter chieftain’s princely estate, in consequence of
his abrupt flight into Spain at the commencement of the
reign of James L, this county, which formed part of its
northern portion, was parcelled out amongst twelve com¬
panies of London tradesmen, by whom, or their represen¬
tatives, the greater part of it is still held. Their names
are the drapers, salters, vintners, mercers, ironmongers,
merchant tailors, cloth-workers, haberdashers, fishmongers,
grocers, goldsmiths, and skinners, forming together a body
or corporation called the Irish Society. It is now divided
into thebaroniesofColeraine, Kenaught, Loughinsholin,and
Tyrkerrin, together with the liberties of Londonderry and
Coleraine, which have separate jurisdictions. In this ar¬
rangement it is remarkable that each of the two latter di¬
visions is situated beyond what may be deemed the na¬
tural boundaries of the county, the former lying west of
the river Foyle, and the latter east of the river Bann.
These greater divisions are subdivided into thirty-five
parishes, twenty-seven of which are in the diocese of Der¬
ry, five in that of Armagh, and three in that of Connor.
The diocese of Derry is much larger, both as to num¬
ber of parishes and extent of surface, than the county,
comprehending, besides the twenty-seven parishes above
named as being within the civil boundary, ten in Done¬
gal, eleven in Tyrone, and part of a parish in Antrim.
By a curious anomaly, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the
parishes in the liberties of Coleraine belongs to the Bishop
of Down and Connor. The seat of the see is in the city
of Derry, where is the cathedral, a building in the Gothic
style, erected in 1633. The chapter consists of a dean,
an archdeacon, and three prebendaries.
The neighbourhood of the great Western Ocean, and
the height of the mountain ranges, which either intersect
or skirt the county, may account for the fall of a consider¬
able quantity of rain ; yet the popular notion of the pecu¬
liar wetness of the climate here arises more from the fre¬
quency of showers than from the amount of water dis¬
charged by them. The maximum annual quantity of rain,
during a period of seven years, did not amount to thirty-
five inches, the minimum twenty-five inches. The aver¬
age of rain taken during a period of seven years here
and at Keswick in Cumberland, and Kendal in Westmore¬
land, exhibits the following results :
Maximum. Minimum. Average.
Londonderry 35 26 31 inches.
Keswick or Kendal....84 34 68
Neither does it appear that the north-west wind, so pre¬
valent here, however unfavourable to vegetable, is at all
injurious to animal life. On the contrary, the most re¬
markable instances of longevity have been found on the
coast, and in the peninsula of Magilligan. Several in¬
stances have occurred of the extension of human life to
ninety and even to a hundred and ten years.
The surface of the county presents an appearance of
valleys separated from each other by ridges of rugged, but
not very elevated mountains, and expanding, as they
approach the coast, into alluvial plains. The most ele¬
vated of the mountains are, Sawel, 2236 feet high ; Slieve
Gallen, 1730 feet; Cairntogher, 1521 feet; Donald’s Hill,
1310 feet; Benyevenagh, 1262 feet; and Legavannon,
1290 feet.
The principal river is the Roe, which, receiving as it flows
in a northerly direction the tributary streams of the Owen-
beg, Owenmore, Gelvan, Castle, and Curley, discharges it¬
self into Lough Foyle; it is subject to sudden and violent
floods. The mud deposited near its mouth forms shifting
banks, which prevent it from being a useful port for small
craft, otherwise the channel is deep enough to be navi¬
gated for two miles by flat-bottomed barges. The Faghan
rises in the south, and discharges itself into Lough Foyle
near Culmore. The Moyola takes a south-eastern course,
and falls into Lough Neagh. A small portion only of the
fine navigable river Foyle belongs to the county, passing
in its course through the liberties of Londonderry. It is
navigable for vessels of large burden as far as the city of
Londonderry, and thence to Lifford in Donegal for lighters
of twenty tons. The Bann, from Lough Neagh, forms the
eastern boundary until it approaches Coleraine, where it
separates the barony from the liberties of the town. The
navigation of this river is impeded by shoals, which form a
dangerous bar.
The valleys formed by these rivers, and their subordi¬
nate branches, are called slacks. That of the Faghan pre¬
sents some scenery that is peculiarly picturesque, as also
does that called the slack of Feeny, a pass which connects
the valleys of the Faghan and the Roe. Several glens dis¬
charge their streams into this slack; the most beautiful
is that of Fin-Glen. On the western side of the ridge of
Benyevenagh there is a very uncommon surface called a
shaking quag, and also named the Gray Lough. It spreads
over many acres. Cattle can pass freely through it in
summer, yet at every step the soil yields to the pressure,
communicating an undulating motion all around. The
surface is broken in every direction by pits full of water
of unfathomable depth, and all invariably rectangular pa¬
rallelograms, very much resembling tan-pits. The quag
is surrounded by declivities on almost every side-, and
therefore it is difficult to account for the cause of its re¬
taining such a quantity of water without any apparent
supply. The structure of its margin, formed of stratified
substances covered with turf, may, however, account for the
retention of the water. There may have been a large lake
here, which, by the interlacing roots of the aquatic plants,
is now covered with a kind of network that supports the
foot, except in places where the workings of the surface
produce a fissure. But the cause of this extraordinary re¬
gularity of shape in the pits thus formed still remains with¬
out satisfactory explanation. The only lake is Lough
Finn, situated in the confines of Tyrone; it is of very in*
b
551
.Lofldo'
rderr.v
tof
If Cl
ilieej
saltic
the f
iseaj
Tt
Iricts
ter, i
ofba
nizati
»est,
ralvi
by a
quart
abed
place;
sea td
Hone
Saadi
easier
brigh
stone
°f th
colon
even
in n
’eins
LONDONDERRY.
considerable dimensions. Lough Neagh touches the
county in a small portion of its south-eastern boundary.
The small port of Ballyronan, in the north-west angle of
the lough, affords accommodation for sloops of sixty tons
to load and unload. The fine inlet of the Atlantic called
Lough Foyle forms the principal part of the western boun¬
dary. Having a narrow entrance, but with ten fathoms
of water, between Culmore Fort and Magilligan Point, it
expands itself into a gulf of fifteen miles in length and se¬
ven in breadth, with a channel fourteen fathoms deep at
low wrater, but of difficult navigation from its great nar¬
rowness.
The soil in the northern part, along the sea-coast, is a
stiff and reddish clay, interspersed with knolls of basalt,
and resting on a substratum of white lime, which occasion¬
ally shows itself on the surface. Near the mouth of the
Roe is an extensive tract of a marly nature, formed of
layers of ouze and shells alternating to a depth of several
feet. Fossil shells are frequently found in the ditches. The
lands lying between the loamy soil in the low grounds and
the higher wastes are either of a blue clay with fragments
of quartz, slate, and a shallow covering of peat moss, or a
shingle of slate interspersed with red ochreous sand or
with gravel and loam. Above the lime is the region of
the basalt, and the soil is thenceforth without clay, being
merely an oxide of the softer parts of this ironstone, hav¬
ing neither cohesion nor strength, and producing little
but potatoes and straw. The country people significant¬
ly call it draff land. Yet its summits are admirable as
sheep walks; for, how high soever the elevation of a ba¬
saltic mountain may be, if the immediate substratum be of
the fossil known by the name of zeolite trap, the soil is
fertile and the herbage sweet, presenting an elegant car¬
peting of shamrock, daisy, butter-cup, and plantain, which
is eagerly browsed on by sheep.
The valley of the Roe divides the county into two dis¬
tricts, totally different in respect to their geological charac¬
ter. On the west lies the territory of schist, on the east that
of basalt, each accompanied with its peculiar fossil orga¬
nization. The prevalent species of schist is a kind of flag-
rock or schistose mica, next to which in quantity is the la¬
minated schist or flag, the dip of which is generally north¬
west. The great mountain of Sawel is composed of seve¬
ral varieties of this rock, surmounted towards the summit
by amorphous whinstone, interspersed with blocks of
quartz. Slieve Gallen is also a mass of basalt, resting upon
a bed of granite, which emerges from beneath in various
places. Limestone may be found everywhere, from the
sea to Benbradagh. The most remarkable cavern on the
coast is in the white limestone; it is very appropriately
called the Robber’s Cave, having at one time been the
asylum of a formidable banditti. A species of blue lime¬
stone has been used for various architectural purposes.
Sandstone is universally found below the basalt, and is oc¬
casionally intermingled with schist. A species of it, of a
bright tawny colour, not unlike to that of the Portland
stone, is raised in large quantities near Dungiven. Many
of the principal buildings are constructed of it. Coal has
not yet been discovered in any quantities deserving of no¬
tice. Iron is found in great abundance, either in an ochre¬
ous state, or mixed with manganese, when it is known by
the name of bog ore or woad. The base of Sawel is a mass
of martial pyrites mingled with schist. To the abundance
of this metal in the peat moss is to be attributed the red
colour of the ashes, which are so heavy as to keep in heaps
even in a breeze of wind. The metal was formerly smelt¬
ed, but the operation has been ultimately relinquished as
an unprofitable speculation. Copper and lead, in small
veins, have been discovered. Boate states that pure gold
bad been found in a rivulet which discharges itself into
Lough Neagh ; but the fact has not been substantiated
by subsequent discoveries, further than that some speci¬
mens of quartz have been observed to contain thin la¬
minae of that metal. Quartz and flint are common in all >
parts. The flint sometimes exhibits marine impressions,
the quartz never. As to crystals, they are of great variety.
Zeolite, in rose-cut surfaces, in points, and in thistledown,
all beautiful, are common in basalt. The rock-crystals
are found exclusively in the schistose regions. They are
harder than those found in Kerry. In shape they are
truncated prisms of six sides and six facets, and weigh
from two to twelve ounces. In all the mountains com¬
posed of pyritic schist the streamlets show strong indica¬
tions of iron, to such a degree, indeed, that in some places
the water is not fit for drinking.
The population has increased progressively from the
earliest period at which any probable estimate of its
amount was made, as appears by the statements from the
following authorities:—
Year. Authority. ofUSoul&
1760 De Burgho 46,182
1792 Beaufort 125,000
1813 Parliamentary census... 186,181
1821 Ditto 193,869
1831 Ditto 222,116
The last of these estimates gives an average of one in¬
habitant to every two and a third acres throughout the
county, or to every one and a fifth acre of cultivable land.
The county was represented in the imperial parliament
by eight members, two for the county at large, and two
for each of the boroughs of Londonderry, Coleraine, and
Newtown-Limavady. The act of union reduced the num¬
ber of borough members to one each for Londonderry and
Coleraine. This arrangement still continues.
The state of public education, according to the official
returns in 1821 and 1824-26, is as follows:
Year. Boys. Girls. ^ex not
1821, 4610 2111
1824-6, 5836 7925 135
In religious persuasion, the numbers stated in the lat¬
ter of these returns stand thus:—Of the Established
Church 2446, Roman Catholics 4494, Dissenters 6695, be¬
sides 255 whose religious tenets were not ascertained.
According to the same return, the number of schools was
380, out of which, forty-nine, affording instruction to 3119
children, were supported by grants of public money; fifty-
three, affording instruction to 2748 children, were main¬
tained by the voluntary contributions of individuals or so¬
cieties ; whilst the remaining 278 schools, in which 8023
children were educated, depended wholly on the fees of
the pupils. The diocesan school in the city affords the
means of liberal education to the sons of the gentry. It
is an extensive and well-conducted establishment. The
endowment consists of a salary from the London Society,
and a subscription from the bishop and beneficed clergy.
A mercantile school in Coleraine has also been endowed
by the same society.
The treatment of arable ground differs little from that
generally practised throughout the province. The prin¬
cipal crops are barley, oats, and potatoes; the implements
the Scotch and Irish ploughs ; the manures sea-weed, and
composts of which it forms a part, near the coast, and lime
and turf-mould in the interior. In Magilligan, the mossy
sands are alternately ploughed and laid up in meadow.
T he fiorin grass springs up luxuriantly here. Amongst the
more uncommon species of grasses may be mentioned the
Parnassiapalustris, commonly called crottel, in Irish crou-
tuil; when manufactured, it produces the litmus, turnsol-
blue or archil. Extensive dairies are uncommon ; the care
of milk and butter forms generally a part of the domes-
ascertained.
Total.
6,721
13,890
London¬
derry.
552
LONDONDERRY.
London-
deny.
tic economy of the working farmer. Sheep are mostly
brought in at fairs from other districts. There are no
herds of goats in the mountains, but individually they are
found in many of the habitations of the cottiers. Magil-
ligan contains a very large rabbit-warren, extending over
1500 acres. The annual number of skins sent out of it is
2000; they are sold by auction to the Dublin hatters.
The poultry are large. Geese are both large and abundant.
They fatten in summer on the vetches and tares which
abound in the bottoms, in autumn on the stubble, and in
winter on the potato-ridge. Wild and sea fowl are abun¬
dant. The county was once remarkable for the quantity
of honey it produced; latterly the produce has decreased.
The linen manufacture is the staple here, and contri¬
butes greatly to the comfortable support of the popula¬
tion. The yarn and linen are generally of a coarser staple
than in the neighbouring county of Antrim. Sacking is
made of the tow-yarn. Potteries, in which the coarser
kinds of earthenware are manufactured, are carried on in
some places. There are several large distilleries and
breweries, and some salt-works. One of the most produc¬
tive salmon-fisheries in Ireland is on the Bann, near Cole¬
raine. Lampreys are caught at low water at the mouth of
the same river. Eels are plentiful in all the streams. The
sea furnishes most kinds of fish taken upon other parts of
the coast. The sturgeon and sun-fish have been caught in
Lough Foyle. An unique specimen of the opah or king-
fish was thrown on shore upon the sands of Magilligan.
Whales of various species have also been taken on the
coast. The seal, porpoise, and grampus are frequent. A
species of the pearl mussel has been found in the rivulet
which flows through Claady into the Bann.
The residences of the nobility, and landed proprietors
of large fortune, are elegant, and in some instances mag¬
nificent. Two mansions, erected by the Earl of Bristol,
who had been Bishop of Derry, the one at Downhill, the
other at Ballyscullion, were constructed in a style of Gre¬
cian architecture. The latter has been suffered to fall into
ruin. The habitations of the farmers in some of the
richest districts, where stone is scarce, are built of clay,
and almost universally covered with thatch ; presenting,
however, with few exceptions, an appearance of comfort
and good order. In all cases, they are built and kept in
repair by the tenant. In the houses on the Antrim side
of the Bann, the fire-place is advanced some feet from the
gable-wall, so that the family can nearly sit round it. It
does not appear that the nuisance of smoke is so much
felt in houses thus constructed as in those in other parts
of the country, in which its smell, and its action upon the
eyes, are very offensive to strangers. In the districts
where lime is plentiful, the outside of the cabin is white¬
washed, and sometimes roughcast; whence, amongst the
wildest mountains, scenes of domestic neatness often un¬
expectedly arrest the eye. Coal is little burned in the
country parts. In the open and more fertile districts,
which are consequently most thickly peopled, the peat
mosses are nearly exhausted. In such situations, when
the turf can no longer be cut, it is collected into heaps of
wet mire, and moulded by the hand. It is then called
baked turf, and makes bad fuel. Providence seems to have
compensated the dreary exposure of the mountain dis¬
tricts, by affording them plenty of turbary, which has al¬
lured a crowded population to every arable spot, however
remote or dreary, where turf is to be had in plenty. The
article, when prepared for fuel, is carried down to the low¬
lands on slide cars, through winding ruts, which present
to the inexperienced eye insuperable difficulties in the
way of its transit. Bog fir is used amongst the wealthier
classes as a good substitute for cannel coal. The cottier
cuts it up into laths, called splits, not thicker than the
blade of a knife. These are used instead of candles, and
serve to give light enough to guide the operations of hum- fond
ble domestic industry during the long winter evenings. derr
The manners of the common people exhibit much kind-
ness and courtesy. A stranger, on visiting the cabin, is
offered a chair brought from the inner apartment. A re¬
markable tone of piety pervades their usual conversation.
Few make a promise for the future without adding, “ with
the help of God,” or some other phrase of similar import.
They talk much of “ the second means,” and, through an
over confidence in providential interference, often disre¬
gard human aids in cases of sickness. Superstitious no¬
tions are prevalent, some of them in common with those
in other parts of Ulster, others more peculiar to themselves.
When the cottier’s cow is supposed to be “ elf-shot,” re¬
course is not had to animal medicines, but salt and water
poured on three halfpence and a petrified sea-urchin called
“ the fairy’s bullet,’’and common in limestone, is deemed an
infallible remedy. The weasel is accounted “ sawncy,”
that is, lucky, about the house. If a cow dies in calving, her
flesh must be eaten by “ Christians,” and not given to the
dogs. There is an almost insurmountable objection to
taking an oath according to the usual form. It is most
prevalent amongst the seceders, to whose prejudices in this
respect the legislature has wisely yielded, by accepting
their testimony on asseveration with uplifted hand. At
weddings, amongst the Scotch part of the population, the
bridegroom and his friends vie with each other in being the
first to gallop to the house of the bride. During the race
they are greeted with shots from guns and pistols in every
village they pass through. A bowl of broth, called “ brose,”
stands ready prepared at the winning-post, as the reward
for the victor in the race. The forms of an Irish wadding
in the mountain districts are very different. However
suitable the match may be to the wishes of all parties, it
is considered as but a sorry exploit unless the bride be run
away with. After a few days the parties return, and a li¬
beral carouse, to which every well-wisher of either party
is expected to contribute, forms the celebration of a kind
of second nuptial.
The most remarkable relic of ancient fortification is the
Giant’s Sconce, situated in the pass between Drumbo and
Largantea. It was formed on an isolated knoll of basalt,
difficult of access on all sides but the north-east, where art
has supplied the deficiency by a wall of massive masonry.
The interior was hollowed, as if for a receptacle for men
and stores ; whilst a covered way, admitting only one per¬
son in a stooping posture to pass at a time, surrounded the
whole. Several cromleachs are still in existence, some of
them surrounded by a circle of upright pillars, somewhat
like Stonehenge. The most remarkable is that at Slacht
Manus. Cairns are too numerous to admit of special notice.
To the present time they are kept up, if not enlarged, by
the custom of travellers adding a stone to them as they
pass. Danish ditches are sometimes dug up. Sepulchral
pillars are numerous, and one peculiarly remarkable stands
near Dungiven. Artificial caverns, evidently constructed
for the concealment of men and property, are frequently
discovered. They are rudely built of stone, without ce¬
ment ; and flags or long stones form the roof. They consist
of narrow galleries, some at right angles with the main en¬
trance, others parallel to it. The entrance is usually con¬
cealed by a rock or grassy sod. Moats, the body of which
seems to have been formed of the earth thrown out of the
foss, have been found. These enclosures are too low for
safety or strength, and so small as not to contain more
than thirty persons. Coins, antique pins, rings, and forks,
were found in one of them. Castles of acknowledged
Irish erection are few. That of Carrickreagh is looked up¬
on as amongst the most ancient. Near Ballyaghran was an¬
other. Both are said to have been residences of the family
of the M‘Quillans. Pieces of pit-coal, found in the cement
of
recast1
T
Den
prest
jffO
(ano:
Ben
to cor
fas s
ami
Th
of thi
•preai
merit,
plant
lyron
iion o
ike Ir
sainin'
Ike ot
Urocr
«f 168
voi
LONDONDERRY.
553
" .dot; of the walls, lead to the opinion that the operations of
jerry- miners were practised in those remote ages. Some of the
'castellated mansions of the first English settlers, with
their bawns, are still in a state of preservation ; as at Kil-
lolod, Dungiven, Salterstown, and Muff.
The most ancient monastic building is the abbey of
Derry, founded by Columbkill in the sixth century. The
present cathedral stands on its site. At Coleraine were
two monasteries, one of Dominicans, the other of regular
canons. At Camus, on the Bann, was a very celebrated
monastic structure, attributed to St Comgal. The only
remains of it at present existing are the fort, with a pillar
curiously carved. The remains of the abbey of Dungiven
are the most interesting in the county. It was the burial-
place of the O’Cahans or O’Kanes, several of whose tombs
have resisted the attacks of time. The principal monu¬
ment is that of one of the chieftains, named Cooey-na-gal.
There is a tower at the north-west side of the building,
and a sepulchral pillar placed on an artificial mount. A
smaller tumulus in the vicinity, when opened, was found
to contain an urn of earthenware with bones. The urn
was surrounded with white stones. Other tumuli, when
examined, exhibit similar results.
The city of Londonderry is situated at the western side
of the river Foyle, near to its junction with the lough,
spreading itself over the summit and sides of a hill, which
here projects into the river, and which was once covered
with oak trees, whence the place derived the name of
Derry Calgach, “ the eminence covered with oaks,” which
it still partially retains. Its monastery first drew inhabi¬
tants thither. The town was entirely ecclesiastical, con¬
sisting almost exclusively of churches and the dwellings
of the clergy and their dependents. The English govern¬
ment, after having been baffled in several attempts to
plant a garrison here during the war against the Earl of
Tyrone, at length succeeded, in 1600, in gaining posses¬
sion of the place, and securing it against any efforts of
the Irish to dislodge them. It was surrounded with a
substantial wall, strengthened with bastions, and had four
main streets diverging at right angles from a point on the
summit of the hill, now called the Diamond, to a gate at
the other extremity of each. The strength of these for¬
tifications was tested in the subsequent wars of 1642 and
1688, in each of which the town maintained a successful
Stand against its besiegers. After a lapse of more than
two centuries, the walls still retain, in most parts, their
3riginal form and character. The external ditch, indeed,
has disappeared. The gates have been rebuilt in a more
ffegant style of architecture, and two new ones have been
idded. One bastion has been removed to make way for a
cutter-market, and another has been appropriated as the
site of a pillar commemorative of the military services of the
ffeverend George Walker during the memorable siege
cf 1688. In other respects the walls still remain unal¬
tered, now forming the ornament, as they were once the
protection, of the city. They are the favourite walk of London-
the inhabitants, frequented by the beauty and fashion of derry.
the city, and commanding, at various points, interesting
and extended views of a wooded and watered landscape.
The cathedral stands within the walls, in the southern
part of the city. It consists of a nave, divided into a cen¬
tral and lateral aisle, separated by pointed arches. The
chapel of ease is a plain rectangular structure, of small
dimensions. A free church, for the use of the poor, Was
opened in 1830, at the expense of the late bishop. There
are four meeting-houses, one for the Presbyterian or
Scotch church, a second for the Seceders, a third for the
Covenanters, and a fourth for the Independents. There
are also two Methodist chapels, and a Roman Catholic
chapel capable of accommodating 2000 persons. The
diocesan school is a simple but handsome stone edifice,
consisting of a central pavilion and two wings. It was
erected by grants from the London companies, and a large
contribution from the bishop. Near to it is the parish or
poor school, with accommodations for children of both
sexes. The corporation hall stands in the centre of the
Diamond. It is surrounded by a colonnade, with embat-
tlements ; and the same kind of military ornament sur¬
rounds its roof. The court-house exhibits much architec¬
tural beauty. The other more remarkable public build¬
ings are, the lunatic asylum, the infirmary and fever hos¬
pital, the gaol, the custom-house, the linen-hall, the bar¬
rack, and the magazine. The bridge is the peculiar boast
of Derry. It is built of wood, and extends in length 1068
feet, by a breadth of forty. A turning bridge, near the
centre, admits a free navigation to vessels going up the
river. Walker’s Testimonial is a pillar of the Roman Do¬
ric order, surmounted by a statue of that celebrated indi¬
vidual. Its height is ninety feet. The markets are good,
and well provided with accommodation for buyers and
sellers.
The municipal jurisdiction extends over a space of three
miles in every direction from the centre of the city. The
government is vested in a mayor, twelve aldermen, two
sheriffs, and twenty-four burgesses. The income of the
corporation arises from tolls on the bridges, tolls on the
market, rents of land and shambles, and tonnage and quay¬
age.
The progress of commerce may be estimated from the
custom-house receipts, which for eight years were as fol¬
low :
Years. L. Years. L.
1827  14,462 1831 73,512
1828  78,595 1832 74,377
1829  74,561 1833 74,049
1830  74,856 1834 72,871
The shipping of the port of Derry in 1760 consisted of
sixty-seven sail, of from thirty to three hundred and fifty
tons. 1 he following table exhibits the vessels employed
in the foreign and coasting trade for eight years.
Years.
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
Foreign.
Inwards.
No.
59
59
39
48
64
37
50
57
57
Tons.
10,450
9,961
6,686
7,537
10,989
6,286
10,310
11,294
10,406
Outwards.
No.
21
24
11
14
13
10
16
22
16
Tons.
5559
6132
2553
3865
2689
1989
4321
6845
4869
Coastwise.
Inwards.
No.
422
481
628
574
612
694
637
607
649
Tons.
32,632
42,165
50,243
48,912
51,088
58,955
62,032
63,879
63,726
Outwards.
No.
307
393
521
508
515
547
555
540
646
Tons.
20,498
34,233
45,083
43,347
42,986
44,351
50,303
52,952
62,502
VOL. XIII.
4 A
554
LON
LON
Long
Long
Island.
Hence it appears that the increase of shipping and com¬
merce has been wholly in the cross-channel trade. Of
the vessels included in that part of the table, the follow-
, ing were steamers :—
Year. No. Ton. Year. No. Ton. Year. No. Ton.
1829, 1 136 1831, 2 300 1833, 3 516
1830, 1 136 1832, 3 516 1834, 5 741
The population of the city at different periods has been
estimated as follows:—
Year.
. ,, .. Number
Authority. ofSoids.
  Pynnar .612
  Archbishop King 700
 Beaufort 10,000
 Irish Society 14,087
1821 Parliamen tary return... 9,313
1831 Ditto 10,130
1618
1690
1792
1814
Coleraine, the second town in importance, is situated
on the eastern or Antrim side of the Bann, near its mouth.
Like Londonderry, it owes its existence chiefly to the fos¬
tering care of the London companies. Some of the houses
built of frame or cage-work in the time of Elizabeth and
James I. are yet in preservation. According to the fashion
of those days, they have pent-ways or piazzas. The po¬
pulation at present amounts to 5752 souls. The other
more remarkable towns are, Newtown-Limavady, Maghera-
felt, Killreagh, Dungiven, Garvagh, Maghera, Money-
more, Tubbermore, Castledawson, and Bellaghy.
LONG, an epithet applied to whatever exceeds the usual
standard of length in its kind.
Long-Boat, the largest and strongest boat belonging
to any ship. It is principally employed in carrying great
burdens, as anchors, cables, ballast, and the like.
Long-Benton, a large parish of Castle-ward, in the
county of Northumberland, 281 miles from London. The
population amounted in 1801 to 3355, in 1811 to 4358, in
1821 to 5547, and in 1831 to 6613.
Long Island, an island of America, belonging to the
state of New York, about 120 miles in length and from ten
to twenty in breadth. It extends along the coast in the
form of a crescent, and is separated from the mainland
by a bay which communicates with the sea at both ends,
called Long Island Sound. The southern and western
parts are generally of a light soil, which, when well manur¬
ed, produces excellent crops of grain, especially Indian
corn. Towards the east and north the land becomes hilly,
and the soil much stronger, and a large quantity of wood
is there raised to supply the city of New York. A con¬
siderable portion has been laid out in orchards and nur¬
series, and, from the general high state of cultivation in
this island, it has sometimes been called the garden of the
United States. It is divided into three counties, King’s,
Queen’s, and Suffolk, and possesses many thriving towns
and villages, the principal of which are Brooklyn, Jamaica,
Sag Harbour, Flatbush, Flushing, Satauket, and Hunting-
ton. Brooklyn, the chief town, is a large and thriving
place, situated opposite the city of New York, with which
a regular communication is kept up by means of steam.
It is a compact and handsome town, having several public
buildings, various manufactories, a bank, and an exten¬
sive trade. To the north-east is the United States navy-
yard. The population of the town in 1830 was 15,394,
and that of the whole island 69,775.
Long Island, a small island, about forty miles in cir¬
cumference, situated off the coast of Papua, between the
ocean and Mysore island, and almost wholly unknown in
the interior. I
Long, Boger, master of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge,''
Lowndes professor of astronomy in that university, rector
of Cherryhinton in Huntingdonshire, and of Bradwell juxta
mare in Essex, was author of a treatise of astronomy, and
the inventor of a curious astronomical machine. The lat¬
ter is thus described by himself: “ I have, in a room
lately built in Pembroke Hall, erected a sphere of eighteen
feet diameter, wherein above thirty persons may sit con¬
veniently. The entrance into it is over the south pole by
six steps ; the frame of the sphere consists of a number of
iron meridians, not complete semicircles, the northern ends
of which are screwed to a large round plate of brass, with
a hole in the centre of it. Through this hole, from a beam
in the ceiling, comes the north pole, a round iron rod
about three inches long, and supports the upper parts of
the sphere to its proper elevation for the latitude of Cam¬
bridge. The lower part of the sphere, so much of it as is
invisible in England, is cut off; and the lower or southern
ends of the meridians, or truncated semicircles, terminate
on and are screwed down to a strong circle of oak, of
about thirteen feet diameter, which, when the sphere is
put into motion, runs upon large rollers of lignum-vitae, in
the manner that the tops of some windmills are made to
turn round. Upon the iron meridians is fixed a zodiac of
tin painted blue, whereon the ecliptic and heliocentric
orbits of the planets are drawn, and the constellations and
stars traced. When it is made use of, a planetarium will
be placed in the middle thereof. The whole, with the
floor, is well supported by a frame of large timber.” Dr
Long published a Commencement Sermon in 1728, and an
answer to Dr Galley’s pamphlet on Greek Accents; and
he died on the 16th of December 1770, at the age of
ninety-one.
LONGEVITY, the same as length of life. From the
different longevities of men in the beginning of the world,
after the Flood, and in subsequent ages, Mr Derham de¬
duces an argument for the interposition of a divine Pro¬
vidence. Immediately after the creation, when the world
was to be peopled by one man and one woman, the ordi¬
nary age was nine hundred and upwards. Immediately
after the Deluge, when there were only three persons to
stock the world, their age was cut shorter, and none of
those patriarchs excepting Shem arrived at five hundred.
In the second century we find none who reached two hun¬
dred and forty, and in the third none but Terah who arrived
at two hundred years; the world, at least a part of it, by
that time being so well peopled that they had built cities,
and cantoned themselves out into distinct nations. By
degrees, as the number of people increased, their longevity
diminished, until at length it came down to seventy or
eighty years. That the common duration of man’s life has
been the same in all ages since the above period, is plain
both from sacred and profane history. Plato lived until he
was eighty-one, and was accounted an old man ; and the
instances of longevity produced by Pliny (lib. vii. c. 48)
as very extraordinary may most of them be matched in
modern histories. In the following tables are collected
into one point of view the most memorable instances of
long-lived persons of whose respective ages we have any
authentic records.
T P
Alt
LON
L O N
jit
'culai
'pV"y
Names of the Persons.
Thomas Parre
Henry Jenkins
Robert Montgomery
James Sands
His Wife
Countess of Desmond
 Ecleston
J. Sagar
Simon Sack
Colonel Thomas Winslow
Francis Consist
Christ. J. Drakenberg
Francis Bons
James Bowels
John Tice
John Mount
A. Goldsmith
Mary Yates
John Bales
William Ellis
Janet Taylor
Susannah Hilliar
Ann Cockbolt
James Hayley
Age.
152
169
126
140
120
140
143
112
141
146
150
146
121
152
125
136
140
128
126
130
108
100
105
112
Places of Abode.
Shropshire
Yorkshire
Ditto
Staffordshire
Ditto
Ireland
Ditto
Lancashire
Trionia
Ireland
Yorkshire
Norway
France
Killingworth
Worcestershire
Scotland
France
Shropshire
Northampton
Liverpool
Fintray, Scotland
Piddington, Northamptonshire
Stoke-Bruerne, ibid.
Middlewich, Cheshire
555
Longford.
When they died.
/ Died November 16, 1635.
( Phil. Trans. No. 44.
fDied December 8, 1670.
\ Phil. Trans. No. 221.
Died in   1670.
J Ditto, Fuller s Worthies,
t P- 47.
Raleigh’s Hist. p. 166.
Died
1691.
  1668.
May 30, 1764.
August 26, 1766.
January ... 1768.
June 24, 1770.
February 6, 1769.
August 15, 1656.
March 1774.
February 27, 1766.
June ... 1776.
  1776.
April 5, 1776.
August 16, 1780.
October 10, 1780.
February 19, 1781.
April 5, 1775.
March 17, 1781.
Although longevity prevails more in certain districts of it in almost every quarter of the globe. This annenr,
than in others, yet it is by no means confined to any par- from the preceding table as well as from that if-^i •
ticular nation or climate; nor are there wanting instances here subjoined & at WhlCh IS
Names of the Persons.
Age.
Hippocrates, physician
Democritus, philosopher
Galen, physician
Albuna, Marc
Dumitur Raduly
Titus Fullonius
Abraham Paiba
L. Tertulla
Lewis Cornaro
Robert Blackeney, Esq.
Margaret Scott
W. Gulstone
J. Bright
William Postell
Jane Reeves
W. Paulet, marquis of)
Winchester j
John Wilson
Patrick Wian
M. Laurence
Evan Williams
John Jacobs
Matthew Tait
104
109
140
150
140
150
142
137
100
114
125
140
105
120
103
106
116
115
140
145
121
123
Places of Abode.
Where recorded.
Island of Cos
Abdera
Pergamus
Ethiopia
Haromszeck, Transylvania
Bononia
Charlestown, South Carolina
Ariminum
Venice
Armagh, Ireland
Dalkeith, Scotland
Ireland
Ludlow
France
Essex
Hampshire
Suffolk
Lesbury, Northumberland
Or cades
Caermarthen work-house
Mount Jura
Auchinleck, Ayrshire
Lynche on Health, chap, iii
Bacon’s History, 1095.
Voss. Inst. lib. iii.
Hakewell’s Ap. lib. i.
( Died January 18, 1782. Ge-
( neral Gazetteer, April 18.
Fulgosus, lib. viii.
General Gazetteer.
Fulgosus, lib. viii.
Bacon’s History of Life, p. 134.
General Gazetteer.
Inscription on her tomb there.
Fuller’s Worthies.
Lynche on Health.
Bacon’s History, p. 134.
St James’s Chron. June 14,1781.
Baker’s Chron. p. 502.
Gen. Gaz. October 29, 1782. ‘
Plemp. Fundam. Med. § 4, c. 8.
Buchanan’s Hist, of Scotland.
/ General Gazetteer, October 12,
\ 1782.
All the public prints, Jan. 1790.
/ Died February 19, 1792. Edin.
( Even. Cour. March 8, 1792.
Me have seen a list of a hundred and four persons,
one of whom died under a hundred and twenty years
i age, and one of whom, it is said, lived to the prodigious
ge of a hundred and eighty. Of these long-lived indivi-
uals, forty-one belonged to England, sixteen to Scotland,
nd twenty-four to Ireland.
For further information on this subject, the reader is
referred to the article Mortality, Law of.
LONGFORD, an inland county in the north-western
extremity of the province of Leinster, in Ireland, is bound¬
ed on the north by the counties of Leitrim and Cavan on
the east and south by Westmeath, and on the west by
556
LON
LON
Longford. Roscommon, from which it is separated by the Shannon.
It is amongst the smallest counties in Ireland, and the
smallest but one as to the quantity of arable land ; its con¬
tents being 263,645 acres, of which 192,506 are capable of
cultivation, 55,247 are unprofitable mountain or bog, and
15,892 are covered with water.
The county, according to Whitaker, was peopled by the
tribe of the Scoti, who spread themselves over most of the
inland regions. Afterwards, under the name of the An-
naly, it became the principality of the O’Ferrals. In the
reign of Elizabeth, it was made shire-ground, being one of
the seven counties into which Connaught was then divided ;
but it was afterwards transferred to Leinster, of which it
still continues to form a part. It is divided into the six
baronies of Abbeyshruel, Ardagh, Granard, Longford,
Moydow, and Rathcline, which are subdivided into twenty-
three parishes, all in the diocese of Ardagh, except one,
which is in that of Meath.
The diocese of Ardagh, which was founded in the fifth
century, was in 1658 united with that of Kilmore, from
which it was subsequently separated, and, after being for
some time held alone, was ultimately united with the
archdiocese of Tuam, to which it is still attached ; but, ac¬
cording to the new ecclesiastical arrangements, it is to be
separated from it, and united with the sees of Kilmore
and Elphin. No traces of the cathedral are now in exist¬
ence. All that remained of it in the middle of last cen¬
tury was part of a wall built of large stones, which appa¬
rently had formed a portion of a very small edifice.
By much the greater part of the surface of the county
is level, but in its northern angle it rises into bleak and
rugged hills of no great elevation ; and some hills also pro¬
trude in various parts of the plain country. The general
surface is of considerable elevation, the summit-level of the
Royal Canal, which is within the county, being 290 feet
above the level of the sea. The general appearance of the
country, though in many parts well planted and cultivated,
presents few attractions to the lover of the picturesque.
The only rivers of any size are, the Camlin, which rises
near Granard, and flows by the town of Longford into the
Shannon near Tarmonbarry; and the Inny, which has its
source in Lough Shillin, on the borders of Cavan, passes
by the southern border of the county, through a fertile
and well-peopled district, and discharges itself, after a
winding course, into Lough Reagh, being navigable from
Ballymahon. There are several lakes within the county,
but none of them of great extent. The most remarkable
are Lough Gawnagh in the north, Derrylough, Lough
Drum, and Lough Bannow. The fine expanse of Lough
Reagh, on the western side of the county, may be consi¬
dered as partly belonging to it. It has in it the islets of In-
nisbofin, Innisclothran, and Innismacsaint. Lough Derry-
macar is merely an arm of this lake. The quantity of bog
is considerable. The bog, myrtle, and larch, grow freely
in it. In some of the bogs are deep holes, which throw
up large quantities of water; they are known by the name
of swallow-holes. In 1809, part of the bog near Johnstown
burst away from the main body, and moved to a consider¬
able distance, crossing in its passage the river Camlin, the
channel of which it choked up, and caused all the ad¬
joining lands to be flooded.
The northern boundary of the great limestone field of
Ireland passes through this county. The line of division
is marked by the Camlin as far as Longford town, and
thence proceeds by Johnstown to Lough Shillin. To
the north of this line the formation is of clay-slate and
greywacke. Isolated hills of sandstone show themselves
at Slievegoldry and at Ballymahon, on both sides of the
Inny. Indications of iron are abundant in the northern
parts. Near Lough Gawnagh very rich iron ore is found,
not in thin beds, as in Leitrim and Roscommon, but in solid
rocks of a dark-red colour, and it breaks into small shelv- Lon)u
ing prisms. Indications of coal appear in the same neigh-' "
bourhood. Marble of fine colour, and susceptible of a
high polish, is raised from quarries near Ledwithstown. It
is much used for chimney-pieces.
A great portion of the northern part of the county is of
a rough, untractable quality, affording little encouragement
for agricultural speculations; but all the more level dis¬
tricts, where these are not covered with bog, are of a good
quality. The soil is mostly rich, and of easy culture.
The statements of the population at various periods, with
the authorities on which they rest, are as follow :—
1760 De Burgho 25,142
1792 Beaufort 50,100
1813 Parliamentary return 95,917
1821 Ditto 107,570
1831   Ditto 112,391
The census taken in 1834, by the commissioners of pub¬
lic instruction, having been collected according to dioceses
instead of counties, prevents any specification of it here.
It is observable that the rate of increase diminishes con¬
siderably in the latter period of this statement; a circum¬
stance to be accounted for partly from the greater accu¬
racy of the mode of calculating the numbers, and partly
from the increased pressure of population upon the means
of subsistence. The proportion of Protestants to Catholics
is as one to ten, but the number of Protestant dissenters is
inconsiderable. According to the parliamentary returns,
the number of children receiving education in public or
private schools was as follows :—
Sex not as¬
certained.
154
Total.
7421
9285
Boys. Girls.
1821, 4798 2623
1824-6, 5746 3385
Of the numbers stated in the latter of these returns,
1512 were Protestants of the established church, 7621 were
Roman Catholics, 136 Dissenters, besides sixteen whose
religious persuasion was not known. Of the total number of
schools, amounting to 180, twelve, containing 870 pupils,
were maintained by grants of public money; fifteen, con¬
taining 1003 pupils, were supported by voluntary contribu¬
tions of societies or individuals ; the remaining 153 de¬
pended wholly upon the fees of the pupils.
The county returned ten members to the Irish parlia¬
ment, viz. two for the county at large, and two for each of
the boroughs of Longford, Granard, Lanesborough, and
Johnstown. It now returns only two county members.
The state of the constituency was as follows at three pe¬
riods, viz. 1. previously to the passing of the Catholic relief
bill; 2. subsequently to that measure, but previous to the
reform act; 3. after the reform act, viz.
L.50. L.20. L.10. 40s. Total.
Jan. 1, 1829, 155 45 ... 1362 1562
— 1830, 168 67 132 ... 367
— 1832, 192 151 951 ... 1294
The mode of tillage is such as is common throughout
most parts of Ireland, namely, either ploughing up the lea, or
manuring the surface highly and planting potatoes on it
with the spade. The usual rotation of crops is, potatoes,
bear, and oats. Wheat is also grown. In the vicinity of
Ballymahon are some rich lands in a high state of cultiva¬
tion, and tracts of excellent meadow. The low lands
along the Inny produce a coarse kind of hay mixed with
reeds ; it is chiefly used for thatching. The black cattle
and horses in the southern district are of a good kind.
The breed of the former has been considerably improved
by judicious crossing with the best English bulls.
The manufactures are confined to those which are ne¬
cessary to supply the limited wants of an agricultural po¬
pulation. The principal are linen, frize, linsey-woolsey, for
the garments of men and women, and leather for shoes and
of I
racf
oni
pre'
Its i
ness
rali
(lie
1
SOI
man
Grar
been
or (
toS
ral fr
town
been
more
also
utter
T1
rals,
term
conir
cedi
tbese
conci
ofGi
venie
raci
tii'jt
is oi
VIOU
boy
villi
man
of ft!
dltl
dulg
t
iioti(
said
Grar
been
or (
toS
Ball;
ral li
ofgr
town
been
foun
more
clotli
also
utter
T1
rals.
and
term
aga
conn
cedi
posit
«f ti
conci
terio;
Tl
out!
inei
ofG:
Venif
LON
LON
557
harness. The Royal Canal, which passes through the centre
U^of the county, has greatly increased the inland trade,
v U 'pjie peasantry are a shrewd, intelligent, and industrious
race, fond of manly exercises and active amusements, such
as hurling, wrestling, foot-ball, and swimming. Their
pastime on Sunday evenings is dancing for a cake set up
on a pole. English and Irish are both spoken. The most
prevalent disease is fever, particularly in the hilly districts.
Its access is generally attributed to the neglect of cleanli¬
ness and the poverty of the people. The climate in gene¬
ral is healthy. Several persons are known to have lived to
the advanced age of a hundred years.
The customs of the inhabitants deviate in few particu¬
lars from those observable in other parts of Ireland. The
first day of the year, month, and week are considered as the
most lucky days for commencing an undertaking. Friday
is one of the cross-days, therefore every one avoids remov¬
ing to a new habitation on that day. A Saturday’s flitting
is also said to make a short sitting. For a fortnight pre¬
vious to Shrove-Tuesday, the great day for weddings, the
boys amuse themselves by running in disguise through the
villages, proclaiming the names of the parties about to be
married, or whom they wish to have thought so. The first
of May, Hallow-Eve, and Christmas, are celebrated with
all the usual honours. Bull-baiting is one of the sports in¬
dulged in on St Stephen’s day.
The only vestige of remote antiquity worthy of special
notice is a tumulus at one end of the town of Granard,
said to have been a Danish rath, and called the Moate of
Granard. It commands a view of six or seven surround¬
ing counties. Though several ruins of monastic buildings
may still be traced, few memorials of their history have
been preserved. The erection of those at Ardagh, Lerha
or Granard, Clonebrone, and Drumcheo, is attributed
to St Patrick. Those of Longford, Abbeyshruel, and
Ballynasaggard, were founded by members of the O’Fer-
ral family. Abbey Deirg was built by O’Quin. A house
of gray friars, dedicated to St John, gave name to Johns¬
town. At Lanesborough are some ruins said to have
been part of a monastery, but no historical trace of such a
foundation there can be discovered. The island of Inchi-
more in Lough Gawnagh, and those of Innisbofin, Innis-
clothran, and Innismacsaint, in Lough Ileagh, were each
at some remote period the site of a religious house now in
utter ruin.
The castle of Longford, once the mansion of the O’Fer-
rals, was taken at the commencement of the war of 1641,
and the garrison slaughtered after their surrender upon
terms. Castle Forbes, in the same neighbourhood, made
a gallant resistance during the same period, under the
command of the widow of Sir Arthur Forbes, until redu¬
ced by famine. Rathcline, placed in a highly romantic
position near Lanesborough, was dismantled by Cromwell,
and burned in the subsequent wars between William and
James. The castles of Ballymahon, Barnacor, and Cas-
tlecor, were built to command passes over the Inny. Of
these, the last named has suffered, not only by the ravages
of time, but by excavations made in order to discover
concealed money, imagined to have been buried in its in¬
terior.
The seats of the gentry are numerous. Carrickglass
on the Camlin, belonging to the Newcomen family, is a
fine residence; as is also Castle Forbes, the seat of the Earl
of Granard. Edgeworthstown will long be noted in the
annals of British literature as the residence of the Edge-
worth family. Castlecor, the seat of the Hussey family,
and said to have been modelled after the round tower of
Windsor Castle, is more remarkable for eccentricity of
appearance than architectural elegance or domestic con¬
venience. Tirlicken was built by Lord Annaly, near the
ruins of a former edifice of the same name, the seat of Sir
ConnelO’Ferral, which was forfeited in 1641. This county Longime-
is also celebrated for having given birth to Oliver Gold- try
smith, a writer, the pride of his country, and the delight ^ J!
of elegant literature. He was born at Pallas, a village
near Ballymahon, where it is said that the originals of
much that he has enshrined in immortal verse in his poem
of the Deserted Village may still be traced.
Longford, the county town, is situated on the river
Camlin, in the midst of an extensive plain, interrupted
only by the hill of Fenaghfadd, which rises to a height of
200 feet, at some distance south of the place. It contains
a Protestant church and a Roman Catholic chapel, a gaol
built according to the newly-suggested plans of classifica¬
tion, a court-house, an infirmary, and a market-house. It
has a tolerable share of inland trade, which has latterly
been much enlarged by the extension of the line of the
Royal Canal through it, and also a market for yarn and un¬
bleached linen. Here is also a brewery and several flour
mills. Its population amounted in 1831 to 4354 souls.
The other towns the population of which exceeds a thou¬
sand souls are as follow: Granard, 2058; Ballymahon,
1081 ; and Edgeworthstown, 1001.
LONGIMETRY, the art of measuring length, both ac¬
cessible and inaccessible.
LONGING, a preternatural appetite for meat and
drink. It is called pica, from the bird of that name, which
is said to be subject to the same disorder. The disorder
consists both in a desire of unusual things to eat and
drink, and in being soon tired of one and wanting another.
It is called malacia, from fjju’kaxQg, weak.
LONGINICO, a town of Turkey in Europe, in the
Morea, anciently called Olympia, and famous as having
been the place where the Olympic games were celebrat¬
ed. The temple of Jupiter Olympus was about a mile
distant from this place. It is situated on the river Al-
pheus, ten miles from its mouth, and fifty south of Le-
panto. Long. 22. 0. E. Lat. 37. 30. N.
LONGINUS, Dionysius Cassius, a celebrated Greek
critic and grammarian, was, according toFabricius, grand¬
son of Cassius Longinus, who is mentioned by Plutarch
(Symp. ix. 1) ; but this is a mere conjecture, unsupported
by any adequate proof. The precise period of his birth is
unknown, though it is not unlikely that it took place about
a. d. 213, in the reign of Caracalla, as he may be supposed
to have preceded by at least twenty years his pupil Por¬
phyry, who was born a. d. 233. There is no doubt that his
death took place a. d. 273, when the Emperor Aurelian
took Palmyra. The place of his birth is also a matter of
much uncertainty, as it is nowhere distinctly stated. The
circumstance of his understanding the Syrian language,
and his uncle being from Emesa in Syria, has caused some
to fix on that city as his native place ; and others have sus¬
pected, though with still less appearance of probability,
that he was from Palmyra. His uncle Fronto enjoyed
considerable reputation as a teacher of philosophy at
Athens ; and, amongst other pupils, he had Philostratus,
who is known to us by his life of the philosopher and pro¬
phet Apollonius of Tyana, which is still preserved. It
would appear that Fronto was much attached to his ne¬
phew, whom he made his heir; and from him Longinus
most probably derived the rudiments of his education.
In his earlier years we find, from a fragment of one of his
works preserved by Porphyry in his life of Plotinus, that
he travelled much, and enjoyed the opportunity of becom¬
ing acquainted with all the most distinguished philoso¬
phers of his time. He gives the names of upwards of twen¬
ty, but, with the exception of Ammonius Saccas, Origen,
Plotinus, and Amelius, their celebrity was not sufficient to
rescue them from oblivion. Ammonius taught the Platonic
philosophy at Alexandria in Egypt, and at this time ap¬
pears to have enjoyed a high reputation. The doctrines
558
LON
LON
Longitude, which he advocated, and his particular system, are known
' to us from the works of his pupil Plotinus, and the epi¬
tome of Hierocles in Photius. {Cod. ccxiv. p. 550.) The
philosopher Origen, the master of Longinus, is not to be
confounded with the Christian bishop of the same name,
who was born at Alexandria, a. d. 185.
After Longinus had made himself completely master of
the philosophy of Plato, which he preferred to that of every
other sect, he took up his residence at Athens, and devoted
himself to the instruction of youth in grammar and philo¬
sophy. Here Porphyry attended him, and derived much
of that information which he afterwards employed against
the Christian religion. After a long residence at Athens,
he proceeded to the East, and joined Zenobia, queen of
Palmyra, who had a little before succeeded to the govern¬
ment of the kingdom upon the death of her husband Oden-
athus. He became her preceptor in the Greek language,
and she even consulted him respecting the administration
of her affairs. Zenobia was persuaded by her courtiers that
she was sufficiently powerful to refuse obedience to.the com¬
mands of Aurelian, who had some time before succeeded to
the Roman empire. Aurelian was more particularly amazed
by the haughty style of a letter which was sent by Zeno¬
bia in answer to his demands, and which was said to have
been dictated by Longinus. This letter is found in the
life of Aurelian by Flavius Vopiscus {Aug. Script, vol. ii.
p. 174, ed.Bipont.). Palmyra was taken after an obstinate
siege, and Aurelian was ungenerous enough to punish him
by death for the insult which had been offered to his dig¬
nity by the letter he had dictated. Longinus died without
indulging in vain regrets, and in a manner worthy of his
character as a philosopher, consoling the companions of
his misfortunes. (Zosim. i. 56.)
He was the author of many works of criticism, but, with
the exception of a few fragments, and of his treatise IIw
On the Sublime, they have all perished. This trea¬
tise is addressed to his friend Posthumus Terentianus, and
is an able disquisition on the various sources from which
sublimity in writing is derived, illustrated by examples
selected from the works of the most distinguished authors
of antiquity. The Old Testament was not unknown to
him, as he has quoted as one of the noblest specimens of
the sublime, the celebrated passage in Genesis : “ And
God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” We
find also in a fragment {E. Cod. MS. to Vat.) that he
ranks Paul of Tarsus, as he styles the apostle, with De¬
mosthenes and the more celebrated orators of Greece.
He was no doubt acquainted with the doctrines of Chris¬
tianity ; and the noble sentiments which he at times ex¬
presses may not unreasonably be ascribed to this circum¬
stance. In the epilogue to his treatise, he speaks most
feelingly of the corruption which pervaded every part of
the world, and of the little attention which was paid to
the cultivation of the intellect. The moral degeneracy of
the age he in a great measure ascribes to the absence of
free institutions, and quotes the well-known lines of the
Odyssey, which Pope has thus translated:—
Jove fixed it certain, that whatever day
Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.
It is remarkable that such sentiments should be found
at this period of the world; but there can be no doubt
that they were the genuine expression of his feelings.
This treatise has been frequently edited, and one of the
best editions is that by Hudson, Oxford, 1710. It has
also been edited by Weiske, Weigel, 1809 ; and by Toup,
Oxford, 1778. It hasbeen translated into English by Smith,
1739 ; and into German by J. G. Schlosser, Leipzig, 1781,
and by Von Heineken, Basel, 1784.
LONGITUDE is the distance of any place from ano¬
ther eastward or westward, counted in degrees upon the
equator; but when the distance is reckoned by leagues or
miles, and not in degrees, or in degrees on the meridian, Win
and not of the parallel of latitude, in which case it includes
both latitude and longitude, it is called departure.
To find the longitude at sea is a problem to which the
attention of navigators and mathematicians has been direct¬
ed ever since navigation began to be improved. The im¬
portance of this problem soon became so well known, that,
in 1598, Philip HI. of Spain offered a reward of a thou¬
sand crowns for the solution • and his example was soon
followed by the states-general, who offered a premium of
ten thousand florins. In 1714 an act was passed in the
British parliament, empowering certain commissioners to
introduce a bill for a sum not exceeding L.2000, for de¬
fraying the necessary expenses of experiments for ascer¬
taining this point, and likewise for granting a reward to
the person who should make any progress in the solution,
proportional to the degree of accuracy with which the so¬
lution was performed. Ten thousand pounds were to be
granted if the longitude should be determined to one de¬
gree of a great circle, or sixty geographical miles; fifteen
thousand, if to two thirds of that distance ; and twenty
thousand, if to half the distance. In consequence of these
proffered rewards, innumerable attempts were made to
discover this important secret. The first was that of
John Morin, professor of mathematics at Paris, who pro¬
posed it to Cardinal Richelieu; and though it was judged
insufficient, on account of the imperfection of the lunar
tables, a pension of two thousand livres per annum was
procured for him in 1645 by Cardinal Mazarin. Gemma
Frisius had indeed in 1530 projected a method of finding
the longitude by means of watches, which at that time
were newly invented ; but the structure of these machines
was then by far too imperfect to admit of their being em¬
ployed for this purpose; nor even in 1631, when Metius
made a similar attempt, had they undergone any considerable
improvement. But, about the year 1664, Dr Hooke and Mr
Huygens effected a very great improvement in watchmak¬
ing, by the application of the pendulum spring. Dr Hooke
having quarrelled with the ministry, no experiment was
made with any of his machines; but many were made
with those of Mr Huygens. One experiment particular¬
ly, made by Major Holmes in a voyage from the coast of
Guinea in 1665, answered so well, that Mr Huygens was
encouraged to improve the structure of his watches; but
it was found that the variations of heat and cold produced
such alterations in the rate of going, that unless this could
be remedied, the watches would be of little use in deter¬
mining the longitude.
In 1714 Henry Sully, an Englishman, printed a small
tract at Vienna upon the subject of watchmaking. Hav¬
ing afterwards removed to Paris, he applied himself to the
improvement of time-keepers, with a view to the discovery
of the longitude, tie taught the famous Julian de Roy;
and this gentleman, along with his son and M. Berthoud,
soon turned their attention to the subject. But though
experiments were made at sea with some of their watches,
it does not appear that they had been able to accomplish
any thing of importance with reference to the main point.
The first who succeeded in any considerable degree was
Mr John Harrison, who, in 1726, produced a watch which
went so exactly, that for ten years together it did not err
above one second in a month. In 1736 it was tried in a voy¬
age to Lisbon and back again, on board one of his majes¬
ty’s ships, during which it corrected an error of a degree
and a half in the computation of the ship’s reckoning. In
consequence of this he received public encouragement to
proceed, and by the year 1761 he had finished three
time-keepers, each of them more accurate than the for¬
mer. The last turned out so much to his satisfaction, that
he now applied to the commissioners of longitude for leave
to make an experiment with his watch in a voyage to the
rlian
for.
iras
oft
seen
lave
in tii
the a
soon
right
out pi
In Hi
and tf
of lor
only1!
the p
tat
war
Sarri:
fMl
yh
for.
IfSS
of t
fron
min1
seen
in tn
iista
the a
byg<
soon
leged
right
iync
inten
of the
Inl7i
md tl
of loi
only 4
of thii
structi
rewan
other
iiverec
10 Gn
mer-rt
much
Harris
ments
ordere.
menti
tonstri
»asfo
than a
»atch
!»g all
1773,
\ ii|
1774
tiion,
hash
Th
torerit
•fad,
‘honld
time tl
LONGITUDE.
rngitU' West Indies. Permission being granted, his son Mr Wil¬
liam Harrison set out in his majesty’s ship the Deptford,
for Jamaica, in the month of November 1761. This trial
was attended with all imaginable success. The longitude
of the island, as determined by the time-keeper, differed
from that found by astronomical observations only by one
minute and a quarter of the equator; the longitudes of places
seen by the way being also determined with great exact¬
ness. On the ship’s return to England, it was found to
have erred no more during the whole voyage than 1' 54.1"
in time, which is little more than twenty-eight miles in
distance ; and this being within the limits prescribed by
the act, the inventor claimed the whole L.20,000 offered
by government. Objections to this claim, however, were
soon started. Doubts were pretended about the real longi¬
tude of Jamaica, as well as the manner in which the time
had been found both there and at Portsmouth. It was al¬
leged also, that although the time-keeper happened to be
right at Jamaica, and after its return to England, this was
by no means a proof that it had always been so in the
intermediate time. In consequence of these allegations,
another trial was appointed to be made in a voyage to Bar-
badoes. Precautions were now taken to obviate as many
of these objections as possible. The commissioners sent
out proper persons to make astronomical observations at
that island, which, when compared with others in Eng¬
land, would ascertain beyond a doubt its true situation.
In 1764 the younger Mr Harrison set sail for Barbadoes;
and the result of the experiment was, that the difference
of longitude between Portsmouth and Barbadoes was
shown by the time-keeper to be 3h. 55' 3", and by astro¬
nomical observations to be 3h. 54' 20", the error being now
only 43" of time, or 10' 45" of longitude. In consequence
of this and the former trials, Mr Harrison received one
lialf of the reward promised, upon making a discovery of
The principles on which his time-keeper had been con¬
structed. He was likew ise promised the other half of the
eward as soon as time-keepers should be constructed by
other artists which should answer the purpose as well as
hose made by Mr Harrison himself. At this time he de-
ivered up all his time-keepers, the last of which was sent
,o Greenwich to be tried by Dr Maskelyne, the astrono-
ner-royal. On trial, however, it was found to go with
nuch less regularity than had been expected; but Mr
Jarrison attributed this to his having made some experi-
nents with it which he had not time to finish when he was
irdered to deliver up the watch. Soon after this an agree-
nent was made by the commissioners with Mr Kendall to
:onstruct a watch upon Mr Harrison’s principles ; and this
ras found upon trial to answer the purpose even better
han any which Harrison himself had constructed. This
ratch was sent out with Captain Cook in 1772, and dur-
ng all the time of his voyage round the world in 1772,
773, 1774, and 1775, never erred quite 14^ seconds per
lay, in consequence of which the House of Commons in
774 ordered the other L. 10,000 to be paid to Mr Har-
ison. Since that period, however, still greater accuracy
ias been attained in the construction of chi'onometers.
Thus the method of constructing time-keepers for dis-
overing the longitude seems to be brought to as great a
legree of perfection as can well be expected. Still, how-
ver, as these watches are subject to accidents, and may
hus alter the rate of their going without any possibility
f a discovery, it is necessary that some other method
hould be employed in order to correct from time to
ime those errors which may arise either from the natural
oing of the watch, or from any accident which may hap-
en to it. Methods of this kind are all founded upon ce-
3stial observations of some kind or other; and for such
lethods, or even for an improvement in time-keepers, re-
ards are still held out by government. After the disco-
559
venes made by Mr Harrison, the act concerning the Ion- Longitude,
gitude was repealed, excepting so much of it as related to' ”
the constructing, printing, and publishing of the Nautical
Almanac, and other useful tables. It was also enacted,
that any person who shall discover a method for finding
the longitude by means of a time-keeper, the principles
of which have not hitherto been made public, shall be en¬
titled to a reward of L.5000, if, after certain trials made
by the commissioners, the said method shall enable a ship
to keep her longitude, during a voyage of six months,
within sixty geographical miles, or a degree of a great
circle. If the ship keeps her longitude within forty geo¬
graphical miles for that time, the inventor is entitled to a
reward of L.7500, and to L. 10,000 if the longitude is kept
within half a degree. If the method be by improved as¬
tronomical tables, the author becomes entitled to L.5000
when they show the distance of the moon from the sun
and stars within fifteen seconds of a degree, answering to
about seven minutes of longitude, after allowing half a de¬
gree for errors of observation and under certain restric¬
tions, and after comparison with astronomical observations
for a period of eighteen and a half years, during which
the lunar irregularities are supposed to be completed.
The same rewards are likewise offered to the person who
shall with similar accuracy discover any other method of
finding the longitude.
Ihese methods require celestial observations; and any
of the phenomena, such as the different apparent places
of stars with regard to the moon, the beginning and end¬
ing of eclipses, &c. will answer the purpose. But it is ab¬
solutely necessary that some variation should be percep¬
tible in the phenomenon in the space of two minutes; for
even this short space of time will produce an error of for¬
ty miles in longitude. The most proper phenomena there¬
fore for determining the longitude in this manner are the
eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites. Tables of their motions
have therefore been constructed, and carefully con*ected
from time to time, as the mutual attractions of these bo¬
dies are found greatly to disturb the regularity of their
motions. The difficulty here, however, is to observe these
eclipses at sea ; and this difficulty has been found so great,
that no person seems able to surmount it. The difficulty
arises from the violent agitation of the ship in the ocean,
for which no adequate remedy has ever yet been found. Mr
Christopher Irwin indeed invented a machine which he
called a marine chair, with a view to prevent the effects
of this agitation ; but on trying it on a voyage to Barba¬
does, it was found to be totally useless.
A whimsical method of finding the longitude was pro¬
posed by Whiston and Ditton, from the report and flash of
great guns. The motion of sound is known to be nearly
equable, from whatever body it proceeds, or whatever be
the medium through which it is transmitted. Supposing
therefore a mortar to be fired at any place the longitude of
which is known, tiie difference between the moment that
the flash is seen and the report is heard will give the dis
tance between the two places ; hence, if we know the lati¬
tudes of these places, their longitudes must also be known.
If the exact time of the explosion be known at the place
where it happens, the difference of time at the place where
it is heard will likewise give the difference of longitude.
Let us next suppose the mortar to be loaded with an iron
shell filled with combustible matter, and fired perpendicu¬
larly upwards into the air, the shell will be carried to the
height of a mile, and will be seen at the distance of near
100; and hence, supposing that neither the flash of the
mortar should be seen nor the report heard, still the lon¬
gitude might be determined by the altitude of the shell
above the horizon. According to this plan, mortars were
to be fired at certain times and at proper stations along
all frequented coasts, for the direction of mariners. This
560
LONGITUDE.
Longitude, indeed might be of use, and in stormy weather might be
^ 'a kind of improvement in lighthouses, or a proper addition
to them ; but with regard to the determination of longi¬
tudes, it is evidently ridiculous.
We shall now proceed to give some practical directions
for finding the longitude at sea by proper celestial obser¬
vations, exclusive of those of Jupiter’s satellites, which, for
the reasons just mentioned, cannot be practised at sea. In
the first place, however, it will be necessary to point out
some of those difficulties which stand in the way, and
which render even this method of finding the longitude
precarious and uncertain. These consist principally in the
reduction of the observations of the heavenly bodies made
on the surface of the earth to similar observations suppos¬
ed to be made at the centre, which is the only place
where the celestial bodies appear in their proper situation.
It is also very difficult to make proper allowances for the
refraction of the atmosphere, by which all objects appear
higher than they really are; and another difficulty arises
from the parallaxes of the heavenly bodies, which make
them, particularly the moon, appear lower than they would
otherwise do, excepting when they are in the very zenith.
It is also well known, that the nearer the horizon any ce¬
lestial body is, the greater its parallax will be ; and as the
parallax and refraction act in opposite ways, the former
depressing and the latter raising the object, it is plain
that great difficulties must arise from this circumstance.
The sun, for instance, whose parallax is less than the re¬
fraction, must always appear higher than he really is ; but,
on the other hand, the moon, whose parallax is greater
than her refraction, must always appear lower.
To facilitate the necessary observations of the celestial
bodies, the commissioners of longitude have caused an
Ephemeris or Nautical Almanac to be published annually,
containing every requisite for solving this important pro¬
blem which can be put into any form of tables. But what¬
ever may be done in this way, it will still be necessary
to make the requisite preparations concerning the dip of
the horizon, the refraction, semidiameters, parallax, &c.
in order to reduce the apparent to the true altitudes
and distances; and for this we shall subjoin two general
rules.
The principal observation for finding the longitude at
sea is that of the moon from the sun, or from some re¬
markable star near the zodiac. To do this, the operator
must be furnished with a watch which can be depended
upon for keeping time within a minute for six hours ; and
with a good Hadley’s quadrant, or, which is preferable, a
sextant; and this last instrument will still be fitter for the
purpose if it be furnished with a screw for moving the in¬
dex gradually, and likewise an additional dark glass, but
not so dark as the common kind, for taking off the glare
of the moon’s light in observing her distance from a star.
A small telescope, which magnifies three or four times,
is also necessary, to render the contact of a star with the
moon’s limb more discernible. A magnifying glass of one
and a half or two inches focus will likewise greatly assist
the operator in reading off his observations with facility
and despatch.
1. To make the observation.—Having examined and ad¬
justed his instrument as well as possible, the observer is
next to proceed in the following manner: If the distance
of the moon from the sun is to be observed, turn down
one of the screens ; look at the moon directly through
the transparent part of the horizon-glass, and, keeping
her in view, gently move the index till the sun’s image be
brought into the silvered part of that glass. Bring the
nearest limbs of both objects into contact, and let the
quadrant librate a little upon the lunar ray, by which
means the sun will appear to rise and fall by the side of
the moon; in which motion the nearest limbs must be
made to touch one another exactly by moving the index.Longfa,
The observation is then made ; and the division coincid-
ing with that on the vernier scale will show the distance
of the nearest limbs of the objects.
If the distance of the moon from a star is to be ob¬
served when the moon is very bright, turn down the
lightest screen, or use a dark glass lighter than the screens,
and designed for this particular purpose ; look at the star
directly through the transparent part of the horizon-glass,
and, keeping it there, move the index till the moon’s image
be brought into the silvered part of the same glass. Make
the quadrant librate gently on the star’s ray, and the moon
will appear to rise and fall by the star ; move the index
between the librations, until the moon’s enlightened limb
is exactly touched by the star, and then the observation
is made. In these operations, the plane of the quadrant
must always pass through the two objects, the distance
of which is to be observed ; and for this purpose it must
be placed in various positions, according to the situation
of the objects, which will soon be rendered easy by prac¬
tice.
The observation being made, some person, at the very
instant that the operator calls, must observe by the watch
the exact hour, minute, and quarter minute, if there be
no second hand, in order to find the apparent time ; and at
the same instant, or as quickly as possible, two assistants
must take the altitudes of those objects the distance of
which is observed ; after which the observations necessary
for finding the longitude are completed.
The Ephemeris shows the moon’s distance from the sun,
and likewise from proper stars, to every three hours of ap¬
parent time for the meridian of Greenwich ; and, that the
greater number of opportunities of observing this luminary
may be given, her distance is generally set down from at
least one object on each side of her. Her distance from the
sun is set down whilst it is between 40 and 120 degrees j
so that, by means of a sextant, it may be observed for two
or three days after her first and before her last quarter.
When the moon is between 40 and 90 degrees from the
sun, her distance is set down both from the sun and from
a star on the contrary side ; and, lastly, when the distance
is above 120 degrees, the distance is set down from two
stars, one on each side of her. The distance of the moon
from objects on the east side of her is found in the Ephe¬
meris in the eighth and ninth pages of the month ; and her
distance from objects on the west is found in the tenth and
eleventh pages of the month.
When the Ephemeris is used, the distance of the moon
must only be observed from those stars the distance ot
which is set down there ; and these afford a ready means ol
knowing the star from which her distance ought to be observ¬
ed. The observer has then nothing more to do than to set
his index to the distance roughly computed at the apparent
time, estimated nearly for the meridian at Greenwich; af¬
ter which he is to look to the east or west of the moon, ac¬
cording as the distance of the star is found in the eighth
or ninth, or in the tenth or eleventh pages of the month;
and having found the moon upon the horizon-glass, the
star will easily be found by sweeping with the quadrant to
the right or left, provided the air be clear and the star be
in the line of the moon’s shortest axis produced. The
time at Greenwich is estimated by turning into time the
supposed longitude from that place, and adding it to the
apparent time at the ship, or subtracting it, as occasion
requires. The distance of the moon tfom the sun or
a star is roughly found at this time, by saying, As
minutes (the number contained in three hours) is to the
difference in minutes between this nearly estimated time
and the next preceding time set down in the Ephemens,
so is the difference in minutes between the distance in t e
Ephemeris for the next preceding and next following times
|(,t0 ^
I'pttf1
inch
tliet
tliei
A>
iirinp
iray,
and i
for tl
steer
settin
per; I
iliedi!
tat he
nth i
one or
oneca
adegi
distam
pradua
itaut
maybi
rise tii
then fi
middle
tana
thewa
(fasti
iainty
mining
iitndes
More
dher o
frees 1
to folk
sphere
server;
tetob
IT
I'm th
Into tin
tilde bi
the sup
before i
themoi
toidiam
“eons a
is live]
hours, s
either a
!et at tl
hisinc
hia®et(
tod the
June,
tooon’s
huced t
Chirac
Ndr
‘teasin.
♦
P'® JnRitu
to 3
r'lirec
inert
the
Ai
iray,
tndes
fortf
obser
settin(
Istan
trat hi
fith
one or
onecs
a degi
msec
iromt
jradua
ose ti
tana
ike ffa
ffasti
tainty
ping
other o
trees 1
sphere
server
tl
m bi
Ae sup
e nioi
lours,
ter at ti
11 hint
f%ra
VOL,
LONGITUDE.
561
ls„j».to a number of minutes, which being added to the next
- ^preceding distance, or subtracted from it, according as it is
increasing or decreasing, will give the distance nearly at
the time when the observation is to be made, and to which
the index must be set.
An easier method of tinding the angular distance is by
bringing the objects nearly into contact in the common
way, and then fixing the index tight to a certain degree
and minute, waiting until the objects are nearly in contact,
giving notice to the assistants to get ready with the alti¬
tudes, and when the objects are exactly in contact, to call
for the altitudes and the exact time by the watch. The
observer may then prepare for taking another distance, by
setting his index three or four minutes backwards or for¬
wards, as the objects happen to be receding from or ap¬
proaching to each other, and then proceeding to take the
distance, altitudes, and time by the watch, as before. Thus
the observer may take as many distances as he thinks pro¬
per ; but four at the distance of three minutes, or three at
the distance of four minutes, will at all times be sufficient.
Thus not only the eye of the observer will be less fatigued,
put he will likewise be enabled to manage his instrument
with much greater facility in every direction, a vertical
me only excepted. If, in taking the distances, the middle
me can be taken at any even division on the arch, such as
i degree, or a degree and twenty or forty minutes, that
listance will be independent of the nonius division, and
xmsequently free from those errors which frequently arise
rom the inequality of that division in several parts of the
graduated arch. The observation ought always to be made
ibout two hours before or after noon ; and the true time
nay be found by the altitude of the sun taken at the pre¬
use time of the distance. If three distances are taken,
hen find the time by the altitude corresponding with the
niddle distance ; and thus the observation will be secured
rom any error arising from the irregularity of the going of
he watch. As the time, however, found by the altitude
if a star cannot be depended upon, because of the uncer-
ainty of the horizon in the night, the best way of deter¬
mining the time for a night observation will be by two al-
itudes of the sun; one taken on the preceding afternoon,
'efore he is within six degrees of the horizon, and the
ther on the next morning, when he is more than six de-
rees high. It must be observed, however, that in order
o follow these directions, it is necessary that the atmo-
phere should be pretty free from clouds, otherwise the ob-
erver must take the observations at such times as he can
est obtain them.
2. To reduce the observed distance of the sun or a star
-om the moon to the true distance.—1. Turn the longitude
Ho time, and add it to the time at the ship if the longi-
vde be west, but subtract it if it be east, which will give
ie supposed time at Greenwich. This we may call re-
uced time. 2. Find the nearest noon or midnight both
I efore and after the reduced time in the seventh page of
l ie month in the Ephemeris. 3. Take out the moon’s se-
I lidiameter and horizontal parallaxes corresponding to these
10ons and midnights, and find their difierences. Then sav,
.s twelve hours is to the moon’s semidiameter in twelve
ours, so is the reduced time to a number of seconds, which,
ther added to or subtracted from the moon’s semidiame-
■y at the noon or midnight just mentioned, according as
i is increasing or decreasing, will give her apparent semi-
lameter; to which add the correction of the Ephemeris,
id the sum will be her true semidiameter at the reduced
me. And as twelve hours is to the difference of the
oon’s horizontal parallax in twelve hours, so is the re-
iced time to a fourth number, which being added to or
ibtracted from the moon’s horizontal parallax at the noon
midnight before the reduced time, according as it is in-
j easing or decreasing, the sum or difference will be the
VOL. xm.
moon’s horizontal parallax at the reduced time. 4. If the Longitude,
reduced time be nearly any even part of twelve hours,
viz. one sixth, one fourth, &c. these parts of the difference
may be taken, and either added or subtracted according to
the directions already given, without being at the trouble
of working by the rule of proportion. 5. To the observed
altitude of the sun’s lower limb add the difference between
the semidiameter and dip, and that sum will be his appa¬
rent altitude. 6. From the sun’s refraction take his paral¬
lax in altitude, and the remainder wall be the correction of
the sun’s altitude. 7. From the star’s observed altitude
take the dip of the horizon, and the remainder will be the
apparent altitude. 8. The refraction of a star will be the
correction of its altitude. 9. Take the difference between
the moon’s semidiameter and dip, and add it to the ob¬
served altitude if her lower limb was taken, or subtract it
if her upper limb was taken, and the sum or difference will
be the apparent altitude of her centre. 10. From the pro¬
portional logarithm of the moon’s horizontal parallax, obtain¬
ed from the Nautical Almanac (increasing its index by 10),
taking the logarithmic cosine of the moon’s apparent alti¬
tude, the remainder will be the proportional logarithm of
her parallax in altitude; from which take her refraction,
and the remainder will be the correction of the moon’s al¬
titude. 11. To the observed distance of the moon from a
star add her semidiameter if the nearest limb be taken, but
subtract it if the farthest limb be taken, and the sum or
difference will be the apparent distance. 12. To the ob¬
served distance of the sun and moon add both their semi¬
diameters, and the sum will be the apparent distance of
their centres.
3. To find the true distance of the objects, having their
apparent altitudes and distances 1. To the proportional
logarithm of the correction of the sun or star’s altitude,
add the logarithmic cosine of the sun or star’s apparent
altitude, the logarithmic sine of the apparent distance of
the moon from the sun or star, and the logarithmic cose¬
cant of the moon’s apparent altitude. The sum of these,
rejecting thirty from the index, will be the proportional
logarithm of the first angle. 2. To the proportional lo¬
garithm of the correction of the sun or star’s altitude, add
the logarithmic cotangent of the sun or star’s apparent al¬
titude, and the logarithmic tangent of the apparent dis¬
tance of the moon from the sun or star. The sum of
these, rejecting twenty in the index, will be the propor¬
tional logarithm of the second angle. 3. Take the differ¬
ence between the first and second angles, adding it to the
apparent distance if it be less than ninety, and the first
angle be greater than the second; but subtracting it if
the second be greater than the first. If the distance
be greater than ninety, the sum of the angles must be
added to the apparent distance, which will give the dis¬
tance corrected for the refraction of the sun or star. 4.
To the proportional logarithm of the correction of the
moon’s altitude, add the logarithmic cosine ot her apparent
altitude, the logarithmic sine of the distance corrected
for the sun or star s refraction, and the logarithmic cose¬
cant of the sun’s or star’s apparent altitude. The sum,
rejecting thirty in the index, will be the proportional lo¬
garithm of the third angle. 5. To the proportional loga¬
rithm of the correction of the moon’s apparent altitude,
add the logarithmic cotangent of her apparent altitude,’
and the tangent of the distance corrected for the sun or
star’s refraction ; their sum, rejecting twenty in the index,
will be the proportional logarithm of the fourth angle. 6.
Take the difference between the third and fourth angles,*
and subtract it from the distance corrected for the sun or
star s refraction if less than ninety and the third angle be
greater than the fourth, or add it to the distance if the
fourth angle be greater than the third; but if the distance
be more than ninety, the sum of the angles must be sub-
4 B
562
LONGITUDE.
Longitude, tracted from it, to give the distance corrected for the sun
'''"“'v''"'or star’s refraction, and the principal effects of the moon’s
parallax. 7. In the Ephemeris, look for the distance cor¬
rected for the sun and star’s refraction, and the moon’s
parallax in the top column, and the correction of her alti¬
tude in the left-hand-side column; take out the number
of seconds that stand under the former, and opposite to
the latter. Look again in the same table for the correct¬
ed distance in the top column, and the principal effects of
the moon’s parallax in the left-hand-side column, and take
out the number of seconds. The difference between these
two numbers must be added to the corrected distance if
less than ninety, but subtracted from it if it be greater;
and the sum or difference will be the true distance.
4. To determine the longitude after having obtained the
true distance.—Look in the Ephemeris amongst the dis¬
tances of the objects for the computed distance between
the moon and the other object observed on the given day.
If it be found there, the time at Greenwich will be at the
top of the column; but if it falls between two distances
in the Ephemeris which stand immediately before and
after it, and also the difference between the distance
standing before and the computed distance, then take the
proportional logarithms of the first and second differences,
and the difference between these two logarithms will be
the proportional logarithm of a number of hours, minutes,
and seconds; which being added to the time standing
over the first distance, will give the true time at Green¬
wich. Or it may be found by saying, As the first differ¬
ence is to three hours, so is the second difference to a
proportional part of time, which being added as above
directed, will give the time at Greenwich. The difference
between Greenwich time and that at the ship, turned into
longitude, will be that at the time the observations were
made; and will be east if the time at the ship is greatest,
but west if it is least.
Having given these general directions, we shall next
proceed to show some particular examples of finding the
longitude at sea by all the different methods in which it
is usually tried.
1. To find the longitude by computation from the ship’s
course Were it possible to keep an accurate account of
the distance the ship has run, and to measure it exactly
by the log or by any other means, then both latitude and
longitude would easily be found by settling the ship’s ac¬
count to that time. For the course and distance being
known, the difference of latitude and departure is readily
found by the Traverse Table; and the difference of longi¬
tude being known, the true longitude and latitude would
also be known. A variety of causes, however, concur to
render this computation inaccurate, particularly the ship’s
continual deflection from the course set, by her playing to
the right and left round her centre of gravity; the un¬
equal care of those at the helm ; and the distance supposed
to be sailed being erroneous, on account of stormy seas,
unsteady winds, currents, &c. for which it seems impos¬
sible to make any due allowance. The place of the ship,
however, is judged of by finding the latitude every day, it
possible, by observations; and if the latitude found by
observation agrees with that by the reckoning, it is pre¬
sumed that the ship’s place is properly determined ; but
if they disagree, it is concluded that the account of the
longitude stands in need of correction, as the latitude by
observation is always to be depended upon.
Currents very often occasion errors in the computation
of a ship’s place. The causes of these in the great depths
of the ocean are not well known, though many of the mo¬
tions near the shore can be accounted for. It is supposed
that some of those in the great oceans are owing to the
tide following the moon, and a certain libration of the
waters arising therefrom; and likewise that the unsettled
nature of these currents may be owing to the changes inLongit
the moon’s declination. In the torrid zone, however, a con- '^-v
siderable current is occasioned by the trade winds, the
motion being constantly to the west, at the rate of about
eight or ten miles per day. At the extremities of the
trade winds, or near the thirtieth degree of north or south
latitude, the currents are probably compounded of this
motion to the westward, and of one towards the equator;
and hence all ships sailing within these limits ought to al¬
low a course each day for the current.
When the error is supposed to have been occasioned by
a current, it ought if possible to be tried whether the case
is so or not; or we must make a reasonable estimate of
its drift and course. Then with the setting and drift, as
a course and distance, find the difference of latitude and
departure; with which the dead reckoning is to be in¬
creased or diminished ; and if the latitude thus corrected
agrees with that by observation, the departure thus cor¬
rected may be safely taken as true, and thus the ship’s
place with regard to the longitude determined.
Example. Suppose a ship in twenty-four hours finds, by
her dead reckoning, that she has made ninety-six miles of
difference of latitude north, and thirty-eight miles of de¬
parture west; but by observation finds her difference of
latitude 112, and on trial that there is a current which in
twenty-four hours makes a difference of sixteen miles la¬
titude north, and ten miles of departure east: Required
the ship’s departure.
Miles.
Diff. lat. by account 96 N.
Diff. lat. by current 16 N.
True diff. lat 112
Miles.
Departure by) 38 w>
account J
Departure by I jq
current J
28 W.
Here the dead reckoning corrected by the current gives
the difference of latitude 112 miles, which is the same as
that found by observation; and hence the departure
twenty-eight is taken as the true one.
When the error is supposed to arise from the courses
and distances, we must observe, that if the difference of
latitude is much more than the departure, or the direct
course has been within three points of the meridian, the
error is most probably in the distance. But if the depar¬
ture be much greater than the difference of latitude, or the
direct course be within three points of the parallel, or
more than five points from the meridian, the error is pro¬
bably to be ascribed to the course. But it the courses in
general are near the middle of the quadrant, the error
may be either in the course, or in the distance, or both.
This method admits of three cases.
1. When, by the dead reckoning, the difference of la¬
titude is more than once and a half the departure, or
when the course is less than three points : Find the course
to the difference of latitude and departure, and with this
course and the meridional difference of latitude by obser¬
vation, find the difference of longitude.
2. When the dead reckoning is more than once and a
half the difference of latitude, or when the course is more
than five points: Find the course and distance, with the
difference of latitude by observation, and departure by ac¬
count ; then, with the co-middle latitude by observation,
and departure by account, find the difference of longitude.
3. When the difference of latitude and departure by
account is nearly equal, or the direct course is between
three and five points of the meridian : Find the course
with the difference of latitude and departure by account
since the last observation. With this course and the di ■
ference of latitude by observation find another departure.
Take half the sum of these departures for the true one.
;:cerv,#u
2.
Drl
tlODS
iforli
odM
over
first {
vatioi
with
ibip’s
Ex
18° 2'
west.
|bo
Londc
tion lii
plied;
ibe w(
test,
turves
use in
ffflnot
toasts
kndl
east ar
but, 2.
ooewa
son, wl
firewv
tbart i
ma
a the
navmg
tstofi
bstwee
Wot
Offerer
hrence
M. i
;Seek it
"'eridi
take th
eocein
hphem
LONGITUDE.
563
ug„J-With the true departure and difference of latitude by ob-
^Y-*'servation find the true course; then with the true course
■ and meridional difference of latitude find the difference of
longitude.
2. To find the longitude at sea by a variation-chart 
Dr Halley having collected a great number of observa¬
tions on the variation of the needle in many parts of the
world, was enabled by that means to draw certain lines
on Mercator’s chart, showing the variation in all the places
over which they passed in the year 1700, at which time he
first published the chart; and hence the longitude of those
places might be found by the chart, provided its latitude
and variation were given. The rule is, draw a parallel of
latitude on the chart, through the latitude found by obser¬
vation ; and the point where it cuts the curved line marked
with the variation which had been observed will be the
ship’s place.
Example. A ship finds by observation the latitude to be
18° 20' north, and the variation of the compass to be 4°
west. Required the ship’s place. Lay a ruler over 18°
20' north, parallel to the equator ; and the point where its
edge cuts the curve of 4° west variation gives the ship’s
[place, which will be found in about 27° 10' west from
London.
This method of finding the longitude, however, is at-
ended with two inconveniences. 1. When the vai’ia-
ion lines run east or west, or nearly so, it cannot be ap-
)lied; though, as this happens only in certain parts of
he world, a variation chart may be of great use for the
est. Even in those places indeed where the variation
:urves do run east or west, they may be of considerable
ise in correcting the latitude when meridian observations
:annot be had, which frequently happens on the northern
oasts of America, the Western Ocean, and about New-
oundland ; for if the variation can be found exactly, the
ast and west curve answering to it will show the latitude,
lut, 2. Ihe variation itself is subject to continual change,
nd a chart, though ever so perfect at first, must in time
pecome totally useless; and hence the charts constructed
y Dr Halley, though of great utility at the time of their
ublication, became at length almost entirely useless. A new
ne was published in 1746 by Messrs Mountaine and Dod-
on, which was so well received that in 1756 they again
rew variation lines for that year, and published a third
hart in the following year. They also presented to the
loyal Society a curious paper concerning the variation of
he magnetic needle, with a set of tables annexed contain-
ig the result of more than 50,000 observations, in six
eriodical reviews from the year 1700 to 1756 inclusive,
dapted to every five degrees of latitude and longitude in
:ie more frequented oceans ; all of which were published
i the Philosophical Transactions for 1757.
3. To find the longitude by the sun’s declination.—
laving made such observations on the sun as may enable
s to find his declination at the place, take the difference
jetween this computed declination and that shown at
I -ondon by the Ephemeris ; from which take also the daily
i ifference of declination at that time; then say, as the
! aily difference of declination is to the above found dif-
;rence, so is 360 degrees to the difference of longitude,
a this method, however, a small error in the declination
ill make a great one in the longitude.
4. To find the longitude by the moon’s culminating.—
eek in the Ephemeris for the time of her coming to the
leridian on the given day and on the day following, and
ike their difference ; also take the difference between the
mes of culminating on the same day as found in the
‘Phemeris and as observed ; then say, as the daily differ-
ace in the Ephemeris is to the difference between the
i.phemeris and observation, so is 360 degrees to the dif-
‘rence of longitude. In this method also a small differ¬
ence in the culmination will occasion a great one in the Longitude,
longitude. ^ Y-»-"
5. By eclipses of the moon.—This is done much in the
same manner as by the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites;
for if, in two or more distant places where an eclipse of
the moon is visible, we carefully observe the times of the
beginning and ending, the number of digits eclipsed, or
the time when the shadow touches some remarkable spot,
or when it leaves any particular spot on the moon, the
difference of the times when the observations were made
will give the difference of longitude. Phenomena of this
kind, however, occur too seldom to be of much use.
. In the 76th volume of the Philosophical Transac¬
tions, Mr Edward Pigot gives a very particular account of
his method of determining the longitude and latitude of
York ; in which he also recommends the method of deter¬
mining the longitude of places by observations of the
moon s transit over the meridian. The instruments used
in his observations were a gridiron pendulum clock, a two
feet and a half reflector, an eighteen-inch quadrant made
by Mr Bird, and a transit instrument made by Mr Sisson.
By these instruments an observation was made, on the
10th of September 1783, of the occultation of a star of the
ninth magnitude by the moon, during an eclipse of that
planet at \ork and Paris. Besides this, there were ob¬
servations made of the immersions of <f> Aquarii and h Pis-
cium; the result of all which was, that between Green¬
wich and York the difference of meridians was 4' 27".
In 1783, Mr Pigot informs us, that he thought of find¬
ing the difference of meridians by observing the meridian
right ascensions of the moon’s limb. This he thought had
been quite original. But he found it afterwards in the
.Nautical Almanac for 1769, and in 1784 read a pamph¬
let on the same subject by the Abbe Toaldo; still he
found that the great exactness of this method was not
suspected, though he is convinced that it must soon be
universally adopted in preference to that from the first
satellite of Jupiter.
After giving a number of observations on the satellites
of Jupiter, he concludes, that the exactness expected from
observations, even on the first satellite, is much overrated.
Among the various objections,” says he, “ there is one
1 have often experienced, and which proceeds solely from
the disposition of the eye, that of seeing more distinctly
at one time than another. It majr not be improper also
to mention, that the observation I should have relied on
as the best, that of 30th August 1785, marked excellent, is
one of those most distant from the truth.”
After giving a number of observations on the eclipse of
the moon on the 10th of Septemberl783, our author con¬
cludes, that the eclipses of the moon’s spots are in general
too much neglected, and that it might be relied upon much
more were the following circumstances attended to: 1.
Io be particular in specifying the clearness of the sky;
2. to choose such spots as are well defined, and leave no
lesitation as to the part eclipsed; 3. every observer to
employ, as far as possible, telescopes equally powerful, or
at least to let the magnifying powers be the same. “ A
prmcipal objection,” says he, “may still be urged, viz. the
ifhculty of distinguishing the true shadow from the pen-
umbia. Were this obviated, I believe the results would
be more exact than from Jupiter’s first satellite; un¬
doubtedly the shadow appears better defined if magnified
a little; but I am much inclined to think that, with high
magnifying powers, there is greater certainty of choosing
t le same part of the shadow, which perhaps is more than
a sufficient compensation for the loss of distinctness.”
The following rule for meridian observations of the
moon s limb is next laid down : “ The increase of the
moon s right ascension in twelve hours (or any given time
found by computation), is to twelve hours as the increase
564
LON
LON
Longitude. 0f the moon’s right ascension between two places found
by observation is to the difference of meridians. We sub¬
join an example.
November 30, 1782.
h.
13 12 57*62 Meridian transit of moon’s se- f ^ clock at
cond limb \ Greenwich.
13 13 29*08 Ditto of a ttg ^ureenwicn.
31*4)6 Difference of right ascension.
13 14 8*05 Meridian transit of moon’s se-l ^ dock at
d-*r\-r\linr»L ^ 
cond limb
13 14 30-13 Ditto of a irjt
York.
32-08 Difference at York
31*46 Difference at Greenwich
The clocks
going near-
, ly sidereal
? time, no
correction
is required.
9-38 Increase of the moon’s appa¬
rent right ascension be¬
tween Greenwich and York,
by observation.
141" in seconds of a degree, ditto, ditto, ditto.
The increase of the moon’s right ascension for twelve
hours, by computation, is 23,340 seconds; and twelve
hours reduced into seconds is 43,200. Therefore, ac¬
cording to the rule stated above,
23,340": 43,200": diff. of merid. = 261".
“ These easy observations and short reduction,” says
Mr Pigot, “ are the whole of the business. Instead of
computing the moon’s right ascension for twelve hours, I
have constantly taken it from the Nautical Almanacs,
which give it sufficiently exact, provided some attention
be paid to the increase or decrease of the moon’s motion.
Were the following circumstances attended to, the results
would be undoubtedly much more exact.
“ 1. Compare the observations with those which have
been made in several other places. 2. Let several and the
same stars be observed at these places. 3. Such stars as
are nearest in right ascension and declination to the moon
are infinitely preferable. 4. It cannot be too strongly ur¬
ged, to get, as nearly as possible, an equal number of obser¬
vations of each limb, to take a mean of each set, and then
a mean of both means. This will in a great measure cor¬
rect the error of telescopes and sight. 5. The adjustment
of the telescopes to the eye of the observer before the ob¬
servation is also very necessary, as the sight is subject to
vary. 6. A principal error proceeds from the observation
of the moon’s limb, which may be considerably lessened,
if certain little round spots near each limb were also ob¬
served in settled observatories; in which case the libration
of the moon will perhaps be a consideration. 7. When
the difference of meridians, or of the latitudes of places,
is very considerable, the change of the moon’s diameter
becomes an equation.
“ Though such are the requisites to use this method
with advantage, only one or two of them have been em¬
ployed in the observations that I have reduced. Two
thirds of these observations had not even the same stars
observed at Greenwich and York, and yet none of the
results, except a doubtful one, differ 15" from the mean;
therefore I think we may expect a still greater exact¬
ness, perhaps within 10", if the above particulars be at¬
tended to.
“ When the same stars are not observed, it is necessary
for the observers at both places to compute their right
ascension from tables, in order to get the apparent right
ascension of the moon’s limb. Though this is not so sa¬
tisfactory as by actual observation, still the difference will
be trifling, provided the stars’ right ascensions are accu- Lon ii f
rately settled. I am also of opinion, that the same me- di^
thod can be put in practice by travellers with little trouble, 1
and a transit instrument constructed so as to fix up with W
facility in any place. It is not necessary, perhaps, thatf™tai
the instrument should be perfectly in the meridian fora^'"
few seconds of time, provided stars, nearly in the same
parallel of declination with the moon, are observed; nay,
I am inclined to think, that if the instrument deviates
even a quarter or half a degree, or more, sufficient exact¬
ness can be attained, as a table might be computed, show-
ing the moon’s parallax and motion for such deviation;
which last may easily be found by the well-known method
of observing stars whose difference of declination is con¬
siderable.
“ As travellers very seldom meet with situations to ob¬
serve stars near the pole, or find a proper object for de¬
termining the error of the line of collimation, I shall re¬
commend the following method as original. Having com¬
puted the apparent right ascension of four, six, or more
stars, which have nearly the same parallel of declination,
observe half of them with the instrument inverted, and
the other half when in its right position. If the differ¬
ence of right ascensions between each set by observation
agrees with the computation, there is no error; but if they
disagree, half that disagreement is the error of the line of
collimation. The same observations may also serve to
determine whether the distances of the corresponding
wires are equal. In case of necessity, each limb of the
sun might be observed in the same manner, though pro¬
bably with less precision. By a single trial I made above
two years ago, the result was much more exact than I
expected. Mayer’s catalogue of stars will prove of great
use to those that adopt the above method. I am rather
surprised that the immersions of known stars of the sixth
and seventh magnitude, behind the dark limb of the moon,
are not constantly observed in fixed observatories, as they
would frequently be of great use.”
LONGITUDINAL, in general, denotes something
placed lengthwise. Thus some of the fibres in the vessels
of the human body are placed longitudinally, others trans¬
versely or across.
LONGOBARDI. See Lombards.
LONGOMONTANUS, Christian, a learned astrono¬
mer, born in a village of Denmark in 1562. He was the
son of a ploughman, and during his studies had to suffer
all the hardships to which his condition exposed him, di¬
viding his time, like the philosopher Cleanthes, between
the cultivation of the earth and the lessons he received from
the minister of the place. At last, when he was fifteen,
he stole away from his family, and went to the college at
Wiburg, in which he spent eleven years ; and though he
was obliged to earn a livelihood, he applied himself to
study with such ardour, that amongst other sciences he
learned the mathematics in great perfection. He after¬
wards w’ent to Copenhagen, where the professors ot the
university of that city soon conceived so high an opinion
of him, that they recommended him to the celebrated
Tycho Brahe. Longomontanus lived eight years with that
celebrated astronomer, and was of great service to him in
his observations and calculations. At length, being ex¬
tremely desirous of obtaining a professor’s chair in Den¬
mark, Tycho Brahe consented, though with some reluc¬
tance, to deprive himself of his services ; gave him a dis¬
charge filled with the highest testimonies of esteem; and
furnished him with money for the expense of his journey.
He obtained a professorship of mathematics in the uni¬
versity of Copenhagen in 1605, and discharged the duty
of the office creditably until his death, which happened in
1647. He wrote many learned works, amused himselj
with endeavouring to square the circle, and pretended
tha
, Dr
)Nar
fly a
L
a®
catii
irith
men
fixec
L(
Aust
L(
ment
lent.
mour
surro
L(
strait
subsi
they
L(
in th
acre
retur
bytl
amou
L(
same
ment
It ha
tery.
to 43
u
»ere
inter
LOO
jt-'
riy
bore
wile
a®
ratif
ongtrcnthat he had actually discovered a mode of doing so; but
|| Dr John Pell, an English mathematician, attacked him
oo-chi- vvarmly on the subject, and proved that he was complete-
mistaken.
LONGTOWN, a town of Cumberland, on the Scotch
borders, near the conflux of the Esk and Kirksop, nine
miles from Carlisle, and 310 miles from London, It has
a market on Thursday, and a charity school'for the edu¬
cation of sixty children. The population amounted in
L
m
Chlo
ably
with
men
jixe(
this
onet
L<
Aust
heau
ladio
trade
| L(
Dient
tent,
into ‘
capit
moui
surro
whicl
ing rt
ants.
L(
separ
strait
habit
being
i subsi
they
L(
in th
situa
acre
retur
bytl
anioi
and i
L(
Talla
same
foran
ment
It hr
tery.
to 43
K
bd,
of isl
of Jr
coast
were
oppe
inter
bert
1831 to 2049.
LONGUS, a Greek sophist, author of a book entitled
Hoifisvixoc,, or a romance containing the loves of Daphnis and
Chloe. Huet, bishop of Avranches, speaks very favour¬
ably of this work ; but he censures the obscene touches
with which it is interspersed. None of the ancient authors
mention Longus, so that the time when he lived cannot be
fixed with certainty. There is an English translation of
this author, which is ascribed to Mr Craggs, who was at
one time secretary of state.
LONIGO, a city of Italy, the capital of a district in the
Austrian delegation of Vicenza. It stands on the river
Gua, and is well built and fortified. It is celebrated for a
beautiful palace of the Rocca family, constructed by Pal¬
ladio. It contains 5810 inhabitants, who carry on a brisk
trade.
LONS le Saunier, an arrondissement of the depart¬
ment of the Jura, in France, 712 square miles in ex¬
tent. It is divided into eleven cantons, and subdivided
into 298 communes, inhabited by 107,500 persons. The
capital is the city of the same name. It is situated in a
mountainous country, on the banks of the river Bailie, and
surrounded with picturesque but barren rocks, amongst
which are some salt springs, and establishments for procur¬
ing refined salt. It contains 860 houses, and 6200 inhabit¬
ants. Long. 5. 30. E. Lat. 46. 36. N.
LONTAR Pulo Isle, an island in the Indian Ocean,
separated from the peninsula of Malacca by a narrow
strait. This and some of the neighbouring islands are in¬
habited by men whose whole pursuits are on the sea, that
being the element from which they derive their whole
subsistence. Agriculture is wholly unknown to them, and
they are of simple and inoffensive manners.
LOOE, East, a borough and market-town of Cornwall,
in the hundred of West, 233 miles from London. It is
situated on the river of the same name, which runs into
a creek on the shore. It has a market on Saturday. It
returned two members to parliament, of which privilege,
by the late law, it has been deprived. The population
amounted in 1801 to 467, in 1811 to 608, in 1821 to 770,
and in 1831 to 865.
LOOE, West, a borough and township in the parish of
Talland, in Cornwall. It is opposite to East Looe, on the
same river, with which it is connected by a bridge. It had
formerly the privilege of returning two members to parlia¬
ment, but of this it has been deprived by the reform act.
It has a small but convenient harbour, defended by a bat¬
tery. The population amounted in 1801 to 376, in 1811
to 433, in 1821 to 539, and in 1831 to 593.
LOO-CHOO Islands, called Lewchew by Mr Mac-
leod, and by others Liqueo, or Lieoukiou. This group
of islands is situated in the Eastern Ocean, to the south
of Japan, about 400 or 500 miles east of the Chinese
coast. They were little known to Europeans until they
were visited by Captains Maxwell and Hall in the Alceste
and Lyra in 1816, on their return from conveying Lord
Amherst to China. Very full accounts have been publish¬
ed by Captain Hall and Macleod of these islands, and
of the climate and soil, as well as of the inhabitants, who
appeared to these gentlemen to be extremely simple and
interesting in their manners. These islands are in num¬
ber thirty-six ; but the only one of any great extent is the
LOO 565
Great Loo-choo, which is thirty miles in length, and from Loo-choo.
twelve to fifteen in breadth. The climate is here a hap-
py medium between the opposite extremes of heat and
cold. Being situated in the middle of a vast ocean,
these islands are refreshed by the sea breezes, which,
blowing continually over them, produce an agreeable
coolness. They are also well watered by small rivers and
streamlets, which, rising in the central eminences, flow
in different directions to the sea, and afford an abundant
supply of excellent water. Being in the latitude of 26. N.,
the scenery, though not quite so rich, is, according to Cap¬
tain Hall, even more pleasing to the eye than in countries
nearer to the equator; the vegetation not being so luxu¬
riant as to overload the landscape with foliage. The style
of the landscape is on the whole decidedly tropical, though
there is much variety; and the groves of pine trees .give
some parts of the country quite a European character.
The orange and lime, the banyan of India, and the Nor¬
wegian fir, all thrive in Loo-choo. The mode of dressing
the ground at Loo-choo is very neat, and resembles that
of China, particularly in the process of manuring and irri¬
gation. Tobacco, wheat, rice, Indian corn, millet, sweet
potatoes, brinjals, and many other tropical vegetables,
grow in great perfection at Loo-choo. Along the sides of
the hills, and around the villages, the bamboo and rattan
grow to a considerable size. But Captain Hall mentions
that the pine was the most conspicuous tree which they
observed on the island, rising to a great height and size.
Some are forty feet in height, and three or four in girth.
The cattle on this island are of a small black breed, and
invariably used instead of horses for agricultural purposes.
Hogs, goats, and poultry, with rice and a great variety of
vegetables, form the chief food of the inhabitants, milk be¬
ing seldom used. The English saw no geese on the island,
nor sheep; but their horses, though very small and slen¬
der, were sufficiently strong for the natives. Their goats
and pigs were also diminutive; but the poultry were large
and excellent. These islands are not infested by any wild
animals. They had no carts or wheeled carriages of any
kind, all loads being carried by horses; and the roads,
which are numerous, and generally kept in excellent order,
measure generally from six to ten feet across.
The whole coast of Loo-choo, as well as of the other
islands, is encircled with coral reefs, which do not appear
above water; and when the weather is calm, and their
situation is not pointed out by breakers, they are exceed¬
ingly dangerous to mariners. The Alceste, Captain Max¬
well’s ship, was several times in danger from these hidden
rocks. This singular formation, which appears to be ex¬
tending itself over the Pacific, was minutely examined
by Captain Hall. After the sea has left it for some time,
it becomes dry, and appears to be a compact rock; but
no sooner does the tide rise again, and the waves begin
to wash over it, than millions of coral worms, protruding
themselves from holes in the surface, begin their opera¬
tions ; so that, from their prodigious numbers, the whole
surface of the rock appears to be alive and in motion.
These insects or worms cannot raise the rock above the
surface of the water, and the level of the highest tide is
accordingly the limit of the rock upwards, after which
a horizontal field comes to be formed coincident with that
plane, and perpendicular on all sides; and thus the reef,
extending itself perpendicularly, and in all directions, be¬
comes extremely dangerous to navigators. On the coast
of Loo-choo there are several excellent harbours, parti¬
cularly one, which is capacious and safe, and affords every¬
where depth of water for the largest ships, with secure
anchorage. Its banks consist of high rocks, overgrown
with climbing plants and flowers.
These islands are inhabited by a singular and appa¬
rently amiable people. They are of a diminutive stature,
choo. not exceeding in their average height above five feet two
inches. But they are strong, well-made, and athletic;
and in complexion they are quite as fair as the natives of
Spain and Portugal. They invariably manifested towards
their English visitors the most gentle, polite, and humane
dispositions, but with that jealousy of them as strangers
which is peculiar to China, Japan, and all the neighbour¬
ing countries. They w^ere at first extremely averse to the
landing of their visitors, and it was only after long delibe¬
rations that they were induced to concede the liberty of do¬
ing so. But our people were confined to a small space on
the sea-shore, under a burning sun ; and it was only by
renewed entreaties that they were allowed to extend their
walks into the country. The natives, however, very freely
visited the English ships, and examined them carefully in
all their equipments and detail. They accepted readily
the hospitality of the strangers, and conformed to their
manners in every thing. In their interviews they always
showed a natural good breeding, bowing whenever they
spoke to the English, uncovering their heads in their
presence, and, in drinking, bowing to all around. After
they had permitted the English to land, many visits were
paid ; but they never admitted the strangers into the in¬
terior of their town, and even limited their walks within a
certain space. Any attempt to pass these bounds was
always resisted by the sentinels ; not, however, by force,
but by a polite request, and by representing, that if the
orders of the court were transgressed, blame would fall
upon them. Some overtures were made by Captain Max¬
well for an interview with the king; but these were al¬
ways steadily resisted, on the ground or pretence that no
embassy or letters were brought from the king of Eng¬
land, to whom, however, the king of Loo-choo wrote a
letter, which was unfortunately lost in the wreck of the
Alceste. It was extremely difficult to bring about any
intercourse with this people. Ordinary requests were
made the subject of tedious negociations; and the most
ungracious feature in their character was their uniform
aversion to any intimate communication with their visi¬
tors. In one particular they manifested a rigid adher¬
ence to Chinese manners ; namely, in carefully withhold¬
ing from the view of the Europeans their women, though
the latter did not appear otherwise to be very closely con¬
fined. The practice of polygamy, which prevails in China,
has no place here, and, the English were told, was even
held in abhorrence. From the free intercourse also of the
different sexes, the parties had opportunities of being ac¬
quainted before marriage.
One of the most remarkable facts mentioned by Captain
Hall is, that the natives of these islands were unacquainted
with the use of fire-arms. From all that the English could
observe, they were even ignorant of the use of money ; and
though those amongst the natives who had visited China
must have seen the currency of that country, yet none of
them showed any desire to possess Spanish dollars or gold
coins, nor could it ever be learned whether they were in
possession of any common medium of exchange. With re¬
gard to their want of arms, it is supposed by Mr Macleod,
that the Chinese, after conquering, had disarmed them.
The musketry and cannon of the English were objects of
great wonder to them; and when they saw Captain Max¬
well bring down a bird on the wing, they were shocked and
terrified, and requested that fire-arms should not be again
brought into the island. When Napoleon was informed,
at St Helena, that these people had neither arms nor mo¬
ney, he ridiculed the idea as incredible and absurd, and
affirmed that the English had been imposed on. The re¬
sult justified his penetration. These people are well ac¬
quainted with both; and it is now known that, notwithstand¬
ing all their fair seeming, they are about the most remorse¬
less pirates in the Yellow Sea. In their intercourse with
our people, howrever, they were remarked for their hones-
ty; insomuch, that though they were freely admitted on ||
board of the English ships, and many valuable articles were Loo
often in their way, yet nothing was ever missed. 'S“‘Y'
They appear to live on social and friendly terms with
one another, and have frequently pic-nic parties in the
fields, the dinner being carried about in little japanned
boxes, with sliding drawers, fastened to the end of a bam¬
boo. They entertained the English at dinner; and the
meal consisted of hard-boiled eggs coloured and sliced,
fish dried in butter, sliced junk smoked, sliced pig’s liver;
then came tea, which was succeeded by an unpalatable
dish of coarse, soft, black sugar, wrapped up in unbaked
dough. Cakes in various shapes, with something like cheese,
completed the entertainment; the intervals being filled up
with drinking sackee, and with smoking.
The Loo-chooans appear to have made no progress in
science or literature, though several individuals amongst
them were distinguished by the English for their intelli¬
gence, and turn for inquiry. Their language is a dialect
of the Japanese; but they have Chinese books, which
are studied by the learned. Their religion seems to resem¬
ble the superstition of China; but it is remarkable that
the order of priests, who are generally objects of venera¬
tion in all countries, are here considered as an inferior
caste. All the science of these islanders is derived from
the Chinese. Their practice of medicine is also Chinese;
and they generally ^administer to their patients roots, seeds,
and dried flowers of the country. The capital of Great
Loo-choo, and of the archipelago, is situated five miles
from its port of Napakiang. The English were not allow¬
ed to approach it, but saw it from a distance, beautifully
situated on the top of a hill; the houses, intermingled with
the trees, rising above one another, and the royal palace
above the whole. When the English left these islands, the
natives professed the most affectionate regard for them, and
expressed (with what sincerity the reader may judge) the
deepest regret at their departure. Long, of the capital of
the Great Loo-choo, 127. 52. 1. E. Lat. 26. 14. N.
LOOF, the after-part of a ship’s bow, or that part of
her side forward where the planks begin to be incurvated
into an arch as they approach the stem.
LOOK-OUT, in nautical language, a watchful attention
to some important object or event which is expected to
arise from the actual situation of a ship with reference to
other objects. It is principally used in navigation when
there is a probability of danger from the real or sup¬
posed proximity of land, rocks, or enemies ; in short, what¬
ever peril she may encounter through inattention, but
which might be avoided by a prudent and necessary vigi¬
lance.
LOOKIANG, a river in the Burman dominions, former¬
ly supposed to be a tributary of the Irrawuddy, with which
it has no connection. It is called Thaluayn in the Ava
territories, and falls into the sea at Martaban.
LOOKING-Glasses are plain mirrors of glass, which,
being impervious to the light, reflect the images of things
placed before them. See Mirror and Optics.
LOOL, in Metallurgy, a vessel prepared to receive the
washings of ores of metals. The heavier or more metallic
parts of the ores remain in the trough in w hich they are
washed; the lighter and more earthy run off with the
water, but settle in the lool.
LOOM, the weaver’s frame, a machine by which many
distinct threads are woven into one piece. Looms are oi
various structures, accommodated to the various kinds of
materials to be woven, and the various modes of weaving
them, namely, for woollens, silks, linens, cottons, cloths of
gold, and other works, as tapestry, ribands, stockings, and
other articles, each of which will be found under its proper
head. The weaver’s loom-engine, otherwise called the
joom
I' Lord
L(
cast
fort
offtl
This
iron
pf
L(
side(
per
aame.
which
iogto
forcr
LO
LO
»ess i
LO
is situ
Irque
Wej
water,
constr
they a
■hyan
porarii
the gr
churcl
saltpet
carries
Aguiic
LO
either
given!
sons o:
ontho
Advoc
like.
tontrai
%o;
P'actici
Lor
®ent, j
L T
kjshops
•listiiici
fisher
Ltp
rJ in
t£mixt
LOR
Dutch loom-engine, was brought from Holland to London
about the year 1676.
Loom, at sea. If a ship appears big when at a distance,
they say she looms, or appears a great sail. The term is
also used to denote the indistinct appearance of any other
distant objects.
LOONGHEE, a town of the Burman empire, situated on
theeastsideofthelrrawuddy. Long. 19.55.E. Lat. 19.41.N.
LOR
and this is unquestionably true in every effectual sense,
though the ancient distinction between them still nomi¬
nally continues. For if a bill should pass their house, there
is no doubt of its validity, though every lord spiritual should
vote against it (of which Selden and Sir Edward Coke give
many instances); as, on the other hand, it would doubtless
be equally good if the lords temporal present were inferior
to the bishops in number, and every one of those temporal
LOOP, in the iron-works, is a part of a sow or block of lords gave his vote to reject the bill, though Sir Edward
cast iron broken or melted off from the rest, and prepared Coke seems to doubt as to this.
for the forge or hammer. The usual method is, to break
off the loop of about three quarters of a hundredweight.
This loop is taken up with slinging-tongs, and beaten with
iron sledges till it be brought to a square mass of about
two feet long, which is called a bloom.
LOP, a lake of Central Asia, situated upon the western
side of the great desert of Shamo or Gobi, which lies be¬
tween it and China. It has on its banks a city of the same
2. The Temporal Lords consist of all the peers of the
realm (the bishops not being in strictness held to be such,
but merely lords of parliament), by whatever title of nobi¬
lity distinguished; dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and
barons. Some of these sit by descent, as do all ancient peers;
others by creation, as do all new-made ones ; others, since
the union with Scotland and Ireland, by election. The
Lords have a right to be, and constantly are, attended by
diators to engage. The lorarii also punished slaves who
disobeyed their masters.
LORCA, a city of Spain, in the province of Murcia. It
is situated on a small river called the Sangonera, which is
Frequently dry. The soil is excellent for producing wheat,
aarley, olives, and fruits, but frequently fails from want of
water, an evil which was attempted to be remedied by the
construction of dykes in order to retain the streams when
hey are abundant; but, in 1803, these banks were burst
ay an unusual weight of water, the lands below were tem-
oorarily inundated, and since then they have at times felt
he great evil of want of water. The city has nine parish
churches, ten monasteries, 21,866 inhabitants, fourteen
ialtpetre houses, with a house for preparing soda; and it
carries on a great deal of trade through the harbour of house, with the reasons for such dissent, which is usually
Aguilas, which is eleven and a half miles distant from it. styled his protest. All bills likewise, which may in their
LORD, a title of honour, given to those who are noble consequences affect in any way the rights of the peerage,
iither by birth or by creation. The title is also by courtesy are by the custom of parliament to have their fim rise alid
beginning in the House of Peers, and to suffer no changes
or amendments in the House of Commons.
LORD Howe’s Group, a cluster of islands in the
Pacific Ocean, discovered by Captain Hunter in 1791. Of
these, thirty-two were counted from the mast-head. They
are situated in about long. 159. 24. E. and lat. 5. 30. S.
LORDOSIS (of Xogcios, bent inwards), in medical writ¬
ings, a name given to a distempered state of the spine, in
It
given to all the sons of dukes and marquises, and to the eldest
ions of earls; and it is likewise a title of honour bestowed
>n those who are honourable by their employment, as Lord
Advocate, Lord Chamberlain, Lord Chancellor, ami the
ike. The word is Saxon, but abbreviated from two syl-
ables into one ; for it was originally Hlaford, which by
hopping the aspiration became Laford, and afterwards by
nntraction Lord. “ The etymology of the word,” says ^ ^    ^
Hoates, “ is well worth observing; for it was composed of which it is bent inwards, or towards the anterior parts,
laf, a loaf of bread, and ford, to give or afford; so that is used in opposition to gibbous, or hump-backed,
dlaford, now Lord, implies a giver of bread, because, in LORETTO, a city of the delegation of Macerata, in the
liose ages, such great men kept extraordinary houses, and papal dominions, in Italy. It is situated at the spot* where
I ed all the poor; for which reason they were called givers the river Musone falls into the sea. It is surrounded with
f bread, a thing now much out of date, great men being walls and ditches, has a cathedral, and several other churches,
inch fonder of retaining the title than of observing the and contains about 8000 inhabitants. It is remarkable for
ractice for which it was first given.” the Santa Casa, or sacred house, which is affirmed to have
Lords, House of, one of the three estates of parlia- been miraculously brought to this place in 1294, and over
lent, and composed of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, which a large church has been constructed in order to
1. The Spiritual Lords consist of the archbishops and preserve it. It is an object of veneration with many Ca-
ishops. Though these lords are in the eye of the law a tholics, and is visited by great numbers of pilgrims. The
istinct estate from the lords temporal, and are so distin- subsistence of the people mainly depends on this object
uished in our acts of parliament, yet in practice they are and in making rosaries, crucifixes, medallions, and other
sually blended together under the name of The Lords ; articles for the gratification of pious visitors. Its wealth was
ley intermix in their votes, and the majority of such in- dissipated during the French revolution, but it has since
mnixture joins both estates. From the want of a separate accumulated treasures, though not with the rapidity of
^sembly, an da separate negative on the part of the prelates, former times. Long. 13. 29. 45. E. Lat. 43. 27. N.
I )me writers have argued very cogently, that the lords Loretto, a town of the kingdom of Naples, in the pro-
■ mutual and temporal are now in reality only one estate; vince of Abbruzzo Citeriore, containing 3500 inhabitants.
567
Lord
Howe’s
Group
II
Loretto.
name, on the great caravan road from Cashgar to China, of the judges of the courts of King’s Bench and Common
which the present state is not accurately known. Accord- Pleas, and such of the Barons of the Exchequer as are of
ing to Marco Polo, the caravans usually stop here, and prepare the degree of the coif, or have been made Serjeants at law;
for crossing the formidable desert which lies before them. as likewise by the king’s learned counsel, being serjeants,
LOPEZ de Vega. See Vega. and by the masters of the court of Chancery, tor their ad-
LORAR1I, amongst the Romans, officers whose busi- vice in point of law, and for the greater dignity of their
ness it was, with whips and scourges, to compel the gla- proceedings. The secretaries of state, with the attorney
and solicitor general, also used to attend the House of
Peers, and have to this day their regular writs of summons
issued out at the beginning of every parliament, ad trac-
tandum et consilium impendendum, though not ad consen-
tiendum ; but whenever they have been members of the
House of Commons, their attendance here has, for a long
period, been dispensed with. Another privilege is, that every
peer, by license obtained from the king, may make another
lord of parliament his proxy, to vote for him in his ab¬
sence ; a privilege which a member of the other house
can by no means exercise, as he is himself but a proxy for
a multitude of other people. Each peer has also a right,
by leave of the house, when a vote passes contrary to his
sentiments, to enter his dissent upon the journals of the
568
LOT
Lot.
L 0 T
Lorgues LORGUES, a city of France, in the department of the
Var, and arrondissement of Draguignan. It contains 5000
inhabitants, who employ twelve mills in crushing olives,
and produce a very large quantity of the best oil. Long.
6. 31. E. Lat. 43. 29. N.
LORICA, a cuirass, brigantine, or coat of mail, in use
amongst the Roman soldiers. It was generally made of
leather, and its name is supposed to be derived from lorum.
The loricce were set with plates of metal in various forms;
sometimes in books or rings like a chain, sometimes like
feathers, and sometimes like the scales of serpents or fishes,
to which plates of gold were frequently added. There were
other lighter cuirasses, consisting only of numerous folds of
linen cloth, or of flax, made strong enough to resist wea¬
pons. Such soldiers as were rated under a thousand
drachms, instead of the lorica now described, wore a pec-
tor ale. The Roman lorica was made like a shirt, and de¬
fended the wearer both before and behind, but was so con¬
trived that the back part could be occasionally separated
from the front. Some of the loriccc were made of cords of
hemp or flax, close set together ; and hence they are call¬
ed thoraces, bilices, trilices, and so on, from the number of
the cords fixed one upon another; but these were used
rather in hunting than in the field of battle.
LORIOL, a town of France, in the department of the
Drome, and arrondissement of Valence, situated on the
river Drome, over which is an extraordinary bridge, with
an arch in the centre of eighty-four feet in span. It con¬
tains 390 houses, and 2460 inhabitants.
LORNE, a division of Argyleshire, in Scotland, which
gives the title of marquis to the Duke of Argyll. See
Argyleshire.
LORRAINE. See France.
LOSTWITHIEL, a borough and market town of the
county of Cornwall, in the hundred of Powder, 246 miles
from London. It stands on the river Fowey, but the har¬
bour is nearly choked up. A stannary court is held here,
and a market on Saturday. It formerly returned two mem¬
bers to parliament, chosen by the corporation, but it has
been deprived of that privilege by the reform law. Near
to it is the fine seat of Bocconnoc, belonging formerly to
Lord Camelford, now to Lord Grenville. The population
amounted in 1801 to 743, in 1811 to 825, in 1821 to 933,
and in 1831 to 1548.
LOT, a department of France, formed out of the divi¬
sion of Quercy, in the ancient government of Guienne.
It extends in north latitude from 44. 14. to 45. 2. and in
east longitude from 0. 52. to 2. 2., being in extent 2156
square miles, or 398,406 hectares. It is bounded on the
north by the department of the Correze, on the east by
Cantal and Aveyron, on the south by Tarn-Garonne, and
on the west by Lot-Garonne and Dordogne. It comprises
three arrondissements, twenty-nine cantons, and 345 com¬
munes, and is peopled by 263,500 persons. It is an un¬
dulating district, with hills of moderate height, having be¬
tween them valleys of great fertility. The soil is general¬
ly dry and somewhat rocky, but is covered with a coat of
mould, deepest in the valleys, which produces excellent
corn, so that the surplus of grain is greater than in any
other of the departments of France. The several fruits, es¬
pecially plums, chestnuts, and walnuts, are raised in great
abundance ; but the chief fruit is the grape, which is
grown extensively on the hills. The wine has great re¬
putation, both from being uninjured by transportation, and
by keeping good for a long time. The best grows in the
arrondissement of Cahors, whence about 60,000 pipes are
sent, some of them to Bordeaux. Much brandy also is made,
as well as vinegar, and both enjoy great reputation. The
agriculture is well conducted, and, besides corn, affords
good crops of pulse, hemp, flax, and saffron. The breed
of black cattle is very good, and the flocks of sheep are
numerous ; the quality of the wool having been much im. hot at. vtiis)
proved of late years by crossing their own with Merinos Garoti
from Spain. The only mines are some few of iron; but. 1
the quarries yield mill-stones, alabaster, marble, limestone,01*
and fullers’ earth, in great abundance. The manufactures
are inconsiderable, consisting of woollen and linen cloth,
some hardware, paper, and leather. The department
elects three deputies to the legislative body. The capital
is the city of Cahors.
LOT and Garonne, a department of France, formed
out of those parts of the ancient government of Guienne
denominated Condomois and Agenois. It extends in north
latitude from 43. 58. to 44. 45. and in longitude from 0.
21. east, to 0. 49. west, containing 2249 square miles, or
532,640 hectares, of which 306,720 are under the plough,
65,320 are vineyards, 59,640 are woods and forests,
32,726 are meadows, 52,704 are uncultivated, 6816 are
marshes, and the remainder are the courses of rivers and
the sites of towns and villages. It is bounded on the north
by the departments of the Gironde and of the Dordogne,
on the east by those of the Lot and the Tarn-Garonne,
on the south by Gers, and on the west by the Gironde.
It is divided into four arrondissements, twenty-nine can¬
tons, and 435 communes, and contains 326,850 inhabi¬
tants, of whom about 30,000 are Protestants, and the re¬
mainder adhere to the Roman Catholic church. It is a
lofty plain, intersected with deep valleys, the hills bound¬
ing which are covered with vines, whilst the bottoms have
streams bordered by fertile meadows. The two chief
rivers, the Lot and the Garonne, are navigable for barges
the whole length of the department, and receive the waters
of numerous tributary streams. The soil is generally fer¬
tile, and though, from attachment to old and slovenly cus¬
toms, agriculture is ill conducted, as much corn is pro¬
duced as enables one fourth of the crops to be disposed of
to the neighbouring departments. The land is chiefly oc¬
cupied by small farmers, who pay their rent by delivering
half the crops to the owner. Besides corn, much hemp
of excellent quality is raised, and also some flax. A vast
quantity of fruit is produced. The wine is generally of a
medium quality ; but some of great estimation is made in
Thezac, Perigord, Lavocal, and Clairac. The forests, be¬
sides fire and building wood, yield tar, turpentine, and
pitch, and considerable quantities of cork. A great num¬
ber of bees are kept, which make much honey and wax;
and it is said that two millions of geese are maintained.
The only mines are those of iron, which furnish yearly
about 1400 tons, the greater part of which is manufactured
for home consumption into various kinds of hardware.
There are some manufactures of sailcloth and other linens,
and of woollens, leather, glass, paper, and snuff from to¬
bacco grown in several parts. One of the most extensive
employments is that of cork-cutting, which is said to sup¬
ply more than thirty millions of corks. The members cho¬
sen for the legislative body are three. The capital is the
city of Agen.
LOTHIAN, a name given to three counties of Scot¬
land, Haddingtonshire, Edinburghshire, and Linlithgow¬
shire ; otherwise called East, Mid, and West Lothians.
See the articles on these different shires.
LOTION is, strictly speaking, such washing as con¬
cerns beautifying the skin, by cleansing it of those defor¬
mities which are thrown out upon it by distempered blood.
Lotion, in Pharmacy, denotes a preparation of medi¬
cines, by washing them in some liquid, either made very
light, so as to take away only the dregs, or sharp, so as to
penetrate them, in order to clear them of some salt or
corrosive spirit, as is done to antimony, precipitates, ma-
gisteries, and the like, or intended to take away some
foulness or ill quality, and communicate some good one.
LOTOPHAGI, in Ancient Geography, a people of the
'-'v
the'
U
tora
hi co
for d
Th
Satur
were
voiire
Wei
Thi
fits wi
contir
of Mt
It was
of Mr
wards
In'
tj “ j
anybl
well o
to the
arise
iowan
>ervan
Int
to sup
Her a
strains
Lre£
I’oar, i
off.;
to be
Hi
apers
are to
voi
ps)
the
lusci
coun
L<
tora
hyco
for tl)
conta
blank
Th
Satur
tickei
whicl
tablis
were
voure
talus
were i
prize
able'
Th
fits Wi
contir
of Mi
them
for th
Itwai
of Mi
wards
In
ty “
anybl
to tht
arise
iowan
toe se
be fill,
prizes
Queer
servan
In
to sup
howev
beta
straim
rep
jear,
»fu
to be
H
a per,
3reto
voi
L 0 T
otteryt Regio Syrtica (so called from their living upon the lo-
'tus)3 jphabiting the country between the two Syrtes, from
the Cinyphus to the Triton. The lotus was said to be so
luscious a food as to make strangers forget their native
country.
LOTTERY, a kind of public game at hazard, in’order
to raise money for the service of the state, being with us
appointed by the authority of parliament, and managed
by commissioners appointed by the Lords of the Treasury
for that purpose. It consists of several numbers of blanks
and prizes, which are drawn out of wheels, one of which
contains the numbers, and the other the corresponding
blanks or prizes.
The Romans invented lotteries in order to enliven their
Saturnalia. This festival began by the distribution of
tickets which gained some prize. Augustus made lotteries
which consisted of things of little value; but Nero es¬
tablished some for the people, in which a thousand tickets
were distributed daily, and several of those who were fa¬
voured by fortune got rich by means of them. Helioga-
balus invented some very singular ones, in which the prizes
were either of great value or of none at all; one gained a
;prize of six slaves, and another of six flies ; some gotyvalu-
able vases, and others vessels of common earth.
The first English lottery which we find mentioned in
history was drawn in the year 1569. It consisted of 40,000
lots, at 10s. each lot. The prizes were plate; and the pro¬
fits were to go towards repairing the havens of the king¬
dom. It wTas drawn at the west door of St Paul’s cathedral.
The drawing began on the 11th of January 1569, and
continued incessantly, day and night, until the 6th day
of May following. (Maitland, vol. i. p. 257.) There were
then only three lottery-offices in London. The proposals
for this lottery were published in the years 1567 and 1568.
It was at first intended to have been drawn at the house
of Mr Dericke, her majestj^’s jeweller ; but it was after¬
wards drawn as above mentioned.
In 1748, Dr Rawlinson showed the Antiquarian Socie¬
ty “ A proposal for a very rich lottery-general without
any blankes, contayning a great number of good prizes, as
well of redy money as of plate and certain sorts of mer¬
chandizes, having been valued and prised by the com¬
mandment of the queene’s most excellent majestie’s order,
to the intent that such commodities as may chance to
arise thereof, after the charges borne, may be converted
towards the reparations of the havens and strength of the
realme, and towards such other public good workes.” He
then goes on to say, “ The number of lotts shall be foure
hundred thousand, and no more; and every lott shall be
the summe of tenne shillings sterling, and no more. To
be filled by the feast of St Bartholomew. The shew of
prizes are to be seen in Cheapside, at the sign of the
Queene’s Armes, the house of Mr Dericke, goldsmith,
servant to the queene.”
In the reign of Queen Anne, it was thought necessary
to suppress lotteries as public nuisances. Since that time,
however, they have been licensed by act of parliament, un¬
der a variety of regulations. The act passed in 1778 re¬
strains any person from keeping an office for the sale of
hckets, shares, or chances, or for buying, selling, insuring,
)r registering, without a license ; for which license each
jffice-keeper must pay L.50, to continue in force for one
year, and the produce to be applied towards defraying the
sxpense of the lottery. And no person is allowed to sell
my share or chance less than a sixteenth, on the penalty
jf L.50. All tickets divided into shares or chances are
to be deposited in an office, to be established in London
by the commissioners of the Treasury, who are to appoint
i person to conduct the business thereof; and all shares
ire to be stamped by the said officer, who is to give a re¬
ceipt for every ticket deposited with him. The numbers
VOL. xm.
LOU
569
ot all tickets so deposited are to be entered in a book, Loudeac
with the names of the owners, and the number of shares II
into which they are divided. All tickets deposited in the
office are to remain there three days after the drawing.
Any person keeping an office, or selling shares, or who ^
shall publish any scheme for receiving moneys in con¬
sideration of any interest to be granted in any ticket in
the said lottery, without being in possession of such
ticket, shall forfeit L.500, and suffer three months impri¬
sonment. No business is to be transacted at any of the
offices after eight in the evening, except on the evening
of the Saturday preceding the drawing ; and no person is
to keep any office for the sale of tickets in Oxford or Cam¬
bridge, on penalty of L.20. Before this regulating statute
was passed, there were upwards of four hundred lottery-
offices in and about London only; but the number for all
Britain, as appears by the list published by authority, af¬
terwards amounted to'not more than fifty-one. Subse¬
quently, however, they increased greatly in number.
Some further regulations to prevent the frauds commit¬
ted by insurances were made in 1793. In 1808 the re¬
ports of a committee of the House of Commons disclosed
a dreadful scene of vice and misery brought on b}7 lotte¬
ries, and recommended their abolition, or at least that
they should be put under other regulations. The gross
sum I’eceived by government from the lottery was esti¬
mated at L.750,000 per annum, of which L.5'00,000 was
for tickets, and the remainder for postages, stamps, &c.
At length, lotteries, which had proved eminently prejudi¬
cial to public morals, by fosteringamong the people a pro¬
pensity to gambling, and which, in a fiscal point of view,
had yielded but a trifling amount of revenue to the state,
were put an end to by a Treasury minute, which pro-
videdThat, from and after the 18th of October 1826, they
should cease and determine ; and this abolition was accom¬
panied with a prohibitory declaration against all attempts
on the part of individuals to revive or continue them in
any mode or form whatsoever. Some years ago, however,
a bill was brought into parliament for disposing, in this sort
of way, of some property in Glasgow; and, as the obnoxi¬
ous denomination of lottery was carefully excluded, gene¬
ral terms alone being employed in the bill, it accidentally
escaped notice, and thus passed into a law. But it is well
understood that this took place per incuriam, and that any
future attempt of a similar description will certainly prove
unsuccessful.
LOUDEAC, an arrondissement of Lrance, in the de¬
partment of the North Coasts, extending over 624 square
miles, and containing a population of 89,500 persons. It
is divided into nine cantons and fifty-five communes. The
capital is a town of the same name, which contains 6000
inhabitants, chiefly employed in branches of the linen
trade.
LOUDON, an arrondissement in the department of
the Vienne, in France, extending over 379 square miles.
It contains four cantons, divided into sixty-seven com¬
munes, and is inhabited by 33,400 persons. The capital
is the city of the same name, which occupies a mountain¬
ous situation. It is well built, and contains 860 houses,
with 5600 inhabitants, who are occupied in tanneries, and
in making thread-lace, serges, and other thin woollen goods.
Long. 0. 3. W. Lat. 47. 2. N.
LOUER, a town of Hindustan, belonging to the Mah-
rattas, in the province of Aurungabad, situated upon the
banks of the Girah River. It is in long. 74. 27. E. lat. 20.
25. N.
LOUGH Neagh, a loch or lake of Ireland, situated
in the counties of Armagh, Down, Derry, and Antrim, in the
province of Ulster. This lake is twenty miles in length*
and varies from eight to twelve miles in breadth. The
area of this lake is computed at 100,000 acres.
4 c
570
LOU
Louisiana.
LOU
Lough Lough Strangford, a lake of Ireland, situated in the
Strangford county of Down and province of Ulster. It was formerly
known by the name of Lough Cone or Lough Coyne. It is
' a deep bay or inlet of the sea, about seventeen miles long
and four or five broad. It reaches west as far as Downpa¬
trick, and north as far as Comber and Newton, and by com¬
putation covers 25,775 acres Irish plantation measure.
LOUGHBOROUGH, a market-town of the county of
Leicester and hundred of West Goscot, 108 miles from
London, and situated on the river Soar. It has considera¬
ble trade, arising from being on a navigable canal, and on
the great north road. The market is held on Thursday.
The population amounted in 1801 to 4546, in 1811 to
5400, in 1821 to 7365, and in 1831 to 10,800.
LOUHANS, an arrondissement belonging to the de¬
partment of the Saone and Loire, in France, extending over
605 square miles, and peopled by 78,300 persons. It is di¬
vided into eight cantons, and eighty-three communes. The
chief place is a city of the same name, situated on an island
formed by the junction of three small rivers. It contains
330 houses and 3250 inhabitants, who manufacture linen
and woollen goods, and carry on some transit trade between
Lyons and Switzerland.
LOUIS, or St Louis, Knights of, the name of a military
order in France, instituted by Louis XIV. in 1693. Their
colours were of a flame colour, and passed from left to
right; the king was their grand master. There were in the
order eight great crosses, and twenty-four commanders; but
the number of knights was not limited. At the time of
their institution, the king charged his revenue with a fund
of 900,000 livres for defraying the pensions of the com¬
manders and knights.
Louis d’Or, a French coin, first struck in the year 1640,
under the reign of Louis XIII. See the article Money.
By the French mint regulations it was at length made
equal to twenty-four livres, or L.l sterling. This, how¬
ever, was underrating it in respect of silver; and hence, as
every one preferred paying his debts in the overvalued
coin, silver became the principal currency of France, the
gold coins being either sent to the melting-pot, or export¬
ed. In Britain the process was reversed. Gold having,
for a long period, been overvalued by our mint in respect
of silver, it became the principal currency of the country.
LOUISIADE, an archipelago in the Eastern Seas, con¬
sisting of a number of islands of different sizes, interspers¬
ed with dangerous shoals and reefs, which chiefly received
names from the French during their voyage in search of La
Perouse in 1793. Some of these islands are fertile and
populous, and their inhabitants are a warlike race.
LOUISIANA, one of the United States of North Ame¬
rica, is bounded on the east by the state of Mississippi, on
the west by the Sabine River, on the north by the Ar¬
kansas territory, and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico.
It extends from longitude 89. to 94. 5., and its extreme
southern point is in latitude 28. 56. whilst its northern
limit is in latitude 33. The average length is about 240
miles, and the mean breadth rather more than 200 miles,
the area being estimated at 48,220 square miles. The
surface of Louisiana presents great diversity of appearance,
and no state in the union possesses a greater quantity of
the very finest land. It includes all the varieties, from the
most recent and still periodically inundated alluvial flats,
to elevations which approach the magnitude of mountains ;
every quality of soil, from the most productive to the most
sterile, from unwooded plains to dense and almost impe¬
netrable forests. The southern part of this state, from
Lake Borgne to Sabine River and from the Gulf of
Mexico to Baton Rouge and Red River, is an alluvial
tract of country, extending about two hundred and forty
miles in length by from seventy to one hundred and forty
in breadth. It is intersected by numerous rivers, bays,
creeks, and lakes, which divide the country into a greatLouijiii
Y~\ 11 T l d O V» ^ I »i •»» 4-1 ft s-vn 4-1 4. _ V
number of islands. Three fourths of the state are destitute
of any elevation which deserves the name of a hill. The
pine woods generally have a surface of a very particular
character, rising into fine swells, with table surfaces on the
summit, and valleys from thirty to forty feet deep. But
they in no part present the aspect of a range, and are scat¬
tered over the country like the waves of an agitated sea.
The alluvial soil is level, and the swamps are dead flats.
The vast prairies, which constitute a large portion of the
state, present a surface as level as a frozen lake. With the
exception of the shaking prairies, they are higher and drier
than the savannahs of Florida. A range of hills com¬
mences by gentle undulations in Opelosas, rises gradually,
and diverges towards the river Sabine. In the vicinity of
Natchitoches it preserves a distance intermediate between
the Sabine and Red Rivers, and increases in elevation to
the western part of the state. A second line of hills, not
far from Alexandria, commences on the north side of lied
River, and separating between the waters of that river and
Dudgemony, unites with another chain of elevations which
bound the alluvial plains of the Washita as bluffs, gradually
diverging from that river as they pass beyond the western
limits of the state. There are likewise some considerable
hills beyond the Mississippi, and in some other parts the
country is high; but, generally speaking, Louisiana is one
immense plain, divided into pine woods, prairies, swamps,
and hickory and oak lands. The pine woods have almost
invariably a poor soil. The greater proportion of the prai¬
ries is second-rate land, and some of them are even sterile.
A few, however, in Opelosas, and those of Attakapas, pos¬
sess great fertility. They are in general more level than
those of the upper country. A very considerable extent of
them has a cold clayey soil, with a hard crust near the sur¬
face. In other places the soil is of inky blackness, and in
the hot and dry season it cracks into fissures of some inches
in width. A considerable belt of these prairies, near the
gulf, is low, marshy, and in rainy weather inundated. The
bottoms are generally rich, but in veiy different degrees.
Those of the Mississippi and Red Rivers are particularly
so, and the vegetation there is remarkable for its size and
luxuriance. The cotton on fresh lands of the richest qua¬
lity reaches the size of a considerable shrub. The bottoms
of Red River possess extraordinary fertility, and the lower
courses of this stream constitute the paradise of cotton
planters. The soil is said to derive its fertility from a por¬
tion of salt which is intimately mixed with it, and from its
peculiar friability; and the darkish red colour which it
bears is to be traced to the presence of the red oxide of
iron. All the branches of Red River, and they are very nu¬
merous, partake of the character of the main stream. Ihe
other parts of Louisiana which have the richest soils are,
the island of New Orleans, a narrow neck of land, insu¬
lated by various lakes and rivers. About one third of
this neck is under cultivation, the other two thirds being
swamp. This tract is the finest part of the idch country
called the Coast, which is that part of the bottom of the
Mississippi commencing with the first cultivation above
the Balize, about forty miles below New Orleans, and ex¬
tending one hundred and fifty miles above it. It is from
one to two miles in breadth ; and a richer tract of land of
the same extent cannot be found on the globe. It is se¬
cured by an embankment, called a levee, from six to eight
feet in height, and for the most part sufficiently broad to
afford room for a fine road. Above the levee, on the east
bank of the river, are situated the parishes of Baton Rouge
and East and West Feliciana. The latter parish is pleasant¬
ly diversified with hills and valleys, and belonging to it are
the richest planters and the best plantations in the state, m
some of which there are from five to eight hundred acres
under cultivation. West of the Mississippi there are some
fer
ho'
Re
on
lan
Jfo
sirs
COV'
nec
due
ing'
iyir
isai
laya
ly fi
surfi
It is
into
marl
ferti
is ce
whic
kre
ed j
name
itstr
til A ^
all pi
neral
asan
ginu
covet
cane-
crossi
point
Altai
most
and}
tare,
fustic
'a mil
as the
uono
Wf
andb
theal
feryl;
(^%msi»a. tracts of soil very fertile, and here the sugar-cane thrives with ease in great abundance. The Irish potato is not so Louisiana.
l®. tfi
pwi
fei
ho'
Ke|
on
lan
Jib
str(
due
cov
ed'
nec
thal
clue
ing
lyit
isai
laya
ly f
upoi
surf:
this
fora
It is
into
marl
ferti
is c(
whic
here
ed p
nami
itsti
the f
all pi
neral
but
as ar
ginfl
cover
cane'
islam
cross
Altai
most
sillier
tare,
fustic
■u mil
asthi
fated,
do no
Wl
Nb
the al
veryl
LOUISIANA.
571
well. A considerable portion of Attakapas is of great
fertility, as are smaller portions of Opelosas, which is,
however, best adapted for a grazing country. Near the
Red River there occur several tracts of very fertile soil,
on parts of which the richest cotton is produced. The
lands on the Washita River are black, like those on the
Mississippi; and the alluvions on the lower courses of this
easily raised, and is only cultivated for eating during the
early part of summer. Garden vegetables generally ap¬
pear to have no assignable limit upon a soil so varied,
and in a climate so near the tropics. It may seem almost
incredible that horticulture should be neglected in Louisi¬
ana, yet such is the case; and the fact seems the more
unaccountable, when it is considered that some individual
stream furnish an admirable soil for cotton, and other pro- gardens present what would appear an irresistible temp-
ductions that require the same climate. tation. The pumpkin and melon tribe flourish in this cli-
A very great proportion of the surface of this state is
covered with prairies, almost all of which are so associat¬
ed with one another as to form a family, the natural con¬
nection of all the branches being easily traced. The first
that occur west of the Mississippi are those which are in¬
cluded under the general name of Attakapas ; a term imply¬
ing “ man-eater” in the language of the savages who former¬
ly inhabited it, and who are said to have been cannibals. It
is an immense plain of grass, stretching from the Atchafa-
laya on the north to the gulf on the south. It is extreme¬
ly fertile, innumerable herds of cattle and horses graze
upon it, and at intervals are scattered over its immense
surface the houses of the agriculturists. To the west of
this prairie occurs that of Opelosas, still larger than the
former, and computed to contain nearly 8000 square miles.
It is divided, by various natural boundaries or obstructions,
into a number of prairies, which have separate names and
marks of distinction. The soil, though occasionally very
fertile, is less so than that of Attakapas ; but this deficiency
is compensated by the greater salubrity of the climate,
which is reckoned the healthiest in the state. There are
here very considerable cotton plantations, and some of in¬
mate. All the northern fruits come to perfection, with the
exception of apples. The apple-tree covers itself with
blossoms and fruit, which, before it ripens, shows a black
speck, decays, and falls. Different kinds of figs grow in
the greatest abundance, and the tree would appear to at¬
tain its largest size in this quarter; but, although growing
spontaneously, it is only to be found on a few farms.
Along the whole shore of the gulf, and in some other
places, the orange-tree, sweet and bitter, flourishes, and
the fruit is of the finest quality. The cultivated vine
flourishes abundantly; and wild grapes, such as the sum¬
mer, winter, fox, muscadine, and pine-wood grape, are
abundant. Berries are neither so common nor so good as
in the north, but various kinds of wild fruit are common
in the woods. There are an immense number of wild
and cultivated flowering shrubs, which flourish in this re¬
gion; and the abundance of mulberry trees holds out a
prospect that the culture of silk will ere long form one of
the branches of trade in this state. The timber-trees on
the bottoms are willow, cotton-wood, honey-eye locust,
pawpaw, and buck-eye ; on the rich uplands, elm, cucum¬
ber, ash, hickory, mulberry, black walnut, with abundance
digo ; and the parish, which bears the same name, is one of of grape vines ; and on the second rate, or sandy uplands,
the most populous in the state. Bellevue prairie is situat- white, pitch, and yellow pines, and various kinds of oak!
ed partly in Opelosas, partly in Attakapas, and, as its As yet agriculture is only in its infancy, the principal ob-
name imports, affords a delightful prospect. Calcasiu and ject being not to produce a great variety of crops, but to ob-
Sabine prairies are names descriptive of the different forms, tain the greatest amount of the staple productions. Sugar
shapes, and openings of this continuous line of prairies, as
it stretches along the settlements from the Plaquemine to
the Sabine. Some of them are of great extent, and they
all possess nearly the same characteristics. They are ge¬
nerally so level as to appear to the eye a perfect plain ;
but there occasionally occur swells and declivities, such
as are sufficient to carry the water from them. The mar¬
gin which borders on the gulf is commonly a wet marsh,
and rice are the staples of the state in general south of
30°, and cotton north of that parallel; the latter, however,
is extensively cultivated in every part of the state. Su¬
gar-cane is a very rich and abundant article of growth in
Louisiana. It requires the richest soil, the mould of which
should at least be a foot deep. There are three or four
varieties or species, as the African, the Otaheitan, the
West Indian, and the riband cane. The Otaheitan grows
covered with a luxuriant growth of tall reedy grass called luxuriantly, and ripens considerably earlier than the West
cane-grass. In various parts of these prairies there are Indian ; but it is said to contain saccharine matter, in corn-
islands of timber lands. Wherever a bayou or stream parison with the other, only as two to three. The riband
crosses the prairie, it is marked with a fringe of timber; cane is a new and beautiful species, which possesses the
and here the soil is invariably rich, as well as at the advantage of not requiring so long a season for ripening,
points of the prairie ; but towards the Sabine it is less so. Throughout the state the planters are turning their atten-
Attakapas is the first and most fertile, and that of the Sa- tion to the cultivation of the sugar-cane, ^and nothing
bine the last and most sterile. Beyond Opelosas prairie yields so rich a harvest. The rice is remarkably fair, and
most of the people subsist by rearing cattle, sheep, horses, yields abundantly. There is a great extent of land fa-
and mules. Many of the horses are of the Andalusian vourable for the production of the upland rice; and no
and Numidian breed ; and the cattle are excellent, though limit can be assigned to the amount which misfit be rais-
slenderly formed. Numbers of the inhabitants are French, ed. The cotton cultivated here is an annual {fiant, grow-
and though often opulent, from habit and inclination they ing in the rich lands more than six feet in height, and the
adhere to the simplicity of pastoral life and primitive na- larger stalks of the size of a man’s arm, throwing out a
ture. Thousands of cattle range the plains, there is a number of branches, on which form large and beautiful
rustic abundance of every thing, and the land abounds whitish-yellow blossoms. It is planted from March till
in milk and honey. There are various other prairies, but the middle of May', in drill rows, six feet apart. The kinds
as they are of less importance than those above enume- of cotton cultivated are, Louisiana, green seed or Ten¬
rated, and moreover possess similar general features, they
do not require any particular description.
Wheat and rye do not flourish here in general, but oats
and barley succeed well; and maize grows luxuriantly on
the alluvions and rich lands. The sweet potato, convoU
nessee, and recently Mexican cotton. The green seed is
not so fine a staple, but it is less subject to the destruc¬
tive malady called the rot. The Mexican is of a finer
staple, yields more abundantly, and has not hitherto suf¬
fered from rot. It is being commonly adopted, and the
I vulus batatas, in the sandy soil attains its utmost perfec- importation of seed from Tampico and Vera Cruz is be-
Ition. They are of different species, and occasionally of a coming a considerable business. Sea Island cotton grows
very large size, but all are extremely nutritive, and raised well upon grounds that have been exhausted by the
572
LOUISIANA.
Louisiana, continued cultivation of the other kinds. All the species
' exhaust the soil; but the seeds, which accumulate in pro¬
digious quantities around the gins, furnish an admirable ma¬
nure, which supplies the deficiency of nutriment. Attempts
have been made to cultivate the tea plant; and benne,
which yields an oil similar to that of olives, succeeds well.
Indigo was formerly a prime object of attention amongst
the planters, but the cultivation of it has been in a great
measure abandoned. The finest tobacco is raised, but it
is not so profitable as sugar and cotton, although that
which is cultivated in the vicinity of Natchitoches is said
to equal the tobacco of Cuba. Louisiana produces an¬
nually an average crop of more than 100,000 hogsheads of
sugar, and five millions of gallons of molasses. It is to this
individual branch of agriculture that the prosperity of the
Union in general, and the west in particular, has in a great Louisiana *!»■ ‘
measure been attributed. Such is a sketch of the agricul-'
ture of Louisiana. We shall now describe the divisions of
the state, and the principal towns belonging to it.
The state of Louisiana is, for the better arrangement in
the choice of the legislature, divided into twelve counties
These are,
The county of Orleans,
  German Coast,
  Acadia,
  Iberville,
  Lafourche,
  Point Coupee,
This division was made in 1812, when the constitution by
which the state is governed was first framed.
Rapides.
Natchitoches
Concordia.
Ouachita.
Opelosas.
Attakapas.
Table of the Parishes and Seats of Justice.
EASTERN DISTRICT.
Parishes.
Ascension, s. e. m 
Assumption, s. e. m 
Baton Rouge, East, m 
Baton Rouge, West, m 
Concordia, n. e   
Feliciana, East, e. m 
Feliciana, West, e. m 
Iberville, s. e. m 
Jefferson, s. e 
Lafourche, Interior, s 
Orleans, s. e 
New Orleans, city and suburbs.
Plaquemines, s. e 
Point Coupee, m 
St. Bernard, s. e. m 
St Charles, s. e. m 
St. Helena, e. m 
St. James, s. e. m 
St. John Baptist, s. e. m 
St Tammany, e  
Terre Bonne, s 
Washington, e 
Population.
Total.
5,400
5,670
6,717
3,092
4,662
8,247
8,629
7,050
6,846
5,500
3,793
46,310
4,489
5,936
3,356
5,107
4,027
7,672
5,700
2,864
2,121
2,286
Seats of Justice.
Donaldson 
Assumption, c. H.
Concordia  
Baton Rouge 
Distance.
N. O.1 W.2
75
90
Jackson...  
St Francisville...
Iberville 
Coquille 
Thibadeauxville.
1 New Orleans..
J * *.
Port Jackson—
Point Coupee....
155,474
117
158
149
98
202
108
75
154
St Helena 
Bringiers 
Bonnet Carre..
Covington  
Williamsburgh.
Franklington...
of whom 80,421 are slaves.
98
1 60
‘36
44
1278
1293
1237
1193
1205
1256
1149
1311
1203
1278
1210
1212
1262
1241
1159
1162
WESTERN DISTRICT.
Avoyelles, m  
Catahoulla, n. m 
Claiborne 
Lafayette, s 
Natchitoches, n. w.
Rapides, m 
St Landry, s. w  
St Martin’s, s  
St Mary’s, s 
Washita, n 
Total  60,257
3,488
2,576
1,764
5,606
7,926
7,559
12,552
7,204
6,442
5,140
Marksville  
Harrisonburgh.
Russellville 
Vermillionville.
Natchitoches....
Alexandria 
Opelosas 
St Martinsville.
Franklin 
Monroe 
Eastern district.
Western district.
of whom 29,210 are slaves.
Population. Slaves.
  155,474 80,421
  60,257 29,210
240
251
441
192
354
272
192
176
131
323
1247
1186
1274
1351
1328
1246
1326
1366
1344
1258
Total of Louisiana 215,731
109,631
1 From New Orleans.
From Washington.
the
site
It c
cial
tion
mile
men
raun
the1
The:
New
front
teres
Fren
the i
chur
racks
with
distr:
tres,
these
new
the i
becoi
the c
burg
mens
in th
arrivi
in th
comn
of F<
inthi
tonb
excei
York
whicl
being
lea’rts
inthi
The,
neces
then
ehani
notn
eityi
erimi
gfeat
hem
more
mann
^the
ban
the
site
wes
Itc
in t
giob
cial
tion
men
diffe
raun
The:
the (
New
old (
front
lots.
Buih
ture:
Fren
the
ings
chur
racks
with
distr;
tres,
thest
and
new
the
been
the
hur
mens
in th
arriv.
inth
conar
ofFi
inth
tonb
excei
than
York
whicl
being
leans
in th
The
ducti
necei
the\\|
char
not
City
erimi
§feat
Yrem
more
manr
liiiisieii
'-r*'
LOUISIANA.
57;
New Orleans, the commercial capital of the state, and
the emporium of western commerce, is situated on the east
bank of the Mississippi, in a bend so deep and sinuous, that
the sun rises to the inhabitants of the city from the oppo¬
site shore, in north latitude 29. 57. and in longitude 98. 8.
west from Greenwich. It is nearly intermediate between
Boston and Mexico, although the passage from New Or¬
leans to Vera Cruz is much shorter by sea than to Boston.
It consists of the old city properly so called, which is built
in the form of a parallelogram, of which the longer sides
are 1320 yards in length, and the shorter, or the depth of
the city towards the swamp, 700 yards. No city on the
globe possesses so great natural advantages for a commer¬
cial capital as New Orleans. It has an easy communica¬
tion with the ocean; and above the city there are 20,000
miles of navigation by means of the Mississippi and its nu¬
merous tributaries, whilst various bayous connect it with
different parts of the state. By a basin and canal it com¬
municates with Lake Ponchartrain, the lakes thence to
the Gulf of Mexico, the opposite Florida shore, with Mo¬
bile, Pensacola, and the whole gulf-shore east and west,
d here is also a railroad four and a half miles long between
J the city and Lake Ponchartrain. Seen from the harbour,
New Orleans presents a striking panoramic view. The
old city is divided into six squares, each square having a
front of 319 feet in length, and being divided into twelve
lots. Few of the streets are more than forty feet wide.
Buildings of brick have now replaced the wooden struc¬
tures of which the city was formerly composed. The
French and Spanish styles of building predominate, and
the houses are stuccoed externally. The public build¬
ings are, the town-house, the hospital, the cathedral
church of St Louis, the convent of Ursaline nuns, the bar¬
racks, the custom-house, the market-house, five banks
with a capital of 4,000,000 of dollars, a government-house,
district court of the United States, water-works, two thea¬
tres, and a Presbyterian and other churches. Several of
these buildings, as the cathedral, are large, commodious,
and handsome. The Fauxbourg of St Mary, and other
new parts of the city, are built principally of brick, after
the American style; and in general the city is gradually
becoming American in all its characteristics. Between
the city and the bayou St John, are the villages St Johns-
burg and St Claud. The commerce of this city is im¬
mense, and constantly increasing. There are sometimes
in the harbour 1500 flat boats at a time; and steam-boats
arrive and take their departure every hour. No place
in the United States has so,much activity and bustle of
commerce, crowded into so small a space, in the months
of February and March. During the season of bringing
in the cotton crop, whole streets are barricaded with cot¬
ton bales. The amount of domestic exports from this city
exceeds twelve millions of dollars a year, being greater
than that of any other city of the Union excepting New
j York, and nearly equalling that place. The greatest items
which enter into this amount are sugar and cotton. From
being placed in the midst of immense swamps, New Or¬
leans is generally considered as unhealthy, but few towns
in the United States have increased with greater rapidity.
The market in general is cheap and abundant, and the pro¬
ductions of every climate find their way thither. This city
necessarily exercises a very great moral influence over all
the western country ; and there is not a distinguished mer¬
chant, planter, or farmer, in the Mississippi valley, who has
i not made at least one trip to this place. The police of the
city is at once mild and efficient, and the municipal and
criminal courts are prompt in administering justice. A
great portion of the inhabitants of New Orleans are of
french and Spanish descent, and the French language is
more used than the English. During the busy season, the
manners, dresses, customs, and languages of every quarter
of the globe are here exhibited. The means of educa- Louisiam
tion in this city are very limited compared with those'  —
of the other large cities of the United States, but there
have been great improvements within the last few years;
and, considering that one half of the people are slaves,
the state of morals is better than might be expected.
The following are some of the principal imports into New
Orleans for the year 1829 :—Bagging, 13,472 pieces ; buf¬
falo robes, 15,210 lbs.; cotton, 269,571 bales ; corn in
ears, 91,882 barrels ; flour, 157,323 barrels ; lard, 110,206
kegs ; pig lead, 146,203 pigs; deer-skins, 6215 packs ;
tobacco, 29,432 hhds. The amount of cotton exported in
the year ending the 30th of September 1830 was 354,024
bales. Nothing seems adverse to the growth of New Or¬
leans except the unhealthiness of its climate; but, by
draining and otherwise improving it, it will probably be
rendered more healthy, and become one of the largest
cities in the Union.
Donaldsonville, on the west side of the Mississippi, at the
efflux of Lafourche, ninety miles above New Orleans, has
a number of houses, and has been selected by the legisla¬
ture as the place for the future political capital of the state.
Baton Rouge is on the east side of the Mississippi, 140 miles
above New Orleans. It is pleasantly situated on the last
bluff that is seen on descending the river. The site is thir¬
ty or forty feet above the highest overflow of the river.
The United States barracks here are built in a fine style,
and are supposed to be amongst the handsomest and most
commodious of the kind. There is a delightful prospect
from the esplanade, including a great extent of the coast,
with handsome houses and rich cultivation below, and
commanding an extensive view over the back country to
the east. The town consists of a number of French and
Spanish houses, with several green squares, and contains
1200 inhabitants. St Francisville is a considerable vil¬
lage, of nearly the same size as Baton Rouge. A good
way to the westward of this town is Jackson, which is
the seat of an incipient college. On the opposite shore
is Point Coupee, a wealthy French settlement. Galvez-
town is situated on Bayou Manshac, or Iberville, not far
from where it enters Lake Ponchartrain. Alexandria, on
Red River, seventy miles from the Mississippi, and 150
from the mouth of the river by its course, is situated on
the south bank of the river, half a mile below the fall. It
is central to the rich planting country of Bayous Rapide,
Robert, and Bceuf. It is the seat of justice for the parish,
has a bank, a number of stores, and respectable attornies
and physicians, and issues a weekly paper. Vast quanti¬
ties of cotton are exported from this place. The last town
of any size towards the south-western frontier of the
United States is Natchitoches, about sixty miles above
Alexandria, iiie Spanish trade for a considerable distance
into the interior of the Mexican state centres here, and it
is the great thoroughfare for people going to and returning
from these states. 1 he trade from them consists chiefly in
bars of silver, and in horses and mules. Manufactured goods,
groceries, spirits, and tobacco, are sent in return. This is
a very considerable and growing place, and is likely to be¬
come the largest town in the country, except New Orleans.
It is beautifully situated on the bank of the river, and is
at the head of the steam-boat navigation. A few leagues
to the west of this town is the ancient Spanish town of
Adayes, the inhabitants of which are all Spanish. There
are some other places, but none of such importance as to
demand particular mention.
I he canal w hich connects the city of New Orleans with
Lake Ponchartrain has already been mentioned. Where
it terminates, at the north of the city, there is a convenient
basin, excavated entirely by art, and large enough to contain
a great number of vessels. Immense labour and expense
were necessary to render the river navigable, especially at
Lourde. the mouth of the lake, where a large and impassable bar
was removed, and large piles of wood driven into the sand
to prevent it from forming again. A provision in the
charter of this canal corporation allows them to extend it
to the Mississippi.
The roads are for the most part good, but when they di¬
verge to any distance from the rivers they are subject to
inundation. Numerous railroads and canals have been pro¬
jected ; and there is no country in the world where nature
has done more towards forming natural canals, which a
little labour would complete by artificial extensions.
The country was first peopled by the French, but the
Spaniards obtained possession of some parts, and establish¬
ed colonies in it. It was again conquered by the English,
and many of the original settlers remained in the country.
It was not admitted into the federal union until 1812.
From the frequency of these conquests, and the number of
settlers from different nations, the character of the inhabi¬
tants is different from that of those in most of the other
states. The descendants of the French possess many cha-
ractex-istics of that people, and formerly lived in a state of
pastoral simplicity. They are mild, vivacious, and polite.
The American planters are high minded, social, irascible,
and generous ; much addicted to hunting, gambling, and
dissipation. The people generally are volatile, gay, bene¬
volent, and easily excited to joy or sorrow. Education
was formerly at a very low ebb, but latterly ample and
munificent appropriations have been made, each parish in
the state granting eight hundred dollars annually for that
purpose. The language generally spoken is French, but
in a very corrupt state. The prevailing religion is Roman
Catholic, there being only a few Baptists and Methodist so¬
cieties, and one Presbyterian church, in the state.
The constitution differs in some minor points from those
of the other western states. The senators are elected for a
period of four years, one fourth vacating their seats annually;
and they must possess a property worth 1000 dollai’s before
they can be chosen. The representatives are elected for
two years, and, to be eligible, must have property in the
parish worth 500 dollars. The governor is elected for
four years, with a salary of 7000 dollars annually, and
cannot be chosen for the next term. A supreme and cir¬
cuit court exercise the judiciary power, together with a
municipal or parish court. Every free white man above
twenty-one years is entitled to vote in the elections, pro¬
vided he has been six months in the parish, and has paid
taxes. In civil jurisprudence, this state has, with some
modifications, adhered to that derived from France and
Spain ; but in criminal matters they have followed the Eng¬
lish jurisprudence.
This state has an extensive, and, from its great natural
advantages, rapidly increasing commerce. The quantity
of sugar manufactured yearly averages about 60,629 hhds.;
the quantity of molasses 3,018,041 gallons, and it is ex¬
pected that this state will furnish abundance of this article
for the whole consumption of the United States. The to¬
bacco exported averages 29,543 hhds. annually, and the
cotton in the same period 308,243 bales. The yearly quan¬
tity, however, depends entirely upon the season. The
total amount of exports and imports in 1833 was, imports
9,590,505 dollars, and exports 18,941,373 dollars. The
amount received in the state for postage for the year end¬
ing the 31st of March 1832, was 4,812,898 dollars. The
number of banks in 1834 was ten, having a capital of
23,664,755 dollars, and they issued notes to the amount of
4,793,730 dollars. The number of ships belonging to the
state in 1830 was 399, and the number of seamen employ¬
ed 4789. (R. R. R.)
LOURDE, a city of France, in the department of the
Upper Pyrenees, and arrondissement of Argeles, on the
Gave de Pau. It is strongly fortified, and stands at the
entrance of one of the narrowest passes into the Pyrenees. Lou,^. a
It contains 2900 houses, and 3070 inhabitants. Some flax || 1
is grown, and converted into linen cloth, which is in great Louth
repute. Long. 0. 15. W. Lat. 43. 8. N.
LOURISTAN, a mountainous district in the province
of Irak, in Persia, where it borders on Khusistan. This
extensive tract of country, which runs along the whole
frontier of Khusistan, and extends as far to the east as the
longitude of 50. and to the north as far as the latitude
of 33. 40. is by far the richest and most fruitful part of
Irak. From this mountainous ti’act several large rivers
descend into the level province of Khusistan, and there is
hardly a valley that is not watered by many lesser streams.
The pasture is not luxuriant, and no attention is paid to
agriculture ; the inhabitants, the Illiats, prefei’ring a wan¬
dering life, and principally subsisting on the produce of
their flocks. They are a savage and fearless race, subject
to no law but the will of their chiefs, and seem to dif¬
fer only in name from the rude inhabitants of the same
country in the days of Alexander. They reside in black
tents, even during the winter; and consequently, with the
exception of Korumabad, there are no towns, and but few
villages. They deduce their descent from a high antiquity,
though they do not deny that their ancestors intermarried
with several Turkish hordes which they had invited from
Persia to settle amongst them.
LOUTH, a maritime county in the province of Leinster,
in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the county of Down
and the bay of Carlingford, on the east by the Irish Sea,
on the south by the county of Meath, and on the west by
the counties of Meath and Monaghan. It is the smallest
county of Ireland, comprising only 200,484 acres, of which
185,568 are capable of cultivation, and 14,916 are bog or
unprofitable mountain.
In the time of Ptolemy it formed part of the maritime
district inhabited by the Voluntii. Afterwards it was
known by the name of Argiall, Orgiall, or Uriell, which
also comprehended the greater part of the counties of
Meath, Monaghan, 'and Armagh. Its leading families of
Irish extraction were the O’Carrols and the M‘Scanlans.
It was conquered by the English under De Courcy in his
progress northwards to Ulster, and formed one of the
twelve counties into which King John divided that part of
Ireland which acknowledged his authority. It is now di¬
vided into the five baronies of Ardee, Upper and Lower
Dundalk, Ferrard, and Louth, which are subdivided into
sixty-one parishes, all in the archdiocese of Armagh, and
two parts of parishes in the diocese of Clogher.
The southern part of the county is flat, diversified by
gentle undulations of the surface. Proceeding northwards
it becomes more hilly, until, at its most northern extremi¬
ty, it rises into the mountains of Ravensdale and Carling¬
ford, of considerable elevation. The rivers are the Dee,
the Clyde, the Fane, and the Castletown. None of them
are navigable, being useful solely for irrigation, and other
purposes of rural economy. The Boyne forms part of the
southern boundary of the county. It is navigable for large
vessels as far as Drogheda. The county has a considerable
line of sea-coast, consisting chiefly of a sandy sti’and, ex¬
cept where it is broken by the projection of Clogher Head,
a bold promontory, on which is a fishing towm of the same
name. The bay of Dundalk extends beyond this point for
seven miles at its mouth, indenting the coast for an equal
distance inland. It*is considered as peculiarly danger¬
ous for shipping. The Carlixxgford Mountains, which
bound the northern extremity of the county, separate it
from the bay that takes its name from them. This latter
bay, which forms the line of demarcation both between
the counties of Louth and Down and the provinces m
Leinster and Ulster, is deep and narrow, extending m
length upwards of nine miles, with an average breadth ox a
I He"
their
-suth
Th
lUl“e
on i'1
value
of the
Th<
transii
niatior
clay-sl
period
The
'presen
l\
If
If
If
Ago
ltol'85
Icoltiva
The
1 fewer t
'Two v,
Droghi
irdee,
reducei
(Drogh
Continu
The
of repr
periods
Mling
Ye:
m
Undt
'horn
oaraber
I82i
°ftf
Oi
Wi
ker0f
ftlucati
LOU
LOU
mile and a half. It is navigable nearly to the town of
Newry, and its shores on both sides are much admired for
their bold and picturesque scenery. An oyster, in high
estimation amongst gastronomes/or the peculiar delicacy
of its flavour, is found in this bay.
The soil in the southern lowlands is well adapted for
tillage, being composed of a rich vegetable mould resting
on marl or on limestone, sometimes with a substratum of
slate. The quality of the soil diminishes in agricultural
value as the land rises towards the north, and the summits
of the mountainous district produce only heath and scanty
oerbage.
The mountains are composed chiefly of granite. On
their borders hornblende and primitive greenstone are
bund in abundance, after which are exterior ranges of
;ransition rock. The lower lands are of the clay-slate for-
nation. The line of separation between the granite and the
:lay-slate extends from Carlingford Bay, over the summit
if the Ravensdale Mountains, into the county of Armagh,
flcetz limestone appears in the neighbourhood of Drog-
icda and Ardee. A lead mine was worked for a short
oeriod at Salterstown, near the sea-coast. There is a mi-
icral spring at Ballymascanlan.
The returns of the population, taken at different periods,
“iresent the following results :—
1760 De Burgho 67,512
1792 Beaufort 57,750
1812 Parliamentary x-eturn  —
1821 Ditto....  101,011
1831 Ditto 108,168
According to the last of these returns, the ratio of po-
ulation to the total number of acres in the county is as 1
x 1*85, and to the number of acres capable of profitable
ultivation as 1 to P69.
The county, though the smallest in Ii-eland, sent no
fewer than twelve representatives to the Irish parliament,
"wo were returned for the county, two for the town of
Drogheda, and two for each of the boroughs of Dundalk,
Lrdee, Carlingford, and Dunleer. But the act of union
sduced this number to four, two for the county, one for
Drogheda, and one for Dundalk ; and this arrangement
Dntinues under the reform act.
The number of freeholders entitled to vote at elections
f representatives for the county in parliament, at three
fpriods, Is*, previously to the disqualification of the forty¬
milling freeholders, 2d, subsequently to their disqualifica-
ilon, and, 3d, under the reform act, is as follows:—
Year. L,.50. L.20. L.10. 40s. Total,
i an. 1, 1829, 274 58 — 2343 2675
b. 1, 1830, 307 102 286 — 695
lay 1,1831, 295 113 380 — 788
Under the provisions of the act passed in 1836, the con-
abulary is to ^be placed under a sub-inspector, under
"horn there are to be five chief constables, ten head con-
(sibles, and eighty constables and sub-constables. The
Pimber of the constabulary previously to this new ar-
rngement was four chief constables and eighty sub-con-
sables, which were maintained at an annual expense of
1 '3578, being at an average of L.43 nearly.
The state of education, according to the returns made to
§.rliament in 1821 and 1824—26, is as follows:—
Year. Boys. Girl,. T»*»-
1821, 2740 1182 . — 3922
1824-26, 4291 2584 101 6976
Of the number stated in the latter of these returns,
81 were of the Established Church, 5664 were Roman
'Atholics, and ninety-five Dissenters ; the religious per-
ijasion of thirty-six was not ascertained. The total num-
r'r °1 schools was 169, of which twenty-one, affoi’ding
«ucation to 1358 children, were supported by grants of
public money; twenty, affording education to 1106, were
supported by the voluntary contributions of societies or in¬
dividuals ; and the remaining 128, in which 4512 children
received instruction, were supported wholly by the fees of
the pupils. There is an endowed classical school at Dun¬
dalk, on the endowment of Erasmus Smith.
The lands capable of cultivation are mostly kept in til¬
lage. Potatoes, wheat, oats, and barley, raised according
to the succession here stated, form the principal crops. In
the northern districts, oats are chiefly raised. The systems
generally adopted are those of the most approved kind, as
are also the implements employed. From the attention
paid to introduce the best breeds of cattle of every deno¬
mination, the different species cannot now be easily distin¬
guished. Sheep are most abundant in the hilly districts.
Many parts of the county are well planted; the neigh¬
bourhood of Collon particularly exhibits a fine specimen of
the attention paid by its proprietor to this mode of im-
pi'oving and embellishing the country. The ash-tree grows
in the loxver grounds to a great size. The coasts furnish a
constant supply of fish; and the flat shores abound with
sea-fowl, especially barnacle, which, however, is not so
highly esteemed for flavour as that of Wexford or Derry.
The manufacture of coarse linens is carried on to a con¬
siderable extent, and latterly the cotton manufacture has
gained ground.
The appearance of the dwellings of the peasantry in the
smaller towns and villages indicates a considerable degree
of comfort. In the hilly and more remote districts it de¬
teriorates considerably. In their manners, food, and cloth¬
ing, they differ in no respect from those of the neigh¬
bouring portions of Leinster and Ulster. Fuel is scarce,
except in the vicinity of the sea-ports, into which English
and Scotch coal is imported.
Few counties can boast of so many x-emains of antiqui¬
ty. There are two round towers, one at Monasterboice,
110 feet in height, and in a state of excellent preservation;
the other at Dromiskin, much decayed. At the former of
these places there are also the remains of two chapels, and
of two finely-sculptured crosses, one of them eighteen feet
high. Near the banks of a stream called the river of Bal-
richan, is a large artificial cave, accidentally discovered by
the sinking in of a horse whilst ploughing. It consists of
several narrow passages, the sides and top of which are
formed of flag-stones. Some bones of large and small ani¬
mals were found in it. About two miles from Dundalk are
the ruins of a very ancient structure, which has some re¬
semblance to the hull of an ancient galley. There are no
traces of doors, windows, or loop-holes. The building has
given rise to much antiquarian discussion. At Ballymas¬
canlan is a cromleach called the Giant’s Load. It consists
of a rock twelve feet long and six broad, elevated on three
upright stones. Near it is Castle Rath, surrounded by
moats and lesser x-aths, and with a remarkable tumulus in
its vicinity. The great mound of Castleguard, near Ardee,
is ninety feet in height, and 600 feet in circumference at
its base. Its summit terminates in an area 140 feet round.
It is well planted, and sui-rounded by a deep trench. At
Faughart are the remains of an ancient intrenchment.
Ihe decisive battle which terminated in the defeat and
death of Edward Bruce, by Sir John Bermingham, after-
wai'ds Lord^ Louth, was fought near this place. The re¬
mains of castles are numerous. That of Carlingford, built
by King John, occupies a commanding position on a rock
projecting into the bay. Castletown stands within sight of
the town of Dundalk. I erfeckan Castle, once the resi¬
dence of the learned Archbishop Usher, is now utterly in
ruins. The county is equally remai’kable for the number
of its ancient monastic edifices. Mellifont, a Cistei’tian ab¬
bey, five miles west ot Drogheda, pi'esents some remains
equally remarkable for their beauty and singularity of ar-
576
L 0 V
L O V
chitecture. Others are to be traced at Carlingford, Faugh-
art, and Monasterboice.
The principal modern seats are, Collon, the residence of
Lord Oriell; Barmeath, belonging to the Bellew family ;
Rokeby Hall, the mansion of the Count de Salis; Louth
Hall, that of Lord Louth; Ravensdale Park; and Clermont.
Dundalk, the county-town, a place of great antiquity, is
situated at the mouth of the Castletown River. It consists
of one long street, intersected by some cross passages. Its
most remarkable building is the court-house, the front of
which, modelled from the temple of Theseus at Athens,
is considered as the finest specimen of pure Grecian ar¬
chitecture in Ireland. The other public buildings are, the
parish church, two Roman Catholic chapels, a large bar¬
rack, a gaol, assembly and news rooms, a linen-hall, a char¬
ter school, and an infirmary. Dundalk is a great mart for
the export of grain. The harbour is commodious but shal¬
low. The cambric manufacture is carried on to some ex¬
tent. Its population, in 1831, amounted to 10,078 souls.
The other towns containing a population of upwards of
one thousand souls are, Ardee 3975, Carlingford 1319,
Collon 1153.
Louth, a market-town of the county of Lincoln, in the
hundred of Louth Eske, in Lindsay division. It is 144
miles from London, being situated on the river Lud, from
which a canal has been constructed, communicating with
the sea, about seven miles distant. It has a considerable
coasting trade, and good markets on Wednesdays and Sa¬
turdays. It is governed by a corporate body, composed of
a warden and six assistants. The population amounted in
1801 to 4236, in 1811 to 4728, in 1821 to 6012, and in
1831 to 6927.
.LOUVAIN, or Loewen, a circle of the province of
South Brabant, in the Netherlands. It comprehends eight
cantons, divided into 144 communes, containing 133,840
inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same name, situ¬
ated on the river Dyle. It has water communication by
the Louvain Canal with Mechlin, and by the river Rupel
with the Scheldt. Its walls are extensive, but three
fourths of the land they encompass consist of fields and
gardens. It contains 4000 houses, and 25,000 inhabi¬
tants, who carry on extensive breweries and distilleries,
spin cotton twist, print calicoes, and grind much corn into
flour. It is the seat of an ancient university, and has a
stadthouse of Gothic architecture, constructed by Charle¬
magne. Long. 4. 36. E. Lat. 50. 33. N.
LOUVIERS, an arrondissement of the department of
the Eure, in France, extending over 410 square miles,
and inhabited by 65,800 persons. It is divided into five
cantons and 122 communes. The capital is the city of
the same name, situated on the river Eure, It stands on
an island formed by two arms of that river, and is sur¬
rounded with walls and ditches. It contains 1050 houses,
with 7500 inhabitants, who make some of the finest cloths
and casimeres in France, and manufacture several kinds of
cotton goods. Long. 1. 5. E. Lat. 49. 10. N.
LOVE, in the enlarged sense of the word, denotes all
those affections of the pleasing kind which objects and in¬
cidents excite in our minds. Thus we are said to love not
only intelligent agents of morally good dispositions, but also
sensual pleasures, riches, and honours.
But love, in its usual and more appropriate signification,
may be defined, “ that affection which, being compounded
of animal desire, esteem, and benevolence, becomes the
bond of attachment and union between individuals of the
different sexes, and makes them enjoy in the society of each
other a species of happiness which they experience no¬
where else.” We call it an affection rather than a passion,
because it involves a desire of the happiness of its object; L0V(
and that its constituent parts are such as have just been y
enumerated we shall first endeavour to prove, and then
proceed to trace its rise and progress from a selfish appe¬
tite to a generous sentiment.
Mere animal desire has nothing in view but the species
and the sex of its object; and before it makes a selection, it
must be combined with sentiments very different from it¬
self. The first sentiment with which it is combined, and
by which a man is induced to prefer one woman to ano¬
ther, seems to be that by which we are delighted with
gracefulness of person, regularity of features, and beauty
of complexion. It is not indeed to be denied that there is
something irresistible in female beauty. The most severe
will not pretend that they do not feel an immediate pre¬
possession in favour of a handsome woman ; but this pre¬
possession, even when combined with animal desire, does
not constitute the whole of that affection which is called
love. Savages feel the influence of the sensual appetite,
and it is extremely probable that they have some ideas of
beauty ; but amongst savages the affection of love is seldom
known. Even amongst the lower orders of society it seems
to be a very gross passion, and to have in it more of the
selfishness of appetite than of the generosity of esteem.
To these observations many exceptions will no doubt be •
found;1 but we speak of savages in general, and of the
great body of the labouring poor, who, in the choice of
their mates, do not study, and indeed are incapable of
studying, that rectitude of mind, and those delicacies of
sentiment, without which neither man nor woman can de¬
serve to be esteemed.
In the savage state, and even in the first stages of re¬
finement, the bond of union between the sexes seems to
consist of nothing more than mere animal desire and in¬
stinctive tenderness for their infant progeny. The former
impels them to unite for the propagation of the species,
and the latter preserves the union until the children who
are the fruit of it be able to provide for their ow n subsist¬
ence. That in such unions, whether casual or permanent,
there is little mutual esteem and benevolence, is apparent
from the state of subjection in which women are held in
rude and uncultivated nations, as well as from the manner
in which marriages are contracted.
Sweetness of temper, a capital article with us in the fe¬
male character, displays itself externally in mild looks and
gentle manners, and is the first and perhaps the most
powerful inducement to love in a cultivated mind. “ But
such graces,” says Lord Karnes, “ are scarce discernible
in a female savage, and even in the most polished woman
would not be perceived by a male savage. Among sa¬
vages, strength and boldness are the only valuable quali¬
ties. In these, females are miserably deficient; for which
reason they are contemned by the males, as beings of an
inferior order. The North American tribes glory in idle¬
ness ; the drudgery of labour degrades a man in their opi¬
nion, and is proper for women only. To join young per¬
sons in marriage is accordingly the business of the parents;
and it would be unpardonable meanness in the bridegroom
to show any fondness for the bride. In Guiana a woman
never eats with her husband, but after every meal attends
him with water for washing; and in the Caribbee islands she
is not even permitted to eat in the presence of her husband.
Dampier observes in general, that among all the wild na¬
tions with which he was acquainted, the women carry the
burdens, while the men walk before and carry nothing but
their arms ; and that women even of the highest rank are
not better treated. In Siberia, and even in Russia, the
capital excepted, men, till very lately, treated their wives
they
early
wife)
Bu
it can
lore il
heart,
lions:
thoug
task ti
tisfact
the di
at the
lessee
theref
menp
hut in
place,
cessar;
lysee
have t
progre
iiowev
to us
they n
when i
We
with a
can hi
added,
oance,
are tin
apart
“that
partici
kings
nances
ofwhii
rest, h
hot de
howevi
forms t
faces a
dilute:
as well
feed o
is cent
dalunii
foint;
passes
that pt
deform
htitthi
stance
'rhich
"'hen
concav
1 Such as that of the negroes whose story is so pathetically told by Addison (Spectator, No. 215); the two lovers who were killed by
lightning at Staunton-Harcourt (Pope’s Letters) ; and many others which will readily occur to every reader.
thand
"hy w
VOL
*
in£'
rthat
raise
bat i
ment
they
early
fife
aod'
lifical
Bu
it can
fore i1
kart
partir
lions
tisfact
tlie di
at the
less ce
theref
menp
but in
place,
cessar
lysee
lave t
progre
liowev
to us
they r
■then
We
with a
can hi
added.
Wee,
are tin
that
partici
beings
andtr
beauty
nances
ofwhi
rest, h
bat dt
boivevi
etitutei
as well
fixed o
bcont
(lalumi
«at pi
deform
dutthi
stance
1fbicli
coiica\
P'opos
‘band
"’byw
Vol
L O V
admire fashions or dress for no other reason than that we
are used to them. The same thing may be said of colour
as of form. It is custom alone which determines our pre¬
ference of the colour of the Europeans to that of the
Ethiopians, and which makes them prefer their own co¬
lour to ours ; so that though habit and custom cannot be
the cause of beauty, they are certainly the cause of our
liking it.
That we do like it cannot be denied. Every one is
conscious of a pleasing emotion when contemplating beauty
either in man or woman ; and when that pleasure is com¬
bined with the gratification of the sensual appetite, it is
obvious that the sum of enjoyment must be greatly in¬
creased. The perception of beauty, therefore, necessarily
L o v
j0ve. in every respect like slaves. It might indeed be thought
—that animal desire, were there nothing else, should have
raised women to some degree of estimation among men ;
but male savages, utter strangers to decency and refine¬
ment, gratify animal desire with as little ceremony as
they do hunger or thirst. Hence it was that in the
early ages of society a man purchased a woman to be his
wife, as one purchases an ox or a sheep to be food ;
and valued her only as she contributed to his sensual gra¬
tification.”
But if amongst savages and the vulgar, love be unknown,
it cannot possibly be an instinctive affection ; and there¬
fore it may be asked how it gets possession of the human
heart, and by what means we can judge whether in any
particular instance it be real or imaginary. These ques- directs the energy of the sensual appetite to a particular
tions are of importance, and deserve to be fully answered, object; but still this combination is a mere selfish feeling,
though many circumstances conspire to render it no easy which regards its object only as the best of many similar
cask to give to them such answers as may be perfectly sa- instruments of pleasure. Before it can deserve the name
dsfactory. Love can subsist only between individuals of of love, it must be combined with esteem, which is never
the different sexes. A man can hardly love two women bestowed but upon moral character and internal worth ;
at the same time; and we believe that a woman is still
ess capable of loving at once more than one man. Love,
perefore, has a natural tendency to make men and wo¬
men pair, or, in other words, it is the source of marriage ;
)ut in polished society, where alone this affection has any
dace, so many things besides mutual attachment are ne¬
cessary to make the married life comfortable, that we rare-
y see young persons uniting from the impulse of love, and
lave therefore but few opportunities of tracing the rise,
jrogress, and consequences of the affection. We shall,
lowever, throw together such reflections as have occurred
o us on the subject, not without indulging a hope that
hey may be useful to the younger part of our readers
vhen forming the most important connexion in life.
We have said that the perception of beauty, combined
vith animal desire, is the first inducement which a man
can have to prefer one woman to another. It may be
idded, that elegance of figure, a placid masculine counte-
mnee, with a person which indicates strength and agility,
re the qualities which first tend to attach any woman to
i particular man. Beauty has been defined by Buffier,
: that particular form which is the most common of all
•articular forms to be met with in the same species of
leings.” Let us apply this definition to our own species,
nd try, by means of it, to ascertain what constitutes the
leauty of the human face. It is evident, that of counte-
cances we find a number almost infinite of different forms ;
f which, however, one only constitutes beauty, whilst the
est, however numerous, constitute what is not beauty,
ut deformity or ugliness. To an attentive observer,
owever, it is evident, that of the numerous particular
arms of ugliness, there is not one which includes so many
ices as are formed after that particular cast which con-
titutes beauty. Every particular species of the animal
| s well as the vegetable creation may be said to have a
xed or determinate form, to which, as to a centre, nature
13 continually inclining. Or it may be compared to pen-
ulums vibrating in different directions over one central
oint; and as they all cross the centre, though only one
asses through any other point, so it will be found
liat perfect beauty is oftener produced by nature than
eformity; we do not mean than deformity in general,
ut than any one kind and degree of deformity. To in-
tance in a particular part of a human feature ; the line
diich forms the ridge of the nose is deemed beautiful
dien it is straight; but this is likewise the central form,
diich is oftener found than any one particular degree of
1 oncave, convex, or any other irregular form that may be
1 Toposed. As we are then more accustomed to beauty
ban deformity, we may conclude that that is the reason
‘'hy we approve and admire it, just as we approve and
VOL. XIII.
577
Love.
for let a woman be ever so beautiful, and of course ever
so desirable as an instrument of sensual gratification, if
she be not possessed of the virtues and dispositions which
are peculiar to her sex, she will inspire no man with a
generous affection. With regard to the outlines, indeed,
whether of internal disposition or of external form, men
and women are the same; but nature, intending them for
mates, has given them dispositions which, though con¬
cordant, are however different, so as to produce together
delicious harmony. “ The man, more robust, is fitted for
severe labour, and for field exercise; the woman, more
delicate, is fitted for sedentary occupations, and particu¬
larly for nursing children. The man, bold and vigorous,
is qualified for being a protector ; the woman, delicate
and timid, requires protection. Hence it is that a man
never admires a woman for possessing bodily strength or
personal courage ; and women always despise men who
are totally destitute of these qualities. The man, as a
protector, is directed by nature to govern ; the woman,
conscious of inferiority, is disposed to obey. Their intel¬
lectual powers correspond to the destination of nature.
Men have penetration and solid judgment to fit them for
governing, women have sufficient understanding to make
a decent figure under a good government; a greater por¬
tion would excite dangerous rivalship between the sexes,
which nature has avoided by giving them different talents.
Women have more imagination and sensibility than men,
which make all their enjoyments more exquisite; at
the same time that they are better qualified to communi¬
cate enjoyment. Add another capital difference of dis¬
position : The gentle and insinuating manners of the fe¬
male sex tend to soften the roughness of the other sex ;
and wherever women are indulged with any freedom, they
polish sooner than men.
“ These are not the only particulars that distinguish
the sexes. With respect to the ultimate end of love, it is
the privilege of the male, as superior and protector, to
make a choice ; the female preferred has no privilege
hut barely to consent or to refuse. Whether this distinc¬
tion be the immediate result of the originally different
dispositions of the sexes, or only the effect of associations
inevitably formed, may be questioned; but among all na¬
tions it is the practice for men to court, and for women
to be courted; and were the most beautiful woman on
earth to invert this practice, she would forfeit the esteem,
however by her external grace she might excite the de¬
sire, of the man whom she addressed. The great moral
virtues which may be comprehended under the general
term integrity, are all absolutely necessary to make either
men or women estimable; but to procure esteem to the
female character, the modesty peculiar to their sex is a
4 D
L 0 V
l o y
very essential circumstance. Nature hath provided them
with it as a defence against the artful solicitations of the
other sex before marriage, and 'also as a support of conju¬
gal fidelity.”
A woman, therefore, whose dispositions are gentle, de¬
licate, and rather timid than bold, who is possessed of a
large share of sensibility and modesty, and whose man¬
ners are soft and insinuating, must, upon moral principles,
command the esteem and benevolence of every individual
of the other sex who is possessed of sound understand¬
ing ; but if her person be deformed, or not such as to ex¬
cite some degree of animal desire, she will attract no
man’s love. In like manner, a man whose moral character
is good, whose understanding is acute, and whose conver¬
sation is instructive, must command the esteem of every
sensible and virtuous woman; but if his figure be dis¬
agreeable, his manner unpolished, his habits slovenly,
and, above all, if he be deficient in personal courage, he
will hardly excite desire in the female breast. It is only
when the qualities which command esteem are, in the
same person, united with those which excite desire, that
the individual so accomplished can be an object of love to
one of the other sex; but when these qualities are thus
united, each of them increases the other in the imagina¬
tion of the lover. The beauty of his mistress gives her,
in his apprehension, a greater share of gentleness, mo¬
desty, and every thing which adorns the female charac¬
ter, than perhaps she really possesses; whilst his persua¬
sion of her internal worth makes him, on the other hand,
apprehend her beauty to be absolutely unrivalled.
To this theory an objection readily offers itself, which
it is incumbent upon us to obviate. Men and women
sometimes fall in love at first sight, and very often before
they have opportunities of forming a just estimate of each
other’s moral character. How is this circumstance to be
reconciled with the progressive generation of love ? We
answer, by an association of ideas, which is formed upon
principles of physiognomy. Every passion and habitual
disposition of mind gives a particular cast to the counte¬
nance, and is apt to discover itself in some feature of the
face. This we learn by experience ; and in time, with¬
out any effort of our own, the idea of each particular cast
of countenance comes to be so closely associated in our
minds with the internal disposition which it indicates,
that the one can never afterwards be presented to our
view without instantly suggesting the other to the imagi¬
nation. Hence it is that every man, who has been accus¬
tomed to make observations, naturally forms to himself,
from the features and lineaments of a stranger’s face,
some opinion of his character and fortune. We are no
sooner presented to a person' for the first time, than we
are immediately impressed with the idea of a proud, a
reserved, an affable, or a good-natured man ; and upon
our going into a company of absolute strangers, our be¬
nevolence or aversion, our awe or contempt, rises in¬
stantly towards particular persons, before we have heard
them speak a word, or know so much as their names or
designations. The same thing happens when we are pre¬
sented to the fair sex. If a woman, seen for the first
time, have that particular cast of countenance, and that
expression of features, with which we have associated no¬
tions of gentleness, modesty, and other female virtues,
she instantly commands our esteem ; and if she have like¬
wise so much beauty as to make her an object of particu¬
lar desire, esteem and desire become suddenly combined,
and that combination constitutes the affection of love.
Such, too, is the nature of all mental associations, that
each part of which they are composed adds strength and
vividness to the other parts ; so that, in the present in¬
stance, desire makes us imagine virtues in the woman
which her countenance perhaps does not indicate, and
the virtues which are there actually visible make us an-
prehend her beauty as more perfect than it is.
Love, in Medicine. The symptoms produced by this
passion as a disease, according to medical writers, are va¬
rious. The eyelids often twinkle; the eyes are hollow,
and yet appear as if full with pleasure; the pulse is not
peculiar to the passion, but the same with that which at¬
tends solicitude and care. When the object of this affec¬
tion is thought of, particularly if the id^a be sudden, the
spirits are confused, the pulse changes, and its force and
time are very variable. In some instances, the person is
sad and watchful ; in others, the person, not being con¬
scious of his state, pines away, is slothful, and regardless
of food; though the wiser, when they find themselves in
love, seek pleasant company and active entertainments.
As the force of love prevails, sighs grow deeper; a tremor
affects the heart and pulse ; the countenance is alternate¬
ly pale and red; the voice is suppressed in the fauces;
the eyes grow dim; cold sweats break out; sleep absents
itself, at least until the morning; the secretions become
disturbed; and a loss of appetite, a hectic fever, melan¬
choly, or perhaps madness, if not death, constitutes the
catastrophe. (On this subject the curious may consult
iEgineta, lib. iii. 17; Oribat. Synon. lib. viii. cap. 9; or a
treatise on Love as a distemper, by John Ferrard, Oxford,
1640.)
The manners of the Greeks and Romans were similar to
each other in the affairs of love. They generally made a
discovery of their passion by writing upon trees, walls, doors,
and other places, the name of their beloved. They usually
decked the door of their dulcinea with flowers and garlands,
and made libations of wine before their houses, sprinkling
the posts with the same liquor, as if the object of their affec¬
tion was a real goddess. For a man’s garland to be un¬
tied, and for a woman to compose a garland, were held to
be indubitable indications of love.
When their love was without success, they used several
arts to excite affection in the object of their desire. They
had recourse to enchantresses, of whom the Thessalian
were in the highest estimation. The means made use of
were most commonly philtres or love potions, the opera¬
tion of which was violent and dangerous, and frequently
deprived such as drank them of their reason. Some of
the most remarkable ingredients of which they were com¬
posed were the hippomanes, the jynx, insects bred from
putrefaction, the fish remora, the lizard, the brains of a
calf, the hairs on the tip of a wolf’s tail, his secret parts,
the bones of the left side of a toad eaten with ants, the
blood of doves, the bones of snakes, feathers of screech-
owls, twisted cords of wool in which a person had hanged
himself, rags, torches, reliques, a nest of swallows buried
and famished in the earth, bones snatched from hungry
bitches, the marrow of a boy famished in the midst of
plenty, dried human liver; to which may be added seve¬
ral herbs growing out of putrid substances. Such were
the ingredients that entered into the composition of that
infernal draught called a love potion.
But, besides the philtres, various other arts were used
to excite love ; in which the application of certain substan¬
ces was to have a magical influence on the person against
whom they levelled their skill. A hyena’s udder worn un¬
der the left arm, they fancied would draw the affections of
whatever woman they fixed their eyes upon. That spe¬
cies of olives called iurjza, and barley-bran made into a
paste, and thrown into the fire, they thought would ex¬
cite the passion of love. Flour was used with the same in¬
tention ; and burning laurel, and melted wax, were suppos¬
ed to have a similar effect. When one heart was to be
hardened and another mollified, clay and wax were ex¬
posed to the fire together. Images of wax were frequent¬
ly used, representing the persons on whom they wished to
Low
stitut
ifkente
on so
pledg
these
fectio
also o
icacy i
jnferio
the wa
the lov
pontoi
Ldfh
the lal
church
L(fl
tmce c
pectei
ivith (
Ha
beam
lovee
spells
icure;
“ Hei
antido
has th
Jins t
iof mil
lants, i
Lowan
L01
ed b
gees o
«d by
the coi
The c<
liver.
L0\
jfwhic
countri
•at abt
the air
izetba
person
•early ;
nec
•lust a]
fthrei
bbefi
•ards,
stinct
lam
We
fctenei
11}’ bin
stitu1
1'igntfv
fons°
these
lectio
pectei
ivith ‘
Ha
beam
lovee
spelh
power
that ]
.cure;
“ Hei
antido
has tli
ling t
toads
pf mil
cacy
nferio
the wa
the lov
monto:
LO'
and th
the lal
churcli
iants.
LO’
lince t
thanks
'tants,
Lowan
LOh
(ited b
frees o
tdby
the cm
?he a
fiver,
LO^
oi whit
countri
•ut abi
the air
hell slit
lizetha
person
•early
the nee
•Hist al
•quare,
«rthr&
tebefi
fards,
distanc
distinct
there
to bav(
fetenei
bir
LOW
vere make an impression ; and whatever was done to the sub-
I > stitute of wax, they imagined was felt by the person repre-
, f’^sented. Enchanted medicaments were often sprinkled up-
'ron some part of the house where the person resided. Love-
pledges were supposed to be of singular use and efficacy ;
these they placed under the threshold, to preserve the af¬
fections of the owner from wandering. Love-knots were
also of singular power, and the number three was particu¬
larly observed in all they did. But no good effect was ex¬
pected if the use of these things had not been attended
with charms or magical verses and forms of words.
Having mentioned their arts of exciting love, it may not
be amiss to take notice that the ancients imagined that
ove excited by magic might be allayed by more powerful
spells and medicaments, or by application to demons more
powerful than those who had been concerned in raising
that passion. But love inspired without magic had no
mre ; Apollo himself could find no remedy, but exclaimed,
‘ Hei mild quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis.” The
mtidotes against love were generally, agnus castus, which
ms the power of weakening the generative faculty ; sprink-
ing the dust in which a mule had rolled herself; tying
l oads in the hide of a beast newly slain ; applying amulets
)f minerals or herbs, which were supposed of great effi-
:acy in other cases; and invoking the assistance of the
nferior deities. Another cure for love was bathing in
he waters of the river Selemnus; to which we may add,
he lover’s leap, or jumping down from the Leucadian pro¬
montory.
LOVERE, a city of Italy, in the delegation Bergamo,
nd the Austrian government of Milan. It is situated on
he lake Iseo, in the beautiful vale of Cavallino, and has a
hurch and several religious houses, with 4010 inhabi-
jnts, who carry on some woollen manufactories.
LOWANCE, a considerable river of Persia, in the pro-
ince of Mekran. It runs through a fertile valley, on the
lanks of which there is a considerable number of inhabi-
Imts, who live in tents, and are industrious cultivators,
^owance is fifty miles west of Bayla.
LOWASHAN, a province of the Burman empire, situ-
fed between the twenty-second and twenty-fourth de-
irees of north latitude. On the north and east it is bound-
id by the province of Yunan in China, on the south by
lie country of Yunslian, and on the west by Ava proper,
"he country is watered by the Lookiang or Thalnayn
iver. It is mountainous, and but little known.
LOW-Beix, in birding, a name given to a bell by means
f which birds are taken in the night, in open champaign
lountries, and amongst stubblfc. The method is to go
ut about nine o’clock at night in a still evening, when
lie air is mild and the moon does not shine. The low-
lell should be of a deep and hollow sound, and of such a
ize that a man may conveniently carry it in one hand. The
prson who carries it makes it toll all the way he goes, as
early as may be, in the same manner in which the bell on
ie neck of a sheep tolls as it goes on and feeds. There
iust also be a box made like a large lanthorn, about a foot
quare, and lined with tin, but with one side open. Two
i ' three great lights are to be set in this ; and the box is
') be fixed to the person’s breast, with the open side for¬
wards, so that the light maj' be cast forward to a great
istance. It will spread as it goes out of the box, and
istinctly show to the person that carries it whatever
•ere is in the large space of ground over which it ex-
>nds, and consequently all the birds that roost upon the
'ound. Two persons must follow him who carries the
ox and bell, one on each side, so as not to be within the
lach of the light to show themselves. Each of these is
1 have a hand-net, of about three or four feet square,
listened to a long stick or pole; and on whichever side
wy bird is seen at roost, the person who is nearest is to
LOW
lay his net over it, and take it with as little noise as pos¬
sible. When the net is over the bird, the person who laid
it is not to be in a hurry to take the bird, but must stay
till he who carries the light is got beyond it, that his mo¬
tions may not be discovered. The blaze of the light and
the noise of the bell terrify and amaze the birds in such a
manner that they remain still to be taken ; but the people
who are engaged in the work must keep as quiet and still as
may be. Some people are fond of going on this sport alone.
The person then fixes the light box to his breast, and
carries the bell in one hand and the net in the other;
the net in this case may be somewhat smaller, and the
handle shorter. When more than one are out at a time,
it is always proper to carry a gun, as it is no uncommon
thing to spy a hare when on this expedition.
LOWER, Richard, an eminent English physician in
the seventeenth century, was born in Cornwall, and edu¬
cated at Westminster school and Oxford. He afterwards
studied medicine, and practised under Dr Thomas Willis,
whom he instructed in some parts of anatomy, especially
when the latter was writing his Cerebri Anatome. In
1674, Lower, along with Dr Willis, discovered the medi¬
cinal waters at Ashop, in Northamptonshire, which, upon
their recommendation, became very much frequented.
In 1666, he followed Dr Willis to London, practised phy¬
sic under him, and became a fellow of the Royal Society,
and also of the College of Physicians. In 1669 he published
his Tractatus de Corde; and after the death of Dr Willis
in 1675, he was esteemed the most eminent physician in
London. Upon the breaking out of the Popish Plot in
1678, he closed with the Whigs, supposing that that party
would carry all before them ; but being mistaken, he lost
his credit and practice together. Lower died in 1691.
LOWERING, amongst distillers, a term employed to
express the debasing the strength of any spirituous liquor,
by mixing water with it. The standard and marketable
price of these liquors is fixed in regard to a certain strength
in them called proof; or that strength which makes them,
when shaken in a phial or poured from on high into a
glass, retain for some time a froth or crown of bubbles.
In this state spirits consist of about half pure or totally
inflammable spirit, and half water; and if any foreign or
home spirit be exposed to sale, and found to have that
proof wanting, scarcely any body will buy it until it has
been distilled again and brought to the proper strength ;
and it it he above that strength, the proprietor usually adds
water to bring it down to the standard. There is another
kind of lowering amongst the retailers of spirituous liquors
to the vulgar, by reducing it under the standard proof.
Whoever has the art of doing this without destroying the
bubble proof, which is easily done by means of some addi¬
tion which gives a greater tenacity to the parts of the
spirits, will deceive all who judge by this proof alone. In
this case the best way to judge of liquors is by the eye
and the tongue, and especially by the instrument called
the hydrometer.
LOWESTOFT, a town of the county of Suffolk, in the
hundred of Mutford with Lothingland, 114 miles from
London. It siretches along a chfi two furlongs from the
sea-shore. It has a consiuerabie share of the herring, as
well as of the mackerel fishery, and is much frequented
for sea-bathing in the summer. A canal uniting Norwich
with the sea at this place has been recently finished, and
promises to add to its prosperity. The church is a fine
Gothic building. I he market is held on Wednesday.
The population amounted in 1801 to 2332, in 1811 to
3189, in 1821 to 3675, and in 1831 to 4394.
LOW1H, Dr William, a learned and pious divine,
born at London in 1661, was the son of an apothecary, and
took his degrees at Oxford. His eminent worth and learn¬
ing recommended him to Dr Mew, bishop of Winchester,
579
Lower
II
Lowth.
580 LOW
Lowth. who made him his chaplain, gave him two livings in
Hampshire, and conferred upon him a prebend in the ca¬
thedral of Winchester. Although he had acquired an un¬
usual share of critical learning, the labours of Mr Lowth
were strictly confined within the limits of his own pro¬
vince, and he applied solely to the peculiar duties of his
function; yet, in order that he might acquit himself the
better in theology, he pursued his studies with a more
general and extensive view. Few were more deeply
versed in critical learning, there being scarcely any an¬
cient author, Greek or Latin, profane or ecclesiastical,
which he had not read with accuracy, constantly accom¬
panying his reading with critical and philological remarks.
Of his collections in this way he was upon all occasions
very communicative. Hence his notes on Clemens Alex-
andrinus, which are to be met with in Potters edition ot
that father; and his remarks on Josephus, communicated
to Hudson for his edition, and acknowledged in the pre¬
face ; as also those larger and more numerous annotations
upon the Ecclesiastical Historians, inserted in Reading’s
edition of them at Cambridge. The author of the Biblio¬
theca Biblicawns indebted to him for the same kind of as¬
sistance. Chandler, bishop of Durham, whilst engaged in
his Defence of Christianity, from the Prophecies of the
Old Testament, against the Discourse of the Grounds and
Reasons of the Christian Religion, and in his Vindication
of the Defence, in answer to the Scheme of Literal Pro¬
phecy considered, held a constant correspondence with
Lowth, and consulted him upon many difficulties which oc¬
curred in the course of that work. But the most valuable
part of his character was that which least appeared in the
eyes of the world ; the private and retired part, that of the
good Christian and the useful parish priest. Elis piety,
his diligence, his hospitality and beneficence, rendered his
life highly exemplary, and greatly enforced his public ex¬
hortations. He married Margaret, daughter of Mr Robert
Pitt, of Blandford, by whom he had tw'o sons and three
daughters; and died in 1732, when, by his own orders, he
was buried in the churchyard of Buriton. He published,
1. A Vindication of the Divine Authority and Inspiration
of the Old and New Testaments; 2. Directions for the
profitable reading of the Holy Scriptures ; 3. Commenta¬
ries on the Prophets; and some other works.
Lowth, Dr Robert, second son of the preceding Dr
William Lowth, and successively bishop of St David’s,
Oxford, and London, was born on the 29th of Novem¬
ber 1710, probably at Buriton, in the county of Hants.
He received the rudiments of his education at Winches¬
ter College, where his school exercises were distinguish¬
ed by uncommon elegance ; and having resided the requi¬
site number of years in that seminary, he in 1730 suc¬
ceeded to a place on the foundation at New College, Ox¬
ford. He took the degree of master of arts on the 8th of
June 1737. Though his abilities must have been known
to those with whom he was connected, he was not forward
to appear before the world as a writer. At Oxford he
continued many years improving his talents, with little
notice from the great, and with so small preferment that,
at this time, he escaped the distinct recollection ot some
of his contemporaries.
He was not, however, suffered to languish for ever in
obscurity. His genius and his learning forced themselves
upon the notice of the illustrious society of which he was
a member; and he was placed in a station where he was
eminently qualified to shine. In 1741 he was elected by
the university to the professorship of poetry, re-elected
in 1743, and, whilst he held that office, he read his admir¬
able lectures De Sacra Poesi Hebrceorum. In 1744 Bi¬
shop Hoadly collated him to the rectory of Ovington in
the county of Hants; added to it, nine years afterwards,
the rectory of East Weedhay in the same county; and in
LOW
the |
ingt
Inti
In
to be
right
engaj
made
the interim raised him to the dignity of archdeacon of Lowiid a
Winchester. These repeated favours he some years
terwards acknowledged in the following manly and re¬
spectful terms of gratitude : “ This address, my lord, is
not more necessary on account of the subject, than it is
in respect of the author. Your lordship, unsolicited and
unasked, called him from one of those colleges to a sta¬
tion of the first dignity in your diocese, and took the ear¬
liest opportunity of accumulating your favour upon him,
and of adding to that dignity a suitable support. These
obligations he is now the more ready thus publicly to ac¬
knowledge, as he is removed out of the reach of further
favours of the like kind. And though he hath relinquish¬
ed the advantages so generously conferred on him, yet he
shall always esteem himself highly honoured in having
once enjoyed the patronage of the great advocate of civil
and religious liberty.”
On the 8th of July 1754 the university of Oxford con¬
ferred upon him the degree of doctor of divinity by di¬
ploma ; an honour which, as it is never granted but to dis¬
tinguished merit, was probably conferred on Mr Lowtb
in consequence of his prelections on Hebrew poetry, which
had then been recently published. Having in 1749 travel¬
led with Lord George and Lord Frederick Cavendish,
he had a claim upon the patronage of their family; and
in 1755 the Duke of Devonshire being then lord lieuten¬
ant of Ireland, Dr Lowth went to that kingdom as his
grace’s first chaplain. Soon after this appointment he was
offered the bishopric of Limerick; but having preferred a
less dignified station in his own country, he exchanged it
with Dr Leslie, prebendary of Durham and rector of
Sedgefield, for these preferments. In November 1765 he
was chosen a fellow of the Royal Society. In June 1766
he was, on the death of Dr Squire, preferred to the bish¬
opric of St David’s, which, in the October following, he
resigned for that of Oxford, vacant by the translation of
Bishop Hume to Salisbury. In April 1777 he was trans¬
lated to the see of London, vacant by the death of Bishop
Terrick ; and in 1783 he declined the offer of the primacy
of all England.
Having been grievously afflicted with the stone, and hav¬
ing long borne the severest sufferings of pain and sickness
with the most exemplary fortitude and resignation, this
great and good man died at Fulham on the 3d of Novem¬
ber 1787 ; and on the 12th his remains were privately in¬
terred in a vault at Fulham church, near to those of his
predecessor. He had married in 1752, Mary, the daughter
of Laurence Jackson of Christ Church, Hampshire, by
whom he had two sons and five daughters. His lady and
two children only survived him.
His literary character may be estimated from the value
and the importance of his works, in the account of which
we may begin with his Prelections on Hebrew Poetry, I he
choice of so interesting a subject naturally attracted ge¬
neral attention ; and the work has been read with equal
applause abroad and at home. In these Prelections the
author has acquitted himself in the most masterly man¬
ner, as a poet, a critic, and a divine ; and such is the clas¬
sical purity of his Latin style, that though we have read
the work with the closest attention, and with no other
view than to discover, if possible, Anglicisms in the com¬
position, we found not a single phrase to which, we be¬
lieve, a critic of the Augustan age would have objected.
This is an excellence to which neither Milton nor John¬
son has attained, to which indeed no other English writer
of Latin with whom we are acquainted has attained, un¬
less, perhaps, Bishop Atterbury be excepted. To the
Prelections was subjoined a short confutation of Bishop
Hare’s system of Hebrew metre, which occasioned a La¬
tin letter from Dr Edwards of Clare Hall, Cambridge, to
Dr Lowth, in vindication of the Hare metre. To this the
lr
ly,*
ifhic
wart
onb
even
the f
litera
it ma
gretti
der tl
them
In
Ur
of the
■ngly
ways
transl
tions
the b
prove
motin
hyfre
Of
merit
Choic
wrote
»ise i
Wale*
Le;
Wti
ascen
privat
static
L
O
W
L O Z
581
r'in
muc.
the[
lived
ingt
Inti:
fully
In
Eng:
edit!'
doint
to be
and i
right
probi
enga:
even
the {
litera
itma
gretti
and a
der t
them
In
ATi
abilit
of the
>ngly
ways
transl
tions
the b:
prove
motin
hyfre
which
most
Chris
Chris'
Of
Merit
Choic
wrote
WalK
Lee
Wt
ascen
ffivai
atnial
11 .owtli author of the Prelections replied in a larger confutation,
'' -'in which Bishop Hare’s system is completely overthrown,
and the fallacy upon which it was built accurately investi¬
gated and exposed. After much attentive consideration,
Bishop Lowth has pronounced the metre of the Hebrews
to be perfectly irrecoverable.
In 1758 he published The Life of William of Wyheham,
bishop of Winchester, with a dedication to Bishop Hoad-
ly, which involved him in a dispute concerning a decision
which that bishop had lately pronounced respecting the
wardenship of Winchester College. This controversy was
on both sides carried on with such ability, that, though re¬
lating to a private concern, it may yet be read, if not with
pleasure, at least with improvement. The life of Wyke-
ham is drawn from the most authentic sources, and affords
much information concerning the manners, and some of
the public transactions, of the period in which Wykeham
lived, whilst it displays some private intelligence respect¬
ing the two literary societies of which he was the founder.
In these societies Dr Lowth was educated, and he grate¬
fully expresses his obligations to them.
In 1762 was first published his Short Introduction to
English Grammar, which has since gone through so many
editions. It was originally designed only for private and
domestic use ; but its judicious remarks being too valuable
to be confined to a few, the book was given to the world ;
and the excellence of its method, which teaches what is
right by7 showing what is wrong, has insured public ap¬
probation and very general use. In 1765 Dr Lowth was
engaged with Bishop Warburton in a controversy, which
made much noise at the time, and attracted the'notice
even of royalty itself. If we do not wish to dwell upon
the particulars of this controversy, it is because violent
literary contention is an evil which, though, like other war,
it may sometimes be unavoidable, yet is always to be re¬
gretted ; and because the characters of learned, ingenious,
and amiable men never appear to less advantage than un¬
der the form which that state of literary hostility obliges
them to assume.
In 1778 Bishop Lowth published his last great work,
A Translation of Isaiah. To his literary and theological
abilities the translator joined the most critical knowledge
of the character and spirit of eastern poetry ; and accord¬
ingly the" prophecies of Isaiah, which, though almost al¬
ways sublime or elegant, are yet sometimes obscure, were
translated in a manner adequate to the highest expecta¬
tions of the public. Several occasional discourses which
the bishop, by his station, was at different times called
upon to deliver, were of course published, and are all wor¬
thy of their excellent author; but there is one on the
kingdom of God, on the extension and progressive im¬
provement of Christ’s religion, and on the means of pro¬
moting these by the advancement of religious knowledge,
by freedom of inquiry, by toleration, and mutual charity,
which may be distinguished from the rest, as exhibiting a
most comprehensive view of the successive states of the
Christian church, and containing the truest principles of
Christianity.
Of the bishop’s poetical pieces, none display greater
merit than verses on the Genealogy of Christ, and the
Choice of Hercules, both composed very early in life. He
wrote a spirited Imitation of an Ode of Horace, applied to
the alarming situation of this country in 1745 ; and like¬
wise some verses upon the death of Frederick, prince of
Wales, with a few smaller poems.
Learning and taste, however, did not constitute Bishop
Lowth’s highest excellence. Eulogium itself can scarcely
ascend to extravagance when speaking of him either as a
private man, or as a pastor of the church of Christ. His
amiable manners rendered him an ornament to his high
station, whilst they endeared him to all with whom he
conversed ; and his zeal for the interests of true religion Loxa
made him eager to advance to places of trust and dignity II,
such clergymen as he knew were best qualified to fill them. ^ ^0ZL‘re'
LOXA, a province of Colombia, in the department of
Azuay, bounded on the north by Guayaquil, on the east
by Jaen, on the south by Yaguarsongo, and on the west
by Zamora. It is situated on an elevated and healthy si¬
tuation, fertile in all kinds of grain. It affords the finest
cinchona, and was long supposed to be the only place
which produced that medicament in any degree of perfec¬
tion. .Cochineal is also found in considerable abundance.
Its principal commerce consists in woven stuffs of cotton,
wool, and carpet, which are held in high estimation. It
possesses also two or three gold mines, which are worked.
Its chief town is Loxa, situated in a beautiful and extensive
valley, between two streams, which flow from the Andes.
It was formerly a place of considerable importance, though
now much decayed, and still contains several convents.
Long. 79. 15. W. Lat. 3. 59. S.
LOYOLA, Ignatius. See Ignatius.
LOZENGE, in Heraldry, a four-cornered figure, resem¬
bling a pane of glass in old casements. Though all he¬
ralds agree that single ladies are to place their arms on lo¬
zenges, yet they differ with respect to the causes which
gave rise to it. Plutarch says, in the life of Theseus, that
in Megara, an ancient town of Greece, the tombstones
under which the bodies of the Amazons lay were shaped
after that form, which some conjecture to be the cause
why ladies have their arms on lozenges. Petra Sancta
conceives this shield to represent a cushion, whereupon
women used to sit and spin, or do other housewifery ; but
Feme thinks that it is formed from the shield called tose-
ra, which the Romans, finding unfit for war, allowed to
women to place their ensigns upon, with one of its angles
always uppermost.
Lozenges, amongst jewellers, are common to brilliant
and rose diamonds. In brilliants, they are formed by the
meeting of the skill and star facets on the bezil; in the
latter, by the meeting of the facets in the horizontal ribs
of the crown.
Lozenge is also a form of medicine, made into small
pieces, to be held or chewed in the mouth till they are
melted there, and are the same with what are otherwise
called trochisci, troches.
LOZERE, a department of the south-west of France,
formed out of the district of Sevaudan, a part of ancient
Languedoc. It extends in north latitude from 44. 2. to
44. 59., and in east longitude from 2. 51. to 3. 50., con¬
taining 2134 square miles, or 509,543 hectares. It is
bounded on the north by the departments of the Upper
Loire and Cantal, on the east by the Ardeche, on the
south by the Gard, and on the west by Aveyron. It com¬
prehends twenty-four cantons, divided into 193 communes,
and contains a population of 148,000 persons, of whom
the Protestants, chiefly in the arrondissement of Florae,
are between thirty and forty thousand. It is a lofty, cold,
raw, and hard mountain district, the most sterile and the
most thinly peopled of any part of France. In the fields
are to be seen rocks of granite, or of chalk, scattered about
as high as the houses, whilst in the south the whole seems
to be slate covered with chalk. No river runs into the
department, but several streams issue from it in different
directions, and form rivers, such as the Lozere, the Lot,
the Allier, and the Ardeche. The climate is raw and
cold, but not unhealthy. Agriculture is ill conducted,
and this, with the natural poverty of the soil, causes a ne¬
cessity for the importation of annual quantities of corn. No
other but rye and oats, with some little barley, is raised ;
and chestnuts, with potatoes, form substitutes for corn
with the great mass of the people, who are as ill clad as
they are poorly fed. In the summer the workmen wander
582
L U B
L U B
Lozolo into the more southern departments, and even into Spain,
II to gain a little by their work in time of harvest. The
-Lubeck. ch;ef branch of industry was^spinning, which all practised
during their long winter ; but that employment has dimi¬
nished by the extension of machinery. Some serges, and
other coarse woollens, are, however, still manufactured.
Fuel is very scarce, the woods having been ruined by ne¬
glect ; and no coal is extracted. The only mineral obtain¬
ed is lead, but the quantity does not exceed forty tons;
and this, with some wool, hides, and cattle, forms the chief
trade. The department sends one deputy to the legislative
chamber. The capital is the city of Mende.
LOZOLO, a town of the province of Vercelli, in Pied¬
mont, surrounded with several smaller places, the popu¬
lation of which amounts to 6450 persons, who cultivate
extensively 1'ice, and breed silk-worms.
LUBEC, an island in the Eastern Seas, which is popu¬
lous, and carries on a considerable trade with Borneo and
Java, off the northern coast of which it is situated. It is
surrounded by a cluster of rocks and rocky islets. Long.
112. 45. E. Lat. 3. 48. S.
LUBECK, an independent republic in the north of Ger¬
many, consisting of the city of that name, a part of the
towm of Bergedorf, divided between Hamburg and Lubeck,
and sixty-eight villages and hamlets. It extends over
148 square miles, and contains 6437 houses, and 46,508 in¬
habitants, who all profess the Lutheran religion, except
300 Calvinists, 400 Catholics, and 300 Jews. The income
of the state amounts to L.40,000 a year, but is burdened
with a heavy debt of near L.300,000. It is governed by a
senate of four burgomasters and sixteen counsellors, with two
syndics and a procurator, who, though the executive power,
have no votes in the senate. The lower house of assembly
is chosen by the twelve guilds or companies of the free
burgesses. The military force amounts to about 600 men
of horse and foot.
The city of Lubeck, the capital of the republic, is situated
in latitude 53. 50. 22. north, and longitude 10. 41. 32,
east. It stands on a gentle elevation between the rivers
Trave and Wakenitz, the former of which is navigable to
the Baltic Sea, which it enters at Travemund, about twelve
miles below the city. It has good wide streets, with mas¬
sive houses, built in a very antique style. At present it
displays a picture of decay when compared with the evi¬
dent signs which remain of its former prosperity. After
the battle of Jena in the year 1806, Blucher, with the
wreck of the Prussian army, took refuge within the walls,
and were followed by the French. A battle was fought in
every street, which spread horror and a degree of suffering
which has never been effaced.
The French, during their possession, robbed it of all
that was moveable, and the trade on which it depended
disappeared in the absence of the capital with which it had
been carried on. The number of dwelling-houses is 3070,
but that of inhabitants does not now exceed 23,000, a
striking disproportion when the size of the houses is taken
into consideration. The most prominent public building
is the church of the holy virgin, with a magnificent altar of
black marble, a most curious astronomical clock, and two
towers 400 feet in height. The Rathshouse, in which the
representatives of the Hans Towns assembled, with its
extensive cellars, in better times stocked with many hun¬
dred pipes of the oldest Rhenish wine, all taken away by
the French, is a fine old building. There is little trade,
the chief part of which consists in the conveyance of goods
from Hamburg to the ports of Sweden and Russia, and
bringing back the products of those countries. .There
are some shipowners, and about ninety vessels, great and
small, belonging to the port of Lubeck. There are some
small establishments for making snuff and tobacco, for re¬
fining sugar, and for other smaller manufactures.
Lubeck is remarkable for what it has been, rather
for what it now is. It was once the head of a confederacy
of cities, in wrhich the spirit of freedom and of active com¬
merce was carried on, whilst the rest of Europe was deep¬
ly sunk in military despotism and in disgraceful indolence.
At that time it was respected, feared, and its alliance court¬
ed, by the monarchs of the most powerful states; and its
powerful fleets overawed the whole of the shores of the
Baltic Sea. As the history of this place is curious, a few
lines may be devoted to it.
It appears that in the beginning of the ninth century
a tribe of Sclavonians built on the little river Schwartau a
fortified place to protect themselves against another tribe
called the Obotrittens. This was the ancient Lubeck. It
was, however, taken and made the residence of Henry king
of the Obotrittens, who continued there till 1139, when it
was captured and demolished, and the present city found¬
ed on the river Trave, by Rudolph of Holstein, and peo¬
pled by fugitives from Westphalia and the Netherlands.
In the year 1158 it was transferred to Henry the Lion,
duke of Saxony, who granted to the city those privileges
which it long enjoyed, and which were gradually assumed
by the other cities which had acquired independence.
Their naval power then rose rapidly; and a war having
broke out between the emperor of Germany and Henry,
the citizens maintained the cause of the latter with so much
resolution, that, though attacked, they only submitted in
consequence of a treaty which insured to them all the rights
and privileges they had previously enjoyed. The posses¬
sion of the city then became an object of contest between
Saxony, Holstein, and Denmark, by the last of which, in
1201, Lubeck was captured; but at length, in 1226, it
threw itself under the protection of the empire, when Fre¬
derick the Second affirmed its freedom, and instated it as
an imperial city, with all the privileges of an independent
member of the Germanic body.
In 1241 the first alliance was formed with Hamburg, and
in 1260 Bremen and other free cities had become mem¬
bers of the confederacy, of which Lubeck was declared the
head, and the place of assembly of the whole representa¬
tives. This commenced the flourishing period of its exist¬
ence, wffiich long continued, till all the cities, excepting
Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, and Frankfort, had been one
after another subjugated, and united to the dominions of
the several princes by whom they were surrounded. This
had taken place towards the end of the sixteenth century,
when the trade of Lubeck took another direction; and
this place, though nominally the head of the remaining
confederacy, was the poorest and least populous of any of
them. In 1802, when so many German states lost their
independence, Lubeck still nominally retained hers, till she
fell under the French yoke in the year 1806. In 1810 Lu¬
beck was formed into a portion of the French department
of the Mouths of the Elbe, of which Hamburg was de¬
clared the capital. After the victory of Leipzig in 1813
its freedom was restored, and afterwards secured by the
congress of Vienna in 1815. The restoration of its ancient
power is now hopeless.
LUBIENIETSKI, Stanislaus, a Polish gentleman,
descended from a noble family, and born at Cracow in the
year 1623, was educated by his father with great attention.
He became a celebrated Socinian minister, and took great
pains to obtain a toleration from the German princes for
his Socinian brethren. His labours, however, were inef¬
fectual, and he was himself persecuted by the Lutheran
ministers, and driven from place to place, until at length
he was, along with his two daughters, banished out of the
world by poison, his wife narrowly escaping, in 1675. He
wrote a History of the Reformation in Poland, a Treatise
on Comets, and some other works, in Latin.
LUBIN, Eilhard, was professor of poetry in the uni
lie'
A L
■Lubin,'^
vers
was
note
treat
eoun
eterr
alter
polite
U
the!
51.1
conta
Vistu
it fro
Jerab
situat
shop,
a IDO!
tants.
consie
amor
LU
exten
in eas
the ci
miles
churc!
and 6
SO, N,
LU
merit i
1727,
from a
atGei
; His
Jicatio
writer
cellem
establi
cipallj
out an
ed by
countr
burin:
junctir
seum
phich
ine|
Hundr
thatfo
fta coi
Bierce.
lie retr
of the
reader
leisure
^ life
2erlatK
tryhe
foturn
k
vers
was
note
^clas
treat
phor
lock
coun
eterr
did,
bein;
after
politi
LI
tke^
51.4
conta
Vistu
it fro
and s
derab
situat
shop,
a mo!
tants,
consii
amor
LU
exten
in eas
tire ci
piles
pure
Land 6
k n,
; lu
merit;
1727,
from a
atGei
1 His
licatio
writer
cellen
establ
cipall)
out an
ed by
counti
iDurin
junctir
>m
which
Ms ne
public
Hundi
fellow
that ft
the co
merce.
juiced
he ren
of the
feader
hold f
heisnre
his lift
2«lan(
tryhe
return
rhen
;I,uc.
LUC
,ublii; versity of Rostock in 1595, and ten years afterwards he
was promoted to the professorship of divinity. He wrote
notes upon Anacreon, Juvenal, Persius, and several other
classics; but that which attracted the most notice was a
treatise on the nature and origin of evil, entitled Phos¬
phorus de Causa prima et Natura Mali, printed at Ros¬
tock in 1596, in which we find a curious hypothesis to ac¬
count for the origin of moral evil. Pie supposed two co¬
eternal principles, not matter and vacuum, as Epicurus
did, but God, and Nihilum, or Nothing. This hypothesis
being attacked by Grawer, was defended by Lubin ; but,
after all, he is deemed to have been better acquainted with
polite literature than with divinity. He died in 1621.
LUBLIN, a province of Poland, on the right bank of
the Vistula. It extends in north latitude from 50. 17. to
51. 43. and in east longitude from 21. 48. to 24. 2. It
contains 7979 square miles, and 497,500 inhabitants. The
Vistula is the boundary to the west, and the Bug divides
it from Russia on the east. It has very extensive woods
and some large marshes, but there are portions of consi¬
derable fertility. Hie capital is a city of the same name,
jsituated on the river Bystryzca, the seat of a Catholic bi¬
shop, and, besides a cathedral, contains eighteen churches,
a monastery, a college, 1829 houses, and 10,360 inhabi¬
tants. It has some manufactures of cloth and linen, and
considerable trade during the fairs, one of which continues
a month. Long. 23. 27. E. Lat. 51. 14. 30. N.
LUBNI, a circle of the Russian province of Pultowa,
extending in north latitude from 48. 55. to 50. 27., and
in east longitude from 32. 39. to 33. 33. The capital is
the city of the same name, situated on the river Sula, 920
miles from St Petersburg. It is an open city, with three
Churches, a monastery, a veterinary college, 1000 houses,
md 6130 inhabitants. Long. 32. 45. 25. E. Lat. 50. 0.
30. N.
LUC, John Andrew de, a natural philosopher of great
merit and celebrity, born at Geneva on the 8th of February
1727, was the son of James Francis de Luc, descended
from a family which had emigrated from Lucca and settled
it Geneva in the fifteenth century.
His father was the author of some very respectable pub-
ications in refutation of Mandeville and other sceptical
writers ; and he had the means of giving his son an ex-
ellent education, although he found it convenient to
stablish him in a commercial engagement, which prin¬
cipally occupied the first forty^six years of his life, with-
)ut any other interruption than that which was occasion¬
ed by some journeys of business into the neighbouring
eountries, and a few scientific excursions among the Alps.
During these, however, he collected by degrees, in con-
unction with his brother William Antony, a splendid mu-
eum of mineralogy, and of natural history in general,
vhich is still preserved at Geneva by the younger Deluc,
lis nephew. He at the same time took his share of the
>ublic business of the state, as one of the council of Two
Hundred; and he is still remembered with respect by his
ellow citizens, though he revisited them but once, and
hat for a few days onty after his emigration, which was
he consequence of some unexpected misfortunes in com-
nerce. He bore them with fortitude, and he rather re-
oiced than lamented at the change of his pursuits, when
ie removed to England in 1773. He was made a fellow
f the Royal Society in the same year, and was appointed
eader to the queen ; a situation which he continued to
'old for forty-four years, and which afforded him both
eisure and a competent income. In the latter part of
iis life he obtained leave to perform several tours in Swit-
erland, France, Holland, and Germany. In this last coun¬
ty he passed six years, from 1798 to 1804 ; and after his
eturn he undertook a geological tour through England.
Vhen he was at Gottingen, in the beginning of his Ger-
L U C
man tour, he received the compliment of being appointed
honorary professor of geology in that university; but he
never entered upon the active duties of a professorship.
He was also a correspondent of the Academy of Scien¬
ces at Paris, and a member of several other scientific as¬
sociations.
His favourite studies were geology and meteorology.
The situation of his native country had naturally led him
to contemplate the peculiarities of the earth’s structure,
and the properties of the atmosphere, as particularly dis¬
played in mountainous countries, and as subservient to
the measurement of heights. He inherited from his fa¬
ther a sincere veneration for the doctrines of Christianity,
and a disposition to defend the Mosaic account of the
creation, against the prevailing incredulity of the age.
His royal patroness was most anxious to encourage and
promote his labours in this field ; and he is universally
allowed to have had great success in removing the specious
objections which had been advanced by his antagonists,
against the comparatively recent formation of the present
continents. The testimony of Cuvier is sufficient to esta¬
blish his character in this capacity, and to place him, at the
same time, in the first rank of modern geologists. His
original experiments relating to meteorology are, how¬
ever, not less valuable to the natural philosopher; and he
discovered many facts of considerable importance relating
to heat and moisture. He noticed the disappearance of
heat in the thawing of ice, about the same time that Black
founded on it his ingenious hypothesis of latent heat. He
ascertained that water was more dense about forty degrees
of Fahrenheit than at the temperature of freezing, ex¬
panding equally on each side of the maximum ; and he
was the original author of the opinion since re-advanced
by Mr Dalton, that the quantity of aqueous vapour con¬
tained in any space is independent of the presence or
density of the air, or of any other elastic fluid; though it
appears difficult to reconcile this opinion with some of the
experiments of our author’s great rival, Saussure, a philo¬
sopher who, as he very candidly allows, made, in many
respects, more rapid progress in hygrometry than himself.
Deluc’s comparative experiments on his own hygrometer,
and on Saussure’s, show only that both are imperfect; but
it may be inferred from them, that a mean between both
would in general approach much nearer to the natural
scale than either taken separately. It appears also pro¬
bable that Saussure’s is rather less injured by time than
Deluc's, which has been found to indicate a greater degree
of mean moisture every year than the last.
Deluc was a man of warm feelings, and of gentle and
obliging manners, fulfilling on all occasions the various du¬
ties of a husband, a father, a master, and a friend; at the
same time that his literary and scientific merits, and his
unremitting attention to the service of the queen, insured
her respect and her kindness. He saw her daily for many
years, and in his last illness, which was long and painful,
she showed him repeated marks of benevolent regard. He
died at Windsor on the 7th of November 1817, leaving a
variety of works, which w ill long be remembered in the
scientific world.
1. Recherches sur les modifications de 1’Atmosphere, 2
vols. 4to, Geneva, 1772; 4 vols. 8vo, Par. 1784. This
contains many accurate and ingenious experiments upon
moisture, evaporation, and the indications of hygrometers
and thermometers, applied to the barometer employed in
the measurement of the height of mountains.
2. Relation de differens Voyages dans les Alpes de Fau-
12mo, Maestricht, 1771. This relation was writ¬
ten principally by Dentand, who accompanied the two De-
lucs in these expeditions.
3. Account of a new Hygrometer, Phil Trans. 1773, p.
404. Like a mercurial thermometer, with an ivory bulb,
583
Luc.
584
LUC
LUC
Luc. which expanded by moisture, and caused the mercury to
““y'-—' descend.
4. Rules for measuring Heights by the Barometer, Phil.
Trans. 1771, p. 158. The first correct rules that had
been made public.
5. Barometrical observations on the depth of the mines
in the Harz, Phil. Trans. 1777, p. 401. Examples of the
application of the rules.
6. An Essay on Pyrometry and Areometry, Phil. Trans.
1778, p. 419. A paper containing many valuable remarks on
physical measures in general.
7. Lettres physiques et morales sur 1’Histoire de la Terre,
6 vols. 8vo, Hague, 1778. Dedicated to the queen; re¬
lating particularly to the appearances of mountains, and to
the antiquity of the human race; explaining the six days
of the Mosaic creation as so many periods preceding the
epoch of the actual state of the globe ; and attributing the
Deluge to the filling up of cavities supposed to have been
left void in the interior of the earth. The whole work is
intermixed with interesting observations on men and man¬
ners.
8. A second paper concerning some Barometrical Mea¬
surements in the Mines of the Harz, Phil. Trans. 1779,
p. 485.
9. Lettres sur quelques parties de la Suisse, 8vo, 1781.
Also addressed to the queen.
10. Nouvelles idees sur la Meteorologie, 2 vols. in 3, 8vo,
Lond. 1787. A very valuable collection of observations
and experiments, including some original remarks on elec¬
tricity.
11. Several papers on Hygrometry, on Vapour, and Rain,
on Meteorology in general, on Expansion, and on Refraction,
in Rosier’s Journal de Physique^ xxx. xxxii. xxxvi. xxxvii.
xliii.
12. Some letters on the physical History of the Earth, in
the Monthly Review, enlarged, especially June 1790, and
vol. ii. appendix. ■
13. On Hygrometry, Phil. Trans. 1791, p. 1, 389. In
one of these very important papers the whalebone hygro¬
meter is described.
14. On Evaporation, pjiil. Trans. 1792, p. 400. Amongst
the fundamental principles laid down in this paper, the in¬
dependence of vapour and air is asserted.
15. Lettres sur 1’Histoire physique de la Terre, 8vo, Par.
1798. Addressed to Professor Blumenbach, and published
by Mr Emery, a clergyman, at Paris. The substance had
already appeared in the Journal de Physique Jox 1790,1791,
and 1798. We find in this volume an essay written for a
prize at Haarlem in 1791, but without success, on the ex¬
istence of a General Principle of Morality. It contains an
interesting accaunt of some conversations of the author
with Voltaire and Rousseau.
16. Lettres sur 1’Education religieusede 1’Enfance, 8vo,
Berlin, 1799.
17. Bacon telqu’il est, 8vo, Berlin, 1800. Showing the
bad faith of the French translator, who had omitted many
passages favourable to revealed religion.
18. Precis de la Philosophic de Bacon, 2 vols. 8vo, Paris,
1802. Giving an interesting view of the progress of na¬
tural science.
19. Lettres sur le Christianisme, Berlin and Hanover,
1801, 1803. A correspondence with Mr Teller.
20. Introduction a la Physique terrestre par les Fluides
expansibles, 8vo, Par. 1803.
21. Traite elementaire sur le Fluide Galvanique, 8vo, Pa¬
ris, 1804.
22. A paper on Lavas, Journal des Mines, cxv. Nichol¬
son, xx.
23. 24. Several articles in the British Critic and in the
Monthly Magazine.
25. Traite elementaire de Geologic, 8vo, Paris, 1809;
also in English, by Delafite, the same year. This volume Lucan1
is less strictly Introductory to geology than the Lettres sur ||
la Terre. It is principally intended as a refutation of the ^Ucain
Vulcanian system of Hutton and Playfair, who deduced the '^v>
changes of the earth’s structure from the operation of fire,
and attributed a higher antiquity to the present state of the
continents than is required in the Neptunian system adopt¬
ed by Deluc after Dolomieu.
26. Fie sent to the Royal Society, in 1809, a long paper
on separating the chemical from the electrical effects of
the pile, with a description of the electric column and aerial
electroscope, in which he advanced opinions so little in uni¬
son with the latest discoveries of the day, especially with
those of the president of the society, that the council
probably thought it would be either encouraging error
or leading to controversy to admit them into the Transac¬
tions. He had, indeed, on other occasions shown some¬
what too much scepticism in the rejection of new facts;
and he had never been convinced even of Mr Cavendish’s
all-important discovery of the composition of water. The
paper was afterwards published in Nicholson’s Journal
(xxvi.), and the dry column described in it was construct¬
ed by various experimental philosophers. It exhibited a
continual vibrating motion, which vras made more sensible
by the sound of a little bell, struck by the pendulum at
each alternation ; and the vibration was more or less rapid,
according to the state of the atmospherical electricity, and
according to other circumstances affecting the column;
but the motion ceased at last, after a continuance of seve¬
ral months, or perhaps years. There are also papers in
volumes xxi. xxii. xxvii. xxviii. xxxii. xxxiii. and xxxv.
mostly on electricity and galvanism, together with one on
hygrology, a letter to Bode on comets, and a fanciful theo¬
ry of the origin of the heat derived from compression.
Some of them are dated from Ashfield, near Honiton, in
Devonshire.
27. In the Philosophical Magazine, volumes xxxv. xlii.
xliii. and xlv. there are also some papers on electricity
and geology, especially on that of St Michael’s Mount, of
Vesuvius, and of Northumberland ; and a note on the sym¬
pathetic vibrations of the pendulums of two clocks placed
near each other.
28. Geological Travels in the north of Europe, 8vo, Lond.
1810.
29. Geological Travels in England, 2 vols. 8vo, Lonjl.
1811.
30. Geological Travels in Switzerland and Germany, 2
vols. 8vo, Lond. 1813.
31. An Abridgment of Geology, published in 1817,
when he was in his ninetieth year, is mentioned as one oi
his best works ; but it seems to have been only a republi¬
cation or a translation of some former treatise, perhaps the
Traite Elementaire.
(Philosophical Magazine, November 1817 ; Monod and
Weiss, in the Biographie Universelle, tome xxv. 8vo, Paris,
1820.) ( l. l.)
LUCANAS, a province of Peru, in South America,
bounded on the north by the province of Castro Vireina,
on the east by Parina Cochas, and on the south and west
by Camana. It is 180 miles in length, and varies from
thirty-six to ninety in breadth. It is situated amongst the
craggy rocks of the Cordilleras; and the temperature is very
cold, but the soil is fertile. The chief grains cultivated
are wheat, barley, and maize; and in the valleys fruits
are grown with considerable success. It has some silver
mines, which are supposed to be the richest in Peru, and
to which the province owes its chief importance. Its ca¬
pital is a small place of the same name, situated in latitude
14. 58. south.
LUCANIA, a country of Italy, and a part of Magna
Graecia, being bounded on the north by the river Silarus, by
the em
lisgrac
jisgust
liey wi
lerses 1
any!
ijuintei
Jon tl
«st 1
LU
era p1
sion oi
.Innsei
him ac
rous a'
the usi
S(
igainst
All tl
tyrant;
liming
read
lose tir
itated
inst
iizens
upuld be
wer
KS
I ccan,
c
tys base
Such i
J ired foi
% choii
reco
wan
issai
iii. 6
: in
na
Sci
Di
Ini
Esl
Tn
He die
ff era, ]
1 Kiarkat
Lucan
|Mo\
| Wiling
'egions,
itcele]
ui ne
%b
VoLX]
IffD
hn
ion tl
Brutt
west
LU
irasbo
ern p1
son o
Mela,
Lthe
cited
Ann©
{gainst
inferna
said
lied ofl
em
liieper
jisgrac
lisgust
by
eared.
Ferscs
iany
Iquintei
LUC
:an»awhich it was separated from the Picentini, and by the river
—Bradanus, by which it was parted from the Apuli Peucetii;
on the south by the Laus, which separated it from the
Bruttii; on the east by the Sinus Tarentinus ; and on the
.vest by the Tuscan Sea.
LUCANUS, M. Ann;eus, a celebrated Latin poet, who
vas born at Corduba, now Cordova, a city of Baetica, the south-
|:rn province of Spain, a. d. 38, the year after the acces-
ion of the Emperor Caligula. He was the son of Annaeus
vfela, a Roman knight of considerable reputation, and the
trother of the philosopher Seneca. The young Lucan, edu-
ated at Rome in the doctrines of the Stoic philosophy by
\nnaeus Cornutus, displayed at an early age great poetical
alents. His uncle Seneca, the preceptor of Nero, made
im acquainted with that prince, who, admiring his nume-
ous acquirements, raised him to the quaestorship before
he usual age, loaded him with favours, and even honoured
im so far as to enter the lists of literary competition
gainst him. Lucan sung the descent of Orpheus to the
ifernal regions, Nero Jhe metamorphosis of Niobe ; and it
. said that Lucan, forgetful of his duties as a courtier, car¬
ed off the palm of victory, and thereby lost the favour of
Pe emperor (Stat. Silv. ii. 7, 58). It is impossible to fix
le period when he composed those adulatory verses which
isgrace the beginning of the Pharsalia; but, from their
isgusting servility, we might be inclined to suppose that
ley were addressed to a tyrant who was well known and
ared. According to an ancient tradition, one of these
erses had already prepared the emperor to take umbrage
1 any thing that had the appearance of an insult. Nero
iuinted, and was deeply offended at the verse,
LUC
585
Unde tuam videas oblique sidere Romam.
All these various circumstances excited the wrath of the
Irant; and when Lucan, having composed a poem on the
ttrning of Troy and on that of Rome, requested permission
it read it at the public theatre, according to the custom of
tose times, this favour was denied him. Such persecution
iitated the poet, and induced him to join a conspiracy
aainst the emperor, which was composed of all the best
oizens of Rome. It was, however, discovered before it
culd be carried into execution ; and many of the conspira-
tns were arrested and put to the torture"! It is said that
Lean, on promise of his life, denounced his associates, and
ws base enough even to name his own mother.
Such conduct, however, does not appear to have pro-
cred for him forgiveness, as the only favour granted was
t£e choice of his mode of death. In his last moments Lu¬
ca recovered his firmness of mind, and, opening his veins
i -a warm bath, allowed himself to bleed to death, whilst
Lis said to have repeated his own description (Pharsa-
1%, iii. 637) of the death-scene of a young warrior who
l*s been wounded by a serpent.
Scinditur avulsus; ruptis cadit undique venis,
Discursusque animae diversa in membra meantis
Interceptus aquis. Nullius vita pereunti
Est tanta dimissa via. Pars ultima trunci
Tradidit in letum vacuos vitalibus artus.
de died at the age of twenty-seven, in the year 65 of
®j® era’ leaving a wife, Polla Argentaria, one of the most
reiarkable women of her time (Tacit. Ann. xv. 49, 56,
‘k Sidon. Apollinar. ii. Ep. 10).
mean was the author of many works which have not
cane down to us, particularly the Burning of Troy, the
Bming of Rome, the Descent of iEneas to the Infernal
Rgions, I en books of Sylvae, Medeia an imperfect trage-
and Epistles, one of which, in praise of Calpurnius
Ijb) has been preserved; but the work for which he is
m' t celebrated is his poem entitled Pharsalia, in ten books,
Wfch he did not live to finish. The subject of the poem is
thi'war between Caesar and Pompey, from its commence-
OL. XIII.
ment to the siege of Alexandria. Lucan adheres closely to
chronological order in his narrative, and scarcely deviates
from historical truth in his account of the various transac¬
tions. From the little scope he allows to his imaginative
powers, some critics have thought that Lucan should not
be considered as an epic poet, but ranked amongst histo¬
rians. His poetical merits have in all ages been fiercely
contested; some considering him equal to Virgil and Ovid,
whilst others have placed him in the lowest rank of poets.
Jhe judgment of posterity, however, is without appeal, and
it has long stamped the character of the poem as cold and
declamatory, notwithstanding that there are many passages
full of genuine poetry. The style is by no means uniform,
and even the political sentiments of the author vary in differ¬
ent parts of the work. In the first three books his love of
fieedom is scarcely to be discovered, and every opinion is
suppressed which was likely to have offended Nero. In the
remainder of the poem, as his hatred increased against
Nero, we can trace his aspirations after freedom gradually
growing stronger. There seems no good reason for believ¬
ing that the poet had any great moral end in view, except
perhaps that he wished to excite in the breasts of his coun¬
trymen a love of freedom, by exhibiting before their eyes
the last contest which their ancestors had maintained in
its defence. He wished also, perhaps, like the historian
Livy, to forget the fearful images of the present, by occu¬
pying his mind with, and dwelling on, the past. His want
of a glowing imagination and of inventive genius is some-
what counterbalanced by powerful and energetic language,
by a disdain of every thing that is mean or grovelling, and
by noble thoughts, which are uttered with all the dignified
seriousness of a Stoic. There are many editions of this
work, but one of the best is that of Burmann (Leyden,
1740), and the last is that by C. F. Weber, in 3 vols., the
last of which contains some valuable scholia (Leipzig, 1828).
LUCAR, St, de Barrameda, an unwalled Spanish
Clty; at the mouth of the Guadalquiver, in the province of
Seville, with 5000 inhabitants, one silk and two hat manufac¬
tories, and one tannery.
Lucar, St, de Guadiana, a Spanish fortified city on
the Guadiana, in the province of Seville, with 2800 inhabit¬
ants, and a good haven, whence steam-boats now pass con¬
stantly to Seville.
LUCARIA, a feast celebrated at Rome on the 18th of
July, in memory of the flight of the Romans into a great
wood, where they found an asylum, and saved themselves
fiom destruction. This wood, in which they found pro¬
tection, was situated between the Tiber and the Via So¬
laria. The enemies from whom the Romans fled were the
Gauls. On this festival Plutarch tells us that it was cus¬
tomary to pay the actors, and such as contributed to the
public amusement, with the money arising from the felling
of wood ; and this money was called lucar. It is obvious,
from what has been observed, that lucar and lucaria are
derived from lucus, a grove.
LUCAS Jacobs, an eminent artist, and more generally
known by the name of Lucas van Leyden^ was born at Ley-
den in 1494. He received his first instructions in the art
of painting from his father Hugues Jacobs, but completed
his studies in the school of Cornelius Engelbrecht. He gain¬
ed much money by his profession; and being of a generous
turn of mind, he spent it freely, dressed well, and lived in a
superior style. It is said that a few years before his death
he made a tour in Zealand and Brabant; and that, during
lis journey, a painter of Flushing, envious of his great abi¬
lities, gave him poison at an entertainment, which, though
vciy slow in its operation, proved fatal in its effect, and
put an end to his life, after languishing six years under its
cruel influence. Others deny the story of the poison, and
attribute his death to his incessant industry. The superiority
of this artist s genius manifested itself in his infancy ; for
4 E
Lucar
II
Lucas.
586 LUC
Lucas his works, even from the age of nine, were so excellent, as
II to excite the admiration of all contemporary artists; and
Lucca. w}ien hg was about fifteen, he painted a St Hubert which
gained him great applause. His tone of colouring is good;
his attitudes, making allowance for the stiff German taste,
are well chosen ; his figures have considerable expression
in their faces, and his pictures are very highly finished. In
the town-hall at Leyden, the most capital picture of Lucas,
the subject of which is the Last Judgment, has been pre¬
served with great care ; the magistrates having refused very
large sums which have been offered for it. This artist paint¬
ed not only in oil, but also in distemper and upon glass. Nor
was he less eminent for his engraving than for his painting.
He carried on a familiar and friendly correspondence with
Albert Durer, who was his contemporary; and it is said,
that as regularly as Albert Durer published one print, Lu¬
cas published another, without the least jealousy on either
side, or any wish to depreciate each other’s merit. His style
of engraving, however, according to Mr Strutt, differed con¬
siderably from that of Albert Durer, and seems evidently
to have been founded upon the works of Israel van Mech-
len. His prints are very neat and clear, but without any
powerful effect. The strokes are as fine and delicate upon
the objects in the front as upon those in the distances ;
and this want of variety, joined with the feebleness of the
masses of shadow, give to his engravings, with all their neat¬
ness, an unfinished appearance, much unlike the firm sub¬
stantial effects which we find in the works of Albert Durer.
He was very attentive to the minutiae of his art. Every
thing is carefully made out in his prints, and no part of
them is neglected. He gave great character and expres¬
sion to the heads of his figures ; but on examination of his
works we find the same heads too often repeated. He en¬
graved upon wood as well as upon copper, but his works on
the former are by no means numerous. They are, how¬
ever, very spirited, though, upon the whole, not equal to
those of his friend Albert. The prints of this master are
pretty numerous, but very seldom met with complete, espe¬
cially fine impressions of them ; for though they are, gene¬
rally speaking, executed with the graver only, yet, from the
delicacy of the execution, they soon suffered in the printing.
Lucas, Richard, a learned English divine, was born in
164)8, and studied at Oxford, after which he entered into
holy orders, and was for some time master of the free school
at Abergavenny. Being esteemed an excellent preacher,
he became vicar of St Stephen’s, Coleman Street, Lon¬
don, and lecturer of St Olave’s, in Southwark. He was
created doctor of divinity, and in 1696 installed preben¬
dary of Westminstex*. His sight began to fail in his youth,
and he totally lost it in his more advanced age. He was
greatly esteemed for his piety and learning, and published
several works, particularly, 1. Practical Christianity ; 2. An
Inquiry after Happiness ; 3. Several sermons ; and, 4. A La¬
tin translation of the Whole Duty of Man. He died in 1715.
LUCCA, a dukedom in Italy, extending in north la¬
titude from 43. 46. to 44. 14., and in east longitude from
10. 3. to 10. 44. It has enclosed within it a small portion
of Tuscany, and has the communes of Menuciano, Albiano,
and Renzano separated from it, between the territories of
Modena and Tuscany. It comprehends 440 square miles,
with one city and 290 towns and villages, which are inha¬
bited by 150,000 persons, being the most dense popula¬
tion of any state in Europe. It is bounded on the north
by Modena and Tuscany, on the east and the south by Tus¬
cany, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. The
Apennines form the northern part of the duchy, and ex¬
tend fi'om Monte Guiliano to the sea, gradually declining
in height as they proceed to the westward. The other
parts are level, and of high fertility. The river Serchio is
the only considerable stream, and, by the numerous canals
connected with it and employed in irrigation, is one of the
LUC
chief causes of the great power of production which the LUce
soil displays. The agriculture of Lucca is most admirably ||
conducted. The plains and valleys appear like gardens, in Lu«r
which corn and pulse fields are intermingled with olive plan-
tations and fruit trees. The hedges ax*e filled with elm, mul¬
berry, and other trees, around which the vines are to be seen
clustering in elegant festoons. Along the shore are rich mea¬
dows, on which numerous horned cattle are fed, whilst near
them other fields exhibit most abundant crops of rice. Even
the mountains almost to the summits are covered with
vines, or with olive, chestnut, and mulberry trees ; and the
Apennines themselves produce chestnuts, as well as the
finest pines and larches. Notwithstanding the application
of all the labour to agriculture, the duchy does not produce
corn equal to the consumption, but receives it from the
other states in exchange for the oil and silk, which is abun¬
dantly obtained. As the kind of agriculture practised en¬
gages all the labour, scarcely any of it is directed towards
manufactures ; and even the silk, except that used for in¬
ternal purposes, is not organized, but is exported in the raw
stato. The executive government of Lucca was conferred,
by the congress of Vienna, on the Empress Maria Louisa,
the wife of Napoleon. The power of making laws is intrust¬
ed to a senate of thirty-six members, who meet for a month
every year. The revenue of the duchy is from L.60,000
to L.70,000 annually, of which the civil list of the regent
is L.12,000. The military force is composed of from 1000
to 1200 men. The capital is the city of the same name,
situated on the canal of Ozzorti, which joins the river Ser¬
chio. It is walled, and contains the palace of the regent,
an old Gothic cathedral, a university, and some other insti¬
tutions for education, three hospitals, and 17,450 inhabi¬
tants. There are some respectable manufacturers of wool¬
len cloths and casimeres. The environs are adorned by
many villas, and are cultivated with the minute attention
which is usually paid to gardening. Long. 10. 12. E. Lat.
43. 49. N.
LUCE R A, a city of the province Capitanata, in the king¬
dom of Naples. It is situated on a hill on the edge of the
plain of Puglia, is sux-rounded with walls, and is the see of
a bishop. The cathedral is supported by fourteen beau¬
tiful marble columns. It has twelve other churches, se¬
veral cqnvents, and 8325 inhabitants.
LUCERES, in Roman antiquity, the third in order of
the three tribes into which Romulus divided the people, in¬
cluding all foreigners, and so called from the lucus or grove
where Romulus opened an asylum.
LUCERIUS, in Mythology, a name given to Jupiter, as
Luceria was given to Juno, these being considered as the
deities who gave light to the world.
LUCERNA, one of the valleys of Piedmont, which is
inhabited by the Vaudois. The capital, of the same name,
is situated on the river Pellice, and contains about 1100
inhabitants. The whole valley lias a population of 12,000,
who adhere to the faith of their ancestors, who separated
from the Roman Catholic church several centuries before
the reformation of Luther.
LUCERNE, a canton in the centre of Switzerland, be¬
ing suri-ounded by Arau, Schweitz, Unterwalden, Zug, and
Berne. It is 792 square miles in extent. The southern
part is covered with a portion of the lofty Alps, but the
whole is elevated, the lake of the four forest cantons being
1320 feet above the level of the sea. There are, however,
some extensive plains, with well-cultivated fields, which
produce corn, potatoes, and, from the dairies, a great deal
of butter and clxeese. It is one of the cantons which produce
more food than they consume. It is a highly picturesque
country, from the height of its mountains and the rapidity
and clearness of its streams. The inhabitants amount to
about 100,000, chiefly adhering to the Romish chux-ch. A
great portion of the land belongs to the church and other
St.^,
| int|
crati
bers
cant'
sawt
lake
roun
ttfO
andi
other
of hi
vine"
15,
LI
Indie
58. w
inb«
hills, i
timbe
sentir
mity
Leave
heigh
summ
form
The n
island.
LUC
taa,8: corporate bodies. The taxes to the state are lower than
» in the other cantons. The constitution is that of an aristo¬
cratic republic, with a senate composed of sixty-four mem¬
bers chosen for life, and thirty-six for a shorter period. The
canton is divided into three bailiwicks. The capital, of the
same name, is built at the efflux of the river Reuss from the
lake of the four forest cantons, or of Lucerne. It is sur¬
rounded with walls and towers, and contains five churches,
two convents for men and two for females, 620 houses,
and 5000 inhabitants. It has a lyceum, a gymnasium, and
other schools. The inhabitants are active manufacturers
ot hats and hosiery, of printed calicoes, of leather, beer,
vinegar, and some smaller articles, and carry on the chief
trade of the canton, by means of which wine, sugar, coffee,
and other foreign articles are disposed of. Lona. 0. 13.
15. E. Lat. 47. 3. 27. N.
LUCIA, St, one of the Caribbee Islands, in the West
Indies, situated in latitude 13. 37. north, and longitude 60.
58. west. It is about thirty-two miles in length and twelve
in breadth, and is divided longitudinally by a ridge of lofty
hills, from 1200 to 1800 feet in height, clothed with the finest
timber. Its appearance from the sea is very striking, pre¬
senting great diversity of scenery. At its southern extre¬
mity are two mountains of volcanic origin, called the Sugar
Loaves, which rise perpendicularly from the sea to a great
height, in the form of parallel cones, tapering towards the
summits. They are covered with evergreen foliage, and
orm the entrance into a small but deep and beautiful bay.
The mountains, which run north and south throughout the
sland, are of volcanic formation, and assume the most fan-
Cane
3641
LUC
tastic shapes, abounding in deep chasms and pointed emi- Lucia
nences. They are completely covered with wood, which
attracts the clouds, and the island is consequently deluged
with rain nine months out of the twelve. This is the rea¬
son why the climate is so unhealthy; but it will become
less so in proportion as the woods are cut down, and the
morasses and stagnant waters drained off. At the foot of
the mountains there are numerous small lakes, in which
the water is perpetually boiling, and in some places the
ebullition is so violent that the water is thrown up to the
height of four or five feet. The valleys throughout the
island, as well as the plains upon the coast, are fertile, and
under good cultivation, being well watered by numerous
rivulets. The island is divided into two territories ; Basse¬
terre, the low or leeward territory, which is well cultivat¬
ed, and the most populous, though the prevalence of stag¬
nant waters and morasses renders the climate very un¬
healthy; and Capisterre, the high or windward territory,
which is also very unhealthy, but is becoming less so as
the wood on the high lands is cleared away. These terri¬
tories are divided into three districts, which are again
subdivided into ten parishes, the aggregate population of
which, in 1832, amounted to 22,743. The inhabitants are,
for the most part, engaged in agricultural pursuits. The
principal stock in the island consists of 676 horses, 2421
horned cattle, 1616 sheep, and 765 goats.
This general description will be better understood from
the following statistical tables, relative to the population,
the produce, the shipping attached to the island, and the
number of seamen employed.
Return of the Free Population, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, in the year 1832.
Whites.
Males.
433
Females.
433
Free Blacks.
Males.
1297
Females.
1531
Aliens and
Resident
Strangers.
45
Persons employed in
Agriculture.
4177
Manufactures.
Commerce.
1414
65
Births.
423
Marriages.
16
Deaths.
307
Return of the Number of Slaves at the Registration of 1832, distinguishing the Sexes ; also the Number added on Ac¬
count of Birth, or taken off on Account of Death or Manumission.
Number in the Registry.
Females.
7229
Total.
13,348
Increase by Births.
Males.
581
Females.
549
Total.
1130
Decrease by Death.
Males. ‘Females.
573 | 475
Total.
1048
Decrease by Manumission.
Males.
151
Females.
215
Total.
366
statement of the Amount of West India Compensation to be paid, with the Number of Slaves in 1832, showina the de¬
crease since 1829, with the per centage lost, Sfc.
Number of Slaves
in 1832 on which
Compensation is
to be paid.
13,348
Decrease
of Slaves in
Five Years.
313
Per
Centage
Lost.
Average Value of
the Slaves from 1822
to 1830 inclusive.
75^890 10 4
Proportion of the
L.20,000,000 St
Lucia will receive.
335^627 16 llf
Average Value of
each Slave from 1822
to 1830 inclusive.
L. g. d.
56 18 7
Return of the Produce, SfC. in 1832.
Chops.
Produce.
Nature of the Crops, and Number of Acres of Land in each Crop.
Canes.
Coffee.
Acres.
36411
Acres.
407£
Cocoa.
Acres.
176
Cotton.
Acres.
14
Provisions
Acres.
2964
Pastures.
Acres.
4286f
Total Num¬
ber of Acres
in Crop.
11,4891
Number of
Acres of
Uncultivat¬
ed Land.
Nature of the Produce, and Quantity of each.
21,313j
Sugar.
lbs.
5,061,500
Coffee.
lbs.
87,520
Cocoa.
lbs.
26,277
Rum.
Gallons.
67,202
Molasses.
Gallons
135,692
Lucia, St From this return, it appears that the number of acres hilly country has not been taken into account, the total I
Lu >'an ^an(^ 32,803^; but, as the upper part of the number cannot be less than 37,500 acres. y
The Shipping attached to the Island, and the Number of Seamen employed, are as follows.
Places.
Great Britain....
British colonies.
United States...
Foreign States..
Total.
Inward.
Ships.
11
124
17
230
382
Tons.
2,443
5,250
2,056
6,194
15,943
Men.
2,106
Outward.
Ships. Tons.
11
131
15
284
441
2,518
6,903
1,731
7,294
18,446
Men.
2,433
The value of the merchandise imported into the colony
in 1832 was L.35,958,, and the exports from it the same
year amounted to L.51,126. The authorized coins in cir¬
culation are British, Spanish, and French. The weights
in use are the French pound and quintal.
The taxation, which amounts to nearly L.10,000, falls
very heavily on the producers, and is much complained of.
St Lucia was first settled by the English about the year
1635, and belonged alternately to France and England, till
1803, when it was finally captured by the English. The
white inhabitants are generally French, who profess the
religion, speak the language, and possess the manners of
that country, but who maintain little intercourse with the
English residents. Their affairs are administered by a
governor and council, with French laws where these are
not adverse to the British.
The only town in the island is Castries, which is situated
in a long and winding bay of the same name. It is a small,
mean place, and very unhealthy, but possesses an excel¬
lent harbour. The fort is situated about two miles from
the town, on the summit of a hill called Mornefortune. On
the west coast there is an excellent harbour called the Lit¬
tle Careenage, accessible at the entrance to only one vessel
at a time, but capable within of containing thirty ships of
the line. Nearly six miles from the harbour of St Lucia,
is a small island called Pigeon Island, about half a mile long
and a quarter broad. It is of some importance as a military
station, from its commanding a view of every ship which
enters or departs from the adjacent island of Martinique.
It is, moreover, valuable for a very fine and extensive an¬
chorage between it and the northern part of St Lucia.
The climate is the most salubrious in that quarter.
Lucia, St, a city of the island of Sicily, in the king¬
dom of Naples, situated on a river of the same name in
the province of Demone, 190 miles from Palermo. It is
in a healthy situation, on the declivity of the mountain
Dinnamane, and contains 6000 inhabitants.
LUCIANISTS, or Lucanists, a religious sect, so call¬
ed from Lucianus, or Lucanus, a heretic of the second
century, and a disciple of Marcion, whose errors he fol¬
lowed, adding to them some new ones of his own. But
Epiphanius says he abandoned Marcion, teaching that
people ought not to marry, for fear of enriching the Cre¬
ator ; and yet other authors mention that he held this
error in common with Marcion and other Gnostics. He
denied the immortality of the soul, asserting that it was
material, and consequently dissoluble. There was an¬
other sect of Lucianists, who appeared some time after
the Arians, and who taught that the Father had always
been a father, and that he had the name even before he
begot the Son, as having in him the power or faculty of
generation. In this manner they accounted for, or rather
impugned, the eternity of the Son.
LUCIANOS, a celebrated Greek writer, was born at
Samosata, the chief city of Commagene, a district situated
upon the right bank of the river Euphrates. The precise
dates of his birth and death are unknown; but it seems
to be generally allowed that he flourished during the reign
of the Antonines and of Commodus. Reitz, who has ex¬
amined this point with much minuteness, makes his life
extend between the years 120 and 200 of our era. His
own writings supply us with what scanty information we
have respecting his private history. His parents, he tells
us, were poor, andTound it necessary that their son should
at an early period choose the profession by which he was
to gain his livelihood. His maternal uncle was a sculptor
of some fame at Samosata, and was willing to teach his
nephew his own profession ; but the youth having con¬
trived awkwardly to break a marble slab which he was set
to polish, received a severe beating from his cross-grained
uncle. Lucian refused to submit to such treatment, and
gave up all thoughts of succeeding to the lucrative busi¬
ness of his uncle. He then turned his attention to a more
liberal profession, and devoted himself to the study of law;
but becoming disgusted with the chicanery and deceit of
which he was obliged to be cognisant, he abandoned his
new profession, and applied himself to philosophy. He
then visited the different parts of the civilized world; he
resided several years in Gaul and in Italy, of which he gives
an account in his treatises entitled Nigrinus, but chiefly
in Athens, where he became thoroughly master of the
Greek language. It is believed, from incidents mentioned
in Nigrinus and Hermotimus, that Lucian approached his
fortieth year when he left Gaul, where he appears to have
resided from ten to fifteen years. Massieu imagines that
he returned to Samosata, and remained in his native place
till Marcus Aurelius conferred upon him a lucrative situa¬
tion in Egypt. Wieland, however, who examined this part
of his life minutely, gives satisfactory reasons for believ¬
ing that he spent most of his time at Athens, where he
composed the greater part of his finest dialogues. He
was certainly resident in Greece a. d. 165, where he wit¬
nessed the self-sacrifice of the enthusiast Peregrinus Pro¬
teus on the funeral pile, during the celebration of the
Olympic games. He spent the latter part of his life in
Egypt, but he does not state the precise nature of the
office which he filled in that country.
Lucian is distinguished as a writer for fertility of ge¬
nius, wit, taste, and elegance, and for the talent of confer¬
ring the grace of novelty upon the most common and fa¬
miliar topics. Notwithstanding the great change in cus¬
toms and manners, after a lapse of seventeen hundred years,
the wit of Lucian is still amusing, his satire still applicable,
and his pictures of manners still fresh and vivid. It must
be confessed that he sometimes exceeds reasonable bounds
whilst he ridicules the absurd superstitions of his country¬
men, and laughs at the mountebanks who were decked out
with the name of philosophers. Whilst he merely intends
LUC
LUC
ciM
' verj uc
to attack superstition, he is often so carried away by his wit
as to ridicule all religious sentiments. He strikes at the
f very foundation of morality ; and the blows which he aims
, at the hypocrites amongst philosophers, sometimes fall on
the good and virtuous. In depicting the manners of the vi¬
cious, he is at times obscene and licentious. Amongst the
most spirited of his works we may mention, the Dialogues
of the Gods, in which Lucian makes the gods converse, as
it were, in their domestic capacity and undress, and in mo¬
ments of weakness, when, not being aware that they were
privily overheard by men, they exposed themselves to the
view of their worshippers in all their nakedness. In these
dramatic scenes they show themselves, by their follies, base¬
ness, and vices, unworthy of the esteem and confidence of
mankind. Dialogues of the Dead, in which he ridicules
with his peculiar humour the vulgar tenets respecting the
state of souls after death, hell-torments, and the deifica¬
tion of dead persons. Timon, in which there is consider¬
able resemblance to the Plutuso?Aristophanes; the7)ram
of Micyllus, or the Cock; Jupiter Trageedus, the comic title
of a little drama of much wit and humour, in which Jupi-
, ter gets such serious wounds as he has never since been
' able to recover. The Convicted Jupiter, in which Lucian
shows the inconsistency of the pagan doctrines concern¬
ing fate, the providence of the gods, and the rewards and
punishments after death. The Sale of the Philosophers, in
which he exposes the absurd tenets, manners, and prin¬
ciples of every sect. The Angler, or the resuscitated Phi¬
losophers. In the story of Lucius, or the Enchanted Ass,
there are several indecent and licentious scenes, though
it abounds with humour. This story has been ascribed
by some to Lucius of Patrae, and there seems good reason
for believing that Lucian merely abridged it; but no one
has ever doubted his claim to the story entitled The True
History, a long tissue of incredible adventures, and extra¬
ordinary voyages made in seas full of wonders. His in¬
tention was to ridicule the impostures which Etesias and
lambulus had attempted to palm upon the world as true
stories. The tract entitled How to write History has been
unanimously pronounced one of the best and most instruc¬
tive of his writings. There have been numerous editions
>f the works of Lucian. The first was published in 1496 ;
at the best is that of Hemsterhuys and Reitz, Amster-
lam, 1743, three vols. 4to, to which is added a fourth
olume, Lexicon Lucianeum, by Conrad Reitz, 1746. It
lias been translated into German by Wieland, into Italian
oy Gozzi, and into English by Franklin (1780), and Tooke
;i820).
LUCIFER, according to the poets, was the son of Ju-
liter and Aurora. In astronomy, Lucifer is the planet
Venus, which either goes before the sun in the morning,
md is our morning star; or in the evening follows the
sun, and then is called Hesperus or the evening star.
LUCIFERA, in Mythology, a surname given to Diana,
Under which title she was invoked by the Greek ladies in
I ihildbed. She was represented as covered with a large
|eil, interspersed with stars, bearing a crescent on her
iiead, and holding in her hand a lighted flambeau.
LUCIFERIANS, a religious sect, who adhered to the
schism of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, in the fourth cen-
ury, who was banished by the Emperor Constantins for
laving defended the Nioene doctrine concerning the three
icrsons in the Godhead. St Augustin seems to intimate
bat the Luciferians believed the soul, which they consi-
lered as of a carnal nature, to be transmitted to the chil-
Iren from their fathers. Theodoret says that Lucifer
uas the author of a new error. The Luciferians increas-
d mightily in Gaul, Spain, Egypt, and other countries,
be occasion of the schism was, that Lucifer would not
i How any acts he had done to be abolished. There were
uly two Luciferian bishops, but a great number of priests
589
and deacons. The Luciferians cherished a peculiar aver- Lucilius
sion to the Arians.
LUCILIUS, Caius, a Roman knight, who is generally
considered as the inventor of satirical composition, at
least of that new form which was adopted by Horace,
Persius, and Juvenal. Of his personal history we can col¬
lect only a few facts. He was born 148 b. c. at Suessa,
now Sessa, a city of the Aurunci, in Latium, and died at
Naples at the age of forty-six, b. c. 103 (Juv. i. 20; Euseb.).
He attended Scipio Africanus in the war against Nu-
mantia, b. c. 134, at an age when he could scarcely be
expected to serve in arms. It was then that he acquired
the friendship of the younger Scipio, and of Laelius (Veil.
Pat. ii. 9). He composed thirty satires, epodes, hymns,
a comedy, and a Life of Scipio the elder. His satires
are frequently mentioned by ancient writers, and with
great praise ; but we have only a few fragments remain¬
ing. Lucilius first introduced hexameter verse, which
became the usual measure of Roman satirical composi¬
tions ; and made little use of the iambus or trochaeus.
He also excelled those who preceded him, in the sharp¬
ness of his wit and the polished smoothness of his lan¬
guage. Horace, however, pronounces a severe sentence on
the poetry of Lucilius. He finds his verses harsh and un¬
musical, and compares him to a river whose waters bring
down particles of gold and mud mingled together (Sat. i.
10). The fragments of Lucilius have been published by
Douza, with learned notes, Leyden, 1597, and Amsterdam,
1661 ; again by Volpi, Padua, 1735. (See Biihr, Ges-
chichte der Romischen Literatur, Carlsruhe, 1832.)
LUCIME TER. This name has been given to an ap¬
paratus employed by Bouguer for measuring the intensity
of the light which proceeds from different bodies.
In the case of two lamps or candles burning near to
each other, the intensity of the light may be compared,
by compa-ring the intensity of the shadows of an adjacent
body. I he shadow produced by interposing the body in
the stronger light is darker than its shadow formed by
the interposition of the body in the rays of the weaker ;
because the first shadow is enlightened only by the light
it receives from the weaker light, whilst the other shadow
is more strongly enlightened by the light from the stronger
light. But this method will not serve for comparing the
intensity of the light of the sun and moon, for the light of
the sun so greatly exceeds that of the moon, that when
both are visible at the same time, the light of the moon
is far too weak for any shadow to be formed by intercept¬
ing it.
For the purpose of measuring and comparing the inten¬
sity of the light of the sun and moon, Bouguer reduced
the light of the sun and of the moon till the light appeared
to be equal to that of a candle. The eye is able to judge
whether or not two lights are equal; but if the lights are
unequal, it is impossible to estimate by inspection how
much the one exceeds the other. Being able to calculate
how much he had reduced the light of the sun and of the
moon, he was enabled to say what proportion their light
bore to that of the candle.
for the former, Bouguer, when the sun was at an ele¬
vation of thirty-one degrees above the horizon, received
the light into a dark room, through a hole of one twelfth
of an inch in diameter. In this hole was placed a con¬
cave glass to weaken the light, by making the rays di¬
verge more than they would in passing through the hole
without a concave glass. He received the image formed
by the divergent rays at a distance of five or six feet, by
interposing a screen, which formed a right section of the
cone of divergent rays. This right section was a round
image of the sun, of of an inch in diameter; there¬
fore the light was diminished by the square of that num¬
ber, since the light received through a hole of one line in
590
LUC
LUC
Lucimeter. diameter was diffused over a circle of 108 lines in diame-
ter, and of 1164 times the area. This light he found to be
equal to that of a candle placed at a distance of sixteen
feet.
He employed the same concave glass to receive the
light of the full moon, the moon being nearly at its
mean distance from the earth, and at thirty-one degrees
of altitude, the same altitude as the sun had in his ob¬
servations of that luminary. The light of the moon being
weak, he received the image at eight twelfths of an inch
from the concave glass, and then the light of the image
was so weak as to be equal to the light of a candle at the
distance of fifty feet.
Now the light of the moon was diminished in the pro¬
portion of the square of one to sixty-four, which is the
square of the diameter of its circular image. If the light
of the moon had been diminished 11,664 times, it would
have been equal to the light of the candle removed to a
distance of 675 feet; for as eight, the diameter of the
image, is to fifty, the distance, so is 108, the diameter of
the image when the light is reduced 11,664 times, to 675
feet, the distance of the candle which would produce
that degree of light. Therefore the light of the sun being
equal to that of a candle placed at the distance of sixteen
inches, and the light of the moon being equal to the light
of the same candle placed at the distance of 675 feet,
that is, 8100 inches, it follows that the light of the sun is
to the light of the moon as 65,610,000, the square of
8100, is to 256, the square of 16. This experiment gave
the light of the sun 256,289 times greater than the light of
the full moon. Bouguer obtained results somewhat differ¬
ent from other experiments, and taking a mean of these
results, he concludes that the light of the sun is 300,000
times greater than the light of the full moon. The light
of the moon, when collected into a focus by a concave
mirror which condenses the light into a space 306 times
less than the natural state of the light, produces no sensi¬
ble heat.
Bouguer found, by a process similar to that above de¬
scribed, that the light of the full moon when elevated 66°
IP, was to the light of the full moon elevated 19° 16' above
the horizon, as 2500, the square of 50, to 1681, the square
of 41. The sun at the harbour of Croisac in Bretagne, where
Bouguer made his experiments, has the same apparent alti¬
tudes of 66° IP, and 19° 16' at the summer and winter sol¬
stices ; and he concludes that the intensity of the light of
the sun at the summer solstice is to the intensity of its light
at the winter solstice, in the above-mentioned ratio of 2500
to 1651, or about three to two. He found that the light of
the moon, when near the horizon, and about to set, was 2000
times less than the light of the moon elevated 66° IP.
This difference in the light of heavenly bodies when at dif¬
ferent altitudes proceeds from the want of transparence in
the air; for when the heavenly body is not much elevated
above the horizon, the rays proceeding from it have a great¬
er distance of atmosphere to pass through than the rays
from the same body at a greater altitude; and the rays
from a heavenly body in the zenith proceed in the direction
of a diameter, and therefore traverse the atmosphere by
the shortest path. Bouguer calculates that the mass of air
passed through by the rays from a heavenly body at 66°
IP is equal to a supposed mass of air of the uniform den¬
sity of the air at the surface of the earth, 4275 toises in
thickness ; and that the mass of air passed through by
the rays from a heavenly body 19° 16f in altitude, is equal
to a supposed mass of air of the density of the air at the
surface, and of 11,744 toises in thickness.
He concludes that light is diminished or about
one third, by passing through a mass of air of the uni¬
form density of the air at the surface, and 7469 toises
in thickness. The rays from a heavenly body near the
horizon are likewise impeded by the terrestrial vapours, Lucina'
which vary in density, and render the intensity of the |j '
light of a heavenly body at the horizon various at differ- huckno*
ent times. The same cause renders the quantity of the
refraction of the heavenly bodies at the horizon uncertain.
In certain states of the air, the discs of the sun and
the moon, when at the horizon, appear somewdiat elliptic,
the apparent vertical diameter being less than the hori¬
zontal. This is occasioned by the greater refraction of
the air through which the under limb is seen ; which re¬
fraction elevates the apparent place of the under limb by
a quantity sensibly greater than that quantity of refraction
by which the upper limb is raised. This alteration of
figure, and the colour of the rising and setting sun and
moon, indicate the greater or less quantity of vapour dif¬
fused in the air, and are usefully referred to by the sea¬
man and farmer as prognostic indications of the weather.
The existence of a greater or less quantity of vapour
mixed with the air is also indicated by the different de¬
grees of intensity of the blue colour of the sky. Some are
of opinion that this colour depends on the colour of the
mass of air which forms the atmosphere ; others maintain
that it arises from the darkness of space seen through the
interposed atmosphere. The blue colour of the sky in¬
creases in intensity from the horizon to the zenith, and is
particularly intense when seen from the elevated parts of
the Alps, because in that situation there are few terres¬
trial vapours mixed with the air, and it is the white colour
of these vapours which renders the blue less intense in
lower situations. For the purpose of estimating and not¬
ing its intensity, it is compared with different tints of blue
painted on a card, as described under the article Cyano-
meter.
See Essai dOptique sur la Gradation de la Lumim,
par Bouguer; and Voyage de Humboldt, Relation histo-
rique, chap. iii. p. 251. (b. b.)
LUCINA, a goddess amongst the Romans, who presided
over women in labour. Some take her to be Diana, and
others Juno. She was called Lucina, because she brought
children to the light; from the Latin word lux, light.
LUCKENWALDE, a city of the province of Branden¬
burg, in Prussia, situated on the river Nuthe. It con¬
tains 680 houses, and 4150 inhabitants, who are employ¬
ed chiefly in making cloth, and other woollen goods.
LUCKNOW, a city of Hindustan, in the province of
Oude, situated on the south bank of the river Gooimy,
over which there are two bridges, one a very noble Go¬
thic edifice of stone, and the other a platform laid upon
boats, and merely connecting the King’s Park with the
palace. The Goomty is navigable for boats of a common
size at all seasons of the year, and falls into the Ganges
between Benares and Gazypoor. The last sovereign,
Saadut Ali, had brought over an iron bridge from Eng¬
land, and a place was prepared for its erection ; but, on
his death, his successor declined prosecuting the work, on
the ground that it was unlucky; so that it is now left to be
destroyed with rust. The streets where the lower classes
reside consist of mean houses built of clay, “ with the
filthiest lanes between them,” says Bishop Heber, “ that
I ever went through, and so narrow that we were obliged
to reduce our front, and even a single elephant did not
pass very easily. A swarm of beggars,” he continues, in
the lively description which he gives of the aspect of the
town and its population, “ occupied every angle, and the
steps of every door, and all or nearly all the remaining
population were, to my surprise, as much loaded with
arms as the inhabitants of the country; a circumstance
which told ill for the police of the town, but added con¬
siderably to its picturesque effect. Grave men in palan¬
quins, counting their beads, and looking like moullahs,
had all two or three sword or buckler lacqueys attending
doors
sitorc
fome
Sen, ti
There
ling, 1
one
ter of
lectun
ministe
lome 1
ferent
itrikinj
Nawab
the gal
jeh af
ever,
dence
and e
and tl
nied t
riches
thebi
tinue
are, h
mentk
the d\
the pr
Dil-K<
The la
Keep a
iplendi
pan la'
lained
mder i
tious SI
id Dov
lm Gc
Ifi as ■
aste ol
i large
hg pile
tnfortu
feigns,
ihout ti
ant ric
Stensr
tith fin
»ntaini
fed, on
k, is
Smels,
le resii
comm
lH i
' Nnds
'“iheot
' Strive
“ ltl(l ext
3 Ornate
ith
1/hadC
to tl’
loung
doors
sirorc
city*
nabot
leb af
ever,
dence
and e
and tl
nied t
riches
^ the bi
I tinue
are, h
jraentit
the dr
Ithepr
Dil-K<
pearet
some
den, t
There
ting, l
is one
ter of
jecturt
ministf
lome.
rent
jtrikinj
iNawah
jlhe ga
The la
iteep a
iplendi
pan la’
lained
mder i
(ions s
id Dor
im Gr
T
taste oi
s large
nfortu
tigns,
ihoutt
ant rit
Wensi
•ith fin
contain;
Hon
p, is
Sniels,
dniongj
^resii
'ootnm
H \
*theoi
Strive
»d ext
Miniate
"n U
LUC
LUC
591
■knovion them. People of more consequence, on their elephants,
■“had each a retinue of shield, spear, and gun, little inferior
to that by which we were surrounded; and even the
lounging people of the lower ranks, in the streets and shop-
doors, had their shields over their shoulders, and their
swords carried in one hand.” Lucknow is a very ancient
city. It was formerly the residence of the governors or
nabobs of Oude, but was abandoned by Shujah ad Dow-
leh after the battle of Buxar; on his death in 1774, how¬
ever, his successor returned to it; and being now the resi¬
dence of the kings of Oude, it has been greatly increased,
md embellished by palaces and other public buildings;
md the bankers and men of property having accompa-
ned the court, Lucknow became one of the largest and
•idlest towns in Hindustan. In advancing into the town,
he buildings begin to improve, though the streets con-
inue to be equally narrow and dirty. Some of the streets
ire, however, more spacious; and one in particular is
nentioned as being both wide and handsome. From
he dwelling of the British resident, all the way down
he principal street, and afterwards through the park of
)il-Koushar and the neighbouring drives, Lucknow ap-
ieared to Bishop Heber to have more resemblance to
ome of the smaller European capitals, such as Dres-
en, than any other town which he had seen in India,
"'here are several palaces in Lucknow belonging to the
ing, but none of them are very striking buildings. There
> one close to the residency, which is merely a clus-
fer of mean houses, with some morsels of showy archi-
lecture intermingled like the offices of a college. The
linister’s house is a very large pile of buildings, in a dirty
art of the town. There are many stately khans, and
.ome handsome mosques and pagodas, scattered in dif-
jrent corners of the most wretched alleys. The most
Lriking buildings in Lucknow are the tombs of the late
Kawab Saadut Ali and of the mother of the present king,
he gate of Constantinople, and the imumbra or cathedral,
'he latter building consists of two courts, rising with a
teep ascent one above another. It contains, besides a
olendid mosque, a college for instruction in Mussul¬
man law; apartments for the religious establishment main-
ained here; and a noble gallery, in the midst of which,
nder a brilliant tabernacle of silver, cut glass, and pre-
:ous stones, lie buried the remains of its founder Asuph
id Dowlah. The whole is in a very noble style of east-
rn Gothic, and is distinguished by richness and varie-
*r, as well as by the just proportions and general good
iste of its principal features. Close to this fine group is
iilarge and handsome, though a dull and neglected look-
ig pile, which is the palace or prison appropriated to the
infortunate widows and concubines of deceased sove-
figns. There is a small summer palace of the king’s
nout three miles from the city, to which there is a plea-
lint ride. The house is small and ugly, but the park is
Intensive, and it is well stocked with Indian deer, and
fith fine red deer. The king has also a large menagerie,
hntaining a great number of scarce and curious animals;
cid, on the banks of the river Goomty, in a well wooded
irk, is a large collection of different varieties of cows,
omels, and deer, and five or six very large rhinoceroses.
Ismongst the curiosities in the neighbourhood isConstantia,
residence of the late General Martin, who, from being
scommon soldier, rose to a high rank in the Company’s
any. His house is a large and whimsical building, and the
!Punds are laid out in the worst possible taste, displaying
the outline and arrangements the eccentric genius of the
•jcntriver. To the house is annexed a very fine garden
ad extensive grounds. The population of Lucknow is
^ imated at 300,000 ; and Bishop Heber is of opinion that
!lts sufficiently crowded to contain that number. There
Wn Lucknow a considerable number of European inha¬
bitants, consisting of the numerous dependents of the re- Luckput
sidency, and those Europeans and half castes retained by Bunder
the king in his employment. There are also many trades- LucrJtjus
men amongst both these descriptions of persons, and a
strange medley of adventurers of all sects and nations,
who ramble thither in search of employment, which, how¬
ever, they seldom find. It is 650 miles travelling dis¬
tance from Calcutta, from Delhi 280, from Agra 202, and
from Benares 189 miles. Long. 80. 55. E. Lat. 26. 51.
N. The district of Lucknow is adjacent to the city, and
is situated between the 26th and 27th degrees of N. lat.
The country is generally a sandy soil, covered, after a
storm, with puddles of water. Some parts, however, are
more fertile and better cultivated. The country is wa¬
tered by the Ganges, the Goggrah, and the Goomty; and
over the small river Sye is a bridge of fifteen arches, an
excellent specimen of Mahommedan architecture. The
towns are mostly built of brick, and there are still in
many parts extensive mounds of brick dust, the only ves¬
tiges of ancient cities. (Rennell’s Memoir of a Map of
Hindustan; Lord Valentia’s Travels, &c.)
LUCKPUT BUNDER, a town of Hindustan, province
of Cutch, situated about thirty miles up the Lory River
or Salt Creek, which communicates with the Gulf of
Cutch, and is only navigable for small vessels. It is de¬
fended by a fort, which is situated on the brow of a hill.
It is not estimated to contain more than 2000 inhabitants,
500 of whom are Sepoys; and it is at present a place of
little trade. Lat. 23. 47. N.
LUCRETIA, the famous Roman matron, wife of CoJ-
latinus, and the cause of the revolution in Rome by which
the constitution of the state was changed from a monarchy
to a republic. This lady being ravished by Sextus, the
eldest son of Tarquin king of Rome, stabbed herself, in
the year 509 before Christ. The bloody poniard, with
her dead body exposed to the senate, was the signal of
Roman liberty ; the expulsion of the Tarquins, and the
abolition of the regal dignity, were instantly resolved on,
and carried into execution.
LUCRETIUS, T. Carus, a celebrated Roman poet and
philosopher, who was born b. c. 95 and died b. c. 55, accord¬
ing to Donatus ( Vit. Virg.), or 52 b. c. according to Euse¬
bius. We have no precise information respecting his pa¬
rents, his education, or the circumstances of his life ; and
even whether he studied at Athens under Zeno is a mat¬
ter of considerable doubt. We know, however, that he
must have witnessed the proscriptions of Marius and
Sylla, and have lived during all the horrors of the civil
war, a period full of popular commotions, and crimes of
the deepest dye. An ingenious writer has attempted to
draw a parallel between those horrible times and the pe¬
culiar doctrines which Lucretius advocated. It is said
that, not daring to attribute the misery of his country to
the justice and wisdom of the gods, he was anxious to de¬
throne a Providence which seemed to abandon the world
to the passions of ambitious tyrants. He borrowed his
philosophy from the school of Epicurus, and was evident¬
ly well acquainted with the language and manners of the
Greeks. His poem entitled He Rerum Natura is divid¬
ed into six books, and addressed to his friend Memmius,
one of the most virtuous and enlightened men of his age.
fhere is a tradition that it was composed during the lucid
intervals of a madness caused by a love potion which had
been administered to him by his wife Lucilia. The talent
of Lucretius is displayed by the skilful manner in which
he treats his subject, even when its nature is such that it
does not admit of poetical embellishment, and by the dig¬
nity with which he unfolds his philosophical views. He
indulges but seldom in declamation, and every thing is
simple and without ornament. The poet has bestowed
much care upon the introductory parts of each book, and
592
L U C
L U D
Lucullus. throughout tlie work there are many beautiful passages
and episodes, such as the description of the plague at
Athens. The most celebrated passages are the invocation
to Venus, the powerful description of love, &c.; but, to form
a just idea of his talents, we must read the fifth book, in
which he narrates the formation of society. The mate¬
rials for this work were taken principally from the writings
of Epicurus. In the design he seems to imitate the un¬
adorned and almost prosaic poetry of Empedocles. The
language, rich in antique forms and expressions, is thus
full of power and energy; but that he had many difficul¬
ties with which to contend, is proved by his complaints of
the poverty of the Latin language, and by the introduc¬
tion of many Greek words, which are seldom to be met
with in other Roman authors. His philosophy is that of
the atheist; he denies the existence of a Deity and of a
Providence ; he disbelieves the immortality of the soul,
and laughs at the idea of death. From the depths of this
heartless scepticism, however, he darts at times to the
very heights of enthusiasm and poetry. But the cha¬
racter of his system experiences no change. He destroys
all those gods with whom the poets loved to people the
universe ; he ridicules the idea of a future life, and of
future rewards and punishments ; he represses all hopes,
and stifles all fear; yet all ages have admired this poem
of Lucretius, as one of the most wonderful productions of
human genius. It is said by Eusebius that Cicero revised
and published this work, and yet it is remarkable that
he only mentions Lucretius once, and then his praise is
but equivocal (Cic. ad Q. Fratr. ii. 2). Ovid promises
immortality to his verses.
Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti,
Exitio terris cum dabit una dies.
There have been many editions of this work. The first edi¬
tion known is in folio, without date, and appears to be that
of Thomas Ferrand, printed at Brescia in 1473. The
others are, Veron. 1486; Venetiis apud Aldum, 1500; cum
comment. Lambini, Paris, 1564,1570 ; cum notis Creech,
Oxon. 1695 ; ed. Wakefield, Lond. 1796 ; ed. Eichstaedt,
Lips. 1801 ; ed. Forbiger, Lips. 1828.
LUCULLUS, Lucius Licinius, a Roman general ce¬
lebrated for his eloquence, his victories, and his riches.
In his youth he made a figure at the bar ; but„being after¬
wards sent as quaestor into Asia, and praetor into Africa,
he governed those provinces with great moderation and
justice. Scarcely was he known as a military man, when he
twice defeated the fleet of Hamilcar, and gained two great
victories over him. His happy genius was greatly improv¬
ed by study; for he employed his leisure in reading the
best authors on military affairs. Being made consul along
with Aurelius Cotta, during the third war with Mithridates
king of Pontus, he was sent against that prince; and this
expedition was attended with a series of victories, which
did him less honour than an act of generosity towards his
colleague. The latter, willing to take advantage of his
absence to signalize himself by some great exploit, hasten¬
ed to fight Mithridates, but was defeated and shut up in
Chalcedonia, where he must have perished, if Lucullus,
sacrificing his resentment to the pleasure of saving a Ro¬
man citizen, had not flown to his assistance, and disengag¬
ed him. All Pontus then submitted to Lucullus, who be¬
ing continued in his government of Asia, entered the ter¬
ritories of Tigranes, then the most powerful king in Asia.
That prince marched with a formidable army against Lu¬
cullus, who defeated him with a handful of men, and kill¬
ed great numbers of his forces; took Tigranocertes, the
capital of his kingdom ; and was ready to put an end to
the war, when the intrigues of a tribune got him deposed,
and Pompey nominated in his stead. Lucullus having
brought home prodigious riches, now gave himself up to
excessive luxury; and his table was served with a prolu¬
sion and splendour until that time unknown. He brought
from the East a great number of books, which he formed
into a library, and gave admission to all men of learning,
who frequented it in great numbers. Towards the end of''
his life, he fell into a kind of madness ; and Lucullus,
his brother, was appointed his guardian. He is said to
have been the first who brought cherries into Europe,
having imported the grafts from the kingdom of Pontus.
LUCUS, in general, denotes a wood or grove sacred to
a deity; so called a lucendo, because a great number of
lights were usually kept burning in honour of the god, a
practice common with idolaters, as we learn from Scrip¬
ture.
LUD, a British king mentioned in our old chronicles,
and said to have reigned about the year of the world 3878.
He is reported to have enlarged and walled round Troy-
novant, or New Troy, where he kept his court, and made
it his capital. The name of London is derived from Luds
town, and Ludgate from his being buried near it; but this
is only one amongst many other derivations of the name
of London, which are at least equally probable.
LUDAMAR,acountry of Central Africa, situated in lati¬
tude 16. 30. north, and longitude 6. 30. west, and bounded
on the south by Kaarta and Bambara, on the east by Tim-
buctoo, and on the north by the Great Desert. The in¬
habitants are Moors, who live in a state of great barbarity
and bigoted Mahommedanism. They entirely neglect agri¬
culture, and depend chiefly for subsistence on the rearing
of cattle. Their only knowledge of manufactures consists
in converting iron into spears and knives, and weaving cloth
from goats’ hair. Almost every inhabitant capable of bear¬
ing arms is liable to be called out in a military capacity,
and must furnish his own horse and equipments. The king
administers justice, but seldom inflicts capital punishments.
He is distinguished from his subjects only by his dress
being of a finer cloth, and by a tent of larger dimensions;
but in ordinary intercourse his rank is little attended to ; and
he often eats out of the same dish, and sleeps in the same bed,
with his menials. It was in this country that the traveller
Major Houghton met his death, and Mr Park suffered such
a rigorous captivity. The chief town is Benown, a miser¬
able place, consisting of a number of dirty-looking huts
scattered irregularly over an extensive space, and resem¬
bling a camp rather than a town.
LUDEHAUNAH, a town of Hindustan, situated on
the north-west boundary of the province of Delhi, and on
the south bank of the Sutlege river. It is one of the most
remote military stations which the British possess in this
quarter. The climate is cold for four months of the year,
and in the summer season extremely hot, with hot winds.
The rains are abundant. It is 180 miles north-north-west
from the city of Delhi, and 120 south-east from Lahore.
Long. 75. 32. E. Lat. 36. 53. N.
LUDENSCHEID, a city of the Prussian government
of Arensburg, in Westphalia, in the circle of Altena. It
stands between two lofty hills, and contains a Lutheran
and a Calvinist church, 280 houses, and 1820 inhabitants.
It is a place celebrated for its hardware, especially for
saws, scythes, hoops, and many other articles.
LUDGERSHALL, a market and borough town of the
county of Wilts, in the hundred of Amesbury, seventy miles
from London and fifteen from Salisbury. It is pleasantly
situated on the borders of the forest of Chute. It formerly
returned two members to the House of Commons, but has
been deprived of that privilege by the reform act. lhe
population amounted in 1801 to 471, in 1811 to 487, in
1821 to 477, and in 1831 to 535.
LUDI, a term used for shows and public representa¬
tions exhibited by the Romans for the entertainment ot the
people.
LUDIUS, a celebrated painter, who lived in the reign
Lui
If An?
hudiujf^
lUl
iprn at
Jlxftrd-
llrhiK
jittle a
]jpon tl
direfoi
f liorst
Hi
;il of th
ifigene
|ton,1
jjithout
irely h
[j| out!
i k T
a the h
11 prev
ijjugh (
apainei
9 ired t
i;recal
iied ir
a ution,
jin In
u jlicly
i i pres
I pray
a el Lui
i on th
xi. Itii
c fe, is
4n-hall
fie, m
he pr
been
he pm
high
ilfcomr
inth
* count
< borou
t nded.
fad,
Punted
lb, and
'UDO
lury, ,
hh, wa
sear
tiquitiei
H
lous bt
rODou
U)Wi
as s
cfenhae
Prince
tee as
!‘K uni
!n he i
H n
lot, xi
fAU2
fewa:
(reets
/land
Liir
iorn at
Jxford'
frLu(
pttle o
Jpon tf
lire foi
f liorsf
jejudi
|e pari
of tb
i'genc
:ton, i
thout
rely ^
|tn. T
Iprev
ired t
recal
ied ir
ntion,
in In
jlidy
5 pres
■pray
el Lu
on th
ring
|irs.
iiUDUl
Salop,
i. It!
fe, is
n-bal
tie, ni
:he pr
been
|he poi
high
comr
in tl:
count
boroi
!nded.
[Mond
'anted
and
UDO
®y:
i) wa
sear
iquitie
is. H
OUS bi
'tJDOL]
led,
P as s
Lugano.
»' Augustus Caesar, and excelled in grand compositions, was well received by the czar, and where his knowledge Ludwigs-
te was the first who painted the fronts of houses in the led the ignorant Muscovite priests to believe him a con- burK
d1, greets of Rome, which he beautified with a great variety juror. On his return to London in 1694, he was cut for
«landscapes and many other subjects. the stone; and, as soon as his health would permit, in >
LUDLOW, Edmund, son of Sir Henry Ludlow, was acknowledgment of the civilities he received in Muscovy',
Irrn at Maidenhead, and educated in Trinity College, he wrote a grammar of their language, that the natives
Uford. His father being opposed to the king’s interest, might learn their own tongue in a regular method. He then
travelled into the East, to inform himself of the state of
the Christian church in the Levant; the deplorable con¬
dition of which induced him, after his return with the
aid of the Bishop of Worcester, to print an edition of the
fince
“ce as
ir$) un
he
hi |
fOL.
L U D
LUG
593
Ir Ludlow joined the same party, and was present at the
httle of Edgehill as a volunteer under the Earl of Essex.
Lon the death of his father, he was-chosen knight of the
ssire for Wilts, and obtained the command of a regiment
ca horse for the defence of that county. He was one of New Testament in the vulgar Greek, in order to present
ts judges of Charles I. and after his death was sent by it to the Greek church. In 1709, when such numbers of
tie parliament into Ireland, in quality of lieutenant-gene- Palatines came over to England, Mr Ludolph was ap-
r. of the horse, an employment which he discharged with pointed by Queen Anne one of the commissioners to ma-
digence and success until the death of the lord-deputy nage the charities raised for them; and he died early in
Eton, when he acted for some time as general, though the following year. His collected works were published
vtfhout that title; Cromwell, who knew him to be sin- in 1712.
crely in the interest of the commonwealth, always find- LUDWIGSBURG, a city of the kingdom of Wirtem-
ig out some pretext to evade conferring that office upon burg, in the circle of the Neckar, and the capital of a baili-
h,n. The last stroke would have been given by Ludlow wick of the same name. It is situated in a rich and beauti¬
ful district, one of the royal residences, and the seat of the
financial boards of the kingdom, is well built, and contains
1000 houses, with 5426 inhabitants, a considerable garri¬
son, and a military academy. It has manufactures of cot¬
ton, woollen, and china-ware. The promenades around
it are pleasant, and near to it is the palace Monrepos, the
tuthe Irish rebellion, if the usurpation of Cromwell had
nr prevented it. Under his power he never acted ; and
tmugh Cromwell used his utmost efforts to gain him, he
ramained inflexible. After Cromwell’s death, he endea-
vmred to restore the commonwealth ; but Charles II. be-
ir recalled, he thought proper to conceal himself, and es-
c^ied into Switzerland, where he settled. After the re
viution, he came over to England, in order to be employ-
etiin Ireland against King James; but having appeared
p»licly in London, it gave great offence, and an address
vv ,• presented by Sir Edward Seymour to King William
13 praying for a proclamation in order to apprehend Co¬
residence of the late dowager queen, formerly princess
royal of England. Long. 9. 1. 32. E. Lat. 48. 53. 15. N.
LUDWIGSLUST, a town of the grand duchy of Meck-
lenburg-Schwerin, in the bailiwick of Grabow. It is the
residence of the sovereign, who has a fine palace, with parks
and pleasure-gardens around it. The palace is a large and
l»2l Ludlow, attainted for the murder of King Charles I. highly-ornamented building, and contains a picture-gallery
t-l„ j o i i «-- J J with some fine paintings. A new road, recently constructed,
connecting Berlin with Hamburg, passes through this
place, by which means it has become a great thorough¬
fare. The town contains a Lutheran and a Catholic church,
624 houses, and 3840 inhabitants, mostly depending for
subsistence on the court.
LUFF, the order from the pilot to the steersman to put
helm towards the lee-side of the ship, in order to make the
ship sail nearer the direction of the wind. Hence, luff
Ulon this he returned to Switzerland, where he died.
Oring his retirement in that country he wrote his Me-
int|rs.
Ludlow, a borough and market town of the county
ofialop, in the hundred of Munslow, 142 miles from Lon-
de. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Teme and
C»fe, is well built, paved, and lighted, and has a spacious
ton-hall, a neat hospital, and school-house. The ancient
csile, now in a state of dilapidation, was formerly used
hyhe president of the court of the marches of Wales, and round, or luff a-lee, is the excess of this movement, by
hi| been immortalized as the theatre of the first display which it is intended to throw the ship’s head up in the
ofhe poetic powers of Milton. The corporation consists
ofi high bailiff, two justices, twelve aldermen, and twenty-
ior common-council men. It is represented by two mem-
bes in the House of Commons. The quarter-sessions for
tb county are held here, as well as a court of record for
th borough. There are annual races, which are much
atlnded. Ludlow is a cheap place, and has good markets
oiuMonday, Wednesday, and Friday. The inhabitants
amunted in 1801 to 3897, in 1811 to 4150, in 1821 to
ISO, and in 1831 to 5253.
1UDOLPH, Job, a learned writer of the seventeenth
cejtury, was born at Erfurt, in Thuringia. He travelled
wind in order to tack her. A ship is also said to spring
her luff when she yields to the effort of the helm, by sail¬
ing nearer to the line of the wind than she had done be¬
fore.
Luff Tackle, a name given by sailors to any large tackle
that is not destined for a particular place, but may be va¬
riously employed as occasion requires. It is generally
somewhat larger than the jigger tackle, although smaller
than those which serve to hoist the heavier materials into
and out of the vessel, which latter are the main and fore
tackles, the stay and quarter tackles, and so forth.
LUG-SAIL, a square sail, hoisted occasionally on the
in’Jth, was master of twenty-six languages, visited libra- mast of a boat or small vessel, upon a yard which hangs
rie searched everywhere after natural curiosities and nearly at right angles with the mast. These sails are more
anlquities, and conversed with learned men of all na- particularly used in the barca-longas navigated by the Spa-
ticis. He published a History of Ethiopia, and other niards in the Mediterranean.
curious books. LUGANO, a city, the capital of a circle of the same
j IUDOLPH, Henry William, nephew of Job above men- name, in the canton of Ticino, in Switzerland. It stands
tiqed, was born at Erfurt in 1655. He came to Eng- in a romantic situation on the lake of its own name, famous
iar as secretary to M. Lenthe, envoy from the court of for the quantity and excellence of the fish caught in it,
Ccenhagen to that of London ; and being recommended which in some degree supply Milan with that species of
to ’rince George of Denmark, he was received by that food. It is well built, and contains sixteen churches, seven
pmce as his secretary. He enjoyed this office for some religious houses, an ecclesiastical seminary, and 398 houses,
ycjfs, until he was incapacitated by a violent disorder, with 4350 inhabitants, who are actively employed in the ma-
wlrm he was discharged with a handsome pension. After nufactures of silk, paper, and ironware, and grow abundance
be'.ad recovered, he travelled into Muscovy, where he of moderately good wine. Long. 8. 57.35. E. Lat. 45. 59.
lt)L. xin. 4, F
594
L U L
L U N
Lugdunum 56. N. It is the capital of the canton alternately with Bel¬
li ling and Locarno.
LUGDUNUM, in Ancient Geography, the capital of the
Segusiani, in Gallia Celtica, situated on an eminence at the
conflux of the Arar and Rhodanus, as the Celtic term dun
indicates. It was built by Manutius Plancus, under Au¬
gustus, while commanding in that part of Gaul, and thither
he led a colony. Lugdunum is now Lyons, capital of the
Lyonnois.
Lugdunum Batavorum, in Ancient Geography, a town
of the Batavi, in Gallia Belgica; now Leyden, in Holland.
LUGO, a city of Spain, in the province of Galicia, on
the river Tuy, which runs to the Mino. In this place there
are some manufactories of linen and stockings, and some
tanneries. Near it is the mountain village of Cerbrero,
whose fields are covered with snow four months in the
year, but whose pasture in summer is excellent, and pro¬
duces cheese, which is highly esteemed throughout Spain.
At this place the army under Sir John Moore, in his cele¬
brated retreat, having suffered the greatest hardships from
the severity of the climate, the haste of their march, and the
want of the requisite refreshments, offered battle to the
enemy, which, however, was declined.
LUGOS, a town of the circle of Temesvar, in the pro¬
vince of Farther Theiss, in Hungary. It stands on the
river Temes. It is the place of assembly of the provin¬
cial states, has a Minorite monastery and a Greek church,
and contains 900 houses, with 4587 inhabitants, who grow
some excellent wine. Long. 21. 52. 30. E. Lat. 45. 37.
50. N.
LUKE, St, the evangelist, and disciple of the apostles,
was originally of Antioch, in Syria, and by profession a
physician. He particularly attached himself to St Paul,
and was his faithful companion in his travels and labours.
He went with the apostle to Troas, in Macedonia, about
the year 51 ; he wrote his gospel in Achaia about the
year 53 ; and, ten years after, he compiled the Acts of the
Apostles, which contains a history of thirty years. Of
all the inspired writers of the New Testament, his works
are written in the most elegant Greek. It is believed
that St Luke died at Rome, or in Achaia.
Gospel of St Luke, a canonical book of the New Testa¬
ment. Some think that it was properly St Paul’s Gos¬
pel ; and that, when the apostle speaks of his gospel, he
means what is called St Luke’s. Irengeus says that St
Luke digested into writing what St Paul preached to the
Gentiles; and Gregory Nazianzen tells us that St Luke
wrote with the assistance of St Paul.
St Luke the Evangelist’s Day, a festival in the Chris¬
tian Church, observed on the 18th of October.
LUKIANOW, a circle of the province of Nishegorod,
in Russia, extending from latitude 54. 31. to 54. 14. and
from longitude 43. 43. to 45. 28. east. It is well supplied
with the means of conveyance, by several rivers running
into the Wolga, for its chief products, which consist of
rye, hemp, and flax. It contains 185,000 inhabitants, of
whom 50,000 are slaves. The capital, a city of the same
name, is 840 miles from St Petersburg, at the junction of
the rivers Tescha and Kochschtschwaki, and contains 267
houses, with 1560 inhabitants. Long. 44. 20. E. Lat. 55.
54. N.
LULLI, Jean Baptiste, one of the most celebrated
musicians that has appeared in France since the revival
of learning, was born at Florence. He was taken to France
when very young, by a person of quality; and he carried
the art of playing on the violin to the highest perfection.
Louis XIV. appointed him superintendent of music. Some
time afterwards, Perinna having introduced operas into
France, and quarrelled with his company, he resigned his
privilege to Lulli. Operas were then carried to the ut¬
most perfection by this celebrated musician, and were at¬
tended with continual applause. From this time, Lulli
every year produced a piece of his own composition, until
his death, which happened in the year 1687.
LULLY, Raymond, a writer on alchemy, surnamed
the Enlightened Doctor, was born in the island of Major¬
ca in 1225. He applied himself with indefatigable labour
to the study of the Arabian philosophy, chemistry, physic
and divinity, and acquired great reputation by his works’
He at length went to preach the gospel in Africa, and was
stoned to death in Mauritania, at the age of eighty. He
is honoured as a martyr at Majorca, whither his body was
carried. He wrote many treatises on the sciences in
which he shows much study and subtilty, but little judg¬
ment or solidity. A complete edition of his works was
printed at Mentz. This person must not be confounded
with Raymond Lully of Terraca, surnamed Neophyta, who,
from being a Jew, turned Dominican friar, and maintained
several opinions which were condemned by Gregory XL
LUMGHANAT, an Afghan district in the province of
Cabul, and situated principally on the banks of the Karaeh
River, but which formerly extended from the Indus to the
Hindoo Koosh Mountains. The chief towns are, Jellala-
bad and Irjah. It was formerly a Hindu territory, and the
natives had a peculiar dialect; but it is now possessed by
different tribes of Afghans, particularly the Hazarebs.
LUMINOUS, an epithet applied to anything that shines
or emits light.
Luminous Emanations have been observed from human
bodies, as also from those of brutes. The light arising
from currying a horse, or from rubbing a cat’s back, are
well known. Instances of a similar kind have been ob¬
served on combing a woman’s head. Bartholin gives us
an account, which he entitles Mulier Splendens, of a lady
in Italy whose body shone whenever slightly touched with
a piece of linen. These effluvia of animal bodies have
many properties in common with those produced from
glass; such as being lucid, snapping, and not being excited
without some degree of friction ; and they are undoubtedly
electrical, as a cat’s back when streaked has been found
strongly electrical.
LUMEZZANO, two towns of Italy, in the delegation
of Brescia, part of the Austrian government of Milan. One
of them, with the addition of St Apollonia, is situated on a
hill, and contains 1386 inhabitants; the other, called De
Pieve, is situated in the valley of Trompia, and contains
1310 inhabitants. Both are celebrated for their manufac¬
tures of bayonets, gun-stocks, muskets, swords, pistols,
daggers, and other weapons.
LUNA, in the jargon of the alchemists, signifies silver,
which was so called from the supposed influence of the
moon upon that metal.
Luna Cornea, in Chemistry, is a compound of muriatic
acid with silver.
LUNAR, something relating to the moon.
Lunar Month. See Month.
Lunar Year consists of 354 days, or twelve synodical
months. See Calendar and Year.
LUNAWARA, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Gujerat, and district of Gudara, where, in 1803, a treaty was
concluded with the rajah by the British government, which
freed him from the tribute he had before paid to Scindia.
Long. 73. 46. E. Lat. 23. 5. N. It is sixty-five miles
east-north-east from Ahmedabad.
LUND, a city of Sweden, in the province of Malmoe,
near the river Hoje-An. It is without walls, and is the seat
of a bishop, of a theological seminary, and of a university.
There is a respectable cathedral, besides three other
churches; and it contains about 400 houses, with 3640
inhabitants. The university has great reputation, and ap¬
propriate institutions to assist study. The library consists
of 40,000 volumes, and there are good collections ofnatu-
liist
lllffai
Ltim iii
Wqii'
Lat.
lun
e
tout fi
landed
s s to ad
Itl
j pats, a
etowi
LUN
lescent
i#o circ
LUN
Ip of
lected
Ipswi
!’b-
anish i
lupreh
a rishes.
I put 28
a s;
e a
1 iths oi
iipe, ini
y stre
Th
i winte:
D ployir
aiital i;
1 ich is
j orpha
in a vi
a ace is
sfilic hi
T1
i usee
15.7.
UNI
#it of
psitua
u! lake
fabitan
ted fla
lune
the M
is<
fconta
the sa
^rthe.
tad it
•stria a
taitair
1. ]
WNE
llts,th,
i iongst
wished {
^ildin
in
ar
irei
1 *ays be
ina v
lUNE
Ilie M
kis
jconta
fte sa
[urthe.
Had it
•stria a
tontair
k .
[UNE
»t8,thi
tongst
•shed
^ inferj
Win
^56 at
day.
L U N
y nl history, of mechanical models, an observatory with
god astronomical instruments, and a well-arranged bota-
se i:al garden. The students at the full session are about
There are some manufactures, but the chief trade
Ethat which arises from the university. Long. 13. 7. 22
B Lat. 55. 42. 26. N.
LUNDY, an island in the mouth of the Bristol Channel,
aout eleven miles from the coast of Devonshire. It is
stout five miles in length and two in breadth, and is sur-
runded by rocks, except at one part, which is so narrow
at to admit of not more than one person at a time reaching
i It has living on it but one family, who breed pigs,
gats, and rabbits, and supply fowls and eggs to a part of
t.3 towns in Devonshire. Long. 4. 9. W. Lat. 51. 20. N.
LUNE, Lunula, in Geometry, a plane in the form of a
csscent or half-moon, terminated by the circumference of
t o circles, which intersect each other within.
■ LUNEBURG, one of the provinces of the present king-
dbi of Hanover. It was formerly the duchy of that name,
escted by the emperor of Germany, in the year 1235, and
a.length came to the Hanoverian branch of the family of
Hanswick. It extends along the left bank of the river
Ipe, by which it is divided from the Prussian and the
Lnish dominions. It is 4475 square miles in extent, and
omprehends twelve cities, twenty-six market-towns, 184
poshes, in which are 1501 hamlets, 32,944 houses, and
abut 280,000 inhabitants. It is generally a level district,
wh a sandy soil; but near the rivers there is some good
anble and pasture land, though the heaths form seven
taths of the whole province. The principal river is the
E>e, into which the Umenau, the Ohre, and their tribu-
tiy streams, fall; but some of the rivers run to the We-
sa. The climate, though not unhealthy, is severely cold
iirwinter, and as intensely hot in summer. The chief
eiployment, besides husbandry, is spinning flax. The
czjital is the city of the same name, on the Ilmenau,
wich is navigable to the Elbe. It contains four churches,
atorphan-house, two hospitals, and 1898 dwellings, most-
lyin a very ancient style, and 10,039 inhabitants. The
pice is now in a dilapidated state, and there are few
pilic buildings, though there are institutions for educa-
ti». Ihere is but little trade, except in salt made from
a aline spring, and in brewing, distilling, and tanning, for
tkuse of the neighbourhood. Long. 10. 19. 32..E." Lat.
oil5. 7. N.
pUNEL la Bille, a city of France, in the depart-
mnt of the Herault and arrondissement of Montpellier.
Its situated on a canal, connecting the river Bedairie with
tlis lake of Magicio. It contains 650 houses, and 45,000
itiabitants, who produce Muscatel wine of a very cele-
bifed flavour. Long. 4. 3. E. Lat. 43. 38. N.
LUNEYILLE, an arrondissement of the department
of ihe Meurthe, in France. It extends over 672 square
imbs, is divided into seven cantons and 209 communes,
aijt contains 71,500 inhabitants. The capital is the city
<>f he same name, at the influx of the Bezouse into the
jJ^rthe. The situation is very fine, and the country
around it fertile. It is celebrated for the peace between
Alttria and France, which was concluded there in 1801.
Itiontains 1300 houses, and 11,600 inhabitants. Lontr.
*>. 5. 1. E. Lat. 48. 35. 33. N.
ijLUNENSE Marmor, in the natural history of the an-
cuits, the name of that species of white marble now known
artmgst us by the name of Carrara marble, and distin-
8jfl?ed from the statuary kind by its greater hardness
m inferior splendour. It has ever been greatly esteemed
•n uilding and ornamental works, and is so still. It is of
a (tose and fine texture, of a pure white, and much more
trasparent than any other of the white marbles. It has
amys been found in great quantities in Italy, and is so to
tft* day.
L U S
595
Lus.
LUNETTE, in Fortification, an enveloped counter- Lunette
guard, or elevation of earth, made beyond the second ditch,
opposite to the places of arms, and differing from the ra¬
velins only in situation. Lunettes are usually made in
ditches full of water, and serve the same purpose as fausse-
brayes, namely, to dispute the passage of the ditch. Lu-
nettons are small lunettes.
Lunette, in the manege, is a half horse-shoe, or such
a shoe as wants the sponge, that is, the part of the branch
which runs towards the quarters of the foot.
Lunette is also the name of two small pieces of felt,
made round and hollow, to clap upon the eyes of a vicious
horse, that is apt to bite, and strike with his fore feet, or
that will not suffer his rider to mount.
LUNGS. See Anatomy.
LUNISOLAR Year, in Chronology, the space of 532
common years; found by multiplying‘the cycle of the sun
by that of the moon.
LUPERCALIA, feasts instituted in ancient Rome, in
honour of the god Pan. I he word comes from Lupercal,
the name of a place under the Palatine Mount, where
the sacrifices were performed. The Lupercalia were ce¬
lebrated on the 15th of the kalends of March, that is, on
the 15th of February, or, as Ovid observes, on the 3d day
after the ides. They are supposed to have been established
by Eyander. On the morning of this feast, the Luperci,
or priests of Pan, ran naked through the streets of Rome,
striking the married women they met on the hands and
belly with a thong or strap of goats’ leather, which was
held an omen promising them fecundity and happy de¬
liveries. This feast was abolished in the time of Augus¬
tus ; but afterwards restored, and continued to the time of
the Emperor Anastasius. Baronius says it was abolished
by the pope in 496.
LUPERCI, a name given to the priests of the god Pan.
The luperci were the most ancient order of priests in Rome;
they were divided into two colleges or companies, the one
called Fabii and the other Quintilii. To these Caesar add¬
ed a third, which he called Julii.
LURCHER, a kind of hunting-dog, much like a mongrel
greyhound, with pricked ears, a shagged coat, and gene¬
rally of a yellowish-white colour.
LURE, in falconry, a device of leather, in the shape of
two wings, stuck with feathers, and baited with a piece of
flesh, to call back a hawk when at a considerable distance
Lure, an arrondissement of the department of the Up
per Saone, in France, extending over 881 square miles.
It is divided into ten cantons, and these again into 211
communes, containing 118,500 inhabitants. The capital is
the city of the same name, situated on the river Oignon,
in a distnct woody and mountainous, in which are numer¬
ous mines of coal. It contains 430 houses, and 2420 in¬
habitants.
LURGAN, a town in the county of Armagh and pro¬
vince of Ulster, in Ireland, sixty-six miles from Dublin! It
is a flourishing town, agreeably situated in the midst of a
much improved country; and the inhabitants are exten¬
sively engaged in the linen manufacture. It stands on a
gentle eminence, about two miles from Lough Neagh, of
which it commands a most beautiful and extensive pros¬
pect. Long. 6. 31. W. Lat. 54. 35. N.
Lurgan Green, a town of Ireland, in the county of
Louth and province of Leinster, thirty-seven miles from
Dublin ; a little beyond which is a handsome seat of the
Earl of Charlemont.
LUS, a city of France, the capital of a canton in the
department of the Upper Pyrenees. It stands in a ro¬
mantic situation in the pleasing valley of Bastan, at the
foot of the Pic de Leyrey, and on the Gave de Barreges,
and contains about 2200 inhabitants. Near to it is the
mineral spring of St Sauveur, which is frequented by in-
596
L U S
valids, both for drinking and bathing, the water being of
the temperature 98° of Fahrenheit.
Lus, a district in the eastern part of the Persian pro¬
vince of Mekran, the country of the ancient Oritse. It is
of a circular form, and bounded on three sides by an im¬
mense range of mountains, separating it from the western
part of Mekran, Beloochistan, and Scind. The face of the
country is flat and sandy, producing abundant crops of
every species of grain. There are four passes through the
mountains which encompass Lus; two into Scind, one
into western Mekran, and one into Beloochistan. The
country is under the jurisdiction of a petty chief, who can
bring about 4000 irregular troops into the field, and en¬
joys a revenue of 50,000 rupees per annum. The capital
is Bayla ; but the chief maritime port is Sommeany, which
is a small and mean place.
LUSATIA. See Lausatia.
LUSITANIA, in Ancient Geography, one of the divi¬
sions of Spain, extending to the north of the Tagus, quite
to the sea of Cantabria, at least to the Promontorium Cel-
ticum. But Augustus, by a new regulation, made the
Anas its boundary to the south, and the Durius to the north;
thus constituting only a part of the modern Portugal.
LUSTRAL, an epithet given by the ancients to the
water used in their ceremonies for sprinkling and purifying
the people. From them the Catholics have borrowed the
holy water used in their churches.
Lustral Day {Dies Lustricus), that on which the lus¬
trations were performed for a child, and its name given,
which wras usually the ninth day after the birth of a boy,
and the eighth after that of a girl; though some perform¬
ed the ceremony on the last day of the week in which
the child was born, and others on the fifth day after its
birth.
Over this feast-day the goddess Nundina was supposed
to preside. The midwives, nurses, and domestics handed
the child backwards and forwards, around a fire burning
on the altars of the gods, after which they sprinkled it with
water; and hence this feast received the name of amphi-
dromia. The old women mixed saliva and dust with the
water; and the whole ended with a sumptuous entertain¬
ment. The parents received gifts from their friends on
this occasion. If the child was a male, their door was
decked with an olive garland; if a female, with wool, de¬
noting the work about which women were employed.
LUSTRATION, in Antiquity, sacrifices or ceremonies
by which the ancients purified their cities, fields, armies, or
people, defiled by any crime or impurity. Some of these
lustrations were public and others private. There were
several ways of performing lustration, viz. by fire, by sulphur,
by water, and by air, the last being done by fanning and
agitating the air round the thing to be purified. Some of
these lustrations were necessary, and could not be dis¬
pensed with, as lustrations of houses in time of a plague,
or upon the death of any person ; others, again, were per¬
formed from choice, and at pleasure. The public lus¬
trations at Rome were celebrated every fifth year, in which
they led a victim thrice round the place to be purified, and
in the mean time burned a great quantity of perfumes.
The country lustrations, called ambarvalia, were celebrated
before the peasants began to reap the corn; in those of
the armies, called armilustria, some chosen soldiers, crown¬
ed with laurel, led the victims, a cow, a sheep, and a bull,
thrice round the army ranged in battle-array in the field of
Mars, to which deity the victims were subsequently sacri¬
ficed, after pouring out many imprecations upon the ene¬
mies of the Romans. The lustrations of the flocks were
performed in this manner. The shepherd sprinkled them
with pure water, thrice surrounded his sheepfold with a
composition of savin, laurel, and brimstone set on fire, and
afterwards sacrificed to the goddess Pales an offering of
L U T
milk boiled, wine, a cake, and millet. As for private houses, T
xL      i-^,4 4-U   a. D. ! a_i  /» i ^ UStlU
study-
they were lustrated with water, a fumigation of laurel, ju¬
niper, olive-tree, savin, and the like; and the victim was Whe
commonly a pig. Lustrations made for particular persons^”V'
were commonly called expiations, and the victims piacula.
There was also for infants a kind of lustration, by which
they were purified, girls on the third, and boys on the ninth
day after their birth ; a ceremony which was performed with
pure water and spittle. In lustratory sacrifices, the Athe¬
nians sacrificed two men, one for the men of their city,
and the other for the women. Several of these expiations
were austere ; some fasted, others abstained from all sen¬
sual pleasures; and a few, as the priests of Cybele, castrated
themselves. The postures of the penitents were different
according to the different sacrifices. The priests changed
their habits according to the ceremony to be performed;
but white, purple, and black, were the most usual colours.
They cast into the river, or at least out of the city, the
animals or other things which had served for a lustration
or sacrifice of atonement; and thought themselves threat¬
ened with some great misfortune when by chance they trod
upon them. Part of these ceremonies were abolished by
the Emperor Constantine and his successors ; the rest sub¬
sisted till the Gothic kings became masters of Rome, when
they expired.
LUSTRUM, in Roman antiquity, a general muster and
review of all the citizens and their goods, which was per¬
formed every fifth year by the censors, who afterwards
made a solemn lustration. This custom was first instituted
by Servius Tullius, about 180 years after the foundation of
Rome. In the "course of time the lustra were not cele¬
brated so often ; for we find the fifth lustrum celebrated at
Rome only in the 574th year of that city.
LUTE, or Loting, amongst chemists, a mixed, tenaci¬
ous, ductile substance, which grows solid by drying, and,
being applied to the juncture of vessels, stops them up so
as to prevent the air from getting in or out.
Lute is also a stringed musical instrument. The lute
consists of four parts ; the table ; the body or belly, which
has nine or ten sides; the neck, which has nine or ten
stops or divisions, marked with strings ; and the head or
cross, where the screws for raising and lowering the strings
to a proper pitch of tone are fixed. In the middle ol
the table there is a rose or passage for the sound; there
is also a bridge to which the strings are fastened, and a
piece of ivory between the head and the neck to which the
other extremities of the strings are fitted. In playing, the
strings are struck with the right hand, and with the left
the stops are pressed. The lutes of Bologna are esteemed
the best, on account of the wood, which is said to be pecu¬
liarly fitted for producing a sweet sound.
LUTETIA Parisiokum, in Ancient Geography, a town
of the Parisii, in Gallia Celtica, situated on an island in the
Sequana or Seine. It received its name, as some suppose,
from the quantity of clay, lutum, which is found in its neigh¬
bourhood. Julius Caesar fortified and embellished it, from
which circumstance some authors call it Julii Civitas.
Julian the Apostate resided there for some time. It is now
Paris, the capital of France, being so called from its name
Paryis in the lower age.
LUTHER, Martin, the famous author of the Refor¬
mation, was a native of Eisleben, in Saxony, and born in
1483. Though his parents were poor, he received a learned
education, during the progress of which, he gave many W'
dications of uncommon vigour and acuteness ol genius
As his mind was naturally susceptibly of serious impres
sions, and somewhat tinctured with that religious melan
choly which delights in the solitude and devotion ol a. mo¬
nastic life, he retired into a convent of Augustinian Inars:
where he acquired great reputation, not only for piety, but
also for love of knowledge and unwearied application 0
rthe
mthor
he tlu
,nd we
Tho
1 .me al
bi
tras 1
112I1
peninj
the 1'
study
astoni
for sai
jphy,s
pivei
Wh
(for sai
to Wit
hveig
wards
(nents
tap
pimor
ere sc
leans
icall
f the
lese n
on of
1 eformi
the
ithin
ne of
gainst
decii
rrote t
tct a
hockir
higust
11 gai
Fron
•|teiny
tntenc
ivered
tennai
submi
nreser
:i0(
(’the
bpe’s 1
; Wmine
esitati,
1 ll'te thi
lad thei
ith wl
M utti
t lew
i a:
am
utoj
y»it!
This
or the
luthor;
he th(
nd wt
Tho
me ai
rag bi
pinioi
eresr
leans
ocall
f the
lese r
on of
jformi
ithe
ithin
ne of
gainst
deci
'rote t
:ct a
lockir
tugust
frogar
M
Fron
heniy
ptenc
fcveret
fennai
subm
peser
Non!
<}'the
fpe’s
Wine
pitati,
pe thi
did the
ith Wf
N utt,
lith, a
le"' am
pi to
fy wit]
This
L U T
er. [study. The cause of this retirement is said to have been,
, that he was once struck by lightning, whilst his companion
^ vas killed by his side by the same flash. He had been
oaught the scholastic philosophy which was in vogue in those
Jays, and had made considerable progress in it; but hap¬
pening to find a copy of the Bible which lay neglected in
he library of his monastery, he applied himself to the
study of it with an eagerness and assiduity which quite
astonished the monks, and so much increased his reputation
or sanctity, that he was chosen professor, first of philoso¬
phy, and afterwards of theology, at Wittemberg, on the
Elbe, where Frederick elector of Saxony had founded an
aniversity.
Whilst Luther continued to enjoy the highest reputation
or sanctity and learning, Tetzel, a Dominican friar, came
o Wittemberg in order to publish indulgences. Luther
peheld his success with great concern; and having first
nveighed against indulgences from the pulpit, he after-
vards published ninety-five theses, containing his senti-
nents on that subject. These he proposed, not as points
fully established, but as subjects of inquiry and disputation,
lie appointed a day on which the learned were invited to
Inpugn them either in person or by writing; and to the
diole he subjoined solemn protestations of his high respect
or the apostolic see, and of his implicit submission to its
luthority. No opponent appeared at the time fixed; but
he theses spread over Germany with astonishing rapidity,
nd were read with the greatest eagerness.
Though Luther met with no opposition for some little
me after he began to publish his new doctrines, it was not
>ng before many zealous champions arose to defend those
pinions with which the wealth and power of the clergy
ere so strictly connected. Their cause, however, was by no
leans promoted by these endeavours ; for the people began
|> call in question even the authority of the canon law, and
f the pope himself. The court of Rome at first despised
lese new doctrines and disputes; but at length the atten-
on of the pope being excited by the great success of the
pfbrmer, and the complaints of his adversaries, Luther was,
Q the month of July 1518, summoned to appear at Rome,
iithin sixty days, before the auditor of the chamber ; and
ne of his adversaries, named Prierias, who had written
t gainst him, was appointed to examine his doctrines, and
) decide concerning them. At the same time the pope
rrote to the elector of Saxony, beseeching him not to pro-
:ct a man whose heretical and profane tenets were so
locking to pious ears; and enjoined the provincial of the
Lugustinians to check by his authority the rashness of an
irrogant monk, which brought disgrace upon their order,
. id gave offence and disturbance to the whole church.
From these letters, and the appointment of his open
memy Prierias as his judge, Luther easily foresaw what
ilntence he might expect at Rome; and therefore dis-
tbvered the utmost solicitude to have his cause tried in
f.ermany, and before a less suspected tribunal. He wrote
^submissive letter to the pope, in which he promised an
flireserved obedience to his will, for as yet he entertained
o doubt of the divine origin of the papal authority; and
[V the intercession of the other professors, Cajetan, the
tope’s legate in Germany, was appointed to hear and de-
irmine the cause. Luther appeared before him without
fcsitation; but Cajetan thought it below his dignity to dis-
fcite the point with a person so much his inferior in rank,
tod therefore required him, by virtue of the apostolic powers
lith which he was invested, to retract the errors which he
W uttered with regard to indulgences and the nature of
lith, and to abstain for the future from the publication of
i:w and dangerous opinions, at the same time forbidding
hn to appear in his presence, unless he proposed to com-
jv with what had been required of him.
This haughty and summary manner of proceeding, to-
HER.
gether with some other circumstances, gave Luther’s friends
strong reason to suspect that even the imperial safe-con¬
duct would not be sufficient to protect him from the legate’s
power and resentment; and they prevailed on him secretly
to withdraw from Augsburg, where he had attended the
legate, and to return to his own country. But before his
departure, he prepared, according to a form of which there
had been some examples, a solemn appeal from the pope
ill informed concerning his cause, to the pope when he
should receive more full information with respect to it.
Cajetan, enraged at Luther’s abrupt retreat, and at the
publication of his appeal, wrote to the elector of Saxony,
complaining of both, and requiring him, as he regarded the
peace of the church, or the authority of its head, either to
send the seditious monk as a prisoner to Rome, or to banish
him out of his territories. The elector had hitherto, from
political motives, protected Luther, thinking he might be
useful in checking the enormous power of the see of Rome ;
and though all Germany resounded with his fame, the elec¬
tor had never yet admitted him into his presence. But
upon this demand being made by the cardinal, it became
necessary to throw off somewhat of his former reserve. He
had been at great expense, and bestowed much attention,
on founding a new university, an object of considerable im¬
portance to every German prince ; and foreseeing how fatal
a blow the removal of Luther would be to its reputation,
he not only declined complying with either of the pope’s
requests, but openly discovered great concern for Luther’s
personal safety.
In the mean time, the situation of the reformer became
daily more and more embarrassing. He knew very well
what were the motives which induced the elector to afford
him protection, and that he could by no means depend
upon a continuance of his friendship. If he should be ob¬
liged to quit Saxony, he had no other asylum, and would
stand exposed to whatever punishment the rage or bigotry
of his enemies could inflict; and so ready were his adver¬
saries to condemn him, that he had been declared a heretic
at Rome before the expiration of the sixty days allowed him
in the citation for making his appearance. Notwithstand¬
ing all this, however, he discovered no symptoms of timi¬
dity or remissness, but continued to vindicate his own con¬
duct and opinions, and to inveigh against those of his ad¬
versaries with greater vehemence than ever. Being con¬
vinced, therefore, that the pope would soon proceed to the
most violent measures against him, he appealed to a general
council, which he affirmed to be the representative of the
Catholic church, and superior in power to the pope, who,
being a fallible man, might err, as St Peter, the most per¬
fect of his predecessors, had done.
The court of Rome were in the mean time equally assi¬
duous to crush the author of these new doctrines, which gave
them so much uneasiness. A bull was issued by the pope,
of a date prior to Luther s appeal, in which he magnified
the virtues of indulgences, and subjected to the heaviest
ecclesiastical censures all who presumed to teach a contra¬
ry doctrine. Such a clear decision of the sovereign pon¬
tiff against him might have been fatal to the cause of Lu¬
ther, had not the death of the Emperor Maximilian, which
happened on the 17th of January 1519, contributed to give
matters a different turn. Both the principles and interest
of Maximilian had prompted him to support the authority
of the see of Rome ; but, in consequence of his death, the
vicariate of that part of Germany which is governed by the
Saxon laws devolved to the elector of Saxony ; and, under
the shelter of his friendly administration, Luther himself en¬
joyed tranquillity, and his opinions took such root in different
places, that they could never afterwards be eradicated. At
the same time, as the election of an emperor was a point
more interesting to the pope, Leo X., than a theological
controversy which he did not understand, and of which he
597
Luther.
598
LUTHER.
Luther, could not foresee the consequences, he was so extremely
solicitous not to irritate a prince of such considerable influ¬
ence in the electoral college as Frederick, that he discover¬
ed a great unwillingness to pronounce the sentence of ex-
communication against Luther, which his adversaries con¬
tinually demanded with the most clamorous importunity.
From the reason just nowtassigned, and Leo’s natural
aversion to severe measures, a suspension of proceedings
against Luther ensued for eighteen months, though perpe¬
tual negociations were carried on during this interval in-or¬
der to bring the matter to an amicable issue. The manner
in which these were conducted having given our reformer
many opportunities of observing the corruption of the court
of Rome, its obstinacy in adhering to established errors,
and its indifference about truth, however clearly proposed
or strongly proved, he began, in 1520, to utter some doubts
with regard to the divine origin of the papal authority,
which he publicly disputed with Eccius, one of his most
learned and formidable antagonists. The dispute was in¬
decisive, both parties claiming the victory ; but it must
have been very mortifying to the partizans of the Catholic
church to hear such an essential point of their doctrine
publicly attacked.
The papal authority being once suspected, Luther pro¬
ceeded to push on his inquiries from one doctrine to ano¬
ther, until at last he began to attack the firmest foundations
on which the wrealth and power of the church were esta¬
blished. Leo then began to perceive that there were no
hopes of reclaiming such an incorrigible heretic, and there¬
fore prepared to denounce against him the sentence of ex-
communication. The college of cardinals was often as¬
sembled, in order to prepare the sentence with due deliber¬
ation ; and the ablest canonists were consulted how it might
be expressed with unexceptionable formality. At last it
was issued on the 15th of June 1520. Forty-one proposi¬
tions, extracted out of Luther’s works, were therein con¬
demned as heretical, scandalous, and offensive to pious
ears; all persons were forbidden to read his writings, upon
pain of excommunication ; such as had any of them in their
custody were commanded to commit them to the flames ;
he himself, if he did not, within sixty days, publicly recant
his errors, and burn his books, was pronounced an obsti¬
nate heretic, excommunicated, and delivered to Satan for
the destruction of the flesh ; and all secular princes were
required, under pain of incurring the same censure, to seize
his person, that he might be punished as his crimes de¬
served.
Luther was not in the least disconcerted by this sentence,
which he had for some time expected. He renewed his
appeal to a general council; he declared the pope to be the
antichrist, or man of sin, whose appearance is foretold in
the New Testament; he declaimed against his tyranny with
greater vehemence than ever; and at last, by way of reta¬
liation, having assembled all the professors and students in
the university of Wittemberg, with great pomp, and in the
presence of a vast multitude of spectators, he cast the vo¬
lumes of the canon law, together with the bull of excom¬
munication, into the flames. The manner in which this
action was justified gave still greater offence than the action
itself. Having collected from the canon laws some of the
most extravagant propositions with regard to the plenitude
and omnipotence of the pope’s power, as well as the subor¬
dination of all secular jurisdiction to his authority, he pub¬
lished these with a commentary, pointing out the impiety
of such tenets, and their evident tendency to subvert all
civil government.
On the accession of Charles V. to the empire, Luther
found himself in a very critical situation. Charles, in order
to secure the pope’s friendship, had determined to treat
him with great severity. His eagerness to gain this point
rendered him not averse to gratify the papal legates in
Germany, who insisted, that, without any delay or formal
deliberation, the diet then sitting at Worms ought to con¬
demn a man whom the pope had already excommunicated
as an incorrigible heretic. Such an abrupt manner of pr0.
ceeding, however, being deemed unprecedented and un¬
just by the members of the diet, they made a point of
Luther’s appearing in person, and declaring whether or
not he adhered to those opinions which had drawn upon
him the censures of the church. Not only the emperor
but all the princes through whose territories he had to
pass, granted him a safe-conduct; and Charles wrote to
him at the same time, requiring his immediate attendance
on the diet, and renewing his promises of protection from
any injury or violence. Luther did not hesitate one mo¬
ment about yielding obedience, and set out for Worms
attended by the herald who had brought the emperor’s
letter and safe-conduct. Whilst on his journey, many of
his friends, whom the fate of Huss, under similar circum¬
stances, and notwithstanding the same security of an im¬
perial safe-conduct, filled with solicitude, earnestly advis¬
ed and entreated him not to rush wantonly into the midst
of danger. But Luther, superior to such terrors, silenced
them with this reply ; “lam lawfully called to appear in
that city; and thither will I go in the name of the Lord,
though as many devils as there are tiles on the houses
were there combined against me.”
The reception which he met with at Worms was such
as might have been reckoned a full reward of all his la¬
bours, if mere vanity and the love of applause had been
the principles by which he was influenced. Greater crowds
assembled to behold him than had appeared at the empe¬
ror’s public entry ; his apartments were daily filled with
princes and personages of the highest rank; and he was
treated with an homage more sincere, as well as more
flattering, than any which pre-eminence in birth or con¬
dition can command. At his appearance before the diet,
he behaved with decency and firmness. He readily ac¬
knowledged an excess of acrimony and vehemence in
his controversial writings ; but refused to retract his opi¬
nions unless he were convinced of their falsehood, or to
consent to their being tried by any other rule than the
word of God. When neither threats nor entreaties could
prevail on him to depart from this resolution, some of the
ecclesiastics proposed to imitate the example of the coun¬
cil of Constance, and, by punishing the author of this pes¬
tilent heresy, who was now in their power, to deliver the
church at once from such an evil. But the members of
the diet refused to expose German integrity to fresh re¬
proach by a second violation of public faith, and Charles
being no less unwilling to bring a stain upon the beginning
of his administration by such an ignominious action, Luther
was permitted to depart in safety. A few days after he had
left the city, a severe edict was published in the emperor’s
name, and by authority of the diet, depriving him, as an
obstinate and excommunicated criminal, of all the privi¬
leges which he enjoyed as a subject of the empire; forbidd¬
ing any prince to harbour or protect him; and requiring all
to seize his person as soon as the term specified in his pro¬
tection should have expired.
But this vigorous decree had no considerable effect; the
execution of it being prevented partly by the multiplicity
of occupations which the commotions in Spain, together
with the wars in Italy and the Low Countries, created to
the emperor, and partly by a prudent precaution employed
by the elector of Saxony, Luther’s steady patron. As Lu¬
ther, on his return from Worms, was passing near Alten-
strain, in Thuringia, a number of horsemen in masks rushed
suddenly out of a wood, where the elector had appointed
them to lie in wait for him, and, surrounding his company,
carried him, after dismissing all his attendants, to Wort-
burg, a strong castle not far distant. There the electoi
i me;'
mai
s)in
iple,
on tl
lnya
-nibei
hisbi
L U T
onered him to be supplied with every thing necessary or
-'ageeable; but the place of his retreat was carefully con-
celed, until the fury of the storm which had been raised
aginst him began to abate, upon a change in the political
sytem of Europe. In this solitude, where he remained nine
ninths, and which he frequently called his Patmos, he
exrted his usual vigour and industry in defence of his
citrines, or in confutation of his adversaries, publishing
seeral treatises, which revived the spirit of his followers,
wl> had been astonished and disheartened at the sudden
diippearance of their leader.
aither, weary at length of his retirement, re-appeared
pudicly at Wittemberg, upon the 6th of March 1522. This
he id without the elector’s leave, but he immediately wrote
Frtderick a letter to prevent his taking it amiss. The edict
oi’harles V., severe as it was, had given little or no check
tAuther’s doctrine; for the emperor had no sooner re-
tifed to Flanders than his edict was neglected, and the
ne'- doctrine seemed to spread even faster than before.
Irj „other’s absence, Carolostadius had pushed on things
fair than his leader; he had attempted to abolish the use
ofiass, to remove images out of the churches, to set aside
ailmlar confession, invocation of saints, and the abstaining
lilt meats; he had allowed the monks to leave their mo-
na&ries, to violate their vows, and to marry; in a word,
ha-iiad quite changed the doctrine and discipline of the
chich at Wittemberg; all which, though not against Lu-
thffl’s sentiments, was yet blamed by him, as being rashly
ancunseasonably done. Lutheranism was still confined to
Gjaany. It had not yet extended to France ; and Henry
vn. of England passed the most rigorous acts to prevent
itiom invading his realm. Nay, he did something more.
Tojihow his zeal for religion and the holy see, and perhaps
ala to exhibit his skill in theological learning, he wrote a
tretise on the Seven Sacraments, against Luther’s book on
Captivity of Babylon, which he presented to Leo X.
ctober 1521. The pope received it very favourably,
I was so well pleased with the king of England, that
Complimented him with the title of Defender of the
h. Luther, however, paid no regard to his rank as a so-
ign, but answered him with great sharpness, treating
i his person and performance in the most contemptuous
ner. Henry complained of Luther’s rude usage of him
e princes of Saxony ; and Fisher, bishop of Rochester,
ed to his answer, in support of Henry’s treatise; but
er the king’s complaint, nor the bishop’s reply, was
ded with any visible effects.
ther, though he had put a stop to the more direct and
t proceedings of Carolostadius, now made open war
the pope and bishops; and, that he might induce the
le to despise their authority, he wrote one book against
ope’s bull, and another against the order called the
r of Bishops. The same year, 1522, he wrote a letter,
1 the 29th of July, to the assembly of the states of Bo-
a, in which he assured them that he was labouring to
dish their doctrine in Germany, and exhorted them
o return to the communion of the church of Rome;
the same year he also published a translation of the
Testament in the German tongue, which was after-
s corrected by himself and Melancthon. This trans¬
having been severaltimes printed, and having passed
very body’s hands, Ferdinand, archduke of Austria, the
ror’s brother, issued a severe edict, to prevent the fur-
thfpublication of it; forbidding all the subjects of his im-
i|pe fl majesty to have any copies of it, or of Luther’s other
bo is, in their possession. Some other princes followed his
ex pple, and Luther was so incensed that he wrote a trea¬
ds (on the secular power, in which he accused them of
ty; liny and impiety. The diet of the empire was held at
N' tmberg, about the end of the year, and to it Adrian VI.
seOihis brief, dated the 25th of November; for Leo X. had
HER.
died upon the 2d of December 1521, and Adrian had been
elected pope upon the 9th of January following. In this
brief he observes, amongst other things, to the diet, how
he had heard with grief, that Martin Luther, after the sen¬
tence of Leo X. which had been ordered to be executed by
the edict of Worms, continued to teach the same errors
and daily to publish books full of heresies; that it appeared
strange to him, that so large and so religious a nation could
be seduced by a wretched apostate friar; that nothing,
however, could be more pernicious to Christendom; and
therefore he exhorted them to use their utmost endeavours
to make Luther, and the authors of these tumults, return
to their duty, or, if they refused and continued obstinate,
to proceed against them according to the laws of the empire,
and the tenor of the last edict.
The resolution of this diet was published in the form of
an edict, upon the 6th of March 1523 ; but it had no effect
in checking the Lutherans, who still went on with undi¬
minished boldness and confidence. This year Luther wrote
a great many pieces, amongst which was one upon the dig¬
nity and office of the supreme magistrate, which Frederick,
elector of Saxony, is said to have been highly pleased with.
About the same time he sent a writing in the German
language to the Waldenses in Bohemia and Moravia, who
had applied to him about worshipping the body of Christ
in the Eucharist. He also wrote another book, which he
dedicated to the senate and people of Prague, concerning
the institution of ministers of the church ; and he drew up
a form of saying mass. He wrote a piece entitled An Ex¬
ample of Popish Doctrine and Divinity, which Dupin calls
“ a satire against nuns, and those who profess a monastic
life.” He also wrote against the vows of virginity, in his
preface to his commentary on 1 Corinthians, chap. viii.; and
his exhortations were, it seems, followed with effects, for
soon afterwards, nine nuns, amongst whom was Catharine
de Bore, eloped from the nunnery at Nimptschen, and
were brought, by the assistance of Leonard Coppen, a bur¬
gess of Torgau, to Wittemberg. Whatever offence this pro¬
ceeding might give to the Catholics, it was highly extolled by
Luther, who, in a book written in the German language, com¬
pares the deliverance of these nuns from the slavery of a
monastic life, to that of the souls which Jesus Christ had
delivered by his death. This year Luther had occasion to
canonize two of his followers, who, as Melchior Adam re¬
lates, were burned at Brussels in the beginning of July,
and were the first who suffered martyrdom for his doc¬
trine. He likewise wrote a consolatory epistle to three
noble ladies at Misnia, who had been banished from the
Duke of Saxony’s court at Friburg for reading his books.
In the beginning of the year 1524, Clement VII. sent a
legate to the German diet, which was to be held at Nurem¬
berg. Adrian VI. had died in October 1523, and, on the
19th of November, been succeeded by Clement. A little
before his death, he canonized Benno, who had been
bishop of Meissen in the time of Gregory VII. and one of
the most zealous defenders of the holy see. Luther, ima¬
gining that this was done directly to oppose him, drew up
a piece entitled Against the New Idol and Old Devil set
up at Meissen ; a production in which he treats the memo¬
ry of Gregory with great freedom, and does not spare even
that of Adrian. The legate of Clement VII. represented
to the diet of Nuremberg the necessity of enforcing the
execution of the edict of Worms, which had been strange¬
ly neglected by the princes of the empire ; but, notwith¬
standing the legate’s solicitations, which were very press¬
ing, the decrees of the diet were thought so ineffectual,
that they were condemned at Rome, and rejected by the
emperor. In this year began the dispute between Luther
and Erasmus, about free-will. Erasmus had been much
courted by the Catholics to write against Luther; but he
was all along of opinion that writing would not be found an
600 LUTHER.
Luther, effectual way to terminate the differences, and re-establish Luther, notwithstanding, was not himself altogether sa- Luther
the peace of the church. However, overcome by the im- tisfied with these reasons. He did not think the step which
portunities of the pope and the Catholic princes, and de- he had taken could be sufficiently justified upon the prin-
sirous at the same time to clear himself from the suspi- ciples of human prudence; and therefore we find him, jn
cion of favouring a cause which he would not seem to coun- other places, endeavouring to account for it from a super-
tenance, he resolved to write against Luther, though, as he natural impulse. But whether there was any thing divine
tells Melancthon, it was with some reluctance, and chose the in it or not, Luther found himself extremely happy in
subject of free-will as his theme. His book was entitled his new state, especially after his wife had brought him a
a Diatribe or Conference about Free-will, and was written son. “ My rib Kate,” says he in the joy of his heart, “ de-
with much moderation, and without personal reflections, sires her compliments to you, and thanks you for the fa¬
in the preface, he tells Luther “ that he ought not to take vour of your kind letter. She is very well, through God’s
his dissenting from him in opinion ill, because he had al- mercy. She is obedient and complying with me in all
lowed himself the liberty of differing from the judgment of things, and more agreeable, I thank God, than I could have
popes, councils, universities, and doctors of the church.” expected; so that I would not change my poverty for the
Luther was some time before he answered Erasmus’s book, wealth of Croesus.” According to Seckendorf, he had been
but at last he published a treatise De Servo Arbitrio, or of heard to say, that he would not exchange his wife for
the Servitude of Man’s Will; and though Melancthon had the kingdom of France, nor for the riches of the Vene-
promised Erasmus that Luther should answer him with tians, and that for three reasons ; first, because she had been
civility and moderation, yet Luther had so little regard to given him by God, at the time when he implored the as-
Melancthon’s promise, that he never wrote any thing more sistance of the Holy Ghost, in finding a good wife; se-
severe. He accused Erasmus of being careless about condly, because, though she was not without faults, yet
religion, and little solicitous what became of it, provided she had fewer than other women; and, thirdly, because
the world continued in peace; and that his notions were she religiously observed the conjugal fidelity she owed him.
rather philosophical than Christian. Erasmus immediately At first a report was circulated that Catharine de Bore
replied to Luther in a piece called Hyperaspistes, in the had been confined soon after her marriage with Luther;
first part of which he answers his arguments, and in the but Erasmus, who had communicated that piece of news
second his personal reflections. to his friends, acknowledged a little afterwards that there
In October 1524, Luther threw off the monastic habit, was no foundation for the scandal. His marriage, hovv-
which, though not premeditated or designed, was yet a very ever, did not retard his activity and diligence in the work
proper preparative to a step which he took the year follow - of reformation. He revised the Augsburg Confession of
ing ; we mean his marriage with Catharine de Bore. Ca- Faith, and Apology for the Protestants, when the Protes-
tharine de Bore was a gentleman’s daughter, who had tant religion was first established on a firm basis,
been a nun, and was taken, as we have observed, out of After this, Luther had little else to do than to sit
the nunnery of Nimptschen, in the year 1523. Luther down and contemplate the mighty work which he had corn-
had a design, as Melchior Adam relates, to marry her to pleted. That a single monk should have been able to give
Glacius, a minister of Ortamunden; but she did not like the church so rude a shock, that there needed but such
Glacius, and so, on the 13th of June 1525, Luther married another entirely to overthrow it, may very well seem a
her himself. This conduct of his was severely blamed, not mighty work. Indeed he did little else ; for the remain-
only by the Catholics, but, as Melancthon says, by those of der of his life was spent in exhorting princes, states, and
his own party. He was even for some time ashamed of it universities, to confirm the reformation which had been
himself, and owns that his marriage had made him so des- brought about through him ; and in publishing from time
picable, that he hoped his humiliation would rejoice the to time such writings as might serve to encourage, di-
angels, and vex the devils. Melancthon found him so rect, and aid them in doing so. The emperor threatened
afflicted with what he had done, that he wrote some letters temporal punishment with armies, and the pope eternal
of consolation to him. It was not so much the marriage, damnation with bulls and anathemas ; but Luther cared
as the circumstances of the time, and the precipitation with for none of their menaces. His friend and coadjutor Me-
which it was constituted, that occasioned the censures which lancthon was not so indifferent; for he had in his compo-
were passed upon Luther. He married all of a sudden, sition a great deal of softness, moderation, and diffidence,
and at a time when Germany was groaning under the mi- which made him uneasy, and even sorrowful, on account
series of a war which was said to be owing to Lutheran- of the present disorders. Hence we find many of Luther’s
ism. Besides, it was thought to be an indecent thing in a letters written on purpose to support and comfort him un¬
man of forty-two years of age, who was then, as he pro- der these natural distresses and anxieties,
fessed, restoring the Gospel, and reforming mankind, to In the year 1533, Luther wrote to the citizens of Os-
involve himself in marriage with a woman of twenty-six, chatz, who had suffered some hardships for adhering to
either through incontinence, or upon any other account the Augsburg Confession of Faith, a consolatory epistle,
whatsoever. But Luther, as soon as he had recovered in which, amongst other things, he says, “ The devil is
himself a little from this abasement, assumed his foiuner the host, and the world is his inn; so that wherever you
air of intrepidity, and boldly supported what he had done, come, you shall be sure to find this ugly landlord.” He
“ I took a wife,” says he, “ in obedience to my father’s had also about this time a terrible controversy with
commands; and hastened the consummation, in order to George duke of Saxony, who had such an aversion to Lu-
prevent impediments, and stop the tongues of slanderers.” ther’s doctrine that he obliged his subjects to take an
It appears, from his own confession, that he was much at- oath that they would never embrace it. However, sixty
tached to Catharine de Bore, and used to call her by en- or seventy citizens of Leipzig were found to have deviated
dearing names, which made profane people think and say a little from the Catholic way in some point or other, and
wicked things of him. “ And therefore,” says he, “ I they were known previously to have consulted Luther
married of a sudden, not only that I might not be obliged about it; upon which George complained to the Elector
to hear the clamours which I knew would be raised against John, that Luther had not only abused his person, but
me, but to stop the mouths of those who reproached me also preached up rebellion amongst his subjects. The
with Catharine de Bore.” Luther also gives us to under- elector ordered Luther to be made acquainted with this;
stand that he did it partly as concurring with his grand and to be told at the same time, that if he did not clear
scheme of opposing the Catholics. himself of the charge, he could not possibly escape pun-
1
ther.i-
ism.
lati
L U T
ishment. But Luther easily refuted the accusation, by
proving that he had been so far from stirring up his sub¬
jects against him upon the score of religion, that,-on the
contrary, he had exhorted them to undergo the greatest
hardships, and even suffer themselves to be banished, ra¬
ther than offer any resistance.
The Bible translated by him into German was first
printed in the year 1534, as the old privilege, dated at
Bibliopolis, under the elector’s hand, shows; and it was
published the year after. He also published, the same
year, a book against masses and the consecration of priests,
in which he relates a' conference he had with the devil
upon those points ; for it is remarkable in Luther’s whole
history, that he never had any conflicts of any kind with¬
in, but the devil was always his antagonist. In February
1537, an assembly was held at Smalcalde, about matters
of religion, to which Luther and Melancthon were sum¬
moned. At this meeting Luther was seized with so grie¬
vous an illness that there seemed to be no hopes of his re¬
covery. He was afflicted with the stone, and had a stop¬
page of urine for eleven days. In this terrible condition
he must needs undertake to travel, notwithstanding all
that his friends could say or do to prevent him. His reso¬
lution, however, was attended with a good effect; for the
night after his departure he began to grow better. As he
was carried along, he made his will, in which he bequeath¬
ed his detestation of popery to his friends and brethren,
agreeably to what he often used to say, Pestis eram vivus,
moriens ero mors tua, papa ; “ I was the plague of popery
in my life, and shall continue to be so in my death.”
This year the pope and the court of Rome, finding it
impossible to deal with the Protestants by force, began to
have recourse to stratagem. They therefore affected to
think, that though Luther had indeed carried on things
with a high hand, and to a violent extreme, yet that what
he had pleaded in defence of these measures was not en¬
tirely without foundation. They talked with a seeming
show of moderation ; and Pius III. who had succeeded
Clement VII. proposed a reformation first amongst them¬
selves, and even went so far as to fix a place for a coun¬
cil to assemble for that purpose. But Luther treated this
farce as it deserved ; he unmasked and detected it imme¬
diately ; and, to ridicule it the more strongly, he caused a
picture to be drawn, in which were represented the pope
seated on high upon a throne, some cardinals about him
with foxes’ tails on, and seeming sursum deorsum repur-
gare, as Melchior Adam expresses it. This gross] design
was fixed over against the title-page, to let the reader see
at once the scope and object of the book, which was, to
expose that cunning and artifice with which those subtile
politicians affected to cleanse and purify themselves from
their errors and superstitions. About the same time, Lu¬
ther published a Confutation of the Pretended Grant of
Constantine to Sylvester bishop of Rome, and also some
letters of John Huss, written from his prison at Constance
to the Bohemians.
In this manner was Luther employed until his death,
which happened in the year 1546. His works wrere col¬
lected after his decease, and printed at Wittemberg in se¬
ven volumes folio.
LUTHERANISM, the opinions and doctrines of Martin
Luther in regard to religion.
Lutheranism has undergone some alterations since the
time of its founder. Luther rejected the epistle of St
James, as inconsistent with the doctrine of St Paul relat¬
ing to justification ; and he also set aside the Apocalypse,
both of which are now received as canonical in the Lu¬
theran church. He reduced the number of sacraments
to two, viz. Baptism and the Eucharist; but he believed
in impanation, or the consubstantiation of the matter of
the bread and wine with the body and blood of Christ;
VOL. XIII.
L U T
601
and it is in this article that the main difference consists Lutherans
between the Lutherans and English church.
Luther maintained that the mass was no sacrifice, and
exploded the adoration of the host, auricular confession,
meritorious works, indulgences, purgatory, the worship of
images, and other observances which he considered as the
growth of corrupt times. He also opposed the doctrine of
free-will, maintained predestination, and asserted our jus¬
tification to be solely by the imputation of the merits and
satisfaction of Christ. He likewise opposed the fastings in
the Roman Catholic church, monastical vows, the celibacy
of the clergy, and many things besides.
LUTHERANS, tbe Christians who follow the opinions
of Martin Luther, one of the principal reformers of the
church in the sixteenth century.
The Lutherans, of all Protestants, are those who differ the
least from the Catholic church ; as |they [affirm that the
body and blood of Christ are materially present in the sa¬
crament of the Lord’s Supper, though in an incomprehen¬
sible manner ; and likewise represent some religious rites
and institutions, such as the use of images in churches,
the distinguishing vestments of the clergy, the private
confession of sins, the use of wafers in the administration
of the Lord’s Supper, the form of exorcism in the celebra¬
tion of baptism, and other ceremonies of a similar kind, as
tolerable, and some of them as useful. With regard to the
divine decrees, the Lutherans maintain that they respect
the salvation or misery of men, in consequence of a pre¬
vious knowledge of their sentiments and characters, and
not as free and unconditional, and as founded on the mere
will of God. Towards the close of the last century, the
Lutherans began to entertain a greater liberality of senti¬
ment than they had before adopted ; although in many
places they persevered longer in severe and despotic prin¬
ciples than other Protestant churches. Their public teach¬
ers now enjoy an unbounded liberty of dissenting from
the decisions of those symbols or creeds which were once
deemed almost infallible rules of faith and practice, and
of declaring their dissent in the manner which they judge
the most expedient. Mosheim attributes this change in
their sentiments to the maxim which they generally adopt¬
ed, that Christians were accountable to God alone for
their religious opinions; and that no individual could be
justly punished by the magistrate for his erroneous opi¬
nions, whilst he conducted himself as a virtuous and obe¬
dient subject, and made no attempts to disturb the peace
and order of civil society.
LUTHERN, in Architecture, a kind of window over the
cornice, in the roof of a building, standing perpendicular¬
ly over the naked of a wall, and serving to illuminate the
upper story. Lutherns are of various forms; as square,
semicircular, round, and so forth.
LUTON, a town of Bedfordshire, in the hundred of
Flitt, thirty-one miles from London, and situated on the
river Lea. There is a good market-house and a church,
with a singular steeple formed of flints and freestone. Near
it is tbe fine seat of the Marquis of Bute. It has some
trade in thread-lace and straw-plait. The inhabitants
amounted in 1801 to 3095, in 1811 to 3716, in 1821 to
4529, and in 1831 to 5693.
LUTTERWORTH, a market-town of the county of
Leicester, in the hundred of Guthlaxton, eighty-nine
miles from London, and near the ancient Roman Watling
Street Road. It is not a place of much trade, but is dis¬
tinguished as the residence of Wickliffe, the father of
English Protestantism, who was priest of this place, and
died here in 1387 ; and his doctrines were condemned by
the council of Constance in 1418, in consequence of
which his bones were taken from the grave, burned, and
thrown into the river, in 1428. The pulpit from which he
preached is still preserved as a valuable relic. There is
4 G
602
LUX
Luxem¬
burg.
Luxation a market which is held on Thursday. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1652, in 1811 to 1845, in 1821 to
2102, and in 1831 to 2262.
^ LUXATION, is when any bone is moved out of its
place of articulation, so as to impede or destroy its proper
office or motion. See Surgery.
LUXEMBURG, a grand duchy of Germany, under the
government of the house of Orange Nassau. Before the
French revolution, it comprehended the two duchies of
Luxemburg and Bouillon; but on being conquered by
France, it was divided by that power between the depart¬
ment of the Ardennes and that of the Forests. In conse¬
quence of the treaty of 1815 it assumed the present form.
It extends in north latitude from 49. 26. to 50. 16. and in
east longitude from 5.1. to 6. 29., and contains 2378 square
miles. At present it is bounded on the north by the
province of Liege in the Netherlands, on the east by the
Prussian province of the Lower Rhine, on the south and
south-west by the French departments of the Moselle, the
Meuse, and the Ardennes, and on the north-west by the
Netherland province Namur. It is divided into three
circles, and these into twenty-five cantons and 314 com¬
munes, with 255,600 inhabitants, who are partly Germans
and partly Walloons, and all adhere to the Roman Catho¬
lic church. The surface is filled with hills and a few se¬
condary mountains, and many extensive woods and heaths.
The most pleasing and fruitful valleys are those in the
arrondissement of the capital; the poorest and wildest, in
that of Neufchatel. The chief river is the Moselle, which
conveys to the Rhine the water of most of the smaller
streams. The Ourthe rises in this province, but is an in¬
considerable river till it enters France. The agriculture
is in a backward state, and produces little corn, and that
chiefly rye and winter barley; and though the cultivation
of potatoes has been much extended, some importation is
necessary to supply food in every year. The breed of
horses is considerable, and though they are of small size,
they are strong and active, and fit to mount light troops.
The sheep are numerous, and the flesh of them of excel¬
lent flavour; but the wool is for the most part indifferent,
though of late years some flocks have been improved by
crosses with the Merino race. Fruit is abundant; a little
wine is made, and a good quantity of cider from the ap¬
ples and pears, from both of which, as well as from corn,
much brandy is distilled. The iron mines afford employ¬
ment to the population when their labours can be spared
from the laborious work which their poor soil requires.
The produce of the metal is about 10,000 tons yearly,
which is mostly sent out of the duchy in a raw state, al¬
though the state of the roads is such as to make convey¬
ance very expensive, except when from frost there is no
other employment for the horses and men. A large quan¬
tity of slates for roofing houses is furnished, and in some
parts the marshy spots supply much turf for fuel. The
manufacturing industry is almost confined to linen spin¬
ning and weaving, and to making paper. The common
articles of clothingj'and furniture are generally made within
each department. The capital is the city of Luxemburg,
one of the garrison towns of the German confederation,
and commonly occupied by the troops of some of its mem¬
bers, most commonly Prussians. It is one of the most
formidable fortresses in the world, both from the nature
of its position, and the vast labour which has been applied
to strengthen its natural capability of defence. The civil
inhabitants are 9500, in 1500 houses, and depend partly
on the money spent by the garrison, and partly on ma¬
nufactures, the principal of which is tanning leather, and
making glue, paper, and tobacco. The friver Alzette or
Elze runs by the fortifications, and supplies water to the
inhabitants. Long. 6. 4. E. Lat. 49. 37. N.
Luxemburg, Francois Henry de Montmorency, duke of,
LUX
and marshal of France, a renowned general in the service
of Louis XIV. was born in 1628. He was with the Prince
ot Conde at the battle of Rocroi in 1643 ; and in 1668 he
distinguished himself at the conquest of Franche Compte.
In 1672 he commanded in chief the French army in Hol¬
land, when he defeated the enemy near Woerden and
Bodegrave ; and he was universally admired for the fine re¬
treat which he effected in 1673. He became marshal of
France in 1675; gained the battle of Fleurs in 1690, that
of Steenkirk in 1692, and that of Nerwinde in 1693. He
died at Versailles in 1695.
LUXEUIL, a city in the department of the Upper Saone,
and arrondissement. of Lure, in France. It is situated
in a woody valley on the banks of the Breuchin, and is ce¬
lebrated for its warm baths, as well as for a spring strongly
impregnated with iron, all of which are much visited by
invalids. About a quarter of a mile from the town are the
remains of some magnificent baths constructed by the Ro¬
mans. It contains 310 houses and 3200 inhabitants. Lons
6. 19. E. Lat. 47. 50. N.
LUXURIANS Flos, a luxuriant or double flower, some
of the parts of which are increased in number, to the dimi¬
nution or entire exclusion of others.
The parts which are augmented or multiplied in luxu¬
riant flowers, are the flower-cup and petals, which Linnmus
considers as the teguments or covers of the flower; the
parts which are diminished or entirely excluded are the
stamina or chives, which the same author denominates the
male organs of generation.
Luxuriance in flowers is capable of the three following
varieties. 1. A flower is said to be multiplied (Jlos multi-
plicatus) when the increase of the petals is not such as to
exclude all the stamina. In this sense, flowers are pro¬
perly said to be double, triple, or quadruple, according to
the number of multiplications of the petals. 2. A flower
is said to be full (Jlos plenus) when, by the multiplication
of the petals, all the stamina are excluded. Such are most
of the double flowers w hich engage the attention of florists.
3. A flower is said to be prolific (Jlos prolifer) which pro¬
duces flowers, and sometimes leaves, from its centre.
Many natural orders of plants do not in any circum¬
stances produce luxuriant flowers. Of this kind are the
masked flowers of Tournefort, excepting calf’s-snout; and
the rough-leaved, umbelliferous, starry plants, and such as
flower at the joints, of Ray. Some umbelliferous flowers,
however, are prolific. The pea-bloom or butterfly-shaped
flowers are rarely rendered double; some instances, how¬
ever, of luxuriance are observed in a species of lady’s fin¬
ger, coronilla, and broom.
All luxuriant flowers are vegetable monsters. Such as
are perfectly full, by which we mean the greatest degree
of luxuriance, cannot be propagated by seeds, because
these, for want of impregnation, can never ripen. Full
flowers therefore are very properly denominated by Lin¬
naeus eunuchs. This highest degree of luxuriance is very
common in carnation, lychnis, anemone, stock, Indian cress,
rose, marsh marigold, ranunculus, violet, peony, and nar¬
cissus.
Flowers which do not exclude all the stamina perfect their
seeds. Of this kind are poppy, fennel-flower, campanula,
and some others. Some flowers, as those of the water-
lily, fig-marigold, and cactus, have many rows or series of
petals, without the number of stamina being in the least
diminished. Such flowers are not to be reckoned luxuriant
in the slightest degree. Luxuriance in flowers is generally
owing to excess of nourishment.
LUXURY, voluptuousness, or an extravagant indul¬
gence in diet, in dress, and in equipage.
Luxury, amongst the Romans, prevailed to such a degree
that several laws were made to suppress, or at least re¬
strict it. The extravagance of the table commenced about
til
J a
Luxury,
iii
\
1
LUX
LUX
603
f'1111 ^urr
nig ^
as '
tas
tiff
of
hoi
Fff
pilf
eve
tail
the
pen
Anl
had
iss
blet
phe
the
peai
was
Api
mig
toh
ovei
lioni
hein
T
chiu
But
amo
V
aboi
ing
shed
disci
j«lg
God
that
cessi
such
oldr
have
land
tude
days
nplai
maw
venti
agait
hisn
mste
man
with
to hi
they
only
anv
any
that
The
[wo
silv(
sels
pew
the time of the battle of Actium, and continued in great ex¬
cess until the reign of Galba. Peacocks, cranes of Malta,
nightingales, venison, wild and tame fowl, were considered
as delicacies. A profusion of provisions was the reigning
taste. Whole wild boars were often served up, and some¬
times they were filled with various small animals, and birds
of different kinds; a dish which they called the Trojan
horse, in allusion to the wooden horse filled with soldiers.
Fowls and game of all sorts were served up in pyramids,
piled up in dishes as broad as moderate tables. Lucullus
had a particular name for each apartment; and in what¬
ever room he ordered his servants to prepare the enter¬
tainment, they knew by the direction the expense to which
they were to go. When he supped in the Apollo, the ex¬
pense was fixed at 50,000 drachmae, that is L.1250. Marc
Antony provided eight boars for twelve guests. Vitellius
had a large silver platter, called Minervas Buckler, which
is said to have cost a million of sesterces. In this he
blended together the livers of gilt-heads, the brains of
pheasants and peacocks, the tongues of phenicopters, and
the milts of lampreys. Caligula served up to his guests
pearls of great value dissolved in vinegar; and the same
was also done by Clodius the son of Jisop the tragedian.
Apicius laid aside ninety millions of sesterces, besides a
mighty revenue, for no other purpose but to be sacrificed
to luxury ; but finding himself involved in debt, he looked
over his accounts, and though he had the sum of ten mil¬
lions of sesterces still left, he poisoned himself from fear of
being starved to death.
The Roman laws to restrain luxury were the Leges Or-
chia, Fannia, Didia, Licinia, Cornelia, and many others.
But all these were unavailing ; for as riches increased
amongst them, so did sensuality.
What were the ideas of luxury entertained in England
about two centuries ago, may be gathered from the follow¬
ing passage, contained in a discourse prefixed to Holin-
shed’s Chronicles. “ Neither do I,” says the writer of this
discourse, “ speak this in reproach of any man, God is my
judge ; but to show, that I do rejoice, rather to see how
God has blessed us with his good gifts, and to behold how
that in a time wherein all things are grown to the most ex¬
cessive prices, we yet do find means to obtain and atchieve
such furniture as heretofore was impossible. There are
old men yet dwelling in the village where I remain, which
have noted three things to be marvellously altered in Eng¬
land within their sound remembrance. One is the multi¬
tude of chimneys lately erected; whereas in their young
days there were not above two or three, if so many, in most
uplandish towns of the realm (the religious houses, and
manor places of their lords, always excepted, and perad-
venture some great personages), but each made his fire
against a reredoss [screen] in the hall, where he dressed
his meat and dined. The second is the great amendment
of lodging; for, said they, our fathers and we ourselves
have lain full oft upon straw pallets covered only with a
sheet, under coverlits made of a dogswaine or horharriots
(to use their own terms), and a good log under their head
instead of a bolster. If it were so that the father or good-
man of the house had a mattrass, or flock bed and sheets,
with a sack of chaff to rest his head upon, he thought himself
to be as well lodged as the lord of the town. So well were
they contented, that pillows (said they) were thought meet
only for women in childbed; as for servants, if they had
any sheet above them, it was well; for seldom had they
any under their bodies to keep them from pricking straws,
that ran oft thi'ough the canvas and their hardened hides.
The third thing they tell of, is the exchange of treene
[wooden] platters into pewter, and wooden spoons into
silver or tin ; for so common were all sorts of treene ves¬
sels in old times, that a man should hardly find four pieces
pewter (of whiclx one was peradventure a salt) in a good
farmer’s house. Again, in times past, men were contented Luxury,
to dwell in houses budded of sallow, willow, &c. so that
the use of oak was in a manner dedicated wholly unto
churches, religious houses, princes palaces, navigation, &c.
But now willow, &c. are x’ejected, and nothing but oak
anywhere regarded ; and yet see the change, for when our
houses were builded of willow, then had we oaken men ;
but now that our houses are come to be made of oak, our
men are not only become willow, but a great many alto¬
gether of straw, which is a sore alteration. In these the
courage of the owner was a sufficient defence to keep the
house in safety ; but now the assurance of the timber must
defend the men from robbing. Now have we many chim¬
neys, and yet our tenderlins complain of rheums, catarrhs,
and poses ; then had we none but reredoses, and our heads
did never ache. For as the smoke in those days were
supposed to be sufficient hardening for the timber of the
house ; so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep
the goodman and his family from the quacks or pose;
wherewith, as then, very few were acquainted. Again, our
pewterers in time past employed the use of pewter only
upon dishes and pots, and a few other trifles tor service ;
whereas now they are grown into such exquisite cunning,
that they can in a manner imitate by infusion any form or
fashion of cup, dish, salt, bowl, or goblet, which is made
by the goldsmith’s ci'aft, though they be ever so curious
and very artificially forged. In some places beyond the
sea, a garnish of good flat English pewter (I say flat, be¬
cause dishes and platters in my time began to be made
deep, and like basons, and are indeed more convenient
both for sauce and keeping the meat warm) is esteemed
so precious as the like number of vessels that are made of
fine silvei'.”
Particular instances of luxury, in eating, however, might
be produced from an earlier period, and would be found to
surpass even the extravagance of the Romans. Thus, in
the tenth year of the reign of Edward IV., 1470, George
Nevill, brother to the Earl of Warwick, at his instalment
into the archiepiscopal see of York, entertained most of
the nobility and principal clergy, when his bill of fare was
300 quarters of wheat, 350 tuns of ale, 104 tuns of wine,
a pipe of spiced wine, eighty fat oxen, six wild bulls, 1004
weathers, 300 hogs, 300 calves, 3000 geese, 3000 capons,
300 pigs, 100 peacocks, 200 cranes, 200 kids, 2000 chickens,
4000 pigeons, 4000 rabbits, 204 bitterns, 4000 ducks, 200
pheasants, 500 partridges, 200 woodcocks, 400 plovers,
100 cui'lews, 100 quails, 1000 egrets, 200 x-ees, 400 bucks,
does, and roebucks, 1506 hot venison pasties, 4000 cold
ditto, 1000 dishes of jelly parted, 4000 dishes of jelly plain,
4000 cold custards, 2000 hot custards, 300 pikes, 300
breams, eight seals, four porpuses, 400 tarts. At this
feast the Earl of Warwick was steward, the Earl of Bed¬
ford treasurer, and Lord Hastings comptroller, with many
more noble officers ; and there were 1000 servitors, 62
cooks, 515 menial apparitors in the kitchen. But such
was the fortune of the man, that after his extreme prodi¬
gality, he died in the most abject but unpitied poverty,
vinctus jacuit in summa inopia.
And as to dress, luxury in that article seems to have at¬
tained a great height long before Holinshed’s time. Fox-
in the reign of Edward III. we find no fewer than seven
sumptuary laws passed in one session of parliament to x-e-
strain it. It was enacted, that men-servants of lords, as
also of tradesmen and artisans, shall be content with one
meal of fish or flesh every day ; and the other meals, daily,
shall be of milk, cheese, butter, and the like. Neither
shall they use any ornaments of gold, silk, or embroidery;
nor their wives and daughters any veils above the price
of twelvepence. Artisans and yeomenj shall not wear
cloth above 40s. the whole piece (the finest then being
about L.6 per piece), nor the ornaments before named;
604 LUX
Luxury, nor the women any veils of silk, but only those of thread
made in England. Gentlemen under the degree of knights,
not having L.100 yearly in land, shall not wear any cloth
above 4^ marks the whole piece. Neither shall they or
their females use cloth of gold, silver, or embroidery. But
esquires having L.200 per annum or upwards of rent may
wear cloths of five marks the whole piece of cloth ; and
they and their females may also wear stuff of silk, silver,
ribbons, girdles, or furs. Merchants, citizens, burghers,
and artificers or tradesmen, as well of London as elsewhere,
who have goods and chattels of the clear value of L,500,
and their females, may wear as is allowed to gentlemen
and esquires of L.100 per annum. And merchants, citi¬
zens, and burgesses, worth above L.1000 in goods and chat¬
tels, and their females, may wear the same as gentlemen
of L.200 per annum. Knights of 200 marks yearly may
wear cloth of six marks the cloth, but no higher; but no
cloth of gold, nor furred with ermine : but all knights and
ladies having above 400 marks yearly, up to L.1000 per an¬
num, may wear as they please, ermine excepted; and they
may wear ornaments of pearl and precious stones for their
heads only. Clerks having degrees in cathedrals, colleges,
may wear as knights and esquires of the same income.
Ploughmen, carters, shepherds, and such like, not having
40s. value in goods or chattels, shall wear no sort of cloth
but blanket and russet lawn at 12d. and shall wear girdles
and belts; and they shall only eat and drink suitable to their
stations. And whosoever uses other apparel than is pre¬
scribed by the above laws shall forfeit the same.
Concerning the general utility of luxury to a state, there
is much difference of opinion amongst political writers.
Montesquieu asserts, that luxury is necessary to monar¬
chies, as in France, but that it is ruinous to democracies, as
in Holland. With regard, therefore, to Britain, whose go¬
vernment is compounded of both species, it is held to be
a dubious question, how far private luxury is a public evil,
and, as such, cognizable by public laws; and indeed our
legislators have several times changed their sentiments as
to this point; for formerly there were a number of penal
laws existing to restrain excess in apparel, chiefly made
in the reigns of Edward III. IV. and Henry VIII. a spe¬
cimen of which we have inserted above. But all of them
it appeared expedient to repeal at an after period. In
fact, although luxury will of necessity increase according
to the influx of wealth, it may not be for the general be¬
nefit of commerce to impose, as in the above-cited laws,
an absolute prohibition of every degree of it; yet, for the
good of the public, it may be necessary that such as go
beyond proper bounds in eating, drinking, and wearing
what by no means is suitable to their station, should be
taxed accordingly, could it be done without including those
who have a better title to such indulgence. This is certain¬
ly, however, a point which should be maturelyweighed be¬
fore it be executed ; and, in mercantile countries at least,
such restraints may be found prejudicial, most likely im¬
practicable, especially where true liberty is established.
Sir William Temple observes, speaking of the trade and
riches, and at the same time of the frugality, of the Hol¬
landers,“ That some of our maxims are not so certain as
current in politics ; as that encouragement of excess and
luxury, if emploj^ed in the consumption of native commo¬
dities, is of advantage to trade. It may be so to that
which impoverishes, but not to that which enriches, a
country. It is indeed less prejudicial if it lies in native
than in foreign wares; but the humour of luxury and ex¬
pense cannot stop at certain bounds ; what begins in na¬
tive will proceed to foreign commodities; and though the
example arise among idle persons, yet the imitation will
run into all degrees, even of those men by whose industry
the nation subsists. And besides, the more of our own
we spend) the less shall we have to send abroad ; and so
L Y C
it will come to pass, that while we drive a vast trade, yet, r „
by buying much more than we sell, we shall come to be T"
poor at last.” Lycsum.1
LUZIN, a circle of the Russian province Witebsk, ex- "'—'y'v''
tending in north latitude from 55. 55. to 57, 15. and in
east longitude from 27.1. to 27. 29. It contains one city
and 1227 villages, with 32,300 inhabitants. The capital
is a small town of the same name, situated on the river
Welika, 390 miles from St Petersburg. Lonar. 38.35. E
Lat. 56. 35. N.
LUZK, a circle of the province of Volhynia, in Russia,
extending in north latitude from 50. 33. to 51. 34. and in
east longitude from 25. 4. to 25. 37. The northern part
is marshy, the southern very fertile. The capital is a city
of the same name, situated on the river Styr, 1126 miles
from St Petersburg. It contains one Catholic and several
Greek churches, 600 houses, and 3150 inhabitants. Lon?
25. 5. E. Lat. 50. 44. N.
LUZON, Lucon, or Luconia, one of the Philippine
islands, and the largest of the whole group, situated be¬
tween the thirteenth and nineteenth degrees of north lati¬
tude, and extending from the 120th to the 124th degrees
of east longitude. It is 400 miles in length, by 115 in
average breadth. The greater part of this island is moun¬
tainous, being intersected in its whole length from north
to south by an elevated chain, from which diverge various
ramifications and detached mountains of a conical figure,
in the midst of extensive plains. The soil is remarkably
fertile, and the climate for the most part moist; but it is
temperate, considering the situation of the island within
the tropics. It yields cotton, indigo, sugar, tobacco, and
generally all sorts of tropical produce, the richest fruits of
the West as well as of the East Indies, and, with ordinary
industry, would rival the Moluccas in the production of
spices and precious aromatics. In the mountains are found
wild cinnamon, nutmegs, ebony, sandal wood, together
with excellent timber for building and shipping. Gold is
washed down from the higher grounds, and is found among
the sands and mud of its rivers, brooks, and lakes. Civet
cats are common, and ambergris is thrown on the coast in
prodigious quantities. There are several volcanoes on the
island, and many warm springs and small lakes, indicating
an internal combustion, from which probably originate the
earthquakes to which the island is subject. In 1650 one
of these earthquakes overturned almost all the city of Ma¬
nilla; and in 1754 another took place, which was attended
with the most destructive effects. The coast is indented
by many bays and commodious harbours; that of Manilla
is the finest in the world, and is the only one frequented
by ships of burden. The Spaniards on their arrival found
upon the coast a nation of Moors, who called themselves
Tagalians, and were Malayans by descent. They are for
the most part a quiet and tractable people. After their con¬
quest by the Spaniards they were most cruelly oppressed
by monopolies and other tyrannical restraints ; the popula¬
tion of the country was diminished, agriculture discouraged,
and the inhabitants, destitute of any motive to energy,
have sunk into indolence. Manilla is the capital. The
population is estimated at 900,000, though nothing certain
is known on this subject.
LYBIA, or Libya, a name anciently given to all that
part of Africa lying between the borders of Egypt and the
river Triton, and comprehending Cyrenaica, Marmarica,
and the Regio Syrtica. See Ethiopia.
LYCEUM, Auxs/ov, in Antiquity, the name of a cele¬
brated school or academy at Athens, where Aristotle ex¬
plained his philosophy. The place was composed of por-
ticos^and trees planted in the quincunx form, where the
philosophers disputed walking. Hence the philosophy of
the Lycaeum is used to signify the philosophy of Aristotle,
or the peripatetic philosophy. Suidas observes, that the Ly-
Sora
sins
that
impi
anno
ador
lice
pray
he sf
irritt
ofL
L'
diter
phyli
ancii
Solyi
conn
ofP
tants
their
sus,
they
jove
to tli |
the
andt
The
Emp
L’
OMV'
diffei
semi
bline
ty,ai
hedd
coloi
L
isb
then
Achi
cbth
war,
nied
sens
the
tfied
bti
led
k
him
l
fiati
and
dea
sect
had
tns,
L Y C
caeum took its name from its having been originally a tem¬
ple of Apollo Lycaeus, or rather a portico or gallery built
by Lycaeus, son of Apollo ; but others state that it had
been built either by Pisistratus or by Pericles.
LYCAON, in fabulous history, the first king of Arca¬
dia, son of Pelasgus and Melibcea. He built a town call¬
ed Lycosura, upon the top of Mount Lycaeus, in honour of
Jupiter. Pie had many wives, by whom he had a daugh¬
ter called Callisto, and fifty sons. He lived about 1820
years before the Christian era, and was succeeded on the
throne by Nyctimus, the eldest of his sons. This is also
the name of another king of Arcadia, celebrated for his
cruelties. He was changed into a wolf by Jupiter, because
he had offered human victims upon the altar of the god Pan.
Some attribute this metamorphosis to another cause. The
sins of mankind, as they relate, had become so enormous,
that Jupiter, having visited the earth in order to punish its
impiety and wickedness, came to Arcadia, where he was
announced as a god, and the people began to pay proper
adoration to his divinity. But Lycaon, who used to sacri¬
fice all strangers to his wanton cruelty, laughed at the pious
prayers of his subjects, and, to try the divinity of the god,
he served up human flesh on his table. This impiety so
irritated Jupiter that he immediately destroyed the house
of Lycaon, and changed him into a wolf.
LYCIA, a country of Asia Minor, bounded by the Me¬
diterranean on the south, by Cai’ia on the west, by Pam-
phylia on the east, and by Phrygia on the north. It was
anciently called Milyas and Tremile, from the Milyse or
Solymi, a people of Crete, who came to settle there. The
country received the name of Lycia from Lycus, the son
of Pandion, who there established himself. The inhabi¬
tants have been greatly commended by all the ancients for
their sobriety and justice. They were conquered by Croe¬
sus, king of Lydia, and afterwards by Cyrus. Though
they were subject to the power of Persia, yet they were
governed by their own kings, and only paid a yearly tribute
to the Persian monarch. When Alexander marched into
the East, they became part of the Macedonian empire,
and afterwards were ceded to the house of the Seleucidse.
The country was reduced into a Roman province by the
Emperor Claudius.
LYCODONTES, the petrified teeth of the lupus-piscis,
or wolf-fish, frequently found in a fossil state. They are of
different shapes ; but the most common kind swell out in a
semi-orbicular form, and are hollow within, somewhat resem¬
bling an acorn-cup. This hollow is found sometimes emp¬
ty, and sometimes filled with the stratum in which it was im¬
bedded. Many of them have an outer circle of a different
colour from the rest.
LYCOMEDES, in fabulous history, a king of Scyros, an
island in the iEgean Sea. He was son of Apollo and Par-
thenope, and was secretly intrusted with the care of young
Achilles, whom his mother Thetis had disguised in woman’s
clothes, in order to prevent him proceeding to the Trojan
war, where she knew he must unavoidably perish. Lyco-
rnedes rendered himself famous for his treachery to The¬
seus, who had implored his protection when driven from
the throne of Athens by the usurper Mnestheus. Lyco-
medes, as is reported, either envious of the fame of his il¬
lustrious guest, or bribed by the emissaries of Mnestheus,
led Theseus to an elevated place, on the pretence of show¬
ing him the extent of his dominions, and perfidiously threw
him down a precipice, by which means he was killed.
LYCON, a philosopher of the school of Aristotle, was a
native of Loadicea, in Phrygia. He was born b. c. 300,
and died, at the age of seventy-four, b. c. 226. Upon the
death of Strato, Lycon became the head of the Aristotelian
sect (b. c. 270), and taught the school at Athens which
had been conducted successively by Aristotle, Theophras¬
tus, and Strato, whom he succeeded. We are informed by
L Y C 605
Diogenes Laertius, in his life of this philosopher, that he Lyco-
was particularly successful in directing the studies of youth ; phron.
and that he regarded corporal punishment as not only use-^
less, but positively injurious, holding, that youth ought to
be directed by feelings of honour and shame, as a horse
is by the spur and reins. His eloquence was full of mild
persuasion, and so melodious, that his contemporaries pre¬
fixed the letter G to his name, making it Glycon, which
signifies sweetness. He wras much esteemed by Attalus and
Eumenes I. kings of Pergamus; and Antiochus, king of
Syria, did every thing in his power to prevail on him to re¬
main at his court. He conducted the school with great
ability during upwards of forty-two years, and was suc¬
ceeded by Aristo Ceus (Plut. Mor. p. 605, b.). The last
will of Lycon is given by Diogenes, and exhibits a strong
proof of the kindness and goodness of his nature.
LYCOPHRON, a Greek poet, was a native of Chalcis,
a city in the island of Euboea, and the son of Socles ; but of
his private history we are almost entirely ignorant. It is
supposed that Lycophron began to be distinguished in the
beginning of the reign of Philadelphus, b. c. 280, and con¬
tinued to rise in reputation till b. c. 250, during the first
years of the first Punic war, a period of thirty years. If
we be correctly informed respecting the mode in which he
acquired the friendship and favour of Ptolemy Philadel¬
phus, who then held his court at Alexandreia, it is not
much to the credit of Lycophron. It is said that he owed
it to the flattering compliments he contrived to convey to
the prince through ingenious anagrams. Thus, from Ilro-
"kifiaioi, he made dsro ysXiroi (of honey); in Arsinoe, the
name of the queen, he found hv 'Hga$ (violet of Juno).
Lycophron is included amongst those seven poets who from
their number were called the Pleias. They were all con¬
temporary, and all graced the court of Philadelphus. Their
names were, Homerus, Sositheus, Lycophron, Alexander
(fEtolus), Philiseus, Sosiphanes or Dionysides, and iEan-
tides. Lycophron was the author of sixty-four, or, accord¬
ing to others, of forty-six, tragedies (Tzetzes adLyc. p.270).
Suidas gives the names of nineteen of them. They have
all however disappeared, and the only fragment of them
that has been preserved is a verse of four lines of his tra¬
gedy entitled Pelopidce, by Stobseus. The idea is beautiful,
and is expressed wdth great simplicity. “ The unhappy call
upon death to relieve them while he is at a distance ; but
when the last moments of life approach, we are anxious to
live. Man is never tired of life.” Lycophron is also said
to have been the author of satires, one of which, directed
against Menedemus, and where he ridiculed the frugal
table of this founder of the Eretrian school, has been par¬
ticularly mentioned. (Athen. x. p. 420; xi. p. 55.) He
also wrote some books on comedy; but the work which
has been preserved, and for which he is best known, is
entitled Alexandra or Cassandra, from the daughter of
Priam, who had two appellations, like her brother Paris.
The poem consists of 1474 lines. Cassandra had ac¬
quired by a trick the power of prophecy from Apollo;
but, having refused to fulfil her engagement, the god pre¬
vented any credit being attached to her words, and caused
her to be regarded as mad. She is shut up in a tower
by Priam, that she may not alarm the city, and from the
summit of the tower she observes the vessel depart which
bore Paris to the shores of Greece. This spectacle ex¬
cites her prophetic powers, and a servant who overhears
her words repeats them to Priam. She commences by de¬
ploring the fate which she foresees must inevitably over¬
take her native city, and then proceeds to foretell the va¬
rious calamities which will arise out of the Trojan war.
She first recounts those which will befall Helen, her pa¬
rents, brothers, and sisters ; and then notices the fates of the
different Grecian leaders, such as Ajax, Diomede, Mene-
laus, Agamemnon, and Idomeneus. This causes her to
Lycurgia refer to the numerous wars which had been carried on at along with Demosthenes, one of the ambassadors to coun
Lycumus various times between the inhabitants of Europe and Asia, teract the proceedings of Philip in different parts of Greer"
She begins witb the raPe ^ 1° and Europa, and, giving an (Demosth. Philipp, iii. p. 129). So much confidence had
historical sketch of the Argonauts, the Amazons, the Trojans, his fellow-citizens in his integrity, that he continued to pr Q
Midas, and Xerxes, she brings down her history to the side over the collection of the public revenue for twelve o"
time of Alexander the Great. Besides, there are many epi- fifteen years. After the defeat of the Greeks at the batt]1
sodes scattered throughout the work, such as the Labours of Chaeronea, b. c. 338, he brought Lysicles, the general of
of Hercules, the Deluge of Deucalion, the Wanderings of the Athenians on that occasion, to trial before the people
ASneas, and the colony planted in Latium. This work of and procured his condemnation (Diodor. Sicul. xvi. 88). He
Lycophron is one of the most obscure which antiquity has restored the credit of comic exhibitions at the Lenseaii fes-
handed down to us, and it appears that the author exerted tival, and enacted honours for the three great tragic poets
all his ingenuity to render it so. He has succeeded prin- ( Vit. x. Or. p. 841). Lycurgus was one of the orators de-
cipally by the employment of unusual modes of syntax, of manded by Alexander, after the destruction of Thebes"
rare and obsolete words, of expressions far removed from B. e. 335 ; but the Athenians refused to give him up (Plut’
the common dialect, of confused metaphors, and of periods Demosth. c. 23 ; Arrian, Exp. i. 10). It would appear that
so involved that the reader loses himself in a labyrinth of Lycurgus died about the time of the exile of Demosthenes
words. There have been many commentaries on the Alex- b. c. 323, the year before that orator’s death (Vit. x. Or. p’
andra, but the best is that by Tzetzes. The best edition is 842). There were fifteen orations of Lycurgus extant in
that of Potter (Oxford, 1697, 1702), in which the text is ac- the time of Plutarch and Photius, but only one has been
companied by the scholia of Tzetzes, the remarks of Can- preserved (against Leocrates), which was delivered b. c
ter and Meursius, and a valuable index. Reichard (Lip. 330. It is published by Hauptmann (Lips. 1751) by
1788), rejecting the commentaries of Tzetzes, Meursius, Schulze (Bruns. 1789), by Osann (Jena, 1821), and, along
and Potter, published the simple text and notes of Canter, with other fragments, by Bekker (Magdeb. 1821).
adding a continued paraphrase like that which is found in LYDD, a market-town of the county of Kent, in the
the editions of the classics ad usum Delphini. The Scho- hundred of Langport and lathe of Shepway, seventy-three
lia have been published separately by Muller (3 vols. Lips, miles from London. It is in a low situation, on Romney
1811), Royston translation. Marsh ; and is a member of the Cinque Ports, near the sea.
LYCURGIA, a festival observed by the Spartans, in It has a small market, which is held on Thursday. The po-
memoryof their lawgiver Lycurgus, whom they honoured pulation amounted in 1801 to 1303, in 1811 to 1504, in
with a temple and an annual sacrifice. 1821 to 1437, and in 1831 to 1357.
LYCURGUS, the celebrated legislator of the Spartans, LYDGATE, John, surnamed the Monk of Bury, not,
was the son of Eunomes, king of Sparta. He travelled in as Cibber conjectures, because he was a native of that place!
Greece, the island of Crete, Egypt, and even proceeded to for he was born about the year 1380, in the village of Lyd-
the Indies, to converse with the sages and learned men of gate, but because he was a monk of the Benedictine convent
those countries, and to learn their manners, customs, and at St Edmund’s-Bury. After studying some time in the
laws. After the death of his brother Polydectes, who was English universities, he travelled into France and Italy; and,
king of Sparta, his widow offered the crown to Lycurgus, having thus acquired a competent knowledge of the Ian-
promising that she would cause herself to miscarry of the guages of those countries, he returned to London, where he
child of which she was pregnant, provided he would marry opened a school, in which he instructed the sons of the
her; but Lycurgus nobly refused these advantageous offers, nobility in polite literature. At what time he retired to
and afterwards contented himself with being tutor to his the convent of St Edmund’s-Bury, does not appear; but
nephew Charillus, whom he restored to the government he was certainly in that establishment in the year 1415.
when he came of age. Notwithstanding this honourable He was alive in 1446, when he must have been about sixty-
and generous conduct, however, he was accused of a de- six years of age; but in what year he died is not known,
sign to usurp the crown. This calumny obliged him to Lydgate, according to Pits, was an elegant poet,> per-
retire to the island of Crete, where he applied himself to suasive rhetorician, an expert mathematician, an acute phi-
the study of the laws and customs of nations. On his losopher, and a respectable divine. He was a voluminous
return to Lacedaemon, he reformed the government, and, winter, and, considering the age in which he lived, an ex-
to prevent the disorders occasioned by luxury and the cellent poet. His language is less obsolete, and his versi-
love of riches, he prohibited the use of gold and silver; fication more harmonious, than the language and versifica-
placed all the citizens in a state of equality ; and intro- tion of Chaucer, who wrote about half a century before his
duced the strictest temperance, the most exact discipline, time. His works are, 1. History of the Theban War, print-
and those remarkable laws which, with few exceptions, ed at the end of Chaucer’s works, 1561, 1602, 1687; 2.
have been celebrated by all historians. It is said, that, to Poemation of Good Counsel, at the end of Chaucer’s works;
engage the Lacedaemonians to observe them inviolably, he 3. The Life of Hector, London, 1594, folio, printed by
made them promise upon oath not to change any part of Gross, and dedicated to Henry V.; 4. Life of the Blessed
them till his return; and that he afterwards went to the Virgin, printed by Caxton; 5. The Proverbs of Lydgate
island of Crete, where he killed himself, having ordered uponthefallofprinces,printedbyWinkyndeWorde,Lon-
that his ashes should be thrown into the sea, from fear lest, don, 4to ; 6. Dispute of the Horse, the Sheep, and the
if his body should be carried to Sparta, the Lacedaemoni- Goose, printed in Caxton’s Collect. 4to ; 7. The Temple
ans would think themselves absolved from their oath. He of Brass, amongst the works of Chaucer; 8. London Lick-
flourished about 870 b. c. penny (vide Stow’s History); besides an incredible num-
Lycurgus, one of the most celebrated orators of ber of other poems and translations preserved in various
Greece, was born at Athens about the year b. c. 400, libraries.
and died about B. c. 323. He was son of Lycophron, and LYDIA, in Ancient Geography, a celebrated kingdom
grandson of Lycurgus, one or other of whom was put to of Asia Minor. The ancient writers inform us, that Lydia
death by the Thirty lyrants, b. c. 404 (Phot. Cod. cclxviii. was first called Mceonia or Meonia, from Meon, king of
p. 1483). In his early years he studied philosophy under Phrygia and Lydia; and that it was known under no other
Plato, and the political constitution of his country under denomination until the reign of Atys, when it began to be
Isocrates. At what period he entered upon public life is called Lydia, from his son Lydus. Bochart, finding in his
nowhere recorded, but we find him, b. c. 343, appointed, learned collection of Phoenician words the verb Luz, sig-
nivi
tlieo
LYDIA.
607
'jia. lifying “ to wind,” and observing that the country we are
‘‘^—speaking of is watered by the Maeander, so famous for its
^ ivindings, concludes that it was thence named Ludia or
Lydia ; but this, it must be obvious, is too fanciful and
■emote a derivation to be the true one. As to the an¬
cient name of Maeonia, he takes it to be a Greek transla-
ion of the Phoenician word lud, in which he agrees in some
cneasure with Stephanus, who derives the name of Maeonia
rom Maeon, the ancient name of the Maeander. Some take
be word Mceonia to be a translation of a Hebrew word sig-
lifying metal, because, according to them, that country was
n former times rich above any other with mines. Though
Lydia and Maeonia are by most authors indifferently used
hr one and the same country, yet they are sometimes dis-
inguished ; that part including Mount Tmolus, and water-
ad by the Pactolus, being properly called Mceonia; and
he other, situated upon the coast, Lydia. This distinction
s observed by Homer, Callimachus, Dionysius, and other
incient writers. In after ages, when the lonians, who had
danted a colony on the coast of the iEgean Sea, began to
nake some figure, that part was called Ionia, and the name
)f Lydia given to the ancient Maeonia. Lydia, according
o Pliny, Ptolemy, and other ancient geographers, was
>ounded by Mysia Major on the north, by Caria on the
wuth, by Phrygia Major on the east, and by Ionia on the
vest, and was situated between the thirty-seventh and
hirty-ninth degrees of north latitude. But what the an-
:ients style the kingdom of Lydia was not confined within
hese narrow boundaries; it extended from Halys to the
Egean Sea. Pliny’s description includes ASolia, situated
)etween the Hermus and the Ca'icus.
As to the origin of the Lydians, Josephus, and after him
ill the ecclesiastical writers, derive them from Lud, Shem’s
burth son ; but this opinion has no other foundation than
he similitude of names. Some of the ancients conceive the
Indians to have been a mixed colony of Phrygians, Mysians,
ind Carians ; but others, finding some conformity in reli¬
gion and religious ceremonies between the Egyptians and
Tuscans, who were a Lydian colony, conclude, without
urther evidence, that they were originally Egyptians. All
ve know for certain is, that the Lydians were a very un¬
dent nation ; and this is manifest from their fables; for
itys, Tantalus, Pelops, Niobe, and Arachne, are all said to
lave been the children of Lydus. Zanthus, in his Lydiaca,
juoted by Stephanus, informs us, that the ancient city of
\scalon, one of the five satrapies of the Philistines, men-
ioned in the books of Joshua and the Judges, was built by
me Ascalus a Lydian, whom Achiamus, king of Lydia, had
ippointed to command a body of troops which he sent into
Syria, we know not on what occasion. The Heraclidae, or
dngs of Lydia descended from Hercules, began to reign
lefore the Trojan war, and had been preceded by a long
ine of sovereigns sprung from Atys, and hence styled
Atyadce ; a strong proof of the antiquity of that kingdom.
The Lydians began very early to be governed by kings,
vhose authority seems to have been despotic, and the
;rown hereditary. We read of three distinct races of kings
eigning over Lydia; the Atyadae, the Heraclidae, and the
Mermnadae.' The Atyadce were so called from Atys the
ion of Cotys, and grandson of Manes the first Lydian king,
hit the history of this family is obscure and fabulous. The
\tyadae were succeeded by the Heraclidce, or the descen-
lants of Hercules. This hero having, by the direction
>f the oracle, been sold as a slave to Omphale, queen of
-.ydia, in order to expiate the murder of Iphitus, had, by
me of her slaves, during his captivity, a son named Cleo-
aus, whose grandson Argon was the first of the Heraclidae
vho ascended the throne of Lydia. This race is said to
tave reigned 505 years, the son succeeding the father for
wenty-two generations. They began to reign about the
ime of the Trojan war. The last of the family was the un¬
happy Candaules, who lost both his life and kingdom by
his imprudence. Of this event an account is given by Hero- s
dotus. Candaules had a wife whom he passionately loved,
and believed to be the most beautiful of her sex. He extol¬
led her charms to Gyges his favourite, whom he used to in¬
trust with his most important affairs ; and, to convince him
the more of her beauty, resolved to show her to him quite
undressed. He accordingly placed Gyges in the porch of the
chamber where the queen used to undress when she went
to bed, ordering him to retire after he should have seen
her, and take the utmost possible care not to be observed.
But notwithstanding all the caution he employed, she plain¬
ly discovered him going out; and though she did not doubt
that it was her husband’s contrivance, yet she passed that
night in seeming tranquillity, suppressing her resentment
till next morning, when she sent for Gyges, and resolutely
told him that he must either by his death atone for the cri¬
minal action he had been guilty of, or put to death Can¬
daules, the contriver of it, and receive both her and the
kingdom of Lydia as his reward. Gyges at first earnestly
begged of her that she would not drive him to the neces¬
sity of such a choice; but finding that he could not pre¬
vail with her, and that he must either kill his master or be
killed himself, he chose the former part of the alternative.
Being led by the queen to the same place where her hus¬
band had posted him the night before, he stabbed the king
whilst he was asleep, married the queen, and took posses¬
sion of the kingdom, in which he was confirmed by the re¬
sponse of the oracle of Delphi. But the Lydians having
taken up arms to revenge the death of their prince, an agree¬
ment was made between them and the followers of Gyges,
that if the oracle should declare him to be lawful king of Ly¬
dia, he would be permitted to reign ; if not, that he should
resign the crown to the Heraclidae. The answer of the
oracle proved favourable to Gyges, and he was universally
acknowledged as lawful king of Lydia. Candaules is said
to have purchased, for its weight in gold, a picture painted
by Bularchas, representing a battle of the Magnetes; a
circumstance which shows how early the art of painting had
begun to be appreciated in that country, Candaules hav¬
ing been contemporary with Romulus.
Gyges, having thus possessed himself of the kingdom of
Lydia, sent many rich and valuable presents to the oracle
of Delphos, amongst which were six cups of gold, weigh¬
ing thirty talents, and greatly esteemed for the workman¬
ship. He made war upon Miletus and Smyrna, took the city
of Colophon, and subdued the whole country of Troas. In
his reign, and by his permission, the city of Abydus was
built by the Milesians. Plutarch and other writers give a
different account of his accession to the crown of Lydia,
and inform us, without making any mention of the queen,
that Gyges rebelled against Candaules, and slew him in an
engagement. In Gyges commenced the third race called
Mermnadce, who were also, properly speaking, Heraclidae,
being descended from a son of Hercules by Omphale.
Gyges reigned thirty-eight years, and was succeeded on
the throne by his son Ardyes. This prince carried on the
war against the Milesians which his father had begun, and
possessed himself of Priene, which in those days was a
strong city. In his reign the Cimmerians invaded and
overran all Asia Minor ; but what battles were fought be¬
tween the Lydians and these invaders, and with what suc¬
cess, we find nowhere mentioned. Herodotus only informs
us, that in the time of Ardyes they possessed themselves of
Sardis, the metropolis of Lydia, but that they failed to
reduce the castle. Ardyes reigned forty-nine years, and
was succeeded by his son Sadyattes, who reigned twelve
years, during most part of which he carried on war with
the Milesians.
After him came his son Alyattes, who for the space of
five years continued the war which his father had begun
Lydia.
608
LYDIA.
-ydia^ against the Milesians, ravaging their country, and about
harvest-time carrying away all their corn yearly, in order
to oblige them, from want of provisions, to surrender their
city, which he knew he could not reduce in any other way,
the Milesians being at that time masters of the sea. In the
twelfth year of this war the Lydians having set fire to the
corn in the fields, the flames were carried by a violent wind,
which happened at that time to blow, to the temple of Mi¬
nerva at Assesus, and burned it down to the ground. Not
long afterwards, Alyattes falling sick, sent to consult the
oracle at Delphos ; but the god refused to return any answer
until the king should rebuild the temple of Minerva at As¬
sesus. Alyattes, thus warned, despatched ambassadors to
Miletus, enjoining them to conclude a truce with the Mile¬
sians until the temple should be rebuilt. On the arrival of
the ambassadors, Thrasybulus, then king of Miletus, hav¬
ing commanded all the corn which was at that time in
the city to be brought into the market-place, ordered the
citizens to banquet in public, and to revel as if the city
were plentifully stored w ith all manner of provisions. This
stratagem Thrasybulus practised, that the ambassadors, see¬
ing such quantities of corn, and the people everywhere di¬
verting themselves, might acquaint their master with his
affluence, and thus divert him from pursuing the war. As
Thrasybulus had intended, so it happened. Alyattes, who
believed the Milesians greatly distressed for provisions, re¬
ceiving a different account from his ambassadors, changed
the truce into a lasting peace, and ever afterwards lived in
amity and friendship with Thrasybulus and the Milesians.
After a reign of fifty-seven years, he was succeeded by
his son Croesus, whose uninterrupted prosperity, in the
first years of his reign, far eclipsed the glory of his prede¬
cessors. He was the first who made war on the Ephesians,
whose city he besieged and took, notwithstanding their
consecrating it to Diana, and fastening the w'alls by a rope
to her temple, which was seven stadia distant from the city.
After the reduction of Ephesus, he under various pretences
attacked the lonians and Alolians, obliging them, and all
the other Greek states of Asia, to pay him an annual tri¬
bute. Having met w ith such extraordinary success by land,
the Lydian prince determined to render his power equally
conspicuous by sea. For this purpose he had serious thoughts
of equipping a fleet, with which he purposed to invade and
conquer the Grecian islands directly opposite to his domi¬
nions. But this design, which, considering the slow progress
of maritime power amongst the nations most diligent in at¬
taining it, would probably have failed of success, was pre¬
vented by the advice of a philosophical traveller, conveyed
in such a lively turn of wit as easily changed the resolution
of the king. Bias of Priene in Ionia (some say Pittacus of
Mitylene in the isle of Lesbos), whilst he travelled, after the
Grecian custom, from curiosity and a love of knowledge, was
presented to Croesus at the Lydian court; and being asked
by that prince what news he brought from Greece, answered,
with a republican freedom, that the islanders had collected
powerful squadrons of cavalry with an intention of invading
Lydia. “ May the gods grant,” said Croesus, “ that the
Greeks, who are unacquainted with horsemanship, should
attack the disciplined valour of the Lydian cavalry ; there
would speedily be an end to the contest.” “ In the same
manner,” replied Bias, “ as if the Lydians, who are totally
unexperienced in naval affairs, should invade the Grecians
by sea.” Struck by the acuteness of this unexpected obser¬
vation, Croesus desisted from his intended expedition against
the islands; and, instead of employing new means for ex¬
tending his conquests, determined peaceably to enjoy the
laurels he had won, and to display the grandeur he had at¬
tained. But his happiness was soon afterwards allayed by
the death of his favourite son Atys, who was unfortunately
killed in the chase of a wild boar. This loss rendered him
disconsolate for two years, and reduced him to a state of
inaction, till the conquests of Cyrus, and the growing power Ldi
of the Persians, roused up his martial spirit, and diverted
his mind to other thoughts.
Croesus apprehending that the success which had attend¬
ed Cyrus in all his undertakings might at last prove dan¬
gerous to himself, resolved if possible to put a stop to his
progress. In adopting this resolution, which might proba¬
bly be attended with the most important consequences, he
was desirous to learn the will of heaven concerning the is¬
sue of the war. The principal oracles which he consulted
were those of Branchis in Ionia, of Ammon in Libya, and
of Delphi in Greece. But, amongst these respected shrines,
the oracle of Delphi maintained its ascendant, as the most
faithful interpreter of fate. Croesus was fully persuaded of
its veracity; and, generously desirous to compensate the
priests of Apollo for the trouble which he had already given,
and still meant to give, he sacrificed three thousand oxen
to the god, and adorned his shrine with gifts equally valu¬
able for the workmanship and for the materials, viz. pre-
cious vessels of silver, ewers of iron beautifully inlaid and
enamelled ; various ornaments of pure gold, particularly a
golden lion weighing ten talents, and a female figure three
cubits or near five feet in height. In return for these mag¬
nificent presents, the oracle, in equivocal and ambiguous
language, flattered Croesus with obtaining an easy victory
over his enemies, and with enjoying a long life and a pros¬
perous reign. The god at the same time enjoined him to
contract an alliance with the most powerful of the Grecian
states.
Elevated with these favourable predictions of Apollo,
Croesus prepared to yield a ready obedience to the only
condition required on his part for the accomplishment of
his aspiring design. Not deeming himself sufficiently ac¬
quainted with the affairs of Greece to know what parti¬
cular republic was meant by the oracle, he made especial
inquiry of those who were best informed concerning the
state of Europe, and discovered, that amongst all the
members of the Grecian confederacy, the Athenians and
Lacedaemonians were justly entitled to the pre-eminence.
But in order .to learn which of these communities de¬
served the epithet of “ most powerful,” it was necessary
to send ambassadors into Greece. The Lydians despatch¬
ed on this important commission soon discovered that the
Athenians, having been long harassed by internal dissen¬
sions, wrere actually governed by the tyrant Pisistratus.
Ihe Spartans, on the other hand, though anciently the
worst regulated of all the Grecian communities, had en¬
joyed domestic peace and foreign prosperity ever since
they had adopted the wise institutions of Lycurgus. Af¬
ter that memorable period, they had repeatedly con¬
quered the warlike Argives, triumphed over the hardy Ar¬
cadians, and, notwithstanding the heroic exploits of Aris-
tomenes, subdued and enslaved their unfortunate rivals of
Messene. To the Lydian ambassadors, therefore, the
Spartan republic appeared to be pointed out by the oracle
as the community whose alliance they were enjoined to
solicit. Having accordingly repaired to Sparta, they were
introduced not only to the kings and senate, but, as the
importance of the negociation required, to the general
assembly of the Lacedaemonians, to whom they, in few
words, declared the object of their commission. “ La¬
cedaemonians, we are sent by Croesus, king of the L\ dians
and of many other nations, who being commanded by the
oracle of Apollo to seek the friendship of the most power¬
ful people of Greece, now summon you, who justly merit
that epithet, to become his faithful allies, in obedience to
the will of the god whose authority you acknowledge.”
The Lacedaemonians, pleased with the alliance of a war¬
like king, and still more with the fame of their valour,
readily accepted the proposal. To the strict connection of
an offensive and defensive league they joined the more re¬
ft 5Pe
mal
had
iren1
part
coat
heat
fonr
C
reco
intei
ance
Bab]
most
off;
such
terin;
ed nt
lectei
tyof
precij
Attei
of me
aoyt
river
deep
da, u
minio
the c
beaut
the pi
we]
put tc
by thi
Croesi
previc
teed i
dange
Lydia
the w;
of the
pride
by the
saidh
and a
aiedt
only vr
of wik
of Pe
»hich
ahlesi
the p
plundi
of thi
LrtEst
*ith t
the pr
secute
Me
tempe
the wi
Niti
inente
cootri
tance
mired
subje,
Such
being
voi
sp#d
tran!
LYDIA.
a,;fspecte(l ties of sacred hospitality. A few years before this
^—transaction they had sent to Sardis to purchase gold for
‘•making a statue of Apollo, and on that occasion Crcesus
md gratuitously supplied their wants. Remembering this
.generosity, they gave the Lydian ambassadors at their de¬
parture, as a present for their master, a vessel of brass
containing three hundred amphoras (above twelve hogs¬
heads), and beautifully carved on the outside with various
onus of animals.
Croesus, having thus happily accomplished the design
ecommended by the oracle, was eager to set out upon his
ntended expedition. He had formerly entered into alli-
inces with Amasis king of Egypt, and Labynetus king of
labylon ; and he had now obtained the friendship of the
nost warlike nation of Europe. The newly-raised power
if Cyrus and the Persians seemed incapable of resisting
uch a formidable confederacy. Elevated with these flat-
ering ideas of his own invincible greatness, Crcesus wait-
d not to attack the Persian dominions until he had col-
ected the strength of his allies. The sanguine impetuosi-
y of his temper, unexperienced in adversity, unfortunately
recipitated him into measures no less daring than ruinous,
attended only by the arms of Lydia, and a numerous band
Jf mercenaries, whom his immense wealth enabled him at
ny time to call into his service, he marched towards the
iver Halys, and, having with much difficulty crossed that
eep and broad stream, entered the province of Cappado-
ia, which formed the western frontier of the Median do-
ninions. That unfortunate country soon experienced all
ie calamities of invasion. The Pterian plain, the most
eautiful and fertile district of Cappadocia, was laid waste;
ic ports of the Euxine, as well as several inland cities,
ere plundered, and the inoffensive inhabitants were either
ut to the sword or dragged into captivity. Encouraged
y the unresisting softness of the natives of those parts,
i'rcesus was eager to push forwards; and if Cyrus did not
reviously meet him in the field, he had determined to pro¬
ved in triumph to the mountains of Persia. Against this
angerous resolution he was in vain exhorted by a prudent
lydian named Sandanis, who, when asked his opinion of
He war, declared it with that freedom which the princes
f the East have in every age permitted, amidst all the
ride and caprices of despotic power, to men distinguished
y the gifts of nature or education. “ You are preparing,”
lid he, “ to march against a people who lead a laborious
nd a miserable life ; whose daily subsistence is often de¬
nied them, and is always scanty and precarious ; who drink
nly water, and who are clothed with nothing but the skins
i ’wild beasts. What can the Lydians gain by the conquest
Persia; the Lydians, who enjoy all the advantages of
ihich the Persians are destitute ? For my part, I deem it
blessing of the gods that they have not excited the war-
ke poverty of these miserable barbarians to invade and
mnder the luxurious wealth of Lydia.” The moderation
if this advice was rejected by the fatal presumption of
I'rcesus; confounding the dictates of experienced wisdom
J ith the mean suggestions of pusillanimity, he dismissed
i ie prudent counsellor with contempt, and prepared to pro-
i^cute his fatal enterprise.
Meanwhile, the approach of Cyrus, who was not of a
t mper to permit his dominions to be ravished with impu-
ty, afforded the Lydian king an opportunity of bringing
Me war to a more speedy issue than by his intended ex-
|edition into Persia. The army of Cyrus gradually aug¬
mented as he advanced; the tributary princes cheerfully
mtributing with their united strength towards the assis-
nce of a master whose valour and generosity they ad-
ired, and who now took arms to protect the safety of his
ibjects, as well as to support the grandeur of his throne,
iuch was the rapidity of his movement, especially after
lung informed of the destructive ravages of the enemy
VOL. XIII.
609
in Cappadocia, that he marched from the shores of the
Caspian to those of the Euxine Sea before the army of
Crcesus had( provided the necessaries for their advance.
That prince,’ when apprized of the neighbourhood of the
Persians, encamped on the Pterian plain ; Cyrus likewise
took up a position at no great distance ; frequent skir¬
mishes occurred between the light troops ; and at length a
general engagement was fought with equal fury and per¬
severance, and only terminated by the darkness of night.
The loss on both sides prevented a renewal of the battle.
But the numbers as well as the courage of the Persians
much exceeded the expectation of Crcesus; and as they
discovered no intention of harassing his retreat, he deter¬
mined to fall back towards Sardis, in order to spend the
winter in the amusements of his palace, and, after sum¬
moning his numerous allies to his standard, to take the
field early in the spring with such increase of force as
would be sufficient to overpower the Persians.
But this design was defeated by the watchful vigilance
of Cyrus. That experienced leader allowed the enemy
to retire without molestation, carefully informing himself
of every movement they made, and of every measure
they seemed determined to pursue. Patiently watching
the opportunity of a just revenge, he waited until Crcesus
had re-entered his capital, and disbanded the foreign mer¬
cenaries, who composed the most numerous division of his
army. Cyrus then put his Persians in motion; and such
was his celerity, that he brought the first intelligence of his
own arrival in the plain of Sardis. Croesus, whose firmness
might well have been shaken by the imminence of this
unforeseen danger, was not wanting on the present occa¬
sion to the duties which he owed to his fame and the lus¬
tre of the Lydian throne. Though his mercenaries were
disbanded, his own subjects, who served him from attach¬
ment, who had been long accustomed to victory, and who
were animated with a high sense of national honour, burn¬
ed with a desire to check the daring insolence of the in¬
vaders. Croesus indulged and encouraged this generous
ardour. The Lydians in that age fought on horseback,
armed with long spears ; the strength of the Persians con¬
sisted in their infantry. The latter were so little accustomed
to the use of horses, that camels were almost the only ani¬
mals which they employed as beasts of burden. This cir¬
cumstance suggested to a Mede, by name Harpagus, a
stratagem, which, being communicated to Cyrus, was im¬
mediately adopted with the approbation of that prince.
Harpagus, having observed that horses had a strong aver¬
sion to the shape and smell of camels, advised that the Per¬
sian army should be drawn up in the following order: All the
camels which had been employed to carry baggage and
provisions were collected into one body, and arranged in a
line fronting the Lydian cavalry. The foot soldiers of the
Persians were posted immediately behind this line, and
placed at a due distance; and the Median horse, a few
squadrons of which followed the standard of Cyrus, form¬
ed the rear of the army. As the troops on both sides ap¬
proached to join battle, the Lydian cavalry, terrified at
the unusual appearance of the camels, mounted with men
in arms, were thrown into disorder, and the horses, turning
their heads, endeavoured to escape from the field. Croesus,
who perceived the confusion, was ready to despair of his
fortune; but the Lydians, abandoning their horses, pre¬
pared with uncommon bravery to attack the enemy on
foot. Their courage deserved a better fate; but, unac¬
customed as they were to this mode of fighting, they were
received and repelled by the experienced valour of the
Persian infantry, and obliged to take refuge within the
fortified strength of Sardis, where they imagined them¬
selves secure. The walls of that city bade defiance to the
rude art of attack, as then practised by the most warlike
nations. If the Persian army should invest it, the Lydians
4 H
Lvdia.
610
L Y 1)
L Y N
Lydiat
Lydius
Lapis.
were provided with provisions for several years ; and there
was reason to expect that in a few months, nay even
weeks, they would receive such assistance from Egypt,
Babylonia, and Greece, to which countries Ihey had al¬
ready sent ambassadors, as would oblige the Persians to
raise the siege.
The Lydian ministers despatched into Greece met with
great sympathy from the Spartans. That people were
particularly observant of the faith of treaties; and whilst
they punished their enemies with unexampled severity,
they behaved with generous compassion towards those
whom they had once accepted as allies. They imme¬
diately resolved therefore to send speedy and effectual re¬
lief to Croesus; and for this purpose they assembled their
troops, made ready their vessels, and prepared every thing
necessary for the expedition. The valour of the Spartans
might perhaps have upheld the sinking empire of Lydia;
but before their armament set sail, Croesus was no longer
a sovereign. Notwithstanding the strength of Sardis, that
city had been taken by storm on the twentieth day of the
siege ; the walls having been scaled in a quarter which,
appearing altogether inaccessible, was too carelessly guard¬
ed. This was effected by the enterprise of Hyreades, a
Mede, who accidentally observed a sentinel descend part
of the rock in order to recover his helmet. Hyreades was
a native of the mountainous province of Mardia, and, being
accustomed to clamber over the dangerous precipices of
his native country, resolved to try his activity in passing
the rock upon which he had discovered the Lydian. The
design was more easily accomplished than he had reason
to expect; emulation and success encouraged the bravest
of the Persians to follow his example; these were sup¬
ported by great numbers of their countrymen ; the garrison
of Sardis was surprised, the citadel stormed, and the rich
capital of Lower Asia subjected to the vengeful rapacity
of an indignant conqueror. Thus ended the ancient king¬
dom of Lydia, which continued subject to the Persians
until they in their turn were conquered by the Macedo¬
nians.
LYDIAT, Thomas, a learned English divine, was born
in 1572, and educated at Oxford. About the year 1609,
he became acquainted with Dr James Usher, afterwards
archbishop of Armagh, who carried him to Ireland. He
studied at Dublin College for about two years, after which
he returned to England; and the rectory of Alkrington
becoming vacant, he was presented to it. But at length,
being bound for the debts of a near relation, which he found
himself unable to pay, having before spent his patrimony
in printing several books, he was sent to prison, and con¬
fined at Oxford, in the King’s Bench, and elsewhere, un¬
til Sir William Boswell, a generous patron of learned men,
Dr Robert Pink, warden of New College, Bishop Usher,
and Dr Laud, discharged the debt. In the civil wars he
suffered much in his rectory of Alkrington from the par¬
liamentary party, by whom he was four times pillaged to
the value of at least L.70, and even forced for a quarter
of a year together to subsist on the bounty of others. He
wrote some pieces in English, and several works in Latin,
on chronology, and natural history; and died in 1646.
LYDIUS Lapis, in the natural history of the ancients,
the name of the stone used by way of touchstone for the
trial of gold and silver, and called by some Heraclius lapis.
Both of these names were also applied by the ancients to
the loadstone ; and hence has arisen no small misunder¬
standing of 'their works. Pliny has observed, that both
the loadstone and touchstone were at times called Lydius
and Heraclius lapis.
The true lapis Lydius, or touchstone, was anciently
found only in the river Tmolus ; but it was afterwards dis¬
covered in other places, and is now very common in many
of the German rivers. The ancients give us very remark-
!J1
able and circumstantial accounts of the uses they made of Lvd
it; and it is plain that, by means of it, they were able to i”6'
discern the alloys of gold with very great exactness. We Wceus
at present use several different stones under this name
and for the same purpose. In Italy, a green marble called ^
verdello is most frequently employed ; and with us small
pieces of basalt.
LYDNEY, a town of the county of Gloucester, in the
hundred of Blideslow, on the ■western side of the Severn,
123 miles from London. It was formerly a Roman sta¬
tion, and more extensive than at present. The market
was held on Wednesday, but has of late years disappeared.
In the neighbourhood are extensive iron and coal mines.
The parish, including the chapelry of Aylburton, contain¬
ed a population amounting in 1801 to 1032, in 1811 to
1160, in 1821 to 1393, and in 1831 to 1534.
mg
LYME-REG1S, a borough and market town of the coun¬
ty of Dorset, in the hundred of Whitchurch, 143 miles
from London. It stands on the side of a steep hill, over¬
looking the sea, and has a small artificial harbour, called
the Cobbe, secure for vessels of small tonnage. It has
beeiv much frequented of late years for the purposes of
sea-bathing, and appropriate institutions for the accommo¬
dation of visitors have been established. It is an ancient
borough, and previously to the passing of the reform act
returned two members to parliament, but now elects only
one. There is a well-supplied market on Friday. The
population amounted in 1801 to 1451, in 1811 to 1925, in
1821 to 2269, and in 1831 to 2621.
LYMINGTON, a market and borough town of the
county of Hants, in the parish of Boldre, in the New
Forest. It stands on a creek about half a mile from the
sea. It is pleasantly situated on the brow and declivity
of a gentle hill, looking towards the Isle of Wight; and
many of the houses are highly respectable in appearance.
It has been lately frequented by visitors for the purpose
of sea-bathing. It is a corporation, and returns, as before
the recent law, two members to parliament; but other
places in the vicinity are added to make up the proper
constituency. The population amounted in 1801 to 2378,
in 1811 to 2641, in 1821 to 3164, and in 1831 to 3361.
LYMPH, a fine colourless fluid, separated in the body
from the mass of blood, and contained in peculiar vessels
called lymphatics.
LYMPHJEA were artificial caves or grottoes amongst
the Romans, furnished with a great many tubes, canals,
and various hydraulic apparatus, through which the water
gushed out unexpectedly upon the spectators whilst they
were admiring the beautiful arrangement of the shell-work
in the grotto.
LYMPH ATI was a name given by the Romans to
such as were seized with madness. It is supposed to be
used for Nymphati, because the ancients imagined that
every person who had the misfortune to see a nymph was
instantly struck with frenzy. Lymphati may indeed sig¬
nify madmen, as derived from lympha, water, over which
element the nymphs were thought to preside; but'it ap¬
pears most likely that distracted people were called lyrn-
phati, from the circumstance of madmen being affected
with the hydrophobia, or dread of water, after the bite of
a mad dog; for this peculiarity, in cases of canine mad¬
ness, was not unknown to the Romans.
LYNCEUS, in fabulous history, one of the fifty sons of
iEgeus, married Hypermnestra, one of the fifty daughters
of Danaus.
Lynceus, in fabulous history, one of the Argonauts
who accompanied Jason in the expedition to Colchis to
obtain the golden fleece. He was of great use to the Ar¬
gonauts, by enabling them to avoid the sand-banks and
rocks which they found in their way. The poets say that
Lynceus had so piercing a sight that it could not only
aw
Col
Th
kin
of
aim
and
I
of
aim
rigl
sea,
sels
win1
mo
ket-
are
vert
and
mar
StJ
Eng
•arg
besi
diss'
in 1
13,S
L
mar
was
acr
and
wit!
fore
golc
dan
and
rani
bolt
mis!
sou
the
Lyt
L Y O
L Y O 611
com
dere
vnci penetrate to the bottom of the sea, but even to the shades
below. Some mythologists suppose that this fable arose
from the skill of Lynceus in observing the stars, and
in Kig discovering the mines of gold and silver concealed in the
earth.
LYNCURIUM, a stone believed to be the same with
the tourmaline. The name is derived from lynx,
and bvgov, urine.
LYNCURIUS Lapis, a stone which was supposed ca¬
pable of producing mushrooms.
LYNDHURST, a township and chapelry in the parish
of Minstead, in the county of Hampshire. It is situated
in one of the most beautiful parts of the New Forest,
nine miles from Southampton, and eighty-six from Lon¬
don. The forest is about forty miles in compass, contain¬
ing several towns and villages, with thirty-six churches,
and, though laid waste as a hunting ground by William the
Conqueror, is in a great part now fertile and productive.
The pleasing town of Lyndhurst may be considered as a
kind of metropolis of the New Forest. It gives the title
of a baron to a late lord chancellor. The inhabitants
amounted in 1801 to 882, in 1811 to 1015, in 1821 to 1170,
and in 1831 to 1236.
' LYNN-REGIS, a sea-port, market-town, and borough
of the county of Norfolk, in the hundred of Freebridge,
ninety-seven miles from London. It is situgrted on the
right bank of the river Ouse, about eight miles from the
sea. The harbour is capable of receiving 300 sail of ves¬
sels. From its situation at the mouth of a long river, it
is advantageously placed for exporting the productions of
the soil, and for conveying to a large district the foreign
commodities they require. There is a large quantity of
wine imported from Portugal and Spain, and of hemp,
wood, flax, and other articles from the Baltic. The mar¬
ket-place is very extensive and handsome; the quays for
landing wine are convenient; and though some of the streets
are narrow, it is on the whole a well-built town. It is go¬
verned by a mayor, high steward, recorder, and aldermen,
and returns two members to parliament. There are good
markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The principal church,
St Margaret’s, is one of the largest parochial churches in
England. It was erected in 1160, and repaired and en¬
larged in 1741. There are two other churches or chapels,
besides places of worship for the several descriptions of
dissenters. The population amounted in 1801 to 10,096,
in 1811 to 10,259, in 1821 to 12,253, and in 1831 to
13,370.
LYON King of Arms. This office is of great anti¬
quity and respect in Scotland; and although the precise
date of its institution is unknown, yet it must have been as
early as the introduction of armorial figures as hereditary
marks of gentility and distinction into this country, which
was in the twelfth century. The regalia of this officer are,
a crown of gold, with a crimson velvet cap, a gold tassel,
; and an ermine lining ; a velvet robe reaching to his feet,
! with the arms of the kingdom embroidered thereon, be¬
fore and behind, in the proper tincturesa triple row of
gold chains round his neck, with an oval gold medal pen¬
dant thereto, on one side of which is the royal bearing,
and on the other St Andrew with his cross enamelled in
proper colours, and a baton of gold enamelled green, pow¬
dered with the badges of the kingdom. The Lord Lyon’s
rank is superior to that of any other king of arms, as he
holds his office immediately from the sovereign by com¬
mission under the great seal; whereas the kings at arms in
I England are deputies to the Earl Marshal, and act under
his authority. Formerly Scotland was divided into two
I provinces, the one on the north, and the other on the
I south side of the Forth ; and these provinces were under
the management of two deputies appointed by the Lord
Lyon, to superintend the execution of all the business of
his office. Before the revolution, the Lord Lyon, upon his
admission to office, was solemnly crowned by the sove¬
reign or his commissioner, in presence of the nobility, the
officers of state, and other great men, after a suitable ser¬
mon preached in the royal chapel; and his crown was of
the same form with the imperial crown of the kingdom.
On solemn occasions he wears the regalia above described;
at all other times he wears the oval gold medal or badge
on his breast, suspended by a broad green ribbon. Fie
has the absolute disposal of all the offices in his own court,
and of the places of heralds and pursuivants. The mes¬
sengers at arms throughout Scotland are also created by
him, and are amenable to his jurisdiction ; and the powers
vested in him by his commission are the same with those
of the sovereign in all matters relative to the marks of
gentility. See Heraldry.
LYONET, Peter, an ingenious naturalist, and mem¬
ber of several learned societies, was born at Maestricht,
and descended from a very ancient and respectable family
of Lorraine. He had scarcely attained his seventh year
when he displayed an uncommon strength and agility in
all bodily exercises; but he was not less diligent in the
improvement of his mind. Being placed at the Latin school,
he learned chronology, and exercised himself in Latin,
Greek, and French poetry, as also in Hebrew, logic, and
the Cartesian physics. I4e was particularly fond of the
study of languages, of which he understood no less than
nine, living and dead. Having entered the university of
Leyden, he studied the Newtonian philosophy, geometry,
and algebra; but his father, who was a clergyman, desiring
that he should apply himself to divinity, he reluctantly
abandoned the former studies, his passion for which was
not to be easily overcome. At the same time he applied
himself to anatomy, and also to music and drawing. He
afterwards began to practise sculpture, and executed se¬
veral pieces in wood, some of which are preserved, and
have been greatly admired by the artists. He then betook
himself to drawing portraits of his friends from life, in which,
after three or four months’ practice, he became a great pro¬
ficient. Having attained the degree of candidate in divi¬
nity, he resolved to study law, to which he applied himself
with so much zeal, that he was promoted at the end of the
first year. Having arrived at the Hague, he undertook
the study of deciphering, and became secretary of ciphers,
translator of the Latin and French languages, and patent-
master to their High Mightinesses. Meanwhile, having
taken a strong liking to the study of insects, he undertook
to give an historical description of such as are found about
the Hague, and with that view collected materials for se¬
veral volumes; and having invented a method of drawing
adapted thereto, he enriched this work with a great num¬
ber of plates, universally admired by all connoisseurs. In
the year 1724 was printed, at the Hague, a French transla¬
tion of a German work entitled the Theology of Insects,
by Mr Lesser. Love of truth induced Mr Lyonet to defer
the publication of his description above mentioned, and to
make some observations on that work, to which he added
two beautiful plates, engraved from his designs. This
performance caused his merit to be universally known. The
celebrated M. de Reaumur had this translation reprint¬
ed at Paris, not so much on account of the work itself,
as of Mr Lyonet’s observations; and bestowed upon it,
as did also many other authors, the highest encomiums.
He afterwards executed drawings of the fresh-water poly¬
pus for Mr Trembley’s beautiful work, 1744. The inge¬
nious Wandelaar had engraved the first five plates, when
Mr Lyonet, who had never witnessed this operation, con¬
cerned at the difficulties he experienced in getting the re¬
maining eight finished in the superior style he required,
resolved to perform the task himself. He accordingly
took a lesson of one hour from Mr Wandelaar, engraved
Lyonet.
612
L Y O
L Y 0
^Lyonet three or four small plates, and immediately began upon the
work himself, which he executed in such a manner as at¬
tracted the highest praise, both from Mr Trembley and
from many other artists, particularly the celebrated Van
Gool,' who declared that the performance astonished not
only the amateurs, but also the most experienced artists.
In 1748 he was admitted a member of the Royal Society
of London. In 1749 he began, by mere chance, his col¬
lection of horns and shells, which, according to the uni¬
versal testimony of all travellers and amateurs who visited it,
became the most beautiful, and certainly one of the most va¬
luable, in Europe. In 1753 he was chosen a member of the
Dutch Society of Sciences at Haerlem, then recently esta¬
blished; and in 1757, after the celebrated M. le Cat, pro¬
fessor of anatomy and surgery, had seen Mr Lyonet’s Traite
Anatomique de la Chenille qui range le Bois de Saule, with
the drawings belonging to it (a work which was afterwards
published), he was elected member of the Royal Academy
of Sciences of Rome, of which M. le Cat was perpetual
secretary. After the publication of this treatise, he be¬
came, in 1760, member of the Royal Academy of Sciences
of Berlin; in 1761, of the Imperial Academy of Natura¬
lists ; and, in 1762, of the Imperial Academy of Sciences
at St Petersburg. In order to enable such as might be
desirous of following him in his intricate and astonishing
discoveries respecting the structure of this animal, MrLy-
onet published, in the Transactions of the Dutch Society
of Sciences at Haerlem, a description and plate (as he after¬
wards did in French at the beginning of his Traite Anato¬
mique) of the instrument and tools he had invented for
the purpose of dissection, and likewise of the method he
had used to ascertain the degree of strength of his magni¬
fying glasses. But notwithstanding all his labours, which
were considerably increased by the extensive correspond¬
ence which he had for many years carried on with several
learned persons, he still found means to set apart a large
proportion of his time for the immediate service of his
country ; but he was not fortunate enough to get any other
recompense for his exertions than sorrow and disappoint¬
ment. During the last fifteen or twenty years of his life,
Mr Lyonet added to the valuable treasure he had already
collected of natural curiosities, a superb cabinet of paint¬
ings, consisting of more than 560 performances, amongst
which are many of the most eminent works of the first
Dutch masters. His object in doing so was to procure him¬
self some amusement during the latter part of his life
when old age and infirmities had weakened his powers'w!!!
and set bounds to his activity. He had always indeed
accustomed himself to employment, insomuch that he
wrote some pieces of Dutch poetry ; and this disposition
remained with him until within a fortnight of his death
when he was attacked with an inflammation in the chest*
which, though apparently cured, proved in the end the
cause of his death. He died at the Hague in January
1789, aged eighty-three years, leaving behind him a most
estimable character.
LYONS, or Lyon, an arrondissement of the department
of the Rhone, in France, 531 square miles in extent. It
comprehends sixteen cantons, which are divided into 128
communes, and contains 225,670 inhabitants. The capi¬
tal is the city of the same name, built by the Romans be¬
fore the Christian era, and at present, next to Paris, the
most important city in the French dominions. It is on a
peninsula formed by the junction of the rivers Saone and
Rhone ; the quays on whose banks arej the most striking
parts of the city, which, though built since the revolu¬
tionary destruction of it, has scarcely any erections worthy
of much admiration; but some of the numerous bridges
over the two rivers are striking objects. The most re¬
markable buildings are the Saracenic cathedral, the hotel
de ville, and the hospital called hotel de Dieu. There is
an establishment for education, consisting of a primary and
secondary school of great repute, with the finest provin¬
cial library in France, consisting of about 120,000 volumes,
with which are connected a museum, an observatory, a
botanical garden, and a veterinary institution. Abundance
of Roman antiquities are to be seen in the city and its vi¬
cinity. The population is at present about 140,000 per¬
sons, but it includes the commune. The chief occupation
is the manufacturing of silk goods, velvets, satins, and all
other kinds of the same elegant fabrication. There are,
besides, as appears by the statement below, manufacturers
of cotton, woollen, and leather goods, as well as of gold
lace, jewellery, paper, and a variety of chemical prepa¬
rations, and of perfumery. Lyons is remarkable as the
birth-place of the Emperors Claudius and Caracalla, and
of the poet Sidonius Apollinaris ; and, in modern times,
of the sculptor Coisevor, of the naturalist Jussieu, and of
the antiquarian Spon. It is in long. 4. 44. E., and lat. 45.
45. N.
■ r'
T
was
of 2
111,
the i
logra
i;
logUI
and;
L1
used
with
greai
dies
term
that
to as
Gree
signi
the r
four
A Statement of the Operative Population of the City of Lyons, distinguishing the several Trades and Manufactures in
which the same are engaged, and the number actually employed in each, exclusively of their Families when the same are
not employed in any Trade or Manufacture.
Description.
Silk manufacturers 
Boot and shoe makers.
Printers 
Tailors 
Hatters 
Metal founders 
Makers of tule 
Jewellers 
Joiners 
Masons 
Carpenters 
Porters 
Bakers 
Tin-smiths 
Curriers 
Carry forward,
Numbers Employed.
8,000
400
120
400
300
50
100
150
300
150
100
200
150
50
Masters. Journeymen.; Women. I Children.
8,000
2,000
1,400
1,000
800
600
300
200
3,000
1,200
1,200
800
300
400
300
10,470
21,500
7,000
4,000
1,800
3,000
2,000
400
500
250
600
200
200
500
200
120
70
12,000
2,000
700
1,600
1,500
600
400
500
1,500
800
600
700
400
250
150
20,840
23,700
Total.
35,000
8.400
4,020
6,000
4,600
1,650
1,300
1,100
5.400
2,350
2,100
2,000
1,100
920
570
76,510
fourt
thef
and i
othei
hads
and i
matt
Men
byh
pheu
latte
it to
Thel
thor
killei
have
np a
ingi
exqn
pries
fhis
theii
and
lyre
The
)c
,vra
III
yre.
L Y R
L Y R
Description.
Brought forward.
Hairdressers 
Dyers 
Cartwrights 
Plasterers 
Butchers 
Coopers 
Smiths 
Saddlers 
Stone-masons 
Marble-workers 
Scale-makers 
Turners 
Locksmiths 
Un enumerated 
Total,.
Numbers Employed.
Masters.
Journeymen.
10,470
300
70
100
80
300
100
100
80
20
40
50
80
150
3,000
14,940
21,500
400
400
300
300
400
200
250
200
150
100
100
100
400
5,000
29,800
Women.
20,840
150
150
100
100
300
100
100
100
30
40
60
80
200
4,500
26,850
Children.
23,700
200
250
200
300
500
200
250
200
50
100
120
150
400
8,000
34,620
Total.
76,510
1,050
870
700
780
1,500
600
750
580
250
280
330
410
1,150
20,500
106,260
Tf
ras
if 2/
111,5
hen
ogra
L\
lemii
ogue
nd i
LI
ised
dth
;reat
best
ermt
hat i
a as
Ireel
ignii
hen
)ur s
aurtl
hefi
nd t
ther
ad s<
ndt
natti
derc
lyhi
iheui
alter
tto
Fheb
hor
ailed
'ave
>P at
ngit
!xqu!
>fies'
Oils
iieir
vre
fhe
drtioi
The quantity of silk manufactured during the year 1835,
was 743,125 kilogrammes. The returns show an excess
of 24,422 kilogrammes over the quantity of 1833, and
141,516 kilogrammes over that of 1824, which latter was
the most prosperous year during the restoration. The ki¬
logramme is equal to 2 lbs. 8 oz. 3 dwts. 2 grs. troy weight.
LYRA, in Astronomy, a constellation in the northern
hemisphere. The number of its stars, in Ptolemy’s cata¬
logue, is ten; in Tycho's eleven; in Hevelius’s seventeen;
md in the Britannic catalogue twenty-one.
LYRE, a musical instrument of the stringed kind, much
jsed by the ancients. Concerning the number of strings
with which this instrument was furnished, there has been
*reat controversy. Some assert that it had only three ; that
the sounds of the two remote were acute, and that of the in¬
termediate one a mean between these two extremes; and
that Mercury, the inventor, compared these three chords
:o as many seasons of the year, which were all that the
Greeks reckoned, namely, summer, winter, and spring, as¬
signing the acute to the first, the grave to the second, and
:he mean to the third. Others assert that the lyre had
bur strings; that the interval between the first and the
fourth was an octave; that the second was a fourth from
;he first, and the fourth the same distance from the third,
md that from the second to the third was a tone. An¬
other class of writers contend that the lyre of Mercury
lad seven strings. Nicomachus, a follower of Pythagoras,
and the chief of them, gives the following account of the
matter: “ The lyre made of the shell was irtvented by
Mercury ; and the knowledge of it, as it was constructed
by him of seven strings, was transmitted to Orpheus ; Or¬
pheus taught the use of it to Thamyris and Linus; the
latter of whom taught it to Hercules, who communicated
lit to Amphion the Theban, who built the seven gates of
Thebes to the seven strings of the lyre.” The same au¬
thor proceeds to relate, “ that Orpheus was afterwards
killed by the Thracian women ; that they are reported to
have cast his lyre into the sea, which was afterwards thrown
up at Antissa, a city of Lesbos ; that certain fishers find¬
ing it, brought it to Terpander, who carried it into Egypt,
I exquisitely improved, and, showing it to the Egyptian
priests, assumed to himself the honour of its invention.”
This difference amongst authors seems to have arisen from
their confounding together the Egyptian Thoth or Hermes,
md the Greek Mercury. The invention of the primitive
lyre with three strings was due to Hermes the Egyptian.
The lyre attributed to the Greek Mercury is described by
dmost all the poets as an instrument of seven strings. Vin-
cenzio Galilei has collected the various opinions of the
Greek writers who have mentioned the invention of the
chelys or testudo; and Mr Spence did the same thing in
a very circumstantial but ludicrous manner. “Horace
talks of Mercury as a wonderful musician, and represents
him with a lyre. There is a ridiculous old legend relating
to this invention, which informs us, that Mercury, after
stealing some bulls from Apollo, retired to a secret grotto
which he used to frequent, at the foot of a mountain in
Arcadia. Just as he was going in, he found a tortoise
feeding at the entrance of his cave; he killed the poor
creature, and perhaps ate the flesh of it. As he was di¬
verting himself with the shell, he was mightily pleased
with the noise it gave from its concave figure. He had
possibly been cunning enough to find out, that a thong
pulled strait and fastened at each end, when struck with
the finger, made a sort of musical sound. However that
was, he went immediately to work, and cut several thongs
out of the hides he had lately stolen, and fastened them
as tight as he could to the shell of this tortoise; and, in
playing with them, made a new kind of music with them,
to divert himself in his retreat.” This, considered only as
an account of the first invention of the lyre, is not alto¬
gether unnatural. The most ancient representations of
this instrument agree very well with the account of its in¬
vention. The lyre in particular on the old celestial globes
was represented as made of one entire shell of a tortoise;
and that of Amphion in the celebrated group of the Dirce
or Toro, in the Farnese palace at Rome, whicli is of Greek
sculpture, and very high antiquity, is figured in the same
manner. There have, however, been many other claim¬
ants to the invention of the seven-stringed lyre. For
though Mercury invented this instrument in the manner
already related, it is said he afterwards gave it to Apollo,
who was the first that played upon it with method, and
made it the constant companion of poetry. According to
Homer’s account of this transaction, in his hymn to Mer¬
cury, it was given by that god to Apollo, as a peace-offer¬
ing and indemnification for the oxen which Mercury had
stolen from him. Diodorus informs us, that Apollo soon
repenting of the cruelty with which he had treated Mar-
syas in consequence of their musical contest, broke the
strings of the lyre, and by that means put a stop fora time
to any further progress in the practice of the new instru¬
ment. “ The Muses,” adds he, “afterwards added to this
instrument the string called mese ; Linus, that of lichanos ;
and Orpheus and Thamyris, those strings which are nam¬
ed hypate and parhypate. Again, many ancient and ere-
614
L Y S
L Y S
Lyric dible authors inform us, that, before the time of Terpander,
Poetry tiie Grecjail ]yre }lad only four strings ; and, if we may
Lvsias. be^eve Suidas, it remained in this state 856 years, from
J-l-Os t*016 of Amphion, until Terpander added to it three
new strings, which extended the musical scale to a hepta¬
chord, or seventh, and supplied the player with two con¬
joint tetrachords. It was about 150 years after this period,
that Pythagoras is said to have added an eighth string to
the lyre, in order to complete the octave, which consisted
of two disjoint tetrachords. But Boetius gives a different
history of the scale, and informs us, that the system did
not long remain in such narrow7 limits as a tetrachord.
Choraebus, the son of Athis, or Atys, king of Lydia, added
a fifth string; Hyagnis, a sixth; Terpander, a seventh ;
and at length Lychaon of Samos, an eighth. But all these
accounts are irreconcileable with Homer’s hymn to Mer¬
cury, where the chelys or testudo, the invention of which
he ascribes to that god, is said to have had seven strings.
There are many claimants amongst the musicians of an¬
cient Greece to the strings afterwards added to these, by
which the scale, in the time of Aristoxenus, wras extended
to two octaves. Athenaeus more than once speaks of the
nine-stringed instrument; and Ion of Chios, a tragic and
lyric poet and a philosopher, who first recited his pieces
in the eighty-second Olympiad, 452 b. c. mentions, in
some verses quoted by Euclid, the ten-stringed lyre; a
proof that the third conjoint tetrachord wTas added to the
scale in his time, which was about fifty years after Pytha¬
goras is supposed to have constructed the octachord. The
different claimants amongst the Greeks to the same musi¬
cal discoveries, only prove that music was cultivated in
different countries, and that the inhabitants of each coun¬
try invented and improved their own instruments; some
of which happening to resemble those of other parts of
Greece, rendered it difficult for historians to avoid attri¬
buting the same invention to different persons. Thus the
single flute was ascribed to Minerva and to Marsyas; the
syrinx or fistula, to Pan and to Cybele ; and the lyre or
cithara, to Mercury, Apollo, Amphion, Linus, and Or¬
pheus. Indeed, the mere addition of a string or two to an
instrument without a neck was so obvious and easy, that
it is scarcely possible not to conceive that many people
may have done it at the same time.
LYRIC Poetry was such as the ancients sung to the
lyre or harp. It was originally employed in celebrating
the praises of gods and heroes, and its characteristic was
sweetness. The author or inventor of it is, however, un¬
known. It was much cultivated by the Greeks; and Ho¬
race w as the first who attempted it in the Latin language.
Anacreon, Alcaeus, Stesichorus, Sappho, and Plorace, were
the most celebrated lyric poets of antiquity.
LYRODI, amongst the ancients, a kind of musicians
who played on the lyre, and at the same time sung. This
appellation was also given to such as made it their em¬
ployment to sing lyric poems composed by others.
LYSANDRIA, a Samian festival, which was celebrat¬
ed with games and sacrifices in honour of the Lacedaemo¬
nian general Lysander. It was anciently called Herea;
but this name the Samians abolished by a public decree.
LYSIARCH, an ancient magistrate, who superintend¬
ed the sacred games, and presided in matters of religion,
in the province of Lycia. He was created in a council
consisting of deputies from all the provincial cities, twenty-
three in number. The lysiarchs were heads both of the
council and the pontiffs of the province.
LYSIAS, one of the most celebrated of the Greek ora¬
tors, was born at Athens 458 b. c., and died, at the age of
eighty, b. c. 378. He was the contemporary of some of the
greatest men that Athens ever produced, of Thucydides
and Xenophon, of Euripides and Sophocles. He was the
son of Cephalus, a Syracusan, and is himself sometimes
said to have been a native of this city; but he was born at
Athens, whither his father was induced to emigrate by the
advice of his friend Pericles. Cephalus was distinguished
both for his great riches and for his virtues. It was at his
house that Plato placed the scene of the most celebrat¬
ed of his works, his Dialogues on the Republic. Cephalus
no doubt procured the best masters to forward the educa¬
tion of his son; but Lysias left Athens at a very early
age (b. c. 443), and proceeded to Thurium in the south
of Italy, to which place the Athenians were sending a
colony. He was accompanied by the two celebrated his¬
torians Herodotus and Thucydides, and remained there
for many years, during which time he is said to have
studied the art of eloquence under two Syracusans, Tisias
and Nisias. After the unsuccessful expedition of the
Athenians to Sicily (b. c. 413), it would appear that Thu¬
rium, w7ith their other dependencies in Magna Graecia,
refused to submit any longer to Athenian supremacy.
All those w7ho remained wrell affected towards the pa¬
rent state were obliged to fly, and Lysias on that occa¬
sion (b. c. 411) returned with his brother Polemarchus
to Athens. Here he employed himself in commercial
pursuits, and we are told that the two brothers employ¬
ed one hundred and twenty slaves in the manufacture
of shields. We do not hear that he took any active part
in the stormy politics of Athens, now approaching the
conclusion of her war with Sparta. Athens fell into the
hands of Lysander, and thirty tyrants were appointed to
administer the affairs of the city. The patriotism and
riches of Polemarchus and of his brother Lysias marked
them out as fit objects for persecution to the tyrants.
Polemarchus was put to death, and Lysias with great
difficulty saved his life by flying to Megara (b. c. 404).
Here he engaged in the conspiracy to restore the inde¬
pendence of his country, and is said to have furnished
three hundred men at his own expense to assist Thrasy-
bulus. The tyrants were expelled, and Lysias returned
to Athens (b. c. 403), where he commenced his new career
as an orator. It does not appear that he was much em¬
ployed in the assemblies of the people, but that he con¬
fined himself principally to writing accusations or defaices,
at the desire of such persons as had occasion to impeach
the conduct of others, or to defend their own. As a re¬
ward for his services, Thrasybulus proposed to the people
that he should be admitted to the freedom of the state;
but Archinus procured its rejection, because the proposal
had not been made first to the senate, as the law required.
Plutarch states that there were extant in his time no less
than 475 orations ascribed to Lysias, of which only 235
were genuine, according to Dionysius. We are likewise
told that he composed institutions of oratory, epistles, and
panegyrics; but of all these writings only thirty-four ora¬
tions have come down to us, some of which are in an im¬
perfect state. The pleadings of Lysias contain a curious
detail of the domestic manners and internal economy of
the Greeks. Dionysius of Halicarnassus has written a
critique on the works and style of Lysias; and, according
to him, the orator was particularly distinguished for sim¬
plicity and precision, as well as for the fidelity with which
he depicted the manners of the age. Quintilian com¬
pares him to a clear and pure rivulet rather than to a
majestic river, whilst Cicero considers him as the model
of a perfect orator. The earliest edition of the orations of
Lysias is that of Aldus, 1513 ; but the best is that of Tay¬
lor, Gr. et Lat. London, 1739, and of Reiske, Leipzig, 1772.
The latest edition is by Foertoch (Lips. 1829); and he
has also published separately, Observationes criticce in Ly-
sice Orationes, Lips. 1829. See also Franzius, Dissertatio
inaug. de Lysia oratore Attico- Greece scripta, Norimb. 1828.
There is an English translation of the Orations by Gillies,
London, 1778.
i LsilS.
'"•‘Yv
tH-
a soi
d!
mf
Ca
am
for
ma
wit
exf
ilut
be
dea
for
wra
fore
per:
j (viii
call
orig
beei
kille
trea
that
as 1)
up!
marl
Hist
ioG
hiss
alon
occi
nece
of tl
repr
the i
soor
heb
arou
ingt
his s
riagi
(Pai
the<
ed ii
hisp
varii
to A
Anti
Lydi
fertr
He
with
was
feati
Lysi
the
nof
hist
sima
from
after
Lysi
«6.
ales,
that
Of j!
tahii
him.
L Y S
L Y T
615
son^
»f A
siint| LYSIMACHUS, one of the generals of Alexander, was
us., son of Agathocles, one of the king’s body guard, but of noble
descent. He appears to have been one of the noblest
characters that the age of Alexander, so fertile in great
men, produced. He was the pupil of the philosopher
Callisthenes, who attended Alexander in his expedition ;
and when the king ordered Callisthenes to be put to death
for some slight offence, by the most cruel tortures, Lysi-
machus enabled his friend to escape by furnishing him
with poison. (See Callisthenes.) It might have been
expected that Alexander would have admired such con¬
duct, but it was far otherwise. He ordered Lysimachus to
be exposed to the fury of a lion, and that he should suffer a
death somewhat resembling that which had been intended
for his friend. The bravery of Lysimachus saved him :
wrapping his cloak round his arm, he pushed it into the
throat of the lion, and laid it dead at his feet. Alexander
forgave him, and attached him more particularly to his own
person. This story, which is told by Justin (xv. 3), Pliny
(viii. 16), and Seneca (Z)e Ira, 3, 17, et De Clem. 1, 25), is
called fabulous by Curtius (viii. 1, 22), and is said to have
originated from the circumstance of Lysimachus having
Jieen attacked by a lion in the forests of Syria, and having
killed it without assistance. From this moment Alexander
treated Lysimachus as his friend, and was so fond of him,
that having accidentally wounded him on the forehead
as he was dismounting, he took off his diadem and bound
up his head with his own hands, presaging, as Justin re¬
marks, the royal rank to which he would afterwards attain.
History is then silent respecting Lysimachus till the death
of Alexander (b. c. 323), when we find him receiving, as
his share of the kingdom, Thrace, and the countries placed
along the coast of the Euxine (Justin, xiii. 4). But Seuthes
occupied Thrace with a powerful army, and it was found
necessary to conquer him before he could take possession
of the kingdom. In this he was successful, and also in
repressing a rebellion which had broken out at Callatia, on
the coast of the Black Sea (Diodor, xviii. 14; xix. 73). No
sooner did he feel secure of his dominions, however, than
he began to attack the Odrysae, Getae, and other nations
around; but he was defeated and taken prisoner, accord¬
ing to some historians, though, according to others, it was
his son. Be this as it may, his daughter vras given in mar¬
riage to the king of the country for releasing the captive
(Pausan. i. ix.). The ambition of Antigonus began to alarm
the other successors of Alexander, and a league was enter¬
ed into by Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus, to reduce
his power within due bounds. The war was carried on with
various success for several years. Lysimachus proceeded
to Asia (b. c. 302) to attack Antigonus, who was then at
Antigonea in Syria, and in his passage subdued Phrygia,
Lydia, and other districts, taking possession of many strong
fortresses, where Antigonus had collected much treasure.
He was joined by Seleucus, who arrived from Babylon
with a considerable body of troops, and a decisive battle
was fought (b. c. 301) at Ipsus, where Antigonus was de¬
feated and killed (Justin, xv. 4). In addition to Thrace,
Lysimachus obtained Bithynia, and some countries along
the Hellespont. Yet Demetrius, son of Antigonus, did
not lose courage, but made constant attempts to recover
his dominions. A league was formed against him by Ly¬
simachus and Pyrrhus king of Epirus, and he was driven
from the greater part of Macedonia; but the two allies
afterwards disagreed, and Pyrrhus having been defeated,
Lysimachus assumed the title of king of Macedonia, b. c.
286. In his latter years he put to death his son Agatho¬
cles, at the suggestion of his second wife, who was afraid
that she herself and her children would fall into the hands
of Agathocles on the death of Lysimachus. Seleucus,
taking advantage of the odium which this act brought upon
lum, attacked Lysimachus, and having given him battle,
Lysimachus was killed, b. c. 281 (Pausan. i. x.; Justin, Lysippus
xvii. 1, 2). 11
LYSIPPUS, a celebrated Greek statuary, of the city 0fL>ttiiU>i.-
Sicyon, in the Peloponnesus, flourished about 324 b. c.
He was at first a worker in brass, but afterwards devoted
himself to statuary, studying nature, by the advice of Eu-
pompus, rather than following the manner of any master.
He excelled all those who had preceded him, in the nicety
of individual parts, and more particularly in the beauty of
the hair. He lessened the size of the head, which had been
exaggerated by the ancient sculptors, and made the body
more slim, so as to increase the appearance of the height-
lie used to say, that former sculptors represented men as
they should be, whilst he merely made them as they seem¬
ed to be. His reputation was such that his name was
included in the famous edict published by Alexander,
when he conferred on Apelles the sole right of painting his
form, on Lysippus that of executing it in bronze, and on
Pyrgoteles that of engraving it on precious stones. He is
said (Plin. xxxiv. 7) to have produced fifteen hundred
works of art, any one of which was sufficient to stamp him
as a man of talent. Of these we can only mention a few of
the most celebrated. There was one at Rome, the removal
of which from the baths of Agrippa to the palace of the
emperor, by order of Tiberius, had nearly caused a sedition.
The populace clamoured for its being replaced, and Tibe¬
rius did not deem it prudent to deny their request. It was
a statue called Apoxyomenos, representing, as its name im¬
plies, a man scraping himself in the bath with a strigilis,
an instrument to clean the body of the particles of sweat.
He executed many statues of Alexander, representing
him at different periods of his life ; and he so managed, that
a slight bend of the head, for which Alexander was remark¬
able, became rather a beauty than a deformity. One of
these statues was so much admired by Nero, that he caus¬
ed it to be covered with gold, to the great grief of all true
lovers of the art of sculpture. He executed a very fine
bronze statue of Cupid w ith a bow, for the inhabitants of
Thespis; also equestrian statues of twenty-five Macedonians
who fell at the passage of the Granicus, and which Me-
tellus caused to be transported to Rome. It has been
supposed, though without any clear proof, that the cele¬
brated horses of Venice formed part of this group. There
is a statue of Hercules in the Palazzo Pitti at Florence,
which bears his name, and has in every respect a strong re¬
semblance to the Farnese Hercules, excepting the position
of the legs(Jf«is. Pio-Clem. iii. p. 66). This likewise has
made it be supposed that the statue of the Palazzo Pitti
is a copy of the Hercules of Lysippus, and that the Far¬
nese is an imitation, on which Glycon thoughthe might en¬
grave his name, on account of the change he had made in
its position. Lysippus had as pupils his own sons, Dahip-
pus, Bedas, and Euthycrates (Plin. xxxiv. 8. See Muller,
Handbuch der Archceologie der Kunst, Breslau, 1830).
LY FT EL TON, Edward, Lord Lyttelton, keeper of
the great seal in the reign of Charles I. was eminent for
his probity and moderation at the commencement of that
monarch’s disputes with his subjects. Without forfeiting
his fidelity to the king, he preserved the esteem of the
parliament until the year 1644, when he was made colonel
of a regiment in the king’s army at York. He died in 1645.
Besides several of his speeches, which have been printed,
he wrote reports in the Common Pleas and Exchequer,
printed at London in 1683, in folio; several arguments
and discourses; and various other things.
Lyttelton, George Lord, eldest son of Sir Thomas
Lyttelton, descended from the great Judge Lyttelton, was
born in 1700, at seven months. The midwife, supposing
him to be dead, threwr him carelessly into the cradle, where,
had not some signs of life been noticed by one of the at¬
tendants, he might never have recovered. He received
^ the elements of his education at Eton school, where he
showed an early inclination to poetry. His pastoralsand some
other light pieces were originally written in that seminary
of learning. He was removed from thence to the univer¬
sity of Oxford, where he pursued his classical studies with
uncommon avidity, and sketched the plan of his Persian
Letters ; a work which afterwards procured him great re¬
putation, not only from the elegance of the language in
which the letters w^ere composed, but from the excellent
observations they contained on the manners of mankind.
In the year 1728, he set out on the tour of Europe ; and,
upon his arrival at Paris, accidentally became acquainted
with the Honourable MrPoyntz, then our minister at the
court of Versailles, who was so much struck with the extra¬
ordinary capacity of the young traveller, that he invited him
to his house, and employed him in many political negocia-
tions, which he executed with great judgment and fidelity.
Mr Lyttelton’s excellent conduct whilst on his travels
was a lesson of instruction to the rest of his countrymen.
Instead of lounging away his hours at the coffee-houses
frequented by the English, and adopting the fashionable
follies and vices of France and Italy, his time was passed
alternately in his library and in the society of men of rank
and literature. In this early part of his life, he wrote a
poetical epistle to Dr Ayscough, and another to Mr Pope,
both evincing singular taste and correctness.
After continuing a considerable time at Paris with Mr
Poyntz, who, to use his own words, behaved like a second
father to him, he proceeded to Lyons and Geneva; and
thence went to Turin, where he was honoured with flat¬
tering marks of attention by his Sardinian majesty. He
then visited Milan, Venice, and Genoa, and finally estab¬
lished himself at Rome, where he applied himself closely to
the study of the fine arts, and, even in that celebrated
metropolis, was allowed to be a perfect judge of painting,
sculpture, and architecture.
During his continuance abroad, he constantly corre¬
sponded with his father, Sir Thomas Lyttelton. Several
of his letters yet remain, and place his filial affection in a
very distinguished light. He soon afterwards returned
to his native country, and being elected representative for
the burgh of Ockhampton in Devonshire, he conducted
himself so much to the satisfaction of his constituents, that
they several times re-elected him for the same place, with¬
out putting him to the least expense.
About this period, he received great marks of friend¬
ship from Frederick prince of Wales, and was, in the year
1737, appointed principal secretary to his royal highness,
and continued in the strictest intimacy with him till the
time of his death. In the year 1742, he married Lucy, the
daughter of Mr Hugh Fortescue of Filleigh, in the county
of Devon ; a lady whose exemplary conduct, and uniform
practice of religion and virtue, established his conjugal hap¬
piness upon the most solid basis.
In 1744, he was appointed one of the lords commis¬
sioners of the Treasury; and, during his continuance in
that station, constantly exerted his influence in rewarding
merit and ability. He was the friend and patron of Field¬
ing, Thomson, Mallet, Young, Hammond, West, Pope, and
Voltaire. On the death of Thomson, who left his affairs
in a very embarrassed condition, Mr Lyttelton took that
poet’s sister under his protection. He revised the tragedy
of Coriolanus, to which that writer had not put the last
hand ; and brought it out at the theatre-royal, Covent
Garden, with a prologue of his own composition, in which
he so affectingly lamented the loss of that delightful bard,
that not only Mr Quin, who spoke the lines, but almost
the whole audience, spontaneously burst into tears.
In the beginning of the year 1746, his felicity was in¬
terrupted by the loss of his wife, who died in the twenty-
ninth year of her age, leaving him a son and daughter.
He wrote a monody on her death, which will be remem.
bered whilst conjugal affection and a taste for poetry exist
in this country.
His masterly observations on the conversion and apostle-
ship of St Paul were written at the desire ofMr Gilbert West,
in consequence of Mr Lyttelton’s asserting, that besides
all the proofs of the Christian religion which might be
drawn from the prophecies of the Old Testament, from the
necessary connection it has with the whole system of the
Jewish religion, from the miracles of Christ, and from the
evidence given of his resurrection by all the other apostles,
he thought the conversion of St Paul alone, duly consi¬
dered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove
that Christianity was a divine revelation. Mr West was
struck with the thought, and assured his friend, that so
compendious a proof would be of great use to convince
those unbelievers who would not attend to a longer series
of arguments; and time has shown that he was not mista¬
ken in his conjecture, as the tract is esteemed one of the
best defences of Christianity which has hitherto been pub¬
lished.
In 1754, he resigned his office of lord of the Treasury,
and was made cofferer to his majesty’s household, and
sworn a member of the privy council; previously to which,
he married a second time, Elizabeth, daughter of Field-
marshal Sir Robert Rich, a lady whose indiscreet con¬
duct gave him great uneasiness, and from whom he was
separated, by mutual consent, a few years after his mar¬
riage.
After being appointed chancellor, and under-treasurer
of the court of exchequer, he was, by letters-patent dated
the 19th of November 1757 (31 Geo. II.), created a peer
of Great Britain, by the style and title of Lord Lyttelton,
•baron of Frankley, in the county of Worcester. His
speeches on the Scotch and mutiny bills in the year 1747,
on the Jewish bill in 1753, and on the privilege of parlia¬
ment in 1763, showed sound judgment, powerful eloquence,
and inflexible integrity. During the last ten years he
lived chiefly in retirement, in the continual exercise of all
the virtues which ennoble private life. His last work was
Dialogues of the Dead, in which the morality of Fenelon
and the spirit of Fontenelle are happily united.
In the middle of July 1773, he was suddenly seized with
an inflammation of the bowels, which terminated in his
death, at his seat near Hagley, on the 22d of that month.
A complete collection of his works was published after
his decease, by his nephew, Mr George Ayscough.
617
M.
M A B
MAC
SI
MA liquid consonant, and the twelfth letter in the
9 alphabet. It has one unvaried sound, and is pro-
. nounced by striking the upper lip against the lower. In
this the pronunciation of the letter m agrees with that of
b, the only difference between the two consisting in a
little motion made in the nose in pronouncing m, and not
in b; and hence it happens that those who have taken cold,
ordinarily pronounce m for b, the nose in that case being
disabled from making the necessary motion. All conso¬
nants are formed with the aid of vowels ; but in m the vowel
precedes (cm), in b it follows (be), and m is never mute.
Quintilian observes, that the m sometimes ends Latin
words, but never Greek ones ; the Greeks in that case al¬
ways changing it into n, for the sake of the euphony. M
is also a numeral letter, and amongst the ancients it was
used for a thousand ; according to the verse,
M caput est numeri, quem scimus mille teneri.
When a dash is added on the top of it, as m, it signifies a
thousand times a thousand, or a million. M, as an abbre¬
viation, stands for Manlius, Marcus, Martins, and Mucius ;
M. A. signifies magister artium, or master of arts ; MS, ma¬
nuscript, and MSS, manuscripts. M, in astronomical tables,
and other things of that kind, is used for meridional or
southern, and sometimes for meridies or mid-day. M, in
medicinal prescription, is frequently used to signify a ma¬
niple or handful; and it is sometimes also put at the end
of a recipe, for misce, mingle, or for mixtura, a mixture ;
thus, m.f. julapium, signifies mix and make a julep. M, in
law, is the brand or stigma of a person convicted of man¬
slaughter, and admitted to the benefit of his clergy.
MAAT, John. See Blankof.
MABILLON, John, a learned writer of France in the
seventeenth century, was born at Perremonte, on the fron¬
tiers of Champagne, in the year 1632. He was educated
in the university of Rheims, and afterwards entered into
the abbey of the Benedictines of St Remy. In the year
1663 he was appointed keeper of the treasures and monu¬
ments of France at St Denis; but having unfortunately
broken a looking-glass, which was alleged to have belong¬
ed to Virgil, he desired leave of his superiors to quit an
employment which frequently obliged him to say things
he did not believe. Next year he went to Paris, and
proved very serviceable to Father d’Acheri, who was de¬
sirous of having some young monk who could assist him
in compiling his Spicilegium. This made Mabillon known.
Soon afterwards the congregation of Saint-Maur having
formed a design of publishing new editions of the Fathers,
revised from the manuscripts in the libraries of the Bene¬
dictines, Mabillon was charged with the edition of St Ber¬
nard, which he prepared with extraordinary diligence,
i After this he published many other works evincing great
capacity and industry. In 1682, he was employed by M.
Colbert in examining some ancient titles relating to the
royal family. In the year following the same minister
sent him into Germany, to search the archives and libra¬
ries of the ancient abbeys, for all that seemed calculated
to illustrate the history of the church in general, and that
of France in particular. Mabillon published an account
of this journey. In the year 1685 he undertook another
journey into Italy, by order of the king of France, and re¬
turned the year following with a very noble collection.
He placed in the king’s library above three thousand vo¬
lumes of rare books, printed and in manuscript, and com-
V0B. XIII.
Macao.
posed two volumes respecting the pieces which he had Macaire
discovered in that country. He was highly esteemed for
his virtues as well as his learning.
MACAIRE, a town of France, in the department of the
Gironde and arrondissement of Reolle, situated on the
right bank of the Garonne, where the tide ceases to operate
on that stream. It contains 1530 inhabitants.
MACAO, an island and town of China, belonging to the
Portuguese, and the only European settlement within the
limits of that empire. It was in consequence of the aid
afforded by the Portuguese to the Chinese against the pi¬
rates who infested their coasts, that the privilege of a set¬
tlement was conceded to them. At first the Chinese re¬
fused to trade with the Portuguese ; but being forced to
have recourse to their aid, and having by their means com¬
pelled the pirates to raise the siege of Canton, and pursued
them to Macao, which they took, most of the marauders
were put to death. This service being reported to the
emperor, he published an edict, by which the Portuguese
were to have possession of Macao, with the power of form¬
ing a settlement, which they gladly accepted. They ac¬
cordingly made choice of a peninsula, where they built a
town, and fortified it after the European manner; but the
Chinese have effectually provided for their own security,
by not allowing them any provisions except what they re¬
ceive through themselves. The peninsula on which the
town is built is connected with the mainland by a neck of
land not more than 100 yards in breadth. The territory
attached to it is about three miles in length, and half a
mile in breadth. The isthmus connecting it with the rest
of the island is crossed by a wall projecting on both sides
into the sea, and there the Chinese keep a gate and guard¬
house. Beyond this wall the Portuguese are seldom per¬
mitted to pass, so that their communications with the con¬
tinent are entirely in the power of the Chinese. Still the
possession of the place was of great service to the Portu¬
guese, who carried on a lucrative commerce with Japan,
by which Macao became one of the richest places in their
possessions. But since their expulsion from Japan, and
the other European nations shared in the Canton trade,
the place no longer enjoys its former prosperity.
The city of Macao is of considerable extent, the houses
being built of stone, and constructed on the European plan,
but without any attempt at exterior elegance, and the
streets narrow and irregular. The public buildings consist
of churches, convents, and the senate-house; the latter ter¬
minates the only spacious and level street of the town. The
governor’s house is situated on the beach, and near it is the
English factory, a plain commodious building. The har¬
bour has not a sufficient depth for vessels of great burden ;
and large ships generally anchor about six or seven miles
off the town, bearing west-north-west. It is defended by
several forts mounted with heavy cannon, and garrisoned
by Portuguese troops. There is a Portuguese custom¬
house and quay on the south side of the town, where all
ships, as they come into the bay, are obliged to send their
boats. The Chinese treat the Portuguese with great hau¬
teur, exacting duties sometimes in the port, and punishing
individuals under the Portuguese regime ; and the moment
any resistance is made, the supply of provisions is stopped
until harmony be restored. All sorts of provisions, vege¬
tables, and fruits are found at Macao in great abundance.
Long. 113. 32. E. Lat. 22. 10. N.
4 i
618
MAC
MAC
Macarca MACARC A, a market-town of the Austrian province of
II Dalmatia. It is a sea-port on the Adriatic, with a small
acassar. jjut. g00(j harbour, which is protected from the winds by
the islands Lessina and Brassa, opposite to it. The in¬
habitants are 1620, chiefly employed in the fisheries.
MACARIANS, in Ecclesiastical History, the followers
of Macarius, an Egyptian monk, who, towards the close
of the fourth century, was distinguished for his sanctity
and virtue. In his writings there are some superstitious
tenets, and also certain opinions which seem tainted with
Origenism. The name has also been applied to those who
adopted the sentiments of Macarius, a native of Ireland,
who about the close of the ninth century propagated in
France the error afterwards maintained by Averroes, that
one individual intelligence or soul performed the spiritual
and rational functions in all the human race.
MACARONIC, a kind of burlesque poetry, consisting
of a jumble of different languages, with words of the vulgar
tongue Latinized, and Latin words modernized. Maca¬
roni, amongst the Italians, as has been observed by Cselius
Rhodiginus, signifies a coarse clownish man ; and because
this kind of poetry is patched up out of several languages,
and full of extravagant words and combinations, the Ita¬
lians, amongst whom it took its rise, gave it the name of ma¬
caronic poetry. Others, however, derive the name a maca-
ronihus, from macaroons, a kind of confection made of meal
not boulted, sweet almonds, sugar, and the white of eggs,
and accounted a great dainty amongst the country people in
Italy ; which circumstance occasioned this kind of poetry,
which consists of Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, English,
and other languages, and is thus composed of various in¬
gredients, to be called by the same name or appellation.
Thus a bold fellow, in the macaronic style, says,
Enfilavi omnes scadrones et regimandos.
And the following is in the same vein ;
Archelos pistoliferos furiamque manantum,
Et grandem esmeutam quae inopinum facta ruelle est:
Toxinumque alto troublantem corda clochero, &c.
Theophilus Folengius, a Benedictine monk of Mantua, was
the first who invented, or at least cultivated, this kind of
verse. The best pieces of the Macaronic kind are, the
Ealdus of Folengio, and Macaronis Forza by Stefonio, a
Jesuit, amongst the Italians; and the Reatus veritabilis,
super terribili esmeuta Paisanarum de Ruellis, amongst the
French. The famous Rabelais first transferred the maca¬
ronic style out of Italian verse into French prose, and upon
this model formed some of the best things in his Panta-
gruel. We have but little in English in the macaronic style ;
and nothing scarce, excepting some little loose pieces col¬
lected in Camden’s remains. But the Germans and people
of the Netherlands have had their macaronic poets; for in¬
stance, the Certamen Catholicum cum Calvinistis of Marti-
nius Hamconius Frisius, which contains about 1200 verses,
all the words of which begin with the letter C.
MACASSAR, the chief settlement of the Dutch in the
island of Celebes, named by them first Rotterdam, and si¬
tuated on the south-west coast of the island. The fort is
about half a mile from the beach, opposite to the road,
where a pier extends which serves for unloading the ships,
and close to which there are fifteen or sixteen feet of water.
The walls of the fort are high and strong, being built of rock
stone. Without is a large plain, on the north side of which
is situated the town, where most of the Europeans reside.
The Chinese live all together in one street, which is named
after them. The Portuguese obtained permission to esta¬
blish themselves here in 1525 ; but they were expelled by
the Dutch in 1660, who hold the first and surrounding dis¬
trict in consequence of a treaty entered into with the native
prince. The English in 1815 established a factory, which,
however, they were soon under the necessity of abandon- jf
ing. Numerous Chinese are settled here, who carry on a
considerable trade with their native country. Macassar Macciy
was formerly an extensive kingdom, which, before its con- s-‘Yv
quest by the Dutch, comprehended a great extent of coast.
The Straits of Macassar separate the island of Borneo from
Celebes. They extend about 300 miles from north to south,
and in average breadth 126 miles, excepting at the north¬
ern extremity, where it contracts to about sixty miles. It
is of very dangerous navigation, abounding with shoals,
rocks, and rocky islands, and in January and February a
strong current is forced through this strait to the south¬
ward by the north winds.
MACAU, a town of France, in the department of the
Gironde and arrondissement of Bordeaux, situated on the
left bank of the Garonne, and containing 1800 inhabitants.
MACCABEES, two apocryphal books of Scripture, con¬
taining the history of Judas and his brothers, and their
wars against the Syrian kings in defence of their religion
and liberties, so called from Judas Mattathias, surnamed
Maccaboeus, as some say from the word •osn, formed of the
initials of mrTs obso rrana -n, Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
amongst the gods, which was the motto of his standard;
and hence those who combated under his banner were
called Maccabees, and the name was generally applied to
all who had suffered in the cause of the true religion, under
the Egyptian or Syrian kings. The first book of the Mac¬
cabees is an excellent history, and comes the nearest to the
style and manner of the sacred historians. It was original¬
ly written in the Chaldaic tongue, and was extant in that
language in the time of St Jerome. From the Chaldaic it
was translated into Greek, from the Greek into the Latin.
It is supposed to have been written by John Hyrcanus,
the son of Simon, who was prince and high priest of the
Jews for nearly thirty years, and began his government at
the time where this history ends. It contains the history
of forty years, from the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes to
the death of Simon the high priest; that is, from the year
of the world 3829 to the year 3869, or 131 years before
Christ, The second book of the Maccabees begins with
two epistles sent from the Jews of Jerusalem to the Jews
of Egypt and Alexandria, to exhort them to observe the
feast of the dedication of the new altar erected by Judas
on his purification of the temple. The first was written in
the 169th year of the era of the Seleucidae, that is, 144
before Christ; and the second in the 188th year of the
same era, or 125 before Christ. After these epistles fol¬
lows the preface of the author to his history, which is an
abridgment of a larger work, composed by one Jason, a
Jew of Cyrene, who wrote in Greek the history of Judas
Maccabseus and his brethren, and the wars against Antio¬
chus Epiphanes, and Eupator his son. The second book
does not by any means equal the accuracy and excellence
of the first. It contains a history of about fifteen years,
from the execution of the commission of Heliodorus, who
was sent by Seleucus to fetch away the treasures of the
temple, to the victory obtained by Judas Maccabaeus over
Nicanor ; that is, from the year of the world 3828 to the
year 3843, or 147 years before Christ.
There are in the Polyglot Bibles, both of Paris and Lon¬
don, Syriac versions of both these books; but they, as well
as the English versions which we have amongst the apo¬
cryphal books in our Bible, are all derived from the Greek.
There is also a third book of the Maccabees, containing
the history of the persecution of Ptolemy Philopator against
the Jews in Egypt, and their sufferings under it, which
appears to have been written by some Alexandrian Jew in
the Greek language, not long after the time of Siracides.
It is in most of the ancient manuscript copies of the Greek
Septuagint, pai'ticularly in the Alexandrian and the Vatican,
but was never inserted into the vulgar Latin version of the
inis'
un
^Gi
ty<
norl
I sede
tion:
stati
thes
are
twin
Mai
peri
pliei
com
vera
tflwi
for 1
schr
of I
schc
into
may
Sati
brat
parn
ofct
181]
t
Stry
the
cour
the
coni
fivei
for
Poti
Sil,,
MAC
MAC
619
cbei Bible, nor consequently into any of our English copies.
II Moreover, Josephus’s history of the martyrs who suffered
(aionr under Antiochus Epiphanes is found in some manuscript
Greek Bibles, under the appellation of the fourth book of
the Maccabees.
MACBETH, a Scotch nobleman in the eleventh cen¬
tury, nearly allied to Duncan, king of Scotland. Not con¬
tented with curbing the king’s authority, he carried his
ambition so far as to put him to death; and, chasing Mal¬
colm Ceanmore his son and heir into England, usurped the
crown. But Siward, earl of Northumberland, whose daugh¬
ter Duncan had married, undertook, by the order of Edward
the Confessor, the protection of the fugitive prince; march¬
ed with an army into Scotland; defeated and killed Mac¬
beth ; and restored Malcolm Greathead to the throne of his
ancestors. Shakspeare has made this transaction the sub¬
ject of one of his best tragedies.
MACCLESFIELD, a large market-town of the coun¬
ty of Chester, in the hundred of its own name, 168 miles
north-west by north from London. It is pleasantly situated
on an eminence at a short distance from the river Bollin.
Many of the buildings in the principal streets are of a su¬
perior order. The town is lighted by gas, and well sup¬
plied with water derived from a spring on the neighbouring
common. The river Bollin passes through the lower part
of the town, and although the stream is small, it turns se¬
veral mills. There are three established churches in the
town, several dissenting places of worship, and a chapel
for Roman Catholics. There is likewise a free grammar
school, endowed with landed property of the yearly value
of L.500, and a national school, with several Sunday
schools. By the new municipal act, the town is divided
into six wards; and the civil government is vested in a
mayor, twelve aldermen, and thirty-six councillors. The
justices of the peace are seven, one of them being the
mayor for the time being. It returns two members to the
House of Commons. There are markets on Monday and
Saturday, which are well supplied. It was long cele¬
brated for making buttons, silk-twist, sewing-silk, and
bands for hats; but of late years these have been super¬
seded by those of silk and cotton goods of various descrip¬
tions. The number and magnitude of the factories, as
stated below, demonstrate the extent and importance of
these manufactures, as connected with this town. There
are also iron and brass founderies, nail factories, rope and
twine works, and hat manufactories. The number of silk
mills in the town, and in the remaining part of Prestbury
parish, amounts to fifty-eight (eighteen of them being un¬
employed at the present time, 1836), and they furnish em¬
ployment to 2429 males and 3525 females. The number
of cotton mills is fourteen, employing 1370 males and 1429
females. The population amounted in 1801 to 8743, in
1811 to 12,999, in 1821 to 17,746, and in 1831 to 23,129.
MACEDONIA, or Macedon, a celebrated kingdom of
antiquity, was bounded on the east by the Aegean Sea, on
the south by Thessaly and Epirus, on the west by the
I Ionian Sea or Adriatic, on the north, at first by the river
Strymon and the Scardian Mountains, but afterwards by
the river Nessus or Nestus. In a direct line the whole
country extended only 150 miles; but it was lengthened
out to about three times that extent by the windings of
the coast, in which almost every convenient situation was
converted into a Grecian sea-port. The country was
naturally divided, by the Thermaic and Strymonic Gulfs,
into the provinces of Pieria, Chalcis, and Pangaeus. The
middle region, which took its name from a city of Euboea,
whence it had been originally peopled, was very fertile
and pleasant; and the interior, being diversified by lakes,
rivers, and arms of the sea, was extremely convenient
for inland navigation, whilst the towns of Amphipolis,
Potidaea, Acanthus, and many others, afforded marts for
the commerce of the republics of Greece, as well as of Macedonia.
Thrace and Macedonia. On one side of this district were
the mountains of Pangaeus, and on the other the plains of
Pieria. The Pangaean Mountains, which extended ninety
miles towards the east and the river Nessus, though pro¬
per neither for corn nor pasture, produced plenty of tim¬
ber for ship-building ; whilst the southern branches of the
mountains contained rich veins of gold and silver; but
these, though wrought successively by the Thasians and
the Athenians, were only brought to perfection by Philip
of Macedonia, who extracted from them gold and silver
to the value of about L.200,000 sterling annually. Pieria
extended fifty miles along the Thermaic Gulf, as far as
the confines of Thessaly and Mount Pindus. The inland
part of the country was beautifully diversified with shady
hills and with fountains; and so admirably calculated for
solitary walks and retirement, that the ancients looked
upon it as the favourite haunts of the Muses, and accord.-
ingly bestowed upon them the title of Pierides.
In the most ancient times this country was called Mma- Different
thia, from ASmathius, one of its princes. The name of Ma- names.
cedonia is said to have been derived from Macedo, a de¬
scendant of Deucalion ; though others suppose it to have
been only a corruption of Mygdonia, a district of the
country. In those remote ages of antiquity, Macedonia,
like most other countries of Europe, was divided into a
great number of petty principalities, of which scarcely
even the names are now known.
All authors agree, however, that Caranus was the first Kingdom
who established any permanent sovereignty in Macedonia, founded by
He was an Argive, a descendant of Hercules, and, about C-31**111118,
800 years before Christ, conducted a small colony of his
countrymen into the inland district of Macedonia, at that
time distinguished by the name of Almathia, as already
mentioned. This territory was about 300 miles in cir¬
cumference. On the south it was separated from the sea
by a number of Greek republics, of which the most con¬
siderable were those of Olynthus and Amphipolis ; and
on the north, the east, and the west, it was surrounded by
the barbarous kingdoms of Thrace, Pceonia, and Illyricum.
According to the traditions of those times, Caranus hav¬
ing consulted the oracle respecting the success of bis in¬
tended expedition, was commanded to follow the direction
of the goats in the establishment of his empire. For some
time he proceeded at random, without knowing what to
make of the oracle’s answer; but happening to enter the
small kingdom of A2mathia, at that time governed by king
Midas, he observed a herd of goats running towards Edessa,
the capital. Recollecting the answer of the oracle, he
then attacked and took the city by surprise, and soon
afterwards made himself master of the whole kingdom.
In memory of this remarkable event, he called the city
jPgce, and the people JEgiates, from the goats who con¬
ducted him, and made use of the figure of a goat for his
standard. From this fable also we see why the figure of
a goat is so frequently found on the coins of Philip and his
successors.
But the little colony of Argives led into iEmathia by
Caranus would soon have been overwhelmed by the bar¬
barous nations who surrounded it, had not this prince and
his subjects taken care to ingratiate themselves with their
neighbours, rather than to attempt to subdue them by
force of arms. They instructed them in the Greek reli¬
gion and government, and in the knowledge of many use¬
ful arts ; adopting themselves, in some degree, the lan¬
guage and manners of the barbarians, and imparting to
them in return some portion of Grecian civilization. Thus
they gradually associated with the fierce and warlike tribes
in their neighbourhood ; and this prudent conduct, being
followed by succeeding generations, may be looked upon
as one of the causes of the Macedonian greatness.
620
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia. Caranus dying after a short reign of three years, left the
PerdlccaiT k*n&d°m to his son Coenus, who having considerably en-
j larged his dominions, was succeeded by Thurymas, and
he again by Perdiccas I. This last prince is by Thucy¬
dides and Herodotus accounted the founder of the Mace¬
donian monarchy, though his history is so obscured by
fable that nothing certain can now be known concerning
it. In process of time, however, the good understanding
which had subsisted between the Macedonians and their
barbarous neighbours began to suffer interruption, and in
691 b. c. the kingdom was for the first time invaded by
the Illyrians. At first they did considerable damage by
their ravages ; but the Macedonian monarch Argaeus hav¬
ing decoyed them into an ambush, cut off great numbers,
and obliged the remainder to leave the kingdom. In the
reign of his successors, however, they returned, and occa¬
sionally proved very troublesome enemies, till the reigns
of Philip and Alexander.
Persians In the mean time, the kingdom of Macedonia began to
and Mace- fog affected by those great events which had taken place
domans. jn g^gj. parts of the world. Cyrus having overthrown the
Babylonian empire, and conquered all the western part of
Asia, established a mighty monarchy, which threatened the
eastern parts of Europe with complete subjugation. The
Greeks, however, having now emerged from barbarism,
and acquired great knowledge in the art of war, were able
effectually to resist this very formidable power; but the
kingdom of Macedonia, obscure and unconnected, was
obliged to yield, and though not formally made a province
of the Persian empire, was nevertheless accounted in some
sort as under the vassalage and protection of the Persians.
Alcetas, who ascended the Macedonian throne about the
time that the Persian monarchy was founded, had the
dexterity to preserve his dominions from the encroach¬
ments of the Greeks on the one hand, and of the Persians
on the other; but in the reign of his successor Amyntas,
a formal demand was made of submission to the great
king Darius, by sending him a present of earth and water.
Seven ambassadors were sent upon this errand by Megabi-
zus, one of the officers of Darius. They were sumptuous¬
ly entertained by Amyntas ; but having attempted to take
some indecent liberties with the Macedonian women, Alex¬
ander, the king’s son, caused them all to be put to death.
This hasty retribution had almost proved the ruin of the
kingdom; but Alexander found means to pacify Bubaris,
the general sent against him by Megabizus, by showing
him his sister Gygsea, a very beautiful woman, with whom
the Persian fell in love at first sight, and afterwards mar¬
ried her.
From this time the Macedonians were accounted the
faithful allies of the Persians; and Amyntas, through the
interest of his son-in-law, obtained the country in the
neighbourhood of Mount Haemus and Olympus, at the
same time that the city of Alabanda in Phrygia was given
to Amyntas, the nephew of Alexander. The Macedo¬
nians distinguished themselves in the time of the Persian
invasion of Greece, by furnishing their allies with 200,000
recruits; though some cities, particularly Potidaea, Olyn-
thus, and Pallene, adhered to the Grecian interest. The
last two were taken and razed, and the inhabitants mas¬
sacred by the Persians ; but Potidaea escaped by reason
of the sea breaking into the Persian camp, where it did
great damage. Alexander, however, afterwards thought
proper to court the favour of the Greeks, by giving them
intelligence of the time when Mardonius designed to at¬
tack them. The remaining transactions of this reign
are entirely unknown, further than that the king enlarged
his dominions as far as the river Nessus on the east, and
the Axius on the west.
Reign of Alexander I. was succeeded by his son Perdiccas II.
Perdiccas w}10 js saj^ t0 inherited his father’s abilities, though
not his integrity. From the duplicity with which he acted, Macedo
both to the Greeks and the Persians, it does not appear in-'>—y>!
deed that he had much to boast of as to the latter quali¬
ty. In the Peloponnesian war he espoused the cause of
the Spartans against the Athenians, from whom he was in
danger by reason of their numerous settlements on the
Macedonian coast, and their great power by sea. For
some time, however, he amused the Athenians with a show •
of friendship ; but at last, under pretence of enabling Olyn-
thus and some other cities to recover their liberties, he as¬
sisted in destroying the influence of the Athenians in those
places, hoping to establish that of the Macedonians in its
stead. But this design failed of success; the Olynthian
confederacy was broken up; and the members of it be¬
came subject to Sparta, until at last, by the misfortunes of
that republic, they grew sufficiently powerful, not only to
resist the encroachments of the Macedonians, but to make
considerable conquests in their country.
Perdiccas II. was succeeded about 416 b.c. by ArchelausArchelaa
I. He enlarged his dominions by the conquest of Pydna, ^
and other places in Pieria, though his ambition seems ra¬
ther to have been to improve his dominions than greatly to
extend them. He facilitated the communication between
the principal towns of Macedonia, by cutting straight roads
through most part of the country ; he built walls and for¬
tresses in such places as afforded favourable situations;
he encouraged agriculture and the arts, particularly those
subservient to war; he formed magazines of arms; he
raised and disciplined a considerable body of cavalry; and,
in a word, he added more to the solid grandeur of Mace¬
donia than had been done by all his predecessors put to¬
gether. Nor was he regardless of the arts of peace. His
palace was adorned by the works of the Grecian painters.
Euripides was long entertained at his court; Socrates was
earnestly solicited to live there, after the example of this
philosophic poet, formed by his precepts, and cherished
by his friendship; men of merit and genius in the various
walks of literature and science were invited to reside in
Macedonia, and treated with distinguished regard by a
monarch equally attentive to advance his own glory and
promote the happiness of his subjects.
This great monarch died after a reign of six years, a Civil &
space by far too short to accomplish the magnificent pro-sensions.
jects he had formed. After his death the kingdom fell
under the power of usurpers, or of weak and wicked rao-
narchs. A number of competitors constantly appeared for
the throne; and these by turns called to their assistance
the Thracians, Illyrians, Thessalians, the Olynthian con¬
federacy, Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. Bardyllis, an ac¬
tive and daring chief, who, from being the head of a gang
of robbers, had become sovereign of the Illyrians, entered
Macedonia at the head of a numerous army; deposed
Amyntas II. the father of Philip; and set up in his stead
one Argaeus, who consented to become tributary to the
Illyrians. Another candidate for the throne, named Pau-
sanias, was supported by the Thracians; but, by the assis¬
tance of the Thessalians and Olynthians, Amyntas was at
length enabled to resume the government. After his re¬
storation, however, the Olynthians refused to deliver up se¬
veral places of importance belonging to Macedonia, which
Amyntas had either intrusted to their care, or which they
had taken from his antagonist. Amyntas complained
to Sparta^; and that republic, which had already formed
schemes of very extensive ambition, so readily complied
with the request, that it was generally supposed to have
proceeded from Spartan emissaries sent into Macedonia.
They pretended indeed to hesitate a little, and to take
time to deliberate as to the army which ought to be raised
for the purpose; but Cleigenes, the principal ambassador,
so strongly represented the urgency of the case, that the
troops which happened at that time to be ready were or-
p.w
•'Sp
oft
tas
nor
eoei
batt
prei
.in ]
miei
bole
arm
den
retri
man
hel
wit!
Tht
wall
fun
the
‘thei
Mai
Lac
diec
by]
boir
evei
nor
mor
MACEDONIA.
621
Tn
thei::
Mac'
Lacf
pron
died
hist
by!
brou
don., dered to take the field without delay. Two thousand
Spartans, under the command of Eudamidas, were order¬
ed into Macedonia, whilst a powerful reinforcement under
the command of Phoebidas, brother of the general, was
ordered to follow him as soon as possible. By accident,
Phcebidas and his auxiliaries were detained till the season
for action had passed; but Eudamidas with his small army
performed essential service. The appearance of a Spar¬
tan army at once encouraged the subjects and allies of the
Olynthians to revolt; and the city of Potidaea, a place of
great importance in the isthmus of Pallene, surrendered
soon after his arrival in the country. Elated with his suc¬
cess, Eudamidas approached so near the city of Olynthus,
that he was unexpectedly attacked, defeated, and killed,
in a sally of the citizens. He was succeeded by Teleutias,
brother of Agesilaus, who had under his command a body
of ten thousand men, and was further assisted by Amyn-
tas king of Macedonia, and Derdas his brother, the gover¬
nor or sovereign of the most westerly province of Mace¬
donia, which abounded in cavalry. By these formidable
enemies the Olynthians were discomfited in a series of
battles, obliged to shut themselves up in their city, and
prevented from cultivating their territory; upon which
Teleutias advanced with his whole forces to invest the
city itself. But his excessive eagerness to destroy his ene¬
mies proved his ruin. A body of Olynthian horse had the
boldness to pass the river Amnias in sight of the allied
army, though so much superior in number. Teleutias or¬
dered his targeteers to attack them, and the Olynthians
retreated across the river, closely pursued by the Lace¬
daemonians, a great part of whom also crossed the river;
but the Olynthians suddenly turned upon them, and kill¬
ed upwards of one hundred, with Tlemonidas their leader.
Teleutias, exasperated at this disaster, ordered the re¬
mainder of the targeteers and cavalry to pursue, whilst
he himself advanced at the head of the heavy-armed foot
with such celerity, that they began to fall into disorder.
The Olynthians allowed them to come on, and the Lace¬
daemonians imprudently advanced under the towers and
battlements of the city. The townsmen then mounted the
walls, and discharged upon them a shower of darts, arrows,
and other missile weapons, whilst the flower of the Olyn¬
thian troops, who had been purposely posted behind the
gates, sallied forth and attacked them with the greatest
fury. Teleutias, attempting to rally his men, was slain in
the first onset; the Spartans who attended him were de¬
feated, and the whole army dispersed with great slaughter,
and obliged to shelter themselves in the towns of Acan¬
thus, Apollonia, Spartolus, and Potidsea.
i.8®11* The Spartans, undismayed by this disaster, next sent
their king Agesipolis with a powerful reinforcement into
Macedonia. His presence greatly raised the spirits of the
Lacedaemonian allies, and his rapid success seemed to
promise a speedy termination to the war, when he^himself
died of a calenture. He was succeeded in the throne by
his brother Cleombrotus, and in the command of the army
by Polybiades, an old, experiencedi general, who likewise
brought along with him a powerful reinforcement. Olyn¬
thus was now completely blocked up by land, whilst a
squadron of Lacedaemonian galleys blockaded the neigh¬
bouring harbour of Myceberna. The Olynthians, how¬
ever, held out for nine or ten months, but were at last
obliged to submit on very humiliating conditions. They
formally renounced all claim to the dominion ot Chalcis,
and ceded the Macedonian cities to their ancient gover¬
nor ; and in consequence of this Amyntas left the city of
iEgae or Edessa, where till now he had held his royal re¬
sidence, and fixed it at Pella, a city of great strength and
beauty,^situated upon an eminence, which, together with a
plain of considerable extent, was defended by impassable
morasses, and also by the rivers Axius and Lydias. It was
distant about fifteen miles from the ^gean Sea, with Macedonia.
which it communicated by means of the above-mentioned   
rivers. It was originally founded by the Greeks, who had
conquered and peopled it; but, m consequence of the mis¬
fortunes of Olynthus, it now became, and continued ever
after to be, the capital of Macedonia.
Amyntas being thus established in his dominions, con-Pausanias r
tinned to enjoy tranquillity during the remaining part of Ptolemy,
his life. The reign of his son Alexander was short, and
disturbed by invasions of the Illyrians, from whom he was
obliged to purchase a peace. He left behind him two
brothers, Perdiccas and Philip, both very young, so that
Pausanias again found means to usurp the throne, beinf
supported not only by the Thracians, but by a consider^
able number of Greek mercenaries, as well as a powerful
party in Macedonia itself. In this critical juncture, how¬
ever, Iphicrates the Athenian happening to be on an ex¬
pedition to Amphipolis, was so warmly addressed by Eu-
rydice, the widow of Amyntas, in behalf of her two sons,
whom she presented to him, that he interested himself in
their behalf, and got Perdiccas, the eldest, established on
the throne. He was induced to perform this act of gene¬
rosity by the kindness which Eurydice and her husband
had formerly shown to himself; and he likewise perceived
the advantages which must ensue to his country from a
connection with Macedonia. During the minority of the
young prince, however, his brother Ptolemy, who was his
guardian, openly aspired to the throne; but he was de¬
posed by the Theban general Pelopidas, who reinstated
Perdiccas in his dominions, and, in order to secure the
dependence of Macedonia upon Thebes, carried alono- with
him thirty Macedonian youths as hostages, amongst whom
was Philip, the younger brother of the king. Perdiccas,
elated by the protection of such powerful allies, now for¬
got Iphicrates and the Athenians, and even disputed with
them the right to the city of Amphipolis, which had been
decreed to them by the general council of Greece, but
which his opposition rendered it impossible for them to
recover. From the trust he put in these new allies, it is
probable that he refused to Bardyllis the Illyrian the tri¬
bute the Macedonians had been obliged to pay him; a
circumstance which occasioned a war with that nation. In
this contest the Macedonians were defeated with the loss
of four thousand men, and Perdiccas himself was taken
prisoner, and soon afterwards died of his wounds.
The kingdom was now left in the most deplorable state, state of the
Amyntas, the legitimate heir to the throne, was an infant;kingdom,
the Thebans, in whom Perdiccas had placed so much
confidence, were deprived of the sovereignty of Greece ;
the Athenians, justly provoked at the ungrateful beha¬
viour of the late monarch, showed a hostile disposition;
the Illyrians ravaged the western, and the Paeonians the
northern quarter of the kingdom ; the Thracians still sup¬
ported the cause of Pausanias, and proposed to send him
into Macedonia at the head of a numerous army ; whilst
Argaeus, the former rival of Amyntas, renewed his preten¬
sions to the throne, and by flattering the Athenians with
the hopes of recovering Amphipolis, easily induced them
to support his claims, in consequence of which they fitted
out a fleet, having on board three thousand heavy-armed
soldiers, which they sent to the coast of Macedonia.
Philip, the late king’s brother, no sooner heard of hisArrivai of
defeat and death, than he set out privately from Thebes, Philip in
and on his arrival in Macedonia found matters in the si-Macedonia,
tuation which we have just described. Fired with an insa¬
tiable ambition, it is probable that from the very first moment
he had resolved to seize the kingdom for himself; yet it
was necessary at first to pretend that he assumed the throne
only to preserve it for his nephew. Philip, as has already
been mentioned, had been carried off as a hostage by Pe¬
lopidas, but for a long time past had remained in such ob-
622
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia
Affairs of
the king¬
dom re¬
trieved by
him.
Philip as¬
sumes the
sovereign¬
ty.
scurity that historians are not agreed as to his place of re¬
sidence, some placing him in Thebes, and others in Mace¬
donia. It is certain, however, that from the age of fifteen
he had been very much in the family of Epaminondas, from
whose lessons he could not but derive the greatest advan¬
tage. It is also probable that he accompanied this cele¬
brated general in many of his expeditions ; and it is cer¬
tain that, with an attendance suitable to his rank, he vi¬
sited most of the principal republics, and paid great atten¬
tion to their institutions, both civil and military. Having
easy access to whomsoever he pleased, he cultivated the
friendship of the first people in Greece. Even in Athens,
where no good will subsisted to Macedonia, the philoso¬
phers Plato, Isocrates, and Aristotle, cultivated his acquain¬
tance ; and the connection he formed with the principal
leaders of that republic in the early period of his life no
doubt contributed greatly to the accomplishment of the
designs in which he afterwards proved so successful.
His appearance in Macedonia instantly changed the face
of affairs. The Macedonian army, though defeated, was
not entirely destroyed; and the remainder of them secured
themselves in the fortresses which had been built by Ar-
chelaus. There were also considerable garrisons in the
fortresses, and walled towns scattered over the kingdom ;
and the Illyrians, who had made war only for the sake of
plunder, soon returned home to enjoy the fruits of their
victory. His other enemies, the Thracians and Paeonians,
were much less formidable than the Illyrians, being still in
a very rude and uncivilized state, incapable of uniting under
one head in such a manner as to bring any formidable armv
into the field. Whilst the Illyrians therefore gave up the
campaign through mere caprice and unsteadiness, Philip
himself applied to the Paeonians, and by fair promises and
flattery prevailed upon them to desist. The king of Thrace,
by means of a sum of money, was easily prevailed upon to
abandon the cause of Pausanias ; so that Philip, freed from
these barbarians, was now at liberty to oppose the Athe¬
nians, who supported Argaeus, and threatened a very formi¬
dable invasion.
The appearance of the Athenian fleet before Methone,
with that of Argaeus at the head of a numerous army in
Pieria, filled the whole country with consternation ; and
Philip, who was by no means deficient in the talents ne¬
cessary to recommend himself to the good graces of the
people, took the opportunity of getting Amyntas set aside,
and himself declared king, for which proceeding indeed the
danger of the times afforded a very plausible pretext. In
the mean time, Argaeus advanced with his Athenian allies
towards Edessa or iEgae, the ancient capital of the Mace¬
donian empire, where he hoped to have been amicably re¬
ceived; but finding the gates shut against him, he returned
back to Methone. Philip harassed him in his retreat, cut¬
ting off great numbers of his men, and afterwards defeated
him in a general engagement, in which Argaeus himself,
with the flower of his army, was cut in pieces, and the rest
taken prisoners. This first instance of success contributed
greatly to raise the spirits of Philip’s party ; and he him¬
self took care to improve it in the best manner possible.
Having made a great number of prisoners, both Macedo¬
nians and Athenians, he determined, by his treatment of
them, to ingratiate himself with both parties. The former
were called into his presence, and, after a gentle repri¬
mand, admitted to swear allegiance to him, after which
they were distributed throughout the army. The Athe¬
nians were entertained at his table, and dismissed without
ransom, and their baggage was restored to them. The
prisoners were just allowed time to return to their native
city, and to spread abroad the news of Philip’s generosity
when they were followed by ambassadors from Macedonia —v>,
with proposals for peace. As he knew that the loss of
Amphipolis had greatly irritated them, he now thought
proper to renounce his jurisdiction over that city. It was
accordingly declared free and independent, and subject
only to the government of its own free and equitable laws.
I his prudent conduct, together with his kind treatment
of the prisoners, so wrought upon the minds of the Athe¬
nians, that they consented to the renewal of a treaty
which had formerly subsisted between them and his father
Amyntas. Thus he found means to remove all jealousy
of his ambition, and to induce them to engage in a ruin¬
ous war with their allies, which occupied their attention
until Philip had an opportunity of getting matters so well
established that it was impossible to overthrow him.
The new king being thus at liberty to regulate his do-The
mestic concerns, began to circumscribe the power of his of the n*
chiefs and nobles, who, especially in the more remote pro-t>‘%re.
vinces, paid very little regard to the authority of the kingsducei
of Macedonia; sometimes, even in times of public cala¬
mity, throwing oft' their allegiance altogether, and assum¬
ing an independent jurisdiction over considerable tracts
of country. To counteract the ambition of these chiefs,
Philip chose a body of the bravest Macedonian youths*
whom he entertained at his own table, and honoured with
many testimonies of his friendship, giving them the title of
his “ companions,” and allowing them constantly to attend
him in war and hunting. Their intimacy with the sove¬
reign, which was considered as a sure indication of their
merit, obliged them to use superior diligence in all the
severe duties of military discipline ; and the young nobi¬
lity, eager to participate in such high honours, vied with
one another in their endeavours to gain admission into
this distinguished order; so that whilst on the one hand
they served as hostages, they formed on the other an use¬
ful seminary for future generals, by whom both Philip
and Alexander were afterwards greatly assisted in their
conquests.
Diodorus Siculus, and all the Roman writers who have The pha-
treated of the history of Greece, assert that Philip, in thehnx.
first year of his reign, instituted the Macedonian phalanx;
a body of six thousand men armed with short swords fitted
either for cutting or thrusting, having also strong bucklers
four feet long and two and a half broad, and pikes fourteen
feet long, and usually marching sixteen men deep. But this
opinion is controverted by others. Dr Gillies supposes that
such an opinion had arisen from the Romans meeting with
the;phalanx in its most complete form in Macedonia; and as
they became acquainted with Greece and Macedonia pretty
nearly at the same time, it was natural for them to suppose
that it had been invented amongst the Macedonians. The
phalanx, he says, is nothing different from the armour and
arrangement which had always prevailed amongst the
Geeeks, and which PJiilip adopted in their most perfect
form; “ nor is there reason to think that a prince, who
knew the danger of changing what the experience of ages
had approved, made any alteration in the weapons or tac¬
tics of that people.1 The improvement in the countermarch,
to which Philip gave the appearance of advancing instead
of retreating, mentioned by iElian in his Tactics (cap.
xxviii.), was borrowed, as this author tells us, from the La¬
cedaemonians. If Philip increased the phalanx, usually less
numerous, to six thousand men, this was far from an im¬
provement; and the latter kings of Macedonia, who swelled
it to sixteen thousand, only rendered that order of battle
more unwieldy and inconvenient.” Instead of this, Philip,
ip
.•'3«
int
ha<
n
al
ana
ovei
was
ener
tory
excl
This
thei
neM
met
fantr
tend
with
their
Bi
same
ans,
sider
toth
Maci
there
with
This
lonie
tion WS lsVimftakeT aStu° the constitution of the Macedonian phalanx, which was a deeper, more compact, and perfect forma¬
tion than diat which, under the same name, obtained amongst the Greeks. See the article Abmy. F
inha
thel
terri
sunle
man
that
P
tem]
of C
the!
inf
ontl
were
eda
the
oftf
lues
the |
ed„
cial
the i
MACEDONIA.
623
ame
ns,\
iden
3th(
lace
liere,
pith
’his
onia
nd [
nhat
he 1,
errit
unk
aan^
hat
Plf'
;ant
lad
ilacf
emp
ifO
iadi
hefi
ides
aCh
according to our author, employed himself in procuring
^**^arms, horses, and other necessary materials for war ; and in
introducing a more severe and exact military discipline than
had formerly been known in Macedonia.
'Faeo* Whilst the king thus took the best methods to render
an<^ himself secure at home and formidable abroad, the Paeoni-
ans"ans again began to make incursions into the kingdom. The
death of Agis, their king, however, who was a man of great
military skill, deprived them of almost all power of resist¬
ance when they were attacked. Philip, in consequence,
overran their country with little opposition, and reduced
them to the state of tributaries to Macedonia. No sooner
was this accomplished, than he undertook a winter’s cam¬
paign against the Illyrians, who had long been the natural
enemies of Macedonia. They had now extended their terri¬
tory to the east, by which means the Macedonians were
excluded from the harbours upon the coast of the Adriatic.
This was a grievance to Philip, who seems early to have
meditated the formation of a naval force ; neither could he
hope to be in safety, should the kingdom be left open to
the incursions of a barbarous enemy; for which reason he
determined at once to humble those enemies in such a man¬
ner that they should no longer be in a situation to give him
any disturbance. After an ineffectual negociation, he was
met by Bardyllis at the head of a considerable body of in¬
fantry, but with only four hundred horse. They made a
gallant resistance for some time; but being unable to con¬
tend with so skilful a general as Philip, they were defeated
Mth the loss of seven thousand men, amongst whom was
their leader Bardyllis, who fell at the age of ninety.
By this disaster the Illyrians were so much disheartened,
that they sent ambassadors to Philip, humbly begging for
peace upon any terms. The conqueror granted them the
same conditions which had been imposed upon the Paeoni-
ans, viz. becoming tributary, and yielding up to him a con¬
siderable part of their country. That part of it which lay
to the eastward of a lake named Lychnidus he annexed to
Macedonia, and probably built a town and settled a colony'
there, the country being fertile, and the lake abounding
with many kinds of fish highly esteemed by the ancients.
This town and lake were about fifty miles distant from the
Ionian Sea; and such was the ascendency which the arms
and policy of Philip acquired over his neighbours, that the
inhabitants of all the intermediate district soon adopted
the language and manners of their conquerors ; whilst their
territory, hitherto unconnected with any foreign power,
sunk into such absolute dependence upon Macedonia, that
many ancient geographers supposed it to be a province of
that country.
™ Philip had no sooner reduced the Illyrians, than he be-
>r°' jgan t0 Put in execution greater designs than any which he
?^had yet attempted. The rich coasts to the southward of
Macedonia, inhabited chiefly by Greeks, presented a strong
temptation to his ambition and avarice. The confederacy
of Olynthus, after having thrown off the yoke of Sparta,
had become more powerful than ever, and could send into
the field an army of ten thousand heavy-armed troops, be¬
sides a number of cavalry in proportion ; most of the towns
in Chalcidice had become its allies or subjects ; whilst this
populous and wealthy province, together with Pangmus
on the right and Pieria on the left, of both which the cities
were either independent or subject to the Athenians, form¬
ed a barrier sufficient to guard against any incursions of
the Macedonians. But though Philip was sensible enough
of the importance of those places, he considered the con¬
quest of Amphipolis as more necessary at that time. By
the possession of this place, Macedonia would be connect¬
ed with the sea, and would be secured in many commer¬
cial advantages, which could not but contribute greatly to
the prosperity of the kingdom at large; a road was like¬
wise opened to the woods and mines of Pangaeus, the for¬
-
mer of which.were so necessary to the formation of a naval Macedonia,
force, and the latter for the establishment of a proper
military force. This city had indeed been declared inde¬
pendent by Philip himself in the beginning of his reign ;
but this was only to prevent a rupture with the Athenians,
who still asserted their right to it as an ancient colony,
though, by reason of the perfidy of Charidemus, a native
of Euboea, they had hitherto failed in their attempts to
recover it. The Amphipolitans, however, having once
enjoyed the sweets of liberty, prepared to maintain them¬
selves in their independence. In the mean time, the hos¬
tile designs of Philip, which all his precaution had not been
able to conceal, alarmed the inhabitants to such a degree
that they thought proper to put themselves under the pro¬
tection of the Olynthians. By them they were readily re¬
ceived into the confederacy, and, trusting to the strength
of their new allies, behaved in such an insolent manner to
Philip, that he was not long in finding a specious pretext
for hostility; on which the Olynthians, greatly alarmed,
sent ambassadors to Athens, requesting their assistance
against such a povverful enemy. Philip, however, justly
alarmed at such a formidable conspiracy, sent agents to
Athens with such expedition that they arrived there be¬
fore any thing could be concluded with the Olynthian de¬
puties. Having gained over the popular leaders and orators,
he deceived and flattered the magistrates and senate in
such an artful manner, that a negociation was instantly set
on foot, by which Philip engaged to conquer Araphipoiis
for the Athenians, upon condition that they surrendered
to him the strong fortress of Pydna, a place which he re¬
presented as of much less importance to them ; promising
also to confer upon them many other advantages, which,
however, he did not specify at that time. Thus the Athe¬
nians, deceived by the perfidy of their own magistrates,
elated with the hopes of recovering Amphipolis, and out¬
witted by the superior policy of Philip, rejected with dis¬
dain the proffers of the Olynthians.
The ambassadors of Olynthus returned home highly dis¬
gusted with the reception they had met with, but had
scarcely time to communicate their news to their country¬
men, when the ambassadors of Philip arrived at Olynthus.
He pretended to condole with them on the affront they had
received at Athens, but also testified his surprise that they
should court the assistance of that distant and haughty re¬
public, when they could avail themselves of the powerful
kingdom of Macedonia, which wished for nothing more
than to enter into equal and lasting engagements with
their confederacy. As a proof of his moderation and sin¬
cerity, he offered to put them in possession of Anthemus, an
important town in the neighbourhood, of which the Mace¬
donians had long claimed the jurisdiction ; making many
other fair promises, and, amongst the rest, that he would re¬
duce for them the cities of Pydna and Potidaea, which he
chose rather to see in dependence on Olynthus than Athens.
Thus he prevailed upon the Olynthians not only to abandon
Amphipolis, but to assist him with all their power in the
execution of his designs.
Philip now lost no time in executing his purposes against
Amphipolis, and pressed the city so closely that the people
were glad to apply to the Athenians for relief. Accord¬
ingly, they despatched two of their most eminent citizens,
Hierax and Stratocles, to represent the danger of an alli¬
ance between Philip and the Olynthians, and to profess
their sorrow for having so deeply offended the parent state.
This representation had such an effect, that though the
Athenians were then deeply engaged in the Social War,
they would probably have paid some attention to the Am¬
phipolitans, had not Philip taken care to send them a letter
with fresh assurances of friendship, acknowledging their
right to Amphipolis, and which he hoped shortly to put into
their hands in terms of his recent agreement. By these
624
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia, specious pretences the Athenians were persuaded to pay as
little regard to the deputies of the Amphipolitans as they
had already done to those of the Olynthians ; so that the
city, unable to defend itself alone against so powerful an
enemy, at last surrendered at discretion in the year 357
before Christ.
Philip still proceeded in the same cautious and politic
manner in which he had commenced. Though the obsti¬
nate defence of the Amphipolitans might have furnished a
pretence for severity, he contented himself with banishing
a few of the popular leaders, from whom he had most cause
to dread opposition, treating the rest of the inhabitants with
all manner of clemency; but he took care to add Amphi-
polis to his own dominions, from which he was determined
that it never should be separated, notwithstanding the pro¬
mises he had made to the Athenians. Finding that it was
not his interest at this time to fall out with the Olynthians,
he cultivated the friendship of that republic with great assi¬
duity ; and took the cities of Pydna and Potidsea, which he
readily yielded to the Olynthians, though they had given
him but little assistance in the reduction of these places.
Potidaea had been garrisoned by the Athenians, and them
the artful king sent back without ransom, lamenting the
necessity of his affairs, which obliged him, contrary to his
inclination, to oppose their republic. Though this was
rather too gross, the Athenians were then so much en¬
gaged with the Social War, that they had Hot leisure to at¬
tend to the affairs of other nations. Philip made the best
use of his time, and next projected the conquest of the gold
mines of Thrace. That rich and fertile country was now
held by one Cotys, a prince of such weak intellectual facul¬
ties, that the superstition of the Greeks, into which he was
newly initiated, had almost entirely subverted his reason,
and he wandered about in quest of the goddess Minerva,
with whom he fancied himself in love. The invasion of
the Macedonians, however, awaked him from his reverie ;
and Cotys, finding himself destitute of other means of op¬
position, attempted to stop the progress of the enemy by a
letter. To this Philip paid no regard, and the Thracians were
instantly expelled from their possessions at Crenidse, where
there were very valuable gold mines. These had formerly
been worked by colonies from Thasos and Athens; but
the colonists had long since been expelled by the barba¬
rous Thracians, who knew not how to make use of the trea¬
sure they were in possession of. Philip took the trouble
to descend into the mines himself, in order to inspect the
works; and, having caused them to be repaired, planted a
Macedonian colony at Crenidae, bestowed upon it the name
of Philippi, and drew annually from the gold mines to the
value of near 1000 talents, or L.200,000 sterling, an im¬
mense sum in those days. The coins struck here were
likewise called Philippi.
The affairs Philip having obtained this valuable acquisition, next
^t[j^ssaly undertook to settle the affairs of Thessaly, where every-
s e ' thingjwas in the greatest confusion. This country had been
formerly oppressed by Alexander, tyrant of Pherse, after
whose death three others appeared, viz. Tissiphornus, Pi-
tholaus, and Lycophron, the brothers-in-law of Alexander,
who had likewise murdered him. By the united efforts of
the Thessalians and Macedonians, however, these usurpers
were easily overthrown, and effectually prevented from
making any disturbances for the future ; and the Thessa¬
lians, from a mistaken gratitude, surrendered to Philip all
the revenues arising from their fairs and towns of commerce,
as well as all the conveniences of their harbours and ship¬
ping ; a concession which Philip took care to secure in the
most effectual manner.
Having now not only established his sovereignty in the
most effectual manner, but rendered himself very powerful
and formidable to his neighbours, Philip determined to en¬
joy some repose from his fatigues. Having formed an alli¬
ance with Arybbas, king of Epirus, he, in the year 357 Maced
before Christ, married Olympias, the sister of that prince;
a match thought the more eligible, as the kings of EpirusA general
were supposed to be descended from Achilles. The nup- C.08W
tials were solemnized with great pomp at Pella, and seve-tlon.
ral months were spent in shows and diversions, during S81
which Philip showed such an extreme proneness to vice of P
every kind, as disgraced him in the eyes of his neighbours,
and most probably laid the foundation of his future domes¬
tic unhappiness. So much was this behaviour of the Ma¬
cedonian monarch taken notice of by the neighbouring
states, that the Pseonians and Illyrians threw off the yoke,
engaging in their schemes the king of Thrace ; and, not¬
withstanding the insane state of that prince, their designs
were now carried on with more judgment than was usual
with barbarians. Philip, however, notwithstanding his dis¬
sipation, got warning of his danger in sufficient time to
prevent the evil consequences which might have ensued
had the confederates had time to bring their schemes to a
proper bearing. Early in the spring of 356 he took the
field with the flower of the Macedonian troops. Having
marched in person against the Paeonians and Thracians, he
despatched Parmenio, his best general, into Illyria. Both
enterprises proved successful; and whilst Philip returned
victorious from Thrace, he received an account of the vic¬
tory gained by Parmenio ; a second messenger informed
him of a victory gained by his chariot at the Olympic
games ; and a third announced that Olympias had been de¬
livered of a son at Pella.
This was the celebrated Alexander, to whom the divin-AieMn(je,.
ers prophesied the highest prosperity and glory, as being the Great,
born in such auspicious circumstances. A short time after
the birth of Alexander, Philip wrote a letter to the philo¬
sopher Aristotle, whom he chose as preceptor to his son.
The letter w as written with great brevity, containing only
the follow ing words : “ Know that a son is born to us. We
thank the gods not so much for their gift, as for bestowing
it at a time when Aristotle lives. We assure ourselves that
you will form him a prince worthy of his father, and worthy
of Macedonia.”
He next set about the further enlargement of his terri¬
tories, which were already very considerable. Paeonia now
formed one of his provinces ; on the east his dominions
extended to the sea of Thasos, and on the west to the lake
Lychnidus. The Thessalians were in effect subject to his
jurisdiction, and the possession of Amphipolis had secured
him many commercial advantages. He had a numerous
and well-disciplined army, with plentiful resources for sup¬
porting such an armament, and carrying through the other
schemes suggested by his ambition, though his deep and
impenetrable policy rendered him more truly formidable
than all these put together. His first scheme was the re¬
duction of Olynthus, the most populous and fertile country
upon the borders of Macedonia, after which his ambition
prompted him to aspire to the sovereignty of all Greece.
To accomplish the former, he had hitherto courted the
friendship of the Olynthians by every possible method;
and without letting slip any opportunity to accomplish the
latter, he gradually deprived the Athenians of several of
their settlements in Thrace and Macedonia. In these de¬
predations, however, he took care always to give such ap¬
pearance of justice to his actions, that his antagonists, who
had studied the matter less deeply, could not find a plau¬
sible pretext for engaging in war against him, even when
he had openly committed hostilities against them. Philip
easily perceived that the affairs of the Greeks wrere coming
to a crisis, and he determined to watch the issue of their
mutual dissensions. Nor did that result disappoint his ex¬
pectations. The Phocians had violated the religion of those
days in a most extraordinary manner; they had even
ploughed up the lands consecrated to Apollo; and, how-
ilj.eve
.✓the
to be
raisec
ingt<
Amm
toch'
torse
Di:
estfu
phror
Kerb
to re¬
ar®
towr
crue
thes
duce
extn
coun
namt
totb
eye.
llHl'i
the I
Philij
attacl
with
trywi
par
vance
it firs
Ingoi
(vhicl
ir
then
great
troop
liker
Was!
recru
ed in
fiveh
Mac<
<»em
•nies
MACEDONIA.
625
lonteever they might pretend to excuse themselves by examples,
^-■"the Amphictyons fulminated a decree against them, com¬
manding the sacred lands to be laid waste, and imposing a
heavy fine upon the community,
an By this decree all Greece was again involved in the war
called Phocian, from the name of the city about which it
commenced. Philip at the beginning of the troubles was
engaged in Thrace, where a civil war had broken out
amongst the sons of Cotys ; and wherever Philip interfered,
it was certain that matters turned out to his own advantage.
His encroachments at length became so enormous, that
Kersobletes, the most powerful of the contending princes,
agreed to cede the Thracian Chersonesus to the Athenians,
who immediately sent Chares at the head of a powerful
armament to take possession of it. In this expedition the
town of Sestos was taken by storm, and the inhabitants were
cruelly treated by Chares, whilst Philip employed himself in
the siege of Methone in Pieria. This city he likewise re¬
duced ; but the king lost an eye at the siege, and in a very
extraordinary manner, if we may give credit to the ac¬
counts of some ancient historians. A celebrated archer,
lamed Aster, had, it seems, offered his services to Philip,
peing represented as such an excellent marksman that he
:ould hit the swiftest bird on the wing. Philip replied that
ie would be of excellent use if they were to make war with
tarlings. Aster, disgusted with this reception, went over
o the enemy, and with an arrow wounded the king in the
ye. When the weapon was extracted, it was found to be
ascribed with these words : “ For the right eye of Philip.'’
The king ordered the arrow to be shot back again, with
mother inscription, importing that he would cause Aster
o be hanged when the town was taken. A report was
aised after Philip’s death that he had lost his eye by pry-
ng too narrowly into the amours of Olympias and Jupiter
^.mmon, which ‘the vanity of his successor prompted him
lo cherish, as his flatterers had probably been the inven-
lors of it.
During all this time the Phocian war raged with the great-
ist fury, and involved in it all the states of Greece. Lyco-
fhron, one of the Thessalian tyrants whom Philip had for¬
merly deprived of his authority, had again found means
lo re-establish himself; and his countrymen having taken
(art with the Phocians, Lycophron called in Onomarchus,
he Phocian general, to protect him against the power of
’hilip, by whom he was sensible that he would soon be
ittacked. The king accordingly marched into Thessaly
rith a considerable army, and defeated Phyallus, the bro-
llier of Onomarchus, whom the latter had sent into the coun-
ry with a detachment of seven thousand men. After this he
lesieged and took the city of Pegasae, driving the enemy
lowards the frontiers of Phocis. Onomarchus then ad-
anced with the whole army ; and Philip, though inferior in
lumbers, did not decline the engagement. The Phocians
t first gave ground, on which the Macedonians pursued,
h good order; but coming near a precipice, on the top of
/Inch Onomarchus had posted a detachment of soldiers, the
utter rolled down stones and fragments of the rock in such
manner as did dreadful execution, and threw them into
he utmost disorder. Philip, however, rallied his troops with
;reat presence of mind, and prevented the Phocians from
;aining any further advantage; saying, as he withdrew his
roops, that they did not retreat through fear, but only
ike rams, in order to strike with the greater vigour. Nor
' /as he long before he made good his assertion ; for, having
ecruited his army with the greatest expedition, he return-
d into Thessaly at the head of twenty thousand foot and
ive hundred horse, and was there met by Onomarchus. The
dacedonians at this time were superior in number to their
nemies ; and Philip, moreover, took care to remind them
hat their quarrel was that of heaven, and that their ene-
nies had been guilty of sacrilege, by profaning the temple
vol, xnr.
of Delphi. That they might be still more animated in the Macedonia,
cause, he put crowns of laurel on their heads. Thus fired
with enthusiasm, and having besides the advantage of num¬
bers, the Phocians were altogether unable to withstand
them. They threw away their arms and fled towards the
sea, where they expected to have been relieved by Chares,
who, with the Athenian fleet, was near to the shore; but
in this they were disappointed, for he made no attempt to
save them. Upwards of six thousand perished in the field
of battle or in the pursuit, and three thousand were taken
prisoners. The body of Onomarchus being found amongst
the slain, was by order of Philip hung upon a gibbet as a
mark of infamy, on account of his having polluted the
temple; and the bodies of the rest were thrown into the
sea, as being all partakers of the same crime. The fate of
the prisoners is not known, by reason of an ambiguity in a
sentence of Diodorus Siculus, which may imply that they
were drowned, though he does not expressly say so.
After this victory Philip set about the settlement of Thes- Philip pur-
saly, waiting only for an opportunity to put in execution sues his
his favourite scheme of invading Greece. In the mean ambitious
time, he rejoiced to see the different states weakening each sc^emes’
other by their mutual dissensions, of which he never fail¬
ed to take advantage as far as possible. He now, however,
began to throw off' the mask with regard to the Olynthians,
whom he had long deceived with fair promises. Having
detached Kersobletes from the interest of the Athenians,
he established him in the sovereignty of Thrace; not out
of any good will, but with a view to destroy him whenever
a proper opportunity should present itself. Were he once
possessed of the dominions of that prince, the way to By¬
zantium was open to him, the possession of which must
have been a great temptation to a prince who well knew
how to value the importance of its situation both with re¬
spect to commerce and war; and in order to pave the way
to this important conquest, he attacked the fortress of He-
raeum, a small, and in itself unimportant place, though, by
reason of its neighbourhood to Byzantium, a highly valu¬
able acquisition. The Athenians, however, at last began
to perceive the designs of Philip, and determined to coun¬
teract them. For this purpose they entered into an alli¬
ance with Olynthus; and having warned Kersobletes of his
danger, they ordered a powerful fleet to the defence of He-
raeum. But these vigorous measures were soon counter¬
acted by the report of Philip’s death, which had been oc¬
casioned by his wound at Methone, and a distemper arising
from the fatigues which he had afterwards undergone. The
inconstant Athenians too easily gave credit to this report,
and, as if all danger had been over with his death, discon¬
tinued their preparations, and directed their whole atten¬
tion to the Sacred War. This contest, instead of being end¬
ed by the death of Onomarchus, now raged with redoubled
fury. Phyallus, above mentioned, the only surviving bro¬
ther of Onomarchus, undertook the cause of the Phocians;
and his affairs becoming every day more and more despe¬
rate, he took the most unaccountable method of retriev¬
ing them which could be imagined, having converted into
ready money the most precious materials belonging to the
temple at Delphi, and with this treasure doubled the pay
of his soldiers. By this new piece of sacrilege he indeed
brought many adventurers to his standard, though he cut
off all hopes of mercy for himself or his party should he be
defeated. Having the assistance of a thousand Lacedae¬
monians, two thousand Achaeans, and five thousand Athe¬
nian infantry, with four hundred cavalry, he was still en¬
abled to make a very formidable appearance; and the Pho¬
cians took the field with every prospect of success.
Philip now thought it time to throw off the mask entire- Designs of
ly, for which the proceedings of the Athenians, particularly Philip
their league with Olynthus, furnished him with a plausible against
pretext; and the revenging such horrid sacrilege as had Greece.
4 K
Macedonia- been committed at Delphi seemed to give him a title to
' v'-—march at the head of an army into Greece. The superstition
of the Greeks, however, had not yet blinded them to such
a degree but they could easily perceive that Philip’s piety
was a mere pretence, and that his real design was to invade
and conquer the whole country. The Athenians no sooner
heard of the march of the Macedonian army, than they de¬
spatched with all expedition a strong guard to secure the
pass of Thermopylae; so that Philip was obliged to return
greatly chagrined and disappointed. Their next step was
to call an assembly to deliberate upon the measures proper
to be taken in order to restrain the ambition of the Mace¬
donian monarch ; and this assembly is rendered memorable
by the first appearance of Demosthenes as an orator against
Philip. Athens had for some time been in a very alarm¬
ing situation. They were deeply involved in the Sacred
War; their northern possessions were continually insulted
and plundered by Philip; whilst a number of his mercena¬
ry partisans drew off the public attention to such a degree,
that, instead of taking measures to counteract that ambitious
prince, they amused themselves with speculations about
the designs of the Persian monarch, who was preparing for
war against the Cyprians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians. Iso¬
crates the celebrated orator, and Phocion the statesman,
joined the multitude in their opinion, though not from any
servile or mercenary motives, but purely from a sense of
the unsteady conduct of the Athenians, who, they were
assured, could not contend with a prince of the vigour and
activity of Philip, and therefore exhorted them by all
means to cultivate the friendship of a king whom they
could not oppose with any probability of success. Isocrates,
indeed, greatly wished for an expedition into Asia, and
looked upon Philip as the only general capable of conduct¬
ing it, though at present the Greeks had no pretence for
making Avar upon the Persians, except that of revenging
former injuries. On this subject he addressed a discourse
to Philip himself; and it is even said that Isocrates,^by the
power of his rhetoric, prevailed upon Philip and the Athe¬
nians to lay aside for a short time their animosities, and
consent to undertake this expedition in conjunction.
Demos- If this coalition, however, did really take place, it was of
thenes. but very short duration. The views of Phocion and Iso¬
crates were violently opposed by Demosthenes. Though
sensible of the corruption and degeneracy of his country¬
men, he hoped to be able to rouse them from their lethar¬
gy by dint of his eloquence ; a talent he had been at great
pains to cultivate, and in which he is said to have excelled
all men that ever existed. In his first addresses to the peo¬
ple, this celebrated orator exhorted them to awake from
their indolence, and to assume the direction of their own
affairs. They had been too long governed, he said, by the
incapacity of a few ambitious men, to the great disadvan¬
tage as well as disgrace of the community. In the first
place, an orator who had placed himself at the head of a
taction of no more than three or at the most four hundred,
availed himself and his followers of the carelessness and
negligence of the people, to rule them at pleasure. From
a consideration of their present weakness and corruption,
as well as of the designs and commotions of the neighbour¬
ing powers, he advised them to abandon all romantic and
distant schemes of ambition ; and, instead of carrying their
arms into remote countries, to prepare for repelling the
attacks which might be made upon their own dominions.
Ke insisted also upon a better regulation of their finances ;
a more equal distribution of the public burdens, in propor¬
tion to the abilities of those upon whom they were laid,
and the retrenchment of many superfluous expenses. Hav¬
ing pointed ; out in a strong light the vigorous conduct
of Philip, and shown by what means he had attained to
such a respectable footing in the world, he next laid down
a proper plan for their military operations. He told them
that they were not yet prepared to meet Philip in the field..
They must begin with protecting Olynthus and the Cher-
sonesus, for which it would be necessary to raise a body of
two thousand light-armed troops, with a due proportion of
cavalry, which ought to be transported under a proper con¬
voy to the islands of Lemnos, Thasos, and Sciathos, in the
neighbourhood of Macedonia. In these they would enjoy
all kinds of necessaries in abundance, and might avail
themselves of every favourable incident to appear at the
first summons of their allies, and either to repel the in-
cursions of the Macedonians, or harass their territories.
Whilst this was going on, more vigorous preparations might
be made for war at home; and it was proposed that only
the fourth part of the Athenian citizens should enlist, and
no more supplies were wanted at present but ninety talents.
But notwithstanding the moderation of these proposals, and
the urgent necessities of the state, it was impossible to pre¬
vail upon the indolent and careless Athenians to provide
for their own safety. They appear, indeed, at this time,
to have been desperately sunk in effeminacy and dissipa¬
tion ; a disposition which Philip took care to encourage to
the utmost of his power. There was an assembly in the
city called the Sixty, from their consisting originally of
that number, who met expressly for the purposes of ex¬
tinguishing all care about public affairs, and of intoxicating
themselves with every kind of pleasure which they had in
their power. With this assembly Philip was so well pleased,
that he sent them money to support their extravagances;
and so effectually did they answer his purposes, that all
the eloquence of Demosthenes could not counteract the
speeches of much inferior orators when their eloquence
was backed by Macedonian gold.
Philip himself, as we have already hinted, was excessive¬
ly debauched in his private character, and the most shame¬
ful stories are related of him by the ancient writers, par¬
ticularly by Demosthenes. Theopompus, too, an author
who flourished in the time of Alexander, and was reward¬
ed and honoured by that monarch, also speaks of him in
terms which cannot be mentioned with decency ; but these
accounts, coming from the avowed enemies of the king,
are scarcely to be credited; and perhaps policy, as well as
inclination, might contribute somewhat to this scandalous
behaviour, that he might thereby recommend himself to
the libertines of Athens, and prevent even many of the
more thinking part of the people from suspecting his de¬
signs. But in whatever excesses he might at times indulge,
he never once lost sight of his main object, the subju¬
gation of the Greek states. On pretence of being in want
of money to defray the expense of his buildings, he bor¬
rowed money at a very high price throughout the whole
country; and this he found an easy matter to do, as the
dissipation of the Delphic treasures had rendered cash very
plentiful in Greece. Thus he attached his creditors firm¬
ly to his own interest; and, on pretence of paying debts,
was enabled, without molestation, to bestow a number of
pensions and gratuities upon the Athenian orators, who
by their treacherous harangues contributed greatly to the
ruin of their country ; at least as far as it could be ruined
by subjection to a prince who would have obliged them to
remain at peace, and apply themselves to the useful arts.
These he himself encouraged in a very eminent degree.
The greater part of his time was employed at Pella, which
city he adorned in the most magnificent manner, with
temples, theatres, and porticos. He invited by liberal re¬
wards the most ingenious artists to be found in Greece; and
as many of these met with very little encouragement in
their own country, great numbers flocked to him from all
quarters. In the government of his people, also, Philip
behaved with the utmost impartiality; listening with con¬
descension to the complaints of the meanest of his sub¬
jects, and keeping up a constant correspondence with
ssrei
ever
same
posse
MACEDONIA.
627
srioni-those whom he thought worthy of his acquaintance; from
which it is not easy to imagine how he could be guilty of
the vices which have been imputed to him by some of the
ancient historians.
The fate of Olynthus was now soon determined. This
city, which held the balance of power between Athens and
Macedonia, was taken and plundered, and the inhabitants
sold as slaves ; but the chief hope of Philip was in putting
an end to the Phocian war. For this purpose he affected
a neutrality, that he might thereby become the arbiter of
Greece. His hopes were well founded ; for the Thebans,
who were at the head of the league against the Phocians,
solicited him on the one side, and the states confederat¬
ed with the Phocians did the same on the other. He an¬
swered neither, yet held both in dependence. In his heart
he favoured the Thebans, or rather placed his hopes of
advancing his own cause on that state; for he well knew
that the Athenians, Spartans, and other states allied with
Phocis, would never allow him to pass Thermopylae, and
lead an army into their territories. So much respect, how¬
ever, did he show to the ambassadors from these states, par¬
ticularly Ctesiphon and Phrynon, who came from Athens,
i that they believed him to be in their interest, and re¬
ported as much to their masters. The Athenians, who
were now dissolved in ease and luxury, received this news
with great satisfaction, and immediately named ten pleni¬
potentiaries to go and treat of a full and lasting peace
with Philip. Amongst these plenipotentiaries were De¬
mosthenes and iEschines, the most celebrated orators in
Athens. Philip gave directions that these ambassadors
should be treated with the utmost civility, naming, at the
same time, three of his ministers to confer with them,
: namely, Antipater, Parmenio, and Eurylochus. Demos¬
thenes being obliged to return to Athens, recommended
it to his colleagues not to carry on their negociations with
Philip’s deputies, but to proceed with all diligence to court,
there to confer with the king himself. The ambassadors,
however, were so far from following his instructions, that
they suffered themselves to be put off for three months by
the arts of Philip and his ministers.
In the mean time, the king took from the Athenians
such places in Thrace as might best cover his frontiers,
giving their plenipotentiaries, instead of them, abundance of
fair promises, and the strongest assurances that his good
will should be as beneficial to them as ever their colonies
had been. At last a peace was concluded ; but then the
ratification of it was deferred until Philip had obtained
possession of Pherea in Thessaly, and saw himself at the
! head of a numerous army; then he ratified the treaty,
and dismissed the plenipotentiaries with assurances that
he would be ready at all times to give the Athenians proofs
of his friendship. On their return to Athens, when this
matter came to be debated before the people, Demos¬
thenes plainly told them that, in his opinion, the promises
of Philip ought not to be relied on, because they appear¬
ed to be of little significance in themselves, and came from
| a prince of so much art, and so little fidelity, that they
could derive no authority from their maker. iEschines,
on the other hand, gave it as his opinion, that the king of
Macedonia’s assurances ought to give full satisfaction.
He
said, that, for his own part, he was not politician enough to
see any thing of disguise or dissimulation in the king’s
conduct; that there was great danger in distrusting prin¬
ces ; and that the surest method of putting men upon de¬
ceit was to show that we suspected them of it. In this
the rest of the plenipotentiaries concurred with iEschines ;
and the people, being desirous of quiet, and addicted to
pleasure, easily gave credit to all that was said, and de¬
creed that the peace should be maintained. All this was
the more easily brought about, because Phocion, the wor¬
thiest man in the republic, did not oppose Philip, which
was owing to his entertaining a just sense of the actual Macedonia,
state of his country. He conceived that the Athenians of'v'—^
those times were nothing like their ancestors; and there¬
fore, as he expressed himself upon another occasion, he
was desirous, since they would not be at the head of
Greece themselves, that they should at least be upon good
terms with that power which would unquestionably be so.
Philip, who knew how to use as well as to procure op-End of the
portunity, whilst the Athenians were in this good humour, Phocian
passed Thermopylae, without their knowing whether hewar.
would fall upon Phocis or Thebes ; but he quickly unde¬
ceived them, by commanding his soldiers to put on crowns
of laurel, declaring them thereby the troops of Apollo,
and himself the lieutenant-general of that god. He then
entered Phocis with an air of triumph, which so terrified
the Phocians, whom he had caused to be denounced as
sacrilegious persons, that they immediately dismissed all
thoughts of defence, and without more ado submitted to
his mercy. Thus the Phocian war, which had so long
employed all Greece, was ended without a stroke, and
the judgment on the Phocians remitted to the Amphic-
tyonic or grand council of Greece. By their decree, the
walls of three Phocian cities were demolished, the people
were forbidden to inhabit any but villages, and ordered to
Ppy a yearly tribute of sixty talents, and never to make use
either of horses or arms till they had repaid to the temple
of Apollo the money they had sacrilegiously carried from
thence. Their arms were taken from them, broken to
pieces, and burned; and their double voice in the council
was taken from them, and given to the Macedonians. Other
orders were made for settling the affairs both of religion and
the state throughout Greece, all of which were executed
by Philip with great exactness and moderation ; he paying
the most profound respect to the council, and, when he had
performed its commands, retiring peaceably with his army
back to Macedonia, which gained him great reputation.
At Athens alone the justice and piety of Philip were
not understood. The people began to see, though a lit¬
tle too late, that they had been abused and deceived by
those who had negociated the late peace. They saw that,
through their acceptance of it, the Phocians were de¬
stroyed ; that Philip, having become master of Thermo¬
pylae, might enter Greece when he pleased ; that, in aban¬
doning their allies, they had abandoned themselves ; and
that, in all probability, they might soon feel the weight
of his power, whom they had so foolishly trusted. They
therefore began to take new and hostile measures ; they
ordered that the women should retire out of the villages
into the city, that their walls should be repaired, and their
forts strengthened. They seemed inclined to question
Philip’s election into the council of the Amphictyons, be¬
cause it had been done without their consent; and even to
proceed to an open war. In all likelihood, they would have
carried things to extravagance, if Demosthenes had not in¬
terposed. He told them, that though he was not for mak¬
ing the peace, he was however for keeping it; and that
he saw no occasion whatever for their entering into so
unequal a contest as would necessarily ensue if they took
up arms, not only against Philip, but also against all the
states which had concurred with him in the late transac¬
tions. This seems to have cooled the rage of the Athe¬
nians, and to have brought them to think of ruining Philip
gradually, as they had raised him.
The fame of his achievements beyond the bounds of
Macedonia having disposed the subjects of Philip to hope
every thing from his conduct, and the several states of
Greece to desire above all things his friendship, that
prudent monarch laid hold of this favourable situation to
fix his dominion upon such a stable foundation as that a
reverse of fortune should not immediately destroy it. To
this end, whilst he carried on his negociations through
Macedonia. Greece, he likewise kept his army in exercise, by taking
several places in Thrace, which terribly incommoded the
Athenians. Diopithes, who had the government of the
Athenian colonies in those parts, perceiving well what end
Philip had in view, did not stay for instructions from home,
but, having with much expedition raised a considerable
body of troops, took advantage of the king’s being absent
with his army, entered the adjacent territories of Philip,
and wasted them with fire and sword.
The king, who, on account of the operations of the cam¬
paign in the Chersonesus, was not at leisure to repel Dio¬
pithes by force, nor indeed could divide his army with¬
out imminent hazard, chose, like an able general, rather to
abandon his provinces to insults, which might be after¬
wards revenged, than, by following the dictates of an ill-
timed resentment, to hazard the loss of his veteran army,
whereon depended all his hopes. He contented himself,
therefore, with complaining to the xithenians of the conduct
of Diopithes, who in a time of peace had entered his do¬
minions, and committed such devastations as could scarce¬
ly have been justified in a time of war. His partisans sup¬
ported this application with all their eloquence. They
told the Athenians, that unless they recalled Diopithes,
and brought him to trial for this infringement of the
peace, they ought not to hope either for the friendship of
Philip, or that of any other prince or state ; neither could
they justly complain, if, prompted by such a precedent,
others should break faith with them, and fall without the
least notice upon their dominions. Demosthenes defended
Diopithes, and undertook to show that he deserved the
praise and not the censure of the Athenians. Those of the
other party began then to charge him with crimes of a
different nature; they alleged that he had oppressed the
subjects and maltreated the allies of Athens. Demosthenes
replied, that of these things there were as yet no proofs;
that when such should appear, a single galley might be
sent to bring over Diopithes to abide their judgment, but
that Philip would not come if they sent a fleet; whence
he inferred, that they ought to be cautious, and to weigh
well the merits of this cause before they took any resolu¬
tion. He said, that it was true Philip had not as yet at¬
tacked Attica, or pretended to make a descent on their
territories in Greece, or to force his way into their ports :
when it came to that, he was of opinion they would be
hardly able to defend themselves; therefore he thought
such men were to be esteemed as sought to protect their
frontiers, in order to keep Philip as long as might be at a
distance. Upon this he moved, that, instead of disowning
what Diopithes had done, or directing him to dismiss his
army, they should send him over recruits, and show the
king of Macedonia that they knew how to protect their ter¬
ritories, and to maintain the dignity of their state, as well as
their ancestors. These arguments had such an effect,
that a decree was made conformable to his motion.
Whilst affairs stood thus, the Illyrians, recovering cou¬
rage, and seeing Philip at such a distance, harassed the fron¬
tiers of Macedonia, and threatened a formidable invasion ;
but Philip, by quick marches, arrivedon the borders of Illyri-
cum, and struck this barbarous people with such a panic,
that they were glad to compound for their former depre¬
dations at the price he was pleased to fix. Most of the
Greek cities in Thrace now sought the friendship of the
king, and entered into a league with him for their mutual
defence. As it cannot be supposed that each of these
free cities had a power equal to that of Philip, we may
therefore look upon him as their protector. About this time
Philip’s negociations in the Peloponnesus began to come
to light; the Argives and Messenians, growing weary of
that tyrannical authority which the Spartans had exercised
over them, applied to Thebes for assistance ; and the The¬
bans, out of their natural aversion to Sparta, sought to open
a passage for Philip into the Peloponnesus, that, in conjunc-Ma ph
tion with them, he might humble the Lacedsemonians.
Philip readily accepted the offer, and resolved to procure
a decree from the Amphictyons, directing the Lacedzemo-
nians to leave Argos and Messene free ; which, if they
complied not with, he, as the lieutenant of the Amphic-
tyons, might, with great appearance of justice, march with
a body of troops to enforce their order. When Sparta re¬
ceived intelligence of this, she immediately applied to
Athens, earnestly entreating assistance, as in the common
cause of Greece. The Argives and Messenians, on the other
hand, laboured assiduously to gain the Athenians to their
side, alleging that, if they were friends to liberty, they
ought to assist those whose only aim was to be free. De¬
mosthenes, at this juncture, outwrestled Philip, if we may
borrow that king’s expression; for, by a vehement ha¬
rangue, he not only determined his own citizens to be¬
come the avowed enemies of the king, but also made the
Argives and Messenians not over fond of him as an ally;
which, when Philip perceived, he laid aside all thoughts
of this enterprise for the present, and began to practise on
Euboea.
This country, now called Negropont, is separated from
Greece by the Euripus, a strait so narrow that Eubcea
might easily be united to the continent. This situation
made Philip call it “ the fetters of Greece,” which he
therefore sought to have in his own hands. There had
been for some years great disturbances in that country;
under colour of which, Philip sent forces thither, and de¬
molished Porthmos, the strongest city in those parts, leav¬
ing the whole country under the government of three lords,
whom Demosthenes roundly calls tyrants established by
Philip. Shortly after, the Macedonians took Oreus, which
was left under the government of five magistrates, also styl¬
ed tyrants at Athens. Thither Plutarch of Eretria, one
of the most eminent persons in Eubcea, went to represent
the distresses of his country, and to implore the Athenians
to set it free. This suit Demosthenes recommended
warmly to the people, who sent thither their famous leader
Phocion, supported by formidable votes, but a very slender
army; yet so well did he manage the affairs of the com¬
monwealth and her allies, that Philip quickly found he
must for a time abandon that project; which, however, he
did not until he had formed another no less beneficial to
himself, or less dangerous to Athens. It was the prosecu¬
tion of his conquests in Thrace, which he thought of push¬
ing much further than he had hitherto done, or could be
reasonably suspected to have any intention of doing.
Extraordinary preparations were made by the Macedo¬
nian monarch for this campaign. His son Alexander was
left regent of the kingdom; and he himself with thirty
thousand men laid siege to Perinthus, one of the strongest
cities in the country. At that time, however, all his arts of
cajoling and pretending friendship were insufficient to de¬
ceive the Athenians. They gave the command of their
army and fleet to Phocion, a general of great abilities,
and with whom Philip would have found it very hard to
contend. On the other hand, the king of Persia began
to turn jealous of the growing power of the Macedonian
monarch. The Persian kings had been accustomed to
regard those of Macedonia as their faithful allies ; but the
good fortune of Philip, the continual clamour of the Athe¬
nians against him, and his dethroning at pleasure the petty
princes of Thrace, made him now be regarded in another
light. When, therefore, he led his troops against Perin¬
thus, the Great King, as he was styled by the Greeks,
sent his letters mandatory to the governors of the mari¬
time provinces, directing them to supply the place with
all things in their power; in consequence of which they
filled it with troops, granted subsidies in ready money,
and sent besides great convoys of provision and ammum-
iis4K
.-■>U
n al
:ractyo!:-
MACEDONIA.
629
Md<»a.tion. The Byzantines also, supposing that their turn
would be next, exerted their utmost endeavours for the
preservation of Perinthus, sending thither the flower of
their youth, with all other necessaries for an obstinate de¬
fence. The consequence of all this was, that Philip found
himself obliged to raise the siege with great loss,
ilipi- That the reputation of the Macedonian arms might not
ntedle-gink by this disgrace, Philip made war on the Scythians
llb-’ andTriballi, both of whom he defeated; and then formed
Ami a design of invading Attica, though he had no fleet to
transport his troops, and knew very well that the Thessa¬
lians were not to be depended upon if he attempted to
march through the Pisae, and that the Thebans would
even then be ready to oppose his march. To obviate all
these difficulties, he had recourse to Athens itself, where,
by means of his hired partisans, he procured his old friend
iEschines to be sent their deputy to the Amphictyons.
This seemed a small matter, and yet was the hinge on
which his whole project turned. By the time iEschines
had taken his seat, a question was stirred in the council,
whether the Locrians of Amphisia had not been guilty of
sacrilege in ploughing the fields of Cyrrha in the neigh¬
bourhood of the temple of Delphi. The assembly being di¬
vided in their opinions, iEschines proposed to take a view
of the ground, which was accordingly decreed. But when
the Amphictyons came in order to see how things stood, the
Locrians, either jealous of their property, or spurred there¬
to by the suggestions of some who saw farther than them¬
selves, fell upon those venerable persons so rudely, that
they were compelled to secure themselves by flight. The
Amphictyons decreed that an army should be raised,
under the command of one of their own number, to chas¬
tise the delinquents; but as this army was to be composed
of troops sent from all parts of Greece, the appearance at
the rendezvous was so inconsiderable, that the Amphic¬
tyons sent to command them durst not undertake anything.
The whole matter being reported to the council, Aes¬
chines, in a long and eloquent harangue, showed how
much the welfare and even the safety of Greece depended
on the deference paid to their decrees; and after inveigh¬
ing against the want of public spirit in such as had not
sent tfieir quotas at the time appointed by the council, he
moved that they should elect Philip as their general, and
pray him to execute their decree. The deputies from the
other states, conceiving that by this expedient their re¬
spective constituents would be free from any further
trouble or expense, agreed to it at once; upon which a
decree was immediately drawn up, purporting that ambas¬
sadors should be sent to Philip of Macedonia, in the name
of Apollo and the Amphictyons, once more to require his
assistance, and to notify to him, that the states of Greece
had unanimously chosen him their general, with full power
to act as he thought fit against such as had opposed the
authority of the Amphictyons. Thus of a sudden Philip
acquired all that he sought; and having an army ready in
expectation of this event, he immediately marched in ap¬
pearance to execute the commands of the Amphictyons,
but in reality to accomplish his own designs; for having
passed into Greece with his army, instead of attacking
the Locrians, he immediately seized upon Elatea, a great
city of Phocis, situated on the river Cephisus.
The Athenians in the mean time were in the utmost
ronsH. confusion on the news of Philip’s march. However, by
the advice of Demosthenes, they invited the ihebans to
join them against the common enemy of Greece. Philip
endeavoured as much as possible to prevent this confede¬
racy from taking place, but all his efforts proved ineffec¬
tual. The Athenians raised an army, which immediately
marched to Eleusis, where they were joined by the The¬
bans. The confederates made the best appearance that
had ever been seen in Greece, and the troops were ex¬
Itle
ceedingly good; but, unfortunately, the generals were men Macedonia,
of no conduct or skill in the military art. An engagement
ensued at Cheronaea, in which Alexander commanded one
wing of the Macedonian army, and his father Philip the
other. The confederate army was divided according to
the different nations of which it consisted; the Athenians
having the right, and the Boeotians the left. In the be¬
ginning of the battle the confederates had the advantage ;
whereupon Stratocles, an Athenian commander, cried out,
“ Come on, brother soldiers, let us drive them back to
Macedonia,” which being overheard by the king, he said
very coolly to one of his officers, “ These Athenians do
not know how to conquer.” Upon this he directed the
files of the phalanx to be closed up, and retired to a neigh¬
bouring eminence, from which, when the Athenians were
eager in their pursuit, he rushed down with impetuosity,
broke, and routed them with prodigious slaughter. The
orator Demosthenes behaved very unbecomingly in this
engagement, for he deserted his post, and was one of the
first who fled ; nay, we are told, that a stake catching hold
of his robe, he, not doubting that it was an enemy, ig-
nominiously cried out, “ Spare my life.”
The victory of Cheronaea determined the fate of Greece; Philip is
and from this time we must reckon Philip supreme lord ofaPPointed
all the Grecian states. The first use he made of his powerSen.era^
was to convoke a general assembly, in which he was recog- p^^nshe
nised as generalissimo, and with full power appointed their ‘
leader against the Persians. Having, by virtue of his autho¬
rity, settled a general peace amongst them, and appointed
the quota that each of the states should furnish for the war,
he dismissed them, and returning to Macedonia, began to
make great preparations for this new expedition. His
pretence for making war on the Persians at this time was
the assistance given by the Persians to the city of Perin¬
thus, as ah’eady mentioned. In the mean time, however,
the king, by reason of the dissensions which reigned in his
family, was rendered quite miserable. He quarrelled with
his wife Olympias to such a degree, that he divorced her,
and married another woman named Cleopatra. This pro¬
duced a quarrel between him and his son Alexander, which
at length reached to such a height that Alexander retired
into Epirus with his mother. Some time afterwards, how¬
ever, he was recalled, and a reconciliation took place in
appearance; but in the mean time a conspiracy was secretly
formed against the king’s life, the real causes and circum¬
stances of which are very little known. Certain it is, how¬
ever, that it took effect as the king was exhibiting certain
shows in honour of his daughter’s marriage with the king
of Epirus. Philip having given a public audience to the
ambassadors of Greece, went next day in great state to
the theatre. All the seats were early occupied ; and the
shows began with a splendid procession, in which the
images of the twelve superior deities of Greece were car¬
ried, as also the image of Philip, habited in like manner,
as if he now made the thirteenth, at which the people
shouted aloud. Then came the king alone, in a white robe,
crowned, with his guards at a considerable distance, that
the Greeks might see he placed his safety only in his con¬
fidence of the loyalty of his subjects. Pausanias, the as¬
sassin, however, had fixed himself close by the door of the
theatre; and observing that all things fell out as he had
foreseen they would, took his opportunity when the king
drew near him, and plunging his sword in his left side,
laid him dead at his feet. He then fled as fast as he was
able towards the place where his horses were, and would
have escaped, had not the twig of a vine caught his shoe
and thrown him down. This gave time to those who pur¬
sued him to come up with him; but instead of securing
him, in order to extort a discovery of his accomplices, they
put an end to his life.
With regard to the character of this monarch, it appears Character
of Philip.
630
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia.Certain that he Was one of the most eminent persons that
ever sat upon a throne. Had he lived for some time longer,
he would in all probability have subdued the Persians; an
achievement less difficult than many which he had already
accomplished. Had that event taken place, the undertak¬
ings of his long and successful reign would have been
ennobled and illuminated by tbe splendour of extensive
foreign conquest. Philip would have reached that height
of renown which is obtained by the habits of activity, vi¬
gilance, and fortitude, in the pursuit of unbounded great¬
ness ; and, in the opinion of posterity, would perhaps have
surpassed the glory of all kings and conquerors who either
preceded or followed him. Yet, even on this supposition,
there is not any man of sense and probity, who, if he al¬
lows himself time for serious reflection, would purchase
the imagined grandeur and prosperity of the king of Ma¬
cedonia at the price of his artifices and his crimes; and to
a philosopher, who considered either the means by which
he had obtained his triumphs, or the probable consequences
of his dominion over Greece and Asia, the busy ambition
of this mighty conqueror would appear but a deceitful scene
of splendid misery.
Joy of the No sooner did the news of Philip’s death reach Athens,
Athenians, than, as if all danger had been past, the inhabitants show¬
ed the most extravagant signs of joy. Demosthenes and
his party put on chaplets of flowers, and behaved as if they
had gained a great victory. Phocion reproved them for
this madness ; bidding them remember, that “ the army
which had beaten them at Cheronma was lessened but by
one.” This reproof, however, had very little effect. The
people heard with pleasure all the harsh things which the
orators could say of the young Alexander, king of Mace¬
donia, whom they represented as a giddy wrong-headed
boy, ready to grasp all things in his imagination, and able
to perform nothing. The affairs of Macedonia indeed
were in a very distracted state on the accession of Alex¬
ander ; for all the neighbouring nations had the same no¬
tion of the young king with the Athenians, and, being ir¬
ritated by the usurpations of Philip, immediately revolted ;
and the states of Greece entered into a confederacy against
him. The Persians had been contriving how to transfer
the war to Macedonia; but as soon as the news of Philip’s
death reached them, they behaved as if all danger had
been terminated. At the same time Attalus, one of the
Macedonian commanders, aspired to the crown, and sought
to draw off the soldiers from their allegiance.
In the councils held upon this occasion, Alexander’s best
friends advised him rather to make use of dissimulation
than force, and to try to cajole those whom they thought he
could not subdue. These advices, however, were ill suit¬
ed to the temper of their monarch. He thought that
vigorous measures only were proper, and therefore imme¬
diately led his army into Thessaly. Here he harangued
the princes so effectually, that he thoroughly gained them
over to his interest, and was by them declared general of
Greece ; upon which he returned to Macedonia, where he
caused Attalus to be seized and put to death.
In the spring of the next year (335 before Christ), Alex¬
ander resolved to subdue the Triballians and Illyrians, who
inhabited the countries now called Bulgaria and Sclavonia,
and had been very formidable enemies to the Macedonian
power. In this expedition he discovered, though then but
twenty years of age, a surprising degree of military know¬
ledge. Having advanced to the passes of Mount Hmmus
(the Balkan), he learned that the barbarians had posted
themselves in the most advantageous manner. Upon the
tops of the cliffs, and at the head of every passage, they
had placed their carriages and waggons in such a manner
as to form a kind of parapet, with their shafts inwards, that
when the Macedonians should have half ascended the rock,
they might be able to push these heavy carriages down
Alexander
declared
general of
Greece.
upon them ; and they reckoned the more upon this contri-Mar
vance, because of the close order of the phalanx, which ^ %
they imagined, would be terribly exposed by the soldiers
wanting room to stir, and thereby to avoid the falling wag¬
gons. But Alexander, having directed his heavy-armed
troops to march, gave orders, that, where the way would
permit, they should open to the right and left, and suf¬
fer the carriages to go through; but that, in the nar¬
row passes, they should throw themselves on their faces
with their shields behind them, that the carts might run
over them. This had the desired effect, and the Mace¬
donians reached the enemy’s works without the loss of
a man. Ihe dispute was then quickly decided. The bar¬
barians were driven from their posts with great slaugh¬
ter, and left behind them a considerable booty for the con¬
querors.
The next exploits of Alexander were against the Get£e,Th,
the fanlantii, and some other nations inhabiting the coun-take*
tty upon the other side of the Danube. These he also over-destroveij
came ; showing in all his actions the most perfect skill in
military affairs, joined with the greatest valour. In the
mean time, however, all Greece was thrown into commotion
by a report which had been confidently spread abroad, that
the king was dead in Illyria. The Thebans, on this news,
seized Amyntas and iimolaus, two eminent officers in the
Macedonian garrison which held their citadel, and drag¬
ged them to the market-place, where they were put to
death without either form of process, or any crime being
alleged against them. Alexander, however, did not suffer
them to remain long in their mistake. He marched with
such expedition, that in seven days he reached Pallene in
Thessaly ; and in six days more he entered Bceotia, before
the ihebans had any intelligence of his having passed the
Straits of Thermopylae. Even then they would not be¬
lieve that the king was alive, but insisted that the Mace¬
donian army was commanded by Antipater, or by one
Alexander the son of iEropus. The rest of the Greeks,
however, were not so hard of belief, and therefore sent no
assistance to the Thebans, who were thus obliged to bear
the consequences of their own folly and obstinacy. Their
city was taken by assault, and the inhabitants were for
some hours massacred without distinction of age 9r sex;
after which the houses were demolished, excepting that
of Pindar the famous poet, which was spared out of respect
to the merit of its owner, and because he had celebrated
Alexander king of Macedonia. The lands, except those
destined to religious uses, were shared amongst the sol¬
diers, and all the prisoners sold' as slaves, by which 440
talents were brought into the king’s treasury.
By this severity the rest of the Grecian states were soyum[)erflf
thoroughly humbled, that they thought no more of makingt[,earnn
any resistance, and Alexander had nothing further to bin-with which
der him from pursuing his favourite project of invading he invad.
Asia. Very little preparation was necessary for the Mace-6,1 Via.
donian monarch, who went as to an assured conquest, and
reckoned upon being supplied chiefly by the spoils of bis
enemies. Historians are not agreed as to the number of
his army. Arrian says, that there were thirty thousand foot
and five thousand horse. Diodorus Siculus informs us that
there vrere thirteen thousand Macedonian foot, seven thou¬
sand of the confederate states, and five thousand merce¬
naries, under the command of Parmenio. Of the Odrisians,
Triballians, and Illyrians, there were five thousand; and of
the Agrians, who were armed only with darts, one thousand.
As for the horse, he tells us there were eighteen hundred
commanded by Philotas, and as many Thessalians under
the command of Callas. Out of the confederate states of
Greece there were six hundred commanded by Eurygius;
and nine hundred Thracians and Paeonians, who led the
van under Cassander. Plutarch tells us, that, according
to a moderate computation, Alexander had thirty thousand
tl
3f
0
or
ki:
ve
tw
,Jer
0
try
he
He
tha
wai
11 ma'
ji ofi
sidi
win
to I
all
sho
he
ner
ten
| he
tot
: des
i\ 1
in am
dial
judj
Me:
desi
Grc
pan
pen
post
awa
ensi
feat
ing
as i:
city
Ale
he i
buti
tow
and
Mil
side
off
fort
sooi
esci
his
assi
tos
ver
But i
sits
tali
i-croi
Cro'
try
hei
Pro
who
He
tliat
war
mar
of
side
whe
to I'
alii
shor
ther
ha
he
nen
tern
he c
to ti
desc
Ii
arm-
dian
assi
iudg
Met
dest;
Grei
part
pern
post
awai
ensu
featt
®g
as it]
city
■Alej
her
bate
tow
edL- fbol and five thousand horse ; and that, according to the with a very numerous garrison, made an obstinate defence. Macedonia
- largest estimate, he had thirty-four thousand foot and four Nothing, however, was capable of resisting the Macedonian
thousand horse. As to his fund for the payment of the army. Memnon was at last obliged to abandon the place ;
army, AristobuJus says it was but seventy talents; and upon which Alexander took and razed the city of Tralles
Onesicritus, who was also present in this expedition, not in Phrygia, received the submission of several princes tri-
only takes away the seventy talents, but affirms that the butary to the Persians; and having destroyed the Mar¬
iner was .WO lime re in r e . As for provisions, there marians, a people of Lycia who had fallen upon the rear of
his army, put an end to the campaign; after which he
sent home all the new married men, in obedience, it would
seem, to a precept of the Mosaic law, and which endear¬
ed him more to his soldiers than almost any other action
of his life.
king was two hundred in debt
was just sufficient for a month and no more; and to pre¬
vent disturbances, Antipater was left in Macedonia with
twelve thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse.
The army having assembled at Amphipolis, Alexander
marched thence to the mouths of the river Strymon ; then
expe-crossing Mount Pangaeus, he took the road to Abdera.
Crossing the river Ebrus, he proceeded through the coun¬
try of Paetis, and in twenty days reached Sestos ; thence
xanfr
lout a
Ae
MACEDONIA.
631
As soon as the season would permit, Alexander quitted
the province of Phaselus ; and having sent part of his
army through the mountainous country to Perga, by a
he marched to Eleus, where he sacrificed on the tomb of short but difficult road, took his route by a certain pro-
Protesilaus, because he was the first amongst the Greeks - - ’ ■ • - - - - - r
who at the siege of Troy set foot upon the Asiatic shore.
He did this, that his landing might be more propitious than
that of the hero to whom he sacrificed, who was soon after¬
wards slain. The greatest part of the army, under the com¬
mand of Parmenio, embarked at Sestos, on board of a fleet
of a hundred and sixty galleys of three benches of oars, be¬
sides small craft. Alexander himself sailed from Eleus ; and
when he was in the middle of the Hellespont, offered a bull
to Neptune and the Nereids, pouring forth at the same time
a libation from a golden cup. When he drew near to the
shore, he launched a javelin, which stuck in the earth ;
then, in complete armour, he leaped upon the strand ; and
having erected altars to Jupiter, Minerva, and Hercules,
he proceeded to Ilium. Here again he sacrificed to Mi¬
nerva ; and taking down some arms which had hung in the
temple of that goddess since the time of the Trojan war,
he consecrated his own in their stead. He sacrificed also
to the ghost of Priam, to avert his wrath on account of the
descent which he himself claimed from Achilles,
tie oi In the mean time the Persians had assembled a great
nim army in Phrygia, amongst whom was one Memnon, a Rho¬
dian, the best officer in the service of Darius. Alexander,
as soon as he had performed all the ceremonies which he
judged necessary, marched directly towards the enemy.
Memnon gave it as his opinion that they should burn and
destroy all the country round, that they might deprive the
Greeks of the means of subsisting, and then transport a
part of their army into Macedonia. But the Persians, de¬
pending on their cavalry, rejected this salutary advice, and
posted themselves along the river Granicus, in order to
await the arrival of Alexander. In the engagement which
ensued on the banks of that river, the Persians were de¬
feated, and Alexander became master of all the neighbour¬
ing country, which he immediately began to take care of,
as if it had been part of his hereditary dominions. The
city of Sardis wras immediately delivered up ; and here
Alexander built a temple to Jupiter Olympius. After this,
he restored the Ephesians to their liberty, ordered the tri¬
bute which they formerly paid to the Persians to be applied
towards the rebuilding the magnificent temple of Diana,
and having settled the affairs of the city, marched against
Miletus. This place was defended by Memnon with a con¬
siderable body of troops who had fled thither after the battle
of Granicus, and therefore made a vigorous resistance. The
fortune of Alexander, however, prevailed ; and the city was
soon reduced, though Memnon with part of the troops
escaped to Halicarnassus. After this, the king dismissed
his fleet; a proceeding for which various causes have been
assigned, though it is probable, that the chief reason was
to show his army that their only resource now lay in sub¬
verting the Persian empire.
Almost all the cities between Miletus and Halicarnas¬
sus submitted as soon as they heard that the former was
taken; but Halicarnassus, where Memnon commanded
equfc
Ml
montoiy, where the way is altogether impassable except
when the north winds blow. At the time of the king’s
march the south wind had held for a long time ; but of a
sudden it changed, and blew from the north so violently,
that, as he and his followers declared, they obtained a
safe and easy passage, through divine assistance. By many
this march is considered as miraculous, and compared
to that of the children of Israel through the Red Sea;
whilst, on the other hand, it is the opinion of others, that
there w^as nothing at all extraordinary in it. He continu¬
ed his march towards Gordium, a city of Phrygia; the
enemy having abandoned the strong pass of Telmissus,
through which it was necessary for him to march. When
he arrived at Gordium, and found himself under the neces¬
sity of staying there some time till the several corps of his
army could be re-united, he expressed a strong desire of
seeing Gordius’s chariot, and the famous knot in the har¬
ness, of which such strange stories had been published to
the world. The cord in which this knot was tied was made
of the inner rind of the cornel tree ; and no eye could per¬
ceive where it began or ended. Alexander, when he
could find no possible way of untying, and yet was unwill¬
ing to leave it tied, lest it should cause some fears in the
breasts of his soldiers, is said by some authors to have cut
the cords with his sword, saying “ it matters not how it is
undone.” But Aristobulus assures us, that the king wrest¬
ed a wooden pin out of the beam of the waggon, which,
being driven in across the beam, held it up, and so took
the yoke from under it. Be this as it may, however, Ar¬
rian informs us, that a great tempest of thunder, lightning,
and rain, happening the succeeding night, it was held de¬
clarative of the true solution of this knot, and that Alex¬
ander would become master of Asia.
The king having left Gordium, marched towards Cili- Alexan-
cia, where he was attended with his usual good fortune, cler’s sick-
the Persians abandoning all the strong passes as he ad-ness and re*
vanced. As soon as he entered the province, he received00'u''
advice that Arsames, whom Darius had made governor of
Tarsus, was about to abandon it, and that the inhabitants
were very apprehensive that he intended to plunder them
before he withdrew. To prevent this, the king marched
incessantly, and arrived just in time to save the city. But
his saving it had well nigh cost him his life ; for, either
through the excessive fatigue of marching, as some say,
or, according to others, by his plunging when very hot
into the river Cydnus, which, as it runs through thick
shades, has its waters excessively cold, he fell inio such a
distemper as threatened immediate dissolution. His ar¬
my lost their spirits; the generals, perplexed, knew not
what to do; and his physicians were so much affrighted,
that the terror of his death hindered them from using the
necessary methods for preserving his life. Philip the Acar-
nanian alone preserved self-command enough to examine
the nature of the king’s disease, the worst symptom of
which was a continual shivering, which he removed by
£32
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia.
Battle of
Issus.
Tyre taken
and de¬
stroyed.
Egypt sub¬
mits.
means of a potion, and in a short time the king recovered
his usual health.
Soon after Alexander’s recovery, he received the agree¬
able news that Ptolemy and Asander had defeated the
Persian generals, and made great conquests on the Helles¬
pont ; and a little after that he met the Persian army at
Issus, commanded by Darius himself. A bloody engage¬
ment ensued, in which the Persians were defeated with
great slaughter. The consequences of this victory were
very advantageous to the Macedonians. Many governors
of provinces, and petty princes, submitted themselvesTo
the conqueror; and such as did so were treated, not as a
newly conquered people, but as his old hereditary subjects,
being neither burdened with soldiers nor oppressed with
tribute. Amongst the number of those places which, with¬
in a short space after the battle of Issus, sent deputies to
submit to the conqueror, was the city of Tyre. The king,
whose name was Azelmicus, was absent in the Persian
fleet; but his son was amongst the deputies, and was very
favourably received by Adexander. The king probably in¬
tended to confer particular honours upon the city of Tyre,
for he acquainted the inhabitants that he would come and
sacrifice to the Tyrian Hercules, the patron of their city,
to whom they had erected a most magnificent temple.
But these people, like most other trading nations, were
far too suspicious to think of admitting such an enter¬
prising prince with his troops within their walls. They
therefore sent their deputies again to him to inform him
that they were ready to do whatever he should command
them; but as to his coming and sacrificing in their city,
they could not consent to that, but were positively deter¬
mined not to admit a single Macedonian within their gates.
Alexander immediately dismissed their deputies in great
displeasure. He then assembled a council of war, in which
he insisted strongly on the disaffected state of Greece (for
most of the Grecian states had sent ambassadors to Da¬
rius, to enter into a league with him against the Macedo¬
nians), the power of the Persians by sea, and the folly of
carrying on the war in distant provinces, whilst Tyre was
left unreduced behind them; he also Remarked, that if
once this city was subdued, the sovereignty of the sea
would be transferred to them, because it would fix their
possession of the coasts; and as the Persian fleet was
composed chiefly of tributary squadrons, those tributaries
would fight the battles, not of their late, but of their pre¬
sent masters.
For these reasons the siege of Tyre was resolved on.
The town was not taken, however, without great difficul¬
ty ; which provoked Alexander to such a degree that he
treated the inhabitants with the greatest cruelty. (See
Tyre.) After the reduction of Tyre, Alexander, though
the season was already far advanced, resolved to make an
expedition into Syria; and in his way thither proposed to
chastise the Jews, who had highly offended him during
the siege of Tyre; for when he sent to them to demand
provisions for his soldiers, they answered, that they were
the subjects of Darius, and bound by oath not to supply
his enemies. The king, however, was pacified by their
submission, and not only pardoned them, but conferred
many privileges upon them.
From Jerusalem Alexander marched directly to Gaza,
the only place in that part of the world which still held
out for Darius. This was a very large and strong city,
situated upon a very high hill, about five miles from the
sea-shore. One Batis or Betis, an eunuch, had the go¬
vernment of the place, and had made every preparation
necessary for sustaining a long and obstinate siege. The
governor defended the place with great valour, and seve¬
ral times repulsed his enemies ; but at last it was taken
by storm, and all the garrison slain to a man ; and this se¬
cured to Alexander an entrance into Egypt, which hav¬
ing before been very impatient of the Persian yoke, ad-Maca)
mitted the Macedonians peaceably. Here the king laid y!^
the foundations of the city of Alexandria, which for many
years afterwards continued to be the capital of the coun¬
try. Whilst he remained here, he also formed the sin¬
gular design of visiting the temple of Jupiter Ammon.
As to the motives by which he was induced to take this
extraordinary journey, authors are not agreed; but cer¬
tain it is, that he hazarded himself and his troops in the
highest degree, there being two dangers in this march,
which, with the example before him of Cambyses, who
lost the greater part of his army in it, might have terri¬
fied any body but Alexander. The first was the want of
water, which, in the sandy deserts surrounding the tem¬
ple, is nowhere to be found; the other, the uncertainty of
the road from the fluctuation of the sands, which, chang¬
ing their situation every moment, leave the traveller nei¬
ther a road to walk in, nor a mark to march by. These
difficulties, however, Alexander overcame, though, not
without a miraculous interposition, as is pretended by all
his historians.
Alexander having consulted the oracle, and received a Battle t-
favourable answer, returned to pursue his conquests. Hav-Arbek
ing settled the government of Egypt, he appointed the
general rendezvous of his forces at Tyre. Here he met
with ambassadors from Athens, requesting him to pardon
such of their countrymen as he found serving the enemy.
The king, being desirous to oblige such a famous state,
granted their request; and also sent a fleet to the coast of
Greece, to prevent the effects of some commotions which
had lately happened in Peloponnesus. He then direct¬
ed his march to Thapsacus ; and having passed the Eu¬
phrates and Tigris, met with Darius near Arbela, where
the Persians were again overthrown with prodigious
slaughter, and by this victory Alexander became in effect
master of the Persian empire.
After this important victory, Alexander marched di-Babyk
rectly to Babylon, which was immediately delivered up; Susa, and
the inhabitants being greatly disaffected to the Persian in.ferseP0H
terest. After thirty days’ stay in this country, the kingreiilltei!
marched to Susa, which had already surrendered to Phi-
loxenus; and here he received the treasures of the Per¬
sian monarch, amounting, according to the most generally
received account, to fifty thousand talents. Having re¬
ceived also at this time a supply of six thousand foot and
five hundred horse from Macedonia, he set about reducing
the nations of Media, amongst whom Darius had retired.
He first reduced the Uxians, and having forced a passage
to Persepolis, the capital of the empire, he, like a barba¬
rian, destroyed the stately palace there, a pile of building
not to be equalled in any part of the world; after having
given up the city to be plundered by his soldiers. In the
palace he found one hundred and twenty thousand talents,
which he appropriated to his own use, and caused imme¬
diately to be carried away upon mules and camels; for he
had such an extreme aversion to the inhabitants of Per¬
sepolis, that he determined to leave nothing valuable in
that city.
During the time that Alexander remained at Persepo-Alexander
lis, he received intelligence that Darius remained at Ec-}^8,10
batana, the capital of Media; upon which he pursued him^'J^.
with the greatest expedition, marching at the rate of near-^by
ly forty miles a day. In fifteen days he reached Ecbata-Bes5us.
na, where he was informed that Darius had retired from
thence five days before, with an intent to pass into the
remotest provinces of his empire. This put some stop to
the rapid progress of the Macedonian army; and the king
perceiving that there was no necessity for hurrying him¬
self and his soldiers in such a manner, began to give the or¬
ders requisite in the present situation of his affairs. The
Thessalian horse, who had deserved exceedingly well of
oftb
fortl
duct
asar
care
land'
Oi
Dari'
adva:
tbe(
some
leavii
Oxid
was
an e>
ed ir
lions
cient
ed cc
comn
been
govei
Ah'
and
nia;
ted t
he, a'
certa
who 1
rince
medi:
vince
tibar:
done
the a
tion
to ei
rock:
conqi
This
liged
the n
new (
could
provi
traitc
of A;
hadj
nians
point
zane;
Zarai
those
arms,
their
they
his, ]
river
Butt
testii
mast
imtm
Tl
quire
disci
vol
Sent
MACEDONIA.
633
doah him in all his battles, he dismissed according to his agree-
!r^*'ment; gave them their whole pay, and ordered two thou-
Isand talents over and above to be distributed amongst them.
He then declared that he would force no man ; but if any
were willing to serve him longer for pay, he desired that
they would enter their names in a book, which a great many
of them did, whilst the rest sold their horses, and prepared
for their departure. The king appointed Epocillus to con¬
duct them to the sea, and assigned him a body of horse
as an escort: he likewise sent Menetes with them, to take
care of their embarkation, and see that they were safely
landed in Eubcea, without any expense to themselves.
On receiving fresh information concerning the state of
Darius's affairs, the king again set out in pursuit of him,
advancing as far as Rhages, a city one day’s journey from
the Caspian Straits. There he understood that Darius had
some time before passed those straits ; and this information
leaving him again without hopes, he halted for five days.
Oxidates, a Persian whom Darius had left prisoner at Susa,
was made governor of Media, whilst the king departed on
an expedition into Parthia. The Caspian Straits he pass¬
ed immediately without opposition, and then gave direc¬
tions to his officers to collect a quantity of provisions suffi¬
cient to serve his army on a long march through a wast¬
ed country. But before his officers could accomplish these
commands, the king received intelligence that Darius had
been murdered by one of his own subjects, Bessus, the
governor of Bactria.
mia As soon as Alexander had collected his forces together,
and settled the government of Parthia, he entered Hyrca-
m'a; and having, according to his usual custom, commit¬
ted the greater part of his army to the care of Craterus,
he, at the head of a choice body of troops, passed through
pertain craggy roads, and, before the arrival of Craterus,
who took an open and easy path, struck the whole pro¬
vinces with such terror, that all the principal places were im-
fnediately put into his hands ; and soon afterwards the pro¬
vince of Aria also submitted, and the king continued Sa-
tibarzanes the governor in his employment. The reduc-
(tion of this province completed the conquest of Persia ; but
[the ambition of Alexander to become master of every na¬
tion of which he bad the least intelligence, induced him
;o enter the country of the Mardi, merely because its
■ocks and barrenness had hitherto prevented any one from
onquering, or indeed from attempting to conquer it.
This conquest, however, he easily accomplished, and ob-
iged the whole nation to submit to his pleasure. But in
he mean time disturbances began to arise in Alexander s
lew empire, and amongst his troops, which all his activity
:ould not thoroughly suppress. He had scarcely left the
jrovince of Aria, when he received intelligence that the
raitor Bessus had caused himself to be proclaimed king
jf Asia by the name of Artaxerxes ; and that Satibarzanes
had joined him, after having massacred all the Macedo-
nians who had been left in the province. Alexander ap¬
pointed one Arsames governor in the room of Satibar-
zanes, and marched thence with his army against tlm
ZarangcE, who, under the command of Barzaentes, one oi
those who had conspired against Darius, had taken up
arms, and threatened to make an obstinate defence. But
their numbers daily decreasing, Barzaentes, afraid that
they would purchase their own safety at the expense of
his, privately withdrew from his camp, and, crossing the
river Indus, sought shelter amongst the nations beyond it.
But they, either dreading the power of Alexander, or de¬
testing the treachery of this Persian towards his former
master, seized and delivered him up to Alexander, who
immediately caused him to be put to death.
The immense treasure which the Macedonians had ac¬
quired in the conquest of Persia now began to affect their
discipline. The king himself was of a most generous disposi-
VOL. XIII.
tion, and liberally bestowed his gifts on those around him ; Macedonia,
but they made a bad use of his bounty, and foolishly in-
dulged in those vices by which the former possessors ofThe ^Ia-
that wealth had lost it. The king did all in his power to ^Lve^them
discourage the lazy and inactive pride which now began ggj^es’y™*
to show itself amongst his officers; but neither his dis- to plea-
courses nor his example had any considerable effect. The sure,
manners of his courtiers from bad became worse, in spite
of all he could say or do to prevent it; and at last they
proceeded to censure his conduct, and to express them¬
selves with some bitterness on the subject of his long con¬
tinuance of the war, and his leading them constantly from
one labour to another. This rose to such a height that
the king was at last obliged to use some severity, in order
to keep his army within the limits of their duty. From
this time forward, however, Alexander himself began to
alter his conduct, and, by yielding a little to the customs
of the orientals, endeavoured to secure that obedience on
the part of his new subjects which he found so difficult to
preserve amongst his old ones. He likewise endeavoured,
by various methods, to blend the customs of the Asiatics
and the Greeks. The form of his civil government re¬
sembled that of the ancient Persian kings; in military
affairs, however, he strictly preserved the Macedonian dis¬
cipline ; but then he made choice, out of the provinces, of
thirty thousand boys, whom he caused to be instructed in
the Greek language, and directed to be brought up in such
a manner as that from time to time he might with them re¬
cruit the phalanx. The Macedonians observed with great
concern these extraordinary measures, which suited very
ill with their gross understandings ; for, after all the vic¬
tories they had gained, they expected to be absolute lords
of Asia, and to possess not only the riches of its inhabitants,
but to rule the inhabitants themselves; whereas they now
found that Alexander meant no such thing, but that, on
the contrary, he conferred governments, offices at court,
and all other marks of confidence and favour, indiscrimi¬
nately both on Greeks and Persians. From this time also
the king seems to have given proofs of a cruelty which he
had never shown before. Philotas, his most intimate friend,
was seized, tortured, and put to death, for a conspiracy of
which it could never be proved that he was guilty ; and
soon afterwards Parmenio and some others were executed
without any crime at all, real or alleged. These things very
much disturbed the army. Some of them wrote home to
Macedonia respecting the king’s suspicions of his friends,
and his disposition to hunt out enemies at the very extre¬
mities of the world. Alexander having intercepted some
of these letters, and procured the best information he could
concerning their authors, picked out these dissatisfied
people, and having disposed them into a corps, gave it the
title of the “ turbulent battalion hoping by this means to
prevent the spirit of disaffection from pervading the whole
army. As a further precaution against any future conspi¬
racy, Alexander thought fit to appoint Hephaestion and Cly-
tus generals of the auxiliary horse; being apprehensive, that
if this authority was lodged in the hands of a single per¬
son, it might prompt him to dangerous undertakings, and
at the same time furnish him with the means of carrying
them into execution. To keep his forces in action, he
suddenly marched into the country of the Euergetae, or
Benefactors, and found them full of the kind and hos¬
pitable disposition for which that name had been bestow¬
ed on their ancestors; he therefore treated them with
great respect, and at his departure added some lands to
their dominions, which lay contiguous, and w hich for that
reason they had requested of him.
Turning next to the east, he entered Arachosia, the in- Satibar-
habitants of which submitted without giving him any zanes de¬
trouble. Whilst he passed the winter in these parts, the am
king received advice that the Arians, whom he had so 1 ec
4 L
634:
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia, lately subdued, were up again in arms, Satibarzanes having
J v ^ ^ returned into that country with two thousand horse which
had been assigned him by Bessus. Alexander instantly de¬
spatched Artabazus the Persian, with Erigyus and Caranus,
two of his commanders, and a considerable body of horse
and foot; he likewise ordered Phrataphernes, to whom he
had given the government of Parthia, to accompany them.
A general engagement ensued, in which the Arians behav¬
ed very well as long as their commander Satibarzanes lived;
but he engaging Erigyus, the Macedonian struck him first
in the throat, and then, drawing forth his spear again,
through the mouth, so that he immediately expired, and
with him the courage of his soldiers, who instantly began
to fly; whereupon Alexander’s commanders made an easy
conquest of the rest of the country, and effectually re¬
duced it under his obedience.
The king, notwithstanding the inclemency of the sea¬
son, advanced into the country of Paropamisus, so called
from the mountain Paropamisus, which the soldiers of
Alexander called Caucasus. Having crossed the country
in sixteen days, he came at length to an opening leading
into Media ; and finding it of a sufficient breadth, he di¬
rected a city to be built there, which he called Alexan¬
dria, as also several other towns about a day’s journey dis¬
tant from thence ; and in these places he left seven thou¬
sand persons, part of them such as had hitherto followed
his camp, and part of the mercenary soldiers, who, weary
of continual fatigue, were content to dwell there. Having
thus settled things in this province, sacrificed solemnly to
the gods, and appointed Proexes the Persian president
thereof, with a small body of troops under the command
of Niloxenus to assist him, he resumed his former design
of penetrating into Bactria.
Bessus, who had assumed the name of Artaxerxes, when
he was assured that Alexander was marching towards him,
immediately began to waste all the country between Pa¬
ropamisus and the river Oxus, which river he passed with
all his forces, and then burned all the vessels he had made
use of for transporting them, retiring to Nautaca, a city of
Sogdia ; fully persuaded that, by the precautions he had
taken, Alexander would be compelled to give over his
pursuit. This conduct of his, however, disheartened his
troops, and gave the lie to all his pretensions; for he had
affected to censure Darius’^ conduct, and had charged
him with cowardice, in not defending the rivers Euphrates
and Tigris, whereas he now quitted the banks of the most
defensible river perhaps in the whole world. As to his
hopes, though it cannot be said they were ill founded, yet
they proved absolutely vain; for Alexander, continuing
his march, notwithstanding the hardships his soldiers
sustained, reduced all Bactria under his obedience, parti¬
cularly the capital Bactria and the strong castle Aornus.
In the latter he placed a garrison under the command of
Archelaus, but the government of the province he com¬
mitted to Artabazus. He then continued his march to
the river Oxus, on the banks of which when he arrived,
he found it three quarters of a mile in breadth, its depth
more than proportional to its breadth, its bottom sandy,
its stream so rapid as to render it almost unnavigable, and
neither boat nor tree in its neighbourhood ; so that the
ablest commanders in the Macedonian army were of opi¬
nion that the army would be obliged to march back. The
king, however, having first sent away, under a proper es¬
cort, all his infirm and worn-out soldiers, that they might
be conducted safely to the sea-ports, and thence transport¬
ed to Greece, devised a method of passing this river with¬
out either boat or bridge, by causing the hides which co¬
vered the soldiers’ tents and carriages to be stuffed with
straw, and then tied together, and thrown into the river.
Having crossed the Oxus, he marched directly towards the
camp of Bessus, where, when he arrived, he found it aban¬
Bessus re¬
duced and
put to
death.
doned; but at the same time received letters from Spita- Mac^i •
menes and Dataphernes, who were the chief commanders ^-s01lii
under Bessus, signifying, that if he would send a small
party to receive Bessus, they would deliver him into his
hands; which they did accordingly, and the traitor was
immediately put to death.
A supply of horses having now arrived, the Macedonian Alexr
cavalry were remounted. Alexander continued his march passes J
to Maracanda, the capital of Sogdia, whence he advanced *n(ius'
to the river laxartes. Here he performed extraordinary
exploits against the Scythians, from whom, however,
though he overcame them, his army suffered much ; and
the revolted Sogdians, being headed by Spitamenes, gave
him a great deal of trouble. Here also he married Roxana
the daughter of Oxyartes, a prince of the country whom
he had subdued. But during these expeditions, the king
greatly disgusted his army by the murder of his friend
Clytus in a drunken quarrel at a banquet, and by his ex¬
travagant vanity in claiming divine honours. At last he
arrived at the river Indus, where Hephaestion and Perdic-
cas had already provided a bridge of boats for the passage
of that river. The king refreshed his troops for thirty
days in the countries on the other side of the river, which
were those of his friend and ally Taxiles, who gave him
thirty elephants, and joined his army with about seven
hundred Indian horse, to which, when they were to enter
upon action, he afterwards added five thousand foot. The
true reason of this seems to have been his enmity to Porus,
an Indian prince whose territories were situated on the
other side of the river Plydaspes. During this recess, the
king sacrificed with great solemnity ; receiving also ambas¬
sadors from Ambisurus, a very potent prince, and from
Doxareas, who was likewise a king in those parts, with ten¬
ders of their duty, and considerable presents. When these
ceremonies were ended, Alexander appointed Philip go¬
vernor of Taxila, and put a Macedonian garrison into the
place, because he intended to erect an hospital there for
the cure of his sick and wounded soldiers. He then or¬
dered the vessels of which his bridge had been composed
when he passed the Indus to be taken to pieces, that they
might be brought to the Hydaspes, where he was inform¬
ed that Porus with a great army lay encamped to dispute
his passage. When he approached the banks of this river
with his army, and the auxiliaries under the command of
Taxiles, he found that the people he had to do with were
not so easily to be subdued as the Persians and other
Asiatics. The Indians were not only a very tall and ro¬
bust, but also a very hardy and well-disciplined people;
and their king Porus was a prince of high spirit, invin¬
cible courage, and superior ability.
It was about the summer solstice when Alexander Passage of
reached the Hydaspes, and consequently its waters were theHvdas-
broader, deeper, and more rapid, than at any other time;
for in India the rivers swell as the sun’s increasing heat 1
melts the snow, and subside again as winter approaches.
Alexander therefore had every difficulty to struggle with.
Porus had made his dispositions so judiciousty, that Alex¬
ander found it impossible to practise upon him as he had
done upon others, and to pass the river in his view; where¬
fore he was constrained to divide his army into small
parties, and to employ other arts, in order to get the bet¬
ter of so vigilant a prince. To this end he caused a great
quantity of corn and other provisions to be brought into
his camp, giving out that he intended to remain where
he was till the river should subside, and, by becoming ford¬
able, afford him an opportunity of forcing a passage. This
did not, however, prevent Porus from keeping up very
strict discipline in his camp ; which Alexander perceiving,
frequently made such motions as seemed to indicate a
change of his resolution, and that he had still thoughts of
passing the river. The main thing the Macedonians stood
with
his
desi
Mai
hel
the
Pori
rive
mile
Attt
for t
Iona
him,
inti
vess
stitc
with
stori
seti
OUtf
accc
Win
goot
fori
nem
four
rain
bres
ther
six
tboi
ceiv
rive
drei
catr
sup
MACEDONIA.
635
jllD
r'ste!
I io
forf
' of
Ale
At
cam
rive
aior
ovei
in
thi:
lie b
To
forr
preli
theri
jiis <
(iesi(
Mac
he le
the
shou
Porn
river
ande
mile!
Atta
them
dian;
for t!
long
sign
conk
him,
inthi
vesst
stitcl
witln
storn
passr
setf<
outpi
accoi
wkor
Whe
good
for it
nent
than
fain,
breai
then
six
tho
ceiv<
rivet
dred
catm
jdon.. in fear of were the elephants ; for the bank being pretty
steep on the other side, and it being the nature of horses
to start at the first appearance of these animals, it was
foreseen that the army would be disordered, and incapable
of sustaining the charge of Porus’s troops. At length
Alexander passed the river by the following contrivance.
At the distance of a hundred and fifty stadia from his
camp there was a rocky promontory projecting into the
river, thickly covered with wood; and over against this pro¬
montory there lay a pretty large uninhabited island, almost
overgrown with trees. The king therefore conceivechwith-
in himself a project of conveying a body of troops from
this promontory into that island ; and upon this scheme
he built his hopes of surprising Porus, vigilant as he was.
To this end he kept him and his army constantly alarmed
for many nights together, till he perceived that Porus ap¬
prehended that it was only done to harass his troops, and
therefore no longer drew out of his camp, but trusted to
his ordinary guards; then Alexander resolved to put his
design in execution. A considerable body of horse, the
Macedonian phalanx, with some corps of light-armed foot,
he left in his camp under the command of Craterus, as also
t the auxiliary Indians, giving orders that if Porus marched
against him with part of his army, and left another part with
the elephants behind in his camp, Craterus and his forces
should remain where they were; but if it so happened that
Porus withdrew his elephants, then Craterus was to pass the
river, because his cavalry might then do so with safety. Alex¬
ander having marched half the way, or about nine of our
miles, ordered the mercenary troops under the command of
Attalus and other generals to remain there, and directed
them, that as soon as they knew he was engaged with the In¬
dians on the other side, they should pass in vessels provided
for that purpose, in order to assist him. Then marching a
long way about, that the enemy might not perceive his de¬
sign of reaching the rock, he advanced as diligently as he
could towards that post. It happened very fortunately for
him, that a great storm of thunder, lightning, and hail, rose
in the night, whereby his march was perfectly concealed, his
vessels of thirty oars put together, and his tents stuffed and
stitched, so that they passed from the rock into the island
without being perceived, a little before break of day, the
storm ceasing just as he and his soldiers were ready for their
passage. When they had traversed the island, they boldly
set forward to gain the opposite shore in sight of Porus’s
outposts, who instantly hastened to give their master an
account of the attempt. Alexander landed first himself,
and was followed as expeditiously as possible by his forces,
whom he took care to draw up as fast as they arrived.
When they began their march again, they found that their
good fortune was not so great as they at first esteemed it;
for it appeared now that they had not reached the conti¬
nent at all, but were in truth in another island much larger
than the former. They crossed it as fast as, they could, and
found that it was divided from the terra ftrma by a narrow
channel, which, however, was so swelled by the late heavy
rain, that the poor soldiers were obliged to wade up to the
breast. When they were on the other side, the king drew
them up again carefully, ordering the foot, in number about
six thousand, to march slowly, whilst himself, with five
thousand horse, led the advance. As soon as Porus re¬
ceived intelligence that Alexander was actually passing the
river, he sent his son with two thousand horse and a hun¬
dred and twenty armed chariots to oppose him. But they
came too late; Alexander had already reached the shore,
and begun his march.
M|son : When the Macedonian scouts perceived them advance,
*(1*' they informed the king, who sent a detachment to attack
I ‘lQ* them, remaining still at the head of his cavalry in expecta¬
tion of Porus. But when he found that this party was un¬
supported, he instantly attacked with all his horse, and de¬
feated them with the slaughter of many, and the loss of all Macedonia,
their armed chariots, the son of Porus being slain in the ^
fight. The remainder of the horse returning to the camp
with this disastrous account, Porus was in some confusion;
he however quickly adopted the best and wisest resolutions
which circumstances would allow, namely, to leave a part
of his army, with some of his elephants, to oppose Craterus,
who was now about to pass the river also, and with the re¬
mainder to march against Alexander and his forces, who were
already passed. This resolution once taken, he marched
immediately out of his camp at the head of four thousand
horse, thirty thousand foot, three hundred chariots, and
two hundred elephants. He advanced as expeditiously as
he could, till he came into a plain which was firm and sandy,
where his chariots and elephants might act to advantage;
and there he halted, that he might put his army in order,
knowing well that he need not go in quest of his enemy.
Alexander soon came up with his horse, but he did not
charge Porus ; on the contrary, he halted, and put his troops
in order, that they might be able to defend themselves in
case they were attacked. When he had waited some time,
his foot arrived, and he immediately surrounded them with
his horse, that, after so fatiguing a march, they might
have time to cool and breathe a little before they were led
to engage. Porus permitted all this, because it was not his
interest to fight, and because he depended chiefly upon his
order of battle, the elephants covering his foot, so that the
Macedonians could not charge them.
When Alexander had disposed his foot in proper order, Porus him-
he placed his horse on the wings ; and, observing that he self defeat-
was much superior in that arm to the enemy, and that the
cavalry of Porus were easy to be charged, he resolved to let
the foot have as little share as possible in the battle. To
this end, having given the necessary directions to Ccenus,
who commanded them, he went himself to the right, and
fell with great fury upon the left wing of Porus. The dis¬
pute, though short, was very bloody. The cavalry of Porus,
though they fought gallantly, were quickly broken; and
the foot being by this means uncovered, the Macedonians
charged them. The Indian horse rallying, came up to their
relief; but they were again defeated. By this time the
archers had wounded many of the elephants, and killed
most of their riders, so that they did not prove less trouble¬
some and dangerous to their own side than to the Macedo¬
nians ; whence a great confusion ensued, and Ccenus, taking
this opportunity, fell on with the troops under his com¬
mand, and entirely defeated the Indian army. Porus him¬
self behaved with the greatest intrepidity, and with the
most excellent conduct; he gave his orders, and directed
every thing, as long as his troops retained their formation ;
and when they were broken, he retired from party to party
as they made stands, and continued fighting till every corps
of Indians was put to the route. In the mean time Crate¬
rus had passed with the rest of the Macedonian army; and
these, falling upon the flying Indians, increased the slaugh¬
ter of the day excessively, insomuch that twenty thousand
foot and three thousand horse were killed, all the chariots
were hacked to pieces, and the elephants not killed were
taken; two of Porus’s sons fell here, as also most of his
officers of all ranks.
As for Porus, Alexander gave strict directions that no
injury might be done to his person. He even sentTaxiles
to persuade him to surrender himself, and to assure him
that he should be treated with all the kindness and respect
imaginable; but Porus, disdaining this advice from the
mouth of an old enemy, threw a javelin, which would have
killed him, but for the quick turn of his horse. Meroe the
Indian, who was in the service of Alexander, succeeded
better. He had been the old acquaintance of Porus, and
therefore when he entreated that prince to spare his per¬
son, and to submit himself to fortune and a generous victor,
636
MACEDONIA.
Sangala
taken and
razed.
Macedonia. Porus followed his advice ; and we may truly say, that the
^ condition of this Indian king suffered nothing by the loss
of the battle. Alexander immediately gave him his liberty,
and shortly afterwards restored him to his kingdom, to which
he annexed provinces almost equal to it in value. Neither was
Alexander a loser by his munificence, for Porus remained
his true friend and constant ally. To perpetuate the me¬
mory of this victory, Alexander ordered two cities to be
erected ; one on the field of battle, which he named Nicaea;
the other on the opposite side of the river, which he called
Bucephala, in honour of his horse Bucephalus, who died here,
as Arrian says, of mere old age, being on the verge of thirty.
All the soldiers who fell in the battle he buried with great
honours, offered solemn sacrifices to the gods, and exhibit¬
ed pompous shows on the banks of the Hydaspes, where he
had forced his passage. He then entered the territories of
the Glausse, in which were thirty-seven good cities, and a
multitude of populous villages. All these were delivered
up to him without fighting; and as soon as he received
them, he presented them to Porus, and having reconciled
him to Taxiles, he sent the latter home to his own domi¬
nions. About this time ambassadors arrived from seve¬
ral Indian princes with their submissions ; and Alexander
having conquered the dominions of another Porus, which
lay on the Hydraotes, a branch of the Indus, added them
to those of Porus his ally.
In the middle of all this success, however, news arrived
that the Cathei, Oxydracae, and the Malli, the most war¬
like nations of India, were confederated against the Mace¬
donians, and had drawn together a great army. The king
immediately marched to give them battle, and in a few
days reached a city called Sangala, seated on the top of a
hill, and having a fine lake behind it. Before this city the
confederate Indians lay encamped, having three circular
lines of carriages locked together, and their tents pitched
in the centre. Notwithstanding the apparent difficulty of
forcing these intrenchments, Alexander resolved imme¬
diately to attack them. The Indians made a noble de¬
fence ; but at last the first line of their carriages was broken,
and the Macedonians entered. The second was stronger
by far ; yet Alexander attacked that too, and after a des¬
perate resistance forced it. The Indians, without trusting
to the third, retired into the city, which Alexander would
have invested; but the foot he had with him not being
sufficient for that purpose, he caused his works to be car¬
ried on both sides as far as the lake; and, on the other side
of that, ordered several brigades of horse to take post,
ordering also battering engines to be brought up, and in
some places employing miners. The second night, he re¬
ceived intelligence that the besieged, knowing the lake to
be fordable, intended to make their escape through it.
Upon this the king ordered all the carriages which had
been taken in forcing their camp, to be placed up and
down the roads, in hopes of preventing their flight; giving
directions to Ptolemy, who commanded the horse on the
other side of the lake, to be extremely vigilant, and to
cause all his trumpets to sound, that the forces might re¬
pair to that post where the Indians made their greatest
effort. These precautions had all the effect that could be
desired; for of the few Indians who got through the lake,
and passed the Macedonian horse, the greater part were
killed on the roads ; but the greatest part of their army was
constrained to retire again through the water into the city.
Two days after, the place was taken by storm. Seventeen
thousand Indians were killed, and seventy thousand taken
prisoners, with three hundred chariots, and five hundred
horse. The Macedonians are said to have lost only a
hundred men in this siege; but they had twelve hundred
wounded, and amongst these several persons of great distinc¬
tion. The city was no sooner taken, than Alexander de¬
spatched Eumenes his secretary, with a party of horse, to
troopi
acquaint the inhabitants of the cities adjacent with what Maced
had befallen the Sangalans; promising also, that they should^
be kindly treated if they would submit. But they were so
much affrighted at what had happened to their neighbours,
that, abandoning all their cities, they fled into the moun¬
tains ; choosing rather to expose themselves to wild beasts
than to these invaders, who had treated their countrymen
so cruelly. When the king was informed of this, he sent
detachments of horse and foot to scour all the roads; and
these, finding aged, infirm, and wounded people, to the
number of about five hundred, put them to the sword with¬
out mercy. Perceiving that it was impossible to persuade
the inhabitants to return, he caused the city of Sangala to
be razed, and gave the territories to the few Indians who
had submitted to him.
Alexander, still unsated with conquest, now prepared to The
pass the Hyphasis. The chief reason which induced him refuse t|
to think of this expedition, was the information he had re-Proceed
ceived of the state of the countries beyond that river. He^rtller'
was told that they were in themselves rich and fruitful;
that their inhabitants were not only a very martial people,
but very civilized ; that they were governed by the nobi¬
lity, who were themselves subject to the laws ; and that as
they lived in happiness and freedom, it was likely they
would fight obstinately in defence of those blessings. He
was further told, that amongst these nations there were the
largest, strongest, and most useful elephants bred and tam¬
ed ; and was therefore fired with an earnest desire of re¬
ducing such a bold and brave people under his rule, and of
attaining to the possession of the many valuable things that
were said to be amongst them. As exorbitant, however,
as his personal ambition was, he found it impossible to in¬
fuse any part of it into the minds of his soldiers, who were
so far from wishing to triumph over new and remote coun¬
tries, that they were highly desirous of leaving those that
they had already conquered. When therefore they were
informed of the king’s intentions, they privately consulted
together in the camp about the situation of their own af¬
fairs. At this consultation, the gravest and best of the sol¬
diers lamented that they were made use of by their king,
not as lions, who fall fiercely upon those who have injured
them, but as mastiffs, who fly upon and tear those who are
pointed out to them as enemies. The rest were not so
modest, but expressed themselves roundly against the
king’s humour for leading them from battle to battle, from
siege to siege, and from river to river ; protesting that they
would follow him no farther, nor lavish their blood any
longer, to purchase for him the fame he coveted. Alexander
had too much penetration not to perceive that his troops
were very uneasy. He therefore harangued them from
his tribunal; but though his eloquence was great, and the
love his army had for him was yet very strong, they did
not relent. For some time the soldiers remained sullen
and silent; and at last turned their eyes on Ccenus, an old
and experienced general, whom Alexander loved, and in
whom the army' put great confidence. He had the gene¬
rosity to undertake their cause, and told Alexander frank¬
ly, “ that men endured toil in hopes of repose; that the
Macedonians were already much reduced in their num¬
bers ; that of those who remained, the greater part were
invalids ; and that they expected, in consideration of their
former services, that he would now lead them back to
their native country ; an act which, of all others, would
most contribute to his own great designs, since it would
encourage the youth of Macedonia, and even of all Greece,
to follow him in whatever new expedition he pleased to
undertake.” The king was far from being pleased with
this speech of Ccenus, and much less with the disposition
of his army, which continued in a deep silence. He there¬
fore dismissed the assembly. But next day he called an¬
other, in which he told the soldiers plainly, that he would
j niS' no
8 iff
tO!
^Bu
alt<
sim
got
this
erei
saci
the
cou
tor
nee
oce
tim
thn
cau
to 1
whf
of i
Th'
ami
win
wel
reai
kin;
to t
acc
Th
bej
and
rea
can
anc
he
thii
on
bef
he
cor
hot
ia.D0t
*4is
ant
ffO
ivh
in
sue
mai
to £
bis
saw
it It
!■ full';
tos
MACEDONIA.
637
edoii* not be driven from his purpose ; that he would proceed in
conquests with such as should follow him voluntarily;
and that, as for the rest, he would not detain them, but
would leave them at liberty to go home to Macedonia,
where they might publish, “ that they had left their king
in the midst of his enemies.” Even this expedient had no
success ; his army was so thoroughly tired with long
marches and desperate battles, that they were determined
to advance no further; upon which Alexander retired to
his tent, where he refused to see his friends, and evinced the
same gloomy temper that reigned amongst his troops,
tandl For three days things remained in this situation. At
ente last the king suddenly appeared; and, as if he had been
tiira fully determined to pursue his first design, he gave orders
to sacrifice for the good success of his new undertaking.
But Aristander the*augur reported that the omens were
altogether inauspicious ; upon which the king said, that
since his proceeding farther was neither pleasing to the
gods nor grateful to his army, he would return. When
this was rumoured amongst the army, they assembled in
great numbers about the royal tent, saluting the king with
loud acclamations; wishing him success in all his future
designs, and giving him at the same time hearty thanks,
inasmuch as “ he who was invincible had suffered himself
to be overcome by their prayers.” A stop being thus put
to the conquests of Alexander, he determined to make
the Hyphasis the boundary of his dominions ; and having
erected twelve altars of an extraordinary magnitude, he
sacrificed upon them, after which he exhibited shows in
the Grecian manner ; and, having added all the conquered
country in these parts to the dominions of Porus, he began
to return. Having arrived at the Hydaspes, he made the
necessary preparations for sailing down the Indus to the
ocean. For this purpose, he ordered vast quantities of
timber to be felled in the neighbourhood of the Hydaspes,
through which he was to sail into the Indus ; and he
caused the vessels with which he had passed other rivers
to be brought thither, and assembled a vast number of ar¬
tificers capable of repairing and equipping his fleet, which,
when finished, consisted of eighty vessels of three banks
of oars, and two thousand lesser ships and transports.
Those who were to manage this fleet were collected from
among the Phoenicians, Cyprians, Carians, and Egyptians
who had followed his army, and were reckoned perfectly
well skilled in the nautical art. When all things were
ready, the army embarked about break of day ; whilst the
king, in the mean time, sacrificed to the gods, according
to the ceremonies used in his own country, and likewise
according to those of the country in which he now was.
Then he himself went on board, and causing the signal to
be given by sound of trumpet, the fleet set sail. Craterus
and Hephaestion had marched some days before with an¬
other division of the army; and in three days the fleet
reached that part of the river which was opposite to their
camps. Here he received information that the Oxydracae
and Malli were raising forces to oppose him, upon which
he immediately determined to reduce them ; for, during
this voyage, he made it a rule to compel the inhabitants
on both sides of the river to yield him obedience. But
before he arrived amongst the people above mentioned,
he himself sustained no small danger; for, coming to the
confluence of the Acesines with the Hydaspes, whence
both rivers roll together into the Indus, the eddies, whirl¬
pools, and rapid currents, rushing with tremendous noise
from the respective channels of those rivers into the great
one formed by them both, at once terrified those who navi¬
gated his vessels, and actually destroyed many of the long
ves| vessels, with all who were on board of them ; the king
hid himself being in some danger, and Nearchus the admiral
not not a little at a loss. As soon as this danger was over,
A1E Alexander went on shore ; and having ordered his ele¬
phants with some troops of horse and archers to be carried Macedonia
across, and put under the command of Craterus, he then '
divided his army on the left-hand bank into three bodies,
the first commanded by himself, the second by Hephaes¬
tion, and the third by Ptolemy. Hephaestion had orders
to move silently through the heart of the country, five
days' march before the king; that if, on Alexander’s ap¬
proach, any of the barbarians should attempt to shelter
themselves by retiring into the country, thej' might fall
into the hands of Hephaestion. Ptolemy Lagus was or¬
dered to march three days’ journey behind the king, that
if any escaped his army, they might fall into Ptolemy’s
hands ; and the fleet had orders to stop at the confluence
of this river with the Hydraotes until such time as all these
several corps should arrive.
Alexander himself, at the head of a body of horse and His expe-
light-armed foot, marched through a desert country against dition
the Malli, and, scarcely affording any rest to his soldiers, against
arrived in three days at a city into which the barbariansthe
had put their wives and children, with a good garrison for
their defence. The country people, having no notion that
Alexander would march through such a desert and barren
region, were all unarmed, and in the utmost confusion.
Many of them therefore were slain in the fields; the rest
fled into the city, and shut the gates. But this only pro¬
tracted their fate for a short time ; for the king, having
ordered the city to be invested by his cavalry, took it, as
well as the castle, by storm, and put all he found there to
the sword. He sent at the same time Perdiccas, with a
considerable detachment, to invest another city of the
Malli, at a considerable distance ; but when he came there
he found it abandoned. However, he pursued the inhabi¬
tants, who had but lately left it, and killed great numbers
of them on the road. After this the king took several other
cities, but not without considerable resistance ; for the In¬
dians sometimes chose to burn themselves in their houses
rather than surrender. At last he marched to their capi¬
tal city; and finding it abandoned, he proceeded to the
river Hydraotes, where he found fifty thousand men en¬
camped on the opposite bank, in order to dispute his pass¬
age. He did not hesitate, however, to enter the river with
a considerable party of horse; and so much were the In¬
dians terrified at his presence, that their whole army re¬
tired before him. In a short time they returned and at¬
tacked him, being ashamed to fly before such an incon¬
siderable number; but in the mean time the rest of the
Macedonian forces came up, and the Indians were oblig¬
ed to retire to a city which lay behind them, and which
Alexander invested that very night. The next day he
stormed the city with such violence, that the inhabitants
were compelled to abandon it, and to retire to the castle,
where they prepared for an obstinate defence. The king
instantly gave orders for scaling the walls, and the soldiers
prepared to execute these orders as fast as they could;
but the king being impatient, caught hold of a ladder and
mounted it first himself, being followed by Leonatus, Peu-
cestas, and Abreas, the latter a man of great valour, and
who on that account had double pay allowed him. The
king having gained the top of the battlements, cleared
them quickly of the defendants, killing some of them with
his sword, and pushing others over the walls; but after
this was done, he was in more danger than ever, for the
Indians galled him with their arrows from the adjacent
towers, though they durst not approach near enough to en¬
gage him. His own battalion of targeteers mounting in
haste to second him, broke the ladders; which, as soon as
Alexander perceived, he threw himself down into the
castle, as did also Peucestas, Leonatus, and Abreas. As
soon as the king was on the ground, the Indian general
rushed forward to attack him ; but Alexander instantly
despatched him, as well as several others who followed
638
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia, him. Upon this the rest retired, and contented them- try through which he was to travel was a wild uncultivat- Mac,
selves with throwing darts and stones at him at a distance, ed desert; that Semiramis, when she led her soldiers this
Abreas was struck in the head with an arrow, and died way out of India, brought home but twenty of them; and
on the spot; and, shortly after, another pierced through that Cyrus, attempting to do the same, returned with only
the king’s breast-plate into his body. As long as he had seven. But all this was so far from deterring Alexander,
spirits, he defended himself valiantly; but, through a vast that it more than ever determined him to pursue no other
effusion of blood, losing his senses, he fell upon his shield, route. As soon, therefore, as he had put things in order,
Peucestas then covered him with the sacred shield^ of he marched at the head of a sufficient body of troops to re-
Pallas on one side, as did Leonatus with his own shield^on duce the Oritse, who had never vouchsafed either to make
the other, though they themselves were dreadfully wound-
In the mean time, however, the soldiers on the out-
ed.
side, eager to save their king, supplied their want of lad¬
ders by driving large iron pins into the walls. By the
help of these many of them ascended, and came to the as¬
sistance of Alexander and his companions. The Indians
were now slaughtered without mercy ; but Alexander con¬
tinued for some time in a very dangerous way. However, he
at last recovered his strength, and showed himself again to
his army, which filled them with the greatest joy.
Continues The Malli, being now convinced that nothing but sub-
^is v°yage mission could save the remainder of them, sent deputies to
Indus 16 Alexander, offering the dominion of their country, as did
also the Oxydracae ; and the king having settled every thing
in these countries agreeable to his mind, proceeded on his
voyage down the river Indus. In this voyage he received
the submission of some other Indian princes ; and perceiv¬
ing, that at the point of the island Pattala, the river divid¬
ed itself into two vast branches, he ordered an haven and
convenient docks to be made there for his ships ; and when
he had careened his fleet, he sailed down the right-hand
branch towards the ocean. In his passage he sustained
great difficulties by reason of the want of pilots, and at the
mouth of the river very narrowly missed being cast away;
yet all this did not prevent him from pursuing his first de¬
sign, though it does not appear that he had any other mo¬
tive thereto than the vain desire of boasting that he had en¬
tered the ocean beyond the Indus ; for, having consecrat¬
ed certain bulls to Neptune, and thrown them into the sea,
performed certain libations out of golden cups, and thrown the
cups also into the sea, he came back again, having only sur¬
veyed two little islands, one at the mouth of the Indus, and
one a little farther in the ocean. On the king’s return to
Pattala, he resolved to sail down the other branch of the
Indus, that he might see whether it was more safe and com¬
modious for his fleet than that which he had already tried ;
and for this he had very good reasons. He had resolved
to send Nearchus with his fleet by sea, through the Per¬
sian Gulf, up the river Tigris, to meet him and his army in
Mesopotamia ; but as the possibility of this voyage depend¬
ed on the ceasing of the etesian winds, there was a neces¬
sity for laying up the fleet till the season should prove fa¬
vourable. Alexander, therefore, sailing through this branch
of the Indus, sought on the sea-coast for bays and creeks,
where his fleet might anchor in safety ; he also caused pits
to be sunk, which might be filled with fresh water for the
use of his people, and took all imaginable precautions for
preserving them in ease and safety till the season would
allow them to continue their voyage. In this he succeed¬
ed to his wish ; for he found this branch of the river In¬
dus, at its mouth, spread over the plain country, and form¬
ing a kind of lake, in which a fleet might ride with safety.
He therefore appointed Leonatus, and a part of his army,
to carry on such works as were necessary, causing them to
be relieved by fresh troops as often as there was occasion;
then having given his last instructions to Nearchus, he de¬
parted with the rest of the army, in order to march back to
Babylon.
His march Before the king’s departure, many of his friends advised
through him against the route which he intended to take. They
told him, that nothing could be more rash or dangerous
than this resolution. They informed him, that the coun-
Gedrosia.
their submission or to court his friendship. Their territo¬
ries lay upon the other side of a river called Arabis, which
Alexander crossed so speedily, that they had no intelli¬
gence of his march ; whereupon most of them quitted their
country, and fled into the deserts. Their capital he found
so well situated, that he resolved to take it out of their
hands, and to cause a new and nobl® city to be founded
there, the care of which he committed to Hephaestion.
Then he received the deputies of the Oritae and Gedrosi;
and having assured them, that if the people returned to their
villages, they should be kindly treated, and having appoint¬
ed Apollophenes president of the Oritae, and left a consi¬
derable body of troops under Leonatus to secure their obe¬
dience, he began his march through Gedrosia. In this
march his troops suffered incredible hardships. The road
was very uncertain and troublesome, on account of its lying
through deep and loose sands, rising in many places into
hillocks, which forced the soldiers to climb, at the same
time that it sunk under their feet; there were no towns,
villages, nor places of refreshment, to be met with; so that,
after excessive marches, they were forced to encamp among
these dry sands. As to provisions, they hardly met with
any during their whole march. The soldiers were there¬
fore obliged to kill their beasts of carriage ; and such as
were sent to bring some corn from the sea side, were so
grievously distressed, that, though it was sealed with the
king’s signet, they cut open the bags, choosing rather to
die a violent death for disobedience than perish by hunger.
When the king, however, was informed of this, he freely
pardoned the offenders; he was also forced to accept the
excuses that were daily made for the loss of mules, horses,
&c. which were in truth eaten by the soldiers, and their
carriages broken in pieces to avoid further trouble. As for
water, their want of it was a great misfortune, and yet their
finding it in plenty was sometimes a greater ; for, as in the
one case they perished with thirst, so in the other they
were thrown into dropsies, and rendered incapable of tra¬
vel. Frequently they met with no water for the whole day
together ; sometimes they were disappointed of it at night,
in which case, if they were able, they marched on ; so that
it was common with them to travel thirty, forty, fifty, or
even sixty miles without encamping. Through these hard¬
ships numbers were obliged to fall into the rear; and of
these many were left behind, and perished; for indeed
scarcely any of them ever joined the army again. Their
miseries, however, they sustained with incredible patience,
being encouraged by the example of their king, who, on
this occasion, suffered greater hardships than the meanest
soldier in his army.
At last they arrived at the capital of Gedrosia, where Arrivalia
they refreshed themselves, and staid some time; after Carama-
which they marched into Caramania, which being a very llia’
plentiful country, made them ample amends for the hard¬
ships and fatigues which they had sustained. Here they
were joined, first by Craterus with the troops under his
command, along with a number of elephants; then came
Stasanor, president of the Arians, and Pharismanes, the
son of Phrataphernes, the governor of Parthia. They
brought with them camels, horses, and other beasts of bur¬
den, in vast numbers ; having foreseen that the king s
march through Gedrosia would be attended with the loss
of the greater part, if not all, of the cavalry and beasts
chu
con
inte
afte
sent
Per;
his<
verr
who
ivho
nos
Mac
the
with
Mtll
led
irotnc
1 ferryj
id
m
r'ran'!
beei
chus
cow
in tel
after
sent
Pers
his
verni
ffho
ffhol
no sc
Maci
the (
with
W
he to
wher
destr
lis hi
loose
ers sc
ande:
unite
;hat
joth
'ied
statii
;er of
;ave
;es, tl
■est c
vome
:elebi
ipon
le tali
narrii
housi
ank.
herei
is na
oldie
?as si
eape
nd a
dthoi
'hole
ach
iann<
re hi
critu
f his
ther
rrenc
rousa
rdere
spres
iade,
estow
rotiio
ho hi
ar.
'e co:
ad 01
Vis
arryi,
na d(
MACEDONIA.
jdoni belonging to his army. During Alexander’s stay in Ca-
• ramania, he redressed the injuries of his people, who had
been grievously oppressed by their governors during his
absence. Here also he was joined by his admiral Near-
chus, who brought with him an account that all under his
command were in perfect safety, and in excellent condition;
intelligence with which the king was mightily pleased, and,
after having bestowed on him singular marks of his favour,
sent him back to the navy. Alexander next set out for
Persia, where great disorders had been committed during
his absence. These he also redressed, and caused the go¬
vernor to be crucified ; appointing in his room Peucestas,
who had saved his life when he fought singly against a
whole garrison, as above related. The new governor was
no sooner invested with his dignity than he laid aside the
' Macedonian garb, and put on that of the Medes, being
the only one of Alexander’s captains who, by complying
with the manners of the people he governed, gained their
affection.
Whilst Alexander visited the different parts of Persia,
i*he took a view, amongst the rest, of the ruins of Persepolis,
where he is said to have expressed great sorrow for the
destruction he had formerly occasioned. From Persepo¬
lis he marched to Susa, where he gave an extraordinary
loose to pleasure, resolving to make himself and his follow¬
ers some amends for the difficulties which they had hitherto
undergone, purposing at the same time so effectually to
.mite his newly-conquered with his hereditary subjects,
Fat the jealousies and fears which had hitherto tormented
both should no longer subsist. With this view he mar¬
ked two wives of the blood royal of Persia; Barsine or
Statira, the daughter of Darius, and Parysatis, the daugh¬
ter of Ochus. Drypetis, another daughter of Darius, he
jave to Hephaestion ; Amastrine, the daughter of Oxyar-
;es, the brother of Darius, married Craterus; and to the
■est of his friends, to the number of eighty, he gave other
vomen of the highest quality. All these marriages were
:elebrated at once, Alexander himself bestowing fortunes
ipon them. He likewise directed that an account should
ke taken of the number of his officers and soldiers who had
named Asiatic wives; and though they appeared to be ten
housand, yet he gratified each of them according to his
ank. Fie next resolved to pay the debts of his army, and
hereupon issued an edict directing every man to register
is name, and the sum he owed ; an order with which the
oldiers complying slowly, from an apprehension that there
! ras some design against them, Alexander ordered tables
eaped with money to be set in all quarters of the camp,
nd caused every man’s debts to be paid on his bare word,
dthout even making any entry of his name, though the
Foie sum amounted to twenty thousand talents. On
ach as had distinguished themselves in an extraordinary
lanner he bestowed crowns of gold. Peucestas received
ie first, Leonatus the second, Nearchus the third, One-
critus the fourth, Hephaestion the fifth, and the rest
If his guards had each of them one. After this he made
ther dispositions for conciliating, as he supposed, the dif-
erences amongst his subjects. He reviewed the thirty
jhousand youths whom at his departure for India he had
ydered to be taught Greek and the Macedonian discipline,
Expressing high satisfaction at the fine appearance they
lade, which rendered them worthy of the appellation he
Ifcstowed on them, that of Epigoni, or successors. He
jjpomoted also, without any distinction of nation, all those
Fo had served him faithfully and valiantly in the Indian
'ar. When all these regulations were made, he gave
He command of his heavy-armed troops to Hephmstion,
nd ordered him to march directly to the banks of the
•igris; whilst in the mean time a fleet was equipped for
ftrrying the king and the troops which he retained with
down to the ocean.
639
Thus ended the exploits of Alexander, the greatest Macedonia.
conqueror that ever the world saw, at least with "respect  ^
to the rapidity of his conquests. In the course of twelve Flis death
years he had brought under his subjection Egypt, Libya, and charac-
Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Babylonia, Persia, ter’
with part of India and Fartary. Still, however, he meditated
greater things. He had now got a great taste for maritime
affairs, and is said to have meditated a voyage to the
coasts of Arabia and Ethiopia, and thence round the whole
continent of Africa to the Straits of Gibraltar. But of
this there is no great certainty, though that he intended
to subdue the Carthaginians and Italians is more than pro¬
bable. All these designs, however, were frustrated by his
death, which happened at Babylon, in the year 323 before
Christ. He is said to have received several warnings of his
approaching fate, and to have been advised to avoid that
city, which advice he either despised or could not follow.
He died of a fever, after eight days’ illness, without naming
any successor; having only given his ring to Perdiccas, and
left the kingdom, as he said, “ to the most worthy.”
The character of this great prince has been variously re¬
presented ; but most historians seem to have looked upon
him rather as an illustrious madman than one upon whom
the epithet of Great could be properly bestowed. From a
careful observation of his conduct, however, it must ap¬
pear that he possessed not only a capacity to plan, but like¬
wise to execute, the greatest enterprises which ever entered
into the mind of any of the human race. From whatever
cause the notion originated, it is plain that he imagined
himself a divine person, and born to subdue the whole
world; and extravagant and impracticable as this scheme
may appear at present, it cannot at all be looked upon in
the same light in the age of Alexander. The Greeks
were in his time the most powerful people in the world in
respect to their skill in the military art, and the Persians
were the most powerful with respect to wealth and num¬
bers. The only other powerful nations in the world were
the Carthaginians, Gauls, and Italian nations. From a
long series of wars which the Carthaginians carried on in
Sicily, it appeared that they were by no means capable of
contending with the Greeks, even when they had an im¬
mense superiority of numbers; and much less could they
have sustained an attack from the whole power of Greece
and Asia united. The Gauls and Italians were indeed
very brave, and of a martial disposition; but they were
barbarous, and could not have resisted armies well discip¬
lined, and under the command of such a skilful leader as
Alexander. Even long after this time, it appeared that
the Homans themselves could not have resisted the Greeks,
since Hegulus, after having defeated the Carthaginians,
and reduced them to the utmost distress, w'as totally una¬
ble to resist a Carthaginian army commanded by a Greek
general, and trained to Greek discipline.
Thus it appears that the scheme of Alexander cannot by
any means be accounted that of a madman, or of one who
projects great things without judgment, and the means ne¬
cessary to execute them. If from his actions we consider
the end which he most probably had in view could his
scheme have been accomplished, we shall find it not only
the greatest, but the best, which can possibly be imagined.
He did not conquer to destroy, enslave, or oppress, but to
civilize and to unite the whole world as one nation. No
sooner was a province conquered than he took care of it
as il it had been part of his paternal inheritance. He al¬
lowed not his soldiers to oppress and plunder the Persians,
which they were very much inclined to do; on the con¬
trary, by giving in to the oriental customs himselfj he strove
to extinguish that inveterate hatred which had so long sub¬
sisted between the two nations. In the Scythian countries
which he subdued he pursued the same excellent plan.
His courage and military skill, in which he never was ex-
640
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia, celled, were displayed, not with a view to rapine or desul-
tory conquest, but to civilize and induce the barbarous in¬
habitants to employ themselves in a more proper way of
life. Amidst the hardships of a military life, obstinate
sieges, bloody battles, and dear-bought victories, he still
respected the rights of mankind, and practised the mild
virtues of humanity. The conquered nations enjoyed their
ancient laws and privileges; the rigours of despotism were
softened; arts and industry encouraged; and the proudest
Macedonian governors compelled, by the authority and
example of Alexander, to observe the rules of justice to¬
wards their meanest subjects. To bridle the fierce inha¬
bitants of the Scythian plains, he founded cities and esta¬
blished colonies on the banks of the laxartes and Oxus;
and those destructive campaigns usually ascribed to his
restless activity and blind ambition appeared to the dis¬
cernment of this extraordinary man, not only essential to
the security of the conquests which he had already made,
but necessary for the more remote and splendid expedi¬
tions which he still purposed to undertake, and which he
performed with singular boldness and unexampled success.
He was of a low stature, and somewhat deformed ; but
the activity and elevation of his mind animated and enno¬
bled his frame. By a life of continual labour, and by an
early and habitual practice of the gymnastic exercises, he
had hardened his body against the impressions of cold and
heat, hunger and thirst, and prepared his robust constitu¬
tion for bearing such exertions of strength and activity,
as have appeared incredible to the undisciplined softness
of modern times. In generosity and in prowess he rivalled
the greatest heroes of antiquity ; and in the race of glory,
having finally outstripped all competitors, became ambitious
to surpass himself. His superior skill in war gave uninter¬
rupted success to his arms ; and his natural humanity, en¬
lightened by the philosophy of Greece, taught him to im¬
prove his conquests to the best interests of mankind. In
his extensive dominions he built or founded not less than
seventy cities ; the situation of which, being chosen with
consummate wisdom, tended to facilitate communication,
to promote commerce, and to diffuse civilization through the
greatest nations of the eartln It may be suspected, in¬
deed, that he mistook the extent of human power, when in
the course of one reign he undertook to change the face of
the world ; and that he miscalculated the stubbornness of
ignorance and the force of habit, when he attempted to
enlighten barbarism, to soften servitude, and to transplant
the improvements of Greece into an African and Asiatic
soil, where they have never been known to flourish. Yet
let not the designs of Alexander be too hastily accused of
extravagance. Whoever seriously considers what he ac¬
tually performed before his thirty-third year, will be cau¬
tious of determining what he might have accomplished had
he reached the ordinary term of human life. His resour¬
ces were peculiar to himself; and such views as well as ac¬
tions became him, as would have become none besides. In
the language of a philosophical historian, “ he seems to have
been given to the wrorld by a peculiar dispensation of Pro¬
vidence, being a man like to none other of the human
kind.”
Causes of With the death of Alexander fell also the glory of the
the dissolu- Macedonians, who very soon relapsed into a situation as
tion of his as> or perhaps worse than, that in which they had been
To have a just notion of the origin of these disturbances, Macedoni ^'
it is necessary in the first place to understand the state v ^ '
of Macedonian affairs at the time of Alexander’s death.
When Alexander set out for Asia, he left Antipater in
Macedonia, to prevent any disturbances that might arise
either there or in Greece. The Greeks, even during the
lifetime of Alexander, bore the superiority which he exer¬
cised over them with great impatience ; and, though nothing
could be more gentle than the government of Antipater,
yet he was exceedingly hated, because he obliged them to
be quiet. One of the last actions of Alexander’s life set all
Greece in a flame. He had, by an edict, directed all the
cities of Greece to recall their exiles; which edict, when
it was published at the Olympic games, created much con¬
fusion. Many of the cities were afraid, that when the
exiles returned they would change the government; most
of them doubted their own safety if the edict took effect;
and all of them held this peremptory decree to be a total
abolition of their liberty. No sooner, therefore, did the
news of Alexander’s death arrive than they prepared for
war.
In Asia the state of things was not much better; not in¬
deed through any inclination of the conquered countries to
revolt, but through the dissensions amongst the command-
In the general council which was called soon after
U] liiq
Jlfi iou
Knu
the death of Alexander, it was at last agreed, or rather
commanded by the soldiers, after much confusion and al¬
tercation, that Aridaeus, the brother of Alexander, who
had always accompanied the king, and had been wont to
sacrifice with him, should assume the sovereignty. This
Aridaeus was a man of slender parts and judgment, not
naturally, but by the wicked practices of Olympias, who
had given him poisonous draughts in his infancy, lest he
should stand in the way of her son Alexander or any of his
family ; and for this, or some other reason, Perdiccas, Pto¬
lemy, and most of the cavalry officers, resented his promo¬
tion to such a degree that they quitted the assembly, and
even the city. However, Meleager, at the head of the
phalanx, vigorously supported their first resolution, and
threatened loudly to shed the blood of those who affected
to rule over their equals, and to assume a kingdom which
nowise belonged to them. Aridaeus was accordingly array¬
ed in royal robes, had the arms of Alexander put upon
him, and was saluted by the name of Philip, to render him
more popular. Thus were two parties formed, at the head
of which were Meleager and Perdiccas, both of them pre¬
tending vast concern for the public good, yet at bottom
desiring nothing more than their own advantage. Perdic¬
cas was a man of high birth, and had a supreme command
in the army, was much in favour with Alexander, and one
in whom the nobility had placed great confidence. Meleager
had become formidable by the phalanx being on his side,
and having the nominal king entirely in his power; for
Aridseus, or Philip, was obliged to comply with whatever
he thought proper, and publicly declared, that whatever
he did was by the advice of Meleager; so that he made his
minister accountable for his own schemes, and nowise en¬
dangered himself. The Macedonians also, besides their
regard for the deceased king, soon began to entertain a
personal love for Philip on account of his moderation. ^
It is remarkable, however, that notwithstanding all the Meleag<f, ^
favours which Alexander had conferred upon his officers, murdere
empire.
[i, mat in wiucn uiey uau ueeii lavuuis niiu.ii .nicA.aiivu.1 mu*  • u- andthe
before the reign of Philip. This was occasioned principal- and the fidelity with which they had served him during ms
betore tne reign or rump. ims was occasioiuju puueipai- aim me uucuty wim nmen mv-j' mm ...... ~ □ empire
lv by his not having distinctly named a successor, and life, only two of them were attached to the interests of his
’ i-ii i • ,i n t .• <• -i r. e• ..7^...^ avii-inrifQv onrl Ti'.nmpnes
having no child of his own come to the years of discretion
to whom the kingdom might seem naturally to belong.
The ambition and jealousy of his mother Olympias, of his
queen Roxana, and especially of the great commanders of
his army, not only prevented a successor from being ever
named, but occasioned the death of every person, whether
male or female, who was in the least related to Alexander.
family after his death. These were Antipater, and Eumenes
the Cardian, whom he had appointed his secretary. Anti-
pater, as we have already seen, was embroiled with the
Greeks, and could not assist the royal family, who were in
Asia; and Eumenes had not as yet sufficient interest to
form a party in their favour. In a short time, however, Per¬
diccas prevailed against Meleager, and caused him to be
njli. q
ntto
■am
cal
P,(Meleai,’i
, 1o\k
ilexaij
ler'sbiy
leglecfl,
ind hisnll
et asi4
aw
•Nel
I Br
be(
ant
bot
wo:
or
no
she
cab
«ti. the
the
be
sen
sist;
con
titn
am
Tht
tbo
MACEDONIA.
641
Alacecua. murdered ; by which means the supreme power for a time
■ —' fell into his hands. His first step, in consequence of this
power, was to distribute the provinces of the empire amongst
the commanders, in order at once to prevent competitors,
and to satisfy the ambition of the principal leader’s of the
army. Aridaeus, and the son of Roxana, born after the death
of his father, were to enjoy the regal authority. Antipater
had the government of the European provinces. Craterus
received the title of Protector. Perdiccas was made general
of the household troops, in the room of Hephaestion. Pto¬
lemy, the son of Lagus, obtained Egypt, Libya, and that
part of Arabia which borders upon Egypt. Cleomenes, a
man of infamous character, whom Alexander had appoint¬
ed receiver-general in Egypt, was made Ptolemy’s deputy.
Leomedon had Syria; Philotas, Cilicia; Python, Media;
Eumenes, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and all the country
bordering on the Euxine Sea, as far as Trapezus ; but these
were not yet conquered, so that he was a governor without
a province. Antigonus received Pamphylia, Lycia, and
Phrygia Major ; Cassander, Caria; Menander, Lydia; Leo-
natus, Phrygia on the Hellespont.
In the mean time, not only Alexander’s will, but even
his remains, were so much neglected, that his body was al¬
lowed to lie seven days before any notice was taken of it, or
any orders were given for its being embalmed. The only will
he left was a short memorandum of six things which he
wished to have done. 1. A fleet of one thousand stout
galleys was to be built and employed against the Cartha¬
ginians and other nations who might oppose the reduction
of the sea-coasts of Africa and Spain, with all the adjacent
islands as far as Sicily. 2. A large and regular highway
was to be constructed along the coast of Africa, as far as
Ceuta and Tangier. 3. Six temples of extraordinary mag¬
nificence were to be erected, at the expense of one thou¬
sand five hundred talents each. 4. Castles, arsenals, havens,
and yards for building ships, were to be established in proper
places throughout his empire. 5. Several new cities were
to be built in Europe and Asia; those in Asia to be inha¬
bited by colonies from Europe, and those in Europe to be
filled with Asiatics; that by blending the people and the
manners of both, the hereditary antipathy which had hither¬
to subsisted between the inhabitants of these two continents
might, if possible, be eradicated. Lastly, he had projected
the building of a pyramid, equal in size and beauty to the
largest in Egypt, in honour of his father Philip. But all
these designs were, on the pretence of their being expen¬
sive, referred to a council of Macedonians, to be held no¬
body knew when or where,
rhedarfh- The government, being now in the hands of Perdiccas
ersoLa- and Roxana, soon became cruel and distasteful. Alexan-
U'^Uq jgj. was scarceiy dead when the queen sent for Statira and
tom. Drypetis, the two daughters of Uarius, one of whom had
been married to Alexander, and the other to Hephaestion ;
and as soon as they arrived at Babylon, she caused them
both to be murdered, that no son of Alexander by any other
woman, or of Hephaestion, might give any trouble to her
or her son Alexander. Sisygambis, the mother of Darius,
no sooner heard that Alexander the Great was dead, than
she laid violent hands on herself, being apprehensive of the
calamities which were about to ensue,
devolt" War was first declared in Greece against Antipater in
Writes, the year 321 before Christ; and, through the treachery of
the Thessalians, that general was defeated, with the army
he had under his own command. Leonatus was therefore
sent from Asia, with a very considerable army, to his as¬
sistance ; but both were overthrown with great loss by the
confederates, and Leonatus himself was killed. In a short
time, however,. Crater us arrived in Greece with a great
army, the command of which he resigned to Antipater.
The army of the confederates amounted to about twenty-five
thousand foot and three thousand horse; but Antipater
VOL. xm.
commanded no fewer than forty thousand foot, three thou- Macedonia,
sand archers, and five thousand horse. In such an unequal
contest, therefore, the Greeks were defeated, and forced to
sue for peace, which they did not obtain except on condi¬
tion of their receiving Macedonian garrisons into several of
their cities. At Athens also the democratic government
was abrogated; and such a dreadful punishment did this
seem to the Athenians, that twenty-two thousand of them
left their country and retired into Macedonia.
Whilst these things were doing in Greece, disturbances Disturban-
began also to arise in Asia and in Thrace. The Greek ces in Asia
mercenaries, who were dispersed throughout the inland pro- an<fThrace.
vinces of Asia, despairing of ever being allowed to return
home by fair means, determined to attempt it by force.
For this purpose they assembled to the number of twenty
thousand foot and three thousand horse; but they were all
cut off to a man by the Macedonians. In Thrace, Lysima-
chus was attacked by one Seuthes, a prince of that country,
who claimed the dominions of his ancestors, and had raised
an army of twenty thousand foot and eight thousand horse.
But though the Macedonian commander was forced to en¬
gage this army with no more than four thousand foot and
two thousand horse, yet he kept the field of battle, and
could not be driven out of the country.
Perdiccas, in the mean time, by pretending friendship Ambition
to the royal family, had gained over Eumenes entirely to anc^ crufhy
his interest; and at last put him in possession of the pro- of ^er(bc-
vince of Cappadocia by the defeat of Ariarathes, king of CaS*
that country, whom he afterwards caused to be cruci¬
fied. His ambition, however, now began to involve him in
difficulties. At the first division of the provinces, Per¬
diccas, to strengthen his own authority, had proposed to
marry Nicaea, the daughter of Antipater; and so well was
this proposal relished, that her brethren, Jollas and Archias,
conducted her to him, in order to be present at the cele¬
bration of the nuptials. But Perdiccas had now other
objects in view. He had been solicited by Olympias to
marry her daughter Cleopatra, the widow of Alexander
king of Epirus, and who then resided at Sardis in Lydia.
Eumenes promoted this match to the utmost of his power,
because he thought it would be for the interest of the
royal family; and his persuasions had such an effect on
Perdiccas, that he was sent to Sardis to compliment Cleo¬
patra, and to carry presents to her in name of her new
lover. In the absence of Eumenes, however, Alcetas, the
brother of Perdiccas, persuaded him to marry Nicaea; but,
in order to gratify his ambition, he resolved to divorce her
immediately after the marriage, and to marry Cleopatra. By
this last alliance he hoped to have a pretence for altering
the government of Macedonia ; and, as a necessary mea¬
sure preparative to these, he entered into contrivances for
destroying Antigonus. Unfortunately for himself, how¬
ever, he ruined all his schemes by bis own jealousy and
precipitate cruelty. Cynane, the daughter of Philip by
his second wife, had brought her daughter Adda, who was
afterwards named Eurydice, to court, in hopes that King
Aridaeus might marry her. Against Cynane, Perdiccas,
from some political motives, conceived such a grudge, that
he caused her to be murdered. This raised a commotion
in the army, which frightened Perdiccas to such a degree
that he now promoted the match between Aridaeus and
Eurydice, to prevent which he had murdered the mother
of the young princess. But, in the mean time, Antigonus,
knowing the designs of Perdiccas against himself, fled with
his son Demetrius to Greece, there to take shelter under
the protection of Antipater and Craterus, whom he inform¬
ed of the ambition and cruelty of the regent.
A civil war was now kindled up. Antipater, Craterus, Civil war.
Neoptolemus, and Antigonus, were combined against Per¬
diccas ; and it was the misfortune of the empire in gene¬
ral that Eumenes, the most able general, as well as the
4 M
642
MACEDONIA.
Macedonia.
Alexander
buried in
Egypt.
Perdiccas
killed, and
a new divi.
sion of the
empire.
most virtuous of all the commanders, was on the side of
Perdiccas, because he believed him to be in the interest
of Alexander’s family. Ptolemy in the mean time re¬
mained in quiet possession of Egypt, but without the least
intention of owning any person as his superior. However,
he also acceded to the league formed against Perdiccas,
and thus the only person in the whole empire who con¬
sulted the interest of the royal family was Euments.
It was now thought proper to bury the body of Alexan¬
der, which had been kept for two years, during all which
time preparations had been making for its interment. Ari-
daeus, to whose care it was committed, set out from Babylon
for Damascus, in order to carry the king’s body to Egypt.
This was much against the will of Perdiccas; for it seems
there was a superstitious report, that wherever the body of
Alexander was laid, that country should flourish most.
Perdiccas, therefore, out of regard to his native soil, would
have it conveyed to the royal sepulchres in Macedonia;
but Aridaeus, pleading the late king’s express direction, was
determined to carry it into Egypt, from thence to be con¬
veyed to the temple of Jupiter Ammon. The funeral was
accordingly conducted with all imaginable magnificence.
Ptolemy came to meet the body as far as Syria ; but, in¬
stead of burying it in the temple of Jupiter Ammon, he
erected a stately temple for it in the city of Alexandria;
and, by the respect which he showed for his dead master,
induced to join him many of the Macedonian veterans, who
were afterwards of the greatest service to him.
No sooner was the funeral over, than both the parties
above mentioned fell to blows. Perdiccas marched against
' Ptolemy, but was slain by his own men, who, after the
death of their general, submitted to his antagonist; and
thus Eumenes was left alone to contend against all the other
generals who had served under Alexander. In this contest,
however, he would by no means have been overmatched,
had his soldiers been attached to him ; but as they had
been accustomed to seiwe under those very generals against
whom they were now to fight, they were upon all occasions
ready to betray and desert Eumenes. However, he defeat¬
ed and killed Neoptolemus and Craterus; but then found
himself obliged to contend with Antipater and Antigonus.
Antipater was now appointed protector of the kings, with
sovereign power; and Eumenes was about the same time
declared a public enemy. A new division of Alexander’s
empire took place. Egypt, Libya, and the parts adjacent,
were given to Ptolemy, because they could not be taken
from him. Syria was confirmed to Leomedon. Philoxenus
received Cilicia. Mesopotamia and Arbelitus were given
to Amphimachus. Babylon was bestowed on Seleucus.
Susiana fell to Antigenes, who commanded the Macedonian
Argyraspidce, or Silver Shields, because he was the first who
opposed Perdiccas. Peucestas held Persia ; Tlepolemus
had Caramania; Python had Media as far as the Caspian
Straits ; Stasander had Aria and Drangia; Philip, Parthia;
Stasonor, Bactria and Sogdia; Sybirtius, Aracopa ; Oxy-
artes, the father of Roxana, Paropamisus. Another Python
had the country between this province and India. Porus
and Taxiles retained what Alexander had given them, re¬
fusing to part with any portion of their dominions. Cappa¬
docia was assigned to Nicanor. Phrygia Major, Lycaonia,
Pamphylia, and Lycia, were given to Antigonus; Caria to
Cassander; Lydia to Clytus ; and Phrygia the Less to Ari-
dseus. Cassander was appointed general of the horse ;
whilst the command of the household troops was given to
Antigonus, with orders to prosecute the war against Eu¬
menes. Antipater having thus settled every thing as well
as he could, returned to Macedonia with the two kings, to
the great joy of his countrymen, having left his son Cas¬
sander as a check upon Antigonus in Asia.
Matters now seemed to wear a better aspect than they
had yet done ; and, if Eumenes had believed that his ene-
do:
lilt '.i
mies really consulted the interest of Alexander’s family, Maced™
there is not the least doubt that the war would have been
immediately terminated. He saw, however, that the de- Total
sign of Antigonus was only to set up for himself, and conse- struction
quently he refused to submit. From this time, therefore, je^xan‘
the Macedonian empire in Asia ceased to exist; and the j®rsfairi
Macedonian affairs were now entirely confined to that king¬
dom itself, and to Greece. Antipater had not been long
returned to Macedonia, when he died ; and the last action
of his life completed the ruin of Alexander’s family. With
a view to the public good, he had appointed Polysper-
chon, one of the eldest of Alexander’s captains, to be
protector and governor of Macedonia. This failed not to
disgust his son Cassander, who thought he had a natural
right to these offices, and of course kindled up a new civil
war in Macedonia. This was indeed highly promoted by
his first actions as a governor. He began with attempt¬
ing to remove all the governors appointed in Greece by
Antipater, and to restore democracy wherever it had been
abolished. The immediate consequence of this was, that
the people refused to obey their magistrates ; the gover¬
nors refused to resign their places, and applied for assis¬
tance to Cassander. Polysperchon had also the impru¬
dence to recall Olympias from Epirus, and to allow her a
share in the administration, which Antipater, and even
Alexander himself, had always refused her. The conse¬
quence of all this was, that Cassander invaded Greece,
where he prevailed against Polysperchon. Olympias re¬
turned to Macedonia, where she cruelly murdered Aridaeus
and his wife Eurydice. But she was herself put to death
by Cassander, who afterwards caused Roxana and her son
to be murdered ; and Polysperchon being driven into Eto-
lia, first raised to the crown Hercules the son of Alexan¬
der by the daughter of Darius, and then, by the instiga¬
tion of Cassander, murdered him, by which means the
line of Alexander the Great became totally extinct.
Cassander having thus destroyed all the royal family, Various]
assumed the regal title, as he had for sixteen years before
had all the power. But he enjoyed the title of king of Ma-in tie£0'
cedonia only three years, after which he died, about 298
before Christ. By Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip
king of Macedonia, he left three sons, Philip, Antipater, and
Alexander. Philip succeeded him, but soon afterwards
died of a consumption, and a contest immediately began
between the two brothers, Antipater and Alexander. Anti¬
pater seized the kingdom, and, to secure himself in it, mur¬
dered his mother Thessalonica. Alexander invited Pyrrhus
king of Epirus, and Demetrius the son of Antigonus, to
assist him and revenge the death of his mother. But Pyr¬
rhus being bought off, and a peace concluded between the
brothers, Alexander, afraid of having too many protectors,
formed a scheme of getting Demetrius assassinated. In¬
stead of this, however, both he and Antipater wTere put to
death; and Demetrius became king of Macedonia, four
years after the death of Cassander.
In 287 before Christ, Demetrius was driven out by Pyr¬
rhus, who was again driven out two years after by Lysima-
chus, who was soon afterwards killed by Seleucus Nicanor;
and Seleucus inhis turn was murdered by Ptolemy Ceraunus,
who became king of Macedonia about 280 before our era.
The new king was in a short time cut off, with his whole
army, by the Gauls; and Antigonus Gonatus, the son of
Demetrius Poliorcetes, became king of Macedonia in 278
before Christ. He proved successful against the Gauls, but
was driven out by Pyrrhus king of Epirus, who, however,
soon disobliged his subjects to such a degree that Antigo¬
nus recovered a great part of his kingdom. But in a little
time, Pyrrhus being killed at the siege of Argos in Greece,
Antigonus was restored to the whole of Macedonia; but
scarcely was he seated on the throne, when he was driven
from it by Alexander the son of Pyrrhus. The new inva-
8'
five
whii
resis
tion
nevi
batt
feati
whil
rals
but
to c
lost.
tage
lus
Mac
ofaj
and
Mac
est
char
theii
cam]
their
heav
the i
exec
his c
tfOO]
flians
Ia,de
ffli
ev
ff£
ye
of
sol
th<
tyi
we
coi
doi
his
doi
jtll 'jT;
pet In
kin ii
mo
plif
der
to
ati
ject
ing
byl
mar
in
to
war
mei
sixt
pik(
togi
pike
rani
wen
agai
five
whii
resii
tion
nevi
batt
feati
whil
rals
but
tOC'
lost,
tage
lus
Mac
ofaj
and
Mac
est
char
theii
catnj
their
heav
the
exec
his c
troop
'’ians
hish
MAC
MAC
rar vwh
ic Rc
jans.
daoedSiia. der was in his turn expelled by Demetrius the son of An-
J tigonus, who, though at that time but a boy, had almost
made himself master of Epirus. In this enterprise, how¬
ever, he was disappointed ; but by his means Antigonus
was restored to his kingdom, which he governed for many
years in peace. By a stratagem he made himself master
of the city of Corinth, and from that time began to form
schemes for the thorough conquest of Greece. The me¬
thod he took to accomplish this was, to support the petty
tyrants of Greece against the free states, which indeed
weakened the power of the latter, but involved the whole
country in so many calamities, that these transactions re¬
dound but little to the reputation either of his arms or of
his honour. He died about the year 243, leaving the king¬
dom to his son Demetrius II.
Neither Demetrius nor his successor Antigonus Doson
performed any thing remarkable. In 221 before Christ, the
kingdom fell to Philip, the last but one of the Macedonian
monarchs. To him Hannibal, after the battle ofCannce, ap¬
plied for assistance, which he refused ; and the same impru¬
dence which made him refuse this assistance prompted him
to embroil himself with the Romans, and at last to conclude
a treaty with them, by which he in effect became their sub¬
ject, being'tied up from making peace or war except accord¬
ing to their pleasure. In 179 before Christ he was succeeded
by his eldest son Perseus, under whom the war with the Ro¬
mans was renewed. Even yet the Macedonians were terrible
in war ; and their phalanx, when properly conducted, seems
to have been absolutely invincible by any method of making
war at that time known. It consisted of sixteen thousand
men, of whom one thousand marched abreast, and thus was
sixteen men deep, each of whom carried a kind of long
pike denominated sarissa. The soldiers stood so close
together, that the fifth rank extended the points of their
pikes beyond the front of the battle. The hindermost
ranks leaned their pikes upon the shoulders of those who
went before them, and, locking them fast, pressed briskly
against them when they made the charge ; so that the first
five ranks received the impetus of the whole phalanx,
which was the reason why the shock generally proved ir¬
resistible. (See the article Army, in which the constitu¬
tion of the phalanx is fully explained.) The Romans had
never encountered such a terrible enemy ; and in the first
battle, which happened 171 before Christ, they were de¬
feated with the loss of two thousand two hundred men,
whilst the Macedonians lost no more than sixty. The gene¬
rals of Perseus now pressed him to storm the enemy’s camp ;
but he being naturally of a cowardly disposition, refused
to comply, and thus the best opportunity he ever had was
lost. Still, however, the Romans gained little or no advan¬
tage over it, until the year 168 before Christ, when Pau-
lus iEmilius, a most experienced commander, was sent to
Macedonia. Perseus now put every thing upon the issue
of a general engagement; and JSmilius, with all his courage
and military experience, would have been defeated, had the
Macedonians been commanded by a general of the small¬
est courage or conduct. The light-armed Macedonians
charged with such vigour, that, after the battle, some of
their bodies were found within two furlongs of the Roman
camp. When the phalanx came to charge, the points of
their spears striking into the Roman shields, kept the
heavy-armed troops from making any motion; whilst, on
the other hand, Perseus’s light-armed men did terrible
execution. On this occasion, it is said that iEmilius tore
his clothes, and gave up all hopes. However, the Roman
general, perceiving that as the phalanx gained ground it
lost its order in several places, caused his own light-armed
troops to charge in those places, whereby the Macedo¬
nians were soon thrown into confusion. If Perseus with
his horse had, on the first appearance of this, charged the
Romans briskly, his infantry would have been enabled to
643
recover themselves; but instead of this, he betook himself Macedo-
to flight, and the infantry at last did the same, but not till nians
twenty thousand of them had lost their lives. !1
This battle decided the fate of Macedonia, which im- „Macherla-
mediately submitted to the conqueror. The cowardly
king took refuge in the island of Samothrace, but was at
last obliged to surrender to the Roman consul, by whom
he was carried to Rome, led in triumph, and afterwards
most barbarously treated. Some pretenders to the throne
afterwards appeared ; but being unable to defend them¬
selves against the Romans, the country was reduced to a
Roman province in the year 148 before Christ.
MACEDONIANS, in Ecclesiastical History, the follow¬
ers of Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople, who, through
the influence of the Eunomians, was deposed by the coun¬
cil of Constantinople in 360, and sent into exile. He con¬
sidered the Holy Ghost as a divine energy diffused through¬
out the universe, and not as a person distinct from the
Father and the Son. The sect of Macedonians was crushed
before it had arrived at its full maturity, by the council
at Constantinople, in the year 381.
MACER, Emilius, an ancient Latin poet, was born at
Verona, and flourished under Augustus Cmsar. Eusebius
relates that he died a few years after Virgil. Ovid speaks
of a poem of his, on the nature and quality of birds, ser¬
pents, and herbs, which he says IVIacer, being then very
old, had often read to him. There is extant a poem under
Macer’s name, upon the nature and power of herbs; but it
is evidently spurious. He also wrote a supplement to
Homer, as Quintus Calaber did afterwards in Greek.
MACER AT A, a delegation of the papal dominions in
Italy, in the march of Ancona, and on the Adriatic Sea,
extending over 10/2 square miles, and containing eight
cities, sixteen market-towns, thirty-seven villages, and
197,890 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same
name. . It stands on a delightful plain Overlooking the
Adriatic, and is well built, with broad paved streets. It is
the seat of a bishop, and contains eight monasteries, five
nunneries, and, besides the cathedral, thirteen churches,
with 15,500 inhabitants. There is a university, founded in
1290 and re-established in 1540, a Jesuits’ college, and a
gymnasium for nobles. Long. 13.21. E. Lat. 45.18. 36. N.
MACERATION is an infusion or soaking of ingredi¬
ents in water, or any other fluid, in order either to soften
them or extract their virtues.
, MAGHAON, a celebrated physician amongst the an¬
cients, was the son of disculapius and brother to Podali-
rius. He went to the Trojan war with the inhabitants of
1 rica, Ithome, and Gichalia. According to some, he was
king of Messenia. He was physician to the Greeks, and
healed the wounds which they received during this long
war. Some suppose that he was killed before Troy, by
Eurypylus, the son of Telephus. He received divine
honours after his death, and had a temple in Messenia.
MACH2ERUS, in Ancient Geography, a citadel on the
other side of Jordan, near the mountains of Moab, not far
from and to the north of the Lake Asphaltites. It was
the south boundary of the Perasa, and situated on a moun¬
tain encompassed round with deep and broad valleys,
being built by Alexander king of the Jews. It was de¬
stroyed by Gabinius in the war with Aristobulus, and re¬
built by Herod, with a town of the same name around it.
Here John the Baptist was beheaded.
MACH AULT, a town of the department of the North,
and arrondissement of Bouziers, in France. It is an an¬
cient place, with 1200 inhabitants.
MACHECOUL, a city of France, in the department of
the Lower Loire, and arrondissement of Mentz. It is si¬
tuated on the river Tenu, and contains 600 houses, with
3650 inhabitants. Long. ]. 57. W. Lat. 47. 2. N.
MACHERLA, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
644
MACHIAVELLI.
Machia-
velli.
the Carnatic, district of Palnaud, 106 miles south from
Hyderabad. Long. 78. 54. E. Lat. 16. 8. N.
MACHIAVELLI, Nicolo, for many years secretary of
the republic of Florence, and justly celebrated for his poli¬
tical, historical, and other writings, was born at Florence
on the Bd of May 1469, being descended from a family
which traced its origin up to the ancient marqrwses of Tus¬
cany, particularly to the Marquis Hugo, who lived about
the middle of the ninth century. The Machiavellis were
signors or lords of Monte-Spertoli; but preferring the right
of citizenship in Florence to the useless conservation of pri¬
vileges which were daily becoming more and more obnox¬
ious to the rising commonwealth, they prudently submitted
to its laws in order to accept employment in the highest
offices of the magistracy. This family was one of those
attached to the Guelfic party which abandoned Florence
in the year 1260, after the defeat at Monte-Aperti. But
their secession was merely temporary. Having returned to
their native country, they regained their influence, and
occupied some of the first offices of the state ; no less than
thirteen of their number having held the situation of gon-
faloniere of justice, and fifty-three that of prior, dignities
which were then considered as the most important in the
republic. The father of Machiavelli was a jurisconsult, and
lived in a state but little removed from poverty. His mo¬
ther, who appears to have been a woman of talent, loved
poetry, and composed verses with facility. It is believed
that, about the year 1494, he was placed under the,tuition
of the learned Marcello di Virgilio, professor of Greek and
Latin literature, and the translator of Dioscorides. How
long he remained under the care of this master, or what ad¬
vantages he derived from his instructions, has not been as¬
certained. But, five years later, when he had scarcely com¬
pleted his twenty-ninth year, he was preferred, amongst four
competitors, to the employment of chancellor of the second
chancery of the Signory ; a few months afterwards, he was
appointed, by the Signory and the colleges, secretary to the
ten magistrates of liberty and peace, which constituted the
general government of the republic; and with this employ¬
ment he continued invested for about fourteen years and
a half. His ordinary occupations, when he resided at Flo¬
rence, comprehended the political correspondence, both in¬
ternal and external, the recording of the deliberations of
the council of magistrates, and the redaction of treaties with
foreign states.
But the Florentine government, justly appreciating the
talents of Machiavelli, were not long in extending his func¬
tions ; and he was in consequence successively intrusted with
no less than twenty-three foreign legations, besides frequent
commissions to the cities dependent on the republic. The
first mission on which he was despatched was to France,
where he arrived in 1500, soon after the raising of the siege
of Pisa. Louis XII. had furnished to the Florentines troops
and artillery to form the siege of that place ; and the repub¬
lic had sent to the camp two commissioners, besides its se¬
cretary Machiavelli, who carried on the correspondence.
The Pisans, however, negociated with the king, and at the
same time gained over the principal officers in the besieg¬
ing army. The French troops were to be paid by the Flo¬
rentines, but some delay having occurred in forwarding their
pay, they availed themselves of this as a pretext, and having
disbanded, the siege was in consequence raised. The French
king reproached the Florentines for the disgrace which had
thus been brought on his arms ; and it was to appease him,
and if possible to obtain fresh succours, that they sent to
France Machiavelli, and Francisco della Casa, who had been
1 Ginguene, Histoire Litteraire d'ltalie, tom. viii.
2 See in Oj>ere di Machiavelli (vol. ii. Hague, 1726), Descrittione del modo tenuto dal Duca Valentino nello amazzare Vitcllozzo- VitelU,
OUverotto da Fcrmo, il Signor Pagolo, et il Duca di Gravina Orsini.
one of the commissioners in the camp before Pisa. During Macbia. la-v
this negociation, which lasted five months, the deputies fol¬
lowed the court to Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, Montargis, Me-
lun, Blois, Nantes, and Tours. They had several audiences
of the king, and his minister Cardinal d’Amboise ; but these
led to no satisfactory result. The envoys were continually
met with the same reproaches, and the court was only ap¬
peased by the reimbursement of the sums which the king
had advanced to the troops.1
In the year 1502 Machiavelli was sent to the Duke di Va¬
lentino (Cesare Borgia) at Imola, and next to Rome. He
also went a second time to France, and afterwards to Siena,
to Piombino, and to Perugia. In 1507 he proceeded by Ge¬
neva to Constance, and from thence to Bolzano, at that time
the residence of the Emperor Maximilian, with whom he
treated of important aftairs. The relation of this mission is
printed amongst his complete works, under the title of Rap-
porto di cose della Magna, fatto questo di 17 giugno 1508.
In 1510 he re-appeared in France, and, after passing about
two months at Blois, witnessed the opening of the national
council at Tours. A fourth mission to the court of Louis
XII. is commonly referred to the following year, 1511; but
it appears uncertain whether it was actually undertaken.
It may with truth be said, however, that if Machiavelli
failed to secure the complete independence of his country,
this proceeded from no iault of his own ; inasmuch as the
accomplishment of such an object would have required
more confidence on the part of his fellow-citizens, greater
harmony between the different opinions which then divided
the city, and times less turbulent and unpropitious. But
the glory cannot be denied him of having attempted this
noble enterprise, and devoted to its accomplishment all
his genius, and all the influence which he was permitted to
exercise in the conduct of public affairs.
This is fully established by his political correspondence,
which, besides, is in the highest degree valuable and in¬
teresting. His despatches, indeed, form one of the most
amusing and instructive collections extant. In them we
meet with none of that mystical and verbose jargon which
is so common in modern state-papers. The narratives are
clearly and agreeably written, and the remarks on men and
things are equally shrewd and judicious. We are introduced
into the presence of men who, during twenty years, swayed
the destinies of Europe. Their wit and their folly, their
gloom and their gaiety, are alike exposed to us; we are
admitted to overhear their familiar talk, to see the masters
of the world in undress, and to observe the manifestations of
their real characters. It is interesting and curious to re¬
cognise, in circumstances which commonly elude the notice
of historians, the feeble violence and the shallow cunning of
Louis XII.; the bustling insignificance of Maximilian, a
prince afflicted with an impotent desire of renown, rash yet
timid, obstinate yet fickle, always in a hurry, yet always too
late ; the fierce and haughty energy which gave dignity to
the eccentricities of the magnificent Julius; and the soft,
smooth, calm, graceful manners which masked the insatiable
ambition and deadly hatred of Cesare Borgia. The meet¬
ing of the Florentine secretary and the Duke di Valentino,
of the greatest speculative and the ablest practical states¬
man of the age, is a memorable occurrence in the history
of both. Upon two important occasions Machiavelli was
admitted to the society of Borgia; once, at the moment
when his splendid villany had achieved its most signal tri¬
umph, when he caught in one snare, and crushed at one
blow, all his most formidable rivals;2 and again when, ex¬
hausted by disease, and overwhelmed by misfortunes, he
i
3
•kU
MACHIAVELLL
645
ff£
I in*
^ve
int
se(
cri
ci£
osi
tio
“t
ed
sei
eq
vai
vai
lat
cit
em
thf
inj
lar
for
ed
spl
hin
am
wo
cri
wo
liai
ing
am
fen
sp(
div
of
me
pe<
dei
an
jec
me
exi
are
isn
hin
ere
cut
sta
the
the
to
bat
Th
die
Fk
a n
adl
not
to
“1
sta
Th
the
sto
was the prisoner of the deadliest enemy of his house. These
interviews are fully described in the correspondence. Se¬
veral writers have supposed that there existed a close and
intimate connexion between these remarkable men, and the
secretary-envoy has even been accused of prompting the
crimes of this artful and merciless tyrant; but, from the offi¬
cial documents, it is evident that their intercourse, though
ostensibly of an amicable, was in reality of a hostile descrip¬
tion. “ It cannot be doubted, however,” says an able writer,
“ that the imagination of Machiavelli was strongly impress¬
ed, and his speculations on government coloured, by the ob¬
servations which he made on the singular character, and
equally singular fortunes, of a man who, under such disad¬
vantages, had achieved such exploits; who, when sensuality,
varied through innumerable forms, could no longer stimu¬
late his sated mind, found a more powerful and durable ex¬
citement in the intense thirst of empire and revenge ; who
emerged from the sloth and luxury of the Roman purple
the first prince and general of the age ; who, after acquir¬
ing sovereignty by destroying his enemies, acquired popu¬
larity by destroying his tools ; who had begun to employ
for the most salutary ends the power which he had attain¬
ed by the most atrocious means ; who tolerated within the
sphere of his iron despotism no plunderer or oppressor but
himself; and who fell at last, amidst the mingled curses
and regrets of a people, of whom his genius had been the
wonder, and might have been the salvation.”1 Some of the
crimes of Borgia, which appear to us the most I'evolting,
would not have been viewed with equal horror by an Ita¬
lian of the fifteenth century; and, besides, patriotic feel¬
ing might induce Machiavelli to regard with indulgence
and regret the memory of the only leader capable of de¬
fending the independence of Italy against the confederate
spoilers who were then plotting the dismemberment of that
divided and unhappy country.
But whilst Machiavelli deeply regretted the misfortunes
of his country, he clearly discerned the cause and the re¬
medy of these. It was the military system of the Italian
people which had extinguished their valour and discipline,
destroyed their independence, and rendered their wealth
an easy prey to every foreign plunderer. Machiavelli pro¬
jected a scheme for abolishing the practice of employing
mercenary troops, and organizing a national militia; and the
exertions which he made to accomplish this grand object
are alike honourable to his understanding and his patriot¬
ism. He studied with assiduity the art of war, and made
himself master of all its details.2 When levies were de¬
creed, he flew from place to place to superintend the exe¬
cution of his design, and availed himself of every circum¬
stance which could contribute to its success. For a time
the scheme promised well, and the new troops acquitted
themselves respectably. But the fury of parties continued
to increase, and the tide of misfortune came on before the
barriers which should have withstood it were prepared.
The emperor and the pope wished to re-establish the Me¬
dici, and the moment was favourable for such an enterprise.
Florence was then governed by the gonfaloniere Soderini,
a man equally presumptuous and feeble, who obstinately
adhered to France, without discerning that that power was
not in a condition to afford him any aid. It was in reference
to this inconsiderate policy that Machiavelli observed,
“ The good fortune of France has made us lose half the
state; her bad fortune will cause the loss of our liberty.”3
The prediction was not long in being verified. As soon as
the French armies had lost their superiority in Italy, the
storm burst upon Florence. In 1512, the pope and the
emperor combined against their common enemy, and, con- Machia-
trary to the faith of treaties, imposed a contribution of a velli.
hundred thousand florins. Machiavelli flew through the
territory of the republic, to examine the state of the for¬
tresses, and organize a vigorous resistance; but all his ef¬
forts were unavailing, and divided Florence soon opened
its gates to the Medici, who re-conquered at once their
property and their ancient authority.
This revolution, which caused the ruin of the gonfalo¬
niere, proved also the signal for the fall of the secretary.
The new Signory immediately attacked him in two decrees,
dated the 8th and 10th of November 1514. By the one he
was deprived, “ absolutely despoiled,” of his offices of chan¬
cellor and secretary to the ten magistrates of liberty and
peace; by the other he was exiled for a year to a part of the
Florentine territory, which he was forbidden to quit under
the penalty of incurring the displeasure of the Signory. A
third decree, dated the 17th of the same month, prohibited
him from entering the palace of the high and magnificent
signors. On this subject Ginguene has omitted some facts.
“ Machiavelli,” says he, “ after fourteen years of service
useful to his country, was first deprived of his employ¬
ment, and then confined for a year to the territory of the
republic, with a prohibition not to set foot in the palace of
the Signory. Nor was this the term, it was in fact only
the commencement of his misfortunes.” And he adds in
a note, that the fate of the secretary was decided by three
decrees of the 8th, 10th, and 17th of November. There ap¬
pears to be some confusion in this statement. The decree
of the 17th was evidently a mitigation of that of the 10th.
The latter banished him for a year, and intimated to him
that he was not to leave the territory of the republic ; that
is, it ordained him to quit Florence in order to live in the
Florentine dominions, exclusive of the city properly so
called. The third decree, dated the 17th, only prohi¬
bited him from entering the palace of the Signory, without
ordaining him to leave the city; but another decree of
the same date was published, in which he was permitted
to enter the palace during the whole of the day of the 17th ;
and the same liberty was granted him on the 4th of De¬
cember 1512, and on the 21st of March and 9th of July
1513. Ginguene has refuted some of the statements pub¬
lished respecting the treatment Machiavelli is alleged to
have experienced after the return of the Medici; but it
is not the less true, as appears by the subsequent modifi'
cations of the original decree, to the extent already stated,
that the removal of the secretary was considered as an affair
of some difficulty, and one the accomplishment of which
required management and address. But when this object
had been effected, he found himself exposed to the great¬
est dangers. Accused of being concerned in the conspi¬
racy formed by Capponi and Boscoli against Cardinal de’
Medici, afterwards Leo X., he was thrown into prison, and
put to the torture, which he endured with unflinching re¬
solution. “ I have been near losing my life,” said he,
“ which God and my own innocence have saved; I have
supported all evils, including imprisonment and others.”
On the accession of Leo X. he was included in an am¬
nesty, and owed his deliverance to the generosity of that
liberal and accomplished pontiff.
These terrible trials, which extraordinary courage can
alone withstand, attest the energy and the force of charac¬
ter which belonged to the fallen statesman. Instead of
yielding to despondency, he sought for an alleviation of his
lot in study and in literature; and it is to his misfortunes
that we are indebted for the best known of his works, the
i
3
>tah
1 Edinburgh Review, vol. xlv. pp. 283, 284. 2 See his treatise Dell' Arte della Guerra, passim.
3 Speaking, on one occasion, of the alliance with France, he observed, che la buona fortuna di essa aveva fatto perder la metd della
stato, la caltiva avrebbe fatto perdere la libertd.
646
MACHIAVELL I.
Machia- Prince, the dialogue on the Art of War, his Histories, and
ve^i* ; Comedies, which he composed during his retirement at
San-Casciano, and which, with the collection of his politi¬
cal letters, deserve to be classed amongst the most remark¬
able monuments of modern literature. From his retreat,
however, he wrote to the friends whom he had still pre¬
served, signifying his desire to be again emfjjoyed in the
conduct of affairs; and his wishes in this respect were to a
certain extent gratified. After the death of Lorenzo de’
Medici, Leo X. who possessed great influence in the go¬
vernment of Florence, recalled Machiavelli. and requested
him to point out the means of refonning the administration.
In 1521, there was confided to him a mission to the minor
brothers at Carpi. He was next ordered to fortify anew
the city, and to treat of some aflairs with Francisco Guic¬
ciardini, then governor of Romagna. Finally, he was em¬
ployed in the army of the league against Charles V. This
commission was the last remarkable occupation of his life.
He returned to Florence in one of the last davs of May
1527, and having, not long afterwards, suflered much in¬
convenience from pains in the stomach, he took a medi¬
cine in which he had great faith for relieving this disorder;
but being soon attacked by violent spasms in the bowels,
he expired on the 22d of June, at the age of fifty-eight,
after having received all the sacraments of the church.
The following letter from his son Pietro to Francisco Nel¬
li, professor at Pisa, annihilates all the fables which have
been circulated respecting his death:—•• I cannot tell you
without tears, that, on the 22J of this month, our father
Nicolo died of pains in the bowels, caused by a medicine
which he had taken two days before. He was made to
confess his sins by the friar Matteo. who kept him com¬
pany till his death. Our father has left us in great pover¬
ty, as you know.” Machiavelli was in his person of the
ordinary size, his complexion was of an olive hue, and his
physiognomy animated and expressive; in conversation he
was at once simple and lively, and his repartee was prompt
and piquant. Conversing one day w.;h Clodio Tolomeo,
the latter said to him, “ At Florence the men have less
science, and are less learned, than at Siena, always except¬
ing yourselfto which Machiavelli replied, “ At Siena
the men are greater fools than at Florence, not even except¬
ing you.” Some one having remarks! to him that he had
taught princes to be tyrants, he replied. •* It I have taught
princes to be tyrants, I have also tawurht the people to de¬
stroy tyrants.” He was interred in the church of Santa-
Croce, in the burying-place of his fam lv ; but for more
than two centuries his bones lay undistinguished, and it
was reserved for an English noixeciaa. Lari Cowper, to
pay the last honours to the greatest statesman of Florence,
by erecting a monument to his memory
Several writings of the Florentine secretary are regard¬
ed as estimable productions of a superior mind; others are
considered as pernicious, and coc.nian:r.a: abominable doc¬
trines. Amongst the latter are the apdiogy for the conduct
of the Duke di Valentino, when he caused Vitellozzo-Vitelli
and others to be massacred at Siiugxgiia < 7Z modo tenuto
dal Duca Valentino, ftc.) ; the treatise of the Prince {11
Principe) ; and some detached epinkwas contained in the
Discourses on Titus Livius {Lhseorv. la prima deca
di T. Livio), which opinions, fcronnn nan «f a writing pos¬
terior to the composition of the Principe, will, as far as pos- Maehia.
sible, be explained in the more detailed exposition which vein
we shall endeavour to give of the object and intentions of'>—v»
the author when he composed that celebrated treatise.
At the head of the works generally admitted to have es¬
tablished beyond all dispute the reputation of Machiavelli
as a profound thinker, and a politician of inexhaustible ge¬
nius, maybe placed those letters or despatches, published un¬
der the title of Legazioni, of which we have already spoken
incidentally. Ginguene has observed, in reference to these
letters, that one would not willingly read the collection,
which he considers somewhat diffuse, but that, in regard to
the character and life of the secretary, and the history of
his own time, it may be consulted with advantage. In this
opinion, however, we cannot by any means concur. The
collection is suited to the taste of the age, and the country
to which it belongs; nor has this taste materially changed ;
for even the Italian diplomatists of the present day fre¬
quently indulge in similar details, introducing such argu¬
ments as they think fitted to support their observations,
and to create a favourable impression of their zeal and in¬
dustry. That the Legazioni sometimes descended into mi¬
nutiae which may be considered as trifling or irrelevant, we
readily admit; but even these particulars are by no means
devoid of interest; and as to the entire collection, a reader
of intelligence cannot peruse it without being at once
amused and instructed by it.
The seven books on the Art of War {Dell Arte della
Guerra) show that Machiavelli was profoundly conversant
with the principles of military science. An Italian writer,
adverting to this circumstance, observes, that such know¬
ledge is not only wonderful in a man devoted to civil occu¬
pations, but might even be considered as extraordinary in
an old general. According to the author of the preface to
the edition of 1813, Machiavelli had acquired this insight
into military science in consequence of profound medita¬
tions on the works of the ancient Romans, who may be re¬
garded as the first masters of the art of war; and, in fact, the
combinations of the secretary have constant reference to
those of \ egetius. His principal object was to establish the
superiority of infantry, at a time when this branch of the
service had fallen into general discredit; and his theories
fortunately attracted so much regard, that to him may, in a
great measure, be attributed the return of sound tactics,
and the perfection to which the art of war subsequently at¬
tained. Algarotti, in his fourth discourse on the studies
of Palladio, gives us to understand that that celebrated ar¬
chitect learned the military art in the writings of the Flo¬
rentine secretary; Frederick II. has described, in agree¬
able verses, some of his military precepts ; and there is a
French work, entitled Instructions sur le fait de la Guerre,
extraites des livres de Poly be, Frontin, Vegece, Machiavelli,
et plusieurs autres bans auteurs, Paris, 1563. Of the tactics
of Machiavelli it is not necessary to express here any opi¬
nion. But the treatise is able and interesting; as a com¬
mentary on the history of the times it is invaluable ; whilst
the ingenuity, grace, and perspicuity of the style, and the
eloquence and animation of particular passages, must give
pleasure even to readers who take no interest in the subject
which the author treats with so much skill and ability.2
The Discorsi, written about the year 1516, the epoch of
ilcs, ‘ll:,
jj, un‘
.r'lia.
Tf
ro£
Mi
of
an<
fac
as:
ing
hac
his:
ma;
PIa
on
[ foil
StOj
ori
I hist
tuti
par:
eve
an
evk
Tin
met
the
due
qua:
hec
libe
the
rath
just
cha;
lie j
won
and
ral t
are<
only
of s<
feet
obse
with
his i
side:
sonii
T
he b
the
adm
with
that
with
the i
fassa
and1
thep
This monument, which is toe wx’rifc cr Sc.cr.&zzi, bears the inscription, Tanto nomini nullum par elogium, Nicolaus Machiavelli obiit
A. P. V. MDXXVII.
Ihe treatise on the Art ot W j - lit form of a cLalogue, and the opinions of the writer are put into the mouth of Fabrizio
Colonna, a nobleman ot the ecciestast scaii, and an officer of distinguished merit in the service of the king of Spain. After some
preliminary conversation, l abrisie exrrvssses L.* regret that those who in later times affected the manners of the old Romans,
should select lor imitation their irosc Ttursuii*. This leads to a discourse on the decline of military discipline, and the best
means of restoring it. The instil'..tree me 1 iorentine militia, to which we have alreadv alluded, is very ably defended ; and
several improvements are suggested ia uibe details.
The Swiss and the Spa-mar us wurs i; has i.me regarded as the best soldiers in Europe. The Swiss battalion consisted of pike-
men in deep formation, a;:u here i .uuse pessariblaiaoe to the Grecian phalanx. The Spaniards, like the soldiers of Rome, were armed
ever-
fortl
uise
great
were
ingai
°Ppoi
^Iiai
Tf
rat
roi
Mi
of
aiK
fac
as
ing
liac
iii'i
ma;
pla;
on
foil
stoj
or
hist
tuti
par
eve
an
evk
Thi
met
the
due
qua
het
libe
the
rath
just
chaj
lie
wor
and
ral
are
only
of S(
feet
obse
with
his
side
soiw
T
he b
the
adm
with
that
with
tbe\
Passa
and
the
even
fortl
Map
great
were
“gai
oppos
MACHIAVELLI.
his disgrace, prove that the principles of the author were
uniform and constant, and that his views and observations
had always a character of justness, depth, and gravity.
The Roman republic, in its constitution and its establish¬
ments, contained the germs of its greatness ; and the in¬
roads committed upon these were the causes of its decline.
Machiavelli followed this fatal progress beyond the history
of Livy ; he discerned and meditated on it in the Annals
and in the History of Tacitus. He there found not only
facts, but results; a manner and a style, which he adopted
as models. Tacitus became his master in the art of observ¬
ing, and also, in one sense, in the art of writing; what he
had acquired in the study of the former of these two great
historians he carried to the school of the latter; and it
may be said that he learned from Tacitus to read and ex¬
plain Livy. After having laid the foundations of his work
on the history of Rome, Machiavelli employed himself in
following Livy step by step in the perusal of that history;
stopping short at every thing which suggested a reflection,
or indicated the application of a principle. The text of the
historian disappears, or is but rarely cited ; actions, insti¬
tutions, and laws, are alone discussed. The objects of com¬
parison, ancient as well as modern, spring up, so to speak,
every instant; luminous results are thence deduced ; and
an inexhaustible variety of facts continually supports the
evidence of the reasonings and the solidity of the maxims.
Throughout we discover a mind habituated to profound
meditations, and a firmness of soul tried and exercised by
the storms of liberty. See, for example, to what he i’e-
duces, in his fourth chapter, all the noise made by the
quarrels between the senate and the Roman people, which
he does not hesitate to regard as the primary cause of the
liberty of Rome. Observe also, in his seventh chapter,
the strong reasons upon which he grounds the utility, or
rather the necessity, of public accusations; and with what
justness of discrimination he distinguishes, in his eighth
chapter, the effect of public accusations, preferred on pub¬
lic grounds, from those of adulation and calumny. In a
word, he reasons inductively from history as he finds it,
and deduces his conclusions, not from any appeal to gene¬
ral or speculative principles, but from the facts as these
are detailed in the pages of the historian. If he errs, it is
only because bis experience, acquired in a peculiar state
of society, does not always enable him to calculate the ef¬
fect of institutions differing from those of which he had
observed the operation ; but in regard to all that comes
within the sphere of his own observation or experience,
his sagacity is seldom at fault, and he may justly be con¬
sidered as the founder of that science which has been
somewhat vaguely denominated the philosophy of history.
The books Ddle Histone Fiorentine, a work in which
he begins by describing the events which brought about
the destruction of the Roman empire, are altogether an
admirable composition, and entitle Machiavelli to a sepa-
647
rate place amongst historians, seeing that the ancients
have not left any model on which he could form a particular
style. The first book displays the science and penetration
of the writer; and it may be supposed that Bossuet was
filled with admiration of his free, bold, rapid, and indepen¬
dent manner, when he sketched the plan of his Discourse
on Universal History. The narrative in the seven other
books proceeds with the same vivacity; nor can the most
careless reader fail to receive from it a vivid and faithful
impression of the national character and manners of the
Florentines. This work was undoubtedly the last of the
author. He is believed to have completed it in 1525 ; and
it was his intention, we are told, to continue it, which is
rendered probable by the fragments collected after his
decease. The general character of Machiavelli’s style,
particularly in the History and in the Life of Castruccio,
is elegance and simplicity. He is always full of grace
without artifice, and of elegance without insipidity; he is
clear without being verbose, and concise without obscurity
or pretension to the mysterious ; and such is the transpa¬
rency of the medium through which his ideas are convey¬
ed, that the actual depth of the current of thought is not
at first discernible.
Although the real merit of the Florentine secretary con¬
sists in his profound knowledge of the science of govern¬
ment, in which he has not been surpassed either amongst
the ancients or the moderns, yet he is also entitled to a dis¬
tinguished place amongst comic authors. His Mandragola,
which, according to Voltaire, surpasses all the comedies of
Aristophanes, is superior to the best of Goldoni, and infe¬
rior only to the best of Moliere ; in fact, it is the work of a
man who, if he had devoted himself to the drama, would
probably have attained the very highest excellence, and
produced a permanent and salutary impression upon the
national taste. By the correct and vigorous delineation of
human character, it produces interest without a skilful or
pleasing plot, and laughter without the least ambition or
affectation. Machiavelli had an exquisite sense of the ri¬
diculous, and his dramatic humour, which has often been
compared to that of Moliere, and certainly resembles it in
comic force, if not in benevolent gaiety and chastened
morality, seldom fails to prove effective. The Clizki is an
imitation of the Casina of Plautus, which is itself an imi¬
tation of the lost KAfjgogu.si'o/ of Diphilus. Machiavelli has
executed his task with judgment and taste, accommodat¬
ing the plot to a different state of society, and dexterous¬
ly connecting with it the history of his own times. Be¬
sides these, the Maschere, the Andria, and two other come¬
dies without titles, the one in prose and the other in verse
appear amongst the works of Machiavelli. The charming
little novel of Belphegor is also pleasantly conceived and
wittily told ; but the extravagance of the satire in some
measure injures its effect. Machiavelli was unhappily
married; and his wish to avenge his own cause as well as
Machia¬
velli.
with the sword and the shield. But the victories cained bv Flaminius and jErmliiics r.™-tho i • i-
that the weapons used b, the legions were superio? to those7 of the phaknx A^ the same experfmeThad feenTeoerH ^
with the same result at the battle of Ravenna, “ one of those tremendous divs into wWn i,? P Tfi i ?e1enJ1 recently tned
the whole devastation of a famine or a plague." T*T
passage through the thickest of the imperial pikes, and effected an unbroken retreat " n the fm-e’of S ri?Vh hewed a
and the artiller, of Este. Machiavelli! struck with these facts, proPes tTcombtae both systems” to aria Po&
the pike, for the purpose of repulsing cavalry, and those in the rear with the sword as beino a ha’ndv ,,,,o ",,5 mcs'v,th
every exigency. He expresses the highest admiration of the military science of the' ancient Zftu’ adaPted to almost
for the/fiaxims in vogue amongst the Italian commanders of the preceding generation ; he prefer^S^rvt
camps to fortified towns ; he recommends the substitution of rapid movements and decisive emrao-ement/for thp i I fo^t\^Ied
oStOPscratlin?f hiSiC0UntryTn ; and he attaches but little imPortance to the LenS of guSer wMc^ tolh nk'
ought seal cely to produce any change m the mode of arming or disposing troops. The artillerv nf A. 1 ’ he ^ thinL
ill served, and consequently V littPe use in the field of battle; this arm was Ken in a ride inTfflLn, ll7. M c°n?t':uyeJ'
SrrTXf'T*'1 in “S'-’6™1 system of tactics; but if Machiavelli could have ftfeKellhe ImpJovemS'S rtkh
were destined to take place, particularly in point of mobility, he would have been convinced that a rhino-P iw], ;Jh,„ i r UC1
mg and disposing troops would in consequence become necessarv, and that the deep formations of ancient times durst nn fn°
opposed to the ravages of shot, shells, grape, canister, and the other destructive mLuTdSrJd“7^3^ ^ ^
648
MACHIAVELLI.
Machia-
velli.
tliat of his brethren in misfortune carried him beyond even
the license of fiction.1
Machiavelli was also a poet, though, in this capacity, he
is not perhaps entitled to a very high place. The Decen-
nali are merely abstracts in verse of the history of his own
times. The style and versification are sedulously modelled^
on those of Dante; but the manner of l^ante, like that ot
every other great original poet, was suited only to his own
genius and his own subject, and did not therefore admit
of being copied or imitated. The Assino d' Oro and the
Capitoli are also formed on the same model, and are in
every respect superior. The Golden Ass indeed has nothing
but the name in common with the romance of Apuleius,
which, in spite of its irregular plan and vicious style, is
one of the most fascinating books in the Latin language,
combining the various merits of Le Sage and Radcliffe,
Bunyan and Crebillon. The poem of Machiavelli, which
is evidently unfinished, is copied from the earlier cantos of
the Inferno ; whole lines are transferred without acknow¬
ledgment, and all without producing their wonted effect;
the flowers of language which have bloomed upon one soil,
wither when transplanted to another. Yet the Assino d’ Oro
is not altogether destitute of merit; the allegory displays
considerable ingenuity, and there is some vivid colouring in
the descriptions.
But, of all the works of Machiavelli, that which has excited
the greatest attention is the celebrated treatise entitled II
Principe. This production, in which the ferocious Borgia
is, according to the supposition of several writers, presented
as a model to sovereigns who wish to govern absolutely,
has acquired a deplorable reputation in Europe, and made
the author himself be regarded by many as an incarnation
of the evil principle.2 The first edition, known as that of
Antonio Blado d’Asola, appeared at Rome on the 4th of
January 1532, accompanied with a privilege of Pope Cle¬
ment VII. and dedicated to Philip Strozzi, the friend of
the author. Bayle speaks of an edition of 1515, which no
one has seen, there being, in all probability, a misprint in
the date. The Giunta reprinted the Prince the same year,
1532, and again in 1540. The sons of Aldus also publish¬
ed it at Venice in 1540; and Gabriel Giolito gave an
edition of it in 1550. It was successively translated into
German, Montbeliard, 1626 ; twice into Latin ; then into
French by Amelot de la Houssaye (Amsterdam, 1683, and
Hague, 1743), and, lastly, by Giraudet in 1799, along
with the complete works of the author.
We know not of any work which has excited so much dis¬
cussion and controversy as this, or which has been so often
and so vehemently assailed. The intentions of the author
have been variously interpreted. Some, thinking they saw in
it a complete system of irreligion, impiety, and tyranny, have
cried out “Wolf, wolf ;”3 whilst others have demanded that,
according to the rules of just criticism, the work should be
judged of as a whole, not by detached or disfigured frag¬
ments, and that, above all, the disapprobation with which the
author always accompanies the exposition of the perverse
principles he has developed, should not be dissembled or
concealed. Voltaire, writing to the prince-royal of Prussia
(20th May 1738), observes: “ The first thing I am obliged
to advert to is the manner in which you think of Machiavel.
Why should you be moved with the virtuous displeasure
which you express against me because I have praised the
style of a bad man ? It is for the Borgias, father and son,
and all those petty princes who require crimes to effect'
their elevation, to study this infernal policy. It belongs to
such a prince as you to detest it. This art, which may be
classed with that of the Locustes and the Brinvilliers, may
give to some tyrants a temporary sway, just as poison may
procure an inheritance; but most assuredly it has never
made men either great or happy. What, then, can any one
accomplish by pursuing this frightful policy ? Nothing but
misery to others, and also to himself. These are the truths
which should form the catechism of your exalted soul.” On
the 26th of June 1739, the prince replies to this flattering
homage in the true French style, by informing his corre¬
spondent that what he meditates against Machiavelism is
properly a continuation of the Henriade. “ It is out of the
noble sentiments of Henri IV.” says he, “ that I am forging
the thunderbolt which will crush Cesare Borgia.” On the
27th of December, Voltaire renders homage for homage.
“ We shall at length,” says he, “ have a book worthy of a
prince ; and I doubt not that an edition of Machiavel, with
this counter-poison at the end of each chapter, will be one of
the most precious monuments of literature.” “ The Anti-
Machiavel” he adds, “ ought to become the catechism of
kings, and of their ministers.” The book which, in this
commerce of flattery, Voltaire denominates Anti-Machiavel,
is the Examen du Prince de Machiavel, by the prince-royal,
afterwards king of Prussia, who, in his preface, declares
that “ he always looked upon the Prince as one of the most
dangerous works that ever was published,” though he after*
wards lived long enough to find some of its maxims more
convenient and agreeable than he had at first anticipated.
It would be equally endless and impertinent to relate the
host of criticisms and apologies, of accusations and defences,
of which Machiavelli has been the object, in almost all the
languages of Europe. But we shall cite the authority of
a judge whom it will not be easy to refute; we mean that
of the Florentine secretary himself. Before finishing his
treatise of the Prince, he wrote to one of his friends, Fran¬
cisco Vettori, a letter, which discloses without any reserve
his real position and his motives, and thus puts an end to
all speculation upon the subject. This letter, found in the
Barberini library at Rome, was published for the first time
by Angelo Ridolfi, in a work entitled Pensieri intorno alio
scopo di Nicolo Machiavello nel libro II Principe, Mi¬
lan, 1810; and Ginguene has also cited it in his Histoire
Litteraire d'Italic, though, for some reason, he has di¬
vided it into two parts, giving the one half in the text,
and the other half in a note. The first part contains details
which may perhaps be considered as ignoble, but which
nevertheless make known the peculiar cast of character, as
well as the patience, of the author; the second shows him
in all the dignity of his talent. We shall only cite the por¬
tion which has immediate reference to the subject before us.
“ On the approach of evening,” says he, continuing the
description of his habits and mode of life, “ I retire to my
dwelling, and enter my cabinet; at the door I divest my¬
self of my peasant’s garb, bedaubed with mud and dirt, put
on proper attire, and thus decently dressed I enter the an¬
cient courts of men of old. Being well received by them,
I fill myself with that nourishment which alone agrees with
Machii.
velli.
1 The subject of this novella piacevolissima cannot be better described than in the words of the argument prefixed : “ Befagor ar-
cidiavolo e mandate da Plutone in questo mondo, con oblige di dover prender moglie. Ci viene, la prende ; e non potendo soffe-
rire la superbia di lei, ama meglio retornarsi in Inferno, che ricongiugnersi seco.” Ben Jonson, in the plot ot The Devil it an Ass,
appears to have taken some hints from this tale, with others from Boccacio., j r
2 “ Out of his surname,” says a writer in the Edinburgh Review (vol. xlv. p. 260), “they coined an epithet for a knave, and out ot
his Christian name a synonyme for the devil.” For the latter point, the writer has the authority ot Hudibras (part iii. canto i.).
Nick Machiavel had ne’er a trick.
Though he gave his name to our Old Nick.
But on this subject the antiquarians, we believe, are by no means agreed.
3 8ee preface to the French edition of 1813.
hden
Vo,
MACHIAVELLI.
un<
the
sho
with
that
first
will,
ducti
teen
have
ever;
quire
no (1
alwa;
fice
forty.
his nt
uprig
Th
it Ms
reser1
"'hid
!0
the Cl
.'Et
itidegj
Vo.
:b.- me, and for which I was born ; nor do I hesitate to con-
tlil verse with them, and to inquire the motives of their actions;
whilst they, on the other hand, being full of humanity, re¬
ply to my inquiries. For four hours I experience no wea¬
riness ; I forget all sorrow; I have no dread of poverty, and
death no longer alarms me ; I transport myself entirely to
them , and, as Dante says that thevc will nevev be science
unless we retain what we have learned, I have noted down
the substance of my conversation with them, and composed
a work, De Principatibus, in which I enter as deeply as I
can into this subject, with a view to fathom it. I examine
what a principality is ; how many kinds there are of them;
how they are acquired, how maintained, how lost; and if
ever any trifle (ghiribizzo) of mine gave you pleasure, this
should not displease you. It should also be acceptable to
a prince, more especially to a new one; wherefore I ad¬
dress it to the magnifleent Julius.1 Philip Casavecchia has
seen my treatise, and can inform you in detail of the sub¬
ject itself, and the arguments I have had with him ; and as
to myself, I am now occupied in extending and correcting it.
You wish that I should abandon my actual mode of life,
. and g° to enjoy yoprs; I will do so gladly ; but I am pre-
| vented at present by some affairs which will be settled in
about six weeks. The only thing which makes me hesitate
is, that, near these Soderini, I shall be obliged, on my ar¬
rival, to visit and to speak with them. I am also apprehen¬
sive that, upon my return, instead of stopping at my own
house, they would make me alight at the barigel (prison);
for although this state stands on solid foundations, and enjoys
great security, still it is new, and consequently suspicious ;
nor are there wanting meddling intriguers (saccenti), who,
like Paul Bertini, would run up a long score, and leave me
: to pay the reckoning. I beseech you to save me from this
danger, and I will by all means come to you at the time I
have mentioned. I have been talking with Philip about my
little work (the Prince), and I have asked him whether it
would be proper to give it to the world or not, and, in the
event of its being expedient to do so, whether I should
bring it myself or send it to you. Were it not published, it
is doubtful whether it would ever be read by Julius, and Ar-
dinghelli2 would reap the honour of this the last of my works.
The necessity which pursues me, however, urges me to give it,
because I am roasting away, and cannot long remain thus
without becoming contemptible through poverty. My wish is,
that these Medici would begin to employ me, were it only at
Jirst to roll a stone. If I did not then gain their good
will, I would have myself only to blame; and by this pro¬
duction, if it be read, people will see that, during the fif¬
teen years I passed in studying the art of government, I
have not been a careless or inattentive observer ; besides,
every one should be eager to employ a man who has ac¬
quired experience at the expense of others. Of my fidelity
no doubt can reasonably be entertained, because, having
always acted with good faith, I am not likely now to sacri¬
fice my character. He who has been faithful and good
forty-three years, which is my present age, cannot change
I his nature. My indigence sufficiently attests my fidelity and
uprightness.”
This letter requires no explanation or commentary. In
it Machiavelli lays bare his whole soul, disclosing without
reserve his vexation, his dread of misery, the shame with
which he regarded the almost disgusting situation to which
649
he had been reduced, and his desire at any sacrifice to be
again employed in public affairs ; nor will the attentive ob-.
server, who reads it with care, fail to discover in it a key to
the treatise of the Principe. Indeed the Italian writers no
longer judge of that work without referring to the letter
addressed to Vettori.3 It has been said that Machiavelli,
despairing of the liberty of Florence, was inclined to sup¬
port any government which might secure its independence.
But this is a refinement wholly unsupported by evidence.
The motive which impelled him to the composition of the
work was actual indigence, and the prospect of still great¬
er misery ; the object which he sought to attain by it was
immediate employment under the new masters of Florence,
were it only in the first instance to roll a stone. None of
the designs which have been so freely imagined, and so
confidently ascribed to the fallen secretary, seems ever to
have entered his mind. He wanted bread, and thinking
that his book, containing the results of his experience and
observation, would be acceptable to a prince, especially
a new one, he tenders it through Yettori, in the hope that
it might be instrumental in saving him from that destitu¬
tion, the prospect of which he contemplated with so much
horror. It is also to be observed that the book, when
first published, did not appear to the Italians in the light
in which it was afterwards regarded. This is sufficiently
evident from the fact that it was printed in virtue of a pri¬
vilege granted by Pope Clement VIL, dated the 23d of
August 1531. Italy was then abandoned to such disorders,
(hat some sovereigns hoped to find useful counsels, where,
in point of sound morality, they could meet with nothing
but odious precepts. At the same time, if we separate
the author from his work, it may be observed, that Machia¬
velli could not know that his work would ever be publish¬
ed. He composed it in the form of a memoir to Lorenzo
de’ Medici; and in his dedication to that young prince, he
tells him that he has nothing to offer him but the know¬
ledge of the actions of great men, which he had acquir¬
ed by long experience in modern affairs ; and at the close
he adds, “ If your magnificence, from the elevated station
you occupy, would deign to cast an eye on this lower re¬
gion, you would learn how unjustly I suffer under the great
and continual malignity of fortune.”4
With regard to the general character of Machiavelli as
a writer, and also to the particular question, whether the
treatise of the Prmce was a serious production, or, as Bacon
seems to suggest,5 merely a piece of grave irony, intended
to put nations on their guard against the arts of new and
ambitious princes, we refer the reader to the judicious and
discriminating remarks upon both points, contained in the
First Preliminary Dissertation (pp. 32-37). The Prince is
an account of the means by which tyrannical power is to be
acquired and preserved; it is a theory of that class of phe¬
nomena in the history of mankind. Hence it is essential
to its purpose that it should contain an enumeration and
exposition of tyrannical arts ; and on this account it may
not only be viewed, but used, as a manual of such arts. A
philosophical treatise on poisons would, in like manner,
determine the quantity of each poisonous substance ca¬
pable of producing death, the circumstances favourable or
adverse to its operation, and every other information es¬
sential to the purpose of the poisoner, though not intended
for his use* But the general utility of such a work is,
Machia¬
velli.
2 ™£tA0*',faCV i,ViS.,de?Cated,t0, r16 ^Ung Lorenzo de’ Medici, duke of Urbino, and brother-in-law of Strozzi
* Nicolas Ardinghelh, distinguished for his acquirements in Greek and Roman literature, died a cardinal at Home in 1547
the ChetaUe?UMde”ii °n ° lmPort‘nt Poi"ts ^ye to MachkveUi, the reader may consult the excellent disserSion of
Je^eZ'™ *" °“bi in qUe!ti lUOgh‘
Za^noZuif d^^ 1“ ‘Perte « indissimulanter proferun, q„id homines facere
VOL. XIII. _ '
4 N
650
MAC
MAC
Machine, nevertheless, indisputable; and it is also plain, that a
'calm unvarnished exposition of tyrannical arts is the bit¬
terest satire against them. Of this Machiavelli himself
seems to have been fully aware, when he observed, in re¬
ply to a remark which had been made upon this very work,
that if he had taught princes to be tyrants, he had also
taught the people to destroy tyrants, ^he Prince must,
therefore, have had the double aspect here pointed out,
though neither of the objects thereby indicated had actu¬
ally been in the contemplation of the author. It may not
be the object of the chemist to teach the means of exhi¬
biting antidotes, any more than of administering poisons ;
but his pupils or readers may employ his discoveries for
both objects. Aristotle had long before given a similar
theory of tyranny, but without the suspicion of an immoral
intention ; nor was it any novelty, in more recent times,
amongst those who must have been the first teachers of
Machiavelli. The schoolmen followed the footsteps of
Aristotle too closely to omit so striking a passage as that
to which we have alluded (Politic, lib. v. c. 3); and, in
fact, Aquinas explains it in his commentary, like the rest,
with most unsuspecting simplicity. To us, accordingly,
the plan of Machiavelli, like those of former writers, ap¬
pears to have been purely scientific; and so Lord Bacon
seems to have understood him, where he gives him thanks
for exposing openly, and without reserve, what princes ac¬
tually do, not what they ought to do. Great defects of cha¬
racter are no doubt manifested by the writings of Machia¬
velli. But if a man of so powerful a genius had shown a
mind utterly depraved, it would have been a painful and per¬
haps solitary exception to the laws of human nature ; and
certainly no depravity can be conceived greater than a deli¬
berate intention to teach perfidy and cruelty. That a man
who was a warm lover of his country, who underwent cruel
sufferings for her liberty, and who was esteemed by the
very best of his countrymen (e. g. Guicciardini, his political
opponent), should fall into such unparalleled wickedness,
may be considered as wholly incredible. The author of
the Prince, according to the common notion of its inten¬
tion, could never have inspired such sentiments, had he
been a man steeped in depravity, and devoid of all virtu¬
ous feeling. To possess the power, however, of contem¬
plating tyranny with scientific coldness, and of rendering it
the mere subject of theoretical speculation, must be owned
to indicate a defect of moral sensibility. But, to say no¬
thing of the political maxims then received, and of the
lenity with which the Italians regarded those crimes which
required self-command, address, quick observation, feitile
invention, and profound knowledge of human nature, the
Prince was obviously wrung from the author by the pres¬
sure of severe distress; and it is more than probable, that,
but for his misfortunes, this famous treatise would never
have seen the light.1
The most ample and esteemed edition of the works of
Machiavelli is that of 1813, Italia (Florence), in eight
vols. 8vo. The best of the French translations is that of
Giraudet and Hochet, Paris, 1799, in nine vols. 8vo. T hose
of Gohorry, Paris, 1571 and 1635, of the Sieur de Brien-
cour, Rouen (Paris), 1669, and of Tetard, Hague, 1691-
1696, reprinted in 1743, were very incomplete. The only
English translation to which we have had access is that of
Farnew orth, London, 1762, in two vols. 4to, which is over¬
loaded with a great deal of rubbish that might well have
been spared, and is, besides, defective in several respects,
particularly in regard to the life of the author, and some ot
his minor productions. (A0
MACHINE, Machina, in general signifies any thing
that serves to augment or to regulate moving powers; or
it is any body destined to produce motion, so as to saveMachineif^^l
See Edinburgh Review, vol. xxvii. pp. 213, 214.
either time or force. The word comes from the Greek n «
[ia.yav7\, machine, invention, art; and hence, in strictness,ofl
a machine is something that consists more in art and in¬
vention than in the strength and solidity of the materials,
for which reason inventors of machines are called inge-
nieurs, or engineers. Machines are either simple or com¬
pound. The simple ones are the seven mechanical powers,
namely, the lever, balance, pulley, axis and wheel, wedge,
screw, and inclined plane. See Mechanics.
MACHINERY, in epic and dramatic poetry, is when
the poet introduces some supernatural being into the scene,
in order to solve some difficulty, or to perform some exploit
out of the reach of human power. The ancient dramatic
poets never made use of machinery, unless where there
was an absolute necessity for so doing. It is quite other¬
wise with epic poets, who introduce machinery in every
part of their poems; so that nothing is done without the
intervention of the gods. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, by
far the greater part of the actors are supernatural person¬
ages. Homer and Virgil do nothing without them; and,
in Voltaire’s Henriade, the poet has made excellent use of
St Louis.
MACHTEBETE, a town of the Netherlands, in the
province of East Flanders and circle of Ghent, situated on
the Moerdeke-Baert, containing 3350 inhabitants.
MACHUL, a musical instrument amongst the He¬
brews. Kircher apprehends that this name was given to
two kinds of instruments, one of the stringed, and the
other of the pulsatile kind. That of the former sort had
six chords; but there is great reason to doubt whether an
instrument requiring the aid of the hair-bow, and so much
resembling the violin, be as ancient as this would imply.
The second kind was of a circular form, made of metal,
and either hung round with little bells, or furnished with
iron rings suspended on a rod or bar which passed across
the circle. Kircher supposes that it was moved to and
fro by a handle fixed to it, and thus emitted a melancholy
kind of murmur.
MACHYNLETH, a market-town of Wales, in the
county of Montgomery and hundred of its own name, 200
miles from London. It stands on the river Dyvy. It is
a neat, well-built town, and very ancient, being the place
where Owen Glendower assembled his parliament, and ex¬
ercised other acts of regality, in the year 1402. The mar¬
ket is held on Monday. It is an ancient borough, and, in
conjunction with Llanidloes, Llanvilling, Welshpool, and
Newton, returns one member to parliament. The popula¬
tion amounted in 1801 to 1118, in 1811 to 1252, in 1821
to 1595, and in 1831 to 1625.
MACKENHEIM, a town of the circle of Rheinbach,
in the Prussian government of Cologne, situated on the
river Erft, containing 200 houses and 1260 inhabitants.
MACKENZIE, Sir George, a learned writer and emi¬
nent lawyer of Scotland, was the grandson of Kenneth,
first Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, and the nephew of Colin
and George, first and second Earls of Seaforth. He was born
at Dundee in 1636; and after passing through the usual
course of education in his own country, he was sent to the
university of Bourges, at that time denominated the Athens
of lawyers, where he remained three years. Young Scotch¬
men intended for the bar, having no sufficient means of in¬
struction in the Roman law at home, were then accustomed
to frequent the university of Bourges, as in later times they
repaired to those of Utrecht and Leyden. He was called
to the bar in the year 1656, and had risen into considerable
practice before the Restoration. In a sketch of an eminent
advocate of that day, he has recorded his contempt for the
ro}
he
ani
Mi
the
ter
dei
die
lia
M;
lie
for
jus
Ch;
ver
one
hei
par
ina
Fa
sid
de:
lan
lea
MAC
[ackezie. canting tone which then prevailed in the courts of law, and
■'to which even the most learned advocates, whatever their
own inclinations might have been, were obliged to conform.1
Immediately after the Restoration he was appointed one of
the justices-depute, criminal judges who exercised that ju¬
risdiction which was soon afterwards vested in five lords of
sessions, under the denomination of commissioners of jus¬
ticiary; and, in 1661, he and his colleagues were ordained
by the parliament “ to repair, once in the week at least, to
Musselburgh and Dalkeith, and to try and judge such per¬
sons as are ther or therabouts delate of witchcraftso much
more urgent did they deem the punishment of that imagi¬
nary offence than of any other crime, however aggravated.
Mackenzie’s name appears in the parliamentary proceed¬
ings as counsel in almost every cause of importance; and
his connection in that character with the Marquis of Ar¬
gyll gives no small weight to a passage in his Memoirs, re¬
specting a circumstance in the trial of that nobleman, which
has been the subject of much historical controversy. Be¬
tween the years 1663 and 1667 he was knighted. He re¬
presented the county of Ross during the four sessions of
the parliament which was called in 1669. In 1667, he had
been appointed lord advocate in the x’oom of Sir John Nis-
bet, whom he describes, in one place, as “ a person of deep
and universal learning,” and of whom, in another, he says,
that “ in the conduct of causes he displayed the greatest
learning and consummate eloquence.”2 By that preferment
lie was, unhappily for his character, implicated in all the
worst acts of the Scotch administration of Charles II.; a
system of misgovernment which has only had one parallel
in the European portion of the British dominions. Hav¬
ing betrayed some repugnance, however, to concur in those
measures which openly and directly led to the re-establish¬
ment of popery, he was removed from his office in 1686,
and (which is not a little remarkable) reinstated in 1688,
when such measures were still more avowedly pursued.
At the Revolution he adhered to the fortunes of his
royal master. Being elected a member of the convention,
he supported the pretensions of King James with courage
and ability, against Sir John Dalrymple and Sir James
Montgomery, who were the most considerable speakers of
the Revolution party ; and remaining in his place even af¬
ter the imprisonment of Balcarras and the escape of Dun¬
dee, he was one of the minority of five in the memorable
division respecting the forfeiture of the crown.3 King Wil¬
liam had been solicited, by some eager partisans, to declare
Mackenzie and a few others incapable of holding any pub¬
lic office ; but he refused to accede to the proposal, in con¬
formity to the maxims of that wise policy, which uniform¬
ly induced him not to concur in those measures, even of
just retribution, which, at ^moments of violent internal
change, are so apt to degenerate into proscription and re¬
venge. At this critical juncture, when the crown, which
one king was declared to have forfeited, was placed on the
head of another, and when his own fortunes were in jeo¬
pardy, Sir George Mackenzie composed and delivered his
inaugural address on the foundation of the library of the
Faculty of Advocates; a circumstance evincing no incon¬
siderable degree of firmness and intrepidity. When the
death of Dundee destroyed the hopes of his party in Scot¬
land, he took refuge in Oxford, the natural asylum of so
learned and inveterate a Tory. But, under the tolerant
M A C
651
government of King William, he appears to have enjoyed, Mackenzie,
in perfect security, his ample fortune, the fruit of his pro- ^
fessional labours. In Evelyn’s Diary (9th March 1690),
we have an account of the freedom which he indulged in
conversation at the table of a prelate who was a zealous
supporter of the new government. “ I dined,” says he,
“ at the Bishop of St Asaph’s, almoner to the new queen,
with the famous lawyer Sir G. Mackenzie (late lord advo¬
cate of Scotland), against whom both the bishop and my¬
self had written and published books, both now most friend¬
ly reconciled. He related to us many particulars of Scot¬
land, the present sad condition of it, the inveterate hatred
which the presbyterians show to the family of the Stewarts,
and the exceeding tyranny of those bigots, who acknow¬
ledge no superior on earth in civil or divine matters, main¬
taining that the people only have the right of govern¬
ment, their implacable hatred to the Episcopal order and
the Church of England. He observed, that the first pres¬
byter dissents from our discipline were introduced by the
Jesuits about the twentieth of Elizabeth ; a famous Jesuit
among them feigning himself a Protestant, and who was
the first who began to pray extempory, and brought in that
which they since called, and are still so fond of, praying by
the Spirit.”4
In the spring of 1691, Sir George Mackenzie went to
London, where he contracted a disorder which carried him
off. He died in St James’s Street, on the 2d of May 1691;
and his death is mentioned as that of an extraordinary per-
sqn, by several of those who recorded the events of their
time. His body was conveyed by land to Scotland, and
interred with great pomp and splendour in Edinburgh ; a
circumstance which shows how little the administration of
William was disposed to discourage the funeral honours
paid to its most inflexible opponents. It may also be
mentioned, to the honour of the government, that, whilst
the censorship of the press still subsisted, he was allowed
to publish his Vindication of the Government of Scotland
under Charles II.; a very inadequate defence, it must be
owned, but one, nevertheless, which a new prince, opposed
by a powerful party in the state, had some reason to dread.
Ihe writings of Sir George Mackenzie are literary, le¬
gal, and political. His Miscellaneous Essays, both in prose
and verse, may now be dispensed with, or laid aside, with¬
out difficulty. They have not vigour enough for long
life ; but, considered as the elegant amusements of a states¬
man and lawyer, they afford evidence of the refinement
of his taste and the variety of his accomplishments. In
several of his moral essays, both the subject and the man¬
ner betray an imitation of Cowley, who was at that moment
commencing the reformation of English style. Like his
master, he wrote in praise of solitude; and Evelyn, in a
confidential letter to Cowley, highly commends his merits
as a writer. Nor would it be just to the memory of Mac¬
kenzie to refrain from mentioning the extraordinary praise
bestowed on him by Dryden, the successor, but scarcely
the superior, of Cowley, in English prose.
Sir George Mackenzie is one of the few British advocates
who have published their speeches delivered at the bar. In
Scotland these are often called “ pleadings,” and in Eng¬
land “ arguments,” when addressed to the judges on mat¬
ters of law ; but they retain the general name of “ speeches”
when addressed to a jury, or to any other popular body.
1 “ Nicholsonus junior eloquio usus est fanatieo non Romano ; et hinc concionabatur potius quam orabat: documentum posteris
futurus, illud ad persuadendum aptius quod sseculo, licet sordido, et judicibus, licet hebetioribus placet. Si autem doctus hie ora-
tiones posteris transmisisset, August! sseculum, illi notissimum, imitatus fuisset.” (Characteres quorundam apud Scotos Advocator.)
2 See Memoirs, p. 324. “ Qui summa doctrina consununataque eloquentia causas orabat.” (Characteres quorund. AdvocatA
3 Balcarras Memoirs, in MS. '
4 Evelyn’s Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 19. The absurd fictions, so gravely reported in the above extract, seem to countenance the sup¬
position that Sir George Mackenzie, knowing his men, had been making an experiment on their credulity, and hoaxing both the
bishop and Evelyn. It is wonderful indeed that he did not represent John Knox as a disguised Jesuit.
652
MAC
MAC
Mackenzie. Mackenzie’s speeches evince considerable knowledge, in-
'genuity, and address, and are never very defective except
in those passages which aim at eloquence. In the speech
before the parliament for the Marquis of Argyll, the ques¬
tion, whether passive compliance in public rebellion be
punishable as treason, is treated with no small ability.
His work on the Laws and Customs Scotland in Mat¬
ters Criminal was published in 1678, and is dedicated to
the Duke of Lauderdale, to whom the author says, “ You
are yourself the greatest statesman in Europe who is a
scholar, and the greatest scholar who is a statesman. You
are the man who spends the one half of the day studying
what is just, and the other half in practising what is so !”
At that time the government of Scotland had no reason to
complain of the want of base compliance in juries, not
one of which, during the eighteen years that had elapsed
since the Restoration, had ventured to rescue a single vic¬
tim, however innocent, from the clutches of power. But,
even in the midst of this apparent security, the acuteness
of the Lord Advocate discovered the possibility that in¬
dependent juries might one day arise; he augured inte¬
grity at a distance, scenting the approach of liberty in
every refreshing gale ; and hence, in the work just named,
he openly proposes the abolition of juries in criminal
causes.1 His reasonings are ingenious and plausible. He
tells us, that “ now, when law is formed into a science, and
that judges are presumed to be learned and assizers not,
it seems reasonable they should be supprest, as well in
criminal cases as they already are in civil.” The great
and paramount benefit of juries in criminal cases, namely,
their power of shielding innocent and virtuous men against
the vengeance of power, is kept entirely out of view, though
doubtless it formed the sole motive for the project.
The works of Sir George Mackenzie were published at
Edinburgh in two volumes folio, in 1716 and 1722. In
the second volume there appears the following advertise¬
ment : “ Whereas in the list of the author’s manuscripts
there is mention made of an History of the Affairs of
Scotland from the Restauration of King Charles II. 1660,
to the [year] 1691, which subscribers might have rea¬
dily looked for in this second volume ; but that manu¬
script being in the hands of some of the author’s relations,
who think it not ready for the press until it be carefully
revised, they have reckoned it more proper to have it
printed by way of Appendix to this second volume, how
soon they have it revised and transcribed by a good hand.”
For many years the History thus announced was supposed '
either to have perished or to have been intentionally de¬
stroyed. The second Earl of Bute, who supported the
government of the House of Hanover, and had married
the sister of John duke of Argyll, the leader of the Whig
party in Scotland, enjoyed, in the year 1722, and probably
possessed, his papers. It was not unnatural, therefore, that
he should be suspected, at that juncture, of suppressing
such a manuscript, more especially as his famity, by conform¬
ing to the Revolution, and accepting a title from Queen
Anne, had rendered themselves peculiarly obnoxious to the
adherents of the House of Stuart. But, however plausible
these conjectures may have appeared, they have, in part
at least, been proved to be groundless. In the year 1817,
a large mass of papers was sold to a shopkeeper in Edin¬
burgh. From these his curiosity led him to select a ma¬
nuscript volume which appeared to him to be something
of an historical nature; and, by another fortunate accident,
he communicated it to the late Dr M‘Crie, who, on exa¬
mination, discovered that it was the composition of Sir
George Mackenzie, and formed part of that history of his
own times which had so long been a desideratum in Scot¬
tish literature. Of this the evidence was both obvious
and complete; for the manuscript, though written by one
of the ordinary transcribers of that age, was decisively
identified by numerous corrections and additions in the
well-known handwriting of Sir George Mackenzie him¬
self. The curious fragment of Scottish history, thus hap¬
pily recovered, was published at Edinburgh in 1821, 4to,
under the editorial superintendence of Mr Thomas Thom¬
son, who, in an able and well-written preface, has related
the singular circumstances in which the manuscript was
rescued from destruction. It is to be regretted, however,
that the portion thus published ends at the very time
when the author’s means of information became more am¬
ple. For many reasons, it would be highly desirable to
possess the sequel of these Memoirs.2 (a.)
Mackenzie, Henry, was born at Edinburgh, in August
1745. His father, Dr Joshua Mackenzie, was an eminent
physician of Edinburgh, the author of a volume of Medi¬
cal and Literary Essays ; his mother was the eldest daugh¬
ter of Mr Rose of Kilravock, of an ancient family in Nairn¬
shire.
After being educated at the High School and Univer¬
sity of Edinburgh, Mr Mackenzie was articled to Mr
Inglis of Redhall, to qualify him for exchequer business.
In 1765 he went to London to study the modes of Eng¬
lish exchequer practice. Whilst there, his talents induced
a friend to solicit his remaining in London to qualify him¬
self for the English bar ; but the wishes of his family, and
the moderation of his own unambitious mind, decided his
return to Edinburgh ; and there he became, first partner of,
and afterwards successor to, Mr Inglis, in the office of at¬
torney for the crown. When in London, he sketched some
part of his first and very popular work, The Man of Feel¬
ing, which was published anonymously in 1771. The
great popularity of this volume gave occasion to a remark¬
able fraud on the part of a Mr Eccles of Bath, who, taking
advantage of the book being anonymous, laid claim to the
authorship, transcribed the whole in his own hand, with
interlineations and corrections, and maintained his right
with such plausible pertinacity, that Messrs Cadell and
Strahan, Mr Mackenzie’s publishers, found it necessary
to undeceive the public by a formal contradiction. The
Man of the World was published a few years after the Man
of Feeling, and breathes the same tone of exquisite sensi¬
bility. In his first publication he imagined a hero con¬
stantly obedient to every emotion of his moral sense. In
the Man of the World he exhibited, on the contrary, a
person rushing headlong into vice and ruin, and spreading
misery all around him, by grasping at happiness in de¬
fiance of the moral sense. His next production was Julia
de Roubigne, a novel in a series of letters. The fable is
very interesting, and the letters are written with great
elegance and propriety of style. In 1777 or 1778, a so¬
ciety of gentlemen in Edinburgh, mostly lawyers, project¬
ed the publication of a series of papers on morals, manners,
taste, and literature, similar to those of the Spectator.
This society, originally designated The Tabernacle, but
afterwards The Mirror Club, consisted of Mr Mackenzie,
Mr Craig, Mr Cullen, Mr Bannatyne, Mr Macleod, Mr
Abercrombie, Mr Solicitor-General Blair, Mr George
Home, and Mr George Ogilvie, several of whom after¬
wards became judges in the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
Their scheme was speedily carried into effect, and the pa¬
pers, under the title of the Mirror, of which Mr Mackenzie
was the editor, were published in weekly numbers, at the
price of threepence per folio sheet. The sale never
Mackenzie J11,
1 Part ii. title 23, of Assizes.
2 See Edinburgh Review, vol. xxxvi. p. 1, et seq. from which the foregoing notice is almost exclusively derived.
hig
Ro
Ge
171
Ho
MSI
app
san
rite
he
edi
to t
hej
ing
mei
a
mas
the;
litei
He
cou
stat
ting
circ
dotr
orn
van.
dise
l
bur
\
one
atta
tory
loc
lath
of a
asm
serv
and
baus
jory
Vray
who
re
be
|Mffi
pr
L
of
ed
eq
CO!
gU
St}
ch
wa
of
the
fan
So<
me
ed
to
me
hig
Ro
Ge
17!
Ho
pie
of
insi
apf
san
spe
die:
rite
he
edi
to t
he j
ing
met
J
mas
the:
litei
He
cou
stat
ting
circ
dotr
orn:
van
dise
A
burj
one
atta
tory
Loc
fath
of a
asm
serv
and
haus
jory
vray
who
MAC
Macfn- reached beyond three or four hundred in single papers;
tosh but the whole, with the names of the respective authors,
were republished in three duodecimo volumes. From the
price of the copyright, the writers presented a donation of
L.lOO to the Orphan Hospital, and purchased a hogshead
of claret for the use of the club. To the Mirror succeed¬
ed the Lounger, a periodical of a similar character, and
equally successful. Mr Mackenzie was the most valuable
contributor to both these works. His papers are distin¬
guished from all the rest by that sweetness and beauty of
style, and tenderness of feeling, which form the peculiar
character of his writings. In the Lounger Mr Mackenzie
was the first to appreciate the genius of Burns, in a review
of his poems, then recently published, which at once drew
the unknown poet from obscurity into the full blaze of a
fame that will never die. On the institution of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, Mr Mackenzie became one of its
members; and amongst the papers with which he enrich¬
ed the volumes of its Transactions are, an elegant tribute
to the memory of his friend Judge Abercrombie, and a
memoir on German Tragedy, the latter of which bestows
high praise on the Emilia Galotti of Lessing, and on the
Robbers by Schiller. Whilst prosecuting his study of
German literature, he was induced to publish, in the year
1791, a small volume containing translations of the Set of
Horses by Lessing, and of two or three other dramatic
pieces. Mr Mackenzie was one of the original members
of the Highland Society, and wrote the accounts of the
institution and principal proceedings of the society which
appear in their Transactions. In the Transactions of the
same society he published a view of the controversy re¬
specting the poems of Ossian, in which he attempted to vin¬
dicate their authenticity ; and in the same paper gave a spi¬
rited and interesting account of Gaelic poetry. In 1793
he wrote the Life of Dr Blacklock, prefixed to the quarto
edition of the works of the blind poet. In 1812 he read
to the Royal Society a memoir of John Home, in which
he gives a sketch of the literary society of Edinburgh dur¬
ing the latter part of the last century, with the great orna¬
ments of which he lived in habits of friendly intercourse.
Mr Mackenzie was not so fortunate as a writer of dra-
Several of his plays were brought out at different
MAC
653
theatres, but, though possessed of considerable merit as
literary productions, they were not successful on the stage.
He wrote several political tracts, which procured him the
countenance and respect of Mr Pitt, and other illustrious
statesmen of his time. Mr Mackenzie was not more dis¬
tinguished by the wit with which he enlivened a numerous
circle of attached friends, than the benevolence and wis¬
dom with which he counselled and assisted them. This
ornament of his native city died at Edinburgh, at an ad¬
vanced age, rather from the decay of nature than from
disease, on the 14th of January 1831.
A complete edition of his works was published at Edin¬
burgh, in eight volumes 8vo, in 1808.
MACKINTOSH, the Right Honourable Sir James,
one of the most distinguished men of his time, and who
attained to great eminence in literature, philosophy, his¬
tory, and politics, was born at Aldourie, on the banks of
Loch Ness, Scotland, on the 24th of October 1765. His
father, Captain John Mackintosh, was the representative
of a family which had for above two centuries possessed
a small estate called Kellachie, in Inverness-shire. He had
served long in the array, which he entered very young,
and had been severely wounded at the battle of Feling-
hausen, in the Seven Years’ War. His mother was Mar¬
jory Macgillivray, daughter of Mr Alexander Macgilli-
vray by Anne Fraser, sister of Brigadier-General Fraser,
who was killed in General Burgoyne’s army in 1777. His
father joined his regiment at Antigua soon after his birth, Mackin-
and remained in that island and in Dublin for eight or tosh-
nine years. He was reared with great care and tender¬
ness by his mother, notwithstanding the anxiety and dis¬
comfort incident to the condition of one who had no avail¬
able resources of her own. Flis father, a subaltern and
younger brother, found his pay not too much for his own
expenses ; and all the kindness of his mother’s family could
not relieve the mind of that lady from the painful, not to
say humiliating, sense of dependence. This probably con¬
tributed to the extreme affection which she cherished for
her child. He depended upon her alone; and as there is
nothing which so much lightens the burden of receiving
benefits as the pleasure of conferring them, she loved him
“ with that fondness which we are naturally disposed to
cherish for the companion of our poverty.”
In the summer of 1775, young Mackintosh was setit to
school at the town of Fortrose, where he was placed under
a master of the name of Smith. In a short memoir of this
early period of his life, he says, “ I have little recollection
of the first two years at schoolbut he had scarcely learn¬
ed to read when he evinced that predilection for abstract
speculation which afterwards formed so prominent a fea-
tur e of his intellectual character. A gentleman of the name
of Mackenzie having- lent him Burnet’s Commentary on
the Thirty-nine Articles, he perused it with great avidity ;
“ and I have now,” says he, writing many years after¬
wards, (< a distinct recollection of the great impression
which it made.” But the part which struck him most
foicibly, and which he read with peculiar eagerness and
pleasure, was the commentary on the seventeenth article,
which relates to predestination ; a strange subject to en¬
gage the attention and interest the understanding of a
mere boy. “ I remember,” says he, “ Mr Mackenzie
pointing out to me, that though the bishop abstained from
giving his own opinion on that subject in the commentary,
he had intimated that opinion not obscurely in the preface,
when he says that ‘ he was of the opinion of the Greek
church, from which St Austin departed.’ ” He was of
course profoundly ignorant of what the Greek church was,
and knew nothing of St Austin’s deviations; but the mys-
teiious magnificence of this phrase had an extraordinary
effect upon his imagination. His mind appears to have re¬
volted at the doctrine of eternal decrees of election and
reprobation ; though surrounded by orthodox Calvinists,
he became a warm advocate for free will; and before he
had completed his fourteenth year, he was probably the
boldest hexetic in the county. About the same time he
read the old translation of Plutarch’s Lives, and Echard’s
Roman History, which led him into “ a ridiculous habit,”
which afterwards clung to him, of building castles in the
air. During his vacations, which he spent at his grand¬
mother’s house, he read such books as fell in his way, and
amongst these the works of Pope and Swift. Flis first
poetical attempt was a pastoral or elegy on the death of
his uncle Brigadier-General Fraser, who fell on the 7th of
October 1777 ; but in 1779 and 1780 his muse wasexceed-
ingly prolific, and he even commenced an epic poem on the
defence of Cyprus by Evagoras, king of Salamis, against
the Persian army.
In Octobei 1780 he went to college at Aberdeen, where
he remained during that and the three following sessions.
On entering King’s College, he was admitted into the
Greek class, then taught by Mr Leslie, who, however, did
not attempt to do more than teach the first rudiments of
the language. I he second winter, according to the scheme
of education then pursued, he fell under the tuition of Mr
Dunbar,1 and x’emained under the cai’e of this gentleman
until he left college. At Aberdeen he was by common
1 Author of Essays on the History of Mankind.
654:
MACKINTOSH.
Mackin- conSent recognised as inter studiosos facile prirtceps ; whilst
tosh• his courteous demeanour, refined manners, playful fancy,
v ^J and easy flow of elocution, rendered him a general favou¬
rite amongst his companions. His chief associate at King’s
College was the late Reverend Robert Hall, whom the
exclusive system of the English universities had forced to
seek, in this northern seminary, for Aat academical edu¬
cation which was denied to him, as a dissenter, in his own
country. Like Castor and Pollux, these young men were
assimilated in the minds of all who knew them, by reason
of the equal splendour of their talents, although in other
respects they were extremely unlike. They were of the
same intellectual stature, but differently moulded ; the
one being remarkable for gracefulness of manners and
symmetry of powers, with much elegance and refinement;
the other plainer, and withal less polished, but distinguish¬
ed for perfect sincerity, ardent piety, and undeviating love
of truth. The society and conversation of Hall had great
influence on Mackintosh’s mind. Their controversies were
almost unceasing. Even at this early period, Hall “ dis¬
played the same acuteness and brilliancy, the same extra¬
ordinary vigour both of understanding and imagination,
which have since distinguished him, and which would
have secured to him much more of the admiration of the
learned and the elegant, if he had not consecrated his ge¬
nius to the far nobler office of instructing and reforming
the poor.’’ a
, In the spring of 1784, having previously taken his degree
of master of arts, he finally quitted King’s College, “ with,”
he says, “ but little regular and exact knowledge, but with
considerable activity of mind, and boundless literary am¬
bition and in the October following he set out for Edin¬
burgh to commence the study of physic, which he had
made choice of as a profession. His arrival in that city
opened a new world to his mind. Edinburgh was then
the residence of many eminent men ; of Adam Smith, Dr
Black, John Home, Henry Mackenzie, Dr Cullen, Princi¬
pal Robertson, Dr Ferguson, Dr Hutton, Professor Robi¬
son, Mr Dugald Stewart, and others; and although his
age did not allow him to be much acquainted with these
celebrated persons, yet accident furnished him with op¬
portunities of access to some of them, whilst the concen¬
tration of so much genius and talent produced a powerful
impression on his ardent and susceptible nature. His spe¬
culative turn of mind, however, soon betrayed itself.
Within a few weeks after his arrival in Edinburgh, he be¬
came a zealous partisan of Brown, who had just become a
teacher of medicine, and the founder of a new medical
system ; and having been elected a member of the Medi¬
cal Society, he, in a few months, “ before he could have dis¬
tinguished bark from James’s powder, or a pleurisy from a
dropsy in the chamber of a sick patient,” discussed with the
utmost fluency and confidence the most difficult questions
in the science of medicine. But he had soon an opportu¬
nity of displaying his peculiar talents on a theatre better
fitted for the exercise of his powers. He was admitted
a member of the Speculative Society, which had been
established about twenty years before, and, during that
period, numbered amongst its members all the distinguish¬
ed youth in Scotland, besides many foreigners attracted to
Edinburgh by the fame of its medical school. In this
society, which had general literature and science for its
objects, he found some congenial spirits, of whom he has
left very graphic sketches, particularly Malcolm Laing the
historian, John WTilde, afterwards professor of the civil
law in the university of Edinburgh, Benjamin Constant,
Adam Gillies, now Lord Gillies, and several other young
men, who afterwards rose to eminence or attained dis¬
tinction in different pursuits. In this exciting atmosphere,
speculation rather than study engrossed his attention.
Youth, the season of humble diligence and laborious ap¬
plication, was wasted, as he himself complains, in vast, Mack
vain, and fruitless projects. Speculators indeed are seldom
submissive learners. Those who will make proficiency in
useful knowledge, must for a time trust to their teachers,
and believe in their superiority; but those who too early
think for themselves must sometimes imagine themselves
wiser than their masters ; and hence docility is often ex¬
tinguished when the work of education is scarcely com¬
menced. After three years spent in irregular application,
he became a candidate for a degree ; and having obtained
his diploma, he quitted Edinburgh in the month of Sep¬
tember 1787, with a large stock of miscellaneous informa¬
tion, acquired by habitual though desultory reading, but
without having concentrated his powers upon any one pur¬
suit, or given to professional subjects that systematic and
methodical attention which is indispensable to the attain¬
ment of professional eminence.
Early in 1788, he set out for London, accompanied by
one of his college friends, and arrived on that great thea¬
tre of action at a moment sufficiently distracting for one of
more advanced age and more settled pursuits. An ardent
enthusiast for political amelioration, he came in contact
with society when it was already heaving with the first
throes of that great convulsion which was soon to over¬
turn all the institutions of a neighbouring country, and
to shake those of every other to their lowest foundations.
To a young man like Mr Mackintosh, a period of such ex¬
citement had irresistible allurements. He had cultivated
habits of public speaking, both at Aberdeen and at Edin¬
burgh ; he was fond of moral and political controversy,
rather perhaps as an exercise of the reasoning powers than
with any view to the formation of settled opinions; he
found, on the subject of politics, the boldest speculations
in which his mind had been engaged, about to receive a
practical application ; and he longed to mingle in the dis¬
cussions, if not to take part in the scenes, which distin¬
guished that memorable time. Still his views were, in the
first instance at least, directed to the medical profession;
and he was led from circumstances to contemplate a me¬
dical appointment in Russia. But this project, in which
he was supported by Mr Dugald Stewart, did not take
effect; and it is probable that he felt but little regret at
the failure of a scheme which would have removed him
from such a scene of interest and enjoyment as London
then presented. In the same year, his father’s death freed
him from the little control which a soldier of careless and
social habits had attempted to exercise over a studious
youth; and, as the succession to his paternal estate of
Kellachie brought with it but little advantage to his means,
his habitual profusion in money matters soon involved him
in pecuniary difficulties. His next step was one which
seemed but little calculated to diminish them. On the
18th of February 1789, he was privately married to Miss
Catharine Stuart, a young lady of a respectable Scotch
family; and at the age of twenty-four he found himself
with no prospect of any immediate professional settlement,
his little fortune rapidly diminishing, and a wife to pro¬
vide for.
The struggle regarding the regency that followed the
announcement of the malady with which the king had been
attacked in the autumn of 1788, was the occasion of a
pamphlet by Mr Mackintosh, in support of the analogy
which Mr Fox endeavoured to establish between the ac¬
tual state of his majesty and a natural demise of the crown.
This seems to have been his first public appearance in the
field of politics, for which his mind had now taken a de¬
cided turn. About the same time he made the acquaint¬
ance of Horne Tooke, whose cause he warmly espoused
at the election for Westminster, and in whose rich and
lively but sarcastic conversation, he always took great de¬
light. Another effort to establish himself in practice as
coi
lut
to
cor
mo
ed,
sue
mil
tim
WO!
1
tioi
adti
veil
are
gar
tha
see
the
poli
vati
forr
firs'
Fox
ean
taki
incc
whi
ride
prin
goni
pion
he v
shat
mon
proc
%<
stror
sarc;
him
at a
favoi
midt
ofth
ofth
rican
the
the
was
greai
at or
inth
He v
was i
hew
mear
guin<
with
harm
Mr I
achi
Work
of th,
Ji'1' l ^Mucki'
a
for
aw
pai
sel
bei
pa]
CO!
lilt
to
cor
mo
ed,
sue
mii
tim
wot
■ 1
tior
ado
veil
are
gar
tha
see
the
poli
vati
forr
firs1
Fox
ean
taki
incc
wlii
ride
prin
goni
pion
hew
men
proc
Rig,
stror
sarci
him
at a
favoi
mkk
ofth
ofth
rican
the
the
was
greai
at or
in th
He
was
he w
mean
guin<
with
liatnt
Mr I
achi
'fork
ofth
MACKINTOSH.
655
- a physician proved unavailing, probably from his distaste
tost for his profession, and his unwillingness to leave London,
which he considered as the grand theatre for talent and
ambition. In the autumn of 1789, he made a torn-, in com¬
pany with his wife, through the Low Countries to Brus¬
sels; and, upon his return to London, contributed a num¬
ber of articles on Belgium and France to the Oracle news¬
paper, with which he appears to have been for some time
connected. To the same date must be referred his reso¬
lution to devote himself to the study of the law. Hither¬
to the exercise of his powers had been almost exclusively
confined to the columns of a newspaper ; but although the
most successful efforts of ability are often passed unheed¬
ed, or make but a feeble and transitory impression where
such are neither looked for nor expected, yet this preli¬
minary training was not without its advantage, and the
time now approached when he was to appear before the
world in a higher and more independent character.
The extraordinary impression produced by the publica
tion of Mr Burke’s Reflections on the French Revolution, the
admiration excited by the work in some quarters, and the
vehement indignation with which it was greeted in others,
are matters of universal notoriety. By some it was re¬
garded as the most marvellous union of wisdom and genius
that had ever appeared in the world, whilst to others it
seemed inconsistent with the former life and opinions of
the author, notwithstanding that an abhorrence for abstract
politics, a predilection for aristocracy, and a dread of inno¬
vation, had always been articles of his political creed. The
former magnified the sense of public duty which prompted,
first the sacrifice of the long-cherished friendship of Mr
Fox,* and then the publication of what they considered as the
earnest admonitions of matured wisdom. The latter, mis¬
taking the real principles of the author, imputed to him an
inconsistency with which he was not really chargeable; and,
whilst they endeavoured to refute his reasonings and de¬
ride his prognostications, branded him as a deserter of the
principles he had once professed. The number of anta¬
gonists who hurried to break a lance against the cham¬
pion of existing institutions proved the estimation in which
he was held ; a multitude of pamphlets appeared, and each
shade of opinion was warmly defended against the com¬
mon enemy of all change. The great majority of these
productions, however, soon fell into oblivion. But Paine’s
Rights of Man was not destined to perish so speedily. His
strong sense, bold dogmatism, and coarse but vigorous
sarcasm, conveyed in a style instinctively popular, made
him a dangerous enemy at all times, but more especially
at a period when the new principles of liberty had found
favour with the people, and when the great masses of the
middle and lower orders were to be appealed to in defence
of them. But whilst Mr Burke was sustaining the attack
of the man who had been his fellow-combatant in the Ame¬
rican contest for freedom, “ a bolt was shot from amongst
the undistinguished crowd, but with a force which showed
the vigour of no common arm.” The Vindicice Gallicce
was published in April .1791. It had been finished in a
great hurry, but, with all its imperfections and defects, it
at once placed the author in the first rank of the party
in this country who were upholding the cause of France.
He was courted and caressed on all hands, his company
was eagerly sought for, and, as he himself expressed it,
he was for a few months the lion of the place. In the
mean time, the sale of the book exceeded his most san¬
guine expectations; three editions followed one another
with great rapidity ; it was quoted in the debates in par¬
liament, eulogised by Mr Fox, and even commended by
Mr Burke, for whose genius Mr Mackintosh entertained
a chivalrous admiration. In a word, the execution of the
work answered every expectation which had been formed
ot the author; and though he saw occasion afterwards to
modify some, if not many, of the opinions expressed in it, Mackin-
yet it is impossible not to acknowledge that it deserved tosh-
the favour and applause with which it was received by the
friends of popular liberty.
In Michaelmas term 1795, Mr Mackintosh was called
to the bar, and attached himself to the home circuit. Hav¬
ing thus entered upon a path which, when pursued by the
patient steps of genius and industry, so often leads to wealth
and distinction, he evidently enjoyed the satisfaction which
arises from having in view a constant and honourable occu¬
pation. But a severe affliction awaited him in the death of
his wife, which took place early in 1797 ; whilst slowly re¬
covering from the birth of a child, Mrs Mackintosh was at¬
tacked by a fever, to which she soon fell a victim, leaving
three daughters. In 1799 Mr Mackintosh formed the plan
of giving lectures upon the law of nature and of nations.
The benchers of Lincoln’s Inn granted him the use of their
hall, and he commenced his course by an exposition of the
general aim and scope of the undertaking, as well as of the
views and feelings which had led him to embark in it.
In the introductory lecture, after an eloquent vindication of
the term “ law of nature,” and a review of the works of the
different masters of the science, exhibiting its progress (in
which the character of Grotius is delineated in a manner
worthy of his great learning and genius), the subject is
marked out into six great divisions, Viz. first, an analysis of
the nature and operations of the human mind; secondly, the
relative duties of private life ; thirdly, the relations of sub¬
ject and sovereign, citizen and magistrate, the foundation
of political liberty and political rights ; fourthly, the muni¬
cipal law, civil and criminal, exemplified by the progress of
the codes of Rome and of England the law of na¬
tions strictly so called, or the science which regulates the
application of the sanctions of private morality to the great
commonwealth of nations ; and, lastly, a survey of the di¬
plomatic and conventional law of Europe, dhis discourse,
winch the lecturer was induced to publish, had no sooner
issued from the press than commendations poured in upon
him from every quarter. Mr Pitt, Lord Loughborough, Dr
Parr, and others, united their suffrages in its praise ; and it
must be confessed, that if Mackintosh had published no¬
thing else than this discourse, he would have left a striking
monument of his intellectual strength and symmetry. His
political opinions, indeed, had undergone a considerable
change, and as the tone of these lectures differed materially
from that of the V indicia Gallicce, and of the Letter to Mr
Pitt, this circumstance, together with the support ostenta¬
tiously given to them by the ministers of the day and their
connections, served to alienate from him several of his old
political friends, and to beget suspicions for which there
existed no solid foundation. At the same time, it may be
conjectured that the friendship and correspondence of Mr
Burke, and the warm commendations of Mr Pitt, may have
unconsciously had some influence on his mind; and that the
change to which we have alluded, and which he himself was
too honest not to acknowledge, may not be altogether im¬
putable to horror at the excesses which disgraced the cause
of liberty in France, and disappointment at not seeing it
established so speedily and purely as he had anticipated.
We come now to an event of great importance in the
life of Mr Mackintosh; we mean the trial of M. Peltier,
an emigrant royalist, for a libel on the First Consul of
France. I he circumstances which led to this memorable
trial, the extreme novelty or rather singularity of the case,
its immediate connection with the state of political feel¬
ing which then prevailed, and the importance which was
generally attached to the result, are too well known to
require any specification in this place. It is sufficient to
observe, that the address delivered by Mr Mackintosh, as
counsel for the accused, formed one of the most splendid
displays of eloquence ever exhibited in a court of jus-
656 M A C K I
Mackin- tice, f nd that it will, beyond all doubt, maintain its place
tosh, amongst the few efforts of forensic oratory which have sur-
vived the occasions that produced them, and are preserved
as models for future artists in the same line. “ I perfect¬
ly approve of the verdict,” said Mr, afterwards Lord Ers-
kine; “ but the manner in which you opposed it, I shall
always consider as one of the most splendid monuments
of genius, learning, and eloquence.” Similar testimonies
of applause were bestowed by other distinguished per¬
sons ; and it was admitted on all hands, that, by this sin¬
gle effort, Mr Mackintosh had suddenly raised himself to
the very highest rank amongst forensic orators. This trial
took place on the 21st of February 1803, and, some months
afterwards, Mr Mackintosh was appointed to the office of
recorder of Bombay, vacant by the death of Sir William
Syer. Mr Addington, the first minister of the crown, had
been previously made acquainted with Mr Mackintosh’s
wishes in relation to an appointment in India; and these
were now seconded by the friendly zeal of Mr Canning
and Mr (afterwards Lord Chief Commissioner) Adam, to
whose exertions the appointment must in a great mea¬
sure be attributed. In taking this step, he was proba¬
bly influenced by two considerations ; first, the compara¬
tive ease which it would immediately secure to him ; and,
secondly, the amount of the salary, which, he believed,
might in a few years enable him (as it would if prudence
had been amongst the number of his virtues) to accu¬
mulate a sum which, in addition to the retired allowance,
would render him independent, give him the entire com¬
mand of his time, and enable him to pursue the course of
life best suited to his inclinations. But the hopes of men
are often as vain as their calculations are sanguine, and
outrun even the consciousness of their own failings. Upon
his appointment, he received the customary honour of
knighthood, and, early in 1804, sailed with his family for
India.
For an account of his life during the eight years which
he spent in India, it is only necessary to refer the reader
to the Memoirs of his Life, published by his son ; a work
which, independently of the interest attaching to the prin¬
cipal subject, will be read with instruction and delight on
account of the infinite variety of original thoughts and fine
observations with which it abounds. His time, indeed,
appeal's to have been divided between the discharge of his
judicial duties, literary occupations somewhat irregularly
pursued, correspondence with his numerous friends in Eu¬
rope, and occasional excursions into different parts of the
country. The experiment, however, was not successful,
in as far as regarded the views which had induced him to
solicit the appointment. For, although we now know
that his mind was in a state of great vigour and activity
during the whole of his residence in India, yet he was
not enabled to accomplish, indeed scarcely to commence,
any of the great works he had contemplated ; whilst his
habitual inattention to economy prevented any great im¬
provement in the state of his worldly affairs. The conse¬
quence was, that he returned to England in 1812, with
broken health and spirits, uncertain prospects, and vast
materials for works which were never to be completed.
Mr Percival was now at the head of the government,
and, almost immediately on his arrival, endeavoured to se¬
cure the support of Sir James, by offering him a seat in
parliament, and an early promotion to the head of the
Board of Control. These tempting offers, however, he de¬
clined, as inconsistent with those principles of liberty
“ which were then higher in his mind than twenty years
before.” But he was almost immediately returned on the
Whig interest, as member for the county of Nairn. After
this, his life scarcely admits of any detailed abstract. He
continued in parliament, and true to liberal principles, for
the remainder of his days. In 1818, he was appointed
N T O S H.
professor of law at Hayleybury, and resigned that situation Mackin.
in 1827. He had contemplated a similar appointment at tosh.
Edinburgh, which, unhappily for the fame of the metro-
politan university of Scotland, did not take place. He con¬
tributed articles of great value to the Edinburgh Review;
and in a Preliminary Discourse to this work, being the
second in order, furnished by far the best history of ethi¬
cal philosophy that has ever been given to the world, and
which has been reprinted in an octavo size, with a valu¬
able preface by Professor Whewell of Cambridge. To Sir
Samuel liomilly, in his exertions for the improvement of
the criminal law, he gave the most efficient and zealous
support; and, after the death of that virtuous lawyer, be¬
came the leader in that most necessary and unexception¬
able branch of reform. After printing several volumes of
a popular and abridged History of England, which con¬
tains more thought and more lessons of wisdom than any
other history with which we are acquainted, he left, at
his death, the invaluable fragment of the History of the Re¬
volution of 1688, of which a very masterly account will be
found in the sixty-second volume of the Edinburgh Re¬
view. Under Lord Grey’s administration, in 1830, he was
appointed to a seat at the Board of Control, and cordially
co-operated in all the great measures of reform which
were then brought forward, and carried after a severe
struggle. He died in 1832, regretted with more sincerity,
and admired with less envy, than any man of his age. In
him, perhaps more than in any man of his time, was ex¬
emplified that mitis sapientia, which formed the distin¬
guishing attribute of the illustrious friend of Cicero, and
which wins its way into the heart, whilst it at once enlight¬
ens and satisfies the understanding.
With regard to the intellectual character of Sir James
Mackintosh, we cannot do better than quote the words in
which the able writer who reviewed the Memoirs of his
Life by his son, in that journal to which he was so valuable
a contributor, has described, or rather pourtrayed it. “ His
intellectual character cannot be unknown to any one ac¬
quainted w ith his works, or w ho has even read many pages
of the Memoirs now before us; and it is needless, there¬
fore, to speak here of his great knowledge, the singular
union of ingenuity and soundness in his speculations—his
perfect candour and temper in discussion—the pure and
lofty morality to which he strove to elevate the minds
of others, and in his own conduct to conform, or the wise
and humane allowance which he was ready, in every case
but his own, to make for the infirmities which must always
draw down so many from the higher paths of their duty.
These merits, we believe, will no longer be denied by any
who have heard of his name or looked at his writings. But
there were other traits of his intellect, which could only be
known to those who were of his acquaintance, and which
it is still desirable that the readers of these Memoirs should
bear in mind. One of these was that ready and prodigious
memory, by which all that he learned seemed to be at once
engraved on the proper compartment of his mind, and to
present itself at the moment it was required ; another, still
more remarkable, was the singular maturity and complete¬
ness of all his views and opinions, even upon the most ab¬
struse and complicated questions, though raised, without
design or preparation, in the casual course of conversation.
In this way it happened that the sentiments he delivered
had generally the air of recollections—and that few of those
with whom he most associated in mature life could recol¬
lect of ever catching him in the act of making up his mind
in the course of the discussions in which it was his delight
to engage them. His conclusions, and the grounds of them,
seemed always to have been previously considered and di¬
gested ; and though he willingly developed his reasons, to
secure the assent of his hearers, he uniformly seemed to
have been perfectly ready, before the cause was called on,
men
othe:
MAC
to have delivered the opinion of the court, with a full sum¬
mary of the arguments and evidence on both sides. In
the work before us, we have more peeps into the prepara¬
tory deliberations of his great intellect—that scrupulous
estimate of the grounds of decision, and that jealous ques¬
tioning of first impressions, which necessarily precede the
formation of all firm and wise opinions,—than could pro¬
bably be collected from the recollections of all those who
had most familiar access to him in society. It was owing
perhaps to this vigour and rapidity of intellectual digestion
that, though all his life a great talker, there never was a
man that talked half so much, who said so little that was
either foolish or frivolous ; nor any one perhaps who knew
so well how to give as much liveliness and poignancy to
the most just and even profound observations as others
could ever impart to startling extravagance and ludicrous
exaggeration. The vast extent of his information, and the
natural gaiety of his temper, made him independent of such
devices for producing effect, and, joined to the inherent
kindness and gentleness of his disposition, made his con¬
versation at once the most instructive and the most gene¬
rally pleasing that could be imagined.”
I We cannot deny ourselves the satisfaction of adorning
this meagre notice with another citation from the same ad¬
mirable article, in which the writer replies to and exposes
the depreciatory judgment of Mr Coleridge. The passage is
severe, but not more so than the occasion and the aggression
seemed to require. “ In the Table Talk of the late Mr
Coleridge, we find these words, ‘ I doubt if Mackintosh ever
heartily appreciated an eminently original man. After all his
fluency and brilliant erudition, you can rarely carry off any¬
thing worth preserving. You might not improperly write
upon his forehead, Warehouse to let.’ We wish to speak
tenderly of a man of genius, and, we believe, of amiable dis¬
positions, who has been so recentlyrerfioved from his friends
and admirers. But so portentous a misjudgment as this,
; and coming from such a quarter, cannot be passed over
I without notice. If Sir James Mackintosh had any talent
more conspicuous and indisputable than another, it was
that of appreciating the merits of eminent and original
men. His great learning and singular soundness of judg-
^ ment enabled him to do this truly; while his kindness of
nature, his zeal for human happiness, and his perfect free¬
dom from prejudice and vanity, prompted him, above most
other men, to do it heartily. As a proof, we would merely
I refer our readers to his admirable character of Lord Bacon
{Edinburgh Review, No. 53, vol. xxvii.). And then, as to
his being a person from whose conversation little could be
carried away, why, the most characteristic and remarkable
I thing about it was, that the whole of it might be carried
, away—it was so lucid, precise, and brilliantly perspicuous.
The joke of the £ Warehouse to let’ is not, we confess,
quite level to our capacities. It can scarcely mean (though
j that is the most obvious sense) that the head was empty,
I as that is inconsistent with the rest even of this splenetic
delineation. If it was intended to insinuate that it was
ready for the indiscriminate reception of anything which
any one might choose to put into it, there could not be a
more gross misconception, as we have no doubt Mr Cole¬
ridge must often have sufficiently experienced. And by
whom is this discovery, that Mackintosh’s conversation
presented nothing that could be carried away, thus confi¬
dently announced ? Why, by the very individual against
whose own oracular and interminable talk the same com¬
plaint has been made, by friends and by foes, and with an
unanimity unprecedented, for the last forty years. The
admiring, or rather idolizing, nephew, who has lately put
forth this hopeful specimen of his relics, has recorded in
the preface, that ‘ his conversation at all times required
attention ; and that the demand on the intellect of the
hearer was often very great; and that when he got into
VOL. XIII.
MAC
657
his “ huge circuit” and large illustrations, most people had Macklah-
lost him, and naturally enough supposed that he had lost sul
himself.’ Nay, speaking to this very point, of the ease or .. ![
difficulty of carrying away any definite notions from what . ackvva'
he said, the partial kinsman is pleased to inform us, that,
with all his familiarity with the style of his relative, he
himself has often gone away, after listening to him for seve¬
ral delightful hours, with divers masses of reasoning in his
head, but without being able to perceive what connection
they had with each other. ‘ In such cases,’ he adds, ‘ I
have mused, sometimes even for days afterwards, upon the
words, till at length, spontaneously as it were, the fire
would kindle,’ &c. And this is the person who is pleased
to denounce Sir James Mackintosh as an ordinary man;
and especially to object to his conversation, that, though
brilliant and fluent, there was rarely anything in it which
could be carried away.
“An attack so unjust and so arrogant leads naturally to
comparisons which it would be easy to follow out, to the
signal discomfiture of the party attacking. But without
going beyond what is thus forced upon our notice, we
shall only say, that nothing could possibly set the work
before us in so favourable a point of view as a comparison
between it and the volumes of Table Talk, to which we
have already made reference—unless, perhaps, it were the
contrast of the two minds which are respectively pour-
trayed in these publications.
“ In these memorials of Sir James Mackintosh, we trace
throughout, the workings of a powerful and unclouded in¬
tellect, nourished by wholesome learning, raised and in¬
structed by fearless though reverent questionings of the
sages of other times (which is the permitted necromancy
of the wise), exercised by free discussion with the most
distinguished among the living, and made acquainted with
its own strength and weakness, not only by a constant
intercourse with other powerful minds, but by mixing,
with energy and deliberation, in practical business and
affairs; and here pouring itself out in a delightful miscel¬
lany of elegant criticism, original speculation, and pro¬
found practical suggestions on politics, religion, history,
and all the greater and the lesser duties, the arts and the
elegancies of life—all expressed with a beautiful clearness
and tempered dignity—breathing the purest spirit of good¬
will to mankind—and brightened not merely by an ardent
hope, but an assured faith in their constant advancement
in freedom, intelligence, and virtue.
“ On all these points, the Table Talk of his poetical con¬
temporary appears to us to present a most mortifying con¬
trast ; and to render back merely the image of a moody
mind, incapable of mastering its own imaginings, and con¬
stantly seduced by them, or by a misdirected ambition, to
attempt impracticable things—naturally attracted by dim
paradoxes rather than lucid truth, and preferring, for the
most part, the obscure and neglected parts of learning to
those that are useful and clear—marching, in short, at all
times, under the exclusive guidance of the Pillar of Smoke
—“and, like the body of its original followers, wandering
all his days in the desert, without ever coming in sight of
the promised land.”
MACKLAHSUL, a town of Hindustan, in the pro¬
vince of Berar, and district of Gaungra, on the north side
of the Tuptee river, 20 miles north-east from Gawelsjhur.
Long. 77. 34. E. Lat. 21. 64. N.
MACKOOK, a district of Hindustan, in the province
of Berar, extending along the river Kaitna, and situated
between the 20th and 21st degrees of north latitude.
The principal towns are Omerpoor, Shahpoor, and Jaflier-
abad.
MACKWA, a town of Hindustan, in the Northern Cir-
cars, 40 miles west-north-west from Cicacole. Lone. 83.
24. E. Lat. 18. 33. N.
4 o
658 ’ M AC MAC
Maclaurin. MACLAURIN, Colin, a very eminent mathematician
and philosopher, was the son of a clergyman, and born at
Kilmoddan, Scotland, in 1698. In the year 1709 he was
sent to the university of Glasgow, where he continued
five years, and applied himself intensely to study. His
great genius for mathematical learning discovered itself
as early as the age of twelve, when, having accidentally
met with an Euclid in a friend’s chamber, he became in a
few days master of the first six books without any assis¬
tance ; and it is certain, that in his sixteenth year he had
invented many of the propositions which were afterwards
published under the title of Geometria Organica. In his
fifteenth year he took the degree of master of arts, and on
that occasion composed and publicly defended, with great
applause, a thesis on the power of gravity. After this
he quitted the university, and retired to a country-seat of
his uncle, who had the care of his education ; for his pa¬
rents had been some time dead. Here he spent two or
three years in pursuing his favourite studies ; but, in
1717, he offered himself as a candidate for the professor¬
ship of mathematics in the Marischal College of Aberdeen,
and obtained it after a ten days’ trial with a very able
competitor. In 1719 he went to London, where he be¬
came acquainted with Dr Hoadly, then bishop of Ban¬
gor, Dr Clarke, Sir Isaac Newton, and other eminent men,
at which time also he was admitted a member of the
Royal Society; and in another journey in 1721, he con¬
tracted an intimacy with Martin Folkes, the president of
the society, which continued until his death.
In 1722, Lord Polwarth, plenipotentiary of the king of
Great Britain at the congress of Cambray, engaged him
to become tutor and companion to his eldest son, who was
then about to set out on his travels. After a short stay at
Paris, and visiting other towns in France, they fixed in
Lorraine, where Maclaurin wrote his tract on the per¬
cussion of bodies, which gained the prize of the Royal
Academy of Sciences for the year 1724. But his pupil
dying soon afterwards, at Montpellier, he returned imme¬
diately to his profession at Aberdeen. He was hardly
settled there, however, when he received an invitation to
Edinburgh ; the curators of that university being desirous
that he should supply the place of Mr James Gregory,
wdiose great age and infirmities had rendered him inca¬
pable of teaching. He had some difficulties to encounter,
arising from competitors, who had good interest with the
patrons of the university, and also from the want of an ad¬
ditional fund for the new professor; but at length these
were all surmounted, principally by the means of Sir Isaac
Newton. In November 1725 he was introduced into the
university. After this, the mathematical classes soon be¬
came very numerous, there being generally upwai'ds ol
a hundred young gentlemen attending his lectures every
year, who being of different standing and proficiency, he
was obliged to divide them into four or five classes, in
each of which he employed a full hour every day, from the
first of November till the first of June.
He lived a bachelor till the year 1733; but being not
less formed for society than for contemplation, he then
married Anne, the daughter of Mr Walter Stew art, solici¬
tor-general for Scotland. By this lady he had seven chil¬
dren, of whom twm sons and three daughters, together
with his wife, survived him. In 1734, Berkeley, bishop of
Cloyne, published a piece called The Analyst, in which
he took occasion, from some disputes which had arisen
concerning the grounds of the method of fluxions, to at¬
tack the method itself, and also to charge mathematicians
in general with infidelity in religion. Maclaurin think¬
ing himself included in this charge, began an answer to
Berkeley’s book; but, as he proceeded, so many new theo¬
ries and problems occurred to him, that instead of a
vindicatory pamphlet, his wrork came out a complete sys¬
tem of Fluxions, wdth their application to the most con-Maclaurin
siderable problems in geometry and natural philosophy.
This work was published at Edinburgh in 1742, in two
vols. quarto; and as it cost him infinite pains, so it is the
most considerable of all his works. In the mean time, he
was continually obliging the public with some performance
or observation of his own, many of which were published
in the fifth and sixth volumes of the Medical Essays at
Edinburgh. Some of them were likewise published in the
Philosophical Transactions, particularly, 1. Of the Con¬
struction and Measure of Curves; 2. A new Method of
describing all kinds of Curves ; 3. A Letter to Martin
Folkes, Esq. on Equations with impossible Roots, May
1726; 4. Continuation of the same, March 1729 ; 5. On
the Description of Curves, with an account of farther im¬
provements, and a paper dated at Nancy, November 27,
1722 ; 6. An account of the Treatise of Fluxions, January
27, 1742; 7. The same continued, 10th March 1742; 8.
A Rule for finding the meridional parts of a Spheroid with
the same exactness as of a Sphere, August 1741; 9. Of
the basis of the cells wherein the Bees deposit their
Honey, 3d November 1734.
In the midst of these studies, he was always ready to
lend his assistance in contriving and promoting any scheme
that might contribute to the service of his country. When
the Earl of Morton set out in 1739 for Orkney and Zet¬
land, to visit his estates there, he desired Mr Maclaurin
to assist him in settling the geography of those countries,
which is very erroneous in all our maps; to examine their
natural history, survey the coasts, and measure a degree
of the meridian. Maclaurin’s family affairs, and other
connections, would not permit him to do this; he, how¬
ever, drew up a memorial of what he thought necessary
to be observed, furnished the proper instruments, and
recommended Mr Short the optician as a fit person for
the management of them. He had still another scheme
for the improvement of geography and navigation, of a
more extensive nature ; which was the opening of a pass¬
age from Greenland to the South Sea by the north pole.
That such a passage might be found, he was so fully per¬
suaded, that he has been heard to say, that if his situation
admitted of such adventures, he would undertake the voy¬
age, even at his own charge. But when schemes for dis¬
covering it were laid before the parliament in 1744, and
he was himself consulted by several persons of high rank
concerning them, before he could finish the memorials
which he proposed to send, the premium was limited to
the discovery of a north-west passage; and he used to re¬
gret that the word west was inserted, because he con¬
ceived that the passage, if it existed at all, w'ould be found
not far from the pole.
In 1745, having been very active in fortifying the city
of Edinburgh against the Highland army, he was obliged to
fly from thence to the north of England, where he was in¬
vited by Herring, then archbishop of York, to reside with
him during his stay in this country. In this expedition,
however, being exposed to cold and hardships, and natu¬
rally of a wreak and delicate constitution, he laid the foun¬
dation of an illness which put an end to his life, in June
1746, at the age of forty-eight.
Mr Maclaurin was a good as well as a great man, and
worthy of esteem as well as admiration. His peculiar me¬
rit as a philosopher consisted in this, that all his studies
were accommodated to general utility; and we find, in
many places of his works, an application even of the most
abstruse theories, to the perfecting of the mechanical arts.
For this purpose, he had resolved to compose a course of
practical mathematics, and to rescue several useful branches
of the science from the bad treatment which they had often
met with in less skilful hands. But all this was prevented
by his death; unless we should reckon, as part of his intend-
met
MAC
f ^j?.[acoi- ed work, the translation of Dr David Gregory’s Practical
' Geometry, which he revised, and published with additions in
1745. In his lifetime, however, he had frequent opportuni¬
ties of serving his friends and his country by his great skill.
Whatever difficulty occurred concerning the constructing or
perfecting of machines, the working of mines, the improv¬
ing of manufactures, the conveying of water, or the execu¬
tion of any other public work, he was at hand to resolve it.
He was likewise employed to terminate some disputes of
consequence which had arisen at Glasgow concerning the
gauging of vessels; and for that purpose presented to the
Commissioners of Excise two elaborate memorials, with de¬
monstrations, containing rules by which the officers now
act. He also made calculations relating to the provision,
now established by law, for the widows and children of the
Scotch clergy, and of the professors in the universities, en¬
titling them to certain annuities and sums, upon the volun¬
tary annual payment of a certain sum by the incumbents.
In contriving and adjusting this wise and useful scheme
he bestowed a great deal of labour, and contributed not a
little towards bringing it to perfection. Of such a man, it
may be said that he lived to some purpose; which can
hardly be predicated of those, how uncommon soever their
abilities and attainments, who spend their whole time in
abstract speculations, and produce nothing really useful or
serviceable to their fellow-creatures.
Of his works, we have mentioned his Geometria Orga-
nica, in which he treats of the description of curve lines by
continued motion. We need not repeat what has been
said concerning the paper which gained the prize of the
Royal Academy of Sciences in 1724. In 1740 the acade¬
my adjudged him a prize, which did him still more honour,
for solving the motion of the tides from the theory of gra¬
vity ; a question which had been given out the previous
year, but without receiving any solution. He had only ten
days to draw up this paper, and could not find leisure to
transcribe a fair copy ; so that the Paris edition of it is in¬
correct. He afterwards revised the whole, and inserted it
in his Treatise of Fluxions; as he did also the substance
of the former paper. These, with the Treatise of Fluxions,
and the pieces printed in the Philosophical Transactions,
of which we have given a list, are all the writings which
Maclaurin lived to publish. Since his death, two more vo¬
lumes have appeared, containing his Algebra, and his Ac¬
count of Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophical Discoveries. His
Algebra, though not finished by himself, is yet allowed to
be excellent of its kind, containing, in a volume of no great
bulk, a complete elementary treatise of that science, as far
as it had then been carried. The occasion of his Account
of Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophy may be shortly stated.
Sir Isaac having died in the beginning of 1728, his nephew,
Mr Conduitt, proposed to publish an account of his life,
and desired Mr Maclaurin’s assistance. The latter, out of
gratitude to his great benefactor, cheerfully undertook, and
soon finished, the history of the progress which philosophy
had made before Sir Isaac’s time; and this was the first
draught of the proposed work; but as the latter did not go
forward, on account of Mr Conduitt’s death, the manuscript
was returned to Mr Maclaurin. To this he afterwards made
great additions, and left it in the state in which it now ap¬
pears. See the Dissertations prefixed to this work.
MACON, an arrondissement of the department of the
Saone and the Loire, in France, extending over 454 square
miles. It is divided into nine cantons, and subdivided into
135 communes, containing 108,500 inhabitants. The ca¬
pital is the city of the same name, and it is also the capi¬
tal of the department. It is situated on the right bank of
the Saone, over which is a fine bridge. It is ill built, with
M A C 659
narrow, crooked streets; and the only fine object is the Macowall
quay by the side of the river, the Hotel de Ville, and the II
palace Montrevel. It contains 1400 houses, with 10,000 M‘Crie’
inhabitants, whose chief trade is in wine, and in linen and^-^^"
stocking weaving. Long. 4.44.48. E. Lat. 46. 18.17. N.
MACOWALL, a Sikh town in the province of Lahore,
on the banks of the Sutleje river, 133 miles from the city
of Lahore. Long. 75. 38. E. Lat. 31. 14. N.
MACQUARRIE Island, in the South Pacific Ocean,
was discovered in 1811, by some resolute adventurers from
New Holland, who had penetrated into the Southern Ocean
in prosecution of the seal fishery. It is eighteen miles in
length from north to south, and about six in breadth. At
the distance of eight leagues from the north point of this
island are other smaller islands, called the Judge and his
Clerks, and several others in a south direction, called the
Bishop and his Clerks. Long. 169. E. Lat. 52. 41. S.
MACQUER, Pierre Jo seph, was born at Paris on the
9th of October 1718, and died there on the 16th ofFebruary
1784. He was member of the Academy of Sciences, and
professor of pharmacy ; and was engaged in the Journal de
Spavans for articles in medicine and chemistry. With the
lastof these sciences he was intimatelyacquainted. Hehad a
share in compiling the Pharmacopoeia Parisiensis, published
in 1758, in 4to. His other works are, 1. Elemens de Chimie
Iheorique, Paris, 1749, 1753, 12mo; 2. Elemens de Chimie
Pratique, 1751, in two vols. 12mo; 3. Plan d’un cours de
Chimie Experimentale et Raisonnee, 1757, 12mo, in the
composition of which he was associated with M. Beaume;
4. Formulae Medicamentorum Magistralium, 1763; 5. L’Art
de la Teinture en Soie, 1763; 6. Dictionnaire de Chimie,
contenant la Theorie et la Pratique de cet Art, 1766, in
two vols. 8vo, which has been translated into German with
notes, and into English with notes by Mr Keir. Macquer
has, by his labours and writings, greatly contributed to
render useful an art which formerly tended only to ruin
the health of the patient by foreign remedies, or to reduce
the professors of it to beggary, whilst they prosecuted the
idle dream of converting every thing into gold.
M‘CRIE, Thomas, D.D., an eminent biographer and
divine, was born at Dunse, in North Britain, in the month of
November 1772. Flis parents belonged to the class of
Seceders known in Scotland as Antiburghers, and he was
educated with a view to the ministry in that persuasion.
After passing through the ordinary course of education af¬
forded in a country town, he came to Edinburgh, and en¬
rolled himself as a student in the university, in the winter
of 1788.1 During that and the two following sessions he
pursued the course of literary and philosophical study pre¬
scribed to students intending to devote themselves to the
ministry; and in 1791, he entered the theological class at
Whitburn, under the Rev. Archibald Bruce, the teacher
or professor of divinity to the Associate Antiburgher Synod.
As the attendance upon this course was only for a limited
period each year, it was usual for the students, whose
means were generally very scanty, to employ the intervals
in teaching. In this way Mr M‘Crie, in the autumn of
1791, proceeded to Brechin, and opened a school in connec¬
tion with the Associate Antiburgher congregation in that
town ; and he continued there, excepting the time annual¬
ly required at Whitburn in the three following sessions
(1792 to 1794) for completing the regular course of theo¬
logical study.
Towards the end of 1795, Mr M‘Crie was licensed to
preach by the presbytery of Kelso. In the beginning of
the next year, he received a call from the Second associate
congregation of Antiburghers in Edinburgh; and some
scruples having been obviated by an act of the Associate
'1
b a
1 Matriculation books of the University—At this time he wrote his name McCrie ; and in strict arrangement this article belonged
to a former sheet.
660
M ‘ C R I E.
M‘Crie.
Synod, dated 3d May 1796, he was ordained to that charge
on the 26th of that month.1 In this pastoral relationship
he continued for upwards of ten years, evidently with the
sincere attachment of his people.
At this period, Mr M‘Crie, by diligent and assiduous
study, was acquiring that profound theological knowledge,
and that fund of literary and ecclesiastical information, for
which, in after life, he was so distinguished. The pro¬
ceedings of the religious body with whom he was con¬
nected may also have had some effect in directing his pur¬
suits towards subjects connected with the history, consti¬
tution, and polity of the reformed church. Yet, except¬
ing a missionary sermon, which was published in 1797, at
the special request of his congregation,2 we cannot trace
back the commencement of his literary career farther than
the year 1803, although some articles, of an earlier date,
in a periodical work entitled “ The Christian Magazine,
or Evangelical Repository,” may have proceeded from his
pen.3 To this magazine he contributed a series of articles,
with the signature of Philistor (a lover of history), and
these included, in 1803, “ The History of the New Testa¬
ment confirmed and illustrated by passages of Josephus,
the Jewish historian“ Memoir of Mr John Murray,
minister of Dunfermline; “ Sketch of the Progress of
the Reformation in Spain, with an account of Spanish Pro¬
testant Martyrs and “ Illustrations of Scripture as to the
grinding and parching of Corn.” In 1804, “ Suppression
of the Reformation in Spain, with a continuation of the
Account of Spanish Protestant Martyrs“ Remarks on
Matthew, xx. 25, 26 “ On the Origin of the Taborites
“ Life of John Wickliffe “ Life of John Huss“ Mar¬
tyrdom of Jerome of Prague “ Martyrs in Britain, from
the time of Wickliffe to the Reformationand “ Influ¬
ence of the Opinions of Wickliffe upon the English Refor¬
mation, with additional notices of Martyrs.” In 1805,
“ The Life of Theodore Beza and the “ Life of Dr An¬
drew Rivet,” a Protestant divine in France. In 1806,
“ The Life of Patrick Hamilton, the Proto-Martyr of the
Reformation in Scotland “ The Life of Francis Lambert
of Avignon “ Account of Bugenhagen, a German Refor¬
mer “ The Life of Alexander Henderson, minister of
Edinburgh, and one of the commissioners from the Church
of Scotland to the Assembly of Divines at Westminster
and “ Historical Notices respecting learned Scottish Di¬
vines in England and Foreign Parts, during the sixteenth
century.”
We have been particular in enumerating the titles of the
above articles, as they show very distinctly the peculiar
bent of Mr Marie’s mind, at this early period, towards
subjects illustrative of the history and progress of the Re¬
formation throughout Europe, and of the biography of
eminent martyrs and reformers ; in fact, containing the
germs of most of his subsequent publications.
We have now arrived at a point in Mr M‘Crie’s his¬
tory, which makes it necessary to advert to the proceed¬
ings of the Associate Synod. But to enter into such mi-'
nute details as might render the subject sufficiently intelli¬
gible to a general reader, would not only occupy too much
space, but might seem to be misplaced in this work. Yet
it would be false delicacy, even in a sketch of his literary
life like the present, to pass in silence the results of such
proceedings ; and the more so, as his conduct, in the pain¬
ful situation in which he was placed, displayed no small
degree of Christian resignation and fortitude, and evinced
that he was sustained by a sense of duty and high-mind¬
ed principle. Suffice it then to say, that Mr M‘Crie was
one of five ministers4 who felt themselves constrained to
resist and protest against what they considered to be a
spirit of innovation on the part of the Synod, while engaged
in the revisal and enlargement of the Judicial Act and
Testimony, which had hitherto served as the bond of mini¬
sterial and religious communion, in order, as it was ex¬
pressed, to adapt it “ more to the circumstances of the
present time.” It need only be stated, that the chief
points of difference related to the apparent abandonment
by the Synod of some important principles of the Judicial
Act and Testimony,—more especially the received doc¬
trine on the connection between church and state, the
power of the civil magistrate in matters of religion, and
the lawfulness and perpetual obligation of our national
covenants,—points which had hitherto been maintained
by the members of Secession. In this revisal the Synod
continued at their half-yearly meetings, until it was com¬
pleted in April 1804, and published under the title of
“ Narrative and Testimony agreed upon and enacted by the
General Associate Synod,” &e. This contained, first, “ A
Narrative of the State of Religion in Britain and Ireland,
from the period of the Reformation to the present time,”
including a history of the Secession Church, and a view
“ Of the progressive Defections of the Established Church
of Scotland and, secondly, the Testimony, or Declara¬
tion, under several heads, of the doctrinal sentiments pro¬
fessed by the Associate Synod, along with a Formula,
which should hereafter be “ the term of admission for
those who shall apply for joining in communion with us.”
The case of the four surviving protestors who had dis¬
claimed the power of the Associate Synod, either to al¬
ter their original Testimony, or to impose new terms of
communion for their body, was before the meeting of the
Synod at Glasgow, at the end of August 1806, and, by a
formal resolution, was postponed till the ensuing meet¬
ing in April next. It happened, however, that whilst the
subject wTas under discussion, Mr M‘Crie and other two
of the protestors met at Whitburn to assist Mr Bruce upon
a sacramental occasion ; and these four, after serious deli¬
beration, constituted themselves into a separate presbytery
or jurisdiction. Information of this having reached Edin¬
burgh, Mr M^rie was interrogated by some members of
1 This congregation was constituted in 1791, and their meeting-house in the Potterrow was erected in 1792 ; but they enjoyed
the advantage of a settled minister only when Mr M‘Crie was ordained. The sermon and address at his ordination, 26th May 1796,
form part of a volume (pp. 164-202) of “ Sermons preached on different occasions, by Robert Chalmers, minister of the Gospel at
Haddington.” Edinburgh, 1798, 12mo, pp. 440.
2 “ The Duty of Christian Societies towards each other, in relation to the measures for propagating the Gospel which at present
engage the attention of the Religious World. A Sermon, preached in the Meeting-house, Potterrow, on occasion of a collection
for promoting a Mission to Kentucky.” Edinburgh, 1797, 8vo, pp. 40. This sermon Mr M‘Crie afterwards had some wish to sup¬
press, at least he regretted its publication, from having changed his views on some points which it embraced.
3 This periodical work, in sixpenny numbers, was commenced in February 1797- In the number for April 1801 is a “ Proposed Plan
of a New Literary Society, to be named The Voluntary Society for Improvement in Ecclesiastical History and Biography;” and
in September 1802, a translation of part of Smeton’s Life and Death of John Knox, from the Latin, 1579, both of which probably were
contributions from Mr M‘Crie. One of the editors, the Reverend George Whytock, Dalkeith, having died about the end of 1805,
Mr M‘Crie became the sole editor of the volume for 1806; but a variety of circumstances led to its discontinuance, and a new series
was commenced in January 1807, chiefly under the auspices of his brethren from whom he had separated, as stated above.
4 The other members were, the Rev. Archibald Bruce, Whitburn; Rev. George Whytock, Dalkeith ; Rev. James Aitken, Kirry-
muir; and the Rev. James Hog, Kelso. Mr Whytock died in October 1805, nearly twelve months before the Synod proceeded to
extremities. The other protestors were afterwards joined by the Rev. Robert Chalmers, Haddington.
M‘Crie, :,ie
re[
tra
fro
re£
im
ac(
sio
bei
mg
rer
lisl
ant
ant
inti
sen
the
cee
ten
owi
of!
¥
mei
holi
sitt:
pro
Sue
Cm
as ti
nou
new
tian
disc
selv
nod
conj
her1
Pla<
It
bur
the
and.
Pfot,
;iie. ^
G
M
m
hi
^ te
a
ot
| se
tic
mi
if
pu
agi
ch
an
Sa:
re{
tra
fro
■ ref
im
acc
sio
bei
ing
1 rer
lisl
ant
am
inti
sen
the
cee
ten
owi
of 1
ligi
mei
hoh
sitt:
pro
Sue
Cm
cess
Coi:
as ti
non
new
tian
disc
selv
nod
coni
ber;
Plat
till t
Ii
burs
the
and,
ces,
M ‘ C R I E.
jl-Ce. his session, when he admitted the fact; immediately upon
' which a communication was transmitted to the Synod at
Glasgow; and as it was considered that, “ with regard to
Mr M‘Crie, forbearance could no longer be tolerated,” it was
moved, and a sentence passed (2d of September), deposing
him from the office of the holy ministry.1 The other pro¬
testing ministers were afterwards deposed in as peremptory
a manner. It may be said that the Synod could not act
otherwise in regard to their brethren who had set them¬
selves in such direct opposition, by disclaiming the jurisdic¬
tion of that court. But, to say nothing of the precipitate
manner of passing such a sentence, it was at least a harsh,
if not unjustifiable proceeding, to subject to the summary
punishment of deposition and excommunication, persons
against whom calumny had never surmised the slightest
charge, either as to moral conduct or error in doctrine;
and while, by so doing, dissensions were raised in congre¬
gations, it was somewhat strange to find the very men who
repudiated the doctrine of interference of the civil magis¬
trate in matters of religion, calling in such aid to exclude
from their own congregations ministers who had been
regularly ordained, and who maintained all the obligations
imposed upon them at ordination. Yet all this was done,
according to Mr Bruce’s statement, “ under high preten¬
sions to lenity and moderation, of promoting universal li¬
berty of conscience, and of greatly detesting and condemn¬
ing all impositions and compulsion and, as he elsewhere
remarks, that “ to dissolve a pastoral relation duly estab¬
lished, and while mutually acknowledged, by mere church
authority, without relevant reasons, is as really oppression,
and a robbing the people of their sacred privileges, as to
intrude a minister upon a congregation without their con¬
sent, which was one of the chief and primary grounds of
the Secession.”2
The Synod having appointed one of their number to pro-
j ceed to Edinburgh, to intimate, on the next Sabbath (7th Sep-
| tember), the sentence of Mr M‘Crie’s deposition, from his
own pulpit, we must next briefly advert to the proceedings
| of his congregation. It appears that the leaven of the new-
light doctrines had lately infected several of the leading
i members; yet, as it was found that the trustees and seat-
| holders, both in point of number, and the amount paid for
sittings, were nearly equal, the question arose, to whom the
j property of the meeting-house in the Potterrow belonged.
Such disunion was the occasion of a tedious litigation in the
Court of Session, during which time he was interdicted ac-
j cess to his pulpit on the afternoon of every Sabbath. The
Court of Session having declined entering upon the question
as to which party was chargeable with schism, at length pro¬
nounced a decision, 24th February 1809, in favour of the
new-light members, as “ forming a congregation of Chris-
| tians in communion with, and subject to the ecclesiastical
i discipline of, a body of dissenting Protestants, calling them-
, selves the Associate Presbytery and General Associate Sy-
j! nod of Antiburgher Seceders.”3 After this, Mr M'Crie’s
congregation assembled in the meeting-house in Carrub-
I ber’s Close, till their new chapel in Davie Street, Richmond
Place, was erected, and in which he continued to officiate
till the close of his life.
In the meanwhile, the small party of “ Old-Light Anti¬
burghers,” as the protestors were commonly called, assumed
the name of the “ Constitutional Associate Presbytery;”
and, finding themselves placed in such peculiar circumstan¬
ces, and their sentiments and conduct liable to misrepresen¬
tation, they resolved to publish “a fuller statement and ex¬
planation of the principal heads of controversy between the
Synod and them.” For this purpose, the task was devolved
upon Mr M^rie, as clerk of the presbytery ; and, from pa¬
pers partly written and wholly revised by him, there appear¬
ed, in 1807, under his name, a “ Statement of the Differ¬
ence between the profession of the Reformed Church of
Scotland, as adopted by Seceders, and the profession con¬
tained in the New Testimony and other Acts, lately adopt¬
ed by the General Associate Synod; particularly on the
power of Civil Magistrates respecting Religion, National
Reformation, National Churches, and National Covenants.
To which are added, Reasons by the Ministers who Protest¬
ed against the above Acts of Synod, for constituting them¬
selves into a separate Presbytery, with the deed of Con¬
stitution,” &c. 8vo, pp. 234. Although of a controversial
nature, respecting differences which attracted no very great
share of public notice at the time, this Statement is also ap¬
plicable to discussions which have recently been much more
widely agitated by the voluntary question; and it may be ap¬
pealed to by the friends of the established church, as explain¬
ing and enforcing the true grounds of connection between
the church and state, and as an able and elaborate argument
of the obligation on civil rulers to make suitable provision
for the religious interests of the community. Yet it was
generally conceived that the protestors had displayed unne¬
cessary zeal and obstinacy in stedfastly opposing the mea¬
sures of the Synod, as if they had been contending for mere
abstract theoretical points of no practical importance.
In the comparatively obscure and humble situation in
which Mr M‘Crie was now placed, he was enabled to de¬
vote his leisure hours to his favourite literary pursuits. His
intention was to have published a life of Alexander Hen¬
derson, the eminent Scottish divine, of which a sketch had
appeared in the Christian Magazine. In the view of giv¬
ing an introductory account of the state of the reformed
church, he found that the materials were amply sufficient
for a separate work ; and abandoning his original design, as
one that might be resumed at some future time, he under¬
took a Life of John Knox, and in this form sought to illus¬
trate the earlier history of the Protestant church in Scotland.
The subject was felicitously chosen, not only as possessed of
historical importance and of national interest, but as one
which required, and which was capable of being placed in
a new point of light. “ The Life of John Knox, contain¬
ing Illustrations of the History of the reformation in
Scotland,” appeared in the beginning of 1812, in one vo¬
lume 8vo, pp. 580. Such was the eftect produced by this
work, that although, even in Edinburgh, the author’s name
was quite unknown in the literary circles, it placed him at
once in the first rank of ecclesiastical biographers, and es¬
tablished his reputation as an historical writer, both at
home and abroad. The character of the great reformer
had hitherto been much calumniated and mistaken. Knox,
indeed, was one of the most marked characters in Scottish
history, admirably suited to the circumstances in which he
was placed. He had, however, been too often represented
as a fierce and sullen bigot, equally opposed to learning, li¬
beral principles, and sound policy; coarse in manners, intole¬
rant in conduct, and actuated by sordid and ambitious views.
It remained to reverse the picture, and to show the reformer
in a juster light; influenced by the purest and noblest prin¬
ciples ; filled with apostolical zeal, and a total disregard of
worldly rank and power; stern and uncompromising only
661
M‘Crie.
zine,
Sync
2
Prot(
3
. 1 ^ee Letters on the late Transactions of the General Associate Synod at Glasgow,” in the New Series of the Christian Maga¬
zine, vol. i. pp. 24-35, 61-72. The anonymous writer of these Letters asserts that the Protestors had all along been treated by the
fcynod with great lenity and forbearance.
- “ A Review of the Proceedings of the General Associate Synod, and of some Presbyteries, in reference to the Ministers who
p otested against the imposition of a New Testimony,” &c.; by A. Bruce, minister in Whitburn, p. 405. Edinburgh, 1808, 8vo.
3 Faculty Decisions, 1808-1809, p. 221. s > >
M‘C It I E.
in the cause of truth, and in reproving vice and error; dis¬
tinguished for profound learning and true piety; and with
that incorruptible integrity and heroic courage required for
carrying on the work of reformation. All this was accom¬
plished in Mr M‘Crie’s work, which possessed the rare
quality of uniting history with biography; and it was no¬
ticed in terms of high commendation in most of the lead¬
ing journals of the time. As, in fact, the “ Life of Knox”
must be held to be the author’s principal production, we
cannot resist the opportunity of giving a quotation from an
article in the Edinburgh Review for July 1812, usually as¬
cribed to the distinguished editor.
“ How unfair, and how marvellously incorrect, these re¬
presentations (of Knox’s character) are, may be learned
from the book before us ; a work which has afforded us
more amusement and more instruction than any thing we
ever read upon the subject; and which, independent of
its theological merits, we do not hesitate to pronounce by far
the best piece of history which has appeared since the com¬
mencement of our critical career. It is extremely accurate,
learned, and concise, and at the same time very full of
spirit and animation ; exhibiting, as it appears to us, a
rare union of the patient research and sober judgment
which characterise the more laborious class of historians,
with the boldness of thinking, and force of imagination,
which is sometimes substituted in their place. It affords
us very great pleasure to bear this public testimony to the
merits of a writer who has been hitherto unknown, we
believe, to the literary world, either of this or the neigh¬
bouring country ; of whom, or of whose existence at least,
though residing in the same city with ourselves, it never
was our fortune to have heard till his volume was put in¬
to our hands; and who, in his first emergence from the
humble obscurity in which he has pursued the studies
and performed the duties of his profession, has presented
the world with a work which may put so many of his con¬
temporaries to the blush, for the big promises they have
broken, and the vast opportunities they have neglected.”
Such a favourable award had the effect of directing at¬
tention to the work, and of calling for a new edition, which
appeared in an enlarged and corrected form in 1813.1
In preparing this edition, the author not only made cor¬
rections, both as to style and matter, but, as the reformer’s
name is so inseparably connected with the history of pub¬
lic events, he introduced greater detail of public transac¬
tions, tending to vindicate the proceedings of the early re¬
formers, and to throw light on the character and motives
of the other prominent actors of the time.
Before this edition was published, the Senatus of the
University of Edinburgh, on the 3d of February 1813,
conferred on Mr M‘Crie the honorary degree of Doctor of
Divinity; a compliment alike deserved by the author of
the Life of Knox, and honourable to his Alma Mater, our
metropolitan university. This act was the more honourable,
as it was one of the first instances of such a title having
been conferred on a person, though holding the same pro¬
fessions, not strictly belonging to the established church.
Thus encouraged to pursue his literary career, the next
subject in which Dr M‘Crie engaged w as a Life of Andrew
Melville, the able and intrepid assertor of Presbytery ;
which might serve as a continuation to his former work, by
giving an account of ecclesiastical transactions in Scotland
during the latter part of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth century. It was not till the end of 1819 that
the work was published, in two volumes 8vo.2 * * It presented H'Crie
the results of long-continued, minute, and discriminating s'—vw
research into the literary as well as the ecclesiastical his«
tory of the period. The exertions of Melville in behalf of
our national church well merited the labours of such a
biographer ; and as he w7as successively at the head of two
of our principal colleges, Glasgow and St Andrews, an op¬
portunity was also afforded of entering fully into the state
of education and the progress of literature at that time.
Although in no respect less valuable and important, it was
not so successful as its precursor; as, in fact, the mass of
literary information it conveys was not of a kind to attract
public regard and secure popularity. Melville’s influence in
church courts far surpassed that of any of his contempora¬
ries, but it was not so powerfully felt, like that of Knox, in
public events. Yet his character is highly interesting, and
stands out in bold relief, finely contrasted with the milder
dispositions of his nephew James Melville (whose Diary
presents so many minute and affectionate notices of his
uncle, whilst his own letters, w^ritten in exile, breathe a
kindred spirit of sympathy and love), as an elegant and ac¬
complished scholar, a profound divine, kind and affectionate
in all the private relations of life, and at the same time un¬
daunted and uncompromising in asserting and vindicating
the rights and liberties of the presbyterian party. The pe¬
riod to which Dr M‘Crie’s work relates is not less impor¬
tant, as it embraces the contests between the church and
the court, the establishment on its present basis of the pres¬
byterian polity, and its temporary overthrow after a long
and arduous struggle.
Having in the life of Melville traced the progress of ec¬
clesiastical affairs till near the close of the reign of James
I., it was natural to think that Dr M‘Crie would have
resumed his first intention, by publishing a Life of Alex¬
ander Henderson. But the state of his health, and the
fear of engaging in such laborious and protracted re¬
searches as he had just terminated, deterred him from
commencing, or at least induced him to postpone, such a
task. Strong inducements, moreover, were held out to him,
first to become the editor of a new edition of Wodrow’s
History, and afterwards to write a new wrork on the same
period, or a history of the religious persecutions in Scot¬
land ; but neither of these was undertaken, and he re¬
mained for a length of time undetermined in what work he
should next engage. Besides Henderson’s life, he thought
of Wickliffe and the precursors of Luther,—of Calvin,—and
of a history of the progress of the Reformation throughout
Europe. Various obstacles intervened to his successfully
embarking in either of these undertakings, and therefore
it is the more deeply to be regretted that any circumstances
should have prevented him from pursuing his primary in¬
tention, which might for a time have happily limited his re¬
searches to his own country, and to events with which he
was so conversant. We happen to know, that when Dr
M‘Crie was urged to this, all his old predilections would re¬
vive, and he would admit his anxious desire to continue the
period of his biographies to the Restoration. He would
say, however, that a life of Henderson, who died in 1646,
would leave such a work incomplete, and he should feel
some difficulty in fixing on any person of sufficient import¬
ance, and whose principles and conduct he approved, to con¬
nect with Henderson for the subsequent events. As his own
views led him to approve of the party named “ Protestors,’
he no doubt would, had he actually set about such a work,
1 The fifth edition, carefully revised by the author, and containing his last corrections, was published in 1831. This, as well as
the second, third, and fourth editions, is in two volumes 8vo. _ _ _ r o i a
2 The title is, “The Life of Andrew Melville ; containing Illustrations of the Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Scotland
during the latter part of the Sixteenth and beginning of the Seventeenth Century. With an Appendix, consisting of original pa.
pers.” A second edition, revised, was published in 1824, also in 2 vols. 8vo.
lie' h*
re
pr
ne
as
ex
M
tiv
ha
mi
spi
H<
zir
an
a
edi
wh
shi
0C(
of
alh
dei
of
pe
coi
ter
ligi
me
pos
the
Mo
ed
not
Wi
H
WOl
the
arti
I
bur
yea
yea
as t
nur
the
rinj
tun
allu
dea
wri;
the
tim
of
by i
Dr
resi
vert
Ian
the
Cluj
havi
part
M ‘ C R I E.
663
jrCe. have given the preference to James Guthrie, minister of
—^ Stirling, who suffered as a martyr for his principles upon the
restoration of Charles II. Besides the advantage of thus
presenting, in the form of biographical narrative, a conti¬
nuous history of what has been called the Second, as well
as of the First Reformation, it was a subject calculated to
excite very general interest; and the whole tenor of Dr
M'Crie’s pursuits eminently fitted him to render it attrac¬
tive. But it was destined to be left to other hands.1 We
have only to express a wish, that in the publication of his
miscellaneous writings, which have been announced, a con¬
spicuous place may be assigned to his admirable sketch of
Henderson’s life, which appeared in the Christian Maga¬
zine for 1806.
Whilst engaged in the life of Melville, Dr M‘Crie became
an occasional, if not a stated contributor, to the “ Edinburgh
Christian Instructor,’' a well-known monthly publication,
edited by the late Reverend Dr Andrew Thomson, with
whom he continued on terms of cordial intimacy and friend¬
ship till the close of his highly useful career. He also lent
occasional aid to other periodicals; but as we have no means
of exactly ascertaining his communications,2 we shall merely
allude to one article in the Instructor which excited consi¬
derable attention at the time. This was a review, in 1817,
of the first series of the “ Tales of my Landlord,” which ap¬
peared in three successive numbers of that magazine, and
contained an elaborate defence of the persecuted covenan¬
ters, who made such a noble struggle for civil as well as re¬
ligious freedom, against the unprincipled and tyrannical
measures of the government of Charles II., whilst it ex¬
posed the erroneous and exaggerated representation of
their manners and principles given in the tale of “ Old
Mortality.” But the most singular circumstance connect¬
ed with this review was, that Sir Walter Scott, who had
not then stood forth as the acknowledged author of the
Waverley Novels, was prevailed upon, by the editor of the
| “ Quarterly Review,” to become the reviewer of his own
1 work; and thus he took an opportunity, whilst vindicating
the statements contained in his novel, tacitly to answer the
! article in the Instructor.
In February 1816, the Reverend Archibald Bruce, Anti-
| burgher minister at Whitburn, who for upwards of thirty
years had filled the office of professor of divinity, died full of
years and honour, and Dr M‘Crie was naturally looked to
as the fittest person in their body for his successor. The
number of students was not considerable ; but the duties of
the professorship must have occupied much of his time du¬
ring the ordinary terms of session. He commenced his lec¬
tures on the 1st of October 1817, with a suitable and feeling
allusion to the loss the church at large had sustained by the
death of his venerable friend and instructor. Two letters,
written at the time of the funeral to a brother clergyman in
the country, which have recently appeared,3 bear strong tes¬
timony of his esteem and reverence for the worth and talents
of this learned and worthy divine, who was distinguished
by a congeniality of mind and fondness of literary research.
Dr M'Crie filled the professor’s chair until 1827, when he
resigned it in consequence of an event which may be ad¬
verted to in a few words. In 1820, a union of the two
largest bodies of dissenters in Scotland took place, under
the title of the “ United Associate Synod of the Secession
Church.” Several members of the Antiburgher Synod
having protested against the basis of union, and declined
participating in it, formed themselves into a separate court,
still retaining the name of the “ Associate (Antiburgher)
Synod.” From their similarity of sentiment and profession M‘Crie.
with the “ Constitutional Associate Presbytery,” a proposal' ~
for re-uniting was afterwards brought forward, when Dr
M‘Crie on the one side, and Professor Paxton on the other,
were appointed to draw up the “ Articles agreed upon, &c.
with a view to Union,” and the “ Overtures of a Testimony.”
This union was effected in May 1827, under the designa¬
tion of the “ Associate Synod of Original Seceders and it
was on this occasion that Dr M‘Crie resigned the divinity-
chair to the Rev. George (now Dr) Paxton, the learned au¬
thor of “ Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures.” The “ Testi¬
mony” then published, as agreed upon by the Synod, it is un¬
derstood was the composition, in the historical part, of Dr
M‘Crie, and in the doctrinal part, of Dr Stevenson, Ayr.
Here it may be remarked, that the Church of Scotland
owes no ordinary debt of gratitude to the Original Seceders,
for their constant adherence to the same principles, and
even for their continued testimony against error in the ad¬
ministration of church affairs. As to Dr M:Crie individual¬
ly, although he saw no prospect of being able conscientious¬
ly to join the establishment, he was ever warmly attached
to the church, and felt a deep interest in her prosperity.
Such attachment is manifested in all his writings, and re¬
mained unimpaired till the day of his death. A few words
on this head may be quoted from a sermon on the aspect
of the times, delivered in May 1834. Addressing the
members of his own congregation, he says, “ After long
examination, I am fully convinced that, by the good hand
of God, you have been led, in respect of profession and
communion, to take up your ground in the safe medium
between the conflicting parties in the great controversy of
the day, while you continue to testify against the corruptions
of the churches established by law in our native land, and
at the same time keep aloof from those who condemn all
recognition of Christianity by public authority, and seek to
withdraw the provision which has been made by the nation
for religious purposes. I cannot (he adds) flatter you with
the prospect of the speedy removal of those defects in the
national settlement of religion, or those practical abuses in
ecclesiastical administration, which the body we are con¬
nected with have so long condemned, and which have ex¬
cluded us from fellowship with the national church in Scot¬
land...Nothing on earth would give more joy to my heart,
than to see sure and decided symptoms of reformation in
the national church of Scotland...! would go seven times
to the top of her highest mountain to look out for the
harbinger of her relief, though each time I should have to
return with the message, ‘ There is nothing,’ provided at
last I could hail the appearance of ‘ the little cloud out of
the sea, like a man’s hand,’ the sure prelude of the plentiful
rain which shall refresh the weary inheritance, make her wil¬
derness an Eden, and her desert as the garden of the Lord.”
But, to resume the series of Dr M‘Crie’s literary labours
(of which the want of space will prevent us offering little
more than a brief enumeration) : In 1821 he published a
little volume containing “ Two Discourses on the Unity of
the Church, her Divisions, and their removal. To which
is subjoined, A short View of the plan of Religious Refor¬
mation originally adopted in the Secession.” 12mo, pp. 174.
This was followed in 1825 by a volume entitled “ Me¬
moirs of Mr William Veitch and George Bryson, written
by themselves : with other narratives illustrative of the
History of Scotland, from the Restoration to the Revolu¬
tion : to which are added, Biographical Sketches and Notes,
by Thomas M‘Crie, D. D.” 8vo, pp. 540. In the preface
i A History of the Life and Times of Henderson has lately been published by the Itev. Dr Aiton, minister of Dolphin^ton
- In the Edinburgh lieview for April 1830, there is an article by Dr M‘Crie, on the Memoirs of Sir James Turner, published for
the members of the Bannatyne Club, from an original manuscript.
3 In a volume of “ Sermons, by the late liev. James Aitken, Minister of the Associate Congregation of Original Seceders
Kirrymuir. With a Memoir of the Author, and a number of his Letters.” Edin. 183G, 12mo, pp. 400-2.
664
M ‘ C R I E.
M‘Crie.
the editor observes, “ that, with a little more labour, a con¬
nected history of the period might have been produced;
but I am persuaded that no account which I could draw
up would present so graphic a picture of the men and mea¬
sures of that time, as is exhibited in the following histori¬
cal pieces.” These are indeed highly graphic and interest¬
ing, but the volume might be instanced as a proof of what
Dr M‘Crie confesses, that the time and labour bestowed
upon it would have gone far to produce an original work
of greater importance. In reviewing this volume, the edi¬
tor of the Edinburgh Christian Instructor sums up with
saying, “ in Dr M‘Crie we see all we could wish for in the
historian of the presbyterian church ; and if he would add
to his former labours a history of that church from the be¬
ginning of Charles the hirsts reign to the lievolution, we
are sure the public would receive it with feelings of the
highest satisfaction.”
This hint, however, was not taken, as the next subject
of his investigation led to the publication, in 1827, of a
“ History of "the Progress and Suppression of the Refor¬
mation in Italy in the Sixteenth Century, including a
Sketch of the Reformation in the Orisons,” 8vo, pp. 434
(of which a second edition appeared in 1828). Also, in
1829, as a sequel to that work, a “ History of the Progress
and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain in the Six¬
teenth Century,” 8vo, pp. 424. These volumes undoubt¬
edly form a valuable accession to the history of the Refor¬
mation throughout Europe, although the author laboured
under great disadvantages in having but limited access
to original sources of information, compared to what was
within his reach in matters of our own ecclesiastical his¬
tory ; and it was felt, that they tended rather to excite
a desire for information than fully to gratify it, and that
the materials were not equal to the skill and industry dis¬
played. It is clear that the state of public opinion had pre¬
pared the way for a reformation even in Italy, the stronghold
of the Roman Catholic church, and the progress that great
cause made was indeed remarkable and extensive ; but no¬
thing could withstand the systematic, unceasing, and ex¬
terminating measures employed to arrest the progress of re¬
formed opinions ; and the more so as these were not coun¬
teracted by any opposing interests of the civil and ecclesias¬
tical authorities either in Spain or Italy, whilst the strength
of the reformers, having no unity of purpose, was wasted
by unhappy divisions among themselves. Both volumes,
however, present very interesting and affecting particulars
of the sufferings of those who were doomed to exile, impri¬
sonment, or death, for religious liberty and for the truth.
Dr M‘Crie was at length induced to undertake a more
arduous task, which had been looked for from his hand,
and which he himself had long contemplated. This was
a Life of John Calvin the reformer. To do justice to such
a work, he considered a lengthened residence at Geneva,
where the most important original documents are preserved,
to be quite essential; but a due attention to his ordinary
ministerial functions precluded him from the chance of
ever being able to leave home for so long a period. The
prospect of his son, Mr John M‘Crie, going abroad, and
remaining several months at Geneva, in some measure ob¬
viated this difficulty, as he could not only trust to his accu¬
racy in transcribing Calvin’s original letters, but, by regular
communication, hope to obtain all the requisite informa¬
tion from other sources, and in as satisfactory a manner as
if he himself were on the spot to direct such researches.
His son accordingly set about the task most assiduously,
and, with a zeal, knowledge, and perseverance worthy of M‘C
all praise, transmitted such a mass of materials as could
not have failed, in Dr M‘Crie’s hands, to have rendered
his work one of the highest importance in ecclesiastical
biography. He had in fact made considerable progress in
writing the earlier portion, and was intently engaged upon
it (in the midst of the constant interruptions to which he
was subjected), at the time when all his earthly labours
were brought unexpectedly to a close. It is understood
that one of his sons has the intention, from the materials
already collected, to complete a Life of Calvin ; otherwise,
even as a fragment, the portion actually written should
not be withheld from the public.1
Dr M‘Crie’s sedentary habits and application to study
were not favourable to health, if he ever could be said
to have been very robust. In the summer of 1835 he
had been confined for a time through indisposition, but
there was no apparent change to indicate the suddenness
of bis decease. In fact, a short absence in the country
seemed to have re-established his health, and he was so
far recovered, that, on Sabbath the 2d of August, he preach¬
ed as usual, both in the forenoon and afternoon, and walk¬
ed out on the following Tuesday to visit a neighbour;
but on the afternoon of that day, about five o’clock, he
was taken alarmingly ill, and between ten and eleven at
night he fell into a stupor, from which medical aid failed
in recovering him. In this state he remained till half-past
twelve next forenoon (Wednesday the 5th of August), when
he breathed his last. His death, thus unexpected, at a time
when it was hoped his life might have been spared for seve¬
ral years of increasing usefulness, and when his mental
faculties were in full vigour, could not fail to excite a very
deep interest; and many appropriate expressions of public
regard were called forth, both in the pulpit and through the
press.2 It happened that a meeting of the commission of
the General Assembly was held on the day of the funeral
(the 12th), and, on the motion of the Reverend Dr Cook
of St Andrews, a deputation, consisting of the moderator
and several of the leading members, attended, as a suit¬
able mark of respect due from the church to which he had
been so zealously and consistently attached, and for which
he had done so much by his writings. He was interred in
the New Greyfriars burying-ground.
Dr M‘Crie was twice married. By his first wife (Mrs
Janet Dickson), who died 1st June 1821, he left four sons
and one daughter. His eldest son, Thomas, who has been
for several years in the ministry, has recently been elect¬
ed by the congregation as his father’s successor ; and has
also, upon Dr Paxton’s resignation, been appointed by
the Synod professor of divinity. By his second wife (the
daughter of his old friend and associate, the Reverend
Robert Chalmers, Haddington), who survives him, he left
no issue. A half-length portrait, from a picture by Mr
Watson Gordon, S. A. to be engraved in mezzotinto, is in
the course of publication, and cannot fail, as it is an ad¬
mirable likeness, to be an acceptable memorial to his
friends and admirers. A bust, also, by Alexander Ritchie,
was in the last exhibition of the Scottish Academy. In
this year (1836) a posthumous volume of “ Sermons,” by
Dr M‘Crie, edited by his son, has appeared, 8vo, pp. 393.
A collection of his miscellaneous writings, with memoirs
of his life by the Rev. Thomas M‘Crie, have likewise been
announced for publication.
It is not necessai’y to enlarge upon Dr M‘Crie’s general
character. In private life he was kind, affable, and free
1 It may be noticed, that Dr M‘Crie, in May 1834, visited London to give his evidence before the Committee of the House of
Commons on Church Patronage. His evidence forms part of the voluminous Report on that question, pp. 355-374, and 383-393.
2 See Blackwood's Magazine, and Edinburgh Christian /jirfracior, for September 1835. In the latter are extracts from the Christian
Herald, &c. There has also appeared an eloquent Sermon, “ occasioned by the death, and preached to the congregation, of the late
Itev. Thomas M‘Crie, D. D.” on September 6, 1835, by Robert Shaw, minister at Whitburn, 8vo, pp. 30.
Uacn
" ii
t£,Iacr«
P0W(
aswt
ratui
M
sixte
'rasl
kavii
accot
lyric
Hora
lao5
apOf
ion?)
, 0
8attl
.M.
J’JStlc
‘"till
MAC
MAC
from every thing like display or desire of notoriety; being
remarkable for his cordiality of manners, cheerfulness of
wl1, temper and conversation, and his unaffected simplicity.
A-'-v-'Ag a preacher, his style of address was rather unprepos¬
sessing, partly from want of action, and partly from his
slow, monotonous, and somewhat constrained delivery, as if
afraid to speak out in the natural tone of his voice. But
any deficiency of artificial eloquence was amply compen¬
sated for by his profound and luminous expositions of Scrip¬
ture, expressed in clear and energetic language ; and his
discourses were uniformly of a practical nature, and breath¬
ed a strain of great piety. In his literarycharacter, by which
he will be known in after times, it will be acknowledged
that his mind was of no ordinary cast. With extensive
erudition, and habits of indefatigable research, he combin¬
ed sound judgment, and a singular acuteness and sagacity
of intellect. Could he have remained satisfied with the
researches of previous writers, he might have produced a
greater number, and perhaps more popular works, but they
would not have borne the peculiar impress resulting from
his own minute, accurate, and extensive inquiries, and
therefore there is no occasion for regret that he should
have devoted much of his time in exploring the original
sources of information. His learning was both profound
and extensive, as he was not only skilled in what are call¬
ed the learned languages, but was conversant with most of
those of modern Europe. Still, with all his natural love of
literary pursuits, he kept such employment in subservience
to his duty as a diligent and faithful minister of Christ. For
nearly forty years he laboured with the most affectionate
solicitude for the spiritual interests of his flock, and much
of his time was devoted to them in his week-day ministra¬
tions. It was chiefly a consideration of the paramount
importance of such a charge, we imagine, that caused him
to decline the prospect of a chair in the University of
Edinburgh, when a vacanc}' occurred in the professorship
of Church History. There is every reason also to believe,
that had his life been spared a few months longer, the ho¬
norary office of Historiographer Royal for Scotland would
have been conferred, unsolicited, upon him, as a public
testimony due to him. To conclude, the fame of Dr
M‘Crie as a literary writer has extended widely beyond
the limits of his own country ; and his name will probably
be an object of greater regard in future times than even
at present, though all his personal virtues are fresh in re¬
collection. The profound research, the masculine vigour,
and philosophic wisdom displayed in all his writings, added
to the permanent interest of the subjects upon which the
powers of his mind were usually employed, stamp them
as works which will remain as landmarks in historical lite¬
rature. (c. c. c.)
MACRIN, Salmon, one of the best Latin poets of the
sixteenth century, was born at Loudun. His real name
was John Salmon; but he took that of Macrin, from his
having been frequently so called in ridicule by Francis I. on
account of his extraordinary leanness. He was preceptor
to Claudius of Savoy, count of Tende, and to Honorius the
count’s brother; and he wrote several pieces of poetry in
lyric verse, which were so admired that he was called the
Horace of his time. He died of old age, at Loudun, in
1555. Charles Macrin, his son, was not inferior to him as
t poet, and surpassed him in his knowledge of the Greek
:ongue. He was preceptor to Catharine of Navarre, the
rister of Henry IV., and perished in the massacre of St
Bartholomew in 1572.
MACROBII, a people of Ethiopia, celebrated for their
ustice, and the innocence of their manners; also a people
n the island of Meroe. The Hyperboreans were likewise
Macrobii. They generally lived to their hundred and
wentieth year, and from their longevity they obtained
heir name (uaxgog >3tog, long life).
VOL. XIII.
665
MACROBIUS, Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius, Macrobius
an ancient Latin writer, who flourished towards the close II
of the fourth century. Of what country he was, is by no Macula>
means clear. Erasmus, in his Ciceronianus, seems to think
he was a Greek ; and he himself tells us, in the preface to
his Saturnalia, that he was not a Roman, but laboured un¬
der the inconveniences of writing in a language which was
not natural to him. Of what religion he was, whether Chris¬
tian oi Pagan, is uncertain. Barthius ranks him amongst
the Christians; but Spanheim and Fabricius suppose him
to have been a heathen. This, however, is certain, that he
was a man of consular dignity, and one of the chamberlains
or masters of the wardrobe to Theodosius, as appears from
a rescript directed to Florentius, concerning those who
were to obtain that office. He wrote a commentary upon
Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis, and seven books of Saturna¬
lia, which treat of various subjects, and form an agreeable
mixture of criticism and antiquities. He was not an original
writer, but made great use of other people’s works, borrow¬
ing not only their materials, but even their language; and
for this he has been satirically rallied by some modern au¬
thors, though rather unfairly, considering the express de¬
claration and apology which he makes on this head, at the
very commencement of his work. “ Don’t blame me,”
says he, “ it what I have collected from multifarious read¬
ing, I shall frequently express in the very words of the au¬
thors from whom I have taken it; for my view in this pre¬
sent work is, not to give proofs of my eloquence, but to
collect and digest into some regularity and order such
things as I thought might be useful to be known. I shall
therefore here imitate the bees, who suck the best juices
from all sorts of flowers, and afterwards work them up into
various forms and orders, with some mixture of their own
proper spirit.” The Somnium Scipionis and the Satur¬
nalia have been often printed; and to them has been
added, in the later editions, a piece entitled De Differen-
tiis et Societatibus Grceci Latinique Verbi.
MACROCERCI, a name given to that class of animal¬
cules which have tails longer than their bodies.
MACROCOLUM, or Macrocollum (formed of^ax-
£0f, large or long, and xoXXau, to join), amongst the Ro¬
mans, the largest kind of paper then in use. It measured
sixteen inches, and frequently two feet.
MACROCOSM, a word denoting the great world, or the
universe.
MACTAN Isle, a small island, one of the Philippines,
situated to the east of Zebu Isle. It is noted as the place
where Magellan was killed, a. d. 1521, on his return from
America by a westerly course. Long. 123. 48. E. Lat.
10. 30. N.
MACTATIO, in the Roman sacrifices, signifies the act
of killing the victim. This was performed either by the
priest himself, or by some of his inferior officers, who were
known under the name of popce, agones, cultrarii, and vic-
timarii; but, before the beast was killed, the priest, turn¬
ing himself to the east, drew a crooked line with his knife,
from the forehead to the tail. Amongst the Greeks this
ceremony was most commonly performed by the priest, or,
in his absence, by the most honourable person present. If
the sacrifice was offered to the celestial gods, the victim’s
throat was bent up towards heaven ; if to the infernal, or
to heroes, it was killed with its throat towards the ground.
The manner of killing the animal was by a stroke on the
head, and, after it had fallen, thrusting a knife into its
throat. Much notice was taken of, and good or ill success
predicted from, the struggles of the beast, or its quiet sub¬
mission to the blow; from the flowing of the blood, and
the length of time the animal happened to live after the
fall; and other circumstances.
MACULA, a bay of Arabia, on the northern coast,
about two leagues deep and fifty broad, at the bottom of
4 p
666
MAD
Madagas¬
car.
M A D
Macuna which is a small town. It is fifty-five leagues east-north¬
east from Cape Aden. Long. 47. 33. E. Lat. 14. 6. N.
MACUNA, one of the Navigator’s Islands, in the South
Pacific Ocean, where a captain and several officers and
men under Perouse were massacred by the inhabitants.
Long. 169. W. Lat. 14. 19. S.
MADAGASCAR, an important and interesting island,
on the eastern coast of Africa, separated from the mainland
by the channel of Mozambique, which is nearly 300 miles
broad. It is one of the largest islands in the world, extend¬
ing from 12. 2. to 25. 40. south latitude, being above 800
miles in length from north to south, and varying in breadth
from 120 to 300 miles. It is traversed from north to south
by a double chain of mountains, some of which reach the
height of 6000 feet above the level of the sea. Some of
these elevations are the craters of extinct volcanoes, and
have the shape of an inverted cone. These ranges divide
Madagascar into two parts, approaching nearer to the east¬
ern than to the western coast. The scenery is often very
grand and picturesque, presenting high, abrupt precipices,
luxuriant valleys, passes and ravines, immense forests,
streams, and lakes. Numerous rivers have their rise in these
mountains, which amply Supply the surrounding country
with water for the purposes of irrigation. Probably no coun¬
try in the w'orld is more plentifully supplied with this indis¬
pensable requisite. The most considerable of these rivers
are the Murundava on the western side, and the Mananzari
and Manangara on the eastern. The Andevourante is na¬
vigable for canoes to the distance of a hundred miles from
the sea. The Manguru, one of the finest of them, rises from
the lake Antsianaxe, which is seventy-five miles in circum¬
ference. Four other lakes, Rassoi-Be, Rassoi-Massaie,
Irangue, and Nossi-Be, extend along the eastern side, and
communicate with one another.
This island is very rich in mineral productions, though
these are turned to very little account. Iron ore abounds
in considerable quantities very near the surface of the soil,
and, when wrought, the metal is found soft and malleable,
and equal to any in the world. The mountains contain tin
and lead; and small quantities of pale gold and copper have
been obtained. Immense blocks of rock crystal, some of
them twenty feet in circumference, abound in the country ;
granite, very fine black agates, and many other less pre¬
cious stones, are also found. Along the western part are
numerous banks of mineral salt, which is to be obtained
with very little labour.
The botany of the island still presents an almost unexplor¬
ed field for the naturalist. From the fertility and marshy
nature of the soil, vegetation in every quarter is most luxuri¬
ant. In the fields and forests are found many trees and
shrubs, useful both in the arts and for the purposes of life.
Amongst the most valuable are the sagou tree, the leaves of
which are used to manufacture stuffs in high repute; two
species of coffee tree; a plant called the ravinale, from
which the inhabitants make many useful instruments; and
several varieties of the cotton tree, particularly that known
as the largest species. This country also furnishes some
costly woods, such as sandal, black and white ebony, green
and white spotted. The indigo plant, rice, and yams of
several sorts, are also found, indigenous to the soil. Rice,
of which there are eleven species, is the chief article of
culture, and the principal food of the inhabitants. It is
grown on the low lands, in the damp woods, and on the banks
of rivers. After rice, manioc and batatas are most common¬
ly cultivated for food, the roots of the manioc often mea¬
suring fifteen feet in length and one foot in diameter ; the
vine, sugar-cane, pine-apples, bread-fruit, sweet potatoes,
plantains, Indian corn, prickly yam; tobacco, of which there
are eleven species indigenous to the island ; the arrow root,
called by the natives tharoole; the Urania speciosa, the
leaves of which are made to supply the place of dishes;
allspice ; negro pepper of the Indies ; the angola pea, on
which silk-worms principally feed ; and the Sagus rufia, a
species of pine, the fibrous part of the leaves of which
are woven into garments, worn by the principal inhabi¬
tants. Indeed all the vegetables peculiar to tropical cli¬
mates, and even those of Europe, have been here success¬
fully cultivated.
The animals most abundant in Madagascar are horned
cattle, which are very fine, and furnish inexhaustible
wealth and food for the population. All these have bunch¬
es of flesh on their shoulders, those on bulls being exceed¬
ingly large. Hogs and poultry are bred, but less general¬
ly regarded. The elephant and lion are unknown, but an
animal is found called the antaba, which appears to be a
species of leopard; and another called farassa, somewhat
resembling the jackal. Wild asses with very large ears,
wild boars with horns, goats, sheep, a species of hedgehog
proper for eating, and the bat, which is esteemed a deli¬
cacy, are also found in Madagascar. Alligators are nume¬
rous, and in some places their flesh is eaten, in others it
is held in abhorrence. In the woods fowls are very nume¬
rous ; the most useful are wood-pigeons, pheasants, geese,
ducks, and parrots. Locusts sometimes darken the air, and
are considered as excellent food by the inhabitants. The
rivers swarm with fish ; but they are infested with croco¬
diles, which often prove fatal to strangers.
With regard to the state of agriculture in Madagascar,
we quote the following observations of a distinguished
traveller who recently visited the island :—
“ The island of Madagascar is very fertile, even to the
highest point of land; but it is only slightly cultivated,
owing to the slothful habits of the people, who raise bare¬
ly sufficient crops for their own consumption, and who,
untaught by frequent seasons of scarcity, never fail to in¬
dulge their idle and gluttonous propensities whenever op¬
portunities for doing so occur; preferring a present grati¬
fication to the exercise of that wise forecast that would
provide for the future. Agricultural labour is not here
confined to the male sex; on the contrary, the greater
proportion is performed by women. The only farming
implement used is a spade weighing about five pounds,
six inches wide and nine deep, with a handle from se¬
ven to ten feet in length of red wood. The rice-grounds
are dug up into sods of about a foot square, and five inch¬
es thick. The soil is usually enriched with marl or com¬
mon manure ; and being then turned, is left exposed to the
sun for eight or nine days, when water is thrown upon it,
and it dissolves easily. Cattle are then driven over it, the
rice sown, and the earth carefully levelled, the sowers all
the while wading knee deep in mud. These men are by
no means expert; but that is perhaps owing to the natu¬
ral indolence and carelessness which pervades their ge¬
neral character. Rice is frequently half grown in low
grounds, and afterwards transplanted to a more favourable
situation; but it is not so good as that which has not been
thus transplanted.”1
The western coast of Madagascar was carefully explor¬
ed during an expedition undertaken by command of the
British government, and this will enable us to describe it
pretty fully.2 The first bay touched at by the expedition
was St Augustine’s, which is situated about 150 miles from
Madap f ■"
tar. i r. is
1 Holman, Voyage round the World, 1834.
2 Narrative of Voyages to explore the Shores of Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar, performed in his Majesty’s ships Leven and Barra-
couta, under the direction of Captain W. F. VV. Owen, R, N. In two volumes. London, 1833.
lid
the)
the
vicir
lira
each
term
conn
cons
a hi
deep
oftn
T1
mira
thei
lessl
occai
iogs
is in
it fn
entra
ioga
ptoac
The
stove
‘icon
ofM
the 1
bees
MADAGASCAR.
of tM
tion.
T:
indei
mira
tliei
lessl
it fr<
miles
eotra
mg a
scooi
The
gfOVf
hills.
incoe
»fth
near!
ofM
asa\
thei
gi- Cape St Mary, the southern extremity of the island. It
• is large and spacious, and was formerly much resorted to
"■"'by English vessels, principally engaged in the slave trade.
Now, the intercourse of the people of St Augustine’s is
chiefly confined to the whalers, and an occasional slaver
that touches at it, either for refreshments or an addition to
her cargo.
Tullia Bay is formed by a long narrow reef, dry at low
water, and having two channels, one communicating with
St Augustine’s, and the other opening to the sea nine miles
to the northward. In every part it affords safe and com¬
modious anchorage for the largest ships. In the vicinity
of the bay the country is low, but at a short distance in¬
land it rises into a lofty range of hills. From St Augus¬
tine’s to Boyauna Bay the coast is almost an unvaried, low,
marshy plain, irrigated by barred rivers, bounded by a line
of sharp pointed coral masses, which are uncovered at low
water. At a few places a complete archipelago of rocky
islets is formed, which assume a variety of fantastical
shapes, that of the cauliflower being most predominant.
These coral islands are very numerous, but they seldom
exceed one mile in circumference. To mariners unac¬
quainted with them they are very dangerous, but to others
they afford at all seasons a safe and commodious anchor¬
age, the extensive group called the Barren Islands, in
particular, forming excellent harbours ; yet they are only
worth resorting to for wood, being destitute of fresh wa¬
ter. The shore is thickly covered with trees of a stunted
growth, above which, in the immediate vicinity of the sea,
the elegant casuarina is occasionally observed. In the
vicinity of the Bay of Boyauna the hills present a very
luxuriant appearance. There are two rivers in this bay,
each affording capacious harbours. Off the northern one,
termed Makumba, lies an island of the same name, almost
connected with the main land by sandy flats. It is of
considerable size, but lofty, and presents in every direction
a huge precipice, excepting in one small spot, where a
deep rent in the rock admits of a dangerous pass to the
summit, which is a perfect level; and on it are the ruins
of two small buildings, supposed to be of Arabic construc¬
tion.
The northern half of the west coast of Madagascar is
indented by a series of bays, rivers, and harbours, so ad¬
mirably adapted for commerce in every respect, that were
the island inhabited by a civilized people, it would doubt¬
less be resorted to by ships of all nations for purposes of
traffic. With the exception of Bembatooka, these har¬
bours are utterly neglected, except by an Arab dow that
occasionally touches at them for the purpose of procur¬
ing sandal wood or jerked beef. The bay of Bembatooka
is in reality the estuary of several rivers which fall into
it from distant parts of the interior. It is seventeen
miles in depth, and three and a half miles across at the
entrance; but inside it widens to nearly eight, except¬
ing about half way in, where the shores on each side ap¬
proach and leave a narrow channel, through which the
pent-up water rushes with so much violence as to have
scooped out an abyss of sixty-three fathoms in depth.
The shores are in general low, and clothed with man¬
groves ; but in some places they rise into a lofty range of
lulls. The village which takes its name from the bay is
inconsiderable ; but Majunga, situated on the northern side
of the bay, near the entrance, is a large straggling town,
nearly a mile in extent, and containing a large population
of Malegashes and Arabs. The Malegashes are described
as a very fine race of men. The style of the buildings, like
the inhabitants, is one half Arab and the other half Male-
gash. The slave trade, and a traffic with the Arabs in
[bees’ wax, rice, and gums, formerly constituted the prin-
[cipal source whence Bembatooka derived its wealth ; but
these are either abandoned, or of little importance when
G67
compared with the extensive trade in bullocks now car- Madagas-
ried on with the Americans, who jerk the beef, preserve car-
the tallow, and cure the hides on the spot. Notwith¬
standing the distance of the voyage, the Americans have
found this a profitable speculation, and have established
small shops, where are retailed a variety of assorted goods,
which are exchanged for the minor articles brought for
sale by the natives. They also have a large wooden
building, with an enclosed space attached, in which they
slaughter their bullocks.
The next place of importance in proceeding north¬
wards is Majambo, which strikingly resembles Bembatoo¬
ka, being of about the same dimensions and form, possess¬
ing a like chasm of deep water in the centre, and having,
like it, several rivers at its head. This bay would ap¬
pear to have been anciently inhabited by Arabs, as their
tombs are still in existence on the summit of the small
island of Manza, blackened by age, and fast mouldering
to decay. Farther to the north is Nareenda Bay, the
islands at the north entrance of which afford excellent
harbours, and are approachable in almost every direction.
Saucasse, the largest of them, is inhabited, and nearly
covered with verdure ; as is also that of Souhee, a stupen¬
dous rock upwards of two hundred feet in height. A
group of lofty volcanic islands, together with two or three
lesser islets, intervenes between Nareenda and Passanda-
va, the broadest and deepest bay on the west coast of Ma¬
dagascar, and possessing numerous fine harbours. The
village of Passandava, situated at the head of the bay,
consists only of a few half ruinous huts. Near to it the
mountains which surround a stupendous and inaccessible
peak called Matowla take their rise. Numerous islands
aie situated in the vicinity of this chaotic mass of chasms
and craggy steeps. Some of them abound in large masses
of haidened earths of different colours, incorporated and
stratified with quartz and basalt, or lava resembling it,
whilst in others abrupt hills and lofty mountains enclose
a pleasing variety of fertile valleys. Amongst the islands
with which the western coast of Madagascar is profusely
studded, may be mentioned the East and West Minnow
groups ; but they merely present an assemblage of perpen¬
dicular rocks or patches of coral. The islands next of
importance are the Seychelles; but as they constitute a
dependency of the island of Mauritius, they will be de¬
scribed in that article.
The western coast of Madagascar having now been de¬
scribed, it is only necessary to remark, that nearly all
the towns are situated on rocky promontories, where the
air is salubrious, and water can be easily obtained. The
principal tribes who inhabit the western coast of Mada¬
gascar are the Muques and the Seclaves, both warlike
tribes, the former possessing the southern and the latter
the northern parts of the island.
We now proceed to describe the east coast of Madagas¬
car, which, along with the west, is divided into various pro¬
vinces, ruled over by independent chiefs, and inhabited by
various races of men. In proceeding southwards from
Cape Ambre, the northern extremity of the island, the first
place worthy of notice is Diego Suariez Bay, or British
Sound, which is perhaps one of the finest harbours in the
world. Few natives inhabit the shores of this bay, and
these are miserably poor, and have only bullocks to give in
exchange for fire-arms, which they are particularly anxious
to obtain. On its eastern side, which is much exposed to
storms, the trees are shrivelled, and so matted and inter¬
woven together that they are quite impervious to man.
Hie substratum of the surrounding hills is composed of
sandstone and columns of madrepore, many of which latter
form hollow cylindrical points; most of the others are ap¬
parently primitive rock of volcanic production, in hetero¬
geneous masses, which seem to have been at some period
as- in a state of fusion. Antongil Bay, and the neighbouring generally preceded by violent fits of shivering. There is
country, next demand attention. A considerable part of no exclusive right of landed property at Tamatave, which
"“''the coast in this quarter presents a bold aspect. Those is considered as common to the whole chieftainship, and
hills which, in coming from the southern extremity of the every person is at liberty to cultivate at his pleasure any
island, compose the most distant and highest range, here unappropriated spot of ground, which is considered as the
rest upon the sea, forming several stupendous rocky pro- cultivator’s until the crop is gathered. There is no impost
montories. The general appearance of the country indi- or tax of any description, either on land or its produce,
cates fertility, every height being covered with stately and The children inherit, without dispute, any thing of which
luxuriant forest trees, whilst streams of fresh water issue the parent dies possessed; but a free gift to the king of the
from the rich valleys wherever they open to the sea. In northern peninsula is expected from the heir, according to
the vicinity of Antongil Bay is the river Maransectzy, the his circumstances. The chieftain may, in cobar or council,
banks of which are low marshy swamps, but covered with concede landed property to strangers. The French had an
a great variety of valuable trees, the largest of which is the establishment for salting meat here during the war, and
gum-copal; mangoes and bananas are plentiful; as also Mauritius and Bourbon were supplied with it from this
the water-melon, which totally envelopes several lofty trees place. Bananas and plantains are abundant; and, when
with its magnificent white flowers; whilst the modesta, with dried in the smoke, they are excellent, and will keep for any
its beautiful pendant blossoms, and warra, are seen in every length of time. Locusts of a very large species abound
direction. English cottons, woollens, arms, and ammunition, here, and they are greatly esteemed by the natives as food,
meet with a ready and profitable market upon this coast; These insects, however, often prove very destructive to the
bullocks, gum-copal, and many other native productions, crops, devouring all vegetable matter with astonishing ra-
being obtained in exchange. pidity.1
Isle Madame St Mary is thirty-one miles long north- This part of the country is the most frequented by Eu-
east by north, and from two to three miles in breadth. Its ropeans, who make large purchases of rice and cattle from
surface presents a succession of hills, from two hundred the natives. It is or was termed the province of Bestimes-
to four hundred feet high, with deep and in genei-al nar- saras, and is governed by malates, or chiefs of white extrac¬
row vales, thickly covered with brushwood and underwood, tion, who tyrannize over the people. They are looked upon
Twice the French formed a settlement on this island: but as the handsomest men in Madagascar, but dissembling,
the first time, the climate obliged them to abandon it; the drunken, cowardly, and addicted to theft. Farther to the
second time, they were all massacred by the natives. In south we meet with the Betanimenes or Sicouas. This
1821, they again took possession of it, but suffered severely country is the finest and most fertile of all the provinces si-
from the climate. Isle Madame, a low coral islet, consti- tuated on the sea-coast, and the inhabitants are very mild
tutes their citadel, to which they retire every night for and sociable. Betanimenes owes much of its fertility to
safety. The harbour is small, but deep, sheltered from all the river Andevourante, which is named after the capital,
winds, and has a good supply of fresh water. The natives a pretty large town, and capable of furnishing a consider-
are short, rather darker than mulattoes, with low foreheads, able number of armed men. The province of Antaximes is
broad and flat countenances, large eyes, and capacious the last w hich is situated on the eastern coast of the island,
mouths. Their canoes are small, of the common form, and The soil is good, but the cultivation of it is much neglect-
delicately made, yet they venture far from the land, and will ed by the inhabitants ; indeed this is the case throughout
attack whales, which they kill by means of drags to the har- the whole island. The bay of Port Dauphin is large, and
poon line. the anchorage is good. The town, which is of the same
The fan-palm is very plentiful, and invaluable to the in- name, is of considerable size, and is the residence of a na-
habitants: houses are entirely constructed of it, the stems tive chief, Ramananoulouna, whose power is absolute in
serving as supporters, the leaves forming the sides and roof, this part of the island. After the death of Radama, king of
There are several looms for weaving cloth, made of the Ovah (an important province, afterwards to be described),
fibres of the sago-palm leaf, which is extremely durable ; the widow of the deceased espoused Ramananoulouna;
the natives also traffic in shells, wax, and turmeric. Beasts but, in 1829, this capricious individual declared himself in-
and birds are neither numerous nor varied; but there is an dependent of the reigning queen, and established himself
abundance of fish and vegetables, which are the principal in this distant part of the country. He has a considerable
subsistence of the inhabitants. The soil is exceedingly fer- military force, well accoutred, and furnished with mus-
tile, and is capable of producing all the fruits of a tropical kets. The produce here is nearly the same as in other
climate. The black population of St Mary’s is from twelve parts of Madagascar; the staple commodities being rice and
to thirteen hundred, a portion of whom are slaves to the bullocks, which are exchanged for manufactured cottons,
rest. They pay no duties to the French, and are governed old cloths, and the like articles, which are brought princi-
by their own laws. pally from Bourbon. The only manufactured goods are
The places next of importance in proceeding southwards guard-chains, grass cloths, mats, and baskets. The huts
are, Foul Point and Tamatave, twro excellent bays or roads, of the inhabitants are composed of stakes driven into the
The town of Tamatave is situated in latitude 18. 10. S., ground, the sides and tops being covered with fern leaves
and longitude 49. 31. E. The entrance is between reefs, and grass. There is no distinctive fashion in the dress of
and ships are exposed to east winds; but the anchorage is the sexes, nearly all wearing no more than a cloth tied
good. The town contains about sixty good dwelling-houses, round the waist. The higher classes, however, and those
besides a number of native huts ; they are large, divided connected with the court, including the soldiers, are attired
into chambers, and well thatched with the leaf of the ra- in a very showy manner.
vinale. The walls and floors are neatly matted, and the By far the most important part of Madagascar is that
apartments are generally kept in good order. Each house part of it occupied by the Ovahs, a race who inhabit the
is surrounded by a palisade, which secures both its privacy interior. This people owe the superiority which they have
and safety. The climate is considered as very unhealthy, obtained to Radama, the first chieftain belonging to the
especially during the summer months, that is, from Novem- island who assumed the title of king. He was an interest-
ber till March. Fevers are very common, and they are ing and extraordinary man, the Mehemmed Ali of his coun-
1 Voyage round the World, by James Holman, vol. ii. p. 486, 1834.
uw ■
II
li|
fu
brs
MADAGASCAR.
669
jjiladais- try; but a more particular account of him will be intro-
! can duced after the province has been described. It is alter-
‘■^v^nately hilly, mountainous, or swampy and poor, though
many places are rich in rice-grounds, pasturage, and the
like, and much of the land is capable of extensive cultiva¬
tion. As most of the animal and vegetable productions
formerly mentioned as belonging to the island generally
are found here, it is unnecessary to advert to these again.
The ground is well watered by a number of streams, rivers,
and lakes, but is in most parts destitute of fine timber,
though there is much long grass and underwood. The
fuel of the people is grass, moss, cow-dung, and in some
places brushwood. Their food is rice, sweet potatoes, ma¬
nioc, plantains, beef, wildfowls of the guinea species, which
are everywhere in great plenty, fish, wild hogs, monkeys,
and the like. In general they eat very little animal food,
but live chiefly on vegetables.
The Ovahs are in height rather above the European stand¬
ard, portly in their person, of shades of colour varying from
deep black to copper (the latter colour, however, being
most prevalent), with good-natured countenances. They
are clothed only with an upper and lower garment, the saim-
bou and seddick; the former being a sort of robe, with
which they partially envelope the body, wearing it in the
manner of a scarf, the men throwing one end over the
left shoulder, to give freedom to the right arm, whilst the
women throw it over the right; the seddick, or under
garment, is called also langouti. They generally carry in
the right hand a zazaie, that is, a lance of about six feet in
length, of polished wood, and very straight, terminated by
a javelin blade, and shod with iron; and they are particu¬
larly fond of decorating their persons with silver and glass
bracelets and rings, and with amulets or charms, especial¬
ly the teeth of the cayman, a species of crocodile found in
the rivers. Some wear plain, and others ornamental, head¬
dresses. A few of the chieftains carry the adze or battle-
axe, and some of them are provided with shields.
Their dwelling-houses are generally small, that is, about
five feet high to the wall-plate, fifteen feet long, and twelve
feet wide. The frame-work is of round timber, easily se¬
lected for the purpose, and thatched with the zouzoura,
which is the papyrus or paper-plant of the ancients, or
with a reed called hayrana.
The villages are for the most part built on small emi¬
nences in the neighbourhood of good water, and contain
from a small number to sixteen hundred houses. They
are guarded against hostile invasions by having one, two,
or three ditches surrounding them, as well as by being
enclosed by a stockade fence. Each family occupies a se¬
parate building; and their household furniture consists of
some baskets, a cushion on which to sit, a mat to lie down
on, with a matted bolster for a pillow, cooking-vessels
made of potter’s clay, which the soil produces, a felling-
axe, wooden pestle and mortar for taking the husks off
the the rice, a winnower, and a loom for making cloth. Tha-
naj naan-arive, the capital, is situated at an elevation of 4000
fee I feet above the level of the sea, in latitude 18. 56. south,
Ion longitude about 47. east, and is 160 miles from the near¬
est j est coast.
The other tribes consider the Ovahs as a powerful and
indl industrious people, and look up to them as superior, from
the the knowledge they possess of manufacturing silken and
cot cotton saimbous and seddicks, the forging of iron, and ap¬
ply plying it to different purposes, from the blade of the za¬
zaie or lance down to a needle, and the making of silver
aiiJ and gold chains, balances, and other articles wherein great
inp ingenuity is displayed.
The commerce of the capital is chiefly carried on by
y means of a very considerable river called Betsibooka,
which, about fifteen miles from its mouth, expands over a
wide extent of country, encircling small islands, and emp¬
tying itself into Bembatooka Bay, which, at its entrance, Madagas-
is free from rocks and sand banks. Boats are able to car-
proceed 160 miles up the Betsibooka, to a place called
Mahatsara, where two other rivers fall in, in latitude 17.
33. south ; thence the trader has only a distance of about
eighty-five miles to travel overland to the capital. One
of the principal impediments to intercourse with the
Ovah country arises from the want of beasts of burden,
no use being yet made of cattle for this purpose. Were
these employed, the different provinces of the island might
be greatly improved. Not only might rice and corn be
cultivated to a prodigious extent, but the treasures of the
earth, such as iron-ore, pctters’ clay, plumbago, and tin,
might be easily obtained; and more attention might also
be paid to the breeding of cattle. The Ovahs carry on a
trade both by barter and with money ; that by barter con¬
sisting chiefly of rice and cattle, which are exchanged for
arms, clothes, and ammunition; that by money, of all sorts
of other things, as scents, baubles, and the like. They
are very superstitious, place the utmost confidence in di¬
vination, and their wise men exercise great influence over
them.
It only remains to say a few words regarding Rada-
ma. This prince reduced to subjection the largest and
finest part of the island. He held many cobars or public
meetings, at which he required the attendance of all his
conquered or submitting subjects, at which time they
took the oath of allegiance or fidelity to him. On these
occasions he proclaimed himself king of Madagascar, made
known his laws (which he greatly reformed), and the
terms on which he protected the subject, which were sub¬
mission, and the payment of a tenth of their property. He
abolished the slave trade, both in exportation and impor¬
tation, and punished either with death. He greatly en¬
couraged commerce, and through the medium of trade
had, as early as 1817, obtained twenty thousand stand of
arms, with which he equipped his troops ; and he render¬
ed his army still more formidable by adding to it a train
of artillery. A number of young natives were sent by him
to Paris and London to obtain instruction, and by the aid
of the English missionaries he established a printing press.
Numerous teachers were under his auspices trained and
distributed throughout different parts of the kingdom. Un¬
happily this prince was, in the year 1828, poisoned by his
wife, who raised a worthless paramour to the throne; the
same individual who has already been mentioned as having
established himself at Port Dauphin. The death of Rada-
ma has introduced great anarchy, inducing several sub¬
ject states to shake off the yoke which he had imposed
upon them, certainly for their own ultimate advantage;
and there seems now every reason to fear that the career
of improvement which was begun under such favourable
auspices will be arrested. A native prince, with talents
equal to those of Radama, rarely appears in a semi-barba¬
rous country.
The observations which follow apply to Madagascar in
general, not to Ovah in particular. The form of govern¬
ment throughout the island is democratic; consequently
all matters of public importance are settled in the council
or cobar, which is composed of all the male persons who
choose to claim a seat there. The cobar is also their court
of justice, and the only one in the chieftainship ; its de¬
cisions in criminal cases are final, but not always in cases
that respect the rights of property, these being frequent¬
ly referred to some neighbouring chief, whose opinion is
thought impartial, and Ids decision is always conclusive.
All crimes, except that of murder, are punished by fine,
which, if not paid by property, must be liquidated by per¬
sonal labour, the criminal being constituted the slave of
the accuser. Murder is punished by inflicting upon the
culprit the same death that he perpetrated upon his vie-
670
M A D
Madagas- tim. Inflicting an intentional injury upon a person is pun*
v ,Car' , *s^iable in the same manner. Circumcision is universally
v practised ; but it is not confined to any particular age, al¬
though it generally takes place when the child is about
ten months old, and seems only dependent on the pleasure
of the parents, or upon contingent circumstances. The
adornment of the person about to be circumcised is one of
the most indispensable parts of the ceremonial; but there
are many others which are whimsical and amusing enough,
as feasting, dancing, and singing. The ceremony of mar¬
riage is very simple; amongst the slaves there is none at
all beyond the master’s consent and the mutual promises
of the parties themselves; neither is the tie considered as
binding. The offspring are bond or free according to the
condition of the mother. Amongst the higher classes, the
consent of the parents is considered as an essential point;
and the marriage is effected at a family meeting, when the
elder people give advice to, and express good wishes for,
the young couple, frequently accompanied with more sub¬
stantial proofs of their esteem. Polygamy is allowed, and
extensively practised. Separations are not unfrequent, be¬
ing lawfully permitted ; after which the parties are allowed
to marry again ; otherwise, adultery is punishable, but not
with death, except where a member of the royal family is
concerned, particularly the wife or mother of the king.
The succession to the crown is hereditary ; yet, by an an¬
cient law, it is only permitted to be so in the female line,
that is, the king’s sister’s eldest son. Slaves are very nu¬
merous in the country. Criminals of sundry descriptions
are liable, with their wives and children, to be sold into
bondage. Their lot, however, is not very severe, as they
are employed entirely in ordinary and domestic occupa¬
tions ; and are, in reality, mere menial servants and labour¬
ers, eating and living with their owners whilst they con¬
duct themselves well; when they do otherwise, they are
sold as a punishment. Thirty or forty dollars are the
common prices for good men slaves. With regard to re¬
ligion, little that is satisfactory can be said. An attempt
has lately been made to introduce Christianity, but, we
fear, with small success. Radama encouraged the mis¬
sionaries and patronized their schools, which at one time
were numerously attended, and bade fair for the extension
of civilization ; but they have met with opposition and per¬
secution from his worthless successor. In some places Ma-
hommedanism prevails, but for the most part the people
are under the bondage of Ompamousavous (sorcerers, or
wise men), who celebrate certain heathenish rites, which
it is unnecessary to describe. Although there is a mix¬
ture of Arabs and Moors, if not Jews, amongst the inha¬
bitants of Madagascar, yet the great majority of the inhabi¬
tants have either a tawny complexion and the smooth hair
of the Indians, or a black skin and the frizzled hair of the
Caffres, which leads us to infer that the island was an¬
ciently peopled by emigrations both from Caftraria and
Malabar. The name of Malegashes, assumed by the an¬
cient inhabitants,, and still in use, that of Mal-Dives, of
Mal-Bar, and others, point out this descent, which, as far
as regards the Asiatic emigration, is still more completely
demonstrated by the composition of the prevailing lan¬
guage of the country. With regard to the Madecasse
language, Malte-Brun observes, that “ the language affords
some Arabic words, and others more nearly resembling
the idioms of the Caffres; but its principal roots may be
traced in the Malay, or in the dialects derived from that
language, and spoken at Java, at Timor, in the Philip¬
pines, in the Marian Isles, and in all the archipelagos of
North and South Polynesia. Many of the most remark¬
able natural objects, and the days of the week, have the
same names in the two languages. There is the same want
of declensions and flexions, the same mode of uniting
words, the same abundance of vowels. Notwithstanding
M A D
what has been advanced by the learned continuator of the Mad'
German Mithridates, we can affirm that the Madecasse ' |j,eila
appears intimately connected with the Malay language, Madeira,
and particularly with the Javanese and Timorian.” &
It does not appear that Madagascar was known to the
ancients. Some indeed have supposed that it is obscurely
indicated in the book De Mundo, ascribed to Aristotle
under the name of Phanbalou, and in the Periplus of the
Erythrean Sea, under that of Menouthesias. It is sup¬
posed to be described by the Arabian geographers under
the title of the Island of the Moon. During the middle
ages it seems to have fallen, along with all the eastern coast
of Africa, under the dominion of that people, whose poste¬
rity still form a leading class amongst the inhabitants. In
1506 it was visited by Tristan d’Acunha, but being found
destitute of the precious metals, and without spices, it at¬
tracted little attention. A fine field of commerce is open¬
ing on the island for British enterprise, if conducted with
honesty and good faith. The Malegashes have in general
a great aversion to the French, who have repeatedly at¬
tempted, by force or fraud, to form settlements on their
island, and who have often enticed them on board to trade
(they being very fond of commerce), set their canoes a-
drift, and taken the owners of them into slavery. An in¬
stance of this kind occurred so recently as 1825. No¬
thing certain can be said as to the number of inhabitants;
the most probable conjecture is, that they amount to about
2,000,000. By some travellers, however, the population
is estimated at 5,000,000.
MAD ALENA, La, an island in the South Pacific Ocean,
about eleven leagues in circuit. It is very populous. Long.
141. 9. W. Eat. 10. 25. S.
MADEIRA, an island situated off the western coast of
Africa, about fifty-four miles in length by twenty-one in
breadth. It is a country of rocks, consisting of a number
of lofty mountains, on the declivities of which all the pro¬
ductions of the island are raised. The best account of the
island is that by the late Mr Edward Bowdich, whose jour¬
ney over the island we shall follow. The country at the
back and sides of Funchal, the capital, presents the broken
outline of a segment of a vast natural amphitheatre of ba¬
saltic peaks and mountains, rising to 3800 feet behind the
Mount Church, which is the most striking edifice in this
beautiful landscape, and is elevated 1900 feet above the
sea, presenting the most picturesque breaks and vistas, in¬
tersected by ravines and torrents, and covered with undu¬
lating and rugged ridges and sheets of basalt, diverging
from the more central heights, and descending boldly to
the sea. The basalt is both columnar and granular; the
former is, generally speaking, compact, of a broad con-
choidal fracture, splitting in horizontal laminse, or at right
angles to the prism, dark gray within or on the surface of
a fresh fracture, which becomes covered with a superficial
decomposing coat of brownish red, with age-inducing
brittleness, and passing ultimately into yellowish white
and dull brown; a moderately thin plate of the columnar
basalt, when covered exteriorly vrith red powder, will snap
between the fingers. The next place of importance is the
Peak of Ariero, about three hours’ ride from Funchal.
The latter part of the ascent is along the barren rocks of
basalt and red tuffa, which form the highest outline of the
view behind from Funchal, and are 3700 feet above the
sea. The peak is 5446 feet above the level of the sea,
and is covered with vegetation to the top. The Coural, or
sheepfold, is an immense valley near the village of Comera
de Lobos, completely surrounded with almost perpendicular
hills, and in no part less than 1000 feet in height. Round
a part of three cliffs is a narrow road, winding along the
brink of the precipices, often cut out of the solid rock,
across peaks and gaps which were formerly impassable.
This road has been of great importance in connecting the
CO'
SO!
SU!
vie
are
pla
pei
iyi
but
erS;
tbe
isla
froi
ext
ilav
bes
met
the
acc
looi
fror
wis<
tini'
ope
the
qua
tob
fron
lya
Wh
cro[
nub
her
sant
grea
mat
raim
her,
duri:
The
and
wine
with
seas,
and
whie
ury.
the i
for c
tains
tab
niso
distr
yard
M A D
interior of the island with the sea coast, and useful for
transporting the productions of the country to the capital.
The soil in every part is extremely fertile ; the hills are
covered with a luxuriant vegetation; and the finest flowers,
sometimes of aquatic species, are found growing on the
summits, being supplied with a moisture from the constant
vicinity of the clouds. Trees and shrubs of the finest kinds
are everywhere found in great abundance; and tropical
plants which have strayed from the gardens soon become
perfectly naturalized to the soil. The Portuguese former¬
ly procured their principal supplies of sugar from this place;
but not being able to compete with the West Indian plant¬
ers, the inhabitants betook themselves to the culture of
the vine, which has since become the chief product of the
island. It is said that plants of the vine were conveyed
from Crete to Madeira in 1421, and have since succeeded
extremely well. There is considerable difference in the
flavour and other qualities of the wines of Madeira; the
best are produced on the south side of the island. The
method of cultivation most generally followed is to trench
the ground from three to seven and even nine feet deep,
according to the nature of the soil, and lay a quantity of
loose or stony earth at the bottom, to prevent the roots
irom reaching the clayey soil beneath, which would other¬
wise oppose their growth. The ground is watered three
times if the summer has been very dry, the sluices being left
open until the ground is pretty well saturated; the less
the ground is watered the stronger the wine, but the
quantity is diminished in proportion. The vines are found
to bear fruit as high as 2700 feet, but no wine can be made
from it. Wheat, barley, and rye are produced, but scarce-
ly amount to one fifth of the quantity annually consumed.
Wheat is sown in October and reaped in June ; and the
crop is followed by beans or sweet potatoes. The chest¬
nut-tree has been introduced, and forms the principal tim¬
ber of the island, and affords the chief food of the pea¬
santry. Rice is cultivated, but more as ornamental grass
than for any useful purpose. Pine and custard apples, and
various other fruits, are grown in the open air in consider¬
able quantities. In consequence of the land rising to a
great elevation, this island presents great diversity of cli¬
mate, though, upon the whole, it is mild and healthy. The
rainy season comprehends the months of October, Novem¬
ber, December, and January, although the dry weather
during the first two months generally exceeds the rainy.
The prevailing winds during this season are from the west
and the south-west. In the dry season the prevailing
winds are from the north-east, and they are not saturated
with humidity like those which blow over the equinoctial
seas. Although vegetation is so great, the pasture is scanty,
and only capable of maintaining a small number of cows,
which renders the productions of the dairy objects of lux¬
ury. A few oxen are used in the towns ; but the mule is
the most common beast of burden, and is best adapted
for carrying goods along the narrow paths of the moun¬
tains. I here are abundance of goats and hogs, which
being allowed to run wild, acquire a resemblance to ve¬
nison in taste; rabbits are very common in mountainous
districts. Myriads of lizards inhabit the gardens and vine¬
yards, and do considerable damage amongst the refined
grapes. Bees abound in hills and valleys, and produce a
honey of peculiar delicacy, from the numerous aromatic
herbs on which they feed. The population is thought to
be at present (1816) about 100,000, though some accounts
represent it as much greater. From the extent of the
island, and the rocky nature of the land, this census is very
great. The inhabitants have evidently sprung from various
sources. Amongst the richer inhabitants and merchants are
found natives of almost every commercial country, but the
greatest number are British. These hold little intercourse
with the other inhabitants, but live in a state of luxury
M A I)
671
among themselves, and show great hospitality to strangers Maden.
visiting the island. The peasants are generally of Portu¬
guese descent, who, amidst the plenty which surrounds
them, live in a state of great poverty. In appearance they
are tall, well made, but meagre, with gloomy looks and long
black hair; and they are very polite. Their dress consists of
white linen trousers, made very wide, over which are drawn
boots of buff leather ; a coarse white shirt open at the neck,
displaying their sun-burnt breasts; a blue cap and jacket,
ornamented with silver buttons; and in winter they wear
long cloaks. The females are condemned to severe la¬
bour : whilst the males are engaged in the vineyards, it is
their duty to procure fuel, and often to carry loads of it to
the city to dispose of for their subsistence, besides other
households toils. They are generally of hard, yet not dis¬
agreeable features, with high cheek-bones, dark com¬
plexions, and rather large feet; their bodies, however, are
well proportioned, and their eyes are lively, large, and
black. rIhe want of animal food is severely felt by the
peasantry, the most hard-working labourer being constrain¬
ed to live almost entirely upon bread, roots, and fruits.
They extract from the husks and stalks of the grape, after
they have passed through the wine-press, a kind of small
beer called aqua pe, which, when fermented, acquires some
degree of tartness, but will not keep.
Ihe capital, Funchal, is a considerable town, situated in
the centre of a large bay. It is built on the declivity of a
hill, and the streets are kept clean, being watered bv
streams from the mountains. The bay is not very secure
for anchorage, and is even dangerous during south winds.
The landing is difficult, owing to the great surf which
breaks upon the shore. It is strongly fortified towards the
sea; but the defences on the land side have been greatly
neglected. The wealthier inhabitants are generally Bri¬
tish merchants, engaged in the wine trade. It is situated
in long. 17. 6. W. and lat. 32. 37. N.
Adjacent to Madeira is the island of Porto Santo, about
six miles long and two and a half broad. It is high and
rocky, composed principally of sandstone, and a calcareous
tuffa of a greenish-gray colour. The vine is cultivated in con¬
sider able quantities, and the soil yields good crops of wheat,
Indian corn, barley, and beans. The population is esti¬
mated at 1400, and there are 300 militia. It possesses a
good roadstead, but the landing place is bad. The Deser-
tas are small uninhabited islands, which, with Madeira and
Porto Santo, form the group called the Madeiras.
I hese islands were first settled by the Portuguese ; but
a, tradition exists of their having been visited by an Eng¬
lish gentleman, and lady to whom he was attached, who
were left behind by accident, and both died there soon af¬
terwards. It has belonged to the Portuguese ever since,
and was considered as of such importance to the commerce
of this country, that, during the late war, it was held in
trust by Great Britain for her ally.
Its commerce consists almost entirely in the export of
its wine. The principal quantity is sent to Great Britain,
the East and West Indies, and America; but from fre¬
quent adulteration, and the preference of French wines,
the trade is not now so great as it formerly was, the growth
of the island not exceeding 20,000 pipes. The best is
that known by the name of London particular, the second
London maiket; and there is also a very rich sweet wine
called Malmsey. The quantity of Madeira wines imported
into Great Britain in 1833 was 301,057 gallons; of this,
161,042 gallons w ere retained for home consumption, and
209,194 exported. The pi’ice of these wines in London
varies from L.18 to L.80 per pipe, according to the quali¬
ty. . 1 here is also a considerable trade carried on in sup¬
plying with provisions ships which generally call at this
place on the voyage to India.
MADEN, a town of Armenia, on the Tigris, so named
672 MAD
Madghery from the copper and iron mines in its vicinity. Its situa-
II tion is very striking and singular, being surrounded on all
Madras, sides by bleak and barren mountains of great elevation, and
overlooking a prodigious chasm, through which the Tigris
forces a passage. It is sixty miles north of Diarbekir.
MADGHERY, a hill-fort and town of Hindustan, in
the rajah of Mysore’s territories. Long. 75. 15. E. Lat.
13. 33. N.
MAD1GHESHY, a fortress of Hindustan, in the My¬
sore rajah’s territories, situated on a rock of very difficult
access, at the foot of which is a town containing near 200
houses. Long. 77. 16. E. Lat. 13. 48. N.
MADIRAN, a market-town of France, in the depart¬
ment of the Upper Pyrenees, and arrondissement of Tor-
bes, with 1130 inhabitants, who grow excellent wine.
MADNESS. See Mental Diseases.
MADRAS, a city of Hindustan, in the province of
the Carnatic, and the principal settlement and capital of
the East India Company in the southern peninsula of In¬
dia. It is situated close to the margin of the sea, and is
a fortress of great strength. In appearance Madras differs
widely from Calcutta, having no European town, except a
few houses, which are chiefly used as warehouses in the
fort. The European residents, mostly the servants of the
Company, live entirely in their garden-houses as they call
them, which are all so closely planted that the neighbour¬
ing dwelling is rarely visible. They repair to the fort
in the morning for the transaction of business, and return
thence in the afternoon. These garden-houses are very
neat buildings, being mostly of one story, and having
a handsome balcony supported by pillars in front, with
green Venetian windows. The fort itself, called Fort St
George, is handsome, strong, and not too large; and, al¬
though not of so regular a design as Fort William, yet,
from the greater facility of relieving it by sea, and the na¬
tural advantages of the ground, which leaves to an enemy
no choice in the manner of conducting his attacks, it may,
on the whole, be deemed equal to it; besides that it may
be defended by a less numerous garrison. In the middle
of the present fortress stands the original one, a small
square, now mostly converted into government offices, and
the town residences of some of the civil servants. The nabob
of the Carnatic has also a palace called Chepauk, situated on
the Chaultry Plain, at a little distance from the esplanade.
The Chaultry Plain, once the scene of Tippoo’s devasta¬
tions, when he descended from the Ghauts, and, sweeping
the low country with his cavalry, carried dismay to the
walls of Fort St George, commences about a mile and a
quarter south-west of this fort, from which it is separated
by two small rivers; the one the river Triplicane, winding
from the west, and gaining the sea about a thousand yards
to the north of the glacis; the other coming from the
north-west, and passing round the high ground of the
western side of the Black Town, and continuing to the east
within a hundred yards of the sea, where it washes the foot
of the glacis, and, running for some time parallel with the
beach, finally joins the Triplicane at its mouth. This plain
extends two miles to the westward of the enclosures which
bound the St Thome road, and terminates on the other
side at a large body of water called the Meliapoor tank.
It is now covered with the garden-houses of the European
settlers, who have converted a barren sand into a beauti¬
ful scene of vegetation. The government-house is situat¬
ed in the Chaultry Plain, on the edge of the esplanade, and
has the advantage of not being quite shut up, having a
pleasing view of the sea, and of Fort St George. The
house itself is large and handsome ; the floors, the walls,
and the pillars, are of the most beautiful chunam of differ¬
ent colours, almost equal in splendour to marble itself. The
roads are a great ornament to the place, being broad, and
shaded on each side by a noble avenue of trees. To the
MAD
southward of the fort stands the church, at the back of Madras
which is the residence of the governor. To the northward
of the old fort stands the Exchange, on which, in 1796, a
light-house was erected, the height of which is ninety feet
high, and it is visible from the sea at the distance of seven¬
teen miles. The botanical garden, reared at a vast expense
by Dr Anderson, was nearly destroyed by a violent hurri¬
cane on the 9th of December 1807, and is now in a state
of decay. In November 1803, a navigable canal was opened
from the Black Town to Ennore River, which communi¬
cates with Pullicat. It is 10,560 yards in length, and thirty-
five feet wide by twelve feet deep. By this channel boats
go to Pullicat, whence Madras is supplied with charcoal.
The Black Town of Madras stands to the northward of the
fort, from which it is separated by a spacious esplanade.
It is nearly four miles in circuit, and was formerly sur¬
rounded with fortifications sufficient to resist a surprise
from a body of horse; but, owing to the tranquillity that
prevailed in the country, these have long been neglected.
It has some good streets and bazars; but the streets are
not regular, nor are the houses uniform : some of them are
large brick buildings with flat roofs, but the greater part
are built of mud, with tiled roofs. It makes a better ap¬
pearance from a distance than when it is closely inspected.
The Black Town is the residence of the native Armenian
and Portuguese merchants, and also of many European
settlers not the servants of the Company.
In Lord Valentia’s account of Madras, it is observed,
that it would probably have been difficult to find a worse
place for a capital than that chosen for Madras, on the
extreme point of a coast where the current is most rapid,
and where a tremendous surf breaks even in the finest
weather. But the original error of fixing on this for the
site of a great capital cannot now be recalled, the ex¬
pense of removal to a more convenient spot would be so
great. Owing to the exposed situation of Madras, it af¬
fords no secure anchorage ; and there is always a great
difficulty in landing from vessels, which generally moor in
nine fathoms, with the flag-staff west-north-west, about
two miles from the shore. Any ship’s boat that should at¬
tempt to cross the surf would inevitably perish ; and, ac¬
cordingly, the boats from ships anchor outside the brokeh
water, and wait for the country boats to carry the passen¬
gers safely to the shore. These boats are of a particular
construction, being built of soft wood, with flat bottoms.
They are sewed together, and have not a nail in their whole
construction, so that they are very light and pliable, and are
borne many yards through the surf without injury, as they
yield to the waves like leather. These boats require to be
guided by seamen of experience and tried skill, and it is an
extremely critical operation to conduct them through the
surf. When they come within its influence, the cockswain
stands up, and, under great agitation, marks time with his
voice and his foot, whilst the rowers work their oars back¬
wards until overtaken by the swell, which, curling up in
its approach to the shore, sweeps the boat along with fear¬
ful violence. The rowers now ply every oar forward with
their utmost vigour, to prevent the wave from carrying
back the boat with its receding swell; and by a few succes¬
sive surfs the boat is at length dashed high and dry on the
shore. A species of floating machine called a catamaran,
formed of two or three light logs of wood, eight or ten feet
in length, lashed together with a small piece of wood in¬
serted between them to serve as a stem-piece, is employ¬
ed by the fishermen and lower classes of natives to carry
them through the breakers. On these they go out to fish,
or to carry letters or small quantities of refreshments to
ships when no boats can venture out. They secure the
letters in a pointed cap, where they cannot be damaged;
and when the men happen to be washed off by the surf,
they regain the catamarans by swimming, unless when they
i i. are
.^hes
pers'
thro'
medi
M
pear:
afe"
pag0'
licoi
nade:
covei
hard)
wind
distai
' ands
appei
close:
try)'
with
to rel
to tin
tiles,
Beng
coim
tion.
formf
great
presii
other
howe
danci
irriga
cattk
small
they
Buffa
Th
sociei
parts
With
mont
amus
Moui
whicl
banyi
fashit
pages
slow]
merni
ring]
whicl
many
the k
Mom
died
the e
time
each
their
purpt
andt
,Eu
'gnor
conn
cordi
'ysu
doba
trans
tobi
men,
V(
i. are
/thes
pers
thro>
niedi
M
peari
afev
page
lie oi
nade
covei
liai'd,
ifbic
distai
close
try.
irith
to re.
to til'
tiles,
Beng
coran
tion.
formt
great
presii
other
howe
dana
irrigt
cattk
small
they
Buffi;
Tf
socie
parts
With
mont
amus
Moui
whicl
bany
fashii
pagei
slowl
memi
ring
whicl
many
theft
Mom
thed
the e
time
each
their
purpt
andt
. ^
•gnor
coun
cordi
'ysu
tram
tobj
^en,
V(
MAD
dras. are attacked by a shark. The dexterous navigators of
-these frail vessels who distinguish themselves by saving
persons in danger, or by their care in conveying papers
through the surf in dangerous weather, are rewarded with
medals.
Madras, when seen from the sea, presents a striking ap¬
pearance, the fortifications of Fort St George being within
a few yards of the shore ; and, at a distance, minarets and
pagodas are seen mixed with trees and gardens. The pub¬
lic offices and storehouses are fine buildings, with colon¬
nades to the upper stories, supported on arched bases,
covered with beautiful shell-mortar from Madras, which is
hard, smooth, and polished. These being near the beach,
which is always crowded, form interesting objects. At a
distance, the low, flat, sandy shores extending to the north
and south, and the small hills that are seen inland, give an
appearance of barrenness, which, however, improves on a
closer inspection. Madras is surrounded by a level coun¬
try, which in general exhibits a naked, brown, dusty plain,
with few villages to enliven the scene, or any other objects
to relieve the eye, except a range of abrupt detached hills
to the south. The huts of the natives are covered with
tiles, and are fully superior in their appearance to those in
Bengal; and in the inns and chaultries, also, which are
common on the roads, travellers experience greater atten¬
tion. The soil in the vicinity of Madras is very poor, and
formerly provisions were scarce and dear; but since the
great accession of territory that has accrued to the Madras
presidency, they are brought from the Barramahal and
other parts of the country in great abundance. The soil,
however, when it is cultivated, and where there is abun¬
dance of water, produces a good crop of rice ; and artificial
irrigation often makes up for natural disadvantages. The
cattle that are found in the neighbourhood of Madras are a
small breed, such as are commonly seen in the Deccan; but
they are larger than those in the southern parts of Bengal.
Buffaloes of a small size are generally used in carts.
The manners of the Europeans at Madras, the state of
society, and style of living, are nearly the same as in other
parts of India, except that provisions are more expensive.
Within doors, dinner parties, and, during the cold season,
monthly assemblies and balls, constitute the routine of
amusements. Amongst the public places of resort is the
Mount Road, leading from the fort to St Thomas’s Mount,
which is quite smooth, and embellished on each side with
banyan and yellow tulip trees. Here it is customary for the
fashionable parties in Madras to repair, in their gayest equi¬
pages, during the cool of the evening, where they drive
slowly about the cenotaph which is here erected to the
memory of Marquis Cornwallis, and converse together. Du¬
ring the hottest part of the day, namely, after two o’clock,
which is the time when tiffin or the real dinner is eaten,
many retire to rest until five o’clock, when the master of
the family returns from the foil, and an excursion to the
Mount Road, and dinner, then occupies the remainder of
| the day, unless it be prolonged by a ball and supper in
the evening. The morning, from nine to eleven, is the
time for visiting, when the European residents call on
! each other, retail the news, and offer their services to
their friends in the city, to which they must repair for
purposes of business. Another tribe of visitors succeeds,
and thus the forenoon passes away.
European passengers, when they land at Madras, being
ignorant of the language, manners, and customs of the
country, necessarily rely on the natives for help; and, ac¬
cordingly, passengers landing at Madras are immediate¬
ly surrounded by numerous servants of all kinds, called
dobashies, eager for employment. They undertake to
transact for the Europeans all their necessary business,
to buy all that is wanted, and to procure servants, trades¬
men, palanquins, and the like. They are of different castes,
VOL. xin.
MAD 673
according to the nature of the duties which they under- Madras,
take to perform. ^
Madras carries on a very considerable trade, not only
with Europe, but with China, Ceylon, Pegu, the Isle of
France, New Holland, and different parts of India. But,
owing to the want of a navigable river, and the difficulty
of landing goods, it labours under great disadvantages, and
its commerce is inferior to that of the other two presidencies.
From America the imports are some inferior sorts of wines,
spirits, and provisions. Rice is imported from Bengal,
also raw silk, canvass, piece goods, muslins, and shawls of
a coarse description, silk piece goods of an inferior kind,
long pepper, sugar, borax, saltpetre, precious stones, &c.
From Bombay are imported, through the Persian and
Arabian Gulfs, dried fruit or drugs, cotton and other goods;
from Ceylon, biche de mer, shark fins, ebony, &c. also
pearls ; from China, tea, sugar, nankeen, China ware, with
alum, camphor, drugs, piece goods, stationery, &c.; from
Manilla, indigo ; from the Isle of France, brandy, copper,
iron, lead, &c.; from Pegu, the staple article is timber;
from the Malabar coast, pepper, timber, coir, cordage, &c.;
from London, different articles of European manufacture,
in glass, iron, copper, tin, and other manufactures, also
supplies of wine and other necessaries; from Madeira,
wine. The exports of Madras consist of piece goods to
America; to Batavia, piece goods of a coarse coloured
sort, handkerchiefs, and a proportion of southern blue
cloths ; to Bengal, some red wood, coloured piece goods,
and salt; to Bombay, chintz and coloured turbans to an
inconsiderable amount; to Ceylon, principally European
and China articles; to China, principally cotton ; to Manilla,
piece goods, namely, cambays, handkerchiefs, &c.; to the
Isle of France, chiefly long cloths, handkerchiefs, mus¬
lins, ginghams, &c.; to Pegu, coarse handkerchiefs, and
copper, arrack, brandy, mace, cloves, iron, glass ware,
naval stores, &c. which are re-exported. It does not ap¬
pear that the trade of Madras, which is really the trade of
the coast of Coromandel, is increasing. For this several
causes are assigned. Amongst these are various oppressive
inland taxes, which obstruct the progress of improvement.
Owing to the former monopoly of the East India Company,
the raw silks and nankeens of China, which could not be
exported directly to Europe, were brought to Madras, and
thence re-exported. They are now directly exported
from Canton, and the trade is consequently lost to Madras.
The value of the exports and imports of Madras, in bul¬
lion and merchandise, was in 1813-14 L.695,373, and
in 1828—29 L.788,959, thus exhibiting during this in¬
terval only the trifling increase of L.93,586.
Considerable variety of coin circulates in Madras and
its vicinity. Of the gold coins, the principal are, star or
current pagodas, value 7s. S^d. or 8s. The gold rupee,
new coinage, is worth L.l. 9s. 2d. The Arcot rupee, and
the new silver rupee, are worth Is. ll^d., and Is. ll^d.
The accounts are kept in star pagodas, fanams, and cash;
eighty cash make one fanam, twelve fanams one rupee, and
forty-two fanams a star pagoda. The natives keep their
accounts at twelve fanams sixty cash to a rupee, and forty-
four fanams sixty cash to a pagoda. The current coins
consist of various sorts of pagodas, Arcot rupees, single
and double fanams, and copper coins of twenty, ten, five,
and one cash each, called dodees and half dodees.
The English possessed no fixed establishment here until
A. d. 1639, when they received a grant from the Hindu
dynasty of Bijanagur, then reigning at Chandergherry,
permitting the erection of a fort. In consequence of this
permission, Mr Day proceeded with great alacrity to the
construction of a fortress, which in India is soon surround¬
ed by a town; and this town he allowed to retain its Indian
appellation, but the fort he named Fort George. The
territory granted along with it extended five miles along
4 Q
674 MAD
Madras, shore, and one mile inland. For about a century, Madras,
V J’ v’~~~' with the small portion of territory adjoining, continued to
be held by the Europeans, but rather under, or at least
with the consent of, the native powers, than as an inde¬
pendent colony. On the 12th of December 1687, the popu¬
lation of the city of Madras, Fort George, and the villages
within the Company’s bounds, was estimated to amount to
300,000 persons. In 1744 Madras was besieged by the
French from the Mauritius under M. de la Bourdonnais,
at which period the native inhabitants within the Com¬
pany’s territory amounted to 250,000. The English in the
colony did not exceed 300, and of these 200 only were
soldiers of the garrison. The town was taken on the 10th
of September, and was ransomed for L.440,000, besides
plunder to the amount of L.200,000 more. All the Bri¬
tish inhabitants were afterwards compelled to abandon the
place. Madras was restored at the peace of Aix-la-Cha-
pelle, and evacuated by the French in August 1749, when
it was found in a very improved condition, the bastions
and batteries having been greatly enlarged and strengthen¬
ed. The defences of the town were still, however, infe¬
rior to those of Fort St David, where the East India Com¬
pany ordered the presidency to continue. Madras was
again besieged in 1758, by the French under M. Tally.
The siege commenced on the 17th of December 1758, and
was prosecuted with vigour till the 17th of February, when
the French were obliged precipitately to raise it. ' This
was the last and most memorable siege which Madras ever
sustained. The garrison consisted of 1758 European
troops, 2200 sepoys, and 150 European inhabitants. The
besieging force consisted of 3500 Europeans, 2000 se¬
poys, and 2000 native and European cavalry. Since
this period Madras has never been assailed by an enemy,
though nearly approached by Hyder’s cavalry in 1781,
when they descended from the mountains to ravage the
plains of the Carnatic. The population of the city of Ma¬
dras, Fort George, and the villages within the Company’s
bounds, is 300,000. Long. 80. 25. E. Lat. 13. 5. N. (Lord
Valentia’s Travels; Rennell’s Memoir; Hamilton, &c.)
The presidency of Fort George, or of Madras, compre¬
hends nearly the whole of India south of the Krishna River,
and also that large portion of the Deccan, the Northern
Circars. Within these boundaries there are three inde¬
pendent princes, namely, the rajahs of Mysore, Travan-
core, and Cochin, who, though subject to the Company in
external politics, are left free to manage their own inter¬
nal concerns. The rest of the country is under the im¬
mediate jurisdiction of the governor and council of Madras,
and, for the collection of the revenue and the administra¬
tion of justice, is divided into the following districts,
namely,—•
1. Ganjam.
2. Vizagapatam.
3. Rajamundry.
4. Masulipatam.
5. Guntoor, including Palnaud, which is part
of the Carnatic.
6. Nellore and Ongole, including part of the
Western Pollams or Zemindaries.
7. Northern division of Arcot, including Sa-
tivaid, Pullicat, Coongoodyin the Barrama-
hal, part of Ballaghaut, and the Western
Pollams or Zemindaries.
8. Chingleput, or the Jaghire.
9. Southern division of Arcot, including Cud-
dalore and Pondicherry.
10. Trichinopoly.
_ 11. Tanjore.
' 12. Dindigul, including Madura, Manapara
Pollams, Ramnad, and Shevagunga, form¬
ing part of the Southern Carnatic.
MAD
Southern
Carnatic.
The
Northern <
Circars.
Carnatic. <j
Mysore
and
Carnatic.
Mysore.
i
j- 13. Tinevelly.
\t Cudapah }Balaghaut ceded districts.
16. Seringapatam.
17. Salem and Kistnagherry.
18. Coimbetoor.
19. Canara.
20. Malabar.
_21. Madras.
A full account of these provinces, of the land revenue,
the administration of justice, and other details of the same
nature, is given under the article Hindustan ; also under
the articles Canara, Malabar, Circars Northern, and
the names of the districts into which the presidency is di¬
vided. (Ff)
MADRID, the metropolis of the Spanish empire, and
also the capital of a province of the same name, in the
centre of Spain, being about 300 miles from the sea in each
direction. The province includes the city, and about two
hundred villages that surround it. The ground on which
these several villages are built is so uneven in its surface,
and has so many valleys and hills, that scarcely more than
three or four of them are visible from the same point.
The extent of the province is 110 square leagues, and the
number of inhabitants is 228,520, including 168,000 who
reside within the city.
The city of Madrid is of modern erection, and is conse¬
quently not so Gothic in appearance as the other cities of
the Peninsula. Though the ground on which it stands is
irregular, the streets are laid out with great judgment, well
paved, and have convenient footpaths, with broad stones.
The city is well supplied with water from several public
fountains, and, having been filtered by passing seven or
eight leagues over beds of gravel or sand, it is remarkable
for its great purity. The principal square, a pile distin¬
guished by its extent and its beauty, is in north latitude
40. 25. 7. In this square and in the other markets, not¬
withstanding the natural sterility of the province, an abun¬
dant supply is at all times to be seen of excellent bread,
of fruits, of horticultural vegetables, of fish, of poultry,
and of butcher-meat.
Madrid, though deemed a cold situation by the natives
of the other towns of Spain, does in reality enjoy an equable
and temperate climate. With the exception of a short
period, when the dry winds from the north blow cold, and
a few days in the very midst of summer, when it is intense¬
ly hot, a great degree of equality of temperature prevails.
In the greatest heat the centigrade thermometer is seen at
40°, and in the cold w eather it is 8° 5'. The medium
heat of the year is 14° 0' 35" above zero. The medium
height of the barometer is thirty inches and a third. Its
height above the level of the sea, according to the formula
of Laplace, by observations of the medium height of the
barometer and thermometer at Madrid and on the coast, is
2170 English feet. It may be said, that all the circum¬
stances which contribute to communicate salubrity to a
city are found in Madrid, and hence the inhabitants enjoy
as much health and longevity as are experienced by the
people of any large city in Europe; nor has it ever been
visited by contagious fevers.
The roads in the vicinity of Madrid are generally in a
bad state; those called caminas reales are good, but they
lead only in a few directions, and the other roads are mi¬
serably neglected. The way from the north is over some
prodigious mountains, which must be passed before reach¬
ing the capital. One of the highest points of the mountains
of Guadarama is 4580 feet above the level of the sea, and
the extensive plains of New Castille may be seen from its
summit, to the greatest extent of the powers of vision.
The whole of the city is on the left bank of the Manza-
Madrid,'
nes
win
#
hun
pail
figu
adn
the
pict
best
Vel;
rate
is in
den
Few
ject
Ma'
thei
adn
som
resii
recr
and
tasti
The
fact
ing
neve
clas:
orde
ther
com
jnsti
com
of fj
sies
deci
the
done
capi
MAD
nares, a river whose waters are in general far from copious,
but over which two magnificent bridges have been con¬
structed. On its banks there are some large trees; and
its waters irrigate some gardens, which are fruitful, and
adjoin a royal residence, or rather retreat, called Casa de
Campo. Around the city, near the river, wheat and barley
are cultivated, with the assistance that the manure of a
large town yields. The produce of wheat is from nine to
twelve for one, and of barley from fourteen to sixteen for
one, on the quantity sown. The soil is better adapted for
vines, though but few are cultivated, and these rather for
the table than for making wines.
There is no episcopal church in Madrid; and the other
churches, though, like all in Spain, they are costly and
large, do not rise so high above the common level as to at¬
tract any very particular notice. They are seventy-seven
in number, and there are also seventy-five monasteries.
The most magnificent pile of building in Madrid is the
royal palace, built after the destruction of the former by
fire in 1734. The ceilings of the palace are painted by
the most eminent artists of the period, Mengs, Corrado,
and Tiepolo. The richest marbles, all from Spanish quar¬
ries, are used in the floors, the cornices, and the door and
window frames. The great chamber of audience is remark¬
ably splendid, the walls are covered with beautiful marbles,
hung with plate-glasses of the largest size. The ceiling,
painted with allegorical history, and the cornices with
figures of the different people under the Spanish crown, is
admirably executed. This palace is, or rather was before
the French entered it, adorned with a fine collection of
pictures from the hands of the first masters. Some of the
best productions of Titian, Reubens, Vandyke, Murillo,
Velasquez, Spagnoletti, Mengs, and other masters, deco¬
rated this edifice. With all its magnificence, this palace
is in a bad situation, and has never been the favourite resi¬
dence of any of the monarchs except the original founder.
Few places of equal extent have so small a number of ob¬
jects to attract the notice of casual strangers as the city of
Madrid. T hough many of the public buildings are grand,
there are none of them of such superiority as to draw great
admiration from observers. The public walks are hand¬
some and much frequented, and the gardens of the royal
residence, called Buen-Retiro, are opened for the public
recreations, and are highly delightful. The Puerto de Sol,
and some of the other entrances, have gates that display
taste in architecture, and excite admiration in travellers.
There is but little commerce in Madrid, and few manu¬
factories; the establishments by the government for mak¬
ing saltpetre, porcelain, brandy, cards, and tapestry, have
never flourished, and are now very much reduced. As the
nobility of Spain seldom reside on their domains, but at¬
tach themselves to the court, a considerable number of
them are collected here, and spend their revenues: this
class, with the officers of government, the members of the
different boards of administration, the members of the pro¬
fession of the law, the clergy, and the military, with their
dependents and tradesmen, compose the great mass of the
population of Madrid.
The king of Spain is an absolute monarch, and issues his
orders to the different boards of administration, who put
them in execution. They are, the council of Castille, the
council of the Indies, the junta for the administration of
justice and political affairs, the tribunal of revenues, the
council of war and naval affairs, the inquisition formatters
of faith, and the junta for the final decision of controver¬
sies in ecclesiastical affairs. The tribunals of justice are
in Madrid; but the high tribunals in the provincial capitals
decide on almost every case, without appeal being made to
the court in Madrid. There are several literary institu¬
tions, which, though not of extensive influence beyond the
capital, are both useful and respectable. There are four
MAD
675
academies, one for the Spanish language, one for history, Madrigal
one for the arts and sciences, and one for medicine and II
natural history. There is a very respectable learned body, Madura-
the SociedadEconomica, which has corresponding branches " v~'~ ^
in sixty-one towns of the kingdom, established with the
intention of diffusing the knowledge of political economy,
and promoting the advancement of the useful arts. The
royal library, always open to public inspection and use,
contains upwards of 130,000 volumes of printed books, be¬
sides manuscripts, and a rich collection of medals. See
the article Libraries.
There is a seminary established by the government for
the education of the nobility, just without the city, which
is a most splendid and capacious building, and liberally,
if not learnedly, supported. There are in the city no less
than nineteen hospitals, and several infirmaries, to w'hich
the sick of all classes and of every country are freelv ad¬
mitted. The autumnal season is, of all others, that in
which Madrid is, if not the most healthy, yet, on the whole,
the most agreeable residence. This city was the birth¬
place of the poet Lopez de la Vega, in 1635 ; of Francisco
de Quevedo Villegas, in 1647; and of Monso de Erziila,
in 1590.
MADRIGAL, a short, amorous poem, composed of a
number of free and unequal verses, neither confined to the
regularity of a sonnet, nor to the point or antithesis of an
epigram, but only consisting of some tender and delicate
thought, expressed with a beautiful, noble, or elegant sim¬
plicity. Menage derives the word from mandra, which, in
Latin and Greek, signifies a sheep-fold ; imagining that it
had been originally a kind of pastoral or shepherd’s song,
whence the Italians formed their madrigale, and the Eng¬
lish madrigal. But others derive it from the word mad-
rugar, which in the Spanish language signifies to rise in
the morning; the madrigales having been formerly sung
early in the morning by those who had a mind to serenade
their mistresses.
MADRILEJOS, a small town of Spain, in the province
of New Castille, upon a range of mountains that run be¬
tween the rivers Guadiana and Tagus. It stands in a very
bleak situation, and on a very sterile soil.
MADURA, an extensive district of Hindustan, in the
Southern Carnatic, situated chiefly between the ninth and
tenth degrees of north latitude. It was annexed in 1742
to the dominions of the nabob of the Carnatic, and in
1801 came into the possession of the British. It is bounded
on the north by the Polygar territory and Dindigul, on
the south by Tinevelly, on the east by the district of Ma-
rawas, and on the west by that of Dindigul. The Vay-
garoo and Candaroo are the chief rivers, and the principal
owns Madura and Scholavanden. It has a tolerably fer¬
tile soil, and is well supplied with water ; but its cultiva¬
tion has always been inferior to that of Tanjore, which was
probably owing to the warlike habits of the Zemindars
and Polygars, living in castles surrounded with woods, in
a constant state of war with each other. The name of
the capital is Madura, which is an ancient city of the
Southern Carnatic, the four sides of which front nearly the
four cardinal points. It was formerly well fortified with a
ditch, rampart, and square towers, and from 1740 to 1760
sustained many sieges, and was often in possession of re¬
fractory Polygars. Since it has come into the possession
of the British, the peace of the country has been firmly
maintained, so that it is now quite superfluous to keep up
this or any other fortress. The travelling distance from
Seringapatam is 240 miles, and from Madras 307 miles.
Long. 78. 13. E. Lat. 9. 51. N.
Madura, an island in the Eastern Seas, situated off the
north coast of the island of Java, from which it is sepa¬
rated by the Strait of Madura, which is a hundred miles in
length by sixteen in average breadth. The channel at its
676
M iE C
MAE
Mseamler narrowest part is only eighty-three fathoms wide, and is
II marked by buoys. There is a depth of only three fathoms
aecena5. aj. tjie entrancej which can easily be passed by ships of a
large size, the bottom being of a soft mud, through which
a vessel is carried by the slightest breeze, aided by the
current, which is strong. The inhabitants resemble the
Hindus in their appearance, and worship their divinities,
namely, Indra, Surya, and Vishnu. The inhabitants of
the interior are rude and barbarous. They attack their
enemies with poisoned arrows, which they blow through
a tube. The Dutch invaded and subdued this island in
1747* and made slaves of a great number of them. Long.
112. 54. E. Lat. 6. 44. to 7. 15. S.
MiEANDER, in Ancient Geography, a celebrated river
of Asia Minor, rising near Celaenae. It flows through Caria
and Ionia into the iEgean Sea between Miletus and Priene,
after having been increased by the waters of the Marsyas,
Lycus, Eudon, Lethaeus, and other tributaries. It is ce¬
lebrated amongst the poets for its windings, which amount
to no less than six hundred, and from which all recurring
sinuosities have received the name of mceanders.
MiEATiE, anciently a people of Britain, near the wall
of Severus, inhabiting the district now called Lauderdale,
in Scotland.
MAECENAS, Caius Cilnics, the friend and counsel¬
lor of Augustus Caesar, a man whose name has become a
synonyme for a patron of literature, from the munificent
and generous support he afforded to the learned. He flou¬
rished from about 41 to 8 b. c. He was very generally
considered by the ancients as descended from the royal
line of Etruria. The family of the Cilnii is mentioned by
Livy (x. 3) as very powerful at Arretium, now Arrezzo,
b. c. 300. We have no account of the early years of
Maecenas, but there is little doubt that his education was
carefully attended to, and becoming the dignity of his
birth. In what way he acquired the friendship of Octa¬
vius we have no means of knowing; but we find him ac¬
tively engaged in his cause immediately after the murder
of Julius Caesar, b. c. 44. His talents seem to have been
particularly adapted for the administration of the civil af¬
fairs of government, and we find him more frequently thus
engaged than in the active business of war. He was em¬
ployed (b. c. 40) to negociate the marriage between Au¬
gustus and Scribonia, the sister of Scribonius Libo, the
father-in-law of Sextus Pompey, with the view of securing
a channel by which he might obtain peace with Pompey
if circumstances should require it (Appian. B. C.v. 53).
The same year Maecenas was one of the commissioners
appointed to negociate the peace between Antony and
Octavius at Brundusium, which was sealed by the mar¬
riage of Octavia and Antony (v. 64). He was again the
principal person employed in the conference between Oc¬
tavius and Antony (b. c. 37), on the banks of the river be¬
tween Metapontum and Tarentum, when peace was agreed
upon (v. 92). He had the command of the whole of
Italy and Rome at the time of the battle of Actium, b. c.
31, at which period he put down a conspiracy entered into
by Lepidus the son of the triumvir (iv. 50; Veil. Pat. ii.
88). The victory at Actium having placed the Roman
empire in the hands of Octavius, he consulted with his
friends, Agrippa and Maecenas, whether he ought not to
abdicate his authority. Agrippa advised him to restore
the republic, but Maecenas was of a contrary opinion. The
speeches which they each delivered are given by Dion
Cassius (411, 1—40). Augustus adopted the opinion of
Maecenas, and was guided in all his more important trans¬
actions by his advice, having confidence not only in his
good sense and discretion, but in the integrity of his cha¬
racter. To Maecenas therefore may, in a great measure,
be ascribed the glory of his reign. After his death, Au¬
gustus frequently regretted that he had no longer a friend
to assist him; and when he had committed any act
which he repented, he used to say, that if Maecenas or
Agrippa had been alive, he would not have had cause to
reproach himself for the folly of his conduct (Sen. De
Benef. vi. 32). It is said that Maecenas one day observed
Augustus on the point of condemning some persons to
death, and being unable to approach the tribunal on ac¬
count of the crowd, he threw a paper to him, on which he
had inscribed these words, “ Descend from the tribunal,
thou butcher upon which Augustus, struck by the ad¬
monition, left the judgment-seat without passing sentence.
The palace of Maecenas was on the Esquiline Hill, and his
gardens are frequently mentioned as occupying the ground
which had been previously employed as the place of burial
for the poor (Tacit. Ann. xv. 39). It is, however, to his
generous patronage of the learned that he is principally in¬
debted for his fame ; and their gratitude has amply repaid
all the attention he may have bestowed on them. His pa¬
lace was the common resort of all the literary characters of
his age. There might be found Virgil and Horace, Varius,
famed for his tragedies, Propertius, Domitius Marsus the
rival of Catullus, Valgius, Plotius, and Tucca. It was
through Maecenas that the learned had access to the em¬
peror, and were loaded with his favours. Horace gives a
very interesting account of his introduction to Maecenas,
which must have taken place as early as b. c. 40, when
both the poet and Maecenas were still young. To Maece¬
nas Horace was indebted for his Sabine farm; and Virgil
was through him restored to his paternal estate, near Man¬
tua. Virgil dedicated the Georgies to his patron; and to
him Propertius has dedicated several of his poems. It is
needless to add, that much of the poetry of Horace was also
addressed to him. Maecenas has been accused, however,
of being devoted to pleasure ; but his faults were those of
the age in which he lived, and his virtues were his own
(Senec. Epist. 92, 114). Virgil died many years before
Maecenas, b. c. 19; but whether Horace predeceased Mae¬
cenas or not is uncertain. Horace died in the month of
November b. c. 8 (Sueton.) ; and Dion Cassius (41, 3)
mentions the death of Maecenas towards the close of the
same year. The clause in the will of Maecenas, in which
he recommends to Augustus his friend Horace, would lead
us to conclude that Horace survived him. At all events,
only a few months could have intervened between their
deaths. He was married to Terentia, a woman of a dis¬
agreeable temper, from whom he frequently separated; but
found his happiness so dependent on her smiles, that he
soon received her back to his arms (Sen. De Prov. 3). Pli¬
ny states that the health of Maecenas was at all times deli¬
cate ; and that for the last three years of his life he scarce¬
ly enjoyed an hour’s sleep (vii. 52, 2). Of the writings
of Maecenas we have nothing remaining except a few epi¬
grams, which are published in the Anthologia Latina of
Burmann (i. 53, ii. 225, iii. 149). He was also the au¬
thor of two tragedies, Prometheus and Octavia; and is sup¬
posed to have written Memoirs to serve for the history ot
Augustus. (See Fabricius, Bibliotheca Latina, \\\. 964;
De Mcecenatis Vita, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis, auct. Meibom.
Lugd. Bat. 1653 ; Lion, Mcecenatiana, Gotting. 1824; Me-
moires de VAcad. des Inscrip, xiii.)
MAELSTROM, a dangerous whirlpool on the coast of
Norway, in the sixty-eighth degree of latitude, in the pro¬
vince of Nordland and the district of Lofoden, and near
the island of Moskoe, whence it also takes the name ot
Moskoe-strdm. Its violence and noise exceed that of a ca¬
taract, being heard at a great distance, and without any in¬
termission, except a quarter every sixth hour, that is, at
the turn of high and low water, when its impetuosity seems
checked; and this short interval is the only time during
which the fishermen can venture in: but the motion soon
returns, and, however calm the sea may be, gradually in-
the
ft
nian
the
tobe
whk
ft]
ofl
the
sea-i
M
mer,
tob(
M
totb
beca
M
Laci
the
nan
nortl
Pah
the i
M
ofL
tains
M.
ed as
temb
in fa1
brou;
he hi
turm
atTi
Astn
to fti
ordir
nom;
mica
ftl
vincf
the a
left i
is on
sive
Pete:
contt
conn
from
some
II.
M
and;
thin
latec
M A F
MAG
677
,cre
I ev
waf
j|«f' roc j
int
Mse
the:
the
5
nian
the
tobe
whu
edb
M
ofL
the
sea-
M
mer,
tob(
M
toth
beca
M
Laci
sea,
the
nan
sagel
nortl
Pah
the i
M
ofL
tains
M
ed as
temb
in fa
brou:
he hi
turm
atTi
who
Astn
to M
ordir
nom;
mica
M
vinci
the
left
500
is on
sive
Pete
eight
conti
eonu
stont
from
some
41
M
140'
and
thin
latec
uia, creases, with such a draught and vortex, as to absorb what-
ria ever comes within its sphere of action, and keep it under
II water for some hours, when the fragments, shivered by the
rocks, again appear.
MiEM ACTERIA, sacrifices offered to Jupiter at Athens
in the winter month Maemacterion, when the god surnamed
Maemactes was entreated to send mild and temperate wea¬
ther, as he presided over the seasons, and was the god of
the air.
1VLEMACTERION was the fourth month of the Athe¬
nian year, containing twenty-nine days, and answering to
the latter part of our September and the beginning of Oc¬
tober. It received its name from the festival Moemacteria,
which was observed about this time. This month was call¬
ed by the Boeotians Alalcomenius.
MJ20NIA, a country of Asia Minor, and forming part
of Lydia, being in the neighbourhood of Mount Tmolus, and
the country watered by the Pactolus. The rest on the
sea-coast was called Lydia.
MJiONIDiE, a name given to the muses, because Ho¬
mer, their greatest and worthiest favourite, was supposed
to be a native of Maeonia.
MjEONIDES, a surname of Homer, because, according
to the opinion of some writers, he was born in Maeonia, or
because his father’s name was Maeon.
MiEOTIS Palus or Lacus, Mceotica Palus, or Mceoticus
Lacus, in Ancient Geography, a large lake, or part of the
sea, between Europe and Asia, at the northern extremity of
the Euxine, with which it communicates by the Cimme¬
rian Bosphorus. It was worshipped as a deity by the Mas-
sagetae. It extends about 390 miles from south-west to
north-east, and is about 600 miles in circumference. The
Palus Mceotis, or Sea of Azof, reaches from the Crimea to
the mouth of the Don.
MAESNIEL, a town of the Netherlands, in the province
of Limburg, and arrondissement of Roermonde. It con¬
tains 200 houses and 1180 inhabitants.
MiESTLIN, Michael, in Latin Moestlinus, a celebrat¬
ed astronomer of Germany, was born in the duchy of Wit-
temberg, but spent his youth in Italy. He made a speech
in favour of Copernicus’s system, which is supposed to have
brought over Galileo from Aristotle and Ptolemy, to whom
he had been hitherto entirely devoted. He afterwards re¬
turned to Germany, and became professor of mathematics
at Tubingen, where, amongst his scholars, he taught Kepler,
who has praised several of his ingenious inventions in his
Astronomia Optica. Though Tycho Brahe did not assent
to Maestlin’s opinion, yet he allowed him to be an extra¬
ordinary person, and deeply skilled in the science of astro¬
nomy. Maestlin published many mathematical and astrono¬
mical works, and died in 1590.
MAESTRICHT, a city of the Netherlands, in the pro¬
vince of Limburg, of which it is the capital, as well as of
the arrondissement of the same name. It is situated on the
left side of the river Meuse, over which is a stone bridge
500 feet in length, connecting it with the suburb Wyk. It
is one of the strongest as well as one of the most exten¬
sive fortifications in Europe, including in it the citadel of
Petersburg. It is well built, has a fine place or square,
eight churches, three hospitals, and an orphan-house. It
contains 3000 houses, and 19,500 inhabitants. The chief
commerce is that which arises from the river, by which the
stone‘(is conveyed to Holland, as well as the coal and iron
from Liege. There are some breweries and distilleries, and
some small manufactures of common articles. Long. 5, 35.
41. E. Lat. 50. 51. 7. N.
MAFFA1US, Vegio, a Latin poet, born in Lombardy in
1407, was greatly admired in his time. He wrote epigrams,
and a humorous supplement to Virgil, which he called the
thirteenth book of the JEneid, and which has been trans¬
lated into English by Mr Ellis. Maffaeus also wrote some
prose works. He was chancellor of Rome towards the end
of the pontificate of Martin V., and died in 1458.
MAFFEI, Scipio, a celebrated Italian poet, descended
of an ancient and illustrious family at Verona, was born
in 1675. After having finished his studies, he took arms,
and distinguished himself by his'valour at the battle of Do-
nawert; but he more particularly signalized himself by his
love of learning, which made him undertake several jour¬
neys into France, England, and Germany. He conversed
with the learned in all these countries, and obtained their
friendship and esteem. He was a member of the academy
of the Arcadians at Rome, an honorary foreign member
of that of Inscriptions at Paris, and died in 1755. He
wrote many works in verse and prose, which are esteemed.
Of these, the best known are, 1. The Tragedy of Merope,
of which there are two French translations in prose ; 2.
Ceremony, a comedy ; 3. A Translation, into Italian verse,
of the first book of Homer’s Iliad ; 4. Many other pieces of
poetry, in a collection entitled Rhyme and Prose, 4to. His
principal works in prose are, l. Verona Illustrata ; 2. Isto-
ria Diplomatica ; 3. Scienza Cavalleresca, an excellent work,
in which he attacks duelling ; 4. An edition of the Theatro
Italiano; 5. An edition of Cassiodorus on the Epistles,
Acts of the Apostles, and Apocalypse; and, 6. Galliae
Antiquitates qusedam selectae, atque in plures Epistolas
distributse ; besides several other works.
MAFRA, a small town in Portugal, the principal celc
brity of which is derived from a royal convent, one of the
most splendid in the kingdom. The convent contains three
hundred cells, for as many monks. The church, which is
in the centre, is large and handsome; and the marble steps
leading to it are peculiarly grand. The interior is orna¬
mented with beautiful marbles, exquisitely wrought. There
are in it six organs and twelve altars. The whole pile is
enormous, being two hundred and sixty feet in length, con¬
taining eight hundred and seventy apartments, and five
thousand two hundred windows. Near the convent is an
extensive and beautiful royal park, well stocked with game
of every kind. It is in the province of Estremadura, and
contains 1000 inhabitants.
MAGADA, in Mythology, a title under which Venus
was known and worshipped in Lower Saxony, where this
goddess had a famous temple, which was treated with re¬
spect even by the Huns and Vandals when they ravaged
the country. It is said to have been destroyed by Charle¬
magne.
MAGAS, Magadis (from yayabiZziv, to sing or play in
unison), the name of a musical instrument in use amongst
the ancients. There were two kinds of magades, the one
a stringed instrument, formed of twenty chords arranged
in pairs, and tuned to unison, so that they yielded ten
sounds ; the invention of which is ascribed by some to
Sappho, by others to the Lydians, and by others to Timc-
theus of Miletus. The other was a kind of flute, which
at the same time yielded very high and very low notes.
The former kind was much improved by Timotheus of Mi¬
letus, who is said to have been impeached of a crime, be¬
cause, by increasing the number of chords, he spoiled and
discredited the ancient music.
MAGAZINE, a place in which stores are kept, of arms,
ammunition, provisions, and the like.
Powder Magazine is that place where gunpowder is
kept in large quantities. The first powder magazines were
made with Gothic arches; but Vauban finding them too
weak, constructed them in a semicircular form. Their
usual dimensions are sixty feet long within, and twenty-five
broad; the foundations are eight or nine feet thick, and
eight feet high from the foundation to the spring of the
arch ; and the floor is twro feet from the ground, which se¬
cures it from dampness.
Artillery Magazine. In a siege, the magazine is made
Mafl’ei
II
Magazine.
678
MAG
'—>
Magazine about twenty-five or thirty yards behind the battery, to-
Mande wart^s ^le parallels, and at least three feet under ground, to
burg, contain the powder, loaded shells, portfires, and the like.
i Magazine, on shipboard, a close room or storehouse,
built in the fore or after part of the hold, to contain the
gunpowder used in battle. This apartment is strongly se¬
cured against fire, and no person is allowed to enter it with
a lamp or candle; it is therefore lighted, as occasion re¬
quires, by means of the candles or lamps in the light-room
contiguous to it.
Magazine, Literary, a well-known species of periodical
publications. One of the first that appeared was The Gen¬
tlemans Magazine, set on foot by Mr Edward Cave, in the
year 1731. This, as Dr Kippis observes,1 “ may be consi¬
dered as something of an epocha in the literary history of
this country. The periodical performances before that
time were almost wholly confined to political transactions,
and to foreign and domestic occurrences; but the monthly
magazines have opened a way for every kind of inquiry and
information. The intelligence and discussion contained in
them are very extensive and various; and they have been
the means of diffusing a general habit of reading through
the nation, which, in a certain degree, hath enlarged the
public understanding. Many young authors, who have
afterwards risen to considerable eminence in the literary
world, have here made their first attempts in composi¬
tion. Here too are preserved a multitude of curious and
useful hints, observations, and facts, which otherwise might
have never appeared ; or, if they had appeared in a more
evanescent form, would have incurred the danger of be¬
ing lost.”
MAGDALEN, Mary. See Mary.
Religious of St Magdalen, a denomination given to dif¬
ferent communities of nuns, consisting generally of peni¬
tent courtezans, sometimes also called Magdalenettes. Such
were those at Metz, established in 1452 ; those at Paris,
in 1492; those at Naples, first established in 1324, and en¬
dowed by Queen Sancha, to serve as a retreat for public
courtezans, who should betake themselves to repentance ;
and those of Rouen and Bordeaux, which had their origin
amongst those of Paris in 1618. In each of these monas¬
teries there are three kinds of persons and congregations ;
the first consists of those who are admitted to make vows,
and these bear the name of St Magdalen ; the second is
the congregation of St Martha, composed of those whom it
is not judged proper to admit to vows ; and the third is the
congregation of St Lazarus, composed of such as are de¬
tained there by force. The religious of St Magdalen at
Rome were established by Pope Leo X. Clement VIII.
settled a revenue on them, and further appointed that the
effects of all public prostitutes dying intestate should fall
to them, and that the testaments of the rest should be in¬
valid unless they bequeathed to them a portion of their
effects, amounting at least to a fifth part.
MAGDALENA, one of the Marquesas Islands, about
five leagues in circumference, and supposed to be in south
latitude 10. 25. and west longitude 138. 50. It was only
seen at nine leagues distance by those who discovered it.
MAGDEBURG, a government of the Prussian pro¬
vince of Saxony, formed out of the ancient duchy of that
name, of the county of Barby, and of all the bailiwick of
Gommern except the circle of the Saal; but the princi¬
palities of Halberstadt, of Derenburg, of Quedlingburg,
of Wernigerode, and of Schauen, are included within it.
It extends over 4489 square miles, and comprehends fifty
cities or towns once walled, three market-towns, and
1497 villages and hamlets, containing a population (in
1826) of 526,197 persons. It is divided into fifteen cir-
MAG
cles, one of which, of the same name, contains the capital
of the government. The city of Magdeburg is situated
on a rising ground, on the left bank of the river Elbe. It Magellan
is very strongly fortified on the south side by strong lines,
with ditches and sixteen bastions, and by two forts; on
the north, the river is a defence, as well as the marshes
beyond it, and several powerful outworks. There is a
bridge leading to the citadel, which is built on an island
formed by one of the branches of the Elbe. The walls
are of great thickness, and though the ditches on the land
side are dry, they are all undermined. The city is built
in the old Saxon style, with large massive houses, and,
with the exception of the high street, narrow lanes. There
are, however, two good open places, the old market and
the cathedral place. Some of the public buildings are
magnificent, particularly the government-house and the
Domkish, the latter of which has a tower 330 feet high,
which has survived the destruction that visited the city
when it was stormed, plundered, and burned by the im¬
perial army under Tilly, in the Thirty Years’ War. It
contains now sixteen churches, ten of which are Luthe¬
ran, the others Catholic, Calvinist, or Menonite. It is a
place of great commercial as well as manufacturing
industry. Its situation on the Elbe connects it with
the sea, through Hamburg and the upper parts of the
river, including Prussia. Saxony, and a part of Bohemia,
receive their foreign productions by this channel. The
goods made in Magdeburg are of linen, cotton, and wool¬
len, hats, hosiery, corn, spirits, leather, soap, and tobacco
and snuff. The fields around it are fertile, and the go¬
vernment is the corn granary of Prussia; and large quan¬
tities of tobacco are grown. The city and suburbs con¬
tain 52,000 inhabitants, exclusive of military. Long. 11.
33. 25. E. Lat. 52. 8. 4. N.
MAGEBOE, a large island in the northern part of Nor¬
wegian Lapland. It is a rocky spot, with a few valleys, in
which pasture is found sufficient to maintain a few fami¬
lies, who have some cows, and a small number of sheep,
and about 600 rein-deer. The winter is dreadfully severe,
and the ground is covered with snow to the depth of
twelve or fourteen feet. It is in long. 26. 45. E. and lat.
71. 30. N.
MAGELLAN, or Magelhaens, Ferdinand de, an
eminent navigator, was by birth a Portuguese, and of a good
family. He served with reputation in the East Indies for
five years under Albuquerque, and in 1510 he greatly dis¬
tinguished himself at the battle of Malacca. Deeming his
services poorly repaid by his own court, he entered into
the employment of Charles V. king of Spain. He has
been charged with peculation by some of his countrymen,
who assign this as the reason why he quitted Portugal. In
conjunction with Ruy Folero he formed the bold design of
discovering a new passage by the west to the Molucca
Islands, which, he offered to prove, fell within the division
of the globe assigned by the pope to the crown of Castille.
It is said that he first proposed this enterprise to Ema¬
nuel king of Portugal, who rejected it, as opening a way
for other nations to have access to the East Indies, the
trade of which was then monopolized by the Portuguese.
The proposition was agreed to by the king of Spain, and,
on the 20th of September 1519, Magellan sailed from San
Lucar, with five ships and 236 men under his command.
His officers soon murmured at this appointment, consider¬
ing it as a disgrace to be commanded by a renegade Por¬
tuguese ; and when the fleet was lying at a port in South
America, which they named San Julian, a conspiracy was
formed against him by three of the captains, but he dis¬
covered and quelled it. He caused the captain of one of
j If cur*
* 1
1 Biograjihia Britannica, vol. iii. art. Cave.
the
start
reac
bear
to i
with
fort]
venal
gella
acros
peani
mine
calm
ofR
Ladn
Zebu,
siono
of Sp
neigh
i chief
Wl
great
amnn
e
down,
1521.
being
the Id
Indies
amon|
|this g
iskill a
he cc
ed by
South
:orsh
I acee
comm
the St
Mh
three
Hot m
MA
in the
jearnei
Tus
*vetiti
island i
the T,
•ices t
I, the
Icurfi
t
• this
^stat
reac
Virg
bear
to i>
with
baza
forti
ships
Eure
veffll
ijella
acroi
pean;
mine
duce
rigg‘1
calm
Ladr
habit
Zebu
sion
of Sf
neigh
some
Wi
chief
jagei
great'
anitm
Mage
down
1521.
being
the 1c
Me,
hmon
this g
skill i
Sti
island
pe c<
dby
'outh
orsh
!Xcee
:omm
ie Si
m
md
iavin
fee
larges
iotm
consp
la the
i"? ii
«A
tearnei
la Tui
even t
aethh
island
the T,
'ices t
MAG
sellar the ships to be put to death, he boarded a second and se-
sc cured the mutineers, and the third submitted.
The coast on which they lay was that of Patagonia ; and
l1", this first voyage contains accounts of the extraordinary
"T stature of the natives. About the end of October they
reached a cape to which they gave the name of De las
Virgines, forming the entrance of the straits which now
bear the name of Magellan. He exerted all his authority
to induce his men to venture on this unknown passage,
with the view of crossing a vast ocean beyond it, at the
hazard of running short of provisions, of which a supply
for three months was all that he had remaining. One of his
ships abandoned him, and made the best of her way to
Europe. But the rest proceeded, and on the 27th of No¬
vember they discovered the South Sea, which made Ma¬
gellan shed tears of joy. They continued their voyage
across this ocean, now visited for the first time by Euro¬
peans, and were not long in suffering those evils from fa¬
mine which they had apprehended. The men were re¬
duced to the necessity of eating the hides with which the
rigging was covered. The weather proved so uniformly
icalm and temperate, that they gave to the ocean the name
|of Pacific. On the 6th of March they came in sight of the
Ladrones, so called from the thievish disposition of the in¬
habitants; and thence they sailed to the Philippines. At
Zebu, Magellan obtained with little difficulty the conver¬
sion of the king; and, on condition of his becoming a vassal
sf Spain, the Portuguese assisted him in reducing some
neighbouring chieftains, and the cross was erected over
some burned villages.
With about fifty men Magellan landed upon Matan, the
[;hief of which had refused to submit to Zebu, and an en¬
gagement took place between them, which lasted for the
greater part of the day. His troops having spent all their
immunition, found it necessary to retreat, during which
Magellan was wounded in the leg by an arrow, beaten
down, and at last slain with a lance. This happened in
1521. By this act of imprudence he lost the honour of
being the first circumnavigator of the globe, which fell to
pe lot of Cano, who brought his ship home by the East
Indies. Yet Magellan has secured an immortal name
imongst maritime discoverers, by the commencement of
:his great enterprise, in which he displayed extraordinary
skill and resolution, but disregarded justice and humanity.
Straits of Magellan, a narrow passage between the
island of Tierra del Fuego and the southern extremity of
the continent of America. This passage was first discover¬
ed by Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed through it into the
South Sea, and thence to the East Indies. Other naviga-
ors have passed the same way; but as these straits are
exceedingly difficult, and subject to storms, it has been
eommon to sail round by Cape Horn, rather than through
he Straits of Magellan.
MAGELLANIC Clouds, whitish appearances like
klouds, seen in the heavens towards the south pole, and
laving the same apparent motion as the stars. They are
'hree in number, two of them near each other. The
argest lies far from the south pole ; but the other two are
ot many degrees more remote from it than the nearest
• onspicuous star, that is, about eleven degrees.
MAGENTA, a city of Italy, in the delegation of Milan,
ja the Austrian kingdom of Venetian Lombardy, contain-
ig 3390 inhabitants.
MAGGI, Jerome, in Latin Magius, one of the most
pmed men of the sixteenth century, was born at Anghiari
i Tuscany. He applied himself to all the sciences, and
ven to the art of war; and distinguished himself so much
i> this last study, that the Venetians sent him into the
land of Cyprus in quality of judge of the admiralty. When
Hie lurks besieged Famagusta, he performed all the ser-
' ces that could be expected from the most excellent en-
M A G
gineer, inventing mines and machines for throwing fire,
by means of which he destroyed all the works of the be¬
siegers, and in an instant overthrew what had cost the
Turks infinite labour. But the Ottomans had their re¬
venge ; for, having taken the city in 1571, they plundered
his library, carried him loaded with chains to Constanti¬
nople, and treated him in the most inhuman and barba¬
rous manner; nevertheless he comforted himself by the
example of iEsop, Menippus, Epictetus, and other learned
men ; and, after passing the whole day in the meanest drud¬
gery, he spent the night in writing. By the help of his
memory alone, he composed treatises filled with quotations,
which he dedicated to the imperial and French ambassa¬
dors. Ihese ministers, moved by compassion for this
learned man, resolved to purchase him; but whilst they
were treating for his ransom, Maggi found means to make
his escape, and to get to the imperial ambassador’s house;
when the grand visir, being enraged at his flight, and re¬
membering the great mischief he had done to the Turks
during the siege of bamagusta, sent to have him seized, and
caused him to be strangled in prison in 1572. His princi¬
pal works are, L A Treatise on the Bells of the Ancients;
2. On the Destruction of the World by Fire ; 3. Commen¬
taries on iEmilius Probus’s Lives of Illustrious Men ; 4.
Commentaries on the Institutes. These works are written
in elegant Latin. He also wrote a treatise on fortification,
in Italian ; and a book on the situation of ancient Tuscany.
He ought not to be confounded with his brother Bartolo¬
meo Maggi, a physician at Bologna, who wrote a treatise
on gunshot wounds ; nor with Vincent Maggi, a native of
Bresse, and a celebrated professor of humanity at Ferrara
in Padua, who was the author of several works.
MAGGIORE, Lago, a beautiful lake, situated on the
confines of Switzerland and Italy, on the south side of the
Alps. It is about fifty miles long, and four or five miles
broad, and is bent into a very irregular figure.
MAGGOT, the common name of the fly-worm bred in
flesh, from the egg of the great blue flesh-fly.
MAGI, or Magicians, an ancient religious sect in Per¬
sia, and other countries, who maintained that there were
two principles, one the cause of all good, the other the
cause of all evil; and, abominating the adoration of images,
they worshipped God only by fire, which they looked upon
as the brightest and most glorious symbol of Oromasdes
or the good god, as darkness is the truest symbol of Ahri-
man or the evil god. This religion was reformed by Zo¬
roaster, who maintained that there was one supreme inde¬
pendent Being, and under him two principles or angels, one
the angel of goodness and light, and the other the angel of
evil and darkness; that there is a perpetual struggle be¬
tween them, which shall last to the end of the world; that
then the angel of darkness and his disciples shall go into a
world of their own, where they shall be punished in ever¬
lasting night; and that the angel of light and his disciples
shall also go into a world of their own, where they shall
be rewarded in everlasting day. The priests of the Magi
were the most skilful mathematicians and philosophers
of the ages in which they lived, insomuch that a learned
man and a magician became equivalent terms. The vulgar
looked on their knowledge as supernatural; and hence those
who practised wicked and mischievous arts, taking upon
themselves the name of magicians, drew on it that ill sig¬
nification which the word now bears amongst civilised na¬
tions.
MAGIC (Magice, Mayua), in its ancient sense, the sci¬
ence or discipline and doctrine of the Majri, or wise men of
Persia.
The origin of magic and the magi is ascribed to Zoroas¬
ter. Salmasius derives the very name from Zoroaster, who,
he says, was surnamed Mag, whence Magus. But others,
instead of making him the author of the Persian philosophy.
679
Maggiore,
Lago
II
Magic.
Magic, represent him only as the restorer and improver thereof, elements of earth, air, fire, and water, as well as over the
—alleging, that many of the Persian rites in use amongst the persons and affairs of men. Hence they ascribed every
Magi were borrowed from the Zabii or Chaldaeans, who disease with which they were afflicted to the immediate
agreed in many things with the Magi of the Persians ; and agency of some evil demon. When a person was seized
hence some make the name Magus common both to the with a fever, for instance, they did not think it necessary
Chaldaeans and Persians. Thus Plutarch mentions, that to search for any natural cause of the disease; it was im*
Zoroaster instituted Magi amongst the Chaldaeans, in imita- mediately attributed to some demon which had taken pos¬
tion of which the Persians had also theirs. session of the body of the patient, and which could not be
Magic, in a more modern sense, is a science which teaches ejected but by charms and incantations,
to perform wonderful and surprising feats, or to produce These superstitious notions having spread from Egypt
unexpected effects. over all the East, the Jews imbibed them during their
The word magic originally carried with it a very inno- captivity in Babylon. Hence we find them in the writings
cent, nay, laudable meaning, being used purely to signify of the New Testament attributing almost every disease
the study of wisdom, and the more sublime parts of know- to which they were incident to the immediate agency of
ledge ; but as the ancient Magi engaged themselves in as- devils. Many of the same impious superstitions were
trology, divination, sorcery, and the like, the term magic brought from Egypt and Chaldaea by Pythagoras, and
became in time odious, and was only used to signify an un- transmitted by him and his followers to the Platonists in
lawful and diabolical kind of science, depending on the as- Greece. This is apparent from the writers of the life of
sistance of the devil and departed souls. Pythagoras. Jamblicus, speaking of the followers of that
If any wonder how so vain and deceitful a science should philosopher, says expressly that they cured certain diseas-
ever have gained credit and authority over men’s minds, Pli- es by incantations; and Porphyry adds, that they cured
ny solves the mystery. It is, says he, because it has possess- diseases both of the mind and of the body by songs and
ed itself of three sciences in the most esteem amongst men, incantations. This was exactly the practice of the Egyp-
taking from each all that is great and marvellous in it. No- tian priests, who were all supposed to keep up a constant
body doubts but it had its origin in medicine; and that it intercourse with demons, and to have the power of con-
insinuated itself into the minds of the people, under pre- trolling them by magical charms and sacred songs. Agree-
tence of affording extraordinary remedies. To these fine ably to this practice of his masters, we are told that Py-
promises it added every thing in religion that is pompous thagoras directed that certain diseases of the mind, doubt-
and splendid, and that appears calculated to blind and cap- less those which he attributed to the agency of demons,
tivate mankind. Lastly, it mingled with the rest judicial should be cured partly by incantations, partly by magical
astrology, persuading people, curious of futurity, that it saw hymns, and partly by music.
every thing to come in the heavens. Agrippa divides ma- It was the universal belief of the ancient nations, says
gic into three kinds ; natural, celestial, and ceremonial or the learned Mosheim, and especially of the orientals, that
superstitious. certain sounds and words, for the most part barbarous,
Natural Magic is no more than the application of natu- were highly grateful, and that others were equally disa-
ral active causes to passive subjects, by means of which greeable, to these spirits. Hence, when they wished to
many surprising, but yet natural, effects are produced. render a demon propitious, and to employ him on any par-
In this way many of our experiments in natural philoso- ticular office, the magicians composed their sacred songs
phy, especially those of electricity, optics, and magnetism, of the words which were believed to be agreeable to him;
have a kind of magical appearance, and amongst the igno- and when it was their intention to drive him from them-
rant and credulous might easily pass for miracles. Such, selves or others, they sung in a strain which they fancied
without doubt, have been some of those miracles wrought a demon could not hear but with horror. From the same
by ancient magicians, whose knowledge of the various persuasion arose the custom of suspending from the neck
powers of nature, there is reason to believe, was much of a sick person, whose disease was supposed to be inflict-
greater than modern vanity will sometimes allow. ed by a demon, an amulet, sometimes made of gold and
Baptista Porta wrote a treatise of natural magic, or sometimes of parchment, on which was written one or
secrets for performing extraordinary things by natural more of those words which demons could not bear either
causes. The natural magic of the Chaldaeans was nothing to hear or to see ; and in a didactic poem on the healing art,
but the knowledge of the powers of simples and minerals, still extant, we are taught by Serenus Sammonicus, that
The magic which they called theurgia consisted wholly in the word Abracadabra, is an infallible remedy for a semi-
the knowledge of the ceremonies to be observed in the tertian fever or ague; and to banish grief of heart, Mar-
worship of the gods, in order to be acceptable. By virtue cellinus thinks nothing more effectual than the word xag<-
of these ceremonies they believed they could converse with ayauv. In more modern times, as we are informed by
spiritual beings, and cure diseases. Agrippa, the words employed by those in compact with the
Celestial Magic borders nearly on judicial astrology. It devil, to invoke him, and to succeed in what they under¬
attributes to spirits a kind of rule or dominion over the take, are, Dies, mies, jesquet, benedoefet, douvima, enite-
planets, and to planets a dominion over men; and on these mans. There are a hundred other formulas of words corn-
principles builds a ridiculous kind of system. posed at pleasure, or gathered from several different lan*
Superstitious Magic consists in the invocation of devils, guages, or patched from the Hebrew, or formed in imi-
Its effects are usually evil and wicked, though very strange, tation of that language. And amongst the primitive
and seemingly surpassing the powers of nature, being sup- Christians there was a superstitious custom, of which we
posed to be produced by virtue of some compact, either tacit suspect some remains may yet be found amongst the ill1*
or express, with evil spirits ; but the truth is, these have not terate vulgar in different countries, of fastening to the neck
all the power which is usually imagined, nor do they pro- of a sick person, or to the bed upon which he lay, some
duce those effects which are ordinarily ascribed to them. text from the New Testament, and especially the first
This species of magic, there is every reason to believe, two or three verses of the Gospel of St John, as a charm
had its ^origin in Egypt, the native country of paganism, undoubtedly efficacious to banish the disease.
The first magicians mentioned in history were Egyptians ; The revival of learning, and the success with which
and that people, so famed for early wisdom, believed not only the laws of nature have been investigated, have long ago
in the existence of demons, the great agents in magic, but banished this species of superstition from all the enlight-
also that different orders of those spirits presided over the ened nations of Europe.
nUj
Kiel
pe
MAG
Uags Magic Square, a square figure, formed of a series of
uar> numbers in mathematical proportion, so disposed in paral-
lei and equal ranks, that the sums of each row, taken either
perpendicularly, horizontally, or diagonally, are equal.
Let the several numbers which compose any square
number (for instance, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. to 25, the square
number, inclusive) be disposed in their natural order after
each other in a square figure of twenty-five cells, each in
its cell ; if now you change the order of these numbers,
and dispose them in the cells in such manner that the
five numbers which fill a horizontal rank of cells, being
added together, shall make the same sum with the five
numbers in any other rank of cells, whether horizontal
or vertical, and even the same number with the five in
each of the two diagonal ranks; this disposition of num¬
bers is called a magic square, in opposition to the former
disposition, which is called a natural square. See the
figures following.
Ham
whi(
pear
grea
theii
they
and
thosi
virtu
pear'
H
of ta
of st
they
advai
I to be
wher
to pr
ticiar
M<
the fi
and,
:&ine
How
In th
fflagit
three
notb
to all
feet,
of At
Jof3,
Bacln
the hi
iibrar
K
'or im
he
voi
mag
Natural Square.
Magic Square.
3 4 5
1819J20
2324 25
One would imagine that these magic squares had that
name given them because this property of all their ranks,
which, taken any way, make always the same sum, ap¬
peared extremely surprising, especially in certain ignorant
ages, when mathematics passed for magic; but there is a
great deal of reason to suspect that these squares merited
their name still further, by the superstitious operations
they were employed in, as the construction of talismans,
and the like ; for, according to the childish philosophy of
those days, which attributed virtues to numbers, what
virtue might not be expected from numbers which ap¬
peared so wonderful ?
However, what was at first the vain practice of makers
of talismans and conjurers, has since become the subject
of serious research amongst mathematicians; not that
they imagine it will lead them to any thing of solid use or
advantage (magic squares savour too much of their original
to be of any great use), but only as it is a kind of play,
where the difficulty makes the merit, and it may chance
to produce some new views of numbers, which mathema¬
ticians will not lose the occasion of discovering.
Moschopulus, a Greek author of no great antiquity, is
the first who appears to have spoken of magic squares ;
and, by the age in which he lived, there is reason to ima¬
gine he did not look on them merely as a mathematician.
However, he has left us some rules for their construction.
In the treatise of Cornelius Agrippa, so much accused of
magic, we find the squares of seven numbers, viz. from
three to nine inclusive, disposed magically; and it must
not be supposed that these seven numbers were preferred
to all the others without some very good reason. In ef¬
fect, it is because their squares, according to the system
:>f Agrippa and his followers, are planetary. The square
tf 3, for instance, belongs to Saturn ; that of 4 to Jupiter ;
that of 5 to Mars ; that of 6 to the Sun ; that of 7 to Ve¬
ins ; that of 8 to Mercury; and that of 9 to the Moon.
Bachet applied himself to the study of magic squares, on
he hint which he had taken from the planetary squares of
i Agrippa, as being unacquainted with the work of Moscho-
| lulus, which is only in manuscript in the French king’s
ibrary ; and, without the assistance of any author, he found
>ut a new method for those squares whose root is uneven,
or instance twenty-five, forty-nine, &c. but he could not
nake any thing of those whose root is even.
VOL. XIII.
681
After him came Frenicle, wffio took the same subject in
hand. A certain great algebraist was of opinion, that
whereas the sixteen numbers which compose the square
might be disposed 20922789888000 different ways in a na¬
tural square (as from the rules of combination it is certain
they may), they could not be disposed in a magic square
above sixteen different ways; but Frenicle showed that
they might be thus disposed 878 different ways ; and hence
it appears how much his method exceeds the former, which
only yielded the fifty-fifth part of magic squares of that of
Frenicle.
To this inquiry he thought fit to add a difficulty that had
not yet been considered. The magic square of 7, for in¬
stance, being constructed, and its forty-nine cells filled, if
the two horizontal ranks of cells, and, at the same time,
the two vertical ones, the most remote from the middle, be
letienched, that is, if the whole border or circumference
of the square be taken away, there will remain a square
whose root will be 5, and which will only consist of twenty-
five cells. Now it is not at all surprising that the square
should be no longer magical, because the ranks of the large
ones were not intended to make the same sum, excepting
when taken entire with all the seven numbers that fill their
seven cells; so that being mutilated each of two cells, and
having lost two of their numbers, it may be well expected
that their remainders will not any longer make the same
sum. But Frenicle would not be satisfied, unless, when
the ciicumfei ence or border of the magic square was taken
away, and even any circumferences at pleasure, or, in fine,
several circumferences at once, the remaining square was
still magical; which last condition, no doubt, made these
squares vastly more magical than ever.
. he inverted that condition, and required that any
ciicumfei ence taken at pleasure, or even several circum¬
ferences, should be inseparable from the square ; that is,
that it should cease to be magical when they were remov¬
ed, and yet continue magical after the removal of any
of the rest. Frenicle, however, gives no general demon¬
stration of his methods, and frequently seems to have no
othei guide but chance. It is true, his book was not pub¬
lished by himself, nor did it appear till after his death, viz.
in 1693.
In 1703, Poignard, a canon of Brussels, published a trea¬
tise of sublime magic squares. Before him there had been
no magic squares constructed but for series of natural num¬
bers that formed a square; but Poignard made two very
considerable improvements. Instead of taking all the num¬
bers that fill a square, for instance, the thirty-six succes¬
sive numbers, which would fill all the cells of a natural
squaie whose side is 6, he only takes as many successive
numbeis as there are units in the side of the square, which,
in this case, aie six ; and these six numbers alone he dis¬
poses in such manner in the thirty-six cells, that none of
them are repeated twice in the same rank, whether it be
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; whence it follows, that
all the ranks, taken all the ways possible, must always make
the same sum, which Poignard calls repeated progression.
Instead of being confined to take these numbers according
to the series and succession of the natural numbers, that is,
in an aiithmetical progression, he takes them likewise in a
geometiical progression, and even in an harmonical pro¬
gression. But with these two last progressions the magic
must necessarily be different from what it was. In the
squares filled with numbers in geometrical progression, it
consists in this, that the products of all the ranks are equal;
and in the harmonical progression, the numbers of all the
i anks continually follow that progression. He makes squares
of each of these three progressions repeated.
Ihe book of Poignard gave occasion to M. de la Hire
to turn his thoughts the same way, which he did with such
success that he seems to have well nigh completed the
4 R
Magic
Square.
682
MAG
MAG
Magic
Square.
theory of magic squares. He first considers uneven squares,
all his predecessors on the subject having found the con¬
struction of even ones by much the most difficult, for which
reason M. de la Hire reserves these for the last. This ex¬
cess of difficulty may arise partly from this, that the num¬
bers are taken in arithmetical progression. Now in that
progression, if the number of terms be uneven, that in
the middle has some properties which may be of service ;
for instance, being multiplied by the number of terms in
the progression, the product is equal to the sum of all the
terms.
M. de la Hire proposes a general method for uneven
squares, which has some similitude to the theory of com¬
pound motions, so useful and fertile in mechanics. As
that consists in decomposing motions, and resolving them
into others more simple ; so does M. de la Hire’s method
consist in resolving the square that is to be constructed,
into two simple and primitive squares. It must be owned,
however, it is not quite so easy to conceive these two simple
and primitive squares in the compound or perfect square, as
in an oblique motion to imagine a parallel and perpendicu¬
lar one.
Suppose a square of cells, whose root is uneven, for in¬
stance 7 ; and that its forty-nine cells are to be filled ma¬
gically with numbers, for instance the first 7 ; M. de la
Hire, on the one side, takes the first seven numbers, begin¬
ning with unity, and ending with the root 7, and on the
other, 7, and all its multiples to forty-nine exclusively; and
as these only make six numbers, he adds 0, which makes
this an arithmetical progression of seven terms as well as
the other, viz. 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42. This done, with
the first progression repeated, he fills the square of the
root magically. In order to this, he writes in the first
seven cells of the first horizontal rank the seven numbers
proposed, in what order he pleases, for that is absolutely
indifferent; and it is proper to observe here, that these se¬
ven numbers may be ranged in 5040 different manners in
the same rank. The order in which they are placed in the
first horizontal rank, be it what it will, is that which de¬
termines their order in all the rest. For the second ho¬
rizontal rank, he places in its first cell, either the third,
the fourth, the fifth, or the sixth number, from the first
number of the first rank; and after that he writes the six
others in order as they follow. For the third horizontal
rank, he observes the same method with regard to the se¬
cond that he observed in the second with regard to the
first, and so of the rest. For instance, suppose the first
horizontal rank filled with the seven numbers in their na¬
tural order, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the second horizontal rank
may either commence with 3, with 4, with 5, or with 6 ;
but in this instance it commences with 3; the third rank
therefore must commence with 5, the fourth with 7, the
fifth with 2, the sixth with 4, and the
seventh with 6. The commence¬
ment of the ranks which follow the
first being thus determined, the other
numbers, as we have already observ¬
ed, must be written down in the or¬
der in which they stand in the first,
going on to 5, 6, and 7, and return¬
ing to 1, 2, &c. till every number in
the first rank be found in every rank
underneath, according to the order arbitrarily pitched upon
at first. By this means it is evident that no number what¬
ever can be repeated twice in the same rank ; and by con¬
sequence, that the seven numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, being
in each rank, must of necessity make the same sum.
It appears from this example that the arrangement of the
numbers in the first rank being chosen at pleasure, the
other ranks may be continued in four different manners;
and since the first rank may have 5040 different arrange¬
ments, there are no less than 20,160 different modes of Ma ic
constructing the magic square of seven numbers repeated. Square
4j_5
5J_6
6 i 7
7JJ_
JJ_2
2 j 3
3 ! 4
6|7
The order of the numbers in the first rank being deter¬
mined ; if, in beginning with the second rank, the second
number 2, or the last number 7, should be pitched upon in
one of these cases, and repeated; and in the other case
the other diagonal would be false unless the number re¬
peated seven times should happen to be 4 ; for four times
seven is equal to the sum of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: and in Ge¬
neral, in every square consisting of an unequal number of
terms, in arithmetical progression, one of the diagonals
would be false according to these two constructions, unless
the term always repeated in that diagonal were the middle
term of the progression. It is not, however, at all neces¬
sary to take the terms in an arithmetical progression; for,
according to this method, one may construct a magic square
of any numbers at pleasure, whether they be according to
any certain progression or not. If they be in an arithmeti¬
cal progression, it will be proper, out of the general method,
to except those two constructions which produce a conti¬
nual repetition of the same term in one of the two diagonals,
and only to take in the case in which that repetition would
prevent the diagonal from being just; which case being ab¬
solutely disregarded when we computed that the square of
7 might have 20,160 different constructions, it is evident,
that by taking that case in, it must have vastly more.
To begin the second rank with any other number be¬
sides the second and the last, must not, however, be look¬
ed on as an universal rule. It holds good for the square of
7 ; but if the square of 9, for instance, were to be con¬
structed, and the fourth figure of the first horizontal rank
were pitched on for the first of the second, the consequence
would be, that the fifth and eighth horizontal ranks would
likewise commence with the same number, which would
therefore be repeated three times in the same vertical rank,
and occasion other repetitions in all the rest. The general
rule, therefore, must be conceived thus: Let the number
in the first rank pitched on for the commencement of the
second, have such an exponent for its quota; that is, let
the order of its place be such that, if an unit be taken
from it, the remainder will not be any just quota part of
the root of the square, that is, cannot divide it equally.
If, for example, in the square of 7, the third number of the
first horizontal^rank be pitched on for the first of the se¬
cond, such construction will be just; because the exponent
of the place of that number, viz. 3, subtracting 1, that is,
2, cannot divide 7. Thus also might the fourth number of
the same first rank be chosen, because 4 —1, or 3, cannot
divide 7 ; and, for the same reason, the fifth or sixth num¬
ber might be taken; but in the square of 9, the fourth
number of the'first rank must not be taken, because 4—1,
or 3, does divide 9. The reason of this rule will appear
very evident, by considering in what manner the returns
of the same numbers do or do not happen, taking them
always in the same manner in any given series. And
hence it follows, that the fewer divisions the root of any
square to be constructed has, the more numerous are the
different modes of constructing it; and that the prime num¬
bers, i. e. those which have no divisions, as 5, 7, 11, 13, &c-
are those whose squares will admit of the most variations
in proportion to their quantities.
son
Ffor
nun
HU
itsel
spoi
nuffl
hers
itwi
sarai
nal;
wise
on a:
ed bl
alsof
.11
live s
1,2,
whosi
35,4
formi
|be ct
mode
numb
consti
pnse
[same
bring
togetl
porres
numb'
:ond,
corres
magic
equal
amonc
c
pr no,
wo fi
fuch
lumbe
Pumbe
nd de
As]
ion of
co
; |erve j
rasob
ostanc
irst st
hm oi
tome
irst ra
dally
^ pt sqi
°ni
(do nu
Mlie,
*2,3,
pond,
'i'isrm
toil
4 the i
The
SOU}
►'for
* the!
nui
rail!
sari
itse
spoi
nun
falls
bers
itw
sam
nal
ffise
on
squa
edb
alsof
A1
live:
11,2,
whos
35,
the
forrai
be c<
mode
numt
const
conse
same
bring
togetl
corres
lumb
:ond,
corres
nagic
iqual
imonj
ir no,
wo fi
uch
nimbi
lumbf
nd dr
As
ion of
he co
jerve
fasol
hstant
kt si
ermo
jond ]
|omtnt
pt ra
hally
h'St sq
M on
p nu
Pthe
2,3,
econd
his mi
roml
the r
The
“adif
lagi*
MAG
M. A G
First Primitive.
Second Primitive.
The squares constructed according to this method have
tuart some particular properties not required in the problem;
■v^for the numbers that compose any rank parallel to one of
the two diagonals, are ranged in the same order with the
numbers that compose the diagonal to which they are pa¬
rallel. And as any rank parallel to a diagonal must neces¬
sarily be shorter, and have fewer cells, than the diagonal
itself, by adding to it the corre¬
sponding parallel, which has the
number of cells by which the other
falls short of the diagonal, the num¬
bers of these two parallels, placed as
it were end to end, still follow the
same order with those of the diago¬
nal ; besides that their sums are like¬
wise equal, so that they are magical
on another account. Instead of the
squares which we have hitherto form¬
ed by horizontal ranks, one might
also form them by vertical ones ; the case is the same in both.
All that we have hitherto said regards only the first primi-
jtive square, whose numbers, in the proposed example, were
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ; there still remains the second primitive,
whose numbers are 0, 7, 14, 21, 28,
35, 42. M. de la Hire proceeds in
the same manner here as in the
former case ; and this may likewise
be constructed in 20,160 different
modes, as containing the same
number of terms with the first. Its
construction being made, and of
consequence all its ranks making the
same sum, it is evident, that if we
iring the two into one, by adding
;ogether the numbers of the two
corresponding cells of the two squares, that is, the two
numbers of the first of each, the two numbers of the se¬
cond, of the third, &c. and dispose them in the forty-nine
corresponding cells of a third square, it will likewise be
magical in regard to its rank, formed by the addition of
qual sums to equal sums, which must of necessity be equal
mongst themselves. All that remains in doubt is, whether
r no, by the addition of the corresponding cells of the
(wo first squares, all the cells of the third will be filled in
uch a manner that each not only contains one of the
umbers of the progression from 1 to 49, but also that this
umber be different from any of the rest, which is the end
nd design of the whole operation.
As to this it must be observed, that if, in the construc-
on of the second primitive square, care has been taken, in
le commencement of the second horizontal rank, to ob-
crve an order with regard to the first, different from what
ras observed in the construction of the first square; for
astance, if the second rank of the
tat square began with the third
|?rm of the first rank, and the se-
Ibnd rank of the second square
imminence with the fourth of the
irst rank, as in the example it ae¬
rially does; each number of the
tat square may be combined once,
lad only once, by addition with all
|e numbers of the second. And
< the numbers of the first are here
jl 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and those of the
taond, 0, 7, 14, 21, 18, 35, 42 ; by combining them in
a is manner we have all the numbers in the progression
jbm 1 to 49, without having any of them repeated ; which
the perfect magic square proposed.
The necessity of constructing the two primitive squares
ii a different manner does not at all prevent each of the
683
Magin-
danao.
Perfect Square.
_9| 17125
32;40;48
22 30 38
45|~4
19j27
42143
49
16
39
13
29
J3
26
20,160 constructions of the one from being combined with Magician
all the 20,160 constructions of the other; of consequence,
therefore, 20,160 multiplied by itself, which makes
406,425,600, is the number of different constructions that,
may be made of the perfect square, which here consists of
the forty-nine numbers of the natural progression. But as
we have already observed that a primitive square of seven
numbers repeated may have above 20,160 several con¬
structions, the number 406,425,600 must come vastly short
of expressing all the possible constructions of a perfect
magic square of the forty-nine first numbers.
As to the even squares, M. de la Hire constructs them,
like the uneven ones, by two primitive squares; but the
construction of primitives is different in general, and may
be so a great number of ways; and those general differ¬
ences admit of a great number of particular variations,
which give as many different constructions of the same
even square. It seems scarcely possible to determine ex¬
actly, either how many general differences there may be
between the construction of the primitive squares of an
even square and an uneven one, or how many particular
variations each general difference may admit of; and, of
consequence, we are still far from being able to determine
the number of different constructions of all those that may
be made by the primitive squares.
Dr Franklin seems to have carried this curious specu¬
lation farther than any of his predecessors in the same
way. He has constructed not only a magic square of
squares, but likewise a magic circle of circles. The de¬
tails are not, however, of such importance as to require
particular notice in this place.
MAGICIAN, one who practises magic, or has the power
of performing wonderful feats by the agency of spirits.
MAGINDANAO, the most southerly of the Philippine
Islands, in the Eastern Seas, and situated principally between
the sixth and tenth degrees of north latitude. It is of an
extremely irregular shape, and may be estimated at 300
miles in length by 105 in average breadth. This island is of
a very singular shape, having three remarkable promontories,
one near Samboangan to the westward, Cape St Augustine
to the eastward, and Surigao to the northward. It may be
divided into three parts, under distinct and independent
governments; the first, under the sultan, who resides at
the town of Mindanao or Selangan, formerly comprehend¬
ing the greater part of the sea-coast; the second, under
the Spaniards, comprehending a large portion of the sea-
coast to the west, north, and north-east, where they have
settled colonies of Christians from the Philippines ; the
third, under the sultans or rajahs, who inhabit the banks
of the Great Lake, or Lano, and thence a good way inland
towards the hills. Phis island is so remarkably indented
by the sea, that it is extremely favourable to piracy, and
has always been the haunt of pirates. The interior of the
island is intersected by lofty chains of mountains, with
intervening plains, which afford pasture for vast herds of
cattle. The country is well watered and well wooded, and
covered towards the sea-coast with impenetrable juno-]e
and forests. Rice is abundantly produced, also yams,
sweet potatoes, and generally all the fruits common to the
tropical climates. Gold is found in the sands of the rivers,
and in the mountains. The exports consist of wax, rice,
cassia, rattans, tobacco, pepper, &c. All sorts of cloth are
here in great demand, especially long cloth, white and
blue, and red handkerchiefs of all kinds ; chintz, with dark
giounds; Surat goods, and all kinds of European cutlery.
Many articles of Chinese manufacture have been import-
ed. The inhabitants have not made any great advances
in civilization. They can manufacture nothing beyond a
common nail. They are, however, much given to cock-
fighting. Hie women do not suffer the same confinement
as in other eastern countries.
684 MAG MAG
Magistery Magellan first took possession of this island in 1521, in markable for his extraordinary modesty, his sincerity, and Maglim
II the name of Charles V.; and the Spaniards made some his beneficence, which his friends often experienced in their ||
Magha- sett]ements> an(l subdued the northern coast, but never wants. He was a patron of men of learning, and had the
v Jjechl^ v made any farther progress, and now with difficulty retain highest pleasure in assisting them with his advice and
N their feeble colonies. It was visited by the Portuguese formation, and in furnishing them with books and manu-
about the year 1537, and by the Dutch in 1607, 1616, scripts. He had the utmost aversion to any thing that
and 1627. The intercourse of the British with this island looked like constraint, and therefore the grand duke always
has not been frequent. The pirates, by whom it is inha- dispensed with his personal attendance, and sent him his
bited, made an attack on the British settlements on Prince orders in writing. Though he lived a very sedentary life,
of Wales Island in 1788, and were repulsed with loss, he reached the eighty-first year of his age ; and died amidst
In 1798 the sultan seized a boat’s crew of a British frigate, the regrets of the public, after enjoying, during the latter
who were afterwards ransomed. In 1803 they fitted out part of his life, such affluence as few have ever procured
a fleet of prows with a view of invading the Company’s by their learning. By his will, he left a very fine library
settlements in Celebes, when they were met by the Swift to the public, with a fund for its support. See the article
cruiser, and dispersed with great loss. Long. 119. 30. to Libraries.
125. E. Lat. 5. 40. to 9. 55. N. The principal town of the MAGLIANO, a town of the province of Mondovi, in
island is of the same name, and the residence of the sul- Piedmont, containing 1680 inhabitants,
tan. It is situated about six miles up the Pelangy or MAGLOIRE, St, a native of Wales, in Great Britain,
Magindanao River, and forms, properly speaking, one town and cousin-german to St Sampson and St Mallo. He em-
with Selangan, which is on the opposite side of the river, braced a monastic life, and went into France, where he was
communicating by several bridges. It extends about one made abbot of Dol, and afterwards provincial bishop in Bre-
mile down the river Pelangy, forming a tolerable street, tagne. He subsequently founded a monastery in the island
about half the distance. Long. 124. 40. E. Lat. 7. 9. N. of Jersey, where he died on the 14th of October 575, about
MAGISTERY, an old term in chemistry, given to pre- the age of eighty. His remains were transported to the
cipitates. Thus, magistery and 'precipitate are synonymous ; suburb of St Jacques, and deposited in a monastery of Be-
formerly precipitate was a general term, and magistery ap- nedictines, which was ceded to the fathers of the Oratory
plied to particular precipitates, such as the magistery of in 1628. It became the seminary of St Magloire, and ce-
bismuth, and the like. lebrated on account of the learned men whom it has pro-
MAGISTRATE, any public officer to whom the execu- duced. This saint cultivated poetry with considerable suc-
tive power of the law is committed, either wholly or in part, cess, the hymn which is sung at the feast of All Saints,
MAGLIABECHI, Antonio, a person of great learning, Ccelo quos eadem gloria consecrate having been composed
and remarkable for an amazing memory, was born at Flo- by him.
rence in the year 1633. His father died when he was only MAGNAC-LAVAL, a town of France, in the depart-
seven years of age. His mother had him taught grammar and ment of the Upper Vienne, and arrondissement of Ballac,
drawing, and then put him as apprentice to one of the best situated on the river Brame, and containing 2850 inhabitants,
goldsmiths in Florence. When he was about sixteen years MAGNANIMITY denotes greatness of mind, particu-
old, his passion for learning began to appear ; and he laid larly in circumstances of trial and adversity. It has been
out all his money in buying books. Becoming acquainted justly observed, that it is pride in the good sense, and the
with Michel Ermini, librarian to the Cardinal de’ Medici, noblest way of acquiring applause. It renders the soul su-
he perfected himself by his assistance in the Latin tongue, perior to the trouble, disorder, and emotion, which the ap-
and in a little time became master of the Hebrew. His pearance of great danger might excite ; and it is by this
name soon became famous amongst the learned. A prodi- quality that heroes maintain their tranquillity, and preserve
gious memory formed his distinguishing talent; and he re- the free use of their reason, amidst the most dreadful acci-
tained not only the sense of what he had read, but frequent- dents. It admires the same quality even in an enemy; and
ly all the words, and the very manner of spelling. It is said fame, glory, conquests, desire of opportunities to pardon
that a gentleman, to make trial of the force of his memory, and oblige their opponents, are the emotions which glow in
lent him a manuscript he was going to print. Some time the minds of the brave.
after it was returned, the gentleman, going to him with a MAGNESIA, a town of Asia Minor, situated on the
melancholy countenance, pretended it was lost, and re- Maeander, about fifteen miles from Ephesus. Themisto-
quested Magliabechi to recollect what he remembered of cles died at Magnesia, which was one of the three towns
it; upon which he wrote the whole, without missing a word, given him by Artaxerxes, “ to furnish his table with bread.”
He generally shut himself up the whole day, and opened It is also celebrated for a battle which was fought there,
his doors in the evening to the men of letters who came to 190 years before the Christian era, between the Romans
converse with him. His attention was so absorbed by his and Antiochus king of Syria. It was founded by a colony
studies, that he often forgot the most urgent wants of na- from Magnesia in Thessaly; and was commonly called
ture. Cosmo III. grand duke of Florence, made him his to distinguish it from another call-
librarian ; but he still continued negligent in his dress, and ed Magnesia ad Sipylum, in Lydia, at the foot of Mount
simple in his manners. An old,cloak served him fora Sipylus.
morning gown in the day, and for bed-clothes at night. MAGNETICAL Island, an island in the Southern
The duke, however, provided for him a commodious apart- Pacific Ocean, near the north coast of New Holland, dis-
ment in his palace, which he was with difficulty per- covered by Captain Cook in 1770, and so named from its
suaded to take possession of, but which he quitted four having some effect on the compass. Long. 213. 22. W. Lat.
months afterwards, and returned to his house. He was re- 19. 8. S.
685
MAGNET IS M.
i
'i*)
ore
itse
her
irbi
[DOS
fron
covf
the
artii
perr
upoi
velo
oftl
we i
In
has
the
I
2.
and
3.
4,
tatio
5
6
7
8
9,
id
nets,
II
gtofj! The word magnetism is derived from the Greek word
-yW fjjuyvris, a name given to the loadstone or native magnet, an
ore of iron well known to the ancients. The term /jjayvrig
itself is said to be derived from one Magnes, a Greek shep¬
herd, who observed on Mount Ida the attractive power
which the loadstone exercised upon his iron crook. The
most probable supposition however is, that it took its name
from Magnesia, a country in Lydia, where it was first dis¬
covered ; and this conjecture is confirmed by the fact that
the magnet was often called by the ancients Lapis Hera-
cleus, from Heraclea, the capital of Magnesia.
The science of magnetism treats of the phenomena ex¬
hibited by magnets, whether natural like the loadstone, or
artificial like bars of steel to which magnetism has been
permanently communicated;—of their reciprocal action
upon each other; of the laws of the forces which they de-
velope; of the methods of making artificial magnets; and
of the magnetic phenomena exhibited by the globe which
we inhabit.
In giving an account of this interesting science, which
has made rapid progress in modern times, we shall adopt
the following arrangement:
1. On the history of magnetical discovery.
2. On the general phenomena and principles of natural
and artificial magnets.
3. On the magnetism of bodies not ferruginous.
4. On the development of magnetism in bodies by ro¬
tation.
5. On the influence of heat on magnetism.
6. On the action of iron spheres on the needle.
7. On the influence of magnetism on chemical action.
8. On the laws of magnetic forces.
9. On terrestrial magnetism.
10. On the different methods of making artificial mag¬
nets.
11. On magnetical instruments and apparatus.
12. On the theories of magnetism.
cha:
CHAP. I. ON THE HISTORY OF MAGNETICAL DISCOVERIES.
T1
stom
from
by I
chaii
beitij
carei
andr
stoni
Arsi
susp
pis a
by I
fflen
impr
conn
neti(
of at
litiei
pocr
The attractive power of the natural magnet or load¬
stone over small pieces of iron seems to have been known
from the remotest antiquity. It is distinctly referred to
by Homer, Pythagoras, and Aristotle. Pliny mentions a
chain of iron rings suspended from one another, the first
being upheld by the loadstone; and he relates that Dino¬
cares proposed to Ptolemy Philadelphus to build, at Alex¬
andria, a temple, the vault of which, crowned with load¬
stones, should suspend in the air an iron statue of Queen
Arsinbe. St Augustin likewise makes mention of a statue
suspended in the air in the middle of the temple of Sera-
pis at Alexandria. From references made to the magnet
by Euripides, Claudian, and others, and from the experi¬
ment with the rings mentioned by Pliny,1 it is not very
improbable that the ancients were acquainted with the
communicability of magnetism to iron bodies. The mag¬
netical properties of the loadstone, like the electrical ones
of amber, were supposed to be miraculous. Medical qua¬
lities of various kinds were ascribed to it; and even Hip¬
pocrates ranks it amongst the number of purgatives.
In order to explain the properties of the loadstone, History.
Thales, Anaxagoras, and others, supposed it to have av'—~v—*
soul; while some conceived that it was surrounded with
an emanation, capable of creating a vacuum, into which the
iron precipitated itself.
In his description of China, Duhalde has stated that the Invention
directive power, or polarity, of the magnet, was known to °f the com-
the Chinese in the earliest ages, and that the needle hadPass’
been employed to guide travellers by land a thousand
years before Christ; and it is stated by Humboldt, that,
according to the Peuthsaoyani, a treatise on Medical Na¬
tural History, written under the Saong dynasty, 400 years
before Columbus, the Chinese suspended the needle by a
thread, and found it to decline to the south-east, and never
to rest at the true south point.
Although the common properties of the loadstone were
known to the ancients, and were no doubt studied even dur¬
ing the dark ages, yet, notwithstanding the claims of the
Chinese and Arabians, the directive power of the loadstone,
or of a needle touched or rubbed by it, seems to be the
discovery of modern times. Are Erode, an Icelandic his¬
torian, who was born in the year 1068, and who must have
written his Landnamaboh, or history of the discovery of
Iceland, about the end of the eleventh century, mentions,
in the most unequivocal manner, the directive power of
the loadstone as known in his day. He states that Floke
Vilgerderson, a renowned viking or pirate, departed from
Rogoland in Norway, to seek Gadersholm or Iceland,
some time in the year 868. He carried with him three a. d# 868.
ravens as guides, and, to consecrate them for this purpose,
he offered up a sacrifice in Smbrsund, where his ship lay.
“ For," says Frode, “ in those times seamen had no load¬
stone2 in the northern countries?
That the mariner’s compass was known in the twelfth
century, about the year 1150, is proved by notices of it in
various authors, particularly in an old French poem called
La Bible Guyot, which is contained in a curious quarto
manuscript of the thirteenth century, still existing in the
Iloyal Library at Paris. Guyot of Provins, the author of
this poem, was alive in 1181. After referring to the ways
by which navigators are guided in their course, and men¬
tioning the pole star, he adds,
Un art font qui mentir ne peut,
Par la vertue de la mariniere,
Un pierre laide et bruniere
Ou le fers volontiers se joint,
Ont regardent lor droit point.
That is, “ they possess a never-failing method, by the vir¬
tue of the mariniere, an ugly and brown stone, to which
iron adheres of its own accord.” The author next adds,
that this art consists in rubbing a needleon the mariniere ;
and that the point of this needle turns just against the pole-
star in dark nights, when neither star nor moon are seen.
Quant il nuit est tenebre et brune,
Quand ne voit estoile ne lune,
Lor font a I’aiguille allumer,
Puiz ne peut ils assorer,
Centre I’estoile va le pointe,
Par se sont il mariner cointe,
De la droit voie terns :
C’est un art qui ne peut mentir.
i
spec,
2
Sola hsec materia (ferrum) vires ab eo lapide accipit, retinetque longo tempore, aliud apprehendens ferrum, ut annulorum catena
spectetur interdum, quod imperitum vulgus ferrum appellat vivum.
2 Leidarstein, or Leading Stone, from which our word Loadstone is derived.
686
M A G N E T I S M.
History. Cardinal James de Vitri, who flourished about the year
1200, mentions the magnetic needle in his History of Je-
n. - "'rusalem ; and he adds, that it was of indispensable utility to
those who travelled by sea.
That the mariner’s compass was’known to the northern
nations in 1266, appears from Torfseus’s History of Nor¬
way, where it is mentioned that Jarl Sturla’s poem on the
death of the Swedish count Byrgeres was rewarded with a
mariner’s compass. The directive property of the magnet is
also distinctly mentioned in an epistle of Petrus Peregrinus
de Marcourt, written about the latter end of the thirteenth
century. This letter was addressed “ Ad Sigerium de
Foueancourt militem de magnete.” This epistle contains
a description of the loadstone, the means of finding its
poles, and its property of attracting iron ; and it proves that
the part of the magnet which is turned to the north attracts
that which is turned to the south.
A Neapolitan named Flavio Gioia, who lived in the
thirteenth century, has been regarded by many as the
inventor of the compass. Dr Gilbert affirms that Pau-
PaulusVe-lus Venetus brought the compass from China to Italy
netus. in 1260. Ludi Vestomannus asserts, that about’1500 he
a.d. 1260. saw a pilot in the East Indies direct his course by a mag¬
netic needle like those now in use. One of the earliest
Peter Ad- treatises on magnetism is a Latin letter of Peter Adsiger,
siger. contained in a volume of manuscripts in the library of the
university of Leyden. This letter, which appears to have
been written for the instruction of a friend, is in reality a
methodical treatise, in two parts, the first of which is sub¬
divided into ten, and the second into three chapters. In the
second chapter of the second part, the mariner’s compass,
and the method of constructing it, are clearly described;
and, what is still more interesting, the author not only
mentions the declination of the magnetic needle, but had
observed its actual deviation from the meridian. “ Take
notice,” says he, “ that the magnet, as well as the needle
which has been touched by it, does not point exactly to
the poles; but that part of it which is reckoned to point
to the south inclines a little to the west, and that part
which looks towards the north inclines as much to the east.
The exact quantity of this declination I have found, after
numerous experiments, to be jive degrees. However, this
declination is no obstacle to our guidance, because we
make the needle itself decline from the true south by near¬
ly one point and a half towards the west. A point, then,
contains five degrees.” Mr Christie seems to consider
the authenticity of this manuscript as doubtful, because
no new observation of the declination seems to have been
made for two centuries afterwards; and because the de¬
clination should be westerly in place of easterly in 1269,
according to the best law of the change which can be de¬
duced from subsequent observations.
The declination or the variation of the needle, thus dis¬
tinctly described by Adsiger, if his manuscript is authen¬
tic, must be considered as well known before the time of
Columbus, to whom the discovery of it has been generally
Columbus, ascribed. His s8n Ferdinand states, that on the I4th
a. d. 1492. of September (13th according to Mr Irving) 1492, his fa¬
ther, when about two hundred leagues from the island of
hen o, noticed for the first time the variation of the needle;
a phenomenon, says Washington Irving, i( which had
Variation never before been remarked.” “ He perceived,” adds
discovered, this author, “ about nightfall, that the needle, instead of
pointing to the north star, varied but half a point, or be¬
tween five and six degrees to the north-west, and still Hkt
more on the following morning. Struck with this circum- wL
stance, he observed it attentively for three days, and found
that the variation increased as he advanced. He at first
made no mention of this phenomenon, knowing how ready
his people were to take alarm ; but it soon attracted the
attention of the pilots, and filled them with consternation
It seemed as if the laws of nature were changing as they
advanced, and that they were entering another world, sub¬
ject to unknown influences. They apprehended that the
compass was about to lose its mysterious virtues; and, with¬
out this guide, what was to become of them in a vast and
trackless ocean ? Columbus tasked his science and inge¬
nuity for reasons with which to allay their terrors. He
told them that the direction of the needle was not to the
polar star, but to some fixed and invisible point. The va¬
riation was not caused by any failing in the compass, which,
like the other heavenly bodies, had its changes and revo¬
lutions, and every day described a circle round the pole.
The high opinion that the pilots entertained of Columbus
as a profound astronomer gave weight to his theory, and
their alarm subsided.”1 Although the details which we Chan-re in
have already given afford sufficient proof that the variation the varia.
of the needle had been discovered two hundred years be-h011'
fore the time of Columbus, yet it is evident, from the
above passage, that he had discovered the variation of the
variation, or that the variation was not a constant quantity,
but varied in different latitudes.
Notwithstanding these casual observations on the varia¬
tion of the compass, no accurate measures of its amount
were made till about the middle of the 16th century. In
1541 it was found that the declination of the needle from
the meridian of Paris was about 7° or 8° easterly. In
1550 it was 8° or 9°, and in 1580 111° easterly. Nor¬
man,2 who first observed the variation in London, made it
11° 15' easterly; and Mr Burough,3 comptroller of the navy,
in 1580 found it to be at an average 11° 19' E. at Lime-
house. The following observations made at other places
will show the gradual change in the variation.
Burough 1580 11° 19' E. Limehouse.
Gunter 1612  5 36 E. London.
Gellibrand4 1633  4 4 E. London.
Petit 1630  4 30 E. Paris.
Petit 1660  0 10 E. Paris.
Auzout 1670  2 0 W. Rome.
Hevelius 1642  3 5 W. Dantzig.
Hevelius 1670  7 20 W. Dantzig.
The important discovery of the dip or inclination of theDipofthe
needle was made in 1576, by Robert Norman, whom weneellle^s'
have already mentioned. Having constructed many com-eomif!.(.
passes, and having always balanced the needles for themA‘ D'
before he touched them with the magnet, he invariably
found, that after they were touched, the north point always
inclined below the horizon, so that he was obliged to make
the card of the compass level, by putting some small pieces
of wire on the end of it. Having mentioned this dis¬
covery to some of his friends, he was advised to construct
an instrument which would enable him to measure the
greatest angle which it would make with the horizon.
With this instrument, which is the dipping needle in its first
and rudest form, he found the dip to be at 71° 50'; an ob¬
servation which, according to Bond, must have been made
about 1576.
That ferruginous substances always possess a greater or
1 Irving s Z,i/e and Voyages of Columbus, vol. i. p. 201.
4 ^°rn?aib Bond. 1596. 5 A Discourse on the Variation of the Compass. Lend. 1581.
was Jad“a% ft" westwarl ” M,lgnetl<:al NeedIe’ I635- GeUita“<1 f™”d '1'e -arth-east of the needle
Juli
versi
feet i
work
The
on th
fallen
lighti
posse
l. W1
'of ins
-rorou
This
to Qe
■Jim
a wori
ingrr
ing c<
and to
* (mired
(oall I
nets, i
lefim
Other.
iPg 3
hougl
if phe
lower
leing
jver tl
[reate]
]art!i;
l magi
i need
hat w
owarc
othe
ides i
nagne
wth I
othe
i Abt
ics in
mblici
i wort
ains tl
ion of
ndeF
ablec
ocon:
ihis ta
tbserv
liffere:
he Pi
he chi
losing
fthe
this re
ktenr
He dk
iis vie
NeJ
topher
Mur
thesul
liscovi
tnd Co
C0pyoj
“’gthf
“Mag
I
»
, 3
Julii
feet
fforf
The
on tf
posse
of ini
jorou
This
to Qi
infor
ing n
ing of
and t(
ljuirec
to all
nets, i
te fim
jitlier.
thougl
if phe
Ewer
ing
er tl
Ireate
[arth
mag
iuced
it w
the
lies i
gnt
nth
lo the
Abd
;ics n
iublic
worl
nst
on of
idel
ile
con
as ta
ibserv
liffere
IheP;
pe ch
te
this rc
letern
^ di(
iis vie
Nev
tophe:
Sent®
fesul
liscov
k co
tOpyo
•'g th(
«mas
MAGNETISM.
687
torjr.a less degree of magnetism, has been long known. One
‘.f-Wulius Caesar, a surgeon of Rimini, first observed the con¬
version of iron into a magnet. In 1590 he noticed this ef¬
fect on a bar of iron which had supported a piece of brick¬
work on the top of a tower of the church of St Augustin.
The very same fact was observed about 1630, by Gassendi,
an the cross of the church of St John at Aix, which had
fallen down in consequence of having been struck with
lightning. He found the foot of it wasted with rust, and
possessing all the properties of a loadstone.
IberU While magnetism was making slow advances by means
j|C0|bf insulated observations, it was destined to receive a vi¬
gorous impulse from the pen of Dr Gilbert of Colchester,
fhis eminent individual, who was physician in ordinary
;o Queen Elizabeth, published, in 1600, his Physiologia
Vova, seu Tractatus de Magnete et Corporibas Magneticis,
i work which contains almost all the information concern-
ng magnetism which was known during the two follow-
ng centuries. It relates chiefly to the natural loadstone,
.nd to artificial magnets, or bars of steel which have ac-
uired similar properties. He applies the term magnetic
10 all bodies which are acted upon by loadstones and mag¬
nets, in the same manner as they act upon each other, and
fie finds that all such bodies contain iron in some state or
then He considers the phenomena of electricity as hav-
ig a considerable resemblance to those of magnetism,
aough he points out the differences by which the two classes
f phenomena are marked. In treating of the directive
ower of the needle, he supposed, “ that the earth itself
eing in all its parts magnetical, and the water not, wher-
ver the land was, there would the needle turn, as to the
reater quantity of magnetical matter.” He regarded the
arth as acting upon a magnetised bar, and upon iron, like
magnet, the directive power of the needle being pro-
uced by the action of magnetism of a contrary kind to
fiat which exists at the extremity of the needle directed
awards the pole of the globe. He gave the name otpole
[b the extremities of the needle which pointed towards the
ules of the earth, conformably to his views of terrestrial
tiagnetism, calling the extremity that pointed towards the
lorth the south pole of the needle, and that which pointed
lo the south the north pole.
About the year 1650, Mr Bond, a teacher of mathema-
• ics in London, who had been employed to superintend the
[ublication of the popular treatises on navigation, published
i work called the Seamans Calendar, in which he main-
Qins that he has discovered the true progress of the devia-
on of the compass; and in another book, called The Longi-
de Found, and in the Phil. Trans. 1668, he published a
ble of the computed variations for London for many years
come, extending from 1663 to 1716. The results which
his table contains agree very nearly with those which were
bserved for the next twenty-five years, but after that the
jifferences became very great. In a subsequent paper in
he Phil. Trans, for 1673, Bond attempted to account for
he change in the variation and dip of the needle, by sup-
jjosing that the two magnetic poles revolved round the poles
f the earth. He asserted that he knew the period of
his revolution, as well as its cause; and he proposed to
etermine the longitude by means of the dip of the needle.
He did not, however, think proper to communicate either
is views or method to the public.
Newton, Huygens, Hooke, and some of the other philo-
aphers who flourished about the end of the seventeenth
entury, were occupied, though not to a great degree, with
pe subject of magnetism. Some of their observations and
iscoveries are referred to in a manuscript volume of notes
iid commentaries, written by David Gregory in 1693, in a
»py of Newton’s Principia, and used by Newton in improv¬
ing the second edition. Newton had supposed that the law
f magnetic action approaches to the inverse triplicate ratio
r>,
of the distance ; but Gregory did not adopt this opinion, History,
and invalidates the arguments which were used in its sup-
port. Newton committed another mistake in asserting, as
we shall afterwards see, that red hot iron has no magnetic
property.
Several interesting experiments had been made by Dr Dr Hooke.
Gilbert, on the effects of heat in destroying magnetism, a. n. 1684.
and-also in inducing it in substances susceptible of being
impregnated. He likewise made numerous experiments
with bars of iron and steel placed in the magnetic meri¬
dian and exposed to great heats. Dr Hooke took up this
subject in 1684. He used rods of iron and steel about
seven inches long and one fifth of an inch in diameter, and
he found that they acquired permanent magnetism when
strongly heated in the magnetic meridian, and allowed to
cool in the same position. The permanency of the effect
was greater, and the magnetism stronger, when the rods
were suddenly cooled in cold water, so as to give them a
very hard temper. He found that the end which was next
to the north, or the lower end of a vertical bar, was inva¬
riably a permanent north pole. Even when the upper end
alone was quenched, while the rest of the bar cooled slow¬
ly, that end became a sensible south pole. If the same
process was adopted when the steel bar lay at right angles
to the magnetic meridian, no magnetism was acquired.
The subject of terrestrial magnetism now occupied the Dr Halley,
attention of our eminent countryman Dr Edmund Halley ;a. d. 1683.
and in 1683 he published his Theory of Magnetism, which
to a certain extent forms the nucleus of more modern
hypotheses. He regarded the earth’s magnetism as caused
by four poles of attraction, two of them near each pole of
the earth; and he supposes “ that in those parts of the
world which lie nearly adjacent to any one of these mag¬
netic poles, the needle is governed thereby, the nearest pole
being always predominant over that more remote.” He
supposes that the magnetic pole, which was in his time
nearest Britain, was situated near the meridian of the land’s
end, and not above 7° from the north pole; the other north
magnetic pole being in the meridian of California, and
about 15° from the north pole of the earth. He placed
one of the two south poles about 16° from the south pole
of the globe, and 95° west from London; and the other, or
the most powerful of the four, about 20° from the south
pole, and 120° east of London.
In order to account for the change in the variation, Dr Dr Hal-
Halley, some years afterwards, added to these reasonable ky’8 theo-
suppositions the very extraordinary one, that our globery'
was a hollow shell, and that within it a solid globe revolv¬
ed, in nearly the same time as the outer one, and about the
same centre of gravity, and with a fluid medium between
them. To this inner globe he assigned two magnetic poles,
and to the outer one other two ; and he conceived the
change in the variation of the needle to be caused by a
want of coincidence in the times of rotation of the inner
globe and the external shell. “ Now, supposing,” says he,
“ such an external sphere having such a motion, we may
solve the two great difficulties in every former hypothesis ;
for if this exterior shell of earth be a magnet, having its
poles at a distance from the poles of dim-nal rotation, and
if the internal nucleus be likewise a magnet, having its
poles in two other places, distant also from its axis, and
these latter, by a gradual and slow motion, change their
places in respect of the external, we may then give a rea¬
sonable account of the four magnetic poles, as also of the
changes of the needle’s variation.” From some reasons
which Dr Halley then states, he concludes “ that the
two poles of the external globe are fixed in the earth, and
that if the needle were wholly governed by them, the vari¬
ation would be always the same, with some little irregula¬
rities ; but the internal sphere, having such a gradual trans¬
lation of its poles, influences the needle, and directs it va-
688
MAGNETISM.
History, riously, according to the result of the attractive and di-
V ” Y_*_>rective power of each pole, and consequently there must
be a period of revolution of this internal ball, after which
the variation will return as before.”
This theory excited so much notice, that an application
was made to William and Mary, for a ship, “ in order to
seek, by observation, the discovery of the rule for the va¬
riation of the compass.” The command of a ship of the royal
navy was in consequence given to Dr Halley; and, in the
accomplishment of the object which he had in view, he
performed two voyages, one in 1698 and the other in 1699,
in which he traversed various parts of the Pacific and At¬
lantic Oceans, and obtained such a number of valuable
results, that he completed a chart of the variation of the
needle, which exhibited to the eye the general law of its
phenomena.
Graham. The very important discovery of the daily variation of
a. n. 1722. the needle was made in 1722, by Mr Graham, a celebrated
mathematical instrument maker in London. While the
needle was advancing by an annual motion to the westward,
Daily va- Mr Graham found that its north extremity moved west-
riation dis- ward during the early part of the day, and returned
covered. again }n the evening to the eastward, to the same position
which it occupied in the morning, remaining nearly station¬
ary during the night. Mr Graham at first ascribed these
changes to defects in the form of his needles; but, by nu¬
merous and careful observations, repeated under every va¬
riation of the weather and of the heat and pressure of the
atmosphere, he concluded that the daily variation was a
regular phenomenon, of which he could not find the cause.
It was generally a maximum between ten o’clock a. m. and
4 o’clock p. m., and a minimum between six and seven o’¬
clock p. m. Between the 6th February and the 12th May
1722, he made a thousand observations in the same place,
from w'hich he found that the greatest westerly variation
was I!0 45', and the least 13° 50'; but in general it varied
between 14° 35' and 14°, giving 35' for the amount of the
daily variation.
Law of the The law of the magnetic force, or the rate at which it
magnetic varies with the distance, had, as we have seen, occupied
the attention of Sir Isaac Newton and David Gregory.
Numerous experiments were made by various authors for
the same purpose, a large collection of which have been
published by Scarella, in his treatise De Magnete, published
at Brescia in 1759. Muschenbroeck made a great number of
experiments with the same view; but as the joint action of
the four poles was never considered, the precise law of va-
Hauksbee riation remained unknown. Mr Hauksbee and Dr Brooke
an 100 e laylor employed a much better method, namely, the devi¬
ation of a compass-needle from the meridian, produced by
the action of a magnet at different distances ; but the mag¬
nets which they used had improper shapes, and the con¬
clusion which they drew from their experiments wras, that
the magnetic force decreased much quicker at great dis¬
tances than at small ones, and that it is different in differ¬
ent loadstones.1
Notwithstanding this strange conclusion, the observa¬
tions to which we have referred were of great value; and
Mr Michell2 succeeded in deducing from them, in 1750,
the true law of magnetic action. “ There have been,” says
Mr Michell, “ some who have imagined that the decrease
of the magnetic attraction and repulsion is inversely as the
cubes of the distances ; others, as the squares ; and others,
that it follows no certain ratio at all, but that it is much
quicker at great distances than at small ones, and that it is
different in different stones. Among the last is Dr Brooke
Taylor and Muschenbroeck, who seem to have been pretty
Taylor.
Mr Mi.
chell.
accurate in their experiments. The conclusions of these Hi
gentlemen were drawn from their experiments, without
their being aware of the third property of magnets just ’
mentioned, which, if they had made proper allowances for
together with the increase and diminution of power in the
magnets they tried their experiments with, all the irregu¬
larities they complained of (as far as appears from their
relations of them) might very well be accounted for, and
the whole of their experiments coincide with the squares of
the distances inversely.”
It is to Mr Michell also that we owe the introduction of Tors'
the torsion balance, for measuring small forces; an instru-balance
ment which, as we shall see, was employed with singular
success and dexterity by Coulomb in his electrical, magne-
tical, and hydrodynamical researches : and the science of
magnetism is no less indebted to Mr Michell for his inven¬
tion of the method of double touch, as it is called, by which
artificial magnets may be made with greater strength than
could have been obtained from the previous method of
Duhamel.
The hypothesis of Descartes, who explained the polarityDescartei
of the needle by means of currents moving rapidly from the
equator to the poles, w'as adopted and defended by Euler
and Daniel Bernoulli; but we cannot afford any space for
such useless speculations. Euler afterwards occupied him¬
self more advantageously for science in attempting to in¬
vestigate mathematically the direction of the needle on
every part of the earth’s surface.3 Perceiving the intrica¬
cy which would arise from the adoption of four poles, as
imagined by Halley, he tried the effect of employing two
poles not diametiucally opposite; and he found, that when
a proper position was given them, the variation under the
same meridian might be both easterly and westerly, as in
Halley’s chart. The solution which he has given is found¬
ed on the principle, “ that the magnetic direction on the
earth follows always the small circle which passes through
the given place, and the two magnetic poles of the earth;”
or that the horizontal needle is a tangent to the circle
passing through the place of observation, and through the
two points on the earth’s surface where the dipping needle
becomes vertical, or the horizontal needle loses its direc¬
tive power. In the application of this principle, Euler
makes four different suppositions respecting the magnetic-
poles: 1. That they are diametrically opposite to each other;
2. that they are in opposite meridians, but not in opposite
parallels; 3. that they are on the same meridian ; and, 4.
that they have every other situation whatever. The first
of these suppositions he finds to be quite irreconcileablewith
the observed phenomena, but in the other three he finds
that the variation may be both easterly and westerly in the
same meridian. By successive approximations he finds the
position of the two magnetic poles in 1757 to be as fol¬
lows : The north pole in latitude 76° north, and longitude
96° west from Teneriffe ; and the south pole in latitude 58°
south, and longitude 158° west from Teneriffe. To this dis¬
sertation Euler has added a chart of the curves of equal va¬
riation, calculated on the preceding principles, and suited
to 1757 ; and their general accordance with observation is
very surprising. In a subsequent dissertation Euler endea¬
voured to improve his theory, by supposing the two mag¬
netic poles to be at the surface of the earth. The chord
joining these poles he calls the magnetic axis, and the
middle point of that chord its magnetic centre. Then, if we
draw a line from the place of observation to the magnetic
centre, and consider this as the base of an isosceles triangle,
one of whose sides is the magnetic axis, the other side will
be the direction of a freely suspended needle. This hypo-
1 Phil. Trans. No. 368, 396.
2 A Treatise of Artificial Magnets, 8vo, Lond. 1750, p. 19.
2 Berlin Memoirs, 1757, 1766.
✓'rem
iteo
form
poin
givei
a cei
posit
\
ttentifi
plier;
Mem
place
net,
natioi
liquit-
|ion
of the
M.L:
and h
^1 to
:he c<
:onst<
)f the
ietst
,he la
nagni
herel
he
he di
ed,
iet is
lartic
listan
if a
vhich
atelv
i Ou I
limila
nents
tails
hem
id ne
racth
asilj
wle v
:ase c
eeatl
icmei
flien
epeat
ahing
lositic
he re
ormal
lobi,
nagne
PftWi
«r0f
^en
then j
net, p:
“orth
vol
MAGNETISM.
to# thesis, though it has various defects, fulfils, as has been well
remarked, certain conditions that are essential to a good
theory. 1. It gives the needle the approximately accurate
positions at the equator, the needle and the axis being then
parallel; 2. it fulfils the condition of the needle and axis,
forming a continuous line at the poles; 3. it furnishes two
points at which the needle would be vertical; and, 4. it
gives a series of positions, single for each place, and having
a certain, and oftentimes pretty close, approach to the true
position.!1
)ert. The law of magnetic action occupied the particular at-
73'(tention of M. Lambert, the celebrated Prussian philoso¬
pher, who has published an account of his labours in the
Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin for 1756. Having
placed a mariner’s compass^.t various distances from a mag¬
net, and in the direction of its axis, he observed the decli¬
nation of the needle produced by the magnet, and the ob¬
liquity of the magnet to the needle’s axis. From several
observations at different obliquities, he found that the ac-
;ion of magnetism on a lever was proportional to the sine
jf the angle of its obliquity to the axis of the lever or needle.
W. Lambert then proceeded to study the effect of distance,
and he discovered that the force of a magnet is proportion-
il to the distance of the nearest pole of the magnet from
he centre of the needle, diminished by the square of a
constant quantity, nearly equal to two thirds of the length
)f the needle. This result he found to be true with mag-
,iets ten times larger, and needles twice as short; but as
he law led him to a strange result, as if the action on a
magnet were exerted from a centre beyond itself, he was
herefore obliged to take another method of determining
he law of action, namely, by a series of experiments on
he directive power of the magnet,2 from which he infer-
ied, “ that the force of each transverse element of a mag-
|iet is as its distance from the centre, and its action as a
^article of another magnet inversely as the square of the
listance.” By means of this law he calculates the position
jf a very small needle, and draws three of the curves to
yhich it should be a tangent, and these coincide very accu¬
rately with some of those which he had observed.
M-j Our learned countryman Dr Robison had been pursuing
imilar inquiries before he had seen Lambert’s experi-
; 'Hnents. He got some magnets made, composed of two
tails connected by a slender rod; and after magnetising
hem strongly, he found that the force of each pole resid¬
ed nearly in the centre of the ball. In this way the at-
ractive and the directive powers of the magnets were
asily computed, and the result was, that the force of each
ole was inversely as the square of the distance. In no
ase did the error of this hypothesis amount to one fif-
eenth of the whole, and in the calculation for the phe-
omena of the directive power the errors were still smaller.
Vhen Dr Robison had seen Lambert’s second memoir, he
lepeated all his former experiments in Lambert’s manner,
faking the precaution of keeping the needle in its natural
fosition, which he had not previously attended to; and
ihe results which he now obtained were still more con-
brmable to his conjecture as to the law of variation. Dr
Robison tried another method of ascertaining the law of
nagnetic action. In 1769 or 1770 he constructed a needle
f two balls joined by a slender rod, and having touched it
rdth great care, so as to keep the whole strength of the
j'oles near the centre of the balls, he counted the num-
er of oscillations which it performed horizontally in a
riven time by the force of the earth’s magnetism. “ He
ben placed it on the middle of a very fine and large mag-
ict, placed with its poles in the magnetic meridian, the
lorth pole pointing south. In this situation he counted
689
the vibrations made in a given time. He then raised it History,
up above the centre of a large magnet, till the distance of
its poles from those of the great magnet was changed in a
certain proportion. In this situation its vibrations were
again counted. It was tried in the same way in a third
situation, considerably more remote from the great mag¬
net. Then having made the proper reduction of the forces
corresponding to the obliquity of their action, the force of
the poles of the great magnet was computed from the num¬
ber of vibrations.” The results of these experiments were
the most consistent with each other of any that Dr Ro¬
bison made for determining the law of the magnetic force,
and it was chiefly from them that he thought himself
authorized to say with some confidence, that it is inverse¬
ly as the square of the distance. When Dr Robison, how¬
ever, observed, some years afterwards, that iEpinus, in
1777, conceived the force to vary inversely as the simple
distance, he repeated the experiments with great care, and
added another set made with the same magnet, and the
same needle placed at one side of the magnet instead of
above it. By this arrangement, which greatly simplified
the process, the result of the whole was still more satis¬
factory. The inverse law of the square of the distance
was therefore well established.
Various speculations respecting the cause of the phe- Theory of
nomena of magnetism had been hazarded by different au- Alpinus.
thors; but it was reserved for M. iEpinus to devise a ra-A* D* 1759.
tional hypothesis, which embraced and explained almost all
the phenomena which had been observed by previous au¬
thors. This hypothesis, which he has explained at great
length in his Tentamen Theories Electricitatis et Magnetismi,
published in 1759, may be stated in the following manner.
1. In all magnetic bodies there exists a substance which
may be called the magnetic fluid, whose particles repel
each other with a force inversely as the distance.
2. The particles of this fluid attract the particles of iron,
and are attracted by them in return with a similar force.
3. The particles of iron repel each other according to
the same law.
4. The magnetic fluid moves through the pores of iron
and soft steel with very little obstruction; but its motion
is more and more obstructed as the steel increases in hard¬
ness or temper, and it moves with the greatest difficulty
in hard-tempered steel and the ores of iron.
The method of making artificial magnets, which was Methods
practised by the philosophers of the seventeenth century, of making
was a very simple but a very inefficacious one. It consisted artificial
in merely rubbing the steel bar to be magnetised, upon maSnets-
one of the poles of a natural or artificial magnet, in a direc¬
tion at right angles to the line joining the poles of the mag¬
net. lowards the middle of the eighteenth century, how¬
ever, the art of making artificial magnets had excited ge¬
neral attention; and it is to Dr Gowin Knight, an Eng¬
lish physician, that we are indebted for the discovery of
a method of making powerful magnets. This method he
kept secret from the public, but it was afterwards publish¬
ed by Dr Wilson. Duhamel, Canton, Michell, Antheaume,
Savery, flEpinus, Robison, Coulomb,' Biot, Scoresby, and *
others, made various improvements on this art, as will be
minutely described when we arrive at that part of our sub¬
ject.
The science of magnetism owes many obligations to Mr Experi-
John Canton, one of the most active experimental philo- ments of
sophers who adorned the middle of the eighteenth cen-Canton.
tury. In or previous to the year 1756, he made no fewer A’D’
than 4000 observations on the diurnal variation of the
needle, with the view of determining its amount, and in¬
vestigating its origin. He found the daily change differ-
See an excellent paper on Terrestrial Magnetism, in the Magazine of Popular Science, May 1836, No. iv. p.
Memoirs of the Berlin Academy, vol. xxii.
VOL. XIII.
223, 224.
4 S
MAGNETISM.
ent in different seasons of the year, as shown in the fol¬
lowing table.
January 7' 8"
February 8 58
March 11 17
April 12 26
May 13 0
June 13 21
July 13' 14"
August 12 19
September....11 43
October 10 36
November 8 9
December 6 58
Van S win-
den.
Discover¬
ies of Cou-
lomb.
Distribu¬
tion ofmag-
netism.
He found also that the time of minimum westerly vari¬
ation at London was between eight and nine o’clock a. m.,
and the time of maximum between one and two o’clock p. m.,
the needle returning to its morning position about eight or
nine in the evening. A series of similar observations were
made with nearly the same results by Mr Van Swinden ;
but this excellent observer discovered, that some time be¬
fore the hour in the morning when the westerly minimum
took place, and after the same hour in the evening, a mo¬
tion of the needle both to the eastward and westward took
place; that is, the morning westerly variation is some¬
times preceded by a small easterly variation, and the prin¬
cipal easterly variation in the evening is followed by a
small westerly variation.
Canton explained the westerly variation of the needle,
and the subsequent easterly motion, by supposing that the
heat of the sun, acting upon the eastern parts of the earth,
weakens their influence, as heat is known to do that of a
magnet, and consequently the needle will move to the
westward. In the same way, as the sun warms the west¬
ern side of the earth in the afternoon, the needle will then
take a contrary direction.
One of the ablest cultivators of the science of magnetism
was the celebrated Coulomb, who, by the application of
the principle of torsion, first used by Michell, determined
the correct law of magnetic attractions and repulsions.1
After measuringwith great nicety, by the torsion balance,
the force requisite to make a magnetic bar suspended
horizontally deviate any number of degrees from a given
position, he was enabled to verify the discovery of Lam¬
bert already mentioned, that the effect of terrestrial mag¬
netism is proportional to the sine of the angle which the
magnetic meridian forms with the axis of the magnet upon
which it acts. By making the homologous poles of two
magnetised wires repel each other, he observed the force
of torsion which was necessary to overcome certain quan¬
tities of their mutual repulsion, and, at the distances 12°,
17°, and 24°, he found that the repulsive forces were as the
numbers 3312, 1692, and 864, deviating little from 3312,
1650, and 828, which they would have been had the re¬
pulsive force varied in the inverse ratio of the square of
the distance. The excess of 42 and 36 in the experi¬
mental numbers was owing to the circumstance that it
was not a particle, but a portion, of each wire, from
which the repulsive force emanated, so that the force of
the other particles being exerted less obliquely, and
therefore being stronger at greater distances, ought to
produce an excess such as that actually observed. A simi¬
lar result was obtained when the contrary poles of the mag¬
netised wires were made to attract each other; so that
Coulomb concluded that the attractive and repulsive forces
exercised by two magnetic particles are inversely as the
square of their distances, a result which he confirmed by
several other methods than that which we have noticed.
Provided with such a delicate instrument as the torsion
■balance, Coulomb was enabled to apply it with singular
advantage to almost every branch of the science. His
first object was to determine the law according to which
magnetism is distributed in a magnetic bar. It was of
course well known that the magnetism in the middle of
the bar was imperceptible, and that it increased accord- h
ing to a regular law, and with great rapidity, towards
each of its poles. By suspending a small proof needlebiscD^
with a silk fibre, and causing it to oscillate horizon tally, ries of
opposite different points of a magnetic bar placed veni-^ou^0D1i)'
cally, Coulomb computed the part of the effect which was
due to terrestrial magnetism, and the part which was due
to the action of the bar.; and in this way he obtained the
following results, which show the extreme rapidity with
which magnetism is increased towards the poles.
Distances from the t Intensity of the Magnetism
north end of the Bar. ‘ at these distances.
0 inches 165
1 90
2 48
3 23
4-5 9
6 6
proK
The
the
the®
In examining the distribution of electricity in a circu¬
lar plane, Coulomb found that the thickness of the elec¬
tric stratum was almost constant from the centre to with¬
in a very small distance of the circumference, when it
increased all on a sudden with great rapidity. He con¬
ceived that a similar distribution of magnetism took place
in the transverse section of a magnetic bar; and, by a
series of nice experiments with the torsion balance, he
found this to be the case, and established the Important
fact, that the magnetic power resides on the surface of
iron bodies, and is entirely independent of their mass.
The effect of temperature on magnets was another sub-Effects of
ject to which Coulomb directed his powerful mind; but tempera-
he did not live to give an account of his experimentsJure'
which were published after his death by his friend M.
Biot. Coulomb found that the magnetism of a bar mag¬
netised to saturation diminished greatly by raising its tem¬
perature from 12° of Reaumur to 680° ; and that when
a magnetic bar was tempered at 780°, 860°, and 950°, of
Reaumur, the development of its magnetism was gradu¬
ally increased, being more than double at 900° of what it
was at 780°. He found also that the directive force of the
bar reached its maximum when it was tempered at a bright
cherry-red heat at 900° ; and that at higher temperatures
the force diminished. It is to Mr Barlow, however, as we
shall presently see, that we are indebted for the complete
investigation of the influence of temperature on the de¬
velopment of magnetism.
Coulomb made many valuable experiments on the best Method of
methods of making artificial magnets, and he subjected®^?,
all the various processes that had been previously em-artI ^
ployed to the test of accurate measurement. His experi-
ments on the best forms of magnetic needles are equally
valuable; but the most interesting of his researches, and
the last to which he devoted his great talents, were those
which relate to the action of magnets upon all natural
bodies. Hitherto, iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt, had been
regarded as the only magnetic bodies; but, in the year Universal
1802, Coulomb announced to the Institute of France,
that all bodies whatever are subject to the magnetic in-tisn1'
fluence, even to such a degree as to be capable of accu¬
rate measurement. The substances employed by Cou¬
lomb were in the form of a cylinder or small bar, about
one third of an inch in length and one thirtieth in thick¬
ness, and they were suspended by a single fibre of silk
between the opposite poles of two powerful steel magnets,
placed in the same straight line, and having their opposite
poles at a distance exceeding by a quarter of an inch the
length of the cylinders. The cylinders were then made
to oscillate between the poles of the magnets, and were
k m
I'OOll
he m
Ini
o pai
omb:
rhite
ixertf
ional
retur
from
of£°
The
pheni
ceptil
tions
order
prepa
with
am.
ipell
oagnt
he la
he pr
ontai:
ontai:
3279'
Hoy!
Am
:nowh
lumb
nacc
nstrui
ous a!
ieedle
he mi
ata, i
ubjec
idles
urfaci
o ded
leedle
hese
ioles
green
md bj
then j
erved
'acted
arrest
'crrna
Irotn
1 See our article Electricity, p. 58G, where the torsion balance is minutely described.
IP
the
the®
retur
fro®
ofg°
and
The
phen
ceptil
itions
cated
order
prepa
and
with
he®
)'001
hem
In
o pai
omb
vhite
:xerti
ional
ain.
:upell
nagm
he la
he pi
ontai
ontai
3279
Hoy
Amf):
:nowl
dumb
n act
nstru
ous
icedle
he m
ata,
abjec
oles
urfac
o ded
ieedk
hese
[dopt
lariso:
oles
igreer
ndb
fther
(orved
?ectec
krest
Porrna
from
MAGNETISM.
ory. protected from all motions of the air by a glass receiver.
<•—'■The result of these experiments was, that whatever was
|the substance of the cylinders, they always arranged
themselves in a line joining the poles of the magnets, and
returned to that position whenever they were deflected
from it. These experiments were made with cylinders
of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, glass, wood, chalk, bone,
and every variety of substance, organic and inorganic.
The only explanation which Coulomb could give of these
phenomena was, either that all bodies whatever were sus¬
ceptible of magnetism, or that they contained small por¬
tions of iron or other magnetic metals, which communi¬
cated to them the property of obeying the magnet. In
rrder to investigate this subject, MM. Sage and Guyton
prepared highly purified needles of the different metals,
and M. Coulomb found that the momenta of the forces
vith which they were solicited by the magnets were as
bllows:—
Lead 0-00674
Tin 0-00591
Silver 0-00520
Gold 0-00406
Copper 0-00406
he momentum of torsion alone, for all the needles, being
1-00136, a little more than a fourth of the action which
he magnets exert upon the needles.
In order to determine if these phenomena were owing
o particles of iron disseminated through the bodies, Cou¬
lomb fabricated needles out of three different mixtures of
idiite wax and iron filings, and he found that the forces
xerted by magnets upon these needles were propor-
ional to the absolute quantities of iron which they con-
ain. Coulomb now tried a needle of silver, purified by
upellation, and another needle of silver alloyed with
Unth part of iron, and he found that the action of the
jnagnet upon the former was 415 times less than upon
he latter. Hence there will be 415 times less iron in
he pure than in the impure silver; and since the latter
ontains ^|(jth part of its weight of iron, the first will
iontain ^yjth of 3-^jth, or y^iooth, or it will contain
(32799 parts of pure silver and one of iron, a quantity of
lloy beyond the reach of chemical detection.
Idt Amongst the scientific travellers who contributed to our
nowledge of terrestrial magnetism, Baron Alexander
plumboldt was one of the most distinguished. Himself
n accurate and scientific observer, and possessed of nice
j istruments and methods of observation, he made nume-
ous accurate observations on the dip and variation of the
i eedle in various parts of the earth, and particularly near
ic magnetic equator; and, by means of these'valuable
ata, M. Biot was ^enabled to throw much light on the
abject of terrestrial magnetism. Hitherto the magnetic
oles had been considered as either on or very near the
urface of the earth; but as it had been found impossible
i deduce the phenomena of the variation and dip of the
eedle, philosophers were led to consider the situation of
liese poles as indeterminate. M. Biot was the first to
dopt this view of the subject; and after numerous com-
|arisons, he came to the conclusion, that the nearer these
joles were placed to each other, the greater was the
greement between the computed and observed results ;
nd by considering the two poles as indefinitely near each
ither in the centre of the earth, the computed and ob-
lerved measures approximated as closely as could be ex-
ected. Hence it was inferred that the phenomena of
terrestrial magnetism were not such as are produced by
[ermanently magnetic bodies, but those rather that arise
l-om simple iron or ferruginous masses, which are only
691
temporarily magnetic. In this manner M. Biot was led History,
to express the law of terrestrial magnetism in a complicat-'^—
ed formula, which represented the observations with won¬
derful accuracy.
In the year 1809, Professor KrafFt of St Petersburg un- Professor
dertook the very same inquiry, and after comparing the KrafFt.
same observations which were used by Biot, with the re¬
spective situations of the places where they were obtain¬
ed, he arrived at the following simple law : “ If we sup¬
pose a circle circumscribed about the earth, having the
two extremities of the magnetic axis for its poles, and if
we consider this circle as a magnetic equator, the tangent
of the dip of the needle, in any magnetic latitude, will
be equal to double the tangent of this latitude.” Upon
re-examining his former formula, M. Biot found that it
was reducible to the above simple law, a coincidence which
may be considered as giving it additional confirmation.
One of the most zealous and successful cultivators ofProfessor
magnetical science is Professor Hansteen of Christiania, Hansteen.
who published, in 1817, an able work on the magnetism of
the earth.1 The Royal Society of Denmark proposed, in
1811, the prize question,£< Is the supposition of one mag¬
netical axis sufficient to account for the magnetical phe¬
nomena of the earth, or are two necessary ?” Professor
Hansteen’s attention had been previously drawn to this
subject by seeing a terrestrial globe, on which was drawn
an elliptical line round the south pole, and marked Heffio
Polaris viagnetica, one of the foci being called llegio for-
tior, and the other Regio debilior. As this figure^profes-
sed to be drawn by Wilcke, from the observations^of Cook
and lurneaux, Hansteen was led to compare it with the
facts; and the result of the comparison being favourable,
he was induced to study the theory of Halley, which had
previously appeared to him wild and extravagant. The
result of his researches, however, was favourable to that
part of Halley’s theory which assumes the existence of
four poles and two magnetic axes. Hansteen’s Memoir,
which was crowned by the Danish Society, forms the
groundwork of the larger volume which he published in
1817. In his fifth chapter, on the Mathematical Theory of
the Magnet, he deduces the law of magnetic action from
a series of experiments similar to those of Hauksbee and
Lambert. Assuming that the attraction or repulsion be¬
tween any two magnetic particles is directly as the inten¬
sity of the force, and inversely as some unknown power t
of the mutual distance of these particles, and supposing
that the magnetic intensity of any particle is proportional
to some power r of its distance a from the centre of the
magnet, he finds the following expression for the effect
I, which a linear magnet would have upon a magnetic
point situated anywhere upon the axis produced :
/» xr dx s* ;
J (a—xf J (a
xr dx
{a—xf J (a-t-x)*’
x being the length of half the axis of the linear magnet,
and F (multiplied by a constant quantity, depending on
the degrees of magnetism which the point and line pos¬
sess) representing the force. In conducting the experi¬
ments,^Hansteen placed a very sensible compass upon a ho¬
rizontal table, so that the needle pointed to 0°. From be¬
neath the centre of this needle, and perpendicular to its
direction, or to the magnetic meridian, he drew a straight
line upon the table, and divided it into portions, so that
ten of them were equal to the half axis a of the artificial
magnet. This magnet was then placed on the line at dif¬
ferent distances from the needle, and the deviation of the
needle from the magnetic meridian which it produced
was accurately observed for each distance. Upon com-
Untersuckungen tiler den Magnetimus der Erde, 4to. Christiania, 1817.
692
MAGNETISM.
History, paring the results, and calculating them by the formula,
—; upon the supposition that t was 1 or 3, the differences
researchesS were Very Sreat 5 but hY making 2, the calculated and
' observed results agreed remarkably well, as the following
table shows:
Values of a, or
Distances in half
Axes of the
Magnet.
11
10
9
7
5
4
Values of F, or Increase of the Force.
Observed
Values.
1-000
1-306
1-834
3-947
11-015
22-441
Calculated Values.
t = 2
r = 1
1-000
1-334
1-835
3-938
11-072
22-245
t = 2
r = 2
1-000
1-334
1-836
3-945
11-119
22-411
t = 2
r = 3
1-000
1-325
1-836
3-949
11-154
22-530
From this remarkable coincidence between the observed
and the computed results, Hansteen concludes that “ the
attractive or repulsive force with which two magnetic par¬
ticles affect each other, is always directly as their intensities,
and inversely as the squares of their mutual distance.” He
shows that the undetermined value of r produces' almost
no effect at considerable distances; and he is inclined to
think that r — 2, or that the absolute intensity of any mag¬
netic particle, situated in the axis, is proportional to the
square of its distance from the middle point of that axis.
Mr Hansteen has also demonstrated that the distance from
the middle of a magnet being the same, the force opposite the
poles, or in the direction of the axis, is double of the force in
the magnetic equator. If a globe contains at its centre an
infinitely small magnet, Hansteen shows that, near the mag¬
netic equator, the dip must increase twice as rapidly as the
magnetic latitude, and, near the pole, half as rapidly ; and
that the increment of the dip must be equal to the altera¬
tion of the latitude of that part of the globe where the dip is
54° 44'. Our author also states, that if the earth had
only one magnetic axis, whose centre coincided with that
of the earth, the lines of equal dip would coincide with
those of equal intensity ; but as this is far from being the
case, his opinion that there are two magnetic axes becomes
more probable.
The most valuable part, however, of Professor Han-
steen’s work is that which relates to the number, position,
and revolution of the magnetic poles. Having collected
all the observations of value that had been made on the
variation of the needle, he proved that there were four
points of convergence among the lines of variation, viz. a
weaker and a stronger point in the vicinity of each pole
of the globe. The strongest poles N, S, lie almost dia¬
metrically opposite to each other, and the same is true of
the weaker poles n, s. These four poles he found to have
a regular motion obliquely, the two northern ones N, n, from
west to east, and the two southern ones S, s, from east to
west. The following he found to be their periods of re¬
volution, and their positions, in 1830:—
Lat.
Long, from Green¬
wich.
Pole N
Pole S
Pole n
Pole s
69° 30'N.
68 44 S.
85 6 N.
78 29 S.
87° 19' W.
131 47 E.
144 17 E.
137 45 W.
Time of Revolution
round each Pole
of the Globe.
1740 years.
4609 do.
860 do.
1304 do.
Since the publication of these results, Professor Hansteen
had access to the valuable series of magnetical observa¬
tions made during the British voyages of discovery to the
Historv
'rw*
arctic regions; and, after a diligent comparison of them
he obtained new and more accurate determinations of the
positions and periods of revolution of the four magne¬
tic poles, but still differing so little from his previous de-rese!>rclie;
terminations, as to give a high degree of probability to the
correctness of the results. He finds from Captain Parry’s
observations, that in 1819 the pole N must have been
situated in north lat. 71° 27', and the time of its revo¬
lution 1890 (in place of 1740, as formerly calculated). The
period of revolution of S he changed from 4609 to 4605,
and that of s from 1304 to 1303, that of« remaining at
860 as before. Professor Hansteen considers N and S
as the terminating points of one magnetic axis, and n
and s those of the other axis ; and he remarks that these
two axes cross each other without intersection, or without
passing through the centre of the earth. In reference to
the causes of these singular changes, our author considers
it possible that the illumination and heating of the earth,
during one revolution about its axis, may produce a mag¬
netic tension, as it produces the electrical phenomena.
In support of his hypothesis of four poles, Professor Han¬
steen has shown very clearly that the changes in the va¬
riation and dip of the needle in both hemispheres may be
well explained by their motion; but we cannot here enter
into these details.
With the view of discovering the nature of the forces by
which the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism are pro¬
duced, Professor Hansteen resolved to ascertain, at differ¬
ent parts of the earth’s surface, the intensity of its mag¬
netism, and to determine the form of the lines of equal
intensity, or, as he calls them, the isodynamical magne¬
tic lines. By means of the same needle intrusted to dif¬
ferent philosophers, he had observations on the number of
its oscillations in a given time made in every part of Eu¬
rope ; and he afterwards undertook a journey to Siberia
to make the observations himself in that interesting mag¬
netical region. From these observations he deduced the
following law, according to which the magnetic intensity
varies with the dip of the needle:—
is
ti
Magnetic Dip.
0°
24
45
64
73
761
81
86
Magnetic Intensity.
1-0°
M
1-2
1-3
1-4
1*5
1-6
1-7
Professor Hansteen’s journey to Siberia was attended
with secondary consequences of great value to science.
The attention of the Russian government, and the Aca¬
demy of Sciences at St Petersburg, was thus called to the
subject of magnetism; and, on the recommendation of Baron
Humboldt, the emperor liberally agreed to erect magnetic
observatories in suitable stations, for determining, every ten
years, the exact position of the two lines of the variation
w-hich pass through his empire.
In determining the intensity of terrestrial magnetism,
Professor Hansteen observed that the time of vibration of
a horizontal needle varied during the day. Graham had
previously suspected a change of this kind, but his me¬
thods were not accurate enough to prove it. Hansteen,
however, found that the minimum intensity took place be¬
tween 10 and 11a. m., and the maximum between 4 and
5 p. m. He concluded also that there was an annual va¬
riation, the intensity being considerably greater in winter
near the perihelion, than in summer near the aphelion;
that the greatest monthly variation was a maximum when
the earth is in its perihelion or aphelion, and a minimum
near the equinoxes; and that the greatest daily variation
iV
it
'»
luce 1
tM
ter
snr
R.
net
the
ser
rec
tioi
has
132
fen
<wi
Mft
clui
isf
ami
Sh.
est
rail
sue
the
tan:
sine
Hb
cut
the
edi
sul
dei
tir.'''
f'tl,
ti
itiuene
f tllf'heigi-
ter
r Ba:
tv’s dij.
verier
tan]
sou
sins
tha'
gen
cut
san
cut
the
qua
Ba,
edi
sul
de
MAGNETISM.
693
is least in winter and greatest in summer. He found also
' that the aurora borealis weakened the magnetic force, and
that the magnetic intensity is always weakest when the
moon crosses the equator. In making experiments in the
round tower at Copenhagen, he found that the magnetic
intensity increased regularly towards the top, where it was
a maximum 51 and having extended his observations, he
obtained the general result, that at the foot of any verti¬
cal object the needle oscillates quicker at the north side of
it, and slower at the south side ; whereas at the upper end
it oscillates quicker at the south side, and slower at the
north side.
In the aerostatic ascent of MM. Gay-Lussac and Biot,
they were unable to detect any change in the intensity of
terrestrial magnetism at the height‘of 4000 metres. Saus-
sure, however, had found that the intensity was consider¬
ably less on the Col du Geant than at Chamouni and Ge¬
neva, the difference in the levels of these places being in
the one case 10,000 and in the other 7800 feet, but his ob¬
servations contradict his conclusion. M. Kupffer has more
recently obtained a similar result by observations on Mount
Elbrouz, having found a decrease of intensity in rising
4500 feet above his first station ; and he explains the re¬
sult obtained by MM. Gay-Lussac and Biot by supposing
that an increase of intensity was produced by the diminu¬
tion of temperature. Mr Hen wood, on the other hand,
has made observations at the surface of Dolcoath mine, at
1320 feet beneath its surface, and on a hill 710 feet above
the level of the sea, without being able to detect any dif¬
ference in the intensity. To the late Captain Foster2 we
owe many valuable observations on the magnetic intensity
made at Spitzbergen and elsewhere. From these he con¬
cluded, that the diurnal change in the horizontal intensity
is principally, if not wholly, owing to a small change in the
amount of the dip. The maximum took place at about
3h. 30' a. m., and the minimum at 2h. 47' p. m., its great¬
est change amounting to one eighty-third of its mean
value. Captain Foster is of opinion that these changes
have the sun for their primary agent, and that his action is
such as to produce a constant inflexion of the pole towards
the sun during the 24 hours, an idea which Mr Christie
had previously stated.3
About the year 1818, Professor Barlow of Woolwich
turned his attention to the subject of magnetism, with the
view principally of calculating the effect of a ship’s guns on
the compass. In trying the effects of different iron balls,
he was led to the curious facts, that there exists round
every globe and mass of iron a great circle inclined to the
horizon at an angle equal to the complement of the dip of
the needle; that the plane of this circle is a plane of no
attraction upon a needle whose centre is in that plane;
that if we regard this circle as the magnetic equator, the
tangent of the deviation of the needle from its north or
south pole will be proportional to the rectangle of the
sine of the double latitude, and cosine of the longitude ;
that when the distance of the needle is variable, the tan¬
gent of deviation will be reciprocally proportional to the
cube of the distance; and that, all things else being the
same, the tangents of deviation will be proportional to the
cubes of the diameters of the balls or shells, whatever be
their masses, provided their thickness exceed a certain
quantity.
These results were published in the first edition of Mr
Barlow’s Essay on Magnetic Attractions ; but in the second
edition of that work, he has published some curious re¬
sults respecting the relative magnetic power of different
descriptions of iron and steel, and on the effect of tempe-
Malleable iron 100
Blistered steel, soft...67
Blistered steel, hard..53
Shear steel, soft 66
rature on the quality and quantity of the attractive power History,
of iron. The results of the first of these series of experi- -v—
ments were as follow, the numbers expressing the pro- Ba.r*
portional magnetic power of the different descriptions oflow s d:3*
iron and steel. covenes*
Shear steel, hard 53
Cast iron 48
Cast steel, soft 74
Cast steel, hard. 49
In his experiments on the effects of temperature, Mr
Baidow found that every kind of iron and steel possessed
a greater capacity for the development of its magnetism
when softened by heat than when cold; from which he
concludes that its complete development when cold is
prevented only by the hardness or resisting power of the
metal. At a white heat he found that iron lost entirely
its magnetic power, a result apparently inconsistent with
the preceding conclusion; but, what was a still more ex¬
traordinary circumstance, when the white heat, at which
there was no magnetism, began to subside into a bright red,
or red heat, an attractive power showed itself, the reverse
of what it had when cold ; and after it had passed through
these two shades of colour, it resumed the same attractive
power which it had when cold, the passage from the ne¬
gative attraction of red passing into the positive attraction
of the cold metal at the point of a red heat, the maximum,
however, taking place at a blood-red heat.
The experimental laws of attraction of an iron shell or Mr C. Eon-
sphere, obtained by Mr Barlow, were first examined theo- nycastle.
retically by Mr Charles Bonnycastle, who deduced them
mathematically from the theory of iEpinus, which sup¬
poses the two magnetic fluids to be accumulated in the
poles of magnets. This theory, however, led to some
improbable consequences, and therefore Mr Barlow was in¬
duced to adopt that of Coulomb and Biot, with the modi¬
fication, that the magnetic power all resides on the surface
of iron bodies, and is independent of the mass ; a modifica¬
tion which enabled Mr Barlow to obtain a general analy¬
tical expression of the disturbing power of an iron ball at
its surface, as compared with that of the earth, and from
which he deduced theoretically all his experimental laws.
These important discoveries enabled Mr Barlow to in¬
vent a most ingenious method of correcting the error of
the compass, arising from the attraction of all the iron on
board ships. This source of error had been noticed by
Mr Wales, Mr Downie in 1794, and by Captain Flinders;
but it is to Mr Bain4 that we owe the distinct establishment
and explanation of this source of error. As a hollow shell
of iron about four pounds in weight acts as powerfully at
the same distance as a solid iron ball of 200 pounds weight,
Mr Barlow happily conceived that a plate of five or six
pounds weight might be made to represent and counter¬
act the amount of the attraction of all the iron on board
a vessel, and therefore leave the needle as free to obey
the action of terrestrial magnetism as if there were no
iron in the ship at all. After this ingenious contrivance
had been submitted to the admiralty, it was tried in every
part of the world ; and even in the regions which surround
the magnetic pole, where the compass becomes useless, it
never failed to indicate the true magnetic direction when
the connecting plate was properly applied. At Port
Bowen, where the dip is 88°, and the magnetic intensity
which acts upon a horizontal needle extremely weak, the
azimuth compass on board Captain Parry’s ship gave the
very same variation as that observed on shore. “ Such an
invention as this,” says Captain Parry, “ so sound in prin¬
ciple, so easy of application, and so universally beneficial
1 The height of the tower is 126 feet.
2 Phil. Trans. 1828.
3 Phil. Trans. 1827, pp- 345-349.
4 Treatise on the Variation of the Compass.
694
History.
MAGNETISM.
Magne¬
tism of ro
tation.
Mr Chris,
tie.
Mr Bar-
ow.
in practice, needs no testimony of mine to establish its
merits; but when I consider the many anxious days and
sleepless nights which the uselessness of the compass in
these seas had formerly occasioned me, I really should
have esteemed it a kind of personal ingratitude to Mr
Barlow, as well as great injustice to so memorable a dis¬
covery, not to have stated my opinion of its merits, under
circumstances so well calculated to put them to a satisfac¬
tory trial.” For this beautiful invention, the Board of
Longitude conferred upon Mr Barlow the highest reward
of L.500 ; and the Emperor of Russia, who was never in¬
attentive to the interests of science, sent him a fine gold
watch and a rich dress chain, for the same contrivance.
A series of beautiful discoveries was made about this
time by M. Arago, Mr Christie, and Mr Barlow, on the
influence of rotation on bodies both magnetic and non¬
magnetic. Mr Barlow, so early as 1818 or 1819, had
found, that when a plate of iron was made to turn upon
its centre, different parts of its circumference had differ¬
ent degrees of magnetic action on the compass ; jbut here
there was no effect discovered as due to rotation. In
1821, Mr Christie, in a series of experiments on iron
plates, not only found that different parts in the circumfe¬
rence of the same plate had different attracting powers ;
but that the same part had a different influence, according as
the same plate was made to revolve to the right or left hand.
Mr Christie therefore discovered that there was a devia¬
tion due to rotation, and that magnetical effects were pro¬
duced which were nearly independent of the velocity of
rotation, and which continued after the rotation had ceas¬
ed. When the rotation was very rapid, the forces exert¬
ed upon the needle were always in the same direction as
the forces derived from the slowest rotation, and which
continue to act after the rotation has ceased, the former
being to the latter nearly as three to two. From all the
observations made by Mr Christie, he considers that the
direction of the magnetic polarity acquired by rotation,
whether at right angles to the line of the dip or not, has
always a reference to the direction of the terrestrial mag¬
netic force; and he infers that this magnetism is commu¬
nicated to it from the earth. “ It does not therefore appear
from this,” says Mr Christie, “ that a body can become
polarised by rotation alone, independently of the action of
another body ; so that, if from these experiments we might
be led to attribute the magnetic polarity of the earth to
its rotation, we must at the same time suppose a source
from which magnetic influence is derived. Is it not, then,
possible that the sun may be the centre of such influence,
as well as the source of light and heat, and that, by their
rotation, the earth and other planets may receive polarity
from it ?” When these experiments were repeated at Port
Bowen in 1825 by Captain Foster, the phenomena were
exhibited on a more striking scale.
In December 1824, Mr Barlow began a series of ex¬
periments, with the view of ascertaining whether magne?
tism, as produced by various processes with iron, could be
excited or disturbed by rapid rotation. They were com¬
pleted in January, but their publication was delayed till
June, that an account of them might appear along with
those of Mr Christie above mentioned. Mr Barlow’s
first experiments were made on a 13-inch shell attached
to a lathe turned by a steam-engine, the mean speed of
which was about 640 revolutions in a minute. The de¬
viation of a needle exposed to its action increased with
the velocity, and remained constant while the velocity con¬
tinued constant, the needle always returning exactly to its
original position the moment the motion of the ball ceased.
This, therefore, is a phenomenon different from that ob¬
served by Mr Christie; a temporary effect wholly depen¬
dent on the velocity of rotation, whereas that observed by
Mr Christie was permanent, and nearly independent of
the number of revolutions. In examining the direction Histo
of the new force impressed upon the iron shell, he found
it to be in every case equivalent to a polarisation at right
angles to the axis of rotation.
Previous to the publication of these experiments, and Discove
without any knowledge of them, M. Arago had made theriesofjf
remarkable discovery, that if plates of copper and other ^rago.
substances are put into rapid rotation beneath a magnetised
horizontal needle freely suspended, the rotatory plate will
first cause the needle to deviate from its true direction;
and by increasing the velocity, the deviation will increase,
till the needle passes the opposite point, when it will con¬
tinue to revolve, and at last with such velocity that the
eye is unable to distinguish it.
M. Arago was led to this beautiful discovery by a pre¬
vious series of experiments of great interest. He found
that a magnetic needle oscillating above or near any body
whatever, such as a plate of metal or a surface of water,
gradually oscillated in arcs of less and less amplitude, as
if it had been placed in a resisting medium ; and, what
was particularly remarkable, the number of oscillations
performed in a given time was not changed. This curi¬
ous fact was announced to the Academy of Sciences in
Paris on the 22d of November 1824; and he was hence
conducted to the still more remarkable discovery of the
effects of rotation which we have already mentioned.
M. Seebeck of Berlin repeated the experiments of M.Segbed
Arago on the influence of plates of metal and other sub¬
stances in diminishing the amplitude of oscillation; but
we must reserve our account of them till we come to the
chapter on that subject.
The experiments of M. Arago on the rotation of metal-jiessrs
lie plates were described and repeated by M. Gay-Lussac Babbage
in London in the month of March or April 1825 ; and theyand Her-
excited so much attention, from their connection with the8^-
effects observed by Mr Barlow, that Mr Babbage and Mr
Flerschel immediately erected an apparatus for repeating
them. In their first trial, the deviation of the needle did
not exceed 10° or 11° with a revolving plate of copper.
In order to enlarge the visible effect, they reversed the ex¬
periment, in order to try whether discs of copper and other
non-magnetic substances might not be set in motion if sus¬
pended over a revolving magnet. A horse-shoe magnet,
capable of lifting twenty pounds, was made to revolve ra¬
pidly about its axis of symmetry placed vertically. A cir¬
cular disc of copper, six inches in diameter and one twen¬
ty-fifth of an inch thick, was suspended centrally over it,
by a silk thread just capable of supporting it. A sheet of
paper being interposed, and the magnet set in motion, the
copper began revolving in the same direction, at first slow¬
ly, but with an accelerating velocity. On reversing the mo¬
tion of the magnet, the velocity of the copper was destroy¬
ed gradually. It stopped for an instant, and then imme¬
diately began to revolve in the opposite direction. Screens
of paper, glass, wood, copper, tin, zinc, lead, bismuth, were
interposed betwixt the magnet and the copper, but they ex¬
erted no sensible interceptive power. But when tinned iron
plate was interposed, the magnetic influence was greatly
diminished by one plate, and almost annihilated by two
thicknesses of it. A piece of iron connecting the two poles
of the revolving magnet produced the same effect. The
substances in which signs of magnetism were developed by
the revolving magnet were copper, zinc, silver, tin, lead,
antimony, mercury, gold, bismuth, and carbon in the state in
which it is precipitated from carburetted hydrogen in gas¬
works. By getting plates of different metals cast in the
same mould, they found that the proportional intensity ot
magnetic action for each respectively was as follows :>
Zinc Ml Lead 0-25
Copper 1*00 Antimony ...0-01
Tin  0-51 Bismuth inappreciable.
MAGNETISM.
695
istor- M. Arago had observed the very remarkable fact, that if
-f^the disc of copper be cut from the circumference towards
the centre, like radii, but without taking away the metal,
the action upon the needle is greatly diminished. After
verifying this result, Messrs Babbage and Herschel ascer¬
tained that re-establishing the metallic contact with other
metals, restored, either wholly or very nearly, the original
power of the plate, even though the soldering metal had a
very feeble magnetic power. The law of the force, with
a decrease of distance, they found to vary between the
square and the cube. “ The rationale,” says Messrs Bab¬
bage and Herschel, “ of these phenomena, as well as of
those observed by Mr Barlow in the rotation of iron, which
form only a particular case (though certainly the most pro¬
minent of any) of the class in question, seems to depend on
a principle which, whether it has or has not been before
entertained, or distinctly stated in words, it may be as well,
once for all, to assume here, as a postulatum, viz. that in
tfie induction of magnetism, time enters as an essential ele¬
ment, and that no finite degree of magnetic polarity can he
communicated to or taken from any body whatever, suscep-
i tible of magnetism, in an instant.
The preceding results were verified by Mr Christie, who
found, that when a thick plate of copper revolved under a
small magnet, the force which deflected the needle varied
inversely as the fourth power of the distance ; but when
the copper discs were small, and the magnets large, the
power of the distance was between the square and the
cube ; when the plates were of different weights, the force
was nearly in the ratio of the weights at small distances,
but at smaller distances it varied in a higher ratio.
Inec* The discovery of two poles of maximum cold on oppo-
be-' site sides of the north pole of the earth, which was announ-
en hi ced by Sir David Brewster in 1820, led him and other au-
'}neitu thors to the opinion that there might be some connection
P between the magnetic poles and those of maximum cold,
-j “ Imperfect,” says he, “ as the analogy is between the iso¬
thermal and magnetic centres, it is yet too important to be
passed over without notice. Their local coincidence is suf¬
ficiently remarkable, and it would be to overstep the limits
of philosophical caution to maintain that they have no other
connection but that of accidental locality ; and if we had
as nlany measures of the mean temperature as we have of
the variation of the needle, we might determine whether
the isothermal poles wrere fixed or moveable.” And he con¬
cludes his paper on the mean temperature of the globe with
the following paragraph : “ Having thus endeavoured to
establish a new law of the distribution of heat over the sur¬
face of the globe, it might be no uninteresting inquiry to
investigate the causes which have modified in so remarkable
a manner the influence of the solar rays. The subject, how¬
ever, is too comprehensive and too hypothetical to be dis¬
cussed at present. How far the general form and position
of the continents and seas of the northern hemisphere may
disturb the natural parallelism of the isothermal lines to
j the equator,—to what extent the current through Beh-
ring’s Strait, transporting the waters of warmer climates
across the polar seas, may produce a warm meridian in the
direction of its motion, and throw the coldest parts of the
globe to a distance from the pole,—whether or not the
magnetic, or galvanic, or chemical poles of the globe (as
the important discoveries of Mr Oersted entitle us to call
them), may have their operations accompanied with the
production of cold, one of the most ordinary effects of che-
i mical action,—or whether the great metallic mass which
crosses the globe, and on which its magnetic phenomena
have been supposed to depend, may not occasion a greater
radiation of heat in those points where it developes its
magnetic influence,—are a few points which we may at¬
tempt to discuss when the progress of science has accumu- History,
lated a greater number of facts, and made us better ac-v—*~v—
quainted with the superficial condition as well as the inter¬
nal organization of the globe.”1
The two poles of maximum cold, which will likely per¬
form an important part in the future history of terrestrial
magnetism, are situated, according to Sir David Brewster,
as follows, according to the best observations made both
near them and at a distance. The American pole is situat¬
ed in latitude 73° north, and longitude 100° west from
Greenwich, a little to the east of Cape Walker; and the
Asiatic pole in latitude 73° north, and longitude 80° east,
between Siberia and Cape Matzol on the Gulf of Oby.
Hence the two warm meridians will be in west longitude 10°
and east longitude 170°, the latter passing through Lord
Mulgrave’s range, and the former between St Helena and
Ascension Island. The two cold meridians, or those which
pass through the poles of maximum cold, will be in west
longitude 100° and east longitude 80°, the latter passing
near Mexico and through Bathurst Island, and the former
through Colombo in Ceylon, Berar in Hindustan, and cross¬
ing the Oby a little to the west of Narym in Siberia. The
following is the formula which the same author has given
for the mean temperature at any point of the globe, T be¬
ing the mean temperature required, t the maximum equa¬
torial temperature, r the minimum temperature at each of
the cold poles, and 8, 8' the distances of the place from the
two cold poles.
T = (t — r) (sin.w 5 . sin.” 6') + r.
The distances 8, 8' are found from the formulae
cos.
'cos. L (cos. L — d)
cos. d
and
tang. Q = cos. M tang, L ;
in which L is the colatitude of the pole of maximum cold,
l the colatitude of the place, and M the difference of longi¬
tude between the place and the pole of maximum cold.
The values of t and r have been determined with consider¬
able accuracy, t being nearly 820,8 Fahrenheit, and r from
0° to — 31°. The exponent n is nearly fths, but future
observations may induce us to increase or diminish it.
Now it is a remarkable circumstance that the same for¬
mula, mutatis mutandis, expresses the magnetic intensity
of magnetism at any point of the earth’s surface, the inten¬
sity at the two magnetic poles being supposed equal. If
we call Sthe maximum number of seconds in which any num¬
ber n of oscillations are performed which takes place at the
island of St Thomas on the west coast of Africa, and s the
minimum number of seconds in which n oscillations are
performed which takes place at the magnetic poles, then
the intensity I will be
I (S — s') (sin.” 3 sin.” 81) + s>
8 and 8' being determined by the formuke already given,
adopting the position of the poles in the preceding page.
The values of S and s, according to Captain Sabine and
Hansteen, will be about 370" and 262^". This formula
will give for the isodynamical lines, or those of equal inten¬
sity, a series of returning curves of the nature of Lemnis-
cates, almost similar to those drawn by Captain Sabine, and
given in a future figure, and exactly like the polar isother¬
mal lines.
The connection thus indicated between the heat and the
magnetism of the earth has been studied by succeeding
authors, and the general principle has been adopted by
many distinguished philosophers. Dr Traill expressed the
opinion, “ that the disturbance of the equilibrium of the
temperature of our planet by the continual action of the
sun’s rays on its intertropical regions, and by the polar ices,
must convert the earth into a vast thermo-magnetic appara-
1 Edinburgh Transactions, 1820.
MAGNETISM.
696
History, tus; ’ and “ that the disturbance of the equilibrium of tem-
perature even in stony strata may elicit some degree
tionTe" magnet‘srn-” Mr Christie thinks it “ not improbable
tween the ^iat difference of temperature may be the primary cause
tempera- °f the polarity of the earth, though its influence may be
tore and modified by other circumstances.” M. Ampere, who as-
magnetism cribes magnetism to transverse electrical currents, thinks
of the that the strata of our globe may form considerable galvanic
arrangements, and that the electric currents may be affect¬
ed by the rotation of the earth. M. Oersted remarks, in a
recent treatise on thermo-electricity, “ that the most effi¬
cacious excitation of electricity upon the earth appears to
be produced by the sun producing daily evaporation, de¬
oxidation, and heat, all of which excite electrical cur¬
rents.” After stating that the sun daily produces electric
currents, and these currents magnetism, he observes, that
“ thus the earth seems to have a constant magnetic polari¬
ty, produced in the course of time by the electrical cur¬
rents which surround it, and a variable magnetism, produ¬
ced immediately by the same current.” As the sun pro¬
duces different effects on water and solid bodies, Oersted
supposes that the intensity will vary in the same parallel,
and the direction of the needle will be oblique to the equator,
in consequence of the lines of equal electro-magnetic inten¬
sity being twice bent by the influence of the two great
masses of continent. “ The yearly and daily change,”
he observes, “ must occasion yearly and daily variations.
As to the variations comprehended in greater periods, we
might perhaps attribute them to a motion of the coolest
points in such continents, which, it appears, cannot remain
the same for ever, because the currents of warmer air
must principally be directed to such points.” Analogous
views have been recently stated by M. Kupffer, in a me¬
moir read in 1829 to the Russian Academy, in which he
adopts explicitly Sir David Brewster’s opinions of the ex¬
istence of two cold poles distant from the pole of revolu¬
tion. “ But this distribution of temperature,” says he, “ ap¬
pears also to have a great influence on the distribution of the
intensity of terrestrial magnetism. This would no doubt be
the case if it is true, as I have tried to show in another
memoir, that terrestrial magnetism resides at the surface
of the globe. We have here the choice between two hy¬
potheses ; either the earth should be considered as a mag¬
net existing by itself, and then the intensity of its magne¬
tism will be the inverse of its temperature; or it receives
its influence from without, and is only like a piece of soft
iron, to which the presence of a distant body communicates
magnetism, and then the intensity of its magnetism will
increase with its temperature. Though the first of these
hypotheses has been hitherto generally adopted, yet the
second acquires some probability from the discovery of
the magnetic influence of the solar rays, and of the known
relation between the diurnal variations of the declination
of the needle and the course of the sun.” The connec¬
tion between the poles of maximum cold and those to which
the isodynamical magnetic lines are related, is considered
by Dr Dalton as a probable supposition. “ If the idea,”
says he, “ suggested by Sir David Brewster in the Trans¬
actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. ix. 1821,
be correct (and there seems great reason to believe it to
be so), namely, that there are two poles of greatest cold in the
northern hemisphere, the above observation will, enable us
to see the natural cause of this remarkable fact. The
lands within the arctic circle, in the absence of the sun,
must depend upon the south-west winds from the two great
oceans for their winter heat. Those parts of the eastern
and western continents which are most remote from the
ocean, as measured along the curvilinear tracts of the
current of air, must receive that air in great measure de ir
prived both of its vapour and its temperature. Accord- w"'7'
ingly it is found that the temperature of the north-east
parts of such continents exhibits the extreme of cold
Probably a latitude of 75° north, and a longitude of 90° east
and 90° west, would be found nearly equally cold, and to
exceed any other place on the surface of the globe in this
respect; and it would be a curious coincidence if Profes¬
sor Hansteen’s two supposed northern magnetic poles
should be found in the same positions as the two poles of
extreme cold.”1
In a general history of magnetical discoveries, it may be m
proper to take some notice of the very curious experiments tSffi
which have been made respecting the influence of the so-solar ravf
lar rays in the production of permanent magnetism, al¬
though, according to the generally received opinion, the
existence of such an influence has not been established;
but if the propriety of doing this had been doubtful, the
observation just made by M. Kupffer, as connecting this
supposed property ^of violet light with terrestrial magne¬
tism, would have removed the doubt. Dr Morichini, anAr
eminent physician in Rome, was the first who announcedMOriCMni‘
it as an experimental fact, that an unmagnetised needle
could be rendered magnetic by the action of the violet
rays of the sun. His experiments were successfully re¬
peated by Dr Carpi at Rome, and the Marquis Ridolfi at
Florence; but M. d’Hombre Firmas at Alais in France,
Professor Configliachi of Pavia, and M. Berard of Montpel¬
lier, failed in obtaining decided magnetic effects from the
violet rays. In 1814 Dr Morichini exhibited the actual
experiment to Sir Humphry Davy, and in 1817 Dr Carpi Cari)i
showed it to Professor Playfair. A few months after Sir P
Humphry witnessed the experiment, the writer of this
article met him at Geneva, and learned from him the fact,
that he had paid the most diligent attention to one of Mo-
richini’s experiments, and that he saw, with his own eyes,
an unmagnetised needle rendered magnetic by violet light.
The following account of the experiment made by Dr
Carpi was given to us verbally by Professor Playfair, who
approved of the statement of it which we drew up at the
time. “ The violet light was obtained in the usual man¬
ner, by means of a common prism, and was collected into
a focus by a lens of a sufficient size. The needle was made
of soft wire, and was found upon trial to possess neither
polarity nor any power of attracting iron filings. It was
fixed horizontally upon a support, by means of wax, and in
such a direction as to cut the magnetic meridian at right
angles. The focus of violet rays was carried slowly along
the needle, proceeding from the centre towards one of the
extremities, care being taken never to go back in the same
direction, and never to touch the other half of the needle.
At the end of half an hour after the needle was exposed to
the action of the violet rays, it was cai'efully examined,
and it had acquired neither polarity nor any force of attrac¬
tion ; but after continuing the operation twenty-five mi¬
nutes longer, when it was taken off and placed on its pivot,
it traversed with great alacrity, and settled in the direction
of the magnetical meridian, with the end over which the
rays had passed turned towards the north. It also at¬
tracted and suspended a fringe of iron filings. The ex¬
tremity of the needle that was exposed to the action of the
violet rays repelled the north pole of a compass-needle.
This effect was so distinctly marked as to leave no doubt
in the minds of any who were present, that the needle had
received its magnetism from the action of the violet rays.”
In this state of the subject, Mrs Somerville made some Mrs So-
simple and well-conducted experiments, which seemed to merviUo-
set the question at rest, from the distinct and decided
1 Meteorological Observations and Essays, second edition, 1834, p. 215.
N
i
M A G N E T I S M. 697
^ston character of the results. A sewing needle, an inch long,
-v^and devoid of magnetism, had one half of it covered with
paper, and the other exposed to the violet rays of the spec¬
trum, five feet distant from the prism. In two hours it
acquired magnetism, the exposed end exhibiting north po¬
larity. The indigo rays produced an equal effect, and the
blue and green the same in a less degree. The yellow,
orange, and red rays had no effect even after three days’
exposure to their action. Pieces of blue watch-springs re¬
ceived a higher magnetism. When the sun’s light fell
upon the exposed end through blue coloured glass, or
through blue or green riband, the same magnetic effects
were produced.
The experiments of Mr Christie, an account of which
was read to the Royal Society a short time before Mrs
Somerville’s, confirmed her results to a certain degree, by a
different mode of observation. He found that the com-
<1; *
- anil.
T Gin:
was
Son
poui
bitei
mag
pound solar rays possessed magnetic influence, and exhi¬
bited it in their effect of diminishing the vibrations of
magnetised and unmagnetised steel needles, and also
neeq
the
rera:
repe
hist
Mhi.
at Pi
long,
draw
poll
whit
part
load
thre
crea
whil
had
Zant
carri
it ca
its p
upoi
upoi
the]
rejft
im.
finer.
locd
ant
ser. 1
IJ Sno
. "ms.
I8f.„
acc\
exa
needles of copper or of glass, by making them oscillate in
the sun’s white ray. Mr Christie, however, has recently
remarked, that as his experiments have not succeeded on
repetition by Mr Snow Harris, when made in a vacuum,
his results must have been owing to currents of air. In
justice to Mr Christie, however, we must mention, that
Professor Zantedeschi repeated Mr Christie’s experiments
at Pavia, under an Italian sun, with a needle a Paris foot
long, and obtained a striking result. This needle, when
drawn from its position of equilibrium, through an area of
90°, performed four oscillations in 30", the last of which
had a semiamplitude of 70°. In the solar rays it perform¬
ed in 30" four oscillations, the last of which had only a
semiamplitude of 60°. When he exposed to the sun the
north pole, the semiamplitude of the last oscillation was
6° less than that of the first, while by exposing the south
pole this last oscillation became greater than the first.
The experiments of Baumgartner and Barlocci tended to
confirm these results. The former found that iron wires
polished on a part of their length are magnetised by
white solar light, exhibiting a north pole on the polished
part; and the latter has shown that an armed natural
loadstone, which carried 1^ Roman pound, exhibited, after
three hours’ exposure to the strong light of the sun, an in¬
crease of energy equivalent to 2 ounces or ith of a pound,
while another larger one, which carried 5 pounds 5 ounces,
had its strength nearly doubled by two days’ exposure.
Zantedeschi tried an artificial horse-shoe loadstone, which
carried ounces ; after three days’ exposure to the sun
it carried 3^ ounces more, and by continuing its exposure
its power increased to 31 ounces. An oxidated magnet
gained most power, and a polished one none. He found
also that the north pole of a loadstone exposed to the sun’s
rays concentrated^by a lens acquires strength, while its
south pole, similarly exposed, loses it.
Notwithstanding all these results, the general opinion
seems now to be, that light does not exercise any de¬
cided effect in producing magnetism. The experiments
of MM. P. Ries and Moser were made with needles both
polished and oxidated, and also with wires half-polished;
and polarised as well as common light was made to fall
upon them in a concentrated state, but no decided effect
upon their number of oscillations could be observed ; and
they state that they think themselves justly entitled to
reject totally a discovery which, for seventeen years, has at
different times disturbed science.
In 1827, Mr Snow Harris communicated to the Royal
Society of Edinburgh his Experimental Inquiries concern¬
ing the Laws of Magnetic Forces, made with a beautiful and
accurate instrumental apparatus, invented by the author for
examining the phenomena of induced magnetism. With
VOL. xm.
this apparatus he found that the magnetic development in History,
masses of iron by induction is, cceteris paribus, directly pro-x'—
portional to the power of the inductive force, and inversely as
the distance; and that the forces which magnets develope
in a mass of iron at a given distance, within certain limits,
may be taken as a fair measure of their respective intensi¬
ties. From another series of experiments he has shown,
that the absolute force of attraction exerted between a mag¬
net and a piece of iron, varies with the power of the magnet,
and consequently with the force induced in the iron, cceteris
paribus; and that when the force induced in the iron is
a constant quantity, while its distance from a temporary
or permanent magnet is variable, the absolute force varies
with the distance. This result was not only apparent when
the magnetic force was varied by induction, but was also
satisfactorily shown when varied by magnets of which the
relative powers of induction were previously ascertained.
Mr Harris made a number of nice experiments on the ab¬
solute force of attraction and repulsion between two mag¬
netised bodies, which he found to be in the inverse ratio
of the square of the distance. When, in the case of attrac¬
tion, the magnets, however, were nearly approximated in
relation to their respective intensities, the increments in
the forces began to decline, and in some instances at near
approximations the absolute force was in the simple inverse
ratio of the distance. In the experiments with the repel¬
ling poles, the deviations from the regular force w-ere still
more considerable, and, what is curious in this case, the
force became less and less, until the polarity of the weaker
magnet appeared to be so counteracted by induction, that
the repulsion teas at length superseded by attraction. Mr
Harris next proceeded to determine the law according to
which the forces are developed in different points of the
longitudinal magnetic axis between the centre and poles of
a magnet, and he found that it varied directly as the square
of the distance from the magnetic centre; a law which is
uniform in bars of steel regularly hardened and magnetised
throughout. This law of distribution is exactly the same
as that which has been given by Hansteen.
Mr Harris has also published other two memoirs in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1831, the first On the Influ¬
ence of Screens in arresting the progress of Magnetic Action,
and the second On the Power of Masses of Iron to control
the Attractive Force of a Magnet, of both of which some
account will be found in a subsequent section. In his latest
paper, On the Investigation of Magnetic Intensity by the
Oscillations of the Magnetic Needle, he exposed an oscillat¬
ing magnetic bar to a bright sunshine ; and though he ob¬
served the effect observed by Mr Christie, which that phi¬
losopher ascribed to the influence of the sun’s rays, yet he
found that they all disappeared when the needle was made
to oscillate in an exhausted receiver.
M. Haldat of Nancy communicated, in 1830, to the so-M.Haldat.
ciety of that city, the results of some interesting researches a- d. 1830.
on the incoercibility of the magnetic fluid, or its power of
exerting its influence through all bodies, even the most
dense ; a property which is not possessed by light, heat, or
electricity. In this research he adopted various methods
of observation, and interposed a great variety of substances;
and from the numerous experiments which he made, he
has drawn the following conclusions: 1. That the agent or
fluid by which the magnetic phenomena are explained is
incoercible in the present state of the science ; 2. that
iron, considered as presenting an exception to this law, co¬
erces the magnetic influences only by acquiring itself the
magnetic state; 3. that incandescence does not give to
bodies the power of coercing the magnetic influence. In
a previous memoir, M. Haldat had obtained some interest¬
ing results on the production of magnetism by friction. He
found that all hard bodies may, by means of friction, assist
in the decomposition of the magnetic fluid, if their action
4 T
698
MAGNETISM.
History.
M. Que-
telet.
A. ». 1830.
is promoted by the combined action of magnets which, by
themselves, are incapable of producing it. If a piece of
soft wire, for example, four inches long, and l-25th of an
inch in diameter, is placed horizontally between two bar-
magnets, with their opposite poles facing each other, and
at such a distance that the wire cannot be magnetised,
it will receive distinct magnetism by friction with all hard
bodies, such as copper, brass, zinc, glass, hard woods, &c.
M. Haldat employed the ingenious process of M. Gay-Lus¬
sac, of magnetising soft iron by torsion, in neutralising the
wires before they were magnetised. If they are twisted
after receiving magnetism, they will preserve the magne¬
tism which they had received before torsion ; but if, after
being twisted, they are twisted in an opposite direction,
they will become perfectly neutral.
M. Haldat likewise made some interesting experiments
on the effect of the coercive force in steel on the mag¬
netism produced by rotation, and he found that the force
with which a revolving steel disc dragged round a mag¬
netic needle was in the inverse ratio of the coercive force
of the steel. When the discs were not hot, they had the
same effect as those at the ordinary temperature. We owe
also to M. Haldat an interesting paper on magnetic figures.
Figures of any kind, when traced by the pole of a magnet
on a plate of steel, are rendered visible by sifting upon the
invisible tracings filings of steel, which arrange themselves
in the most beautiful manner along the outlines of the
figure which has been traced.
A series of very interesting experiments have been re¬
cently published by M. Onetelet of Brussels, On the suc¬
cessive degrees of Magnetic Force which a Steel Needle re¬
ceives during the multiple frictions which are employed to
magnetise it. These experiments were made principally
before 1830, but they were not given to the public till
1833. The following are the general results which were
obtained by the author.
1. When a needle or bar that had never been magnetised,
is magnetised to saturation by tbe method of separate con¬
tact, the magnetic force acquired is a maximum in relation
to the forces which can be given to the same needle or bar
by the subsequent reversals of its poles.
2. The magnetic force which a needle can acquire be¬
comes w eaker in proportion as the reversal of its poles, has
been multiplied. The series of frictions which tend to
bring back the poles to their primitive state are more ef¬
ficacious than the others.
3. This difference between the forces which the needle
acquires after the successive reversal of its poles, goes on
continually diminishing, and converges towards a limit. It
depends in general on the size of the needle in relation to
that of the rubbing bars, as well as in its force of co¬
ercion.
4. A needle cannot receive all the magnetic force which
it can acquire, if the frictions do not take place over all its
surface ; this becomes particularly sensible in the reversal
of the poles.
5. The rubbing bars give {cceteris paribus) to bars of
the same dimensions as themselves a magnetic force equal
to that which they possess, and in bars of different dimen¬
sions the forces acquired are as the cubes of their homo¬
logous dimensions. The last part of this proposition was
long ago established by Coulomb.
6. When we rub magnetic bars with other bars weaker
than themselves, the force of the first diminishes in place
of increasing ; and it appears that the force becomes that
which those latter bars would be capable of giving at the
first by directly magnetising them.
7. The relation which exists between the forces which a
needle or a bar receives by successive frictions, and the
number of these frictions, may be expressed by an expo¬
nential formula of three constants.
history.
One of these constants appears to change its value with
the size of the bars which are magnetised, at least while
these bars have a magnitude which does not exceed ' ~
that of the rubbing bars, and while they are of the same
quality of steel.
In this way we know beforehand the successive degrees of
force which a bar takes at each friction, if we have pre¬
viously determined the law of these augmentations for the
same rubbing bars, and for any other bar which we get to
serve as the modulus. If the bar which is rubbed has be¬
gun to be magnetised, we must calculate first the number
of frictions to which this force corresponds, in order to be
able to assign the rank of the subsequent frictions, and the
magnitude of the corresponding magnetical forces.
8. When the rubbing bars are greater than the bar to
be magnetised, from the first complete friction the force of
magnetism is very nearly one half of the force w hich the
magnetised bar will finally possess.
After the twelfth complete friction, the magnetic force
differs little from that which the rubbing bars can commu¬
nicate.
We owe also to M. Quetelet two interesting memoirs
on the magnetic intensity of different places in Switzer¬
land, Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries.
The influence of the aurora borealis on the magnetic Magnetic
needle, which was observed by Hiorter at Upsal in 1741, influence
and by Wargentin in 1750, had long induced philosophers°^t*ieau-
Ilk’ I7!
i* ffh
tht
esti
to
rea
the
1
con
15°
the
au«
to regard it as a magnetic phenomenon ; and this was greatly ™sra tl0rea'
confirmed by the fact that the south end of the dipping
needle points to that part of the heavens to which the rays
of the aurora appear to converge. “ The aurora borealis,”
says Dr Robison, “ is observed in Europe to disturb the Robison,
needle exceedingly, sometimes drawing it several degrees
from its position. It is always observed to increase its de¬
viation from the meridian, that is, an aurora borealis makes
the needle point more westerly. This disturbance some¬
times amounts to six or seven degrees, and is generally
observed to be greatest when the aurora borealis is most
remarkable.
“ This is a very curious phenomenon, and we have not
been able to find any connection between this meteor and
the position of a magnetic needle. It is to be observed,
that a needle of copper or wood, or any substance besides
iron, is not affected. We long thought it an electric phe¬
nomenon, and that the needle was affected as any other
body balanced in the same manner would be ; but a copper
needle would then be affected. Indeed, it may still be
doubted whether the aurora borealis be an electric phe¬
nomenon. They are very frequent and remarkable in Swe¬
den, and yet Bergman says that he never observed any
electric symptoms about them, though in the mean time the
magnetic needle was greatly affected. i.
“ We see the needle frequently disturbed, both from its
general annual position, and from the change made on it
by the diurnal variations. This is probably the effect of
aurorae boreales which are invisible, either on account of
thick weather or daylight. Van Swinden says he seldom orVanSwin-
never failed to observe aurorae boreales immediately after A611-
any anomalous motion of the needle ; and concluded that
there had been one at the time, though he could not see it.
Since no needle but a magnetic one is affected by the auro¬
ra borealis, we may conclude that there is some natural
connection between this meteor and magnetism. Ibis
should farther incite us to observe the circumstance for¬
merly mentioned, viz. that the south end of the dipping
needle points to that part of the heavens where the rays of
the aurora appear to converge. We wish that this were
diligently observed in places which have very different va¬
riations and dips of the mariner’s needle.”
A valuable series of observations on the influence of the Dr Da0
aurora borealis on the magnetic needle was made by Dr
9
9
9
10
10
In
anro
auroi
ttirbj
Pi
movi
with
tides
Mbit
this i
time
such
twen
died
and*
(*e
the s
and(
‘aria
2
.Di
Mi
: M
wlif,
istoi• Dalton, at Kendal and Keswick, during seven years from
May 1786 to May 1793, and has been published in his
Meteorological Observations and Essays, which appeared in
gneli 1793. During these observations he noticed the effect
uenc. which they produced on the magnetic needle, and he was
tin he 1- tjlus je(j t0 study the phenomena of the aurora, and to
estf.    • - -
to
lat
futi
rea
the
flan
con
15°
the
aun
9
10
10
10
In
auro
auro
turb,
Pj
movi
with
sides
time
such
twen
thee
and
(the
the
and
varia
MAGNETISM.
699
cover its previous magnitude till after a new and similar History,
disturbance.” j w-v-'w/
From an extensive series of accurate observations made M. Arago.
by M. Arago at Paris since 1818, the needle was almost in¬
variably found to be affected by aurorae that were seen in
Scotland; and so striking was the connection between the Magnetic
establish beyond a doubt the relation of all its phenomena two classes of facts, that the existence of the aurora could be influence
to the magnetic poles and equator. His views and specu- inferred from the derangements of the needle. M. Arago tfle au~
lations on this subject we shall detail at some length in a has likewise discovered, that, early in the morning, often rora‘
future part of this article; but we shall at present give our ten or twelve hours before the aurora is developed in a
readers a specimen of the observations which he made on very distant place, its appearance is announced by a par¬
ticular form of the curve which exhibits the diurnal vari¬
ation of the needle, that is, by the value of the morning and
evening maxima of elongation. From a number of cor¬
responding observations on the hourly declination made by
M. Arago and M. Kupffer, who established at Kasan, near
the eastern limit of Europe, one of Gambey’s compasses,
similar to that used at Paris, these philosophers were con¬
vinced that, notwithstanding a difference of longitude of
above 47°, the disturbances produced upon the needle by
the aurora took place at the same instant. It is a curi¬
ous fact, however, and one yet unexplained, that during
J altitude of the clear space south the frequent occurrence of the aurora at Port Bowen, Cap- Captain
35°. tain Foster did not observe any peculiar changes in the di- Foster.
rection of the needle, although, from his great proximity
to the magnetic pole, the diurnal change sometimes amount¬
ed to 4°ior 5°; and, under such circumstances, the influence
of the aurora ought to have been particularly conspicuous.
Mr Christie is of opinion that the direction of the needle
may be influenced by the electrical state of the clouds ;
and he found it to be so in a very distinct experiment which
he made for the purpose. Captain Sir Everard Home had Captain
observed the same effect produced during thunder storms; Home,
and, in two instances, he found that a needle came sooner
to rest during a thunder storm than it had done either pre-
the magnetic needle during the changes of an aurora.
JF'ei. 12. The aurora appeared at Kendal after 6h. p. m.
flaming over two thirds of the hemisphere. The beams
converged to a point in the magnetic meridian, about
15° or 20° to the south of the zenith. The following were
the changes which he observed in the needle and in the
aurora:—
Time.
Variation.
Observations.
0 p. M. 25° 5' west.
6 35
6 42
24 49
24 55
50
2
5
25
25
25
0
28
12
7 10
7 20
24 40
24 35
35
0
24
24
45
45
f altitude of ditto 20°, streamers
( bright, east.
^streamers bright and active all
^ over the illuminated part.
f disappeared in the west, active
1 east.
J active about the zenith, light
\ faint,
light faint.
strong light northward.
10
35
24
24
^ fa large uniform still light cover- vious or subsequent to it, the number of oscillations having
’ ^ ino* half thp lipmisnhprp. wif-h hppn rprhirprl in nnp rasp from IDO tn 4,0. anrl in
47
9 15
9 20
ing half the hemisphere, with
f flashes now and then.
J streamers north-west, bright
t east; clouds.
24 43 the aurora bursting out openly.
24 43
been reduced in one case from 100 to 40, and in another
from 200 to 120.
During the late journey of Captain Back to the polar Captain
regions in 1833, 1834, and 1835, he found that the needle Back,
was generally affected by the aurora; and on one occasion the
9
10
10
10
30
0
15
35
24
24
24
24
fas fine and large a display of deviation which it produced was 8°. “ For nearly a month,
\ - streamers as has anneared this however” (nrevious to the 7th Jam
55
57
40
streamers as has appeared this
( evening.
fthe light growing fainter and
) fainter.
sicen
In these observations, the deviation produced by the
aurora was 53'. In some cases during the prevalence of
auroras Dr Dalton did not observe any perceptible dis¬
turbance of the needle.
Professor Hansteen observes, that large extraordinary
movements of the needle, in which it traverses frequently
with a shivering motion an arc of several degrees on both
sides of its usual position, are seldom, perhaps never, ex¬
hibited, unless when the aurora borealis is visible; and that
this disturbance of the needle seems to operate at the same
time in places the most widely separate. “ The extent of
such extraordinary movements,” he adds, “ may, in less than
twenty-four hours, amount to 5° or 5^°. In most cases,
the disturbance is also communicated to the dipping needle;
and so soon as the crown of the aurora quits the usual place
(the points where the dipping needle produced would meet
the sky), the instrument moves several degrees forward,
and seems to follow it. After such disorders, the mean
variation of the needle is wont to change, and not to re-
however” (previous to the 7th January 1834), he remarks,
“ the needle had not been perceived to be affected by the
aurora, which, it may be proper to observe, was always very
faint, apparently high, and generally confined to one point
of the heavens.1 Captain Back repeatedly observed, that
when the aurora was concentrated in individual beams, the
needle was powerfully affected; but that it generally re¬
turned to its mean position when the aurora became gene¬
rally diffused. On several occasions the needle was rest¬
less, and exhibited the vibrating action produced by the
aurora when this motion was not visible; and Captain Back
states that he could not account for this, except by suppos¬
ing the invisible presence of the aurora in full day.
The only metals which were supposed to have a distinct
and decided power, and were therefore called magnetic
metals, are iron, nickel, and cobalt. Mr David Lyon* has Mr David
lately endeavoured to show that these metals resemble one Eyon.
another, not only in their principal qualities, but in the nu¬
merical values of their qualities; and he adds, that whilst
these three magnetic substances have the values above
referred to near each other, there are no other substances
in which the same values come very near or fall within
those of the three magnetic substances. The values to
which Mr Lyon alludes are the following :3
1 Appendix to Captain Back’s Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition, &c. p. 601.
2 London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag. December 1834, p. 415.
3 M. Pouillet, in his EUmens dc Physique, tom. iii. p. 89, refers to some remarkable analogies which he has observed between the
distance of the atoms of bodies and their magnetic properties.
700
MAGNETISM.
History. Specific Atomic Atoms contained
'v'—> Gravity. Weight. in a given space.
Nickel 8-27 739-51 1118
Iron 7-21 678-43 1062
Cobalt 7-8  738   1057
The preceding speculation, though ingenious, and deserv¬
ing of attention, has however been overturned by some very
recent observations of M. Faraday. “ Cobalt and chro¬
mium” says he, “ are said to be both magnetic metals. I
cannot find that either of them is so, in its pure state, at
any temperatures. When the property was present in
specimens supposed to be pure, 1 have traced it to iron or
nickel.”1
Mr Fara- Mr Faraday has very recently published some interest-
day. jng observations2 On the General Magnetic Relations and
Characters of the Metals. He is of opinion that all the
metals are magnetic, in the same manner as iron, though
not at common temperatures, or under ordinary circum¬
stances. He does not allude to a feeble magnetism, un¬
certain in its existence and source, but to a distinct and
decided power, such as that possessed by iron and nickel;
and his impression is, that there is a certain temperature
for each metal (well known in the case of iron, beneath
which it is magnetic, but above which it loses all power),
and that there is some relation between this point of tem¬
perature and the intensity of magnetic force, which the
body, when reduced beneath it, can acquire. Iron and
nickel would then be no more exceptions from the metals
in regard to magnetism, than mercury is in regard to lique¬
faction.
In order to investigate this point, Mr Faraday subject¬
ed various metals in their pure state to a temperature from
60° to 70° below the zero of Fahrenheit, but he could not
detect in them the least indication of magnetism. The
metals tried were the following :
Arsenic.
Antimony.
Bismuth.
Cadmium.
Cobalt.
Chromium.
Copper.
Gold.
Lead.
Mercury.
Palladium.
Platinum.
Silver.
Tin.
Zinc.
Plumbago.
Mr Faraday next proceeded to compare iron and nickel
with respect to the points of temperature at which they
ceased to be magnetic. Iron loses all magnetic properties
at an orange heat, and is then to a magnet the same as a
piece of copper. Mr Faraday found that the point at which
nickel lost its magnetic relations was very much lower than
with iron, but equally defined and distinct. If heated and
then cooled, it remained unmagnetic long after it had fallen
below a heat visible in the dark ; and almond oil can bear and
give that heat which makes nickel indifferent to a magnet, its
demagnetising temperature being about 630° or 640° Fahr.
In order to determine what relation the temperature which
took from a magnet its power over soft iron had to that
which would take from soft iron or steel its power relative
to a magnet, Mr Faraday gradually raised the temperature
of a magnet, and found that it lost its polarity rather sud¬
denly when scarcely at the boiling point of almond oil, and
then acted with a magnet as cold soft iron. It required to be
raised to a full orange heat before it lost its power as soft iron.
44 Hence he concludes, the force of the steel to retain that
condition of its particles which renders it a permanent mag¬
net, gives way to heat at a far lower temperature than that
which is necessai-y to prevent its particles assuming the
same state by the inductive action of a neighbouring magnet. Histo
Hence, at one temperature, its particles can of themselves's—vL
retain a permanent state; whilst, at a higher temperature, that
state, though it can be induced from without, will continue
only as long as the inductive action lasts, and at a still higher
temperature all capability of assuming this condition is lost.
The temperature at which polarity was destroyed appear¬
ed to vary with the hardness and condition of the steel.
Fragments of loadstone of very high power were then ex¬
perimented with. These preserved their polarity at higher
temperatures than the steel magnet; the heat of boiling oil
was not sufficient to injure it. Just below visible ignition
in the dark they lost their polarity, but from that to a tem¬
perature a little higher, being very dull ignition, they act¬
ed as soft iron would do, and then suddenly lost that power
also. Thus the loadstone retained its polarity longer than
the steel magnet, but lost its capability of becoming a
magnet by induction much sooner. When magnetic po¬
larity was given to it with a magnet, it retained this power
up to the same degree of temperature as that at which it
held its first and natural magnetism.”
Some of the results observed by M. Pouillet3 stand in op- M. Pouil.
position to some of the preceding statements. M. Pouillet let.
considers it as certain that there are five simple magnetic
bodies, viz.
Iron, Chrome, and
Manganese, Cobalt;
Nickel,
and in consequence of having observed some remarkable
analogies between the distance of the atoms of bodies and
their magnetic properties, he was led to suppose that the
magnetic limit of different bodies ought to be found at very
different temperatures. 441 have indeed,” says he,44 demon¬
strated by experiment, 1. that cobalt never ceases to be
magnetic, or rather that its magnetic limit is at a tempera¬
ture higher than the brightest white heat; 2. that chrome
has its magnetic limit a little below the temperature of dark
blood-red heat; 3. that nickel has its magnetic limit about
350° centigrade nearly at the melting point of zinc ; and,
4. that manganese has its magnetic limit at the tempera¬
ture of from 20° to 25° below zero.* Experiments,” con¬
tinues he,44 on these five magnetic bodies seem to prove, 1st,
that heat acts upon magnetism only in consequence of the
greater or less distance which it occasions between the
atoms of bodies; and, 2d, that all bodies would become
magnetic if we could by any action whatever make their
atoms approach within a suitable distance.”
Among the latest researches on magnetism are those Professor
of Professor Gauss of Gottingen, who has published an Gauss,
account of them in a treatise entitled Intensitas vis Mag-k,l>'
neticce Terrestris ad absolutam mensuram revocatis. His
object is to impart to magnetical observations the accu¬
racy of astronomical ones. By observing the oscillations of
a magnetised bar, he finds the product of the horizontal
intensity of the earth’s magnetism, and the static momen¬
tum of the free magnetism of the bar ; and by eliminating
the latter from the two equations, he obtains an abso¬
lute measure of the former, independent of the magne¬
tism of the bar. The horizontal intensity thus found is
then to be multiplied by the secant of the dip of the
needle, in order to give the absolute intensity. In this
inquiry Professor Gauss found it necessary to deduce
from observation the true law of magnetic action, which,
from a number of consistent and carefully made experi¬
ments, he found to be in the inverse ratio of the square
of the distance. From a series of accurate experiments,
1 London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag. March 1836, p. 178.
2 ibid, p, 177. 3 Eltmens de Physique, 2d. edit. tom. iii. p. 89, Paris, 1832.
4 M. Pouillet remarks elsewhere, that manganese does not become magnetic till it is cooled down to 15* or 20° below zero. (£!•
Phys. iii. p. 18.)
Pr.
►''cei.
sto
the
also
phi]
An
t.had
inte
tion
ceiv
chat
it is
adot
lin,!
in 1
mer
with
man
mao
of C
Itw
disti
indi
thes
qnei
all
plac
oftl
ttirr
inti
MAGNETISM.
701
"v
ingfess
plai
Pat
hor
dip
the
I
ver
the
nee
the
by
seal
is a
larg
SCO(
heir
pou
WP
and
thet
vak
und
thal
prot
obst
V
mul
183'
Cop
and
the
are
proc
oftl
titui
ktnt
wehet
tionircl
ll)0
Professor Gauss found the horizontal intensity at Gdttin-
'gen, on the 18th September 1832, to be 1,7821; and tak¬
ing the exponent of gravity in moving bodies at the
place of observation as the unit of force, and using the
Paris line and the Berlin pound, he found the absolute
horizontal intensity to be 0*0039131; and as he found the
dip at Gottingen on the 23d June 1832 to be 68° 22' 52",
the absolute intensity of terrestrial magnetism will be
Sec. 68® 22' 52" X 0*0039131.
Professor Gauss has proposed, and put in practice, a
very accurate method of observing the daily variation1 of
the needle, and of determining the time of vibration of a
needle or magnetised bar. He fixes a plane mirror on
the end of the bar, and perpendicularly to its axis, and
by observing*1 the reflected image of the divisions of a
scale, by the aid of a theodolite placed at a distance, he
is able to observe and to measure the minutest changes.
The magnetised bar employed by Gauss is of much
larger dimensions than the bar of Prony’s magnetic tele¬
scope ,* the small ones, which he uses as magnetometers,
being four pounds weight, and the large ones twenty-five
pounds; two of which, when fastened together, form the
apparatus or multiplier of induction for rendering sensible
and measuring the oscillatory movements predicted by a
theory founded on Mr Faraday’s great discovery. By this
valuable invention of Professor Gauss, the observer is not
under the necessity of approaching the magnetised bar, so
that no disturbance is occasioned by the currents of air
produced by the proximity of the observer’s body, so that
observations may be made in the smallest intervals of time.
With apparatus similar to that of Professor Gauss, si¬
multaneous observations have been made in 1834 and
1836, at intervals of five or ten minutes, at Gottingen,
Copenhagen, Altona, Brunswick, Leipsig, Berlin, Milan,
and Rome. It appears, from the graphic representation of
the results, that the smallest inflexions of the horary curves
are parallel, and consequently the disturbing causes which
produce them simultaneous at Milan and Copenhagen, two
of the places of observation, which have a difference of la¬
titude of 10° 13'.
In giving an account of Professor Hansteen’s labours,
we have briefly noticed his journey in Siberia, and the erec¬
tion of magnetic observatories by tbe emperor of Russia, on
the recommendation of Baron Humboldt; and we have
also referred to the early researches of this distinguished
philosopher. When travelling in the equinoctial regions
of America during the years 1799-1804, Baron Humboldt
had devoted much attention to the determination of the
intensity of the magnetic forces, and of the dip and varia¬
tion of the needle. Upon his arrival in Europe, he con¬
ceived the design of examining the progress of the horary
changes of the variation, and the perturbations to which
it is subject, by employing a method which had never been
adopted on an extended scale. In a large garden at Ber¬
lin, he measured, particularly at the period of the equinoxes
in 1806 and 1807, the angular alterations of the magnetic
meridian, at intervals of an hour, often of half an hour,
without interruption, during four, five, or six days, and as
many nights. The instrument employed was Prony’s
magnetic telescope, suspended according to the method
of Coulomb, and capable of being reversed upon its axis.
It was placed in a glass frame, and directed towards a very
distant meridian mark, the illuminated divisions of which
indicated six or seven seconds of hourly variation. In
these researches Baron Humboldt was struck with the fre¬
quency of oscillations whose amplitude extended beyond
all the divisions of the scale, and which repeatedly took
place at the same hours before sunrise. “ These vagaries
of the needle,” says the baron, “ the almost periodical re¬
turn of which has recently been confirmed by M. Kupffer,
in the account of his travels in the Caucasus, appeared to
me the effect of a re-action of the interior of the earth to- General
wards the surface ; I should venture to say, of magnetic Properties
storms, which indicate a rapid change of tension.” With ^ °* .
the view of investigating the causes of these disturbances, bodies. ^
Baron Humboldt proposed to erect similar apparatus on ^^
both sides of the meridian of Berlin; but the political Baron
tempest of Germany, and his mission to France by the go- Humboldt,
vernment, delayed the execution of his plan. M. Arago,
however, as we have already seen, began and prosecuted
his inquiry with singular success.
When Baron Humboldt again fixed his residence in
Germany in 1827, he erected one of Gambey’s compasses
in a magnetic pavilion, without any iron, in the middle of
a garden, and began a series of regular observations in the
autumn of 1828. At his request, the Imperial Academy and
the curator of the university of Kasan erected magnetic ob¬
servatories at St Petersburg and Kasan ; and the imperial
department for mines has established similar stations at
Moscow, Barnaoul, and Nertschinsk. The academy, too,
has sent Mr George Fuss to Pekin, where he has procur¬
ed the erection of a magnetic pavilion in the convent gar¬
den of the monks of the Greek church. Since Mr G.
Fuss’s return, M. Kowanko, a young officer of mines, con¬
tinues the horary observations corresponding to those
made in Germany and Russia. Admiral Greig has esta¬
blished one of Gambey’s compasses in the Crimea at Ni-
colaeff. Baron Humboldt has procured the establishment
of a magnetic apparatus at the depth of thirty-five fathoms,
in an adit in the mines of Freiberg in Saxony. Baron
Von Wrangel has been provided with one of Gambey’s
compasses at Sitka, in one of the Russian settlements.
M. Arago has caused to be erected, at his own expense, one
of Gambey’s compasses in the interior of Mexico, where
the soil is 6000 feet above the sea. The French minister of
marine has established a magnetic station in Iceland, and the
necessary instruments will be sent this summer (1836) to
Reikavig; and Baron Humboldt, at the desire of Admiral de
Laborde, has sent instruments to the Havannah in Cuba, to
furnish a magnetic observatory under the tropic of Cancer.
Some years ago, the writer of this article urged a dis¬
tinguished and influential member of the British govern¬
ment to establish magnetic observatories in England and
the colonies, but no steps were taken in consequence of
this application. Baron Humboldt has, however, address¬
ed an interesting letter to his Royal Highness the Duke
of Sussex, as president of the Royal Society, soliciting
this body to extend, in the colonies of Great Britain, the
line of simultaneous observations, and to establish perma¬
nent magnetic stations, either in the tropical regions on
each side of the magnetic equator, or in the high latitudes
of the southern hemisphere, and in Canada. We hope
that the Royal Society will use its influence with the Bri¬
tish government to have this proposal carried into effect,
and that this country shall not be exposed to the humilia¬
tion of being indifferent to the progress of those branches
of scientific inquiry which its extensive influence in various
regions of the globe enables it effectually to advance.
CHAP. II.-
-ON THE GENERAL PHENOMENA AND PROPER¬
TIES OF MAGNETIC BODIES.
A body is said to be magnetic when it has the power of General
attracting soft iron, either in the subdivided state of iron properties
filings, or in large portions ; or of attracting and repelling °.f
other magnetic bodies like itself: of taking a particular po-tic bodies*
sition when freely suspended, or moving on a pivot: and of
communicating magnetism either temporarily to soft or
permanently to hard iron in the form of steel. Hence we
may arrange the general properties of magnetic bodies
under the following heads.
General 1. On the attractive power of magnetic bodies upon
Properties soft iron.
Mao-> 2. On the attractive and repulsive power of magnets
" Bodies. over eac^ other’ or over iron either temporarily or per-
manently magnetised.
3. On the effect of masses of iron on the attractive force
of a magnet.
4. On the polarity of magnetic bodies.
5. On the power of magnets to communicate magnetism
to other bodies.
6. On the distribution of magnetism in artificial magnets.
7. On the effect of division and fracture on the distribu¬
tion of magnetism.
8. On magnetic figures.
Sect. I.— On the Attractive Power of Magnetic Bodies upon
Soft Iron.
Attraction The natural magnet or loadstone was for a long time the
of magnets on]y body considered as possessing magnetic properties,
over iron. jt jg an ore 0f jronj 0f a grey colour, and a dark metallic
lustre. Its specific gravity is about four and a half times
that of water. It crystallizes in the form of the regular
octahedron, and it consists of from 85 to 75 parts of iron,
and from 15 to 25 parts of oxygen. It is found in almost
every part of the world,1 and often forms rocks of consider¬
able magnitude ; but different specimens of it possess very
different powers of attraction.
Loadstone. The smallest loadstones generally have a greater attrac¬
tive power in proportion to their size than larger ones.
They have been found of such strength, that though
weighing only about twenty-five grains, they could lift a
piece of iron about forty-five times heavier than them¬
selves. A small magnet set in a ring, and worn by Sir
Isaac Newton, is said to have been capable of lifting 746
grains, or 250 times its own weight; and it is stated by
Cavallo, that he has seen a loadstone which weighed only
about six and a half grains, which lifted a weight of 300
grams.
Natural loadstones often possess unequal powers of at¬
traction in different parts of their mass, in consequence of
want of homogeneity of structure and composition ; and
hence a portion has often been cut from a large loadstone
which could lift a greater weight of iron than the large
one itself, the portion detached having possessed the most
suitable structure, and the other part having weakened
the action of the powerful part by keeping the body to
be lifted at a greater distance from those points where the
magnetism was strongest. It is no doubt from a similar
cause that small magnets have a greater proportional
power than large ones, or that those of two pounds weight
have seldom been found capable of lifting more than ten
times their own weight of iron.
If we now take a natural loadstone L, however shape¬
less, and, after rolling it in a quantity of iron filings, after¬
wards withdraw it, we shall find that the filings are accu¬
mulated more abundantly in two opposite points A, B, than
in any other, as shown in fig. 1.
These two points A, B are called
the poles of the magnet, and are
the points of greatest attraction.
When either of these poles is held
at a distance from the iron filings,
the filings will be attracted to it,
and will adhere with such force that it is difficult to brush
them off.
If we suspend a small needle of iron or steel by a fine
linen or silken fibre, or balance it on a pivot, and bring
the poles of the loadstone L near it, it will be attracted to Genera]
it in the first case, or will oscillate on its pivot in the se-Properties
cond case. of
If we make the needle float on water in a glass tumbler, J%netic
and bring any pole of L on the outside of the tumbler, the ^dies'
needle will be attracted towards the pole, notwithstand-
ing the interposition of the glass ; and by using the needle
upon a pivot, it will be found that the attractive force of
the loadstone is in no respect diminished by the inter¬
position of any substance whatever, except iron, conduc¬
tors and non-conductors of electricity having no effect
whatever in stopping or diminishing the action of the load¬
stone, unless the interposed body be iron, or contains iron
in any of its metallic states.
While the loadstone thus attracts iron, and all bodies
containing it in a metallic state, these same bodies exer¬
cise a reciprocal attraction upon the loadstone, action and
re-action being equal and opposite. The truth of this may
be exhibited by suspending a magnet, and bringing into
the vicinity of its poles a piece of soft iron. The magnet
will be gradually attracted by the iron, in the same man¬
ner as if the iron had been suspended and a pole of the
magnet held near it.
Fig. 3.
Sect. II.— On the Attractive and Repulsive Power of Mag¬
nets over each other, or over Iron either temporarily or
permanently magnetised.
If we suspend near
each other two load¬
stones, t AB, A'B', like
that shown in fig. 1, by A
two threads T, T, we shall find, by changing the relative po¬
sition of their poles, A B, A' B', that there are certain po¬
sitions in which these poles attract each other, and others
in which they are repelled. By marking the poles which
attract each other, such as A, B' and A', B, we shall find
that the poles which repel each other are A, A' and B, B',
and that this mutual attraction and repulsion takes place
under every change of circumstances.
If we suspend a piece of soft iron
ab from a loadstone AB, we shall find
that the end b of the iron exercises
the same attractive and repulsive
power upon the poles A' B' (fig. 2)
of a suspended magnet that B did;
and in like manner, if the piece of
iron a'U is suspended from the pole A', the end a' will ex¬
ercise the same attraction and repulsion upon the poles of
a suspended magnet that A did.
Sect. III.— On the effect of Masses of Iron on the Attrac¬
tive Force of a. Magnet.
If we suspend a piece
of iron C from the arm
of a balance, it will be
attracted by the pole
P of a magnet A, and
will descend towards P
in virtue of this attrac¬
tion. If we now place
a mass of iron I close
to A, the suspended J- ? ^ A-
iron C will rise, as if the attractive force of P were dimi¬
nished. This power of the mass of iron I seems only to
extend to a given point within the magnet A, the distance
between the magnet and the iron remaining the same;
Attraction
and repul.
sion of
magnets.
Fig. 4.
1
Effect of
masses of
iron on the
attractive
force.
■
According to Norman, the best loadstones were those brought from China and Bengal.
MAGNETISM.
=rtii
as: lies.
for if the iron C is suspended above a point x at some
distance from P, the action of I will not be felt at the
point x, except by diminishing the distance between P
and C, or by increasing the neutralising power of the
mass I.
Mr Snow Harris, to whom we owe this experiment, has
shown that a similar effect is produced when the iron I is
placed between the magnet PA and the suspended iron
C, and also when I is placed below P. In the first of
these cases I stops the attraction of P upon C, and acts
as a screen.
Sect. IV.— On the Polarity of Magnetic Bodies.
uf *Mtyf If we suspend a loadstone, as in fig. 2, or make it float
\ uporjets" ^   .... ...
cork
703
In order to communicate magnetism from a natural or General
artificial magnet to unmagnetised iron or steel, it is not Properties
necessary that the two bodies be in contact. The com- of
munication is effected as perfectly, though more feebly, c
when the bodies are separated by space. . _ ^ y
Magnetic
induction.
W iun
suspe 01
steel
tistn
expla
upon water or mercury, by placing it on a thin plate of
cork or wood, it will gradually change its place till it rests
in a position where a line joining the poles A, B is nearly
north and south. This is, generally speaking, the case in
Europe, the end A, which points northward, deviating in
some places from the meridian to the west, in some places
j to the east; while in other parts of the globe it points
[exactly to the north. The deviation of the loadstone from
the meridian is called its declination or variation. This
property of the magnet is called its polarity, or directive
power ; and the pole A, which turns to the north, is call¬
ed its north pole; and the pole B, which turns to the
south, its south pole. It will now be found that the poles
and magnets A, A', or B, B', which repel each other, are
either both north or both south poles ; and that the north
and south poles attract each other. Hence there is in mag¬
netism, as there is in electricity, two opposite powers or
principles, namely, the northern and the southern, or boreal
and austral magnetism ; and, as in electricity, a repulsion
takes place between the two powers of the same name, and
attraction between the two powers of an opposite name.
The magnetism from which loadstones derive their po¬
larity, or their tendency to direct themselves to particular
points of the compass, is obviously derived in some way or
[other from the earth or its atmosphere; and hence it is
called the Magnetism of the Earth, or Terrestrial Magne¬
tism, which will be treated more fully in a future part of
this article.
sect. V.— On the Power of Magnets to communicate Mag¬
netism to other Bodies.
We have already seen, that if a piece of soft iron is
suspended to a magnet by the attraction of one of its
poles, the iron becomes magnetic, but only during the
time that it is in contact with the loadstone. But if we
ise a piece of hardened iron, or steel, a b, and suspend it
is in fig. 3, it will be found to have acquired a permanent
nagnetism, the strength of which will depend on the
power of the natural magnet A B, and on the time which
the steel bar has been suspended. The pole a will be a
north pole similar to A, and the pole b a south pole simi¬
lar to B; and the little magnet a b will possess all the
properties of the natural magnet, such as attraction for
soft iron, and polarity; and its action upon another little
steel magnet a' b?, made in a similar manner, will be the
same as the action of two natural magnets upon each other.
A steel magnet thus made is called an artificial magnet;
md we shall in the sequel consider the magnets of which
tve speak as steel bars rendered permanently magnetic.
A little magnet a b has been made by a very simple
process, namely, that of contact with the pole of a natural
Magnet; but there are more complex and efficacious me¬
thods, by which a very high degree of permanent magne-
Itism can be cemmunicated to steel, which will be fully
explained in the practical part of this treatise.
If the north pole
N of an artificial Fig. 5.
steel magnet A is
placed near the ex¬
tremity s of a piece
of soft iron B, the end s will instantly acquire the pro¬
perties of a south pole, and the opposite end n those of
a north pole. The opposite poles would have been pro¬
duced at n and s if the south pole S of the magnet A had
been placed near the iron B.
In like manner, the iron B, though only temporarily
magnetic, will render another piece of iron C, and this
again another piece D, temporarily magnetic, north and
south poles being produced at nl, /, and n!' s".
The magnetism inherent in B, C, and D, is said to be
induced by the presence of the real magnet A, and the
phenomena are exactly analogous to the communication of
electricity to unelectrified bodies by induction, the posi¬
tive state inducing the negative, and the negative the po¬
sitive, in the parts of a conductor placed in a state of insu¬
lation near an electrified body.
In order to show by simple experiments that soft iron
is itself a magnet while placed near a magnet, let A
be a magnet, and K a key held
near its lower edge. A nail N 6-
will remain suspended by vir¬
tue of its induced magnetism;
but if A is withdrawn, or K re¬
moved from A, the nail N will
instantly fall, the induced mag¬
netism diminishing with the dis¬
tance.
If we hold the key K above a portion of iron filings,
they will not be attracted by it; but if we then bring the
magnet A near the ring of the key, as in the figure, the
iron filings will instantly start up, and be attracted by the
key.
We have already noticed, in Sect. I., that the iron at-Re-action
tracted by a magnet re-acts upon the magnet, and attracts of iron on
it in return. The same is the case with a bar of iron on maRnets-
which magnetism is induced. It re-acts on the magnet
which induces its magnetism, and increases its magnetic
intensity. Hence we derive a distinct explanation of the
remarkable facts, that a magnet has its power increased by
having a bar of iron placed in contact with one of its poles,
and that we can gradually add more weight to that which
is carried by a magnet, provided we make the addition
slowly and in small quantities, the power of the magnet
being increased by the re-action of each separate piece of
iron that it is made to carry.
If the bar of iron on which magnetism is induced is Consecu-
long, and the strength of the magnet great, a succession oftive poles,
poles is produced along its length, a north pole always fol¬
lowing a south pole, and vice versa.
These facts enable us to explain the phenomena ofMagnetic
magnetic attraction and repulsion, which are necessary attraction
consequences of magnetic induction. The magnet attracts and rePul-
a piece of iron by inducing an opposite polarity at the81!0"65!"
end in contact with it, and the two opposite principles at- ^ aine
tract each other. In like manner, the north pole of one
magnet attracts the south pole of another, and the north
and south poles repel each other, in consequence of the
attraction and repulsion of the opposite or similar prin¬
ciples. The attraction of iron filings is explained in the
same manner. The particle of iron next the magnet has
magnetism induced upon it, and it becomes a minute mag-
704
M A G N E T I S M.
General net, like B in fig. 5. This particle again makes the next
Properties particle a magnet, like C, and so on, the opposite polarities
Ma° t' 'n eac^ Part‘c^e ^ie hhngs attracting one another, as if
Bodies were real magnets.
In comparing the amount of the attractive force of two
dissimilar poles of two magnets, with the amount of the
repulsive force of the two similar poles, it has been found
that the former force is considerably greater than the lat¬
ter. This result is a necessary consequence of the induc¬
tive process above described. When the two attracting
poles are in contact, each magnet tends to increase the
power of the other, by developing the opposite magnetisms
in the adjacent halves, and thus increasing their mutual
attx*action. But when the two repelling poles are brought
into contact, the action of each half brought into contact
has a tendency to develope in that half a magnetism op¬
posite to that which it really possesses, and thus to di¬
minish the two similar principles, and weaken their repul¬
sive power. This injurious influence of opposite poles
upon the repulsive power of the magnets in action, is fine¬
ly exhibited when one of the magnets is very powerful,
and the other very weak. When the two similar poles are
held at a moderate distance, a repulsion is distinctly exhi¬
bited ; but when they are brought into contact, the stronger
attracts the weaker magnet, an effect which is produced
by its actually destroying the similar weak magnetism in
the half next it, and inducing in that half the opposite
magnetism, which, of course, occasions attraction.
When the magnet A and the piece of iron B are placed
in the same straight line, as in fig. 5, the pole N acts fa¬
vourably in inducing south polar magnetism at n, and
north polar at s ; but it is evident that the remote pole S
must tend to weaken the inductive force of N, by inducing,
though in a feeble degree, north polar magnetism at n
and south polar at s. If the soft iron B is placed as in
fig. 7, the induced magne¬
tism will be nearly as strong
as before,tbegreater proximi¬
ty of N tending to produce
south polar magnetism in n,
being compensated by the
increased proximity of S
tending to produce north po¬
lar magnetism in n. In the
inclined position C the induced magnetism is still stronger,
as S acts more powerfully upon n ; and
when the two are parallel, as in fig. 8,
the two bars or magnets are in the
position most favourable for develop-5
ing and sustaining the magnetism^
which they receive or possess. n' # s
Hitherto we have considered the natural and artificial
magnet as producing magnetism in soft or hard iron, dis¬
tributed in the same manner as in the inducing magnet;
but by the action of one or more magnets, we can distri¬
bute the magnetism in various ways, as follows:
In the case of bars, we may have a
north pole in the middle of it, and a
south pole at each extremity. Thus,
in fig. 9, if the magnet NS has its north
pole N placed opposite the middle of
the soft iron bar nn, this bar will have a ,
south pole at s and north poles at n, n.
feet will be produced
if, as in fig. 10, we
place the soft iron bar b - c ,
B between two mag- s k ® g N g
nets A, C, whose north [poles N, N are nearest the bar.
These north poles N, N tend to produce south poles at 5, s,
and consequently northern polarity in the middle at n. In
the preceding case a south pole may be produced in the
Fig. 8.
In
Fig. 9.
The very same ef-
Fig. 12.
middle, and north poles at the ends of the bar, by placing Gen
the south poles of the magnets where the north poles are IWtj
placed. 0fles
In like manner, a piece of soft iron s s, ss, of the form %>netic
of a cross, will have south poles at s,s, s,s, if
the south pole S of a magnet A is placed on
or near its centre, as in fig. II, as it may be
conceived to consist of two bars ss, ss. For
the same reason, if a circular plate of soft
iron is substituted in place of the cross ss, ss,
and the south pole S of the magnet placed
upon or near its centre, that centre will be a
north pole, and every point of the circumfer¬
ence of the plate will be a south pole.
A very instructive experiment, founded on magnetic in¬
duction, is exhibited in fig. 12, where several
soft iron wires or slender bars sn, sn, sn are
suspended at the north pole N of a magnet
N. Each of the ends s, s, s becomes a south
pole by induction from the action of the
north, and consequently the lower ends n, n, n
north poles. The south poles s, s, s have a
tendency to repel each other, but are pre¬
vented from yielding to their repulsive forces
in consequence of their strong adhesion to the
north pole N. The north poles n, n, n, how¬
ever, are free from this restraint, and exhibit
their mutual repulsion by their diverging, as n
shown in the figure. Hence we see the reason why rows
of iron filings adhering to each other, when attracted by a
magnet, keep separate from each other by the repulsive
forces of the similar poles.
In the following form of the experiment given by Cavallo,
the repulsion of both poles is well illustrated. If we sus¬
pend two short pieces of soft
iron wire ns, ns by threads,
they will hang in contact in a q
vertical position. If we now
bring the north pole N of a mag¬
net A to a moderate distance
from the wires, they will re¬
cede from each other, as in fig.
13. The ends s, s, being made
south poles by induction from
the north pole N, will repel
each other, and so will the
north poles 7i, n. This separa¬
tion of the wires will increase as
the magnet A approaches near¬
er them; but there will be a
particular distance at which
the attractive force of N over¬
comes the repulsive force of
the poles s, s, and causes the
wires to converge, as in fig. 14, the north poles n, n still
exhibiting their mutual repulsion.
The neutralisation or destruction of induced
magnetism, by two equal and[opposite magnetic
actions, is shown in the following experiment, N
given by Dr Robison. If we take a forked
piece of soft iron CDE, and suspend it by the J
branch D from the north pole of a magnet B,
it will be magnetised by induction, and will
carry a key at its lower end E, which will be
a north pole. If we now apply to the other
branch C the south pole S of another and equal
magnet A, the key will instantly drop off. This
obviously arises from the south pole S indu¬
cing a south pole at E, which either destroys
or neutralizes the north polar magnetism pre¬
viously induced by N.
Fig. 14.
706
MAGNETISM.
Distribu¬
tion of
General north pole was directed to the south, the force of the
Properties r0unded north pole was S-OSIQ, and that of the south pole
At ° t' was In the opposite position of the bar, the
Bodies, magnetic force of the north pole was 2,2198, and that of
the south pole 2,3006, the neutral point being in the
middle.
The rounded end of the bar was now filed to a point,
and rnpde sharper and sharper in every successive expe¬
riment, after being each time magnetised to saturation.
The force of the sharpened pole diminished with its acute¬
ness. The neutral point receded always from this extre-
mity.
In order to ascertain the distribution of magnetism in
the interior of magnets, Coulomb formed sixteen rectan-
magnetism gU]ar magnets out of the same piece of steel. Each was
terio/of * s‘x *nclies l°nS> nine an(l a lines w*(le!' an(l grains
magnets. in weight. They were annealed at a white heat, without
Coulomb’s being tempered, in order that he might be certain of hav-
experi- ing them always in the same state. He magnetised them
ments. aii to saturation, and formed bundles with a certain num¬
ber of them, similar poles being placed together. The
magnets in each bundle were bound tightly together with a
strong silk thread. Each bundle was then placed in a
torsion balance, and placed 30° out of the magnetic meri¬
dian. The force of torsion necessary to retain it in this
^position was a measure of its magnetic intensity. The
following were the forces or degrees of torsion necessary
to keep the different bundles at rest.
Degrees of Torsion.
1 magnet  82°
2 magnets united 125
4* magnets united  150
6 magnets united 172
8 magnets united 182
12 magnets united 205
16 magnets united 229
Hence it follows that the magnetic force of each bundle
increases in a ratio much less than that of the number of
plates.
Coulomb next determined the magnetic state of each of
the magnets composing the bundles of eight and sixteen
magnets ; and he found that the two outermost magnets,
those which formed the surface of the bundles, had a much
greater force than the rest.
The first had a force which measured 46
The second 48
And the mean force of all the rest was 30
A single magnet had its directing force 82°, while for six¬
teen of them united the mean directing force of each was
only 140,3, that is, about the sixth part of the other.
In examining the bundle of eight magnets by the me¬
thod of oscillation, he found that the two outermost per¬
formed twenty oscillations in 90^ minutes, while all the
rest performed the same number in from 211 to 278 nearly,
showing the weakness of their magnetism. It is curious
that the outermost but one had its poles reversed.
Coulomb also found that a bundle of magnets will take
nearly the same degree of magnetism as a single magnet
of the same shape and weight; which leads us to believe
that, in magnets of one piece, the magnetism diminishes
from the surface to the centre, as in the preceding bun¬
dles of magnets.
Sect. VII.— On the Effect of Division and Fracture in the
Distribution of Magnetism.
Effects As no natural or artificial magnet has ever been seen
produced with only one pole, or one kind of magnetism, it became
by break- interesting to determine experimentally the distribution
mgmagT ma(Tnetism in a part of a magnet cut from its north or
south extremity. This experiment has been often made,
Fig. 18.
both by cutting it through at the middle or neutral point, Gene
or by cutting or breaking off a portion from the end of it. Propel1.
If NS, for example, is a __ of
magnet, N its north and
S its south pole, and ACB
the curve representing the
intensity of its magnetism; Np
then, if we cut it through
the middle C, each half ^
ns, n's! will be a complete
magnet, with a north pole
at n, and a south one at s,
and their neutral points at c, d; the curves at acb, ddU,
representing the distribution of their north and south polar
magnetism, being similar to the curve ACB of the large
magnet of which they are the halves.
When iEpinus made this curious experiment, he did
not divide the magnet in two, but he set two steel bars
end to end, and magnetised them as one magnet, so that
this compound magnet had its magnetism distributed as
in a single bar, like NS, fig. 18. He then separated them,
and found that each bar was a perfect magnet, with two
poles. Dr Robison repeated this experiment successfully
on some occasions ; but he sometimes found indications of
the compound magnet acting as two magnets. We are
persuaded that this arose from an imperfect union of the
two - bars, and not from any defect in iEpinus’s experi¬
ment. The united ends of the bars should be ground to¬
gether, so as to be kept in perfect contact, and preserved
in this state by a powerful pressure during the time that
they are magnetised. If this be done, we have no doubt
that they will act on iron filings, and throw them into
curves, as if they were, a single bar, and will, by "examina¬
tion with a fine needle, exhibit the same regular distri¬
bution of magnetism which takes place in the most per¬
fect magnet.
Upon the separation of the magnets thus united, jEpi-
nus found that two poles were instantly developed in each
half, but that the neutral points c, d, fig. 18, were nearer
the interior poles s, n', or, what is the same thing, nearer
the original neutral point C, than to n and s’. In the space
of about a quarter of an hour it had, however, advanced
nearer to the middle points c, d, and continued for some
hours, and sometimes for days, to advance to these points,
which it finally reached, thus completing the regular dis¬
tribution of the two opposite magnetisms.
Some observations, but not very accurate ones, have
been made on the division of magnets in the direction of
their lengths. According to Dr Derham, the two por¬
tions sometimes have contrary, and sometimes the same
poles, as when they were united. When one portion was
much thinner than the other, the thinner portion had ge¬
nerally its poles reversed. This experiment does not
possess much interest; for it can scarcely be doubted that,
if we could divide a magnet in the direction of its length
without any violence or concussion, each portion, whether
thinner or thicker, would have, when separate, the same
polarities as when combined. The experiment would be
easily made by pressing two equal steel bars into close
contact, magnetising them in this state, and then separat¬
ing them.
A very remarkable analogy has been pointed out bybirAnaop
David Brewster, between the preceding results and those
which he has obtained with parallelepipeds of glass an(i Unan-
received the doubly refracting structure by being quickly neaie(i
cooled on all their surfaces from a state of red heat. ThiSgiass.
change is analogous to that of temper in a magnet; and
the effect of it is to produce a certain development of posi¬
tive and negative double refraction throughout the whole
of the parallelepiped of glass. These phenomena will be
minutely explained in our article on Optics; but we may
MAGNETISM.
707
fll
Iiem
i^Aertii
!, tm of
ift'- an gneti
(dies-
AB
port
neg
in f
law
ilifii
tare
sitic
para
line
the
1)7
tens
repr
perp
in p
man
havi
state at present, that the structure of the glass modifies
the action of the ether which it contains, just as the struc¬
ture of the tempered steel keeps the two magnetisms in
an uncombined state. This is shown in fig. 19, where
Fig. 19.
AB is a thick plate of glass quickly cooled. The middle
portion of it P has positive, and the external portions N, N,
negative double refraction. The density of the ether
in each of these portions varies according to a regular
law ; and the intensity of the doubly refracting force, at
different points both of the positive and negative struc¬
tures, is represented by a curve formed by the superpo¬
sition of a straight line and a parabola. If we now cut the
Fig. 20.
parallelepiped of glass into two halves, through the dotted
line AB, fig. 19, each half will have the same structure as
the whole, as shown in fig. 20; the parts that were former¬
ly joosifr't'e being now negative, and vice verm ; and the in¬
tensity of the doubly refracting force in each half will be
represented by the ordinates of a curve formed by the su¬
perposition of a straight line and a parabola. This fact is
in perfect analogy with the magnetic one, and there are
many other remarkable points of resemblance which we
have not space to describe at present.
Sect. VIII.—On Magnetic Figures.
« Ir netk
of f08, 1
tenb
sipa
tliicl
whit
did
pres
any
eithi
forir
ed.
of a
mity
traci
and
jag,
bet?
thus ■
writ
“ X' !
Wan •
whii
In our article on Electricity we have given an account
of the beautiful electrical figures discovered by M. Lich-
tenberg, and which form one of the most interesting po¬
pular experiments in that science. We are indebted to M.
Haldat of Nancy for the analogous discovery of magnetic
figures, which may be easily produced. For this purpose
he employs plates of steel from eight to twelve inches
square, and from one twentieth to one eighth of an inch
thick. The plates which he used were of that kind of steel
which is used for the manufacture of cuirasses, so that it
did not require to be tempered, being sufficiently hard to
preserve the magnetism communicated to it. Figures of
any kind may be traced on the surface of the steel plate,
either by one magnet or by several combined ; and the best
form for this purpose is that in which the poles are round¬
ed. In this way we may write upon a steel plate the name
of a friend, or sketch a flower or a figure, with the extre¬
mity of a magnet. If it is a south pole that we use, all the
traces which it makes will have north polar magnetism;
and if we shake steel filings upon the plate out of a gauze
bag, the filings will arrange themselves in the empty spaces
between the lines traced by the pole of the magnet, and
thus represent in vacant steel the name which has been
written, or the flower or figure which has been sketched.
“ These figures,” says M. Haldat, “ have a perfect resem¬
blance to those which are formed on the surface of non¬
magnetic plates, viz. wood, card, glass, or paper, under
which a magnet is placed. The resemblance between the
two sorts of figures, when the magnets and the parts mag- General
netised have the same form, is not only exact in the whole Properties
figure, but even in the smallest details. The filings collect °* .
at the parts where the magnetism is most intense, they ar- ag”6*-10
range themselves in pencils and radii, and form the same
curves which we have represented in fig. 1, page 702. Magnetic
These curves, and pencils, and rays, so similar at the two figures,
poles of the same magnet, have such a resemblance that
they do not allow us to distinguish the two parts from one
another.”
M. Haldat has likewise produced these curves by inter¬
posing between the tracing magnets and the steel plates
solid non-magnetic bodies, such as cards, glass, and even
metallic plates that are not ferruginous. This method of
producing magnetism in the steel plate by induction gives
the same figures ; but, in order to be efficacious, the magnet
must have its pole carried parallel to and at a small distance
from the plate of steel, and must repeat its traces, in order
that the magnetism may be sufficiently developed. For
rectilineal figures, M. Haldat employs rules with grooves,
which keep the motion and distance of the bar invariable;
for curvilineal figures he interposes some thin and uniform
plate, and he can vary the distinctness of the figures by
varying the distance of the tracing pole of the magnet.
In sifting the iron filings upon the steel plate, a gentle
vibration of the plate, by tapping its edge with the ring of
a small key, will assist the filings in taking their proper
places ; but we must avoid such vibrations as will produce
regular acoustic figures, unless we wish, as M. Haldat has
found to be practicable, to unite the magnetic with the
acoustic figures, which produces very interesting and varied
forms.
M. Haldat has found that the magnetic figures will con¬
tinue for six months. In order to remove the magnetism
which produces them, he recommends the heating of the
plate upon red-hot charcoal, till it is brought to the straw-
yellow temperature. In order to render the repolishing of
the plate unnecessary, M. Haldat tins it, and the tempe¬
rature at which the tin melts, when it is required to efface
the magnetism, indicates the necessary heat. M. Haldat
employs also another method, which is perhaps the best.
He places the steel plate upon a block of wood, and by re¬
peated and violent blows of a wooden hammer he removes
the magnetism of the plate, the figures gradually becoming
weaker and weaker when the experiment is tried with it in
different stages. The effect is often produced in three or
four minutes.
As the figures traced on the steel are nothing more than
magnets of different forms, and are surrounded on all sides
with a substance capable of acquiring the magnetism which
may be developed by communication, we might expect, as
M. Haldat remarks, that this means of communication be¬
tween the opposite poles of the magnets would bring them
into a neutral state. This, however, is not the case, and
the portion of the metal which surrounds the magnetic
figure performs the part of the armature of a loadstone,
and the magnetism is thus kept up. If the figure be a
simple rectangle, like that of a bar-magnet, the state of the
plate, examined with a small needle, is exactly the same as
a bar-magnet, and the parts which surround this magnetic
portion are in a neutral state, as if unconnected with the
rectangular space; from which it follows that the magnetic
virtue, which communicates itself so easily by influence,
ceases to communicate itself between the continuous parts
of a magnetisable body, of which one portion is magnetic,
and the rest in a neutral state.
In carrying into effect the preceding method of making Iniprove-
magnetic figures, a very great difficulty must be experien- (’n
ced in recollecting the invisible traces made by the pole of y:;, J* *
the magnet, so as to complete a regular figure or drawing. tjj0d
When the figures are made immediately, as M. Haldat ex-
708
MAGNETISM.
Magnetic
figures.
Magne- presses it, that is, by the actual contact of the pole of the
tism of magnet, without any intermediate body, the best method
Ferru m,u^ to c°ver the plate of steel with the slightest coat-
nous. hig of grease, and sift upon the surface, through a linen
bag, some of the finest flour. The pole of the magnet,
while tracing the figures on the steel, will remove the flour,
and thus exhibit to the eye an accurate picture of what it
has traced ; and it will thus be easy to make the magnetic
figures more distinct by repeating the traces with the mag¬
net. The same thing may be done by putting an etching
ground upon the steel plate, and tracing the figure as be¬
fore. When the figure is completed, the coating of grease
and flour, or the etching ground, must be removed previous
to the application of the iron filings.
When the figures are to be produced mediately, or by
the intervention of a non-magnetic substance, such as paper,
card, wood, or glass, a fine dust may in like manner be laid
upon the surface; but when the interposed substance will
receive the mark of a pencil or sharp point, it would be
preferable to attach to the cylindrical pole of the tracing
magnet a very short point of a non-magnetic substance,
which would make a visible mark on the paper, card, or
wood, without strewing any fine dust on their surfaces. By
the use of such a point, indeed, we may dispense altogether
with the interposed substance, and communicate the mag¬
netism by induction to the steel plate, in the very same way
as if it had been done by the intervention of a non-magne¬
tic plate whose thickness is equal to the length of the short
point or tracer affixed to the pole of the magnet.
The magnetic figures might be rendered permanent by
covering the steel plate either with a gummy or balsamic
solution, which will indurate by exposure to the air; or
with a coating of some easily melted substance, which be¬
comes fixed at ordinary temperatures. If we sift the iron
filings on the steel plate when covered with such a fluid,
the filings will take their magnetic position round the traced
lines, and will become fixed by the induration or solidifica¬
tion of the fluid coating.
chap. m.
-ON THE MAGNETISM OF BODIES NOT FERRUGI¬
NOUS.
Sect. L-
- On the Magnetism of Metals, Minerals, and other
Bodies.
Magne¬
tism of me
tals, &c.
not ferru¬
ginous.
Magne¬
tism of
nickel.
Iron was long regarded as the only body endowed with
the property of acting and of being acted upon as a mag¬
net ; and though other metals and substances have been
recently found to possess the same property, and though
all substances whatever have been found by Coulomb to
obey the power of a strong magnet, yet it is still a matter
of doubt whether the magnetic effects thus produced are
owing to a magnetism residing in the proper substance of
the body, or are owing to a minute quantity of iron which
enters into their composition.
The most magnetic metal next to iron is nickel. It re¬
ceives and retains communicated magnetism longer than
any other metal, and needles of nickel have a distinct po¬
larity. These properties have been found in nickel after it
has been repeatedly purified, though some authors have
stated that they could not detect this property in certain
specimens. A very decisive and instructive experiment
on the magnetic qualities of nickel was made by M. Biot.1
He possessed a needle of nickel which had been purified
by M. Thenard. It was 212 millimetres long, six broad,
and 5T78 grains in weight. Having made a needle of steel
of exactly the same dimensions, and which weighed 4’586
grains, he magnetised them both to saturation, and caused
them to oscillate in the magnetic meridian. The nickel
tism Of
needle performed ten oscillations in eighty-seven seconds Bodies
and the steel one the same number in forty-five and a half Ferru^'
it in l
seconds. As the shape of the needles was the same, the mo- note
menta of their directive forces were directly as their weights
and inversely as the squares of eighty-seven seconds&and
forty-five and a half seconds, that is, as 0-3088 to 1, that is
the directive force of the needle of nickel was nearly one
third of that of the steel needle. Now it is impossible to
suppose that purified nickel could contain such a large pro¬
portion of iron as is necessary to produce such a degree of
magnetic polarity, without its being easily recognised by
the chemist; and M. Biot supposes that the magnetic
power of the nickel might have been still farther increased
by the means which are used to modify the coercive power
of steel and iron.
A series of careful experiments were made by M. Ca-Brass,
vallo, on the magnetism of brass when hammered. He
found that brass, whether old or new, British or foreign,
was made magnetic when placed between two pieces of
card and hammered on an anvil with a common hammer;
and that the magnetism thus imparted was always removed
by making the brass red hot, and could be again commu-
nicated to it. Lest it might be supposed that ferruginous
matter might pass to the brass through rents or openings
in the card, he hardened a piece of brass by beating it
between two large flints, using one piece as a hammer, and
the other as an anvil. The hammered brass became mag¬
netic, but not so strongly as before ; which arose probably
from the rough and irregular surfaces of the flints, which
prevented the brass from being hardened as uniformly as
it was with the steel hammer. The flints, before and after
the experiment, did not possess the slightest magnetism.
The degree of magnetism communicated to brass by
hammering is vaguely stated by Cavallo to have been such
“ as to attract either pole of the needle from about a quar¬
ter of an inch distance.” The following are the conclusions
which M. Cavallo has drawn from these and other experi¬
ments : 1
“ ls£, That most brass becomes magnetic by hammering,
and loses its magnetism by annealing or softening in the
fire, or at least its magnetism is so far weakened by it, as
afterwards to be only discoverable when set to float on quick¬
silver.
“ 2d, The acquired magnetism is not owing to particles
of iron or steel imparted to the brass by the tools employ¬
ed, or naturally mixed with the brass.
“ 3<7, Those pieces of brass which have that property, re¬
tain it without any diminution after a great number of re¬
peated trials, viz. after having been repeatedly hardened
and softened.
“ 47//, A large piece of brass has generally a magnetic
power somewhat stronger than a smaller piece, and the
flat surface of the piece draws the needle more forcibly
than the edge or corner of it.
“ bth, If only one end of a large piece of brass be hammer¬
ed, then that end alone will disturb the magnetic needle,
and not the rest.
“ 6th, The magnetic power which brass acquires by ham¬
mering has a certain limit, beyond which it cannot be in¬
creased by farther hammering. This limit is various in
pieces of brass of different thicknesses, and likewise of differ¬
ent qualities.
“ 7th, Though there are some pieces of brass which have
not the power of being rendered magnetic by hammering,
yet all the pieces of magnetic brass that I have tried lose
their magnetism, so as no longer to affect the needle, by
Trade tie Physique, tom. iii. p. 12G.
i bei
.one
was
the
time
comi
pear
is o
the
he i)
(jiiite
be n
T1
the
were
rors
of w
thei
whic
actk
arei
the]
S,
M.1
ofdi
,one
by i
part
oce
of b
circi
of b
magi
was
prof
been
ijiiirt
magi
' <1
naan
hot,
tlief
time
comi
pears
lianii
tion
is CO
the i
From
be tti
raagn
tion
(juite
be m
does
Th
the i
were
that'
Manj
rors
of W(
M,
'COpp^;
the
whici
actio
are
thef
those
So
M.B
Ofdi;
M A G N E T I S M.
^ne..being made red hot, excepting indeed when some pieces of
n of iron are concealed in them, which sometimes occurs ; but
es nf'in this case the piece of brass, after having been made red
ru£i hot and cooled, will attract the needle more forcibly with
us‘ ^one part of its surface than with the rest of it; and hence,
*by turning the piece of brass about, and presenting every
part of it successively to the suspended magnetic needle,
one may easily discover in what part of it the iron is
lodged.
“ Sth, In the course of my experiments on the magnetism
of brass, I have twice observed the following remarkable
circumstance: A piece of brass which had the property
of becoming magnetic by hammering, and of losing the
magnetism by softening, having been left in the fire till it
was partially melted, I found upon trial that it had lost the
property of becoming magnetic by hammering; but having
been afterwards fairly fused in a crucible, it thereby ac¬
quired the property it had originally, viz. that of becoming
magnetic by hammering.
‘ “ 9th, I have likewise often observed, that a long conti¬
nuance of a fire so strong as to be little short of melting
hot, generally diminishes, and sometimes quite destroys,
the property of becoming magnetic in brass. At the same
time the texture of the metal is considerably altered, be¬
coming what some workmen call rotten. From this it ap¬
pears, that the property of becoming magnetic in brass by
hammering, is rather owing to some particular configura¬
tion of its parts, than to the admixture of any iron ; which
is confirmed still farther by observing that Dutch plate
brass (which is made, not by melting the copper, but by
keeping it in a strong degree of heat whilst surrounded by
lapis calaminaris) also possesses that property, at least all
the pieces of it which 1 have tried have that property.
From these observations it follows, that when brass is to
je used for the construction of instruments wherein a
magnetic needle is concerned, as dipping needles, varia¬
tion compasses, &c. &c. the brass should be either left
quite soft, or it should be chosen of such a sort as will not
oe made magnetic by hammering, which sort, however,
Joes not occur very frequently.”
These judicious suggestions of M. Cavallo respecting
the condition of the brass parts of azimuth compasses
vere not attended to as they ought, and we have no doubt
drat various grave errors have arisen from their neglect.
Many examples have recently occurred, in which the er¬
rors were detected; and it is now the invariable practice
3f well-informed instrument-makers to reject hammered
brass bowls for compasses, and to use those which are cast
and turned for the purpose.
M. Cavallo and others have observed, that cobalt, zinc,
f cccopper, and bismuth, as well as their ores, are attracted by
tifine the magnet and antimony when gently heated. Minerals
which are not metallic are almost all acted upon by the
magnet, particularly where they have experienced the
action of fire. The pure earths, and particularly silex,
are found to have the same property. Among minerals,
the following table shows those which are attracted and
those which are not attracted by the magnet; but wre place
little faith in their accuracy.
Minerals not attracted.
Diamond.
Pellucid crystals.
Amethyst.
Topaz.
Calcedony, and other
crystals whose colour¬
ing matter is expelled
by heat.
Some accurate experiments have been made on mica by
Biot. The chemical composition and optical structure
‘709
'ie-
ms.
cu.
Minerals attracted.
Oriental ruby.
Chrysolite.
Tourmaline.
Emerald.
Garnet.
Several micas con¬
taining iron.
jf different varieties of this mineral vary greatly. M. Biot
examined particularly mica from Siberia and mica from Magne-
Zinwald in Bohemia. Though both were highly pellucid, tism of
yet chemical re-agents indicated in each the existence ofBodies not
oxide of iron. In the Bohemian mica it was greatest, and, FerruSi-
according to an accurate analysis by Yauquelin, amounted, nous'
to 20 per cent. Before the Siberian mica was analysed,
M. Biot tried their magnetic properties. He cut out of
each, thin rectangular plates of the same form, which he
subdivided into smaller similar pieces, and having united
them in a bundle, he suspended each bundle by a silk
fibre, and caused each bundle to oscillate in succession
between the poles of two strong magnets. The bundle of
Zinwald mica performed ttvelve oscillations in fifty-five
seconds, and that of the Siberian mica only seven in the
same time. Hence the magnetic powers of the two micas
were as 6*8 to 20, the ratio of 49 and 14 to the squares of the
number of oscillations. If the oxide of iron, then, be the
cause of their magnetic virtue, it should exist in the above
proportions of 6*8 to 20; and as it was found to be 20 per
cent, in the Zinwald mica, it ought to be fi-S in the Sibe¬
rian. It is very remarkable that the result of Vauquelin’s
analysis gave exactly this per centage of the oxide of iron,
though it was not known to M. Biot till his experiment
had been made.
The existence of magnetism in brass, while there wasMagne-
not the least trace of it either in the copper or zinc of which tism of
it is composed, led philosophers to investigate the effectscomljined
produced by the union of different metals, or by theirrnetals*
combination with other substances. Iron itself is a simple
chemical body. Steel is a combination of iron and carbon.
The loadstone is a combination of iron and oxygen; and as
no magnetism is found either in carbon or oxygen, we are
naturally led to believe, as M. Pouillet has remarked, that
the magnetic fluid resides in the substance of the iron, and
that it is carried with the atoms of that metal into all the
chemical combinations which they form. We may there¬
fore expect to find magnetic properties more or less de¬
veloped in all ferruginous bodies, whether the iron be an
accidental or an essential ingredient; and indeed cast iron,
plumbago, and the oxides and-sulphurets of iron, exert a
sensible action on the magnetic needle.
These views, however, are not in unison with facts which Anti-mag-
seem to have been well ascertained. Dr Matthew Young netjc
found, that the smallest admixture of antimony was capa-l)odies'
ble of destroying the polarity of iron; and M. Seebeck
states, that an alloy of one part of iron and four parts of an¬
timony was so completely destitute of magnetic action,
that, even when it was put into rotation, it exerted no
power over the magnetic needle. The magnetic qualities
of nickel also are destroyed by a mixture with it of other
metals. Chenevix found that a very small proportion of
arsenic deprived a mass of nickel which had previously
exhibited a strong magnetic power, of the whole of its
magnetism; and Dr Seebeck found that an alloy of two
parts of copper with one of nickel was entirely devoid of
magnetism, and on this account he recommends it as well
suited for the manufacture of compass boxes. On the
other hand, Mr Hatchet ascertained, that when a large
proportion of carbon, or sulphur, or phosphorus, was com¬
bined with iron, the iron was enabled fully to receive and
retain its magnetic properties; but he at the same time
found that there was a limit beyond which an excess of
any of these three substances rendered the compound
wholly incapable of receiving magnetism.
Animal and vegetable substances, after combination, are
said to be attracted by the magnet. The flesh, and par¬
ticularly blood, are acted upon more powerfully than other
parts, and bone less powerfully. Burned vegetables have
the same property, and also soot and atmospheric dust;
and M. Cavallo has maintained, that brisk chemical effer¬
vescence acted upon the magnetic needle.
710
M A G N E T I S M.
Magne-
tism of
Bodies not
Ferrusi-
Sect. II.—Account of the Experiments of Coulomb, Bec-
querel, Arago, and Seebeck, on the Existence of Uni-
versal Magnetism.
Mai
be owing to some small force similar or analogous to the
electrical forces developed by the simple contact of he-
terogeneous bodies. This no doubt might be, if there
was any contact; and, in the absence of any reasons what-
. These various experiments on the magnetic power of ever for ascribing the observed effects to another cause nous’
Universal so many classes of bodies, differing essentially in their we cannot but rest between the alternative opinions above '"■’Vvk
magnetism, composition, and in many of which it could not be reason- mentioned, giving a preference to that which ascribes the
ably supposed that iron existed, led some philosophers to phenomenon to the existence in all bodies of a slight sus-
believe that almost all substances gave indications of mag- ceptibility to magnetic action,
netism. M. Cavallo announced this opinion, but Mr Ben-
net questioned the accuracy of the experiments, and
ascribed the movements observed in the needle to the
agitation of the air in the receiver, arising from changes
of temperature produced by the proximity of the obser¬
ver’s body, or from other causes
if inC
Coulomb’s
experi¬
ments.
This opinion derives considerable support from the ex¬
periments made by Coulomb on the comparative magnetic
susceptibilities of cylindrical needles of gold, silver, lead
copper, and tin, which had been purified with the greatest
care by MM. Sage and Guyton, and the results of which
we have already given in our history of magnetism. M.
It was not therefore till 1802, that the supposition of Coulomb made a number of experiments on the effects
Fig. 21.
universal magnetism was put to the test of rigorous expe¬
riment. The apparatus which Coulomb employed for this
purpose is shown in fig. 21,
where AA is a glass receiver
perforated at its top, and hav¬
ing a tube A'B, with a cork B,
which could be raised and low¬
ered with facility. Through
this cork passed a rod tt of
wood or metal, to which was
attached a silk fibre, which
suspended a ring of very fine
paper, on which the small
needle ns (about the third of
an inch long and jUth thick)
was placed. The receiver was
then placed so as to enclose
the opposite poles N, S of
the powerful mpgnets M, M,
each formed of four bars
of steel tempered to a white heat. Each bar was seven¬
teen inches long, three fifths of an inch wide, and one sixth
of an inch thick, each bundle of four bars being one
and three eighths of an inch wide, and one third of
an inch thick. The distance N S of their poles was
eight tenths of an inch. In making the experiments, the
rod tt was turned till the needle ns was removed from
the influence of the magnets; and after the number of
its oscillations was observed, the rod tt was turned till the
needle descended between the poles N, S of the magnets,
when the number of oscillations of the needle was again
counted, or the time in which a given number of oscil¬
lations was performed. If the needle performed the
same number of oscillations in the same time, whether it
oscillated between the poles N, S, or beyond their influ¬
ence, it is obvious that the magnets exercised no power
over them ; but this was never the case, and Coulomb
found that all substances whatever, when formed into small
needles, turned themselves in the direction of the poles N,
S, and, after a few oscillations, finally settled in that position.
When these bodies were moved a very little way out
ol their position of equilibrium, they immediately began to
oscillate round it, the oscillations being always performed
more rapidly in the presence of the magnets than when
they were removed out of their influence. Gold, silver,
glass, wood, and all substances, whether organic or inor¬
ganic, thus obey the power of the magnets. Hence we
cannot avoid the conclusion, either that all bodies are sus¬
ceptible of magnetism, or that they contain minute quan¬
tities of iron, or other magnetic metals, which give them
that susceptibility. M. Biot does not consider this alter¬
native so inevitable as it appears, and throws out the
conjecture, that the action may not be magnetic, but may
experienced by needles of white wax, containing different
proportions of iron filings, and he found that the intensi¬
ties of the action which they experienced when oscillating
between two magnets, was proportional to the absolute
quantities of iron which they contained, the distribution
and chemical state of the ferruginous particles being the
same.
Since the time of Coulomb, methods different from his
have been employed in developing magnetism in all bo¬
dies whatever. In order to detect small quantities of iron
in minerals, M. Haiiy employed the process of what he
calls double magnetism. For this purpose, he placed a
small bar-magnet in the direction of the needle, and in the
same horizontal plane, the two similar poles being placed
towards each other. The magnet being now brought
slowly towards the needle, the latter deviates from the
direction of the magnetic meridian, and takes a position
perpendicular to it; an effect arising from the combined
action of the poles of the magnet and the earth upon the
magnetism of the needle. In this position, a very feeble
magnetic action is sufficient to make the needle turn
round and place its south pole opposite the north pole of
the needle.
When the magnet is above the plane of the needle, and
their opposite poles placed near each other, the needle
does not change its direction while the point of suspension
is beyond the bar, and at a suitable distance ; but it is not
so when the distance changes, for it tends continually-to
place itself perpendicular to the line of the poles.
This important subject has been investigated by M.Researcte
Becquerel, who obtained the following results.1 His bar-ofM. Bee-
magnet consisted of six united bars, each eight decimetres <Frfl‘
long and two centimetres broad. The needle was placed
irhi
w
tifdiffi
$
tot!
the
at different heights within and without the bar, and he
sought to determine for each height the horizontal dis¬
tance from the point of suspension (which is always in
the line of the poles) to the nearest extremity of the
needle, in order that its direction might be perpendicular
to that line. The results were as follow :
Vertical Distances from
the Centre of Sus¬
pension to the Bar.
Millimetres.
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Horizontal Distances of the Centre
of Suspension to the Extremity, in
order that the Needle might take
a perpendicular position.
Millimetres.
60 within.
55
46
23
12
45 without.
82
Hence it appears, that when the centre of suspension is
Traitc Exp. de VElectricite, §c. tom. ii. p. 387-
It 01
stee;
If
case
or i:
Vert
the
M
trito
was
sion
the]
tanc
whic
very
<1%
ploy
expc
if incti
ii 1st <)
ffhi U:
dire js
rat'i
l *
ane
it-Jiffe
I ffina
cier
bati
deut
If
to th
the I
tion
with
it ou
oscill
the i
polai
Th
perm
tion i
M,
tritoi
was i
sion
papei
the li
belo\
tancc
with(
whic
very
tjuert
ployi
expe;
MAGNETISM.
rne-^above the bar, the perpendicular position is obtained by
i of increasing the vertical and diminishing the horizontal
“distance; and that both these distances are increased
"while the centre of suspension is below the bar ; and the
^direction of the deviation depends on accidental causes,
and is often determined by the simple motion of the appa¬
ratus.
*pe When M. Becquerel substituted for his magnetic needle
its] a needle of soft iron, the results were exactly the same,
deU!difFering only in their intensity. We come now to the ori-
“““ginal part of M. Becquerel’s inquiry. Instead of a needle
fl< e he used a small paper case filled with deutoxide of iron,
or a mixture of deutoxide and tritoxide. With the for¬
mer the effects were the same as with the steel needle;
but it was different with the latter, in which one part of
deutoxide was mixed with thirty parts of tritoxide.
If the centre of suspension be placed as near as possible
to the north pole of the bar-magnet, and in the line of
the poles, the paper case will take immediately a direc¬
tion perpendicular to this line, instead of one coincident
with it, as a soft iron needle would have done. If we put
it out of this direction, it will return to it by a series of
oscillations, whose velocity depends on the quantity of
the deutoxide. From this it follows, that all the south
polar magnetism of the paper case is situated on the side of
it next the har-magnet, while the north polar magnetism is
on the other side, as may be exhibited by carrying a small
magnetic needle along the paper case. Such a distribu¬
tion of magnetism is impossible in soft iron or tempered
steel.
If the centre of suspension be above the bar, the paper
case will deviate from the position which it had at first,
and tend to place itself in the direction of the line of the
poles ; an effect quite opposite to that produced by a steel
or iron needle. The following were the experimental
results:
VerticalDistancesof Horizontal Distances Deviations of the Pa-
Ihe Centre of Sus- of the same Centre per Case from the Di¬
pension from to one of the Extre- rection perpendicular
the Bar. mities of the Bar. to the Line of thePoles.
10 millimetres,
20 millimetres,
30 millimetres,
5
10
15
20
25
30
[io
^ 15
| 20
30
5
20
30
f
24°
44
60
73
78
84
50
65
73
77
32
70
76
82
The transverse magnetism acquired by the paper case is
permanent for some time, however small may be the propor¬
tion of deutoxide which it contains.
M. Becquerel next filled the paper case with very pure
tritoxide, obtained by calcining nitrate of iron. The effect
was much weaker than before. When the point of suspen¬
sion was very near one of the extremities of the bar, the
paper case still placed itself in a position perpendicular to
the line of the poles ; but if this point was placed above or
below the bar, changing at the same time the vertical dis¬
tance, the paper case deviated from its primitive direction,
without, however, taking a direction perpendicular to that
which it commonly takes when the centre of suspension is
yery near the extremity. It might be possible, M. Bec-
}uerel thinks, to attain the perpendicular direction by em-
jjloying much stronger magnets. The following were the
experimental results:—
Vertical Distances
from the Point of
Suspension to •
the Bar.
5 millimetres,
10 millimetres,
5 millimetres,
10 millimetres,
Horizontal Distances
of the same Point
from the end
of the Bar.
Without the Bar.
5
Deviations from the
Direction perpendi¬
cular to the Line
of the Poles.
25°
34
48
55
70
32
37
43
46
• 40
26
45
51
20
30
45
50
711
Magne¬
tism of
Bodies not
Ferrugi¬
nous.
Whenever the tritoxide contains the smallest quantity
of the deutoxide, the velocity of the oscillations increases
very powerfully. If, for example, we take two paper cases,
one filled with tritoxide, and the other with tritoxide
mixed with one thirtieth of the deutoxide, the first will
perform twelve oscillations in thirty seconds, round a di¬
rection perpendicular to the line of the poles, while the
other will execute twenty-five in the same time. Hence
we may by this means readily determine the quantity of
the deutoxide of iron contained in the tritoxide.
M. Becquerel next employed needles of wood, gum-lac, With
and other substances, which have still a feebler magne-nee(hes °f
tism than the tritoxide of iron. He placed a needle ofW001^ &t‘
white wood, n s, four centimetres long and two millimetres
in diameter, above the interval between the opposite poles
of two bar-magnets, as in fig. 21, the distance between
N and S being three or four millimetres. The point of
suspension was as near as possible to N S. The needle
placed itself perpendicular to the line of the poles N, S,
in place of the position observed by Coulomb,-coincident
with NS. It comports itself therefore like the mix¬
ture of deutoxide and tritoxide of iron, or like the tritoxide
alone. But if we separate gradually the extremities N, S
of the bars, the wooden needle will place itself in the line
N S, joining the poles, as shown in the figure. The de¬
viations were as follow:
Deviations of the Wooden
Distances of N, S. Needle from the perpen¬
dicular position.
3 or 4 millimetres, 0°
10 18
20 36
30 56
When the bars are very close, and the needle in the
perpendicular position, if we draw it out of this position,
and keep it some instants in the direction of this line, it
will remain there; but the smallest motion will cause it to
return into its primitive direction, which it takes in pre¬
ference to any other.
If we use only one bar-magnet, and place the wooden
needle precisely opposite one of its poles, and as near as
possible to the end of the bar, it will still direct itself per¬
pendicularly to it; but if, while the point of suspension
remains always in this line, we advance it within the bar,
the needle will deviate from its direction, without, how¬
ever, reaching the position of 90°, as will be seen from the
following results :
712
MAGNETISM.
Magne- Distances of the Centre of Suspension
tism of from the Extremity of the Bar.
Bodies not 5 millimetres,
10
Ferrugi¬
nous.
General
Deviations of the
Wooden Needle.
12°
IS
Beyond ten millimetres the deviations increase insensibly
and irregularly, so that tl^y cannot be measured.
Discover¬
ies of M.
Arago.
From these interesting experiments, M. Becquerel con-
conclusion. eludes that the magnetic effects produced by a strong bar-
magnet upon a magnetic needle, or one of soft iron, differ
essentially from those which take place in all bodies where
the magnetism is very weak. In the former, whatever be
their positions and directions, the magnetism is always
distributed in the direction of their length, to the exclu¬
sion of every -other direction ; whereas in the tritoxide of
iron, wood, and gum-lac, it is distributed in a direction
which depends on the distance of the body from the poles
of the magnet, so that the distribution varies with the di¬
rection which the magnet causes these needles to take, in
virtue of the action which it exercises over them.
The universal prevalence of magnetism in all bodies
whatever has been established by a beautiful discovery
of M. Arago. This distinguished philosopher conceived
the idea of studying the oscillations of a magnetic needle
when placed above or near any body whatever. Having
suspended a magnetic needle above metal, or even water,
and caused it to deviate a certain number of degrees from
its position, it began, wdien left to itself, to oscillate in
arcs of less and less amplitude, as if it had been placed in
a resisting medium ; and, what was peculiarly curious in
these experiments, this diminution in the amplitude of the
oscillations did not alter the number of oscillations which
were performed in a given time. The following were some
of M. Arago’s experiments with water, ice, and glass, the
semiamplitude of the oscillations being at the instant 43°.
The distance of the water from the needle
was 0-65 millim.
The amplitude lost 10° in 30 oscillations.
When the distance was 52-2 millim.
A loss of 10° of amplitude required 60 oscillations.
That is, the number of oscillations required to diminish the
amplitude 10° was twice as great when the distance of the
needle from the water was 52’2 millimetres, as when it
was 0-65.
By placing the same needle upon ice, M. Arago obtain¬
ed the following results:
Distances of the
Diminution of the
Amplitude.
Needle from
^ the Ice.
Millimetres.
0*70
1-26
30-50
52-20
Number of Oscillations
by which this diminu¬
tion was effected.
From 53° to 43°
From 53 to 43
From 53 to 43
From 53 to 43
26 oscillations.
34
56
60
M. Arago, he made a magnetic needle two and an eighth Bp
By placing another needle near a plate of crown glass,
he obtained the following results :
0-91 From 90° to 41°
0-99 From 90 to 41
3- 04 From 90 to 41
4- 01 From 90 to 41
122
180
208
221
Plates of metal afforded M. Arago similar results; but
he nevertheless observed that those metals which act with
more energy than glass, wood, &c. have a mode of action
different from that of these substances. From all these
results, it is manifest that all bodies, when placed near a
magnetic needle in a state of oscillation, exercise over it
an action, the effect of which is to diminish the amplitude
of its oscillations, without altering their number; and hence
the doctrine of the universal prevalence of magnetism in
all bodies derives a new confirmation.
When Dr Seebeck of Berlin heard of the discovery of
inches long oscillate at a distance of three lines above mentor
plates of various bodies, and counted the number of oscilla- ■
tions which were required in each case to reduce the am- tism'i»ail
plitude from 45° to 10°.
Substances em- Thickness of the
ployed. Plates.
Marble 0-0 line....
Mercury 2-0
Bismuth 2-0
Platina 0-4
Antimony 2*0
Number of Oscilla.
tions of the Needle.
.116 oscillations.
.112
dotation',
rv
Lead
Gold...
Zinc...
Tin....
Brass..,
Copper
Silver 0-3
Iron 0-4
0-75
0-2
0-5
1-0
2-0
0-3
.106
. 94
. 90
..89
. 89
. 71
. 68
, 62
. 62
. 55
6
Dr Seebeck found, that in alloying magnetic with non¬
magnetic substances, he formed compounds which exercised
no action on the magnetic needle. The alloys which had
particularly this singular property were those consisting of
four parts of antimony and one of iron, or two parts of
copper and one of nickel. In these cases the magnetism
of the two ingredients must have been neutralized by their
opposite actions.
CHAP. IV.—ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAGNETISM IN ALL
BODIES BY ROTATION.
When M. Arago was engaged in the experiments de-jf. An
scribed in the preceding chapter, the idea occurred tohimexperi.
of trying if the magnetic needle would be dragged along by
the rotatory plates which had the power of diminishing the
amplitude of its oscillation. This happy conjecture was
immediately confirmed by experiment, and one of the most
beautiful discoveries added to the science of magnetism.
The apparatus which he used for this purpose is shown
in Plate CCCXXV. fig. 3, where H is a clock made of cop¬
per, with the exception of two or three pivots, which are of
steel. It is supported on a tripod stand TT, which can be
levelled by screws S, S at the end of its three feet; and the
object of it is to give a rapid rotatory motion by a vertical
axis, on which is
fitted a piece a, b,
c, fig. 4, with three
branches, upon
which the revolv¬
ing discs are to be
placed. These
discs are perfo¬
rated at their cen¬
tre bya small hole
which receives the
prolongation of
the axis of rota¬
tion, and they are
kept upon the
branches a, b, c,!*
by the pressure ofT '
a screw. Wings w,
w, w (fig.4),which
can be inclined at
any angle, are applied for the purpose of retarding the ve¬
locity of the discs. A plate PP, with an opening in its
centre a little larger than the diameter of the discs, rests
upon the table TT, and a sheet of paper ff, shown in fig-
22 (which is an enlarged view of that part of the apparatus).
repul
learn
K)
per
of pi
magi
revol
reloc
isdri
of th
netic
briun
niotit
raagn
volrii
jlto tu
propo
Ithe r
bodie
Ml t
tfie p
becon
above
In the
dimii
In
result
tainee
tainee
the di
volvin
nents
three
mpo
repuls
of a
the ex
liyav
the pi
beam
towfc
tical p
projec
pich
in the
conipt
the pr
termii
its axi
to one
jtthe
also a
"'here
|ol,
is pasted to the lower face of PP.
MAGNETISM
A glass receiver HR
713
ijrests upon the upper face of PP, and within it is suspend-
tue- ed the magnetic needle aaf, by a fibre of silk attached to
jthe axis and button mn, by which the needle can be
lu», aised or dePressed- A weight W gives motion to the
^.dock, and a hand indicates upon the dial-plate the num-
gher of revolutions performed by the disc in a given time.
When a disc of copper w^as placed on the support a, b, c,
Mate CCCXXV. fig. 4, as shown at PP, fig. 22, and the cop¬
ier made to revolve beneath the needle aa', with the sheet
tf paper// intervening, the needle aar is drawn out of the
nagnetic meridian the instant that the copper begins to
evolve, and with a degree of force proportional to the
elocity of rotation. As the force with which the needle
s dragged from its place is opposed to the magnetic action
if the earth, which tends to keep the needle in the mag-
ietic meridian, the needle will take a position of equifi-
irium depending on the ratio of these forces. When the
rnotion of the copper disc, however, is very rapid, the
nagnetism of the earth is overpowered by that of the re¬
viving plate, and the needle does not stop, but continues
io turn. The action of the revolving disc decreases in
proportion as the distance of the needle from the plate
|JP is increased, the velocity being the same ; so that if
he motion of the needle be continuous when the two
bodies are separated only by a sheet of paper, the needle
AH take a fixed position by increasing its distance from
he plate; and its deviation from the magnetic meridian
iecomes less and less as it is removed to a greater height
I.bove the disc. When the plates have portions cut out
n the direction of their radii, their action on the needle is
liminished.
; In trying plates of various metals, M. Arago found the
esults so dependent on the alloy which the metals con-
ained, that he did not publish the results which he ob-
ained. He devoted his attention to the determination of
he directions of the force which is developed in the re-
olving discs, and for this purpose he sought the compo-
ents of this force in the direction of three lines parallel to
hree co-ordinate planes perpendicular to each other. The
\\omponent perpendicular to the plate he found to be a
lepulsive force, which may be rendered sensible by means
'f a very long magnet suspended by a thread vertically to
be extremity of the arms of a balance kept in equilibrium
I y a weight at the other extremity. The moment that
lie plate begins to revolve, the magnet is repelled, and the
ieam of the balance inclines to the other side. The se-
ond component is horizontal and perpendicular to a ver-
cal plane which contains the radius abutting against the
rejection of the pole of the needle. This is the force
Inch gives a motion of rotation to the needle, and it acts
ii the direction of a tangent to the circle. The third
component is parallel to the radius which abuts against
ie projection of the pole of the needle. It may be de-
l -'rmined with a dipping needle placed vertically, so that
! s axis of rotation is continued in a plane perpendicular
| ) one of the radii of the disc. A similar needle placed
! - the centre of the disc experiences no action. There is
1 so a second point, nearer the margin than the centre,
1 here a needle experiences no change in its position ; but
i.-'tween these points the lower pole is constantly attract¬
ed towards the centre, while it is repelled beyond that Develop-
P0*nt. • ment of
No sooner were M. Arago’s experiments announced to ,Magne-
the Institute, which was done at the sitting of the 7th Vf1!.111
March 1825, than philosophers in every part of Europe re- Rotation^
peated them, and succeeded in adding several important ■ (
facts to those discovered by M. Arago. MM. Babbage, Experi-
Herschel, Barlow, Nobili, Baccelli, Christie, and MM. monts of
Prevost and Colladon, took a prominent part in these ^Iessrs
researches. The results obtained by Messrs Babbage and
Herschel were the most important, and the experiments schel ^
were made in a manner different from those of M. Arago.
A horse-shoe magnet, which lifted twenty pounds, was
made to revolve rapidly round its axis of symmetry, placed
vertically, with its poles uppermost. A circular disc of
copper, six inches in diameter and /^th of an inch thick,
was suspended above the revolving magnet. As soon as the
rotation of the magnet commenced, the copper began to
turn in the same direction, at first slowly, but afterwards
with an increasing velocity. When the magnet was made
to turn in the opposite direction, the disc of copper changed
the direction of its motion also, and exhibited the same
phenomena. Metallic plates, ten inches in diameter and
half an inch thick, when interposed between the magnet
and the copper disc, did not sensibly modify the re¬
sults, as M. Arago had observed. Glass produced no ef¬
fect, but a sheet of tin-plate iron diminished greatly the
influence of the magnet, while two such plates almost de¬
stroyed it. They also found that a disc of copper ten
inches in diameter, and half an inch thick, and revolving
with a velocity of seven revolutions in a second, did not
communicate any motion to a similar disc freely suspended
above it.
In comparing the influence of different metals, each disc
had the same diameter and the same velocity ; and the fol¬
lowing were the results which were obtained by this and
another method of observation.
Ratio of the Force Ratio by another
to that of Copper. Method.
Copper TOO TOO
Zinc 0-90 Til
Tin 0-47 ...0-51
Lead 0’25 0-25
Antimony 0’11 O’Ol
Mercury 0*00 0‘00
Bismuth O'Ol O’OO
Wood 0-00 0-00
The second method of observation by which the results
in the last column were obtained was more expeditious
than the first. Portions of different bodies of the same
form and dimensions were suspended above a revolving
magnet, and the time of successive oscillations and the
points of equilibrium were observed.
Our authors next sought to determine the effect pro¬
duced by a solution of continuity in the metallic disc upon
which the revolving magnet acted. For this purpose a
disc of lead twelve inches in diameter and one tenth of an
inch thick was suspended at a given distance from a horse¬
shoe magnet revolving with the ordinary rapidity, first in
its entire state, and afterwards in the state shown in the an¬
nexed figures, the black lines in the direction of the radii be-
Fig. 24.
Fig. 25.
Fig 26.
Fig. 27.
4 x
-Develop- ing the planes where the lead was cut through. The accele-
ment of g °
Magne- rating forces, represented by -5, where s is the number of
tism in all _
Bodies by the revolutions, and t the time employed, are as follow :
liotation. Uncut Disc as in Disc Disc Disc Disc
^ ^ v~m~/ Disc. fig. 23. fig. 24. fig. 25. fig. 26. fig. 27.
1258 1047 913 564 432 324
Effects similar, but differing in degree, were obtained
with other metals. With soft tinned iron the cutting
produced a very slight diminution of effect, whilst in cop¬
per the same operation reduced the accelerating force in
the ratio of five to one.
Messrs Babbage and Herschel next tried the effect of
filling up the cuts with other metals. A light upper disc,
suspended at a given distance above a revolving magnet,
performed six revolutions in 54''*8. When it was cut as
in fig. 27, its magnetic action was so weakened that it
took 12F-3 to perform six revolutions. When the eight
open radial spaces were filled up with tin, its magnetic ac¬
tion was restored to such a degree that it made six revo¬
lutions in 57/,-3. This fact is very interesting, as tin has
less than half the energy of copper. The following results
were obtained from other experiments, the numbers re¬
presenting the accelerating forces or the magnetic ener¬
gies developed in the plates.
Brass not cut TOO
Brass cut 0-24
Brass soldered with bismuth O’SS
Brass soldered with tin 0’88
Copper not cut TOO
Copper cut O^O
Copper soldered with tin O’Ol
Law of the jn determining the law of the force in relation to the
distance, Messrs Babbage and Herschel found it to vary
between the ratio of the square and the cube of the dis¬
tance. Mr Christie found, that when the revolving disc
was thick and the needle delicate, the force which pro¬
duced the deviation of the needle increased directly as the
velocity of rotation, and inversely as the fourth power of
the distance. MM. Prevost and Colladon found that the
angles of deviation, and not their sines, increased in the
direct ratio of the velocity, at least within certain limits;
and that the sines of the ^angles of deviation were in the
inverse ratio of the two and a half power of the distance.1
M. Haldat made some interesting experiments on this
subject. He found that every needle, however weak was
M.Haldat; jts magnetism, obeyed the action of the revolving disc;
but that this action disappeared entirely when its polarity
disappeared. He found it impossible to magnetise needles
by the action of the revolving disc, however rapid; and,
in consequence of ascribing this effect to the wrant of co¬
ercive power, he employed discs of iron and steel, both
soft and hardened.
A disc of soft iron acted with more energy than one of
copper, and with the same velocity it dragged the needle
twice the distance that a disc of brass did. Iron strongly
hammered acted like soft iron, and was unable to give po¬
larity to a steel needle. But a disc of untempered steel
one twenty-fifth of an inch thick did not produce any ap¬
preciable effect on the magnetic needle, which, after a few
irregular oscillations, maintained its ordinary position of
equilibrium. Hence our author concluded that the force
which acted upon it was in the inverse ratio of the coer¬
cive force. M. Haldat also found that discs in a state of
incandescence exercised the same action as those at the
ordinary temperature.
We have already seen, in our historical detail, that about
six months previous to the announcement of M. Arago’s
discoveries, Mr Barlow had announced to the Royal Society
Experi¬
ments of
of Mr Bar
low.
of London the result of a series of experiments on the 1)
magnetic effects produced by iron in rotation. Having Cj
found that an iron ball performing 640 revolutions in a -V
minute caused a magnetic needle to deviate several degrees tisn!i,1»ll
and to take a fixed position during the continuance of the Boiiie8^
motion; that the needle deviated in an opposite directionwtio"
when the motion of the ball was reversed ; that there were
certain positions in which a bomb twelve inches in dia¬
meter, moved by a steam-engine, occasioned no deviation
in the needle; that in some positions the deviation was in
one direction, and in other positions in another; and that
the deviation varied between 0° and 80° ; he constructed a
regular apparatus for determining the laws of these pheno¬
mena, and in which the iron which formed part of it should
not influence the results. This apparatus is shown in
Plate CCCXXV. fig. 2, where S is an iron sphere, made
to revolve on a horizontal axis AB, by means of two wheels,
like an electrical machine, their diameters being as six to
one, so as to perform 720 revolutions in a minute. A ta¬
ble LM was placed near the sphere, for holding the needle,
so that the needle could be placed in any position, either
above or below the sphere. The table LM being brought
to the height of the axis AB, the needle was placed suc¬
cessively in different positions round the sphere. The in¬
fluence of the earth’s magnetism on the needle being de¬
stroyed or neutralised by the action of a magnet properly
placed for this purpose, and shown at NS standing verti¬
cally, Mr Barlow found, that whatever was the azimuth
of the needle, its north pole approached the sphere S when
the upper part of the sphere was moving towards the needle,
and that its south pole approached the sphere when the
upper part moved from the needle.
Having placed the axis of rotation sometimes in the
magnetic meridian, sometimes in the direction of east and
west, and sometimes in intermediate positions, he found,
that whatever was the direction of the axis of rotation,
the needle being always a tangent to the sphere, the north
end of the needle was attracted when the sphere moved
towards the needle, and repelled when its motion was from
the needle. When the needle was carried round the re¬
volving sphere in the semicircle, where the motion was di¬
rected towards the needle, its north extremity approached
the sphere, and in the other semicircle it receded from it.
The points where the sphere exercised upon it no action
were at the two extremities of the axis, and those where
the effect was a maximum were at the two extremities of
an axis at right angles to this. In this case the direction
of the needle was towards the centre of the ball.
The different positions of the needle are shown in fig.
28, where s is the sphere, ah its axis of rotation, and
Fig. 28.
1 Univers. tome xxix. p. 316.
IH
|J posi',
thos
i
from
If
the
plact
direc
the
recte
at all
feeyo
It hat
this |
direct
undei
fever
Idiffen
magn
op- nd its equator. 1 he lines ns, ns, &c. show the primitive
opposition of the needle, and the dotted lines raV, n's', &c.
"e^those assumed by it when the motion is made from c to
s by1’ The effects are reversed when the motion is made
ion..from d to c.
S' * If we carry the needle, when perfectly neutralised, round
the sphere, and parallel to its axis, it has a tendency to
place itself at right angles to the axis, and takes opposite
directions at certain parts of the circle. If, for example,
the axis be in the magnetic meridian, and the motion di-
•ected from the west to the east point of the horizon, the
reedle will direct itself to the west, and will do the same
it all points between the horizon and an altitude of 60°.
beyond this the north end will direct itself to the east till
t has passed the zenith 30° to the west; and then from
his point to the west horizon, the north extremity will
lirect itself to the west, and similar changes will take place
inder the sphere. The same effects are produced, what¬
ever be the direction of the axis and that of motion.
When a magnetic needle not neutralised is placed in
lifferent positions round the sphere whose axis is in the
magnetic direction, the effects produced are as shown in
Kg. 29, where AB is the axis of rotation, the black lines
Fig. 29.
■epre
dotte
in me
left t
from
It the
in a
at 9'
Mijs
ent
andw
in di
poum
minu
Meat
Meat
W
actioi
M
Roy
Mr
I Iron
were
an in
the
the
vised
°f th
the
devia
MAGNETISM.
715
t,w
j-epresenting the natural deviations of the needle, and the
dotted ones those which it assumes when the sphere is
in motion. Beginning at the point A, if the motion be from
left to right, that is, from west to east, the needle moves
from n to n! in the same direction till it arrives at 30°.
It then remains in its natural direction. The needle moves
n a contrary direction from right to left at 60°, 75°, and
it 90°.
Mr Barlow was next desirous of ascertaining the differ¬
ent effects produced by a solid and a hollow ball of iron,
ind with this view he put in motion a solid ball 7*87 inches
in diameter, and weighing sixty-eight pounds, and also a
fiollow sphere of iron, weighing only about thirty-four
pounds. Both of them performed 640 revolutions in a
minute, and the following were the average results :—
Weight.
Mean deviation of the solid ball 28° 24' 68 lbs.
Mean deviation of the hollow ball 15 5 34
When the two balls were at rest, the difference of their
action was nothing.
i- ) Mr Barlow’s paper on rotation was communicated to the
of Royal Society on the 14th April 1825, and on the 20th
|hri& Mr Christie communicated one On the Magnetism of
Iron arising from its Rotation. Mr Christie’s experiments
were made with circular plates of iron put in motion by
an ingenious piece of machinery, by which he could make
the plate revolve in every possible plane in reference to
the magnetic meridian. From a great body of well-de¬
vised experiments, he obtained the'following general law
of the deviation due to rotation, so that the direction of
the rotation being given, he could tell the direction of the
deviation. This law we must give in his own words.
“ I refer the deviations of the horizontal needle to the
deviations of magnetic particles in the direction of the Develop-
dip, or to those of a dipping needle passing through its ment of
centre; so that, in whatever direction this imaginary dip- ,Ma?ne-
ping needle would deviate by the action of the iron, the tnSnr!-in f11
horizontal needle would deviate in such a manner as to be Rotation
in the same vertical plane with it: thus, when the north'
end of the horizontal needle deviates towards the west,
and consequently the south end towards the east, I con¬
sider that it has obeyed the deviation of the axis of the
imaginary dipping needle, whose northern extremity has
deviated towards the west, and its southern towards the
east; so that the western side of the equator of this dip¬
ping needle has deviated towards the south pole of the
sphere, and its eastern side towards the north pole. It
would follow from this, that if the north and south sides
of the equator of the dipping needle (referring to these
points in the horizon) deviated towards the poles, no cor¬
responding deviations would be observed in the horizontal
needle ; the effect, in this case, taking place in the meri¬
dian, would only be observable in the angle which the
dipping needle made with the horizon. As it is not my
intention at present to advance any hypothesis on the sub¬
ject, I wish this to be considered only as a method of con¬
necting all the phenomena under one general view. As¬
suming it then for this purpose, it will be found that the
deviations of the horizontal needle due to rotation are always
such as would be produced by the sides of the equator of this
imaginary dipping needle deviating in directions contrary
to the directions in which the edges of the plate move, that
edge of the plate nearest to either edge of the equator
producing the greatest effect on it.”
From another set of experiments, Mr Christie also found
that the effect produced on the iron by its rotation is per¬
manent so long as the plate remains stationary ; that it
is independent of friction; that it is so far independent of
velocity, that the iron can scarcely be moved so slowly that
the whole effect shall not be produced ; and that the whole
effect is produced by making it perform one fourth of a revo¬
lution. After Mr Christie had discovered these peculiar
effects, he exhibited some of the phenomena to Mr Bar-
low, who conceived that the effect would be increased by
rapid rotation, and who was thus led to make the expe¬
riments of which we have already given an account; but
the phenomena differ essentially from those observed by
Mr Christie, the former being temporary and dependent
on velocity, while the latter are permanent, and independ¬
ent of the rapidity of rotation.
In comparing the magnetic forces produced by rapid
and slow rotation, Mr Christie found that the forces ex¬
erted on the needle during the rapid rotation of the plate
are always in the same direction as the forces which are de¬
rived from the slowest rotation, and which continue to act
after the rotation has ceased; but that the former forces are
greater than the latter. From a mean of all the observa¬
tions, the forces seem to be in the ratio of seventeen to thir¬
teen, or very nearly of three to two. Hence Mr Christie
conceives that the polarising of the iron in the same direc¬
tion will account for the phenomena in both cases; but
that the intensity of the polarity during the rapid rotation
is greater than of that which appears to be permanent
after the rotation, whether slow or rapid, has ceased; and
that the phenomena observed during rapid rotation are
such as should be expected from what have been de¬
scribed as arising from rotation, without regard to its velo¬
city.
We have already seen that Messrs Babbage and Her- Experi-
schel interposed plates of various metals between the re- merits of
volving magnet and the copper disc, and found no percep- s.now
tible effect to be produced. Mr Snow Harris,1 however, arm‘
1 Phil. Tram. 1831, p. 497-
716
MAGNETISM.
Influence has recently shown that several substances not supposed
°* Txeat t0 conta*n “'on have the power of intercepting the influ-
netisnT ence a revolving magnet. A circular magnetic disc
^ ^ * >being delicately balanced on a fine central point by means
of a rim of lead, was put into a state of rotation on a small
agate cup, at the rate of 600 revolutions in a minute ;
and a light ring of tinned iron, also finely balanced on a
central pivot, was placed immediately over it, at about
four inches distance, by means of a thin plate of glass, on
which its pivot rested. When the ring of tinned iron
began to move slowly on its pivot by the influence of the
magnet revolving below, a large mass of copper, about
three inches thick, and consisting of plates a foot square,
was carefully interposed between the magnet and the iron
ring. The interposition of the copper soon sensibly dimi¬
nished the motion of the iron disc, and at length arrested
it altogether. On again withdrawing the copper, the mo¬
tion of'the disc was restored ; and the same effects were
repeatedly obtained. In this experiment both the magnet
and the disc were enclosed by glass shades, and supported
on a firm base.
The same effects were produced by a mass of silver and
zinc ; but when their thickness was considerably diminish¬
ed by removing the central plates, the motion of the disc
was not impeded. A very great thickness of lead was
necessary to stop the disc, in consequence, as Mr Harris
supposes, of its magnetic energy being so much less than
that of copper.
CHAP. V. ON THE INFLUENCE OF HEAT ON MAGNETISM.
Cast iron 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Malleable iron
Ditto  
Ditto 
■Cold Mean deviation 21°
.White heat Ditto  q
Blood-red heat.Ditto 
• Cold  Ditto...., 40
.White heat Ditto  q
.Blood-red heat.Ditto  
30' Infiuence
0 of Heat
0 on Mag.
0 netism,
0
0
These experiments were often repeated with the same
results. It deserves to be remarked as a singular result
that cast iron is decidedly inferior in its action when cold*
and when hot possesses a superior power to malleable
iron.
Mr Barlow now compared malleable iron with soft and
hard shear steel. The bars were twenty-four inches lono-
and an inch and a quarter square, and the following were
the results:
Malleable iron Cold Mean deviation 15° 10'
Ditto White heat Ditto  0 0
Ditto Blood-red Ditto 41 n
Soft shear steel Cold Ditto 11 0
Ditto White heat Ditto  0 0
Ditto Blood-red Ditto 48 0
Hard shear steel...Cold Ditto  8 0
Ditto White heat Ditto  0 0
Ditto Blood-red Ditto ..47 30
These experiments establish the curious fact of the to¬
tal destruction of the magnetic virtue by a white heat; and
also the no less important one, that every kind of iron or
steel has a greater capacity for developing its magnetism
when softened by fire than when cold.
Influence This interesting department of magnetism divides it-
of heat on self into three parts: ls£, On the effect of heat on the
magne- development of free magnetism; 2dly, on the anomalous
attraction observed during the bright red and red heats ;
and, ‘idly, on the effect of heat on the distribution of mag¬
netism in magnets.
Sect. I.— On the Effect of Heat on the development of Mag¬
netism in Cast and Malleable Iron.
In cast jn (4^ course of his experiments on the relative mag-
■bleh-on6" netac Powers different kinds of iron and steel, already
given in the history of magnetism, Mr Barlow was led to
the conclusion, that the harder the metal was, the less it
exhibited of a magnetic quality; a result which was highly
favourable to the hypothesis, that the cohesive power of
hardened steel not only prevented the entire develop¬
ment of its magnetism, but also the re-combination of the
two kinds of magnetism when they were displaced by the
action of a powerful magnet. With the view of establish¬
ing this hypothesis, Mr Barlow found it necessary to ascer¬
tain whether these different kinds of iron and steel would
exhibit the same magnetic powers when reduced to the
same degree of softness, which could only be done by heat¬
ing them in a furnace, and trying their magnetic qualities
in that state.
Having procured a bar of soft iron twenty-five inches
long and an inch and a quarter square, and a cast-iron one
of nearly the same dimensions, he inclined the bars in the
direction of the dip ; and having placed a magnetic needle
nearly on a level with the upper extremity, and at the
distance of six inches from it, he observed the deviations
produced by the bars in different states of heat. Thus,
Sect. II.— On the Anomalous Attraction observed in Cast
and Malleable Iron during the Bright Red and Red
Heats.
In pursuing the preceding researches, Mr Barlow wasAnoma-
led to observe a remarkable anomaly in the action of thelousattrao
iron at the red heat. When iron brought to a white heattlonof™
has wholly lost its power, it again acquires, as it passes
into the bright red and red, a magnetic power; but, what
is truly strange, its power is attractive for the south end
of the needle ; that is, if the north pole of the needle was
attracted when the iron was cold, the south end will be
attracted when the iron is at a bright red heat.
In order to investigate this subject thoroughly, Mr Bar-
low made a very extensive series of experiments with four
different bars, each twenty-five inches long and an inch
and a quarter square, two of them being of cast and two
of malleable iron. He used also other two bars, one of
cast and one of malleable iron, of the same dimensions,
which were kept as standards to determine the quantity
of cold attraction. The time employed in each experi¬
ment was a quarter of an hour : the white heat generally
continued about three minutes when the negative attraction
commenced. This attraction lasted about two minutes
more, when the usual attraction began. This sometimes
reached its maximum with great rapidity, but at other
times it increased very gradually. The following table
contains the results of Mr Barlow’s experiments. The
letters CB denote the cast-iron bar, and MB the malleable-
iron bar ; and the sign + indicates when the ordinary at¬
traction of the iron takes place; and — the anomalous or
negative attraction.
to
717
Influence
of Heat
on Mag¬
netism.
o
9
5S
a-
rts**
718
MAGNETISM.
Influence One of the most remarkable results of these experi-
of Heat ments is, that the anomalous action of the bar between a
'netism" an(* blood-red heat increases as we raise the bar
\ above the needle, and becomes a maximum at the centre
Anomalous t^ie ^ar ’ wliereas at low temperatures the action of a
action of bar of iron under the very same circumstances goes on
diminishing as the bar is raised, and becomes a minimum
at the centre. When the needle is placed at the height
of the centre of the bar, when heated to produce the ano¬
malous effect, the smallest displacement is sufficient to
change the sign and the quantity of the deviation.
Mr Barlow made some experiments with a twenty-four
pound ball of iron, but the heat was too intense to allow
any very accurate observations to be made. The results,
however, were as follow:
red-hot
iron.
Cold attraction.
Bed heat 
White heat 
Blood-red heat.
+
+
13°
3
0
19
30'
30
0
20
deviation.
M. Kup-
ffer’s ex¬
planation.
Sect. III.-
Effect of
M. Coulomb was the first philosopher who investigated
dSributionthe imPortant subject of the influence of heat on the dis-
ofmaene- tnbution of magnetism, in needles and magnets.1 He
tism. took a bar of steel 162 millimetres long, fourteen wide,
and weighing eighty-two grammes. This bar was brought
to a cherry-red heat, about 900°, and cooled slowly in the
air, so as to have no temper. It was then magnetised to
saturation at the temperature of about 12° Reaumur. In
this state the time of making ten oscillations was observed.
Its temperature was again raised successively so many de¬
grees, and, after being cooled, the time of performing ten
oscillations was again measured. The following were the
results:
Temperature in degrees
of Reaumur.
12°
40.
80.
Time of performing
Ten Oscillations.
..93"
...97‘5
.104
Temperature in degrees
of Reaumur.
211.
340.
510.
680.
Time of performing
Ten Oscillations.
 147
 215
 290
• very great.
Intluerlfe
of Heat
°n Mag.
netisa.
No effect whatever was produced on the needle by heat¬
ed bars of copper.
In order to explain the singularly anomalous action above
described, Mr Barlow supposes, that during the cooling of
the bars, the extremities where this cooling is most rapid
become magnetic before the rest of the metal, and that
there results from this a complex action. He allows, how¬
ever, that this supposition does not sufficiently explain all
the observed phenomena. The explanation given by Pro¬
fessor Kupffer is more satisfactory. In weakly magne¬
tised bars the points of indifference are very near the ex¬
tremities ; but in Mr Barlow’s experiment the magnetism
communicated to soft iron by the earth being nothing at
a bright-red, and reaching its maximum at a blood-red
heat, there is probably formed a point of indifference at
each extremity of the bar. If this is the case, the raising
of the bar places the needle in front of points which are
beyond the point of indifference, and which possess a mag¬
netism opposite to that of the extremity itself. At the
tirst epoch of cooling, this opposite magnetism should
even increase to a certain point, and the more as we ap¬
proach the middle of the bar; but in proportion as the
magnetism of the bar increases, the point of indifference
will approach its middle, and the phenomena of ordinary
attraction re-appear.
Hence it is obvious that the magnetic intensity of the
bar diminishes rapidly as its temperature is raised'.
From another set of experiments Coulomb concludes
that the tempering of a bar previous to its being magne¬
tised has no influence until the heat at which it is temper¬
ed becomes about 750°. When the tempering is at 900°
the bar will take double the magnetic force that it did at
12°; the ratio of the time of ten oscillations being 63"
and 937, the squares of which, to which the magnetic forces
are proportional, are nearly as one to two.
After the magnet had received the hardest temper at
950°, it was magnetised to saturation. When it was
brought back, by annealing, to lower temperatures, and
again magnetised, the effects were as follow:
Temperature.
■ On the Effects of Heat on the Distribution of
Magnetism in Magnets.
Time of Ten Oscillations
of a Bar tempered
at 95°.
12° 63"
80 66
214, blue colour   80
410, colour of water 170
Hence we see that the progressive rise of temperature
alters the magnetism of the bar much more when it had
been first tempered towards 900° and cooled slowly, than
when it had been first put into the annealed state.
When in the annealed state the bar is exposed only to
temperatures below 500°, it receives its original force by
being again magnetised ; but in the state of temper it is
not so. Each rise of temperature diminishes perceptibly
the magnetic force which the bar can receive from being
again magnetised. This is shown in the following table:
Time of performing Ter
Annealing Temperature. Oscillations when
again magnetised,
12° 63"
214 64*5
410, colour of water 70
900, cherry red 93
I he bar, therefore, attained its maximum energy when
tempered at 900°. It then performed ten oscillations in
63". Setting out from this term, the directive force dimi¬
nished in proportion as the annealing temperature increas¬
ed. At 900° the bar, magnetised anew to saturation,
employed 93" to make ten oscillations, as in the first expe¬
riments, which ought to have been the case, as it was
brought back to the same state of perfect annealing from
which it was at first taken.
The bars used by Coulomb were about thirty times as
long as they were thick, and with such bars similar results
were always obtained. But this was not the case with
larger bars. Having taken a steel wire 326 millimetres
long and four in diameter, he tempered it at 820°, mag¬
netised it to saturation, and determined its directive force.
He repeated the same operation after having annealed it
at different temperatures, and the following were the re¬
sults :
Annealing Temperature. Time of Ten Oscillations.
12°, temperature of atmosphere 89"
320, colour of w ater 75
450, deep red 68
530, less deep red   70
900, bright cherry red 76
1 Biot, Traite de Physique, tom. iii. p. 106.
jf me'
/is
for
tot
me
ler
is m
mid
the
alwi
othi
effec
leatt Here the hard temper gives the weakest directive
leati force, as we have already seen in the preceding experi-
'higments. The maximum effect takes place when the wire
aism"is annealed at about 450°, and this result is a general one
for all wires and plates whose length is very great relative
to their width.
This result seems to be connected with a particular
mode of distribution of free magnetism. In bars whose
length does not exceed thirty times their diameter, there
is never more than one magnetic centre, which is in the
middle of the bar. But when the ratio of the length to
the breadth is greater than this, magnetising it produces
always three centres, one in the middle of the bar, and the
other two at equal distances from its extremities. This
effect is shown in fig. 30, and in fig. 31. The effect of
placi
and
axis
new
Ml
two
ries
the
Hart
Anm
of
Dittt
Ditti
In
centi
thee
impo
lomb
need
thick
thei
It
whei
than
numl
caust
In
, Prof,
'effec'
of mi
paral
Hmet
havii
heat
he i
•nagi
and
was
in or
netis
MAGNETISM.
ti.
Fig. 30.
a    c c” -
placing such a magnet in iron filings is shown in fig. 31;
and in fig. 30 the curve of the intensities is seen to cross the
B
Fig. 31.
axis between the centre C and the poles A, B, the two
new centres being at C' and C".
M. Coulomb found that the distance C' A, C" B of the
two new centres from the extremities of the magnet va¬
ries with the temper; and the annealing heat is shown by
the following results obtained with a wire-magnet 326
millimetres long:—
Time of Ten
Oscillations.
Hard temper 89
Annealed at the colour
of water 75
Ditto at dark-red heat.68
Ditto at cherry red 76
Distances of the Centres C',
C" from the Centre C, the
Middle of the Magnet.
C. C".
98 98
63
43
0
63
43
0
In proportion as the annealing heat increases, the two
centres C', C" approach each other, and are re-united with
the centre C at a cherry-red heat. This last result is very
important in the construction of compass-needles. Cou¬
lomb regards the dark red as the best annealing heat for
needles or bars whose length exceeds thirty times their
thickness, and the state of hard temper for those where
the ratio between the length and the thickness is less.
It is extremely probable, as M. Biot supposes, that
when magnets are larger in proportion to their thickness
than those used in the preceding experiments, a greater
number of centres will be produced, were it from no other
cause than the re-action of the plate upon itself.
upj In examining the influence of temperature on magnets,
ex- Professor Kupffer began by examining the p- 32.
ientfteffect of heat in altering the distribution
of magnetism. For this purpose he took a
parallelepiped of tempered steel, 503 mil- ,
limetres long, 15^ wide, and 5 thick, and ^
having magnetised it to saturation, he
heated it, and allowing it to cool slowly,
he submitted it to examination. The
magnet was placed vertically, as at «' b’,
and a needle suspended by a silk fibre
was made to oscillate before any point ab,
in order to determine the intensity of mag¬
netism at that point. In this way he ob¬
tained the following results:—
Distance ah' in
Millimetres.
156
136-5
116-5
96-5
76-5
56-5
Magnet not heated.
Magnetic Force.
0-5569
0-7374
0-9455
1-1862
1-4311
1-6518
Same Magnet heated
to 80°, and examin¬
ed after cooling.
Magnetic Force.
0-4376
0-5765
0-7280
0-8897
1-0559
1-1929
719
Influence
of Heat
on Mag¬
netism.
M. Kup-
ffer’s ex-
perimnts.
Hence it appears that the bar heated to 80° had not
only lost much of its magnetic virtue, but that this loss
was not uniform along the whole length of the bar, being
greater towards the extremities a\ U than towards the
middle. This may be easily seen by dividing the forces
in columns 2 and 3 by one another, when it will appear
that the quotients are greater for points nearest a' and b'.
M. Kupffer next studied the changes which take place
in the forces of a magnetic needle when its temperature is
increasing, the heat being kept constant during the time
of each experiment. He used a cylindrical needle of fused
steel, 0-57 millimetre long, and 2-395 grammes in weight.
The temperature increased from 8^° to 18°, and the de¬
viation of 300 oscillations varied from 777£ to 781, which
shows, as Coulomb had previously observed, that the mag¬
netic force diminished as the temperature increased. By
another series of experiments, M. Kupffer has shown, that
the diurnal variations of the needle did not at all affect
these results.
In order to determine the law of the decrease of the
magnetic forces at temperatures above 30°, he made a
needle oscillate above a newly magnetised bar 0-5 milli¬
metre long, the opposite poles looking to each other, and
he raised the temperature of the bar from 13° to 80°, bv
means of hot water. At 13°, the needle, when by itself,
performed 300 oscillations in 762", and in presence of the
magnet it lost only 429". When brought to the tempera¬
tures in the table, and then cooled, the oscillations of the
needle were observed.
Duration of 300 Oscillations.
429
476
464£
463
4621
Temperature of the Magnet.
13°
80
21
13
11
Hence it appears that the magnetic force diminishes
with heat, and that a magnet at the temperature of 13°,
when heated to 80°, and then cooled to 13°, does not re¬
sume its first magnetic state, which is diminished. The
cause of this is, that in cooling slowly the bar loses a part
of its temper, and consequently a part of its free mag¬
netism.
From these observations M. Kupffer deduces the fol¬
lowing formulae, which represent with great accuracy the
influence of temperature, viz.
Vc + F
af =   
A
c+F — v ------J ^ —13),
(l-g)F'
67
where c is the force exerted by the earth on the oscillating
needle.
x, the number of seconds in which n oscillations are
made.
F, the force exerted by the bar at the same tem¬
perature.
x', the number of seconds which the same needle
employs at the temperature t.
720
Influence
of Heat
on Mag¬
netism.
MAGNETISM.
p, the intensity of the magnetic force of the bar at
13°; and
q, the intensity of the same force at 80°.
M. Kupffer proceeded to examine the effects which the
heating of only one pole of a magnet produced upon the
distribution of its magnetism. With this view he placed a
magnet parallel to a needle suspended horizontally, the
dissimilar poles being placed opposite to each other. The
needle will not remain in the magnetic meridian unless its
neutral point and that of the bar are in the same line per¬
pendicular to the needle. This position may be found by
a few trials. When by shifting the magnet its neutral
point approaches one of the poles of the needle, and al¬
ways in the same direction, this pole will be repelled, be¬
cause the opposite pole of the needle is more strongly
attracted by the corresponding pole of the magnet, which
is brought near it, while the other is removed from it.
Let us now heat the north pole of the magnet; the south
pole of the needle opposite to it will be soon attracted.
Hence it is clear that the point of indifference, or neutral
point, has receded from the heated pole, or from the pole
whose magnetic intensity is diminished, which agrees with
the law of Coulomb. The following results were obtained
with a magnet 05 millimetre long, the needle being placed
in the magnetic meridian :—
Duration of 100
Oscillations.
275‘5 seconds.
Temperature of the extre¬
mity of the Bar.
0° Reaumur.
13
40
56
15
11
276
278
279-5
277-5
277
When the magnet had cooled slowly, the needle return¬
ed gradually to its first position; but it never recovered
it entirely. By the earth’s action only, the needle per¬
formed 50 oscillations in 207".
When a bar of soft iron was substituted for the mag¬
net, and placed in the magnetic meridian, it was magnetis¬
ed by the action of the earth. When one of its extremi¬
ties was heated, the pole of the needle next it was attract¬
ed instead of repelled, the neutral point having approached
to the heated extremity, in place of receding from it as for¬
merly. Hence the magnetic force of the iron was increas¬
ed by heat.
Mr Chris- In examining the diurnal deviations of the needle when
tie’s expe- under the influence of magnets, Mr Christie conceived
nments. that the deviations mjght be partly the effect of changes
in the temperature of the magnets ; and he therefore un¬
dertook a series of experiments to determine the precise
effects of changes of temperature on magnets. By a
peculiar apparatus and a method of observation which our
limits will not allow us to introduce, he obtained the fol¬
lowing results :—
Mean Tempera- Difference of
ture of the Heats in suc-
Magnets.
Fahr.
62°-05
59 -05
cessive Obser¬
vations.
— 3°-00
77
74
70
67
63
62
•65
•00
•65
•15
■80 '
■05
+ 18
— 3
— 3
— 3
— 3
— 1
•60
•65
•35
•50
■35
•75
Magnetic In-
tensity.
212-5620
212-9423
210-6228
210- 9892
211- 4178
211- 8353
212- 2167
212-4640
Variation of In¬
tensity for
1° of Fahr.
•1268
•1247
■1004
■1279
■1193
1138
0-1413
By discussing these results, Mr Christie concludes
that 0T226 is the mean variation of the intensity of the
magnets, from a change in their temperature of 1° between a
the temperatures of 59°-05 and 77°-65. Taking the case Si10|0f
where the intensity at 60° was 218, the change for P was Cfi0
0-123 ; and supposing the intensity to be 1, each degree dies°nthe
will produce a diminution of 0 000564. & Magnetic
From a number of experiments made with a balance of Needle'
torsion, the needle being suspended by a brass wire -1-th
of an inch in diameter, Mr Christie ascertained thtf fol¬
lowing facts:
1. Beginning with — 3° of Fahrenheit, up to 127°, the
intensity of magnets decreased as their temperature in¬
creased.
2. With a certain increment of temperature the de¬
crement of intensity is not constant at all temperatures
but increases as the temperature increases.
3. From a temperature of about 80°, the intensity de¬
creases very rapidly as the temperature increases ; so that
if, up to this temperature, the differences of the decre-
ments are nearly constant, the differences in the decre¬
ments also increase.
4. Beyond the temperature of 100° a portion of the
power of the magnet is permanently destroyed.
5. On a change of temperature, the most considerable
portion of the effect on the intensity of the magnet is
produced instantaneously, showing that the magnetic
power resides on or very near the surface.
6. The effects produced on soft iron by changes of tem¬
perature are directly the reverse of those produced on a
magnet; an increase of temperature causing an increase
in the magnetic power of the iron. This was observed
between the temperatures 50° and 100° Fahr. Mr Chris¬
tie regards this fact as a strong argument against the hy¬
pothesis, that the action of iron upon the needle arises
from the polarity which it receives from the earth.1
CHAP. VI. ON THE ACTION OF SIMPLE IRON BODIES ON
THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE.
Mr Barlow undertook the interesting experiments which Action of
we are about to describe, with the view of discovering some dmpleiron
method of correcting the local attraction of a ship’s guns')odieso!J
and other iron on the compass-needle. theneedt.
His attention was first directed to the action of solid
spheres and spherical shells of iron ; but he afterwards
applied the principles to which he was led, to the action of
bars and plates of simple iron, and to irregular masses.
We shall therefore lay before our readers, in three sepa¬
rate sections, the results of his experiments and theoreti¬
cal investigations respecting these two forms of unmag¬
netised iron.
Sect. I.— On the Action of Spheres and Spherical Shells of
Iron on the Magnetic Needle.
The earliest experiments of Mr Barlow, by which he Action of
was led to some of the properties of iron spheres, weresPliere^j‘
made in an imperfect manner ; but the phenomena were1 en
such as to induce him to construct an apparatus capable
of affording him the most accurate measures of the devia¬
tion of the needle.
The apparatus which he finally employed is shown in
Plate CCCXXV. fig. 6. It consists of a large and steady
round table TT, having its surface horizontal. The points
of the compass are laid down on its upper face. In its
centre is a hole 18^ inches wide, for receiving an eighteen-
inch or smaller iron shell or ball B, which is suspended
above it by pulleys pp, which allow the observer to raise
1 See Philoiophical Transactions, 1825, p. 1-G5.
.r:liroU!l
lace1
lilras ^
') )ie
P
]o«
us'
id tl
^pe ba
; sily
:|e bo'
In i
ihsts a
jrodnc>
afeij
iizo« e
I Thii
aagne
iliroug
i
liagnei
;Mr
h qui
\' any
nen t
ipm it
Siiinne
Thai
i ml t
vto th
~jo
I rich
i liich
1 efol
That
i oport
mi
]yc
tiecedi
4 the s
Thai
ithe c\
The
ijeresi
1 ition
tion i
H wan
That
the ci
fwk
Kwk
\it
Hem
’spi
iidita,
Mr I
com
iron
u
MAGNETISM.
721
of Hi lower it at pleasure. When a diameter of this table is
ought into the magnetic meridian, Mr Barlow found,
at in whatever part of the table a compass-needle was
‘^jaced, except in the meridian, the south end of the needle
' »s drawn to the ball when the latter was wholly above
lie table, as in the figure. The attraction increases as
ir te ball descends, till at a certain point it is a maximum,
on bid then decreases again towards zero as the ball de
,n sends farther. Hence it is clear, that there is all round
He ball a position where the attraction is zero ; and it was
csily observed that these points lay in a plane inclined to
tte horizon. In this way Mr Barlow established his fun-
©mental principle, that
In every hall or shell of plain unmagnetised iron there
eists a plane of no attraction, or a plane in which the iron
foduces no disturbance on the needle, and which plane in-
cnes from north to south (magnetic), forming with the ho¬
rizon an angle equal to the complement of the dip.
This line on the surface of the ball may be called the
ragnetic equator; and, taking the meridian which passes
trough the east and west points as the first, Mr Barlow
i able to designate every part of his iron sphere by the
Magnetic longitude and latitude of that point.
Mr Barlow therefore proceeded to determine whether
te quantity and deviation at any point could be expressed
b any function of the latitude and longitude of that point,
vien the mass of the ball and the distance of the needle
fam it were constant. From these experiments, which it
i unnecessary to detail, he found,
That the tangent of the deviation of the needle is propor-
t nal to the rectangle of the sine and cosine of the latitude,
c. to the sine of the double latitude.
By observing the deviations throughout a great circle in
viich the longitude was constant, and also in a circle in
viich the latitude and longitude were variable, he found
tie following law,—
That the tangent of the deviation of the needle is nearly
poportional to the sine of the double latitude multiplied by
te cosine of the longitude.
I By comparing the constant numbers obtained on the
peceding principles at different distances from the centre
<i the sphere, Mr Barlow found,
1 That the tangent of the deviation is inversely proportional
ti the cube of the distance.
rThe remaining object of Mr Barlow’s inquiry was a very
kieresting one, namely, to determine the law of the de-
vjition as dependent on the mass of the iron ball by the
a|tion of which it was produced. The result was equally
raw and unexpected. He found,
That the tangent of the deviation was directly proportional
Mhe cube of the diameter of the ball or shell; but that it is
sfyl wholly independent of the mass, being the same in quan-
tif whatever be the thickness of the metal, provided only
iHt\it exceed one twentieth of an inch.
I [Hence it follows, that the entire magnetic poiver of an
wn sphere resides on the surface, and is independent of the
Aridity.
Mr Barlow was so much surprised at this result, that
hn constructed a ten-inch shell of tin plate and another
(firon plate, the former weighing forty-three ounces and
. tie latter forty-five ounces, and he found that the power
I neith o Neither was so great as that of the solid ball of the same
i&mete <1 meter, but approached to it in the ratio of two to three,
i ithe ^ the thickness of the iron in these shells was at an ave-
;eab rfee about one thirtieth of an inch, Mr Barlow concluded
t th tat the magnetic fluid requires a certain thickness of
fptal,( riMal, exceeding one thirtieth of an inch, in order effec-
slally ti tally to develope itself, and act with its maximum energy.
This This important result was some time afterwards veri-
i id by fid by Captain Kater, with three cylinders, one of soft
f n,an hm, and one tenth of an inch thick; another of what is
VOL.1 * VOL. XIII.
called chest-plate, 0-185 of an inch thick; and the third Action of
solid. The deviations produced by these three cylinders, Simple
when reduced to the same extent of surface, were 141, ,Iron Bo'
184, and 187, thus proving that the cylinder whose thick- ^^Ltic
ness was only 0-185, or between one fifth and one sixth Needle.
of an inch thick, had the same magnetic power as a solid ^ Y — ^
cylinder of iron. The distribution of magnetism on the Professor
surface of magnetic bodies presents us with another inte- Bark>w on
resting analogy between the magnetic and electric fluids; ^ action
and it deserves our particular notice, that in the results spheres,
obtained by Mr Barlow, the action of the sphere is relat- 1 ^ ^
ed to the centre of its mass, and not to the poles of its
magnetic equator.
Mr Barlow next proceeds to the investigation of analy¬
tical formulae which shall exhibit the action of iron spheres
upon a magnetic needle. In this inquiry he sets out with
the established experimental fact already mentioned, that
the entire magnetic poiver of an iron sphere resides on the
surface, and is independent of the solidity ; and he proceeds
on the following hypothesis.
1. Magnetic phenomena are due to the existence of
two fluids in a greater or less degree of combination, and
such that the particles of the same fluid repel, and those
of an opposite nature attract, each other.
i 2. These fluids in iron bodies exist naturally in a state
of combination and equilibrium till, that state is disturbed
by some exciting cause.
r 3. But if a body already magnetic, i. e. one in which the
fluids are held in a state of separation, be brought within
the vicinity of a mass of iron, such as is supposed above,
the concentrated action of each fluid in the magnetised
body will act upon the latent fluids in the quiescent body,
by repelling those of the same, and attracting those of
the contrary kind, and thus impress upon the latter a
temporary state of magnetic action, which will remain
only while the two bodies maintain their respective situa¬
tions.
4. The quantity of action impressed upon the iron body
will depend, Hif, upon the intensity of the exciting mag¬
net ; 2dly, upon the capacity of the quiescent body for
magnetism, or the quantity of those fluids contained in it;
and, ?>dly, upon the cohesive power of the iron; which
latter quality determines the depth to which the exciting
magnet is able to disengage the two fluids.
The above embraces every case, namely, of any magnet,
natural or artificial, developing the magnetism in any
given iron body; but the displacement occasioned by the
magnetic action of the earth, or spheres of iron, is more
limited in its results, and more susceptible of correct ma¬
thematical investigation.
5. In this case, for instance, we may suppose the action
to take place on every particle of the mass in lines parallel
to each other, and corresponding in direction with the
dipping needle; also, that every particle is at the same dis¬
tance from the centre of the disturbing force, and conse¬
quently that the displacement in each particle is equal also.
6. For the sake of illustration,
let ABED represent a sphere
of iron in its non-magnetic or
quiescent state, and let CM be
the line on which the terrestrial
magnetism is exerted from a
centre of action M, which is at
such a distance that the diame¬
ter of the sphere is inconsider¬
able in comparison with it; then
every particle on its surface, and
to a certain distance within it,
will be acted upon by equal pow¬
ers, and in directions parallel to
each other, whereby the fluids
Fig. 33.
722
MAGNETISM.
Action of
Simple
Iron Bo¬
dies on the
Magnetic
Needle.
Professor
Barlow on
the action
of iron
spheres.
in the quiescent body, before in a state of combination,
will be separated in each particle ; and the two fluids may
now therefore be conceived to form two spherical shells
AeB<i, Ae'Be?, whose centres of action will be c, c', their
distances from each other being greater or less, according
to the circumstances stated in No. 4.
7. Therefore, in computing the action of such a mass of
iron, in its temporary state of magnetism, upon a distant
particle of magnetic fluid, Mr Barlow refers it to these
centres, and assumes that the law of action in this, as
in other cases of emanating forces, is inversely as the
squares of the distance.
By means of this hypothesis Mr Barlow arrives at the
following formula for the deviation A of a horizontal
needle.
Tan. 7 A =
Sr2
— 5 (2X • cos. 1),
2d3 cos. o v
where r — radius of the iron spheres;
d = the distance of the needle from the centre of
the spheres;
X = the complement of the magnetic latitude ;
l = the complement of the magnetic longitude;
d z= the dip of the needle; and
C
= 1*0539 a constant quantity for cast-iron balls
Sect. II—On the Action of Simple Iron Bars and Plates Action "
on the Magnetic Needle. f
bon Bo. sib0'*
As spherical bodies possess the peculiar property 0ftiies<in’lie S:
having their centre of attraction in the centre of the '
mass, the former becomes a fixed point, whatever be the^^L "f
distance of the magnetic needle. As this is not the^"^
case, however, with bodies of other forms, such as bars
and plates, Mr Barlow was desirous of ascertaining whe¬
ther, in these cases also, the magnetic attraction of the
body could be referred to the action of two centres inde¬
finitely near to each other in the general centre of attrac¬
tion of the surface of the body, viz. that point into which
if all the matter of the surface were collected, its action
on the centre of the needle would be the same as the ac¬
tion of the whole body in its natural form.
In pursuance of this plan, he supposes
AB to be a bar of iron, and C the place
of the needle, and, letting CD fall per¬
pendicular on AB, he joins AC, mC, BC.
He then finds the following expression for
the deviation, tan. A = A A
Fig. 34.
and shells, of every diameter, and for all distances
and positions.
From this formula it necessarily follows,—
1. That though the development of the magnetism of
the spheres takes’place by the hypothesis only at the sur¬
face, yet the effect, as shown by the tangent of the de¬
viation, is proportional to the cube of the diameter.
2. That the tangent of deviation is inversely as the cube
of the distance.
3. That the tangent of the deviation is proportional to
the sine of the double latitude and cosine of the longitude,
the latter being extended from the east and west points.
These are the very laws which Mr Barlow had deduced
from experiment, and he has established the correctness of
his formula by comparing it with a great body of experi¬
ments made by himself and Mr Christie, and also with ob¬
servations on the dipping needle.
(m2 + w2)^’
being a constant quantity, l the longi¬
tude, m the force in the direction DC,
and n the force in DA. In the experi¬
ments with which Mr Barlow proposed c
to compare this formula, the needle was
placed due east and west of the bar, the
longitude of its position was zero, and
hence cos. l—\. The formula, therefore, becomes
tan. A = A
■ or tan
A.Q2 +
what-
(m2 -j- nz)^
ever may be the distance of the needle or its position, pro¬
vided its longitude be zero. The following experiments^hBoMy.
were made by Mr Charles Bonnycastle, with a bar twenty-cast,'esex'
four inches long and an inch and a quarter square, inclinedP6™15'
in the direction of the dipping needle. The magnetic
needle was placed to the east and west of the bar, first
opposite to its centre m, and then at every three inches
from the centre to the extremities, at the distance of twelve
and sixteen inches from the axis of the bar. The following
were the results.
Distance of
Compass from
Bar in inches.
16
16
16
16
12
12
12
12
Distance
below Cen¬
tre.
3
6
9
12
3
6
9
12
Observed
Deviation.
2° 20'
4 25
5
6
5
10
12
11
45
0
20
0
0
30
Value of
mn
(m? + n't) 1
*00240,
•00438
•00563
•00596
•00484
•00899
•01152
•01160
Values of A.
17-03
17-62
17-88
17- 63
19-28
; 19-62
18- 45
17-54
Mean....18-13
These results Mr Barlow justly regards as a further
proof of the accuracy of the principles upon which his
hypothesis is founded, and of his general deduction that
the action of plain unmagnetised iron on a compass needle
may be referred to two poles indefinitely near to each
other in the common centre of attraction of the surface of
the body.
Mr Bonnycastle performed another series of experi¬
ments with a plate of malleable iron twelve inches square
and half an inch thick, and he obtained results almost
equally accordant with Mr Barlow’s hypothesis.
Sect. III.— On the Action of Irregular Masses of Iron on
the Magnetic Needle.
3 Actio'10*
Mr Barlow was next desirous of ascertaining if the sa®e jugular
law which applied to spheres,bars, and plates, was true in ir'm3SSesof
regular masses of iron, such as a 24-pounder gun; an expe-jxoii.
riment peculiarly applicable to the object he had in view.
He found that the plane 'of no attraction existed in the
most irregular masses of iron, and the agreement between
the observed deviations produced by the gun, and those
calculated by his formula, was such as to satisfy him that
. ^>1
iJ i
ujio ting
gs U l!
irld.
The!
renin
psh
ikes,
jiich
ist (n
.1 e dip
tic ei
ig n<
i n bm
|BtW(
iforn
t rougl
bap.
Ann
:phe
gin;
IUS t(
inqu
iduct
The
st at
gnet
id,p
wirt
nagn
t tht
)ngei
l ma
ant
icnfii
nts.
n ea
fount
1 tha
)n of
ther
urnsi
wo v
sirai
wire
■hed
id by
ties f
bavi
noth
n un
It the
«;neti
exch
uldb
t act
e ex
obse
pi;
wit!
ered
iitteri
ties (
d we
MAGNETISM.
same laws applied to irregular as to regular masses of
; and he was thus furnished with the means of com¬
ing the local attraction of a ship’s guns upon the com-
s under all circumstances, and in all parts of the
rid.
These views have been strikingly confirmed by several
enious observations, made, without knowing of Mr Bar¬
’s labours, by Mr Lecount of the navy, with bars, hand-
sjkes, mast rings, and various other iron bodies, from
mich he concluded “ that a plane or circle held east and
»st (magnetic), and at right angles to the direction of
tfe dipping needle, divides the north from the south mag-
ntic effluvia, each lying on that side to which the dip-
pig needle points; and by referring the position of all
im bodies to this plane, the plane of section shall divide
tib two into north and south polarity, provided it be of
uiform thickness, or, if not, the section must be drawn
though its centre of (gravity) attraction.”1
I
AP. VII.-
-ON THE INFLUENCE OF MAGNETISM ON CHE¬
MICAL ACTION.
An opinion had long prevailed among philosophers that
tfe phenomena of magnetism and electricity had a similar
ogin; and hence various observers had been led, pre-
v»us to the discovery of electro-magnetism by Oersted,
U inquire if any actions of a chemical nature could be
puduced by magnetism.
The German philosopher Ritter was the earliest and the
itst active of these inquirers. He maintained that a
rngnetic wire, combined with another wire not magne-
tiied, produced contractions in a frog, the south pole of
tf wire-magnet producing stronger contractions than the
umagnetised wire; and as he had constantly observed
tilt the metals most susceptible of excitation excited the
ngest contractions, he concluded that the south pole
magnet has a greater affinity for oxygen than simple
, and the north pole a less affinity. Hence he was led
onfirm these views by means of several chemical re¬
ts. He placed a magnetised wire upon pieces of glass
n earthenware dish containing weak nitric acid, when
bund that the south pole was more corroded by the
aqjl than the other, and was soon encircled with a depo-
sibn of oxygen greater than that at the other pole. In
anjther experiment he took two flasks filled with tincture
of urnsol, in one of which he placed the two south poles
of wo wire-magnets, and in the other the north poles of
ti| similar magnets. In the last flask the oxidation of
th wires was much greater than in the first.
’he difference in the oxidation of the south pole was exhi-
b| d by Ritter in another way. He took three small and equal
bitles filled either with pure or slightly acidulated water,
a| having placed in one the south pole of a wire-magnet,
in nother the north pole, and in the third the extremity
of n unmagnetised wire of the same length, he observed
til t the south pole first began to deposit oxide, the un-
nii pietised wire next, and the north pole last. In order
tq exclude the access of air, the surface of the water
st) aid be covered w ith very fresh oil of almonds; and as
ligt accelerates oxidation, none of the bottles should be
ni e exposed to the sun than the rest. In support of this
lai observation, Ritter exposed two iron wires to the sun
wlkn placed in water, and having covered one of the bot-
' 1c with black paper, he found that the wire in the un-
cOHered bottle was oxidated more rapidly than the other.
llitter repeated the preceding experiment with the three
bales containing an infusion of litmus in place of acidu-
l<|d water. The south pole reddened the infusion most,
723
the unmagnetic wire less, and the north pole least of all. Influence
A week is required to produce a distinct effect; and in of Mag-
order even to effect this, Ritter found it necessary to add netisnl 011
as. much acetic acid as would incline the infusion to red
without completely changing its colour. v ^ct'lon^ ,
The following experiment of Ritter, if correctly repeat-
ed, establishes the same result. We shall give it nearly ments of
in his own words: “ Sixteen magnetic wires, of equal sizellitter-
and power, were placed in six vessels, all equally full of a
mixture of one part nitric acid and thirty-six parts water,
in the following manner: In the first glass were placed
two wires, one with the north pole immersed in the fluid,
the other with the south, and not more than half a line
asunder; in the second, the same, but the wdres an inch
and three fourths apart; in the third and fourth were each
three wires, with the south poles of all immersed, but their
distances in the two glasses different, as in the first and
second ; in the fifth and sixth were wires similarly arrang¬
ed, but with the north poles immersed. Different quanti¬
ties of oxide were gradually deposited, and, to express the
whole in a few words, we will call the south pole S, the
north pole N, their greater distance g, and their less p,
and we will express the order of oxidations as follows:
SN/?> 3S/f> 3S<7> 3Njff> 3N^. On the nine¬
teenth day it was observed that the loss of fluid by eva¬
poration had not been equal in all the vessels, but took
place in the inverse order of the oxidations. All the mag¬
netic wires were weakened in power; NS<7 least, NSp
more; of the wires 3Sp, two had lost less power than the
third; and in like manner 38^, 3Np, 3Ng, had each two
left more powerful than the third ; the strongest were
equal to NS^.”
The next experiments on this subject were made by M. Experi-
Muschman, professor of chemistry in the university of ments of
Christiania, who endeavoured to ascertain the effect of the Musch-
earth’s magnetism on the precipitation of silver. In his man’
chemical course in 1817, when he was desirous of explain¬
ing the chemical theory of the tree of Diana, he took a
tube like a syphon, and poured mercury into it, which ac¬
cordingly occupied the lower part of the two branches:
above the mercury he poured a strong solution of nitrate
of silver. He then placed the two branches of the syphon
so that the plane passing through them was in the magnetic
meridian, and after standing a few seconds, the silver began
to precipitate itself with its natural lustre; but it accumulat¬
ed itself particularly in the northern branch of the syphon,
while that which was less copiously precipitated in the
other branch had a less brilliant lustre, and was mixed with
the mercurial salt deposited from the solution. M. Musch-
man and Professor Hansteen repeated this experiment in an(j Han-
an improved form with the very same result. On this oc-steen.
casion they used simultaneously two syphons prepared in
the same manner, the one being placed in the direction of
nort/i and south, and the other in that of east and west. The
silver began to precipitate itself in the direction of north
and south, and it particularly raised itself in the wortfAbranch
with a lustre more brilliant than in the south one; whereas
in the syphon whose plane lay east and west, no change had
taken place even at the end of twelve hours. Hence the
two Norwegian philosophers concluded, with some reason,
that the magnetism of the earth had an influence on the
precipitation of silver from a solution of its nitrate; and M.
Muschman inferred, from the experiment, the identity of
galvanism and magnetism. He regarded every dissolution
as the result of a galvanic effect, the precipitated metal
carrying off the electricity set at liberty, and carrying it¬
self, in order to be disengaged, to the place where it could
find the opposite electricity, which was the north pole.
M. Muschman considered this hypothesis confirmed by
1 Lecount on the Magnetic Properties of Iron Bodies.
724
MAGNETISM.
Laws of the geological fact, that at Konigsberg silver was found
Magnetic in metallic form, stretching from north to south; and
1 orees,&c. ^ presence 0f the silver is always indicated by a certain
quantity of pyrites and blendes. Hence he conceived
that the silver had been insensibly united to sulphur, and
that by the effect of the earth’s magnetism alone it had
been carried towards the copper and the zinc.
M. Fresnel made a series of experiments with the view
of decomposing water by the magnet. He proposed to
produce an electric current in an electro-magnetic helix
enclosing a bar-magnet covered with silk. The two ends
of the wire were plunged in slightly acidulated water,
and he observed very decided effects ; but there were so
many anomalies in the result, which he could not explain,
that he abandoned the inquiry. He was particularly struck
with the fact, that the wire which should be the positive
one was strongly oxidated, whilst the other extremity
preserved its metallic lustre during a whole week. The
negative extremity was covered with a saline deposite,
which he conjectured to be sulphate of lime, and which
he supposed had protected the wire from oxidation.
ofErdman. M. Erdman, after a very elaborate inquiry into the ef¬
fects of magnets as chemical agents, came to the conclu¬
sion that the observed phenomena were due to the influ¬
ence of other causes, which had not, been sufficiently
guarded against.
A curious fact, connected perhaps with the class of phe¬
nomena under our observation, was noticed by M. Le-
baillif. He observed that the poles of a magnetic needle
delicately suspended were repelled by pieces of antimony
or bismuth that were brought near them.
Experi¬
ments of
Fresnel;
CHAP. VIII. ON THE LAWS OF THE MAGNETIC FORCES, THE
MUTUAL ACTION OF MAGNETS, AND MAGNETIC CURVES.
Sect. I.—On the Law of the Magnetic Force.
Law of the In our history of magnetism we have given very full de-
magnetic ja;]s 0f tile various attempts which were made by philoso¬
phers to determine the law according to which the inten¬
sity of the attractive and repulsive power of magnets va¬
ried with the distance at which these forces were exerted.
Like all other laws, an approach to the discovery of it had
been made by various philosophers ; but the merit of its
perfect establishment undoubtedly belongs to Dr Robison
and Coulomb, the last of whom placed it beyond the reach
of doubt. The difficulties which were to be overcome in
this inquiry arose from the invariable co-existence of two
opposite polarities in each of the two bodies whose mutual
action was under examination ; and this difficulty was in¬
creased from these polarities not being concentrated in
particular points, but diffused in an unequal degree over
each half of the magnet and the needle.
Research- jn delicate inquiry Coulomb employed two methods,
lomb °U" t^ie ^rst sl,sPended a magnetic needle by a silk fibre,
and when it was in the magnetic meridian, he presented
to it at different distances another magnetic needle, and
determined by observation and calculation the force with
which they acted upon each other at these distances. A
needle an inch long, weighing seventy grains, and magne¬
tised to saturation, was suspended by a fibre of silk three
lines long, and a steel wire magnet twenty-five inches
long was placed vertically in the magnetic meridian at
different distances, so that its south pole was always ten
lines below the northern extremity of the suspended needle.
The needle was now made to oscillate when the magnet
was at different distances from it, and the following were
the number of oscillations in 60", the number being fifteen
when the magnet was removed, and the needle influenced
only by the magnetism of the earth.
Distance of a Wire Magnet from Number of Oscillations Laws of* ^
the middle of the Needle. in 60". If
4 inches 41 * orce8i & ' \
8 ditto 24
16 ditto 17
By means of the formula for the pendulum, in which the
forces are in the direct ratio of the square of the number of
oscillations performed in the same time, Coulomb has com¬
puted their intensity. As all the forces concerned are in the
plane of the magnetic meridian, the force which produces the
horizontal oscillations depends on the parts of these forces
which are decomposed in a horizontal direction. Now
Coulomb had demonstrated that the magnetic fluid might
be considered as concentrated at a point ten lines from
the extremity of the wire-magnet; but as the suspended
needle was one inch long, its north pole was attracted at
the distance of three and a half inches, and its south pole
at the distance of four and a half inches, so that four
inches was the mean distance at which, in the first expe¬
riment, the lower pole of the wire-magnet exerted its ac¬
tion on the two poles of the needle. In the second experi¬
ment the mean distance was eight inches. But as the ho¬
rizontal force which produces the oscillations is the square
of the number performed in 60", the magnetic force of the
earth will be 152, and the combined forces of the earth
and the wire-magnet will, in the first, second, and third
experiments, be 412, 242, and 172, so that the forces which
emanate from the wire-magnet will be412 — 15e, 24z —152,
172 — 152, whence we deduce the following results:
Mean Distance.
Hif experiment 4 inches
2c? experiment 8 ditto..
3c?experiment 16 ditto..
Force depending on the Action
of the Wire-magnet.
 412—152= 1456
 24*— 152= 351
....... 172 — 152 = 64
The distances in the first and second experiments being
as one to two, the variation of the force would have been
exactly as the squares of these numbers had the force in
the second experiment been 364 instead of 351; and the
same would have been the case had the force in the se¬
cond and third experiments been 332 and 83, instead of
351 and 64. This difference, therefore, requires to be in¬
vestigated. Coulomb has accounted for it, and calculated
the correction for these numbers in the following manner.
In the experiments the action of the superior pole of the
wire-magnet was neglected. The distance of its inferior
pole from the centre of the needle was sixtee'n inches, and
the distance of the superior pole from the centre of the
needle is nearly V(162 4- 232), so that the force of the for¬
mer is to that of the latter nearly as 100 to 19. Hence, as
the oscillations of the needle are produced by the action of
these two poles, which exert their force in opposite direc¬
tions, the square of the number of oscillations which the
single action of the inferior pole of the magnet would pro¬
duce should be diminished -j^yths by the opposite action
of the superior pole ; so that 64 is only the excess of the
real amount of the single action of the lower part of the
magnet over y^ths of the number which represents it.
The true value will therefore be 79. The true intensities
of the forces will, at the distances 4, 8, and 16 inches, be
1456, 351, and 79, or nearly in the inverse ratio of the
squares of the distances.
M. Coulomb has in like manner demonstrated, that the
repulsive force of similar poles follows the same law of
the distance.
The second method employed by Coulomb requires the Couloml
use of the magnetic balance, which is represented in Plate ®^netl1
CCCXXV. figs. 1 and 5, which is a modification of thebaan
torsion balance already described in our article on Elec¬
tricity. The suspending wire, ah fig. 1, carries at its
lower extremity a pair of pincers c, which holds a stirrup
Lav of 1, 2, 3, formed of a plate of very light copper. In this
Mafjetic stirrup is placed a small piece of card covered with a coat
Fore 0f Spanish wax, on which is impressed the mark of the wire
^ or bar of steel SN to be used, in order that it may always
be put in the same position. Under the middle of the
stirrup is fixed a vertical plane PP, wholly immersed in a
vessel VV of water, the resistance of which may quickly
stop the oscillations of the needle or magnet SN in the
stirrup. When fitted up for the experiments under our
consideration, the apparatus shown in fig. 1 is placed in a
square box AB (see fig. 5), three feet wide and eighteen
inches high. At the height of nine inches above the bot¬
tom is placed a horizontal circle of wood or copper, two
feet ten inches in diameter, and divided into degrees. On
this box is placed a cross piece CD, which supports at its
middle point a tube EF, thirty inches long, and terminat¬
ing in a torsion micrometer at M. The pincer of this
micrometer holds the upper end of a brass wire, to the
other extremity of which is adapted a ring of copper in¬
tended to carry a steel needle.
Before the commencement of the experiment, the box
AB is placed so that the direction of the magnetic meri¬
dian passes through the divisions zero and 18° of the hori¬
zontal circle. The next step is to place in the stirrup a
well-magnetised steel needle NS, of a rectangular form,
and to adjust the torsion micrometer M, so that the tor¬
sion of the wire is nothing when the needle NS is in the
magnetic meridian, or that the magnetic meridian passes
through the zero on the scale of the torsion micrometer.
In the direction of the magnetic meridian, a vertical ruler
of wood or copper, one or two lines thick, is fixed, so that
the end of the needle may come against it when it is in the
magnetic meridian.
Coulomb now took two wire-magnets, twenty-four inches
long and one and a half inch in diameter, and he placed
one of them in the stirrup, as at NS, and he determined the
force with which the magnetism of the earth drew it back
into the magnetic meridian. For this purpose he twisted
the suspending wire ad through two circles or circumfe¬
rences minus 20°, till the needle stopped 20° from the mag¬
netic meridian, so that, considering the forces as nearly pro¬
portional to the arcs (when the angle is about 20°), about
35° of torsion were necessary to keep the magnetic needle
one degree out of the magnetic meridian. The two circles
of torsion minus 20° are equal to 2 X 360°— 20° = 700° ;
the degrees of torsion required to keep the needle 20° out
of the magnetic meridian, or 700° of torsion, are a measuie of
the directive force of the needle when 20° out of the mag¬
netic meridian. For any other number of degrees, S, the
degree of torsion necessary to balance the directive force
will be 700 because the directive forces are propor-
sm. 2°
tional to the shies of the angles. But at 20° the angles
i. „ , 700 3
may be substituted for the forces, and we shall have ^
— 353, that is, as we stated above, 35° of torsion will ba¬
lance the directive force of the needle when one degree out
of the magnetic meridian. Coulomb now placed the other
similarly magnetised wire vertically in the magnetic meu-
dian, so that if the two wires had been prolonged, they
would have met at the distance of fen lines from their ex¬
tremities, the point where the magnetism of each acts as
if it were concentrated there. He placed the similar poles
of each opposite to each other, and consequently the hori¬
zontal needle or wire was repelled out of the magnetic me¬
ridian ; and it took a position at which the force of repulsion
of the vertical needle or wire was balanced by the united
•forces of torsion and the earth’s magnetism, which tended
to bring the horizontal wire to rest. Ihe following icsu ts
were obtained after different trials :
Laws of
Magnetic
Forces, &c.
24 '—
17
8 12
Now, in the first experiment, the angle through which the
horizontal wire was repelled was 24°, reckoning from the
zero of torsion ; and when it rested in this position, it was
driven towards the zero by a force of torsion of 2k° plus the
directive force of the earth’s magnetism, which being 35°
for every 1°, amounts to 24 X 35° = 840°. The total re¬
pulsive force was therefore 840° -f- 24° = 864°.
In the second experiment the torsion micrometer was
turned round three circles in a direction opposite to the 24°
first produced ; but notwithstanding this great torsion, the
horizontal wire-magnet, repelled by the vertical one, re¬
turned only to 17° from the magnetic meridian. The force
of torsion was therefore 3 circles + 17° = 1097°; but the
directive force for 17° is 17° X 35° =595°, hence we have
for the total repulsive force 1097° + 595° = 1692°.
In the third experiment the torsion micrometer was
turned round eight circles, and the wire-magnet stopped at
12° from the magnetic meridian. The force of torsion was
therefore 8 circles + 12° = 2892° ; but the directive force
for 12° is 12° X 35° = 420, hence we have for the total
repulsive force 2892° + 420 = 3312°.
As the arcs of repulsion are in these experiments so
small, we may safely reckon them equal to their chords, and
we obtain the following results:
Distances at which the Repul- Corresponding Repulsive Forces
sive Force is exerted. in Degrees of Torsion.
12 3312°
17 1692
24 864
Assuming 3312° as correct, the other numbers ought to have
been 1650 and 828 instead of 1692 and 864, if the force
varies inversely as the square of the distance. The differ¬
ences 42° and 36° correspond nearly with a degree of
error in the observed position of the moveable steel wire,
since the directive force is 35° for every degree of devia¬
tion from the magnetic meridian. Such an error is certain¬
ly a very small one in experiments of this kind, and we
therefore conclude that the attractive and repulsive forces
of magnets decrease as the squares of their distances in¬
crease.
Had the experiments been made upon magnetic points,
such an error would not have existed ; but they were made
with forces diffused over portions of the wire-magnet of
some extent. In the last experiment (M. Biot remarks)
“ when the two wires were nearest each other, the influence
of the points lying near the intersection was more weaken¬
ed by obliquity than in the other experiment; or, in other
words, there were at equal obliquities more points which
acted in the greater distances (24 and 17) than in the
smaller one (12). But as we did not take this augmenta¬
tion into account, we ought to find that the repulsive force
observed at the smaller distance, being reduced in the ratio
of the square of the distance, gives for larger distances re¬
pulsive forces a little more feeble than those which were
actually observed.
In the first method of observation, Coulomb was obliged
to calculate the effect of the distant pole ; but in the pre¬
sent method this was unnecessary, as the wire-magnets
were two feet long, and the greatest arc of repulsion, viz.
24°, corresponded to a distance of five inches between the
repelling poles. The other poles were therefore at least
four times more distant than those whose repulsive action
was calculated; their direct action was therefore sixteen
times weaker, besides being greatly weakened by the ex¬
treme obliquity with which it acted. Had the wire-mag-
MAGNETISM.
Circles of Torsion given to
the Suspending Wire by the
Torsion Micrometer.
0
Observed Angles
of Repulsion.
726
MAGNETISM.
Laws of nets been shorter, the action of all the poles might have
FoSTc been taken int0 consideration.
Sect. II.— On the Mutual Action of Magnets.
Mutual
action of
magnets.
We have already seen, from Professor Barlow’s experi¬
ments on spheres and bars of soft iron, that they act upon
needles, whether temporarily or permanently magnetised,
as if their magnetism emanated from the centre of their
surface, or from two points indefinitely near to each other.
This, however, is not the case with permanent magnets,
in which the magnetic force is concentrated in poles con¬
siderably distant from each other.
Fig. 35.
hn—-
Case 1. When the needle or a small magnet is placed in
the line joining the poles of the other magnet In consider¬
ing the mutual action of magnets, we shall suppose the
larger one NS to be fixed, and the smaller one ns to have
the form of a needle, moveable in a horizontal plane round
the pivot in its centre A,
B, or C. Let the needle
then be placed at A, with B sr—
its centre A in the line S
N prolonged, and let us
suppose that the magnetic
forces emanate from points
N, S; w, s, being the ana¬
logous poles of the needle. The north pole N of the
magnet attracts the south pole s of the needle with a
force inversely proportional to the square of N 5, and re-
pels the north pole n with a force inversely proportional to
the square of N n. The effect of both of these forces is
to bring s as near as possible to N, and to remove n as far
as possible, that is, to place the needle in the same straight
line as N, S, as shown in fig. 35.
Case 2. Let the
needle, ns, be now Fig. 36.
placed at B, so that
its centre B is any¬
where in the direc¬
tion of a right line,
MB, perpendicular
to the middle M of
the magnet. When
the centre of the
needle is placed
above M, it is quite
clear that it will
stand with its north
pole n towards the
south pole S of the
magnet, and its south pole s towards the north pole N.
I hen the needle is removed to B, the same thing will
happen; S will attract n with a force equal to nh, while N
repels n with a force nc, a little less than nh, on account
o tie increase of distance. The result of these will be the
lorce na, in the diagonal of the parallelogram ncab. In
the same manner, the pole N will attract s with a force es,
and the pole S will repel s with a less force/i, the result¬
ant of which is sg; but as the poles S, N, are equally
strong, and act at equal distances upon the needle, the
lesulting force an must be equal to gs, and the needle will
remain in that position, which is parallel to the axis SN
of the magnet.
Case 3. When the centre of the needle is placed in an
intermediate position, as at C, fig. 36, neither in the axis
Nb, nor m the perpendicular MB, it will take an interme¬
diate position, which may be thus found. Its north pole
n is shown in the figure as directed to the centre M of the
magnet; but it cannot remain in this position; N repels n
with a force equal to nc, and S attracts it with a force nh
smaller than nc, from the greater distance. The resultant
of these is na, which is very different from ns. For the LawSnf i
same reason, the south pole s, repelled by S with ^a force Magnetic1
sj, and attracted by N with a force se, will have a ten-^orcesAc,
dency to move in the direction sg, nearly equal and opposite
to each other ; it will therefore take a position ns, fig. 36,
nearly at right angles to its former position. It will rest
therefore in its new position, with its north pole towards
N, and its south pole towards S.
If we project upon paper the magnet and the needle
placed in different positions, and make the forces of each
pole of the magnet on each pole of the needle inversely
proportional to the squares of the distances, it will be
easy to find the position in which the needle will rest at
any distance from the magnet, and at any position of its
centre, with regard to the axis of the magnet.
When a needle is exposed to the combined action of two
magnets, as shown in the annexed figure, the phenomena,
though capable of calculation by the principles already ex¬
plained, are extremely perplexing and complicated when
studied experimentally. Dr Robison, who first discovered
and explained these phenomena, has given such an inte¬
resting account of them, that we shall make use of his de¬
scription of the phenomena, leaving the explanation of
them to the next section on magnetic curves.
Fig. 37.
“ Two large and strong magnets A and B were placed
with their dissimilar poles fronting each other, and about
three inches a part. A small needle, supported on a point,
was placed between them at D, and it arranged itself in
the same manner as the great magnets. Happening to
set it off to a good distance on the table, as at F, he was
surprised to see it immediately turn round on its pivot,
and arrange itself nearly in the opposite direction. Bring¬
ing it back to D, restored it to its former position. Car-
rying it gradually out along DF, perpendicular to NS,
he observed it to become sensibly more feeble, vibrating
more slowly ; and when in a certain point E, it had no po¬
larity whatever towards A and B, but retained any posi¬
tion that was given it. Carrying it farther out, it again
acquired;polarity to A and B, but in the opposite direc¬
tion ; for it now arranged itself in a position that was pa¬
rallel to NS, but its north^ pole was next to N, and its
south pole to S.
“This singular appearance naturally excited his attention.
The line on which the magnets A and B were placed had
been marked on the table, as also the line DF, perpendi¬
cular to the former. The point E was now marked as an
important one. The experiments were interrupted by a
friend coming in, to whom such things were no entertain¬
ment. Next day, wishing to repeat thgm to some friends,
the magnets A and B were again laid on the line on which
they had been placed the day before, and the needle was
placed at E, expecting it to be neutral. But it was found
to have a considerable verticity, turning its north pole to-
—
Law of
3lag>’tic
! Parco &c.
MAGNETISM.
wards the magnet B; and it required to be taken farther
out towards F before it became neutral. While standing
; there, something chanced to joggle the magnets A and B,
and they instantly rushed together. At the same instant
the little magnet or needle turned itself briskly, and ar¬
ranged itself, as it had done the day before, at F, quivering
very briskly, and thus showing great verticity. This na¬
turally surprised the beholders; and he now found, that by
gradually withdrawing the magnets A and B from each
other, the needle became weaker, then became neutral, and
then turned round on its pivot, and took the contrary po¬
sition. It was very amusing to observe how the simply
separating the magnets A and B, or bringing them together,
made the needle assume such a variety of positions, and
degrees of vivacity in each.
“ The needle was now put in various situations in respect
to the two great magnets; namely, off at a side, and not
in the perpendicular DF. In these situations it took an
inconceivable variety of positions, which could not be re¬
duced to any rule ; and in most of them it required only
a motion of one of the great magnets for an inch or two,
to make the needle turn briskly round on its pivot, and
assume a position nearly opposite to what it had before.”
In the preceding observations, the action of the one
magnet tended only to change the direction of the other,
and this change is clearly produced by the sum of the ac¬
tions of the two poles of the magnet; for while the one pole
tends to draw the one half of the needle into its position
of equilibrium, the other pole repels the other half into
the same position. The force, therefore, which thus acts
upon a needle, is called the directive force of a magnet.
The attractive force of a magnet is, on the other hand,
equal to the difference of the two forces exerted by its
poles on tbe needle; and when the two forces happen to be
equal, the attractive force will be nothing, and the needle
will have no tendency to approach the magnet, though
the directive power of the latter may be very great. This
will be understood from fig. 36, when the needle ns is at
right angles to the axis of the magnet. The attraction
of the pole N for s is equal to its repulsion of n, and
these two forces will neutralise each other, so as to prevent
any tendency to approach N, even if the needle ns were
free to do it. On the other hand, in fig. 35, where the
needle at C has its south pole s more attracted by N than
its north pole n is repelled by it, the predominance of the
attraction would carry the needle towards N if it were at
liberty. These views explain the well-known fact, that a
needle floated on a piece of cork quickly places itself in
the magnetic meridian; but it never will approach the
north side of the vessel. In order to explain this fact,
Dr Gilbert asserted, that the directive power of a magnet
extended much farther than its attractive power ; a mis¬
take which arose from his not having observed the effects
of the simultaneous action of the four poles of the magnets
which acted upon each other.
Sect. III.—On Magnetic Curves.
wic ffsgHic The name of magnetic curves has been given to those
curves into which an infinite number of very minute needles
would arrange themselves when placed round a magnet,
and at liberty to move round an axis. A rude idea of these
curves is given by the appearance of iron filings when
scattered upon a sheet of paper, and agitated immediately
above a magnet. # .
The action of a magnet upon a needle is greatly simpli¬
fied when the needle is so small that its two poles may be
considered as coincident; in which case the difference be¬
tween the action of any one pole of a magnet upon them
'27
urvif
will be infinitely small. When this is the case, the direc- Laws of
live force of the magnet upon the small needle must be Magnetic
very considerable, while the attractive force, measured by Forces>&c-
the difference [of the action on the two poles, is nothing.   
Hence it is that alone which is concerned in the arrange¬
ment of minute needles or particles subjected to the ac¬
tion of a magnet.
An investigation of the force of the magnetic curves was
made by Professor Playfair, at the request of Professor
Robison. Professor Leslie afterwards undertook the same
investigation and Dr Roget2 has more recently given a
more simple demonstration of the two fundamental propo¬
sitions respecting them, and has described an instrument
which he has invented for the mechanical description of
these curves. .Mr Playfair’s investigation, which is suffi¬
ciently simple, is as follows; the only change which we have
made upon it being the substitution of the second power of
the distance for the with power as used by him.
Prop. Two magnetical poles being given in position, the
force of each of which is inversely as the square of the
distance from it, it is required to find a curve, in any point
of which a needle (indefinitely short) being placed, its
direction, when at rest, may be a tangent to the curve.
“ 1. Let A and B be t
the poles of a magnet, Fig. 38.
C any point in the curve
required ; then we may
suppose the one of these
poles to act on the nee¬
dle only by repulsion,
and the other only by
attraction, and the di¬
rection of the needle f a"   b
when at rest will be the diagonal of a parallelogram, the
sides of which represent these forces. Therefore, hav¬
ing joined AC and BC, let AD be drawn parallel to BC,
and make = : » i°^n ^D, then CDF
will touch the curve in C.
“ 2. Hence an expression for AF may be obtained; for, by
AC3
the construction, AD = 5 an^ since BC : AD = BF:
FA, and BC —- AD : AD = AB : AF, we have AF =
AB x AC3
BC3—AC3*
« 3. A fluxionary expression for AF may also be found
in terms of the angles CAB, ABC. »In CF take the inde¬
finitely small part CH; draw AH, BH, and from C draw
CL perpendicular to AH, and CK to BH; draw also
BG and AM at right angles to FH. Let the angles CAB
— and CBA = ■4', then CAH 9 and CBH ~ — ;
also CL = AC X and CK = — BC x 4'- Now HC
AC2 X <p
: CL = AC : AM =  — *
HC
and for the same reason
Therefore, since AF : FB = AM
HC
AC2 X <P BC2 x 4'
BG, we have AF : FB = : 
and
AF : AB = sin. <p : — sin. -vj/p — sin. p2 ; where-
— a <p sin. -vL2
fore, if AB = a, AF = —: — - r—;
•4 sin. p2 + <p sm.42
“ 4. If this value of AF be put equal to that already
found, a fluxionary equation will be obtained, by the inte-
Geometrical Analysis.
2 Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, vol. i. p. 311. Feb. 1831.
728
MAGNETISM.
Laws of gration of which the curve may be constructed. Because
Magnetic AB x AC3 . . . _ a sin. -vL
Forces, &c. Ah = -57^ 77^,; and since AC =
BC3 — AC3
and
BC = we have by substitution AF =
sin. (cp + 4,)
a sin. -43
sin. {(p + >4)
>sti
a <p sin. 4s
Hence
sin. p3 — sin. 4'3 -4 sin. -4 ^ sin. 42
sin. ^)2 x ^ sin- -43 -f- sin. 45 = — sin> 42 X p sin. p3
+ f sin. 4®, and therefore -4 sin. ^ + p sin. p = 0, and
cos. p 4. cos. -4 = C.”
“ 5. Hence, if, beside the points A and B, any other point
be given in the curve, the whole may be described. For
instance, let the point E be given in the curve, and in
the line DE which bisects AB at right angles. De¬
scribe from the centre A a circle through E, viz. Q,ER,
then AD being the cosine of DAE to the radius AE,
the sum of the cosines of p x ^ be everywhere
(to the same radius) = 2 AD =r AB. Therefore, to
Fig. 39.
point in which it meets the circumference of the circle
QER, NO perpendicular to AB, so that AO may be the
cosine of NAO, and from O toward A take OP = AB,
then AP will be the cosine of the angle ABE'; so, to find
BE', draw PQ perpendicular to AP, meeting the circle in
Q; join AQ and draw BE' parallel to AQ, meeting AE' in
E'; the point E' is in the curve. In this way the other
points of the curve may be found.
“ The curve will pass through B, and will cut AB at an
angle of which the cosine = RB. If then E be such,
that AE = AB, the curve will cut AB at right angles. If
E" be more remote from A, the curve will make with AB
an obtuse angle toward D; in other cases it will make with
it an acute angle.
“ A construction somewhat more expeditious may be
had by describing the semicircle AFB, cutting AE in F,
and AE' in N, and describing a circle round A with the
distance AL = 2AF, cutting AE' in b. If BG be ap¬
plied in the semicircle AFB = N6, BG must cut AN Law8 f
in a point E' of the curve, because AN -4 BG =r 2AF, Magnetic!
and AN and GB are cosines of the angles at A and B. ’ Forces,*c.;
“ As the lines AN and BG may be applied either above
or below AB, there is another situation of their intersec¬
tion E'. Thus An being applied above, and B# below, the
intersection is in d. The curve has a branch extending
below A; and if De be made = DE, and Be be drawn, it
will be an asymptote to this branch. There is a similar
branch below B. But these portions of the curve evident¬
ly suppose an opposite direction of one of the two mag¬
netic forces, and therefore have no connection with the
position of the needle.”1
The general form of the
magnetic curves is shown in
fig. 40, where they are seen
converging to the two poles
N, S of the magnet NS,
and changing their form with
their distance from the mag¬
net.
We have already stated
that iron filings, arranged by
the action of a powerful mag¬
net, afford the finest expe¬
rimental illustration of the
magnetic curves. The best
way to do this is to stretch
a sheet of paper tightly over
a wooden frame, and place
it horizontally immediately above a powerful bar magnet
lying on the table. Fine iron filings are now to be sha¬
ken through a gauze bag upon the surface of the paper.
When the filings are thrown into a state of agitation by
gently tapping upon the paper frame, they will dispose
themselves into regular lines, stretching from one pole of
the magnet to the other, and following the course of the
magnetic curves, and exhibiting them beautifully to the
eye. This effect is shown in the annexed figure, where
N, S are the poles of the mag-
s
above the paper containing the filings.
In the case of induced magnetism, the steel filings ar¬
range themselves in curves round
the iron on which the magnetism
is induced, as shown in fig. 42,
where the small bar of iron is in
contact with the north pole N of
a magnet, mn being the mean line
which separates the two oppo¬
site actions of the little iron bar.
When the little bar of iron is pla¬
ced at a distance from the magnet
N, as in fig. 43, the filings arrange
themselves as in that fi¬
gure, mn being the mean
line as before.
Dr Roget has given the
following interesting ac¬
count of the phenomena
which take place by con¬
tinuing to agitate the fil¬
ings when they are arrang¬
ed as in fig. 44.
“ By continuing to tap
upon the paper,” says he,
Fig. 42.
net No, mn being the mean line
where no filings adhere. The
same arrangement is also pro
duced when the magnet is held
Fig. 40.
Robison’s Mechanical Philosophy, vol. iv. p. 350-3.
MAGNETISM.
Iaws»f
fl'c rM:igraic
Mrcesi^'
jr n
l£
ir
tf
di
le
re
“ the filings arrange themselves still more visibly into sepa¬
rate lines ; but here a curious and perhaps unlooked-for
• phenomenon presents itself. The lines gradually move and
' recede from the magnet, appearing as if they were repel¬
led instead of attracted, as theory would lead us to expect.
This arises from the circumstance that each particle of
iron, or cluster of particles, is thrown up into the air by
the shaking of the paper, and, while unsupported, imme¬
diately turns on its centre, and acquires a position more or
less oblique to the plane of the paper. This is shown in
fig. 44, in which M
represents a section Fig. 44.
of the magnet, PP
a section of the pa- pi
per, and ff the posi¬
tion of the filaments
of iron thrown up into the air. The end of each fila¬
ment nearest to the magnet is thus turned a little down¬
wards, and the filament falls upon the paper at a point a
little more distant than that which it before occupied ;
and thus, step by step, it moves farther and farther from
the magnet, till it reaches the edge of the paper, and
falls off.
“ When the magnet, instead of being beneath the paper,
is held above it, the effect is just the reverse. In this
latter case, the lower ends of the filaments having a ten¬
dency to turn towards the magnet, the filings gradually
collect under it, when made to dance by the vibrations
of the paper, instead of falling outwards as they did be¬
fore. This will
be seen from fig. Fig. 45.
45, where the let- M
ters have the same
indications as in
Fig. 47.
729
Laws of
Magnetic
Forces, &c.
the preceding fig- // / \ \
A different set of magnetic curves is produced when
two similar poles, for example, two north poles, as
shown in the an¬
nexed figure, are Fig. 46.
placed near each
other. These
curves are called
divergent curves,
and may be exhi¬
bited by iron fil¬
ings like the con¬
vergent ones.
Ur Roget has
given the follow¬
ing expeditious
method of deline- y   N
ating a great number of magnetic curves, related to the
same distance between two magnetic poles. He describes
from each pole N, S, as centres, the equal of circles or se¬
micircles AA, BB, with as large a radius as the paper will
allow; and dividing the axis produced till it meets both
circles, he marks off, on the circumferences of both circles,
the points where they are cut by perpendiculars from these
points of division; then drawing radii from the centre of
each circle to the divisions of its respective circumferences,
the mutual intersections of these radii will give different
sets of points indicating the form of the magnetic curves
which pass through them. These curves are, in the pre¬
sent case, composed of a succession of diagonals of the lo¬
zenge-shaped interstices formed by the intersecting radii,
as shown from convergent curves in the upper half of the
figure. In the case of divergent curves in fig. 46, we must
take the other diagonals of the lozenge-shaped intervals
between the intersecting radii; that is, the diagonals which
cross those constituting the convergent curves. This is
shown in the lower half of the figure.
The curves which are formed when the north and south
poles of two magnets are placed near each other, as in fig.
37, enable us to explain the phenomena discovered by Dr
Robison, and described in the preceding section. The
following is the explanation given by that eminent philo¬
sopher. (See fig. 37.)
“ Let NHM, NEL, be two magnetic curves, belonging
to A ; that is, such that the needle arranges itself along
the tangent of the curve. Then the magnet B has two
curves SGK, SEI, perfectly equal, and similar to the other
two. Let the curves NHM and SGK intersect in C and
F. Let the curves NEL and SEI touch each other in E.
“ The needle being placed at C, would arrange itself in
the tangent of the curve KGS, by the action of B alone,
having its north pole turned toward the south pole S of B.
But, by the action of A alone, it would be a tangent to the
curve NHM, having its north pole turned away from N.
Therefore, by the combined action of both magnets, it will
take neither of these positions, but an intermediate one,
nearly bisecting the angle formed by the two curves, hav¬
ing its north pole turned toward B.
“ But remove the needle to F. Then, by the action of
the magnet A, it would be a tangent to the curve FM,
having its north pole toward M. By the action of B, it
would be a tangent to the curve KFG, having its north
pole in the angle MFG, or turned toward A. By their
joint action, it takes a position nearly bisecting the angle
GFM, with its north pole toward A. Let the needle be
placed in E. Then, by the action of the magnet A, it
would be a tangent to the curve NEL, with its north pole
pointing to F. But, by the action of B, it will be a tan¬
gent to SEI, with its north pole pointing to D. These
actions being supposed equal and opposite, it will have no
verticity, or will be neutral, and retain any position that
is given to it.
“ The curve SEI intersects the curve NHM in P and
Q. The same reasoning shows, that when the needle is
placed at P, it will arrange itself with its north pole in the
angle SPH ; but, when taken to Q, it will stand with its
north pole in the angle EQM.
“ From these facts and reasonings we must infer, that,
4 2
VOL. XIII.
Library of Useful Knowledge, art. Magnetism, p. 21.
730
MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial for every distance of the magnets A and B, there will be
Magne- a series of curves, to which the indefinitely short needle
, lsmJ,L_ , will always be a tangent.
“ They will rise from the adjoining poles on both sides,
crossing diagonally the lozenges formed by the primary or
simple curves, as in fig. 37. These may be called com¬
pound or secondary magnetic curves. Moreover, these
secondary curves will be of two kinds, according as they
pass through the first or second intersections of the pri¬
mary curves, and the needle will have opposite positions
when placed on them. These two sets of curves will be
separated by a curve GEH, in the circumference of which
the needle will be neutral. This curve passes through
the points where the primary curves touch each other.
We may call this the line of neutrality, or inactivity.
“ We now see distinctly the effect of bringing the mag¬
nets A and B nearer together, or separating them farther
from each other. By bringing them nearer to each other,
the point E, which is now a point of neutrality, may be
found in the second intersection (such as F) of two mag¬
netic curves, and the needle will take a sub-contrary po¬
sition. By drawing them farther from each other, E may
be in the j£?\s£ intersection of two magnetic curves, and the
needle will take a position similar to that of C.
“ If the magnets A and B are not placed so as to form a
straight line with their four poles, but have their axes
making an angle with each other, the contacts and inter¬
sections of their attending curves may be very different
from those now represented; and the positions of the
needle will differ accordingly. But it is plain from what
has been said, that if we knew the law of action, and con¬
sequently the form of the primary curves, we should al¬
ways be able to say what will be the position of the
needle. Indeed, the consideration of the simple curves,
although it was the means of suggesting to the writer of
this article the explanation of those more complicated
phenomena, is by no means necessary for this purpose.
Having the law of magnetic action, we must know each of
the eight forces by which the needle is affected, both in re¬
spect of direction and intensity; and are therefore able to
ascertain the single force arising from their composition.
“ When the similar poles of A and B are opposed to each
other, it is easy to see that the position of the needle
must be extremely different from what we have been de¬
scribing. When placed anywhere in the line DF, be¬
tween two magnets, whose north poles front each other in
N and S, its north pole will always point away from the
middle point D. There will be no neutral point E. If
the needle be placed at P or Q, its north pole will be
within the angle EPH, or FQJL This position of the mag¬
nets gives another set of secondary curves, which also
cross the primary curves passing diagonally through the
lozenges formed by their intersection. But it is the other
diagonal of each lozenge which is a chord to those secon¬
dary curves. Ihey will, therefore, have a form totally
different from the former species.”
CHAP. IX. ON TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial We have already seen, in preceding chapters, that a
magne- magnetic bar or needle, when either suspended by a thread,
or at liberty to move freely upon a pivot, will, when all
other magnetic bodies are entirely removed from it, settle
in a fixed position, which, in this country, is about 23° to
the west of north: this deviation of the needle from the
north is called its variation. The very same thing will
take place if a magnet or magnetised needle is placed on
a piece of cork, and made to float on any fluid surface.
The magnetic force by which the magnetic needle is
thus made to take a fixed direction, and to return to it
when it is pushed aside from that direction, has been na- Terrestri'
turally supposed to reside in the earth, and hence it has
been called terrestrial magnetism.
But not only is a magnetised body directed in this man-V
ner by some unseen power; an unmagnetised body, such
as a piece of iron, may be rendered permanently magnetic
by the same power. This phenomenon is said to have been
first observed in the vertical rod of the weather-cock of the
church of the Augustines at Mantua, though others have
ascribed the discovery of the fact to Gassendi. This rod had
become magnetised by the continued action of the invisible
power of which we speak. In later times it has been observ¬
ed, that a bar of soft iron is, by the influence of the same
power, converted into a temporary magnet, with a north
and south pole, when it is placed in the direction which a
magnetic needle assumes, and is inclined to the horizon.
If, in place of suspending the needle, or making it
move horizontally on a pivot, we take an unmagnetised
needle, and balance it upon a horizontal axis, then it will
of course lie horizontally; but if we magnetise the needle,
we shall find that it no longer remains horizontal, but
takes an inclined position, or dips, as it is called ; the dip,
or the inclination downwards from a horizontal line, being
about 70° in this country.
If we now take a magnetic needle, and suspend it by
a silk fibre, we shall find, that when it is pushed out of
its position of rest, it will perform a certain number of
oscillations in a given time before it again takes a fixed
position. When this observation is made in different la¬
titudes, it is found that the needle is brought to rest sooner
in some places than in others; which proves that the in¬
tensity or strength of the magnetic force which directs
the needle to the north varies in different latitudes.
Hence we have to consider three important classes of
phenomena in reference to terrestrial magnetism.
1. The variation or declination of the needle, and its
laws;
2. The dip or inclination of the needle ;
3. The intensity of terrestrial magnetism ;
of which we shall treat as perspicuously and fully as the
nature of the subject and our confined limits will permit.
MagneJ
tism. i
jKii
Sect. I On the Variation of the Needle.
A general account of the phenomena of the variation Variation
of the needle has been given in the order of their disco-of the
very in the historical part of this article. We shall nownee(,le'
proceed to give a more minute account of them.
Measures of the variation of the needle have been taken
by navigators and travellers in every part of the globe.
Setting aside the inaccuracies common to them all, aris¬
ing from the imperfect instruments which were in many
cases employed, the observations made on ship-board were
particularly liable to error, owing to the action which the
iron on board exercised upon the compass.
The first person who attempted to collect and general-Halley,
ize the immense number of observations which had been
made on the variation of the needle was Dr Halley, who
published them in a sea-chart in 1700, in which he traced
lines through all the parts of the globe where the variation
was 0°, 5°, 10°, &c. These lines, which have since been call¬
ed the Halleyan lines or curves, excited great interest, and
had the advantage of giving, at one glance, an ocular pic¬
ture of the phenomena in every part of the world. As
this Variation Chart, however, soon became old, from the
rapid changes in the variation, as well as from confused
methods of observation, Messrs Mountain and Dodson col¬
lected, from the records of the admiralty, and from the
papers of various naval officers, about 30,000, which they
laid down in variation charts for 1745 and 1756.
The next step in the generalization of the phenomena
Tial0
o'hurc
ian.
(
1
^ fanittn
Ik
I
rrei-'ial of variation was made by Mr Churchman, who published,
in 1794> a programme of a Magnetic Atlas. He^efers his
tisu „ variation lines to two poles, one of which he places, for the
year 1800, in latitude 58° north, and longitude 134° west
of Greenwich, very near Cape bairweather; while the other
pole is in latitude 58° south, and longitude 165° east of
Greenwich. He supposes the northern pole to revolve in
1096 years, and the southern one in 2289 years.
It is to Professor Hansteen, however, that we are in¬
debted foi tne most satisfactory collection of observations
on the variation of the needle, and for the most philoso¬
phical generalization of them. In the Magnetic Atlas
which accompanies his work on the magnetism of the
earth, he has published a variation chart for 1787, in which
the irregularities and inflexions of the curves, and their to¬
tal want of symmetry, prove how irregular are the causes
on which terrestrial magnetism depends. In this chart,
the western line of no variation, or that which passes
through all the places on the globe where the needle points
to the true north, begins in latitude 60°, to the west of
Hudson’s Bay, proceeds in a south-east direction through
the North American lakes, passes the Antilles and Cape
St Roque, till it reaches the South Atlantic Ocean, where
it cuts the meridian of Greenwich in about 66° of south
latitude. This line of no variation is extremely regular,
being almost straight till it bends round the eastern part
of South America a little south of the equator. The east¬
ern line of no variation is exceedingly irregular, being
full of loops and inflexions of the most extraordinary kind,
indicating the action of local magnetic forces. It begins in
latitude 60° south, below New Holland, crosses that island
through its centre, extends through the Indian archipela¬
go with a double sinuosity, so as to cross the equator three
times, first passing north of it, to the east of Borneo, then
returning to it and passing south between Sumatra and
Borneo, and then crossing it again beneath Ceylon, from
which it passes to the east through the Yellow Sea. It
then stretches along the coast of China, making a semi¬
circular sweep to the west till it reaches the latitude of
71°, where it descends again to the south, and returns
northwards with a great semicircular bend, which terminates
in the White Sea. These lines of no variation are accom-
MAGNETISM.
731
panied through all their windings by other lines where the Terrestrial
variation is 5°, 10°, 15°, &c. these last lines becoming more Magne-
irregular as they recede from those of no variation. In tism.
the South Pacific Ocean, and the equatorial part of the
North Pacific, they are so little dependent on the lines of
no variation, that they form returning curves of an elon¬
gated oval form, the curves of 2°, 3°, 40, 5°, 6°, and 7°,
crossing the equator and the tropic of Capricorn twice,’
so that, in the centre or axis of the ovals which these lines
form, there should be a fragment of a line of no variation.
The great changes which had taken place in the varia- Barlow,
tion since 1787, and the number of new observations which
had been made in every part of the world, induced Profes¬
sor Barlow, in 1833, to construct a new variation chart,
which forms a very interesting and valuable record of the
present state of our knowledge on this subject.1 With the
kind permission of Professor Barlow, we have given a re¬
duced copy of this chart in Plate CCCXXVIL, and have
included in it his separate polar projection of the variation
lines within the arctic zone. When compared with the
account given above of the two lines of no variation in
Hansteen’s chart, the motion of these lines, and of the whole
system, will be distinctly seen.
In the charts both of Hansteen and Barlow the variation
lines exhibit a convergency at their extremities ;2 and Han¬
steen considers it proved that there are four points of con¬
vergency, two in each hemisphere, a weaker and a stronger,
on opposite sides of the poles of revolution. These four
points he considers as the four magnetic poles of the globe ;
and, by comparing observations which have been made at
different times, he concludes that they have a regular motion
round the globe, the two northern ones from west to east,
in an oblique direction, and the two southern ones from
east to wrest, also obliquely. The following are the periods
of their revolution, as calculated from the best observa¬
tions previous to 1817, when his work was published:
The strongest north pole in 1740 years.
The strongest south pole in 4609 years.
The weakest north pole in 860 years.
The weakest south pole in 1304 years.
Upon these data he computed the following table, show¬
ing the position of these poles from 1800 to 1850 :
Years.
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
Strongest North
Pole.
West
Longitude.
North
Latitude.
93° 33'
91 28
89 24
87 19
85 15
83 10
69° 53'
69 45
69 38
69 30
69 22
69 14
Strongest South
Pole.
East
Longitude.
134° 8'
133 21
132 35
131 47
131 1
130 14
South
Latitude.
69° 7'
68 59
68 52
68 44
68 37
68 29
Weakest North
Pole.
Weakest South
Pole.
East
Longitude.
131° 43'
135 54
140 6
144 17
148 28
152 40
North
Latitude.
85° 25'
85 18
85 12
85 6
85 0
85 0
West
Longitude.
130° 28'
133 14
135 59
137 45
140 31
143 16
South
Latitude.
77° 50'
78 3
78 16
78 29
78 41
78 54
Hansteen remarks, that the four periods above mention¬
ed, viz. 860, 1304, 1740, and 4609, become, by a slight
alteration, 864, 1246,1728, and 4820 ; and he adds, rather
fancifully for a matter of science, that these numbers are
equal to 2 X 432, 3 X 432, 4 X 432, and 10 X 432, and
that the number 432 is one of the most important among
the sacred numbers of the Indians, Babylonians, Greeks,
and Egyptians, which are said to depend on certain com¬
binations of natural events. According to the mythology
of the Brahmins, the duration of the world is divided into
four periods ; the first of which is 432,000 years ; the se¬
cond, 2 X 432,000; the third, and so in all (1 + 2 + 3
+ 4) =r 10 X 432,000. Hansteen also considers it worthy
of remark, that the sun’s mean distance from the earth is
216 (the half of 432) radii of the sun, the moon’s mean
distance 216 radii of the moon, and, what he says is still
more striking, 60 X 432 = 25920, the smallest number
divisible at once by all the four periods; and hence, he
1 See Philosophical Transactions, 1833, p. 667-675, and plates xvii. and xviii.
2 Professor Barlow has inserted the magnetic observations of Commander Ross ; and he remarks, that the very spot where this
officer found the needle perpendicular, “ that is, the pole itself, is precisely that point in my globe and chart in which, by supposing
all the lines to meet, the several curves would best preserve their unity of character, both separately and conjointly, as a system.”
The exact place of the pole is laid down in the accompanying chart, Plate CCCXXVII.
Terrestrial adds, the shortest line in which all the four poles can ac-
Magne- complish a cycle, and return to the same state as at present,
tlsm' coincides exactly with the period in which the precession of
” v the equinoxes will amount to a complete circle^ reckoning the
precession at a degree in seventy-two years.
Hansteen considers the four poles as originating in two
magnetic axes, the two strongest being the termination of
one axis, and the two weakest, of the other ; and he con¬
ceives that they may have been produced either along
with the earth itself, or at a later epoch. According to
the first supposition, it is not easy to account for their
change of position ; but according to the last, they must
have originated either from the earth alone, or from some
external cause. If they originated in the earth, their
change of position is still unsusceptible of explanation ;
and hence Hansteen conceives that they have their origin
from the action of the sun heating and illuminating the
earth, and producing a magnetic tension, as it produces
electrical phenomena.
Since the publication of Professor Hansteen’s work, the
valuable observations made during the British voyages of
discovery in the arctic regions have been given to the
world; and, by availing himself of these, and obtaining
access to others unpublished in the marine chart office at
the Admiralty, the Norwegian philosopher has obtained
more accurate determinations both of the positions and
periods of revolution of the magnetic pole. The following
is a brief abstract of his calculations.
1. Strongest north pole. In 1813 the observations made
on board his majesty’s ship Brazen, in Hudson’s Bay, give
67° 10' for the latitude of the strongest north magnetic
pole, and 92° 24' for its west longitude. Hence, by com¬
paring this with previous determinations, we have
Latitude of West Longitude
Pole. of Pole.
1730 70° 45' 108° 6'
1769 70 17  100 2
1813 67 10  92 24
From these data we obtain the motion of the pole to
the east.
, ,T Change of Place Annual
Epochs. Yeais. ^ Longitude. Motion.
From 1730 to 1769...39 8° 4' 12'44"
1769 to 1813...44 7 38 10 41
From which we obtain
Mean annual motion of the pole IP 47,25
Period of complete revolution 1890 years.
In August 1819, Captain Parry was to the north of this
pole, and found the dip to be 88° 37', and on the 11th
September he was three degrees west of the pole. Hence,
as his latitude was then 74° 27', the latitude of the pole
must have been about 71° 27'.
According to the more recent observations of Com¬
mander Ross, this pole, upon which he erected a flag, is si¬
tuated in north latitude 70° 5' 17", and west longitude 96°
45' 48", which coincides strikingly with Hansteen’s result.
2. Strongest south pole. By combining the observa¬
tions of Cook in 1773 and 1777, with those of Furneaux
in 1773, and comparing these with Tasman’s observations
in 1642, Hansteen has found the following position of it.
Motion in
131 Years.
1642, north lat. 71° 5'; east long. 146° 57' } ino
1773, north lat. 69° 26' 5'; east long. 136° 15' 4" / 1U
Hence the real motion of this pole in 131 years is 10° 14',
of 4'-67 annually, and its period of complete revolution will
be 4605 years.
3. Weakest north pole. By comparing observations
made in 1770 and 1805, at Tobolsk, Tara, and Udinsk,
in Siberia, Professor Hansteen found—
Motion in Annual r
35 Years. Motion.
35'* 128
North East
Latitude. Longitude.
1770, 85° 46' 91° 29’ 30"! ^
1805, 85 211 116 19 j
Hence this pole completes its revolution from east to
west in 860 years.
4. Weakest south pole. By comparing observations
made by Cook and Furneaux in 1774, with those recorded
by Halley as made in 1670, Hansteen obtained the follow¬
ing results :
West
Longitude.
94° 33£'{
123 17 J
South
Latitude.
1670, 64° 7'
1774, 77 17
Motion in
104 Years.
28° 431'
Annual
Motion.
16'-57
Hence this pole completes its revolution from east to
west in 1303 years.
Professor Barlow has endeavoured to deduce the posi¬
tion of the magnetic pole, upon the supposition that the
magnetic phenomena of the earth are analogous to those
exhibited by a simple iron ball. The tangent of the dip
being equal to double the tangent of the magnetic lati¬
tude, Mr Barlow supposes ic to
be the magnetic pole, N, S the Fig. 48.
terrestrial poles, and L a known
place where the dip and varia¬
tion have been well ascertained.
Then by the dip we obtain the
magnetic latitude orL ; NL be¬
ing the terrestrial latitude, and
NLcr the variation. Hence, in
the spherical triangle NLw, we
have two side's and the contain¬
ed angle to find the side N^r
the terrestrial latitude of the
magnetic poles, and -rNL the longitude of the same pole,
in reference to the meridian NL.
In making this computation, Mr Barlow selected a
certain number of the best observations on the dip and
variation of the needle, made in different parts of the
world, and he obtained the following results :
Place of Observation. Date.
Dip.
Variation.
Computed Place of
Magnetic Pole-
Tristan d’Acunha
Trinidad 
St Jago 
Teneriffe 
Madeira 
Madrid 
Paris.....  
London 
Berlin 
Copenhagen 
Davis’ Straits 
Regent’s Inlet....
Baffin’s Bay 
Possession Bay....
Melville Island...
182137c
1821|10
182048
182058
1820|03
1799G7
181468
1818 70
1805!69
1813:71
1820|83
1820|88
182084
1820 86
182088
53'S.
27 N.
0 N.
22 N.
47 N.
41 N.
36 N.
34 N.
53 N.
26 N.
43 N.
26 N.
30 N.
4 N.
43 N.
12°
5
15
20
23
19
22
24
18
18
60
118
82
108
127
0' W.
0 W.
55 W.
47 W.
7 W.
59 W.
34 W.
30 W.
2 W.
22 W,
20 W.
16 W,
2 W.
46 W.
46 E
North Lat.
70° 56'
73 59
69 37
69 49
68 4
72 47
75 31
75 2
79 2
79 43
67 37
71 10
71 13
69 40
73 12
West Long,
49° 33'
47 20
67 4
69 14
65 26
50 33
67 4
67 41
70 44
67 38
94 26
98 16
97 3
99 10
102 46
Among these results there is a discrepancy of no less
than 55° in longitude, and 10° in latitude; and hence Mr
Barlow concludes that every place has its particular po¬
larising axis, which probably in all cases falls within the
frigid zones, varying within these limits through all possi¬
ble degrees of latitude and longitude.
These aberrations Mr Barlow ascribes to local inequa¬
lities in the distribution of the ferruginous parts of the
terrestrial sphere.
The following tables contain the best measures of the
variation of the needle. Table XL, containing the obser¬
vations collected by Hansteen since the publication of his
work, was communicated to the writer of this article by
that eminent philosopher.
733
lidal,
,i '.i.
ie“>
Me‘
iriierg,
ikron:
litfiorcl:
Jilin,
JiWoe
Derick:
tonbu
Jiiiefioi
lifers
Itffl Is
fcimora,
bjok,
IrjOTi
Iilens,
;::j,
IpKopi
i'anei o
fescha
bonii
Paul,
fein,
Nariiif
Mow,
ftfrson
k
ptrewi
k
Pizab
Ithow,
b,
fetskoi
MAGNETISM.
able I.—Containing the Variation of the Needle as observed
in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
J-mes of Places.
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
Anidal,
Awga,
Awtad,
Been,
Beimel Island,
Beiested,
Clistiansund,
Ckstiansand,
CUstiania,
Casberg,
Cancrona,
Cclmhagen,
Dffitheim, |
Ui.'fiords Haven,
Ft; un,
FH kerde,
Fniericksborg,
Gi-enburg, |
Hilnefiord,
Hilnenshavn,
Hirmerfest,
HItappen Island,
Hl.lders Church,
BPen Island,
Hbingoer,
HI mora,
Jt isjerwi,
KC.vigs Church,
K isjok,
K,gs winger,
Elens,
King,
Nik Kopparberget
1796
1799
1799
1768
1791
1792
1792
1780
1768
1794
1761
1769
1816
1817
1799
1716
1649
1672
1730
1770
1782
1806
1817
1817
1761
1786
1786
1799
1783
1810
1694
1748
1786
1786
1765
1766
1768
1672
1761
1748
1776
1766
1768
1779
1803
1799
1799
Magnetic
Variation.
20° 21' w.
17 25
17 40
19 20
24 45
25 30
24 52
34 30
16 30
22 0
15 15
16 45
20 15
20 3
17 5
11 15
1 30 E.
3 35 w.
10 37
15 32
17 41
18 25
18 5
17 554
13 50
19 0
42 41
18 45
19 29
18 50
8 30
12 40
35 21
43 9
6 50
7 0
16 25
2 35
14 0
9 10
11 30
5 30
6 50
17 30
21 0
17 15
17 25
Names of Places.
Kongscir,
Kusamo Church,
Lindesness,
Lofoeden Isles, |
Lund Pfarrhof,
Lyderhorn,
Lindesberg,
North Cape,
Nora,
N orrberke,
Orebroe,
Patrixfiord,
Rust Island,
Stavanger,
Skudesness,
Stadthuk, i
Stockholm, ^
Salberg,
Sala,
Sbderbarke,
Said Bak,
Sadankyla,
Skiervoens Church
Strdmstad,
Sulen Island,
Talvig,
Torneo, -j
Utsjoki,
Upsal, |
Uhma Capel,
Uranienburg,
W ardhus,
Vadsde,
Vangs Church,
Vesteriis,
Vinga Bilk,
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
1746
1776
1605
1608
1609
1785
1768
1746
1769
1799
1799
1799
1772
1613
1794
1613
1768
1790
1718
1771
1800
1817
1746
1799
1746
1804
1776
1768
1804
1791
1766
1695
1736
1767
1777
1748
1718
1746
1762
1672
1748 {
1775
1816
1793
1799
1804
Magnetic
Variation.
9°30'w.
5 30
7 10 E.
0 0
0 0
19 30w.
19 20
9 36
6 0
18 35
17 35
17 7
33 30
4 8 e.
22 26 w.
8 0 E.
19 10 w.
25 45
5 37
13 4
16 20
15 34
9 0
16 0
9 15
18 30
5 30
16 30
18 0
27 15
6 50
7 0
5 5
8 50
11 45
3 30
5 37
8 45
10 45
2 35
0 0
0 30
5 32
7 55
19 50
17 50
19 0
Tabu 'able II.—Containing the Variation of the Needle in Russia.
Amlscha Bay,
IMrannoi Kamen,
Blnaul,
ckn, |
Cl larinenburg, j
ames of Places-
Cifehow,
C: rson,
Ci a,
Dfitrewsk, j
Dtia,
Si'Elizabeth,
~ chow,
ief,
ubouca,
Jlmtskoi, -j
Year of
Obser¬
vation-
1805
1787
1770
1761
1805
1761
1805
1783
1811
1782
1772
1771
1773
1773
1770
1770
1769
1615
1768
1769
1788
Names of Places.
Irkutsk, j
Jarowslawl,
Jenicola,
Kola,
Krementschuk,
Krasnojarsk,
Kiachta, |
Kiow,
Kaluga,
Kursk,
Kostroma,
Kesloff or Koz-|
lov, f
Lubny,
Moscow,
Mosdok,
Nezshni Kovima,
Nizni-Udinsk, j
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
1735
1805
1782
1785
1769
1770
1735
1735
1735
1773
1784
1784
1782
1785
1782
1732
1785
1787
1735
1805
Magnetic
Variation.
1° 15' w.
0 32 E.
4 0 w.
7 15
1 45
8 0
2 0
3 0
2 45
9 15
7 45
5 0
3 45
11 38
9 5
5 26
6 40
14 40 E.
3 15 w.
2 40 E.
TA ble II.— Continued.
Names of Places.
Nertchinsk,
Neschin,
Orenburg,
Orsk,
Orel,
Petersburg,
Perm,
Petropaulow-
ska,
Petrosawodsk,
Ponoi,
Peczora,
Pustozerskoi,
Revel,
Riga,
Samara,
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
1735
1779
1782
1769 |
1769
1781
1726
1782
1812
1805
1779
1805
1785
1769
1611
1614
1751
1750
1770
Magnetic
Variation.
0'w.
0
0
30
20
15
0
15
30
16
10 E.
19
20
9 w.
10 E.
30 w.
0
30
0
10
Names of Places.
Sietscha,
Sisran,
Selenginsk,
Saratow,
Sewastropol,
Tscherkask,
Tara,
Tomsk,'
Tobolsk, -j
Tanbow,
Umba,
Ufa,
Ustkamenogor- )
skoi, )
Wologda,
Woronetz,
Zarizin,
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
Magnetic
Variation.
1770
1770
1735
1773
1785
1770
1805
1805
1716
1761
1805
1784
1769
1769
1770
1785
1783
1770
9° 15' w.
5 50
0 30
3 28
13
50
6 E.
37
0
46
9
5 45 w.
3 30
1 30 E.
2 0
3 52 w.
8 0
4 50
Table III.— Containing the Variation of the Needle in Holland,
Prussia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Names of Places.
Antwerp,
Amsterdam,
Augsburg,
Berlin,
Bonne,
Dantzig,
Dusseldorf,
Dresden,
Freyberg,
Frankfort-on-
Maine,
Franeker,
Geneva,
Gratz,
Gottingen,
Hague,
Inspruck,
Konigsberg,
Year of
Obser¬
vation-
1600
1707
1772
1798
1717
1780
1805
1782
1788
1628
1760
1811
1783
1797
1769
1774
1771
1773
1797
1804
1770
1777
1782
1787
1600
Magnetic
Variation.
9° O' E.
17 30 w.
16 40
18 26
10 42
16 48
18 2
17 20
18 55
1 0
11 0
13 48
20 0
18 30
15 40
16 32
19 30
18 30
19 40
21 13
15 50
16 48
20 16
22 40?
0 0
Names of Places.
Konigsberg,
Leipsic,
Manheim,
Mittau,
Middleburg,
Nuremberg,
Prague,
Rotterdam,
Regensburg,
Tubingen,
Tankermund,
Vienna,
Wurtzburg,
Zurich
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
1628
1642
1774
1749
1776
1785
1786
1787
1788
1783
1786
1788
1685
1774
1787
1767
1784
1786
1747
1752
1814
1638
1760
1781
1787
1762
Magnetic
Variation.
1° O'w.
1 5
13 30
13 0
19 48
19 44
19 53
20 2
20 5
10 52
21 14
21 56
5 5
15 45
17 20
19 0
17 49
19 11
13 34
14 37
19 0
0 0
13 0
18 40
18 35
15 15
Table IV Containing the Variation of the Needle as observed in
France.
Names of Places.
Year of
Obser-
! vatiou.
Antibes,
Bayonne,
Boulogne,
Brest,
Calais, |
Dieppe,
Dunkirk,
Havre de Grace, j
Marseilles, |
St Maloes,
1682
1680
1767
1679
1771
1798
1681
1767
1619
1767
1767
1782
1761
1798
1681
Magnetic
Variation.
Names of Places.
Montpellier,
Ushant Island,
Paris,
lloyan,
Toulon,
Toulouse,
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
1644
1776
1541
1580
1660
1667
1700
1750
1780
1800
1819
1680
1682
1747
1756
Magnetic
Variation.
1° 10' w.
23 1
7 0 E.
11 30
1 0
0 15 w.
7 40
17 15
20 35
22 12
22 29
1 20
2 45
15 10
15 45
734
Table V.
M A G N E T I S M.
-Containing the Variation of the Needle, as observed in
Great Britain and Ireland.
Names of Places.
Bristol, |
Bushy Heath, 4
Dublin, I
London, |
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
16G6
1667
1813
1822
1745
1791
1580
1657
Magnetic
Variation.
1° 27' w.
1 33
24 22 17
24 35 26
18 0 w.
27 23
11 15 E.
9 0 w.
Names of Places.
London,
.Plymouth,
Stromness Har-'
hour,
*S82
1790 23° 39' w.
1800
1823
Un-
known.
1733
1774
24
24
3-6
9 40
13 24 e.
13 27 w.
24 0
Table VI—Containing the Variation of the Needle, as observed
in Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
Names of Places.
Aranjuez,
Alborne Island,
Braga,
Brescia,
Cadiz,
Cape St Vincent
Cape St Gatt, Sp.
Cape St Mary’s, P.
Cape Finisterre
C. St Antonio, S
Ferrara,
Gibraltar Bay.
•{
Year of
Observa¬
tion .
1798
1733
1761
1676
1724
1769
1791
1733
1733
1734
1589
1768
1792
1677
1733
1761
1792
Magnetic
Variation-
19°25' w.
14 12
16 15
4 0 E.
5 25 w.
17 15
21 56
13 49
13 56
14 20
7 40 E.
21 4 w.
19 23
2 0
13 38
17 11
22 6
Names of Places.
Lisbon, -j
Loretto,
Madrid,
Malta,
M inorca, C. Mola,
j
Padua,
Y'ear of
Observa
tion.
Rome,
Magnetic
Variation-
7°39/e.
0 50 w.
4 18
19 51
15 35
19 59
9 15
9 45
10 25
14 34
13 0
16 20
2 15
11 0
17 12
Table VII—Containing the Variation of the Needle, as observed
in Turkey in Europe.
Names of Places.
Akiermann,
Bender,
Bucharest,
Constantinople,
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
1771
1772
1772
1600
1625
Magnetic
Variation.
9° 25' w.
9 45
11 36
0 0
2 0
Names of Places.
Constantinople,
Ofen,
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
1694
1781
1788
Magnetic
Variation.
9° O' w.
12 0
16 45
16 36
Table VIII—Containing the Variation of the Needle, as observed
in Asia and the adjacent Islands.
Names of Places.
Alexandretta, I
Syria, /
Aden, Arabia,
Ava, India,
Aleppo, Syria,
Alguarda,near Goa
Anjanga, India,
Bab-el-Mandeb, j
Baixos de Cha-j
gos Island, (
Beit-el-Fakih,
Bachian Island, J
AmasaneBay, (
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
1694
1612
1612
1674
1723
1723
1689
1781
1722
1724
1723
1723
1610
1762
1612
Magnetic
Variation.
14° 22' w.
13 40
12 40
15 0
13 50
13 42
5 0
12 30
5 49
4 17
14 20
14 8
19 50
11 50
4 48 E.
Names of Places.
Bombay, India,
Banca Island,
Balasore, India,
Do. Cape Palmi-)
ras, /
Calicut, |
Canton, j
Carwar Bay, ^
India,
Celebes, Bonthain,
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
1676
1751
1721
1722
1723
1791
1680
1722
1722
1772
1690
1722
1722
1722
1723
1724
1767
Magnetic
Variation.
12° O' w.
5 12
5 16
5 7
5 10
0 0
8 20
3 33
4 5
4 9
2 25
1 30
40
4
8
32
16
I a B le v ^xi.— Continued.
Names of Places-
■ I
Chaul, India,
Cape Comorin
India,
I
Ceylon,
Friar’s Hood, |
Point de Galle
Chandernagore, f
India, |
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
I
Cochin, India, j
Daman, India,
Dabul, India, |
Derbent, Persia,
Darsina, Arabia,
Doy or Doa, )
Molucca IsL j
Firando, an
island near
Japan,
Goa, India, |
Guadal Cape, j
Persia, (
Hainan Isl. China,
Hyderabad, 1
27th June, j
f Bantam,
Java-j Batavia, |
^Palimbang,
Ispahan, Persia,
Iriseh,
Ingana Island,
Jask Cape, Per- )
sia, j
Judda, Arabia, j
Kasbin, Persia,'
Kerguelen’s Land,
Louveau, Siam, -j
Lucepara Island,
Macao, |
Madras, India, |
Madura Island, )
near J ava, J
1721
1601
1620
1680
1688
1723
1722
1722
1613
1723
1723
1731
1750
1614
1724
1612
1610
1611
1712
1612
1613
1613
1609
1724
1613
1616
1613
1804
1609
1767
1768
1605
1787
1797
1607
1616
1769
1776
1787
1776
1685
1685
1686
1688
1767
1616
1779
1722
1723
1768
Magnetic
Variation.
16 30
15 34
16 30
12 0
15 2
5 20 E.
2 50
16 0 w.
5 41
17 15
18 0
0 50
1 16-39E
3 0 w.
1 25
0 25
3 20
7 30
8 14
4 13
19 20
11 52
12 55
7 33
27 44
4 45
0 30 ?
4 45
4 30
0 0
1 30
0 32
2 52
3 16
0 30
5°27' w.
16 0
14 20
8 45
7 30
2 51
2 12
2 21
13 24
2 46
Names of Places.
Mangalore, In- j
dia, i
Masulipatam, 1
India, j
Machian Island, J
near Gilolo, (
Maldevische (
Canal, |
Mazeira Island,)
Arabia, f
Mocha, Arabia,
Mindanao, 4
Cape St Au- V
gustin, j
Nankin, China,
Nicobar, India,
Paliacate, India, |
Patapilli, India,-j
Pondicherry,
Prince’s Island, f
near Java, \
Pulo Condore J
Island, (
Pekin,
St Paul’s Island,
lloquepiz Island,
Itogipore (Ra- {
japur), /
Rasalgat Cape, 1
Arabia, J
Sually,
Sunda Strait,
Sinde,
Sinope,
Surat, |
Singanfu, China
Sumatra,
Achen,
Marlborough Ft
Priaman,
i
Tellichery, In- (
dia, (
Tiiz,
Tecu Island,
Xin-Yam, China,
Ula, China,
Year of
Observa¬
tion.
1722
1722
1723
1610
1612
1613
1605
1722
1613
1723
1769
1776
1767
1685
1605
1611
1613
1611
1611
1613
1689
1767
1780
1620
1780
1755
1677
1610
1722
1613
1610
1611
1612
1615
1613
1797
1611
1723
1689
1610
1794
1795
1612
1613
1722
1722
1613
1612
1682
1682
Magnetic
Variatii
12 22
4 12 E,
3 38
H 0 w,
4 16
20 10
13 24
12 33
11 20
1 45 e.
0 0 w,
7 5
13 15
13 10
12 47
12 22
13 50
7 0
1 0
0 54
1 0
0 14
2 0
23 30
23 30
4 58
19 20
16 40
16 30
17 0
3 30
16 45
10 18
16 23
5 22
3 17
6 15
1 10 E.
1 8
4 10 w.
4 50
4 21
4 4
18 30
4 40 E.
0 Ow.
1 40 E.
Table IX.—Containing the Variation of the Needle, as observed
in Africa and the adjacent Islands.
Names of Places.
Alexandria, J
-Egypt, I
Ascension Isl. -<
Year of
Observa¬
tion,
1638
1798
1678
1754
1775
1806
Magnetic
Variation.
5° 45 w.
13 6
1 0 E.
8 6 w.
10 52
15 40
Names of Places.
Accara Fort,
Guinea,
Angoxa,
Ab-dal-Curia
Island, west
of Sowtora,
Year of
Observa
tion.
1726
1726
1611
1612
1723
Magnetic
Variation.
11° 25' w.
11 53
12 1
17 23
12 43
Irs,
rIsla
fatal B
lores,
trie,
^;.Ma>
joi de ^
|scarei
M A G N E T I S M.
735
Table IX.— Continued.
■ K:.
If
(Tlsli
krro,
Bzarot'
Meira,
Funcba
iandCe
seriffe.
btaCj
i, Barbary,
Islands,
Ff/al Bay, |
Fres,
llirie,
Babjl-Mandeb, |
de Chagos,
Boii’ion, Isle of,
Mscarenhas,
Si ’aul’sBay, |
Bootm,
CaptCoast
'aniy Islands,
Fro,
Li,zarote,
iralsli
igoxa,
toast of
llfotta,
Jlalio,
fed I
r.o Pra
b.
of Places.
' I
Mlieira, J
ilunchal, 1
l
Giiiid Canary,
Ti’erifFe,
linta Cruz,
a Conor a Islands,
Arroxa, on
bast of Af- j
ta, [
Arouan, -|
Mlotta, |
Mlalio,
Capererd Islands,
Pw,o Praya, I
tt Jago, |
MVo, |
Sari
Year of
Obser¬
vation.
GK |
ietta, P Dan: tta, Egypt,
7Aja!1 Doai Ajan, |
I’rin, Edward’s
P.nd,
1(5 Etlw;
1731
1589
1775
1600
1610
1723
1723
1610
1614
1722
1722
1616
1726
1726
1726
1724
1769
1802
1610
1727
1766
1766
1771
1783
1802
1610
1769
1770
1776
1776
1785
1788
1792
1803
1611
1721
1721
1721
1722
1722
1722
1722
1611
1725
1766
1766
1772
1701
1725
1776
1610
1694
1761
1762
1798
1694
1611
1611
1776
Magnetic
Variation.
14° 0' w.
5 E.
7 w.
0
1 40 e.
14 20 w.
14 8
19 50
22 48
19 49
19 44
13 12
11 55
12 10
11 46
5 0
17 30
19 55
6 6 E.
6 58 w.
14 10
16 0
18 0
18 22
20 21
6 6 E.
15 43 w.
15 30
14 41
15 55
15 52
20 1
16 32
16 1
13 0
19 12
19 44
20 33
20 39
20 33
21 12
20 24
15 20
4 5
8 20
8 20
10 45
14 12
3 32
0 32i
3 30 e.
12 15 w.
12 25
11 40
12 0
12 30
17 36
17 20
26 15
Names of Places.
France, Isle of
(Mauritius),
Cape of Good
Hope,
Cape 1’Aguil- l
las, ' j
Saldanha Bay, |
Simon’s Bay, |
Table Bay,
Goree,
Guardafui, j
Cape, (
Hennanas Isl. I
near Cape V
Guardafui, )
St Helena, J
Island of, j
Madagascar,
Augustin’s 1
Bay, \
Antongill j
Bay, (
Fort Dau- f
phin, l
Foul Point,
St Sebastian, (
Cape, (
St Mary’s Isl. 4
near Mada- >
gascar, )
Nosf-Gombi, an I
island near >-
Madagascar, I
Salde Hoads,
Sierra Leone, -j
Sunken Rocks, V
S. lat. 31° 48', j
Socotra, Island J
of, l
St Thomas, Isle 1
of, I
Tripoli,
Trinidad Island, }
S. lat. 20° 45' (
N. long. 29° t
30'. J
V ear of
Obser¬
vation-
1609
1722
1609
1605
1614
1780
1791
1614
1667
1675
1687
1699
1702
1706
1708
1721
1724
1724
1682
1769
1772
1610
1723
1612
1600
1691
1806
1607
1721
1661
1761
1661
1761
1762
1600
1722
1610
1722
1722
1735
1608
1725
1606
1611
1776
1726
1726
1733
1615
Magnetic
Variation.
21° 0' w.
18 46
18 39
19 7
19 45
0 12
0 30 e.
1 30 w.
22 16
23 40
45
15
1
7
8 28
8] 30
11 0
12 50
13 40
14 0
16 25
16 27
16 18
0 0
12 15
10 30
17 35
12 34
17 23
8 0 E.
1 0 w.
17 18
15 30
23 48
22 30
18 0
19 0
22 7i
16 45
16 0
18 36
19 50
19 53
20 0
12 19
1 50 E.
5 12 w.
21 0
16 0
8 6
14 48
14 32
13 22
12 0 E.
Table X.— Cordaining the Variation of the Needle, as observed
in America and the adjacent Islands.
Names of Places.
Acapulco,
Albany Fort,
■{
Antigua Island
Augustin, Cape,
Bear Island, |
Beverley,
Barbadoes, Car- j
lisle Bay, (
Bastimento’s Isle,
Boston, |
Button Isle,
Buenos Ayres,
Bahia, Brazil,
Cambridge, |
Cape Cathivas,
Carthagena, |
St Croix Island,
StChristopher’s,)
Basseterre, |
Cuba,
Pau de Ma- )
tanzas, j
Havannah,
Cayenne Island, |
Conception,
Coquimbo,
Curaqoa,
Cumana,
Chesapeake Bay,
Cod Bay,
Cape Christian, )
Greenland, J
St Catherine’s J
Island, j
Cape Corientes,
Discovery Har- 1
hour, J
Desolation Sound,
St Diego, Cali- I
fornia, /
Deseado Island,
Domingo,
Cape Fran- J
«j°is, |
Alta Vela \
Island, J
Frio, Cape,
Fernando Na- I
ronha, J
Florida, Cape,
Fuego, Terra del,
Christmas )
Sound, j
Good Success 1
Bay, j
Godthaab, \
Greenland, )
Guadaloupe,
Hermit Island,
Year of
Obser¬
vation-
1744
1730
1774
1727
1761
1670
1596
1610
1781
1726
1761
1726
1708
1741
1615
1730
1708
1708
1708
1783
1726
1705
1726
1783
1726
1726
1732
1672
1682
1709
1700
1704
1799
1732
1789
1605
1712
1785
1804
1684
1792
1792
1792
1726
1772
1776
1783
1728
1670
1610
1726
1774
1769
1784
1787
1726
1707
Magnetic
Variation-
0' E.
0 W.
0 w.
28 e.
31 w.
30 e.
0
Names of Places-
13 30
7 4
24 e.
47
48
0 w.
30
0
0
15 32 e.
4 30
9 0 w.
6 52
7 24 e.
7 12
6 50
3 20
4 10
4 24
4 30
11 0
5 30
10 20
8 32
6 40
4 14
4 58 w.
6 45
12 15
12 0 E.
12 0
7 51
4 28
21 30
19 16
11 0
3 27
5 20
5 30
5 32
6 2
12 10
8 10
3 26
24 43
24 9
50 30 w.
1 21
3 22 e.
20 0
Juan Fernandez,
Jamaica,
Portland Point,
Port Royal,
Black River,
Jamba Point,
Lima,
Mexico,
Martinique, -j
Marie Galante \
Island, j
St Martha, Cape,
Massafnera J
Island, j
[Mendocino, (
Cape, \
Moose Fort, )
Hudson’s Bay, f
Musquito Cove, |
Greenland, /
Monterrey,
Montserrat,
Newfoundland,
Fort St Pierre,
Nutka, |
Norton Sound,
Norriton,
Porto Bello,
Pisco,
Paraibo,
Quito,
Quebec,
Rio Janeiro,
Resolution Island,
Savage Island,
Smith’s Sound,
Santiago, Chili,
Sebalt Island,
Spitzbergen,
Bell Sound,
Cross Rheid,
Horn Sound
Magdalen V
Sound, J
Poopy Bay,
Read, Beach,
Vogelsang,
Unalashka Sam-1
ganoodha >
Harbour, j
Vera Cruz, \
Year of
Obser¬
vation-
Magnetic
Variation-
1767 11° O'e
•{
1726
1726
1732
1726
1709
1769
1682
1704
1760
1726
1704
1765
1767
1795
1693
1786
1774
1776
1795
1765
1772
1778
1792
1778
1770
1704
1707
1698
1742
1649
1686
1768
1787
1615
1615
1616
1794
1683
1707
6 2
4 31
6 2
6 20
6 15
5 30
4 10
6 10
5 41
3 40
7 6
9 36
10 24
9 15
2 0
14 24
17 0 w.
50 36
12 22 e.
5 32
19 15 w.
19 45
18 22 e.
25 45
3 8 w.
7 25 e.
7 0
5 35
8 30
16 0 w.
15 30
7 34 E.
6 12
24 6 w.
27 30
57 0
14 28 E.
23 10
23 0
1613 13 11 w.
1596 16 0
Valparaiso,
Valdivia,
Prince of Wales'
Fort,
Ylo, Peru,
York, New,
1
1610
1613
1614
1613
1596
1773
1778
1769
1776
1709
1795
1670
1725
1742
1769
1710
1686
1723
1789
16 0
12 37
25 0
15 21
16 0
20 38
19 59 E.
6 40
7 30
9 30
14 49
8 60
21 0 w.
17 0
9 41
6 38 E.
8 45
7 20
4 20
736
MAGNETISM.
Table XL—Containing the Variations of the Needle according to the latest observations.
Names of Places.
Year of Obser¬
vation-
Magnetic
Variation.
I—Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Anholt Island,
Abbo, Finland,
Brahestad, Finland,
Christiansand,
Christiania,
Dagerort Island,
Fredriksteen,Norway,
Jinnska Utbn,
Gran, Norway,
Hammerfest,
Gottska Sandoe,
Landsort, Sweden,
Nortstabbe, Norway,
Pitea, Sweden,
Svarfvarort, Sweden,
Throndhjem, N or way,
Torneo, Finland,
Ullensvang, Norway,
Uleaborg, Finland,
Uloma, Cassel N.
Wardoe, Norway,
Wasa, Finland, -]
1788
Sept. 27, 1825
Sept. 1825
Mar. 18,1782
May 17, 1780
Mar. 10,1817
May 24, 1822
1800
Alar. 24,1799
1800
1821
1823
1800
1800
1821
1825
1800
July 28, 1825
Aug. 1825
1821
f 1791
(1825
Sept. 1761
July 7, 1816
Oct. 4, 1811
April 25,1825
II.—Russia.
Astracan,
Archangelsk,
Colmogro,
Dog’s-nose,
Jokanskish Island,
Kildin Island,
Krakau,
Matotschki, Nova
Zemble,
Olenish Island,
Mescwa,
April 17,1580
f 1800
( 1824
May 23, 1557
June 2, 1557
f 1800
(1824
1824
1821
1769
1824
1824
1732
1790
1805
1817
1818
Aug.
June
Sept.
Petersburg,
Peczora, July 17, 1556
Seven Islands, 1824
Tri Ostrowe Island, June 16,1557
Udinsk, 1805
Waigats Island, 1556
III.—Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
March 1819 20 43 w.
19° 8'w.
11 20
10 38
20 0
18 42
20 3
19 47
12 0
18 0
13 0
18 50
11 26
14 40
15 20 w.
22 12
10 6
13 40
19 36
12 7
22 51
10 0
9 32
10 45
5 57
11 45
12 38
13 40 w.
0 30 w.
2 7 e.
10 E.
0 E.
30 v.
7 E.
2 w.
14 30 w.
3 30 E.
10 34 E.
23 w.
26 w.
47 w.
24 w.
15 w.
27 5
30 w.
0 30 w.
3 30 E.
2 40 e.
8 0 w.
Aurich,Netherlands •
Berlin,
Bentheim,
Bochholt,
Emden,
Kirchesepe,
Kremsmunster,
Leipzig,
Meppen,
Nordhorn,
Wisens,
Wittmund,
June 1821
Sept. 1821
Oct. 14, 1825
Nov. 11, 1817
1822
1816
Sept. 30,1817
1815
1820
1824
July 12, 1825
Sept. 11, 1817
Nov. 12, 1817
April 1821
July 1821
20 461
20 35
17 40
19 41
20 58
20 42
20 181
17 20
16 20
16 25
17 45
20 37
19 53
20 32
20 36
Names of Places.
Year of Obser¬
vation-
Magnetic
Variation.
IV.—France.
Brest,
Cherbourg,
Havre de Grace,
Lyons,
Ouessant Island,
Paris,
Toulon, Cape Side,
1818
1813
Sept. 26, 1768
Nov. 1751
Dec. 1755
1761
Dec. 1806
Oct. 12, 1816
1819
Oct. 3, 1829
April 25, 1811
Edinburgh,
Gravesend,
HermitageHill,Leith,
London,
Stromness, Orkney,
V.—England.
Oct. 29,
Nov. 3,
Sept. 29,
July 9,
June 12,
June
October
June
June 3.
1808
1809
1812
1823
1576
1823
1806
1812
1816
1820
1823
1819
25° V w.
26 47
19 42
15 45
16 30
18 45
26 45
22 25 w.
22 29
22 12
19 10
27 31-8
27 35-2
28 8-0
27 48-0
11 30 E.
27 0 w.
24 8-6
16- 5
17- 9
11-7
9-8
27 50
VI.—Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
Alicante,
Aulona,
Barcelona,
Budua,
Cadiz,
Carthagena,
Cabrera Island,
Corunna,
Durazzo,
Eba,
Portoferraio,Piombino
Fiumicino,
Gorgonna,
Girgenti,
Ischia,
Lagos Bay,
Leghorn,
Lissabon,
Maritime,
Maritimo Island,
Malaga Bay,
Malta,
Minorca, C. Mola,
Palermo, C. Guals,
Ustica,
Vido Fort, Alessandro,
Sept. 4, 1800
1818
1785
1818
Oct. 29, 1768
March 1789
June 2,1798
Sept. 29, 1789
1806
1818
June 15, 
16, 
19, —-
2,-
July 18, —
June 16, 1798
Oct. 25, 1788
20, 1731
1785
1795
July8-ll,1818
1811
Aug. 6. 1807
May 28, 1818
July 16, 1818
Dec. 1, 1788
1612
April 15, 1811
f 1790
( 1814
July 15, 1818
19 25
14 0
18 0
14 56
19 12
18 45
19 3
19 0
20 47
15 58
18 19
16 29
17 45
19 0
17 30
18 22
18 0
9 42
18 0
19 20
19 20
22 45
19 40
17 0
18 0
19 50
11 0
19 30
17 0
18 30
17 30
14 34
VII.—Hungary and Turkey.
Constantinople,
Corfu,
Maudry Bay,
Imbro Island, Dard.
Trebizonde,
1797
1818
1793
Aug. 27, 1807
1797
12 33
14 34
13 20
12 32
8 14
Names of Places.
Year of Obser¬
vation.
VIII—Asia and
Alceste Island,
Basil’s Bay,
Bata Harbour,
Bildih,
Cheaton Bay,
Cape Comorin,
Congo River,
Pointe de Galle,)
Ceylon, 5
Trincomalee,
Derbent,
Hyderabad,
Batavia, Java,
Sourabaya, j
Lam-Get Island,
Macao,
Madras,
Morebat Bay,
Muscat-Cove,
Mocha,
Murray’s Sound,
Napikiang Roads, \
Port Melville, 5
Pecho Mouth,
Princes Island,
Sandy Island,
Achen, Sumatra,
Magnetic
variation.
neighbouring Islands.
July 21, 1816
Sept. 4, 1816
April 15,1803
June 11,1580
Aug. 22, 1816
Mar. 30, 1815
July 1816
April 2, 1814
Sept. 27,
October
June 27,
July 29,
October
Sept.
June 16,
April 21,
1812
1580
1804
1814
1793
1824
1816
1792
1809
1781
1785
1795
Sept. 8, 1816
Oct. 8, 1816
July 27, 1816
May 16, 
July 27, 
May 1, 1814
2“ 3'w.
2 0 w.
1 23 w.
10 40 vr.
2 10 w.
2 0 v
25 58 w’.
2 15 e.
1 9 E.
11 0 w.
1 16 e.
0 17 E.
2 31 w.
0 10'4 w,
0 9 w.
1 12 E.
3 0 e.
6 40
6 0
11 0
2 0 tv.
0 52 w.
2 14 w.
20 7,w.
2 14 w.
2 25 E.
IX—Africa and neighbouring Islands.
Alexandria,
Alboran Island,
Africa Islands,
Ascension,
Akromar,
Ambucol,
Fagel, Azores,
Bareedy Harbour,
Bomba,
Bourbon, St Denys,
Canaries,
May 11,
April 8,
Jan. 8,
Jan.
March
April
Funchal,
l
S.Cruz Bay,Teneriffe,
Orotava,
Santa Cruz,
Chagos (Diego Garcia)
Eleven Islands,
Commorish Islands,
Mayotta,
Cape Verd Islands,
Porto Praya,
Bonavista,
Mayo,
Sal,
Mauritius,
(Card. Pr.)
1694
1822
1818
1802
1816
1825
1823
1814
1776
1821
Aug- 10, 1813
1802
1811
1813
1816
1829
1819
1821
1816
Feb.
Mar. 24,
J uly 5,
Feb. 16,
Aug. 29,
1819
1822
1786
Mar. 18,
Apr. 8,9,
April
Feb. 26,
Aug.
Mar. 15,
Oct.
1750
1812
1819
1819
1819
1805
1813
1824
12 48 w.
10 58
21 28A
7 44
15 30
16 52
11 16
10 46
23 30
13 53
14 55
17 20
19 10
21 0
22 0
21 10
21 32
19 10
25 58
21 20
20 33
18 53
21 0
1 59
2 10
20 0
10 15
13 30
14 2
13 9
14 5
11 42*
16 40
13 46
MAGNETISM.
VST
Names of Places-
he of Good Hope, I
able Bay, . $
Ipe Town,
tree, j
Gigh’s Island, |
K'-sics Bay,
S Helena,
Jiestown,
Jfiestown,
Mxambique Harb.
Mdagascar,
dajambo Bay,
lorvundava,
j igustin’s Bay, |
lembatooka Bay,
Jareenda Bay,
Pjta,
ice Wales Island,
:ief Cape, -|
Eiiisalgate,
S/lz Harbour,
Titan d’Acunha,
Tjpoli,
Sifhomas’ Island,
(^loa Island,
Year of Obser¬
vation.
Magnetic
Variation.
1792
1813
1801
1815
Mar. 21, 1819
4, 1732
Dec.
Apr.
Dec.
Feb.
Aug.
1813
1799
1793
1815
1816
1824
1802
1803
1714
1798
1804
1802
1751
1819
1797
1814
1810
1777
Mar. 6, 1813
1816
June 1822
May 20, 1816
\ug.
24° 30'
28 0
27 30
16 0
19 35
15 50
0 0
11 51
11 15
15 28
17 30
17 30
19 34-5
18 40
25
30
30
0
30
50
17
30
40
20
20
6
51 N.
60
35
48
22
X.— America and neighbouring Islands.
Alpulco,
Ai:a, j
AAiuco,
Ami,
Btfin’s Three Isles,
SJllas California, |
ffindon House,
Bi Lake,
Ciisle B. Barbadoes,
Apr. 29,
July 12,
Apr. 12,
Ciacoa,
Ctitnan,
Ci.ao Castle,
Csdiagena,
Pi'at Coles,
CItrlton House,
Ciipewyan Fort,
Hl anna, Cuba,
Cape,
July 18,
May 24,
Alar. 10,
Nov.
Jan.
Alay
Aug.
Sept. 20,
1704
1814
1818
1787
1815
1821
1735
1787
1813
1821
1807
1815
1816
1799
44 e.
46 e.
0 E.
25 E.
22 E.
25 E.
44 w.
28 E.
40 E.
12 E.
0
30 e.
40 e.
0 E.
1 E.
0 E.
45 E.
3 E.
0 E.
0
32
18 E.
16 E.
0 E.
0 E.
30
15
Names of Places.
S. Carlos de Chiloe,
Conception,
Coquimbo,
Callao de Lima, ^
S. Catharina,
Churchill Fort,
S. Croix Island,
Dominica, J
Pr. Rupert Bay, }
Puerto Deseado,
Domingo,
C. Francais,
Alta Vela,
Port Egmont,
Erie Fort,
Sta. Fe de Bogota,
Fernando Noronha,
Guayra, |
Guayaquil, j
Guadaloupe,
Guasco,
Hare Island,
Juan Fernandez, |
Jamaica, P. Royal, |
Lima,
Mexico,
Mobile Bay,
Martinique,
F. Royal,
S. Martha,
Mas-a-Fuera.
Alohawk Bay,
Pori Mulgrave,
Le Maire Str.
Mollendo,
Mocha Island,
Monte Video,
Monterras,
Niagara Fort,
Nuaoho,
Nootka,
Year of Obser¬
vation.
{
Panama,
Payta,
S. Pescadores,
Porto-Bello,
Feb.
Nov.
Apr.
June
Mar.
Oct.
July
June
Apr.
Dec.
8, 1790
21,1791
1712
28, 1791
1821
1713
7, 1791
3, 1823
1822
1807
14, 1826
22, 1760
8, 1819
7, 1789
Magnetic'
Variation.
1745
Feb. 1818
Dec. 19, 1790
1817
May 1745
Jan. 24, 1800
Tune 3, 1814
Oct. 11, 1791
1821
1809
1821
1818
1744
1802
1789
1817
1740
1802
1803
1814
1735
1816
1743
1802
1815
1, 1791
1712
1821
1821
Sep. 23, 1789
Aug. 1807
Sep. 23, 1791
1817
1821
Aug. 17, 1791
Nov. 1775
Dec. 3, 1791
1802
1821
1821
Alar. 8, 1823
1821
Nov. 1735
1814
1815
June
Nov.
Dec.
Dec.
July
17° 36' e.
14 52 e.
10 0 E.
11 46
14 0
10 0 E.
9 37^
9 30
6 25 E.
5 39 E.
1 15 E.
3 20 E.
2 40 E.
19 50 E.
5 15 E.
5 21 E.
22 34 E.
1 42 E.
7 35 E.
2 10 E.
4 20 E.
4 53
9 11 E.
9 5
4 55 E.
13 30 E.
71 58 w.
8 30 E.
14 0
6 30 E.
4 40
9 2 E.
9 50
8 8 E.
6 30 e.
6 0 e.
6 45
6 35 E.
13 0 E.
0 4 E.
26 40 e.
24 0 E.
11 5 E.
19 34 E.
13 40 e.
13 20
10 56 E.
1 27 E.
9 36 E.
22 30 E.
7 49 e.
7 49
8 0
7 0
9 0 e.
8 56 E.
11 20 E.
8 40 E.
8 30
6 0
Names of Places.
Year of Obser¬
vation.
Magnetic
Variation.
P. of Wales’ Fort,
Pernambuco,
Penedo S. Pietro,
La Plata,
Cuito,
Realeyo,
Rio Janeiro,
Talcahuana,
Fort Galvez,
St Thomas Island,
Vera Cruz,
Valparaiso,
V aldivia,
S. Vincent’s Island,
William’s Fort,
Wollaston’s Lake,
Ylo,
York Fort,
Sep.
Feb.
Jan.
Nov.
Feb.
Alar.
Apr.
f Alar.
Mar.
iMar.
Dec.
(ISep.
1798
1807
3, 1813
1815
1813
1743
1802
23, 1791
1821
21, 1793
1821
1823
1816
15, 1769
1815
27, 1819
11, 1709
1744
20,1709
1795
1802
1821
1788
31, 1814
8, 11816
1807
1802
1807
1819
O' E.
39
0
0 w.
0 w.
8 30 e.
9 24 e.
9 20 e.
3 21 1.
14 52 E.
15 30
16 16-4
2 24 E.
6 28 E.
10 37
9 16
9 30 e.
12 30
13 39
14 49
14 55
14 43
17 30 e.
7 30 e.
5 30 e.
18 2 e.
10 30 e.
4 55 e.
6 0-3 E.
XI.—Australia.
Amboyna,
Bouroa, Cayeli,
Ceram, Selema Bay,
Dory Harbour, N. G.
Galapagos Island,
Guaxon, Marian Isl.
Jervis Bay,
King’s I. Elephant B.
Alanilla,
Alanava Port,N. Zeal.
N. Caledonia,
Port S. Vincent,
Oyster Bay, New Hoi.
Otaheite Point,
Offak,
Port Praslin,
Pulo Leah,
Pulo Penang,
Port Cornwallis,
Port Philip,
Port Jackson,
r
Paramatta,
Halan,
Havre de la Coquille.
Oct. 1823|
Sep. 29, 1823
July 1796
  1824
1821
Feb. 22, 1792
1800
1802
July 18, 1792
Apr. 1824
Alay
Sep.
Aug.
Mar. 1,
Alar. 18,
Jan. Feb,
Oct. 23,
Feb. 10,
Mar. 26,
Alar. 27,
-31,
1803
1789
1823
1823
1823
1816
1787
1809
1802
1793
1824
1822
1813
1813
June 1823
0 28 E.
8 31-8 E.
8 41 e.
1 35-6 e.
8 20 E.
3 16 e.
9 0 e.
3 30 e.
0 174 E.
13 21-6 E.
10 56 E.
6 40 E.
6 40-4 E.
1 1-7 E.
6 40-4 e.
0 52i w.
0 11 w.
1 57 E.
8 0 E.
8 46 E.
8 56
8 43-8 E.
0 46-8
0 47'5
8 50-5
0 43-5
9 20-5 E.
d On the progressive Changes in the Variation of the Needle.
liev» in ^ e have already seen that the variation of the needle
e: ioni a* experiences ' a progressive change in every part of the
g globe. The following table shows very satisfactorily the
cj change which has taken place in London.
Table of the Variation at London from 1576 to 1831.
Years. Observers Variations.
1576 Norman 11° 15'
1580 Burroughs 11 17
1622 Gunter  6
1634 ....Gellibrand  4
1657 |
1662 / 
1666  0 34
1670  2 6
VOL. XIII.
12
5
0 0
easterly.
maximum.
No variation,
westerly.
Years.
1672.
1700.
1720.
1740.
1760.
1774.
1778.
1790.
1800.
1806.
1813.
1815.
1816.
1820.
1823.
1831.
Observers. Variations.
  2° 30' westerly.
   9 40
 13 0
 16 10
 19 30
 22 20
....Phil. Trans 22 11
 23 39
‘  24 36
....Phil. Trans 24 8
....Col. Beaufoy 24 20 17"
Ditto • ...14 27 18 maximum.
 7 24 17 9
   24 11 7
 <24 9 40
...24 0 0
5 A
738
MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial The following table shows the progressive change in the
Magne- variation of the needle at Paris,
tism.
Table of the Variation at Paris from 1541 to 1829.
Years.
1541
1550
1580
1603
1618
1630
1640
1659
1664
1669
1667
1670
1680
8
Variations. Years.
7° 0' easterly. 1683
8 0 1700
11 30 maximum. 1750
8 45 1767
0 1780
1785
1800
2 0 1807
0 40 1814
0 0 No variation. 1819
0 15 westerly. 1824
1 30 1829
2 40
4 30
3 0
Variations.
3° SO7 wresterlv.
7 40
17 15
19 16
20 35
22 0
22 12
22 34
22 54
22 29
22 23
22 12*5 Arago.
Table of the Variation at the Cape of Good Hope.
Years.
1605
1609
1614
1667
1675
1702
Variations.
0° 30' easterly.
12 westerly.
30
15
30
50
0
1
7
8
12
Variations.
16° 21' westerly.
0
30
14
40 maximum.
4
19
19
21
25
25
Years.
1724
1752
1768
1775
1791
1804
Professor Hansteen has explained these progressive
changes in the variation of the needle by the motion of
the four magnetic poles. Taking the variations at Paris
for the northern hemisphere, he remarks that in 1580 the
weak north pole in Siberia was about 40° east of Green¬
wich, or to the north of the White Sea, while the strong
American pole was about 136° west of Greenwich, or 36°
east of Behring’s Straits. The west pole, therefore, lay
nearer Europe than now, and the strong one more remote.
Hence the action of the former predominated, and drew
the needle eastward. But the weah pole now withdrew
itself towards the Siberian Ocean, from Europe, and the
strong one approached it. The action of the latter there¬
fore predominated, and the needle turned westward till
1814, when it reached its greatest declination, and com¬
menced its easterly course.
The explanation is equally satisfactory in reference to
the southern hemisphere, and the variation at the Cape.
In 1605 the weak south pole was 76^° west of Greenwich,
and the strong south pole about 150° east of that meridian.
The weak pole was, therefore, much nearer the Cape than
now, while the stronger pole was more remote from it. The
influence of the weak pole was therefore most powerful,
so that the south pole of the needle moved towards the
wrest, and its north pole more towards the east. But when
the weak south pole receded from the Cape, and the strong
one approached it, the south pole of the needle turned
more and more towards the strong pole, and its declination
became consequently more westerly.
Mr Barlow has therefore given the following rule for
calculating the variation of the needle, on the supposition
that the magnetic pole which governs the needle in Lon¬
don was in 1818 in north latitude 75° 2', and west longi¬
tude 67° 4T, and that its motion was uniform at the rate
of 4° 14/ in ten years, the variation being 0°, or the pole
being in the meridian of London, in 1660.
Rule. To the co-tangent of half the angle crNL (see the
last figure), add the constant log. 1*65642; find the angle
of which the sum is the tangent, and call it arc (A). To
the same co-tangent add the log. 0*03987, and find the
arc of which the sum is the tangent, and call it arc (B).
Then B — A will be the variation, or the angle dLN.Terrestrial
The following comparison of the variations thus comput- Magnet
ed with actual observation is very interesting. tism.
tiiiii'
The following table shows the progressive change in the
variation in the southern hemisphere since the time of
Vasco de Gama.
Years.
1660
1670
1690
1720
1740
1750
1770
1780
1790
1800
1810
1818
1828
1833
Variations.
Observed.
0° 0'
2 30
6 0
14 17
17 0
17 48
21 9
23 17
23 39
24
24
3
11
14 30
Computed.
0° 0'
2 44
7 59
14 47
18 20
19 47
22 4
22 54
23 33
24 1
24 18
24 30
24 29
24 26
Differences. Observers
0°
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0'
14 +
59 -j-
30 +
20 +
59 +
55 +
23 —
6 —
2 —
7 +
0
Bond.
Halley.
Ditto.
Graham.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Heberden.
Gilpin.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The numbers in the column of differences are very small,
and may arise as much from errors of observation as
from a defect in the theory. The average difference is
only about 45r.
Mr Barlow has computed the variation also for Paris and
Copenhagen, and compared it with the best observations
made at these places. The average difference for Paris is
less than 30'. At Copenhagen it is 37', or only 20' if
we throw aside the observed variation for 1731, which
seems to err greatly in defect.
On the Annual Variation of the Needle.
Besides the progressive changes in the declination of the Annual va-
needle, M. Cassini observed an annual change, depending rjati?n;
on the position of the sun in reference to the equinoctial Cassini,
and solstitial points.
Between the months of January and April the magne¬
tic needle recedes from the north pole of the globe, so that
its western declination increases.
From April to the beginning of July> that is, from the ver¬
nal equinox to the summer solstice, the declination dimi¬
nishes, or the needle approaches the north pole of the globe.
From the summer solstice to the vernal equinox, the
needle, receding from the north pole, returns to the west,
so that in October it has nearly the same position as in
May, and between October and March the western mo¬
tion is smaller than in the three preceding months.
Hence it follows, that during the three months between
the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, the needle
retrogrades towards the east; and during the following
nine months its general motion is towards the west.
This important subject has particularly occupied the at-Arago.
tention of M. Arago. Taking the mean declination of
each day, or that of the maximum and minimum, and the
mean declination of each month, he has arranged in tables
the mean monthly declinations at Paris from 1784 to 1788,
and also those at London, near the equinoxes and solstices,
from 1793 to 1805, as calculated from the observations of
Mr Gilpin, and, by a comparison of the results, he finds a
maximum of declination towards the vernal equinox, and
a minimum towards the summer solstice ; but this differ¬
ence was less at London than at Paris.
In comparing the observations of Cassini in 1786 with
those of 1800, corresponding to the measures of Gilpin,
M. Arago has found that they do not differ from one an¬
other in their magnetical relations, but in one point. In
1786 the annual change of declination was nine minutes,
whereas in 1800 it was scarcely a minute. Hence, says
he, it is worthy of remark, that the retrograde motion which
it;
i lion,
MAGNETISM.
739
tin-
Tern-trial the needle experiences between the vernal equinox and
Iffie- the summer solstice decreases at the same time with the
general and annual motion towards the west.
At Salem in Massachusetts, where observations were
made in 1810 by M. Bowditch, the declination is west, and
has diminished for a great number of years about two mi¬
nutes annually. In examining these observations, M.
Arago does not find any trace of the period of Cassini.
The declination has never diminished between the vernal
equinox and the summer solstice, but it gradually increases
from April to August. This increase is compensated by
a decrease of the declination between September and De¬
cember, so that the period seems to be transferred from
spring to autumn. If this idea shall be found correct, M.
Arago conceives that the annual changes will be regu¬
lated by the following principles.
1. When the needle, having a westerly declination, re¬
cedes from the meridian, it experiences a retrograde mo¬
tion, which brings it back to this place. This is the dis¬
covery of Cassini.
2. This retrograde oscillation is greater in proportion as
the annual change of declination is greater; a result dedu-
cible from a comparison of Cassini and Gilpin’s observations.
3. The oscillation disappears, and every month gives near¬
ly the same mean declination, when, the needle having ar¬
rived at the limit of its western digression, the annual
change of declination becomes nothing. This result is
deducible from Colonel Beaufoy’s observations.
4. When the westerly declination diminishes from year
to year, no remarkable oscillations are observed in the
needle towards the east, excepting between the months of
September and December. This is the observation of Mr
Bowditch. According to Colonel Beaufoy’s observations,
the daily variation is greatest in June and August, and less in
July, so that the annual curve has two maxima and two mini¬
ma in the course of the year, the two maxima being in June
and August, and the two minima in December and July.
On the Diurnal Variations of the Needle.
Diuml ''That there is a daily change in the variation of the
varision. needle, as originally discovered by Mr Graham in 1724,
has been placed beyond a doubt by observations made
with the most accurate instruments in almost every part
of the world. The following table contains the mean di¬
urnal changes in the variation, according to the observa¬
tions of Canton in 1759, of Gilpin in 1787 and 1793, and
of Colonel Beaufoy in 1817-19.
Table of the Mean Daily Changes in Variation.
Months.
January....
February...
March 
April 
May.........
June 
July 
August 
September.
October....
November.
December..
Mean daily
change-
Observa-
tions of
Canton.
1759-
7' 8"
8 58
11 17
12 26
13 0
13 21
13 14
12 19
11 43
10 36
8 9
6 58
10 43
Observations of Gilpin,
1787-
1793.
10' 2"
10 4
15 0
17 4
18
19
19
19
15
14
11
8
4'
4
8
11
10
12
12
12
9
7
3
3
3"
6
5
7
4
6
5
1
8
0
8
8
14 39
8 0
Colonel
Beaufoy.
1817-18-
19.
3"
3 '
8 22
11 48
9
11
53
15
10 43
11 26
9 44
8 46
7 10
4 7
9 32
Magne¬
tism.
The folloiving Table shows the Amount of the Daily Faria-Terrestrial
tion at other Places compared with that at London.
London, general mean 60' 44"
Geneva 15 42 1
Chamouni 17 6 V Saussure.
Col du Geant 15 43 J
Freiberg 12 11-9
Petersburg 12 10-1
Nicolajef 10 53*4
Kasan 70 36*5
When the diurnal variation, of the needle was first dis¬
covered, it was supposed to have only two changes in its
movements during the day. About seven a. m. its north
end began to deviate to the west, and about two p. m. it
reached its maximum westerly deviation. It then return¬
ed to the eastward to its first position, and remained sta¬
tionary till it again resumed its westerly course in the fol¬
lowing morning. When magnetic observations became
more accurate it was found that the diurnal movement
commences much earlier than seven a. m. but its motion
is to the east. At half past seven a. m. it reaches
its greatest easterly deviation, and then begins its move¬
ment to the west till two p. m. It then returns to the
eastward till the evening, when it has again a slight west¬
erly motion; and in the course of the night, or early in
the morning, it reaches the point from which it set out
twenty-four hours before. The most accurate observations
made in England were those of Colonel Beaufoy, when the
variation was about 24| west. In these the absolute max¬
ima were earlier than in Canton’s observations, and the se¬
cond maxima west about eleven p. m.
The following were the diurnal changes observed at
Paris. During the night it is nearly stationary. At sun¬
rise its north extremity moves to the westward, as if it
were avoiding the solar influence. Towards noon, or more
generally from noon to three o’clock, it attains its maxi¬
mum westerly deviation, and then it returns eastward till
nine, ten, or eleven o’clock in the evening; and then, hav¬
ing reached its original position, it remains stationary du¬
ring the night. The amount of this daily variation is, for
April, May, June, July, August, and September, from
13' to 15', and for the other six months of the year from
8' to 10'. On some days it rises to 25', and on others it
does not exceed 5' or 6'.
According to M. Dove, the maximum easterly deviation
of the needle takes place at eight a. m. at Freiberg, Nico¬
lajef, and St Petersburg, and at nine a. m. at Kasan ; and
the maximum of westerly deviation at two p. m. at Kasan,
Nicolajef, and St Petersburg, and at one p. m. at Freiberg.
In the northern regions, such as Denmark, Iceland, and
Greenland, the diurnal variations are greater, and less re¬
gular. The needle is not stationary during the night, and it
does not reach its maximum westerly deviation till betw een
eight and ten p.m., and its most easterly about nine or ten a.m.
In advancing from the north to the magnetic equator,
the diurnal variation diminishes in amplitude, and it ceases
to be perceptible in the magnetic equator. Captain Du-
perrey, however, has found, that when the place is either
under the magnetic equator, or at a little distance from it,
the north point of the needle advances every morning to
the west or to the east, according as the sun passes to the
north or to the south of the place of observation.
In the southern magnetic hemisphere the daily variation
takes place in an opposite manner, the north end of the
needle moving to the east at the same hours that it did to
the west in the northern hemisphere ; a result which has
been established by the observations of Mr J. Macdonald
at St Helena, and at Fort Marlborough in Sumatra.1 M.
1 Made in 1794, 1795, and 1798; see Philosophical Transactions.
less between the tropics than in Europe.
Mr Macdonald observes, that the diurnal variations are sensibly
740
MAGNETISM.
Magne.
tism.
Terrestrial Freycinet was led to the same result by observations made in 1793, in a dissertation of great ability, which has never Terrei
Magne- in the Isle of France, Timor, Rawak, Guham, Mowi, Port received the notice which it merits. He has shown that
tism. Jackson, and other places. At the Marianne and Sand- the luminous beams of the aurora are parallel to the dip-
wich Isles, in the northern hemisphere, the north point of ping needle; that the rainbow-like arches cross the mag-
the needle moves to the west, as in Europe, from eight netic meridian at right angles ; that the broad arch of the
a. m. till one p. m. though the variation there is easterly, horizontal light is bisected by the magnetic meridian;
At Timor, Rawak, and Port Jackson, to the south of the that the boundary of a limited aurora is half the circum-
equator, the north point of the needle moves during the ference of a great circle crossing the magnetic meridian
morning in an opposite direction ; hence the observations at right angles, the beams perpendicular to the horizon
stria!
made to the north of the line agree with those in Europe,
while those in the southern hemisphere, like those of Mac¬
donald, exhibit an opposite motion. M. Freycinet found
that the diurnal oscillations have a small amplitude be¬
tween the tropics. At Rawak, only the fortieth of a de¬
gree south of the equinoctial line, M. Freycinet found that
the needle oscillated every day with an amplitude of 3'; so
that it is the magnetic, and not the terrestrial, equator, as
Duperrey afterwards found, which separates the zone of
westerly from the zone of easterly diurnal variations.
Observations are still wanting to show whether or not
the daily variations have the same direction in places where
the variation is westerly and in those where it is easterly.
The dipping needle also undergoes, as will be afterwards
seen, daily variations, but their amplitude is of less amount.
There can be no doubt, as M. Pouillet observes, that a
needle capable of moving in any given azimuth will expe¬
rience daily changes ; and that a needle moveable in every
direction round its centre of gravity would describe every
day a cone whose base would be an ellipse, or some other
curve more or less elongated, in different parts of the earth.
Cause of The sun is now universally allowed to be the cause of
the diurnal the diurnal variations of the needle. Canton ascribed them
variation. to the actjon 0f soiav heat, having ascertained that heat
tends to diminish the attractive powers of a magnet, and
assuming that the direction of the needle was due to the
resultant of all the magnetic forces of the terrestrial sphere.
When the sun was to the eastward of the needle, the forces
lying to the eastward suffered a diminution of power, in
being only those on the magnetic meridian.
Dr Dalton has shown, from numerous observations, that
the aurora exercises an irregular action on the magnetic
needle; and he has deduced from these observations the
following results:
1. When the aurora appears to rise only about 5°, 10°,
or 15° above the horizon, the disturbance of the needle is
very little, and often insensible.
2. When it rises up to the zenith, and passes it, there
never fails to be a considerable disturbance.
3. This disturbance consists in an irregular oscillation of
the horizontal needle, sometimes to the eastward and then
to the westward of the mean daily position, in such sort
that the greatest excursions on each side are nearly equal,
and amount to about half a degree each at Kendal.
4. When the aurora ceases, or soon after, the needle re¬
turns to its former station.
Professor Hansteen’s observations on the magnetical in¬
fluence of the aurora are peculiarly interesting. He states,
that the extraordinary shivering movements of the needle
are perhaps never exhibited except when the aurora is vi¬
sible ; and that this disturbance seems to operate at the
same time in places the most widely separated. The ex¬
tent of these movements may in less than twenty-four hours
amount to five or five and a half degrees. In such cases, he
adds, the disturbance is also communicated to the dipping
needle; and as soon us the crown of the aurora quits the
usual place {the points where the dipping needle produced
woidd meet the sky), that instrument moves several degrees
consequence of which the westerly force prevailed, and the forward, and seems to follow it. After such disorders, he
north end deviated to the west. When the sun, on the
other hand, was to the westward of the needle, the power
on that side diminished, and the needle returned again to
the eastward. Canton, however, did not give any explana¬
tion of the morning easterly variation of the needle. 3
On the Irregular Motions of the Magnetic Needle as pro¬
duced chiefly by the Aurora Borealis.
Irregular Besides the regular changes of an annual and diurnal
motions of nature to which the needle is subject, it is sometimes
the needle affectej wit}1 sudden and extraordinary movements, to
P/t^'u- which Baron Humboldt has given the name of magnetic
rora borea- hurricanes, during which the needle traverses with a shi¬
lls.
vering motion, and often oscillates several degrees on each
side of its mean position.
These sudden and capricious motions have been most
frequently observed during the existence of the aurorae
boreales, and have therefore been ascribed to that cause.
The influence of this meteor on the magnetic needle was
first noticed by Wargentin in 1750, It was observed by
Bergman and others ; and Van Swinden remarks, that he
seldom failed to observe aurorae boreales after any anoma¬
lous motion of the needle; and he always concluded that
there must have been one at the time, though he did not
see it. As needles made of other substances, such as
copper or wood, have not been found to be affected, the
action of the aurora cannot be considered as an electrical
Dr Dal- The influence of the aurora on the needle has been par-
ton’s obser-j.;cu]ar]y studied by Dr Dalton, who has stated his views
vatioiib. Meteorological Observations and Essays, published
continues, the mean variation of the needle is wont to
change, and not to recover its previous magnitude till after
a new and similar disturbance. During the continuance of
the aurora borealis, the intensity of the earth’s magnetic ’
force seems to grow weaker ; for which reason the needle
recedes from that magnetic pole where the ray of the au¬
rora is displayed.
The influence of the aurora borealis on the needle has
been studied with particular care by M. Arago, whose ac¬
curate and regularly continued series of observations on the
daily changes of the magnetic needle at Paris has enabled
him to compare these, changes with the occurrence of the
northern light. The following is an abstract of his views
on the subject: The appearance of an aurora causes the
magnetic needle to vary several degrees to the east and west
of its mean position. In the region were it appears, lumi¬
nous beams, differently coloured, shoot up from all points
of the horizon ; and the part of the heavens where all these
beams or radiations unite is precisely that to which a mag¬
netic needle directs itself when suspended by its centre of gra¬
vity. M. Arago has also shown that the concentric circles,
which show themselves almost always before the luminous
beams, rest each upon the two points of the horizon equally
distant from the magnetic meridian, and that the most ele¬
vated points of each arch are exactly in this meridian. From
these two facts he concludes that there is a relation between
the causes of the aurora borealis and the motions of the
magnetic needle ; and, from observations made in places
remote from each other, he infers that the aurora acts even
before it shows itself in the horizon, and that its influence
is exerted at very considerable distances. In a subsequent
paper on the subject, M. Arago shows that the auroras
MAGNETISM.
which are visible only in America, at St Petersburg, and
in Siberia, in spite of the immense distance which separates
us from these regions, produces a pei'ceptible derangement
of the magnetic needle at Paris. M. Arago at first believ¬
ed that even the auroras of the southern hemisphere ex¬
tended their influence to Paris ; but he has since found, that
on the days when these southern auroras took place, the
phenomenon was observed also in the north, so that no
conclusion can be properly deduced from this coincidence
with the observed derangements of the needle.
M. Kupffer has confirmed by his own observations the
first results obtained by M. Arago, and is of opinion that
the aurora extends its influence to a great distance. When
the needle was driven from its mean position by the influ¬
ence of this meteor, M. Kupffer could not perceive any
sensible difference between the duration of an oscillation
at this time and at any other. He has, however, except¬
ed some cases where the deviation was very considerable ;
but what was very remarkable was, that when the needle
deviated to the east, the duration of an oscillation was
greater than usual, whilst on the 24th November 1825, when
the needle deviated to the west, the duration of an oscilla¬
tion was smaller. On the other hand, the dip being in the
ratio of the duration of the oscillation, the preceding ob¬
servations seem to prove that the dip diminishes when the
needle deviates to the west, and increases with an easterly
deviation.
Notwithstanding the body of evidence which proves the
connection between the aurora and the derangement of the
needle, it is a very remarkable fact, that during the fre¬
quent occurrence of that meteor at Port Bowen, Captain
Foster did not observe any peculiar changes in the devia¬
tion of the needle, although, from his vicinity to the mag¬
netic pole, the diurnal variation sometimes amounted to 4° or
5°, and it was to be presumed that the slightest action of the
aurora would, under such circumstances, have been visible.
From these observations of Captain F'oster and others, the
natural conclusion is, that there are some aurorae which do
not disturb, while there are others which do disturb, the
magnetic needle.
During Captain Back’s residence at Fort Reliance
(north latitude 62° 46' 29", and west longitude 109° O'
39") for six months in 1833-4, and^owr months in 1834-5,
the aurora occurred almost every night. The magnetic
needle seems to have been constantly affected by it, and
on one occasion the effect exceeded eight degrees. “ Bril¬
liant and active coruscations of the aurora borealis,’’ says
Captain Back, “ when seen through a hazy atmosphere,
and exhibiting the prismatic colours, almost invariably
affected the needle. On the contrary, a very bright au¬
rora, though attended by motion, and even tinged with a
dullish red and a yellow, in a clear blue sky, seldom pro¬
duced any sensible change, beyond, at the most, a tremu¬
lous motion.
“ A dense haze or fog, in conjunction with an active
aurora, seemed uniformly favourable to the disturbance of
the needle ; and a low temperature was favourable to bril¬
liant and active coruscations. On no occasion, during
two winters, was any sound heard to accompany the mo¬
tions. The aurora was frequently seen at twilight, and
as often to the eastward as to the westward. Clouds, also,
were often perceived in the day time, in form and dispo¬
sition very much resembling the aurora.”
Mr Christie has explained the absence of any apparent
action of the aurora, by the supposition that the appara¬
tus employed was not fitted to exhibit that action; and
he entertains therefore the opinion, “ that changes in the
deviation and intensity of the terrestrial forces are simul¬
taneous with the aurora borealis.” I he following is the
method recommended by Mr Christie for observing the
effects of the aurora to the greatest advantage :
741
“ the magnetic forces brought into action during an Terrestrial
aurora are in the direction of the magnetic meridian, they Magne-
will affect a dipping needle adjusted to the plane of that tism-
meridian; but the direction of an horizontal needle will re-
main unchanged. On the other hand, if the resultant of
these forces makes an angle with the meridian, the direc¬
tion of the horizontal needle will be changed, but the dip¬
ping needle may not be affected. In order to determine
correctly the negative influence of the’aurora, by means of
an horizontal needle, it is therefore necessary not only to
have regard to those forces which influence its direction,
but likewise to those which affect the horizontal intensity.
The effects of the former are the objects of direct observa¬
tion, but those of the latter are not so immediately observ¬
able. As, during an aurora, the intensity may vary at every
instant, and it is these changes which are to be detected,
the method of determining the intensity by the time of vi¬
bration of the needle cannot here be applied, and other
means must be adopted. The best method appears to me
to be that which I employed for determining the diurnal
variation of the horizontal intensity, the needle being re¬
tained nearly at right angles to the meridian by the repul¬
sive force of a magnet, or by the torsion of a fine wire or
thread of glass. For the purpose, then, of detecting, in all
cases, the magnetic influence of the aurora, I consider that
two horizontal needles should be employed; one adjusted
in the meridian, for determining the changes which may
take place in the direction of the horizontal force, and the
other at right angles to the meridian, to determine the
changes in the intensity of that force, arising principally
from new forces in the plane of the meridian, and which
would affect the direction of the dipping needle alone.
Both these needles should be delicately suspended, either
by very fine wire, or by untwisted fibres of silk. In order
to render the changes in the direction of the needle in the
meridian more sensible, its directive force should be di¬
minished by means of two magnets north and south of it,
and having their axes in the meridian. These magnets
should be made to approach the needle until it points about
30° on either side of the meridian, and they should be so
adjusted that the forces acting upon the needle wilH’etain
it in equilibria, with its marked end at about 30° to the
east and 30° to the west of north, and also at south. The
needle is to be left with its marked end pointing south, for
the purpose of observing the changes occurring in its di¬
rection. If magnets are employed to retain the second
needle nearly at right angles to the meridian, they should
be made to approach its centre until the points of equili¬
brium are at about 80° east, 80° west and south, the ob¬
servations being made with the needle at 80° east and 80°
west. An objection to this method of adjusting this needle
by means of magnets is, that any change in their tempe¬
rature will have a very sensible effect on the direction of
the needle in this position; and should such change take
place during the observations, corrections must be applied
to the results before any accurate conclusions can be
drawn from them. I have before remarked, that this in¬
convenience will be in a great measure obviated by em¬
ploying the torsion of a fine wire, or a very fine plummet
of glass, to retain the needle at about 80° from the meri¬
dian. In this case, the ratio of the force of torsion to the
terrestrial force acting upon the needle having been de¬
termined, a measure will be obtained of the changes which
take place in the intensity of the terrestrial force during
the occurrence of an aurora. It is very desirable that it
should be ascertained whether the effects on the needle
are simultaneous with any particular class of phenomena
connected with the aurora; whether these effects are de¬
pendent on the production of beams or coruscations, or on
the formation of luminous arches; or whether any differ¬
ence exists in the effects produced by them. In order to
Via MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial determine this, it is necessary that the times of the occur-
’?£ne' rence of the different phenomena, and also of the changes
v in the directions of the needles, should be accurately noted;
and for such observations three observers appear to be in¬
dispensable.”
It has become a question of some importance, whether
the electric state of the clouds produces any effects upon
the needle : and this question has increased in interest
since the discovery of the magnetical effects of galvanic and
common electricity. Mr Christie has made some valuable
observations on this subject. Adjusting in a particular
manner a needle between two magnets, so that its di¬
rective force was considerably diminished, he found that
changes in the position of electric clouds were accompa¬
nied by changes in the position of the needle. Captain
Sir Everard Home also observed, that, in two instances, a
vibrating needle came sooner to rest during a thunder
storm than it did either before or after it. The number of
vibrations was reduced in one case from 100 to 40, and in
another from 200 to 120.
An analogous fact was observed by Captain Back, in
1833, at Fort Alexander, at the southern extremity of Lake
Winnipeg, where a “ considerable alteration appeared, both
in the number of vibrations, and the point at which the
needle finally rested. A second time showed a similar
discrepancy. The reason of this peculiarity I could not
divine, until about an hour afterwards, when some gentle¬
men arrived from the westward, and acquainted us that
they had just encountered a severe thunder shower, though
the sky over the fort underwent no visible change, and
wore the same sultry aspect as it had done most of the
forenoon.”1
The view which we have given, in a subsequent section,
of the magnetic condition of our atmosphere, arising from
the uniform dissemination of ferruginous and other me¬
tallic matter, enables us to give a satisfactory explana¬
tion of the general phenomena of the aurora, of its action
on the needle, and of the circumstances under wrhich it
will affect or not affect its stability. That there is mag¬
netic matter in the atmosphere is indubitable, and that
this matter may be heated by the electricity of the atmo¬
sphere, so as to give out light of different colours, and may
have its magnetic influence increased or diminished by
this electrical action, as well as by ordinary changes of
temperature, cannot be doubted. When the magnetic
forces are in a state of equilibrium, the needle will take
its mean position, subject only to those diurnal changes
which arise from the action of solar heat. But when the
magnetic matter is exposed to the electrical agents which
exercise so powerful an influence on the regions of the
clouds, when the ferruginous matter, and the other me¬
tallic vapours which accompany it, are rendered luminous
by the transmission of the electric fluid, and when the
the magnetic matter has its induced magnetism either di¬
minished or increased by this cause, the resultant of the
forces which act upon the needle must be changed, and
motions regular and irregular, easterly and westerly, or in
any given direction, communicated to a needle freely sus¬
pended by its centre of gravity. A local displacement of
the magnetic matter, by the various causes which are con¬
stantly disturbing our atmosphere, or local and limited
electric action, must necessarily affect such a needle ;
but it is easy to conceive that those local and limited ac¬
tions may be such as to balance each other, and not change
the direction of the resultant force which acts either upon
a horizontal or a dipping needle. Nay, it is easy to con¬
ceive a general diffusion of electricity, capable of illuminat¬
ing the magnetic matter with such perfect equality in all
magnetic azimuths, without at all affecting any needle, Terre t s'1
however balanced or suspended; because the electrical MiZ“V
influence may not change the direction of the resulting tism.‘
forces which give the needle its mean direction. In such ^yv/ ^
a case, however, it is probable that the magnetic intensity
mightj be increased or diminished during the existence of
such an electric state of the magnetic matter. We can¬
not, therefore, adopt the opinion of Mr Christie, that every
aurora must disturb the magnetic needle; and we admit
only the observed fact, that there are auroras which dis¬
turb, and auroras which do not disturb, the needle.
In order to explain more fully our views on this subject,
let us suppose our magnetic atmosphere to be undisturbed
by any cause, and that the needle in every magnetic me¬
ridian rests in a state of perfect equilibrium in its mean
position. Let us now suppose that the magnetic atmo¬
sphere is disturbed in east longitude 90° and latitude 0°,
either by a change of temperature, or by electric action^
or by any cause which displaces the magnetic matter from
that meridian, or accumulates it there. Such a change must
necessarily affect the horizontal magnetic needle in all
places to the east and west of it; but it will not affect the
horizontal needle in the meridian where it takes place,
or in the opposite meridian, as the resultant of the magne¬
tic forces, though they may be changed in intensity, will
not be changed in direction. In like manner, if various
discharges take place simultaneously or successively, there
will be certain places where the direction of the resultant
forces is not changed, and other places where the change
of direction is a maximum. An universally suspended
needle, however, will have its direction always changed,
unless when the disturbing cause is in the direction of Us
axis, or in a plane perpendicular to that axis. Hence, then,
it is easy to understand (nay, the fact is a necessary result
of our hypothesis) why there are auroras which disturb and
auroras which do not disturb the needle, why distant auro¬
ras affect it when nearer ones do not, and why the needle is
in a shivering or constantly oscillating state during auroras
in which the places where the magnetic atmosphere is dis¬
turbed are constantly changing. In the same manner, we
may account for the influence on the needle, observed by
Sir Everard Home and Captain Back, during the preva¬
lence of a thunder storm, while the electricity of the at¬
mosphere destroys by its action the magnetic equilibrium,
when this action is not compensated by an equal one on
the opposite side of the magnetic meridian. When such a
compensation takes place, the needle will not deviate from
its mean position, though the number of its vibrations in
a given time may be altered.
Among the other causes which have a tendency to dis¬
turb the magnetic needle, we may enumerate earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions, all of which are accompanied in
general with electrical phenomena. In 1767, Daniel Ber¬
noulli observed the dip of the'needle to diminish half a
degree during an earthquake; and De la Torre observed
changes of several degrees in the variation of the needle
during an eruption of Vesuvius.
Sect. II.— On the Dip or Inclination of the Needle.
The dip or the inclination of the needle is, as we have Dip of the
already had occasion to observe, the angle which a well-n66^6,
balanced needle forms with the horizon after it is render¬
ed magnetic, and when it has the power of free motion in
the plane of the magnetic meridian, as shown in Plate
CCCXXV. fig. 9, where NS is the needle balanced on a
horizontal axis, at right angles to its length.
The dip of the needle, like the variation, has different
1 Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition, &c. p. 41, 42.
MAGNETISM.
743
tisn
Fig. 49.
trresfial values in different parts of the globe; generally speaking,
b'yiagt- being nothing, or horizontal, near the equator, and 90°,
or perpendicular to the horizon, at the magnetic poles.
The line passing round the globe near its equator, in every
part of which the dip is nothing, is called the magnetic
equator, which is a very irregular line, crossing the equa¬
tor 2X four points, as shown in
the annexed figure, where the
black line E E is the real equa¬
tor, and the dotted line MMM
the magnetic equator, which is
seen to cross the other at four
points, in place of two.
The general inclination of
the magnetic to the terrestrial equator is about 12°, its
principal intersections or nodes being placed in 113° 14'
west longitude and 66° 46' east longitude from Green¬
wich; and it is a tolerably regular line throughout one half
of its circumference in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
In discussing the observations made by Cook and others
in the South Sea, M. Biot has shown that the above ele¬
ments are incorrect everywhere beyond the western node,
between 115° and 270° west longitude; and he concludes
that between 256° and 158° 50' of west longitude it again
cuts the terrestrial equator at least once, which renders it
necessary that it cut it another time near the east coast
of Asia, provided it is found in the Atlantic Ocean or the
south latitude. Hence there will be at least three nodes,
and perhaps four, as shown in the preceding figure. This
singular inflexion of the magnetic equator in the South Sea
has been confirmed by the more recent observations of M.
Freycinet.
The exact position of these nodes, and the true form
of the magnetic equator, have been determined with great
care by M. Morlet and M. Hansteen. There are some
slight differences between their results, which have been
pointed out by M. Arago, in the following excellent sum¬
mary of the results of their inquiry. Both Morlet and
Hansteen place the magnetic equator wholly to the south
of the terrestrial equator, between Africa and America ;
its greatest southern latitude being at 25°, one node is
in Africa, in about 22° of east longitude, or in 18° accord¬
ing to Morlet. In setting out towards the east from this
node, which is nearly in the centre of that part of the
African continent, the magnetic equator advances rapidly
to the north of the terrestrial equator, quits Africa a little
to the south of Cape Guardafui, and in the Arabian Sea
it attains its most northerly latitude of about 12°, in 62°
of east longitude. Between this meridian and 174° east,
the magnetic equator is constantly to the north of the
equinoctial line. It cuts the Indian peninsula a little to
the north of Cape Comorin, traverses the Gulf of Bengal,
making a slight advance to the equinoctial, from which it
is only 8° distant at the entry of the Gulf of Siam. It
then re-ascends a little to the north, almost touches the
north point of Borneo, traverses the isle of Paragua, the
strait which separates the most southern of the Philip¬
pines from the isle of Mindanao, and under the meridian
of Naigiou it again reaches the north latitude of 9°.^ From
this point it traverses the archipelago of. the Caroline
Islands, and descends rapidly to the equinoctial line, which
it cuts, according to Morlet, in 174°, and according to Han¬
steen in 187°, of east longitude. There is much less un¬
certainty respecting the position of a second node, also
situated in the Pacific Ocean. Its west longitude ought
to be about 120° ; but while M. Morlet’s inquiries lead him
to conclude that the magnetic equator merely touches the
equinoctial at that point, and then bends again to the
south, M. Hansteen makes it cross the line into the noi th¬
em hemisphere, and continue there through an extent of
15° of longitude, and then return southward, and cross the
equinoctial again in about 108° of west longitude, or 23° Terrestrial
from the west coast of America. This ‘discrepancy be- Magne-
tween the deductions of Morlet and Hansteen is, after v tism‘
all, very trivial; for, in the case just mentioned, the mag-”^ Y "
netic equator does not go more than l^-0 to the north of
the equinoctial; and, in general, the magnetic equator of
Morlet differs in no part so much as 2° in latitude from
that of Hansteen.
The magnetic equator thus traced over the globe has
a motion from east to west, in so far as can be determined
by direct observations on the position of its nodes. The
two nodes of Hansteen, corresponding to the tangent
node of Morlet, are divided between 108° and 126° of
west longitude. In 1819, M. Freycinet found, on board
the Uranie, that this node was in 132° of longitude; and
Captain Sabine found that the node in Africa, which was
far from the coast in 1780, had advanced from east to
west even to the Atlantic Ocean. M. Morlet had indicat¬
ed, with some distrust, this motion of the magnetic equa¬
tor; and he considered it probable that its form and posi¬
tion regulated the direction of the annual variations of the
needle. He found that the dip of the needle diminished
wherever the motion of the equator tended to diminish
the magnetic latitude, and that it increased, on the con¬
trary, wherever the magnetic latitude was increased; a re¬
sult which was confirmed by future observations.
Much light has been thrown on the subject of terres¬
trial magnetism, but particularly on the form andjnotion of
the magnetic equator, by the observations of Captain Du-
perrey, made on board the Coquille, in the years 1822-
1825. This vessel crossed the magnetic equator six times,
and M. Duperrey was able to determine directly two of
its points, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. On the chart
of M. Morlet, and in that of Hansteen, the latitudes of
those parts which correspond to the same longitudes are
greater by 1° 43' and 1° 50'; and hence M. Arago has con¬
cluded that the magnetic equator has approached the ter¬
restrial equator by the same quantities. In the South
Sea, near the coast of America, M. Duperrey has deter¬
mined two points of the magnetic equator. On the charts
of Morlet and Hansteen the latitudes of these points is
about a degree smaller, but the difference is in a direction
contrary to that which was found in the Atlantic Ocean ;
from which it follows, that, near the coast of Peru, the
magnetic equator has removed from the equinoctial line.
In discussing the magnetic observations made on board
the Coquille, M. Duperrey has traced the form of the mag¬
netic equator with an unexpected degree of accuracy; em¬
ploying the formula of Barlow, which makes the tangent
of the magnetic latitude equal to half the tangent of the
dip, and making one only of dips which do not exceed 30°.
Having obtained the magnetic latitudes of the places where
the observations were made, he deduces, both from these and
from the variation of the needle at the same place, the chan¬
ges in longitude and latitude, which, being combined with
the geographical positions of the stations, give him the co¬
ordinates of the corresponding points ot the magnetic equa¬
tor. By means of this method, and relying only on his own
observations, he has traced a portion of this curve through
an extent of 247° of longitude, comprehending the Atlan¬
tic Ocean, a part of South America, the great equinoctial
ocean, and the Asiatic archipelago, as far as the western
extremity of the island of Borneo. In prolonging the
magnetic equator to the east, he has used the observations
of Captain Sabine in 1822, made in the island of St Thomas,
in the Gulf of Guinea. Between the west of Borneo and the
north of Ceylon, he availed himself of the observations made
in 1827, by M. de Blosseville, in the Chevrette. Adopting
Captain Sabine’s determination of one of the nodes ot the
magnetic equator, which he places 3° 20' to the east ot
the meridian of Paris, not far from the west coast ot At-
744
MAGNETISM.
I errestrial rica, M. Duperrey shows that this equator, after resting at
tUsm*6" no^e’ rises to the north, traverses Africa, and reaches
"m‘ probably the fifteenth degree of north latitude, in the Red
Sea (as appears from an observation made by Pantin
in the isle of Socotra in 1776). It then descends a little
to the south, to join a point in it fixed by M. Blosseville
in the north of Ceylon. From these facts it appears,
that the magnetic equator will meet the equinoctial line only
in two 'points, ichich are diametrically opposite, the one situ¬
ated in the Atlantic Ocean, and the other in the great ocean
nearly in the plane of the meridian of Paris. When this
equator meets only some scattered islands, it recedes only a
little from the equinoctial line. When the islands are more
numerous, it recedes farther ; and it reaches its maximum
deviation in both hemispheres only in the two great conti¬
nents which it traverses. He found also, that between the
northern and southern halves of the magnetic equator, there
is a symmetry very remarkable, and much more perfect than
had been previously believed. These results are laid down
by M. Duperrey in a chart of the equatorial regions, pub¬
lished in the Ann. de Chimie for 1830.
The dip of the needle increases on each side of the mag¬
netic equator, and Hansteen has projected the lines of equal TWt ! itr
dip in his chart already referred to. These lines are nearly MagneV
parallel to the magnetic equator, till we reach 60° of north ,
latitude, and they then begin to bend round the American'[
magnetic pole, which Commander Ross found to be situated
in north latitude 70® 5' 17", and west longitude 96° 45 48",
the needle having at this point, in Boothia Felix, lost wholly
its directive power, and the dip being 89° 59', within a
minute of 90°. Had we inferred the position of the needle
from the form of the magnetic equator, we should have
placed it in 25° of west longitude, viz. the meridian in which
the magnetic equator advances farthest to the south, or
about 131°, and in 76|° of north latitude, or 90° — 13JL°.
This, however, as all the arctic observations prove, is not
the case ; and we are led by the phenomena of the dip, as
well as by those of the variation in different points of the
globe, to conclude that every place has its own magnetic
axis, with its own pole and its own equator, as already stated
by Mr Barlow.
Ihe following table contains the best observations on
the dip of the needle, as collected by Professor Hans¬
teen :—
Places of Observation.
Port du Nord
Port du Sud
Surrobaya in Java
Amboyna
Lima
Magnetic*Equator in Peru
Tompenda
Loxa
Cuenqa
Quito
St Antonio
St Carlos
Popayan
Santa Fe de Bogota
Javita
Esmeralda
Carichana
St Thomas
Carthagena
Cumana
Mexico
Atlantic Sea
B. 20° 46' n. L. 41° 26' w.F
— 11 0  44 32 _
— 12 34  33 14 _
— 14 20   28 3 _
— 20 8   8 34 _
— 21 36   5 39 _
— 25 15   0 36 _
Portici
Naples
Rome
Vesuv. Crater
St Cruz, Teneriffe
Valencia
BTorence
Atlantic Sea
32° 16' n. 2° 52' w.
Barcelona
Marseilles
Nimes
Dip.
South.
75° 50'
70 48
25 40
20 37
9 59
0 0
North.
3 11
5 24
8 43
13 22
14 25
20 47
20 53
24 16
24 19
25 58
30 24
35 6
35 15
39 47
42 10
41 46
41 57
45 8
52 55
56 42
47 49
60 18
60 5
61 35
61 57
62 0
62 25
63 38
63 51
Inten¬
sity.
64 21
64 37
65 10
1*5773
1-6133
0-9348
0-9532
1-0773
1-0000
1-0191
1-0095
1-0286
1 0675
1-0871
1-0480
1-1170
1-1473
1-0675
1-0577
11575
1-1070
1-2938
11779
1*3155
1-1779
1-2617
1-2300
1-2830
1-2510
1-2617
1-2830
1-2883
1-2745
1-2642
1-1933
1-2723
1-2405
1-2782
Places of Observation-
1-2938
1-3482
1-2938
65 23 T-2938
Mailand
Montpellier
Airola|
Turin
Medina del Campo
Lans le Bourg Mont Cenis
Como
St Michel
Lyons
St Gothard
Mont Cenis
Ursern
Altorf
Atlantic Sea,
37° 14' n. 3° 30'
38 52 - 3 40
Madrid
Tubingen
Atlantic Sea,
38° 52' n. 3° 40'
Ferrol
Paris
Gottingen
Berlin
Carolath
Berlin
Dantzig
London
Ystad
Schleswig
Copenhagen
Odensee
Helsinburg
Holding
Soroe
Freidrichsburg
Aarhuus
Aalborg
Odensala
Friedrichshaven
Gbttenburg
Altorp
Dip.
N orth.
65° 40
65 53
65 55
66 12
66 12
66 14
66 22
66 22
66 42
66 53
1 Inten¬
sity.
1-3121
1-3482
1-3090
1-3364
1-2938
1-3227
1-3104
1-3488
1-3334
1-3138
1-3441
1-3069
1-3228
67 30 1-3155
67 40 H-3155
67 41 ! 1-3938
68 4 1-3569
68 11
68 32
69 12
69 29
69 53
68 21
68 50
69 44
69 57
70 13
70 36
70 36
70 50
70 52
70 53
70 57
70 59
71 13
71 27
71 39
71 48
71 58
72 14
1-3155
1-2617
1-3482
1 -3485
1-3703
1-3509
1-3533
1-3737
1-3697
1-3742
1-3814
1-3672
1-3650
1-3782
1-3846
1-3842
1-4028
1-3838
1-3660
1-3666
1-3842
1-3826
1-3891
Places of Observation.
Korset
Quistrum
Skieberg
Elleoen
Helgerone
Soner
Christiania
Ryenberg
Bogstad
Bogstadberg
Nasoden
Barum
Bolkesjoe
Ingolfsland
Norsteboe
Drammen
Maursater
Ullensvang
Gran
Kdngsberg
iTomlevold
Bekkervig
j Vang
Bergen
Moe
Mauristuen
Leierdal
Slidre
Brassa
Davis Straits,
68° 22' n. 36° 10' w.
Hare Island,
70° 26' n. 37° 12' w.
Baffin’s Bay,
75° 5' n. 42° 43' w.
75 51 - 45 26 —
76 45 - 58 20 _
76 0 - 60 41 _
70 35 -49 15 —
Magnetic Pole,
70° 5' 17" n. 96° 45' 48" w.
North.
72° 24'
72 27
Dip.
72
72
72
72
72
72
72
73
73
72
73
173
173
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
74
74
74
74
74
74
29
38
39
41
34
45
34
13
2
44
15
19
33
37
44
44
45
47
50
58
59
3
3
4
6
34
21
Inten¬
sity:
83 8i
82 49
84 25
84 44i
84 39
89 59
1-3735
1-4070
1-3725
1-3340
1-3980
1-3835
1-4195
1*4208
1-4378
1-4195
1-4517
1-3902
1-4053
1-4159
1-4136
1-3771
1-4656
1-4260
1-4221
1-4144
1-4246
1-4114
1-4308
1-4220
1-4254
1-4058
1-4190
1-4543
1-4471
1-6365
1-6406
1-6169
1-6410
1-7052
1-6885
1-6837
';>c
trrestial The following table contains a series of accurate ob- Altaian Mountains, and the Caspian Sea. The din in the Terrestrial
hgrc- servations on the dip of the needle, made in 1829, by table is the mean of two measures taken with two different Magne¬
ton.! Baron Humboldt, during his journey to the Uralian and needles. tism.
die
M A G N E T I S M.
745
Places.
Berlin 
Konigsberg 
Sandking  
Petersburg 
Moscow 
Kasan..... 
Ekatherineburg,
Beresowsk 
Nijne-Taghilks..,
Nijne-Tourinsk.
Tobolsk  
Barnoul 
Zmeinogorsk 
Ustkamenogorsk.,
Omsk 
Petropawlowsk...
Troitsk 
Minsk 
Zlatooust 
Kyschtim 
Orenburg 
Uralsk 
Saratov 
Sarepta 
Astrakhan  
Birutschicana1 
Woronesch 
Longitude East
of Paris.
North Latitude
11°
18
18
27
35
46
58
58
57
57
65
81
80
79
71
66
59
57
57
57
52
49
43
41
45
45
36
3' 30"
19 40
47 30
59 30
17 0
47 30
14 15
24 15
56 15
55 13
45 0
50 0
25 0
55 0
13 0
48 0
13 0
44 0
28 0
58 0
46 15
2 0
44 0
59 0
45 0
18 0
54 0
52° 3P 13"
54 42 50
55 42 13
59 56 31
55 45 13
55 47 51
56 50 13
56 54 0
57 55 0
58 41 0
58 11 43
53 19 0
51 8 0
49 56 0
54 57 0
54 52 0
54 5 0
54 58 0
55 8 0
55 37 0
51 46 0
51 11 0
51 31 0
48 30 0
46 21 0
45 44 0
51 39 0
Dip.
Time of
Observation.
68c
69
69
71
68
68
69
69
69
70
70
68
66
64
68
68
67
67
67
68
64
64
64
62
59
59
65
30'-7
25 -8
39 -8
6*7
56 *7
26-7
9-7
13- 2
29 -8
58 *7
55 -6
9-8
5-5
47 -6
54 -2
18- 4
14- 2
40 -2
43 *2
45 -9
40 -7
19- 3
40 *9
15- 7
58 -3
21 -6
12-0
April 9
~ 17
- 20
Dec. 6
Nov. 6
May 10
July 15
J une 20
^ 30
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
2
23
4
8
20
27
30
3
6
9
12
25
28
4
9
20
15
27
The following are some of the most recent measures of
the dip of the needle:—
Dip of the Needle.
Gottingen, June 23, 1832, Gauss 68° 22' 52"
Pekin, June 1831 54 48 9
Point Turnagain, 1821, Franklin 86 56 0
Fort Enterprise, 1821, ditto 86 58 0
Cumberland House, 1821, ditto 84 35 0
Ditto ditto, 1833, Back 80 49 0
York Factory, 1821, Franklin 79 29 0
New York, 1833, Back 73 14 0
Montreal, ditto, ditto 77 49 0
Isle a la Crosse, 1821, Franklin 84 13 0
Ditto, 1833, Back 80 35 0
Fort Chipeweyan, 1821, Franklin 85 23 0
Ditto, 1833, Back 81 52 0
Fort Resolution, 1833, ditto 84 30 0
Fort Reliance, 1834, ditto 84 24 0
Musk ox Rapid, 1834, ditto 86 13 0
Rock Rapid, 1834, ditto 87 54 0
Point Beaufort, 1834, ditto 88 13 0
Montreal Island, 1834, ditto r87 45 0
Point Ogle, 1834, ditto 87 26 0
Edinburgh, Greenhill, 1832, Forbes 71 37 0
Reykiavik, June 3, 1836 70 4 0
On the Progressive Change in the Dip of the Needle.
1>gres! The dip of the needle, like the variation, undergoes a
continual change, increasing in some parts of the world,
le<f' and diminishing in others. The following table shows the
change which has taken place in the dip at Paris from 1671
down to 1829.
Year. Dip.
1671 75° O'
1754 72 15
1776 72 25
1780 71 48
1791 70 52
1798 69 51
1806 69 12
1810 68 50
1814 68 36
1816  68 40
1817  68 38
The following table shows the changes of the dip at Lon¬
don since 1720.
Year. Dip.
1818  68° 35'
1819  68 25
1820  68 20
1821  68 14
1822  68
1823  68
1824  68
1825  68
1826  68
11
8
7
0
0
1829 67 41 Arago.
Year.
1720,
1773,
1780,
1790,
1800,
1810,
1818,
1821,
1828,
1830,
1833,
Observed.
74° 42' Graham.
19 Heberden.
8 Gilpin.
71 53 Ditto.
70 35 Ditto.
72
72
70 34 Kater.
70 3 Sabine.
69 47 Ditto.
69 38 Kater.
Computed.
76° 27'
73 40
73 18
72 39
71 58
71 15
70 34
69 43
69 21
The last column in the table was calculated by Profes¬
sor Barlow, by his formula, 2 cotan. crL = tan. dip, or
An island in the Caspian Sea.
VOL. XIII.
5 B
746
\
MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial that the tangent of the dip is equal to double the tangent
Magne- 0f the magnetic latitude.
- -JtlSm ^ . progressive variation in the dip of the needle is, as
Y M. Humboldt has shown, the necessary consequence of a
change in the magnetic latitude, arising from the motion
of the nodes of the magnetic equator modified by the form
of this curve ; and M. Morlet has applied the same princi¬
ple to account for the variations of the dip in different
parts of the globe.
Humboldt and Arago have endeavoured to deduce the
annual diminution of the dip occasioned by the motion of
the magnetic equator. By comparing the observations of
1778 and 1810 for Paris, the annual diminution was about
5', whereas, from those of 1820 and 1825, it appears to be
only 3'*3. The observations at Turin from 1805 to 1826
give 3'-5, and those of Florence 3r,3.
Besides the progressive variation of the dip, Hansteen
has found, from a series of observations made with a dip¬
ping needle by Dollond, that the'dip during the summer
was about fifteen minutes greater than during the winter,
and about four or five minutes greater in the forenoon than
in the afternoon.
Sect. III.— On the Intensity of Terrestrial Magnetism.
Intensity The determination of the intensity of the earthYmag-
of terres- netism at different points of its surface, and of the changes
netismag" which il: underSoes either progressively or at different
times of the day and different seasons of the year, has
become one of the most important practical problems con¬
nected with the physical condition of the globe.
The method of determining this important element by
the number of oscillations of the needle was first suggest¬
ed by Graham, and brought to perfection by Coulomb,
Humboldt, and others. If a needle whose axis of suspen¬
sion passes through its centre of gravity, and which has
its north polar and south polar magnetism equal, and si¬
milarly distributed, is made to vibrate by turning it from
its position, and allowing it to receive that position by a
series "Of oscillations, it is obvious that the earth’s magne¬
tism acts with equal force on each half, and that both these
forces tend to draw the needle into the magnetic meridian.
The greater the magnetic force, the more quickly will the
needle oscillate'and recover its primitive position. The
needle is, in short, in the same circumstances as a pendu¬
lum, oscillating by the action of gravity; and, as in this
case, the forces are as the squares of the number of oscil¬
lations made in the same time.
Let us now suppose, to take the simplest case, that we
make the dipping-needle oscillate in the plane of the mag¬
netic meridian, round the line of the dip, and that when Terrel
the experiment is performed at the equator, the number Magne.1"
in a second is 24, while in another place it is 25; then the tism'
intensities of the magnetic force at theseplaces is as 252toV'-"v~
242, or as 625 to 576, or as 1-085 to 1-000. By carrying
the same needle to different parts of the earth, the magne¬
tic intensity at these places will be found from the number
of its oscillations.
In the application of this method there are various prac¬
tical difficulties, particularly the necessity of its resting
upon knobs, edges of steel, or agate, during its oscillation,
which do not exist if Ve make a needle oscillate horizon¬
tally when suspended by a fine fibre of silk. This latter
method has, therefore, been the one universally employed,
though a little calculation is necessary to obtain the inten¬
sity of terrestrial magnetism from the number of oscilla¬
tions which are performed.
Let NS be a magnetic needle
suspended horizontally by a fibre Fig. 50.
of silk P, and let NC be the line
of the dip, or ANC = D the F
dip itself. Then if F is the force
of terrestrial magnetism acting
upon the oscillating needle, and
tending to bring it to rest, we
may decompose this force into s ^
two, viz. one, NB,[acting in a ver¬
tical direction, anid which, being
counteracted by the suspended
force, has no tendency to affect
the needle ; and the other, NA,
acting horizontally, and tending to direct the needle, and
cause it to oscillate. This force NA is the cosine of
ANC, the dip D. Hence the force NA will be equal to
F X cos. D. For any other place where the magnetic
intensity is F' and the dip D', the effective force will be
F' X cos. D'; and if we call N the number of oscillations
made in a second at the first place, and N the number at
the second, we shall have F X cos. D : F' X cos. D' =
N2: N2, and the ratio of the magnetic intensities at the
N2 cos. D
N'2 cos. D'*
two places, or =
r
In this way observations on the magnetic intensity have
been made in almost every part of the world, as shown in
the following table, drawn up by Professor Hansteen, and
containing observations made principally by himself and
his friends. The third column contains the number of
seconds in which 300 vibrations of the needle are per¬
formed.
747
MAGNETISM.
Places.
Berlin
Paris
London
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Oxford
Christiansand
Mandal
Tjos
Carlscrona
Ystad
Szrim
Glogau
Carolath
Zelgos
Dantzig
Marienburg
Goslina
Aiistrin
Christiania
Friedrichshall
Quistrum
Hede
Gottenburg
Quibille
I Helsingburg
Helfingder
Copenhagen
Friedrichsburg
Soroe
Skieberg
Kongsberg
1819
1822
1819
1820
1819
1820
1820
1820
1820
1820
1820
1822
1820
1821
1821
Bolkesjb
Vik
Tindosen
Oernas
Ingolfsland
Miland
Tind
Midboen
Rbgsland
Ndrstebbe
Hohnekjarn
Maursliter
EiPord
Ullensvang
J ohnniis-Tangen
Gjermundshafen
Kaarevigen
Find as
Siggens
F olgerbe
Engesund
Beckkervig
Lat.
52° 32
48 50
51 31
55 58
53 22
51 46
56 7
55 26
52 7
51 43
51 46
53 11
54 21
54 2
52 34
52 35
59 55
59 8
58 27
57 58
57 42
56 47
56 3
56 2
55 41
55 56
55 27
59 14
59 40
59 43
59 53
59 56
60 0
60 20
60 17
60 25
60 20
60 3
59 45
59 45
59 48
59 55
60 1
Long.
from
Ferro-
Time of
300 Oscilla¬
tions.
31° 2'
20 0
17 34
14 29
14 43
16 24
25 43
25 9
33 13
31 28
34 48
33 36
33 37
32 48
36 18
36 42
34 43
32 40
28 25
29 4
29 25
29 48
29 38
30 30
30 23
30]! 18
30 15
29 58
29 4
28 51
27 20
27 0
26 28
26 36
26 17
25 24
25 3
24 18
23 52
23 7
22 54
22 56
22 53
22 50
760"-03
75303
77534
820-26
801-6
779-8
820- 3
814-3
816-3
785-3
779-3
748-1
748-8
752-7
759-7
770-4
766-0 *
759-7
762-4 *
814- 76
821- 7*
830-3
816-1 *
815- 4
810-8
812-2 *
812-1
791-6*
791-1 *
790-0 *
789- 8*
784- 6 *
788-08
785- 9
790- 6
790-4
826-7
845-4
839-3
845- 1
837- 8
859-5
834-9
836-8
834- 6
829-1
833-4
833-4
835- 7
836- 8
838- 0
839- 8
832-8
829-3
852-6
840- 7
843-8
846- 2
838-2
861-7
824-2
837- 4
835-9
840 7
8510
Bratholmen
Bergen
Fort Friedrichsberg
Friedrichsberg
Lunggaards See
Lyderhorn, 1255 ft.
Lovstakken, 1524 ft.
Haugs
Bolstadbrn
Evanger
Vossevangen
Tvinde
Staleim
Leirdalsoren
Leirdals
Maristuen
Nyestuen
Vangs
Slidre
Tumlevold
Grans
Moe
Sundvold
Johnsrud
Hurdal
Trogstad
Sunbye 1822
Sooner
Places.
Boe
Altorp
Oedskjolds-Moen
Elleoen
Godtskjar
Korset
Helegraae '
Stubberud
Solerud
Konnerud-Kollen, 1823
Auestad
Bragernas
Ravnsborg
Friedrichsvarn, 1824
Friedrichshavn
Aalborg
Sporring
Aarhuus
Hbvedkrug
Weile
Apenrade
Gehlau
Schleswig
Remmels
Elmshorn
Altona
Berlin
Lubeck
Ploen
Preetz
Kolding
Odensee
Buskerud
Lat.
60
60
60
60
60
60
61
61
61
61
61
61
60
60
60
60
59
60
60
59
59
59
58
58
59
57
58
58
59
59
59
59
59
59
1^7
57
56 10
54 31
52 32
Long.
from
Ferro.
Time of
300 Oscilla¬
tions.
22°
22
27 54
27 15
839"-5
850-1
850-5
849- 3
843-7
904-7
845-2
847- 7
845-9
850- 6
849-1
848- 9
856-3
852- 2
855-3
853- 2
845-6
853-9
843-7
842-3
848-3
842-6
841-5
827- 3
823-8
826-8
827-8
828- 1
823- 2
816-3
816-0
826-7
809-9
824- 5
822-7
818-9
826-5
875-5
852-1
848-6
820-5 *
813-5
808-1
806-0
799*9
796-0
798-3
793-9
786- 4
787- 9
783-0
785-5
783-0
779- 1
7761
774-9
760-4
759-9
776-2
780- 5
779-0
789-1
793-7
845*5
Places.
Johnsknuden
Skrimfjeld
Rolloug
Synhovedet
Eje
Ejesfjeld
Daglio
Torpe
Haavi
Urland
Voss
June
Sept.
Age-Nuten
Vigor
Bergen
Nyegaard
Flbifjeldet
Lbvstakken
Friedrichsberg
Lindaas
Evenvig
Y ttre-Sulen
Stensund
Pollefjeld
Askevold
Vilnas
Sougesund
Alden
Bueland
Sveen
Quam shest
F orde
June
Sept.
J olster
Gloppen
Indvig
Horningdal
Hiilsylta
Nordal
Veblungsniis
Fladmark
Nyestuen
Fogstuen
Jerkin
Foldal
Kongsvold
Drivstuen
Riise
Naverdal
Stoa
Gora
Tofte
Vauge
Vinje
Nyuestuen
Skougstad
Smedshammer
Sundvold
Carlscrona
Breslau
Stockholm
Hernosand
July
Aug.
59° 59'
60 6
60 18
60 40
61 7
61 0
60 38
60 18
60 24
60 43
68 58
61 4
61 3
61 24
61 22
61 22
61 22
61 17
61 32
61 35
61 51
61 49
61 59
62 7
62 18
62 31
62 5
62 12
62 7
62 18
62 26
62, 31
62 42
62 32
62 35
61 58
61 51
60 52
6] 8
61 10
60 29
60 4
Long.
from
Ferro.
27° 5'
26 53
26 26
26 47
26 42
24 55
24 10
24 5
22 57
23 8
23 8
22 45
22 52
23 7
22 58
23 11
22 50
22 44
23 48
24 10
24 6
24 34
24 33
24 54
25 13
25 39
27 9
27 29
27 57
27 36
27 41
27 41
28 6
28 21
27 2
27 10
27 4
24 22
25 59
26 12
28 14
28 7
Time of
300 Oscilla¬
tions.
961 "-3
891-3
844- 0
846-3
838- 5
831-2
837-4
841- 5
851-2
850-4
849- 2
856- 5
845- 9
842- 7
850- 7
857- 1
854- 7
844-2
851- 7
843- 5
850-6
852- 1
852-9
861-8
861-1
860- 7
861- 7
850- 7
851- 2
856-4
849-8
858- 9
858-8
848-6
861- 9
860-4
862- 6
864-8
870-3
868-3
862-9
862-7
856-9
846- 5
855- 5
860 0
858-0
858- 1
859- 8
858- 7
860- 4
862-1
859- 3
860- 8
848-2
852- 1
853- 7
841-9
839- 2
735
741
815
850
Terrestrial
Magne¬
tism.
76f
81
^48 MAGNET
The principal intensities computed from these obser¬
vations will be found in our table of the dip given above.
It is obvious from these data that the magnetic intensity
increases from the equator to the poles, and the law of
variation is shown in the following table :
Dip of the Needle. Magnetic Intensity.
0° 1-0
24 M
45 1-2
64 1-3
73 1-4
1-5
1*6
86 1-7
M. Hansteen has projected upon a map of the globe the
lines passing through all the places in which the intensity
has the same value. These lines he calls isodynamic lines,
or those of equal force, and they are, generally speaking,
nearly parallel to each other, and to the lines of equal dip.
Hansteen’s Many valuable observations on the intensity of the earth’s
observa- magnetism were made during the numerous arctic expedi-
Siberia tionS whicl1 were sent out t'*ie British government; but
Professor Hansteen being extremely desirous of establish¬
ing, by direct observations of his own, the existence of the
secondary magnetic pole, which he believed existed in Si¬
beria, set out for this purpose, at the expense of the Nor¬
wegian Storthing, and with every encouragement and as¬
sistance from the Russian government. The results of
this expedition exceeded his most sanguine expectations.
The Russian Academy of Sciences have, in consequence
of Professor Hansteen’s scientific journey, been induced
to take a new interest in the subject of terrestrial magne¬
tism, which exhibits such interesting features throughout
the Russian empire; and the Russian government has es¬
tablished regular observatories in different parts of its vast
dominions, for making magnetical experiments. The
Russian empire is actually traversed by two lines of no va¬
riation, and it is proposed to determine with great preci¬
sion, every ten years, the exact position of these two lines.
Near the first of them, which traverses European Russia,
Petersburg, Moscow, and Kasan, are situated ; and near
the second, which passes through Siberia, is situated Ki-
achta and Nizni-Oudinsk.
The principal observations made by Hansteen in Sibe¬
ria have been laid down in a map of the northern hemi-
Fig. 51.
I S M.
sphere by Captain Sabine, along with other observations Terrel
made by himself and Humboldt. In this map, of which the Magne
prefixed figure is a copy, it is exceedingly interesting to
observe the isodynamic lines surrounding the two northern '""'rv
magnetic poles, and forming a series of returning curves
similar to lemniscates, and which may be calculated by
the formula; of Sir David Brewster, already given in the
History of Magnetism.
In this map the American pole is situated nearly in 60°
of N. lat. and 80° of W. long.; and the Asiatic pole in
60° N. lat. and 100° of E. long. The black lines pass
through the places where the magnetic intensity was ob¬
served to be equal, and the dotted parts of the same
curves indicate the probable direction of the lines where
observations have not yet been made. The lines round
the American pole are laid down principally from Cap¬
tain Sabine’s observations, and those round the Asiatic
pole from the recent observations of Hansteen. The fol¬
lowing is the account given of the different isodynamical
lines in the figure, by Captain Sabine.
The first curve, or that nearest the magnetic poles, is
that in which a magnetic needle which performs n oscilla¬
tions in 300" in London, performs the same number in
269" round the Asiatic pole. This curve contains a smaller
space than the corresponding curve round the American
pole, which proves the inferior activity of the former pole.
Hansteen tiaced the south part of this curve below lat.
60°, from the river Jenisei to the 115th degree of W.'
long., that is, 25° beyond the Jenisei, and to lat. 60°,
where it takes a direction almost due north.
The second curve, or that in which the same number n
oscillations are performed in 278 seconds, goes round both
the American and Asiatic poles, including both within its
area. It passes to the north-west of Melville Island, and
to the north-east of some stations on the west coast of
(ji eenland; and it cuts the American coast between the
Havannah and New Y ork. Dr Erman, who accompanied
Hansteen into Siberia, traced the same curve from the
embouchure of the Oby, in N. lat. 68°, and E. long. 70°,
following the direction of the river Mina as far as 60° N.
lat. The curve here gradually bends to the east, and af¬
ter passing between Tobolsk and Narym, it was again de¬
tected by M. Hansteen at Kainsk, a few degrees to the
south of Lake Baikal.
1 he third curve, or that in which n oscillations are per-
formed in 2b d, is drawn on the American side, from ob¬
servations made at the Havannah, at the Pendulum Isle on
the east coast of Greenland, in N. lat. 74° 5', and between
Spitzbergen and Hammerfest, near the North Cape. This
curve, according to Hansteen, enters Europe^ between
Archangel and Nova Zembla; and he met with it again
between Moscow and Tobolsk, at 56i° of E. lone, and
57|° of N. lat. 6
l he fourth curve, or that in which n oscillations are per¬
formed in 297 seconds, passes near Jamaica, where the oscil¬
lations were performed in 294 seconds, and, after travers¬
ing the north of Britain, it enters Norway to the south of
Bergen. Advancing eastward, it passes between Stockholm
and lorneo, and thence by St Petersburg and Moscow.
I he observations of Professor Hansteen do not extend
farther south than these lines, and therefore Captain Sa¬
bine has laid down in the map the lines in which n oscil¬
lations are performed in 308, 321, 335, 351, and 370 se¬
conds, from his own observations and those of Humboldt.
The lowest number of seconds in which n oscillations are
performed is at the magnetic poles, where it is nearly 262
or 263, and the greatest, 370, the time in which they are
performed at the equator.
We have stated that the isodynamical lines are nearly
parallel to those of equal dip. This is the case in Scot¬
land ; but towards the east, in Norway and Sweden, the
MAGNETISM.
749
rerrrtrial lines of equal intensity bend more to the north, and cut
M^e- t]ie former; and also, under the same line of equal dip, the
UintensitJ weaker to the east than to the west. Hence
M. Hansteen has found that the pole of the lines of equal
dip lies in 71° of lat., and 102° of long., while the pole of
intensity is in 56° of lat., and 80° of long, west of Paris.
The first of these determinations coincides very nearly
with the pole of Commander Ross, where the dip was
90°. The latest observations made during the arctic ex¬
peditions from England, and also those by Hansteen and
Erman in Siberia, prove beyond a doubt the accuracy of
the earlier conclusion of Hansteen, that the lines of equal
intensity and equal dip are not parallel. Humboldt dis¬
covered the node of the magnetic equator with the isody-
namical curve in 7° of S. lat., and 81° of long, west of
Paris. He traced this last line to the west of the Cordil¬
leras of the Andes, and along the coast of Peru, towards
Kasma and Fluormay, even to the 10th degree of S. lat.
M. Adolphus Erman found in Siberia, that the isodynamic
line, where the intensity is P60 (that of the equator being
POO), directs itself also from north to south with a slight
inclination to the south-east. He observed this line cut al¬
most at right angles the curves of equal dip, and then de¬
scend from the north-north-west to the south-south-east,
from Ochotsk, near the mouths of the Oby,*to Tomsk. M.
Humboldt is of opinion that the isodynamical line and the
Peruvian node of the magnetic equator have been carried,
since his voyage, from east to west; and he informs us that
M. A. Erman, in the 135th degree of long, west of Paris, and
in the magnetic equator, found that the intensity of the mag¬
netic forces was sensibly the same as he had found them
twenty-six years before on the magnetic equator in Peru.
As the intensity of terrestrial magnetism at different
places is not a function of the dip at these places, and the iso¬
dynamic lines are not parallel to those of equal dip, it is pro¬
bable that different points of the equator have not the same
magnetic intensity. “ Having carried,” says Humboldt,
“ the same needle or needles compared with them, from Pa¬
ris to Mexico, to the magnetic equator in Peru, to Berlin,
to Petersburg, to the shores of the Caspian, and to the north
of Asia, I have expressed the magnetic intensities at these
places, by taking for unity the intensity which I find on
the magnetic equator in Peru, or rather in the intersection
of this equator with the isodynamical line of minimum
intensity. On this supposition, I find for Paris P3482,
for Milan P3121, for Naples P2745. The very valuable
observations of M. Rossel, at Surabaya in Java, and those
of Captain Sabine near St Thomas, 5° north of the equa¬
tor, indicate that the magnetic intensity is less on the mag¬
netic equator near the west coast of Africa (long. 40. 24.
W.), and.in the great Italian archipelago, than in the
portion of the magnetic equator which crosses Peru. Be¬
sides, M. A. Erman has observed, that on the east coasts
of South America the intensities are much weaker at the
same distances from the south terrestrial pole than on the
west coasts. The intensity POO, found to the west of the
new continent, on the magnetic equator in the South Sea,
in 135° of west longitude, and 1° 55' of south latitude,
shows itself on the coasts of Brazil towards the 38th de¬
gree of south latitude, while the dip is there even more
than 37° south. It appears to me more probable that the
minimum intensity at the surface of the earth is to the
maximum, not as 1 to 1*6 or 2, as has been supposed, but
even much beyond the ratio of 1 to 2,6.”
Observations are yet wanting to determine in what
manner the intensity varies with the height. Humboldt
is of opinion that it decreases, thus confirming the deduc¬
tions of Kupffer.
By combining all the observations of intensity from 179° Terrestrial
to 183°, M. Hansteen has drawn the conclusion, that the Magne-
total magnetic intensity is smaller in the southern than in the,
northern hemisphere. M. Duperrey has confirmed this re¬
sult. According to the investigations of Biot, the natu-
tism.
ral magnetic intensity, or I, is = 2A. / ^ 
*v 4 — 3 sin.2 h
and
1
that of the horizontal needle = 2A /———^ , 5 being
3 + sec.2 S °
the dip ; but these formulae presuppose that the earth is
perfectly homogeneous, and of course they cannot be ve¬
rified by insulated observations. M. Duperrey has there¬
fore been obliged, in order to bring all these observations
into this state, to take the mean intensity of the terrestrial
equator and of each of the parallels of the globe, and to
multiply the circumference of each curve by its inten¬
sity in order to have the total intensity, and then to take
the mean of the total intensities of the corresponding pa¬
rallels in each hemisphere. In this manner he obtained
all the points of the curve which represents the law of
the increase of the magnetic forces from observation.
The curve thus traced, when compared with that which
is calculated by the formula of M. Biot, does not deviate
from it above 0’015 of the intensity, supposing the inten¬
sity at the magnetic equator in Peru to be 1. He has
found also that the surface of the north magnetic hemi¬
sphere is to that of the south one in the ratio of POOOO
to P0152, a ratio which is the same as that of the total
intensity of the south terrestrial hemisphere to the total
intensity of the north terrestrial hemisphere ; and he hence
concludes, that the surfaces of the two magnetic hemispheres
are proportional to the intensities of the two terrestrial hemi¬
spheres.
On the Monthly and Daily Change of Intensity.
The magnetic intensity, like the other elements of ter- Monthly
restrial magnetism, suffers monthly and diurnal changes. an(l daily
By means of the vibrations of a needle delicately suspended, changes of
M. Hansteen found that the minimum of the daily change intensit-v'
of intensity is between ten and eleven in the forenoon, and
the maximum between four and seven in the afternoon in
May, and about seven in June. The intensity is a maxi¬
mum in December, and a minimum in June. The greatest
monthly change in the intensity is a maximum in the
months of December and June, about the time when the
earth is in its perihelion and aphelion. It is a minimum
near the equinoxes, or when the earth is at its mean dis¬
tance from the sun. The greatest daily change is least in
the winter and greatest in the summer, the greatest dif¬
ference of the annual change of intensity is 0-0359. M.
Hansteen has likewise found, that the magnetic intensity is
diminishing in Europe, and that the decrease is greater
in the northern and eastern, than in the southern and west¬
ern parts, an effect which he conceives to be produced by
the motion of the Siberian pole towards the east. At port
Bowen, Captain Parry observed an augmentation of the
magnetic intensity to take place from the morning till the
afternoon, and a diminution of it from the afternoon till the
morning. These results of Hansteen have been confirmed
by Mr Christie,1 who has shown that the terrestrial mag¬
netic intensity is a minimum between ten and eleven o’clock
in the morning, the time nearly when the sun is in the
magnetic meridian ; that it increases from this time until
between nine and ten o’clock in the evening, after which
it decreases, and continues decreasing during the morning,
till it reaches its minimum between ten and eleven. I hese
1 Phil. Trans. 1825, p. 49-51.
750
MAGNETISM.
Terrestrial results were deduced from observations made in May, with-
Magne- %n doors, to determine the positions of the points of equili-
Tism. brium at which a magnetic needle was retained at different
hours during the day, by the joint action of two bar-mag-
nets, and of terrestrial magnetism reduced to their true po¬
sitions at the standard temperature (60°) of the magnets.
As this change in the position of these points was produced
by the change in the magnetic intensity, Mr Christie thus
obtained accurate measures of the last of these elements by
means of the formula
M — F (-004690814 + -000829329 cos.2 p) = 0,
in which M is the horizontal part of the terrestrial mag¬
netic force, acting on the north arm of the needle in the
line of the dip, F the force with which a pole of the needle
is repelled from a pole of the same name of either magnet,
or attracted towards that of a contrary name at the unity Terrest
of distance, and <p the angle which the axis of the needle Mam?
makes with the meridian, or the azimuth of the point of tism.
equilibrium. s—
Mr Christie repeated his observations in the open air in
June, and from these it appears that the minimum in¬
tensity happened nearly at the time the sun passed the
magnetic meridian, and rather later than in May, which
was also the case with the time of the sun’s passage over
the meridian. The intensity increased until about six
o’clock in the afternoon, after which it appears to have de¬
creased during the evening, and to have been decreas¬
ing from an early hour in the morning. Mr Christie has
given the following interesting view of Hansteen’s results
and his own.
itstr
MU''
-
lie-
Intensity deduced from Hansteen’s Observa¬
tions in 1820.
Time.
8 k.
10
4
7
10
0' A. M.
30
0 P. M.
0
30
May.
1-00034
1-00000
1-00299
1-00294
1.00191
June.5!
1-00010
1-00000
1-00251
1-0030411
1-00267'
Intensity deduced from Mr Christie’s Obser¬
vations in 1823.
Time.
7 h. 30'
10 30
4 30
7 30
9 30
May.
1-00114
1-00000
1-00175
1-00220
1-00231
June.
1-00061
1-00000
1-00223
1-00239
1-00209
The principal difference between these results is, that
in Mr Christie’s observations the intensity seems to dimi¬
nish more rapidly in the morning, and increase more slow¬
ly in the afternoon, than it does in those of Hansteen.
The following table shows the horizontal magnetic in¬
tensity at Gottingen, as determined by Professor Gauss,
in different months of 1832, with great accuracy.
1832.
Horizontal
Intensity.
May 21. 1-7820
~ 24. 1-7694
June 4. 1-7713
„ 24-28. 1-7625
July 23,24. 1-7826
1832.
Horizontal
Intensity.
July 25,26. 1-7845
Sept. 9. 1-7764
~ 18. i-7821
- 27. 1-7965
Oct. 15. 1-7860
In order to obtain from these numbers the absolute mag¬
netic intensity, to compare them with the results in Han¬
steen’s table, they must be multiplied by the secant of 68°
22' 22", the dip at Gottingen on the 23d June 1832.
Sect. IV.—On the Nature and Causes of the Earth's Mag¬
netism.
of the
earth’s
magne¬
tism.
Nature The phenomena described in the preceding sections af-
and causes ford abundant evidence that the earth is in some way or
other magnetic; but what is the nature of its magnetic
condition, or from what cause it derives its origin,Jare points
which it is not easy to determine. The earliest and the most
natural supposition is that of Dr Gilbert, that the earth con¬
tains within itself a powerful magnet, lying in a position
which nearly coincides with its axis of rotation. In this
case, the pole of this magnet, which acts in our northern
hemisphere,’must have south polar magnetism, as it attracts
the north pole of the needle; while the pole in the south¬
ern hemisphere must have north polar magnetism, as it
attracts the south pole of the needle. That this hypothe¬
sis would, generally speaking, represent the ordinary phe¬
nomena of terrestrial magnetism, may be easily shown by
placing a bar-magnet within a terrestrial globe, and ob¬
serving the phenomena exhibited by a small needle sus-*
pended at its centre of gravity by a fine thread or fibre.
As the magnet is placed out of the axis of rotation, the
needle in the northern hemisphere will always point to
the north end of the enclosed magnet, exhibiting all the
phenomena of the variation of the needle, as usually
observed. The general phenomena of the dip will also
be exhibited, as shown in the annexed figure, where NS
is the direction
of the enclosed Fig. 52.
magnet, shown
by dotted lines,
S being the
northern mag¬
netic pole, and
N the southern,
and ns, ns, small
needles sus¬
pended by fibres
f,ff The needle
has no dipat the
equator,because
each pole is
equally attracted by the corresponding poles of the en¬
closed magnet, and at the poles S, N the dip is 90°, as
observed at the northern magnetic pole by Commander
Ross. At latitudes intermediate between the magnetic
equator and the magnetic poles, the dip has an interme¬
diate value.
In the same manner as a common bar-magnet commu¬
nicates magnetism to a piece of soft iron held near it, the
supposed magnet in the earth communicates magnetism
to a soft iron bar,heldin the magnetic meridian, and parallel
to the dipping-needle, which in this country is not far
from a vertical position. The soft iron is temporarily a
magnet, exactly like the soft bar in the presence of a real
magnet, and possesses the very same properties.
In the progress of discovery, however, it has been found,
that the phenomena of the dip and the variation are more
complex than this hypothesis will allow us to suppose;
and in measuring the magnetic intensity in Siberia, Han¬
steen has proved that there is another magnetic pole in that
country, which regulates the magnetic phenomena. In
order to account for these, we must therefore suppose an¬
other magnet passing through the globe in the direction
nagir
|ism.
MAGNETISM.
ferff trial of a diameter whose pole coincides with the Siberian mag-
Mtne- netic pole. But even this addition to the hypothesis of
tiy- < Gilbert will not explain the phenomena, unless we resort
to the absurd assumption of Halley, who gives rotatory
movements to magnetic spheres placed in the interior of
C" the globe.
A more sober and philosophical hypothesis is one which
has been long gaining ground, and which recent discover¬
ies have rendered still more probable. According to this
hypothesis, the magnetism of the earth is not that of a
magnet, but that of a sphere or spherical shell of iron on
which magnetism is induced. The difference between
these two magnetic states is very great. In regular mag¬
nets the centres of action are placed at their extremities or
ll poles ; but in masses of iron, either hollow or solid, either
regular or irregular, the centres of action are always coin¬
cident with the centre of attraction of the surface of the
mass. When the observations on the variation and dip of
the needle became numerous and accurate, philosophers
soon perceived that they could not be explained by the ac¬
tion of two magnetic poles at a distance from each other.
M. Biot had the merit of first viewing the subject in this
light, and he at length came to the conclusion, that the
nearer the poles were taken to each other, the greater was
the agreement between the computed and observed re¬
sults ; and by assuming the two centres as indefinitely near
to each other in the centre of the earth, the coincidence
between observation and calculation was as great as could
be expected. Now it is a remarkable fact, that Mr Barlow
discovered, as we have already seen, that such a coinci¬
dence in the centre of action actually takes place in all bo¬
dies which are magnetic by induction, such as iron spheres
or shells ; and he has applied this principle to account for
the various phenomena of the dip and variation of the
needle. Almost all the philosophers who have since in¬
vestigated the subject have adopted this idea; and the
only difficulty which attaches to it is, where to find the
cause by which the earth’s magnetism is induced. The
following speculations on this curious subject are hazard¬
ed by M. Hansteen, in his work on the magnetism of the
earth.
ffantpen. “ For these reasons, it appears most natural to seek their
origin in the sun, the source of all living activity; and
our conjecture gains probability from the preceding remarks
on the daily oscillations of the needle. Upon this princi¬
ple, the sun may be conceived as possessing one or more
magnetic axes, which, by distributing the force, occasion a
magnetic difference in the earth, in the moon, and all those
planets whose internal structure admits of such a differ-
Yet, allowing all this, the main difficulty seems not
ence.
to be overcome, but merely removed from the eyes to, a
greater distance ; for the question may still be asked with
equal justice, whence did the sun acquire its magnetic
force ? And if from the sun we have recourse to a central
sun, and from that again to a general magnetic direction
throughout the universe, having the milky-way for its equa¬
tor, we but lengthen an unrestricted chain, every link of
which hangs on the preceding link, no one of them on a
point of support. All things considered, the following mode
of representing the subject appears to me most plausible. If
a single globe were left to move alone freely in the immen¬
sity of space, the opposite forces existing in its material
structure would soon arrive at an equilibrium conformable
to their nature, if they were not so at first, and all activity
would soon come to an end. But it we imagine another
globe to be introduced, a mutual relation will arise between
the two; and one of its results will be a reciprocal ten¬
dency to unite, which is designated, and sometimes thought
to be explained, by the merely descriptive word attraction.
Now, would this tendency be the only consequence of that
relation ? Is it not more likely that the fundamental forces,
751
being driven from their state of indifference or rest, would Terrestrial
exhibit their energy in all possible directions, giving rise Magne¬
to all kinds of contrary action ? The electric force is tisrn-
excited, not by friction alone, but also by contact, and
probably also, though in smaller degrees, by the mutual th^eartL’s
action of two bodies at a distance; for contact is nothing magne-
but the smallest possible distance, and that, moreover, only tism.
for a few small particles. Is it not conceivable that mag¬
netic force may likewise originate in a similar manner?
When the natural philosopher and the mathematician pay
regard to no other effect of the reciprocal relation between
two bodies at a distance, except the tendency to unite, they
proceed logically, if their investigations require nothing
more than a moving power ; but should it be maintained
that no other energy can be developed between two such
bodies, the assertion will need proof, and the proof will be
hard to find.
“ I reckon it possible, therefore, that, by means of the
mutual relations subsisting between the sun and all the pla¬
nets, as well as between the latter and their satellites, a
magnetic action may be excited in every one of those
globes whose material structure admits of it, in a direc¬
tion depending on the position of the rotatory axes with
regard to the plane of the orbit. Each of the planets might
thus give rise to a particular magnetic axis in the sun ; but
as their orbits make only small angles with the sun’s equa¬
tor and each other, these magnetic axes would, perhaps,
on the whole, correspond with the several rotatory axes.
Such planets as have no moons would, on this principle,
have but one magnetic axis ; the rest would, in all cases,
have one axis more than they have moons, if those differ¬
ent axes, by reason of the small angles which the orbits of
their several moons form with each other, did not combine
into a single axis. The conical motions by which the ro¬
tatory axes of the planets are carried round the pole of the
ecliptic (the precession in the earth), joined to the revolv¬
ing motion of the orbits about the sun’s equator (which oc¬
casions the present diminution in the obliquity of the eclip¬
tic), might perhaps, in this case, account for the change
of position in the magnetic axis. It would greatly strength¬
en this hypothesis, if the above great magnetic period, af¬
ter the lapse of which both axes again assume the same po¬
sition, should in fact be found to coincide with the pe¬
riod of the precession, which, however, seems a little doubt¬
ful.”
Such was the state of speculation on this part of the
subject when Hansteen published his work on the magne¬
tism of the earth. The poles of our globe were then re¬
garded as the coldest parts on its surface; and no con¬
jecture even had been hazarded regarding the connection
between the phenomena of terrestrial temperature and
terrestrial magnetism,'till Sir David Brewster proved, from
an immense number of meteorological observations, that
there were in our northern hemisphere two poles of maxi¬
mum cold ; that these poles coincided with the magnetic
poles ; that the circle of maximum heat, like the magnetic
equator, did not coincide with the equinoctial line; that
the isothermal lines, and the lines of equal magnetic in¬
tensity, had the same general form surrounding and en¬
closing the magnetic poles and those of maximum cold; and
that, by the same formula, mutatis mutandis, we could cal¬
culate the temperature and the magnetic intensity of any
point of the globe. These views we have referred to more
fully in the history of magnetism.
The monthly and daily changes in the intensity of ter¬
restrial magnetism, and in the dip and variation of the nee¬
dle, had led Canton and others to ascribe these changes to
the action of the sun ; and Captain Duperrey, in his paper
on the magnetic equator, has ascertained, that the points of
this great circle, or those where the magnetic intensity is
a minimum, are also the warmest points of each meridian,
752
MAGNETISM.
tism.
Cause of
the earth’s
magne¬
tism.
Terrestrial or that the thermal and the magnetic equator are con-
Magne- nected, as we had already proved to be the case with
the thermal and magnetic poles. Captain Duperrey like¬
wise attributes the differences in the magnetic intensi¬
ties of different places to their difference of temperature;
and he remarks, that in comparing the isothermal and the
isodynamic lines, he has found a remarkable analogy in their
curvatures, and particularly in the direction of their con¬
cavities and convexities. In support of these view's, Cap¬
tain Duperrey refers to the changes in the daily variation,
as following the movements of the sun ; and he infers that
the southern hemisphere of our globe is a degree colder
than the northern hemisphere.
But though it is now placed beyond a doubt, that the
phenomena of temperature and magnetism are closely
connected, and that the latter are powerfully influenced
by the former, yet various questions arise, which it is very
difficult to answer.
1. Have the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism an
electric origin ; that is, is the magnetism developed by
electro-magnetic or thermo-magnetic causes ? or,
2. Are the phenomena owing to the diffusion of iron or
other magnetic metals through the solid mass of our globe,
in which magnetism is induced by some exterior cause ?
The electro-magnetic hypothesis, which was first stated
by Sir David Brewster, has been ably supported by Pro¬
fessor Barlow, in a recent* paper {Phil. Trans. 1831) On
the probable Electric Origin of all the Phenomena of Ter¬
restrial Magnetism ; in which he considers it as probable,
“ that magnetism, as a distinct quality, has no existence
in nature.” As all the phenomena of terrestrial magne¬
tism can be explained on the supposition that the magne¬
tic power resides on its surface, it occurred to Mr Barlow,
that if he could distribute over the surface of an artificial
globe a series of galvanic currents, in such a way that
their tangential power should everywhere give a corre¬
sponding direction to the needle, this globe would exhi¬
bit, while under electrical induction, all the magnetic
phenomena of the earth upon a needle freely suspended
above it. He accordingly put this idea to the test of ex¬
periment in the following manner:
“ I procured,” says he, “ a wooden globe sixteen inches
in diameter, which was made hollow for the purpose of
reducing its weight; and, while still in the lathe, grooves
were cut to represent an equator, and parallels of latitude
at every 41° each way from the equator to the poles; these
grooves were about an eighth of an inch deep and broad;
and lastly, a groove of the same breadth, but of double
the depth, was cut like a meridian, from pole to pole,
half round. These grooves were for the purpose of lay¬
ing in the wire, which was effected thus : The middle of
a copper wire, nearly ninety feet long, and one-tenth of
an inch in diameter, was applied to the equatorial groove,
so as to meet in the transverse meridian ; it was then
made to pass round this parallel, returned again along the
meridian to the next parallel; then passed round this
again ; and so on, till the wire was thus led in continua¬
tion from pole to pole.
“ The length of wire still remaining at each pole was
bound with varnished silk to prevent contact, and then
returned from each pole along the meridian groove to the
equator. At this point, each wire being fastened down
with small staples, the wires for the remaining five feet
were bound together to near their common extremity,
where they opened to form two points for connecting the
poles of a powerful galvanic battery.
“ When this connection was made, the wire became of
Barlow’s
electro¬
magnetic
globe.
course an electric conductor, and the whole surface of the Terrestri I
globe was put into a state of transient magnetic induction ; MagC
and consequently, agreeable to the laws of action above t[sra-
described, a neutralized needle freely suspended above
such a globe would arrange itself in a plane passing from
pole to pole through the centre, and take different angles mametk
of inclination, according to its situation between the equa-globe,
tor and either pole.
“ In order to render the experiment more strongly repre¬
sentative of the actual state of the earth, the globe, in the
state above described, was covered by the gores of a com¬
mon globe, which were laid on so as to bring the poles of
this wire arrangement into the situation of the earth’s
magnetic poles, according to the best observations we have
for this determination. I therefore placed them in lati¬
tude 72° north and 72° south, and on the meridian corre¬
sponding with longitude 76° west, by which means the
magnetic and true equators cut one another in about 14°
east, and 166° west longitude.
“ The globe being thus completed, a delicate needle must
be suspended above it, neutralized from the effect of the
earth’s magnetism, according to the principle I employed
in my observations on the daily variation, and described
in the Philosophical Transactions for 1823 ; by which
means it will become entirely under the superficial galva¬
nic arrangement just described. Conceive now the globe
to be placed so as to bring London into the zenith, then
the two ends of the conducting wire being connected
with the poles of a powerful battery, it will be seen im¬
mediately that the needle, which was before indifferent to
any direction, will have its north end depressed about 70°,
as nearly as the eye can judge, which is the actual dip in
London; it will also be directed towards the magnetic
poles of the globe, thereby also showing a variation of
about 24° to 25° to west, as is also the case in London.
If now we turn the globe about on its support, so as to
bring to the zenith places equally distant with England
from the magnetic pole, we shall find the dip remains the
same; but the variation will continually chdhge, becom¬
ing first zero, and then gradually increasing to the east¬
ward, as happens on the earth. If again we turn the globe
so as to make the pole approach the zenith, the dip will
increase, till at the pole itself the needle will become
perfectly vertical. Making now this pole recede, the dip
will decrease, till at the equator it vanishes, the needle
becoming horizontal. Continuing the motion, and ap¬
proaching the south pole, the south end of the needle
will be found to dip, increasing continually from the equa¬
tor to the pole, where it becomes again vertical, but re¬
versed as regards its verticality at the north pole.”
Although the artificial globe represents very exactly on
a small scale all the phenomena of terrestrial megnetism,
and although, as Mr Barlow says, “ he has proved the ex¬
istence of a force competent to produce all the pheno¬
mena, without the aid of any body usually called magne¬
tic yet he acknowledges that, “ we have no idea how
such a system of currents can have existence on the earth,
because, to produce them, we have been obliged to employ
a particular arrangement of metals, acids, and conduc¬
tors.” The discovery of Dr Seebeck, however, that the
mere application of heat to a circuit composed of two
metals1 is capable of developing the magnetic effects
above described, is regarded by Professor Barlow as bring¬
ing us a step nearer to an explanation of the earth’s mag¬
netism, by referring us to nature as the great agent of all
these phenomena, and he conceives that only one link is
wanting to complete the explanation. This link, however,
1 Mr Sturgeon of Woolwich has produced similar effects by the application of heat to only one metal, .viz. a rectangle of bis¬
muth only.
n"a:
i! itrial
i! ism.
aed
ide
eat- SJ|ri
lire.
o
ii
\s
ir
u
n
e
n
rs
la
st
01
w
lo
d
(1
th
P'
at
w
hi
m
MAGNETISM.
753
'erririal is a very important one, and we are just as much puzzled
Afaie. to discover the metallic thermo-magnetic apparatus, as we
ds- are to discover the electro-magnetic one. If it could be
'—> shown that the action of solar heat is capable of develop¬
ing magnetism in particles such as those which are known
to constitute our globe, the great difficulty would be re¬
moved ; but until this is done; we are disposed to lean to
the old though not yet exploded notion, that terrestrial
magnetism is the effect of magnetic or ferruginous mate¬
rials, which are disseminated through the mass of the
earth. This leads us to consider the second question re¬
lative to the origin of terrestrial magnetism.
2. Are the phenomena owing to the diffusion of iron or
other magnetic metals through the solid mass of our
globe, on which magnetism is induced by some exterior
cause ?
In so far as our knowledge extends, iron and other mag¬
netic metals are not so regularly diffused as to produce
the magnetic phenomena; and we are not entitled to as¬
sume the existence of any regular metallic nucleus, or
regular arrangement of metallic strata, capable of produ¬
cing that uniform action in the magnetic needle which is
indicated by the regularity of the isodynamical lines, or
those of equal magnetic intensity. That there are actual
magnets within the crust of our globe, and abundance of
ferruginous matter capable of producing locally magnetic
phenomena, cannot be doubted ; but the action of these
two classes of bodies is regulated by different laws, and
we can only regard them as exercising a disturbing force
in rendering irregular the action of some more general
cause. If the ferruginous matter which produces magne¬
tism is situated near the surface of the earth, we should
expect a diminution in the 'intensity when the needle is
made to oscillate above the deepest parts of the ocean,
where the solid crust may be many miles distant. If it
is, on the other hand, deeply seated, the intensity ought to
diminish greatly as we ascend in balloons, or to the tops
of our highest mountains; but none of these effects are
observed, and it becomes therefore very improbable that
the magnetic phenomena are produced either by ferrugi¬
nous matter near the surface, or far removed from it.
Vmsml gyt though we cannot find the seat, or rather the inter-
'i«ism fnet[iumj 0f terrestrial magnetism in the bowels of the earth,
7refe may we not, as a last resource, seek for it in our atmo-
theit- sphere ? It appears to be demonstrated by the experiments
ospire. of Fusinieri, of which we have given a full account in
our article on Electricity, that metals, and particularly
iron, exist in a state of vapour in oifr atmosphere; and hence
we have a regular hollow shell of magnetic matter envelop¬
ing the earth, and capable, when magnetism is induced
upon it by an exterior cause, of producing all the pheno¬
mena of terrestrial magnetism. In its undisturbed state of
equilibrium, this magnetic atmosphere will act upon the
needle, according to the laws which Mr Barlow found to
regulate the action of an iron sphere or shell; but these
laws will be modified by those which regulate the thermal
state of the globe, and will be disturbed by sudden changes
of temperature, and by the various electrical agencies
which exercise so powerful an influence over the meteoro¬
logical condition of the atmosphere. I he more violent
disturbances of electrical equilibrium will fuse, and throw
down in the form of meteoric stones, the metallic vapour in
their vicinity. Inferior electrical actions will render their
progress visible in the form of lightning and fiery meteors,
arising from the heated state of the metallic particles ;
while still feebler electricities will, by their accompanying
heat, produce the sheets of summer lightning, and the
more continued and shifting phenomena of the aurora.
Hence the electric sounds and other accompaniments of the
aurora ; hence its connection with the magnetic pole and
equator ; and hence the disturbance of the needle, or the
VOL. XIII.
tism.
magnetic hurricanes, as Humboldt calls them, while the Terrestrial
regular action of the metallic atmosphere is disturbed dur- Magne-
ing the prevalence of the aurora, or of thunder storms.
These views receive some support from the observations ofS
MM. Gay-Lussac and Biot, from which it appears that the
intensity of terrestrial magnetism is not diminished at the
height of 13,000 feet above the earth; and Mr Henwood
found the magnetic intensity as strong 710 feet above the
level of the sea, as at the bottom of a mine 950 feet below
the same level. Kupffer, on the authority, we believe, of
a single observation, has given an opposite opinion; and
Saussure conceived that the intensity was less on the Col de
Geant than at Geneva, but the numbers which he gives ac¬
tually authorizes the opposite conclusion.
From a series of observations made in July 1830, by M.
Quetelet, in Switzerland, it appears, that in place of the
intensity diminishing with the height, it actually increases,
the increase taking place gradually (with the exception of
Bonneville) in ascending from Geneva to the Col de Balme,
as is shown in the following table :
Horizontal Intensity.
Geneva ...1'0805
Bonneville LOTOS
Sallenches L0815
St Gervais L0861
Vaudagnes L0884
Servoz 1-0872
Mer de Glace L0885
Chamouni 1-0935
Col de Balme L0917
Martigny L0921
Hospice St Bernard L0966
Simplon village L0987
Uomodossolo 1-0997
But an argument of still more weight may be derived
from the admitted fact, that a powerful source of magnetism
actually exists in our atmosphere, and that the south pole of
the needle has a distinct connection with the source of this
magnetism. This source of magnetism is the aurora bore¬
alis, and the south pole of the dipping needle points to the
focus to which the beams of the aurora converge. These
beams act as magnets, as we have seen in a previous sec¬
tion; the action of our magnetic atmosphere, when un¬
disturbed by any other cause but that of temperature, tends
to fix the needle in a specific direction, which varies with¬
in certain limits, depending on the ordinary changes of
temperature ; but when the regular magnetism of the at¬
mosphere is disturbed by electric or other causes, the needle
must necessarily be affected by the displacement or altered
temperature of the magnetic matter, as exhibited in the
motions and variations in the lustre of the beams of the
aurora. The magnetic pole, therefore, in our hemisphere,
will be a north pole attracting the south end of the needle,
and creating an elevation of the south end in place of a dip
of the north end.
By the aid of these views, all the magnetic phenomena
of the aurora borealis, so ably described by Dr Dalton, and
the disturbances of the needle, so accurately observed by
M. Arago, in reference to auroras that occurred in every
part of the northern hemisphere, may be satisfactorily ex¬
plained, as we have attempted to do in a preceding section.
In seeking for a cause which is capable of inducing mag¬
netism on the ferruginous matter of our globe, whether vve
place it within the earth or in its atmosphere, we are limit¬
ed to the Sun, to which all the magnetic phenomena have
a distinct reference ; but whether it acts by its heat or by
its light, or by specific rays, or influences of a magnetic
nature, must be left to future inquiry. Without placing
any reliance on the observations which have been supposed
to indicate a magnetic action in the violet rays, we attach
5 c
754
M A G N E T I S M.
Dalton’s
views re-
Terrestrial some importance to the observations of Barlocci and Zan-
Magne- tedeschi, who found that both natural and artificial magnets
v .bad their magnetism greatly increased by exposure to the
’ common solar rays; a result which could not arise from
their heating power, as an increase of temperature invari¬
ably diminishes the power of magnets.
In the work of Dr Dalton, published in 1793, to which
we have already referred, there are several ingenious hy-
the Tirfra Pot^etica^ views respecting the cause of the aurora borealis
and its magnetic influence, with which we were not ac¬
quainted till the sections on that subject were written ; but
as these views strongly confirm the hypothesis of terrestrial
magnetism which we have ventured to bring forward, we
shafl state as briefly as wre can the leading ideas of Dr
Dalton.
1. The region of the aurora is 150 miles above the
earth’s surface. Immediately above the earth’s surface is
the region of the clouds, then the region of meteors called
falling stars and fire-balls, and beyond this region is that
of the aurora. In proof of the great height of the aurora
(independent of actual measurement) Dr Dalton ad¬
duces its extremely attenuated light, which, he says, may
spread over one half of the hemisphere, and not yield more
light than the full moon. “ This,” he continues, “ arises
from the extreme rarefaction of the air, which is almost
tantamount to a Toricellian vacuum ; in fact, the light of
the aurora exactly corresponds with that of the electric
spark when sent through a tube in which the air has been
rarefied to as high a degree as can be effected by a good
air-pump.”
2. 7Vie mutter of the arirorg.—“ From the conclusions in
the preceding section,” says Dr Dalton, “ we are under the
necessity of considering the beams of the aurora borealis
of a ferruginous nature, because nothing else is-known to
be magnetic; and consequently that there exists in the
higher region of the atmosphere an electric fluid, partak¬
ing of the properties of iron, or rather of magnetic steel; and
that this fluid, doubtless from its magnetic property, as¬
sumes the form of cylindric beams.” “ ^ly fluid of mag¬
netic matterf adds Dr Dalton in another place, “ is, like
magnetic steel, a substance possessed of the properties of
magnetism.” “ Whether any of the various kinds of air
or elastic vapour we are acquainted with is magnetic, I
know not, but hope philosophers will avail themselves of
these hints to make a trial of them.”
3. Exciting cause of the magnetism of the aurora.—
“ With regard to the exciting cause of the aurora, I be¬
lieve it will be found in change of temperature.” “Nothing
is known to affect the magnetism of steel; heat weakens
or destroys it; electricity does more, it sometimes changes
the pole of one denomination to that of another, or inverts
the magnetism. Hence we are obliged to have recourse
to one of these two agents, in accounting for the muta¬
tions above mentioned. As for heat, we should find it dif¬
ficult, I believe, to assign a reason for such sudden and
irregular productions of it in the higher regions of the at¬
mosphere, without introducing electricity as an agent in
these, productions; but rather than make such a supposi¬
tion, it would be more philosophical to suppose electricity
to produce the effect on the magnetic matter immediately
“ Fhe beams of the aurora being magnetic, will have their
magnetism weakened, destroyed, or inverted, 'pro tempore,
by the several electric shocks they receive during an
aurora.”
4. The nature of the magnetism of the beams of the au¬
rora.—Dr Dalton conceives the magnetism to be perma¬
nent, and not induced; and each beam to be as it were a se¬
parate magnet, with the regular polarity of permanent mag¬
nets. “ I conceive that a beam may have its magnetism
inverted, and exist so for a time, &c....and I farther con¬
ceive, that when the beam is restored to its natural posi-
tism.
tion of the north pole downward, it is effected, not by Ten™
inverting the beam wholly as a beam (for this is never ob- Ha^’
served m an aurora), but by inverting the constituent par- "
tides, which may easily be admitted, of a fluid.”
If a magnet be required to be made of a given quantity
of steel, it is found by experience to answer best when
the length is to the breadth as 10 to 1 nearly. It is a re¬
markable circumstance, that the length and breadth of
the magnetic beams of the aurora should be so nearly in
that ratio. Query, If a fluid mass of magnetic matter,
whether elastic or inelastic, were swimming in another
fluid of equal density, and acted on by another magnet at
a distance, what form would the magnetic matter as¬
sume? Is it not probable it would be that of a cylinder,
of proportional dimensions to the beams of the aurora T'
5. Governing cause of the magnetism of the aurora “ As
the beams, says Dr Dalton, “ are swimming in a fluid of
equal density with themselves, they are in the same pre¬
dicament as a magnetic bar or needle swimming in a
fluid of the same specific gravity with itself; but this last
will only rest in equilibrio when in the direction of the
dipping needle, owing to what is called the earth's magne¬
tism; and as the former also rests in that position only,
the effects being similar, we must, by the rules of philo¬
sophising, ascribe them to the same cause. Hence then
it follows, that the aurora borealis is a magnetic
PHENOMENON, AND ITS BEAMS ARE GOVERNED BY THE
earth’s magnetism.” “ I am aware that an objection
may be stated to this; if the beams be swimming in a
fluid of equal density, it will be said they ought to be
drawn down by the action of the earth’s magnetism. Upon
this I may observe, that it is not my business to show why
tins is not the case, because I propose tbe magnetism of
tne beams as a thing demonstrable, and not as a hypothe¬
sis. We are not to deny the cause of gravity because we
cannot show how the effect is produced. May not the
difficulty be lessened by supposing the beams ofless den¬
sity than the surrounding fluid ?”
Although this brief abstract of Dr Dalton’s essay con¬
tains many views which in their general bearing add to
the probability of the hypothesis which we have main¬
tained, yet we must state in a few words the difference
between the two hypotheses.
1. According to our views, terrestrial magnetism resides
wholly in the earth s atmosphere, which contains through¬
out its whole extent ferruginous and other metallic mat¬
ter, and sulphureous exhalations, all of which are carried
off by evaporation, by ejection from volcanoes, and by the
returning strokes of electricity from the earth to the air.
T he actual existence of such materials in the atmosphere,
particularly sulphureous and ferruginous matter, is proved
by the observations of Fusinieri, and by the existence of
meteoric stones and other solid substances which fall on
the earth.
2. I he magnetism which directs the needle is induced
upon the magnetic matter in the atmosphere, like that of
an iron sphere, by some exterior cause, although it is very
probable that small local effects may be produced by fer¬
ruginous matter within the earth, and near its surface;
but the only effect of these will be to produce small irre¬
gularities in the intensity of the magnetism of the needle,
and in its direction.
3. As the colour of the electric spark, when taken from
different bodies, or when passing through different me¬
dia, depends on The solid matter which it renders lumi¬
nous, so the different colours of lightning, of the auroral
beams, of falling stars, and of meteors of every kind, are
produced by the heat of the electric fluid either rendering
the material substance visible by incandescence, or throw¬
ing it into a state of combustion.
4. The beams of the aurora are those portions of the
>.«il
i®.’.
ilf!
Ii^s
j uak^n
Jcial
joetS'
. ^
iiodsof
i ig ar¬
il
nets,
Metidso? In the history of magnetism we have already made a
tpakif ar-brief reference to the principal methods of making artifi-
MAGNETISM.
Mejods magnetic atmosphere through which electricity is pass-
of raking ing, and which, by being heated to different degrees, are
A racial brought to different states of incandescence, and have their
Myets.^ jn(]ucec{ magnetism increased, like that of all ferruginous
bodies which are brought to a temperature less than that
of white heat.
Although it is universally admitted that a source of
magnetism has been proved to exist in our atmosphere,
and though it is evident that the force which emanates
from it is greater than any magnetic force which can be
proved to have its origin in the solid part of the earth, yet
it may be asked if there is any reason for believing that
the magnetism in the atmosphere is strong enough to be
considered as the only source of terrestrial magnetism.
To this question, some of the facts already stated afford a
pretty satisfactory answer. M. Arago has shown that
the aurorae which exist only at St Petersburg, in Siberia,
and even in North America, actually disturb the magnetic
needle at Paris; and he considers it highly probable that
the auroras even round the south pole of our globe ex¬
tend their influence to Paris. If a force of such magni¬
tude exists in insulated beams which form regular mag¬
nets, according to Dr Dalton, we need not scruple to sup¬
pose that a ferruginous atmosphere is capable of produ¬
cing that degree of intensity which characterises terrestrial
magnetism, and that the disturbances exhibited at Paris
on the magnetic needle are the effect of local diminutions
or augmentations of the magnetic force in Siberia, Ame¬
rica, or even in the southern hemisphere.
CHAP.
x. ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF
MAKING ARTIFICIAL MAGNETS.
tificii
mapts.
cial magnets. We shall now proceed to give a short ac¬
count of the methods themselves.
In the infancy of the science, a bar B of hard steel was
magnetised by rubbing it throughout its whole length on
one of the poles N of a natural or artificial magnet A, in
a direction at right angles to the line joining the two poles
of the primitive magnet. By this
process the new bar a will be ren- l ig. 53.
dered slightly magnetic, but its mag¬
netism cannot possibly be complete¬
ly developed unless in the two cases
where the new bar is extremely
small, or the primitive magnet A
extremely powerful; and the mag¬
netism which is communicated often
exhibits different poles, or conse¬
quent points as they are called,
throughout the length of the new
bar.
In using this method, the exciting pole should be slight¬
ly pressed upon the new bar; and after reaching the end
of the bar at s, it must be lifted up and applied again to
the other end, the friction being always made in the same
direction.
Another old method of making magnets consisted in
placing the end s of a new bar B in contact merely with
one of the poles N of a powerful
magnet, and striking the new bar Fig* 54.
so as to make it ring during the
time of its application. This me¬
thod, however, like the first, will
be effectual only for very small bars; the pole s will be
the strongest, and the neutral point at B will be nearer s
than n.
A more efficacious method of magnetising small bars by
simple contact is
shown in the an¬
nexed figure, by
placing the new
bar B between the
opposite poles N, S of two strong magnetic bars A, A'
of nearly equal power. In this case the magnetism of B
will be nearly twice as great as when only one, B or A, is
used; and if there are no consecutive poles produced the
neutral point B will bisect m.
These simple methods were discontinued when the
principles of magnetic induction were better understood,
and several ingenious and highly effective processes of
making artificial magnets were invented by the philoso¬
phers of the eighteenth century. The first of these was
that of Mr Knight.
tDD
Methods
of making
Artificial
Magnets.
Sect. I.-
- Account of Dr Gowin Knight's method of mak¬
ing Artificial Magnets.
Dr Gowin Knight, a physician in London, was long ce-Knight’s
lebrated for the excellence of the artificial magnets which niethod.
he made. I he method which he used was kept a secret
during his life, but was published after his death by Mr
Wilson. J
The bar or needle B, which he intended to magnetise,
was tempered at a cherry red heat, and placed under the
Fig. 56.
opposite poles N, S of two equal magnets. These mag¬
nets are then separated in opposite directions SA', NA, so
that the south pole S of the one passes over the north
•polar half Bra of the bar B, and the north pole N of the
other, over the south polar half Bs of B. This operation
is repeated several times, till the magnetism of the bar
B is fully developed.
In this process the north pole N, while it attracts to the
half B« all the south polar magnetism in Bs, repels at
the same time into Bs all the north polar magnetism of
Bn. The same is true, mutatis mutandis, with the south
pole S. When the bars A, A' are large and powerful, it
has been found that this process is capable of communicat¬
ing to small bars all the magnetism of which they are sus¬
ceptible.
Sect. II.—Account of DuhdmeVs method of making Arti¬
ficial Magnets.
After Dr Knight's process had been known and used, Duhamel’s
the artificial magnets which were made by it were in great method,
request, and distributed throughout Europe. When the
process, however, was
applied to bars of i Fig. 57.
great size, it was found
to be defective ; and
M. Duhamel of the
Academy of Sciences,
in conjunction with
M. Antheaume, set ^
themselves to devise a better method, which is repre¬
sented in the annexed figure. The bars B, B' to be mag¬
netised are placed parallel to each other, and have their
extremities united by two pieces M, m of soft iron, at
right angles to the bars. He then took two strong mag¬
nets A, A’, or two bundles of small bar-magnets, the bars
of each bundle having their similar poles together; and
having placed them, as in the figure, at an angle of about
756
MAGNETIS M.
Methods 90°, or inclined 45° to the bar B, they were separat-
of making e(j frpm each other as already described in the explana-
Mamiets t^on The sanae operation was repeated on the
- nY \1Jother bar B', and continued alternately on both till the
magnetismwas supposed to be completely developed in both
bars. When A and A'are placed upon the second bar B',
the disposition of the poles must be reversed, the pole
that was formerly to the right hand being now placed to
the left. The two bars B, B' are then turned, so that the
undermost faces are uppermost, and the same process car¬
ried on as before.
The distinctive peculiarity of Duhamel’s process con¬
sists in the employment of the pieces of iron M, zrc, and in
the use of bundles of small bars, which are more efficaci¬
ous than two single ones of the same size.
The very same method is applicable to curved bars, or
those of the horse-shoe form, as shown in the annexed
figure, where the inclined bars are carried round the curv-
Fig. 58.
ed bar A, B, C, exactly as they were along the straight
bar B.
Sect. III.—Account of Mr Michell's method of making
Artificial Magnets.
Michell’s About the same time that Duhamel was occupied with
method of this subject, Mr Michell of Cambridge and Mr Canton
double were separately engaged in the same inquiry. Mr Mi¬
chell published his method in 1750, to which he gave the
Fig. 59.
name of the method of double touch. Having joined toge¬
ther, at the distance of a quarter of an inch, two bundles
of strongly magnetised bars A, A', their opposite poles
N, S being together, he placed five or more equal steel
bars B, B', B', B'', B" in the same straight line; and resting
the extremity of the bundle of magnets A, A' upon the
middle of the central bar B, he moved them backwards and
forwards throughout the whole length of the line of bars,
repeating the operation on each side of the bars, till the
greatest possible effect was produced. By this method
Mr Michell found that the middle steel bars B, B', B' ac¬
quired a very high degree of magnetic virtue, and greater
than the outer bars B", B"; but by placing these last bars
in the middle of the series, and repeating the operation,
they acquired the same degree of magnetism as the rest.
Mr Michell states, that two magnets will, by his pro¬
cess of double touch, communicate as strong a magnetic Met]
virtue to a steel bar, as a single magnet of five times the of oakit,
strength, when used in the process of single touch. The -Artificiaf
bars A, A' act with the sum of their powers in developing ^aRnets.
magnetism in all parts of the line of bars between them/—
and with the difference of their powers in all parts of the
line of bars beyond them. The external bars act the same
part in this process as the two pieces of soft iron in the
method of Duhamel.
Sect. IV.—Account of Canton's method of making Artifi¬
cial Magnets.
In the year 1751 Mr Canton published his process, Canton’s
which he regarded as superior to preceding ones. He method,
placed the bars as in Duhamefs method, joined by pieces
of soft iron. He then applied Michell’s method of double
touch, and afterwards he separated the two bundles of
magnets A, A', and having inclined them to each other,
as in Duhamel’s method, he made them rub upon the bar
from the middle to its extremities. The peculiarity of
Canton s method is the union of these two processes; but
Coulomb and others are of opinion that the latter part of
the process is the only effectual one.
In order to make artificial magnets without the aid Without
either of natural loadstones or artificial magnets, Mr Can-natural or
ton gives the following detailed process. ^ artificial
He takes six bars of soft and six of hard steel, themagnets
former being smaller than the latter. The bars of soft
steel should be three inches long, one fourth of an inch
broad, and one twentieth thick; and two pieces of iron
must be provided, each having half the length of one of
the bars, and the same breadth and thickness. The bars
of hard steel should be each five and a half inches long,
half an inch broad, and three twentieths of an inch thick,
with two pieces of iron of half the length, and the same
breadth and thickness.
All the bars being marked with a line quite round them
at one end, take an iron
poker and tongs, or two bars
of iron, the larger and the
older the better, and fixing
the poker P upright, as in
fig. 60, hold to it with
the left hand, near the top
P, by a silk thread, one of
the soft bars B, having its
marked end downwards;
then grasping the tongs T
with the right hand, a little
below their middle, and
keeping them nearly in a
vertical line, let the bar B
be rubbed with the lower
end L of the tongs, from the
marked end of the bar to its
upper end, about ten times
on each side of it. By this
means the bar B will re¬
ceive as much magnetism
as will enable it to lift a
small key at the marked
end; and this end of the bar
being suspended by its
middle, or made to rest on
a point, will turn to the
north, and is called its north pole, the unmarked end be¬
ing the south pole.
When four of the soft steel bars are thus rendered mag¬
netic, the other two AC, BD must be laid parallel to each
other, at the distance of about one fourth of an inch, as in
Fig. 60.
f
ii lus’s
led.
jal
ets.
hoi
M A G N E T I S M.
757
MeMs the figure, having Fig. 61.
(,fn*ing their dissimilar poles
Artifcial united with the small-
Magets. est pieces 0f u'on AB,
_J’' ^ CD. Two of the
magnetised bars are
then to be placed to¬
gether as at G, with
their similar poles
united, and the other
two as at K; and when
separated by a piece
of wood I, they are slid four or five times backwards and
forwards along the whole length of the bar AC, so that
the marked end F of G is nearest the unmarked end of
AC, and vice versa. Ihis operation is carefully repeated
on BD, and on the other sides of both AC and BD. When
this is done, the bars AC, BD are to be taken up and sub¬
stituted for the two outer bars of the bundles G, K, these
last being laid down in the place of the former, and mag¬
netised in a similar manner. This operation must be re¬
peated till each pair of the soft bars has been magnetised
, three or four times.
When the six soft bars are thus magnetised, they must
be formed into twm bundles of three each, with their simi¬
lar poles together, and must be used to magnetise two of
the hard bars in the manner already described ; and when
they are magnetised, other two of the hard bars must be
touched in a similar manner. The soft bars are now to be
laid aside, and the remaining two hard bars magnetised by
the four hard bars already rendered magnetic; and when this
is done the operation should be repeated by interchanging
the hard bars, till they are impregnated with the greatest
degree of permanent magnetism which this method is ca¬
pable of communicating to them.
In performing the above operations, which may be com¬
pleted in about half an hour, the bars AC, BD, and the pieces
AB, CD should be placed in grooves, or fixed between pins
of wood or brass, to keep them steady during the successive
frictions which are applied
to them. According to Fig. 62.
Canton, each of the six ar
tificial magnets thus made
will lift about twenty-eight
ounces troy. They should
be kept in a wooden box,
and placed as in the annex¬
ed figure, so that no two poles of the same name may be
together, and the pieces of iron AB, CD placed beside them.
Sect. V.—Account of AEpinuss method of making Artifi¬
cial Magnets.
-'Eptos’s The method of magnetising steel bars by the double
metitd. touch was greatly improved by iEpinus. In place ol the
pieces of iron M, m, used by Duhamel, he used magnets,
and formed the rectangle with the two steel bars to be mag¬
netised, having their extremities united by two magnets
M, m, placed as in figure 57. Fie then placed the original
magnet, or bundles of magnets, A, A', as in the figure,
having their dissimilar poles N, S separated by a piece of
wood, and greatly inclined to each other; and he made
the united poles pass backwards along the whole length oi
the steel bar. The same operation was repeated on the
other bar, and on the other side of each of them, care being
taken to 1’everse the poles, as formerly mentioned, when the
rubbing bars are removed from the one steel bar to the
other. TEpinus found that a maximum effect was produced
when the bars A, h! were inclined 20° or 30° to the steel
bar over which they passed.
Sect. VI.—Account of Coulomb's method of making Arti- Methods
ficial Magnets.
The method of making artificial magnets employed by
Coulomb consists of the most efficacious parts of the pre- Coulomb’s
ceding processes, improved and extended by long expe-method,
rience in the art. The apparatus which he uses consists of
fixed and moving bundles of magnets. Each of the fixed
bundles consists of ten bars of steel tempered at a cherry-
red heat, their length being about twenty-one inches, their
breadth six tenths of an inch, and their thickness, one fifth
of an inch. Having rendered them as strongly magnetic
as possible, with a natural or an artificial magnet, he joined
them with their similar poles together, and formed them
into two beds of four bars each, these beds being sepa¬
rated by small rectangular parallelepipeds m, n of soft iron,
projecting a little beyond their extremities, as shown in the
annexed figure. The moving bundles
consist of four bars tempered at a cher- Fig. 63.
ry-red heat, each being about sixteen
inches long, six tenths of an inch wide,
and two tenths of an inch thick. When
these bars were magnetised in the
same manner as the other bars, he
united two of them by their widths and two of them by
their thickness, so that each bundle was one inch and two
tenths wide and four tenths thick, the bars being sepa¬
rated as before by pieces of soft iron. Coulomb used a
kind of steel very common in commerce (d’acier timbre
a 7 etoiles) ; but he found that all kinds, provided it was
not of a bad quality, were capable of receiving the same
degree of magnetism. In order to magnetise a bar, he
Fig. 64.
placed the large fixed bundles M, N in the same straight
line, and at a distance a little less than the length of the
bar to be magnetised ; and this bar BB' was placed as in the
figure, so as to rest on the projecting pieces of iron, so that
the contact took place only over a length of one fifth of an
inch; the two moving bundles A, A' having their dissi¬
milar poles separated by a small piece of wood or copper,
about one fifth of an inch wide between them, and each being
inclined at an angle of 20° or 30° to the bar BB'. The
united poles of the moving bundles are then moved suc¬
cessively from the centre to each extremity of the bar BB',
so that the number of frictions upon each half of the bar
may be equal. When the last friction has been given, the
united poles are brought to the middle point of the bar BB',
and then withdrawn perpendicularly. The same operation
is then repeated on the other side of the bar BB'. If we
wash to employ the method of Duhamel in place of that of
iEpinus, we do not require the piece of wood or copper,
but have only to separate the bars when their united poles
are in the middle of the bar BB', making each pole pass to
the extremity of it.
When the fixed and moving bundles are composed of
bars which have not been magnetised to saturation, we
must form new bundles with the newly magnetised bars,
whose magnetism will be stronger than those by which
they were magnetised, and by their heat magnetise anevv
the bars first used; and by repeating this process t]iree
758
MAGNETISM.
Fig. 65.
Methods or four times, the bars may be raised to the highest de-
Artifichd’Sree °f magnetic virtue.
Mao-nets. When the bars BB' to be magnetised are very large,
.the moveable bundle should contain more than four bars,
each of the bars retreating about half an inch in the direc¬
tion of their thickness, as shown in the annexed figure.
The advantage of this displace¬
ment arises from the fact, that
the highest degree of magne¬
tism resides in the extremity of
the bar. Hence, by this arrange¬
ment, not only the most effica-  
cious parts of the moving bar are brought into contact
with the bar to be magnetised, and act more powerfully,
but the bar nearest to the central one in the bundle tends
not merely to maintain, but to augment, in its extremity,
its degree of magnetism. The third bar produces the
same good effect upon the second, and so on with the
rest.
Sect. VII.—Account of M. Biot's method of making Arti¬
ficial Magnets.
M. Biot has proposed several important improvements
on the process of Coulomb. As the bars are always bent
a little in tempering, he recommends that they should at
first be brought to as hard a temper as possible, and then
annealed to the first shade of yellow. By this means they
will have a sufficient degree of malleability to be again
brought into shape, while they possess sufficient coercive
power for receiving and retaining a high degree of mag¬
netism. Regarding it as of essential importance to in¬
sure an intimate contact between the plates of the lai-ge
bundles and the soft iron or armour by which they are
united, M. Biot forms his armour of several plates of very
soft iron, which cover the elementary plates at that part
of their extremities where the repartition of free magne¬
tism is perceptible. These plates of soft iron form part
of a mass of the same nature terminating in the form of
Biot’s me-
thod.
Fig. 66.
a trapezoid, as shown in the an¬
nexed figure, and the plates of
steel are inserted in it, as shown
by the dotted lines; so that the
plates which lie in the axis of the
bundles project a little beyond the
lateral plates. The whole is then bound together with
a collet of soft iron, held firmly by a screw. M. Biot re¬
marks, that he has found from experience that this arrange¬
ment, indicated by theoretical considerations, is extremely
advantageous.
Coulomb’s Coulomb’s method of fitting up, arming, and preserving
method of his magnets, is shown in the annexed figure, representing
arming two artificial magnets, armed at their extremities with two
magnets. jron parallelepipeds, N, S, N', S'; N, N' being the north
Fig. 67.
soft iron A, B, and the bars of each magnet are held to- MPtt t
gether by the upper bands «, h, U. 0f S
With an apparatus of this kind, each part weigliing fif- Artificial
teen or twenty pounds, eighty or 100 pounds is required
to separate the pieces ^, B from the poles, and an ordi-""*^'
nary needle is magnetised to saturation by merely placintr
it upon the ends N S' or N' S.
Sect. VIIL-
- Account of Mr Scoreshfs method of making
Artificial Magnets.
, A very simple and efficacious method of making artifi- Scores^
cial magnets by percussion has been published by Mr method.
Scoresby.1 That iron became magnetic when struck by
successive blows of a hammer in the direction of the dip¬
ping needle, was known to Dr Gilbert; but it is to Mr
Scoresby that we owe a complete investigation of the sub¬
ject. In order to determine the effects produced by per¬
cussion, Mr Scoresby used two methods, the one by ob¬
serving the weight which the new magnet lifted, and the
other by measuring the deviation which it produced on a
magnetic needle. The following experiments were made
with a cylindrical bar of soft steel six and a half inches
long, one fourth of an inch in diameter, and weighing 592
grains. It was placed in a vertical position, resting on a
piece of tin, and struck with a hammer of twelve ounces.
Number of
Strokes at
each Experi¬
ment.
1
1
5
10
5
Total
Number.
1
2
7
17
22
Weight
suspended by
the Bar.
2
0
4
6i
Deviation of the
Needle ; distance
of Needle three
Inches.
8°
10
12
12|
12A
W7hen the steel bar was placed upon a stone, the effect
was the same; but, as the following experiments show,
a great increase of power was obtained by supporting the
lower end of the bar upon the upper end of a large bar of
iron or soft steel. The hammer weighed twelve ounces,
and the distance of the needle was three inches.
poles, and S, S' the south poles. These parallelepipeds
have their inner ends enveloped within the magnetic bars.
The opposite poles N, S', N' S, are joined by pieces of
Number of
Strokes at each
Experiment.
1
1
1
4
5
10
20
30
10
Total Nuim
ber.
1
2
3
7
12
22
42
72
82
Weight sus¬
pended by the
Bar.
61 grs.
14
37
45
88
88
Deviation of
the Needle.
13°
16
18
21
25
27
30
31
a*#
By using a hammer weighing 22 ounces, an increased
effect was produced.
85
90
93
130
33
34
30
By reversing the poles, and again hammering with
the twelve-ounce hammer.
2
Philosophical Transactions, 1822, part ii. p. 241
| DilS
M
Vletlds
f'n||ng
tltasrrts.
t— V”''
MAGNETISM.
759
From these experiments it follows, that a cylindrical
bar of soft steel weighing 592 grains, can be made todift
only six and a half grains, when struck in a vertfcal posi-
, tion, with its lower end resting upon tin or stone ; whereas
the same bar, when struck with twenty-two blows upon a
rod of iron suspended at its lower end, which was a north
pole, lifted eighty-eight grains ; by using a larger hammer,
its lifting power increased to 130. When the steel bar was
reversed, so that its south pole was uppermost, its magne¬
tism was almost destroyed by a single blow, and two blows
were sufficient to change its poles. Mr Scoresby found,
that when the steel magnet was struck in the plane of the
magnetic equator, its polarity also disappeared; but seve¬
ral blows were necessary to effect this change.
In another set of experiments on the effect of percussion
on magnets, he employed a flat bar-magnet seven and
seven tenths inches long, half an inch wide, one-seventh
thick, and weighing 1170 grains.
When suspended vertically, with its south end upper¬
most, it produced, at the distance of eight inches, a devi¬
ation of 45° on the needle; but after 60, 80, and 100
blows, the deviation was reduced to 25°.
When the north pole was placed uppermost, other thirty
blows reduced the deviation still farther, from 25° to 14°.
When the bar was again magnetised, and hammered
upon a piece of tin, it produced a deviation of 50° ; but
after twenty blows, with the south pole uppermost, the
deviation became 33°. By other sixty blows, with the
north pole uppermost, the deviation became 24°.
From the results obtained in the preceding experiments,
Mr Scoresby deduced the following method of making ar¬
tificial magnets by percussion.
“ I procured two bars of soft steel thirty inches long and
an inch broad, also six other flat bars of soft steel eight
inches long and half an inch broad, and a large bar of soft
iron. The large steel and iron bars were not, however,
absolutely necessary, as common pokers answer the pur¬
pose very well; but I was desirous to accelerate the pro¬
cess by the use of substances capable of aiding the de¬
velopment of the magnetical properties in steel. The large
iron bar was first hammered in a vertical position ; it was
then laid on the ground with its acquired south pole to¬
wards the south, and upon this end of it the large steel
bars were rested while they were hammered ; they were
also hammered upon each other. On the summit of one
of the large steel bars, each of the small bars, held also
vertically, was hammered in succession ; and in a few mi¬
nutes they had all acquired considerable lifting powers.
Two of the smaller bars, connected by two short pieces of
soft iron in the form of a parallelogram, were now rubbed
with the other four bars, in the manner of Canton. These
were then changed for two others, and these again for the
last two. After treating each pair of bars in this way for
a number of times, and changing them whenever the ma¬
nipulations had been continued for about a minute, the
whole of the bars were at length found to be magnetised to
saturation, each pair readily lifting above eight ounces.
“ In accomplishing this object, I took particular care
that no magnetic substance was used in the process. All
the bars were freed of magnetism before the experiment,
so that none of them, not even the largest, produced a
deviation of five degrees on the compass at three inches
distance. Any bars which had been strongly magnetised,
and had had their magnetism destroyed or neutralized
(either by hammering, heating, or by the simultaneous
contact of the two poles of another magnet placed trans¬
versely), I always found had a much greater facility for re¬
ceiving polarity in the same direction as before, than the
contrary. Hence it generally happened that one blow with
the original north end downwards, produced as much ef¬
fect as two or three blows did with the original south end
downwards.”
magnets.
Fig. 68.
By this ingenious process, any person who has no mag- Methods
nets within his reach, may communicate the strongest de- of making
gree of permanent magnetism to hard steel bars of any Artificial
magnitude, the bars magnetised by percussion being em- ^Iagnets-
ployed, as in the process of Coulomb, to magnetise the ^
large bars which are required.
Sect. IX.—Method of making Horse-Shoe Magnets.
Horse-shoe magnets are those which have the form ofMethod of
a horse shoe, as shown in fig. 58; and this form is, ge- making
nerally speaking, the most convenient for use, and for!ior®®‘sJloe
the preservation of their magnetic power. In all experi¬
ments where a large weight is to be lifted, the horse-shoe
magnet is indispensable; and in consequence of the two
poles being brought together, they may be substituted
with great advantage for magnetising steel bars by the
method of double touch.
In order to form a powerful magnetic battery, the best
way is to unite a number of similar horse-shoe magnets,
with their similar poles together, and to fix them firmly
together in a case of copper or leather. The following is
the method recommended and used by Professor Barlow :
He took bars of steel twelve inches long,
and having bent them into the horse-shoe
shape, their length was six inches, their
breadth one inch at the curved part, and
three fourths of an inch at their extre¬
mities, and their thickness one fourth of
an inch. They were filed very nicely, so
as to correspond, and lie flatly upon each
other. They were then drilled with three
holes in each, as seen in the figure, and
by means of screws V, V passing through
these holes, nine horse-shoe bars were
bound together. When the heads and
ends of the screws were constructed, so
as to leave the outer surfaces smooth,
the mass of bars was filed as if they were one piece, and
the surface made flat and smooth. When the bars were
separated, they were
carefully hardened, Fig* 69*
so as not to warp,
and when they had
been well cleaned
and rendered bright,
but not polished,
they were magnetis¬
ed separately in the following manner : When the two ex¬
tremities of the bar are connected by a piece of soft iron
M, the magnetism may be developed in the two halves by
Duhamel’s method, as in the annexed figure; or, following
iEpinus, we may apply a strong magnet to each pole,
and connect their extremities either with a piece of soft
iron or another magnet, or we may apply two horse-shoe
magnets to each other, as in the annexed figure, uniting
the poles which are to be of contrary names. When the
Fig. 70.
magnet or magnets are prepared in any of these ways, they
are then to be magnetised with another horse-shoe magnet
760
MAGNETISM.
Methods AB, by placing its north pole next to what is to be the south
Artificiaf one ^ie horse-shoe bars, and then carrying the
Mao-nets, roov^ble magnet round and round, but always in the same
v—- —. direction. In this way a very high degree of magnetic
virtue may be communicated to each of the nine bars.
When this is done, they are to be reunited by the three
screws, and their poles or extremities connected by a piece
of soft iron, or lifter, as in fig. 68, having at its middle a
hook H for suspending any weight. As the lifting power
depends on the accurate contact of the poles of the mag¬
nets with the lifter, the extremities should, after hardening,
be properly rubbed down with putty upon a flat surface.
A magnet of this size and form was found by Professor
Barlow to suspend forty pounds ; but he afterwards found
that a greater proportional power could be obtained by
using bars that were long in comparison with their breadth.
Sect. X.—Account of Professor Barlow's method of mag¬
netising a number of Rectilineal Bars with a Horse-Shoe
Magnet.
Barlow’s The following method of making artificial magnets is
method of both a simple and efficacious one, and has been practis-
magnetis- e(j successfuiiy by Professor Barlow. Having occasion
21") if QJIJ'g, */ %/
for thirty-six magnets, twelve inches long, one and a
fourth broad, and seven sixteenths of an inch thick, he
placed thirty-six bars of steel, of these dimensions, on a
table, so as to form a square, having nine bars on each side,
the marked or north pole of each bar being in contact with
the unmarked or south pole. At the angular points of the
square the inner edges of the bars were brought into con¬
tact, and the external opening thus left was filled up by a
piece of iron one inch and a quarter square and seven six¬
teenths of an inch thick. The horse-shoe magnet de¬
scribed in the preceding section was set upon one of the
bars, so that its north pole was towards the unmarked end
of the bar, and was then carried or rubbed along the four
sides of the bars ; and the operation was continued till the
horse-shoe magnet had gone twelve times round the square.
Without removing the magnet, each bar was turned one by
one, so as to turn their lower sides uppermost, and the
horse-shoe magnet was made to rub along the four sides of
the square other twelve times. The bars were then high¬
ly magnetised; and the whole process did not occupy more
than half an hour.
Sect. XI.—Account of Knights method of forming Arti¬
ficial Magnets with an Iron Paste.
Knight’s Although the following method of making a magnetic
artificial paste has been given in almost every treatise on magne-
3etS 01 t^sm> and was kept a secret by its inventor, yet we have
no distinct information that it has been found superior in
any respect to steel as a vehicle of magnetism. Mr Benja¬
min Wilson communicated the method to the Royal So¬
ciety after the death of Mr Knight.
“ Having provided himself with a large quantity of clean
filings of iron, Dr Knight put them into a tub that was
more than one third full of clean w ater ; he then, with great
labour, worked the filings to and fro for many hours to¬
gether, that the friction between the filings of iron by this
treatment might break off such small parts as would remain
suspended in the water for some time ; the obtaining of
which very small particles in sufficient quantity, seemed to
him to be one of the principal desiderata in the experiment.
The water being by this treatment rendered very muddy,
he poured it into a clean earthen vessel, leaving the filings
behind ; and when the water had stood long enough to be¬
come clean, he poured it out carefully, without disturbing
such of the iron sediment as still remained, which was now
reduced to an almost impalpable powder. This powder was Meti- ’
afterwards removed into another vessel, in order to dry it ;ofma£
but as he had not obtained a proper quantity of it by this Artificial
first step, he was obliged to repeat the process many times. ^agnets.
Having at last procured enough of this very fine powder,
the next thing to be done was to make a paste of it, and
that with some vehicle which could contain a considerable
quantity of the phlogistic principle. ' For this purpose he
had recourse to linseed oil in preference to all other fluids.
With these two ingredients only he made a stiff paste, taking
particular care to knead it well before he moulded it into
convenient shapes. Sometimes, while the paste continued
in its soft state, he would put the impression of a seal on
several pieces, one of which is in the British Museum.
This paste was then put upon wood, and sometimes on tiles,
in order to bake or dry it before a moderate fire, at about
a foot distance. The doctor found that a moderate, fire
was most proper, because a greater degree of heat made
the composition frequently crack in many places.
“ The time necessary for baking this paste was generally
five or six hours before it attained a sufficient degree of
hardness. When that was done, and the several baked pieces
were become cold, he gave them their magnetic virtue
in any direction he pleased, by placing them between the
extreme ends of his magazine of artificial magnets, for a
few seconds or more, as he saw occasion. By this method
the virtue they acquired was such, that when any one of
these pieces was held between any of his best ten-guinea
bars, with its poles purposely inverted, it immediately of
itself turned about to recover its natural direction, which
the force of these very powerful bars was not sufficient to
counteract.”1 After giving the preceding method, M. Biot
remarks that it consists in procuring a very fine powder of
iron a little oxidated, all the particles of which he united
by means of linseed oil, or any other substance fitted to
give them a proper degree of oxygenation. “ When this
paste was magnetised,” he continues, “ each particle of the
pow'der became a small magnet, in which the development
of the magnetism might be very powerful, on account of
the suitable degree of coercive power produced by the oxy¬
genation ; and the homogeneity of this state in all the par¬
ticles, as well as their extreme tenuity, might give to the
whole system the most favourable arrangements for receiv¬
ing a high degree of magnetism.” M. Biot conceives that
a somewhat analogous effect might be obtained by steel of
an equal and homogeneous grain, the carbon giving a co¬
ercive power like oxygen ; but he thinks that the paste is
likely to form better magnets. He is of opinion also that
some powerful natural magnets may owe their virtue to the
union of similar qualities.
Dr Fothergill, who had seen Mr Knight’s paste magnets
in his own possession, says that the mass had the appear¬
ance of a piece of black lead, though less shining. He in¬
forms us also of a very remarkable fact, if it be true, that
while the poles of a natural loadstone, or of the hardest
steel magnet, could be changed, those of the paste magnets
were immoveable. A small piece, of about half an inch
square and one fourth thick, was powerfully magnetic
though unarmed; and its poles could not be altered though
it was placed between two of Mr Knight’s largest and most
strongly impregnated magnetic bars.2
Conceiving that the powder which formed the basis of
this paste was the black oxide of iron, or martial Ethiops,
M. Cavallo has given the following receipt for imitating
natural magnets; but he does not say that the magnets
made by it are better than those of steel. “ Take some
martial Ethiops reduced into a very fine powder, or, which
is more easily procured, black oxide of iron, the scales
which fall from red-hot iron when hammered, and are
Phil. Trans. 1779, vol. Ixix. p. 51.
2 Ibid. vol. Ixvi.
762
MAGNETISM.
Methods magnet supported twenty-five kilogrammes, and with some
of making precautions thirty-eight. Another horse-shoe bar, weigh-
Artincial jng thirteen kilogrammes, 0‘93 of a metre high, and fifty-
^agnej^ hve millimetres thick, lifted seventy-seven kilogrammes.
When the direction of the current is changed, the poles of
the magnet are instantly reversed; and when the current
is stopped, the magnetism of the bar diminishes, though
M. Moll found it capable of carrying twenty-five kilo¬
grammes a quarter of an hour after the current ceased.
M. Moll found that the magnetic intensity of the bar was
not increased by increasing the number of the voltaic ele¬
ments or plates ; that a horse shoe of copper was not mag¬
netised ; and that a horse-shoe magnet was not rendered
more magnetic by the electric current.
Professor Professor Henry of Albany Academy had obtained
Henry. analogous results about the same time with Professor
Moll. The apparatus which he used is shown in the an¬
nexed figure, which represents a strong rectangular wood¬
en frame three feet nine inches high, and twenty inches
to the galvanic element B, which can be plunged into the
vessel C placed on a moveable shelf, and containing dilute
acid. D is a graduated lever, E a counterpoise, and F a
scale for supporting weights, when the lifting power is not
estimated by a small weight sliding upon the lever. The
magnet A was fitted up in the following manner. “ A bar
of soft iron two inches square and twenty inches long was
bent into the form of a horse-shoe nine inches and a half
high ; the sharp edges of the bar were first a little rounded
with a hammer; it weighed twenty-one pounds. A piece
of iron from the same bar, weighing seven pounds, was
filed perfectly flat on one surface, for an armature or lift¬
er ; the extremities of the legs of the horse-shoe were also
truly ground to the surface of the armature. Around this
horse-shoe 540 feet of copper bell-wire were wound, in
nine coils of sixty feet each. These coils were not conti¬
nued around the whole length of the bar, but each strand
of wire, according to the principle before mentioned, oc¬
cupied about two inches, and was coiled several times
backward and forward over itself; the several ends of the
wires were left projecting, and all numbered, so that the
first and the last end of each strand might be readily dis¬
tinguished. In this manner was formed an experimen¬
tal magnet on a large scale, with which several combina¬
tions of wire could be made by merely uniting the differ¬
ent projecting ends. Thus, if the second end of the first
wire be soldered to the first end of the second wire, and
so on through all the series, the whole will form a conti¬
nued coil of one long wire. By soldering different ends,
the whole may be formed into a double coil of half the Method,
length, or into a triple coil of one third the length,” &C.1 of makirl
In making experiments with this magnet, a small sin- Artificial
gle battery was used, consisting of two concentric copper Magnek
cylinders, with zinc between them; the whole of the zinc
surface in action, including both sides of the zinc, was
two fifths of a square foot, and the quantity of dilute acid
only half a pint. The following were the results :
Number of Wires
soldered to the
Battery in suc¬
cession.
Weight lifted,
in Pounds
avoirdupois.
300
9.
750
j f Each soldered to the battery in sue- ( „
( cession J
2. One on each side of the arch 145
2. One from each end of legs 200
g J One from each end of legs, and thel
( other from middle of arch J
4. Two from each end 507
6. Wires attached 570
9. All the wires attached 650
A plate of zinc twelve inches long^
and six wide, and surrounded f
with copper, substituted for the t
preceding battery )
When a pair of plates, exactly one inch square, was at¬
tached to the wires, the weight lifted was eighty-five
pounds.
Professor Henry mentions that this magnet weighed
twenty-one pounds, and lifted more than thirty-five times
its own weight, whereas the largest natural magnet known,
and in the possession of Mr Peale of Philadelphia, lifts
three hundred and ten pounds, or about six times its own
weight.
MM. Lipkens and Quetelet found that great effects MM. Lip-
will be produced by small voltaic surfaces, provided thatkensand
the chemical action is energetic, and that the degree Quete'et'
of magnetism depends more on the size of the iron shoe,
than on the dimensions of the voltaic plates.2
The horse-shoe iron magnets formed by electrical cur-Mr Wat-
rents are only temporary, and it became interesting to dis-kins.
cover the time of duration of the magnetism. Mr Francis
Watkins made some interesting experiments on this sub¬
ject.3 He found that when the armature or keeper is removed
from the two poles of the magnet, it instantly loses all its
magnetism when the electric current is cut off; but that if
the armature is kept upon the poles, the soft iron magnet
will retain its magnetism for a great length of time. Mr
Watkins made a horse-shoe bar with a piece of soft iron
eighteen inches in length and one inch in diameter,
and he rendered it magnetic by winding round it in a
single helix twenty feet of copper wire one fifteenth of
an inch thick. The ends of the copper helix being con¬
nected with a single pair of voltaic plates, the horse-shoe,
when rendered magnetic by the current, supported 125 lbs.
The voltaic action continuing, the weight was reduced to
56 lbs., and the voltaic plates removed ; the weight was
also carefully removed, so as not to displace the armature
or keeper. The sustaining power of the horse-shoe was
then tried every day, and at the end of ten days it sus¬
tained 56 lbs. as firmly as it did at first. Another horse¬
shoe bar charged with magnetism in November, was as
powerful, and rather more so, in April, than it was at first.
After a lapse of fifteen weeks it frequently supported
30 lbs. This soft iron magnet was tried at the Duke of
Sussex’s house on the 27th of April, and, though nearly
1 Professor Silliman’s Journal, 1831, vol. xix. p. 404.
2 Ann. de Chim. vol. 1. p. 328-331; and Quetelet’s Corresp. Astronom. de Bruxelles.
3 Phil. Trans. 1833, part ii. p. 333-343.
Hletfds
si.rtifial
plagfts.
Magnetism.
j^eth
six tuouths had elapsed szticb xt vscctvcd tha TYiaQTi&tic vzvtuc^
it supported 100 lbs.; but the instant that the keeper was
separated from its poles, almost all the magnetism disap¬
peared. When the keeper was again applied, there was
not enough of magnetism even to support the keeper.
Mr W/atkins made some interesting experiments on the
lifting powers of soft iron magnets when plates of mica
of different thickness were interposed between the poles
and the keeper. The magnet was of the size and shape
already stated, but Mr Watkins has not mentioned the
successive thicknesses of the mica plates, nor does he
state that they were of equal thickness. Had he mention¬
ed the tints which each of them polarized, it would have
been easy to compute their exact thicknesses. The fol¬
lowing were his results
Number of Plates of Number of Pounds supported
Mica interposed. besides the Keeper.
763
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
49
40
26
17
13
8
H
2i
H
of
0±
The keeper only.
0
tetb
When a piece of common writing paper was placed be¬
tween the poles and the keeper, 28 lbs. were supported by
the magnet.
Sect. XIV.—Account of M. Aimes method of making Per¬
manent Artificial Magnets.
This method, which has been recently published by M.
■ Aime,1 is one equally simple and efficacious. It is found¬
ed on the facts described in the preceding section, and
consists in holding a bar of red-hot steel with pincers be¬
tween the two poles N, S of a horse-shoe magnet render¬
ed magnetic by an electrical current. The horse-shoe and
the included bar, which should exactly fit the space be¬
tween the poles, are then plunged in cold water, and kept
there for a little time, depending on the size of the real
magnet, till the bar is thoroughly cold along its axis. In
order to prevent the brass spiral wire that is curled round
the horse-shoe bar from being wetted when the apparatus
is under water, the extremities of the wire are enveloped
in a piece of linen covered with mastic. The ends ot the
conducting wire should be soldered to the zinc and cop¬
per ends of the battery. M. Aime employed a single
wire for the spiral round the horse-shoe; but he observes
that several may be united in a bundle, or a copper ri¬
band may be used covered with silk or varnish. In all
the different trials that M. Aime has made ot this me¬
thod, he has obtained satisfactory results.
Sect. XV.—Account of the Experiments made by Coulomb
and Kater, on the efficacy of the different methods of
making Artificial Magnets.
{,’g Coulomb was the first person who examined experi-
ison mentally the value of the different methods of making ar-
*ent tificial magnets. The following is a brief abstract of his
ls* results.
1. Wires of tempered steely twelve inches long and one twen • Methods
tieth of an inch in diameter. of making
-A-i* tificicil
When rubbed at right angles on the pole of a single ar- Magnets,
tificial magnet, it performed ten oscillations in seventy-v—
four seconds.
When rubbed at right angles upon the poles of four united
bar-magnets, or magnetised by the methods of Duha-
mel and vEpinus, it performed the same number of oscil¬
lations in the same time. Hence small steel wires at¬
tain their maximum degree of magnetism equally well
by all the different methods.
2. A plate of annealed steel twelve inches long, one third
wide, and one forty-second of an inch thick.
When rubbed at right angles on a single pole, it perform¬
ed ten oscillations in seventy-seven seconds.
When rubbed on two united poles, ten oscillations in
seventy-five seconds.
When rubbed on ten poles, ten oscillations in seventy-five
seconds. *
By the methods of Duhamel and-ZEpinus, ten oscillations
in seventy-five seconds.
The effect of the different methods is now perceptible,
the first being the worst.
3. A plate of steel six and a half inches long, nine twenty-
fifths wide, and one forty-second thick.
When rubbed on two poles, ten oscillations in fifty-one
seconds.
Upon five poles, ten oscillations in forty-nine seconds.
Upon eight and ten poles, ten oscillations in forty-seven
and a half seconds.
By Duhamel’s and iEpinus’s methods, ten oscillations in
forty-seven and a half seconds.
4. A plate eight inches long, fourteen twenty-fifths wide, and
one twenty-fifth thick.
When rubbed upon one pole, ten oscillations in seventy-
three seconds.
Upon/owr poles, ten oscillations in sixty-two seconds.
Upon ten poles, ten oscillations in fifty-nine seconds.
At an inclination of 15° or 20°, on two poles, ten oscilla¬
tions in fifty-three seconds.
At the same inclination on four and ten poles, ten oscilla¬
tions in forty-nine seconds.
By Duhamel and iEpinus’s methods, with one or more bars
on each side, ten oscillations in forty-nine seconds.
5. Bar of steel sixteen inches long, six tenths wide, and one
fifth thick.
By magnetising it on iEpinus’s method, with two move-
able bars rubbing on its surface, it performed ten oscil¬
lations in a hundred and ten seconds, and was found to be
saturated. By Duhamel’s method, it required moveable
bundles of four bars each.
6. Bar of steel sixteen inches long, one inch broad, and nine
twenty-fifths thick.
When magnetised by fEpinus’s method, with bundles of
four, or even ten bars, it performed ten oscillations in
a hundred and fifty-three seconds.
But by Duhamel’s method, with even ten bars, it only per¬
formed ten oscillations in a hundred and sixty-two se¬
conds.
Hence the magnetic force communicated by the first
method was to that of the second as nine to eight.
Captain Kater made a series of interesting experiments Directive
on the directive force of needles, produced by different
1 Ann. de Chimie, vol. Ivii. p. 442.
764
MAGNETISM.
Descrip- methods of magnetising them. The needles which he used
tion of were right-angled parallelograms, five inches long, the one
Magneti- seven tenths of an inch broad, and the other three and a
Caments.U* half tenths. The broadest was made thinner till it had
- , , ' the same weight as the other, which was 142 grains. The
following table contains the result of the experiments.
Directive Force.
Small Large
Needle. Needle.
1. The magnets placed perpendicu¬
larly on the centre of the needle,
and the needle rubbed from end
to end on both sides  655 674
2. The same, but the magnets sepa¬
rated at top in the same way as at
bottom  595 580
3. The same as number one, but the
distance of the lower ends of the •
magnets two and a half inches.... 760 780
4. The magnets joined on the centre
of the needle, and each moved to¬
wards the nearest pole, then lifted
up and joined again, and so on.... 993 1155
5. The magnets being joined on the
centre of the needle, their lower
ends were made to move to each
pole, their upper ends remaining
in contact  1025 1150
6. By Duhamel’s method, the magnets
inclined 45° to the needle, and
moved from the centre to the
poles    1070 1170
7. The same, but the inclination of
the magnets 20°  1085 1195
8. The same, but the inclination only
2° or 3°  1160 1275
9. Magnets laid flat on the needle,
and drawn from the centre to the
end  1158 1261
10. Same as number eight, but the se¬
parated ends of the magnets con¬
nected by an iron wire  1145 1261
11. Wire removed, and experiment
number eight repeated  1260 1273
12. Needles hardened at a bright red,
and then softened from the centre
to within three fourths of an inch
of their extremities, and mag¬
netised as number eight  1815 1665
Captain Kater next ascertained the effect of length on
the directive power of needles. He cut two needles of
equal weight out of the same plate of steel, the one be-
mvjive, and the other eight inches long.
13. Magnetised to saturation as in
number eight  1193 2275
14. Hardened and tempered beyond
the blue, from the middle to within
an inch of the poles  1865 2277
Hence it follows, as Coulomb had ascertained, that the
directive force of needles whose length exceeds five inches
is probably as their lengths.1
CHAP. XI. DESCRIPTION OP MAGNETICAL INSTRUMENTS.
Magneti- The great importance and value of magnetical instru-
cal instru- ments, not only in the arts of navigation and surveying,
rnents. kut. jn tjle determination of the various and ever-changing
phenomena of terrestrial megnetism, renders it necessary Descrin
that we should enter with some detail into this branch of tion 0f
the subject. As a magnetic needle constitutes the prin- Magneti.
cipal, if not the essential part, of the greater number 0fcallnstni<
magnetical instruments, we shall begin our observations
with some details respecting the forms, description of steel,
temper, and construction of magnetic needles.
Sect. I.—On the best Form and Construction of Compass
Needles.
The most valuable experiments on this subject are those Forni
made by M. Coulomb and Captain Kater. Those of Cap-ofcomw<
tain Kater are particularly important. needles.
With regard to the material out of which the needle
should be formed, Captain Kater found that needles of
shear steel received a greater magnetic force than those of
blister steel or spur steel, those of cast iron being much in¬
ferior to the others.
The next object of inquiry was to ascertain the form Coulomb's
of the needle which is best suited for receiving the great-expen.
est directive power. The forms which have been gene-ments’
rally used are, the cylindric, the prismatic, that of a
rhomb or a parallelogram, and that of a flat bar which ta¬
pers to its extremities like an arrow. According to the
experiments of Coulomb, the form last mentioned, “ une
lame taillee en fteche,” was the best, and was susceptible of
a greater directive power than those which had the form
of a parallelogram. He found that any expansion of the
needles towards these poles was accompanied with a loss
of power; and he drew the general conclusion, that in
needles of the same form, their directive forces are pro¬
portional to their masses. Captain Kater likewise found
that the directive force was little, if at all, influenced by
the extent of its surface; but that it .depended almost
wholly on the mass of the needle when it was saturated
with magnetism.
Captain Kater compared needles that had the form of Captain
a wide and a narrow rectangular parallelogram, an^l aKater’ses-
small rhombus, a large rhombus, and a pierced rhombus, Periments'
and he found that the form of the pierced rhombus is de¬
cidedly the best. A needle of this form (the sides of the
rhombus are a little rounded in the figure), as made by
Dollond, is shown in fig. 10, Plate CCCXXVL, the cross
piece at the centre being made of brass or copper.
With regard to the best mode of hardening and tem¬
pering needles, Captain Kater found, that when a needle is
considerably hardened throughout, its capacity for mag¬
netism is diminished. He found that the needle was sus¬
ceptible of the greatest directive power when it was first
hardened uniformly at a red heat, and then softened from
the middle to within an inch of its extremities, by using a
degree of heat which is just capable of making the blue
colour, which is thus produced, to disappear. Captain
Kater likewise found that the polishing of the needle, pre¬
vious to its being touched, had no advantage; and that an
increase of pressure of the touching magnets on the needle
was sometimes injurious, and never useful.
When the needle is magnetised, it has a cap cc fitted
into the opening in its centre, seen in fig. 10, Plate
CCCXXVI., and about one fourth of an inch
in diameter. This hollow cap is executed
with great care, and is generally made of
agate (garnet is much better). The interior
curved surface, particularly the summit of it,
requires the best workmanship. This summit
rests on the pivot n, the point of which is
wrought to an angle of from about 15° to
Fig. 75.
‘ Phil. Trans. 1821, p. 104.
MAGNETISM.
765
- 200.1 The use of the ring a a is to raise up the cap of the
. needle, and take it from the pivot when it is not in use.
l' The rod or handle r of this ring is continued to the outside
- ‘ of the compass-box, where it can be put in motion, so as
,>to disengage the needle from its pivot, or replace it at
pleasure.
When a compass-needle is nicely balanced on a pivot,
previous to its being magnetised, so as to traverse freely
in a horizontal plane, it will no longer do so after it has
been rendered magnetic. One of its ends will preponderate,
in consequence of the tendency of the needle to dip, or
place itself in a position parallel to the magnetic axis of the
globe. In order to restore its equilibrium, therefore, it is
necessary to add a small weight to one side of the needle, as
shown in fig. 10 of Plate CCCXXVI. The weight requi¬
site for this purpose will increase with the dip, so that it
may be necessary to slide the weight farther from the centre
in going towards the magnetic poles, and vice versa.
As the needle of ordinary compasses is generally placed
upon a card on which the various points of the compass are
marked, in stormy weather it is necessary to give weight
to the card, to preserve it steady during irregular motions
of the vessel. Various contrivances have been adopted
to remedy this evil. The usual method is to load the card
with sealing-wax. Some place pieces of paper, like vanes,
on the lower side of the card, to act against the air, and
check the vibrations; while others have proposed to make
the needle move in oil or other liquid, with the same view.
The consequence of these contrivances is, that while the
weight of the card, or its resistance to motion, is increased,
the directive power of the needle remains the same, so
that in getting rid of one evil, another of greater magni¬
tude is created. The mobility of the needle is diminish¬
ed, and the steersman may mistake his course by trusting
to the apparent steadiness of his compass. The simplest re¬
medy for this evil is to use a heavier needle, with a greater
directive power, or by combining several needles together.
This idea also has been proposed by Professor Barlow,
who constructs the card as shown in the annexed figure,
where NESW is the card,
and NS, N'S', N"S", Fig. 76.
wY, five parallel needles
placed at equal distances.
Mr Barlow has shown
that the directive force
of this combination of
needles is nearly four
times greater than that
of a single needle; but
as the weight and fric¬
tion on the pivot is in¬
creased nearly in the
same proportion, no other
advantage is gained but
the proposed one (parti¬
cularly requisite in boat compasses) of making the cards
steady by their additional weight, while the relative di¬
rective power remains the same.
Sect. II.—Description of the Common and Azimuth Com¬
pass.
s. The common compass, whether it is called the mariner s
compass or the land compass, serves only to point out the
direction of the magnetic meridian, while azimuth com¬
passes enable us to determine the angular distances ot ob¬
jects from the magnetic meridian.
The common compass consists ot a needle fixed to a
circular card, containing upon its surface the thirty-two Descrip-
points of the compass. This card is balanced, as already tion
described, upon a pivot fixed in the bottom of a circular Magneti-
box, and the top of the box is a plate of glass for protect-
ing the needle from motions of the air. This compass- . _rnC‘1^_.
box, shown at AB, fig. 8, Plate CCCXXV., is suspended
within a larger box PQ, upon two concentric brass cir¬
cles or gimbals, the outer circles being fixed by hori¬
zontal pivots both to the inner circle, which carries the
compass-box, and likewise to the outer box, the two axes
upon which the gimbals move being at right angles to
each other. The effect of this construction is, that the
compass-box AB will retain a horizontal position during
the motions of the vessel.
The azimuth compass, shown in fig. 8, Plate CCCXXV. Azimuth
differs from the common compass principally in its being comPass*
furnished with sights G, H, through which any object mav
be seen, and its angle with the magnetic meridian increased.
For this purpose, the whole box is hung in detached gimbals
CD, EF, which turn upon a stout vertical pin, seen above
S'. In some instruments, the sights G, H may be turn¬
ed down by a joint over the glass when the compass is not
in use, as shown in fig. 7, Plate CCCXXV.; and in others
they are connected by a brass bar, and may be taken from
the compass when they are not wanted. In this compass,
the card is divided on its rim into 360°; but the divi¬
sions are more frequently placed on a light metallic rim
which it carries. The eye is applied to the sight H,
which is a slip of brass containing a narrow slit. The
other sight G, which is turned towards the object, con¬
tains an oblong aperture, along the axis or middle of which
is stretched a fine horse hair or wire, which is made to
coincide with or pass over the object or point whose angu¬
lar distance or azimuth from the magnetic meridian is to
be determined.
It is extremely difficult, when the ship is in motion, for
the same person to take the bearing of the object and read
off the angle ; and various contrivances have been adopted
to remedy this great defect. One of these is to have on
one side of the compass-box a nut, which, when pressed by
the finger, pushes a lever against the card, and stops its
motion, so as to allow the angle to be read off at leisure ;
but a false reading is often obtained with this contrivance.
Sect. III.—Account of Captain Katers Azimuth Compass.
This ingenious compass may be regarded as an universal Kater’s
instrument, capable of being advantageously used both at azimuth
sea and on land. It is represented in detail in figures 7, ]0,comPass’
and 11, of Plate CCCXXV. In fig. 10, AB is a cylindric
box made of brass, one inch deep, and covered with glass,
and contains a card CD, five inches in diameter. The
needle NS has an agate cap set in brass, and fixed in its
centre. The needle is fixed to a circular piece of talc,
on the circumference of which is laid a narrow ring ot
card, which is graduated to half degrees on its outer mar¬
gin. On the inner side of the box there is fixed a stand¬
ing piece of ivory, which just projects over the outer mar¬
gin of the graduated circumference of the card, and an in¬
dex-line is engraved on the ivory as a point of departure for
reading off the divisions on the card. A brass sight-frame
GH is fixed by a hinge at H, on the opposite side of the
box. It has the form of a parallelogram, and is five inches
long. A frame EF, two inches long, slides up and down
upon GH, and contains the segment of a glass cylinder,
whose radius is five inches. When the solar rays fall upon
this cylindrical bar, they are collected into foci which form
a line of liglit which is thrown upon the index-line of the
1 Coulomb, Mem. de VInrtitut. tom. iii. has shown that this is the best angle for pivots.
MAGNETISM.
766
. Descrip- piece of ivory, and which maybe seen at the same time as
Ma^neti ^ ^^v‘sl0ns on fc^e car(^- ^^e frame GH, when folded
cal l^nstru- ^ovvn> as sl10wn in fig. 7, acts upon a lever L, which raises
ments. ^ie needle NS, and prevents it from traversing, by press-
'w-y-'w' ^nS ^ against the glass cover.
The sight-hole to which the eye applies itself is shown
at P, figs. 10 and 11. It is an inch from its hinge to its
summit, but may be raised higher by means of grooves,
in which a branch below the joint covers it, as seen in the
figure. The upright plane P has a slit S terminating be¬
low in a circular aperture, which receives a convex lens.
To this is fixed a horizontal plane H, having a lens in its
centre ; and above this, inclined to it at an angle of 45°, is
placed a mirror M, by means of which and the lenses, an
eye looking through the lens below S sees magnified the
divisions on the card, distinct vision being produced by
sliding the sight upwards or downwards.
In order to take the sun’s azimuth, raise the object-
sight GH, and slide the cylindrical lens EF till its lumi¬
nous line or focus falls upon the index. The eye-glass
sight P is then to be moved up and down till it gives dis¬
tinct vision of the index-line on the ivory. If the line of
light is not narrow and well defined, incline the sight GH
towards the compass till it is so, care being taken that the
sight is perpendicular to the horizon, between the observer
and the sun. When this is effected, incline the compass
to the observer, so as to check the oscillations of the card,
by bringing it in contact with the index and two pins fixed
near it for the purpose. When the card is made steady
by the repetition of this, taking care that the compass is
inclined as much from the observer as will just free the
card from the index, and that the line of light is bisected
by the index-line, this lens wall indicate on the card the
azimuth of the sun required, which, when the correction
on the card is applied to it, will give the true azimuth of
the sun from the magnetic meridian ; and by means of this
element and the observed altitude, the variation of the
needle may be obtained in the usual way.
In using this compass for surveying, the cylindrical lens
is slid to the top EG, and the hair or wire GH is then
seen ; and when this hair is made to bisect any object
seen by direct vision, we have only to read off the azimuth
of that object as seen on the card viewed by reflection.
By turning back the reflecting sight P round its hinge,
the line of light may be viewed on the index, and the
angle read off by direct vision, a mode of observation which
has its advantages.
Sect. IV.—Account of the Variation Compass.
Variation The very complete instrument for measuring, with the
compass. nicest accuracy, the variation of the needle, and ascertain¬
ing its diurnal changes, which we have represented in
Plate CCCXXVI. fig. 2, was constructed in Paris, we be¬
lieve by M. Gambey, and has been described by M. Pouil-
let. All the parts of it which are of metal are executed
in copper. A table NN of white marble supports the pil¬
lars and case of the instrument. The columns“C, D are
those by which the needle is suspended, and E, F, G, H,
those which support the microscopes M, M'. The box of
the needle is shown at B, B', and the needle itself AA'
is placed in the small copper ring o p, to which is fastened
a wire or a number of silk threads without torsion, which
suspend the needle, and which may be rolled round the
small cylinder seen between c and d, and turned round by
the milled head e. This wire is kept in the centre of the
little graduated circle cd, by crossing at that centre a
small triangular aperture. The wire is enclosed in a small
cage of glass, which rises between the two columns C, D,
in order that the air may neither be agitated, nor pene¬
trate into the box. By turning the milled head e, the
needle A A' may be raised or depressed at pleasure. Two Descri
moveable panes of glass shut up the apertures A, A' of the tion of
box, which are above the two ends of the needle. Upon Magnet;,
each of the extremities of the needle there is firmly fixedcal Instrii-
a small plate of ivory mn, m'n\ bearing a very minutely
divided scale, each of the divisions having the angular
value of 15' or 20'.
When the apparatus has been placed as nearly as pos¬
sible in the plane of the magnetic meridian, and carefully
levelled, we must see that the silk thread is without tor¬
sion ; and by a few trials the microscopes M, M' may be
directed so as to see the zero or index of the ivory scales
at the ends of the needle. It is then easy to observe the
displacements which the needle experiences, either by
counting the divisions which have passed under the
wire of the microscope, or by following its motions by
means of the screw by which the microscopes are moved.
Small microscopes, one of which is shown at a, and moveable
round the rods h, f are used to read off the position and
course of each microscope M, M' along the bar which car¬
ries it, and which regulates its lateral motion.
The telescope T is used for counting more convenient¬
ly, and consequently more correctly, the oscillations of the
needle, when we wish to employ it for measuring the
magnetic intensity. It carries before its object-glass a
mirror, which reflects the vertical rays along the axis of
the telescope.
Sect. V.—Description of Colonel Beaufoy’s Variation
Transit.
This instrument, which was employed by Colonel Beau-Beaufby’s
foy in the valuable series of magnetic observations which variation
he made between the years 1813 and 1821, is represent-transit
ed in perspective in Plate CCCXXVL fig. 4, where EF is
a mahogany board, which forms the support of the instru¬
ment, resting on three screws G, H, I, by which it can
be levelled. Above this is a flat plate of brass EE, fixed
to the board by a centre pin, and resting upon three studs
projecting from the board. It has a small horizontal mo¬
tion round the centre pin, by means of the screw W and
milled head X. The plate EE carries the graduated arc
»j, which is subdivided by the vernier D projecting from
the box ddd containing the needle AA. This box moves
on the common centre pin of the plate EE. In the plate
which carries the vernier D is fixed the frame aab,
which is furnished with a clamp-screw L to fasten it to
the arc m, and a tangent screw K, by which the box ddd
can be moved round its centre pin.
The centre pin of the box dd and plate EE terminates
in a very fine pivot, on which the needle AA is suspend¬
ed by means of an agate cap B, for diminishing the fric¬
tion. The needle AA, which is a cylinder, is ten inches
long and one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter. It
weighs sixty-five grains, and is terminated by two conical
points; and it is furnished with the usual lever, &c. for
lifting it from the pivot of suspension and lowering it
again. There are within the box dd, and beneath the
ends AA of the needle, two segments of brass, which have
the centre lines drawn upon them; and these lines are
brought to the points of the needle when the observation
is made, by observing the coincidence through the double
microscope M, which can be removed to the opposite end
of the box.
The transit telescope OP rests on two pillars NN, fix¬
ed on the brass plate EE, and having at their summits
small boxes f for the reception of the Ys, in which the
pivots of the conical axis Q of the telescope are sup¬
ported. At the end of one of the pivots of this axis is
fixed a small divided circle R, on an arm of which, pro¬
vided with a level S, are placed the verniers for reading
Id’s
dion
jd's
d
I ion
Des»ip- off the divisions. The eye-piece h admits a dark glass for
tioiof solar observation, and the wires of the eye-piece are
aMa^Eti- a(jjuste{] by screws at#. There is also a detached level
1 W£u' TV, whose feet A, l are placed in different directions upon
v the plate EE, for the purpose of levelling it. The use of
the telescope is for finding the true meridian by means of
the sun or stars, and the meridian should be indicated by
fixed meridian marks.
When the instrument is properly levelled, and the tele¬
scope placed in the true meridian, the needle is allowed to
settle, and the box dd is turned upon its centre till its mark
comes near the point A of the needle. The clamp-screw L
is then fixed to the arc m, and the screw K is turned till
the coincidence of the index with the point of the needle
is seen through the microscope M to be perfect. The
vernier D will then show the exact angle of variation, or
the declination of the needle from the true meridian.
Sect. N\.—Account of Dollond's Variation Transit.
This instrument is shown in fig. 5 of Plate CCCXXVI.
A brass pedestal CD, supported by three screws for ad¬
justing it horizontally, forms the foundation of the four
)olkd’s
/aria on
/MISt.
le.
M A G N E T I S M.
767
used under the name of aipping-needles, for measuring the Descrip-
dip or inclination of the needle to the horizon. One of the tion of
most recent and complete of these instruments, as construct- ^jS^eti-
ed by Messrs W. & T. Gilbert, is shown in Plate CCCXXV/
fig. 9, in perspective. It consists of a brass plate CAB,
supported by three screws A, B, C upon a flat board or
stand. In the centre of this brass plate is another, ED, con¬
centric with the former, and moveable round a centre pin
like the moveable plate of a theodolite. This plate ED
carries two levels at D for adjusting the plate horizontally.
Four supports, shown at E and F, carry the circular box
HGP, or principal case of the dipping needle NS. Two
equal brass bars, one of which is seen at KL, are firmly
fixed across the case in a horizontal direction. Other two
brass pieces m, n are fixed by screws to the centre of the
bars K, L, and carry two finely polished planes of agate, on
which the axis of the needle NS rests, and upon which it
turns freely. There is a contrivance inside the box G, and
on the other side of K, L, not seen in the figure, by which
the observer, by turning the milled head P, can lift, by
means of Ys, the needle from the agate planes, or lower it
upon them, at pleasure ; the Ys being carefully adjusted, so
as always to leave the axis of the needle on the same part
Doji id’s
iliul il
ari ion
instt
md
pillars which support the transit telescope AB, on the axis of the agate planes, and in the centre of the divided circle,
of which is fixed the graduated circle E, provided with all In this instrument the ends N, S of the needle are gradu-
the usual contrivances for the accurate adjustment of the ated so as to act as a vernier scale for subdividing the de¬
axis of the transit, and with microscopes for reading off the grees of the divided circle into 6'. A microscope is attach-
degrees. A cap or cover, seen separately at a, and con- ed to the rim of the glass face, so as to be easily placed
taining a lens, is placed before the object-glass of the tele- on any part of it, for the purpose of reading off the dip. In
scope, in order to convert it into a transit microscope, the this instrument the length of the needle NS is six inches,
focus of the lens being suited to the distance of the needle, In order to obtain an accuiate measuie of the dip, seve-
seen between C and D, and the divisions of the graduated ral measures of it should be taken ; first, with the face of the
circle in the compass-box CD, the centre of the lens cor- instrument to the east; secondly, with the face to the west;
responding accurately with that of the object-glass. By and the same observations repeated alter the polarity of the
this method the correct place of the divisions, as well as of needle has been inverted, or the north pole converted into
the needle, may be readily ascertained, and the extreme a south pole, and the south into a north one. The mean ol
deviation, as well as its diurnal changes, accurately deter- these four sets of observations will be the tiue dip required,
mined. This instrument may also be used as a theodolite, An account of Mitchell s dipping needle, as constructed
and employed also for taking altitudes and equal altitudes, by Nairne for the Board of LongUude, will be found in the
^ * i J ° phii Trans. for 1772, p. 476. The needles were a foot
„ ^ long, and the ends of the axes, which were made of gold al-
Sect. VII.—Description of Dollonds Diurnal Variation ]0yed with copper, rested on friction wheels four inches in
Instrument. diameter.
This instrument is shown in fins. 8, 9, 10, and 11, of A complicated dipping-needle by Dr Lorimer, for deter-
Pkte CCCXXVI. Itismadeof mahogany and ivory, in mining the dip at sea, it described in the PM. Trans.,
meSst0 The neX^fs^poS byhl^lk'fibre cM Thi dipping-needle used by the Royal Society, and re-
?ng ov^a pulley at,, ^ gy Mr SLvendUh to TmLTra^fhltf™-
ihe two microscopes, ^seen one  ^ fi„ 9 m,jvill„ The axis of the needle rested on agate planes, and there
was a contrivance, as in Gilbert s instrument above de¬
scribed, for raising and turning the needle upon the same
part of the planes.
In one of M. Gambey’s dipping-needles
wires, which, by means of the nut, seen in fig. 9, moving
the frame to which the two verniers are attached, as well
as the microscope, may be made to correspond with the in¬
dex-lines on the ends of the needle ns, each end of the
needle being observed, in order to correct the error arising
from eccentricity. The mean of these two observations, as
read off on the verniers, will give the angle of the diurnal
The needles used with the instrument are shown
and there is also a piece of brass, of the
variation.
executed at
Paris, and intended to be used at St Petersburg, the
axis, instead of being cylindrical, is a knife edge, as in de¬
licate balances. This edge is placed exactly in the centre
of gravity of the whole compound needles, and is so fixed,
in figs. 10, 11 ; and there is also %Piece V.' tha&t when the needle dips 7P (as at St Petersburg), the
same form and weight as the nee es, n instru_ edge rests perpendicularly on two agate plates. Such
any twist in the suspending fibres of • • itv fo-L™ needles, made for particular values of the dip, are
ment might be used for measuring the magnetic intensity, uippiifo i.ee , ^ u .  
e used for measuring tern- g ^ ^ thg admirably fitted for measuring minute variations of inch-
reV^ef fugaie0nXTufnal paS L instrument was nation, whether they be diurnal, menstrual, or annual.
constructedfor Captain Foster, who has published the ob-
which he made with it in the Philosophical
servations
Transactions.
Sect.
IX.—Account of Mr Scoresbys Magnetometer, for
measuring the Dip of the Needle.
con-
Gil irt’s
dipjng-
This ingenious instrument consists of a horizontal table, Scoresby’s
a leaf, or part of which, made of brass, may be set by a magneto¬
screw and pinion at any angle to the horizon ; and this leaf meter.
.. , i ifcrhano'es contains near one of its edges two rings, through which
dis^overedfinstnimentsof’varioifsformrwere contrived Std we can pass a bar ofsoft unmagnetic iron, so that its length
Sect. YllL—Description of the Dipping Needle as
structed by Messrs Gilberts.
768
MAGNETISM.
Descrip, is perpendicular to the axis or line round which the brass
J^011 0^. leaf moves. On the same side of the leaf, and concentric
cal Inetru ^ie a^ove axls5 Is a graduated circle divided into 360°,
ments. 80 ^iat when the bar of iron is put into the rings of the brass
.leaf, the bar coincides, in every position of the leaf, with a
radius of the divided circle; and it is therefore easy to mea¬
sure the angle which the bar makes with the horizon,
whatever be the position of the leaf on which it rests. A
compass is placed on the fixed leaf of the table, which by
means of levels may be adjusted to a horizontal position.
Now it has been ascertained by Mr Barlow, that when
a bar of iron is in the magnetic equator, it loses all its
power of affecting the needle of a compass placed near it.
Mr Scoresby therefore elevates the brass leaf of the table,
and consequently the bar of iron, till it ceases to act on
the needle;and the complementof the inclination of thebar,
as measured by the graduated circle, is the dip required.
This method is of course not equal in accuracy to that de¬
scribed above, or to the methods of Meyer and Professor
Lloyd, explained in subsequent sections. It may be used,
however, most advantageously in obtaining an approximate
measure of the dip when more delicate instruments cannot
be procured. See the Edinburgh Transactions, vol. ix. p.
347; and the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. ix.
p. 41.
Bernoul¬
li’s dip-
ping-
needle.
Sect. X—Account of Daniel Bernoulli’s Dipping-
Needle.
If AB is a needle, C its axis, a light graduated circle
DEFG is fixed upon it, so as to have its centre coincident
with C, and a light index D is fitted to the axis C, so as to
turn tightly upon it. Let the needle be magnetised pre¬
vious to the putting on of the index D, and nicely balanced.
The index will obviously destroy the equilibrium, and will
always point perpendicularly to the horizon, if the needle
has been properly balanced. As this degree of accuracy,
however, cannot be expected, let the index D be set to
different parts of the circle EFG, and let the inclination
taken by the needle before it is magnetised be noted down,
corresponding to the different positions of the index. When
the index points to 50°, for example, let the inclination of
the needle be 46°. If we now observe that the needle is
still inclined 46°, when the index is at 50°, after it is
magnetised, then 46° is the true magnetic dip at that place,
as the magnetism which it has received does not alter the
position which it assumes from its gravity alone.
As it is easy to obtain a rude estimate of the dip at any
place, let the index D be set accordingly, and if the needle
does not now show the estimated dip, the position of the
index must be changed, and the inclination or dip of the
needle again noted. Observe if this second position of the
index, and the second measure of the dip, form a corre¬
sponding pair of numbers, such as have been written down.
If they do we have got the true dip; but if they do not,
another position of the index must be tried. If the
coincidence ot this new pair of numbers is greater or less
than that of the former pair, we shall learn whether the
position of the index is to be altered in the same direction
as before, or in an opposite one.
Dr Robison made several observations with a dipping- DesrH
needle of this construction, which was executed by a per- tS'
son totally unacquainted with the making of such instru Magnet;
ments. He measured the dip with it at Cronstadt, at New cal lr>stru.
York, and Scarborough, and the result never deviated J"ents'
more than If from that obtained by the present dipping-
needles. He tried it also in a rough sea in Leith Road’s
and he found it not inferior either in accuracy or despatch
to the most elaborate instruments.
Sect. XL—Account of Mayer’s Dipping-Needle, as con¬
structed for Captain Sabine.
The method of observing the dip employed by the cele¬
brated Tobias Mayer,1 consists in separating the centres
of motion and of gravity of the needle, and in deducing
the true dip from the apparent dip thus obtained.
The needle executed for Captain Sabine on this prin¬
ciple was a parallelepiped 111 inches long, Aths broad,
or an inch thick. The ends were rounded, and a line
drawn on the face of the needle through its centre to its
extremities, for the purpose of an index. The needle
turned upon a cylindrical axis of bell-metal, terminated by
cylinders of the smallest diameter, that could support the
needle without bending. These small cylindrical ends
rested upon agate planes. The needle was raised from or
lowered to its support by Ys, which insured that the same
parts of the small cylinders rested on the agate planes in
each observation.
A small steel screw was inserted in a female screw, tapped
on the lower edge of the needle, in a direction perpendicular
to the index line, and a small brass sphere was made to
traverse on this screw, so that the centre of gravity of the
needle, screw, and sphere, may be made to fall more or
less below the axis of motion, and thus give the needle a
momentum auxiliary to that of magnetism, in overcoming
the inequalities of workmanship in the axis, or in the agate
planes. Hence the position which the needle assumes, un¬
der these circumstances, is not that of the true dipping-
needle ; but, by a simple formula, the true dip may be de^
duced from four observations, when conducted in the fol¬
lowing manner:—
1. Place the needle in the magnetic meridian, and ob¬
serve the angle which it makes with the vertical. Call
this angle M.
2. Reverse the position of the axis on its supports, so
that the edge of the needle, which was uppermost in the
preceding observation, is now lowermost, and observe again
the angle which the needle makes with the vertical, and
call this m. Let the poles of the needle be now reversed
by means of a powerful magnet, and when it is replaced,
make the same observations which have been already de¬
scribed, and call the angles thus obtained N, n. then
calling the sum of the tangents of M and m = A; the dif¬
ference of the same tangents — a-, the sum of the tangents
N, n — B, and their difference — b. Then the dip A may be
obtained from the following formula : 
cotan. A
-i(
AxJ> a X B
a -f- b a -j- b
)
In order to insure the perfect horizontality of the agate
planes, or of the axis of the needle which rests upon them,
a spirit level attached to a circular brass plate, with adjust¬
ments to bring the level parallel to the plate, was placed
upon the planes themselves. The errors of the level were
shown by placing the plate in various positions, and the er¬
rors of the planes by turning the whole instrument on its
horizontal centre.
1 Gottingen Transactions, 1814.
jlOI
M A G N E T 1
If we observe the inclination of the dipping needle to
the horizon in two different positions, so that the planes in
which it moves are at right angles to one another, the true
dip may be obtained from the formula:
cotang. 2A = cotang. 2I -f- cotang. 2P.
the inclination in the two rectangular azimuths being I,
and F. The dip may be thus very accurately obtained
from the mean of a number of observations in different azi¬
muths.
S M.
769
tions, without reversing the poles of the needle, as in the Descrip-
method of Tobias Mayer. tion of
The value of the coefficient p in the last equation is given Magneti-
in the following formula :
 cos. 6. sin. (5 — £)
rofet->r
loyl
t ise Jig
Sect. XII—Accoutit of Professor Lloyds method of ob¬
serving the Dip and the Magnetic Intensity at the same
time, and with the same Instrument.
The ordinary dipping needle employed by Professor Lloyd,
is supported on an axis which is supposed to pass accurately
through its centre of gravity, and hence the position which
it takes in the magnetic meridian is the direction of the
magnetic force. If one of the arms of the needle, how¬
ever, is loaded with a weight, the needle will assume a new'
position of equilibrium under the united influence of gra¬
vity and of terrestrial magnetism. By means of the in¬
clination of the needle thus obtained, and the amount of
the added weight, the dip of the needle, and the magnetic
intensity, may be obtained by the following formulae. Let
p, v be the statical moments of two small weights attach¬
ed in succession to the southern arm of the needle at fix¬
ed distances from its centre, and let £ be the inclination ob¬
tained with the weight p and 6 that obtained with v. Then
p cos. r sin. ($—£),
> cos. 6 — <p <r sin, (2—9) ;
the dip being denoted by and the magnetic intensity by
<p, and 5- being a constant depending on the distribution of
magnetism in the needle itself. Hence from the inclina¬
tions £ and 6 observed in the usual manner, and the ratio
of the moments p and », the dip and the relative magnetic
intensity will be obtained at the several places of observa¬
tion.
The most advantageous way of applying the preceding
method, Professor Lloyd considers to be this: He ob¬
serves the position of the needle, frst, when unloaded; and
secondly, when loaded with a weight sufficient to bring it
into a position nearly perpendicular to the line of the dip.
Now, if p = o, we shall have or the inclination
first observed becomes equal to the dip, when there is no
weight acting with or against the directive force. This con¬
dition, however, is never accurately fulfilled, for, from the
imperfect coincidence of the centre of gravity of the needle
with the axis, the weight of the needle itself is sufficient to
deflect it from the true line of the dip. We must, there¬
fore, regard £ as the approximate value of the dip, and
compute the correction for reducing it to its exact value.
For tliis purpose put —, and dividing the first of the above
equations by the second, we have
cos. £ sin. (5 — £)
^ cos. 6 sin. (S — 6)
Then if we make 2 = £ -{- « the second term of the pre-
. , sin. t
ceding equation becomes ——i, o.». since j is a very
sin. £ — 9 1 1
small quantity, and we have
cos. £
cm B — x, ?
cos. Q
sin. (£ — 0).
Hence we may find the dip by means of these two equa¬
tions, and wre may deduce the correction for an imper¬
fect balance of the needle from the two observed inclina-
VOL. XIII,
cos. £ sin. (2 — 8)’
The magnetic intensity at different stations may be obtain¬
ed from the dip by the second equation.
The quantity a- being the statical amount of the free mag¬
netism of the needle, or the magnetic moment, must vary
with the temperature. If r is the temperature of observa¬
tion, t/ a certain standard temperature, and <?' the correspond¬
ing value of <r, then if we suppose the changes of er to be
proportional to those of r, we have
e- = </ (I — *) (T — tO
a. being a constant to be determined by observation, and
which Professor Lloyd found to be 0.00016.
The quantity v is the sum (or difference) of the mo¬
ments of the weight of the needle, and of the added weight,
and its value is^
v rr »' (1 — e cos. 2 a)
where / is the value of v corresponding to the latitude of
45°, A the latitude of the place, and e a constant, whose
value is 0.002588. Hence we obtain for the magnetic in¬
tensity
_ / cos. 8 1 — e cos. 2 a
^ (/sin. — 0) 1—u(r — r7)
an expression peculiarly adapted for logarithmic computa¬
tion. See Memoirs of the Royal Irish Academy 1835.
Sect. XIII.—Description of Mr Fox’s Dipping Needle
Deflector, for measuring the Variation and Dip of the
Needle, and the Magnetic Intensity.
This ingenious instrument, for ascertaining the variation, Mr Fox’s
dip, and intensity of terrestrial magnetism, has been pretty Deflector,
extensively used by Mr Fox in different parts of the united
kingdom. The results have been published both in a table
and in a chart in an extract from the Report of the Royal
Cornwall Polytechnic Society for 1835.
The deflector is shewn in the annexed figures, where A
Fig. 78.
is a cylindrical box of brass fixed vertically in the stem B
and horizontal plate C, all of which can be turned round on
their common axis D, ground into the centre of a tripod,
two of whose legs are shewn at E and F. The graduated
circle in C is subdivided by a vernier and tangent screw G,
levels being placed at right angles to each other for adjust¬
ment. The needle ns, with a small grooved wheel a fixed
5 K
770
MAGNETISM.
Descrip- on its axis, is supported by the concentric disc c, and a
tion of bracket e attached to the disc, the axis of the needle mov-
Magneti- ing jn jewelled holes. The disc c is accurately fixed into
cal nstru- f-}ie of the box, and may be turned round with the
meats, on its axis means of knobs on its back, shewn in
the annexed figure. By this contrivance the bracket
Fig. 79-
may be moved round to any convenient position, so as not
to interfere with the dip of the needle in any latitude.
1 he socket v, fixed to a brass spring, when pressed for¬
ward by the screw m, is intended to confine the ends of the
needle when not in use. 1 here are two parallel graduated
rings, one of which is a little within the outer surface of
the dipping needle, as shewn at oo, fig. 78.; the other ring,
supposed to be removed in the figure, is immediately under
the glass, its object being to direct the sight, and enable
the observer to subdivide the degrees on the inner circle.
A thermometer is shewn at t. The back of the dipping
needle box is shewn in fig. 79.; the back of the moveable
central disc is grooved, and a brass rod is drawn over the
grooved surface in order to make the needle vibrate.
A telescope AB, having cross wires, is capable of being
moved in a vertical plane in any direction, by means of a con¬
centric ring c, grooved into another concentric ring attach¬
ed to the back of the instrument, and furnished with a
flanch. An arm C, at right angles to the telescope, has a
verniei foi subdividing the graduated circle on the back of
the b°x. A small tube DE for solar observations, is fixed
paiallel to the telescope. Ihis tube has a convex glass at
1), whose focal length is rather longer than the tube, and
there is a plane glass at E, with a small circular spot on it,
which forms, with the concentrated light of the magnifying
g ass, a distinct annular image on an ivory or plaster of
Bans surface at e. Magnetised steel bars are placed in the
brass tubes m, sn. Their position, as well as that of the
Fig. 80.
O
a
telescope, when not in use,
is shewn in fig. 80, the n and
s poles of the magnet being
brought near the s and n
poles of the dipping needle
in the box, in order to in¬
duce a uniformity in their
relative states of magnetic
intensity. Holes l l are
made in the tube of the
telescope, to allow the mag¬
nets to be passed through
it, and screwed into the
arms which hold the tele¬
scope. This is shewn at
n and s fig. 79, which re¬
presents a side view of the
taming the intensity. Screws for fixing the ring and glass r>0 •
cover, over the face of the instrument, are shewn at a a. Stf"
Fig. 81. 81 • rePresents a grooved wheel fixed in the Magneti.
fxis °f the needle a, with a fine silk thread, hav- cal
ing hooks at each end, passing over the wheel nient8'
in the grooves.
ihe following rules for using the instrument
are given by Mr Fox :—
To observe the Magnetic Variation Ascer¬
tain the true meridian by any of the usual me¬
thods ; the small tube being used for solar obser¬
vations, and the telescope for observations at night.
Note the angle cut by the nonius on the circular plate C.
If the plate be turned round 90° from that point, the
face of the instrument, or rather the plane in which the
needle moves, being parallel to that of the tubes, will be
at right angles to the plane of the true meridian. The
deflecting tubes n s having been removed from the back,
turn the instrument round gradually, so that the needle
may become perfectly vertical after vibration ; friction hav¬
ing been employed several times at the back of the cen¬
tral disc. Fig. 79.
The face of the instrument will then be at right angles
to the plane of the magnetic meridian ; and the angle de¬
scribed on the circular plate will give the variation from
the true meridian. Ihe face of the instrument, however,
should always be turned round to the opposite quarter, till
the needle again becomes vertical, which will either con¬
firm or correct the preceding experiment, by taking half
tlm difference between the two observations.
To ascertain ihe Dip,-—The face of the instrument ha¬
ving been made to coincide with the plane of the magnetic
meridian, suppose it to be at first turned towmrd the east;
note the exact dip at both ends of the needle after vibra¬
tion, as before described; (this precaution should, in every
case, be carefully attended to, and repeated several times);
then turn the face of it toward the west, placing it in the
same plane, and observe and note as before; the mean of
these observations will give the dip.
_ correct the observed Dip.—The instrument being
still in the magnetic plane, and fixed in that position by
means of the lever or clamp, connected with the nonius,
screw on one of the deflectors n s at right angles to the
tube, as shewn in fig. 80, so as to repel or deflect the end of
the needle which is nearest to it; then, if the observed dip
was 69 457 move the deflector a certain number of degrees
from 69°45/, as shewn by the nonius c ; say 50° to the
right of the dip, when the needle will be repelled in the
opposite direction ; suppose the mean angle at both poles
of the needle, after frequent vibrations, to be 54033'
then move the tube 50° to the left of the dip,
when the needle will be repelled in the con¬
trary direction : suppose it to stand at . . 84°47/
x    ^ v xv- rv vjl tnc
box, and the places of the magnet when employed for ascer-
r ^ . . Mean, . 69°40/
it the tace of the instrument, whilst making these observa¬
tions, should be towards the east; turn it round towards the
west, adjusting it in the same plane, and repeat the obser¬
vation ; if the mean result should be . . 69°46
the mean or corrected dip will be . . . 69°43
Similar observations may be multiplied at pleasure, by
varying the angles of the deflector from the observed dip;
and by thus taking the mean of many observations, the true
dip may be obtained with a great degree of precision.
To find the relative Intensity of the Terrestrial Magnetism.
The instrument being still in the plane of the magnetic
meridian, screw the deflectors (or one of them) into the
arms at the back of the instrument, as shewn in fig. 79, and
cause the latter to coincide with the direction of the dip,
when the needle will be repelled from it; mark the angle
to which the needle points at both ends (after repeated vi-
tl- to
•its
ni
§;
de
fa(
to'
us
th
ti(
of
lai
be
wl
ec
sh
pe
so
lai
fo:
an
ad
ci(
wl
7(
th
te
at
or
nr
sb
fo:
th
fr
th
tu
ar
re
in
th
at
te
di
m
at
is
fl(
cc
hr
to
fo
w
tl
tl
m
»es3i»-
ionft
agnsi-
Inslu-
e nent;
M A G N
brations as before described), then cause the needle to
swing back to the other side of the dip (one of the deflec¬
tors being temporarily removed for this purpose), and note
its place as before : half the sum of the angles to which the
needle is thus deflected (or rather of their sines) will re¬
present the relative force of the terrestrial magnetism, at
different places, on a needle thus circumstanced. It is
desirable that the observations should be made with the
face of the instrument turned towards the east as well as
towards the west; and likewise only one deflector may be
used as well as both of them, in order to vary and multiply
the observations for the purpose of correction.
If the angle of deflection at a second place of observa¬
tions should be greater or less than at the first, the force
of the earth’s magnetism will be inferior or superior to the
latter, as represented by the different angles.
The amount of any such difference may, when required,
be represented by weights :—For this purpose, the glass
which protects the face of the instrument should be remov¬
ed, and the silk thread placed on the grooved wheel, as
shewn in fig. 81. The minute weights required to be sus¬
pended to one of the hooks, in order to bring the needle to
some given angle from the actual dip, will indicate the re¬
lative magnetic intensity at different stations. Suppose,
for example, that at a given place, the observed dip is 70°,
and that at a second place, in a lower latitude, it is 45° ;
adjust the deflectors as before described, so as to coin¬
cide with the dip of the needle at the place of observation,
whatever it may be. Assume that the needle is repelled
70° from the dip of 70° at the first station, and 80° from
the dip of 45° at the second station ; it will shew that the
terrestrial magnetic intensity is greater at the former than
at the latter. The weights required to be suspended to
one of the hooks, in order to bring the needle to its origi¬
nal position of 70° from the dip (if that be taken as the
standard) will indicate the difference of intensity. Thus,
for instance, if five-tenths of a grain be required to bring
the needle from the angular distance of 80° to that of 70°
from the dip at the second station ; this weight will indicate
the difference of the magnetic intensity of the earth at the
two stations, acting on the needle in question, when at an
angle of 70° from the natural dip.
The ratio of this difference to the whole force of the ter¬
restrial magnetism so acting, may be ascertained by mov¬
ing the deflectors to the angle of 70° from the dip (because
the needle is assumed to have been deflected to this angle
at the first station), the needle will then be repelled to the
opposite side of the dip, and the weight required to coun¬
teract the deflection sufficiently, to bring it back to the
dip, will represent the whole influence of the earth’s mag¬
netism, at the first station on the needle, whilst at the
angle of 70° from the dip. This will be evident, when it
is considered that the angle between the needle and de¬
flectors is in both instances the same ; it being coerced,
contrary to the repelling force of the deflectors, in one case
by the earth’s magnetism, and in the other by the weights,
to the dip or line of quiescence. The earth’s magnetic
force acting on the needle so deflected, and the weights
will therefore be equal to each other. If 3.34 grains be
the weights required, and five-tenths of a grain equal to
the difference between the two stations, the terrestiial
magnetic intensity will be in the ratio of 3.34 - .o
2.84, at the second station, to 3.34 at the first station.
From the observations which have been already made
with the dipping needle deflector, furnished with a need e
less than six inches long, there is good reason to believe
that it will clearly indicate a difference of intensity at places
situated at less than one-half a degree of a latitude from
each other. . j j-
Observations on the magnetic intensity and dip may
likewise be made without the deflectors, by means of the
E T I S M.
771
weights only, suspended from the silk thread, shewn in fig. Descrip-
81. This method is too obvious to require a minute de- tion of
scription, the weights in this case being used to produce c^a|>^ti-
deflection from the dip at any place, instead of the mag'CamenStsrU'
netic deflectors: the weights required to cause a given i ^ <_i_,
amount of deflection being taken as the relative measure
of the magnetic intensity at the place of observation. Thus,
in the case before supposed, 3.34 grains would produce a
mean deflection of 70° from the dip at the first station,
and only 2.84 grains would do so at the second station.
Sect. XIV Account of Lebaillif’s Sideroscope.
The object of this instrument, proposed by M. Lebaillif, Lebaillif s
is to detect minute degrees of magnetism by means of a
very delicate combination of small magnetic needles. This
apparatus, which he calls a Sideroscope, is shewn in Plate Plate
CCCXXVI. fig. 3, where ABCD represents the body ofcccxxvi
the instrument. The other parts consist of three sewing S'
needles magnetised to saturation, and a tube of straw
twelve or fifteen inches long. One of these needles, a b,
is slid into the tube m h, and the others a' b', a" b", are
placed across the straw, so that their dissimilar poles cor¬
respond. The straw thus fitted up is placed upon a small
stirrup of paper, which is suspended by a silk fibre fixed
at the top C, of the vertical tube of glass or wood C D.
The portion m A of the tube of straw is the longest, and it
is beneath its extremity m that there is placed on the bot¬
tom of the cage or box A B, an arch r r r, divided into de¬
grees and half degrees. The portion m c has no directive
force, as the action of the earth is neutralized in the two
opposed needles a' b', a!' b". But the portion m h has a
directive force depending on the magnetism of the needle
a b, on its length, and on its distance from the point of sus¬
pension. The cage has a small sliding door, tp, which
shuts up the apparatus ; and when an experiment is made,
the aperture at t is brought opposite the extremity a of
the needle.
M. Lebaillif has proved, that almost all bodies exercise
some action on the needle, and that antimony and bismuth
always exert upon it a repulsive force. M. Pouillet, from
whose work we have taken this description of the instru¬
ment, is of opinion that the movement of the needle may
be often owing to atoms of iron ; and that we must not
take it for granted that, in these phenomena, the magnetic
force is the only one which is acting.
Sect. XV.—Description of the Astatic Needle.
This instrument, described by M. Pouillet, is called the Astatic
Astatic Needle, because it is withdrawn from the action of needle,
the earth’s magnetism, and has no longer the statical posi¬
tion in which it is in equilibrio with the influence of this
force. The construction of the astatic needle is founded
on the principle that a body which is moveable round an
axis cannot receive any motion from a force which acts pa-
^ The astatic needle is represented in Plate CCCXXVI, Plate
fig. 1, where rcs is a magnetic needle, moveable round the cccxxvi.
axis a b. • If this axis is placed in the direction in which S- *
terrestrial magnetism acts, the needle will rest in any posi¬
tion. This effect is easily produced by two motions per¬
pendicular to each other, one of which is obtained by the
milled head S', which, by an endless screw on its axis,
works in the teeth of the wheel C, and the other by the
milled head S' and the wheel D. The graduated circle
AB shewing the positions of the needle. .
Another contrivance for an astatic needle is shewn m the Pouillet’s
annexed figure (82), where two needles AB, A'B', perfect-astaUc^
lv alike in their form and magnetic intensity, are turned in
opposite directions, and placed upon the same axis perpen¬
dicular to their length.
F*
i l -
MAGNETISM.
Descrip- A more perfect compensation in the action of two
tion of needles, is shewn in fig. 83, where AB AB are the two
Magneti-
cai Instru¬
ments.
Fig. 82.
Fig. 83.
B
i-
'''> A
needles, the one horizontal and the other inclined to the
horizon. It is obvious that the directive force of the latter
will augment with its inclination, and it is therefore easy to
make the directive forces of each perfectly equal and oppo¬
site, by varying the inclination of the uppermost one. These
two contrivances we owe to M. Pouillet.
A magnetic needle may also be rendered astatic by neutra¬
lizing the action of the earth, by means of an equal and op¬
posite magnetic action. For this purpose we have only to
place a powerful bar magnet at a considerable distance from
the needle, so that it may act upon it as powerfully as the
earth does. It should be placed in the magnetic meridian,
parallel to the direction which the needle takes when it is
in equilibrio, the pole of the bar which repels that of the
needle being placed nearest it. When the bar is placed
near the needle, it will cause it to wheel round, in conse¬
quence of its action exceeding that of the earth. At a
very great distance, on the contrary, the earth’s action will
predominate, and draw the needle into the magnetic meri¬
dian ; but an intermediate distance will be found in which
the two actions exactly balance or compensate each other,
and render the needle astatic.1
Sect. XVI—Account of Harlow’s Correcting Plate or
Magnetic Compensator for neutralizing the effect of lo¬
cal attraction on the Ship’s Compass.
Barlow’s As every ship contains large fixed masses of iron, beside
correcting moveable iron guns, anchors, cables, and iron utensils of
plate. various kinds, it is obvious, from the principles and experi¬
ments already detailed (see Chapter V, &c.), that these
masses, rendered temporarily magnetic by the action of the
earth, must produce derangements in the magnetic needles
of the compasses on board. These derangements amount
sometimes to 15° or 20°, and have exposed navigators to
the most imminent perils. Mr Wales, the astronomer to
Captain Cook’s expedition of discovery, first discovered the
fact that such a deviation existed, but he does not seem
to have suspected its cause. Mr Downie, master of his
Majesty’s ship Glory, was the first person who pointed out
the true origin of the deviation. “ I am convinced,” says
he, “ that the quantity and vicinity of iron in most ships have
an effect in attracting the needle; for it is found by expe¬
rience that the needle will not always point in the same
direction, when placed in different parts of the ship. Also
it is .rarely found that two ships, steering in the same
course by their respective compasses, will go exactly paral¬
lel to each other, yet these compasses, when compared on
board the same ship, will agree exactly.” 2
In his survey of the coast of New Holland, in 1801 and
1802, Captain Flinders observed great differences in the
direction of the needle, which arose only from changes in
the direction of the ship’s head, the direction being wes¬
terly when the ship’s head was to the east, and vice versa. Lescri
Hence he concludes, that the attractive powers of the dif- tion of
ferent bodies in the ship which are capable of affecting the
compass are collected into something like a focal point orcal lnstru-
centre of gravity, and that this point is nearly in the cen-v ments‘
tre of the ship, where the shot are deposited, for here the
greatest quantity of iron is collected together.”3 He like¬
wise supposes that this magnetic centre is of the same name
as the pole of the hemisphere where the ship is, and con¬
sequently, that in New South Wales the south end of the
needle would be attracted by it, and the north end repel¬
led ; and from this hypothesis he concludes that the phe¬
nomena must be exactly the reverse in the northern hemi¬
sphere.
I he Admiralty ordered a course of experiments to be
made on this important subject, but though they establish¬
ed the truth of Captain Flinder’s views, the subject was
not farther prosecuted. The public attention, however,
was again called to it by Mr Bain, who, in an excellent
treatise on the variation of the compass, pointed out the
fatal consequences which might result from this great source
of uncertainty in the indications of the needle. The ob¬
servations of Captains Ross, Parry, and Sabine threw ad¬
ditional light upon the subject; but it is to Professor
Barlow alone that we owe a series of brilliant experiments,
which terminated in his invention of the neutralizing plate,
for correcting in a perfect manner this source of error in
the compass.
In order to give an idea of the magnitude of this error,
Professor Barlow has published the following table of de¬
viations actually observed:—
Ship.
Conway
Leven
Barracouta
Hecla
Fury
Griper
Adventurer
Gloucester
Place.
Portsmouth
North fleet
Do.
Do.
Do.
Nore
Plymouth
Channel
Deviation in
the compass.
Observers.
Captain Hill
Captain Owen
Captain Cuttfield
Captain Parry
Captain Hoppner
Captain Clavering
Captain King
Captain Stuart
The instrument employed by Professor Barlow is shewn
in the annexed figures, where T is a rod of copper an inch
4C
6
14
7
6
13
7
9
32'
7
30
27
22
36
48
30
Fig. 84.
Fig. 85.
and a half in diameter, and FF' two plates of iron about
twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, and of such a thick¬
ness that a square foot of it will weigh about 3 lbs. avoir¬
dupois. These plates are separated by a circular sheet of
card, and pressed against each other at their centre by a
screw on the end of the rod T, and at their margins by
three small screws of iron. The compass C is placed on
The tip of a wooden box B, and the corrector T is placed
in one of the holes in the side of the box.
See Pouillet s E'emens de Physique. 5 Walker on Magnetism, 1794, cited by Prof. Barlow. 3 Phil. Trans., 1805, p. 18f>.
MAGNETIS M.
773
ri*#es
f M*ne-
The adjustment oi the plate is made when the ship is
lying in a calm bay near the shore. An observer with a
, needle and theodolite is placed at some distance from the
shore, from which he can perceive the ship while it is turn¬
ing its head in different directions. The compass on board
the ship is under the management of another observer with
the same apparatus. At a signal given the observer de¬
termines the angle which his own needle makes with the
axis of the telescopes (one being directed to the other),
which is called the central line. But as the needle on shore
experiences no disturbing action, it is evident that if the
needle on ship-board also experience none, the two needles
will be parallel, and will form the same angle with the cen¬
tral line. Hence the difference between these two angles
when they are not the same is that which is produced by
the magnetic action of the iron in the vessel from its
compass needle at the instant of observation. Let the
vessel be now made to turn round completely, and let
a new observation be made at every azimuth of ten or
twelve degrees, we shall then have the value of the devia¬
tion produced in all positions of the ship’s head upon the
c©mpass needle. When this is done, the observer on shore
takes away his compass and ^replaces it with that of the
ship, which he sets on the wooden cage shewn in fig. 84,
having different holes for receiving the axis T of the plate
FF'. As the box B is turned round its axis it carries along
with it the compensator FF', which will affect the needle
of the compass C differently in different azimuths, and by a
few trials it may be adjusted by means of the holes of its
axis T to produce the very same deviations in the compass
as was produced upon it when in the ship by the action of
its iron. When it is done the position of the centres of
the plate FF' with regard to the needle is completely
marked, and when it is taken on board the ship and placed
in its proper position, the compensator is adjusted on the
stand which carries the compass, as shewn in fig. 85, so as to
have exactly the same relative position as it had in the
box B.
Now since the compensator produces the same effect as
the iron on shipboard does, the deviation will be doubled
in place of being corrected ; but this furnishes the means
of making the correction. If the variation is found to be
36° W. by the compass without the compensator, and after¬
wards 40° with the compensator, the difference 40° — 38°
— 4° shews that the compensator augments the variation
4°, and the iron on board the vessel as much. Hence the
true variation will be 36° — 4 =r 32°, or 40 — 4 — 4 =
32°. If the observations with the compensator had given
a less result than without it, this would have shewn that
the action of the iron had diminished the declination, and
the difference of the two observations must have been
added to the first to have the true declination.
CHAP. XII.—THEORIES OF MAGNETISM.
ri)3 ies
if il pie-
is nj
Th# y of
Ep| is.
The phenomena of magnetism, like those of every other
branch of physics, have afforded the groundwork of many
absurd and wild theories. The hypotheses of Descartes
and Euler, which created in the interior of magnetic bodies
canals and valves to admit or obstruct the subtle matter,
to the agency of which they ascribed the attractive or di¬
rective power of magnets, are too ridiculous to deserve any
notice in the present state of the science.
M. Alpinus of St Petersburg was the first philosopher
who discovered a rational hypothesis, which explained near¬
ly all the phenomena of magnetism. This hypothesis of one
fluid, however, of which we have already given a short ac¬
count in our history of the science, was found insufficient
for explaining the phenomena which are exhibited in the
division and fracture of magnets, and that it was suscepti¬
ble of a correction, which consisted in considering a mag¬
net as composed of small particles of iron, each of which Theories
has individually the properties of a separate magnet, yet of Magne-
it did not afford a complete explanation of all the magnetic tism-
phenomena.
The hypothesis of two fluids, which was first proposed Theory of
by Wilcke and Brugmann, was established by M. Coulomb Wilcke,
and has recently been perfected by the masterly investiga-
tions of M. Poisson, who has not only constructed mathe¬
matical formulge which enable us to calculate all the mi¬
nutest details of the phenomena, but has enabled us to
comprehend physically how all the phenomena have been
produced. The general equations at which he has arriv¬
ed have not yet, in every case, been resolved ; but the
particular conditions under which the integrations are pos¬
sible have already, as we have stated, exhibited the most
happy coincidence with experiment.
The hypothesis of two fluids supposes that they reside
in each particle of iron; that they are neutral, and inert
when combined as in soft iron; and that, when they are
decomposed, the particles of the austral fluid attract those
of the boreal fluid, and vice versa while they each repel
one another.
In order to account for the phenomena of the division
and fracture of magnets, it is necessary to suppose, that
when the united fluids are decomposed, the fluids undergo
displacement only to an insensible distance. The minute
portions of a magnetic body within which the motions and
displacements resulting from decomposition take place, or
in which magnetism exists, are called the magnetic elements
of that body, and the small intermediate spaces where mag¬
netism is not found, the non-magnetic elements. It is im¬
possible to determine whether the magnetic elements are
the intervals which separate the ultimate atoms of material
bodies, or if they are the atoms themselves; nor can we
ascertain whether they are the intervals between an aggre¬
gate number of atoms, or of a secondary molecule, or the
aggregate members themselves. The theory regards the
sum of the magnetic elements, and of the non-magnetic
elements as forming the apparent volume of a body. The
ratio of these two sums may change with the nature and
temperature of the body; and these changes exercise a
powerful influence over the distribution and intensity of
magnetism.
The quantity of each fluid in every magnetic element is
unlimited in reference to our powers of separating them,
as the united fluids can never be completely decomposed.
The force which prevents this decomposition, and also the
recombination of the fluids, is called the coercive force, and,
like that of friction, it cannot be completely overcome.
In soft iron, this coercive force is extremely feeble. In
the natural loadstone, and in steel, it is very powerful, va¬
rying in intensity in different kinds of this metal.
One of the most important consequences of the theory
of Poisson is, that a magnetic needle whose size is so small
that it exerts no sensible action on an iron sphere within
which it is placed, will intercept the magnetic influence
of the earth, and of all magnetic bodies without the
sphere; and, in like manner, such a sphere will intercept
the action of a magnet within it on all bodies without
it. Another interesting consequence of the theory is, that
in a hollow iron sphere, magnetised by the influence of the
earth, or of any magnetic force, the origin of which is at
such a great distance that it may be considered as acting
in parallel lines, although the magnetism is not confined to
the surface of the sphere, and though its intensity may be
determined for any particular point of the solid mass of the
shell, yet it is determined only by the radius of the exter¬
nal surface, and the co-ordinates of the point upon which
the forces act. When this point is very remote from the
centre of the sphere compared with its diameter, each of
the three forces is nearly in the direct ratio of the cube of
774
MAGNETISM.
Theories the radius, and in the inverse one of the .cube of the dis-
of Magne-tance.
tism. M. Poisson has likewise applied his powerful mind to
the explanation of the singular phenomena of magnetism
produced by rotation. To the suppositions which his
theory makes in order to explain the phenomena of mag¬
netism induced by influence, he adds another, namely, that
all bodies exert upon the boreal and austral fluids a species
of action analogous to the resistance of media, which ac¬
tion has the effect of retarding the motion of the two fluids
in the interior of the magnetic elements; and he conceives
that it is this species of resistance, and not the coercive
force, which has an influence over the magnetic phenomena
of revolving bodies. Hence, if we bring a magnet near
any body on which the coercive force is insensible, and in
which the magnetic elements are in any proportion, the Theorie
decomposition of the neutral fluid will begin immediately, of Hague-
and will continue till the action of the free fluid is in equi- tism.
librio with the external force, which will certainly take
place if this force is constant in magnitude and direction.
But if it varies continually, or if the loadstone changes its
position, the two fluids, in place of arriving at a permanent
state will move in each element with velocities dependent,
other things being equal, on the resistance which the sub¬
stance of the body opposes to them.
It is needless to enter into any further details respecting
this very ingenious theory, as the recent discoveries of Mr
Faraday respecting electro-magnetic induction have en¬
abled him to give a most satisfactory explanation of the
diversified phenomena of magnetism in motion.
(n. n, n.)
«
END OF VOLUME THIRTEENTH.
12
Printed by Thomas Au.an & Co. and Neill & Co.
and Stereotyped by Thomas Allan & Co.
PLATE CCCXXII.
Eng** by G.Aiknian
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
o      
LT FE PR E S E R V E R S
PLATE (CCXXIII.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 16'.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 23.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 21.
Eng4* by O A Lb nan
Fig. 19.
/ 1 Fig. 22.
Fig.li.
Eng d by G Aihruut
Eng*by GAiktnau
*
V
a
MAGNETISM
PLATE CCCXXYI.
Fin 9
W \P
J
MAGNETISM
PLATE CCCXXVI.
Fus.6.
Fig.l.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 2.
Eng* by G.Aihmu
f'y 9-
Fu)f>.
- ■
*<■
*
80
60
40
20
40
60
JZiO 10.0
(SM
© w
WA^mmrm cwmvBi
©IF1 IE©WAIL miEIATH©^
f Smith's Sd\
Jones sj?
^ Georgia^
ji A I F 1 N S
25 30 35 40
PM
/t y: '* y / JS " il “ %
pOLAR
i-Pothur^f
/t'!r'oms Sfr. LiuicasteE S'?
b a ,r
‘V iE-
v-1,* *\ £ S’ - •■ Arc tic CiTt'lt'
A#
S e. a o f
'■. 'CfTTA
. . .. c?'^V-
0
.1 MB nr.f A
f~t„ .I- -t',,
f‘t r. T
R
i(%ikw
lA
It
(if S/.ivr fS
j'i. '■
Kamtscliatkax^Xif ! . liAeotir. w
\ \ ' , --  hjitfitCmcto
»a° Vo-
N © It T
PA. V.
_ (?.Charlotte^ ^
- Vancouvet^l^tL
tfouth ■■■ *** ''1 -~-v~
^ 
(is OH’S ^
, rt
&a/e lia/tikes \
l.d nil
if
Davy's S 4 yy
Scoreshys y^i j
jr
/ .2? /
Jan Mayen /.
A////-
C.Faj'c*w«'ll
S D
 rr'fc1-
- -'? c^JtintveA ---•''
viprlteey^
OJff' ,ۥ
sL
A> /' P , F
IVIarquesas
Nukuhn a o
NavigatoisI?
^ \
Frienipy I?
Sofclety;-' ' -----
l? •• . r
^OtatteUe . ".^ /f
, a Toiggtaboo '. ; '    * '
 K v;;a ';:;;'C r:
■Cx
/ Z7'/*f
/ #/
Shetland D.
T . M
(trkniv If
ll’rstrrri
tf-!
(irorxjfs ( ..
£r(4,is1i
3 . oi
Bi so. a
^^^gfptmdlaiul
yk’CBoei/tril-..
l-tOtU'''.'''A'-.... ... Mens*
A T £ A y.. X--..:l -€ | §
. A-.. Azores
Western °I? ®
AM ?
v.
Lisbonffeg a/
S/r.of (ytbra
Madeira I?0*.
C anary I? aa
Cajje Verde I? ^ -
AVi'.'1'
V T fII *Wl1 moqoe
y tr i, ^ a -M t
pic
Tv
0 T
E 4 t!
(’. <>' Hll,
s © ir t
i ^
F /■' I //£
' ^ / / '' '
■' Easter I. / /
•' ■ . JhaAfttnumdei. R X W h, Bn.en.09
/ / / .' / / ,' . — A# ^\>rr
Grande
'!,lf'ln Plata .
dfS $A ritohi6 \ \ '* \ \ ‘
/ / / 7j&’ / / /
- / .*
^ ^G.of\SUleoiy'e. \
t« «#*•. '\ '•., '• '■. \ A, \
^ /f* thtf taild if . \ •. ' ' • ' '
Str.pf Atag-ella^^j&Str.df \ \ \ \ \ \ \''
/ / /TermdJ^
C.florii
1 \ \ \* '. '. '. \ (eeoeti.iiO. \
\ VuWXW'SxAp.v
fci\\\BulA
;C.of
Eii&t
ll .•' ?47 /
^5 ■ -.I ', ■. 20 \ \ '■■ \ 15 '• ■ \ \t&.
■■WEST i:
A W
lio
120 Longitude West 9 0 from Greenwiclt
L,