-NRLF B M 252 blD Gilbert, of Colchester ; ELIZ. BRO. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., B.A. MAGKETIZ Read at a Meeting of the Sette hotdcn at Limber's Hotel, on Rricbty, the tfh of July, 1890. IMPRINTED AT THE CHISWICK PRESS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY L.\NE, LONDON. MDCCCXCI. puscula. ISSUED TO MEMBERS OF THE SETTE OF ODD VOLUMES. No. XXII. GILBERT, OF COLCHESTER. Gilbert, of Colchester; AN ELIZABETHAN MAGNETIZER. BY BRO. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., B.A. N MAGNETIZER. Read at a Meeting: of the Sette holden at Limner's Hotel, on Friday, the tfh of July, 1890. IMPRINTED AT THE CHISWICK PRESS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. MDCCCXCI. DEDICATED TO THE of flDtiU 3LTolume0 BY BRO. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., B.A. MAGNETIZER TO THE SETTE, AN HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE GILBERT CLUB. This Edition is limited strictly /0 249 copies , and is imprinted for private circulation only. unto " Gilbert shall live till loadstones cease to draw, Or British fleets the boundless ocean awe." DRYDEN. " Mahomefs Tombe at Mecha, is said strangely to hang up, attracted by some invisible Loadstone, but the memory of this Doctor will never fall to the ground, which his incomparable Book, ' De Magnete,' will support to Eternity." FULLER'S "Worthies." GILBERT, OF COLCHESTER. ILLIAM GILBERT, or of Colchester, (born 1540, died 1603) holds amongst Elizabethan worthies a rank in the eyes of electricians second to none of his famous con- temporaries. In an age of empiricism and ignorance he rescued the study of the magnet from the atmosphere of occult mysticism with which it was surrounded, and placed it for ever on a scientific basis. He founded the theory of the mariner's compass by his brilliant dis- covery of the magnetism of the globe. Whilst the fantastic philosophies of the schoolmen still io Gilbert, of Colchester. prevailed, he calmly worked out the inductive method of reasoning from the known to the unknown, trying all his arguments by the touch- stone of experiment. Nor is even this his greatest achievement. He stands forth pre- eminent as the founder of the science of elec- tricity the father, therefore, of all that host of inventions which are the crown of the scientific progress of the nineteenth century. His great work, "De Magnete," published in 1600, after many years of patient laborious and costly research, drew the attention of all the learned men of Europe, and won for him an undying fame. " / extremely admire and envy the author of 1 De Magnete? I think him worthy of the greatest praise for the many new and true observa- tions which he has made'' said Galileo the famous astronomer. Gilbert, of Colchester. 1 1 " Gilbert shall live, till loadstones cease to draw. Or British fleets the boundless ocean awe," sang Dryden, in his Epistle to Dr. Charlton. Old Fuller, in enumerating the worthies who have adorned the county of Essex quaintly wrote of him as follows : " Mahomefs Tombe at Mecha, is said strangely to hang up, attracted by some invisible Load- stone, but the memory of this Doctor will never fall to the ground, 'which his incomparable Book, 4 De Magnete ', will support to Eternity." What manner of man this was, and why he was held worthy of honours so unique, it is our present task to set forth. Gilbert was the son of the recorder of Col- chester Hierom Gilberd ; and from his use of 1 2 Gilbert, of Colchester. the appellation " Colcestrensis " on the title of his book, it is clear that he was proud of the old city where he was born, and where he died. The Gilberts were an old Suffolk family, but Hierom Gilberd had settled in Colchester in 1528. His family consisted of five sons, the eldest of whom was the famous Doctor. The Gilbert family still exists, scattered chiefly over the county of Norfolk. Of his boyhood little or nothing is known ; indeed it is surprising that there is little to chronicle about so great a man beyond the dates of a few salient events in his career. No Boswell dogged his steps, to note down his words of wisdom. No biographer hunted down his corre- spondence. His scientific works, and the impulse they gave to the spirit of research are his monu- ment; a monument more enduring than brass. In May 1558, being then 18 years old, Gilbert, of 'Colchester. 1 3 he matriculated at St. John's College, Cam- bridge, at which University he remained for eleven years. At the end of 1560 he proceeded to his bachelor's degree, and on March 2ist, 1561 he was admitted as a fellow on Symson's Foundation. In 1564 he "commenced" M.A. For the two following years he was mathemati- cal examiner in his College, and appears to have turned his attention to medicine; for on May 1 3th 1569 he was admitted M.D., and on Dec. 2 Qth of the same year was elected to a Senior Fellowship. After this he left England to travel in foreign countries. His precise course of travel is unknown ; but he made the acquaintance of many persons of distinction in the great historic universities, with some of whom he is known to have been subsequently in correspondence. Passages in his published works show him to have, resided in Mantua, 14 Gilbert, oj Colchester. Venice, and other cities, and his knowledge of geography was very considerable. He returned to England in 1573 and was at once made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Henceforth his residence was in London, where he took up a regular medical practice. On Nov. 25th 1577 was granted to him the coat of arms which is figured at the back of the title- page of his book, and was subsequently em- blazoned in carved stone upon his tomb. He rapidly rose in professional distinction. From 1581 till 1590 he was Censor of the Royal Col- lege of Physicians. He was its Treasurer from 1587 to 1591 and again from 1597 to 1599. In 1600 he was made President, an honour which he did not long retain, as he died on Nov. 3rd 1603, aged 63 years. He was never married, but the family name was carried down to posterity by his brothers, one of whom, by a Gilbert, of Colchester. 15 curious circumstance also named William, was a proctor in the Court of Arches. It is stated that Gilbert expended upon his magnetic researches no less considerable a sum than five thousand pounds. His experiments with loadstones lasted for many years, and he possessed a remarkable collection of them. He also had many instruments, some of which are figured in his book. He himself devised some novel forms of instruments for navigation two of which are described in a subsequent work, "The Theoriques of the Seuen Planets," by Thomas Blundeville. His charts, globes, mag- nets, instruments, and manuscripts he be- queathed, together with his books to the posses- sion of the Royal College of Physicians. To estimate the magnitude of his achieve- ments in science it is requisite briefly to review the state of knowledge with respect to magne- 1 6 Gilbert, of Colchester. tism and electricity before the appearance of his epoch-making work. The property of the loadstone to attract pieces of iron or other loadstones was a fact known to antiquity, and explained as usual by the ascription of magical or occult powers. Pliny mentions that a ring of iron hung to a loadstone can attract a second ring, and the second a third until a chain of rings hangs from the stone; an experiment also described in hexameters by Lucretius in the De Rerum Natura. No other fact of importance appears to have been known concerning the magnet, until about the eleventh century, when the directive power of the loadstone became known. This discovery, so important in the history of navigation, is variously attributed to the Chinese, the Arabians, and to an Italian named Goia who lived at Amalfi in the thirteenth century. Gilbert, 6f Colchester. 1 7 The probability is that Goia devised the method of supporting the magnetic needle on a pivot, the earlier ones having been either floated on wood in a basin of water or else suspended by a thin thread. Gilbert himself states that the mariner's compass was first brought to Italy from China by the famous traveller Marco Polo. On the other hand in the Icelandic Chronicle of Are Frode, which was written about the end of the eleventh century, there is a succinct re- ference to the use of the loadstone for directing the seaman. Further, Cardinal de Vitri, who wrote a history of Jerusalem about the year 1 200, also describes the magnetized needle as indispensable in navigation. An obscure author Peter Peregrinus, whose existence was for long considered mythical, and who wrote a letter upon magnetism reputed to be of a date at the end of the thirteenth century, describes the fact B 1 8 Gilbert, of Colchester. that the north-pointing end or region of one loadstone will attract the south-pointing end or region of another loadstone. Peregrinus's letter was certainly published as a small book of 43 pages, small quarto, at Augsburg in 1558. Two other magnetic facts of cardinal impor- tance had also been observed. On the i4th of September 1492, Columbus, when about 200 leagues west of the European shores, noticed for the first time the variation of the compass from the true north. According to Gilbert the same discovery was made in 1498 by Sebastian Cabot. It was not, however, until the middle of the sixteenth century that accurate measure- ments were made of the amount of the varia- tion in Europe. Robert Norman, a compass maker in Limehouse, found that the compass pointed 11 15' to the east of the true north. William Borough, comptroller of the royal navy, Gilbert, of Colchester. 19 in 1580 found the variation to be 11 19'. The second important fact was the tendency of the needle to dip. This was discovered by Norman in 1576, and the same fact was inde pendently observed in 1544 by Hartmann of Niirnberg. Norman indeed constructed a dipping needle, by the aid of which he ascer- tained the angle of dip at London to be 71 50' Yet another isolated fact was discovered in 1590 by a surgeon of Rimini named Julius Caesar, namely that a vertical bar of iron, used as a support on the top of the tower of the church of St. Augustine had of itself acquired magnetic properties. Of magnetic literature prior to Gilbert there was very little ; at least of a reliable sort. The most important work was that of John Baptista Porta, the inventor of the magic lantern, pub- lished in 1558, on natural magic. The seventh 20 Gilbert^ of Colchester. chapter of this work is devoted to the magnet and the tricks which may be played by its means. Porta mentions, for the purpose of re- futing them, some of the mediaeval fables about magnets, including a story handed down from Plutarch and Ptolemy that garlic rubbed over a magnet destroys its power, unless, according to Ruelius, it be restored by anointing it with the blood of a he-goat. Another fable, that a magnet is powerless in the presence of a dia- mond, is also condemned by Porta. The latest work on magnetism prior to the appearance of Gilbert's treatise was a small pamphlet which appeared in 1597 entitled "The Navigator's Supply," by William Barlowe, which gave for the use of seamen many facts about the variation of the compass at different seaports, and about the amount of the dip of the needle in different parts of the earth. Gilbert, of Colchester. 2 1 All these earlier publications dealing with magnetic subjects, consisted, as will have been noticed, in the announcement of isolated facts and properties, rather than in any systematic investigation or consistent explanation. The significance of the facts was not seen ; and they were in many cases mixed up with exaggeration and myth. Gilbert himself enumerates sundry of them in order to show how empty and ridicu- lous were the current explanations of the point- ing of the compass. Serapio Mauritanus and others reported that there were in the Indies magnetic mountains which would attract passing ships and draw the iron nails out of them. Paracelsus and Cardan considered the magnet to be governed by some virtue proceeding from the constellation of the Great Bear ; and after the discovery that the needle did not point truly northward Cardan gravely suggested that the 2 2 Gilbert, of Colchester. star in the tip of the tail of the Great Bear was itself a magnet. Olaus Magnus, and after him Maurolycus, declared that there was a magnetic island, or loadstone rock in the north sea, toward which the compass turned its apex : Plancius even showed its position on a chart of the globe ! Such was the state of the science when " De Magnete " appeared. The full title of the book, in the folio edition of 1600 is: " Guilielmi Gilberti Colcestrensis, media Londi- nensts, De Magnete, magneticisque corporibus et de magtio magnete tellure ; Physiologia nova, plurimis et argumentis, et exptrimentis demon- strata. Londini. Excudebat Petrus Short. Anno MJD'C." A brief analysis of the contents of the book may not be unacceptable. It is divided into Gilbert, of Colchester. 23 six sections, all except the first being copiously illustrated with simple woodcuts and diagrams. The preface, addressed to the candid reader, opens by announcing that the earth, our com- mon mother, is itself a great magnet ; and ex- plaining how, the better to understand the conspicuous forces of the globe, we are to begin by understanding the ordinary or common magnetic bodies and so proceed by experiment to the more abstruse facts. Comparing the study of terrestrial phenomena with celestial, he points out how geometry, ascending from simple fundamental conceptions to those which are more difficult, aids the wit of man to climb above the firmament ; and how likewise mag- netic study must proceed from the simple to the complex. He discards all arguments drawn from older Greek authors, regarding them as mere verbiage. His aversion from Aristotelian 24 Gilbert, of Colchester. methods is strongly marked ; an aversion which is emphasized in the very first page of his later work (the " De mundo nostro ") which he de- scribes as a Philosophia nova contra Aristotelem. Book I. opens with a review of the older writers and their various opinions and vanities, which he scornfully dismisses by remarking that only plebeian philosophers delight themselves in such nonsense ; and he names the following as the men who have really added to magnetic knowledge : Thomas Hariot, Robert Hues, Edward Wright, Abraham Kendall, William Borough, William Barlowe, and Robert Norman, all Englishmen. He then deals with the ety- mology of the word magnet, and the discovery and geographical distribution of the loadstone. He then enters upon the experimental methods of investigation, using loadstones of various shapes, the properties and mutual actions of Gilbert, of Colchester. which are carefully observed and recorded. A loadstone, ground down by the lapidary to a spherical shape, furnished him with the means of drawing a magnificent generalization. For he Fig. i. GILBERT'S TERRELLA. found that a globular loadstone is in miniature a precise counterpart, magnetically, of the globe of the earth : small compass needles placed near it being directed, and caused to dip, by its mag- netic forces precisely as our mariners' compasses are affected by the earth. Such a globular mag- 26 Gilbert, of Colchester. net he styled a Terrella. In one woodcut, here reproduced in facsimile (Fig. i), compass needles are shown pointing variously over Fig. 2. NEEDLES DIPPING TO THE TERRELLA. divers regions of the terrella. In another (Fig. 2), the terrella is shown inclosed within a cer- tain orbit of magnetic virtue, as by a surround- ing atmosphere. In further experiments load- Gilbert, of Colchester. 27 stones were cut into two parts, the parts being floated on water in little vessels to observe their mutual attractions and repulsions. All experi- ments which Gilbert considered as being origi- nal he claimed as his own by affixing an asterisk, large or small according to the importance of the matter, in the margin of the text. The attraction of the loadstone for iron was ex- amined, and the properties of iron compared with those of other metals ; many a passing hit at the absurdities of astrologers and alchemists being interposed. He discovered that iron which has not been touched by any magnet can nevertheless act magnetically. Toward the close of Book I. he discusses, only to dis- miss with scorn, the alleged medicinal powers of the magnet, beginning with its use as pre- scribed by Dioscorides and Galen, as a purge for melancholy, and ending with Paracelsus, who 28 Gilbert, of Colchester. recommended poultices containing powdered loadstones. Short shrift would our modern magneto-pathic quacks have got, with their magnetic belts and magnetic rings, at the hands of the outspoken Doctor ! The observations with the Terrella are continued in Book II. and Book III., ending with some experiments made to illustrate observations of the compass in dis- tant lands which had been communicated to him by Sir Francis Drake experiments which fully confirmed his theory and the results of which he sums up by saying that magnetic bodies behave towards the globe of the earth precisely as his magnets behave toward the ter- rella; the laws of their action being alike. Amongst other matters which helped him to this conclusion was his discovery that if a rod of iron is hammered whilst lying in a north-and- south position it becomes magnetized by the Gilbert, of Colchester. 29 influence of the earth's magnetism. This obser- vation is illustrated by a quaint woodcut, which is reproduced on a smaller scale as the frontis- piece of this opusculum. Books IV. and V. go into some geographical and astronomical mat- ters; being intended chiefly as a contribution to the nautical applications of his studies. He describes sundry instruments, one of them, for ascertaining the variation of the compass in different regions being that shown in the ac- companying reduced woodcut (Fig. 3). Several others are depicted in his book. He particularly discusses the effects of masses of iron ore in mountains and continents in producing local perturbations or variations of the compass ; a matter which has quite lately received fresh at- tention from the recent magnetic surveys of Professors Riicker and Thorpe in which they have measured the perturbing effects of moun- Fig. 3. GILBERT'S INSTRUMENT FOR OBSERVING THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS. Gilbert, of Colchester. 31 tain chains such as the Malvern Hills, and have even been led to discover the existence of underground mountains. Book VI. is of a more speculative character, dealing with mag- netic motions and cosmical systems ; the main point of interest in it being its frank acceptance of the astronomical doctrines of Copernicus. These contributions to purely magnetic know- ledge were of great importance : but far tran- scending them in interest is a short digression interpolated in the second Book. This is the famous Chapter on Electricity which laid the foundation of that science. Prior to Gilbert's time the only known electrical facts were two isolated observations of pre-historic date. The mineral amber, or ^XeVr^ov, then of great rarity and regarded as a gem, was known to acquire, when rubbed, the magical property of attracting straws and other light objects. A similar pro- 32 Gilbert, of Colchester. perty had been recognized to exist in jet. Amber was a substance about which there was something uncanny. It was clear like glass, when of good quality, but was often found to contain flies and other insects inclosed within itself; "shining," says Gilbert, "in eternal sepulchres." Much had the ancients, including Theophrastus and Pliny written about it and the magical properties which it exhibited after being rubbed. This peculiar phenomenon was submitted to examination by Gilbert with an industry and experimental sagacity thoroughly characteristic of the man. He devised for facili- tating the observation of feeble attractions a sim- ple instrument, consisting of a light stiff arm of metal (see Fig. 4), resembling in shape a com- pass needle, pivotted like a compass upon a pin. This apparatus, termed by him a versorium, con- stituted the electroscope by the aid of which he Gilbert^ of Colchester. 33 disproved the idea that the alleged magical pro- perty was possessed only by amber or by jet. He poured out the vials of his wrath upon the empty-headed and inert philosophers who merely copy from one another and invent high sound- ing Greek words wherewith to cloak their ^ Fig. 4. GILBERT'S VERSORIUM, OR ELECTROSCOPE. ignorance. " For not only do amber and jet, as they say, draw light bodies but diamond, sap- phire, carbuncle, cat's eye, opal, amethyst, vin- centina and bristolla (an English gem or spar) beryl and rock crystal do the same." And he went on enumerating a host of other substances possessing similar powers, following up the true c 34 Gilbert ', of Colchester. gems with false gems made from paste, glass of antimony, slags, belemnites, sulphur, mastic, hard wax, sealing wax variously coloured, resin and arsenic, and also, but less powerfully and only in dry weather, rock-salt, obsidian, and rock-alum. All these substances, because they resembled amber, he termed electrics ; whilst he gave the name of anelectrics to another class of substances which showed no such power, and which included the following : emerald, agate, carnelian, pearls, jasper, alabaster, porphyry, coral, marble, flint, haematite, emery, bone, ivory, ebony and other hard woods, cedar, gold, copper, iron and the other metals, and lastly the loadstone. The substance which above all others possesses the magnetic property of attracting iron shows no trace of electric action when rubbed in the hand. From the terms assigned by Gilbert the word electridtas (electricity) came into use to Gilbert, of Colchester. 35 denote the unseen agent operating in these actions. Gilbert further showed that the power of attraction exercised by the electric when rubbed was not limited to mere straws or chaff, but that all metals and woods, and also stones and earths were attracted. He even found that liquids, oil and water were drawn by the electric force. He ascertained that moisture exercises a prejudicial effect on electrical experi- ments. He observed that electrical effects can be screened off, in a way that magnetic effects cannot, by the interposition of a sheet of metal, or even by a piece of paper. He further ascer- tained the screening effect of a ring of flames. His observations stop short all too soon, leaving the infant science truly in a state of infancy. Nevertheless he was the pioneer whose first steps showed the path to be later trodden by Robert Boyle, by Francis Haukesbee, by Sir 36 Gilbert, of Colchester. Isaac Newton, and by Benjamin Franklin ; and therefore is beyond dispute the father of elec- tric science. It remains to be told how Gilbert's work was received. Strange to say, it fell somewhat flat. The world was hardly prepared to accept a sober treatise based on simple facts in place of the wild and speculative treatises which had hitherto passed as philosophic. Scaliger in one of his epistles (ad Casaubon, 1 604) speaks of a certain Englishman who three years previously had brought out a book on the magnet which was nothing worthy of the expectation which it had excited. Bacon, though he reproduced as his own, in his " Opuscula Philosophica " whole paragraphs almost verbatim from Gilbert, sneered at him in his " De Augmentis " as the man who had made a whole philosophy out of the observations of a loadstone ; and in another Gilbert, of Colchester. 3 7 place refers to "De Magnete" as a "painfull and experimentall work." In another place in the "Novum Organon" he accuses Gilbert of having created so many fables about the electric operation ; which, he adds is nothing else than the appetite of the body excited by gentle friction ! Others there were indeed who better appreciated the magnitude of Gilbert's work. Galileo, as we have seen, spoke of him as of enviable greatness. Kepler warmly welcomed the new doctrine of the earth's magnetism, and devoted a long chapter in his treatise on As- tronomy to the exposition of Gilbert's views. Barlowe, the learned Archdeacon of Salisbury, whose " Magneticall Aduertisements " was pub. lished in 1618, speaks of "De Magnete" as "the very true fountaine of all magneticall knowledge." Dr. Marke Ridley, who in 1613 published "A Short Treatise of Magneticall 38 Gilbert, of Colchester. Bodies and Motions" speaks of Gilbert's labours as " the greatest and best in Magneticall Philosophic." Sir Kenelm Digby classed Gilbert along with Harvey, the discoverer of the circu- lation of the blood, as men by whose means our nation may claim, even in this latter age, a crown for solid philosophical learning. Gilbert further laid the foundations of future scientific progress by founding a sort of society or college which met monthly at his house in Peter's Hill, Knight Rider Street, for the dis- cussion of philosophical subjects, and which, though it fell into abeyance at his death, must be regarded as the precursor of the Royal Society. He did not live to add, as he proposed, an appendix of six or eight sheets to " De Magnete ; " no such addition appearing in either of the German editions published at Stettin in 1628 Gilbert, of Colchester. 39 and 1633 respectively. He left behind him, however, the manuscript of another work of lesser merit, which was posthumously published in 1651 by the famous printing house of Elzevir, entitled "De Mundo nostro Sublunari Philo- sophia Nova." It is chiefly a meteorological and cosmical treatise, remarkable indeed for one speculative point, namely a suggestion that the reason why the moon always presents the same face towards the earth is because the moon, like the earth, is magnetic. His fame as physician and physicist won him the favour of Queen Elizabeth by whom in February 1601 he was appointed chief physician. He even received from her at her death an annual pension ; and was continued as chief physician to James I., an honour which he only enjoyed for seven months, as he died on Nov. 3oth, 1603. 40 Gilbert, of Colchester. The partial oblivion into which Gilbert's fame has been allowed to fall is due probably mainly to the loss of all personal relics of him. With the exception of a single doubtful inscription " ex dono auctoris " in a single copy of " De Mag- nete," not a line of his handwriting is known to exist, unless his hand wrote the signature " Ye President and Sodetie " at the end of a petition preserved amongst the manuscripts in the British Museum, addressed by the Royal College of Physicians in 1596 to the Lords of the Privy Council, complaining of the exactions of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London. It is pretty certain that the MS. copy " De Mundo Nostro," in Latin in the British Museum is not in the author's handwriting ; for in the Elzevir print there is a note which states that the author's original manuscript was partly in Eng- lish. It is sad to relate that the manuscripts, Gilbert) of Colchester. 41 maps, letters, magnets and minerals which he bequeathed to the Royal College of Physicians, all perished in the Great Fire in 1666. Almost equally sad is it, that his portrait, painted in oils, which he himself presented to the Schools' Gallery of the University of Oxford has disap- peared : it is believed to have been destroyed as rubbish forty years ago. Only a poor en- graving, made in 1796, and not true to the original picture in several details, remains to witness to the scholarly features of the great Doctor. His residence in Colchester, a quaint old house in Holy Trinity Street, called Tymperley's, still stands ; and his tomb in the church of Holy Trinity still proclaims over his ashes the virtues which he practised whilst living. But his memorial remains in his magnetic and electrical discoveries. His reputation is en- 42 Gilbert, of Colchester. shrined in the science which he founded " shining in an eternal sepulchre." He takes his place amongst the great men of a great age, not unworthily, as one of those who, not by song in his case but by science, truly "fill The spacious times of great Elizabeth With sounds that echo still. " In re Guilielmi Gilberti, Colcestrensis. ON THE OCCASION OF THE READING OF THIS PAPER THERE WERE EXHIBITED BY THE AUTHOR THE FOLLOWING WORKS. 1. Guilielmi Gilbert! Colcestrensis, medici Lon- dinensis, de magnete, magneticisque cor- poribus, et de magno magnete tellure ; Physiologia nova, plurimis et argumentis, et experimentis demonstrata. Londini. Excudebat Petrus Short. Anno M D C. (Folio, pp. 240, T/ie original edition?) 2. Tractatus sive Physiologia nova De Magnete, magneticisque corporibus et magno mag- 44 Gilbert, of Colchester. nete tellure Sex libris comprehensus a Guilielmo Gilberto Colcestrensi, medico Londinensi. Omnia nunc recognita & emendatius quam ante in lucem edita, aucta & figuris illustrata opera & studio Wolfgangi Lochmans, I.U.D. & Mathe- mati. Excusus Sedini typis Gotzianis Sumptibus Joh. Hallervordij. Anno M.DC.XXVIII. ( 4 to ., pp. 232, with etched Title-page and plates, and an Index. First edition published abroad.) 3. Tractatus, sive Physiologia Nova De Magnete, Magneticisq ; corporibus & magno Magnete tellure, sex libris comprehensus, a Guilielmo Gilberto Colcestrensi, Medico Londinensi. In quibus ea, quae ad hanc materiam spec- tant, plurimis & Argumentis & experimentis exactissime absolutissimeq ; tractantur & explicantur. Omnia nunc diligenter recog- Gilbert, of Colchester. 45 nita, & emendatius quam ante in lucem edita, aucta & figuris illustrata, opera & studio D. Wolfgangi Lochmans, I.U.D. & Mathematici. Sedini, Typis Gotzianis. Anno M.DC.XXXIII. (4*., pp. 232, with etched plates inserted, and Index.) 4. Guilielmi Gilberti Colcestrensis, Medici Regii, De Mundo nostro Sublunari Philo- sophia Nova. Opus posthumum, Ab Authoris fratre collectum pridem et dis- positum, nunc Ex duobus MSS. codicibus editum. Ex Museio viri perillustris Guilielmi Boswelli Equitis aurati &c. et Oratoris apud Fcederatos Belgas Angli. Amstelodami. Apud Ludovicum Elzevi- rium. CIO 13 CLI. (4*. pp. 316, with Index; the rare posthumous work on Meteorology.) 5. The Theoriques of the feuen Planets, shew- 46 Gilbert, of Colchester. ing all their diuerse motions, and all other Accidents, called Passions, thereunto be- longing. Now more plainly set forth in our mother tongue by M. Blundeuile, than euer they haue been heretofore in any other tongue whatsoeuer, and that with such pleasant demonstratiue figures, as euery man that hath any skill in Arithme- ticke, may easily vnderstand the same. A Booke most necessarie for all Gentlemen that are desirous to be skilfull in As- tronomic and for all Pilots and Sea-men, or any others that loue to serue the Prince on the Sea, or by the Sea to travail into forraine Countries. . . . There is also hereto added, The making, description, and vse, of two most ingenious and necessarie In- struments for Sea-men, to find out thereby the latitude of any Place vpon the Sea or Gilbert, of Colchester. 47 Land, in the darkest night that is, with- out the helpe of Sunne, Moone, or Starres. First inuented by M. Doctor Gilbert, a most excellent Philosopher, and one of the ordinarie Physicians to her Maiestie : and now here plainely set downe in our mother tongue by Master Blundeuile. London. Printed by Adam Islip. 1602. (i2 mo . pp. 292, with A short Appendix annexed to the former Treatise by Edward Wright, at the motion of the right Worshipfull M. Doctor Gilbert.) A copy (formerly in the possession of Des- cartes) of the Dialogus De Systemate Mundi of Galileo Galilaei, containing numerous references to Dr. Gilbert's work in magnetism. (Elzevir Edition, 1635.) A copy of the Epitome Astronomiae Coper- nicanse of Johannes Kepler, in the fourth 48 Gilbert, of Colchester. book of which Gilbert's theory that the earth itself is a great magnet is accepted and propounded. (Frankfort, 1635.) Other early works on Magnetism were ex- hibited by Bro. Conrad W. Cooke and by Latimer Clark, Esq., F.R.S. O. V. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRIVATELY PRINTED OPUSCULA Issued to the Members of the Sette of Odd Volumes. " Books that can be held in the hand, and carried to the fireside, are the best after all." Samuel Johnson. " The writings of the wise are the only riches our posterity cannot squander." Char Us Lamb. 1. B. Q. A Biographical and Bibliographical Fragment. ^^ Pages. Presented on Norember the 5th, 1880, by His Oddship C. VV. H. WYMAN. 1st Edition limited to 25 copies. (Subsequently enlarged to 50 copies.) 2. Glossographia Anglicana. By the late J. TROTTER BROCKETT, F.S.A., London and Newcastle, author of " Glossary of North Country Words," to which is prefixed a Bio- graphical Sketch of the Author by FREDERICK BLOOMER, (pp. 94.) Presented on July the yth, 1882, by His Oddship BERNARD QUARITCH. Edition limited to 150 copies 5 3 . Ye Boke of Ye Odd Volumes. from 1878 to 1883. Carefvlly Compiled and painsfvlly Edited by ye vn- worthy Historiographer to ye Sette, Brother and Vice-President WILLIAM MORT THOMPSON, and produced by ye order and at ye charges of Hys Oddship ye President and Librarian of ye Sette, Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH. (pp. 1 36.) Presented on April the I3th, 1883, by His Oddship BERNARD QUARITCH. Edition limited to 150 copies. 4. Love's Garland ; Or Posies for Rings, Hand-kerchers, & Gloves, and such pretty Tokens that Lovers send their Loves. London, 1674. A Reprint. And Ye Garland of Ye Odd Volumes, (pp. 102.) Presented on Oftober the I2th, 1883, by Bro. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN. Edition limited to 250 copies. 5. Queen Anne Musick. A brief Accompt of ye genuine Article, those who performed ye same, and ye Masters in ye facultie. From 1701 to 1714. (pp. 40.) Presented on July the i3th, 1883, by Bro. BURNHAM W. HORNER. Edition limited to loo copies. 6. A Very Odd Dream. Related by His Oddship W. M. THOMPSON, President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on June 1st, 1883. (pp. 26.) Presented on July the I3th, 1883, by His Oddship W. MORT THOMPSON. Edition limited to 250 copies. 7. Codex Chiromantiae. Being a Compleate Manuallc of ye Science and Arte of Expoundynge ye Past, ye Presente, ye Future, and ye Charaftere, by ye Scrutinie of ye Hande, ye Gestures thereof, and ye Chirographie. Codicillus I. CHIROG- NOMY (pp. 1 1 8.) Presented on November the 2nd, 1883, by Bro. ED. HERON-ALLEN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 8. Intaglio Engraving : Past and Present. An Address by Bro. EDWARD RENTON, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on December 5, 1884. (pp. 74.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 200 copies. 5' g. The Rights, Duties, Obligations, and Advantages of Hospitality. An Address by Bro. CORNELIUS WALFORD, F.I.A., F.S.S., F.R. Hist. Soc., Barrister-at-Law, Master of the Rolls in the Setteof Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Friday, February 5, 1885. (pp. 72.) Presented to the Sette by His Odcship EDWARD F. WVMAN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 10. " Pens, Ink, and Paper : " a Discourse upon Caligraphy. The Implements and Praaice of Writing, both Ancient and Modern, with Curicsa, and an Appendix of famous English Penmen, by Bro. DANIEL W. KETTLE, F.R.G.S., Cosmographer; delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Gre-at Queen Street, on Friday, November 6th, 1885. (pp. 104.) Presented to the Sette on January 8th, 1886, by Bro. DANIEL W. KETTLE. Edition limited 10x33 copies. 11. On Some of the Books for Children of the Last Century. With a few Words on the Philanthropic Publisher of St. Paul's Churchyard. A paper read at a Meeting of the Sette of Odd Volumes by Brother CHARLES WELSH, Chapman of the Sette, at the Freemasons' Tavern, on Friday, the 8th day of January, 1886. (pp. 108.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. CHARLES WELSH. Edition limited to 450 copies. 12. Frost Fairs on the Thames. An Address by Bro. EDWARD WALFORD, M.A., Rhymer to the Sette of the Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, December 3, 1886. (pp. 76.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW. Edition limited to 133 copies. 13. On Coloured Books for Children. By Bro. CHARLES WELSH, Chapman to the Sette. Read before the Sette, at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, the 6th May, 1887. With a Catalogue of the Books Exhibited, (pp. 60.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN. Edition limited to 155 copies. 52 14. A Short Sketch of Liturgical History and Literature. Illustrated by Examples Manuscript and Printed. A Paper read at a Meeting of the Sette of Odd Volumes by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH, Librarian and First President of the Sette, at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, loth June, 1887. (pp. 86.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH. 15. Cornelius Walford : In Memoriam. By his Kinsman, EDWARD WALFORD, M.A., Rhymer to the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, list Oftober , 1887. (pp. 60.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. EDWARD WALFORD, M.A. Edition limited to 255 copies. 16. The Sweating Sickness. By FREDERICK H. GERVIS, M.R.C.S., Apothecary to the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, November 4th, 1887. (pp. 48.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. FRED. H. GERVIS. Edition limited to 133 copies. 17. New Year's Day in Japan. By Bro. CHARLES HOLME, Pilgrim of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Willis's Rooms on Friday, January 6, 1888. (pp. 46.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. CHARLES HOLME. Edition limited to 133 copies. 18. Ye Seconde Boke of Ye Odd Volumes, from 1883 to 1888. Carefvlly Compiled and painsfvlly Edited by ye vn- worthy Historiographer to ye Sette, Bro. WILLIAM MORT THOMPSON, and produced by ye order arid at ye charges of ye Sette. (pp. 157.) Edition ; uoueti to 1 1 5 copies. 19. Repeats and Plagiarisms in Art, 1888. By Bro. JAMES ORROCK, R.I., Connoisseur to the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Willis's Rooms, St. James's, on Friday, January 4, 1889. (pp. 33.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. JAMES ORROCK, R.I. Edition limited to 133 copies. 53 20. How Dreams Come True. A Dramatic Sketch by Bro. J. TODHUNTER, Bard of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Performed at a Conversazione of the Sette at the Grosvenor Gallery, on Thursday, July lyth, 1890. (pp. 46.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship Bro. CHARLES HOLME. Edition limited to 600 copies. 21. The Drama in England during the last Three Centuries. By Bro. WALTER HAMILTON, F.R.G.S., Parodist to the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer's Hotel, on Wednesday, January 8, 1890. (pp. 80.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. WALTER HAMILTON. Edition limited to 201 copies. 22. Gilbert, of Colchester. By Bro. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., B.A., Magnetizer to the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer's Hotel, on Friday, July 4th, 1890. (pp. 63.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON. Edition limited to 449 copies. 23. Neglected Frescoes in Northern Italy. By Bro. DOUGLAS H. GORDON, Remembrancer to the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer's Hotel, on Friday, Decsmber 6th, 1889. (pp. 48.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. DOUGLAS H. GORDON. Edition limited to 1 53 copies. YEAR-BOKE. The Year-Boke of the Odd Volumes : An Annual Record of the Transactions of the Sette. Eleventh Year, 1888-9. Written and compiled by Bro. W. MORT THOMPSON, Historiographer to the Sette. Issued November zgth, 1890. MISCELLANIES. 1. Inaugural Address of His Oddship, W. M. THOMPSON, Fourth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on his taking office on April ijth, 1883, &c, (pp. 31.} Printed by order of Ye Sette, and issued on May the 4th, 1883. Edition limited to Z5o copies. 2. Codex Chiromantiae. Appendix A. Dactylomancy, or Finger-ring Magic, Ancient, Mediasval, and Modern, (pp. 34.) Presented on October the izth, 1883, by Bro. ED. HERON-ALLEN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 3. A President's Persiflage. Spoken by His Oddship W. M. THOMPSON, Fourth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons 1 Tavern, Great Queen Street, at the Fifty-eighth Meeting of the Sette, on December yth, 1883. (pp. 15.) Edition limited to Z5O copies. 4. Inaugural Address of His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN, Fifth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on his taking office, on April 4th, 1884, &c. (pp. 56.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 55 5. Musical London a Century Ago. Compiled from the Raw Material, by Brother BURNHAM W. HORNER, F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S., Organist of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons 1 Tavern, Great Queen Street, on June 6th, 1884. (pp. 32.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 6. The Unfinished Renaissance ; Or, Fifty Years of English Art. By Bro. GEORGE C. HAIT, Author of 44 Plant Studies," &c. Delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Friday, July nth, 1884. (pp.40.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 7. The Pre-Shakespearian Drama. By Bro. FRANK IRESON. Delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Friday, January a, 1885. (pp. 34.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 8. Inaugural Address of His Oddship, Brother JAMES ROBERTS BROWN, Sixth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on his taking office, on April I7th, 1885, &c. (pp. 56.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship JAMES ROBERTS BROWN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 9. Catalogue of Works of Art Exhibited at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Friday, July nth, 1884. Lent by Members of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN. Edition limited to 255 copies. 10. Catalogue of Manuscripts and Early-Printed Books Exhibited and Described by Bro. B. QUARITCH, the Librarian of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, June 5th 1885. Presented to the Sette by His Oddship JAMES ROBERTS BROWN. Edition limited to 155 copies. 56 11. Catalogue of Old Organ Music Exhibited by Bro. BURNHAM W. HORNER, F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S., Orga- nist of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Friday, February 5th, 1886. Presented to the Sette by Kis Oddship JAMES ROBERTS BROWN. Edition limited to 133 copies. 12. Inaugural Address of His Oddship Bro. GEORGE CLULOW, Seventh President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on his taking office, on April 2nd, 1886, &c. (pp. 64.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW. Edition limited to 133 copies. 13. A Few Notes about Arabs. By Bro. CHARLES HOLME, Pilgrim of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read at a Meeting of the * Sette" at Willis's Rooms, on Friday, yth May, 1886. (pp. 46.) Presented to the Sette of Odd Volumes by Bro. CHAS. HOLME. Edition limited to 133 copies. 14. Account of the Great Learned Societies and Associations, and of the Chief Printing Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland Delivered by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH, Librarian of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at Willis's Rooms on Tuesday, June 8, 1886. (pp. 66.) Presented to the Setie by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW. Edition limited to 255 copies. 15. Report of a Conversazione Given at Willis's Rooms, King Street, St. James's, on Tuesday, June 8th, 1886, by His Oddship Bro. GEORGE CLULOW, President; with a summary of an Address on "LEARNED SOCIETIES AND PRINTING CLUBS," then delivered by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH, Librarian. By Bro. W. M. THOMPSON, Historiographer. Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW. Edition limited to 255 copies. 57 16. Codex Chiromantiae. Appendix B. A DISCOURSE CONCERNING AUTOGRAPHS AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS. Spoken in valediftion at Willis's Rooms, on Oftober the 8th, 1886, by Bro. EDWARD HERON-ALLEN, (pp. 45.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW. Edition limited to 133 copies. 17. Inaugural Address of His Oddship ALFRED J. DAVIES, Eighth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, on his taking office on April 4th, 1887. (pp. 64.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship ALFRED J. DAVIES. Edition limited to 133 copies. 18. Inaugural Address of His Oddship Bro. T. C. VENABLES, Ninth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, on his taking office on April 6th, 1888. (pp. 54.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship T. C. VENABLES. Edition limited to 133 copies. 19. Ye Papyrus Roll-Scroll of Ye Sette of Odd Volumes. By Bro. J. BRODIE-INNES, Masterofthe Rolls to the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, May 4th, 1888. (pp. 39.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship T. C. VENABLES. Edition limited to 133 copies. 20. Inaugural Address of His Oddship Bro. H. J. GORDON Ross, Tenth President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis's Rooms, King Street, St. James's Square, on his taking office, April 5th, 1889. Edition limited to Z55 copies. of 2DDD Volumes. Original Member. 1878. BERNARD QtJARITCH, Librarian, 15, Piccadilly, W. (President, 1878, 1879, and 1882). Original Member. 1878. EDWARD RfiNTON, Herald, 44, South Hill Park, Hampstead, N. W. (Vice-President, 1880; Secretary, 1882). original Member. 1878. W. MORT THOMPSON, Historiographer, 1 6, Car- Jyle Square, Chelsea, S.W. (Vice-Presi- dent, 1882 ; President, 1883). Original Member. 1878. CHARLES W. H. WvMAN, Typographer, I 03, King Henry's Road, Primrose Hill,N.W. (Vice-President, 1878 and 1879 > P fes i- denr, 1880). original Member. 1878. EDWARD F. WYMAN, Treasurer, 19, Blomfield Road, Maida Vale, W. (Secretary, 1878 and 1879; President, 1884). 59 1878. ALFRED I. DAVIES, Attorney-General, Fairlight, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, W. (Vice-Presi- dent, 1881; Secretary, 1884; President, 1887). 1878. G. R. TYLER, Alderman, Stationery 17, Peny- wern Road, South Kensington, W. (Vice- President, 1886). 1879. T. C. VENABLES, Antiquary, 9, Marlborough Place, N.W. (President, 1888). 1879. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN, F.R.G.S., Ahbymist, 14, Hilldrop Road, Tufnell Park, N. (Secretary, 1880; Vice-President, 1883; President, 1885). 1879. GEORGE CLULOW, Xylograpber, 51, Bel size Avenue, Hampstead, N.W. (Secretary, 1 88 1 ; Vice-President, 1884 ; President, 1886). 1880. BURNHAM W. HORNER, F.R.S.L., Organist, 34, Sheen Park, Richmond, S.W. (Vice- President, 1889). 1882. WILLIAM MURRELL, M.D., Leech, 38, Wey- mouth Street, Portland Place, W. (Secre- tary, 1883; Vice-President, 1885). 1883. HENRY GEORGE LILEY, Art Diretfor, Radnor House, Radnor Place, Hyde Park, W. 6o 1883. GEORGE CHARLES HAITE, Art Critic, Ormsby Lodge, The Avenue, Bedford Park, W. (Vice-President, 1887). 1883. EDWARD HERON ALLEN, Necromancer, 2, Ryder Street, St. James's, S.W. (Secretary, 1885). 1884. H. J. GORDON Ross. Solicitor-General, 18, Vic- toria Road, Kensington, W. (President, 1889). 1884. CHARLES LEOPOLD EBERHARDT, AstroIoger y C\\.y Carlton Ciub, E.C. 1884. WILFRID BALL, R. P. E., Peintre-Graveur (MASTER OF CEREMONIES), 398, Old Bond Street, W. 1884. DANIEL W. KETTLE, F.R.G.S., Cosmographer, Hayes Common, near Beckenham, Kent (Secretary, 1886). 1884. CHARLES WELSH, Chapman, Leytonstone, Essex (Vice-president, 1888). 1885. EDWARD WALFORD, M.A., Rhymer, 7, Hyde Park Mansions, N.W. Supplemental >&& (Holumeg, 1886. CHARLES HOLME, F.L.S., Pilgrim (PRESIDENT), The Red House, Bexley Heath, Kent (Secretary, 1887). 1886. FREDK. H. GERVIS, M.R.C.S., Apothecary, I, Fellows Road, Haverstock Hill, N.W. 1887. JOHN W. BRODIE-INNES, Master of the Rolls, Milton House, The Orchard, Bedford Park, W. (Secretary, 1 888). 1887. HENRY MOORE, A.R.A., Ancient Mariner, Col- lingham, Maresfield Gardens, N.W. 1887. ALFRED H. LITTLETON, Troubador, Westwood House, Sydenham. 1887. E- p - LOFTUS BROCK, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A., Architect, 36, Great Russell Street, W.C. 1887. JAMES ORROCK, R.I., Connoisseur, 48, Bedford Square, W.C. 62 1887. W. J. GOODE, Potter, Tudor House, Hamp- stead Heath, N.W. 1888. ALFRED EAST, R.I., Aquarelliste, 14, Adamson Road, Belsize Park, N.W. 1888. WALTER HAMILTON, F.R.G.S., F.R.H.S., Parodist, Ellarbee, Elms Road, Clapham Common, S.W. 1888. DOUGLAS H. GORDON, F.G.S., Remembrancer, 41, Tedworth Square, S.W. (Secretary, 1889). 1888. JOHN LANE, Bibliographer (SECRETARY), 37, Southwick Street, Hyde Park, W. 1888. ALEXANDER T. HOLLINGSWORTH, Artificer (VICE-PRESIDENT), 172, Sutherland Ave- nue, Maida Vale, W. 1888. JOHN TODHUNTER, M.D., Bard, Orchard Croft, The Orchard, Bedford Park, W. 1889. FRANCIS ELGAR, LL.D., F.R.S.E., Shipwright, The Admiralty, Whitehall, S.W. 1889. WILLIAM MANNING, F.R.M.S., Seer (AUDITOR), 21, Redcliffe Gardens, S.W. 1890. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., M.I.E.E., Mag- mtizer, Morland, Chislett Road, N.W. 1890. CONRAD W. COOKE, M. Inst. E. E., Jester, The Lindens, Larkhall Rise, S.W. 63 1890. E. ONSLOW FORD, A.R.A., Sculptor , 62, Acacia Road, N.W. 1890. FRED VILLIERS, War Correspondent ', Primrose Hill Studios, N.W. CHISWICK PRESS I C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. i 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED \ LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.