' - .... . ' 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 A 
 VOLUME 
 
 o P 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 Dr. BER. K'ENHOUT 
 
 TO HIS 
 
 SON AT THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, 
 
 Printed by J.ARCHDEACOK Printer to the UNIVERSITY 5 
 
 For T. CAD ELL, London. 
 
 M D C C X C.
 
 TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE 
 
 THOMAS, 
 LORD VISCOUNT WEYMOUTH, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS INSCRIBED 
 
 BY HIS LQRDSHI P'S 
 
 FAITHFUL,, HUMBLE SERVANT. 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THESE letters were written partly for 
 the writer's amufement, but princi- 
 cipally with the defign of introducing the 
 young fre/Jj-mar\y to whom they were ad- 
 dreffed, to an early acquaintance with the 
 elements of the fciences he was about to 
 cultivate: they were not defigned, in any 
 degree, to fuperfede, or render lefs necefTary, 
 theinftrucYions of his college-tutors ; rather, 
 on the contrary, to facilitate the cultivation, 
 by clearing the furface of its indigenous 
 weeds, and thus preparing the frefh land 
 for the reception of the plough. 
 
 Young minds naturally incline to frivo- 
 lous diffipation ; they cannot continue long 
 inactive; it feems therefore neceflary to al- 
 lure them to rational purfuits, before tri- 
 fling becomes a habit. 
 
 A faftidious examiner, will, in thefe epif- 
 'tles, find fufficient matter for criticifm; but, 
 I hope, he will allow me to plead the privi- 
 lege of that inattention to abfolute precifion 
 and methodical arrangement, which, in fa- 
 miliar
 
 ( a ) 
 
 miliar letters, it were unjuft, and perhaps 
 improper, to require. The variety of fub- 
 jecls on which I have indulged my fpecula- 
 tions, may make the volume appear a maze, 
 but, I truft, not without a plan ; a plan of 
 which no judgement can be formed from 
 the few pages contained in this volume. 
 The fubjects are frequently varied, on pur- 
 pofe to relieve the attention, and to avoid 
 the formality of a fyftematic treatife. 
 
 I have prefumed, in fome parts of thefe 
 epiftles, to cenfure the prefent fyfrem of 
 education in both Univerfitiesj but I have 
 alfo acknowledged them, in their prefent 
 ftatc of imperfection, equal to the produc*- 
 tion of very learned men : neverthelefs, the 
 entire fyflem is too obvioufly Gothic to ef- 
 cape the ridicule of ftrangers, who vifit Ox- 
 ford and Cambridge with the idea, that the 
 Ecclefa Anglicana is a reformed Church, and 
 that thefe formal feminaries are appropriat- 
 ed to the education of nobility, of gentle- 
 men, ftatefmen, lawyers, phyficians, and 
 divines. 
 
 In the botanical letters, I may be accufed 
 of pedantry in too frequently larding the 
 lean earth with Latin quotations 5 but the 
 reader muft not forget the age and recent 
 
 ftudies
 
 ( Hi ) 
 
 ftudies of him to whom they were addreflecl, 
 and that nothing fo effectually fixes a new 
 idea in the mind, as attaching it to an old 
 one. 
 
 Thofe who, in the perufal of this volume, 
 expect to find amufement, will probably be 
 disappointed: if it prove in any degree, in- 
 ftructive to young ftudents, the defigu of 
 its publication is anfwered. 
 
 I muft now beg the reader's indulgence 
 whilft I expostulate a little with a fraternity 
 of periodical critics, who afTume the title of 
 Analytical Reviewers, relative to a late pub- 
 lication of mine, entitled Synoffis of the Na- 
 tural Hijlory of Britain, &c. Thefe critics, 
 or rather the individual who did me the 
 honour to review that book, after allowing 
 it fome merit, writes thus " In the vege- 
 table kingdom, the author juftly acknow- 
 ledges the affiftance he had from the works 
 of Hudfon, Lightfoot, Curtis, and Wither- 
 ing, ir oft of vvhofe plants he has adopted, 
 rather too implicitly, for not one of their 
 errors, even the moft notorious, is corrected." 
 
 The accufation may be juft. Poffibly I 
 may have depended too implicitly on what 
 I believed to be fubftantial authority j but 
 furely it was incumbent on the reviewer ta 
 
 prc-
 
 ( . * ) 
 
 prevent the propagation of thefe errors, by 
 a fpecirlc charge. This fort of general cri- 
 ticifm, is, in the highefl degree, illiberal, 
 becaufe it can anfwer no purpofe, fave tha v t 
 pf depreciating the book. 
 
 In the prefent inftance I was thruft into 
 the condemned-hole with four eminent, very 
 eminent, botanifts. Such company might 
 have rendered the dungeon tolerable: but ? 
 coniidering myfelf as the instrument of their 
 condemnation, I thought myfelf obliged to 
 juftify them if it were in my power. With 
 this intention, I wrote to the publifher of 
 the Analytical Review, requeuing, that the 
 writer of the article in queftion would do 
 me the favour, to point out a few of the 
 notorious errors, which he had diipovered in 
 the Synopfc' t errors which, ijotwithftanding 
 their notoriety, had eluded the obfervation 
 of the other Reviews; errors which, with a 
 view to the greater accuracy of a future edi- 
 tion, I fincerely wifhed to find, but which I 
 had fought for in vain. To this requeft I 
 received no anfwer, either privately, or in, 
 any of their fubfequent publications. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS, &c. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 1789. 
 
 "All the world is a ft age ^ 
 
 And all the men and 'women meerly players : 
 rfhey have their exits and their entrances, 
 And one man in his time plays many parts, 
 His atfs being fe^en ages." 
 
 I NEED not tell you, that thefe lines 
 begin the admirable fpeech of J aques in 
 the fecond aft of Shakefpear's As you like it. 
 Thefe feven ages are, that of the infant, the 
 fchool-boy, the lover, the foldier, the juf- 
 tice, the pantaloon, and fecond childhood. 
 This divifion is poetically juft; but it is not 
 generally applicable. The three material 
 epockas in the life of a man liberally educat- 
 A ed,
 
 ed, are his admiffion at a grammar- fchool, 
 his matriculation at the univerfity, and his 
 departure thence. Thefe three periods, like 
 the three primitive colours, are diftinftly 
 marked. Shakefpear's feven ages refemble 
 Sir Ifaac Newton's feven prifmatic tincls, 
 four of which are intermediate (hades, pro- 
 duced by the mixture of the primitive red, 
 blue and yellow. 
 
 You, my dear boy, have played your part 
 in the firft of thefe three a6ls of the great 
 drama of life; an,d I hope your performance 
 hath been fuch as to be no difgrace to the 
 ftage on which you appeared. In this aft 
 you have fpent eight years of your terref- 
 trial exiftence, with all the advantages of a 
 public fchool. If it be true that, from the 
 age of ten to eighteen, the mind is moft 
 capable of permanent impreffions, it were 
 rational to expect that a young gentleman, 
 thus educated, fhould enter the univerfity 
 pofTefled of all the learning necefiary to con- 
 flitute the foundation of his future (Indies. 
 
 The public fchools, in this kingdom, pro- 
 fefTedly, teach nothing but the Greek and 
 Latin languages ; and even of thefe, at the 
 expiration of feven or eight years, many of 
 the lads have acquired a very fuperficial 
 
 know-
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 knowledge. They may perhaps be able to 
 conftrue a few pages in the books that have 
 been put into their hands ; but are totally 
 loft if you try them in a Greek or Latin 
 author which they have never feen. Would 
 not one be hence naturally led to imagine, 
 that thefe two dead languages are very diffi- 
 cult to learn? Yet, you have the plea- 
 fure to know a young lady to whom 
 Latin and Greek are perfectly familiar; who 
 Is likewife an arithmatician, an algebraift, 
 a geometrician; plays the harpficord very 
 finely, fmgs well, dances in a fuperior ftyle, 
 and is, in (hort, with all her learning, miftrefs 
 of every female accomplishment. 
 
 Now, though I am ready to acknowledge, 
 that this fingular accumulation of acquire- 
 ments may, in a great degree, be afcribed 
 to a fuperiority of capacity, it demonftrates, 
 never thelefs, that wonderful effects may be 
 produced by a proper mode of inftruction. 
 
 The queftion, why boys learn fo little 
 during feven or eight years continuance at 
 a public fchool ? is not difficult of inveftiga- 
 tion. Half that period is confumed in va- 
 cations and fmgle holidays. It fhould feem 
 therefore, that in our eftimate of the quantum 
 qf learning, we muft reduce the eight years 
 A 2 to
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 to four; but this were a falfe eflimate; for, 
 from thefe four years, we muft fubtraft the 
 time required to regain what has been ab- 
 folutely forgotten and loft during the feveral 
 total ceffations from learning; and, on a 
 very fair computation, this confideration 
 will deduct two years from the four : fo that 
 our eight years are reduced to two; and I 
 will venture to affirm that, under a better 
 fyftem, boys might, in two years, be taught 
 all they ufually learn, at any of our public 
 fchools, in eight. 
 
 There is another material impediment in 
 the progrefs of a boy at a public fchool. I 
 mean the gothic cuftom of fuffering the un- 
 der boys to be the fervants, the flaves, of 
 the upper. Regardlefs of the cruelty of 
 fubjefting a child to the irrational caprice 
 of a lad of fifteen; regardlefs of the injury 
 he muft fuftain in being conftantly depriv- 
 ed, by the mandates of his tyrannical maf- 
 ter, of the fleep which nature, at that age 
 particularly, requires; regardlefs of that ig- 
 nominious habit of fervility which this in- 
 famous fyftem muft neceflarily induce; re- 
 gardlefs, I fay, of thefe confiderations, the 
 menial fervices to which cuftom obliges him 
 to attend, leave him little or no time for 
 
 appli-
 
 ( $ ) 
 
 application to his book. What is the con- 
 fequence? He is conftantly flogged for 
 neglecl: of that which it was not in his 
 power to execute. There is no appeal. He 
 dares not complain; that would but in- 
 creafe his fufferings. He fubmits to his 
 hard fate, and, in refpecl to learning, his 
 four firft years are almoft a total blank. 
 But I have filled my paper j Adieu 1 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 6 ) 
 LETTER II. 
 
 I ME AN, in Come part of this letter, to re- 
 fume the fubjecl with which I concluded 
 my laft; becaufe I feel myfelf peculiarly in- 
 terefted in the caufe of thofe defenfelefs 
 children, who, whilft they continuey^g-j in 
 a public fchool, are condemned to greater 
 hardfhips than the African flaves whom it 
 is fo much the famion to commiferate; 
 becaufe I wifh to keep alive in your memory 
 thofe impreflions which it may be ufeful to 
 future times that you (hould remember , and 
 becaufe I would have you perfectly compre- 
 hend the reafon, why boys from a public 
 fchool generally know fo little when they 
 are firft fent to the univerfity. 
 
 You have too much good fenfe to con- 
 ilrue what I have faid into a diflatis fa&ion 
 at your ignorance of things which it is im- 
 poffible you fhould know. On the con- 
 trary, I rather wonder that, under fuch cir- 
 cumftances, you have acquired fo much 
 knowledge of Latin and Greek: Never- 
 thelefs, if you purfue your claffical ftu- 
 dies, you will foon difcover, that you 
 
 have
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 have not yet advanced much farther than 
 the portal to claflical erudition. 
 
 The dead languages are nothing more 
 than the external fteps to the temple of li- 
 terary Fame. A mere pedagogue may con- 
 {true literally every line of Homer, Virgil, 
 Horace, Terence, Cicero, Tacitus, and yet 
 be as ignorant of their real beauties as was 
 Jerediah Buxton of Garrick's. excellence, 
 when, during the performance of the play> 
 he attended only to the number of words 
 fpoken by the afton The language of the 
 celebrated authors I have mentioned, as lan- 
 guage merely, merits, I acknowledge, fome 
 attention j becaufe a perfect acquaintance 
 with the Greek and Latin languages will 
 enable you to underfland and to improve 
 your own. Neverthelefs, if thefe claflical 
 authors poffdTed no merit beyond the me- 
 chanical beauty of verbal arrangement and 
 harmony of numbers, they would ill deferve 
 the time and labour they require. 
 
 The ftrange cuftom in our public fchools, 
 which conftitutes the under boys fervants 
 to the upper, is fo exceedingly cruel and 
 unjuft, that one cannot help being furprifed 
 at its continuance to the prefent enlightened 
 period of human fociety, when fo many of 
 A 4 the
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 the abfurdities of our progenitors have been 
 abolifhed. But the cruelty and injuftice of 
 this cuftom are not the only arguments in 
 favour of new regulations. This early fub- 
 ferviency and fubfequent defpotifm, muft 
 eventually prove infinitely prejudicial to fo- 
 ciety. A boy who, from the age of ten to 
 fourteen, hath been compelled to fubmit to 
 a degree of fervitude more irkfom and hu- 
 miliating than that of his father's lowefl 
 domeftic; who is taught, by example, that 
 he muft fuffer every fpecies of impofition and 
 cruelty without complaint; that his books, 
 his trinkets, and even his apparel, are the 
 property of the boy he calls his mafter: 
 fuch debafement, I fay, by thus early bend- 
 ing the mind below the dignity of an Eng- 
 lifh gentleman, muft infallibly prepare him 
 for fubmifiions inimical to the conftitution 
 of his country. He gradually rifes to the 
 upper fchool. He then becomes a tyrant 
 in his turn, and thefe habits of tamely fub- 
 mitting to the mandates of his fuperiors, and 
 of capricioufly tyrannizing over thofe beneath 
 him, can hardly fail to form a truly deteft- 
 able character. But it were unjuft hence 
 to infer, that every gentleman educated at 
 our great public fchools is a compound of 
 
 (lave
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 Have and tyrant. There are many examples 
 of the contrary. 
 
 The late King of Pruflia, without any ad- 
 vantage of education, was a great General, 
 a consummate Politician, an acute Philofo- 
 pher, a good Poet and a polite Scholar, even 
 without any knowledge of the dead langua- 
 ges. In like manner, our immortal Shake- 
 fpear, without education, was doubtlefs the 
 firft of all dramatic poets. It appears there- 
 fore, that the characters of men are not in- 
 variably caft in the mould of education, 
 and that even a total want of it cannot pre- 
 vent fuperior intellects from rifmg above 
 the common level of mankind. Of this 
 truth there cannot be a more fingular ex- 
 ample than the prefent father of the Medi- 
 cal faculty in the Univerfity of Edinburgh. 
 Dr. Cullen I have always regarded as one of 
 thofe rare beings, whofe intuitive rays of 
 understanding penetrate the clouds of time- 
 fanclioned erroneous opinions, even without 
 the labour of formal invefligation. 
 
 But thefe are fingular examples. Man- 
 kind, in general, are the creatures of tuition 
 and habit; we may therefore fairly conclude, 
 that a mixture of fervility and imperiouf- 
 nefs will generally mark the character of 
 
 young
 
 young gentlemen educated at Weftminfter, 
 Eton or the Charter Houfe; and hence it 
 is furely incumbent on every pupil of 
 thefe fchools, carefully to examine his ac- 
 quired propenfities, and to correct the evil 
 before habit fhall have rendered it an inde- 
 lible feature is his character. Machiavel, 
 the famous, the infamous, Italian politician, 
 depended fo much on the effe6t of cuftorn^ 
 that he advifes princes who wifh to remove 
 their opponents by aflaffination, to employ 
 none but fellows whofe hands are already 
 ftained with blood. He reafoned from a 
 juft knowledge of mankind. In fuffering 
 children to torture flies, we fow the feeds of 
 cruelty, which, like the parafiticai Ivy, will 
 grow up with the faplen and cling to every 
 branch. 
 
 You will in the courfe of your ftudies at 
 the univeriity neceflarily become acquainted 
 with Locke's EJJay on Human Under/landing. 
 He was of opinion that we are born with- 
 out ideas, and confequently that all ideas 
 arc impreflions on the brain from external 
 objects, received and communicated by our 
 fenfes* If this be true, we are entirely the 
 creatures of education, and the difference of 
 character between, one boy and another, 
 
 edu-
 
 ( II } 
 
 educated at tliefame fchool, muft depend on 
 their different capacity, or aptitude to re- 
 ceive and retain the fame impreflkms. Ha- 
 bits, therefore, of fervility and fucceffive ty- 
 ranny, will contaminate the difpofition of 
 one youth more than another; but every 
 young gentleman emerging from a public 
 fchool, mould examine his difpofition with 
 miftruft. " Probably (he fhould fay to him- 
 felf) from my early habits of fervility, I am 
 too much inclined to kneel to my fuperiors ; 
 and, in confequence of my late defpotic 
 command, I am difpofed to tyrannize over 
 my dependents; I am pofitive in my opi- 
 nions, and too impatient of contradiction." 
 You have read, I dare fay, that when So- 
 crates was interrogated concerning his vaft 
 knowledge, he anfwered that the chief of 
 what he knew was that he knew nothing. Sir 
 Ifaac Newton thought fo humbly of his 
 fuperior abilities, that he conftantly afcribed 
 his wonderful difcoveries folely to applica- 
 tion, which he faid, was in every man's 
 power. The great Locke entitled his ad- 
 mirable tfreatife on Human Underftanding, 
 merely an Effay. From thefe examples, we 
 may rationally conclude, that arrogance 
 makes no part of the character of a great 
 
 man;
 
 man ; that, in purfuit of knowledge, alps on 
 alps arife before us ; that the profpect ex- 
 tends in proportion to our elevation; and 
 that when we have gained the fummit of 
 the mountain, the expanfe of fcience Is 
 bounded only by the univerfe. 
 
 From this elevation, let us now look back 
 upon yon fpruce young gentleman at the 
 bottom of the hill. He has juft left the 
 fchool which you fee at a diftance in the 
 valley. The moment he had fhook hands 
 with his fchoolfellows, he runs into a bar- 
 ber's (hop, and, with a manly importance, 
 fits down to have his no-beard fhaved off, and 
 his graceful ringlets, bound ridgedly up in 
 the form of a carrot, powdered and perfum- 
 ed 3 his leathers up to his ribs, blue (ilk 
 {lockings, harnefs buckles and a club in his 
 hand, he begins his journey towards the 
 temple of Fame. He miftakes the mountain 
 before him for a fmooth plane, and, per- 
 fectly confident in his acquired momentum , 
 he expects to roll on with the rapidity and 
 cafe of a Phaeton on the turf. Alas! he 
 {tumbles at the firft ftep. He meets, as he 
 afcends, with difficulties which he did not 
 expect. His refolution fails. He fickens at 
 the profpecl before him, and never advances 
 
 a (in-
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 a fingle ftep farther. So ends the progre& 
 of far the greateft number of ftudents at 
 the univerfity. Indolence, evil habits, and 
 fafhionable diffipation, are the univerfal im- 
 pediments to ufeful knowledge and rational 
 acquirements. That you may profit by the 
 contemplation of this picture, is the ardent 
 wifh of, dear Charles, 
 
 Your, &c. 
 
 L E T-
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 IN my two former letters I have endea- 
 voured to find a reafon, why boys, edu- 
 cated at any of our public fchools, come to 
 the univerfity totally ignorant of every 
 thing, except a little Greek and Latin : and 
 that I might let them down as gently as I 
 pofiibly could, I have, and I think juftly, 
 afcribed their want of knowledge to a gothic 
 fyftem of Inflrudlion. The dead languages 
 are doubtlefs the foundation of modern eru- 
 dition -, but certainly more, much more 
 might be acquired in the courfe of feven or 
 eight years, if more than half that time 
 were not facrificed to cuftom. It is indeed 
 very extraordinary that, in difcarding the 
 abfurdities of the Romifh creed and reli- 
 gious ceremonies, we fhould have retained 
 fo much of the ancient mode of education, 
 both in our fchools and univerfities. 
 
 Perhaps I am not juftifiable in exciting 
 in you an unfavourable idea of the mode of 
 education eftablifhed in the univerfity of 
 which you are become a member. But I 
 now ftart the fubjeft, to prevent your fud- 
 
 denly
 
 denly drinking the poifon of difguft before 
 you are provided with an antidote. 
 
 In the univerfity of Cambridge, though 
 claffical learning be not neglected, yet ma- 
 thematical ftudtes are particularly enforced. 
 A young gentleman intended for no profef- 
 fion, who fpends a few years at the univer- 
 fity only becaufe he is yet too young to 
 make the tour of Europe, cannot eafily be 
 perfuaded that the moft perfedl knowledge 
 of Euclid's Elements can ever be of any ufe 
 to him: he therefore applies reluctantly, or 
 not at all, to the ftudy of a fcience from 
 which he can receive no advantage. Thofe 
 who are defigned for Law, Phyfic or Divi- 
 nity, are equally at a lofs to apply mathe- 
 matics to their feveral profeffions. Very 
 true: mathematical knowledge is not im- 
 mediately applicable to Law, Phyfic or Di- 
 vinity; neverthelefs it is indirectly connect- 
 ed with, and fundamental to, all fcience. It 
 neceflarily induces a habit of reafoning juft- 
 ly; it accuftoms the mind to rational inve- 
 tigation and intenfe thinking. Now, in- 
 tenfe thinking, without which you mult 
 always remain on the furface of knowledge, 
 is, to common minds, an occafional and 
 irkfome exertion > but, to a mathematician 
 
 it
 
 it is habitual and eafy: in all fubjefts of 
 difficulty therefore, a mathematician has an 
 evident advantage; his conceptions will be 
 more diftincl; his deductions more accurate^ 
 and his conclufions confequently more juft. 
 There is yet another very ftrong recom- 
 mendation to mathematical ftudies. I mean 
 amufement. Exclufive of their univerfal 
 utility, you will find them infinitely enter- 
 taining. Few pleafures are equal to that of 
 folving a difficult problem. Comply there- 
 fore with the habits of the univerfity ; apply 
 yourfelf ardently to the rudiments of ma- 
 thematical knowledge, and look forward 
 with confidence to the reward of your la- 
 bour. But, before you proceed, I muft cau- 
 tion you againft that fatal cm bono? which 
 being a queftion not always eafily anfwered, 
 is often confidered as an argumentum crucis 
 againft the application to a fcience the uti- 
 lity of which is not immediately obvious. 
 In this turbulent fea of human life, we fee 
 but a very few leagues before us. Sagacity 
 and experience, our two heft telefcopes, dif- 
 cover no land a-head; but that is no proof 
 .that we may not, before the next glafs, fall 
 iin with an ifland or continent. Univerfal 
 knowledge is far beyond the reach of hu- 
 man
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 man capacity; but fcience is the falutary 
 food of the human foul, and fhould there- 
 fore be cultivated for its own fake, totally 
 f-Megardlefs of its ufeful application. We are 
 diftinguifhed from the brute creation only 
 in proportion to our mental acquirements, 
 and furely every intelligent being would 
 wifli to remove himfelf as far as poffible 
 from the brute creation. 
 
 Young men are naturally vain and pofi- 
 tive; dictatorial and dogmatical in their 
 opinions, becaufe they have not learnt to 
 reafon juftly, and becaufe they are unac- 
 quainted with the arguments by which they 
 might be refuted : and it frequently happens 
 that they are confirmed in their errors by 
 the contemptuous filence of Learning and 
 Experience. I fpeak of young men in ge- 
 neral. You have certainly too much pene- 
 tration not to perceive the abfurdity of ju- 
 venile arrogance. 1 dwell upon this fubjecT:, 
 becaufe this arrogance is an infuperable ob- 
 flacle to all knowledge. 
 
 A young man, fortunately infpired with 
 an enthufiaftic defire of knowledge, will be- 
 gin by a fcrupulous inveftigation of the na- 
 ture and degree of the learning which he 
 brings to the univerfity. Probably he will 
 B dif-
 
 ( '8 ) 
 
 difcover that he knows lefs, even of vulgar 
 arithmetic, than a fhopkeeper's apprentice, 
 and has lefs knowledge of the world than a 
 gentleman's Valet de Chambre. This may 
 poflibly be confidered as a very humiliating 
 reflexion to a fpruce young academician; 
 it is true neverthelefs ; and it is not only 
 true, but the confcioufnefs of it is the only 
 pedeftal to his future pillar of Fame. He 
 that does not build upon humility will ne- 
 ver rife to diftinction. Arrogance is dif- 
 gufting even in thofe who have moft reafon 
 to be proud ; what then muft it not be in 
 thofe who have no pretenfion to eminence? 
 Be not therefore afhamed to fay with So- 
 crates, All I know is. that I know nothing. 
 
 What is human knowledge? What are 
 its objects? They are Arts or Sciences. 
 Arts I confider as manual, mechanical, ope- 
 rations : they are corporal attainments. Sci- 
 ences, on the contrary, are more immedi- 
 ately objects of the mind. You will find 
 fome difficulty in drawing a flraight line 
 between them, becaufe moft arts require 
 fome degree of Science : neverthelefs, by the 
 .help of an example or two, we (hall pofli- 
 bly be able to feperate the two ideas, fo as to 
 keep them tollerably diftincT:. 
 
 Mufic,
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 Mufic, for example, is an art, a liberal 
 art. Cramer in executing a difficult concerto, 
 whether of his own compofition or not, is 
 a wonderful artift; but refpe6ling his com- 
 pofitions, or his cadences, when really ex- 
 temporaneous, or invented, he ranks with 
 men of fcience. In like manner, a painter, 
 who does nothing more than copy objects 
 before him, is a mere artift: he is a man of 
 fcience only in proportion to his difplay of 
 his knowledge of Nature. A poet may alfo 
 be confidered as a mere artift, when his fole 
 merit is the accuracy of his verification. 
 
 When you have leifure to confult the writ- 
 ings of philofophers, particularly Ariftotle 
 and his followers, you will find that they 
 have fo perplexed themfelves in their difi- 
 nition of Arts and Sciences, as to render it 
 impoflible to diftinguifh one from the other. 
 The difinition of Arts, which I have given 
 you above, may be,ftricl:ry, applicable to me- 
 chanical Arts only: this however, is fuffi- 
 cient for our prefent purpofe. 
 
 1 am, dear Charles, &c. 
 
 B 2 LET-
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 I CONCLUDED my laft letter with a 
 concife difcremination of Arts and 
 Science, which together comprehend the 
 objects of human intelligence, and confe- 
 quently the objects of your future applica- 
 tion. The former are, at prefent, entirely 
 out of the queftion. Let us therefore take 
 a general view of the latter. 
 
 The Sciences, with which you have at this 
 time any concern, are Arithmetic, Geometry, 
 Logic, Rhetoric, Morality, and Revelation, as 
 a branch of Theology. To thefe will be ad- 
 ded, a continuation of your Claffical ftudies, 
 with fome attention to Hiftory. Of thefe 
 fciences, you are neceflarily totally ignorant. 
 You have read, or rather coriftrued, a few 
 detached fcraps of ancient hiftory; but that 
 was folely with regard to the language in 
 which they were written. As to modern 
 hiftory, and the manners and improvements 
 of different nations in modern times, you 
 have been entirely precluded by your age 
 and (ituation. From thefe confiderations 
 it neceflarily .follows, that a boy, a young 
 
 gentle-
 
 gentleman, if you rather prefer that deno- 
 mination, immediately emerging from fchool, % 
 is in truth, and without any reflexion on 
 his abilities, as I have already obferved in a 
 former letter, a very ignorant perfonage. 
 He is ignorant of the world, confequently 
 embarrafTed in his deportment, and totally 
 unacquainted even with the principles of 
 any fcience whatfoever. 
 
 What then muft we think of thofe young 
 gentlemen, and fuch young gentlemen are 
 not very uncommon fpeftacles, who, with 
 all thefe imperfections, inconfiderately dafh 
 their opinions on all fubjefts, in the pre- 
 fence of Learning and Experience? They 
 are heard with companion, and they retire 
 uninformed. 
 
 Are we then, you will afk, to aft the part 
 of mutes? No: not abfolutely; but a 
 young ftripling who talks, only becaufe he 
 thinks he ought not to be filent, had much 
 better hold his tongue. If he prefume to 
 take the lead in converfation, he muft in- 
 fallibly expofe himfelf; becaufe, like a poor 
 prodigal, he is extravagant without a fundj 
 and, like an ignorant pilot, he runs aground 
 before he has difcovered the coaft. If he 
 venture to give his opinion on politics, the 
 B 3 greateft
 
 greateft favour the company can do him is 
 to feem to attend to fomething elfe. If he 
 prefume to decide on the merit of a book, 
 a fermon, a play, or an aftor, it is at leaft 
 ten to one againft him, that he is wrong; 
 becaufe a rational determination on thefe 
 fubjecls requires a degree of knowledge to 
 which a fchool boy can have no pretenfions. 
 If he think proper to entertain the com- 
 pany with a goodjlory, it is moft probably, 
 though new to himfelf and his quondam 
 companions, a ftale joke to many perfons 
 prefent, and pofftbly the wit of a jeft-book. 
 As to wit, in general, it is a plaything fo 
 very like an edged tool, that it is impoflile 
 a boy fhould meddle with it without cutting 
 his fingers. But, befides the danger, there 
 is another reafon fufficient to deter a young 
 man from attempting to be witty. I mean 
 the difficulty of immediately diftinguifhing 
 real from falfe wit. The firft may produce 
 fome degree of applaufe: the latter, nothing 
 better than a fneer. Every unfuccefsful at- 
 tempt to be witty, ^ recoils, like an over- 
 loaded gun; overturns the author, and ex- 
 pofes him fprawling to the derifion of his 
 companions. 
 
 In what I have written concerning the ge- 
 neral
 
 neral ignorance of Weftminfter, Eton, and 
 Charter-houfe fchool boys, I attribute that 
 ignorance neither to the lads nor to their maf- 
 ters; but partly to the indolence of men in 
 power, and partly to an apprehenfion of 
 the confequences of reformation. We like 
 reformation well enough, whilft, with the 
 reins in our hands, we can (lop it when we 
 pleafe; but we are fearful of Reformation 
 run mad. In reading Swift's T^ale of a T^ub^ 
 you will learn that it is not an eafy opera- 
 tion to ftrip a garment of its fuperfluous 
 ornaments, without tearing the cloth. This 
 is an argument againft inconfiderate, irra- 
 tional reformation; but, if it be admitted 
 as an argument againft reformation in ge- 
 neral, it proves too much. If the great re- 
 former Luther had been deterred by fuch 
 arguments, all Europe would flill have 
 groaned under the ecclefiaftical tyranny of 
 a fovereign Pontif. But I have infenfibly 
 wandered from my fubjec"l. 
 
 I do not mean to infmuate that a young 
 gentleman, on his firft admiffion at the 
 Univerfity, when accidentally in the com- 
 pany of his fuperiors, (hould be precluded 
 from taking part in the converfation j but, 
 be his natural abilities ever fo great, he 
 B 4 fhould,
 
 fhould, on no occafion, prefiime to take the 
 lead. His opinions, when afked, fhould be 
 delivered with diffidence, and in a manner 
 evidently expreffing his defire of better in- 
 formation : and this, not only becaufe fuch 
 deportment is moft becoming his fituationj 
 but becaufe it is the only means by which 
 he can expect to improve by the converfa- 
 tion of men of fuperior knowledge. Men 
 of fcience feel a pleafure in communicating 
 their knowledge to young minds properly 
 difpofed for inftruction; but juvenile arro- 
 gance, like the moth which is now wheeling 
 round my candle, in the moment that it 
 finges it wings, puts out the light. No- 
 thing fo effectually filences a man of letters 
 as the modifh tittle-tattle, or decifive opi- 
 nions of a young Etourdie. 
 
 That man is naturally a vain animal, ap- 
 pears from his being moft vain whilft near- 
 eft a ftate of nature; that is, before a little 
 education has opened to his view the expand- 
 ed profpe6l of human knowledge; before 
 be is convinced, by experience, that error is 
 interwoven with human nature. This va-r 
 nity is indeed fo natural a vice, that no ha- 
 bit is more difficultly acquired than that of 
 acknowledging our errors -, and yet this ha-
 
 bit is the beft feature in an amiable cha-t 
 rafter, and the ftrongeft proof of a found 
 undemanding. 
 
 The late King of Pruflia, whom, when 
 youliaveTead" his pofthumous volumes, you 
 wilTconlider as a man of fuperlative abili- 
 ties, concludes hlFdefcnption of every bat- 
 tle which he fougKF, with an impartial re- 
 capitulation of his own miftakes, and fre-~ 
 quentTy r with a^generbus acknowledgment" 
 oTtrTe~^5ctfef Conduct of his^iTjemy^ 
 ~Befides the vanity, in young men, of ap- 
 pearing to know more than any young man 
 can podibly know, there is another fpecies 
 of pride to which youth in general is ex- 
 tremely prone. I mean that of appearing 
 rich. Now, though no young man be weak 
 enough to maintain, that riches imply the 
 leaft degree of merit in the pofTerTor, yet 
 the idle vanity of being fuppofed to have a 
 large allowance to fpend, is more generally 
 the caufe of ruin to ftudents at the Univer- 
 fity, than any natural propenfity to extra- 
 vagance. 
 
 Every attempt to appear more learned, 
 more knowing, more powerful, or richer 
 than we really are, is foolifli in the extreme; 
 for, if we fucceed at all in the deception, it 
 
 is
 
 is of very fhort duration. In difpite of 
 every effort to keep up the ball, it .will foon 
 come down, and will defcend with greater 
 force in proportion to its height. Thejn- 
 dividual_chara<5lers of men, howfoever art- 
 fully fuftamed, will infallibly vibrate to 
 tHeTfTrueTevel in the opmion__oiF_the : world, 
 and the^pretender will find himfelf at laft, 
 like the fpirt of a fountain, even below the 
 furface of his parent refer voir^ below his 
 natural level. 
 
 Vera gloria, fays the charming Cicero, ra- 
 dices agit, atque etiam fropagatur: fifta omnia 
 celeriter^ tanquamjlofculiy decidunt^ necjimula-* 
 turn foteft quidquam effe diuturnum. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 L E T-
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 WE of the human fpecies are diftin- 
 guifhed from what we call the brute 
 creation, not by the internal or external for- 
 mation of our bodies; for, in thefe, the dif- 
 ference is found, by naturilifts, too infuffici- 
 ent to entitle us even to afeparate Order -in the 
 clafs of Quadrupeds. The celebrated Lin- 
 naeus has placed Man in the CLASS Mamalia, 
 which includes Quadrupeds and Whales; and 
 in the ORDER Primates, which, according 
 to his artificial fyftem, neceffarily compre- 
 hends the genus Vefpertilio. He does not 
 even compliment us with a generic diftinc- 
 tion. Afpecific difference is all that we are 
 allowed: thus, Homo rationales. I am forry 
 to obferve, that even this trivial epithet is 
 more than we generally deferve. 
 
 I am compelled to be thus fevere on the 
 human fpecies (for you obferve we have no 
 pretenfion to a. generic diftinftion) becaufe 
 mankind appears to me the leaft rational 
 part of the creation: Therefore I would not 
 tranflate the word rationalis rational -, but, 
 capable of reafoning. 
 
 Old
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 Old men are frequently cenfured for their 
 want of indulgence to the natural follies of 
 youth. Is it then neceflary that young men 
 fhould be fools ? If fo, what becomes of this 
 fpecific epithet which alone divides them 
 from the brute creation? Or, muft they 
 rank with brutes until a certain age? 
 
 I am led to thefe animadverfions by ob- 
 ferving, that young men, on their firft ftart- 
 ing into life, are generally governed fo ab- 
 folutely by that fool Fafhion, as totally to 
 forget that they are rational creatures; and 
 that in point of drefs (for of that only I am 
 now fpeaking) they are ready to facrifice 
 every idea of propriety, and even conveni- 
 ency, to the ridiculous whim of any defpi- 
 cable infect of what is called the beau monde. 
 
 You are not hence to conclude, that I 
 would have a young gentleman too fcru- 
 puloufly attentive to the rationality of his 
 drefs. Something muft be facrificed to 
 Fafhion; but a young man of found intel- 
 lects will not^in compliance with the whim, 
 even of a prince, run into extremes that are 
 palpably abfurd. I would not have my fon 
 a floven. Total negligence of drefs is an 
 affront to fociety: it indicates either an ig- 
 norance or contempt of the world 5 but an 
 
 abfo^
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 abfolute Fop is a creature almoft below 
 contempt. Drefs, in the eye of philofophy, 
 is an inconfiderable object; but it is an ob- 
 ject of no fmall influence in the opinion of 
 mankind. The opinion of the world is of 
 great confequence to a young man: on 
 ftrangers, propriety or impropriety of drefs, 
 make the firft impreflion. Firft impreflions 
 are not eafily obliterated j drefs, therefore, 
 howfoever infignificant in the abftra6l, be- 
 comes an object of importance to every 
 member of fociety, particularly to a young 
 man on his firft appearance in the great 
 world. 
 
 You are become a member, and I hope 
 you will prove not an unworthy member, 
 of one of the firft Univerfities in Europe; 
 and of a college that has produced many 
 eminent, very eminent men. But, alas! 
 the number of men diftinguifhed for fupe- 
 rior knowledge and abilities, is far exceeded 
 by the number of drones that have iffued 
 from the hive, and have mixed with the illi- 
 terate part of mankind, undiftinguifhed and 
 forgotten. 
 
 To what caufe mail we attribute this la- 
 mentable excefs of ignorance, in the num- 
 ber of perfons educated at Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge ?
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 bridge? It muft, I think, be afcribed to a 
 variety of caufes, partly acting upon each 
 other, and fome of them totally indepen- 
 dent. The firft caufe, which operates alike 
 in both Univerfities, is a pofitive adherence 
 to ftatutes and cuftoms, which, not accord- 
 ing with the prefent improved ftate of learn- 
 ing, nor with the manners of the prefent 
 times, fatigue and difguft the ftudents im- 
 mediately on their admiflion. Extreme early 
 riling and conftant attendance in the cha- 
 pel, are hardfhips in which they perceive no 
 utility. They comply with reluctance. They 
 are difgufted with an academical life. They 
 refide no longer than is abfolutely neceflary, 
 and they look forward with impatience to 
 the day of their releafe. In fuch a temper, 
 little improvement can be expected. No 
 young man will apply to learning con amore, 
 in a difagreable fituation. 
 
 I am, neverthelefs, far from thinking, 
 that young gentlemen fhould be entirely 
 unreftrained; but I am of opinion, that 
 thefe reftriclions fhould be confined to their 
 immoralities, and that in all other refpects 
 their refidence at the Univerfity (hould be 
 rendered as agreeable to themfelves as pofli- 
 ble. There is a principle in human nature 
 
 fo
 
 fo averfe to coercion, particularly about the 
 age of fixteen, that the lectures of your tutors 
 make very little impreflion, becaufe they 
 are attended by compulfion. In every other 
 Univerfity in Europe, attendancejipon lee- 
 turesfTs a voluntary act : no_tafks,jio^xer^__ 
 ales are~impoledr '"Neverthelefs, the public 
 attended, and the 
 
 _ 
 
 ftudentsTlIften with an eager defire of in- 
 formation: becaufe their attendance is vo- 
 luntary^ 
 
 ItTcannot be denied, that the colleges in 
 our Englifh Univerfities retain an obvious 
 fimilitude to Roman Catholick Convents; 
 and it is very furprizing that the Reforma- 
 tion mould have produced fo little, fo very 
 little, alteration in their inftitutes, habits 
 and regulations; many of which are totally 
 indefenfible on principles either of policy 
 or utility. 
 
 In thefe ftrictures, I have told you no- 
 thing that you did not know before; no- 
 thing with which the whole world is not 
 as well acquainted as myfelf: nor have I 
 difcovered any blemifhes that are not feen 
 and felt by every rational member of both 
 Univerfities. Why then, you will afk, are 
 no fleps taken towards reformation ? 
 
 y You
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 You remember ^Efop's fable of the mice 
 and the cat. Who will hang the bell ? A 
 firft Reformer is fure to create many ene- 
 mies. It is very difficult to ftem and di- 
 vert into"anotHer '"cBannra^orrent : of pFe- 
 
 jiidice tEat has beenTo many years accu^ 
 
 down with 
 
 the Itrearru BuTTuch a reformation re- 
 quires a power which the Univerfities them- 
 felves do not poflefs. It muft be the aft of 
 the Legiflaturej and the Adminiftration, in 
 this kingdom, is generally too deeply in- 
 volved in national politicks, to fpare the 
 time and application that a reform of fuch 
 importance would require. 
 
 It is poflible that, in fome future period., 
 a fortunate concurrence of circumftances 
 may produce a rational and uniform fyftem 
 of education in both Univerfities. There 
 are now refident at Oxford and at Cam- 
 bridge, men fully adequate to the delinea- 
 tion of a comprehenfive, an univerfal plan 
 of academical tuition, which, with the ad- 
 vantages of their prefent foundations, might, 
 very eafily, be rendered fuperior to any in- 
 ftitutions of the kind in Europe. No other 
 Univerfities poflefs fuch noble and fpacious 
 edifices for the accommodation of fludentsj 
 
 no
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 no Univerfities are fo munificently endow- 
 ed; no other Univerfities poffefs fuch pub- 
 lic and college libraries; and certainly no 
 feminaries of learning can boaft fo many 
 members of diftinguifhed erudition in every 
 branch of literature : but thefe fingular ad- 
 vantages are facrificed to an unavoidable 
 (unavoidable, in the prefent ftate of things) 
 compliance with ancient ftatutes, manners, 
 and cuftoms. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 34 ) 
 L E T T E R 
 
 I HAVE, in my laft letter, acknowledged 
 the defecls which foreigners obferve in 
 the general economy of Englifh Univerfi- 
 ties. They are aftonifhed to find that our 
 profeflbrlhips are commonly finecuresj that 
 there is no continued feries of public lec- 
 tures in arts or fciences; and that college 
 tutors are almoft the only fources of infor- 
 mation. This naturally creates furprize; 
 becaufe, in all other Univerfities, the flu- 
 dents have the advantage of daily public 
 lectures, without vacation or interruption, 
 during the greateft part of every year. What 
 is the caufe of fuch laborious attention of 
 the profeflbrs in thefe Univerfities? The 
 anfwer is obvious. They are paid by their 
 auditors, who are under no obligation to 
 attend them; confequently their emolu- 
 ments depend on their reputation. 
 
 Thus have I candidly, and without re- 
 ferve, recapitulated the articles of accufa- 
 tion, which, in your hearing, have been fre- 
 quently brought forward, in objection to 
 an Engliih academical education; and I will 
 
 now
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 now endeavour to anfwer thefe obje<5lions, 
 fo far as the fubje6l may influence your 
 purfuits. 
 
 Young men are naturally fanguine in their 
 expectations: they are impatient and diflfa- 
 tisfied with every thing, which, according 
 to their conceptions, falls fhort of perfec- 
 tion. But a few years experience will in- 
 fallibly convince them, that human infti- 
 tutions are incapable of perfection, and that 
 a prudent man will make the beft ufe in his 
 power of things as they are. That the pre- 
 ient fyftem of education at Oxford and 
 Cambridge might be improved, will be rea- 
 dily admitted j and, that a careful revifion 
 of the ftatutes, and a confequent abolition of 
 many cuftoms, ill adapted to the learning 
 and manners of the prefent age, will take 
 place, is more than probable. But, the for- 
 tuitous events neceffary to bring forward fo 
 confequential a revolution, depend on fo 
 fingular a coalition of circumftances, that 
 many ages may yet roll on, before our Uni- 
 verfities are perfectly reformed. 
 
 Let us now attend a little to facts. The 
 
 arguments deduced from fpeculation and 
 
 theory are certainly againft us. Our Uni- 
 
 c 2 verfities
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 verities are governed by ancient ftatutes, 
 and habits apparently not calculated to pro- 
 duce, either learned men, or polite fcholars. 
 Yet thefe Univerfities have produced a Ba- 
 con, a Newton, a Locke, a Sanderfon, a 
 Bentley, a Tillotfon, a Sherlock, an Addi- 
 fon, a Bolingbroke, a Steel, a Chefterfield, 
 a Pitt; befides many other learned men, 
 polite fcholars, and great ftatefmen. If there- 
 fore we may reafon from facts, an Englifh 
 Univerfity, with all its imperfections, is 
 fully competent to the communication of 
 claflical, pliilofophical, and polite literature 
 to their greateft extent: nor do we find that 
 any other feminaries, in this ifland or on 
 the continent, can exhibit a lift of worthies, 
 in any degree comparable with the gradu- 
 ates of Oxford and Cambridge, from the 
 latter end of the laft century to the prefent 
 time. 
 
 Yet this fact, indifputable as it may ap- 
 pear, does not prove the perfection of our 
 academical inftitutionsj but it fufficiently 
 demonftrates the poffibility of acquiring at 
 Oxford or Cambridge, knowledge in a very 
 high degree, in every branch of literature j 
 and hence, we are fairly authorized to con- 
 clude,
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 elude, that the ignorance of thofe who dif- 
 grace the Univerfities, cannot with juftice 
 be afcribed to the want of opportunity. 
 
 To corroborate what I have faid in favour 
 of our Engiifh Univerfities, and at the fame 
 time to relieve you, in fome degree, from the 
 didactic dulnefs of thefe parental epiftles, I 
 will endeavour to give you a Iketch of the 
 portraits of fome of thofe men whom I have 
 mentioned as ornaments to the feminaries 
 in which they were educated. 
 
 FRANCIS BACON, the fon of Sir Nicholas 
 Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, in 
 the reign of Elizabeth, was born in 1561. 
 In the twelfth year of his age, he was en- 
 tered a Student of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge. By this early admiflion, you per- 
 ceive, that Students in the Univerfities, 
 during the firft three or four years, were 
 fchool boys; and hence, we may probably 
 account for the prevalent continuance of 
 grammatical and claflical learning, at one 
 Univerfity, and for the cuftom of fcholaftic 
 impofitions in both. 
 
 Such however was the genius and appli- 
 cation of this boy, that, by the time he was 
 fixteen, he is faid to have completed the 
 circle of the fciences then taught, and to 
 c 3 have
 
 have been perfectly acquainted with the 
 Ariftotelean philofophy; the abfurdity of 
 which philofophy he immediately difcover- 
 ed and finally refuted. What this philo- 
 fophy was, I fhall tell you another time. 
 
 About the age of fixteen, an age when 
 young gentlemen of the prefent times ufu- 
 ally enter the Univerfity, he quitted Cam- 
 bridge, and was, foon after, fent by his fa- 
 ther to Sir Amias Pawlet, who was then 
 the Queen's ambafTador at the court of 
 France. During his refidence at Paris, about 
 the nineteenth year of his age, he wrote a 
 fhort treatife Of the State of Europe. On the 
 fudden death of his father, being deftitute 
 of proper fupport, he returned to England 
 and commenced ftudent of the Law, and 
 with fuch fuccefs, that after patting through 
 the ufual gradations, he became Lord High 
 Chancellor of England, and was created 
 Vifcount St. Albans. 
 
 During this progrefs to the fummit of 
 honour, power and emolument, he contir 
 nued his philofophical ftudies with unre- 
 mitting affiduity, and was doubtlefs, not 
 only the firft Lawyer, but the^r/?, I might 
 have faid, the only philofopher then in the 
 wprld. But, .alas! I wifh, for the honour 
 
 of
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 of human nature, that I could draw a vail 
 over the fequel of his ftory. This great, 
 this very great man, wanted that integrity 
 of character, that conftitutional virtue, 
 without which, all other endowments are, 
 to ufe the words of St. Paul, founding brafs 
 and tinkling cymbals. He was accufed of 
 having been influenced in his decrees by 
 pecuniary bribes, received at various times, 
 to a confiderable amount; and, though it 
 appeared that his fervants were the only 
 gainers by fuch malpractice, yet he pleaded 
 guilty, and was fentenced to pay a fine of 
 40,000!. * to be imprifoned during the 
 King's pleafure, and to be for ever incapa- 
 ble of office. 
 
 Thefe fevere pains and penalties were en* 
 tirely remitted by the King (James I.) by 
 whom, and by his favourite the Duke of 
 Buckingham, the delinquent was now more 
 than ever carefied. He had a penfion of 
 j2pol. and an additional grant of 600 1. 
 from the Alienation office. His own eftate 
 produced about 700!; fo that he retired to 
 his philofophical fludies with an income of 
 2,500!. per annum: neverthelefs, his debts, 
 at the time of his death, amounted to 
 22,000 1. 
 
 c 4 Thefe
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 Thefe fafts, if facts they really be, feem 
 ftrangely incongruous: yet they are well 
 authenticated. It is moft probable that he 
 was feduced by the King to plead guilty, in 
 order to divert the Ciorm of enquiry from 
 falling on the head of Buckingham. If this 
 be true, his character, deliniated by Pope, 
 in the following lines, was mofl juft. 
 
 " If parts allure thee, think how Bacon fhin'd, 
 The wifeft, brighteft, meaneft of mankind." 
 
 He feems to have been a fingular example 
 of a mind capable of facrificing confcience, 
 reputation and every rational fource of feli- 
 city, at the fhrine of Pluto, yet without 
 avarice; and, what is more extraordinary, 
 without being, in any degree, a fenfualift. 
 
 His moral character out of the queftion, 
 he will always be remembered, as a prin- 
 cipal ornament to the Univerfity in which 
 he was educated, and as the prototype of 
 the Newtonian philofophy. " He was, fays 
 Mr. Walpole (in his Catalogue of Noble Au- 
 thors) the Prophet of Arts (Sciences, he 
 ftiould have faid) which Newton was fent 
 afterwards to reveal." 
 
 Probably the great Sir Ifaac would have 
 found his way without a guide: neverthe-.
 
 ( 41 ) 
 
 lefs, Bacon, doubtlefs, firft marked the path 
 to true philofophy, which Newton after- 
 wards purfued. 
 
 "Alas ! " exclaims Mr. Walpole t that 
 he who could command immortality, (hould 
 have (looped to the little ambition of power ! " 
 This exclamation founds well: but there 
 are readers, who, after a little analytical re- 
 flexion, might alk, whether a man of fupe- 
 rior talents might not rationally prefer the 
 little ambition of power, to the great ambition 
 of immortal fame? a reality to a phantom. 
 A man of Bacon's talents might have wiflied 
 for power for the fake of his country. Pro- 
 bably a conftitutional indolence was the 
 caufe of his inattention to the cuftomary 
 venality of his dependents : yet perhaps not 
 indolence, but a predominant propenfity to 
 philofophical thinking. That in winking 
 at the venality of his fervants, he did not 
 act from principle, may, I think, be juftly 
 inferred from the following paflage in his 
 Eflay on Judicature. 
 
 " For that which concerns Clerks, and 
 Minifters : the place of Juftice is an hallow- 
 ed place, and therefore not only the bench, 
 but the foot-pace, and precincts, and pur- 
 
 prife
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 prife thereof, ought to be preferved without 
 fcandal and corruption." 
 
 To find a man of Bacon's fuperior abili- 
 ties aft, whether from indifference or from 
 attention to other objects, diametrically op- 
 pofite to his own principles, is rather a 
 painful difcovery: fuch examples however 
 are not without their utility. They teach 
 us that the good faculties of the brain, 
 without the good faculties of the heart, are 
 totally infufficient to form an eftimable 
 character, Confcious integrity of conduct, 
 would have afforded Bacon more real felicity 
 than all his wealth, his power and philofo-.- 
 phical immortality. 
 
 I am, 6cq. 
 
 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 43 ) 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 JOHN MILTON, the celebrated au- 
 thor of Paradife Loft, was born in Lon- 
 don in the year 1608, imbibed the rudi- 
 ments of his education at St. Paul's fchool, 
 thence was admitted of Chrift College, Cam- 
 bridge, where, at the age of 24, he took his 
 fecond degree in Arts. His father intended 
 him for the church; but he was now be- 
 come an enthufiaft in the religion which 
 was afterwards the inftrument of Crom- 
 well's ufurpation. Mufic and poetry were 
 his favourite fludies. His Comus, r Allegro^ 
 il Penferofo, and Lycidas, were written foon 
 after he left the Univerfity. They are poems, 
 with which, when you have leifure to read 
 for amufement, you will be exceedingly de- 
 lighted. 
 
 About the year 1638, Milton made the 
 tour of France and Italy. During his re- 
 fidence at Florence, he wrote fome Latin 
 verfes, in confequence of which, Salvaggi of 
 Rome fent him this diftich, 
 
 Gr<eria MeonidemjattatfiU Roma Maronems 
 Anglia Miltonumjaftat utrique parem. 
 
 Mr.
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 Mr. Dry den, many years after, took the 
 hint, and wrote the following lines in praife 
 of Milton, 
 
 Three poets in three diftant ages born, 
 Greece, Italy and England did adorn: 
 The firft in majefty of thought furpafs'd, 
 The next in gracefulnefs, in both the laft. 
 The force Of Nature could no farther go, 
 To make a third fhe join'd the former two. 
 
 At Naples, he became acquainted with 
 the celebrated Baptifta Manfo, who at his 
 departure complimented him thus, 
 
 Ut men*) fofma, dfcor, fades, mos, fi pietasfic, 
 Non Anglus, verum^ Hercuki arigelus ipfe fores. 
 
 ft To underftand the meaning of this fi 
 pietasjic, you muft know, that Milton was 
 fo imprudent a bigot, as to avow his Prefby- 
 terian opinions in the midfl of bigots to an 
 oppofite creed. 
 
 On his return to England in 1639, he 
 commenced matter of an academy in Al- 
 derfgate ftreet, in which occupation he con- 
 tinued till the execution of Charles I. and 
 the confequent ufurpation of Oliver Crom- 
 well, by whom he was appointed Latin Se- 
 cretary to the Counfel of State. In 1652 
 
 tw
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 he became blind, neverthelefs, he continued 
 in his office till the reftoration of Charles II. 
 who, notwithstanding Milton's virulent 
 writings in oppofition to that reftoration, 
 included him in the general amnefty. He 
 now retired to a fmall houie in the Artil- 
 lery-walk, leading to Bunhill-fields, where 
 he fmifhed his Paradife Loft. He died in 
 1674, aged 66. 
 
 Paradife Loft, the opus majus of this our 
 only heroic poet except Glover, whofe 
 Leonidas pofTeffes conliderable merit you 
 will read with great delight -, particularly as 
 it will frequently bring to your memory 
 many fublime pafTages in Homer and Vir- 
 gil. Doublefs it has fome blemifhes, which 
 a reader of chafte difcernment and claffical 
 tafte, will eafily perceive; but thefe ble- 
 mifhes are abundantly counterpoized by a 
 fublimity of imagination and harmony of 
 numbers, equal, if not fuperior, to the moft 
 admired poems of antiquity. If you fhould 
 ever wifti to read Italian poetry this idea 
 obtrudes itfelf rather abruptly no mat- 
 ter: if I had now fuffered it to efcape, it 
 might pofiibly never have recurred If, I 
 fay, you ftiould ever wifh to be acquainted 
 with the Italian poets and forae of them 
 * deferve
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 deferve your acquaintance let me advife 
 you to read Rolli's Tranflation of Paradife 
 Loft t with the original before you. Thofe 
 who are fuperficially acquainted with the 
 Italian language, will fuppofe it incapable 
 of refle&ing Milton's fublimityj but they 
 will find themfelves miftaken. The Italian 
 language, though foft and fluent, is never- 
 thelefs copious and comprehenfive. Rolli, 
 in his tranflation, has loft very few of Mil- 
 ton's ideas. 
 
 He was buried in St. Giles* church, Crip- 
 ple-gate. In 1737 a monument of Milton 
 was erected in Weftminfter Abbey, at the 
 expence of Mr. William Eenfon, auditor 
 of the impreft. If you wifh to know 
 more of Milton, you will find various Lives 
 of him in the Libraries, particularly thofe 
 by Toland, Philips, Richardfon, Fenton, 
 Birch ; and in the Biographia Britannica, you 
 will fee the facts in thefe feveral Lives con- 
 centered. 
 
 I fliall now give you a fketch of a man 
 whom all nations acknowledged to have 
 been the glory of human nature : the man 
 of whom our moft correct and moft har- 
 monious poet, hath faid with great felicity 
 of imagination, 
 
 " Superior
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 " Superior Beings when of late they faw 
 A mortal man unfold ail Nature's law, 
 Admir'd fuch wifdom in an earthly fhape 
 And fliew'd a Newton as we mew an Ape." 
 Thefe lines, probably, are not new to 
 you; but there is fo much originality in 
 the idea, that it is almoft impoflible to think 
 of NEWTON without repeating them. 
 
 He was born on Chriftmas-day, 1642, at 
 Woolftrop in Lincolnftiire; received th 
 early part of his education in the grammar- 
 fchool at Grantham, and was admitted, at 
 the age of eighteen, of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. At this time mathematics were 
 pretty generally taught by the Tutors. The 
 firft book put into young Newton's hand, 
 was Euclid's Elements. He caft his eye over 
 it, and was immediately mafter of every 
 propofition. He thought the book too eafy 
 to deferve much attention; but he after- 
 wards acknowledged his miftake, and was 
 forry for it. In 1665, that is, in his 22d 
 year, he invented the method of Fluxions, by 
 the help of which, he is faid, in the fpace of 
 two years, to have carried the doctrine of 
 infinite feries almoft to perfection. You will 
 know what this means, when you become 
 acquainted with the writings of this human 
 
 prodigy.
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 prodigy. In 1667 he was elected Fellow of 
 his College; in the fame year he took his Mafter 
 of Arts degree, and two years after, on the 
 refignation of Dr. Barrow, was chofen Pro- 
 feflbr of Mathematics. During the firft 
 three years after his elevation to this dig- 
 nity, he read leclures on Optics, and on 
 communicating his theory of light and co- 
 lours to the Royal Society, he was, in 1672, 
 elected F.R.S. 
 
 This new theory of Light and Colours, 
 though perfectly true, met with confidera- 
 ble oppofition, and prevented him from 
 publishing his Lectures on Optics. His fub- 
 fequent difcovery of that univerfal principle 
 in Nature, called gravity, by which he ex- 
 plained, in the mofl fatisfaclory manner, 
 the vaft fyftem of the univerfe, fhared, for 
 a time, the fame fate. Men were unwil- 
 ling, at once, to relinquifh the then efta- 
 blifhed philofophy of Des Cartes, with 
 whofe theory of the univerfe, the world in 
 general was fatisfied. 
 
 This French philofopher, Des Cartes, was 
 a man of confiderable abilities, an able 
 geometrician, and of an inventive genius. 
 At the time of his appearance in France, 
 the philofophy of Ariftotle was taught in 
 
 all
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 all Univerfities in Europe. This prevalent 
 philofophy, he, in a great meafure, overturn- 
 ed. He began by proving the exiftence of 
 matter in oppofition to Ariftotle, who faid, 
 non eft quid> nee quantum nee quale. 
 
 I will now give you a fketch of the hy- 
 pothetical fyftem of this celebrated French 
 philofopher. He imagined three diftincl: 
 fpecies of elements. 
 
 i ft. Infinitely minute, and of no deter- 
 mined figure, but confifting of particles 
 ready to adapt themfelves to every inter- 
 ftice between the globules which compofe 
 the fecond, and thereby prevent a vacuum. 
 
 2dly. An element compofed of atoms per- 
 feclly fpherical, produced by the continued 
 fridion of the angular and more grofs par- 
 ticles of the third element, which being firft 
 created and fuppofed to be rapidly whirled 
 round its centre circa centra fua gy rare 
 gradually rubbed off its angles, and thefe 
 filings r amenta ilia qua e corporibus eruuntur 
 formed the firft element that filled up 
 the chinks. 
 
 3dly. An element compofed of the grofs 
 
 particles of matter, exceeding the firft and 
 
 fecond in magnitude, lefs fit for motion, 
 
 D but
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 but better calculated for adhefion. Thefe 
 form the grofler bodies. 
 
 Sol et Fixte are compofed of the firft ele- 
 ment; Ccelum of the firft and fecond; opake 
 bodies, fuch as comets and planets, of the 
 third. 
 
 According to this philofopher, rarefaction 
 is caufed by the introduction of celeftial 
 matter into the pores of denfer bodies : caufa 
 ordinaria, he fays, ignis eft, quia cum particulte 
 materia fubtilis^ quibus conftat, in continue fint 
 motUj facile aliorum corporum meatus ingredi- 
 untur atque illos 'dilatant et extendunt. 
 
 Gravitation he explains thus: Denfe bo- 
 dies having lefs propeftfity to fly from the 
 centre round which they are whirled, remain 
 neareft that centre, where they are con- 
 ftantly prefied by the more fubtile elements. 
 In anfwer to the objection, that, according 
 to this hypothefis, bodies falling to the Earth 
 fhould defcend with mofll- rapidity at firfr, 
 pafling then through the thineft medium, 
 he fays Di'verfttatem lapidis inde oriri y quod 
 lapidis, infuo defeenfu y motm precedents et in- 
 Juper augment urn recepit y ab impulfu materite 
 fubtilis. 
 
 In fpeaking of compound motion, he fays, 
 
 > Omnia
 
 ( 5' ) 
 
 Omni a enim motus qut a duabus aut pluribus 
 caufis pendet, eft compojitus : fo a ball out of a 
 canon defcribes a curve towards the Earth, 
 becaufe its direct progrefs is impeded by the 
 air, and becaufe heavy bodies defcend flow- 
 eft at firft. 
 
 Such were the philofophical opinions of 
 the celebrated Des Cartes: opinions which, 
 as they were built on the bajelefs fabric of a 
 vifiony would in time have melted into thin 
 air; but the fudden oriental blaze of our 
 great philofophical luminary, difpelied them, 
 like a morning mift before the fun. The 
 fimple power of gravitation appeared at firft 
 an hypothefisj but it was an hypothefis 
 confirmed by experiment, and demonftra- 
 tively explanatory of the motions of the 
 planets that conftitute our folar fyftem. 
 This fyftem, and the Newtonian philofophy 
 in general, I may probably delineate more 
 at large in fome future letters. I (hall 
 finifh the prefent biographically. 
 
 Mr. Newton's celebrated Pbilofopfate Na- 
 titralh Principia^ Mathematica^ was firft pub- 
 liflied in 1687, by the Royal Society, under 
 the infpection of Dr. Halley. In the fol- 
 lowing year, he was elected member of Par- 
 liament for the Univerfity of Cambridge; 
 D 2 in
 
 in 1696, was made Warden, and three 
 years after, Matter of the Mint, a place 
 worth 1500!. per annum. In 1703, he 
 was chofen Prefident of the Royal Society, 
 which he continued during the remainder 
 of his life. He died in the year 1727, aged 
 85, and was buried in Weftminfter Abbey, 
 where you will find his tomb on the left 
 hand, at the entrance into the choir; which 
 tomb, I dare fay, you will vifit with more 
 heart-felt veneration than Mahomedans feel 
 at the fhrine of their prophet at Mecca, or 
 Roman Catholicks at Loretto. 
 
 I forgot to tell you, that he was knighted 
 by Queen Ann, in the year 1705. It was 
 a trivial circumflance, fcarce worth notice 
 in the life of a Newton, on whom titles 
 conferred by princes, could perpetuate no 
 honour, except to themfelves. 
 
 JOHN LOCKE, univerfally remembered, 
 as the author of the Effay on Human Under- 
 Jlandingy was born at Wrington in Somer- 
 fetfhire, in 1632. He was nrft educated at 
 Weftminfter fchool, and thence became a 
 Student of Chrift-church, Oxford, where he 
 took his degrees in Arts. In 1664, he went 
 abroad as Secretary to Sir William Swan, 
 
 Envoy
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 Envoy to the Elector of Brandenburgh. In 
 the following year he returned to Oxford, 
 and was foon after introduced to Lord 
 Afhley (afterwards Earl of Shaftfbury) who 
 being made Chancellor, appointed him Se- 
 cretary of Prefentations. The plan of his 
 celebrated Effay was Iketched in 1670. In 
 1675, Mr. Locke took the degree of Bache- 
 lor of Phyfic, and the fame year went to 
 Montpelier for the recover of his health, 
 where he continued till the year 1679. In 
 1682, his patron fled to Holland, to illude 
 a profecution for high treafon, where he 
 foon died. Mr. Locke attended him in his 
 exile, and did not return to England till 
 1688, the year of the revolution. On his 
 arrival in England, he retired to the feat of 
 Sir Francis Marfham, where he fpent moft 
 of his time. In 1695, King William ap- 
 pointed him a Commiflioner of Trade and 
 Plantations, which office he refigned in 1700, 
 and died in 1704, aged 73. 
 
 Mr. Locke was, doubtlefs, a man of very 
 ftrong intellects > very capable of intenfe 
 thinking, and peculiarly happy in the ar- 
 rangement of his ideas. His EJJay on Hu- 
 man Under/landing is Logick diverted of its 
 ancient technical formality. It is a book 
 D 3 that
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 that you will read with great pleafure and 
 profit, as foon as you are capable of clofe 
 application. Intenfe thinking is an ope- 
 ration of the mind, to which, at fchool, you 
 were not accuftomed. It is a habit of which 
 young minds are incapable, and, like ftrength 
 of body, to be acquired only by gradual ex- 
 ercife. But, though Locke be very juftly 
 confidered as a claflical author at the Uni- 
 verfities, let me advife you never implicitly 
 to fubmit your own reafon to any of his 
 opinions. Whenever you are not perfectly 
 convinced, mark the paflage, and difpute the 
 matter with your companions. Remember 
 however in all your difputations, that the 
 difcovery of truth is your fole object; that 
 it is of no confequence whether it be found 
 by your antagoriift or yourfelf j that an ha- 
 neft difputant will admit the arguments of 
 his opponent in all their energy -, that every 
 fpecies of fophifm is inadmiflible; and that 
 the leaft appearance of paflion is not only 
 difadvantageous to the difputant, but is, at 
 the fame time, a decided proof of his want 
 of that uibanity, which diiiinguifhes a gen- 
 tleman from thole who have not had the 
 advantage of a liberal education. 
 
 I have dwelt a little upon this fubjec~l of 
 
 dii-
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 difputation, becaufe pertinacity is a com- 
 mon, I had almoft faid an univerfal vice of 
 young men. I well remember it in myfelf. 
 I well remember that I was moft tenacious 
 of my opinions, when I was moft ignorant; 
 and that, in proportion as I acquired more 
 knowledge, I became more diffident. Since 
 I kneel at the chair of confefiion, I will 
 tell you, very honeftly, that I recollect many 
 inftances in myfelf, of juvenile arrogance 
 and felf-fufficiency, for which I ought to 
 have been feverely chaftized. My father had 
 from Nature too much of the milk of human 
 kindnefi to treat me as I deferved. 
 
 Here I clofe my biographical fketches for 
 the prefent. Bacon, Milton, Newton, Locke, 
 are the four great pillars which fupport the 
 monument of Britifh genius : a monument, 
 which, without national partiality, we may 
 affirm, ftands eminently fuperior to that of 
 any other nation. I have fpoken of them 
 chronologically; but, Sir Ifaac Newton, 
 doubtlefs, deferves the firft place in the 
 group. Bacon had the merit of difcover- 
 ing, that former philofophers began at the 
 wrong end; that philofophical doctrines 
 built upon hypothetical principles, were in- 
 capable of demon ftration, and therefore 
 D 4 might
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 might be falfe; and that all found philofo- 
 phy muft be founded on facls proved by 
 experiment. This Bacon fawj but he went 
 no farther. Like Mofes, from Pifgah, he 
 beheld the land of promife at a diftance; 
 but Newton led the hoft into the Canaan 
 of Philofophy. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 LET.
 
 ( 57 ) 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 OBSERVING the various fortunes of 
 young men, iffuing from the fame 
 fchool, with the fame advantages, and ap- 
 parently of equal capacity, fome philofo- 
 phers have been induced to afcribe the ex- 
 altation or depreflion of individuals, to a 
 power which they call an irrefiftible deftiny. 
 The confequence of this Calviniftical tenet 
 is abfurd, becaufe it is incompatible with 
 every principle of morality: the difficulty of 
 a logical proof of this abfurdity, arifes from 
 the impoffibility of tracing effects to their 
 caufes. 
 
 You are probably not unacquainted with 
 the amufement on a bowling-green. Every 
 competitor aims his bowl at ihejack, and 
 the courfe of his bowl is determined partly 
 by the conftitutional bias of the bowl, and 
 partly by the direction communicated in the 
 moment of bowling. This conftitutional 
 bias is given to the bowl by a certain quan- 
 tity of lead, and its indirect, curvilineal pro- 
 penfity is greater, and confequently more 
 difficult to counteract, in proportion to the 
 
 quantity
 
 ( 58 ) 
 
 quantity of metal in its compofition.' But 
 a bias may be given by other metals : gold 
 is yet heavier than lead, and a natural levity 
 in the wood, will give equal effect to a lefs 
 quantity of either. A ftudent may be biafed 
 by too much lead, by too much gold, or 
 negatively biafed by too much levity. But, 
 to continue the fimile, are we therefore to 
 conclude, that a ikilful bowler has it not in 
 his power to give his bowl the true direc- 
 tion to the goal. Would not fuch an artift 
 laugh at the Predeftinarian who fhould en- 
 deavour to convince him that he was not, 
 in this inftance, a free agent, and that his 
 fuccefs did not depend entirely on his free 
 will and dexterity. 
 
 Hence, I think, we may rationally con* 
 elude, that every effect is the natural con- 
 fequence of a fufficient caufe, and, to fpeak 
 in the language of mathematicians, that the 
 fortunes of men are generally in a direct 
 ratio of their prudence and abilities. 
 
 Without abilities to a certain degree, and 
 alfo without a certain quantum of fchool 
 learning, it is impoffible for a young man 
 to cut any figure at the Univerfity ; but the 
 moll diftinguiihed abilities, with all the 
 claflicai learning that a fchoolboy can poffi- 
 
 bly
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 bly acquire, are not of themfelves fufficient 
 to lift a young gentleman to that degree of 
 notice, to which, a truly liberal mind will 
 naturally afpire, His parts, his learning, 
 without prudence are of little value. Like 
 a (hip without balaft, he becomes the fport 
 of every wind, and is in perpetual danger 
 of deftruclion. 
 
 Remember what I am now going to fay. 
 I mean to fpeak very emphatically, becaufe 
 it is the hinge on which your future for- 
 tunes will turn. I mean your choice of com- 
 panions. It is a matter of infinite import- 
 ance. Young men, on their firft arrival at 
 the Univerfity, naturally look up to thofe 
 who have been fome time matriculated; they 
 liften to their information with compla- 
 cency, and too implicitly imbibe their opi- 
 nions of men and things. " Such a Profeflbr 
 is a ftupid fellow fuch a tutor is a tedious 
 blockhead -fuch a duty is a bore" This is 
 a language which you will frequently hear. 
 But you will very foon difcover, that thefe 
 orators are generally indolent, illiterate, 
 weak young men ; totally infenfible to that 
 thirft of knowledge, that noble enthufiafrn, 
 that glorious ambition with which the great 
 luminaries of fcience were infpired, and with- 
 out
 
 ( 60 ) 
 
 out which, all expectations of pre-eminence 
 are vain. 
 
 Morofenefs in a young man is unamiable 
 and unnatural; but there is a certain degree 
 of referve neceflary on his fir ft admiffion 
 into a numerous fociety. Intimate con- 
 nexions are more eafily avoided than brok- 
 en. I do not wifh by this caution to taint 
 your mind with fufpicion; but remember, 
 that evil communications corrupt good manners, 
 and that in friendfhip with a vicious cha- 
 racter, you are conftantly walking on the 
 brink of a precipice. How confident foever 
 you may be of your own fafety, the moment 
 he flips, he will certainly lay hold of your 
 gown, and down you tumble headlong to- 
 gether. 
 
 I am very forry to hear that in the Uni- 
 verfities 
 
 Sunt qui nee veteris pocula Majjict 
 Nee fartemfolido demere de die 
 Sfernunf. 
 
 Fortunately, in this kingdom, drinking is 
 rather an expenfive vice, and therefore ne- 
 ceflarily confined to a part of the commu- 
 nity.^ It cannot much interrupt the ftudies 
 of thofe, who come to the Univerfity, merely 
 
 with
 
 ( 6i ) 
 
 with an intention of whiling away a few 
 years which they knew not how otherwife 
 to employ. But thefe young noblemen and 
 gentlemen, will foon be too fatally convinc- 
 ed, that early drinking will infallibly deftroy 
 their confutations, impair their intellects, 
 and fhorten their lives. I fpeak as a phy- 
 fician: if there be a power on Earth, whofe 
 intereft it is, gradually to annihilate the 
 ftrength and political importance of this na- 
 tion, no means could be devifed half fo effec- 
 tual, as that of alluring the fons of noble- 
 men and gentlemen of rank and fortune, to 
 premature debauchery. 
 
 You are not hence to conclude, that Na- 
 ture gradually ripens men for vice. Vice is 
 at all times, and in every ftage of our exift- 
 ence, a moft induftrious enemy to health, 
 and confequently to life; but at any age, 
 before the body has attained its acme, every 
 fpecies of debauchery is doubly deftruclive : 
 and, were it even poflible that an herculean 
 constitution mould, in time, recover the 
 effect of juvenile imprudence, the refolution 
 neceflary to conquer vicious habits is fo 
 rarely found, that early debauchery gene- 
 rally ends in premature imbecility, and de- 
 crepitude both of body and mind. 
 
 But
 
 ( 62 ) 
 
 But the vice of drinking to excefs, muft not 
 be imputed exclufively to the Univerfities. 
 Its fource lies frequently fomewhat higher. 
 I am forry to fay, that this infidious enemy 
 to human nature, often originates in our 
 public fchools. Shame to tell! the prefent 
 age affords many examples of drunken 
 fchoolboys. What can be the caufe of an 
 evil fo enormous? Who are we to cenfure? 
 The mafters ? No. They do every thing 
 in their power to prevent it; but in vain. 
 It originates in the inconceivable folly of 
 opulent parents, who, by fending their darl- 
 ing fons, after every vacation, with guineas 
 in their pockets, furniih them with the 
 temptations to every kind of irregularity. 
 Not only drunkennefs is the confequence of 
 this oftentatious parental weaknefs, but 
 other vices that are often feverely felt in the 
 third and fourth generation. 
 
 Many young gentlemen fail down the 
 tide of indulgence for want of capacity, or 
 reflexion, to perceive the rocks and qtiick- 
 fands, amongft which their voyage muft 
 terminate. Thefe deferve our companion. 
 But, what (hall we fay of thofe, on whom 
 nature has beftowed penetration and fore- 
 fight, amply fufficient to know the confe- 
 
 quences
 
 quences of vice and folly? Such young men 
 are impelled by the pride of wealth, which 
 enables them to be irregular; or by the pride 
 of daring to be vicious-, or by example; or 
 by evil habits contracted at Eton or Weft- 
 minfter. Both thefe are noble inftitutions; 
 they are upon the whole well regulated; but 
 the beft regulations and the moft fevere atten- 
 tion of the mafters, will never prevent ju- 
 venile debauchery, fo long as parents are fo 
 foolilh as to furnifh their children with 
 the means. 
 
 We expect you to dinner to morrow. 
 By obferving the following directions, you 
 may avoid the extreme dirt of our village. 
 
 s 
 
 TO Trumpington tramping to vifit theDodor, 
 Which fare you may do without dread of a Proctor, 
 The village when juft you begin to approach, 
 Before you arrive at the Horjes and Coach, 
 Lo! a path on your right to gain which, with- 
 out fail 
 
 Clap your hand on the poft and fkip over the rail. 
 Then follow your nofe 'till you come to the church, 
 And thus you will leave all the mud in the lurch. 
 You now muft proceed to the fouth of that fteeple 
 Whofe five brazen tongues call, in vain, the deaf 
 people. 
 
 Behold,
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 Behold, on your left, a white gate once fublimel 
 But all human grandeur muft yield to old Time. 
 That gate thro' which Anftey, when feiz*d with 
 
 devotion, 
 
 Forth ifTued tho* that was not ofc, I've a notion. 
 Perhaps for the chirping of birds he'd no relifh: 
 'Tis not heavenly mufic, 'tis true rather hellifti. 
 I muft tell the truth, if I forfeit my neck for't, 
 The fparrows are often much louder than Heck- 
 ford. 
 
 If I were the parfon, for fake of the fun, 
 I'd (hoot all thefe birds, if I borrow'd a gun. 
 Perhaps that might clam with the Canons, or Ru- 
 
 brick, 
 Or of glafs it might coft fome new pains, or a new 
 
 brick. 
 
 No matter i the parim muft pay, to a farthing, 
 Repairs of the Church, in Accounts of Church- 
 warding. 
 
 Now enter the gate, and now put off your moes, 
 For 'tis all holy ground, 't was the feat of that Mufe, 
 That whilom the Trumpington Bard did infpire: 
 Here he fung the Bath Guide Here fhe tun'd his 
 
 fweet lyre: 
 
 That poem delightful to youth and to fages 
 Of this prefent age, and of all future ages. 
 Alas ! of that Bard's rich poetical treafure, 
 Here nothing remains, but of verfe the fame mea- 
 fure. 
 
 So
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 So coiners of brafs, of the die in poffcflion, 
 To fixpences give but external imprefiion. 
 No matter: tho* this may not prove current coin, 
 You'll find on the table an honeft Sir Loin. 
 The time you remember, for Time's on the wing: 
 We wait not a moment pad three, for the King. 
 
 Adieu! 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 66 ) 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 YOU will hardly find yourfelf fettled in 
 your cell, before you will be informed 
 by Come of your fellow Students, that you 
 are to read Logickj a Science of which you 
 cannot have formed any idea. It is derived 
 from Aoyo$,fermo, verbum, and was at firft 
 confidered as the art of converting or rather 
 difputing. Zeno, a Greek philofopher, who 
 lived about 450 years before Chrift, is faid 
 to have been the inventor of this art, if an 
 art it may be called. It was afterwards 
 particularly cultivated by the Greek feel: of 
 of philofophers, called the Peripatetics, of 
 whom Ariftotle was the chief. 
 
 When you are better acquainted with the 
 hiftory of literature, you will learn, that, 
 after the deftruclion of the Roman empire, 
 many ages elapfed before the revival of any 
 art or fcience. You will alfo learn, that, 
 after this revival, 1 the writings of Ariftotle 
 became the Gofpel of Philofophy, and that 
 his books were clafiical in every part of Eu- 
 rope till the beginning of the laft century. 
 About that time Des Cartes, publifhed a 
 
 new
 
 new fyftem of Philofophy, difFerent, but 
 not lefs chimerical, than that of Ariftotle. 
 It prevailed, however, particularly in France, 
 until ovir immortal Newton publifhed his 
 Princlpia, which, being founded on facts, 
 necefTarily refuted all former hypothetical 
 opinions. 
 
 The philofophy of Ariftotle, and of Des 
 Cartes, is now totally difregarded and for- 
 gotten : yet the Logick of the prefent day is 
 fundamentally that of Ariftotle, whofe fyf- 
 tem Des Cartes new-modelled and corrected. 
 He divided his book into four parts, viz* 
 De mentis perceptione~Dejudiciofeu propojl- 
 tlone <~-De ratiocinatione feu fyllogiftno De 
 methodo feu difpofitione. This divifion has 
 been generally adopted by fubfequent writ- 
 ers on this fubject. Le Clerc, however, one 
 of the beft of them, entitles his four divi- 
 fions, De ideis Dejudicih~-De methodo 
 De argumentation. 
 
 Ariftotle, and his difciples, divided the 
 objects of thought or entia, into ten clafTes, 
 categoria, or predicament a-, all which, ex- 
 cept the firft, they called Accidents. Thefe 
 are they: Subftantia, guantitatis, ^ualitatis^ 
 RelatiomSy Aft'ionis, Pqffionis, Ubi, Quand, Si* 
 tus, Habitus. 
 
 E a f Orl
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
 On thefe principles, the Ariftotelian Lo- 
 gicians difputed with great fubtilty, and to 
 very little purpofe, in every Univerfity in 
 Europe, till about the year 1630, when Des 
 Cartes publifhed his Philofophy, which, in a 
 little time, rofe into reputation on the ruins 
 of Ariftotle. 
 
 A great variety of books on Logick, tran- 
 flated or tranfcribed from Ariftotle and Des 
 Cartes, were written and publifhed in the 
 laft century. Of the prefent century I re- 
 collect no book of any note on this fubjecl, 
 except Watts and Duncan^ both in our own 
 language. The laft of thefe, I underftand, 
 is the book now generally recommended by 
 the Tutors at Cambridge, to be read by ftu- 
 dents of the firft year. It has fome merit 
 in point of arrangement -, but it wants per- 
 fpicuity; it contains many unnecefTary re- 
 petitions, and is frequently inaccurate even 
 in point of grammar. Why this art, which 
 ' in our Univerfities is never publickly exer- 
 cifed but in Latin, fhould be ftudied in 
 Englifh, I cannot underftand. Perhaps you 
 will aik, to what purpofe is it ftudied at all ? 
 
 We muft not be too ready with our cut 
 bono? The Logick of the Peripatetics, I 
 confefs, is little better than a ufelefs jargon ; 
 
 and
 
 ( 69 ) 
 
 and even the beft fyflem of Logick, confi- 
 dered only as the art or inftrument of dif- 
 putation, is more likely to confound truth 
 than difcover it. A public logical difputa- 
 tion refembles much the practice, in former 
 times, of feeking truth by fmgle combat. 
 He that was moft dexterous in the ufe of 
 his weapons, whether a true or a falfe 
 Knight, always proved victorious. Logick, 
 I think, might as well have marched into 
 oblivion with Knight-errantry,. Jufts and 
 Tournaments. Neverthelefs, if I divefl Lo- 
 gick of its Ariftotelian jargon; if I call it 
 the art of thinking^ not of wrangling-, or ra- 
 ther, if I call it not an art but zfcience, the 
 knowledge of myfelf, of the origin and pro- 
 grefs of my own ideas j a fyftem of Logick 
 will then appear a delineation, a chart of 
 the human underftanding, and confequently 
 an object highly deferving my attention. 
 
 But fuppofe it to be of no ufe as an in- 
 ftrument of inveftigation, it is univerfally 
 confidered as a branch of Academical learn- 
 ing; no young gentleman therefore would 
 run the rifk of appearing ignorant of Lo- 
 gick as an art, its terms, and conftruclion. 
 Befides, as the Univerfities chufe to make it 
 E 3 the
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 the ladder to honours, it would be foolifh to 
 kick it down till you have done with it. 
 
 The following Outline of this Art of 
 Jleafoning will give you a general idea of 
 the fubjeft; without which, you would read 
 your Duncan the firft time over, almofl en-. 
 tirely in the dark. I have thrown the whole 
 into four tables; which, being compared 
 with the book as you proceed, will confi* 
 fierably aflift your memory, 
 
 sa 
 
 -a* 
 
 r - v- o- 
 
 t- .UBiA^fH 1\>
 
 TABLE L L O G I C K. 
 
 Perception 
 
 Judgment 
 
 Logkk< 
 
 'Ideas, whence 
 Ideas fimple 
 Ideas of fubflances 
 
 f Ideas compound 
 Ideas of the mind< Ideas abftraft 
 
 Ideas of relation* 
 Ideas, words the Signs of 
 Definition 
 ^ Composition and refolution 
 
 "Judgment, grounds of 
 Propositions, affirmat. and negau 
 Prop, particular and univerfal 
 Prop, abfolute and conditional 
 Prop, fimple and compound 
 
 .Prop, felfevident and demonilrat. 
 
 1 In general, and its parts 
 Its object; to determine gen. &fpecics 
 
 Reafoning < Regarding powers and properties 
 
 Forms of Syllogifms 
 (^Demonstration 
 
 Method 
 
 T 
 
 f Analytic, tracing things 
 backward to 
 their fource. 
 
 In general-^ Synthetic, deducing 
 things from 
 their firSl 
 principles. 
 
 Of Science, is that certain know- 
 ledge which we derive 
 from the contemplation 
 of ourown Ideas, deduc- 
 ed from intuitive pro- 
 pofitions. 
 
 E 4 TABLE
 
 ( 7* ) 
 TABLE II. PERCEPTION.' 
 
 Ideas, original from- 
 
 Ideas of Subftances. 
 
 I 
 
 Senfation, as of Light, Darknefs, Heat, 
 
 &c. 
 
 as of Thinking, Doubt- 
 ^ ing, Believing. 
 
 ! Senfation, as Qualities, viz. Sound, Co- 
 lour, Smell, 
 or Reflexion, as Perception , Volition , &c. 
 or from both : as Ideas of Pleafure, Pain, 
 Power, : Unity. 
 
 f* Material.' The union of Properties or 
 \ Qualities, viz. Gold, Water, 
 
 s. Man. Qualities or Modes are 
 
 Eflential or Accidental, 
 .or Immaterial, called Spirit. 
 
 ("Compound, when many fimple 
 Ideas are united, as in 
 Beauty, G ratitude, Har- 
 
 K33? aM 
 
 I Abftraft: i. e. when feparatcd 
 
 Ideas, framed by the Mind. ^ from the circumftances 
 
 that render the Ideapar- 
 ticular : it becomes ge- 
 neral, viss. a Q , a O, &c. 
 Relative, or Comparative, as 
 Greater, JLefs, Older, 
 Father, Son, &c. 
 Ideas, words the figns of. But fimple Ideas not being de- 
 finableas, White, Red words are capable ofcotn- 
 municating complex Ideas only, unlefs the Simple 
 Ideas exifted already in the mind of the perfon with 
 whom we converfe ; but complex Ideas may be de- 
 fined, as dnitnal, Rational, &c 
 
 Definition : explains the meaning of words that ftand for 
 complex Ideas. Definition of the Names of things 
 is arbitrary and admits of no difpute : but, of the 
 thing, is capable of proof and may therefore be doubu 
 ed. Definitions are defcriptions of Ideas in the mind. 
 Compofition and Refolution of our Ideas. In definitions we 
 mould begin with Clafs, thence defcend to Orders, 
 thence to Genera, thence to Species, thence to Indi- 
 viduals'. 
 
 TABLE
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 TABLE III. JUDGMENT. 
 
 f Intuition : the immediate perception of the 
 agreement or difagreement of any 
 two Ideas: 'The whole is greater 
 c ; than any of its parts. The foun- 
 
 Jadgment f* m<; dation of Scientific Knowledge. 
 
 Experience: the foundation of Natural 
 
 Knowledge. 
 
 _Teftimony : the foundation of Hiftory. 
 "are Judgments put into words, affirming two or 
 more Ideas to agree or difagree. They confift of 
 Subject =: God f If a negative parti- 
 
 ^^^^^^ Copula =r is 1 cle be added to the 
 
 Propofitions^ Predicate omnipotent.] Copula, the Subject 
 
 | and Predicate are dif- 
 | joined : itisthencall- 
 (,'ed a negative Pred. 
 
 Univcrfal ; the rgns of which are all, every 9 . 
 none, no. All men are mortal. Here the Predicate 
 applies to every individual of the Subject. 
 
 Propofit 
 
 Proportions 
 
 Particular; the figns of which zre/ome, a few, 
 a part. Some Students are blockheads. Here for- 
 tunately the Predicate applies but to part of 
 the Subject. 
 
 Abfolute : God is infinitely nvi/e. 
 Conditional : If a Stone be expofed to the Sun, it 
 will contract heat. Here the Pre- 
 dicate is not neceffarily connected 
 with the Subject. 
 
 ("Simple, have one Subject and one Predicate: 
 God isjuft. 
 f have 2 Subjects and i Predicate: 
 
 j God is wife and powerful or I 
 
 Proportions^ | Subject and 2 Predicates : Kings 
 
 Compound-^ are neither exempt from Pain nor 
 I Death or 2 Subjects and 2 
 I Predicates : Riches and Honours elate 
 \jhe Mind and increafe our Dejtres. 
 "Selfevident: It is impojfible for the fame thing to 
 be and not to be. Speculative Propofi- 
 tions are Mathematical Axioms; Prac- 
 ., f . l tical Propofitions are Pojlulata. 
 
 tTopou ns \ Deponftra tiye ; The World had a b iginn - ing , spe- 
 culative, 47th of the i ft book of 
 Euclid. Practical, to defcribe af^uare 
 on a given right line.
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 TABLE IV. REASONING. 
 
 v n t . j j 
 
 Reafoning in general is an operation of the mind deducing 
 fome unknown Propofitions, from others that are known. 
 Thefe previous Propofitions, which are called the Major 
 and Minor of a Syllogifm, are, in a fimple act of Reafon- 
 Ing, two in number, and mult be intuitive truths. 
 Major : Every creature pcflejjed of reafon and liberty is ac- 
 
 countable for bis atlians. 
 Minor : Man is a treature fojjejjed of reafon and liberty. 
 
 Reafoning, its object. To rank things under univerfal Ideas, 
 called general and to, feparate tnefe intofpecies. 
 Killing is the genus of which Murder and Man/daughter 
 are fpecies. 
 
 Reafoning, regarding powers and properties of things, and 
 the relations of our general Ideas. The object of rea- 
 foning is to difcover and afcribe to things their attri- 
 butes and properties, by a fkilful application of inter-. 
 mediate Ideas. To do this requires fome general know- 
 ledge and particularly mathematical knowledge. 
 
 Middle term Subject of the Major and 
 
 Predicate of the Minor. 
 SyOogifms, J 2. Middle term the Predicate of both. 
 have 4 figures j 3. Middle term the Subject of both. 
 
 4. Middle term Predicate of Major and Sub- 
 ject of the Minor. 
 
 Syllogifms hypothetical or conditional : the Major always 
 confifts of Antecedent and Confequent, the firlt im* 
 plying the latter. 
 
 Modus ponens, admits the Antecedent in the Minor. 
 
 Modus tollens: the Minor rejects the Consequent. 
 
 Entbjmemes: when one of thePropofuions is not-cxprefled. 
 
 TABLE
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 TABLE IV. continued. 
 
 Series, in which the Predicate of one fimple 
 Syllogifm becomes the Subject of the next, 
 and fo on, till the Subjeftof the firil, and 
 Predicate of the laft uni te in the con clufion. 
 
 Induction affirms of the whole what is true 
 of all its parts : thus Quadrupeds mow, 
 Reafonins by< B Ms move, Fijbesmove, lf e ts move, ergo 
 6 3 * all Animals mow. 
 
 Dilemma proves the abfurdity of an afTertion. 
 If the Major be affirmative, the conclufioa 
 will be negative, and vice verfa : fo Eu- 
 clid proves two figures to be equal, by 
 ihevving the abfurdity of fuppofing them 
 greater or lefs. 
 
 Demonflration is a Series of Syllogifms whofe premifes are 
 either definitions, felfevident truths, or propositions 
 already eftabliflied. Demonftration is DireS ~ r " " 
 
 
 LET.
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 THAT during your refidence at the 
 Charter Houfe, you have forgotten 
 all you knew of Arithmetic before your ad* 
 mition, is no great wonder; nor is it any 
 great misfortune. Arithmetic, (derived, you 
 know, from afipog and pirgov) is a Science 
 which fchool boys learn only as a mechani- 
 cal art : they are taught, by certain iles, to 
 pile up numbers and pull them down again, 
 as, by way of amufement, they would the 
 men of a Backgammon-table, without the 
 leafl comprehenfion of the reafon for the 
 rule, the powers of the numbers with which 
 they work, or the nature of the operation. 
 But when Arithmetic is firft propofed, as a 
 new Science, to a young man capable of 
 reflexion, he contemplates its appearance 
 with the fame inquifitive eye, the fame cu-r 
 riofity, the fame defire of information, that 
 he would behold a ftranger pofTefling powers 
 that could reach to the very gates of infinity. 
 Such a Student will probably reafon thus. 
 " Here are ten fymbolical characters, i, 2, 
 3> 4> 5> 6, 7, 8, 9, o; with which, when I 
 
 am
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 am acquainted with their ufe, I (hall not 
 only fignify diftinclly the greateft imagina- 
 ble numbers; but fhall alfo be able by an 
 artful pofition and dexterous ufe of them, 
 to anfwer the moft difficult queftions in 
 which numbers are concerned. The en- 
 lightened Greeks and Romans knew nothing 
 of thefe ten magical figures : they were, it 
 feems, invented by the Arabians. It ap- 
 pears to have been an invention infinitely 
 ingenious and important, and I now ar- 
 dently' .wilh for a philofophical acquaint- 
 ance with thefe inftruments." 
 
 The firft fmgularity which you will ob- 
 ferve in thefe Arabian figures, is that, when 
 any number of them fucceed each other, we 
 eftimate them, as we read the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, from right to left, thus, 796. The 
 firft figure on the right hand \sjix units; the 
 fecond, nine tens; the third, feven hundreds. 
 If to thefe three figures I add three more, 
 thus 428,796, they alfo exprefs, like the 
 firft three, units, tens, hundreds ; the 8 is 
 eight thoufand units, the 2 is twice ten 
 thoufand or twenty thoufand units, and the 
 4 is four hundred thoufand units. If to 
 thefe I add a feventh figure, it will exprefs 
 fo many millions of units, an eighth figure 
 
 fo
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 fo many tens of millions of units, and fo 
 on: thus you perceive all numeration, be 
 the fum ever fo great, is no more than a 
 repetition of the denominations of the three 
 firil figures. 
 
 Thefe obfervations may appear trivial. 
 Euclid's Geometry is built on felf-evident 
 propofitions, which, to a learner, always feem 
 trifling. It is impoflible to begin the ftudy 
 of any Science too near its fource. 
 
 We now proceed to the firft and mod 
 fimple operation of Arithmetic called Addi- 
 tion i for example 
 
 To 25, the quarter of a hundred 
 Add 75, three quarters of a hundred 
 
 Sum 100 
 
 I reafon thus, 5 and 5 make 10; but I 
 cannot put down ten in the unite's place, 
 therefore I carry in my mind, this ten to 
 the 7, which {lands in the ten's place ; thus 
 the 7 becomes an 8, and this 8 added to the 
 2, makes ten tens. Now ten tens make one 
 hundred; therefore I write a cypher in the 
 ten's place and a one in that of hundreds : 
 for, as I have but ten figures to work with, 
 and as each of thefe exprefles units only, I 
 can put down, after each addition, no more 
 a than
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 than the number of units lefs than ten. 
 The number of tens evidently belongs to the 
 next column on the left hand j for, fuppofe 
 I am adding the fecond column from the 
 right, though I do nothing more than add 
 units together, yet, occupying the fecond 
 place, they are tens. In like manner,' every 
 ten in the third column is ten hundred, and 
 muft therefore be carried to the fourth co- 
 lumn, the column of thoufands, and fo on. 
 Thus far we are carried along by the 
 ftream, without the lead trouble. Let us 
 now confider the 25 and 75 as fractional 
 parts of 100. In plainer terms, let us fup- 
 pofe a rod of any length you pleafe, broken 
 into a hundred pieces ; thefe pieces are pro- 
 perly called broken, or fractional, parts of 
 a hundred. But 25 being one fourth part 
 of 100, and 75 being three quarters of 100, 
 they might be thus written -J- and ^. How 
 are thefe two fractions to be added fo as to 
 make a hundred? The figure above the 
 line is called the numerator , becaufe it indi- 
 cates the number of parts, and the figure 
 below the line is called the denominator^ be- 
 caufe it denominates the kind of parts. In 
 thefe two fractions they are both of the fame 
 denomination, both fourths: therefore, in 
 
 the
 
 the prefent cafe, I have nothing to do but 
 to add the two numerators together for a 
 new numerator, and fubfcribe the common 
 denominator: the fraction will then ftand 
 thus ^> that is, four fourths, equal to one 
 whole: four fourths of a hundred make a 
 hundred. 
 
 But fuppofe the fractions were -J. and f-, 
 I cannot add them together until I have 
 brought them to the fame denomination: 
 that is, until their denominators are alike; 
 eighths and fourths cannot be accumulated 
 in one homogeneous fum. I confider that 
 in multiplying feparately any two figures 
 by any one other figure, I neither increafe 
 nor diminish their relative value; for, if I 
 double, that is, if I multiply by 2, the two 
 figures which I will fuppofe to fignify the 
 half of a (hilling, viz. |, the i becomes a 2 
 and the 2 a 4, thus . Now one half of a 
 fhilling is fix pence, and two fourths are twice 
 three pence: hence, I firft quadruple, that 
 is, multiply the two figures of the fecond frac- 
 tion by 4, the denominator of the firft, and the 
 product is 44- . I then multiply both the 
 figures of the firft fraction by 8, the denomi- 
 nator of the fecond, and find the product -A- 
 Thus I have brought them to one denomi- 
 nation ;
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 nation ; fo that I can now add the numera- 
 tors 24 and 8 : the fum is 32 for a new nu- 
 merator: my fraction therefore thus added 
 is 4 equal to one whole, or one hundred : 
 for all the parts of any thing muft be equal 
 to the whole. This may be made ftill plainer, 
 thus. Without any knowledge of Euclid, 
 or of Arithmetic, a moment's reflexion con- 
 vinces me, that, if I take equal quantities 
 from any two numbers, their proportion to 
 each other will remain the fame : fo that if 
 I take half from the 44 there will remain 
 44 If I then take half from each of thefe 
 fixteens, there will remain -J-. One ftep far- 
 ther brings the fradlion to -; the next ftep 
 to ~ and the laft to 4-> which is evidently 
 the fame as one a whole numbers for one 
 ones is one. 
 
 Let us now confider, whether it be not 
 poffible to manage this 25, the quarter, and 
 this 75, the three quarters, of a hundred, 
 without being troubled with thefe denomU 
 nators beneath the line? You know I firft 
 wrote them thus -i and ~. But if for the i 
 I fubftitute 25, and for the three I take 75, 
 I muft then write -j-Vo- and -/A. You re- 
 member, that thefe denominators, thefe un- 
 der figures, indicate the fpecies of parts: 
 F they
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 they tell us, in the prefent cafe, that the 25 
 and 75 are parts of a hundred. Knowing 
 therefore what they are, I can add them, 
 fubtrac"l them one from the other, or work 
 with them in any manner I pleafe, juft as 
 I would with whole numbers. But before 
 I difcover to you what I am about, another 
 previous ftep is necefTary. 
 
 Imagine that I have before me the frac- 
 tion -i. I want to exprefs its value by a fin- 
 gle figure, without this troublefome deno- 
 minator. I know that I can multiply thefe 
 two figures feparately by any other figure 
 without altering their value, thus multiply- 
 ing them by 5, the i becomes a 5 and the 2 
 a i o : the fraction therefore is now T V or 
 -/A or -AAAr. I now perceive that I have 
 no farther occafion for thefe denominators ; 
 that in thefe Decimal Fractions one figure 
 denotes tenths, two figures hundredths, three 
 figures thoufandths: thus ,4 with a comma 
 before it, fignifies four parts of ten; ,37 
 means thirty feven parts of a hundred ; ,365, 
 are three hundred and fixty five parts of a 
 thoufand. This being perfectly underftood, 
 I can add thefe Decimals in the fame man- 
 ner as whole numbers. For example, 
 
 To
 
 To ,74. I proceed as in common 
 Addition. Add ,39 
 
 The fum is 113. What is this fum? Why 
 it is a 113 hundredth parts; for, there be- 
 ing only two figures in either of the Deci- 
 mals, it is evident, that when added together, 
 the fum muft neceflarily confift of hun- 
 dredths. But 113 hundredth parts make 
 one entire hundred and 13 fractional parts 
 of another hundred. The i therefore on 
 the left hand ceafes to be a fraction: it be- 
 comes what Arithmeticians call an Integer; 
 that is, a whole number: fo that I muft 
 point it thus 1,13. Hence the rule that in 
 the addition of Decimals you muft point of 
 as many figures as there are figures in. either of 
 the numbers to be added. 
 
 This rule you will find in all books of 
 Arithmetic; but the authors of thefe books 
 never give any reafon for the rule; it be- 
 comes therefore a mere matter of memory 
 and is foon forgotten. 
 
 The ten figures ufed in vulgar and de- 
 cimal Arithmetic are doubtlefs wonderful 
 inftruments for the purpofe of calculation. 
 Let us try however whether it be not poffi- 
 ble to find other fymbols, which, by figni- 
 F 2 fying
 
 ( 84 ) 
 
 fying any fum at pleafure, may render cal- 
 culation lefs laborious. 
 
 Suppofe, for example, the letter b repre- 
 fents 750!. If I have two creditors, each of 
 which owe me exactly this fum, and I want 
 to know the whole amount, according to 
 the rules of addition in common Arithme- 
 tic, I proceed in this manner 750 
 
 75 
 1500. Butfup- 
 
 pofing the letter b to reprefent 750!. I then 
 place the two fymbols under each other, 
 thus 
 
 To b 
 Add b 
 
 The fum is a, equal to 1500!. 
 
 This Science, in which letters are ufed in- 
 ftead of figures, is called 4lgebra> a word 
 derived from the Arabic al-giabr wolmokabala, 
 fignifying, the art of refolution and equatiojz. 
 It is fuppofed to have been invented in In- 
 dia, and that the Arabs received it from the 
 Perfians. It is certain however that it was 
 brought into Europe by the Moors,' who 
 conquered Spain in the 8th century. The 
 firft printed book in Algebra was written 
 
 by
 
 by Lucas de Burgo, and publifhed at Venice, 
 in the year 1494. You will be infinitely 
 pleafed and aftonifhed at the power of this 
 Science, when you become perfectly ac- 
 quainted with its ufe. I am in this letter, 
 fpeaking only of the various modes of Ad- 
 dition, viz. of figures as fymbols of whole 
 numbers, of vulgar fractions, of decimal 
 fractions, and of letters as fymbols of num- 
 ber or quantity. 
 
 But, before we proceed with the addition 
 of thefe Algebraic quantities, I muft tell 
 you, that Algebraifts fuppofe every quantity, 
 or letter, to be either pofitive, of which this 
 + is their fign; or negative, which they 
 mark thus . The firft they read plus y the 
 other minus. You muft alfo remember, that 
 when there is no fign prefixed, plus is always 
 underftood, and that when there is no figure 
 before the letter or quantity, the figure i is 
 fuppofed. 
 
 (i) (2) (3) (4) 
 
 To3# To b To gx To + ^y 
 
 Add a Add 2^ Add + i2,v Add gy 
 Sum 40 3^ +3* zy 
 
 * 3 (S)
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 (5) 
 To 2C+3/& 7* 
 
 Add 42 6^4" ^ 
 
 Sum 2c-\-i > b 7-K+4* 
 
 The truth of the firft example is very 
 obvious. Suppofe a to reprefent any pofitive 
 quantity, once a added to three times a muft 
 make four times a. 
 
 In the fecond example, the quantities are 
 both negative : they reprefent a want or de- 
 ficiency. Now a want of one fhilling added 
 to a want of 2 (hillings, amounts to a want 
 of 3 /hillings, or 3^. 
 
 But in example the third, the figns are 
 different. How is it poflible to add a pofi- 
 tive to a negative quantity ? It is impoflible; 
 but it is very evident, that by taking one 
 out of the other j that is, by fubtracYmg the 
 lefs from the greater, I (hall difcover the 
 amount: for, if I have 12 fhillings in my 
 pocket, and owe you 9, which 9 is, to me, 
 a negative quantity, I have yet a pofitive 3 
 fhillings remaining} therefore the amount 
 of my flock and debt taken together, may 
 be properly exprefTed by +3*. This, I 
 confefs, is a fpecies of Irifh Addition, per- 
 formed by Subtraction: it is, neverthelefs, 
 
 con-*
 
 confidered as an operation of Addition in 
 all the books of Algebra. 
 
 In the fourth example the figns are again 
 diflimilar; but here the negative fum exceeds 
 the pofitive. No matter: I fubtraft the lefs 
 from the greater, as in the former example, 
 and to the remainder 2, I prefix the fign of 
 minus-, for, if I owe you 9 (hillings and can 
 pay you only 7, there is a deficiency of 2, 
 properly expreffed by 2y. 
 
 In contemplating the fifth example, I im- 
 mediately perceive, that there are no two 
 quantities alike 5 and, as I am ignorant what 
 thefe feveral letters, or quantities, may fig- 
 nify, it is impoflible to add them by any 
 other means, than by writing them down 
 in fucceflion with their refpeftive figns, as 
 in the under-written fum. 
 
 If you take the trouble to read this letter 
 a fecond time, with any degree of attention, 
 you will not only comprehend the nature 
 of Addition of whole numbers, vulgar and 
 decimal fractions and of Algebraic quanti- 
 ties; but you will have acquired a general 
 idea of thefe feveral modes of computation. 
 This general idea will confiderably facilitate 
 your progrefs in mathematical learning. 
 
 F 4 LET-
 
 ( 88 ) 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 IN my laft letter, I endeavoured to give 
 you a clear idea of the feveral contriv- 
 ances for the addition, or accumulation, of 
 numbers or quantities. They are all found- 
 ed on the fame principle ; their object is the 
 fame, and, being thus linked together, mu- 
 tually illuftrating each other, feem moft 
 likely to imprefs the mind fcientifically. I 
 fhall now proceed to SUBTRACTION, the 
 rationale of which you will eafily compre- 
 hend. The defign of this operation is, by 
 taking a lefs number from a greater, to dif- 
 Cover the difference. For example, 
 
 From 769 
 
 Take 436 
 
 Sum 333 
 
 Beginning with the firft figure on the 
 right, I fay 6 from 9 there remains 3 ; then 
 3 from 6, there remains 33 and laftly, 4 
 from 7 and the remainder is 3. To prove 
 that I am right, I add thefum to the lefs of 
 the two numbers above, and find, that to- 
 gether, they make 769. 
 
 Again:
 
 ( 89 ) 
 
 Again: From 9312 
 Take 7434 
 
 Sum 1878 
 
 If you were totally ignorant of the firft 
 rules of Arithmetic, you would not imme- 
 diately difcover by what means 4 could be 
 fubtrafted from 2, or 3 from i, or again 4 
 from 3. But, if in your mind, you take 
 ten from the next figure and add it to the 
 2, you can then fubtracl: the 4 from 12 and 
 the remainder will be 8. You now pro- 
 ceed to the next figure 3, which you are to 
 fubtracl: from the i above it, but as you 
 have already taken 10 from this i, which 
 flanding in the ten's place is one ten, it be- 
 comes a o ; therefore you are to fubtracl: 3 
 from o: this being impoflible, you again 
 take ten from the next figure and fubtracl:- 
 ing 3 from ten, you put down 7. You are 
 now to take 4 from the 3 above j but this 3 is, 
 in fact, only 2, for the fame reafon that the 
 
 1 became a o ; 4 cannot be fubtracled from 
 
 2 j I therefore take ten from the 9000, and 
 fay 4 from 12, there remains 8. But you 
 are to obferve, though I call it taking ten 
 from the next figure, that, when from the 
 
 3 I took 10, in facl: I took 1005 properly 
 
 fpeak-
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 fpeaking, therefore, I fhould have faid, 30 
 from o Ts impoflible; but 30 from 100, there 
 remains 70. In like manner, the 10 which 
 I took from the 9, was in reality 1000: fo 
 that in taking 4 from 12, I was really fub- 
 tradting 400 from 1200. You now pro- 
 ceed to the 7, and, recollecting that one of 
 the thoufands was ufed among the hun- 
 dreds, you fay 7 from 8, or rather 7000 
 from 8000, there remains 1000. 
 
 You will probably think that I have been 
 unneceflarily minute in a matter of little 
 importance. Nothing is unimportant that 
 may throw a (ingle ray of light on the 
 threfhold of Science. I am thus explicit on 
 the Subtraction of whole numbers, becaufe 
 the manner in which it is taught in our 
 fchools, feems particularly defigned to pre- 
 vent the boys from conceiving any more 
 than a mechanical idea of the operation: 
 or, if they have any other idea at all, it is 
 certainly falfe. They are inftrucled to bor- 
 row ten from the next figure in the upper 
 line, which ten they afterwards call one and 
 reftore it to the next figure in the under 
 line. Now, though the refult be the fame, 
 whether I increafe the lower, or diminifh 
 the upper line, by one, why miflead the 
 
 learner
 
 ( 91 ) 
 
 learner by a falfe operation? why ufe the 
 improper term borrow! It implies the ne- 
 ceffity of reftoration. But, in fact, there is 
 nothing borrowed, and confequently no- 
 thing to be reftored. What is taken from 
 the next figure, is taken abfolutely and ufed : 
 it has already, prematurely, yielded its fub- 
 traclive part, and therefore is not liable to 
 a fecond diminution: The figure from which 
 it was taken, if it ftand in the 2d place 
 from the right, has loft ten of its value; if 
 in the 3d it has loft a 100: fo that if the 
 figure be a 7, I confider it as a 6, and aft 
 accordingly. 
 
 I now proceed to give you a general no- 
 tion of {ubtra&mg fractional numbers from 
 each other. If, for example, you were re- 
 quired to take t from > it is very evident 
 that the remainder will be -J-, or ~: fo that 
 when the denominators are the fame, you 
 have nothing to do, but to fubtraft the lefs 
 numerator from the greater. 
 
 If the denominators be not the fame, re- 
 duce them to fraftions of the fame denomi- 
 nation, by multiplying each numerator into 
 the other's denominator for two new nume- 
 rators, and the denominators by each other, 
 for a common denominator 5 then proceed 
 
 as
 
 ( 92 ) 
 
 as in the laft example, thus: Suppofe the 
 two fractions to be and 4; reduced to the 
 fame denomination, they become {4 and -4; 
 the numerators of which being fubtracted 
 
 from each other, the remaining fraction is 
 j-j- 
 
 4 
 
 You remember that, in thefe vulgar frac- 
 tions, the under figure tells you the parts 
 into which the upper figure is fuppofed to 
 be divided, and the upper figure indicates 
 the number of thefe parts : the denominator 
 therefore is confidered as the devifor and the 
 numerator as the dividend. But you will 
 afk, how can a lefs number be divided by a 
 greater, a 7 by 8, or 3 by 5, or i by 2? 
 Would you find any difficulty in cutting 
 this orange in two? No Well: What are 
 thefe two pieces? They are two halves. 
 Then it is evident that i orange may be di- 
 vided into, or by, 2, and that ~ would exprefs 
 one of thefe halves: to halve a number 
 therefore is to divide it by 2. 
 
 But to render this numerator i actually 
 divifible by the denominator 2, let us fup- 
 pofe it to confift of ten equal parts: we 
 therefore add a cypher to it and call it 10 
 parts inftead of i whole number. I now 
 write the fraction V 3 that is, 10 divided by
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 2 ; and, proceeding to divide the numerator 
 by the denominator, by afking how often 2 
 in 10 tenths, the anfwer is 5 tenths; which 
 5 having 10 for its denominator, I call a 
 decimal fraction. So that the way to reduce 
 a vulgar fraction to a decimal, I find, is to 
 add a cypher to the numerator and divide 
 by the denominator. If I had added two 
 cyphers and divided by 2, the product would 
 have been ,50 that is, 50 parts of 100; 
 equal to 5 parts of 103 equal to 4- or i di- 
 vided by 2. 
 
 According to this rule, let us reduce 4 to 
 a decimal fraction. Adding one cypher to 
 the 3 it becomes 30, and dividing 30 by 5 
 the anfwer is 6, that is -r%- which being a 
 decimal, I write thus ,6. So the vulgar 
 fraction 4- reduced to a decimal is ,5, and 4- 
 is ,6. This 5 may be fubtracted from the 
 6, as in fubtraction of whole numbers, and 
 the remainder is ,i; that is, one tenth: for 
 as both the 5 and 6 are tenth parts of an 
 unit, the remaining i muft necetfarily be - 
 of an unit. 
 
 Let us ,now confider the Subtraction of 
 Algebraic quantities. This is the Rule. Re- 
 verfe the Jigns of the quantity to be fubtratted 
 and proceed as in Addition : for example, 
 
 (0
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 (0 (a)' 
 
 From 3 a From 2 b 
 
 Take a Take b 
 
 b 21 x 
 
 ~W 
 
 From gy 
 Take jy 
 
 In the firft and fecond of thefe examples, 
 the figns, in both quantities, are alike: but, 
 if I fuppofe the fign of the fufttrahend to 
 be reverfed, they are then oppofite. Now 
 the rule in Addition is, when thejigns are not 
 the fame tfubtr aft the lefsfrom the greater^ and 
 put down the remainder with the Jign of the 
 greater: hence a from 3^, and the remain- 
 der is 2 a. In like manner b from 2^, 
 there remains b. 
 
 In the third and fourth examples, the 
 figns are oppofite; but fuppofing the figns 
 of the fubtrahends to be reverfed, they will 
 then become fimilar to thofe of the quan- 
 tities above them: I have therefore nothing 
 to do but to add the figures, (which are 
 called Coefficients,) as in common Arithme- 
 tic, prefixing the common fign of both. 
 
 Thus
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 Thus it appears, that Subtraction differs 
 from Addition only in reverfing the figns 
 of the fubtrahend. 
 
 This i all very true. Thefe are the rules 
 which you- will find in the elementary books 
 of Algebra. But this confounding Sub- 
 traction with Addition, ferves only to jum- 
 ble the ideas of the learner. The following 
 general rule is fuffident both for Addition 
 and Subtraction. 
 
 In Addition, when the Jlgm are the fame, 
 ADD; when they are oppojlte> SUBTRACT. In 
 Subtraction, when the figns are the fame, SUB- 
 TRACT; when oppojite, ADD. This rule be- 
 ing obferved, you proceed naturally, with- 
 out any fuppofed change of figns. The 
 reafons for the three firft parts of this Rule 
 are felf-evident : the laft requires explana- 
 tion. I have faid, that, in Subtraction, when 
 the figns are oppofite, that is, when one is 
 + and the other , you are to add the co- 
 efficients. How, you will afk, will this ad- 
 dition be in reality a fubtraction. I will firft 
 prove the fact, and then account for it. 
 From iotf 56 To loa 56 
 Take 56 Add +56 
 
 loa ' loa 
 
 In
 
 ( 96 ) 
 
 In both cafes you fee the remainder is the 
 fame. Suppofe, by way of illuftration, after 
 a ballot, I find in the bag 10 white balls and 
 5 black ones. If I take out the black balls, 
 there will remain 10 white balls in the bag. 
 But if before I take out any of the balls, I 
 put in 5 white ones, and then take out the 
 5 black balls with the fame number of white 
 ones to ballance them, there will remain in 
 the bag 10 white balls as before. Or fup- 
 pofe you were five pounds in my debt, and 
 that you are worth nothing, you are then 
 five pounds worfe than nothing. Your cafh 
 account is 5 pounds. But if any friend 
 fhould pay the debt, by thus adding his + 
 five pounds to your five pounds, he actu- 
 ally fubtrafts your debt : fo that, in this cafe, 
 addition and fubtradlion are the fame. 
 
 LET.
 
 ( 97 ) 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 IS U PP O S E you have not forgotten your 
 Multiplication-table. If you have it not 
 quite perfect, fpend half an hour in giving 
 it a firm eftablifliment in your memory; 
 for the leaft miftake or hefitation in the 
 mechanical part of multiplication, will leave 
 a bad impreflion on the mind of your Tutor. 
 The operation of multiplying one row of 
 figures by another, is eafily learnt, but not 
 generally underftood. I will endeavour to 
 explain it by a (hort example. It is necef- 
 fary however, previoufly to obferve, that 
 Multiplication and Addition are in reality 
 the fame: thus, 
 
 Add . \ 3 
 (3 
 
 Sum o 
 
 Multiply 3 
 
 b y - 2. 
 
 Produft 9 
 
 The
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 The modus opcrandl in Multiplication is as 
 
 follows. 
 Multiply 425 
 by . 213 
 
 In the above" example, beginning with 
 the firft figure on the right hand, I fay, in 
 the common language of the fchool, 3 times 
 5 is 15, put down 5 and carry i; 3 times 
 2 is 6, and i that I brought is 7; 3 times 4 
 is J2, put down 12. I then take the fecond 
 figure, from the right, of the multiplier , and 
 with it multiply all the figures of the mul- 
 tiplicand as before, putting down the pro- 
 duel in a fecond line taking care to place 
 the firft figure under the fecond figure of 
 the firft line. I then proceed in the fame 
 manner with the third figure of the multi- 
 plier, placing the firft figure of the refult 
 under the third of the firft product; as you 
 fee in the example. The feparate refults of 
 thefe three multiplications being thus ar- 
 ranged beneath each other, I add them to- 
 gether and the fum is the product of the 
 
 whole
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 whole multiplication. This may be all very 
 true: the method of multiplying, of carry- 
 ing one to the next figure, of arranging the 
 feveral rows inclining gradually to the left 
 may be rational, but the reafon is not 
 very apparent. Let us try to explain the 
 operation and demonftrate the truth of the 
 refult. 
 
 I am to multiply 425 
 by '2 1 3 
 
 Firft, I fay, 3 times 5 make ; 15 
 
 Secondly, 3 times 20 make . 60 
 
 thirdly , 3 times 400 make . 1200 
 I now begin to work with the figure 
 
 i : remembering it is a ten, 
 
 I fay, ten times 5 make . 50 
 
 Then, ten times 20 make . . 200 
 
 And ten times 400 make . . 4000 
 I now multiply with the figure 2, re- 
 membering that it is 200: thus 
 
 200 times 5 make . . 1000 
 
 Secondly, 200 times 20 make . 4000 
 
 Laftly, 200 times 400 make . 80000 
 
 Now thefe added together make . 90525 
 
 as before: fo that the ufual concife method 
 of Multiplication is demonftrably true. 
 From the foregoing example it is impof- 
 o 2 fible
 
 ( I OP ) 
 
 fible not to underftand the rationale of mul* 
 ti plying whole numbers: the multiplication 
 of fractions is equally eafy and intelligible. 
 For example, Multiply by 4. The rule 
 is, multiply the numerators for a new numerator 
 and the denominators for a new denominator : 
 thus twice 3 are 6, and 3 times 4 are 12: 
 the fraction will be -j-V or -J- or 4-. 
 
 To prove the truth of this operation, we 
 will fuppofe thefe fractions to be parts of a 
 fhilling, or pence. Now, two thirds of a 
 Ihilling are 8 pence, and three fourths of a 
 (hilling are 9 pence: 8 times 9 make 7 2 pence; 
 that is 44 or parts of a fhilling. But recol- 
 lecting that I can reduce this fraction to 
 one of equal value by dividing the nume- 
 rator and denominator by the fame num- 
 ber, I divide them by 6, and then fubftitute 
 V, that is, 12 divided by 2 : but to divide a 
 number by 2, is to halve that number \ fo that 
 the refult is ~ of a fhilling or 6 pence, th 
 fame as above. 
 
 The Multiplication of Decimals differs 
 not in the leaft from that of whole numbers, 
 except that, in the product, you are to point 
 off as many figures as there are decimals in 
 the multiplier and multiplicand; thus,
 
 I O,6 9 2 
 
 There being two decimals in the multipli- 
 cand and one in the multiplier, I point off 
 three decimals in the product. 
 
 In the multiplication of Algebraic quan- 
 tities, you have only to write the letters in. 
 a line one after the other; to multiply the 
 coefficients as in common Arithmetic, and, 
 when the figns are fimilar, to prefix the 
 fign +> when difiimilar , thus, 
 Multiply a Multiply c Multiply d 
 By b By d By + e 
 
 Product ab -\-cd -de 
 
 Multiply 1 2 x Multiply A: -f-jr 
 By 37 % 
 
 36*7 xx-\-xy 
 
 xy+yy 
 
 This, you will fay, is very eafy and per- 
 fectly clear, as to the manner of working: but 
 G 3 you
 
 ( 102 ) 
 
 you will not, without a little reflection, dif r 
 cover the reafon why, when the figns of the 
 multiplier and multiplicand, are different, 
 you are always to prefix the negative fign 
 to the product. I will endeavour to explain 
 this matter. 
 
 Pofitive and negative quantities are con r 
 fidered as diametrically oppofite. If from 
 a given point I draw a line to the right, I 
 may call it pofitivej then a line from the 
 fame point, drawn to the left, may be con- 
 iidered as a negative line. Or, if I place a 
 cypher in the middle and continue a line of 
 figures both ways, thus 4321 o 1234, thofe 
 on the right are more than nothing; thofe on 
 the left I will imagine lefs. The firft may 
 exprefs money which I pofTefs, the latter, 
 money which I owe. Let us fuppofe, for 
 example, that I find, in three different parts 
 of my account-book, a debt of 15!. which 
 I have borrowed of a friend. 
 I exprefs it thus . . . 15: 
 and finding it three time repeat- 
 ed, I multiply by . . + 3 : 
 
 that is, J tripple the debt, and 
 
 confequently the prqduft is . 45 . 
 
 Jf, on the contrary, I fuppofe this 15 to 
 
 repre T
 
 reprefent all the guineas in my purfe, I 
 write it thus . . . +15- 
 
 But I owe 3 times 15 guineas; I 
 
 therefore prefix the negative fign 3. 
 
 And the product is 45, 
 
 as before: 
 
 Now fuppofing the letter a to ftand for 15 
 guineas, the real ftate of my account may 
 be thus algebraically represented . . . 
 a 3#= 30. That is, I am 30 guineas 
 worfe than nothing. In both cafes the pro- 
 priety of prefixing the negative fign is evi- 
 dent, becaufe the product is really a defect. 
 In multiplying a negative quantity, or defi- 
 ciency, or debt, I am adding it to itfelf as 
 often as there are units in the multiplier. I 
 thus increafe the debt, but I do not thereby 
 alter its nature: it flill remains a debt, and 
 therefore retains its negative fign. To un- 
 derftand the other cafe, viz. when a pofitive 
 quantity is multiplied by a negative, it is 
 neceflary to recollect, that to multiply my 
 debts, is in fact, to fubtract from my real 
 fubftancej therefore, though I work by 
 multiplication, when the multiplier has the 
 negative fign, I am actually fubtracting the 
 multiplicand from reality; that is, reducing 
 Q 4 it
 
 it below nothing, as many times as there 
 are units in the multiplier; therefore the 
 product muft neceflarily be a negative quan- 
 tity. 
 
 But you will afk, what is the reafon that 
 when two negative quantities are multiplied 
 by each other, the product muft have a po- 
 fitive fign ? The reafon is plain : for, if to 
 multiply by a negative quantity be to fub- 
 tract, then fuch multiplication is actually 
 fubtracting from the Debtor page of my ac- 
 count-book, which has the fame effect as if 
 the fum were added to the Creditor fide. To 
 fubtract minus is the fame thing as to add 
 plus. If I difcharge, or take away your 
 debt of a guinea at the fruit-mop, it is cer- 
 tainly equivalent to my giving you a guinea. 
 But before I conclude this introduction to 
 Multiplication for it is no more than an 
 introduction it is neceffary to obferve, 
 that the multiplier, whether it be a pofitive 
 or a negative quantity, or, whatfoever it 
 may be called, is always nothing more than 
 a number, without any real denomination. 
 A pound cannot be multiplied by a pound, 
 nor a mile by a mile. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XIII: 
 
 IN this letter I mean to call your atten- 
 tion to the Divifion of whole numbers, 
 fra6lions, and of algebraical quantities. As 
 Subtraction is the reverfe of Addition, fo is 
 Divifion the reverfe of Multiplication. But 
 we have feen that Multiplication is really a 
 compendious Addition, and you will foon 
 perceive, that Divifion is nothing more than 
 a method of determining, how many times 
 a lefs number is contained in, or may be 
 fubtracled from, a greater ; fo that all the 
 various operations of Arithmetic, are in faft, 
 Additions or Subtractions. For example, 
 
 Add 
 
 Sum 3 5 
 
 In the fourth of thefe examples, the 5 on 
 the left is called the divifor^ the 7 is the di- 
 vidend, 
 
 '5 
 
 Multiply 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 From 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 By _ 
 
 _7 
 
 
 
 Take 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Produft" 
 
 35 
 
 Remains 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 5)7(i 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 vidend, the i is the quotient, and the 2, the 
 remainder. But that you may fee the whole 
 operation of Divifion, we will take an ex- 
 ample of more figures. 
 
 Divide 7634 by 8, J difpofe thefe two 
 numbers thus 
 
 8)7 6 34(9S4 
 
 ZL 
 43 
 40 
 
 34 
 3 2 
 
 2. 
 
 I begin by afking, how many times 8 is 
 contained in 76? Recollecting that 9 times 
 8 make 72, I write 9 in the quotient and 
 72 under 76, which 72 I fubtract from 76, 
 and drawing a line acrofs, I write under it 
 the remainder 4, to which I bring down the 
 figure 3 from the dividend. I now afk, how 
 often 8 in 43 ? 5 times 8 make 40, which 
 being fubtrac"led from 43, there remains 3. 
 To this 3 I annex the laft figure of the di- 
 vidend. I then afk, how often 8 in 34? 4 
 times 8 is 32: I therefore write 4 in the 
 quotient, and fubtra&ing 32 from 34, the 
 remainder is 2. 
 
 Hence,
 
 Hence, I learn, that from the number 
 7634, 8 may be fubtracted 954 times, and 
 there will remain a furplus of 2. What is 
 this 2 ? It is a fraction. It is 4. But to 
 render this more intelligible, let us fuppofe 
 7634 to be fo many pounds fterling be^ 
 queathed to be equally divided among 8 
 Legatees : the quotient tells me, that they 
 are entitled to 954^. each, and 4; that is, 
 two eighths of a pound: this remainder 
 therefore muft be multiplied by 20 in order 
 to reduce it to {hillings. The product is 
 40, which being divided by 8, gives 5: fo 
 that each Legatee will receive 954^. 5*- 
 I have faid that Divifipn is the reverfe of 
 Multiplication. We will put this aflertion 
 to the proof by trying to rebuild, by the laft, 
 what, by the firft, we have pulled down. If 
 8 be contained 954 times in 7634, then the 
 firft of thefe two numbers multiplied by 8, 
 with the addition of the remainder 2, muft 
 pruduce the laft. 
 
 Multiply 954 
 
 By 8 
 
 Add 
 
 This
 
 ( io8 ) 
 
 This product proves, not only that Mul- 
 tiplication and Divifion are the reverfe of 
 each other; but that the Quotient was juft. 
 
 According to the plan I have obferved in 
 Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication, 
 we now proceed to the Divifion of Vulgar 
 Fractions. Firft, let us try to divide a frac- 
 tion by a whole number. 
 
 Divide 4- by 3. Now a moment's reflec- 
 tion tells me, that I have nothing to do with 
 the denominator, which is put not to indi- 
 cate the number but the kind of parts : there- 
 fore I muft divide the numerator 6 by 3 
 and the quotient will be -. We will, by 
 way of illuftration, fuppofe this denomina- 
 tor to indicate parts of a guinea. Now, 7 
 times 3 is 215 therefore, one feventh of a 
 guinea is 3 (hillings: 6 times 3 make 18; 
 therefore 4- of a guinea are 18 {hillings, that 
 is, tf. I now afk, how often 3 (hillings in 
 1 8. The anfwer is 6 (hillings or \ of a 
 guinea. 
 
 Let us now try to divide a fraction by a 
 
 For example, Divide ^ by 4. 
 This is the rule : Multiply the Numerator of 
 the Dividend by the Denominator of the Divi- 
 for, for a new Numerator ', and the Denomma- 
 
 S tor
 
 tor of the Dividend by the Numerator of the 
 Diviforyfor a new Denominator. Let us place 
 thefe two fractions as in common divifion 
 and try T)T(^- 
 
 There is yet a fhorter and a plainer rale, 
 viz. Reverfe one of the fractions - 3 then multiply 
 the two numerators and the two denominator si 
 thus 4-)l(44 
 
 The quotient, I find, is 15 divided by 14.' 
 But why this multiplication fhould be, in fact, 
 divi/ion^ is by no means obvious : nor do I 
 recollect any author who explains it furH- 
 ciently. Firft, let us confider, thatfevenths 
 cannot be divided into thirds: therefore, fup- 
 pofe I had never heard of any rule for di- 
 viding one fraction by another, I fhould na- 
 turally begin by multiplying the numera- 
 tors and denominators reciprocally, for two 
 new numerators; and the denominators, for 
 a common denominator: the refult of which 
 operation would be 4:4-, 44. Now all the 
 difficulty is vanifhed. 'Since the denomina- 
 tors are the fame, they become ufelefs, and 
 I can add, fubtract, multiply, or divide the 
 numerators in the fame manner as if they 
 were whole numbers. Now as 4:4- is equi- 
 valent to the dividend, and 44 equal to the 
 divifor, the quotient mull be 44 
 
 But
 
 ( no ) 
 
 But all this does not explain the rule : for 
 you fee that we have done without it. The 
 rule, you know, is, to multiply the nume- 
 rators by the denominators reciprocally. 
 Now what is this, but reducing the two 
 fractions to one denomination, and then 
 dividing the greater numerator by the lefs ? 
 So that after all, this multiplication is merely 
 the inftrument for reducing the two frac- 
 tions to a common denomination, and not 
 an actual divifion. 
 
 But to prove that our quotient is juft, we 
 will try whether, when multiplied by the 
 divifor, the product will be the dividend. 
 
 15 14 30 10 $ 
 
 _______ C^Ji. L>. 
 
 J: J. 42 H 7. 
 30 42 
 
 The Divifion of Decimal Fractions dif- 
 fers from the divifion of whole numbers 
 only in the art of pointing off the figures in 
 the quotient: and the rule is- Point off in 
 the quotient as many figures, counting from 
 the right hand, as the number of decimals 
 in the dividend exceeds thofe in the divifor. 
 In other words : the number of decimals in 
 the quotient and divifor, muft together, 
 equal the number of thofe in the dividend: 
 
 con-
 
 confequently, when the number of decimal 
 figures in the divifor and dividend is equal, 
 the quotient will be whole numbers. 
 4,2)612,318(145,79 
 42 
 
 In the dividend there are 3 decimal fi- 
 gures j in the divifor, but one: therefore, 
 according to the above rule, I point off 
 two figures in the quotient for decimals, 
 the reft being whole numbers. 
 
 We come now to the Divifion of Alge- 
 braic quantities. 
 
 Firjiy you are to remember that (as in 
 Multiplication) fimilar figns give -f- and dif- 
 fimilar in the quotient. Secondly, that 
 when fimilar quantities occur both in the 
 divifor and in the dividend, thefe quantities 
 
 may
 
 ( II* ) 
 
 may be expunged. Thirdly, that the quo- 
 tient is generally exprefled by placing the 
 dividend above and the divifor beneath a 
 line drawn between them, as in vulgar frac- 
 tions. Fourthly, that coefficients are to be 
 divided as in common Arithmetic j or di- 
 vided by a common meafure, 
 
 In this example, I have divided the co- 
 efficients by 5 and expunged the letter a. 
 The reafon for dividing the figures by a 
 common meafure is felf-evident, and the 
 reafon for expunging this letter a will be no 
 lefs obvious when you recollect, that letters, 
 or quantities, thus written next to each 
 other, as ad and ac, are fuppofed to be mul- 
 tiplied one by the other; and that, in vulgar 
 fractions, the numerator and denominator, 
 that is, the dividend and divifor, being mul- 
 tiplied or divided by the fame number, 
 makes no alteration in their ralative value. 
 But, to render this matter more intelligible, 
 let us fuppofe ac, the dividend, to reprefent 
 4 multiplied by 6, and ad, the divifor, to 
 mean 4 multiplied by 2: now 4 times 6 
 make 24, and twice 4 is 8. If I divide 24 
 by 8 the quotient is 3. But if I take 4, of 
 
 which
 
 ( "3 ) 
 
 which a is the reprefentative, from both, 
 the dividend will be 6, and the divifor 2. I 
 then fay, how often 2 in 6? the anfwer is 
 3, as before. 
 
 As to the Divifion of Algebraical Frac- 
 tions, it is performed, as in Vulgar Frac- 
 tions, by multiplying the numerators and 
 denominators reciprocally, thus 
 c\a fad a-\-b\ab(a zab + b* 
 d)~b\7b' ^b)~~^r\ <t + ab 
 
 The fecond example requires explanation. 
 I begin by multiplying the Denominator of 
 the Divifor by the Numerator of the Divi- 
 dend, thus: a multiplied by a produces a a-, 
 I write, in the product, one a with a fmall 
 figure of two over it, which figure is called 
 its index, fignifying the fecond power of #, 
 or the produ6l of a multiplied by a. I then 
 multiply the fame -{-a by b, and b by 
 + rf, both which produce ab, and the figns 
 being diffimilar, I put down in the dividend 
 of the quotient 2<ibi finally b multi- 
 plied by b gives +^. I now multiply 
 the numerator of the divifor by the deno- 
 minator of the dividend, and the product is 
 evidently the denominator of the quotient. 
 
 Thus, I have endeavoured to give you a 
 
 rational idea of Addition, Subtraction, Mul- 
 
 H tiplication
 
 ( 1 14 
 
 tiplication and Divifion of whole numbers, 
 fractions vulgar and decimal, and of Alge- 
 braic quantities. I fay a rational idea, dif- 
 tinguifhed from the mechanical fyftem of 
 introduction, which you will find in the ele- 
 mentary books. What I have done is no- 
 thing more than a partial explanation, or 
 analyfis, of the machines with which you 
 are to work: a tolerable comprehenfion of 
 their conftruflion, cannot fail to facilitate 
 your future labours. 
 
 Fek. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( "5 ) 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 YOU are certainly right, I had forgotten 
 that, in a former letter, I promifed to 
 introduce you to the acquaintance of the 
 ,philofopher Ariftotle. I will now fulfil that 
 promife, to the beft of my recollection. 
 
 ARISTOTLE flourished about three hun- 
 dred years prior to the Chriftian tera. He 
 was born in a fmall town in Macedonia 
 named Stagira, and thence he is often called 
 the Stagirite. Plato, Demofthenes, and the 
 great Alexander, were his cotemporaries. 
 Of the firft he was the pupil, and the pre- 
 ceptor of the laft. He is generally regarded 
 as the founder of the Peripatetic feet of 
 Philofophers ; though fome hiflorians teli 
 us, that the denomination originated in 
 Plato, who, it feems, was as fond of ambu- 
 latory ftudies as myfelf: indeed thofe who 
 ftudy Nature, will make no very rapid pro- 
 grefs fub tetto. They were called Peripatetics 
 from w^7ra6>, (imbuh) to diftinguifli them 
 from the difciples of Xenocrates, who aflum- 
 ed the name of Academics^ becaufe they af- 
 fembled, at Athens, in the Academy \ whilft 
 H the
 
 the Peripatetics walked in the Lyceum. From 
 this fcrap of Grecian hiftory, I fuppofe, the 
 Artifts in London, when they quarrelled 
 with their brethren of the Royal Academy, 
 dignified their room in the Strand, with the 
 appellation of the Lyceum. 
 
 Whether thefe Peripatetics ftudied in 
 company or alone, may admit of doubt fuf- 
 ficient to furnifh matter of difcuflion to a 
 commentator on the Grecian hiftory: be 
 the fact however as it might, I advife you 
 fometimes to ftroll out without company. 
 If you wifh to fix your ferious attention to 
 any fubje6l of confequence; or, if you be 
 particularly defirous of exerting, ftimulating 
 and expanding your imagination, you will 
 find more affiftance in the fields, from a 
 genial atmofphere, a ferene Iky, a fmiling 
 landfcape, an extended horizon, than from 
 the books on your table. I do not mean that 
 you fhould become a mifanthrope ; that you 
 fhould always walk alone 5 far from it: 
 chearful company is occafionally as necef- 
 fary to a ftudious man as the air he breaths. 
 But, as I obferve that parties of frefhmen, 
 'in their walks, generally amufe themfelves 
 with leaping over hedges and ditches, though 
 fuch athletic fports may be very wholefome, 
 
 vet
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 yet I fliould think it not neceflary that every 
 perambulation fhould be thus employed. 
 
 Ariftotle, we are told, wrote no lefs than 
 four hundred books. If they were books of 
 any fize; if they were even pamphlets, they 
 can hardly have been worth reading. I be- 
 lieve, in general, thofe authors that have 
 written leafl, have written beft. About 
 twenty of thefe books are all that have ef- 
 caped the deftruftive hand of Time, and 
 the more relentlefs hand of Barbarifm. The 
 fubjects on which they treat, are ethics, poe- 
 try* ^gic, rhetoric, politics, phyjics, and rneta-* 
 phyjics. But, as he wrote without fyftem, 
 without data, without method, and without 
 precifion, it is very difficult to afcertain his 
 opinions: and what greatly adds to the un- 
 certainty is, that his works have come down 
 to us through the turbid medium of Latin 
 tranflations from the Arabic, or Greek tran- 
 ilations from the Latin. 
 
 Ariftotle appears, however, to have been 
 the inventor of the art which we now call 
 Logic, and of the fcience of Metaphyfics. 
 His Ethics deferve but little praife. His 
 Politics are prolix and obfcure: neverthe- 
 lefs, we muft do him the juftice to acknow- 
 ledge, that, though preceptor to the fon of 
 H 3 an
 
 ( "8 ) 
 
 an abfolute prince, he had the refolution to 
 devulge, and to reafon juftly on, the patrio- 
 tic maxim, that princes are elevated to domi- 
 nion, not for their own advantage ', but for the 
 felicity of f he people. He defcribes the vari- 
 ous forms of government then exifting; ex- 
 pofes their vices, and develops the caufes 
 of their corruption. 
 
 His fyftem of Rhetoric is doubtlefs a 
 work of genius, and the labour of a mind 
 capable of minute difcrimination. His Lo- 
 gic is the Logic of every fucceeding age, 
 and of the prefent day. His Phyfics, or 
 Philofophy had no foundation. What he 
 wrote, or rather what he is fuppofed to have 
 written, upon Plants, is of very doubtful 
 origin. But his book upon the Animal crea- 
 tion, is allowed to be genuine, and is indeed 
 an aftonifhing performance. His anatomi- 
 cal and phyfiologicaldefcriptions, muft have 
 been the refult of innumerable difledions, 
 unwearied affiduity, minute infpecYion, and 
 great fagacity. He appears to have had no 
 idea of fyftem or claffification. His work is 
 a continued defcriptive comparifon of one 
 animal with another, without a perfect 
 identical defcription of any individual. The 
 various fubjefts which he diflecled, and 
 
 whole
 
 \vhofe habits he fo well defcribes, were col- 
 le51ed at a vaft expence, by order of his mu- 
 nificent and powerful pupil, prince, and pa- 
 tron, the conquerer of the then known 
 world. 
 
 His philofophical opinions are to be col- 
 lected principally from his books de Casio. 
 He confidered matter, form and privation as 
 the principles of all things, and this matter 
 he conceived to be eternal and indeftruftible. 
 His elements are Fire, Air, Water and Earth. 
 Thefe have flood their ground pretty well, 
 till difturbed by the chemical philofophy of 
 the prefent age, of which I may probably 
 tell you more another time. He denied the 
 annual and diurnal motion of the Earth, 
 which Pythagoras had aflerted, and was 
 confequently weak enough to fuppofe that 
 the Sun, the Planets, and the fixed Stars j in 
 fhort, the whole vifible creation, turned 
 daily round this atom, which we call Earth. 
 Strange! that he fhould not allow common 
 fenfe to the Creator of the Univerle, who 
 had given him fo great a fhare of human 
 understanding. 
 
 When and where he died is not known ; 
 
 but his philofophy lived and flourifhed uni- 
 
 verfally till towards the end of the lad cen- 
 
 H 4 tury:
 
 ( 120 ) 
 
 tury : being then gradually undermined by 
 other philosophers, Des Cartes finally blew 
 it up, whofe bafelefs fabric, as I told you 
 before, was, in its turn, annihilated by Sir 
 Ifaac Newton. 
 
 I faid above, that Ariftotle's fyftem of 
 Rhetoric is a work of genius. It is an art 
 which was formerly confidered as an indif- 
 penfible branch of education in every part 
 of Europe, and was accordingly taught, firfl 
 in the fchools, and afterwards purfued at 
 the Univerfity, in Ariftotle's technical lan- 
 guage and manner. It has however gra- 
 dually fallen into difufe: neverthelefs, as 
 fome of the technical terms of this art are 
 retained, it is necefiary you fhould know 
 their meaning; I will therefore apply the 
 remaining part of this letter to the expla- 
 nation of thofe terms which are moft necef- 
 fary to be underftood. 
 
 Rhetoric^ from gw, dico> the Romans tran- 
 flated Oratoria-j by which they underftood, 
 the Art of fpeaking with efFec\; the Art of 
 perfuafion. That it was an art in high 
 efteem and cultivation among the Greeks, 
 appears from Quintilian, who, I think, men- 
 tions upwards of twenty eminent profeflbrs 
 of Rhetoric, in different parts of Greece. 
 
 The
 
 The Romans, notwithstanding their ea- 
 gernefs to learn from their more polifhed 
 neighbours the Greeks, were, at firft, fo ap- 
 prehenfive of the power of Oratory, that, 
 by a decree of the Senate, they banifhed all 
 Greek philofophers and rhetoricians. The 
 prohibition, however, was of no long dura- 
 tion. Rhetoric was foon after fludied and 
 taught as an art, and Rome produced a 
 Quintilian and a Cicero. 
 
 That fome advantage may be derived 
 from the ftudy of Rhetoric, I have no doubt ; 
 but, that the great art of Perfuafion is ge- 
 nerally a boon from Nature, I am much 
 more inclined to believe. The mod fluent 
 and moft perfpicuous fpeaker I ever heard, 
 was a Leeds merchant, the brother of Mr. 
 John Lee, a gentleman eminent at the bar, 
 and, fome time, Solicitor General. Yet this 
 Mr. Thomas Lee probably had never read 
 Ariftotle, Quintilian, Longinus, nor any 
 fyftem of Rhetoric ancient or modern. We 
 have at this time in both houfes of Parlia- 
 ment, orators, fcarce, if at all, inferior to 
 thofe of Athens or Rome; yet thefe are more 
 the pupils of Nature than of Art. 
 
 The purpofe of Logic is, to convince; 
 that of Rhetoric, to perfuadej and this art 
 
 of
 
 of perfuafion depends moft on a natural 
 melodious tone of voice, a natural graceful- 
 nefs of perfon and of action, a naturally 
 expreffive and interefting form and dilpofi- 
 tion of features : by interefting, I rather mean 
 what the French exprefs by the word preve- 
 nante, for which we have no equivalent in 
 our language I fay, the power of an Ora- 
 tor over his audience, will always depend, 
 in a great degree, on that which art cannot 
 beftow : neverthelefs, the beft gifts of nature 
 want a little poliming. I have heard fome 
 eloquent members in the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, who would have been much more 
 perfuafive fpeakers, if they had ever learnt 
 to dance: and though grammars, or fyftems 
 of Rhetoric, may contribute nothing to the 
 creation or embelliftiment of a fine fpeaker^ 
 yet thofe who are intended for the pulpit, 
 the bar, or have any profpect of a feat in 
 Parliament, will gather much ufeful in- 
 flection and improvement, from a careful 
 and frequent reading of Longinus and Quin- 
 tilian, and, for illuftration and example, 
 Demofthenes and Cicero -, nor fhould they 
 neglect, in our own language, Sheridan 's 
 Letfures on Elocution: they contain a great 
 deal of excellent matter. 
 
 As
 
 ( 123 ) 
 
 As to artificial Logic, the Logic of the 
 fchools, it is of no more ufe in polifhed dif- 
 putation, than artificial Rhetoric to a po- 
 lifhed Orator. One of the moil rational 
 and powerful difputants I ever knew, was 
 my late worthy friend Edward Gillyatt, of 
 the Bankj yet he was totally ignorant of 
 Logic, as an art. But, notwithftanding the 
 inutility of thefe two arts, they are necef- 
 fary to be known by every gentleman who 
 is not afhamed to acknowledge, that he has 
 had the advantage of an Univerfity educa- 
 tion. I will therefore give you a flight 
 fketch of the art of Rhetoric, and an expla- 
 nation of thofe terms of that art, which are 
 moft neceflary to be underftood. 
 
 The Art of Rhetoric comprehends, In- 
 vention, Difpofltion, Elocution and Pro- 
 nunciation. As Grammar teaches the art 
 of fpeaking properly, Rhetoric inftrufts us 
 how to fpeak with elegance and efFe6l. The 
 two great instruments of this art, are Trope 
 and Figure. 
 
 TROPE, ^Trcpus, TQOTTOS from rpiru, muto, 
 literally means a change of one word for 
 another: eft vcifis a prof no fignificatiom in 
 allam immutatio. It is a word ufed not in 
 
 its
 
 ( 124 ) 
 
 its common acceptation, for the purpofe of 
 adding power or beauty to the fentence. 
 Th^ fpecies of this genus are four, viz, 
 Metaphora, peraQoftot, from jttera, trans, and 
 Qeguy fero. It is a fimile expreffed in 
 one word, thus Toufiine afcholar.* 
 *fhe tinkling of that rill is mufic. 'That 
 lad is a lion. That girl is an angeL 
 Eftflos nobilitatis, &c. 
 
 Metonymia, from j^era, and ovopa,, nomen, a 
 change of name: thus, when the caufe 
 is put for the effect, as, Tou fpeak the 
 French tongue. Or, the effect for the 
 caufe, as in the firft Ode of Horace, 
 Prtefidium et dulce decus meum. Or, when 
 thefubject is put for the adjunct: thus, 
 Roma pro Romanis, vel patera pro <vino. 
 Synecdoche, formed of crvvtKSsxopcu, comprendo, 
 takes the whole for a part, or part for 
 the whole ; as for example in the firft 
 line of Milton's Paradife Loft: " Of 
 mans firjl difobedience and the fruit " 
 Here man is taken for mankind: fb 
 when the Latin poets ufe aufter for 
 wind', orfalernum for wine in general. 
 In thefe .examples, the fpecies is taken 
 for the genus, or the individual for the 
 
 fpecies.
 
 ( 1*5 ) 
 
 fpecles. On the contrary, the clafs is 
 taken for the genus by Virgil when he 
 fays tollitfe arretfum quadrupes. 
 Ironia - dij/imulatio^ illufio y diverjiloquium, 
 means the reverfe of that which is ex- 
 preffed : thus Terence ebodum, bonevir! 
 Thefe are confidered, by Rhetoricians, as 
 the four primary Tropes, which they fub- 
 divide into a number offpecies; or to fpeak 
 more accurately and fcientifically, varieties, 
 not worth enumerating. Two of thefe how- 
 ever fhould be remembered, viz. 
 
 Allegoria inverfw, permutatio : a con ti- 
 nued metaphor: par fur hint monies nafcitur 
 ridiculus mus. The entire heathen my- 
 thology was by all the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, except the vulgar, confidered as 
 allegorical. An allegory differs from a^- 
 mile in this: in the former the fubjecl: 
 proceeds without interruption; in the 
 latter, you flop the fubjec~l, for the pur- 
 pofe of comparing it with fomething fi- 
 milar. 
 
 Hyperbole fuperlatio, is lying without 
 deceiving: thus: nive candidior 'minus 
 nihllo teftudine tardior ftrong as an 
 elephant fwift as #n arrow beautiful 
 as an angel, &c, 
 
 Hitherto,
 
 ( '26 ) 
 
 Hitherto, you know, we have been fpeak- 
 ing of what are called Tropes, which Rheto- 
 ricians diftinguifhed from Figures: by thefe 
 they underftood the mode of improving or 
 adorning common language, not only by an 
 artful application of words, but of entire 
 fentences. Thefe figures are fo numerous, 
 frequently fo infignificant, fo puerile, and 
 fo confounded with their Tropes, that they 
 are not worth remembering. 
 
 I fhall finifti my long epiftle with what I 
 conceive to be the belt method of acquiring 
 that moft defirable of all human accom- 
 plifliments, proper, graceful, and perfuafive 
 elocution. I fay the moft defirable, becaufe 
 the moft brilliant, and effectual, whether 
 our purfuit be power or emolument -, and I 
 dwell upon this aiTertion, becaufe it is im- 
 poflible to infpire a young mind with that 
 degree of enthufiafm neceflary to the attain^ 
 jnent of a difficult objecl, if he be not pre- 
 vioufly convinced of its importance. 
 
 Young men who are intended for the 
 pulpit, erroneoufly imagine, that if they can 
 read a chapter in the Bible without ftum- 
 bling, they are fufficiently qualified for the 
 priefthood: "they learnt to read Englifh 
 before they were fent to a grammar- fchool; 
 11 from
 
 ( '27 ) 
 
 from that time, therefore, it was ufelefs to 
 attend to what they had already learnt."-^ 
 Hence it comes to pafs, that fo many of our 
 Clergy read a chapter in the Bible no better 
 than a Charity-boy. 
 
 The requiiltes in a good reader or a good 
 fpeaker, are diftin6l articulation, proper 
 pronunciation, proper emphafis, melody and 
 pitch of voice, energy, animation, graceful 
 attitude and action. Now, though Nature 
 may have beftowed fome of thefe requifites 
 on a few favoured individuals, yet thefe in- 
 dividuals are thinly diftributed; but we have 
 the fatisfaction to know, that, with due aU 
 tention and affiduity, thefe requifites may 
 certainly be acquired. 
 
 Diftinffi articulation is to be acquired by 
 frequently reading aloud and flowly; at firft, 
 very flowly. 
 
 Proper pronunciation depends principally 
 on a critical attention to the proper found 
 of all the vowels in our language. I know 
 a Clergyman, who has defervedly the repu- 
 tation of a good preacher,- whofe preaching, 
 neverthelefs, is, to a nice ear, extremelydif- 
 gufting; becaufe, from a provincial habit, 
 in his pronunciation he mif-fpells almoft 
 every word he utters; his a is an e, his e is 
 
 an
 
 ( 128 ) 
 
 an /, his o is a u. Surely a very little at- 
 tention would have corre&ed this conftant 
 impropriety. 
 
 Proper emphafis will depend principally on 
 a perfect comprehenfion of your author's 
 defign, and on a clear difcrimination of the 
 words which he meant to be emphatically 
 exprefied: without this difcrimination, you 
 will constantly pervert his meaning, and the 
 fined competitions will lofe their effect. 
 The beft means of acquiring the habit, the 
 art, of emphatic expreflion, is to read aloud, 
 repeatedly and flovvly, the orations of De- 
 mofthenes and Cicero, in the original Greek 
 and Latin j to ftudy them inquifitely as you 
 proceed ; to tranflate parts of them into your 
 native language; to read that tranilation to 
 your aflbciates, and to mark the effect. 
 
 Melody and pitch of voice. A fweet toned 
 voice is, doubtlefs, a very valuable gift from 
 Nature ; but, in its natural ftate, it is vox et 
 prater ea nibih It is a fine Stradevarius in the 
 hands of a Crowdero. The organs which 
 produce the human voice, form a mufical 
 inftrument, made by that Divine hand, 
 whofe works no art can rival. Nature alfo 
 gave us diamonds; but (he left them for Art 
 to polifli. By conftantly playing upon a 
 
 mufical
 
 ( "9 ) 
 
 mufical inftrument, we not only improve 
 its tone, but we gradually acquire that de- 
 gree of dexterity which is necefTary to give 
 it a complete effect. So it is with the hu- 
 man voice. You mufl praclife with the 
 unremitting afiiduity of a young mufician, 
 until you have familiarized every poflible 
 modulation. 
 
 Energy in fpeaking, like the mercury in 
 the barometer, fhould rife and fall with the 
 weight of your fubject; and your proper ufe 
 of this power will depend on your clearly 
 understanding the comparative importance 
 of its feveral parts. 
 
 Animation will always be in a direct ratio 
 of your own feelings. Like two mufical 
 firings in perfect unifon, your own heart 
 muft vibrate, before thofe of your audience 
 can feel. 
 
 Graceful attitude and a5lion> may feem to 
 be the work of Nature. It is evidently a 
 miftake. Nature may give fine features and 
 limbs fafliioned in her beft mould, to a 
 clown j but, whoever beheld a clown {land- 
 ing in a graceful attitude, or raife his arm 
 like Veftrisl It is evident that gracefulnefs 
 in reading, in fpeaking, and in acting, is 
 incompatible with the leaft degree of em- 
 I barraff-
 
 barrafTment. If an Orator be not perfectly 
 at eafe, he will give to his audience rather 
 pain than pleafure: they perceive his em- 
 bar raflment, and they feel it : let it, there- 
 fore, be his firfl care, to diveft himfelf of 
 that troublefome companion which the 
 French call mauvaife honte-, that offspring of 
 confcious inferiority; that badge of low 
 breeding; that frequent, very frequent, ob- 
 flacle in the road to pre-eminence; that dif- 
 grace of man ! 
 
 But, you will afk me, by what means this 
 gracefulnefs, this urbanity of manner, is to 
 be attained ? Is it by precepts or rules ? 
 By neither; but by example and by prac- 
 tice: for, without example, you can form 
 no idea of aje nefcai quoi; a thing incapable 
 of defcription. Yet, in faying, that it is to 
 be learnt by example, I do not mean that 
 the manner of any individual orator is to be 
 copied. No: he mud be ftudied folely for 
 the purpofe of afllfting your mind in form- 
 ing a juft idea of that kincj of action and at- 
 titude, which, at once, diftinguifhes a man 
 of the polite world from a ruftic. 
 
 Where are we to look for thefe examples, 
 thefe modals of gracefulnefs? In the Se- 
 nate ? I have heard, in my time, fome 
 
 graceful
 
 graceful fpeakers in either houfe mod in 
 the houfe of Lords j but many more in both, 
 who would have difgraced a debating fociety 
 in the City. Shall we then feek thefe mo- 
 dels at the Bar? I fear, at the Bar, there 
 is not much grace to be found: yet there 
 are, who both fpeak and aft like gentlemen. 
 The pulpit?-*- Alas! the orators from the 
 pulpit, have, in this kingdom, long fince, 
 refigned 0$/0, the moft powerful inftrument 
 of Rhetoric, to St. Crifpin and his difciples. 
 The Stage, then, is our dernier e refort; and 
 a miferable refort it is ! There are not, in 
 general, a more I will not fay gracelefs* 
 you would call it a pun; but, I will fay, a 
 more aukwttrd fraternity of gentlemen , any 
 where to be found. If, however, you wifh 
 to form a juft idea of all the beauty arifing 
 from attitude and from motion, (particu- 
 larly of the arms,) of which the human body 
 is capable, you will fee it not to imitate 
 in the perfon of an Opera Dancer. 
 
 Hamlet's inftruclion to a fet of {trolling 
 players, will illuflrate what I have written. 
 
 f Speak the fpeech, I pray you, as I pro- 
 nounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue: 
 but if you mouth it, as many of our Players 
 do, I had as lieve the Town-cryer had fpoke 
 12 my
 
 my lines. And do not faw the air too much 
 with your hand thus, but ufe all gently; for 
 in the very torrent, tempeft, and, as I may 
 fay, whirl-wind of your paflion, you muft 
 acquire and beget a temperance that may 
 give it fmoothnefs. Oh, it offends me to 
 the foul, to hear a robuftous periwig-pated 
 fellow tear a paflion to tatters, or very rags, 
 to fplit the ears of the groundlings, who, 
 for the moft part, are capable of nothing 
 but inexplicable dumb fhews and noife. I 
 could have fuch fellows whipt for overdo- 
 ing termagant: it out-herods Herod. Pray 
 you avoid it." 
 
 Vale. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 133 ) 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 AMBITION is a virtue or a vice as 
 its object is juft or unjuft. In Alex- 
 ander gut tffluat infelix angujlo limite mundi; 
 in Csefar, in Lewis XIV. the object of their 
 battles was power and dominion, to which 
 they had no juft claim: the firft and laft 
 trampled on the univerfal law of nations 5 
 Caefar broke the facred laws of civil com- 
 pact. But the ambition to excel in poetry, 
 in mufic, in painting, in mathematics; or 
 to command an army, a fleet, or even to go- 
 vern the ftate, is a virtue; not becaufe it 
 may raife an individual, but becaufe the 
 emulation of many individuals muft even- 
 tually benefit the community. In abfolute 
 monarchies, fubjects rife to power more fre- 
 quently on the wings of vice, than of vir- 
 tue; of intreague, than of abilities. In ari- 
 flocratical or democratical governments, 
 ambitious, cunning, refolute men, without 
 probity or abilities, often rule the ftate. 
 Why? Becaufe a republic is a body with- 
 out a head : it wants that fupreme executive 
 1 3 power a
 
 ( 134 ) 
 
 power, which can annihiliate a dangerous 
 minifter by a frown. 
 
 In the mixed government under which 
 you have the felicity to be born, as the Mi- 
 nifter is refponfible for the mifconduct of 
 the King, fo is the King, in fome degree, 
 anfwerable for the mal-adminiftration of the 
 man whom he deligbteth to honour: and this 
 implied refponfibility is juft; becauie the 
 conftitution gives to the King the power of 
 chufing his fervants. Some of our Kings, 
 either for want of penetration, or in con- 
 fequence of perfonal attachment, have been 
 very unfortunate in the choice of their Prime 
 Minifters -, but the confequences of their mif- 
 conftruing individual men, were fo fatal to 
 themfelves, that future Kings of England 
 will be cautious whom they truft. 
 
 In our prefent firft Minifter we have a 
 fine example of what power and dignity 
 may be attained by fuperior underftanding, 
 in conjunction with application and good 
 morals. Without thefe in an eminent de- 
 gree, his being the fon of the late Lord 
 Chatham would have availed him nothing. 
 That good morals fhbuld have been a ftep 
 to Mr. Pitt's elevation, would to the politi- 
 cians
 
 ( '35 ) 
 
 clans of the Machiavelian fchool, have ap- 
 peared ridiculous ; but I will venture to af- 
 firm, that, if Mr. Pitt, be his abilities what 
 they may, had been a gambler, or had been 
 known to debafe human nature by any fpe- 
 cies of debauchery, we fhould never have 
 beheld him in his prefent exaltation. Lord 
 North, by a feries of unfuccefsful attempts 
 to prevent the independence of our Ameri- 
 can brethren, had loft the confidence of the 
 nation, and, by an enormous accumulation 
 of the national debt, had ruined our credit 
 both at home and abroad. So (ituated, no 
 human policy or power, without an imme- 
 diate restoration of that credit, could have 
 faved us from abfolute perdition. 
 
 Now, to produce this great, this impor- 
 tant effecT:, it was neceflary to chufe a firfl 
 Minifter eminently confpicuous for abili- 
 ties, application, knowledge, refolution and 
 integrity. It feems very extraordinary that 
 thefe five efTentials fhould have been generally 
 perceived and acknowledged in fo young a 
 man. 
 
 The firfl of thefe abilities, that is, a capa- 
 city to learn, is doubtlefs a boon from Na- 
 ture: in this boon, however, fhe is more ge- 
 nerally liberal than Indolence is willing to 
 j 4 allow.
 
 ( 136 ) 
 
 allow. The remaining four efTentials, every 
 young man of abilities may pofTefs; other- 
 wife the want of them were unjuftly repre- 
 henfible. 
 
 I have before obferved, that Mr. Pitt's mo- 
 ral character was the primum mobile of his 
 elevation; and I found this obfervation on 
 the recolleftion of there being, at the time 
 of his appointment t6 the Miniftry, feveral 
 members in both houfes, of diftinguifhed 
 abilities j but, in the then critical fituation 
 of this country; when our falvation depend- 
 ed on an univerfal confidence in the inte- 
 grity of the Minifter; it was wifely deter- 
 mined, that a young man of at leaft equal 
 abilities, but of irreproachable character, 
 was moft likely to retrieve and re-eflablifh 
 that credit and confidence fo necefTary to 
 our exiftence. 
 
 Britain, at the conclufion of the Ameri- 
 can war, refembled a fhip, heavily loaded; 
 her rigging and timbers Shattered in the 
 late florin ; her crew fatigued and difpi- 
 rited; her officers either unfkilful, or worie; 
 a dangerous navigation ; no land in fight, 
 and without a pilate. ' Defpair marked the 
 countenance of every man on the Quarter 
 Deck. What was to be done ? -- " Pleafe 
 
 your
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 your honour, fays the Boatfwain to the 
 Captain, we have a young Midfhipman on 
 board, who underftands navigation as well 
 as any man in the King's fervice; he's al- 
 ways at his books and charts, and never 
 neglects taking an obfervation at noon. If 
 your honour will make him Pilate for the 
 voyage, I am fure God will fave the Bri- 
 tannia-, for this young man neither gets 
 drunk, nor gambles, nor fwears an oath." 
 
 The ftrongeft argument in favour of vir- 
 tue, is, that vicious men have no depen- 
 dence on vice; and that, in every diflrefsful 
 emergency, they fly to virtue for protection. 
 Let us imagine a fhip, in the fituation of 
 that in the firft fcene of Shakefpear's 'Tem- 
 feft. Sailors believe that fhipwreck difTolves 
 all fubordination. Neverthelefs, fuppofe 
 them now caft on an unknown coaft; every 
 individual fufpicious of his companions; 
 apprehenfive of favage men and beafts, and 
 confcious of the necefllty of appointing a 
 commander. Their quondam Captain is a 
 man of abilities; but they have no opinion 
 of his honefty ; they knew him to be a gam- 
 bler, and inattentive to the duties of reli- 
 gion. The firft Lieutenant, on the contrary, 
 js a man of equal abilities, of ftrict morals, 
 
 and
 
 ( 
 
 and approved integrity. Can there be a 
 doubt on whom the choice would fall ? Every 
 failor, how profligate foever, is convinced, 
 that, in the deftribution of the wreck, a dif- 
 honeft Captain will appropriate to his own 
 ufe the befl part of the fpoil, and he ve- 
 rily believes, that Providence will hear the 
 prayers and profper the exertions of a good 
 znan. 
 
 Mr. Pitt's elevation may be confidered, 
 not only as the means of refcuing this na- 
 tion from impending ruin; but as a fine 
 example to young gentlemen, ftudents at 
 our Univerfities, who, from family or for- 
 tune, may expect a feat in Parliament; where 
 hiftorical information, uniformity of cha- 
 racter, and natural or acquired elocution, 
 xnufl, in defpite of every obftacle, lift them 
 into the higheft employments in the ftate, 
 What a glorious incentive to application! 
 
 I have faid elocution natural or acquired '\ 
 becaufe I have no doubt, that elocution, this 
 moft denrable and mod beneficial of all qua- 
 lities, though fometimes a natural endow- 
 ment may be always acquired. If we may 
 credit the Grecian hiftorians, Demofthenes, 
 the prince of orators, had originally, in 
 fpeaking, an indiftincl articulation 5 a na- 
 y - tural
 
 ( 139 ) 
 
 tural flammer, an impediment in his fpeech 5 
 they tell us, that, in order to cure himfelf 
 of this defect, he pradtifed fpeaking with 
 pebbles in his mouth, probably on the fame 
 principle that a man walks in boots the 
 day before he intends to run a race. 
 
 Be this anecdote true or fabulous, we 
 may, I think, rationally conclude, that De- 
 mofthenes, finding in himfelf every requi- 
 fite to become a diftinguimed orator, ex- 
 cept difrincl: articulation} animated by that 
 noble enthufiafm which is the foundation 
 of great diftinctions in fociety, refolutely 
 determined, by unremitting affiduity, to at- 
 tain, by art, that which nature had not be- 
 flowed. He knew the ineflimable value of 
 perfuafive elocution in a government like 
 that of Athens: he knew the power of aa 
 orator, who, as Virgil elegantly fays regit 
 diffiis animos et peffora mulcet 
 
 Ovid, too, though perfectly fenfible of the 
 power of beauty, afcribes the paflion of the 
 Marine deities for the hero of the Odyfley, 
 entirely to his elocution. 
 
 Nonformofus erat^federatfacundus 
 Et tamen tequoreas torftt amore Deas. 
 
 Paving thus wandered into claflical re- 
 
 collections,
 
 collections, it is impoflible to forget the fol- 
 lowing elegant panegyric on elocution, of 
 the Roman orator Neque vero mihi quid- 
 quam prceftabilius i^idetur^ quam poffe dicendo 
 tenere hominum ccetus, mentes allicere^ volunta- 
 tes impeller e quo vetti ; unde autem vetif, dedu- 
 cere. 
 
 If then it be true, that Eloquence is the 
 mod infallible ftep-ladder to fame, power 
 and emolument, how (hall we account for 
 its being totally neglefted, as a branch of 
 education, in both our Univerfities ? What 
 are the probable advantages of mathemati- 
 cal learning, or, from a critical knowledge 
 of Greek and Latin poetry, compared with 
 what might be expected from a regular 
 courfe of lectures on Eloquence, delivered 
 by the Public Orator, or by a profeffbr of 
 Oratory ? There are profeflbrs of Arabic and 
 profeffors of MufiCj but we look, in vain, 
 in the red book, for a profeflbr of the only 
 art or fcience, call it which you pleafe, by 
 means of which young men can expect to 
 liiftinguifh themfelves in the fenate, at the 
 bar, or in the pulpit, 
 
 There are in this, and probably in every 
 other Univerfity, many fludents who know 
 themfelves, in point of fortune, totally in- 
 dependent
 
 ( HI ) 
 
 dependent of the world, and confequently 
 carelefs of its future fmiles or frowns; but 
 I am perfuaded, that, if the utility of the 
 fyftem of education were more apparent, 
 they would apply. Damn if, fays a Fellow 
 Commoner, what have I to do with Mathema- 
 tics? and as for Homer and Virgil \ I learnt 
 enough of them atfchooL 
 
 I humbly conceive, that Qmntilian fhould 
 be particularly recommended to every ftu- 
 dent in the Univerfity; that it would be a 
 proper text for a courfe of lectures, and 
 that every pupil, of a certain (landing, fhould 
 be repeatedly exercifed in public declama- 
 tion. 
 
 The prefent Prime Minifter may pofilbly , in 
 fome future period, find leifure to beftow a lit- 
 tle confideration on a matter of fo much im- 
 portance as the reformation of the Univerfi- 
 ties. He was himfelf educated at Cambridge; 
 he cannot therefore be infenfible of the Go- 
 thic abiurdity of a fyftem, which is not well 
 calculated for the education either of Gentle- 
 men, Lawyers, Phyficians, or Divines. Ne- 
 verthelefs, I am very far from intending the 
 moft diftant reflection on any individual in 
 the Univerfity. The imperfections are not 
 recent abufes 5 but the natural refult of an 
 
 un-
 
 ( 14* ) 
 
 unavoidable adherence to the ftatutes of 
 eftablifhments which do honour to this na- 
 tion, and which have, incontrovertibly, been 
 of infinite benefit to mankind. 
 
 I am, &e. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 143 ) 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 YOU have, I think, frequently been 
 prefent when the queftion, " Whether 
 private or public education be moft eligi- 
 ble," has been difcuffed by men of candour 
 and abilities; and probably you recollect, 
 that the principal arguments in favour of 
 the latter are, that, in public fchools, boys 
 become better claflical fcholars; that, mix- 
 ing with a greater variety of characters, and 
 being, in a greater degree, left to themfelves, 
 they are better qualified to mix with the 
 world at large. The chief argument in fup- 
 port of a more private education, is, that 
 in this line, a greater attention is paid to 
 the religion and morals of the pupils, and 
 therefore, thofe who have been more fuc- 
 cefsful in private ftations, are generally men 
 who have been privately educated. 
 
 If thefe arguments be founded on truth, 
 we may rationally fuppofe, that a young 
 man ifluing from a public fchool, comes to 
 the Univerfity in a flate of nature; with a 
 mind unimpreffed with any fixed principles 
 of religion or, morality, and confequently 
 
 under
 
 ( 144 ) 
 
 under the abfolute dominion of ftrong paf- 
 fions, at an age when Reafon, their only 
 poflible counterpoize, has hardly begun to 
 idawn. At a more advanced age, when rea- 
 fon has acquired fome ftrength, it may be 
 a fufficient defence againft the attacks of 
 vice ; but, in its infant ftate, it has no pow- 
 er; therefore Religon is the fole guardian of 
 young men emerging from a public femi- 
 nary. 
 
 On this confideration, the college of which 
 you have the honour to be a member, wifely 
 ordains, that your academical fludies fliould 
 commence with a commentary on that book 
 which is the foundation of the religion you 
 profefs. " What (fome of your fellow flu- 
 dents will fay) have we to do with the Chrif- 
 tian Religion ? We are not all intended for 
 parfons-, and if we were, it will be time 
 enough to ftudy divinity when we take Or- 
 ders." In anfwer to this foolifh rhapfody, I 
 repeat ; the College, confidering that young 
 men, from public fchools, come to the Uni- 
 verfity mere claflical fcholars, totally defti- 
 tute of religious or moral inftruftion, hath 
 wifely conceived that the evident morality 
 of the Gofpel would be the moft immedi- 
 ate and effectual counterpoize to vice, until 
 
 reafon,
 
 reafon, independent of religion, fhould ac- 
 quire fufficient ftrength to convince them, 
 that vice is the extreme of folly. 
 
 In your convivial aflbciation with your 
 fellow-frefhmen, you will frequently hear 
 the early and conftant attendance at Chapel, 
 exclaimed againft as a bore. Neverthelefs, 
 there are arguments of considerable weight 
 in favour of this inftitution. Early rifmg 
 is certainly conducive to health; not only 
 becaufe the morning air is falutary, but be- 
 caufe it muft neceflarily induce an early re- 
 tirement to reft. Thofe who rife late read 
 little, and their laft hours of the day, or ra- 
 ther night, are often fpent in a manner dif- 
 graceful to human nature, and irrecoverably 
 deftruclive to body and mind. Tfenebras 
 magis quam lucem amaverint homines, quippe 
 quorum pravaforent opera. 
 
 Young men that keep good hours are 
 rarely immoral. There is yet another ar- 
 gument in favour of early devotion, which 
 a young mind capable of religious fenflbi- 
 lity, will feel: I mean the fatisfaclion of hav- 
 ing began the day in a manner moft ac- 
 ceptable to his Creator. This reflection will 
 infpire him with confidence; it will raife his 
 fpirits j it will make him fatisfied with him- 
 K felfs
 
 ( 14* ) 
 
 felf ; it will confequently banifh all propen- 
 fity to ill temper, and render him a pleafant 
 companion to all his acquaintance. I never 
 meet with a peevifh, iH-tempered fellow, 
 without fufpecting that all is not right with- 
 in. I cannot help fuppofing that he has 
 reafon to be diflatisfied with himfelf; be- 
 caufe a long acquaintance with human na- 
 ture, in various climates and fituations, hath 
 convinced me, that chearfulnefs and good 
 temper are the natural produce of inno- 
 cence. 
 
 But thefe falutary effects of early devotion 
 necefTarily fuppofe a mind fufceptible of re- 
 flection; a mind capable of perceiving the 
 hourly dependence of the creature on its 
 Creator; a mind naturally difpofed to be- 
 lieve the truth of the Chriftian religion on 
 the credit of the wifeft men that ever exift- 
 ed in any age or country. Locke and New- 
 ton were both zealous Chriftians. With 
 regard to their (incerity there is not a loop to 
 hang a doubt on, and furely no human beings 
 were ever better qualified to feparate truth 
 from falfehood. 
 
 I do not mean to inlinuate, that, in the 
 important article of Religion, it were wife 
 finally to reft your faith on the opinions of 
 
 other
 
 ( '47 ) 
 
 other men: in mentioning Locke and New- 
 ton, I have no other intention than to prove 
 the reafonablenefs of relying on their judg- 
 ment, until time (hall have ripened your 
 own, and until you may have leifure to 
 read the beft authors that have written in 
 fupport of divine Revelation. 
 
 I cannot clofe this grave epiftle without 
 advifing you to contract no intimacy with 
 young men whofe parents or guardians, by 
 fupplying them with large fums of money, 
 lead them into perpetual temptation to fri- 
 volous and vicious indulgences. By exhauft- 
 ing your credit, you may poffibly keep pace 
 with them for a time; but, the moment you 
 are aground, they will laugh at your diftrefs, 
 and, without giving you any afllftance, will 
 purfue their voyage, damning your ftupi- 
 dity for pretending to fail with them. 
 
 One would not imagine that hunting and 
 horfe-racing could be an admiflible part of 
 Univerfity education. The vicinity of New- 
 market, and its frequent meetings, now con- 
 ftantly attended by the firft peribnages in 
 the kingdom, are doubtlefs irrefiftible temp- 
 tations to young gentlemen who are not 
 fent to the Univerfity in purfuit of know- 
 ledge; but alas! the example is inevitable 
 K 2 de-
 
 < 148 5 
 
 deftruftion to thofe ftudents, who, without 
 the means, are feduced to imitate their fu- 
 periors in rank and fortune; to thofe ftu- 
 dents who were fent to the Univerfity for 
 the only rational purpofe for which Uni- 
 verfities were originally inftituted. 
 
 I do not prefume to arraign the conduct 
 of royal peribnages. Horfe-racing, uncon- 
 nected with gambling,, may be an innocent 
 amufement; but, having always conceived 
 that money is the fole object of wagers, I 
 cannot imagine why perfons who can never 
 want money, fhould become gamefters. But, 
 allowing that young princes find fome 
 amufement in throwing handfuls of coun- 
 ters to princes, guineas are mere counters 
 upon the turf, for blacklegs to fcramble 
 for, the confequences to princes are imper- 
 ceptible; whether they win or lofe, they can 
 never be diftrefled. Not fo with thofe who 
 are feduced by iliuftrious example. 
 
 Mantua, yce mifere nlnnum vicina Cremona! 
 
 Cambridge is indeed unfortunately too 
 near Newmarket: not becaufe it is the fcene 
 of perpetual horfe-racing; but becaufe it is 
 the centre of illegal gambling of every de- 
 nomination ; the vortex of the mofl difho- 
 
 neft
 
 ( H9. ) 
 
 neft and moft contemptible members of fo- 
 ciety. That young men of family and for- 
 tune fhould condefcend to mix with fnch 
 mifcreants, for the paltry purpofe of win- 
 ning a few guineas, is fo glaring a reflec- 
 tion on the character of a gentleman, that 
 nothing fhort of ocular demonftration could 
 render it credible. 
 
 You have, I believe, heard me fay, that 
 I think mankind not only the leaft amiable, 
 but the moft irrational part of the creation. 
 The celebrated Dean of St. Patricks has 
 been frequently abufed for this opinion. 
 Let thofe who think otherwife compare the 
 horfes at Newmarket with the men. . Let 
 them firft obferve them on the courfe. Let 
 them follow the Horfes into the ftable, and 
 the Men to that Pandemonium in which gen- 
 tlemen fpend the evening at Newmarket. 
 E O-tables hazard-tablescard-tables 
 Lords, Commoners, Fellow-commoners, 
 Penfioners, Black-legs, Highwaymen and 
 Pickpockets; lying, cui fing, fwearing, cheat- 
 ing, blafpheming! Can you poflibly con- 
 template fuch a piclure without horror? I 
 hope you cannot. 
 
 Let us now fuppofe that a choir of An- 
 gels were to look down upon Newmarket, 
 K 3 (this
 
 ( '5 ) 
 
 (this being their firft view of the inhabitants 
 of this planet,) and that they were afked, 
 whether, if they were obliged to fojourn a 
 while upon Earth, they would be men or 
 horfes? is there a Spirit among them who 
 would not prefer the latter mode of exift- 
 ence? 
 
 It has been frequently obferved, and I 
 think juftly, that individuals generally act: 
 more rationally than aggregate bodies of 
 men : how (hall we otherwife account for 
 that legiflatorial fupinenefs which continues 
 to poftpone the total fuppreflion of thefe 
 licenfed feminaries of vice 5 when there is 
 hardly an individual in the kingdom who 
 is not perfectly convinced, that all race- 
 grounds, and particulaly Newmarket, are 
 the nurferies of (harpers, the fchools of 
 highwaymen, and the graves of morality? 
 
 Human understanding is a plant, which, 
 individually, advances very flowly to matu- 
 rity i but its progrefs in fociety is yet much 
 lefs rapid. Many of the philofophers of an- 
 cient times faw, and defpifed, the abfurdi- 
 ties of the heathen fyftem of religion, whilft 
 their refpeclive nations continued their ado- 
 ration of fictitious, immoral, profligate dei- 
 ties. Probably the period is not very far 
 
 remote.
 
 remote, when the Britifh Legiflature will 
 comprehend, that the mod effectual means 
 of annihilating that opprobrious race of 
 highwaymen, (harpers and gamblers, were 
 to flrangle the Hercules in the cradle. The 
 total abolition of Horfe-racing and Cock- 
 fighting, would do more towards the pre- 
 vention of thofe felonies with which this 
 nation is peculiarly ftigmatized, than all 
 the penal laws that can poflibly be invent- 
 ed. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 K 4 LET.
 
 ( is* ) 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 I RECOLLECT, that, in fome part of my' 
 laft letter, I gave you what feemed to me 
 a fufficient reafon why Beaufobres Commen- 
 tary on the Gofpel of St. Matthew was among 
 the firft books put into your hands by your 
 Tutor. The College perfectly acquainted 
 with your total ignorance of any fyftem of 
 Morality, and equally uninftru&ed in the 
 fundamental proofs and tenets of Chriftia- 
 nity; confequently, confidering you as a 
 veftel launched into a dangerous ocean with- 
 out a compafs wifely begins your Uni- 
 verfity education with the inftitutes of Chrif- 
 tianity. 
 
 To you, who have been told that the late 
 King of Pruflia was a declared infidel in 
 regard to the divine origin of Chriftianity, 
 it muft appear ftrange, that the above men- 
 tioned Commentary (hould have been un- 
 dertaken at the command of that monarch. 
 The tranflator's preface tells you, that It 
 having been reprefented to his Majefty that 
 the French verfions of the holy Scriptures, 
 being, by length of time, become obfolete 
 
 and
 
 and unintelligible, it was neceflary to make 
 a new tranflation, he ordered Meflrs. Beau- 
 fobre and Lenfant to undertake the work; 
 which they executed, with the addition of a 
 commentary on all the difficult paflages, &c. 
 This attention to the Gofpel in the Pruf- 
 fian monarch was not the effect of his reli- 
 gious veneration for the writings of the 
 Evangelifts ; it muft therefore be afcribed to 
 his political fagacity: it was, however, an 
 evident acknowledgment of its importance 
 to fociety, and a plain confeffion of its ne- 
 ceffity. But, be his faith what it might, in 
 his various correfpondence with Unbeliev- 
 ers, he always fpeaks of the morality of the 
 Gofpel with veneration. 
 
 A human Being totally deftitute of reli- 
 gion, is not a degree above the brute crea- 
 tion. Particular fyftems of Religion out of 
 the queftion, it requires very little reflection 
 to perceive, that the wonderful creation 
 around you is not the effect of any fortui- 
 tous arrangement of inanimate matter; an 
 opinion, though ftrenuoufly maintained by 
 fome philofophers, much too abfurd to de- 
 ferve a ferious refutation : It is fuppofing an 
 effett without a caufe, than which nothing 
 can be more ridiculous. What were the 
 
 fenti-
 
 ( 154 ) 
 
 fentiments of the inimitable Cicero on this 
 fubjeft? 
 
 Quid pot eft ejje tarn apertum> tanque perfpi- 
 cuunty cum ccelum fufpeximus, casleftiaque con- 
 templati fumus, quam effe aliquod Numen prezf- 
 tantiffimez mentis quo h<zc regantur? 
 
 Mr. Addifon in his celebrated trajedy, 
 makes his hero, in confequence of a fimilar 
 reflection, exclaim 
 
 If there's a pow'r above us, 
 
 (And that there is, all nature cries aloud 
 Through all her works) he muft delight in virtue: 
 And that which he delights in, muft be happy. 
 
 This is doubtlefs a rational conclufion. 
 But the reafoning faculties, which diftin- 
 guifti men from brutes, were not beftowed 
 for the fole purpofe of contemplating the 
 creation, but to guide us through the in- 
 tricate paths of life. Man, I had almoft 
 faid unhappily, unendowed with inftinfl, that 
 unerring reafon of Nature, received from 
 Heaven the power of ratiocination, of re- 
 collecting and comparing his ideas ; of form- 
 ing conclufions, and confequently of diftin- 
 guifliing good from evil. Hence, the con- 
 ftitution of Virtue and of Vice. Without 
 this power of difcrimination, Virtue could 
 
 have
 
 ( '55 ) 
 
 have had no exiftence, and Vice was as ne- 
 cefTarily the confequence of the exiftence of 
 Virtue, as vallies are produced by the ele- 
 vation of mountains, or darknefs by the ab- 
 fence of light. 
 
 On this philofophy is founded the Chrit- 
 tian doctrine of rewards and punifhments : 
 a doctrine fo rational and fo juft, that it 
 burft prophetically on the imagination of 
 the almoft infpired Cicero. Scipio, relating 
 his dream, tells his auditors, that, meeting 
 his father, Paulus Emelius, in the cceleftial 
 regions, he faid, among other things, juf- 
 titiam cole et pietatem, qua cum magna Jit in 
 parentibus et propinquis, turn in f atria maxima 
 eft : ea vita via eft in ccelum, et in hum catum 
 eorum, qui jam vixerunt, et corpore laxatt, 
 ilium incolunt locum quern vides. 
 
 As to the fouls of thofe qui fe corporis vo- 
 luptatibus dediderunt y he excludes them hea- 
 ven, until, as a punifhment for their crimes, 
 they have fpent ages in fluttering round the 
 Earth, circum *ferram ipfam volutantur. 
 
 Horace too, you remember, in his charm- 
 ing Ode to Mercury, afcribes to him the 
 grateful office of conducting pious fouls to 
 heaven.
 
 ( 156 ) 
 
 7w plus laetis animas reponis 
 Sedibus 
 
 So that, you fee, the. moft diftinguiftied 
 literati, in an age when human genius feems 
 to have reached its ne plus ultra, were pow- 
 erfully impreffed with a belief of future ex- 
 iftence and of reward and punifhment. They 
 faw the unequal diftribution of good and 
 evil on Earth.' They were convinced of 
 the power and benevolence of the Creator. 
 It was impoflible to fuppofe him an unjuft 
 Being: therefore they were under the ne- 
 cefllty of concluding, that virtue muft be 
 rewarded in another life. 
 
 But, we are told, that Virtue is its own 
 reward. So it is, to a certain degree. In 
 equal fituations the virtuous man will be 
 incomparably the moft happy ; but this does 
 not fecure him from the gripe of penury, 
 from the heart-rending pangs of a Lear, in- 
 flifted by a tbanklefs child! No, thefe are 
 fufferings which no virtue could fupport, 
 without the foqthing expectation of a hap- 
 pier eternity. 
 
 That virtue is its own reward in our iri- 
 tercourfe with mankind, is moft true. Vi- 
 cious men are miftrufted and defpifed, even 
 
 by
 
 ( '57 ) 
 
 by the vicious themfelves. A man without 
 character foon becomes an outcaft of fo- 
 ciety. Let it therefore be your firft care to 
 eftabliih a firm charafter for fcrupulous ve- 
 racity. A lie admits of no apology. This 
 truth is fo generally underftood, that even 
 among the moft profligate, what is called 
 giving the He muft be atoned for at the 
 hazard of life. But, do not therefore haftily 
 conclude, that you are to fend a challenge 
 to every ill-mannered or drunken puppy 
 who dares to difpute your veracity. I mean 
 only to prove the vice of lying to be fo uni- 
 verfally detefted, that to tell a gentleman he 
 is guilty of it, is the moft unpardonable of- 
 fence; and very juftly, becaufe it is, by im- 
 plication, calling him a coward. A man of 
 true courage will difdain the protection of 
 a falfehood, were it even to fave his life. 
 When he has once patted the Rubicon, he 
 will march boldly on to the capital. He 
 has put his life upon a caft, and will nobly 
 ftand the hazard of the die. 
 
 There is indeed, in this trait of a great 
 character, no medium; and it becomes in- 
 finitely defirable when you reflect on the 
 influence it will have on all your actions* 
 If you are pofitively determined to preferve 
 
 your
 
 your veracity, you will feldom perpetrate 
 what you would be afhamed to confefs. Be 
 Truth therefore your Palladium: I cannot? 
 bequeath you a better inheritance. 
 
 Vale.. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( '59 ) 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 IS HALL in this letter refume the fub- 
 jel of perfonal Courage, which Mr. Ad- 
 difon, fome where, calls aftive fortitude : it 
 is a fubjecl: of too much importance to a 
 young man to be lightly difrnhTed. I re- 
 member when, in the year 1778, 1 was wait- 
 ing at Portfmouth to embark for America, 
 I became acquainted with the Mr. Walters, 
 who failed round the world with Lord An- 
 fon, as chaplain to the Centurion, and who 
 publifhed the account of that voyage. He 
 was an intelligent man, a rational divine, 
 a generous hoft, and a pleafant companion. 
 One morning, as we were walking toge- 
 ther on the rampart, and cafually fpeaking 
 otfear^ he emphatically faid, Fear! fye upon 
 it I it is an ignoble pajjion^ and beneath the dig- 
 nity of man! I could have hugged him to 
 my foul ; yet there was nothing ftrikingly 
 new in this fentiment. Probably I had heard 
 it many times before -, but never fo empha- 
 tically exprefTed, nor fo perfectly in unifon 
 with my own feelings at the time. The 
 impreflion on my mind became indelible. 
 
 There
 
 There is fomething fo irrefiftibly bewitch- 
 ing in perfonal courage, that we have hardly 
 an inftance of a truly brave General or Ad- 
 miral, who was not adored by every foldier, 
 or failor, under his command. Shakefpeare, 
 who was no novice in the knowledge of hu- 
 man nature, makes the young and beautiful 
 Defdemona violently enamoured of a gallant 
 foldier, a Moor, and already 
 
 declined 
 
 Into the vale of years. 
 But, fays this amiable heroine, 
 
 Ifaw Othello's vij/age in his mind. 
 And to his honours and his 'ualliant parts 
 "Did I my foul and fortunes confecrate. 
 
 Ariftotle, if I remember right, in his Ethics, 
 afligns to Courage the firft place in his enu- 
 meration of moral virtues; and with rea- 
 fon; for there is nothing more precarious 
 than the virtue of a coward : he (brinks at 
 the approach of danger or difficulty, and 
 yields to temptation, for want of refolution 
 to refift it. The beft proof of a man's real 
 Courage., is to dare, in every fituation, to 
 be juft to his own principles, to himfelf, to 
 
 his
 
 ( 161 ) 
 
 his connexions, and to the world. Men fo 
 fortified may fay, with Horace, 
 
 Si fraffius illabatur orbis, 
 Impavidumferient mine. 
 
 And, let me tell you, be your future pro- 
 fpecls through life ever fo flattering, you 
 will, moil affuredly, be thrown into fitua- 
 tions, where you will be exceedingly glad to 
 repofe on your confcious integrity : you will 
 moft certainly find it, by far, your beft fup- 
 port under the various difappointments, 
 calumny and ingratitude of a ftrange, a very 
 ftrange world! 
 
 There are, I believe, few men, who, when 
 they begin to throw off the boy, do not 
 make fome fort of refolution to eftablifh a 
 character in the world, and to act like men 
 of honourj unfortunately, they meet with 
 temptations which they did not expect, and 
 they fwerve under afalvo, that they wifh to 
 be honeft, but that it is every man's duty to 
 do the beft he can for himfelf and family. 
 This is a mod egregious miftake. There 
 is but one honefty, one honour, one inte- 
 grity, one virtue. They are all either ab- 
 folute, or they do not exiftj and I appeal to 
 thofe men who have thus fwerved from 
 L what
 
 what they knew to be right, whether the 
 recollection of their deviations from the 
 plain path of virtue, does not now confti- 
 tute their greateft infelicity ? 
 
 I have mentioned honour; I will therefore 
 give you my idea of a man of honour. Per- 
 fonal courage is doubtlefs a neceffary part 
 of his character; and this effential he fhould 
 eftablifh at his firft emerging into man: not 
 by a querulous propenfity to contradiction; 
 not by a promptitude to take offence; but 
 by that cool and fleady demeanour, which 
 may convince his aflbdates of his refolution 
 to maintain his own rights, and to fupport 
 his friend in a juft caufe, even at the ex- 
 pence of a little prudence. This part of his 
 character once eftablifhed, he will run very 
 little rilk of future infult. 
 
 About the middle of the prefent century, 
 I was member of a club, in the country, 
 the prefident of which, a worthy clergyman, 
 generally drank milk-punch j and, thence, 
 in derifion, it was called the Milkfop Club. 
 One evening two of our members, a choleric 
 Phyfician and a young Divine, were engag- 
 ed in a violent difpute. "Sarrah," fays the 
 Doctor, " if it were not for that band of thine, 
 I would foon teach thee better manners." 
 
 The
 
 ( '63 ) 
 
 ^The young parfon, without fpeaking a 
 word, deliberately took off his band, and 
 laid it on the table. The Doctor's choler 
 inftantly fubiided, and the company laugh- 
 ed heartily at this conclufion of the duel. 
 Now, though this behaviour of the Divine 
 might not be ftrictly canonical, yet it gain- 
 ed him more general efteeni than the beft 
 fermon he could have preached. 
 
 A man of honour, a gentleman^ they are fy- 
 nonimous terms, is eminently diftingui fried 
 from the reft of mankind, by the uniform 
 unreftrained rectitude of his conduct. Other 
 men are honeft in fear of the punifhments 
 which the Law might inflict: they are re- 
 ligious in expectation of being rewarded, or 
 in dread of the Devil, in the next world. A 
 gentleman would be juft, if there were no 
 written laws human or divine, except thofe 
 that are written on his heart by the finger 
 of his Creator. In every climate, under 
 every fyftem of religion, he is the fame. He 
 kneels before the univerfal throne of God, 
 in gratitude for the bleffings he has receiv- 
 ed, and in humble folicitation for his future 
 protection. He venerates the piety of good 
 men of all religions. He deflurbs not the 
 religion of his country, becaufe the agita- 
 L 2 tion
 
 ( 164 ) 
 
 tion of fpeculative opinions, produces greater 
 evils than the errors it is intended to re- 
 move. He reftrains his paflions, becaufe 
 they cannot be indulged without injuring 
 his neighbour or himfelf. He gives no of- 
 fence, becaufe he does not chufe to be of- 
 fended. He contracts no debts which he is 
 not certain that he can difcharge, becaufe 
 he is honeft upon principle. He never ut- 
 ters a falfehood, becaufe it is cowardly, and 
 infinitely beneath the dignity of a Gentle- 
 man. He bribes no man for his vote, be- 
 caufe he will not make a villain. He mea- 
 fures all offences by the intention; but he 
 refents with the fpirit of a gentleman, every 
 palpable infult; becaufe, in the prefent hu- 
 mour of the world, it is the only means of 
 preferving good manners, and of fecuring 
 to himfelf that refpec~r, which, as a juft man 
 and a gentleman, he deferves. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LET*
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 OU have afked me a queftion, to which 
 it is as difficult to give you a pofitive 
 anfwer, as to any query that ever went to 
 Delphi; and, in imitation of that wife Ora- 
 cle, my opinion {hall be fuch, that it may 
 become negative or affirmative, according 
 to circumftances. 
 
 'To /earn, or not to learn, Mufic? that is 
 the queftion. I have a great deal to fay 
 upon this fubject; you muft therefore pre- 
 pare yourfelf for a prolix epiftle. If you 
 happen to be deeply engaged in ftudies of 
 more importance, you may poftpone the 
 perufal, till you have more leifure: there is 
 nothing fofpiritual in the matter as to caufe 
 it to evaporate. 
 
 By learning Mitfic, I fuppofe you mean 
 learning to play upon fome mufical inftru- 
 rnent. This may feem a captious diftinc- 
 tionj but an habitual accuracy of expreflion 
 will gradually induce precifion in thinking. 
 There is indeed a very material difference 
 between learning Mufic, that is, learning 
 the Science of Mufic, and learning to play 
 L 3 upon
 
 ( 166 ) 
 
 upon an inftrument. The exercifes requir- 
 ed of one who fits for the degree of Do6tor 
 in Mufic, are compofitions, not manual per- 
 formance; and there are many excellent 
 lands who are totally ignorant of Mijfic. 
 
 I am particular, perhaps pedantic, upon 
 this fubjecr, becaufe it is that concerning 
 which people in general, (thofe who are not, 
 in fome degree, initiated) fpeak moft illite- 
 rately , if I may be allowed the expreffion. 
 Even the common words harmony and melody 
 are perpetually mifapplied by perfons who 
 know nothing of Mufic: npr i there, in 
 this, any juft caufe of furprife, when we 
 find that our beft Lexicographers were ig- 
 norant of the diftinc~tlon. That Coloflus in 
 literature, Dr. Johnfon, explains the word 
 Melody by harmony of found. It is of Greek 
 derivation; or rather it is a Greek word, 
 peXwJia, and when applied to Mufic could 
 never mean harmony, of which the Greeks 
 had no idea. Harmony (ugpovw, concord, from 
 #, aptOy) is a word that cannot be pro- 
 perly applied to Mufic, but to exprefs the 
 effe6t of two, three, or four notes, or tones, 
 vibrating or founding at the fame time. Me- 
 lody > on the contrary, exprefles an agreeable 
 fucceflion of (ingle tones, fuch as may be 
 
 executed
 
 executed by a voice or a Hute, or by any 
 other wirkUinftrument. Stringed inftru- 
 ments are capable of producing harmony, 
 becaufe two or more notes may be (truck .at 
 the fame inftant. 
 
 It is not uncommon, when young gen- 
 tlemen or young ladies who have learnt to 
 play a little, are (landing behind a perform- 
 er, to hear them fay >- " O, that piece is in 
 ajharp, or in a flat key " judging from 
 there be'mgjlats, orftarfis, marked at the be- 
 ginning of the movement. Now, it is an 
 equal chance that they are wrong: it de- 
 pends on circumstances, of which they are 
 totally ignorant; but which are known by 
 a mufician the moment he hears the firft 
 (hord (truck by the inftruments. I (hall ex- 
 plain this hereafter. 
 
 But nothing is more ridiculous than to 
 hear the audience at a Concert vociferate 
 their applaufe, in a foreign language, of 
 which they do not understand a word. Whe- 
 ther the finger be male or female; whether 
 it be one performer, two performers, or a 
 chorus, they mean to applaud, the cry is al^ 
 ways bravo! What muft an Italian female 
 think of an Englifti audience, who thus 
 L 4 com-
 
 compliment her, as if fhe were a man ? or 
 when they thus exprefs their approbation 
 of a duetto, as if it were fung by an indivi- 
 dual ? I do not expeft that every gentleman 
 or lady who is prefent at a Concert or an 
 Opera, fhould underftand Italian; but furely 
 it were prudent not to rifk the ufe of words 
 in public exclamation, until we know their 
 meaning. 
 
 Catches and Glees are much in vogue, and 
 are confequently frequent fubjefts of con- 
 verfation, yet there are few people, totally 
 ignorant of Mufic, who do not want to be 
 told, that they differ materially in their con-r 
 ftruclion j that in a Catch, the three voices 
 take the parts alternately, fo that each voice 
 lings the whole in turn: but that in a Glee, 
 all the voices begin at the fame time and 
 fing different parts, from firfl to laft. 
 
 Now, though all this may be confidered 
 as knowledge of little importance, yet it is 
 fo eafily acquired, and indeed fo necefTary 
 to thofe that mix with mufical people, that 
 no gentleman fhould be without it. This 
 fort of knowledge is fufficient for the ge- 
 nerality; but a man of fcience fhould know 
 more. He may be ignorant of Mufic as an 
 
 Art;
 
 Art; but, as a Science, he ought not to be 
 unacquainted with its foundation, its ef- 
 fence, its conftitution. 
 
 All mufical founds, whether of bells, of 
 organ-pipes, of flutes, harpfichords, violins, 
 &c. are produced by vibrations in the parts 
 of thefe inftruments, excited by fome ex- 
 ternal caufe. Thefe vibrations caufe fimilar 
 undulations in the air, which ftriking on 
 our organs of hearing, brings, from the in- 
 ftrument, that vibration which excites in us 
 the idea of the tone produced. Thefe in- 
 vifible undulations in the air, have, not un- 
 aptly, been compared to the waves fuddenly 
 produced on a fmooth body of water, by a 
 jftone thrown into it: thefe waves are feen 
 to expand, in all directions, in concentric 
 circles from the fpot where the Hone fell. 
 Sound, in like manner, expands in every di- 
 rection, and the extent of its progrefs is in 
 proportion to the impulfe on the vibrating 
 cord or bell. 
 
 Admitting this theory, if every identical 
 tone excite a peculiar undulation in the air, 
 how happens it, that the various undula- 
 tions produced by a rapid fucceffion of tones, 
 do not perplex and deftroy each other? 
 If you throw a flone into a fifh-pond, and, 
 
 imme-
 
 immediately after, another, and then a third, 
 if you look very attentively, you will peiv 
 ceive, that their refpeftive circles will pro-r 
 ceed without interruption, and ftrike the 
 fhore jn regular fucceffion, This experi- 
 ment may be more fatisfactorily made, on 
 your table, in a large trough of Quickfilver. 
 If you ftrike the furface at one end, with 
 your finger, and then immediately at the 
 other, you will fee the waves of each run to 
 the oppofite extremity of the trough, pafT- 
 ing each other without producing any con- 
 f ufion or interruption. This by way of il- 
 luftrationj but furely the facl is a fufficient 
 demonftration, that the atmofphere pofTefles 
 the faculty of conveying founds in the moft 
 rapid fucceffion, or combination, as dif- 
 tin6Uy as they were produced. Jt pofleffes 
 the power not only of receiving and pro- 
 pagating fimple and compound vibrations 
 in direct lines from the voice or inftrument; 
 but of retaining and communicating founds 
 with equal fidelity, after repeated reflections 
 and reverberation, as you have often been 
 convinced by the found of French-horns 
 among the hills. I fhall purfue the fubjecT: 
 in my next letter : till then, farewel. 
 
 L E Tr
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 HAVING, in my laft letter, accounted 
 for the production and propagation 
 of mufical founds, the next natural queftion 
 isWhat is the caufe of high and low or, 
 to fpeak more mufically, of grave and acute 
 founds or tones ? Thefe depend on the 
 quick or flow vibrations of the founding 
 body; that is, on the greater or lefs number 
 of vibrations, in a given time. Large in- 
 flruments and long firings, produce grave 
 or deep tones; fmall inflruments and (hort 
 firings, on the contrary, produce acute or 
 high tones; in organ-pipes, for example, in 
 proportion to their length and dimenfions: 
 this is alfo true of mufical firings. If I take 
 a mufical firing of any length, and divide it 
 into two equal parts by a bridge in the 
 middle, each half founds an o6lave, (that is, 
 eight notes) higher than the tone of the 
 whole firing. Their vibrations, relative to 
 the whole firing, are as 2 to i: therefore, 
 they perform the fame number of vibrations 
 in half the time; and confequently the oc- 
 tave
 
 ( '72 ) 
 
 tave coincides with the fundamental note 
 only at every fecond vibration. 
 
 But you will now afk, how it happens, 
 as thefe vibrations gradually ceafe, that the 
 tone continues the fame, till it is heard no 
 more? It were natural to fuppofe, as the 
 acutenefs of the found depends on the cele- 
 rity of the vibrations, that as they become 
 flower towards their decline, the tone would 
 grow deeper, or more grave. If it were true 
 that they vibrate gradually flower, the ob- 
 jection would be unanfwerable. But the 
 fact is otherwife. As a pendulum performs 
 all its ofcillations in equal times; its greateft 
 range in the fame time as its lead; fo a 
 mufical firing makes its firft long vibration 
 in the fame time as its Jaft fhort one; for 
 this reafon, the tone is uniformly the fame 
 from firft to laft. 
 
 In proof of what I have faid concerning 
 the length of firings, you obferve, that the 
 firings, of this harpfichord, which make the 
 high notes are the fhorteft, and that they 
 gradually increafe in length as you defcend 
 to the deepeft note of the inftrument. Now 
 though there be black and white keys on 
 this harpfichord, and each of thefe flrike a 
 
 dif-
 
 ( '73 ) 
 
 different note, yet the real number of notes 
 is no more than feven, which are called by 
 the firft feven letters of the alphabet. If 
 you begin with A, and ftrike feven notes in 
 fucceflion upwards or downwards, you will, 
 either way, come again to A : they are not 
 indeed the fame notes as that with which 
 you began j but they are octaves to it, vi- 
 brating, the one in half, the other in double 
 the time. > i: o 
 
 Thefe feven notes are thofe of a peal of 
 feven bells : when there are eight, the fmalleft 
 bell is an octave to the largeft. But if mu- 
 fical inftruments contained no other than 
 thefe feven notes and their odtaves, they 
 would produce no better melody than that 
 wretched jumble of founds called ringing 
 changes; or, at beft, but a very fimple tune: 
 therefore to render thefe inftruments more 
 comprehenfive, intermediate notes, called 
 femitones, were introduced, each half a tone 
 higher than the note below it, and confe- 
 quently half a tone lower than the note 
 above. Thefe are the fhort white keys on 
 the harpfichord. In confequence of this 
 arrangement, the whole octave confifts of 
 1 2 femitones, for they are each half a tone 
 higher or lower than the next. 
 
 But,
 
 But, you will afk-^if there be feven whole 
 notes, and if there be a femitone between 
 every two, why does not the fcale confift 
 of 14 femitones ? This is a very natural 
 queftion. 
 
 The reafon, why there are but five inter- 
 mediate notes* is, that, in this natural fcale, 
 there are two places which require none ; 
 the two noteSi between which thefe inter- 
 vals lie, being only half a tone afunder. 
 Why it is fo, I know not; but, you may 
 immediately convince yourfelf, that it is a 
 law in Nature, which your ear compels you 
 to obey. Sing eight fucceflive notes, from the 
 loweft to the higheft, or the reverfe, like a 
 peal of eight bells when they ring round, as 
 they call it, and you will, without knowing 
 it, make an interval of but half a tone in 
 two different places, namely, between the 
 3d and 4th, and between the 7th and 8th 
 notes of the fcale: thus i 2 34 5 6 
 78. But thefe half-intervals are not ab- 
 folutely confined to the places where you 
 fee them in this example: the ear will bear 
 them in the following pofition, i- s ~23 4- 
 56 7-8. In this laft feries, you obferve, 
 the half tones lie between the 2d and 3d$ 
 5th and 6th. Now, if you dot thefe notes 
 
 with
 
 ( '75 ) 
 
 with one finger on the harpfichord, begin- 
 ning with A, and touch none of the fhort 
 keys, you will find, after a few repetitions, 
 not only that the ear will bear it; but, that 
 there is a mildnefs, a fwavity, in the effect 
 when contrafted with the firft modus. I fay 
 modus, for they are the fame diatonic fcale, 
 confifting of the fame number of femitones. 
 It is called the Diatonic fcale to diftinguifli 
 it from the Chromatic, which afcends and 
 defcends by half tones, and which being 
 artfully mixed with the other, produces the 
 various modulations in modern compofiti- 
 ons. The ancients, we are told had other 
 fcales, in which their tones were more mi- 
 nutely fubdivided. Our fcience of Mufic 
 requires no fuch fubtilties. 
 
 The firft of thefe modes is \hefiarp, or 
 major, the fecond, thzjlaf, or minor key; for 
 there are no more than two keys, or, more 
 properly, modes ; and thefe, be the funda- 
 mental, or key-note, what it may, are al- 
 ways determined by the third being flat or 
 Jharp; or, in other words, by the interval of 
 half a tone lying between the fecond and 
 third, or between the third and fourth note 
 of the fcale. There is one thing more to 
 be obferved of thisfaf key, namely, that if 
 
 you
 
 you begirt wifh C, the flat 3d, the femitones 
 will occur in, the fame order as in the firfl 
 modus. You will obferve that any of thefe 
 notes or half-notes, on the harpfichord, may 
 be made the fundamental or firft note of 
 the fcale in either modus , which note gives 
 name to the key in which you modulate* 
 and with which you muft neceffarily con- 
 elude the piece: But whatfoever note you 
 make the key-note, the femitone-intervals 
 muft fall in their proper places ; and this 
 can be attended with no difficulty, as the 
 inftrument confifts entirely of femitones. 
 But, before we try the experiment, it is ne- 
 ceflary you fhould know, that every femi-* 
 tone takes, occafionally, either the name of 
 the note above or of that below it: thus, 
 this half note between G and A is GJharp, 
 that is, half a tone higher than the natural 
 Gj or it is Ajlat, that is, half a tone lower 
 than the natural A. 
 
 . If now you begin with C, and proceed 
 upwards, note by note, you find the femi- 
 tone-intervals lie in their proper places, 
 namely, between the 3d and 4th, and be- 
 tween the yth and 8th, without the necef- 
 fity of introducing any of the fliort black 
 keys. But if you now make D your fun- 
 damental
 
 ( 177 ) 
 
 damental note, in order to make two femi^ 
 tones, according to the major key, between 
 the fecond and third note in the fcale, you 
 are under a neceffity of taking the F fliarp-, 
 and, when you come up to C, the fame ne- 
 ceflity recurs, becaufe there muft be a whole 
 tone between the 6th and the yth, and but 
 half a tone between the yth and the octave. 
 For thefe reafons, when a piece of Mufic is 
 compofed in D with a major third, there is a 
 double crofs prefixt on or between the lines 
 where F and C are pricked, fignifying that 
 thefe two notes wtjkarp. If on the contrary, 
 you make Bjlat your fundamental note, and 
 proceed upwards in the major key, you will 
 find yourfelf obliged in order to make the 
 femitones fall between the 3d and 4th and 
 yth and 8th as before, to take in Efat: fo 
 that B and E muft be marked flat at the be- 
 ginning of the movement: neverthelefs, this 
 movement has a fharp third, and is confe- 
 quently in the major key. But if, with tlie 
 fame fundamental note, you change the fe- 
 mitone-intervals, according to the minor 
 modus, then A, B, D, E and G, will be fiat. 
 Flats are marked by a fmall b, as the iharps 
 are by a double crofs. 
 
 You hear Muficians talk of Cliffs and of 
 M
 
 ( 178 ) 
 
 c Time t triple and common. That their lan- 
 guage may not be totally unintelligible to 
 you, I will give you fuch information, as, I 
 think, every gentleman, liberally educated, 
 fhould pofTefs. 
 
 Mufical notes are written or engraved, on 
 or between five fundamental lines, to which 
 there are occafionally added one or two 
 more in the writing or engraving. Now, in 
 order to avoid the obvious inconveniency of 
 adding too many of thefe occafional lines, 
 Cliff's were invented, by which any particu- 
 lar line, or interval, may be made the place 
 of any note in the fcale: if, for example, I 
 make the place of G the lowed line but 
 one, as in the common ^Triple Cliffy then 
 the note in the interval above will be A, and 
 that in the interval below will be F, and fo 
 of the reft. But if I make the upper line 
 but one, F, as in the Bafs Cliff ", then the in- 
 terval above will be G, and the interval be- 
 low will be E. There are other Cliffs to 
 anfwer the fame intention j but this is fuffi- 
 cient to explain the defign and conveniency 
 of this arbitrary method of fixing a parti- 
 cular note on any line or interval. 
 
 Many years ago, I had the pleafure of 
 being acquainted with a Mr. Roebuck of 
 
 Heath,
 
 Heath, near Wakefield in Yorkfhire, a gen- 
 tleman of fortune and a gettfteman-fidler : 
 by a gentleman-fidler, I mean a fcraper ; for 
 fuch, gentlemen fidlers generally are. "Damn 
 it," he would fay, <c thofe rafcally compofers 
 invented thefe Cliffs on purpofe to puzzle 
 gentlemen." I do not, with Mr. Roebuck, 
 believe that they were invented with that 
 intention; for they are frequently of indif- 
 penfible neceffity; but they are often intro- 
 duced, particularly in the Mufic of the laft 
 age, when there is not the lead occafion 
 for them. The wanton introduction of va- 
 rious Cliffs is certainly wrong. I fhall tell 
 you fomething about &me in my next letter. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 M a L E
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 TIME, abftraftedly confidered, inde- 
 pendant of vifible motion, is lefs dif- 
 ficult to conceive than to explain or define. 
 The Ariftotelians made fad nonfenfe of their 
 xlefinition of Time mime rus motus fecundum 
 prius et pqfterius. Bat though we cannot 
 eafily explain our idea of abfolute Time, 
 what we mean by relative Time, may be 
 communicated with great facility. The an- 
 nual and diurnal motions of the Earth are 
 performed in certain fixed portions of ab- 
 folute Time: thefe portions therefore may 
 be divided and fubdivided into months, 
 weeks, days, hours, minutes and fecondsj 
 which feconds are diftinctly marked by the 
 fwing of a pendulum of a certain length. 
 Some attempts have been made to apply 
 thefe regular ofcillations of pendulums to 
 mufical Time, fo as to determine the abfo- 
 lute duration or length of each note. It 
 was an idle project, becaufe it were ufelefs 
 and impracticable. 
 
 Mufical Time is merely relative, and muft 
 always be arbitrary. It depends on the 
 
 flue-
 
 fluctuating tafle of the age, and on the ex- 
 ecutive powers of the performer. In the 
 modern ftyle of performance, a prefto move- 
 ment muft be played with the rapidity of 
 lightning. 
 
 There are, in Mufic, but two kinds of 
 Time. One is called Common^ the other Tri- 
 ple Time. In the firft, when the notes in 
 a bar are of equal length, the number is 
 even; in the fecond, it is odd. By a Bar is 
 underflood the fpace between any two of 
 thofe- perpendicular lines drawn acrofs the 
 five lines ruled upon the paper. Let us 
 fuppofe the following figures to be notes. 
 1234, 1234, 1234, &c. Now, ifyoufing 
 thefe four figures to any tune you pleafe, 
 and beat with your hand or foot whenever 
 you come to the i, you will fing in common 
 time. If now you change your melody to 
 three figures, thus 123, 123, 123, and beat 
 as before, you fing in triple Time. A few 
 repetitions of this very fimple practice, will, 
 in five minutes, teach you that which many 
 young ladies do not comprehend, after feveiv 
 years instruction. The fault is in the Mafter. 
 
 As to the length, continuance, duration, 
 
 pr protraction of each fpecies of notes, the 
 
 fcholar is unneceflarily perplexed by a num- 
 
 M 3 ber
 
 ber of unmeaning names, fuch as breves> 
 femibreves, crotchets ', quavers, Jemt quavers, &c. 
 It were much more rational, becaufe more 
 intelligible, to call the fimple open circle, a 
 note-, when it has a tail, a half-note; when 
 the head is filled, a quarter-note j when the 
 tails are once tyed, an eighth; twice, afix- 
 teenth, &c. Thus the name would exprefs 
 the relative proportion of every note, and 
 any farther explanation would be unnecef- 
 fary. 
 
 So much for Scale, Mode, Key, Cliff, and 
 Time. I told you, in a former letter, that 
 modern Mufic differs effentially from that 
 of the ancients, in the invention of Harmony, 
 of which they appear to have been totally 
 ignorant. I alfo told you that Harmony is 
 the effect of two or more tones founding at 
 the fame time. You will now afk, what is 
 this Harmony? and which are the tones 
 that produce the effect ? 
 
 Mufical Harmony has its foundation in 
 a law of Nature: or, in other language, in 
 a certain property inherent in peculiar mo- 
 difications of matter: it depends on a coin- 
 cidence in the vibrations of the founding 
 bodies. No two firings vibrate in equal 
 times, unlefs they be turned in exact unifon, 
 
 as
 
 as are the two wires on a harpfichord, which 
 form each individual note. I fpeak of a 
 harpfichord without oftaves. Unifon there- 
 fore is the only perfect concord. Other 
 chords are more or lefs perfect as their vi- 
 brations coincide more or lefs frequently. 
 
 The next chord in degree of Harmony is 
 the Oclave, becaufe, as it vibrates in half, or 
 in double, the time, the tones coincide at every 
 fecond vibration. The Oclave, you remem- 
 ber, is the tone of a firing half the length: 
 that is, the tone on each fide of the bridge, 
 of a firing divided into two equal parts. 
 Now, if I remove the bridge, fo as to leave 
 three parts of the whole firing on one fide, 
 and two on the other, the longefl divifion 
 will found a 5th to the whole firing, and if 
 they were founded together, there would be 
 a perfect coincidence at every third vibra- 
 tion : the 5th therefore is the next chord in 
 rank. You now move the bridge, fo that 
 there fhall be three fourths on one fide; this 
 longer part will found a fourth to the whole 
 firing, and their vibrations will unite at 
 every fourth return. You then move the 
 bridge fo as to leave four 5ths on one fide: 
 the longefl divifion will found a major third 
 to the open firing, and the vibrations of 
 M 4 two
 
 two firings in this proportion, will coincide 
 at every 5th repetition. And Co of other 
 concords, Difcords are the tones whofe Vi- 
 brations never coincide. They are never- 
 thelefs of indifpenfible ufe in Mufic a? a foil, 
 nd as the means of introducing concords 
 with advantage. 
 
 In writing all this, I have not the mod 
 diftant intention to make a Compofer of 
 you. It is the philofophical part only of 
 Mufic, which I have endeavoured to ex- 
 plain; that part which every philofopher (I 
 fuppofe you intend to be a philofopher) 
 fhould know, and which may be perfectly 
 underftood without being able to play a note 
 on any mftrument. 
 
 I mean now to confider your queftion 
 ee Whether I would advife you to learn to 
 play, and on what inftrument?" From 
 the following reflections you will collect my 
 opinion of this matter. 
 
 The practice of Mufic, is, doubtlefs, an 
 innocent and delightful amufement; and, 
 becaufe it is delightful, very improper for 
 thofe who have no time to fpare. But, fay 
 the advocates for Mufic, it is a better re- 
 laxation and relief from fludy, than mere 
 jdlenefs. There are two anfwers to this plea: 
 
 firlt,
 
 firft, ftudious men require, in their relaxa- 
 tions, air and exercife Mufic affords nei- 
 ther: fecondly, it has often happened, that 
 this relief which was at firft admitted as a 
 handmaid to Study, became her miftrefs: 
 nay, the baggage has fometimes been fo in- 
 folent as to turn her miftrefs out of doors. 
 When I firft began to fcrape on the vio- 
 lin, I was told, by my mafter, that unlefs I 
 determined to praclife eight hours every 
 day, it was in vain to begin: yet people 
 learn Mufic for amufement; an amufement 
 that is conftantly to occupy a third part of 
 their whole time. There is indeed no art 
 that requires more conftant labour, if you 
 have the ambition to excel; to excel, I mean, 
 as a gentleman performer; for you will never 
 advance higher than a humble Repiano in a 
 good band. Now, whether the profpect of 
 arriving at this degree of excellence, deferve 
 the facrifice of one third of your time, ad- 
 mits of fome doubt. 
 
 If we reflecT:, that, from the beginning of 
 this century to the prefent time, many thou- 
 fands of men, in this kingdom, have been 
 labouring inceflantly to attain the art of 
 playing on the Violin, fome for amufement 
 
 and
 
 ( 186 ) 
 
 and others in their vocation; and that we 
 have not yet produced one firft-rate player; 
 is there not reafon to conclude, either, that 
 it is infinitely the mod difficult of all arts, 
 or that there is fome fecret, induftrioufly 
 concealed from Englifhmen. Probably there 
 is no fecret in the cafe; but there is a very 
 unaccountable want of obfervation and re- 
 flection, vifible in the execution of almoft all 
 our violin-players. 
 
 When a boy firft begins to fcrape his 
 gamut on the fiddle, he naturally makes 
 every note by the motion of his whole right 
 arm from the fhoulder. After he has prac- 
 tifed for fome time, he acquires, from ne- 
 ceflity, a little motion in the elbow, and 
 with this he refts perfectly fatisfied. The 
 proper motion of his wrifl, if he underftood 
 it ever fo well, would be incompetent to the 
 execution of quick paflages, becaufe he plays 
 with that part of his bow which lies be- 
 tween the centre and the farther extremity; 
 confequently when the notes are to be played 
 on different firings, the arch defcribed by 
 the right hand, extends beyond the power 
 of the wrift; therefore the motion muft ne- 
 ceflarily begin at the elbow, if not higher. 
 
 A3
 
 ( 187 ) 
 
 As this is a mechanical operation, if the 
 proportion be true, it may be mathemati- 
 cally demonftrated : thus 
 
 The part of the bow, in contact with the 
 firing of the violin, is the centre of a circle, 
 of which the hair of the bow, from that 
 centre to the extremity of the little finger 
 on the right hand, is the radius-, confequently 
 this little finger moves in the circumference 
 of a circle, which is greater or lefs, accord- 
 ing to the length of that radius-, and, as the 
 length of the arch to be defcribed, in the 
 fame time, depends on the magnitude of the 
 circle, it is evident that an artift who exe- 
 cutes difficult quick pafTages with the part 
 of the fiddle-flick neareft his hand, will, 
 ceteris paribus, execute thofe paflages with 
 the greateft eafe. Let us fuppofe the bow 
 to be divided into four equal parts : the hand 
 of the artift who plays quick paflages on the 
 firft, diftant divifion, defcribes, we will fup- 
 pofe, 20 archs of his circle, or plays twenty 
 quarter-notes on different firings in a fecond 
 of time : if he played with the centre on the 
 fecond divifion of his bow, he would execute 
 20 eighths^ and on the third, 2ojixteentbs t 
 in the fame time. But this is not the only 
 advantage of playing near the hand : it brings 
 
 the.
 
 the execution within the range of the wrift, 
 without any afliftance from the arm. 
 
 There is yet another effential difference 
 between a common player and a capital 
 artift: it lies in expreflion; which the firft 
 endeavours to produce by the occafional 
 preffure of his whole hand and arm ; whilft, 
 in the latter, it is entirely the effect of the 
 fingers, not of the left, but of the right hand. 
 His expreflive ideas do not flop at his elbow, 
 nor yet at his wrift: they pafs immediately 
 to his fingers, like the feelings of a fine per- 
 former on the Piano-forte. 
 . If now you obferve, with attention, Cra- 
 mer's manner, and compare it with that of 
 the fidlers about him, you will eafily con^ 
 ceive it impoflible for thefe gentlemen ever 
 to pafs the line of mediocrity. But this 
 perfect and indifpenfible knowledge of the 
 principles of the art, is not, of itfelf, fuffi- 
 cient to produce a capital performer on the 
 violin. Nature muft previoufly have fa- 
 voured the individual with a genius or ta- 
 lent for Mufic; with an ear exquifitely 
 formed, and capable of the moft minute 
 difcrimination of founds. 
 
 Inftruments on which principal parts are 
 played in Concerts, and which confequently 
 
 i_ require
 
 require rapid execution, muft be begun with 
 at a very early age, and the practice conti- 
 nued with a degree of afliduity, juftifiable 
 only in a profeffed Mufidan. But if you 
 have a tolerable ear, are fond of harmony, 
 and wifh to be able to take a (imple part in 
 a private Concert, the Tenor-fiddle, the 
 Violoncello, or the Baffoon, may be learnt 
 in a fhort time, and retained by very mode- 
 rate practice. If your ambition foar no 
 higher than a Scotch ballad, the German 
 flute is your inftrument. By ail means, 
 avoid the Hautboy, out of companion for 
 your neighbours; unlefs, at any time, you 
 want to drive the rats and mice from your 
 apartment. As to the Harpfichord I 
 once fat playing upon that inftrument, in a 
 room next the fquare where I then lived. 
 As two gentlemen were paffing the window, 
 I heard one of them exclaim, " I hate to 
 fee a man at the Harpfichord ! " I had never 
 before annexed the idea of effeminacy to 
 that inftrument; but from that moment, I 
 began to be of the gentleman's opinion. 
 
 I think, the moft defirable mufical ac- 
 complifhment, is, the art of fmging at fight; 
 that is, the art of hitting, or founding the 
 notes with your voice as with an inftru- 
 ment.
 
 ment. PoffeiTed of this art, with a proper 
 comprehenfion of time, you are, without 
 being a profefled finger, enabled to join in 
 a Catch or Glee, which, of all Mufic, is the 
 moft generally pleafing. 
 
 But, this art is commonly thought difficult 
 to learn. I believe the difficulty originates 
 in the abfurd method of teaching. If you 
 have voice and ear fufficiently true to run 
 the oc~lave up and down, both in the major 
 and minor key, you may, by the following 
 fimple means, learn to fing at fight in lefs 
 than a fortnight; provided you have, pre- 
 vioufly, a fufficient knowledge of triple and 
 common Time, and of the relative length of 
 the notes and refts : a knowledge that may 
 be acquired in an hour. 
 
 For the letters of the alphabet, by which 
 the feven notes are named, I fubftitute the 
 feven firfl figures, i, 2, 3, &c. becaufe they 
 will apply to any part of the harpfichord: 
 begin where you pleafe, i is the fundamen- 
 tal, or key-note* 2 the fecond, 3 the third, 
 and fo on to the octave. 
 
 Firft, run the feven notes, in the major 
 key, from one octave to the other, backward 
 and forward, till you can found them truly 
 and eafily. Then praeYife the fame in the 
 
 minor
 
 minor key, and, if you be not perfectly fare 
 of the trutli of your ear, touch the notes on 
 the harpfichord as often as you are in doubt. 
 
 Having thus made fure of the notes in 
 their natural order, in both modes, you may 
 now proceed to ring changes on them thus. 
 i>3>5>7i7'5'3' 1 - then 1,4, 6,8; 8,6,4,1: 
 continuing to alternate thefe chords till you 
 have them quite perfect. You may now 
 take them in the following order : 1,25 1,3; 
 1,45 1,5; 1,6; 1,7; 1,8; then, 8, 7; 8, 6; 
 8,5; 8, 4; 8, 3; 8, 2; 8, i. When you are 
 quite perfect in this third lefTon, both ma- 
 jor and minor, your fourth leflbn may be 
 in this progreflion i, 3; 2, 4; 3, 5; 4, 6; 
 5,7; 6, 8: then 8, 6; 7, 5; 6, 4; 5, 3; 4,2; 
 3, i. Prefuming that you can fmg thefe 
 four lefTons with great eafe and certainty, 
 you may proceed to the chromatic fcale, 
 riling by half-notes from the lower to the 
 upper octave, and defcending in the fame 
 manner; and now the great bufmefs is over. 
 Take a fong, or any book of Mufic ; pitch 
 your key, and you will find, that, with a 
 little practice, you will be able to hit the 
 notes as certainly as with an inftrument. 
 
 It was a very juft obfervation of my wor- 
 thy acquaintance Dr. J who is himfelf 
 
 a good
 
 ( '92 ) 
 
 & good Mufician and an excellent finger, 
 that finging has this great advantage over 
 inftruments, the learner may practife when- 
 ever he is alone, walking or riding; fo that 
 there is no lofs of time; whilft one of 
 the flrongeft objections to the pra6lice of 
 inftrumental Mufic is, that it requires more 
 time than a ftudious young man can fpare. 
 
 Vak. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 193 ) 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 A MIND, naturally inquifitive, one 
 would imagine, muft feel diffatisfied 
 in a (late of total ignorance, relative to the 
 furface of this terreftrial globe. The great- 
 eft number of mankind know nothing more 
 of the planet they inhabit, than the town 
 or parifh in which they were born. A fchool- 
 boy, from a public feminary, is as ignorant 
 of Geography as a peafant, and the fyftern 
 of education at the Univerfities is not cal- 
 culated to inculcate Geographical informa- 
 tion. 
 
 There are, I believe, very few young gen- 
 tlemen, who do not feel deprefTed by this 
 load of geographical ignorance. Every 
 Newfpaper is an opprobrium. They read the 
 names of towns and countries without know- 
 ing in what quarter of the world they are 
 to be found 5 and they are afraid to afk 
 queftions, which, they know, fome children 
 could anfwer. They have feen Geographi- 
 cal Grammars; but thefe are fuch thick 
 clofe-printed volumes, and feem to contain 
 fuch a multifarious accumulation of fcience 
 N and
 
 ( '94 ) 
 
 and technical language, that they poftpone 
 the fludy of Geography, till they have at 
 leaft fix months to fpare. Probably you 
 will be furprifed when I aver, that all the 
 Geography neceffary to a gentleman and a 
 polite fcholar, may be taught in the com- 
 pafs of a very few pages? perhaps within 
 the limits of a moderate letter, or two. 
 
 What is the fcience of Geography? Its 
 derivation from yy terra and y^ ftribo 9 
 anfwers the queftion. It is then, a defcrip- 
 tion of the Earth j a knowledge of the ab- 
 folute and relative fituations of empires, 
 kingdoms, provinces, &c. It is generally 
 made to include, the ufe of the globes, but im- 
 properly. Confidering the Earth as a globe, 
 making a part of the folar fyfrem, it be- 
 comes an object of Aftronomy. Geography 
 is no farther concerned in the Earth's mo- 
 tion, and dependence on other bodies, than 
 as they affeft the various climates on its 
 furface. This fcience therefore may be ilu- 
 died with equal propriety, and much more 
 conveniency, in the maps which cover the 
 walls of this room, than on a terreftrial 
 globe. 
 
 Let us begin with that in the centre: the 
 map of the World. It confifts, you perceive, 
 
 of
 
 ( 195 ) 
 
 of two large circles, which reprefent the 
 two hemifpheres of the globe, fuppofmg it 
 cut into two equal parts. The broad ex- 
 ternal circles which furround thefe two he- 
 mifpheres reprefent the horizon 3 that is, the 
 imaginary circular line, which, if you were 
 raifed fo far above the Earth as to fee one 
 half of it, would divide the vifible from the 
 invifible half. 
 
 That ftraight horizontal line which di- 
 vides the northern from the fouthern he- 
 mifphere, is called the Equator: on the Earth 
 it is an imaginary, and, on a globe, a real 
 circle. The double circle which pafTes over 
 the middle of New Holland, and that which 
 you fee at the fame diftance from the Equa- 
 tor on the north fide, are called the Tropics. 
 The other two double circles near the north 
 and fouth poles, are the Polar Circles. They 
 are of ufe in Geography in determining what 
 are called the Zones. The fpace between 
 the two Tropics is the torrid-, between thofe 
 and the polar circles, the temperate, and 
 within thofe circles, the frigid Zones. 
 
 In this, and in all other maps, the top is 
 the north ; the bottom, the fouth', your right 
 hand, the eaft; and your left, the wejl. 
 
 Thofe circles, which you fee meet in both 
 N 2 poles,
 
 ( 19* ) 
 
 poles, are called Meridians. They pafs through 
 every tenth degree of the Equator, and ferve 
 to mark the longitude: they are imaginary 
 circles which would be formed by a line 
 drawn upon the Earth over the fpot to which 
 the fun is vertical at every tenth degree. 
 The curve lines which are drawn from every 
 tenth degree on the Horizon, ferve to mark 
 the latitude. By latitude is meant the dif- 
 tance from the Equator north and fouth. 
 Longitude is the diftance, eaft or weft, from 
 any particular Meridian: in our maps, it is 
 generally taken from that of the Obfervatory 
 at Greenwich. 
 
 You know, our firft great divifion of the 
 Earth is into what are called four quarters: 
 Europe, Afia, Africa and America. Thefe 
 we will fuccefllvely contemplate. But be- 
 fore we take our leave of this general map 
 of the World, it is neceflary that you fhould 
 particularly notice the fituation of thefe four 
 quarters relative to each other. The north- 
 ern henaifphere, you fee, is occupied by Eu- 
 rope, Afia, the greateft part of Africa, and 
 North America. In the fouthern, we find 
 no land except South America, part of 
 Africa, New Holland, and a confiderable 
 number of iflands in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Our
 
 ( '97 ) 
 
 Our conftant intercourfe with the Eaft 
 Indies renders an acquaintance with the fi- 
 tuation of that country indifpenfibly ne- 
 ceffary. You read of fhips making their 
 outward or homeward voyage in fix, feven, 
 eight months, &c.j they touched at the Cape 
 of Good Hope 5 they watered at St. Helena. 
 Now, is it conceivable that a young gentle- 
 man porTerTed of any curiofity, or the leaft 
 inclination to knowledge, can reft fatisfied 
 in the total ignorance of the diftance and 
 fituation of places which affront him in 
 every news-paper. The Cape is the fouth 
 extremity of Africa, and the fmall ifland of 
 St. Helena, you will find, in about fix de- 
 grees of weft longitude and fifteen of fouth 
 latitude. Other remarkable places are New- 
 Holland, on the fouth-eaft coaft of which 
 you will find Botany Bay, &c. and on the 
 weft coaft of North America, in latitude 
 50, you will lay your finger on Ncotka Scur.d, 
 the prefent bone of contention between us 
 and Spain. Before you quit this map, you 
 will alfo take notice that the fea between 
 Europe and North America, is called the 
 Atlantic ; that between America and the eaft- 
 crn coaft of Alia, the Pacific Ocean -, and 
 N 3 that
 
 that which occupies the greateft part of the 
 fouthern hemifphere, the South Seas. 
 
 Having thus difpatched the world in ge- 
 neral, let us now contemplate this map of 
 Europej which, you perceive, is the Europe 
 we have already feen, magnified, or deline- 
 ated on a larger fcale. Here the degrees of 
 latitude marked on the fides, and of longitude 
 at the bpttorn, are much larger. By this 
 means Europe becomes as large as the whole 
 world; and, as thefe degrees may be enlarg- 
 ed to any fize, a kingdom may be magni- 
 fied to appear as large as this Europe, or a 
 province as large as a kingdom. 
 
 Before we inyefligate this quarter of the 
 world, it is necefTary to obferve by what 
 countries and feas it is environed. On the 
 eaft you fee it is bounded by Afia; on the 
 weft, by the Atlantic; on the north, by the 
 Frozen Sea; and on thefoufb, by the Medi- 
 terranean. This fea, you obferve, is a prin- 
 cipal object ; it deferves your attentive con- 
 fideration. It wafhes the coaft of Spain, of 
 France, of Italy, and of European Turkey. 
 It contains the iflands of Ivica, Majorca, Mi- 
 norca, Corfica, Sardinia, Sicily, Candia and 
 Cyprus, befides the fmall iflands of the Ar* 
 
 chipelago.
 
 ( 199 ) 
 
 chipelago, and others in the gulph of Venice, 
 If you apply your compaffes to that fcale of 
 Englifh miles, and then ftride them from 
 one end to the other of the Mediterranean 
 fea, you will find it about 2000 miles in 
 length. With your compares thus fixed, 
 you can inftantly meafure any of the king- 
 doms, or dates, in this map, or the diftance 
 between any two places. 
 
 The map being coloured, you immedi- 
 ately perceive the fize and fituation of the 
 feveral kingdoms, &c. You obferve the pro- 
 digious extent of the Ruffian Empire, and 
 the remainder you will find covers an equal 
 proportion of Afia. Sweden, though not 
 very powerful, is next in fize. France, 
 Spain, Germany, Poland, Denmark and Nor- 
 way, Turkey, England and Ireland, Italy and 
 its appendages, differ not materially in di- 
 menfions. The fmall States and Kingdoms 
 are, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal and Pruf- 
 fia; but you are not to efKmate the territo- 
 ries of his Pruflian Majefty, by the fize of 
 his kingdom. He is, befides, Elector of Bran- 
 denburgh in Germany, where you will find 
 his capital, Berlin. To thefe the great Fre- 
 derick added Silefia, which he took from the 
 Emprefs, and obtained a confiderable flice 
 N 4 of
 
 ( 200 ) 
 
 of Poland, in a late partition between the 
 two Emprefles and himfelf. 
 
 You may fometimes, in converfation, wifh 
 to recolle6t the latitde of the principal cities 
 in Europe. The beft method of fixing this 
 in your memory, is to trace, with your fin- 
 ger thofe that lie in, or near, the fame pa- 
 rallel, thus: Beginning with the latitude 41, 
 on the weft fide of the map, and palling a 
 little above the line 40, you will firft touch 
 upon Oporto in Portugal; thence, travelling 
 eaftward, you will pafs through Madrid the 
 capital of Spain ; thence, over the iiland of 
 Sardinia, to Naples in Italy: and thence to 
 Conftantinople. Thefe cities therefore lie 
 in, or very near, the fame degree of latitude, 
 and therefore enjoy the fame climate, except 
 what differences may arife from local cir- 
 cumftances. 
 
 If now you move your ringer up to 48, 
 and proceed eaftward, as before, you will 
 pafs through Paris, Manheim, Ratiibon, 
 near Vienna, Prefbourg, through the upper 
 part of Hungary and the fouthern extre- 
 mity of Ruffia. About the latitude 52 you 
 will find London, Amfterdam, Brunfwick, 
 Berlin, Warfaw. In 56, patting from weft 
 to eaft, on the fame parallel, you will travel 
 
 through
 
 through Edinburgh to Copenhagen, and 
 thence to Mofcow. Peterfburgb, the capi- 
 tal of the Ruffian Empire, lies in 60, the 
 latitude of the Shetland iflands. 
 
 In this map of Europe it is neceflary far- 
 ther to remark, that, befides the Mediterra- 
 nean, there are two other inland feas, viz. 
 the Baltic and the Black Sea. The firft, 
 you obferve, communicates with the German 
 Ocean through the Categate, and the other 
 with the Mediterranean, by the Archipe- 
 lago. On the coaft of the Baltic there are 
 feverai towns which deferve particular no- 
 tice, as you find them frequently mentioned 
 in the public accounts of the progrefs of 
 the prefent war between Sweden and Rufiia. 
 The ports on the Black Sea alfo merit your 
 attention on account of the war between 
 the Ruffians and the Turks. For the fame 
 reafon you fhould mark the fituation of the 
 principal towns on the borders of Turkey. 
 There remains nothing more, I think, of 
 any importance, except the principal rivers, 
 viz. The Volga, which rifes in Mofcovy and 
 falls into the Cafpian Sea at Ailrachan The 
 Don, whofe^fource is not far from that of 
 the Volga, but which runs to the Sea of 
 Afoph The Danube and the Rhine, both 
 
 which
 
 ( 202 ) 
 
 which take their rife in or very near Swit- 
 zerland. The firft takes an eaflern courfe, 
 and, after pafling, as you fee, through Ger- 
 many, Hungary, and Turkey, falls into the 
 Black Sea: the Rhine takes a contrary di- 
 rection, runs through Germany and Hol- 
 land, and difembogues itfelf in the German 
 Ocean. Rivers of lefs note are the Elbe at 
 Hambourgh, the Tagus at Lifbon, the 
 Thames at London, and the Rhone in 
 France, which laft, you obferve, falls into 
 the Gulph of Lyons near Marfeilles. 
 
 As to our ifland, you fee it lies between 
 50 and 60 degrees of north latitude, that, 
 on the eqft, it is feparated from the Conti- 
 nent by the German Ocean j on the weft, 
 from Ireland, by St. George's Channel; and 
 on the fotfb, from France, by the Englilh 
 Channel. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 WE now turn our attention to the 
 map of Afia, in which, as in that of 
 Europe, you fee, the Ruffian dominions co- 
 ver the largeft fpace. In this vaft territory, 
 there are few objects worth remembering, 
 except Kamtfchatka, which is mentioned 
 by fome of our northern navigators, and 
 that inhofpitable region, called Siberia, to 
 which Ruffian malefactors are baniflied. 
 The firft of thefe lies between 55 and 60, 
 the latitude of Scotland. 
 
 With Tartary we have no concern: with 
 Arabia and Perfia, almoft as little. In Tur- 
 key, which is at the weftern extremity of the 
 map, you find Smyrna and Aleppo at the 
 eaft end of the Mediterranean. Thefe places 
 are well known to our merchants trading 
 to Turkey. You there alfo find Jerufalem 
 and other towns mentioned in fcripture. 
 
 Thence we proceed to India, and tracing 
 the coaft from Surat on the weft fide to the 
 mouths of the Ganges at the eaftern extre-f 
 mity, you pafs in fucceffion, Bombay, Goa, 
 and thence alpng the coafts of the Carnatip, 
 
 Mala-
 
 Malabar, and Coromandel, till you come to 
 Pondicherry, Madras, and fo on to Calcutta. 
 Hence, paffing to the fouth of the Equator, 
 we fail between the iflands of Sumatra, and 
 Java; leaving the Dutch fettlement of Ba- 
 tavia on the right, we proceed directly north 
 to Canton in China, and thence to Pekiti 
 at the northern extremity of that empire. 
 All thefe are places with the names of which 
 you have been long acquainted, and whofe 
 refpective (ituations, I dare fay, you will 
 now remember. The feveral clutters of 
 iflands in this map, are thofe of Japan, of 
 Sonda, the Philippins, the Ladrones, the 
 Moluccas orSpice-hlands and the Moldivias. 
 That part of India with which we have any 
 connection, lies, you obferve, within the 
 Tropic 3 that is, within 23 degrees and a 
 half of the Equator: confequently the inha- 
 bitants have a vertical fun twice during their 
 fummer, and confequently the climate muft 
 be exceflively hot. This, I think, is all that 
 is necefTary to be remembered of Afiaj we 
 therefore now change the fcene. 
 
 Africa, you obferve, forms a very confi- 
 derable part of the habitable globe. It has 
 hitherto been fo imperfectly explored, that 
 our knowledge extends but to a fmall dif- 
 
 tance
 
 tance from the coafts, in any part. On the 
 eafti it is bounded by the Indian Ocean; on 
 the weft, by the Atlantic; on the north t by 
 the Mediterranean; and on the north-eaft, 
 by the Red Sea. It extends from 73 de- 
 grees of north, to 35 of fouth, latitude; 
 about 5000 Englifh miles : confequently the 
 Equator runs nearly through the middle of 
 it. 
 
 If now you begin at the Straits of Gib- 
 raltar, here at the north-weft corner of the 
 map, and follow the fouth coaft of the Me- 
 diterranean, you come firft to Algier, then 
 to Tunis, and then to Tripoli; which are 
 the only places of any confequence on the 
 coaft of Barbary. Continuing your journey 
 eaftward, you arrive at Alexandria in Egypt, 
 and pafling the mouths of the Nile, you 
 come to Grand Cairo; thence, travelling 
 with the celebrated Bruce, between the Nile 
 and the Red Sea, you traverfe the kingdom 
 of Nubia, and arrive in Abyflinia. From 
 thence, ftill following the coaft, you will 
 not find a name that you have ever heard 
 before, or that deferves to be remembered, 
 till you come to the Cape of Good Hope, 
 at the fouthern extremity of this continent. 
 It is a Dutch fettlement, in the country of 
 
 the
 
 ( 206 ) 
 
 the Hcittentots, a people with whom we be^ 
 gin to be better acquainted fince the publi- 
 cation of fome late travels into this part of 
 the world. 
 
 Having now doubled the Cape, you pro- 
 ceed northward till you come to the coaft 
 of Guinea; thence you pafs the rivers Gam- 
 bia, and Senegal on the Negro-coaft, leav- 
 ing, a little to the weft ward, firft, the Cape 
 de Verd iflands, then the Canaries, and fi- 
 nally the ifland of Madera. On the fouth 
 fide of the Equator, you obferve two fmall 
 iflands, at a confiderable diftance from the 
 continent, St. Helena and Afcenfion, both 
 in the track of our Eaft-India (hips. There 
 is alfo an ifland on the eaft coaft of Africa, 
 called Madagafcar, too large to have efcaped 
 your notice. 
 
 This map of the continent of America, 
 and of the Weft India iflands, requires to 
 be ftudied with fome attention ; particularly 
 North America, as without a competent 
 knowledge of that country, you cannot pof- 
 fibly underftaud the hiftory of your own 
 times. 
 
 By North America is generally under- 
 ftood that traft of country which lies be- 
 tween the northern extremity of Hudfon's 
 
 Bay
 
 ( 207 ) 
 
 Bay and the Gulph of Mexico. Between the 
 latitude 55 and 50 you find, New South 
 Wales and Labrador. This is a very cold 
 climate, though in the fame latitude with 
 England. From 50 to 45, you have Ca- 
 nada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. 
 Thefe are ftill very cold countries, though 
 in the latitude of France. Between 45 and 
 40, lies New England. Thence you pro- 
 ceed fouthward through Jerfey, Penfylvania, 
 Maryland, Virginia, N. and S. Carolina, 
 Georgia and Florida. Weftward of thefe 
 you obferve Louifiana and the vaft kingdom 
 of Mexico, extending fouthward as far as 
 Panama, within 7 degrees of the Equator. 
 From Panama down to Cape Horn, the 
 fouth point of America, you pafs no places 
 of note, except Lima the capital of Peru, 
 whence the Spaniards import Gold, and 
 what is more intrinfically valuable, the Cor- 
 tex Peruviams. In latitude 33 you leave, a 
 little to the weft, the ifland of Joan Fenian- 
 des, rendered famous by Anfon's Voyage. 
 You now double the Cape, and pafling 
 Falkland's ifland, proceed northward along 
 a defart coaft till you come to Buenos Ayres 
 at the mouth of the great river of Paraguay, 
 which runs through an extenfive country of 
 
 the
 
 ( 2 o8 ) 
 
 the fame name; for an account of this river 
 and country, I refer you to the Travels of 
 my old acquaintance Don Antonio d'Uloa. 
 About forty years ago, I had the pleafure 
 of his company from London to Lifbon. He 
 was a Philofopher, and lamented much that 
 the Inquifition would not permit him to 
 fay, the Earth moves round the fun. You 
 are now arrived at the Brafils, an extenfive 
 country, the coaft of which is in pofTeffion 
 of the Portugueze. Having doubled Cape 
 St. Roque and pafllng the mouth of the vaft 
 river of the Amazons, you touch at the 
 Dutch fettlement of Surinam, and thence 
 proceed along the coaft till you come to 
 Curafao, an ifland, alfo in pofleflion of the 
 Dutch. From this ifland they import that 
 fuperior fpecies of Tobacco which they call 
 Kanafter or Varinas y the name of a town on 
 the Spanifli T^erra-frma^ in the neighbour- 
 hood of which it is cultivated by the inha- 
 bitants, who barter it with the Hollanders 
 for European goods. 
 
 Hence we continue our coafting voyage 
 till we arrive at Carthagena and Portobello, 
 names that were familiar to every indivi- 
 dual in Britain when I was a boy. We 
 were then at war with Spain. Portobello 
 
 was
 
 209 ) 
 
 vVas taken by Admiral Vernon, who became 
 the hero of the day, and the fign of an ale- 
 houfe in every village. You now come to 
 the Bays of Honduras and Campeachy, where 
 we claim a right to cut Logwood, which 
 right the Spaniards difpute whenever they 
 want a pretence for quarrelling. Faffing 
 Vera Cruz, you leave the city of Mexico on 
 the left, and continue coafting the Gulph, 
 till you come to New Orleans near the 
 mouth of the famous river Miffiffippi, the 
 project of a trade to which fomewhat more 
 than half a century ago, about the time of 
 our South Sea bubble, ruined half the peo- 
 ple in France. 
 
 Your next objefts are the iflands of Cuba 
 and St. Domingo or Hifpaniola, as it is alfo 
 called, belonging to Spain. Near the weft 
 extremity of the former, you find the Ha- 
 vanna, which the late Lord Albemarle and 
 Sir George Pocock, took in the war preced- 
 ing the laft. South of Cuba, lies our Ja- 
 maica, and to the northward the Bahama 
 iflands. Eaft of St. Domingo you fall in 
 with another firing of fmall ifles, the chief 
 of which are Antigua, St. Kitts, Barbadoes 
 and Nevis belonging to us; and to the 
 O French,
 
 ( 210 ) 
 
 French, Martinico, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia 
 and Dominica. 
 
 Probably, before you quit America, you 
 may wifh to be more minutely acquainted 
 with the fcene of the late war with our re- 
 bellious children : a war by which they ob- 
 tained their liberty: a war that coft this na- 
 tion much more money than would have 
 purchafed the whole country, and almoft as 
 many men as there are people in it : a war that 
 has overturned the French monarchy, and 
 kindled the torch of Difcord in different 
 parts of Europe: a war that in. its confe- 
 quences has fpread alarm among princes; 
 but a war that immortalized four Englifh 
 Generals. The various fcenes of their ex- 
 ploits you muft look for at Bofton ; on Long 
 Ifland near New Yorkj in the Jerfeys, par- 
 ticularly at Trenton; at Charleftown, at 
 Philadelphia, and at Saratoga. 
 
 There remains, I think, nothing more in 
 this map of America, except this clufter of 
 iflands, for the knowledge of which we are 
 principally indebted to Captain Cook. I 
 mean the ' Society Iflands in the Pacific 
 Ocean, between 15 and 20 degrees of fouth 
 latitude. In the centre of thefe you obferve 
 the celebrated Otaheitee. 
 
 Thus,
 
 Thus, I flatter myfelf, I have fulfilled my 
 promife, in communicating, in the compafs 
 of two not very long letters, as much Geo- 
 graphical knowledge as you will ever want. 
 In my next, I purpofe to fatisfy your curio- 
 fity relative to the four prints of Pceftwn 
 which I have lately hung up in my ftudy. 
 Mean while, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 02 LET-
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 THAT you fhould recoiled no claflicaf 
 information concerning the city of 
 Poeftum, is not very furprizing, as I believe 
 that in the ancient authors you have read, 
 there are but two paflages in which it oc- 
 curs? one in the Georgia* 
 
 Forfitan et pinguis horfos qua cur a colendi 
 Qrnarety canerem^ biferique rofaria Pafti. 
 
 The other in the Metamorphofes, 
 
 Leucojiamque petit, tepidique rofaria "Pcefli. 
 
 The original name of this city was Pofi- 
 donia, from naareifuv, Neptunus, to whom it 
 was dedicated. When, and why, the Ro- 
 mans changed its name to Pceftum, I do 
 not know. It is fituated in the gulph of 
 Salermo, on the weftern coaft of Italy, 
 about 60 miles fouth of Naples. Whether 
 it was built by the Sybarites or by the Do- 
 rians, is matter of difpute; it is certainly 
 however of very remote antiquity, if it be 
 true, as the Sicilian Diodorus tells us, that 
 Hercules in his travels refted on a rock in 
 
 the
 
 the country of the Pofidonians. But, be 
 the original founders or pofTeflbrs of this 
 city who they might, hiftorians tell us, that 
 whilft the Romans were yet in their infan- 
 cy, Pofidonia was taken by the Lucanians, 
 a colony from the Samnites; that this peo- 
 ple were difpoffefled by the Romans, in the 
 year of Rome 480, at which time it became a 
 Roman colony, and afterwards a municipal 
 town. 
 
 About the year of Rome 528, when D. 
 Quintinus was fent againft Tarentnm, we 
 learn, from Livy, that the three cities of 
 Rhegiurn, Velia and Pceftum furnimed 
 twenty (hips to the afllflance of the Ro- 
 mans 5 the fame author alfo tells us, that, 
 fix years after, during the Punic war, Pcef- 
 tum fent, by their embaffadors, a prefent of 
 golden cups, but that they were not accept- 
 ed. Legati a Pcejlo pater as aureas Romam 
 attulerunt \ ih^Jlcut Neapolitanis, gratia afta, 
 non acceptum. In another place, he makes 
 honourable mention of this city among 
 thofe, which, after the battle of Cannae, 
 when the Romans were in great diftrefs, 
 generoufly aflifted them with troops and 
 money, for which they received the public 
 thanks of the Senate and people. 
 
 o 3 From
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 From the time of the Roman Republic, 
 till the ninth century of the Chriftian ara^ 
 hiftorians make no mention of this once 
 magnificent city. But we learn that, in the 
 year 366, Docibilis duke of Gseta, being at 
 war with one of his neighbours the Lord 
 of Capua, folicited the aid of the Saracens, 
 a colony from Sicily, then eftablifhed irj 
 Calabria. They came to his afliftance and 
 remained in pofleflion of a confiderabte part 
 of the country, whence they were finally ex- 
 pelled by means of a body of Greeks fent by 
 one of the Conftantines. But, before their 
 entire expulfion, in the year 930, they en- 
 tered Pceftum in the night, and after pillag^ 
 ing the inhabitants, fet it on fire. 
 
 There remained yet confiderable veftiges 
 of its ancient magnificence, till, in the year 
 1080, the pious zeal of Robart Guifcard, 
 dripped the ancient temples of their orna- 
 ments, for the purpofe of adorning a church 
 which he was then building at Salermo, 
 where, he believed, the bones of St. Matthew 
 were depofited. 
 
 From the many Infcriptions found in the 
 ruins of this ancient city, I will felect the 
 following, as one of the moft remarkable,
 
 TVLLI. OLERII. POESTANI 
 
 QVI. VIX. A. LXXXXV.D.XI. 
 
 FF. XXVIII. NN. LXXXIII. 
 
 C. L. P.P. 
 
 I dare fay you will conftrue it without 
 the leaft difficulty. 
 
 In the firft print, you have a profpeft of 
 the country, and of the ruins of Pceftum 
 as it now appears at a diftance. Its walls, 
 you fee, are wonderfully entire, confidering 
 their great antiquity. The higher towers 
 next the gates are fuppofed to be of more 
 modern conftruclion. Over the arch of the 
 north gate, on the outfide, there is a figure 
 of Neptune, carved on the key-ftone of the 
 arch, and on that within, a hippocampus, or 
 fea-horfe. The circumference of the city 
 is about two miles and a half. It muft 
 always have been an unwholefome place 
 from its vicinity to the Palm L,ucaniae y and 
 from the bituminous and fulphureous 
 fprings with which it is furrounded: for 
 this reafon the inhabitants were under the 
 neceflity of procuring water from diftant 
 hills, as appears by the ruins of feveral 
 aqu3edu<5ls. 
 
 The principal ruins within the walls are 
 
 an Amphitheatre, a Theatre, and the three 
 
 o 4 Tem-
 
 Temples which you fee in thefe three prints. 
 They are all what the Greeks called amphi^ 
 proftyhs, that is, having two porticos, one to 
 each front. The columns of thefe temples 
 are of the Doric Order, in its moft ancient 
 manner. 
 
 j Probably you will be furprized when I in- 
 form you, that the ruins of Pceftum were 
 fii ft .difcovered about five and thirty years 
 ago. How this difcovery happened, I will 
 tell you, in the words of my worthy friend 
 Dr. Longfield, to whofe learned publication, 
 I refer you for a more circumftantial ac- 
 count of thefe ruins. 
 
 " In the year 1755, an apprentice to 3 
 painter at Naples, who was on a vifit to 
 his friends at Capaccio, by accident took a 
 walk to the mountains which furround the 
 territory of Pceftum. The only habitation 
 he perceived, was the cottage of a farmer, 
 who cultivated the beft part of the ground, 
 and referved the reft for pafture. The ruins 
 of the ancient city made part of this view, 
 and particularly ftruck the eye of the young 
 painter; who, approaching nearer, faw, with 
 aftonifhment, walls, towers, gates, and tem- 
 ples. Upon his return to Capaccio, he con- 
 fulted the neighbouring people about th9 
 
 origin
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 prigin of thefe monuments of antiquity. He 
 could only learn, that this part of the coun-? 
 try had been uncultivated and abandoned 
 during their memory ; that, about ten years 
 before, the farmer whofe habitation he had 
 noticed, eftablifhed himfelf there 3 and that 
 having dug in many places, and fearched 
 among the ruins which lay round him, he 
 had found treafures fufficient to enable him 
 to purchafe the whole. 
 
 " At the painter's return to Naples, he 
 informed his matter of thofe particulars, 
 whofe curiofity was fo greatly excited by 
 the defcriptjon, that he took a journey to 
 the place, and made drawings of the princir 
 pal views. Thefe were fhewn to the King 
 of Naples, who ordered the ruins to be 
 cleared, and Pceftum arofe from the obfcu- 
 rity in which it had remained for upwards 
 of feven hundred years, as little known to 
 the neighbouring inhabitants as to travel- 
 lers," Farewel, 
 
 L E T-
 
 t E T T E R XXV. 
 
 I MEANT, in fome future letter, to have 
 brought you acquainted with Botany in 
 its proper place, as a branch of Natural 
 Hiftoryj but as the fpring is the beft feafon 
 for beginning the ftudy of this fcience, fub- 
 jjec~ls of more importance muft give place 
 to it for a time. 
 
 Safoitur acrh by ems grata vice Verh et Favom> 
 
 Let us therefore turn our prefent atten- 
 tion to that beautiful part of creation 
 
 terra quemferuntfoluta. 
 
 Botany was originally ftudied with an 
 attention folely to the medical virtues of 
 plants. The only ancient Greek author on 
 this fubjeft, whofe writings are now extant, 
 is Tbcopbraftus, the difciple and fucceflbr of 
 Arijlotle: he flouriflied about 320 years prior 
 to the Chriftian aera : he is faid to have writ- 
 ten ten books On the hiflory of Plants > one of 
 which is loft; and eight, on their caufes, of 
 which only fix remain. In imitation of 
 Arifltotle's Hiftoria AnimaUum> his book is 
 
 not
 
 ( 219 ) 
 
 not a hiftory of particular plants, but of 
 plants in general. He mentions about 500, 
 but defcribes fo few with accuracy, and the 
 reft fo very imperfectly, that fucceeding bo- 
 tanifts have been able to recognize but a 
 fmall number of them. Probably Dr. Sib- 
 thorp, who hqp lately explored the country 
 where Theophraftus herborized, may have 
 afcertained many of his plants, and I hope 
 he will not long withhold his difcoveries 
 from the public. Theophraftus was firft tranf- 
 lated into Latin by Geza. 
 
 The two later naturalifts worth notice, 
 are Diofcorides and the elder Pliny; that 
 unfortunate Pliny who perifhed in the fmoke 
 of Vefuvius. They appear to have lived at 
 the fame time, that is, about the middle of 
 the firft century. Of the writings of Diof- 
 corides only eight books have been preferv- 
 ed. He mentions about 600 plants j of thefe 
 he defcribes about 400: but few of his de- 
 fcriptions anfwer to our plants. 
 
 Pliny's work is entitled de Hiftorla Mundij 
 of which only 37 books are preferved. It is 
 an indifcriminate collection of all that he 
 had read of Natural hiftory. The vegetable 
 part is a mere tranfcript from Theophraftus,
 
 ( 220 ) 
 
 fMofcorides, and a few other writers whofe 
 works are loft. 
 
 Pliny fays, that Cato was the firft Roman 
 who wrote of Plants, and that, after him, 
 one Pompeius Len<zus\ a freedman of Potn- 
 py, tranflated into Latin, Notes and Obfer- 
 vations on Simples, written by Methridates, 
 from papers taken by Pompy when he de- 
 feated that King. He alfo tells us that 
 Evax, an Arabian King, wrote a book on 
 the virtues of plants, a copy of which he 
 fent, as a prefent, to the Emperor Nero> 
 that Cratevas, and others, publifhed colour- 
 ed drawings of plants ; and that Antonius, 
 Caftor, a Roman Phyfician, had a Bonta-? 
 nical Garden, in which he (Pliny) had feen 
 moft of the herbs he defcribes. This Caftor 
 was then a hundred years old. Is it not a 
 little extraordinary, that the name of Pom- 
 py's freedman., who tranflated the papers of 
 Methridates, fhould fo nearly refemble that 
 of Linnaus, the great author of our prefent 
 fyftem of Botany? 
 
 If you have any inclination to know the 
 botanical authors from Pliny down to our 
 own Ray, you will find a fhort account of 
 each, and of their writings, in Tournefort's 
 
 Jfagoge
 
 J 
 
 Ifagoge in Rent Herbariam. In this cata- 
 logue there is not a iingle writer, from thg 
 firfl to the fixteenth century, whofe bota- 
 nical labours deferve the leaft attention. 
 Without methodical arrangement, natural 
 hiftbry feems a chaos; yet no attempt at a 
 botanical fyftem appeared till the year 1583, 
 when Caefalpinus, profefTor of Medicine at 
 Padua, publifhed his book de Plantis, in 
 which they were arranged according to their 
 fruftification, or-manner of producing their 
 feed. But this fyftem laid dormant almoft: 
 a century after his death, when it was re- 
 vived by Morifon, profefibr of Botany at 
 Oxford, in his Hijloria Plantarum^ Oxonienjis, 
 fol. 1680. To this fyftem fucceeded that 
 of our excellent botanift Ray, many years 
 a refident member of Trinity college, Cam- 
 bridge. He formed his 3 1 claffes partly on 
 the diftinctions obfervable in the fhape of 
 the corolla, and partly on the fruit. He 
 publifhed his Methodus Plantarum nova in 
 1682; the firft volume of his Hijloria Plan- 
 tarum (which you may fee in the Univerfity 
 Library, in 3 huge folio volumes) was print- 
 ed in 1686; and his Synopjis ftirpium Britan- 
 nicarum, in 1690. The beft edition of this 
 book is that publiflied by Dillenius in 1724. 
 
 The
 
 ( 222 ) 
 
 The next fyftem was that of Tournefort 3 
 which he firft publifhed in French, in the 
 year 1 694, and in 1700, in Latin, under the 
 title of Injlitutiones Rei Herbaria, 3 vols. 4. 
 The sd and 3d volumes confift entirely of 
 plates, in all 475. He divides the vegetable 
 kingdom into 22 clafTes, characterized by 
 the fhape and number of petals in the 
 flower. His generic diftinctions are founded 
 the fructification. 
 
 The firft of thefe three fyftems, invented 
 by Csefalpinus, was ill adapted to the invef- 
 tigation of flrange plants, becaufe it was 
 impofiible to difcover the clafs to which they 
 belonged, till the feeds were completely 
 formed. Ray's fyftem was, in part, liable 
 to the fame objection. Tournefort's fyf- 
 tem was natural and eafy enough, in the 
 general clarification , and his genera are 
 commonly afcertained with fufikient accu- 
 racy; but he goes no farther: fpecific cha- 
 racters made no part of his fyftem. 
 
 The Linnsean fyftem of Botany is now 
 generally received and univerfally taught. 
 It is confefledly artificial; but much better 
 adapted to the inveftigation of an unknown 
 plant, than any of the former. His Claffes 
 are fubdivided into Orders* and his Genera 
 * into
 
 into Species and Varieties. It is called the 
 Sexual fyftem y becaufe he confiders the Sfa- 
 mina analogous to the male organs of gene- 
 ration in animals, and the Piftilla to the fe- 
 male. He divides the entire vegetable king- 
 dom into 24 clafTes, 23 of which are diftin- 
 guifhed by the number, or the comparative 
 length, or the connection, or the fituation 
 of the- Stamina. The 24th clafs compre- 
 hends the plants in which the organs of ge- 
 neration are invifible. The Orders generally 
 depend on the number of Piftllla in the 
 flower: fometirnes on other circumftances. 
 The Genera are characterized by peculiari- 
 ties in the flower; the Species by the leaves 
 or flem, and. the Varieties by accidental cir- 
 cumftances. 
 
 The fir ft thirteen ClaJ/es and their Orders, 
 are denominated from the number of Sta- 
 mina and Pejlllla ; thus, Monandria monogynia, 
 from fMvos umcus, avi% marltus, and yvni mu- 
 lieri that is, one hufband and one wife, the 
 flowers of this Clafs containing one Stamen. 
 and one Pi/tillum-, and fo of the other thir- 
 teen Clafles and their refpeclive Orders j for 
 a circumftantial defcription of which, and 
 of all the fucceeding ClafTes, I refer you to 
 
 your
 
 jroiir Cto/V, which you will receive with tnfo 
 letter. 
 
 Probably you may have fome curiofity to 
 know who this celebrated Linnaeus was; 
 this inventor of the new fyftem you are 
 about to ftudy. I will therefore give you a 
 Iketch of his life. 
 
 Charles Linnaeus was the fon of a Swe- 
 difh Divine, and born in the year 1707, at 
 Rcefhult in the province of Smoland. He 
 was, in his infancy, fo attentive to the 
 knowledge of plants, and confequently fo 
 negligent of his other frudies, that his father 
 determined to take him from fchool and to 
 bind him apprentice to a (hoe-maker. How- 
 ever, in 1717, he was fent to the Univerfity 
 of Lund, and in 1728 removed to Upfala, 
 where he perfevered in his favourite fludy 
 of Natural Hiftory, under the fevere oppre 
 fion of abfolute poverty, until his fingular 
 abilities and application gained him the pa- 
 tronage of Olaus Celfius, profeflbr of Divi- 
 nity, and Olaus Rudbeck, profeflbr of Me- 
 dicine and Botany. 
 
 In 1731, he was fent on a botanical ex- 
 pedition into Lapland, and received, from 
 the Royal Society of Upfala, the fum of 
 
 eight
 
 eight pounds Jlerling, for his travelling ex- 
 pences. He was abfent about a year and a 
 half, in which time he walked 4000 miles. 
 Soon after his return, he publifhed his Flora 
 Laponica, in which the plants were arranged 
 and defcribed according to his own new 
 , fyftem. 
 
 In the year 1735, he began his journey to 
 Holland, where, on the recommendation of 
 the great Boerhaave, he was patronized by 
 Mr. Clifford, whofe botanical garden he 
 fuperintended, and at whofe expence he 
 travelled to France and England. In 1738, 
 he returned to Stockholm, where he mar- 
 ried and fettled as a phyfician. In 1741, he 
 was appointed ProfefTor of Botany at Up- 
 fala. In 1753, he was created Knight of the 
 Polar Star, and, three years after, enobled. 
 He died in 1778, aged 71. 
 
 The diftin&ion of male and famale plants 
 was, by no means, the invention of Linnasus. 
 It is as old as Empedocks, who wrote a book, 
 De natura et principiis Rerum> about the 75th 
 Olympiad, in which, as we learn of Arif- 
 totle, he fpoke of plants as being oviparous, 
 and hermaphrodite. An Olympiad, you 
 know, was a period of 4 years, by which 
 the Greeks computed time: this Empedocles, 
 P there-
 
 ( 226 ) 
 
 therefore, muft have lived near a hundred 
 years before Ariftotle, who was born about 
 the 98th Olympiad. I dare fay you remem- 
 ber to have read, that this Empedocles threw 
 himfelf headlong into ^Etna, that the world 
 might believe he was a God. He certainly 
 convinced the world that he was a fool. 
 
 Ariftotle exprefles fome doubt of this new 
 doctrine of vegetable generation, yet he tells 
 us, that, if the duft of a branch from the 
 male Palm-tree be fliook over the female, 
 her fruit will foon ripen. 
 
 Theophraftus, the difciple of Ariftotle, ob- 
 ferves, that the chief diftinclion among trees 
 is their gender, male and female. 
 
 Diofcorides and Pliny, both fpeak of male 
 and female plants, but without precife ideas 
 of either. Caefalpinus obferved the differ- 
 ence of fex in the Ciafs of plants which 
 Linnaeus has fince called Dioecice. But Za- 
 luzianjkl> a native of Poland, who, I believe, 
 wrote at the latter end of the i6th, or be- 
 ginning of the i 7th century, appears to 
 have been the firft botanift who diftinguifh- 
 ed the fexes of plants in their various modes 
 of males, females, hermaphrodites, and an- 
 drogyna. \ I : 
 
 Many years after this, pur countryman 
 *i Grew,
 
 Grew, and other natural! fts of different na- 
 tions, refumed the enquiry, and, by micrc- 
 fcopical obfervations, difcovered that the 
 females were impregnated by the polen con- 
 tained in the anthera of the males. On this 
 foundation Linnaeus built his Sexu al Syftem ; 
 a fyftem entirely his own. We now return 
 to the other clafles. 
 
 ClafsXIV. DiDYNAMiA,has four Stamina, 
 two long and two fhort: the Orders are de- 
 termined by the Seeds being naked or in- 
 clofed in a Pericarpium. 
 
 Clafs XV. TETRADYNAMIA, has fix Sta- 
 mina, four long and two fhort. The Orders 
 depend on the form of the Pericarpium. 
 
 Clafs XVI. MONADELPHIA; Stamina unit- 
 ed at the bafe; Orders diflinguifhed by the 
 number of Piftilla. 
 
 Clafs XVII. DIADELPHIA; Stamina ge- 
 nerally in two divifions; the flower papilio- 
 naceous. The Orders fignified by the num- 
 ber of Piftilla. 
 
 Clafs XVIII. PALYADELPHIAJ Stamina 
 in three or moredivifions: Orders depend 
 on the number of Piftilla.. 
 
 Clafs XIX. SYNGENESIA; Five Stamina, 
 united in the Anthera. Orders determined 
 by the formation of the Flofculi. 
 
 p 2 Clafs
 
 ( "8 ) 
 
 Clafs XX, GVNANDRIAJ Stamina on the 
 Pijlillum. Orders diftinguifhed by the num- 
 ber of Stamina. 
 
 Clafs XXI. MONOECIA; Stamina and Pif- 
 tllla in feparate flowers on the fame plant. 
 Orders, from the fituation or number of the 
 Sfamma;orfi'om theunitingof t\\z\r Anther &. 
 
 Clafs XXII. DIOECIAJ Stamina and Pif- 
 tilla on feparate plants. Orders the fame as 
 in Clafs 21. 
 
 Clafs XXIII. POL YG AMI A ; Stamina with- 
 out Pijlilla y or vice verfa, or both together. 
 Orders depend on the fituation of the Sta- 
 mina and fiflllla. 
 
 Clafs XXIV. CRYPTOGAMIA; Parts of 
 fructification not diftinguifhable. Orders, 
 from habit or apparent refemblance. 
 
 You, who are a Greek fcholar, will find 
 no difficulty in difcovering the etymology of 
 the titles of thefe feveral clafTes : You will 
 then eafily fix them in your memory. But 
 I (hall explain them farther in the exami- 
 nation of particular plants. This method 
 of reading the great book @ Nature, and of 
 inveftigating her productions in the order 
 and fucceilipn in which (he prefents them 
 to our view, I conceive to be far preferable 
 to the dry method of learning Botany by 
 
 means
 
 means of formal Introductions or Rudiments^ 
 the contents of which it is impoflible to re- 
 member without examples, and which ex- 
 amples it is impoflible to procure in ftudy- 
 ing the feveral ClafTes in regular fucceflbn. 
 
 I have no intention, in giving you this 
 general introduction to the fcience of Bota- 
 ny, to allure you from more important flu- 
 dies. You are to regard it as a fcience of 
 amufement; but, with this ftrong recom- 
 mendation, that it may be acquired without 
 ftealing a fmgle hour from your neceflary 
 lucubrations. We read of men, who, in 
 the fhort fpace of human life, have acquired 
 a degree of univerfal knowledge, to which 
 one might imagine the age of an antedilu- 
 vian would hardly have been fufficient. The 
 late illuftrious Profeffor Haller, of the Uni- 
 verfity of Gottingen, was a remarkable ex- 
 ample of this univerfality. He was a mi- 
 nute anatomift, an accurate phyfiologift, an 
 indefatigable botanift, a charming poet, a 
 claflical fcholar, an univerfal linguift, an 
 aftonifhing bibliothecarian, and, in the 
 latter part of his life, a moft intelligent 
 magiftrate. 
 
 That a man of univerfal erudition was 
 p 3 no
 
 no uncommon phenomenon among the an- 
 cients, appears from the following pafTage 
 in Cicero, who, in fpeaking of the Greek 
 philofopher, fays in qua difficile eft enume- 
 rare quot viri^ quanta fcientia, quantaque in 
 fuis Jludiis varietate et copia fuerint y qui non 
 una aliqua in rejeperatim elaborarent^ fed om- 
 nia qiuzcunque effent, vel fcientite pervejliga- 
 tione, vel diflerendi ratione comprehenderent. 
 
 Gefner, the great Swifs naturalift, was fo 
 aftonilhing a prodigy of knowledge, that 
 Boerhaave ufed to call him MonJIrum erudi- 
 tionis. His extenfive learning appears truly 
 wonderful, when we confider, that he fhone 
 in the midft of a dark world; in an age of 
 grofs ignorance, and deprefled by indigence. 
 He lived early in the i6th century. 
 
 Genius, application and memory, are 
 doubtlefs neceflary to the attainment of 
 what may be called univerfal knowledge: by 
 univerfal knowledge, I mean an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with fome fciences, and fome- 
 what more than a fuperficial knowledge of 
 the principles of all : but, I believe, the la- 
 bour of becoming thus univerfally learned 
 is not fo very herculean as we generally 
 imagine j and that it depends principally on 
 
 a ju~
 
 ( 231 ) 
 
 a judicious arrangement of our ftudies, and 
 difpofition of our time. In the arrangement 
 of our fludies we fhould imitate the Ikilful 
 agriculturift, whofe fucce.Tive crops fo re- 
 lieve each other, as to preclude the neceflity 
 of fallowing^ and, as to the difpofition of 
 our time, let us take Botany for an exam- 
 ple. A man who ftudies all day and every 
 day, will, in a few years, become unhealthy 
 and ftupid : therefore, part of every Undent's 
 time muft be loft in exercife. Loft did I fay ? 
 No : it is not loft to a Eotanift. He fludies 
 where other men, for want of books, muft 
 lounge. To him the book of Nature lies 
 conftantly open. He reads as he walks 
 along: every field is a new chapter; every 
 leaf is an 'object of attention, and every 
 flower a prize. A general knowledge of 
 Botany therefore may be learnt at times 
 when other ftudies are necefTarily fufpend- 
 edj confequently it interferes with no other 
 fcience. I fay a general knowledge^ which is 
 enough for a gentleman who ftudies Botany 
 as an amufement: an univerfal and minute 
 botanift muft unavoidably neglect things of 
 more importance. In my next letter I fhall 
 lead you into the fields. Remember to 
 p 4 take.
 
 take, in one pocket, your tin btx t and, in the 
 other, the fecond volume of your Synopfa*. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 * Synepjti of the Natural Hi/lory of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, printed for T. Cadell, 1789. 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 233 ) 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 MARCH, 1790. 
 
 IF you have read my laft letter with at- 
 tention, the 24 clafies of Linnaeus are 
 fixed in your memory: without a perfect 
 recollection of thefc, it is impoffible to pro- 
 ceed a fingle ftep in the modern fyftem of 
 Botany. As to the Orders, it will be time 
 enough to look round the houfe when you 
 are introduced to the family. 
 
 Notwithstanding the remarkable mild- Bellis. 
 nefs of the winter, you fee, our bota- 
 nical enquiries of to day, will be con- 
 fined to a fmall number of flowers. 
 The common Daify, and that yellow 
 flar, which you obferved, in abundance, 
 on the declivity of the ditch near the 
 iron gates of King's, are the only flow- 
 ers we have feen. Let us begin with 
 the mod common of all flowers of the 
 field, the Daify, univerfally called, in 
 Latin, Beltis. The fpecific, or trivial, 
 name, given by Linnaeus to the fpecies 
 in your hand, isperennis, to diftinguifti 
 
 it
 
 ( 234 ) 
 
 it from the other, which he calls annua. 
 The firft of thefe only, grows wild in 
 this kingdom. Notwithftanding its 
 vulgarity, you will find it a very curi- 
 ous object. You will hardly believe 
 me when I tell you, that there are, in 
 that fmgle Daify, about one hundred 
 and twenty complete yellow flowers, 
 befides fifty white ones without Sta- 
 mina. 
 
 As to its name, Bettis, fays Ray, Latinis 
 a hello feu pulchro color e forum difta creditur; 
 and its Englifh etymology, we learn from 
 thefe lines of our ancient poet Chaucer, 
 
 Well by reafon men it calle maie 
 The Daifie, or elfe the Eye of the daie. 
 And at the laft there tho* began anon 
 A Lady for to fmg right womanly 
 A Bargonet in praifing the Daifie; 
 For as methought among her notis fwetc 
 She faid,/ douce eft la Margarete. 
 
 You will find this paflage quoted at length 
 in Curtis's Flora Londinenjis. 
 
 If now you pull out one of the white ex- 
 ternal rays of this little flower, of which 
 there are about 58, by applying this mag- 
 nifying glafs, you will find it tubular at 
 
 the
 
 the bottom, and containing a fingle piftll- 
 lum. You now detach fome of the yellow- 
 florets which compofe the difkj each of 
 thefe you will difcover to be a perfect tu- 
 bular flower, containing $Jlamina and one 
 pijlillum. Now as each of thefe florets of 
 the difk is provided with the male and fe- 
 male organs of generation neceffary to the 
 production of feed, \\\z pijlillum in the radii 
 is fuperfluousj which circumftance deter- 
 mines the Order to which it belongs, viz. 
 Poly garni a fuperfua-y and that it is of the Clafs 
 Syngenefia is evident, becaufe the flower con- 
 fifts of a number of florets comprifed within 
 one calyx, which is the general charafterif- 
 tic of that clafs. You are alfo to obferve, 
 that, in this clafs, thejtamina are united at 
 their extremities, fo as to form a cylinder; 
 and that, at the bottom of each floret, there 
 is a fingle feed placed on the receptaculum* 
 For the meaning of thefe and other techni- 
 cal terms, I muft refer you 'to your Clavis*, 
 where I have explained them according to 
 what I conceive to be the Linnaean accepta- 
 tion. 
 
 I need 
 
 * Clavh Anglica Lingua Botanica^ or a Botanical Lexl- 
 coV) &c. the firft edition of which I publifhed when I was 
 a ftudent of Medicine at Edinburgh. It was originally 
 written for my own ufe, and republifhed laft year.
 
 ( 236 ) 
 
 I need not tell you that the word Synge- 
 nefia is derived from 2uv, fimul> and revfo-/?, 
 generatio^ and that it is the i9th clafs; a par- 
 ticular explanation of which you will alfo 
 find in the book lad mentioned. 
 
 Having now ftript off all the florets, 
 white and yellow, there remains, in your 
 hand, a naked conical receptaculum-, feeds 
 without pappus i calyx hemifpherical, com- 
 pofed of uniform fcales; feeds obovate. 
 Thefe peculiarities determine the genus. 
 
 The Species is diftinguifhed by the ftalk 
 being naked, fcapo nudo. 
 
 If Chaucer, in the lines above quoted, 
 alluded to this our common Daify, probably 
 he was miftaken in the French name, which 
 is Paquerete. The plant which the French 
 call Margarite is the Chryfanthetnum leucan- 
 thetnum, or Ox-eye Daify; eafily diftinguifh- 
 ed from the former by its fize, the leaves on 
 the ftalk, &c. 
 
 From this fpecimen, I conceive, you have 
 acquired botanical knowledge fufficient to 
 {liftinguifti the plants of the Clafs and Or- 
 der, Syngenejia, poly garni a fuperfua t wherefo- 
 ever you may find them. Let us now ex- 
 amine one of thofe yellow ftar-like flowers 
 which grow in fuch abundance in this field. 
 
 On
 
 ( 237 ) 
 
 On the fir ft infpection, you per- Ranun- 
 ceive that theftamzna are more than cu!us ' 
 20 ; therefore it is of the Clafs Poly- 
 andria: and in the centre of the 
 flower, you find a great number of 
 germlna y which are the female organs, 
 though without ftyti> and their ftig- 
 mata are very minute. This brings 
 it to the Order Polygynia. 
 
 As to thegemts of this plant, authors dif- 
 fer. The celebrated Haller and Hudfon, 
 make it a diftincl: genus, and call it Ficaria 
 verna. But our great mafter Linnaeus muf- 
 ters it among the Ranunculi, and he is fol- 
 lowed by Curtis and Relhan. Thefe are in- 
 difputable authorities. This is the generic 
 character of the Ranunculus Calyx penta- 
 phy Hits ; Petala quinque, intra ungues poro mel- 
 lifero. Now the flower in your hand has a 
 calyx of but 3 leaves, and the petals are 8 
 in number; but thefe differences which are 
 not invariable, are infufficient to conftitute 
 a new genus. The fcale and nettarium at 
 the bafe of each petal; their glofs and the 
 general habitus of the plant declare it to be 
 a Ranunculus. 
 
 The Species we difcover, by its leaves be- 
 ing heart-fhaped, angulated, on long petioti-, 
 
 and
 
 and by each (talk fupporting a (ingle flower. 
 This defcription agrees only with the/ra- 
 rta: fo that we now no longer hefitate 
 to call our plant the Ranunculus ficaria of 
 Linnaeus, or Pilewort; of which you will 
 find a very good plate, well coloured, in my 
 copy of the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 Cal- On the oppofite fide of that ditch, 
 tba " you fee a yellow flower, fomewhat 
 larger than this, apparently of the Ra- 
 nunculus genus. It is indeed of the 
 fame Clafs and Order, viz. Polyandria 
 Polygynia, but differs from the Ranunculi 
 in having no calyx, no netfarium, and 
 in its feeds being inclofed in capfules. 
 It refembles the Ranunculi in having 5 
 rounded petals j but they are not glaz- 
 ed on the upper fide. The flowers 
 grow in pairs on feparate/Wwflcw//. The 
 leaves are heart-(haped. It is the Cal- 
 tha paluftrisy the only fpecies of that 
 genus hitherto found in any part of 
 the world. You will find them in al- 
 moft every fwamp, and particularly in 
 very great abundance on the morafs at 
 the back of Peter-houfe. 
 
 : I fup-
 
 239 
 
 I fuppofe Thomfom meant this Water- 
 lily in thefe lines, 
 
 See how the lily drinks 
 
 The latent rill, fcarce oozing thro* the grafs, 
 Of growth luxuriant, or the humid bank 
 In fair profulion deeks. 
 
 Under thofe trees, in the language of the 
 fame poet, 
 
 where purple violets lurk 
 With all the lowly children of the fhade, 
 
 you will find fome purple flowers. You 
 know them to be violets by the fmell. But 
 you wifh to learn to what Clafs and Order 
 they belong. Carefully infpefting the cen- 
 tre of the flower, you will difcover 5 fta- 
 mina, the anthera of which are united. Now 
 this being the efiential charafteriftic of the 
 Syngenefia, it certainly is of that clafs ; but, 
 as in this Violet, we do not find a number 
 of florets inclofed in one common calyx, it 
 muft necefTarily belong to the Order Mono- 
 gamia; which differs remarkably from the 
 other 5 Orders of this clafs, in the flower 
 being fimple. This Order excepted, the 
 clafs Syngenefia is perfectly natural. The 
 generic character of the Violet is, Calyx of 
 
 5 leaves;
 
 5 leaves? Corolla of 5 petals, irregular, 
 horned behind} Capfule above, trivalve, uni- 
 locular. The Species is determined by the 
 plant producing no Stem ; the leaves being 
 heart- fhaped, and fuckers creeping. It is 
 called by Linnaeus Viola odorata. In the 
 Flora Londinenjis you will fee the minute 
 parts of the Violet with more eafe than in 
 the natural flower. 
 
 Of the genus Viola, there are 28 fpecies; 
 only 6 of which have been found in this 
 kingdom, and but 4 in Cambridgefhire, as 
 you learn from my friend Relhan's valuable 
 Flora. Thefe are 
 
 Viola odorata y fufficiently diftinguifhed by 
 its fmell. 
 
 V. berta> is inoderous and hairy; the brae- 
 tea grow lower on the pedunculus, and 
 it blooms fomewhat later. 
 
 V, canina, produces a ftern; its flower, 
 which is fometime white, is larger, and 
 does not appear till April. 
 
 V. tricolor, is fufficiently diftinguifhed by 
 the colours of the flower, and the ob- 
 long fbape of its leaves. Blooms in 
 May. 
 
 Nor-
 
 ( 241 ) 
 
 This pale yellow flower, which I ga- Afcr- 
 thered at the corner of the wood, you '$" 
 fee, has fix ftamina and one pijlillum: 
 therefore it is of the Clafs Alexandria 
 and of the Order Monogynia. The petela 
 are fix, and the calyx is a fpatha. Now 
 confult your Flora Cantabrigienjis, and 
 you will find but two genera in this 
 Clafs and Order whofe calyx is a fpatha, 
 or fheath, viz. Allhtm and Narctffiis. In 
 the firft of thefe, \hefpatha contains fe- 
 veral flowers: in the plant in your 
 hand, it includes but one : therefore it 
 is the latter. And as there is in this 
 county but onejpecies of this genus, you 
 cannot miftake in calling it the Nar- 
 ci/us pfeudo-narciflus, or Englifh Daffo- 
 dil. Mr. Relhan found it at Whitwell* 
 near Coton, and at Whittlesford. 
 
 Linnseus enumerates 14 fpecies of Nar~ 
 dj/us. In number 6 1 of the Botanical Ma- 
 gazine, you will fee another fpecies of this 
 plant, which, the author obferves, has been 
 overlooked by Linnseus. He calls it the in- 
 comparabilis, after our ancient botanift Par- 
 kinfon. There is alfo a tolerable wopden 
 reprefentation of it in Gerarde, who calls 
 
 it
 
 ( 242 ) 
 
 it Narciffus omnium maximum feu nonpar eile. 
 It is well known to the London gardeners 
 by the name of the Egg Narciffus, or 
 Orange Phoenix. 
 
 Betides this which I have gathered, there 
 is a fpecies, called poetlcu^ found in fome 
 parts of this kingdom. It is rather a rare 
 plant. Its fpecific appellation you will eafily 
 conceive originates in a fuppofition that this 
 is the flower into which the felf-enamored 
 fon of CephhTus. was metamorphofed. 
 
 . . - 
 
 i croceum pro corpore florera 
 
 Irweniunt, folris medium cingentibus albis. 
 
 It feems, indeed, pretty evident, from the 
 defcriptions of Theophraftus, Diofcorides 
 and Pliny, that our Daffodil is- a fpecies of 
 the Narciffus of the ancients. There is but 
 one objection to this fuppofition: they do 
 not, by any means, agree in their time of 
 flowering. The firft and laft of thefe an- 
 cient naturalifts tell us that their Narciffus 
 blooms about the Autumnal equinox, and 
 Virgil's 
 
 necfera comantem 
 
 Narciffus^ 
 I am fure you remember. "-^ 
 
 What
 
 ( 243 ) 
 
 What tree, or rather fhrub, is that Pru* 
 in the hedge, bearing thofe white blof- nus ' 
 foms ? Let us examine the flower. 
 
 Thejtamna, you perceive, are numerous, 
 20 or more: therefore it is either of the 
 Clafs Icofandrla or Potyandria. But I have 
 iio doubt to which it belongs, when I fee 
 that the Jlamina are not fixed to the recep- 
 taculum^ but to the infide of the calyx; that 
 circumftance being peculiarly characleriftic 
 of the Clafs Icofandfia. Befides, the calyx 
 is of one leaf, and the petals are fixed to 
 the fide of it 3 circumftances which pofi- 
 tively diftmguifli this ctafs. 
 
 In the centre of thefe Jlamina you find one 
 fiftillum: therefore it is of the Order Mono- 
 gynia; of which this ifland produces but one 
 genus, viz. Prunus. Of this genus I have, 
 in the Synopjis, defcribed 5 fpecies, only three 
 of which grow in this part of the kingdom. 
 
 In the infititla the pedunculi grow in 
 pairs, the leaves are oval and a little woolly. 
 In the ceracius the flowers grow in a kind 
 of fhort umbell, and the leaves are ovato- 
 lanceolate. But in \hefpinofa the leaves are 
 lance-fhaped, fmooth, ferrated, the branches 
 fpinous, and the flowers grow from the ala? 
 of the leaves on fm$\e ftdunculi , all which 
 
 eir-
 
 ( 244 ) 
 
 circumftances unite in the flirub from which 
 you took this bloflbm: therefore it is the 
 Prunus fpinola, Black-thorn, or Sloe. 
 
 This clafs Icofandria comprehends many 
 fruit-bearing trees and fhrubs, none of 
 which are indigenous in this kingdom ex- 
 cept the Sloe, the wild Pear, the Crab, the 
 Bramble, the Medlar, the Rafberry, and the 
 Sorbus, or Service-tree j that tree of the fruit 
 of which Virgil tells us, the Scythians made 
 a liquor in imitation of wine; that is, a fort 
 of Cyder. Sitting by a good fire 
 
 Hie notfem ludo ducunt, et focula laetl 
 Fermento atque acidis imitantur viteaforbis. 
 
 Of thefe trees and fhrubs, only the firfl 
 four are found wild in Cambridgefhire. 
 
 As this month is not very prolific of 
 flowers in the fields, let us walk down to- 
 wards yon rivulet. Probably we may find 
 more trees that will bring to your recollec- 
 tion other lines of my favourite Roman 
 poet. 
 
 Popu- Thofe trees growing on the banks 
 
 lus - are the Populus nigra, Black Poplar: its 
 
 male and female blofibms are on fepa- 
 
 rate trees; confequently they are of the 
 
 Clafs
 
 ( 245 ) 
 
 Clafs Dtoecia. In the male flower you 
 will find eight Jlamina; therefore the 
 Order is O&andria. The calyx of the 
 amentum is a lacerated fcale, and the 
 corolla turbinated, oblique and entire. 
 In the female, the jllgma is quadrifid; 
 the capfule bilocular, and the feeds nu- 
 merous and downy : fuch is the generic 
 character. The fpecies is determined 
 by the leaves being of a rhomboidal 
 lhape, dark green and on yellow foot- 
 ftalks. 
 
 The Poplar, and probably this fpecies, is 
 among the trees that Virgil fuppofed to 
 grow fpontaneoufly, without feed. 
 
 Wamque alia, nullls hominum cogentibus, ipfe 
 Spontefua veniunt, campofque etfumina late 
 Curva tenent', ut mollejiler^ kntte geniftez, 
 PopuluSy et glauca canentia fronde falifta. 
 
 What this/fcr was, is doubtful. Com- 
 mentators alfo differ in opinion concerning 
 the lenta Genift#. It has generally been 
 tranflated Broom, named Spartium by Lin 
 nseus, whofe Genifla is our Furze or Whin. 
 Virgil in the fame book of his Georgics, 
 mentions the Genifla as affording leaves for 
 0.3 the
 
 the cattle, fliade for the (hepherds, hedges 
 for the fields, and food for the bees. 
 
 falices, humtlefque genifta 
 Aut ilia pecorifrondeni) autpaftoribus umbras 
 &ufficiunt,feptemquejatis, tt fabula melli. 
 
 Neither of thefe fhrubs feem to anfwer 
 theie feveral intentions. 
 
 Adieu.
 
 247 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 APRIL* 
 
 PREVIOUS to the confideration of any 
 new plants which we may meet with 
 in this day's ftroll, let us recollect the ClafTes 
 and Orders with which you became ac- 
 quainted in our laft excurfion. Thefe were 
 
 Bellis perennis, of the Clafs Syngenefa and 
 Order Poly garni a fuperflua. 
 
 Ranunculus ficaria, and Caltha palujlrh both 
 of the Clafs Polyandria and Order Poly- 
 gynia. 
 
 Viola odorata, of the Clafs Syngenefia and Or- 
 der Monogamia. 
 
 Narci/us pfeudo Narcijfits, of the Clafs Hex- 
 andria and Order Monogynia. 
 
 Prunus fpinofa, of the Clafs Icofandria and 
 Order Monogynia. 
 
 Populus nigra, of the Clafs Dioecia and Or- 
 der Ottandria, 
 
 Thefe feven plants being your firfl bota- 
 nical acquaintance, I hope you will acknow- 
 ledge them whenever you meet them in fu- 
 
 ture,
 
 ( 248 ) 
 
 ture, and that you will recolle6l to what 
 Regiment and Company they belc*ng. 
 
 Prl- The pale yellow flowers that fo beau- 
 mula. t if u iiy ac jorn t hat bank, are alfo old 
 acquaintance. You have known them, 
 from a child, to be called Primrofes; 
 but their vernacular appellation is all 
 you know of them. Let us firft try to 
 difcover their Clafs. Having ftripped 
 off the calyx and divided the corolla, 
 you fee, at the bottom of the tube, 5 
 very fhort Jlamina: therefore it is of 
 the Clafs Pentandria, and the fingle 
 fiftillum in the centre, leaves no doubt 
 as to the order. The corolla^ you fee, is 
 regular, monopetalous, and fixed be- 
 low thegermen. The feeds are inclofed 
 in a capfula. Thefe circumftances fix 
 it in the fecond diyifion of this Order. 
 The genus is determined by the involu- 
 crum at the bafe of the umbel^ the cy- 
 lindrical fbape qf the tube of the corolla, 
 and its open mouth; the fpecies> by 
 its hairy wrinkled, dentaled leaves, and 
 each flalk bearing but one flower. The 
 down on the calyx and ftalk, is longer 
 and thicker than in the Cowflip. 
 
 You
 
 ( 249 ) 
 
 You will find a confiderable difference in 
 the opinions of botanical writers concerning 
 this genus. In the Flora Anglica, and in my 
 Synopjis, there are three Species, viz. Primula 
 vulgaris, Primrofe; P. veris y Cowflip; and 
 P.farinofa y Bird's-eye. To thefe our friend 
 Relhan adds P. inodora, Oxlip, which I have 
 made a variety of P. veris. Now Linnaeus 
 confiders the Primrofe, the Cowflip and the 
 Oxlip, as varieties of the fame fpecies. Thefe 
 are difagreements that frequently occur 
 among botanical writers, owing to the dif- 
 ficulty of drawing a diftin6l line between 
 Species and Variety. Thefe feveral plants, 
 however, whether you call them Species or 
 Varieties, are fo evidently different in ap- 
 pearance, that you can never miftake one 
 for the other. 
 
 This Clafs Pentandria, the 5th in the Lin- 
 nsean Syftem, contains the moft plants, ex- 
 cept the Clafs Cryptogamia. It comprehends 
 6 Orders, diftinguifhed by the number of 
 the pijlilla. In the Order in which you 
 found the Primrofe, the plants are arranged 
 according to the number and fituation of 
 the petala> an*I feeds. 
 
 That
 
 ( 250 ) 
 
 jfffi- That trailing plant with fmall white 
 ft flowers, you tell me, without hefitation, 
 is common Chick weed. You are pro- 
 bably right, becaufe there is no other 
 plant, to which it bears any refem- 
 blance, yet in bloom ; but, next month 
 you will find other plants, which are 
 alfo commonly called Chickweed : they 
 bear a flrong family likenefs to this 
 plant, but are of a different clafs. The 
 jlamina, you find, are 5, and the piftilla 
 3. The Clafs and Order therefore are 
 determined. Turning to your Synopfa, 
 you find in this Order, Frigynta, only 
 .. ; .: four genera, three of which are trees, 
 and the fourth Alcine media, the plant 
 in your hand. 
 
 In the Clafs Decandria, there are three ge- 
 nera, viz. Sikne, Stellar? a and Cerajlium, from 
 ieveral fpecies of which the Alcine media is 
 not eafily diftinguifhed. Curtis fays, it may 
 be known from every other plant, by its 
 petals being fhorter than the calyx, and its 
 ftem alternately hairy on one fide. Its flow- 
 ers have been obferved to open about 9 in 
 the morning and to clofe at noon.
 
 This plant, with blue flowers, which Gle- 
 I gathered under the hedge, you may C9m * 
 pofllbly know by the fmell. However, 
 let us examine it fcientifically : the fmell 
 may deceive you. If you open the 
 flower, you will difcover 4 flamina, two 
 of which are fhorter than the other 
 two: therefore the clafs is Didynamia, 
 in which there are but two Orders, viz. 
 Gymnofpermia, feeds naked, and Angiof- 
 permia, feeds inclofed in a vefTel. Here 
 the feeds are naked, it is therefore of 
 the firft of thefe Orders. If now you 
 obferve the antherte, you will fee that 
 each pair forms a crofs, which is the 
 generic character of the plant G/ecoma-, 
 and as there is but one Species of this 
 genus, it can be no other than the Gk- 
 coma hederacea, or Ground-ivy. 
 
 The corolla of the Glecoma, you obferve, 
 is of a particular and irregular fhape: its 
 upper lip ftands erect and is divided half- 
 way down; the under, fpreads and is cut 
 into three fegments, forming a kind of gap- 
 ing or grinning mouth. Moft of the flow- 
 ers of this Clafs have the fame appearance 
 and are therefore eafily known. It compre- 
 
 hends
 
 hends theLabiatt, lipped; Verticlllati> whirl- 
 ed ; Perfonata, mafked ; and Ringentes, grin- 
 ning flowers of former botanifts. The Balm, 
 the Mint, the Lavender in our gardens; the 
 nettles under the hedges, and that Lamium y 
 which you may fafely pull notwithstanding 
 its refemblance to a nettle, are of this Clafs 
 and Order. 
 
 Lami- Of thefe Lamiums you will find three 
 um> Species, viz. L. album, L. purpurium^ 
 and L. amplexicaule. The two firft are 
 named from the colour of their flow- 
 ers : confequently, that in your hand is 
 the white Dead-nettle; which, befides 
 the colour of its flowers, is diftinguifh- 
 ed by its leaves being more acute. In 
 the ampkxicaule, the upper leaves em- 
 brace the ftem, are almoft circular and 
 deeply notched. You will know thefe 
 Lamiums from other plants of the fame 
 Clafs and Order, by the upper lip of 
 the flower being entire, the lower hav- 
 ing two lobes, and a tooth on each fide 
 the mouth. You will find excellent 
 plates of thefe three Lamiums in the 
 Flora LondinenflSi 
 
 NOW
 
 ( 253 ) 
 
 Now pull me a good fpecimen of Cham- 
 that umbelliferous plant with white PW um ' 
 flowers, that feems to thrive fo well 
 under thefe elms. I have no diffi- 
 culty in telling you its name, without 
 examination, becaufe I know there 
 is no other plant of that kind yet in 
 flower. It is the Cbterophyllum fyl- 
 veftre, Cow-parfley or wild Cicely, of 
 the Clafs Pentandria and Order Z)/- 
 gynia, which Order comprehends, 
 though not exclufively, the Umbetti- 
 Jer& of Ray and Tournefort. You 
 perceive what is meant by Umbelli- 
 fera. The flowers, you obferve, grow 
 at the end of fpokes, or radii, pro- 
 ceeding from a common centre, each 
 of which centres refts on the extre- 
 mity of another fpoke, alfo proceed- 
 ing from a general centre; fo that it 
 forms a large or general umbel, or 
 umbrella, with a fmall one at the 
 extremity of each radius or rib. The 
 fmall leaves furrounding the root of -^ 
 the umbel, are called the involucrum: 
 in the prefent inflance, it belongs to 
 the fmall or partial umbel only, the 
 general umbel having none. The 
 
 pre-
 
 ( 254 ) 
 
 prefence or abfence of this involu-* 
 entm, in plants of this Order, is fre- 
 quently a very ufeful diftinftion; in- 
 deed every the moft minute circum- 
 ftance is necefiary in order to difcri- 
 minate thefe umbelliferous plants, 
 which are a numerous tribe and many 
 of them very like each other. 
 
 The generic character is : Involucrum re- 
 flexed, concave; petala inflexo-cordate; fruit 
 oblong, fmooth. Specific character: Stem, 
 in the thick part, groved and hairy, a little 
 fwoln and purplifh near the joints j Leaves 
 proceeding from a fhort fheath. 
 
 The common height of this plant is about 
 two feet; but there is one now in the walks 
 of Queen's College, that meafures upwards 
 of 4 feet, and is more than half an inch in 
 diameter at the bottom. Three days ago, 
 I met with a fpetimen at the back gate of 
 St. John's, ,ttra entire ftem of which was a 
 deep purple. The number of radii are ge- 
 nerally 7 or 8.: in that which is now grow- 
 ing in Queen's walks, one of the general 
 umbels -has eleven. You will find a good- 
 engraving of the Charophyllum fyfaeftre in 
 Curtis. 
 
 There is another Ipecies common in this 
 *! king-
 
 kingdom, to which Linnaeus has given the 
 fpecific name of temulum^ for no very obvi- 
 ous reafon. I do not even know the word, 
 Pliny, I remember, ufes temulentia for drunk- 
 ennefs. But we have no bufinefs with this 
 fpecies at prefent, as it will not flower till 
 July. 
 
 Look at your watch. Not quite noon. 
 Then we have time fufftcient to mount the 
 Hills, where we (hall find an elegant little 
 plant now in bloom, of which my friend 
 Relhan has given an engraving rather too 
 much expanded, but an accurate defcrip- 
 tion. 
 
 There it is, in great abundance. You Ane- 
 have no difficulty in pronouncing it to ntttte ' 
 be of the Clafs Polyandria and Order 
 Polygynia. You fee it has no calyx, and 
 the petals are 6: therefore it mud be a 
 fpecies of Anemone, of which genus there 
 are,,in this kingdom, but four fpecies, 
 and in Cambridgeshire only two, viz. 
 A. pulfatilla and A. nemorcfa. The firft 
 of thefe is particularly diftinguifhed by 
 its jagged involucrum, its flalk being 
 8 or 10 inches high, its purple flower, 
 and foliis bipinnatis. The flowers in 
 * your
 
 ( 256 ) 
 
 your hand, you fee, correfponds exactly 
 with this defcription; you have there- 
 fore no doubt that it is the Anemone 
 pulfatilla, or Pafque-flower. 
 
 Let us now defcend into the vale. 
 Thofe trees, in that hedge, Which Vir- 
 gil diftinguifhes for their luxuriant pro- 
 duce of leaves, 
 
 - ' fecunda frondibus Ulmi, 
 
 are now in bloom. If you examine 
 the flower, you will find $Jtamina and 
 2 piftilla: 'they are therefore of the Clafs 
 and Order, Pentandria Digynia. You 
 know the genus by the calyx being 
 fliaped like a top, wrinkled, with 5 feg- 
 ments and the jlamina being double 
 its length. The fpecies is determined 
 by its leaves being doubly ferrated : be- 
 fides, it is the only Elm in this coun- 
 try, Linnaeus calls it Ulmus campeftris. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 MAY. 
 
 While the rofy-footed May 
 
 Steals blujhing on, together let us tread 
 *The morning dews, and gather in their prime 
 Frejh-blooming flowers. 
 
 TH E firft, among the objefts of Cra- 
 our purfuit, that catches your te * w * 
 eye, is that beautifully whitening hedge. 
 
 *The Hawthorn whitens, and the juicy groves 
 Put forth their buds, unfolding by degrees, 
 T/7/ the whole leafy foreft Jlands difplay'd. 
 
 The fight of the Hawthorn brought thefe 
 lines to my memory. I do not repeat them 
 for their beauty : Juicy is a vile epithet ap- 
 plied to groves, and the lines are very profaic. 
 Examine one of the flowers, and you will 
 find in it about 20 ftamina, which, with 
 the petals, are fixed, not to a receptaculum, 
 but to the infide of the calyx: you know it 
 therefore to be of the Clafs Icofandria, and 
 the two ftyles tell you the Order. But thefe 
 R two
 
 two ftyles, you obferve, are, in fact, the di- 
 vifions of one ptftillum. From this circum- 
 ftance, Dr. Stokes, in Withering's Botanical 
 Arrangement^ aflerts, that this our common 
 Hawthorn is the Cratsegus monogyna, and not 
 the oxyacantba of Linnasus, as Hudfon, Rel- 
 han, Lightfoot and I have made it. Dr. 
 Withering is of Stokes's opinion, and ac- 
 cordingly fubftitutes the monogyna for the 
 oxyacantha. But the fpecific character of the 
 firft is, foliis fubtrifidis acutis; that of the 
 Iatter,y0//Y.f obtufafubtrifidisferratis : now the 
 leaves of our Hawthorn are certainly obtufe 
 and ferrated. As to the piftillum, it is fome- 
 times entire, but more frequently divided 
 into two flyles, and fometimes thefe ftyles 
 are diftin6l down to the bottom. Lyons, in 
 the MS. quoted by Relhan, fays, that the 
 ftyle is firft fimple and afterwards divided. 
 I doubt this facl, becaufe I have repeatedly 
 found the ftyle divided before the expanfion 
 of the corolla. 
 
 There are in the laft edition of the Syf- 
 tema Vegetabilum, 15 fpecies of the Crataegus, 
 only three of which are found in this coun- 
 try, viz. C. aria, Whitebeam tree; C.tormi- 
 tS) Service tree; and C, oxyacantha^ Haw- 
 thorn,
 
 ( 259 ) 
 
 thorn. This is not the firft fhrub, or tree 
 (for when it (lands fmgle it generally de- 
 ferves the latter appellation) that we have 
 examined belonging to this Clafs Icofandria. 
 In March, you remember, we met with the 
 Prunus Jpinofa in bloflbm -, but it is of the 
 Order Monogynia. 
 
 Let us now examine that yellow '*- 
 flower which grows fo profufely among ?" 
 the green corn. The petals of the 
 flower being four, equal, and in the 
 form of a crofs, tell us, at once, that it 
 is of that natural clafs called by Ray, 
 Siliquofei by Tournefort, Cruciform! , 
 and by Linnaeus, ^etradynamla^ from 
 from Tecr<ra quatuor and Awap? poten- 
 tia. The Stamina, you obferve, are fix, 
 four long and two fhort ones: at the 
 bafe of the latter, there is a neclarife- 
 rous gland, which, that it may not be 
 comprefled, obliges two of thejlamtna 
 to make a curve j this circumftance ren- 
 ders them fhorter than the other four. 
 
 The Orders in this Clafs are Siliculofa, 
 
 feeds in a broad pod or pouch, and Siliquofie, 
 
 feeds in a long pod. But thefe diftinftions 
 
 are of no ufe in the prefent ftate of this 
 
 R 2 plant.
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 plant. You will find it however among 
 the Siliquofe, and its expanded calyx, the 
 erect claws of the petals, the gland between 
 the (hort Jlamina and \kepijlillum, and be- 
 tween the longer and the calyx, declare it to 
 be of the genus Sinapis. 
 
 Thefpecies are diftinguifhed by the pods; 
 but, as thefe have not yet appeared, we muft 
 find fome other mark. There have been 
 difcovered, in all, 17 different fpecies of &'- 
 napis y but three of which grow wild in this 
 kingdom: thefe are S. nigra> black Muftard, 
 S. alba> white Muftard, and 5. arvenfis, wild 
 Muftard or Charlock. Now the firft my 
 friend Relhari has thus characterized , caults 
 *ualde rimofis, r ami's dijlaniibm expanfis; which 
 defcription does not apply tc the plant in 
 your hand: in the fecond, the leaves are 
 deeply cut and jagged, and the ftem finely 
 grovedj befides, neither of thefe bloom in 
 this month; it muft therefore be the Sinapis 
 arvenjis. There is another pernicious corn- 
 weed which you will find in flower in July, 
 that much refembles this Charlock: it is the 
 Raphanus raphanijlrum; but it is not fo tall 
 a plant, is of a lighter green, the branches 
 are longer in proportion, and the leaves are 
 pinnatifid. The flowers of this isdild Radifi 
 
 are
 
 ( 26! ) 
 
 arefometimes white and fometimes of a pale 
 flefhcolour, but generally yellow with dark 
 veins. 
 
 Here is another weed, with white Lythof- 
 flowers, which, on thefe lands, feems P ermum * 
 more inimical to the farmer than 
 the Charlock or any other. You will 
 find it of the Clafs Pentandria and 
 Order Monogynia. 
 
 The flower, you pbferve, is monopetal- 
 ous, regular, and fixed below the germin; 
 the feeds are naked, and the leaves are 
 rough: therefore we fhall find it in the firft 
 divifion of the firft Order of this Clafs. The 
 corolla, you fee, is fhaped like a funnel, with 
 five flight fegments obtufe and eredl. The 
 tube is cylindrical and open. The calyx has 
 5 divifions. Now thefe circumftances unite 
 only in the genus LitLofpermum, of which 
 Linnaeus has 8 fpecies: three of thefe are 
 natives of Britain, but only two have been 
 found in Cambridgefhire, viz. L. ojficinale, 
 and L. aruenfe. The ftem of the firft grows 
 to the height of about 2 feet. The plant 
 in your hand is not above half that height. 
 In the firft the leaves are veined; in this 
 they are not: but the rednefs of the root 
 * 3 <fe-
 
 ( 262 ) 
 
 determines your plant to be the L. arvenfe 
 or baftard Alkanet. Linnseus fays, the girls 
 in Sweden paint their faces with this root 
 on certain feftivals. 
 
 What is that very upright plant, 
 mum ' with a fmatl white flower, under the 
 hedge? The flower tells you, at once, 
 that it is of the Clafs Yetr adynamia, and 
 the long pod informs you, that it is 
 alfo of the Order, Siliquofa. Now the 
 pods, you obferve, are columnar, and 
 fquare, and the calyx clofed: therefore 
 it is an Eryfimum-, and, if you rub any 
 part of the plant, the garlic fmell will 
 tell you, that it can be no other than 
 the E. aliaria, called Jack by the hedge 
 or Sauce alone. It is diftinguifhed from 
 other fpecies of Eryfimum, by its heart - 
 fliaped leaves. It grows to the height 
 of 2 or 3 feet. The ftem is round, 
 fmooth, branched .towards the topj 
 branches alternate, erecl, and. the flow- 
 ers fmall and terminal, as you fee.. 
 
 Carda- Thofe purple-white flowers that 
 are fprinkled on that meadow, are 
 of the fame Clafs and Order as the 
 
 iaft, 
 
 mine.
 
 ( 263 ) 
 
 laft. The Latin name is Cardamine 
 pratenjts y and the Englifh, Ladies- 
 fmock. This reminds you of Shake- 
 fpear's long in Loves Labour loj}> 
 
 When daizies pied and violets blue, 
 And Lady-fmocks all filver white, 
 
 And Cuckow buds of yellow hue 
 Do paint the meadows with delight. 
 
 You will find thefe lines quoted by Curtis 
 in the Flora Londinenfis, and a very neat 
 plate of the flower; but he makes no com- 
 ment on the lines, which feem to want 
 fome explanation. I have never yet met 
 with any fkoer-yolnte Lady-fmocks: they 
 have always a confiderable tinge of red or 
 purple. As to the Cuckow-buds of yellow hue, 
 it is difficult to afcertain the flower meant 
 by the poet. It evidently was not the Lycb- 
 nis-fofcuctdi, which we call Cuckpw-flower; 
 for that is red, as you will fee: we (hall pro- 
 bably meet with it in the next meadow. 
 
 I fancy thefe Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue, 
 were the common Butter-cups that fo de- 
 lightfully paint this luxuriant meadow. 
 There is indeed no other flower that may 
 with eqaul propriety t>e faid to paint the 
 meadows yellow : befides, the flower of this 
 R 4 Ra-
 
 Ranunculus, before it expands, has the ap- 
 pearance of a bud. Are they not called 
 Cuckow-buds in Staffordfhire? 
 
 But to return to our Cardamine pratenfo. 
 It is the only fpccies of this genus found 
 near Cambridge. It is diftinguifhed by its 
 leaves being pinnated, and thzfotioli of the 
 radical leaves being roundifh, whilft thofe 
 on the ftem are lance- fhaped. The generic 
 character is Pod burfting, the valves then 
 rolling back: Stigma entire ; calyx a little 
 open. 
 
 There are in all 15 fpecies of Cardamine, 
 fix of which are indigenous in Britain. 
 
 Vicla. That plant with papilionaceous pur- 
 ple flowers, climbing up the hedge, is 
 obvioufly of the Clafs Diadelphia, and 
 the number of \\sftamina will tell you, 
 that it is of the Order Decandria. Now 
 take off the corolla, and you will dif- 
 cover that the fummit of the piftillum, 
 called thejtigma, is tranfveriely beard- 
 ed. This minute peculiarity determines 
 its generic name to be Vicia; and, that 
 it is the fpecies fativa, I conclude from 
 its flowers growing in pairs, its leaves 
 confiding of about fix pair of wings 
 
 and
 
 and terminating in a divided tendril; 
 but the burnt fpot under the jllpulcc 
 leaves no doubt that it is the common 
 Vetch or Tare, which, you remember, 
 Virgil mentions among the pulfe which 
 are fuppofed fo to fertilize the ground 
 as to render fallowing unnecefTary. 
 
 Aut ubiflava feres, mutatojidere, farra+ 
 Uncle prius Icetumjiliqua quajjente legumen^ 
 Aut tenuesfatus Vici<z, trijlifque luplni 
 Suftukris fragile* calamoSjfyhamquefonantem. 
 
 Do not you think th&tjidere, in the firft 
 line, fhould befemine? 
 
 Suppofe we now examine one of Ranun- 
 thefe Ranunculi, commonly called culus * 
 Crowfeet or Butter-cups. You per- 
 ceive immediately that it is of the 
 Clafs Polyandria and Order Polygynia. 
 Its calyx confifts of 5 leaves, and its 
 corolla of 5 petals, with a melliferous 
 pore at the bafe of each; the feeds 
 are naked. Thefe particulars form 
 the effential generic character of Ra- 
 nunculi. As to its fpecies, the re- 
 troflecled calyx, the fulcated peduncu- 
 fas, the ftalk erect, bearing many 
 
 flowers,
 
 ( 266 ) 
 
 flowers, the bulbous root, and par- 
 ticularly its being now in bloom in 
 this dry meadow, leave no doubt 
 that it is the Ranunculus bulbofus, or 
 bulbous Crowfoot. 
 
 Of this genus there are no lefs than 44 
 different fpecies, 14 of which are natives of 
 this ifland. That yellow flower, which you 
 fee on the fwamp, is one of them: its trivial 
 name is fe/erafus, from the refemblance of 
 its lower leaves to thofe of Celery. It is 
 very eafily diflinguifhed by the remarkable 
 thicknefs of its ftem, which is hollow like 
 a reed; by its minute flowers, and the 
 conical (hape of the receptaculum. This 
 fpecimen, you fee, is full two feet high. It 
 feldom grows fo tall. 
 
 Look this way and you will fee among 
 that corn, a moft plentiful crop of other 
 Ranunculi. Thefe, you obferve, have alfo a 
 fmall flower, but of a paler yellow and nu- 
 merous. The leaves are deeply divided and 
 fubdivided, fo as to form a number of nar- 
 row flraps. This circumftance, and its 
 prickly feeds conftitute its fpecific character. 
 Its common height is about a foot, though 
 that you have gathered meafures 17 or 1 8 
 inches* It is the Ranunculus arvenfis. 
 
 On
 
 ( 267 ) 
 
 On this turf, between the corn- Orckit. 
 lands, you fee fcattered a few beau- 
 tiful purple flowers, which, at a 
 diftance, look fomewhat like garden 
 hyacinths. But, you now perceive, 
 that the corolla is of a very different 
 fhape. It refembles no flower that 
 we have hitherto examined. 
 
 As it is neceflary to begin your inveftiga- 
 tion by afcertaining the Clafs, you muft di- 
 veft the plant of its petals. You now dif- 
 cover that t\\eftamina are fixed to thejtylus, 
 or rather to a neftarium which fupplies the 
 place of a piftillum. Your plant therefore 
 is of the 2oth Clafs, Gynandria, for a parti- 
 cular defcription of which I refer you to 
 your Claris. Thzjtamna are two, therefore 
 it is the firft Order, Diandria-, for in this 
 Clafs, the Orders depend on the number of 
 Stamina, and not on the Piftilla, as in many 
 of the preceding Clafles. 
 
 Now as to the genus, you fee there is a 
 neftariwn, in the fhape of a horn, behind 
 the flower. This circumftance tells you 
 that it muft be an Orchis, and the undivided 
 . bulbs s pf its root; quadrifid, fcallopped lip 
 of the neftarium-, the obtufe afcending horn, 
 and the obtufe conniving petals, convince 
 
 you,
 
 ( 2 68 ) 
 
 you, that it is the Orchis mono, or Meadow 
 Orchis. The genera in this Order are dif- 
 tinguifhed by the (hape of the nettarium. 
 
 Of this genus there are in all 50 fpecies, 
 ten of which have been found in Britain. 
 You will find a good engraving of this 
 plant in the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 JUNE.' 
 Nuncfrondentfyfoa y nunc formofijfimus annus. 
 
 TO fpeak in the language of a fportf- 
 man, this month will afford us am- 
 ple diverfion. We fhall find no lack of 
 Game. Herbarizing may indeed, with fome 
 propriety, be compared with the amufements 
 of the chafe. A botanift is continually hunt- 
 ing; but with this very great advantage, 
 that his fport is unmixed with cruelty. Hap- 
 pily the objecls of his purfuit have no feel- 
 ing : they are unconfcious of their exiftence, 
 to deprive them of it, therefore, cannot be 
 attended with remorfe. 
 
 Pull that yellow flower with two heads. 
 Each head, you perceive, is a clufter of dif- 
 tin6t florets of what is called a papilonace- 
 ous fhape. You conclude, therefore, that 
 we muft look for it in the Clafs Diadelpbia. 
 Indeed this butterfly-appearance of the 
 flower is a much more obvious and invaria- 
 ble criterion of the Clafs, than the Jlamina 
 being united in two fets, or brotherhoods 
 as the title implies-, but Linnseus's fyftem 
 
 would
 
 would not fuffer him to make the corolla 
 charafteriftic of a Clafs. It is however a 
 perfectly natural Clafs, comprehending the 
 Papilionacei of Tournefort, the Irregulares 
 tetrapetali of Rivinus, and the Llgumenofae 
 of Ray. 
 
 An- Almoft all the plants of this Clafs 
 are of the Order Decandria; you will 
 accordingly, on a minute infpeclion, 
 find \vs\Jlamina in each of thofe fmall 
 flowers. In running over the generic 
 characters, there is nothing to caufe 
 any hefitation till you come to Anthyl- 
 Hs: calyx ventricofus; but the calyx in 
 this genus is not only ventricofe, but 
 woolly. This agrees well with the plant 
 you have gathered; and, in the fpecific 
 character of the only fpecies in this 
 kingdom, Linnaeus fays, foliis pinnatis 
 inaqualibuS) capitulo duplicate. Thefe 
 circumftances may convince you, that 
 you hold in- your hand the Anthyllls 
 vufaeraria, or Ladies- finger. If you 
 have any doubt, I muft refer you 
 to Relhan's very accurate defcription 
 of this fpecies ; where among other 
 marks of dhTmcYion, you will find 
 
 Caules
 
 ( 27' ) 
 
 Caules teretes, pubefcentes. Flores fej/iles 
 inmajori capitulo2Q. Corotlajtava. Now 
 I hope you are fatisfied. 
 
 There is a fhrub in that hedge that G>r- 
 will remind you of a line in the fecond **' 
 Georgic. 
 
 At myrtus validis haftibus, et bona bello Cornus. 
 
 Examine the flower. *etrandria Monogy- 
 nia. The coralla, you obferve, (lands above 
 the germen, and confifts of four regular pe- 
 tals. Now turn over your Synop/ls. You 
 find it muft be in the fourth divifion. The 
 firft plant is the Cornus, with an involucrum 
 of 4 leaves, and a perianthium of one, with 
 4 teeth. The corolla is lefs than the jnvo- 
 lucrum^ and (horter than t\\zftamina. Thefe 
 efTentials quadrate with that flower: there- 
 fore you can have no doubt as to the genus; 
 and as you learn, from your Flora Cantabri- 
 gienfis, that there is but one Species in this 
 county, your (hrub muft necefTarily be the 
 Cornus fengtttftftr, or Dogberry ; a flirub which 
 merits fome veneration, were it only for 
 being Godfather to an admirable character 
 in Much-ado about nothing. Honeft Ta- 
 well! / neer foall look upon thy like again! 
 
 Gar-
 
 Garrick in Benedick was not a jot fuperior 
 to Tafwell in Dogberry. With what ge- 
 nuine appearance of ftupid fimplicity he 
 exclaimed that he were here to write me 
 down an afil 
 
 But to return to our Cornus. It is cer- 
 tain, that the Romans made their fpears of 
 Myrtle and Cornel, though, from a paffage 
 quoted by Martyn in his Commentary on 
 the Georgics, it appears that Pliny preferred 
 the Afh. 
 
 Conl- That tall umbelliferous plant, with 
 * m * dark-green gloffy fubdi vided leaves, and 
 white flowers, claims your particular 
 attention. It is the famous Hemlock, 
 which on the credit of Profeflbr Storck 
 of Vienna, was fuppofed an infallible 
 cure for cancers. The number of 
 Jlamina and pijlilla declare it to be of 
 the Clafs and Order Pentandria, Digy- 
 xia. Its former generic name was C/- 
 cuta> but Linnasus chufes to call it Co- 
 nium^ and maculatum, from the fpots on 
 the ftem. Why this Cicuta of all other 
 botanifts, muft have its ancient name 
 taken from it and transferred to a dif- 
 ferent plant, I do not comprehend: 
 
 nor
 
 hor do I know where he got the word 
 'Comum-, unlefs from Pliny, who, I 
 think, mentions it as the name of a 
 town in Phrygia. This our tlemlock 
 was certainly the Cicuta of which the 
 pipe prefented by Menalcas to the 
 (hepherd Mopfis, was made. 
 
 Heae te nosfragili donalimus ante cicuta. 
 
 I myfelf, when a boy, have often made 
 pipes of it : they had but few notes indeed, 
 but the tone was not unlike that of the 
 tlariohet. 
 
 This Conium macalatum is diftinguifhed 
 from other plants of the fame Clafs and 
 Order, by the iiwolucella extending only half 
 round the fpoke on which it ftands, and 
 confiding general!^ of three leaves, or ra- 
 ther of 3 divifions of one leaf 5 and by the 
 fliape of the feed, which is nearly fpherical, 
 with 5 ftrise, and notched at each end. There 
 are fouxjpectes of this genus, but the macula- 
 turn only is indigenous in Britain. You may 
 eafily know it by the brown fpots on the 
 flem, and the gloffy dark-green leaves. You 
 fee it is a tall plant: this fpecimen meafures, 
 at lead, 5 feet. 
 
 S There
 
 ( 274 ) 
 
 Sam* There is a large plant with a bufhy 
 bucu *' purplifh flower, under that hedge* It 
 bears fome refemblance, both in leaf 
 and bloflbm, to the common Elder- 
 tree. It is indeed very nearly allied to 
 it. We eall it in Englifh, Dwarf Elder, 
 or Danewort, becaufe, we are told, 
 that it firft fprang up in this kingdom 
 from the blood of the Danes that were 
 mafTacred here. It is the Sambucus ebu~ 
 lus, with the purple juice of whofe 
 berries, Pan, in Virgil's tenth Eclogue, 
 is fuppofed to have fmeared his face. 
 
 Pan deus Aracadite vem't t quern vidimus ipfi t 
 Sanguineis Rbuli baccis minloque rebentem, 
 
 If you examine the flowers, you will find 
 it to be of the Clafs and Order Pentandria 
 Trigynia, and of that divifion in which the 
 corolla jftands above the germen. Its gene- 
 ric character is Calyx and Corolla of 5 
 fegments; berry containing three feeds. As 
 to the fpecies, there can be no difficulty, be- 
 caufe there are but two, and one of thefe is 
 a tree. You will find a good engraving of 
 this plant in the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 Now
 
 ( 275 ) 
 
 Now turn your attention to thofe Medicd- 
 yellow flowers, like fmall buttons, ^* 
 that grow fo plentifully among the 
 grafs. It fomewhat refembles the 
 flower of the Hop, but is much lefs. 
 You would fuppofe it a Trefoil: it 
 is indeed naturally of that family : it 
 is a Medicago, which differs from the 
 genus Trifolium in the carina of the 
 corolla being jprefTed down from the 
 vexillum, and particularly in its pod 
 being comprefTed and fpiral. The 
 fhape of the florets that compofe 
 thefe yellow heads, and the number 
 of very minute Jlamina will inform 
 you that it is of the Clafs and Order 
 Diadelphia Decandria, and the fpe- 
 cies, Ivpulina, is determined by the 
 fpikes being oval, the pods reniform, 
 containing a (ingle feed, and the ftems 
 trailing. Former botanifts called this 
 plant Medica: Linnaeus chofe to call 
 it Medicago. 
 
 Whether Virgil meant this fpecies may 
 be doubtful : however the Medica is among 
 the plants which he advifes to be fown in 
 the Spring. 
 
 s 2 Vere
 
 yerefavisfatio-, turn te quoque Medlca pufres 
 Accipmntfulci. 
 
 Pliny fays it was called Medica, from Me- 
 dia the country whence it was brought into 
 Greece : - Medica externa, etiam Gractte, ztf 
 a Medis adveta per btlla Perfarum, gute Da- 
 rius mtullt If you be curious to know 
 more of this plant, I refer you to Martyn's 
 Georgics. He thinks Virgil meant our 
 Lucerne 
 
 Hyofcya- You obferve, among that rubbifh, 
 muSt a large plant, with dark buff-co- 
 loured flowers of a fingular appear- 
 ance. You find it has five Jtamina 
 and one ptftillum: you have there- 
 fore no doubt as to the Clafs and 
 Order. The corolla, is funnel-ftiaped 
 and obtufej-theyta^ are inclined, 
 and the capfula is bilocular and co- 
 vered. It is therefore an Hyofcyamus*, 
 and though there be feven fpecies of 
 this genus, yet as the nlger is the 
 only fpecies in this kingdom, it can 
 be no other than our common Hen* 
 bane. It is very eafily known by the 
 mixture of deep purple and buff in 
 
 the-
 
 < 277 ) 
 
 the flower. The Henbane is gene- 
 rally confidered as a poifonous plant. 
 It was ibme time ago recommended 
 as a fubflitute for opium. 
 
 That humble yellow flower, which Paten- 
 adorns the fides of this path, I fup- iiUa ~ 
 pofe, you confider, as a common but- 
 ter-cup, beneath your notice. But 
 you will find, on examination, that 
 it belongs to a very different Clafs: 
 and furely its beautiful filver-fea- 
 thered leaves merit fome attention. 
 The jlamina you find are about 
 twenty. Hence you might doubt 
 whether it does not belong to the 
 Clafs Polyandries, but if you examine 
 the five petals, you will find that they 
 are fixed, not to a receptaculum, but 
 to the calyx, which is monopetaious; 
 ib that it is of the Clafs Icofandria. 
 Now you obferve in the centre of 
 the flower, a numerous collection of 
 fmall buds, forming a knob, with 
 flyles: therefore it is of the Order 
 Polygynia. The leaves, you fee, are 
 pinnated, and ferrated; the item 
 creeps, and the ftalk bears a fingle 
 s 3 flower.
 
 flower. To this we may add, from 
 Relhan, that there are from ten to 
 twelve pair of wings in each leaf, 
 decreafing in fize towards each ex- 
 tremity. Thefe circumftances, with 
 the filver whitenefs of the under fide 
 of the leaves, leave no doubt that it 
 is the Potentilla anferina, or Silver 
 Weed, called alfo wi!4 Tanfey. 
 
 Scan- You obferye, among the corn, a weed 
 dlx - with a fmall white flower, and feveral 
 long beaks, which you rrmft fuppofe 
 contain the feeds of the plant. By 
 thefe long beaks you will eafily diflin- 
 guifh it in future. Its generic name 
 is Scandix, and from the fuppofed fi- 
 mUitude to the teeth of a comb, the 
 fpecific appellation is peften. Our bo- 
 tanical predeceflbrs have called it Shep- 
 herd's-needle, or Venus-comb. If you 
 examine the flower, you will find it of 
 the Clafs Pentandria and Order Dygy- 
 nia. Thefe teefh of the comb are ge- 
 nerally about an inch in length. Pro- 
 bably the combs of the ancients were 
 of a rude conftruftion. 
 
 Yale, 
 
 LET-
 
 ( 279 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 LET us take this left hand road "to I/- 
 the Hills: we fhall probably meet num * 
 with fome new objects. That upright 
 (lender plant, with a fingle fimple ftem, 
 thick fet with very fmall pointed leaves, 
 and terminated by a tuft of beautiful 
 blue flowers, is the Linum perenne, or 
 perenniel blue Flax. The five petals 
 will fall offalmoft as foon as you touch 
 them. You will then difcover fivey&z- 
 mina and the fame number of ptftilla. 
 Pentandria Pentagynia^ therefore, is 
 the Clafs and Order. That it is a Li- 
 nunty I know, from its pentaphyllous 
 calyx, its pentapetalous corolla, its quin- 
 que valve capfule, and its folitary feeds; 
 and, that it is theperenne, I learn, from 
 the fegments of the calyx being obtufe, 
 the leaves on. the flem numerous, fmall, 
 alternate, and by the flowers growing 
 in a tuft. 
 
 We have, in Britain, five fpecies of /- 
 fiutns, as you will find in your Synopfa. No. i . 
 54 up-
 
 ^ grows to the heighth of three 
 feetj its ftem is branched, and each brandy 
 terminated by a blue flower. ISfo. 2. is the 
 plant in your hand. No. 3. tenyefolium, is 
 diflinguifhed by its ligneous, numerous 
 flems, and a fmaller flower. No. 4. cathar- 
 ticum, is a fmaller plant, with four or five 
 bent ftems, with leaves diftant and oppofite., 
 Its flowers are white and minute. No. 5. 
 radiola has foutjlamina and the fame num- 
 ber of pijtilla, and therefore belongs to an- 
 other Clafs. 
 
 The ancients were univerfally of opinion 
 that a crop of Flax impoverifh.es the ground. 
 I am fure you recoiled thjs line in the firft 
 book of the Georgics. 
 
 Urif enim Lint campumfigsi^ urit avence* 
 
 Hedy- You obferve there a flower of a 
 farum. f u jj fl e ( n-co j our> growing on a long 
 {talk. You perceive it is formed by 
 a number of florets imbricated fo as, 
 in fome degree, to refemble the heacj 
 of a cock. Our botanical predecef- 
 fors have therefore called it Cock's- 
 head. It is the Hedyfarum onobrycbiz. 
 From the external appearance of the 
 
 blofTom,
 
 biofTom, you pronounce it to be of 
 the Clafs Diadelphia\ and, if you ex- 
 amine the ftamina, you will place it 
 in the Order Decandria. But, on a 
 more minute inveftigation, you will 
 be furprifed to find only two petals 
 in the flower, viz. the vixillum and 
 the earina, and that there is no ap- 
 pearance of wings. Neverthelefs, if 
 you apply your giafs, you will dif- 
 tover two minute, pale flefh-colour- 
 ed ate, which, in compliance with 
 this artificial fyftem, may be tranf- 
 lated wings. 
 
 This genus of Hedyfarum depends on the 
 carina being tranfverfe and obtufe, and on 
 there being a fingle feed in each joint of the 
 pod. There are in .all no lefs than 67 fpe~ 
 cies of this genus, only one of which is found 
 on this ifland. It is particularly diftin- 
 guifhed from the reft, among thofe with 
 pinnated leaves, by its elongated ffem ; but 
 this flem is rather a long fiapus or ftalk, 
 proceeding from a fhort caulis, or flem. For 
 a definition of thefe terras I refer you to 
 your Claris. 
 
 There
 
 ( 282 ) 
 
 Poly- There is a humble plant, growing 
 gala ' in patches, with a blue flower, that 
 merits your attention; becaufe it is the 
 only genus indigenous in this kingdom, 
 of the Order Qttandria in the Clafs Dia- 
 4elphia. It is the Polygala vulgarity or 
 Milkwort, It grows, you fee, fome- 
 what in the manner of that Thyme, its 
 frequent companion on thefe hills; 
 from which however it differs efien- 
 tially, as you will find when we have 
 examined them both. 
 Having now, by infpe&ing the (lamina, 
 determined the Clafs and Order, and know- 
 ing that in thefe there is but one fpeeies 
 of one genus, difcovered in this kingdom, 
 you know the plant without either generic 
 or fpecific defcription. For greater cer- 
 tainty, however, you may obferve, that the 
 calyx is pentaphyllous, and that two of its 
 leaves look like coloured wings. The ftem, 
 you fee, is proftrate, branched, curved and 
 from 4 to 6 inches in length. 
 
 'Thy- It is now time (without a pun) to 
 
 mus ' take notice of its neighbour, the Ser- 
 
 fyllum of all the Botanifts before Haller, 
 
 who,
 
 who, I believe, firft called it 'Tbymus. 
 Thzjlamina, you obferve, are four, two 
 long and two fhortj therefore it is of 
 the Clafs Didynamia, and the feeds be- 
 ing naked tells the Order to be Gym- 
 nofpermia. The generic character is a 
 very fhort one Calych bllablati faux 
 wills claufa y and it is fufficiently diftin- 
 guifhed from the only other fpecies, in 
 thjs kingdom, by its flowers being col- 
 lected in a head; thofe of the actws, or 
 Bafil Thyme, are verticillate. 
 This Thyme, you know, both Greek and 
 Latin poets fuppofed the favorite food of 
 bees. Virgil therefore mentions it as a pro- 
 per herb to be planted near the hives. 
 
 Hac circum Capa verities, et olentla late 
 Syrpylla. 
 
 This Syrpyllum of the Romans was the 
 fywTAov of the Greeks, derived from E^, 
 to creep. Thefe Romans, as Martyn ob- 
 ferves, frequently changed the Greek afpi- 
 ration into S, from I^TTU forming Jerpo, from 
 l| fex, &c. But Virgil, both in his Eclogues 
 2nd Georgics, mentions alfo Thymus, which 
 JLinnjsus adopts as the name of the genus. 
 
 Dum
 
 Dumjuga month aper t fluvios dumpifcis atnabif, 
 J^umque^fhymo pafcentur apes, dum rore cicada^ 
 Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudefquemanebunt. 
 
 Thefe beautiful lines, you remember, are 
 at the conclufion of the very fublime apo- 
 theofis of Daphnis, fuppofed to be Julius 
 Csefar, fung by Menalcas in the fifth Eclogue : 
 and, in the fourth Georgia, 
 
 Tpfe 'fhymum pinofque ferens de montibus altis 
 TeSfaferat late rircutp, cut tali a cur a. 
 
 This cfbymum of Virgil is fuppofed to be, 
 not our common Thyme, cultivated in our 
 , gardens as a pot-herb, but that fpecies which 
 Ray calls tfhymum kgitimum\ that fpecies to 
 the abundance of which Sicily owed its cele- 
 brity for its honey, and which is found by 
 travellers in every part of Greece Bothnia 
 puftorcy fays Ray, ita frequent in tota Grecia 
 reperitur y ut nulla herba in montibus facilius 
 prevent at, 
 
 That diffufe plant with fmall whitifh 
 Jtum. fl owers on loofe leafy panicles, is the 
 ^be/ium Unophyllum, of which, as a rare 
 plant, Relhan has given a plate. Its 
 Englifh name is baftard Toadflax. YOU 
 
 will
 
 will find, it has no corolla; the flower* 
 confiding of a calyx only, into which 
 the fazftamina are inferted. 
 Not far from us, I perceive another fcarce 
 plant, of which my friend Relhan has given 
 a plate and an accurate defcription, in his 
 excellent Flora Gantabrigienfis* 1 mean that 
 diminutive chap, about five inches high, with 
 a yellow ftar-flower. It is the Cineraria al- 
 pina, or Mountain Ragwort. There are 
 fome doubts about the proper genus of this 
 herb; but Linmeus has declared that it is a 
 Proteus of a plant. It is of the Clafs and 
 Order, Syngenefia Polygamla fuperflua. The . 
 flowers, you obferve, grow in a loofe irre- 
 gular kind of umbel, and the leaves on the 
 ftem are lance-foaped, woolly, and very 
 ereft. 
 
 It is now time to defcend the Hills, 
 
 jamfumma procul villarum culmlnafumanty 
 Majorefque cadunt alth de montibus umbra* 
 
 Our rout lies through Cherry Hinton, a 
 village celebrated in the annals of Botany, 
 by having been the fcene of our indefatiga- 
 ble Ray's frequent herbarizationsj particu- 
 larly in a field called the Chalk-fit cbfe> where 
 
 Rel-
 
 ( 286 ) 
 
 Relhan firft fhewed me the Athamanta liba* 
 notis-, a fcarce plant, which, fmce the time 
 of Ray, had been entirely loft. We fhall 
 vifit this field another time. 
 
 You are delighted with the fragrant efflu- 
 via of this narrow lane. It is the fragrance 
 of rofes. That fhrub, with white flowers, 
 is the Viburnum opulus, or Guelder Rofe; and 
 the other is the Rofa canina, or Dog Rofe, 
 If you examine the cymte of the firft, you 
 will find that the fmail flowers in the centre 
 have fivejtamina and three minute ftigmata, 
 and that the large flowers in the radius have 
 neither. , 
 
 The Rofa canlna is of the Clafs Icofandria 
 Polygynia. You will find, in your Synopfis, 
 that it is of the firft genus in that Order, and 
 that there are five fpecies in this ifland. 
 
 Lotus. There is a yellow flower that we 
 have frequently feen in our walks, but 
 of which we have hitherto taken no 
 notice. By the leaves you would fup- 
 pofe it a Trefoil. Indeed its Englifti 
 name is Birdsfoot Trefoil. Linnaeus 
 calls it Lotus corniculatus. You will de- 
 termine the genus by its turbular calyx, 
 the wings of the corolla conniving lon- 
 gitudinally
 
 gitudinally upwards, and, hereafter, by 
 the pod being cylindrical, flifF, and 
 longer than the calyx. We have but 
 one fpecies of this genus, which is 
 characterized by the flatnefs of the 
 heads, and the ftem being decumbeat. 
 You will find a good plate of this plant 
 in Curtis. 
 
 Thofe fine fcarlet, and thofe tall 
 blue flowers, equal in colour to the 
 beft ultramarine, and which add fo 
 much to the beauty of this field of 
 green corn, are too confpicuous to 
 pafs unnoticed. The fcarlet flower, 
 you tell me, is a Poppy. It is fo ; 
 but I wifh to know fomething more 
 about it. Thejtamina, you perceive, 
 are numerous, and there is, in the 
 centre, a germen covered by *.jligma % 
 but no JiylM. Hence I know the 
 Clafs and Order to be Polyandria 
 Monogynia. The generic character 
 is calyx diphyllus; corolla tetrape- 
 tala; capfula unilocularis, fub ftig- 
 mate perfiftente poris dehifcens. The 
 plant you have gathered is the Papa- 
 ver rbaas-, it is particularly diftin- 
 
 guifhed
 
 fuifhed from the other three red 
 oppies, which alfo grow in corn- 
 fields and bloom at the fame time, 
 by its round fmooth head, hairy ftem 
 and pinnatifid leaves. 
 
 We have in this kingdom fix fpecies of 
 Papaver, one of which has white and an* 
 other yellow flowers. I doubt whether any 
 of thofe be the fort that was fown for fome 
 purpofe or other, by the ancients, and which* 
 Virgil fays, burns the land, 
 
 TJrunt letbao ferftifa papaverafomno. 
 
 Centau- That tali plant with the beautiful 
 rea * blue flower, you wilt find, is of thd 
 Clafs and Order Polygamia Fruftraniai 
 Thtfofcult that form the radius, you 
 perceive, have no fligma y and for 
 that rcafon can produce no feed j they 
 are therefore of no ufe in the pro- 
 pagation of the plant: that opera- 
 tion is performed by the florets of 
 the difk, which are hermaphrodite. 
 * Having thus afcertained the Clafs 
 and Order, confult your Synopfts, and 
 you will have no doubt of the genus, 
 Gentaurea being the only genus indi- 
 genous
 
 genous in Britain. As to thefpectes, 
 it is evidently the cyanus, or blue- 
 bottle, becaufe there is no other with 
 a blue flower. 
 
 There is, on the verge of thofe lands, EM- 
 another ftately plant with blue flow- vm * 
 ers, of which probably you have never 
 heard the name. It is a handfome 
 flower to look at, but not very pleafant 
 to touch ; its item being thick fet with 
 white bridles, each of which, you will 
 perceive, grows on the centre of a 
 brown tubercle. Its five red ftamina 
 and forked piftillum, are eafily feen, as 
 they project much beyond the rim of 
 the corolla. Its common height is about 
 two feet. The flowers, you fee, crowd 
 all to one fide of the fpike, which is 
 generally from fix to nine inches in 
 length. The leaves on the ftem are 
 feflile, hairy and fpear-fhaped. Thefe 
 together are fufficient marks of diftinc- 
 tion. It is the Echiurq vu/gare, or Vi- 
 per's Buglos. But I mud apprife you 
 that the flowers on the fpike being la- 
 teral, that is, growing all on one fide, 
 T is
 
 is fo far from being general, that they 
 more commonly form a regular pyra- 
 mid. 
 
 In that hedge you obferve a fhrub 
 tram. ^^ a ^ite flower, which I dare 
 fay you know to be the Privet, hav- 
 ing often feen it form a regular hedge 
 in gardens ; to which purpofe it is 
 indeed well adapted. You will find 
 it in the Synopjis> the firft genus in 
 the Clafs and Order, Diandria, Mo- 
 nogynia: accordingly, you fee, in the 
 flower \wojtamina and one ptflillum. 
 The generic name is Liguftrum and 
 the fpecific vu/gare. The word Z,/- 
 gujlrum reminds you of thefe lines in 
 Virgil, 
 
 O formofe puer^ mmlum ne crede colori: 
 Alba Ligujlra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur. 
 
 It is however by no means certain, that 
 thefe alba liguftra of Virgil were what we 
 call Privet: on the contrary, many com- 
 mentators are of opinion, that our Convol- 
 vulusfepium, Great Bindweed, is the plant j 
 and they incline to this opinion from the 
 
 extreme
 
 extreme whitenefs of the flower and the 
 fuppofed derivation of Liguftrum from //- 
 \ gando. Pliny pofitively fays it is a tree: but 
 Pliny was a mere tranfcriber, and, I am, 
 
 dear Charles, 
 
 Your, &c. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 JULY. 
 
 " What calm joy can this exceed, 
 This of roving o'er the mead ? 
 Where the hand of Flora pours 
 Sweeteft voluntary flow'rs: 
 Where the Zephyr's balmy gale 
 Wantons in the charming vale." 
 
 *"T^HAT plant, with thefe beautiful 
 mca. J[ c hina-blue flowers, which grows 
 fo luxuriantly in the brook, is the Ve- 
 ronica beccabunga, commonly called 
 Brooklime. It is of the Clafs Diandria 
 and Order Monogynia. The flowers, 
 you fee, are inferi, monopetali, et irre- 
 gulares. Both calyx and corolla are qua- 
 dripartite, and, of the latter, the loweft 
 fegment is the narrowed: thefe parti- 
 culars determine the genus. Thejfie- 
 ctes is known by its loofe lateral fpikes 
 of blue flowers, its creeping flem, and 
 by its leaves being thick, feifile, oval, 
 oppofite and notched. 
 
 That
 
 That very common plant with large Mal- 
 flowers, that grows fo plentifully on va * 
 each fide of this road, you know, I make 
 no doubt, is a fpecies of Mallow. It 
 merits your attention as an example of 
 the Clafs and Order Monadelphia Poly- 
 andria> in which the clafllcal character 
 may be diftinclly obferved without the 
 help of your glafs. You fee there are 
 manyy&zw/W united below in one body 
 or brotherhood. The corolla confifts 
 of five petals. The calyx is double, 
 with but three leaves in the exterior 
 range, by which laft circumftance it is 
 diftinguimed from the genus Althea. 
 We have in this kingdom four fpecies 
 of Malva, viz. rotundifolia^ parvifora, 
 mofchata and Jy foe/Iris, which laft is the 
 plant you have pulled, and which is 
 diftinguifhed from the other three, by 
 its leaves being waved, in 5 or 7 lobes, 
 obtufe, ferrated and their foot-ftalks 
 hairy. 
 
 Here is a plant about two feet in Sal- 
 
 height, with a fmall blue flower, from vta * 
 
 the gaping appearance of which, you 
 
 fuppofe it to be of the Clafs Didynamia-, 
 
 T 3
 
 but its unfortunate want of two more 
 ftamina, feparates it from its family. If 
 you examine the flower, you will find 
 it contains one piftillum and two very 
 diftincl: jiamina with large anther^ 
 which you perceive have burft longi- 
 tudinally on the under fide, and are 
 now in the a6l of difcharging, in great 
 profufion, a fine yellow pollen^ on the 
 iummit of the piftillum ; but, being na- 
 turally taller than \.}\eftamina> it bends 
 its neck down between the ftamina, for 
 the purpofe of receiving this yellow 
 duft. Yet Linnaeus, as a generic cha- 
 racter fays* Filament a tranfverfe pedi- 
 cello affixa-, and Dr. Withering tells us, 
 that the rudiments of two chives ap- 
 pear in the mouth of the bloffom, but 
 they have no tips. In this fpecies, how- 
 ever, nothing can be more confpicuous 
 than the ftamina and ttfs, as he chufes 
 to call them; and, as to the filaments 
 fixed tranfverfely to a pedicle, there i$ 
 not the leaft appearance of it. In this 
 JpecieS) you obferve, the flowers grow 
 in whirls, fix in each; the leaves are 
 wrinkled, fcallopped and ferrated, on 
 the upper part of the item fefllle, on 
 
 the
 
 295 
 
 the lower on pedicles. The item is 
 quadrangular and brachiatus. Relhan 
 lays it fmells like black currants: to 
 me, it has rather a mixt pot-herb fmell. 
 It is the Sahia verbenacd^ Wild Sage, 
 or Clary. There is another fpecies, viz. 
 S. pratenjisy found in other counties, 
 which is rather a fcarce plant. This 
 Sahia verbenaca you will find, in great 
 plenty, in the field path oppofite the 
 horfe-bridge of Trinity College. 
 
 In that ditch I fee an umbelliferous ty- 
 plant, which, if you can get at it with- um ' 
 out a plunge, you will find to be of 
 the Clafs and Order Pentandria Digy- 
 m'a.'It is the Aphim graveolem, the ef- 
 fential character of which genus is, Seeds 
 oval and flriated; tnvolucrum of one 
 leaf: petals equal. But feeds yet there 
 are none, and as to the irruolucrum ac- 
 cording to its arrangement in the Syf- 
 tema VegetaUlium* it ought to have none. 
 You may, however, diftinguifli it by 
 the general umbel confifting of few 
 radii and the partial of many. Lin~ 
 naeus determines the Jpecies by the 
 leaves on them being wedge-fhaped. 
 T4
 
 ( 296 ) 
 
 We call it, in its wild (late, Smallage; 
 in our gardens Cellery. It is probably 
 the eXsioreXivov of the Greeks; for their 
 c-eXivov the Latin writers always tran- 
 flate apium. From the fituation in 
 which you have found it, we may, I 
 think, rationally fuppofe it to be Vir- 
 gil's Apium. 
 
 Quoque modo potts gauderent intuba rivis, 
 Et virides aplo ripe? 
 
 There grows the very Infubum juft 
 mentioned. I mean that plant with 
 large blue flowers, like wheels, grow- 
 ing, without foot-ftalks, on the fide 
 of a zig-zag ftem, which is firm and 
 about two feet high. If you exa- 
 mine the calyx you will find it dou- 
 ble; the interior formed of 8 fcales, 
 the exterior of 5, which are fringed. 
 The petals are in number from 16 
 to 20, with 5 notches at the extre- 
 mity of each. Linnaus calls it C*- 
 chorium intybus. It is of the Clafs 
 and Order Syngenefia Polygamia tequa- 
 lis: in Englifh, Succory. I take it 
 \Q be the fpecies of re^s, which Dio- 
 1 ' v ^ corides
 
 ( 297 ) 
 
 corides calls waqtf. It is certainly 
 the weed, injurious to the farmer, 
 which Virgil fo drolly links with the 
 geefe and cranes. 
 
 - nihil improbus (infer 
 Stramoniteque grues, et amaris Intubajibris 
 Officiunt. 
 
 Poflibly it was this fpecies of cichorium 
 that made a part of Horace's fallad, 
 
 Me pafcunt oltv&, 
 
 Me cichorea t levefque mahte. 
 
 And that, by 0/iW, he meant the oil 
 which he eat with it. But it is more proba- 
 ble, I think, that he fpeaks of the Cichorium 
 endivia, the plant which we call Endive: 
 and yet, if he could eat mallows, he might 
 alfo eat Succory. 
 
 Near the plant you have juft ex-^rflf- 
 amined, there is another more univer- um * 
 fally common, and which, as you will 
 find in your Synopjis, immediately fol- 
 lows the Cichorium. It is the Artfium 
 lappa of Linnaeus, our Burdock, or 
 Clotbur; the famous Bardana of the 
 famous Dr. Hill. Arftium is the an- 
 cient
 
 ( 298 ) 
 
 client narne by which it was called by 
 piofcorides* Later bptanifts have given 
 it- the name of Lappa* probably from 
 XctpGcuru, capio, from its catching hold 
 of people's garments as theypafs. Lin- 
 naeus took the Diofcordian name for 
 the genus , and Lappa for the Species. It 
 is of the Clafs and Order Syngenejla^ 
 folygamia tequalis. Its medium height 
 is between two and three feet. The 
 flowers are purple, on the top of a 
 large, globular imbricated common 
 calyx, the exterior fcales of which are 
 fharp and hooked, fo as to catch faft 
 hold of every thing they touch. Whe- 
 ther Virgil, enumerating the weeds 
 that infeft the corn-fields, meant this 
 Burdock, or the Galium ap^rine* is mat- 
 ter of contention among his commen- 
 tators, 
 
 erafyha, 
 Lappaque t Tribulique * Geor. I. 52. 
 
 Be this as it may, the Lappa of Pliny is 
 certainly the Aparim of Theophraftus and 
 Diofcorides. You will find this fubjeft 
 learnedly difcuffed in Martyn's Virgil. 
 
 You
 
 ( 299 ) 
 
 You look inquifitively for the caufe Gali- 
 of the fweet honey-like fmell you per- um ' 
 ceh*e. It proceeds from thofe fpikes of 
 fmali yellow flowers that border this 
 field. If you apply your glafs to any 
 one of them, you will find it is of the ' 
 Clafs and Order T'etrandria Monogynia. 
 The calyx i you obferve, is fmall, of one 
 leaf, with four teeth ; the corolla mono- 
 petalous, plane, without tube, divided 
 into four (harp fegments. The fruit 
 confifts of two dry berries, containing 
 each a (ingle feed : therefore it is a Ga- 
 Hum. The branches which fupport the 
 fmall fpikes are very fhort. The leaves 
 on the Mem grow in whirls, are fhort, 
 linear, (harp, brittle, fulcated, and eight 
 or nine in number. The (tern is brown 
 and fquare: therefore it is the Galium 
 fuerum y Ladies Bedflraw, or Cheefe-ren- 
 ning. 
 
 We are told by Mr. Pennant and by Mr. 
 Lightfoot, that in the ifles of Jura, Uift, 
 Lewis, &c. they ufe the root of this plant 
 for dying red, and that a deco&ion of the 
 flowers is ufed in the ifle of Aran, and in 
 (Chefliire, to curdle milk for cheefe. You 
 
 will
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 will find an excellent engraving of this plant 
 in the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 We have hitherto taken no notice of that 
 prolific tribe of plants to which, we of the 
 temperate zone, .are principally obliged for 
 a confiderable part of our food, our raiment, 
 and for this perpetual verdure, fo grateful 
 to the eye. J need not tell you, that I mean 
 the GrafTes. You will probably afcribe our 
 neglect of them to their not bearing flowers, 
 which have always been the objects of our 
 enquiry. Bqt this is not true. Their flowers 
 indeed are neither large not gaudy; never- 
 thelefs it is from their parts of fruclifica- 
 tion, as in other plants, that they are clafled 
 in the Linnaean fyftem. They are difficult 
 of investigation, becaufe the eflential parts 
 are fo minute as to require good glafles, 
 and more time than you can now fpare: for 
 this reafon, we have fuffered the GrafTes to 
 pafs unnoticed. I fhall, however, give you a 
 general idea of their conftruclion, and you 
 may purfue the fubject when you have more 
 leifure. 
 
 Loli- The natural characters of GrafTes 
 um * are: Stem, Culm, or Straw, ftraight, 
 
 firn.-
 
 fimple, fiftular and jointed: Calyx> a 
 hufk of two valves : Corolla* if it may 
 be fo called, a dry, fkinny hufk, alfo of 
 two valves: Stamina three: Piftilla two. 
 Seeds, fmgle, pointed at each end: 
 Leaves, one at each joint, entire, nar- 
 row, tapering to a point. But thefe 
 characters are not invariable, as you 
 will fee in this fpecimen in my hand, 
 which when I tell you its generic 
 name, you will recollect is mentioned 
 by Virgil more than once. It is the 
 Lolium temulentum* fo called by Lin- 
 naeus from the inebriating quality of 
 its feed when malted with barley brew- 
 ed. 
 In the Georgics you remember 
 
 ~ inter -que nitmtia culta 
 Infellx Lolium, etfteriles dominatur aventz. 
 
 And, in the 5th Eclogue, he repeats the 
 laft line verbatim. Whether he meant this 
 particular fpecies I know not. It is called, 
 in Englifh, White Darnel. If you examine 
 it minutely you will find, that it differs 
 from the general character of Grafles, in its 
 calyx being a hufk or glume, of one leaf. 
 
 The fpecific character of this Darnel is : 
 
 Culm
 
 ( 
 
 Culm from two to three feet high : Spiko' 
 bearded, flat, near a foot in length. 
 
 Virgil's avena in the verfe above quoted, 
 was probably the Avenajlrigofa of Schreber, 
 which Dr. Withering calls Scrannel grafs. 
 
 Ono- The magnificent plant, with pur- 
 ple flowers, growing on that dry 
 bank, demands your notice on ac- 
 count of its ftately appearance; but 
 more efpecially becaufe of its fmgu- 
 larity. It is the only fpecies, in this 
 kingdom, of the genus to which it 
 belongs. We call it a Thiftle; but 
 that appellation comprehends feverafr 
 diftincl: genera in the modern fyftem 
 of botany. Our excellent botanift 
 Ray, confidered it as a Carduus, to- 
 which family it feems naturally to 
 belong. Linnseus, after Haller, calls 
 it Onopordum, with the fpeeific name 
 acanthium. It is our Cotton-thiftle, 
 fo called from the grey down that 
 gives it this whitifh appearance. It 
 is eafily diftinguiftied by its fuperior 
 fubftance and height; its decurrent 
 leaves, or wings, on the item and 
 branches, and by its very large bot- 
 tom
 
 torn leaves. Bat its eflential generic 
 character is-, that the receptaculum, 
 refembles a honey-comb, except that 
 the cells are quadrangular, and the 
 fcales of the calyx ftand open, and 
 are (harp pointed. The receptaculum 
 and the young (hoots peeled and 
 boiled may be eaten like artichokes. 
 
 That Thiftle about two feet high, Car. 
 with a purple flower, whofe decurrent duus ' 
 leaves terminate in a long (harp fpine, 
 is the Spear-thiftle. It is the Carduus 
 lanceolatm of Linnaeus. By this fpear 
 you will eafily diftinguifh it. The ef- 
 fential character of the genus Carduus 
 is: Calyx oval, imbricated, with fpinous 
 fcales : Receptaculum hairy. 
 
 That other plant with pale purple Serra- 
 fmall flowers, which you would na- iula ' 
 turally call a thiftJe, is according to 
 Linnaeus, not a Carduus, but a Ser- 
 ratula. It differs from a Carduus, in 
 the receptaculum being fub-cylindri- 
 cal, and not fpinous. It is the Ser- 
 ratula arvenfis-, in Englifh, Corn-fa w- 
 
 wort,
 
 ( 3<>4 ) 
 
 wort, or Way-thiftle. Its flowers, ; 
 which have an agreeable fmell, you 
 obferve, grow in a kind of loofe um- 
 bel, on long peduncles, and that the 
 entire plant is of a pale green. This 
 is probably the Thiftle which Virgil 
 reprobates in the following lines, 
 
 fegnifque horreret in amis 
 Carduus. 
 
 - It is indeed the moft prolific, and diffi* 
 cult to eradicate, of any pernicious weed 
 that infefts our corn-fields. It is impoflible 
 to extract it with breaking every fibre of 
 the root, which Curtis thus defcribes Ra- 
 dix perenntSy feres, crajfitie fere dlglti minimi ', 
 fordide albida^ profunde defcendem^ repens, un- 
 dique longiffimefeprotendens. DifTatisfied with 
 Linnaeus's arrangement of this plant, he 
 reftores it to the genus Carduus, to which it 
 naturally belongs. He gives it the Englifli 
 name of Curfed Thiftle, " to awaken," as he 
 fays, " the attention of the agriculturift, to 
 its nature and pernicious effects." 
 
 We muft not quit this family I fay fa- 
 mily j for though arbitrary fyftems may 
 change their names, their natural affinity 
 
 will
 
 ( 305 ) 
 
 will remain without taking notice of the 
 moft beautiful among them. I mean that 
 Thiftle whofe leaves are variegated with ir- 
 regular broad white veins. It is the Car- 
 duus marianm or Milk Thiftle, or Lady's 
 Thiftle. The old German Botanifts called 
 it Carduus Maria that is, of the Virgin 
 Mary: fo our old black-letter Botanifts call 
 it Our Lady's Tbiflle. As the Galaxy, or 
 Milky-way, in the Heavens was caufed by 
 the overflowing milk of a Goddefs, fo the 
 milk veins on this Carduus, were the effect 
 of a fimilar redundancy in the breaft of the 
 Virgin Mary> according to the fabulous 
 mythology of the ancient Catholics. Thefe 
 white veins fufficiently diftinguifh this fpe- 
 cies; but fometimes they are wanting: in 
 that cafe, you muft attend to the large 
 thorns, befet with a few fmall ones, which 
 guard the calyx. You may likewife ob- 
 ferve, that there is a fingle head on the 
 top of each branch; that there is no leaf 
 near it, and that the leaves embrace the 
 ftem. 
 
 I fuppofe you are now fo much a bota- 
 
 nift, that it is almoft unnecefTary to tell you 
 
 that thefe Thirties are of the Clafs and Or- 
 
 U der
 
 der Syngenefia Polygamia aqualis: 
 you obferve, are all turbular and herma 
 phrodite. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LET.
 
 Y 
 
 ( 30? ) 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 JULY. 
 
 OUR objection to this Sexual Syftem. 
 of Linnaeus, carries more weight upon 
 reflection, than might, at firft, be fappofed. 
 The lady who afked the queftion, " whether 
 women may be inftru6ted in the modern 
 Syftem of Botany, confidently with female 
 delicacy?" was accufed of ridiculous pru- 
 dery; neverthelefs, if me had propofed the 
 queftion to me, I fhould certainly have an- 
 fwered " They cannot." 
 
 The late Dr. Hope, ProfefTor of Botany 
 at Edinburgh, was naturally a very modeft 
 man, I have frequently feen him embar- 
 raffed under the neceffity of explaining the 
 analogy between the parts of generation in 
 plants and animals, to an audience of young 
 pupils. How much greater would have been 
 his embarraflment, if his pupils had been 
 females ! It is true, the terms are Latin, 
 or of Latin derivation; and it is alfo true, 
 that there is nothing indecent in their lite- 
 ral meaning 5 but, ,unlefs we explain their 
 analogy, the Sexual Syftem does not appear, 
 u 2 The
 
 'The idea of male and female plants, is of 
 very ancient date. The penetrating, the in- 
 quifitive genius of Linnaeus, purfued the 
 idea, faw its want of precifion, difcovered 
 the fexual diftincYions, and made them the 
 foundation of a beautiful philofophical hy- 
 pothefis. But this hypothecs might have 
 been confined to Philofophy. The analogy 
 between the parts, and the propagation, of 
 plants and animals, was of no ufe in a 
 practical fyftem of Botany. Fivejtamina and 
 one ptftillum would fufficiently afcertain the 
 Clafs and Order Pentandria Monogynia, which 
 might with great eafe have been otherwife 
 denominated, fo as to have no reference to 
 fex. 
 
 In an age lefs refined than the prefent, 
 thefe objections were invalid. Poffibly we 
 may not be more virtuous than our proge- 
 nitors; but doubtlefs we are more delicate. 
 The double entendres in the comedies of the 
 laft age, with which the then audience were 
 fo much delighted, would now be received 
 with difguft: and, what is very remarkable, 
 though we are, by no means, efteemed the 
 moft polifhed nation, we are certainly the 
 moft delicate. Some years ago, I was pre- 
 lent, on a Sunday evening, at the repre- 
 9 fentation
 
 fentation of a French comic Opera, at Brux- 
 elles. One of the fongs was at leaft treble 
 entendre^ and in another, (a duetto between a 
 man and woman) he made feveral attempts 
 to put his hands in the girl's bofom. I be- 
 lieve, this would hardly have been fuffered 
 at Bartholomew-fair. 
 
 The French have the reputation of a 
 highly polifhed people. This reputation 
 may be juft: neverthelefs they are indeli- 
 cate y fo extremely indelicate, that, paradoxi- 
 cal as it may feem, even their modeft wo- 
 men are difguftingly immodeft. A modeft 
 Englifhwoman is the moft modeft woman 
 in the world. If the ftage be the juft cri- 
 terion of the manners of a nation, we are, 
 at this time, fuperior in point of public 
 chaftity. 
 
 The fweet fmeli that you perceive in Ttlla. 
 this avenue proceeds from thefe tall 
 trees, which are now in bloom. They 
 are the Tiilia europaa. Lime-trees, of the 
 Clafs and Order Polyandria Monadel- 
 fhia: you will accordingly find, in the 
 flower, many Jlamina and one piftillum. 
 The corolla is pentapetalous and the 
 calyx quinquepartite. The fpecies is 
 u 3 dif-
 
 diftinguifhed by its want of a nefta- 
 rium, and by the fingular pale-green 
 ftrap, called a brattea, annexed to the 
 pedunculus, that fupports an umbel of 
 from three to feven radii, with one 
 flower at the extremity of each. The 
 leaves, you fee, are heart-fhaped and 
 finely ferrated. Virgil celebrates this 
 tree for the lightnefs of the wood. 
 
 * * filia ante juga lavis. 
 
 Pa/It- That tall umbelliferous plant, 
 which grows fo profufely on the 
 border of this field, I fee, attracts 
 your particular notice. You have 
 hitherto feen no plant of this flruc- 
 ture whofe flowers were yellow; and 
 that circumftance is alone fufHcient 
 to inform me that it is the Paflinaca 
 fyfoeftris, qr Wild Parfnip. It has no 
 involucrum either general or partial, 
 Its petals are involuted and entire, 
 and its leaves are fimply pinnated. 
 The general umbel coiififts of about 
 ten radii, and the partial of as many 
 more. You will find it in the Clafs 
 and Order Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 Obferve
 
 3 
 
 Obferve that plant of an umbelli- 
 ferous appearance, whofe innumera- 
 ble fmall flowers are of a beautiful 
 red-purple: they are generally white. 
 It is of the Clafs and Order Syngene- 
 fta Polygamiafuperflua: you will ac- 
 cordingly find that thejhfculi in the 
 difk contamjtamina andptftilla-, and 
 thofe of the radius, which are about 
 five in number, piftilla only. It is 
 the Achillea millefolium; in Englifh, 
 Yarrow. It is called millefolium, from 
 the numerous divifion of its leaves. 
 There is an engraving of this plant 
 in the Flora Londinenfis y in which 
 the flower is drawn with too little 
 attention to perfpe6live. 
 
 That noble plant, among the corn, Centau- 
 with beautiful purple flowers on the rea * 
 top of imbricated black-green globes, 
 is of the fame genus, and confe- 
 quently of the fame Clafs and Order, 
 with the Centaurea cyanus or Blue- 
 bottle, which you examined laft 
 month: accordingly, you will find, 
 that the exterior jlofculi have no pif- 
 -t that they are tubular, larger 
 u 4 than
 
 than thofe of the diflc, and irregu- 
 larly divided. It is the Centaur ea fca- 
 biofa, Great Knapweed or Matfellon. 
 The flowers, you obferve, are (ingle 
 and raifed on long naked ftalks. The 
 fcales of the calyx are edged with a 
 brown fringe; but, what particularly 
 diftinguifhes the fpecies, is the pin- 
 natifid leaves. The Centaurea nigra> 
 which generally grows in meadows, 
 refembles this plant; but it has no 
 neutral Jlofculi y its leaves are lance- 
 fhaped, and the flowers lefs. 
 
 Sea. You fee, among the corn, a very tall, 
 bto f a - {lender, plant, with long peduncles, 
 each fupporting a fingle pale-purple 
 flower. The ftem meafures at leaft 
 four feet and a half. I take particular 
 notice of it, becaufe its natural fize is 
 about a third of that height. If you 
 now examine the flower, you will finU, 
 that it confifts of a number of fmall 
 fofculi: You conclude, therefore, with- 
 out hefitation, that you are to look for 
 it in the Clafs Syngenefia. You are 
 miftaken. Nature would fo have clafled 
 it 3 but Art tyrannically tears it from 
 
 its
 
 its relations. It wants the efTential 
 characteriftic of the Clafs Syngenefia: 
 itsftamina are not united. If you ex- 
 amine any of the/0/o///, you will find, 
 that they contain fourjiamtna and one 
 fiftillum: therefore you muft turn to 
 the Clafs T^etrandna^ and Order, Mono- 
 gynia. Scabiofa, the fecond plant in this 
 Clafs, is the genus, andarvenfis the fpe- 
 cies. The genus is determined by the 
 common calyx confirming of many leaves, 
 and the proper calyx being double and 
 above the germin. The fpecific cha- 
 racter is- corolla quadrifid, radiant; 
 leaves oppofite; pinnatifid, ending in a 
 lance j ftem cylindrical and rough . You 
 will find a good engraving of this plant 
 in the Flora Londinenfis, except that it 
 appears rather dwarfifh. 
 
 Among that wheat you fee a bright Jgrof- 
 purple flower, which for fimple ele- temma * 
 gance is not furpafled by any of the 
 exotics in our gardens, green-houfes, 
 or hot-houfes : but we eftimate things, 
 not by their beauty, but by their 
 fcarcity; elfe who would exchange 
 ten guineas for Cromwell's halfpen- 
 ny?
 
 ( 3H ) 
 
 ny ? This plant is too common for 
 general admiration. It is eafily dif- 
 tinguifhed by the colour of its five 
 obcordate petals, and by the 'extreme 
 length of the fegments of its mono- 
 phyllous calyx. You will find it to 
 be of the Clafs and Order Decandria 
 Pentagynia, and of the genus Agrof- 
 temma, of which four fpecies have 
 been difcovered in different parts of 
 the world; but this, our Cockle, to 
 which Linnaeus has given the trivial, 
 or fpecific, name of gitbago, is the 
 only one indigenous in this king- 
 dom. There is an excellent engrav- 
 ing of. it in the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 There is an umbelliferous plant in 
 bloom, the name of which, from the 
 defcription of modern Botanifts, it is 
 impoffible, in its prefent ftate, to dif- 
 cover ; becaufe both the generic and fpe- 
 cific defcriptions, given by Linnaeus, 
 depend principally on the feeds, which 
 are not yet formed: but, by applying 
 the root to your nofe, you will imme- 
 diately tell me, it is a Carrot. It is 
 indeed the Daucus carota, the Wild Car- 
 
 rot,
 
 rot, and differs only from that which 
 is cultivated in our gardens, in the co- 
 lour and fubftance of its root, which 
 is the effect of culture. You will find, 
 on examination, that it is of the Clafs 
 and Order, Pentandria Digynia. Lin- 
 nseus's generic character is : Corolla fub- 
 radiattf) omnes hermaphrodites. Fruttus 
 pills hifpidis : and his fpecific diftinction, 
 Se mini bus hifpidis, petiolis fubtus nervofis. 
 To this may be added, from Relhan, 
 that the flem is fulcated and alfo hifpid ; 
 that the general involucrum confifts of 
 many pinnatifid leaves; that the um- 
 bels have 40 radii, and the umbellulte 30. 
 I fee a beautiful blue flower in the border 
 of this corn-field, which it would have been 
 criminal to overlook, as it is, in its wild 
 flate, peculiar to this county. You are well 
 acquainted with it as a garden flower. It 
 is the garden Larkfpur, but growing wild 
 in great abundance, and variety of colour, 
 in almoft every part of the extenfive fields 
 fouth of Cambridge. The Linnsean name 
 is Delphinium confolida, of the Clafs and Or- 
 jier Polyandria Trigynia. 
 
 If
 
 ( 3-6 ) 
 
 Dip- If you had ever lived in any part of 
 f acus * the kingdom where woollen cloth is 
 manufactured, you would immediately 
 have recognized that upright plant 
 with large oval heads, growing, in num- 
 bers, by the fide of this ditch. It is the 
 Dipfacusfyheftns, the Wild Teafel, of 
 the Clafs and Order T'etrandria Monogy- 
 ma. It is, indeed, not the fpecies ufed 
 in the woollen manufactory; but there 
 is fo little difference between this and 
 ihefullonum, that Linnaeus confidered 
 the latter as a variety of ifojyfatftris: 
 neverthelefs there is certainly a fpecific 
 diflinftion. In, the D. fullonum, the 
 palete of the receptaculum are hooked 
 downwards : in the D. fyfoejlris, they 
 are ftraight. In the D. fullonum, the 
 leaves of the involucrum are fhort and 
 horizontal: in the fyfaeftris, they are 
 long, and, as you fee, encircle the head. 
 The generic character is Calyx corn- 
 munis polyphyllus; proprius fuperus. 
 Receptaculum paleaceum. 
 The ufe of the Teafel in the manufactory 
 of woollen cloth, is to lay the pile all one 
 way, before it is put in the hot prefs. For 
 
 this
 
 this purpofe about a fcore of the heads of 
 the Teafel are fixed in a wooden frame, or 
 crofs, and bound together by a fmall cord. 
 This inftrument is drawn along the wet 
 cloth lengthwife, forcibly and repeatedly, 
 the piece being fufpended over a perch, 
 and gradually drawn from one end to the 
 other, till the whole has undergone this dif- 
 cipline. 
 
 The Cloth-drefTers, in the North of Eng- 
 land, fometimes (hut themfelves up, for the 
 clandeftine purpofe of ufmg, inftead of thefe 
 legal Teafels, Cards with wire teeth, fimilar 
 to thofe which are ufed for carding wool. 
 Thefe Cards were fuppofed to injure the fub- 
 ftance of the cloth, an act of Parliament was 
 therefore obtained to prohibit their ufe ; but 
 they are more durable and confequently lefs 
 expenfive. Probably we learnt this appli- 
 cation of the Teafel from the Germans, who 
 have given it a name exprefllve of its ufe. 
 They call it KartendifteJ, that is, Card- 
 thiffle. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 JULY; 
 
 I PROMISED you, m a former letter, 
 an excurfion to the celebrated Chalk-pit 
 Clofe at Cherry Hinton: celebrated, becaufe 
 it contains a great variety of plants - y becaufe 
 it was frequently vifited by Ray, the father 
 of Englifh Botanifts ; and becaufe my wor- 
 thy friend Relhan, on this fpot, recovered 
 the long loft At ham ant a libanotis: I fay reco- 
 vered, becaufe Dr. Withering in the firft 
 volume of his Botanical Arrangement mif- 
 takes the fact, in faying that Mr. Relhan 
 firft difcovered this plant in Britain. Mr. 
 Relhan never pretended to any fuch origi- 
 nal difcovery, well knowing that Ray had 
 found it on Gog-magog hills 5 but, no Bo- 
 tanift, fince Ray's time, before Mr. Relhan, 
 had been able to find it. He claims only 
 the merit of difcovering a plant, which, for 
 many years, had been totally loft. This 
 explanation is the more neceflary, becaufe 
 Dr. Withering, in the firft part of his third 
 volume, lately publifhed, deviates ftill far- 
 ther from the truth, in quoting the autho- 
 rity
 
 rity of Mr. Woodward. But you will not, 
 to day, have the fatisfaftion of feeing this 
 fcarce plant, as it does not flower till Au- 
 guft. 
 
 The Chalk-pit Clofe will afford us fuffi- 
 cient matter for this day's amufement; we 
 fhall therefore not begin till we come upon 
 the field of action: and, to fatisfy your cu- 
 riofity as to the number of plants now in 
 bloom within the fmall compafs of this 
 Chalk-pit Clofe, the beft way will be to col- 
 left them in your tin-box, and we will af- 
 terwards fit down and examine them. 
 
 Well now open your budget. 
 
 No. i. It is the Carduus acaulis> 
 Dwarf Thiftle. You will find it, in acaulis ' 
 your Synopfis, the tenth fpecies of 
 this genus in the Clafs and Order Syn- 
 genefia, Polygamla tequalis. Its having 
 no ftem is a fufficient diftin6lion. 
 Sometimes it is found with a ftem an 
 inch or more in length. This fpeci- 
 men has no ftem at all. 
 
 No. 2. Verbena officinalis, Vervain, fcr 
 You will find it the firft genus in the 
 
 Clafs
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 Clafs and Order Didynamia Gymnofper- 
 mia; and there can be no doubt of the 
 Jpeciesy as there is but one. The flower, 
 you obferve, is fo very minute, that to 
 convince yourfelf of its Clafs and Order 
 you muft have recourfe to your glafs; 
 and alfo of its genus, which depends on 
 the calyx being monophyllous, with one 
 of its five teeth truncated, and on its 
 having four feeds. You will know the 
 Jpecies, by the fpikes being very long with 
 a few reddifh pale blue flowers near the 
 extremity, by its having a fmgle ftem, 
 and the leaves oppofite and with nu- 
 merous clefts. 
 
 It feems very extraordinary that this in- 
 iignificant plant fhould have acquired fo 
 much importance in ancient times. Pliny 
 tells us it was carried by EmbafTadors when 
 they were fent to demand fatisfaclion for 
 depredations, and that he who carried the 
 plant was called Ferbenarius. He alfo in- 
 forms us that is was ufed for fweeping the 
 table of Jupiter His Jovis menfa verritur t 
 domus pergantur lujlranturque. 
 
 From Livy we learn that the plant Ver- 
 bena was ufed in the ceremony when the 
 
 league
 
 ( 3" ) 
 
 league was ratified between Tullius Hofti- 
 lius, third King of the Romans, and the 
 Albans. It was alfo ufed in incantations. 
 
 Effer aquam et molli cinge haec alt aria vitta-, 
 Verbenafyue a dole pingues et mafcula thura. 
 
 This Verbena pinguis cannot poflibly be 
 the plant we call Vervain ; unlefs, in com- 
 paffion to the poverty of the Latin language, 
 we tranflate it frefh, full of juice. I recol- 
 lecl another paflage in Virgil, as little ap- 
 plicable to our Vervain. In the fourth book 
 of the Georgics, fpeaking of the old Cory- 
 cian's garden, 
 
 Hie rarum tamen in dumis olus, albaque circum 
 Lilia, verbenafquepremens, e vefcumquepapa t uer^ 
 Regum tequabat opes animis. 
 
 So that this contented old man thought 
 himfelf as rich as a King, with a few flrag- 
 gling cabbages, furrounded by lilies, vervain 
 and poppies; the laft of which feems to have 
 made part of his food, unlefs we tranflate 
 vefcum meager, a fenfe in which, I think it 
 "is fometimes ufedj but as to this border of 
 Vervain, if it be our plant, it could neither 
 be for ufe nor ornament. Probably fuper- 
 X flition
 
 ( 322 ) 
 
 flition introduced it into the gardens of the 
 ancients. On the fame foundation a quack 
 in this kingdom, a few years ago, publifhed 
 a pamphlet on the infallibity of the root of 
 Vervain, worn round the neck, for the cure 
 of the King's Evil. It was thought, by the 
 ancient phyficians, to poflefs great medical 
 virtues. It is juft as ufefui in Medicine, as 
 in the art of Incantation. 
 
 Convol- No. 3. Convolvulus arvenfis, Small 
 vulus. Bindweed: Pentandria Monogynia. 
 The corolla, you obferve, is campa- 
 nulate and plaited, and the piftillum 
 has a double Jligma. The flems are 
 generally numerous, weak and trail- 
 ing. The leaves are fliaped like the 
 head of an arrow, with three acute 
 points: In the Convolvulus fepium, 
 Great Bindweed, the two pofterior 
 angles of the leaf are truncated. The 
 flowers are white, as in this fpeci- 
 cimen, or pale pink. 
 
 No. 4. Anthyllis vulneraria, Ladies-finger. 
 This is an old acquaintance: you have ex- 
 amined it laft month. 
 
 No. 5.
 
 cum ' 
 
 ( 323 ) 
 
 No. 5. Verlafcum tbapfus. Great 
 Mullen: Pentandrla Monogynia. The 
 corolla has a very fhort tube, is fixed 
 below the germen, and has 5 obtufe 
 fegments. . The fpecies you will dif- 
 tinguifli by its decurrent leaves; its 
 fix-feet fimple ftem, terminated by a 
 long clofe fpike of yellow flower, and 
 by the greenifh-white flannelly ap- 
 pearance and feel of the entire plant. 
 
 No. 6. Campanula glomer at a: Can- Campa 
 terbury-bells. The corolla you ob- nula ' 
 ferve is regular, of one petal and be- 
 low the germen: it is bell-fafhioned, 
 and clofed at the bottom by 5 valves 
 which fupport the ftamina. The 
 Jligma is trifid : thefe particulars con- 
 flitute it a Campanula, and the fpe- 
 cies is characterized, by the ftem be- 
 ing erect, angular, fimple; and the 
 flowers, generally blue, growing three 
 together in the alse of the leaves. Rel- 
 han obferves that the height of the 
 ftem varies from three feet to three 
 inches. 
 
 x 2 No. 7.
 
 ( 3*4 ) 
 
 No. 7. Liguftrum vulgare : Privet. This 
 you faw iaft month. 
 
 Ru- No. 8. I need not tell you, that this 
 bus ' is the common Bramble, or Blackberry. 
 It is the Rubus of Linnasus and of all 
 former fyftematic Botanifts. The Clafs 
 and Order are Icofandria Polygynia. The 
 generic character is perfectly diftinct 
 and obvious, viz. Calyx quinquefid: 
 Petala five: Berry compofed of many 
 fmall ones with a (ingle feed in each. 
 Linnaeus enumerates no lefs than twen- 
 ty fpecies of this genus^ of which no 
 more than five are natives of Britain, 
 and but two of Cambridgefhire, name- 
 ly, the CtefiuSy Small Bramble or Dew- 
 berry, and this Fruticous or Common 
 Bramble. It is diftinguifhed by its long, 
 trailing, fpinous, ftem; by its 3 or 5- 
 fingered leaves, white flowers and black 
 fruit. 
 
 Carduus No. 9. Carduus eriphorus. Woolly- 
 
 eriopbo- Beaded Thiftle. This Thiftle may 
 
 be immediately diftinguifhed by the 
 
 fingularity of its leaves which ex-
 
 aftly refemble a Cbeveatt de Prize, 
 their fegments pointing four diffe- 
 rent ways, and terminated by a fharp 
 thorn, which is the only thorn upon 
 them. The lowermoft of thefe leaves 
 are frequently eighteen or twenty 
 inches in length. 
 
 No. 10. Papaver rhoeas, which you are 
 already acquainted with. 
 
 No. 1 1. Is the little plant Euphra- 
 Jia officinalis. It frequently grows 
 much higher than this fpecimen, 
 the item of which is not above four 
 inches. You will find it in the Clafs 
 and Order Didynamia, Angcofpermia. 
 The calyx, you obferve, is of one 
 leaf, cylindrical, quadrifid, the feg- 
 ments not quite equal. Now take 
 your glafs and you will difcover, that 
 the anthers are purple, with each 
 two lobes with a fpine at the bafe. 
 The corolla is ringent. Such is the 
 genus Euphrafia, of which there are, 
 in all, fevenfpea'es. We have in this 
 kingdom but two of them. This 
 which you have gathered, is called 
 x 3 (imply
 
 limply Eyebright ; the other, E.odon- 
 tites t or Red Eyebright. As the firft 
 was to cure difeafes of the eyes, fo 
 the latter, as I fuppofe from the fpe- 
 cific name, was deemed a remedy for 
 thofe of the teeth. They are eafily 
 diftinguifhed. Of the officinalis the 
 flowers are generally white or pur- 
 plifhj the flalk purple and about 5 
 or 6 inches long; the leaves, oval in 
 pairs with very fharp teeth. Of the 
 cdontites, the flowers are flefhcolour, 
 in lateral fpikes; the flem green, 
 much branched, ten or twelve inches 
 long; the leaves are lance-fhaped, 
 thinly indented and moft of them 
 purple. 
 
 Orchis, No. 12. I fhould imagine, that 
 t ^ ie moment y u beheld this beauti- 
 ful purple flower, you were ftruck 
 with a family refemblance to a plant 
 which you examined two months 
 ago. It is indeed of the fame genus 
 with the Orchis morio, which we met 
 with near Impington, in the month 
 of May. This is called Orchis pyra- 
 midalis, Pyramidal Orchis, which ap- 
 pellation.
 
 ( 327 ) 
 
 pellation, alluding to the fhape of 
 the fpike, is almoft fufficient to dif- 
 tinguifh it from any other fpecies; 
 but if you add, that the horn is re- 
 markably long; that the ftem is ten 
 or twelve inches in length, and en- 
 tirely inveloped by its leaves, you 
 will be in no danger of miftaking it 
 for any other Orchis. 
 
 No. 13. Plantago major. Great Plan- Plan- 
 tain. Of the Clafs and Order Vetran- tag9 ' 
 drla Monogynia. Thefe very minute 
 flowers are an infuperable objection to 
 the Linnaean fyftem. If, however, the 
 ufe of a fyftematic arrangement of 
 plants be only to trace them to their 
 generic and fpecific names, the habitus 
 of the Plantains is fo obvioufly diftin6l, 
 that we may leave fyftem out of the 
 queftion. Thisjpectes is known by the 
 leaves being broader, flightly indented, 
 and not downy, and by the antherae be- 
 ing purple, and the fpike longer than 
 in Plantago media, from which in ap- 
 pearance it differs very little. 
 
 No. 14. That is the Hedyfarum onobrycbis, 
 x 4 which
 
 ( 3*8 ) 
 
 which you faw in our I aft excurfion to the 
 
 hills. 
 
 \ 
 
 Hyperi- No .15. Hypericumperforatum^ Co m - 
 cum ' mon St. John's- wort; of the Clafs 
 and Order Polyadelphla Polyandrla: 
 you perceive, accordingly, that the 
 numerous ftamina are united at the 
 bottom in three/<z/aV#/z, not very dif- 
 tinclly indeed, but fufficiently ob- 
 vious to bring the plant within the 
 pale of this Clafs. Linnaeus's cha- 
 racter of this genus is Calyx quin~ 
 quepartitus : Petala quinque : Filament a 
 multa, in quinque phalanges bafi con- 
 nata: Capfula fubrotunda But, in 
 this plant, there are only three pha- 
 lanxes vtjlamina: No matter. The 
 character agrees with moft of the 
 fpecies, of which there are no lefs 
 than 42. Eight of thefe have been 
 found in this kingdom, two of which 
 are wanting in Cambridgefhire. This 
 Hypericum perforatum is diftinguifhed 
 by its being a ftraight flender plant, 
 about two feet high; its upper 
 branches terminated by yellow flow- 
 er, with 3 divaricating^// in the 
 
 centre
 
 ( 3^9 ) 
 
 centre of each; a black fpot on the 
 antherse, and the leaves apparently 
 perforated. Hypericum is the only 
 genus of the Clafs, that is a native of 
 Britain. 
 
 No. 1 6. Car duus crifpus, or Curled Carduus 
 Thiftle. This plant has caufed fome "$"** 
 confufion among our Englifh Bota- * 
 nifts. Hudfon's C. crifpus is the 
 acantboidetoi Linnaeus, and his acan- 
 thoides, the crifpus of that author. 
 Dr. Withering rejects the crifpus of 
 Linnaeus, and fubftitutes a new fpe- 
 cies which he calls C. inclinam. Old 
 Bauhinus very properly calls it Cardu- 
 usfpinofijjimus anguftifolius vulgar is . 1 1 
 is indeed prickly all over. It refem- 
 bles moft the C. nutans, Mufk Thiftle; 
 but differs in the decurrent leaves 
 covering the entire ftem: it is alfo 
 faid to be rather more ftiffnecked 
 than the nutans. I have not found 
 it fo. But there is a peculiarity ob- 
 fervable in this crifpus, which, I be- 
 lieve, no writer has taken notice of. 
 It is fo delicately fenfible of the night 
 air, that towards evening it con- 
 
 ftantly
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 ftantly turns its face from the wind, 
 and then {hews its naked white neck 
 behind, like that of a nodding Man- 
 darine on the chimney-piece. Four 
 fpecies of Thirties you will fee, in 
 great abundance, in the road to 
 Trumpington, viz. The Onopordum 
 acanthium, or Cotton Thiftle; Carduus 
 lanceolatus, or Spear Thiftle ; Serratula 
 arvenfis, or Curfed Thiftle; and the 
 Carduus crifpus, or Curled Thiftle. 
 The firft you diftinguifh immedi- 
 ately by its mealy appearance. The 
 fecond by its dark, the third by its 
 light green colour, and the laft by a 
 fhade between the two. 
 
 No. 17. This is the Daucus carota. 
 
 No. 1 8. And this, Paftinacafyfaejlris, both 
 which we have before examined. Thefe are 
 all you have gathered. You have overlooked 
 a few ; but I fuppofe your box would hold 
 no more. 
 
 Vale, 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 AUGUST. 
 
 THIS morning we fhall pay a fecond 
 vifit to the Chalk-pit Clofe, for the 
 particular purpofe of (hewing you the Atha- 
 manta libanotis. When' I firft beheld this 
 rare plant in company with my friend Rel- 
 han, he infifted on my taking off my hat; 
 a ceremony, which, he told me, the cele- 
 brated author of the Flora Anglica> had moft 
 reverendly obferved. You will be furprifed 
 to find, that there is nothing extraordinary 
 in its appearance: its fole merit lies in its 
 fcarcity. Here it is. You have feen many 
 common umbelliferous plants, of much the 
 fame appearance. Like the reft, it is of the 
 Clafs and Order, Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 The generic character of the plant 
 is Fruttw cvato-oblongus, Jlriatw. ma " ta ' 
 Petalainflexa>emarginata; and thefpe- 
 cific character foliis bipinnatis pla- 
 nis> umbella hemifpherica y jeminibus hir- 
 Jutis: fo that both the generic and 
 fpecific characters depend upon the 
 
 feed.
 
 ( 332 ) 
 
 feed. However, if you attend to a 
 few obvious particulars, which I (hall 
 point out, you will eafily recognife 
 the plant, if you fhould ever meet 
 with it in any other part of the king- 
 dom. Firfl, you obferve, it is an um- 
 belliferous plant, neither tall nor 
 very flout j that the umbel confiding 
 of many radii has a confiderable con- 
 vexity, and that it is rather grey than 
 white. The flem, you fee, is angu- 
 lar and unequally furrowed. The 
 leaves are bipinnated fomewhat re- 
 fembling thofe of parfley, except that 
 theptmtz are feflile, and that the bafe 
 of every leaf fheaths either the flem 
 or flalk which fupports the umbel. 
 To thefe obfervations you may add, 
 that the root is fliaped like a carrot, 
 though not fo regularly flraight; that 
 it is acrid but fomewhat aromatic, 
 and that it is bearded or fringed at 
 the top, with a tuft of leaves like 
 hair vertice barbato> in the language 
 of Linnaeus. There is a good en- 
 graving of this plant in Relhan. The 
 Englifh name is, Mountain Stone- 
 parfley* given it, I fuppofe, by Ray, 
 
 who
 
 ( 333 ) 
 
 who firft found it on Gog-magog 
 Hills. 
 
 Well You have now had the fatisfac 
 tion of culling a fimple, which very few Bo 
 tanifts in this kingdom have ever feen. 
 
 There ftands another plant of the 
 fame umbelliferous family. It is the nella ' 
 Pimpinella magnet^ Burnet Saxifrage. 
 It firft blooms in July; fo that. you 
 muft have overlooked it when we 
 were laft here. You fee, it has nei- 
 ther general nor partial involucrum ; 
 the firft coniifts of about 14 radii % 
 and the latter from 10 to 18, ac- 
 cording to Relhan. I have generally 
 found them nearly equal. The ftem 
 is furrowed and 2 to 3 feet high. 
 The leaves are lobed, ferrated, oily, 
 and broader than they are long, but 
 grow narrow and almoft entire as 
 they afcend. Let us now continue 
 our walk. 
 
 If I miftake not, that diffufe plant, The- 
 with long crooked ftems partly trail- S tum ' 
 ing, and terminated by loofe fpikes of 
 fmall white flowers, is the T^hefium lino-
 
 ( 334 ) 
 
 phyllum, which Relhan has thought de- 
 ferving a plate in his Flora ; for which 
 reafon you may conclude it not very 
 common. It is of the Clafs and Order 
 Pentandria Monogynia. Its Engliih name 
 is Baftard Toadflax.- The calyx is of 
 one leaf, into which \hs.jlamina are in- 
 ferted. The feed is {ingle. The leaves 
 are numerous, long and narrow. There 
 are ijfpeciesot t\\\s genus, of which this 
 is the only indigenous in England. We 
 might have feen it in flower above a 
 month ago. 
 
 Opbrys. That plant with a fingle ftem 
 about feven inches high with a fpike 
 of greenifh white flowers, running 
 fpirally to the top, is nearly allied 
 to the Orchis family; and it was fo 
 called by Ray and other Botanifts. 
 Its prefent generic and fpecific ap- 
 pellations artOphrysfpiralis. Its Clafs 
 and Order are, Gynandria Diandria, 
 It' differs from the Orchis only in 
 the form of the nettarium> which, in 
 the Ophrys, is (lightly carinated un- 
 derneath. If you take up the root, 
 you will find feveral long bulbs, 
 
 which,
 
 ( 335 ) 
 
 which, with the fpiral difpofition of 
 the flowers, fufficiently afcertain the 
 fpecies. The Englifti name is Trip- 
 pie Ladies-traces. There are no lefs 
 than 28 fpecies of this genus, eleven 
 of which are natives of this kingdom. 
 
 That plant, about a foot high, Gentia- 
 with feveral branched ftems, termi- na " 
 nated by bunches of blue cup-fafhi- 
 oned flowers, is of a very irregular 
 genus, which, therefore, folicits your 
 attention. It is a Gentiana, of which 
 Linnseus enumerates 39 fpecies: of 
 thefe, five only are natives of this 
 ifland. They are according to Lin- 
 nasus, of the Clafs and Order Pen- 
 tandria Digynia; but of thefe five, 
 two properly belong to the Clafs T^e- 
 trandria, where you will find them 
 in the Synopfis-, and where they cer- 
 tainly ought to be. If the prime dif- 
 tinclion, that of Clafs, be not abfo- 
 lute, the fyftem is of no ufe to a 
 young Botanift. This plant, how- 
 ever, which you have gathered, has 
 fiveftamna. It is the Gentiana ama- 
 rella, Autumnal Gentian, or Felwort. 
 
 The
 
 ( 336 ) 
 
 The generic character is: Corolla 
 monopetalous; capfula bivalve unilo- 
 cular; receptaqtlumZwOj longitudinal. 
 The Linnsean character of thejpecies 
 is corollis quinquefidis hypocrateriformi- 
 bus,fauce barbatis. But, fays Relhan, 
 numerus fegmentorum calych et corolla, 
 nil valet: fo that you muft depend 
 principally on this beard, which, by 
 the bye, is infide the mouth. The 
 leaves, you obferve, are lance- fhaped. 
 Pliny fays the plant Gentian was fo 
 called from Gentius, King of Illyria< 
 I do not remember the name of any 
 other King of this country. There 
 is indeed a Duke of Illyria, with 
 whom I have the pleafure to be well 
 acquainted. His name is Orfino. 
 You remember him in The Twelfth 
 Night. Sir Thomas Hanmer, in The 
 Winters Vale, alters the kingdom of 
 Polixenes from Bohemia to Bithynia, 
 on a fuppofition that it was a blun- 
 der of fome tranfcriber; becaufe he 
 thinks it impoflible that Shakefpeare 
 ihould have been fo ignorant, as not 
 to know, that Bohemia was an in- 
 land country; whereas the kingdom 
 
 which
 
 ( 337 ) 
 
 which Polixenes governed, was, evi- 
 dently, maritime. As toShakefpeare's 
 geographical ignorance, there are 
 other mftances of it, equally flagrant. 
 In *The Two Gentlemen of Verona^ he 
 makes one of them embark at Verona 
 for Milan, and the fervants talk of 
 faving the tide. Would Shakefpeare 
 have done this, if he had known that 
 thefe are both inland cities ; that they 
 have no communication whatever by 
 water, and that there is no tide in 
 the Mediterranean. Sir Thomas Han- 
 mer was certainly right in blotting 
 out the abfurd Bohemia -, but Illyria 
 would have been a better fubflitute 
 than Bithynia, which Bithynia was 
 fituated on the black Sea, oppofite 
 to the prefent Conftantinople. This 
 Bithynia appears, from a line in 
 Claudian, to have been very anciently 
 called Thrace. 
 
 ftyni fflraces erant, qua nunc 'Bithynia fertur. 
 
 Probably it was peopled by a colony of 
 Thracians croffing the Bofphorus, and there- 
 fore called Thracia Afiatica. Now it is very 
 improbable that Antigonus, who embarked 
 Y from
 
 C 
 
 from Sicily for no other purpofe than to 
 expofe the infant, fhould make a long 
 voyage, through the Archipelago to the 
 Black Sea. But Illyria bordered on the 
 Adriatic, at a moderate diftance from Sicily. 
 Thefe geographical truths are indifpenfably 
 neceffary in every reprefentation, though fa- 
 bulous. The majority of an Englifh audi- 
 ence may bear an embarkation from Vero- 
 na; but what would an Italian fay, who 
 might be prefent at the reprefentation? 
 Would he not.naturally whifper to his com- 
 panion " This great Shakefpeare of the 
 Englifh, was an ignorant blockhead." I have 
 as fincere a veneration for the memory of 
 Shakefpeare y and- feel his beauties as exqui- 
 fitely as any of his moft enthufiaflic com- 
 mentators j but no veneration for authentic 
 abfurdities fhould prevent me from oblite- 
 rating his palpable miftakes. 
 
 If you can bear the fudden tranfition 
 from his Illyrian Majefty to a .heap of rub- 
 bifli from a King to a dunghill -.this 
 wafte will afford you fome inftruclion, and, 
 confequently, I prefume, forrie pleafure. 
 Pleafure is the object of purfuit of all man- 
 kind -, but, notwithltanding its feeming rea- 
 lity, from its appearing in a different fhape 
 
 to
 
 ( 339 ) 
 
 to almoft every individual, one would be 
 apt to fuppofe it a phantom, an ignis fatuus. 
 You are yet a ftripling. You have fcarce 
 looked into manhood ; it cannot therefore 
 be expected that you have thought much 
 about the matter. At your age, fenfual 
 pleafures are powerfully attractive; but pow- 
 erful as they are, you cannot avoid reflect- 
 ing, that you have them in common with 
 the brute creation; it were therefore too 
 degrading to human nature to fuppofe, that 
 fenfual pleafure is its fummum bonum-, that, 
 with faculties fo infinitely fuperior to the 
 animal world, man was created incapable 
 of pleafures above thofe enjoyed by other 
 animals, and probably by them in a higher 
 degree. 
 
 From thefe reflections, you are naturally 
 induced to direct your attention towards 
 the pleafures of the mind, as moft congenial 
 to your rank in the creation; and I will 
 venture to aflure you, that nothing will af- 
 ford you fo much pleafure as the purfuit of 
 knowledge. The celebrated Dr. Prieftley, 
 in a preface to one of his philofophical pub- 
 lications, very pleafingly and ingenioufly 
 fuppofes, that he fhall carry his multifarious 
 acquirements to the next world, and, very 
 y 2 ra-
 
 ( 340 ) 
 
 rationally, confiders his infatiable thirft of 
 knowledge, as a powerful argument in proof 
 of a future flate. 
 
 Cbenopo- You obferve a plant, about a foot 
 dium. j n h^ght, near that dunghill; with 
 fhort, fpread, flat bunches of green 
 flowers, and leaves fomewhat refem- 
 bling, in fhape, the foot of a goofe, 
 and not very unlike the leaves of a 
 nettle. It is the Cbenopodium murale, 
 Goofe-foot or Sowbane, of the Clafs 
 and Order Pentandria Digynia. The 
 calyx is pentaphyllous and pentago- 
 nous : corolla it has none. Its leaves 
 are glofTy, and the whole plant has 
 a difagreeable fmell. By thefe cir- 
 cumftances you will diftinguifh it 
 from the other fpecies of which there 
 are twelve in this kingdom, and 
 twenty in all. The genus is eafily 
 known by the green flowers, the 
 goofe-foot leaves, and their growth 
 near dunghills and among rubbifh. 
 Our homeward rout now lies along the 
 verdant banks of this rivulet 
 
 varies hicfumina circum 
 
 Fundit bumus fores. 
 
 If
 
 If you pull one of thofe bunches of fmall 
 cream coloured flowers, you will find they 
 have a ftrong kernel odor. They refemble 
 apparently the flower of the common Elder; 
 but you will find them of the Clafs and Or- 
 der, Icofandria Pentagynia. It is the Spir&a 
 ulmaria> Meadow-fweet. You cannot mif- 
 take the genus > becaufe there are, in this 
 kingdom, but two of this Clafs and Order, 
 one of which is the Wild Pear-tree. There 
 are alfo but two fpecies of the Spircza. The 
 other is the S.fiHpendula, Dropwort: it is a 
 much lefs plant, and is particularly diftin- 
 guifhed by the oblong glands at the extre- 
 mity of the fibres of its root. 
 
 That plant with purplifh red flowers, Spi- 
 of four obcordate petals, with leaves raa ' 
 refembling thofe of the Willow, is the 
 Epilobium hirfutum^ Large-flowered Wil- 
 low-herb, or Codlings and Cream, fo 
 called from its fmell, which has been 
 fuppofed to refemble the fmell of apples 
 and cream. You will find it to be of 
 the Clafs and Order Ofiandria Monogy- 
 nia. The genus is characterized by its 
 five-leaved calyx, four petals, oblong 
 y 3 capo
 
 ( 342 ) 
 
 capfula, and downy feed ; and you will 
 diftinguifh the fpecies by the flower 
 being much larger than that of any 
 other Sfzrtza, and by its ftem and leaves 
 being hairy. 
 
 Car- On the oppofite fide of the rivulet 
 duus " I fee a fpecies of Thiftle which we have 
 never yet met with. It differs fuffi- 
 ciently, in appearance, from the reft. 
 Its flowers are of a deeper purple, and 
 grow two or three together like a cluk 
 ter of filberds. The calyx is clofely 
 imbricated and fmooth. The upper 
 leaves are few, narrow, and often curl- 
 ed. It is the Car duus paluftris, or Marfh 
 Thiftle. 
 
 We have, I believe, examined, in our fe- 
 veral perambulations, at leaft, fourfcore dif- 
 ferent plants, of various ClafTes, Orders, 
 Genera and Species: a fmall number, in 
 proportion to all the indigenous plants of 
 this ifland; but a number amply fufficient 
 for a botanical foundation. In the fucceed- 
 ing months, were we to continue our ex^ 
 ciirfions, we fhould meet with few plants 
 in flower that would either add to your bo- 
 tanical
 
 ( 343 ) 
 
 tanical knowledge, or call to your recollec- 
 tion a line in any claffical author; except 
 the Hedera, which Virgil tells us, indicates 
 a cold foil. 
 
 at feeler at am exqttirere frigus 
 Difficile eft: pieces tantum, faxiquc nocentes 
 Inter -dum, aut hederce pandunt veftigia nigrce. 
 
 Nigrte, I fuppofe, becaufe the berries are 
 black. That poets were crowned with Ivy 
 we learn from this line. 
 
 Paflores hederd crefcentem ornate poet am. 
 
 You will not find the Ivy in blofTom till 
 October: it is of the Clafs and Order Pen- 
 tandria Monogynia. 
 
 You are now qualified to proceed with 
 eafe, if you feel delighted in the purfuit: if 
 not, you have learnt no more than, I fhould 
 imagine, every man who has had the ad- 
 vantage of an Univerfity education, ought 
 to know. But, in the Sciences, alps on alps 
 are continually arifing before us. Happily 
 for the Enthufiaft in knowledge, he is in 
 no danger of weeping with the Macedonian 
 madman, that there are no more worlds to 
 conquer. In the Linnaean Syftem of Botany, 
 Y 4 the
 
 ( 344 ) 
 
 the moft numerous Clafs of Plants, we have 
 left entirely unnoticed, I mean the Cryptoga- 
 mia. Of thefe I purpofe to give you a general 
 idea in my next letter, mean while, 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LET.
 
 ( 345 ) 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 /^RYPTOGAMIA, from xgwrro? occuhus 
 \^_jl and yupos nuptt&, you know is the 
 twenty-fourth Clafs in the Linnaean Syftem. 
 You alfo know that it is fo denominated 
 becaufe the modus propagandi is concealed, 
 either from minutenefs, or within the fruit : 
 in the language of Linnaeus, nuptia clam 
 celebrantur. The Orders are four, viz. F/- 
 Itces, Mufti, Algety Fungi. 
 
 FILICES. This Order comprehends the 
 plants commonly known by the name of 
 Ferns, whofe fructification is on the back- 
 fide of the frondeSy or leaves. The genera 
 which have been difcovered in this king- 
 dom are, 
 
 Equifetum, Horfe-tail. The plants of this 
 genus bear no refemblance to Ferns: 
 they are fhaped rather like little Pines, 
 from one to three feet high. They 
 elevate their fructification on the top 
 of a naked fpike proceeding from the 
 root. The ftem and leaves are com- 
 pofed of tubes inferted into each other 
 
 at
 
 ( 346 ) 
 
 at the joints, which leaves fland in 
 whirls gradually diminifhing to the top. 
 If you fhake a little of the duft from 
 the fpike on a fheet of white paper, and 
 examine it with a good glafs, you will 
 fee it ikip, as if it were alive. There 
 are of this genus feven fpecies, fix of 
 which have been found in this king- 
 dom. In the Flora Londinenfis you will 
 fee a good print of the Equifetum ar- 
 venfe, 
 
 Opbioglo/um. Of this genus there are nine 
 fpecies, but one of which has been 
 found -in Britain : it is the O. vutgatum, 
 common Adder's Tongue. Its generic 
 character is Spica artlculata^ dijlicha-, 
 articulis tranfuerfim dehifcentibus. It is 
 a fingle, thick, oval, leaf, without rib 
 or veins, on a foot-ltalk four inches 
 long. 
 
 Ofmunda. Of thefe the fpike is branched, 
 and the capfules globular. There are 
 four fpecies in this kingdom. One of 
 them is the O.fpicans, you will find it 
 in Curtis. We call it Rough Spleenwort. 
 The feeds are only on the center-leaves, 
 which are more erect and the wings 
 more diftinft. 
 
 Acrof-
 
 ( 347 ) 
 
 Acroftichum. Fructifications cover the entire 
 diik of the leaf. We have twofpectes 
 of this genus. They both grow out of 
 the fiflures of rocks in Wales, &c. 
 
 Pteris aquilina. This is our oulyfpecies of 
 this genus, though there are, in different 
 parts of the world, no lefs than 23. It 
 is diftinguifhed from other ferns by the 
 fructifications being in marginal lines. 
 It is our moft common Fern, or female 
 Fern, or Brakes, or, in Yorkfliire, 
 Brackens. It is that fpecies commonly 
 burnt for the afhes, which yield a large 
 proportion of vegetable alkali. Lin- 
 naeus gave it the trivial name of aqui- 
 lina, from the fuppofed figure of the 
 Imperial Eagle in the root when cut 
 obliquely. Lightfoot fays, that pota- 
 toes planted on this fern never fail to 
 produce a plentiful crop ; that in Nor- 
 mandy the wretched inhabitants are 
 fometimes reduced to the neceflity of 
 mixing its roots with their bread. I 
 hope the revolution in France, will, in 
 its confequences, relieve them from 
 this neceflity. It was formerly much 
 pfed medically in obftruftions of the 
 
 vijcera,
 
 ( 348 ) 
 
 vifcera, and the root is frill prefcribed, 
 in powder, as an anthelmintic. 
 
 Afplenium. In this genus the fructifications 
 are in oblique right lines on the diik 
 of the leaves, which are either fimple, 
 pinnatifid, pinnated, or decompofite. 
 Linnaeus enumerates 28 fpecies, of 
 which only eight have been found on 
 this ifland. Of the A.fcolopendrium Cur- 
 tis has given a good engraving. Thefe 
 feveral fpecies are in Englifh called 
 Spleenworts, with fame epithet to dif- 
 tinguifli them one from another. 
 
 Polypodium. Fructifications in roundifh fpots 
 on the difk of the leaf, in lines parallel 
 to the nerve. We have 14 fpecies of 
 this genus. There are in all 78. The 
 leaves are varioufly pinnated. In the 
 Flora Londinenfis you will find a plate 
 of the P. vulgare. Common Polypody. 
 
 Adiantum. Seeds in oval fpots in the curled 
 extremities of the leaves. Of thisj^?- 
 cies there are 27 genera, of which only 
 the A. capillus Veneris, True Maiden- 
 hair, is a native of Britain. It has 
 been found on Barry ifland, Glamor- 
 ganfhire, and on the ifle of Arran in 
 Scotland. 
 
 5H,
 
 ( 349 ) 
 
 I'ricofftanes. Fr unification folitary, terminat- 
 ed by a ftyle like a bridle, on the very 
 edge of the leaf. Of the 13 genera de- 
 fcribed by Linnaeus, we have but two, 
 viz. T*. pyxidiferum, and 7*. tunbrigenfe. 
 They have both been found in various 
 parts of the kingdom on moid rocks. 
 
 Pilularia. Male flowers in a line, like dud, 
 on the under fide of the leaf. Females 
 at the root globular, quadrilocular, 
 containing many feeds. Of this there 
 is but one fpecies the globulifera^ Pep- 
 per-grafs It creeps along the ground 
 like a mat. The leaves are three or 
 four inches high, and the capfules are 
 like pepper-corns. It is found in places 
 that have been overflowed during the 
 winter. 
 
 Ifoetes. Male flower, anthers at the bafe of 
 the inner leaves. Females, capfula bi- 
 locular, at the bafe of the external 
 leaves. There are of this genus but two 
 fpeciesy one of which has been found at 
 the bottom of fome lakes in Wales and 
 in Scotland. Its fpecific appellation is 
 lacuftris, Quilwort. The leaves are 
 jointed, fubulate, and about four or 
 five inches long. 
 
 Thefe
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 Thefe eleven genera comprehend all the 
 Britifti Ferns, or rather let us call them 
 Filices: many of them have no refemblance 
 to what we mean by Ferns. The next Or- 
 der of this Clafs is the MoJJes, of which Lin- 
 naeus makes eleven genera: nine of them are 
 indigenous with us, viz. 
 
 Musci, faid to be derived from poo-xt?, 
 vifulus, a calf, a heifer, a young {hoot, or 
 any thing young. With what propriety, if 
 fuch be the derivation, this fecond Order of 
 the Clafs Cryptogamia is thus entitled, I do 
 not underftand: however, we tranilate it 
 MoJJes. It comprehends thofe plants which 
 have anther a without filament a -, whofe fe- 
 male flowers have no pijlillum^ and whofe 
 feed is a naked corculum. 
 
 Lycopodium, Club-mofs: anther a bivalve, fef- 
 file; calyptra none. Of the 29 fpecies 
 of Linnaeus, we have no more than fix, 
 for a defcription of which I refer you 
 to your Synopfis-, and, if you have an in- 
 clination to be more minutely inform- 
 ed, confult Lightfoot's Flora Scotica. 
 
 Sphagnum. Bog-mofs: anthera operculate, 
 mouth not bearded. No calyptra. There 
 
 are
 
 are but three fpecies of this genus, all 
 which are natives of Britain. Of the 
 fpecies paluftre, Linnaeus, in his Flora 
 Lapponica, tells us, that the Lapland 
 matrons, having dried it, will make a 
 moft comfortable cradle-bed of it for 
 their infants. 
 
 Phafcum. No operculum-, no beard: calyptra 
 minute. We have, in this kingdom, 
 but three fpecies of this genus. There 
 are five in all. The generic character, 
 of Linnaeus, even in Murray's lafl edi- 
 tion of the Syftema Vegetabilium, is an~ 
 thera operculata-, ore ciliata: but Curtis 
 is pofitive that there is no operculum y 
 and that the mouth is beardlefs. Of 
 the Phafcum acaulon and fubulatum you 
 may fee a very good engraving in the 
 "Flora Londinenjis. 
 
 Fontinalis, Water Mofs: anther a operculate; 
 calyptra feflile, inclofed in a perichatium. 
 There are but four fpecies of this genus, 
 which are all natives here: one of thefe 
 Linnasus calls antipyretica^ becaufe the 
 Swedifh peafants ftuff it in between 
 the woodwork of their chimneys, to 
 prevent their taking fire. We call it 
 Greater Water-mofs. 
 
 Splacb-
 
 ( 352 ) 
 
 Splachnum: anthera on a large coloured apo- 
 phyfa: calyptra caducous. Female ftar 
 on a feparate individual. Of this, Lin- 
 naeus has fix fpecies, but two of which 
 are Britifh. 
 
 Polytrichum: anthera operculate, on a fmall 
 apophyfis: calyptra villous. Female flar 
 in a diftinct individual. The fivejpe- 
 cies of this genus are indigenous here. 
 If you be defirous of an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the fubrotundum, con- 
 fult the Flora Londinenfis. 
 
 Mnium : anthera operculate : calyptra fmooth : 
 Female, a naked bulb, frequently on a 
 feparate item. There are twenty fpe- 
 cies of this genus, of which we have 
 thirteen. Nine of thefe you will find 
 accurately engraved and defcribed by 
 Curtis. 
 
 Bryum: anthera operculate : calyptra fmooth : 
 a filament from the terminal tubercle. 
 Of thefe there are thirty-feven fpecies 
 in the laft edition of the Syftema Vegeta-< 
 bilium: Hudfon had augmented them 
 to forty-five, in this kingdom only. 
 They were fufficiently numerous alrea- 
 dy. In the Flora Londinenfis you will 
 find excellent engravings of mnejpeczes. 
 
 Hypnum.
 
 ( 353 ) 
 
 Hypnum. Differs from the two laft genera 
 only, in a lateral filament from the/><?- 
 richatlum. Of this genus there are fifty 
 fpecies, about forty of which have been 
 found in Britain. Curtis has Jiree of 
 them. 
 
 In Lightfoot's Flora Scotica, at the con- 
 clufion of this laft Order of the Cryptogamia, 
 you will find fome moral and very rational 
 reflections on the ufe and importance of 
 MofTes. 
 
 ALGJE. Alga, you know, is a claffical 
 word for Sea-weeds indifcriminately. Lin- 
 nasus adopts it for the title of his third Or- 
 ' der of the Clafs Cryptogamia, comprehending 
 thofe plants whofe roots, flem and leaves 
 are all in one. Of thefe there are twelve 
 genera, viz. 
 
 Jungermannia: Male, pedunculate, naked; 
 anther -a quadri valve. Female, fefllle, 
 naked, feeds roundifli. We have thirty 
 fpecles of this genus. There is a good 
 engraving of they, complanata in Curtis. 
 
 Targionia: Calyx bivalve, including a globe. 
 Of this there is but one fpecies, called 
 Hypophylla, or Vetch I'argionia. 
 
 Z Mar-
 
 ( 354 ) 
 
 Marchantia: Male, calyx peltate, covered be- 
 neath by monopetalous corollae; an- 
 therae multifid. Female, calyx feflile, 
 campanulate, polyfpermous. There are 
 feven fpecies of this genus, four of 
 which are Britifh. 
 
 Blafia: Calyx cylindrical, filled with feed. 
 Of this there is but one fpecies, called 
 fufilla. 
 
 RJccia: No calyx; no corolla j antherae cy- 
 lindrical, feflile, on the germen. Of 
 thefe there are five, all which have been 
 found in this kingdom. 
 
 dnthoceros: Male, calyx feflile, truncated en- 
 tire. Female, calyx fexpartite, feeds 
 three. 
 
 Lichen, Archel, or Liverwort. Male, recep- 
 taculum fubrotundum, planiufculum. Fe- 
 male, farina foliis adfperfis. Of this 
 genus Linnaeus has no lefs than a hun- 
 dred and thirty, about a hundred of 
 which are Britifh. In the Flora Can- 
 tabrigienfis you will find engravings of 
 three curious fpecies of thefe Lichens, 
 which will give you an idea of the ge- 
 neral appearance of thefe plants. 
 
 fremel/a. A mere gelly: Linnaeus has ele- 
 ven fpecies : five have been defcribed in 
 this kingdom. 
 
 Fucus.
 
 ( 355 ) 
 
 Fucus. Male, veficles interwoven with hairs. 
 Females, veficles full of gelatinous mat- 
 ter. There are fifty-eight fpecies, above 
 forty of which are found on our coafts. 
 In the Flora Scotica you will find plates 
 of fix different fpecies of thefe Fuci, 
 which will give you a fufficient idea of 
 the habitus of this genus. 
 
 Ufoa. Laver. Fructification in a diaphanous 
 membrane. Of the fourteen fpecies of 
 Ulva, ten are found on our coaft. 
 
 Conferva. Fructifications tubular, unequal, 
 difperfed, on long capillary fibres, either 
 feffile or floating. Of thefe we have 
 twenty-nine fpecies. 
 
 Byjfus. Simple down or powder. Of thefe 
 we have eleven fpecies. 
 
 FUNGI. This Order includes every ve- 
 getable of the Fungus or Mufliroom kind. 
 
 jfgartcus. Linnseus's characteriftic of this 
 genus is Fungus horizontal! s, fubtus la- 
 mellofus. He might with as much pro- 
 priety have called a tree, whofe branches 
 are horizontal, plant a horizontal^. In 
 fact there is nothing in this genus ho- 
 i 2 rizontal,
 
 ( 356 ) 
 
 rizontal, except the f ileus or hat, and 
 that is more frequently conical. The 
 common efculent Mufhroom and every 
 other fungus of that appearance are 
 called Agarics. In the lad edition of 
 thtSyftemaVegetabilium, there are thirty- 
 nine fpecies. Mr. Relhan has defcribed 
 fifty in this county only. Curtis has 
 defcribed and delineated twelve fpecies, 
 and in the Flora Scotica, you will find a 
 minute defcription of twenty-three. 
 
 Boletus. Fungus horizontalis-, fubtus porofus. 
 According to this definition, the only 
 difference between this genus and the 
 laft, is in there being pores inftead of 
 lamellae or gills. Some of thefe are 
 with and others without ftems. In the 
 Flora Londinenfis you will find a good 
 engraving of a very fmgular fpecies of 
 Boletus, which Curtis accidentally met 
 with in the year 1780, and which from 
 its fine polifh he calls Boletus lucidus, 
 Lacquered Boletus. Linnaeus enume- 
 rates twenty-one j^-aVj. 
 
 Hydnum. Fungus horizontal! s,fubtus echinatus. 
 Here again the only diftinction is in 
 the prickles underneath. Linnaeus has 
 
 five
 
 ( 357 ) 
 
 five fpecies, three of which have been 
 found on this ifland. Of the Hydnum 
 aurifcalpium^ there is a plate in Curtis. 
 
 Phallus. Fungus fupra reticulatus,fubtus Itzvis* 
 Of this genus Linnaeus, has three fpe- 
 cies, one of which is the efculent Morel. 
 Other Botanifts have added a fourth, 
 which they call canlnm: of this and 
 the impudicus, you will fee good en- 
 gravings in Curtis. 
 
 Clatbrus. Fungus fubrotundus t cancellatus. Of 
 this genus Linnaeus has but four fpe- 
 cies. Hudfon has eight; Relhan four. 
 
 Helvetia. Fungus turbinatus. Of thefe Lin- 
 naeus has two fpecies 5 Hudfon three; 
 Relhan four. 
 
 Peziza. Campanulatus,fefiilis. Of this gen us, 
 Linnajus has eleven Jpecies-, Hudfon fif- 
 teen; Relhan thirteen. 
 
 Clavaria. Fungus, /(evis, oblongus, of which 
 Linnaeus has thirteen fpecies, about 
 half of which have been found in Bri- 
 tain. 
 
 Ly coper don. Fungus fubrotundus, feminibusfa- 
 rinaceis repletus. This genus includes 
 Truffles and Puff-balls. 
 
 Mucor. Mould. Veficles on pedicles. Of 
 this Linnaeus has fifteen fpecies. 
 
 33 I haye
 
 I have thus endeavoured to give you a 
 fcetch of this infinite Clafs of vegetable pro- 
 ductions, called Cryptogamia. By running 
 your eye over the characters of the Orders 
 and genera, you will-acquire a general know- 
 ledge of the principles of this concealed part 
 of the Linnaean Syftem ; and with this ge- 
 neral knowledge you may reft fatisfied. If 
 at any time, in future, you fhouid happen 
 to have no better employment than micro- 
 fcopical amyfements, the Cryptogamia will 
 afford you much entertainment. And now, 
 I fancy, we may fay with Virgil 
 
 Clauditejam rivos, pueri>fat frata biberunt. 
 
 Vale. 
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 A Page 
 
 ABYSSINIA -. 205 
 
 Action, graceful in fpeaking 129 
 
 Addition 78 
 
 Africa , 204 
 
 Ages, Shakefpeare's i 
 
 Aleppo 203 
 
 Alexander _ 133 
 
 Allegoria -* 125 
 
 Amazons, river 208 
 
 Ambition, a virtue, or a vice 133 
 
 America, map of 206 
 
 . north * ' 206 
 
 m ' i fouth - " ' * 2O7 
 
 Animation in fpeaking 12 
 
 Archipelago 19 
 
 Ariftotle *$ dft * 
 
 Arithmetic 76 
 
 Arrogance, juvenile . 17, 24 
 
 Articulation diftinct, how acquired 127 
 
 Arts, and Sciences, what ? 1 8 
 
 Afia, map of 203 
 
 Attitude, graceful in fpeaking 129 
 
 B 
 
 Bacon, Lord Chancellor 37 
 
 Baltic - 201 
 
 Bay, Botany I 97 
 
 garbary 205 
 
 i 4 Beau-
 
 360 INDEX 
 
 Beaufobre, his commentary 252 
 
 Bible, chapter in ia g 
 
 Bithinia . . _ 2 ^ 
 
 Black-legs _ ;* 
 
 Bombay . 2O3 
 
 Bowing on the violin v* j8 7 
 
 Bowling . -. _g 
 
 Bravo l6 
 
 Britain - 2O2 
 
 at the conclufion of the American war 136 
 
 compared to a fhip in a ftorm 127 
 
 Bruce, his travels . . , . 2oz - 
 
 Brutes ,, 2 
 
 Buxton, Jerediah , L 
 
 C 
 
 Csefar , 33 
 
 Canada 2O7 
 
 Canary iflands 2O 6 
 
 Candia I9 g 
 
 Carnatic ^_ 2 
 
 Catches and glees ,6g 
 
 Changes, ringing of 172 
 
 Chapel, early . g 
 
 Chords, mufical , , jg,, 
 
 China\ , 2 
 
 Chriftianity *-. .. , j 2 
 
 Circles on the map . ^ 
 
 Cicero ^ ,j| 
 
 in praife of oratory I4 o 
 
 . his opinion of the creation j CA 
 
 of a future life ^T 
 
 Cliffs in myfic , . , ^ 
 
 Club, milkfop , , j 2 
 
 Colleges refemble Convents . 2 1 
 
 Companions, choice of _ . 59 
 
 Coro-
 
 INDEX 361 
 
 Coromandel "- 204 
 
 Corfica 198 
 
 Courage " 159 
 
 Cramer 19, 188 
 
 Creation not the effect of chance 153 
 
 Cui bono? " *6 
 
 Cullen, Dr. 9 
 
 Cyprus * ' 198 
 
 Danube river 201 
 
 Debauchery, early, its confequences 61 
 
 Demofthenes 122, 138 
 
 Des Cartes, his philofophy 49 
 
 his Logic 67 
 
 Deftiny 57 
 
 Dinner, invitation to 63 
 
 Difcords, mufical 184 
 
 Difpofition in Rhetoric 123 
 
 Devotion, early 146 
 
 Divifion, arithmetical 
 
 Don, river 
 
 Drefs 
 
 Drinking to excefs 
 
 Duty a bore 59 
 
 E 
 
 Earth, map of J 94 
 
 Education, public and private 
 
 Elbe, river 
 
 Elocution I2 3 '26, '38 
 
 _ its power - 
 
 Emphafis 
 
 Energy in fpeaking m 
 
 Enthufiafm no pre-eminence without it 
 Equator "" ~ 
 
 Erudition, univerfal
 
 362 INDEX 
 
 EfTentials in a prime miniftcr . j*^ 
 
 Europe 19 8 
 
 Fags at public fchools * 4, * 
 
 Famion 28 
 
 Figures in Rhetoric - 126 
 Future life, Cicero's opinion of it 153 
 
 G 
 
 Gambia, river <. . 206 
 
 Gambling , I4 s 
 
 Gentleman, what? , -. !6 2 
 
 Geography I93 
 
 Gefner, the Swifs naturalift 230 
 
 Gillyatt, Edw. . 123 
 
 Gloria vera . . 26 
 
 Goa . ' 203 
 
 Good-hope, cape of . 205 
 
 Guinea, coaft of . . * 2 o6 
 
 H 
 
 Hamlet ... 131 
 
 Harmony, mufical, what? 182 
 
 Harpfichord 189 
 
 Havanna 209 
 
 Highwaymen * rfo 
 
 Honour, what? . 162 
 
 Honefty abfolute 161 
 
 Holland, new ip7 
 
 Horfe- racing " . 147 
 
 Hunting . . 147 
 
 Hyperbole - . . 125 
 
 Ignorance at Oxford and Cambridge, why 29 
 
 111- temper 1 - 146 
 
 lllyria 337 
 
 India . ' 204 
 
 Inti-
 
 INDEX 363 
 
 Intimacy, not to be formed with opulent ftudents 
 
 Invention in Rhetoric _ J2 g 
 
 Integrity the beft fupport . i6j 
 
 Iroma in Rhetoric J2 $ 
 
 lilands, fociety . 2 io 
 
 Ivica . . 1Q g 
 
 K 
 
 Kamtfchatka 203 
 
 Kanafter tobacco, whence? . 208 
 
 Key, flat and fharp _ 167 
 
 King refponfible 134 
 
 Key, major and minor 17^ 
 
 L 
 Latitude, what 106, 200 
 
 Lewis XIV. 133 
 
 Lectures in the univerfities 31, 34 
 
 Leonidas . 45 
 
 Linnaeus, his clafs of quadrupeds ^ 27 
 
 his fyftem 222 
 
 Locke 10, ii 
 
 . his Life 52 
 
 Logic . 66 
 
 . tables of 71 
 
 Longinus 122 
 
 Longitude q6~ 
 
 M 
 
 Machiavel 10 
 
 Madera, ifland of 206 
 
 Majorca 198 
 
 Malabar . , 204 
 
 Mamali > - 27 
 
 Man, his rank in nature 27 
 
 Mathematics 15 
 
 Mauvaife honte < 130 
 
 Melody,
 
 3 6 4 INDEX 
 
 Melody, what? ' 166 
 
 Metaphora I2 4 
 
 Metonymia in Rhetoric 124. 
 
 Meridians - ~ 196 
 
 Milton, his Life -~-=- 43 
 
 Minifter, prime *34 
 
 Minorca '9 8 
 
 Modes in mufic > .175 
 
 Morofenefs unnatural to youth 60 
 
 Mofes from Pifgah 56 
 
 Multiplication 97 
 
 Mufic, praftice of 184 
 
 to be learned or not ? 165 
 N 
 
 New-England 2O 7 
 
 Newmarket r- 148 
 
 Newton, Sir Ifaac 'n 
 
 his Life 4^ 
 
 Nile, river 20 5 
 
 Nooika- found 1 97 
 
 Notes mufical l $ l 
 
 Q 
 
 Ocean, atlantic J 97 
 
 >,, pacific 
 
 Q&ave in mufic - 173 
 
 Opera dancers -r- I B I 
 
 , Orator, requifites * 2 7 
 
 Otaheitee ' 2I 
 
 P 
 
 Paradifeloft 45 
 
 Performers, mufical gentlemen 
 
 Peripatetics ' I1 9 
 
 Pitt, Mr. 135 
 
 Poeftum - 
 
 Porto-bello r ' 
 
 Pofi-
 
 INDEX 165 
 
 Pofidonia - . 2I2 
 
 Predeftination _ _ rg 
 
 Prieftly, Dr. - - 2Z 
 
 Primates - - 
 
 Profeflbrs, ftupid - ^ 
 
 Pronunciation - 
 
 - - proper, how acquired . 127 
 Pruffia - - 199 
 
 - King of - - 9,25 
 
 - his religion . I52 
 
 R 
 
 Reader, a good . ... I2 y 
 Reformation - 23, 31, 35 
 
 Religion - . - ,44 
 
 Revelation - , I47 
 
 Rewards and punifhments l $ 
 
 Rhetoric _ . , I2O 
 
 Rhine, river , 2OI 
 
 Rhone, river , 2O2 
 
 Reformation of the univerfities 141 
 
 Rivers in Europe '201 
 
 Rifmg early . _- ,4^ 
 
 Roebuck, Mr. of Heath near Wakefield 179 
 
 Rolli, his tranflation of Milton 45 
 
 Ruflia . j^^ 
 
 o 
 
 St. Crifpin and his difciples - 131 
 
 Sardinia - ipg 
 
 Scales of mufic !7^ 
 
 Schools, public 2 
 
 School-boys, their ignorance 2 
 
 . drunken 62 
 
 Sciences - - - 20 
 
 Sea, black 201 
 
 mediterranean 193 
 
 Sea,
 
 366 INDEX 
 
 Sea, red , . 2O 
 
 fouth , g 
 
 Semitones .. - ji. 
 Servility, the confequences of fagging at public 
 
 fchools g 
 
 Shakefpeare, ignorant of Geography 526 
 
 Sheridan, his leftures . ,22 
 
 Siberia 2O3 
 
 Sicily 19 f 
 
 Singing , I89 
 
 Smyrna 2O , 
 
 Socrates , - 
 
 Sounds, mufical . ,5^ 
 
 Strings, mufical l6g 
 
 Subtraction, arithmetical . 88 
 
 Synecdoche, in Rhetoric , I24 
 
 Stage, the I3I 
 
 T 
 
 Tagus, river 2O2 
 
 Tale of a tub , 2 3 
 
 Thames, river . - 2O2 
 
 Tones, grave and acute - 171 
 
 Trope in Rhetoric - I2 , 
 
 Tropics I95 
 
 Turkey *-* 203 
 
 Tyranny from education , g 
 
 Tutors, blockheads . . ^ 
 
 Time in mufic ! g o 
 
 U 
 
 Vanity, natural _ . 24 
 
 Virtue its own reward _ 1^5 
 
 Vice, neceffary . i^ 
 
 Violin, players on . jg^ 
 
 Veracity, its importance 157 
 
 Ulloa, Don Ant. . 208 
 
 Ullyfles,
 
 INDEX 367 
 
 Ullyffes, his eloquence X ^Q 
 
 Unifon, mufical ,g 2 
 
 Voice, melody and pitch - , 12 g 
 
 W 
 
 Wales, New South . 2O<7 
 
 Walpole, Mr. H. - 3 
 
 Walters, Mr. . _ i^ 
 
 War, American ,. 2 io 
 
 Weft Indies < , 209 
 
 Wit, dangerous * 
 
 World 
 
 Zones 
 
 World - _ , 94 
 
 INDEX. II. 
 
 B O <fA N I CA L. 
 
 ACRpSTICHUM 347 
 
 XX Adiantum * 348 
 
 Alfme - 350 
 
 AlgJE 353 
 
 Alkanet, baftard 261 
 
 Anemone . 255 
 
 Anthoceros 354 
 
 Anthyllis . . 270 
 
 Agaricus 355 
 
 Agroftemnoa -^ 314 
 
 Arctium _ . 297 
 
 Afplenium . ^ 348 
 
 Athamanta -* 331
 
 368 INDEX 
 
 B 
 
 Bedftraw, Ladies 299 
 
 Bellis 233 
 
 Bindweed, fmall 322 
 
 Bird's-eye 249 
 
 Blackberry , 324 
 
 Blafia 354 
 
 Blue-bottle 288,311 
 
 Boletus 356 
 
 Botany, hiftory of 218 
 
 Brooklime 292 
 
 Buglos, viper* 289 
 
 Burdock - 297 
 
 Byffus 355 
 
 \* 
 
 Csefalpinus 221 
 
 Caltha < 238 
 
 Campanula 323 
 
 Canterbury-bells 323 
 
 Cardamine _ . 262 
 
 Carduus acaulis 319 
 
 , marianus * 305 
 
 lanceolatus 303 
 
 . crifpus 329 
 
 . eriophorus 324 
 
 .. i paluftris 342 
 
 Carrot, wild 314 
 
 Caftor, a phyfician 220 
 
 Cemaurea * - 311 
 
 Charlock 260 
 
 Cheefe-renning - 299 
 
 Chenopodiutn 340 
 
 ChaErophyllum 253 
 
 Chickweed * 250 
 
 Cicely,
 
 1 N D E X 369 
 
 Cicely, wild 253 
 
 Cichorlum -. 296 
 
 Cineraria 285 
 
 Clafles of Linnaeus . 223 
 
 Clathrus 357 
 
 Clavaria 357 
 
 Clary 295 
 
 Cock's head 280 
 
 Cockle 314 
 
 Conferva 355 
 
 Conium 272 
 
 Convolvulus 322 
 
 Cornus 271 
 
 Cow- par (ley 253 
 
 Cowflips 249 
 
 Crataegus - 257 
 
 Crowfoot 265 
 
 Cryptogamia 345 
 
 Cuckow-buds 263 
 
 D 
 
 Daify 233 
 
 Darnel 301 
 
 Daucus 3 1 4 
 
 Dead-nettle 252 
 
 Delphinium 3 1 5 
 
 Dioicorides 219 
 
 Dogberry 271 
 
 Dypfacus 3 l6 
 
 E 
 
 Echium 289 
 
 Elder, dwarf 274. 
 
 Equiletum 345 
 
 Eryfimum 2t>2 
 
 Euphrafia 325 
 
 Eycbriehc - .325 
 
 A a Filices
 
 37 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Filices 345 
 
 Ferns 345 
 
 Flax ar: > 2 79 
 
 Fontinalis . 351 
 
 Fucus , 355 
 
 Fungi 355 
 
 Q 
 
 Gentiana 335 
 
 Gentius K. of Illyria * 366 
 
 Glecoma . - ^ 251 
 
 Goofe-foot 340 
 
 H 
 
 Hawthorn ._ 257 
 
 Hedera ^ 343 
 
 Hedyfarum . 280 
 
 Helvella -. 357 
 
 FJemlock a 73 
 
 Henbane 276 
 
 Horfe-tail 345 
 
 flydnum - 3^6 
 
 Hyofcyamus - - 276 
 
 Hypericum r- 328 
 
 Jiypnum 353 
 
 Jack by the hedge * 262 
 
 Ifoetes r? . -.- .r 349 
 
 Jungerrnannia 353 
 
 Ivy 343 
 
 *- ground, ' 2 5 l 
 
 L 
 
 Ladies ringer 270 
 
 ^ . fmock u 263 
 
 . traces - 335 
 
 Lamium "r -= - 2 5- 
 
 Larkfpur
 
 INDEX. 3? , 
 
 Larkfpiir . ~ lr 
 
 Lenas us Pompey's freed man 220 
 
 Lichen . , , 
 
 Liguftrum . . 2QO 
 
 -Lily, water . , , 228 
 
 Lime tree . . ~ O g 
 
 Linnaeus, his fyftem ., , 
 
 - his hiftory , 224 
 
 Linum . _ . 270 
 
 Lolium . _ 2 OO 
 
 Lotus 2 g 6 - 
 
 Lycoperdon . 3^7 
 
 Lycopodium - 350 
 
 Lythofpermum . , 2 6i 
 
 M 
 
 Mallow , 202 
 
 Malva 293 
 
 Marchanria . 3^ 
 
 Meadowfweet , 341 
 
 Medicago 275 
 
 Milkwort 282 
 
 Morifon, profeflbr 221 
 
 MoITcs - . . 350 
 
 Mullein 323 
 
 Mufci . . 350 
 
 N 
 
 Narcifius 241 
 
 Needle, ihepherds 278 
 
 O 
 
 Onopordium 302 
 
 OphioglofTum 346 
 
 Ophrys 334 
 
 Orchis 267 
 
 A a 2 Orders
 
 37 2 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Orders of Linnasus - 223 
 
 Ofmunda - - 34 6 
 
 P 
 
 Papaver - - 287 
 
 Parinip - - - 3? 
 
 Pafque- flower - 2 5 
 
 Paftinaca - 3 IQ 
 
 Peziza - - 357 
 
 Phallus - - 357 
 
 Phafcum - - 35* 
 
 Pilewort - - - 2 3 8 
 
 PUularia - - * 349 
 
 Pimpinella - - 333 
 
 Plantago - ~ 3 2 7 
 
 Plantain - - 3 2 7 
 
 Pliny - - 219 
 
 Polygala - - - 
 
 Poly podium - 34^ 
 
 Polytrichum - 35 2 
 
 Poplar - - - 2 45 
 
 Populus - 244 
 
 Potentilla - - - - 277 
 
 Primrofe . - . 248 
 
 Primula % .....; - - 248 
 
 Privet - - . ? - 290 
 
 Prunus - ' 243 
 
 Pteris - - 347 
 R 
 
 Ragwort - - 
 
 Ranunculus - 
 
 Ray, hisfyftem 
 
 Riccia r: - 354 
 
 Rofa - - 286 
 
 Rubus - - - 3U 
 
 Sage,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 373 
 
 Sage, wild -. 295 
 
 St. John's wort ,, 328 
 
 Salvia . 293 
 
 Sauce-alone 262 
 
 Saw-wort . 303 
 
 Saxifrage . 2 33 
 
 Scandix . 278 
 
 Serratula 303 
 
 Scabiofa - 313 
 
 Sibthorp, Dr. 319 
 
 Sinapis 259 
 
 Sloe r 244 
 
 Sowbane 240 
 
 Spirsea 341 
 
 Splachnutn . 352 
 
 Sphagnum 350 
 
 Spleenwort 346 
 
 Stone parfley 331 
 
 Serpyllum = 283 
 
 Syftems of botany . . 221 
 
 Syftem, fexual 307 
 
 Succory 296 
 
 Sambucus 274 
 
 T 
 
 Tanfey, wild 277 
 
 Tare : * 264 
 
 Targionia - 353 
 
 Tafwell, the actor 271 
 
 Teafel 316 
 
 Tongue, adder's 346 
 
 Theophraftus 218 
 
 Thefium 284 
 
 linophyl * 333 
 
 Thiftle, cotton 203 
 
 Thiaie,
 
 374 INDEX, 
 
 Thiflle, -curled . 329 
 
 . lady's . . 30$ 
 
 . marfh . . 342 
 
 fpear - 303 
 
 . . woolly headed 324 
 
 Thorn, black . 244 
 
 Thymus 282 
 
 Tilia 309 
 
 Toadflax, baft and 334 
 
 Toadflax . . 284 
 
 Tournefort, fyftem _ 222 
 
 Tremella _. . , 354 
 
 Trichomanes 349 
 
 Trefoil, birds foot 286 
 
 U 
 
 Venus-comb 278 
 
 Verbal cum - 303 
 
 Verbena - . 319 
 
 Veronica - 292 
 
 Vervain 3 1 9 
 
 Vetch 294 
 
 Viburnum 286 
 
 Vicia 264, 
 
 Viola 239 
 
 Violet 249 
 
 Ulva 355 
 
 W 
 
 Weed, filver 277
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 age 3. line 1 1 . for Arithmaticicm, read Arithmetician. P. 20. 
 1. 2. for difcrETninativti) read dif crimination. P. 128. 1. ic. 
 for inqui/itely, read inquijitively* P. 136. 1. 26. for ///m, 
 read pilot. P. 137. 1. 7. for pilate, read ///?/. P. 139. 
 1. 25. Ullyjfisy read Ulyfles. P. 128. 1. u!t. for turned^ read 
 |fW. P. 218. 1. 8. for Sal-vitur, read Sohitur. P. 222. 
 l.g. after founded, read o. P. 227. 1. 23. for PALYADEL 
 . P. 
 
 read POLYAOELPHIA. P. 258. 1. 24. for 
 bilum, read Vegetabilium. P. 273.!. I 3. for macalatum, read 
 maculatum. P. 274. 1. 15. for rcb:ntem t read rubtntem. 
 P. 277. 1. 23. for ivith, read ivitbout. P. 286, 1. 26. for 
 furbnlar, read tubular. P. 301. 1. 15. after tar/ry, readfl^/. 
 P. 304. 1. 13. for with, read ivitbout. P. 306. I. 2. for 
 turbitlar, read tubular. P. 341. in the margin, for Sj-ir,** 
 read Epilobium.
 
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