Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

pital than in other places; and our author thinks that an obfervation of Dr. Bryan Robinson will contribute to elucidate this variation. The heart of children is larger, he obferved, and the quantity of blood greater in them proportionally, than in adults. The quantity of blood which paffes through the lungs in a given time, in proportion to the whole mafs, is alfo greater in children; fo that their blood, the reason of which we now fufficiently understand, is more florid. This peculiar ftate of the blood is probably connected with the growth and well-being of the child; in other words, children probably require a larger proportion of vital air than adults. An abstract of the register of the lying-in hofpital is added, by which it appears, that the proportion of males to females born in the hofpital is as 9 to 8; of children dying as to 7; of children ftill-born as 1 to 19 nearly; of twins and triplets as I to about 58; of women dying as about 1 to 90; of triplets and quadruplets as about 1 to 5050. The register is from the 8th of December, 1757, to December 31, 1788.

Art. V. Defcription of a Steam Engine. By John Cooke, Efq. M. R. I. A.-An ingenious contrivance to obtain, by means of steam, a continuous and rotative motion, of which it is impoffible to give the fainteft idea without the plate.

Art. VI. The Ufe and Defcription of a New-invented Inftrument for Navigation, by which every Cafe in plane, middle Latitude or Mercator's Sailing may be performed without Logarithms, Tables, or any numerical Calculations whatsoever. By John Cooke, Efq. M. R. I. A.-This inftrument appears to be truly advantageous; and as the errors become obvious in proportion to their magnitude; as its ufe does not depend on tables, but is within the reach of the common failor, it deferves very particular attention.

Árt. VII. Obfervations made on the Difappearance and Reappearance of Saturn's Ring, in the Year 1789, with fome Remarks on his diurnal Rotation. By the Rev. H. Usher, D. D. M. R. I. A. and F. R. S.-Thefe obfervations we need not abridge. Saturn, divested of his ring, appeared oblate; and, from the difference of his diameters, which, reduced to his mean distance, were refpectively 18.12 and 15.855, our author computes his fidereal rotation to be 10" 12. By taking the denfity of Saturn, as computed by De la Lande, it was 12" 55'; with M. Bouguer's ratio of the diameters of the earth, 14" 44.

Art. VIII. Account of two Parhelia observed February 25th, 1790. By the Rev. Henry Usfher, D. D. M. R. I. A. and F. R. S.-This article offers nothing worth recording.

Art. IX. An Effay towards afcertaining the Population of Ireland. In a Letter to the Right Honourable the Earl of Charlemont,

8

Charlemont, Prefident of the Royal Irish Academy. By Gervafe Parker Bufhe, Efq. M. R. I. A.-From this account, the population of Ireland feems to exceed four millions. Our author's obfervations on the errors, and the difficulty of ascertaining the different facts, deferve great attention.

Art. X. Lettre de Monf. Pouget à Monf. Kirwan, F. R. S. & M. R. I. A. fur les Condenfations produites par L'Alliage de L'Alkool avec L'Eau.-Our author attempts to afcertain the different proportions of alcohol in fpirits of various ftrength, by the diminution which takes place when they are mixed, and has brought this mode of ascertaining the strength to some certainty; but various circumftances ftill require confideration. It is not, to mention one particular inftance, yet afcertained how far fome peculiar impregnations will affect this mode of hydrometrical computation. The dilatations of mixtures of alcohol and water are also not fully afcertained. I believed (obferves M. Pouget) that the total augmentation of bulk produced by the dilatation of any given temperature, was the fum of the dilatations of the ingredients, minus the diminution of bulk which takes place on mixing them. But this feems not to be exact. Admitting this theory, it is not eafy to determine in a general manner the dilatations of all the mixtures, because thofe of water are not equal, nor even fimilar; and their scales are not proportional. The change of temperature which makes the fluid in the fpirit thermometer run through half its fcale, dilates water only fo much as to make it run through

of its scale. It follows, therefore, that the mixtures of alcohol and water are neither equally nor fimilarly dilatable; and it is neceffary to determine for each, not only its abfolute dilatation, but its particular scale of dilatation compared both with alcohol and water feparately.'-To leffen the difficulty, however, it is added, that those spirits which do not differ above 0.01 in their specific gravity, dilate so equally and proportionally as to occafion no actual error; and as the thermometer and the hydrometer are employed fo conftantly together, our author has united not only the inftruments but their fcales.

The firft article in the department of polite literature is Thoughts on the History of Alphabetic Writing. By Michael Kearney, D. D. M. R. Í. A. and of the Etrufcan Academy of Cortona. It adds, however, little to our knowledge. Dr. Kearney adopts Warburton's Syftem of the Priority of Hieroglyphics, or picture-writing, and only adds to it an hypothefis refpecting the introduction of fyllables and confortants. They arofe, he thinks, from uniting the fingle founds to form compound ones, when it was neceffary to form new terms. In procefs of time thefe fyllabic founds would be diftinguifhed by pe culiar marks, and thefe would be chiefly the confonants; for the

C 2

vowels,

vowels, or fimple breathings, are fo few, that the more ftriking component parts would be firft noticed. This fyftem, it is fuppofed, is fupported by lord Monboddo's opinion, that, in the primeval languages each fyllable has but one confonant; and in the Hebrew and other oriental alphabets, there are no marks for vowels. The whole is, however, hypothetical, and totally inconfiftent with thofe languages which we are able to examine, formed by people in the earliest æra of civilization. It is oppofed alfo by the confideration, that the different inflections of the voice are acquired only by frequent habit; that the lingual founds of Savages are few, and chiefly diftinguished by tone, by accent, and quantity.

Art. II. Brief Strictures on certain Obfervations of Lord Monboddo, refpecting the Greek Tenfes. By Arthur Browne, LL. D. Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, Representative in Parliament for that Univerfity, and M. R. I. A.-The object of this author's attention is an affertion of lord Monboddo, that the fecond future and the second aorift mean nothing different from the first tenses of the fame name, and are only obsolete' prefents and imperfects formed after the verb was modernised, merely to vary and enrich the found of the language. Our author, on the contrary, fhows that the fenfes were certainly different. We do not think that the argument is fupported fatisfactorily. In the best Greek writers there is fo much confufion in these respects, that no definite ideas on the fubject feem to have been entertained by authors of the most diftinguifhed character.

Art. III. Evil Effects of Polytheism on the Morals of the Heathens. By a Young Gentleman, an Under-graduate in the Univerfity of Dublin. Communicated by the Reverend John Kearney, D. D. S. F. T. C. D. and M. R. I. A.-Polytheism, in the under-graduate's opinion, ftrikes at the root of all morality; for if morality depends on the divine will, the unity of God can be the only bafis of a pure unchangeable system of morals. This may appear a bold affertion, and is certainly fupported too loosely. It is an argument of importance to a certain extent, in a more collective view of the whole fubject: by itself, it is trifling and superficial; nor does the reft of the effay deferve a better character.

We shall next proceed to the antiquities, though we cannot help regretting that polite literature has fo few fupporters; for. the whole department furnishes but three articles, and to one of thefe only we can affign a refpectable character. Antiquaries appear almoft equally scarce.

Art. I. Account of a fingular Cuftom at Metelin; with fome Conjectures on the Antiquity of its Origin. By the Right

Honour

Honourable James, Earl of Charlemont, P. R. I. A.—It is a curious custom pleafingly related. In the modern Lefbos, the eldest girl is the heir, and the wives reign fupreme. It is more fingular that the fecond daughter is almost a flave to the first, and the next in their parents' regard; the next heiress, if any thing can be preferved, is the third daughter, to whom the fourth is a fervant. Even the parents depend on the haughty charity of the eldest girl. Lord Charlemont does not fatisfactorily elucidate the origin of the custom, though he has adduced inftances of a fimilar one, occafionally practifed in Lycia, and even in Egypt. From Lycia, indeed, Lefbos was peopled; but from whence did the Lycians derive it?

Art. II. Obfervations on the Defcription of the Theatre of Saguntum, as given by Emanuel Marti, Dean of Alicant, in a Letter addreffed to D. Antonio Felix Zondadario. By the Right Honourable William Conyngham, Treafurer to the R. I. A.

Art. III. Letter to Jofeph C. Walker, Efq. M. R. I. A. &c. from the Right Honourable W. Conyngham, Treafurer to the R. I. A. being an Appendix to his Memoire on the Theatre of Saguntum.-Mr. Conyngham defcribes the remains of this celebrated theatre with great accuracy, and points out the errors in the defcription of the dean of Alicant, published in Montfaucon's work. In fome refpects this ftructure deviated from the ufual plan; but the defcription and variations would be unintelligible without the plates, which are numerous and ac

curate.

Art. IV. Letter from Mr. William Beauford, A. B. to the Rev. George Graydon, LL. B. Secretary to the Committee of Antiquities, R. I. A.-Our author very properly obferves, that the information which Ptolemy derived from navigators, must chiefly relate to the maritime parts; and in comparing his defcriptions with the modern accounts, he finds the names often exact, and the appearances fufficiently near the present state. This, however, proves nothing refpecting the antiquities of Ireland, or its early civilization. The mariners caught the founds, and faithfully tranfmitted them.

Art. V. A Memoir respecting the Antiquities of the Church of Killoffy, in the County of Kildare; with fome Conjectures on the Origin of the ancient Irish Churches. By Mr. William Beauford, A. B.-In this last article Mr. Beauford gives a history of the Irish churches, and traces their origin from the Spaniards, who drew the models from Italy, and in their progrefs corrupted and debafed them. The church itself is a ftone building, diftinguished by a stone roof; a circumftance not pesuliar to this building, or indeed to Ireland. It was built about

C 3

the

the end of the tenth century. Our author defcribes alfo the Caves of Hibernia, which, in the middle ages, were used as granaries. We would not offend our neighbours by confidering them as the dwellings of the firft inhabitants; and perhaps they would not be offended if they reflected that fimilar habitations were poffeffed by the Aborigines of Sicily and of Egypt.

The Hedaya, or Guide; a Commentary on the Musfulman Laws. Tranflated by Charles Hamilton. (Concluded from Vol. III. New Arrang. p. 329.)

IN

N refuming our confideration of this work, we fhall first, according to our promife, prefent an abftract of Mr. Ha milton's general review of the contents.

Book I. concerns Zakat, or the alms impofed by the law. This impoft originated with Mahomet himself, who at first employed the revenue arifing from it, according to his discre tion, in the fupport of his needy adherents, but the objects of it were afterwards afcertained by various paffages in the koran. At prefent, however, what was intended as a relief to the poor is carried to the exchequer of the prince, who endeavours to fatisfy his confcience by a fort of commutation, in the erection of mofques, as the fupport of a few indigent and idle fakeers about his palace. Let us add, that this book explains the laws concerning Zakat from herds and flocks, perfonal effects, mines, treafures, &c. and the modes of collecting and disbursing it.

Book II. Marriage. To the political and fpeculative enquirer the most curious features in this book are chapters II. and III. from which it appears that the female fex are, among the Muffulmans, invefted with many perfonal rights and independent privileges, fuch as certainly in fome measure compenfate for the various hard conditions to which law, or cuftom, has fubjected the daughters of Islam.

Book III. Fofterage. By the people of Afia the nurfling is fuppofed to partake of the very nature of her from whofe blood he receives his earliest nourishment. An affinity is therefore created by this circumftance, which operates to render marriage illegal, in the fame manner as actual confanguinity.

Book IV. Divorce. The Mahometan laws, on this fubject, approximate to thofe of Mofes; but the extreme facility with which a Muffulman may break the bonds of matrimony is fur prifing:

Book V. Manumiffion. On this fubject the laws are not a little humane.

Book VI. Vows. A book of fmall moment.

Book VII. Punishments. This book treats only of the pu

nishments

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »