principle of this theory, by alledging, that the water does not fall when raised in tubes or between plates, after they have been placed under an exhausted receiver. And why should it fall? For, if the atmospheric pressure is in great part taken off the exterior surface or sides, it is equally removed also from the upper surface of the raised fluids. The fluid being once raised, it retains its station, because it is mechanically supported, each side serving as a buttress to the other side, so that one side cannot give way to the law of centripetation without some partial disturbance, and the taking off the atmospheric pressure is not partial but equal and general; and as no complete exhaustion can take place, the sligthest force tends to maintain a state already acquired, i. e. in other words, an arch has been created which stands after its centre pieces have been knocked away. Of the general principle here adduced no reasonable doubt can be maintained; at the same time the effects of the local atmospheres of bodies have not been brought into the consideration; nor has the necessary mechanical influence of radiation and evaporation been considered, in bodies which have different powers of receiving heat or atomic motion; and these differences are doubtless concerned in the production and variation of the phenomena, while none of them have any connection with any principle of attraction, introduced as a convenient solver of difficulties, and as a short road to wisdom in all modern disquisitions on physical subjects.

It is from the same principle of intercepted pressure, that drops of fluids, as water or mercury, move towards each other and unite. Every body brought very close to another is necessarily affected by its interception of the pressure of the medium in which it is situated, but the affection is not sufficiently powerful to produce sensible phenomena in all. A great facility of receiving motion is necessary, or the delicate force of the intercepted pressure, or force or motion of the atoms in elastic action, is not sufficient to operate; and the angular interception must be adjusted to the impulse of the medium, and the inertia of the subjects. Perhaps, however, nothing is more easily moved, when surrounded by dissimilar bodies, than a globule of mercury or water-hence, if two globules of the former be laid upon a table, or two of the latter upon the down of a leaf, and

are brought within a certain angle of each other, the points most intercepted are driven together, and the drops coalesce.

Similar, also, is the principle of the attraction of fluids by the sides of solids, only with this difference, that the solid cannot advance to meet the fluid, and all the phenomena take place on the part of the fluid. And from this cause it is, that a boat is moved towards a ship, and all small bodies towards large ones, while floating, and easily moved in a fluid medium. In regard to the pressure of the elastic atmosphere, they get into each other's wake, or intercept the force of that pressure on their nearest sides; and the force being unintercepted on the opposite sides, the undisturbed force overcomes the diminished force, and the bodies are driven together with a velocity which increases with the angular degree of interception.

MM. Monge and La Place, have abused those sublime mathematics of which they are masters, by some cu rious distinctions between the phenomena of such bodies and the laws which govern them; but none of their observations prove the existence of any power not strictly mechanical, and which may not be easily traced either to intercepted pressure, to the combinations of the different local atmospheres of bodies, or to their varied power of evaporation, and of radiating atomic motion or heat.

COHESIVE ATTRACTION.

The experiments of Mr. Daniell, of M. Haüy, M. Link, and others, prove incontestibly, that all solids are varie ties of crystallized forms; while it requires a very slight exertion of intellect to perceive that crystallized forms are necessary consequences of atoms being packed together by the action of the atoms of any elastic medium in which they are immersed. The powers of the latter are varied only by the va riable form of the atoms which are its

I confine the observation to the atmosphere as the medium which is the object of vulgar observation; but in truth many of these phenomena belong rather to that universal and omnipresent medium within which which medium penetrates diaphanous bodies the heterogeneous atmosphere itself floats, in right lines, is the subject of those undulations which produce the phenomena of light, and whose varied interceptions by bodies of different structure are the cause of many chemical and minor phenomena.

patients

patients during the process of evaporation and reduction of bulk. The patient atoms, therefore, are packed as it were by the incessant activity of the elastic medium in which the process takes place; and they are dovetailed and glued, or bound together by the atoms in other forms, which mingle during the process, thereby producing united crystals, which crystals constitute what we call solids, whose density, impenetrability, and resistance of foreign action or motion, are varied according to the original form of their atoms; to the accidents by which they are dovetailed, and to the forms of the other atoms by which they are entwined together. Atomic forms, and the relative action of other circumjacent atoms are, therefore, the sole cause of all those phenomena of cohesion in bodies which superstition and a fondness for miracle has clothed with the name of attraction, or has explained by a principle, acting for its own sake, between bodies in different places, without a mechanical cause or connection.

It remains, that in some future paper I shew, that appearances of attractions in ELECTRICITY are necessary effects of the gazeous decomposition of electrics, the force of which is determined by intercepting conducting surfaces, and condensed in any light body when it diminishes the thickness of the electric plate; and even if I should fail to explain with equal precision, that the appearance of attraction in MAGNETICAL experiments is a mechanical effect of ascertained combinations, I should be as weak as he would be, who not understanding Seamanship, on seeing two vessels at sea approach each other under the influence of the same wind, as precipitately as superstitiously ascribed their approach, not to mechanical contrivance, but to some occult power, or innate principle of Attraction. Yet, in such a one, may the learned teachers of doctrines of innate Attraction and universal Gravitation see themselves as in a glass!

COMMON SEnse.

The writer of this paper communicated his views on these subjects to the late illustrious Playfair, of Edinburgh, because he had written some able papers in the Edinburgh Review, in which he had been less dogmatical on these subjects than most Newtonians. Instead, however, of acknowledging their force, he has left behind him some observations printed in the Introduction to the fourth volume of the Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica, in which he evades the question by stating, that Cotes and all the

Commentators mistook Newton, in calling Gravity an innate and universal property of matter. The Professor then quotes a letter of Newton's, who denies that gravity is an innate property, merely to prove that it is a constant miracle, capable of being produced

only by some power not material. Newton's reference to supernaturals, however, does not improve Playfair's case; he still maintains the universality of the property, and his universal projectile force would be useless, without the universality of the other power. When secondary causes are not apparent, it is the business of Philosophers to endeavour to trace them, and not cut all enquiry Such short by referring to the FIRst cause. reference is not PHILOSOPHICAL; nor is it logical to assign a secondary cause, which and immediate agency of the first cause. cause implies in its nature the proximate

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR,

HE following is the copy of a peti

to

House of Commons in favor of universal emancipation, from the Protestant Dissenters of the Borough of Cockermouth, in Cumberland. And it is to be lamented that so few protestants are ready to follow their example. Let us hope, however, that this is the dawn of emancipation: and that since Protestants and Dissenters too, begin to petition for the Catholic Claims, their cause is assuming a very promising posture; and shall hereafter be found the cause of TRUTH. A. P. D. Cockermouth, May 16, 1820. To the Honourable the Commons, &c., the humble Petition of the undersigned Protestant Dissenters of the Independent Denomination, residing in the town and neighbourhood of the Borough of Cockermouth. Sheweth,

"That with confidence relying on the justice and liberality of the British Senate, your petitioners beg leave humbly to lay stigma which has long been impressed on a before your honourable House the unmerited body of subjects, whose loyalty and fidelity have yet been constantly demonstrated.

"That in the imposition of civil disabilities upon the account of religious opinions, your petitioners deprecate an infringement of the primary law of mental freedom; the right of each to worship God according to the unbiassed dictates of his conscience.That considered apart from this great law of native freedom, the present restriction of the Catholic Christians is evidently injurious to the best interests of the country; by the partial exclusion of men of integrity from offices of state; and by causing dissentions and invidious distinctions between the several denominations of religious creeds in the British empire at a time when the prevalence and triumph of Deism and infidelity demand the

united

united energies of all persuasions in the defence of truth. Nor can the limitation of religious liberty be defended on the ground of policy; since loyalty and attachment to the constitution of the land were declared, on enquiry, by the Catholic Universities of Louvaine, Douay, Alcala, Salamanca, Valladolid, and the Sorbonne, to be incumbent on those who profess the communion of Rome: and the antiquated absurdity of their keeping no faith with heretics has been positively and indignantly disavowed by the College of Cardinals de Propaganda, under the immediate sanction of Pope Pius VI., as well as by the catholics of the united king

dom.

"That your petitioners should consider themselves unworthy of the names of Protestants and Dissenters, could they for one moment deny to Anglicans or Romans that sacred liberty which they hold to be the birthright of man; and for which our fathers suffered by the prison, the axe, and the faggot!

"That your petitioners therefore beg leave humbly to entreat your honourable House to take into consideration the claims of our catholic brethren for universal emancipation; and to extend to them those rights and immunities to which they are so justly entitled, as a loyal and pious portion of the British empire; and thereby to conciliate the affections of a large proportion of his Majesty's subjects, in these portentous times of political ferment.

"That while your petitioners pray your honourable House to grant that liberty to the Church of Rome which is the RIGHT of Englishmen, the distinction which severs the Protestant Dissenters from the great body of the people cannot but excite them to entreat of your candour and bounty, the extension of civil immunities and political honours to all the subjects of the Crown of Great Britain, without respect to their religious opinions: since a loyal and constitutional disposition has ever been characteristic of those men to whom the historian* attributes the preservation of that liberty which should ever be dear to the freemen of Britain.

And your petitioners will ever pray, &c.
(Signed)

the fashion for ladies and gentlemen to go the first Sunday of every month to San Gallo; and that rather for diversion than devotion.* On one of these Sundays, as Giotto was going with a party to the church aforesaid, he stopped in Cucumber-street † to relate some anecdote; and while thus engaged, a pig ran hastily between his legs, and threw him down. Giotto neither uttered any imprecations against him, nor shewed any other symptoms of wrath; but getting up quietly and shaking himself, observed to his friends with a smile: 'Tis really no more than I deserve, for though I have gained so many good florins by the bristles of these creatures, I do not know that I ever gave them so much as a spoonful of broth.

Most people go with their mouths open rather than their eyes: so that a man can never be wrong in seeking the society of intelligent men like Giotto: for by so doing, he will be always learning something.‡

NOVELLA 109.

Of a Cask of Wine which a Man left in charge of his Wife while he went to serve the office of Mayor.§

A gentleman of good property, who lived near the Church de' Servi, in Florence, was appointed Mayor of the town of San Lorenzo.|| Before he left home, he strictly charged his wife not to broach a particular cask of very fine red wine, but to keep it till his return. He had been gone about two months, when a certain friar, the lady's confessor, fell sick. One day, when she called to enquire after his health, he said he thought he should be better if he could find some wine that he could relish. "Dear me," said the lady, "we have a capital cask at home, but my husband has left particular orders that it should not be tapped." The friar, hearing this, was seized with a great longing for it, and begged he might be allowed to taste it, if it were but a single glass. "Well," said she,

E

"a single glass cannot matter, you shall have a taste, come what will of it." Marvellously did the generous liquor please the friar: the very first glass seemed to restore him to new life; and by dint of entreaty he prevailed on the lady to send him bottle after bottle, till at length the cask got empty, and he got well.

The time of the good man's return now drew near, and the lady, full of trepidation, consulted the friar as to what she should do. "Make thy vow to the Annunziata," said he," and trust the matter to her." And some how or other-whether by accident, or that his public business had made him forget his private affairs-it so happened that the husband never made any inquiry about it; and the lady presented to the Virgin a waxen model, in grateful acknowledgment that she had enabled her to empty the original without his knowledge.

Vows of this sort are made every day. I knew a man who made a sfmilar one when he had lost his cat, and dedicated an image of it to the Annunziata in St. Michael's Gardens. Surely this deserves to be considered as a breaking of our faith, rather than an observance of it—as idolatry rather than Christianity. The worship which God requires is that of the heart and mind: he takes no pleasure in these miserable vanities; and to offer them is to insult rather than to honour him.

But whoever honestly consults his own heart, will find that many things which are considered as ladders to heaven, are rather steps to go down the contrary way.§

NOVELLA 114.

Anecdotes of the poet Dante Alighieri.

As that excellent poet, Dante Allighieri, whose fame shall never fade,|| was going by St. Peter's Gate, in Florence, he heard a blacksmith singing his verses, as he worked at the anvil, and miserably transforming and man

* Gli parve gli rimettesse la vita addosso.

Più tosto una idolatrica che Fede Cristiana.

E' vuole il cuore e la mente nostra ; non va caendo immagini di cera, nè di queste borie e vanità.

§ I have given the story for the sake of these reflections; not a little remarkable for the age in which they were made.

La cui fama in perpetus non verrà

meno,

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66

gling them. Dante walked into the shop; and without saying any thing, began to throw the man's tools into the street. The blacksmith, starting up with a menacing gesture, asked him if he were mad, or what the devil he was about. I may rather ask what are you about," rejoined the poet. "I am minding my business," said the man, "and I wish you would do the same, and not spoil my tools in the way you are doing. Well," ," said Dante, "if you will not spoil my things, I will not spoil yours." "What things of your's have I spoiled," asked the blacksmith. "My verses," replied the poet : you were singing out of my book, and did not sing it as I wrote it." The man astonished, made no reply, but picking up his tools, resumed his work, and the time to come confined himself to Tristrem and Lancelot, and left off Dante.t

66

At another time he met a dustman singing his poetry as he drove his asses, and at every two or three lines he stopped to beat his cattle, crying out, Ge-up! Dante hearing this, gave him a stroke across the shoulders, saying: That is not in the text.§. The man, not knowing who he was, nor why he struck him, cracked his whip, and called Ge-up again, and when he had got to a little distance, lolled out his tongue, and made grimaces at him, The poet, instead of losing his temper, as many would have done, merely observed, I would not give you one of mine for a hundred of yours||-a_calm_and gentle reply which confounded his opponent, and drew upon him the applauses of all who were present. NOVELLA 125.

Of King Charlemagne's attempt to convert a Spaniard.

At the time of the conquest of Spain, by the emperor Charlemagne, there fell into his hands a certain Spaniard, who was a man of great ability and intelligence, but a Jew, or rather a heathen in his religion. The emperor having a a high opinion of him, was desirous of

his conversion, and with this view invited him to his table, where a portion was daily assigned to some poor beggar or other, for the good of his majesty's soul.* The mendicants to whom the imperial bounty was distributed, partook of it squatting on the floor, or at a table apart, at the lower end of the room, and were not admitted to the royal board. The Spaniard observing this singular practice, took occasion one day to ask the reason of it, and who those shabby persons were that he saw there. The emperor replied, that they were the Lord's poor,† and that in bestowing alms on them he considered that he was giving them to Christ himself, quoting the words of scripture: Whatsoever ye shall do unto the least of these, ye do it unto me. “Pardon me, sire," said the Spaniard, "but this appears to me to be one of the many inconsistencies I have observed in your faith. If you really believe that poor person yonder to be the representative of your Lord, how is it that you oblige him to squat in that obscure corner, while you yourself are served with such splendour ? To me it appears that you ought to change places." peror defended himself as well as he could, but felt at the bottom that the remark was just; and the Spaniard, so far from being converted, was the more confirmed in his ancient faith.

The em

And is not what the Spaniard said true? What sort of christians are we? and of what sort is our faith? Prayers, paternosters, ave-marias, have we in abundance. Most ready are we to cross ourselves, go to church, to mass, to procession, any thing, in short, that costs us nothing. But if we be called upon to shew charity to a poor man, we give him a little broth, and thrust him into a corner like a dog. The wormeaten sack-the worst cask in the cellar, are reserved for the Lord: any thing, in short, that we cannot eat ourselves, we give to him; and truly he need have the stomach of an ostrich, that can digest iron. If a man's daughter be lame, squinting, or deformed, she is dedicated to the Lord; if she be straight and fair, he keeps her him

A French gentleman, seeing many lawyers in Florence, makes certain remarks thereupon.

A gentleman of Metz, in Lorrainet, being present at a wedding procession in Florence, observed that those who walked first wore robes trimmed with fur. On enquiring who those persons were, he was told they were lawyers.‡ "Lawyers!" exclaimed he, with astonishment, looking round upon the magnificence of the city," is it possible you can thus have flourished with such numbers of these gentlemen among you?

I really should not have expected they would have left you one stone upon another. In my country, a single one of them has sufficed to set us by the ears, and keep us quarrelling ever since he came into it; and has converted our ancient peace and prosperity into discord and declension." The byestanders smiled, and allowed, that if the truth were to be spoken, they did mischief enough. "Think yourselves well off," said the Frenchman, "to have escaped thus; with us they have not only sown the seeds of dissension for the present, but have provided a plentiful crop for the next generation."

And indeed when I look at those who wear the bonnet,|| I cannot but think with the Frenchman, that there is small chance of peace where they dwell, and less for him that trusts them. The prosperity of that maritime wonder of our day, so celebrated for the excellence of its government, is a proof of this. No Venetian ever was a lawyer. And the little town of Norcia, though insignificant in comparison with the former, by rejecting the de

• These remarks are cynical, but extraor

• Per ben dell' anima sua.

+ Poveri di Cristo.

La buona, e la bella tien per se.

written.

+ Meza dell' Oreno.

Giudici.

E' ci danno la mala pasqua.
Questi con li vai in testa.

Considero aver poca pace il luogo dove

stanno, e meno chi a loro crede.

structive