vifible nature, a feparation from all that has hitherto delighted or engaged him; a change, not only of the place, but the manner of his being; an entrance into a state, not fimply which he knows not, but which perhaps he has not faculties to know, an immediate and perceptible communication with the fupreme being, and, what is above all distressful and alarming, the final fentence, and unalterable allot

ment.

Yet we, whom the fhortness of life has made acquainted with mortality, can, without emotion, fee generations of men pafs away, are at leifure to establish modes of forrow, to adjust the ceremonial of death, look upon funeral pomp as a common fpectacle in which we have no concern, and turn away from it to trifles and amusements, without dejection of look, or inquietude of heart.

It is, indeed, apparent from the conftitution of the world, that there must be a time for other thoughts, and a perpetual meditation upon the last hour, however it may become the fo. litude of a monaftery, is inconfiftent with many duties of common life. But furely the remembrance of death ought to predominate in our minds, as an habitual and fettled principle, always operating, though not always perceived; and our attention fhould feldom wander fo far from our own condition, as not to be recalled and fixed by fight of an event, which must foon, we know not how foon, happen likewise to ourselves, and of which, though we cannot appoint the time, we may fecure the confequence.

Yet, though every inftance of death may juftly awaken our fears, and quicken our vigilance, it feldom hap. pens that we are much alarmed, unlefs fome clofe connexion is broken, some scheme fruftrated, or fome hope defeated. There are therefore many who seem to live without any reflection on the end of life, becaufe they are wholly involved within themfelves, and look on others as unworthy their

notice, without any expectation of receiving good, or intention of bestowing it.

Cuftom fo far regulates the fentiments at least of common minds, that I believe men may be generally obferved to grow lefs tender, as they advance in age; and he, who, when life was new, melted at the loss of every companion, can look in time, without concern, upon the grave into which his laft friend was thrown, and into which himself is ready to fall; not that he is more willing to die than formerly, but that he is more familiar to the death of others; and therefore is not alarmed fo far, as to confider how much nearer he approaches to his end. But this is to fubmit tamely to the tyranny of accident, and to fuffer our reafon to lie ufelefs. Every funeral may justly be confidered as a fummons to prepare for that state, into which it is a proof that, we must fometime enter; and a fummons more loud and piercing, as the event of which it warns us is at lefs diftance. To neglect at any time preparation for death, is to fleep on our post at a fiege; but to omit it in old age, is to fleep at an attack.

T

It has always feemed to me one of the most ftriking paflages in the visions of Quevedo, where he ftigmatifes thofe as fools, who complain that they failed of happiness by tudden death.

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How, fays he, can death be sudden "to a being, who always knew that "he muft die, and that the time of "his death was uncertain ?"

Since there are wanting admonitions of our mortality to preferve it active in our minds, nothing can more properly renew the impreffion than the example which every day supplies; and as the great incentive to virtue, is the reflection that we must die, it may be useful to accuftom ourselves, when ever we see a funeral, to confider how foon we may be added to the number of thofe whofe probation is paft, and whofe happinefs or mifery fhall endure for ever.

Kk

He that has given God his worfhip, and man his due, is entertained

TA

AKE three parts of litharge, and one part of calcined flint; pound and mix these very well together, put them into a crucible, and, with a ftrong fire run them into a yellow glafs. Pound this glafs, and grind it into a fubtile powder, which moiften with a well faturated folution of filver, make into a paste, put it into a crucible, and cover it with a cover. Give at firft a gentle degree of fire, then increase it, and continue it, till

HOUGH this ufeful commo

in the wood, for this purpofe. This

vulgar, the method of making it is overlooked by the learned; fo that we have no fatisfactory account of it; and those who understand it, generally keep it a fecret, left others fhould learn fo beneficial an art. But as this commodity is abfolutely requifite for making foap, glass, dying, bleaching, c. it will, we prefume, not be unacceptable to our readers to know the method practifed by foreigners, who fell it us; and the rather, as our country abounds with materials proper for the making it.

There are feveral ways of making pot afh practifed by different nations; but the beft is that used in Sweden, from whence large quantities are yearly exported, befides what is confumed in that kingdom.

In Smoland there are large woods of beech, which they ufe for making pot-afh; and in other parts of Sweden, they use alder, not having beech. They cut the wood in pieces, pile it in heaps, and burn it to afhes by a flow fire. These ashes they carefully feparate from the dirt or coals mixed with them, which they call raking them; after which they collect them in baskets of bark, to carry them to a hut built

fufficient quantity of these afhes. Then they chufe a convenient place, and make a paste of thefe afhes with water, by a little at a time, as mortar is made of lime, &c. When this is finished, they lay a row of green pine, or logs of fir, on the ground, which they plaifter over with this paste of afhes. Over this they lay another layer of the fame logs of wood, trâns verfly, or a-crofs the former, which they plaifter over with the paste in the fame manner: thus they continue to erect a pile of thofe logs of wood, layer upon layer, and plaiftering each with the pafte of afhes, till it is all expended; when their pile is often as high as a houfe. This pile they fet on fire with dry wood, and burn it as vehemently as they can; increafing the fire, from time to time, till the afhes begin to be red-hot, and run in the fire. Then they overset their pile with poles, as quickly as they can; and while the ashes are still hot and melting, they beat them with long flexible sticks made on purpose, so as to incruft the logs of wood with the afhes; by which the afhes concrete into a folid mafs as hard as a stone, provided the operation has been right

ly performed. This operation they call Walla, i. e. Dreffing. At laft, they fcrape off the falt, thus prepared with iron-inftruments, and fell it for pot-afh; which is of a bluish black colour, not unlike the Scoria of iron, with a pure greenish white falt appear ing here and there in it.

From the foregoing account, we may obferve, that the difficulty of making pot afh aright is, firft, to reduce the materials to cinders and ashes, and at the fame time to preferve their volatile, fulphureous, and exhalable, acid parts, which are totally destroyed by a certain degree of fire; and, fecondly, to calcine thefe afhes ftill farther, fo as to flux their falts, and vitrify their terrestrial parts; and at the fame time to keep them separate from each other, to prevent their running into an indiffolvable glass. To give pot-afh fome of these properties, feems. plainly to require of heat which will totally deprive it of others.

The moft likely way to endue it with all these properties, is that above related; for, at the fame time that the alcaline falts are fluxed in the open fire, and, in a manner vitrified' with the terrestrial parts of the afhes, which gives them their hard and folid confilence, the fulphureous parts of the green wood hinder them from turning to a perfect glafs or inert calx. All these parts, united together in the fire, compofe that faponaceous fubftance we find in the pot-afh thus made, which further hinders the vitrification of the mafs, and endues it with many of its most peculiar and active properties.

Hence we fee the reafon why we could never make pot-afh equal to that of Russia, and the other northern countries; though we have a much greater plenty of materials, and perhaps better; because the above method has never been put in practice.

T

HE ingenious Dr. Pringle, in the fifth volume of Medicinal Obfervations of the Edinburgh fociety, communicated the compofition of a remedy against the dyfentery, and which had been attended with very great fuccefs. As this medicament is nothing more than a preparation of glafs of antimony with wax, it exrited the attention of Mr. Geoffrey; he fet himself to examine by what means glafs of antimony, a medicament too violent to be dried on any but athletic fubjects; and then only in that fpecies of cholics, called the Bellón cholic, could be rendered fafe and falutiferous by fuch a fimple prepara

tion.

This preparation confifts in mixing pulverifed glafs of antimony with one eighth of its weight of yellow wax; holding it in an iron ladle over a gentle fire for half an hour, and ftirring it

continually all the time. This operation Mr. Geoffrey has repeated with the niceft accuracy, making use of glafs of antimony of his own preparation, and every particle of the pulverifed glafs appeared to him to become gradually impregnated with the melted wax; probably, by the acid of the wax difengaging itself during the operation, and acting upon the glass; or the phlogistic of the wax incorporating with it; reftores it the inflammable principle, of which it had been deprived, and then brings it again to the ftate of a true regulus; but the particles of the powder, being inclofed within the bituminous varnish communicated to them from the wax, are with great difficulty diffevered by the acids of the ftomach; a diffeveration which however is abfolutely requifite to pro mote the action of the glafs of antimony.

Kk 2

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