by which they were erected into a corporation, confifting of a prefident, council and fellows, for promoting natural knowledge, and endued withvarious privileges and authorities. Their manner of electing members is by balíoting; and two-thirds of the members prefent are neceffary to carry the election in favour of the candidate. The council confifts of 21 members, including the prefident, vice-prefident, treafurer, and two fecretaries; ten of which go out annually, and ten new members are elected inftead of them, all chofen on St. Andrew's day. They had formerly alfo two curators, whofe bufinefs it was to perform experiments before the fociety. Each member, at his admiffion, fubfcribes an engagement, that he will endeaveur to promote the good of the fociety; from which he may be freed at any time, by fignifying to the prefident that he defires to withdraw. The charges are five guineas paid to the treasurer at admiffion; and one fhilling per week, or 52s. per year, as long as the perfon continues a member; or, in lieu of the annual fubfcripiton, a compofition of 25 guineas in one pay ment. The ordinary meetings of the fociety are once a week, from No. vember till the end of Trinity term the next fummer. At first, the meeting was from three o'clock till fix after noon. Afterwards their meeting was from fix to feven in the evening, to allow more time for dinner, which continued for a long feries of years, till the hour of meeting was removed, by the prefent prefident, to between eight and nine at night, that gentlemen of fashion, as was alleged, might have the opportunity of coming to attend the meetings after dinner. Their defign is to "make faithful records of all the works of nature or art, which come within their reach; fo that the prefent, as well as after ages may be enabled to put a mark on errors which have been ftrengthened by long prefcription; to reftore truths that have been long neglected; to push thofe already known to more various ufes; to make the way more paffable to what remains unrevealed, &c." To this purpose they have made a great number of experiments and obfervations on moft of the works of nature; as eclipfes, comets, planets, meteors, mines, plants, earthquakes, inundations, fprings, damps, fires, tides, currents, the magnet, &c.: their motto being Nullius in Verba. They have registered experiments, hif tories, relations, obfervations, &c. and reduced them into one common ftock. They have, from time to time, published fome of the moft ufeful of thefe, under the title of Philofophical Tranfactions, &c. usually one volume each year, which were, till lately very refpectable, both for the extent or magnitude of them, and for the excellent quality of their contents. The reft, that are not printed, they lay up in their regifters. They have a good library of books, which has been formed, and continually augmenting, by numerous donations. They had alfo a museum of curiofities in nature, kept in one of the rooms of their own houfe in Crane Court, Fleetftreet, where they held their meetings, with the greatest reputation, for for many years, keeping regifters of the weather, and making other experiments; for all which purpofes thofe apartments were well adapted. But, difpofing of thefe apartments, in order to remove into thofe allotted them in Somerfet Place, where, having neither room nor convenience for fuch purposes, the museum was obliged to be difpofed of, and their ufeful meteorological regifters difcontinued for many years. Sir Godfrey Copley, Bart. left five guineas to be given annually to the perfon who should write the beft paper in the year, under the head of Experimental Philofophy; this reward, which is now changed to a gold medal, is the highest honour the fociety can beftow; and it is conferred on St. Andrew's day; but the communications of late years have been thought of so little importance, that the prize medal remains fometimes for years undifpofed of. Indeed this very refpectable Society, now confifting of a great proportion of honorary members, who do not ufually communicate papers; and many fcientific members being difcouraged from making their ufual communications, by what is deemed the prefent arbitrary government of the fociety; the annual volumes have in confequence become of much lefs importance, both in refpect of their bulk and the quality of their con tents. Anecdotes of the late Sir William Chambers. From the European Magazine. THIS gentleman, whofe fame will laft as long as the noble building of Somerfet House fhall rear its majeftic head, was by birth a Swede. It has been faid, that he was defcended of the ancient family of Chalmers in Scotland, Barons of Tartas in France, and that his father was a merchant, who fuffered much by supplying Charles XII. with money and goods during his wars, for which he received only the bafe copper coin of that monarch, ftruck for the purpose in his emergencies, and, like the French affignats, afterwards depreciated; by which means the holder was involved in ruin. At the age of two years Sir William was brought over to England, and at a proper time placed at Rippon fchool in Yorkshire, where, it is believed, he continued until he was appointed chief fupercargo of the Swedifh fhips to China. In this fituation he did not remain long, probably not more than one voyage. On quitting this employment he determined to follow the bent of his genius, which led him to defign and architecture. His firft refidence in London was in Poland-ftreet; but not, as has been afferted, in the bufinefs of a carpenter. He at an early period difplayed the talents he poffeffed, and foon was confidered as one of the beft architects and draftsmen in Europe. His abilities introduced him to the knowledge of Lord Bute, by whofe intereft he was appointed drawing-mafter to his Majefty, then Prince of Wales. His first work of confequence was Lord Befborough's villa at conduct in that bufinefs, procured Roehampton, which, from his him many other buildings. gave in his plan to Lord Besborough with an eftimate as an architect, He architect; but on that nobleman's difficulty of ornamenting fuch a applying to him to know whether he would build it himfelf for the money mentioned in the estimate, he confented to undertake it. It was accordingly finished, and both parties, the empl yer and the builder, were fatisfied with their bargains, and each with the other. The intercourfe which Sir William had obtained with his majefty foon after his fovereign's acceffion to the crown, procured for him the laying out and improving the gardens at Kew, which from the nature of the ground, he was obliged to ornament in the Chinese tafte. In 1763 he published" Plans, Elevations, Sections, and Perfpective Views, of the Gardens and Buildings at Kew, in Surry, the Seat of her Royal Highnefs the Princess Dowager of Wales;" a magnificent work, in which the architectural defigns were drawn by our author, the views by Meffrs. Kirby, Thomas Sandby, and Marlow, and the engravings by Paul Sandby, Woollett, Major, Grignion, and Rooker. In this work, fir William affigns the reafon for bis adopting the Chinefe ftyle in this inftance. "The gardens of Kew," fays he, are not very large, nor is their fituation by any means advantageous; as it is low and commands no profpe&ts. Originally the ground was one continued dead flat: the foil was in general barren, and without either wood or water. With fo many difadvantages, it was not eafy to produce any thing even tolerable in gardening: but princely munificence and an able director have overcome all difficulties, and converted what was once a defert into an Eden." The 66 fituation few perfons will deny; but as few will be inclined to defire the introduction of fuch exotics in places where nature has been more bountiful. In the year 1771 our architect was announced in the catalogue of the Royal Academy as Knight of the Polar Star, and the next year he published the work which has afforded much entertainment from itself, but more from the admirable piece fuppofed to be the production of Mr. Mafon, entitled "An Heroic Epifile." Sir William Chambers's work was entitled " A Differtation on Oriental Gardening," 4to. which, in the preface, he fays was collected from his own obfervations in China, from converfations with their Artitts, and remarks transmitted to him at different times by travellers. A sketch of it had been publifhed fome years before; but the performance itfelf appearing immediately after Mr. Mafon's English Garden, it was invidioufly fuggefted, that the intention of our author was to depreciate English gardeners, in order to divert his royal mafter from his plan of improving the gardens at Richmond as they are to be seen at this time. The horrible and ftrange devices defcribed to exift in the Chinefe gardens have been much ridiculed, but are no more than had been before published by father Attiret, in his account of the Emperor of China's gardens near Pekin, tranflated by Mr. Spence, under the name of Sir Harry Beaumont, in 1753, and fince republifhed in Dodfley's Fugitive Pieces. Sir William Chambers' next work was on Civil Architecture; and in the year 1775, on the build ing of Somerfet Houfe, he was appointed to conduct that great national work. He was alfo comptroller general to the works of the king, architect to the queen and the princefs dowager, treasurer to the royal academy, member of the royal academy of arts at Florence, and of the royal academy of architecture at Paris. An Account of the late James Macpher◄ Jon, Ffq. From the fame. THIS gentleman was defcended from one of the most antient families in the north of Scotland, being coufin-german to the chief of the clan of the Macphersons, who deduce their origin from the antient Catti of Germany. He was born at Ruthven in the county of Invernefs, in the latter end of the year 1738, and received the firft rudiments of his education at home, from whence he was fent to the After a long illness he died, at a very advanced age, the 8th of March 1796; leaving a fon, married to Mifs Rodney, and three daughters, the wives of Mr. Cot-grammar fchool of Inverness, where ton, Mr. Innes, and Mr. Harward, with a confiderable fortune, acquired honourably, and enjoyed with hofpitality bordering on inagnificence; and what is ftill better, quitting life with the regret and concern of all those with whom he had been connected; efteemed, loved, and lamented, by all with whom he had any intercourse either as an artift or as a man. On the 18th of March his remains were interred in the Poets' Corner, Weftminster Abbey, being attended by his fon, his fonsin-law, his executors, the dean of Lincoln, minifter of the parish, Mr. Penneck of the museum, and a few other friends, the prefident, officers, and council of the Royal Academy, and the clerks of the Board of Works. In the Abbey they were joined by the mafterworkmen belonging to the Board of Works, who attended unfolicited, to teftify their regret for the lofs, and their efteem for the memory of a man, by whom their claims had ever been examined with attention, and decided with juftice, and by whom themselves were always treated with mildness, courtely, and affability. his genius became fo confpicuous, that his relations, contrary to their original intention, determined to breed him to a learned profeffion. With this view, he was fent fucceffively to the univerfities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, in the laft of which he finished, his ftudies. While at the univerfity, he exercifed his poetical talents, which, however, were not (if a few paffages of Offian are excepted) of the firft order. In the year 1758, he printed at Edinburgh a poem in fix cantos, intitled, "The Highlander," in Izmo. This perfor mance is a tiffue of fuftian and abfurdity, feeble, and in fome parts ridiculous, and thews little or no talent in that art of verfification. In a thort time the author was fenfible himfelf of its faults, and, it is faid, endeavoured to fupprefs it. We hall, therefore, not revive abortive effort by any ex this tract. It was intended that he should enter into the fervice of the church, but whether he ever took orders we are uncertain. Mr. Gray fpeaks of him as a young clergy man, man, 66 * but David Hume probably more truly defcribes him as a modeft fenfible young man, not fettled in any living, but employed as a private tutor in Mr. Graham. of Balgowan's family, a way of life which he is not fond of." This was in the year 1760, when he furprized the world by the publication of "Fragments of Antient Poetry, collected in the Highlands of Scoland, and tranflated from the Galic or Erfe language." 8vo. These Fragments, which were declared to be genuine remains of antient Scottish poetry, at their firft appearance delighted every reader; and fome very good judges, and amongst the reft Mr. Gray, were extremely warm in their praises. As other fpecimens were faid to be recoverable, a fubfcription was fet on foot to enable our author to quit the family he was then in, and undertake a miffion into the Highlands, to fecure them. He engaged in the undertaking, and foon after produced the works whofe authenticity has fince occafioned fo much controverfy, but which now feem generally admitted to be the works of Mr. Macpherfon himself. In 1762 he publifhed "Fingal, an ancient epic poem, in fix books," together with feveral other poems, compofed by Offian, the fon of Fingal, tranflated from the Galic language, 4to. The fubject of this epic poem is an invafion of Ireland, by Swaran, king of Lochlin. Cuchullin, general of the Irith tribes during the minority of Cormac, king of Ireland, upon intelligence of the invafion, affembled his forces near Tura, a caftle on the coaft of Ulfter: The poem opens with the landing of Swaram; councils are held, battles fought, and Cuchullin is at last totally defeated. In the mean time Fingal, king of the Highlands of Scotland, whofe aid had been folicited before the enemy landed, arrived, and expelled them from the country. This war which continued but fix days, and as many nights, is, including the epifodes, the ftory of the poem. The scene the heath of Lena, near a mountain called Cromleach in Ulfter. This poem alfo was received with equal applaufe as the preceding fragments. The next year he produced. "Temora," an ancient epic poem, in eight books: together with feveral other poems compofed by Offian, fon of Fingal, 4to. which, though well received, found the public fomewhat lefs difpofed to bestow the fame measure of applaufe. Though thefe poems had been examined by Dr. Blair and others, and their authenticity afferted, there were not wanting fome of equal reputation for critical abilities who either doubted or declared their disbelief of the genuineness of them. By this time the author feems to have divefted himself of that modefty which Mr. Hume had formerly commended, and treated his antagonists in an arrogant manner, not calculated to remove any impreffions they had received. he, "Since the publication," fays "of the laft collection of Of fian's poems, many infinuations have been made, and doubts arifen, concerning their authenticity. I * Mafon's Life of Gray, |