ings, at equal distances, was sensibly less than when the tube was full of atmospheric air. The want of a tube of sufficient diameter prevented me from making the experiment in so satisfactory a manner as I wished. It appears, however, worthy of being repeated by those who may possess the necessary means. If the magnetic power should be observed in such a vacuum, then the above conjecture will merit and receive the fate which has generally attended all reasoning in physics not founded on accurate experi

ment.

a violent rain fell on the 30th. On going to my farm, I found my baiTiff had lost that season for hay, in common with all his neighbours, and had begun to mow but the day before the rain. At vol. xxxvii, p. 543, of the "Annals," there is an account, by Mr. Barclay, of a new mode of making hay, that of mowing only when the grass is quite dry and cocking it immediately: but `that system I had before found much disapproved by the workmen, and with some reason-grass never mows so well as when wet, and if very dry, will not cut so close as it ought to be mown. I therefore, on this oc

casion, tried the experiment of making the hay by a system of cocking, but without restraining the scythes on account of rain. From July first to the eighteenth, no day passed without rain; there was, however, time enough dry to form the swaths soon after mowing into small grass cocks, which were left two days, turned and shaked up a third, put three together the fifth, turning these and shaking up the seventh, again the tenth; the fourteenth day opened the cocks for an hour and put them in rows, and then cocked them in larger cocks.

This was the succession of the work; and on the sixteenth day from mowing it had taken no hurt, though rain had fallen every day, and heavily in some. Of course the times varied in different fields, and in parts of the same field; but this

whole. On St. Swithin's day, the fifteenth, it rained most heavily, and again on the sixteenth and seventeenth: but the bailiff on the seven, teenth, there being an hour or two of bright weather, broke and laid into beds about three acres, but was beat out by rain, and the hay left exposed. It rained on the eighteenth, but fine weather, sufficient to dry, cart, and stack, set in on the nineteenth.

About one-fourth lost its colour, and was salted in stacking; the rest, though damaged, was good, and much better than it would have been in the common method of making.

ANTIQUITIES.

Description of Richborough Castle. From Pennant's Journey to the Isle of Wight.

outside, is 358 feet; of the west wall, 490 feet; of the north wall, 560 feet. The north wall, in its most perfect part, is about 25 feet

in the parish of Ash, on the east side of the village, on the edge of a lofty slope, once washed by the sea at present the Stour passes beneath its base.

The form is rectangular. Most of the walls remain; are very thick, strong, and lofty; and the cement now so hard as to baffle the efforts of those who have lately endeavoured to destroy them. The materials are great pebbles, flint, chalk, &c., bedded in the mortar, which consists of lime, sea shells, broken tile, and small pebbles. The pieces of chalk were taken by the Romans from the foot of the adja cent cliffs, and have the pholades remaining entire in their cylindrical cells. The whole was faced with square stones, perhaps Purbeck, and, as usual, had tiers of tiles at certain distances, two tiles thick: the square scaffold holes remain.

The foundation of the wall is pitsand, flint, chalk, twice repeated, flints lodged in mortar, and lastly, a stratum of mortar. The thickness at the base is eleven feet three inches, but at the height of a few feet, ten feet eight inches. The length of the south wall, on the

the sea, and reverted for the space of about 190 feet along a natural terrace, and ceased where the terrace ceased, and the bank became inaccessible. Vast fragments of the wall are fallen down the slope.The west entrance is laid with large squared stones, stratum super stratum. Near this place, in the northwest corner of the castle, are found snags of stags'horns sawedoff: boars' tusks; oyster shells in abundance; and the exuviæ of other animals: the whole area is considerably above the external ground, and consists of rubbish interspersed with thin layers of mortar. In the north wall, on the outside, is the foundation of a square tower, and there are marks of four more in different parts of the walls. Their situation is pointed out by a particular arrangement of round holes lined smoothly with mortar penetrating many feet into the substance of the wall, but no where pervading it.

The porta decumana is beneath a tower in the north wall, through which the entrance into the castle is in an oblique direction.

In the area of the castle has been

lately discovered a platform of solid

masonry,

masonry, in form of a parallelogram, the sides of which are 144 feet by 104; the depth five feet.It is a composition of large flint stones and coarse mortar. On its surface are remains of a superstructure in the shape of a cross, (which has been faced with the squared stones,) rising somewhat above the ground, and more than five feet

above the platform.

A wharf or landing place, was discovered, some years ago, in the plain at the foot of the slope, about forty roods northward of the castle, about four feet high, of a triangular form, one of the sides parallel with the bank, and its opposite angle projecting towards the sea; the sides were nearly equal, of about ten feet each. It was a shell of brick work, two bricks thick, filled with earth, the two projecting sides tied together with a brace of the same material. Two sorts of brick were used in this building; one was 18 inches by 12, and three inches and a half thick; the other 17 by 11, and one and a quarter thick.Mr. Ebenezer Mussel, of Bethnal Green, near London, purchased the whole quantity of materials, and employed them in paving a court yard, and part of his house.

The amphitheatre lay on the north side its form is destroyed, but the vast hollow marks the place.

Multitudes of antiquities have been discovered in and about the castle; such as urns, coins, fragments of earthen ware, marble mouldings, and brazen figures of Mercury, and of a bagpiper. The last represents a soldier armed in his helmet, playing on the bagpipe,with the pipe in his mouth, and the bag, which is very large, placed almost

before him, and pressed with both arms. I have in my voyage to the Hebrides, p. 347, given a full history of the use of this instrument at different periods.

Richborough has a most advantageous prospect, which might be one reason for fixing on this situa tion. It commands all the way from the North to the South Foreland, and all the harbour in which it stood, so that no fleet or vessel could escape its observation.

Account of an Entertainment_given by the Society of Lincoln's Inn, to Charles II and his Court. From Ireland's picturesque Views, and historical Account of the Inns of Court of London and Westminster.

ITN

IN the steward's office is the admission book, from 1671 to1673, containing the following curious account of a visit paid to Lincoln's Inn, by Charles II and his court. As it tends to display the hospitality of that period, I have inserted it at length. What adds to the curiosity of this account is, that the king and nobility present entered their names with their own hands; and, if we may judge from the appearance of the writing, many of them, and particularly Killigrew, the jester, were a little non compos mentis.

"A narrative of the kings majesties reception and entertainment att Lincolnes Inne, the nyne and twentieth day of February, 1671."

"Sir Francis Goodericke, knight, one of his majesties learned councel att law, and solicitor generall to his royal highnesse theduke of Yorke, being reader of this society of Lincolnes Inne for the Lent reading, in the year 1671, having invited the

king, his royal highnesse, and prince Rupert, and diverse of the nobilite, to dine in Lincolnes Inne hall, on such day of his reading as his majestie should make choice of; his majestie was pleased to appoint Thursday, the 29th of February, 1671. And accordingly that day his majestie, together with his said royal highnesse, and his highnesse prince Rupert, being also attended by the duke of Monmouth, the duke of Richmond, the earles of Manchester, Bath and Anglesea, the lord viscount Halifax, lord bishop of Ely, lord Newport, lord Henry Howard, and diverse others of great qualitie, came to Lincolnes Inne'; his majestie made his entrance thro' the garden, att the great gate opening into Chancery Lane, next to Holborne, where Mr. Reader, and the rest of the benchers and associates, waited his coming, and attended his majestie up to the tarras walke, next the field, and soe through the garden; the trumpetts and kettle drums, from the leads over the highest bay window, in the middle of the garden building, sounding all the while. And from the garden, his majestie went to the new councell chamber; the barristers and students, in their gownes, standing in a rowe on each side, between the garden and the councell chamber; after a little rest, his majestie viewed the chapell, returning agayne to the councell chamber; from thence as soon as his table (being placed upon the ascent att the upper end of the hall, and railed in,) was furnished, his majestie was brought into the hall, where his majestie sat under his canopy of state, being served by the reader, as server, upon his knee, with the towel, before he did eat; his royal highnesse sitting att the end

of the table, on his right hand, and prince Rupert att the other end. The dukes and lords, and other his majesties attendants of qualitie, after some short tyme of waiting, had leave from his majestie to sitt downe to dinnar, att tables prepared for them on each side of the hall. The reader, and some of the benchers, to witt, Sir Thomas Beverley, master of requests to his majestie, sir Robert Atkins, knight of the Bath, all the time of his majesties dining, waiting neere his majesties chairs; and four other of the benchers, Mr. Day, Mr. Pedley, Mr. Stote, and Mr. Manby, with white staffes, waited as controllers of the hall, to keep good order; and about fifty of the barristers and students, the most part of them attending as waiters, and carrying up his majesties meat, which was served upon the knee; the rest of the barristers and students waiting upon the lords att their table.

The three courses,

wherein were exceeding great plenty and variety of dishes, and after them a most liberal banquett, was served up by the said barristers and students, and delivered by them, upon their knees, att the king's table; the music, consisting of his majesties violins playing all the tyme of dinnar in the gallery, att the lower end of the hall. Towards the end of dinnar, his majestie, to doe a transcendant honour and grace to this society, and to expresse his most gracious acceptance of their humble duty and affection towards him, was pleased to demand the book of admittances to be brought to him, and with his owne hand, entred his royall name therein; most graciously condescending to make himself a member thereof; which high and extraordinary favour was instantly

acknow

acknowledged by all the members of this society then attending on his majestie, with all possible joy, and received with the greatest and most humble expressions of gratitude; itt beeing an example not precedented by any former king of this realme; his royal highnesse, and prince Rupert followed this great and highest example; as also the dukes and other lords, who, before his majesties rising from dinnar, borrowed gownes of the students and put them on, and, in those gownes, waited on his majestie, with which his majestie was much delighted: and his majestie, thro' his owne most obligeing favour, vouchsafed to itt, having made himselfe more neerly and intimately concerned for the good of this society, was pleased himselfe to begin a health to the welfare thereof, and to cause itt to be pledged in his owne presence; immediately gave the reader leave to drink his majesties health, and to begin to his royal highnesse. Then rising from dinnar, he was agayne attended to the new councell chamber, where he conferred the honour of knighthood on Mr. Nicholas Pedley and Mr. Richard Stote, two of the benchers, who had in their turns beene readers of this house; as also upon Mr. James Butler, one of the barristers, and Mr. Francis Darrell, one of the students; that soe every degree and order of the society might have a signall testimony of his majesties high favour, his majestie, upon his departure, made large expressions of his most gracious accept ance of the enterteynment, and returned his thanks to the reader, and was pleased to signify the great respect and esteem he should ever have for the society."

"The gentlemen of the horse

A

BOUT one day's journey from

Shiras, in Persia, appear the ruins of a magnificent edifice, which still attracts the admiration of every traveller. These ruins are called by the Persians Chehil-Minar; or, the Forty Columns, although there are always more or less to be seen than that number. The following travellers, Ives, Irwin, Figueroa, Pietro della Valle, Thevenot, Chardin, Gemelli, Le Bruyn, Kampfer, Otter, Niebuhr, and Franklin, bave actually visited them; and among writers, the following-Hyde, Caylus, Murr, Langles, Herder, Witte,

Wahl,