The appearance of flame, mentioned by the author of the aforegoing relation, may likewife be produced by the oppofition of the jets of mud and clay with the rifing fun, which, if it was feen through them, would appear red. The obferver, as he told me, was ftanding with his face to the fun. It is alfo poffible that the bituminous matter which exifts under the mountain, as may be inferred from the petroleum that swims on the furface of the water in the cavities, produces in flammable air during the time of the internal fermentation. This air may take fire either of itself or by the collifion of the different fubftances when it mixes with the atmospherical air. Its inflammation in the cavities of the mountain is impoffible, because, to produce this effect, there is a neceffity for its meeting with pure air; this cannot be formed by the combination of the acid with the calcareous matter which produces the fixed air, as in the ordinary state of the mountain this burits forth at the furface. There are in the neighbourhood, distant about half a mile, feveral other little eminences where the fame effects are obferved; but thefe are inconfiderable, they are not fubject to violent eruptions, and they have received the diminutive appellation of Macalubette. The fterility of the mountain Macalubi, and of thofe where the fame phenomena are obfervable, is entirely owing to the fea-falt of the fpring, which keeps the clay wet, and checks the leaft tendency to vegetation. The exiftence of this fingular volcano is owing to the combination of many different circumstances. For the extrication of the fixed air which iffues from the interior parts of the earth is a very common phenomenon; it is this which produces the bubbling we obferve in the waters of many lakes and fprings both warm and cold; thefe waters never having heat enough in themselves to make them boil. They are frequent in Sicily, where the spouting waters of the Lacus Pallicorum are the most remarkable. The neigh bourhood of volcanoes is productive of many: fuch as the lake of Paterno on the fide of Ætna, that of Agnano near Naples, that of the Solfatara near Rome, the fountain of Spina in the Duchy of Modena, and many others. We have them likewife in France : one other circumftance, in the place called Boulidon near Montpellier,. would have made it another Macalubi. The prefence of a little hillock of clay on the place where there is here a perpetual difengagement of fixed air, would have produced the fame phenomena that I have defcribed in Sicily. Different authors, both ancient and modern, have mentioned this moun tain, but under different names, and none of them have attempted to ac count for its appearances. The explanation which I have gi ven of the eruptions of Macalubi appears to me deducible from the phenomena: I am not, however, bigotted to my opinion; on the contrary, if any other method can be devifed of accounting for the appearances I have defcribed, I fhall thank the author of it, and receive with gratitude the light which he fhall throw on the fubject. It is fufficient for me to have made known a natural curiofity worthy of engaging the attention of philofophers. ties. The following fact may ferve as a proof of his fortitude: eft, were totally unprovided for he fhaken by the moft poignant difficul exhibited, at a very early period of life, the feeds of a ftrong imagination, brilliant talents, and a general thirft of knowledge: drawing and painting were his earliest occupations; and thefe he purfued with fuch unabated perfeverance and induftry, that, while yet a boy, he contributed very effentially to the fupport of his widowed mother and her little family, by defigning and painting fans for the late Goupee of the Strand. Some time after, he placed one of his fifters under the care of this perfon as his fhop-woman, and for many years continued to purfue the fame mode of maintaining the reft of his family. Notwithflanding the extreme preffure of fuch a charge, and notwithStanding the many inducements which conftantly attract a young man of lively genius and extenfive talents, he employed the greatest part of his time in thofe ftudies which tended to the perfecting himself in the art he loved. He attained a very accurate knowledge of anatomy; he became a correct draftfman, and rendered himself a mafter of geometry and all the branches of the mathematics, fo neceffary to form the mind of a good painter: and it is no lefs extraordinary than true, that neceffity and application were his only inftructors; he has often confeffed, that he was firft led into the obligation of studying the Latin language, by the defire of underftanding what was written under prints publifhed after pic tures of the ancient masters. As his years incrcafed, fo his information accompanied their progrefs; he acquired a great proficiency in the Greek language, and his unparalleled ftrength of mind carried him into the familiar affociation with most of the fciences, and chiefly that of architecture. His ftature was of the middle fize, but athletic; of robuft conftitution, and a natural courage invincible by terror; and a bold perfeverance, un A wen had grown to an inconveni ent fize upon the front of his forehead; one-day, being in converfation with a furgeon, whofe name I much regret the having forgotten, he afked how it could be removed? The furgeon acquainted him with the length of the procefs; to which Mr Stuart objected, on account of its interruption of his pursuits, and asked if he could not cut it out, and then it would be only neceffary to heal the part? The furgeon replied in the affirmative, but mentioned the very excruciating pain and danger of fuch an operation; upon which Mr Stuart, after a minute's reflection, threw himfelf back in his chair and faid, "I'll fit ftill, do it now."-The oper ation was performed with fuccefs. With fuch qualifications, though yet almoft in penury, he conceived the defign of seeing Rome and Athens ; but the ties of filial and fraternal affection made him protract the journey till he could enfure a certain provifion for his mother, and his brother and fecond fifter. His mother died: he had foon af ter the good fortune to place his brother and fifter in a fituation likely to produce them a comfortable fupport; and then, with a very fcanty pittance in his pocket, he fet out on foot upon his expedition to Rome; and thus he performed the greatest part of his journey; travelling through Holland, France, &c. and stopping through neceffity at Paris, and feveral other places in his way, where, by his ingenuity as an artift, he procured fome moderate fupplies towards profecuting the rest of his journey. When he arrived at Rome, he made himfelf known to the late Mr Dawkins and Sir Jacob Bouverie, whofe admiration of his great qualities and wonderful perfeverance fecured to him their patronage; and it was un der der their aufpices that he went on to Athens, where he remained feveral years. During his refidence here, he became a master of architecture and fortification, and having no limits to which his mind could be restricted, he engaged in the army of the Queen of Hungary, where he ferved a campaign voluntarily as chief engineer. On his return to Athens, he applied himfelf more clofely to make drawings, and take the exact measurements of the Athenian architecture, which he afterwards published on his return to England after fourteen years abfence; and which work, from its claffical accuracy, will ever remain as an honour to this nation, and as a lafting monument of his fkill. This work, and the long walk the author took in order to cull materials to compofe it, have united themselves as the two most honourable lines of defcent from whence he derived the title of ATHENIAN STUART, accorded to him by all the learned in this country. Upon his arrival in England he was received into the late Mr Dawkins's family, and among the many patrons which the report of his extraordinary qualifications acquired him, the late Lord Anson led him forward to the reward moft judiciously calculated to fuit his talents and purfuits; it was by his Lordship's appointment that Mr Stuart became Surveyor to Greenwich Hofpital, which he held till the day of his death with univerfal approbation. He conftantly received the notice and efteem of Lord Rockingham, and most of the nobility and gentry of talte and power. Befides his appointment at Greenwich Hofpital, all the additions, and rebuilding of that part which was deftroyed by the fire there, were conducted under his direction; he built feveral other houfes in London-Mr Anfon's in St James's fquare, Mrs Montague's in Portmanfquare, &c. Whatever new project he engaged ja, he purfued with fuch aridity, that he feldom quitted it while there was any thing further to be learnt or underflood from it: thus he rendered himself fkilful in the art of engraving; likewife of carving; and his enthufiaftic love for antique elegance, made him alfo an adept in all the remote refearches of an antiquarian. But in the midst of my display of his talents, let me not omit to offer a juft tribute to his memory as a man. Those who knew him intimately, and had oppor tunities of remarking the nobleness of his foul, will join in claiming for him the title of Citizen of the World; and if he could be charged with poffeffing any partiality, it was to merit, in whomfoever he found it. Raifed by his own abilities and integrity from the utmost abyfs of penury to the moft pleafing condition of refpectable affluence, without fervility, without chicane, without any ftratagem, but by the bold efforts of unconquerable perfeverance, prudence, and an independent mind! reader, can we refrain from his praife! But with fuch a mind fo occupied, and fuch an expedition in the younger part of his life, it is no impeachment to his feelings if they efcaped fo long the influence of the belle paffion. We have now conducted him to his feventy-fecond year; a time when most men have fallen fo long into their own ways, as to dread the thought of female interruption, and content themfelves with rallying the fmiles of the world upon their fullen celibacy. Mr Stuart, on the contrary, now found himself the master of a very comfortable income, which he longed to divide with a companion, to whom his long ferics of events would be amufing, and whofe fmiles would add comfort to his latter days, of which he always reflected, but did not feel the approach. About the year 1781, being on a vifit at Sittingbourne, in Kent, he became acquainted with a young lady there about twenty years of age, whofe perfonal qualifications were the uni verf. verfal admiration of every one who had ever felt the happiness of seeing her. The old Athenian having always ftudied the fine arts, was a fen fible judge and difcriminator of the juft line of beauty.-Though the experience of years had increafed his knowledge, yet it had not impaired the vigor of his robuft conftitution.-Difparity of age was no obitacle with the lady; and Mr Stuart, at the age of feventy-two, felt and returned all the happinefs of an accepted lover. The parties were foon after married, and the lady and her father and mother accompanied Mr Stuart to his house in Leicefter-fields, where the parents found a welcome beyond their utmost hopes. The fruits of this marriage are four children. Mr Stuart di d poffeffed of a confiderable fortune, amaffed, as we have feen by upright affiduity alone, and has left an example to his family and the world to be for ever revered. Account of the Inftitution of the Royal Society of Edinburgh *. THE of of the best remedy for that direct, he has HE inftitution of Societies of the aufpices of the Sovereign, to be their labours for the cultivation of Philofoplay, or of Literature, is of an ancient date in feveral polifhed nations of Europe. It is, however, for the honour of Great Britain to have fet the first example of an inflitution for thefe purpofes, incorporated by charter from the Sovereign, and carrying on its researches under his patronage. A hint of this kind, to the Prince then reigning, is found in the works of Lord Bacon, who recommends, as one of the opera verè bafilica, the clta blishment of Academies or Societies of learned men, who fhould give, from time to time, a regular account to the world of their refearches and difcoveries. It was the idea of this great philofopher, that the learned world Thould be united, as it were, in one immenfe republic, which, though confifting of many detached ftates, fhould hold a strict union, and preferve a mutual intelligence with each other, in every thing that regarded the common interest. The want of this union and intelligence he laments as one of the chief obstacles to the advancement of fcience; and, juftly confidering the inftitution of public focieties, in the different countries of Europe, under given, in his fanciful work of the New Atlantis, the delineation of a Philefophical Society, on the moft extended plan, for the improvement of all arts and fciences; a work which, though written in the language, and tinctured with the colouring of romance, is full of the nobleft philofophic views. The plan of Lord Bacon, which met with little attention from the age in which he lived, was deftined to produce its effect in a period not very diftant. The fcheme of a Philofophical Colige, by Cowley, is acknowledged to have had a powerful influence in procuring the establishment of the Royal Society of London, by charter from Charles II.; and Cowley's plan is manifeftly copied, in almost all its parts, from that in the New Atlantis. The inftitution of the Royal Society of London was foon followed by the eftablifhment of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris; and thefe two have ferved as models to the Philofophical Academies of highest reputation in the other kingdoms of Europe. In Scotland, fimilar affociations for the advancement of fcience and of literature have, even without the be nefit of Royal patronage, and with no Preface to the Tranfactions of the Society, Vol. I, other other fupport than the abilities of their members, attained to no common degree of reputation. In Edinburgh, a Society was inftituted in 1731, for the improvement of medical knowledge, by collecting and publishing Effays and Obfervations on the various branches of Medicine and Surgery, written by the members themselves, or communicated to them. The Secretary of this Society was the eldest Dr Alexander Monro, the first profeffor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, and the founder of the medical fchool which has fince attained to fuch eminence and celebrity. Under his care,. the Tranfactions of this Society were published at different periods, in five volumes 8vo, with the title of Medical Efays and Obfervations, &c.; a work which has undergone many editions, which has been tranflated into many foreign languages, and is honoured with the encomium of Haller, as one of the most useful books in the sciences of Medicine, Anatomy and Surgery. Soon after the publication of the above-mentioned volumes of Medical Effays, viz. in 1739, the celebrated Mr Maclaurin, profeffor of Mathematics in the Univerfity of Edinburgh, conceived the idea of enlarging the plan of this Society, by extending it to fubjects of Philofophy and Literature. The inftitution was accordingly new-modelled by a printed fet of laws and regulations, the number of members was increased, and they were diftinguished, from that time, by the title of The Society for improving Arts and Sciences, or, more generally, by the title of The Philofophical Society of Edinburgh. They chofe for their Prefident James Earl of Morton, afterwards Prefident of the Royal Society of London: Sir John Clerk of Pennycuik, one of the Barons of Exchequer, and Dr John Clerk, were elected Viceprefidents; and Mr Maclaurin and Dr Plummer Secretaries of the inftitution. The ordinary members were fome of the most diftinguished men of letters in Scotland at that time. A few years after the Society had received its new form, its meetings were interrupted, for a confiderable fpace of time, by the diforders of the country during the rebellion in 1745; and no fooner was the public tranquillity re-eftablished, than it fuffered a fevere lofs by the death of Mr Maclaurin, whofe comprehenfive genius, and ardour in the purfuits of fcience, peculiarly qualified him for conducting the bufinefs of an inftitution of this nature. The meetings of the Society, however, were renewed about the year 1752; and the new Secretaries, who were the celebrated Mr David Hume and Dr Alexander Monro, junior, were directed to arrange and prepare for the prefs fuch papers as were judged worthy of being fubmitted to the public eye. The first volume of the Tranfactions of the Philofphical Society of Edinburgh was accordingly published in 1754, under the title of Effoys and Obfervations, Phyfical and Literary; the fecond volume was published in 1756, and the third in 1771. It has been always obferved, that inftitutions of this kind have their intervals of languor, as well as their periods of brilliancy and activity. Eve ry affociated body muft receive its vigour from a few zealous and fpirited individuals, who find a pleasure in that fpecies of bufinefs, which, were it left to the care of the members in general, would be often reluctantly fubmitted to, and always negligently executed. The temporary avocations, and, still more, the deaths of fuch men, have the moft fenfible effect on the focieties. to which they belonged. The principle of activity which animated them, if not utterly extinguished, remains long dormant, and a kindred genius is required to call it forth into life. From caufes of this kind, the Philofophical Society of Edinburgh, tho' its meetings were not altogether difcontinued, |