objects of efficient charity. Contributions were formerly made for the redemption of flaves; a contribution, for inftructing the deaf and dumb, may, may be confidered as a ranfom for the foul.

[Note, This art is happily revived in Scotland, by Mr John Johnson writing-mafter in Edinburgh.]

Mr HOWARD.

Truth is preferable to fiction; it conveys knowledge with more effect, and a pure mind relishes it more. Such a book as Howard on the State of Prifons in England, interefts and edifics. Mifery is beheld in forms little thought of, not fantastical, but real forms. A pattern of mercy is fet before us, not in word, but in deed. We fee the knowledge of laws and of arts, of religion and of the world, rendered fubfervient, and learn what this meaneth, "Let love abound with all knowledge." We trace the footsteps of love ftrong as death in its exertions and influences. Sympathetic emotions incite the powerful to amend faws lefs humane to prifoners in Britain than on the continent, and to check illegal impofitions on the unhappy; they incite the private citizens to alleviate miferies lefs under the public eye, and lefs connected with guilt than thofe of prifoners. To the devout reader, profpects of God's administration open. "From Heaven God beholds the earth to hear the groaning of the prifoner." He fends his fervant the organ of his compaffion, having trained him by the forrows of captivity from cruel men. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the refidue of wrath wilt thou reftrain.'

Mr FIRMIN.

Thomas Firmin, a citizen of London, a name confecrated to humanity, among other memorable labours of love, efected a warehoufe for employing the idle. To many hundreds he furnished materials for work, and purchafed

One, living on a rich inheritance without child or brother, who shews no kindness to his relations, whose tenants often feel the rigour of justice unqualified by equitable and humane confiderations, whofe mercy never extends to the poor on his eftate, who abandon's his domeftic fervants in age and fickness, who contributes nothing to public plans of beneficence, and whofe fcanty offering in the house of God is a reproach; this man has the appearance of evil; an hofpital rifing on his afhes is not an atonement.

One, in fimilar circumstances, who puts on bowels of mercies is lovely and of good report. He is a city let on a hill which cannot be hid. His wealth is known, and the fymptoms of it are obferved; but with the knowledge and obfervation of his wealth, are combined the knowledge and obfervation of his public fpirit and humanity. His devotion and alms in the houfe of God are exemplary. The plenty and peace in his own house, with good nefs and mercy following his domeftics all their lives, render it defirable to be a hired fervant there. On his estate, the remains of bondage are abolished, and his terrants fecured in long and peaceable poffeffion. To fuch as are oppreffed he is a refuge. Poor families, whom the cruel are fo eager to thruft out, he plants in houfes, and inftitutes employment for their children. In all his improvements, and in all his orna

ments,

ments, it is a leading object to feed the poor with the bread of industry. Like his Father in heaven, he pours mercy over all his works; none of his industrious poor are forgotten in the day of their calamity. He is a hiding place from the ftorm, and a covert from the tempeft, as rivers of water in a dry place, and the fhadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

Of Poor Rates.
Confider the equality of man, his

original right to a fubfiftence on the earth, and how many ways that right may be violated. Attend to the spis rit of human laws, favouring, protec ting, and avenging the rich, appropri ating the earth, the air, and the water, debarring the poor by penalties from all that in them is. Is it much if, in one inftance, they breathe another spirit, by infuring to the miferable a fubfiftence and a grave?

Abou Taib, an

BOU TAIB, Emperor of India, afcended the throne of his fathers amidst the acclamations of his people, and bleffed with all that nature or fortune could bestow to confer happinefs. His treafures farpaffed computation, and forty nations fubmitted implicitly to his fceptre. His feraglio was filled with the greatest beauties of the Eaft, his table conftantly furnished with a round of the most luxurious dainties, and nothing which sense can defire, or capricious fancy invent, was denied to Abou Taib.

One day as he walked in his palace, reflecting on his power, his wealth, and the various means of pleafure he poffelfed; a messenger arrived to inform him, that one of the principal nobles of his court was fuddenly dead. This melancholy and unexpected event en tirely occupied his thoughts. Alas! faid he, what is every thing that ambition can attain, or wealth procure! One end happeñeth to all, and death, which concludes the woes of the beggar, fhall one day terminate the power and fplendor of the Emperor of Indoftan. Were life eternally to endure, what I enjoy were indeed much to be prized but of what value are riches, pleasure, or power, while the lofs of them is thus certain.

At the fame moment, a burst of thunder thook the palace to the foun

Eaftern Tale.

dation, and the genius Abaffon flood before the monarch.

Repining mortal, faid the etherial vifion, I have heard thy murmurs, and that thou mayeft no longer have reafon for fuch complaints, take this talifmas, and at the end of any day hereafter, which thou haft fpent in pleasures and delight, apply it to thy forehead, forming a with that the next may be perfectly like it; and thou fhalt find each following one exactly the fame in every event and enjoyment, nor fhall they cloy by repetition; thou fhalt be new to the pleafures of each fucceffive day, as if the preceding had never been. The day thou wilt fix® on is left to thy choice; only be care ful how thou useft my gift, and chufe that, the delights of which thou would fu perpetuate with prudence; for, having once employed the charm, thou wilt have no power to reverse it, but wilt be neceffitated continually to repeat the felicity first chofen: fo faying, the genius difappeared.

Abou Taib received the talifman with inexpreffible joy, believing now that an immortality of pleafure was in his power, and not doubting but he fhould foon be able to fix on the day of which the conftant return should produce a never-ceafing round of per fect happiness.

But this was not so easy as he had

at

at firft fuppofed. Every evening, when he came to reflect on the circle of hours that had just fled, he constantly found fomething too unfatisfactory in the pleasures they had prefented for bim to expect much delight from their repetition. Hope continually allured him on to look forwards to fome hap pier moments, which might deferve better perpetuity. This felicity, how ever, was continually expected, but never arrived. Every fucceffive day pleafed him ftill less than the past.

In the mean time, age crept upon Abou Taib. Thofe enjoyments which he had found fo imperfect in the fer vour of youth, appeared ftill lefs fatisctory in his declining years. Yet, ftrange infatuation of the forcerefs Hope! his chimerical expectations of greater happiness to come, daily in creased.

At laft, while fancy was amufing him with fcenes of future, and for ever recurring blifs, an acute diforder, feized upon Abou. Taib. His gaiety, bis vigour, and every capacity of enjpying pleasure, fled before it ; nor was it long 'ere the most experienced of his phyficians pronounced he had not fix hours to live. Shocked at the bafty approach of the angel of death, and refolved to avail himself of his talifman, he applied the gift of the genius, from which he had promifed. himfelf never-ending pleafure, to pers tuate extreme and eternal anguish!

His mifery foon made him defroUS to invite that death he had been fo fo licitous to fhun, but the fatal chart was not to be reverfed. Day after day he ftarted from the fame dreadful dreams, to fuffer the fame round of ficknefs, pain, and torture.

The genius, at length, pitying his condition, and moved by his prayer, appeared again before him. Man of many follies, cried he, murmur no moré at the decrees of heaven; repine not at the fight of pleasures you have not thought worth repeating! Wherefore fhould you blame the fhortnefs of a life in which you have been fo unwi ling to protract, even your highest enjoyments? Whatever applies to every part, must apply to the whole; and what is true of every day of our lives, must be true of life in general. Whatp then, in praying for its continuance, do you wish to be continued? The flattering dreams of imagination, and the fallacious promises of hope never completely fulfilled; but repeatedly, nay almost always, utterly falfified, Let thofe who hear your story; learn by your example, to femain contented with the condition Providence has al lotted them; and remember, that ever the end of their imperfect happiness, is to be confidered as an addition to the little felicity they enjoy.

The genius ended, and the angel of death, to him the angel of blifsp alofed the eyes of Abou Taib.

coveries made during 1787 be not fo: confiderable as thofe of preced ing years, yet it is pleafing to fee: the fame fpirit of refearch prevail The progress of reason, in moral and political branches, which is now un paralleled by any former period is

lights afforded in natural fubjects; have fhaken to their foundation the tremen dous coloffufes of defpotifm, which oppreffed part of mankind. On thefe accounts the investigation of the facts of nature is interesting to every friend of humanity

After

After an exordium of which the above is an extract, M. de la Metherie enumerates fome of the most confider able difcoveries and changes in the different branches of natural science last year.

Aftronomy. Hevelius, Caffini, and Don Ulloa, thought they perceived volcanic appearances in the moon; but it was referved to the celebrated Her fchel, on the 21st of April laft, to confirm the existence of volcanos in this planet. Hence it is concluded, that the moon is analogous to our earth, and that it has an atmosphere, because fire cannot be supported without air.

We do not mean to controvert the opinion, that the moon has an atmof phere; but we must observe, that the conclufion is liable to error, that fuch an atmosphere exifts because there are volcanos; for although it is true, that inflammation cannot fubfilt without a continual application of fresh air, to the body to be confumed, yet that air may be fupplied by the decompofition of the inflammable fubftances themfelves, or of fubftances mixed with the inflammable body. Sulphur mixed with nitre burns in clofe veffels, and this is the procefs for making the vitriolic acid by the manufacturers. On which occafion the air is furnished by the nitre, a fubftance mixed with the inflammable body, (the fulphur) and not by the atmosphere. It is only in this way that fubterraneous fire can be explained. Therefore the volcanic fire in the moon may be fupported, not by an atmosphere of air, but by air afforded by the combuftible acids, which are contained in, and iffued of the moon.

This obfervation is only offered as a doubt concerning the conclufion of the moon's having an atmofphere, drawn from the existence of volcanos.

M. de Metherie gives an account of Mr Herschel's other aftronomical difcoveries of the last year, and of his large telescopes.

In the next place, the author an4 nounces that the Abbé Rochon has fi nifhed his telescope, and that the mirë ror, which is of platina, has a great effect."

Mr Mechain's difcovery of a pla net in April laft is also noticed.

M. de Caffini, jun. M. Mechain, and M. le Gendre, having been ap pointed to reunite the triangles made in France and England, in confe quence of M. de Cafini's, (fen.) pro pofal to our Royal Society to continue to afcertain in England the meridian traced in France.

The Abbé Beauchamp is engaged in making obfervations in an obferva tory at Bagdat. An obfervatory has also been created at the Ecole Militaire in Paris, and another at Gotha.

M. Bernard, in the marine obfervas tory at Marseilles, observed the far tellites of Saturn, not feen for 70 years before.

In England, new and very exact lu nar tables have been given.

Such are the principal discoveries of laft year: the inftruments for this branch of fcience have also been im proved; Mr Grateloup, by gluing to gether, with a particular maftick, glaf fes of different qualities, has given a degree of power not experienced be fore, and M. Deflandes has run a piece of glafs 73 inches in diameter; and 20 lines thick, and another plate 32 inches in diameter and four inches thick; both plates of great beauty.

Zoology. In this branch M. de la Metherie notices the anatomical improvements of M. Vicq d'Azyr; M. Pinel's and Mr Cruickshanks's in Phy fiology: Mr Schreiber's and Mr Pennant's in the History of Quadrupeds.

On the fubject of regeneration of parts of animals, M. Louis, Mr Arre mann, M. Murray, and M. Kuhn have written: they are of opinion that there is only a regeneration of a substanceana, logous to the deftroyed fubftance, but never a reproduction of a real nerve or mufcle. On the other hand, Cam

per,