LONG MEG and her DAUGHTERS, rear Iittle Salkeld, Camberland. The reprefentation of this curiofity, that was fent us by our obliging and ingenious curre frondent, has a refemblance of nature which could not be preferved in a cut, becaufe the drawing is heightened with water colours, but it may be feen by any of our readers af Yebu's Gate." 310 Reprefentation of a British Work of Antiquity. all Long 311 Meg and her Daughters-Sal Ammoniac. A B THE matter for making Sal Ammodung of all forts of four-footed tame animals that live upon vegetables. This dung is gathered the four first months in the year, which is the time that their cattle (which are horses, afles, camels, oxen, cows, buffaloes, fheep, and goats) feed upon fresh vegetables or grafs; in particular a fort called Lu cerne, (Medicago 1. Linn. Hort. Upf: 229.) which is lowed every year. That time of the year when the cattle live upon hay, ftraw and other dried herbs, the dung is not fit for them who ufe the foot of it in making the fait, and this time includes the whole fum mer, when every thing is dried by the heat of the fun, and part of the winter, when the waters of the Nile cover the land. D 8 IR, Wigton, July 12. Went fome days ago to examine that curious remain of British antiquity Called Long Meg and her Daughters, about which it must be acknowledged I conjectures are extremely uncertain. on the east fide of the river Eden, near a mile from it, above a village called Little Salkeld; this eminence appears to' have been all moor formerly, but now about halfftones are within inclofures, placed in an orbicular form, in fome places double. I make 70 principal ones, but there are 1 or 2 more difputable; feveral lie flat on the furface, their greatest eminence not exceeding a foot, others yet lefs, and others perpendicular to the horizon; the highest of thofe in the circu-C lar range does not much exceed 3 yards, nor is it more than 4 wide, and 2 deep; but none of them have a regularity of fhape, though the conftructors feem to have aimed at a parallelopipedon. Long Meg herself is near four yards high, and about 40 yards from the ring, towards the fouthwest, but leans much, it being of what they call the free-ftone, kind, is more regular than thofe in the circle, and is formed like ǎ pyramid on a rhomboidal base, each fide being near two yards at the bottom, but a good deal narrower at top. (What I mean by the bafe is only E the ground plan of the ftone itself, for as to what is in architecture called bafe, it has none but the earth). The others in the orbicular range are of no kind of ftone to be found in that neighbourhood, and the four facing the cardinal points are by far the largest and most bulky of the whole ring; they contain at leaft 648 folid feet, or about 13 London cartloads, and, unless they are a compofition, (which I am much induced to believe) no account can be given what carriages could have brought them there, nor by what means they could be placed erect when they came. It is to be noted that thefe meatures are only what appeared above ground; we have reason to fufpect that at least a yard is loft in the earth, will make the whole amount to a prodigious weight more. Others are erect, but not of fuch enormous fize, and others, as I faid before, lie flat along, not thrown down, as I think, but fo placed either by choice or defign, and H Home of these are alfo very large. In diameter the ring may be 80 yards or more, and the circle is pretty regular, but how they came there and their dePanation is the important queftion. 1 am, Sir, Yours, &. G. S. G It is remarkable, that the foil of no country, Poland excepted, produces fuch an abundance of common falt as that of Egypt. It confifts moftly of falt rocks, as is apparent from the many falt mines throughout the country, that yield a falt of a reddish colour, mixed with lime, which the natives at this time call Natron, and ufe in the dreffing of their victuals. Moft of the wells in Egypt contain falt water, and that fo commonly, that a well near Materic, the Heliopolis of the antients, which has fresh water, is looked upon as a miracle. If the Nile did not make up this deficiency, Egypt would be as uninhabited as the great deferts of Arabia. A man' who has a well of fresh water in Egypt or Arabia, thinks that he has the mott valuable of all things in his poffeffion, and scarcely ever difcovers it to any body befides his children. That the earth contains abundance of falt appears in a morning before funrifing, from the ground's being covered with a white incrustation of falt on the grafs, juft as in the northern parts of Europe, in autumn, it is covered with time. I have nowhere in the east, but in Egypt, feen the ground covered with falt in that manner, except round about the dead fea, Lacus Sodomiticus, where I found the foil of the fame nature with that in Egypt. A falt foil produces falt vegetables, which are in greater abundance, both as to variety and quantity, in Egypt than 312 Compofition of Sal Ammoniac. 1n The cattle, lovers of falt vegetables, feed on the different forts according to their different liking; oxen and fheep keep to Chenopodia, goats and camels eat all forts of herbs, both falt ones and others. I have obferved that in Egypt thofe herbs which in their nature are not falt, have more or lefs a taste of falt in them; The very Trifolium, which is eat all the year round, either green or cry, contains fome. I do not think that I make any digreffion from my purpose, in giving an account of the abundance of common falt in Egipt, as the obfervation will affift in accounting for the acidum of common falt, which is in the Sal Ammoniac. ule here, as fome authors have advanced, and I believed, till I was by my own eyes convinced of the contrary. The makers of the Sal Ammoniar fay that if the preference is to be given to A one fort of dung in particular, it is to the human excrements, and those of fheep and goats, if they were to be had unmixed. Thus much for the matter of this falt. B All the time the cattle are grazing, abundance of poor people are teen making it their bulineis to follow them clcle, and carefully obferve, as foon as any excrements fall, to pick them up and gather them into baskets. Sometimes they are obliged to ftrew fome D cuttings of ftraw over it, to make it more confiftent, and then ftick it against a wall, till it is fit for burning.. 'This dried dung is the common fuel in Egypt, which is a woodlefs country; only the rich barn wood, which is very dear, being brought by fea from Cara mania. Thofe that burn nothing elfe in their toves and chimnies than this fort of dried aung, gather the foot, and fell it to the makers of fait, who always have abundance brought them from houses both in town and country. An int credible quantity of this fuel is daily confumed in Kairo; for in a morning going out of the town one may meet hundreds of affes loaded with it. E F If the foil in Egypt required being af fifted and fattened with dung, as in many parts of Europe, the making falt of it might be reckoned no good œco- G nomy; but as the country is provided with manure enough without it, by the mud that yearly fettles over the ground while the Nile overflows the Country, the induftry of the people de ferves approbation, who employ lo trifling a thing in a double capacity, which would elfe be intirely ufeleis. The foot exhaled from all forts of dung is ufed indifferently in the making of this falt. That from camels dung has no preference to that of other ani als, and ftill lefs is their urine of any The method of making it is no otherwife particular than that it is very fimple and eafy. A chymift in a compleat la boratory would perhaps prepare it with more care and application, but fcarcely with more conveniency, or at a leis expence. An oven is built in an oblong fhape, of bricks, and dung inftead of mortar, fo big as to contain 50 oblong glass bottles, placed in five rows, every bottle having a hole for it to reft in. Their fhape is round, with a neck one inch long, and about two inches wide. Before they are placed on the oven they are covered over with mud, fuch as remains after the overflowing of the Nile, and round that with ftraw, and filled with foot. The fuel in the oven is dried dung. At first the fire must not be ftrong, but it is afterwards increated and raifed as high as poffible, and is then kept up for three days and three nights. When the fire is raifed to its highest pitch, a fmoke begins to afcend from the opening of the bottles, and a fourish fcent is imelt all around, though by no means difagreeable. By degrees the falt adheres to the neck of the bottle, and foon fills it up, continually increaf ing till the ufual time is clapted; then the fire is put out, the bottles taken down, and broke to pieces, each of them yielding a piece of Sal Ammoniac, round on one fide, flat at the other, whitish within, black without, fuch as we fee it fold in every fhop. The foot occafioned even by the fire in the oven is gathered, as it is exhaled from the proper matter, naniely dung.. The time when the falt is common. ly made is the months of March, april, and part of May... The chief place for making this falt is the island of Delta, where the inhabil tants drive a great trade by it. Giza, å village on the other fide of the Nile, is the nearest place of any where luch a work is carried on. I did not obferve Hthat there were any in the city of Kairo, but at Rojette I have teen feveral. The makers of the Sal Ammoniac are no more than common labourers. The The Practice of Inoculation justified. The exportation of it is chiefly to Ve- REMARKS on the REMARKS of 313. undoubtedly it ought to be preferr'd. I think we may not unphilofophically prefume the blood and juices to be pure and uncorrupt, and free from any latent ftamina of this disease previous to the reception of it; and yet they may still A retain the capacity of being contaminated by an internal or external impreffion, and confequently be productive of a diftemper fuitable to the nature or properties of the contagious effluvia. B oppofition to what Mr Sera best, enlarge But granting the hypothefis of M Some to be juft or chimerical, what can the practice of inoculation? The Rebe deduc'd from either conceffion again marker fays, "fome fubjects have not the fmall-pox in confequence of ino-" 'culation ;'and afks whether this is an "undeniable proof that these subjects are incapable of having the difeafe?" Suppofing it is not a proof; what then? Does any harm refult from having fuffered the experiment? Is it, on the contrary, any proof that they will have the fmall-pox in the natural way? The bare poffibility of never having it fufficient ly repays any little uneafinefs the tryal might occafion, and they may congratulate themselves on the fatisfaction of Dknowing that their conftitution is not for the prefent difpofed to receive the infection, and that with little care they may for ever avoid it. 'Tis certain the moft convincing ar- Perhaps Mr Some advances too much G That a few (not many comparatively) never have the fmall-pox, and yet that they might have receiv'd it by inoculation, and thereby brought a distemper upon themselves, which otherwife they might never have had, I believe will be allow'd by all judges of this matter; and when we acknowledge this to be fact, we feem to grant what may at firit appear very deterring, especially to timorous difpofitions: but how fallacious and enfnaring this method of reafoning is, and how little it makes against inoculation, will, I hope, be manifeft from what follows. It appears, from the moderate computation of the experienced and impartial, that a fifth part of thofe die who have the fmall-pox in a natural way, and that but one in a hundred dies of it receiv'd by inoculation; and we will fuppofe five in a hundred all their lives efcape it. Now if in a city containing 1,000,000 inhabitants 5000 on an average are allow'd to have the fmallpox in the natural way throughout the Hyear; that fum, divided by five, leaves the number of thofe that die of it, viz 5 in 5000 1000. But if five in a hundred all their lives efcape it, 250 mult C 314 Exceptions to Inoculation removed: A be added to 5000, impartially to con- But thole who fuffer themfelves to be If the Remarker has read of inftances where the fmall-pox has been taken in the natural way, and prov'd mortal, E representing the deity as delighting the tremendous execution of his power, and avengefully baffling the fchemes of man plann'd for the cafe and happiness of his creatures, and by infinuating to his readers his opinion that the practice of inoculation (tho' it be an act of felfprefervation) is a culpable oppofition to divine difpenfations. If I rightly apprehend the Remarker's meaning, Mr Pope's lines are not well, but badly, applied; for that gentleman never intended to encourage the inactivity, and quiet, indolent acquiefcence of mortals labouring under afflicting evils, or to declaim against any attempts for the relief or removal of them, as repugnant to the will of the creator. But not to dispute with the Remarker on religious topics, I would but obferve in general, that if we don't facrifice our morals to our felicity in this world, it is not only our neceffary inclination, but our abfolute duty to promote it by all poffible means and that an infinitely happy and good being cannot be offended at any endeavours after the decrease or deprivation of that mifery to which our natures, in this impertect ftate,are from fo many furrounding accidents continually fubject. Yours, &c. From the COVENT-GARDEN JOURNAL; ̧ ADIALOGUE in the Reign of Q. Elizabeth,' Mrs Plum. Hope your ladyship is very well this morn then after the fame patients had receiv'ding after the fatigue of your journey. it by inoculation, it is pity he had not Indeed, towards the conclufion, the G Mad. Eng. Indeed, Miftrefs Plumtree, I never was more fatigued in my life. Four days together upon a hard trotting horfe are enough to tire any one; befides my pillion was horridly uneafy, and I rode behind the footboy, who was hardly able to fupport my leaning against him; but here's Biddy not in' the least the worse for her journey. Mifs Biddy. Upon my word, mamma, F never was in better fpirits in my life. My ride hath given me an appetite; I have eat above half a pound of beef ftakes this morning for breakfast. Mad. Eng. I could have gone thro' any thing at your age, my dear, tho' I was never many miles from home before I was married. The young ladies have more liberty in thefe days, than they had formerly. Indeed it was entirely owing to your father's goodness that you came to London now. mode to be inconfiftent his religious H Mrs Plum. 9 madam, I am fure your lady principles, by introducing providence as difcountenancing all human endeaurs to preferve mankind from the viat effects of a most fatal malady, by fhip would not have left mifs in the country. It would have been barbarous not to have les her fee the tower, and the abby, and bedlamg and two or three plays |