focus of a mirror, to make it rife above the local temperature, on account of the invifible light which reaches this mirror, and that the fnow placed at the oppofite focus only diminishes this effect; but thofe modifications, he thinks, are too fmall for M. Pictet to have perceived them in his experiment, which was not made with this view. M. Pictet then, if we admit this account, faw nothing in his experiment: for, according to the theory of Dr. H. nothing could refult from it, except thefe imperceptible effects. But let us fee, in the work of the former, what was the refult of his experiment, and upon what bafis he founded his theory, which, as it is omitted by Dr. H., we have reported from himself.

J'employai les deux miroirs d'étain à la diftance de 10 pieds l'un de l'autre; au foyer de l'un étoit un thermomètre d'air, qu'on obfervoit avec les precautions requifes: et au foyer de l'autre un matras plein de neige. A l'inftant où le matras fut en expérience, le thermomètre placé à l'autre foyer defcendit de plufieurs degrés; il remonta des qu'on enleva le matras. Apres avoir remis le matras au foyer, et fait ainfi defcendre le thermomètre jufqu'à un certain degré ou il demeura ftationaire, je verfai de l'acide nitreux fur la neige, et le froid ainfi produit fit a l'inftant defendre le thermomètre de 5 à 6 degrés plus bas." P. 81.

To know what degrees are here meant, we may have recourse to a note on p. 24, where M. Pictet fays that, throughout this work, unlefs he gives notice to the contrary, he fhall always mean the ordinary fcale of eighty parts. Since then he gives no notice here, we may fuppofe, without fear of any ellential error, that the total defcent of this thermometer was ten degrees of this fcale (firft feveral degrees, then five or fix more) which will be equal to eighteen degrees of Fahrenheit. This is the quantity which Dr. Hutton conceives to have been too fmall for M. Pictet to obferve in his experiment, though performed "with every mark of abiity in the defign, and accuracy in the execution."

Since we find Dr. Hutton with his eyes thus clofed, when he takes leave of the experiments of M. de Sauffure and M. Pictet, at the end of his third part, it will not certainly be thought neceffary for us to follow him, and his invisible light, into the following parts. We fhall content ourfelves with giving the titles; which are thefe. 4. An examination of the prefent ftate of science respecting light, heat, and cold, with a view to promote the philofophy of that fubject. 5. Light inveftigated as the principle of fire in burning bodies. 6. Fixed light, or the principle of fire, examined with regard to gravitation and inertia. 7. Of the folar ligh', compared with that of fire.

ART.

IF

ART. IV. An Appeal to impartial Pofterity, by Citizennefs Ro land, Wife of the Minter of the Hope Department; or a Collection of Pieces, written by her during her Confinement in the Prifons of the Abbey and St. Pelagie, publifhed for the Benefit of her only Daughter, deprived of the Fortune of her Parents, whoje Property is fill in Sequeftration. Tranflated from the French. In four Parts. 12s. 6d. Johnson. 1795. F the friends and admirers of Madame Roland imagine that from this work the reputation of the lady will defcend with much fplendour to pofterity, we think they will be mistaken. It contains indeed a very ftrange mixture of philofophy, politics; that is, modern philofophy and French politics, with the rhapsodies of romance, narratives of intrigue, and perpetual proof that, to a French lady at leaft, a little learning is a very dangerous thing. Madame Roland was, beyond all doubt, a woman of confiderable abilities; but, notwithstanding the cir cumflances under which thefe volumes were written, when every hour the expected to be dragged before the Revolutionary Tribunal, and confequently to the guillotine, there is a levity characteristic of her nation, with a vanity which exceeds all li mits; and there are pages which, we think, few of our countrywomen can pernfe without a blufh for violated delicacy. This publication comprifes various anecdotes of individuals, who have been confpicuous in the theatre of France, and this is the only portion of the work that is either interefting or entertaining. The tale of the author's early life, education, lovers, &c. might have been omitted, without injury either to heifelf or the public. We give, as a fpecimen, her opinion of Thomas Paine and David Williams.

"Among the perfons whom I was in the habit of receiving, and of whom I have already defcribed the moft remarkable, Paine deferves to be mentioned. Declared a French citizen, as one of thofe celebrated foreigners whom the nation was naturally defirous of adopting, he was known by writings which had been useful in the American revolution, and which might have contributed to produce one in England. I fhall not, however, take upon me to pronounce an abfolute judgment upon his character, because he underflood French without fpeaking it, and because that being nearly my cafe in regard to Englith, I was lefs able to converte with him than to liften to his converfation with thofe whofe political kill was greater than my own.

"The boltinefs of his conceptions, the originality of his ftyle, and the friking truths which he throws with defiance into the midst of thofe whom they offend, have neceffarily attracted great attention; but I think him better fitted to fow the feeds of popular commotion than to lay the foundation, or prepare the form of a government. Paine throws light upon a revolution better than he concurs in the

making of a conftitution. He takes up and establishes those great principles, of which the expofition ftrikes every eye, gains the applaufe of a club, or excites the enthusiasm of a tavern: but for cool difcuffion in a committee, or the regular labours of a legiflator, I conceive David Williams infinitely more proper than he. Williams made a French citizen alfo, was not chofen a member of the Convention, in which he would have been of more ufe; but he was invited by the Government to repair to Paris, where he passed several months, and frequently conferred with the most active representatives of the nation. A deep thinker, and a real friend to mankind, he appeared to me to combine their means of happiness, as well as Paine feels and defcribes the abufes which conftitute their mifery. I saw him, from the very first time he was prefent at the fittings of the affembly, uneafy at the diforder of the debates, afflicted at the influence exercised by the galleries, and in doubt whether it were poffible for fuch men, in fuch circumftances, ever to decree a rational conftitution. I think that the knowledge which he then acquired of what we were already, attached him more ftrongly to his country, to which he was impatient to return. How is it poffible, faid he, for men to debate a question, who are incapable of liftening to each other? Your nation does not even take pains to preferve that external decency, which is of fo much confequence in public affemblies: a giddy manner, carelessness, and a flovenly perfon, are no recommendations to a legiflator; nor is any thing indifferent which paffes in public, and of which the effect is repeated every day. Good heaven! what would he say now if he were to fee our fenators dreft, fince the 31st of May, like watermen, in long trowfers, a jacket and a cap, with the bofom of their fhirts open, and fwearing and gefticulating like drunken fans culottes? He would think it perfectly natural for the people to treat them like their lackeys, and for the whole nation, debased by its exceffes, to crouch beneath the rod of the first defpot who fhall find the means to reduce it to fubjection. Williams is equally fit to fill a place in the parliament or the fenate, aud will carry with him true dignity wherever he goes."

Part the third contains the following defcription of Madame Roland's perfon, by her own pen.

"To the newly acquired fenfations of a frame fanguine and well organized, were infenfibly joined all the modifications of a defire to pleafe. I loved to appear well dreffed, found delight in hearing it faid of me, and occupied myfelf willingly in what was likely to procure me the gratification. This perhaps is as proper a place as any to introduce my portrait. At fourteen years, as now, my ftature was precifely five feet, for I had completed my growth; my leg and foot were well formed; the hips full and bold; the cheft large, and relieved by a fine bofom; my fhoulders of an elegant form; my carriage firm and graceful; my walk light and quick fuch was the first coup d'œil. The detail of my figure had nothing ftriking in it except a great freshness of colour and much foftnefs and expreffion. In examining particulars, Where it might be faid, is the beauty?" Not a feature is regular, but all is pleafing. The mouth is rather large: one fees a thoufand more pretty but where is there a smile so pleafing and feductive. The eye, on the contrary, is not large

enough,

enough, and its iris is of a greyish hue, but placed on the furface of the face; the look open, frank, lively, and tender, crowned with brown eye-brows (the colour of my hair) and well delineated, it varies in its expreffion, as the fenfible heart of which it indicates the movements; ferious and indignant, it fometimes astonishes; but it charms oftener, and is always awake. The nose gave me fome uneafiness ; I thought it too full at the end; nevertheless, confidered with the reft, and particularly in profile, the effect of the face was not injured by it. The forehead, broad, high, with the hair retiring; elevated eye-brows; and veins in the form of a Greek T, that fwelled at the flightest emotion, afforded an ensemble little allied to the infignificance of fo many countenances. As to the chin, which was rather retiring, it has the precife character attributed by phyfiognomifts to the voluptuary. Indeed, when I combine all the peculiarities of my character, I doubt if ever an individual was more formed for pleasure, or has ever tasted it fo little. The complexion was clear, and, rather than fair, its colour vivid, frequently heightened by a fudden boiling of the blood, occafioned by nerves the moft irritable; the skin soft and fmooth; the arms finely rounded; the hand elegant, without being fmall, because the fingers long and flender announce dexterity and preferve grace; teeth white and well ranged; and, laftly, the plenitude and plumpnefs of perfect health: fuch are the gifts with which nature had endowed me."

The letters, at the conclufion of the fourth part, are written with no common fhare of vivacity, and certainly show a vigorous and well informed mind. There is nothing more indubitable, than that Robespierre and his crew feared this lady's talents, and fearing hated, and hating destroyed her. She fubmitted to her fate with an heroifm which would have reflected dignity on better times, and a more honourable cause. We beg leave to enter our protest against the new-fangled term of Citizennefs*, here applied to Madame Roland, and cannot help obferving of the tranflator, that he has performed his task in a very unworkmanlike manner. It is full of inaccuracies and blunders.

ART. V. The Hiftory of Hindoftan, its Arts, and its Sciences, as connected with the Hftory of the other great Empires of Afia, during the most ancient Periods of the World. With numerous illuftrative Engravings. By the Author of the Indian Antiquities. Vol. I. 4to. l. 11s. 6d. Faulder. 1795.. N our review of the volumes introductory to this larger work, which now claims our attention, we had occafion to lament that defect of arrangement and want of method,

IN

• The Americans have coined the term Cites, which is better. See our account of the Bone to gnaw. But we hope not to fee any jargon of the kind adopted.

which, in fome parts, perplexed, and, in others, obfcured the page of the Indian Antiquities. In the volume before us, printed with the elegant types of Bulmer, and containing nurous well-executed engravings, no error of that kind oqcurs; but, on the contrary, the lucidus orda confpicuously appears amidft a variety of fubjects, the abftrufe and complicated nature of which required no fmall care in the author to avoid the recurrence of his former error. It is generally divided into three parts, and fubdivided into thirteen chapters; with copious heads prefixed to each chapter. There is alfo a table of contents, with proper references to pages, and a concife explanatory account of the engravings. The whole is preceded by a preface intended to connect the two works, and point out to the reader the ultimate defign of the author in undertaking the laborious and extenfive investigations contained in them. To that defign, and the execution of it (with the exception above hinted) as far as hitherto accomplithed, we have already paid our tribute of applaufe, and we repeat our approbation of the unabated zeal and perfeverance with which Mr. Maurice, in times not very favourable to arduous literary efforts, purfues the great object to which, he informs us, it is his intention to devote his future life. We fincerely with him encouragement adequate to his great exertions; and we think him likely to obtain it, particularly from the wealthy and generous commercial body, to whom the work is properly dedicated.

The object of the Indian Antiquities was to collect and difplay the fcattered remains of the true patriarchal theology lying dormant under the clouds of oriental fuperflition and mythology; the object of the Indian History, at least in this early portion of it, is to fhow the entire conformity of the ancient traditional hiftories of one of the greatest empires of Alia, recently difcovered and made known to us by the indefatigable retearches of the Afiatic Society, at Calcutta, with the Mofaic records; a conformity fo remarkable that, while the orthodox believer is naturally induced to confider the Hindoo narration as a corrupted copy of the Hebrew annals, the fceptic, on the contrary, infits that the author of the Pentateuch derived his information from Indian fources, conveyed to that legislator through the channel of Egypt. In the in. veftigation of this delicate and important fubject, Mr. Maurice has evinced both erudition and judgement, and has adopted an hypothefis which has both probability and reafon for its fupport, and neither favours infidelity, nor clathes with Scripture. After eting Sir William Jones's literal tranflation of that part of the Makara Saftra which correctly ftates the Hindoo idea of the Cofmogony, that is, Brahma, or the Spirit of God, floating