Frederick I. died in the beginning of 1713, and was succeeded by Frederick William I., in almost every thing the reverse of his father. His dispositions were altogether martial; so that he applied himself entirely to the augmentation of the army. His whim was to have it composed of men above the ordinary size, and his officers made no scruple of picking up such men wherever they could find them However he was never engaged in any martial enterprise of consequence; but having put his army on the most respectable footing, and filled his coffers, he put it in the power of his son to perform those exploits which astonished all Europe. Frequent bickerings took place between the prince and the emperor, for which the persecution of the Protestants by some of the Catholic states of the empire afforded a pretence. But when Frederick William died, in 1740, this enmity broke out in full force.

Frederick II., immediately on his accession, seized upon Silesia, of which his ancestors, he said, had been unjustly deprived. But it cost him dear; for the empress queen, having overcome her momentary difficulties, formed against him the most formidable combination that had hitherto been known in Europe. The treaty was hardly concluded, by which she reluctantly yielded up Silesia, with a revenue of £800,000 a year, before she entered into another with Russia. This treaty, called the treaty of Petersburgh, was apparently only defensive; but six secret articles were appended, one of which was, that if the king of Prussia should attack the empress queen, or Russia, or Poland, it should be held as a breach of the treaty of Dresden: another contained a plan for a partition of Prussia. The empress queen concluded also a treaty with France, on the 1st of May, 1756. Frederick, hearing of these machinations, resolved to be before-hand with his enemies, and, entering Saxony with a considerable army, demanded a free passage for his troops, on the principle of the king of Poland's professed neutrality; which being refused, he blockaded the Saxon camp at Pirna. To oppose the two Saxon armies, then in Bohemia, he placed one army under M. Schwerin and another under the celebrated M. Keith; and soon after joined the latter: on the first of December, 1756, he attacked and defeated the Austrian general. On this the king of Poland quitted his German dominions, and the Prussians took up their quarters in Saxony, where they seized the revenues and raised recruits: in the archives of Dresden Frederick discovered the originals of the secret articles above-mentioned. Mean time he was put to the ban of the empire; the circles were ordered to furnish their contingents: the French sent a large body of troops under prince de Soubise; the Austrians raised 100,000 men under prince Charles of Lorrain and M. Brown; and the Czavina sent 60,000 under M. Apraxin into Ducal Prussia, with a strong fleet to co-operate with them in the Baltic. The king of Sweden and the duke of Mecklenburgh also joined the combination; while Prussia had not a single ally, except about 35,000 Hanoverians under the duke of Cumberland; who were soon forced to yield to a superior army

of the French. In spring 1757 the Prussians entered Bohemia in three divisions; one under the king; another under general Schwerin; and the third under the prince of Bevern, from Lusatia, where he defeated an army of 28,000 Austrians. The Austrians then detached another body of 20,000 men from their main army; whereupon Frederick cut off all communication between that detachment and the main body, and, having quickly joined his two generals, attacked the Austrians near Prague and totally defeated them, but lost the brave general Schwerin. The Austrian general, also, was mortally wounded; and about 40,000 of his troops took refuge in Prague, which was immediately invested by the king. The garrison made a sally, but were repulsed, as were also 12,000 of the inhabitants, who wished to quit it. In this desperate situation, Leopold count Daun took the command of the remains of Brown's army, and having collected 60,000 of them retired to a strong post near the town. Frederick sent against them only 32,000 men, who were defeated at Colin on the 18th of June, after a bloody battle. The king then raised the siege of Prague, left Bohemia, and retired into Saxony.

Meantime the Russians, under Apraxin and Permor, were committing the greatest cruelties in Ducal Prussia. The Austrians entered Silesia, penetrated to Breslau, and besieged Schweidnitz. Another body of them took Zittau. An army of 22,000 Swedes also entered Prussian Pomerania, took Anclam and Demmein, and plundered the country: while the French devastated Halbertstadt and the Old Marche of Brandenburgh. General Haddick laid Berlin itself under contribution. The Prussian general, Lehwald, with 30,000 men, attacked 30,000 Russians, who were strongly intrenched at Norkitten, but, though they performed prodigies of valor, were obliged to retire. At last, on the 5th of November 1757, the king of Prussia met, at Rasbach, with the united army of his enemies under prince Saxe-Hilburghhausen and general Soubise, amounting to 50,000 men. His army did not amount to above half that number of men, but inspired with the most enthusiastic patriotism, and encouraged by the presence of their king, they completely defeated the Austrians, with the loss of 3000 men killed; eight generals, 250 officers, and 6000 men, prisoners, while night alone prevented their total destruction. But in Silesia the Austrians, after a siege of sixteen days, reduced Schweidnitz, and took the Prussian garrison of 4000 men prisoners. They next attacked the army under the prince of Bevern, encamped at Breslau, on the 22d of November; but were repulsed with dreadful slaughter. Yet the Prussians, soon after, rashly deserted their strong post, and in two days the prince of Bevern, reconnoitering carelessly, was taken prisoner; Breslau of course surrendered, and all was going to wreck, when the king, by a rapid march, passing through Thuringia, Misnia, and Lusatia, entered Silesia on the 2d of December, and was joined by the prince of Bevern's corps and the garrison of Schweidnitz. He now approached Breslau, where the Austrians, trusting to their numbers (amounting to 70,000) while the Prus

sians were scarcely 36,000 men, left their strong camp and advanced to battle. The two armies met on the 5th of December near Luthen. Count Daun occupied a plain with some small eminences, and caused his troops to scatter a great number of trees in the road of the Prussians. But Frederick overcame all these difficulties: attacked the enemy with the utmost impetuosity, took the post, and a total rout ensued, wherein the Austrians lost 6000 killed, 15,000 prisoners, and 200 cannons. The consequences were great; Breslau surrendered on the 29th of December with a garrison of 13,000 men: the Russians retreated out of Ducal Prussia: general Lehwald expelled the Swedes out of Prussian Pomerania, and took part of Swedish Pomerania; and the king took ample vengeance on Mecklenburg. To add to his good fortune, the French were now so successfully opposed by the Hanoverians, under prince Ferdinand, that he had no more trouble from them.

On the 3d of April, 1758, Frederick laid siege to Schweidnitz, which surrendered on the 16th. He then disposed his forces in the best manner for the defence of his dominions, placing one army under count Dohna on the side of Pomerania; another between Wohlan and Glogau, to cover Silesia; and a third in Saxony under his brother prince Henry, consisting of thirty battalions and forty-five squadrons, to make head against the empire. All these armies were connected by posts. Frederick next, making a feint of invading Bohemia, suddenly burst into Moravia, over-run the whole country, and laid siege to Olmutz on the 27th of May. But general Daun, seizing a strong hold where he could not be attacked, obliged the king to raise the siege; which he did very unexpectedly, on the 1st of July, and marched in two columns into Bohemia. After laying Konigsgratz and the adjacent districts under contribution, he marched rapidly against the Russians, who had been employed in besieging Custrin, since the 15th of August. Frederick arrived on the 25th within sight of the Russians, after fifty-six days march: when they raised the siege and retired to Zorndorff. The battle of Zorndoff began at 9 A. M., and continued till 7 P. M., with various success and dreadful slaughter. At one period the Prussians had given way and fled before an army half defeated; but the king, by a rapid and masterly movement, rought his cavalry to the centre, and, falling on the Russian foot, put them into such confusion that they fired on each other, plundered their own baggage, and got so much intoxicated that the fire of the Prussians had dreadful effect. In a word, their loss, besides a vast train of artillery, amounted to 21,529 men, the military chest, &c., while that of the Prussians did not exceed 2000. The remains of the Russian army retreated to Landsperg; and the king marched to the relief of prince Henry. Here he met with a severe check. Marshal Daun had his camp advantageously situated at Stolpen, while the right wing of the king extended to Hochkirchen, by which he had a communication with prince Henry and protected Brandenburg. In this critical situation Daun surprised the Prussian camp at 5 A. M. on the 14th of Octo

ber. The brave marshal Keith, and prince Francis of Brunswick, were killed on the spot; and though the king did his utmost to encourage his troops, and the victory was long doubtful, the king at last ordered a retreat, which he conducted in good order: but this bloody battle cost him 7000 men, with a great number of cannon. The Austrians lost 5000. Frederick next reinforced his army from that of prince Henry, and hastened to raise the siege of Neiss, which had been invested on the 4th of October. On the 24th he came to Gorlitz, where he defeated a party of Austrians, with the loss of 800 men; and soon after relieved Cosel. The king then hastened to the relief of Dresden, which was badly fortified and garrisoned by only 12,000 men. It had large suburbs, but these had been burnt by Schmettau, the governor, on the 10th of November, to prevent their being taken by the Austrians under Daun, as then all defence of the city would have been vain. Upon the king's approach all the Austrian arınies retired into Bohemia. He now took up his winter quarters in Saxony, where he levied the most exorbitant contributions. On the 23d of February, 1759, general Wobersow marched with a body of Prussians into Poland, where he destroyed several large Russian magazines. The successes of prince Henry, in the interim, cleared Franconia of their enemies; but now the Russians once more approached. The king disgraced count Dohna, for not opposing them with sufficient zeal, and appointed general Wedel in his place; who, on the 23d of July, with an army of not quite 30,000 men, attacked 70,000 Russians most advantageously posted at Zulichau. The Prussians fought with their usual bravery, but were defeated with the loss of 4700 killed or taken, and 3000 wounded. The consequences were that the Russians took Crossen and Frankfort on the Oder; on which the king joined Wedel with a large body of troops, leaving the rest of his army in Saxony, under prince Henry. But as Daun had sent 12,000 horse and 8000 foot, under Laudohn, to assist the Russians, the king was unwilling to venture a battle. This, however, became unavoidable; he therefore, on the 12th of August, attacked the enemy in their strong entrenchments with a heavy cannonade, forced the entrenchments with great slaughter, and took seventy-two cannon. The Russians made a stand at Cunnersdorf, but were driven from it, and from post to post to the last redoubts. For above six hours the Prussians were wholly successful; and victory was completely in their power, if the king had not lost it by his impetuosity. General Saltikoff assembled the remains of the Russian army at an advantageous post where prudence and policy would have allowed them to remain. But, the king attempting to drive them from it, his fatigued troops were overpowered, and the Austrians, who had not been inuch engaged all day, assisting them, the fortune of the day was turned so completely that nothing but the night coming on saved the Prussians from total destruction. Their loss amounted to 20,000 men. After this defeat Frederick exerted himself to procure artillery from Berlin; he recalled general Kleist with

5000 men from Pomerania; detached 6000 from his own army to defend Saxony; and with the remainder put himself between the Russians and Great Glogan; thus obliging them to return to Poland, notwithstanding their victory. New misfortunes, however, attended the Prussian arms. General Finch, who had been sent with 12,000 Prussians to oppose Daun, having advenced too far, was surrounded and obliged to surrender. General Durceke, and another body of Prussians, were posted at the Elbe, opposite Meissen; but were suddenly attacked by the Austrians, and lost 3000 men.

The year 1760 began with very unfavorable auspices. Since October 1756 forty generals had been killed in the Prussian service, exclusive of those wounded or taken: and most of Frederick's veteran soldiers had fallen in battle, and their places were filled up by raw inexperienced troops. At this time Laudohn drew general Fouquet and a body of above 11,000 Prussians into a situation from which they could not escape; and on the 23rd of June attacked them at midnight, near Landshut, when, though they made a brave defence, 4000 were killed, 7000 taken, with fifty-eight cannon, and not above 300 escaped. The victory, however, cost the Austrians 12,000 men in killed and wounded. Lau dohn immediately followed it up by the capture of Glatz. Thence he marched against Breslau, and invested it; but, the king of Prussia having laid siege to the town on the 13th of July, Daun appeared within three miles on the 19th, and on the 21st had supplied it with sixteen battalions, which obliged the king to raise the siege. Breslau was also bombarded by Laudohn, but the approach of prince Henry obliged him to retire on the 5th of August. Meantime the king advanced into Silesia with his usual rapidity. This, however, did not prevent the junction of the armies under Laudohn, Daun, and Lacy, which formed a line of encampments, extending no less than thirty miles. They now laid a plan to attack and surround the king's army in the night; but Frederick, having heard or suspected their intention, quitted his camp privately, and took an advantageous post on the road through which Laudohn was to pass. A thick fog in the morning hid the Prussians till Laudohn saw them with surprise regularly drawn up for battle. An obstinate conflict ensued, wherein Laudohn was completely defeated, with the loss of 10,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners; eighty-two cannon, and twenty-three colors. This victory compelled count Czernichew, who was advancing with 24,000 Russians to join Daun, to repass the Oder; and soon after the king joined prince Henry at New Marche, and, attacking a corps under general Breck, took two battalions of Croats prisoners. About this time too general Hulsen defeated the imperial army in Saxony. But a body of 15,000 Austrians, under generals Lacy and Brentano, with the whole of the imperialists in Saxony, began their march in concert with the Russians towards Berlin. These armies amounted to 40,000 men. The Prussian generals Hulsen and Werner could not raise above 16,000. Berlin was therefore abandoned to its fate; which, by the powerful mediation of several

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foreign ministers, was better than could have been expected. The city, however, was obliged to pay the sums of 800,000 guilders, and 1,900,000 crowns: the magazines, arsenals, and foundries were destroyed; all the military stores, cannon, and other arms seized, and the king's palace plundered. The combined armies left Berlin in four days, dreading the vengeance of Frederick; and on their return took Leipsic, Torgau, Meissen, and Wirtemberg. A detachment of French under M. Stainville laid Halberstadt under contribution. In East Pomerania the Russians besieged Colberg; in West Pomerania the Swedes advanced, while Laudohn besieged Cosel; and Daun watched the king with a superior army. The Prussians did not amount to 50,000: the Austrians exceeded 86,000. The king therefore resolved to make a desperate effort. On the 3rd of November, 1760, he divided his forces into three columns, with one of which general Hulsen took post in a wood. With the other two columns, under himself and general Ziethen, the king attacked general Daun about 2 P. M., who received him with the fire of 200 cannon. The Prussians were thrice led on to the attack, but as often repulsed with dreadful slaughter; till, at length, general Zeithen with the right wing attacked the enemy in the rear, repulsed them, and got possession of some eminences. Encouraged by this success, the Prussians advanced, mastered the Austrian entrenchments, and made way for their cavalry, which broke in with irresistible fury and threw the Austrians into irreparable confusion. was now about 9 P. M., both armies were in darkness, yet the firing continued, till M. Daun was wounded; and the command devolved on count O'Donnel, who ordered a retreat. This important victory cost the Prussians 10,000 killed and wounded, and 3000 prisoners. The loss of the Austrians in killed and wounded is unknown; but 8000 were taken prisoners, among whom were four generals and 212 other officers, The consequences of this victory were that the king recovered all Saxony, except Dresden; the Russians raised the siege of Colberg, and retired into Poland; Werner defeated the Swedes, and drove them totally out of West Pomerania; Laudohn raised the blockade of Cosel, and retired into Austrian Silesia; Daun placed his army in Dresden, and other strong posts south and west of it; and the imperial army retired into Franconia. But, though these successes retrieved the king's affairs, they exhausted his strength; and in 1761 he was unable to make any vigorous efforts. He continued strongly encamped at Schweidnitz, but was closely watched by Daun and Laudohn. He however defeated the designs of the Russians against Breslaw, by sending general Platen to destroy their magazines, who at the same time cut off 4000 of their troops. But they retook Colberg on the 3rd of December; and, the king having drawn 4000 men out of Schweidnitz, Laudohn took it by a coup de main. In the midst of these adverse circumstances, the empress Elizabeth, Frederick's inveterate enemy, died on the 2d of January 1762, and was succeeded by Peter III. his warm friend. The consequences were a suspen

sion of hostilities on the 16th of March, and a treaty of peace and alliance on the 5th of May. Sweden maae peace too on the 22d of May. The arms of Prussia were now attended every where with success. Prince Henry drove the imperialists from several important posts in Saxony, which secured all the Prussian possessions there. The king was joined by the Russians in the end of June; after which he drove M. Daun to the extremity of Silesia. He then penetrated deep into Bohemia, where the Russians committed the same cruelties on their late allies, the Austrians, that they had long practised on the Prussians. But the deposition and murder of Peter III. occasioned a new change. Catharine II. was prejudiced against Frederick; but his private letters to Peter, wherein he had advised him to treat her well, being discovered, excited her gratitude; ard, though she ordered her troops home, she adhered to the peace, and restored all the places taken during the war. The success of Frederick, however, continued: he totally defeated Laudohn; retook Schweidnitz, with a garrison of 8000 men; and, on the 29th of October, entirely routed the Austrians at Freyberg, vast numbers being killed, and 6000 taken prisoners. This decisive victory produced the peace of Hubertsburg, whereby every thing was settled in statu quo. After this Frederick turned his attention to the arts of peace; which was hardly interrupted in 1778 by a difference with Austria, about Bavaria. No other remarkable events occurred during his life, but what are already mentioned in our article FREDERICK. He died August 17th, 1786, and was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II

Frederick the Great had bequeathed the most effectual securities to his successor for the preservation of his dominions, that human wisdom could provide or devise; and the new monarch, with these advantages, was not wanting to himself. But his uncle's predilection for the French language and French literature was not grateful to his subjects. Frederick-William began his reign with declaring in council, Germans we are, and Germans I mean we shall continue; giving directions at the same time, that their native language should resume its natural rank and station. This was a very popular measure, and it was followed by another still more so. Observing that he had marked with great concern the progress of impiety and profaneness on the one hand, and of enthusiasm on the other, he declared, that he would not have his subjects corrupted either by fanatics or atheists, and strictly prohibited all publications tending to excite a contempt or indifference for religion. An opportunity soon occurred, in which he was also thought to have displayed such talents in negociation and in military arrangements, as proclaimed him in every respec a worthy successor of his uncle. The States of Holland, who had long been jealous of the power of the Stadtholder, and inclined to a republican government without any permanent chief, had gained such ascendancy in the states general, that in 1786 and 1787 they divested the prince of Orange of all his prerogatives. They proceeded even to the seizure and imprisonment of the princess, sister to the king of Prussia; and, de

pending upon support from France, treated with insolence every power connected with them in Europe. The court of Berlin did not witness these proceedings without indignation; and the king formed his plan for restoring the power of the Stadtholder with such secresy and prudence, that, in the space of one month, the duke of Brunswick led 18,000 Prussians to Amsterdam. The monarch's subsequent conduct was not such as the beginning of his reign gave reason to expect. See the article POLAND. He was, on the whole, a weak voluptuous character, who dissipated his treasures, and, in the part which he took against the French republic, by no means added to the reputation of the Prussian arms.

Frederick William III. came to the crown in 1797, and acted for several years in concurrence with France. In 1806, however, his eyes were opened to the usurpations of Buonaparte; war was determined on, and the army led to the western frontier, with as much confidence as if the French troops had been those of Louis XV. The result was the fatal battle of Jena; and the capture, in succession, of almost every corps of the Prussian army; the loss of Berlin, and soon after of every province of the kingdom, except Prussia Proper. The peace of Tilsit restored little more than half the states of the monarchy; and during six years all the calamities of foreign occupation and exaction were accumulated on this ill fated country. Hence the ardor with which the Prussians rushed to arms in 1813; their courage under the first reverses of the campaign, and their perseverance in its prosecution. The peace of Paris in 1814, confirmed by that of 1815, gave them their reward; for, while the Prussian monarch did not obtain the restoration of the same extent of territory in Poland, he had an ample equivalent in Saxony and on the Lower Rhine. Since that period the closest ties of the Prussian court have been with Russia and the Netherlands.

PRUSSIA PROPER is a division of the Prussian dominions, having on the one side the northern frontier of Poland, on the other the Baltic. Its form, though irregular, approaches to an oblong, extending from east to west; its superficial extent is nearly equal to that of Scotland. It is in a great measure agricultural, and is composed of the provinces of East and West Prussia, divided formerly by the Vistula, but now by a line a few miles to the east of that river.

East or Ducal Prussia lies between 19° 20′ and 24° 15′ of E. long., and 52° 32′ and 56° 3′ of N. lat. It has a superficial extent of 15,000 square miles, with 856,000 inhabitants, of whom about a third are of Polish or Lithuanian origin.

It is divided into the governments of Konigsberg and Gumbinnen, the latter being the part of Lithuania allotted to Prussia on the partition of Poland. Two-thirds of the population are descendants of Swiss, French, or German protestants. The soil is tolerably productive, but the climate severe, and the spring and autumn changeable and foggy. A great degree of moisture is produced by the lakes, marshes, and vast forests; yet the winds that brush the surface of this country almost without interruption purify the air. The forests are said to cover nearly

3,400,000 acres. They contain bears, elks, and other wild animals common in Poland; they also produce kermes, or, as it is here termed, Russian cochineal. The lakes, great and small, are said to be fully 300 in number. All these abound in fish. Corn of all kinds, as well as flax and hemp, are largely cultivated; hops and nadder are reared in particular districts; and potatoes are much used. Hogs are also reared in great numbers, and bees, in a domestic as well as wild state, åre in great abundance. The horses are both numerous and of good breeds. The royal studs are now united at the town of Stallupohen, and are said to form the largest establishment of the kind in Europe. Iron ore is found in many of the marshes. Linen, woollen, and in a small degree leather and glass, are the manufactures. The commercial towns are Konigsberg and Memel. But the most singular article in this country is amber, currently sold for about three or four shillings the 1 cwt.. The district in which it is obtained from the sea is about twenty-five miles in length. It is thrown on the coast or fished like coral, after strong

north and north-west winds. It is manufactured at Dantzic, Konigsberg, and Stolpe, and serves to make trinkets, scented powder, a spirituous acid, and a fine varnishing oil. Part of it is exported to Denmark and Italy, whence, after undergoing a farther process of manufacture, it is sent to Turkey. The quantity annually collected in Prussia is about 200 tons.

West Prussia has an area of about 10,000 square miles; its population is 560,000.. The foreign settlers here are far less numerous than in East Prussia. It is divided into the governments of Dantzic and Marienwerder. small part to the right of the Vistula is full of lakes; but along the banks of that river the soil is fertile; in other parts it is sandy and oarren.

The

The agricultural products are similar to those of East Prussia; but the number of cattle is larger. Manufactures, with the exception of linen, are backward; but this province contains the well known commercial towns of Dantzic and Elbing, and possesses in the Vistula a grand channel of communication between Poland and the sea.

PRUSSIC, CYANIC, or HYDROCYANIC, ACID, in chemistry, was first discovered in the pigment commonly called Prussian blue, by Bergman, and first obtained separate by Scheele. The compound formed by this acid with iron was long known and used before its nature was understood. Macquer first found that alkalies would decompose Prussian blue, by separating the iron from the principle with which it was combined, and which he supposed to be phlogiston. Hence the prussiate of potash was long called phlogisticated alkali. Bergman, however, ranked it among the acids; and, as early as 1772, Sage announced that this animal acid, as he called it, formed with the alkalies neutral salts. About the same time Scheele instituted a series of experiments to obtain the acid separate, and to ascertain its constituent principles. These, according to him, are ammonia and carbon; and Berthollet showed that its triple base contains hydrogen and azote, nearly, if not precisely, in the proportions that form ammonia. Berthollet could find no oxygen in any of his experiments for decomposing this acid.

Scheele's method of p-eparing this acid is this:-Mix four ounces of Prussian blue with two of red oxide of mercury prepared by nitric acid, and boil them in twelve ounces by weight of water, till the whole becomes colorless; then filter and add to it one ounce of clean iron filings, and six or seven drachms of sulphuric acid. Draw off by distillation about a fourth of the liquor, which will be prussic acid, contaminated with a portion of sulphuric; to render it pure, it may be rectified by redistilling it from carbonate of lime.

This prussic acid has a strong smell of peach blossoms, or bitter almonds; its taste is at first sweetish, then acrid, hot, and virulent, and excites coughing; it has a strong tendency to assume the form of gas; it has been decomposed in a high temperature, and by the contact of VOL. XVIII

light, into carbonic acid, ammonia, and carburetted hydrogen. It does not completely neutralise alkalies, and is displaced even by the carbonic acid: it has no action upon metals, but unites with their oxides, and forms salts for the most part insoluble; it likewise unites into triple salts with these oxides and alkalies.

The peculiar smell of the prussic acid could scarcely fail to suggest its affinity with the poison of the leaves of the lauro-cerasus; and M. Schrader of Berlin has ascertained the fact, that these do contain a principle capable of forming a blue precipitate with iron; and that with lime they afford a test of the presence of iron equal to the prussiate of that earth. Dr. Bucholz of Weimar, and Mr. Roloff of Magdeburgn, confirm this fact. The prussic acid appears to come over in the distilled oil.

The following communication to the Royal Society, by Dr. Madden, of Dublin, contains the first proofs of the deleterious effects of this poison upon mankind :- A very extraordinary accident,' says the Dr., 'has discovered to us a most dangerous poison, which was never before known to be so, though it has been in frequent use among us. This is a simple water, distilled from the leaves of the lauro-cerasus; the water is at first milky, but the oil which comes over, being in a good measure separated from the phlegm, by passing it through a flannel bag, it becomes as clear as common water. It happened that a servant, who lived with a person who sold great quantities of this water, got a bottle of it from her mistress, and gave it to a shop-keepeer in town, who she thought might oblige her customers with it. Accordingly, in a few days, she gave about two ounces to a woman called Mary Whaley, who drank about twothirds and went away. In a quarter of an hour after Mary Whaley had drunk the water, she complained of a violent disorder in her stomach, soon after lost her speech, and died in about an

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