fcertain precisely a period to the imes called the middle-ages, we night, poffibly, with fome reafon, ix on the latter end of the reign of the great King Edward III.-Scotand we find, had commerce with the Netherlands from the very commencement of this century, and probably much farther back. The invention of the gilling and pickling of herrings, at the clofe of this century, as ftill in ufe, has proved a great addition to the commerce of Europe, and more particularly to the Hollanders; and the inundation of the Texel happening very near that period, afforded means for Amfterdam to take its first great commercial flight, by engroffing the greatest part of the fifhing, and of the Baltic trades.-Although the Hanfe-towns ftill enjoyed, throughout all this century, a great and flourishing commerce, yet the Ne therland cities, and moft efpecially the great and opulent city of Bruges, began now to eclipfe the Hanfeatic ones both in commerce and opulence.-In Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, their famous queen Margaret is faid to have made fuch regulations, as laid the foundations for future commerce; it was in her reign that we first meet with the mention in history of the copper-mines of Sweden; which laft-named country came very late into any degree of foreign commerce. Spain (by which word hiftorians, in thofe times, most generally meant the monarchy of Caftile, and yet at other times the whole country, comprehending both modern Spain and Portugal) had fome foreign commerce carried on by large fhips, called carricks, long before France had any fuch,

or indeed any other nation of the weft, but the free cities of Italy and the Hanfe-towns. In conclufion, this century made fundry. great improvements in commerce. manufactures, and navigation, and has therefore required more room in our work than any one preceding century. We may alfo remark, that, during the contefts in the courfe of this century between the anti-popes, as alfo in the ftruggles between the pretenders to the imperial throne, Italy was in a continual flame with civil broils, fo that in fundry parts thereof (according to Petavius and others) many princes and great men affumed to themfelves the rule and government of cities; many of whom Pope Benedict XII. legitimated as princes. of the fame, that they might be ready and willing to help and defend him againft Lewis of Bavaria the emperor, elected by one party of the German princes, he favouring the pretenfions of Frederick of Auftria to the imperial throne."

The hiftory of the firft difcovery of the polarity of the magnet, and its application to navigation, is curious.

"Moft authors fix on the year 1302 for the date of the incompa rable invention or discovery of the mariner's compafs, or magnetic needle, for the direction of thips at fea. The inventor was Flavio de Gioia, a native of Amalphi, an ancient commercial city of the kingdom of Naples; in commemoration whereof, this verse of one Anthony of Palermo is recorded by the Neapolitan hiftorians, viz.

"Prima dedit Nautis usum Magnetis Amalphis."

That

That is to fay, That as the poles of the magnet or loadstone answer ed to the poles of the world, it could also communicate that wonderful property to an iron needle, placed on a chart, marking the points of the world.

The power of the magnet to attract iron was known to the ancients, and is mentioned by Plato, Ariftotle, and Pliny; but its directive power, to cause a piece of iron touched with it to point north and south, is undoubtedly of a later date.

Goropius (fays Morifotus) will have the inventors of this wonder. ful [Pixis nautica] compafs to be either Danes or Germans, because the thirty-two points on it are written and pronounced in the Dutch or Teutonic language, by all nations using the fea; though this may, perhaps, only prove the improvement of the compafs by the Teutonics. For all are agreed, that at the first there were only the four cardinal points, or at most (as others) eight points named on the compals, which eight winds had been fo named by Charlemain, as has been obferved under the year 790; and that emperor ftill using the Teutonic tongue (though with fome alteration from its original dialect) from thence thofe of Bruges might naturally continue the other twenty-four points in the fame language, as the bringing them to thirty-two points is ufually afcribed (fays Verftegan, &c.) to the people of Bruges in Flanders, where the Teutonic dialect is ftill in ufe. Others (continues Morifotus) afcribe the difcovery of the compafs to Marco Polo, of Venice, who,

on his return from China about the year 1260, communicated that fecret to the Italians. Others have formerly thought, that what is called Versoria by Plautus was the magnetic needle, and was confequently known to the ancients; but the learned feem now agreed, that this Versoria was nothing more than a rope which turned the fail about.

There are again two other Frenchmen, viz. Mezeray and Monf. Huet (Bishop of Avranches) who will only allow Flavio the honour of having rendered the compass more perfect and practicable: and fay, it must needs be more ancient, as they find mention of it, or of fomething refembling it, in fundry authors prior to this period. Bishop Huet feems pofitive, that it was in ufe by the French pilots above forty years before Marco Polo's time, as appears (fays he) from fome verses of Guyot de Provins, a French poet, mentioned by Fauchet, who lived about the year 1200. Notwithstanding all which, the general confent of authors gives it for this fame Flavio of Amphali, who, according to Abraham Ortelius and others, used it only for the eight principal winds or points, till, as above, it was, by thofe of Bruges, improved to thirty-two points. Neither, indeed, does this excellent invention feem to have been generally known and used, even long after Flavio's time, as appears too plainly from the Portuguese creeping along the fhores, even fo late as their firft discoveries on the weft coafts of Africa in the fifteenth century: yet the Portuguefe ought to have the honour

and

and juftice done them to acknowledge, that the ufe of the aftrolabe, the tables of declination, with other aftronomical and arithmetical rules, applicable to navigation, were their inventions; and it is highly probable, too, that the fea-charts, made by Columbus's brother in England, were their invention alfo. It is true, the English pretend not to the invention of the compafs, as feveral other nations have done, yet they are faid to be the inventors of the moft convenient method of fufpending the box which contains the magnetic needle, fo as to keep it always horizontal. The variation of the needle, or its declination from ́the true north point, was difcovered by Sebastian Cabot, anno 1500. And the inclination, or dipping of that needle, when hung fo as to play vertically to a point beneath the horizon, was firft discovered by Robert Norman, an Englishman, anno 1565, as have been many other leffer improvements in the inftruments for navigation by our nation; neither ought we by any means to forget the lord Napier's difcovery of logarithms, fo ufeful in our arithmetical operations for nautical as well as other purpofes. Laftly, the variation of the variation, or the different declination of that needle at different times, in the fame place, was first discovered by our countryman Gellibrand, about the year 1634; though fome will have Gaffendus to have before difcovered it. So much feemed neceffary to be faid on this incomparable invention, and on fome of the other nautical improvements, which were, as one may

fay, only neceffary conféquences of its invention. Endless are the encomiums juftly beftowed by all maritime nations on this excellent inftrument, the mariners compass, for the benefit of navigation and

commerce.

maritime natin

It fet every upon improvements or difcoveries, whereby things, utterly unknown before, were continually adding to the more perfect accomplishment of it. Nothing can make the contraft ftronger, than to view and compare the timorous coafting of the old navigators, who feldom durft venture out of fight of the land (and generally made a voyage last three years, which now can be much more safely performed in three months) with the exactnefs which, in thefe times, a fhip (for inftance) can fail from the Lizard point in Cornwall, and directly make or arrive at one of the fmall ifles of the Azores, in the Atlantic ocean, far diftant from any land; and though in the darkest weather, deprived of the comfort and ufe of the heavenly luminaries, and of every other mark from heaven, earth, or fea, for his guide, the modern navigator fecurely fails on, generally knowing exactly enough by his reckoning where he is, and how far diftant from his intended port.

By the help of this noble inftrument it was that the Spaniards made their difcoveries of a new weftern world, the Portuguese the way by fea to India and China, and the English and Dutch the feveral ufeful difcoveries towards the north pole; all which, but for the compafs, would have probably ftill remained unknown; and all the wealth acquired from

fuch

fuch discoveries, and probably too, most of the knowledge acquired in confequence thereof, had likewife never been difcovered but for it."

A history of the military Transac tions of the British nation in Indostan, from the year 1745. To which is prefixed a dissertation on the establishments made by Mahomedan conquerors in Indostan. One Vol. Quarto. London.

THE

HE manners and characters of the various people who inhabit the great empire of Indoftan, the peculiarities of their religion and their policy, and the aftonishing events which have lately happened in that part of the world, have rendered the hiftory of the wars in India an object of general curiofity. The great interest we have ftill in that empire, always as a trading, lately as a conquering people, will make a proper narrative of our former proceedings there a matter of the most useful inftruction. The author of this work has gratified this curiofity, and communicated this inftruction. No hiftorian feems to have been more perfectly informed of the fubject on which he has undertaken to write; and very few have poffeffed more fully the talent of impreffing it in the cleareft and mott vivid manner on the imagination and understanding of his reader. In this work, the events are fully prepared; the characters ftrongly delineated; and the fituations well defcribed. It is no uncommon thing to find in ordinary: writers more of the confufion than of

the life and fpirit of the fight in their descriptions of an engagement. But nothing can be more clear and fatisfactory than the whole detail of military tranfactions which we find in this writer. Whether the march or the retreat, the attack or the defence, the encampment or the battle, every thing is drawn with accuracy and precifion, in great detail, but without any thing tedious. In thefe particulars, Polybius will be fcarcely thought to exceed him.

It must be obferved, likewise, to his honour, that there reigns through the whole work an air of difinterestedness, and of freedom from all paffion and prejudice, public or private. The Frenchman, who acts gallantly or wifely, finds as much juftice done to his actions and his conduct, as any of the author's country

The fame impartiality feems to have been obferved with regard to all perfonal connections. This volume does not carry the war farther than 1755. It were to be wished that the author may finish what he has begun in fo promifing a manner.

It 15 difficult to extract from this work; but in order to give the reader an idea of the author's style of narrative, we present him with the following.