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country. I now proceeded onwards over the fields listening to the warbling lark'springing blythely up to greet the purpling east.' The air was fresh and pure, and, in the beauties of nature, I awhile forgot the events of the preceding evening; with hasty steps I roved over the faintly recollected scenes, where I had, in childhood, spent some of my happiest hours, until weary with my rambles I returned to breakfast.

MATHEMATICS.

So numerous and repeated, have been the applications made to us by our friends, to introduce Mathematics into the Iris, that we have at length determined to devote a portion of the work to this interesting Science. We may, therefore, by way of introduction, simply observe, that in the management of this department, we shall endeavour, as much as possible, to combine amusement with utility; and shall to the best of our judgment, exercise the greatest impartiality in our selections from the contributions with which our Correspondents may favour us. Of our scientific friends we must particularly request the patronage and support; assuring them, that, on our part, no exertion shall be spared to give to them every satisfaction.

The study of the mathematics, has at all times, been considered highly advantageous.

It is, indeed, universally allowed, by persons competent to judge, that of all pursuits, the mathematics are decidedly pre-eminent as mental exercises, and, at the same time, peculiarly valuable for their practi'cal utility.

In order to afford to our Correspondents every convenience for giving solutions to the different questions, we propose to insert the solutions in a fortnight after the first appearance of the questions. We must, however, observe, that no Question will be accepted unless it be accompanied by a Solution; and that it is particularly desirable, that the diagrams to the different Questions and Solutions, be as simple as possible.-ED.

No. 2, by Mr. Jas. Wilson. Required the side of that cube, whose solidity subtracted from the side itself, shall leave the greatest remainder possible?

No. 3, by Amicus.

Let the line AC be so moved in the right angle A B C, that its extremities may constantly touch the lines A B and B C produced; and let D be a given point in A C.-It is required to determine the locus of the point D?

IMPROVEMENT IN BREWING.

The Glasgow Chronicle says-A most important improvement has lately taken place in the mode of brewing and distilling, and is now practised at the Patent Steam Distillery at the Greenhead. The invention consists in the application of steam to the bottom of the boilers, which are indented with concentric circles, varying in depth according to the progress and quantity of heat wanted. A pipe from the steamengine boiler, situated outside of the building, is conveyed to three large brewing boilers and two stills. The boiler is not larger than that required of eighthorse power, and not more than the usual pressure is employed. In addition to the saving of fuel, the improvement consists in the great disparity of temperature betwixt this mode and the common way of distilling by a coal or peat fire. The difference is as 214 to 21,877 degrees of heat. The consequence is obvious. Steam cannot give any of that empyreumatic nauseous flavour, which is so difficult to be avoided in the common method, and which has so long deteriorated our native beverage. Another improvement at the Greenhead is a machine, styled by the inventor. a separator, that completely prevents the mixture of the coarse essential oil, which is one of the products of distillation on the old plan, and which has been so greatly injurious to all malt spirits.'

TO THE EDITOR.

Wretched, indeed! but far more wretched yet, Is he who makes his meal on others' wit!'

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POPE.

SIR, I am one of the many warm admirers of the beautiful essays which appear in the Iris, under the title of the Club.' The Club' is itself, I have no doubt, a mere fiction. The whole, if I guess rightly, is the produce of a single individual, notwithstanding the variety of signatures. But this is a matter about which I care but little. In these essays I admire equally, under either circumstances, the elegance that adorns, and the wit that enlivens them. They are unquestionably from the pen of a person of genius, who has long been accustomed to the niceties of composition. I have heard them attributed, I know not how truly, to a learned and accomplished female.

The attack made upon the Club,' might have been expected. Such attacks were frequently made upon the periodical essays of Addison. The letter of Observer in your last number, is too unmeaning to require an answer; and I venture to predict, (though I am not gifted with second-sight like some of Blackwood's fortune-telling supernumeraries) that it will not be noticed. That the author of it may not, however, triumph in the silence of the Club,' I will offer for his instruction the following fable from the Tatler :

'It happened one day, as a stout and honest mastiff (that guarded the village where he lived against thieves and robbers) was very gravely walking, with one of his puppies by his side, all the little dogs in the street gathered about him, and barked at him. The little puppy was so offended at this affront done to his sire, that he asked him, why he would not fall upon them, and tear them to pieces? To which the sire answered, with a great composure of mind, if there were no curs, I should be no mastiff."

A CLUBITE.

LITERARY NOTICES.

Cœur de Lion, or The Third Crusade, a Poem, in sixteen Books, by Miss Porden, is in the press.

It is reported in Edinburgh that, Mr. Dugald Stewart is at present engaged in writing a memoir of his late distinguished friend, Professor Playfair.

A volume of Essays, by the Rev. R. W. Bamford, on the Discipline of Children, particularly as regards their education, will shortly make its appearance.

The Fortunes of Nigil are going on rapidly.

THE DRAMA.

MANCHESTER DRAMATIC REGISTER.

Monday, March 18th-Alexander the Great: with Therese.

Wednesday, 20th.-Every One Has His Fault: with Therese.

Friday, 22nd. Such Things Are: with Therese.

LECTURES ON POETRY.

On Monday, 1st. of April, at seven o'clock in the evening, the REV. J. J. TAYLER, A. B. will begin a COURSE OF LECTURES, at the Rooms of the Literary and Philosophical Society, George-street, Manchester, on the HISTORY OF ENGLISH POETRY. Further particulars may be learned by applying to Messrs. Robinson and Ellis, 5, St. Ann's Place; Messrs. Clarkes', Market-Place; Mr. Sowler's, and Mrs. Bancks, St. Ann's Square; or Mr. E. Thomson, Market-street; who will also receive the names of Subscribers.

This Day is Published, 2nd Edition, Price 4d. CHRIST the BELIEVER'S BREAKWATER; or, a few Poetical Remarks, occasioned by a Visit to the Breakwater, in Plymouth Sound, on the 30th of January, 1822, being the substance of Two Letters, sent to his family. BY WM. GADSBY.

Fifteen Hundred copies of the first edition of this work, were sold in fifteen days.

Sold by E. Thomson, W. W. Clarke, Silburn and Richardson, and G. Greenough, Manchester; and Higham, Chiswell-Street, and Paris, Long-Acre, London.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We shall feel obliged if MAROPHILUS will favour us
with the remainder of the Dissertation, as we think
the whole may be inserted at twice.
The Lines beginning

Ye town-bred spiders that so oft I've seen,
Whether of colour black, or blue, or green;
Standing with open mouth, and outstretch'd claws,
Ready to seize on country flies so simple, &c.
are rather too personal for publication.

Lines on the New Burial Ground,' by PHILAN-
THROPOS, have been received.

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The Fragment,' by W. G. H. came too late for insertion this week.

W. H. is respectfully informed that he will find FEMALE HEROISM' in the Gleaner,' published by the late Mr. Cowdroy.

The Anecdote, sent by Issachar Whyte, is so well known that we desline inserting it.

We are obliged by Zeno's Communication, but must remark, that his demonstration appears to us to prove the very converse of what he intended to prove.

Communications have been received from T. A.-Iz. Trofa.-W. M. L.-D.-J. L. W.-J. L-John Huggins. V. Ward.-Jon. Swift, junr. and C. R. A.

A work by Sir Walter Scott is mentioned in the Scottish capital: it is from the notes of a distinguished person of the 17th century, and is likely to contain many curious anecdotes of the last thirty The Poem, by BEPPO, has been sent as desired. years of that age.

A very severe Remonstrance has been addressed to Mr. John Murray, by an OXONTAN, on the subject of Lord Byron's Cain. This pamphlet is written with considerable asperity, and condemns the motives of both the Publisher and the noble Author in the most unqualified terms. We believe that Mr. Murray has reason to repent of his bargain, the Court of Chancery having absolutely refused to grant an injunction against a pirated edition, in consequence of the immoral tendency of the Poem; although the sum of 26251. had been given for the copy-right.

Letter-Box in the Door.

MANCHESTER: Printed, Published, and Sold, by HENRY SMITH AND BROTHERS, St. Ann's Square.

AGENTS,

Ashton, Mr. Cunningham. Oldham, Mr. Lambert. Bolton, Messrs. Gardner & Co. Rochdale, Miss Lancashire. Bury, Mr. Hellawell.. Stockport, Mr. Claye. Macclesfield, Mr. Swinnerton.

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FOR THE IRIS.

PATRIARCHAL CHRONOLOGY.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1822.

AN attentive examination of the chronology of the book of Genesis, elicits a number of interesting particulars which are hid from the view of the superficial reader. In order to place this subject in a proper light, we shall transcribe a table of the chronology of the patriarchal age, which any school-boy may construct from the fifth and tenth chapters of Genesis, and then subjoin a few observations which force themselves on our notice, upon examining its details. created Anno Mundi born

Adam

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Seth

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Shem

born

Lamech

Methuselah

Arphaxad

Salah

Eber

Peleg

Reu

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39

1 130.

235

325 395

460

622

687

874

930 987

1056 1140

1651

1656

racy, through the long period of upwards of 2000 years, from Adam, the progenitor of the human race, to Jacob, the founder of the nation of Israel. Adam was 243 years contemporary with Methuselah, his eighth lineal descendant. Methuselah was 98 years contemporary with Shem, the son of Noah and Shem died only 10 years before the birth of Jacob, in the 50th year of Isaac's life, and in the 150th of the life of Abraham. The account of the creation, therefore, of paradise, of the fall of man, and of every circumstance interesting to be known, together with the progressive discoveries which had been made in the arts and sciences by the Antediluvians, (Gen. iv. 20-22) might be handed down without the intervention of writing, which does not appear to have been discovered in that early age, and without an immediate revelation from heaven, which was not granted in cases where the knowledge afforded might be otherwise acquired.

2. The review of this table seems in a great measure to decide the controversy so long agitated, whether the Hebrew language was the language of paradise. If the patriarch Abraham and his sons spoke the same language in which the Decalogue was afterwards delivered from mount Sinai, there seems no great difficulty in believing that this language might be the same which was spoken from the beginning; unless we suppose that at the confusion of tongues at Babel, 1042 the common language was annihilated, and gave place to some of the tongues which from that time began to be spoken. It appears reasonable to think that 1235 Methuselah would speak the same language as Adam, 1290 with whom he was contemporary for upwards of 200 1422 years it is certain, indeed, that till the building of 1558 the tower of Babel all mankind spoke the same language, and it is highly improbable that it underwent any material alteration during that period. Shem, 1656 who spoke the Antediluvian language, would transmit 1658 it to that part of his posterity which adhered to the 1693 worship of Jehovah. One of these, Abraham, the 1723 father of the faithful, was his contemporary for 150 years; and there is nothing to prevent the supposition that Abraham, and even Isaac, were personally 1819 acquainted with Shem, and spoke the same language 1849 with their hoary progenitor. Although this argument 1878 by itself may not be considered absolutely conclusive, yet, in conjunction with the others which have been 1997 repeatedly advanced, it seems to bring it nearly to a state of certainty, that the language of Abraham 2008 and the language of the Jews was materially the same 2026 as the language of paradise. 2049 3. The rapid shortening of the life of man, from 2083 the period of the deluge, forces itself very strongly on our attention. From Shem to Abraham the register of 2108 deaths is in a great measure an inversion of the register 2126 of births. The order of births is-Shem, Arphaxad, 2158 Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abra2168 ham; and the order of deaths-Peleg, Nahor, Noah, 2183 Reu, Serug, Terah, Arphaxad, Salah, Shem, Abraham,

1757 1787

1996

2006

2096

2187 Eber.

2288 : Jacob 2815 1. It appears from this table, that knowledge might be communicated by tradition with the greatest accu

4. All the Antediluvian patriarchs except Noah were contemporary with Adam, and may have enjoyed his personal acquaintance.

5. All except Adam and Noah were alive at the

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time of Enoch's translation, which happened 57 years subsequent to the death of the former, and 69 prior to the birth of the latter.

6. Noah died only two years before the birth of Abraham, and thus saw his posterity to the tenth generation, nine of which were swept away before himself.

and 120 at the death of Isaac. 7. Jacob was 15 years old at the death of Abraham,

8. Isaac's death took place only one year before the commencement of the predicted years of plenty Isaac still retained the use of his faculties, (which in Egypt. It is natural therefore to suppose, that if however is doubtful, see Gen. xxvii. 1.) he would participate in the grief which the supposed death of Joseph occasioned; for the selling of Joseph into Egypt took place about 13 years prior to his decease.

Thus we see that a genealogical table is not always so uninteresting as on a first inspection it may appear. INDEX.

MR. EDITOR,

DESPOTISM,

In the reign of Louis the XIV. of France, the Fathers of Redemption, of the Order of the Holy Trinity, made two voyages to Morocco, for the purpose of redeeming Christian slaves from captivity; and on returning from their second voyage, in 1714, published an account of their success, and of the laws and customs of Morocco, under the title of a History of the Reign of Muley Ishmaël, King of Morocco, &c. : and as I do not remember to have seen the work in English, I send you a few extracts, trusting they may prove as new to some of your readers, as they did to me. Some of the facts on a first view, may appear rather incredible, but when we consider the characters of the worthy men who relate them, we may safely take them for granted. The dispositions of mankind moreover being the same in every age and country; except, so far, indeed, as those dispositions may be modified or connected by the civil and religious institutions of each particular country when therefore this is considered, we shall not so much feel surprise at the conduct of Muley Ishmael, which appears sufficiently wanton and capricious, as we shall in the first place feel gratitude to our Creator, who has placed us in a Christian country; and to our ancestors in the second place, who have transmitted to us such excellent civil institutions; the former operating upon us inwardly, and the latter outwardly, to restrain us from injury or oppressing one another; otherwise, we have amongst us those who might possibly act with as little respect or regard to right or reason as the African despotbut to my extracts:

"He (Muley Ishmael) obtained the crown by force, after having gained several victories over his nephews, the sons of his predecessor, and defeated all who opposed him. He is at present (1712) about 80 years of age, and of middle size; and it appears that age has not diminished either his courage or his

66

strength, nor even his agility; and he will at a single spring, jump over any thing upon which he can place his hands. It is one of his ordinary diversions to draw his sabre at the same time he mounts his horse, and cut off the head of the slave who holds his stirrup !"

"His subjects know by the colour of his dress, Green is his fawhat passion rules him at the time. vorite colour; white angurs well for those who approach him; but when he appears in yellow, every one trembles and avoids his presence; for that is the colour he wears on the days of his most cruel exe⚫ations."

"As a Talbe or Doctor of Law, he causes it to be believed, that the blood of Mahomet sanctifies even the horse upon which he rides. Religion makes him master of the lives and fortunes of his subjects, upon whom he looks as so many slaves: she consecrates the cruelties which he exercises towards the Christians and the Moors; the latter esteeming themselves happy to be sacrificed to his fury, in the persuasion that his murderous hand sends them to the Paradise of Mahomet; and in this foolish opinion they sometimes come from the extremity of his empire, to beg he will grant them this coup de grace. It is said that he has killed with his own hand, more than thirty thousand Christians and Mahometans.— When he sacrifices any of his own children, he afterwards reproaches his officers for not having prevented him, and punishes their negligence with death!".

"He one day caused the principal Jews to assemble before him under pretence that he had something When they were of importance to impart to them. Dogs, in his presence, he thus addressed them :-" I have sent for you in order to see that you all put on the red cap and embrace my faith; you have trifled with me these thirty years respecting the coming of your Messiah; now if you do not positively name the year and the day of his coming, your lives and goods are forfeited. I am determined to be deceived no longer." The Jews surprised at this salutation, which they had little reason to expect, considering the obligations he was under to them, and the punctuality with which they paid all his excessive imposts, remained silent; until, at length, one of the most prudent amongst them, tremblingly, requested eight days to deliberate on the answer they ought to give him. The King said, go, and take care you deceive me no more. They employed these eight days in preparing the principal answer, which they well knew the avidity of the King exacted of them. They got together a large sum of money, and presenting it to him, said, SIDI, our Doctors promise that in thirty years, our Messiah will come without further delay, The King taking the money, replied, "I see your drift, you deceitful dogs, you expect to throw me off my guard, in the hope that I shall not be then living; but I will deceive you in my turn: I will live long enough to convict you of imposture, and punish you as you deserve."

"He carries his council in his head; he has, for the sake of form, some Alcaydes and his Talbe about him, to whom he declares his intentions, and their ordinary opinion is contained in these two words, ANAMA SIDI; thou sayest right Lord."

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"The patience of the slaves was fately tried by a project he took into his head of joining the cemetary of the Christians to his gardens. As his religion taught him to look upon this ground as unholy, he caused them to dig it to the depth of six feet, and to carry the soil to the distance of three quarters of a league. Of five thousand Christian slaves employed in this work, which lasted only nine days, fifty died from infection caught from the bodies newly buried." March, 1822.

BIOGRAPHY.

T. V.

back the property, which is not restored to the plain- | have rendered his name so celebrated throughout
tiff, (for the King seizes upon every thing, be it ever Europe; indeed, we may add, in every quarter of
so vile) and moreover, to pay a heavy fine; so that the civilized world. To enter into any description of
them is needless-they are before the public. They
it is useless for an individual to complain to him, un-
have been, and will continue to be, the delight and
less from a motive of revenge, or to prevent a repe-
tition of the injury."
the solace of those who have been unable to visit
other countries; and they have excited the dormant
spirit of curiosity in many a resident of this university,
who has followed eagerly the steps of Dr. Clarke,
and has invariably borne testimony to the accuracy
and fidelity of his narrative. Dr. Clarke has some-
where mentioned all the excellencies which must
unite to form a perfect traveller-he must have the
pencil of Norden, the pen of Volney, the learning of
Pococke, the perseverance of Bruce, the enthusiasm
of Savary. Of all these Dr. Clarke united in his own
person by far the greater share. No difficulties in
his progress were ever allowed to be insuperable ;
and, upon all occasions, he imparted to others a por-
tion of his own enthusiasm. It was upon the return
from this extensive tour, during which he had visited
nearly the whole of Europe, and parts of Asia and
Africa, that Dr. Clarke presented to the University
those memorials of his travels, which now decorate
the vestibule of the library; and, as some return for
the splendour which his name had reflected upon the
University, he was complimented in full senate with
the degree of L. L. D. From that moment the re-
sidence of the traveller was confined to Cambridge,
and he shortly after commenced those public lectures
in mineralogy, which, if possible, have made his
name more known and honoured, both in this and
in foreign countries, than even his long and interest-
ing travels. Natural history was his earliest - and
most favourite study; and that peculiar branch of it,
which refers to the mineral kingdom, soon engrossed
celebrated lectures, Clarke was without a rival-bis
the whole of his attention. In the delivery of his

EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE, L. L. D. &c.

(From the Cambridge Chronicle.)

Early on Saturday morning (the 9th instant), died,
at Sir W. Rush's house, in Pall Mall, after a severe
and painful illness, the Rev. E. D. Clarke, L. L. D.
Professor of Mineralogy, and Librarian to the Uni-
versity, formerly fellow of Jesus College, and Rector
of Harlton, in this county, and of Great Yeldham, in
Essex. It is with sentiments of the deepest regret,
that we announce the above intelligence; and we
trust to the indulgence of our readers, if we trespass
beyond our usual limits on such an occasion, and in-
of this
sert a few tributary words to the memory
highly lamented and most distinguished individual.
We should fail indeed in our respect for the general
sympathy which the loss of Dr. Clarke has excited,
were we to content ourselves with the bare notice of

his death. In the following paragraph it is not in-
tended to draw the character of the late professor,
and to delineate his varied excellencies-they will
hereafter be traced by the biographer; but the hasty
sketch which has been conveyed to us by one of his
numerous friends, will, we trust, prove not unac-
ceptable. Perhaps no person ever possessed in a
more eminent degree than Dr. Clarke, the delightful
faculty of winning the hearts and rivetting the affec-
tions of those into whose society he entered. From
the first moment his conversation excited an interest
once, felt
that never abated. Those who knew him
that they must love him always. The kindness of
his manner, the anxiety he expressed for the welfare
of others, his eagerness to make them feel happy and
pleased with themselves, when united to the charms
of his language, were irresistible. Such was Dr.
Clarke in private life; within the circle of his more
immediate friends; in the midst of his family-there
he might be seen, as the indulgent parent, the affec-
tionate husband, the warm, zealous, and sincere

"His avarice is the principal spring of all his actions. If his police is strict, it is because he has his interest in view. The butchers, bakers, &c. daily bring a portion of their meat and bread, to the Cham-friend. Of his public life the present moment will ber of Police, which is always open, except one hour in the day. If any one has sold too dear, he is condemned to carry his merchandize about his neck through all the city; and hootings, stones, and blows are not spared him. At his return he undergoes the bastinado, and pays a heavy fine to the King. "From the same motive he renders prompt jus

tice.

When any one complains that another has wronged him, the criminal is condemned to bring

only admit of an outline. Soon after taking his de-
gree, Dr. Clarke accompanied the present Lord
Berwick abroad, and remained for some time in Italy.
The classic scenes he there met with, and his own
inquisitive genius, stimulated him to enter into a
wider field of research; and shortly after his return
to England, he embarked on those travels, which

eloquence was inferior to none; (in native eloquence, perhaps, few have ever equalled him in this country;) cidation clear and simple; and in the illustrations, his knowledge of his subject was extensive; his eluwhich were practically afforded by the various and beautiful specimens of bis minerals, he was peculiarly lected, and they seldom failed to give rise to the happy. Most of those specimens he had himself.col

most pleasing associations by their individual locality. We may justly apply to him in the delivery of his lectures, what is engraven on the monument of Goldsmith, Nihil, quod tetigit, non ornavit. Of the higher qualities of his mind, of his force and energy as a Christian preacher, of the sublimity and excellence of his discourses, we might tell in any other is unnecessary: his crowded congregations are testiplace than Cambridge; but here, all mention of them mony sufficient. Of the estimation in which Dr. Clarke was held by foreigners, we may, in the same manner, refer our readers to the various honorary societies in which his name stands enrolled; we may

safely say, that to no one person has the University of Cambridge been more indebted for celebrity abroad during the last twenty years, than to her late librarian, generous ardour in the pursuit of science-he looked Dr. Clarke. He has fallen a victim indeed to his only to the fame of the University; and in his honest endeavours to exalt her reputation, he unhappily neg. lected his own invaluable health. He has thus left

to his afflicted family and to his surviving friends, the most painful and bitter regrets; whilst to the University itself, he has bequeathed a debt of gratitude, which we doubt not will hereafter be amply and liberally discharged.

ON BLACK CATS.

Sleep thou in peace, my sable Selima, rest and be thankful, for thou wert born in an enlightened age, and in a family of females, and elderly gentlemen. Well is it for thee, that thou wert not cotemporary with the pious Baster, that detaster of superstition ; or the learned Sir Thomas Brown, the exploder of valgar errors; or the great Sir Matthew Hale, whose wholesome severities against half-starved sorceresses, so aptly illustrated his position, that Christianity is 'parcel of the common law of England.' Rest, I say, and be thankful, for the good old times had been bit

ter times for thee.

Why should colour excite the malignant passions of man? Why will the sole-patentee of reason, the soi disant Lord of Creation, degrade himself to the level of the Turkey-cock, that is filled with rage and

terror at a shred of scarlet? What is a hue-an absorbed or reflected ray, or, as other sages tell, a mere extended thought-that we should love or hate it? Yet such is man, with all his boasted wisdom. Ask why the Negro is a slave? He's black, not like a Christian. Why should Bridget's cat be worried? Why, to be sure, she's black, an imp of darkness, the witch's own familiar; nay, perhaps, the witch herself in disguise: a thing most easily put to proof; for if you knock out Grimalkin's eye, Bridget will appear next day with only one: maim the cat, its mistress halts; stab it, she is wounded. Such are the dangers of necromantic masquerading, when the natural body is punished with the stripes inflicted on the assumed one: and this was once religion with royal Chaplains, and philosophy with the royal Society.

These superstitions are gone : this baseless fabric of a vision is dissolved; I wish that it had left not a wrack behind. But when Satan disappears, an unsavoury scent remains behind him; and from the carcass of buried absurdity, there often proceeds an odour of prejudice--the more distressing, because we know not whence it comes. Neither elderly ladies nor black cats are now suspected of witchcraft; yet how seldom are they fully restored to their just estimation in the world.

Be it perverseness, or be it pity, or be it regard for injured merit, I confess myself an advocate for the human tabbies, so famed for loquacity, and for their peor dumb favourites in black velvet.

Whether it be true, that Time, which has such various effects on divers subjects, which is so friendly to wine, and so hostile to small beer, which turns abuse to right, and usurpation to legitimacy, which improves pictures while it mars their originals, and raises a coin no longer current to a hundred times the value it ever went for ;-whether this wonder-working Time be able to deface the loveliness of women, shall he a subject for future inquiry. But, my pretty Selima; thou, that like Solomon's bride, art, black, bat comely; thee, and thy kind-the sable order of the feline sisterhood, I would gladly vindicate from those aspersions, which take occasion from the blackness of thy coat to blacken thy reputation.

Thy hue denotes thee a child of night; Night, the wife of Chaos, and being a female, of course the oldest female in being. How aptly, therefore, dost thou become the favourite of those ladies, who, though not so old as night, are nevertheless in the evening of their days. Thou dost express thy joy at the return of thy mother, even as the statue of Memnon at the approach of her rival, frisking about in thy mourning garb by moonlight, starlight, or no light, an everlasting merry. mourner ; and yel.a mute in dress, and si lence too, not belying thy name by volnbility...

How smooth, how silky soft are thy jetty hairs! A peaceful multitude, wherein each knows its place, and none obstructs its neighbours. Thy very paws

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sue.

MATHEMATICS.

Solution of No. 1, by Mr. James Wilson.

First, by multiplying the second given equation by y, we have, /X3−√35 + y x- =1-3, and this, divided by √√x, will give x+y=7.

are velvet, and seem formed to walk on carpets of tisWhat a pretty knowing primness in thy mouth, maiden dignity in thy whiskers. Were it not for what quick turns of expression in thy ears, and what thine emerald eyes, and that one white hair on thy breast, which I abstain from comparing to a single star, in a cloudy sky, or a water lily lying on a black lake, (for, in truth, it is like neither.) I should call thee nature's monochrom. And then the manifold movements of thy tail, that hangs out like a flag of truce, and the graceful sinuosity of thy carriage, all bespeak thee of the gentle kind. False tokens all : thou can'st be furious as a negro despot; thy very hairs, if crosIn the first given equation, if we transsed, flash fire. Thou art an earth-pacing thunder- pose 22y, and to both sides add y2, we cloud, a living electric battery, thy back is armed with | shall obtain, by evolution, y + x + y the wrath of Jove. Hence do thy enemies find occasion to call thee = 11 +y; and by transposition y2 + x patch on the fair face of nature; and therefore, an a daughter of darkness, clad in Satan's livery-a11:-Hence, by reduction,' we find unseemly relic of a fashion, not only unbecoming in itself, but often perverted to the purposes of party.

from the follies of mankind, they have profited by Yet, my Selima, if thy tribe have suffered much them also. If the dark age looked black upon them; if the age of black arts, black friars, and black letter set them in its black-book, and delivered over their patronesses to the blackness of darkness; yet time hath been when they partook of the honour and worship paid to all their species, while they walked in pride at the base of the pyramids, or secreted their kittens in the windings of the labyrinth. Then was their life pleasant, and their death as a sweet odour.

This was, indeed, common to all thy kind, however diversified by colour or divided by condition. Tabby and tortoise-shell, black, white, and grey, tawny and sandy, gib and grimalkin, ye were a sacred race, and the death of one of ye was mourned as a brother's-if natural; and avenged as a citizen's-if violent: and this in the cradle of the sciences, (so called. I presume, because the sciences were babies there,) and in spite of the 700,000 volumes of Alexandria.

Yet I cannot but think that the wise Egyptians distinguished black with peculiar reverence. We know that their religion, like their writing, was hieroglyphical; that their respect for various animals was merely symbolical; that ander the form of the ox, they gratefully remembered the inventor of agriculture, and adopted a beetle as the representative of the sun. Now, of how many virtues, how many powers, how many mysteries may not a black cat be an emblem? As she is cat, of vigilance; as she is black, of secresy; as both, of treachery, one of the greatest of political virtues, if we judge from the high rewards continually given, and daily advertised for it. Again, we know the annual circle, and the signs by which it was measured, was another object of idolatry; but one ample half of time is typified by a black cat.

But should these deep speculations be deemed mystical by the present age, which if it be an age of light, is certainly an age of tightness, it may, at least, be admitted, that the Egyptians would prefer their own colour, and we are assured by Volney and others, that they were not only black, but literally negroes.

As for the esteem they entertained for cats in general, we may account for it on the supposition, that they were delivered, at some period of their history, in an extraordinary manner, from a swarm of rats, either national or political. And that the agents of this deliverance were represented under the feline figure, which may be plausibly considered as a bodily representative of the spirit of reform.

After all, Selima, I doubt whether thou hast lost as much by never being worshipped as thou hast gained by living in a Christian country. State is burdensome, and superstition is seldom prone to regard its objects with affection.

But there is one of thy hues whose condition might have been envied by all the sacred mousers of Egypt. Well may she be proad and coy, whom fate has appointed, not to be the idol of the children of Ham, but the favourite of the loveliest of the danghters of Britain.—Lon. Mag.

x=4, and y = 3,

Solutions, were received also, from Amicus, X. Y.-O. and O. P.

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ENIGMA. No. 9.
Enigmatists I pray disclose
The mysteries I now propose,
And let your answers, Sirs, be known
In the next Iris of this town.

A foreign name I always bear,
Though chiefly manufactur'd here,
And pleasure I to all impart.
If manag'd, with peculiar art,

I'm of four different parts combin'd,
Which when I'm used, must all be join'd,
And then my master with his skill,"
Must dexterously my belly fill,
Whereby the company around,
With silent mirth and joy abound.
In different colours I am drest,
As suits my master's fancy best;
Sometimes I'm black and dismal quite,
And sometimes cloth'd in virgin white;
Sometimes both black and white I wear,
And often times in brown appear.

: I at the festive board attend,
And in the fair sex have a friend.
Bnt hold-enough is said no doubt,
For you to find your servant out.
Manchester, March, 1822.

CHARADE. No. 10.

J. Swilbrig.

To make a populous town in Lancashire. One half of a despicable character; One half of an easy oflice in the Collegiate Church; One half of an useful animal,

And two fifths of an emblem of peace.

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Had there dwelt less of beauty in that cheek,
Whereon there lingers now so soft a tinge,-
Or did those jet black eyes, (whose glances seek
For shelter in their long and silken fringe)
Shed less of angel brightness when they shine,

Yet had'st thou, lady, reigned within my heart— The purer spirit still had guided mine:

Then young, and fair, and spotless as thou art,
Oh! marvel not my bosom should enshrine,
Thy lovely image whence it ne'er shall part;
And as o'er desert wilds a single star
Doth sometimes shed its solitary ray,
To guide the wand'ring pilgrim from afar,

Ev'n thus art thou to me whilst thro' the world I stray.

EPITAPH ON AN INFANT. Translated from the Latin. Adieu! sweet Babe! thy sleep enjoy, While Zephyrs round thee gently play, Completely free from earth's alloy,

Thy heav'nly soul was call'd away. Aurora's car shall bear it on

To scenes of bliss above the skies, And Seraphs, as they taste the morn, Shall chaunt its triumph as they rise.

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A writer in Dr. Anderson's Bee, vol. 6, mentions the following singular indictments, as copied from an old M. S. that had fallen into his hands; the writer begins his minutes thus:

Memorandum,--That one, the 19th daye of February, 1661, was the firste tyme that I was upone the Jury for life and death at the Old Bayley, and then were these persons following tryde, and for what crime.

After mentioning the names of nine persons who were tried that day, and seventeen the next, for ordinary offences, are the following entries :

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Katherine Roberts is endited for selling of a child to the spirits for 28s. 6d. ; but after much hearinge of witnesses, it could not be clearely proved, and so she was found not guilty.'

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Linton, a musician belonging to the orchestra of Covent Garden Theatre, was murdered by some street robbers, who were discovered and executed. A play was given for the benefit of his widow and children, and the day preceding the performance, the following appeared in one of the public prints : Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.

FOR THE BENEFIT OF MRS. LINTON, &c. The widow,' said Charity whispering in my ear, 'must have your mite, wait upon her with a guinea, and purchase a box ticket?' You may have it for five shillings,' observed Avarice, pulling me by the elbow.

My hand was in my pocket, and the guinea which was between my fingers, slipped out.

'Yes,' said I, 'she shall have my five shillings.' 'Good Heaven,' exclaimed Justice, what are you about?

Five shillings! If you pay but five shillings for going into the theatre, then you get value received for your money.'

And I shall owe him no thanks,' added Charity, laying her hand upon my head, and leading me on the way to the widow's house. Taking the knocker in my left hand, my whole frame trembled. Looking round, I saw Avarice turn the corner of the street, and I found all the money in my pocket grasped in my hand. Is your mother at home, my dear?' said I to a child who conducted me into the parlour.

'Yes,' answered the infant, but my father has not been at home for a great while; that is his harpsicord, and that is his violin. He used to play on them for me.'

'Shall I play you a tune, my boy:' said I.

No Sir,' continued the boy; my mother will not let them be touched, for since my father went abroad, music makes her cry, and then we all cry.'

I looked on the violin, it was unstrung,---it was out of tune. Had the lyre of Orpheus sounded in mine year, it could not have insinuated into my frame thrills of sensibility equal to what I felt.

"I hear my mother on the stairs,' said the boy, I shook him by the hand ;---'Give her this,' said I, and left the house. It rained,---1 called a coach, drove pocket, borrowed a shilling at the bar. to a coffee-house, but not having a farthing in my

METEOROLOGY.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR, The following are Decades, or the Mean Temperature of every ten days for the last twelve months, commencing at the vernal equinox of 1821, and ending at the present equinox on the 20th instant, Each decade is drawn from the daily means of the two extremes; found by a Six's, or self-registering thermometer. An early insertion will oblige your constant reader,

Manchester, 25th March, 1822. 1821,

March 20 to 29th, both inclusive. April

May

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1st decade. %. 48.93′′ 2nd 3rd

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