On the 8th of that month, in the afternoon, the weather being fhowery, cloudy, but not windy, and of a moderate temperature for the feafon, the eldest, an intelligent young lady (mifs Archer, fince married to Roger Comberbach, Efq.) from whom I had this information, and three of her brothers, went out, for the first time after their arrival, to view the town. Afcending the walls at the northgate, they turned westward, and foon met a child of about a year old, in the fmall-pox. The puftules were pretty numerous on the face; fome appeared fresh and full of matter, others were fcabbed A nurfe had the child on her left arm, paffed on the north fide, between them and the city wall, fo that its face was toward the young lady and brothers. The clothes of neither nurfe nor child feemed dirty. The breadth of the path is a yard and a quarter, between the wall of a building on the fouth fide two yards and a half high, and the city wall, on the north fide, whofe top is one yard and a quarter higher than the path, and fix yards above the ground. The young lady's face was nearly on a level with the child's; her brothers were rather lower. She is certain that fhe paffed within half a yard of the child, and doubts whether the was not within half that distance of it. Her brothers, the believes, were all as near it. The narrowness of the path between the two walls renders this opinion very probable. They all walked exactly, or nearly, in the fame line with the child, both before and after paffing it. Both parties walked uniformly forward in oppofite directions, at a moderate rate, except one of the brothers, who expreffed a curiofity to look at the fmall-pox patient, topped a little moment when oppofite to it, and about a minute when fome yards paft each other. The young lady is certain that he did not touch, but thinks that he approached nearer the child than herself or any of the reft. This brother was the only one of the party who was infected. He was seized with the eruptive fever on the 15th of November, that is, on the tenth day after the interview; yet all the other three were fufceptible of the diftemper, being infected by him. They were attacked on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of December; that is, on the 24th, 25th, and 26th day after meeting the child; a longer period than has ever been fuppofed to precede the fever. Another brother was feized November 25th, and another fifter, December 2d, who had not been on the walls. Though the three who met the fmall-pox patient, paffed fo near it, yet it is highly probable that none of them, and to a much greater degree, feveral thousands to one, that all were not expofed to the infection. Few medical conclufions can be drawn with fuch a degree of probability.'

We need not copy the methods which were taken to prevent the contagion, or the tranfactions of the Society. Those who wifh to follow their example will undoubtedly refer to the work itself. We can only add our entire approbation of the

plan,

plan, and a wish to fee it more generally adopted, and more iberally fupported.

In the Appendix is a curious letter from Dr. Benjamin, Waterhouse, of Rhode-Ifland, defcribing the means by which they have prevented the fmall-pox from ever becoming epidemic in the island.-Though the object is meritorious, the method is certainly objectionable: it has had, however, fo: much fuccefs, as to deferve attention in its more important outlines.

Tranfactions of the Society, inftituted at London, for Encourage ment of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Vol. III. 8vo. 45. in Boards.

Cadell.

THE progrefs of the Society's labours is an additional proof of the strength of their judgment, and the propri-, ety of their views. The premiums are directed to important objects, and the feveral defigns are pursued with steadiness and perfeverance.

The first fubject, as ufual, is that of agriculture; and we, with pleasure, perceive the progress of plantations; but we with that the useful oak was more often chofen to enrich the forest with its foliage, and the nation in future with its timber: its extenfive employment requires immenfe fupplies. We have a fhort account of dibbling or dropping wheat; a mode of sowing practifed in Norfolk. But, as a premium has been offered, in order to obtain a more exact account of its utility, when compared with broad-caft and drilling, we fhall not enlarge on it. The Howard or clustered potatoe is the next object; but the experiments are probably not so favourable as we may expect to find them in better foils; yet they are fufficiently fo, to induce us to continue the cultivation. On this fubject we are promised fome farther fatisfaction.

In the clafs of polite arts are inferted very particular defcriptions of the pictures, painted by Mr. Barry, for the great room of the Society: Thefe are now very generally known.

In the year 1760, premiums were offered for cloth made from the stalks of hops; but no proper claims have been made, As this defect was fuppofed to be owing to the want of fome farther information, a fhort account is now published of what has been already done in this way. For the fame reason we fhall transcribe it. The obfervations chiefly to be attended to in this experiment are,

First, That the faid fpecimens (viz. thofe left with the regifter of the Society) are fufficient to evince that hop-binds will afford a material for making cloth.

Se

Secondly, That the fpecies of cloth intended to be made from the material produced, would very well anfwer the purpofe of fine facking, and coarfe bagging for hops.

Thirdly, that the fole cause of my not producing a Stronger material, and a fufficient quantity to have entitled me to the premium propofed, was, that the material was too long immerfed under water, and its texture was thereby deftroyed.

Fourthly, That fuch binds as I took occafionally from the large quantity I had put to foak, at the end of about fix weeks or two months, afforded filaments fufficiently fine and ftrong, for any purpose,

Fifthly, That the time neceffary to reduce the inner fubftance of the hop-binds to a fitnefs for ufe, by maceration, will abfolutely decay the outer coat, as appears from thofe which have continued under water above a year.'

In mechanics, the floating-light, for the preservation of failors falling overboard in the night, at fea; the gun-harpoon (formerly mentioned, of whofe utility we have additional evidence); a new and very convenient crane, by Mr. Braithwait; a new invented fecret efcutcheon, and fome improvements on common locks, are described. These we cannot examine without the affiftance of the plates; but they appear generally useful. We fhall transcribe, however, an account of the properties of the escutcheon.

The marquis of Worcester, in his Century of Inventions, N° 72, after having spoken of three kinds of locks invented by him, fays" an efcutcheon to be placed before any of these locks with thefe properties.

"The owner, though a woman, may, with her delicate hand, vary the ways of coming to open the lock, ten millions of times beyond the knowledge of the smith that made it, or of me who invented it."

Many attempts have been made to form a machine equal in its properties to the defcription here given, and from thence it is probable, arose the kind of padlock which have been long made in this country in great numbers, which having feveral letters on different rings, can only be opened when a certain fet of those letters are arranged in one order, but this was in no degree equal to the end propofed, for befides the workman who made it being at all times informed of the position the letters must be in, and confequently enabled to open it; the letters and rings admitting of no variation of place, at the will of the owner, referving at the fame time a power of opening the locks, whenever the proper arrangement became

known,

known, the fecret was divulged, and all fecurity at an end; but by the improvement made by Mr. Marshall, the letters or figures allowing an almoft infinite variety of changes, the owner may, in one minute, alter the fecret in fuch a manner that even the maker would be as unlikely to open it, as he would be of gaining the higheft prize in a lottery, by the chance of a fingle ticket; thus this kind of efcutcheon is in. finitely more fecure than any hitherto in ufe, especially as the alteration of the letters may be made every day for years, without recurring to their first state, and as the owner may, at one time, chufe to truft a friend or a domestic with the fecret, fo that they might have recourse to his valuables, &c. he may alío, at another time, wish to exclude them from that privilege, which this contrivance renders very easy to be done. As this improvement relates only to the efcutcheon, it is obvious that every attempt to pick the lock it covers, or to open it by means of falfe keys, is prevented; a circumftance of no fmail importance, when locks of a curious conftruction, and with a number of fine wards are made ufe of.'

Next follows an abftract of the proceedings of the Society, from which we can extract nothing particularly interefting, and the ufual lifts of the members, &c. The volume is concluded by a lift of the premiums offered in the present year.

Among the premiums, we perceive an encouragement for the propagation of the red willow, fometimes called the upland willow. It is certainly, in many respects, an ufeful plant; but it also tends to chear the fandy waftes, as it flourifies in dry fandy grounds, and its cultivation will contribute. to cover them with mould, fo as to make them fit for better purposes.

We cannot enlarge on the different fubjects, for which the Society have offered premiums; but would only hint that, with refpect to rhubarb, their good intentions may be fruftrated, if they do not limit the age at which the root of the plant fhould be taken up. We fufpect that, at three or four years, it may be apparently good, yet not nearly equal in its properties to the Ruflian rhubarb; and it is moft probable, that the Society confine their remarks to the obvious properties only. It certainly is not at its greatest perfection, under eight years, and probably not under twelve. We particularly mention this circum.ftance, because we perceive an eagerness to ufe it much earlier; and the character of the remedy will of courfe fuffer by this precipitate conduct.

We fall only add, that the Society confines its views of improvement of wafte lands to thofe which have been hitherto ufelefs,' and we fhall conclude with wifhing them all the fuccefs which their benevolent defigns deferve.

Th:

The Adventures of Six Princeffes of Babylon. 4to. 35. Buckland.

TH HE age of allegory is now paft, for it approaches too nearly to pofitive precept; and we wish to be allured into virtue, and cheated into health. The luxuriance of Hawkesworth, and the energy of Johnfon, for fome time fupported it; but their labours, in this mode of inftruction, are, we believe, lefs popular than any other parts of their lucubrations. Thefe objections are not intended to depreciate the pleafing performance before us, but to animate the exertions of the author in a more fuccefsful line. There is much fancy in the defcriptions, and much wholefome inftruction from the events the wonders of fairy land, calculated to engage the imagination, are employed to fix the leffons more firmly on the heart. If there be a fault in the moral, it is, that the heroines are too often relieved from the diftrefs, induced by their own misconduct, by fupernatural affiftance, without any ef forts of their own. The great leffon to be inculcated on young minds, on the contrary, is, that though they have fuffered from diftrefs, yet that they do not deserve affistance, tilk they have amended the fault and rectified their conduct.

A king and queen, driven from their dominions, are obliged to feek fhelter in a lonely defert; but the queen, fitting one day on the sea fhore, fees a benevolent fairy, who tells her that she will be restored to her throne by the virtues of her daughters. Thefe young ladies are, however, to be educated by the fairy, who adorns their minds with every valuable quality; and, after a proper education, the addrefies them in the following words.

You have now lived, my dear children, feveral years in this folitude, infenfible of the great defigns for which you were brought hither. But, before I proceed farther on this fubject, it is neceffary to inform you, that the fate of your parents is fo ftrongly connected and bound up in yours, that is in your power, by your fortitude and virtue, to restore them again to empire and dominion, or, by your mutability and vice, to bring them with fhame and mifery to the grave.-Know then, that there are fix wonders lie hid in nature, ordained as a trial of your conftancy; they are attended with innumerable perils but when once, poffeffed, and kept among you, will render you more powerful than the most abfolute monarch.

The first, (faid the, addreffing the eldest princefs) is the Distaff of Industry; an ineflinable treafure! for, by applying one end of it to your right hand, you are inftantly put in

poi