Qui studet optatam cursu contingere

metam,

Multa tulit fecitque puer. Objects which were of the utmost difficulty in old times, are at the present enlightened period performed with ease; we have at present half a dozen patents for perpetual motions, and one from a gentleman of the Temple, for a contrivance which as much exceeds the perpetual motion, as this does all others, for besides performing this operation, it is also to turn a large corn-mill. The famous astronomers and mathematicians of old are all left in the back ground. Mr. Joseph Emmanuel Pellizer has, after forty-four years study, proved the Copernican system to be most false, absurd, and unholy. Mr. Martin publicly demonstrated the mistakes of Copernicus and of Sir Isaac Newton, not long since on his grand orrery in Leicester-square, and he now exhibits a new perpetual motion, to enhance the merits of which, he informs us that the same erroneous "Sir Isaac had proved it to be impossible." The magnifique theorist Monsieur St. Pierre has also convicted this blundering Newton of other great mistakes, particularly as to the figure of the earth, which he has so finely demonstrated to be oxoidal at the - poles, though, as happens in Mr. Martin's case, Newton had proved this to be impossible, and that on the contrary, it was an oblate spheroid. On these occasions we lamented to see the fame of this revered philosopher undermined, but now a greater misfortune has happened; for he is attacked by a very different species of antagonist, not of the order of inspirati before mentioned, but one who has actually been at school, and who informs us, that he presents rs with the results of thirty years study, affording thereby a singular instance of early application, (for he does

not appear to exceed forty-fire years of age) the more laudable, as at the youthful period of commencing those studies, many things must have occurred to dissipate his attention. We have now the mortification to see the fame of Sir Isaac, before mutilated by Messrs St. Pierre, Martin, Pellizer and Co. receive another severe wound, perhaps a coup de grace, from general Grant, viscount de Vaux, marechal des camps, et des armies a sa majeste tres chretienne, author of the Cosmographical Columns, the Ouranographia, the New Division of the World, &c. &c. Yet such is our obstinate partiality to Sir Isaac, that we remain unconvinced by all the grand demonstrations of his adversaries, and are even so unphilosophical as to declare, mallemus errare cum Newtono.

But it is not only on the points alluded to, that we differ from the author of the Dissertations; on many others, and some of these of a momentous nature, we are compelled to dissent toto cœlo, and think it our duty also to use our best endeavours to prevent the many errors contained in the work from leading astray minds, not sufficiently instructed or wary enough to detect them.

The author commences his book with a dissertation on astronomy, in which he proceeds quite in character as a military man, by describ ing, after a few pages of introduc tory matter, what may well be named a military orrery of his contrivance, in which he draws up the planets, primary and secondary, with the sun and moon, on " grass-plot in the Isle of Wight," and niakes them go through their exercise, march and countermarch at the word of command. As this orrery has the singular merit of originality, of which very few of the many inventions mentioned in the dissertation can boast, it de

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"I should have said that each of these transparencies will be not only of different bulk, but also of different degrees of bright ness, or apparent colour, according to their, distances, or their natural aspect; and be sides, on the opposite side of the sun, a dark hemisphere must be adapted to each planet. By this means cach planet can be made to have a diurnal rotation in that dark hemisphere. It will have this advantage also, that any spectator placed near the earth, (that is to say, geocentrically) or near some other planets, will be able to see the different phases, even of the earth, which will be very curious; because all these effects, which require so much observation and study, will be produced at once, and in a short time, though proportionally as exact as can be expected of an artificial experiment.

"To put this planetary system in motion at pleasure, you have only to give your order, to make a signal, or to say "march" then the music beginning to play a march, and each soldier making his steps in mea sure, the planets will execute their revolution in due time relatively one to the other; that is to say, the nearest to the sun will make as many revolutions as they do in the sky during the great revolutions of the superior ones.

"For this effect, if the musicians regulate each measure to be of two seconds in time, the soldiers will also make each of their steps in two seconds: then each soldier holding the pole of his car with the right han, and marching on the border of his path, the extent of his steps will be reguated by as many short sticks lying flat on the side of the gravel, but not in the way of the car, and upon which stick the soldiers will place the middle of their feet at each step; so that if the orbit of Georgium, the farthest planet, is walked over in eighty minutes, (each step of the soldier being only six inches,) and the orbit of the earth (which is only thirty steps of two feet, or sixty seconds in time) in one minute, the earth will make eighty revolutions during one of the Georgium, which is conformable to nature, and so on in proportion with all the others.

"In the space then of one hour and twenty minutes, you will be able to make a whole treatise of practical astronomy."

Some appendages to the orrery are described after this, which would

take up too much room to insert. The nearest fixed star is to be represented by a light in a ship at anchor fifteen miles from the pavilion; and the various motions of the moon are to be exhibited by some wheelwork added to the inside of the car of the earth (or Tellus) and connected with the wheels of this car, "which will give a circular motion to a little globe representing the moon ;" and the other planets may be furnished with satellites in the same manner. The author has not forgotten the comets; he mentions in p. 24. that 66 some small rockets fired from the pavilion in an oblique direction would imitate pretty well the effects of the comets, and would not diminish the gaiety of the astronomical experiments," In this opinion we perfectly coincide, they are indeed the gayest experiments that ever came to our knowledge, and remind us very much of something of a similar nature proposed for theatrical exhibition in the grand ballet contrived by Bayes; wherein the sun, moon, and earth were to dance the heys, and in the many intersections of its figure form numé rous mutual eclipses, to the great delight, edification, and gaiety of the spectators. We own however that the dancing orrery of Bayes must yield the pas to the marching orrery of the author, which cannot be improved unless indeed the gas lights of his friend Mr. Winsor might be thought capable of increasing the splendour of its sun.

We are sorry that our approbation can be carried no farther than the military orrery. We must quit the pleasing exhibition of the sçavant general exercising the planets

cn a grass-plot in the Isle of Wight," to follow him in his flight to the spheres, and strive to rectify the confusion he has there endeavoured to create.

We now come to one of the first

"I always found it very unnatural that the earth (which travels in its orbit at the rate of near 60,000 miles in an hour, which is 120 times swifter than the velocity of a cannon ball) should be obliged continually to keep that uncomfortable at titude, called the inclination of her poles, of 23%, which is the only means adopted, till this time, to find the cause of the sea sons. From this ancient principle it derives, that the advantages of the seasons are denied to the most beautiful of our planets, Jupiter; because from the horizontal spots or belts of that planet we see that its axis is not inclined, as we suppo. ours to be but possibly if we could transport ourselves to Jupiter, and see our globe from thence, as we see that planet from the earth, we should find that the axis of our poles are perpendicular, as well as those of Jupiter and of the sun, and that consequently they are all parallel with each other, and every one directed towards the environs of the polar star; that the pole of the ecliptic and the pole of the world are the same; and that it is the orbit of the earth, and of al the sister planets, which is inclined 234° upon the plan of the equator of the sun, and not the axis of the earth."

We shall pass over what is said of Jupiter, (till it is shewn in what way the position of the belts can indicate to any certainty the direction of his axis,) in order to proceed to what is said of the axis of the earth. What the inclination of the plane of the sun's equator to the ecliptic can have to do with the seasons, remains yet to be proved by the author. We will not however hesitate to declare, that if the sun even had a new motion given it round its center, which would make its equator revolve round an axis in its own plane as often as the spots on its surface, that it could in no way alter the direction of the rays of light which proceed from it, or the position of the shadows caused by the bodies on which they fell. The proximate cause of the seasons, as well as the duration of night, we well know to be the position of these shadows; and that this is entirely occasioned by the direction in which the surface of the earth is presented to the sun, and not by that in which the sun is presented to the earth, a little reflection will suffice to shew any one; but if this should not succeed, the folowing simple experiment will put the matter beyond doubt. Heat a cannon ball red hot, to repre sent the sun, with a wire twisted round its middle to denote the equator, and suspend it in the midst of a dark room, in such a manner that the plane of the wire equator can be turned in any position to the surrounding objects; suspend a axis on the same level with it, pacommon terrestrial globe by the rallel with the floor, which level may represent the plane of the ecliptic: after this, turn the redhot ball as you please, (not forgetting among other positions, that mentioned by the author, in which the plane of its axis will be 23 degrees to that of the ecliptie) and

it will be found that in all its positions the shadow on the globe will maintain the same place, with its extreme boundary passing through the axis next try the effect of altering the position of the axis of the globe, and it will be seen instantly that the smallest variation from its first vertical posture will change the place of the shadow; and after many trials it will be found also, that no other position but that in which it is inclined— 23 degrees to the level of the imaginary ecliptic before mentioned, will represent the phenomena of the seasons, on carrying the globe round the red-hot ball; which has been chosen to represent the sun, because the light will proceed from it in all directions in a similar manner. The plate inserted to explain the theory of the author, is of such a strange nature as to leave it doubtful whether its errors proceeded from confusion of ideas or from an intended attempt at deception. In this plate two rings are drawn intersecting each other, one intended to represent the ecliptic, and the other of course the plane of the sun's equator; with the sun in the midst, and four globes placed as at the solstices and equinoxes; but these globes instead of being drawn with the axis perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, as the author's theory mentions, are inclined to it 23 degrees, so as to have the usual appearances of light and shade on them, that the plates in common use to illustrate the Copernican theory possess; and the circle intended for the plane of the sun's equator is parallel to that of the equator of the globe, instead of being inclined to it 23 degrees, as stated in the above false theory of the author; the circles also have no names annexed to them, nor is there any explanation of the figures in the text, by which alto

gether a superficial observer may be induced, (partly by not at once perceiving which circle was intended for the ecliptic, and partly by seeing the figures, representing the four principal seasons on the globes, shaded in the usual manner,) to doubt whether there may not be some reason in that, which in reality is only a mistaken theory supported by an erroneous representation.

A farther argument against the above theory might be drawn from the real position of the plane of the sun's equator, which the best astronomers have ascertained to be inclined but 7 degrees to the ecliptic, instead of more than three times that number, as stated by the author; but we trust its errors require no farther confutation.

The author next proceeds to consider what may be supposed to occupy the vast space between the heavenly bodies, apparently for the purpose of differing on this point from Newton, whose fame seems to be so offensive to Frenchmen, even when, like the author, they affect a respect for him; attempts at the depreciation of our great and esteemed characters, among all other things that add lustre to England, form indeed a branch of the system before alluded to, and though perhaps the author may not act knowingly on this occasion, it prevents not its effect: but Newton is like the rock to which Ossian compares his hero, when repelling a crowd of foes led on by their chief.

«Trothal went forth with the stream of his people, but they met a rock; For the hero stood unmoved: broken, they

rolled back from his side."

The substance preferred by the author for the occupation of space, is fire; an idea of great antiquity, and so commonly known, that the principal circumstance of the famous adventure of Don Quixote