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 but there can be no chance of success, in any mode that could be devised, for keeping either of them in perpetual youth. By encouraging the industry of the towns more than the industry of the country, Europe may be said, perhaps, to have brought on a premature old age. A different policy in this respect, would infuse fresh life and vigour into every state. While from the law of primogeniture, and other European customs, land bears a monopoly price, a capital can never be employed in it with much advantage to the individual; and, therefore, it is not probable that the soil should be properly cultivated. And, though in every civilized state, a class of proprietors and a class of labourers must exist; yet one permanent advantage would always result from a nearer equalization of property. The greater the number of proprietors, the smaller must


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 be the number of labourers: a greater part of society would be in the happy state of possessing property; and a smaller part in the unhappy state of possessing no other property than their labour. But the best directed exertions, though they may alleviate, can never remove the pressure of want; and it will be difficult for any person who contemplates the genuine situation of man on earth, and the general laws of nature, to suppose it possible that any, the most enlightened efforts, could place mankind in a state where "few would die without measuring out the whole period of present existence allotted to them; where pain and distemper would be unknown among them; and death would come upon them like a sleep, in consequence of no other cause than gradual and unavoidable decay."

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 It is, undoubtedly, a most disheartening reflection, that the great obstacle in the way to any extraordinary improvement in society, is of a nature that we can never hope to overcome. The perpetual tendency in the race of man to increase beyond the means of subsistence, is one of the general laws of animated nature, which we can have no reason to expect will change. Yet, discouraging as the contemplation of this difficulty must be, to those whose exertions are laudably directed to the improvement of the human species, it is evident, that no possible good can arise from any endeavours to slur it over, or keep it in the back ground. On the contrary, the most baleful mischiefs may be expected from the unmanly conduct of not daring to face truth, because it is unpleasing. Independently of what relates to this great obstacle,


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 sufficient yet remains to be done for mankind, to animate us to the most unremitted exertion. But if we proceed without a thorough knowledge, and accurate comprehension of the nature, extent, and magnitude, of the difficulties we have to encounter, or if we unwisely direct our efforts towards an object, in which we cannot hope for success; we shall not only exhaust our strength in fruitless exertions, and remain at as great a distance as ever from the summit of our wishes; but we shall be perpetually crushed by the recoil of this rock of Sisyphus.


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view of human life, which results from the contemplation of the constant pressure of distress on man from the difficulty of subsistence, by shewing the little expectation that he can reasonably entertain of perfectibility on earth, seems strongly to point his hopes to the future. And the temptations to which he must necessarily be exposed, from the operation of those laws of nature which we have been


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, would seem to represent the world, in the light in which it has been frequently considered, as a state of trial, and school of virtue, preparatory to a superior state of happiness. But I hope I shall be pardoned, if I attempt to give a view in some degree different of the situation of man on earth, which appears to me, to be more consistent with the various phenomena of nature which we observe around us, and more consonant to our ideas of the power, goodness, and foreknowledge of the Deity.

It cannot be considered as an unimproving exercise of the human mind to endeavour to

If we proceed with a proper distrust of our own understandings, and a just


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 sense of our insufficiency to comprehend the reason of all we see; if we hail every ray of light with gratitude; and when no light appears, think that the darkness is from within, and not from without; and bow with humble deference to the supreme wisdom of him, whose "thoughts are above our thoughts," "as the heavens are high above the earth."

In all our feeble attempts, however, to "find out the Almighty to perfection," it seems absolutely necessary, that we should reason from nature up to nature's God, and not presume to reason from God to nature. The moment we allow ourselves to ask why some things are not otherwise, instead of endeavouring to account for them, as they are, we shall never know where to stop; we shall be led into the


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 grossest, and most childish absurdities; all progress in the knowledge of the ways of Providence must necessarily be at an end; and the study will even cease to be an improving exercise of the human mind. Infinite power is so vast and incomprehensible an idea, that the mind of man must necessarily be bewildered in the contemplation of it. With the crude and puerile conceptions which we sometimes form of this attribute of the Deity, we might imagine that God could call into being myriads, and myriads of existences; all free from pain and imperfection; all eminent in goodness and wisdom; all capable of the highest enjoyments; and unnumbered as the points throughout infinite space. But when from these vain and extravagant dreams of fancy, we turn our eyes to the book of nature, where alone we can read God as he is, we see a


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 succession of sentient beings, rising apparently from so many specks of matter, going through a long and sometimes painful process in this world; but many of them attaining, ere the termination of it, such high qualities and powers as seem to indicate their fitness for some superior state. Ought we not then to correct our crude and puerile ideas of Infinite Power from the contemplation of what we actually see existing? Can we judge of the Creator but from his creation? And, unless we wish to exalt the power of God at the expense of his goodness, ought we not to conclude that even to the Great Creator, Almighty as he is, a certain process may be necessary, a certain time, (or at least what appears to us as time) may be requisite, in order to form beings with those exalted qualities of mind which will fit them for his high purposes?


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 A state of trial seems to imply a previously formed existence, that does not agree with the appearance of man in infancy, and indicates something like suspicion and want of foreknowledge, inconsistent with those ideas which we wish to cherish of the Supreme Being. I should be inclined, therefore, as I have hinted before in a note, to consider the world, and this life, as the mighty process of God, not for the trial, but for the creation and formation of mind; a process necessary, to awaken inert, chaotic matter, into spirit; to sublimate the dust of the earth into soul; to elicit an æthereal spark from the clod of clay. And in this view of the subject, the various impressions and excitements which man receives through life, may be considered as the forming hand of his Creator, acting by general laws, and awakening his sluggish


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, by the animating touches of the Divinity, into a capacity of superior enjoyment. The original sin of man, is the torpor and corruption of the chaotic matter, in which he may be said to be born.

It could answer no good purpose to enter into the question, whether mind be a distinct substance from matter, or only a finer form of it. The question is, perhaps, after all, a question merely of words. Mind is as essentially mind, whether formed from matter, or any other substance. We know, from experience, that soul and body are most intimately united; and every appearance seems to indicate, that they grow from infancy together. It would be a supposition attended with very little probability, to believe that a complete and full formed spirit existed in every infant;


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 but that it was clogged and impeded in its operations, during the first twenty years of life, by the weakness, or hebetude, of the organs in which it was enclosed. As we shall all be disposed to agree, that God is the creator of mind as well as of body; and as they both seem to be forming and unfolding themselves at the same time; it cannot appear inconsistent either with reason or revelation, if it appear to be consistent with phenomena of nature, to suppose that God is constantly occupied in forming mind out of matter, and that the various impressions that man receives through life, is the process for that purpose. The employment is surely worthy of the highest attributes of the Deity.

This view of the state of man on earth will not seem to be unattended with probability, if, judging from the little


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 experience we have of the nature of mind, it shall appear, upon investigation, that the phenomena around us, and the various events of human life, seem peculiarly calculated to promote this great end: and especially, if, upon this supposition, we can account, even to our own narrow understandings, for many of those roughnesses and inequalities in life, which querulous man too frequently makes the subject of his complaint against the God of nature.

The first great awakeners of the mind seem to be the wants of the body.


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 They are the first stimulants that rouse the brain of infant man into sentient activity: and such seems to be the sluggishness of original matter, that unless, by a peculiar course of excitements, other wants, equally powerful, are generated, these stimulants seem, even afterwards, to be necessary, to continue that activity which they first awakened. The savage would slumber for ever under his tree, unless he were roused from his torpor by the cravings of hunger, or the pinchings of cold; and the exertions that he makes to avoid these evils, by procuring food, and building himself a covering, are the exercises which form and keep in motion his faculties, which otherwise would sink into listless inactivity. From all that experience has taught us concerning the structure of the human mind, if those stimulants to exertion, which arise from the wants of the body, were removed


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 from the mass of mankind, we have much more reason to think, that they would be sunk to the level of brutes, from a deficiency of excitements, than that they would be raised to the rank of philosophers by the possession of leisure. In those countries, where nature is the most redundant in spontaneous produce, the inhabitants will not be found the most remarkable for acuteness of intellect. Necessity has been with great truth called the mother of invention. Some of the noblest exertions of the human mind have been set in motion by the necessity of satisfying the wants of the body. Want has not unfrequently given wings to the imagination of the poet; pointed the flowing periods of the historian; and added acuteness to the researches of the philosopher: and though there are undoubtedly many minds at present, so far improved by the various excitements of


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 has also been formed between these outer protective layers and the cambium.

We have now to obtain some ideas as to these curious processes of increase in thickness of the stems and branches.

The first thing to insure this is to understand the constitution and behavior of the cambium cylinder, for it is principally this tissue which brings about the changes we have to study.

We saw in Chapter IV that the xylem of each primary vascular bundle is separated from the phloem of the same bundle by a thin strand of cambium (Figs. 9 and 12); we also saw that the bundles are arranged in a closed ring round the pith, and are in their turn surrounded by the primary cortex, each being separated laterally from its neighbors by a primary medullary ray. The next point to bear in mind is that these medullary rays (like the pith and cortex) are merely parts of the general cell-tissue, or fundamental tissue, through which the vascular bundles run upwards and downwards with a tangentially sinuous course from the leaves. The primary medullary rays, therefore, are merely spokes, as it were, joining the pith and cortex; and if we could remove, the whole of the vascular bundles and epidermis from the young stem we should have left a solid cylinder of cell (pith) in the center, a hollow cylinder (cortex) concentric to this, and a space between the two bridged over at numerous places by cellular spokes (medullary rays) radiating from the pith to the cortex. Each spoke

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 knowledge, or of social sympathy, that they would not relapse into listlessness, if their bodily stimulants were removed; yet it can scarcely be doubted, that these stimulants could not be withdrawn from the mass of mankind, without producing a general and fatal torpor, destructive of all the germs of future improvement.

Locke, if I recollect, says that the endeavour to avoid pain, rather than the pursuit of pleasure, is the great stimulus to action in life: and that in looking to any particular pleasure, we shall not be roused into action in order to obtain it, till the contemplation of it has continued so long, as to amount to a sensation of pain or uneasiness under the absence of it. To avoid evil, and to pursue good, seems to be the great duty and business of man; and this world appears to be


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 peculiarly calculated to afford opportunity of the most unremitted exertion of this kind: and it is by this exertion, by these stimulants, that mind is formed. If Locke's idea be just, and there is great reason to think that it is, evil seems to be necessary to create exertion; and exertion seems evidently necessary to create mind.

The necessity of food for the support of life, gives rise, probably, to a greater quantity of exertion, than any other want, bodily or mental. The Supreme Being has ordained, that the earth shall not produce food in great quantities, till much preparatory labour and ingenuity has been exercised upon its surface. There is no conceivable connection to our comprehensions, between the seed, and the plant, or tree, that rises from it. The Supreme Creator might, undoubtedly,


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 raise up plants of all kinds, for the use of his creatures, without the assistance of those little bits of matter, which we call seed, or even without the assisting labour and attention of man. The processes of ploughing and clearing the ground, of collecting and sowing seeds, are not surely for the assistance of God in his creation; but are made previously necessary to the enjoyment of the blessings of life, in order to rouse man into action, and form his mind to reason.

To furnish the most unremitted excitements of this kind, and to urge man to further the gracious designs of Providence, by the full cultivation of the earth, it has been ordained, that population should increase much faster than food. This general law, (as it has appeared in the former parts of this essay) undoubtedly produces much partial evil; but a little


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 may, perhaps, satisfy us, that it produces a great overbalance of good. Strong excitements seem necessary to create exertion; and to direct this exertion, and form the reasoning faculty, it seems absolutely necessary, that the Supreme Being should act always according to general laws. The constancy of the laws of nature, or the certainty, with which we may expect the same effect, from the same causes, is the foundation of the faculty of reason. If in the ordinary course of things, the finger of God were frequently visible; or to speak more correctly, if God were frequently to change his purpose, (for the finger of God is, indeed, visible in every blade of grass that we see) a general and fatal torpor of the human faculties would probably ensue; even the bodily wants of mankind would cease to stimulate them to exertion, could they not reasonably


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 expect, that if their efforts were well directed, they would be crowned with success. The constancy of the laws of nature, is the foundation of the industry and foresight of the husbandman; the indefatigable ingenuity of the artificer; the skilful researches of the physician, and anatomist; and the watchful observation, and patient investigation, of the natural philosopher. To this constancy, we owe all the greatest, and noblest efforts of intellect. To this constancy, we owe the immortal mind of a Newton.

As the reasons, therefore, for the constancy of the laws of nature, seem, even to our understandings, obvious and striking; if we return to the principle of population, and consider man as he really is, inert, sluggish, and averse from labour, unless compelled by necessity, (and it is surely the height of folly to talk of


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 man, according to our crude fancies, of what he might be) we may pronounce, with certainty, that the world would not have been peopled, but for the superiority of the power of population to the means of subsistence. Strong, and constantly operative as this stimulus is on man, to urge him to the cultivation of the earth; if we still see that cultivation proceeds very slowly, we may fairly conclude, that a less stimulus would have been insufficient. Even under the operation of this constant excitement, savages will inhabit countries of the greatest natural fertility, for a long period, before they betake themselves to pasturage or agriculture. Had population and food increased in the same ratio, it is probable that man might never have emerged from the savage state. But supposing the earth once well peopled, an Alexander, a Julius Caesar, a Tamerlane, or a bloody revolution, might irrecoverably thin the


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 human race, and defeat the great designs of the Creator. The ravages of a contagious disorder would be felt for ages; and an earthquake might unpeople a region for ever. The principle, according to which population increases, prevents the vices of mankind, or the accidents of nature, the partial evils arising from general laws, from obstructing the high purpose of the creation. It keeps the inhabitants of the earth always fully up to the level of the means of subsistence; and is constantly acting upon man as a powerful stimulus, urging him to the further cultivation of the earth, and to enable it, consequently, to support a more extended population. But it is impossible that this law can operate, and produce the effects apparently intended by the Supreme Being, without occasioning partial evil. Unless the principle of population were to be altered,


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 according to the circumstances of each separate country, (which would not only be contrary to our universal experience, with regard to the laws of nature, but would contradict even our own reason, which sees the absolute necessity of general laws, for the formation of intellect;) it is evident, that the same principle, which, seconded by industry, will people a fertile region in a few years, must produce distress in countries that have been long inhabited.

It seems, however, every way probable, that even the acknowledged difficulties occasioned by the law of population, tend rather to promote, than impede the general purpose of Providence. They excite universal exertion, and contribute to that infinite variety of situations, and consequently of impressions, which seems, upon the whole,


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 to the growth of mind. It is probable, that too great, or too little excitement, extreme poverty, or too great riches, may be alike unfavourable in this respect. The middle regions of society seem to be best suited to intellectual improvement; but it is contrary to the analogy of all nature, to expect that the whole of society can be a middle region. The temperate zones of the earth, seem to be the most favourable to the mental, and corporeal energies of man; but all cannot be temperate zones. A world, warmed and enlightened but by one sun, must, from the laws of matter, have some parts chilled by perpetual frosts, and others scorched by perpetual heats. Every piece of matter lying on a surface, must have an upper, and an under side: all the particles cannot be in the middle. The most valuable parts of an oak, to a timber merchant, are not either the roots,


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 or the branches; but these are absolutely necessary to the existence of the middle part, or stem, which is the object in request. The timber merchant could not possibly expect to make an oak grow without roots or branches; but if he could find out a mode of cultivation, which would cause more of the substance to go to stem, and less to root and branch, he would be right to exert himself in bringing such a system into general use.

In the same manner, though we cannot possibly expect to exclude riches, and poverty, from society; yet if we could find out a mode of government, by which, the numbers in the extreme regions would be lessened, and the numbers in the middle regions increased, it would be undoubtedly our duty to adopt it. It is not, however, improbable that


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 as in the oak, the roots and branches could not be diminished very greatly, without weakening the vigorous circulation of the sap in the stem; so in society, the extreme parts could not be diminished beyond a certain degree, without lessening that animated exertion throughout the middle parts, which is the very cause, that they are the most favourable to the growth of intellect. If no man could hope to rise, or fear to fall, in society; if industry did not bring with it its reward, and idleness its punishment, the middle parts would not certainly be what they now are. In reasoning upon this subject, it is evident, that we ought to consider chiefly the mass of mankind, and not individual instances. There are undoubtedly many minds, and there ought to be many, according to the chances, out of so great a mass, that, having been vivified early, by a peculiar


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 course of excitements, would not need the constant action of narrow motives, to continue them in activity. But if we were to review the various useful discoveries, the valuable writings, and other laudable exertions of mankind; I believe we should find, that more were to be attributed to the narrow motives that operate upon the many, than to the apparently more enlarged motives that operate upon the few.

Leisure is, without doubt, highly valuable to man; but taking man as he is, the probability seems to be, that in the greater number of instances, it will produce evil rather than good. It has been not infrequently remarked, that talents are more common among younger brothers, than among elder brothers; but it can scarcely be imagined, that younger brothers are, upon an average, born with


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 a greater original susceptibility of parts. The difference, if there really is any observable difference, can only arise from their different situations. Exertion and activity, are in general absolutely necessary in one case, and are only optional in the other.

That the difficulties of life, contribute to generate talents, every days experience must convince us. The exertions that men find it necessary to make, in order to support themselves or families, frequently awaken faculties, that might otherwise have lain for ever dormant: and it has been commonly remarked, that new and extraordinary situations generally create minds adequate to grapple with the difficulties in which they are involved.


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sorrows and distresses of life form another class of excitements, which seem to be necessary, by a peculiar train of impressions, to soften and humanize the heart, to awaken social sympathy, to generate all the Christian virtues, and to afford scope for the ample exertion of benevolence. The general tendency


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 of an uniform course of prosperity is, rather to degrade, than exalt the character. The heart that has never known sorrow itself, will seldom be feelingly alive, to the pains and pleasures, the wants and wishes, of its fellow beings. It will seldom be overflowing with that warmth of brotherly love, those kind and amiable affections, which dignify the human character, even more than the possession of the highest talents. Talents, indeed, though undoubtedly a very prominent and fine feature of mind, can by no means be considered as constituting the whole of it. There are many minds which have not been exposed to those excitements, that usually form talents, that have yet been vivified to a high degree, by the excitements of social sympathy. In every rank of life, in the lowest, as frequently as in the highest, characters are to be found, overflowing with the


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 rays, and so forms a complete thin cylinder, concentric to the pith—from which it is separated by the breadth of the xylem—and the cortex, from which it is separated by the breadth of the phloem.

The cells of this cambium cylinder go on dividing continuously during the whole summer, until the cylinder is, say, ten times as thick as it was before. Now suppose it to rest during the winter and go on again next season, and so on during each successive period of growth. Obviously this would realize one fact in the process we are considering—namely, that the stem would grow in thickness year by year, its diameter being increased by twice the thickness of the added cylinder.

But to make the above supposition accord with the facts, we must further picture to ourselves that when the thickening cylinder has attained a certain thickness, a large proportion of those of its cells which lie on the inside—i. e., nearest the pith, and therefore abutting on, lose their cambial nature and the xylem—become converted into elements of the wood; while a smaller proportion of those on the outer side (beneath the phloëm) become new phloem elements. In this way it will be seen that the thin cylinder of active cambium cell travels outwards; ever receding radially farther from the pith, and leaving xylem between itself and the primary Vascular bundles next the pith, and ever driving outwards the primary phloem and cortex, adding new phloëm elements (but in far less proportion) to the inside of the phloëm. Each winter it pauses in this process, and

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 milk of human kindness, breathing love towards God and man; and though without those peculiar powers of mind called talents, evidently holding a higher rank in the scale of beings, than many who possess them. Evangelical charity, meekness, piety, and all that class of virtues distinguished particularly by the name of Christian virtues, do not seem necessarily to include abilities; yet a soul possessed of these amiable qualities, a soul awakened and vivified by these delightful sympathies, seems to hold a nearer commerce with the skies, than mere acuteness of intellect.

The greatest talents have been frequently misapplied, and have produced evil proportionate to the extent of their powers. Both reason and revelation seem to assure us, that such minds will be condemned to eternal death; but while on


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 earth, these vicious instruments performed their part in the great mass of impressions, by the disgust and abhorrence which they excited. It seems highly probable, that moral evil is absolutely necessary to the production of moral excellence. A being with only good placed in view, may be justly said to be impelled by a blind necessity. The pursuit of good in this case can be no indication of virtuous propensities. It might be said, perhaps, that infinite Wisdom, cannot want such an indication as outward action, but would foreknow, with certainty, whether the being would chuse good or evil. This might be a plausible argument against a state of trial; but will not hold against the supposition, that mind in this world is in a state of formation. Upon this idea, the being that has seen moral evil, and has felt disapprobation and disgust at it, is essentially


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 different from the being that has seen only good. They are pieces of clay that have received distinct impressions: they must, therefore, necessarily be in different shapes; or, even if we allow them both to have the same lovely form of virtue, it must be acknowledged, that one has undergone the further process, necessary to give firmness and durability to its substance; while the other is still exposed to injury, and liable to be broken by every accidental impulse. An ardent love and admiration of virtue seems to imply the existence of something opposite to it; and it seems highly probable, that the same beauty of form and substance, the same perfection of character, could not be generated, without the impressions of disapprobation which arise from the spectacle of moral evil.


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 When the mind has been awakened into activity by the passions, and the wants of the body, intellectual wants arise; and the desire of knowledge, and the impatience under ignorance, form a new and important class of excitements. Every part of nature seems peculiarly calculated to furnish stimulants to mental exertion of this kind, and to offer inexhaustible food for the most unremitted inquiry. Our immortal Bard says of Cleopatra—

 * "Custom cannot stale
 * Her infinite variety."

The expression, when applied to any one object, may be considered as a poetical amplification, but it is accurately true when applied to nature. Infinite variety, seems, indeed, eminently her characteristic feature. The shades that are here and there blended in the picture, give


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 spirit, life, and prominence to her exuberant beauties; and those roughnesses and inequalities, those inferior parts that support the superior, though they sometimes offend the fastidious microscopic eye of short sighted man, contribute to the symmetry, grace, and fair proportion of the whole.

The infinite variety of the forms and operations of nature, besides tending immediately to awaken and improve the mind by the variety of impressions that it creates, opens other fertile sources of improvement, by offering so wide and extensive a field for investigation and research. Uniform, undiversified perfection, could not possess the same awakening powers. When we endeavour then to contemplate the system of the universe; when we think of the stars as the suns of other systems, scattered throughout infinite space; when we reflect, that we


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 do not probably see a millionth part of those bright orbs, that are beaming light and life to unnumbered worlds; when our minds, unable to grasp the immeasurable conception, sink, lost and confounded, in admiration at the mighty incomprehensible power of the Creator; let us not querulously complain that all climates are not equally genial; that perpetual spring does not reign throughout the year; that all God's creatures do not possess the same advantages; that clouds and tempests sometimes darken the natural world, and vice and misery, the moral world; and that all the works of the creation are not formed with equal perfection. Both reason and experience seem to indicate to us that the infinite variety of nature, (and variety cannot exist without inferior parts, or apparent blemishes) is admirably adapted to further the high purpose of the creation, and to produce the greatest possible quantity of good.


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 The obscurity that involves all metaphysical subjects, appears to me, in the same manner peculiarly calculated, to add to that class of excitements which arise from the thirst of knowledge. It is probable that man, while on earth, will never be able to attain complete satisfaction on these subjects; but this is by no means a reason that he should not engage in them. The darkness that surrounds these interesting topics of human curiosity, may be intended to furnish endless motives to intellectual activity and exertion. The constant effort to dispel this darkness, even if it fail of success, invigorates and improves the thinking faculty. If the subjects of human inquiry were once exhausted, mind would probably stagnate; but the infinitely diversified forms and operations of nature, together with the endless food for speculation which metaphysical


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 offer, prevent the possibility that such a period should ever arrive.

It is by no means one of the wisest sayings of Solomon, that "there is no new thing under the sun." On the contrary, it is probable, that were the present system to continue for millions of years, continual additions would be making to the mass of human knowledge; and yet, perhaps, it may be a matter of doubt, whether, what may be called the capacity of mind, be in any marked and decided manner increasing. A Socrates, a Plato, or an Aristotle, however confessedly inferior in knowledge to the philosophers of the present day, do not appear to have been much below them in intellectual capacity. Intellect rises from a speck, continues in vigour only for a certain period, and will not, perhaps, admit, while on earth of above


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 a certain number of impressions. These impressions may, indeed, be infinitely modified, and from these various modifications, added probably to a difference in the susceptibility of the original germs, arise the endless diversity of character that we see in the world; but reason and experience seem both to assure us, that the capacity of individual minds does not increase in proportion to the mass of existing knowledge. The finest minds seem to be formed rather by efforts at original


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 thinking, by endeavours to form new combinations, and to discover new truths, than by passively receiving the impressions of other men's ideas. Could we suppose the period arrived, when there was not further hope of future discoveries; and the only employment of mind was to acquire pre-existing knowledge, without any efforts to form new and original combinations; though the mass of human knowledge were a thousand times greater than it is at present; yet it is evident that one of the noblest stimulants to mental exertion would have ceased; the finest feature of intellect would be lost; every thing allied to genius would be at an end; and it appears to be impossible, that, under such circumstances, any individuals could possess the same intellectual energies, as were possessed by a Locke, a Newton,


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 or a Shakespear, or even by a Socrates, a Plato, an Aristotle, or a Homer.

If a revelation from heaven, of which no person could feel the smallest doubt, were to dispel the mists that now hang over metaphysical subjects; were to explain the nature and structure of mind, the affections and essences of all substances, the mode in which the Supreme Being operates in the works of the creation, and the whole plan and scheme of the Universe; such an accession of knowledge, so obtained, instead of giving additional vigour and activity to the human mind, would, in all probability, tend to repress future exertion, and to damp the soaring wings of intellect.

For this reason I have never considered the doubts and difficulties that


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 involve some parts of the sacred writings, as any argument against their divine original. The Supreme Being might, undoubtedly, have accompanied his revelations to man by such a succession of miracles, and of such a nature, as would have produced universal overpowering conviction, and have put an end at once to all hesitation and discussion. But weak as our reason is to comprehend the plans of the great Creator, it is yet sufficiently strong, to see the most striking objections to such a revelation. From the little we know of the structure of the human understanding, we must be convinced, that an overpowering conviction of this kind, instead of tending to the improvement and moral amelioration of man, would act like the touch of a torpedo on all intellectual exertion, and


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 would almost put an end to the existence of virtue. If the scriptural denunciations of eternal punishment were brought home with the same certainty to every man's mind, as that the night will follow the day, this one vast and gloomy idea would take such full possession of the human faculties, as to leave no room for any other conceptions: the external actions of men would be all nearly alike: virtuous conduct would be no indication of virtuous disposition: vice and virtue would be blended together in one common mass; and, though the all-seeing eye of God might distinguish them, they must necessarily make the same impressions on man, who can judge only from external appearances. Under such a dispensation, it is difficult to conceive how human beings could be formed to


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 a detestation of moral evil, and a love and admiration of God, and of moral excellence.

Our ideas of virtue and vice are not, perhaps, very accurate and well-defined; but few, I think, would call an action really virtuous, which was performed simply and solely from the dread of a very great punishment, or the expectation of a very great reward. The fear of the Lord is very justly said to be the beginning of wisdom; but the end of wisdom is the love of the Lord, and the admiration of moral good. The denunciations of future punishment, contained in the scriptures, seem to be well calculated to arrest the progress of the vicious, and awaken the attention of the careless; but we see, from repeated experience, that they are not


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 with evidence of such a nature, as to overpower the human will, and to make men lead virtuous lives with vicious dispositions, merely from a dread of hereafter. A genuine faith, by which I mean, a faith that shews itself in it the virtues of a truly christian life, may generally be considered as an indication of an amiable and virtuous disposition, operated upon more by love than by pure unmixed fear.

When we reflect on the temptations to which man must necessarily be exposed in this world, from the structure of his frame, and the operation of the laws of nature; and the consequent moral certainty, that many vessels will come out of this mighty creative furnace in wrong shapes; it is perfectly impossible to conceive, that any of these


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 creatures of God's hand can be condemned to eternal suffering. Could we once admit such an idea, all our natural conceptions of goodness and justice would be completely overthrown; and we could no longer look up to God as a merciful and righteous Being. But the doctrine of life and Mortality which was brought to light by the gospel, the doctrine that the end of righteousness is everlasting life, but that the wages of sin are death, is in every respect just and merciful, and worthy of the Great Creator. Nothing can appear more consonant to our reason than that those beings which come out of the creative process of the world in lovely and beautiful forms should be crowned with immortality; while those which come out misshapen, those whose minds are not suited to a purer and


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 happier state of existence, should perish, and be condemned to mix again with their original clay. Eternal condemnation of this kind may be considered as a species of eternal punishment; and it is not wonderful that it should be represented, sometimes, under images of suffering. But life and death, salvation and destruction, are more frequently opposed to each other in the New Testament than happiness and misery. The Supreme Being would appear to us in a very different view if we were to consider him as pursuing the creatures that had offended him with eternal hate and torture, instead of merely condemning to their original insensibility those beings, that, by the operation of general laws, had not been formed with qualities suited to a purer state of happiness.


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 Life is, generally speaking, a blessing independent of a future state. It is a gift which the vicious would not always be ready to throw away, even if they had no fear of death. The partial pain, therefore, that is inflicted by the Supreme Creator, while he is forming numberless beings to a capacity of the highest enjoyments, is but as the dust of the balance in comparison of the happiness that is communicated; and we have every reason to think, that there is no more evil in the world, than what is absolutely necessary as one of the ingredients in the mighty process.

The striking necessity of general laws for the formation of intellect, will not in any respect be contradicted by one or two exceptions; and these evidently not intended for partial purposes, but


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 calculated to operate upon a great part of mankind, and through many ages. Upon the idea that I have given of the formation of mind, the infringement of the general laws of nature, by a divine revelation, will appear in the light of the immediate hand of God mixing new ingredients in the mighty mass, suited to the particular state of the process, and calculated to give rise to a new and powerful train of impressions, tending to purify, exalt, and improve the human mind. The miracles that accompanied these revelations when they had once excited the attention of mankind, and rendered it a matter of most interesting discussion, whether the doctrine was from God or man, had performed their part, had answered the purpose of the Creator; and these communications of the divine will were afterwards left to make their


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 way by their own intrinsic excellence; and, by operating as moral motives, gradually to influence and improve, and not to overpower and stagnate the faculties of man.

It would be, undoubtedly, presumptuous to say, that the Supreme Being could not possibly have effected his purpose in any other way than that which he has chosen; but as the revelation of the divine will, which we possess is attended with some doubts and difficulties; and as our reason points out to us the strongest objections to a revelation, which would force immediate, implicit, universal belief; we have surely just cause to think that these doubts and difficulties are no argument against the divine origin of the scriptures; and that the species of evidence which they possess is best suited


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 to the improvement of the human faculties, and the moral amelioration of mankind.

The idea that the impressions and excitements of this world are the instruments with which the Supreme Being forms matter into mind; and that the necessity of constant exertion to avoid evil, and to pursue good, is the principal spring of these impressions and excitements, seems to smooth many of the difficulties that occur in a contemplation of human life; and appears to me to give a satisfactory reason for the existence of natural and moral evil; and, consequently, for that part of both, and it certainly is not a very small part, which arises from the principle of population. But, though upon this supposition, it seems highly improbable, that evil should ever be removed from


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 the world; yet it is evident, that this impression would not answer the apparent purpose of the Creator; it would not act so powerfully as an excitement to exertion, if the quantity of it did not diminish or increase, with the activity or the indolence of man. The continual variations in the weight, and in the distribution of this pressure, keep alive a constant expectation of throwing it off.

Evil exists in the world, not to create despair, but activity. We are not patiently to submit to it, but to exert ourselves to avoid it. It is not only the interest but the duty of every individual, to use his utmost efforts to remove evil from himself, and from as large a circle as he can influence;


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 and the more he exercises himself in this duty, the more wisely he directs his efforts, and the more successful these efforts are; the more he will probably improve and exalt his own mind, and the more completely does he appear to fulfil the will of his Creator.


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Translation talk:Talmud

There are two talmuds - Bavli and Yerushalmi. This is not referred to on the page, and maybe it should be, even though there is an English Bavlli in the public domain, but I'm not sure if there is a Yerushalmi that can be put on this site.

too much work
to translate the talmud by wikisource will take ages. im israeli jewish and studied a lot of talmud. its a hard thing to learn one page of it by hebrew which is the languge of half of the talmud. i think its better to focus on a existing translation like: Talmud (Rodkinson) Uziel302 (talk) 20:16, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

title: Translation talk:Talmud


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Page:The Oak.djvu/121

 each spring it renews its activity. Further peculiarities will be noticed as we proceed.

Now let us see what the cambium cells are, and how they change into new elements of the xylem and phloëm, etc., respectively.

Each cell of the cambium is a thin-walled prism, many times longer than broad or thick, and with its ends brought to an edge like that of a thick chisel, and so arranged that these edges run radially and fit in between those of cambium cells at higher and lower levels. As we have seen, the prism is oblong in transverse section. Each of these cells contains protoplasm and a nucleus, surrounding a sap-cavity, and they are nourished like other cells by the substances brought down from the leaves and up from the roots, taking what they need from the sap.

When a given cambium cell has taken into its protoplasm sufficient food materials, and has accomplished other life-processes under the action of oxygen, which it absorbs dissolved in the water of the sap, it grows larger, especially in the radial direction, and then it divides into two cells; then each of these may repeat these processes, and so on. At last the older ones can no longer grow and divide, but become changed into elements of the xylem or phloëm, according to their position. All the xylem thus produced by the cambium is called secondary xylem, and the phloem secondary phloëm, and so on, to distinguish them from the primary structures found in the early stage.

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Statutes in Force

 * /Binder/
 * /Guide to the Edition/
 * /Lists of Groups and Acts and Measures/

title: Statutes in Force


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[To face page Hg. Ursula, daughter of Barhani Hall his first wife, by sons and seven one son and four of John Southwell_ in Suffolk, Esq. was whom he had five daughters, of which daughters survived ir Tho. Richardson, Knt. son of Dr. Thomas_ lichardson, was born at Hardwick, and was bap- izcd 3d July, 1569, was Recorder of Bury, Under, teward of ihe Dean and Chapter of Norwich, and ftcrwards Recorder of that City, and Reader of .incoln's-Inn in 1612, in Michaelmas Term the ear following, was made Serjeant at Law, then Ihancellor to the Queen, and after that the King's erjcant; was Speaker of the House of Commons n 1620, was knighted whilst he was Speaker, and in Nov. 28, 1626, was made Lord Chief Justice of he Common Pleas, by King Charles I.; and in 631, S4lh of Oct. Lord Chief Justice of the King's iench, and died Feb. 4, 1634, at his house in if the quire of Westminster abbey, where his mo. mains, the inscription of which is printed p. 195 of Keep's Monuments of that abbey, and ider Mulberton, in the Norfolk Jtlai. _Elizabcth, daughter of Sir Thomas "Beaumont of Stoughton in Leicester- shire, widow of ViUiers, was hia second wife, and after his death re- married to Sir John Ashburnham of Sussex, Knt.; after her marriage with the Lord Chief Justice, she was created Baroness of Cramond in Scotland, for life, by letters patents bearing date 28th Fcbr. 1628, by which Sir Thomas Richardson, son and heir of the Lord Chief Justice, was created Baron of Cramond after her decease. She was buried in Westminster abbey, and had no is- sue by the Lord Chief Justice, Ursula Rich- a. Mary Richardson, Elizabeth, daughter ardson, married married John Webb of Sir Will. Hewet," of Breccles in Nor. Knt. his first wife, folk, Esq. ; she died by whom he had March 10, 1656, aged seven sons, and one j6, and was buried at daughter, of which Breccles.' John only died be- fore his father* rWm.Yelver- tonof Rougham in Norfolk, Knt. and Bart. Sir Thomas Richardson, Knt. created heir appa the barony of Cramond, but never lived to enjoy it, for he died in 1642, aged 45, before his mother-in-law, and lies buried in Honingham chancel, under a black lict of Sir marble, in the altar rails, with this inscription, Miles San- Deo. optimo. maximo. dys, Knt. Depositum Thoma: Richardson! dc Honingham, was his se inComitatu Norfolcias Equitis aurati, Baronis Scotia; cond wife, designati, obijt Anno jttatis 45, Salutis 1642. Mar- married in lij 12. 1642. And against the south chancel wall is a mural monu. ment of black and white marble, with his bust, and the arms of his two ladies, as in the copper-plate may be seen at large.
 * hancery-Lane, and was buried on the south side
 * to Dame Mary 3. Elizabeth Rich-

■ " ■ s, wi- aidson, married nd re- Robert Wood of Sir Brakcne-Ash in Norfolk, Esq., Susan Rich- ardson. 5. Ma. ry, di' d March, 1638, aged 3 years, buried in the altar rails at Hunningham. Thomas Lord Richardson, Anne, daughter of Sir 5. John 1 ., died a. William Richardson, 3. Charles Richardson, 4. Henry Rich: Seiicant at Law; his married a daughter of died Sept. 6th, 1663, Baron of Cramond in Scot-TRichard Gorney, Lord 6. Joh.- %vill dated 8th March, Wiseman, and aged 30, and is buried land, died t6th May, 1674, Mayor of London, bu- 7. Richard J y°""S' a68i ; Abigail, relict of had Charles, Anne, at Hunningham. buried at Hunningham, ried at Hunningham Chandler, was his relict. Ursula, and Margaret. in 1697. He was buried in St. Laurence, London ; 5. p. I Elizabeth Richard- son, married Rich- ard ManscU of West- Leke in Derbyshire, and had Thomas, MiUicent, Elizabeth, and Joyce. Henry L- d Richardso ramond, boi 650, died 5th Ja Frances, daughter 2. Thomas Richardso "of Sir John Na- born May 20th, 165 de Cramond af s, qui obijt 6° Ja alias Sandys, if Luton-Hoe ir Bedfordshire, re lictofSirEdwarc BarkhamofSouth- Acre; she is buri- ed at South-Acre in Norfolk. hocbury, at Lon- Robert Pa L Pis- Soulh-Acr< ford- died withe . Elizabeth, daugh- ■ of~ of Willii Lord and he kha th Sept, 1711, aged 54, and is bu at East- Walton. August, 165 died 7th Ma Walton ii Norfolk. . Elizabeth, daugh- ter and heiress of James Daniel of Norwich, gold- smith ; she died 8th Dec. 1722, aged 37; is buried at East- Walton. Mary Rich ardson, bori 23d Dec. 1655, died ist August, 1666. Angclh-a Rich- ardson, boin 24th March, 1663, died single, Feb. •5th, 1717, and is buried at Ringland. William Lord Richardson, William Jermy, only son Elizabeth Richardson, born February, 1 714, died of John Jermy of Bay- only sister and heir to single 28th July, 1735, and field in Norfolk, Esq. William Lord Rich- is buried at East-Walton. married ia Aug. 1^351 to ardson. ' Sec p. 174.


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50 suitable for the purpose of an observing-place. Sir Wm. Watson spent nearly the whole time at our house, and he was not the only friend who truly grieved at my brother's going from Bath; or feared his having perhaps agreed to no very advantageous offers; their fears were, in fact, not without reason. . . . . The prospect of entering again on the toils of teaching, &c., which awaited my brother at home (the months of leisure being now almost gone by), appeared to him an intolerable waste of time, and by way of alternative he chose to be Royal Astronomer, with a salary of £200 a year. Sir William Watson was the only one to whom the sum was mentioned, and he exclaimed, "Never bought monarch honour so cheap!" To every other inquirer, my brother's answer was that the King had provided for him.

Everything was immediately packed for the removal, and on the 1st of August, when the brothers and sister walked over to Datchet from Slough (where the coach passed), they found the waggon, with its precious load of instruments, as well as household furniture, waiting to be unpacked. The new home was a large neglected place, the house in a deplorably ruinous condition, the garden and grounds overgrown with weeds. For a fortnight they had no female servant at all; an old woman, the gardener's wife, showed Miss Herschel the shops, where the prices of everything, from coals to butcher's meat, appalled her. But these considerations weighed for nothing in her brother's eyes against the delight of stables where mirrors could be ground, a roomy laundry, which was to serve for a library, with one door opening on a large grass-plot,


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Rh where "the small twenty-foot" was to be erected; he gaily assured her that they could live on eggs and bacon, which would cost nothing to speak of now that they were really in the country! The beginning of October, Alexander was obliged to return to Bath. The separation was truly painful to us all, and I was particularly affected by it, for till now I had not had time to consider the consequence of giving up the prospect of making myself independent by becoming (with a little more uninterrupted application) a useful member of the musical profession. But besides that my brother William would have been very much at a loss for my assistance, I had not spirit enough to throw myself on the public after losing his protection. Poor Alexander! we had hoped at first to persuade him to change Bath for London, where he had the offer of the most profitable engagements, and we should then have had him near us ... but he refused, and before we saw him again the next year he was married.

Much of my brother's time was taken up in going, when the evenings were clear, to the Queen's Lodge to show the King, &c., objects through the seven-foot. But when the days began to shorten, this was found impossible, for the telescope was often (at no small expense and risk of damage) obliged to be transported in the dark back to Datchet, for the purpose of spending the rest of the night with observations on double stars for a second Catalogue. My brother was besides obliged to be absent for a week or ten days for the purpose of bringing home the metal of the cracked thirty-foot mirror, and the remaining materials from his work-room. Before the furnace was taken down at Bath, a second twenty-foot mirror, twelve-inch diameter, was cast, which happened to be very fortunate, for on the


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Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/86

58 an ornament to the kitchen when kept beautifully clean, as they should be; but this entails considerable labour, a point to be considered where few servants are kept. Copper utensils should be frequently examined and re-tinned as soon as the linings begin to show signs of wear. One of the objections to the use of copper for culinary purposes is its liability to become coated with verdigris, or copper-rust, under careless or unskilful hands—verdigris being a poison imparting its deadly properties to any food cooked in a vessel that is tainted with it.

Boiler or Boiling Pot.—In large families this utensil comes into almost daily requisition. It is used for boiling large joints, hams, puddings, etc., and is usually made of iron. Boilers may be had in cast iron, tinned inside, to hold from 3 gallons to 7 gallons, at from 4s. 9d. to 10s., according to size; in wrought iron, with bright cover, to hold from 4 gallons to 12 gallons, from 12s. to 26s.

The Digester.—This utensil is a kind of stock-pot, made of iron, having a lid which fits closely into a groove at the top of it. No steam escapes, therefore, by the lid; and it is only through the valve at the top of the cover that the superfluous steam passes off. It is a very valuable utensil, inasmuch as by using it a larger quantity of wholesome and nourishing food may be obtained at much cheaper rates than is possible without it, and when bones are boiled in it its action will extract every nutritive particle from them, leaving nothing but the inorganic part of the bones. This utensil, when in use, should not be placed over a fierce fire, as that would injure the quality of the preparation; for whatever is cooked must be done by a slow and gradual process, the liquid being just kept at the simmering point. These digesters are made in all sizes, and may be obtained to hold from 4 quarts to 16 quarts. The prices of digesters vary according to capacity, namely, to hold 4 quarts, 3s. 9d.; 6 quarts, 5s.; 8 quarts, 6s.; 10 quarts, 7s.; 12 quarts, 8s.; and 16 quarts, 10s. 6d.

The Stock-pot.—This article is used in the preparation of stock, which forms the foundation of soups, gravies, etc. Stock-pots are made in copper, wrought steel or iron. Copper stock-pots to hold 8 quarts, fitted with tap and strainer, are supplied in a good quality for about 42s. 6d. The price of a stock-pot, of corresponding capacity, in wrought steel would be 20s. 9d. with tap and strainer, and 12s. 3d. without these conveniences. They may also be obtained in wrought iron and earthenware, the latter being specially suited to small households, because a smaller amount of heat is required to keep the contents at simmering point and the stock-pot need not be emptied every day. The tap and strainer add about 30 per cent, to the cost of a stock-pot, but the advantage of being able to draw off the stock from the bottom, leaving the fat and the bones, vegetables and other solids behind, is well worth the additional outlay.

The Braising Pan.—This vessel is employed in a culinary process,


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Statutes in Force/Guide to the Edition

 * File divider

Guide to the Edition:

 * /1 June 1972/
 * /1 August 1981/

Additional notes:

 * /1 September 1983/
 * /1 January 1983/
 * /1 November 1984/

List of commencement orders

title: Statutes in Force/Guide to the Edition


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Page:Memoir and correspondence of Caroline Herschel (1876).djvu/74

52 1st of January, 1783, a very fine one cracked by frost in the tube. I remember to have seen the thermometer 1½ degree below zero for several nights in the same year. . ..

. . . .In my brother's absence from home, I was of course left solely to amuse myself with my own thoughts, which were anything but cheerful. I found I was to be trained for an assistant-astronomer, and by way of encouragement a telescope adapted for "sweeping," consisting of a tube with two glasses, such as are commonly used in a "finder," was given me. I was "to sweep for comets," and I see by my journal that I began August 22nd, 1782, to write down and describe all remarkable appearances I saw in my "sweeps," which were horizontal. But it was not till the last two months of the same year that I felt the least encouragement to spend the star-light nights on a grass-plot covered with dew or hoar frost, without a human being near enough to be within call. I knew too little of the real heavens to be able to point out every object so as to find it again without losing too much time by consulting the Atlas. But all these troubles were removed when I knew my brother to be at no great distance making observations with his various instruments on double stars, planets, &c., and I could have his assistance immediately when I found a nebula, or cluster of stars, of which I intended to give a catalogue; but at the end of 1783 I had only marked fourteen, when my sweeping was interrupted by being employed to write down my brother's observations with the large twenty-foot. I had, however, the comfort to see that my brother was satisfied with my endeavours to assist him when he wanted another person, either to run to the clocks, write down a memorandum, fetch and carry instruments, or measure the ground with poles, &c., &c., of which something of the kind every moment would occur. For the assiduity with which the measurements on the diameter of the Georgium Sidus, and observations of other


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Rh termed braising or braizing. In shape it may be either round or oval, with a depressed lid in which hot charcoal is placed, whereby the meat is cooked between two slow fires. This method is said to develop more fully the flavours of materials cooked; also to decrease the loss of strength and flavour by evaporation; it is largely practised in France. In England the braising-pan is frequently placed in the oven instead of under charcoal, the latter article as a fuel being but seldom used.

The Double or Milk Saucepan.—This is, on a small scale, what the BAIN-MARIE is on a larger scale. The smaller saucepan fitting into the larger one is either lined with enamel or made of earthenware. The double saucepan is especially useful for making porridge and gruel, and boiling custards and milk. It may also be usefully employed in cooking tapioca, sago, semolina and other farinaceous substances, when the oven is being used for other purposes, and is too hot for the long, gentle process of cooking they require. When an egg is added to any of these preparations, it should be mixed in just before the pudding is put into the oven to brown. The double saucepan is supplied in four sizes, known as Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and sold respectively at 3s. 3d., 3s. 9d., 4s. 9d. and 6s. 6d. The lower saucepan is made of block tin, and when in use should be half filled with water, which must be replaced as it boils away, otherwise the upper saucepan is liable to crack.

Steamers.—These articles consist of a cylinder of tin, tinned iron or copper, made to fit into the top of a saucepan and to carry the saucepan cover as its lid. The lower or saucepan portion varies in capacity from 6 to 14 pints, and the entire appliance is sold from 2s. 6d. to 4s. 3d., according to size. Larger kinds, containing from 6 to 12 quarts, may also be obtained. Steamers are chiefly used in cooking potatoes and puddings, especially those containing meat or fruit. When the potatoes are sufficiently cooked, the water in the saucepan should be poured off and the steamer replaced. The heat from the saucepan below quickly causes the moisture remaining in the potatoes and the steamer itself to evaporate, thus converting the latter into a DRY HOT CLOSET, in which the cooking of the potatoes is completed. Even when boiled, potatoes are more floury when the water is drained off, and the cooking completed this way. It is possible to place one steamer above another, and, indeed, some steam-cookery vessels are constructed to carry four or six steamers, a contrivance being provided to prevent steam from one department invading another.

The Turbot Kettle and Salmon Kettle.—This variety of fish-kettle is arranged to suit the shape of the fish from which it takes its name. It is shallow, very broad, and is fitted inside with a drainer similar to that in other fish-kettles. Turbot-kettles are usually supplied in three sizes known as small, middle and large. These sizes, in block-tin, strong, are supplied at 11s., 13s. and 18s. 9d. The salmon kettle is a long, narrow utensil, like the fish-kettle, but the cover has a handle at


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Rh planets, double stars, &c., &c., were made, was incredible, as may be seen by the various papers that were given to the Royal Society in 1783, which papers were written in the daytime, or when cloudy nights interfered. Besides this, the twelve-inch speculum was perfected before the spring, and many hours were spent at the turning bench, as not a night clear enough for observing ever passed but that some improvements were planned for perfecting the mounting and motions of the various instruments then in use, or some trials were made of new constructed eye-pieces, which were mostly executed by my brother's own hands. Wishing to save his time, he began to have some work of that kind done by a watchmaker who had retired from business and lived on Datchet Common, but the work was so bad, and the charges so unreasonable, that he could not be employed. It was not till some time afterwards in his frequent visits to the meetings of the Royal Society (made in moonlight nights), that he had an opportunity of looking about for mathematical workmen, opticians, and founders. But the work seldom answered expectation, and it was kept to be executed with improvements by Alexander during the few months he spent with us.

The summer months passed in the most active preparation for getting the large twenty-foot ready against the next winter. The carpenters and smiths of Datchet were in daily requisition, and as soon as patterns for tools and mirrors were ready, my brother went to town to have them cast, and during the three or four months Alexander could be absent from Bath, the mirrors and optical parts were nearly completed.

But that the nights after a day of toil were not given to rest, may be seen by the observations on Mars, of which a paper, dated December 1, 1783, was given to the Royal Society. Some trouble also was often thrown away during those nights in the attempt to teach me to re-measure


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54 double stars with the same micrometers with which former measures had been taken, and the small twenty-foot was given me for that purpose. . . . . I had also to ascertain their places by a transit instrument lent for that purpose by Mr. Dalrymple, but after many fruitless attempts it was seen that the instrument was perhaps as much in fault as my observations.

July 8.—I began to use the new Newtonian small sweeper, (for a description of this instrument see note to Neb. No. 1, V. class, at the end of the catalogue of first 1000 Neb. and Cl.), but it could hardly be expected that I should meet with any comets in the part of the heavens where I swept, for I generally chose my situation by the side of my brother's instrument, that I might be ready to run to the clock or write down memorandums. In the beginning of December I became entirely attached to the writing-desk, and had seldom an opportunity after that time of using my newly-acquired instrument. My brother began his series of sweeps when the instrument was yet in a very unfinished state, and my feelings were not very comfortable when every moment I was alarmed by a crack or fall, knowing him to be elevated fifteen feet or more on a temporary cross-beam instead of a safe gallery. The ladders had not even their braces at the bottom; and one night, in a very high wind, he had hardly touched the ground before the whole apparatus came down. Some labouring men were called up to help in extricating the mirror, which was fortunately uninjured, but much work was cut out for carpenters next day.

That my fears of danger and accidents were not wholly imaginary, I had an unlucky proof on the night of the 31st December. The evening had been cloudy, but about ten o'clock a few stars became visible, and in the greatest hurry all was got ready for observing. My brother, at the


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Rh front of the telescope, directed me to make some alteration in the lateral motion, which was done by machinery, on which the point of support of the tube and mirror rested. At each end of the machine or trough was an iron hook, such as butchers use for hanging their joints upon, and having to run in the dark on ground covered a foot deep with melting snow, I fell on one of these hooks, which entered my right leg above the knee. My brother's call, "Make haste!" I could only answer by a pitiful cry, "I am hooked!" He and the workmen were instantly with me, but they could not lift me without leaving nearly two ounces of my flesh behind. The workman's wife was called, but was afraid to do anything, and I was obliged to be my own surgeon by applying aquabusade and tying a kerchief about it for some days, till Dr. Lind, hearing of my accident, brought me ointment and lint, and told me how to use them. At the end of six weeks I began to have some fears about my poor limb, and asked again for Dr. Lind's opinion: he said if a soldier had met with such a hurt he would have been entitled to six weeks' nursing in a hospital. I had, however, the comfort to know that my brother was no loser through this accident, for the remainder of the night was cloudy, and several nights afterwards afforded only a few short intervals favourable for sweeping, and until the 16th January there was no necessity for my exposing myself for a whole night to the severity of the season.

I could give a pretty long list of accidents which were near proving fatal to my brother as well as myself. To make observations with such large machinery, where all around is in darkness, is not unattended with danger, especially when personal safety is the last thing with which the mind is occupied; even poor Piazzi did not go home without