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LITERARY MISCELLANIES.

(Continued from page 193.)

THE PRETENDER.-In the rebellion of 1745, it is well known, that after the discomfiture of the rebels at the battle of Culloden, by the royal army under the command of the Duke of Cumberland, government issued a proclamation in which they offered a reward of thirty thousand pounds for the apprehension of the Pretender, dead or alive.

In opposition to this, the following curious paper was issued by the Pretender and his council.

CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES, &c.

Regent of the kingdoms of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging.

"Whereas we have seen a certain scandalous and malicious paper, published in the stile and form of a Proclamation, bearing date the 1st instant, wherein, under pretence of bringing us to justice, like our royal ancestor, King Charles the First, of blessed memory, there is a reward of Thirty Thousand Pounds sterling, promised to those who shall deliver us into the hands of our enemies, we could not but be moved with a just indignation at so insolent an attempt: and though, from our nature and principles, we abhor and detest a practice so unusual among Christian princes, we cannot but, out of a just regard to the dignity of our person, promise the like reward of thirty thousand pounds sterling, to him, or those, who shall seize or secure till our further orders, the person of the Elector of Hanover, whether landed, or attempting to land in any part of His Majesty's dominions. Should any fatal accident happen from hence, let the blame lie entirely at the door of those who first set the infamous example.

"CHARLES, P. R. "Given at our camp at Knilockeill, Aug. 22, 1745. "By His Highness' Command,

"J. MURRAY."

The original paper from which the above was copied, is so rare, that I never heard of any other than that which accident lately deposited in the British Museum ; the fact however itself is mentioned by Hume, and other historians.

COWPER.-Speaking of his own life in a letter to Mr. Parr, dated March 1791, Cowper says, with that extreme modesty which was one of his most remark able characteristics; "From the age of twenty to thirtythree, I was occupied, or ought to have been, in the study of the law; from thirty-three to sixty, I have spent my time in the country, where my reading has been only an apology for idleness; and where, when I had not either a magazine, or a review, I was sometimes a carpenter, at others a bird-cage maker, or a gardener, or a drawer of landscapes. At fifty years of age I commenced author; it is a whim that has served me longest and best, and will probably be my last." May 30, 1812. Hayley's Life of Cowper, Vol. I.

D. COPSEY.

ADDITIONAL REMARK ON ANTIQUARIAN

QUERIES

PROPOSED IN NO. V.

Mr. Copsey of Bocking says, "I apprehend that by Windows of Nine and Five Dayes, are intended windows of stained glass, on which should be represented the transactions of Christ, or the Acts of the Apostles which occurred in those periods of time."

1

SOLUTIONS AND REPLIES

TO QUERIES PROPOSED IN THE PRECEDING NUMBERS.

Mr. J. E. Savage of Surfleet, remarks respecting the twenty-second Query proposed in No. IV. that Dr. Hales, in the year 1753, communicated to the public a description of a sea-gauge, which he had invented to measure unfathomable depths, and employed

the ingenious Mr. Hawksby to make the machine*, which was tried in various depths, and answered with great exactness; the instrument was at last lost near the Bermudas.

QUERY 43.

Answered by J. B—n, London.

THE descent of the bodies called Aeroliths, or air-stones, was long doubted; but of late the fact has been so well attested, that the judicious give full credit to the phenomenon. These stones generally appear luminous in their descent, moving in oblique directions, with very great velocity, and commonly with a hissing noise; they are frequently heard to explode or burst, or seem to fly in pieces; they often strike the earth with such force as to sink several inches below the surface. They are always different from the surrounding bodies, but in every case similar to each other, being semi-metallic, coated with a thin black encrustation. They bear strong marks of recent fusion. Chemists have found as examining these stones, that they very nearly agree in their nature and composition, and in the proportions of their component parts. From this it is reasonable to conclude that they have all the same origin. To account for this phenomenon various hypotheses have appeared: I shall mention three, 1. That they are little planets, which, circulating in space, fall into the atmosphere, which by its friction diminishes the velocity, so that they fall by their weight. 2. That they are concretions formed in the atmosphere. 3. That they are projected from lunar volcanos. These are the most probable conjectures I can meet with, and of these, the two former possess a very small share of probability, but there are very strong reasons in favour of the last. Among these reasons are the following. 1. Volcanos in the moon have been observed by means of the telescope. 2. The lunar volcanos are very high, and the surface of the globe suffers frequent changes, as appears by the observations of Schroëter. 3. If a body

* A description of this instrument will be acceptable. Es

be projected from the moon to a distance greater than that of the point of equilibrium between the attraction of the earth and moon, it will, on the known principle of gravitation, fall to the earth. 4. That a body may be projected from the lunar volcanos beyond the moon's influence is not only possible, but very probable; for on calculation it is found, that four times the force usually given to a twelve pounder will be quite sufficient for this purpose; it is to be observed, that the point of equilibrium is much nearer the moon, and that a projectile from the moon will not be so much retarded as one from the earth, both on account of the moon's rarer atmosphere, and its less attractive force. On this subject see Mr. Howard's valuable paper in the Philosophical Transactions for 1802; and Dr. Hutton's Dissertation in the new abridgment, part 21,

Similar in substance is a communication from J. H. N. near Leeds, who refers to the article Ærolith in the Imperial Encyclopedia.

Mr. J. Faines, of Horbury Bridge near Halifax, supposes that these stones are conveyed into the air by water spouts.

Mr. Joshua Bamford, of Holthead near Huddersfield, conjectures that the stones in question, are concretions formed in the atmosphere.

Answered by Mr. D. Copsey, of Bocking.

On

Various are the opinions of men of science, respecting the origin of meteoric stones: but that such substances have fallen in various places is a fact sufficiently established; numerous well authenticated instances might be adduced, which have occurred both at home and abroad: I shall mention only one. the 17th of May 1806, a large ball, resembling a metallic substance, fell within a short distance of Basingstoke, in Hants; it weighed 2 pounds and a half; and when taken up was quite hot: it is now in the possession of Mr. J. Jefferson, of Basingstoke, who sent a relation of the phenomenon to a periodical publication*, whence this account was extracted.

*Evangelical Magazine.

These stones, on being analized, are generally found to be of a ferruginous nature, and to contain a great deal of lime and sulphuric acid. Since it has been ascertained by means of the telescope that volcanic eruptions often take place in the moon, it has been conjectured by some that the masses of stone which have fallen on the earth were discharged from these lunar volcanos with such force, that coming within the influence of the earth's attractive power they have been brought to its surface. The principal objection to this hypothesis seems to be, that the fall of these stones is always attended by a heavy thunder-storm, and their descent immediately preceded by very loud explosions; whereas, if they were projected from volcanoes in the moon, their appearance might take place during any temperature of our atmosphere.

It is certain that a great quantity of earthy and other particles is raised by the sun in evaporation; this is evident from the sediment which is deposited by rain

water.

Perhaps the formation of meteorolites may be ac counted for on this principle, by supposing that when the electric fluid rushes from one cloud to another, or from a cloud to the earth, it carries with it all the various particles which have been raised into the air with the vapours by the heat of the sun, and which being thus brought forcibly into contact, become a solid body, which by its weight descends immediately to the earth.

Mr. M. Harrison, of Crosland neur Huddersfield, says, "Dr. Chladni endeavoured to prove that the meteors from which these stones fell were bodies floating in space unconnected with any planetary system attracted by the earth, in their progress. Laplace suggests the probability of their having been thrown off by the volcanos of the moon. The greater number of philosophers consider them with Mr. King, and Sir William Hamiltion, as concretions actually formed in the atmosphere." See Dr. Thomson's Chemistry, vol. iv. p. 127, fourth edition.

Dr. Davy has rendered it extremely probable that the newly discovered metals silicum, alumium, cal

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