Augustus, son of Saluces, and menaced with death if he did not give up the place, was so afflicted, that he sweated blood and water. Finally, see a very extraordinary case, which happened at Genoa, in 1703, reported by Saporitius, a physician of that city, in the Ephemerid. Germanic. of 1712. See also Calmet's Dissertations on the Bible, third volume.

158. DEFINITION OF MATTER BY NEWTON.

Sir Isaac Newton speaks thus of matter. "It appears probable to me, that God for"med matter of particles that were solid, "hard, impenetrable, but susceptible of "change of place, with such forms and "size and other properties, and in such "proportion to space, as would best fulfil "the purpose for which he formed them. "These primitive particles, being solid, are "incomparably harder than any porous "body which may be composed of them.

They are so firm, that they can never "corrupt or decay, no ordinary power "being capable of dividing what God made 66 one at the time of the creation. As long

66 as these particles remain entire, they may "form bodies of the same nature and con"texture in all ages; but if they could de"cay or corrupt, the nature of things, "which depends on them, would change. "Water and air composed of decayed par

66

ticles, of fragments of particles, would no "longer have the same nature and contex"ture as water and air, composed in the "beginning of entire particles; it follows, "that, in order that nature may subsist "the same, the changes which happen in "corporeal bodies, must be attributed

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merely to various separations, or new "associations, or combinations, and dif"ferent movements of these unalterable

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particles; bodies composed of them "being subject to decay, not in the heart "of these solid particles, but there merely "where they unite together and touch in

some points. And on this principle, we 66 may find the reasons of the diversity in "bodies: thus particles which unite and "touch by larger surfaces, compose, from "their mutual attraction, harder bodies: "particles which are not so strongly

"attracted, or mingled together, form a "frail and brittle body. If they touch by "less surfaces, then the body is not so "hard as the brittle body, but it may be

more solid; if they touch merely, with❝out being one upon the other, the body is "elastic, and returns to its first form; if "they are placed or glide one under the "other, the body is soft and easily yields "to blows, it is malleable, &c.; if they "scarcely touch, the body readily falls "into dust, and is a crumbling body; if "they are round, gliding, and easily pe"netrated by heat, they form a fluid body; "if they have an equal surface, and are ❝ attached, or mingled together, then they "form a flexible or pliant body."

159. CHAIN Of Beines.

Bitumen and sulphur form the link be tween earth and metals; vitriols unite metals to salts; chystallisations connect salts with stones; the amianthes and lytophites form a kind of tie between stones and plants; the polypus unites plants to insects; the tube-worm seems to lead to shells and

reptiles; the water-serpent and the eel form a passage from reptiles to fish; the flying fish, the anas nigra are a medium between fishes and birds; the bat and the flying squirrel link birds to quadrupeds; and the monkey equally gives the hand to the quadruped and to man.

160. METALS defined.

Naturalists and mineralogists have not made sufficiently accurate distinctions between many natural and factitious metals used in society; and there are few persons who do not make mistakes in the naming of those most usually before our eyes. This once induced me to endeavour to remove the confusion which reigns in this matter, especially in the English and French names, the following is the result of my labor :

CUIVRE natif; metallo-rubrum, Linnæus. In English, COPPER.

CUIVRE JAUNE; in English, BRASS: composed of copper melted with calaminar stone, which gives it its yellow colour and hardness; it is malleable and harder than

iron.

Valmont de Bomarre speaks of a

native brass in great estimation.

BRONZE; a factitious metal, composed of 23lb. of tin with 100lb. of copper. Statues, medals, and bells are made of it. In English, BRONZE, BELL-METAL.

SIMILAR; in English, PRINCE'S METAL; 6 parts copper with 1 of ZINC.

ETAIN; a metal as white as silver; in English, Tin; very fusible, soft, and flexible, the lightest of all metals, never used aloné for utensils; but when employed for plates, spoons, &c. it is composed of 100lb. of tin with 15lb. of lead, and 6 of brass, and is then called Pewter.

FER-BLANC; sheets of soft iron and dipped into melted pewter.

PIERRE DE CALAMINE; zincum terrestre. Linnæus.

161. OF WESTMINSTER Bridge.

This fine bridge contains nearly twice the quantity of materials contained in St. Paul's cathedral. The centre arch has a span of 76 feet. It cost 218,800l. and was nearly 12 years in building. St. Paul's cost