FOREIGN PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE. Preparation of the lately discovered new substance called IODE, which possesses the singular property of becoming converted into a beautiful violetcoloured gas by the mere application of heat. By Mr. FREDERICK ACCUM, As this substance, to which the name of iode has been given, has within these few weeks arrested the attention of chymists, and as the mode of obtaining it has not yet been published in this country, I take this opportunity of stating, that it may be procured by distilling, with a very gentle heat, the uncrystallizable saline mass which is obtained, or left behind, after separating all the crystallizable salts from a lixivium or solution of kelp, or Spanish barilla of commerce. For the purpose of experiment or exhibition in a lecture room, the following easy process answers exceedingly well: Take a thin glass tube about ten or twelve inches long, and three eighths of an inch in the bore; put into it about one dram of the uncrystallizable residue before mentioned, previously fused for a few minutes, to free it as much as possible from water, and reduced to a coarse powder; add to it, without soiling the inside of the tube,* about half its weight of concentrated sulphuric acid: shake the whole together, and apply a gentle heat, by means of a taper or lamp. This being done, a dense white vapour will make its appearance, and a black glistening powder, which is iode, become sublimed in the colder part of the tube. Then cut to a convenient length, with a file, that part of the tube which contains the iode, and seal the extremities of it by means of the blow pipe or spirit-lamp. The preparation of iode upon a larger scale is equally simple and easy. Let a long slender-necked tubulated retort be placed in a sand-bath; surround the whole body of the retort up to the tubulure with sand, and adapt, without luting, to the beak of it, a wide-mouthed phial or receiver. This being done, introduce through the tubulure, first, one part of sulphuric acid, and then two parts of the saline mass before mentioned, broken into small pieces of the size of split pease, and distil for a few minutes with a gentle heat. The iode will become sublimed into the neck of the retort in a crystalline form, exhibiting a black shining crust. Cut off the neck of the retort with a file, and collect the iode by means of a feather or camel's hair brush. If the whole of the saline mass of kelp or barilla, freed from carbonate of soda only, and which of course consists of muriate of soda, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, hydrosulphuret of potash, &c. be treated with sulphuric acid, the preparation of iode becomes more embarrassing and difficult. Roman Costume.-A work is announced, by subscription, in England, entitled Roman Costume, from the latter period of the republic to the close of the Empire in the East, by a Graduate of the University of Oxford, and F. S. A. The valuable disovery of paintings and bronzes, by the excavations at Herculaneam, afford authentic originals for the dress at the beginning of the empire The column of Trajan presents many specimens in the commencement of the following century, as does that of Antonine for the middle of it. The Arch of Severus begins the succeeding one; that of Constantine the next; and the column of Theodosius the middle of the following one. Other pieces of sculpture, dyptics, and coins, fill up the intermediate times, and extend it to the end of the Empire of the West. That assiduous collector, Du Cange, and others, lend their able assistance towards the pursuit of costume in the Eastern Empire; and its latter periods have survived the ravages of time in illuminations on vellum, illustrating the literary productions of the age. The correct colours of the Roman dress are to be found, not only by a reference to the notices of their authors, but in the Herculaneum paintings, tesselated pavements, and Greek manuscripts. This may be done conveniently, by sucking the acid up with the mouth into a long small glass tube drawn 'out to a capillary point, applying the finger to the upper orifice of it, and thus transferring by means of it the acid into the larger tube. FOR OCTOBER, 1814. REVIEWS. CONTENTS. Carnot on the Defence of Fortified 289 Collections of the New-York Historical 351 Places, 265 Horsley's Speeches in Parliament, 268 Damiano on Chess, 273 301 Memoir of Governor Colden, 307 A Treatise on the defence of Fortified Places. Written under the direction, and published by command of Bonaparte, for the instruction and guidance of the officers of the French army. By M. Carnot. Translated from the French, by Lieut. Col. Baron de Montalembert. Octavo. pp. 254. [From the Critical Review.] 1814. THE French government, for the purpose of impressing the importance of their functions on the minds of military men entrusted with the defence of fortified places, employed M. Carnot to compose the present work. It is divided into eleven chapters; the eight first compose the first part, which is illustrative of the position that any officer, entrusted with the defence of a place, must resolve to perish rather than surrender. The remaining three chapters compose the second part, "on the means afforded by industry, to ensure the best method of defending fortified places. From the principles treated upon in the work, the con clusion is drawn that, in the defence of fortified places, valour, unsupported by industry, is insufficient; united they are invincible." Valour!-Industry! the whole defence of fortified places consists in these two words."-The title of this book, recomVOL. IV. New Series. mended by the French government to the use of its army, excites strong interest at this time from the signal resistance of several fortresses held by French officers during the present hostilities. M. Carnot enables us to present the "lettres patentes" constituting General Colaud governor of Antwerp, containing instructions for his conduct in its defence; which, with variations adapted to the localities of other fortified places, may be considered as a precedent of the "lettres patentes" granted to all officers in the French service, commanding fortresses. "NAPOLEON, by the Grace of God, &c. &c. "The town of Antwerp being declared in a state of siege, we have resolved to nominate and appoint for its commander a distinguished officer, whose zeal and fidelity has been tried in many actions. "We have taken into our consideration the services of the General of Division Senator COLAUD, and we have appointed him, and hereby do appoint him, commandant of the place of Antwerp, now in a state of siege. Conformably to our decree of the 11th instant, by which he is appointed governor of the said place, we order him to be there by the and never to go beyond a musket shot of the ramparts of its advanced works; frequently to inspect and visit the provisions for the garrison, and the magazines for the artillery, and to take care that they are abundantly supplied, and secure from the attacks of the enemy as well as from the weather. We enjoin him, also, to ensure provisions for the inhabitants, even greater in proportion than those for the garrison. He will employ, within forty-eight hours after his arrival at Antwerp, commissioners, civil and military, to ascertain and certify that the said supplies are actually in the place: he will oblige the inhabitants to provide themselves with buckets, and to keep them constantly filled with water: three inspectors appointed to each street, will make domiciliary visits to see that this order is attended to; he will take care that the engines be in the best possible state; they will be stationed as a sort of reserve, and as much as possible sheltered from the enemy's fire. He will take the necessary measures to augment their number. He will give directions to collect a great quantity of fascines, palisades, and also all the timber for blindages,' that can possibly be procured. "We order him to preserve the place, and never to think of surrendering it on any pretence whatsoever: in case of its being invested and blockaded, he must be deaf to all reports from the enemy. He must equally resist insinuations and attacks, and never suffer his courage to droop. His constant rule must be to have as little communication with the enemy as possible. He will always bear in mind the dreadful and inevitable consequences of disobedience to our orders, or of neglect in the execution of his duties. He must never forget that, in losing our esteem, he incurs the severity of military law; and that this law condemns him, and his staff, to death, if he surrenders the place; even if two lunettes were taken, and a practicable breach made in the body of the place. In case the enemy should have blown up the counterscarp, he must prevent the consequences that might result from In short, this, by entrenching himself in the interior of the bastions. we most positively do order and command him to run the chances of an assault, for the purpose of protracting his defence, and increasing the loss of the enemy. He must recollect that a Frenchman should think his life of no value the moment it is put in competition with his honour; this idea must be to him, and his subordinate officers, the main spring of all his actions; and as the reduction of the place must be the last term of his efforts, and the result of the total impossibility to resist any longer, we forbid him to accelerate that unfortunate event by his consent, even by one hour, and under pretence of obtaining an honourable capitulation. 66 6 We direct that whenever the council of defence shall be called together to consult on the operations, these lettres patentes' shall be read in an audible and intelligible voice. "Given this 11th day of August, 1809, and of our reign the 6th.'" M. Carnot concludes, from the authorities he cites, and his general reasonings, that a good garrison entrusted with the defence of a fortified place can, as long as supplied with provisions and ammunition, successfully resist a besieging army ten times its nunber; and ultimately effect its destruction. He enumerates varieus means adopted by an enemy to obtain the speedy surrender of fortified towns, and the signal success of his own countrymen in employing threats and bombardments in the early part of the revolutionary war. "The most striking instance of the effect produced by threats, was that which restored us the four towns of Valenciennes, Condé, Le Quesnoy, and Landrecies.-After the battle of Fleurus, the enemy having been repulsed to some distance, we immediately formed the blockade of these four towns; Landrecies and Le Quesnoy were soon reduced by regular attacks: but the most important and most difficult to take, still remained: particularly Valenciennes, which had been completely repaired by the enemy, was abundantly supplied, had a numerous garrison, and an immense train of artillery. On our side, we had no means whatever to form a regular siege; hardly could we hope to maintain the blockade, being in absolute want of the necessary material" for it; still it was of the utmost importance to us to retake those places without loss of time, in order to reinforce, with the troops employed in the blockade, the army which acted offensively against the enemy, and which was greatly in want of support. Under all these circumstances we determined to summon the garrison. The violence of our threats was in proportion to our inability of undertking any thing whatever: fortunately these fortresses surrendered, their garri sons were made prisoners, and the enemy lost, in one moment, the fruit of this campaign.-Our detached divisions joined the main army: and from this day we had a superiority over the coalesced powers, which we maintained during the year. "The same war furnishes us with another instance to this effect: in 1795 we were endeavouring to find a passage across the Rhine, and to procure ourselves a tête-de-pont on the right bank, which was entirely occupied by the enemy, whilst we were posted on the left: we merely established a mortar-battery close on the bank of the river, facing Manheim. We judged that the town, although fortified according to Conëorn, would not resist a bombardment, in consequence of the magnificent edifices it contained, which the inhabitants would not suffer to be destroyed. And so it proved, for we had hardly began to open fire, when the place surrendered, which procured us at once an excellent tête-de-pont." The greatest part of the work is occupied by accounts of sieges, some of which appear irrelevant to the illustration of their object; and most, if not all, must be well known to every tolerably informed military man. The book is drawn up in a popular way, calculated to impress young officers with the importance of obstinately defending a place, and making intelligent individuals, amongst the inhabitants, acquainted with the views upon which the defence is conducted. As a compendium of historical facts, and of the results of the military theory of defence, it is likely to be well received; but it is principally valuable for acquainting us with the principles employed by the French, for holding out during an unusual length of time, in situations which were calculated upon being carried with comparative facility. The Speeches in Parliament of Samuel Horsley, L. L. D. F. S. A., late Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. 8vo. pp. 544. [From the Eclectic Review.] IN our whole national economy there is, perhaps, no one kind of advancement in the scale of what we call consequence, that does so much for a man who has not the advantage either of birth or fortune, as being made a bishop. Considered in proportion to its prerequisites and preparation, it is a greater transition than can be made in any other case. Other plebeians may become lords; but, generally speaking, they must be the possessors of great wealth, or have distinguished themselves in an ascending progress through important offices, or a long course of senatorial activity. And on the strength of this ponderous wealth, or in the exercise of these public functions, they will have approached to the habits, and even been familiarized to the society, of the nobility, and accustomed to so much deference in their vicinity, or so much obsequiousness to the authority of their offices, or so much attention to their exhibitions in great assemblies, that they have more than half attained the advantages of the peerage before they formally receive its patent and its ceremonial appendages. Whereas a clergyman that has no |