of that branch of science. The original work having been received with much approbation abroad, the illus trious Author appears to have been reluctantly induced to publish, still in a less perfect state than he could have wished, his work intituled Elementa Chemie, which appears to be an enJarged and improved republication of the former work, with a very characteristic address to his Brother, and a preface reciting the occasion of this republication. This also appears to have been translated by Peter Shaw, M. D. and published as a second edition of the "New Method of Chemistry," 4to. 1741. A third edition appeared, 4to. 1753. To this is prefixed a short Advertisement announcing that most of the notes made use of in our first Edition are here preserved, and several others added where they seemed to be necessary. An Appendix is also added, to shew the way of carrying the Art still further, signed P. S. It does not hence appear how to distinguish the respective parts of the labours of the Translators and Editors in the first publication of the work, which, however, from the state of the science at that time in this Country, seems to have been an important accession, and to have ranked among the foremost of the systematic treatises on philosophical principles, which have promoted the advancement of that science in our Country; as it does not appear that at that period we possessed any approved Elementary Treatise on that science in our language. It is observable that, under the word Chymistry, in the Cyclopædia a quotation is made of a passage from the first edition of the abovementioned work in 1727. In the books before mentioned I find no notice as an Author of Peter Shaw, the joint Editor with Ephraim Chambers of the Editions of Boerhaave's Chemistry, who is also the well-known Editor of the Abridgment of the Philosophical Works of Bacon, 3 vols. 4to. 1733, and of those of Boyle, 3 vols. 4to. 1725. Besides which, he is the Author of "Chemical Lectures, read in London in 1731 and 1732, and at Scarborough 1733, for the improvement of arts, trades, and natural philosophy," 8vo. 2nd edit. 1725; subsequent to which, he published, "Essays for the Improvement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, by means of Chemistry, 2nd edit. improved by P. Shaw, Fellow of the College of Physicians, and Physician in Ordinary to his Majesty." It is the more observable that such slender notice occurs of this Author in either of the sources of information before mentioned, as, from the great extent, variety, and importance of the objects of science comprehended in the long successive results of his li terary labours, he appears among the most eminent and extensively useful of those Writers to whom the English Reader is indebted, for more ready access to, and communication of, the knowledge contained in the works of the illustrious Fathers of Science of our own Country, as well as for affording the means of acquaintance with the principal improvements in science of those more recent Authors who have eminently distinguished themselves in other parts of Europe. It affords me, however, some satisfaction to find mention of this Author, as an eminent Physician, whose only daughter was married to the late Dr. Richard Warren, who succeeded to his practice, in Nichols's "Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century." Another Author to whom the Pub lick is greatly indebted for the advancement of the science of Chemistry in general, in its application to the Arts and Manufactures, and as more particularly applicable to the purposes of Medicine, and whose merits as an Author have probably been obscured by the superior advantages of more recent promoters of that science, is William Lewis, M. D. late of Kingston in Surrey, who first communicated to the English Reader the advanced state of Chemical knowledge of the German Chemists and Metallurgists in his Translation of the “Chemical Works of Gaspar Neuman," 4to, 1737, illustrated with copious notes from the discoveries of more recent Authors, and from his own extensive experience; which is conspicuously evidenced in the elaborate work published some years afterwards, intituled, "Commercium Philosophicum Technicum; or the Philosophical Commerce of Arts; designed as an attempt to improve arts, trades, and manufactures," 4to. 1763.--This Author appears to have been among the first promoters of that excellent Institution, the Society for the Improvement of of Arts, Manufactures, &c. from which in 1767 he obtained the gold medal for an Essay on Pot-ashes, from the successful production of which in America, subsequent to that period, it appears that this Country derived considerable advantages. Another work of this Author, which has acquired much reputation as a work of comprehensive, scientific knowledge and of great utility, is the "History of the Materia Medica," 4to, 1741; republished by the Author, and since republished with successive additions and improvements from the hands of Dr. Aikin. I am equally at a loss to find suitable mention of that elaborate Author and promoter of science and general knowledge, John Harris, D. D. and F. R. S. The first work I have seen of this Writer is, a short but plain "Elements of Geometry and plain Trigonometry, &c. written by F. Ignat. Pardies, rendered into English by J. H. M. A. and F. R. S." 2nd edit. 8vo. 1702. (I have also an 8th Edit. with successive alterations and additions, 1746.) At this time it appears that Mr. Harris "lived and taught Mathematics at his house in Amen Corner." He wrote also," A new short Treatise of Algebra; with the Geometrical construction of Equation, as far as the fourth power of dimension: together with a specimen of the nature and algorithm of Fluxions." This tract is announced to have been written primarily for the use of his Auditors at the Public Mathematical Lecture set up at the Marine Coffee House, Birchin Lane, by Charles Cox, Esq. M. P. for Southwark. He also published "Elements of plain and Spherical Trigonometry, together with the principles of spheric Geometry, and the several projections of the Sphere in plano." Also "The Description and Uses of the Coelestial and Terrestrial Globes, and of Collins's Pocket Quadrant." 4th edition. Of these or the subsequent works illustrative of mathematical science, no mention occurs, or of the Author, in Dr. Hutton's Mathematical Dictionary, which generally records notice of writers in that science of less extensive preten sions to utility or celebrity of reputation as promoters of Science and Literature. Dr. Harris is also Author of "Lexicon Technicum Magnum: or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, explaining not only the terms of Art, but the Arts themselves, &c." fol. 1704. In the preface to 5th edit, 2 vols. fol. 1736, mention is made of the Author's decease: a detail is, however, given by him of the materials and principal sources from whence, independent of his own contributions, he derived and composed the principal articles of his work, which, considered as the labour of one man previous to the existence of more voluminous compositions in our language, affords satisfactory evidence of the comprehensive knowledge, industry, capacity, and perseverance of the learned Author, whose merit as a writer and promoter of general science and useful Literature is still more conspicuous and generally known in that excellent undertaking of the "Collection of Voyages," 2 vols. fol. 1705. The merit of this work is also, perhaps, less generally and duly appreciated, from the circumstance of having since been rendered one of the most useful, instructive, and comprehensive works of historical, political, geographical, and commercial knowledge in the English language, under the care and by the labours of Dr. John Campbell, whose uncommon candour and modesty, as in other instances of his valuable works, induced him to withhold the notice of his name or of the means to ascertain (otherwise than by comparison with the original Edition) the peculiar share in that undertaking executed by him, and which is accord ingly still most generally known by the title of "Harris's Voyages," 2 vols. fol. 1744, and of which there is a subsequent edition. I regret not having at present the means of more particularly noticing the dates of the several editions of the subjects of the present communication, which I trust will prove its apology. RUSTICUS. This idea has received encouragement; and many have expressed their willingness to contribute towards the support of proper establishments for that purpose. But, notwithstandiug the favourable auspices with which it was received, it seems of late to have been discountenanced and obstructed. Objections have been dispersed through the medium of the public papers; the weapons both of argument and ridicule have been employed against it. These have not been without their effect; and the proposition seems likely to sink into oblivion, not only without being tried, but without that consideration which any plan connected with the improvement of the lower classes of society imperiously demands. Imperfect as the present system of education may be, it will readily be admitted, that whatever tends to introduce novel modes of instruction, ought not to be received without serious deliberation. If the present methods be wrong or defective, it may not follow that a new one may be precisely right. It is on this account that the objections that have been raised against this plan are entitled to notice; and until these are removed, it is not to be expected that it can meet with a cordial and general support. Before we enter upon the consideration of these objections, let us, however, first see what the present system of education for the lower classes of the community is, and what is proposed to be grafted upon it. To describe the former, a very few words may suffice-the children are shut up in a room-frequently a great number together, for six or eight hours every day, where, in the course of as many years, by the united means of imprisonment, threats, and discipline, they learn to read an easy book, to write an indifferent band, and in some cases to understand the first rules of arithmetic; although the latter branch of education is often regarded with peculiar jealousy, as being likely to awaken those dormant powers of mind, which, although the gift of God, many persons think it the duty of man to extinguish. What precise quantity of misery is thrust into that space of human life which extends from six to sixteen years of age, it is not possible to de termine; but it may safely be asserted, that it far exceeds that of any other evil that infests the earth. The rod and the cane are in constant requisition, and the cries of infant misery extend from one end of civilized Europe to the other. A German Magazine recently announced the death of a School-master in Suabia, who for 51 years had superintended a large institution, with old-fashioned severity. From an average, inferred by means of recorded observations, one of the ushers had calculated, that in the course of his exertions, he had given 911,500 canings, 121,000 floggings, 209,000 custodes (or imprisonments) 136,000 tips with the ruler, 10,200 boxes on the ear, and 22,700 tasks by heart. It was further calculated, that he had made 700 boys stand on peas, 6000 kneel on a sharp edge of wood, 5000 wear the fool's cap, and 1700 hold the rod. "How vast (exclaims the journalist) the quantity of human misery inflicted by one per verse educator!" Dismissing, however, the consideration of the means adopted, let us look at the improvements made, which, with respect to the lower classes of the community, are chiefly confined to reading and writing. To these it is proposed to add the art of Drawing, with a view, in the first instance, of qualifying the children for a trade or profession, in which such accomplishment may be of use, and eventually, perhaps, of extending through the country at large, a more general taste for the fine arts, than that by which it has hitherto been distinguished. In the first point of view, the advantages to be derived from a knowledge in the art of Drawing, are appa. rent and indisputable. If to see be an advantage, to see correctly is certainly an additional one; and how can this correctness of sight be given by any method, so effectually, as by the prac tice of drawing the objects that present themselves? In fact, the genera lity of mankind go through life without ever having acquired the proper use of their bodily faculties. The eye of a painter, or even of a good mechanic, is as much superior to that of a common person, as a watch is to a grindstone. Should any person ask in what profession these acquirements are neces sary, sary, it may, perhaps, shorten the examination, to ask, in what they are unnecessary? From the architect who designs a building, to the workman who cuts the stone, or the carpenter who raises the roof, is not a correct eye the first qualification? If, from the outside of our houses, we enter the rooms, is not every thing around us the result of the arts intimately connected with drawing and design? -Have not our chairs, our tables, the papers on our walls, to say nothing of the pictures with which they are decorated, been invented and fashioned by artists or mechanics, who have acquired for themselves, in afterlife, those endowments which might have been given them when young, and which, consequently, they would not only have obtained with more case, but enjoyed in greater perfection? If we look into our manufactories, whether of hard ware or earthenware, of silk or cotton, in what department is not the skill of the designer, and the talent of the workman, indispensibly necessary? or by what other accomplishment is it that the manufactures of our Country are preferred to those of others, but from the elegance of the design, and the truth and correctness of the workmanship? Whatever, therefore, tends to the improvement of these powers, from which this Country has already derived such benefits,must be a natioanl advantage; and if, instead of confining this improvement to drawing, it could be extended to communicate to our infant progeny some degree of manual skill in arts and manufactures, it would certainly be of as much use, at least, as any accomplishment in which they are now to be instructed. To this scheme, however, many objections have been raised, which it may now be proper candidly to examine; at least as far as they are seriously made. The chief of these is, that by instructing a great number of children in drawing, a considerable portion of our youth will be taken from those useful and laborious occupations to which they are destined, and to which the good of society requires that they should be confined; and will be instructed in an occupation of no real utility, or of merely an ornamental kind; besides which, it may lead them to indulge in hopes of profit, advancement, and even of fame, which all cannot obtain, and which the very number of candidates will prevent from being beneficial to any. As a proof of this, we are told, by a writer in the Courier, who signs himself A. B. that "since the establishment of the Royal Society, and other free academies, artists have encreased to that degree, that perhaps the far greater part of them are genteelly starving; and that even those of eminence in their profession are obliged to submit to the most humiliating circumstances, to procure a bare existence; so that, to add to these would, in many respects, increase the sum of human wretchedness." If the above statement were true, which it is not, the inference to be drawn from it is exactly the reverse of that which the writer would imply. It is not because of a too general diffusion of a taste for the fine arts, and a knowledge of their excellencies, that artists are not encouraged, but because of the ignorance which prevails on this subject, and the indifference with which the works of real merit are often viewed by the publick at large. If we consider the proficiency that has been made in this Country in other departments, we cannot but be astonished at the little improvement which has taken place in this, and even at the comparative small number of persons who devote themselves professionally to the arts of design. To say nothing of the ancient states of Greece, where these arts were held in the highest honour, and conferred wealth and immortality on their numerous professors, let us look at France, or at Holland, or the Netherlands, in the middle and latter part of the XVIIth century, and see the immense benefits derived to those countries from the works of the eminent artists with which they at that period abounded. Even the City of Antwerp alone could boast of many hundreds of eminent painters, whose names have descended with honour to posterity, and whose works are yet purchased at enormous and even increasing prices. The influx of wealth thus brought into that City from the rest of Europe may readily be imagined-an influx obtained through the mere effort of genius and of talent, in which the value of the materials employed was as nothing to the profits acquired, and in which those profits were not liable to to be reduced by any countervailing loss. But it is said, that these are not useful occupations, but are subservient to luxury; that to encourage them would be to degrade the character and lower the spirit of the nation, and that on this account only, they ought to be discountenanced and put down. Be it so; let us avoid every thing which can soften the ferocity of our manners, which can improve and humanize the mind; and, instead of endeavouring to obtain the wealth of other nations by our superior industry or skill, let us tear it from them by war and plunder. But if the productions of the pencil or the chisel are thus to be reprobated, let us not forget that the same reasoning will equally apply to our manufactures and our mechanical arts. It has hitherto been the policy of this country to produce from the raw material, whether mineral or vegetable, an article which exceeds in value that from which it is produced in an almost incalculable degree; and it has generally been thought that the more the labour and skill exceeded, in value, the material on which it is employed, the more was obtained to the common stock; but, although the iron employed in a highly finished stove grate, or the wool in a Norwich shawl, be comparatively small, yet they exceed beyond all proportion the relative value of the canvas which the genius of a West can render worth three thousand pounds; a sum as actually realized to the artist by his picture, as it is to the manufacturer by his goods, and with at least equal advantage and honour to the community at large. Luxury is a relative term. When the first rude inhabitants of the earth sought for shelter from the inclemency of the seasons, in a hollow tree, then luxury began. When one of them finding, by long experience, that the winds of night frequently incommoded his repose, provided himself with another tree, opposed to a different aspect, and occupied one or the other, as they might happen to afford him a screen, undoubtedly his ruder associates exclaimed against him, as being unable to bear the blasts of heaven, and as being the slave of luxury. This accusation, therefore, is ever too late; we lay ☛ut our grounds, we trim our hedges, we erect palaces, we decorate our rooms in silk and linens, we are seated on the skins or the wool of animals, and we repose on beds of down. At what precise point we are to stop in this dangerous career, it is not easy to say-but it is by this that the taste is displayed, the eye gratified, the limbs reposed, the ingenious encouraged, the mechanic fed, the poor comforted, and the world combined, associated, and improved. If, then, a fine picture afford a pleasure to its possessor, equal to that of an elegant screen, or an inlaid book-case, let us allow it an equal place in our estimation-or if we despise the one, let us despise the other, and return to our original luxuries, the wild berries, the mountain stream, and the hollow tree. Such are the answers that might be made to the objections before stated, and to those of a similar nature, if such objections could be thought to have any relation to the subject; but, in fact, it is not within the scope of the present plan to raise up prac titioners in the higher departments of art. On this head the proposer of the scheme has expressed himself in terms too clear to be misunderstood. "By studying and design (says he), I do not mean that all our boys should be PAINTERS-no-to be a painter of history, a man should have a most liberal education indeed---all I mean is, that he should learn to be a draughtsman, only with pen and ink, chalk, or black-lead. I mean them to draw correctly a steady outline, no shadowing, no washing, no colouring---and so much only taught in all our charityschools, would be an advantage to the public welfare." Thus the objec tions against raising numerous hosts of painters, to contend with, and to starve cach other, apply not to the present scheme, which extends no further than to teach the pupils to see with that correctness which is necessary in whatever business they may subsequently be employed, and to describe what they see in a clear, correct, and intelligible manner. |