in their natural state always full of water, it is evident, upon hydrostatical principles, that, whatever be the weight of the vessel floated into them, still the weight of the boat-carrier, boat and burden will, at all times, be equal to the same weight, because just in proportion to the weight of the boat and burden immersed will be the quantity of water forced out of the boat-carrier; that is, a vessel of one ton weight will force out a ton weight of water, and another of three tons will dispel a quantity of water equal to that weight. Now by this contrivance the weight of an empty boat and apparatus will be equal to that of one ever so deeply laden, consequently a descending empty vessel will keep in equilibrio an ascending one that is laden, and the addition of a small force will raise the vessel. The boat-carriers run upon rollers, which theoretically remove all friction. And to save unnecessary expence, his Lordship had adopted the plan of small boats, of about four tons burden, for which a narrow canal would only be necessary; and by a neat contrivance he intended to link several of the boats together, by which means one horse would be able to draw a greater burden, and the canal might take a straight or winding direction as should best suit the level of the country, since the smallness of the vessels would not prevent their turning; and though twenty of them were linked together, yet, like the different links of a chain, they would not impede the progress of each other, however winding the direction of the course of the canal. How far this plan, adopted by Lord Stanhope as

the

the best, corresponds to that used in some parts of Holland, called the rolling-bridge upon dry land, and which, it is said, was the method employed by the antients, and is still in some repute among the Chinese; or whether they bear any analogy to one another, is more than we can attempt to decide.

Of Lord Stanhope's arithmetical machines we have already spoken; the success which he obtained in the structure of these curious instruments has, we are informed, led him to believe that one of still greater utility and importance might be contrived, by means of which, instead of the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, he conceives the whole art of reasoning may be conducted. Of this machine, in its unfinished state, it would ill become us to say more, were it even in our power, than what his Lordship is accustomed to mention in every company. And we have often heard him assert, that with his reasoningmachine he shall be able, on all subjects, to draw true conclusions from any given premises;—that he shall be able not only to detect false reasoning, however sophistically combined, but to shew the various links of the chain by which these false conclusions have been deduced;—and that with it he shall with great ease be able to ascend, by regular steps, from the first definitions of Euclid to the higher and most sublime speculations of our immortal Newton!

Thus have we given the leading traits of Lord Stanhope's character, both as a philosopher and a senator. With this outline, sketched perhaps imperfectly, the Public will have no difficulty to fill

up the picture. As a public speaker, his Lordship's cloquence is distinguished by energy, and his observations by vigour, and sometimes by originality. His appearance, action, and manner, add no graces to the sentiments which he delivers; they sometimes operate upon the hearers considerably to his disadvantage. With those auditors, however, who examine deeper than the surface of things, who are capable of distinguishing between the argument and the mode of stating it, Lord Stanhope will be considered as a man of science and of very strong understanding.

Lord Stanhope has been twice married: his first lady was the eldest daughter of the great Earl of Chatham, by whom he has three beautiful, highly accomplished, and very amiable daughters, the second of whom, Lady Griselda, is lately married to John Tekell, Esq. of Hambledon House, Hampshire; and the youngest, Lady Lucy, has been married some years to Thomas Taylor, Esq. Comptroller of the Customs. His Lordship's second wife is the only daughter and heiress of the late Mr. Grenville, who, for many years, was Governor of Barbadocs, and Ambassador at the Court of Constantinople for a considerable time. By this Lady, Lord Stanhope has three sons, endowed with excellent dispositions, and very superior understandings; the eldest, Lord Mahon, has, nearly completed his nineteenth year, and, although he has hitherto been in a great measure secluded from the world, is by no means deficient in those graceful accomplishments which are expected of every person in his rank of life.

DR.

DR. JAMES GREGORY,

PROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE OF PHYSIC IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

IT has been not unaptly remarked, that the appearance of a man, whose pre-eminence in any branch of literature and science not only precludes emulation, but, as it were, far distances his contemporaries, frequently proves hurtful to the general cultivation of that particular department of human knowledge. The sublimity of Newton's talents was so transcendent, that it required mathematicians of the greatest abilities to explain his writings, and fill up the chasm intervening between ordinary conceptions and exalted genius. Newton is without a rival, and, on considering the immense task of reaching the boundary of his powers, we had almost added, without a successor; for no one will venture to assert, that, since his time, the improvements in the higher parts of mathematics have been so progressive as to admit a comparison with those in other sciences. It has also been observed, that the celebrity of a father is injurious to the literary reputation of a son. The successor of Linnæus was a respectable scholar, and a man of an amiable character; but the merit of the great naturalist threw a shade over the abilities of his defcendent. We forbear to mention similar instances connected with the present time, because our doing so might be regarded

as invidious. Although by these preliminary remarks we do not mean, in the faintest degree, to insinuate that the gentleman, who is the subject of this biography, has degenerated from the worth of his immediate ancestor, yet the great and well merited fame of the latter has not contributed to exalt that of his son.

The family of Gregory have enjoyed, for nearly two centuries, a distinguished name in the republic of letters, and been particularly eminent for mathematical knowledge. This singular circumstance will be a sufficient apology to the reader, for the liberty we have taken in giving a concise history, or rather a genealogical enumeration, of most of the individuals of that erudite family. Every one, engaged in the pursuits of literature, must have experienced an occasional difficulty in ascertaining the productions of men, who are near relatives, bear the same name, have distinguished themselves by their writings, and obtained similar academic honours. We might instance the family of Munro, whose multifarious works on the art and science of medicine it is no easy task to segregate, and assign to their proper authors.

James Gregory, the great grand-father of the present Dr. James Gregory, was one of the ablest mathematicians of the last century. His mother was a daughter of Mr. David Anderson of Finzaugh, who possessed a peculiar turn for mathematical and mechanical inquiry. Alexander Anderson, the cousin german of David, was professor of mathematics at the University of Paris in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and the author of the Supplemen

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