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STATE of the BAROMETER in inches and decimals, and of Farenheit's THER MOMETER in the open air, taken in the morning before fun-rife, and be tween 12 and 3 o'clock, afternoon; and the quantity of rain-water fallen, in inches and decimals, from the 30th of November 1787, to the 30th of January 1787, "near the foot of Arthur's Seat.

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T

VIEWS IN SCOTLAN D.

BUCHANNAN HOUSE.

HIS Houfe, the Summer refidence of the noble family of MONTROSE, is feated upon a plain, with a gentle rife from the banks of the river Endrick, which falls, at a mile's diftance, into the Loch Lomond. It is fituated nigh the fouthern extremity of the parish of Buchannan, in the county of Stirling, and at a little diftance below the Moor of Buchannan, which terminates the range of the Grampian Hills to the Weft. It is a large and fpacious building; ftands upon a basis of confiderable extent; and, though not graced by the elegancies of modern architecture, its fituation amply compenfates want of ornament in the plan. Its fides are fkirted, at a finall distance behind, by an extenfive wood, interfected by feveral fine walks. To the South, it commands an extenfive profpect of the adjacent country, beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and the windings of the Endrick, enclustered with groups of trees, and bounded by the romantic hills of Killern, Campfy, and Dunbarton. The landscape clofes to the Weft, by the wild towering mountains of Lufs, whofe bafes are washed by the celebrated Loch Lomond, a fheet of water, of about twenty-five miles in extent, ftudded with above twenty beautiful ifles, a number of which are inhabited, and cultivated with advantage. The whole prefenting a view, picturesque and pleasing in the higheft degree.

Extract from a Difcourfe delivered by the Earl of Buchan to the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland on the 14th of November 1787, being the seventh Anniverfary of its Inftitution.

GENTLEMEN,

SIN

INCE our last meeting on this occafion, forty-three Donors have completed the number of one thousand individuals, who have enriched our Library and Museum fince our first inftitution.

I am happy to observe, that, during the last year, no meeting has intervened without fome useful and interefting communication; and it is to be hoped that our communications and donations will become more frequent, when, by the publication of our tranfactions, the utility of our Inftitution fhall be more perfectly established in the opinion of the public.

Since our laft Anniversary, the,papers felected for publication have been in the hands of fuch of our members as undertook to prepare them for the

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prefs. A lift of them I have thought proper to lay on your table.

The tranfcripts of the Roman bulls relating to Scotland, from the fecret archives of the Vatican, which are attefted by the Praefect, the Abbot Marini, have been received from the learned Prelate Monfignior Erskine at Rome; and I have done myfelf the honour to return thanks for this valuáble communication, by a letter addreffed to the Prelate, and conveyed by our worthy and refpectable Member Mr Byres of Tonlay.

I have the pleasure to inform you,. that these transcripts are about to be continued, and will hereafter be placed among your archives.

A very beautiful MS. copy of the Koran, in the original Arabic language, has been depofited in your LiᏞᎥ X 2 brary s

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brary; and I have it in commiffion on Mahometanifm and Christianity, from the learned and munificent Ba- with feveral other learned and interron Suhm of Denmark, and Mr efting works, a perfon of profound Thorkelin, Profeffor of Ancient Hif- genius and deep refearch, of great tory and Antiquities in the Univerfity plicity of manners and goodness of of Copenhagen, that the Danish Pub- difpofition, is now employed in the lications, as well as the Icelandish, publication of a Latin tranflation, from which are wanting in our Library, will the original Arabic, of the travels of be tranfmitted to me for the ufe of this Abdollatiph, a Physician of Bagdad, Society; and you may be affured that who travelled through Egypt, and Ifhall, as formerly, tho' without injunc- wrote a curious account of what had tion, place them in your Collection. occurred to him on his journey.

I have the pleasure to acquaint you, that the fpirit of industry and of inquiry into the hiftory and antiquities of antient nations, continues to make great progrefs both at home and abroad.

Thevenerable, learned, and virtuous Sir William Jones, with his affociates, in the great country of Indoftan, continues to explore the hiftory and antiquities of that immenfe continent, which feems to have been the cradle of the human species; and the fimilarities of language, manners, and ceremonies, as well as of their moft ancient monuments, feem to evince the truth of the conjecture, that the oldest inhabitants of Europe were of Afiatic origin. By comparing the curious and authentic defcription given by the late learned Donald M'Queen, minifter of Kilmuir in the Ifle of Sky, of the religious ceremonies and cuftoms of the ancient Highlanders of that ifland, with those described by the Afiatic Society of Antiquaries, much important reflection will arife; and I have taken care, on that account, to collect together into one volume, and one point of view, all which that reverend gentleman has written on thefe fubjects, in his notes and obfervations on the Gaelic verfion of the Pentateuch, which I received from the Rev. Mr Stuart of Lufs, who affifted him in that humane and useful undertaking.

Mr Jofeph White of Wadham College Oxford, Laudian Profeffor of Arabick, who published the Inftitutes of Tamerlane, and the elegant Sermons

This work was communicated to the late Dr William Hunter, Phyfician in London, who admired it much, and wrote notes on the medical parts of it, which will be published together with the tranflation.

The fame gentleman meditates the conftruction of an immenfe work,-An Univerfal Dictionary of the English Language.

All thofe who have hitherto com

piled Dictionaries, have only propofed to themfelves to explain certain claffes of words; but this takes in the whole scope of every fign that has been used in our language to exprefs any being, or any idea whatever; comprehending all ancient and obfolete words, all terms of fcience and of art, diftinguithing those that remain in ufe from thofe that are become obsolete. Thus the work will be vaftly greater, and more useful, than that of Johnfon; but will require many years, and many fupple ments, to render it perfect.

Besides, every aid that our language affords will be taken to render this work perfect : whereas the great Lexicographer above mentioned even went fo far as to reject the words of Shaftesbury, of Bolingbroke, and other fceptical writers, whilft he adopted many of my great-grandfather's, Sir Thomas Brown of Norwich, which were altogether of his own formation, and not fufficiently naturalized in this country to be adopted. Befides, Johnfon affixed no marks of characters of pre-eminence to his words, quoting only his authorities, and leaving it to

the

delivered by the Earl of Buchan

To this Dictionary it is propofed to prefix a catalogue of all the books that have been confulted or read, fo that the compilers will be refponfible for the omiflion of fuch words only as are to be found in these books. This is noble undertaking, but muft require an immenfe time to accomplish.

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the reader to judge what degree of lin; Journal Generale de l'Europe, credit was due to them, which, with- publifhed at Liege; Gazetta de Weiout great learning and critical know- mar; Continuazione delle Novelle, ledge, could not be performed. Letterarie of Florence; Effemeredi : Letterarie di Roma; and the Annales: Literarie of Henke and Bruns, published at Helmftadt; Gottingische Anzei-: gen von geleherten Sachen, or Got-: tingen notices of literary affairs; Allgemeines Verzeichnip derer Bucher, or the General Catalogue of Books, which are brought every fix months: to the fairs of Frankfort and Leipfick ;: Allgemeines Verfeichnifs neuer Bucher mit kurzen Anmerkungen, or the General Catalogue of New Books, with fhort remarks, published at Leipfick ;Almendelig Dansk Litteratur Journal, or the General Danish Journal of Literature, published, I believe, at Copenhagen..

Mr White is very defirous that all learned focieties, and learned men in this country, should be acquainted with his intentions, and fhould communicate to him fuch observations, hints, or remarks, as may be useful;-addreffing their communications to him at Oxford. Mr White is of opinion, that great light may be thrown on Ancient Egypt from the Arabic writings which have not hitherto been confulted; and he proposes foon to give a courfe of Public Lectures on that subject. He has printed, and distributed among his friends, a series of 2 34 queries relative to this undertaking, that they may affift him with their advice and information.

An excellent inftitution has taken place at Oxford, called, "The Foreign 66 Literary Journal Society."

It is fupported by a select number of men of letters, who defire to know; what is going on in literature in foreign countries, being fenfible of the barrennefs of our own Journals, and their want of early and fufficient information. Each member pays two guineas. They are few in number, and the foreign Journals are numerous. But, as fuch an affociation might be of great; use at Edinburgh, I fhall mention what they get periodically. The Critical, Monthly, and English Reviews; the Annual Regifters, and Gentleman's Magazine; l'Esprit des Journaux of Paris; Journal Encyclopedique of Bouillon; Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres et des Arts, of Paris; Journal Hiftorique et Literaire of Ber

In Italy, the Sovereign Pontiff, and the King of the Two Sicilies, continue. to patronife the exploring of the remains of Antiquity from the ruins of Rome and of Herculaneum; a magnificent work, exhibiting the ancient ftatues of Greek and Roman workman-: fhip, which have been added to the Mufeum of the Vatican by Pope: Pius VI. has been lately published, and proceeds upon the fame plan, and his Neapolitan Majefty hás pa tronifed the publication of prints, and defcriptions of the bronzes, that have been dug out of the excavations of Herculaneum. In the preface to this: fplendid work, the Editor affures the Public, that, in the progrefs of the undertaking, there will be published tranfcripts from the ancient volumes of the Claffics which fhall be unfolded from the fame treafure of antiquity.. But I have been informed, from the beft authority, that there can be little hope of thefe books feeing the light, as long as the prefent fyftem of exploring them fhall continue; and, as this fubject is of great importance, I shall make fome remarks that may tend to its farther elucidation. In the exca vation of Herculaneum, there was dif

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