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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 at noon; and the quantity of rain-water fallen, in inches and decimals, from the 30th September, to the 30th of October 1790, near the foot of Ar thur's Seat.

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BE

KAKEMUIR CASTLE,

ELONGING to DR WAUCHOPE, is on the edge of Fala-moor, in the county of Mid-Lothian. There is a beech-tree of vaft fize clofe by the house: The drawing was made by the celebrated Mr Cooper, who now teaches drawing to the Royal Family, and is in the poffeffion of Sir John Dalrymple. It is fingular, that clofe by the ancient manfion houfes in this neighbourhood, as at Prefton-Hall, Arniston, and till lately, at Oxenford Castle, there is one great beech-tree, all of them of one age; which fhews, that about two hundred years ago, beech was confidered as an exotic in Scotland, Cæfar fays that all the trees of Gaul were in Britain præter fagum et abietem, that is the beech and the fir: By the fir is meant ftrictly the fir, and not the pine, for there is no doubt that the former is indigenous in Britain, as is plain from the immenfe forests of them in the Highlands of Scotland.

TO THE PUBLISHER.

"Why beholdest thou the mote that is " in thy brother's eye, but confiderest not "the beam that is in thine own eye?"

A

Candid and judicious critic is a moft valuable literary charac ter: he checks improprieties, corres errors, fuggefts improvements, and excites new ideas, all tending to wards the improvement of fcience, and the difcovery of truth. He, of. courfe, obtains the efteem of every refpectable writer. Like an active, intelligent, and well-difpofed civil magiftrate, he proves a terror to evil doers, but a praife and protection to thofe that do well."

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The captious critic, however, who catches at every trifling impropriety he can perceive, and picks holes with no other view than to give his readers a high opinion of his own talents, deferves not the fame applaufe. He is, on the contrary, a perpetual peft in fociety. His captious foarling excites the spleen of his opponents, which leads to ill natured wranglings that disturb the good humour of fociety without producing any beneficial effect. Like an upftart magiftrate, vain of his newly-acquired dignity, this literary intruder is perpetually giving thofe within his reach a great deal of unneceffary trouble; and while Ee 2

he thus renders himself disgusting and contemptible to men of fenfe, he has the weaknefs to believe that he excites the admiration of all who be hold him.

But the malevolent critic, who, from envy or other bafer paffions, mangles the writings of others, and diftorts their meaning, that they may appear futile and ufelefs, is a creature of a ftill more defpicable fort. He is the mere Grub of literature. His operations are carried on in the dark, becaufe he cannot bear the light of truth

and his ravenous tooth tears to pieces, the moft rare and valuable. pruductions with the fame avidity as thofe of the bafer fort. To guard against the ravages of this rapacious fpoiler, it becomes the duty of every lover of fcience to watch the first motions of this reptile-to drag him from his fecret haunts, and to caft him forth from the literary vineyard, that he may never more have it in his power to moleft it.

These reflections were fuggefted by the perufal of the firft article in your Magazine for September last, Whether the anonymous writer of that performance deferves to rank in any of thefe claffes of critics, or which of them would fuit him beft, I shall leave to others to determine. The

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