fociety at Harlem, previous to the 28th of February, 1800.

In North America, as well as in Germany, the inhabitants preferve apples during the most severe frofts, by keeping them in an apartment immediately under the roof of the house, and without a fire; a linen cloth being thrown over them before the commencement of the froft. The following fimple means is alfo faid to be effectual, in preferving the bioffom of fruit trees from being damaged by the early fpring frofts,-namely, to bring a rope through the branches of the tree, fo as to terminate the one end of it in a bucket of water; and fhould a flight froft take place the tree will not be affected by it, but it will form a confiderable film on the furface of the bucket. This experiment, which is certainly worth trying, is taken from a paper in the memoirs of the Royal Society of Agriculture in Paris.

A French Dramatic writer, Citizen LAYA, has introduced on the Paris ftage a Tragi-Comedy, intitled, "Une Fournée du Jeune Neron", which is an imitation of a truly novel kind, of Skakespear's Henry IV. The Roman Emperor Claudius is the King Henry-Nero the Frince of Wales, nor is Falstaff omitted, but brought forward under the name of Aulus. There has been lately established at Munich the capital of Bavaria, at the fole expence of the ELECTOR, an institution for the inftruction of the deaf and dumb: where children from 8 to 14 years of age, and having no other bodily defect, are admitted and maintained free of every expence. The Director of this Academy is M. BERNARD ERNSDORFER.

The Goettingen Library truly deferves the name of Public. Not only has every perfon without distinction free access to it at stated hours, but any ftudent engaged in a particular work or pursuit nay easily obtain permiffion to carry to his own apartments from twelve to twenty volumes; and every Profeffor may, borrow what books he thinks proper: nay, known literary men, refiding at a diftance from Goettingen, have frequently been allowed the ufe of books from the public library. -Although fo great a latitude might be inconvenient, and perhaps impoffible in the British Mufeum; yet furely that National collection might be made fomewhat more eafy of accefs to the Nation. That the few literary men who have fufficient interest, may be allowed to study there; and that other perfons may, by confidera

ble trouble, and after a fortnight's application, be permitted to walk through the houfe, and fee the collection as a show, is furely not making this valuable and expenfive inftitution generally useful. And if thefe objections lie against the British Museum, what fhall we fay to fome of the principal libraries at Oxford, which are not even acceffable to the students, and in which the cobweb covered volumes enjoy as much the otium academicum, as the members of that far-famed feat of the mules.

The fubterranean inveftigations, now making in Italy, by the French continue to be productive. In a country house, difcovered in the neighbourhood of Her culaneum, there have been found two feet, and part of an arm belonging to two ftatues of Satyrs in bronze, of Grecian fculpture and excellent workmanship; and, at a little distance, the bafe on which thefe figures have ftood, imprinted with the marks of four feet. The remaining part of the group is expected to be difcovered, when the whole will be easily got

out.

At Pompeia the fearch has also been attended with fuccefs. Citizen ZARILLO, Director General of these investigations, in a letter to the General in Chief, gives an account of the discovery of a chamber, in which are three fmall pictures, all reprefenting the fame fubject, but in different attitudes; namely, a fatyr making attacks upon an unwilling nymph-the colouring, of one of them in particular, is exquifite, and may difpute the palm with the works of Titian. On the wall of an adjoining apartment is a picture confiderably larger, of Diana and Endymion, well defigned and charmingly coloured. There is alfo in another room, a mofaic pavement extremely beautiful and valuable; and in the chambers where the pictures are, C. ZARILLO expects that fimilar mofaic work will be discovered. A French Journalist adds, that the General in Chief has directed C. C. POINT, THEVENIN and BLANCHARD to make copies of the above mentioned pictures, which are afterwards to be taken out and transported to Paris, if they shall be judged worthy of that honour. It is meant afterwards to attack the center of Herculaneum, where many valuable monuments of art and antiquity are looked for.

On the 25th Nivôfe (14th January last) an operation for the cataract was performed in the Hofpice des Viellards, Faubourg Martin, Paris, on a man aged 24,

born

born blind; previous to the operation, feveral perfons, among others, Citizens GARAT and LEBRETON, of the National Inftitute, examined him, in order to be fatisfied of the ideas he entertained refpecting bodies. His answers were plain and diftinct. He had learned vocal mufic by an artificial memory, kept time correctly, and fung with an accompanyment. He was not without fome idea of colours, being able to perceive a ftrong light, which afforded him a fort of twilight, but too faint to allow him to diftinguish objects. He had however been taught to be fenfible of a bright red. When placed obliquely he took notice of the fcarlet colour of C. GARAT'S waistcoat, C. LEBRETON having fhewn him a bobin of crimson filk, he said it appeared a kind of red; but he could not at all perceive purple or any other dark colour. After a variety of queftions put to him by the perfons prefent, he was left to rest for an hour. The operation was then performed, in prefence of the adminiftrators of the department of the Seine, the members of the central bureau, Citizens GARAT, LEBRETON, MERCIER and HALLE of the National Institute; Citizens THOURET and HAUY, and two eminent foreign phyficians. It was extremely difficult from the exceffive mobility of the lens; but the aftonishing skill of the oculift, Citizen FORTENZE, of the Hofpice de Phumanité, furmounted every thing. The patient, on perceiving the light, exclaimed feveral times, how bright! and could not bear it nor did the oculift wish him to attempt to make use of his new fenfe. The complete refult of this cure has not yet been published; every thing however has the most favourable appearance. The first bandage was taken off his eyes the fourth day after the operation; and it was afcertained, that the light forcibly ftruck the new and still extremely delicate organ. On the 9th Pluviofe (28th January) when the fecond bandage was taken off, the patient was fully examined. He could fcarcely yet fupport the ftrong light, but diftinctly difcerned the faadows, and a deep green feemed to give him pleasure. He took notice readily and quickly of the motion from right to left of a body balanced before him, and formed a tolerable judgment of the distance of a body expofed to his fight.

In the Paris Journals, a work is announced for immediate publication, which has been long and anxiously expected, being the fruit of the unremitting labours

of its learned author for the last three years;-" The Natural History of the Mountain of Saint Pierre of Maefiricht, with a Topographical Chart, and fifty four Splendid Engravings, from the drawings of Marefchal, Natural History Painter at the National Garden, and other able artists."

The provifional government of Piedmont have directed both the univerfiy of Turin, and the provincial college to be again opened, "these feminaries having they fay greatly contributed to deffeminate the immortal principles of liberty."

The public have been informed, that the Directory have inftituted a jury of Artists to determine the refpective value of the works of art ordered, and to be paid for, by the French government; and to fettle and afcertain in what manner and by what proportions the hundred thousand livres, appropriated for the reward of artifts, are to be diftributed and apportioned among the painters, fculptors, architects, and engravers, &c. The following perfons compofe this Jury: Vien, David, Gérard, Meynier, Vernet, Vincent, Naigeon, Fragonard, Barthelemy, Redouté and Morel-Darleux, Painters; Bienaimé, Thibault, Allais, Architects, and Giraud, Sculptor; with the following Suppleans or fubftitutes, Lebrun, Painter, and Moitte, Ramey, Auger and Julien, Sculp

tors.

The Hiftorian and Poet Nanescuriez, who died lately in Poland, has left behind him no lefs than three hundred and fixty manufcript volumes, on a variety of fubjects, written and collected under the patronage of the unfortunate Stannislaus, and a great proportion of them by his order. That monarch had enjoined the learned author in particular to publish every poffible document and account refpecting the first partition of Poland.

GERARD Dow's celebrated picture of the Dropfical Woman, which the King of Sardinia, at the moment of his abdica tion, gave to Clauzel, adjutant general of the French army of Italy, has been by that officer prefented to the Nation, and is now placed in the central Museum of the arts at Paris.

There is now publishing at Peris, in numbers, a fplendid work, intitled "Plans of the Palaces and other modern Buildings of Rome". By PERCIER, FONTAINE, and BERNIER.

In the French National Museum there is, among other monuments of antiquity, one of great value. It is an infcription of the names of the Citizens who fell in

the expedition under the Athenian Hero Cimon, in Egypt, Phenicia and Cyprus. This teftimony of the gratitude of a free people towards their defenders, although only painted on wood, has exifted from the 450th year before the christian æra. It was discovered in 1674, by Golland the tranflator of the Arabian Nights Entertainments; and the French obtained poffeffion of it by means of NOINTEL their ambaffador at Conftantinople.

The French government have put a ftop to the intended fale of the materials of the Cathedral of Rheims; the portal of which, a master-piece of gothic architecture, we are happy to find will be thus preferved. It would indeed have been a difgrace to a nation that boasts of her collections of the monuments of art, to fuffer this admirable ftructure to be deftroyed for the paultry value of the price the materials might produce.

A Literary Almanack is announced, at Paris, to be published in September next, and to be continued annually. It will contain a fyftematic and alphabetically arranged lift of all the men of letters now living in France, or who have died fince the revolution, with their names, furnames, the places and dates of their birth, their places of refidence, and literary titles, the titles of their works, the places where published, the different editions, the pirated editions, the dates of publication, the number of pages and volumes, with the forms and prices, including the fmalleft tracts, and likewife the time of the death of thofe who are no more.

The King of Sardinia was in poffeffion of a manufcript in fix volumes folio, which he valued fo much, as hardly to permit it to be infpected. It contains the works of a man too little known, the architect PIRRO LIGORIO, who died in 1780. This we understand the French government, in whofe poffeffion it now is, mean to make public; and in doing fo they will afford a treat to artists and men of tafte in general. Ligurio was a man of fortune and alfo of genius, an ardent lover of the arts, and an indefatigable enquirer into the monuments of antiquity. By a judicious and laborious attention to the remains of ancient buildings, and to every veftige and authentic account he could find, he has delineated Rome, as it was in the time of the Cæfars. His works are enriched with admirable details; and the plans which he has given have all the charming fimplicity of the ancients.

No city in Europe abounds with fo many hofpitals, and other charitable inftitutions, as the capital of France; for not only the kings, but many wealthy private individuals have expended immenfe fums, in establishing philanthropic afylums, which have rendered their memory revered by pofterity, however unworthy in their private life and character. And it is to the credit of the exifting government of France, that by far the greater number of thefe foundations in Paris, have been refpecled, and are ftill tolerably well fupported, notwithstanding the extraordinary and frequent changes, which the finances of that nation have experienced during the long continuance of the revolutionary war. This confolatory remark cannot however be applied with juftice to fimilar etablishments in the departments, or the country at large. We read of one particular instance, namely, the hospital of Aix in Provence, where a refpectable infirmary for the reception of infane and lame patients was formerly maintained, that the poor and wretched objects of this charity have for fome time paft been difmiffed, there being a total deficiency of the means of fupporting the current expences of the houfe. Under thefe circumftances, it is a grateful and interefting intelligence to the friends of medical fcience and humanity, that the French councils have lately decreed the fum of fixteen millions of livres, annually, towards the fupport of the National Hofpitals.

The French Directory have lately granted a gratuity of 500 livres to ANTOINE LASALLE, author of several ingenious publications, who notwithstanding his having been reduced to great diftrefs, has for thefe two years paft been engaged in the tranflation of Bacon, and already completed the works "De dignitate et augmentis fcientiarum," and "Novum organum," and nearly finished the work entitled, " Silva filvarum." The Director NEUFCHATEAU concludes his letter to Citizen Berthier of Sémur, (where Lafalle refides,) notifying this gift, in the following terms.-"It will be gratifying to you to announce to him, that government anxious to remedy as much as pof fible the misfortunes of perfons of merit, grant him a fum of 500 livres, to enable him to attend to his tranflation of Becm, without being diftracted by the painful fenfation of neceflity."

ORIGINAL