"It might, in fome degree, be owing to this particular turn that our nobleman was not heard with fo much applaufe in the lower as in the upper houfe. Refined wit and delicate irony are often loft in popular and numerous affemblies. Strength, either of argument or voice, a flow of pompous words, and a continual appeal to the paffions, are in fuch places the best arms to fupport a good caufe or to defend a bad The cafe is very different in the house of peers. Minds caft in a finer mould, affect to defpife what they ftile the vulgar arts; and, raifed equally above fears and feelings, can only be affected by wit and ridicule, and love to find fome of that elegant urbanity and convivial pleafantry which charms them in private life.

one.

"Of all the modes of eloquence this feems to be the most difficulta As it cannot be practifed without great variety, and is above the reach of moderate parts, it conftantly ftands in need of encouragements and affiftance. A man of letters, not deftitute of abilities and imagination, may in his ftudy, by conttant application to the works of the great orators of Athens and of Rome, acquire the knack (for often it is not much more *) of ftriking his hearers with terror, of inflaming them with indignation, or of melting them into fofthefs and tears. But the art of managing irony and pleafantry with advantage is a peculiar gift, and requires a conftant intercourfe with people of fashion and men of wit. Lord Chesterfield was early acquainted with thofe, who in his time deservedly enjoyed the moft diftinguished reputation; and he fomewhere mentions to his fon his happiness, in having been introduced to thefe great men, notwithstanding his inferiority of age. Among his friends, were Mr. Addifon, fir John Van Brugh, Dr. Garth, and Dr. Arbuthnot §, Mr. Gay **, Mr. Pope t†, and feveral

more.

the dignity of a peer. He is by no means fparing of his Attic falt, which "he applies fo judiciously, as to please even thofe whom it might other"wife offend. He reafons with the calmnefs of a philofopher, he per"fuades with the art of an orator, he charms with the fancy of a 86 poet."

*Lord Chesterfield makes use of this very word in the idea he gives to his fon of parliamentary eloquence. Lett. to his fon, vol. II.

+ Tully could do no more. Whitfield often did as much.

In the year 1717, he is mentioned in one of Mr. Pope's letters to his friend Gay, as being in correfpondence with him.

The earl faid, That he never knew a man who had more wit in converfation than Sir John Van Brugh, and who, at the fame time, was more good-natured.

§ Dr. Arbuthnot was not only the earl's phyfician, but his friend. He was often with him in a morning, and more than once declared himself, in his prefence, a patron of Chriflianity. He ufed frequently to communicate his compofitions to his lordship. He defired him to amend and correct what he thought proper; and was never difpleafed at his lordship's making ufe of that privilege.

It was probably at lord Chesterfield's defire that Mr. Gay's Fables were compofed for the duke of Cumberland; but he wanted intereft to procure a fuitable return to the author. His lordship attended at that poet's funeral in November 1732, in Westminster-abbey, as one of the pallbearers.

++ Mr. Pope likewife fhewed him feveral of his pieces in manufcript, that he might read them, and give him his opinion. Mr. Pope, it is faid in

one

more: Though the last of these great writers feemed in public con verfation continually afraid that the man fhould degrade the poet, and did not eafily familiarife himself with those who wished to procure an intimacy with him; yet he very foon attached himself to lord Chesterfield, admitted him in his private parties, and was particularly defirous of enjoying his company in his retirement at Twickenham. There he made himself most agreeable to those whom he thus diftinguished. The wit and taste of our English nobleman was not a little improved by this intimate intercourfe, in which he had opportunities likewife to obferve the English bard's charitable difpofition, and natural benevo lence of mind, notwithstanding the load of infirmities which in fome degree contributed to whet the edge of his fatire, and induced him to treat without mercy those who aflumed any kind of fuperiority over, or happened to offend, him.

"It may eafily be conceived that a fociety, compofed of such men, must have been to the highest degree entertaining and inftructive. It was fo esteemed; and is fo fpoken of by those who had the honour of being admitted into it. At Mr. Pope's garden at Twickenham, efpecially, the flower of the nobility met without any pageantry of ftate, jealoufy of party, or distinction of fect *. Amongst these were, Cobham, Bathurst, Queensbury, Pulteney, Orrery, Lyttelton, Marchmont, Murray, names facred in the annals of their country, and immortalifed by the poet they loved. The head and the heart were both improved by fuch a familiar intercourfe of true greatnefs and genius. To these eminent judges, as well as patrons of wit, the young author fubmitted his first effays, and received encouragement and advice. By their affistance and credit the veteran poet was often relieved, and fometimes fupported against the frowns of courts, and under the pref

one of the magazines, being one day in company at lord Cobham's "with a great number of perfons of diftinétion, who were fcribling verfes on their glaffes, was defired by lord Chesterfield to oblige them with a "diftich ex tempore. Favour me with your diamond, my lord, faid the poet; and immediately after wrote on his glass.

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"Accept a miracle, inftead of wit;

"See two bad lines by Stanhope's pencil writ."

But a much finer, though equally fhort, character was drawn of him and of Mr. Pulteney, by the fame hand :

"How can I Pulteney, Chefterfield forget,

"While Roman spirit charms, and Attic wit?

With these fentiments, and under many obligations, it is rather furprising he fhould have omitted him in his will. I have been told, there arofe fome difference between them on account of the late dutchefs of Marlborough, whose character under the name of Atolla, Mr. Pope was, in vain, folicited by his friend to give up.

* Thomson, Mallet, Hooke, Glover, &c. One of thefe (Mr. Hammond) wrote, when only 22 years old, fome love-elegics in the true manner of Tibullus; which ford Chesterfield efteemed fo much, that, when the young author died ten years afterwards, he took upon him the pleafing task of pub lifhing them. The fhort preface which he prefixed contains inany ftrokes highly characteristic of his lordship's manner of thinking, as well as of his feelings.

VPL. V.

A a

fure

fure of old age and of want*. Sentiments of benevolence and generofity were impreffed upon the foul of him, whom pride was likely to miflead, or avarice to corrupt. Such were the friends, whom lord Chesterfield was fo happy to be connected with; in their company, and by their joint affiftance and encouragement, Pope sketched his ethic epiftles, which point out to man his grandeur and his weakness ; and his immortal fatires, which, in this island, have most seasonably ftopped the progrefs of pedantry and falfe tafte."

We wish we could honeftly fubfcribe to the truth of this laft fentence. That they did ftop, for a while, that progress, we can readily allow; but, we are forry to remark that falfe tafte feems fince to have reaffumed its influence, and to procecd as precipitately in its career as ever.

(To be continued.)

Philofophical Tranfactions, of the Royal Society of London. Vol. LXVI. For the Year 1776. Part II. 4to. Price 7s. 6d. Davis.

(Continued from Page 117 and concluded.)

Article the XXVIII, of this volume of the Philofophical Tranfactions, contains,

"A new and general method of finding fimple and quickly-converging feries; by which the proportion of the diameter of a circle to its circumference may eafily be computed to a great number of places of figures. By Charles Hutton, Efq. F. R. S.

The excellency of this method is primarily owing to the fimplicity of the feries by which an arc is found from its tangent. For ift de note the tangent of an arc a, the radius being 1, then it is well known, that the arc a will be equal to the infinite feries,

where the form is as fimple as can be defired. And it is evident, that nothing farther is required than to contrive matters fo, as that the value of the quantity in this feries may be both a small and very fimple number. Small, that the feries may be made to converge fufficiently fat; and fimple, that the feveral powers of may be raised by easy multiplications, or cafy divifions.

They procured many fubfcriptions to Mr. Gay for the impreffion of his Fables and by the produce of thefe, as well as by the fuccefs of the Beggar's Opera, that poet was enriched as much as a poet commonly can, d perhaps ought to be enriched. Mr. Aaron Hill had frequent encouragements given him, notwithstanding his frequent bickerings with Mr. Pope; and even his great enemy Dennis was relieved in his old age, at the request of a man whom lie had the moft reviled.

"By

"By a pretty exact estimate," fays Mr. Hutton, "which I have made, of the proportion of the trouble or time in computing the cir cumference by this middle form of the value of A, and by Mr. Machin's theorem, I have found, that the computation by his method requires about 1-8th or 1-10th more time than by mine. And its advan tages over any of the feries, invented by Euler or others, is ftill much more confiderable."

"XXIX. An Account of a very extraordinary Effect of Lightning on a Bullock, at Swanborow, in the Parish of Iford, near Lewes, in Suffex. In fundry Letters, from Mr. James Lambert, LandscapePainter at Lewes; and One from William Green, Efquire, at Lewes, to William Henly, F. R. S."

The extraordinary effect here related is that of ftripping a pyed bullock of all its white hair, leaving its red hair unhurt.

"XXX. Of the Light produced by Inflammation. By George Fordyce, M. D. F. R. S."

When bodies are heated to a certain degree, they become luminous, and are faid to be ignited. One of the means of producing heat is inflammation; which, it is well known, is fufficient to produce ignition. Dr. Fordyce, however, apprehends that befides the light produced by ignition, there is at light also produced by the inflammation itself.

"XXXI. Experiments on ignited Bodies, By John Roebuck, M. D. F. R. S."

Thefe experiments tend to invalidate thofe of the celebrated Mr. Buffon, on the increased weight of heated bodies, made with a view to prove fire to be a gravitating body.

"XXXII. Experiments and Obfervations on a new Apparatus, called, A Machine for exhibiting perpetual Electricity. In a Letter to the Rev. Dr. Horfley, Sec. R. S.

"XXXIII. Account of the Iron Ore lately found in Siberia. In a Letter to Dr. Maty, Sec. R. S. by Petr. Simon Pallas, M. D. F. R. S.

"XXXIV. On the Crystallizations obferved on Glafs. By James Kier, Efquire, of Stourbridge. Communicated by George Fordyce, M. D. F. R. S."

Article XXXV. is a fimple annunciation of the appearance of a belt in the dife of Saturn, in a letter from Mr: Meffier, of Paris, to Mr. Magellan; dated May 29, 1776. Meffieurs John and James Caffini, feem to have been the firft aftronomers who difcovered this phænomenon, toward the end of the last century.

" XXXVI. An Account of fome poifonous Fifh in the South Seas, In a Letter to Sir John Pringle, Bart. P. R. S. from Mr. William Anderfon, late Surgeon's Mate on board His Majefty's Ship the Refolution, now Surgeon of that Ship.

XXXVIII. Experiments on ignited Subftances. By Mr. John Whitehurst, in a Letter to James Stuart, Efquire, F. R. S."

These experiments tend to the fame purpose as thofe of Dr. Roebuck's in Article XXXI, and appear fatisfactorily to refute Mr. Buffon's opinion. Mr. Whitehurft's manner of accounting for Mr. Buffon's mistake appears just and reasonable.-—As this paper is fhort, we fhall give it, therefore, entire to our readers.

"The experiments of Mr. Buffon upon ignited bodies feem to prove, that, when heated to the degree he mentions, they are more ponderous than when cold. The experiments, which I have made on heated me tals, fuggeft a different idea, and contradict the facts he relates; fo that I am induced to believe, that fome circumstance, not attended to, has introduced a mistake in the relation this learned philofopher has published as the refult of his inquiry,

"His experiment ftands thus recorded (Suppl. Nat. Hift. vol. II. p. 11.): a mass of iron, after receiving a white heat, weighed 49lbs. 9oz.; when rettored again to the temperature of the atmosphere 49lbs. 7 oz. Hence he concluded, that the igneous particles, contained in the heated iron, increased its abfolute weight 2 ounces.

"My experiments are as follows: ft, One penny-weight of gold, made red-hot, became apparently lighter; but, when reftored again to the temperature of the atmofphere, its former weight was perfectly reftored.

"2d, One pennyweight of iron, heated as above, was alfo apparently lighter; but, when it became cool again, its weight was visibly augmented.

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It is now feveral years fince I made thefe experiments; but I well remember to have repeated them feveral times, and that the refults were always the fame. It may be neceffary to remark, that the beam ufed in thefe experiments was fenfibly affected by the oth part of a grain; and likewife, that each of the metals was heated upon charcoal, by means of a candle and a blow-pipe, and both were brought nearly to a state of fufion.

"It seems needlefs to obferve, that the apparent levity of the gold and of the iron, when hot, was owing to the rarified air above the fcale, and to the tendency of that underneath to restore the equilibrium of its preffure. The increafe of the weight in the iron might probably arife from its having, in fome degree, acquired the property of steel, by means of the flame and charcoal.

"I am at a lofs to account for the fallacy which feems to have attended M. Buffon's experiment; but it seems probable, that the heat of the mafs of iron employed by him, had a greater effect on that arm of the beam from which it hung than on the other, which being lefs heated, would confequently be lefs expanded; and this difference of expanfion might produce the error in M. Buffon's account of the weight of heated iron."

It may be obferved that the most accurate experiments, of the philofophers of the prefent day, tend to confirm the theory of that great advocate for experimental philofophy in general, Sir Ifaac Newton; who juftly looked upon fire rather as an accident attending bodies than as a body itself.

"XXXIX.