"XXXIX. An Account of a Suppreffion of Urine cured by a Puncture made in the Bladder through the Anus: being an Extract of a Letter from Dr. Robert Hamilton, Fellow of the Royal College of Phyficians at Edinburgh, and Phyfician at King's-Lynn, in Norfolk, to Sir John Pringle, Bart. P. R. S.

"XL. Obfervations made during the late Froft at Northampton. By A. Fothergill, M. D."

The reader is not to fuppofe that the froft, here mentioned, happened no where but at Northampton: the obferver meaning only that the obfervations were made at Northampton during the froft, in the beginning of the year 1776, which was feverely felt all over the kingdom.

The phænomena, which Dr. Fothergill thought fo very furprifing and which are here honoured with a place in the philophical transactions, are as follows.

"Jan. 27th, the great quantity of fnow which had continued falling almoft every day for three weeks, had, for thefe five or fix days pait, rendered the roads impaffable; and the poft, both upwards and downwards, was stopped, the fnow being drifted from fix to ten feet deep or upwards. This morning the froft became fuddenly very fevere; the wind full Eaft, accompanied with fnow. The barometer ftood at 293. A thermometer, according to Fahrenheit's fcale, which hung in my parlour, where there was a good fire, ftood at 33°, that is, only 1° above the freezing point. After it had been fufpended a quarter of an hour on the chinese palifades before the street door facing the South, it funk to 20°, that is, 12° below the freezing point. At five o'clock in the fame evening, it fell to 16°. At this time eggs in the marker cracked in the womens baskets, and appeared in a coagulated state, of the confiftence of bees-wax. This evening was placed on my gardenwall, facing the Eaft, half an ounce of each of the following liquors in a cup; viz. lemon-juice, vinegar, and red port-wine.

"Jan. 28th, This morning, at eight o'clock, the barometer stood at 30. The thermometer at 12°, that is, 20 below the point of freezing; wind Easterly; the atmosphere clear and ferene, but piercing cold. The three liquors were reduced to a folid cake of ice. This night, about eleven, were placed on the fame wall the following li quors; viz. fpirit of Mindererus, volatile fpirit of fal ammoniac of both kinds, mild and cauftic, dulcified fpirit of nitre, red port-wine, and French brandy.

66

Jan, 29th, Barometer 29%; thermometer at 11°, that is, 21° below freezing; the Eafterly wind exceffively keen and piercing. The roads which, at great labour and expence, had juft been cut through for carriages to pafs, were again this morning, though no fresh fnow had fallen, compleatly drifted up. Thefe liquors alfo, to my great furprize, now thewed evident marks of freezing. They were fuffered to remain, and two more cups were placed near them, with highly rectified fpirit of wine and vitriolic ether. At a little distance was placed, in a frigorific mixture, about an ounce of crude quickfilver in phial

• Jan.

"Jan. 30th, The morning clear, but intenfely cold; wind S. E.; barometer 30; thermometer funk to 9°, that is, 23° below the freezing point; a degree of cold which, I apprehend, has been but rarely experienced in this climate, being 3° below that of the remarkable froft in the year 1739. On examining the liquors on the garden wall I found, to my aftonishment, all of them, except the fpirit of wine and there, perfectly congealed: the first time I had ever seen these liquors in a folid form. Being defirous to fee the effect of a high degree of artificial, added to the natural cold that now prevailed, the thermometer was immersed into the frigorific mixture; but though it funk the quickfilver, in a few feconds, into the bulb of the thermometer, yet the refult was by no means adequate to that of the experiment of of Profeffor Braun at Petersburg: for although the quickfilver in the thermome ter, and that in the phial, contracted a film on the top, yet it remained quite fluid below.

Jan. 31ft to Feb. 1ft, The barometer at 29; the thermometer only at 16°, that is, 17 below the point of congelation; the atmofphere ferene and pleasant.

Feb. 2d, Wind S.; barometer 29; a warm, misty morning, fucceeded by a pleafant fpring-like day, ushered in a very mild and agreeable thaw, the thermometer from 9° being got to 40°; fo great was the change of temperature in fo fhort a fpace of time! And it feems worthy of obfervation, that the epidemic cold, which had prevailed univerfally during the preceding mild feason, fuddenly disappeared in the late intense froft; but now began to re-appear, together with rheumatic affections and other diseases of the former period."

“XLI. An Account of the Magnetical Machine contrived by the late Dr. Gowin Knight, F. R. S. and prefented to The Royal Society, by John Fothergill, M. D. F. R. S.

"XLII. Demonftrations of Two Theorems mentioned in Article XXV, of the Philofophical Tranfactions for the Year 1775. In a Letter from Charles Hutton, Efq. F. R. S. to the Reverend Dr. Horfley, Sec. R. S.

"XLIII. Experiments made in order to ascertain the Nature of fome Mineral Substances: and in particular, to fee how far the Acids of Sea-Salt and of Vitriol contribute to mineralize Metallic and other Subftances. By Peter Woulfe, F. R. S."

To this Volume is added a catalogue of the prefents of natural curiofities, books, drawings, &c. made to the Royal Society, during the year 1775, with the names of the donors annexed.

S.

A Com

A Commentary, with Notes, on the four Evangelifts and the Acts of the Apofiles; together with a new Tranflation of St. Paul's fir Epiftle to the Corinthians, with a Paraphrafe and Notes. To which are added other Theological Pieces. By Zachariah Pearce, D. D. late Lord Bishop of Rochester. To the whole is prefixed, fome Account of his Lordship's Life and Chara&er, written by himself. Published from the original Manufcripts, By John Derby, A. M. his Lordship's Chaplain, and Rector of Southfleet and Longfield. 2 vols. 4to, Cadell.

(Continued from Page 43.)

Numerous as are the commentators on the New Teftament, and juftly celebrated as are thofe of other nations *, the writers of this country are by no means inferiour either in point of merit or reputation. The moft popular of our English comments, are those of Dr. Hammond, Dr. Whitby, and Mr. Locke; the two former on the whole New Teftament, and the latter on fome of St. Paul's epiftles only..

In the annotations of Dr. Hammond we are prefented with a copious treasure of fcriptural learning; always generally useful, tho' not always equally neceffary to the explanation of the particular paffage, on which it is difplayed. It has been pertinently faid of this learned divine, that, like a generous hoft, he fets before us, on moft occafions, his whole ftock of provifions, when a finall part would have anfwered every neceffary purpose of refreshment or repaft.

Dr. Whitby has difplayed a fund of Greek knowledge, and has done, perhaps, as much as a man could do, whofe judgment was fo much inferiour to his learning. In this particular his comment differs from that, of Mir. Locke; whofe fort, on the contrary, lay in point of judgment, which carried him alfo as far as a man could well be expected to go, who was fo defective in the knowledge of the original language.

It appears to have been thefe imperfections in these popular comments that firft induced our learned prelate to undertake the prefent commentary. This defign, however, was under taken fo long ago and has been fo long in the execution, that a number of refpectable labourers in the fame vineyard have, in

At the head of thefe may be placed the learned Dutchman Hugó Gro tius, next to whofe obfervations on the New Teftament might be recommended the tranflation and notes of Beaufobre and L'Enfant; and particularly their general preface; in which an explicit account is given of thefe feveral particulars, relative to the Jews and other ancient nations, which are neceifary to a competent understanding of the text of the New Teftament. This general preface, if we miftake not, has been tranflated into English.

mean

the mean time, exercised their ingenuity, and difplayed their ta lents with the like fuccefs. Hence it is that a number of judicious and excellent remarks, to be found in the prefent comment, have loft the advantage of originality by the delay of their publication; a Lardner, a Doddridge, a Chandler, and fome others, having explained the fame texts nearly in the fame manner as is done by the Bishop of Rochester. Not that this circumstance derogates from the merit, tho' it may from the novelty, of the work *.-At the fame time there is a characteristic concisenefs and fimplicity in the comment before us, that gives the reverend fcholiaft, in our opinion, an advantage over most of his fellow divines. Certain it is, that, in difplaying the full poffeffion of ability to do it, he hath not overloaded the text, in the manner of Hammond, Chandler, Gill, and fome others; altho' we cannot compliment his memory with having difplayed that acumen of investigation which in fome cafes diftinguishes the annotations of a Locke. Our readers will accept, as a fpecimen of the commentary and notes on the gofpels, thofe in the 19th chapter of St. Matthew.

CHA

THE TEXT.

1 And it came to pass, that when Jefus had finished thefe fayings, he departed from Gallilee, (a) and came into the (b) coasts of Judea (c) beyond Jordan.

1 (a) Matthew here begins to give an account of Jefus's journey (the only one which he mentions) to Jerufalem, a little before the paflover, in which he was crucified. See Mark x. 1. and Luke ix. 51. Ib. (b) i, e. borders.

Ib. (c) Rather, by the fide of for dan. See note (A) here and on ch. iv. 15. and fee com, on ch. iii. 6. and John vi. 22.

NO TE S.

2 And

the

(A) V. 1. Beyond Jordan] Jefus came from Galilee (which lay to north of Judea) into the coafts of Judea; and from thence in his way to Jerufalem he went through Jericho (ch. xx. 17, 29.), which lay at the dif

tance

modefty and due

*Still lefs from the merit of the author, to whofe great fenfe of the importance and difficulty of the undertaking, the procraftination of the publication appears to have been owing; if we may judge from

the motto, he has adopted from Virgil's epiftle to Auguftus on

being afk

ed by that Emperor how far he was advanced in his poem of the Æneid, mihi

videar. Rey.

tance of fixty furlongs, or feven miles and a half from Jordan on the weftern fide of it (Jof. Bell. Jud. iv. 8. 2.) it feems therefore moft probable, that the courfe of Jefus's journey led him by the fide of the river Jordan, not beyond it. The Greek word wipa has fometimes this fignification, of which John i. 28. and vi. 22. seem to be inftances. See note on Matthew iv. 15. and com. on John vi. 22.

(B) V. 3. For every cause] By the law of Mofes (Deut. xxiv. 1.) any husband was permitted to put away his wife, when he finds no favour in bis eyes, because be bath found uncleanness in her, i. e. when the becomes difagreeable to him on account of her uncleannefs: but in that case he is bound by the fame law to give her a bill of divorcement; and then the might go and be another man's wife. This was the law; and the foundation most probably of the queftion, which the Pharifees here put to Jefus, feems to have been this. All the Jews acknowledged, that it was lawful for a man to put away his wife in cafe of adultery: but, while fome confined the law to. this cafe only, (as Rabbi Shammi and his followers did), others (following the opinion of Rabbi Hillel) extended it to every caufe of diflike, underftanding the word in a larger fenfe than that of adultery; even in the fenfe of every thing, that was esteemed fcandalous and indecent in a wife. So it feems to have been understood by the author of Ecclus xxv. 16. If (fays he) he go not as thou wouldeft have ber, cut her off from thy flesh, and give her a bill of divorce, and let her go. And the generality of Jews parted with their wives for every caufe, as we may judge from what Jofephus fays in his life, c. 76. that he divorced his fecond wife, though he had three fons by her, because he did not like her manners, più åeσxóμajos autñs TOTS no. Agreeably to which, he fays in Antiq. iv. 8. 23. where he treats of the law of Mofes, that there are many causes for divorcing a wife, γυναικὸς τῆς συνοικέσης βελόμενος διαζευχθῆναι καθ ̓ ἃς δηποῶν αἰτίας (πολ λαὶ δ ̓ ἂν τοῖς ἀνθρώποῖς τοιαῦται γίνοιιο) γάλλασι μὲν περὶ τῶ μηδέποτε ountabeïr ioxve. Leow, He who defires to be loofed from a wife, who cobabits with him for any causes whatsoever (and there are many fuch caufes which men have) let him confirm by a writing that he will never more have to do with her. We may obferve likewife, that Jefus in ver. 8. of this chapter feems to have underflood this law of Mofes (Deut. xxiv. 1.) in the wideft and most comprehenfive fenfe, at leaft in a fenfe comprehending more than adultery only: but then, what liberty the law of Mofes fuffered the Jews to take for the hardness of their hearts, Jefus, as an improver of morals, reftrained by his law given in ch. v. 32. and here repeated in ver. 9. Ifay unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, &c. VOL. V.

Bb

4 And