Passes self-congratulatory comment on the increasing circulation of the
Mirror of
LiteratureMirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction
(1822–47)
Mirror Monthly Magazine
(1847–49)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >>, noting that it is the first cheap periodical to
achieving lasting success and has 'created an era in the history of periodical
literature'. Claims that the journal 'has reached a circulation far surpassing
every other periodical of the day'. Quotes
Brougham 1825aBrougham, Henry
Peter 1825a. Practical Observations Upon the Education of the
People: Addressed to the Working Classes and their Employers, London:
Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green [...] for the benefit of the London
Mechanics Institution
CloseView the register entry >> in
support of the assertion that 'of some numbers of the MIRROR
eighty thousand copies have been sold'. Notes that the practice of cheap
publication has now been extended to the reprinting of standard works and
observes that 'by this means of cheap publication the temple of knowledge is
thrown open to all, and an auxiliary is found to the extension of education
without which these efforts of enlightening the humbler classes of society must
have often proved abortive'. (iii)
The author claims to have 'clearly discerned all the primary causes of the
rise and fall of empires in apparently the most trivial circumstances'. The
'signs of the times' which accompany these causes are 'not of such a magnitude
as to be visible to the common eye, nor even to that of the philosopher, unless
through the medium of a microscope'; for as in human disease, 'so in the body
politic the germs of ruin may exist' and be invisible to all but those with
'minute sagacity'. (11) The writer reports that he has observed these signs of
the times in the habits and manners of British sailors, who may now, for
instance, be seen 'steering up the street, like a steam-vessel in the wind's
eye, without making a single tack [...]. In short, Jack[-tar] has now become an
amphibious animal'. In consequence of these habits, 'Men-of-war have made way
for steam-vessels, with a chimney for a mast, and a column of smoke for a
pendant. Naval officers command them, with a thermometer for a
speaking-trumpet'. The author fears that balloons will be adopted next: 'Then
adieu to the greatness of Old England! [....] We shall have too many and too
powerful competitors on that element, which is alike open for all'. (12)
Kitchiner 1817, Kitchiner,
William 1817. Apicius Redivivus; or, The Cook's Oracle: Wherein
Especially the Art of Composing Soups, Sauces, and Flavouring Essences is Made
so Clear and Easy, by the Quantity of Each Article Being Accurately Stated by
Weight and Measure, that Every One May Soon Learn to Dress a Dinner, as Well as
the Most Experienced Cook; Being Six Hundred Receipts, the Result of Actual
Experiments Instituted in the Kitchen of a Physician, for the Purpose of
Composing a Culinary Code for the Rational Epicure [etc.], London: Samuel
Bagster
CloseView the register entry >>Kitchiner 1821, Kitchiner,
William 1821. Peptic Precepts: Pointing out Agreeable and
Effectual Methods to Prevent and Relieve Indigestion, and to Regulate and
Invigorate the Action of the Stomach and Bowels, London: Bagster
CloseView the register entry >>Accum 1820, Accum, Friedrich
Christian 1820. A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary
Poisons: Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine,
Spirituous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard,
Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic
Economy. And Methods of Detecting Them, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme,
and Brown
CloseView the register entry >>Philip 1821Philip, Alexander
Philip Wilson 1821. A Treatise on Indigestion and its
Consequences, Called Nervous and Bilious Complaints: With Observations on the
Organic Diseases in which they Sometimes Terminate, London: Thomas and
George Underwood
CloseView the register entry >>
Gilbert 1628Gilbert,
William 1628. Tractatus, sive, physiologia nova de magnete,
magneticisque corporibus et magno magnete tellure: sex libris comprehensus,
Stettin: Excusus Sedini typis Gotzianis sumptibus authoris
CloseView the register entry >>
Aspin 1825Aspin,
Jehoshaphat 1825. A Familiar Treatise on Astronomy, Explaining
the General Phenomena of the Celestial Bodies, Written Expressly to Accompany
Urania's Mirror; or, A View of the Heavens; Consisting of Thirty-two Cards on
which are Represented All the Constellations Visible in Great Britain; on a
Plan Perfectly Original, Designed by a Lady, London: Samuel Leigh
CloseView the register entry >>
Subjects:
Astronomy, Theology of Nature, Physics, Light, Heat
The writer comments on the tendency of the present age to indulge in
'excessive speculation in numerous schemes, conducted under the direction of
societies, associations, and companies'. Various kinds of company are listed,
and the writer suggests that 'Milk Companies' might be profitably amalgamated
with the
Thames
Tunnel CompanyThames Tunnel Company
CloseView the register entry >>, 'which would enable them to supply John Bull with
chalk and water for nothing!' (54). The prospectus announces the
founding of the 'Intellect Company', offering a more solid speculation: 'The
projectors have discovered an ingredient of inestimable qualities [...] which
being enclosed in a fillet, and fastened round the pericranium, imparts to the
wearer that hitherto grand desideratum, a qualification to fill every station
in life with honour to himself, and benefit to the community' (55).
Lyon 1825Lyon, George
Francis 1825. A Brief Narrative of an Unsuccessful Attempt to
Reach Repulse Bay: Through Sir Thomas Rowe's "Welcome," in His Majesty's Ship
Griper, in the Year MDCCCXXIV, London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >>
The writer of the letter describes him or herself as 'an admirer of
improvement, and consequently an impartial spectator of the Joint Stock
system'. He or she declares: 'I mean to bathe with the
"London
Sea Water Company,"London Sea Water Company
CloseView the register entry >>—I send my clothes to the
"Steam
Washing Company"Steam Washing Company, Isle of Dogs CloseView the register entry >>. The writer considers, however, that some are too
anxious to change things for no good reason, and regrets those whose 'wits are
at work to overthrow the reigning Golden age, and to substitute an
Iron one' (60). The rural tranquility of English roads and canals is
contrasted with the pollution attendant on steam-power. The writer states: 'I
will not ask room to enumerate all the miseries attendant on the
proposed reign of darkness, soot, and terror. I must, however, take leave to
remind passengers by Steam Coaches of the certainty of their suffering from
vapours [...]' (61).
Among sundry complaints, the writer declares: 'The perfectability of the
human mind! verily this must be the age in which that most desirable
consummation was to take place. Man's immortal immaterial soul is getting
irresistible, and all by the force of steam!'. Particular reference is made to
the 'Hamiltonian system', a system of language learning designed by
James
HamiltonHamilton, James
(1769–1829)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, which is described as 'a lamentable hum, crede
experto'.
Relates that a man-midwife near Lincoln had a sign outside his house
stating: 'A RIDLEYRidley, A (Apothecary and Man-Midwife, near Lincoln)
(fl. before 1826)
ML1/5/125/3 CloseView the register entry >>,
Man-widwife.—Ladies delivered on the shortest notice, and on moderate
terms.—Such ladies as wish to be delivered decently, my wife
attends.'
A two-stanza poem tacitly referring to the recently founded
Steam Washing CompanySteam Washing Company, Isle of Dogs CloseView the register entry >>. It
ends: 'Poor washerwomen! every one, / How sorrowful ye seem! / Because
we used to wash in smoke, / But now we wash by steam.'
The writer notes with regard to the imitation of other languages as a cause
of linguistic change, that in this respect 'our language has received no
trifling mutation, or rather amendment; the learned have adopted almost all
technical terms of arts and sciences from the Greek and Latin, for the sake of
neatness and elegance' (104).
The writer states that 'the practice of bell-ringing has been reduced to a
science for many years past' and complains that 'this scientific mode is not
allowed to be performed upon Bow Bells' because the members of the vestry have
been informed that it might cause the fall of the spire (116). This claim is
disputed on physical grounds.
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Miscellaneous
Subjects:
Astronomy, Heat, Meteorology, Microscopy
Publications cited:
Scheuchzer
1732–37, Scheuchzer,
Johann Jakob 1732–37. Physique sacrée; ou,
histoire-naturelle de la Bible, 8 vols, Amsterdam: Pierre Schenk [et]
Pierre Mortier
CloseView the register entry >>Hooke 1665, Hooke, Robert
1665. Micrographia; or, Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies
Made by Magnifying Glasses. With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon,
London: printed by J. Martyn and J. Allestry
CloseView the register entry >>Adams 1787Adams, George
1787. Essays on the Microscope: Containing a Practical Description of the
Most Improved Microscope; a General History of Insects ... an Account of the
... Hydrae and Vorticellae, a Description of Three Hundred and Seventy-Nine
Animalcula, with a Concise Catalogue of Interesting Objects ..., London:
printed for the author
CloseView the register entry >>
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
After discussing the history of touching for scrofula, the writer notes
that, 'The obsolete practice of Greatrakes has in a degree appeared again in
the shape of friction, and has revived in full force in the process of
thumbing and rubbing, as applied by certain adepts to
distortions' (126).
'When P—nn—ngt—n for female ills indites, / Studying alone
not what, but how he writes, / The ladies, as his graceful form they scan, /
Cry—with ill-omen'd rapture—"killing man!"' (126).
The account of Grove Hill, Camberwell, ends with a tale of how the physician
William
BarrowbyBarrowby, William
(1682–1751)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> effected the moral reclamation of a young patient.
The writer considers the 'unrestrained motion' of the tongue to have
been productive of much mischief, and has devised 'a plan to tame this
turbulent engine, and render it as harmless as an uncharged gun'.
Reviewing the strengths of the contributions to the journal, the author
first observes: 'The devotees of nature and "her great First Cause" have
contributed their several quota' (133).
Whitehurst 1778Whitehurst,
John 1778. An Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of
the Earth: Deduced from Facts and the Laws of Nature. To which is Added an
Appendix, Containing some General Observations on the Strata in Derbyshire.
With Sections of them, Representing their Arrangement, Affinities, and the
Mutations they Have Suffered at Different Periods of Time. Intended to
Illustrate the Preceding Inquiries, and as a Specimen of Subterraneous
Geography, London: W. Bent
CloseView the register entry >>
The author contrasts favourably the immediacy and unexpectedness of genius
with the slow advance of endeavour. 'A volcano does not give warning when it
will break out, nor a thunderbolt send word of its approach' (154). 'Even in
science the greatest discoveries have been made at an early age', before the
mind becomes 'set in its own opinions or the dogmas of others'.
Manning [1825?]Manning, James
[1825?]. Observations on the Shameful Adulteration of Bread; Explaining the
Nature of that Universal Food, etc., (a reprint of an article in the
"Universal Magazine" for December 1757), London: G. Smeeton
CloseView the register entry >>
In contradiction of the 'vulgar epithet of "thick-scull" or
"thick-head"' for those lacking in intelligence, observes that the
learned
Richard PorsonPorson, Richard
(1759–1808)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
when his head was opened after his death, was found to have the 'thickest
skull'.
'A SURGEON and ACCOUCHEUR, who commenced
business in Wapping, announced himself to the ladies in that neighbourhood as
MAN-MIDWIFE from the Royal Navy'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The poem laments the retirement of
Joseph
GrimaldiGrimaldi, Joseph
(1778–1837)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>. One stanza observes: 'For who like thee could ever stride!
/ Some dozen paces to the mile!— / The motley, medley coach
provide— / Or like Joe Frankenstein compile / The vegetable man
complete!— / A proper Covent Garden feat!' (171).
Describing the religious objections of one Mufti to the introduction of
coffee, the writer observes: 'But another Mufti arose, of a less antiphlogistic
turn' (187).
Gives an account of
Acidalius
ValensValens, Acidalius
(fl. 16th century)
ML1/5/132d/7 CloseView the register entry >>, 'an eminent critic and writer of Germany, of the sixteenth
century', who translated, and was falsely accused of writing, a work attempting
to prove 'that women were not of the human species'.
'As we are anxious that the MIRRORMirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction
(1822–47)
Mirror Monthly Magazine
(1847–49)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >> should exhibit
the progress of improvement, we invite Architects, Surveyors, and Builders, to
favour us with plans and descriptions of any new public buildings they may have
in hand, or recently have completed.'
The poem considers a range of fools. One stanza reads: 'What tricks are
played, by those who trade / In
Galen'sGalen
(129/30–199/200)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> numerous schools;
/ Large fees they drain, for fancied pain, / From hyppish April fools'
(211).
Donn 1758Donn, Benjamin
1758. Mathematical Essays: Being Essays on Vulgar and Decimal Arithmetick.
Containing, not only the Practical Rules, but also the Reasons and
Demonstrations of them; with so Much of the Theory, and of Universal
Arithmetick or Algebra, as are Necessary for the Better Understanding the
Practice and Demonstrations. With a General Preface, Including a Panegyric, on
the Usefulness of Mathematical Learning, London: W. Johnston, and P. Davey
and B. Law
CloseView the register entry >>
Roscoe 1817Roscoe,
William 1817. On the Origin and Vicissitudes of Literature,
Science and Art and their Influence on the Present State of Society: A
Discourse, Delivered on the Opening of the Liverpool Royal Institution, 25th
November, 1817, London: Cadell and Davis
CloseView the register entry >>
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Miscellaneous
Subjects:
Natural History
Publications cited:
[Lobb] 1800[Lobb, Richard]
1800. The Contemplative Philosopher; or, Short Essays on the Various Objects
of Nature Throughout the Year: With Poetical Illustrations, and Moral
Reflections on Each Subject, 2 vols, London: G. G. and J. Robinson
CloseView the register entry >>
One couplet reads: 'In figures, unable with
NewtonNewton, Sir Isaac
(1642–1727)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> to dare, /
Yet found in the circle attempting to square.' A note includes the explanation:
'the quadrature of the circle is one of the baits that science holds out to
lure mathematicians on towards insanity—it has triumphed as much over
heads, as love has over hearts.'
A love-sick physician, 'Doctor Snake', tries all remedies for his condition.
He tells a friend 'That the symptom Brunonian he'd ventured, / And stimulants
push'd to extremes, / And his hope of recovery now centred / On feeding and
nursing his flames' (240). His friend gives the prescription: 'You may take
quantum suff. of the lady, / Add a drachm of gold ring and a prayer, /
In dispensary canonical ready, / Commingle and swallow with care'.
The writer suggests, drawing on
Adam ClarkeClarke, Adam
(1762?–1832)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, that the
circulation of the blood may have been known to the writer of Ecclesiastes.
The narrator finds the conversation at a dinner party revolves around the
condemnation of the criminal exhumation of corpses for dissection. He rises to
the defence of the practice, as necessary in the training of medical
practitioners, and is condemned as a man of 'libertine principles' (252).
The article briefly describes various means used by the Parisians to black
boots, before the importation of British blacking. After using British blacking
for some years, the narrator reports, '[t]he spirit of nationality at length
exerted itself, and the Parisians [...] began to analyse and compose and
decompose, until they produced something which the
Academy of SciencesAcadémie des Sciences, Paris CloseView the register entry >>
pronounced worthy of adoption. With all the pomp of French philanthropy this
great discovery is now given to the world for its benefit and instruction'
(256).
'A correspondent, who was born on the 1st of April, 1771, which was then
Easter Monday, wishes to know when the festival will fall on the same day
again. In the last century they fell together every eleven years, that is to
say, in 1771, 1782, and 1793; since which time he complains he has not had a
right birth-day'.
Ray 1693Ray, John 1693.
Three Physico-Theological Discourses: Concerning I. The Primitive Chaos, and
Creation of the World. II. The General Deluge, its Causes and Effects. III. The
Dissolution of the World and Future Conflagration. Wherein are Largely
Discussed, the Production and Use of Mountains, the Original of Fountains, of
Formed Stones, and Sea-fishes Bones and Shells Found in the Earth; the Effects
of Particular Floods, and Inundations of the Sea; the Eruptions of Vulcano's;
the Nature and Causes of Earthquakes. With an Historical Account of those Two
Late Remarkable Ones in Jamaica and England. With Practical Inferences, 2nd
edn, London: S. Smith
CloseView the register entry >>
Derham 1713, Derham,
William 1713. Physico-Theology; or, A Demonstration of the Being
and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation: Being the Substance of XVI
Sermons Preached in St. Mary le Bow-Church, London, at the Honble Mr. Boyle's
Lectures, in the Years 1711 and 1712. With Large Notes, and Many Curious
Observations Never Before Published, London: W. Innys
CloseView the register entry >>Cogan trans. 1773Cogan,
Thomas, trans. 1773. Memoirs of the Society Instituted at
Amsterdam in Favour of Drowned Persons: For the Years 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770,
and 1771, London: G. Robinson
CloseView the register entry >>
The article reports on the recent anniversary dinner of the Royal Humane
Society, before reviewing its activities. The society is reported to have
rescued from premature death more than 5,000 individuals in the neighbourhood
of London alone. It has also prompted similar institutions in Britain and
abroad, and has been the means 'of diffusing the best means of restoring
suspended animation' (276). A brief history of the 'art of resuscitating the
apparently dead' is given.
Section: Spirit of the Public Journals
Mirror of Literature, 5 (1825), 286–87.
The Himmalaya Mountains in India. (Extracts from the Letter of a Recent
Traveller)
The Great Plague. Account of a Grocer in Wood Street, Cheapside, who
Preserved Himself and Family from Infection During the Great Plague in
1665[1/2]Anon, 'The Great Plague', Mirror of Literature, 5 (1825), 349–51
After briefly touching on the introduction of medicine in different
cultures, the writer criticises the quackery prevalent in modern London, and
regrets the passing of the punishments that were formerly directed at such
'empiricism' in England. The writer concludes by advising that the treatment of
diseases should be committed to 'the only proper hands, the intelligent and
experienced practitioner' (334).
See also:
Anon, 'Medical Quackery', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 370–73
, Anon, 'Medical Quackery', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 393–95
, Anon, 'Medical Quackery', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 422–24
, Anon, 'Medical Quackery', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 435–37
, Anon, 'Medical Quackery', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 455–57
The author declines to speculate on the first origin of music, beginning the
account with the ancient Egyptians. It is stated: 'Nothing is more beautiful
than to conceive the energetic powers of the human mind in the early ages of
the world, exploring the then undiscovered capabilities of nature, and directed
to the exhaustless store by the finger of God in the form of
accident—though where chance is the parent of discovery it is only men of
genius who turn it to advantage' (340). The author places
Hermes
TrismegistusHermes Trismegistus
()
DSB CloseView the register entry >> among such geniuses for his 'striking improvements' in
music.
The writer introduces lengthy guidance on education, putatively written by a
sexagenarian, extracted from 'a weekly journal' that has been discontinued.
Advising against 'night studies', the writer gives a medical rationale, and
notes: 'The faculty extol early rising as a powerful specific against disease'.
The writer insists that time 'must be properly occupied', noting that 'Fine
Arts, Natural History, and many other useful studies may employ spare hours'.
(355) Warning against the dangers of excessive study, the writer relates of one
'learned gentleman' that he 'imagined the earth was a living animal, the flux
and reflux of the sea, the effects of his respiration; men, and other
creatures, insects, which fed upon it—bushes and trees, the bristles on
his back, and the water or seas and rivers, a liquid which circulated in his
veins' (356–57).
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The extract discusses the Biblical statement: 'Let there be light: and there
was light' (Gen. 1: 3) in the light of 'modern philosophy'. The writer notes
that a 'difficulty has arisen [...] in the minds of some persons, to account
for the production of light before the creation of the sun', observing,
however, that it has only arisen 'from adopting, with implicit confidence, a
mere hypothesis of modern philosophy, an hypothesis which the recent
improvements of science seems to render every day more questionable', namely
the corpuscular theory (360–61). The ether theory is introduced in
relation to 'late experiments in chemistry and galvanism', which have 'served
to render such a fluid or elementary principle more familiar to us', and recent
researches on phosphorescence. The writer quotes from several authors in
support of the ether, and argues its consistency with the Mosaic account of the
creation.
Among other notes to correspondents, the editor observes: 'We are always
anxious to render the MIRROR instructive; but we think the
subject of Arithmetic has been so amply discussed, that we need not
insert the letter of
Mr. AdamsAdams, J W (of Deptford)
(fl. 1825)
ML1/5/126/2 CloseView the register entry >>, though
very excellent.'
The narrator reports having come into possession of the papers of a recently
deceased friend, who left behind a 'digest of wonderful discoveries, phenomena,
and projects [...] in order to establish, beyond dispute, his favourite theory
of the Perfectibility of Man'. One of his 'most sanguine speculations' was
based on 'the indefinite application of steam': he proposed the use of
steam-power to propel all wheeled vehicles (394). The narrator reflects on the
consequences of such a scheme. He considers the possibility of making
steam-driven horses. Among the advantages would be the reduction in demand for
oats, and the consequent cheapening of wheat and barley, which would lead to a
reduction in adulteration. Cruelty to animals would be reduced with the
'invention of steam jack-asses, which may be thumped and bruised ad
libitum' (396).
The author reflects on progress in various aspects of life in England. He
notes the reduction of superstition, since, by the 'introduction of
publications, accessible by the working community, most men now read and
think for themselves'. The progress of science in the last 'twenty-five
to thirty-one years' has been 'so great that, did we not know such
existed, we should not believe it'. The writer considers that the arts and
sciences have 'created a great "social pyramid," and consecrated it to the
general intellectual improvement of mankind, which stupendous pile gives
fruitful encouragement and opportunities for the genius of more
FranklinsFranklin, Benjamin
(1706–90)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>
and
WattsWatt, James
(1736–1819)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>'. (405) He quotes
the recent comments of
Henry P
BroughamBrougham, Henry Peter, 1st Baron Brougham and
Vaux
(1778–1868)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> on the close connection between the cultivation of science
and enlightened toleration.
Among other notes to correspondents the editor writes: 'If we do not insert
the communications of Jacobus and G. A. L., it is for the reason
already assigned—that the subject of Arithmetic has been sufficiently
discussed. We do not, however, positively reject them.'
See also:
[Thomas Byerley], 'To Correspondents', Mirror of Literature, 5 (1825), 384
The narrator considers the 'maritime superiority' of Britain to be partly
dependent on its 'pre-eminence in maritime science' (418). The memoir begins
with a discussion of the history of voyages of discovery, and reflects on the
importance of the invention of the compass. It is noted of Franklin's home
town, Spilsby, that it has 'long been remarkable for a spirit of scientific
inquiry among its inhabitants, and particularly for the cultivation of the
mathematical sciences' (419). Relating the details of the arctic expeditions of
1818, the narrator observes that the details of David Buchan's expedition have
not been published, unlike those of John Ross: 'The papers and journals were
deposited at the
AdmiraltyAdmiralty
CloseView the register entry >>, where they
remain hermetically sealed to the public, though for what reason we are at a
loss to divine' (419).