Phrenology, Medical Practitioners, Education, Reading, Physiognomy,
Gender, Charlatanry
The drama involves the visit of a woman and her son to the phrenologist, Dr
Brain, in order to discover the appropriate course of education and trade for
the boy. The phrenologist makes his highly gendered pronouncements, before
discovering that he has examined the skull of the boy's sister as a result of a
childish imposture. He insists on the correctness of his conclusions, declaring
that the girl has a 'noddle fit to belong to
Joan of ArcJoan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), Saint ('The Maid of
Orleans')
(c. 1412–31)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>' (8).
Section: Spirit of the Public Journals
Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 13–15.
Mr. Smedley Jones; or, Old Heads on Young Shoulders
The narrator reports of Mr Smedley Jones, a solicitor with an old head on
young shoulders, that he 'belongs to a society for converting
Captain
Parry'sParry, Sir William Edward
(1790–1855)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> Esquimaux, at the North Pole, from the errors of their ways'
(14).
The writer quotes from
Conder
1825–29[Conder,
Josiah] 1825–29. The Modern Traveller: A Popular
Description, Geographical, Historical, and Topographical, of the Various
Countries of the Globe, 30 vols, London: James Duncan; Edinburgh: Oliver
and Boyd; Glasgow: M. Ogle; Dublin: R. M. Tims
CloseView the register entry >> concerning the custom of Burmese physicians of undertaking
to cure young women on the understanding that they will become the property of
the physician if he is successful.
After some initial comments on the dangers of sectarianism, the writer
observes that 'Sceptics, in their never-ending labour, instead of having
injured the cause they are opposed to, have the more firmly engrafted Christian
feelings "round the fibres of the heart"' (21). The writer expounds the
argument from design as an antidote to scepticism.
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, Time, Ancient Authorities, Disease
Publications cited:
Darwin 1789–91Darwin,
Erasmus 1789–91. The Botanic Garden: A Poem, in Two Parts.
Part I. Containing The Economy of Vegetation. Part II. The Loves of the Plants.
With Philosophical Notes, 2 vols, London: J. Johnson
CloseView the register entry >>
The writer describes the ancient origin of the dog days, their astronomical
determination, and the views of ancient authors concerning the occurrence of
illnesses at this period.
The writer records that the first sun-dial was set up by the Romans, but
that the use of clocks and watches was unknown to them, since, being
preoccupied with 'military requirements', they had 'neither time nor leisure to
cultivate the arts of peace'.
The writer presents two contrasting soliloquies written as if by a scholar
of sixty-five and a schoolboy of sixteen. The former declares himself
bewildered by the contradictory statements and speculative theories of various
writers. He observes: 'I am perfectly versed [...] in the routine of science,
but all my theory avails not as explanatory of causes and their effects in many
of the commonest circumstances and natural productions. How shall I draw the
line between the boasted prerogative of man (reason) and the instinct
of the animal creation? will books enable me to trace the operations of the
mind upon the body? or how seeds grow up into plants?' (57).
One of the epigrams reads: 'In surgery,
Sir Astley'sCooper, Sir Astley Paston, 1st Baronet
(1768–1841)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
skill, / Has justly brought him lucre; / He has fully prov'd, and does still,
No Surgeon's like A. Cooper.'
The author discounts the claims of others to have discovered the circulation
of the blood before
William HarveyHarvey, William
(1578–1657)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>.
David Hume'sHume, David
(1711–76)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> opinion is
quoted that Harvey made his discovery 'by reasoning alone, without any mixture
of accident' and established it on 'the most solid and convincing proofs'. The
quotation from Hume also refers to the patronage of Harvey by
King Charles ICharles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland
(1600–49)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
and to the manner in which his medical practice diminished because of the
prejudices against his theory. The article ends with observations on the
velocity of blood in the human body.
The essay begins with
Alexander
Pope'sPope, Alexander
(1688–1744)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> conclusion 'all our knowledge is ourselves to know'
(83), and discusses the subject broadly. At one point the writer observes:
'Man, taken as a whole, is a wonderful and singular machine. His powers [...]
are capable of gaining for him that which he is all his life endeavouring to
establish, and ultimately dies without' (84).
Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 86–87.
The Fate of Genius[1/4]Scriblerus Clinker, 'The Fate of Genius', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 164–65
The writer illustrates with several examples his claim that 'from the
earliest period genius seems, as if by spell, to have been surrounded by
adversity and hard fate' (86).
Ellis 1826Ellis, William
1826. Narrative of a Tour Through Hawaii, or Owhyhee: With Remarks on the
History, Traditions, Manners, Customs, and Language of the Inhabitants of the
Sandwich Islands, London: privately published
CloseView the register entry >>
The article enumerates the characteristics of the height of summer in
England. The writer observes: 'now old gentlemen look very earnestly at their
thermometers, and find that they are within a few degrees of self-combustion,
or at least of slow suffocation' (92). 'Now pump-handles are going all day
long, like
captain Sabine'sSabine, Edward
(1788–1883)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>
pendulums vibrating seconds' (93).
Among the miscellaneous notes is the observation: 'In the regions of the
torrid zone the birds are not so melodious as ours, though their plumage is
much more beautiful' (99).
Paris 1826Paris, John Ayrton
1826. A Treatise on Diet: With a View to Establish, on Practical Grounds, a
System of Rules for the Prevention and Cure of the Diseases Incident to a
Disordered State of the Digestive Functions, London: T. & G.
Underwood
CloseView the register entry >>
The article reports the death of large numbers of eels on the River Deben in
Suffolk. The writer observes: 'No gas machinery, or any thing whatever
connected with deleterious matter, exists near the course of the Deben'.
Discoursing on the cold experienced in a night coach, the writer observes:
'To talk of cold in a coach, operates as certainly on the inmates in producing
a general chilling, as if a chemist had begun to mingle the ingredients of a
freezing mixture'. The writer refers to the passengers 'puffing and blowing to
collect the caloric'. The bumping together of the passengers is
something they dread 'as much as
captain ParryParry, Sir William Edward
(1790–1855)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
would an iceberg'. (120)
The article gives a recipe for literary criticism in the form of a medical
receipt, concluding: 'The same to be administered once a week, month, or
quarter'.
The writer observes that the 'true nature of a gift' is well illustrated by
'what is called giving a dinner', in which the 'first object is usually
to captivate the good will of some individual' (137). Thus 'rising physicians'
give dinners to apothecaries, and patients give dinners to their physicians
'thereby feloniously designing to sponge an opinion'. The writer reports that
Robert WillanWillan, Robert
(1757–1812)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
'advised his young medical friends against lending themselves to such schemes'
(138).
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
Parry 1826Parry, William
Edward 1826. Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a
Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: Performed in the Years
1824–25, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Fury, Under the Orders of
Captain William Edward Parry, London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >>
Barlow 1823, Barlow, Peter
1823. 'Observations and Experiments on the Daily Variation of the Horizontal
and Dipping Needles under a Reduced Directive Power', Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society, 113 (1823), 326–41
CloseView the register entry >>Christie 1823Christie, Samuel
Hunter 1823. 'On the Diurnal Deviations of the Horizontal Needle
when under the Influence of Magnets', Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society, 113 (1823), 342–92
CloseView the register entry >>
The introduction notes that
Parry 1826Parry, William
Edward 1826. Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a
Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: Performed in the Years
1824–25, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Fury, Under the Orders of
Captain William Edward Parry, London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >> 'possesses great
attractions, not only as it regards the curious reader, but for the usefulness
it proffers to professional men' (140).
Prospectus of an Ideological Association, on a Novel Plan, to Diversify
the Sensations, Extimulate the Ideas, and to Produce Sensible Improvement in
Mental Iconology
Written in high-blown language, the prospectus proposes that, since it is
essential that complex ideas be founded on correct simple ideas, 'we should
therefore acquire every simple idea that our organization admits of'. People
avoid unpleasurable ideas, but 'The agreeable is not always the most valuable.
The conchologist prizes not beauteous shells only. The geologist does not
exclusively value glittering substances'. The proposed organization is
therefore intended to foster 'voluntary punition', employing former 'familiars
in the Holy Inquisition'. (146) 'Subscription 1l. 10s. 0d.
per annum. Philosophers who doubt the veracity of the senses, or the
externality of sensible objects 2l. 2s. 0d., on account of
the extra trouble they will occasion' (247).
Parry 1826Parry, William
Edward 1826. Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a
Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: Performed in the Years
1824–25, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Fury, Under the Orders of
Captain William Edward Parry, London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >>
Anderson 1826Anderson,
John 1826. Mission to the East Coast of Sumatra, in M.DCCC.XXIII,
Under the Direction of the Government of Prince of Wales Island: Including
Historical and Descriptive Sketches of the Country, an Account of the Commerce,
Population, and the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants, and a Visit to the
Batta Cannibal States in the Interior, Edinburgh: W. Blackwood
CloseView the register entry >>
The article consists of extracts and anecdotes relating to precision in
various fields. It includes an assertion of the possibility of accurately
ascertaining the motion communicated by a fly to the earth on its landing,
observations on the number and size of animalcules, observations on the number
of 'particles of light' issuing from a candle, and an anecdote relating to the
precision of timing required in observing an eclipse.
The narrator recalls that Parr on one occasion made his pupils rise at 2am
during a 'tremendous thunder-storm' and gave them 'a most interesting account
of the facts and discoveries connected with electricity,
Dr.
Franklin'sFranklin, Benjamin
(1706–90)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> invention of conductors, &c., interspersed with
amusing anecdotes, having reference to the same subject [...]. It was like
listening to a disquisition upon lava, near the crater of Mount Vesuvius'
(171). On another occasion, Parr dissuaded a friend from his intention of
studying mathematics, advising him in the 'kindest tone' that he was 'almost an
idiot' and that, if he were to study mathematics, he would consequently become
'a madman' (173).
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The writer observes: 'Among the numerous projects started by Joint Stock
Companies, none appears so likely to transmit to posterity the daring ingenuity
of the present generation as the Thames Tunnel; a work in which the boldest
conceptions and the most novel ideas are united.' The article describes the
tunnel, and the current state of work.
The writer laments the passing of those traditional 'humble amusements' to
which the 'great bulk of the English middle class of society have a strong
inclination'. In this context, the writer welcomes 'the institutions for
mechanics', noting that while some have endeavoured to make them appear
'contemptible', they 'must evidently tend to the advancement of knowledge by
the expansion of those faculties which God gave to be exercised'. The writer
also applauds the increasing interest in gymnastics, and pleads for the
adoption of the rules by which the Olympic games were conducted.
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 >>
The writer refers to the 'remarkable properties' plants possess of
'providing for their own security', describing various virtual
experiments on the tropisms of climbing and other plants. These are attributed
to divine care.
Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 182.
The Spire of St. Bride's Church Reflected in the Air
A letter from Bridget Oozeley to Miss Fanny Stumps details the former's
experiences since her arrival at Cheltenham from Cheapside, London. She
observes: 'You will say, Fan, that I am grown very witty, but it is all the
effect of Cheltenham water, that exilarates the spirits and expells ill umours'
(186). It becomes apparent that she has been plied with strong spirits in the
guise of the waters by a young man. She reports that, after only a week on the
'water-course', the 'fashionable rash' in her face has 'almost vanished', she
has 'no further use for
Rowland'sRowland, Alexander
(fl. 1815–1860)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>
Kalydor', has almost lost her squint, and has had her red hair change colour
'to a nut-brown'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
Hayter 1826Hayter,
Charles 1826. A New Practical Treatise on the Three Primitive
Colours: Assumed as a Perfect System of Rudimental Information [...] with Some
Practical Rules for Reflections; and Sir
Isaac Newton's Distribution of the Colours in the
Rainbow, London: J. Booth
CloseView the register entry >>
The editor introduces the extract with the observation that it is a 'very
clever work', which he or she has 'recently read, with much pleasure', and
'which is to the artist a desideratum'.
In the extract, Channing's main thesis is that 'In an intellectual nature,
framed for progress and for higher modes of being, there must be creative
energies, powers of original and ever growing thought; and poetry is the form
in which these energies are chiefly manifested' (188). Although poetry finds
its elements in the world of experience, it 'imparts to material objects life,
and sentiment, and emotion, and invests the mind with the powers and splendours
of the outward creation' (188–89). Poetry obeys laws higher than those of
mere logic, namely, 'the laws of the immortal intellect'. It is one of the
'great instruments' of the 'refinement and exaltation' of society, and its
fictions 'are often the vehicles of the sublimest verities'. (189) Poetry is
needed 'to counteract the tendency of physical science, which being now sought,
not as formerly for intellectual gratification, but for multiplying bodily
comforts, requires a new development of imagination, taste, and poetry, to
preserve men from sinking into an earthly, material, epicurean life'.
Waterton 1825Waterton,
Charles 1825. Wanderings in South America, the North-West of the
United States, and the Antilles, in 1812, 1816, 1820 and 1824: With Original
Instructions for the Preservation of Birds, &c. for Cabinets of Natural
History, London: J. Mawman
CloseView the register entry >>
An anecdote of a gentleman of
Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College, Cambridge CloseView the register entry >>,
who was found 'absorbed in some abstruse calculation' with his watch in a pan
of boiling water and looking at the egg in his hand.
It is reported of
Samuel VinceVince, Samuel
(1749–1821)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> that
he jocularly referred to a strong wind that had blown down several trees as a
'mathematical wind', observing that it had 'extracted a great many
roots'.
The article details the behaviour of camels, and their Arab masters, when
the former are exhausted. The writer observes: 'Camels, like their masters, the
wild and hardy Arabs, are naturally formed for fatigue'.
The origin of craniology is attributed by 'an author who has lately
published a dissertation upon the subject to
John Rohan de
RethamKetham (or Ketum), Johannes von
(fl. 1495–1522)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>, who published a
tractKetham, Johannes
von 1500. Incipit fasciculus medicinae: Tractatus de anothomia et
diversis infirmatatibus; et corporis humani; cui annectuntur multi alii
tractatus per diversos excellentissimos doctores compositi. Necnon anothomia
Mundini, Venice: Joannem et Gregorium de Gregorus Fratres
CloseView the register entry >> thereon, in the year
1500 [...]. The fable [of craniology] is, therefore, as obsolete as it is
absurd; and presents but the "organic remains" of a craniology exploded more
than three hundred years ago' (198).
Ethnography, Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment
The writer reports: 'There are about fifty druggists' shops in the city, but
no physician; the practitioners are all ignorant of the science, and when any
medical professor comes along with the merchants from Pashawer or other places,
he is held in very high estimation' (104). Some details of medical treatment
are given, and the conduct of medical practitioners is described.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The illustration depicts one of the idols of the Sandwich Islanders recently
removed by
George A ByronByron, George Anson, 7th Baron
(1789–1868)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>.
The writer speculates about the origins of the religious beliefs of the
islanders, attempting to relate them to biblical history.
Among the miscellaneous notes are the following: 'The first eclipse on
record is of the moon, 720 years before Christ.—The antediluvian deluge
lasted 377 days, and according to the best authorities, happened 1656 years
after the creation [....] The first dawnings of astronomy and celestial
observations were commenced at Babylon 2200 B. C. [....] Maps,
globes, and the signs of the Zodiac, invented by
AnaximanderAnaximander
(610–546/5 BC)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, 620
B. C. [....] The Multiplication Table and 47 Prop Book 1,
EuclidEuclid
(fl. 295 BC)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, were invented by
PythagorasPythagoras of Samos
(c. 560–c. 480
BC)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, 495 B. C. A
large number of notes is devoted to 'Inventions and discoveries, sciences,
vegetable, fruits, &c. introduced to Europe after the Christian era' (213).
In a quizzical disquisition on Greenwich pensioners, the writer observes:
'We have all read of crabs being despoiled of their claws, locusts of their
entrails, and turtles of their brains, receiving in lieu thereof a pellet of
cotton, and yet retaining life, and appearing, in the words of the
experimentalizing and soft-hearted naturalist "very lively and comfortable."
Now, the real Greenwich pensioner distances all these; he is, indeed, an
enigma; nature knows not what to make of him' (218). Reflecting that 'a
Greenwich pensioner fresh from the sea' is out of place on dry land, the writer
remarks: 'Compare him to a hippopotamus in a gentleman's park, and he would
tell you, he had in his day seen a hippopotamus, and then [...] acquiesce in
the resemblance' (220).
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:
Scientific Practitioners, Exploration
The writer reflects on the arrest of a gentleman for 'cutting his initials
on the seat in Hyde Park', observing that this has been the practice of 'some
of the brightest ornaments of science and literature in all ages of the world'.
He gives as an example the 'hosts of names' carved on the pyramids of Egypt,
including that of
Joseph P de
TournefortTournefort, Joseph Pitton de
(1656–1708)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, 'the celebrated traveller and botanist' (220).
The writer reports the observation of
Mr
MackintoshMackintosh, Mr (contractor for the
government works at Stonehouse Point, Devon)
(fl. 1826)
ML1/8/217b/9, ML1/12/343b/10 CloseView the register entry >>, the 'contractor for the government works carrying on at
Stonehouse-Point, Plymouth', that, even at twenty-five feet under water, light
was focused by the 'convex glasses' in the upper part of the diving bell used
in the works to the extent that it could burn the workmen's clothes.
'A Parisian dentist lately published an "Essay on the Utility of
Teeth", and on their preservation; a wit observed, "that he hoped his
treatise would be as useful as its subject.'
The article extends a medical metaphor for the profession of a fencing
master: 'He is a duel doctor, and professes to help nature by art, and his
prescriptions, like those of other doctors, destroy as many as they
preserve'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The narrator reports that an old friend, Tom Twister, has 'devoted many of
the latter years of his life to the study of natural philosophy', that 'he has
formed a slight acquaintance with every science which treats of the
modifications and states of matter', and that 'to so great perfection have his
faculties arrived, that he perceives by intuition, what others discover only by
ratiocination'. He has sought to 'connect the sciences into one harmonious
whole' but has not yet succeeded, either from 'want of patronage or the
futility of his reasoning'. He published a treatise on 'the existence of a
lunar passage', which has yet to be attempted. He has more recently proposed
'making large incisions in the crust of the earth, till that mass of perennial
fire, which
Dr. DarwinDarwin, Erasmus
(1731–1802)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>
supposed the interior of the globe to contain, was arrived at' in order to
provide 'the genial warmth of an artificial summer'. He was once 'near
discovering the perpetual motion', and spent a long period in a state of
'phrenetic insanity' when his attempt failed. He has posited that there is 'a
secret, indefinable, incomprehensible, something, which connects
humanity with terrene matter', so that someone 'formed of London clay, is
doubtless more an epicurean than a peripatetic'. (247) His most recent scheme
is related in a letter to the narrator. Having some knowledge of chemistry, he
has 'compounded a lineo-protactivo-caustico-attractivo, that is, a certain
glutinous substance which has great sympathy with the moon's
attrahency'. He believes that, when applied to the location of some mental
deficiency, the skull will be 'drawn from its former form'. (248)
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
On the subject of the forthcoming solar eclipse, the author refers to the
observation of 'Our very old friend, "Francis MooreMoore, Francis
(1657–1714?)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, physician"'
that there will not be another visible solar eclipse for ten years, and that,
even then, the 'central shade' will pass 723 miles above the surface of the
earth, 'rather too exalted a station [...] to be attained even by the most
intrepid aeronaut' (274–75). The author refers to 'the moon's inhabitants
(presuming that body with the planets to be inhabited)' (275).
La Beaume 1826La Beaume,
M. 1826. On Galvanism: With Observations on its Chymical
Properties and Medical Efficacy in Chronic Diseases with Practical
Illustrations; Also Remarks on some Auxiliary Remedies, London:
Highley
CloseView the register entry >>
Subjects:
Electricty, Electrochemistry, Discovery, Accidents, Physiology,
Chemistry, Genius, Medical Treatment
The editor introduces
Michael La
Beaume'sLa Beaume, Michael
(fl. 1818–26)
RLIN CloseView the register entry >> work with the observation: 'To the medical practitioner
this treatise is highly important, and to our readers we strongly recommend an
earnest perusal of it' (281). The extract begins with a lengthy account of the
history of galvanism, giving pride of place to Humphry Davy as 'the first
chemist of the age' (282). The author makes great and wide-ranging claims for
the 'medical properties of galvanism' (283).
The ambitious man 'is one that flies in a machine, and the engines that bear
him are pride and avarice. [...] He rises, like a meteor, from corruption and
rottennness, and, when he is at his height, shines and dispenses plagues and
diseases on those that are beneath him. [...] He is like the north pole to his
friends, the nearer they are to him, the higher he is above them; and when they
steer by him, unless they perfectly understand their variation from him, they
are sure to find themselves mistaken' (297).
The article describes the new treatment for tooth decay originated by
Mr FayFay, Mr
(fl. 1826)
ML1/8/222b/4 CloseView the register entry >>, an 'ingenious
surgeon from America, lately settled in London', involving the removal of the
diseased part of the tooth and the 'nervous matter'. It is reported that Fay
has received the 'large silver medal from the
Society of
ArtsRoyal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
CloseView the register entry >>' for his improvement and for his forceps 'for the
perpendicular extraction of teeth'.
The writer reports that, following the amputation of a limb in Tripoli, the
surgeons dip the stump in hot pitch, rather than tying up the arteries to stop
the bleeding.
The writer describes an anvil stock at Galgate which, notwithstanding having
been stripped of 'its principal roots and bark [...] continues, every year, to
shoot forth healthy stems'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
Murray 1826Murray,
Lindley 1826. Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Lindley Murray,
In a Series of Letters, Written by Himself: With a Preface, and a Continuation
of the Memoirs by Elizabeth Frank, York: Thomas Wilson and Sons; London:
Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, and Harvey and Darton
CloseView the register entry >>
Cuvier
1827–35Cuvier,
Georges 1827–35. The Animal Kingdom: Arranged in Conformity
with its Organization, with Additional Descriptions of All the Species Hitherto
Named, and of Many Not before Noticed, by Edward Griffith[...] and
Others, 16 vols, London: G. B. Whittaker
CloseView the register entry >>
The narrator calls on a friend and is invited to go with him to join a group
commenting on an epic poem by an 'amateur poet'. The subject of the poem
is the solar eclipse of 1715, and a footnote by the narrator records that this
was a total eclipse, directing the reader to an 'excellent paper respecting it
by
Dr. HalleyHalley, Edmond
(1656?–1743)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>' in
the Philosophical TransactionsPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
(1665–1900+)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >>
for 1715. (322) Some of the objections raised to the poem by the assembled
critics are of a physical nature. One critic observes: 'you have asserted too
much when you say , "the beams impinge in streams;' how do you know this?'. The
author refers his critic to
Isaac Newton'sNewton, Sir Isaac
(1642–1727)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>PrincipiaNewton, Isaac
1687. Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, Londini: Jussu
Societatis Regiae ac Typis Josephi Streater
CloseView the register entry >>, but is
answered: 'Yes, but I hold the sun to an efficient, not an emanative cause;
with
EulerEuler, Leonhard
(1707–83)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, I hold
that it produces certain vibrations in a certain fluid, which certainly produce
light' (323).
The account details the characteristics of insane patients. It is observed
that, according to
Philippe PinelPinel, Philippe
(1745–1826)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>,
the register of the
Hospice de Bicetre, ParisHospice de Bicetre, Paris CloseView the register entry >>, does not
contain 'the name of a single person accustomed to the habitual exercise of his
intellectual faculties; not one naturalist, or natural philosopher of ability;
no chemist, no geometrician'.
Curtis 1817Curtis, John
Harrison 1817. A Treatise on the Physiology and Diseases of the
Ear: Containing a Comparative View of its Structure and Functions, and of its
Various Diseases, Arranged According to the Anatomy of the Organ, or as they
Affect the External, the Intermediate, and the Internal Ear, London:
Sherwood, Neely, & Jones
CloseView the register entry >>
A moral tale about Amergus, a 'gentleman of good estate' who wasted his life
until he came to reflect on the 'number of beings' sacrificed 'to support his
carcass' during his adult life. Thereupon he resolved to 'change his whole
course of life, to break off his follies at once, and to apply himself to gain
some useful knowledge'.
The writer observes that this annual's 'astronomical notices are recorded
with fidelity', and declares that it 'may be regarded as a book for every day
and every month of the year; and whether resorted to for information,
instruction, or amusement, will prove alike valuable and useful' (367).
The writer introduces this compilation as 'a most meritorious and useful
little publication' (380–81). One of the extracts, taken from
Henry KettKett, Henry
(1761–1825)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, notes that
a consequence of death is that 'a kind of chemical operation takes place: for
those characters which were mixed with the gross particles of vice by being
thrown into the alembic of flattery, are sublimated into the essence of virtue'
(381).
Armstrong 1825Armstrong, Robert
Archibald 1825. A Gaelic Dictionary in Two Parts: I. Gaelic and
English. II. English and Gaelic; In which the Words in their Different
Acceptations are Illustrated by Quotations from the Best Gaelic Writers, and
their Affinities Traced in Most of the Languages of Ancient and Modern Times.
With a Short Historical Appendix of Ancient Names Deduced from the Authority of
Ossian and Other Poets, to which is Prefixed a New Gaelic Grammar, London:
J. Duncan
CloseView the register entry >>
The poet reflects that, while nature abandons each passing old year in
favour of the coming new, she herself is ageing: 'Quench'd volcanoes, rifted
mountains, / Oceans driven from the land, / Isles submerged, and dried up
fountains, / Empires whelmed in sand, / What though her doom be yet
untold— / Nature like time is waxing old!'
Referring back to an earlier article, the writer introduces a fictional
letter from an 'ingenious friend, Thomas Twister, Esq.' relating to his
quasi-scientific experiments. The experiments are designed to test his theory
that craniological deficiencies might be corrected by the power of lunar
attraction on the skull. Having been daunted by criticisms and ridicule,
Twister is encouraged in his belief in so distant an analogy by the
recollection that 'Descartes, CloseView the register entry >> from observing that chaff
floating in a tub of water yields passively to the undulations of the fluid,
had reared a theory which was received by able philosophers'. Testing his
theory by standing in his garden at night, Twister develops a 'huge bump' just
where he wants it to be, but only as a result of being bombarded with crab
apples.
See also:
J, 'Theorizing', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 247–49
The article discusses the manner in which spiders create their webs. It is
prefaced by some introductory remarks on the 'wonderful skill and exquisite
performances' of the diminutive works of creation, and the fact that 'the works
of many insects have puzzled our greatest naturalists'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The narrator is a naval man, who takes charge of a merchant vessel at port
in London which has a reputation of being haunted. Repeatedly disturbed in his
sleep by what seems to be the ghost of a former mate, he confronts the spectre,
which is dragon-like and appears to be a devil. He wrestles with the 'tendency
in the human mind to foster and encourage fancies of supernatural agency', and
reports that, but for 'an innate disbelief of the existence of goblins',
he would probably have spoken to the creature. In the event, he scares it away
sufficiently to retreat to safety, but learns in the morning that it was a pet
'Cobra de Capello' which had been bought of some jugglers in India by the
former mate.