Science in the 19th Century Periodical

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction [1st]

Introductory Essay
Volume 8  (July to December 1826)
Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 7–8.

Phrenology—An Acting Charade

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Drama

Publications extracted:

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Edinburgh Monthly Magazine (1817) Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1817–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

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 Arc Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), Saint ('The Maid of Orleans') (c. 1412–31) CBD
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' (8).



Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 13–15.

Mr. Smedley Jones; or, Old Heads on Young Shoulders

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

New Monthly Magazine New Monthly Magazine (1814–81) New Monthly (1882–84) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Exploration, Race, Religion


    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's Parry, Sir William Edward (1790–1855) ODNB
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Esquimaux, at the North Pole, from the errors of their ways' (14).



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 18–20.

Manners and Customs of All Nations. No. IV. The Burmese  [1/2]

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Anon

Genre:

Regular Feature, Serial

Subjects:

Ethnography, Medical Practitioners

People mentioned:

Francis H Buchanan Buchanan, Francis Hamilton (1762–1829) ODNB
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    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
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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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 20–22.

Religion

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A B C C, A B
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Genre:

Letter

Subjects:

Unbelief, Feeling, Natural Theology


    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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 24.

Raining Trees

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Anon

Genre:

Extract

Publications extracted:

Journal de Pharmacie Journal de Pharmacie (1845–1900+) BUCOP
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Subjects:

Ancient Authorities, Botany

People mentioned:

Augustin P de Candolle Candolle, Augustin-Pyramus de (1778–1841) DSB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 26–27.

Scientific Amusements. No. XIII

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Instructions

Subjects:

Amusement, Instruments, Chemistry, Ornithology, Collecting


Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 32.

Stays

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Health, Gender, Government


    The writer describes the 'curious edict' of Emperor Joseph II Joseph II, Emperor of Germany (1741–90) CBD
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to ban the use of stays in Austria on health grounds. It is reported that the emperor enjoined the 'College of Physicians' Austria. college of physicians
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to 'draw up a dissertation in support of the royal edict, which was distributed gratis'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 32.

Feline Instinct

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Animal Behaviour, Instinct, Prognostication


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 39–40.

The Dog Days

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Astronomy, Time, Ancient Authorities, Disease

Publications cited:

Darwin 1789–91 Darwin, 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
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    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.



Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 48.

Dissection

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Dissection, Religion


    The anecdote records what is said to be 'the first dissection on record', carried out by Democritus Democritus (late 5th century BC) DSB
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, who is surprised in the act by Hippocrates of Cos Hippocrates of Cos (460–370 BC) DSB
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and accused of impiety for his 'contempt of the works of the Deity'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 48.

Sun Dials

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Instruments, Time, War


    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'.



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 57–58.

The Sage and the Schoolboy: A Contrasted Soliloquy

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Jacobus Jacobus
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Reading, Controversy, Instinct, Physiological Psychology, Botany, Education


    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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 58.

Epigrams

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J L L, J
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Genre:

Epigram

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners


    One of the epigrams reads: 'In surgery, Sir Astley's Cooper, Sir Astley Paston, 1st Baronet (1768–1841) ODNB
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skill, / Has justly brought him lucre; / He has fully prov'd, and does still, No Surgeon's like A. Cooper.'



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 58–60.

Origins and Inventions. No. XVIII

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F R Y Y, F R
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous



[5] Circulation of the Blood

Subjects:

Discovery, Physiology, Reasoning, Patronage, Medical Practitioners

People mentioned:

James Keill, Keill, James (1673–1719) DSB
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John Kidd Kidd, John (1775–1851) DSB
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    The author discounts the claims of others to have discovered the circulation of the blood before William Harvey Harvey, William (1578–1657) DSB
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. David Hume's Hume, David (1711–76) DSB
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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 I Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1600–49) ODNB
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, 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.




Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 60–61.

Scientific Amusements. No. XIV

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J L L, J
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Instructions

Subjects:

Amusement, Chemistry


Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 64.

Anecdote of an Elephant

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Animal Behaviour, Wonder


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 64.

[Anecdote of a Canal Proprietor]

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Engineering, Commerce


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 66–67.

August

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 67–69.

Dr. Stewart's Stewart, Dr (fl. 1826) ML1/8/208/2
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Mode of Treating Pulmonary Complaints

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J Janet
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Genre:

Letter, Introduction; Extract

Publications extracted:

Mrs Beilby Thompson Thompson, Mrs Beilby (fl. 1826) ML1/8/208/2
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Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Heterodoxy, Education, Hydropathy


    The writer introduces an account of 'Dr. Stewart's Plan' written and printed for distribution by Mrs Beilby Thompson Thompson, Mrs Beilby (fl. 1826) ML1/8/208/2
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, with a view to disseminating it more widely. Stewart is reported to have embraced the opinions underlying his unorthodox practice while attending medical lectures in the course of his studies at the University of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh
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. The account concludes with a detailed letter on the efficacy of the practice from William Hey Hey, William (1736–1819) ODNB
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to William Babington Babington, William (1756–1833) DSB
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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 71.

On Storge

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History, Instinct, Animal Behaviour, Design

People mentioned:

Edward Tyson, Tyson, Edward (c. 1650–1708) DSB
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René A F de Réaumur Réaumur, René-Antoine Ferchault de (1683–1757) DSB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 83–85.

The Character, Nature, and Power of Man

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A B C C, A B
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Genre:

Essay

Subjects:

Human Species, Machinery


    The essay begins with Alexander Pope's Pope, Alexander (1688–1744) ODNB
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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

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S— C— C—, S—
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Genre:

Biography, Serial

Subjects:

Genius, Ancient Authorities, Astronomy, Cosmology, Religion, Endeavour

People mentioned:

Xenophanes, Xenophanes (c. 580 to 570 BC–c. 478 BC) DSB
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Zeno, Zeno of Elea (c. 490 BC—c. 425 BC) DSB
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Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (500–428 BC) DSB
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    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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 88.

Idol of the Sandwich Islanders

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M H B B, M H
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Ethnography, Collecting, Religion

People mentioned:

Otto von Kotzebue Kotzebue, Otto von (1787–1846) WBI
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Publications cited:

Ellis 1826 Ellis, 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
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    The writer discusses some of the religious and other artefacts recently brought back from the Sandwich Islands by the HMS Blonde HMS Blonde
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under George A Byron (7th Baron Byron) Byron, George Anson, 7th Baron (1789–1868) WBI
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.



Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 92–94.

A Dog-Day

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Monthly Magazine Monthly Magazine (1796–1843) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Instruments, Heat


    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's Sabine, Edward (1788–1883) DSB
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pendulums vibrating seconds' (93).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 95–96.

Lady Birds

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Entomology, Natural Economy


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 99–100.

Multum in Parvo

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N W F F, W N
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Genre:

Notes

Subjects:

Ornithology


    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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 100–02.

Origins and Inventions. No. XIX

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F R Y Y, F R
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous



[3] Sailing-Coaches

Subjects:

Invention, Machinery, Experiment

People mentioned:

Simon Stevin, Stevin, Simon (1548–c. 1620) DSB
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Nicolas C F de Peiresc, Peiresc, Nicolas Claude Fabris de (1580–1637) DSB
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Pierre Gassendi Gassendi (Gassend), Pierre (1592–1655) DSB
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Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 106–09.

Modern Meals

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Anon

Genre:

Extract

Publications extracted:

Paris 1826 Paris, 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
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Subjects:

Nutrition, Physiology

People mentioned:

Alexander P W Philip Philip, Alexander Philip Wilson (formerly Wilson, Alexander Philip) (1770?–1851?) ODNB
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    The extract discusses in physiological terms the digestibility of the foods served in modern meals.



Section: Useful Domestic Hints

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 109.

Antidote for Vegetable Poisons

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Pharmaceuticals

People mentioned:

E Drapiez Drapiez, E (fl. 1826) ML1/8/210b/4
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 109.

Hooping Cough

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Pharmaceuticals


Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 110.

The Season

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Anon

Genre:

Reportage

Subjects:

Natural History, Pollution


    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'.



Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 112.

House-Leek

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Horticulture, Superstition, Electricity


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 114–15.

The Watering Places. No. IV. Tunbridge Wells

Anon

Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Hydropathy

People mentioned:

Dudley North North, Dudley, 3rd Baron North (1582–1666) ODNB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 115–16.

Oysters

P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History

People mentioned:

William Bingley Bingley, William (1774–1823) ODNB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 119–20.

The Sketch-Book. No. XXIII. The Night Coach

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Anon

Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Chemistry, Heat, Exploration


    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 Parry Parry, Sir William Edward (1790–1855) ODNB
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would an iceberg'. (120)



Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 128.

Critical Draught

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Anon

Genre:

Drollery, Recipe

Subjects:

Pharmaceuticals


    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'.



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 130.

September

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 130–31.

Astronomical Observations for September

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Pasche Pasche
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Astronomy


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 136.

First Use of Mahogany in England

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners

People mentioned:

William Gibbons Gibbons, William (1649–1728) ODNB
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Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 137–39.

Gifts and Givers

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Anon

Genre:

Essay, Extract

Publications extracted:

New Monthly Magazine New Monthly Magazine (1814–81) New Monthly (1882–84) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Medical Practitioners


    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 Willan Willan, Robert (1757–1812) ODNB
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'advised his young medical friends against lending themselves to such schemes' (138).



Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 140–42.

Captain Parry's Parry, Sir William Edward (1790–1855) ODNB
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Third Voyage

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Anon

Genre:

Instroduction; Extract, Travelogue

Publications extracted:

Parry 1826 Parry, 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
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Subjects:

Exploration, Amusement, Utility, Natural History, Animal Behaviour, Magnetism, Experiment

People mentioned:

Henry Foster Foster, Henry (1796–1831) ODNB
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Institutions mentioned:

HMS Hecla, HMS Hecla
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HMS Fury HMS Fury
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Publications cited:

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
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Christie 1823 Christie, 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
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    The introduction notes that Parry 1826 Parry, 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
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'possesses great attractions, not only as it regards the curious reader, but for the usefulness it proffers to professional men' (140).


See also:

Anon, 'Capt. Phipps' Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 2 (1823), 419–20 , Anon, 'Capt. Ross's Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 2 (1823), 420–21 , Anon, 'Capt. Parry's First Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 2 (1823), 422–26 , Anon, 'Capt. Parry's Last Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 2 (1823), 428–32 , Anon, 'Captain Parry's Journal [1] The Esquimaux of the Savage Islands [2] Seal Hunters and Seal Eaters [3] Esquimaux Female, Iligliuk', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 217–20 , W F, 'Captain Parry's Last Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 279–82 , Anon, 'Captain Parry, and his Last Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 6 (1825), 449–52 , Anon, 'Captn. W. E. Parry, R. N.', Mirror of Literature, 6 (1825), facing [i]


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 142.

Woman

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

[Banim] 1825 [Banim, John] 1825. Tales, by the O'Hara Family: Containing Crohoore of the Bill-Hook, The Fetches, and John Doe, 3 vols, London: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, and J. M'Creery
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Subjects:

Gender, Medical Treatment


    The extract contrasts the efficacy of the sexes in providing nursing care during sickness.



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 146–47.

Prospectus of an Ideological Association, on a Novel Plan, to Diversify the Sensations, Extimulate the Ideas, and to Produce Sensible Improvement in Mental Iconology

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J J
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Genre:

Prospectus, Spoof

Subjects:

Philosophy, Societies, Empiricism, Collecting


    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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 153–54.

Capt. Parry's Parry, Sir William Edward (1790–1855) ODNB
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Third Voyage

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Anon

Genre:

Introduction, Extract

Publications extracted:

Parry 1826 Parry, 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
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Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Exploration, Heroism

People mentioned:

Henry P Hoppner Hoppner, Henry Parkins (1795–1833) WBI
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Institutions mentioned:

HMS Fury HMS Fury
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See also:

Anon, 'Captain Parry's Third Voyage', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 140–42


Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 156–58.

The Battas of Sumatra

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Travelogue

Publications extracted:

Anderson 1826 Anderson, 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
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Subjects:

Ethnography


Section: Useful Domestic Hints

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 158.

Godbold's Godbold, Nathaniel (fl. 1780) WBI
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Vegetable Balsam

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Domestic Economy, Chemistry, Pharmaceuticals


Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 160.

Growth of Wood

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany, Mathematics


^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 163–64.

Curious Plan for the Prevention and Extinction of Fires

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Accidents, Machinery, Chemistry, Patronage

People mentioned:

Zachary Greyl, Greyl, Zachary (fl. early 18th century) ML1/8/214/1
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Ambrose Godfrey, Godfrey (or Godfrey-Hanckwitz), Ambrose, the elder (1660–1741) ODNB
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Stephen Hales, Hales, Stephen (1677–1761) DSB
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David Hartley, Hartley, David, the younger (1731–1813) ODNB
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Charles Stanhope, Stanhope, Charles, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753–1816) ODNB
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Erasmus Darwin Darwin, Erasmus (1731–1802) DSB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 164–65.

The Fate of Genius  [3/4]S— C—, 'The Fate of Genius', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 86–87

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Scriblerus Clinker Clinker, Scriblerus
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Genre:

Biography, Serial

Subjects:

Genius, Ancient Authorities, Instruments, Military Technology

People mentioned:

Archimedes Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) DSB
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Section: Retrospective Gleanings

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 166–67.

Precision

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Dynamics, Microbiology, Light, Astronomy


    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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 169.

The Present Appearance of the New London Bridge London Bridge
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Anon

Genre:

Reportage

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Engineering

People mentioned:

Edward Banks Banks, Sir Edward (1770–1835) ODNB
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See also:

Anon, 'The New London Bridge; and the Ancient Chapel', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 337–38, Anon, 'Plan for a New London Bridge', Mirror of Literature, 1 (1822–23), 393, Anon, 'London Bridge', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 411–12


Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 171–73.

A Pupil's Recollections of Dr. Parr Parr, Samuel (1747–1825) ODNB
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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Recollections

Publications extracted:

New Monthly Magazine New Monthly Magazine (1814–81) New Monthly (1882–84) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Education, Electricity, Mathematics, Insanity


    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's Franklin, Benjamin (1706–90) DSB
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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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 174.

An Italian Scene

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Otter 1824 Otter, William 1824. The Life and Remains of the Rev. Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Cambridge, London: George Cowie and Co.
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Subjects:

Vulcanology

People mentioned:

Edward D Clarke Clarke, Edward Daniel (1769–1822) DSB
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^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 178.

The Thames Tunnel

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D J, Rotherhithe J, D
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Genre:

Letter

Subjects:

Engineering


    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.


See also:

Anon, 'Tunnel Under the River Thames', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 321–23, W D, 'The Tunnel Under the Thames: A Conversation between the Thames and the Medway', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 370–71


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 179.

Olympic Games

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A B C C, A B
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Genre:

Letter

Subjects:

Amusement, Class, Societies, Progress


    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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 179–80.

On the Eyes of Flies

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Entomology, Microscopy

People mentioned:

Robert Hooke, Hooke, Robert (1635–1703) DSB
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Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Leeuwenhoek, Antoni van (1632–1723) DSB
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Henry Baker Baker, Henry (1698–1774) DSB
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Publications cited:

Adams 1787 Adams, 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
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 180.

On Plants

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany, Instinct, Experiment, Theology of Nature


    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

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Reportage

Subjects:

Light

People mentioned:

Gaspard Monge Monge, Gaspard (1746–1818) DSB
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Institutions mentioned:

Institut de France, Paris Institut de France, Paris
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 182–83.

Scientific Amusements. No. XV

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Timotheus Timotheus
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Instructions

Subjects:

Amusement, Chemistry, Experiment


Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 184.

To Mothers

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Gender, Physiology, Physics


    The writer gives advice on 'drawing milk from the breast in the absence of infantine action', using the vacuum as a warmed decanter cools.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 184.

Luminous Plants

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany, Physiology, Electricity


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 184.

Lunar Iris, or Rainbow by Moonlight

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Light, Astronomy, Aesthetics


Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 186–87.

The Delights of Cheltenham

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Letter, Fiction, Drollery

Publications extracted:

London Magazine London Magazine (1820–29) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Hydropathy


    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's Rowland, Alexander (fl. 1815–1860) WBI
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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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 187–88.

On Colour

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ED Ed
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Genre:

Introduction; Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Hayter 1826 Hayter, 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
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Subjects:

Light

People mentioned:

Isaac Newton, Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1727) DSB
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Thomas Young Young, Thomas (1773–1829) DSB
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    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'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 188–90.

Poetry

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Essay

Publications extracted:

[Channing] 1826 [Channing, William E.] 1826. Remarks on the Character and Writings of John Milton: Occasioned by the Publication of his Lately Discovered 'Treatise on Christian Doctrine'. From the Christian Examiner, vol. iii, no. i, London: Edward Rainford
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Subjects:

Progress, Imagination, Romanticism, Feeling, Piety, Truth, Utilitarianism


    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'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 191.

Snakes of Demerara

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Waterton 1825 Waterton, 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
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Subjects:

Natural History, Collecting


Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 191.

Love of Music

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Scientific Practitioners, Music

People mentioned:

Jean A Deluc Deluc, Jean André (1727–1817) DSB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 191.

The Post-Boy

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote, Drollery

Subjects:

Scientific Practitioners

People mentioned:

Roger Long Long, Roger (1680–1770) ODNB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 192.

Absence of Mind

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Mathematics


    An anecdote of a gentleman of Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College, Cambridge
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, 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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 192.

A Rare Mathematical Wind

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote, Drollery

Subjects:

Mathematics


    It is reported of Samuel Vince Vince, Samuel (1749–1821) ODNB
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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'.



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 197.

Camels

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History, Race, Instinct


    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'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 198–99.

Origins and Inventions. No. XXI.

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F R Y Y, F R
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Publications abstracted:

[Hamilton 1826] Hamilton, Richard Winter 1826. An Essay on Craniology: Being the Subject of a Paper Submitted to the Philosophical and Literary Society, Leeds, December 2, 1825, London: Hurst, Robinson
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[1] Craniology

Subjects:

Phrenology


    The origin of craniology is attributed by 'an author who has lately published a dissertation upon the subject to John Rohan de Retham Ketham (or Ketum), Johannes von (fl. 1495–1522) WBI
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, who published a tract Ketham, 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
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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).




Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 203–04.

Description of Bokhara

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Asiatic Journal Asiatic Journal (1816–45) Asiatic and Colonial Quarterly Journal (1846–49) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 207.

The Bischaro

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Head 1826 Head, Francis Bond 1826. Rough Notes Taken During Some Rapid Journeys Across the Pampas and Among the Andes, London: John Murray
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Subjects:

Natural History, Hunting


^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 209–10.

Sandwich Idol

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M H B B, M H
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Ethnography, Collecting, Exploration, Religion, Biblical Authority

People mentioned:

James Cook Cook, James (1728–79) DSB
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    The illustration depicts one of the idols of the Sandwich Islanders recently removed by George A Byron Byron, George Anson, 7th Baron (1789–1868) WBI
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. The writer speculates about the origins of the religious beliefs of the islanders, attempting to relate them to biblical history.


See also:

M H B, 'Idol of the Sandwich Islanders', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 88


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 210–11.

October

View full article text

Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany, Gardening, Aesthetics, Feeling


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 211–12.

Astronomical Observations for October

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Pasche Pasche
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Astronomy

See also:

Pasche, 'Astronomical Observations for September', Mirror of Literature, 8 (1826), 130–31


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 213–14.

Memorabilia

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Jacobus Jacobus
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Genre:

Notes

Subjects:

Astronomy, Biblical Authority, History of Science, Mathematics, Instrument-makers, Invention, Exploration, Acclimatization, Metrology

People mentioned:

Roger Bacon, Bacon, Roger (c. 1219–c. 1292) DSB
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Francis Drake, Drake, Sir Francis (1540–96) ODNB
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Robert Hooke, Hooke, Robert (1635–1703) DSB
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Zacharias Jansen, Jansen, Zacharias (1588–1631) DSB
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John Napier, Napier, John (1550–1617) DSB
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John Hawkins Hawkins (or Hawkyns), John (1532–95) ODNB
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    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 Anaximander Anaximander (610–546/5 BC) DSB
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, 620 B. C. [....] The Multiplication Table and 47 Prop Book 1, Euclid Euclid (fl. 295 BC) DSB
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, were invented by Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (c. 560–c. 480 BC) DSB
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, 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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 216.

Bear-Baiting

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Cruelty, Menageries, Natural History

People mentioned:

Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland (1533–1603) ODNB
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Thomas Bewick Bewick, Thomas (1753–1828) ODNB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 217–18.

Curiosities from the Sandwich Islands

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M H B B, M H
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Genre:

Introduction / Miscellaneous

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Ethnology, Collecting

Institutions mentioned:

HMS Blonde HMS Blonde
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Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 218–20.

The Greenwich Pensioner

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous, Drollery

Publications extracted:

Monthly Magazine Monthly Magazine (1796–1843) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Physiology, Experiment, Vivisection, Naturalists, Menageries


    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).



Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 220–21.

Letter Cutting Fancy

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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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 Tournefort Tournefort, Joseph Pitton de (1656–1708) DSB
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, 'the celebrated traveller and botanist' (220).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 221.

Power of the Sun's Rays

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Reportage

Publications extracted:

Gentleman's Magazine Gentleman's Magazine (1731–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Light, Machinery, Engineering


    The writer reports the observation of Mr Mackintosh Mackintosh, Mr (contractor for the government works at Stonehouse Point, Devon) (fl. 1826) ML1/8/217b/9, ML1/12/343b/10
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, 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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 221.

Rockets

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Reportage

Publications extracted:

Gentleman's Magazine Gentleman's Magazine (1731–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Invention


    The report describes the improvements to fireworks invented by M Vaillant Vaillant, M (of Boulogne) (fl. 1826) ML1/8/217b/10
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, 'an inhabitant of Boulogne'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 221–22.

Fossil Animals

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Gentleman's Magazine Gentleman's Magazine (1731–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Palaeontology, Discovery


    The article describes some recent discoveries of giant saurians by William Buckland Buckland, William (1784–1856) DSB
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and others.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 223.

Echoes

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Sound

Publications cited:

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1665–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Mémoires de l'Académie Royale des Sciences Mémoires de l'Académie Royale des Sciences (1816–1900+) BUCOP
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^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 230.

On Drunkenness

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Physiology, Disease, Nutrition

People mentioned:

Erasmus Darwin, Darwin, Erasmus (1731–1802) DSB
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Robert Willan Willan, Robert (1757–1812) ODNB
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Publications cited:

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1665–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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    The article combines testimonies from a wide variety of sources on the subject of drunkenness.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 230.

[The Utility of Teeth]

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote, Drollery

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners, Publishing


    '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.'



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 231.

Scientific Amusements. No. XVI

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Timotheus Timotheus
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Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Chemistry, Amusement


Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 234.

Characters.—A Fencer

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

London Magazine London Magazine (1820–29) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Medical Practitioners


    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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 236.

The Amianthus

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Mineralogy, Botany, Industry

Publications cited:

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1665–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 236–37.

Cochineal

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Entomology, Botany, Industry, Industrial Chemistry, Manufactories, Naturalists

People mentioned:

Henry Monteith Monteith, Henry (1764–1848) WBI
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 237.

The Polypus and Hydra Fusca

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Invertebrate Zoology


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 237.

The Bat

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Zoology


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 237.

The Ourang-Outang

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Zoology, Human Species


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 237–38.

The Flying-Fish

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Burnet 1826 Burnet, Richard 1826. A Word to the Members of the Mechanics' Institutes, Devonport: J. Johns
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Subjects:

Zoology


Section: Useful Domestic Hints

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 238.

To Raise Young Potatoes in the Winter Months

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Horticulture


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 238.

Sympathetic Ink

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Inorganic Chemistry


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 238.

[Cure for Cuts, Bruises, Burns, &c.]

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Anon

Genre:

Instructions

Subjects:

Pharmaceuticals


Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 238–39.

Russia and the Moon

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Anon

Genre:

Abstract

Publications abstracted:

Correspondance Astronomique Correspondance Astronomique (1818–26) BUCOP
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Subjects:

Astronomy, Imperialism

People mentioned:

Franz X von Zach Zach, Franz Xaver von (1754–1832) DSB
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    The article abstracts a calculation according to which 'the Russian empire exceeds the terra firma in the moon by 123,885 square leagues' (238).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 239.

The Boa Constrictor

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Zoology


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 247–49.

Theorizing

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J J
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Genre:

Fiction, Drollery; Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Natural Philosophy, Theory, Idealism, Patronage, Astronomy, Geology, Vulcanology, Machinery, Mental Illness, Phrenology, Gravity


    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. Darwin Darwin, Erasmus (1731–1802) DSB
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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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 253–54.

The Glaciers of the Alps

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

[Eaton] 1826 [Eaton, Charlotte Ann] 1826. Continental Adventures. A Novel, 3 vols, London: Hurst, Robinson
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Subjects:

Glaciology


Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 255.

Natural History

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany, Climatology


    A brief note records the estimation of a 'learned botanist' of the numbers of species of plant in several hot and cold countries.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 255.

Spiders

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Entomology, Animal Behaviour, Climatology, Prognostication


^^ Back to the top of this issue

Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 267–68.

Account of the Plau, a Burmese Tribe

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Asiatic Journal Asiatic Journal (1816–45) Asiatic and Colonial Quarterly Journal (1846–49) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Ethnography


Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 270–71.

Deaf and Dumb

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Anon

Genre:

Introduction; Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Young 1826 Young, John Radford 1826. A Concise Exposition of the Method of Instructing the Deaf and Dumb in the Knowledge of a Written Language upon Simple and Rational Principles, London: J. Souter
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Subjects:

Disability, Education, Scientific Practitioners

See also:

A Friend to the Unfortunate, 'Instructions for the Deaf and Dumb', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 147–50, Anon A Friend to the Unfortunate, 'Manual Alphabet for the Deaf and Dumb', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 161–62, Anon A Friend to the Unfortunate, 'Instructions for the Deaf and Dumb', Mirror of Literature, 3 (1824), 195–97, S G, 'Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb', Mirror of Literature, 5 (1825), 262–63


^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 274.

November

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 274–76.

Astronomical Observations for November

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Pasche Pasche
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Genre:

Regular Feature, Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Astronomy, Periodicals, Aeronautics

People mentioned:

Galileo Galilei Galilei, Galileo (1564–1642) DSB
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    On the subject of the forthcoming solar eclipse, the author refers to the observation of 'Our very old friend, "Francis Moore Moore, Francis (1657–1714?) ODNB
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, 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).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 276.

The Death of the Lottery

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P T W, pseud.  [Peter T Westcott] Westcott, Peter Thomas (1782/3–1845) Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
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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
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Genre:

Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Death, Medical Treatment


    The writer presents the ending of the lottery in a quasi-medical report.



Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 281–83.

On Galvanism

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ED Ed
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Genre:

Introduction; Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

La Beaume 1826 La 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
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Subjects:

Electricty, Electrochemistry, Discovery, Accidents, Physiology, Chemistry, Genius, Medical Treatment

People mentioned:

Luigi Galvani, Galvani, Luigi (1737–98) DSB
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Alessandro G A A Volta, Volta, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio (1745–1827) DSB
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Erasmus Darwin, Darwin, Erasmus (1731–1802) DSB
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Anthony Carlisle, Carlisle, Sir Anthony (1768–1840) DSB ODNB
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William Nicholson, Nicholson, William (1753–1815) DSB
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William Cruickshank, Cruickshank, William (d. 1810/11) ODNB
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William Henry, Henry, William (1774–1836) DSB
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Humphry Davy, Davy, Sir Humphry, Baronet (1778–1829) DSB ODNB
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George Children Children, George (1742–1818) ODNB
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Institutions mentioned:

Royal Society, Royal Society of London
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Royal Institution Royal Institution of Great Britain
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    The editor introduces Michael La Beaume's La Beaume, Michael (fl. 1818–26) RLIN
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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).



Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 288.

[Migration of Geese]

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History, Animal Behaviour


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 293–94.

Storms

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Meteorology


Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 296–98.

Characters

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous, Drollery

Publications extracted:

London Magazine London Magazine (1820–29) Waterloo Directory
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[2] An Ambitious Man

Subjects:

Machinery, Astronomy, Superstition, Exploration, Navigation


    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).




Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 301–02.

Abstinence

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Malvina Malvina
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Genre:

Biography

Subjects:

Disease, Nutrition


    The author gives an account of Janet M'Leod M'Leod, Janet (fl. 1733–1793) ML1/8/222b/3
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, 'a remarkable fasting woman', whose case was reported to the Royal Society Royal Society of London
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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 302.

New Surgical Operation

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Medical Treatment

Publications cited:

Transactions of the Society, Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Transactions of the Society, Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (1783–1850) BUCOP
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    The article describes the new treatment for tooth decay originated by Mr Fay Fay, Mr (fl. 1826) ML1/8/222b/4
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, 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 Arts Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
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' for his improvement and for his forceps 'for the perpendicular extraction of teeth'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 303.

Squirrels

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Animal Behaviour

Publications cited:

Time's Telescope Time's Telescope (1814–34) Waterloo Directory
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Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 304.

Eccentricity

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote

Subjects:

Scientific Practitioners


    The writer relates the celebrity, and the 'utter aversion to society' of Abraham de Moivre Moivre, Abraham de (1667–1754) DSB
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.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 304.

[Amputation at Tripoli]

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Medical Treatment


    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.



^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 313.

The Living Anvil Stock

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M S S, M
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Genre:

Reportage

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Botany


    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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 316–17.

Lindley Murray's Murray, Lindley (1745–1826) ODNB
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Adventure with an Elephant

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Anecdote

Publications extracted:

Murray 1826 Murray, 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
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Subjects:

Animal Behaviour, Menageries


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 317.

Animal and Vegetable Diet

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Cuvier 1827–35 Cuvier, 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
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Subjects:

Nutrition


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 317–18.

Power of the Muscles

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Anon

Genre:

Extract. Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Dick 1823 Dick, Thomas 1823. The Christian Philosopher; or, The Connection of Science and Philosophy with Religion, Glasgow: William Collins; London: Whittaker & Co.
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Subjects:

Physiology


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 322–24.

Epicism

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J J
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Genre:

Short Fiction, Drollery

Subjects:

Astronomy, Light


    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. Halley Halley, Edmond (1656?–1743) DSB
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' in the Philosophical Transactions Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1665–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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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's Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1727) DSB
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Principia Newton, Isaac 1687. Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, Londini: Jussu Societatis Regiae ac Typis Josephi Streater
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, but is answered: 'Yes, but I hold the sun to an efficient, not an emanative cause; with Euler Euler, Leonhard (1707–83) DSB
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, I hold that it produces certain vibrations in a certain fluid, which certainly produce light' (323).



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 325.

Curious Facts Relating to Insanity

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W W
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Mental Illness, Scientific Practitioners

People mentioned:

John Haslam Haslam, John (1764–1844) ODNB
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Institutions mentioned:

Bethlehem Royal Hospital Bethlehem Royal Hospital
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    The account details the characteristics of insane patients. It is observed that, according to Philippe Pinel Pinel, Philippe (1745–1826) DSB
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, the register of the Hospice de Bicetre, Paris Hospice de Bicetre, Paris
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, 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'.



Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 329–30.

The Raven

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Edinburgh Monthly Magazine (1817) Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1817–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Ornithology, Anthropomorphism, Animal Behaviour, Instinct, Superstition


Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 331–32.

The Country Lass. By Miss Mitford Mitford, Mary Russell (1787–1855) ODNB
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View full article text

Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Mitford 1824–32 Mitford, Mary Russell 1824–32. Our Village: Sketches of Rural Character and Scenery, 5 vols, London : G. and W.B. Whittaker
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Subjects:

Entomology


    The extract likens the growth of the 'country lass' from a baby to that of a butterfly from a caterpillar.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 332–33.

Physiology of the Ear

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Curtis 1817 Curtis, 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
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Subjects:

Physiology, Sound, Comparative Anatomy

People mentioned:

John Hunter, Hunter, John (1728–93) DSB
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Alexander Monro Monro, Alexander, 'Secundus' (1733–1817) DSB
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Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 335.

On the Travelling of Light

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Light, Wonder


^^ Back to the top of this issue

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 338.

December

View full article text

Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Natural History


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 339–40.

Astronomical Observations for December

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Pasche Pasche
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Astronomy, Meteorology, Light, Physiology, Botany


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 340–41.

On Evaporation

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Jacobus Jacobus
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Meteorology, Physics

People mentioned:

Hugh Hamilton Hamilton, Hugh (1729–1805) ODNB
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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 343.

On the Travelling of Sound

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Sound, Wonder


Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 350.

On the Waste of Life. By Dr. Franklin

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Anon

Genre:

Fiction, Extract

Publications extracted:

Benjamin Franklin Franklin, Benjamin (1706–90) DSB
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Subjects:

Morality, Endeavour, Education


    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'.



Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 350–51.

The Mulberry Tree

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Acclimatization, Horticulture

Publications cited:

Phillips 1820 Phillips, Henry 1820. Pomarium Britannicum: An Historical and Botanical Account of Fruits Known in Great Britain, London: printed for the author
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Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 351.

Number of Births

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Population


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 360.

Bees in Mexico

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Time's Telescope Time's Telescope (1814–34) Waterloo Directory
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Hall 1824 Hall, Basil 1824. Extracts from a Journal: Written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, in the Years 1820, 1821, 1822, 2 vols, Edinburgh: A. Constable and Co.
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Subjects:

Entomology, Agriculture


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 367–68.

Time's Telescope Time's Telescope (1814–34) Waterloo Directory
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for 1827

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Anon

Genre:

Literary Notice; Extract

Publications noticed:

Time's Telescope (1827) Time's Telescope (1814–34) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Education, Amusement, Astronomy


    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).



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Section: Spirit of the Public Journals

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 379.

A Night Scene in Brazil

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Travelogue

Publications extracted:

Time's Telescope Time's Telescope (1814–34) Waterloo Directory
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Spix and Martius 1824 Spix, Johann Baptist von and Martius, Karl Friedrich Philipp von 1824. Travels in Brazil, in the Years 1817–1820: Undertaken by Command of His Majesty the King of Bavaria, 2 Vols, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green
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Subjects:

Aesthetics, Exploration, Natural History, Wonder, Feeling


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 379.

Superstitions Respecting Thunder and Lightning

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

John Aubrey Aubrey, John (1626–97) ODNB
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Subjects:

Meteorology, Superstition, Ancient Authorities


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 380–81.

Laconisms

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Anon

Genre:

Introduction; Extract

Publications extracted:

Timbs 1826 Timbs, John 1826. Laconics; or, The Best Words of the Best Authors, London: T. Boys
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Subjects:

Death, Physiological Chemistry


    The writer introduces this compilation as 'a most meritorious and useful little publication' (380–81). One of the extracts, taken from Henry Kett Kett, Henry (1761–1825) ODNB
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, 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).



Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 382.

Remarkable Frosts

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Anon

Genre:

Table

Subjects:

Meteorology


Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 363.

Molucca Nuts, or Molucca Beans

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Miscellaneous

Publications extracted:

Armstrong 1825 Armstrong, 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
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Subjects:

Pharmaceuticals, Natural History, Oceanography


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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 396.

To December

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Poetry

Publications extracted:

New Monthly Magazine New Monthly Magazine (1814–81) New Monthly (1882–84) Waterloo Directory
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Subjects:

Geology, Time, Degeneration, Ageing, Gender


    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!'



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 407–08.

Multum in Parvo

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G W N N, G W
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Genre:

Notes

Subjects:

Astronomy, Discovery, Invention, Instruments

People mentioned:

William Herschel, Herschel, Sir William (1738–1822) DSB ODNB
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Carl L Harding, Harding, Carl Ludwig (1765–1834) DSB
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Heinrich W M Olbers, Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias (1758–1840) DSB
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Robert Hooke Hooke, Robert (1635–1703) DSB
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Section: Miscellanies

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 414.

Humorous Request

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Anon

Genre:

Anecdote, Drollery

Subjects:

Menageries, Acclimatization


    The anecdote relates to the treatment of a dromedary at the menagerie at Versailles Palace de Versailles, Paris—Menagerie
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, which died as a result of the cold climate.



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Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 419–21.

Experimenting

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J J
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Genre:

Fiction, Drollery; Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Theory, Experiment, Gravity, Phrenology, Analogy


    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,
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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


Section: Retrospective Gleanings

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 422.

Spiders

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A B C C, A B
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Genre:

Letter

Subjects:

Entomology, Wonder

People mentioned:

Denis B Quatremère D'Isjonval Quatremère D'Isjonval (or Disjonval), Denis Bernard (1754–1830) WBI
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Publications cited:

Journal de Physique, Journal de Physique Théoretique et appliquée (1872–1900+) BUCOP
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Philosophical Magazine Philosophical Magazine (1798–1832) London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine (1832–40) London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine (1840–1900+) Waterloo Directory
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    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

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 428–31.

A Vision of Lucifer

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Anon

Genre:

Extract, Short Fiction

Publications extracted:

[Gillies] 1826 [Gillies, Robert Pearse] 1826. Tales of a Voyager to the Arctic Ocean, 3 vols, London: Henry Colburn
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Subjects:

Superstition, Supernaturalism, Menageries


    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.



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Section: The Gatherer

Mirror of Literature,  8 (1826), 440.

[Autumn Foliage in North America]

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Anon

Genre:

Miscellaneous

Subjects:

Botany


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