ferious truths they heard, and the affectionate concern the fpeaker expreffed for their eternal welfare. He furnished them alfo, at their departure, with good books; as they were going to join the corpfe which had enjoyed thefe advantages for religion fo much longer than themfelves, they therefore refolved to become members of the religious fociety of foldiers, as foon as they were fixed in their new quarters.

Near the fame time feveral companies were on their march thro' another parish in another county, and halted there on a Sunday, where the minifter took a tender notice of them in his facred offices, and many of them feemed much affected. At the close he told them, as many of them as would come to his house should have a good book. Several came and were very thankful, not only for their books, but for the ferious advice which was added; and at going away

hould never forget that day.

From fuch tranfactions as thefe, Sir, is it not reasonable to infer, that diffolute as foldiers commonly are, their reformation is not to be difpaired of; and that it is melancholy to think of them as fouls for whom, generally fpeaking, no man feems to care! Is there a fervice more defirable for the public, at all times, and especially now, than to fow among them the feeds of piety? Had we religious armies and navies, what fuccefs in war might we reasonably hope for? Had our fleets and armies pious, zealous, faithful chaplains, what unfpeakable bleflings might they prove to foldiers and failors? Were our parochial clergy to feize the opportunities they fometimes have, of addreffing a number of foldiers on fubjects of infinite importance, and with a freedem and affection fuited to their deplorable neglected ftate, there is reafon to believe the inftances of fuccefs, in the improvement of their moral character, would ot appear fo fingular. God grant

our diocefans may take this matter into their ferious confideration, and exhort all their clergy to this indifpenfibly neceffary, tho' all almost unthought of, part of their holy office.

After all, Sir, it may perhaps be objected, that thefe religious impreffions in thefe foldiers were the enthufiaftical effects of an enthufiaftical addrefs. Were it not to prevent this objection, nothing fhould have induced me to add, for which the worthy curate muft pardon one he never faw, and to whom he never wrote, that the perfon, by whofe inftructions fo many foldiers were benefited, is the author of a volume of fermons, intitled, the Chriftian.

Yours, c. L. T. K.

A brief account of the Articles contained in the last volume of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris being for the year 1752.

A

RTICLE I. Of the operations which navigators call corrections of their dead reckoning. By M. Bouguer.

When a fhip fails from a given point, according to a given direction, it is evident that the may deviate equally to the right or the left; there will be therefore three lines proceeding from the point of departure, one which is fuppofed to have been difcribed, and two others, forming with it equal angles, determined by the greatest error polible; and it is within this fpace, that the point where the fhip actually is, muft be fought for. As the angle of the courfe with the meridian may be miftaken, fo likewife may the length of the faid courfe and if from the points where it is imagined the fhip is arrived, there be drawn two lines, perpendicular to the course, (and which denote the greatest errors which can have been committed, in excefs or defect, as to the measure of the courfe or run) it is plain that thefe lines will form, at the extremity of the before mentioned angular fpace, a kind of trapezium, which 20

wil

will contain the fum of all the poffible errors, as well in refpect of the length of the course, as of its direction with the meridian: and that it must be within this trapezoid that the point where the veffel abfolutely is, must be fought for.

This trapezium will be greater or lefs, according to the quantity of the greatest poffible error, in the two elements fpoken of; and its figure will vary alfo in proportion to the errors of which the length and direction of the course are fufceptible; whence it follows, that in determining it, regard must be had to a multitude of circumftances, as the more or lefs exactness of the inftruments, the degree of fkill of the navigator, currents, the hips lee way, &c. all which may vary the figure, or its magnitude.

Again it follows, that all the points of one and the fame probability, will not be comprised within a circumference of a circle, but within another curve, which will have a neceffary reJation to the fides of the trapezium. And M. Bouguer's computation fhews, that, according to a certain hypothefis, which he affumes, the curve which comprehends all the points of equal probability, is compounded of four hyperbolick portions, whofe vertexes regard the angles of the trapezium, and of which its fides are the affymp.

Lotes.

II. On certain mountains in France, which bave been volcanos, by M.Guettard.

The travels of this gentleman into feveral provinces of the kingdom, gave him opportunities of obferving different mountains which carry every token and character of being extinct volcanos. That of Volvic, two leagues from Riom in Auvergne, has difcharged an enormous quantitie of lava, whofe beds have been wrought in as quarries, for materials for building, to a confiderable diftance round about, and the whole city of Riom is built of this very fubftance. The Puy-deDomme bears the fame marks, and

the Mont d'Or, and the Pyke called Capucin have them likewise in some measure.

Round about these mountains there is abundance of petroleum, pit coal, and bitumen, which M. Guettard looks upon as the aliment of the fire which formerly burnt,, and perhaps may yet continue to do fo at confiderable depths under ground, and from whence the hot wells of Mount d'Or probably derive their heat.

III. A chymical examination of the Pruthian Blue. By M. Marquer.

The main refult of this inquiry is in fubftance as follows: That the colorific matter of the Pruffian blue, which is not diffolveable by any acid, is however fo by any alkali, these not only diffolve it with the utmoft facility, but unite themfelves with it to that degree, that no acid alone can feparate them; we fay no acid alone, for if the acid hold any diffolved metal, this fubftance never fails to be precipitated of a blue colour, if fuch metal has any thing of iron about it, but of another colour if it be entirely any other metal. And all thefe precipitates, like the Pruffian blue, are fit to faturate alkalis, in fuch fort as to re-produce the fame precipitates with the fame metalline folutions; they are all undiffolveable by acids, and, in a word, their colour only excepted, have all of them the fame properties as

the Pruffian blue.

IV. Memoir 1. On the moon's parallax and her diflance from the earth, wherein the new obfervations made by the king's orders in 1751 and 1752, at Berlin and the Cape of Good Hope, are applied to an oblate foheroid, in order to deduce the parallaxes in different points of the earth. By M. Francois De la Land.

This paper is very long, as the reader may easily apprehend from the title; and befides abounds with fuch variety of aftronomical obfervations, and geometrical demonftrations, as render it impoflible to make an intelligible abridgment of it.

V. An

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he faid of thofe very captains in the a court martial for any crime tho' houfe of commons afterwards, that committed while he was in the ferthey did fight at too great a difance, but that they were young men (tho' by the way the youngeit was near 40, and younger captains than most of these both in rank and years have been fince made admirals) and that he advised them priva ely to fight clofer for the future. And furely it might have been thought time enough to have diftinguished them with his favours, when they had had an opportunity of following his ad

vice.

Some fatal maxims were at this time induftriously propagated; it was faid, that people in the fleet ought not to fee the faults committed by their brethren that every body was fiable to errors, and that they who had behaved ill, would behave better another time.

But as the behaviour of the fleet at that battle, was the occafion of an enquiry in the house of commons, and of fome very extraordinary court martials, no lefs reproachful to the British navy, than the cowardice of the captains in the engagement, thefe proceedings ought to be fet in the ftrongeft light, that the like may be prevented for the future.

vice. This was a great mistake, and had been decided by the twelve judges in Q Anne's time, who had given it as their opinion under their hands, that a perfon who had belonged to the fervice, and during that time committed any crime, might, if he had quitted the fervice, yet ftill be tried by a court martial for it. However, this mistake was fo general, that the whole court martial fell into it afterwards, and Norris thought himself fafe, upon being permitted to quit. It is, indeed, marvellous, that one fo highly intrufted by his king and country, as admiral Mathews was, fhould prefer the fafety of an arrant coward, to his own honour, and to the interest of both.

It will be but fair, however, to mention what was faid by the friends of the admiral, and Mr. Norris, to juftify the admiral, in permitting him to quit, and in taking no notice of Mr Jekyll's letter. They thought, that an accufation at fuch a diftance of time appeared to be malicious, and therefore did not merit notice. The reafon that Jekyll affigned for this delay, in his letter, was not liked, beSome months after the engagement, caufe it looked like an accufation of the there happened a difpute between admiral himself. But ftill the accufaCaptain Norris and his lieutenants, tion ought not to have been stifled. If one of whom, Mr. Jekyll, wrote to in civil affairs, an information be givthe admiral, complaining of his cap- en against any perfon, where the pubtain's tyrannical behaviour, and in lick is concerned, the motive, upon his letter mentioned his cowardice on which the informer acts, is not then the 11th of February, alledging as enquired into; the fact is to be exaan excufe, that he had not com- mined into firft, and, if that be provplained against him before, that his ed, the information is not ftiled malicaptain's behaviour was fo notorious cious, though refentment might apthat he thought no particular infor- pear to be the true reafon, why the mation neceffary. The captain, who information was given: it will unquefwas very well, and I believe with tionably leffen, perhaps quite deftroy the admiral, when the letter was the weight of the informer's own evibrought, was fuddenly taken with the dence, but the fact may be proved by gout in his head, and wrote for other evidence. A malicious accufatileave to quit, upon a prefumption, on is that which proceeds from malice that a perfon, not actually in the only, and had this been the cafe here, fervice, was not liable to be tried by captain Norris would not have been

troubled