Mr Johnes's negligence in never making ufe of the Louvre edition. After a genuine work is retrieved, it is fomewhat ftrange to perfevere in an adherence to the interpolated copy. Though the uncouth phrase of the original old French might juftify an editor in adopting a rifaccimento which would be more eafily understood, yet what apology can be pleaded by a tranflator? We are not bigotted antiquarians, and will not lay as much stress as that class of people are apt to do, on minute points of accuracy; but the public fhould know, that the real Joinville differs from that which Mr Johnes has tranflated, not only in every page, but almost in every fentence. The very best and the very worst manuscript of any Greek or Latin author, have not such effential variances: and what would be faid of a claffical translator, who should mould his verfion on the worst edition he could find? Befides, it was the more incumbent on Mr Johnes to have given us the true Joinville, becaufe its obfolete language is not read without some difficulty. But what credit does Mr Johnes expect to gain,-what benefit does he confer upon letters, by turning a common French book into Englifh? Is it imaginable that any man, who does not understand French, will trouble himself about the Memoirs of Joinville? and, if there were fuch'a man, would he be anxious to read the differtations of Du Cange, which relate entirely to feudal and chivalrous ufages,-which cannot intereft any one who has not already gone fome way in that line of literature?

It remains to inquire how this tranflation has been executed. We think it not unfuccefsful in point of expreffion, which is generally free and idiomatic, without too much affectation of antiquity, The notes of Du Cange, however, are rendered very ftiffly. Thus, p. 304, I have already amply fpoken of nocaires; it remains only that I fay a few words refpecting drums. 'The following is an indifferent fpecimen of the tranflation.

After we had remained some time in this city of Damietta, the sultan laid siege to it, on the land side, with a numerous army. The king and his men at arms were soon properly drawn out. In order to prevent the Turks from taking possession of the camp we had on the plain, I went to the king fully armed, whom I found in the same state of preparation, as well as all the knights seated around him on benches, and most humbly requested that he would permit me and my people to make a course against the Saracens. But the moment Sir John de Belmont heard me, he cried out with a loud voice, commanding me, in the king's name, not to dare to quit my quarters, until I should be so ordered by the king.

You must know, that there were with the king eight good and valiant knights, who had several times won the prize of arms, as well on this side of the sea as on the other; and they were usually alled the good knights. Among them were, Sir Geoffrey de Sar

gines, Sir Mahom de Marly, Sir Philip de Nantriel, and Sir Ymbert de Beaujeu, constable of France. But these were not present when I made my request, being on the plain without the city, as well as the master of the cross-bows, with a large body of men at arms, to prevent the Turks from approaching our main army. It happened that Sir Walter d'Entrache, having caused himself to be well armed, and his lance and shield to be given to him, mounted his horse; and one of the sides of his pavilion being raised, struck spurs into his horse, and rode full gallop against the Turks. He thus quitted his pavilion, attended by only one of his people, named Castillon; but his horse flung him to the ground, and ran off, covered with his arms, full speed to the enemy; for the greater part of the Saracens were mounted on mares, which caused the horse to play these tricks and run away. I heard, from those who said they had witnessed it, that while the Lord d'Entrache lay on the ground, four Turks came to him, and, as they crossed him backward and forward, gave him heavy blows with their clubs, and would have killed him, if the constable of France had not gone to his succour with a body of the king's troops which were under him. He was led back to his pavilion, but so much bruised by the blows he had received, that he was speechless. He was soon attended by the physicians and surgeons; and, because they did not think him in any danger of death, they bled him in the arm, from which fatal consequences ensued.

Towards evening, Sir Aubert de Nancy desired I would accompany him on a visit to him, for that he was a man of great renown and valour: this I very willingly did, and we went together. On our entering his tent, one of his squires came to us, and desired we would tread softly, lest we might awaken him. We followed this advice, and found him lying on his mantle of mineon, which covered him; but, on approaching his face, we saw he was dead.

We, and several more, were much grieved at the loss of such a man; but when it was told the king, he replied, that he did not wish for any one's service who would not attend to him, and obey his orders better than the Lord d'Entrache had done; and that through his own fault he had caused his death.

I must inform you, that the sultan gave for every head of a Christian that was brought him, a besant of gold; and these Saracen traitors, entered our camp during the night, and, wherever they found any asleep, they cut off their heads. They once surprised the watch of the Lord de Courtenay, and cut off his head, leaving the body lying on a table. They were likewise well informed of the manner of our encampment; for the engagements between us brought each party near to the other in the evenings; and the Saracens, in consequence of this knowledge, entered the camp as soon as the guard had made its round, and committed many disorders and murders.

The king, when he heard of this, gave orders for those who were wont to go the rounds on horseback, henceforward to do so on foot:

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foot by this means the army was in security; for we were so closely encamped that we touched each other; and there were no void spaces. p. 130.

The passage marked in italics is altogether wrong. In the original it runs thus: Et devez scavoir, qu'ils cognoissoient aucunement le train de nostre ost et armée. Car les batailles de nos gens par les compaignies quettoit chascun son soir l'unq aprez Paultre l'ost à cheval. Et les Sarrazins, qui cognoissoient ce train, entroient en l'ost aprez que le guet à cheval estoit passé, et fesoient secretement moult de maux et de meurtres." Which a careful translator might have thus rendered: For the troops, into which our corps of men at arms were divided, took it in succession, one after the other, to patrole round the army on horseback, &c. There is no great difficulty in this sentence of Joinville, though some little grammatical incorrectness. But could Mr Johnes for a moment imagine that his own translation was right? In the Louvre edition, it is expressed plainly enough; and we will quote the words, as a specimen of the difference between that and the corrupted text. Et ceste persecution avenoit, pource que les batailles quietoient chascun à son soir l'ost à cheval, et quant les Sarrazins vouloient entrer en l'ost, ils attendoient tant que les frains des chevaus et des batailles estoient passés, si se metoient en l'ost par darieres les dos des chevaus, et r'issoient avant que jours feust."

In many other places we have remarked great inaccuracy of translation. The layman, whenever he hears the Christian faith contemned, should defend it, not only by words, but with a sharp-edged sword." p. 102. This is quite contradictory to the sense of the passage, which, by the way, has been quoted oftener than any other in Joinville. The least attention to the context would have shown, that Louis, who is speaking, advises laymen to defend their faith with no other argument than that of hard blows. The French phrase, non pas seulement de paroles, though ambiguous, might have been properly rendered, not with mere words. But the best way of all would have been, to have looked at the Louvre edition, where he would have found that these words are an interpolation. In the story of Arthault de Rogent, p. 113. The poor knight was greatly surprized; n'estoit mie esbahi. P. 138. I and my knights returned thanks to God for this second escape.' In the French: Et secondement grant grace nous fist nostre Seigneur, à mis chevaliers, et à moy.' p. 140. Epée is translated, first, spear, and afterwards sword, in two successive sentences, and in speaking of the same individual weapon. Prudent for preux, p. 160.; statesman, for homme d'etat, p. 168, are further specimens of Mr Johnes's negligence. How could

the

the last error fail to glare upon him, if he reads over his own translation, in which a young knight, like Joinville, is made to call himself a statesman? Homme d'etat means only man of rank in the Louvre edition it is riche omme; which has the

same sense.

Perhaps we may be thought to bear hard upon a gentleman, whose preference of literary recreations to those more usual among his class, does him unquestionable honour. But this honour, after all, is not immeasurable; and, whatever respect is due to a country squire who translates French chroniclers, we cannot, at once, give him a high place in the republic of letters. There is, in England, much more than a fair regard shown to gentlemen scholars; and, in Mr Johnes's instance, it would not be difficult to point out a great deal of ignorant or parasitical eulogy which has been bestowed upon his translations. That any translation of Joinville, which we have before us, or of Monstrelet, which is promised, or Philippe de Comines, if he should go so far, is demanded by the literay world, we firmly deny; and as decidedly assert, that Mr Johnes has done nothing, as yet, upon which a reputation of authorship can fairly be erected.

ART. XII. An Account of the Application of Gas from Coal to Economical Purposes. By W. Murdoch. Communicated to the Royal Society by Sir Joseph Banks.-Phil. Trans. for 1808. Considerations on the Nature and Objects of the intended Light and Heat Company. London, Ridgway. 1808.

A National Light and Heat Company, &c. with four Tables of Calculations, &c. And various other Pamphlets. By F. A. Winsor.

THE E first in this list is a very interesting paper. It consists only of a few pages; but the facts it contains are curious; and it leads to the consideration of a subject, which has excited a good deal of attention in the metropolis, and is soon, it is said, to undergo a Parliamentary discussion. We have neither

the

power nor the wish to prejudge the cause; nor would we willingly hurt the feelings of any individual: our object is little more than a simple statement of facts. We have witnessed some obscure attempts to light with gas, that did not succeed; and we have read pamphlets on the subject, circulated perhaps to allure subscribers, which are as full of extravagance as they are void of

H h 3

science.

science. But, in spite of these failures, and amidst all the nonsense that has been published, and all the ridicule, in a great ineasure merited, that has been thrown on some of the projects, still we think there is discernible a basis of sound and practicable improvement, to the development of which a small portion of our time may be usefully devoted.

As the subject has been involved in much confusion, and, to many of our readers, must be altogether new, we shall first endeavour to state, in a brief and popular way, the chemical composition of coal, before we detail the new applications that are proposed to be made of its ingredients.

Pit-coal exists in this island in strata, which, as far as con. cerns the hundredth generation after us, may be pronounced inexhaustible; and is so admirably adapted, both for domestic purposes and the uses of the arts, that it is justly regarded as a most essential constituent of our national wealth. When exposed to heat, as we see it every day in our grates, it is manifestly composed of a fixed base of carbonaceous matter, and a variety of evaporable substances, which are driven off in the form of smoke and flame. But, instead of being consumed in this open way, the coal may be distilled, and these evaporable matters collected in proper vessels, and examined. They are then found to contain, besides a considerable quantity of matter, which is condensed by cold into tar and alkaline liquor, an invisible elastic fluid, or gas, which no cold nor affusion of water can condense or absorb. It is a compound of two highly inflammable gases, which chemists call the light hydrocarbonate, and the heavy hydrocarbonate, or olefiant gas; and this mixture burns with a very brilliant and beautiful light. It is this gas which furnishes the flame in our common fires; but its beauty is there impaired by the unavoidable alloy of smoky vapour. A separation, however, may be effected by the distilling process, which leaves the pure aërial fluid such as we have described. All the new plans for lighting with coal-gas, proceed upon the principle of purifying this fluid, collecting it in reservoirs, and distributing it in tubes. From the furnace where the coal is distilled, a main pipe may convey all the evaporable matter into a large reservoir or gasometer, where,

by

*There are, in fact, according to Mr Davy, three inflammable gases given out in our fires;-the two we have mentioned, and the gaseous oxide of carbon, which is known by its blue flame. They are all distinctly perceptible; the light hydrocarbonate forms the main body of the flame; the olefiant appears in brilliant jets; and the gaseous oxide is occasionally seen near the root of the flame, or in contact with the coal. It is possible that a small portion of this oxide may mix with prepared gas.