yet apparent. I drew near, and difcovered a hole about fix feet deep, and half a foot diameter; and stopping to confider it, I perceived the earth tremble under my feet. This increafed my attention; and I heard a dull kind of noife under-ground, like that which precedes common earthquakes; which I have observed many a time. It was followed by a quivering of the earth; and after this a wind iffued out of the hole, which agitated the plants round about. I watched to fee whether the motion extended to < any distance; but was fenfible it did not reach above three or four paces from the hole, and that no motion was perceived farther off. I further obferved, that this phaenomenon never happens ⚫ till after the feventh wave rolls in; for it is a common thing in this country, to find the sea appear calm for fome time, and then to produce feven waves, which break upon the coaft one after another: the first is not very confiderable; the second is fomewhat ftronger; and thus they go on increafing to the feventh, after which the fea grows calm again, and retires. This phoenomenon of the feven waves is obferved by Navigators with great attention, especially at low water, in order to be the better able to go in or come out at the very time that the fea grows quiet. These feven waves fucceffively fill the caverns, which are all along the coaft; and when the feventh comes to open itself, the air at the bottom of the caverns being greatly compreffed, acted by its elafticity, and immediately made thofe fountains and gufhings I have mentioned; and the waters continuing in the caverns, up to the very place of the hole, began to produce that dull noife, caufed the emotion or Earthquake, and finished with the violent wind forced up thro' the hole; after which the water retired into the sea, and having no further impelling caufe, on account of the waves, rendered every thing quiet again. < . . I obferved, that this phoenomenon happened at no limited time, but according to the approach of the waves, being ftrongly put in motion after the feventh. I remained near half an hour to obferve it; and nearly followed the courfe of the cavern to its entrance, directed by the difpofition of the coaft. I made my Negroes go down where • the water broke; for they doubted the report of the great'ness of these caverns; and when the fea was calm one of them ventured in, but returned very quickly, or he muft have perished. Therefore I conclude, that these small Earthquakes round the hole, about forty paces from the R 3 wave, . wave, were only caufed by the compreffed air in fome great vault about this place, and that by its force was driven up the hole that appeared: that this air in the caverns, comprefled to a certain degree, firft caufed the dull noife, by the rolling of the waters, which refifted in the cavern; then acting more violently, caufed the fmall Earthquake, which ceafed when the wind paffed out of the hole, and that the fea retired, and gave liberty to the air which was • contained and comprefled. Such are the obfervations I have made; from which the learned, who are endeavouring to find the caufe of Earthquakes, fince that dreadful one, which deftroyed the city of Lisbon, may make fuch conclufions as they fhall think • proper.' Under the articles which relate to LETTERS, ANTIQUITIES, and mifcellaneous HISTORY, the two following are the most curious. Art. 96. A Defcription of the Plan of Peking, the Capital of China. By Father Gaubil, a Jefuit. This is a curious Paper; but without the engraved Plan, it would be hardly intelligible; and, confequently, any extract from it must afford little entertainment to our readers. Art. 109. A Differtation on the Phoenician Numeral Characters, anciently ujed at Sidin. By the Rev. Mr. Swinton. The defign of this Differtation is to afcertain the Phoenician dates of feveral ancient Sidonian Coins, one of which was ftruck above a century before the birth of Christ, hitherto utterly unknown; and to evince the notation of the Phonicians, at leaft thofe of Sidon, when they firft appeared, to have been extremely fimilar to, if not nearly the fame with that of the Palmyrenes. It is a learned and well-written Diflertation, doing honour both to the Society and its Author. We fhall take our leave of this volume with inferting the abftract of a Letter from Mr. Arderon of Norwich, on giving Magnetifm and Polarity to Brass. This Gentleman fays, that he found his Brafs Compafsbox to attract the Needle, when fufpended without, at half an inch diftance: and that if fuffered to touch, it drew it ninety degrees from the Pole. He communicated Magnetism to Brafs, by proper hammering, and giving the double Touch after after Mr. Mitchell's method. Mr. Arderon did not find magneticBrafs to attract Iron; but does not pretend to determine the cause. Different pieces were found to receive Magnetifm in different degrees; and fome not at all; without any evident reafon for the peculiarity. The author propofes two ends to be obtained by profecuting these experiments: firft, to fhew the impropriety of making Compafs-boxes of Brafs; which may occafion fatal effects and, fecondly, that if Brafs Needles, could be made to act as strong as Iron ones, they would be preferable, because less liable to ruft. ACCOUNT of FOREIGN BOOKS. Fabularum Efopiarum Libri quinque. Auctore Francifco Jofepho Defbillons, é Soc. Jefu. Ejufdem Fabularum Libri quinque alteri nunc primum editi. That is, Fables written after the manner of fop. In ten Books. 12mo. Printed at Paris, for Barbou, 1759. TH HE first five books of the Fables before us, were printed at Glafcow, in the year 1754; and a fecond edition of them at Paris in 1756. The ingenious author has now acknowleged the work, and obliged the public with a more correct and improved copy; having added five new books to the former publication. The whole contains about 350 Fables; the greater part of which are tranflated, or paraphrased, from the writings of the most eminent Fabulifts, ancient and modern. La Fontaine, in particular, appears to be our author's favourite; he having imitated him, in a great variety of well-chofen Fables. The famous tale of Perrette, the Milk-maid, fo well told by that excellent Fabulift, is thus concisely imitated by our author, in the twelfth Fable of his fixth book. Summo repofitum capite lactis cymbium R 4 Numerum Numerum diminuet, ut porco non fint pares Our author does not appear, however, to be altogether a mere Imitator; his work containing a confiderable number of apt and well-turned Fables, of his own particular invention and application. For the entertainment of thofe claffical readers, who are not too much prejudiced against the Latin of the moderns, we fhall quote one of thefe, as a further fpecimen of this writer's abilities. Book the eighth, Fable the fourteenth. DE CORVO ET LEPORE. PER odora rura dum thymum pafcit Lepus ; Miferamque pecudem nifi, ait, admoneam citò, Delapfus ergò poftquam confedit folo, Leporem quietum hortatur monitor anxius, Fugiat, fuoque fe recipiat latibulo, Ac venatorum vitet adventum, et necem. Nam venatores aliò curfum verterant. At Corvus, ut humo tollere fe tentat pedes Retineri fentit impeditos caffibus, In quos latentes induit fe improvidus, Rebus alienis qui ftudent vigilantiùs. Quàm fit opus, hi fæpè nihil in propriis vident. Thus tranflated, for the fake of our English readers. The CROW and the HARE. THE flow'ry meads were in their prime, Let loofe the yelping dogs of war. « Alas, "Alas, poor Hare! ere yet too late, Who meddle thus with others' cares, The feveral books, into which our author has divided his work, are introduced each by a Prologue, in the manner of Phædrus; in imitation of whom, alfo, he gives us, in one of them, the following description of himself, as to his difposition and manner of life. -Vivo mihi propè uni cognitus: It may be fufpected, that a man who confeffedly draws his knowlege of mankind folely from books, must be very unequal to the task of a Fabulist. To invent Fables, indeed, with any great degree of fuccefs, at this time of day, may require a more intimate acquaintance with the vices and foibles of mankind, than our author feems to be poffeffed of; but it should be remembered, that elegance and fimplicity of expreffion contribute much to form the character of the Fabulift. Fontaine invented little; and yet his choice of sub jects, |