LINES INSCRIBED TO A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADY IN BEACONSFIELD, ON HER SKILL ON THE PIANO-FORTE. S o'er each note of various found A Thy flying fingers lightly ftray, The captive paffions all around, Confefs, fweet maid! thy potent sway. Charm'd with thy ftrains, the raptur'd breast Alternate flits the trembling foul. Literary Literary Review. The New Annual Regifter; or, General Repofitory of Hiftory, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1798. To which is prefixed, The Hiftory of Knowledge, Learning, and Tafte, in Great Britain, during the Reign of King Charles the Second. Robinfons. Ios. 6d. HIS valuable Work is diftributed into its usual Principal Occurrences, Public Papers, Biographical Anecdotes and Characters, Manners of Nations, Claffical and Polite Criticifm, Antiquities, Mifcellaneous Papers, Poetry, Domeftic and Foreign Literature. Each of thefe articles feems to have been felected and arranged with accuracy. The utility of fuch an annual work is obvious: it collects into a convenient compass the most important part of our hiftory, whether we regard ourselves either in a political or literary point of view. And it muft be pleafing both to the gentleman and scholar to have it in their power to refer to a Volume where their curiofity receives an ample gratification. The Introductory Hiftory of Knowledge is written with judgment and impartiality. It contains an account of the ROYAL SOCIETY, which certainly cannot fail of being interefting to Britons. We fhall therefore introduce it to the notice of our readers without any further ceremony, VOL. VIII, The The Rife, Progrefs, and Eftablishment of the ROYAL SOCIETY, in the reign of Charles the Second. "The reign of Charles was inglorious in almost every inftance; yet it was diftinguished by the establishment of a fociety, which has been perhaps more respectable in its character, and more useful in its excrtions than any fimilar inftitution in Europe. The humble origin of the Royal Society has been already noticed; but it belongs to this part of our undertaking to enter more fully into the detail. "To affert that the great proficiency in natural fcience, which has been the glory of the British nation, is to be wholly attributed to the exertions of this affociation, would be bold and hazardous! but it is certain that little progress had been previously made in that interefting branch of human knowledge. Except the folitary fpeculations of Bacon, little had hitherto been effected; but the recommendation of that great man, to refer every thing in phyfics to the fevere teft of direc&t experiment, cleared the path of fcience, and opened the way to real difcoveries. "Alchemy had been a favourite study in the two preceding reigns. The theatre, which is, in general," a brief chronicle of the times," and the best record of manners and national character, of national folly at leaft, attefts this fact. Johnfon's Alchemift is read and acted, though the object of ridicule which is the foundation of the piece, is no longer interefting. "It is however matter of furprize, that induftry, even without the aid of fcience, fhould have effected nothing. Not one useful discovery is recorded as rewarding the labours of the English alchemifts, though their brethren on the continent, contributed in no fmall degree to the improvement of practical chemistry. "Even mathematical fcience, for which the English philofophers have fince been fo juftly celebrated, was, antecedent to the period of which we are treating, in no very flourishing ftate; but the age which produced the Royal Society was allo diftinguished by fome excellent mathematicians; and Ough*See our History of Knowledge, &c. under the Ufurpation. tred tred, Ward, and Wallis, led the way to Barrow, Newton, and Halley. Thus, though claffical learning, theology, and metaphyfics, had been cultivated with fuccefs in the preceding ages, the reign of Charles II. may be regarded as the dawn of English philofophy. "The commencement of the Royal Society is referred by its hiftorian Sprat to "fome space after the end of the civil wars;" but more correct information affixes the date to the year 1645. At that time fome ingenious and inquifitive men, among whom was the celebrated mathematician Dr. John Wallis, and the no leís celebrated Dr. (afterwards bishop). Wilkins, agreed to meet weekly on a certain day, to converse on fubjects of natural and experimental philofophy. The meetings were fometimes held at the apartments of Dr. Jonathan Goddard, a phyfician of fome eminence, in Woodfreet, on account of his having an operator in his house for the purpose of grinding glaffes for telescopes: fometimes at a houfe in Cheapfide, and fometimes at Giefham-college. From these meetings, the great topics which at that period divided and distracted fociety, politics and theology, were excluded; and the fciences which chiefly engaged the attention of the fociety, were geometry, aftronomy, anatomy, phyfic, chemistry, navigation, magnetifm, and mechanics. This fociety was fometimes diftinguished by the name of the Invifible or Philofophical College. "The fociety in this infant ftate experienced fomething of the unfettled nature of the times; and about the year 1648 it was nearly diffolved by the removal of Dr: Wilkins, who was appointed Warden of Wadham-college; of Dr. Wallis, who was nominated Savilian profeffor of geometry; and of Dr. Goddard, who was made warden of Merton-college. Thofe who remained in London continued to meet as before, and the Oxford members joined them when they vifited the metropolis. The meetings, however, were continued with more fpirit, and, probably, more regularity at Oxford, "in Dr. Wilkins' lodgings (to ufe the words of Sprat) in Wadham-college, which was then the refort for virtuous and leained men." The university, as the fame author informs us, had feveral men of eminence at that time attached to it in various offices and ftations; and it was reforted to by others, whom the diftreffes of the times drove to take refuge from the din of Cc 2 arms, arms, and the deteftable contefts of party and politics, in the quiet fhades of that celebrated feminary. Their first object was, as it had been in London, to enjoy fociety in peace, to contribute to each other's mutual entertainment and inttruction, and to avoid those unpleasant topics which spread only difcord and calamity wherever they were agitated. The principal perfons who formed this fmall but illuftrious affembly, were Dr. Seth Ward, afterwards lord-bishop of Exeter, Mr. Boyle, fir William Petty, Dr. Wilkins, Mr. Matthew Wren, Dr. Wallis, Dr. Goddard, Dr. Willis, Dr. Chriftopher Wren, and Mr. Rooke. "These meetings, however, were ftill little more than focial or converfation parties. They had no rules or fixed method of proceeding; yet experimental fcience engaged more deeply their attention than fpeculation and conjecture. The folly of both of thefe was too apparent in the metaphyfical writers of the day for wife men, fuch as constituted this little fociety, to engage themselves in. They were more commonly employed in experiments of chemistry and mechanics. Their inftruments, however, were few; and their discoveries in chemistry seem to have been of little importance. "In the year 1658, the fociety was dispersed from various caufes, and its members were called to the exercife of different functions in different parts of the kingdom. The majority of them, however, had reforted to the metropolis; and here their meetings were refumed at Gresham-college, an infitution at prefent fhamefully abused, by being made a finecure for idle and indeed merely nominal profeffors. They generally met at the Wednesday's and Thursday's lectures of Dr. Wren and Mr. Rooke, for fuch were the men who, at that period, occupied those ftations. Here they were joined by feveral other eminent perfons, among whom were the lords Brouncker and Brereton, fir Paul Neile, Mr. John Evelyn, Mr. Henfhaw, Mr. Slingsby, Dr. Timothy Clark, Dr. Ent, Mr. Balle, Mr. Hill, and Dr. Crone. The calamities of the times again difperfed our philofophers; and even the place of their meeting was, in the year 1659, converted into a barrack for foldiers. "The meetings were refumed when the public affairs affumed a more quiet afpect after the restoration, and they were |