• occafion.' Yet would fuch references have been no more than honeft, and candid, efpecially where whole articles are literally copied; nor could the occafional infertion of the words, Chambers and Barrow, have greatly fwelled the fize of these volumes.

Though literary property has not the fame legal fecurities that defend our civil poffeffions; though at the Old Bailey it would be looked upon as a higher crime to have ftolen a handkerchief, value Sixpence, than to have robbed an Author of his whole ftock in trade, his thoughts and language; yet, in point of ftrict equity, it is apprehended, no good reafon can be given, why the labours of the head fhould not be as inviolable as the work of the hands.

However laudable the purpose of facilitating the avenues to knowlege, and rendering the purchase of it eafy, this ought not to be attempted by means inconfiftent with juftice: plagiarifm of any fort, we conceive to fall under the predicament of injuftice; and of this crime the Society of Gentlemen who put together this compilation ftand indicted, in our court of judicature. The evidence against them we fhall lay before our Readers, and leave it to them to pass fentence.

But, perhaps, prefcription may be pleaded in bar of our indictment: it has been cuftomary, fay they, for all Lexicographers to filch from each other; and they may poffibly farther infift, that the nature of fuch an undertaking, muft, of neceffity, render fuch filching unavoidable. To which we rejoin, that no cuftom or prefcription ought to be admitted in vindication of a practice in itself unjuft; and though it may be allowed, fuppofing the fame originals to have been confulted, that a fimilarity of expreffion will follow; yet a fameness is not neceffarily implied and when even errors are copied, it argues no lefs want of judgment than want of honefty.-Our defendants have, indeed, fometimes endeavoured to difguife their thefts; but, by fo doing, they have fallen into frequent abfurdities.

But, to our evidence: in which we fhall proceed alphabe tically, in conformity to the nature of the prosecution, though not to the practice of other courts.

Whoever will be at the pains of comparing the account given of AMALGAMATION, in this New Dictionary, with that given by Barrow, who himself has confeffedly borrowed from Boerhaave, will readily perceive, that the former is much indebted to the latter; but what chemift, or mineralift, before thefe gentlemen, ever talked of melted mercury? This we venture to rank among their transformations.

AM

AMPLITUDE, in aftronomy, is defined by the new Lexicographers, an arch of the horizon, intercepted between the eaft and weft, and the center of the fun, or a planet at its rifing and fetting;' thus far they agree almoft literally with the Cyclopedia: to which they add, and fo is either north ⚫ and fouth, or ortive and occafive.' True, indeed, the amplitudes are fometimes called northern and fouthern, as they happen to fall in the northern or fouthern quarters of the horizon; but as it is here expreffed, would not any perfon unacquainted with aftronomy, be inclined to think north and fouth intended as fynonymous to ortive and occafive?

BORAX, is injudiciously called a mineral*, instead of a native falt; the hiftory of it given in this work is extremely defective; its uses are too vaguely defcribed, and a manifeft error is copied from the Supplement to the Cyclopædia; wherein it is faid to be used for making Glauber's falt; whereas, in reality, all that ought, with any fort of propriety, to have been mentioned on this head, is, that there is a poffibility of producing a falt like Glauber's from it.

Mariners COMPASS, is a clofe copy from Barrow: the fame may, in a great measure, be faid of DROWNING, only that the latter of thefe articles is more than a little deformed, by our Gentlemen's attempting to conceal the plagiarism.

The article DYING, will, we apprehend, appear upon examination, to be the actual property of the Cyclopædia, Abundance of tranfpofition, and a few diverfifications of expreffion, may render the fraud fomewhat lefs obvious; but with what judgment thefe artifices are employed, the following will evince. Under, Dying of Silks, the Cyclopœdia fays, Red Crimson is dyed with pure cochineal meftich †,

The method of procuring and preparing this falt is pretty fully defcribed in the Review, Vol. XII. p. 93.

+ For the information of fuch of our Readers as may be as little acquainted with this dying ingredient as these gentlemen-book-makers, it may not be amifs to obferve, that there are two forts of cochineel, the finer called meftique, the other termed wild cochineel. The first is gathered from fuch plants of the Opuntia, as are prepared and managed properly, on purpofe for the production of the animal; the other is found wild on the wild plant, and is ⚫ much inferior to the meftique in value. The meflique has its name from the name of the place where it is propagated in the greatest quantity, Meftique, in the Bay of Honduras. As to the other, it is not yet determined, whether it be another fpecies of the animal, or whether the fame fpecies in a lefs thriving condition.'

Suppl. to Cyclop. from Reaumur's Hift. of Infects.

adding galls, turmeric, arfenic, and tartar,, all put together in a copper of fair water, almoft boiling. The new Compilers chufe to direct this procefs otherwife: Red Crimfon,' fay they, is given with pure cochineel, maftic, adding galls, turmeric, arfenic, and tartar, all mixed in a copper of fair water, almoft boiling.' What confidence is to be placed in inftructors fo palpably ignorant of the fubject they pretend to teach?

EPIC Poem, and FRICTION, belong to Barrow; GILDING to the Cyclopædia: whether thefe gentlemen have rendered this art more intelligible, by telling us, that gilding with liquid gold; or, as it is expreffed in other Dictionaries, gilding metals by fire, is performed by gold reduced to a calx, and amalga

mated with mercury,' we leave to be determined by gilders. However, their deficiency in the technical terms, ufed in this branch of business, makes it fomewhat fufpicious, that they have not been very converfant with the operation.

The furnaces and instruments for making, the methods of blowing, cafting, grinding, polishing, and painting GLASS, are all verbally taken from Barrow: fo likewife is what is contained under the word HELIOSTATA. Nor do we think it more than common justice to restore all the merit of the article HERO to the Cyclopædia.

Upon the fubjects ICTHYOCOLLA, and IRON, our Lexicographers have chose to adhere, and that very clofely, to Mr. Barrow. Their Readers, we apprehend, will not take it amifs to be advertised of a correction very neceffary to be made in the fourth column, line 5, of the latter article; where, inftead of Crystals in Spars,' they will read Crystals and Spars'. It may, poffibly, be only a typographical mistake, but it is too material to be over-looked.

LANGUAGE, a topic furely capable of variety, and LENS, the former fomewhat abbreviated, and the latter a little tranfpofed, are copied from the Cyclopædia. To LATITUDE, and LONGITUDE, Barrow feems confiderably to have contributed; and to him, alfo, we conceive, ought justly to be afcribed what is found here under the title MAGNET.

The Supplement to the Cyclopædia appears to have fupplied the article MESENTERIC Fever. To whom we ought, with propriety, to attribute the account here given of the NEWTONIAN Philofophy, may adınit of fome doubt; our new

An inftrument invented by S'Gravefande, and defigned to confine the rays of the fun, in a horizontal direction, across a dark chamber.

Com

Compilers have agreed almoft literally with Barrow, who has acknowleged, in this refpect, his obligation to Harris.

OLIBANUM is a faithful tranfcript from Barrow; even his little inaccuracy, of not diftinguifhing the particular fpecies of frankincense to which this drug is properly referable, these gentlemen have not thought fit to correct.

PLOTTING among Surveyors, may be justly claimed by the Cyclopædia; fo alfo may the article PUNCH.-It is poffible there may be among our Readers, fome who may think with us, that this liquor, taken in a moderate dofe, is falubrious, as well as exhilarating: to fuch it may not be difagreeable to know the directions of both writers on this fubject; whereby they will also have the further advantage of being inftructed in the art of literary tranfmutation, in cafe any of them fhould be inclined. to commence fecond-hand authors. Thus it ftands in the Cyclopædia.

Punch is also a name of a fort of compound drink, frequent in England, and particularly about the maritime parts thereof, though little known elsewhere.

Its bafis is a fpring-water, which being rendered cooler, brifker, and more acid, with lemon-juice, and sweetened < again to the palate with fine fugar, makes what they call herbet; to which a proper quantity of a fpirituous liquor, as brandy, rum, or arrack, being fuperadded, the liquor commences punch.

• Several Authors condemn the ufe of punch, as prejudicial to the brain and nervous fyftem.-Dr. Cheyne infifts, that • there is but one wholesome ingredient in it, which fome now begin to leave out, viz. the mere water.

*

The proportion of the ingredients are various; ufually the brandy and water are in equal quantities.-Some, instead of lemon-juice, ufe lime-juice, which makes what they call punch-royal; this is found lefs liable to affect the head, as well as more grateful to the ftomach.

Some alfo make milk-punch, by adding near as much milk to the fherbet as there is water, which tempers the acrimony of the lemon; others prefer tea-punch, made of green tea, inftead of water, and drank hot.

Laftly, what they call punch for chamber-maids, is made without any water, of lime-juice, fharpened with a little

It must have been a long time fince the ingredients of punch were thus proportioned. Our Grandmothers used to say,

Two of four, and one of sweet,
One of ftrong, and two of weak.

REVIEW, Dec. 1756,

Sf

• orange

orange and lemon-juice; twice as much white-wine as lime • juice, and four times as much brandy, with fugar.'

From what reign, or from what authority, this article may be deduced, is out of our power to determine; but the ridiculoufnefs and abfurdity of it muft ftrike every one in the leaft acquainted with what has been meant by this composition, for, at least, thirty years paft.-Let us fee how the prefent have improved upon the antecedent Lexicographers.

Punch,' fay they, is also a name for a fort of compound drink, much used here, and in many parts abroad*, particularly in Jamaica, and feveral other parts of the West Indies.

Its bafis is fpring water, which being rendered cooler, brifker, and more acid with lemon-juice, and sweetened again to the palate with fugar, makes what they call fherbet; to which a proper quantity of fpirituous liquor, as brandy, • rum, or arrack, being added, the liquor commences punch: the proportion of the ingredients are various; fome, inftead of lemon-juice, ufe lime-juice, which make what they call punch-royal; this is found lefs liable to affect the head, as Some alfo make • well as much more grateful to the ftomach. 'milk-punch, by adding as much milk to the fherbet, as there. is water. Others ufe green-tea, instead of water: and what they call chamber-maid's punch, is made without any water, of lime-juice, fharpened with a little orange and lemonjuice, twice as much white-wine as lime-juice, and four times as much brandy, with fugar.

Several Authors condemn the ufe of punch, as prejudicial to the brain and nervous fyftem.'

Punch has, of late years, grown fo cuftomary a liquor, that there are very few unacquainted with either the compofition or the qualities of the feveral ingredients; to talk of lime-juice Sharpened with orange or lemon-juice, is as inconfiftent with common experience, as if a man fhould propose to make verjuice fourer by an addition of cyder. The late Editors of the Cyclopædia are certainly culpable, for retaining fuch an article; but the Compilers of this work must be deemed inexcufeable, for inferting it in a New Dictionary.

In the compofition of the PULVIS FULMINANS, which confifts only of three ingredients, one of them is unfortunately omitted: that the experimenter may not be disappointed of his fun, we

That our Readers may the better determine the importance of thefe gentlemen's transformations, the altered, omitted, and tran pofed parts, are diftinguished by Italics..

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