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that the order of digestion is in fome degree inverted. In both the ruminants and this tribe I think it must be allowed that the first stomach is a reservoir. In the ruminants the precife ufe of the fecond and third ftomachs is perhaps not known; but digeftion is certainly carried on in the fourth; while in this tribe, I imagine, digeftion is performed in the fecond, and the use of the third and fourth is not exactly afcertained.

The cæcum and colon do not affift in pointing out the nature of the food and mode of digeftion in this tribe. The porpoife, which has teeth, and four cavities to the ftomach, has no cæcum, fimilar to fome land animals, as the bear, badger, racoon, ferret, polecat, &c. neither has the bottle-nofe a cæcum, which has only two fmall, teeth in the lower jaw; and the piked whale, which has no teeth, has a cæcum, almoft exactly like the lion, which has teeth, and a very different kind of ftomach.

The food of the whole of this tribe, I believe, is fifh; probably each may have a particular kind, of which it is fondest, yet does not refuse a variety. In the ftomach of the large bottle-nose I found the beaks of fome hundreds of cuttle-fish. In the grampus I found the tail of a porpoife; fo that they eat their own genus. In the ftomach of the piked whale I found the bones of different fish, but particularly thofe of the dog fish.'

The organ of fmell in these animals is out of the direct road of the current of air in inspiration, and out of the current of water when they difcharge it by fpouting. As the fish have olfactory nerves, they doubtlefs are endowed with the power of fmelling; but through what medium this faculty is exercised it is difficult to determine. Mr. Hunter fufpects that the finus, on which the olfactory nerves are difperfed, contains air, and, as the water paffes by it in the act of spouting, the refervoir of air is impregnated by its effluvia. This anatomical examination of whales reflects great honour on Mr. Hunter's abilities as a naturalift; but we wish that he had attended a little more to the propriety of the language in which so much curious and philofophical obfervation is contained.

Art. XXXIX. Some Obfervations on ancient Inks, with the Propofal of a new Method for recovering the Legibility of decayed Writings. By Charles Blagden, M. D. Sec. R. S. and F.A. S. The ancient inks appear, on examination, to have been made on the fame principle as the modern. The method found most effectual for reftoring them was to moiften the paper with a diluted mineral acid, and afterwards to add a phlogisticated alkali, which gave the letters a bright blue colour. This method, however, feems to require that the form of the letters. should be previously known; and therefore it cannot be employed to render confpicuous the letters of manuscripts become illegible. If the aftringent principle of galls cannot be separated

from

from the ftaining matter, it might be adviseable to prepare the phlogifticated alkali from the Pruffian blue, when it is very lightly coloured, and expofe the writing afterwards to the vitriolic acid, in the ftate of air.

In an appendix to this volume we meet with a fupplement to Major-General Roy's mode of determining the relative fituation of the royal obfervatories of Greenwich and Paris. The ingenious author detects fome inaccuracies in the calculation of M. Bouguer, and fubjoins a supplementary table of the degrees of the earth.

ART. XII. A new, fuccinct, and candid Examination of Mr. David Levi's Objections against Jefus Chrift and the Gospel Hiftory, in his Letters to Dr. Priestley. By Philip David Krauter, D.D. 8vo. Bath, printed: Dilly, London. 1788.

THE ingenious author of this modeft and candid little per

formance admits that the objections started by Mr. Levi are not only not new, but have been frequently anfwered; yet as the fubject deferves conftant attention, he is in hopes the confideration of them, abstracted from particular principles or hypothefes, may not be fuperfluous.

In examining the firft objection, that, Whether Jefus was the fecond person of the Trinity, as Chriftians in general hold, or only a prophet, in either character he could not be received by the Jews confiftently with the law of Mofes, our author, carefully avoiding any difquifition concerning the Trinity, fhews that, by feveral paffages of fcripture, Chrift being the son of God, was not only admiffable, but plainly prophefied, and this in a manner different from all other created beings. From this fuperiority of his nature, it could hardly be neceffary that, like other prophets from Mofes to Malachi, he should profefs, as they had done, to prophefy in the name of God [as, The Lord fpake unto Mofes, &c.]. 'What Jesus foretold was not as one who had it only from hearfay, though what he had heard of HIS FATHER he made known to his friends, John xv. 15, but as one before whofe eyes the future things were like the present, ⚫ and in whofe hands and difpofal they were.' Page 7.

Mr. Levi's next objection is too trifling, in our opinion, to deferve all our author has faid upon it:

If we compare Jefus,' fays Mr. Levy, with the rest of the prophets who fucceeded Mofes, from Jofhua to Malachi, we shall find fuch a manifeft contradiction between him and them, as fully demonftrates that both parties could not be the meffengers of God, as God never contradicts himself.

• Jefuş

Jefus acted in direct contradiction to the law of Mofes; for, whereas the law of Mofes exprefly commands the adulterer and adulterefs to be put to death, Levit. xx. 30; now Jefus, in defiance of this exprefs command, refcues the adulterefs from the just punishment due to her crime, John viii. 3, 4, 5; and that by one of the most extraordinary devices that ever entered into the mind of man; for if none were to be admitted as evidence in a court of juftice against criminals but the immaculate, villainy would soon stalk triumphant, and carry all before her with impunity.'

As Jefus never acted as an earthly lawgiver, he could not be faid to acquit the woman; but not being acquainted with the fact, he could not condemn or accufe her. On this, as on all other occafions, he feized the opportunity of reminding the world of their faults, and of the neceffity of attending to their own con ́duct. The event he could not be anfwerable for; but the manner of conducting the inquiry was characteristic of a mind ever intent on doing good.

As little need be said of any contradiction between Christ and the preceding prophets when the former ordered the fick man whom he had healed on the fabbath to take up his bed and walk.

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The third objection is to the abrogation of the ceremonial law, which Mr. Levi conceives would imply that God had contradicted himself. To this Dr. Krauter's anfwer is, that, in a variety of inftances, God faw one difpenfation neceffary at one time, and a different one at another; and though he enjoined his people by Mofes not to add or diminish from the law; it did not follow that God himself should not do it whenever in his wifdom he thought proper. But for a further difcuffion of this question we must refer our readers to the work itself.

Mr. Levi's next objection is to the miracles of Jesus, which he fays he has obferved are scarcely juft or rational. He however felects only thofe of the herd of fwine and fig-tree. One fhould hardly have expected an objection to the first to come from this quarter. So much, indeed, has been faid to remove the fcruples of Chriftians on the subject, that we shall add nothing here, but refer the reader to the book before us, and all the other writers who have given their opinion of our Saviour's miracles, and of demoniacal poffeffion.

On the fubject of the fig-tree Dr. Krauter offers fome new and ingenious thoughts; but as most of them reft on the idea of Chrift's being the meffiah, they will be less fatisfactory to the Jews than the Chriftians.

Mr. Levi's objection to the apparently contradictory accounts of our Saviour's genealogy, are answered in a very fatisfactory manner, by referring St. Matthew's account to Jofeph and St.

Luke's

Luke's to Mary. Though this is well known to moft Chriftians, it became our author's duty to state it circumftantially to Mr. Levy; and he has ftrengthened it with many ingenious obfervations.

Mr. Levi's last objection is to our Saviour's accufation against the Jews, that they had neither heard his Father's voice at any time. The implication is pretty obvious that the Jews had not paid the attention to it that would have taught them our Saviour's true character. The whole paffage is, however, ingenioufly illuftrated by Dr. Krauter; and we wish we could add, in a manner satisfactory to Mr. Levi.

ART. XIII. Supplement to the Examination of Mr. Levi's Objections in his Letters to Dr. Priestley. Occafioned by his grofs Mifreprefentation of it in his Anfwer, to Dr. Priestley's Letters. Part II. By Philip David Krauter, D. D. 8vo. 6d.

IT

T is much to be lamented that a correfpondence begun with the beft intentions, and which promised the fair difcuffion of the most important truths, fhould fo foon degenerate into flippancy and abufe. In Mr. Levi's firft anfwer were to be difcovered many improper levities, which we forbore to take notice of, and which Dr. Krauter treated with a very becoming cool-nefs. But the fecond part has been almoft too much for the Doctor's temper; and we rather wonder, with truth on his fide, he fhould find himfelf fo much hurt at mifreprefentation, and fomething bordering on buffoonéry. Neither the gravity of the fubject, nor the tenderness with which Mr. Levi had been treated, admitted fuch a retort. But we fhall dismiss the article with giving Dr. Krauter credit for moderation, compared with his adverfary, and wifhing he had not fhewn how much he felt himself hurt at what was greatly beneath his notice.

ART. XIV. An Inquiry into the Small-Pox, medical and political; wherein a fuccessful Method of treating that Difeafe is propofed, the Caufe of Pits explained, and the Method of their Prevention pointed out; with an Appendix, reprefenting the prefent State of Small-Pox. By Robert Walker, M. D. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinb. 8vo. 6s, boards, Murray, London; Creech, Edinburgh. 1790.

[ Continued. ]

IN our laft Review we gave an account of the first eight chapters of this interefting work, where the ingenious author, after profecuting a variety of inquiries relative to the nature,

caufes,

caufes, and effects of variolous contagion, delivered an accurate hiftory of the several fpecies of the difeafe. We now proceed to the ninth chapter, which is occupied with the important fubject of the indications.

The period between the reception of the variolous contagion and the commencement of the eruptive fymptoms, Dr. Walker had formerly denominated the stage of fermentation. In this stage, therefore, he obferves that the indication is to prevent, as much as poffible, too great an affimilation of the variolous ferment; for which purpose a cooling regimen is recommended as an indifpenfable object. When the eruptive fever has commenced, our author judiciously defcribes the circumftances in which bloodletting may be refpectively either falutary or pernicious, in different kinds of the difeafe. But bleeding being performed or omitted, according as circumftances require, the eruptive fever, he observes, may be moderated by attending to the following directions:

If no diarrhoea occurs, the belly, if coftive, ought first to be opened by a laxative clyfter, and a cooling purgative administered the following day.

Where the skin continues parched and dry, by which all the eruptive symptoms are aggravated, a gentle diaphorefis may be promoted by draughts of thin gruel, acidulated with lemon-juice, fagetea, or cold water, according to tafte; nothing contributes more to anfwer this intention than the faline draughts, where the acid fome. what prevails; thefe are found to be highly refreshing, and induce a degree of tranquillity over the whole fyftem.

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Perhaps there is no one expedient more effectual in moderating the eruptive fever, or more useful and falutary in every stage of the 'difeafe, than the application of cool air. The more urgent and fevere the symptoms are, the more does the patient require this falutary remedy; and, as has been hinted, he may enjoy the benefit of it, when confined to bed, as well as when he is able to fit up; it is impoffible to conceive, where the ventilation is free, how powerful and refreshing its influence is, and how fuddenly it is capable of bringing down the pulfe, and of moderating all the symptoms.'

The various operations of nature, from the commencement of the small-pox, leave no room to doubt that her chief aim is the expulfion of the morbid particles, which however, instead of being expelled only by an eruption, are generally determined to fome of the outlets of the body; to the fkin, either by fenfible or infenfible perfpiration; to the head and falivary glands, to the kidneys, and fometimes to the inteftines. Our author enters upon the confideration of thefe different discharges, and fhews the advantages as well as inconveniencies attending each of them, with the view of afcertaining which is the most fafe and

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eligible

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