Fixed air is the carbonic acid; its falts carbonats, and plumbago, the carburet of iron. The muriatic acid remains, and its compounds are muriats: the dephlogisticated is called oxygenated, muriatic acid; and its compounds oxygenated muriats. -Corrofive fublimate and calomel are corrofive and mild mercurial muriats. The muriatic falts of tin, in their different ftates, are muriat of tin, sublimated muriat of tin, and fmoaking muriat of tin.

The terms nitric and nitrous acid are followed by the acetic and the acetous, the phosphorous and phofphoric, with their compounds acetats and acetites, phofphorats and phofphorites. The dephlogisticated kind has the termination in ic. Many acids have only this termination because we feldom fee them but in their dephlogifticated state, or with little oxygen; fo that they have but one kind of compound. The boracic acid has its borats; the fluoric its fluats; the fuccinic its fuccinats, the tartaric its tartrites; the oxalic its oxalats; the gallic its gallats; the praffic its pruffiats; the arfenic its arfeniats; and fo The peculiar neutral is denominated the acetat of potash, of foda, of ammoniac, of lead, copper, &c. The calces. of metals, as containing oxygen, are oxids thus we have the oxid of arfenic, antimony, &c.-The earths and inflammables luckily remain with little change. In the different memoirs the foundation of the new names, and the reafons for the alteration, are given at fome length.

on.

The changes which thefe authors have introduced, are, we think, in many refpects exceptionable. They are very numerous; numerous without neceflity: and fo different from the former terms, as to require much time and attention to underftand and remember them. It is a tafk whofe burthen we have felt feverely. In many inftances, the difficulty is increafed from the want of analogy; and, in fome, from the harsh terms, and the too near resemblance of those defigned to convey very different ideas. The carbonic acid has no reference to the ufual origin of the fixed air, and the carbonet of potafh can fcarcely be fuppofed to mean mild falt of tartar. Many of these words too are founded on hypothefis, and not on decifive experiment. If the abforption of vital air is not the only, or the most important change in calcination, what will become of the oxids? If the compofition of water is not incontestably proved, who will adopt the hydrogen? Again: a language of this kind is not capable of being extended with the fcience: one new difcovery may, on the contrary, shake it to its foundation, and, in each fucceeding feven years, we muft again learn a new dialect.

The

The fubftances not yet decompofed, which are arranged in the first column, are followed in the fucceeding ones by these fubftances in different forms, and in compofition. They feem, however, to be too numerous, for the vegetable and animal acids are certainly decompounded in the fire, and their bafis is pretty clearly fixed air. In another view, they are too numerous; for if the fame acid, in different forms, must be allowed a new name, till the fimilarity with fome known acid is proved, as we have contended for, the number of acids must be greatly increafed. Our authors have, indeed, taken advantage of every new discovery, and included the faccharine with the oxalic acid, and arranged the aftringent principle, which we have formerly fhown to be a phlogifticated acid, under the title of the gallic acid, &c. They have too, affumed the camphor as an acid, without having proved its acidity, while many bodies more certainly acid are omitted. If fome of these acids must be admitted among compounds, light is alfo a compound body, confifting of rays differently refrangible; and there is some reason to think that even, as a chemical body, the different rays may poffefs different affinities, for we fee different colours in the flames of burning bodies, and phofphoric light is tinged with different hues. M. de la Mezherie has shown, that inflammable and pure air will decompofe each other; and the volatile alkali has been clearly proved to be a compound. There are many different bodies very certainly compounds, among their fimples. Again, the plan of giving bodies names from their principles, is a specious one; but it is not well managed, and is probably not eafily executed. In this Nomenclature there are many errors from this fource. Let us take an instance from inflammable air: it is called hydrogen, from its being one of the ingredients of water; but it makes only 0.13, while pure air is 0.87. It makes a larger proportion of oil, viz. o.21, why then is it not called eleogen? and of volatile alkali, and then it should be ammoniacogen, terms not more harsh than many adopted in the new Nomenclature.

As to the particular terms, they are very badly adapted to the English analogy. La calorique is indeed French; but thefe terms, as we have already obferved, are not used abftractedly in English. Oxygen is alfo better adapted, for the fame reafon, to the language of the inventors than our own: it is built too, on the fyftem of its being the principle of acidity, without reflecting that it is as much a principle of the calces of metals, and more fo of water. Hydrogen is equally, and for the fame reason, exceptionable. Azote from

a, non,

«, non, and (ŵn, vita, is an unpleasant term, and equally applicable to fixed and nitrous air. The fulphats, the fulphites, and the fulphures, or, as Dr. St. John more properly calls them, fulphurets, are harsh, difagreeable, and not fuffi ciently difcriminated. To fuppofe that a basis of the muriatic oxalic, and other acids, exifts, without having proved their exiftence, encumbers the new language unneceffarily for to give it the term radical does not prevent the neceffity of forming a new one, when the bafis is really found. Befides, why will they fuppofe that there is a bafis? In their lift of fubftances not decompofed, there are many fubftances which really have one, though they then infift on rigorous demonftration of its exiftence they here admit it on fuppofition.

The terms pyro-tartaric, pyro-lignic, and pyro-mucic, to exprefs acids in an empyreumatic ftate, are improper, as compounded of Greek and Latin words: they are improper too, because the two laft do not occur in their uncompounded ftaté, and they are in the lift of uncompounded fubjects. There are many acids of wood, a term too general and collective, which are in a separate state, under other names. It appears highly probable, indeed, that all the ligneous acids are modifications of the acetous. Unfortunately the pruffic is not an acid; the pruffiats have no existence as neutral compounds, and the radical must confequently be an imaginary fubftance.

The new chemical characters deferve a better report: they are explicit, diftin&t, fyftematic, and intelligible. Though adapted to the new Nomenclature, they may be applied to any language: but those who have learned the characters of Geoffroy, Black, or Bergman, will be unwilling again to fudy another form. From this variety we have reafon to fufpect that characters will be neglected, and words at length ufed; fince they will be more intelligible, though fomewhat more troublesome.

To compress our account of this work, we have incorporated the French criticisms with our own opinions; and where fome objections had been replied to with fuccefs, or where we thought them not well-founded, we have paffed them over: we have not room for long difcuffions. After the moft mature reflection, we are decidedly of opinion, that this new language is neither euphonic, exact, or convenient; and we earnestly diffuade the English chemist from adopting it. We have been repeatedly called on for our opinion, and flattered by being told that it was waited for with fome impatience. We have complied, as early as poffible, with the request; and, to give a force to our decifion, we fhall continue to use the former terms of M. Morveau.

VOL. LXV. April, 1788.

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Letters

Letters to and from the late Samuel Johnson, LL. D. To which are added fome Poems never before printed. Published from the Original MSS. in her Possession, by Hefter Lynch Piozzi. 800. 2 Vols. 125. in Boards. Cadell.

IT

T is the lot of genius to be often drawn from obscurity in the most unfavourable moments: the feftive board will not wait for the hour of health and hilarity, or make allowance for the gloom which disease and low fpirits may spread around him. As an author, the man of genius is expected to be uniformly excellent; and, in the remarks on those parts where he finks below his own level, the critic does not reflect how often he has rifen above it. The periodical effayift feels the weight of this inconvenience with double aggravation; and the reviewer, for we may furely be allowed to look at home, cannot always enjoy the clearness of unruffled recollection: when called to fulfil his deftined task, he may bring with him a mind harraffed by anxiety, and depreffed by ill-health. But Johnfon was loaded with almoft every difficulty which we have mentioned, and he has not escaped the ufual misfortunes of literary reputation, which happen after death: his life has been mangled with unrelenting cruelty; his memory fullied by partial recollection; the accumulation of every harsh reply, or dictatorial remark; and, in the inftance before us, each triAing fcrap, dictated in the moments of pain, languor, and uneafinefs, is brought from its hidden recefs into open day. light. Strong must be the mind, and unfullied the character, that can bear fo many, and fuch fevere trials! Johnson has not escaped from thefe various ordeals, without a wound; but the wounds have not been fatal. We have no reason to think that Mrs. Piozzi meant to injure his credit by this publication; and we are fully of opinion, that she has added to it by means the most precarious, and which might have been most destructive. The intimate correfpondence of many years, the unreferved communication, in various fcenes and fituations, in dif ferent ftates of mind and body, would seldom afford so few and fuch inconfiderable errors.

If the fubject of Dr. Johnfon's Letters be enquired after, we can truly fay, that there is none with what then are two large volumes filled? With traits of affection and regard; with anxious folicitude for his friends' welfare and fuccefs; with much infantine and amiable fondness for the children; with fre quent complaints of his own ill health; with anxiety when his friends are fick and diftreffed; mixed with a little appre henfion, occafionally, of being neglected.-The man of business may style all this trifling; the fupercilious philofopher turn from

3

from it with difguft; but it leads us through the labyrinth of the human heart; it shows us what Johnson really was, and givés no unpleafing picture of his mind, when feparated from an unpleasing form and difgufting manners. We shall turn

over these volumes; and, in felecting thofe little incidents. which may be interesting to our readers, shall have fufficient opportunity of giving fpecimens of the ftyle of his familiar correspondence. We muft, however, first attend to the editor.

Mrs. Piozzi, whofe answers to Johnfon are occafionally interfperfed, to avoid the neceffity of annotations, is well known: with many polite accomplishments, fhe joins no inconfiderable knowlege of the best modern languages, French and Italian; she seems also well acquainted with Latin, and various sciences not ufually underflood by ladies. The following paffage fhould, however, have been explained more particularly it feems intended to elevate and furprise; but it is either incorrectly expreffed, or not well founded. There are one or two other paffages in Mrs. Thrale's Letters, which deferve the fame remark.

fhould I be charged with obtruding trifles on the public, I might reply, that the meaneft animals preferved in amber become valuable to those who form collections of natural history, that the fifh found in Monte Bolca ferve as proofs of facred writ, - and that the cart-wheel ftuck in the rock of Tivoli, is now found ufeful in computing the rotation of the earth.'

The rest of the preface we shall make no remarks on. The Letters, the editor obferves, are unchanged. But we have reason to fufpect that fome are omitted. It was undoubtedly delicate, and, we think, proper to erafe the names, and, in fome inftances, to put afterifms inftead of initial letMrs. Piozzi has alfo baffled conjecture, by not distinguishing the fame perfon by the fame number of afterifms, and generally putting down the number without any fettled defign: we may have loft a little pleasure in this way; but it is not to be regretted, when fome refpectable individuals are probably faved a great deal of pain.

ters,

The correfpondence commences in 1765, when Johnson was preparing his Shakspeare for the prefs, and continues uninterruptedly during their feparations, till the event which was fatal to their friendship, the marriage of Mrs. Piozzi in 1784. In this interval the letters are very numerous; and we shall point out a few which appear to deserve some notice. In ge neral, we do not fee many inftances of that fuperftitious ter ror, that unmanly dread of death, which had taken fuch hold on Johnson's mind. His defire of being diftinguished is frequently obvious; and his language, though in general cor

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rect,