IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES. PROFESSOR PALMER, of Wolffenbuttle, has invented a compofition to fecure combustible substances, fuch as wood, paper, linen, cotton, &c. from catching fire. He has published the fecret of his difcovery, which confits of a powder made up of the following ingredients, viz. One ounce of fulphur, one ditto of red ochre, and fix ounces of copper water *. To prevent wood catching fire, it is fft covered with joiners' glue, over which the powder is fpread. This procefs is repeated three or four times after the wood has become dry. In linen and paper, only water is used instead of glue, and the procefs is repeated twice. If this powder be thrown on fubtances actually in combustion, two ounces of it will extinguish the fire, to the extent of the furface of a square foot. The meritorious Profeffor promifes a Differtation refpecting the particular application of this difcovery to fave precious effects, and even men from the danger of being burnt. the 11th of December last, the first experiments were tried at Wolffenbuttle,, and gave general fatisfaction. On The Optical Inftrument Maker of the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, Mr. Gabriel Collin, has invented an inftrument, by means of which subftances may be difcovered, and fought at the bottom of the fea. The King of Sweden ordered some experiments to be tried with this inftrument on board the frigate of the Swedish Sea Cadets, which were attefted by the Captain. From them it refults, that y means of the inftrument, bright objects may be seen at a depth of 53 feet, and obfcure ones at 27 feet; in the Baltic obfcure objects could be seen at 27, and clear ones at 37 feet depth. There is a contrivance in this inftrument, by which the obferver can look as deeply into the water in mifty or foul, as in clear fair weather. The wind never hinders the use of this inftrument, which only requires one perfon for ufe. His Swedish Majesty has rewarded the artist with a douceur of about rool. fterling, and the Aca. demy of Science at Stockholm, is to make a report on it. THE VILLA OF THE LATE MR. JOHN SEWELL. Is conformity to a with expreffed by If the fmalleft trait of vanity was to be found in the composition of our deceafed Friend,whofe memory we refpect, it was on the fubject of this Villa (which he ufually denominated his FOLLY); and when we confider the laborious at tention which he had paid to its erection and prefervation, and the great expence that he had been at to bring it to its prefent ftate, we must acknowledge his foible to have been entitled to great indulgence. The Houfe occupies one of the most elevated and pleafant fpots in the parish of Batter feat; and the Grounds about it (compriting thirteen acres) are among the beft cultivated and moft fruitful freeholds in the vicinity. [For Particulars into which it is not our province to enter, we refer to the Eighth Page of our Blue Wrapper.] There is probably fome error as to this latter ingredient: we are inclined to think the Writer means copperas. + Some Account of this Village was given in our Magazine for September 1801, to accompany a humorous Engraving of " Undertakers at Death's Door." uropean Magazine. A New of the Nilla, Ganten. Ground, and Meadow Land at Battersea Rise, Surry The Freehold Estate of the late JOHN SEWELL, Esq. Which will be Sold by Auction by M. Smith, at Garraway's Coffee House on Wednesday the 23 March 1803. VESTIGES, COLLECTED AND RECOLLECTED, BY JOSEPH MOSER, ESQ SIR MATTHEW HALE. NUMBER VIII. HIS excellent Judge is truly esteemed to have been one of the most brilliant ornaments of his age and country, whether confidered in his profeffional or private capacity. It is a curious circumitance, that there is a work of his extant, though, I think, little read, viz." The Analyfis of the Law of England," which contains the skeleton, or rather effence, of our law, and the heads of which have the fame methodical arrangement afterwards fo fuccefffully adopted by Sir William Black ftone in his celebrated Commentaries, of which this fmall treatife evidently gave him the hint, and the principles of which, and of Sir Matthew Hale's "History of the Common Law," in the fame volume, he has, like its fyftem, introduced, expatiated upon, and interwoven with the more abundant matter of his larger work. Such an adoption, and adaptation, certainly reflects honour upon both parties; but it is nevertheless a pleafing fpeculation to trace works fupereminent for their celebrity, and, confequently, fupereminently ufeful, to their fources, as it fhews, in their pro. grefs, the progress of the human mind, and developes the avidity with which a man of genius feizes upon, and the mode by which he refines and improves a train of thought, a fyftem of science, congenial to his own ideas. The history of Sir Matthew Hale, who, after paffing through the fubordinate stations in the courts of law with the most extenfive profeffional reputation that perhaps any man in his time poffeffed, fucceeded Sir John Keeling as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1671, is fo well known, that a repetition of it would be fuperfluous. It may be fufficient to obferve, that befides his legal knowledge, which was most eminent, he was, as his works evince, confpicuous as a divine and a philofopher. His temper and his principles were equally firm, without the leaft tincture of afperity in either. His piety, purity of heart, and total difintereftedness, were traits of character which were, through the whole term of his existence, peculiarly obvious and which have been fo frequently recorded, and defcanted on, that they are blended with his idea, and, in a manner, identified with his very name! Yet it is extraordinary in a high degree, and, were it not upon legal record, it would be wholly incre dible, that when he was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a fingular and clumfy attempt was made to bribe this excellent man and incorruptible Magiftrate. With what? it might be afked. What immenfe fum of gold? What valt quantity of plate? or jewels? or what large annual revenue was offered to tempt him to fwerve from his integrity? The answer is, that nothing of the kind above stated was offered; a perfon concerned in a caufe pending before him, imagined, from the narrow fordid impulfe of his own mind, that he was to be bought at a cheaper rate, and therefore fent him two loaves of fugar*. The fact was this: At the Spring affizes for the county of Bucks, in the year 1668, before Sir Matthew Hale, then Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a bill of indictment was preferred against Robert Hawkins, Clerk, for a felony ftated to have been committed by him at Chilton, in the faid county, in ftealing from the dwelling-houfe of Henry Laurimore two gold rings, one holland apron, and two pieces of gold, his property. It is a little puzzling to think what the donor, however sweet he might imagine the Judge's tooth to have been, could fuppofe he could do with two loaves of fugar. while on the Circuit. It must, however, be observed, that, notwithstanding the great rife of the article in our time, loaf fugar was much dearer in the seventeenth century than at present, it being then efteemed in fome degree a curiofity. VOL. XLIII. FEB. 1803. N The The prifoner, it appeared in evidence, was the Minister of Chilton, and the profecutor a Diffenter, against whom the faid Minifter had brought an action in the Exchequer for tithes, in which he had obtained a verdict in his favour. In the course of this trial it also appeared moft clearly and unquestionably, that this was a malicious profecution, in confequence of a confpiracy betwixt the profecutor (Laurimore), Sir John Croke, and others, in order, as it was pofitively ftated, "to hang the ParJon." Upon this judicial inveftigation, the confpiracy was fo fully developed, that the Judge, fhocked at the circumstances of perjury that appeared, faid to the principal witnefs, Laurimose, Thou art a very villain.” To which he replied, "I wish, my Lord, the ground may open and fwallow me, if what I have fworn is falfe !" Lord Chief Baron. "Come, Laurimore! thou art a very villain, nay, I think that thou art a devil!" Prifoner. "I hope your Lordship and the Jury are by this time convinced, that Sir John Croke is concerned in the plot, for he appears all along to be the grand contriver." Lord Chief Baron. I am fully fatif fied, and fo, I think, are all that have heard the evidence." And he faid to the Juftices, Gentlemen, Where is Sir John Croke?" They replied, "He is gone." Lord Chief Baron. "Is Sir John Croke gone? I must not forget to acquaint you, Gentlemen; for I thought he had been here ftill; that this Sir John Croke fent me, this morning, two loaves of fugar, as a prefent, begging me to excufe his abfence yesterday. I did not know then, fo well as I do now, what he meant by them, but, to fave his credit, I fent them back again. Mr. Harvey, Did you not fend his fugar-loaves back again? Clerk of the Afize. "Yes, my Lord, they were fent back again.” Lord Chief Baron. "I cannot think Sir John Croke believes that the King's Juftices come into the country to take bries; I rather imagine it must be fome perfon, having a defign to put a trick upon him, fent them in his name." Upon this the Judge fhewed the letter that accompanied the fugar-loaves to the Juftices, and faid, "Gentlemen, Do you know this hand ?" To which fome of them replied, "that they be lieved it might be Sir John Croke's own hand." Which letter being compared with his mittimus (for he had no Cierk), and to fome other of his writings then in Court, it plainly and evidently appeared to be his own hand. So my Lord Chief Baron, putting the letter again into his bofom, faid, he would carry it to London; and further added, that he would relate the foulne's of this business as he faw occafion fit for it. Sir John Croke was afterwards ftruck out of the commiffion of the peace whether he fuffered any other punishment is uncertain. DUKE OF WHARTON. In opening a volume of the Hiftorical Register, for the year 1724, at the page which contained the fpeech of the Duke of Wharton in the House of Lords, May 15, 1723, against passing the Bill" for inflicting Pains and Penalties on the Bishop of Rochester," I found in it a written paper, evidently left by a former proprietor of the volume; and obferving it to be figned "I. Bingley," and alluding to the faid fpeech, I was induced to perufe the proceedings; in the course of which perufal I alfo found, that a perfon of the name of Bingley was examined on the part of the Bishop, who appears to have been a witness whofe teftimony, as ftated by the Duke, seems to have gone a good way toward the exculpation of the Prelate: at the fame time that the Duke pretty broadly implicates an honourable ferfon, whom, upon the authority of Nir. Neynoc, he "Neynoc told Bingley, that this honourable perfon had vowed defruction on the Bishop of Rochester, by faying, he would pull down the pride of this haughty Prelate."Hiflorical Regifler." Mr. Bingley and Mr. Stephen Neynoc, a young Irish Prieft, were feized at Deal, and brought prifoners to London, about the middle of September 1722. Neynic, being closely confined in the houfe of Mr. Crawford, the King's Meflenger, the |