the apology for Mr. Alison's admiring a statue, any effect in the imitation of other things in hard materials, which, he says, are such as to deceive us into a belief of reality, which a statue can never impress. Mr. Alison also asserts; that a bar of iron, twisted into the most perfect spiral form, is beautiful, but that the conviction of the force and labour employed, destroys the beauty of the form. Yet, he says, that this same bar of iron reduced, by a far greater amount of force and labour, to the state of fine wire, restores beauty. But according to his own principles, the more delicate the wire, the more should the expression of delicacy be obliterated, by the conviction of the increasing force and labour employed.

March 17th. Sir George Mackenzie continued his observations on the theory of association. He stated that after this evening, he would not occupy the attention of the Society any longer, during the present session, with the subject of taste; and that he hoped to submit his ideas in a better shape than that in which he had offered them; and also what he proposed to substitute for the existing theories of taste, to the deliberate attention of philosophers, at some future time. He then proceeded to offer some remarks on architectural objects, with the view to show that forms of this kind produce their full effect on the mind at once, without a moment being allowed for reflection, or for commeneing any train of thought in search of associations. No one, he observed, ever thought of ascribing beauty to the exterior of a building which was plain and irregular, and without any particular arrangement, although the interior might be exceedingly commodious, and richly furnished: nor of ascribing ugliness to the elevation of a Grecian structure, the interior of which presented neither convenience nor splendid decoration. It would be absurd to say that on entering a city we were not at liberty to admire the elevations of the houses, without troubling the inhabitants with unseasonable visits, in order to show our devotion to the minute associations, which were supposed to be necessary to constitute beauty. He appealed to the individuals who first invented any style of architecture, and challenged the advocates of association to show that this individual, when he invented what we so much admire, constructed the forms out of

any impulse but that of his own innate faculties. He felt certain proportions and dimensions to be better calculated to excite emotions of pleasure than all others; to him they were irresistible, and he reduced them to practice; and to us any alteration gives offence from the same cause, not from any fanciful associations.

The beauty of the human countenance had been attributed to the expressions of youth and health; of innocence, gayety, sensibility, intelligence, delicacy, and vivacity. To this Sir George replied, that this implied as much as if we could not tell whether a woman was young and healthy, unless her face was beautiful; which is absurd. He said it was presumptuous to appropriate all these qualities exclusively to beautiful women, when we know that they were all in equal possession of homely females. Vice, according to the principles of the theory, ought to destroy female beauty, in the same manner as the idea of force and labour was said to destroy the beauty of an imitation of any thing. But vice, the most 'disagreeable association that could be attached to a female, never altered our opinion of beauty. The goddess of beauty herself is described as a strumpet and adulteress : yet we look upon her statue, said Sir George, as a model of perfection in the female form. Pretty idiots, he observed, were more common than ugly ones; and female geniuses have been known, whose faces no man could consider beautiful. Such associations as those to which, it had been said, that the female countenance owed its beauty, were therefore impossible, or at best fanciful; unless beautiful women were the patentees of youth, health, innocence, &c.

It would be difficult to give any distinct account of what Sir George said on the subject of colour; epecially as he mentioned that he had been obliged to abridge and disarrange bis remarks, in order that he might have time to say a few words also on sound. It is scarcely fair, therefore, to say any thing of this part of the essay. There is one part of it, however, which may be noticed. Sir George stated, that it is contrary to the true principles of reasoning, to explain the taste of one person, by means of any peculiarity in the taste of another, or want of it. There were individuals,

and nations, so fond of mere colour, that, without attending to any particular arrangement, they decorated themselves, their houses, every thing around them, with glowing colours. There were others who had the power of discerning harmony in colours; but it was illegitimate to argue that, because one man daubs every thing about him with bright colours, there was no such thing as harmony of colour; which has been done, however, by the writer in the Encyclopædia. On the same principles it might be said, that there was no enjoyment in moderate eating or drinking, because there were gluttons and drunkards. Pink was not beautiful, because it was the colour of a rose, or the cheeks of a young woman. There are white roses, yellow roses, and some red and white, and red and yellow. Therefore there is no necessary connexion between pink and a rose. There is youth in a Morisco woman, and a negress; why, in their cheeks, is not olive and black beautiful? as the beauty of the female countenance is not necessarily connected with innocence; hence a pink cheek, a part of that beauty, is not necessarily typical of purity of mind. Sir George had heard of a certain configuration of a red nose, called a strawberry nose; but on that account he could never consider the nose as beautiful, nor had he been cured of his predilection for strawberries by this filthy association. If green be beautiful because it is the colour of grass, grass must have some quality which renders its colour pleasing; and the same quality must be shown to belong to the emerald and to the feathers of a parrot, which is impossible.

The same apology must be made for our imperfect account of what Sir George said with regard to sound. That there was something in simple sound which affected us agreeably or disagreeably, without the help of association, Sir George illustrated by the fact, that we do not choose musical instruments without trying the quality of their sound. A bell must have a fine ring; a piano-forte a fine tone; an organ a good voice; otherwise we reject them. Any piece of cat-gut will produce a given note when put upon a violin; but a performer is very nice in his choice of strings. Agreeable sounds are not necessarily connected with agreeable associations; and

disagreeable sounds often remind us of what is pleasing. The same bell announces good news, and that a friend is on his way to the grave. Sir George mentioned that he had always been very fond of the sound of thunder, and that he still enjoyed it as much and even more than ever, though he had been in great danger from lightning.

Music, Sir George observed, is addressed to our feelings, in most cases: and hence every piece of music is not universally admired; for some have different feelings from others, and one feeling stronger than another. But music can please without being so addressed. Sir George mentioned the case of one of his children who had shown a very early disposition for music. This child takes likings to particular tunes, and always asks for his favourites. It is impossible that at an age between three and four years, a child can form associations. Sir George was convinced, however, that there is some character in particular pieces of music which harmonize with the child's natural dispositions. Sir George concluded, by observing that, though he would not at present attempt to demonstrate it, he was convinced that the connexion which seemed to subsist between music and our natural dispositions, originated in the law of our nature, which appropriates certain intonations of voice to the expression of certain feelings. It was a splendid instance of the power and of the beneficence of the Creator, his having enabled us, out of seven simple sounds, with the aid of time, to range our enjoyment to an extent infinite and inconceivable.

ART. XV. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Institute of France.

Sept. 16th. OUR former account of this meeting was incom

plete, in consequence of the hurry of our correspondent to send it off for publication. The following works were presented to the Academy:

Philosophical Transactions for 1816. Part I.

A Treatise on the Economy of Fuel. By Robertson Buchanan, Esq. Glasgow, 1 vol. 8vo.

Traduction complete de l'Almageste de Ptolomée, par l'Abbé Halma. M. Delambre was charged to give an account of this work to the class.

Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes, Historique, 2me Partie, par M. Freycinet. 1 vol. 4to. Atlas.

Programme des Prix de l'Academie de Dijon.

The Secretary Delambre read a report on a memoir of Mons. Caddel, "On the Lines which divide each Semidiurnal Arc into Six Equal Parts."

Baron Larrey read a memoir, "Sur les Effets des Balles perdues dans la Cavité du Thorax," as a continuation of his researches relative to the operation for empyema. MM. Pelletan and Deschamps were appointed commissioners for an account of this paper.

M. Chambon read a memoir, "Sur le Systême des Agricul teurs qui forment plusieurs Essaims avec les Abeilles d'une seule Ruche." MM. Bose and Latreille appointed to examine it.

MM. Hauy and Ampère were named for the purpose of examining a memoir of Mons. Opoix, of which the title alone. was read by the secretary, being "L'Ame dans la veille et dans le Sommeil." Adjourned.

Sept. 22d. Messrs. Gay Lussac and Arago took their seats, on their return from England.

The last volume of the Mémoires de l'Academie de Petersbourg was presented, and a letter read, accompanying a bottle of indelible ink, from Mons. Aymez. M. Thenard was named one of the commissioners to examine the latter.

Professor Hallé read a report on the memoir of Mons. Majendie, already alluded to in the Journal of Science, respecting nutrition and the presence of azote in animals. The reporter, who seems to favour Mons. Majendie, doubts the veracity of certain writers, who assert, that there have been persons who have lived on substances not containing azote, such as sugar, oil, gum, &c. He particularly questions the instance, generally quoted, of the caravan; as it is probable, according to