Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 403 



monia has the curious property of being spontaneously convertible, 

 at common temperatures, into insoluble antimoniate ; all the speci- 

 mens which M. Fremy prepared underwent this change. 



Crystalline and perfectly dry meta-antimoniate of ammonia was 

 put into well-corked bottles : after a lapse of some days, the crystals 

 had become slightly moist and farinaceous ; they had completely 

 lost their solubility in water, and were converted into antimoniate. 



The formula representing this salt is Sb* O 5 , Az H 3 , HO, 4HO ; it 

 differs from the meta-antimoniate of ammonia by containing two 

 equivalents less of water. 



The author concludes from his experiments that there exist two anti- 

 monic acids, requiring different quantities of base to form neutral salts. 



The bi-meta-antimoniates are isomeric with the neutral antimo- 

 niates ; these two classes of salts are readily distinguished from each 

 other ; the first precipitates the salts of soda and the second does 

 not. — Ann. de Ch. et de Phys., Aout 1848. 



GRESHAM COLLEGE. 



"Of Gresham College it may be truly said that no foundation of 

 the present day is based upon more liberal and comprehensive prin- 

 ciples. The first of these is, that instruction in different sciences 

 should be given gratuitously to all who wish to receive it : the 

 second, that the professors be chosen with a sole regard to their 

 character and attainments, and without any reference to their attach- 

 ment to, or dissent from, the established church. The boundaries of 

 science have been largely widened since Gresham's time ; but there 

 is nothing in his will to limit the range of his professors, or to prevent 

 any addition to their number. The professor of geometry may em- 

 brace the entire subject of practical mechanics, or the professor of 

 physic may lecture on chemistry, botany, or physiology. 



" Up to the year 1768, the professors resided and lectured at the 

 spacious mansion of Sir Thomas Gresham in Broad Street, There 

 Briggs, Barrow, Hook, Gunter, Sir William Petty, and Sir Christo- 

 pher Wren, gave their lectures as professors of the College : there 

 Newton, Boyle, Halley, and other eminent men of science joined 

 them, and formed the Royal Society, which continued to meet for 

 fifty years under its roof. The rents and profits of the Royal Ex- 

 change were bequeathed by Gresham for the support of his College, 

 the trustees being the Corporation of London, and the members of 

 the Mercers' Company. 



" It will hardly be believed that such an institution, beneficial to 

 all, burdensome to none, should have been destroyed by an act of 

 parliament. But so it was. The means employed to effect this 

 barbarous and nefarious transaction are not known, and can only be 

 conjectured. The result is, that the government of the present day 

 possesses a site in the most valuable part of London, equal in size 

 to that covered by the Bank of England, for about 150/. per year. 

 Meanwhile the professors were driven to lecture in a small room in 

 the Royal Exchange. Every motive to exertion was destroyed, 

 since any endeavour to assemble an audience in a room of such 

 scanty dimensions would have been absurd. In such circumstances, 



