t, ANiMALCtJLA OF INFUSIONS. ig$ 



LETTER I. 



My Solitude <, I J January I'jji^ 

 Three of your letters, my illuflrious friend, are 

 before me ; the firft dated 23 November, the fe- 

 cond 20 December, and the third 6 January. 

 I owe you a long anfwer, efpecially to the fecond, 

 for it is an exuberant folio replete with new fa£ts, 

 on which it is impoflible to bellow too much fe- 

 fle£tion. How much your interefting details 

 have delighted me cannot be defcribed, nor could 

 I refolve to engrofs the whole to myfelf. MelT- 

 Trembley and De SauiTure have participated iii 

 the pleafure, and both have been equally fatisfied ; 

 they defire many compliments, with mofl fmcere 

 wifiies to you. Their applaufe was certain ; and 

 having traverfed thefe unknown regions, they are 

 the bed judges of your difcoveries. We all three 

 coincide refpe£iing your letter, and join in the 

 jufl eulogiums v/hich your ingenuity, accuracy, 

 and correct reafoning merit fo well. Some Ideas, 

 fcxcited by that interefling epiftle, were communis 

 cated to thefe intelligent obfervers, and appeared 

 to give them fatisfadion. I could have wifhed 

 that theirs had been communicated in return, but 

 M. Trembley delays until nature fpeaks in more 

 intelligible language ; and M. de SaufTure till he 

 has repeated the experiments. Therefore I ihall 

 alone run over the principal articles of ) our 

 N 2 curio li!^ 



