[ ^o3 ] 



found, will be pleafcd with an ingenious memoire of Beau- 

 mur's in. the Academy of Sciences f. " Sur le fon que rend le 

 " plomb en quelques circonftances," with the obfervations of 

 Monf. Sauveur:]:. The memoire of Maupertius § upon mufical 

 inftruments — An excellent fet of experiments by M. L'Abbe 

 Nollet||, " Sur la tranfmiffion des fons dans I'eau ;" and a fhort 

 letter amongft the mifcellaneous papers of the judicious Franklin, 

 will probably be found ufeful. — Nor will any man of genius 

 negle£t the enthufiaftic predidions of our great philofopher Dodor 

 Hooke*. In his method of improving Natural Philofophy he 

 fpeaks of the inftruments which may be contrived to enlarge the 

 powers of our fenfes. He fubjoins to what he fays on the fenfe 

 of hearing the following apology : 



" Methinks I can hardly forbear to blufh when I confider- 

 " how mofl people will look upon this, but yet again I have 

 " this encouragement, though thefe things be never fo much 

 " derided by the generality of men, and never fo feemingly mad, 

 " foolifh, or phantaftical, that as the thinking them impoflible can- 

 *' not much improve my knowledge, fo the believing them pof- 

 *' fible may perhaps be an occafion of my taking notice of fuch . 

 " things as another would pafs by as ufelefs." 



This is not enthufiafm,^ but found fenfe ; — men of enlarged 

 i minds admit univerfal toleration for conjedure and theories, be- 



caufe 



+ M. 1726, page 243. 464. J Hiftoire 1701, page 25. 



J Memoires-1724, page 315. II Memoires 174!, page 199. 



• Dodlor Hqoke's Pofthumous Works. 



