180.5.] Review of New Muftcal PuhUcationt. 



335 



A nioft exfraordinarv hypothtfis has 

 been made h>' M. Wittf, a German 

 writer, relaiive to the oilgin of the pyra- 

 mids of Egypt, an(i the ruins of Palmyra. 

 The p) rai^itls, according to this gtntle- 

 man, are nothing but ihe ert',i5l> ot cer- 

 tain vckanic eruptions, and the relics of 

 certain i<vo!uion< of our e'ohe, with 

 wh'ch we are unacquainted. This he 

 pretends to pr.n'c by a two told analogy, 

 namely, by liic reia:ions wliich certain 

 moaumentj at Peilepolis, Palmyra, L'c, 

 have to f-ach o'hcr, and their rcfcnrihUiice 

 ro voilcanic pr.idtiMiors as well in genn"! 

 as indivi iiaHy. He quotes Defmarelf and 

 Fatijas >e S<int Fond j he emleavoins to 

 fupport his sn'tjrtions by the column of 

 bafaltes of RochemAnre, the red re k. of 

 Landriar, in the Velay, the wall of balal- 

 tes of Mount Janjcac, in the Vivarais, 

 &c. With leg^rd to the exrerinr con- 

 Itruftionaiid interior (orm of the pyramids, 

 he enters into ihr mo(f minute deiads, and 

 reconciles tncm all to his hyp:thtHs. .He 

 makes everything, not excepting even the 

 labyrinth, the catacombs, the inl'crip- 

 tions; ihe entire ruins of Palmyra and 

 Balbec, aiethe refuhs of volcanic explo- 

 fions, or f'jme levoluiitn of the globe; 

 and the lake Ma-ris is no hiiig but the 

 mouth by which the volcan.es foimeriy 

 bclciied forih fire and flames. In a !'e- 

 cond w' rk, publifhcd by M. Wn te, in 

 defence of his hypi^thefis, he proves that, 

 with great learning and a (pirit of rclearch, 



it is poffible to defend a great abfurdity 

 with much ingenuity. He goes fu far as 

 to maintain, that if the pyiaimds are rot 

 of bar;ilies, and if it were pofhble to prove 

 tiiat they aie not a volcanic prcdnfticn, 

 ftiU his hypo'hefis would not be oveiiurn- 

 ed i that, to dei'roy it, it w. uld be necel- 

 fary to demcnttrate that thei'e pvramids 

 aie not a£f ually a produfiion ot nature. 

 He adds, it mull not be forgotten that he 

 has judged in this inffance only by ana- 

 logy; that is, by the rei'emblaiice of the 

 fime caufcs to ^he tame effciSfs, wiihout 

 cv iifining hiralelf to geological or mine- 

 ra logical proofs. 



Tiie catalogue of the Leipzig Eafler 

 fair confiderably exceeds that ot laft year. 

 E:>iler, it is true, t;ok phce a fortnight 

 later than in 1804., and during that pe- 

 riod ihepreflfes were undouhte.ily not idle, 

 fo that the number of woiki that would he 

 announced as ready for delivery was expell- 

 ed tofurpafsti'.at of the preceding) ear; but 

 probably no perfon w uld iiave lufpeifed 

 that this difrc-rence could an.ount to 1092. 

 This ob.'ervaticn relates only to works in 

 German and in Latin printed in Germany. 

 The total number of works in ihoi'e lan- 

 giiaces, comprized in this catalogue, is 

 37:37, that of woiks in foreign languages 

 3(3, making a total of 4100 The num- 

 ber of bo.ikl'ellers who turnifhed aiticles 

 for this fair amounts to 380, of whom 

 there are very few who have not publifhed 

 at leaft one or two new works. 



REVIEW OF NEW MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



Thorough- Bcjs fimplijied, or the -whole Theory 

 and Pracike of Thcrough B.ifs lad open to 

 the meancft C^ipaaty. ° By Joje^-h Co,Je. 

 lOi. dd. 



THIS nfeful wo'k embraces all the 

 pii.'cipal p. ints necelfary to the at- 

 tention of the young ituilent in th-rough- 

 bafs. The method'cf initruilion ad pted 

 by Mr, Curfe is the molt eafy and fami- 

 liar that we have yet met with, amide 

 rives much advantage from tlie firnplicity 

 of the language ard examphs by which 

 the n.-.tureand origin of the icvcral cho<d* 

 and fiuiires are explained, as well a from 

 the j.idiciotis fcleflion of exerci.es Irotri 

 Hiidel, Corelli, Geminiani, Taiiini, 

 Sacciiini, and other great malfers. It u 

 true that we have abundant elaborate and 



learned treatifes on thorough- bafs ; but we 

 were (till in want cf a wtik of the naure 

 and upon the plan of the prefent ; a work 

 accommodated to the ule of amateurs, and 

 calculated, by its free and lucid ftyle, not 

 only to facilitate the progrels of the pupil 

 as far as it goes, but to tempt him fur- 

 iher into that knoA/Jedge without a certain 

 poition of vhich muUc can never be pro- 

 duced, well peiformed, or properly en- 

 joyed. 



Pu'ceWs. or the Weljh G'cund, with Ore Hun- 

 dred t^'ariations for the Grand Piano Fo<-te, 

 <iutitti:n f r the Impi 1 vemei.t of the Finger j 

 by W. Hou'gill, of Ifhileba-ven. 31. 



Thefe variatii ns are, f.u" thirmoft purl, 



written wiib judgment and fpir'it, and can- 



y y a not 



