266 Notices refpeEllng Neu/ Books. 



have (liown their fimilarity to that celebrated alphabet which 

 the Indians call divine or celcftial {deva-nagari), becaufe 

 they believe that it was communicated by the Deity himfelf 

 in a voice from heaven ; and I have tried to prove that they 

 were not derived from heaven, but from our earth, and from 

 the borders of the Euphrates. I have confirmed my afll'ertion 

 bv means of the Tibetan charafters, thofe acknowledt^ed de- 

 fcendants of the Indian ones, and thus endeavoured to in- 

 validate the opinion of that great amiquity and boafted ori- 

 ginality of the Bramins," 



In a future Number we fliall give a further extract from 

 this curious work : in the mean time we prefent our readers 

 with a fpecimen of the infcriptions. (See Plate VIII.) 



MEDICINE. 



Profeffor Schumacher, of Copenhagen, has publiflied the 

 firft volume of his Medico-chirurgical Obfervations. As 

 the author attends an hofpital, he had occafion to make 

 curious remarks worthv of confidence. His zeal induced him 

 to fubftitute in his praftice the ufe of indigenous for that of 

 foreign plants. He has employed the gratiola inllead of ipe- 

 cacuanha. In fuch cafes when this plant docs not produce its 

 efteft, he recommends aflifting it with the addition of a little 

 rhubarb, ffe has difcovered that, in woimds and ulcers at- 

 tended with int^ammation, the cortex h'lppocajlam or cortex 

 fallen produces the fame effedrt as cortex penw'imius, which is 

 far dearer. The carex arenar'ia, alfo, may be fubllituted for 

 farfaparilla. It refults from the author's experiments, that 

 the fahcc picburlm are an efficacious remedy for the whites ; 

 efpecially when the difeafe is inveterate, and arifes from 

 weakiiefs. 



Dr. Tode, of Copenhagen, continues alfo, with fuccefs, his 

 Medico-chirurgical Di6lionary. In the firlt number of the 

 fifth volume the author informs the faculty that a foetus of 

 199 davs is fiifceptible of being brought into the world alive, 

 but without all the fymptoms of pcrfeft conformation, and 

 without being in a ftate to prolong its exitience. 



MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. 



Citizen Bellock, a French phyfician, has lately publirtied 

 a work entitled Legal arid Judicial Medicine. The obje6t 

 of this work is to inquire how far medical knowledge may 

 be ufetuUy emi)loyed in legal inveftigations. The author 

 has treated the iubjeft with much ability, and with all that 

 cautious pyrrhothfrn fo neceflary in an inquiry of fuch im- 

 portance. Among the points he difcufles we fliall notice the 



following : 



