[ 321 J 



L. On the alleged Plagiarisms of Frenchmen: on theOriginality 

 of the musical Instrument called the Sirene; and on the Pitch 

 and Scale, of the Notes of a French Standard Harmonica, 

 v^hich are said to have been ascertained thereby. By Mr. 

 John Farey Sen. 



To Mr.Tilhch. 



S^Rj — -It has been to me a subject of poignant regret to learn, 

 from several intelligent Englishmen who have visited Paris or 

 travelled in France in search of vsefril information, that an ex* 

 ceedingly small proportion only, of any of the ranks or classes in 

 society in France, understand ourLanguage,sufficiently to converse 

 therein ; and that in consequence, those of our countrymen who 

 cannot speak French, and are unaccompanied by a friend who 

 does so, fluently, do little more than lose their time and spend 

 their money, when they cross the English'Channel, with the view 

 of acquiring the information to which I have alluded. 



It is to this general distaste, which, if I mistake not. French- 

 men in general have, to the study of any modern language but 

 their own, except perhaps the Italian and German, amongst the 

 superior and scientific classes, and not more so to our language, 

 than those of others of the nations who surround them, that I 

 wish, in candour, to attribute, the many instances of apparent 

 plagiarism and of literary injustice, as to the discoveries and writ- 

 ings of our countrymen, in the sciences and useful arts, which are 

 complained of in our journals, against Frenchmen * : and this re- 

 mark I wish in particular to apply to the Baron Cagniard de la 

 Tour's account, translated into pages 293 and 294 of your last 

 Number, of the Instrument which hedenominatestheSfrene; being 

 wilhng to suppose, that the Baron had never read, or perhaps 

 heard of. Dr. Robison's account in the Supplement to the third 



edition 



• A memoir of the late James Watt, esq. was, as it since has appeared, 

 written by Mr. fVilUam Playfair, for the New Monlkhj Magazine, and has 

 thence been transferred into your last volume ; at page 44i5 Mr. P. has 

 therem, without regard to truth or propriety of language, charged M. de 

 h-rony with gross and wilful injustice to Mr. Watt, a^3 to his improvements 

 of the Stcam-Engine, as my Son has (although by mistake you omitted to 

 place Junior Aher his Name) in p. 110 of your present volume, shown, by 

 quoting the passages from M. de Frony's Work, wherein due acknotvkdgu. 

 menu are made of Mr. Watt's claims : notwithstanding which, and without 

 noUcing these extracts, Mr. P. has, in another Work, viz. the original 

 Monthly Magazine, for the present month, p. 322, in language not less un- 

 justifiable, repeated his attackt on M, de Prony, grounding the same now, 

 r"""P*"y on a conversation which he alleges to have held with Mr. W. 

 in IHIO or 181 1 :— in answer to which I beg, in the absence of my t^on to 



Vol. 55. No. 2(J5. May 1820. C c »tnte. 



