DR. DARWIN. 239 



living thing which breathes the air it taints 

 within a diameter of fifteen miles! what 

 furious dragon, even from the pen of Dr. 

 Darwin, but lofes it's terrors before this 

 ftill, this ghaftly defolation ! 



The profe narration, taken from the 

 London Magazine, is inferted in the clofe 

 of the additional notes to the Loves of the 

 Plants. It has fuch an air of fimple ve- 

 racity, that we do violence to our feelings 

 when, on reflection, we refufe to give it 

 credit. The gum of this tree is there 

 afferted to be of high price, and ufed to 

 envenom the Indian arrows; that it is 

 procured by Criminals under fentence of 

 death, who redeem their lives if they can 

 bring from the Upas a box of it's gum ; 

 an experiment of immenfe hazard, fince 

 the poffibility of returning depends upon 

 the perpetually veering winds blowing a 

 fteady gale towards the tree as the delin- 

 quent approaches it, in a progrefs of at 



z 2, leaft 



