624 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, [aNNO 174g. 



21. Ten small pieces of Roman ceremonies, with many figures : some eating, 

 dancing, making love; others tied like prisoners. 



22. Eight small Cupids in different attitudes and different paces. Very good. 



23. A pheasant and other birds; two small baskets, one tumbled down; a 

 rabbit eating. Exquisitely done. 



24. Two naked figures, with Cupid between. 



25. A figure in the attitude of a warrior, with a sword in his right hand, a 

 buckler in his left, and a cup with some jewels at his feet. 



26. A large piece of architecture, which, looked at near, seems rough and 

 daubing, at a distance very good perspective. You see quite through 2 porticos, 

 one above another, into a palace or church. Very curious architecture, colours 

 very lively and fresh. 



27. A landscape with houses, ruins, a theatre. Good architecture; figures of 

 pheasants, mules loaded, &c. 



28. Another piece of architecture and perspective, very good. 



A great many other figures of men and women, not easy to be described, be- 

 cause pretty much defaced : also many fancies of birds, beasts, chariots drawn by 

 different animals, children driving; all in small. 



Little pieces of landscapes, and other ornaments for the walls of their houses, 

 which were painted mostly of a yellowish colour; divided into squares or panels; 

 with those pieces of painting in the panel, and a border round it. There is a 

 very good piece of ornament or cornice, that was on the picture of Theseus, of 

 a very good taste, and finely finished.* 



Of a New Invented Arithmetical Instrument called a Shwan-pan, or Chines^ 

 Account Table. By Gamaliel Smethurst, N° 401, p. 22. 



The Chinese have for many ages piqued themselves on being the wisest nation 

 in the world; but late experience and closer converse with them have found this 

 pride to be ill-grounded. One particular, in which they think they excel all 

 mankind, is their manner of counting, which they do with an instrument com- 

 posed of a number of wires with beads on them, which they move backwards and 

 forwards. This instrument they call a shwan-pan. But Mr. S. thinks he has 

 formed one on the plan of our 9 numbers, that in no case falls short of the 

 Chinese shwan-pan, but in many excels it. 



The Chinese, according to the accounts of travellers, are so happy as to have 

 their parts of an integer in their coins, &c. decimated, so can multiply or divide 

 their integers and parts as if they were only integers. This gives them the ad- 

 -yantage over Europeans in reckoning their money, &c. But then, as they have 

 i". . 



• See accounts of this subterraneous city (Herculaneura) in these Trans. N" 456, 458. 



