300 JYotices of Eminent Men deceased in Great Britain. 



of course upon its distance from the eye. Now it is well known that 

 since the specific gravity of watery vapor (at common temperatures) is 

 less than that of the air, it will ascend from the surface of the earth, 

 until the decrease in the density and temperature of the atmosphere 

 causes it to remain suspended in equilibrio ; and this it may do too, in 

 quantities insufficient to destroy the azure of the sky. From these facts, 

 we may very naturally conclude that (the medium of the atmosphere 

 representing the glass,) the refraction caused by the particles of water, 

 suspended at a great distance in the air, will produce all the appear- 

 ances indicated by experiment. 



And it may be observed further, that the size and brightness of 

 the halo will depend upon the distance of the vapor from the earth, 

 and the quantity of it suspended in the air. 



Art. XIII. — JYoiices of Eminent Men deceased in Great Britain. 



1. J. S. Miller,* A. L. S. Curator of the M.useum of the Bris- 

 tol Philosophical Institution, was a native of Dantzig, the only son 

 of truly respectable parents. He was designed by his father for 

 commercial pursuits, and served an apprenticeship with M, Dennies, 

 a merchant of his native town. He came to England in 1801, with 

 a full resolution of proceeding to America, and with letters of re- 

 commendation to persons in that country. The vessel in which he 

 expected to cross the Atlantic had sailed on the day before his arrival 5 

 and being thus detained in Bristol, he formed connections by which 

 he was finally induced to alter his purpose and to fix his abode in 

 this city. Here he endeavored to establish himself in mercantile 

 business, but his efforts were .unsuccessful ; and it happened, unfor- 

 tunately for his prospects in life, that Dantzig was at this period over- 

 run and pillaged by the French. His father's property shared the 

 common fate 5 and of fifteen hundred pounds which had been left 

 to Mr. Miller, nothing ever came into his possession except a box of 

 valuable coins, which was concealed during two years in a church, 

 and a very inconsiderable sum of money. He now devoted himself 

 entirely to scientific pursuits, for which he had shown a strong incli- 

 nation from his early youth, and he soon acquired very extensive in- 



■ Fhil. Msg. for January, 1S31. 



