72 
POPULAR SCIENCE ItEYIE'W. 
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.* 
T HE book now before ns is an English rendering of the French work pub- 
lished a few years since in Paris, and written by M. A. P. Peschaud. 
Professor Everett, D.C.L., the teacher of Natural Philosophy in Queen’s 
College, Belfast, has rendered it in English, and it has now appeared in its 
first part — that which is devoted to mechanics, hydrostatics, and pneumatics. 
We should have thought that there were sufficient works on this subject in 
England without the introduction of a French volume. We could name at 
least half-a-dozen which we think we could prove to be quite as excellent 
as M. Deschaud’s treatise; but then that is nothing; a very slight defer- 
ence is sufficient, to the mind of a professor in a new chair, who desires to 
make himself known to the world, to induce him to introduce a new work. 
We suppose that really the amount of difference between the present work 
and any of the various treatises which exist already, is, to the reader, ex- 
tremely small, however great it may seem to the translator. But the trans- 
lator is the person responsible, and he introduces the work. However, we 
may merely call attention to the book as a very good one, and we suppose 
our thanks are due to the gentleman who has introduced it into England. 
His own work has not been extremely heavy, but, as far as it has gone, 
it is good, though rendered here and there in a less simple style than we 
think might have been adopted. The book has many excellent illustra- 
trations, and is remarkably well printed. Why it has been issued in a 
flexible cover we fail to see, though doubtless there are good reasons in the 
publisher’s mind. 
THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE.f 
A GAIN ! A work on Biblical truth. Year after year some one comes 
forward to support the Bible against men of science, and we humbly 
ask the reason why ? Do scientific men engage their attention in writing 
against Biblical records ? Do Lyell and Huxley, or Murchison and Hooker, 
take the trouble to write huge books against the Bible, that it finds so many 
to support it ? Or is it that Church of England clergymen, with little of 
scientific knowledge, and with a courage proportionate to their ignorance, 
are anxious to make what they can by their penmanship ? We fear this 
has something to do with it ; for we do not, we think, find that those who 
are conversant with the study of science are, as a rule, the most ready to 
rush into the field, prepared to hold a particular view of the Bible. No ; on 
the contrary. It is some country curate, gifted with abundance of time, 
learned in a few books, and worshipped by a number of old ladies, who lays 
* “ Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy.” By A. Privat Des- 
chaud. Translated and edited by J. D. Everett, M.A., D.C.L., Professor of 
Natural Philosophy in Queen’s College, Belfast. Part I. London : 
Blackie. 1870. 
t “ The Truth of the Bible ; Evidence from the Mosaic and other Records 
of Creation ; the Original Antiquity of Man,” &c., by the Rev. Bour- 
chier Wrey Savile, M.A., Curate of Coombe. London: Longmans. 1871. 
