_ t 
Chap. V. Hungary, Thessaly, Macedonia, 789 
from his Superabundance, which hinder’d him from 
difcerning that what was extremely clear to him, 
might be very dark notwithftanding to Perfons of lefs 
general Knowledge, and to fuch as had not found an 
Ooportunity of confidering particular Subjedls in fuch 
a Light, as to be able to underftand the Hints he 
gives about them. 
As for Inlfance, what he fays of the Miners Com- 
pafs, feems to ftand in Need of Explanation. They 
work, fays he, towards One, Two, or Three of the 
Clock ; for the Miners differs from the Mariners Com- 
pafs, being not divided into thirty-two, but into twen- 
ty-four Points. This is very true, not only in regard 
to the Hungarian and German Mines, but with relpeft 
to our own Coal Mines, where, if you ask any of the 
Workmen about the Courfe of the Veins, they anfwer 
you, that it dips towards Six o’Clock ; which is utterly 
unintelligible to common People. The Truth of the 
Matter is, that the Miners and Mariners Compafs 
is founded upon different Principles, though I very 
much doubt, whether a Method might not be found 
of ufing the Mariners Compafs to very great Advan- 
tage in Mines ; but at prefent we have not Room to 
infifl upon this, and lhall therefore content ourfelves 
with obferving, that in the Miners Compafs the upper 
Twelve o’clock anfwers to the Meridian of the Place 
yvhere the Mine is, and from thence the Hours are 
mark’d on each of the Semicircles ; fo that Six o’Clock 
makes a Quadrant on each Side, and each of the Hour 
Lines is diftant from the other fifteen Degrees ; fo that 
in Fad, the Miners Compafs is a Kind of Dial, and 
when they fay they have worked to fuch an Hour, they 
mean that they work to fuch a Point as the Sun bears 
from them at the Time of the Day which they men- 
tion. 
There is another Paffage in thefe Travels, which de- 
ferves alfo to be infifted upon, and that is, the Hint 
given by the Author about the vaft Advantages that 
might arife to the Houfe of Aujlria^ from the Pradice 
of a philofophical Secret ; in fhort, his own Experi- 
ence had convinced him, that the Vitriolate Springs 
really and effedually changed Iron into Copper ; from 
whence he inferr’d, that Springs might be found in 
the Silver Mines, which might have the like Effed 
with refped to Copper, Or rather with regard to Cop- 
per Ore, which might poffibly be managed in fuch a 
Manner, as to difpofe it to fuch a noble Change ; for 
the Dodor obferves, that not the belt, but the worfl: 
Iron anfwered the former Experiment moft effedually ; 
for which many Reafons might be given ; but as what 
we have already faid will fully anfwer the End we pro- 
pofed, and let the Reader fully into the Senfe of what 
the Author delivers in the following remarkable Words, 
we fliall dwell upon it no longer. 
“ The Profit which the Emperor makes by his 
Mines, fays he, is reckoned to amount to an hun- 
“ dred and twenty thoufand Pounds Sterling, yearly. 
But when they come to deal with deeper and richer 
“ Veins of Ore, and that there fhall be by Degrees 
« more of thefe Vitriolate Copper Springs difcover’d, 
“ this Revenue will be then increafed. And it is more 
than probable, that Time will bring more of them 
‘‘ to Light ; for at Zolnoch, and other Places near the 
‘‘ Carpathian Hills, there are divers of the fame Springs 
already made Ufe of. But if, furthermore, confi- 
“ dering the Noblenefs of thefe Springs, containing in 
“ them the true mature Salt of Venus^ fome Perfons 
‘‘ hereafter fliall be fo fortunate, as moreover to difco- 
“ ver and experimentally improve the Ufe of Springs 
VoL. II. N° 123. 
“ and Fountains faturated with a Vitriolum Luncs, and 
‘‘ learn perfedly how to adapt metalline Bodies to the 
“ adequate Energy and A6livity of fuch Waters ; the 
“ Improvement by Tranfmutadon, as it is at p'refent 
“ more than ten to one, fo it will in thofe Days amount 
“ to above a hundred to one ; and the Ufe of thefe 
“ Mines and metalline Labours may hereby elfeflually 
“ prove, in Times to come, one of the richeft Jewels 
“ in the Imperial Crown.” 
We are now to take our Leave of Dr. Edward 
Browne and his Travels, with which we fhall clofe this 
Se6lion, this Chapter, and this Book. We fliall, in- 
deed, in the firfl: Chapters of the next, be obliged to 
enter into the Defcription of feveral Parts of Europe ; 
but as the Travels included in thofe Chapters relate 
chiefly to Afta ; and as it would have been very diffi- 
cult to divide them, without breaking the Thread of 
the Difcourfe, and thereby deflroying tKe Connexion 
between its Parts, we judged it better to involve all 
fuch Travels in the Third Book. The Reader will ob- 
ferve, the Ufes which may 'be made of this ColleClion 
are not only much more numerous, but more excellent 
alfo in their Nature, than thofe which refult from any 
Kind of G eographical Performance, how accurately fo- 
ever performed, becaufe we do npt dwell upon the Su- 
perficies, but go to the very Bottom of Things ; and 
in the Accounts that we have given of the feveral Parts 
of Europe^ we have taken all imaginable Care to treat 
fuccindlly of what appeared trivial, and to be more co- 
pious upon Points of real Ufe, and which contribute to 
the Improvement of folid Knowledge. If we had 
been allowed more Room, we fhould doubtlefs have 
anfwered all Purpofes better ; but we have made the 
bell Ufe of what we had, and we may fafely affirm, 
that no Colleftion of this Kind has, fo far as we have 
already gone, treated every Country we have menti- 
oned more fully, or given the judicious Perufer an Op- 
portunity of underftanding its pafl; and prefent State 
more clearly. 
It fliall be our Study to execute what is to come in 
the fame Manner, fo that every Part of this Per- 
formance may, as near as it is poffible, correfpond with 
the Whole of it. Some fmall Differences there may 
be, which lie out of our Power to hinder, becaufe of 
the Inequality in the Capacities of thofe Authors we 
tranfcribe ; but if we make the beft Choice we can of 
thefe, and give their Accounts in the beft Manner that 
we are able, it is all that can be expefred, indeed all 
that can be performed by us ; which every candid Cri- 
tick will allow. In fucceeding Times, there will no 
Doubt be Variety of Voyages and Travels fent into 
the World, and amongft them probably there will be 
feveral fuperior in Value to thofe that have gone be- 
fore them ; but with refpefl even to thefe we have pro- 
vided, as far as it lay in our Power, for the Reader’s 
Service, becaufe they may be eafily digefted according 
to our Method, and be ranged upon new Shelves in 
the fame Library. We fay this, that the Publick may 
be apprized of the true Value of what we have given 
them, and be fatisfied, that this Colleftion can never be 
out of Date, the Authors which it contains, and thofe 
which it will contain, not only have at prelent, but will 
always have their Value ; and how neceffary or how 
pleafing foever it may be to perufe new Voyages or 
Travels, or new Cohesions of them, yet it is impof- 
fible they flaould ever fuperfede the Neceffity of reading 
thefe, becaufe the Perufal of them will be always re- 
quifite to the perfeft Underftanding of fuch as are later 
in Point of Time. 
9 P Navigantium 
