> 
434 Bank 
prove, perhaps, a greater check on the 
circulation of forged bank paper than any 
fuperior ftyle of engraving, as the differ- 
ence in point of execution might not be 
fufficiently obvious to ftrike every one. 
Perhaps it may be objected, that the 
back of a note would, tna fhort time, be 
entirely covered with names; atid is not 
this fometimes the cafe likewife with the 
endorfements on draughts payable in Lon- 
don, or eHewhere? But in the prefent 
infance, there is always a remedy at hand, 
by returning fuch notes to the bank in 
order to be exchanged, either for cafh or 
other notes of the fame value. J am, Sir, 
‘yours, &c. Tuo. Moxinevux. 
Macclesfield, April, 1798. 

For the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
S you have often avowed a predilec- 
tion for faéts, I beg leave to fend 
you the following one, which has at- 
tracted much-attention in this city*, viz. 
the planet Venus being diftin&ly vifible 
atmoon on Thurfday the 1f inftant; it 
was firfi feen about ten o’clock in the 
moming, and it was diftinétly obferved 
by many f{pe€lators till late in the even- 
ing. But what rendered the vitbility of 
the planet much more curious, is the fact 
that the air, on the 1ft, was remarkably 
denfe, there had been a heavy fall of rain 
the night before, and that morning there 
were feveral fhowers of rain and fleet. 
- The ftatement that I have juft given of 
the weather, precludes the only philofophi- 
cal caufe (rarefaction) that I know, that 
can be affigned for this deviation from the 
general laws of nature; TI, therefore, 
fhould be much obliged to any of your af- 
tronomical readers, if they would have the 
goodneis to inform me (through the me- 
dium of your very ufeful Magazine), on 
what principle they account for this ex- 
traordinary circumftance— or, whether 
like me, they rank it amongft one of the 
many inexplicable phenomena of nature. 
Feb. 15, 1798. | CLEON. 
en 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
MR. EDITOR, 
HE new light that has lately been 
5 thrown on the formation of lan- 
guages, and the philofophy of grammar, 
by the celebrated author of EMIEA TITE- 
POENTA, will, it 1s to be hoped, give 
birth to effential improvements in the art 
of communicating and acquiring gram- 
matical knowledge. Little or nothing, 
* Briftol. 

2 
Notes. —— Appearance of Ponus in the Day. ~Profzffor Moor. 
however, has hitherto been dene, in this 
country, tcwards applying thofe princi- 
ples to practic. Studetits of Greck and 
Latin have as yet reaped no farther be- 
nefit than that of having their’ éyes 
1 
‘opened to the futility and “fallacioufhels 
of our elementary treatifes, which are 
equally erroneous in principle, confuféed 
in method, and barbarous in execution; 
while, for any real and juft inveftizations 
of the parts of fpeech, they ard obliged 
to have recourfe to the ponderous lucu- 
brations of the Dutch etymologifts and 
commentators, Schuitens, Hemtterkuis, 
Valckenaer, Lennep, and ~ Scheid. ~ it 
will not, therefore, I flatter tiyfelf be 
unacceptable to your young readers, to 
be made acquainted with a {mall treatife, 
in our own language, on this fubject, 
which it is likely has never found’ its 
way very generally fouth of the Tweed. 
The title of it is:” “* On the Prepefitions 
of the Greek Language; an Jutrodacory 
Effay.° Glafe. 1766. It was the pro- 
duction of James Moor, LL.D.”~ Pre- 
feffor of Greek in that univerfity, a man 
whofe critical acumen in the-philofophy 
of janguage, will bé readily acknow- - 
ledged by all, who are acquaifited with 
the comprehenfive fimplicity of the prin- 
ciples and rules delivered in his Greek 
grammar; which- performance, unhap- 
pily, he did not live to complete. « The 
Effay in queftion, is indeed a’ moft in- 
genious attempt to trace the primary fg- 
nification of the prepofitions, and ap- 
proaches fo near, in many cafes, to the 
genuine corporeal meaning, that, were it 
not the beft practical treatife on the fub- 
je&, it ought to be known to every {cho- 
lar, as an inftance of the contemporary 
prosrefs of philofophical inveftigation, 
in different countries, refpecting the ori- 
gin and application of words. Had Pro- 
feflor Moor lived to purfne his difeuffions, 
it is probable that they would: have ended 
in 2 more rational‘ and fatisfaétory eluci- 
dation of this as wel] as other topics of 
Greek grammar, than any-yet fubmitted 
to the ingenious. That’ none’ of His 
fcholars, who heard his le&hutes; or of 
thofe who have perused his Effay, fheuld, 
from the glimples of light therein con- 
tained, have ftruck into the trite path of 
grammatical inveftigation, will not ap- 
pear furprifine to thofe who , recolleét, 
how feldom the literary annals, even of 
all Europe, can’ -boaft the’ name of @ 
Horne Tooke. Lam, yours, &c: 
Feb. 73,2798. Fy 
Permit me, by way of poftfcript; 
though the fabjects have very little com — 
~« meétiony 
