480 
verfe wind, and pretty fresh, at north-eaft. 
Ft requires no other fluid to fet it in mo- 
tion than the water, which it does not 
quit, fo longas it is at work; and it may 
be brought on fhore without much 
trouble, It is moved by men who re- 
main for that purpofe in the veffel. It is, 
in faét, an entirely new manner of haling 
or towing a fhip. This mechanifm 
pofiefies divers other properties, not limit- 
ed to a calm, nor to the water. He 
propofes to the connoifféeurs, to the admt- 
ralties, and to the commercial world at 
large,-that expert perfons may be nomi- 
nated, to judge by experiments of the 
utility of this invention; engaging to 
difclofe his procefs at an equitable price, 
2s a compenfation for the much trouble 
and Jong labours he has undergone, to 
bring it to perfeétion. 
It, appears from the French journals, 
that the rare and precious plants, eal 
vated in the inclofures of the Mufeum of 
Natural Hiftory, have fuffered nothing 
- from the rigour of the laft winter. They 
are all in perfect vegetation, and many of 
them now in flower for the firft time. 
Among thefe laft, isa plant from Botany 
Bay, the feeds of which were a prefent 
from Sir Jofeph Banks. Itis leguminous 
and appears to belong to the genus of 
the g/ycina. It is remarkable for its con- 
figuration, which is different from that 
of all the plants of its family. | Its 
flowers are of an amethyft colour. ‘The 
fruit is yet expected, which will enable 
the naturalifts to determine the nature of 
the plant with more precifion.—The 
folanum polygamum, brought from the 
Antilles, by Captaim Baupin, has allo 
produced its firit flowers. The corolla 
and the calyx,in lieu of being divided into 
five parts, like all the other fpecies of 
this genus, prefent ‘only four fe€tions. 
This new folanum, is a fimall fhrub of a 
pale green, garnifhed with reddit fj ines” 
SZ 3 
on the principal edging, (Hers wure.) 
e Phe Brucea a dylenterica isan Abyfiinian 
ghrub, the bark of which 1s very fuecefs- 
fully employed by the inhabitants, 
sean the dyfentery. Mir BREE, 
whofe life had been faved by this plant, 
during his travels, brought feme feeds 
of it into Fran ice, and prefented them to 
the National Mufeum of Natural Hiftory. 
‘Thefe feeds being fown, only one indi- 
vidual male came up, which the French 
botanifis have confecrated to the memory 
of Bruce. This individual has been fince 
multiplied by. its fhoots, fo that its pro- 
Foreign Literary Intelligence. 
geny in France confifts only of. males. 
‘The adminifiration of the Mufeum pro- 
-pofes to fend fome into the department of - 
the Maritime Alps, where they are to 
attempt the culture of this fhrub, fo in- 
valuable for medicine. It is m flower at 
this time, in the green-houfe of the 
Mufeum. 
The beautiful fern-tree, from the 
Antilles, brought by Captain BauDIN, 
after lofing- the two leaves which it pro- 
duced laft year, is now putting out three 
new ones, which appear to be more ex- 
tenfive than the preceding ones. 
A work has been lately publifhed at 
Paris, entitled <‘¢ The Correfpondence of 
Voltaire, and cf Cardinal de Bernis, fiom 
1761, to 1777, a5 copsed from their original 
letters, with notes, &c. ‘The’ editor~is 
Citizen BourGOING, ci-devant Minilter 
of the “Republic, at Madrid, and now 
affociate Member of the National Infti- 
tute. The authenticity of the letters 
cannot be contefted, as the manufcripts 
are in the poffefion of the Chevalier 
AZARA, Ambaffador of Spain to the 
French Republic, who, it appears, was 
‘the friend and teftamentary executor of 
the Cardinal. In fact, the reader will 
eafily difcern in them the mprefs of the. 
well-known charaéter of Bernis, as well 
as Voltaire’s turn of wit, in the epiftolary 
kind. Of ninety letters in this collection, 
two only have been printed before, in the 
Correfpondance generale de Voltaires. and 
thefe are now printed again, to preferve 
tl.e correfpondence of thofe two celebrated 
men entire.*—The Cardinal de BERNIS 
was a brilliant poet, and -peffefled (as 
thefe letters thew) wit, talents, a critical 
judgment, a fine tafte, and a high degree 
of found claffical literature: in fine, he 
was aman of letters, worthy of a better 
age. 
mee evil ue ye 
* The Cardinal died at Rome in 1794, 
that is to fay, about fixteen years after Vol- 
taire. He had refided in that city fince 1769, 
under the charaéter of Minifter to the King, 
at the Court of Rome, and Proteétor of the 
churches of France. Previous to this he 
had heen Ambaflador at Venice, Minifter of 
foreign affairs, difgraced according to cuftom, 
then exiled, afterwards recalled, and made 
Archbifhop of Alby. By the French revolu- 
tion he was deprived of all his eclcefiaftical 
revenues in France, and reduced to his 
archbifhopric of Albano in Italy, the income 
of which was fo mederate, that he accepted 
a penfion from the court of Spain, granted at 
the requeft of M. the Chevalier Azara. 
LIST 
[July ” 


