126 
times; “ The great body of the people,” 
fays this writer, “are weak, ignorant, in- 
judicious, capricious, fadtious, bead ftrong, 
felf-vulled, and felf- -fufficient, and never Jels 
difpofed than at this time to acquiefce in 
the wifdom, and fubmit themfelves to the 
«decifions of their fuperiors, nor ever 
more impatient to be driven from their old 
habits, and put out of their way in the of- 
fices, or in any other matters of religion ; 
and efpecially thofe which they themntetves 
are to practice, and have a perfonal con- 
cern in. This is now grown to be the ge- 
neral temper of the people. Ido not call 
it their bigotry : : no, it is a fpirit of mu- 
tiny and independence ; and this, I think, 
you mult allow is ftill increafing, as auch 
as you or I can pretend, the other is de- 
creafing amongft us.”’* 
Hence may be colle&ted, that the well 
Known epithet of Burke is neither altoge- 
ther unprecedented, nor whoily unfupport- 
ed by reaions of pretended cogency; for, 
¥ afk, does not the above paflage deicribe 
the great body of the people in colours 
equally contemptuous, and affign alfo rea- 
fons which, if admif fable, would fully juf- 
tify our orator’s difdainful inveétive ?— 
‘They are ignorant, fays the author cf the 
<o Breé andl. Impartial Confiderations, 
&c."” incomequence of the decreafe of bigo- 
try amongit us, and the genera! prevalence 
of the mutinous foirit of independence!!! 
Confequently the bet plan for improving 
the public mind is to extend bigotry; to 
relinguiih ue principle of independence ; 
and to work out thefe defireable effects, by 
incuicating a moft profound deference to 
our fpiritual rulers. May we not infer, 
therefore, paradoxical as it may feem, that 
even bigotry is favourable to the real in-. 
terefts of truth, that independence is the 
bane of fcience, and that Proteftantifm it- 
felf, by diminifhing the power of the cler- 
gy, has fatally operat ed to debale the ex- 
cellence of man. From thefe unexpected 
and important difcoreries, I leave your 
readers to draw their own concluiions. 
EAUTOLOGIUS, 

For the Monthly Magazine. 
6¢ There be three things which are too 
wonderful for me, yea four which I know 
not.’ 
The way of ae pase In the air. 
‘ow. Chap. xxx. v. 18 and 19. 
j DO ‘not rec scesete to have any where 
‘ met with a fat Mena theory of the 
Flicht of Birds : it has hitherto} F believe, 
been arene aweree., that: the procels 

Vi Vite’ 3 Fiee a! aid 
ata? on the Free and 
ec. Pp: 6. ahi 
tr mpat tial Confidera- 
Caneid Difa, sais 
Swinifh Multitude—Flight of Birds. 
diilauce, v 
[ March fs 
was purely mechanical, and that the mo- 
tion of birds, through the air, was entirely 
the cope of the aétion of the wings and 
tail; but it will, on due examination, as 
I conceive, appear that mere mechanifm 
will not adequately account for all the 
phenomena of flying, and that we mutt 
haverecourte to fome principle of an higher 
order. It muft at the fame time be al- 
lowed, that Natere has with the utmoft in- 
genuity of contrivance adapted the general 
conformation of the feathered tribe to this 
purpofe. The bones are hollow, and re- 
markably lighter than thole of quadrupeds; 
their external covering, by increating their 
volume with little addition to the weighr, 
diminifhes the ! ‘pecific gravity of the whole 
in a coniiderable degree ; while im the fub- 
ftance of feathers, levity and ftrength are 
wonderfully combined ; and the pectoral 
mufcles, which move the wings, are re- | 
markable for their fize, their ftrength, and 
the proportion which they bear to the reft 
of the body y all thefe circumftances, toge- 
ther with the arrangement and difpofition 
of the pinion feathers s, contribute, nodoubt, 
in a high degree to the mechanica! part of 
the power of flying. But there remains 
ftill fomething to be accounted for, which 
= all powers of mechaniim. To 
this obfervation I have been led by’ fome 
remarks which I had an opportunity: of 
making in feveral pafiages ‘ta and from 
the Eaft Indies, on the flight of fome fpe- 
cies of {ea-fowl]. 
It tearcely can have efcaped the obferva- 
ion of any Individual, that there is a diffe- 
rence in the manner of flightof different{pe- 
cies of birds: in fome, as in the tribe called 
motacilla,and in the pigeon kind, the effect 
is produced by a perpetual itrong vibratory 
motion of the wings 3 in other {pecies the 
bird is wafted through a confiderable {pace 
without any app pon motion of the -vings, 
asinthe Keooahe and kite tribe; but this mode 
of flicht is fill more remarkable in feveral 
{pecies. of fea-fowl, particularly in one 
one albatrois. Thisis a bird well known 
to all who have pafled round the Cape of 
Good sepa it is in bedy nearly the ize 
ofa (wan; the wings are of great length, 
extending in {ome to more than-nine feet 
from tip to tip 5 ; the body is covered with 
a very thick, downy coat of feathers, as 
in moft of the fea-fowl ; they are rarely feen 
to the weftward of the Cape ot Good Hope 
in the-India geen Set but probably may be 
found in plenty of Cape Horn, and are 
feldom feen in a latitude under. thirty~ fix 
degrees. IT have frequently with admira- 
tion Watched the flight of thefe birds ; 
they ‘kim through the airto a qneadedelsie 
via any apparent motion of 
the ' 
» 
er 
