1800. Dr. Fae, Detection of the Forgery of the Books of Livy. 
But now the denouement was drawing 
near, which both annihilated the authority ° 
of this Code, and difgraced Vella. Dr. 
Hager having, during a fhort refidence at 
Palermo, detected the fraud, as we have 
already ftated, was recalled thither in the 
fame year. ‘To him alone is due. the 
merit of examining the Norman Code. 
He pointed out the inaccuracies which he 
faw in the engraved fac-fimilies, and in- 
dicated the grammatical errors occurring 
throughout the pretended original: whence 
it re(ulted, that the former could not have 
been copied from a genuine prototype; 
and that the latter muft have for its author 
not an Arab, but a Maltefe. He demon- 
firated, that not the Arabic text, but the 
talian, was the original; fince the Arabic 
fometimes rendered the fenfe incorreétly, 
and even wanted fome longer and fmaller 
paflages ; in fine, that all thofe faults were 
obferyable in it, which frequently hap- 
pened to either. an ignorant or a hatt 
tranflator. ‘This learned German had na- 
turally to remove a variety of obftacles 
thrown in his way, both by Vella and 
perfons of refpe€tability who patronized ° 
him. Among other objections it was 
urged, that a foreigner could not be con- 
fided in exclufively. In confequence, with- 
out confulting or admitting Dr. Hager, a’ 
committee of five very refpectable men 
was appointed, before whom Vella under- 
went an examination, which, however, 
was attended with the fyfpicious circum- 
flance, that not one among them under- 
ftood a word of Arabic. Yet truth tri- 
umphed at laft. Vella was now become 
a confpicuous obje&t of fufpicion; and he 
plainly faw himfelf, that the tranfacétion 
had affumed a ferious air. 
confeffed all his talfications, and named 
his accomplices, fome of whom were refi- 
dent in Malta and others in Sicily. He 
continued indeed to the very laft, what he 
had been from the beginning, a confum- 
mate liar, contradicting almoft in every 
examination his preceding confeffions, and 
relating different facts, or rather fitions, 
as to the weaving of his contrivances: yet 
he did not pretend to deny, that the whole 
was a fraud; which in part, he faid, had 
been played off on himfelf. Thus an 
affair which had lafted but too long, was 
cleared up to the fatisfaction of Sicily and 
the reft of Europe, with the exception of 
Mr. You Murr at Nuremberg, who laft year 
cenfured Dr. Hager for pretending to 
greater penetration than perfons of the 
firfi rank in Sicily poffefled ; though thefe 
as well as the Government of the ifland 
had acknowledged themfelves obliged to 
He therefore’ 
£35 
Dr. Hager. The King only defired him 
not to print a circumftantial account, to- 
gether with the documents of Vella’s 
judicial examination; fince Government 
(which, obvioufly, was greatly concerned 
in the Whole of this bufinefs, efpecially im 
the Norman Code) propofed to publith it 
in due time ; which indeed has not been 
done as yet, and is in all probability not 
to,be.expected. “:- 
The Ex-Abbate Vella was difmiffed 
from all his offices,-and committed pri- 
fener to the Ca/fle, in which he is to ree 
main for the fpace of fifteen years. Thus 
his career terminated like that of the Ex- 
Count Caglioftro. How much he re- 
fembles the latter, appears alfo from the 
papers found in his pofleffion. Among 
them are fome receipts: 1. To produce 
the finett gold from iron-fliavings, borax, 
arfenic, and filver; and, after a different 
method, from iron-fhavings, filver and 
copper. 2. To make a fine white co 
metic for the face. 3. To obtain the 
fineft rouge of the fame quality as the 
holy fpoufe of the prophet Ali ufed to 
prepare. 4. For a {pecies of oil again 
rheumatic complaints. 5. To make the 
haic of the head grow. 6. To preparea 
fecret ink. 7. To be able to write with 
gold, and without it, &c. 
a | 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, ‘ 
S fome of your correfpondents have 
A wifhed for a defeription of a hand 
corn-mill, I beg to give you that of one 
in.my pofleflion. The body of it is cir- 
cular, made of two pieces of oak twelve 
inches long, one and a half thick, and eight 
in diameter, ftrongly faftened together; 
being previoufly made hollow, and having 
a number of bars of iron with a fharp edge 
fixed in it, tranfverfely to fimilar bars 
which are fixed on an axis or handle, going 
through the mill from each end ; the whole 
of this 1s fomewhat like a common coffee- 
mill in its conftruétion, and there isa {cale 
affixed to it, to denote the quality of the 
meal, and to make it finer or coarfer as 
required; the corn is gradually fupplied 
by means of a grooved piece of wood, 
which moves witha {pring attached to the 
hopper or part filled with corn, and is’ put 
in motion by a toothed wheel receiving a 
cog affixed tothe hopper, which is turned 
with the axis or handle; this prevents too 
many grains falling into the mill at atime, 
otherwife it would hurt the knives if they 
were too much choaked by the corn. 
It is tirefome to work the mill, and I 
o 2 have 
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