
board of examination, compofed-of Meffrs. 
Flu:i, Klein, Babo, Mann and Empos, men 
perfcétly qualified for. that arduous tafk, 
and known as zealous promoters of real 
knowledge. The Ex-Jefuit Wolfnger, one 
of the moft furious perfecutors of the 
Uluminati, who acquired a confiderable 
fortune by the fale of fanatic and atcetic 
publications, died March 4, of a bilious 
diforder, which was brought on: by the 
vexation which the philanthropic and to- 
icrant regulations of the new government 
had occafioned. Maximilian JOSEPH, 
the prefent Ele€tor, who poffefles an en- 
lightened underftanding, and who has atall 
times paid a juft tribute to the literary and 
moral merit of eminent-genius, bids fair 
by his adminiftration to realize his tank 
yourite motto: Quod populo, id mbt. 
Van Mons, ima letter to Brugnatelli, 
relative to fulminating fubftances, ob- 
ferves, that oxyds of gold, when precipi- 
tated by the oxyds of other metals, do not 
pofiefs the property of fulminating by 
themfelyves3 whence he infers, that fome of 
thefe oxyds, formed by alkalies, owe. that 
property to the azote which they contain, 
and which forms the combuftible proper- 
ty, as in fulminating gold. The oxyd of 
filver fulminates, under- fimilar_circurn- 
frances, with much greater ferce than that 
of gold. The grey oxyd of mercury, pre- 
cipitated by ammoniac, fulminates by 
compreffion alone. 
M. HUMBOLDT, who has diftinouiflied 
himfelf by many new and. furprifing ex- 
periments on galvani{m, or metallic irri- 
tability, intends, as we are informed, to 
make a voyage to the Welt Indies, and 
into the South Sea, to profecute his in- 
quiries concerning animal nature, and the 
influence of climate and air on animal 
bodies in thofe latitudes. He is an 
able chemift, mineralogift and botanift, | 
and has difcovered many new fubterraxeous 
plants and mofes inthemines. He is adi- 
rector of feveral mines in Franconia, and 
poffcffes {uch an univerfal genius, thatmuch 
more may be expefted from his refearches. 
This gentleman lately wrote from Mar- 
feilles, that he found the inclinaticn of 
the needle at that place to be 65° 9° 36”; 
at Paris he obferved it to be 69° 28’ 48": 
the declenfion at Marfeilles 20° 55’ 30”, 
and at Paris.20° 15", 
Bouvard, Caffini, Duc la Chapelle, Van 
Swinden, Aeneas Bugge, and Tralles, made 
(between the gth and 14th of Brumaire, 
1798) feveral experiments on the needle, 
at Paris, and found the declenfion to be 
22° 13. Bouvard found (on the 17th ef 
June 1798) 23°. 
Literary aia Philofaphical Intelligence. 
[ Sept. 
Profeffor HoRNEMANN writes «from 
Cairo, OGtober 14, 1797, to Profeffor 
Hereren. of Gorttingen:—I have here 
met with an Abyifinian bifhop, who has 
informed me of feveral particulars cancern- 
ing the famous Bruce.. He told me that 
a certain Englifhman, Jacoso Bruce, 
had beenin Abyffinia, and had been highly 
honoured by the king and the nobles of the 
country ; that he frequently had looked at 
the fun through an inftrument like thofe 
which are ufed at fea, inquired of every 
one refpeCting the fourcés of the Nile, and 
at laft nad made a journey thither, &c.—~_ 
The bifhop told me he had not known 
him perfonally ; but his father had been 
intimately acquainted with him, and fre- 
quently converfed about that fingular man. 
‘Thus the bifhop has, at Jeaft, vindicated 
Bruce againft the charge of his having 
never approached the fources of the 
Nile. i 
La Piace’s Mecanique Célefie is ad- 
vanced already to the 257th page, at 
which place he gives.the formula of the 
perturbations of the planets in a finite 
form, which is extremely important with 
regard to the comets. ‘The indefatigable 
Dr. BurcKHaRDT, a learned German, 
contributes very much to the correcinefs 
of the printing of this valuable work. 
A colle&tion of Voyages. and Travels is - 
printing at prelentat Madrid,under the title, 
El Viagere Univerfal; par D. Pepro- 
Estava, prefeitero. They are indeed only 
a compilation, but are colleéted with con- 
fiderable judgment. “The editors promife 
in No. xLi1, which contains an abridg- 
ment of ULLOa’s Travels, and fome manu- 
fcript OLferwations on the Spanifh Colonies. 
No. Lviri and “1x contain the lateft in- 
telligence from Cuba, Buenos-Ayres and 
Peru. 
M. von Zacu, the celebrated German. 
aftronomer, is at prefent occupied in com-_ 
pofing new tables of Mercusy. He pro- 
mifes to pay peculiar attention not only to 
the perturbations ef Venus which Oriang 
has computed, but alfo to thofe which the 
latter has totally neglected. The Duke of 
Saxe-Gotha aflilts in the compofition of 
thefe tables, and has promifed to have them 
printed at his own expence, to be diftributed 
gratis to all aftronomers who with to have. 
them. ps si 
The prefent amiable monarch of Pruffia 
has broken the fetters which the influence. 
of fome defpotic and fanatic priefts had _ 
iorged to enflave his formerly free fub- 
jeGts. The independent f{pirit of inquiry, 
which under the reign of Frederick. the 
Great graiped every object that can be in- 
) terefting 
