1797-] 
cuous, yet too often crude and indigefted 
in matter, in ftyle ihamefully carclefs 
and incorreét, was from G/en/yon, in the 
weftern Highlands of Scotland, . Mac- 
pherfon, the colleétor and tranflator of the 
poems of Ossian, the author of various 
other works, hiftorical and political, was 
a native of Inverne(sthire. Arm/trong, 
the author of the Ari of Preferving 
Health, one of the fineft didactic poems 
in any language, ancient or modern, was 
a native of the county of Dumfries. Even 
Go.psmiTH ftudied at Edinburgh. The 
political and economical works of Wallace, 
once the redoubred adverfary of Hume, 
have not yet perifhed. Long will that 
poefy, at leaft of high fecond-rate merit, 
with the compofition of which the ami- 
able Blacklock folaced his blindnefs, con- 
tinue to be read. Mongpoppo, the 
friend of Harris of Malmefbury, the 
contemporary of Kaimes, ftill furvives 
to vindicate to Scotland the praife of 
poffefling one of the moft erudite and 
enthufiaftic claffical {cholars now in 
Europe. 
- In the mean time, the phyfical fciences, 
and thofe which are the moft intimatel 
conneéted with medicine, continued to 
be profecuted with extraordinary ardour 
and fuccefs. Much was done for the 
improvement of medical fcience in Edin- 
burgh, by Whyit, Aljion, and the elder 
Monro, the fucceffors, and, in fome fort, 
the difciples of Pétcairne. The volumes 
tatituled, the Edimburgh Medical and 
Phyfical Effays, are ftill in very high efti- 
mation, and prefent excellent fpecimens 
of the ardour, diligence, and fuccefs, with 
which the inveftigations of medical know- 
ledge were, even about the middle of the 
prefent century, profecuted in  Scot- 
land. CuLLEN, BLacx, the ‘élder 
GxRecory, and Hope, in the courte of 
the thirty years immediately fubfequent,’ 
advanced the univerfity of Edinburgh to 
the high reputation of being the firft 
medica! fchool in Europe; and enriched 
particularly the fciences of chemiftry, 
medicine, and botany, with a multitude 
of important difcoveries. 
The younger Monro, the deferving 
fucceffor of his father, in the anatomical 
chair, has taughe the fcience of Anatomy 
with the fame diftinguifhed fuccefs and, 
in a candid eftimate, will be probably 
found to have made, at leaft, as many 
valuable anatomical difcoveries as any of 
' his contemporaries and rivals, Brown, 
deftined to accomplifh a great revolution 
inthe theory and praétice of medicine, 
Progrefs of Literature in Scotland. 
361 
was the difciple, before he became the 
antagonift, of Cu/len. The two Beis are 
among the ableft and moft popular wri- 
ters on Anatomy and Surgery; and are, 
befides, remarkable, the one as the moft 
popular furgeon at prefent, perhaps, in 
Scotland ; the other as a private teacher 
of anatomy, not at all unworthy to enter 
the lifts of competition with Monro. 
The modeft and ingenious NELSON can= 
not fail to rife tothat eminence of fucceis, 
as a private leéturer on chemiftry, to. 
which the excellence. of his leftures, the 
dexterity and fkillhe difplays in the per- 
formance of experiments, and the enthu- 
fiaftic ardour with which he cultivates 
his favourite fcience, unqueftionably en- 
title him. 
The volumes of the Tran/aGions of the 
Royal Society of EDINBURGH, exhibit, 
among a mafs of materials which, per- 
haps, pofterity will not read with the 
moft paffionate admiration, feveral pa- 
pers upon pure and mixed mathematics, 
on the phyfiology of vegetables, upon 
fubjeéts in mineralogy, and on fome other 
oranches of phyfical fcience, which ferve 
to add new faéts and principles to the 
fum of that knowledge which we before 
poffeffed of their refpeétive topics. Dun- 
CAN, an amiable man, an eminent phy- 
fician, ftill continues to publith, under a 
varied title, that eftimable periodical col- 
leétion which has long been well knowa 
under its primary appellation of Medi- 
cal Commentaries. 
[To be conciuded in our next. | 

To the Editor of the Monibly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HEN lately engaged in the agreea- 
ble perufal of your very intelligent 
Mifcellany, my attention was arrefted by 
queftion fifth, for Jane, 1796: “ What 
is the difference in the proportions, 
by meafure, of alcohol, or pure fpirit, 
contained’ in two different kinds, of 
brandy, the one of the f{pecific gravity of 
0.92000, and the other of 0,90000 >” 
This queftian, being on the fubject ofa 
Jate publication of mine, viz. Tables for 
accurately afcertaining, by Weight or Mea 
fure, the Strength of Sp:rituous Liquors, &c. 
I thall now point out the anfwers to the 
queftion, as given by my tables, con- 
formed:to the ftandard fpirit, and degree 
of heat, adopted by Sir CHaRLES BLaG- 
DEN. ‘The neareft fpecific gravity in 
thefe tables, at the temperature of 60° to 
92000, is found in page 71, column 6th, 
to be 91992, at the botrom of that column, 
in 



