1802,] 
Laftly, Machiavel’s Vindication itlelf is 
dated April 1, 1537. This anfwers at 
once with the expreifion ‘* our zew Prince 
Cofimo,” and {its much better than the 
. . = ’ ° 
earlier date of Machiavel’s death, witha 
his reference to the garrulity of age. 
T. 5.N. 
Zo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
. SER, 
ak gee following fact, recorded by a 
late French traveller in the Levant, 
appears worthy of notice. 
«* Near to the fhore of Cape Schinari 
in the ifle of Zante, are certain very deep 
caverns, whence iffues in great abundance 
a kind of white fat, of an extremely fetid 
fmell. In calm weather, mariners at fea, 
even at a good diftance from the ifland, 
meet with flakes of that fubftance float- 
ing on the water, and emitting a ftrong 
f{cent. The peafants colleét it on the fea- 
fhore, and fuccefsfully empioy it in the 
difeafes of their cattle, rubbing it to the 
fores of their mules, horfes, oxen, fheep, 
&c*. It is of a nature uncommonly dif- 
pofed to melt.” 
I cannot pretend to fay whether any 
analogy fubfift between the fubftance 
above defcribed and that which has re- 
cently been produced in this country by 
the maceration of animal fubftances in 
water and other liquids: neither will I 
prefume to conjecture whether the refer- 
voir which fupplies thofe ftreams of fat 
may rot be a heap of dead bodies for- 
merly buried by fome earthquake, and 
gradually converted by fubterraneous ma- 
ceration into a folid fat fubftance, which, 
now melted by fubterraneous fire, oozes 
forth in the manner here related. Thefe 
points I leavé to the confideration of 
chemiits and naturalifts; my intention 
* As fome of your readers might perhaps 
be inclined to put upon this paflage a con- 
ftruétion different from that which I have 
given to it, and to conclude that the Zantiot 
peafants apply the fat to wounds in the hu- 
man body—i think it right to quote the ori- 
ginal words, and leave each perfon to judge 
for himfelf. ‘* Dans les maladies de leurs 
beftiaux, mulets, beufs, chevaux, moutons, 
&c. les habitans de la campagne fe fervent 
utilement de cette graiffe, qu’ils vont re- 
cueillir fur la bord de la mer, et dont ils 
frottent les plates.” Voyage hifforique, litté- 
vaire, et pittcrefgue, dans les Iles et Poffe/- 
fions ci-devant Vénitienncs-du Levant, tome il), 
p 103. “et , 
Springs of Fat—Paffage in Pliay. 
445 
being merely to fuggeft a hint which may 
prompt fome curious perfon to try the 
neceflary experiments with, the artificial 
fat produced in England, for the fike of 
determining whether it may not prove 
equally beneficial to our cattle, as the 
other to the animals of Zante. 
I am, Sir, yours, &c. 
1 oe 
a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
ae your intelligentCorrefpondent, who 
has favoured the public with the com= 
munication of the letters of BrunettoLatini, 
Ibeg leave to point out the followingpaflages 
in Pliny the Naturalift, with a view to 
folve tne difficulties of which he com- 
plains, &c, Monruty Mac. May, 
1802, p. 3575 mole. 
‘© Canis, JasoneE Lycio jnterfefo, 
cibum capere noluit, inedidque confumtus 
eft. Is verd, cui nomen Hyrcani reddidit 
Daris, accenjo regis LYSIMACHI rogo, in- 
jecit fe flammea: fimiliterque Hieronis regis. 
‘© Sed fuper omnia in noftro evo aétis 
Populi Romani teftatum, Appio Junio 
& P. Silio Coss. cum animadverteretur, 
ex causa Neronis Germanici Glii, in Ti- 
tium Sabinum & fervitia ejus, umius ex 
his canem nec a carcere abigi potuife, nec 
a corpore receffifle abjecti in gradibus 
Gemiioriis ; moeftos edentem ululatus, 
magna Populi Romani corona: ex qua 
cum quidam ei cibum objeciffet, ad os 
defunéti tulifle. Innatavit idem cadaver 
IN TIBERIM ABJECT! fuffentare conatus, 
effusa multitudine ad {peétandum animalis 
fidem.”” Nat. Hist. Lid. viii. cap. 616 
The ftory of the refcued King may be 
traced to a fentence which immediately 
precedes thofe that have been quoted :—~ 
‘© Garamantum REGEM canes ducenti 
ab exilio reduxere, praliati contra refif- 
tentes.”” 
In page 366, Mr. Walker refer to ‘‘a 
fmall engraving of the ftars in your laft 
month’s Magazine :”’ which is wanting in 
my copy and in every other that I have 
infpected.* DELISuE. 
Manchefter, May 10. 
# The reprefentation of the ftars to which 
Mr. Walker alluded appeared upon page 273 
of the prefent volume. EpDirTor. 
3M 2 for 
