320 
eccafion to open another near it— 
The controverfy about the authenticity. 
of Rowley’s Poems, is, I truft, now at 
an end; and there are few who do not at- 
tribute every line of them to the imagina- 
tion of that wonderful genius and unfor- 
tunate youth, who, under’a happier train 
of circumftances might have lived in hap- 
pinefs and honour, beloved, courted, and 
admired ; and whofe remains might-have 
been borne in folemn pomp to the grand 
fepulchre of all our worthies, amid the 
tears and re(pect of the good and great, 
but who died in defpair, and was thrown 
undifinguifhed into the burial-pit of a 
work-houfe. 
There is one internal piece of evidence, 
that the Poems were written by Chatter- 
ton, which has never been taken notice 
of by any commentator, and which might 
be drawn out into a long analyfis, but I 
fhall confine myfelf merely to the hint, as 
any reader may make an experiment of the 
juttice of my remark. It appears to me 
that Chatterton wrote the Poems firft in 
modern Englifh, and then altered the {pel- 
-ling, and {prinkled them with ancient 
words, according as he could find ancient 
words-which would fuit the meafure and 
emphafis of the line. What leads me to 
this idea is, that in nineteen infiances out 
of twenty, the ancient word may be fup- 
plied by a modern one of the fame meaning, 
2nd exactly of fo many fyllables as will 
fall in with the metre of the line. 
I have fometime had an intention of 
publifhing an edition of Rowley’s Poems, 
in a modern drefs, which could eafily be 
done by meresy altering the fpelling, and 
fubfituting modern words in room of the 
obfolete, which would confirm my hypo- 
thefis, and perhaps gain Chatterton more 
readers than he has at prefent. P 
I conceive, that my hypothefis dimi- 
nifhes ‘* The wonder of fo young aman 
being fo perjeily acquainied with the lan- 
guage of antiquity as to write it with per- 
Se& familiarity and cafe” 1 think he did 
not write it with cafe. I think -he wrote 
his Poems in mcdein Englifh, and then 
looked into his gloflary for old words, and 
where he found old words which would 
exactly fupply the place of the modern, 
he adepted them. My mezning will be 
perfectly underfteod by thofe who are 
judges of Latin compofition; it is a com~- 
mon faying, that ‘* to write good Latin, 
we mutt ¢éizk in Latin; the idioms, the 
tone, the ftyle muft be Latin; and therefore 
youth are infru€ted by judicious mafters 
to put down their firft thoughts in Latin, 
and zot to write them in Englifh firft, and 
Chatterton’s Burial-place, & c:—Chemical Remarks. [May 1, 
then tranflate their own Englith ; for, if 
they do, it will inevitably appear Englifh- 
Latin patch-work. Inthe compofition of 
one fcholar, we can fee that he is perfect, 
mafter of the Latin language, while in 
that of another, (though there be no falfe 
concord, no error,) we can evidently fee 
that he has confulted his dictionary for 
every word. Now this appears to me to 
have been exactly the cafe with Chatter- 
ton. His late editor obferves, (vol. 2. 
p. 517,) that the deeds which are to be 
found in the third volume, written in 
modern Englith, were defigned probably 
to be filled up, like a painter’s fketch, the 
firft opportunity. I perfectly agree with 
the editor; and I verily believe, that the 
Poems were filled up in the fame manner, 
though we are not 1n poffeffion of the firft 
outlines, which Chatterton carefully de- 
firoyed. The deeds add weight to my 
conjecture, which I had formed long be~ . 
fore I had feen them. C. VoL. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. . 
SIRs . 
OUR Correfpondent J. C.’s remarks 
on the incruftation formed by the 
New-River water, induced me to make 
fome experiments ; the refults of which, 
being phenomena not generally, if ever, 
noticed by chemifts, perhaps you may 
think them worthy infertion. . 
I found that-iron-filings very rapidly 
decompofed a folution of carbonate of 
lime in carbonated-water ;, the. carbonate of. 
lime being precipitated, and a portion of | 
the iron taken up in its place, by the ex 
ceis of acid. 
Copper filings alfo decompofe this folu- 
tion, though lefs rapidly, fome of the cop-,_ 
per being diflolved in a fimilar manner by 
the acid. From this experiment it ap- 
pears, that carbonic-acid poffefies, in a 
large degree, the property of diflolving 
copper, as well as iron; the folution after- 
wards depofiting the oxide of copper, in 
confiderable quantity, on the application’ 
of heat. 
Tt is evident, that either of the above 
metals, particularly iron, is improper to 
form cocks to the cenduétors of water; 
water generally containing carbonate of 
lime ; and the inconvenience experienced 
by the New-River Company, from their 
ufe, will be eafily accounted for. But, 
for domeftic purpofes, water, when bail- 
ed, will come equally wholefome frem any 
veficl ; as heat, unaffifled by the action of 
the metal, is always fufficient to occabon 
its purity. Tam, &c. R,M.. 
April 14, 1804, . . 
To 
