682 
been greatly applauded, was, of courfe, 
tranfmitted to the prefs. The happy 
tones and animated gefticulation of the 
author were doubtlefs calculated to 
procure popularity, and it will now 
appear, perhaps, far inferior as a writ- 
ten production, to what it feemed, 
when prefented in the form of a re- 
cital. 
There is one interefting chapter how- 
éver, which treats of the voice and its 
effects, as well as of pronunciaton and 
articulation. The others, as may be 
perceived from their refpective titles, 
rather appertain to a moral treatife, 
thana Sibecaian cn declamation, viz. 
Chap. 1.’of Man. 
Chap. 2. of Woman. 
Chap. 3. of Seduction, 
Chap. 4. of Bravery. 
Chap. 5. of a Good anda Bad Heart. 
Chap. 6. of Jealoufy, &c. 
Nor a fingle word 1s faid of gefticu- 
Jation, or memory, &c. As a compo- 
fition, this poffeffles but little merit ; 
yet the name and celebrity of the 
author will doubtlefs render it an ob- 
ject of curiofity, at leaft, in a capital, 
were he was at one time confidered as 
the Garrick. 
«© Manuel du Galvanifme. Defcrip- 
tion et ufagedes divers Appareils Gal- 
vaniques employés jufqu’ a ce jour, 
tant pour les Recherches Phyfiques et 
Chimiques, que pour les Applications 
Médicales ; par JosEPH IzaRNn, Pro- 
fefleur de Phyfique, de la Société-Libre 
Ges Sciences, Lettres et Arts de Paris, 
de la Société Académique des Sciences, 
de Ja Société Galvanique, et chargé par 
elle des cours qui font partie de fes 
Séances. Un Vol. in-8vo. avec fix 
Planches, contenant 125 Figures.” 
—Manual of Galvanifm; or a De- 
{cription, together with the mode of 
ufing the different Galvanic Apparatus, 
&c. by JosepH Izarn, Profeflor of 
Natural Philofophy, Pte 
This work is preceded by a prelimi- 
nary difcourle, which will be read with 
intereft, not only by thofe who occu- 
py a confiderable portion of their atten- 
tion with natural philofophy, but fuch 
as do not view the progrefs of human 
knowledge with indifference. They 
will here find how much we are in- 
debted to the modern practice of fub- 
mitting every thing fo the teft of expe- 
rimeni, and thence be inclined to en- 
tertain great hopes. relative to the fu- 
ture, by examining what has occurred 
fince the days of Galileo agd Newton, 
Retrofpeet of French Literature. Mifeellaneous. 
The Manual is divided into fix fections? 
In the firft, we are prefented with an 
hiftorical aocount of Galvanifm, from 
the firft moment of its difcovery, until 
the invention of the electrometer by 
Volta. The author defcribes certain 
analagous faéts, known before the cir- 
cumftances which firft excited the at- 
tention of Galvani; he alfo recounts 
the experiments, by means of which 
this juftly celebrated man was led to 
difcover the firft fact, that may be faid 
to have conftituted his difcovery, and 
which has fince engaged the attention 
of all the learned men of Europe. To 
this are added, the experiments of 
others, who Followed his track, re-pro= 
duced the fame refults under different 
points of view, without deviating, 
however, from the fame circle. 
The fecond feétion is entirely dedi. 
cated to thofe experiments which led 
Volta to conceive the idea of that af- 
tonifhing apparatus, which, of itfelf, 
was a difcovery no lefs important than 
that of Galvani. The labours of this 
celebrated electrician are exhibited in a 
diftinct feries, fo that it is eafy to follow 
the fame route, which his own genius 
traced out to him, until the time when 
he was enabled to conftruct his eleéros 
meter a colonne, and a coronne de taffes. 
In the third fection, are defcribed 
thofe numerous refults, which have 
arifen out of the refearches of the firft 
philofophers of Europe, in whofe hands 
the electrometer of Volta foon became 
a new medium for interrogating nature, 
relative to a number of effects, which 
may be confidered partly as chymical, 
and partly as phyfiological. 
We are prefented, in the fourth fec- 
ticn, with a defcription of the nume- 
rous modifications which the electro. 
meter of Volta received under the 
hands of different philofophers, as well 
as the different alterations 1n the con- 
ftruction arifing from thefe, fuch as 
the * portative pile of Volta;’ the 
‘trough or tub of Cruikfhanks ;? and 
the large piles’ propofed by Aidini. 
The modification of the electrometer, 
on purpofe to augment the duration of 
its action, are not pointed out, fuch as 
the piles of Gautherot, with one metal 
only, and without any metal whatfo- 
ever: the dry pile of Hatchett and 
Deformes, and the two apparatufes by 
Ailizeau, the beft, and perhaps the moit 
fimple, hitherto conftructed, 
_ Section five contains the defcription 
of the Gaivanometers, together with 
fevers 
3 
