air. The rapidity of its production causes the explosion as in gunpowder.

By fubfequent experiments the author endeavours to evince, that it is empyreal air by the means of which the circulation of the blood, and of juices in animals and plants, is fo much fupported. But the conclufions which he draws on this fubject, as the annotator obferves, are too general.

Mr. Scheele, fuppofes that empyreal air is a dulcified elastic fluid; a fubtile acid united with fome phlogiston, and which, by affuming more or less inflammable parts, acquires new properties. He therefore thinks that heat is a peculiar acid, which has admitted a certain quantity of phlogiston in its compofition. This opinion, however, is repugnant to principles which have been fatisfactorily established by preceding writers; as are likewife, we may obferve in general, fome other doctrines in the courfe of the work. One of thofe is the fact relative to the purification of respirable air by vegetation, which Mr. Scheele denies.

Notwithstanding feveral inaccuracies in Mr. Scheele's Experiments, and fome errors in the conclufions which he draws, this treatise contains many valuable chemical observations, by means of which the author has greatly elucidated and extended our profpect into the moft curious provinces of natural philofophy. The co-incidence of his obfervations, in a variety of points, with thofe of Dr. Prieftley and others, affords additional evidence in favour of the fcientific researches of the present age; at the fame time that their occafional diversity contributes to the more precise ascertainment of particular doctrines. The work is accompanied with ufeful notes by Mr. Kirwan; in which we cannot but remark, as very extraordinary, that the author, when treating of heat, has not once mentioned the name of Dr. Irvine of Glasgow, to whom the world is indebted for the established theory on that subject; and that Mr. Kirwan feems alfo to transfer to Dr. Crawford, this and other difcoveries, to which, whatever merit we allow to that gentleman, he certainly has not any pretenfions.

The Memoirs of the Town and County of Leicefter: to which is added, a brief Supplementary Account of the prefent State of Leiceftershire. By John Throby. 6 Vols. Small 8vo. 155. ferved. Crowder.

HESE Memoirs commence with a fhort abftract of the ΤΗ reigns of the Roman emperors, from the firft invafion of Britain by Julius Cæfar, to the time of Theodofius and Valentinianus, when that people entirely relinquished the poffeffion

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of this island. The origin of a piece of antiquity, called Jewry. wall, at Leicester, is afcribed to this period. By fome it is supposed to have been a bath, and by others a temple. At this time alfo were made the two great roads, Watling-street and the Fofs, the former of which feparates the county of Leicester from Warwickshire, and the latter paffes through the middle of those counties.

The author next traces the Hiftory of Leicester under the heptarchy; obferving that Peada, the fon of Penda, was crowned king of Leicester in 653, and afterwards fent into Northumberland, to efpoufe the daughter of king Ofwy, where he embraced Christianity. The particulars of this prince's converfion the author has extracted from Bede.-Soon after this period the province of Leicester was given to a turbulent bishop, named Wilfrid, of whofe quarrel with king Egfrid the author gives the following account.

A ftrange delicacy in Egfrid's queen, had prompted her to refufe her hufband the matrimonial rights; the king, who loved her with a warm affection, unwilling to obtain by severity what a mistaken zeal had held from him, urged Wilfrid to reafon his fanatic confort into a pliable difpofition; instead of which, he rather ftrengthened her in the fcruples fhe had foftered in her mind, infomuch that the preffed the king to follow her rule of erroneous chastity. Egfrid, juftly incenfed at the treachery of the bishop, whom he had honoured with his confidence on the occafion, was refolved to dispute the important fubject with his wife, after rebuking Wilfrid. He, in the tendereft terms, endeavoured to awaken in her a proper fense of her duty. He ftrove with all the efforts of the fondett lover to win her to his arms; but fhe, miftaking these powerful indications of conjugal affection for perfecution, fled to Ely, from the tenders of a fond husband. This conduct made him endeavour to ftifle the remembrance of her by another marriage. And to punish her spiritual guide he feized certain of his revenues, and created several sees in the diocese of York, which were maintained from the fequeftered poffeffions of Wilfrid. Upon this, Wilfrid appeared at the court of Egfrid with unparalleled arrogance, and demanded of the king and the archbishop of Canterbury, how they dared, like a couple of robbers, take from him those eftates given by former princes to the church. His peremptory demands were answered with contempt. He then fought address of the Roman pontiff Agatho, who was fo highly pleased with an appeal to his power, that he did not hesitate to grant a decree to reinftate Wilfrid, upon pain of denouncing his anathemas against all that should oppose him in his spiritual claims.

• Egrid,

Egfrid, upon this, publicly afferted his independence of the See of Rome; and caft Wilfrid into prison for having appealed to a foreign power against the decree of his fovereign and liege lords. When he had been confined near a year, Egfrid was prevailed upon to give him his liberty on condition of being banished the Northumberland dominions. Upon his enlargement he fought fuccour in the kingdom of Mercia, without relief. He then fought protection among the WeftSaxons as ineffectual. At last this fugitive prelate was received by the South-Saxons.

• On the death of Egfrid his fucceffor Alfred was perfuaded to reinftate him in the fee of York. But the lofty Wilfrid not content with his benefactor's indulgence to him, infifted upon full reftitution of all his revenues that had been fecularized. This infolent demand fo enraged Alfred that he drove him also from his dominions. Suffering this deferved chastisement he became an humble fuppliant to Ethelred king of the Mercians, who gave him the fee of Leicester as was above related. While he enjoyed this fee he was fummoned to a council of bishops at Oeneftresfield, where he was charged with crimes importing no less than degradation, which he suffered.'

Leicester, we are told, gave title to an earl at as early a period as any other city or town in England. This title was conferred, in the reign of Ethelbald, upon a perfon named Leofric, in whofe family it was hereditary.-During the Saxon' government, Leicester was not only a bifhop's fee, but fometimes the refidence of royalty; and it appears to have been greatly favoured by Ethelfreda, the daughter of Alfred.

The author obferves, that the jurifdiction of Leicester, prior to the Conqueft, feems to have been divided between the earl of Leicester and the bishop of the diocefe.

That part, fays he, which was within the power of the bishop, I take it, was called Manordieu, or the Manor of God, adjoining the city; and Manor de Knighton, containing the village of that name, and its manor. The former is known by the name of the Bishop's Fee at this time, and remains, I believe, out of the jurifdiction of the corporation of Leicefter. -It is very probable that the bishop's feat was near St. Margaret's church, as there is a piece of ground there, called the Bishop's Barn-clofe.

The city was under the jurifdiction of the earl of Leicester, whofe feat was where the caftle now ftands; which had been a palace of the kings of Mercia.'

Edwin, who was earl of Leicester at the time of the Conqueft by the Normans, perfuaded the citizens of London to

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fhut their gates against the conqueror; and afterwards excited them to take up arms and fally out to furprise the Normans ; but thefe efforts to fave his country proving in the end unfuc cessful, he departed the kingdom with his brother Morcar, leaving his honours and poffeffions at the difpofal of the Conqueror. He returned to England fome time after, and joined fome revolters in the ifle of Ely; but doubting the infufficiency of those friends to protect him from the power of the king, he refolved to go to Scotland, where, he imagined, he could be more ferviceable to his friends. But, upon the road thither, he was murdered by fome of his own party.'

It appears that twelve of the burgeffes of Leicester were obliged to attend William the Conqueror in all his wars. When he went to fea, on any expedition, the city was compelled to fend four horfes, as far as London, to carry arms and other neclaries. The inhabitants likewife paid the king yearly thirty pounds by tale, and twenty by weight; with the addition, as we are informed, of twenty-four ounces of honey.

The author juftly remarks, that the following anecdote, he apprehends, will meet with but very few believers, in an age which has exploded religious tricks.

• A maiden in Leicester, who died in that place A. D. 1225, was fhut up for the space of seven years before her death; and in all that time tafted of no fuftenance, either of meat or drink, except the facrament of bread and wine, which she received only on each Sabbath-day.'

Befides defcribing the buildings of Leicester, and mentioning the various particulars that occur in history, relative to the town, the author extends his attention to the different parts of the county, fo far as they alfo can be traced upon the authority of records. Among fuch particulars, it is told, that the famous Wickliffe was rector of Lutterworth, in this county.

It may be fufficient to obferve of thefe Memoirs in general, that they are continued in chronological order to the prefent time, and give an account of the prefent state of Leicefterfhire. The work is ornamented with a number of plates and engravings; and, befides the account of Leicestershire, affords a compendium of the English history.

Unity

Unity and Public Spirit, recommended in an Addrefs to the Inhabi tants of London and Westminster. To which are added Two Odes: viz. The Miseries of Diffenfion and Civil War, and the True Patriot, infcribed to Earl Cornwallis, and Sir George Brydges Rodney, Bart. 8vo. Is. 6d. Davis,

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T the prefent diftressful crisis of public danger and calamity, this Addrefs to the Inhabitants of London and Westminster may ferye as a cordial to revive our drooping fpirits, and tend in fome measure to remove that defpondency which feems too generally to prevail amongst us.

The author, who appears to be a man of learning, and well acquainted with the laws and conftitution of his country, fets out with drawing a comparison between England at the prefent juncture, and Rome in the 472d year of that empire, when the Tarentini, having excited all Italy to revolt against her, folicited Pyrrhus king of Epirus, the most diftinguished general of his time, with an army inftructed in the Grecian difcipline, to their affiftance. This formidable prince accepted the invitation; but before he began hoftilities, fent the following letter to Lævinus the Roman conful: "I am informed that you command an army which is to make war with` the Tarentini. Difband it without delay, and then come and lay your pretenfions before me. After I have heard both parties, I will give judgment; and I know how to make my fentence be obeyed."

To this Lævinus answered: " Know, Pyrrhus! that we neither admit you as a judge, nor fear you as an enemy. Does it become you to take upon you to judge us, who have yourfelf injured us by landing in Italy, without our confent? We will have no arbitrator but Mars, the author of our race and protector of our arms.”

On this Pyrrhus commenced the war with fome fuccefs; but the obftinate valour of the Romans overbalanced his discipline, filled him with awe, and at length induced him to fend Cyneas his favourite to Rome, with propofals of peace. Thefe the magnanimous fenate rejected, and unanimously paffed this decree: "That the war with Pyrrhus be continued; that his ambaffador be fent back this very day; that the king of Epirus be not permitted to come to Rome; and that he be told that the fenate will enter into no treaty with him till he has left Italy." Cyneas quitted Rome the fame day, and returned to Tarentum; and when Pyrrhus asked of him his opinion of the city and fenate, he answered, "Rome is a kind of temple, where gravity, modefty, and decency reign. The. VOL. L. Nov. 1780. fenate

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