the unlatined pretender, who attempts the length of the arc, at the extremities to quote or read Latin words or phrases of which the pole is higher at one extrewhich he does not understand. mity than at the other, by one degree, is always esteemed the length of a degree on the surface of the earth. The lati

Observations on the Latitude, the Earth being considered as a spheroid; by W. MARRAT, A. M. Teacher of Navigation, 39 Fulton-street, New-York.

As the drawing the parallel through the 45 degree of north latitude, which is intended to be the boundary line between the United States and the British settlements, is become a matter of dispute, the following remarks may serve to elucidate the subject. It would appear from the statements made by gentlemen engaged in the operation, that the latitude found by observation is not the true latitude. In books of navigation and geography, the earth is generally represented as a globe or sphere; and, according to Dr. Mackay, "the latitude of any place, is that portion of the meridian of that place which is contained between the equator and the given place," Dr. Bowditch calls it "the angular distance from the equator measured on its secondary, or the meridian passing through it." These definitions have no reference to the earth as a spheroid; but the latitude is, and always must be found, in practice, on the earth's surface; and the figure of the earth is not a globe, but an oblate spheroid. Others say, that "the latitude of any place on the earth, is equal to the altitude of the pole above the horizon of that place, measured on a meridian passing through the zenith of the place and the pole." La Place (Exposition du systeme du Monde) says, "La distance à l'équateur, depend de l'angle compris entre le zénith et l'équateur céleste, et cet angle est evidemment égal à la hauteur du pôle sur l'horizon; cette hauteur est ce que l'onnomme latitude, en géographie." In the very delicate operations for determining the length of a degree on the earth's surface, the height of the pole is always determined at each extremity of the measured arc, with the greatest possible accuracy; and

tude found by the pole's altitude agrees exactly with another method by which we ascertain the zenith distance, and then add or substract the sun's declination as is shown in books of Astronomy. This latitude also agrees with the other celestial arcs or angles, and from it, the azimuths, times, &c. are deduced without any error.

Astronomers make use of the terms reduced latitude, and corrected latitude (see Delambre); but these have no reference to the observed geographical latitude under consideration. The latitude of the Observatory, at Greenwich, was found by more than one hundred observations of circum-polar stars, to a fraction of a second; and who ever imagined that this was not the true latitude? Or who will dispute that the latitude of the Observatory at Paris, is not truly found; or that the French astronomers have taken a false for a true latitude? The reduced latitude is sometimes called the true latitude, and it is so; and the observed latitude would give wrong results when referred to certain astronomical operations: it is also true in reference to the spheroidal earth; but no more so in the latter case than the observed latitude: both are true. Whatever the exact figure of the earth may be, that is, whether we use the eccentricity found by Sir Isaac New ton, La Place, or the more correct one of Dr. Adrain, the reduced latitude is easily determined; but in every case it will come out a different quantity. Adopting that discovered by Dr. Adrain, the parallel required to be drawn, would be in a parallel 12 1-4 miles to the north of the parallel passing through north latitude 45° 5′ 22′′ 8-10. But is this the latitude as commonly understood by astronomers and navigators? and if the new latitude were adopted, should we not be under the necessity of reducing the latitudes of every other place upon the earth, to correspond with the latitude of the above parallel,

M

are situated, and the distances from the City of Washington.

Foreign Works re-printed; some with Notes and Additions by American Authors.

The Life of Mrs. Mary Fletcher, relict of the late Rev. John Fletcher, Vicar of Meidely; with an engraving.

Edgeworth's Parents' Assistant, or Stories for Children. By Maria Edgeworth. Florence Macarthy; a novel. By Lady Morgan.

Clarentine; a novel. By Miss Burney, author of 'Traits of Nature. 2 vols. The Fast of St. Magdalen; a romance. By Miss Anna Maria Porter.

"Thou shalt leave

2 vols.

original Latin edition, and collated with the Author's last edition in French, by JOHN ALLEN. Preceded by Memoirs of the Life of Calvin, by JOHN MACKENZIE.

"Take especial care, before you aim your shafts at Calvinism, that you know what is Calvinism, and what is not.' BISHOP HORSLEY.

[The publisher remarks, that "Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, having ever been esteemed his best production, ought to be in the possession of every Christian." This is positive lanBut a recommendation, signed guage. by several reverend gentlemen, contains stronger terms:-"To those who are acquainted with the character and history of John Calvin, any recommendation of

Each thing belov'd most dearly: 'tis the his works is superfluous. To those who

last shaft

Shot from the bow of exile."

Carey's Dante.

A Dictionary of the English Language; in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations, by examples from the best writers. To which are prefixed, a History of the Language, and an English Grammar. By SAMUEL JOHNSON, L.L.D. With the addition of the Standard of Pronunciation established in WALKER's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary. Vol. I. part 1, of the 4to. edition; and vol. I. part 1 and 2, of the 8vo. edition.

Descriptions of the Manners and Customs of the People of India; and of their Institutions, Religious and Civil. By the Abbe J. A. DUBOIS, Missionary in the Mysore. 2 vols.

A Course of Morning and Evening Prayer, for every day in the Month; to which is prefixed a Discourse on Family Religion. By JAMES BEAN, Minister of the Walbeck Chapel. First American, from the 12th London edition, carefully revised and adapted to the use of Christians in the United States.

A Scripture Help, designed to assist in Reading the Bible profitably. By the Rev. EDWARD BICKERSTETH; illustrated with 4 maps.

Ree's New Cyclopedia. Vol. XL. part 1, being the 79th Number.

De Viris Illustribus Urbis Romæ, a Romulo ad Augustum. Ad usum Scholarum. Auctore C. F. SHOMOND, in Universitate Parisieni Professore emerito. Juxta Novam editionem Parisiensem,

anno 1817.

Works proposed to be Published.
By Samuel Huestis, of this city.-The
Institutes of the Christian Religion. By
JOHN CALVIN. Translated from the

are not, and we fondly hope they are but few, we take the liberty of stating, that the Christian World never has been blessed with an uninspired man of greater and more vigorous intellect, more fervent picty, and eminent holiness; more enlarged acquirements in human, but especially, theo logical learning; and more extensive usefulness to his fellow men, than this most illustrious reformer."]

A Sermon delivered on the Anniversary of the Western Education Society, at Utica, Dec. 31, 1818, by the Rev. Dr. NORTON. To which will be added, the Report of the Directors, and an Address to the Public.

Henry Wheaton, Esq. Reporter to the Supreme Court of the United States, is engaged in preparing for the press a Digest of the Decisions of that Court, from its establishment in 1789 until the present time; together with the Decisions of the Continental Court of Appeals in Prize Causes, during the Revolutionary War.

LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
OF NEW-YORK.

At the anniversary meeting of this Society, held at the Society's Hall, in the New-York Institution, on Thursday, January 14, 1819, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President.

DE WITT CLINTON, L. L. D.
DAVID HOSACK, M. D. 1st.
Vice-Presidents.
SAMUEL L. MITCHILL, M. D. 2d
JAMES KENT, L. L. D. 3d.
Counsellors.

JACOB MORTON, Esq.

GULIAN C. VERPLANCK, Esq.
CADWALLADER D. COLDEN, Esq.
JOHN Griscom,

Rev. FREDERICK C. SCHAEFFER, A. M.
JoHN WATTS, M. D.

German Language, which for poetical excellence, and the purity of the German, leave nothing to be desired, and only cause us to regret that their number is too small. Mr. Mellish lived in 1795 and the following years, at Weimar; enjoyed the friendship of Schiller, and the other great geniuses who then resided there, and contributed German poems to Wieland's "German Mercury," and other publications. At the same time he translated Schiller's Mary Queen of Scots into English, and also Goethe's Masque Neoterpe. After a lapse of 22 years, he now collects the fruits of his muse, which he has dedicated to the high-spirited Grand Dutchess of Weimar, who is so highly revered for the courage she displayed toward Napoleon. His Song to Schiller, his Ode on Schiller's death, the affectionate lines to his wife, on Baroness Stein, (of an old family in Franconia,) his "Minstrel," admirably translated from Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, will be read with pleasure by every German scholar. In the same volume, which is adorned with 30 well engraved vignettes, there are some good translations from the German and the Greek, and good Latin

poems.

A new variety of Serpentine. Mr. KELFERSTEIN, of Halle, Germany, has recently published a description of a

mineral, which he considers as a variety of Serpentine, and distinguishes by the name of Weisser Serpentine, (White Serpentine.) It occurs massive in different beds of Serpentine. Its colour is white, often without a shade of green. Fracture, even and dull. Fragments indeterminate, and not particularly sharpedged. Difficultly frangible. A fatty feel. Its constituents are silica, magnesia, oxide of iron, alumina, lime, water.

Loss of Valuable Scientific Collections.

The collection of antiquities belonging to the Swedish chaplain fell a prey to the flames, which, in the conflagration of the month of March last, consumed the hotel of the Swedish mission, in Constantinople. These collections had been packed up in 11 large cases, since the year 1816: of these, only one was saved, which contained an Egyptian mummy. It was equally impossible to save from the fire about 800 volumes, composing the collection made by M. Lidman, of various classic authors in the ancient and modern languages, and a considerable number of Arabian manuscripts and others of the Cophts, which he had purchased during

his travels in the East. M. Lidman arrived in Constantinople one month after the fire, where, instead of meeting with his treasure, he had to deplore the irreparable loss which he had experienced.

1

ART. 3. RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

DOMESTIC.

N January the Rev. Henry Blatchford, late of this city, was installed as Pastor of the Branch Church, in Salem, Massachusetts.

providentially happened that I should spend the Sabbath in Hartford. I attended worship in the Rev. Mr. Hawes' meetinghouse, where it was communion day. In the course of the morning services, several candidates presented themselves for admission into the church; among whom was a young lady, a pupil in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. The scene was pe culiarly interesting. The Rev. Pastor observed to the congregation, that the case of Miss Fowler, the unfortunate candidate before them, was so peculiar, he felt himself bound to state, that she had for some time past manifested a strong desire to unite with the church under his care; that he had repeatedly examined her with respect to her acquaintance Extract of a letter from a gentleman, to with the simple and important truths of his friend in Boston.

The congregation under the pastoral care of the Rev. J. S. C. F. FREY, in this city, has purchased the Church in Pearlstreet, lately occupied by the Universalist congregation, and formerly by the English Lutheran Congregation. In this Church, which is now called "The Independent Jew's Chapel," the Rev. Mr. Frey officiates on Sunday, and several evenings in the week. Once a week he delivers "a lecture to his Jewish brethren."

DEAR SIR,

DEAF AND DUMB.

Being on a journey through the state of Connecticut a few weeks since, it

the Bible; that she had ever given the most satisfactory evidence, not only of her knowledge of these truths, but also of their renewing and sanctifying in