the deductio; the accompanying great men to the forum or senate, and back again to their houses. The most respectable attendants, or those who were most in favour with the patron, were nearest his person, himself either walking, or carried in a litter; the others going before or after him. Thus Martial informs us, he had attended one Bassus, when he waited on widows, to prevail on them to leave him a legacy. The same poet also mentions no less a person than Paulus, a consul, as extremely assiduous in these early morning-visits, and even dangling after hitters: so low was the consular dignity sunk under the empe rors! Those who led the van in these processions went by the derisory name of anteambulones, and shewed their zeal for their patron by clearing the way. The third method of insinuating themselves into favour was the assiduitas, the very extreme of officiousness and servility; not returning home after the morning salutation, but waiting on their patron the whole day, wherever he went. It is true they were generally of the indigent class who thus loitered away their time. A knight or a senator seldom condescended so far, unless they were candidati for some employment, and then only to some person of distinguished interest. The assiduitas might be performed by proxy. The train of these attendants at length becoming inconvenient in the streets, the custom was introduced of reducing them to a stated number, according to the rank of the patron. But this judicious practice was over-ruled by the tribunes of the people, who delighted in having a mob at their heels, huzzaing as they went along. The compensations which the great made to their followers after these servilities, to the poor were provisions, and sometimes money; to others their interest in obtaining promotions. This custom, however, was not without its use to the young nobility; it was chiefly introduced, that they who aspired to the chief posts under the government, might not only make interest among the leading men, but, by frequenting them, acquire their eloquence, their politics, their vistues, or their manner. The dialogue de causis corrupte eloquentia, supposed to have been written by Cicero or Quintilian, has the following observations upon this subject: "It was formerly a custom for the father or relations of any young man of rank and education, who was designed to hold some distinguished place in the republic, to recommend him to soufe emi nent orator, to whom the youth attached himself, paying his court at his house, waiting upon him every where, and especially attending his pleadings. What glory can be compared to that of orators? It is not only the men designed for business who value and respect them, but every youth who has any hopes or expectations to indulge. The fathers are daily sounding their praises to their children; the very populace pride themselves upon knowing their persons, and pointing to them in the streets. The first desire of a countryman or foreigner, upon his arrival in Rome, is to see those men of whom he has heard so much."Thus the custom originally was not a bad one; but it was soon corrupted by ambi tion and by avarice. For the Monthly Magazine. Further Observations on the Term 1 TERVAL, as used in MUSIC. N consequence of a private letter received from a friend, I most wil lingly retract my definition of an Interval, given in the present volume of the Monthly Magazine, in a paper "On certain Musical Terms used by the Ancients," page 122, line 5 from the bot to; defining an interval, "the differnumber of vibrations, or pulses, in a ence between two sounds, as to the given time;" and calling an interval "the pitch-difference of two sounds," instead of which, read, the "pitch-ratio.*" pitch in Dr. Rees's sent practice of tenor cliff-note 300 The Cyclopædia) that the preExperiments have shewn, (see Concertusicians is, to pitch C of the such a degree of acuteness of sound as is excited by a stretched string or other sonerous body, making 240 complete vibrations in one second of time; while bE, E, and F, when tuned a true minor third (without beatings), a true major third, and a true minor fourth respectively, above such C, make 288, 300, and 320 complete vibrations respectively, in the same short space of time: their pitch-ratios therefore are 248, 498, and 248, which not being in their lowest terms, and the last by 80, and obtain, 4, and, we divide the first by 48, the second by 60, intervals respectively. These are the same as for the pitch-ratios of these three concords of authors, have assigned to them, in lengths of experiments, and the writings of all correct strings or string-ratios; only that the frac tions are each of them reversed, owing to vibrations increasing in quickness as the length of the sounding-string is decreased. In like manner, 360, 384, 400, and 480, have been ascertained as the number of complete vi brations The fate of earl Stanhope and M. Bemetzrieder, owing to their not attending to the distinction between difference and ratio, loudly calls upon me to beware of adding to the confusion which has already arisen on this simple subject. It is probable, that in the course of a twelvemonth, results will be published, as to the different schemes of the tempera ment of the musical scale proposed by various authors, and the mode of working these calculations rendered intelligible to those who merely understand the common rules of arithmetic. If any experienced organ-tuner would have the goodness to transmit to the writer of this article, the number of beats in fifteen seconds, made by the fifths and other intervals which do not beat too rapidly to be counted, such a communication would confer an obligation on one who is engaged in a work, in which the greatest deference will be paid to experiment; indeed, much greater than to the autho'rity of writers; who appear not sufficiently to have attended to the distinction of a temperament bearable on the piano-forte, yet intolerable on the organ. It is highly probable, that in lay. ing the temperament on an organ, as is commonly done, the tuner is influenced neither by professional policy, professional prejudice, nor mathematical ignorance, but by the sound maxins of utility. Norwich, April 9, 1810. C. I. SMYTH. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, SIR, I proper designation of the Swedish Pliny would have been honoured with the notice of the learned president of the Linnean society, I should have endea voured to give to my argument more extension and precision. The defect of these I now wish to supply, by adverting to the arguments of Dr. Smith; which, though so strongly put, that at the first glance almost, they persuaded me to his brations made by G, A, A, and C, next above the foregoing notes, their several Fitches when tuned a fifth, minor sixth, major sixth, and octave, above the tenor-cliff, each being a true or perfect concord respectively; therefore 362 34 40%, and 410 or in their lowest terms, and 4, are the pitch-ratios of these four concords or intervals, as is well known to be the case by experimenters on the lengths of vibrating trings, 240, opinion, seemed on a review less plausible; and in the end, I still retain my convic tion, that Linné is the name which good manners require us, both in writing and speaking, to give to the illustrious knight of the polar star. 1 admit that the curious, and to me new fact, mentioned by Dr. Smith, relative to the assumption of surnames by the Swedes, refutes, as to the letter, my argument built on the assertion which I have seen in some work whose title I cannot now recal, that in Sweden, the termination aus is deemed a mark of plebeian origin; yet I must contend that Dr. Smith's subsequent admission proves the validity of the argument as to its spirit. For if, at the time of ennobling Linné, it were the fashion in Sweden for the nobles to have a French termi nation to their names, it follows irresistibly, that not to have this mark of distinction was proof of plebeian blood; and consequently that in Sweden, no man who did not mean to insult his learned countryman, would think of calling him Linnæus, after his new dignity was once announced. Accordingly, the Swedes then, and ever since, have called him by his new name Linné. Now it does not appear to me that we can excuse ourselves from following their example, as Dr. Smith seems to think, because the fashion which led to this change of designation was absurd or temporary. As well might we object to give his name to the learned bishop of Carlisle, because probably his ancestors assumed the name of Goodenough from some anti-puritanical fashion, as absurd as the contrary the Long Parliament. As well might we resolve to call Dillenius, Dill, because his German ancestors were so called. Nor have we any thing to do with the barbarisms of a Gothic or Latin prefix to a French termination. It is enough for us that the fashion did exist, and that the Swedes have not seen reason to abrogate the change of name to which it gave rise. Even if all other countries tion, I do not think their practice would persisted in retaining the old denomina be any rule for us ; for I conceive it ought the prescription of centuries has not to be a fixed axiom in every case where made the change impossible, to revert to the precise names which foreigners give to themselves, and to their towns, when these can be accurately ascertained. Not to do this, is to adinit the propriety of the barbarous manglings of the proper nameg names of other countries, of which the French are so ridiculously guilty. I would certainly not imitate them in endeavouring to naturalise Marcus Aurelius; and, though I would not attempt to substitute Wien, for Vienna, now naturalised beyond recal, I would doubtless say Taheitee rather than Otaheitee, since the prefix is proved to be superfluous. But not only do the Swedes always call their countryman Linné: the same title is constantly given to him in Germany; and I should have added France, had not Dr. Smith assured us, that there they are beginning to use Linnæus. Certainly this change is of very recent date, and I should much doubt its becoming general; at any rate, the naturalists of Germany and of Sweden, more numerous by far than those of all the rest of Europe combined, always use Linné. The question then is, whether a due respect for the memory of this great man does not require that we should conform to their example; whether, in fact, it is not an apparent though doubtless unintended insult upon his countrymen, not to do so. To judge of the validity of this mode of reasoning, we should bring the case home to ourselves. Suppose that the order of the Bath were in this country as honourable as that of the PolarStar in Sweden; and that in conferring this distinction on any one, it were our custom ever afterwards to give a Latin termination to his name. Sir Joseph Banks would then, on becoming a knight of the bath, have been called Banksius. Now, would it not have been deemed a mark of the grossest ignorance or ill-breeding, should any Englishman in future have persisted in calling his illustrious countryman by his former name of Banks? And should we not have applied the same epithets to any foreign nation, which, after learn ing the new honour conferred upon him, persisted in using the old designation; especially if all other countries had adopted the new one? But this is precisely what we are guilty of in the case of the immortal Swede. Dr. Smith will urge however, that this argument applies only to the vernacular name of Linné; that “in Latin, even in Sweden, he is now always called Lin. neus;" and that it is the Latin title which we profess to adopt. In reply to this I must observe, 1. That if we are to admit a man to be the best judge of the mode of writing his own name, Linpe's designation ought to be the saine in Latin as in Swedish. How does he call himself in the last edition of his Systema Nature? He does not say Systema Naturæ Caroli Linnæi, but "Caroli a Linné." Indeed, not to have preserved this designation in Latin, in which language nine-tenths of his works were composed, would have been to give up the distinction conferred upon him. 2. The assertion that the Swedes in Latin now always use Linnæus, is by much too unqualified; and I am greatly mistaken if, on re-examination, Dr. Smith will not find just the contrary to be more nearly accurate. It is true, that in Latin composition, where oblique cases occur, the Swedes say Linnæi, Linnæo, &c. as they are forced to do to be intelligible; but in the nominative, they invariably, as far as my experience goes, use a Linné, never Linnæus. I have now before me one of the most recent Latin works in natural history, that have been received in this country from Sweden Gyllenhal's Insecta Suecica, published in 1808. In the preface to this work, wherever Linné's name occurs in the nominative case, it is constantly written a Linné; in one case even after the preposition ab. I am well aware that Linnæus amalgamates much better with Latin composition than a Linné; but I do not see that this is any reason for de. priving him of his real name and honourable title. Indeed, modern authors seem to be getting sensible of the folly of Latinising our often barbarous Gorbic names, and generally leave them as they find them-surely the most rational plan. Happé, the author of Icones Plant, Crypt." does not call himself Happæus. And the effect upon our jaws will be not greatly different whether we read Wiggers, or Wiggersius; Scheuchzer, or Scheuchzerus; Schkuhz, or Schkulizius. However strange it may seem to Dr. Smith therefore, I am of opinion that not only in English, but in Latin, at least in the nominative case, we ought to say Linné. But Dr. Smith will here repeat his objection, that to be consistent we ought to call him a Linné, or von or de Linné. In Latin, I think doubtless we ought to follow the Swedes in saying a Linné; but in English, as I observed in my first letter in obviating this objection, I conceive we may safely follow the Germans and French, who always say Linné without the prefix. In matters of this kind, custom is omnipotent; and the decision of the majority should be submitted to. If we write the name (as we ought to do) with the accent, there need be no fear that it will be Anglicised into Linny. Surely few of those who will pronounce the name are likely to fall into such an absurdity, when every volunteer appren tice gives the French pronunciation to corps. I have thus diffusely given the reasons that prevent me from acceding to Dr. Smith's opinion on this subject. For Dr. Smith however I have the greatest respect; and should be glad even, so little wedded am I to my own notions, if my conviction would allow me to bow to the decision of so excellent a hotanist, who has such just claims to be admitted the arbiter of disputed points in an empire where his authority stands so high. I do not myself intend to say any thing more on the subject: but if Dr. Smith condescends to make a rejoinder in this amicable controversy, I promise him the most unprejudiced attention to his ar. guments; and that if I am convinced by them, I will at once conferm to his practice. I argue for truth, not for victory. April 8, 1810. A LINNEAN. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, HE rapid strides which the French TH emperor has made in the subju gation of continental Europe, and the great acquisition of territory he has lately made by the annexation of Gallicia to his dominions (a part but little known), makes the following account of the Ukraine peculiarly interesting. His constant anxiety to extend his commerce, and his perseverance in endeavouring to destroy ours, makes this article curious, as it affords a new proof of his retaining the sentiments expressed in the report published by his orders by a French-Polish writer of much celebrity, Monsieur Malekeusky. By the treaty concluded in October, at Vienna, he has gained an immense tract of country abounding in timber, iron, hemp, saltpetre, cattle and corn. All this evinces his eagerness to raise a powerful navy; and eventually to shut us out from the Mediterranean, as he has done from the Baltic: this is evident from the tenor of the report. He has also got possession of the celebrated salt-mines of Wielicza, which produced an immense revenue to Austria. Though this may to many appear trifling, yet he well knows its value; and as a description of those famous mines may be amusing, I shall send it for your perusal. An ACCOUNT of the UKRAINF; extracted in part from MALIE-BRUN'S late Picture of POLAND. Of all the ancient kingdom of Poland, the finest part is that which borders on Turkey in Europe, and comprehends the palatinates of Russia and Belz, with the free state of Chelin, the palatinate of Wolhynia, which forms a province of the same name, and those of Kiovie, Braclaw, and Upper Podolia, generally coinprised under the name of the Ukraine, that is, the frontier provinces. The soil of these countries, more elevated and less moist than that of Lithuania, enjoys also the influence of a more southern climate, for Polish Ukraine extends nearly from the 48th to the 52d degree of latitude, which corresponds with the parallels of London and Paris. Yet it appears that the climate is not more temperate than that of Holstein, to which it bears a resemblance by the wetness of the winter. Every sort of grain thrives here in great abundance: the earth only requires to be slightly moved, to return its produce with usury. Many of the grains returu from fifty to sixty per cent. ; and in general manure is dispensed with. A spot of earth is covered with a thick verdure in three days: and it is a fact, that vegetation in the Ukraine exhibits the greatest vigour, variety, beauty, and magnificence. Innumerable sorts of flowers abound, and perfume the air with their aromatio sweets. The grass grows to such a height in the meadows, as just to leave the horns of cattle visible; rosemary, thyme, asparagus, and punkins, grow spontaneously, and of the finest quality, Vines also grow, but they pay little regard to the cultivation of them. The forests contain oak, and other sorts of timber, but not every where equally good: droves of wild horses are met with; and also of the subak, a species of antelope. One cannot give a better idea of the importance this country might be of ta France and the Ottoman empire, than by quoting the words of a celebrated Polish writer, monsieur Malekeusky. "The abundant and various produc tions of Poland, were for a long time only exported by the Baltic. In the last years of their political existence, the Poles, harassed with the enormous taxation or -the the customs and duties of the Prussian "These provinces form almost one-half of the extent of Poland. Three great rivers water them: the Nieper or Borysthenes, the Bog, and the Niester. These rivers traverse a much greater extent of country than the Niemen and the Vistula, the only great roads (if they may be so called) of commerce by the Baltic; and the countries which they flow through, in spite of the neglect of culti vation, may with justice be called the Land of Promise for the first wants of man. "In order to prove how provisions abound in these countries, it is only necessary to mention that the Ukraine alone subsisted the Russian armies during all their late wars with the Turks. "Timber for building is found of very advanced growth, and in great abundance: of this it is easy to be convinced by the report of the master mast-maker of the dock-yard of Toulon, who was sent expressly to visit the forests of this country. The masts which arrive by the way of Riga, are eighteen or twenty months from the forests by the Baltic; while those by the way of Cherson have arrived in three months at Toulon, according to the experiment made by the old French government: and the calculation of monsieur d'Anthoine has proved arithmetically, that for the Polish masts and timber the way by Cherson is far preferable to that of Riga. "The salt provisions of the Ukraine are better than those of Ireland; and the low price of horned cattle, as well as of the salt of Moldavia and the Crimea, according to experiments made, allows them to be delivered at Akerman or Cherson, at one-half the price they could be got for in Ireland. "Hemp, hair, common wools, linens bleached and unbleached, sacking, raw and tanned hides, are in great abundance. "Saltpetre, pitch, tar, tallow, rape and linseed oils, honey, butter, hog's lard, hops, and spirits distilled from grain, are also very plentiful. "Wax and gums are at so low a price in the Ukraine, that the Austrian merchants have them brought over-land from this province into Gallicia; from whence they transport them also by land across Moldavia and Austria, even to notwithTrieste; where they sell them, standing the length and expence of the carriage, for a very considerable profit. "The tobacco of the Ukraine is excellent. A trial of it was made in France in 1757, and it was found almost equal to that of Virginia. "Pot and pearl ashes, which for a long time were exported from Poland only by the ports of Dantzic, Krenigsberg, and Elbing, are also among the productions of the Ukraine; and it is easy to observe, that the difference of the carriage by the Baltic or by the Black Sea, must make a difference in the price. "These countries, which present so great riches to us, in provisions and articles of necessity, are almost entirely derived of manufactures; and the French trade would find by the Black Sea an opening equally advantageous to both countries, and a market for cloths, silks, jewelIery, wines, fine oils, liquors, sugar, coffee, spices, drugs, colours, &c. The attempts made before the revolution, have clearly proved of what importance this trade would be to France, and more particularly for those departments situated on the Mediterranean. "French vessels could even bring all the merchandize of the Levant into this This branch of commerce is country. now solely in the hands of the Jews and Armenians, and carried on across Moldavia; a long, tedious, and expensive way, and in which these poor men are subject to many insults and great extor tions. "The great mass of the exports of these countries by the Black Sea, would become more considerable for the French than those which the English and Dutch obtain by the Baltic: and the imports on that side would far exceed those of Dantzic, Koenigsberg, or Riga; because the three rivers, the Nieper, Bog, and Niester, when once rendered completely navigable, would penetrate more into the interior of the country than the Niemen and the Vistula. The canal of Muchawa, which already connects the Vistula and the Pripetz, and that of Oginski, which when improved would unite |