M. Perault, who diffected a Camel in 1676, was of the fame opinion (Memoire pour fervir a Hift. Nat. Paris, 1676.) (Memoir. de L'Academ. des Sciences, Tom. iii. Part i. and Part ii.

p. 286.) "That water, in cafes of emergency, is taken from the ftomach of Camels, is a fact neither doubted in Syria nor thought strange. I never was myfelf in a Caravan reduced to fuch an expedient; but I had the lefs reafon to diftruft the report of others, particularly of the Arabs, feeing that even the love of the marvellous could in fuch a cafe be no inducement to invention. It may perhaps be fuperfluous to produce the authority of an Arab Hiftorian (Beidawi) who in his account of the Prophet's expedition to Tabuc against the Greeks, relates, among other diftreffes of the army, that they were reduced to the neceffity of killing their Camels for the fake of the water contained in their ftomachs. Sale (Koran, p. 164.) Gibbon (Decline of the Roman Empire, vol. v. p. 245.)

"On my return from the Eaft Indies in 1789, hearing accidentally that my friend Mr. John Hunter had diffected a Camel, and was fuppofed to have expreffed an opinion that the animal's power of preferving water in its flomach was rather improbable; I took an opportunity of converfing with him on the fubject, when (to the beft of my recollection) he told me " that he by no means drew any fuch absolute inference from his diffection; that he faw no reafon for affigning more than four ftomachs to the Camel; though he could conceive thac water might be found in the paunch little impregnated by the dry provender of the Defert, and readily feparating, or draining from it."

"In hopes that other particulars might be found among the papers of my lately deceafed friend, I applied to his brother-in-law Mr. Home, who informed me that he had examined them, but without discovering any obfervations on the fubject. That gentleman however, who had affifted at the diffection of the camel, has obligingly favoured me with the following remarks. "No experiments were made upon the ftomach, at the time of diffecting the camel; the chief object being to prepare the different ftomachs in fuch a way as to dry them in their relative fituations in order to show their internal ftructure and communication with one another, which could not have been done had they been opened in the recent ftate."

"From this preparation, (which is in Mr. Hunter's Collection) the number of ftomachs is found to be four, as in other ruminating animals; it therefore cannot be faid that there is a distinct refervoir for water; but the second stomach has a very peculiar ftructure, being made up of numerous cells feveral inches deep, with their mouths uppermoft, and orifices apparently capable of mufcular contraction."

"When the animal drinks, it probably has a power of directing the water into thefe cells, inftead of letting it pafs into the firft ftomach, and when these are filled, the rest of the water will go into the first ftomach. In this manner a quantity of water may be kept feparate from the food, ferving occafionally to moiften it in the paffage to the fourth or true ftomach."

"The teftimony of travellers, to water being found in the ftomach; aad Daubenton, upon diffection, meeting with it in the fecond ftomach,

mach, when compared with the structure of the parts, feem to confirm the above conjecture." Thus far Mr. Home.

To the teftimony of travellers may be added that of Mr. Bruce. Finding, therefore, the camels would not rife, we killed two of them, and took fo much flesh as might ferve for the deficiency of bread, and from the ftomach of each of the camels, got about four gallons of water. It was indeed vapid, and of a bluish caft, but had neither taste nor fmell." (Travels to difcover the Source of the Nile, vol. iv. p. 596.)

"Mr. Bruce did not pretend to be an anatomist, and on the prefent occafion, may be wrong in his phyfiological reafoning; but to what he afferts refpecting the water taken from the ftomachs of the camels, without hesitation yield my full affent.

"It was the misfortune of that traveller (who is now no more) to have known that his veracity had too often captiously, and fometimes capriciously, been called in queftion; owing (befides the nature of his adventures) partly, I believe, to a certain manner in converfing as well as in writing, which alienated many who were lefs than himself difpofed to take offence. He is now beyond the reach of flattery or humiliation! and I truft it will not be imputed merely to the partiality of friendship, if, as a small (but juft) tribute to his memory, I repeat here what I have often before afferted in occafional converfation, that, however I might regret a conftitutional irritability of temper, fo injurious to its owner; or however I might wish to have seen him at times condefcend to explanations which I have reafon to think would have removed prejudices; I never, either in courfe of our acquaintance, or in the perufal of his book, found myself difpofed to fufpect him of any intentional deviation from the truth." P. 423.

Of this volume, the appendix is by no means the least curi. ous or important part. It gives an account of the principal Arabian medical writers, as well under the Eaftern as Western empire of the Saracens. To the whole a copious index is added, in which great care appears to have been exerted. The value of an index is not eafily to be appreciated. It is alike useful to the learned and the unlearned; to the latter when defultory reading, or want of fkill, will not eafily enable them to feparate what they require from the mafs; and to the former, when, after a first perufal, wanting the aid of such a publication as the prefent as a work of reference, they cannot eafily allow the neceffary time to fearch through two quarto volumes, for what a good index will with little trouble, in a moment place before them.

This, as it is a fplendid, is also an expenfive work. We think splendor, when exhibited on infignificant and paltry publications, is generally detrimental to the caufe of literature. An undertaking like this of Dr. Ruffel, juftifies, and indeed demands it.

C

BRIT. CRIT. VOL. V. JAN. 1795.

ART.

ART. III. Fifty Years' Correfpondence, Inglish, French, and Lattin, in Proze and Verfe, between Geniuffes or boath Sexes and James Elphinston: in eight Pocket Vollumes, including an Appendix mifcellaneous. Dhe aridginal Letters to be feen in dhe hands ov dhe Edditor. Price 11. 8s. dhe eight Völlumes foed. Sold by W. Ritchardson, &c. 1794.

SIX of thefe volumes appeared in the year 1791, under the

title of Forty Years' Correfpondence, and we thould therefore hope, by the appearance of the additional two at this time, that the worthy author had found a fale for the former fufficient to fatisfy his expectations. Indolent as the age is, and unwilling to feek advantage through difficulties, it is an argument of no small merit, if this publication has been able to force its way, notwithstanding the ftriking difadvantage of that peculiar orthography which Mr. Elphinfton choofes to employ; a fpecimen of which our readers will fee in the title, which we have copied exactly. We difpute not with him the propriety of his fpelling; that is, whether it may not reprefent the founds that are pronounced, better than that which is actually in use, (though here we could mention many points in which we differ;) but we can affure the refpectable author, that the attempt to overturn fo totally the whole form of a language, is of all others the most impracticable. His knowledge of the world, at the age of 72, (as he is by his own statement, Vol. I. p. 3) might affure him of this truth; but it is not at feventy-two that men learn to give up fancies they have long cherished.

Mr. Elphinston first became generally known to the Englith Literati by re-publishing the Rambler at Edinburgh in 1751, in eight neat pocket volumes, with tranflations of many of the mottos, fo weil performed that Dr. Johnson afterwards adopted them. This task he undertook, as he tells us (Vol. I. p. 35) at once for the honour of his friend, and the improvement of his country; for he was at that time a friend and correfpondent of Johnfon, feveral of whofe letters appear in this publication. Two of thefe Mr. Bofwell has inferted in his Life of that author. (Vol. I. p. 186, 8vo.) So ftrictly was Mr. Elphinston guided by friendship in making thefe tranflations, that, as we find by his own information, he tranflated not another motto, after he understood that the author had fold the property; though he continued his care of the Scotch edition to the laft. This edition has now become fcarce and valuable.

In 1765 Mr. Elphinston publifhed, in two neat volumes duodecimo, an elaborate treatise on the Principles of the Englifh Language: full of very acute as well as very laborious investigation. In this, however, there are few, if any traces of the orthography he has fince invented, and endeavoured to, enforce. About the year 1782 appeared his tranflation of Martial, a work that did not answer the expectation raised by his imitations of the mottos. But in 1786 was iffued his great work on Orthography, in two volumes quarto, which he ftyles Propriety afcertained in her Picture, a title much favouring of the tafte of the 16th century; and this has fince been followed up by English Orthography Epitomized, with Propriety's Pocket Dictionary, a fmall volume, duodecimo.The prefent collection, however, moft fully exemplifies the Elphinstonian fyftem; for the author not only writes his own letters in his new orthography, but converts thofe of his correfpondents into the fame form and we much fear that most English readers, inftead of attempting them as they stand, would be inclined to call for a tranflation. Not even proper names of men or places efcape him. We have Sammuel Jonfon, Eddinburrough, &c. Mr. Elphir..ton has long been established as an inftructor of youth, in confequence of which occupation doubtless it is, that much of the mifcellaneous part of the last volume confists of papers from the Spectator, and other periodical works, letters from Pope and others, &c. turned into Mr. E.'s own language, into Latin, and into French.Among his correfpondents, throughout the fifty years, many refpectable names appear; the connections of the author have been manifeftly fuch as a man of merit and learning ought to acquire. Some French letters, carried down as late as December, 1792, form a very curious part of the correfpondence. The fifth and fixth volumes are poetical.

In fuch a variety it is difficult to felect, but as we have mentioned the letters inferted by Mr. Bofwell in Johnson's Life, we shall take as a fpecimen a letter of Mr. E. to that gentleman, on the subject of thofe infertions. In tranflating it into the ufual orthography, we are certain we shall gratify almoft all perfons, except the author, who, as the letter itself proves, is not wanting in partiality to his own fyftem.

LETTER CCCCXXVI.

James Bofwell, Efq. Portland-fireet, London.

SIR, Iflington, July 20, 1791. "In your Life of our friend Johnfon, I found too much real enjoyment not to hint a few petty inftances in which the next edition

C 2

may

may be rendered fill more worthy the candour, confpicuous in your labours.

"Of the two letters to me, the tranfpofal was innocent, as one chanced to have no date. This therefore proves the twelfth, and the other but the eighth, of my Forty Years' Correfpondence. In your exhibition, however, Sir, both are doubtlefs literally more genuine pictures of the originals in my poffeffion: for English orthography was no more known to their author, than to most of my other correfpondents.

"He might, indeed, well retain a scholar's reverence for antiquity, who pronounced, in one of the Ramblers, the most polished of modern European languages, but barbarous degenerations, and in an Idler, the English tongue fo little analogical, as to give few opportunities for grammatical refearches. Nor is it lefs certain, that a fcholar, fo immerfed in the dictions of antiquity, might compofe a dictionary, valuable at least for its authorities, in a vernacular idiom, fuppofed infufceptible as unworthy of orthography.

But in your fecond volume, Sir, page (I think) 207, lefs guarded recollection feems to have expofed our celebrated friend, as if rattling in a manner at once unworthy of himself and inconfiftent with that kindness, which fo honoured me, when I first intimated my tranflation of Martial, as warmly to fay, I am forry I was not your first fubfcriber.' As for Garrick's vapouring on the subject, no one who knows me will believe that I ever confulted him on any fubject, or that I could prostitute to his criticism, what I never would

fubmit to his mafter's.

"It is needless to touch here on other topics I could mention, did you with a conference: for neither your fubject, nor its author, can ever be indifferent to a perfon, who fo juftly venerates the one, and values the other, as does,

"Sir, your moft obedient fervant,
"JAMES ELPHINSTON."

Prefixed to Vol. VII. is a portrait of Mr. Elphinston, which expreffes fo much character that we fhould guess it to be a frong likenefs.

ART. IV. Hiero, or the Condition of Royalty, a Converfation from the Greek of Xenophon. By the Tranflator of Antoninus's Meditations. 8vo. 138, pp. 2s. 6d. Cruttwell, Bath. Robinfons, London, 1793.

UDICIOUS felection of ancient authors to tranflate, and

Jelegant rendering of their fentiments, may always be expected from a writer fo qualified as Mr. Graves, the prefent tranflator of the Hiero, whom the public well know to be no lefs happy in his efforts as an original writer *, than as a diffufer

In the Spiritual Quixotte, Euphrofyne. &c.

of