"After proceeding for fix hours over a dry and hilly road, where my camels were forced to afcend acclivities very difficult on account of their fleepnefs, I difcovered a verdant horizon, and a very rural and agreeable perspective.

"Inftead of thofe moving white and arid fands, which afflict and fatigue the fight and the mind, or of those difmal and folitary fhores which confine (Gallicifm) an open fea, we here met with beautiful trees, and a cheerful verdure, which announced a fertile and happy

country.

"A great number of men collected on a rifing ground, fhaded by two fine date trees, directed their attention to my caravan, which was advancing towards the valley of the two Gagnacks.

"All nature now appeared to have changed her face and colour; fhe feemed to have rifen from the dead; and my mind also acquired a new exiftence, for I enjoyed the pleasure of feeing myself furrounded by fresh and animated vegetation.

"We began to tread upon a meadow enamelled with flowers, and interfperfed with trees of the most beautiful green. The odour arifing from the productions of the foil relieved my fenfes, and I experienced nothing but agreeable fenfations; my camel-drivers, domeftics, and foldiers made the air refound with cheerful fongs; and my faithful Taliba kept at my fide, while his eyes indicated the pleasure of his

mind.

The filence which we kept fometimes for whole hours, while travelling over the defert, or the languid converfation which was frequently carried on, were now replaced by the tattling inspired by joy; in fhort, we all felt contentment, even to my fine and faithful wolfdog, who expreffed his pleafure by his barking and his frolicks.

In this manner we proceeded to the entrance of the valley of the two Gagnacks, with a degree of harmony and fatisfaction which difpofed us to feel all the charms of this beautiful country.

"The two negro villages, both of which bear the name of Gagnack, the one fituated on the elevation which clofes the valley to the north, and the other at the foot of a hillock which terminates its fouthern extremity, and which the natives call Dock Gagnack, because Dock in their language means water; and because it is on the bank of a fresh and clear ftream, are each compofed of fix or feven hundred huts, and are feparated by the valley, which is in every refpect a rural place, being ornamented with every beauty afforded by nature.

My little caravan became an object of great admiration among the Jolofs of the valley of the Gagnacks, who inhabit a delicious spot, though fituated out of the frequented roads. My appearance was to them a great event, and a crowd of men, women, and children of both villages advanced towards me with unequivocal figns of furprize.

The crowd, however, did not prefs upon us; and I entered the valley at the regular pace of my camels, while the inhabitants of the two villages continued to advance flowly towards me. I foon perceived that the flowness of their pace was owing to the orders and tigns of fome men at their head, whom I afterwards difcovered to be the chiefs of the two villages.

"At length I found myself amidst the natives of one of the most beautiful vallies in the world: their number was upwards of two thou

fand;

fand; but though they all furrounded me, they did not occafion the Icatt uneafinefs, for their anxiety only indicated their furprize and curiofity; and the most striking benevolence was marked in their agreeable phyfiognomy.

"The chiefs of the two villages came towards me, fhook hands, and made a prefent of milk, eggs, fowls, fruit, and palm-wine: their words, which my negro interpreted, were expreffive of peace, friendship, and favour; in fhort, every action of thefe good people announced that I should experience from them the most amiable hofpitality.

"After a fhort conference, in which my interpreters explained. that the mere defire of seeing the inhabitants of this fine canton, had induced me to come amongst them; and upon the affurances of benevolence which were given us by the chiefs of the two villages, I was carried to the entrance of the branch of Dock-Gagnack, efcorted by the chiefs above-mentioned, and followed by a crowd of the good negroes, who feemed furprized and enchanted at our appearance.

"I ordered the caravan to halt near an enormous baobab, the top of which was furnished with immense branches; but in its trunk the hand of time had excavated a cavern twenty-two feet in height and twenty feet in diameter. In the following chapter will be given a defcription of this extraordinary tree, the patriarch of the vegetables in this beautiful country, and whofe infancy may, perhaps, be dated from the earliest times which followed the deluge; it exifted in the year 1786, on the bank of the branch of Dock-Gagnack, about two hundred and fifty paces from the village, in a green and brilliant ftate of antiquity, furrounded by the fresheft, most cheerful, abundant, and variegated vegetation which could be found in any part of the world.

"It was under the fhade of this beautiful tree that I fixed my tent and little camp. The limits within which I am obliged to confine the prefent accounts compel me to abridge the description of my ftay in this agreeable valley.

After two days pleasure, a period which I may reckon amongst the happiest of my life, I quitted with regret the beautiful valley of the two Gagnacks, where I was treated with a cordiality, frankness, and generoйty which will never be obliterated from my memory." Vol. ii. p. 35.

The Inland of Goree is next, and particularly defcribed, as are alfo the Jolof nation, the Mandings, and the kingdom of Barra. The Termite infect employs the whole of a very entertaining Chapter, which is followed by many fenfible obfervations on the commerce of the countries comprised between the bar of the Senegal and Cape St. Marie. Chapter 84th is affigned to Sierra Leone, with an account of the produce of the English and French factories in the year 1785, and part of 1786. The author next defcribes the temperature of the western countries of Africa, which neceffarily leads to an account of the prevailing difeafes, which have lately been ably commented upon by Dr. Winterbottom.

The

The work concludes with fome defultory remarks on various fubjects of natural hiftory, and on the characters, habits, and induftry of the countries and people of that part of Africa which is comprised in the prefent work.

We have been much pleased and entertained with this performance, which really merits the better and more fubftantial ornaments of typography. Before, however, we finally conclude, we beg leave to exprefs our ftrongest difapprobation of the cruel experiments made on the cameleon, as defcribed in the firft Chapter of the fecond volume. We hope, and wifh to believe, that there is no Englishman who, for the fake of philofophical experiment, would fufpend feven animals in a cage, to afcertain how long they could exift without food.

ART. III. An Account of the Aftronomical Difcoveries of Kepler including an Hiftorical Review of the Systems which had fucceffively prevailed before his Time. By Robert Small, D. D. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 8vo. 367 pp. 7s. 6d. Mawman. 1804.

THE admirable difcoveries of the celebrated Kepler, which

form the fteady foundation of the prefent fyftem of aftronomy, have been demonftrated, illuftrated, and commended, by Newton, Gregory, De la Lande, Keil, Vince, and other eminent aftronomers. His planetary laws, which have manifefted the harmony, and the mutual dependence, of the celestial movements, are daily confirmed by almost every new astronomical difcovery; and every labourer in that fublime fcience muft feel himfelf indebted to the immortal Kepler. Among the admirers of thofe laws, and of the genius of their difcoverer, the author of the work which is now before us, muft be allowed to hold a very diflinguished place. He thinks, that

"as the difcoveries of Kepler have contributed more than all other caufes to raise the science of aftronomy to its prefent ftate of improvement, they not only deferve full and particular explication, but also all the circumstances which led to them, and even the mistakes committed in their profecution, become interefting objects of curiofity."

His intention, therefore, in the prefent publication,

"is to give a more full and particular account of Kepler's difco veries, than any to be found in the ufual fyftems, or the general hiftories of aftronomy; and to extract the account from his own investigations."

This work is divided into eight Chapters, the contents of which are specified in the following lift.

Chapter 1. Of the principal Motions and Inequalities of the Celestial Bodies.

Chap. 11. Of the more ancient Theories and planetary Systems, and efpecially of the Ptolemaic System. Chap. 111. Of the Copernican System.

Chap. IV. Of the Syftem of Tycho Brahé.

Chap. v. Of the Preparations to Kepler's Difcoveries, and of his original Intentions.

Chap. VI. Of Kepler's planetary Theory, founded on apparent Oppofitions, and of its total Failure.

Chap. VII. Of Kepler's Solar Theory; namely, his Theory of the fecond Inequalities.

Chap. VIII. Of the Theory of Mars refumed, and the Application to this Planet of the phyfical Method of Equations; together with its important Confequences.

Very numerous notes are placed by themfelves after those eight Chapters, together with eleven copper-plates, containing diagrams for the illuftration of the fubject.

In the first Chapter, this author confiders how the ftriking inequalities of the movements of the feven principal celeftial bodies, namely, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, muft have perplexed the ancient obfervers of the heavens. He briefly delineates the hypothefes which were fucceffively offered and refuted, in proportion as the progrefs of investigation expofed their infufficiency or irregularity; and then proceeds to fhow by what means the limits of the principal motions of the moon and planets came to be determined with approximate accuracy.

The fecond Chapter defcribes the Ptolemaic System, with its fpheres, primum mobile, &c.; the Egyptian fyftem; the concentric, and the excentric folar theories, together with the methods of afcertaining, according to the different theories, the folar excentricity, the longitude of the folar apogee, and other fuch like particulars, not only for the fun, but likewife for the moon and the planets.

The third Chapter treats of the Copernican Syftem. The infufficiency of Ptolemy's fyftem, and the great inaccuracy of his aftronomical tables, gradually induced the penetrating genius of Copernicus to form a new theory, which might better accord with the phænomena of the celeftial bodies, and might furnish more accurate means of calculating their movements. After a long and patient examination of the neceffary particu lars, and after a confiderable degree of hefitation and reluctance, he was at laft prevailed upon to publish his new Syftem, and

Dr.

Dr. Small progreffively mentions the probable motives which first induced Copernicus to form his plan, the confiderations which gradually enabled him to conftruct, to correct, and to complete his Syftem, and the new methods he ufed for calcu lating the principal phænomena of the heavens. This System being well known to the fcientific world, a description of it cannot be required at our hands; we fhall, therefore, only fubjoin the last paragraph of the Chapter, which shows the temper of the times when Copernicus's Syftem was published, and the powerful obftacles which were opposed to it.

"The fyftem", this author fays," of Copernicus was not received, on its appearance, with any degree of that approbation which it deferved, and which it now univerfally obtains. Its cold reception, indeed, fully juftified the hefitation and tardiness of its author, to communicate it to the world. Yet, his want of fuccefs in explaining the latitudes and firft inequalities of the planets in longitude, and the intricacy of his theories on thefe fubjects, were not the principal caufes of rejecting his opinions. On the contrary, those were the parts of his labours which, on their first publication, were chiefly valued: and his theory of Mercury, especially, notwithstanding its being encumbered with more epicycles than his explication of the fecond inequalities had banished, excited the admiration of many eminent aftrono. mers. But his fyftem was chiefly oppofed, on account of all in it that was valuable and diftinguishing: and the substitution of the diurnal and annual motions of the earth, for the apparent diurnal revolution of the heavens, and the annual motion of the fun, was such a violent contradiction, both of the philofophical principles of the age, and the immediate evidence of fenfe, that all its advantages were undervalued, and proved infufficient to procure to it general credit. The conception of Copernicus, which reprefented the diftance of the fixed ftars from the fun to be fo immenfe, that in comparison with it, the whole diameter of the terreftrial orbit fhrunk into an imperceptible point, was too great to be adopted fuddenly by men accustomed to refer all magnitudes to the earth, and to confider the earth as the principal object in the universe. Inftead of being reckoned an answer to the objection against the annual revolution of the earth, that her axis was not found directed to different stars, it was rather confidered as the fubterfuge of one who had invented, and therefore tried to vindicate, an abfurdity: and, when in answer to another equally powerful objection, that no varieties of phase were seen in the planets, especially in Venus and Mercury, Copernicus could only exprefs his hopes that fuch varieties would be difcovered in future times, his reply, though it now raifes admiration, could not in his own times make the leaft impreffion on those who oppofed his fyftem. The earth was univerfally fuppofed to be fo immenfe and ponderous as to be incapable of any kind of motion: and the diurnal rotation, in particular, was thought to be decifively confuted by the confideration of centrifugal force; which would throw off all bodies, animate and inanimate, from its furface.

Thefe