[Two fimilar inftances are added; one of John Hitchell, of Southampton, whofe body being fired by lightening, continued burning for near three days, without any outward appearance of fire, except a kind of smoke from it. The other of one Grace Pett, a fifherman's wife of Ipfwich; who going down into the kitchen, when the was half undressed for bed, was there found the next morning lying on the right fide, extended over the hearth, with her legs on the deal floor; her body appeared like a block of wood, burning with a glowing fire with flame, the trunk covered, like charcoal, with white afhes, and her head and limbs much burnt; there was no fire in the grate, the candle was burnt out of the focket, a child's cloaths on one fide of her the difcharge of fmall arms, which fhakes the very rock. After this noife has been repeated four or five times, the water, which is hot, emits a thick steam, like smoke, is violently agitated, and fprings up to the height of fixty fathoms, in fuch quantities as to form several hot rivulets on every fide of the rock. The rifing and violent agitation of the water ceases in fix or feven minutes, and the cavity, or bafon, becomes empty. This furprifing phænomenon happens once a day, and is periodical, returning at a certain hour; but whether the agitations of this fpring correfpond with the tides in the neighbouring fea, has not yet been determined. ria. and a paper fcreen on the other Account of fofil glass found in Sibewere both untouched, and the deal floor was not difcoloured, though the fat had fo penetrated the hearth as not to be scoured out.] THE famous marienglas, or la pis fpecularis, great quantities of which are dug up in Siberia, is by fome called Mufcovy or Ruffian glafs; and by others, though with Account of a wonderful Spring in lefs propriety, ifinglafs. It is a Iceland. GEYSER, a wonderful fpring in the valley of Haukadal, is but a few miles from Skaalholt. This fpring rifes in a hollow rock at the foot of a mountain. According to Mr. Olav's defcription of this fpring, who faw it in the year 1746, it is a cavity in a rock, about twenty fathoms in circumference, and three in depth. There is a small aperture at the bottom, through which the water gradually rifes till it runs over the bafon; then follows a terrible noife, like particular fpecies of tranfparent ftone, lying in ftrata, like so many fheets of paper. The matrix or ftone in which it is found, is partly a light yellow quartz or marcaffia, and partly a brown indurated fluid; and this stone contains in it all the fpecies of the marienglas. The clearest and most tranfparent is accounted the beft, and that of a greenish tinge is looked upon as the worst fort. Next to the colour, its fize is moft regarded. Some pieces have been found near two ells fquare; but these are not very common. Hence it is that they they bear an extraordinary value, a ruble or two a pound being readily paid for a piece of an ell fquare. As for the common fort, a pud of that of a quarter of an ell fquare is fold for nine or ten rubles; and the worft fort of all, for a ruble and a half, or two rubles a pud. To render the marienglas fit for ufe, it is fplit with a thin two-edged knife; but care is taken that the laminæ be not too thin. It is used for windows and lanterns all over Siberia, and indeed in every part of the Ruffian empire, and looks very beautiful; its luftre and clearnefs furpaffing that of the fineft glafs, to which it is particularly preferable for windows and lanterns of fhips, as it will ftand the explosion of cannon. It is found in the greateft plenty near the river Wittim. Account of a curious petrifaction dug up out of the common pavement in White Friars. THIS curiofity was perceived in paffing along, by the gentleman, in whofe cuftody it now is. It is of an oblong figure, between round and fquare, about a foot a foot and a half in length, and near nine inches thick; weight exactly ninety pounds. From its form it looks as if it had originally been a poft to keep off the carts. Its upper furface which lay level with the fuperficies of the pave ment, is of a brown colour, refembling the other tones in the ftreet, and therefore when covered with wet and dirt, it is no wonder This fhould fo long have efcaped the notice of every obferver, though hourly paffed over by all who went that way. The lower part, that is to fay that which lay lowest in the pavement, feems nearly of the fame colour, excepting that the ftria of the wood are more easily diftinguishable in it. One fide is covered with a fparry incruftation, of a white glittering colour, breaking eafily into flakes, and as easy to be reduced into powder; not unlike, in fhort, to the selenites, or fome kinds of alabafter. does not feem, however, to have formed originally any part of the wood, but to be rather a ftony coat or excrefcence generated by the water which effected the petrifaction. The other fide confifts intirely of the petrified woody matter, and by the cavity formed in it, feems to have been rotted away in that part before its petrifaction. Two queftions naturally arife from this appearance of it. The firft, what kind of wood it may have been: the fecond, how it came to be petrified, or what water occafioned it. With regard to the first, that is to fay the wood, if we fuppofe it to have been petrified in the place it was taken up at, it is probable it was either oak or elm, and I fhould rather pronounce for the latter, from the redifh appearance it has in those parts where the fparry incruftation is fresh broke off. But if we fuppofe it not to have been petrified in the place where dug up, and indeed the fparry coat above mentioned will not allow us to fuppofe that to have been done by any other than falt water, in that cafe it may be either lignum vitæ, log near it, I mean, fo as frequently to moisten it, in that cafe it is to be attributed to them, rather than to the river waters. What renders this point alfo ftill clearer is, that in the great ufe that has been made of the two river waters, we have never heard of any petrifying quality being attributed to them. Upon the whole then, it is impoffible to fay when it was done; or whence it was brought, but that it is a great curiofity, and the more fo for having been found in the streets of London, must be evident to every one who confiders it. wood, or any other ponderous of the waters of thefe fprings came wood of a reddish brown colour. As to the ends they are both fo entirely ftone, that it is impoffible to form any judgment from them; and though the fawing it would be a very likely means of deciding that queftion, yet for particular reafons the owner does not chufe to have recourfe to that method at prefent. Should the heart of the wood be entirely pervaded by the ftony particles, fo as to be alfo petrified, this would not be decifive. For the reft, it was found close to a water-plug, where it has probably remained many ages, with the water continually exuding upon it, but that the water there formed the petrifaction is a point not to be admitted on account of the fparry coat fo often mentioned, which will not admit of its having been been petrified by fresh water. But even fhould this be granted, it would be ftill neceflary to enquire what water did it; for though the water of the plug, near which it lay, was continually exuding upon it, yet as both rivers water run that way, its petrifaction might have been owing to the other. It is well known, moreover, that the friary is for the most part an artificial ground, abounding in fprings, fome of which have been formerly reputed medicinal; and if any Remarkable inftance of a decrepitude tranfmitted from parents to chil dren. IN the Warfaw Gazette, of the 13th May, 1763, we have the following extraordinary relation: One Margaret Krafiowna died lately in the village of Koninia, aged 108, being born Feb. 12, 1655. At the age of 94 fhe married, for her third husband, Gafpard Raykou, of the village of Ciwoufzin, then aged 105. During the 14 years they lived together, they had two boys and one The memory of this medicinal quality of the waters is ftill preferved in the name of a court there, called Dogwell Court, which though improperly fet down Dodwell in the city books, as if it had formerly belonged to one Dodwell as proprietor, yet it is well known took its name from a dog's accidentally falling into a well, which is still to be seen in the cellar of the upper house in the court, and being thereby cured of a moft inveterate mange. From this accident the well grew into very great repute, infomuch, that in monkifh times it was prodigiously reforted to by perfons afflicted with cutaneous diforders; but fince the diffolution of the monasteries under Harry VIII. has been noted for nothing more than the tradition of its former virtues. girl, and what is very remarkable, thefe three children bear evident marks of the old age of their father and mother. Their hair is already grey, and they have a vacuity in their gums, like that which appears after the lofs of teeth, though they never had any teeth; they have not ftrength enough to chew folid food, but live on bread and vegetables. They are of a proper fize for their age, but their backs are bent, their complexions are fallow, and they have all the other fymptoms of decrepitude. Their father is ftill alive. Though most of these particulars may appear fabulous, they are certified by the parish registers. The village of Ciwoufzin is in the diftrict of Stenzick, in the palatinate of Sendomir." Surprising account of a perfon's fuddenly lofing his beard, the hair of his head, &c. and partially recovering them again. M. De Berney, a gentleman of Poitou in France, at the age of 60, had his beard come off, then the hair of his head, afterwards his eye-brows and eye-lashes, at laft all the hair on his body, without any alteration in his health. Three or four months after this event, his beard began to grow again, but not quite fo thick as before. Six months after, he had a flight fever, during which his eye-brows and his eyelafhes returned; the former pretty thick, but the latter much lefs fo. The hair of his head, and other parts of his body, is not returned at all. PROJECT S. It is with great pleasure that we can, at the head of our article of Projects for this year, fet one, which is an honour to our country, and, inof the greatest works of the age. It is that ftupendous undertaking of an inland navigation begun and directed by his grace the duke of Bridgewater. An account of the duke of Bridgwater's new inland navigation. I To the Author, &c. SIR, Manchester, Sept. 30. Have lately been viewing the artificial wonders of London, and the natural wonders of the Peak; but none of them gave me fo much pleasure as the duke of Bridgewater's navigation in this country. His projector, the ingenious Mr. Brindley, has indeed made fuch improvements in this way, as are truly aftonishing. At Barton-bridge he has erected a navigable canal in the air; for it is as high as the tops of trees. Whilft I was furveying it with a mixture of wonder and delight, four barges paffed me in the space of about three minutes, two of them being chained together, and dragged by two horses, who went on the terras of the canal, whereon, I must own, I durft hardly venture to walk, as I almoft trembled to behold the large river Irwell underneath me, across which this navigation is carried by a bridge, which contains upon it the canal of water, with the barges in it, drawn by horses, which walk upon the battlements of this extraordinary bridge. This navigation begins at the foot of fome hills, in which the duke's coals are dug, from whence a canal is cut through rocks, which day-light never enters. By this means large boats are hauled to the innermost parts of thofe hills, and being there filled with coals, are brought out by an eafy current, which fupplies the whole navigation, for the space of about ten miles. At the mouth of the cavern is erected a water bellows, being the body of a tree, forming a hollow cylinder, ftanding upright: upon this a wooden bafon is fixed, in the form of a funnel, which receives a current of water from the higher ground. This water falls into the cylinder, and issues out at the bottom of it, but at the fame time carries a quantity of air with it, which is received into tin pipes, and forced to the innermoft receffes of the coal-pits, where it iffues out, as if from a pair of bellows, and rarifies the body of thick air, |