portraits are most admirably engraved, and the printing ably executed on fine vellum paper. For accommodation of foreigners, it is given in French in the fame fuperb ftyle-The public are much indebted to the ingenious editors for this beautiful work, and alfo for the two following interesting publications. "The Book of Common Prayer and adminiftration of the Sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the church, according to the use of the church of England, together with the Pfalter or Pfalms of David, pointed as they are to be fung or faid in Churches. Hardings, London." THIS work is printed in a moft mag nificent manner, on a fine quarto vellum paper, and is comprized in fixteen numbers, at 6s. 6d. each, which are embellished each with a moft fuperb engraving. While other books are prized for the beauty of their execution, we hope that public piety as well as public tafte, will difcern the merits of the one before us, and favour it with that diftinction which is undoubtedly due to a work that reflects fo much honour on the British prefs. mirers of Shakespeare, this work will be regarded as the first acquifition that has yet been offered. For those who poffefs folio or quarto editions of the father of our drama, the plates are also worked off on a larger paper, at 6s. 6d. per number. IRISH LITERATURE. "Reports of Cafes argued and determined in the King's Bench and Chancery, during the time in which Lord Hardwicke prefided in thefe Courts. Collected from a MS. never before printed. To which are added, notes, references, and tables. By William Ridgeway, Efq. L.L.B. and Barrifler at Law." Royal octavo, pp. 345.9s. 9d. boards, half a guinea bound. I Tis with the fincereft fatisfaction we announce this publication, which we are confident will be received with pleafure by the learned and liberal profeffion, to which the intelligent and affiduous editor belongs; and to which he promises to be a very diftinguished ornament. It appears from the preface that the MS. from which these cafes are selected, formerly belonged to the late Joshua Davis, for fome years the father of the Irifh bar; and that it was purchased at the sale of his library, by the right hon. Arthur Wolfe, his majefty's attorney general in Ireland; who with that liberality which ever accompanies diftinguished talents, made choice of the editor to prefent to his brethren of the bar, a work which he found of value to himself in the courfe of his practice. Marginal notes are added to feveral cafes, and fome notes of cafes in the Irish courts; and here the editor laments, that while the Irish bench is adorned with the fplendid talents, and profound erudition of the prefent jud. ges, their adjudications are suffered to perith in oblivion. This reproach we hope will be foon done away, and we trust that there are now at the bar man y gentlemen gentlemen capable of reporting the de- to his clergy, is also nearly ready for pubcifions of our courts, in a manner equally lication. creditable to themfelves, as advantageous to the profeffion. Mr. Wraxall's history of France, in two volumes quarto, will appear in February. Mr. White of Selborne, has left materials for two volumes octavo, on fub jects of natural history. Dr. Gregory's expected work on the philofophy of natural history, is in great forwardnefs. Mr. Bewicke of Newcastle, who pub. lished a popular hiftory of beafts, with engravings on wood, is employed on a hiftory of birds, to correfpond with his former work. Mr. Marth, the tranflator of Michaelis, has intimated his intention of answering fome pofitions in the last edition of archdeacon Travis's book. We are happy to find that Mr. Andrews, part of whose history of England has already appeared, intends to take up the fubject in his fecond-volume, where Dr. Henry concludes The intermediate period will be comprized in an appendix to the first volume. We understand that Mr. Tattersall's Improved Pfalmody will foon be ready for the fubfcribers. Two volumes of tracts for the ufe of students in divinity, and the younger clergy, compiled under the direction of the Society for a reformation of Principles, will foon be published. Some valuable productions of the late bishop Horne, which have never yet appeared, will form a part of the collection. A volume of fermons by Dr. Huntingford, the learned warden of Winchester, is now in the prefs. The Bishop of London's late charge Labruzzi's Via Appia proceeds we understand, very rapidly, under the patronage of fir Richard Hoare. Mr. Kirwan's mineralogy, much enlarged, will foon appear in a new edition. A very fuperb edition of the poems of Goldsmith is to be expected from the prefs of Mr. Bulmer. We have alfo to announce the following work, which is preparing for the Irish prefs and fpeedily to be published: A general index to the modern reporters, relative (principally) to the law occurring at trials by nifi prius; from the period of the revolution to the prefent times. The defign of this work is to combine, fo far as is confiftent with brevity, the advantages of a digeft' or fuccinct abridgement of the leading authorities, with the practical utility of a repertorium referring to all the cafes of any importance either way, relative to each particular subject, so as to reduce within the compass of two octavo volumes arranged and adapted for fpeedy refearch and difcovery, the principal matters difperfed in feven and twenty volumes, and to exhibit in one scope of view, not only the law as it now ftands on the authority of the latest decifions, but also the progrefs of its gradual improvement through various determinations to its prefent maturity. The editor fubmits to the profeffion the outline of a work begun for private use, in order that they may judge how far the general plan (though perhaps imperfectly executed in the first inftance) is capable of being improved, continued, and extended, to various branches of the law; fo as to leffen the labours of research, multiplying from daily publications, and to facilitate the ftudies of beginners. It is also submitted to agents that a general knowledge of modern determinations will not render them less qualified to judge where to seek afsistance, and in what particulars to inftruct their council. MATHEMATICS. For the Anthologia Hibernica. The proper Motion of the Sun and Solar Syftem in abfolute Space demonftrated. PR Ey William Beauford, A. M. RACTICAL aftronomers, from their conftant observations on the fixed ftars, have obferved confiderable alterations in their situations, not only in respect to the earth, but also among themselves. Doctor Halley about 80 years fince, was the firft among the moderns who noticed this irregularity. On comparing the declinations of the fixed stars given by Ptolemy, from obfervations made by Timocharis and Ariftillus near 300 years prior to the christian æra, also by Hipparchus about 170 years after them, with the declinations then obferved, in order to afcertain the quantity of the preceffion of the equinoxes, was surprised to find the latitudes of three of the principal stars contradict the diminution of the_obliquity of the ecliptic, confirmed by the latitudes of moft of the others. They being placed in the old catalogues, as if the plane of the earth's orbit had chang ed its fituation among the fixed stars, about 20' fince the time of Hipparchus in the fpace of 1844 years; yet the remarkable stars, Aldebaran, Sirius and Arcturus, contradicted this, their change of latitude being contrary to that of the others; being above half a degree more south than given by the ancients, tho' the bright Orion was almost a degree more northerly than in Ptolemy. He hence concluded, that these stars being the most conspicuous in the heavens, were the nearest to the earth, and therefore any particular motion they might have of their own, was the eafier perceived, and during the period of 1844 years fhew itself, though imperceptible in the fpace of a fingle century. ・ Since Doctor Halley, feveral other aftronomers have applied to the illustration of this curious phenomenon. M. Caffini found that the difference of latitude between the bright flar of the Eagle and the star ♂ of the fame constellation, is greater by 36′ than in the time of Ptolemy, and by two or three minutes than by the obferva. tions of Tycho. M. de la Caille, M. de la Lande and others attribute the cause of these variations to the attractions of the different heavenly bodies upon each other, but that many ages may pass, before the laws and measure thereof be known; and and though it be in the brightest stars, which are probably the nearest, that this variation is most fenfible, it undoubtedly exifts among the rest, and that in confequence, the fun and his fyftem have a real motion in abfolute space, M. D'Alem bert pursuing these researches, inveftigated the orb defcribed by the fun about the general centre of equilibrium of the whole planetary fyftem; but as to the path of this fyftematic centre, by reafon of the vast distance of the fixed ftars, it must be fo fmall a portion of an immenfely extended curve, as to differ infenfibly from a right line in many years. Dr. Herschel from a number of excellent obfervations, endeavoured in 1784 to ascertain this path, and affumes the folar motion, from a point not far from the 77th degree of right afcenfion to its oppofite 257th degree; which motion he says will answer the variations in right afcenfion afhgned by Dr. Mafkelyne to Sirius, Caftor, Procyon, Pollux, Regulus, Arcturus and Aquile; the former fix decreasing in right afcenfion, whilft Aquile appears to increase, The actual quantity of the folar motion, he thinks, we cannot eltimate lels annually, than that of the earth in her orbit. As the obfervations have none of them been rendered complete, and many of the affertions being conjectural and not demonstrated on mathematical and philofophic principles, the motion of the folar fyftem has not gained univerfal belief, be. ing by many deemed doubtful. . Indeed philofophers admitting two principles of motion in nature, the one attractive and the other repulfive, or a gravitating and projectile power, have pre cluded themselves from ever obtaining, on these principles, the truth. For there can be no two principles in nature, the whole universe being constructed on one uniform principle, and acts by one univerfal law, from which proceeds the origin of all motion, and this law is gravity, whether we admit it to originate from attraction or repulsion *. Thus let A and B (fig. 3 plate 17, in Anthologia for June 1793) be two bodies or quantities of matter, of different densities and magnitudes, whofe common centre of gravity is P. Now it is evident that these bodies being placed at the diftance A-B, and not acted upon by any other matter or body, will mutually attract by the power of gravity and finally meet in a state of rest in their centre of gravity P. But if a third body be added at C, there will be a centre of gravity common to them all at O, and towards which, the bodies A, B and C will tend; but if O be at a great distance from A and B, their common centre P will be preserved, and whilst the body A attracts B to m, B will attract A to s, during the time that A is attracted by O to t'and B to 6. By which compound motion A will arrive at v instead of s, and B at r inftead of m. But if the power of C on B is nothing in respect to A on B by the vis inertia B will be brought to n.- (vide Anthologia Hib. vol. II. page 371) During this time, the centre of gravity P will be changed to q fituated in the line vn and centre of gravity of the A or whole point of fufpenfion is O. Then will the areas Bn P and AP be defcribed by the bodies B and A round their centre of gravity P, in the time that the area O 9 P is defcribed by that centre round the common centre O. Whence inftead of the bodies A and B approaching the centre P, they will defcribe an ellip tic orb round it, whilft the point P is defcribing a like orbit round the centre O, in times, the fquares of which will be as the cubes of PA, PB and PO, and NOTE. Anthologia Hibernica, vol. I, p. 438 lbid. vol. II, p. 209. this, this, without the least affiftance from any projectile power whatever, except what arifes from the vis inertiæ of matter. Wherefore throughout all the universe, not only the feveral planets revolve about their respective funs in the various fyftems, but that every fun also revolves round a common centre, carrying with him his proper fyftem. Whence not only our fun, but all and every of the fixed ftars, have a proper motion in abfolute space, varying their latitudes, longitudes and right afcenhions, independent of the preceffion of the Equinox, fecular motion, Aberrati on, &c. In confequence of which, if the innumerable bodies throughout the im menfity of space, were placed at proper distances, they would immediately revolve round their respective centres of gravity, and banish by that power alone, every existence of abfolute reft from the creation; in fuch a manner, that if a fingle conftituent particle of matter was to remain, even for a moment, in abfolute rest, the intire fabrick of the universe must fall. From this circumstance and according to this univerfal law, let us endeavour to afcertain the distance of the centre of equilibrium of the folar fyftem, from its centre of motion. Ler A (fig. 3) reprefent the fun, B the mean gravitating power of all the planets and their fatellites, revolving round him. P the fyftema tic centre, O the centre of its motion. BP the mean distance of all the planets from P, and AP that of the fun. Now as the areas Pn B±qnx, and A u P are described in the fame time as Pq O, according to the laws of gravity, the powers by which they are defcribed, will be as the fquares of PA, P B and PO; but P B is to PA as B to A inverfely, and O is acted upon by B and A jointly. Whence if we fuppofe that PO is to OC as PB is to PA, we shall have A PA: PB: A+B PO. Then let P A be to PB as 1 to 588, we shall get PO 12975 times PB when P B 1, but PB 465,000,000 miles; wherefore PO6,033375,000,000 miles. But there is every reafon to imagine that the attractive power on O is to A + B, whence O will be in the centre between A and C. Wherefore as B: PB+PA ' :: A+B: PO1 :: PO= 2,339415,000,000 miles, the distance of the fyftematic centre P from its centre of motion O Now the time or velocity of P round O, is compounded of the velocities of A and B, which let ber and s and that of P the fquares of which, according to Kepler's law, are as PB 3 to PA3.. as PB+PA 3:rts :: PO3/ Herer 6731 days the mean time of all the planets round the fyftematic centre P, 27 that of the fun, then r+11417731, PB+PA, and 4 8 POS15917430598, when PB+PA1, confequently 426310849 days, or 1,167,972 years, for the revolution of the fyftematic centre, round its centre of motion, or the period of the revolution of the folar fyftem. Wherefore, fince the fuppofed time of the creation, 6000 years, the fyftem will have moved in abfolute space of its entire course = 1 50′ 46′′, or fince the time of Hipparchus in 1844 years or 34′ 7′′ being 1'50" in 100 years, or 1" 1'" annually. But the circumference of the orbit will be near 14,036,490,000,000 miles, making the annual movement in abfolute fpace 10,683,021 miles English. If a fixed ftar be fituated perpendicular to the plane of the fyftematic orbit, and oppofite to the centre, at the diftance of the fyftematic centre from the centre of motion, it would |