• The 'unfortunate prince accordingly, accompanied by his fon; entered Delhi on an elephant. This, fays a certain writer, was none of the fine elephants of Ceylon and Pegu, which they were wont to ride with golden harnefs, embroidered covers, and magnificent canopies to defend them from the fun. No. It was an old animal, dirty, and lean, with a tattered cover, a pitiful feat, and the caftle open on all fides to the wind: the fplendid ornaments of his perfon were now vanished, like his good fortune: a dirty dress of coarse linen fcarce covered his body from the weather; and his wretched turban was wrapped round with a scarf made of Cashmire wool. His face, which formerly commanded refpect with the manly regularity of its features, was now parched and thrivelled by being long expofed to the heat; and a few ftraggling locks, which appeared from his turban, prefented a grey colour unfuitable to his years. In this wretched fituation he entered Delhi; and when the mob, who crowded to the gates, knew that it was Dara, they burft into loud complaints, and fhed a flood of tears. The freets were rendered almost impaffable by the number of the fpectators; the shops were full of perfons of all ages, and degrees. The elephant moved flowly; and the progrefs he made was marked to thofe who were diftant, by the advancing murmur among the people. Nothing was heard around but loud complaints against Fortune, and curfes on Aurungzebe. But none had the boldness to offer to rescue the unfortunate prince, though flightly guarded: they were quite unmanned by their forrow.

After wandering over the features of Dara, the eyes of the people fell on his fon: they oppofed his innocence, his youth, his graceful perfon, his hopes, and his quality, to the fate which impended over his head; and all were diffolved in grief. The infec tious forrow flew over the whole city even the poorest people forfook their work, and retired to fecret corners to weep. Dara res tained his dignity upon this trying occafion. He uttered not one word; but a fettled melancholy feemed to dwell on his face. The unfortunate young prince was ready frequently to weep, being foftened by the complaints of the people; but his father checked him with a ftern look, and he endeavoured to conceal his tears. Dara, having been thus led through the principal streets of Delhi, was conducted to Chizerabâd, a village four miles without the walls. He was locked up, with his fon, in a mean apartment, in which he remained for fome days in hourly expectation of his death. Here he amused himself with writing inftructions for his fon Solimân; having concealed an ink ftandish and fome paper in one of the folds of his garment. His anxiety to know the intentions of Aurungzébe, fometimes broke in upon his melancholy amufements. He appeared through the window to the guards; but they knew nothing of what paffed at court. He then enquired concerning an old devotee, who had formerly lived in a cell near the foot of the imperial garden at Delhi. One of the foldiers knew the old man; and the prince gave a billet to be carried to him, requesting fome intelligence. But even he, perhaps," he faid, with a figh, “may have changed with the current of the times."

• On

On the eleventh of September, about midnight, the unfortu nate prince was alarmed with the noife of arms coming through the paffage which led to his apartment. He started up, and knew immediately that his death approached. He fcarce had awakened his fon, who lay asleep on the carpet at his feet, when the affaffins burft open the door. Dara feized a knife, which he had concealed to mend the reed with which he wrote. He flood in a corner of the room. The murderers did not immediately attack him: they ordered his fon to remove to the adjoining apartment; but he clung round his father's knees: two of the affaffins feized him, to force him away; when Dara, feeing Nazir landing at the door, begged to be indulged a few moments to take leave of his fon. He fell upon his neck, and faid, "My dear fon, this feparation is more afflicting than that between foul and body, which I am this moment to fuffer. But fhould HE fpare you-live. Heaven may preserve you to revenge my death; for his crimes fhall not pass unpunished. I leave you to the protection of God. My fon, remember me." A tear half started from his eye, when they were dragging the youth to the adjoining room: he, however, refumed his wonted dignity and courage. "I beg one other favour, Nazir!" he faid, " much time has not been loft by the laft." He wrote a billet, and defired that it should be delivered to Aurungzêbe: but he took it back, and tore it, faying, "I have not been accustomed to ask favours of my enemies. He that murders the father can have no compaffion on 'the fon." He then raised up his eyes in filence, and the affaffins feemed to have forgot their office.

During this time of dreadful fufpence, the fon, who lay bound in the next room, liftened, expecting every moment to hear his father's dying groans. The affaffins, in the mean time, urged on by Nazir, feized Dara by the hands and feet, and throwing him on the ground, prepared to ftrangle him. Deeming this an infamous death, he, with an effort, difincumbered his hand, and stabbed, with his pen-knife, one of the villains to the heart. The others, terrified, fled back; but as he was rising from the floor they fell upon him with their fwords. His fon hearing the noife, though his hands were bound, burst open the door, and entered when the murderers -were fevering his father's head from his body. Nazir had the humanity to push back the youth into the other apartment, till this horrid operation was performed. The head of Dara was carried to Aurungzebe; and the unfortunate young prince was left, during the remaining part of the night, fhut up with his father's body. Next morning he was fent privately, under a guard, to the caftle of Gualiâr.'

The Public is not a little indebted to Mr. Dow, for his valuable Hiftory of the once flourishing empire of Hindoftan. As we understand that the Author is returning to the EaftIndjes, we hope that his genius, his curiofity, and his improving knowledge of the Perfic language, will enable him ftill farther to enrich his native country with the treafures of oriental literature.

ART.

ART. X. An eafy Method of affaying and claffing Mineral Subftances, St. To which is added, a Series of Experiments on the Fluor Spatofus, or Sparry Fluor, abfiracted from the Memoirs of the Royal Swedis Academy of Sciences for the Year 1771. By John Reinhold Forfter, F. R. S. 8vo. 1 s. 6d. Dilly. 1772.

HIS fmall but ufeful performance contains a fet of short

TH and familiar inftructions, by which any person of mode

rate parts, and not much verfed in chemical or mineralogical inquiries, may be enabled to clafs properly, and afcertain the true nature of, all the mineral fubftances he meets with, either at home, or in excurfions abroad; without having the ufe of a complete chemical apparatus. That which is here recommended by the Author to thofe for whofe ufe principally be drew up these inftructions, is at the fame time eafily portable, and fufficiently adapted to the general purposes for which it is intended. Befide a hammer, a fteel to ftrike fire with, a loadftone, and a few other neceflary implements, he advifes his travelling mineralogift to carry with him a fmall box, to hold a few vials, the contents of which are to be occafionally ufed as tefts of the different fubftances he may meet with. These vials fhould refpectively contain the concentrated vi triolic, nitrous, and marine acids, together with an aqua regia, a compound of the two laft; a folution of fixed alcali; volatile alcali; the liquor vini probatorius, or an infufion of orpiment and quicklime in diftilled water; fome expreffed oil, fuch as that of olives, or rather linfeed; and quickfilver. To this fall collection are to be added fome quicklime, kept in a well stopped glafs; a piece of infpiffated fuccus heliotroții, commonly called Litmufs, or fome linnen rags, or paper, tinged with the fcrapings of radishes; and laftly, fome.pure, that is, diftilled water.

The Reader will obferve that Mr. Forfter has not allotted a fide of his pupil's travelling laboratory or box, to the reception of that very useful inftrument, the blow-pipe. He is not infenfible of the great advantages to be derived from it, in profecuting enquiries of this kind; and remarks, on this head, that he might have made his apparatus ftill more compendious, had The thought it proper to adopt Mr. Engftroem's Pocket Labora tory, which chiefly depends on the dexterous management of the blow-pipe but this inftrument, he obfervcs, requires a great deal of experience and fkill, and will certainly be preju dical to the breafts of fuch gentlemen as have any complaints relative to their lungs. Befide, he adds, the habit of properly managing it cannot be eafily acquired in a certain age; and, if great precautions are not taken, an operator is apt to

*At the end of the English tranflation of Cron fedt's Mineralogy.

fwallow

fwallow the fumes which arife from the operation, and which are often arfenical, or otherwife noxious.'-All these objections, however, or the greateft part of them, may, we apprehend, be, eafily and effectually removed by making ule of the fmall Eolipile t. not long ago particularly defcribed and recommended by us. This inftrument takes up very little room, and requires no additional apparatus which may not easily be procured almoft every where; nor does the management of it require any particular addrefs, or any previous course of practice.

- For the particular inftructions here given, we must refer our Readers, who intereft themfelves in inquiries of this kind, to the pamphlet; which will put them in the way of acquiring a general knowledge of the proper methods of proceeding in inveftigations of this nature. We fhall obferve only that the Author first teaches his pupil to difcover the nature or rank of mi neral fubftances, in general; and afterwards their respective claffes, in particular, diftinguished by the appellations of 1. Earths or ftones; 2. Saline matters; 3. Inflammable bodies; and, 4. Metallic fubftances. Thefe inftructions are followed by an abstract from a series of very curious experiments, published last year in the Memoirs of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, by Charles William Scheele; in which, the integrant parts of the Fluor Spatofus, or Sparry Fluor *, are completely discovered. From the account of this elaborate and ingenious analysis we fhall felect and extract the fubftance of fome of the Author's various proceffes, and his fingular deduction from one of them, which cannot fail to intereft and gratify our philofophical Readers in general, and incite our chemical Readers particularly to confult the original.

The fpecies of fparry fluor on which Mr. Scheele made his experiments were principally, a green fort from Garpenberg, in the province of Dalerne, and which, according to his eighth experiment, owed its colour to fome particles of iron contained in it; and a white kind brought from the province of Scania. From his analyfis [Experiment 29] it appears that the sparry fluor is a calcareous earth, faturated with a certain mineral acid, fui generis, or of a peculiar kind, differing from all the other three. He has even produced or regenerated this very fpar, by adding fome of this diluted acid (previously obtained from another portion of that mineral) to lime water. On this addition a white powder was precipitated from the lime water, having

+ In our account of the Abbé Nollet's Art des Experiences, given in the Appendix to our 42d volume, 1770, pages 537, 538.

See Cronstedt's Mineralogy, page 109.

REV. Dec. 1772.

Ii

all

all the properties of the original fparry fluor. The most striking) of the Author's experiments appears to us to be the following; at least with regard to his manner of accounting for the pheno mena, and the inferences he draws from it, relating to the conftituent principles of flints, quartz, and other fimilar fubftances.

On fubjecting a portion of this fpar to diftillation, with anequal quantity of the oil or ftrong spirit of vitriol, first, very ftrong elaftic vapours arofe, and afterwards white fumes that covered the inner furface of the recipient, into which fome wa ter had been previously put. Thefe vapours firft formed a white Spot on the furface of the water, which by degrees fpread intirely over it, and increafed to fuch a thickness, as to prevent any further immediate accefs of the vapour to the surface of the water. On agitating the receiver, however, this cruft, being thereby broken into feveral pieces, funk to the bottom. Immediately afterwards a new cruft was formed, on the contact of the fucceeding vapours with the furface of the water, now afresh expofed to them. The water in the receiver was now found to contain a confiderable quantity of a new acid, difengaged, and expelled, from the calcareous bafis of the spar, by the fuperior attraction and power of the vitriolic acid.

The white cruft, which firft appeared on the furface of the water in the receiver, and which afterwards funk to the bottom, being colleaed and accurately examined by the Author, was found by him to poffefs all the properties of a real Silex, or flinty fubflance. It could not be diffolved, for inftance, in any of the acids; nor would it form any pafte with water. It was dif folved on being boiled in an alcaline lixivium. It fuffered no change from fire, when expofed fingle to its action; but on the addition of an alcali, it melted into glafs. This glass, mixed with thrice its own quantity of vegetable fixed alcali, melted into a blue mafs; which being pounded, and put into a damp cellar, very foon ran per deliquium, and turned into a gelatinous fubftance. An acid precipitated a powder from it, and lastly, it was diffolved in borax, without the leaft effervescence.

The remarkable inference (as we think it may be justly termed) drawn by the Author from the circumftances of this procefs, is, that this flex, or flinty fubftance, thus produced from the fparry fluor, is folely compounded of the acid of fpar united with the particles of the water in the receiver. From fome other procefies he concludes that the whole of this fingular acid may be converted, by the addition of water, into fex, or flint and that the water is an effential or neceffary ingredient in this compound body, he infers from other procefies; in which it appears that when the receiver contained Alechal, or 7

highly