Embellished with the following Engravings, all accurately copied from LAVATER, by BARLOW. 1. Portrait of HENRY FUSELI, Eíq. 2. An accurately marked Countenance of a KNAVE. 3. Group of Figures after Printed for W. LOCKE, No. 12, Red Lion Street, Holborn; and fold by all Bookfellers and Newfcarriers in Town and Country. CORRESPONDENTS. WE are under inexpreffible obligation to many of our numerous and in creafing Correfpondents, for their attention and partiality to our plan; particu larly to Dr. Hamilton, for his liberal affiftance in tranflating from the Latin Balthafar Bekker's Effay upon Infernal Agency, a Chapter of which we have given And to another Correfpondent, for his ingenious Effay upon the Witchcraft of New England. The Extracts from the MSS. of Dr. Dee, dépofited in the British Museum, are referved for another opportunity. D.'s D.'s request will be complied with; but the circumstances relating to his Relation's wonderful Vifitation, must be authenticated before we can lay the narrative before the public. The Extract from the "little book" is highly curious and interesting; as is alfo the questions taken from Swedenborg's Regnum Minerale; but the latter would lead us too far into the bowels of the earth. This may ferve, in part, to answer the two letters apparently written by the fame hand, but with different fignatures, the fubjects of which are 'entirely taken from Cramer's Treatife on Metals fuch queftions fhould be accompanied with fhort but fignificant anfwers, otherwife we can form no judgment how far the refponfes of other scientific heads may lead us. Queftions, to be fure, are the keys of knowledge, but the treatures, when opened, may be too bulky for our Magazine. Among other amusing and inftructive pieces, we are glad to acknowledge, again, our Huntington Correfpondent: his remarks upon the different aftrological hypothefes, are perfectly juft, and shall be used with that freedoin his generolity profefles towards us. Our Lambeth Correfpondent who is an honour to the fcience-may depend upon the strictest attention. A Gentleman belonging to the Dead Letter Office, Lombard Street, has informed us, that many letters lie there addreffed to the Editor of this Magazine, which have been returned by the Publifhers, the poftage not having been paid. This is much to be lamented, as the object can be nothing to individuals; but, to a bookfeller, who is often troubled with trifling fubjects, it is of fome in portance. What is become of Mr. B. Has W. E. touched him too closely? The Palmistry will be continued in the next Number, We fcarcely know how to exprefs our indignation fufficiently at the abfurd request of Somnus, who wifhes us to abridge Lavater's Phyfiognomy!! we have hitherto been careful in giving the whole, for by no one part, nor by all the parts except one, can his merits be ellimated A Title and Index to the first Volume of the Magazine will be given in our next; but the Sheets of the Phyfiognomy, as they do not yet form enough for a Volume, must be carefully peckerved for future directions. 466 Letter, by W. E. to Mr. Gilbert. IN my answer to B.'s queries in Nos. IV and IX, I promised to fhew the weaknefs and abfurdity of excluding the luminaries from forming the defcription of the native, when either of them are lords of the afcendant, but as a judicious correfpondent at Bath has in a great measure faved me that trouble, by his very pertinent remarks on the fubject in the laft Number, I conceive it will be unneceffary to fay any more. However, before we take leave of the fubject, I think it would not be amifs to afk Mr. B. how we are to proceed in forming the defcription of the native, when the beginning of Cancer afcends in this latitude; but to fave him the trouble of replying, I fuppofe we are in that cafe to have recourfe.to the cusp of the 4th houfe. I will not pretend to fay what Mr. B. may think of the matter; but this I am certain of, that fhould I hear that any perfon was fo much out of himself as to follow this abfurd rule, I should immedi ately conceive he was almoit fit for the ftrait jacket. But to the point now in hand: before we proceed any farther, let it be remembered that Mr. B. has faid that the rectification of nativities is a matter of no confequence. But I fhall by a geniture, which I have had by me for a confiderable number of years, fufficiently fhew him how far diftant he is from truth in that affertion. The perfon to whom this geniture belonged was a fon of Afculapius, and whole brain was abundantly more full of fcruples than compounds; which I conceive is rationally to be accounted for by confidering the pofition of Mercury lord of the afcendant combuft and retrograde-in Sagitary his detriment and on the cusp of the 5th houfe. The eftimate time of birth is Déc, the 10th, 1727,. at 8, 50. P. M. the curretted 9--15: at the latter, o-40 of Virgo, afcends the horizon, the lord of the afcendant combust and retrograde, the terms of Saturn afcending, the fign afcending earthy, all denoted that the native, would be of a brown complexion, the hair and eyes dark.. But now pray obferve what an unpardonable error we should have fell into, had we been fo ftupid as to fuppofe with B. that the rectification of nativities is a matter of no confequence, for at the estimate time 26 of Leo afcends and the Sun lord thereof, being pofited in Sagitary and in the terms of Mars, the native ought to have been of a clear complexion, and his hair as red as a carrot: by this the groping philofophers may, if they are not wilfully blind, easily discover the caufe why fome are fair, and others brown, and why fair parents have dark children, and contra. But to proceed: the accident with their correfponding directions, which I fhall here bring forward to answer my intended purpose, are curious, remarkable, and accurately given. And first, when he was thirteen years and almoft two months old, he was feized with a fwelling in his right. leg, which lafted two years violent. When this accident took place, he had the moon directed to the fquare of Saturn, the Sun to the fquare of Mars, and the Moon to the fquare of the Sun; thefe following fo close at the heels of each other, and the pofition of Saturn in a fixed fign, caufed the complaint to be both violent and of long continuance. It began on the firft of February, 174, at which time Saturn by tranfit beheld the cusp of the 6th by oppofition to a degree; the lord of the afcendant was then in the 6th fe parating from the fame afpect of Saturn, and almoft upon radical Saturn by tranfit, in the fecondary motions, the moon came to the oppofition of her radical place, and applied to the quartile of the Sun, remarkable. When the mid-heaven came to the fextile of the Moon, he began to court. the woman that afterwards became his wife, the afcendant ad fextile of Venus, and Sol ad fextile of Venus fol Neceffity for afcertaining the Afcendant. followed, and under the direction of the Moon ad trine of Venus, he mar ried her upon the mid-heaven ad op pofition of Mercury he began to be perplexed with law-fuits, and one misfortune fucceeded another fill the midheaven came to the oppofition of the Sun, and under this direction he entered as a gentleman commoner in King's College, St. George's-fields, Southwark, where he clofely applied himfelf to the ftudy of rules and orders for two years. In his forty-fixth year he became ill of a diforder in his lungs, his ftomach was loaded with green bile, now he had the Sun ad conjunction of Saturn, and femiquadrate of Mercury; in the fecondary motions, Mercury entered the 6th houfe, and the Moon tranfited radical Mercury and Sol: from this time he continued to grow worfe every year as his Mercury got on in the 6th. At length, he arrived at the fatal period which was to wind up the approaching tragedy-his Moon was now fetting faft, which brought her to the oppofition of the afcendant, and to the fquare of Venus. The Sun at the fame time came to the femiquadrate of in the fecondary motions. Mercury feparated from the fquare of Jupiter lord of the 8th, and the Moon applied to the oppofition of radical Sol and Mercurywonderful! he died in December 1787. At the time of his death, Mercury was almoft in oppofition to his radical place and to the place of Sol. A trange but not uncommon harmony in the celestial world. I fuppofe it is by this time fufficiently obvious to every perfon that has read with attention, that Mr. B. is in an error; as we have in the first place clearly fhewn what a blunder we fhould have committed, had we, with out having any previous knowledge of 467 the native, attempted to form the defcription of his perfon before the afcendant was truly afcertained. Secondly, the abfurdity of his pretending to point out the times of the grand leading events of life. Before that important part of the business has been judiciously performed, and the directions wrought out according to art, will I conceive appear equally clear to every intelligent perfon; from which it is plain that what the fo much admired Mr. P. faid on the Lady's Nativity, turned out true more by accident than otherwife-and I defy Mr. B. or any one elfe, to get at the time of events in nativities by any other method than that of directions, nor is there any certainty even in them, till the true degree is known. But if Mr. B. can clear his ground, if he can make it appear that he is in the right, which I am confident he cannot, then all the old women that tell, as they call it, furprifing things by fea and land; all the itinerant fages that are just arrived from abroad; and, in a word, all the book-daubers of both fexes about town; will, if they have a fpark of gratitude left, fincerely thank him for this valuable difcovery: for now all is plain, all is easy, through this happy fit of thought; it is now if true) of little confequence whether the given time is true or falfe; whether it is the nativity of the perfon you are to calculate for, or that of his next door neighbour. All danger of judging from a false afcendant is at an end, and an ignoramus that can scarcely dif tinguish the character of a planet from the outlines of a fhoulder of mutton, may now fucceed as well as the moft refpectable and judicious artift. Having now finished my answer to B.'s queries, I have done with all controverfy. In the next fomething curious may be expected. THE |