which generally attend such an in his own church-yard. His wit advanced period of life. "The was ever poignant, and always Resignation," a poem, the last levelled at those who shewed any and least esteemed of all Dr. contempt for decency or religion. Young's works, was published a His epigram, spoken extempore, short time before his death, and only served to manifest the taper of genius, which had so long shone with peculiar brightness in him, was now glimmering in the socket. He died in his parsonage house, at Welwyn, April 12th, 1765; and was buried, according to his own desire, (attended by all the poor upon Voltaire, is well known; and sin. The attention which Young of the parish,) under the altar-bestowed upon the perusal of piece* of that church, by the side books is not unworthy of imita of his wife. tion. When any passage pleased him, he appears to have folded down the leaf; on these passages Before the Doctor died, he ordered all his manuscripts to be burned. Those that knew how he bestowed a second reading. much he expressed in a small But the labours of man are too compass, and that he never wrote frequently vain. Before he reon trivial subjects, will lament turned to much of what he both the excess of his modesty (if ed he died. Many of his books, we may so term it) and the irre- which I have seen, are by those parable loss to posterity. notes of approbation so swelled beyond their real bulk that they will hardly shut. As a Christian and Divine, he might be said to be an example of primeval piety. The turn of his mind was naturally solemn; and he usually, when at home in the country, spent many hours in the day walking among the tombs • This altar-piece is reckoned one of the most approv The author of these lines is not without his Hic jacet. His son has curious in the kingdom, adorned with an ele gant piece of needle-work by the late Betty erected a small marble monument Young. In the middle are inscribed these words to mark the spot where he is the chancel is this inscription, as supposed by buried; but he has a more lastthe Doctor's order, "VIRGINIBUS -----Increase in Wisdom and Understanding;" and opposite on the south side, "PUERISQUE And in favour with God and Man," "I am the bread of life." On the north side of ing monument in his works, which will endure for many generations, until time shall be no more. Thus in the years 1782 and 1783 it was ascertained that bags full of hydrogen gas, or of rarefied com mon air, either of which is lighter than common air in its usual state, would ascend into the atmosphere, The attempts to fill this bag commenced on the twenty-third of August, 1783. But the operators met with many difficulties and that they might take up con and disappointments, from iaad-siderable weights. vertences, want of materials, want Soon after the success of the first attempt, the Montgolfiers repeated the experiment in the open air, and with bags of different sizes; but their first grand and public exhibition in the presence of a very respectable and numerous assembly, was made on the 5th of June, 1783, with an aerostatic machine or bag that measured thirty-five feet in diameter. The machine, inflated by the rarefied air, ascended to a considerable height, and then fell at the distance of 7668 feet from the original place of ascension. This experiment was described and recorded with accuracy; and accounts of it were immediately forwarded to the court of France, to the academy of sciences, and almost as far as literary and entertaining correspondence could reach. The younger Montgolfier, arriving at Paris not long after the above-mentioned public exhibition, was invited by the Academy of Sciences to repeat his singular aerostatic experiment; in consequence of which invitation, of precaution, &c. so much so, that the accomplishment of the experiment, viz. the actual ascent of the balloon, did not take place before the 26th of the same month. On the morning of that day the inflated balloon, having a small cord fastened to its neck, was permitted to rise only to the height of about 100 feet; but at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 27th, the balloon was disengaged from its fastenings, in the Champ de Mars, and rose majestically in the atmosphere before the eyes of a great many thousand spectators, and amidst a copious shower of rain. In about two minutes time it rose to the height of about 3123 feet. After remaining in the atmosphere three-quarters of an hour, this balloon fell in a field near Gonesse, a village about 15 miles from Paris. Its fall was attributed to a rupture that was found in it, and it was reasonably imagined, that the expansion of the hydrogen gas, when the balloon had reached a much less dense part of the atmosphere, that gentleman began to construct had burst it. When this balloon went up, it was found upon trial to be 35 pounds lighter than an equal bulk of common air. an aerostatic machine of about seventy-two feet in height, at the expence of the academy. But while this operation was going on, and as a successful experimental family of France, and an innuwith an inflammable air balloon had merable concourse of spectators. already been performed on the The preparation for filling the 27th of August, the project of mak-machine with rarefied air consisting balloons became general; and ed of an ample scaffold, raised those who wished to make the ex-some feet above the ground; in the periment on the smallest scale soon middle of which there was a well calculated the necessary particu- or chimney, about 16 feet in dialars, and found that the perform-meter; in the lower part of which, ance of the experiment was far near the ground the fire was made. from being either difficult or ex-The aperture of the balloon was pensive. The baron de Beauma- put round the chimney or well, noir, at Paris, by the suggestion of and the rest of it was laid down a Mr. Deschamps, was induced to over the well and the surrounding try gold-beater's skin, and soon scaffold. As soon as the fire was made a balloon by gluing several lighted the machine began to swell, pieces of that skin together. This acquired a convex form, stretched balloon was no more than 19 inches itself on every side, and in 11 in diameter; it was of course easi- minutes time, the cords being cut, ly filled with hydrogen gas; and the machine ascended, together on the 11th of September, 1783, with a wicker basket or cage, it mounted with rapidity into the which was fastened to it by means atmosphere. of a rope, and in which a sheep, Mr. Montgolfier having com-cock, and a duck, had been placed. pleted his large balloon, agreeably These were the first animals that to the desire of the academy, made ever ascended with an aerostatic a private experiment with it on the machine. The apparatus rose to 11th of September, which succeed- the height of about 1440 feet, and ed. On the following day another remained in the atmosphere during experiment was made with the eight minutes; then fell at the dissame, before the commissaries of tance of about 10,200 feet from the academy, and a vast number of Versailles, with the animals safe other spectators; but this experi- in the basket. ment, in consequence of a violent After the success of this experishower of rain, was attended with ment with the animals, &c. and partial success: and the aerostat when ten months had scarcely was considerably damaged. elapsed since Mr. Montgolfier A similar machine was speedily made his first experiment of this constructed by the same Mr. Mont-sort, Mr. Pilatre de Rozier pubgolfier, by whom the experiment licly offered himself to be the first was performed at Versailles, on the adventurer in this newly-invented 19th of September, before the roy-machine. His offer was accepted, his courage remained undaunted, thing better than to gaze on the and on the 15th of October, 1783, varied groups that present themhe actually ascended into the at-selves to the keen observer of men mosphere, to the astonishment of and things; and to enter into all the a gazing multitude. The balloon minutia of the varied scene, all, with which he ascended was of an especially about the market-places, oval shape, its height being about is noise, bustle, and confu74, and its horizontal diameter 48 sion; all gives busy note of prefeet. The aperture or lower part paration for the morrow, yet all of the machine had a wicker gal- seems happy and contented. The lery, about three feet broad, with a mechanic, with face shining and balustrade both within and with- half washed, has received his out, about three feet high. The wages, and hastens to provide the inner diameter of this gallery, and morrow's dinner:-the dapper of the neck of the machine which apprentice has just closed the passed through it, was nearly 16 shop, and hurries to the tailor, or feet. In the middle of this aper-hatter, to provide an article in ture an iron grate or brazier was which he can figure away in on supported by means of chains the morrow; perchance he conwhich came down from the sides templates a trip to Richmond, if of the machine. In this construc- the skies forbid it not, or a jourtion, when the machine was up in ney to Hertford; (for that at prethe air, with a fire lighted in the sent is the centre spot of attracgrate, it was easy for a person who tion for all the idle gadabouts of stood in the gallery, and had fuel London.) About eleven the buswith him, to keep up the fire in the tle is at its height, and Babal beat opening of the machine, by throw-hollow at sounds;-now the gining the fuel on the grate through port-holes made in the neck of the machine; by which means the machine might be kept up as long as the person in its gallery thought proper, or till he had no fuel to supply the fire with. To be continued. shops begin to fill, and crowds of servant-girls, dustmen, and intellectual butcher-boys, indulge their tender sensibilities at the shrines of some neighbouring ballad-singer, who, with note unmusical, warbles, or rather roars out some plaintive ditty:-now the flying pieman, with voice and gesture, a la Harley, scatters around his puns and pastry in rich profusion, much to the edicfiation of the sur SATURDAY NIGHT IN LONDON, rounding vegetable vendors, donI love the bustle and confusion key-drivers, cats'-meat men, and of a Saturday Night;-I like no-match merchants; on one side Travels. An Abridgment of the Travels of a (Continued from page 132.) may be seen a group composed of from the florid drunkard to the fish-women and oyster-wenches, distressed mechanic, who pledges. discussing their tipple and small an article for the morrow's meal. talk, perhaps scandal; for ladies Such is Saturday Night in Lonin whatever sphere they may move, don. will talk scandal; in St. James's, we may, if admitted into the boudoirs of some fair-one of rank, hear sly innuendoes and allusions to the Lady Marys and Lady Janes; we may hear of singular circumstances :- "Bless me! can it be possible?" "Do you believe it ?" 66. Who did you have it from "Now, in St. Giles's it is much the same, only clothed in different language; we may there hear how mighty high Moll holds HAVING thus given an ample her head, and what good clothes description of this famous MetroBet wears, and how strange 'tis polis, it is time to take a view of we' a'nt seen Sall lately, and so the manners, &c, not only of the on to the end of the chapter. Turn Parisians but of the French Nation your eyes, and you may, perchance, in general: previous to which, we see a group of ragged urchins risk-shall just observe with respect to ing their pence and suppers, by their persons, that they are genetossing halfpence with some itinerant vendor of mutton-pies. Mark well the eager and expectant look of the young aspirant for fortune's favours, and the calm and subdued countenance of the man, ere the hand is removed that decides the issue of the toss. Now the well known and oft repeated cry of, "What do you buy, what do you buy," is silenced for this simple reason, all are too busy to cry it. Now drunken tailors and printers reel by you, perhaps upset you; and the pawn-brokers' shops have been filled since six o'clock with every description of characters, shears and a piece of cloth lying rally of a lower stature than their neighbours of Germany or Holland, of a much slighter make, but nimble active, and well-proporti oned. There is a certain levity in the genius of the French, which discoveres itself in their discourse, gestures, and apparel. In this last particular especially they are making continual variations, their fashions or modes of dress changing almost as often as the moon. On this account, a Venetian, who was ordered to paint a Frenchman, drew him naked, with a pair of |
