affairs under Mr Torez; and was afterwards charged with fome important tranfactions in England, Germany, Holland, and Italy. At his return to Paris, he was handfomely preferred, made an abbé, and chofen perpetual fecretary of the French academy. He was the author of feveral excellent works; the principal of which are, 1. Critical reflections upon poetry and painting, 3 vols 12mo. 2. The hiftory of the four Gordians, confirmed and illuftrated by medals. 3. A critical history of the establishment of the French monarchy among the Gauls, 2 vols 4to, 4 vols 12mo. He died at Paris on the 23d of March 1742.

Bos, Lewis fanffen, an efteemed painter, was born at Bois-le-Duc. Having been carefully inftructed in the art of painting by the artists of his native city, he applied himself entirely to study after nature, and rendered himself very eminent for the truth of his colouring and the neatness of his handling. His favourite fubjects were flowers, and curious plants, which he ufually reprefented as grouped, in glaffes, or vafes of crystal, half filled with water; and gave them fo lively a look of nature, that it seemed fcarce poffible to exprefs them with greater truth or delicacy. It was frequent with this master to represent the drops of dew on the leaves of his objects, which he executed with an uncommon tranfparence; and embellished his fubjects with butterflies, bees, wafps, and other infects, which, Sandrart fays, were fuperior to any thing of that kind performed by his cotemporary artifts. He likewife painted portraits with very great fuccefs; and fhowed as much merit in that ftyle as he did in his compofitions of ftill life. He died in 1507.

Bos. See MAMMALIA Index.

Bos, in Antiquity, was peculiarly used for an ancient Greek filver coin, which was didrachmus, or equivalent to two drachms. It was fo called as having on it the impreffion of an ox, and chiefly obtained among the Athenians and Delians; being fometimes alfo ftruck of gold. From this arofe the phrafe Bos in lingua, applied to those who had taken bribes to hold their tongue.

BOSA, a maritime town in the western part of the iland of Sardinia, with a caftle, a good port, and a bishop's fee. It is feated on the river Bofa, to the north-east of an island of the fame name; and has good falt pits. E. Long. 8. 30. N. Lat. 40. 19.

BOSCAGE, the fame with a grove or thicket. BOSCAGE, in a law fenfe, is that food which trees yield to cattle; as mast, &c. But Manhood fays, to be quit of bofcage is to be difcharged of paying any duty for windfall wood in the forest.

BOSCAGE, among painters, denotes a landscape reprefenting much wood and trees.

BOSCAN, JOHN, a Spanish poet of the 16th century, born at Barcelona. He was the friend of Garcilaffo de Viga, another Spanish poet. These two were the first who made any great improvement in the poetry of their nation, and their pieces were printed together. Bofcan, who died about the year 1542, principally fucceeded in fonnets.

BOSCAWEN, EDWARD, a brave British admiral, was the second son of Hugh late lord vifcount Falmouth. Having early entered into the navy, he was, in 1740, captain of the Shoreham; and behaved with

great intrepidity as a volunteer under Admiral Vernon, Bofcaw at the taking of Porto Bello. At the fiege of Carthagena, in March 1740-1, he had the command of a party of feamen who refolutely attacked and took a battery of 15 twenty-four pounders, though expofed to the fire of another fort of five guns. Lord Aubrey Beauclerk being killed at the attack of Boca-Chica, Captain Boscawen fucceeded him in the command of the Prince Frederic of 70 guns, In May 1742, he returned to England, and married Frances daughter of William Glanville, Efq; and the fame year was elected reprefentative for Truro in Cornwall. In 1744, he was made captain of the Dreadnought of 60 guns; and foon after he took the Medea, a French man of war commanded by M. Hoquart, the first king's fhip taken in that war. May 3. 1747, he fignalized himfelf under the admirals Anfon and Warren, in an engagement with the French fleet off Cape Finisterre, and was wounded in the shoulder with a musket ball. Here M. Hoquart, who then commanded the Diamond of 56 guns, again became his prisoner; and all the French fhips of war, which were ten in number, were taken. On the 15th of July he was made rearadmiral of the blue, and commander in chief of the land and fea forces employed on an expedition to the East Indies; and, on the 4th of November, failed from St Helen's, with fix fhips of the line, five frigates, and 2000 foldiers. On the 29th of July 1748, he arrived at St David's, and foon after laid fiege to Pondicherry; but the men growing fickly, and the monfoons being expected, the fiege was raised, and Mr Bofcawen fhowed himself as much the general as the admiral in his retreat. Soon after he had news of the peace, and Madrafs was delivered up to him by the French. In April 1750, he arrived at St Helen's in the Exeter, and found that in his abfence he had been appointed rearadmiral of the white. He was the next year made one of the lords commiffioners of the admiralty, and chofen an elder brother of the Trinity-houfe. In February 1755, he was appointed vice-admiral of the blue. On the 19th of April, failing in order to intercept a French fquadron bound to North America, he fell in with the Alcide and Leys of 64 guns each, which were both taken on this occafion M. Hoquart became his prifoner a third time, and he returned to Spithead with his prizes and 1500 prifoners. In 1756, he was appointed vice-admiral of the white; and in 1758, admiral of the blue, and commander in chief of the expedition to Cape Breton; when, in conjunction with General Amherst, and a body of troops from New England, the important fortrefs of Louisbourg and the whole island of Cape Breton was taken, for which he afterwards received the thanks of the houfe of commons. In 1759, being appointed to command in the Mediterranean, he arrived at Gibraltar, where hearing that the Toulon fleet, under M. de la Clue, had pafled the Straits, in order to join that at Breft, he got under fail, and on the 18th of Auguft faw, pursued, and engaged the enemy. His fhip, the Namur of 90 guns, lofing her main-maft, he fhifted his flag to the Newark; and, after a fharp engagement, took three large fhips, and burnt two in Lagos bay, and the fame year arrived at Spithead with his prizes and 2000 prifoners On December 8. 1760, he was appointed

general

Both general of the marines with a falary of 3000l. per annum, and was alfo fworn one of the privy-council. He died in 1761.

Bokovich.

BOSCH, JACOB VANDEN, a painter of ftill life, was born at Amfterdam in 1636, and painted fummer fruits of various kinds, peaches, pears, apples, plums, nectarines, and cherries, with extraordinary neatness of pencil. He painted all his objects after nature, and imitated every fort of fruit with fo great truth and delicacy, with fuch natural and tranfparent colour, that they appeared delicious, and almoft real. He died in 1676.

BOSCHAERTS, THOMAS WILLEBORTS, a celebrated painter, was born at Bergen-op-zoom; and, like the great painters who flourished at that time, began to draw, when very young, in the books that were intended for other ftudies. Preferring his pencil to every thing elfe, he drew his own picture, by his refemblance in a looking-glafs, fo like, that thofe who faw it were aftonished. This he did before he had the leaft instruction from any one, and when he was only 12 years of age. Upon this his parents fent him to a mafter, that he might follow the bent of his genius; but his firft matter being only an indifferent painter, and incapable of fatisfying his earneft defire of learning, he left him, and engaged himself with Gerard Segers; under whom, after four years practice, he proved a moft accomplished artist. Antwerp being at that time the feat of arts, where there was a conflux of the most eminent painters, he thought it the fittest place for his improvement; and there executed fuch a number of noble pieces as added greatly to the splendour of that wealthy city. In 1642, Henry Frederic prince of Orange, and his fon Prince William, employed him in their fervice; in which he continued feveral years, and made thofe excellent pieces that are to be seen in that prince's palace at the Hague and other parts of Holland, and painted portraits for most of the perfons of quality that were then living. He died in the flower of his age, in 1670.

BOSCO, or BOSCHI, a town of Italy, in the Mila. nefe, feated on the river Orbe. E. Long. 9. 44. N. Lat.

44.53.

BOSCOI, or Bosci, in ecclefiaftical history, denotes a species or tribe of monks in Palestine, who fed on grafs like the beafts of the fields. The word is Greek, Borzoi, q. d. “ grazers;" formed from Boone, pasco, "I feed." The Bofcoi are ranked among the number of Adamites, not so much on account of their habit, as food. They took no care about provifion; but when eating-time came, or any of them was hungry, went into the fields, with each his knife in his hand, and gathered and eat what he could find.

BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH, the founder of an original and fublime theory of natural philofophy, deferves to be particularly noticed in a work of this nature; but we have to regret that the materials from which our biographical memoir must be compiled, are infufficient to fatisfy the curiofity concerning the literary habits, and the characteristic features of this very illuftrious man.'

His rank, indeed, as a philofopher, we are enabled to appreciate by perufing fome of the immortal works. which he has bequeathed us; but, for a knowledge of his moral character, difpofition, and temporal conVOL. IV. Part I.

cerns, we can only have recourfe to the elogies of his Bofcovich. friends. These are certainly entitled to much of our confidence; and when the names of M. de la Lande, M. Fabroni, Stay, and Zamagna are mentioned, we may be thought faftidious, in implying the leaft dif. truft of their teftimony. It is our refpect for the public and for truth, and it is our knowledge of the nature of elogies, which have made us fo.

a

We have, therefore, endeavoured, rather to relate the incidents in the life of Bofcovich, than to give tranfcript of friendly effufion; and yet perhaps it may be discovered, that our portrait is luminous with euiogium, whilst its outlines are poorly defined.

Bofcovich was born on the 11th of May 1711, at Ragufa, a fea port on the coaft of the Adriatic, and capital of a small republic of the same name, under the protection of the Turks and the Venetians. We know fo little of his parents, that we can only conjecture at their circumstances and capacity, from the education which they gave to their fon being liberal and judi

cious.

It does not appear that our author gave any tokens of fuperior genius, till he was fent to learn grammar and philofophy in the fchools of the Jefuits, who were at that time the principal teachers in Ragufa, and throughout Italy. Amongst them, his docility and obedience could not pafs unnoticed, but were fufficient to mark him as a likely subject for future eminence, and confequently to procure to him particular attention. In his 15th year, after he had gone through the ordinary course of education, and when it was neceffary to determine his further purfuits, application was made to admit him into the order; and for the realons we have mentioned, was readily complied with. This was agreeable to his own inclination, and proved the fource of that diftin&ion in learning to which he afterwards attained.

The Jefuits, it is well known, had much intereft and authority to promote in the city of Rome; whither it was customary in them to fend thofe members whom they knew to be qualified for that purpoie, and thofe youths of whom they had great expectations, for more inftruction. As Bofcovich was fent there in the year 1725, we may reasonably imagine he had profited much by his teachers, and was fignalized for his abilities. This zeal in the cultivation of youth, which the Jefuits ever preferved, and which perhaps tended more to the preservation of their power than all their religious artifices, was attended with consequences the molt beneficial to humanity; and when we recolle&t how many and how great the geniufes were which it difcovered, and foftered and brought to maturity, we are almoft induced to believe that it counterbalanced all the ill effects of their order. Had this education been confined to fome limited sphere; had it embraced the prattling doctrines of cafuiftry and the unwieldy mass of cloistered theology alone; unfortunate and melancholy for the world would have been this zeal: no refuge for the venial penitent, no fecurity against boisterous fectarifm would have remained; an unmanly lethargy would have debased the mind, and the moral and the intellectual world would have funk to a dread chaos of confufion. But the Jefuits knew well the benignant influence of literature, and the falutary elevation of fcience; they faw that wealth, and power, and hoF

nour,

Fofcovich. nour, followed philofophy; and that philofophy had -driven famine, wretchednefs, and vice, from their habitations. We dare not fay that the intereft and aggrandizement of their order were fecondary confiderations, but we will avow it as our opinion, that the fhort reign of the Jefuits, and the objects at which they aimed, and above all the means which they employed, were more instructive, promised better, and effected more to humanity, than all the accumulated humility and fanctity of all the religious focieties of the Romish church. We have been led into this digreflion by the coincidence of certain confiderations operating at the time on our minds. Bofcovich was of the order of Jefuits; that order is no more; its destruction took place in his life-time; gratitude for the delight and the inftruction we have received from him and many others of the order; the prefent difpofition among mankind to detract from its merits, to magnify its imperfections, and to confound it with the fanatical and enthufiaftic groups of every perfuafion which have difgraced the name and the dignity of religion. But to return; our author on his arrival in Rome, entered the noviceship of the order, where his ftudies wore a new afpect, but were still pursued with diligence. Chriftian morality, the rules and conftitutions of the order, claimed his attention for two years; after which he was inftructed in rhetoric, and became well verfed in general literature, in a particular manner in Latin poetry, which at that time was very much cultivated.

From the noviciate he was fent to the Roman college to fludy mathematics and phyfics. It was in thefe fciences that his elevated genius and uncommon abilities fhone forth fo confpicuoufly, and procured to him the admiration of his fuperiors. In three years time he was able to give private leffons on mathematics; and was then exempted from a law, by which the noviciates were bound to teach Latin and the belles lettres for five years before they commenced the study of theology. This exemption was in confequence of his great predilection to the mathematics, of which he was foon afterwards made public profeffor. It would appear to

us,

that the science of theology, as it was then inculcated, had little attraction for the mind of Boscovich; for it is not likely that a mind intimately acquainted with truth, and accustomed to find her ever plain and undisguised, could relish the retiring obfcurities of fophistry, or the flimfy decorations of a mystical religion; nor can we wonder, that during the four years in which he was constrained to the ftudy, he fhould become more familiar with Leibnitz, Maclaurin, and Newton, than with Loyola, and Laynez, and Aqua

viva.

For the profefforship of mathematics he was eminently qualified, as, befides a thorough knowledge of all the modern productions in the science, he had acquired a pristine severity of demonftration by ftudying the works of the ancient geometricians; and he conjoined withal an obliging accommodation of his own powers to the deficiencies of his pupils. It was for their benefit he at this time compofed elementary treatises on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. But notwithstanding the arduous duties of his fituation which he invariably fulfilled, he found time to inftru&t and enlighten more than boys; for about this pe

riod, he entertained fome of thofe original notions Bofcovich. which were destined to grow up into fyftem, and one day to aftonifh the whole world of fcience. Thefe, as they grew, they grew, were ftrengthened by folid arguments in the public difputations, by anticipating obstacles, overcoming and removing them, and by mighty efforts in extending and applying them to the moit remote and difcretive actions of the universe. The animating fpirit of difcovery and invention led him to confider every portion of phyfical science; and indeed fo verfatile and fo vigorous was his mind, we would be at a loss to specify one portion, which, within a few years, it did not comprehend, elucidate, and advance. In confirmation of this we beg to present our readers with an enumeration of the principal fubjects to which he turned his attention, and concerning which he published differtations whilst he continued in the profefforfhip. The tranfit of Mercury over the fun; the fpots in the fun; the aurora borealis ; the conftruction of fpheric trigonometry; the figure of the earth; a new telescope to determine celeftial objects; the ancient arguments for the rotundity of the earth; ofcillating circles; on infinites and infinitely little quantities; the motion of bodies in unrefifting spaces; the aberration of the fixed ftars; the inequalities in terrestrial gravity; on aftronomy; on the limits of certainty in aftronomical obfervations; on the folid of greatest attraction; the cycloid; the logistic curve lines; the vires viva; the comets; light; tides; the rainbow; the calculation of fractions; the centre of gravity; the moon's atmosphere; the law of continuity; lenfes and dioptrical telescopes; the objective micrometer; the divifibility of matter. Some of these are short, but all of them contain curious and valuable matter. It is only by perufing them we are able to discover the gradual progrefs of his mind; and to understand the manner in which he arrived at the theory of natural philofophy, which alone will render his name immortal.

About this time a tafte for philofophical poetry was much prevalent amongst the learned, and fome of our author's acquaintances had laboured in it with fuccefs. Of these we may mention Father Noceti who wrote on the rainbow and the aurora borealis, and the justly celebrated Benedict Stay, whose poems on the philofophy of Defcartes, and on the more modern philofophy, are excellent examples of fine Latin compofition and fcientific inveftigation. Bofcovich publifhed their works with annotations and fupplements, in which a splendid fund of information and learning is difplayed.

By fuch undertakings, the fame of our author was widely diffused, and he became an object of general admiration. The learned focieties of many countries in Europe conferred on him unfolicited honours, and feveral foreign princes invited him to their courts. His opinions on various subjects of civil architecture, topography, and hydrodynamics, were asked and entertained by Pope Benedict XIV. John V. of Portugal, and others. Thefe neceffarily required his prefence in different ftates, where he never failed to increase his reputation, and often terminated disputes which might otherwife have gone on to open warfare.

He was employed to correct the maps of the papal dominions, and to meafure a degree of the meridian

pafling

gorous; he promifed to himfelf, happy, becaufe ufeful Bofcurich. days, in the tranquil cultivation of the fciences: but a cloud long impending now burst over his head, and thefe bright days never came.

Bercovich. paffing through them. In this he was affifted by an English Jefuit, Christopher Maire. An account of their expedition was printed at Rome and Paris, and is interfperfed with fome curious anecdotes, concerning the opinions which the peafants of the Apennines formed of them, and the operations which they had to perform; but it is valuable on account of the accurate detail which is given of their obfervations.

In the year 1757, he was fent to Vienna by the republic of Lucca, to reconcile fome differences concerning the draining of a lake, in which the grand duke of Tufcany the emperor Francis I. and that republic, were concerned. It was after he had fucceeded in the object of his visit to that city, that he published there his Theoria Philofophia Naturalis in 1758; and that he gained the effeem of the emprefs queen.

Another occafion for his mediating powers foon prefented itself, and which more nearly interested him, as his native city of Ragufa required them. It had been fufpected by the British government, that some ships of war were fitted out at that port for the service of the French, thereby infringing the neutrality. Such a fufpicion having no just foundation, alarmed the senate of Ragufa, and required fpeedy removal, as the confequences of it might be extremely prejudicial to their commerce. Bofcovich, who had often been fuccessful in fimilar circumftances for other powers, appeared to them the most proper person for this purpose, and was accordingly intrufted with it. He repaired to London, and here alfo effected the object of his miffion with honour to himself. He vifited the Royal Society, which received him with distinguishing marks of respect, and which he foon afterwards complimented with an excellent Latin poem on the folar and lunar eclipfes. This was in the year 1760, when Dr Johnson was in London. Mr Murphy fpeaks of an interview which took place between our author and Johnfon; but in order to magnify the unruly powers of the tremendous companion, he rather unhandfomely tells us of the eafy cant with which a priest might travel through Italy and France. We are unwilling to mention what effects on fome minds may have been produced by the formidable society of a Johnfon; but if they are a contempt of elegant fimplicity and ingenuous eafe, and an affected devotion to repulfive pomp and authoritative oftentation, be our lot far from his influence, amid the peace and liberty of focial life.

Bofcovich was invited by the Royal Society to be of the party of their members fent to America, to obferve the tranfit of Venus over the fun's disk, which happened in the year 1762. The nature of his embaffy, and the neceffity of returning home, however, prevented his acceptance of the invitation. Soon after his return, and when his embaffy was fulfilled, he was appointed by the fenate of Milan to the mathematical chair in the university of Pavia, and to fuperintend the obfervatory of the royal college of Brera. He continued in this fituation for fix years, when he was made profeffor of aftronomy and optics in the Palatine fchools of Milan by the empress queen; who alfo requested him to continue his attention to the obfervatory. This he expected to be the most agreeable part of his life. Admired by the learned; beloved by his friends; having an adequate income, and a conftitution found and vi

The mysterious regulation in the political conftitution of the Jefuits, though it had attracted the keen curiofity of the world, had, for very fubftantial reafons never been explored; nay, fuch was the influence of the order over the minds of the most enlightened ftatelmen, that this impenetrable myftery was held facred by the civil power in many countries, as if no danger could exift in what was not understood., But the rapid progrefs of fcience, and the gradual decay of fuperftition, required fome evidence of fecurity, and fome proof that it was ever neceffary to conceal good intentions, and to cover virtuous principles with any other garb than what truth could bestow. Thefe it is well known, the Jefuits either could not, or were unwilling to give; and they, therefore, juftly incurred the fufpicion of men. The moft trivial circumftances would augment this fufpicion, and the leaft deviation from rectitude in any of the order would ferve to justify it: these were not wanting, and foon became invincible ; the interest of the Jefuits rapidly declined for many years, and at last, in 1773, their order was totally abolifhed.

No exemption from the edict for its downfall could be procured: all who held offices were difmiffed; and Bofcovich fought refuge in the city of Paris. Thither indeed he was invited by the minifter, (we believe Turgot) by whose means he was made one of the directors of optics for the fea fervice, and received a penfion but it does not feem that his fituation was agreeable to him; for it is well known that the peculiar nature of his circumftances was the fole caufe of his long refidence in Paris.

Whether his diflike arofe from the envy of fome of the French, his own irritability of temper, or the incongruity of the prevailing manners with his own, we cannot determine: but it is reasonable to imagine, that the ruin of his order, and the fubfidence of his own importance, would leave fome indelible mark in his mind; and perhaps when he contemplated the apparent levity and the real fcepticism of the age, he might be brought to fear that the degradation or the downfall of the world was concomitant. Sentiments very oppofite to thofe of the French, would thence naturally arife; morofity and difcontent would invade him, and he wished to revifit the fcenes of his youth. Be all this, however, as it may, certain it is, he applied for leave of abfence for two years, after he had refided in Paris for ten years: this he eafily procured, and accordingly fet out for Baffano in the republic of Venice. At this place he published in five vols. quarto, a collection of the works which he had finifhed in Paris. This forms a body of optical and aftronomical knowledge, well worthy the attention of the philofophical and mechanical cultivators of the fciences. It may be worth mentioning, that by proceeding on the principles contained in one of the differtations in this collection, an amiable philofopher of our own country (Dr. Robifon) believed it poffible to afcertain the motions. of the earth, though the obferver fhould be confined in a cellar; in profecuting the fubject, however, he · found

F 2

Bofcovich. found that an error into which Bofcovich had fallen, concerning the aberration of light, undermined the principles on which he had erected fuch a wonderful but legitimate problem. The candid and very interefting acknowledgement of the error, and his extreme difappointment in the difcovery of it, which the doctor made in the 3d vol. of the Edinburgh Tranfactions, is at once an evidence of his own liberality, and an undefeasible teftimony to Bofcovich's genius.

We beg to recommend to our readers the perusal of the works which we have now mentioned; they would tend to form the mind to the true mode of investigating the phenomena of nature, and will fatisfactorily fhew that this mode is always rewarded by difcovery. The following is a pretty juft account of their contents: A new inftrument for determining the refracting and diverging forces of diaphanous bodies; a demonftration of the falfehood of the Newtonian analogy between light and found; the algebraic formulæ regarding the focufes of lenfes, and their applications for calculating the fphericity of those which are to be ufed in achi0matical telescopes; the corrections to be made in ocular lenfes, and the error of the fphericity of certain glaffes; the caufes which hinder the exact union of the folar rays by means of the great burning glaffes, and the determination of the lofs arifing from it; the method of determining the different velocities of ligot paffing through different mediums by means of two dioptrical telescopes, one common, the other of a new kind, containing water between the objective glafs and the place of the image; a new kind of objective micrometers; the defects and inutility of a dioptrical telefcope propofed and made at Paris, which gives two images of the fame object, the one direct, the other inverfe, with two contrary motions of moveable objects; maffes floating in the atmosphere, as hail of an extraordinary fize, feen on the fun with the telescope, and refembling fpots; the aftronomical refractions, and various methods for determining them; various methods for determining the orbits of comets and of the new planet, with copious applications of thefe doctrines to other aftronomical fubjects, and ftill more generally to geometry and to the fcience of calculation ; the errors, the rectifications, and the ufe of quadrants, of fextants, of aftronomical fectors, of the meridian line, of telefcopes called the inftruments of tranfits, of the meridian, and of the parallacic machine; the trigonometrical differential formula, which are of fo much ufe in aftronomy; the ufe of the micrometical rhombus, extended to whatever oblique pofition; the error arifing from refractions in ufing the aftronomical ring for a fundial, and the correction to be made; the appearing and the difappearing of Saturn's ring; the methods of determining the rotation of the fun by means of the fpots, propofed formerly by the author, and now perfected;

the greateft exactness poffible in determining the length Bofcovich, of a pendulum ofcillating every fecond of middle time by the comparison of terreftrial and celeftial gravity; a compend of aftronomy for the ufe of the marine, containing the elements of the heavenly motions, and of the aftronomical inftruments, to be explained to a prince in the courfe of one month; a method for determining the altitudes of the poles with the greateft exactnefs, by means of a gnomon alone, where other inftruments are not to be had; the determination of the illuminated edge of the moon to be obferved on the meridian; a method of ufing the retrograde return of Venus to the fame longitude, for determining the lefs certain elements of her orbit; a method for correcting the elements of a comet, of which the longitude of the node is given, and the inclination of the orbit has been found nearly; another method for the fame purpofe, and for finding the elliptical orbit, when the parabolic one does not agree with the obfervations; a method for correcting the elements of a planet by three obfervations; the projection of an orbit inclined in the plane of the ecliptic; the projection of an orbit inclined in any other plane; the calculation of the aberration of the ftars, arifing from the fucceffive propagation of light; fome beautiful theorems belonging to triangles, which are of great ufe in aftronomy, reduced to moft fimple demonftrations.

After the publication of these works, our author left Baffano, and went to Rome to vifit the companions of his youth. From Rome he proceeded to Milan, where he revised fome of his own works, and prepared for publication the two laft volumes of Stay's poems.

In fuch occupations, and amidst friends whom equal misfortune and temporary feparation had ftill more endeared, he had remained happy, and might perhaps have been ftill further ufeful to the world; but his leave of abfence was now nearly expired, and his dif like to a refidence in Paris was augmented by the contraft which his prefent abode afforded. He was too delicate to apply for more leave of abfence; and though he was fenfible of the gratitude which he owed to France, he could not reconcile it with the deftruction of his own repofe. About this time alfo he had feveral attacks of gout, but he would admit no medical aid. Under thefe diftreffes, and others which we have before mentioned, our illuftrious author at last sunk : a melancholy defpondency feized on and fubjugated his mind, fo that for five months he remained perfectly fatuous; and an impofthume having burst in his breast, terminated his existence on the 13th of February 1787, in the 76th year of his age.

The following infcription was compofed by Benedict Stay, and engraved on marble by order of the fenate of Ragufa, in memory of their useful citizen the illuftrious Bofcovich.

Multo.