The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-17 00:00:00

A PEEP AT •THE CONTENTS OF THE
FREE LIBRARY.

PIEFOND ARTICLE.] •
Everyone is fond Olt irfticnrities ami curiosities.
Philosophers neglect the realities of ever}'-tai' fife tp
enquire into first causes. The geologist's belief is
written in the eternal rocks. He despises everything
else almost. The antiquarian loves only the dusty
reliques lamer agfs. There are charms in defaced
coins, in broken crockei.l ware, hi rusty theories, in
everything he knows nothing of whiCii tibld hirft wells
bound. To the archeologist, all the grace, the synimeliy
and beauty of modern architecture, are but trash

compared with tumble-down Roman, or Saxon, or
Norman castles, or antique window arches of old
churches. The bookworm draws solace from worm-eaten,

time-defaced fragments of volumes published in the
days of Caxton. The poet is happy if he can lay his
hands upon old manuscripts containing Roman, Grecian,
Bcandinavian, Persian, Arabian, Indian, or any other

lyrids not known before. Everybody admires every-
thing bat the inventions and diseoVeries of modern days.

Your liyrons and yottr Btepliertschis dte puppies who
Optilate geniuses in the graie, and retohitimiise society.

. ,
The cause of all this is vanity. Against oar own will,
as it iere, we imperceptibly advande in Civilisation ;
the winders of antiquity sink into insignificance beside

our docks, our railways, our telegraphs, and leviathans;

and we extol the wisdoth and enhance the fame of our

forefathers, in order that our own monuments to our
own greatness may stand alOne, iniposing, magnificent,
without a parallel. We'detest those who are mightier

than ourselves ; and we do all in our po 4"er to lay our
Stephensons at our feet, so that they may not disturb

our midnight dream, show us our own smallness, and
prove our own vanity. Vanity, however, is human ;
_ _ . .

and in spite of the gods, we will still indulge in it, and
will peep into the works of other days.
Our first peep into the Free Library extended only to
theology, morals, and metaphysics. We will now take

a step in advance, and examine a few title pages of
works on natural philosophy and mathematics, including
pure mathematics, natural philosophy, astronomy,
chemistry, niedicitie, and phYsicdclgy. The library
boasts of nearly nine luindred works on uatnral philo-

sophy, ancient and nioderri: The modern works may
be of the. greatest importance to the Stildent and to the
general reader ; still it is pleasant to peep: no\l7 and
again into older volumes, which may have been for
scores of years reclining under cobwebs on their shelves,
until removed to the premises in Duke-street. More-

over we will be humouring our vanityalt;.esame time.
The student may revel through " Speculations on the
Doctrine of Chances," "Essays on Probabilities," "Trea-
tises on Analyal Geometry," on "Logarithms," on
"Algebra," or 0" Mathematics, practically applied," on
" The Integral and Differential Calculus," " Conic Sec-
tions," " Fluxions," "Mechanical Philosophy applied to
Industrial Mechanics," " Newton's Principia," " Me-
ch aniCal Theories df tdrrils," " Atomic Theorit4s4" " Phi-
losophy cif Sleep;;' and. aniongst"Stars grid Astrotianiy,';
"Cycles of Celestial Objects," "Microscopic Figures," and
the " BudiMerits of Chemistry." With our reader's con-
sent, we will glance at the title pages of the works of
peculiar authors. The first are " Sketches in Bedlam ;
.• . .

or charaCteristie Traits of Insanity." The book was
11obliShed in 1823. .The iiithOr.COtieealed his name, or
erhaPs he zliglit before this hare jideti Mobbed, for
telling lies, by the ratepayers of and
their representatives. He asserts that if
.4 man, or men,
talk voluminously and incOhereutly, they are to be suspec-
ted; if sometimes singular. in their manner, they should
be watched closely ; and if they quarrel among-st them-
selves, with all, everything, rind everybody; Oey should
'be Chained together arid confined in an risyltitii. " A
Treatise lon Mental Maladies and Insanity" was written

by E. Esquirol, translated by E. K. Hunt, and pub-
lished in 1845 at Philadelphia. The translator and the
American publishers highly value the work, and affirm
that it should be in the hands of every person. Per-
sonally, we cannot endorse that opinion. We hope,
however, the publication proved beneficial to themselves.
" Hints to the Siek,.the Lame, and the Lazy." This work
was published in 1848. It is. a little. treasury .of good
ag:ice, and sholild be liidelY eiretilated, 11l 1840 Dr.
James Johnson published a volume entitled " Morbid
Sensibility of (empty ?) Stomachs and Bowels." We have
not read it. As a curiosity, we certainly recommend
its perusal, sincerely trusting, however, that no student
will ever again be in a position to confute the learned
doctor's arguments. The Bath-etic treatise on the
Pathology of Drunkenness, by Charles Wilson, is, we
ritiderstand," widely read by teetotal visitors to the
library. The authdr argues ,that the consumers of
spirits, like niad dogs, are frightened at mater; ,eon-
eluding by asserting that the spirit will eventually be
totally routed from the land. We had alivays believed
that the human body was inseparably connected with
man, and were a little surprised to find at the library a
work by James 'Wilkinson, intended to prove that con-
nection. It was published in"losl—may we beg our
readers pardon? in 1851. A volume by Dr. Thomas
Young, published in 1823, treats of Nosology. The.
"Lexicon 2Ethiopico-Latinum et Grammatica" was
published in 1660, at London, by Thomas Roycroft. It
is a curious volume; and we believe valuable. At all
events, it is ekeeedinglY rare. In 1125 a History of
Drugs, written in French by Pomet, chief druggist to
the French King Louis XIV., was translated by R. and
itnnlurlra Walgon' ~act,.actptablialtod by ,ronri
Wulhoe and Thomas Ward. It is dedicated to a Dr.
Sloane, in return for aid in its compilation, and a pre:
sent of a book on the natural history of the plants of
Jamaica, embellished with 400 copper-plates of plants
taken from the life. It is really a work of very great
use and curiosity. The author commences with
the history of the seed, its development into
.a root-, and its gradual progression tog stem; the for-
mation of the bark, the leaves, the flowers, and the
fruit. Then he takes gums; juices, animals, Metals,
minerals, bitumens, stories,. earths, &c., stating the drugs
deriied froni each. It has one beauty at least, it treats
all. things hi logical order, and. when we take into con-
sideration the state of natural history at the period it
was written, the book immediately appears valuable,
and the author_ learned in the peculiarities and in the
history of plants and every species of herbage. The
collection of phi'.osophical transactions from the seven-
teenth century Upwards is a literary.
.treasure of incal-
culable value. . In it we see displayed the learning and
the theeriei of the it;
Men of this country, and
Indeed of continental nations, for nearly three centuries.
It forms a library of itself most interesting and im-
portant. At a glance, comparatively speaking, the reader
traces the history of all the sciences during these remark-
able years, remarkable alike for the intellectual mist which
surrounded all things at their commencement, and the
rapid advancement of mankind, especially of the English,
from that state of almost impenetrable darkness to the
refinement of this enlightened century. We wish we had
space at our disposal in order to present a few quota-
tions; as it is we Must remain contented with one or
two. Dr. Martin Lister, a great man in these days,
contributed to the literature of his country about the
year 1610 his theory Of thunder. "The breath of the
pyrites," he says, "is sulphur, and it naturally takes
fire of itself. The material cause of thunder and light-
ning: ii the sanie, and of earthquakes, viz., the breath of
the pyrites (my theological fire-stones), the only diffe-
rence being, that one is fired under ground, and the
other in the Then he Kaye " that the earth is
more or less hollow is made probable by the natural
cavities in the mountains. Again the great and small
Streanis Which arise front tinder niotintains evince their
holloWness; and that these subterranemis cavities are at
certain times and in certain seasons full of inflammable
vapours, the damps in mines sufficiently witness, which
fired, act just as in an earthquake." He then argues
that there are pyrites in the air, and proves
his assertion by relating' accounts of showers of
iron in Italy and elsewhere. Can we not afford
to be' vain when we take the ignorance of the seven-
teenth century into consideration ? These works
Contain the particulars of a storm of thunder and light-
ning, which is said to have occurred on the 20th of
March, 1692. The writer states--" A considerable
storm of hail, thunder, and lightning, which set fire to
the steeple of Oundle (in Northumberland\ was soon
extinguished again !" At page 31 of one of the volumes
there is an account of a woman with white blood. This
consist; of serum, it appears, with which her blood
became charged, after drinking a quantity of milk. The
publislie:l refer to a further account at page 41. At
that pug. these words appear :--" A further account of
an ohs,: r:Aion of white blood. The substance of this
paper is iia'orporated in a former account al pigs 37.,,
Of course nithing relating to the subject follows. Theie
is a curious old volume by Edmund Gnmter, published
, in 1636, being "A Description and Use of the Sectore
"The Rudiments of Astronomy," in Latin, published in
1537, at Noremberger ; a treatise on Gymnasium, pub-
lished at Venetia, in 1573 ; and a great number of other
old, curious, and valuable works in class B. We have.
however, as we promised, named the most interesting.
And when the bustle of the week is over we shall
again resume our enquiries at the library and at the
Derby Museum.

THE PROCESSION TO-MORROW.—Men are busy a.,
work in Castle-street, 'putting up barricades for the
procession to-morrow. The barriers will extend from
the Town-hall to the end of Castle-street, at the
Crescent. This proceeding was found necessary, as the
procession is to muster there. In common with the
universal public, we hope for a fine day to celebrate this
great. national--for national it is—ovation.
LIVERPOOL DISPENSARIES.—New eases received
advice and medicine at the institution: North, 257;
South, 147 ; total, 404. . New cases visited at their own
houses and supplied with medicine : North, 93 • South,
54 ; 'total, 147. Rev. Rector CaMpbell, A. 111., Pre-
sident ; Major Bourne, Vice-President of North
Dispensary; Mr. R. A. Payne, Vice-President of South
Dispensary ; Mr. Francis Mill, Treasurer ; Mr. F. IL
Langley, Secretary.
THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.--
We are glad to see
that the spirited directors of this deservedly favourite
place of recreation and amusement have resolved, on the
occasion of the general holiday to-morrow, to throw
open the Gardens to the public at the low admission
charge of sixpence. The dancing on the platform is
announced to commence at four o'clock in the afternoon,
and in addition to the usual excellent and varied bill of
fare there will he a grand ball in the evening.
FORGERY OR EMBEZZLEMENT BY A TOLLGATE COL-
LECTOR.—Yesterllay, at the County Magistrates' Court,
in Basnett-street, an elderly decent-looking map, named
John Stott, was brought up on a charge of embezzle-
ment on the trustees of the different toll-bars leading to
the Cattle Market. From a statement of the case by a
superintendent of police, it appears that it is the custom
Of cattle salesmen not to pay toll as cattle pass through
the gates; but tickets are made out, with a list of the
amount dne by each dealer, which are sent on to the
cattle market and collected. It was the prisoner's duty
to collect these sums; but it appeared that for some
time he had been in the habit of altering the figures to
a higher amount, and putting the difference into his
own pocket. Mr. Chambers, the toll-keeper at the
Yellowhouse gate. proved that one ticket, for ss. 51,-d.,
upon Mr. Robinson, cattle dealer, had been altered to
6s. 541, and that sum had been paid to the prisoner.
Several .other cases were proved against him,
arising
not only at the gate named, but at the Old Swan and
Green-lane toll-bars, and the prisoner was committed
for trial at the assizes.