centre, and another that part of the circum. ference which touches the ellipse, provided there is no other force to act on the body situated in the circumference than that of the body in the centre, the body in the circumference will fall toward the centre, which we may suppose will be through one division in one minute, it will then fall through three the next minute, and five during the ensuing minute, which being added together, will amount to nine in three minutes, which is equal to the square of three, and it will go on increasing in this proportion until it arrives at the centre: it is therefore evident, that the nearer the body approaches the attracting power, the greater is its velocity.

Let us now suppose, that instead of the body falling from the circumference of the circle, it has a tendency to proceed onwards in a right line, exactly at right angles with the line in which it would fall towards the attracting power, through a space equal to five divisions and a half, while it fell through one division of the radius, the attracting or centripetal force would then bear such a proportion to the projectile or centrifugal force, as to occasion the body to revolve around the central body in the lower circle: but if the space described was less than that above-mentioned, suppose four divisions and a half, (which is just as possible,) then the centripetal power would be stronger than the centrifugal, and would consequently draw the body nearer than the circle, and the curve described would be a portion of an ellipse. If we now suppose the centripetal force to cease, and the centrifugal only to continue, the motion of the body would return to its rectilineal direction, not in a line at right angles to the line in which it would fall to the central body, but one inclined to it in an angle of seventynine degrees; and when the body had proceeded to a certain distance, then supposing the centripetal force again to commence acting with such a proportion to the centrifugal, as to occasion the body to revolve in a circle, yet in consequence of the line of the direction of the body's motion being inclined in an angle of seventy-nine degrees to the line of attraction, it cannot describe a circle, therefore it must describe an ellipse.

From what has been stated, it is evident, that in order for a planet's motion to be perfectly circular, it is requisite that its centrifugal force shall exceed the sun's at traction in a certain proportion, and that its rectilineal motion shall be in a line at right angles to the radius of the circle; if these two circumstances do not take place at the

same moment, then the curve described will be either an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola. Having shewn that it is possible that a planet can describe an elliptical orbit from the combined action of the centripetal and centrifugal forces, I shall endeavour to prove, that the centrifugal force, from being inferior to the centripetal, actually becomes superior thereto, and that at the point where the two forces are so proportioned as to occasion the planet to revolve in a circle, this result is not necessarily the case. If we consider the ellipse above-mentioned to represent the orbit of a planet, the point which is in contact with the largest circle will be the aphelion, and that which touches the smallest the perihelium. From the above statement it is evident, that the centrifugal force at the aphelion, is not sufficiently strong to prevent the sun's attraction deflecting the planet from a circular path, and occasioning it to describe an ellipse; and at the perihelium, which is exactly opposite the aphelion, the smallest circle being inscribed within the ellipse, proves that the centrifugal force has become the superior, otherwise the planet could not proceed onward in the ellipse; at a point therefore between the aphelion and perihelium, the two forces bear such a proportion to each other as to occasion the planet to revolve in a circle; but in consequence of the tendency of the body to fly off in a tangent to the ellipse, this tangent will not be at right angles to the line of the direction of the sun's attraction, but inclined to it in an angle of a less number of degrees than ninety, in consequence of which, as I have before shewn, the planet will still describe an ellipse.

That the orbits of the planets are elliptical there is not the least shadow of a doubt, and that the cause of their describing ellipses are the result of the centripetal and centrifugal forces, I think the unprejudiced investigator of the phenomena of nature will readily allow. I shall therefore conclude by observing, that the following brief statement will concisely express what I have before advanced. That the elliptical motion of a planet arises from the centrifugal force at the aphelion not being sufficiently strong to prevent the sun's attraction drawing it from a circle; and as it approaches the sun, its velocity is increased, and with it its centrifugal force; this is continually gaining on the centripetal, until they bear such a proportion to each other as to occasion the planet to revolve in a circle, which it undoubtedly would, if the tangent of the ellipse was at right angles to the line in whic the centripetal force acts; but as it is incl

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A QUESTION ANSWERED RESPECTING
GYPSIES.

MR. EDITOR, SIR,-In the number for September, col. 801, your correspondent E. F. after a very pleasing narrative of his visit to a camp of gypsies, closes his communication with the important question, "Can nothing be done for this benighted class of our fellow creatures?" The same question, sir, must be echoed by every bosom that is duly impressed with the sacred feeling of Christian philanthropy. In order to answer it satisfactorily, it will be necessary, as in every other plan of extensive usefulness, where the individuals have any striking peculiarities, to investigate and study those peculiarities with respect to origin, laws, manners, habits, and disposition. This has been done, where the Missionaries have laboured among savage nations, and even in the operations of the Home Missionary and Religious Instruction Societies, these points have been considered as a preliminary step to general evangelization.

I would not, sir, put the gypsies upon a footing with the savages of Otaheite, or the South Seas, but when we consider them attentively, we shall find many striking particulars that render them a separate and distinct people from the English paupers, and therefore as requiring a particular mode of instruction.

Of their origin and history there is a very curious and valuable treatise in the Antiquarian Repertory, vol. iii. p. 375, by which it appears, that during the sixteenth century many severe laws were enacted against them in different countries. In England, they were formally banished on pain of imprisonment, by a statute of 22d Hen. VIII. Their return by importation was prohibited by statutes 1 and 2 of Philip and Mary, and again by Elizabeth, under a penalty of £40; and that any person of fourteen years' old, whether natural subject or stranger, which hath been seen

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or found in the fellowship of such Egyp tians, or who hath disguised him or herself like them, and shall remain in the same one month, at one or several times, it is felony, without benefit of clergy. Sir Matthew Hale relates, that at one assize for the county of Suffolk, no less than thirteen gypsies were executed upon this statute, a few years before the Restoration.

After recapitulating the conjectures of Mr. Twiss, Spelman, Sir Wm Blackstone, Pasquier, &c. the author suggests it as the most probable opinion," that they were some of those miserable Egyptians, who, when their country was conquered by Sultan Selim, in the year 1517, rather than submit to the Turkish yoke, chose to dis perse themselves in small parties over the world, subsisting by begging, and their supposed skill in chiromancy and magic, to which that nation had always pretended, and to the belief of which the gross ignorance and superstition of the times were extremely favourable. This agrees very well with the time of their arrival in England, viz. about the year 1563, after having been expelled from France and Spain,

"The first comers, or their children, were probably soon reinforced by many idle persons of both sexes; swarthy skins and black hair, being the only qualifications required for admission; and some of these might be heightened by the sun and walnut-juice. Their language, or rather gibberish, might soon be learned, and thus their numbers, in all likelihood, quickly increased till they became alarming, when the severe statutes were promulgated against them, whose great severity prevented their intended effect; for when the punishment inflicted by the law greatly exceeds the measure of the offence, such law is scarcely put force, and the delinquents escape with inpunity. Had the punishment been only hard labour, whipping, or imprisonment, it would have been much more efficacious."

Of the laws that govern this predatory people, legislative and moral enactments certainly do not form a part, though they seem to possess a kind of code among themselves by which the body is regulated, if we may judge from the testimony of Bamfylde Moore Carew, and the establish ments that have been formed at Norwood, and other places. However, as they appear to be destitute of religion, we can only suppose the principle of those laws to be purely republican, and enacted as a civil compact, without any regard to moral restrictions.

Of their manners and habits it may be observed, that their itinerant life allows

of little more than a state of nature, and their daily wants are supplied by begging and pilfering. Ignorance and licentiousness are the necessary consequences of such a mode of existence, and craft and subtlety supply the place of intelligence and industry. To this may be added, a strong tincture of superstition, to which the practice of pretended chiromancy particularly addicts them.

Their disposition, from the combined operation of these causes, is crafty, sly, and deceitful. Conscious of their constant infringement of the laws, they naturally seek security in concealment, and frequent removal from place to place.

Under these peculiar circumstances, their treatment must be suited to their situation. In some respects they present difficulties equal to those met with among savage nations, particularly in their ignorance of letters, their wandering habits, and their superstitious prejudices.

Here, then, is a wide field of usefulness for the combined labours of the Home Missionary, Christian Instruction, and Tract Societies; "the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Let us pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into the harvest." That they may not labour in vain, I would beg leave, sir, to suggest the following, among many means that might be adopted on this occasion.

1. Preaching, by able, patient, and devoted ministers, in a plain, intelligible, and popular, but heart-searching style, cutting at the root of those vices to which this unfortunate people are most addicted, as vagrancy, fortune-telling, lying, thieving, and prostitution. The addresses should be short, and begun and closed with prayer. Visits should also be frequently made to their camps in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of familiar conversation.

2. Tracts. The distribution of tracts written expressly for gypsies, and aimed, like the preaching, against their predominant vices, should be distributed to them at the times both of preaching and visiting; and where they cannot read, they should be read to them by the visitor. Others should be prepared, containing selections from the scriptures, with forcible application, on prayer repentance-a future state-redemption original sin-death-judgment, &c. &c.

3. Employment. Many of these people are in the habit of making articles for sale, as nets, garters, baskets, &c. This spirit of industry should be encouraged by purchase, and recommendation to friends, and

I think few serious persons would be found, who would object to lend their aid to so truly benevolent a purpose. This, perhaps more than any other motive, would induce the camp to remain stationary, longer than they would otherwise do, and thereby render the other means suggested more permanently useful.

These, sir, are a few simple means that might be tried, with little trouble, inconvenience, or expense, as the camps are usually pitched in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, and the tracts are extremely cheap, while the purchase of the trifling articles above-mentioned, would, in many instances, I am satisfied, tend greatly to the encouragement of industry; and I am fully convinced, that bad character, and the want of employment that results from it, is one of the primary causes of the abandoned state of these truly miserable people.

E. G. B

ON BURYING IN VAULTS.

MR. EDITOR, SIR,-One of your correspondents, who signs himself G. Y. H. has been pleased, in col. 899, to make some remarks on the impropriety of burying in vaults, and not suffering the bodies to be interred with meaner corpses, that go down to the stones of the pit. I am fearful that gentleman (with all due deference to his understanding) has mistaken his title-page, which should have been rendered, "Meditations occasioned by visiting the Vaults belonging to an ancient Church in the vicinity of London ;" for his description of their general impropriety seems very imperfect. There appears to me also a close following in the very footsteps of the immortal Hervey, in his admirable “Meditations among the Tombs." Without pretending to throw much light upon the subject, I would contribute my small quota in favour of a practice, which seems to give your correspondent so much uneasiness. Perhaps I may not totally remove his scruples, yet by the assistance of the sacred scriptures and historical records, I may lay before him a detail of facts sufficient to disprove his conclusions. '

In the Old Testament it is related of Abraham, the father of the faithful, that he buried Sarah in the cave of Machpelah, (Genesis, chap. xxiii. 19 and 20,) " And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham

for a possession of a burying-place by the sons of Heth." Now I would observe, What is the cave but a vault and enclosed place, without being covered at the top by mouldering earth, for perhaps Abraham might solace himself by frequently paying a visit to the remains of his beloved wife, and dropping a tear upon her ashes. The Jews, you will observe, were commanded not even to touch a dead body, lest they be unclean; yet they are not expressly told as to the manner of their burial, whether they were to be placed underground, or to remain in a cave (vault) or mausoleum. Now, if there had been a divine command, Abraham certainly would have been told as to the manner of his wife's interment.

And again, in Joshua's description of the battle of the five kings, it is said, that after he had hanged them on trees until evening, (Joshua, chap. x. 27.) "It came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day." This shews that it was no uncommon thing thus to bury in caves or vaults.

Without attempting to enumerate other instances of burying in vaults, mentioned in the Old Testament, we will now turn our attention to the New; and the first instance which presents itself, is that of Lazarus, the beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ. The historian John, after pathetically describing the affecting scenery relative to the happy family, and the death of the amiable brother, describes Jesus as arrived at the grave. "It was a cave (or vault), and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." Chap. xi. 43.

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said in Luke, chap. xxiii. 53. “And they took it down (the body of Jesus) and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid." Thus some might have supposed, that these were natural caves, and the bodies placed in them for convenience; but it seems that the Jews erected tombs and sacred places, that their dead might be preserved after their departure from this life.

History also furnishes us with many examples of entombing the dead: and had it not been for these preservations of ancient relics, illustrative of the truths which historians have advanced, their positions might, in many cases, have been disputed. Witness the sarcophagus found in the tomb of Memphis by the renowned Belzoni, illus trating what the sacred writers have advanced, that such a character as Psammis, son of Pharaoh-necho, actually existed, died, and was buried; of which, had the relic not been preserved by a tomb, it must for ever have been lost to society, and the world at large.

The renowned Dr. Stukely has brought many facts to light by his research, and finding bodies entire; proving, to the delight of antiquaries, that such and such charac ters did exist, and in their day figured both on the stage, in the senate, and at the bar. What would ancient history be without such illustrations? Nought but a carte blanc, and dead letter. Darkness must for ever dwell on its page, but for these mouldering fragments of antiquity.

Your correspondent makes the observation, that they (meaning tombs) are con trary to the divine command.

Now, Mr. Editor, I do not perceive any thing of the kind mentioned; so that, until some prohibition be found, the scruples of G.Y. H. need not take alarm on this score. It is said, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return;" but not a word of the displeasure of the Deity is recorded, whether our dust is laid above ground, or under the earth. The human frame is primitively composed of dust, and death only causes a decomposition, and that which is dust returns to its element again.

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the negligence of the architect or mason; whereas if they be properly secured, every thing in the shape of fear may be wholly banished from the mind. As to the cause of plague, I am entirely ignorant of its nature; but if your correspondent will take the trouble to consult Mead, or any other medical writer, or encyclopedia, on contagion, he will find every information needful.

Lastly. It matters not where I am bu. ried; whether my body is enshrouded in the dust, or whether it fills some higher station. If I am but found in another and a better world, I have attained my end, not by my own merits, but through the pure mercy of Jehovah, as he is revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ.-Yours, F. H. Leadenhall-street, Oct. 5th, 1828.

REPLY TO MR. BAKEWELL'S LETTER, INSERTED IN COL. 962.

MR. EDITOR, SIR,-Judging from Mr. Bakewell's general good sense, from the scientific displays of his professional skill, which have often adorned your columns, I had formed a favourable opinion of the soundness of his judgment, the urbanity of his manners, and the philanthropy of his heart; so that my surprise was great, on perusing the extraordinary philippic with which he has honoured me in your Magazine for October. I do not recollect ever to have seen the columns of the Imperial occupied by any article so totally void of argument, and so full of bitter invective and personal insult, as cols. 962, 963, and 964 exhibit, in the production signed "Thomas Bakewell."

What I have done to provoke so ungenerous an attack, I cannot imagine: I have never had any intercourse with Mr. B. except by letter; and in that way I have twice complimented him highly in the excellence of his establishment at Spring vale,* which I also warmly recommended in the Birmingham Magazine, when, a few months ago, I had the control of that work. On that subject, Mr. B. did not at all question the sanity of my mind; nor ascribe the fervour of my approbation to "the effect of a heated imagination, or extreme nervous timidity;" but no sooner did I attempt to advocate the glorious cause of Protestantism, and labour to protect it, as the characteristic of the British constitution,

The first of these letters Mr. B. had the candour to acknowledge in grateful terms, in the Imperial Magazine for May 1828, col. 407, giving it precedence even to his letters from the Duke of Wellington, and various members of parliament.

from the inroads of its mortal foe, than Mr. B. pours upon me a volley of personal abuse, from which, engaged as I then was, and still am, with a much more formidable opponent in your columns, I should have hoped, sir, your editorial shield would have sheltered me; at least, until my previous adversary had been driven out of the field. I must thank you, however, for the compliment couched under this exposure of myself, and my invincible cause, to two simultaneous attacks; which I take as a proof of your conviction of the perfect security of both, in the protecting hand of that power, which has doomed the cause for which Mr. B. pleads, to speedy and irretrievable destruction.

Mr. B.'s charges against me amount to this, viz. That I am uncharitable, mistaken, intolerant; and that, under the influence of a heated imagination, and a nervous timidity, I have drawn erroneous conclusions from false premises; received my prejudices from "old books, and not from a practical knowledge" of the people about whom I have written; and as Mr. B. has constituted himself both judge and jury in the case, he finally sentences me to exclusion from respectable society, and most certainly to the being despised-and by none more so than those of my own religious tenets!

These, sir, are heavy charges, and an appalling sentence, against a writer in your Magazine. But all this, sir, does not satisfy our magisterial censor; for having, unfortunately, caught the spirit of the cause he would advocate, he goes on a step farther, assumes the office of inquisitor, and consigns my unanswerable essay to the flames; while he declares me unfit to be trusted with the use of "pen, ink, and !" paper

This little bit of tyranny, sir, gives us a fine specimen of what is to become of "the liberty of the pen," when Mr. B. and his friends the papists, shall get into power. I may then expect to be incarcerated in one of the cells of Mr. Bakewell's asylum, whom I must then regard as the judge of my heart, as well as the arbiter of my fate.

You will agree with me, sir, that to a man who lays any claim to the blessings of sound sense and genuine piety, his intellectual and moral character is an invaluable treasure, which our most celebrated dramatic poet has estimated far beyond the riches of gold and silver, while Solomon himself places the value of wisdom and a good name, "above rubies," and declares that all earthly treasures sink into contempt in comparison with them.