have in view. He has no fixed principle but interest, capricious in his temper, and miserable from the ease with which all his wishes are gratified. His enemies whisper a thousand stories to his disadvantage; that he poisoned Landskoi,-gave a fatal potion to Prince Orloff, which occasioned his going mad, &c. &c.

He has three nephews: Michael Potemkin, who is commissarygeneral; Paul Potemkin, commander-in-chief at Mount Caucasus ; and General Samoylow, who commands at Cherson.

His nieces are, the Countess Branitzki, married to the grand general of Poland; Princess Galitzin, married in Russia; the Countess Shaveronski; and Mademoiselle Englehart, who is to be married to his nephew, Paul Potemkin. Count Shaveronski is the Russian minister at Naples. The Countess lives with her uncle, and is reckoned the handsomest woman in Petersburgh.

No. XIV.

ADDITION TO THE DANISH CORRESPONDENCE.

1.-Letter from C. Anker, Esq. to Sir John Sinclair, introducing two Danish Noblemen who wished to study Agriculture in England and in Scotland.

DEAR SIR,

Copenhagen, 8th April 1806.

At the request of their excellencies Count Schimmelman and Count Reventlow, our Ministers of State, I furnish some letters of recommendation for two young gentlemen, a nephew of the first mentioned, and a son of the latter, both setting out for England and Scotland, with the intention of making about a twelvemonth's stay in those beautiful countries.

To whom could I venture, with more propriety, to introduce them, than to your good self? Convinced as I am, that you will receive them with kindness, and offer them your best advice. I beg leave to say, that they stand in need of both, particularly as this is their first excursion, and they are still young and inexperienced. Agriculture, and the improvements which you have made of late in that very first of studies, is their chief, if not their only object. They wish to board for some time with a farmer of note, and to share, as much as may be practicable, both his actual labour and his superintending cares. There is nothing with which they are not anxious to be acquainted, in practice as well as theory. Their parents are decidedly above preju

dice; and they consider it to be among the highest privileges of nobility, to be entitled to take an active part, in benefiting their native country, by improving the culture, and increasing the produce of its soil *.

Your guidance, Dear Sir, will be highly acceptable, whether they are to look for Yorkshire or Scotland in the view of choosing their in. tended temporary abode.

I will take it as a particular favour, if you would render their stay useful to them by your judicious advice.

The names of these two Counts are Conrad Reventlow and Detlef Reventlow.

How much do I not regret, that I have it not in my power to introduce them in person, that I might better express my sentiments of friendship and obligation towards yourself, for all your attentions to me, when I was in London.

My only recourse is, that of assuring you, that I ever remain, with distinguished consideration and esteem, my Dear Sir, your faithful humble servant and sincere friend, C. ANKER.

I believe they wish very much to be introduced to Mr Arthur Young. Would you render them this service, you will oblige me.

2.-Letter from Count Detlef Reventlow, regarding his stay in Scotland.

DEAR SIR JOHN,

Edinburgh, 10th September 1807.

Give me leave in my cousin's, and my own name, to send you our sincerest thanks for all the kindness and friendship you have been so good to show us, during our stay in your dear country. It will be with the greatest satisfaction we will remember the happy days we spent among your countrymen, and to which you contributed so great a share. The cocoast you favoured us with, shall certainly be kept as a dear remembrance of our acquaintances' made in your country, and particularly, of the happy days we spent in your dear company, in your family circle in Charlotte Square. I hope future events will give the opportunity to shew our readiness to be useful to you, or any part of your family, or your friends; and having some of your friends, who should like to visit our countries, you may rely upon us, that they will find the same reception in our circles, yourselves have so great a claim to. We would have given us to-day the pleasure to have paid you our respects, and to have said our thanks

* What an excellent idea, J. S.

† This alludes to a couple of cocoa nuts presented to the Counts Reventlow, to be used as drinking cups, when they arrived in Denmark, and preserved in their families as a memorial of their visit to Scotland.

for all enjoyed goodness, but were sorry not to have the satisfaction to find you at home. Give us leave to return three of the letters you favoured us with, we found not the opportunity to deliver; and believe us all, with the most respectful sentiments, always sincerely yours. With my particular remembrance to Lady Sinclair and family, truly yours, DETLEF REVentlow.

No. XV.

PLAN FOR PUBLISHING DIGESTS," OR "CODES," OF FOUR OF THE MOST INTERESTING BRANCHES OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, 1. AGRICULTURE,-2. health,-3. POLITICAL ECONOMY,—AND, 4. RE

LIGION.

BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART.

Maxim in Literature.-Knowledge, previous to its being brought into a condensed state, may be compared to a small portion of gold, dispersed throughout a great quantity of ore. In that rude condition, the strongest man cannot sustain its weight, nor convey it to a distance. But when the pure metal is separated from the dross, even a child may carry it without difficulty.

Explanation of the Nature and Advantages of" The Codean System of Literature," or the Plan by which extensive inquiries are made the Basis of Condensed Information.

In the present state of literature, the acquisition of useful knowledge is attended with considerable difficulty. Persons who feel an anxiety to be well informed, are under the necessity of having recourse to an immense number of volumes, which many have neither ability to purchase, nor time to peruse,―obstacles which, in the course of a long life, they are never able to surmount. Hence, they must either give up the attempt, or rest contented with a superficial knowledge of subjects, which, had they possessed the means, they would have endeavoured thoroughly to investigate.

In order to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, Encyclopædias have been invented, and they certainly possess several advantages. As a mode of concentrating human knowledge, and of giving useful information regarding all the departments of learning, they are useful, even in the most extensive libraries. In smaller collections, they occupy the most prominent station; while to persons who settle in remote parts of the country, and still more, to those who emigrate to

distant colonies, they are the only possible substitute for a number of other books*.

Encyclopædias, at the same time, are liable to several objections. 1. Their bulk is great, and the expense of purchasing them exceeds, in many cases, the means of those who are anxious for improvement; -2. They always contain a number of articles, respecting which many readers can feel no interest;—and, 3. There is no mode, by which an account of new discoveries can be introduced into them, but by the troublesome and expensive one of supplements. Besides, in Encyclopædias, every department of knowledge is classed under a variety of heads; and as the whole is arranged in alphabetical order, a number of volumes must be consulted, before the information wished for regarding any one branch, can be obtained. Moreover they seldom contain references to other works, either acknowledging the assistance they have furnished, or pointing out where farther particulars may be obtained. This is a most material defect.

Let us now compare the Encyclopædic with "The Codean System of Knowledge," by which the most important branches of knowledge are discussed in separate codes or volumes. When any subject is selected, such as agriculture for example, a regular system of discussion, comprehending every point that requires to be treated of, is first laid down. All the most valuable works in this department are next consulted, and referred to, that the reader may be enabled to examine them, if he should be so inclined. As each subdivision is drawn up, it is printed, and the proof sheets are transmitted to those who are most conversant in the inquiry, whether at home or abroad, for the benefit of their remarks and corrections, in regard either to matter or arrangement ;-a useful practice, highly approved of by Dr Johnson, who happily describes it, "as clarifying one's own notions, by filtering them through other mindst." After undergoing this careful revision, the work is published, condensed into as small a space as possible, sold at a moderate price ‡, and accompanied by two useful appendages, a copious Index §, and a Table of Authorities.

It is remarked, with too much severity, in a French work on statistics, "Que l'esprit d'Encyclopedisme, est nuisible aux progres des sciences; il en étend la surface, aux depens de la profondeur.”—(Statistique de la France, Discours Preliminaire, vol. i. p. 28). But in many cases, no general knowledge can be obtained, at a distance from cities, without their aid. Of late, also, the plan of Encyclopædias has been greatly enlarged and improved.

The celebrated Rochefoucault was so accurate in the composition of his little book of Maxims, that he used to send each maxim as he finished it, to his friends, for their opinion upon it. Segrais asserts, that some of his maxims were altered thirty times.

The price of each volume, it is proposed, shall not exceed a sovereign. § In the prospectus of the new edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, I

Nor is this all. To complete the plan it is proposed, that the work in this manner prepared, shall be translated into several foreign languages;-rewards given to those who shall furnish the best remarks upon it; and when thus brought to the highest state of perfection, that it shall be republished in this country, and if required, retranslated for the benefit of other nations. Of these important means of improvement, Encyclopædias are not susceptible.

It is evident, by this plan, a more perfect system can be obtained, in the means of communicating different branches of knowledge, than by any other that has hitherto been suggested. Indeed, by the aid of translations, the labour of the ablest men in Europe might be combined, in perfecting the same work. Every individual would thus be enabled, to obtain ample information respecting the particular subject to which his attention was directed; and when any branch has experienced great improvements, the work in which it is explained might be reprinted, without interfering with the other volumes included in the general system.

The term "Code," has been objected to, on account of the official authority, which, to some persons, it appears to imply. But the meaning here intended to be attached to the word, is merely that of Digest or Compendium. Of such digests, Sir John Sinclair has already published two,‚—a Code of Health, and a Code of Agriculture; and he has printed and circulated specimens, which have been well received, of the two Codes which still remain unfinished, those of Political Economy and of Religion. He now begs leave to submit to the consideration of the reader, the opinions of several respectable persons, regarding the manner in which this great undertaking has been executed, in so far as he has yet gone.

1. Code of Agriculture.

The reception which this work has met with is in the highest degree gratifying. It has already been translated into several of the principal languages in Europe, and reprinted in America.

In France, it was translated by Monsieur Mathieu Dombasle of Nancy in Lorraine, who is accounted the most distinguished agriculturist in France. In transmitting, as its secretary, a diploma from the Agricultural Society of Nancy to Sir John Sinclair, he mentioned, for the first time, the task he had undertaken, in the following terms: "I have been occupied for some time in translating your excellent Code of Agriculture. If any thing can contribute to raise agriculture in France to the rank of a science, which we could not till now pretend

see that it is proposed to append a copious index to the last volume, which is a great improvement in the plan of the work.