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State of the BAROMETER in inches and decimals, and of Farenheit's THER MOMETER in the open air, taken in the morning before fun-rife, and at noon; and the quantity of rain-water fallen, in inches and decimals, from November 30th, to the 30th of December 1790, near the foot of Arthur's Seat.

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Anecdotes of the private Life and Character of Leibnitz.

HE following anecdotes are tranflated from the German Journal of the travels of M. d' Uffen bach, Magiftrate and Senator of the imperial city of Frankfort, who died in 1734 That journal forms three large volumes, and defcribes with, for the most part, ifgufting minutenefs, every inc dent that happened to the author. This very minutenefs, however, becomes interefting upon particular occations, as we hope the reader will acknowledge in the following anecdotes of the celebrated Leibnitz.

M. d' Uffenbach paffed through Hanover in 1710, where Leibnitz then lived. On the 10th of January in the morning, fays the traveller, I was engaged in writing letters, but in the afternoon we made ourselves be announced to the celebrated and learned Cou fellor, who immediately invited us to his houfe. Though he is now upwards of 60 years of age, and though his drefs gave him a very od look, his ftockings being furred, his night-gown alfo furred, with large focks of felt instead of flippers, and his perriwig of a monftrous length, yet he is a very engaging man. He received us with the greateft politeness, and converfed with us on various fubjects of politics and literature. He informed us, among other things, that he was the author of the letter against F. Hardouin, which la Croze inerted in his treatife againit that Jefait fo famous for his paradoxes.

fides, in fuch diforder, that it was impoffible for him to fhew it. I have however, been informed that it is large, and contains many curious articles. But Leibnitz, it feems, wishes to enjoy it alone, and the Elector himfelf has never once feen it, his learned privy counfellor always informing aim that it is not yet arranged.

As to his own library, he made many excufes, adding, that it contained nothing except a fmall number of MSS. which he would go and fetch us."

Here M. d' Uffenbach mentions feveral manufcripts which Leibnitz made ufe of either for his vaft and ufeful compilation the Scriptores Brin fwicenfe, or for that intitled Acceffiones Hiftorica. At laft he fhewed them tourteen little books in chinese characters, which F. Bouvet, a Jefuit miffionary, had fent him. But when he was asked to explain what they contained, he difcovered that the letter he had received along with them was not to be found; a circumftance which our traveller does not feem altogether to believe. Night however interrupted their converfation for this time.

In the afternoon of the fecond day, (for M. d' Uffenbach is very fcrupulous as to dates) Leibnitz returned the vifit of our travellers, and informed them that it was he, and not M, Eccard, who had inferted, in a periodical paper of Hanover, fome remarks on an old book of chiromancy, "I endeavoured, fays d' Uffen- preferved in the ducal library at Wolbach, to break off the converfation, fenbutel. He alfo told them that he that I might requ.ft a fight of his li- had caused to be copied at length all brary, and of the Elector's. But it the paffages of the antient civilians happened, as we had been told it which are fourd fettered in the diwould, for he always evades any re- geft; not merely the first word of queft on these two fubjects. As to each paffage, as a compiler of the 16th the Elector's library he told us it was century named Labitus had done, in only a clofet library, compofed of an index of which M. Terraffon modern books on history, and be- fpeaks at length in his hiftory of the

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