purposes than those for which she learned them, the principles of attraction, the effects of gravity, the power of plane inclinations, and the vain endeavours of untwisting chains. With the view of gratifying this natural curiosity to see what has been so much a subject of controversy, we have procured for this number the annexed drawing, which is said to represent very faithfully the structure of the machine, and will serve to illustrate the argument of our correspondent Rittenhouse. Though we insert with great cheerfulness his essay, it must not be understood that our own conviction is closed against the inventor of the machine, or that we are unwilling to listen to all that can be said in favour of his alleged discovery. It will on the contrary consist not merely with our inclination, but what we deem a public duty to publish whatever he or his friends may choose to write in his defence, provided it be wholly and rigidly free from all that spirit of acrimony which is at least superfluous on any subject, but peculiarly misplaced on an abstract question of mechanics. FOREIGN VARIETIES. LONDON-BIBLIOMANIA. Ar no time did the Bibliomania rage with more violence than at present. At the duke of Roxburghe's sale, a collection of two-penny portraits of criminals, and other remarkable characters, chiefly of persons tried at the Old Bailey, sold for £94 10s. The Boke of Saint Albans, printed 1486, £147.-The Mirror of the World, Caxton, 1480, 6351 158-The Kalindayr of the Shippers, 1503, 180.-The last little volume was bought for the duke by Mr. Nicol for two guineas. A collection of halfpenny ballads and garlands, pasted, in 3 vols. sold for £478 15s. ld. A set of the Sessions' Papers, from 1690 to 1803, sold for 6378. One day's sale of the library, produced above £2,800. The books were early and scarce editions of English poetry. Wednesday, June 17, was quite an epoch in bookselling; for at no time, and in no country, did books bring the prices at which they were knocked down by Mr. Evans at Roxburghe house. To enumerate all the rarities sold would exceed the limits that we can spare for the article; but we shall extract from the catalogue (in Mr. Nicol's own words) the titles of a few of the lots, and add the prices at which they sold. ROMANCES. No, 6292. Il Decamerone di Boccaccio, fol. M. C. Edit. Prim. Venet; Valdarfer, 1471. Of the extreme scarcity of this celebrated edition of the Decameron, it will perhaps be sufficient to say, that no other perfect copy is yet known to exist, after all the fruitless researches of more than 300 years. It was bought by the marquis of Blandford, after a long contest with earl Spencer, for £2,260; being the largest sum ever given for a single volume. No. 6348. The Boke of the Fayt of Armes and of Chyvalyre. fol. blue Turkey, gilt leaves, very rare. Caxton, 1479. Bought by Mr. Nornaville for 6326. No. 6349. The veray trew history of the valiant Knight Jason. fol. Russia. Andewarpe by Gerard Leea, 1492. Of this very rare edition no other copy is known. Bought by the duke of Devonshire for £94. 10s. No. 6350. The Recuyeil of the Histories of Troye, by Raoule le Fevre, translated and printed by William Caxton. fol. B. M. Colen, 1473. This matchless copy of the first book printed in the English language, belonged to Elizabeth Gray, queen of Edward IV. Bought by the duke of Devonshire for £1,060. 10s. No. 6353. The most Pytifull History of the Noble Appolyn, King of Thyre: 4to. M. G. L. very rare; W. de Warde, 1519. Bought by Mr. Nornaville, for £115. 10s. No. 6360. The History of Blanchardyn, and the Princes Eglantyne. fol. red Mor. Caxton. Of this book there is no other copy known to exist, tunately imperfect at the end. Unfor Bought by earl Spencer for £215. 158. No. 6361. The right pleasaunt and goodlie Historye of the Four Sonnes of Aimon, fol. red Mor, Caxton, 1554. Bought by Mr. Heber for £55. No. 6376. The Lyfe of Vergilius, with wood cuts, rare, 4to No. 6377. The Storye of Frederyke of Jennen, with woodcuts, 1518. Bought by Mr. Triphook for £65. 28. No. 6378. The Story of Mary of Nemegen, with wood cuts, 1518. Bought by Mr. Triphook for £67. The day's sale amounted to £5,035. 78. It will be curious to learn what these books originally cost the noble duke; and we trust Mr. Nicol will publish a priced catalogue with a detail of the formation of the library. Books to the amount of £40,000 have been sold by auction within the last two months-to which those now on sale will add 25 or £30,000 more. The young duke of Devonshire has also bought the count Maccarthy's splendid library, in one lot, for 25,000 guineas. SELLING A WIFE. A well dressed woman was lately sold in Smithfield, with a halter round her neck, to a decent looking man, who gave eight shillings for the lady, and paid the salesman seven shillings. An immense crowd witnessed the scene. The woman declared it was the happiest moment of her life: and the purchaser said that he would not take ten pounds for his bargain! Daniel Redesh sold his wife in Sheffield market place lately, for sixpence, and actually delivered her to the purchaser in a halter, which cost ninepence! Possibly it may be thought rather impertinent, by the gentlemen and ladies implicated in these transactions (which are usually the consequences of mutual agreement, and mutual convenience) to inquire by what law this divorce, a mensâ et thoro, and moreover, a vinculo matrimonii takes place in this summary and unexpensive manner? and whether the ceremony is equally efficacious supposing the lady to be "well-dressed." How far does custom warrant the proceeding? And supposing there should be children by the purchaser, to whom do they belong? Moreover, has he not also a right to sell what he bought? What is the efficacy of the halter (always indispensable) in this case? and is not the whole, one of John Bull's barbarisms? What can foreigners think of it? &c. &c. MODERN REFINEMENTS.-BOXING. THE first match which excited the attention of the amateurs of boxing this spring, took place on Tuesday, the 5th of May, in a thirty feet roped ring, in a meadow belonging to Mr. Newman a farmer, on the London side of Hayes turnpike, Middlesex: the seat of action having been first chosen in a meadow which con. tained also a church, and although the communion plate consisted of portable articles, as is tolerably well understood, and many of the group were not very delicate in their distinction betwixt meum et tuum, yet there were other ostensible reasons för moving it from thence, exclusive of the church being in danger. The candidates for a subscription purse of twenty-five guineas, were THOMAS MALTBY, the conqueror of George Crib, at Thistleton Gap, weight 12st. 6lb. and THOMAS COPE, an adventurer from the neighbourhood of Shrewsbury, 13st. 1lb. of a respectable family, whose imagination led him in his zeal, to anticipate even the Championship of England. The combatants were intimate friends, and the maxim of the invulnerable Big Ben was adopted, when he challenged the hitherto invincible Tom Johnson in these words, "Thee and I never quarrelled Tom, and what's the reason we should not fight?" At one o'clock the combatants stripped for glory, and Maltby was rather the favourite, but betting was very slack, the one man being unknown, and few were present who had witnessed Maltby exhibit at Thissleton Gap. Sir H. Smith, Bart. and colonel Mellish, were the umpires, and the seconds were Richmond and Tom Jones for Cope, and Cropley and Norton for Maltby. The battle will be better conveyed to the amateur by a general description, as we have not to recount any specimens of sci |