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credit. His very ignorance rendered him formidable to the ignorant, and his acuteness gave him a fatal ascendancy over the obtuse. He resembled the lowest of mankind in his views and feelings, and therefore could often command their sympathy, when a purer and higher sentiment would have failed; while he was so superior to them in the mere power of argumentation, that they felt abashed before him, and by degrees surrendered up unto him their own natural and humble faith. In trampling into the dust all his miserable sophistries, Bishop Watson performed no great achievement; for Paine's weapons had been blunted by other hands, and his armour pierced through all its folds. But Watson's great merit lay in the mode of his warfare. He followed the infidel through all his paltry shifting; he allowed him to choose, during the combat, his own vantage ground; he fearlessly exposed his own bosom to every wound; and his superiority in all points was so manifest and conspicuous, that every spectator saw the victory, and acknowledged that the victorious champion had Heaven upon his side. If it be true that there was a very general disposition throughout this island, to listen to the doctrines of Paine, and that Bishop Watson was the chief instrument in the hands of Providence, to bring his deluded countrymen back to the right faith, then, truly, is he entitled to the glorious appellation of a benefactor of his species; and there would be wanting a name sufficiently odious for those who should forget such inestimable benefits, and rake into the ashes of this great man for mere human frailties, to lessen in our hearts our respect, our gratitude, and our veneration, for his memory.

We fear that our readers might have been better pleased with us, had we given them, instead of our own reflections, a detailed account of the Life and Opinions of this excellent person. But in truth there is something so peculiar in every thing the Bishop has said about himself, that nobody can have a just idea of his character, without reading through the Memoirs themselves. We have, on that account, deviated from the plan we intended to have pursued,—and have only to hope, that what we have now said, in the spirit of candour and good-will, may induce some others to peruse the volume with similar feelings. Many will doubtless read it, with more uniform and unmingled satisfaction than we have done; while others, we know, will think of some parts of his character with much more severity. If tried by what he has done for mankind, he will not be unrewarded with the gratitude of posterity. His life was, throughout, active and benevolent; and after a happy retirement of twenty years from busier scenes, he died in peace and resignation in his native county, at the beautiful residence he had embellished, as much respected and beloved as any man of his time.

March 2d.—Dr Murray read the first part of a paper "On the Relations in the Law of Definite Proportions in Chemical combinations, to the constitution of their Acids, Alkalis, and Earths, and their compounds." Its object was, to determine if the composition of these substances, according to the theory which he has lately proposed, be conformable to the law of definite proportions. The part of the paper read extended to the acids of which sulphur and carbon are the radicals, the vegetable acids being comprised under the latter. A very strict coincidence is found in the actual proportions, according to the theory, with the law, so as to afford proofs even of the truth of the former; and some of the results display views very different from those which have been hitherto proposed. The remainder of the paper will be read on a succeeding evening.

At the same meeting, an abstract of a second paper, by Mr Lauder Dick, on the Parallel Roads of Lochaber, was read.

After considering the paper which he had prepared on the parallel roads of Lochaber, since his second visit to that district, he was satisfied that it would not be very intelligible, if read to the society, owing to the frequent reference to the map and drawings. He therefore contented himself with a very few remarks explanatory of the views he entertained of this interesting subject.

In a former paper he described the general nature of these shelves: he has since ascertained, by several observations, that they are perfectly ho-