CHAP. LV.

OBSERVATIONS.

HAVE, in my laft chapter, presented you with a fecond curious letter, from my incognito correfpondent, who appears to be a very extraordinary perfon, indeed; moft fingularly and happily formed by nature; and most uncommonly endowed by Providence with many gifted capacities, of an unaccountable, and unheard-of kind.

This affair puts me in mind of feveral peculiarities I have heard reported, of different men; which are fufficient to make one fufpect that we are not all framed alike; and that though the general materials

materials may be the fame, in all, certain adventitious articles may fometimes obtain, in the compofitions, both of our bodies and minds, to diftinguish one man from an other, the few from the many, zobu br

Petrarch mentions a perfon, the organs of whofe ears were fo perverfely formed by nature, that he preferred the croaking of frogs, to the warblings of the nightingale. The fable of Midas's judgment, or want of judgment, rather, verified.

The great Lord Chancellor Bacon, was always feized with a fudden fit of fwooning, on everyw eclipfe of the moan but as foon as the fliadow had ...VOL. II. N paffed

paffed over, his fainting left him, without the least weakness remaining.

John Barratier, a German, was perfect master of Latin, at four years old; of Hebrew, at fix; and of three other languages, before nine. At eleven, he tranflated the Travels of Rabbi Benjamin, and accompanied it with critical notes and learned differtations. He aftonished all Germany with his uncommon genius and fcience, and died before twenty.

Theophilus Mozart, a Bavarian, in the present age, was an extraordinary performer on the harpfichord, at four years old; and a skilful compofer of mufic, at fix. He has been exhibited as a miracle

at

at all the courts in Europe, was lately in England, is now alive, in Germany,

and but thirteen. years of age; and is going on with an amazing rapidity, both in performance and compofition.

In one of the public papers, lately, there was an account, from Marseilles, of an extraordinary boy, about ten years of age, who had difcovered a wonderful fagacity in pointing out any place where water lay concealed under the earth-Several trials had been made of his talents, and every experiment confirmed the peculiarity of this faculty in the child.

His notice did not arife from any particular quickness of hearing in him, N 2 which

which might have been affected by the murmuring of a river, or the bubblings of a fountain, under ground; for he was equally certain, where it was a dead water. A gentleman in the country, at fome distance from the town, having been informed of this uncommon circumstance, had a tub of water privately buried in a ploughed field, and the whole harrowed over; then fending for the lad, and taking him, in a careless manner, to walk over the ground, he ftopped suddenly short, on the spot, like a fetting dog at the scent of his game, and pointed to the place where the veffel had been depofited; faying, you'll get water, if you dig

there.

The