A METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL, kept at CLAPTON, in Hackney. 20. Small rain, wind by night. Dec. 19. Cirri and haze, cloudy day. 21. Cloudy. windy, hazy, Some rain followed. 22. Fair day and various clouds: at night a "Corona Lunaris coloured. 23. Various clouds; the atmosphere finely coloured at sunset. 24. Cloudy and bazy. 25. Clear, and a few light Cirri. 26. White frost and cloudy sky some Cirri afterwards. 27. Cloudy and frosty, then snow and rain. 28. Some snow fell toward evening. 29. Cloudy. 30. Clear A. M. cloudy P. M. 31. Cold, frosty, and cloudy morning, then warmer. 1812, Jan. 1. Complete thaw. 2. Lofty Cirri, then showers. showers: windy night. 4. Foggy and raw. Cirrocumulus, cloudy P. M. 7. Snow before right; windy. 9. Cirrus and Cirrocumulus, dark snowy night. 11. Cloudy. 12. Fair, with various clouds. 13. Long and gentle 14. Clouds and haze, 15. Fair gilded linear Cirri at sunset. Hazy. 17. Hazy and calm. 18. Much cloud: some stars visible by night. 20. Fair Cirri, Cirrocumuli, and Cumuli, followed by Cumulostratus. Snow.. thaw. showers. 5. Showery. 3. Clear and 6. Cirrus and 3. Showers of 10. Clondy and foggy, 16. The Hygrometer has been accidentally damaged, so I cannot give a report this month. I believe I forgot to mention that the figures in the columns entituled Rain and Evaporation signify the 100ths of an inch of rain and vapour fallen or flown off since the date of the last observation. Five Houses, Clapton, January 22, 1812. THOMAS FORSTER. Mr. 1812.] Alberbury Church.-On Acoustics, Letter I. Mr. URBAN, Salop, July 20. As you some tree im with views of Churches, I am induced to send you a view of the curious old Church of ALBERBURY, in Shropshire. Probably some of your antiquarian friends will favour the publick with a descriptive account of it. THOMAS PARR, who lived to the great age of 152 years, 9 months, and some days, was born at Winnington in this parish; and at the age of 105 years did penance in the Church of Alberbury, for an amour with Catharine Milton. The cottage in which he resided still remains, and retains the name of Parr's Cottage. J. P. A Series of Letters on AcouSTICS, addressed to Mr. ISAAC ALEXANDER, Teacher of the Piano-Forte. SIR, IN LETTER I. N conversing with professors of great eminence both as practical musicians and composers, I have most frequently found them totally uninformed in the science of Acoustics; a science which instructs us in the nature and properties of sound. It is for their benefit, therefore, I have compiled the following work. I am well aware that a knowledge of ratios and vibrations would not have made them better performers, or better composers: but there is no reason to imagine that it would have cramped their genius, or restrained their fancy. No one acquainted with the elegant as well as scientific compositions of the late Dr. Boyce, regrets that he was profoundly versed in the science of musical calculation. The epistolary style is best adapted for a work intended to convey much miscellaneous information, to those who have neither leisure nor opportunity for studying Acoustics, or col lecting and comparing a number of valuable experiments; and to whom it is an object to see the result of any particular mode of temperament, without bestowing at least four hours in calculating the Beato, which constitute the merits or demerits of the system. I shall dedicate the remainder of this letter to a little historical inforination, and begin by saying some what about the musical writers and musical instruments of the Antients. Musick was practised by men of the first rank at Rome. Plutarch places musick, viz. singing and playing on the lyre, among the qualifications of Metella, the daughter of Scipio Metellus. The first writer upon Musick was Lasus Hermionensis; but his work is fost, as are all the works of very many more both Greek and Latin authors.` Aristoxenus, the disciple of Aristotle, is the first writer extant on Harmonics. Euclid, the author of the Elements of Geometry, is next to Aristoxenus, having written an "Introduction to Harmonics." I shall merely give you the names of subsequent writers; Aristides, Quintilianus, Alypius Gaudentius, Nichomachus, Bacchius, Claudius-Ptolomæus the famous mathematician, Boethius, Martianus Capella, St. Augustine, Aurelius-Cassiodorus. By Harmonics, they understood, "a power or faculty perceptive of the differences of sounds with respect to acuteness and gravity. I will not waste your time, so much more profitably employed, with any account of their Systems, Genera, Modes, Mutations, Melopœia. For information on these subjects, I refer you to Dr. Burney's and Sir John Hawkins's History of Musick. One circumstance will surprise a modern musician; the antients did not allow the major-third to be a consonance. The fact is, in consequence of their tuning by perfect 4ths and 5ths, the major-thirds were a comma too sharp; and consequently very offensive. And as I conceive to have been the reason why they had not musick in parts, that is, they sung and played only in the unison and octave; which is positively asserted by Aristotle in his Problems (very many of which relate to musick). Because, had they tuned their lyres as our harps, organs, and piano-fortes are tuned, it is impossible but in preluding they must have discovered the beautiful effect of major and minorthirds, and major and minor-sixths, which would necessarily have led to simultaneous harmony. Of the comma I shall say more in its proper place; but at present shall only observe that, when you have tuned your violin or violoncello by four perfect fifths, the first and the last string, as an octave sixth, will be a comma too sharp; and if if the ear would tolerate major-thirds and major-sixths, to be so much too sharp, we might then tune our pianofortes and organs by perfect fifths, instead (with one exception) of tuning them flatter than perfect, in order that the major-thirds and majorsixths may come out in tolerable tune *. But this subject will be completely unfolded when we come to Temperament. "In the fullest theatres in Greece a general displeasure and disgust might be observed, if the most skilful musician chanced to strike a single note out of tune," &c. Had the same fastidiousness of ear obtained with respect to singing, it would have made a Catalani shudder to have performed before an audience with such critical ears. We, the moderns, by a note out of tune, mean a note more or less too flat or too sharp. reading this paper, I was disposed to Upon think that, to convey the proper meaning of Dionysius, the original should have been translated a wrong note,' i. e. a note out of the tune; which, in consequence of musick in his time being played or sung in the unison or octave, might have been easily perceived by an attentive audience; without giving them credit for that exquisite sensation of just intonation which Bishop Horsley's translation implies; but, upon consulting a very eminent classical scholar, he could by no means allow the original Greek to be so translated. I trust he will forgive me if I quote a passage from his letter. "On examining what Dionysius says more closely, and observing that he speaks of oue who played on a harp, and another who played on a flute, I apprehend he means the audience were disgusted, because, in a single instance, the one struck a string, and the other blew a note out of tune; the case of the fluteplayer is obvious: for, by not compressing his mouth properly, he made rather a hissing noise.' The first Lyre, with three strings, is said to have been invented in Egypt by Hermes, under Osiris, be tween the years 1500 and 1800 before Christ. We have, in modern musick, a spe Eleven-fifths will be perfect 1+ of a comma too flat nearly, and one-third and one-sixth of a comma too flat nearly. cimen of a pleasing air, by Rous beautiful basso-relievo, a Gro hold a Flute for which the Anti rity of Theophrastus, but not re Trumpets of the Antients are not t |