" This was so eminently
successful, that the following discourses were delivered in quick
succession:--
On the Toxicological Powers of Coculus Indicus in Stupifying Fish.
On the Combustion of Park-palings and loose Gate-posts.
On the tendency of Out-of-door Spray-piles to Spontaneous
Evaporation, during dark nights.
On the Comparative Inflammatory properties of Lucifer Matches,
Phosphorus Bottles, Tinder-boxes, and Congreves, as well
as Incandescens Short Pipes, applied to Hay in particular
and Ricks in general.
On the value of Cheap Literature, and Intrinsic Worth (by
weight) of the various Publications of the Society for the
Confusion of Useless Knowledge.
The lectures were all admirably illustrated, and the society appeared to
be in a prosperous state. At length the government selected two or three
of its most active members, and despatched them on a voyage of discovery
to a distant part of the globe. The institution now drooped for a while,
until some friends of education firmly impressed with the importance of
their undertaking, once more revived its former greatness, at the same
time entirely reorganizing its arrangements.
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