the latter place amounted to 728, which were lighted withrape oil.
In the landgravine of Cassel, the landgrave Charles, in1721, introduced the practice of lighting; which, however,was afterwards dropped, but revived in 1748; and in1778, tlie number of lamps amounted to 1013. Hanoverexperienced the blessing of light by night in 1G96. Hallg,in Saxony, in 1728; Gottingen , in 1735; Brunswick, in1765; and Zurich, in 1778. Philadelphia, in America , isalso lighted ; and has the extra convenience of a foot pave-ment, which* an infinite variety of European cities stillwant.
Logarithms is the name of a species of mathematicalcalculation, and chiefly applicable to trigonometrical pur-poses ; which, if not invented, were greatly improved, and theuse, and application of them extended by John Napier ,Baron of Merchiston, in Scotland , who first published hisLogarithmic Tables in 1614. This intelligent gentlemanfirst described satisfactorily the scientific nature of loga-rithms; his celebrated work was translated by Mr. Ed-ward Wright, and published by his son, in conjunctionwith Mr. Professor Briggs, in 1616, or 1618.
Definition. —The term Logarithm is a compound of twoGreek nouns, xoyo; ratio, and apt6(to( number ; hence it isto be defined the ratio of numbers, —the indices of theratio of numbers one to another; or a series of artificialnumbers, proceeding in arithmetical proportion, and cor-responding to as many others, proceeding in geometricalprogression, ingeniously contrived for the ease and expedi-tion of calculation.
This mode of mathematical proportion has been de-scribed differently by various authors; some have termed itnumerorum proportionatium (cqui-differentes comites. Withthis definition, Drs. Halley and Stifelius were unsatisfied,and they thought its specific nature and general qualitieswould be belter expressed by thus defining them : accor-dingly , they sav, they should rather be called the indicesor exponents of the ratios of numbers; and under this ap-pellation we believe they are now regarded.
Lord Napier ’s method of constructing his table, wasconcealed until the author had first obtained the senseof the learned and scientific upon his invention. Never-
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