Those of our readers who have studied the paper of M. Maurice on Interpolation, of which a translation appeared in our last number, will no doubt be glad to compare with it Briggs's own description of his method of Interpolation. His original work however appears to be very scarce; and the chapters in which he describes his method—the 12th and 13th—are omitted, even in the Edition published by Vlacq in Briggs's lifetime. We believe, therefore, that this translation by Mr. Williams of those parts of Briggs's Preface in which he describes his method of Interpolation, will prove very acceptable to our readers.—ED. J. I. A.

It is stated in the notes to Cousin's éloge, and has been repeated, that Fourier was placed at the head of a bureau de statistique by the prefect of the Seine, the Comte de Chabrol. But there is hardly any authentication. Anything done in the subject by Joseph Fourier, the most powerful working member of the Egyptian commission, the originator of mathematical results of the first order of genius, novelty, and utility, and an experienced public man, must be worthy of attention. But so little is his statistical career known, that the Biographie Universelle (Michaud, 1856) only ventures its mention of the connexion of Fourier with the volumes presently described as suivant plusieurs personnes bien instruits.

There must at the present time be a vast amount of British capital embarked in loans. Foreign states are constantly holding out their lures with more or less of success to our monied men, and financial and other associations are always ready to take charge of the funds of such of them as prefer investing at home. In this state of matters it is somewhat remarkable that there is nothing to be found in our books on interest on the subject of loans. These are usually—and perhaps intentionally—so complicated with conditions in regard to premiums, discounts, times and modes of repayment, &c., as to render it almost always a matter of extreme nicety to determine the rate paid by the borrower for the accommodation, and that realized by the lenders on their investments. And yet, as I have just said, in no English work that I am aware of, is there anything to be found having special reference to the subject.

This is a serious proposal to alter our numeral system and to count by twelves. Thus 10 would be twelve, 11 thirteen, &c., two new symbols being invented for ten and eleven. The names of numbers must of course be changed. There are persons who think such changes practicable. I thought this proposal absurd when I first saw it, and I think so still: but the one I shall presently describe beats it so completely in that point, that I have not a smile left for this one.