rent from proportion. We should not have said so much on this
subject either in our former article, or at present, but that there is
in all Mr Sadler's writings an air of scientific pedantry, which renders
his errors fair game. We will now let the matter rest; and, instead
of assailing Mr Sadler with our verbal criticism, proceed to defend
ourselves against his literal criticism.

"The Reviewer promised his readers that some curious results should
follow from his shuffling. We will enable him to keep his word.

"'In two English counties,' says he, 'which contain from 50 to 100
inhabitants on the square mile, the births to 100 marriages are,
according to Mr Sadler, 420; but in 44 departments of France, in which
there are from one to two hecatares [hectares] to each inhabitant, that
is to say, in which the population is from 125 to 250, or rather more,
to the square mile, the number of births to one hundred marriages is 423
and a fraction.'

"The first curious result is, that our Reviewer is ignorant, not only of
the name, but of the extent, of a French hectare; otherwise he is guilty
of a practice which, even if transferred to the gambling-table, would,
I presume, prevent him from being allowed ever to shuffle, even there,
again. He was most ready to pronounce upon a mistake of one per cent. in
a calculation of mine, the difference in no wise affecting the argument
in hand; but here I must inform him, that his error, whether wilfully or
ignorantly put forth, involves his entire argument.

"The French hectare I had calculated to contain 107,708 67/100 English
square feet, or 2 47265/100000 acres; Dr Kelly takes it, on authority
which he gives, at 107,644 143923/1000000 English square feet, or 2
471169/1000000 acres. The last French "Annuaires", however, state it,
I perceive, as being equal to 2 473614/1000000 acres. The difference is
very trifling, and will not in the slightest degree cover our critic's
error. The first calculation gives about 258 83/100 hectares to an
English square mile; the second, 258 73/100; the last, or French
calculation 258 98/100. When, therefore, the Reviewer calculates the
population of the departments of France thus: 'from one to two hectares
to each inhabitant, that is to say, in which the population is from 125
to 250, or rather more, to the square mile; his 'that is to say,' is
that which he ought not to have said--no rare case with him, as we shall
show throughout."

We must inform Mr