One of the most extraordinary pages in Sir David Brewster's _Letters on Natural Magic_, is the experiment in which a heavy man is raised with the greatest facility, when he is lifted up the instant that his own lungs, and those of the persons who raise him, are inflated with air. Thus, the heaviest person in the party lies down upon two chairs, his legs being supported by the one, and his back by the other. Four persons, one at each leg, and one at each shoulder, then try to raise him--the person to be raised giving two signals, by clapping his hands. At the first signal, he himself and the four lifters begin to draw a long and full breath, and when the inhalation is completed, or the lungs filled, the second signal is given for raising the person from the chair. To his own surprise, and that of his bearers, he rises with the greatest facility, as if he were no heavier than a feather! Sir David Brewster states that he has seen this inexplicable experiment performed more than once; and he appeals for testimony to Sir Walter Scott, who had repeatedly seen the experiment, and performed the part, both of the load and of the bearer. It was first shown in England by a gentleman who saw it performed in a large party at Venice, under the direction of an officer of the American navy. ------------------ ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS. "To this Society," a well-informed writer has said, "some of our best artists have owed the most priceless of all services that can be rendered to men of genius at the outset of their career--appreciation on the part of an enlightened few--introduction under favourable auspices to the many." The Society of Arts was established in 1754, chiefly by Mr. William Shipley, a drawing-master; but it was not until 1774 that the institution was fairly located in its own premises, built in handsome style by the Adams', in John Street, Adelphi; the object being denoted by the inscription upon the entablature of the pediment in the front of the mansion, in these words: "Arts and Commerce promoted."