This invention of Mr. Babbage's is one of the most curious and important in modern times: whether we regard the ingenuity and skill displayed in the arrangement of the parts, or the great utility and importance of the results. Its probable effect on those particular branches of science which it is most adapted to promote, can only be compared with those rapid improvements in the arts which have followed the introduction of the steam-engine; and which are too notorious to be here mentioned.

The object which Mr. Babbage has in view, in constructing his machine, is the formation and printing of mathematical tables of all kinds, totally free from error in each individual copy: and, from what I have seen of the mechanism of the instrument, I have not the least doubt that his efforts will be crowned with success. It would be impossible to give you a correct idea of the form and arrangement of this machine, or of its mode of operation, without the help of various plates, and a more minute description than is consistent with the nature of your journal. But it will be sufficient to say that it is extremely simple in its construction, and performs all its operations with the assistance of a very trifling mechanical power. Its plan may be divided into two parts, the mechanical and the mathematical.